Swimming Races! Kitaro In Trouble?

Lucy doesn't seem to mind as Chizuru blushes in embarrassment. Touma looks over as Chizuru approaches him. His nose bleeds intensely as he freaks out.

Chizuru "Ah! Touma, are you okay?!"

He nods aggressively as he holds his face, looking away from her as she worries over him. Lucy walks over to Ryuji who blushes intensely.

Lucy "You ready to see who's improved since last year?"

She says with a smile on her face.

Ryuji "Y-yeah.."

He answers nervously.

Lucy "What? Are you nervous I might finally beat you?"

She says with a cocky look before pausing, realizing why he is blushing. She looks down at herself for a moment before smirking.

Lucy "Or could it be you like what you see?"

She says teasingly. Ryuji turns away a bit more as she leans closer to him.

Lucy "Come on Ryuji! You can tell me!"

He blushes as he begins to walk away.

Ryuji "Let's just go sit in our spots…"

Lucy giggles as she follows him to the other side of the pool.

Mormo "Well if you don't want some then don't mind if I do."

He begins to walk after Lucy but Suiyoubi grabs his head and sits him down on the bleachers.

Suiyoubi "Behave."

She says with a stern tone but soft smile. Mormo rolls his eyes.

Mormo "What? I always behave."

Alice stares as Hisana and Airi also get some attention and gets frustrated a bit.

Alice "See what I mean?! The swimming unit is just designed to keep us less gifted individuals down!"

She says while blushing from embarrassment and frustration before stopping when Shiori and Hikigaya both step out of the locker room.

Hikigaya "I told you we'd be the last ones."

Shiori "Shut up. Your swimsuit is way easier to put on."

They both blush a bit while looking away from each other. Alice stares at them both as they shine in her eyes and her eyes change to hearts.

Alice "I take it all back… I love swim unit!"

She says as she jumps after the both of them. They are startled a bit as they make their way to their spots on the deck. After a moment, Mr. Goda steps out onto the deck.

Goda "Alright you sorry sacks of potential! I hope you're ready to sweat your butts off because this unit we have swimming on the agenda. I will teach you forms, I will teach you breathing, I will show you aquatic skills you have never known of before and we will not leave until you have mastered those skills, am I clear!?"

He shouts intently at the class as they all stay in silence. Mormo then walks up behind him and stands next to him.

Mormo "Actually, you can't keep them past the bell."

Goda "We will not leave until that final bell has rung, am I clear!?"

He shouts again before pausing for a moment. He looks a bit surprised and slowly looks down at Mormo. He casually waves at Goda who stares at him in disbelief. Suiyoubi face palms.

Goda "A talking… tanuki?"

Mormo looks offended and angry.

Mormo "Hey! I am a jack-o-lantern themed teddy bear! Don't call me no damn tanuki!"

The other classmates look with excited and admiring eyes. Goda grabs Mormo by his head and lifts him up before placing him on top of his head.

Mormo "Woah, hey! What are you doing?"

He says before grabbing onto the top of Goda's head.

Goda "You heard what the tanuki said! I'll be pushing your limits in the water until that bell has rung now let's begin!"

Mormo sweats with a look of defeat.

Mormo 'So much for teddy bear…'

The class begins to get in the water with Kitaro standing in the shallow end and Shiori and Hikigaya in the deep end.

Hikigaya "You better be ready to lose hard!"

Shiori "Lose? This isn't a race you know?.."

Hikigaya "Sounds like the words of a chicken!"

Shiori gets an angry stare as she prepares herself against the wall.

Shiori "Chicken huh? I'll show you!"

Goda stands on the other side of the pool from where the students lined up with a whistle in his mouth.

Goda "Alright, show me what you got!"

He blows the whistle hard as the students take off swimming from one side of the pool to the other. Instantly, Shiori and Hikigaya create large splashing as they swim at breakneck speeds.

Hikigaya 'Face it Shiori! I'm just better in the water than you!'

Shiori 'Yeah right! An oaf like you doesn't have the elegance for swimming!'

They make it to the other side in an instant causing Goda to jump back in surprise a bit before quickly turning and racing back to the place where they started. On their way back, Shiori takes the lead and pops out of the water at the end of the pool with a big smile on her face.

Shiori "Haha! I told you! Don't be ashamed, not many people can keep up with me in the water!-"

Right as she finishes her sentence, Hikigaya slams face first into the pool wall, not paying attention to how close he was to it. He pauses for a moment before slowly floating to the surface face down. Shiori was startled for a moment before sighing in disappointment.

Shiori "Mr. Goda, I think Hikigaya died."

She says as he stands there in disbelief. Mormo then pats the side of his face.

