Ripples from Swimming Class

Time passed faster than expected. In the blink of an eye, more than half a month had gone by since the start of the school year.

The May sun began to carry the warmth of early summer; the air conditioning in the classroom was turned down two degrees, and the roadside trees outside the window shifted from tender green to a deep, lush shade. The students of Class D had completely adapted to the rhythm of this school—lazy and undisciplined during class, indulging in pleasure after the bell. The monthly allowance of 100,000 points gave most of them the illusion that these three years would pass just as comfortably.

Only a few knew that this comfort was hanging by a thin thread.

On Thursday afternoon, the sports representative posted a notice on the blackboard: tomorrow afternoon's PE class would be changed to swimming, the second such session this semester. Once the news broke, the boys' reactions were identical to last time—Sudo was the first to stand up and cheer, with Yoshida egging him on from the side. The girls' reactions, however, were much calmer than the previous month, likely because they had already been through it once; the swimsuits that needed buying had been bought, and the gazes they had to get used to were now familiar.

Kanzaki Toru subconsciously looked toward the corner in the front row. Sakura Airi did not hunch her shoulders this time. She was looking down at her notebook, her pen still slowly writing something. Compared to her reaction when she first saw the swimming notice last month, this time she only paused for a moment before continuing to write.

The progress was visible to the naked eye.

The following afternoon, the scene by the pool was a carbon copy of the previous month. Sudo was the first to jump into the deep end, splashing water all over Yoshida on the bank. The boys horsed around in the water, while the girls emerged from the changing rooms in twos and threes.

Kanzaki Toru leaned against the pool railing, his gaze sweeping across the entire area. Hirata Yosuke was among the group of boys as usual, occasionally stepping in to mediate when the water fight got too intense. Everything was normal.

Then, the girls came out.

Horikita Suzune walked in front, a bath towel draped over her swimsuit, her black hair tied into a neat ponytail. Just like last month, she walked straight to the poolside and began her warm-ups, her movements crisp and efficient, without a hint of hesitation. Immediately after, a group of girls clustered around a blonde figure—Karuizawa Kei. She wore a light blue swimsuit today, which made her skin appear even fairer. Unlike the girls around her, she walked with her back straight and the corners of her mouth slightly upturned; it wasn't arrogance, but rather a kind of composure that ignored everyone else.

Several girls followed by her side, carrying her towel and swim cap.

"Karuizawa-san, is that a new swimsuit? It looks amazing on you!" one girl chimed in.

"I got it at the mall last week." Karuizawa brushed her fingertips lightly against the ends of her hair, a faint, self-satisfied curve on her lips. "Though the color is a bit brighter than I expected."

"What do you mean 'brighter'? It suits you perfectly! Right?"

Karuizawa smiled without responding. Her gaze swept across the poolside before stopping in a certain direction. Kanzaki Toru followed her line of sight—she was looking at Horikita Suzune. The two stared at each other across the pool for about a second. Neither looked away first. In the end, it was Karuizawa who smiled first—not the kind of smile reserved for friends, but more like a silent understanding between two people who knew the truth.

At that moment, Kushida Kikyo emerged from the changing room. She wore a simple white swimsuit with a clean design and no unnecessary decorations. Her short hair was tucked behind her ears with clips, revealing a clean, elegant neckline. Her figure was well-proportioned, and she didn't make any effort to show off, yet under the sunlight, the white swimsuit contrasted with her delicate skin and gentle smile, making her more eye-catching than any vibrant color.

A few boys clearly lingered on her for a moment too long. Kushida didn't seem to notice; she waved at the girls with a smile and jogged over to join them. Her white swimsuit shimmered with tiny light spots reflected from the water, making her look soft and bright.

Kanzaki Toru withdrew his gaze and turned his attention to Sakura Airi. She was walking at the very back. This time, she didn't wrap herself tightly in a towel like last month; she simply draped it over her shoulders. It was the same dark blue swimsuit as before, but her posture had changed—she wasn't hugging the wall anymore, but walking normally toward the shallow end. Then, she did something that made Kanzaki Toru's eyebrows rise slightly.

