Chapter 51: Determination to Succeed

The following day, Angelie approached Akuma before homeroom started in the morning. She sat down on the vacant seat in front of Akuma. He was looking outside the window when Angelie called for her.

"Hey. Yuurei-chan sent me a message last night about teaching me how to swim. What did you tell her anyway?"

Angelie glared at Akuma.

"That you guys can't swim. And my brilliant plan went to waste. What else should I tell her?"

Akuma momentarily glanced at Angelie then looked away again.

"I hate to admit it, but that was a good idea… Well, why don't you just teach the four of us together with the other students?"

Angelie put her hands on her waist.

"Huh? Why would I do that? That's too much work for me."

Akuma closed his eyes and furrowed his eyebrows together.

"Now you're just being lazy!"

Angelie stood up from the chair.

"I'm being practical. What can one person do with a lot of novices to teach? It'll just be a waste of time."

Akuma glared at Angelie while looking up at her from his seat.

"Well, what if I l-learned how to swim? Then the two of us can teach other students!"

Angelie clenched her fists as she looked straight into Akuma's eyes.

"Do you even think it's that easy to learn? You're sure it's not going to take weeks for you to learn how to swim? Ha, if you can swim by next week then I'll gladly do this swimming session for the club!"

Akuma smirked at Angelie.

"I'll learn it by next week, you'll see! And I'll accept Yuurei-chan's offer."

Angelie glared at Akuma for a moment. She then walked away and went to her seat.

---

That afternoon, the Help club members met inside their clubroom, except for Angelie.

"Hey, Akuma. Where is Angelie-san?"

Sanaka looked at Akuma while he was resting his head on the back rest of his chair.

"Something about learning how to swim in a week. She had things to do so starting today she won't be going to our club. Or something like that. I didn't really listen because of her irritating voice."

Akuma didn't look at Sanaka.

"Explain clearly why she would want to learn how to swim within a week."

Mimi stopped writing on her notebook and glared at Akuma.

"She wanted to proceed with my genius plan to have a swimming training session for other students. I said we'll do it if she can learn to swim in one week. We'll see if she can pull it off, but I highly doubt it."

Akuma picked his ear with his pinky finger.

"And how do you expect her to learn that fast?!"

Mimi stood up and slammed the table with her two hands.

"I don’t! But my sister is teaching her, so she may have a very small chance."

Akuma glared at Mimi but then averted his gaze after a while.

"My class is super competitive. They're already planning how to win the competition."

Kiba interrupted the discussion to lessen the tension.

"Huh. Are they aware that you don't know how to swim?"

Sanaka looked at Kiba.

"They don't know, and I have no plan to tell them. I'll just say I cramped up or something on the day of the competition."

Kiba smirked as he closed his eyes.

"Why do you seem proud of that?"

Sanaka squinted at Kiba.

"Then I must apologize, Kiba-kun."

Mimi finally sat back down on her seat.

"Huh? Why is that?"

Kiba raised his eyebrow as he looked at Mimi.

"There was someone from your class that talked to me on my way here. She asked if I knew anyone from 2-D. I said that I knew you. She then asked if I knew whether you could swim or not. I said that you can't. She clicked her tongue and wrote something on a piece of paper. She then walked away and asked other students passing by."

Mimi looked directly into Kiba's eyes as she recounted the previous events.

"Damn those ultra-competitive jerks. They wanted to weed out those who can't swim and take them out! So that no one can drag them down! I have to get out of here—"

"Excuse us. We're looking for Ketsueki-kun."

Someone opened the door of the clubroom. There were about four male students that stood outside the room.

"Crap, they're here! Help—"

"There you are. We need to talk regarding 2-D's future."

The male students entered the room and grabbed Kiba's arms. They then dragged him outside of the room and closed the door as they exited.

"Um, what was that about?"

Sanaka looked at door that was just closed by the invading male students.

"May his soul rest in peace."

Mimi bowed and put her hands together in prayer.

