A/N: The plot may seem otherwise at first glance, but this is actually a MakoHaru fic (or at least, will be eventually). It has been a while since I last had the blatant courage to write fanfiction that included OCs in relatively major roles (even if neither of them are supposed to be main characters), so constructive criticism is much appreciated!

The title is Freedom in Latin.

Eleutheria

Prologue

oOo

Winter was approaching quickly; today might have just been the last day that the team got to practice. After they'd so spectacularly blown their performance at the regionals (not that either of them regretted it), the school had, obviously, decided against giving the club a budget high enough for them to be able to use an indoor swimming pool, so this could just as well be their last afternoon spent swimming this year, for all they knew. The mood was set accordingly; nobody was really working hard. Makoto was doing laps at a leisurely pace of backstrokes, Nagisa was racing Rei for the fun of it, both of them swimming butterfly, and Haruka... well, Haruka was true to himself, not even attempting to look like he was putting effort into it, just staying afloat with his eyes closed in one of the empty lanes, successfully evading Gou's piercing gaze, and likewise ignoring her protests.

"It's fine, fine," Amakata-sensei waved Gou's concern away with a careless flick of her hand. "They've earned themselves this, yes?"

"Earned with what?" Gou huffed, folding her arms, but out of the corner of her eyes, she kept watching the butterfly race. "Goofing off?"

A cool breeze swept across the grounds, and Ama-chan's gaze was undecipherable underneath the brown locks swept into her eyes. "You can overwork them all winter when they'll be building up muscles, Gou-chan."

With a soft giggle, the supervising teacher went back to her book, and Gou went to crouch on the edge of the pool to watch the arriving pair as their race came to an end.

She wouldn't have expected such an end, though. Rei arrived first - that was no surprise, butterfly wasn't Nagisa's element - but not only did the blond lag behind, he didn't manage to arrive properly either. Gou thought she'd seen something akin to shock on the underclassman's face at his last resurfacing, and then he seemingly lost balance, crashing against the wall of the pool with a shoulder, and collapsing underwater. The manager's surprised-horrified shriek pierced the chilly October air.

Miraculously, Makoto and Haruka were there in an instant, and while Rei was still trying to get his bearings, standing in the shoulder-deep water and peering around short-sightedly to see where Nagisa had disappeared to, the two grabbed their friend under each arm, and tugged him to the surface. Even as he coughed and spluttered, trying to regain his balance, and control of his lungs, Nagisa was trying to point at something behind their backs.

"Nagisa, what's wrong?" Makoto asked, concerned, as he first pushed himself out of the pool, then held out a hand for the blond to take. "Ouch, no, don't give me that hand-..." Too late. Nagisa reflexively raised his right arm, the one that was full of bruises already turning into a lurid purple from his shoulder to his elbow. He fell back into the water with a hiss, descending till it was up to his chin, fresh tears of pain springing into his eyes. He tilted his head backwards, as if searching for something, and muttered something semi-coherent that not even Haruka, who was standing next to him, could make out. "Come on," Makoto urged, apparently alarmed by this behaviour. "Your cheek is bleeding, too!"

"Oh..." Nagisa seemed to finally realize there were people around him. "I probably hit my head..." Haruka raised his eyes to the sky exasperatedly. "Help me out, please, Mako-chan?"

"What have I been trying to do till now?!" Makoto grabbed Nagisa by the wrist of his uninjured arm, and pulled him out of the water at the same time when Rei finally climbed out as well, scrambling towards them on all fours.

"Nagisa-kun! What happened? Are you all right?"

oOo

"... So?"

The question was from Haruka. He was the only one standing a little further away while Nagisa sat on the ground, pressing a towel against his swollen cheekbone, and the other four, including the women, crouched around him. The blond's eyes settled on his teammate and friend, an unusually solemn look settling onto his usually cheerful features.

"I saw something." There was a pause, in which Haruka continued to stare at him. "It doesn't matter. It was only for a second. I was probably hallucinating..." But there was something odd to his tone, odd enough to prompt Gou to ask,

"But what was it?"

Nagisa glanced to the side, not at Gou, but at Makoto, and then back at Haruka. Nobody could remember seeing him this hesitant. "I thought I saw... the sisters."

"What sisters?" asked Rei and Gou simultaneously, but at the same time, completely in sync, Makoto's green eyes found Haru's ocean blue gaze. Both of their expressions were of shock and disbelief.

And at that precise moment, a deep female voice rang through the still Autumn air.

"I knew it had to be them! I saw Makoto's backstrokes from the roof! Hacchan, come on!"

Nagisa's eyes darted between his friends. Haruka's expression was completely frozen, shock mingling with fury. Makoto's hands were shaking.