Everyone, including the second and third years, left the inside rooms and went outside. The sun shone brightly on the green grass and the red tarmac. The students were all scattered on the field, waiting for the next exams to begin.
"This is where I shine." Akito said as he looked at the field. Lower body strength was where Akito excelled; he was fast and could jump high. There were also other exams that we still had to do such as javelin or the "competition" of who can throw a tennis ball the furthest.
After the hour break, we were all told to go to our classes assigned to part of the field. Each class had its part of the field and each part was around a couple of miles in area. There were race tracks, long jumps, and vertical jumps—it felt like a sports festival.
The sports festival would truly be interesting. Using this exam and the sports festival to see how much people grow. If Akito does follow the routine I gave him then he would grow stronger and faster than most people; it was possible that he could be on par with or surpass Yamada.
We all went toward our homeroom teachers. I found Nagasawa-sensei waiting for us next to a small race track. The race track looked to be at least 500m. This part of the exam will be measured in meters per second. If I read correctly the grades for this were:
A: 40m/s+
B: 20m/s-39m/s
C: 15m/s-19m/s
D: 10m/s-14m/s
E: 5m/s-9m/s
F: <4m/s
If I remember correctly then Harumi and Akito have a guaranteed grade A. I didn't know Kaori's running speed but from my observations, she seems to be at least average, so she would get a grade E at the bare minimum. Both Yamada and Shimoda would have no problem completing this in less than a few seconds so the chances of them not getting anything other than a grade A is slim. If anything were to keep them from running then they would have to retake the exam.
Now what was remaining was what I would get. The distance Akito and I ran when we were "leaving" Harumi was around 400m and I ran around 67% slower than Akito which means I ran at a speed of 11m/s which is grade D. That should suffice as a decent grade for running although I have been getting grade As in strength.
We all gathered around Nagasawa-sensei and listened to what she had to say. "This is your running speed test and you only have one try for this so give it your best."
To make this as perfect as possible I had to let nothing be in my way. Nothing should make me go faster and nothing should go wrong. My calculations and planning for this specific part were flawless.
"The first five students will be…" Nagasawa-sensei announced the first five students to be tested. As I had calculated; I was not part of the first five. The first five were: Yoshio Yamada, Satoshi Kitamura, Miyuki Miyamoto, Chiaki Obata, and Shun Hasegawa. All five of them got into their positions. "Ready…set…GO!" The whistle was blown and the five students sprinted as fast as they could.
In the lead it was unsurprising, Yamada followed by Hasegawa and in third place, it looked to be Kitamura. Yamada didn't seem to be beaten any time as soon as he was already finished. Only a few seconds had passed and he had already finished and he didn't look like he had used any energy.
Shimoda watched her childhood friend I'm his run however she only smiled at him and that was it. Unlike the other girls who were cheering for him and surrounded him. The other students then finished. Hasegawa remained in second place however Kitamura was overtaken by Miyamoto while Obata remained in last place.
There was another thing to factor in and that was the shoes I was wearing. These shoes were specifically for PE but this school could use these shoes to track our health and use it to find out our progress. This also meant that it could be used to track our running speed.
To look as if I am running my hardest I have to start by running my hardest which would mean my real speed would be exposed. That speed isn't normal even though I am slower than before. There is also the fact that Kaori may have tampered with my shoes so that I would be exposed but I did know this so I did take precautions.
"The next students…"
This was easier than I thought.
"Tadashi Tsukamoto and Kaori Asagiri." Nagasawa-sensei called. Kaori and I followed the other three students to the racing track. We all got ourselves ready and waited for the whistle to be blown.
"Kaori." I called and Kaori instantly looked at me however I kept my face looking at the track ahead. "Good luck trying to hide." I said.
"GO!" The whistle was blown. I was in the lead however I then held back. Kaori had passed everyone and entered the second place. As I gradually decreased my speed, Kaori then overtook me.
Yes. Average.
Kaori was actually one of the fastest but she was trying to hide it. She didn't want the extra attention from her brother and wanted to lay low. Doing this certainly benefited me in the future for a larger plan. Everyone focuses on the person who's first. The person behind them doesn't get much attention. Kaori now has all the attention as she is first which allows me to do whatever I want as the attention has diverted away from me.
Kaori had tampered with what was supposed to be my shoes however I had swapped them which means she was wearing the tampered shoes. The shoes allowed you to run to your potential. She had created a drug that allows the person it is injected into run five times faster.
Kaori came first, Tatsuo Kusumoto came second, I came third, Atsuko Uyeda came forth and Madoka Yonamine came in last place—Exactly as I had planned.
After the race everyone who participated seemed to be already out of breath however, Kaori didn't seem to have the slightest bit of energy gone. She then walked up to me but when she tried she was only stopped by students. I walked to Akito who was talking to Harumi. They both then noticed me and also walked towards me.
"Did you see Kaori out there?" Harumi said.
"I was running with her, Harumi." My plan had worked—everyone's attention was on Kaori. This would only apply to the students as the teachers would focus more on all the students instead of only the ones who came first.
Akito did look at me as if he knew I had something to do with it however, this time I had only changed the shoes, I didn't do anything with them other than that.
"Kaori's pretty fast isn't she?" Akito said. It clearly surprised them both that Kaori was actually "fast" however the drug would only last a few weeks.
