Classroom of the Elite: Liquid Inspiration

by StrongStyle777

In an alternative universe where Ayanokouji Atsuomi humored the desires of Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, the story changes in more ways than one—new companions, new philosophies, and new goals. Find out how ANHS would take the White Room masterpiece that had developed a sense of humanity. (Cross-posted on Wattpad)

18. Vol 1 Chapter 6 - Swim Class

A Liquid Inspiration

Summary: (A re-telling of Classroom of the Elite sparked by a certain conversation between Masterpiece and Professor.)

One day, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka receives a surprising invitation from his father, Ayanokouji Atsuomi, to join him for a drink. It was unusual for Kiyotaka, who normally wouldn't be summoned by his father without a hidden agenda.

That's why even the emotionless Kiyotaka was surprised when his father began to open up about his own experiences with love and relationships.

For the emotionally distant "masterpiece," this conversation is a rare moment of connection with his father, and it sparked a curiosity within him to explore the world of human relationships, to be more specific: romance and intimacy.

It was that spark that pushed Kiyotaka to demand something from his father:

"Father, teach me everything about human relationships."

This then begins a ripple that changes how Ayanokouji Kiyotaka would approach the world in the foreseeable future.

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Do check out this fic on Wattpad. It has the same title and content, but we do have illustrations there to increase immersion for the fic. Thanks, and here's the chapter!

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Vol 1. Chapter 6 - Taming Perverts and Swimming Class

Ayanokōji Kiyotaka

"Good morning, Yamauchi!"

"Good morning, Ike!"

Arriving at class, Ike wore a wide grin on his face as he called out to Yamauchi. It had been about a week since the start of classes, and it was rather unusual for them to get here so early since they tend to always make it to class right before the bell rang.

While not exactly ideal, I couldn't reprimand them about it because they're at least putting in the effort not to be late.

It had been nearly a week since we revealed to the class my theories about the S-System that I effectively passed off as trusted intel coming from seniors, and I found myself pleased with the fact that Class D's initial efforts did not wane over the week.

The most pleasing progress out of everyone in the class came from Sudo, who, after being integrated into my group, became more amiable and more willing to engage with the class. While he still has his flaws, the fact that he was trying and succeeding to some degree is already praiseworthy.

There were still some students with concerning behaviors, like Hondo, Miyamoto, Yamauchi, and Ike, but even the four dunces put in the effort to at least maintain the façade of being actual students.

Despite their efforts, however, the four have been dubbed by the girls as "The Four Horsemen of Stupidity." It was honestly cruel, but as they say, 'you reap what you sow.'

"Haaaaah— I was looking forward to today's lesson so much that I couldn't sleep last night!"

"Ah ha ha! This school is just the best! I can't believe that it's almost time for swimming! And when I say swimming, I mean girls. And when I say girls, I mean girls in school swimsuits!"

It was true that the swimming classes were co-ed. In other words, it meant that Yuki, Horikita, Kushida, Chiaki, Hasebe, Sakura, and the rest of the girls would be... showing off a lot of skin. The girls, for obvious reasons, backed away from the Perverted Duo's rabid excitement. I, on the other hand, stood in the corner of the room alongside Kōenji, who was shaking his head at the ridiculous statements Yamauchi and Ike were spouting out in the open.

"The excitement of virgins never fails to amuse me," Kōenji muttered in amusement.

"If the girls end up not attending PE because of them, I will make these idiots suffer," I replied.

Kōenji turned his head to me and chuckled. "You've really become like the father of this class, Ayanokōji-boy," he said mockingly.

I rolled my eyes at Kōenji's remark. "I don't know about being a father, but I do take responsibility for the class's well-being."

Kōenji shrugged. "Well, I suppose it's better than being an emotionless robot like you used to be."

"But I do have to admit that I'm interested in the same things as they are. I'm just not stupid enough to say it in the open," I replied.

Kōenji laughed at my open admission. "I do not blame you. Psycho-girl and Stalker-girl do have attractive bodies, but it's not like you need swimming class to see them showing off more skin," the narcissist wiped off a fake tear from his eye. "You've truly grown up, Ayanokōji-boy."

I ignored Kōenji's teasing and thought about the matter at hand. Ike and Yamauchi's blatant perversion and unsightly scheming were going to be a test for Class D's unity and discipline. It was a situation that could easily turn into chaos if not managed properly.

Fortunately, Ike and Yamauchi are done with their perverted ramblings. I guess I'll have to enjoy this short peace before homeroom starts... and plan a way to address the increasing discomfort of the girls in the class.

"Hey, Professor! Come here for a second!" Ike called out to someone they called "Professor," which was a classmate of ours named Sotomura Hideo.

And I just had to jinx it, didn't I?

"Fufu, you called?" Professor... err, Sotomura replied.

The chubby Sotomura approached them slowly, and as he neared the two perverts, he was met with twin sets of grins.

"Professor, can you record the girls wearing their swimsuits for us?" Ike asked.

Ike's voice maintained its default volume, so I'm pretty sure all the girls heard what he just said.

"Leaveth it to me! I'll pretend to be sick so that I can skip class and observe," Sotomura said in a much lower tone. If not for my sharp hearing, I probably wouldn't be able to make out what Sotomura said.

I looked in Sudo's direction. The redhead, who was sitting near the three, saw my gaze, and upon noticing my gesture, he nodded and walked up to the three schemers.

"Record?" Sudo asked before narrowing his eyes. "What do you plan on havin' him do?"

"We're having Professor make a ranking on boob sizes of the girls in the class for us. If things go well, he might even be able to take some pics with his phone," Ike proudly answered.

I felt my brain cells being killed one by one as I bore witness to Ike's boldness. The volume of his voice did not reduce one bit, and while the guy thought he was being sneaky, everyone had probably heard everything they had been planning to do.

"What for?" Sudo asked.

As if on cue, Sotomura opened up his tablet and opened the spreadsheets application, but since I was far away, I couldn't see the exact numbers it had.

"To tell you the truth, we're taking bets on the girls' chest sizes," Ike confided.

Sudo's eyes widened, and he looked over at me, silently asking for guidance. I walked over to the group, and when I reached them, I put a hand on Sudo's shoulder and turned to the two perverts.

My eyes then roamed over the classroom, noticing the disgusted faces all the girls in the class had.

Hah. Time to do something about it, I guess.

"What's this I'm hearing about taking bets?"

Ike and Yamauchi's expressions turned sour as they looked at me, but I didn't budge. I could feel the eyes of the rest of the class on us, waiting to see how the situation would turn out.

"H-hey! Don't be too loud, Ayanokōji! The girls are going to hear us!" Yamauchi exclaimed, sending me a glare.

"You idiot. Everyone has already heard whatever you're plotting because you guys were too loud," I pointed out.

"Cr...crap!" Ike cursed.

I ignored the two and looked at Sotomura, who was trying to hide over everyone's scrutinizing gaze. "Sotomura, can I look over your tablet?" I asked.

