Chapter 20 – The Final Motion
The gym didn't feel like a school building anymore.
Rows of chairs filled the floor. Tripods flanked the stage. Two long desks sat beneath stage lights with name placards already placed. The judges were setting down folders, their expressions unreadable. The festival was alive outside, but here? It felt like the air was holding its breath.
Class 2-C stood to the left of the stage. Haruka held her notes, but she wasn't reading them. Watanabe bounced one leg. Kotarō stared straight ahead.
"Everything leads to this.
No rematch. No recovery round.
One final."
On the other side: Class 3-C. Perfectly aligned. Calm. Ayumu at the center, hands behind his back, like this wasn't a final—but a victory lap.
The announcer stepped up to the mic.
"Today's final motion is:
This House would make volunteering for national service a high school graduation requirement."
A pulse of murmurs rippled across the gym.
Watanabe blinked. "Wait, what?"
Haruka lowered her papers. "So they want to hear if service should be tied to citizenship..."
Kotarō felt the gears in his head turning.
"Heavy. Policy and morality.
We're Government. We have to make it sound fair.
Purposeful. Not a leash. Framed right... it's winnable."
He nodded once to himself.
They turned to head to the prep room.
Ayumu was already waiting.
He stood in the middle of the hallway like a shadow that had been carved into the floor. Calm. Unmoving. Smile thin.
He looked at Haruka first.
"Still trying to win hearts with your quiet dignity, Haruka-chan? Too bad principles don't matter when the crowd wants precision."
She didn't respond.
Then he turned to Kotarō.
"Nozomi, right?
Second speaker. Naturally."
He stepped closer. No rush. Every move practiced.
"I know you stayed up last night.
Watched all my footage. Ran simulations. Built counterframes that won't hold."
Kotarō didn't flinch.
Ayumu leaned in. And then he did something new. He reached out. And grabbed Kotarō's wrist.
Gently. But possessively.
Face to face. Closer than he needed to be. Voice low.
"You're still behind. Because I'm not just speaking first.
I'm setting the floor. You? You're reacting. Again."
"Try not to stutter this time. I want to see your face when you realize how far away the stage really is."
Kotarō met his eyes. Calm. Still. And answered:
"Then say something worth chasing."
A pause. Ayumu smiled. But it was narrower now. Tighter.
"There it is. The little spark.
Let's see how fast it burns out."
And just then, Haruka stepped forward.
She didn't look at Ayumu. She looked at Kotarō.
She took his wrist. And pulled him away.
"We're leaving."
A calm, cutting voice.
"You can waste your energy here.
We have a final to win."
The door to the prep room shut behind them.
Timer: 30:00.
Haruka placed her folder down. Watanabe sat up straighter. Kotarō exhaled slowly and dropped his pen on the desk.
"This is it. No more theory. Just voices. Just time.
Just us. And them."
Chapter End