Chapter 3: Meeting Haruno Again
The Sobu High School Sports Festival began as scheduled.
A banner reading "Sobu High School Sports Festival" was hung at the school gate. The sports field was divided into different areas, and students from different grades were energetically sweating in the name of youth amidst their classmates' cheers.
Though, truth be told, a few people here didn't even possess something called "youth"...
"This is amazing, so this is the legendary sports festival!" Rachel Stanley looked excitedly at the bustling sports field. "This kind of event is perfect for showing off! Luckily, I signed up for all the events!"
"..." The three Yomi disciples next to her remained silent, keeping their usual deadpan expressions.
There were only three, not four, because Raden Tidat Jihan had gone home to resume his duties as the crown prince.
Speaking of which, Tirawit Kokin—the Muay Thai kid—seemed to have received quite a few love letters…
Just thinking about that made Hikigaya want to die.
Damn it! Was he really that lame-looking? Why had no one given him a love letter!?
"Hmm, well, if you like it that much, then I guess it's fine." Because he hadn't had breakfast, Hikigaya muttered gloomily while chewing on some bread, "But if you win all the championships, then it's not really 'showing off,' is it?"
"Eh? Why not, Hachiman-sama?"
"Obviously… if you win everything, what's left to watch?"
"Oh…" Rachel Stanley's momentum dropped immediately. But she recovered quickly, and not long after had already plunged into the crowd to show off, probably having completely forgotten Hikigaya's sarcasm.
This girl probably had some disease like "Will Die If She Doesn't Show Off."
But Hikigaya had to admit, compared to the usual perverse hobbies among the Yomi crowd, this particular one was remarkably positive and wholesome.
"Alright, you guys go enjoy yourselves, don't worry about me." Seeing the other three glancing at him, Hikigaya waved them off.
Come on, ever since school started, these three made him seem like some kind of campus gangster boss—there were barely even any people who dared talk to him.
He could hardly go on living like this.
The three Yomi disciples exchanged glances as if making a decision.
"Something up?" Hikigaya asked.
"Well, Hachiman-sama," said Tirawit Kokin, "may we use this opportunity to test the strength of the Ryōzanpaku disciples?"
As expected, the kill-fist and life-fist disciples were natural-born rivals, always looking for a chance to clash.
But… this sounded pretty interesting.
"No problem, do as you like." Hikigaya waved happily. "Just don't lose. If you do, it'd be really embarrassing for me."
"Thank you for your understanding."
The eyes of the three Yomi disciples instantly lit up. After bowing to Hikigaya, they departed.
Damn, Hikigaya suddenly felt like crap—at that moment, he felt like he was being showered with a bunch of "As expected, Penguin-kun is the boss" type looks.
Wait, who the hell is Penguin!?
After finishing his bread, Hikigaya walked to the edge of one of the event areas.
Not far away was the cheerleader area.
Rachel Stanley was among them, already going crazy with excitement.
But where was Haruno?
"Next up is the boys' shot put event. Class 2-E, student Shirahama, please begin!"
The speaker announced.
Hikigaya turned his head.
The strongest Ryōzanpaku disciple, Shirahama Kenichi, was already standing in his spot, holding the shot put in a throwing stance.
Come to think of it, this whole sports festival was basically just a playground for disciples of martial arts schools—who could even compete with them?
Shirahama seemed to think so too. His expression looked nostalgic.
A once-weakling throwing a record-breaking shot—other people's reactions would surely be worth watching.
Thinking that, Hikigaya decided to enjoy it properly and see just how this Ryōzanpaku disciple would stage his underdog comeback moment.
"Ooooohhhh——!"
As if fired up from his fantasy, Shirahama Kenichi let out a passionate roar and threw the shot put with full force.
"Waaahhh——!"
Suddenly, a girl's scream came from the other side. The crowd, which had been focused on Kenichi, all turned their heads.
Apparently, some handsome guy had just broken a record too. Yeah, clearly that guy was also a martial artist.
Now that he remembered, wasn't he one of the Super Chuunibyou Squad members? Called something like "The Hermit."
Tsk tsk, Chuunibyou was such a mysterious thing.
But…
Unlike those rude spectators, Hikigaya had been properly paying attention to this side.
Then, he saw the shot put get caught.
Shirahama Kenichi's passionate throw obviously wasn't something a normal person could catch. So the one who caught it must have been…
Ethan Stanley.
One of the Yomi disciples, and Rachel Stanley's younger brother. Totally unlike his pretty sister, he looked like the Terminator.
But this emotionless, executioner-looking teenage guy was actually a very sincere and considerate person.
So when he saw Shirahama Kenichi's dejected "Why did you catch that?" face, he unhesitatingly threw it back with a "Sorry, returning this" expression.
The landing was pinpoint accurate—right in front of Kenichi's feet.
The timing was also perfect—just as the spectators and judges turned their attention back this way...
"How tragic…" Hikigaya looked sympathetically at Shirahama Kenichi, who now wore a "I want to die" expression. He could clearly hear people in the crowd saying things like, "So he's just all bark and no bite, huh."
Indeed, the drama between life-fist and kill-fist disciples was a must-watch—amusing in every possible sense.
Watching them clash for no reason would definitely improve his quality of life.
But man, it was hot. Just sitting there made him start to feel sweaty.
Just then, a bottle of water was handed to him.
"Thanks." Hikigaya, who had just been about to get up to buy water, sat back down happily, took the bottle, opened it, and took a big gulp.
After several gulps, he suddenly realized—there wasn't supposed to be anyone sitting next to him.
He turned his head—and unexpectedly saw a familiar face.
"It's you."
That's right, it was Yukinoshita's scheming older sister, Haruno.
Tch. She really went all out to show up, huh.
So strange—what exactly was the Yukinoshita family trying to do? They were all normal people, what was the point of mingling with god-slaying types?
"Aren't you participating, Hikigaya-kun? Big sis really wanted to see my little sister's boyfriend all sweaty and stuff."
Still playing the act, huh.
"Well, if your sister hears that, she'd probably distance herself from me immediately."
Hikigaya looked at her with a half-smile, half-smirk.
Trying to manipulate people she sees as capable….
Haruno was the same as always in this world.