"Sure thing, Ayanokōji-dono! Anything for the ruler of this class," Sotomura bowed and presented me with the tablet.

"The hell you sayin', Professor? That's a breach of the bro code! Ikemen like Ayanokōji are our natural enemies," Yamauchi grumbled.

It would seem that Hasebe was the favorite in terms of which of the girls had the biggest breasts, with the odds sitting at one to eight. Hasebe Haruka was one of the notable beauties in our class, who the boys declared to be around the same class as Kushida and Yuki. True to her introduction, she mostly kept to herself and had yet to be part of any groups in the class.

As I scrolled down the sheets, I noted just how elaborate the file was. Several mathematical formulas were even embedded into it to properly gauge how many points someone would win if they bet the base amount on someone.

I wonder if Sotomura himself concocted the formulas he used on the spreadsheet or if he outsourced it online.

"This is a little too elaborate than I would have thought. Aren't you observing them a little too closely?" I asked.

Sudo was right behind me, his eyes peeking at the spreadsheet file.

"Of course! We're men, aren't we? Men have only two things constantly on their minds: tits and ass!" Ike proudly declared.

Even though that may be the truth, putting it into words is way too bare-faced.

By the way, Horikita's name could be found in the lowest group. If you managed to win off of her, you'd win over 30 times your wager.

Well, in terms of chest size, you could tell from a look who wins and who loses. Horikita has no chance of winning.

"Even if you're our natural enemy, you're still a guy like us... so if you want to place a bet, we'd be more than happy to take your bet. Are you interested, Ayanokōji? One chip is 1000 points," Ike said.

I pretended not to listen to them and began fiddling with the tablet.

"Oi, Ayanokōji! What the hell are you doing?" Yamauchi asked in a demanding tone as he saw me resetting the spreadsheets.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm making sure none of you idiots get expelled for making perverted bets, so I'm changing the subject of the bet."

"E-eh?! Expelled?!"

I nodded my head. "I had Sudo record you three discussing your stupid plans. Wouldn't it suck if we were to tell this to the school? You guys were planning to commit voyeurism, you know?" I said, leading the two to look at Sudo and see the phone in his hand.

Sudo's eyes widened for a split second as I transferred the attention of the three to him. He did not anticipate me to use the fact he coincidentally had his phone out of his pocket to put pressure on the perverted schemers.

The two perverts, Ike and Yamauchi, looked at Sudo's phone in shock. "Y-you recorded us?" Ike asked, his voice faltering.

"I did. And don't worry, I made sure to capture everything clearly," Sudo answered smugly, waving his phone around.

Nice improv, Sudo!

Ike and Yamauchi exchanged panicked looks before turning back to me with a pleading expression. "Ayanokōji, you wouldn't actually report us, would you?" Yamauchi asked.

I shrugged. "Depends on whether you plan on going through with your little bet and recording the girls. If you do, then I won't hesitate to turn you in," I said firmly.

Ike and Yamauchi seemed to realize that I wasn't joking, and they quickly backed down. "F-fine. We won't do it," Ike said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Good. And if I ever catch you guys pulling a stunt like this again, I won't be so lenient," I warned them.

"Alright! Now that we've stopped the perverts, let's change the subject of the bet. Let's bet on who'll be the fastest swimmer for both the boys and the girls," I declared.

The class, especially the girls, cheered at my announcement. I could hear the girls speaking to each other in relief at how I controlled the situation and gradually being excited at the new bet. The boys, Hirata, Sudou, and surprisingly, Kōenji, in particular, had their competitive spirits ignited as they placed bets on themselves.

Yamauchi and Ike, who were both initially anxious at my "evidence," recovered and joined the excitement, telling Sudo to make them proud and earn them money.

As for me...

I bet on myself and on Yuki for obvious reasons.

Yuki, at one point, was an even superior swimmer than I was. Of course, that was about nine years ago, but the girl had managed to retain her physical abilities, something she proved when Kōenji revealed that Yuki was able to beat him up.

Happy with what I'd done, I walked away from the forming crowd, with Sudo not that far behind.

"You're smart... but also utterly insane, Ayanokōji. What if they caught on to my bluff?" Sudo asked.

I shook my head in amusement. "You were never at risk of being found out, Sudo. With the atmosphere of the conversation, checking if you actually had proof was the last thing on their minds.

Sudo rubbed the back of his head. "Geez, dude. I just don't get how ya' smart people do things," he said.

I patted Sudo on the back. "It worked out, right? You're going to be even more popular with the girls in the class, Sudo," I teased the redhead, who seemed bashful at my comments.

"Y-Yea," Sudo muttered.

"Say, Sudo, do you think I went too far?" I asked Sudo, leading the redhead to turn his head in my direction.

Sudo scratched his head. "I don't think so. They were planning to do something disgusting. You did the right thing by stopping them. Heck, you even saved their ass. One of the girls who heard everything might have decided to report them on their own."

That was true.

Huh... Sudo's actually capable of picking up something like that, huh? Color me impressed.

I shrugged. "It was no big deal. I just didn't want them to get expelled over something stupid like this, especially since we don't know how expulsion would affect our class points."

"Class Points, huh? Man, to think this school is actually brutal," Sudo groaned.

"Good thing we've managed to earn an advantage, right? Well, I'll be going back to my seat. Thanks for the help, Sudo," I waved the redhead goodbye and returned to my desk.

Sudo nodded at me before he went back to his own seat too.

"You sure have interesting means of dealing with trouble, Ayanokōji-kun."

I turned to my right and saw Horikita, who was reading a book... or at least pretended to do so because the book she was reading... was flipped upside down.

"You don't have to be shy in admitting you were looking at me, Horikita," I teased the dark-haired girl, whose eyes widened in realization and immediately flipped the book in the proper orientation.

"Shut up," Horikita muttered.

She's really cute when she gets flustered.

6.1

After lunch had ended, it was finally time for swim class. It was the moment that Ike and the others had been waiting for.

"Yoshaa, it's the pool!"

Speaking of Ike, the short boy was unable to contain his excitement and began shouting in joy. He immediately leaped up from his seat and started heading towards the indoor pool with the others as a group.

Alongside the rest of the boys, we entered the men's changing room and began to change our clothes. Sudo was the first of us to change, showing off his impressive physique that was honed by years upon years of basketball training. Even when comparing him to students older than him, his physique still stood out.

Unlike the other students, who wrapped a bath towel around their waist, Sudo unabashedly took off his clothes, paying no mind to everyone who was paying attention to him, and immediately changed into his swimwear.

"You sure are brave, Sudo. You didn't even care about the people looking at you," I pointed out as I, too, began to change into my swimwear.

"In sports, you can't get flustered every time you have to change. If you act all shifty, it'll have the opposite effect. You'll become the center of attention," Sudo responded.

He has a point.

The more you try to hide, the more people will take notice of you—it was just how it worked.

"Well then, I'll be heading out first," Sudo said before he got out of the changing room.

A few moments after Sudo's departure, I was done changing into my swimwear as well and was about to head to the pool until...

