“So we just need to bunny-hop to the end, right? Can... Can we do that?”
“It’s gonna be pretty hard with our legs tied.”
No joke, Kimura and Higashino were currently having a hell of a time trying to make any progress. I could hear them arguing from here:
“We need to be jumping! Like, really jumping!”
“What? We’re just going to fall! We should be making little baby hops!”
This was our chance to overtake them. Thus, I decided to make a gamble.
“Okay, let’s both hold on tight to the top of the sack and jump the exact same distance. Think you can do that?”
“Sure! But I feel like you’ll jump a lot farther than me...”
“Don’t worry about me. Just jump as far as you can, and I’ll match you.”
“Okay, got it!”
On the count of three, we jumped in unison, Enjouji stretching her legs out as far as they would take her. As for me, I jumped lightly, like gravity no longer applied to me... like I was a leaf in the breeze. Then Enjouji landed, and I landed with her.
Together, we once again counted to three, and then we made another jump. Cheers erupted from the crowd. It felt like we were impressing them with our coordination. Was I getting ahead of myself, or... was it actually working out?
Enjouji prepared to jump again. I followed suit, lightly hopping through the air.
“Wh—?! W-Wait!”
“How are you so fast?!”
We ignored Kimura and Higashino shouting at us, dodged past them, and kept going. We had officially made up for our slip-up at the start, and now we were in second place. Once we arrived at the end of the section, we carefully stepped out of the burlap sack.
“Starting with our joined leg!” Enjouji called.
Together, we set off once more, our feet perfectly in sync. I could see Shimono and Tada just up ahead, but I couldn’t afford to let myself get distracted. I needed to focus. One step at a time.
Meanwhile, the obstacles continued their onslaught. When we reached the jump ropes, we waited until the rope was right at our feet, pinned it down, then stepped over it. And when we arrived at the spoon race, we ran without dropping our ping-pong balls a single time.
...Who the hell designed this hardcore obstacle course, anyway?
Enjouji was already wheezing, and even I was slightly out of breath. The course itself wasn’t that long, but the obstacles were really wearing us down.
Then, at last, we arrived at the final obstacle: a veritable sea of different hazards, strewn all over the ground as if to decorate the home stretch. It was a straight shot to the finish line, but to get there, we’d have to navigate through a minefield of giant, whirling jump ropes, thick gym mats, and a litany of balls from every sport.
“They expect us to get through all this...?”
With our legs tied, we were sure to trip up and fall. For a moment I questioned whether this might actually be dangerous, but then I noticed that the hazards themselves were all fairly soft, so there was next to no chance of serious injury. Gee, how thoughtful.
Shimono and Tada had entered this area ahead of us, so we didn’t have time to stop and hesitate. Instead, the two of us plunged forward.
Neither of us had said a word, so I started to worry if Enjouji would be alright. I glanced over, and sure enough, there she was... I mean, obviously she was going to be there, since our legs were tied together. But at some point, my brain had stopped registering her, as if her presence beside me was as natural as the air I breathed.
“I don’t know about this...”
“Whoa, whoa!”
Seconds later, Enjouji had already stepped on a ball and lost her balance. This one was proving to be the hardest obstacle of all; even Tada and Shimono were struggling.
“Agh! Rrgh, stupid balls! Get out of my way!”
“You’re wasting time by kicking them! Just avoid them and keep going!”
“I can’t just plow forward, or I’ll step on them!”
“Alright, fine. Let’s take it nice and slow.”
Unfortunately for us, their height advantage meant their steps were a lot bigger than ours. If we were going to win, we’d need to cross this obstacle ocean with big, speedy steps. Could we pull it off?
There were other options, but I had already decided. Sure, it would potentially cost us the race... but without it, we didn’t stand a chance.
“W-We gotta take big steps, right?! Which leg do we start with?!” Enjouji asked eagerly. Evidently we were both on the same page.
“Our joined leg!”
The response came to me without even thinking. It just felt right.
It was time to forget all the embarrassment and emotional resistance and simply trust that we understood each other. I could feel her more clearly now. Her movements, her breaths, her heartbeats, her vibes, her presence — all of it informed my own.
