Ten minutes before their team was called, Yuichi reminisced about something from the past.
At the time, Yuichi was seven years old.
" Do I have to take a P.E. class?"
Yuichi had come with his dad to register for classes, and among the classes was a gymnastic course.
" It's mandatory for all students. You'll have to take it, Yuichi."
…
" You can do it, Yuichi. It'll be a piece of cake."
…
" Yes, dad!"
At the time, Yuichi's dad didn't know why his son was so against a gymnastics course.
In Yoshu City, Grandpa Alex was practically reminiscing about the same while the others were wondering how the preliminary round was going.
" You're sweating so much. Are you sure you're okay?"
" Yes!"
The boy had a hard time breathing and was sweating a lot. His grandpa came behind him and gave him a tap on the back, which caused a normal blood flow. He was able to talk normally again.
" Thanks, grandpa!"
" You'll have to surmount your weakness, Yuichi. It's mandatory that you do so."
…
Grandpa Alex was deep in his thoughts that he didn't hear his granddaughter calling him.
" Grandpa!"
…
" Grandpa!"
…
It was at the second calling that he was finally able to hear her and come back from his deep reflections.
" What is it, Ayame?"
" Where were you lost, grandpa? I called you so many times, but you didn't answer. What were you thinking so hard about?"
…
" I was wondering whether your brother had finally managed to surmount his weakness or not."
" His weakness?"
…
Returning to JC City, Yuichi's team was called for the round.
" Team 10, please step forward!"
" Yes!"
The runabout was given and thus the participants from team 10 started running. Ten of the twenty participants were already ahead in the track, with ten remaining in the back.
" Are you sure you're alright, Yuichi?"
Tatsuya asked out of concern, and he responded:" Yes! The sun is too bright today, which explains my state."
Tatsuya doubted for a second, but when he saw Yuichi's reassuring grin, he somehow felt convinced.
" I'm going on ahead, Yuichi. See you at the finish line!"
Tatsuya sped up and joined the ten that were in the front. Mr. Sugawara was watching Yuichi, realizing the state he was in.
(What's this student's name?)
Mr. Sugawara looked through the admissions and finally found the one he was looking for.
(Yuichi Hanagawa from Yoshu City. Athletic Ability: lacking.)
Of the twenty participants, twelve had traversed half of the stadium. The eight remaining participants couldn't keep up with the other twelve.
(I can do this. I can pull this through.)
The obstacle course continued. From Tatsuya's side, he was shocked to notice that Yuichi still hadn't caught up with him.
(Where's Yuichi?)
When he looked around, he didn't find him, but when he turned around, he spotted him far away in the back from all the others.
He was shocked not only because he was so far behind but also because he had a hard time running the track and also due to his exhaustion which was starting to be noticeable.
" It looks like he won't make it."
" Your friend came to the wrong place. He doesn't belong here."
" He can't keep up with any of us. He'll surely be eliminated."
" With how far behind he is from all of us, there's no way in a million years he'll catch up. He might as well just give up now."
…
Tatsuya listened to all their sarcastic comments in silence. He then remembered his conversation with Yuichi. He said thereafter--------------------------
" You don't know him. He might be at a huge disadvantage right now, but he'll pull through it. He won't give up that easily."
…
" What can he do? He can't even keep up with his pace."
" You're daydreaming if you think he'll catch up to us."
…
" I believe in him. He won't go down without a fight."
…
(I believe in you, Yuichi. You can pull this off. Don't you dare give up! See you at the finish line!)
Tatsuya sped up, even more, leaving most of his teammates behind.
On Yuichi's side, he was starting to lose his balance bit by bit. With each passing step he made, he was having a hard time maintaining his balance.
His vision was starting to become blurry as well with each step he made. He almost fell when he reminisced once again.
" I can't do this, grandpa! It's way too hard."
…
" I can't keep up my stamina for even a minute. Why do I have to be athletic anyway?"
…
" Listen, Yuichi! Being athletic is crucial. If you're not athletic, you'll be limited in most things. A good physical aptitude will help you through all the hurdles in your life, even the unattainable ones."
