"Today is the day," Arthur muttered nervously as he stared into the looking glass. It was November and physical education was being held in the swimming arena. He had thought about several excuses to be present in the lesson but to not participate. He would claim that he had caught a cold even though his health was completely fine. Before the Brit exited his room, his eyes fell on the picture on his nightstand next to his bed. The photo had been made during the trip in Paris, on the Eiffel Tower; a selfie of his sisters, Sakura and him. The corners of his mouth formed a smile. He could not deny the fact that he really loved this piece of photography. "Iggy, move ya lazy ass, we will be late!" Emily shouted impatiently from downstairs, "And we do not wish to let Miss Honda wait". Upon hearing her commanding – yet mocking – voice, Arthur countered back in a less happy tone. "What did you say?"

"I said, set your behind in motion, otherwise we will arrive fashionably late," she repeated herself with a mocking British accent, leaving out the part where Sakura was mentioned. He glared at her but decided to ignore her reply. Marguerite watched them uninterestingly; the girl was used to this exchange of "affection".

The habitual activities of listening loud music in the car, picking up Sakura and arriving at school, were accomplished as quickly as ever. Although the air around Arthur grew tenser the closer the physical education came.

Sakura on the other hand, felt his uncomfortableness but did not question him. She was aware of his "hate" for swimming. His body language indicated all signs of awkwardness. Before she could utter anything, the sports teacher arrived in front of the dressing rooms. While he unlocked the doors, he shot Arthur a flabbergasted look. The teacher knew of the Punk's hate for sports, especially swimming. "Oh… Mr Kirkland," he muttered hesitantly. "I did not expect you to participate in the class." He was a gentle man but did not really care who attended his lessons and who did not.

"I won't."

He looked at the Brit, not understanding why he would even show up if he won't take part in the lesson. "Okay." the teacher decided to ignore him. "Alright, but you will have to compensate your marks with an essay about swimming technics."

The Brit rolled his eyes but accepted nonetheless. "That was easier than I thought," the Brit spoke, relieved over the teacher's nice reply and reaction. Francis, who had listened to everything, leaned himself with his elbow on the Brit's shoulder. "Well yes, but I can observe the girls from near," he bragged, expecting Arthur do shove him away. The Englishman glared at him, moving away from him.

He sat on the bench, next to some girls from his class who had declared to have received their monthly present from mother nature. They were just as surprised as the rest of the class as they saw him in this specific sports lesson. The Englishman felt their weird staring and glared back; a warning to everyone who would question him. He felt awkward enough to be in the same room with Francis who was wearing his swimsuit with pride. "Oh Lord–"

He could not finish his exclamation as his eyes fell on the Japanese, who had just exited the dressing rooms with a swimsuit and a towel. He ignored everyone else coming out to get ready for swimming. She caught his staring and blushed heavily. Sakura quickly diverted her attention to the other classmates. His staring did not cease; he was too much enchanted by her.

Every pupil felt his positive atmosphere; over the weeks their classmates had noticed his different behaviour and suspected him to be in love with the Japanese. Even the teachers had discovered his odd change. Every one, except for both who were concerned, realised that cupid had hit his arrows perfectly. Never had the pupils of the school expected or foreseen such an event; the rebellious Punk falling in love with the new cute and quiet Japanese student.

"So, at first you are going to swim a few rounds as a warm up," the teacher explained, "then we will play water polo."

Some of them got into the water; while others were leaving their towels on the bench were the non-participants were sitting. Sakura did not glimpse at the Brit as she laid the cloth down. It was obvious that she felt a little insecure about herself, which she could normally hide very well. She joined her classmates in the pool.

Ten minutes after warming up, the teacher explained the rules of water polo and called Arthur and one of the girls from the bench to put up the goals. They also needed to watch over the game and search for the ball if one of the players shot it out of the swimming pool. Despite it being a fair game, Arthur focussed on Sakura and glared at everyone who dared to foul her in any kind. His protective manner warned every student to not approach her. He himself did not take any notice of his glaring eyes; he did it unintentionally. After the game had finished, everyone went back to the dressing rooms, except for those who did not participate. Arthur was ordered to move the goals back to the material room. It took him several minutes to move everything back to the respective place. He walked along the pool as he finished his task. Unfortunately, Arthur underestimated the slippery floor. Within a second, he fell. Regretfully the punk did not land on the floor but plunged into the water.

