High Speed!: Chapter 7 – Race

It was a very sunny day since morning. While Haruka looked up at the blue sky, he wondered how many times it’s been that he’s come here. The Hiyori Swimming Stadium was an especially big venue even in the prefecture, the sports meets were usually held here. When you come to this venue, it feels like it’s always sunny. He thought that it was better that it was sunny, even though it didn’t really matter if it was sunny or not because of the indoor pool.

“The weather’s nice again today, huh?”

As usual, Makoto’s voice is cheerful. On a sunny day, he especially thinks so.

“Wow, it’s huge.”

Having come here for the first time, Nagisa looks up at it, round-eyed with amazement.

And then, Rin is extremely taciturn. Could he be nervous? Though it’s not in his character.

When Rin writes down the four names at the reception desk, the person in charge took out the girls’ list and started comparing it. He wondered if Rin will say something, but he just silently watched them do the work. Since the person in charge searched until the end of the list but the names weren’t there, doubtfully raising their head, they start to say something. But seeing Rin and the other’s faces and showing an attitude of understanding, they began to look for the boys’ list.

While walking in the corridor leading to the locker room, Nagisa burst into laughter that he was suppressing at once.

“Hey, did you see? The person just now, he ended up taking out the girls’ list. I wonder which name he thought was a girl’s? It has to be Rin-chan.”

“Wrong. It’s everyone’s.”

“By everyone, you mean me too?”

“Yes. You too.”

“Eeh. But I don’t know any girl named ‘Nagisa’. I saw a Rinrin at the zoo before, though. It was female.”

Haruka somehow managed to hold back, but Makoto doubled over in laughter. While looking at Makoto in a sidelong glance, Rin speaks, seeming displeased.

“If you let your mind wander, you’ll end up losing. Pull yourselves together a little.”

“Yeees.”

Do they understand or not? For now, it felt like in Nagisa’s response that at least Rin’s nervousness was conveyed.

As they enter the changing rooms, they heard the sound of lockers opening and shutting coming from here and there. A considerable amount of people are already gathered. As Rin opens a locker within reach, the other three also opened doors, searching for an empty locker nearby.

“Rin.”

When he turns around after his name is called, some people heading on their way to the pool were looking at Rin. Rin’s cheeks unintentionally soften. They’re members of Sano SC, that he belonged to before.

“Hey, it’s been a while.”

When he responds lightly waving his hand, one of them approached with a friendly smile. It’s Yamazaki Sousuke. He’s tall and thin as ever.

“You look like you’re doing well.”

“Well yeah. What about you?”

“Same as usual, I guess. That aside, did you get to meet your father?”

Being asked that question, Rin is bewildered.

“Aah, well.”

While being aware of Haruka and the others, he gave a vague answer.

“I see. See you later, then.”

Seeming to have guessed the circumstances based on Rin’s state, Sousuke left the locker room, quickly cutting short the conversation. Then, only a strange silence remained.

Without anyone chatting about anything, they changed their clothes in silence. Having finished changing first, Nagisa makes a snapping sound with the goggles’ rubber, imitating Rin.

“I’m first.”

Like always, as he says it in a carefree voice, the stagnant air ended up disappearing, like fog clearing up.

“Then, I’m second.”

Makoto says while closing the locker, looking at each other with Nagisa, they laughed.

Nagisa asked Rin.

“Hey, how many rounds are we swimming today?”

“One round.”

“Then, tomorrow?’

“It’s only the case if we place within the top 16 overall of today’s race, but then we swim in the semifinal, and if we place in the top 8 overall, then we’re in the finals.”

“Then, we have to win three times, right?”

“That’s right. Well, for now, it’ll be fine if we aim for no less than 4th within the group today.”

After saying it, he thinks that it was a weak-spirited remark. It’s possible that somewhere in his heart, it’s bothering him after all that the team’s condition hasn’t improved. He looks at Haruka. With his back turned towards Rin, he was attempting to close the locker’s door. Haruka had to have heard it, too. Did Haruka also think that Rin is weak-spirited? And did he think that he was the cause of making Rin weak-spirited?

He wanted to tell him to not mind it, but without knowing how he should say it, Rin just intently stared at Haruka’s back.

At the pool, they held each contest by order of age. In every contest, the girls’ race is before the boys’. And now, the girls’ medley relay was being held among great cheers.

As the anchor, Aki stands on top of the starting block. In the preliminaries, each race becoming a close contest succeeding a close contest, Aki and the others’ race also unfolded a fierce development that takes your breath away.

Simultaneously as Aki’s feet kicks off from the starting block, the swimmer beside her also made the start. Landing on the water. And then, their heads simultaneously rise. Just like if they were doing synchronized swimming, the arms and legs of the forward crawl are matched. Then, just from right behind them, there was another swimmer gaining on them with tremendous force. It seemed like they were about to catch up just before the goal, but somehow getting away, she was able to pass through the preliminaries by arriving at almost the same time in second place. If there were 5m more, she would have certainly been overtaken. When she thinks that, chills ran down Aki’s spine.

Aki and the other three started heading towards the locker room, without any of them chattering. In the passageway, they pass by the line of boys heading towards the starting positions.

“Congratulations, Zaki-chan.”

Makoto held up the palm of his hand.

“Thanks. Good luck to you too, Tachibana-kun.”

Aki passes by while hitting Makoto’s hand and making a small snappy sound.

They came in second, but they couldn’t slack off at all. The other three aren’t smiling, either. Even though they practiced so much and raised their time, they weren’t able to demonstrate its results enough. Those feelings weighed heavily on the four of them. Perhaps they were nervous? Perhaps they ended up straining themselves? Perhaps their form collapsed? Without knowing the cause, they grow anxious. If things go the same way they did today, they’ll definitely end up being eliminated from the competition.  When they think of that, they became hopelessly anxious.

