5.1

The rounds game was nearing the end. It was now the final match between Yora and Ari, who had essentially massacred the rest of the class. Everyone on the field was now watching the game, though only because they could see how many points they would be getting.

They both stood deadly still, ready for the whistle to blow. When it did, Ari lifted his knee and threw the ball at Yora's feet, fast. It was so powerful that it looked more like a calculated snooker shot than a simple tennis ball throw. Despite the harsh trajectory, Yora got on his knee and performed an arcing motion with his right hand. He caught the ball with no sweat shed.

"Is this class full of Olympic athletes, then?" Noah asked, quite bitterly.

"Tch."

The game continued for a little while.

"Hey, let's play a game," Yora said, seeming quite bored.

"I mean, we sort of are, aren't we?"

"Haha, yeah, but, I mean, let's add something. This is getting a little tedious,"

"Y-Yeah, I guess so,"

Ari tried to keep his cool, but his hair was slightly darker at the roots than the tips, showing his profuse sweating. In contrast, Yora looked as though he just rolled out of bed.

"I'm going to give you a riddle, and you have to answer it exactly as you catch the ball. I'll do the same,"

"I mean, sure, but that seems kind of stupid,"

"Well, it's better than just throwing each other a tennis ball, like dogs,"

The rest of the class was a little taken aback by Yora's suggestion.

"Alright, I'll start off, Ari. There are forests without wood. There are roads without cars. There is a river with no water. What am I?"

Then, for the first time, Yora seemed to put as much effort as he could into the throw. The sound of the disrupting air attested to the power of the ball.

"I don-" *THUD*

Ari had not been able to get his hands near enough to the ball, and it hit him right in the throat, squarely blocking off his windpipe. He coughed uncontrollably.

"Hey, you okay? I guess I got too fired up,"

"Ah, yeah, I think I'm alright,"

"The answer was a map, by the way. Fairly easy, but a hard time limit can shake anyone up,"

"Alright, I guess it's my turn,"

He got up, seemingly recovered from the impact.

"A penny-pincher spends it. A compulsive gambler saves it. A rich man needs it. The most content person on earth desires-"

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Ah, nothing comes to mind," Yora said, seemingly satisfied with his pun.

Then, a prolonged pause.

"What, you can't get the answer?" Micah mocked.

"No, Micah, nothing is the answer." Ari replied.

Ari then threw the ball to Yora, but he simply threw it between Yora's legs. He had given up.

5.2

The individuals who were going to be chosen for the festival were Yora, Ari, Evelyn and Laura.

"Hey, your name is Asahi, right?"

Asahi lifted his head and was welcomed by Yora's introduction.

"Yeah, Yora, right?"

"Yup. I was just wondering, what did you think about mine and Ari's match before,"

"I don't mean to be crude or anything, but I think you went a bit harsh on him,"

"Really? I mean, he seems like a very competent athlete; he probably would have been more annoyed if I'd held back,"

"I guess so, but, you played dirty, didn't you?"

Yora looked at Asahi, a little dumbfounded.

"What makes you think that?"

"The way you were playing. Weren't you messing with his head?"

"Ah, yeah, I guess those riddles really would make you falter a bit,"

"That's not what I mean. You purposely threw that ball as hard as you could at that one shot. You were planning on doing all of that from the start,"

"What are you talking about?"

"In the beginning, you caught the tosses without any strain and threw them back comfortably. I think you have rather exceptional reflexes, but that's all you have, isn't it? He probably started to doubt his chances of winning. But in reality, you're not that strong. You were only tossing them back because you didn't want him to know that you can't throw very fast,"

"Hm. Carry on,"

"You then proposed those riddles to get him to divert his attention from the game for that one shot. People experience life a lot faster when they don't specifically focus on it. When you lean back on a chair and you balance the back legs, as long as you keep focus, it's very easy to maintain balance. But, the second you look away, you start to fall. Your decision-making ability rapidly decreases with a lack of attention, so by getting him to start thinking about a riddle, you hindered his reflexes, which made your ball look a lot faster than it actually was. Along with the harsh whirring sound, you created an illusion of an incredibly fast throw. And, the fact he got the riddle wrong causes him to get a bit angry. But, this was perfect for you, right? From then on, you didn't need to exert yourself, because he would carry on assuming that the throws are as fast as he perceived them to be. In essence, all you had to do was 'throw' the ball properly just once in order to win. You're very cunning."

Yora gave a little smirk.

"Wow, you're a lot more perceptive than you look. Yeah, you pretty much got it, but you missed a couple of things. First, I aimed for his throat, specifically. Do you know why?"

"No, not really,"

"It's because people are naturally scared of their center of gravity. From my height to Ari's centre of gravity, his lower abdomen, it was a perfectly downward motion. That's the original trajectory the ball was moving in, straight down. And because I forced him to think and occupy his conscious cognition, he had to rely on his unconscious, gut urge; to protect that centre of gravity. When he went to move his hands down to protect it, the ball curved upwards, lodging in the cavity between his jaw and the throat."

"You controlled the curve on the ball?"

"Ah, it's not that amazing; any half-decent baseball player can do the same thing. But specifically, when it hits the throat, he would have started coughing, which makes him start to feel a little enclosed and claustrophobic. That increased the illusion for the next balls to come; after all, a ball is more frightening when it's thrown at a shorter distance, whether that distance is real or psychologically perceived."

"That's quite brilliant, Yora,"

"It's nothing like that, just some psychological games. But really, I'm surprised you deduced that much alone."

"It's not impressive. I think about unnecessary things for long periods of time. When you have that much time to yourself, anyone can figure anything out. Too much time on my hands, I guess."

"Yeah, but don't we all?"