Monday after school. When I opened the club room door, musty air hit my nose. The room, tucked at the edge of the gymnasium building, was about twelve tatami mats in size. Six lockers lined the wall, and an old sofa sat in the middle. Through the window, I could see the pool. The empty water surface shimmered and swayed in the evening sun. *It's so beautiful,* I thought. Matsuoka Rio looked at the whiteboard. Below tomorrow's menu, a countdown was written. Thirty-seven days until the Inter-High prefectural qualifiers. *(Just over a month until Inter-High.)* The annual club budget was 180,000 yen. Five members and one manager. Under Iwatobi High School's club activity regulations, if membership dropped below five, they'd be demoted to a "circle." If that happened, the budget would be halved. With this bare-minimum number, they were aiming for nationals. Rio began wiping the steel lockers with a rag. Six lockers, six names. From the front: Nanase Haruka, Tachibana Makoto, Hazuki Nagisa, Ryugazaki Rei, Yamazaki Sousuke. And her own name wasn't on the list. Because managers don't count toward club membership numbers. *(It's... not like it matters.)* But it was a little lonely. She touched Nanase Haruka's locker. The metal was cold against her fingertips. She'd touched it during yesterday's cleaning too, and ended up crying. Picking up a towel, tracing the letters of his name. That summer day in third year of middle school. At a meet her brother Rin had taken her to watch, she'd seen Haruka's profile as he gazed at nothing but the water. In that instant, her heart clenched painfully, as if grabbed by a fist, and she'd thought, *ah, I'm in love with him.* Ever since, she'd been here, never telling anyone. At a school she'd come to even after turning down a recommendation from a sister school, cleaning every day, timing laps, preparing towels. "...I do this because I want to." She tried saying it aloud, but the words echoed through the club room and vanished. So when she heard the rustle of clothing from the locker room in the back, Rio felt like her heart stopped. *(Wait, is someone here?)* There shouldn't have been any sounds. When she'd called out before starting to clean, no one had been there. And yet, now. Faint breathing. The sound of fabric brushing against something. Still gripping the rag, Rio walked toward the source of the sound. The entrance to the locker room was at the very back of the club room. A curtain hung over it, blocking the view inside. Maybe someone had come back for something they forgot. Thinking that, she peered through a gap in the curtain. And froze. Nanase Haruka was there. And Tachibana Makoto was there. They were facing each other. Haruka's right hand was touching Makoto's cheek. Long fingers, gently tracing the outline of his face, as if memorizing it. *What... are they doing?* Haruka's blue eyes wavered. Those eyes, usually as quiet as the bottom of the water, were different now. As if desperately trying to confirm something, and yet, as if afraid. And then, slowly, he brought his face closer. She couldn't believe her own eyes. Their lips met. A quiet kiss. A truly quiet kiss. Just a touch, but one that unmistakably held meaning. Rio fled from the spot. Careful not to make a sound, holding her breath. She didn't think they'd noticed. Probably, neither of them was in any state to. She slipped out the club room door and onto the empty poolside. The evening sun stabbed at her eyes. She crouched down in the corner by the drain. Hugged her knees. The trembling wouldn't stop. *(I shouldn't have seen that.)* She repeated it in her head. But she'd already seen it. Having seen it doesn't make it go away. Haruka had kissed Makoto. It wasn't a kiss between friends. At least, not for Haruka. *(It's not me.)* Her brother Rin was a genius swimmer. Ever since she was little, it had always been *Rin is amazing, Rio is ordinary.* She'd never once been anyone's number one. Haruka's number one was different, too. It was obvious. It had been that way from the start. Makoto was always beside him. No one could come between those two. She understood it in her head, but the center of her chest ached as if it had caved in, and she couldn't breathe. "...I guess, after all, I'm..." Her voice slipped out. A tear spilled over. Once it fell, it wouldn't stop. She cried, stifling her voice. Just like yesterday. No, worse. Yesterday, somewhere inside, she'd still been hoping. "It's okay, it's okay..." She murmured it like a mantra, trying to convince herself. A habit. These words always came out precisely when she wasn't okay. "I have to smile. In front of everyone, I'm the manager." But the tears wouldn't stop. "Senpai?" At the voice, she turned to find Hazuki Nagisa standing there. His usually bright, bouncing brown hair swayed slightly in the breeze. His large, golden-brown eyes were wide with surprise. In his hands were a towel—probably