However, no matter how anxious they become, even if they don’t know the cause, there was only one thing to do tomorrow. It’s a matter of swimming as they had practiced. And, if they can do that, it’s a matter of believing that they’ll certainly win. Taking a deep breath, Aki spoke in a voice as cheerful as possible.

“Good job, everyone. Let’s try our best tomorrow, too.”

The team got their smiles back from Aki’s words.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Yeah yeah, it’s tomorrow, right?”

“All right, we’ll win the championship tomorrow!”

“We can absolutely do it. We’ve practiced so much. Let’s try our best.”

With everyone’s smiles, a true smile returned to Aki’s heart. Either bravado or pretending to be tough, anything is fine. If someone on the team has a cheerful mood, everyone cheers up. And then, everyone’s cheer gives them their true smile. That’s what a team is. That’s the strength of a team. If they have that strength, even if they don’t win tomorrow, even if they end up crying, perhaps they can think that they’re glad to have been on this team. As unwavering confidence, that much was in Aki and the others’ hearts.

While feeling a new energy rising, Aki began to walk, heading towards tomorrow.

While lightly loosening his body in front of the starting block, confirming that Makoto and Nagisa are in front of him, Rin felt it on his back that Haruka was behind him. He didn’t especially have a reason to call out, but he wanted to be strongly conscious of the fact that he’ll be swimming with these members from now.

Held on the short lane, they swim a total of 400m, one person 100m at a time. The first swimmer is Makoto, the second is Nagisa, the third is Rin, and then the anchor is Haruka. Called by the club name starting from the first lane, the first swimmer of the called team raises their hand and stands beside the starting block. Since the first swimmer is doing the backstroke, it becomes an underwater start.

After four short whistles were blown, Makoto enters the water on the long whistle. Holding his grip on the next long whistle, he pushes the sole of his feet against the wall.

“Take your marks!”

He pulls his body forward with a forceful push. A moment of silence. And then, a short buzzer sound——.

He leapt backward all at once. After landing on the water, he starts up his feet from a posture extending to kick. While breaking into the strokes, he rises to the water’s surface. Makoto’s head came up as first ahead. His figure that raises big splashes with powerful strokes, gives the impression of a marine creature.

Rin felt something that was different from before in Makoto’s swimming. Not just in the crawl or the backstroke, he thinks that a fundamental part of his swimming is changing. Brushing aside the water, the forcefully advancing style hasn’t changed, but the reckless way of going with all his strength was missing. In some way, perhaps it can even be called a powerful dreadfulness, while carrying a massive feeling like an orca or a whale because of it, he looked like he was swimming at ease. And, he has unmistakably gotten faster. Makoto might be attempting to evolve into a creature of the sea.  While thinking about that, Rin stared at Makoto’s swimming.

In top position, when Makoto touches the wall, Nagisa’s both feet leapt off from the starting block. His leap is too high. Sinking as deep as much as he had leapt high, it ends up taking time to rise to the surface. In breaststroke, when your posture ends up breaking at the start, it becomes difficult to make a fine adjustment. The permitted movements underwater after the dive are just the one pull and one kick. After finally rising to the surface, Nagisa dropped their rank to second place. There’s half a body difference with Sano SC.

―― Don’t mind it, Nagisa. It’s always like that. Your special ability is catching up in the second half.

While muttering in his mind, Rin stood at the starting block.

Sousuke stands beside Rin. During the time he was at Sano SC, their relation was having competed for being the representative, formerly they certainly had a relationship that could be called friends. When he said that he wanted to go Australia and when he said that he wanted to swim at Iwatobi SC, just saying ‘I understand’ while he was half shocked, he didn’t try anything like half-heartedly keeping him back or pressing questions. Sousuke kept being someone who understood Rin well until the end. ‘See you later.’ ‘Yeah.’ That was their last conversation.

And now, Sousuke is standing in the line beside him as an arch-enemy.

“Sorry about earlier.”

Sousuke says to Rin, his gaze facing ahead. He’s directly apologizing for having made imprudent conversation.

“It doesn’t matter.”

Rin gives a short reply. He’s saying that it’s not a big deal. By merely exchanging only that much of a conversation, the two of them could return to the way they were several months before. And, they were able to mutually recognize that they’re opponents who absolutely won’t lose.

Rin takes up a crouching start posture. He’s been testing this style since a month ago. It doesn’t particularly raise his time, he couldn’t prove that it’s theoretically advantageous, either. In the process of searching for his own form, it’s nothing more than one experiment that he ran into during his exploring for a solution. But, he felt the possibility. That is his entire reason.

In the end, without being able to shorten the difference, Nagisa touched the surface of the wall in 2nd place.

Sousuke making the start, Rin’s foot leaps. The start isn’t a contest of just kicking power. The real contest is how much they utilize that power as propulsion power. While being aware of the angle of landing on the water and the underwater posture, Rin raised splashes on the water’s surface.

Sousuke goes a little in front of Rin. While doing dolphin kicks, he lines up to Sousuke. He has perfectly left behind the other swimmers. From here, it becomes a contest just between two of them, against Sousuke. While rising to the surface, he starts the butterfly’s stroke. At this point in time, Rin is in the lead by a little.

However, Sousuke demonstrates his specialty from here. If their difference were to widen like this, Rin wouldn’t approve of him as an arch-enemy. Though his physique is lanky, making use of his long reach and bigger than average palm to the maximum, he forcefully chases after Rin.

The turn is almost simultaneous. Rin comes up ahead again. And then, Sousuke gains on him.

―― Being hasty is no good. I mustn’t put strength into my shoulders. I have to transmit my entire body’s flexibility to my feet.

While being conscious of the image of swimming with his thighs, he flexibly cleaves through the water.

On the verge of being lined up to with just a little remaining, barely getting away, Rin was able to connect to Haruka.

