Here it is. The final event. The last step towards victory or failure. The 400m freestyle relay. As far as standings went, the top three schools were Uwajima Junior High, Meiou Academy, and Ikuha Junior High sitting quietly at third. With roughly a two minute difference between the schools, the 400m was going to be the event that decides it all.

Shuichi was feeling confident at this point. With Botan coming in the clutch during his last heat, Shuichi felt like nothing was going to hold him back. That's how he felt. How he looked was totally different. On the outside, he was calm and suspicious. The reason, Kaito Yuu. From what he could gather, Shuichi noticed that Yuu could give the most decked out security camera a run for its money the way Shuichi was watched. Good thing he has friends. Those same friends were keeping an eye on things too. Shuichi was especially proud of Kiyoni's behavior. She was collected, observant, diligent to a fault, and (most importantly) supportive. A lot more supportive than she was when she attended a swim meet for the first time. She's going to adore Tsuran City should she ever see it.

Since it was the last race, Shuichi took the time to get into his normal routine, splashing some water on his arms and legs. The skin of those areas tightened but it was more on par with goosebumps than scales.

Damn you! Kaito cursed. Just what kind of game are you playing, Minamino?

Simple. Shuichi's own and by the looks of things, this was going to be a clean sweep.

"Minamino," the coach called.

"Yes, coach?"

"I forgot to tell you this but you've been moved to anchor for this heat."

"Oh…actually…" Shuichi realized, taking a quick glance at Kaito in the crowd, "anchor…sounds perfect."

"Looks like he anchor for this one," Kuronue noticed.

"Is that good," Kiyoni asked.

"If I'm thinking what I think he's thinking, yeah."

"So you see the game he's playing?"

"Yeah…and it's genius."

It was genius. 100 meters in and Meiou claimed first place. Legs two and three left the team in a very close second place with Ikuha Junior High taking first. Not today. Shuichi was ready. He was more than ready. He was hyped…but calm and in position to freestyle the team's way to victory.

Off he went with the crowd cheering their loudest, friends and schoolmates included. Shuichi felt amazing in the water, about as great as he did in his last dream. Everything was perfect. In the distance, he could see Botan sending her well wishes. She didn't need to do anything but watch. Shuichi had this…or so he thought.

During the final fifty meter swim, Shuichi noticed a spark emanating from his hands. That was new and…quickly ignored. There was a race to win.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes," Kiyoni shouted.

"Go, go, go, go, go," Kuronue followed, "We did it, we did it, we did it, we did it…!"

At the very last second, the race ended on another photo finish. The scoreboard received the most attention it has ever received all day. In eighth place, Hayato Private Academy. Third place went to Ikuha Junior High. Second place…went to Uwajima Junior/Senior High, leaving Meiou Academy taking both first place and the regional championship. The crowd went bananas.

"We did it, we did it," Kuronue and Kiyoni shouted in a celebratory hug.

Even though Yuu didn't get much from this competition, he still had one more hypothesis left to test out. The last time Meiou had a "big win" feel was when Shuichi's fins came out. Will it happen again? At a time when adrenaline was at its highest?

Shuichi was ecstatic, dunking himself multiple times just to keep himself in reality. The times he went underwater, he noticed Botan celebrating with him and he thanked her for it whenever he got the chance. When it came time to climb out the water, one of his hands tapped on the touchpad installed in the pool that kept track of time. The pad short circuited, sending electricity through the pool, the lights of the natatorium, and ultimately, the scoreboard which triggered the fire alarm as it began to smoke. Urgently, everyone was required to leave the natatorium, spectators heading outside while the athletes headed for the locker rooms. Kiyoni and Kuronue didn't notice but Yuu stayed behind long enough to capture as much as possible on camera before he had no choice but to leave. A touchpad short circuiting and the one responsible wasn't affected by it?

Emergency personnel pulled up to the scene just as spectators were exiting the building. It hasn't been confirmed but there was a possibility that the remaining athletes were affected by the incident. Electricity and water do not mix well. Kiyoni and Kuronue managed to make it to their school's bus along with other students, scared of the potential news. With all of the sparks that flew inside, it would be a stone cold miracle if no one was hurt.

"Holy shit," Kuronue whispered, "Did you see that?"

"All of it," Kiyoni confirmed, "You think…it was Minamino?"

"I hope not! I thought he was a fish, not an eel!"

"There is such a thing as hydroelectricity."

"Yeah but…that?!"

"Well…okay, you may have a point."

Kaito was the last spectator from Meiou seen exiting the building with a satisfactory grin on his face. By the looks of things, all that voyeurism paid off. That did it. Kiyoni had reached her patience limit. Whether it was the work of the orisha god of war, Ogun, or not, Kiyoni stepped up to her unusual schoolmate with the fury of Oya, the orisha goddess of storms.

