Episode 2: Nagisa’s Mermaid

Nagisa POV
The first time I saw Haru-chan swimming, it was early in my elementary school years, but I thought “there’s a mermaid at the swimming school!” Haru-chan’s swimming form was that pretty. So much so that even my elementary school self could tell. It was just like I was watching a mermaid from a foreign animation swim freely in the ocean.
That day, I was so excited that when I got home, I reported it to my sister.
“There was a boy who swims like a mermaid at the swimming school!”
My sister glared down at me and said,
“Nagisa, you’re so stupid. Mermaid is only use for a female merperson.”
She said very proudly.
“Then what is boy merperson called?”
I asked, but my sister couldn’t think of the word at that time.
“See even you don’t know, do you, sis……?”
I said to my sister to make fun of her in return, and I glared back at her.

Probably because she felt bad about it, it seems the next day, my sister looked it up in a dictionary, and then came up to me and said pridefully, “a male merperson is called a merman.” But I thought merman was a weird word. ‘Mermaid’ obviously suited Haru-chan better. Besides, I felt like it didn’t matter if Haru-chan was male or female. Haru-chan was Haru-chan, and whether he was a boy or a girl, he was a mermaid.

That Haru-chan is in front of me now.
He’s holding a carving knife in his hand and is silently carving an Iwatobi-chan, the mascot character of Iwatobi City. In the fairy tale, in order to stand on land, the mermaid’s voice was stolen in exchange for legs. Haru-chan never talked that much, but since he became a high schooler, it’s like he stopped talking completely.
His personality is probably a little different from before too. I guess you could say he’s become more silly. I mean, I don’t think that elementary school Haru-chan would have carved dozens of special favor Iwatobi-chan prizes for new club members. But honestly, that doesn’t matter. It’s a really small change. Haru-chan is Haru-chan. What’s inside Haru-chan hasn’t changed at all. I love Haru-chan whether it’s the one from before or now.
I smiled while watching Haru-chan silently carve the Iwatobi-chan figures when Mako-chan showed up late.
“Sorry, sorry. You’re both already here, huh?”
Mako-chan had gotten a lot bigger since elementary school. He had a strong body. I thick chest. But he still had the same worried looking downturned eyebrows as always.
Haru-chan, Mako-chan and me—— It’s a little sad that Rin-chan isn’t here, but it’d be great if we could swim together. But in order to do that——
“We have to pull in at least one more club member. But no one wants to join a swim club that isn’t already established.”
Mako-chan said with a troubled look on his face.
Right now we’re in the changing room for the unused pool at Iwatobi High School. If we’re actually able to form a swim club, then this will become our club room. For that to happen, to somehow acquire more club members, we have been running around the school every day doing activities to entice people and putting up posters. The Iwatobi-chan that Haru-chan is carving is also a special favor for that purpose. No one understands how those would be effective except for Haru-chan though.

