COTE Year 2 Reimagined

Volume 6:Part 14

After the volleyball game, Kushida ran away, probably to avoid speaking to me. I had thought we resolved our issues, but it seems she still hates me.

I made my way back to take Nanase and leave but was interrupted by Amasawa.

"You're such a meanie, Senpai."

She came up to me while pouting.

"How is that?"

"You know I dislike Kushida-senpai, but you still let her score against me."

"I guess."

She sighed and gave up her act.

"Does that mean you want me to stay away from her?"

I glanced towards her and shook my head.

"Do whatever you want. If I need Kushida, I'll protect her on my own."

She giggled slightly and nodded.

"We'll see then. Good luck, Senpai."

She winked at me and ran off again. I walked off towards Horikita now.

"Did you learn anything?"

She seemed startled by my question. I could clearly tell that Horikita only played this match to learn more about Amasawa and me. She was also still investigating Yagami.

"Maybe."

She decided to give a vague answer.

"Stay out of it. For your own good."

I placed my hand on her shoulder and walked off. I didn't care what Horikita found out, but if Yagami or Amasawa decide to target her, that will force me to make a move early.

I met up with Nanase, and we finished the rest of our events except one. That meant we got first place 8 times and got last place once. Now, there was only one event left.

I decided that our final event should be the relay race. Each pair can participate and will run 5 laps. 3 by the male and 2 by the female. Nagumo was participating in it as his final event, too, so it gave me a chance to humiliate him.

Nagumo is a sore loser. The worse the loss, the more likely he is to keep his word in order to challenge me in the future. If he lies now, I'll never accept another challenge from him. It would also damage his reputation considerably. He already took a hit during the island exam when he expelled those third year students and finished in second rather than first. I also egged on Kiriyama, who's been making moves from behind the scenes lately. I was gradually weakening Nagumo, so it would be easier to deal with him if I ever had to.

Nagumo had earned first place 7 times and placed second twice. You got 5 points for second place, which meant he had a total of 80 points. I had a total of 81 points, putting me in the lead slightly. Whoever won the relay would win our bet. This is the outcome I predicted and the reason I decided to go to the scavenger hunt in the first place.

I signed up for the relay and took my place in the lineup. Since this was the final event of the day, everyone was watching it. Nagumo obviously participated in it on purpose so everyone could see him win.

"Whoever wins this race wins our bet. How ironic that the relay race that first got me interested in you will be the same place I beat you."

He was as arrogant as ever. It is true, however, that the only reason Nagumo even cared about me is that I raced against Manabu last year. He insisted that anyone acknowledged by his rival was worth it.

"We'll see."

Ichinose looked somewhat uncomfortable due to the tense atmosphere, but I ignored her. I noticed Yagami was also taking part in this race along with his partner Kamuro, but besides him, there wasn't anyone notable enough. I guessed the reason Yagami and Kamuro got paired up was probably Arisu. She most likely suspected him as a white room student and wanted to find out through Kamuro. She really was enjoying this detective game.