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Aoi had always liked the peace that came at the bottom of a swimming pool. Whenever things in her mind were too chaotic and she needed some quiet and tranquility, it was second nature to get to the nearest pool as soon as she could, dive in the water and settle right at the bottom where nothing in the outside world could bother her. It scared her parents sometimes, when she was very young and they weren’t yet accustomed to her sitting cross-legged at the bottom of the pool, holding her breath until her lungs burned with it. They got used to it eventually, dismissed it as a quirk of their swimming prodigy of a daughter.
“Aoi needs her space,” they would say then, even holding back Yuta from jumping in after her to vie for her attention when she was in no mood to give it. She’d been blessed with a good family, better than many of her classmates at Hope’s Peak got. Many of them were… pretty dysfunctional, she remembered thinking sometime during her first year there. She hardly seemed weird at all compared to them!
Now, staring at the Hope’s Peak ceiling through the blurry filter of so much water above her head, Aoi felt certain there was nobody else around. Nobody to keep an eye on her and make sure she surfaced in a reasonable period of time, nobody to decree that she must have been in a mood and needed space, nobody to think anything about her at all. The rest of Class 78 had dispersed throughout the school building, just like her. Everyone wandered the halls like zombies in between working on blocking off doors and windows. Nobody seemed to want to speak. What was there to say?
When her lungs were screaming at her with the need to breathe, Aoi unfolded her legs and kicked up to the surface. She took in a big, gasping breath of air and then another, thinking to herself that the odd peace of being underwater had already shattered. It had won her only seconds of calm. She closed her eyes for a moment, brushing away a few strands of hair that had escaped her ponytail, and in that moment, she missed someone coming out of the girls’ locker room and into the pool area.
“Aoi… I should have guessed you were here, beloved.” Sakura stood by the side of the pool, looking down at her when she opened her eyes once more. Looking at the tender concern in her expression, nobody would have been able to guess that she’d received the same horrible news as Aoi and everyone else, chosen a fate of being locked into the old school building rather than a likely death outside.
“Sakura-chan… I didn’t hear you come in,” Aoi murmured, a bit sheepish. “Sorry for making you come looking for me. I should have let you know I was coming up for a swim. I just… needed some time to get my thoughts in order, I guess.”
“It’s alright. It wasn’t difficult to figure out. I’ve known you long enough now that I’m well aware of what brings you the greatest comfort. Where else would you be but the pool?” Sakura smiled down at her, gentle and dazzling. Aoi’s heart surged in her chest, momentarily forgetting all that was going on around them. She could imagine that it was any ordinary day at Hope’s Peak, with her girlfriend catching her going for a swim between classes or late at night, when they’d chat for hours until Sakura gently prodded her towards whatever she actually had to do.
“Yeah, I guess that’s true. Glad I didn’t cause you too much trouble.”
“If you need more time alone with your thoughts, you need only tell me. I can occupy myself with my own training until you’re ready for company.” She meant it. There was no doubt about that. Sakura was the sweetest, most understanding person she knew, the kind of anchor Aoi sometimes wondered what she had ever done to deserve. She needed no time at all to think about it, shaking her head so emphatically that she sent droplets of water flying in all directions. Probably including onto Sakura’s clothes, although she didn’t bat an eye at it.
“No, no, it’s okay. Wouldn’t dream of sending you away right now. I dunno how talkative I’m feeling right now… there’s so much to make sense of before I can even know what my own thoughts are like… but everything’s a little better with you nearby, Sakura-chan. I want to be able to give you that too. Come join me in the water, if you want.” Aoi gestured broadly to the sparkling, pristine water around her. It was an almost tropical blue and smelled of exactly the right balance of chemicals. The scent of chlorine had always served to steady her nerves. Even in the midst of the Tragedy, someone had found the time to upkeep the pool. She supposed that would become her job.
“The water’s fine,” she added, trying for a happy laugh. “That’s one thing that’s still the same.”
“Yes, if you’re inviting me, I think I’ll take you up on it. Just a moment; I’ll go change.” Before departing for the locker room again, Sakura squatted at the edge of the pool, extending a hand outward. Aoi paddled towards her immediately. She knew what she wanted without needing to be asked. One wet hand reached out to grasp the strong, calloused palm of her girlfriend, locking their fingers together. Sakura gave it a fond squeeze before letting go and straightening up again.
“When I return, we’ll have the first date of this new chapter of our lives.”
“That sounds just right to me.”
Aoi didn’t know how long they’d be embarking on this communal school life together—if Headmaster Kirigiri was to be believed, it could go on indefinitely. Her heart ached at the thought of never setting foot in nature again, never seeing the familiar streets of the city or returning to her family home. The pain only intensified when she thought of how, even if they did regain their freedom eventually, nothing would be the same. But if anything could provide her comfort, it was the idea that Sakura would be by her side every step of the way.
Nothing was ever going to separate them.