"What the hell, Ayanokōji?! You're... you're seriously ripped, man!" Ike exclaimed, appraising my body.

"Tch! Explains why Tsubaki-chan is crazy about him," Yamauchi added.

"For two dudes obsessed with looking at breasts, both of you seem suspiciously interested in another guy's body. Is there something you're not telling us, Ike, Yamauchi?" I asked.

"O-oi! Don't even joke about that!"

"W-what the hell, dude?!"

Some of the boys joined in and teased Yamauchi and Ike. Haaah, the normal high school life.

It's fun.

I looked at Yamauchi and Ike for a couple of seconds, finding myself amused at the teasing they received before making my way out of the changing room and towards the indoor pool. As I stepped outside, I felt the warm air embrace my skin, a welcome change from the chilly air-conditioned room.

The indoor pool was quite spacious, with crystal clear water that glistened under the bright lights. The pool was divided into several lanes, with each lane designed to accommodate multiple students at once.

I walked towards the pool and dipped my toes in the water. The temperature was perfect, not too warm nor too cold. As I was about to get into the pool, I heard someone call out my name.

"Ayanokōji!"

"Yo, Sudo," I greeted back.

"The school really didn't hold back, man. Geez, this place is something else," Sudo said as he glanced all over the indoor pool.

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, they sure did a great job with the facilities."

Sudo looked at me, grinning. "Hey, I was thinking. Since we have some time before the teacher arrives, why don't we have a little race? I wanna see if I can beat you."

I couldn't help but be amused at Sudo's competitive nature. "Sure thing. But don't be surprised when you lose," I replied with a smirk.

We quickly got into position at the edge of the pool, ready for the race to begin. "On your mark...get set...go!" Sudo shouted before diving into the water.

I decided to pull a prank on Sudo and didn't jump into the pool.

Instead, I stood by the edge, pretending to be frozen in place. Sudo, who was busy swimming, didn't notice my little trick and assumed that I had already started the race. He swam as fast as he could, only to realize a few seconds later that I wasn't even in the pool.

"Ayanokōji! What the hell, man?! Why didn't you jump in?!" Sudo shouted, a mix of frustration and confusion in his voice.

"I wasn't able to stretch. I might get injured, you know?" I reasoned and inwardly found myself amused at the look on Sudo's face.

Sudo let out an exasperated sigh and swam back to where I was standing. "You're lucky we're friends, Ayanokōji," he said, shaking his head.

I just laughed and patted him on the back. "Relax, Sudo. We still have plenty of time for another race. And next time, I promise I won't mess around."

Sudo grinned and nodded, the competitive fire still burning in his eyes. "You better bring your A-game, Ayanokōji. I won't hold back either."

"Ha Ha Ha! As if you'll have a chance against him, dog-boy!"

Kōenji's booming voice made itself known as the blonde narcissist walked in our direction, grinning ear to ear as he took in Sudo's angry glare.

"What's yer problem, bastard?!" Sudo angrily asked.

"My problem? Nothing! But I have come to inform both of you that I will be winning the race later on. Ha Ha Ha!" Kōenji then waved us off and walked off somewhere.

"Man, what's his problem?" Sudo grumbled.

"Kōenji doesn't have a problem with you or me. He's just... like that. It's better if you ignore him, Sudo," I advised the redhead, who begrudgingly nodded.

Kōenji's way of doing things... had a high tendency to rub people off the wrong way. It's just how he was, and that's not going to change.

A few moments later, the rest of the boys made their way out of the changing room. It seemed like their teasing of Yamauchi and Ike went on for quite a while.

"Where are the girls? Are they not here yet?" Ike made sniffing noises whilst searching for the girls.

Why is he sniffing? Is he a specialized dog breed or something? A Horndog, perhaps?

I decided to walk in their direction, and upon noticing me, Yamauchi and Ike shot me a glare.

"Ayanokōji, you bastard!" Ike exclaimed.

"What?" I asked in a disinterested tone.

"It took us ten minutes to convince these idiots that we weren't gay!"

They knew you both weren't gay. It's just a guy thing to make fun of each other in that way, Ike. The fact both of you had to defend yourselves probably made it funnier for the other boys.

I shrugged. "What's so wrong with being gay? Besides, that's your fault for ogling me, Ike," I teased.

The other boys burst into laughter, and Ike's face turned beet red. "I wasn't ogling you!" he protested.

"Sure, Ike. Whatever you say," I replied with a smirk.

Sudo snickered and patted Ike's back as the boisterous pervert slumped at his fruitless verbal spar with me.

"Uwa~ It's so spacious! It's way bigger than the pool at my junior high~."

Just then, the girls made their entrance, and all of the boys' jaws dropped as they took in their stunning appearance.

"T-They're here!" Ike exclaimed, almost as if the heavens had decided to give him a gift.

It seemed like my plan to thwart Ike and Yamauchi's plan worked out better than I thought, as I could see all of the girls emerge from the girl's changing room.

It was like a scene out of a movie as the girls gracefully walked towards the pool, their swimsuits accentuating their curves and features.

As expected, the eyes of the boys were glued to the bodies of the girls. Even if the swimsuit they wore were a school-issued swimsuit, which didn't really reveal plenty of skin, it still did its work in accentuating each of their curves, making the girls more voluptuous than imagined.

Hasebe, in particular, stood out as the bustiest out of the girls, with Sakura not that far behind. But I'm not going to say that out loud, of course.

However, both of them didn't stand a chance against Yuki. Not only was the little psycho stacked up front, but her rear seemingly bounced at every step.

How come I didn't notice that before?

I should have squished that when we made out last week...

No, Kiyotaka. Do not let intrusive thoughts take over. You are an upstanding young man!

I repeatedly shook my head and turned around to prevent a potentially dangerous physiological phenomenon.

Ah, what great weather we have today... World peace truly is wonderful.

"You sure she's not actually your girlfriend, Ayanokōji?" Sudo asked in a teasing tone.

I nodded. "I'm sure. But you have to admit, Yuki's extremely beautiful. It's hard not to look at her."

"I heard that!"

Sudo and I turned around and were met with Yuki's smiling face.

"The hairstyle is... new," I remarked.

Yuki giggled. "I look beautiful, right? Don't even bother denying it! You admitted to it already, Kiyotaka!"

Sudo 'stealthily' made himself scarce, either to give Yuki and me some space or to prevent a potentially dangerous physiological phenomenon as well.

I shook my head in amusement.

Teenager girls really are the kryptonite of teenage boys.

"Ara ara~! You're looking real good, Yuki-chan!"

It seemed like God was making my battle even more difficult as another beautiful girl entered the fray, her breasts jiggling as she headed in our direction.

Chiaki then stopped in her tracks and winked at me. "Hello, Kiyotaka-kun!"

"You're looking great, Chiaki," I replied.

Chiaki giggled. "You sound too rigid, Kiyotaka-kun! Were you perhaps... fighting off your urges? " She cheekily asked.

