Summary: He was like the smell of earth after rain. An aromatic scent of pine needles and tree bark that mingled with the mist. Refreshing, calming. Insightful, benevolent. Filled with thoughts and feelings that didn't seem apparent at first glance. This is the story of how an emerald-eyed boy showed me that there was more to life than a classroom, that there was a whole world out there. He took me by the hand and introduced me to new friends, new adventures, and a newly found love.
Disclaimer: Free! Iwatobi Swim Club and its characters do not belong to me
Beta: ravenreux
I quietly slid open the door of my mother's room. Her sleeping figure was nestled comfortably underneath the white blankets. The shades were drawn, and clothing was thrown sparingly on the floor. She had come home late from work again last night.
"Okaa-san," I whispered. Her body moved slightly. "Okaa-san," I whispered again, this time a bit louder.
She mumbled in response.
"I'm going to school now."
"Mm…"
I took a step back and slid the door shut. With a sigh, I strolled down the hallway toward my older brother's room. I rapped lightly on the door, and when there was no response, I turned on my heel and made my way down the stairs towards the front entrance. Sitting on the floor and grabbing my pair of loafers, I brushed them off and slipped the shoes onto my feet, making sure to adjust the area near my heels.
I locked the door behind me before turning and making my way down the narrow concrete steps. Breathing in the fresh springtime morning, I soaked in my surroundings. There was a cool breeze, budding flowers were blooming and everything seemed very green. It was April now and spring break had just ended a few days ago; it was the beginning of a new semester.
Suddenly a dangerously small white kitten pranced out from the safety of the bushes and into direct line of my path. In alarm, I swerved my foot to the far right, fortunately evading the ball of fluff, yet also succeeding in falling down the last five steps. With a yelp, I landed hard on the floor with a thud; my arms and legs sprawled out. I heard the kitten meow before a rustle of leaves signaled its departure. I laid there for a moment, groaning, because I could feel the pain spread along my spine, then reverberate through my bones until it reached my fingertips and toes. My vision was fuzzy and there were strange black spots that weren't there before.
"Kaori-san!" I heard a male voice shout, quickly followed by hurried footsteps.
I lifted my head and saw a fuzzy image of Tachibana Makoto running to my aid. He not only attended the same school as me, but he was also in the same year and homeroom - coincidentally.
I bit the inside of my cheek and silently cursed to myself. I could only fathom how embarrassing the situation currently was.
He crouched down beside me. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I'm fine," I reassured him. Painful stings shot through my body as I sat up. I winced.
Seeing this, Tachibana-san's eyes roved over my form, examining me for any injuries. Upon seeing my knee, he gasped. "Your knee's bleeding Kaori-san!"
I bent my leg to examine the ligament. It was scraped, and growing increasingly red as blood was rising to the surface.
The emerald eyed boy shuffled in his backpack before letting out a crestfallen sigh. "I don't have band aids."
Seeing a classmate so concerned with my well being left me feeling uncomfortably feeble.
"It's fine," I said, trying to ease his worry. "It's only a scrape. Happens all the time." Realizing what I had just said, I inwardly facepalmed. That did not dissipate his anxiety at all.
His jaw dropped. "All the time?"
"No. I didn't- Umm..." I sighed. "If it makes you feel any better, I can go back home and get the first-aid kit."
"Alright then," he drawled.
I glanced back up the stairs and he did the same - we were thinking the same thing.
"How are you going to get up there," he asked, eyebrows tightly knit together.
I pondered. "I can climb I guess."
"That's only going to make the situation worse!" he whined.
"Then maybe..."
"Guess It can't be helped." He pulled his backpack off his shoulders and plopped it on the floor. He then turned around and squatted, his back facing toward me.
"Eh? Wh-What are you doing?"
"I'll carry you up the stairs." As if realizing he was being too forward, he quickly added, "If that's okay with you."
I hesitated. Never in my life have I been carried by another guy. "But the blood will get on your clothes," I reasoned.
"Don't worry. It won't."
"Are you sure we can't-"
"Hurry or we'll be late for school!"
"Okay," I sighed in defeat. I moved slowly. Every movement felt as if I was being stabbed by a bunch of needles, repeatedly. I rose to my feet, somehow managing to sling both of our backpacks over my shoulders. "I'm heavy," I warned as I leaned onto his back.
The only reply that sounded from his mouth was a chuckle.
I tentatively wrapped my arms around his neck. He hooked his hands beneath my knees.
"Yosh!" he said enthusiastically as he stood up and began ascending the steps.
This entire situation was very strange, I felt very awkward and stiff. I kept my head raised, not daring to completely rest against Tachibana-san. I hardly knew him. The only time we ever really spoke was when I had to collect notebooks for our teacher that one time.
"Ano... Kaori-san. Could you rest your head on me a bit more? You're making it hard to walk."
"Oh, okay."
My cheeks were already beginning to burn. I opened my mouth to apologize, but I decided against it. I was too embarrassed to speak.
I then noticed that Tachibana-san's ears were tinged red, and he smelled of soap.
"How did you fall," he suddenly asked.
I had to withdraw from my previous thoughts due to the fact that I was not prepared for this question.
"There was a cat," I replied hesitantly, "And I almost stepped on it."
He gasped.
"It was an accident!"
He let out a half-suppressed laugh. I was confused.
"I know. It's just that I do believe I know the cat you're talking about, and I just found it amusing that you were getting so defensive."
The edges of my lips tugged into a frown. He turned his head to the side, trying to look apologetic, but he was still wearing a smirk.
