Classroom of the Elite (Ayanokoji Kiyone)

Volume 5 : Rise of the Tensions

Ayanokoji Kiyone POV

During competitions

Ike : *pant* *pant* "...I-I did my best and I'm still only 6th place! I-Is Ken done with his match?" *phew*

Ike breathes heavily as he fell on his knees. He probably dreads the prospect of Sudou coming back.

Kiyone : "Good work out there but I don't reckon he'll acknowledge something like get 6th place will he?"

Ike : "P-Please! Don't scare me like that Ayanokoji-chan!"

It's not like I don't understand the desire to wish for something like that. If Sudou doesn't win, then surely he wouldn't punish the rest too. Sudou, whose results they're curious about, will have his turn in the final obstacle course race.

In the first place getting punished seems like it'd be troublesome.

Hirata : "It looks like Sudou-kun'll be going up against Shibata-kun".

Ike : "Hey, you said he is faster than you but how fast he can be actually?"

Hirata : "I don't know, I never could forced him to going all out against me yet he is still faster than me, ahahaha"

Near Sudou, Shibata was waiting around while performing warm-up exercises. A formidable opponent has come forth.

Ike : "Huh!? That Ken, he's up against Nomura and Suzuki again. That's unfair!"

However, at the same time, Ike was vexed after seeing Sudou's opponents in the contest other than Shibata and that lucky lineup.

Certainly, it's lucky to consecutively encounter those two from Class C who are said to be unathletic. Other than those guys, the students from Class A are neither good nor bad and with this, Sudou's victory is all but assured.

I understand why he'd lament it but Shibata is something else entirely.

If it's Shibata, who's said to be the fastest runner in Class B, he's sure to put up a fight for 1st place. In the two contests leading up to this, he's taken 1st place in both.

Kiyone : "Which one do you think's going to win?"

I asked for Hirata's opinion, since he knew Shibata well.

Hirata : "I'm not sure. I know quite well that Shibata-kun's fast so I don't think he'll be going down easily. If it's a purely straightforward match then I have a feeling it might be Shibata-kun but...Sudou-kun was able to overcome the obstacles without much difficulty during practice after all. It's shaping up to be a really good match"

From Hirata's perspective, he's unable to tell which one of them would win since he knew both of them well.

Sudou himself believes there's no way he could possibly lose. It'd be good if his pride doesn't affect his run. But leaving aside my worries, the person himself awaited the start signal.

Once the runners in front finished with their race, the curtains rose on the final race.

Both Sudou and Shibata had a near simultaneous good start and they headed in the direction of the first obstacle: the balance beam. Sudou, though tall and possessing a large physique, was nevertheless able to cross over the narrow balance beam faster than anyone else could. His movement showed off his incredible sense of balance. Shibata came in at second place.

Despite his slight lateness, he also safely crossed the balance beam.

Sprinting a short distance immediately after, they crawled through the net that had been placed on the ground. Sudou, who advanced like a wild beast, only looking ahead of him. And Shibata, who seemed to be having fun chasing after him. The last obstacle was a sack, or to put it in a trendier way, it's to place both your legs in the sack and hop. Here, Sudou overcomes it once again with a nimbleness unbefitting of his physique but Shibata, hot on his tail, closes the distance between them.