Thursday morning. The light slanting through the classroom window fell across the desk with an almost piercing sharpness. Matsuoka Rio sat motionless, pen tip resting at the edge of a notebook. *(I ran away yesterday.)* Nagisa's confession on the rooftop. Those golden eyes were still seared into the back of her mind. The voice that had said he wouldn't give up echoed again and again deep in her ears. *(What am I supposed to do?)* Nagisa's feelings had made her happy. But deep in her chest, the image of Nanase Haruka still lingered. The pain of having witnessed that kiss in the locker room was still raw, too. Liking someone and being liked by someone were completely different things, yet both weighed on her heart with the same crushing force. A friend in the next seat was looking at her with concern. Rio hurriedly put on a practiced smile. " [gentle] I'm fine. Just... thinking about something." The words came out most easily when she was anything but fine. A verbal tic. The time until the end of the school day passed in a blur. When classes ended, Rio dragged her heavy feet out into the hallway. Her steps toward the clubroom slowed against her will. If she opened that door, Makoto might be there. Haruka would be there. Nagisa, too. She didn't know how she was supposed to face any of them. The hallway in the gymnasium building. The musty air mingled with the smell of disinfectant. Outside the window, the surface of the pool reflected the afternoon light, rippling and swaying. She stood before the clubroom door. One deep breath. Then, she opened it. " Ah." Inside the room, there was a broad back. Brownish hair swayed gently in the breeze. The light streaming through the window traced the silhouette. Tachibana Makoto turned around with a smile. His pale green eyes curved gently into crescent moons. " [gentle] Rio-chan. Thanks for your hard work." His voice was warm, like a patch of spring sunlight. "It's been a while. Here, a little something. For everyone to share." Makoto held out a paper bag. The fragrant scent of freshly baked bread drifted from inside. The moment Rio saw that smile, her feet stopped. Something throbbed dully deep in her chest. *(That smile.)* The scene flashed back in her mind like lightning. The locker room. The faint rustle of clothing. The two silhouettes glimpsed through the gap in the curtain. That moment when Haruka touched Makoto's cheek and slowly drew closer. Makoto must have been wearing this exact smile then, too. A special smile meant only for Haruka. It was this smile that had drawn Haruka into that kiss. *(I'm the only one who knows.)* That fact squeezed tight around the center of her chest. The loneliness of carrying a secret she couldn't tell anyone. And jealousy toward Makoto. Why did she have to feel jealous of someone this kind, someone everyone liked? That, too, only made her suffer more. But her face moved on its own. " [gentle] Thank you very much. You didn't have to go to the trouble." A practiced smile. Lift the corners of the mouth, narrow the eyes. The manager's face she had rehearsed countless times. Makoto gazed steadily at Rio's face for a moment. His eyes seemed to be searching for something. But then he smiled again right away. " [gentle] No trouble at all. Good luck with practice." --- Poolside. Practice had already begun. Hazuki Nagisa gazed absently across the water at Haruka's back as he swam beyond the lane rope. Light blue goggles reflected the afternoon light. In the next lane, Makoto stood with his arms crossed, watching Haruka's swimming. " [gentle] Haruka. Your form. The angle of your arms is a little shallow." Makoto's voice carried clearly across the wide poolside. Yet it never sounded angry. It had a gentle, enveloping quality. Haruka nodded wordlessly. His blue eyes glanced at Makoto for just an instant. Then he submerged his face in the water once more. The next length. Haruka's swimming was undeniably smoother than before. The arm angle had been corrected, changing how he caught the water. *(Amazing.)* Nagisa murmured inwardly. A single word from Makoto, and Haruka's swimming changed. It happened as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Between the two of them flowed a perfect atmosphere that no one else could enter. No matter how cheerfully he acted, no matter how loudly he made them laugh, it was a place he could never reach. Nagisa kicked the water's surface with a little more force. Splash hit his face. The smell of chlorine stung his nose. Just then, Makoto turned toward Nagisa. " [gentle] Nagisa, your times are improving. Looking good." His voice held the same gentleness he had just used with Haruka. *(The same, huh.)* But something was different. Nagisa felt it. A restlessness stirred deep in his chest. It wasn't the same as his feelings for Rio. It wasn't jealousy toward Haruka, either. It was something far more nameless. Looking at Makoto's broad back gave him a strange feeling — an itchiness in the pit of his stomach, and yet a desire to be closer. *(Do I... toward this person...)* Nagisa shook his head, cutting the thought off there. Water droplets scattered, glittering in the light. He'd stop thinking. For now, he just needed to focus on swimming. --- After practice. The clubroom had fallen utterly silent. The other members had already finished changing and gone home one by one. Haruka had wordlessly slung a blue towel over his shoulder and left, and Nagisa had slammed his locker shut and walked out, too. Rio was alone, folding the washed towels. One white towel, then another, stacked neatly. The faint scent of detergent still lingered. *(Did I manage to do things right today, too?)