Weakness

"Everyone, gather up!"

A clear, penetrating female voice rang out across the spacious Swimming Hall, instantly drowning out the whispers from the Locker Room that had yet to die down. The speaker stood on the poolside by the shallow end. It was Fujiwara Rin, the teacher in charge of the Swimming Lesson.

Fujiwara Sensei looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six. She stood tall, wearing a professional dark blue swimsuit emblazoned with the School Emblem, with a white sun-protection sports jacket casually draped over it.

Her taut, smooth, sun-kissed skin was clearly the result of spending years in the sun and water. Her short chestnut hair was neatly tied in a little knot at the back, revealing a smooth forehead and a sharply defined jaw. Her eyes were large, their irises a clear amber. At that moment, she was smiling brightly as she surveyed the students gradually filing out of the Locker Room.

Her smile was different from Hoshinomiya's carefully crafted sweetness. It had the energetic frankness unique to an athletic type. Yet deep within that smile, there occasionally flickered a barely perceptible scrutiny, like an undercurrent at the bottom of a pool.

"Move it! No dawdling!" She clapped her hands, her voice keeping an undeniable rhythm. "Line up. We'll start with some warm-up exercises! If you don't loosen up properly before getting in, you might get a cramp!"

At her direction, the students of Class B quickly formed several lines beside the pool. The talk about the Scar Mark in the Locker Room was temporarily suppressed, replaced by excitement and nervousness over the new surroundings and the upcoming lesson. Ichinose Honami quickly slipped into her role as Class President, helping Fujiwara Sensei organize the lines. Her bright smile had returned, as if she meant to drive away the gloom from earlier.

Kanzaki Ryuji stood in the middle of the line, his eyes unconsciously searching the crowd before finally settling on Shimiya Kuki, who stood off to one side. Shimiya Kuki was some distance from the center of the group, his towel still draped casually over his shoulders, concealing most of the scars on his back. But the deepest mark on his chest remained clearly visible beneath the bright lights of the hall. His eyelids lowered, his expression as calm and unreadable as ever, as though he hadn't been the one to cause such a stir moments ago.

"Good! Follow my rhythm!" Fujiwara Rin stood at the front of the line and began leading everyone through their warm-ups, her movements precise and powerful. Chest stretches, twists, leg stretches... Her commands were clear and strong, and her amber eyes swept sharply over each student's movements to make sure they properly loosened their joints and muscles.

"Warming up is important," she said as she demonstrated a lunge stretch, her voice echoing through the spacious hall. "It helps prevent injuries as much as possible. Your body is your most important asset, especially in activities that require physical fitness." Her gaze seemed to pass over the Scar Mark on Shimiya Kuki's chest, then quickly moved away as she continued to demonstrate the movements. "All right, next, let's rotate our joints..."

The warm-up went smoothly under Fujiwara Sensei's energetic guidance. As they reached the final stretching exercise, a slightly nervous voice came from the line.

"Fujiwara Sensei!" It was Kojou Yume, her hair tied up in a bun. Somewhat embarrassed, she raised her hand, her cheeks flushed. "Um... I, I can't swim at all!" After saying it, she quickly lowered her head as if afraid of being laughed at.

Her words seemed to flip a switch, and several voices in the line immediately chimed in.

"Me too..."

"I can only do a little Dog Paddle..."

"I'm a bit scared of the water..."

Fujiwara Rin stopped, putting her hands on her hips. Far from looking impatient, she laughed heartily, her white teeth gleaming under the lights. "Ha! What's there to be embarrassed about? You can't swim because you haven't learned yet!"

Her amber eyes swept over the students who looked nervous. Her smile was confident and infectious. "Don't worry! I promise you'll all be able to splash around in the water by the time summer really comes! Swimming is an important survival skill, and besides..."

Her smile deepened, taking on a hint of hidden meaning. "On This Island, you never know when it might come in handy! All right, warm-up's over! Move around a bit and get ready to get in. Those who can swim can get used to the water first. Those who can't, stay here in the shallow end and wait for me!"

Fujiwara Sensei's last words had sounded playful, yet seemed to carry a deeper meaning. "On This Island, you never know when it might come in handy?" This isolated island, survival skills? He discreetly glanced at Fujiwara Sensei, who was briskly taking off her sun-protection jacket, revealing her smoothly defined arms as she prepared to get in and demonstrate. Beneath the teacher's seemingly frank and cheerful smile, there seemed to be a sharp eye and a knack for delivering pointed warnings without overdoing them.

