Them

It was hard to say when it begun.

For all Makoto has always known, it had always been the three of them: Makoto, Haruka, and Tetsuya, side by side in the same arrangement their houses were.

When Makoto first stepped into nursery school, it had been with Haruka on one side and Tetsuya at the other. His first time learning cycling and swimming…It had been in the comforting presence of his friends. In the closet of his room, Makoto had never failed to find some clothes of his friends from their sleepovers. Even when Makoto joined Iwatobi Swimming Club, it had been with a handful of Haru's shirt and Tetsuya's fingers in his grasp, and a quivering shaking introduction made behind the calm demeanours of his best friends.

For the life of him, Makoto could not remember a time when he lived without the both of them. And honestly, he could not imagine himself wanting it any other way.

Blues

Haruka could never understand why the others would so easily lose track of Tetsuya.

For all the silence that the younger boy offered and all the expressionless façade that he presented, he was still a normal, breathing human being. And for all that slippery presence made him jealous, Haruka found himself too many a times irked by the adults for forgetting that child.

Too many times, Haruka had seen that smaller boy get locked out of his house due to his parents' negligence. Too many times, Haruka had had to throw a rock at his neighbours' door in order to draw attention to the short boy (still a stranger then) who was tiptoeing outside, reaching for a doorbell that was impossible to reach. For all the heartlessness Haruka presented, he still cared, however troublesome it is, and too many times, he tried to help by leaving his backdoor open for that boy. (In time, he got used to his parents' nagging and his parents got used to his habit as well.)

Eventually, the boy stuck around, and even then, Haruka found himself unnerved by how Makoto had to keep Tetsuya at the edge of his vision for a year before he got used to their new friend's lack of presence.

Haruka thought he would never understand everyone's perception of Tetsuya's presence.

It was not until Haruka met his first love that he understood.

He was able to see Tetsuya because he was blue – with hair a shade of blue brighter than the colour of the waterfall he had seen back then, and eyes that reminded Haruka of the deeper blue waters of the seashores at the beach. Even back before he discovered his love for water, somehow in one way or another, some innate instinct within him was able to point out all the characteristics of water that Tetsuya had and indicate his presence to him.

Perhaps it was fate that brought Tetsuya to the one person who could keep track of him due to his colouring.

Proof

At times, when locked out in another night by his parents and hunching over at the door, Tetsuya would wonder if he exists at all.

Five was a young age for the contemplation of an existential crisis, but given the circumstances, who could blame him? In the head of young Tetsuya, his loving, slightly clumsy parents could hardly be faulted for forgetting him. Afterall, it was all him. Not only were his parents the only ones, his friends in the park had always needed reminding, and even his babysitters forget who they were hired to look after. Sometimes, Tetsuya wonders if his existence was on the verge of disappearing. That would certainly explain why people overlook him so often.

A rock had hit the door then, making a loud thumping sound that startled poor Tetsuya.

Jumping up in shock, Tetsuya blinked when he met the blue eyes of a small hooded figure – but that cannot be right, can it? How could someone keep track of him and even look at him in the eyes? He had not much time to think before the door swung open to reveal the irritated faces of his parents, which transformed into guilt and shock upon noticing him. Tetsuya accepted their apologetic embrace, leaving behind all thoughts of that boy.

Until the next time it happened again. And again. And again.

At the age of seven, Tetsuya would calmly walk through the backdoors of the Nanase household and be greeted by Makoto and Haruka in the form of a kind 'good morning' and a nod. While Haruka's parents would startle at his presence, Tetsuya would join his best friends apathetically, eating from a plate which had been set aside specifically for him.

Because while his parents may have forgotten him, there was always a place for him right by Haruka and Makoto's sides, and their silent acknowledgement was more than enough a proof of Tetsuya's existence.

Courage

In an instance, every single thing was gone.

Standing to the side as the emotionless, grieving townspeople crossed by in a long, never-ending line of white, Makoto gazed out at the sea hesitantly.

