In an instant, my view had changed dramatically. Obviously I knew I’d be able to survive a fall from up here, but I was still a little scared.
Meanwhile, Misaki was boosting Yukina onto her shoulders. Her lower body was honed from all that hurdling, so she was able to lift a girl of comparable size with no trouble at all. Now a giant human wall stood before me, and I couldn’t pretend I wasn’t a little intimidated.
“Perfect! Man, what a view from up here!” Yukina laughed casually. The two of them combined looked roughly 5 centimeters taller than us.
But that was when I felt a twinge of pain pierce my back. I looked over my shoulder. Someone was there, watching us. Judging from the silhouette, it was... Fujishima Maiko? Her gaze felt hungry, like a hunter zoning in on her prey.
But right now, I needed to focus on the opponent in front of me.
“You guys ready? Now we need someone to tell us when to start... You there!” Yukina pointed to a younger male student.
“Three... two... one... Go!”
But neither team moved right away. This was a one-on-one battle, so there was no rush. Instead, we slowly closed in on each other.
As we approached, I thrust out both hands to measure my reach. Meanwhile, the distance between us continued to shrink.
Not yet... not yet... not yet... Now!
Misaki took a giant step, and Yukina swung one hand down at us. I wasn’t sure how they coordinated this, but their timing was totally perfect. A five-fingered fang was now hurtling toward my head.
Stay calm and pay attention.
I swatted her hand away with my forearm. Then she tried again from the other side, and I did the same with my other arm. Her torso was now wide open for attack.
Yukina’s eyes widened.
This was my chance.
“Aoki! Forward!”
“Got it!”
At his knight’s command, the mount charged forward, and I whipped my hand out at the speed of sound.
“Whoa!”
Yukina recoiled backwards to dodge, and my fingers cut through empty air. I could have made it if I was on my own two feet, but there was a delay between my reflexes and Aoki’s. That, and my reach was noticeably shorter than Yukina’s. Another strategy would be to take advantage of my small stature to catch my opponent off-guard, but I’d need the full use of my lower body to make it work.
“I swear, I’ll never understand how you can be that fast,” Yukina sighed as she wiped the sweat from her brow. Then her lips curled in a smirk. “But I’ve got longer arms, so I think I can take you.”
She sounded confident, but I could tell she hadn’t let her guard down.
“You can do it, Yukina. We got this!” Misaki called out encouragingly. Honestly, it was impressive she had the stamina to carry someone of her height.
Both of them were formidable opponents... and that meant I needed to go all-out if I wanted to win.
“Aoki, hold still!”
I grabbed his shoulders and hopped up into a half-kneeling position to maintain my balance.
“You’re not serious, are you?!” Evidently Yukina could tell what I was planning to do, and it spooked her.
Naturally, this only spurred me on.
Of course, this wasn’t going to be easy. It would take every ounce of my concentration. I shifted my weight again and again, trying to get a feel for Aoki’s shoulders. Then I sensed the wind blowing against me and adjusted to the pressure. I could feel his pulse beneath my foot.
Then, once I had established my balance, I stood up all the way.
“Holy crap!”
“What is this, a circus performance?!”
“During last year’s Sports Festival she had the support of two people, but now she’s down to one...!”
I was now tall enough to scan the surrounding area. This was the queen’s throne, and I was in charge.
“What kind of stunt is that?!” Misaki murmured, awestruck. And as for Yukina...
Wait, what?
“You just dug your own grave!” she roared, and she didn’t sound like she was bluffing.
Did she set me up somehow? I was pretty sure I had the advantage over her, and yet she looked confident that she was going to win. Internally, I started to waver. Then I felt myself start to lose my balance and hastily re-adjusted.
“Now I’m going to use the same technique Chihiro-kun used to beat you last year!”
Chihiro. The name caught me off-guard. What was she planning to—?
“Look at you, teaming up with your booooyfriend! Getting all touchy-feely in public! Like, get a room, am I right?”
...Silence.
No one said a word. Not Aoki, not Misaki, and definitely not me. Even the audience wasn’t sure how to react to that.
“Uh, hello?! I don’t care if the rest of you ignore that, but you’re supposed to get embarrassed, Yui! Because what you’re doing right now is embarrassing, remember?”
“Ohhhh, okay. So you thought I’d get all flustered and lose my balance?”
“What? Uh... yeah...? Wait, how are you so calm?”
“I mean, I’ve had to put up with people teasing me for like, months now.”
Aoki stepped forward, and I used my shins to absorb the vibrations.
“So maybe you should get new material, because I’m over it!”
And it’s all thanks to you!
As I shouted, I leapt forward and swung my arm down at full force, snatching the bandanna from Yukina’s head. Then I landed back in a sitting position on Aoki’s shoulders.
“A-Are you serious...?”
Defeated, Yukina slowly slid to the ground.
Winner: Kiriyama Yui/Aoki Yoshifumi
Total Flowers: 2