For as long as she could remember Rin liked Haruka; even as kids in their first competitive race she had liked her. At first what she felt was nothing more than admiration or friendship; but over time it changed into love. The way Haruka expertly glided through the water like a pro; her beautiful back, her long legs and her well built form. Haru's entire body was a well oiled machine and that allured Rin.
She was her beloved mermaid princess; like she was born to be a water baby. She seemed more at home in the water and moved like she was one with it; every move came so naturally. Every time Rin had watched her she couldn't help but he drawn or stunned at how graceful all her moved were; and she was eager to know more about the young blue haired girl.
But their friendship was cut short; because after losing to her Rin decided to become stronger. Haru had believed it was for competitive reasons however that was not the case; what Rin truly wanted was to swim beside her as one. So that she would always be able to find her; even in the worst of storms. However what frustrated Rin was how Haruka was very bad at communication. She had gotten the feeling that the blue haired girl liked her; but she was never sure. Before she left she had a feeling that Haruka tried to say something but never did.
After Rin left to go to Australia; Haruka never contacted her much. They shared the odd letter and email but nothing more. This caused Rin to feel like Haru didn't like her or had forgotten about her. During her stay in Australia Rin pushed herself harder than she ever had; at first she failed and found out other swimmers were faster. But the more she pushed herself the better she got until she decided to return.
Due to being isolated from most people while away Rin had become bad at talking to people; she tended to act rashly, get embarrassed easily and jump to conclusions. While away she hadn't made many friends either. Being abroad things hadn't really gone well in some cases. She hadn't told anyone this but Goh; but while she had been away training Rin had dealt with a lot of bullying and homophobia after coming out as a lesbian. While in Japan she was still in the closet people in Australia knew of her sexuality.
From physical bullying to name calling a few people had treated Rin badly. In fact people who used to be her friend left her after suspecting she liked them too. For a long time Rin was on her own with nobody until Sousuke befriended her. Later on after leaving Australia Rin befriended Sousuke who accepted her regardless of her sexuality to which she had cried. Later on they came to trust each other and become very close to one another.
She had even revealed her desire to beat Haru and mentioned a crush on her. However while Sousuke supported her being gay; he did question that Haru was deserving of Rin's love. However he was not vocal about his opinion but did attempt to hook Rin up with other girls.
When her training was complete she returned to Japan and to her family. Her brother Gou cried buckets at being reunited with his sister again. They had barely seen each other since they were but kids. But due to knowing each other very well; they were able to click again and get back to their old selves; however Rin became very protective of her brother making sure nobody broke his pure little heart. While he was very kind and sweet; Gou was very naive to the wickedness of some girls.
After returning Rin joined another school that had swimming training; it was called Semizawa academy. Her brother begged her to join his school to be with her friends again; Rin was adamant and joined the academy. She explained that the academy would allow her to push herself to the best of her limits while also becoming independent of her old styles.
Later on she was reunited with Haru and the others; but felt distanced from them. While they were all friendly towards her; she felt hurt that they had been lacking in communication. She tended to avoid them but at the same time was very happy to see them despite not showing it. But what bothered her more was how much Haru had changed. Instead of being the cute little kid she once was; Haruka was now a stunning young woman.
Her long willowy frame but well proportioned body; her long blue locks the colour of rain and those stunning blue eyes. She was like a walking mermaid out of a fairytale; and it drove Rin crazy. Over time Rin started to confront Haruka about wanting to race her; wanting to show how hard she had worked at her skills. Part of it was because she wanted Haru to be proud of her; the other was because it was so he would notice how much she pushed herself to reach his level.
However she did get upset about how cold Haru acted towards her unlike the past. Her childhood friend now acted cold and unemotional. She seemed to still love the water but didn't speak her mind as much. While she got the vibe that Haru wasn't a big talker; she wondered if Haru actually cared about her. This caused Rin to lash out at Haru accusing her of not caring; and treating swimming like a joke. She didn't mean to sound as awful as it did; it just came out that way. She had worked this hard to push her limits; but also to show Haruka how much stronger she had become.
Yet again due to miscommunication and a lack of understanding the other's feelings; this caused more arguments and isolation. This put a strain on their friendship but they kept bumping into each other but it was awkward slightly. After a few months they decided to break the ice and talk. Their conversations started out as rocky with Rin being somewhat snappy and closed up; but with perseverance Haruka was able to get her to open up. After a while Rin became comfortable with smiling around Haruka again and being somewhat affectionate.
After a few months Rin and Haruka started to hang out more and even exchanged phone numbers. While it wasn't as often as you would expect due to being at different schools and training a lot; they made it work. They would train together sometimes teaching each other new techniques. They were both somewhat exhausted by the end but they learnt a lot in the process. It also helped them grow closer as a whole.
Over time Rin's feelings for Rin had become stronger; she fell deeper in love with Haru. She came to learn how complex a person she had become; bit learnt how to read her emotions. This in return caused them to become closer as a whole. However trying to keep Haru from trying to get into water in public was a bit of an ongoing problem; whenever the girl saw it she would start to strip causing a public problem.
Makoto and the others were glad they were getting along but suspected sexual tension and romantic interests in each other. While they were quiet about it; Nagisa was more vocal with them about his feelings on the matter. A few of them including Goh hoped they would admit their feelings and start dating; but due to Haru's lack of expressing herself and Rin's shy hesitant nature the process was going slowly.
However it was just a matter of time before they acted on those feelings; their feelings were mutual it was just hard to express them. But you can't rush love.