Bonded By Love

Stroke of an unexpected meeting!

I stared blankly at the sheet in front of me.

'Career path questionnaire'

'I thought I knew what I wanted to do. When I was little, I've wanted to be an artist. But it's not as simple as that anymore. Of course, I've always loved swimming and the water ever since I was young. Overtime my love for it grew and its probably because of the swim teams I was apart of. The bonds we've all shared. I've kinda pushed art to the side professionally because I needed to practice for the tournaments. I only delayed my problem in choosing art or swimming. Now I really have to choose between them this year.'

I looked behind me and Makoto looked like he was struggling too. As for Haru...well...he was staring off into space, not giving a care in the world.

Class ended, me and Makoto were waiting outside the classroom. Ms. Ama was inside talking to Haru about his career plans. She also wanted to talk to both of us.

Haru walked out and Ms. Ama called me in.

"Kirishima-san, I'm surprised. As a star student, I thought you'll know what your career plans are." Ms. Ama said.

"It's more complicated than that. I'm just...torn between two decisions. Trust me, I'll pick colleges regarding both decisions and once I decide between art or swimming, it'll be easier to choose a college." I reassured her.

"Well...if you say so."

______________

Me and the group went to ISC returns for our practice. Now that we have access to Sasabe's pool, we can swim during the cold seasons.

I heard the group talking about getting recognition for the club but I had no interest. I just wanted to swim freely. I noticed that me and Haru were the only ones left so I stood up to see what was going on. I got out the pool, dried myself, and walked towards them.

"Ah, as you can see. It's a poster advertising our grand opening. You guys can help me put it up!" Sasabe mentioned.

"Splash fest?" Rei questioned.

I sweatdropped. "You wrote the English wrong."

"So what kind of event is it?" Kou asked.

"I'm planning all kinds of fun stuff."

"Oh, like what?" Nagisa asked.

"For instance...a kickboard race that even kids who can't swim can take part in! A 'How far can you swim without taking a breath' water race! And finally, the armored sidestroke!" Sasabe answered.

"The armored sidestroke?"

"I've heard of that! Back in the Warring States Period, samurai used this traditional swimming technique to cross rivers without removing their armor!" Nagisa explained.

"I don't understand that!"

"I still can't come up with a good main event, though. Do you have any ideas?" Sasabe asked us.

"This sounds fun! Let's all think of ideas!" Nagisa said.

When our practice finished, the team separated to hang up Sasabe's posters. When we finished we went to the convenience store and sat by the shore.

"Done at last!" Nagisa and Kou yelled.

"Now we just need an exciting main event!" Nagisa mentioned.

"How about a doggy paddle race!" Kou suggested.

"That sounds fun!"

"Then how about a contest for the most beautiful form in the butterfly stroke? We can call it, 'The Butterfly of Beauty'" Rei suggested.