The reason Arisa couldn’t swim was simple—she wasn’t good at floating.
In other words, her posture in the water was poor.
Ideally, the body should be parallel to the water’s surface, with the head slightly lowered and the back positioned highest—
but in Arisa’s case, her legs sank, leaving her body tilted.
So Yuzuru decided to start by correcting how she floated.
First, the daruma float.
Then the jellyfish float.
And finally, floating with her limbs extended.
“That’s amazing, Arisa! I can’t believe you’ve improved this much in such a short time!”
“…Aren’t you praising me a bit too much? I’ve only just managed to float.”
Though she had managed to float properly, Yuzuru’s exaggerated praise made Arisa purse her lips.
She seemed to think he was teasing her.
“That’s not true. …Even people who can swim sometimes have poor floating technique. The basics are important. I didn’t expect you to pick it up this quickly.”
At that, Arisa’s expression softened.
“I-is that so…”
She smiled shyly.
Adorable, Yuzuru thought from the bottom of his heart.
That said, while it was true she was cute, it was also true that he had been overpraising her.
In fact, Yuzuru had already decided he would praise her no matter how well she did.
Floating was important—but even more important was easing her fear of water.
…Though, admittedly, he also just didn’t want to see her discouraged.
In short, Yuzuru was soft on her.
“…What’s next?”
“Let’s see… I’ll hold your hands while you float, so try doing flutter kicks.”
Now they moved on to the basics of actual swimming.
Flutter kick practice.
“…How was that?”
“Well…”
While Arisa had initially struggled with floating, her flutter kicks also had a major issue.
Her knees bent too much.
And she was splashing the surface excessively.
That was why her earlier swimming had looked like “a bug flailing in water.”
When Yuzuru explained this, Arisa tilted her head.
“What does it feel like… to not bend your knees?”
“Maybe it’s better if we practise while sitting.”
Yuzuru had her sit on the poolside and try moving her legs.
The motion was… a bit awkward.
“…Are you sure not bending the knees is actually correct?”
Arisa frowned.
It seemed she had a habit of getting a little grumpy when she couldn’t do something.
That was a bit of a new discovery for Yuzuru.
“It doesn’t mean keeping them completely straight like a stick. A slight bend is fine.”
“How slight?”
“…Can I hold your legs?”
Arisa gave a small nod.
Yuzuru stood in front of her and gently took hold of her legs.
(…They really are beautiful.)
Long, slender legs. Smooth, pale skin.
From her toes to the top of her thighs, the shape was elegant.
(…And a bit daring.)
The high-cut swimsuit exposed more than expected.
Though he felt a bit guilty, he was still a teenage boy—his gaze inevitably drifted.
“Um, Yuzuru-san… what exactly are you looking at?”
“…Sorry. I got distracted.”
“…Do you think saying that makes it okay?”
Arisa pouted slightly, her cheeks faintly flushed.
…She didn’t seem truly angry.
“Won’t you forgive me?”
“Honestly… just looking, alright?”
Arisa sighed, as if she couldn’t help it.
She didn’t seem entirely displeased at being looked at.
Putting that aside—
Yuzuru steadied himself and began guiding her legs.
“It’s less about not bending your knees, and more about moving them in small, quick motions like this. Don’t kick with your whole leg—imagine kicking the water with the top of your feet.”
“But wouldn’t that make it hard to move forward?”
“Flutter kicks are more about stabilising your posture. And since you’re kicking with just your feet, big movements don’t really help.”
“I see…”
Following his advice, Arisa tried moving her legs on her own.
It was already much better than before.
“Next, let’s try it while holding onto the poolside.”
“Yes.”
This time, she held onto the edge while practising.
At first, Yuzuru supported her legs.
“Keep them in the water, small movements like this…”
“It’s okay if my knees bend a little, right?”
“Yeah. As long as you’re kicking with your feet.”
Arisa followed his guidance.
With her natural athleticism, once she got the hang of it, she improved quickly.
(…This is a bit hard on the eyes.)
From Yuzuru’s perspective, he could see her pale back—
and her rather well-shaped hips.
With each kick, her body moved slightly.
His fiancée had an undeniably excellent figure, making even simple movements look alluring.
“Yuzuru-san, how is it?”
“Yeah, that’s good. As expected of you, Arisa—you improve quickly. You’re great to teach.”
“Ehehe… really?”
She sounded pleased.
Yuzuru averted his gaze slightly from his adorable fiancée, doing his best to maintain his composure.