Haruka dives in over Rin’s head. Both the angle and the water landing point are not bad. But…….

Right after landing on the water, the difference began to widen.

Rin wondered if time had stopped only for Haruka. His body isn’t advancing forward. On the other hand of the difference widening between the top, he ended up being lined up to by the third place swimmer. Right after Haruka’s legs and feet still aren’t moving, he wondered if he’ll end up drowning. Just like on that day, when he attempted to pick up Aki’s scarf……

After the turn, retreating until third place, in the end the fourth place swimmer also began to line up to him, but even so, Haruka just repeated the fundamental movements.

It was after he retreated to fourth place that Haruka’s hand reached the goal at last. His breathing is so rough, while his shoulders largely heave up and down, that you wouldn’t even think that he only swam just 100m.

Without grabbing onto Makoto’s held out hand, when he climbs up onto the poolside, tearing off his goggles and cap, he started walking towards the locker room. He passed by Aki on the way, but he wouldn’t even look at her. Everyone silently sees Haruka off. Nobody knew what words to say to the current Haruka. There was nothing better than silently seeing him off.

Soon, Haruka’s figure disappeared into the locker room.

When the morning sun finally began to rise from the edge of Myoujinyama, Rin was in front of a grave. The cold air that contained the tide flows so it grazes his cheek. The waves breaking onto the steep cliff, the peaceful sound rose and broke. On the sky that began to turn white, wispy purple clouds trailing, it created many patterns that looked like stripes drawn in pastel crayons.

The grave was firmly sitting faced towards the sea. To Rin, its dignified shape, without a single time to regret, seemed like it was sticking its chest out. While making him feel something that had the appearance of a profound dignity, it calmly overlooks the sea.

Rin was standing in front of that grave. He was facing the grave the whole time from when it was still dark out. The sky that is regaining its brightness makes the lines of Myoujinyama’s ridge rise to the surface.

“It ends with today. I came to say goodbye. I, decided to try and pursue the dream. I don’t know how far I can go, but I’m thinking of going as far as I can. So, I can’t come here for a while. Please forgive me, okay? But, I’m glad that I came here after all. I’m glad I met those guys. Because it gave me the motivation to seriously pursue the dream…… No matter where I go, I absolutely won’t forget. Just them, I absolutely won’t. I…. I want to win just today. Just today, I want to do the best swimming. I want to become a real team with those guys. So, today, I’ll tell them properly. Everything, all of it as it is……. So, please look out for me, okay?”

Making a fist, he lightly bumps the gravestone. A cool sensation passed to him.

“Pops.”

The wind blowing from the sea coils around Rin, then disappears.

“……Pops.”

He murmurs again.

Could the tide be rising? The sound of the waves hitting the rock broke, while drowning out the cries of the sea gulls. Looking up as he feels a strong light, the sun that had shown its face from Myoujinyama began to shine on the earth and sea without distinguishing between them.

Taking a deep breath from the air that contained tide, Rin filled up his chest with it. Then, he turns back to the grave.

“Well then, I’ll be on my way.”

Showing a gentle smile, Rin began to run towards the place of the deciding battle.

“Hey hey, what place should we get in the semifinal?”

While changing their clothes in the locker room, Nagisa asked Makoto in his usual manner.

“We can go to the finals if we’re within the top 8 overall.”

Makoto replied while adjusting the length of his goggles.

“First place. If you say something easy-going as eighth, we’ll end up losing!”

While putting emphasis on the end of the word, when Rin claps Nagisa on the back, a nice dry sound resounded across the locker room.

“That hurt! What’re you doing, Rin-chan?”

From the other side of the locker, suddenly laughter breaking out, Sousuke peeks at them.

“What, Rin. You’re called Rin-chan over there, too?”

Saying that, he laughed again. Being laughed at, Rin hastily denies it.

“N-no, that’s wrong. It’s just this guy. Everyone calls me leader here.”

This time, Makoto speaks while doubling over in laughter.

“Is that so? Rinrin.”

Laughter rose from the other side of the locker again. Rin turns around to face Makoto.

“Makoto. You, be a little more tactful.”

When Rin says that, laughter broke out again. Makoto and Nagisa were both laughing. Even Rin, who was supposed to be angry, his cheeks soften as he’s infected by it. However, looking at Haruka sitting on the bench, such a merry mood ended up being blown off to somewhere.

Haruka was staring at some distant point, alone and quietly. They haven’t heard Haruka say a single word since morning. Nobody could talk to Haruka. Without displaying a single thing resembling emotion, he was just expressionlessly staring into the distance. If it weren’t for what happened yesterday, perhaps they could’ve thought of it as the usual Haruka. The Haruka who always lives up to the expectations if you rely on him. But…….

Inside Rin, something begins to burn.

――We’re a team, Haru. Believe, in us!

He’s not swimming alone. Those feelings are running about all throughout his body.

Closing the door of the locker, Rin snapped the rubber of his goggles.

“All right, let’s go!”

Aki touched the goal in first place. She worries more about the time than the placing. When she turns around to look at the clock, it was indicating a good time, the kind that they didn’t easily get even in practice.

“All right!”

In the water, Aki tightly grasped her fist a little. It was completely different from yesterday. Her body moved just like she had practiced. She was able to swim with her feelings packed into it more than during practice.

――It’s going well. At this rate, we can absolutely compete for the top even in the finals!

She was able to firmly believe in that.

When she’s pulled up by Yuuki’s hand, everyone welcomed her with a smile.

“You did it, Zaki.”

“Yeah, the finals are next.”

“We got a good time, huh?”

“Really, it’ll absolutely go well with that.”

The four of their expressions were completely different from yesterday, too. Everyone realized that the team’s mood had risen.

Remaining like that near the poolside’s entranceway, Aki and the others decided to root for the boys. The girls’ second race finishing, Sano SC reached the goal in top in the boys’ first race. It’s the swimming club that Rin was in.

