Chapter 86: It's normal to have some action in a competition

After filling out the loan application form, Shimizu borrowed a SLR camera from the photography club.

After learning some basic usage methods and precautions from the teacher in charge of the club, Shimizu arrived at the track and field stadium a few minutes before the start of the game.

The periphery of the track was unexpectedly surrounded by students and parents. Shimizu finally found a position in the middle of the race and began to adjust the camera.

This year, Sakurai Haruka was assigned to the white camp, which is different from Shimizu Mi, but he had already finished all the matches for today, so it didn't matter if he left the red camp for a long time.

The competition currently underway is the "200-meter hurdles" event.

It is similar to the 100-meter race and relay race, and is basically an event that can easily and purely reflect running ability.

That being said, it’s not all.

The contestants must not rush and must cross over accurately, otherwise they will make serious mistakes.

There are two additional rules for this hurdle race - "knocking down the hurdles" and "touching the hurdles" will result in additional time penalties.

If you knock over the hurdles, an extra three seconds will be added to your time, while simply touching the hurdles will add one second to the time it takes to reach the finish line.

Therefore, running speed alone cannot determine victory or defeat; each hurdle must be crossed accurately.

However, jumping too cautiously will also affect the speed and fail to win. So the key is how to find the best rhythm and balance in practice.

The race is 200 meters long, and there are ten hurdles every ten meters in the first 100 meters, for a total of ten.

If you accidentally knock down all the hurdles, the additional thirty seconds alone would be enough to make your result extremely bleak, almost hopeless.

Now, the first group of players in the group stage are competing fiercely, their figures passing by quickly on the track.

The highly anticipated Haruka Sakurai was placed in the final group, and the winner of each group will advance to the final.

Before Sakurai Haruka went on stage, Shimizu tried to take a picture of the light blue sky in April and the playground of Kaikawa Ikusei Academy below.

Through the camera's LCD screen, Shimizu confirmed the photos he had taken.

"Ah! It's Shimizu-senpai!"

An energetic voice sounded, Shimizu looked up to his side and found a girl running towards him.

Although he had only met her once, Shimizu Miki still recognized that the other person was the first-year student Onodera Rin.

"Hello."

"Hello, Shimizu-senpai!"

The advantage is that Onodera Rin, who is energetic, sunny and cheerful, responded with a smile.

There is no mention of her in the game, so it is very likely that this encounter occurred due to changes in the storyline in the second round.

Basically in the first round, Shimizu Mi rarely interacts with other characters except the five heroines.

However, whenever he sees Onodera Rin now, he can't help but think of Ishikawa Shinichi.

Not long ago, he noticed that Shinichi Ishikawa had special feelings for Onodera Rin, but he didn't know what Onodera Rin thought.

Judging from Shinichi Ishikawa's performance at the time, he seemed to be afraid to express his feelings to Onodera Rin.

"You seem to be getting along well with Shinichi?"

Shimizu asked tentatively.

"Well, I often chat with Ishikawa-senpai, because we are all in the baseball club."

Onodera Rin responded with a smile.

Shimizu originally wanted to take the opportunity to help Shinichi Ishikawa find out what Onodera Rin thought, but he found that she seemed to have the same extremely optimistic attitude towards everyone and did not particularly favor anyone.

I don’t know whether this is a good thing or a bad thing for Shinichi Ishikawa.

After several rounds of competition, it was finally the turn of Haruka Sakurai, who was in the last group. Not far away at the starting line, she was doing some simple warm-up exercises.

Shimizu picked up the camera and tried to focus the lens on Sakurai Haruka who was warming up.

After pressing the shutter button, the camera made a loud shutter sound and Sakurai Haruka's figure was frozen on the camera screen.

As expected, the photos turned out great.

Shimizu Mi didn't think he had any special talent in photography. The reason he was able to take such beautiful photos was simply because of Sakurai Haruka's impeccable figure and temperament.

"Ah, you actually took a secret photo of Sakurai-senpai!"

Onodera Rin next to her suddenly made an unhappy sound.

"I was just asked by her to do this."