The image of that night – where the usual calm ocean raged and swallowed everything that is near it, as torrents of waves crumpled the smooth surface of the sea – even now, it was still stuck in his head. How…frightened had that old fisherman felt as he was washed away? How helpless must he have been, knowing that the seas were far too rough for any hope of being rescued… And just like the goldfishes which he buried under the earth, the old man was dead now. Killed by the ocean, that is.

A trembling hand reached up and tugged at his shirt.

Makoto startled, blinking in surprise when he turned to see Tetsuya standing beside him. The usually emotionless Tetsuya narrowed his eyes sadly as he gazed out into the ocean line, the only hint of his feelings besides that sorrowful look being the shaky grasp that was clinging onto his shirt. Powdery blue orbs lifted to gaze up at him. Like Haru's, they gave away the multitude of emotions that neither of them ever quite put into words.

"…Don't be scared, Makoto-kun. I'll protect you." A shaky smile accompanied his words.

And that was when Makoto realized that his hands had been shaking all this while, reaching towards Haru's for the stability and support that his friend always gave.

Gazing into powdery blue eyes, Makoto felt the urge to laugh and cry. What was Tetsuya saying? Didn't he realize he was shaking as well? Not to mention, Tetsu had only just started swimming, unlike them. There were lots of things that Makoto wanted to say then, but he settled for a watery smile and soft murmur of 'thank you'. As Tetsuya returned the smile, Makoto made a silent oath to himself to get better at swimming if only to better protect both of his friends (even if Haru made not need it).

"Let's go." Haruka deadpanned as he took off in the direction of the swimming club. "You both need some more training before you could talk about protecting people."

Makoto exchanged a look with Tetsuya and chuckled.

"Indeed."

Separation

It is just a year, his parents had said. Just a year before Tetsuya could join his two best friends over in the elementary school.

Regardless of how long it is, it still felt like an eternity.

Days crawled by without being able to have fun with Makoto and Haruka, and it hurt having to sit at a table with other kindergarteners, knowing that they will not notice him by themselves. As days turned to weeks, he returned to the monotonous routine of attending school without being there mentally, and returning home to the same environment as well. It made Makoto and Haruka worry, but really, what could they do?

"Why don't you try making friends?" Makoto had asked one day.

Who would want to be friends with someone they could not track? Tetsuya had not put that into words, but a knowing glance from Makoto told him that he got that full message. Haruka was hardly as persistent, letting him be after the first time he refused Makoto. But as much as that probably isn't good for Tetsuya, he appreciated his friend for understanding and not asking.

Somewhere in the middle of the year, a classmate of his joined the swimming club, and Tetsuya gained an obnoxious stalker with an obsession over ghosts.

"GHOST-CHAN! Where are you?! Let's go to the swimming club together this Saturday!" As Nagisa proceeded to make a fool of himself by standing up in class, Tetsuya quietly slunk away from the boy.

"GHOST-CHAN! Let me team up with you today, kay?!" Tetsuya answered with a silent 'okay', if only because he would rather Nagisa than any other classmates who were not bothered.

"Ghost-chan, I've been meaning to ask you for a while…But why do you have legs?"

In a manner that was just characteristic of him even in the future, Tetsuya accepted the abnormal friend he gained without so much as a sigh, politely correcting him whenever that obnoxious nickname threatened to enter any conversation. The one year of separation from Makoto and Haruka passed slightly quicker, but still slower than it would have been if he was with them.

Rin

It's hard not to notice a boy when he has stark red hair, not unlike the blinding teal shade of Tetsuya's.

"Haru-chan, as I thought, you're the best in the water afterall."

The usual phrase was delivered with a warm smile. Haruka blinked up at his childhood friend, distracted for a second as he recalled the feelings he felt when that red haired boy passed him for a moment – the shock, the desperation, and how he had fervently tried to calm himself down by immersing in the feel of the water. They were all foreign emotions to him, and the idea that he met his match for once shouldn't feel quite as exciting as it is.

"Haruka-kun?" Tetsuya blinked.

