* * *

It was the end of second period, and lunch was starting. Megumi got up to use the toilet. So Yuuji stayed in the classroom to wait for him until he got back. 

As students poured out of the class, he saw three boys at the doorway, gesturing for him to come over.

Yuuji pointed at himself. What? Me? He thought. They nodded.

Yuuji was confused. He had never met any of them in his life. Did a teacher want him to run another errand or something?

Just as he walked over to them, they grabbed both of his arms. "Come with us." They demanded. "Wha-?" Yuuji responded. But ignoring Yuuji's surprise, they pulled him along, all the way to an area behind the staircase. 

Once they let go of him, Yuuji asked them, "Why did you-?"

"This is a secret." One of the guys stated. "Top secret. Nobody else can know. Especially not Megumi. We are here to deliver a message."

"How come Megumi isn't allowed to know? And who are you-" Yuuji started, but he wasn't able to finish his sentence.

"Here." One of them interrupted. They dangled a piece of folded paper right into Yuuji's face. "Who we are doesn't matter. But we have a note. From Yuuta."

"From Okkotsu-senpai?" Yuuji asked. "What does he want with me?"

"Read the note and find out yourself." One of them told Yuuji. 

Yuuji was still skeptical. This felt like some weird prank. He opened the folded note, and read its' contents:

From  "Okkotsu Yuuta"

I challenge you to a duel! 

The winner gets Megumi's heart ♡

Meet me at the field an hour after school ends. 

And if you refuse, it means that you are surrendering by default.

 And you'll have to give me my Megumi back.

to "My Replacement"

He didn't even address me by my name, Yuuji thought. He just called me a 'replacement'. And then Yuuji read the note over again.

"He's challenging me?" Yuuji asked. "What does he mean by duel? Like....a fight? A fist fight!?"

Yuuji gulped, imagining that after school, he would get ambushed by Yuuta and his friends and they would jump him, leaving Yuuji beat up and bruised so he would be unable to go to school the next day. 

That would be one way to get rid of him.

But the guy dismissed him. "No that's stupid, Yuuta-san would never resort to physical violence. He is challenging you fair and square, in an honorable duel." He said.

The other two nodded.

"What are we dueling in? Pokémon cards?" Yuuji asked. 

"You'll see when you go there," the guy stated.

"That's so vague," Yuuji said. "This whole thing seems pretty weird."

He wanted to refuse. Yuuji hadn't even met Yuuta before; he's only ever heard of him. Who challenges a stranger to a duel?

But then he realized that if he refused, it would just mean he's giving Megumi up to Yuuta, and then Yuuta would never leave Megumi alone, even if they were fake dating.  

At least if Yuuji won, it would mean Yuuta would give up for good. And Megumi would be free. 

"Fine." Yuuji stated. "Tell Okkotsu-senpai that I accept."

⤜-------⤛

Class had just finished and school had ended. 

"Hey, go on without me, I, uh, need to do something." Yuuji told Megumi.

"Do you need to talk to the teacher after school or something? If it's that then I can wait for you," Megumi offered.

"Nah, it's okay," Yuuji declined. "It's something else. But it'll take a long time so you can just go without me."

"Hmm, okay then." Megumi wondered if Yuuji was up to something, but he decided to not ask about and just go home. 

Yuuji waited for an hour, like the note had specified. Then he made his way over to the field behind the school building. Just as he was walking, he spotted Yuuta Okkotsu and a few of his friends. 

"What the heck am I even doing?" Yuuji said out loud. But he wasn't going to back out. He kept walking, and stopped when he was a few meters in front of Yuuta. 

Yuuta pointed at him. "Since I challenged you, it's only fair that you get to pick the duel. Whatever you pick, I'll beat you. I guarantee it!" He yelled.

Not even a hello? Yuuji thought. 

"Uh," Yuuji looked around nervously. He didn't think he was particularly good at anything, but he was pretty athletic. Then the idea came to him. 

"What about a race?" He proposed. "We can run around the field a few times, on the running track." Yuuji suggested.

Yuuji thought that he probably shouldn't pick something like basketball or soccer, because for one who didn't have anyone who could join his team, and two it might ended up dragging out for too long. A race was simple, and it was a one-on-one match. It was the best option. Plus, Yuuji was good at running and had a lot of stamina. 

Yuuta's friends looked a bit anxious. "Yuuta-san, but-!"

Yuuta held one of his hands up, dismissing them. "It'll be okay." He said. "My conviction is strong. I won't lose." 

His friends looked at each other nervously.

"Here are the rules." Yuuta stated. "We will run around the running track three times, for three different rounds, taking a small break in between each round. Whoever wins at least 2 out of the 3 rounds wins. When Kai blows the whistle, we start. And the loser has to give up on Megumi. Is that clear?" He asked. 

"Yeah, that's fine with me." Yuuji said. "Those terms sound fair." 

Everyone walked to the soccer field. There was a running track surrounding it, perfect to use for their race. It was huge; Yuuji guessed it was the size of a whole acre. He wondered why the school had a track this big.

Before the match began, each of Yuuta's friends started giving Yuuta a pat on the back and hyping him up. 

"Come on, you can do this Yuuta-san!" One of them encouraged. "He's nothing compared to you. Megumi's just a bit lost right now, you're the one who's really destined to be with him! Now show him who's boss and take Megumi back!" He yelled.

