Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/822139838626691253/episodes/822139839595647850
Splash! Water sprayed up.
Hoshikawa’s diving form was so perfect it looked like she was an experienced diver.
Everyone was mesmerized by Hoshikawa.
In the end, unable to stop Hoshikawa from diving, I held my breath and watched the outcome unfold.
Hoshikawa, who had dived into the water, didn’t surface for quite some time.
I swallowed dryly.
The Grim Reaper stood on the diving board Hoshikawa had kicked off, staring intently down at the water’s surface.
“Phew!”
Finally, Hoshikawa surfaced.
Shaking her head vigorously to shake off the water, she looked at the teacher and asked.
“How was it?”
“Perfect.”
The teacher clapped.
“Not a single flaw in that dive, Hoshikawa.”
“Thank you.”
Clap clap clap. Applause erupted.
Both girls and boys applauded Hoshikawa.
Emerging from the water, Hoshikawa smiled shyly at everyone’s applause and cheers.
“Phew…”
I breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed Hoshikawa’s cause of death wasn’t the dive after all.
After that, the girls took turns diving in,
but neither Hoshikawa nor the Grim Reaper made a move.
“Alright. That’s it for dive practice. Next up is the 25-meter crawl. Swim in order.”
After dive practice ended, crawl practice began.
Four students entered each lane and swam from one end of the 25-meter pool to the other.
I checked the watch on my wrist.
Half the class period had already passed.
This was the first time I’d skipped class without informing my homeroom teacher or subject teacher.
They probably thought I was in the infirmary or holed up in the bathroom.
No one would ever guess I was watching another class’s lesson from the shadows at the rooftop pool in the neighboring building.
The thought of my homeroom teacher grilling me later for skipping class without permission was depressing, but for now, I focused solely on avoiding Hoshikawa’s fate.
“Next…”
The boys finished swimming, and it was the girls’ turn.
I watched with bated breath as Hoshikawa’s turn to swim approached.
Just like before, Hoshikawa was the center of everyone’s attention.
For the crawl, you could choose either a dive start or kicking off the wall in the water. Hoshikawa chose the dive.
Because of that, I found myself nervously watching Hoshikawa’s dive again. Once more, Hoshikawa executed a dive so beautiful it was mesmerizing.
She glided smoothly through the 25 meters with flawless form.
Her movements were incredibly fluid, utterly flawless.
There’s an expression about seeing a girl you like take a breath while swimming freestyle, how it can make even a century-long love fade. But Hoshikawa swimming through the water was like a beautiful mermaid.
Not even cheers rose; everyone watched her swim, holding their breath.
Having effortlessly completed the 25 meters, Hoshikawa emerged from the water and bounced up and down to shake the water off her body.
The boys’ gazes, fixed on Hoshikawa, bounced up and down
And, well, let’s just say they were shaking quite a bit.
In the end, even during the crawl practice, there wasn’t a single moment that seemed likely to lead to an accident.
The class was finally drawing to a close.
Perhaps nothing would happen during swimming class that could cause Hoshikawa’s death.
Even thinking that, I decided to watch the swimming class until the very end.
“Alright, then, the last ten minutes are free time. You guys can play however you want!”
“Wooooo!”
The last ten minutes of swimming class became free time.
The boys let out a roar and dove into the pool.
The girls also got into the water and started playing happily.
Splashes flew everywhere, and the students’ cheerful voices filled the rooftop.
Everyone was darting around the pool, diving, splashing each other—it was impossible to tell who was who anymore.
“This is bad… Where’s Hoshikawa…?”
I’d lost sight of Hoshikawa.
I scanned the pool.
The Grim Reaper was floating right in the middle.
His empty eyes stared fixedly into the water, as if waiting for something.
I looked directly beneath the Grim Reaper.
I thought I saw someone’s shadow in the water.
That shadow seemed to be struggling painfully, reaching its hand toward the surface.
The surrounding students were completely oblivious, engrossed in their play.
“This is bad…!”
I leaped out.
“Huh? What…?”
A nearby teacher saw me and let out a suspicious voice, but I couldn’t care less.
Still in my uniform, I dove straight under the Grim Reaper… into the water.
Underwater, I could see Hoshikawa struggling and in pain.
I didn’t know what had happened, but it was clear something had happened to Hoshikawa, and she couldn’t get out on her own.
I scooped Hoshikawa up and pulled her to the surface.
I dragged her along and pulled her out of the pool.
“Ugh… splutter… ugh.”
Had she swallowed water? Hoshikawa was painfully spitting water from her mouth.
I tilted Hoshikawa’s body.
She expelled the water she’d swallowed, then regained her breath.
“Haah… haah… haah…”
Hoshikawa gasped for oxygen, repeating shallow breaths over and over.
“Are you okay, Hoshikawa?”
I waited for her to calm down before speaking.
“Ah, thank you… Kurose-kun… Ah, my leg cramped up…”
“It’s okay. Breathe slowly.”
“U, un…”
Hoshikawa placed a hand on my chest and took several deep breaths.
“Hey, are you okay?!”
A teacher rushed over.
Students playing in the pool noticed something was wrong and gathered around.
“Wh-what happened…?”
“Hoshikawa-san? Are you okay…?”
“Huh, who’s this guy…?”
“Isn’t that Kurose from Class B…?”
“Why’s someone from another class here…?”
Everyone crowded around, wondering what was going on.
Hoshikawa regained her normal breathing and slowly tried to stand up.
I lend her my hand.
“Ah, thank you, Kurose-kun…”
“Take your time.”
“Yeah… I got saved again, huh.”
“…Yeah.”
“If Kurose-kun hadn’t been here, I… might have died…”
“What happened…?”
“Ah, my leg cramped up… Probably because I was tired from yesterday’s dance lesson… And then… I couldn’t get back to the surface…”
“So that’s what it was…”
Apparently, cramping up and drowning was what caused Hoshikawa’s near-death.
During free time, while everyone was playing around in the pool as they pleased, no one noticed Hoshikawa drowning. If left like that, she would have suffocated and drowned.
I looked up at the sky.
The Grim Reaper glanced briefly in my direction, then spread its wings and flew off somewhere.
It seemed the fate of death had been avoided.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Now, let’s hear your explanation for what just happened.”
The teacher glared at me.
“You’re Kurose from Class B, right? What are you doing here? What about your class?”
“Well… um…”
I suddenly realized I’d been so focused on saving Hoshikawa that I hadn’t thought about an excuse for afterward. I forced an awkward smile.
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