Aki Yazaki

Aki Yazaki (矢崎 亜紀 Yazaki Aki) is one of the characters in the light novel High☆Speed！ written by Kōji Ōji and was one of Haruka, Makoto, and Rin's classmates from elementary school. She was also in the same swim club, Iwatobi Swimming Club, as Haruka, Makoto, Rin, and Nagisa.

Appearance
Aki's physical appearance is never mentioned in the light novel. However she is mentioned to always be wearing a white muffler that is later stained brown when it accidentally falls into a river.

In the manga, she's shown to have a short bob haircut with a small braid running down part of it on one side.

Personality
Aki is a kind and sweet girl who always seems to have a "sunflower" smile. Because of her cheery disposition she always sees the silver lining in any situation.

She is also someone who values the relationships she has such as wanting Haru to depend on people and make friends, referring to her relay team as her sisters, and crying at her and the boy's elementary graduation ceremony.

Even in stressful situations she can keep a clear head and take charge such as when Haru almost drowned in the river, she was able to call the ambulance, swim club, and Haru's mother while Rin and Makoto saved him. She also didn't cry even though she looked like she was going to.

Story
In the same competition where the boys won first place in their relay, Aki and her friends won bronze in the girls relay.

Relationships
Haruka Nanase - Aki regards Haru highly, and she and her lost scarf in the river beneath Misagozaki Bridge are a major catalyst for his development. She puts in effort to understand his viewpoint, mentioning that she would have continued staring on glumly as her scarf floated away if he hadn't told her to leave it be. Because of Haru being attentive to her, Rin thinks out of everyone, it's more likely that she, along with Makoto, can get through to Haru about joining him in the medley. She, like Rin, believes that Haru would do well swimming in the medley, wanting to see a Haru who can rely on others.

Makoto Tachibana - Aki and Makoto have a good relationship, with the latter affectionately calling her 'Zaki-chan,' much like he would later call Rin's sister and Iwatobi's manager 'Gou-chan.' Aki turns to him to understand Haruka more than she does, and Makoto is supportive of her as a friend, such as when she loses her scarf, and when she forwards the idea of planting flowers around a lonesome cheery blossom tree. Late in High Speed! they share excitement over each other's medley team doing well, culminating in a high five between the two of them.

Nagisa Hazuki - From the beginning, Nagisa has called Aki "Zaki-chan" affectionately, much like he later calls Gou "Gou-chan." Aki regards Nagisa as little brother-like, but becomes very taken aback by his forward eyes, thinking of how their reflection lays bear the swimmer she truly wants to be. She's shown to yearn "to swim with [her] honest feelings, like Nagisa does", and hates herself for unable to answer him with a certainty to her words.

Rin Matsuoka - Unlike Makoto and Nagisa, Rin calls Aki the more formal "Yazaki-san." At one point she's led to believe due to their joking around that Rin is being bullied by the boys, and promptly scolds them on his behalf. She connects with him through how much they both want Haru to join the medley, confirming during their conversation that she thinks of Rin as someone with a large personality, even joking with him over it. In her own POV, she's shown to wonder over how he's always "running towards somewhere," seeking something.

Shota Yazaki - Aki seems to hold an admiration for her older brother, as his being part of the swim club was the initial reason she also joined. However she can also showcase annoyance and disappointment in her brother that she isn't afraid to express, such as when her brother got upset after he lost to Haru in a race and got banned from club activities. She calls him stupid and impatient for it, stating that he always orders people around and acts all self-important right away.

Trivia

 * Despite what the anime shows, Aki was actually the one who came up with the sentence 'I swim best free for the team' on the school bricks, according to light novel.
 * Although she plays an important part in the light novel and manga, Aki never makes an actual appearance in the anime.

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Aki Yazaki