She entered the water on her own. She didn't wait for Horikita to lead her, nor did she hesitate by the edge for several minutes. She simply stood by the pool, took a deep breath, and then, holding onto the railing, stepped into the shallow end one step at a time. She paused when the water reached her waist, then continued forward until the surface hit her chest. She stood there, gently paddling her hands, her eyes fixed on the shimmering light on the water.

Kanzaki Toru watched this scene from afar. The reward for seventy points of favorability was enhanced observation. But the courage Sakura Airi displayed at this moment wasn't something he had provided; it was something she had gathered herself. All he could do was provide a fulcrum when she needed it; the one doing the real work was her.

"Are you watching Sakura-san?"

Karuizawa Kei had appeared beside him at some point. Her long golden hair was dampened by the mist, the ends clinging to her collarbone. She followed his gaze toward Sakura in the shallow end, the self-satisfied curve of her mouth flattening into a faint, scrutinizing expression.

"She got into the water by herself today. Quite a bit of progress."

"Yeah," Kanzaki Toru replied.

Karuizawa suddenly turned her head to look at him, her blue eyes filled with inquiry. "I tried what you said last time."

"What did I say?"

"Talking to her in private, then leaving immediately without waiting for a response." Karuizawa twirled a lock of her hair with her finger, her tone casual, but her eyes never left Sakura. "The day before yesterday after school, when the classroom was empty, I said to her, 'Your lunch looks delicious today.' Then I just left. Guess what happened?"

"What did she say back?"

"She didn't. But this morning, I found a piece of candy on my desk. No note, no signature. But I knew she put it there."

When Karuizawa said the last sentence, the usual sense of superiority was gone from her voice. The feedback from that candy was likely heavier than she had expected. For a social core who was used to being surrounded and fawned over, receiving a piece of candy that couldn't speak or sign its name left her more unsure of how to handle it than a hundred face-to-face compliments.

"...It doesn't feel bad," she said, as if summarizing her thoughts.

Kanzaki Toru nodded without saying anything more.

Just then, a commotion broke out on the other side of the pool. The swimming coach was organizing an impromptu relay race—four teams of four, mixed gender, open registration. Sudo was the first to rush up to sign up, with Yoshida following close behind. While confirming the roster, Sudo suddenly turned toward the pool and shouted, "Hey, Kanzaki! You coming? You in?"

Kanzaki Toru paused. He hadn't intended to participate. But Sudo's voice was so loud that half the pool turned to look at him. Karuizawa stood beside him, pursing her lips with a smirk, clearly waiting for a show.

"Aren't you going? They called you out."

"Fine, I'll go," he said.

The rules of the relay were simple: one lap per person, freestyle or breaststroke allowed. Kanzaki Toru was placed in Sudo's group, along with Yoshida and a reluctant-looking boy with glasses—he thought his name was Yukimura. The opposing team had Hirata Yosuke and three other boys he didn't know. Hirata waved at him in a friendly gesture.

The whistle blew, and the first leg entered the water. Sudo and Hirata were the second legs for their respective teams. Sudo's swimming style was wild and powerful, his splashes like a speedboat engine. Hirata's style was steady and fluid, unassuming yet not slow at all. The two touched the wall almost simultaneously, and the third legs took off at the same time. Yoshida and a short-haired boy from the other team were neck and neck, trading the lead, and the cheering from the poolside was deafening.

Kanzaki Toru was the anchor. As he stepped onto the starting block, the anchor for the opposing team climbed up—a boy named Yamawaki. He was quite large and had a low presence in class, but his physical fitness seemed decent.

Yoshida touched the wall. Kanzaki Toru leaped into the water.

The water temperature instantly enveloped his entire body. He chose freestyle, his movements steady and unhurried. It wasn't that he couldn't go faster, but there was no need to go all out for a bit of class entertainment. However, Yamawaki was faster than he had anticipated, and by the halfway point, the other boy was already half a body length ahead.

Sudo's roar came from the shore: "Kanzaki! Go! Last ten meters!"

He accelerated. It wasn't a sudden burst, but a gradual increase in frequency. His breathing rhythm tightened, and his strokes widened. The pool water rushed past his ears, blurring all the sounds from the shore. At the moment he touched the wall, he and Yamawaki arrived almost simultaneously. Water splashed up, and everyone on the shore stretched their necks, waiting for the coach's judgment.

