The boys wasted no time jumping into the pool to play around after the teacher had left. The girls cautiously joined soon afterwards as well. This meant Kazuo was left alone on land which he had no issue with. He had reclaimed his bench for the moment but was already thinking about leaving since he wouldn't be able to enjoy the pool with so many people anyways. The air was pleasantly warm but his body ached from the, in Kazuo’s opinion, stupendous amount of swimming he had to do. This was keeping him on his bench for the moment plus the fact he could see Haruka letting loose a little with the other girls which even made the bitter aching seem sweet. After a while Kazuo decided he had had enough and grabbed his towel and set course towards the changing rooms. This way he would get to change by himself in peace and quiet. He discreetly walked past the pool and reached the walled off corridor leading to the changing rooms. Once clear of any risk Kazuo felt relieved and stopped shortly for a breath whilst looking up at the blue sky. Suddenly he heard bare footsteps from around the corner up ahead. He looked down again but didn’t feel too bothered since the ones he would be bothered by meeting were all in the pool, probably. To Kazuo’s dismay, it actually turned out that the wet footsteps belonged to Kayano. She came around the corner with her goggles in hand and a surprised look. Her hair was tied up in rather regular buns which was much different from the hairstyles she usually boasted. There was a short silence and Kazuo felt just a little more bothered than he’d like.

“- O-oh? Kazuo… Are you leaving? “ Kayano walked towards him, her aura of seduction seemed to have faded and she didn’t look so confident. Kazuo realized that it was her second personality he was talking to now.

“- Yeah, it’s a bit too much for me with all the noise. “ Kazuo couldn’t resist his teenage urges to glance at Kayano’s chest as she got closer. Kayano noticed and looked away with a slightly embarrassed look, certainly not the usual Kayano.

“- Ah, I can understand… Well then, since you are leaving… W-what do you think? “ Kayano’s cheeks blushed but it seemed like she was trying hard to push her shyness away, she even dared to get a little closer.

“- U-um… What are you referring to? “ Kayano didn’t appear any less sensual in a swimsuit just because she wasn’t openly trying to draw attention. Kazuo felt increasingly uncomfortable with the flustered Kayano in her wet swimwear now inside a very inappropriate distance.

“- Well… Just me… Y-you can look. “ Kayano emphasised herself more and more waiting for an answer which Kazuo couldn’t give as his mind was stalling trying to find what to say. When she didn’t get an answer immediately she pushed on and put a hand on Kazuo’s chest and pushed him back towards the pool area. Kayano got closer to Kazuo as they gradually moved towards the pool. When the distance between them grew beyond inappropriate Kazuo decided to put an end to Kayano’s advance but he couldn’t do anything decisive as Kayano seemed to get more and more confident the closer they got to the others. Kazuo could felt Kayano’s soft parts brush against him which made his hormones completely rush out of control and rendered him unable to think clearly.

“- I like you, d-don’t you want this? “ Kayano looked straight into Kazuo’s eyes and pinned him against the wall. Kazuo glanced to the left and could see the edge of the pool already which made him realize he had to do get his stuff together before it was too late. He closed his eyes and prepared to put everything into getting his words out.

“- I’m sorry Kayano but- “ Just as the relieving feeling of doing the right thing washed over him he realized it was all for nought as he noticed a small figure standing by the corner to his left.

“- Haruka…? “ Kazuo and Kayano spoke in unison as they both looked at Haruka’s stunned face. Kayano still had her hand on Kazuo’s chest as Kazuo witnessed Haruka’s surprised look turn into rage. She gritted her teeth and let her hair out, it was clear she had had enough. Kayano looked concerned as Haruka slowly started to walk towards them.

“- Hey, what is it Haruka? “ Kayano was of course oblivious to why Haruka expressed such emotion about her being so close with Kazuo.