Onodera Rin seemed to be a little hesitant when she heard this and opened her mouth. I thought she wanted to say something, but in the end -

"Um...can you send me a copy of the photo later?"

Onodera Rin looked at the photo of Sakurai Haruka in the camera, her eyes seemed to be sparkling with excitement.

Before, Shimizu had a vague feeling that Onodera Rin seemed to particularly admire Sakurai Haruka. Could it be that she was...

Soon, the voice of the sports announcer was like a passionate piece of music, rippling over the wide playground, loudly announcing that the competition for the last group was about to begin.

"Everyone, who do you think will win this competition?"

"Is there any need to ask? It must be that Sakurai-senpai."

"If she wins again this year, wouldn't that mean she's managed to win three in a row? Is that really possible?"

"I remember that there seemed to be such a senior who had done this before, and she won the championship in all track and field events for three consecutive years. What's more amazing is that she is also outstanding in academics. She has never given up the top spot in the school year for three years and has always been hailed as the most talented woman in Haichuan College."

Shimizu glanced at the students who were discussing heatedly, and asked Onodera Rin beside him:

"Who do you think will win?"

Shimizu didn't pay much attention to track and field, and didn't know the strength of these players, so he thought Onodera Rin might know something. After all, the baseball club's field and the track and field club's field were next to each other, so she should have noticed something during training.

"Hmm... well, most of Sakurai-senpai's opponents are members of the track and field club, and they all have very good athletic nerves. But I know Sakurai-senpai's foot speed very well, and I don't think she will lose easily. But that Nishikawa Yui is a different story."

"Nishikawa Yui?"

Shimizu thought that Onodera Rin would answer without hesitation that Sakurai Haruka would win, but she didn't expect that even she couldn't say clearly who would win.

"Ah, senior, look over there, that's her."

Shimizu looked in the direction of Onodera Rin's finger and his eyes fell on a girl who was standing at the starting position without feeling any pressure.

"Is she strong?"

Because we were too far away, I couldn't see his face clearly. I could only make out his straight black hair with a purplish tint.

"Actually, she is a freshman like me, and this is her first time participating in the competition."

Onodera Lin explained, and the expression on her face changed subtly:
"Although she has never participated in any competitions, I once saw her running in physical education class..."

From the changes in Onodera Rin's expression, Shimizu Mi could already feel that this girl named Nishikawa Yui might be a strong rival of Sakurai Haruka.

This obstacle race is different from other competitions. The winners will have the opportunity to participate in the summer national high school track and field competition. Because the number of places is limited, students in the first, second or third year of high school can freely participate in the competition.

After waiting for all the participants to arrive, the sharp sound of the starting gun pierced the sky, instantly igniting the atmosphere of the entire stadium.

Sakurai Haruka was in a crouching position at the starting point, but she stood up perfectly at the sound of the whistle and ran out.

“Come on! Sakurai-senpai!”

For Shimizu Mi, who was standing nearby, Onodera Rin's cheers were very harsh, but he didn't want to dampen Onodera Rin's enthusiasm.

Hold the camera carefully, focus your attention on the other end of the lens, and be ready to capture those fleeting moments at any time.

But soon, Qingshuijian noticed something strange.

"It looks a bit strange."

Qing Shuijian slowly put down the camera and frowned slightly.

"Huh? What are you referring to, Shimizu-senpai?"

Onodera Rin, who was cheering for Sakurai Haruka in the game, did not face Shimizu Mi, but just questioned his mumbling.

"Don't you think Haruka's movements are a little stiff?"

Onodera Rin observed Sakurai Haruka on the track and thought for a moment:
"...After what Senior Jing said, it does feel a bit weird."

In fact, not only was Sakurai Haruka's movements a little unnatural, but her speed was also a little wrong.

For other players, the speed of Haruka Sakurai, who is currently leading, may be jaw-dropping. But based on Shimizu's understanding of her, Haruka Sakurai should have shown even better speed.

Therefore, the scene before him made him feel a little confused.

Even if she was not in good form, Sakurai Haruka's performance shouldn't be like this.

To put it simply, Sakurai Haruka now looks like she is trying desperately to increase her speed, but gives people the feeling that her body cannot keep up.

