Haru?
Huh?
Since summer started and he can swim again,
he had stopped taking cold baths...
Haru, I'm coming in!
How long are you going to keep taking cold baths?
Let's go, Haru—
Mako-chan!
Jeez,
you really scared me.
A Resolution's Heads-Up!
Sorry, Mako-chan! I couldn't help myself.
Couldn't help yourself?!
And why were you at Haruka-senpai's house?
He said he had stayed the night.
Right, Haru?
Yeah, last night...
All right.
Aw, it bent again!
Oh well!
Huh?
It's a new era!
Here it is!
Shazam!
Nagisa...
H-Haru-chan?!
What are you doing?
Uh... I came to watch the Leonids!
That's fine, but don't start a fire up here.
Oh, yeah. You're right.
That's why I brought him back to my house.
Yeah...
But the Leonids are in the autumn.
Oh! I had it wrong!
How careless of me!
Anyway, about today's practice...
I think we should train even harder than usual.
What do you say?
Sure...
We could practice with paddles, and also...
Nice work out there!
Thanks.
What is it, Sousuke?
Oh, just...
Have you toned up more lately?
Now that you mention it...
Yeah.
I think my current training regimen better suits me.
Impressive as always!
You never get complacent, do you?
Of course not.
Someone who's complacent can't compete on an international level.
Right, Sousuke?
Yeah. That's right.
Rin-senpai!
Check out my swimming!
Hey!
Ow!
What are you doing, Momo?!
Are you swimming or talking? Just pick one.
That's all for today!
Good job, everyone!
It's this late already?
My arms are completely worn out from practicing with the paddles.
You'll get used to it in time.
Though, I think Haru enjoys practicing with fins more.
Fins?
Swim fins.
Oh, I see.
Am I right?
Not really.
Nagisa-kun?
Wh-What is it?
What's the matter? You're spacing out.
Even you're tired out, Nagisa?
Yeah, even me...
You're the one who said we should train hard today.
So how can you be so worn out?
Even I
get tired sometimes!
Nagisa-kun?
S-Sorry, Rei-chan!
Oh, I think I left something in the club room!
You guys go on ahead! I'll see you tomorrow!
Nagisa-kun?!
I feel like we've seen something similar to this before...
Yeah.
What are you talking about?
Nothing.
It's nothing.
Still, didn't something seem weird about Nagisa?
Yes... I can't say how, exactly, but he's not his usual self.
Might be too sweet...
Career Path Survey
Yes?
Haru-chan!
Um... I came to hang out with you!
Huh?
Is barley tea okay?
Thanks!
Is this your career path survey?
Can I look at it?
Sure.
C. Other (Free)
That's very you, Haru-chan.
That reminds me, I should turn mine in, too.
Have you thought of what you want to be?
Yup!
I want to be a penguin keeper, or a treasure hunter!
It might be cool to be a diver, too!
But since I want to travel the world, maybe I should be a tour guide.
Hmm... It sure is hard to narrow it down to just one thing, huh?
Is that what you call a plan?
But in your case, you could probably become anything you wanted.
Huh?
I think that goes more for you.
I mean, you're good with your hands, you can cook really well...
You're even good at drawing!
You're lucky, Haru-chan. You can do anything.
Plus, you swim better than anyone!
You could even become a pro swimmer!
I'm not interested.
What?!
That sounds just like you, though.
So...
Huh?
Why did you come to my house so late at night?
Huh? Um, well, I wanted to watch the Leonids—
That's in autumn, isn't it?
Well...
Are you hiding som—
Ah! I guess I'd better get home!
Sorry for bothering you!
Uh, hey, Nagisa!
Mako-chan!
I came to hang out!
Huh? Nagisa?
At this hour?
Aww, it's okay, isn't it?
Oh! Haru...
So, what happened?
You ran away?!
Yeah...
Why'd you do that?
Because...
Just let me stay with you for a while, and don't ask why!
Please!
No.
Mako-chan...
You can't just ask to stay with us and not say why.
Aw, don't say that!
No means no.
You need to go home right—
Please!
Please...
Okay. Goodbye.
Were you on the phone, Haru?
Yeah.
How'd it go with Nagisa?
No luck. He completely refuses to explain himself.
What's all this about Nagisa-kun running away from home?
Rei, calm down.
Where is Nagisa-kun?
Nagisa's fine. He's in the living room.
He refuses to tell us why he ran away.
He must have left home yesterday.
That would make sense.
I guess this explains
why Nagisa-kun seemed odd today.