* She moved her hands as she thought. She liked the folding work because it let her empty her mind. " [gentle] I'll help." A voice spoke, and Rio looked up. Makoto stood in front of the steel lockers. He must have stayed behind in the clubroom without her noticing. " [surprised] Makoto-senpai, you were still here?" " [gentle] Yeah. There's something I wanted to talk to you about, Rio-chan." Makoto crouched down beside her. His large hand took one of the unfolded towels. His movements were practiced, and in no time he had formed it into a neat square. For a while, the two of them continued folding towels in silence. The evening sun streamed in through the window. The inside of the clubroom was dyed orange. The sound of water draining from the pool's outlet could be heard in the distance. " [whispers] Lately, you've been pausing a bit before you come into the clubroom." Makoto spoke quietly as he folded a towel. Rio's hands stopped for a moment. " [gentle] Rio-chan, are you okay? You're not pushing yourself too hard?" His pale green eyes peered at Rio's profile. That gentle gaze made her chest ache sharply. *(He's noticed.)* Makoto saw through everything. Haruka, Nagisa, and even her. But even so. Rio put on a smile. " [gentle] I'm totally fine. Just a little short on sleep. It's your imagination." She had swapped her habitual "I'm fine" for different words. Right after that. The towel she was holding slipped. It fell to the floor with a soft sound. Rio hurriedly tried to pick it up. But her fingers trembled and couldn't grasp it properly. Her hands were shaking with fine tremors she couldn't stop even if she tried. *(Why, at a time like this?)* Makoto said nothing. He just quietly reached out and picked up the towel. Then, he silently handed it to her. Rio took the towel. And then their eyes met. Makoto's eyes were kind. But deep within them dwelled a light that seemed to see through everything. A kindness that understood it all yet never spoke it aloud. The kindness of not asking. Rio couldn't bear that gaze. For just one second, she averted her eyes. She couldn't maintain the practiced smile. *(This person can accept everything.)* Haruka's feelings, her own feelings, Nagisa's feelings. He understood them all, and still he could be kind. That, more than anything, was unbearably painful. Makoto didn't ask anything more. He simply picked up another towel and silently began folding it. In the clubroom, only the faint sound of towels rubbing together echoed. --- The hallway. Hazuki Nagisa stood in front of the clubroom door. He had been inside just moments ago, but when he saw Rio and Makoto left alone together, he had stepped out once. But he couldn't stop worrying, and he had come back. He leaned his back against the wall. The cold feel of the concrete seeped through his back. *(Makoto-senpai is still in there.)* Alone with Rio. He imagined the scene in his head. Makoto smiling gently. Rio looking just a little embarrassed. His stomach churned. *(This is jealousy, isn't it.)* Jealousy toward whom? Jealousy toward Makoto born from his feelings for Rio? Or some other feeling, directed at Makoto himself? Even Nagisa didn't know. He clenched his fist tight. He wanted to go inside. He wanted to see Rio's face. But if he went in now, he didn't know what he would say. In the end, Nagisa couldn't open the door. He pulled out his phone and pretended to look at the screen. He scrolled meaninglessly through his StellaPost timeline. Time passed with excruciating slowness. --- Just before Shiomizaka. The sky was already dyed a deep crimson. The Shiokaze Lighthouse stood out white against the edge of the cape. Rio was walking down the slope alone. Her exchange with Makoto in the clubroom still weighed on her chest. Those kind eyes. That gaze that seemed to see through everything. *(Makoto-senpai probably understands everything.)* Her own feelings for Haruka. Nagisa's feelings, too. That was precisely why he hadn't asked anything, probably. Because he believed that not asking was kindness. But that kindness, right now, was simply painful. Footsteps chased after her from behind. " [excited] Senpai!" She turned to see Nagisa running up to her. His bright brown hair shone golden in the evening sun. " [gentle] Nagisa-kun..." Nagisa fell into step beside her, matching her pace as they walked. He was a little out of breath. He must have run. The two of them descended the slope in silence for a while. The wind carried the scent of the tide. Somewhere, a seagull cried. " [serious] Senpai." Abruptly, Nagisa spoke. He kept his face forward. His golden eyes gazed at the distant lighthouse. "What do you think of Makoto-senpai?" Rio's feet nearly stopped. *(What do I think?)* Words spun around and around in her head. Haruka's most important person. The kind vice-captain everyone liked. The owner of that smile that had drawn Haruka into a kiss. The person she was jealous of. And yet, someone she couldn't bring herself to hate. There were so many things she wanted to say. But none of them would form into words. Her feelings for Haruka. The mixture of rivalry and friendship toward Makoto. The guilt of not yet answering Nagisa's confession. Everything rushed into her chest at once and caught in her throat. Rio kept walking, silent. Nagisa said nothing more, either. Only the sound of their footsteps echoed through the quiet slope. Before long, they reached the fork in the road. To the right, Rio's house. To the left, Nagisa's. They stopped. " [gentle] ...See you tomorrow." Nagisa said it with his usual bright smile. But his eyes weren't smiling. " [whispers] Yes. See you tomorrow." Rio gave a small bow and started down the right-hand path. She felt Nagisa's gaze on her back. But she couldn't turn around. --- Home. Rio entered her room and dropped her bag on the floor. Her phone screen flickered. A LINE notification. There was a new message in the "Iwatobi Penguins" group. She opened it to find a single line from Makoto. *"Thanks for today, everyone."* The moment she saw those words, a sharp pain shot through her chest. *(As I thought, this person...)* Kind to everyone, always concern