Yuki's eyes widened upon hearing Chiaki's words before a mischievous grin made its way onto her face. "Fufu, it couldn't be helped, Chiaki-chan. Kiyotaka is still a teenage boy, after all... and we're both ridiculously gorgeous girls."

Yuki then leaned forward, giving me an eyeful of her generous mounds, obviously trying to elicit a reaction from me.

I flicked Yuki on the forehead. "Stop that. I am preventing a potentially dangerous physiological phenomenon from happening, and you're not helping."

Yuki giggled. "I like it when you're honest, Kiyotaka. Be a good boy, and I. might. reward. you," Yuki sent me a wink before walking off, presumably in the direction of the other girls.

"She's been so smug ever since you admitted you were considering doing... that with her. You're mean, you know? I should receive a similar treatment, too," Chiaki whined.

Without any hesitation, I extended my hand... and flicked Chiaki on the forehead.

Chiaki let out a small yelp, rubbing her forehead. "Ow! What was that for?" she pouted.

"For saying something like that in public," I replied.

Chiaki's cheeks turned a shade of pink, realizing her mistake. "Ah, right... Sorry about that. I got carried away with how Yuki-chan shamelessly flirted with you in public," she apologized.

I shook my head in amusement. "Yuki is... Yuki," I replied.

Chiaki giggled. "That's true. You prefer classy girls like me, right?"

"You? Classy?" I deadpanned.

Chiaki pouted again. "Hey! I am a refined and elegant young lady!"

I raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Aren't you a stalker that's trained by her mother, of all people?"

Chiaki's face turned red, and she looked away sheepishly. "I... I'm not a stalker," she muttered weakly.

"A classy stalker, perhaps?"

Chiaki pouted and glared at me. It was an adorable sight, as usual.

Yuki suddenly appeared behind us, wrapping her arms around my neck. "So, Kiyotaka, what do you say we ditch this 'classy' girl and hang out just the two of us?"

"Can't you behave for even five minutes, Yuki?"

Yuki stuck her tongue out at me. "Where's the fun in that?"

Chiaki cleared her throat. "Uh, I'm still here, you know?" she said, feeling left out.

Yuki grinned mischievously. "Oh, don't worry, Chiaki-chan! You're always welcome to join us if you can keep up."

Wait... just what is this hangout that Yuki's talking about?

Chiaki blushed at the implication but then smirked. "I'm sure I can handle myself," she said confidently.

"As if! I won't share Kiyotaka, ever," Yuki replied and stuck a tongue out at Chiaki.

Way to get her hopes up, Yuki.

"All right! Everyone, line up!"

A macho-looking, middle-aged man, presumably our PE teacher, called for everyone to gather around the center area just in front of the pool itself. He carried with him the aura of someone who had dedicated his life to fitness, and his outward appearance showed just that.

The PE teacher wordlessly looked at us, but based on the movements of his mouth, he seemed to be doing a headcount.

A few moments later, he grinned at us. "Impressive! It seems like 39 of you are here. Your class has the best attendance out of the first years, so I congratulate you for that," he said, sending the class an approving look.

Some eyes turned to me, as they saw me as the reason why this was the case.

"Fufu, Kiyotaka really was like a hero earlier, wasn't he?" Yuki whispered to Chiaki, who happily nodded.

Well... it's not my fault that humans are genetically coded to flock to the spirit of competition.

That said... 39?

I scanned around the pool area and saw everyone was there except for one: Karuizawa Kei.

That's weird.

Judging from her attempts to mount up popularity in class, you'd think she'd take the chance to boost her popularity by appearing in a swimsuit. She certainly was cute enough to turn some heads.

"Well then! After you warm up, I want to see what you can really do. Swim for me," the coach said.

"Excuse me, sir. I can't really swim..."

A boy, whose name I forgot, raised his hand and spoke up in an apologetic tone.

"Since you have me as your teacher, you'll be swimming in no time! Don't worry too much about it!"

"Well, we don't really need to force ourselves to swim, do we? It's not like we're going to the beach or anything."

"No way. I don't mind at all if you're bad at swimming now, but I'll make sure you guys are able to swim once I'm done with you. Besides, being able to swim will definitely come in handy later in life. Definitely."

It's weird how he phrased that. But considering the nature of this school, it must be another hint to prepare us for what's to come.

At sensei's insistence, everyone started their warm-up exercises. While this was happening, Ike's eyes lingered on the girls, leading him to almost lose his footing on multiple occasions. He eventually stopped upon seeing Yuki glare at him.

It was funny seeing him freeze in place for about half a minute.

After warming up, sensei instructed us to casually swim about 50 meters to get ourselves used to the pool. The students who were unable to swim weren't left unattended, as sensei allowed them to touch the bottom of the pool with their feet.

Following everyone's lead, I made my way to the pool and began swimming. The water, as I expected, was temperature-controlled because I didn't feel chilled when I entered and adjusted right away.

After swimming 50 meters, I got out of the pool and waited for everyone else to finish.

"He he he, that was an easy win for me. Did you all see my super swimming skills?" Ike crowed. He'd swum nimbly and now got out of the pool with a smug, self-satisfied grin.

No, Ike, your performance wasn't really that different from anyone else's. Your form is also quite bad for your muscles.

"Well, it looks like everyone can swim, for the most part," sensei said, having observed everyone's performance.

Ike took this chance to brag. "Of course, sir. Back in junior high, people called me 'the flying fish,' you know."

I don't think that's a nickname you want to have, Ike...

"I see. In that case, I'll have you start competing against each other. We'll separate groups by gender. Fifty-meter freestyle."

Sensei's announcement was met with cheers from the more rowdy members of the class, while the more level-headed ones simply nodded.

"The student who wins first place will get a special bonus from me: 5000 points. The student who comes in last, however, will have to take supplementary lessons. Get ready!"

"Yoshaa! Prepare to lose, losers!" Sudo exclaimed, already engulfed by his innate competitive spirit.

"I'm screwed!" Another bespectacled guy, Ijuuin, cursed. He was one of the members of the class that couldn't swim.

Students had varying reactions depending on their assumed level of skill in swimming. Just as what you would expect when the word competition is uttered.

"Since the entire class is here, I'll group you into four groups of five people, each gender. For the girls, the last heat will only have four of you. That being said, the winner of each group will move on to the final round."

Upon sensei's instruction, the girls were going first. Taking out a clipboard, sensei began announcing the participants for each heat.

With how the girls were drawn, the finals were probably going to be between Onodera, Horikita, Kushida, and Yuki.

For the men, I'm predicting that the final four will consist of Sudo, myself, Hirata, and Kōenji.

Let's see if my prediction ended up being right.

That said, the boys sat on the sidelines, filled with excitement as they cheered... no, as they assessed the girls.

"Kushida-chaaan, Kushida-chaaan, Kushida-chaaaan, haaaa! Man, she's so hot," Ike chanted, seemingly in a trance.

"Heheheh... But Tsubaki-chan is surprisingly big, isn't she?" Yamauchi added, his eyes leering at Yuki.

