Track 16. GO★FIGHT★WIN

March 30, Tuesday — School, 7:30 a.m. — Gincana, Day 2

From early on, there was a buzz in the school. Everyone was talking about the war chants and the teams’ presentations. Even before the bell rang, the whole place was already boiling with rumors, shouting, and protests about the results of the Gincana opening.

The results had been posted on the covered yard’s bulletin board. Minami saw the chart and ran to tell the girls.

“Did you see yesterday’s results? Blue got first place in the opening and the war chant. I was shocked.”

“WHAT? BUT WE HAD THE POEM, THE PLAY!” Aino burst out.

“Told you…” Yukino said.

The Oceanics came in first, the Glaciers in second, and the Firefighters in third. But that hadn’t been the only category from the day before.

“But it looks like we did well in the music part,” Miyu said.

First Year had placed well in the music contests. Akiko, who’d also participated in the artistic music segment through dance, took first place.

“Oho. I’m gonna try to get us more points in sports!” Akiko replied, determination shining in her eyes.

On the second day of the Gincana, the focus was court sports. The first event was girls’ handball. In First Year, Akiko was playing goalkeeper.

The matches were intense. Akiko showed serious defensive skill, no fear of throwing herself to reach the ball. Her speed changing directions to keep the goal safe was impressive. The team was united and in sync, which made for strong dynamics during the clashes.

The leaders shouted commands, and the players followed the calls.

Game 1 ended with FIREFIGHTERS 8 x 3 OCEANICS. Seniors couldn’t match First Year’s hype and unity.

The second match was tighter. Both the Firefighters and the Glaciers were not here to play around. Akiko had to push harder to defend the goal, and the attackers struggled to score. The referee blew the whistle, and the scoreboard read FIREFIGHTERS 9 x 5 GLACIERS. The team led by First Year exploded in celebration—well deserved.

The next competition was basketball. On the Oceanics team, Naoko played attacker, and nobody could go toe-to-toe with her—her jumps put her out of reach of every other player. She scored almost all the points in the clash. The Oceanics’ defense wasn’t as good, so the scores stayed close.

Game 1 ended OCEANICS 15 x 21 FIREFIGHTERS, and Game 2 was OCEANICS 12 x 11 GLACIERS.

“The only person who can beat me is me,” Naoko said, and the whole team vibed with her words.

The boys’ matches for the same sports happened that day too. Again, there were no regular classes, but attendance was recorded as usual. Everyone was hyped and confident going into the competitions.

That day also had the sport most people loved: football. First the girls’ teams played, and once that first stage ended, it was time for the boys’ teams.

The Glaciers, led by Second Year, had the school’s favorite player: Adonis—who stood out hard in football during PE. He was the top scorer in the first match, making gorgeous goals that the other team’s goalkeeper didn’t even see coming.

Game 1 ended GLACIERS 4 x 0 FIREFIGHTERS. The whole team celebrated, and all you could hear was everyone saying Adonis’s name—he’d secured the win.

Against the Oceanics, though, it wasn’t so easy. The seniors’ team was skilled, and even Adonis’s agility wasn’t enough to keep possession. The Glaciers’ defense was used to Adonis carrying the team, and they relied on him so much they were slow to realize they needed to react. That ended up making Adonis lose the ball at a crucial moment, which set off his teammate, who grabbed him by the shirt and started a fight.

“FU***, ADONIS! YOU LOST THE BALL! YOU THINKIN’ ABOUT YOUR GIRLFRIEND OR WHAT?!” Blake shouted, provoking him.

“You OUT OF YOUR MIND, man?!” Adonis grabbed Blake by the collar.

“FOUL!” the referee yelled, lifting the red card. “ADONIS AND BLAKE! STRAIGHT TO THE BENCH!”

The two walked off and watched the rest of the match from the bench. The game turned into a disaster, ending at OCEANICS 7 x 1 GLACIERS. The Glaciers’ only goal had been scored by Adonis.

Meanwhile, in the open yard, the Arts teacher was starting the event for the visual arts category. One representative from each team had been chosen to produce a piece. Yukino—who drew—was selected to represent the Firefighters.

“Here are your panels. You’ll have three days to finish! Remember, the theme is the Environment, and it’s a painting—it has to match your team,” the teacher explained.

The panels were huge, taking up a big chunk of space. The materials available were water-based wall paint—cheap, and it didn’t stick well to wood. Yukino listened carefully.

“Summary… draw Firefighters,” she thought, dry as ever.

March 31, Wednesday — School — Gincana, Day 3

On Day 3, the sports competitions kept going. Now it was volleyball time—and the school had a tradition with girls’ volleyball, where the teams were state championship winners. And the school’s biggest aces were mostly on the Glaciers team.