"Ah, it's nothing." He allowed himself to be pulled out of the pool, noticing out of the corner of his eyes that the red haired boy had pushed himself out and flopped over on the ground. As he pulled his goggles and swimming cap off, their eyes met for an instance and Haruka was surprised by the face splitting grin that reached the other boy's face.

"I'll beat you the next time I see you!" The red haired boy mouthed to him as he was being dragged away by his friends to celebrate.

Haruka wondered why the world has changed once more…just like that time when he stood by the waterfall and discovered his love for water.

Change

It is hard to say how long it had always just been the three of them: Makoto, Haruka, and Tetsuya. That's why…It's frightening when Rin entered the equation with a smile challenging the world and a hop in his steps as he demanded a relay from them.

Haruka's eyes glittered at the sight of his rival, though the fire died down a little at the mention of a team. Tetsuya was unmoved by the new addition, handling things as smoothly as he always did, when he first slipped into the duo and made them a trio. But for Makoto…it felt like the world had been pulled out from underneath him as he watched all he had ever known change.

Haruka begun slipping looks at the times, competing with Rin for far more times than Makoto cared to count. He raced Makoto and Tetsuya to school when he found out that Rin had been doing such training. A-And…And while Makoto had always said that Haru's the best in the water, it didn't mean that he wanted the water, and those in it, to steal Haru from him!

He tried his best to adapt, for Haru's sake, but it hadn't taken long before Tetsuya called him out on it.

"Haruka-kun is changing." The observation was made with a ruffle to Ren's head as he slept. Makoto cuddled his own sleeping bundle of Ran for some comfort.

"That's right." The acknowledgement came harder than he made it seem.

"…Makoto-kun, it is okay to feel ruffled. Afterall, Haruka-kun is heading to somewhere foreign…away from us. And we knew that this was coming for a long time." That was something he had never wanted to admit, but it was true.

"…Even if that's the case, I just can't bring myself to feel good." Makoto frowned. "As Haru's friend, I should feel happy for him, to finally have found a rival. And yet…all I feel is envy and sadness. With things as they are, how can I say with pride that I'm Haru's friend?" A long silence followed, before Tetsuya sighed and gazed up at him with powdery blue eyes. "Hey, how do you feel, Tetsu-chan?"

"It is hard to say, but…I do think that it is a pity." Eh? Why? Tetsuya picked up on his question even before he voiced it. "Because unlike the both of you, I swim only because I like to be with my friends. It's not as if I like swimming very much, so I never did have a chance of keeping up with Haruka-kun…But you do, and yet, you're giving it up."

It felt like the whole world had stopped to stare at him.

"…Eh?" Even the word sounded choked and strangled. Tetsuya straightened and stared at him with determined eyes nevertheless, looking out of place with a drooling Ren in his arms and on Makoto's comforter.

"What I mean is…Why don't you try to challenge Matsuoka-kun and Haruka-kun to a match? I'm sure you would find it enlightening, Makoto-kun."

The whistle was blown the moment his fingertips touched the black expense of the poolside. Makoto breathed deeply, pulling his head out of the drifting waters. It was an instinctive motion that came to him despite the mind-breaking shock that had filled his body, a motion that was soon accompanied by wide-eyed stares directed at the duo at either side of him, and returned with similar expressions.

Soon, the gape that Rin had been making transformed into a large grin, and the clap on his back tossed Makoto forward, almost hitting his head against the wall.

"Well done, Makoto!" Rin laughed, and for once, Makoto found himself not filled with envy at the sound.

Makoto tossed his head to the other side, glancing up shyly at Haruka, because Haruka's approval mattered so much more than Rin's did.

It took him aback when he found himself gazing into a different set of eyes. For all that the cobalt blues remain the exact same colour, it was the way in which Haru gazed at him that had changed. Gone was the uneasiness that Haru had felt had being asked for a match by his best friend, and replacing it was shock. Mind-breaking shock, with a glimmer of something – Makoto felt a jolt when he realized it was the same way it had been with Rin – that sent thrills down his spine and made him long for more matches. Approval was not there, but it hadn't mattered.