We begin our meeting on how to obtain new club members in the future swim club room.
“Then let’s begin. Have you two thought of any good ways we can get new club members……?”
He started, then looked over at Haru-chan,
“Ah, geez, Haru, listen! Forget about Iwatobi-chan for now.”
At that, Haru-chan reluctantly stopped the chisel in his hand and then I don’t know how serious he was when he mumbled his next idea is a quiet voice.
“As a special favor for joining, I’ll make a version of them completely transformed into Iwatobi-chan……”
“Yeah. So first of all, let’s forget about Iwatobi-chan, ok?”
Mako-chan replied with a smile.
We could hear the other clubs outside.
It’s spring. The sakura have lost almost all their petals, but the weather is nice, and I’m a first-year high school student, though it might be a bit of an exaggeration to say the future is limitless. But talking like this after school in the club room makes me feel really happy.
“Did you think of something, Nagisa?”
Mako-chan turned toward me.
“Yeah. I did. It’s perfect. It’s a really good idea!”
I answered confidently, and Mako-chan worriedly asked me.
“Hmm, and what’s that?”
Mako-chan probably expects me to say something outrageous again, but this time I’m serious. I’d thought of a great idea.
“Hehe. Well……”
I said teasingly while lifting my finger.
“I decided to start by thinking of what made me want to swim…… and when I did that, it’ was like the answer came straight to me!”
“Stop teasing, Nagisa. So, what’s the idea?”
“Hehe. Well… what do you think it is?”
I answered back still teasing.
“A giant Iwatobi-chan.”
“I told you to forget about that!”
Haru-chan’s the funny man, and Mako-chan’s the straight man. I laughed. Haru-chan wasn’t really joking. Mako-chan and I both know that. Talking about serious things makes him feel awkward. Haru-chan is shy after all.
“The first time I went to the swimming school, the first time I thought I should try swimming was when I saw Haru-chan swimming……”
I said while smiling. While Haru-chan stared straight at me.
“……”
Haru-chan looked off to the side. He was probably a little embarrassed.
In his place, Mako-chan agreed and answered.
“Well, Haru’s swimming probably really is that amazing but……”
“Yep and that’s why! I’m sure we’ll get a flood of applications if they see Haru-chan’s swimming!”
“I only swim free.”
“Of course you’ll swim Free. It’s your most beautiful form.”
“But we haven’t finished fixing the pool yet, and it’s still too cold to swim, isn’t it? Even if we wanted to show them his swimming, how could we……?”
I responded to Mako-chan’s realistic outburst with the plan I’d been withholding.
“Hehe. We’ll film Haru-chan swimming in an indoor pool with an underwater camera, and then have a “Haru-chan’s swimming form screening” in the audio-visual room!”
“An underwater camera!? How would we do that? Who would film it!?”
“My sister’s boyfriend has a job doing that. She said if we tell him about Haru-chan we could get him to do it for cheap!”
“Isn’t that too over the top? And even if it’s cheap….. What do you think Haru? You’re the one who’d filmed?
“If I can swim then it’s fine……”
“He says he can get a studio with a pool to film it.”
“Let’s go.”
Haru-chan stood up with sparkling eyes.
“Wait, Haru! Not right now!”
Mako-chan hurriedly made Haru-chan sit down.
I laughed. I could still hear the clubs outside as always. The season is good, and our prospects are vast. The future is limitless.

