Holding up the ice bag to his forehead, Takei slowly but surely made his way to the field where the 400-meter dash would be held.

He was propping his arm over Eiji's shoulder as they walked down the long, yet empty corridors of the school.

Obviously, all of the students were outside spectating and getting ready for the upcoming event instead of being inside.

Looking through the windows of the school as he walked, Takei realized that somehow his perspective of life had changed before he had even noticed.

School used to be a prison for him, a place that he dreaded to go.

He had hated the very thought of leaving his house in the morning and coming back several hours later.

Takei had even thought of becoming a shut-in at one point, but he quickly threw away that thought after he realized that it would make his parents sad.

Nowadays, he somewhat enjoyed going to school.

Takei had met so many new people this year, and had an extraordinary amount of new memories made.

He was so grateful for this opportunity that he was given, and was planning on taking full advantage of it.

Reaching the front yard finally, Takei let go of Eiji and headed towards the bleachers.

After seeing Rikka wave her hand at them, Takei and Eiji began to make their way towards her area.

As they approached, Takei noticed that something was off, or rather someone.

There was a familiar girl sitting next to Rikka, and it wasn't Akari or Helena.

It was Arisa.

The last time that Takei had seen her was when he rejected her confession.

Since moving away sorely because of her was rude, Takei took a seat down next to her and continued to feign calmness.

"Hello, Takei. It's been a while."

Although there was an air of awkwardness, Arisa tried her best to dispel it.

"Yeah, it's definitely been. How have you been?"

Not wanting for her courage to be in vain, Takei continued the conversation.

"I've been great..." Arisa leaned forward and whispered into Takei's ear. "Let's forget about everything and start anew. Is that okay with you?"

Deciding to make everything okay between them, Arisa went on the offensive.

Of course as a gentleman, Takei agreed with her sentiments.

"Yes, let's do it."

They both outstretched their hands and shook each other with a valiant smile on their faces.

As this exchange happened, all of the runners finished lining up.

Akari and Helena were right next to each other, while the rest of the classes were side by side with them.

The announcer was at a stand next to the race track with a microphone along with a timer.

Moving the microphone to her mouth, the announcer informed everyone that the race would be beginning soon.

Takei looked back over to the participants and observed Akari's figure.

She was dressed up in their school's gym outfit which constituted a pair of shorts and a plain shirt for the girls.

Although Akari was wearing very plain clothes, her extravagant figure was still showing through the deceptive clothes.

If someone had to ask if Takei was a b**bs or a*s guy, he would've answered thighs without a single shred of hesitation.

That was the very thing that he was getting an eyeful of right now.

As Akari stretched her legs to become more nimble before the race, her thighs inevitably showed and turned on Takei's switch.

"Hey, bro... You're drooling."

Just like Eiji pointed out, Takei realized that there was saliva running down his mouth.

He quickly rubbed the saliva off and focused on the event that was about to begin in front of him.

"Alright, ladies and gentleman. The race will now begin. Runners, get in your starting position."

As instructed by the instructor, all of the runners got into their starting positions.

They all had a focused look on their faces, which made Takei admire their courageousness even more.

Surprisingly, he noticed that Akari turned around to face him.

Giving him the radiant smile that she always did, Akari looked elated that Takei was watching her.

She quickly winked at him and returned her focus back onto the track in front of her.

No longer was Akari wearing her gentle face that she usually wore, she was now wearing her game face and was focused on the upcoming race.

After seeing that the runners finished lining up, the announcer began to count down to the start of the race.

"3...2...1..."

Tensions were at an all-time high, which helped the announcer build suspense until the very last moment. Once the suspense reached its highest peak, the announcer initiated the race.

"...Begin!"

In the midst of the thundering footsteps as all the races launched from the starting point, there was one point of elegance still there.

Instead of taking the rough running approach that all the other racers took, Akari nimbly and efficiently controlled her movements to make sure that she had enough momentum to push through the crowd.

Without any wasted movements or actions, Akari flew through the initial crowd of runners at a breakneck speed.

However, Helena was right beside her.

Due to both of them being athletic monsters, they were at the peak of humanity in terms of physical ability.

After a few moments, they were both far past the crowd of runners that they started with.

The finish line was approaching quickly, with Akari and Helena still neck by neck.

"Go my goddess!"

"Helena, you got this!"

"I don't care who wins, they're both cute in my eyes!"

Besides the occasional weird comment, the entire student body was cheering for either Akari or Helena to win.

It was only a matter of time before they would cross the finish line.

Please, win. I'm rooting for you!

Although Takei was friends with both of them, he wanted Akari to win due to his selfish wishes.

He noticed that Akari was slightly slowing down a bit, so Takei realized that he needed to help her somehow.

With nothing else in mind, Takei opened his mouth and yelled as loud as possible.

"GO, AKARI, GO!!!"

Akari most likely heard Takei's roar, as she began to speed up with a triumphant smile on her face.

As the finish line got closer, the distance between the runners had finally begun to grow.

After receiving the massive power boost, Akari's speed was now unrivalled.

She briskly passed Helena and kept on running forward with a resolved face that seemed to say, "I won't lose no matter what."

A few moments later, everything was all over.

Akari entered the finish line as first place and Helena entered as second.

Immediately after crossing the finish line, Akari pumped her fists up and down in a victorious motion.

On the other hand, Helena wasn't really disappointed that she lost, just exasperated.

"The power of love can be really overpowered, huh?"

The answer to her question?

Yes, it was definitely a bit too overpowered.

---

Akari's Final Affection Meter: 78 -> 84%

Takei's encouragement reached her ears and caused a speed boost to happen... what a cliche development.

Sugar-san: That's what I like!

Serious-san: Ser...ious...ness... where is it?!

Author-san: Not anytime soon.