something he'd forgotten—and a canned juice, likely from the vending machine. "N-Nagisa-kun..." She frantically wiped her tears. She tried to force an awkward smile and say she was fine. "[gentle]Here." Nagisa didn't ask anything. He just crouched down beside her and placed the canned juice in front of Rio. The cold can made a small sound against the concrete. "I came back for something I forgot. And then, well, um..." His eyes darted around as if searching for words, and then, leaving a little space between them, Nagisa sat down next to her. Just the two of them on the vast poolside. The evening sun dyed the water's surface orange, and the only sound was water flowing into the drain. "...I'm fine. Totally. I just got a little something in my eye." When Rio said that, Nagisa's expression twisted slightly. "That's a lie, isn't it." It wasn't his usual cheerful tone. It was low, and his voice held a hint of anger. "I know the face you make when you're lying, senpai." Rio couldn't say anything. "It was the day of the entrance ceremony." Nagisa spoke while looking at the distant sky. The Shiokaze Lighthouse stood white at the tip of the cape, visible in the distance. "I went to the wrong classroom and happened to pass by this club room. And then I heard crying from inside. When I peeked in, you were crying alone, senpai. And I thought, *this is bad.*" Ever since then, Nagisa said. "I decided I couldn't let you cry. So I've been trying to stay cheerful ever since." Her chest tightened. "Nagisa-kun, that's..." "I like you." Suddenly, Nagisa looked straight at her. His golden eyes reflected the evening sun, holding an incredibly earnest light. Those eyes, always sparkling and bright, were different now. They were the eyes of someone who had made a decision. "I like you, Matsuoka-senpai." His voice didn't waver. "The way you do your manager work, your habit of twirling your hair, the way you force a smile—all of it. Ever since the entrance ceremony, I've only ever watched you, senpai." Rio couldn't say anything. "But I know that the person you like is Haruka-senpai." A sharp pain pierced her chest. "So I'm not saying I want you to look at me right now. But." Nagisa glanced just once at the distant lighthouse. Looking at his profile, Rio realized it for the first time. Nagisa wasn't just cheerful. He was actually someone who watched his surroundings more closely than anyone, desperately trying to protect his place in the world. It was the same as her. For a moment, Nagisa fell silent, as if hesitating over something. He was remembering the night of last summer's training camp. That night in the backyard of the Umineko Inn, when Makoto had been sitting alone under the moonlight. Sitting beside him, Nagisa had heard Makoto say in a gentle voice, "Nagisa, you're a hard worker." That voice had been so warm, Nagisa remembered the deep, spreading heat in his chest. His admiration for Makoto. His feelings for Rio. Both were real. And that was precisely why he had to decide whose side he should be at now. Nagisa closed his eyes, and then, as if resolved, opened them again. "...When you're crying, senpai, I want to be the one beside you. Not Haruka-senpai, not Mako-chan—me." Tears spilled from Rio's eyes again. But this time, they were different from the ones before. "[gentle]I'm not giving up. Absolutely not." Nagisa stood up and held out his hand to Rio. "Anyway, drink the juice. And then wash your face. If the others see you with your eyes all swollen from crying, they'll worry." He was back to his usual bright smile. But his eyes were still serious. After hesitating just a little, Rio timidly took his hand. Nagisa's hand was warm. "...Thank you, Nagisa-kun." "[excited]You're welcome! Now, let's go!" They started walking side by side along the poolside. The evening sun stretched their shadows long, and the water's surface still swayed in orange. From the direction of the gymnasium, they could hear the voices of the club members. Practice would start soon. Rio walked, clutching the canned juice. *(Just a moment ago, I thought I could never be anyone's number one.)* But now, Nagisa was beside her. He'd told her he liked her. He'd told her he wouldn't give up. She didn't know yet if that was the answer. But she felt like something had stirred, just a little, in the center of her chest. A small, but definite change. Nagisa was Nagisa—tucking his feelings for Makoto deep inside his heart, yet still choosing to walk beside Rio. He didn't know if it was the right choice. But it was precisely because he had feelings he couldn't resolve right now that he was here, beside her. The two of them walked toward the club room. Behind them, the evening sun was slowly beginning to set. An unadorned resolve seeped from Nagisa's back. It was proof that feelings for someone are quiet and deep, like being underwater—and that even once submerged, they don't disappear.