The next day after school——
I took a train and then a bus to get to the studio with a worried looking Mako-chan and a sparkling eyed Haru-chan. Even though it’s called a studio, it’s actually an extravagant house on the outskirts of the city that it seems a long time ago someone famous used to own.It has several bedrooms, as many as 5 bathrooms, and it has a billiards hall, a bar, and on top of all that it has an indoor pool.It seems it’s used as a set for television, movies, and even gravure idol shoots.
“We look forward to working with you!”
We greeted my sister and her friend Kagenuma-san who got here before us.
Kagenuma-san is a little older than my sister and has a beard that looks like a goat’s on his chin. He seems like a somewhat stylish guy. He insists he’s just a male friend but I think my sister probably likes Kagenuma-san. Though I think it’s completely one sided.
It’s been a really long time since my sister last saw Haru-chan. Probably not since the day that she came to cheer for us at the swimming school tournament.
“You’ve gotten quite good looking, mermaid.”
My sister said teasingly, and yet somewhat seriously.
“……mermaid?”
“You’re Nanase-kun right? I’ve heard about you. He said your swimming form in the water is so pretty you’re like a mermaid.”
Kagenuma-san smiled softly and said while starting to set up the equipment,
“Did you bring a swimsuit? You can use the changing room over there, so go change.”
“Ah, there’s no need for that……”
Before Mako-chan could even finish talking Haru-chan started stripping off his school uniform right there. Underneath he was already wearing his competitive swim suit. I couldn’t tell the difference between them, but I’m sure this one was his favorite out of all the ones he owned.
Seeing Haru-chan in his swimsuit, Kagenuma-san nodded. His eyes were that of an artist inspecting a model.
“Then I guess I’ll have you get in the pool right away.”
But before he could finish saying it Haru-chan dove into the pool.
Mako-chan smiled wryly. Kagenuma-san did too. My sister looked flabbergasted. But before long, everyone was entranced by Haru-chan’s swimming. That’s how pretty Haru-chan’s swimming is. The other night when I saw him swimming at the Samezuka Academy pool was the first time I’d seen it in years, but with his adult body, it looked even better. He’s developed quite a lot of muscle since elementary school. He has smooth skin like a dolphin that repels water. Haru-chan’s streamline as he progresses through the water is so pretty it makes my skin tingle. I don’t get many chances to use the word “beautiful” in everyday life, but I think this is definitely an appropriate time to use it.
Kagenuma-san seemed to be fascinated by him for a moment, but he quickly pulled himself together and entered the pool with the underwater camera in hand. Haru-chan didn’t seem to notice the camera was rolling, or that he was being filmed, he was just innocently swimming in a world that was just him and the water.While my sister was also fascinated by Haru-chan’s swimming, he was also a little jealous. Since Kagenuma-san was completely engrossed in filming Haru-chan. Mako-chan was watching this with a worried look. I just overlooked it all.
The filming ended after about an hour.
Mako-chan was at the poolside like he always used to, holding out his hand.
“Good job, Haru-chan”
He probably added the -chan on purpose.
Mako-chan pulled Haru-chan out of the water like a prince pulling a mermaid princess out of the water in a fairy tale. The mermaid returned to a normal human being.
“I’ll get it back to you as soon as I’m done editing it.”
Kagenuma-san said while seeming reluctant to part and he left at the insistence of my sister. Haru-chan in the water had won the approval of a professional underwater cameraman. That made me feel proud.

The next day, my sister came up to me and said “here, take this. It’s done. The edited DVD.” and handed me the DVD that Kagenuma-san gave her. I called Mako-chan right away, and we decided to all watch it together.
That night we all gathered in Mako-chan’s room and put the DVD in the player. We pressed play, and the screen was covered in blue. There was a spray of fine bubbles. It was clear blue water. There, swimming calmly, looking just like a real mermaid was Haru-chan. Elegant and strong. Fiercely. And yet somewhat seductively.
Mako-chan and I watched the Haru-chan swimming on screen with fascination. Haru-chan asked “will this really get us club members?” doubtfully.Figuring this was a case of a flower not knowing its own beauty, when Mako-chan’s parents and the twins Ran-chan and Ren-chan came, we watched it together.
Mako-chan’s parents said “this is amazing……” “wonderful” while watching the screen. Haru-chan looked uncomfortable while eating potato chips. Haruchan didn’t have any self-awareness that his own swimming form was pretty. Since for Haru-chan, that’s just what he looked like. It was the same form he always ate dinner with us, walked with us, laughed, and lived everyday life. He probably thinks it’s nothing different than all of that.
Once we had finished watching it, I said happily.
“It’s amazing! I’m sure we’ll get people to join the swim club if they see this. We’re sure to get a flood of applications!”
“I’m sure we will……”
Mako-chan said with a conflicted expression.
Ran-chan and Ren-chan seemed to want to be competitive, and so they said, “Next we’ll watch my sports festival!” “and mine too!” Makoto responded “okay, okay, I got it. Then we’ll watch them one after another” with a strained laugh, and so it became a Tachibana family home video watching party. We saw videos that Mako-chan’s father took of Ran and Ren’s sports days and family vacations. There was also one of when Mako-chan was still in kindergarten. Haru-chan then appeared next to Mako-chan wearing his kindergarten uniform. It made me feel a little jealous that Mako-chan and Haru-chan were friends before I met them.

The next day after school we set it up to have the swimming club recruitment screening right away in the A/V room.
Since we wouldn’t get anywhere without anyone coming to watch it, we made the screenings name scandalous on purpose.
It was titled “Nagisa’s mermaid. Enchanting figure!”†

†Nagisa’s name can also mean beach or water’s edge so an alternative title could be “Mermaid at the water’s edge. Enchanting figure!” it’s a very soft core porn sounding title.

