Part 53: Episode 48: The Excitable Okosan

Before I knew it, the Tanabata festival had arrived. Every year I go down and make a wish, and usually I have something in mind, but this year I couldn’t think of a good wish. I saw a wish from Okosan, and chuckled a little at the effort. I thought about how I’d started on the track team and thought about how much stronger I felt, and before I knew it, I blurted out a wish.
I wish to crush all opposition that rises before me and rule the world with an iron fist!
Once I was done, Mr. Nanaki showed up to put in his wish, and asked if I wanted him to accompany me for the trip home. I politely declined, however, since I still had errands to run.



The next gym class took place at the pool, and Ryouta had some trouble with keeping himself afloat. It was still a fun class though.



I didn’t even have to move after gym class, since we had another class in the pool right after.

Okosan doesn’t really show it while he’s running, but when he’s in the pool I can see that his build is really something…
Coo, coo? (Goon is a human! Can you still swim?)
Yes?
Cooo! (Okosan challenges you to a race, then! Okosan has never swum against a hominid!)
So you’re fast in the water, as well as on land?

All right, then! Let’s go!

Get set… Go!
As soon as the teacher in charge called “Go”, though…

!?!?

Okosan is running across the top of the water with incredible speed before the signal has stopped ringing in my ears.

Th-that’s not swimming!
Coo, coo! Coo! (Okosan is victorious! You are slow, Goon!)

And so I learned that I would need to redefine my very concept of swimming before hoping to defeat Okosan.
The music stops.



Semester finals came shortly after, and I didn’t seem to improve between the midterms and now. It’s been tough trying to balance my track requirements and my classes, but I’m getting better, little by little, I swear!



Sometimes it seemed long and sometimes it seemed short, but either way, it’s summer now!
I should help clean out the clubroom and check the summer schedule before I go home.
To the track club!



Okosan looks excited.
…Not angry for once, but still, this is…

Aaaah! What are you doing!? The floor is covered in beans!
Munsh munsh! (They’re goooood!)

It looks like he’s been stockpiling his nutritional balance supplements and is eating them all at once. He certainly seems happy about it…

It can’t possibly be healthy to eat that many nutrition supplements at once, can it? Either way, he needs to slow down a bit.

Okosan, stop it!
Cooo! (These are Okosan’s beans! You cannot interfere!)
Be quiet! Where is your pride as captain of the track team!?

And so began a food fight that spanned several hours, the floor awash in blood and beans.

Coo! (You’ve got guts! Okosan will step down in light of your determination.)
You’re… *pant*… not bad yourself… *pant*… Okosan…

I think I just got rival-zoned.
The music stops.



I knew I couldn’t let myself relax too much during the break so I decided I would start jogging more. On my first day out I met this girl named Azami and I got to ride around on her scooter.



I thought about getting a job during the break, but with the regiment I had set up for running, I just didn’t have time for a job.



The summer festival came quickly, and I thought about who I could go with.
I decided that Okosan would probably be the best choice. I guess it’d work as a way of saying thank you for all the effort he’s put in with me on the track team.
I called him up, and we agreed to meet in the park.



Yup! Today’s the summer festival. Let’s go together!



There’s lots of good food! More than we could ever try!
Coo! (Perhaps even pudding!)
Well… probably not. I’ve never seen a stand selling pudding…
Oh! Look, look! The fireworks are starting!


Aren’t they pretty, Okosan?
…Okosan…?


Coooooooooooooooo!!
Nooo! He’s lost himself to the shining lights and returned to his feral ancestry!
Calm down! Okosan, calm doooown!

After Okosan started to relax, we had a good time walking around the festival. I definitely have to be more careful about overstimulating him, though. We don’t need another freakout.
The music stops.




Thank goodness I had kept up with my track training during the summer, because I was late to school for the first day. I made it there just in time for second period.
…Or so I thought. When I got there, Mr. Nanaki told me that I was a day early. He asked if I wanted to help him grade some exams since I was already there, but my adrenaline was pumping and I thought it’d do me good to keep up my pace and run a little longer.