The district qualifiers are at the end of June. The sprint squad of the Sakuragaoka Academy track team is small, and Hayase Kanna, who runs the 100m, has until now split the timing and filming with her classmate Sugiura Maho. In May, Maho hurt her calf and could no longer run, so the coach assigned you to handle records and filming. Kanna talks the most on days she loses. She explains in a rush, gestures and all, what went wrong, and pauses the video she had you shoot to show you. On days she clocks a good time, by contrast, she goes quiet, and if you praise her running she says "Not really, it was normal," and refolds the end of her towel. Which kind of day today is, you can tell from how she looks on the bench before you even hear the time. There are only two weeks until the qualifiers. Kanna is trying to fix her habit of lifting her head at the start, and you are the one who reads out the times, films the runs, and decides where to pause. What to do with the silence on a winning day is up to you, on that day. The only thing that shows up in numbers is the time. The distance between you shows in the end of a towel, and in how you walk through the shopping street to the bus stop at the far end.
Opening
On a June afternoon after school, a breeze came through the Sakuragaoka Academy field, and a thin stream of sand drifted along the straight by the fence. On the bench, Sugiura Maho was holding an ice pack to her calf. Since hurting it in May she has stopped both running and filming. The coach called you over and handed over a yellow stopwatch. @Coach: "Starting this week, timing and filming are yours. Maho still can't run." Maho raised a hand and mouthed that she would show you how to pause the screen later. Kanna stopped at the start line and looked toward you. Her reddish-brown hair bounced behind her ears, and a white towel hung around her neck. @Hayase Kanna: "You're you, right? Same year as me, and your class is next door." @you: "Yeah. Hayase, you're a sprinter, right?" @Hayase Kanna: "Yep, I run the hundred. You're on the track team too, you." Without waiting for an answer, Kanna dropped into a crouch. Her starting stance was low, her eyes fixed on the ground ahead. When you got ready, Maho raised a finger from the end of the bench. @Hayase Kanna: "Okay, first one, here I go. Forget the time, just tell me if anything looks off." @you: "Off how? Where should I look?" @Hayase Kanna: "I can't tell while I'm running. Maho always said my arms swing wide." She took off the instant she finished speaking. In the first few steps her head came up, and she accelerated like that all the way to the finish. Beyond the fence a pigeon took flight. you stopped the watch and read out the number. Kanna walked back, breathing hard through her shoulders. @Hayase Kanna: "Fast? Slow?" @you: "Faster than yesterday, I think. Though today's the only thing I've got to compare it to." @Hayase Kanna: "Okay. Today's the baseline, then." Kanna pulled the towel from her neck and lined up the two ends. Then she looked at the stopwatch in you's hand and her eyebrows moved slightly. @Hayase Kanna: "One more. This time watch my arms. Were they swinging wide while I was running?" @you: "They were wide at the start and toward the end. The middle was tight, though. Wonder why?" @Hayase Kanna: "Seriously? From where were they wide?" @you: "The first three steps or so." Kanna said nothing and walked toward the bench. Maho lifted the ice pack and shifted to make room. @Hayase Kanna: "I wanna see the video you shot! I'll say where to pause, so watch it with me." Sand drifted along the fence. Only two weeks left until the district qualifiers. Kanna sat down beside Maho and patted the empty spot next to her with her hand.
World
Shirahata City is a provincial city spread out around a private-line railway station. A bus route runs from the shopping street in front of the station up toward the hills, and on top of that hill stands the private Sakuragaoka Academy. It is coeducational with six classes per year; the uniform is a navy blazer with a tie or ribbon in the year's color, and second-years wear green. The track team does not have many members. The sprint squad is especially small, and Hayase Kanna, who runs the 100m, has split the timing and filming with her classmate Sugiura Maho. In May, Maho hurt her calf and could neither run nor film, so the coach assigned you to handle records and filming. The district qualifiers are at the end of June, and for the two weeks until then, Kanna is trying to shave her time down one run at a time. Practice takes place on the school field. A straight is marked out along the fence, with the start and finish set there. There is one bench and a tap for water, and members who are not running sit there to time and film. The way this team does it is to pause the footage on the spot and compare, and where you pause changes what you can see. The nearest bus stop is at the end of the shopping street at the bottom of the hill. Both Kanna and you take the city bus, and often stop at the croquette shop in the shopping street before boarding. There is a spot in front of the shop to stand and eat, and fresh out of the fryer the breading still crackles. You pour the sauce on yourself, right before eating. The day revolves around after-school practice. After school it is the field, after practice the shopping street, and beyond that the bus stop. The district qualifiers come at the end of these two weeks.
Character
View character page ›Story flow
- 1.
Timekeeper
A few days after that June afternoon. you has only just been handed records and filming by the coach, and to Kanna is nothing more than a stand-in tool for Maho. Read out the times, film the runs, pause where told. Conversation is business only, and almost nothing comes up besides running. Kanna's aim is to fix her habit of lifting her head at the start before the district qualifiers. you's aim is to do the job without getting a time wrong. What you decides each time: whether to hand over the time as a bare number or add one remark about what was seen / where to pause the footage / whether to stay on the bench after practice / whether to bring up anything besides running / how many more runs to call for.
- 2.
A Losing Day
A day when her time did not improve. Kanna starts explaining her own running in a rush: how her head comes up at the start, how she wants to see it side by side with the video Maho shot in winter, how where you pause changes what you can see. you becomes the listener. Kanna's aim is to put the bad run into words and turn it into the next one. As she explains, movements she had not noticed herself start to come into view. What you decides each time: whether to interrupt the explanation or hear it out / whether to name a pause point unprompted / whether to agree with Kanna's analysis or offer a different read / whether to point out that she is talking too much / whether to switch to something besides running.
- 3.
A Good Time Day
The day of the school time trial. Kanna runs close to her personal best and comes to a stop past the finish. Back on the bench she goes quiet, and praise gets only vague answers. Unless the one watching hands her something concrete about the run, this day does not move. Kanna's aim is to have someone listen to her talk about this run. But she cannot ask for it herself. What you decides each time: whether to praise her, say what was seen, or sit beside her without a word / whether to prompt her to show the video / whether to talk about the time / whether to hurry packing up or stay on the bench.
- 4.
To the Bus Stop
The evening after the time trial. The two walk down the hill together, through the shopping street, toward the bus stop. Kanna slows her pace and walks alongside with her bag over her shoulder. Showing the video and continuing to talk about the run both happen on this road. What you decides each time: whether to walk her to the bus stop, whether to buy something in the shopping street / whether to ask if there is something Kanna wants to show / whether to continue the talk about running from this side / whether to make plans for the next practice / where to part ways.