The heavy door to the girls’ changing room slowly slid open.
One after another, the female students stepped onto the pool deck in their navy-blue school swimsuits, each wearing a slightly embarrassed expression.
Normally…
This would have been the moment every boy eagerly anticipated.
Whether openly, secretly, or awkwardly, the boys would inevitably steal glances in the girls’ direction.
Kei Karuizawa, Kikyō Kushida, and the other girls had already prepared themselves to ignore those shameless stares.
Some had even rehearsed the classic response:
“Hey! Where exactly are you looking?”
However…
“One! Two! Three! Four!”
Not a single boy looked at them.
Instead, every male student stared firmly at the ground while mechanically performing warm-up stretches.
Achilles tendon stretches.
Hamstring stretches.
Squats.
It looked less like a group of teenagers…
And more like soldiers undergoing punishment.
Kanji Ike and Haruki Yamauchi, sporting large swollen bumps on their foreheads, stretched with especially serious expressions while rubbing their aching heads.
“…What’s wrong with them?”
Kei frowned.
“It’s kind of creepy.”
Kushida smiled awkwardly.
“They’re taking warm-ups very seriously.”
“That’s… admirable.”
Outwardly, she maintained her angelic smile.
Internally, however…
(Huh…?)
(No one’s looking at us?)
The atmosphere became strangely awkward.
Then…
Everyone’s attention shifted elsewhere.
“…Wait.”
“What’s that?”
Kei pointed toward the end of the boys’ line.
There stood Kaoru Hanayama.
From his neck to his wrists…
And from his waist to his ankles…
His body was completely covered by a sleek black competitive swimsuit.
“…Pfft!”
Kei couldn’t hold back her laughter.
“What is that?”
“A diving suit?”
Another girl giggled.
“He looks like an orca.”
“No…”
Someone else added.
“More like the villain from a tokusatsu show.”
The girls burst into laughter.
Even Kushida covered her mouth to hide her smile.
“Maybe Hanayama-kun gets cold easily.”
“But…”
“It certainly suits his size.”
Standing apart from the laughter, Suzune Horikita silently walked over.
She stopped beside Hanayama.
Then sighed.
“…Are you serious?”
“Did you mistake today’s lesson for scuba diving?”
Hanayama remained perfectly composed.
“Swimming requires proper equipment.”
“I’m taking this seriously.”
“…I see.”
Horikita’s eyes narrowed.
“Then let me see how serious you really are.”
Without warning…
She lightly chopped the side of Hanayama’s torso.
It wasn’t intended as an attack.
Just a playful jab.
Thud.
“…!”
Horikita’s expression instantly froze.
What she struck wasn’t flesh.
It felt like hitting reinforced concrete.
The impact shot painfully through her fingers.
Without changing her expression, she quietly hid her reddening hand behind her back.
The tingling sensation traveled all the way up her arm.
“…Do you have body armor underneath that suit?”
She frowned.
Hanayama looked down at her calmly.
“…Just muscle.”
Horikita’s eyebrow twitched.
“…You’re impossible.”
“Alright!”
The PE instructor, wearing a bright red tracksuit with a whistle around his neck, clapped his hands loudly.
“Everyone, gather around!”
The students quickly assembled.
“Today’s lesson will conclude with an in-class swimming competition.”
He grinned broadly.
“As you all know…”
“Everything at this school revolves around points.”
“So today’s winners will each receive a special reward.”
He raised one hand.
“The fastest boy and the fastest girl will each earn 5,000 personal points.”
“What?!”
“Seriously?!”
The boys instantly became excited.
“Swimming ability may prove useful someday.”
“So don’t hold back!”
The instructor immediately began dividing everyone into groups.
There were only ten girls.
They were split into two heats of five swimmers each.
The boys, however, numbered sixteen.
With only five lanes available…
Three heats would leave one swimmer without an opponent.
At that moment, Ike nervously raised his hand.
“Teacher…”
“If someone has to skip the preliminaries…”
“How about letting Hanayama go straight to the finals?”
Behind him…
Yamauchi.
Sudō.
Even Hirata.
All nodded enthusiastically.