The match was brutal. Akiko defended the court with crazy agility. The Firefighters team stayed united. Minami was on offense, delivering perfect serves. But nothing compared to the Glaciers’ defense—they held the attacks and sent them back with mastery.

The scoreboard read Game 1: FIREFIGHTERS 2 x 9 GLACIERS, showing the overwhelming power of the team led by Second Year.

The second match was also intense—Glaciers versus Oceanics this time. Naoko went all in on offense and counterattacks. They scored more than in the previous round because both teams were sharper at spotting the players’ blind spots. Even with the seniors’ effort, there was no way around it: the state champion team proved it deserved its title.

Score: Match 2: GLACIERS 15 x 7 OCEANICS.

The Glaciers secured their gold, but silver and bronze were still up for grabs. Time for Firefighters versus Oceanics: on one side, Akiko, Minami, and their team; on the other, Naoko and hers. Would friendship get tossed aside in the fight for second place?

“Second place is ours!” Akiko declared, locking eyes with Naoko.

“That’s right!” Minami shared the same fire—she wasn’t gonna make it easy.

“Hmph.” Naoko only snorted, looking at the two of them like they’d just tried something cute.

PRIIIIIIIIIIIII—the whistle blew, announcing the start. The battle began, and neither team was giving anything away. The attacks were precise, the counterattacks cruel. The match flew at a frantic pace, sweat sliding down the competitors’ faces. Akiko, Minami, and Naoko were the ones shining brightest—throwing looks like provocations, showing the focus and determination to win. And it felt like their friendship made the competition even more thrilling.

GAME 3: FIREFIGHTERS 13 x 13 OCEANICS.

The whistle should’ve ended it. But the teams were tied.

“THAT’S IT, MY BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE! THIS DUEL GOES TO OVERTIME!” the PE teacher announced as the crowd went wild.

Naoko’s blood boiled. No way she was letting this slide. She used every second of overtime and fired off one better attack after another. The match ended fast, the scoreboard flashing:

GAME 3
FIREFIGHTERS 13 x 18 OCEANICS.

Every point was scored—or set up—by Naoko. She showed her strategic skill off the court too. She walked out triumphant, securing the silver medal for her team and leaving the other team crushed.

April 1, Thursday — Gincana, Day 4 — Night — Adonis and Koa’s House

The Gincana competitions were draining all the students’ energy. It was fun—but demanding. Adonis ended up spending the whole day at school. He got home exhausted, took a solid shower, and flopped onto the sofa.

“Ahhhh… damn… this Gincana…” Adonis grumbled, sprawled out.

Koa—already dressed and ready—stopped beside the couch and looked at Adonis slouched there.

“Tired from school activities?”

“Ah, the Gincana’s dope, it’s the dumbasses who come up with this weird crap…”

“Dope,” “dumbasses,” “weird crap”…? What kind of language is that?
Koa didn’t really understand the words—and still thought it was absurd that Adonis had picked up such strange slang.

“Alright. Take this.” Koa handed him a shoebox.

“Huh? What’s this?”

Inside were black leather sneakers with a white toe cap, light-colored laces, and an iconic emblem stitched onto the tongue. The brand was known as a symbol of rebel culture, beloved by teens.

“DAMN!! THAT’S SICK!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH, KOA!”

Koa didn’t show any reaction to Adonis’s hype. That didn’t mean he was cold—he’d gone out of his way to find something Adonis would like. He just wasn’t good at showing affection.

“Just don’t go kicking a ball with those. They’re for going out.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Leave it to me!”

“Alright. I’m going to work. Pay attention to the intercom.”

Koa put on a cap. He was dressed all in black—his job clearly required discretion.

“Intercom?”

“Itzel and Maureen are coming to celebrate your birthday.”

Koa left, saying goodbye as he went out the door.

A little later, Maureen and Itzel arrived at their apartment with a box in their hands.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ADONIS!” Maureen cheered.

“This present is from me and Maureen!” Itzel said.

“Oh! Uh—thank you!”

“Aw, we got here really late, Koa’s not here!” Maureen said, scanning the apartment for him.

“Whoa—sick! A Discman! Now I can listen to music without annoying Koa! Oh… and a cellphone too…”

Adonis immediately started turning on the music player, thrilled he could listen to his favorite songs. The cellphone got tossed aside for the moment.

The night went on like a party. Since everyone had work or school the next day, they couldn’t stay super late—but they drank a ton of soda and ate cake and little savory snacks.

That night, Adonis took a while to fall asleep, even though he was exhausted. He felt like his days were getting better and better, and he couldn’t remember the last time his life had felt like this back in Finalia. He ended up passing out with his headphones on—his sixteenth birthday marking a happy moment… and a moment full of quiet questions inside him.