S2E08 Locomotive of Crisis!/Plot

The ITSC RETURNS is short staffed, leading to Goro Sasabe being very busy. One day, Makoto Tachibana offers to help and is given a part-time job as a coach teaching children how to swim. Upon telling his teammates about it, Nagisa Hazuki and Rei Ryugazaki want to help out, too, but Makoto says they should focus on their own agendas. Nagisa resolves to manage his studies and swimming at the same time, while Rei needs to concentrate on improving his swimming.

At Samezuka Academy, Sosuke Yamazaki chances upon Aiichiro Nitori training alone, again. He tells Aiichiro that fatigue is ruining his form, to take a break. Aiichiro counters that since he is the slowest, he has to swim more to improve. Sosuke says that overdoing it will lead to him losing his edge on the things he already does well and immediately begins to coach him, surprising Aiichiro. An unobserved Rin Matsuoka sees them working together.

Back at ISCR, Makoto notices that one of his students, Hayato Shigino, is afraid of swimming without a kick board and finds out that he actually hates swimming. When Hayato's brother, Kisumi Shigino, comes to pick him up, Makoto recognizes him from Iwatobi Junior High School. Makoto tells a disaffected Haruka about the meeting and invites him to return to the center on Sunday. Haruka is non-committal.

Haruka goes to the club, as suggested, because Makoto has forgotten his lunch. Makoto shares with Haruka his concerns about Hayato and Haruka's advice is to tell Hayato to accept the water. Later, Makoto finds out from Kisumi that the reason Hayato hates swimming is because he fell overboard on a boat trip and started to drown, scaring him. Kisumi blames himself and says that if Hayato really hates it, he will pull him out of class. However, Makoto does not want them to give up as he really wants to help Hayato to swim since he reminds Makoto of himself.

Makoto seeks everyone's advice on teaching Hayato. When walking home, Haruka suggests that Makoto draw on his own experience. Makoto reveals that because he was able to see the sky while swimming backstroke, he stopped being scared. However, starting with backstroke is not the normal way to teach someone to swim. Haruka comments that he should do it his own way and Makoto agrees.

At the club, Makoto gets the children to swim a relay. When it is Hayato’s turn, he falters as he is scared. Makoto guides him through the backstroke, holding his hand throughout the lap. Hayato is awed by the sight he sees and is full of smiles. Afterwards, he tells Makoto that he is not scared anymore and that he had fun today. Goro tells Makoto that he has hired a part-time employee and that the following week will be his last class.

Haruka brings Makoto's younger siblings, Ran Tachibana and Ren Tachibana, to the club as they wanted to see Makoto coaching. All the children are saddened upon learning that Makoto is leaving, making him promise that he will return to see them. Later, Makoto murmurs to himself that the time has flown by so fast. Haruka finds him and hands him a towel. Kisumi comes by to thank Makoto again as Hayato is happy now. Kisumi comments that the both of them have not changed and asks if they are both swimming competitively. Makoto confirms this and adds that Rin and Sosuke are competing for Samezuka. Kisumi is surprised, then states that Sosuke's shoulder must have healed. Makoto is puzzled and Kuzumi tells them that he ran into Sosuke at the hospital a while back, leaving Haruka and Makoto shocked over the revelation.