Halfway through the race, when Sakurai Haruka crossed the fifth hurdle, her running style and pace could be clearly felt to be strange, and her speed also dropped a lot.

Because of this, Sakurai Haruka, who was originally far ahead, was gradually caught up and overtaken by the second-placed Nishikawa Yui.

In contrast, Nishikawa Yui performed exceptionally stably. She did not even touch a hurdle when running the first 100 meters of the hurdle track. Her movements were smooth and accurate.

Sakurai Haruka followed closely behind, just a step slower, and crossed the tenth hurdle.

The two began to sprint at full speed for the final 100-meter straight section.

However, Nishikawa Yui suddenly seemed to be very concerned about Sakurai Haruka who was approaching from behind, and she looked back several times, which seemed to slow her down.

Soon, Nishikawa Yui was walking side by side with Sakurai Haruka again, and after a few seconds, she gradually fell behind Sakurai Haruka.

According to this trend, Sakurai Haruka should win the championship.

However, the next moment, Nishikawa Yui, who was running at full speed to overtake Sakurai Haruka, took a big step forward, but unexpectedly the two of them got entangled with each other and both fell to the ground.

"what!"

Onodera Rin exclaimed almost at the same time, and she watched the scene on the field nervously.

Due to the distance, it is impossible to tell who hit the other, but it looks more like an accident during the game.

In sports competitions, such situations are not uncommon, but they are always distressing.

Haruka Sakurai gritted her teeth and climbed up in the dust. Relying on the huge advantage she had previously opened up over the other players, she completed the rest of the race in first place before being overtaken by her opponents.

However, the situation of Yui Nishikawa was not optimistic. She seemed unable to stand up immediately, and was constantly overtaken by her opponents while trying to stand up, falling to the back of the list in one breath.

Judging from the results, Haruka Sakurai completed the competition, successfully won the first place in the group, and successfully advanced.

But this accident affected the end. Another contestant who fell, Yui Nishikawa, seemed to have a very painful foot. She was unable to continue the competition and ended up in last place, which was unexpected.

Considering that Nishikawa Yui was expected to be a dark horse, this may be a pity, but this game can only be judged as an unlucky event.

After the break, everyone went to the bathroom or to replenish water.

Sakurai Haruka told the referee that she was going to the health room and walked into the school.

……

After finishing the hurdle race, Sakurai Haruka sat beside the bed in the infirmary with a serious expression.

The situation was clear from the way she walked and the way she moved, which clearly showed that something was wrong.

"Teacher, what's the situation?"

Sakurai Haruka accepted the emergency measure of bandaging, but it had little effect.

The school doctor observed the condition of the ankle and then looked up.

"Well... I just said it, it's still very difficult to continue the game."

Haruka Sakurai was diagnosed with a sprain and a minor fall, and her condition showed no signs of improvement.

As it is now, although she could barely walk a few steps, she could only walk and it was impossible for her to exert enough strength to win the competition.

The school doctor left the health room after giving a few more instructions. Not long after, Qing Shuijian pushed the door open and walked in.

There were three beds in the room. Sakurai Haruka was leaning on the bed by the window, sitting quietly and resting.

"Does it hurt?"

Seeing Shimizumi come in, Sakurai Haruka immediately relaxed his frown, shook his head, and said:

"…It's just a little bit. It won't affect the game. I'll be fine after a little rest."

Despite her bravery, Sakurai Haruka now looks like she has difficulty even sitting still.

Qing Shuijian tried to touch her injured area gently, and his fingertips gently slid over the delicate skin of her jade feet.

"Well!"

Sakurai Haruka cried out in pain.

“Isn’t this the extent of the impact that will have?”

But Sakurai Haruka insisted, "It's okay, I just have to be patient. I'm not happy with that girl. It seems like a malicious collision."

"……Why do you say that?"

"After I passed her, she kept running behind me and called my name several times."

As she spoke, Sakurai Haruka clenched her hands into fists, as if she was recalling the scene at that time.

"I thought it was weird anyway. But when I turned around, she bumped into me, and it became like this..."

"You mean...she did it on purpose?"

(End of this chapter)