“- I’ve had enough! Get off him! “ Haruka stormed ahead and grabbed the understandably shocked Kayano by the shoulders and shoved her aside. Kayano stumbled but held onto her balance despite the slippery wet ground and getting shoved with some surprising strength. Haruka was however still boiling over and Kazuo realized he needed to stop her before someone slipped on the wet ground. Ironically, despite being the only one with concern, Kazuo was the one to slip and fall after accidentally taking an elbow to the gut from Haruka when trying to drag her away from Kayano. After that everything went black of course, since he hit his head against the wall. After the dark came the light, thankfully. As the blurry haze faded away the only thing Kazuo could see was a very emotional Haruka with tears dripping down her cheeks. Her tears and emotions seemed to turn into happy tears and emotion when she noticed Kazuo’s eyes were open. Kazuo felt Haruka’s embrace and her arms wrapping around his neck as he looked around and realized he was still in the narrow corridor that connected the pool to the changing rooms. He was also laying on the ground, maybe not so surprising. There was something that he had had his head rest on before Haruka started holding him. When the haze cleared up even more Kazuo noticed many bewildered faces from classmates that had come to see what happened. Kazuo could also see Kayano sitting on her knees a couple meters away. She looked a little worried but was mostly still shocked over Haruka suddenly flipping out. That was probably what most of Kazuo’s classmates was thinking about as well. When Kazuo’s head started to get back in working order he realized this and humbly accepted what was going to unfold next.

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Haruka was still holding onto Kazuo when Kayano seemed to have completely taken in what had happened and were now fumbling for some sense to it all as she made her way towards Haruka. As Kazuo witnessed her slowly coming closer over Haruka’s shoulder he noticed that Kayano probably hadn't really accepted much of what she took in.

“- Haruka…? What’s this supposed to mean? I was just about to get an answer… “ Kayano seemed absent somehow and her voice was sappy with emotion. It hit Kazuo as rather strange since Kayano didn’t seem to care much about being rejected the first time.

“- I-it doesn’t mean anything! Just… Just go away! “ Haruka herself seemed to have a hard time accepting her own actions.

“- No. Let me talk to him- “ Kayano put a hand on Haruka’s shoulder but was instantly sent back when Haruka rose and grabbed both Kayano’s shoulders instead.

“- I said go away! He’s mine! I like him and I like him the best! “ The silence took over again before people started to mumble. Kayano took a step back with a blank expression, like she had come to a realization.

“- I see…I’ll leave you alone... “ Kayano slowly backed off before she turned around and slipped around the corner towards the changing rooms. Haruka stood still for a moment and exhaled before she turned towards Kazuo again and gave him a troubling look. Kazuo who was a little dumbfounded just having heard what he heard nodded and attempted to get on his feet but as he tried to push himself up everything got dizzy again and he fell on his butt. Some classmates reacted and Ryuji and Mabuchi came forwards the help Kazuo up but they were both sent back as Haruka grabbed Kazuo’s arm and singlehandedly pulled him up on his feet. Kazuo immediately started to wobble however and attempted to lean against Haruka but she could only do so much with her height limitations. Haruka was forced to abandon her pride and let Mabuchi assist her in escorting Kazuo to the infirmary.

After being checked out by the nurse Kazuo was put to rest on an infirmary bed. Haruka stayed with him until he was able to make his way home on his own legs. Once home they both sunk down at the living room table and sighed.

“- It’s gonna go down hill from now on… “ Haruka had already started to prepare herself for the upcoming turbulence. Kazuo figured he should follow her lead but something was taking up much more attention in his mind at the moment. During the tumult at the pool Haruka quite clearly stated her feelings and Kazuo was unsure she had properly realized yet. He had already suspected that his feeling was mutual but it was still making his blood rush to his head. How should he touch on the subject? Haruka would probably blush to death for all he knew. Kazuo could feel himself getting more and more worked up and decided to wait for the proper timing so he wouldn’t make things more complicated than they already were.

“- I’ll go take a shower I think… “ Kazuo got on his legs but wobbled about a little as he hadn’t fully recovered yet. Haruka immediately reacted and let out a cute squeak as she leaned over the table like she would be able to catch him in time. She just as fast realized that it was just a little wobble and her cheeks brewed up even faster than that. Kazuo felt his heart race again as Haruka squirmed and hid her face. He realized he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from just casting all of his feelings on her and quickly slipped into the bathroom.

The distinct and easeful sound of the shower took over the silence. Haruka who was already a little red around the cheeks felt her heart bouncing around in her chest like a rock in a laundry machine. New heights of self consciousness had been reached. She was both fearing and longing for Kazuo to bring up what she had said earlier. It took her quite a while to realize that she had uttered those words right in front of Kazuo but as she watched him sleep in the infirmary she connected the dots. It was already hard enough to stop herself from going on a tear and shredding everything around her, fuelled by the sheer amount of unforgettable embarrassment flowing through her mind. Now when an actual live Kazuo was around her the suspense probably reached lethal levels as she couldn't stop herself from painting up scenarios in her mind. Haruka learnt that there was a substantial difference in excitement between fantasizing about something that was unlikely to happen and fantasizing about something that probably was going to happen. Maybe she would actually blush to death.