A Quick Study

Rei meandered around the empty clubroom, gathering his things at the end of another exhausting practice when he spotted it. The familiar, mint green notebook lounged innocuously on the floor, sprawled as if someone had tossed it there. He picked it up and eyed both covers, trying to place where he'd seen it before and guess which of his teammates it belonged to. The inside cover and first page offered no obvious sign of ownership. Curious, he flipped to the next page.

"Ah you found it," Gou said as she appeared at the door, "I was afraid I'd lost it." She slipped into the clubroom and jogged over toward him.

Rei jumped at the sound of her voice and tried to play it off by moving to meet her halfway. As he approached her, Rei remembered the last time this particular notebook had made an appearance. He raised an eyebrow, "Are you still collecting data on other teams?"

Gou narrowed her eyes and wagged a finger at him, "It's my duty as manager to learn everything I can about our opponents."

"Of course," Rei shook his head but couldn't stamp down the smile that crept across his lips. Gou was a very dedicated manager.

"Besides," she reached out to take the notebook from his hand, "I have observations about all of you in here too."

Rei froze as he watched Gou flip through the pages of her book, a manic gleam in her eyes. She crowed in triumph and Rei flinched as she shoved the open section in his face. His eyes immediate took in detailed drawings of someone's shoulders and arms and an explosion of writing covering both pages. He peered around the book to see Gou's eyes sparkling and pink lips curled in an expectant grin. His stomach jumped. Grunting, he adjusted his glasses and turned his attention back to the book. He noticed her handwriting, neat and clear even where she stuffed it sideways into margins or tucked it into tiny corners.

Highly motivated and a hard worker, can be relied on to practice without supervision (or threats) and follow training regiments

Picks up theory quickly and easily. Impressive! (carried over from past training?)

Rei paused. He looked at Gou again to see her wide eyes watching his face. He glanced to the side before furrowing his brow as he read more closely.

Best at learning mechanics of swimming on his own. (focus training regiment on building stamina and getting used to swimming)

Diving form is perfect!

His heart sped up as he gently took the book from her hands. With laser focus, he turned his attention back to the intricate muscle drawings and the notes flanking them.

Most Glorious Deltoids!

Beautiful Biceps!

Obviously perfect arms for butterfly (why didn't we see it before?)

"Gou-san," he pulled back, eyes wide, "this page is...this is..."

"I know," Gou chuckled, touching a fist to her lips, "it's not very detailed." She shrugged and grinned, "It's because Rei-kun has been improving so quickly. It's really impressive but it makes taking notes difficult."

He looked back at the page, eyes zooming to where his arms and shoulders were rendered in careful detail. He swallowed thickly as a fine tremor crept down his arms to his fingers. He tightened his grip on the book before Gou could notice. "Is-is this really how you think of me?"

Gou rocked back on her heels, "Of course. Rei-kun is hard-working and reliable." She held up a finger for each quality she listed. "You're always on time, your diving form is perfect, and you taught yourself to swim, which is really amazing."

"What's this?" Nagisa appeared at Gou's shoulder, snatching the book out of Rei's numb hands. "Eh? Whose muscles are these, Gou-chan?"

Rei's eyes widened. He scrambled for the notebook but Nagisa danced just out of reach and handed it over to Gou.

"They're Rei-kun's," she said plainly before her eyes glazed over blissfully. "He has the most beautiful deltoids and his biceps are magnificent!" She embraced the green book and stared off into the distance, "It's glorious. Glorious."

Nagisa nodded, "I see, I see." He slammed his fist into his open palm, "Oh, I forgot. Gou-chan, Ama-chan-sensei needs to speak with you before we go."

Gou snapped back to attention, "Ah, thank you, Nagisa-kun." She nodded before jogging out of the clubroom.

Rei watched her go, hand frozen where he'd been reaching for the notebook. His heart thundered in his chest, his face burned hot enough to spontaneously combust. He couldn't hear anything over the sound of his blood roaring in his ears and her words echoing through his brain.

Beautiful. Magnificent. Glorious.

"Rei-chan," Nagisa's face popped up just in front of his, "are you okay? Your face is so red!"

Rei recoiled, stumbling back a few steps, "Y-your face is too close!"

Nagisa narrowed his eyes at Rei then snapped his fingers with a wide grin. "Ah, Rei-chan does have

really nice eyes."

Rei snorted and reached up to shift his glasses.

"Gou-chan was right, they are a beautiful shade of violet."

Rei yelped as his fingers slipped past the red frames and he stabbed himself in the eye.

"Hm" Nagisa said, "so that's how it is."

"W-what? T-that's how what is?" Rei growled, blinking rapidly and trying to focus on the tear-blurred form of his friend.

Nagisa gripped Rei's hand in both of his, "Don't worry, I'll support you in this Rei-chan."

Rei's stomach plummeted to the soles of his feet at Nagisa's solemn, determined expression. Rei stood there, chest tight, eyes wide, and felt like his first time diving into the pool all over again. He knew, as with every time Nagisa gave him such a look, no good could come out of this. And, as with all of their interactions, Rei would soon realize how wrong he was.