Short Story 1 : Swimsuit SS - Horikita Suzune

The spectacular swimming pool during the summer holiday. Many students had come here in order to refresh themselves.

The scene showed the majority of the students playing, but there was one girl… Horikita Suzune, who was on the diving platform of the starting point, watched perfectly straight at the finishing line, and she slowly jumped into the azure water. That form was excessively beautiful, to the point that I didn't hear any sound. I observed Horikita's swimming form firmly.

She seems like she's planning to go back and forth, since she rapidly turned around at the finishing line.

I was in the starting point, checking the time while waiting for the return of Horikita.

After getting her hand up, Horikita lifted up her head from the water.

"Yo! Well done."

"…"

Horikita looked down at me and sighed slightly. After that, she swam slowly to the ladder and grabbed it.

"Did you see it?"

She asked me while climbed the ladder.

"More or less. You are the only one who would swim seriously in the pool during summer vacation."

The majority of the students were sprinkling water, playing with a ball or a float, only thinking about playing happily.

"I didn't come here just to play."

She told me, looking a bit angry.

"What are you doing? What did I do to you?"

"Do you want me to say it? That you threatened me and brought me to the swimming pool?"

"Don't use the word threaten, that sounds unpleasant. I hope you can correct that."

"…Forget about it. There are not many opportunities to practice swimming after all, so this is good too."

It looks like she has used this optimistic way of thinking to stabilize her emotions.

"You were already good at swimming. You shouldn't need to practice."

Horikita has managed to get outstanding grades in swimming and other sport subjects. The school has probably given her full marks. Even so, why isn't she thinking about anything but increasing her skills?

"What's your goal?"

After I asked her, Horikita stayed silent for a moment. She glared at me a moment.

"You are not playing, but you aren't practicing either. What are you doing here?"

Even if you ask me, it's hard for me to answer.

The moment others ask you "what are you doing here", what's the correct way to answer that?

"I'm observing mankind. Just by watching you, Horikita, I'm already not bored."

"…can you not say nauseating things?"

She moved blatantly her line of sight and sighed. It's just that she should already know I was not being serious.

"This is surprisingly interesting. Even though there are a lot of students here, only you are standing out."

Horikita, exuding an aura of "I don't have friends" while swimming in the vast swimming pool. Wrong, it's more accurate to say she was exuding an aura of "I don't need friends".

"How about you also try to swim a bit? It could clear your head."

"Don't use the "cool down your brain" type of excuse to push on the topic."

"Anyways, can you step aside from there? I can't climb up…"

Sorry – I said this while I slightly moved away from the ladder. Horikita climbed through the side of the pool. With her head inclined a bit, she cleaned up the water from her ears. Really, if this person didn't speak, she would be a beauty.

"Right now you were thinking of unnecessary things, weren't you?"

"You are imagining things."

I said this in order to deceive her and looked at her voluntarily.

"Ayanokouji-kun, you have asked me before what's my goal, right?

"Eh? Yeah, What's wrong with that question?"

"… Because I no longer want to experience again sad feelings that I consider unnecessary."

Horikita's real thoughts came out in a split second. This was also the proof that Horikita also realized her weak points.

"Don't worry. You are not a person who would defeated easily."

"Isn't that obvious? I don't need you to tell me that."

Horikita immediately took back to her heart that instant of weakness she showed, and passed over my side.

Probably, the reason I paid attention to Horikita's since I enrolled in this school is --