It was kinda underhanded, but lots of male students were pulled in by the title.
But the title isn’t a lie. Haru-chan actually is a mermaid, and his figure is enchanting. I’m sure once we start showing it everyone will become entranced by Haru-chan’s swimming form.
As the screening time approached, the A/V room filled with male students.
“Well then, we’re going to start. Watch this, and then all of you please, join the swim-”
Just as Mako-chan was announcing for the screening to start,
“WAIT!”
An out of breath Ama-chan-sensei came running in.
“Just what type of video are you going to show? It couldn’t be……”
She said all flustered with a pale face.
I didn’t really understand why but ama-chan-sensei was frantically attempting to stop the screening, but at that moment Mako-chan’s finger pushed the play button.
“Aah!”
Ama-chan screamed out in despair “Don’t look! You can’t look!” and blocked the monitor with her body. I’m sure she was lured here by the racy sounding title just like all the male students in the room, but that was a bit of an overreaction.
“I don’t know what this is about, but it’s a DVD of Haru-chan swimming?”
I said, and Ama-chan-sentai looked at me shocked and said
“Of- Of course it is. I heard mermaid, and I just assumed……”
“assumed?”
“No. It’s nothing.”
Ama-chan-sensei laughed like she was trying to play it off and when she moved away from the screen, for some reason, there was a smiling image of Mako-chan from kindergarten.
“……huh?”
Chatter filled the A/V room.
It was a video of Mako-chan and Haru-chan from when they were in kindergarten playing on the beach. It was one of the home videos we watched yesterday at the Tachibana’s house. Mako-chan must have brought the old film that had been transferred to DVD by mistake. All the boys gathered in the room started booing.
In the end, the viewing was a failure.

Where did Haru-chan’s DVD go?
That day after school Mako-chan and I went to his house to search for the DVD. But it seemed that Mako-chan’s parents really loved taking videos of their children. Haru-chan’s DVD must have gotten mixed in with the large number of DVDs, and in the end, we couldn’t find it. It was really unfortunate.
“Well, it can’t be helped. But I’m sure we’ll find another way besides showing people Haru’s swimming in that way.”
Mako-chan said while smiling, but he seemed a little relieved. I thought maybe he’s relieved about not showing Haru-chan’s swimming off in that sort of an exhibition style. Haru-chan himself didn’t care at all, and he seemed much more disappointed by the fact that we gave out secret version Iwatobi-chans, that he went through all the trouble to prepare, to the people who came.

When I got home, I tried asking my sister if we could get another copy from Kagenuma-san. But she all she said was “It’s impossible. Completely impossible!” in a really upset way. When I asked about it, it seems the two of them had had a falling out. My sister had confessed to Kagenuma and been rejected. And on top of that Kagenuma had gone off to some country I’d never heard of for work and would be back for half a year.
Well, there was no point in pressing the matter. Besides Mako-chan seemed relieved about it.

That’s how we ended up having to go back to desperately searching for club members, but I figured it’d work out in the end. Actually, Haru-chan’s precious DVD going missing excites me a little. I mean, imagine this.
For instance…
Some decades in the future, at the Tachibana household, Ran-chan and Ren-chan have become adults, gotten married, and had kids. And so, they say to their kids, “Oh right we have a DVD from when your mom and dad were kids” and go show it to their kids, but it ends up being that video of Haru-chan…… Isn’t thinking about that exciting? I’m sure that Ran-chan and Ren-chan’s kids would get really excited about seeing Haru-chan swimming on the screen like a mermaid, and scream “Wow, It’s a mermaid!” I don’t know what we’ll be doing then, but I’m sure that Ran-chan and Ren-chan’s kids will start swimming because of it. At the swimming school they go to, they might meet a kid like Haru-chan, and then they’ll all swim in a relay together. Thinking that there might be that type of thing in the future makes me really happy and excited.