We had spent so much time together in class and in the CRC. And now that we were trying to recruit new members, we practically spent all day together, just the two of us. I knew her thought patterns. I knew what motivated her. We were perfectly in sync whether we liked it or not.
I lifted our joined leg and took a giant step toward an empty spot. Would it reach? I didn’t know, but... I’d just have to make it reach.
And then it did.
Enjouji’s legs were spread so far apart, she looked like she was going to topple over... but nevertheless, we made it. I slid an arm around her to keep her upright.
Then we took another step — so big, we were practically jumping. This was the fastest we could possibly go. In a blink, we had closed the gap between ourselves and Shimono/Tada. Then, when the crowd started to cheer, our opponents sensed the impending threat and whirled around. Their eyes widened. But they were just a blur to us now.
We passed them. Now no one was in our way. All we had to do was reach the finish line without stumbling. It wouldn’t be easy, but my gut was telling me we could do it.
Some things were only possible with Enjouji by my side. I couldn’t accomplish this alone. And in the end, I was glad I chose to pair up with her. There’d be no point in me winning without her; it wouldn’t truly count as a victory.
This was a rare opportunity for all the students of Yamaboshi to fight on even ground with one another, and I was going to surpass my senpai.
Then, as we crossed the white finish line — we couldn’t quite gauge when to stop, so instead we ended up tripping over our own feet and falling flat on our faces all over again.
Winner: Uwa Chihiro/Enjouji Shino
Total Flowers: 6
+++
“That was a white-hot battle.... A true clash of egos. But in the end, the CRCIFIT proved victorious! No surprise there!” I exclaimed from behind a tree.
“CRCIFIT... I feel like you’ve mentioned that at some point in the past,” Watase mused.
“At last, all the effort I put into that obstacle course has paid off!” Internally, I did a fist-pump.
“Oh, you’re the one who set it up?”
“Anyway, it’s almost lunchtime now. I must say, what was supposed to be reconnaissance has turned into a rather enjoyable spectator event! I’m looking forward to the finals.”
“Yeah, for sure... Wait! Houston, we’ve got a problem!”
“What’s got you all bent out of shape, Watase-kun?”
“How many times have we battled, exactly?!”
“Just once, when we played paper sumo. Cost-effective, but not very entertaining.”
“And how many flowers did we get from that?!”
“Just one, which brings our total up to two... Wait, but we’ll need a minimum of four by noon or else we’ll be disqualified!”
“Exactly! We gotta get some more flowers, fast!”
Curses! What an egregious blunder on my part! After observing all those other battles, for some reason it made me feel as though I had won them myself!
“Oh hey, if it isn’t Fujishima-san and Watase-kun! Whatcha doing out here?”
Someone had gotten the jump on me. Panicked, I whirled around.
A powerful figure was standing there.
“N-Nagase-san?!”
“Wait, but where’s Katori?” asked Watase.
“The event crew wanted to talk to him about something. He’ll be back in a minute... Hmm? Is that really all the flowers you have? Because that’s kinda not enough.”
“We know...”
“Well then, would you wanna battle us? We’d be up for it, y’know,” Nagase suggested with a smile.
But while this looked at first glance to be an angel’s salvation, in truth, it was a devil’s temptation.
“Sure, we don’t have the same amount of flowers, but that’s—”
“N-No thank you! The offer is much appreciated, but we’re going to look for a different opponent!”
We stood nothing to gain from battling someone as overwhelmingly powerful as she. Not right now, at the very least.
“But Fujishima-san, don’t you think we should—”
“Don’t be absurd, Watase-kun! She’s the final boss! We have to save her for last!”
Withdraw! Retreat! Abort mission!
“You say that now, but I feel like you two might just end up being our final boss later down the line,” I heard her mutter.
So before we fled, I turned back and replied, “Yes, we will. And we’re going to win!”
“Looking forward to it!”
And so, after vowing to reunite in the final round, I set off once more.
Just wait for me... I promise, I’ll be the one to strike you down in the end. But first...
“Now then... we need to find ourselves some wimps to curb-stomp!”
“...That’s not the kind of game plan you should announce with a smile, y’know...”
“We mustn’t let emotions cloud our judgment! All that matters is that we win!”