"Ikeda, no," Kuronue interfered, "We're on school grounds. Unfamiliar school grounds."

"Screw that! Oi! You…with the glasses. I got a bone to pick with you. What the hell is your problem?"

Kaito finally broke free from his technological trance, "Hm? Oh. It's you. The asshole and the soon-to-be girlfriend of mine."

"Take a look in the mirror, asshat," Kuronue wished.

"The audacity, the gall, the gumption to refer to me as your girlfriend…" Kiyoni claimed, "Again, what the hell is your problem?"

Yuu displayed his video, "This. This is my problem…or should I say my solution."

"Bullshit," Kuronue challenged, "For all we know that could've been a problem before we got here."

"Is it? Explain something to me. How is it that one minor inconvenience could cause all that damage and so much that…" At that point, Yuu, Kuronue, and Kiyoni all saw the trail of athletes who were affected by the incident carried out on three individual stretchers. "well…that?"

"Oh, no," Kiyoni uttered through the hands covering her mouth.

Kuronue felt just as devastated, "Oh, shit…"

"Mhmm," Yuu remarked, "Tell you what. Once this video gains as much traction as the one the two of you so vehemently discredited, you, Ikeda, will be mine; you, Misaki, will fall into obscurity, and I'll be replacing you as Minamino's right hand man. No, that's not right. It's Minamino who'll be my right hand man. My ticket towards fame while exposing the truth. I hope you all will have said your peace by then. I have a lovely date planned for us, Ikeda. I hope you're open-minded when it comes to my theory on the ghosts of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well as the real reason why those two areas were bombed. I've written quite the dissertation and I would love your input on it. Later." And with that, Kaito boarded the bus headed for Mushiyori City.

"That guy…" Kiyoni shuttered, "cannot be serious."

Kuronue shared Kiyoni's sentiment, "For once, I'm the one who agrees with you."

The ride back home was mostly a jovial one. Everyone was excited for the next round, the national round. Everyone except two, now three people. Departing the bus that safely made it back to Meiou Academy's campus, Kuronue and Kiyoni immediately searched for Shuichi who was engaged in a team meeting receiving praise from his coach. By the time he was informed of what happened with Yuu and the hospitalized athletes, Shuichi's heart sank so low, he felt it in his stomach.

"You've got to be kidding me," he breathed.

"That's not all," Kuronue informed, "He plans to post it online. Said that when his video reaches the level of the last one, that's when we have to hold up our end of the bargain."

"As if things couldn't get worse… You have to believe me. My intention was to never put you or anyone else in this situation."

"Was it you," Kiyoni cautioned, "Were you really behind what happened in that pool?"

"I…" Shuichi froze. In Kiyoni's eyes was concern with a hint of anger. The fact that a major incident happened at a major event, the fact that people got hurt from it, the fact that Kaito Yuu is still a looming threat… "It's…it's possible."

Both Kuronue and Kiyoni wanted to lay down and die.

"How," Kuronue asked, "First, scales. Now… How?"

"It happened towards the end of the 400. Sparks were forming around my hands and…"

"So you went from sparks to full-on Zeus in a matter of moments," Kiyoni assumed.

"Well, I…I'm not sure. Look, I'm just as shocked–surprised as you are. I swear to you this has never happened before. Please, Misaki, Ikeda, I'm the one who's at fault here. Allow me to…handle this to the best of my ability."

"How," Kuronue asked again, "What are you gonna do? Find a way to steal Kaito's phone? Good luck with that."

"I just wanna know how you're going to talk him out of wanting to date me and if you're going to follow up with any of the other swimmers," Kiyoni suggested, "Because if it was up to me, it would be Kaito who goes to a hospital and not…who's at the hospital now."

"Ikeda…" Shuichi avowed, "I'll find a way. You have my word. You're not going to be subjected to that kind of arrangement and our friendship is far from ending, Misaki. I will deal with Kaito…and the other competitors soon as I find out more about them."

Kiyoni could hear one of her ears ringing again, the right one specifically. In some cultures and traditions, that usually means that something good is on the horizon.

"You promise?"

For the second time today, Shuichi's eyes locked in with Kiyoni's, reestablishing the link between them, "I promise." If he was really that confident, he would bet the entire empire of Tsuran City behind that vow but he didn't.

"Well, okay," Kuronue determined, "We'll…leave you to it then. Congratulations on making it to nationals. I told you we'd get there."

"That you did," Shuichi said with a comforting smile on his face, "Just one more round to go."

Meanwhile and in another area of campus, Yuu managed to find and catch up with Karasu who was on his way to board a train home after talking to some friends. In order to solidify his place over Shuichi, Yuu had to get acquainted with the one person closest to him on the swim team. Cue the vice captain.

