#96 Capture-The-Flag:Finale
"Any quick ideas on how we should go against Class C?" Hirata asked while looking around us before stopping his gaze at me.
"Sudo-kun, you are the strongest one here among us. Will you be able to support my entire weight?" I turned at Sudo and asked him.
"Hm? Well...it all depends on the position. Why do you ask?" Sudo asked me with a puzzled expression.
"Each student will be tasked with guarding one of us. They will most likely form a defense line a few meters away from their flag and in general, their students are much stronger than us. There is no way for us to breakthrough if we will try brute force. Therefore, what I want from you and others is..." I told them my deductions
"Are you crazy?!" Sudo asked with wide-open eyes when he heard my proposal, as for others...they were slightly surprised but they weren't against it since they knew that there is not much chance for us to breakthrough Class C's defenses if we want to use only brute force.
"Everyone, get ready!" The referee informed us that the second round will be starting soon.
"Will you do it?" I asked Sudo with a serious expression.
"Ken, let's try Walker-kun's idea, we were able to win thanks to his previous strategy so why not try it again?" Ike came to my help with a pleading expression.
"...Tch, fine! I will look like an idiot but if we can win then whatever but you better win this!" Sudo gritted his teeth and accepted his role.
"Nice, everyone will make a line while Sudo and I will remain behind everyone." I said and everyone nodded as they went to take their respective positions.
...
"*Whistle* The second round starts right now!" The referee announced the start and we immediately moved out and invaded the opponent's territory.
...
As expected, when we arrived before the Ryuen group, we were able to spot their flag behind them. They didn't try the same tactic as us and they were simply relying on their superior strength.
"So, what will you lot try now?" Ryuen asked us while watching us with a smile across his face.
They had the same idea of forming the defensive line while he took the place in the middle. The flag was also in the middle, therefore if anyone got through, he would be closest to intercept that person.
I guess after that previous show, he doesn't want to give the responsibility of being the last defense to anyone else.
"Let's do it and snatch their flag!" Sudo shouted and we also created the line of people while I and Sudo remained behind them.
"Hm? Do you want to push us with teamwork? ...Haha, are you aware that you would have a better chance if you actually tried to create chaos and split us?" Ryuen was slightly surprised by what strategy we chose but soon enough he started laughing while shaking his head in disappointment.
I am perfectly aware of that but if we tried to make chaos, he would only take advantage of it. Since I bothered myself to help others to recover some of their stamina, I won't risk any injuries. If he was able to injure someone, we would be forced to replace them with someone. While I could be the one to replace them, it would be too suspicious. If I was able to compete all day without any mini-breaks between contests, they would definitely ask questions and now I am not talking about my classmates but this school. I am not yet ready to face anyone from higher-ups who could use his influence against me.
I simply stood still with a poker face while observing the gaps between Class C's students I could use to escape when I will acquire their flag.
"Well, no need to answer." Ryuen said and got ready while cautiously looking at Sudo and me.
---
'What's their plan? Do they want to breakthrough one particular spot?' Ryuen was calmly thinking about the options they could use against him.
'Should I also retreat back? ...No, that's not the option but I could order 2 people to retreat to the same positions as those two...However, there is no benefit in doing so since I have yet to grasp their real strategy...Tch' Ryuen clicked his tongue in frustration.
'Whatever...no matter what they will use, I can protect the flag by myself. The only one I have to be a bit careful of is that monkey but even he isn't strong enough to push me away. While that white-haired kiddo is indeed fast and has good reactions, this isn't his field of expertise since this is mainly about strength and not agility.' Ryuen thought for a while with a furrowed brows before he finally relaxed and focused mainly on Sudo.
---
"LET'S DO IT!" Sudo released encouraging shout from behind.
"Yes!" Everyone shouted together and started to slowly advance while maintaining the line.
"Haha, who do we have here. Let's see if you will keep on laughing after this round" Ishizaki started laughing when he noticed that Ike was in front of him.
"Eek! You know...that was only a joke...ha-ha. There is no need to be...violent, right?" Ike released a hollow laugh with a desperate for help expression.
"Ike! Can't you man up?! Don't you dare show pathetic performance!" Sudo shouted at Ike who was shuddering even before the confrontation.
"Bohoo!! Why is everyone against me?! Even my own teammate will skin me if I won't do anything..." Ike started complaining aloud and looked like he was about to cry and everyone dumbfounded watched his pathetic act. Some students from Class C even gave him a pitying look.
"Now, Sudo-kun!" I shouted
"F*ck! If this won't work I will skin both of you alive!!!" Sudo complained aloud but still kneeled down.
---
'Wait- me too??!!!! This is Walker-kun's idea not mine!! Why me too?!!' Ike thought with a dishearted expression and tear threatening to come out of his eye.
---
I started to run with the same speed I showed during my sprint with Shibata and when I was near the kneeling Sudo, I jumped on his shoulders and then jumped once again but this time much higher. I also quickly checked Sudo's expression and it looked like he was gritting his teeth. I wonder if it was due to this task or because I applied much more strength in my legs.
When I jumped over the 2 lines of people, I didn't waste any time and ran straight for the flag.
I noticed that everyone from Class C had dumbfounded expressions and still didn't react while my classmates were already preparing for the second phase of the plan.
"Stop him!" Ryuen was the first one to wake up from the shock and shouted aloud to wake up others.
---
'I didn't think they would use such a simple and stupid strategy and thanks to that they caught me off guard. But it's not the end yet, they might have gotten through our defenses, they still need to get out.' Ryuen thought while sprinting after Felix with narrowed eyes.