"Simultaneous touch! It's a tie!"

Cheers erupted. Sudo was the first to rush over and slap his shoulder, the force making him sink half an inch into the water. "Not bad! You're usually so quiet, but you're reliable when it counts!"

Yoshida laughed beside him, uncharacteristically refraining from his usual trash talk, simply giving him a thumbs-up. Even Yukimura, who had been reluctant the whole time, pushed up his glasses and muttered, "Unexpected."

Kanzaki Toru pulled himself up from the edge of the pool, water dripping from his hair. He turned to look at the shallow end. Sakura Airi was still standing there, but there was a new expression on her face. She was smiling. It was a faint smile, hidden behind the brim of her cap and her glasses, but she was definitely smiling.

Meanwhile, Kushida Kikyo was sitting on the edge of the pool, her feet gently swaying in the water. That white swimsuit remained soft and bright under the sun. Her gaze traveled across the shimmering surface of the pool and was fixed on him. Seeing him surface, the corners of her mouth curved, as if she were smiling or perhaps lost in thought.

Karuizawa Kei stood on the shore with her arms crossed, her expression playful, but there was a hint of subtle, renewed calculation in her eyes.

When the swimming class ended, Kanzaki Toru rinsed the chlorine off his body in the shower room. As the hot water poured down from above, he braced one hand against the wall, eyes closed, recalling the relay race. He couldn't say why, but in those final ten seconds of sprinting through the water, he had forgotten a few things. It wasn't that he forgot what he had to do, nor that he forgot the cage he was living in. It was just that, for that one moment, his mind had held nothing but the finish line.

It had been a long time since he felt this way.

When he finished changing into his uniform and stepped out of the swimming pool, the sky outside was already approaching dusk. Karuizawa Kei was standing by the vending machine at the entrance. Her hair was still damp, the golden tips shimmering with a soft luster under the setting sun. Seeing him emerge, she retrieved a can of hot cocoa from the machine and waved it at him.

"Catch."

She tossed the hot cocoa over. He reached out and caught it; the can was still warm. She held a can of red bean soup in her own hand, pulled the tab, took a sip, and gazed toward the distant track field. The two of them stood in silence for a while.

"...The relay race, it wasn't bad," she said. Her tone still carried that faint sense of pride, but the affirmation in her words was genuine.

"Thanks."

"As for Sakura, I'll keep trying, just in a different way than you." After saying this, Karuizawa tossed her empty can into the recycling bin and turned to leave. Her long golden hair lifted in the evening breeze before she disappeared around the corner of the dormitory building.

Kanzaki Toru stood where he was and pulled the tab of the hot cocoa. The sweetness melted on the tip of his tongue. He suddenly realized—this seemed to be the first time since arriving at this school that he had accepted a drink from someone else.

After returning to his dorm, he sat by his bed for a moment, sinking his focus deep into his consciousness. The illustrated guide opened quietly to four pages.

Sakura Airi remained steady at 70, with a new annotation added to her status bar: "Spontaneous breakthrough of comfort zone." Karuizawa Kei's page finally began to emerge with clear outlines. A number appeared in the favorability column: 30. The title column had its first entry, four characters: "Proud Giver." The annotation on Kushida Kikyo's page remained "Boundary between surface and interior yet to be confirmed," but the strokes of that line kept flickering between clear and blurred, as if they were about to take shape but were constantly being blocked by some force. And on Horikita Suzune's page, the favorability remained at 40, with a new description appearing in the status bar: "Acknowledged rival."

Kanzaki Toru opened his eyes; the sky outside the window had turned completely dark. He leaned his head back against the headboard, taking out and organizing everything he had gained today. Sakura was making progress, Horikita was observing, Karuizawa was drawing closer, and Kushida was hiding herself even deeper. The identity of the observer on the rooftop remained unknown, and the undercurrents between Ishizaki and Sudo were still surging. Side plots were spreading, and characters were entering the stage. Everyone was approaching something, or escaping from something, in their own way.

And he—Kanzaki Toru—was becoming the intersection of all these threads.

This position was dangerous. But it was also the most effective.