Karasu trekked his way through a residential area that was lit by street and porch lights. A couple of barks were heard in the distance but were ignored. Karasu was visibly exhausted. That competition took more out of him than he thought and understandably so. Karasu was a part of a team that had made it to nationals for the first time in their school's history. He's going to have to train harder now that a national title is on the line.

Because of his condition and distance from school, Karasu didn't even take the time to primp himself up. He was about as downtrodden as a salaryman. A neck tie that was untied, undershirt completely untucked, jacket wide open, hair unanimously disheveled, and it's a miracle his pants aren't slouching. To the student who's walking behind him, Karasu was perfect just as he was.

"Ugh…I'm so tired," he complained as made evident by the way he walked, "If I get back into anything resembling a pool, it'll be too soon."

"Would you count two weeks as too soon?"

That was unexpected. Karasu has taken this route home many times with virtually no one around.

"Come again," Karasu cautioned.

"Two weeks. Nationals are in two weeks, yes?"

"Who are you and how do you know about nationals?"

The mysterious stranger made his presence known, stepping forward underneath a street light, "Kaito Yuu. I believe we're in the same class."

Karasu finally turned around, smirking all the while, "Yeah, I've heard of you. You're that weirdo who believes that the 5G network or something is scrambling people's brains. Haha…what do you want?"

"5G. It's quite convenient that you would say that. Because it's the 5G network that'll be a contributing factor in getting the truth out there."

"What truth?"

"Minamino Shuichi. Heard of him?"

"Tch. Yeah. Captain of the swim team…and a major prick. What about him?"

Yuu pulled out his phone, showing Karasu the first video, "Recognize this?"

Karasu immediately wanted to forget about that day, "...Yeah. Glory hog. Wait, isn't this the video that was made using AI?"

Yuu took a moment to pause the video at the precise moment, Shuichi had his arms out, "Look closer."

Karasu did a double take and was flabbergasted by what he saw, "Wait…those were real!"

"Were real? You've seen them?"

"Absolutely. I was right there when it happened. I wanted to torture him relentlessly about it but coach stopped me. All the times he mentioned… He wasn't lying…"

"I've caught wind of the rumors you started about Minamino which prompted me to investigate. I was onto something when I caught him at the last practice before the prefecture round. Earlier today, I confronted him about it and this is what I got."

Karasu was shown another video of Yuu's creation. The confrontation between Minamino and Kaito just before the boys boarded the buses to regionals. Shuichi didn't know but the moment his hand shifted from aquatic to human, was the moment Yuu caught it on camera. greenish skin, scales, and all.

"Son of a bitch," Karasu marveled, "That son-of-a–!"

"I've done more research and it turns out your captain is most likely a ningyo," Yuu informed, "Minamino actually confirmed it."

"That bastard! No wonder he swims the way he does. I knew he was a cheater. I knew it!"

"Yes. Compared to Minamino, your athleticism is actually on par with an olympic athlete. His athleticism is…on the supernatural side."

"That… And he thinks he deserves to be team captain?! That son-of-a–!"

"Now that I've gotten you riled up, allow me to make a proposal."

"What is it?"

"Well…sadly, the sacrifice of this proposal is the national title. Both morally and tangibly."

"Well what the hell is it?"

"I plan to expose Minamino for both the cheater that he is and for the man he isn't. What better time to do it than after nationals."

"Uh huh. What's all involved?"

"If I post all of this online, chances are I'll go viral before graduation. Not only that but the girl that Minamino hangs out with…will be my girlfriend."

"Ikeda?! You can't be serious. Then again…that would be something to see."

"It won't be anything serious. She'll just be around as my show dog as well my personal bodyguard since she likes to punch people so much. She's about as aggressive as a foreigner anyway. Another perk is getting rid of Misaki. I never liked him."

"Uh huh. So…what would I get out of it? It's obvious you want to bring me in."

"Hm…what would you gain from this? Perhaps the opportunity to gloat?"

Karasu turned on a heel to leave, "Yeah, sure. Thanks for confirming my suspicions. Don't come to me if you have nothing to offer."

Desperate, Yuu shouted, "What would you like?"

That interrupted Karasu's stride. Fortunately, a car was making its way across the intersection.

"You know…? Perhaps…we can share?"

"Share what?"

"Ikeda. You expose Minamino and we each get a pass with Ikeda."

"Like I said, I have no real attraction to her. She's about as much of a stepping stone as Minamino. What's your reason?"

"None. I just…I'm just interested in dating a black girl just to date one. We both know Japanese girls are better anyway."

"What about the team?"

"Meh. I'm already looking forward to high school. I couldn't care less how the rest of this year ends. I just wanna see Minamino get what's coming to him."

Kaito deviously laughed in his throat, "Good. We have a deal."

This concludes part two of this story. Part three and the conclusion begins with chapter twenty. Stay tuned.