Yuka dived straight under water as she reached the sea, adrenaline pumping in her veins. Now that she was hiding in the water, she actually found the whole ordeal quite thrilling. She kicked up to the surface and found that she was still able to stand on her feet without immersing her face. With a small giggle she squished her feet around in the water-logged sand beneath her, enjoying the feeling.

The water was a refreshing break from the harsh sun rays. It soothed her heated skin and carried her weighty troubles, leaving her feeling pleasantly light as she floated herself on the water's surface. She was proud of herself for building the courage to enter the water. Jun woofed and splashed nearby but Yuka was happily ignoring the world around her and resting her eyes while the water carried her. Behind her eyelids the world was yellow and orange. The sun was bright and shone through her closed eyelids. It quickly warmed her skin, the momentary relief she received as the water lapped around her was her idea of heaven.

But it was disturbed when a strong pair of hands pushed her under the water.

Yuka flailed and pushed against her attacker. She heard Nagisa laughing and assumed that it was him who had dunked her. She screeched and shoved the blonde boy, attempting to get revenge by pushing him under water but he was deceptively stronger than he looked. Her eyes flashed with mirth as she struck the water and splashed torrents toward Nagisa's face. "Hey!" he sputtered but continued to laugh. Yuka threw a finger in front of Nagisa's face and jabbed at his forehead saying, "I still hadn't forgiven you for the time you pushed me in the pool! Do it again and you'd better have something amazing to make it up to me!" She warned.

Nagisa threw his hands up, "I will, I will!" he grinned. He considered dunking her yet again in that moment, but thought he could resist until he'd thought of something to cheer her up after. He knew she was only pretending to be mad but he wanted to play along. Besides, he had other ways of winding her up. "So which one of us are you trying to impress with your swimsuit?" he asked bluntly, but leaned in as if the pair were sharing a secret. He said, "I hope it's me! But Yuka-chan didn't need to-"

"You idiot! I'm not trying to impress any one!" She squealed, attacking the boy with onslaughts of water. Yuka reddened. She hoped that none of them actually thought that was what she was trying to do. But somewhat more than that she actually hoped that it was working. Though who she wanted to impress was still up for debate.

At that moment Makoto and Rei joined them in the water. "Ready for a race, Yuka-chan?" the green eyed boy asked.

She shrugged, "Now or never, I guess. Are we swimming freestyle?"

"I can only swim butterfly," answered Rei. "But I'll be happy for you to swim whatever's most natural."

"That sounds good to me, too," Makoto nodded.

"Are we racing Yuka-chan?" asked Nagisa, hopping excitedly in the water. "I'll swim breaststroke!"

"Oh, wait. I don't have a pair of goggles," Yuka noticed. They all had a pair around their neck except for her. "Do you think Matsuoka-kun will lend me his pair?" She wondered. She noticed him standing at the edge of the water, staring at the waves that engulfed his feet and ran up the sand before retreating back into the next wave. He didn't look as if he was going to participate in their planned race. And if she was honest, she'd be a little nervous racing Rin after having watched his race with Rei. The idea of racing any of the other guys didn't feel so serious. It was just a bit of fun. But when Yuka thought of Rin swimming, she concluded that Rin swam to win. And that took the fun out of racing, for her. Without needing a response from the guys she said, "I'll go ask him," and waded her way toward him.

It was when he noticed her walking towards him that her stomach tied up in knots. She tried to subtly pull her swimsuit around her body properly, adjusting it just in case it clung to her too much or had moved about inappropriately. The subtlety was probably questionable since Yuka caught Rin's eyes as they quickly flicked to her mostly uncovered figure. Quickening her strides she sort of hopped the rest of the way to him and went straight to the point. "Sorry, Matsuoka-kun, but would you mind if I borrowed your swimming goggles for a little while?" She asked sweetly.

He eyed her for a moment. "Why mine?" he asked.

She sucked in her bottom lip before saying, "Well, Rei-kun, Nagisa, Makoto and I are about to race and, uh, they all have goggles and I don't. And Haruka-san is already swimming, well... he's been swimming for a while but... would you mind at all?" He didn't mind. He was just slightly impressed that she felt like she could race the Iwatobi team. Although she wasn't racing Haruka or himself. They were arguably the best of the group, he thought, cocky or not.

"I don't mind," he said. He relished the sight of her smile for a moment before he pulled the blue tinted goggles off and handed them to her and wished her luck. She beamed and thanked him then danced back to the others.

She needed to adjust them a little, only pulling the straps a little tighter around her head until they felt secure. "Ready!" she called, hearing the pop in her shoulder as she pulled her arms and stretched. They had called Gou over to time them down, and she blew a whistle to start them off.

She hadn't properly swam for three years, but even still the technique rushed back to her. The water resisted her and welcomed her at the same time. She pulled herself through oncoming waves with the steady windmill of her arms and kicked with as much strength as she could muster. Her breathing came quickly with the exhilaration she felt from the race, and from the somewhat forgotten adeptness. Her heartbeat flooded out any other sounds that could be heard, but she was able to see Nagisa pulling ahead of her from the corner of her goggles. She struggled to swim any faster than she was already managing, however. She clumsily slowed to a finish when she realised that she had finished last.

Her breathing was a little shallow as she sadly accepted her defeat. "Who won?" she asked.

"Makoto-kun did! Nagisa-kun was a close second," cheered Gou happily. "Rei-kun finished shortly before you did, Yuka-chan."

"Oh?" Yuka sounded, happy that she hadn't lost by a landslide, at the very least.

"You're a good swimmer, Yuka-chan!" Makoto complimented.

"Your form was beautiful," Rei threw in.

Yuka laughed lightly and shied away, "What are you guys complimenting me for? You won, Makoto-kun, congratulations! It was just fun swimming with you, all."

And then Gou made a sound of glee. "I know!" she exclaimed. "What if Yuka-chan joins the swim club?"

"...Huh?" she blanched.

"YES!" Nagisa cheered.

It was then that she noticed Haruka had appeared. "The water does accept her," he mulled conclusively. Yuka looked at them quizzically.

"What would I do as part of the swim club?"

"Swim!" Nagisa suggested unhelpfully.

Rei's stare pierced her as he said, "You used to lifeguard, you could save us if we drown."

"I trained to be a lifeguard. I didn't actually save anyone, you know..." Yuka huffed. "But I'll think about it."

Nagisa's head crept in between Rei and Yuka, and with an evil smile he said, "Rei-chan only wants Yuka-chan to join so that she will wear her swimsuit more."

Rei's mouth dropped in mortification before he became as red as a tomato. "Nagisa-kun! That is not true! Although Yuka-chan definitely looks beautiful in her swimsuit, I am no pervert and my wanting her to be a part of the swim club is purely because she is our friend and because she is a great swimmer and-..."

Yuka sweat-dropped as Rei babbled nervously. She made a sound of embarrassment and waved her hands around saying that she still needed to think about it. She then laughed meekly, rubbing the back of her wet hair she said, "Thank you for calling me beautiful though, Rei-kun."