I whipped my head around to glare at her so fast, my neck popped. All my efforts to pretend I wasn’t doing exactly that, up in smoke.
“Did you really have to say it like that?! Does my dignity mean so little to you?!”
“What? I call it like I see it. What else do you want me to say? Because whatever you’re doing, it’s definitely not crawling. Not enough arm and leg movement for that.” She glanced at Chami-chan. “Right?”
Chami-chan’s head was turned a full ninety degrees away, her eyes squeezed shut. “I see nothing... I see nothing...!”
“Hey!” I yelled. “Don’t avert eye contact like I’m some shameless pervert you’re trying to avoid on the street!”
God, this is so embarrassing. So freaking embarrassing!!! But giving up isn’t an option. If I stop now, all that awaits me—all of us—is Hikari-chan’s masochistic glee and an even more humiliating fate. This isn’t just for me; it’s for everyone!
I forced myself onward. Resumed my...humping of the ground. Haaaaaaaaaaaah!
“Honestly, though,” came Mashiron’s commentary, “this weird...ground-hump technique is working. She’s actually closing in on Hikari-chan.”
“I see nothing, I see nothing...” Chami-chan was chanting at this point.
: GROUND-HUMP TECHNIQUE
: floor humping has never looked so cool
: just imagining a 120 year-old man humping the ground at top speed is sending me
: "honey, those awful biker gangs are back." "Nah, that noise is just old man Tanaka out on his daily walk"
: Don't worry. Live-On is in good hands with Awa-chan as their seiso streamer
: beach flags sex on the beach
At around five meters to the flags, I caught up to Hikari-chan. She looked at me, wide-eyed. “What?! Where did you come from?!” she yelped.
Almost there... Keep it together for just a tiny bit longer...
“Two can play at that game! Hikari’s going to ground-hump her way to victory too!”
“Noooooo!!!” I cried out in despair. Why must everything be so embarrassing?!
Just don’t look back. Please, Awayuki, do NOT look back!
“Hikari-chan’s totally just doing it because she wants to, isn’t she?” Chami-chan said.
“But Awa-chan’s got the edge,” Mashiron said. “Those are some fast humps.”
“HAAAAAAAAAAAH,” I screamed, partly for strength, partly just to drown them out. I locked my eyes on the finish. No distractions. There was no behind. Only forward existed.
The flag crept closer... Just a bit more!
“And I think I’ll take this one, Chami-chan,” Mashiron said with a casual tone.
“Wait, what?!” Chami-chan sounded flustered.
“Victory is...” I bellowed, every muscle straining as I lunged forward.
With a triumphant shout, I grabbed the flag.
“...MIIIIIIIIINE!!!”
After the race, the staff returned to help us out of our suits. I stretched my arms and legs, so glad to have my own body back again. “Phew!”
“Awayuki-chan, you were amazing!” Hikari-chan said. “You’re Hikari’s master, through and through!”
Meanwhile, Chami-chan pouted at Mashiron. “Mashiro-chan! That was a dirty move!”
“All’s fair in love and war. Gotta use your brain if you want to stay on top.”
I’d won, and Hikari-chan had come in second, but apparently, there had been another showdown happening behind us. Chami-chan and Mashiron had both been (conventionally) walking and pretty much tied until I was just about to reach my flag, when Mashiron flopped over and quite literally slid her way into a third-place finish.
With the three trials finally completed, it was time to reveal the overall standings.
“Now, to announce the final placements.”
All eyes swiveled to Mashiron.
“In fourth place—Chami-chan with eight points!”
“I knew it,” Chami-chan sighed. “I really thought I had a chance at the beginning.”
We all clapped for her. Chami-chan might not have won, but we knew that she wasn’t much of an athlete, and she had given it her all.
“In third place with thirteen points—yours truly,” Mashiron continued. “The limbo was uh, yeah, but hey, at least I didn’t end up last.”
Mashiron’s performance, like herself, was modest. Another round of applause.
“In second place, with fifteen points... Hikari-chan! So close!”
“Ugh, almost!” Hikari-chan groaned, then broke into a big grin. “But Hikari had tons of fun, so it’s all good!”
Yes! That was the Hikari-chan I liked to see! Big round of applause!
“And finally...our grand champion, with a total of eighteen points—Awa-chan!”
What followed was the biggest round of applause yet.
: wooooooo!!!
: *clap clap clap clap clap* Pshhhhhh!!!
: she did it... she actually did it...
: can't say she doesn't deserve it
: Here's your prize money ￥50,000
“Your wish, Awa-chan. What’s it gonna be?” Mashiron said.
“Huh?”
“‘Huh?’ is not a wish, girl. Remember the grand prize? You get to ask one favor of us, anything at all, and we can’t refuse.”
“Oh... Oh! Right!” Honestly, I’d been so focused on beating Hikari-chan, I’d totally forgotten why I’d been so focused on beating Hikari-chan!
But let’s see. A wish, huh? Did I really have a—
I blinked. Then it came to me, clear as day. Oh, I had a wish. A big, important wish.
I cleared my throat with a dramatic “Ahem.” I closed my eyes, reset my expression, and two beats later, forced it into the most pitiful, big-eyed look of pleading I could muster.
“Please, everyone—forget that the floor-humping thing ever happened.”
I learned a tough lesson that day. To gain something, you must be willing to let something else go.