"Shit!" he screamed before hitting his head lightly on the rim of the pool. Panic was written all over his face as he struggled with all his left energy to not touch the water's ground. He felt drowsy due to the hit as he tried to somehow reach the border to steady himself. To his disadvantage, the boy was all alone; the other girls and teacher had left the room and no one was there to help him. Arthur struggled, and cursed his luck for getting in such a situation. Drowning in a swimming pool – in a bloody high school – was a stupid way to die.

Meanwhile Sakura was drying her wet hair with a towel as she sensed a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. 'Something is wrong,' she thought bitterly. Her instincts had never failed her. The girl rushed out of the dressing rooms to the swimming area. Something in her mind screamed that Arthur was in danger; she did not know how or why but he was not safe. She was still in her swimsuit as she sprinted – carefully, she did not intend to slip – to the pool. "Arthur!" She shouted when she saw him struggling to stay above the water surface. She did not think twice as she sprang into the water in order to save him. The poor Punk did not notice as she approached him, only as her hands touched him. Sakura's arms hugged him from behind, steading his shaking body. She pressed her face against the side of his head. "It's alright, I am here," she whispered calmly, swimming with him to the rim of the pool. The Japanese had passed the lifesaving courses years ago and knew how to react under such circumstances. "Everything is alright, I am here," she repeated, calming him down. He grabbed the border of the pool, turning around to look at her. "S-Sakura," he murmured between shaking breaths. The Japanese was still holding onto him, soothing him with her presence; her arms were around his upper body, protecting him. She was aware of his weakness and promised herself to protect him from it for now. Although he was safe, she did not let go of him until he properly calmed down.

Arthur was thankful for her presence; she had saved him, even though the situation was strange –the part of almost drowning in a pool and being saved by the one you care about – he was happy to be with her. No one had appeared, except for her.

Both climbed out of the pool, sitting near the border, with their feet in the water. He was leaned against her, still a bit shaken by the incident and the hit on his head. For ten minutes, they stayed in that position. "I- I… Thank you," The Englishman told her sincerely.

"I had a strange feeling that something was wrong and the moment I saw you in the water, struggling, I… I was really worried," she admitted. "I know it is a sensitive topic, but …"

"I know, I need to learn how to swim."

He blushed, feeling extremely exposed and ashamed.

"You don't have to be ashamed. Everyone has their weakness, but you can learn it," she said, "I don't want to see you in such a situation again. What happens if I won't be around?" Despite her try to show no expression of emotions, her eyes were filled with worry and sadness. Arthur could see it; her voice had indicated those feelings. His instincts kicked in and before he could stop himself, he held her tighter. Seeing her in such a state was breaking his heart. "I am so sorry," he whispered, "I will try my best."

Sakura on the other hand nodded against his chest, hugging him back. "I-I can teach you how to swim."

The words had left her lips before she could rethink the sentence, making her flustered. Normally the shy girl would not suggest something like that. "O-okay," The Brit answered. His face colour was matching hers and he was glad that she was not capable of seeing it. His chin touched the top of her head and somehow he could imagine himself to stay in this position forever. He let go of her as the ringing sounds of the bell interrupted the silent atmosphere. "I-I will met you outside," he muttered shyly, thinking of how long they had stayed. "After I receive some dry clothes."

Sakura nodded, rushing to the dressing rooms, her hair was almost dry and she decided to wear a beanie. It was strange that no one had noticed that the two had been gone for so long. The teacher waited in the halls, waiting to lock the doors as Sakura exited from it. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. The man knew that girls took their time in the showers, with the make-up and so on, but he did not expect her to take so long. "Oh, Miss Honda, I was told that someone was still in the rooms."

She nodded silently, but did not utter a word about the incidents of Arthur's almost drowning. The teacher would feel ashamed of himself, due to the fact that he had the responsibility of the pupils. It would be a secret between her and the Brit.

[A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews :D I love reading them (they always made my day :3). Oh this is so tragic :'D Writing dramatic scenes is exhausting :'D but they needed a little hardship to deepen their relationship. I wanted to show a scene where Sakura is worried about Iggy and saves him. Fem Japan is strong, martial arts pro and not "weak", she cares for his wellbeing :). And the whole scene in the swimming pool reminded me of my childhood, when I let my Sims swim in pool without adding the leader xD, I bet I am not the only one who had done this ~]