"All right! Come and follow me as I demonstrate a few basic movements! Then I want to see what kind of swimming skills you've got!" Fujiwara Sensei stood in the shallow end, where the water came up to her waist, and beckoned to them, patting the surface.

The students began getting into the water one after another. Ichinose Honami swam effortlessly toward the deep end like a graceful mermaid. Kanzaki Ryuji's movements were precise, though a little stiff, as exact as if he were following a program. Shimiya Kuki didn't get in right away. He walked to the poolside, slowly took off his towel, folded it, and set it on the edge. His grotesque scars were completely exposed, drawing several more curious glances from those around him. He seemed not to notice. He simply rolled his shoulders and worked the joints in his arms, his movements fluid; the scars didn't seem to have affected his flexibility at all. Then, like a fish accustomed to deep water, he slipped silently into the cool pool with a perfect dive that barely disturbed the surface.

He chose a spot near the edge of the deep end and swam in long, steady strokes. His freestyle was powerful and efficient, his breathing rhythm even. He wasn't fast, but his ease spoke of someone who had weathered hardship. The water rippled gently over his scars. Refracted light seemed to bring the twisted marks to life, making them rise and fall with every movement of his muscles as they silently told of a past he never spoke of.

As Fujiwara Rin guided the beginners through floating exercises in the shallow end, her gaze kept drifting toward the lone figure swimming in the deep end. She saw how smoothly Shimiya Kuki moved, and a trace of professional approval flashed in her eyes, but there was more than that—a deep scrutiny. When he turned to breathe and the deepest Scar Mark on his chest flashed above the water, Fujiwara Sensei's brow furrowed ever so slightly. She remembered the talk she had faintly overheard outside the Locker Room and Kanzaki Ryuji's cold analysis.

She walked to the poolside and watched Shimiya Kuki as he took a brief rest. He leaned against the wall, water droplets falling from his sharply defined jaw. Fujiwara Sensei didn't ask him directly about his scars. Instead, she spoke in a casual tone, as if discussing the weather, quietly enough for those nearby to hear:

"Shimiya-kun, your strokes are very polished. Did you have professional training?" She wore a coach's smile, but her sharp gaze rested on the Scar Mark on his chest.

Shimiya Kuki looked up and met Fujiwara Sensei's searching gaze. Light reflected off the pool water and flickered in his deep, still eyes. He didn't avoid her gaze. He simply answered calmly, "I studied for a while."

"Oh? You've got a solid foundation." Fujiwara Sensei nodded, as though she had only asked in passing. She paused, her gaze passing over his scars before returning to his eyes. Her tone remained casual, but her words seemed to carry a certain weight. "Whatever you've been through, your body still belongs to you. Use it well, take care of it, and don't let the burdens of the past become shackles that limit your future. Especially on This Island..." She left the thought unfinished, but its meaning was clear enough. On an island built on rules and Competition, a healthy body was one of the most important assets a person could have.

Her voice wasn't loud, but several students nearby heard her clearly, including Kanzaki Ryuji and Ichinose Honami, who had been watching. The worry in Ichinose's eyes deepened.

After speaking, Fujiwara Sensei didn't wait for Shimiya Kuki to reply. She turned and walked toward the shallow end, raising her voice and returning to her earlier energy. "Over there! Open your arms a little more! That's it! Don't be afraid of the water. Relax!"

Leaning against the cold pool wall, Shimiya Kuki felt Fujiwara Sensei's words—"Don't let the burdens of the past become shackles that limit your future"—ripple through his heart like a stone dropped into deep water. He lowered his head. The clear water reflected the grotesque Scar Mark on his chest and his expressionless face. Limits? Shackles?

He took a deep breath, then sank into the water again. His arms cut powerfully through the surface as he swam toward deeper water. The water gently enveloped him, along with the silent brands on his body. Fujiwara Sensei's seemingly casual warning was like an undercurrent stirring along the bottom of the pool, quietly pointing toward a deeper rule of survival beneath the S System's cold regulations: here, any weakness, whether physical or psychological, could become a fatal vulnerability. The past represented by that Scar Mark had clearly caught the perceptive teacher's attention, and she had offered him a subtle but crucial warning.