The boys’ second group heading towards the starting position pass by in front of Aki. Makoto’s smile was among them.

“Congrats, Zaki-chan. Good luck in the next one, too.”

“Yeah, thanks. Good luck to you, too, Tachibana-kun.”

Makoto’s raised hand overlapping with Aki’s hand, he passes by, making a snapping sound.

While heading towards the starting position, Makoto moved his gaze to the pool with small waves rising on it.

His fear of the water hasn’t disappeared yet. The feeling that there’s a monster lurking in there is still inside his mind. The feeling that he might end up being sucked into, entangled and dragged in was still clinging to him.

Supposing that if this was an individual contest, perhaps his foot would’ve been cramping up even now and in this place. Without advancing a single step forward, perhaps he would’ve been standing still. However, he has friends now. He has a team that he swam together with. If he were to say that they help each other or support each other, perhaps Haruka would get angry at him. But Makoto certainly felt supported right now. Perhaps he’s not helping anyone, perhaps he doesn’t even have the strength for it. However, it was a fact with no falseness to it that he was being supported. Makoto was standing here, being supported by his friends.

The feeling of wanting to win comes welling up, strongly and intensely, unlike before. His chest, his back, his arms, his feet, then the depths of his body are heating up. It’s not for the sake of someone, for the sake of something, much less for the sake of himself. Making an effort and worrying with everyone, they struggled for the sake of winning. So that’s why he feels that he wants to win. In just this feeling, he won’t lose to anyone. He won’t surrender to anyone.

“……Haru.”

Murmuring it so quietly that no one else can hear, he looks at Haru. Then, tightly squeezing his right fist, Makoto stepped his foot into the water’s edge.

“Hey, Haru-chan.”

Nagisa talked to him at the time that the race was about to start. He hasn’t spoken to anyone yet today. No one could come in contact with Haruka. However, Nagisa nonchalantly jumped over his defenses. To the point that it suddenly made him think that what he was obsessing over is a trivial matter, all too soon and easily.

“What should I do? I’m starting to feel nervous.”

Nagisa says without even showing such behavior. Haruka raised the corner of his mouth a little.

“You are? What a joke.”

“It’s true. C’mon look, my palms are drenched with sweat. Even my feet are shaking.”

Saying that, he shows his knees shaking. Unable to estimate how much of it he’s doing sincerely, when he lightly pokes his head, Nagisa stopping the movements of his knees, he embarrassedly cast his eyes down.

“Sorry, I lied about my feet. But I really am nervous. I ended up failing the start yesterday, so I keep thinking about what’ll I do if I end up failing again today. And so, if we don’t win, it’ll end up being my fault after all, won’t it?”

What Nagisa was saying, was something extremely simple. Finding the honest feelings inside himself that aren’t embellished with anything, he puts it into words. If it’s childish or pure, in any case, it was something that Haruka couldn’t imitate.

“Don’t think about boring things.”

“It’s not boring. It’s something very important.”

That may be so for Nagisa, but thinking it to be a boring thing after all, Haruka took a little breath.

“Then, if someone overtakes you, do you think it’s their fault that you lost?”

“Eeh, I don’t think so. Such a thing.”

Instead of saying something, Haruka stared into Nagisa’s eyes. Haruka and Nagisa mutually peek into the depths of each other’s eyes. Because of that, Nagisa finally realized that there’s a contradiction in what he’s saying.

“Ah, I see. But I’ll still end up feeling responsible for it.”

“As much as feeling responsible, say that sort of thing after you’ve gotten faster.”

“Ah, I see. Huh? Somehow, I’m suddenly at ease. My nervousness ended up disappearing after talking to Haru-chan.”

Haruka raised the corner of his mouth again, while thinking that he’s a weird guy, whether it is from simplicity or something else.

——–

The first swimmer is Makoto, the second is Nagisa, the third is Rin, the anchor is Haruka. Naturally, it’s the same order as yesterday, but he didn’t intend to make the same result.

Beating the top time in the previous race, it’s certain that Sano SC advances to the finals. While letting the feeling of swimming against Sousuke again burn his chest, Rin was looking at Makoto waiting for the starting signal.

After four short whistles, submerging on the long whistle. On the next long whistle, seizing the grip.

“Take your marks!”

――Silence――

Simultaneously with the short buzzer sound, all the swimmers leap all at once. When their heads came up, Makoto stood at the top. He keeps a beautiful streamline.

In any swimming style, being conscious of the streamline is an important matter, but it’s especially difficult for the backstroke. The cause of it was in the complicatedness of the S-shaped pull. Submerging the hand from the top of the head, since it has to rotate deeply, it isn’t stable if the shoulders are stiff. If the rolling’s inclination is made big for the sake of compensating for that, the body ends up sinking next time and speed decreases. In the state of having balanced the streamline, to perform the highly efficient S-shaped pull, the softness of the shoulders is essential.

In Makoto’s case, the softness of his shoulders was of first-class quality. He’s capable of bringing forward the hand that was in the back over his head.

Reversing at the turn, he kicks the wall. Then, when he commences the strokes, rapidly stretching again, he separates from the other swimmers.

Rin thought that Makoto is suited for the backstroke. It’s true for the softness of his shoulders, but his back is also strong. The backstroke isn’t “swimming on your back”, it’s a matter of “swimming with your back”. The strength of the back balancing the rolling, it draws a beautiful S-shaped pull.

Simultaneously with the push, you stretch your hand that’s on the entry side. Making use of the force attempting to return from the reaction of having stretched, you catch the water. There’s no futility at all in the sequence of motions. Because the strength of the back is balancing the rolling.

Repeating the powerful strokes while raising splashes, Makoto touched the wall as he kept top position.