Now that I think about it,
I don't know much about Nagisa's home life.
Same with me.
He doesn't talk about his parents.
Well, it won't help to talk about it here.
I'll try to persuade him.
I think talking one-on-one will be more effective.
You're right.
Please talk to him, Makoto-senpai!
We're counting on you, Makoto.
Got it!
Nagisa, I'm coming in.
Poor Nagisa!
His parents are forcing him to go to the supercontinent of Pangaea!
We have to help him!
What are you talking about?
There's no such place!
Huh? There isn't?!
It doesn't exist!
How could you be tricked by that?!
He tricked me?!
Yes!
I'll talk to him.
Haru...
Haruka-senpai, we'll leave this to you!
Nagisa, sit down for a moment...
I've decided to let Nagisa stay with me!
Mackerel
How could you let him bribe you?!
Clearly, this cannot be left to the two of you!
I shall speak with him!
There are none who can stand against my logic-based negotiation methods!
Rei...
Please call me Ryugazaki Rei, the Negotiator!
I've figured out who the perpetrator is!
What perpetrator?!
Just tell us what's up, Nagisa.
What caused you to run away?
You're making Haru and Rei worry about you.
You should at least tell us why you ran away.
Nagisa...
Mako-chan, Haru-chan...
Do you trust us that little?
No!
I'm sorry for making you guys worry.
Yeah, you're right.
I'll tell you the truth.
I may be forced to quit the swim club.
Huh?!
Why would you...
To be honest, my test scores have been really bad lately.
And my parents really go nuts over stuff like that.
So they ordered me to quit the swim club.
But of course, I would never agree to do that!
That's why I ran away from home.
But if that's the case, you just need to improve your grades, right?
That's right! I would gladly help you study!
So if we tell your parents that—
Once my parents tell me I can't do something,
they'll never allow it.
But if we just told them clearly—
I'm telling you, they just won't listen!
Nagisa-kun...
But you can't go on living like this either, right?
I understand that, but...
Nagisa-kun...
Were you thinking that if you don't go home,
your parents would eventually acknowledge your swimming?
Yeah...
Rei?
Were you honestly thinking they'd give their approval based on that?
If you want their approval,
aren't there much better ways to get it?
And if you did get their approval using such a method,
could you really swim at full strength after that?!
Rei, just leave it at that.
Mom's heading your way! Looks like she intends to bring you home.
Huh?!
What's wrong?
It says my mother is coming here to take me back home!
Huh?!
Wh-Wh-What do I do?!
What do you mean, what?
We haven't come up with a solution yet!
If I get dragged back home now...
All of you, calm down.
Haru-chan?
Let's go.
I guess there's really nowhere else we could go.
The school would be a bad idea.
Good thing we were able to borrow the keys to this place.
I'm sorry!
I ended up dragging you guys into this.
A little late for that now.
We're already in for the ride.
Yes. So let's think of a solution together!
Okay!
If we stay in the lobby, we might be seen.
In that case, we should head to the locker room.
Huh?! But look how dark it is back there.
Wh-What if there's a ghost?
Such unscientific things don't exist.
So you say, but they might be here!
Makoto, you're being too loud.
Sorry...
In any case, let's stay here for a while.
I still think the only solution is to
get your grades back up and earn your parents' approval.
That'd be the most straightforward method.
Nagisa-kun, just how bad
were these grades that made your parents so angry?
Well, uh...
Excellent!
That's a pretty extreme gap.
No wonder they got mad.
But, Nagisa, didn't you go to a private middle school?
Yeah. It was a prep school.
And last year, your grades weren't this bad, right?
So why?
It's because
I hate studying.
You hate studying?
Are you sure you don't just lack the attention span?
It's not that.
It was really hard on me.
It was my parents who picked my middle school for me.
They wanted me to go to a good university and
get hired by a good company.
During middle school...
I spent every single day studying.
There was nothing in my life that could be considered fun.
Over time, I no longer understood what I was studying so hard for.
From then on, studying started to become painful for me.
My parents hated seeing me like that,
so they allowed me to come to Iwatobi High.
That's why I can swim with you guys like this.
I couldn't live up to my parents' expectations,
but if I'd continued on in that prep school,
I'd never have been able to swim.
Why Iwatobi?
If you just wanted to swim, you could have done it anywhere.
That's
obvious, isn't it?
It was because I wanted to swim with you and Mako-chan again.
Then I met Rei-chan, too,
and swimming got even more fun.
