Chapter 5: Stroke
The water’s surface swayed, raising small splashes. One pull, one kick. The ripples spreading out, Nagisa’s head rises to the surface past them. And then, pushing his way through the water with unhurried b.r.e.a.s.t.strokes, he comes back after making the turn. That way of swimming was a little different from when he did the time trial.
On top of the starting block, Rin watched Nagisa’s swimming while feeling that something was wrong. Touching the wall’s surface with both hands, Nagisa lifts his face from the water. Rin, who was supposed to dive in by pa.s.sing Nagisa overhead, remained standing on the starting block.
“What happened, Rin-chan?”
Among his uneven breathing, he asked intermittently. Squatting on the starting block, Rin peered at Nagisa’s face from just above him.
“Hey you, were you swimming with all your strength just now?”
“Yeah.”
Behind the goggles, Nagisa’s big round eyes look straight up at Rin. Nor unease, nor doubt, nor falsehood can be found in those eyes. Even so, Rin attempted to peek even deeper into Nagisa’s eyes. However, soon realizing that it’s not necessary, he diverted his gaze. Nagisa’s eyes were endlessly transparent, without even the tiniest impurity in them. To the extent that it was even clearly visible behind his goggles.
Nagisa doesn’t attempt to hide what he’s thinking. From the start, he doesn’t happen to have thoughts that people would feel ashamed over. He was capable of honestly believing, honestly expressing himself. That is what Nagisa’s like. That sort of thing was the hardest to do for Rin. In the case of a guy who deceives people and evades things, a part of him somewhere feeling that he has a debt to pay, makes a gap in his heart. Keeping the truth hidden, Rin himself had created a gap in his heart, too.
But there’s no such gap at all in Nagisa.
“Compared to the time trial, didn’t you change your way of swimming?”
“It’s the same.”
Somehow, it appears that the person himself hasn’t noticed. Perhaps it’s the kind of thing where you often don’t know it about yourself. Things like subjective impressions and ideals getting in the way, it’s possible that it can’t be seen well.
“Your time dropped.”
“Really?”
Taking off his goggles, Nagisa peers at Rin from below. Into the very depths of his eyes. Standing up, Rin escaped from Nagisa’s gaze.
“The way you did it before, it was faster.”
In the swimming race, it couldn’t have been a fluke――. That was Rin’s theory. A time that went up once is not something that drops like that. It’s especially true for them, in their growth period. Being in the growth period means not only in terms of const.i.tution and physical strength, but it also includes technique and spirit.
“That’s strange, I wonder why? I really didn’t change my way of swimming.”
“Hey you, when you’re competing, can you see your opponent?”
“Yeah, I can see them perfectly.”
“Then, that’s it. It’s about whether or not you have the feeling of wanting to swim faster than your opponent. Without you knowing it, it’s that feeling that made Nagisa faster.”
“I can swim faster because of a feeling?”
“Sure can.”
The strength of their feelings makes a person grow. To the extent that it could occasionally even be called evolution, there are times when it causes a dramatic change. That’s the reason why Nagisa displayed a swim exceeding his true strength during the time trial. Thus, it’s not that difficult to change a limit with one’s true strength once it had been exceeded. That was the privilege they had, being in the growth period.
“Wanna try swimming with me?”
“With Rin-chan? But, I think I’ll lose.”
“I’ll go easy on you.”
There was no reason to swim with as much speed as Nagisa’s produced time.
“If you overtake me, it means that Nagisa’s personal record has improved.”
“Yeah.”
The two of them standing lined up on the starting blocks, they matched their breathing. Then Rin quietly speaks.
“Let’s go. On your mark, bang.”
Landing on the water at roughly the same distance, the ripples spread. One pull, one kick. Nagisa’s head rising, Rin’s head rose a little ahead of him. Nagisa ends up falling behind after all. It’s not simple to shorten the difference that occurred at the start. In Nagisa’s case, there was a problem with his angle at the time of diving. Conversely, if he were to correct that, it means that his time can still go up. But that’s not a simple thing, either.
Near his lower back, Rin felt the sensation of Nagisa’s fingertips stretching forward on the water’s surface. They make the turn at 25m without the difference widening or shortening. Where they crossed the remaining 15m, it felt like Nagisa’s fingertips stretched a little further. The difference doesn’t shorten. When he thought that perhaps it’s just his imagination, Nagisa’s arms stretched forward all of a sudden. It wasn’t his fingertips, it wasn’t his imagination, his arms distinctly stretched forward. It came rushing with an energy that seemed like it could pierce the tip of Rin’s shoulder. A chill runs down Rin’s back.
He finally understood the reason why the swimmer’s rhythm was broken by Nagisa seeming to have caught up to him during the time trial.
The difference shortens with each stroke. Nagisa’s arm capturing Rin’s chin, he glances ahead. With around 5m remaining, Nagisa’s head was about to line up with Rin’s. In Rin’s eyes, Nagisa was no longer Nagisa, he couldn’t perceive him as anything other than something mysterious.
――I’m being overtaken!