Nagisa leaps. His timing was late by a little. Also, it’s the usual clumsy dive. One pull, one kick. Even so, he somehow manages to rise to the surface as he keeps top position.

Compared to other swimming styles, there was a reason why Nagisa’s specialty was the breaststroke. His ankles are soft. When you hold down his toes by hand, it ends up connecting to his shin. In other words, right behind it, that was also capable of kicking the water with the entirety of the sole of his foot.

But, even among the four swimming styles, since the breaststroke uses up the most physical strength, Nagisa always ends up stalling once, before the 50m point. Even now he’s being overtaken by one person, he ended up being overtaken immediately following the turn. Perhaps Nagisa is repeatedly saying ‘I got overtaken’ in his head. When that turned into ‘I’ll overtake them in return’, he plays his trump card.

Upkick――. By pulling his foot back while moving his dolphin kick upward, he not only decreases the water’s resistance, but that movement itself also becomes propulsive power. This is not something that you can do after being taught. If you don’t have that something like an innate sense, it wasn’t a way of swimming that everyone can do. For this reason, for Nagisa, who’s the type who remembers with his body, perhaps it’s fitting. Or, does that butterfly practice bear its fruits? If that is the case, it’s something that was outside of being taught.

However, that wasn’t the only reason for Nagisa’s acceleration. There’s something else that can’t be explained with words. Something else that isn’t understood unless someone is swimming lined up to him. Putting it one way, it’s something like spirit, but it also differs from that. That noisy sensation…..

Rapidly stretching, when he lines up to the second place swimmer, that swimmer’s balance breaks and he retreats. From there, stretching again, there’s a little difference with first place as he makes the touch.

Rin shoots out from a crouching start. He thought that his body is light while diving. It felt like he could fly anywhere.

―― I’m not landing on the water!

He’s still in the air. Though his senses are steadily going forward, time isn’t keeping up. Both the world around him and his own body, everything seemed to have stopped. Bewildered at the unbalance between time and senses, the bewilderment was expressed by becoming a tremor of his body. Already late when he thought that he’s done for, Rin failed at the landing on the water.

Largely dropping their rank, he retreats to fifth place. Rin, whose best feature is the dash power, ended up failing at the start. There is no reason to be patient. The time to spare on calming down and thinking about something ended up being blown off to somewhere. He can’t be composed anymore. With the exception of recklessly pushing on, he couldn’t think of anything else any more.

The race’s pace wasn’t that fast. If it was the usual Rin, even if he bears the start’s failure in mind, he was supposed to be able to sufficiently compete for the top. However, until making the 50m turn, he wasn’t capable of regaining himself.

He somehow managed to gain on, but he was barely in fourth place when he made the touch. He didn’t even have the leisure to see off Haruka diving in overhead.

All of a sudden, feeling a light, he turns around. Haruka was swimming. Haruka was swimming while emitting light. The powerful energy becoming light, it was dazzlingly emitted from Haruka.

Rin couldn’t move. He couldn’t take his eyes off of him. Spreading his wings like a water bird dancing in the skies, Rin’s heart was snatched away by Haruka, swimming as if he was gliding.

It was after Haruka had made the 50m turn that Rin somehow climbed up onto the poolside, pulled by Makoto’s hand. Bearing an overwhelming difference, Haruka’s head rises to the surface. He commences the strokes from there. A catch that seems to embrace closely. A kick that bends softly with elegance. A rolling that seems to flow. Then, from that peaceful form, a high speed that can’t even be imagined.

The sight that transcended reality fascinated and didn’t let go of not only Rin, but everyone watching. No, they’re not watching. They’re feeling it. No one here could have possibly kept from feeling the heatedly throbbing beat.

Haruka touched the goal. Without looking at the time, he lightly climbs up onto the poolside. In a manner so light that you would almost end up forgetting that he was in a race.

Even after having finished swimming, the energy that wouldn’t cool down yet kept peacefully emitting from Haruka’s body. Pressed down by that energy, no one was able to get close to him. They can’t move.

Haruka got faster again. And yet, not even regret is welling up. He could only be exposed to Haruka’s emitting energy.

Rin looks at his hand. It was trembling slightly. It’s not just Rin. Makoto’s back was also trembling. Nagisa’s feet were also trembling so much that he couldn’t walk.

Walking up to Nagisa, Haruka puts his right hand on his shoulder. At that moment, Nagisa’s eyes were flooding with tears. Cries flooded from Nagisa’s mouth. While hugging Haruka, he cried, raising a large voice. Unafraid of what the other people around may think, he sobbed, clinging to Haruka.

Haruka put his hand on Nagisa’s head, without being surprised or bewildered.

“Next are, the finals.”

“Yeah, Haru-chan. Haru-chan!”

After he looked up at Haruka’s face, Nagisa cried on Haruka’s chest again.

In the locker room, voices of delight and voices of consolation were mingled together in a mess. And, the thread of nervousness being stretched around inside it. The finals are held after this in every contest. Both the free that Haruka was supposed to swim in and the breaststroke that Makoto was supposed to swim in. And also the medley relay that the four of them are swimming in.

Haruka and the others all sat on the bench in silence. With a little reddish tinge remaining in his eyes, the irregularity of his breathing gone, Nagisa had completely regained his composure. While lightly rotating his shoulders, Makoto was boosting his concentration for facing the finals. Haruka was just expressionlessly staring at a spot. If it were to be compared, with a gaze that seemed to be staring at the future.

And Rin was still hesitating.

Even though he was supposed to have decided to face them seriously, no matter what, he couldn’t take one more step forward. Even though it might put him at ease if he told them everything……

No, he’s not telling them for the sake of being eased. He’s telling them for the sake of becoming a true team. He can’t do the best swimming as long as he’s hiding his own feelings. It can’t be possible. Even though he understands that, his still hesitant self was helplessly chagrined.

“Matsuoka.”

