During a breath, Kiyomizu suddenly noticed that four new competitors had joined him in the pool at some point.
(All five lanes are occupied?)
The cheers erupting around him were a bit of a surprise, especially since his own name was mixed in.
(Strange... I haven't really done anything special for the class.)
Although he was confused, being cheered on by everyone did feel good. By the tenth lap, he took a quick glance to his sides as he turned and saw that only Rokusuke Koenji was still going. Sudo and Hirata had already dropped out, and even the inscrutable Kiyotaka Ayanokoji was gone.
(Sudo and Hirata probably gave it their all... but that Ayanokoji was definitely holding back.)
Kiyomizu thought back to Ayanokoji's powerful muscles, which seemed completely at odds with his abilities. The lines of his body as he moved through the water clearly contained immense explosive power. A physique like that, forged through long-term training, couldn't be achieved by just casual swimming.
"Alright, that's enough!" The PE teacher, who had arrived at some point, blew his whistle, interrupting the impromptu race. "You two are both winners!" The teacher looked at his stopwatch, forced to admit that the two students' performance far exceeded his expectations. To avoid disrupting the other students' class, he decisively ended the increasingly intense competition.
As a reward, the teacher transferred 5,000 personal points to each of them and then enthusiastically extended an invitation: "Want to consider joining the swim team? With your skills, you could definitely be the mainstays of the school team."
Kiyomizu wiped the water from his face and politely shook his head. "Sorry, teacher, I've already joined the boxing club."
"Hmph" Rokusuke Koenji elegantly flicked his wet golden hair, a signature arrogant smile on his face. "This level of club activity is not yet enough to pique my interest"
Kiyomizu sat on the edge of the pool to rest. Not far away, Kei Karuizawa was surrounded by her gyaru friends, their bell-like laughter ringing out occasionally. Since joining the boxing club during the lunch break, she seemed to have found a new vitality. Her laughter was louder, and the deliberately crafted "gyaru" persona in her every move seemed much more natural than before.
Kiyomizu thoughtfully looked away.
(Has she started to open up now that she has a protector?)
However, what surprised him was that Kushida Kikyo walked straight towards him. The girl approached with light steps, her voice clear and pleasant. "Kiyomizu-kun, you were amazing! You got first place!"
"Not first," he corrected calmly. "There's also Koenji."
"Oh," Kushida clasped her hands together, tilting her head with a playful expression. "A tie for first is still first! In the eyes of our classmates, you're the undisputed number one!"
Kiyomizu knew exactly why she was so fixated on the "first place" title. It was simply because she believed that by standing in the spotlight, she would gain more attention.
"Kiyomizu-kun," Kushida suddenly changed the subject, leaning forward slightly with her hands behind her back. "Are you... and Horikita-san... dating?" she asked, blinking her seemingly innocent eyes, her tone as light as if she were discussing the weather.
"No," he answered curtly.
"Really? Are you sure?!" Kushida unconsciously let out a sigh of relief, then quickly covered it up with a smile as if realizing something. "Ah, I was just a little curious..."
Kiyomizu watched her in silence. This girl really had her methods—the perfectly timed body language and the way she feigned hesitation. Any other high school boy in his first blush of youth would probably have misunderstood and thought she was interested in him.
"Oh, right!" Kushida's face showed a look of remorse. "I have to sincerely apologize to you, Kiyomizu-kun!"
"When I was talking to Horikita-san earlier..." her voice trailed off, her fingers twisting nervously, "I accidentally said the wrong thing. I said you were strong because of your talent... and just casually dismissed all the hard work you put into training every day..." By the end, her tone was filled with self-blame. When she stole a glance at his reaction, her eyelashes trembled lightly, like a small animal that had done something wrong. Anyone would have felt sorry for her and found it hard to be harsh.
Kiyomizu felt nothing inside; in fact, he found it somewhat laughable. This wasn't a slip of the tongue; she had just accidentally spoken her true thoughts. However, after a moment of silence, Kiyomizu said with a hint of subtle emotion, "You were actually right. If it weren't for this naturally durable body, I probably would have trained myself into injury a long time ago."
Thinking about it, his training regimen as a child was absurd—100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, and a 10-kilometer run every day, rain or shine. Back then, he didn't even know what "muscle soreness" felt like. How could a normal person's body withstand that kind of training? They probably wouldn't be able to get out of bed for a week after the first day. But he was like a tireless machine, operating day after day, his muscles only growing stronger after each limit was pushed.
He had to admit, he did have an innate advantage with this body. The consistent training was true, but without the instant feedback from this steel-like body—no muscle soreness, no exhaustion, and even feeling more energetic after training—even the strongest willpower would have been worn down by the daily grind. Some things couldn't be achieved through hard work alone.
"..."
Kushida Kikyo's eyes widened slightly. Growing up as a sensitive person, she had gotten used to observing the acceptance speeches of "first place" winners on stage. Most of them would passionately talk about how they "worked desperately" and "overcame difficulties," as if not mentioning their sweat and tears would devalue their achievements. But the boy in front of her... had so frankly attributed his success to "talent"?
This was the first time in her ten-plus years that she had heard someone admit, in such a matter-of-fact tone, that they were one of the "blessed ones."
However, beyond a superficial appreciation for his honesty, a more precise judgment was already forming in her mind.
(This Kiyomizu... is just as simple as I thought.)
She was about to speak when he broke the silence.
"Kushida-san... you've been working hard."
"...Eh?" Kushida was slightly taken aback, then a confused smile appeared on her face. "Why do you say that all of a sudden, Kiyomizu-kun?"
"Your skin is a little darker than before," he said, seriously pointing to his own arm for comparison. "You must have gone to the pool to practice swimming over the weekend, right?"
"Eh? Y-you noticed..." Kushida was stunned, her long eyelashes trembling, a natural look of surprise on her face. She really hadn't expected that a detail no one else at the poolside had noticed would be picked up so keenly by the person in front of her.
"You see, everyone else in the class has a normal skin tone. You're the only one who practiced swimming beforehand," he continued.
"Oh... don't say that. It's just because I'm not very good at swimming," Kushida said, looking down shyly, but the corner of her mouth curved up almost imperceptibly.
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