For reasons that I wouldn't openly admit, his actions irked me.

"Woah! You're right, Yamauchi! She's almost as big as Kushida-chan!" Ike's eyes widened as his gaze turned to Yuki.

"Both of you better calm down before Ayanokōji decides to murder you!" Sudo warned the two and pointed in my direction, letting the two perverts know that I was looking at them.

Iyaaa... I'm not going to murder them, Sudo. That would be too merciful.

"S-Sorry, Ayanokōji! We won't leer at your girlfriend a-again!" The two squeaked out.

I raised an eyebrow. "Yuki isn't my girlfriend," I muttered under my breath but did not bother to actually correct the two.

I've already spent all the energy I've dedicated to them. It's just not worth it.

I decided to stand up from the poolside and walk in a random direction, eventually finding myself face to face with Horikita, who remained silent as she began examining my body.

"You're surprisingly well-built, Ayanokōji-kun," she finally said, breaking off the silence.

"How observant, pervert-chan," I teased.

Horikita glared at me. "I am not a pervert," she maintained.

"Your eyes have lingered on my body for exactly 44.7 seconds, Horikita. Just admit it," I replied.

Horikita's cheeks reddened in anger. "That's an exaggeration! I've only done so for 15 seco—" Horikita's eyes widened as she realized what she was about to say.

She quickly shook her head, trying to backtrack her words. "N-never mind that! I just...noticed that your muscles, like your forearms and back, are rather developed."

I raised an eyebrow, surprised at her sudden interest. "Is that so? I didn't realize you paid attention to my physique, Horikita."

Horikita pursed her lips, clearly not pleased by my insinuation. "Don't think of yourself as anyone special. I simply observe the people around me, and their physical attributes are a part of that observation."

"Right, of course," I said, hiding a smirk. "Well, I appreciate your observation skills. Is there anything else you'd like to comment on?"

Horikita shook her head, clearly wanting to end the conversation. "No, that's all."

Before we knew it, the first heat was done, and as expected, Onodera Kayano, who applied for the swimming club, won the heat. She finished in 26 seconds, which was impressive considering the next swimmer to finish ended up with a time of 34 seconds. It was complete dominance for Onodera.

Sensei then called on the participants of the second heat, which included Horikita.

"Hm, good luck, Horikita," I said to the dark-haired girl, who simply nodded before heading out to the starting block.

As Horikita stood at the starting line, she had a rather intimidating look in her eyes. It seemed like she was trying to regain her composure after being teased earlier.

I guess I'll take accountability if she loses the heat.

The second heat started, and as expected, Horikita was leading the pack. Her strokes were powerful, and she was able to maintain a steady rhythm. I could see the determination in her eyes, and I knew she wasn't going to give up easily.

As she approached the finish line, her time was announced, "28 seconds!"

Not bad. Not bad at all.

It was a great time, and Horikita secured her spot in the finals.

Then, it was time for the third heat for the girls, which featured Kushida, Sato, Chiaki, Wang, and Hasebe.

What a powerful lineup of beauties.

And as expected, the eyes of every boy in class were glued to the bodies of the swimmers, specifically Kushida, who was the most popular girl in class alongside Yuki. Guys lust over Kushida more, however, as Yuki made it clear that she was only interested in me.

That said, the boys were sent into a frenzy after Kushida smiled and waved in their direction. This served to amplify their energies as their cheering for Kushida became louder than it was a minute ago.

There... were even some boys who tried to hide their crotch.

How does someone get erect for something as simple as getting waved at? That's... pretty sad.

I shook my head at the antics of some of the boys and turned my head to Chiaki, who was looking at me.

I sent the brown-haired girl a smile and nodded at her.

Chiaki returned the smile and began to settle herself.

The third heat began, and Kushida, Sato, Chiaki, Wang, and Hasebe took their positions. Kushida's fan club was cheering loudly, but Chiaki seemed unfazed by the noise.

As the race started, Kushida took the lead, her strokes smooth and efficient. Sato and Hasebe were close behind, but Chiaki seemed to be lagging behind a bit. However, as they approached the last few meters, Chiaki suddenly picked up speed and started gaining on the others.

It was a close finish, but in the end, Kushida won with a time of 31 seconds, followed closely by Chiaki with a time of 32 seconds. Wang and Hasebe were not far behind, while Sato finished dead last.

As the heat ended, the students cheered and clapped for the swimmers. Kushida looked pleased with herself, but Chiaki looked disappointed, despite her impressive finish.

I couldn't help but feel a little bad for her, so I walked over to her and said, "You did great, Chiaki. That was an amazing finish."

Chiaki looked up at me and smiled, her cheeks turning pink. "Thanks, Kiyotaka-kun. I didn't expect to do that well. I mean... I'm not really that athletic, you know?"

"All things considered, you did well, Chiaki-chan!"

Chiaki and I turned our heads to see Yuki approaching, an encouraging smile on her face.

Chiaki blushed even more at the compliments from both Yuki and me. "Thank you, Yuki-chan. I'm just glad I didn't embarrass myself too much."

"You didn't embarrass yourself at all," I reassured her.

Yuki nodded. "You almost came from behind, you know? The mid-swim surge was great, Chiaki-chan! But..." A cocky grin then made its way to Yuki's face. "I'll show you how it's actually done!"

Yuki then headed to the pool area, preparing for the final heat for the girls.

I watched as Yuki took her position at the starting blocks, her eyes focused on the finish line. I had no doubt that she was going to give it her all in this race.

Yuki, after all, had a tendency to show off in moments like these.

Well, it's not like it'll cost her. She's the fastest swimmer out of all the girls by far. Even Onodera wouldn't stand a chance.

I might be wrong... but I doubt it.

Soon the fourth heat started, but to everyone's surprise, Yuki did not immediately dive, allowing the four girls to gain a headstart over her.

"Eh?! What is Tsubaki-san doing?"

"Did she get a sprain or something?"

Four seconds later, Yuki finally dived and took everyone by surprise at the sheer speed she was swimming at. Yuki immediately closed the gap between herself and the four other swimmers and, upon doing so, immediately left them behind in a dramatic victory.

So that's why she said, "I'll show you how it's actually done."

Her final time was then announced to be 28.03 seconds, a split second faster than Horikita's 28.60 seconds.

What an impressive flex. If she had taken off at the same time as the other girls, she would have finished in 24 seconds.

"Praise me, Kiyotaka!" Yuki demanded as she walked up to me, a grin plastered on her face.

"You don't need my praise, Yuki. You already know how good you are."

Yuki pouted. "But it's not as fun if I don't hear it from you too!"

"Fine. You were amazing, Yuki. That was a well-deserved win."

Yuki beamed at my words. "It wasn't so hard now, was it? Thanks, Kiyotaka! I knew I could count on you to praise me properly."

"I'm not surprised, but I'm amazed you're still able to retain your swimming abilities," I replied.

Yuki had a nostalgic look on her face. "Before we reunited, swimming was one of the things that gave me a sense of peace, so I ended up swimming a lot," she said.

