"Huh? A public swimming tournament?"
"Uh-huh! Takumi is participating in it since he's a new member!"
"Hey, you dropped the honorifics."
"I-it's because he told me to...a-anyway, that's not the point!"
Miyuki giggled and bit off the top of the green tea popsicle she was holding.
"I guess we could go. I don't have anything to do today."
"Yay!"
Miyuki and Hiroko quickly put on their shoes and went to the train station.
Miyuki was surprised that there were a lot of people at the public swimming tournament.
"I didn't know swimming was such a popular sport."
"Nonsense, Hiroko-chan! Everyone loves swimming! Topless boys!"
Miyuki laughed as they walked into the main lobby. Miyuki spotted a group of boys in black jackets and she recognized the Samezuka logo on the back of the jackets.
"Look, there's Samezuka."
"Takumi!"
Hiroko ran towards the boy and he greeted her with a smile, gently patting her head. Rin instructed the other boys to head towards the lockers and he told Takumi to hurry up. Miyuki was disappointed that Rin didn't take notice of her. She was determined to make herself known to him. She took a few steps towards him and, taking a deep breath, Miyuki gathered her courage.
"Matsuoka-san!"
Rin stopped and turned around. Miyuki froze, realizing that she was standing only a few feet away from him, and she fidgeted nervously; she didn't know what to do next.
"Yes?"
"U-um, you're racing today, too, right?"
"Yeah."
"Good luck..."
"Oh. Thanks."
Rin nodded in her direction and turned on his heel, heading towards the locker room; Takumi followed shortly, jogging to catch up with the team.
Two staff members handed out program booklets and they directed the girls to the main area. Miyuki saw that Rin and Haruka were in the same heat while Makoto and the others were in their individual races.
"Miyuki-chan!"
Miyuki greeted Nagisa and the others as they approached.
"Miyuki, I'll go find seats for us, okay?"
Miyuki nodded and Hiroko left her with the Iwatobi boys.
"Hello, Nagisa-kun...hello, everyone."
Nagisa smiled happily, taking note that Miyuki had dropped the formality.
"Are you here to watch the tournament?" Makoto asked.
"Yeah, my friend came to watch her boyfriend swim. Good luck! I saw your names in the program."
"Thank you, Miyuki-san. I promise I will show you a spectacular race today!"
"Oh, there's Gou-chan and Ama-chan. Goro-chan, too!" Nagisa pointed to a red haired girl, a brunette haired woman, and a blonde haired man dressed in a bizzare swimsuit.
"See you later, Miyuki-san."
Miyuki waved to the boys as they went over to the red haired girl and Miyuki went to sit by Hiroko, who had found a seat in the middle area of the bleachers.
"Who were they?" Hiroko asked.
"They're acquaintances that I met. They go to Iwatobi."
"Wow, Miyuki-chan, you're so popular."
Miyuki shook her head and waved her hand, dismissing Hiroko's comment.
The tournament was over at the end of the day and Hiroko gushed excitedly about how well Takumi swam in his first competition.
"But Hiroko-chan, he came in fifth place."
Hiroko shook her finger at Miyuki,
"Ranking doesn't matter! What matters is that Takumi did his best and swam beautifully!"
Miyuki rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the Samezuka boys as they walked out in a group.
"Matsuoka-san!" Rin coolly regarded her with his eyes, "You were amazing today. Haruka-san, too. Congratulations on placing first."
Rin gave her a small smile,
"Thanks."
"Rin!" Rin and Miyuki glanced over and saw the Iwatobi boys.
Rin motioned for his teammates to go on ahead and he walked over to the Iwatobi boys.
"Miyuki, let's go!"
Miyuki glanced once more at Rin before she turned and left with Hiroko.