Swimming Class

Watanabe Hayabara sat quietly in a corner of the venue, perfectly still, like a statue. His eyes were half-closed, as if he had entered a meditative state. He simply watched the whole thing in silence, seemingly unaffected by the noise and commotion around him.

After a while...

"Hey, Watanabe." A gentle voice broke the silence. Watanabe Hayabara slowly opened his eyes and looked at Shiina Hiyori, who was standing beside him.

Shiina Hiyori smiled and lightly patted Watanabe Hayabara on the shoulder, as though she were afraid of waking him.

Watanabe Hayabara slowly came back to himself. The corners of his mouth lifted in a faint smile as he replied, "Shiina, you don't need me to keep you company now, do you? The clubs are all recruiting in the gym, after all."

Shiina Hiyori smiled, seemingly unconcerned by Watanabe Hayabara's words. Her smile was like the warm, gentle sunshine of spring.

"Actually, I don't plan on joining a club," Shiina Hiyori said softly. "I'd get more out of spending club activity time reading."

"Then I take it you had something else you wanted to ask me about." As he spoke, Watanabe Hayabara thoughtfully rubbed his chin, as if rapidly mulling something over.

Seeing this, the corners of Shiina Hiyori's mouth lifted in a sly smile. "Actually, I don't, not really. I just saw you and suddenly felt like saying hello."

But just as Watanabe Hayabara began to relax, Shiina Hiyori suddenly changed her tune, turning playful. "But now, I really do have a question I'd like to ask you."

Watanabe Hayabara tensed, unsure what Shiina Hiyori was getting at, but he politely replied, "Go ahead, Shiina."

Shiina Hiyori blinked her jewel-like eyes, the corners of her mouth lifting in a faint smile. Her voice was soft and lilting, like a spring breeze brushing against one's face, making it hard not to feel cheerful.

"Watanabe," she said, her tone carrying a hint of mystery, "are you interested in the Student Council?"

Watanabe Hayabara first stared at her in surprise, then gave a slightly self-deprecating smile. He shook his head and said, "Come on, Shiina, don't tease me. I'm sure the Student Council is fiercely competitive, and plenty of people must be desperate to get in. With my abilities, I probably wouldn't stand a chance."

Shiina Hiyori wasn't swayed by Watanabe Hayabara's words. Still smiling, she encouraged him. "I think you have a pretty good chance, Watanabe. Don't sell yourself short so easily. Sometimes, if you give it a try, you might get an unexpected result."

After speaking, Shiina Hiyori checked the time, then said apologetically, "Oh, I still have to go to the library, so I can't stay in the gym any longer. I'll be off now, Watanabe. Let's talk again sometime. Bye!"

She gave a light wave and turned to leave, her graceful figure disappearing from view.

[Looking Forward to Meeting Again]

[Swimming Class Already in April?]

Inside the boys' locker room.

Most of the students were wrapped in towels, taking their time changing. Sudo, on the other hand, boldly stripped off his clothes in a hurry, stood naked, and quickly pulled on his swim trunks, revealing the muscles he'd built through years of basketball training.

Sudo was the first to finish changing, and the first to leave the locker room.

Watanabe Hayabara merely shook his head. Watching Ayanokoji calmly undress beside him, he smiled and said, "I didn't expect you to be so well-built, Ayanokoji. You must work out a lot."

"It's just something I inherited from my parents. I don't have a habit of working out." Ayanokoji's voice was so flat it was impossible to hear any emotion in it.

The boys finished changing into their swim trunks and filed out of the locker room one by one.

"Wow, the school pool is this nice?"

"Yeah! The water's really clean!"

Some of the boys marveled at it.

Looking at the standard fifty-meter swimming pool before him, Watanabe Hayabara thought it was nothing special.

"Where are the girls? Haven't they finished changing into their swimsuits yet?"

Kanji Ike hummed to himself as he searched for the girls.

"Girls take longer to change, so they probably aren't out yet."

"Hey, what would happen if I couldn't control myself and barged into the girls' locker room?"

"Besides getting beaten up by the girls, you'd probably get expelled and reported to the prosecutors."

"Don't make the comeback sound so realistic."

Ike thought it over and shivered.

"If you're too fixated on their swimsuits, the girls will hate you."

"Is there any guy who wouldn't care?" Kanji Ike shot back.

"Wow! It's so huge—way bigger than the pool at middle school!"

A few minutes after the boys, the girls' voices reached them.

"I-it's happening!" Kanji Ike looked extremely excited.

Watanabe Hayabara looked at Ike's enthusiasm and was at a loss for words.

The other boys, however, were just as eager as Ike to see the girls after they had changed.

"Hasebe isn't here! W-what's going on, Professor?"

The Professor, who was auditing the class, looked flustered. From the second floor of the building for auditors, he surveyed the whole area. With his small eyes behind his glasses, he should have been able to spot the quarry Ike and the others had missed in an instant.

And yet... no matter where he looked, he couldn't find Hasebe.

The Professor shook his head from side to side, as if he couldn't accept what he was seeing. Was she still changing? Or...

"S-she's behind you, Professor!"

"What!"

Ike pointed and shouted. As it turned out, Hasebe was also part of the auditing group, just like the Professor.

The girls in the auditing group streamed out and appeared on the second floor. Sakura was among them.

"W-why... how did this happen?"

Kanji Ike clutched his head and collapsed in despair, unable to believe it.

"Gross," the girls scolded.

"Ike, now's not the time to be sad. There are still plenty of girls here!"

"Y-yeah, you're right. I can't lose heart here."

"Brother!"

Haruki Yamauchi and Kanji Ike reaffirmed their brotherly bond and clasped each other's hands.

[They Had No Self-Awareness Whatsoever]

A sense of disgust rose in Watanabe Hayabara from the bottom of his heart.

"What are you two doing? You look like you're having a great time."

"K-Kushida!"

Kushida Kikyo looked curious as she struck up a conversation with Haruki Yamauchi and Kanji Ike.

Kushida Kikyo wore a school swimsuit in a fresh, understated color that fit her figure perfectly.

Her figure was already graceful, and the swimsuit accentuated her alluring curves. Her slender yet toned waist flowed into long, straight legs, every line seemingly sculpted with care. Her shoulders were soft and elegant, and her delicate collarbones showed just enough to add a touch of playfulness to her allure.

The boys' eyes were drawn to her, but after a few seconds, they all looked down again. Getting aroused at a time like this would not only be humiliating and cause a huge commotion, but would also earn them the girls' contempt.