Introduction

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¨Water is alive, you have to accept that fact and embrace it, once you submerge into its depths, you coexist.¨

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Haruka´s mind had wandered off again as he laid inside his bathtub, the warm water that filled it surrounding him and helping him forget the world outside.

Of course, that couldn´t last forever, and soon his lungs forced him to resurface and get some air.

He sank back in right after that, but then the door to his bathroom opened and Makoto´s face peeked in before he walked inside. His voice sounded muffled under the water, but it was unmistakeable and, so, Haru was once again forced to surface.

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¨We´ll be late for school, Haru¨ said Makoto, offering his hand to his wet friend to help him get out of the tub.

¨Then you should be off¨ Haruka replied, accepting the help. He took a towel and threw it over his head as he walked to the kitchen to make himself lunch, with his large friend tailing after him like a baby duck.

Makoto didn´t reply to that, but he waited until his friend was done eating, dragging him to school afterwards.

As they walked, Nagisa and Rei had catched up with the, having changed their usual route for some reason. Makoto´s greeting to them was all Haruka could remember, at least before everything turned black.

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Chapter 1

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Beeping sounds could be heard and a strong smell of disinfectant lingered to each breath Haruka took. It wasn´t completely unpleasant, it reminded him of chlorine.

There was also the sound of someone´s breath right next to him, and he knew it so well he didn´t even have to open his eyes to know it was Makoto. Still, as time passed and the beeping sound continued, he realized it wasn´t a product of his imagination and felt the need to actually look where he was, so his bright blue eyes opened to see the dazzling lights of an unidentified place; he had to blink several times to be able to recognize it. A hospital room.

He looked to his right, noticing the heart monitor machine that was making those beeping noises. It was accompanied by some other devices whose names or functions he didn´t know.

Then he looked to his left and saw his friend there, sitting in a chair way too small for him and sleeping with his upper body resting over the bed, his arms acting as a pillow.

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Aside from them, there was no one else in the room, and so he had to shake Makoto´s shoulder so he would wake up and explain what they were doing there.

¨Makoto… Oi, Makoto¨ he spoke calmly, as if to not startle the other so much.

¨Hm? Haru? OH! YOU WOKE!¨ Makoto´s voice sounded sleepy and as gentle as always in the beginning, but it soon reached an annoying volume. Thankfully, the boy was quite skilled at reading Haru and he spoke normally again after that. ¨Oh, thank God… thank God you woke up… how are you feeling, Haru? Does anything hurt?¨ he asked, and only then did the blue-eyed teenager begin to understand.

¨What happened to me, Makoto?¨ he asked, looking at his body as if evaluating it. There was a big bruise on his right arm and the right side of his thorax hurt so much it was obvious he´d broken some ribs. Then his legs… they were fine, they didn´t hurt… or rather, he couldn´t feel them.

As soon as he realized that, he tried moving them, panicking as he realised he couldn´t.

¨Ma… Makoto, I can´t move!¨ he said, raising his voice like he rarely did. He kept his eyes glued to his unresponsive legs, but he still noticed Makoto´s pained expression.

¨Haru, you had an accident the other day, on the way to school. A drunk driver went over the sidewalk and you… you pushed Nagisa out of the way.¨ he said, his voice shaking just as much as his shoulders. He was crying, and Haruka could only look at him with blank eyes.

¨The car almost broke you in half. It hit you from the right but it kept going until you were pinned between it and the wall. Haru I thought I though…¨ Makoto couldn´t talk after that. All he did was shake while he cried, looking at the bed and never, not even once, directing a glance at Haruka.

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He couldn´t remember, how could he not remember? Still, he was intelligent enough to figure out the rest. If the accident had been so bad and he couldn´t feel his legs, then perhaps something that shouldn´t ever break had broken, and now he wouldn´t be able to move again. He looked back down at his legs and placed his hands over his thighs. He could feel something… or perhaps he just wished he did so much that his mind was playing tricks at him.

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¨Is Nagisa alright?¨ Haru asked after long minutes of silence. There was really nothing else they could talk about, and he kind of wished Makoto would stop crying.

¨Eh? Oh yes. He was here earlier today, along with everyone else. They came yesterday and the day before that too, but they had to leave for school. I bet they´ll come back after classes are over.¨ the green-eyed boy answered, wiping his tears while he did.

Yesterday and the day before that, Makoto said… how many days had been since the accident?

¨Why aren´t you in school?¨ Silly question. He knew the answer even before the other spoke it.

¨I wouldn´t leave while you were asleep, Haru.¨ Of course, of course.