"I see."

"Ne, Kiyotaka?" Yuki called out.

"Hm?"

"Wanna bet on something?"

"What?"

Yuki grinned mischievously. "Let's make a bet on who has the faster time between us. Well... since we can't directly compete, let's just use our times in the finals as reference."

"What's in it for me?"

Yuki pouted. "Come on, Kiyotaka, don't be so boring. It'll be fun!"

"I'm not saying no, but what do you propose as the prize?"

Yuki's eyes lit up. "Fufu! The winner will be able to make one request from the loser... and the request..." Yuki had a weird smile on her face as she said that. "Can be anything."

I raised an eyebrow at Yuki's proposal. "Anything, huh?"

"Yup! Anything at all," Yuki confirmed with a nod.

I pondered for a moment, considering the risks of accepting Yuki's bet...and upon deliberation that lasted for about half a second, I concluded that there was none.

Because, as always, I'm going to win.

"Alright, then."

Yuki smiled beautifully before waving me goodbye.

I shook my head at Yuki's 'play.' Yuki made the bet fully, knowing that I would win the bet.

But then again, maybe Yuki just wanted an excuse to spend time with me. It wouldn't be the first time she's come up with a scheme to get me alone.

What should I ask her?

If we think about anything involving intimacy and sex, it would be a waste of a favor because I do not need to win a bet to have sex with Yuki... she'd willingly jump at the opportunity if I gave her one.

She did seem a little upset that we didn't do it last week, even if she understood my reasons for not pushing through with it.

Hmm... should I use the favor to tell her I'd only make her my girlfriend if she allowed me to have a harem?

No, no, that's just wrong. I blame Kōenji for this.

I shook my head and made my way back to the sidelines, and as I did, Ike put an arm around me but struggled to do so because of our difference in height.

"You seem to be getting extra chummy with Tsubaki-chan, aren't you, Ayanokōji?"

I shrugged off Ike's arm. "We're just friends."

"Friends, huh? That's not what it looked like from where I was standing," Ike said with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes. "You're imagining things, Ike."

"The only thing I'm imagining is me being smothered in Kushida-chan's tits. I'm sure Tsubaki-chan and you were talking about something... spicy!"

"You're a little too loud, Ike," I deadpanned, noting the disgusted looks the girls sent to Ike.

Ike laughed and shrugged. "What? It's not like anyone can hear me over the cheering crowd anyway."

"The girls were already glaring at you, Ike," I said, pointing at the girls, who still held their looks of disgust.

Ike glanced at the girls and shrugged once more. "Eh, they'll get over it."

I decided to ignore Ike's antics and focused on the first heat for the boy's side. The standout for this heat was Sudo, who boasted an impressive physique, and as expected, Sudo won his heat, finishing in just under 25 seconds.

The redhead then made his way to us, a massive grin adorning his face.

"Ya see that, Ayanokōji?"

I nodded my head. "Impressive showing, Sudo. I suppose I should show you what I got."

"You better win in your heat, Ayanokōji! I'll be looking forward to crushing you in the finals!" Sudo declared.

"Yeah, sure," I replied before heading to the starting block.

"Oh, Ayanokōji," A dark-magenta-haired boy, who stood in the third lane, greeted me.

I nodded my head at the boy. "Miyake."

"Those two were right. You're really built, Ayanokōji."

"You're not doing bad for yourself, Miyake. Do you do sports?" I asked.

Miyake rubbed the back of his head. "Kinda... but I got my physique from being involved in fights in Junior High. I did change, though."

That was quite unexpected. Miyake tends to keep to himself, so his story of being a former delinquent was a little unexpected.

"Ganbareeee, Ayanokōji-kun~!"

"Faaaaitooo~!"

"Kyaaaa~! Ayanokōji-kun really has a great body!"

Miyake snorted at the cheers. "You're really popular, Ayanokōji."

"I'm still not used to it, but I'm getting there," I replied.

Looking at the rest of the class, while the rest of the girls were earnestly cheering me on, Yuki had an irritated look on her face, with Chiaki trying to placate the jealous girl. On the men's side, Ike and Yamauchi were looking at me in jealousy.

It seemed like they were only cool with me getting attention if it was from Yuki and Chiaki. The other girls? Apparently off-limits.

Not that they could do anything about it.

"Boys, enough talking and more swimming, alright? In 3, 2, 1!"

As the whistle blew, I wasted no time and dived in expertly at the pool, looking to finish up the 50-meter heat. With my powerful strokes, I easily glided through the water, leaving the other boys trailing behind. Miyake kept up with me for a while but soon fell behind as I picked up speed.

As I approached the end of the pool, I could see that I was way ahead of the other boys. Miyake was my closest competition, but even he was lagging behind.

Upon surfacing from the water, I was met with loud cheers from our classmates.

"23.90 seconds!"

"KYAAAAA~! Ayanokōji-kun was so fast!"

"What's up with that speed?! He was like a bullet train!"

"Those muscles weren't just for show!"

"AAAAH! I'm so jealous of Tsubaki-san!"

I raised an eyebrow at the last comment and turned to Yuki, who had a pleased look on her face as she took in the misunderstanding positively.

"I knew you were going to be athletic, but that was really impressive, Ayanokōji," Miyake said upon approaching me.

"You're not bad yourself, Miyake. 27 seconds isn't something to scoff at," I replied.

"I guess so. Well, I'll be rooting for you in the final, Ayanokōji," Miyake waved at me before heading back to the sidelines.

I heard the splashing of footsteps approaching me and turned to see a group of classmates surrounding me. Among them was Kushida, who wore a wide smile on her face, along with her group of friends, including Onodera, who had the fastest time among the girls. Yuki and Chiaki also headed my way, with Yuki immediately enveloping me in a tight hug that felt more possessive than congratulatory.

"Fufu! You're reaaaally fast, Kiyotaka!" Yuki praised me before leaning in close to my ear. "Are you excited about winning our bet? What do you want me to do, Ki-yo-ta-ka?"

"Not right now, Yuki," I replied, gently pushing her away.

Yuki pouted and released me from her grip, and as she did, the rest of the gathered girls began praising me for my performance.

"You were incredible, Ayanokōji-kun!" Kushida praised

"Your speed was amazing, Ayanokōji-kun!" Onodera exclaimed with enthusiasm. "Did you use to swim for your junior high? You must have, right!?"

"I was homeschooled for junior high," I replied.

Onodera rubbed the back of her head. "Oh yeah! I forgot about that. You said that in your introduction, right?"

I nodded.

"Kiyotaka here just had some intense high-level training back in the day," Yuki said.

"Really? That explains a lot, then!" Onodera replied.

"You really know a lot of things about Ayanokōji-kun, Tsubaki-san. Why don't the two of you date already?" She teased.

"It's because Kiyotaka likes me more," Chiaki replied to Kushida, hugging my arm.

"Care to say that again, Chiaki-chan?" Yuki fired back and hugged my other arm.

Are they just going to pretend like I'm not here?