---

The next day after classes, Angelie met up with Yuurei at the local public pool. The pool would be open until nine in the evening, so it was the perfect location to practice swimming after school.

"I'm sorry about this, Yuurei-chan… Are you sure it's really alright?"

Angelie tightly gripped her shoulder bag.

"Of course, it is, Onee-san. And we finished our midterms today so I have nothing to stop me from helping you this time!"

Yuurei smiled at Angelie.

"Oh, how was your test then?"

Angelie gently smiled back at Yuurei.

"It was a lot easier than what you prepared for me. I'm confident in my answers!"

Yuurei thumped her chest with her closed fist.

"That's great to hear, Yuurei-chan. I'm glad I could help you."

"And now I'm glad I can help you back, Onee-san. Now, let's go inside and get changed!"

Yuurei grabbed Angelie's hand and dragged her to the entrance of the public pool.

---

Once the two were inside after paying the admission fee, they went straight to the changing rooms. There were a lot of signages that informed users of the various rules inside the public pool.

On proper swimming attire, women were highly advised to wear the standard, modestly cut one-piece swimsuit. For men, trunks or tight shorts were allowed. Everyone was required to wear a swimming cap. One could only bring a towel and goggles in the pool area. Anything else should be left inside the locker. Lockers would be provided inside the changing rooms. One was also prohibited to bring soap or shampoo into the shower and pool areas. Lastly, if one had tattoos, they should cover it by wearing rash guards or by putting medical plaster on top of it.

There were also guidelines on pool usage. There were lanes assigned for different speeds and directions of swimming, while there were others for water aerobics and such. It was also a regulation to have a break every hour. This was to prevent exhaustion on the swimmers and also for life guards to change shifts.

Yuurei and Angelie went into the pool area after changing into their swimsuits. They both used their schools' respective one-piece swimsuits. They were also wearing a swimming cap. Angelie was the only one wearing goggles.

The two of them went into the pool. Yuurei started to teach Angelie basics of clearing air through her nose and breathing through the mouth. They then proceeded to basic floating techniques. After a while, when the mandatory rest was implemented, they both got out of the pool and rested on the bench provided near the poolside.

"You really know a lot about swimming, don't you, Yuurei-chan?"

Angelie, while wiping her hair with a towel, looked at Yuurei who was seated beside her.

"I don't think it's all that much. But in Touyou, we're not only required to have good grades. We're also expected to be good in athletics. We have special classes dedicated to swimming and other sports. That's why I guess I know some things…"

Yuurei put her hand behind her head as she smiled awkwardly at Angelie.

"Wow, you're in Touyou, Yuurei-chan?! It's a prestigious school, right? That's so amazing!"

Angelie leaned closer to Yuurei and beamed toward her with sparkling eyes.

"Yes, even though I am hopeless in studying…"

Yuurei looked down at her lap.

"Hey, don't short change yourself. This might sound mean, but at least you're doing better than your Demon Lord brother. I don't see any bright future for that guy."

Angelie shook her head.

"He wasn't like that when he was in Touyou, to be honest…"

"Wait… Did you just say that guy was in Touyou?! But how?"

Angelie's eyes widened as she leaned back, away from Yuurei.

"He didn't tell you?"

Yuurei looked at Angelie.

"No… And I never would have thought of that. Then, what is he doing in Seihou?"

"At first, I just thought that he didn't want to graduate from the same school as our dad… But last weekend when we were walking home, it seemed like there were other reasons. I didn't ask any further…"

Yuurei looked at her clenched fists on top of her lap.

"I see…"

Angelie averted her gaze from Yuurei.

"But I'm glad he went to Seihou."

Yuurei raised her head and looked at Angelie.

"And why is that, Yuurei-chan?"

"Because I got to meet you, Onee-san!"

Yuurei smiled wholeheartedly at Angelie. After hearing this, Angelie's face turned red and she tightly hugged Yuurei with both her arms.