Swimming with you guys makes me happier than I can say!
That's why, when they told me to quit the swim club,
it was like everything I could see went dark.
I thought it'd be like before, when there was nothing
in my life that was any fun.
That's why you ran away from home?
Yeah...
Do your parents know that you feel this way?
Huh?
I doubt it.
Even if I tried to tell them, I don't think they'd listen.
Someone's coming!
Could it be a club member?
Isn't this an odd time for someone to come?
Then, could it be Nagisa-kun's parents?
Anyway, let's hide!
Right! Nagisa-kun!
Yeah!
Haru! Hurry!
Right.
They shouldn't find us in here, right?
Probably not.
I wonder if it's my mother...
Shh! Quiet!
Let's go further inside while we can. To the pool.
I'm sure they wouldn't come this far inside, right?
Yeah.
Rei, is something wrong?
Nagisa-kun, there's one thing I want to ask you.
Rei-chan?
You said that you haven't tried to talk to your parents, right?
Doesn't that mean you'd given up on talking to them from the start?
About your middle school, and about this...
And about how you really feel.
You gave up before you even tried, didn't you?
Well?
Hey, Rei...
That's... not true...
Then face forward and speak to them.
Come on, you two...
Or are you going
to give up this time, too?
Rei-chan, you
could never understand!
You could never...
I don't understand how things are at your house.
But I do want all four of us to swim together.
Rei...
In that respect, I feel the same as you.
Or are your feelings something you could give up on so easily?
O-Of course not!
I believe that you're a person who never gives up.
Because, despite all the times I refused you,
you stubbornly kept after me until I joined the swim club.
Rei-chan...
I don't...
I don't want to give up, either!
I want to stay in the swim club, and I want to decide
all kinds of things for myself!
Then we'll all go now, together, to talk to your parents.
We'll come up with a logical approach—
What was that?!
They followed us this far?
Wh-What do we do?
We haven't thought up a plan yet!
Hide somewhere, Nagisa!
There's no place to hide by a pool!
Nagisa! Hide behind me!
Hurry!
We'll take care of this somehow!
Nagisa!
You guys...
Thank you.
I won't run away anymore.
Nagisa?
I've been holding a lot back for a long time!
I was never able to say everything I wanted to!
I've always done what you've told me to!
And I've never enjoyed any of it!
But that's because I was weak.
I've just kept running away from facing you, Mom and Dad...
Because I'd given up before I even tried!
That's why I...
I don't want to run away anymore!
Haru-chan,
Mako-chan,
and Rei-chan...
I want to swim with my friends!
That's why...
I want you to listen to what I—
Huh?
Miss Ama-chan!
Hazuki-kun!
There's a saying that goes, "The child knows not the parent's heart."
Your parents are very worried about you.
Go home.
Okay.
Sorry. I couldn't find the right moment to come out.
But why are you here, Sensei?
I called her.
Nanase-kun called me earlier
to ask that I let you boys take care of Hazuki-kun.
Haru!
What?
I still didn't know who it was that came in earlier.
Haru-chan...
Hazuki-kun, tell your parents how you feel honestly.
If it still doesn't work, we'll all think of a plan together.
Okay! I will.
Then, let's go, shall we?
Yeah.
What are you doing, Nagisa?
You're going to talk to your parents, right?
Yes, but...
We're saying that we'll come with you.
We can't allow our swim club to lose a member now!
Especially not the person who pestered and cajoled me until I joined.
I'll never allow him to leave.
Come on, let's go!
Nagisa...
Okay!
Wait for me!
What?!
So that's what happened?
Sorry I didn't say anything to you, Gou-chan.
But thank goodness you were
able to get your parents' approval to stay in the swim club!
Yeah!
Even though it was on the condition that I study harder.
And since they said, "If that's how you feel, you'd better make it to nationals,"
we definitely have to make it there and surprise them!
Then we'll have to work harder than ever!
Naturally!
Yeah.
Okay, let's train super hard, then!
We're aiming for nationals!
Yeah!
It's prefecturals at last.
Let's get pumped up.
But what's wrong, Rei?
Rin-san, Haruka-senpai won't let go of that canned mackerel!
This isn't just any canned mackerel!
It's mackerel pole-fished at the junction of
the Pacific Ocean and the Seto Inland Sea,
renowned for its freshness. This is legendary canned mackerel!
Confiscating!
Next episode, Invincible Prime!
Invincible Prime!
Give it back, Rin!
Haru...
I'll teach you what true legendary canned mackerel is!