Kushida giggled. "Look at you, Ayanokōji-kun! You're extremely popular. Aren't you happy?"

"KYAAA~!"

Shrieks and cheers could be heard from the rest of the girls, and upon looking at the pool area, it seemed like it was time for the third heat, with Hirata being the obvious crowd favorite.

I turned my head to Kushida. "Not as popular as that guy," I pointed out.

Kushida let out a small laugh. "Well, Hirata-kun is definitely the heartthrob of the class. But you shouldn't underestimate your own popularity, Ayanokōji-kun. You have your own set of fans, you know?"

"Are you part of that fan club, Kushida?"

"Bad, Ayanokōji-kun! No making advances on other girls when you already have Tsubaki-san!" Kushida jokingly chided me.

I wonder how Chiaki feels at Kushida's open support for Yuki.

Speaking of Yuki, the blonde attempted to pinch me on the cheek, which I deflected.

"I wasn't making any advances."

Kushida smiled slyly. "Oh really? Then why did you ask?"

I shook my head, deciding not to pursue the topic any further. "Never mind."

"Looks like it's Hirata-kun's turn," Kushida said, her eyes scanning the pool area. "We should go find a good spot to watch."

The group of girls then started to disperse as the third heat was about to begin, with Hirata getting ready to jump in the pool.

I watched as he focused on the task at hand, his eyes fixed on the far end of the pool.

"Go, Hirata-kun!" Mori, who was on the opposite side of us, cheered loudly, and the other girls quickly joined in.

Hirata dived into the water and quickly took the lead, effortlessly gliding through the water. The other swimmers tried to catch up, but none could match Hirata's speed. The girls on Mori's side cheered at Hirata's every move, and it got louder as the dirty-blonde-haired boy began extending his lead.

"Hoh? Who would have thought that the pretty boy was good at swimming," Sudo said as he approached Yuki, Chiaki, and me. But the redhead is most likely just here to talk with me.

"Football players have bodies that are also compatible with swimming. It's just as you'd expect, Sudo," I replied.

Sudo nodded. "He most likely has great stamina too. Footballers play for more than an hour, so their endurance needed to be top-notch," he added.

Soon, the third heat for the boys ended, with Hirata taking first place, finishing at 26.13 seconds.

As expected, girls flocked to him and began showering him with praise. The guy gracefully took it in, but then, the girls began to argue over something.

"Hey, why are you ogling Hirata-kun like that?" another girl said.

"Huh? I'm 'ogling'?!"

There was an indignant squeal.

"I feel his pain," I muttered.

"What was that, Kiyotaka?" Yuki asked in a rather alarming tone.

"Nothing."

"That's what I thought!"

Chiaki simply giggled. "You really should know when to shut up, Kiyotaka-kun."

That's duly noted, Chiaki.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Ladies, let's not get physical. You don't have to fight over me. I'm not a limited-edition action figure. I'm more like a common cold—I'll spread around to everyone eventually. Now, let's all be civil and witness the true spectacle that is my swimming prowess."

Kōenji... what?

The bickering girls were halted in their argument. They looked at each other in confusion, clearly not understanding what Kōenji had just said, and as they glanced at the blonde, the girls had a look of discomfort as they saw what he was wearing.

Kouenji's swimwear is... disturbingly detailed, to say the least. It was a red speedo that clung tightly to his flesh, showing off a noticeable bulge.

"I wonder how a speedo would look on you, Kiyotaka-kun," Chiaki said in wonder.

"Pervert."

"Hey! I was just curious!"

"That's right! There's nothing perverted with Chiaki-chan's words," Yuki affirmed.

Meanwhile, Kōenji had confidently approached the pool and made a grand show of stretching his limbs, his swimwear leaving nothing to the imagination. The girls that were once arguing over Hirata had now turned their attention towards Kōenji with expressions of disgust.

"I'm not sure if I can swim in the same pool as him," one of the girls whispered to her friend.

Kōenji smirked, obviously enjoying all the attention he was getting.

"I'm not interested in things like winning or losing, but I'm not fond of losing, you see," Kōenji said to no one in particular.

Nobody asked, Kōenji.

"Is he wearing a large sausage on his crotch?" Sudo asked, squinting his eyes to get a better look.

"That's really suspicious, Sudo."

"Hey!"

As the fourth heat began, Kōenji's form in the water was surprisingly graceful, considering his audacious swimwear. He cut through the water like a knife, leaving his opponents far behind.

"The hell?!"

Sudo exclaimed in shock as Kōenji's aggressive swimming and speed made it look like he was bringing a maelstrom of chaos into the pool.

"He's definitely a strong swimmer," I said.

"I don't understand why he's wearing that swimwear, though," Yuki commented, her face scrunching up in disgust.

Chiaki giggled. "Maybe he thinks it's stylish?"

"I doubt it," I said dryly. "Knowing Kōenji, he probably just wants to draw attention to himself."

As the heat ended, Kōenji emerged from the water, looking smug and self-satisfied.

"23.22 seconds."

"My abdominal muscles, back muscles, and psoas major muscle seem to be in good shape, as usual. Not a bad performance," Kōenji said.

After getting out of the pool, he smirked and swept his hair up. He wasn't short of breath at all. It was as if he hadn't even swum in the first place. Like me, he's probably holding back a little.

"Looks like it's our turn now," Yuki mused before turning her head to me. "You better cheer loudly for me, Kiyotaka!"

"I'll be cheering for you in spirit, Yuki."

Yuki pouted before heading to the starting block.

"Who do you think wins between Yuki-chan and Onodera-san?" Chiaki asked.

"Yuki, of course," I replied without any hint of hesitation.

As Yuki took her position on the starting block, the atmosphere around the pool began to shift. The other students were now paying more attention to the race, whispering amongst themselves and eagerly anticipating the start.

The whistle blew, and Yuki dove into the water with perfect form, slicing through the surface like a pro. Her strokes were powerful and efficient, and she quickly took the lead. Onodera, her opponent, was close behind, but Yuki maintained her speed and technique.

As the race went on, Onodera impressively maintained her pace, but Yuki went even faster, eventually creating a sizable gap between them.

The crowd erupted into cheers as Yuki reached the end of the pool, touching the wall in a time of 23.80 seconds, apparently surpassing the world record of 24.17 seconds. Onodera followed behind with a time of 25.30 seconds. Horikita finished third at 27.80 seconds, while Kushida was last but still managed a respectable 30.60 seconds.

Yuki emerged from the water, beaming with pride and satisfaction. The girl immediately walked up to me and flashed me a toothy grin.

"You went even faster, Yuki. Great job."

"And you better do the same, or else I'm going to win our bet," she replied.

"I suppose."

"What's that bet all about?" Chiaki curiously asked.

Yuki then leaned into Chiaki's ear and whispered something that was probably not true because of how Chiaki reacted.

"Sudo, Ayanokōji, Hirata, Kōenji!" Sensei called us over.

"Try to beat the world record too, Kiyotaka!" Yuki encouraged.