"What 'I'm the best in the waters'?" Haruka huffed. His face was emotionless, but it definitely was a smile which Makoto had seen in his eyes. "I'll definitely beat you the next time, Makoto."

Makoto tossed his head back and laughed.

World

In the beginning, it would not be a lie to say that Rin felt like an intruder.

Amongst friends who had been with each other for almost all their lives, it was only natural to feel that way. Every time Rin looked at Haruka, Makoto and Tetsuya were always there. When they had to make decisions, a quick glance at the trio and their silent conversations always brought back memories of Sousuke. Why had he left Sousuke to come here? Had he given up too fast on his dream relay with Sousuke? As quickly as these thoughts come, they were always blown away by a sideward glance from Haru, and an elbowing from Tetsu.

For half a year, Rin stayed with them. In that half a year, he desperately tried to convince Haru to join his relay team. (The other two needed no chiding.) He had fun competing against Makoto when the yearning for Sousuke became too painful, and delighted in teaching Tetsu to become a better swimmer in his free time. Before long, it felt only natural to be with them.

They were now his world. Haruka was the free expanse of the heavens, Makoto the stable earth that grounded them, and Tetsuya was like the calming ocean, always reeling them in before they unravelled too much. They were his world in Iwatobi.

It felt almost too painful when he signed up for a homestay in Australia, agreeing to swim there instead. However, as much as he loved his world, he loved swimming more, and it was a necessary sacrifice to achieve the dream that his father had failed to achieve. So, gritting his teeth and putting up a façade of bravery, Rin announced his destination to his friends and watched as the emotions flickered across their faces.

To his delight, just a day before he left, Haru finally, finally agreed to the relay, and so, he was finally able to have his dream relay before he left for Australia.

(It felt like the end of a dream when he stepped into Australia.)

Relay

It hurt to know that this was the final time he was swimming with them. As Tetsuya thrusted his hands forward to cross the final distance needed to touch the walls, he felt the tears welling up. Did they fall? He wasn't sure, not with the cooling water on his skin.

A split second later, he turned in time to see Rin's figure blocking out the light, tumbling into the waters with all the grace of a shark.

Makoto pulled him out of the water. Tetsuya watched Rin struggle to swim his fastest, watched the determination lay out on Haruka's face, and realizes that the team was going to lose half its members in the span of a week. The epiphany brought new emotions, which slithered out regrettably when they clung to the trophy and embraced each other in joy and grief (for their first and final relay). Tetsuya clung onto his best friends, curling his fingers at the crook of Makoto's neck and Haruka's shoulders, and let it all out with trembling shoulders and a stream of tears.

Why hadn't he told them earlier that he was moving?

At this point, the weight of that knowledge felt almost too heavy to reveal.

It was only after Rin had left that he sat them down and announced it.

"This may seem sudden, but I will be moving this Sunday." A pause, and he took in the shock on their faces, guilt welling up inevitably. "I know I should have told you earlier, but with Matsuoka-kun leaving as well, I didn't want to put too much pressure on you to do well during the relay. I…"

He struggled for the right words, and gave up with a lost 'I'm sorry'.

"Don't be." Makoto offered a weak smile that only made the hurt intensify. "We understand, Tetsu. No need to blame yourself when you've probably been the one antagonizing over this for weeks." As much as Tetsu tried to minimise contact, he did not flinch away when the larger boy leaned over to bump his shoulders to his.

"What Makoto said." Haruka said when he realized Tetsuya was looking to him for his reaction.

With a sad smile, Tetsuya wondered where he was going to find such friends in Tokyo.

Fate

If fate was what brought them together, fate would definitely bring them together again. With that mindset, Haruka continued swimming and competing with his remaining best friend. True enough, after the last competition of the season, offers for some sports scholarship came for the both of them. After a consultation with Tetsuya, they were off on their way to Tokyo, leaving behind Iwatobi and bringing along the well wishes of their families and friends.