Their reasoning was identical.
None of them wanted to compete against Hanayama.
The instructor shrugged.
“Works for me.”
“If nobody objects…”
“Hanayama advances directly to the final.”
No one objected.
Least of all Hanayama.
He simply walked over to the finish line and silently folded his arms.
The girls competed first.
Tweet!
The whistle sounded.
Five swimmers dove into the water simultaneously.
Horikita’s strokes were smooth and efficient.
Her breathing remained perfectly controlled.
She was clearly an excellent swimmer.
Yet…
The swimmer beside her steadily pulled ahead.
Kayano Onodera.
Despite her petite frame, her movements through the water were remarkably powerful.
She sliced through the pool with almost no wasted motion.
Spray barely rose around her.
By the halfway point…
She had already opened a decisive lead.
“Finish!”
“First place—Onodera!”
“Twenty-six point two seconds!”
“Second—Horikita!”
“Twenty-eight point three seconds!”
The instructor loudly announced the results.
Onodera climbed out of the pool without even appearing winded.
Removing her goggles, she casually brushed wet hair away from her face.
Her expression radiated confidence.
Horikita climbed out shortly afterward.
Though breathing slightly harder…
She accepted the result without complaint.
Next came the boys.
The first heat featured Ken Sudō and Yōsuke Hirata.
“Hirata-kun!”
“You can do it!”
Most of the girls immediately began cheering for Hirata.
Watching that…
The boys’ competitive spirit ignited.
“Sudō!”
“Don’t lose!”
“We can’t let Hirata steal all the attention!”
Ike and Yamauchi shouted with remarkable enthusiasm.
Or venting their own frustrations…
Even they probably didn’t know.
“Shut up!”
Sudō crouched onto the starting block.
Tweet!
Both boys launched forward.
Hirata’s freestyle was technically beautiful.
Every movement flowed effortlessly.
Sudō, however, relied purely on explosive athleticism.
His strokes lacked elegance…
But every pull generated tremendous power.
He surged ahead through sheer strength.
“Finish!”
“First place—Sudō!”
“Twenty-four point seven seconds!”
“Hirata!”
“Twenty-five point three!”
The margin was small.
But decisive.
“YES!”
Sudō threw both fists into the air.
“Did you see that?!”
Hirata laughed good-naturedly.
“…I lost fair and square.”
“You’re incredible, Sudō-kun.”
Sudō had prepared an entire victory speech.
Instead…
His opponent simply congratulated him.
“…Hmph.”
He scratched his cheek awkwardly.
“Obviously.”
The second heat belonged to one man.
Rokusuke Kōenji.
His dive entered the water with barely a splash.
Every movement afterward was flawless.
His body glided through the pool like a dolphin.
No one else even came close.
“Twenty-three point two seconds!”
Even the instructor blinked.
“…That’s impressive.”
Finally…
The third heat.
Standing on the starting blocks were:
Kiyotaka Ayanokōji.
Kanji Ike.
Haruki Yamauchi.
Hideo Sotomura.
Ayanokōji glanced sideways.
(…What an unfortunate group.)
The whistle blew.
He entered the water at a deliberately average pace.
Not too fast.
Not too slow.
Just enough to avoid attracting attention.
Then…
He noticed something.
To his right…
Ike had swallowed half the pool and was coughing violently.
To his left…
Yamauchi had already abandoned freestyle and switched to an awkward dog paddle.
Behind them…
Sotomura had cramped midway through the race and was desperately clinging to the lane rope.
(…This is hopeless.)
Ayanokōji realized that slowing down any further would actually look suspicious.
So he maintained his current pace.
A few moments later…
He touched the wall first.
The instructor looked down at his stopwatch.
“…First place…”
“Ayanokōji.”
“Thirty-three point seven seconds.”
He looked toward the remaining swimmers.
“…As for everyone else…”
“I’m just glad none of you drowned.”
The pool erupted in laughter.
Standing near the finish line…
Hanayama looked down at Ayanokōji with quiet interest.
Ayanokōji climbed out of the pool and let out a small sigh.
For some reason…
He had the unpleasant feeling that Hanayama was evaluating him once again.