"He didn't care about the race. He just wanted to swim you guys again," the bespectacled boy told them. "To swim with the best team mates he could have ever asked for."

Haruka stood up and looked at his team mate, "How do you know that?"

He stood there, staring straight in the eye at the butterfly swimmer, waiting for an answer.

"Because..." Rei smiled and blushed slightly at the confession he was going to make, "...I feel the same way he does."

It got through to them.

"I want to swim with all of you. With the best team mates I could ever ask for."

The three other swimmers stared at him in awe and were touched by the sincerity of his words, but that was not the point. He needed to bring the four former swim team members together again, for their sakes and , partly, his.

"I'm sure you feel the same way, Haruka-senpai!" his words were now directed to the raven-haired teen in front of him, "the race isn't important! There's someone you want to swim with right?!"

Haru's eyes shone as he confessed, "I want to swim with Rin."

Rei took a deep breath and sighed.

"If you don't do something now, Rin-san will stop swimming! You're the only ones who can do something!"

"But, what are we supposed to do?" Makoto asked.

Rei knew that what he was gonna say next, couldn't be taken back.

"You still don't understand?! Logically speaking, there's only one solution!" he practically shouted.

Haruka's eyes widened and got what he meant.

"Rei, are you really alright with this?" the freestyler sounded concerned at his friend's decision.

No, I'm not. "Of course!"

They won.

He couldn't believe it.

They won.

There were no words to describe what he saw. Magnificent, grand, amazing, awesome, none of these could justify their performance in the water. None. His team mates, his friends, they swam as if it was a second nature and whatever walls, boundaries, or limits that were put before them back then...they definitely broke through.

"Haru!" Makoto stretched out his hand to help his best friend out of the pool.

The young blonde beside him hicced and sobbed, crying tears of joy, "Haru-chan, Haru-chan."

"C'mon, stop crying Nagisa," the brunette smiled at his kouhai.

Haru simply smiled at the sight of the two, but it faded slightly when he saw Rin running towards him. He expected to be tackled to the ground, so he shut his eyes and prepared for impact, but instead they widened slightly in shock when he realized that he was pulled into a hug. The other two followed and all four of them were now in a group hug.

"Haru, you showed me the best sight I could've asked for," Rin said.

"Yeah," he replied.

Rei smiled to himself. His friends were finally free.

I'd understand if i lost some readers, some friends, but mostly the people whom i considered family in this site. And I'd understand if there are flames here and there for being not updated and I bet I lost a lot of readers for Midnight Runaways. More or less, I couldn't be more sorry for how I've been this past year. But there's more I'd like you to know. Last year, on November 8 2013, a super typhoon hit the Philippines, across Visayas and mostly, my hometown, Tacloban City. We lost a lot of friends, family, we were a broken community, a city in ruins, And what's worse is not only was the storm the reason our city was destroyed, but by its own people as well. Everyone became desperate, and started looting, killing, and committing the most immoral acts. We couldn't trust anyone beyond our own families and closest friends. What happened that day and the following weeks and months will never be forgotten. The people who mourn for their lost loves, those who have been traumatized, and those who have to start from scratch, they will bring this memory with them for the rest of their lives. I'm sorry that I had to dump this on you guys but I had to let you know just what happened to me, my family and everyone I cared for. Not everyone knows my country's story, but they should. It will take time to mend things, but nothing will ever be the same again. And on that note, I will try my hardest to be better at this. But no more promises or excuses in between. That's all I have to say now, and I hope you can accept this story as my way of saying sorry.

At the same time, I hope you enjoy it.

-Ravenhearst