When we reached the top, I pointed to the house I lived in, when it finally dawned on me that this didn't seem like such a good idea. My mom and brother were still home, so going in there, piggybacked by a boy, with a chance they they might wake up and see us, I didn't want to risk it.
I opened my mouth to voice my opinion.
"Is it really that bad of an idea?"
I nodded.
"Well have you ever tried bringing a boy over before?"
"Of course not!"
"Then how would you know how they would react?"
I felt his eyes on me as I grew quiet. I didn't want to be like my brother. I didn't want him and my mother to assume things about me.
He bounced a bit to regain a grip on me. "Then I suppose we could go to Haru-chan's place."
"Haru-chan as in... Nanase Haruka?"
He bobbed his head.
I knew Nanase-san was my neighbor, I had seen him leave his house a few times. But like Tachibana-san, I never conversated with him. I've never even heard his voice before.
"Okay."
I had no other option and I was just a bit curious on what the inside of his home would look like. The last time I had been to someone else's house was in junior high.
We then turned around and walked toward Nanase-san's house, directly across from mine. Tachibana-san leaned forward and I pressed the doorbell for him, seeing that his hands were full. After waiting a few seconds, he leaned forward yet again and I pressed the button.
We were definitely going to be late for school.
He took a few steps back and looked up at one of the windows. "Ah, Haru. Seriously? Maybe if we go around back," he said more to himself than me. He then shook his head and muttered, "Out of all the times to take a bath."
We went through a narrow passage around the house and to the back door. I was surprised to find that it was unlocked and I easily slid it open.
"This should be locked," I said.
The emerald eyed boy nodded. "I know, I tell him all the time."
We then walked inside and Tachibana-san kicked off his shoes with expertise.
I was surprised to find that the structure of the house was very similar to my own, but everything inside was completely different, making it seem very surreal.
He sighed when he reached a closed door. Judging by the location we were in on the second floor, I could guess was the bathroom. But why were we here?
"I'm coming in," Tachibana-san said as he skillfully slid open the door with his foot.
My eyes grew wide as I saw Nanase-san lounging in his bathtub. We made eye contact and I felt a deep blush slowly spread from my left cheek, over my nose, and onto my right. I quickly withdrew my arms wrapped around Tachibana-san to shield my eyes.
"I'm sorry for barging in!" I shouted before feeling myself falling backwards.
"Ah! Kaori-san!"
I gasped and quickly wrapped my arms around my carrier's neck again. His head jerked back and he made a choking sound.
I ducked my head and squeezed my eyes shut. "Sorry! Sorry! I'm so sorry!"
God, this is so embarrassing.
"Makoto, what is Kaori doing here?" A soft, yet deep voice asked. I was surprised by the lack of suffix.
"Well, she sort of hurt herself, but... Anyways, we need your first aid."
I heard Nanase-san sigh. "You know where it is. But hurry up, we're going to be late."
"That's my line!"
I huffed and kicked at the air impatiently. "Can we just leave the bathroom already," I pleaded.
"Oh! Right right!"
Tachibana-san backtracked before securing the door shut. I was finally able to open my eyes again.
"Sorry," he whispered.
He carried me down the stairs and into the living room, where he set me on a cushion.
"I'll go get the kit."
He disappeared behind a door and emerged a minute later with a white box.
Once I was bandaged nicely, Nanase-san had finished up his bath. There was no time for him to eat breakfast seeing that class was going to start in 10 minutes. We ran of the house, well, more like me flailing along on Tachibana-san's back. The two boys both agreed that I would only "slow them down" with my limping.
At the school gate, I insisted that Tachibana-san, but he also insisted that he at least carry me to the lockers. I furiously shook my head. I'd rather suffer from the numbing pain in my knee than having people questioning our recent acquaintance.
I proceeded to my shoe locker and exchanged my black loafers for white slippers with green soles. With heavy footsteps, I wearily made my way to homeroom and slumped into my seat at the very front and rested my forehead on the desk. I was already fatigued from lack of sleep due to cram school, extra classes I take after school to further my education, thus making me stay up late to finish my homework. I seriously didn't need physical exhaustion to boot.
The school bell rang and students began to shuffle into class. They filled every seat and began taking out notebooks and pencils from their backpacks. I sat up. Amakata-sensei then entered the classroom with a blue folder. "Ohaiyo gozaimasu minna-san."
The class greeted her in return.
She then set her folder onto the podium and began taking attendance.
"Tadokoro Junichi-kun."
"Here."
"Tezuko Kaori-chan."
"Here," I said.
"Nanase Haruka-kun."
"Here."
.
.
I fell asleep in class. Twice. I thought to myself, I can't keep up this routine much longer. With a yawn, I grabbed my lunch and a book before sauntering off to the library, per usual.
I was stopped in the hall by Amakata-sensei. "May I have a word with you Tezuko-chan?"
I pointed at myself. "Me?" I looked around. There was no one else in the hallway.
"Yes you! Follow me to the office."
I followed behind her, puzzled by what she wanted to talk to me about. "Ano... Amakata-sensei, am I in trouble?" I began to worry if she marked me as tardy from this morning.
She smiled knowingly and shook her head. "No, just the opposite actually."
We walked down to the first floor and stopped right in front of the principal's office. I was bewildered. The only people who ever visited the principal were in for a world of pain. The green tie wrapped around my neck suddenly felt tighter.
So that's it for the first chapter. Thanks for reading~~
I implore you to let me know if there were any errors in my works.
Reviews are love.