---
After his command, everyone split up and they were no longer organized. Chaos started to rule on the field but it was more chaotic among Class C. The field was relatively wide and large so each student had to position themselves with at least a few meters gap between them to prevent me from running around them.
Now, only to get past Ryuen and these guys...
"I won't let you." Ryuen stopped in front of me with his widespread arms, ready to jump at any side I might try to take to get past him.
"Why so defensive? Don't you want to take this back?" I stopped running and showed him their flag with a wide smile.
"Heh, nice try to provoke me but I just need to keep you here long enough until those idiots from B take your flag." Ryuen replied to my provocation with a smile.
"Well, since you don't want to play, I will move on." While I was talking, I shifted my body to the right side, trying to get past him but and he quickly reacted to my sudden movement while I was even talking.
Pretty good reflexes and he wasn't caught off guard by me starting my move while still talking.
"Heh" I showed him an amused smile after seeing his quick reaction but that wasn't all, I suddenly stopped and spun around to change the direction to the left without slowing down much.
"Haha, I expected this, you are indeed very fast and agile but unfortunately you are underestimating me!" Ryuen also quickly jumped to the left so he could block my path, however, when he saw my face his eyes widened.
---
'What the hell is he looking at?!' Those were Ryuen's first thoughts when he saw that both Felix's eyes were gazing completely to the side.
'Had he noticed that I was able to predict where he will move thanks to his eyes? This would definitely counter my strategy but he can't see a sh*t like this...Is he baiting me to steal the flag or does he want to distract me with this?' Ryuen's mind was working on 100 percent and numerous thoughts went through his mind. However, in the end, he decided to keep focusing on Felix and stopping him from escaping.
---
I started to gaze to the side just to mess up with his mind. His mind must be working extremely fast, therefore his reaction will be slightly slower than before but even then he would be able to catch me. This entire show was just to buy enough time for someone...
I jumped back to the right with my eyes still gazing to the side.
---
'?! He is fast but- If I can stop him here I will be able to grab him because his balance will be off after that reckless jump without even looking. Haha, this is certainly an interesting strategy but I will still win!' Ryuen thought and quickly imitated Felix's actions with a victorious smile.
---
Hm? It seems that he really thinks that he had already won...Unfortunately for you, Ryuen, you are focused too much on me and forgot about others...
When Ryuen jumped to the right side to block Felix but what happened was out of his expectations.
Not only he was unable to block Felix, but he himself was also blocked by someone!
"Haha, have you forgotten about me?! Who is now monkey, hah?!" Sudo who blocked Ryuen's path to the right collided with him but Sudo's posture was stable and strong so he was able to take the hit without falling down.
"You?!! Move!!" Ryuen was angered by getting interrupted in our small competition but it would take him a while to get past Sudo without breaking the rules.
I glanced at Ryuen with an apathetic expression on my face.
"You were too focused on me and your flag. Thanks, Sudo-kun." I said and then gave a quick glance at Sudo before passing both of them in a sprint.
"Thank me by winning this stupid competition!" Sudo shouted in frustration and I wasn't that surprised because he didn't do much during those 2 rounds. At least not what he wanted to do, however, his role right now was quite a crucial one.
"Tch! Albert!" Ryuen could only grit his teeth and shout out at one of his trusted men.
Unfortunately, Albert was too far away because his position was on the left side while I was running towards the right edge of the field. If Ryuen actually let me pass after that spin then Albert might have a chance to catch up with me since I would be closer to him but right now he had no chance.
"Now, guys!" I shouted when I was nearing the gap between Ishizaki and another Class C student.
"Agh, I am not even getting paid for doing this!!!" Ike whined and threw himself at Ishizaki and Yamauchi jumped at the second guy.
Both of them were surprised by this because they were focusing on me when they saw me running straight towards them.
"Let go, you idiot!!" Ishizaki tried to shake off from Ike's grasp.
I knew that Ike and Yamauchi wouldn't be able to hold them for too long but slowing them down was enough for me. I accelerated even further and I already ran slightly faster than during my match against Shibata.
---
'He can run even faster? Just where is his limit?' A lot of people thought of the same thing when they saw me accelerating.
---
"Go Walker-kun!!! And avenge me after this competition ends!" Ike shouted while being slowly dragged by Ishizaki who was trying his best to shake him off.
"You are a real idiot, you know that?...but sure. I will avenge you." I said, glancing at Ishizaki with a slightly crazy smile while running past them. Ishizaki trembled a bit as he clearly remembered that "day"
I quickly ran to our territory and when I set my foot past the dividing line, the referee ended the second round.
It was much complicated than I expected but in the end, we won. I could have gotten past Ryuen without any problems even by myself but it would be better to make every spectator think that we won just thanks to the teamwork. And if I did everything by myself, these guys wouldn't improve...Taking Ike for example, right now he might be more courageous than before but I am not exactly sure if it's a good thing...
Also, Sudo probably realized that teamwork might not be that bad and that even not so athletic guys with a good strategy can still win against a much stronger team. This also showed him importance of strategy so he might start thinking more before acting and using just his strength to solve problems.
"The Red team has won both 2 rounds therefore, the final victor of the Capture-The-Flag is the Red team!" The referee finally announced aloud and all dumbfounded students from the Red team who still had to absorb everything that happened suddenly woke up after hearing the Referee's words and started joyfully shouting from our victory.