…
" Going after your dreams and making them come true will be a piece of cake."
…
" I don't understand anything, grandpa."
…
" You'll understand the significance of my words when the time comes. When you have to overcome an obstacle, all of that will start making sense to you."
…
Returning to the present storyline, Yuichi stopped himself from falling. With that action, he kept his balance.
He stopped running and looked all around him. He visualized the finish line, which was so far from him.
(Breathe in! Breathe out! Breathe in! Breathe out!)
He repeated that exercise more than ten times. Once he was finished, he stood up straight.
(I have a lot of miles left to run. Many might have already reached the finish line by this time. I'm so far behind everyone.)
…
(Grandpa's words started making sense to me now. This test is an obstacle I must overcome. I might have zero athletic ability, but my determination is my greatest motivation.)
After observing how many miles he had left to run before reaching the finish line, he did some stretching exercises.
Those stretching exercises had one purpose only which was to relax his muscles as they were in a pretty bad shape.
(Here goes nothing!)
Yuichi was ready to get back to running. Meanwhile, at the finish line, out of the two hundred participants, forty-seven were already qualified.
Mr. Sugawara was looking at his watch constantly. The participants were wondering why he was so fixated on his watch.
Mr. Sugawara then made an announcement, which gave all of them an answer.
" This round will clock out in thirty minutes."
" In thirty minutes?"
…
" All the remaining participants who have yet to reach the finish line better hurry up. The clock is ticking."
…
(Yuichi, where are you? Hurry up as time is running out.)
Yuichi had run a quarter of a mile already. Despite how tired he was, he didn't stop even for a minute to rest and kept going.
Back to the finish line----------------------
"Only five minutes are remaining before it clocks out. Your friend won't make it."
" Fifty-nine of us already made it to the finish line. All the others collapsed somewhere, and I'm sure he's among them."
" This is it for him. You should stop being hopeful that he'll make it. This is over."
…
Tatsuya remained hopeful and looked in the distance. Mr. Sugawara looked at his watch and said: "Only three more minutes."
(Yuichi, come on!)
" Why are we still waiting when we know no one else will be joining us?"
…
With only three minutes remaining, Tatsuya saw something approaching at a moderate pace. He slightly grinned with the others not understanding what was going on.
" He's here!"
?
" I knew he'd make it. I knew he wouldn't give up without a fight."
?
The other participants looked in the distance and saw a silhouette approaching. All of them were shocked.
" How is that possible?"
…
Yuichi started losing his footing once more. Another sarcastic comment was made.
" I admit he made a tremendous effort to come all the way here, but this is as far as he can go."
…
" He reached his limit. He can't go on."
With much difficulty, Tatsuya had to admit that the latter was right. Regardless of everything, he kept believing in his friend with all his heart.
Yuichi was on the verge of collapsing when he heard a voice shouting in the distance, which shook him.
" Don't give up now! You're almost there. There's one last hurdle to face. You can do it."
(Tatsuya?)
Hearing his friend's voice gave him a sudden push which kept him going. With each passing step, he was about to collapse but kept still. He had ten more miles to run, with only two minutes remaining.
(Go for it, Yuichi. Ten more miles to go.)
Yuichi's step was starting to slow down when he had nearly five more miles to run.
(I'm tired. I can't go on any longer.)
As he thought that, Yuichi suddenly didn't see anything in front of him. He visualized his grimoire in front of him, and it was glowing, as well as the ring on his finger.
" No! I don't need your help. I can pull this on my own. I won't break the rules now when I'm nearly there."
Yuichi had only one minute remaining before the preliminary round clocked up.
With every fiber of his being, he ran like never before. He went beyond his limits, and finally, he reached the finish line, or maybe not.
" You did it, Yuichi. Just one more step."
His feet gave out when he was about to touch it, and he fell unconscious.
" Yuichi?"
Tatsuya ran to him, as well as the qualified participants. Even Mr. Sugawara gathered around him."
" He didn't make it as I predicted it."
…
" The preliminary round is now over. The final number of qualifying participants is-----------------------"
…
…