"Baka, he doesn't need to take Megumi back." Another one said. "Megumi has always belonged to Yuuta from the beginning. Someone like him is just a passing obstacle." He looked at Yuuji with a disgusted face."

"That's true! He's just an obstacle." Yuuta's friends laughed to themselves. Yuuta himself stayed quiet. 

Yuuji found himself getting annoyed. He didn't like that they referred to him as some object. An obstacle. They didn't even call Yuuji by name.

I'll show them! Yuuji thought. Now he really wanted to win, and not just for Megumi, but for himself as well. 

Both Yuuta and Yuuji lined up in front of the starting line, getting into running position. 

"Are you ready?" Yuuta's friend Kai called out.

"Yes!" Both Yuuji and Yuuta answered.

Kai blew the whistle, and they both started running. 

Yuuji ran as fast as he could, leaving a trail of dust behind him. I'll show him! He kept thinking. He kept running and running, and as he was nearing the finished line, he realized that Yuuta...wasn't anywhere near him.

Yuuji looked behind him. Yuuta was still at the other end of the field, running and trying to catch up, but it was no use. Yuuji was too far ahead.

Since Yuuji had such a big lead, he just jogged casually to the finish line and crossed it. "Looks like I win round one." He said. 

"Tch." Kai the whistleblower sneered at him. "Yeah whatever." He, along with the rest of Yuuta's friends walked over to Yuuta. 

Maybe this will be easier than I thought? Yuuji wondered. Yuuta looked like he wasn't the athletic type. Not to shame him, but Yuuta had a pretty slim build compared to Yuuji who was toned and muscled, built like an athlete. 

Looks like I can win this in just two rounds, and then I can go home and do some homework, Yuuji thought. 

They both lined up again, at the starting line for round two. Yuuta took a sip of water from a water bottle and then handed it to his friend. 

"Do you need some water?" Yuuta asked Yuuji.

"No, it's fine," Yuuji declined, not expecting Yuuta to be so courteous. Even though Yuuta was weird, at least he had some human decency. 

They got into position. Then Kai blew his whistle and they started running.

Yuuji decided to match Yuuta's pace this time, to make things a little more equal. I'll just speed up when we get closer to the finish line, Yuuji thought. But then he realized his shoe was untied, and then he tripped over the lace. 

"Ugh," Yuuji grunted, falling on his face. I should've checked my shoes, he thought. Yuuta kept on running.

"Hey I fell!" Yuuji called out. But Yuuta ignored him and crossed the finish line. Everybody cheered.

"Woo hoo! Yuuta-san won!" They cheered. "Yuuta-san won this time!" They each patted Yuuta on the back. Someone went to go get Yuuta his water bottle.

"Does this even count?" Yuuji asked, as he walked over to them. "I fell in the middle of it! We need to re-do that round." He requested.

"Nope," one of the friends refused him. "It's your fault for not tying your shoes. It's a technical mistake on your part. So you have to take the loss for it," he told Yuuji.

"What? That isn't fair!" Yuuji cried out. "Hey, listen to me!" But everyone was ignoring him. It seemed that no matter how much he complained, they wouldn't do anything about it.

Yuuta looked like he was going to say something, but his friends prevented him from doing so.

Fine. Yuuji got angry. If they want to play like this, then I'll just have to win in a way that no one can contest against it. I'll have an absolute victory.

Even if they couldn't re-do the 2nd round, Yuuji was determined to win this last one. 

They lined up once again for the 3rd and final round, getting into position.

"Come on Yuuta-san, you can do this!" His friends cheered out. "You've got this, everyone is rooting for you!" They keep encouraging him. 

Yuuji was sad no one was saying anything for him. Everyone was on Yuuta's side. But then Yuuji remembered. 

"Even if everyone is cheering here is cheering for Okkotsu-senpai, I know that Megumi is cheering for me." He said out loud. Loud enough for Yuuta, who was beside him, to hear. 

Well, Megumi would probably cheer for me, even if he doesn't know about this, Yuuji thought. 

Kai blew his whistle one last time. They both started running. Yuuji was actually trying this time, but he noticed that Yuuta was keeping up with him. Only barely, but he was still doing it.

How-? Yuuji thought. But he couldn't even catch up last time!

They kept running, neck in neck. Yuuji was getting tired, but that was nothing compared to Yuuta who was panting and sweating heavily, like he was in the middle of the dessert.

"Yuuta-san, keep going!" His friends cheered.

And Yuuta speed up, to the point where he actually passed Yuuji, even if it was only for a few seconds.

Seeing Yuuta take the lead, albeit briefly, made Yuuji so determined to win that he ran so fast it was almost at a superhuman pace, and crossed the finish line, leaving Yuuta in his tracks.

"I won!" Yuuji  cheered for himself. "I won!" 

But he looked around him and no one else was happy. 

Yuuta's friends went over to comfort him. Yuuji even walked over to Yuuta, just to say something about how it was a good game. But Yuuta's friends told him to do away.

"Get lost." They shooed him away. "Go home."

One of them hugged Yuuta. Yuuta rested his head on his friend's shoulder. And his friend's shirt got a little wet.

Was Yuuta...crying?

"How did I lose?" Yuuta sobbed. He put his head up and looked straight at Yuuji, tears running down his cheeks.

"I love him more than you do! And I've loved him for so much longer than you have so why..?" Yuuta asked. "Why did Megumi choose you over me!?" He cried out.

Yuuji just walked away, because he didn't know how to respond. 

But he was wondering the same thing.