His name suddenly called, he looks at Haruka. Haruka’s gaze was still facing towards a distant place somewhere else.

“Earlier, what happened?”

It wasn’t a blaming tone. He’s asking because he really doesn’t know. That’s what it felt like.

―― Because you swam like that yesterday…….

He stopped thinking about considering it that far. No matter how many excuses you make, nothing will start. Could he have been nervous? That is also possible. Rather, he might’ve put in too much fighting spirit. Thinking too much that he has to do it, his spirits rising higher than necessary, he lost his calm judgment. But there’s nothing to do about it, understanding it by this time.

“Sorry.”

He honestly apologized. Those were the only words he could find.

Haruka turns his gaze towards Rin.

“Sorry, for making you worry too much.”

Haruka said it in a voice that was barely audible. While slowly breathing out the air trapped in his chest, Rin felt his mood becoming lighter.

―― Don’t apologize. It’s fine if you just swim the way you like.

Nodding his head with a smile, Rin replied to Haruka in silence.

That’s how it was. Even if they struggled on their way to get here, it can’t be helped. Makoto is looking at Rin, raising his eight-shaped eyebrows. Rin is reflected in Nagisa’s transparent eyes. There’s no need at all to hide it or fancy it up now. It’s fine if he tells them with the intention of laying out the truth.

“Thanks, everyone. For going along with my selfishness this far.”

As Rin says it, Makoto showed his usual smile.

“We’re not really going along. We’re all here because we want to be here.”

“That’s right. That’s how it was.”

It was unreasonable for Makoto to say that, and it made him feel bad. Making them go along with tough practice, he also got them to hold back from events other than the medley relay. So, of course he’s grateful. So, of course he has to tell them. The truth――.

“There’s something that I’ve been hesitant to say all along. The next race, it’s the last even if we cry or smile. So before that, I still want to tell you. It’s, the story of my pops….”

There, he cuts his words short once. The three of them were looking at Rin without saying anything.

Strengthening his resolve, Rin takes a deep breath. A long, long one, like before starting a dive.

“My dad was in the first generation of Iwatobi SC. There are photos displayed in the break room. Pops is in them.”

It’s the group photo they take every year in March. That endmost, oldest photo. The one with the boy holding the trophy and happily laughing in the middle.

“Apparently, Pops won the medley relay championship when he was in sixth grade. His dream for the future was to become an Olympic swimmer.”

It’s a really childlike dream. Laughably so. Like that, Rin tries to curl the corner of his lip, but it didn’t turn into a smile that well.

“In the end, Pops couldn’t become an Olympic swimmer, he became a fisherman.”

He cuts his words. He hesitates on the next words. Makoto pulls together his eight-shaped eyebrows. Haruka narrows his eyes. Nagisa’s throat moves a little.

Cheering up his heart that began to look down, Rin lifted his face.

“He became a fisherman….. and ended up sinking. I hear that it was in a place that wasn’t even 3 km away from the fishing harbor.”

A mute sound escaped from Makoto’s throat.

“Haru……”

He looks at Haruka, like he’s depending on him. Haruka looks back at Makoto. These two were able to have a conversation in silence. Most likely, they’re confirming with each other what happened so many years ago.

Looking at that happen, Rin was able to confirm that those two from that time were Haruka and Makoto.

Haruka turns towards Rin with a grim expression.

“Did we…. meet?”

Rin nodded while lightly showing a smile.

“Seems so…..”

He was walking while holding his sister’s hand. The grieving figures of the people around them were more painful than his father’s passing. Suddenly, feeling someone’s eyes on him, when he turns around, two children around the same age as him were motionlessly staring at Rin and the others. Firmly wiping his tears, when he stares back at them, the two had already run off to somewhere.

“Since when did you know?”

Haruka asks.

“When Haru fell in the river and was carried by the ambulance, Makoto held onto the edge of Haru’s clothes all along.”

Holding onto just the edge of his clothes, he kept calling Haruka’s name while shaking.

“I thought that might be the case at that time. I thought so, looking at Makoto’s hand gripping your clothes.”

Haruka and Makoto look at each other. Then, they have a conversation in silence again.

Rin continued his story.

“I decided to go to Australia. After deciding that, I wanted to speak to Pops very much. To be honest, I don’t even remember his face and I don’t have a single memory of him left. When he went out fishing, since apparently he didn’t come home for days, it’s understandable…..”

Haruka asks Rin.

“Did you speak to him?”

“I don’t know. Not yet, probably…… I just thought that if I went to the same swimming club as Pops, after winning the championship in the medley relay, maybe I could, see the same dream. But that’s unrelated to everyone, it’s kinda embarrassing a little, so that’s why I kept silent….. But I thought that I have to face you all up front, or we can’t become a true team. It’s a very selfish story, but I really thought so. I, with you all, I want to become a true… the best team!”

Rin’s eyes heat up. Something hot flows out. He looks at Haruka with those eyes. He looks at Makoto. He looks at Nagisa. He thought that he doesn’t mind even if he peeks into the depths of his eyes. He thought that he doesn’t mind even if he exposes all of himself. If it’s to these best teammates.

“The first time I called out. After I lost to Haruka. That time, I was kinda happy, that there’s a fast guy at Iwatobi SC. Since I was just like you guys, I became strangely curious, every time we met, I thought that we might make a good team. It’s true.”

Rin sniffled once.

“That’s the reason. Thanks.”

It was the reply to the question that Makoto had asked days before. That time when Rin said that he only wanted to swim in the relay, Makoto asked him why he was so obsessed with the relay, it’s to that…..

Nagisa asked Rin, while rubbing his eyes that wore a new reddish tinge.

“But hey, the people at Sano SC who were your friends all along, aren’t they mad?”

Wiping at the corner of his eyes once, Rin shows Nagisa a laugh.