The moment he thought that, Rin put strength into his shoulders. Then, as he reaches the goal with a difference of one head between them, he climbed up onto the poolside. While breathing so hard that you wouldn’t think that he only swam 50m at best.
It wasn’t a lie when he said that he’ll go easy on him. He was also confident in reproducing Nagisa’s best time within a 0.5 second margin of error. And yet, why did he end up straining himself in the final moments? In a single word, it would be called ‘terror’.
It wasn’t because fighting instinct had welled up, nor because he had gotten serious. Frightened of Nagisa gaining on him, he ended up running away from him. And then, unable to endure even being in the same water as Nagisa, he ended up rushing out of the pool. From the water, Nagisa looks up at Rin, who’s standing still on the poolside while water trickles down on him.
“What happened, Rin-chan?”
Rin couldn’t look directly at Nagisa’s face.
―― Why was I frightened of someone like Nagisa?
He tried asking himself the question, but no answer came. Feeling like he could see right through inside his chest if their eyes were to meet, Rin spoke as he turned to the side.
“You can do it if you try, huh.”
“I couldn’t do it. I mean, I couldn’t catch up, could I?”
No, he caught up. Nagisa was supposed to have caught up to his personal best. If Rin hadn’t ran way.
“Hey, your arms ――”
As he began to speak, Rin’s voice chokes up.
“Yeah.”
It was Nagisa’s usual voice. Nagisa, who’s a teammate and whose presence was like a little brother’s. By no means was he the likes of ‘something mysterious’. Breathing out the air he was holding in his chest, Rin could finally look at Nagisa.
“Your arms stretched forward.”
“Mine?”
Saying that, Nagisa looked at his right arm.
“That’s right. In the second half, you were gaining on. That’s when your arm stretched forward.”
“Is that so? I had no idea at all, though.”
“Hey you, while swimming, what were you thinking about?”
“Just that I’ll definitely catch up.”
He says it easily. Perhaps he doesn’t think about things like his own form and rhythm.
Everyone has their own form and rhythm that suits them. It’s not easy to discover it, it turns out to be different even if you think you discovered it, and sometimes it ends up pa.s.sing by before you knew it. Rin is still in the middle of continuing to search for it, while repeating trial and error. So, he always swam while thinking about it, he never once swam recklessly. Even if he swam with all his strength, he can’t think of raising his time, either.
However, he also knew that sometimes, an ability to concentrate that’s close to its limits can bring forth the best form, like a miracle. The ability to concentrate is, in other words, the strength of feelings. Indeed, he told Nagisa that you can swim faster because of a feeling, but it was unexpected that it would be apparent so distinctly.
“Hey you, can you swim like that once more?”
“Hmm, I’m not really sure.”
It’s a natural reply, since he’s swimming without being conscious of his form. Somehow, it seems that Nagisa is the type who masters things by personal experience.
“Wanna try swimming with me again?”
“Yeah.”
Nagisa climbs up on the poolside. Although he has a delicate and short body, how does he produce that kind of catching-up? Perhaps there could be a hint in it for the best form that Rin is seeking. While thinking about this and that, he stands up on the starting block.
“Let’s go.”
One breath.
“On your mark, bang.”
Rin and Nagisa’s feet dancing in the air, their bodies are sucked up by the water. Is their goal 50m ahead, or is it farther away? Without even knowing where they’re headed, for now they just repeat doing the strokes. Strong, fast. While thinking of nothing but that.
The swimmers in the same events making groups, each one practiced separately. Since the tournament was approaching, it’s for the sake of placing emphasis on their specialty event. Usually, Makoto would join the b.r.e.a.s.t.stroke group in this period, but this time he was in the backstroke group.
With Haruka in free, Rin in b.u.t.terfly, Nagisa in b.r.e.a.s.t.stroke, it becomes inevitable for Makoto to be in the backstroke.
It’s not because he can’t swim it, nor because he is weak in it. However, he has never swum it in the tournament before. So, since his time hasn’t been measured yet, in a sense, it’s an event that he hasn’t properly swum in. That sense meaning, with the S-shaped pull.
Until now, he swam with the straight pull, following the standard. Swimming with arms stretched straight out, like a boat’s oars, but the loss becomes greater, you can’t pick up speed that much. In the case of a boat’s oars, just paddling with the left and right simultaneously is still better than nothing, in order to paddle by alternating in backstroke, without advancing straight ahead, by paddling too strong, it ends up causing a goldfish motion. In addition, at the start and end of paddling, because the strength ends up dispersing, you can’t acquire enough propulsion power.
On the other hand, there’s no futility in the movements with the S-shaped pull, theoretically you can swim faster in it than with the straight pull, but since the movements become more complicated, and unless you’re used to it, you end up unnecessarily receiving the water’s resistance.
Seizing his grip with both hands, from a stance where both his feet were pushed against the wall, with one forceful push, pulling his body forward, he kicked his feet diagonally. His body is only in the air for a moment, then the world immediately transforms into being within the water. When he makes the landing on the water, from his feet in their stretched state, he commences the flutter kick. Strokes while rising to the surfacing. Then, the S-shaped pull.
