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-cla.s.s 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 b.r.e.a.s.t.stroke. 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 b.r.e.a.s.t.stroke 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 b.u.t.terfly 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 s.n.a.t.c.hed 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 b.r.e.a.s.t.stroke 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 pa.s.sing. 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 embarra.s.sing 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 compet.i.tive 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 ma.s.s 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 pa.s.sed 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 s.n.a.t.c.h 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.