“I got them to properly understand. Besides, it’s better if I’m not on the same team as Sousuke.”

“Sousuke’s the person who swam with Rin-chan yesterday?”

“That’s right.”

“Why?”

“Because we understand each other too well. He’s even more theoretical than I am, we often quarreled. So, we settled on it that the faster way is always correct, but our competitive spirit wasn’t half-baked anymore. It’s a hard thing, being birds of a feather.”

“Do you hate him?”

“I don’t hate him. Rather, I still think of him as the person who understands me the most. But sometimes, it becomes difficult to be together……. When I end up understanding his feelings, I end up not being able to say the things that I want to. I can no longer seriously go up against him. That’s not a friend, it’s like an alter-ego, isn’t it? You don’t like or hate your alter-ego. Ending up like that, no longer thinking of them as a friend, it’s really painful……. It’s that swimming with nonsensical guys like you is more amusing. Though there’s a lot of trouble, too. ”

“What do you mean by nonsensical?”

“Like, a guy whose arms stretch right before the goal.”

“Is that me?”

“Like, a guy who wastefully swims with all his power.”

“That’s Mako-chan, huh?”

“Like, a guy who does an unbelievable swimming once you think it’s no use.”

“Haru-chan was amazing, huh?”

“You guys really are a bunch of weirdos.”

Raising his eight-shaped eyebrows, Makoto shows a carefree smile.

“There’s a crybaby romanticist who speaks of his dream, too, huh?”

Rin wanted to answer something back to that, but thinking that it’s just like that, his mouth opened into a broad smile.

He tries and thinks about what his father’s teams was like. Since they won the championship, they were surely a good team, though.

――But hey, Pops. Sorry but this team is the best!

The announcement informing the beginning of the finals was heard in the locker room. The invisible thread of nervousness stretches around, while complicatedly entangling.

Equipping his goggles, Rin snapped the rubber.

“The last one settles it!”

“Yeah!”

While raising his eight-shaped eyebrows, Makoto sticks his chest out.

“All right!”

Nagisa makes a sound with the goggles’ rubber, imitating Rin.

And, Haruka quietly emits the strong energy from his body.

It suddenly felt like the wind was blowing. It was a wind that contained the salt water’s scent a little. He thought that it was quite similar to Mutsukibashi’s wind. That wind blew through the locker room without a sound, as if it was inviting the four of them to the place of the finals.

“It’s tomorrow, right?”

While lining up at the starting block, Sousuke talked to Rin from beside him. He’s confirming that tomorrow is the day that he departs to Australia.

“Yeah, next is way ahead.”

Rin replies that the next time they swim together will be way ahead.

“Then, gotta win today.”

“That’s how it is.”

If he ends up losing today, he’ll end up carrying that regret for many years to come. They mutually recognized that.

It was only that much of a conversation. The oath to certainly compete against each other again many years ahead was put into only that much of a conversation. It was a promise that meant that they’ll only put in the strength of competing against each other. Just that much was enough.

Makoto waited for the starting signal, seizing his grip.

“Take your marks!”

――Silence――

Short buzzer sound.

Makoto leaps backwards. Then, landing on the water. The sensation of being roughly tasted by the large monster. The feeling that believes that the water is scary is still there. However, his body didn’t cower anymore. Even if the ‘fear’ is still clinging to a corner of his heart, now the feeling of connecting to everyone had won. That feeling takes priority over everything else.

He mustn’t run away anymore. He’ll push forward to the limits of his strength. That’s what his heart commands. There’s no need at all to hesitate. Only to swim with all his power.

While rising to the surface, he commences the strokes. He narrows his eyes to the blueness of the sky. Even being indoors, even with his goggles on, he was able to feel the radiance of the sky. Makoto felt so good while swimming that he almost forgot that he was in a race.

When he rises to the surface after making the turn, the shape of Makoto’s splashes changed a little. Simultaneously, the scent of salt water wraps up his body. It was a strange sensation. No, it’s not just a sensation. The things he sees with his eyes, the things he hears with his ears, all of it changed to the sea. Reflecting the blue sky filled with light, the rolling sea surface was peacefully creating a diffused reflection.

Makoto was swimming in the middle of a vast expanse of sea now.

It’s been years since he last swam in the sea. However, there’s no fear. He even thinks that it feels good. There’s surely a monster in this water, too. There’s no doubt about it, it’s lurking at the bottom of the deep sea, and it’ll soon be attacking Makoto.

However, there was something that Makoto had to do now. He had a mission to complete at any cost. To reach Haruka, Haruka and the others, faster than anyone else. If it’s for the sake of that mission, no matter what kind of monster it may be, it wasn’t worthy of fearing.

Kicking up the waves, Makoto became a marine animal. Striking his tail fin, bending his whole body, while powerfully brushing away the water, he pushes on. Faster, faster than any animal living in the sea.

――Reach!

Hitting the wall with his feelings packed into it, he shouts while raising his body.

“Go, Nagisa!”

Nagisa’s body fluttering in midair, he makes the landing on the water at a beautiful angle. The water’s surface as the border, the world surrounding Nagisa changes. Light and sound both, everything peacefully starts to sway. Then, Nagisa fully ascended to the height of simple thought.  Just to the one point of swimming fast.

He kicks the mass of water with a heavy impact. Seizing the water, he rapidly pushes his way through. He turns his conscious towards forward, forward. He doesn’t feel the exhaustion of his physical strength. He can still go. He can still swim. Like this, it feels like he could advance to anywhere.

He makes the turn, touching the surface of the wall with both hands. One pull, one kick.

Suddenly, he noticed that someone is swimming in front of him. They’re in the same lane. He thinks that it’s not possible, but somebody was definitely swimming. He tries to turn his consciousness to who it may be. At that moment, feeling the emission of a strong energy, his chest became hot.

―― It’s Haru-chan!