Chiaki chuckled. "Now, Yuki... isn't that a little too much?"

Yuki turned her head to Chiaki and giggled. "Kiyotaka can do that much. Wanna bet on it?"

I sighed and headed to the starting block. Sakurako shouldn't have let Yuki borrow her Kakegurui manga because that began Yuki's streak of randomly asking us to bet on things. (Kakegurui began publishing its manga on March 2014, giving Yuki about a year's worth of content before she headed to ANHS)

"Maaan! I'm fired up! Oi, Ayanokōji, Kōenji... I'll be looking forward to crushing you both!" Sudo had a wide grin on his face as he laid down the challenge on Kōenji and me.

"Hoho? You're delusional, aren't you, dog-boy? You're better off competing with twink-boy over there and let the real men battle," Kōenji dismissed Sudo, leading the redhead to be agitated.

"HAH?!"

"T-Twink-boy?" Hirata sputtered.

I shook my head in amusement. "You ready to take another loss, Kōenji?"

Kōenji scoffed. "I won't lose this time, Ayanokōji-boy," he replied.

"We'll see."

Sensei looked at the four of us with a smirk on his face. "I like the competitive spirit there, boys! But enough talking and more swimming. 3,2,1!"

As the whistle blew, I dove into the water, feeling the cool liquid enveloping me. I kicked off the wall and began my freestyle stroke, focusing on my technique and maintaining a steady rhythm. Kōenji was swimming furiously next to me, but I knew I had the advantage in terms of form and strategy.

I could feel the water being displaced by his movements, and I knew I couldn't let him get too far ahead.

The longer the race went on, it looked like a two-horse race between Kōenji and myself.

Sudo and Hirata were no slouches, but they were a class below Kōenji and myself. Sudo, in particular, swam with powerful strokes, propelling him forward with incredible speed.

As we reached the halfway point, I felt a surge of adrenaline, knowing that victory was within my grasp. I picked up my pace, my arms and legs working in perfect harmony as I surged toward the finish line.

With a final burst of energy, I touched the wall and emerged out of the water. Kōenji did the same at almost the same time, but I knew I edged him out by about a full second.

Sensei looked at Kōenji and me for a while before coughing to get everyone's attention.

"4th Place, Hirata Yosuke 26.10 seconds

3rd Place, Sudo Ken, 24.98 seconds

2nd Place, Kōenji Rokusuke, 22.50 seconds

1st Place, Ayanokōji Kiyotaka, 21.75 seconds..."

The blonde turned to me and smirked. "It's my loss, Ayanokōji-boy, but you better keep on your toes, for I will be winning our next battle. Ha Ha Ha!"

I smiled at Kōenji. "You did well, you menace. 22.50. You really went all out, huh?" I replied.

"Of course. I couldn't afford to hold back when I was battling the only person that my perfect existence had acknowledged," he replied before walking away.

"You bastard, you went even faster!" Sudo exclaimed.

"Of course. I had to respect everyone's competitive spirit, you know?" I replied.

"Congratulations, Ayanokōji-kun," Hirata said as he approached me.

"Hoh, Hirata. You weren't bad yourself, man!" Sudo praised the dirty-blonde-haired boy, who smiled at Sudo.

"I'm still not at your level, Sudo-kun, but I guess I did do well," he replied.

"We should celebrate later! The three of us did really well, ya know? This bastard here even tied the world record as if it were nothing!"

Hirata beamed. "That's a great idea, Sudo-kun!"

Sudo grabbed both Hirata and I by the shoulder. "But just the three of us, you damned harem kings. No harem, just bros being bros. I wanna talk about some guy stuff, ya know? Having girls around still makes me a lil' awkward," he requested.

Hirata chuckled. "Sure thing, Sudo-kun. I think the girls would understand if we went by ourselves... but I'm not sure if Ayanokōji-kun here is willing to go without his harem."

"Fuck off, Hirata."

"HAHAHAHA! Nice going, Hirata!"

"Alright, alright, let's celebrate like real men. No harem, just bros being bros," I said, extending my fist for a fist bump.

Hirata and Sudo looked at each other before reciprocating my gesture.

Seeing as the three of us were done talking, the girls flocked in our direction, with some of the boys not that far behind.

"Maaan, you're something else, Ayanokōji!"

"Sudo went even faster!"

"You were so cool, Hirata-kun!"

"Ayanokōji-kun's really amazing!"

"You definitely have to join the swimming club now, Ayanokōji-kun, you too, Sudo-kun!"

Getting this much attention still was new to me, and I have to admit I was a little overwhelmed.

"A-ah. I'll decline, Onodera. I'm focusing on basketball," Sudo sheepishly replied, seemingly happy at the attention he received from Onodera.

Well, well, well. Someone's growing up. That said, Sudo and Onodera had been talking quite a bit over the past week, both bonding over their shared history as athletes.

"Iie. I'll have to pass on that, Onodera. I already applied for the Student Council and the Music Club," I revealed.

It was a mistake.

"Woah?! Student Council?"

"Just as expected from Ayanokōji-kun!"

Yuki, seeing my dilemma, lent me a hand. "Well, he only did so because he lost a dare to me. You girls got to see how shocked he got after knowing my dare," she said, gaining the attention of the girls.

You are indeed reliable from time to time, Yuki.

That said, I wonder how Class D would fare athletically compared to the other classes. If what sensei was alluding to earlier proves to be correct, then there would definitely be a class competition where we would be judged based on our athletic abilities.

Considering the class did considerably well in swim class, we'd probably be able to stand our ground.

Sensei then approached me. "Ayanokōji, that was an impressive performance, kid. You tied the junior world record and did it with style," he said.

"Thanks, sensei," I replied.

"If the whole Student Council thing doesn't work out, you should consider joining the swimming club. You'd basically harvest medals if you did so," he said.

"I swim mostly for fun, sensei, so I don't know if that's going to work. That said, is it fine if I ask you a question?"

Sensei nodded. "Sure, Ayanokōji. What is it?"

"Were you also the PE teacher for the other classes?"

He nodded.

"Then, can you tell me how our Class fared against the others?"

Sensei's eyes widened slightly at my question. He must have been surprised at the realization that a first-year student figured things out this early.

"Well, if it's just in time average, I can do that much. This year's Class D tallied the fastest time, followed by Classes C, B, and A. You, Tsubaki, and Kōenji carried the class average by about a second and a half," he revealed.

"Thank you for telling me, sensei," I bowed at him.

"No problems. Ah, before I forget, when you get back, do check your Student ID. I've already transferred your reward for winning. Tell Tsubaki about it, too," he said.

I nodded my head and watched as sensei walked past me and announced the dismissal of the class.

Based on what sensei had revealed, Class D had an advantage when it came to physical events. Granted, it was only swimming, but it can already serve as an early indicator of where we stand in comparison to the three other classes.

Since physicality wouldn't be a problem for the most part, I suppose one of the next steps would be to develop the class in terms of mentality.

And well, considering their improvements, I don't have to do anything drastic just yet.

End of Chapter