¨I´m not sleeping anymore now.¨ Was he asking Makoto to leave? Did he really want to be alone with those annoying beeping sounds? His face must have been easy to read, or maybe Makoto was just really skilled at doing so, as he replied exactly what Haru needed.

¨Classes are almost over now anyway.¨

Haruka didn´t reply, Makoto didn´t move, they didn´t say or do much after that.

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-A few hours later-

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Makoto was walking back and forth right outside Haruka´s hospital room. A nurse had come to change the bandages and the sheets and the boy had been kicked out of the room for the time being. After that, two other nurses had walked into the room with hurried pace, making him even more worried.

Also, he could hear noise from inside and it was making him quite uneasy. Haru was hurt, should they really be moving him around like that?

Of course, he´d been asleep for three days and the cleaning was kind of needed at that point, but now that he was conscious and perfectly able to feel each and all of his wounds… Makoto could do nothing but wince each time he heard the muffled sound of Haruka´s voice as he couldn´t hold back a cry of pain.

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All he could do was walk, but as he made round number thirty something, he saw Gou running to where he was, followed by Rei, Nagisa and, at the very back, Rin. All of them had worried expressions on their faces, and so Makoto smiled to them to reassure them a little.

¨He woke up around noon, the nurse kicked me out in order to change his bandages, but I think they´re taking the change to do some other things to¨ he explained, scratching the back of his neck and still showing his little reassuring smile, which didn´t seem too reassuring, as he was quite edgy himself.

Still, all the kids released a sigh and cheered up a little. The news of Haru waking up were great. They all felt lighter as that worry was lifted off their shoulders. It had been the same for Makoto, earlier. He´d been so happy he felt like he could just fly.

As they stood there, the door finally opened and the three nurses came out.

¨Only two at a time! He´s tired¨ said one of the nurses as she made her way out.

¨Oh don´t mind her, I bet he´ll be happy to see you, just keep your voices down and come out if you see he´s sleepy¨ another nurse said, winking her eye at them and smiling warmly.

The kids smiled back at her and Makoto was the first one to walk into the room, quickly followed by everyone else.

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Haruka was back at the bed, which was now on a complete different angle, this time facing towards the window and allowing him to see the sea through it. He was lost in the scenery and didn´t took his eyes off it even when the others walked in.

¨Ha…Haruka-senpai, how are you feeling?¨ Gou asked, walking towards the bed and stopping a few steps from it.

¨I´m fine. They said I could be going home tomorrow.¨ he answered, looking over at the corner of the room, where a black and blue wheel-chair sat.

The other´s hadn´t noticed it before, and as soon as they did their eyes rushed back to Makoto, asking in silence what that meant.

Haruka noticed their reaction but, as he always did, he left Makoto speak for him. How much did his friend know of his condition? He´d said he had stayed at the hospital for the past three days, so maybe he´d been informed of everything, too.

¨During the accident, Haru was really hurt¨ he said, looking at his best friend for a second, before redirecting his gaze to the floor. That was all he said.

¨Apparently I´ll need that to move for now¨ added Haru, choosing to say it as if it were something temporary for the sake of the others. ¨So, Makoto, could you pick me up in the morning?¨ he took his eyes from the window and met his friend´s ones. ¨I will need that you make me mackerel, since I can´t reach the stove¨ he added, trying in his own way to be humorous.

¨Of course—¨ he began to say, but was quickly interrupted by Nagisa.

¨I´ll go too, Haru-chan! I´ll make food for you every morning, so please, give it your best!¨ he said, bowing really low and squeezing his eyes to try and keep his tears in. It was his fault, it was all his fault or so he thought. If he hadn´t been playing around, maybe Haru wouldn´t have had to push him out of the way, and then maybe he wouldn´t be in that bed, talking about using a wheel-chair…

That made it for most of them. Both Rei and Gou began crying silently, which caused Nagisa to let go and go into full cry mode. Only Makoto and Rin managed to hold back, the first one trying to calm the crying kids while the second one could do nothing but stare at Haru´s blank face.

It annoyed him that, even in that situation, Haru still remained calm. It was unnatural, it had to be just a mask, a façade.

Not feeling up for watching Rin glare any longer, Haruka turned his face back to the window.

Hello!

Thanks for reading, if you liked it please leave a review, those things keep me motivated and wanting to keep going.

So, this little story will be as close to canon as possible. By that, I mean that there won´t be any pairings, but there WILL be scenes that sugest something´s goining on, just like in the anime!

Ok, I need to go now, you please go and review the chapter, if you have any questions and/ or sugestions you can share them there and I´ll try to answer them in the next chapter´s note.

さようなら！