Mormo "Hey, snap out of it!"

Goda "Oh right! He'll be fine. Wait for the rest of the class to finish." 'I knew these kids were something else but still… are they really normal teenagers?..'

As Goda is in thought, Kitaro slowly makes his way back to the end of the pool on the shallow side by walking through the water. He has a slightly worried look on his face.

Kitaro 'It's a good thing those two made such a spectacle. Otherwise Mr. Goda would've definitely noticed…'

After a bit, the rest of the class finishes their swimming, some better form than others. Haru pants while hanging on the wall while Sugawara floats next to him. He looks confused at Haru.

Haru "Man, I really should get out more.. Swimming isn't all that easy, is it?."

Sugawara shrugs as he floats himself around in the water.

Goda "Alright, that was good. But not good enough! Some of you have some real work that needs to be done. Hangout here for a moment Mr. Tanuki."

He says as he grabs Mormo and puts him down on the ground. Mormo angrily yells at him.

Mormo "It's Mormo! And I'm not a tanuki!"

Goda "Watch closely! I will show you the perfect form of the butterfly stroke! Hyah!"

He shouts as he dives into the water and begins swimming across doing an intense butterfly stroke. The class watches him with sweat drops as they are not impressed nor do they think they should be doing that. Lucy then gets a smile on her face and pokes Ryuji.

Lucy "I think it's time we have our own race."

Ryuji smiles a bit.

Ryuji "I believe I'm up by one point?"

Lucy "No way! We're tied at least!"

He just smiles at her as they hang against the wall. Chizuru smiles widely as she lifts her arm up to count them down.

Chizuru "Time for the annual Lucy vs Ryuji swim race to see who the best swimmer is! Are you ready?"

She says. They both nod as Chizuru slams her arm down into the water and they take off. The others smile and laugh as they begin to do another lap. As they swim, they are evenly matched. They make it to the other side then start to head back but as they go, Haru is pushed by Sugawara and into the path of Ryuji. Ryuji slams into Haru by accident causing them both to stop and go above water for a moment.

Haru "Ah! Sorry Ryuji!"

Ryuji quickly looks at Lucy leaving him behind and dives back under to try his best to catch back up. Lucy makes it back first, of course, and turns around. She has a smile on her face realizing that she had won but it disappears after a moment as she begins to blush. She feels something between her legs as a hand comes up and grabs the wall next to her head. Ryuji brings his head above water, out of breath and realizes he was thrown off course by Haru and ends up swimming to the exact same spot as Lucy. He is very close to her face and floating between her legs. They blush and stare for a moment before Ryuji quickly pushes off the wall and away from her awkwardly. Still blushing, Lucy smiles embarrassedly and splashes some water on Ryuji.

Lucy "W-well what do you know? It looks like I won!"

Ryuji steams with embarrassment as Lucy laughs awkwardly. Chizuru and Shiori giggle at the sight as Goda continues to do laps on the far end of the pool. The day eventually comes to an end.

The next day, in the locker rooms. Hikigaya puts his stuff in his locker as he stands in his school swim shorts.

Hikigaya "Hey Shiori, how long do you think it took Mr. Goda to realize no one was paying attention to his swimming demonstration yesterday?"

Shiori comes out from the changing stalls in her school swimsuit and steps next to him with a soft smile.

Shiori "I don't know. He's not dumb but he can get caught up in his own world sometimes."

She says with a smile. On the pool deck, the students sit as Goda stands before them with his eyes closed in silence for a moment.

Goda "It was brought to my attention that no one was paying attention to my demonstration yesterday… That's alright, I am not offended. So, today we will try something new! In groups of three, you will line up, jump into the deep end of the pool and show me your freestyle! Since none of you bothered to watch me yesterday, I expect to see good form! Am I clear?!"

He shouts as the class sighs in defeat. Kitaro gets a worried look on his face as the first three students line up. Touma, Suiyoubi and Sugawara. Goda blows his whistle as the three jump into the pool and begin swimming to the other side. Once at the other side, they are told to get out and the next three line up. Airi, Shiori and Ryuji stand on the edge of the pool waiting for Goda to blow his whistle. He does as they jump in and begin swimming, Shiori swimming at a normal pace this time. Kitaro begins to sweat and worry more as Goda shouts.

Goda "Okay, next up is Hikigaya, Daiki and Kitaro!"

As they step to the edge, Kitaro nervously looks into the deep pool.

Kitaro 'What do I do?..'

He begins to shake as the other two get ready. Hisana looks at him for a moment.

Kitaro 'How do I tell him that I…'

Goda pauses for a moment before blowing his whistle sharply. Kitaro closes his eyes as the three of them jump in.

Kitaro 'Can't swim!'