There’s no doubt about it. Haruka is swimming in front of him.

―― Come and keep up.

Haruka says.

―― Yeah, Haru-chan.

While thinking that he absolutely won’t be separated, his arm stretches.

―― You’ve gotten pretty fast, haven’t you?

―― Mako-chan.

Before he knew it, Makoto was swimming on Nagisa’s right side.

―― Really? I’ve gotten faster?

Rin comes lining up to him on the left side.

―― You’ve practiced so much. It’d be strange if you hadn’t gotten faster.

―― Rin-chan.

―― Well, you can’t beat me, though.

――I can swim faster than Rin-chan.

――You’re telling me, huh. Then try proving it.

―― All right.

――You shouldn’t try too hard, Nagisa. You have to loosen up more.

――But, we can’t win unless I try my best, can we?

―― Trying your best is fine, but you shouldn’t put in futile strength.

――Haha, Mako-chan is always swimming with all his strength.

―― I’m gonna leave you behind if you chatter.

―― Ah, wait up. Haru-chan.

The wind that blew on Mutsukibashi pushes Nagisa from behind.

――How far are we going? Haru-chan.

―― You know, of course. To the goal.

―― Yeah!

Nagisa’s arms stretch another stage. His body riding the water, acquiring even more lifting power, he accelerates. Glad that he’s swimming together with everyone, he strongly feels that he wants to swim faster for this reason. Packing that feeling into it, he touched the wall.

“Rin-chan, good luck!”

Rin shoots out from the crouching start posture. He was even able to accurately measure the slight difference from Nagisa’s touch to when his feet kick off from the starting block. The bizarre concentration that he felt in the earlier race visited Rin again. However, it doesn’t bewilder him anymore. He doesn’t lose sight of himself anymore. So calmly that it’s surprising, he was able to judge the situation. There’s no unnecessary nervousness or fighting spirit or anything at all. There was only the certain feeling that he wanted to connect to Haruka with the best swimming. Then, the concentration that has crossed its utmost limits makes Rin rapidly evolve.

Among the eight swimmers in the race, even now that he’s fluttering in midair, he was able to accurately know who’s in which position. He’s landing on the water from his fingertips at the ideal angle. He even distinctly knew the shapes of the splashes rising. He feels it without seeing it with his eyes. He was able to count to the single fine bubble made underwater.

He commences the strokes from the dolphin kick. Catch, then keyhole pull. He doesn’t even feel the smallest particle out of order. He was able to look down on his own form from right overhead. It’s not an image. He’s actually seeing it. Inside his retina, it tightly bound the picture. If he were to extend his field of vision, he can also see the form of everyone swimming right now. Just now, he was able to know without the tiniest bit of confusion even that Sousuke had made the start. It seems like he can even hear his breathing.

―― Pops…..

After the turn, those words suddenly passed by a corner of his mind. Perhaps Sousuke would say to not think about unnecessary things when swimming. However, even without thinking about it, it steadily occupies his mind. It’s not that he’s making too much of it. As a certain truth, it wells up from the depths of his heart.

――Is Pops showing me this sight?

His chest getting hot, that temperature is conveyed to his arms, to his legs. Exceeding the ideal, a yet unseen world spreads out before his eyes. The future that’s filled with light to the point of overflowing. Rin stretched his arms out towards the direction that light shines.

―― I’ll show you. The extraordinary sight, that can’t be seen unless it’s the four of us!

Rin’s hand touches the surface of the wall. Then, lifting his face, he shouts to Haruka diving overhead.

“Haru!”

Haruka fluttered in midair while hearing Rin’s voice. Even though he’s a companion that irritates him so much, he feels an unusual pleasantness. Finding it strange for himself to be like that, he ends up smiling.

Making the landing on the water, he slips his body in. Without forcibly pressing it down or denying it. They’re not becoming one body, nor is he excluding it. Accepting each other’s existence, they recognize each other.

Detesting his self that relied on water, he attempted to be strong. The more he thinks about it like that, the water coils around him, heavily persisting, it attempted to snatch away his freedom like shackles. And yet, Haruka just recklessly swam, just moving his hands and feet blindly. Having long forgotten things such as feeling the water.

The result of that is in yesterday’s race. It was a sensation like dropping into the abyss possessing an infinite deepness, to anywhere.

Just before the semifinals, when Nagisa talked to him, he thought about how he’s reflected in those eyes. Nagisa was staring only at swimming faster, straight ahead, without doubting anything. His self reflected in those eyes was helplessly hesitating. Wavering with hesitation, he was wandering about. And, he was weakly seeking help.

If he keeps fighting against the existence called water like that, what will he see ahead? Or, if he starts depending on it again, is it something that he should honestly accept? Seeking help from someone, while attempting to rely on something, he was attempting to deny such a weak self.

――What are you doing?

In the earlier race, it’s what he thought while watching Rin swim. And, these are words that he has also said to himself like that. Both depending on the water to heal his weak self and refusing the water to become strong, in the end, it was the same thing. Just as Nagisa keeps being like Nagisa, it’s fine as long as he keeps being like himself. That was the light that he had found while aimlessly wandering in the dark, deep water.

A strong energy fills his body from within. He didn’t intend to hold it back anymore. Makoto’s feelings burn inside Haruka. Nagisa’s feelings give wings to Haruka. Rin’s feelings becoming the wind, it makes Haruka accelerate. He wasn’t hesitant about anything anymore. He swims, just strongly believing in his feelings. That’s all it was.

Inside his chest, the very depths of it helplessly begins to heat up. Just like a flame bursting out, his body gets hotter. The moment that sparkling splashes touched his body, it all evaporates and disappears. His arms and legs burnt red are steadily heating up.

Before long, Haruka becoming a single ray of light, he pierced through the water with a dazzling high speed. He tremendously headed towards the goal in the distance.