Kaori knew how much I valued peace and wanted to ruin it. If I had fallen into her trap then my peace would be interrupted because I'd be too popular. Although I am still popular because of my academic achievements, I hadn't socialised much as Yamada and Shimoda have at least talked to others however the only people I've talked to are the people I am around most of the time, and Yamada and Nakamoto.
"Aki-chan, what'd you think about my speed?" Kaori said after escaping the students that surrounded her.
"Shut up, Kaori-chan." Akito said, annoyed. He then caught Harumi looking at the two almost as if she was jealous.
"Aki…chan?" Harumi said slowly. It stabbed us. Deep into our skulls and into our brains. Akito and Kaori then caught on.
"D-Don't think much of it Harumi!" Kaori said as she tried to make Harumi think less of it but it was useless. Harumi then looked at Akito and with an innocent and clueless expression, she made Akito somehow feel guilty.
"I-I-It's nothing! I promise!" Akito stuttered as he tried to make it better however it didn't.
Although Harumi didn't say anything, she still had more of an impact on the situation than Kaori and Akito. The silence was loud and killed them.
"Akito Kishimoto." We heard Akito's name being called—it was his time to be examined now.
"Sorry I have to go." Akito said. He then pulled my t-shirt and told me with his eyes to go with him. "Sorry, Tadashi needs to hold my water bottle." Akito said as he dragged me along with him.
I looked back at Kaori and I could instantly know what she was thinking. She then remembered the matter at hand.
"I promise it's nothing Harumi. It's just something I call Aki…Akito." Kaori looked desperate for Harumi to say something however, Harumi stayed silent. She then spoke and Kaori's face brightened as she saw Harumi's lips move.
"I-I'm sorry…I didn't know you guys were like that." Harumi said. She said it quietly but we could still hear what she said. Harumi then looked down at the ground, avoiding eye contact. Harumi then said another thing but I couldn't hear it because of the yelling and cheering from the students.
That's how it is then.
Harumi had a surprised look on her face. Her face then turned red. Her whole face was red and Kaori had a large smirk on her face. Harumi then looked as if she was denying something. My view was then blocked by the students who ran to Akito as he was the one who "won". After all the students had gone past my view of Harumi and Kaori was now cleared however they weren't anywhere to be found.
Class 1-A will be the first I kill.
I found them walking with Akito as students surrounded them. The other students envied the attention Akito was getting and all stared daggers at him.
This could potentially be another enemy of Akito being born. A girl or boy like us probably smothered Akito with praise as he had beaten them in speed. They could also form an alliance with each other to try and do something for Akito.
Nevertheless, I wanted this to happen. For Akito to grow he must overcome many obstacles and this would be another obstacle that Akito should overcome. The three first-years did play a large part and did help Akito grow as he now has experience with a knife that wasn't used for anything peaceful such as cooking. Everything that I had planned in the first week comes to this—the result. A result that I had predicted this whole time.
Now Akito's stepping stones are in place I should get Harumi ready. After this exam, the holidays will start and during the holidays I should make Akito and Harumi's relationship grow as well as Nakamoto's feelings for me. After that, I would have a large advantage when the real exam starts.
"Akito's pretty fast, isn't he?" My thoughts were interrupted by Kaori. Before I could say anything Kaori spoke. "Is this how you will develop your pawns?"
"I will develop my pawns however much I want." I said. Kaori didn't show any reaction as if she knew that would be my reply. "You do as you want. Get all the help you can because in the future you'll need it."
Kaori then turned her head and looked up at me. She turned her head and looked back at the next set of students running. The whistle went and they ran. Like the other times, it wasn't hard to tell who was first.
"You've killed people haven't you?" Kaori asked. She didn't seem like she was joking however, she looked as if she was almost certain but asked me for confirmation.
"Regardless of what I'll say you'll make your own deductions." Kaori didn't say anything and remained silent. "You're confident aren't you? That at the end you'll get what you want?"
"I am confident in my abilities and I have overestimated you." Kaori replied. There was no doubt in her tone and every time she spoke about her abilities she didn't lie.
I then sighed before I said anything.
"I've overestimated you as well, Kaori. I thought you'd do better." I said. "You do know the situation you're in don't you? Your brother is the only one supporting your family. Your father's dying isn't he?"
Kaori looked at me. Her eyes widened and completely stared at me with anger and fear mixed together.
"How do—"
"Don't ask that, Kaori. You can't have everything you want in life. For your father's sake, do not fight with me." I said as I walked away to join Akito and Harumi. Kaori didn't move. I could feel her staring at me, not moving at all.
"Ikeda Harumi." Nagasawa-sensei called. We watched Harumi go to the racing track.
I analysed the people who were with her. Harumi would easily win this round however, there was a person I know who is probably faster. Before in the gym, I could tell he was fast. Kazushi Uehara is an incredibly fast student. He is at least twice as fast as Harumi. If Akito has not trained then he would beat Akito in a race. With an average speed of 78m/s, he would easily get a grade A.
The students got ready and waited for the whistle. "3…2…1…GO!" The whistle was blown and the students started.
This also measured reaction speed. However reacting first to the whistle and running would have the fastest reaction speed, this also meant that this part of the exam measures two things: running speed and reaction speed.
It was a good thing I had waited until I saw one or two students start to run because then I would be found out.
As I had thought; Uehara had beaten Harumi. Although Harumi had a quicker reaction to the whistle, Uehara best Harumi because of his overall running speed. Harumi was left in second place with Uehara far away from her in the first place.
"Kishimoto-san."