Ah, he thought. Huh?, he thought. It was different. It’s different from usual. Usually, when he dives in, from getting a feeling like the monster is tearing into him to taste him, his body starts to cower, that wasn’t the case now. The sensation of being tasted is there. However, his body doesn’t cower.
His arms stretch out. He thought it was his swimming. He’s not running away from the water. Maybe this is his true self. Maybe this is his true swimming.
From the entry, he catches, like deeply paddling the water. Then, while drawing arcs close to his body, he pulls, like throwing a ball. Pushing while deeply paddling again. At the same time as that, making the entry by firmly stretching out his recovery hand.
He could see the sky. Looking through the club’s ceiling, he can see the sky. Although he feels the monster’s presence, when he’s looking at the sky, his body didn’t cower. It wasn’t necessary to shake it off, nor to run away from it. Even if he swims with might and main, it wasn’t with all his strength.
Making the turn, he commences the strokes again. It’s different after all. Could it be because he’s swimming without seeing the bottom of the water where the monster lurks? Or could it be because he’s looking at the sky? He thinks that’s also possible. However, the biggest primary factor was his way of swimming. He can feel the streamline. Even without being conscious of the correct stance, his body naturally aims to produce that figure. Markedly stretching before he could think about it, he was able to ride on the water. He feels the water.
―― Perhaps I’m a marine mammal.
Perhaps he was a creature of the sea, called a marine animal, from the start. He thinks it’s foolish. However, he couldn’t think of it any other way. If that weren’t the case, what is this sensation of perfection? This satisfying feeling, where could it possibly be gushing forth from? This feeling that he hadn’t experienced until now, releases Makoto into the water.
Even after climbing up on the poolside, he was still in high spirits. While trying to suppress that feeling somehow, he walks towards the bench. Aki was sitting on the bench.
“Huh? Zaki-chan is in bakku, too?”
He tried talking to her a little.
“Ah, Tachibana-kun. No, I’m in free.”
“Were you taking a breaking?”
“Yeah….. Just thinking a little.”
“About the medley relay?”
“……No.”
“Ah, I get it. About planting the flowerbed tomorrow, right?”
Since the bricks were finally baked, it was decided that Makoto’s cla.s.s will pile them up tomorrow. The duties are a.s.signed to each cla.s.s, such as the job of putting in the soil and watering. The job that became a problem was that they have to use cement for piling up the bricks. Even if they were taught how to do it, some voiced their worry over being able to do it well.
“No. That’s fine now, since the plasterers will be coming. They said they’d plaster the cement, too.”
“If that’s the case, you should ask Haru.”
“Eh? Nanase-kun? But, isn’t it difficult?”
“It’s all right. Haru laid out the bricks in his house’s garden.”
“In the garden?”
“Yeah. When you walk in the garden, the soil ends up sticking, right? Because of that, on rainy days, since the entranceway gets dirty, he ended up making a pathway from bricks and cement. He did it well. It’s just 1 meter, though.”
“Ohh, so that’s how it is. He sure is skillful.”
He senses a shadow somewhere in the smile that Aki shows.
“But, what you were thinking about, it wasn’t that, was it?”
“Yeah….. It’s about Nanase-kun.”
“About Haru?”
“I’m practicing free all the time now, too, but I was wondering why Nanase-kun only swims free?”
Why would she care about something like that? Even though it’s not something that started now. While transferring his gaze over to Haruka’s group swimmingfree, he asked Aki.
“Why about something like that?”
“Nanase-kun’s free is really fast, right? So, I was thinking about what kind of feelings he swims with. If I could understand those feelings a little bit, maybe I’d become faster, too.”
Makoto’s eyes catch Haruka. Even from a distance, he knew right away. With an elegance like a dolphin’s, he swims in a relaxed manner. Perhaps Haruka feels the water, too?
“Haru doesn’t really swim because he likes it.”
“Eh?”
“He doesn’t particularly like free, either.”
“But, in that case, why…….?”
Makoto returns his gaze that was turned towards the free group to Aki.
“It’s not that I’ve asked him, but the meaning of swimming for Haru is a bit different than it is for us.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Staring at Makoto, Aki blinks. As if Makoto was like a rare creature or something.
“For Haru, being in the water is natural.”
“Eh?”
“Because of that, the most natural form is surely free.”
“Is it something like, natural ability?”
“Yeah. If you were to say it in a single word, instinct, perhaps. I think it’s like asking a dolphin or a whale why they’re in the sea.”
Makoto himself had felt something close to that just earlier. He can’t clearly declare that that’s the way it is. But he thinks that perhaps it’s not that far away from it.
“If that were the case, then maybe I can’t understand it.”
“n.o.body can understand it. Haru’s true feelings…..”
Aki turns her eyes towards the free group. To Haruka swimming among them.
“Well, I’m going back to practicing.”
While saying that, he turned his back to Aki.
“Yeah.”
While feeling it from the smallness of the reply that Aki’s gaze was turned towards Haruka, he went back to the backstroke group.