Disclaimer: I do not own Free!
A/N: Hi! This is also part of the Haru Week 2014 at tumblr. Please do check out the artist work. Enjoy reading!
Take 1: Makoto Tachibana
Makoto Tachibana could not have been more grateful of having Haruka Nanase in his life. Haru is his anchor for the turbulent waves of his life, his constant protector, the gentle hand that pries him away from his fears, his anxiety and trepidation of the unknown. Even when he has nothing, he knows Haru will always be there for him, because Haru is a gentle, loving constancy of his universe. Makoto makes it a permanent goal in life to take care of Haru as much as Haru has taken care of him. Now, if he can only find a way to stop Haru from stripping in public.
Take 2: Matsuoka Rin
It pisses Rin Matsuoka to know that for all his talent and pride underwater, Haruka Nanase does not give two-shits about being the very best in competitive swimming. He doesn't have goals, doesn't keep tract of time, and the bastard has the gall to regard himself to be the best swimmer of Iwatobi. He abides by the Water is alive, embrace it principle—what the fuck does that even mean, really? Still, when they are submerged underwater, when the currents pulsate with their energy and fuel their drive, when the waves ignite their passion and quench their resolve for victory and prominence, Rin could not contain the welling admiration he has for this unassertive boy wonder who can easily match him in terms of speed and skill without even trying to do so. Rin, somewhat regrettably, thinks Haruka Nanase is also seven shades of awesome and fuck, that's saying something.
Take 3: Nagisa Hazuki
Haruka Nanase is the best thing that ever happened to Nagisa Hazuki's life after Rock-Hopper Strawberry Sandwich. It starts with an unfortunate incident during their childhood years, and will never end for as long as Haru-chan swims beautifully. Haru-chan inspires him to be a better person, someone who will look pass all misgivings in life and concentrate in the here and now. Because the here and now is the summation of everything we are as a person, and the countless possibilities of what we can be.
Take 4: Rei Ryuugazaki
Rei Ryuugazaki, at times, fears for his Haruka-senpai. Haruka-senpai emits this aura of pure confidence, a formidable fortress that can face anything thrown on his way, and one of the very few persons who can withstand the end of the world without a single eye twitch. But behind that impassive demeanor lies a heart of pure gold, one that simply cares far too much, one that sacrifices for his love ones, one that bleeds for every wound but its own. Haruka-senpai will continue to love a person unconditionally, even if that love will bring him nothing more than pain in return. No one deserves to be tormented by constant heartbreak such as that. So Rei vows in every way he can to protect that golden heart which has shown him the beauty of water and friendship.
Take 5: Gou Matsuoka
If asked, Gou will answer that the three unique qualities in Haruka-senpai's charismatic personhood would be his undying fixation with water, his permanent chlorine-mackerel scent, and that oh-so-gorgeous, finely toned body that seems to be sculptured by angels themselves. Not that she ogles, of course; girls of her age are prohibited to engage with such heinous acts of indirect indecency, after all. But when it gets down to it, she will honestly and awkwardly admit that for all his water-dere tendencies, manic-depressive mood swings, and questionable sources of inspiration for art and creativity, Gou deeply respects her Haruka-senpai. Because anyone who values friendship above personal gain and resentment and pretends like it's no big deal, ranks highly in her personal chart of character.
Take 6: Miho Amakata
As his homeroom teacher, Amakata believes that there is more than meets the eye when it comes to Haruka Nanase-kun. Not that she is close to this particular student of her or anything—nothing more than parting words of wisdom and occasional spews of proverbs here and there. At any rate, she believes that Haruka-kun is an unfathomable element, capable of influencing everyone he is destined to meet, regardless of whether or not he is aware of this capability of his. She considers this his greatest feat. The problem is how to propel that greatness into a tangible achievement for his future. She smiles despite of her worries, because that is what she aims to help him with as his equally capable sensei!
Take 7: Goro Sasabe
Even at a young age Goro Sasabe recognizes Haruka as a genius, a stellar form of intricate grace in fluid motion underwater. He has never seen anyone swim quite like that boy, to be honest. He swims to be at peace with water. Who does that? That boy's talent is a gift for the world to see. Goro is glad to be part of honing that gift.
Take 8: Seijurou Mikoshiba
It is a great thing that Haruka Nanase decided not to join Samezuka Academy. That bloody good swimmer comes with a resilient attitude towards competition, doesn't listen very well with instructions, a trunkful of unprecedented complexities than all of his teammates combined, and frankly, Seijurou already has too much angst on his side of the block. Then again, he also believes that the possibility of convincing his snarky, sarcastic, melodramatic, more-drama-than-his-worth teammate to swim like a goddamn torpedo in a relay is zero, if not irrelevant. He admits it: he can be wrong at times. Better Haruka Nanase lives up to his standards.
Take 9: Aiichirou Nitori
Submerged underwater, Nanase-san's freestyle is incomparable, passionate, and simply incredible. Outside of the pool though, Aiichirou can't honestly tell—they never hang around much and they barely talk to each other whenever Rin-senpai drags him along their gatherings and stuff. Nanase-san, though, has a beautiful smile, the kind that turns his face from casually handsome to downright gorgeous and warms you up on a particularly bad day, sending electric-like shocks through his bloodstream and flurries of butterflies in his stomach—oh my God, why does his face feel like burning up talking about this? It's just this one time (one time, he repeats in his head) when he blabbered excessively about his desire to join Rin-senpai's Samezukas Relay Dream Team, and he happened to be looking at Nanase-san during that moment, and everything went standstill and perfect. Maybe he should write this down in his diary…
Take 10: Cats of Iwatobi Neighborhood
There is a boy with warm blue eyes who feeds the feline brethren with leftover fish during quiet evenings. There is much benevolence in his soul, a gentle temperament, and an uncanny strength in his spirit, despite the fact that he is a human who has only seen seventeen summers. In a different lifetime, he might be a brother of their glaring. Today they are but kindred spirits. The cats kiss him every night with their eyes, willing the loneliness away from those fathomless—their unspoken gratitude for his existence.
Take 11: Mr. Tachibana
Mr. Tachibana finds it sad that for all the honesty, sincerity and dedication Haruka-kun can offer to his loved ones, the young boy is left in a cold inheritance house, unattended, unsupervised, alone. He makes it a point to invite the young man over whenever the chance presents itself. It helps that his son is friends with that boy.
Take 12: Mrs. Tachibana
Mrs. Tachibana thinks that Haru-chan is amazingly reliable around the house, a capable cook in the kitchen, will make a wonderful husband in the future. Sure, he values his "me time" like any normal teenager of his age, has a peculiar disposition with water and mackerel products, and spends far too much time in the bathroom, but he is also compassionate, trustworthy, and is never short on people who want him in their lives. She'll make sure of that last part. Now, if only Haru-chan will expand his diet to anything other than mackerel.
Take 13: Ren Tachibana
Haru-chan is Ren's other older brother. He is genuine confused when his parents told him they weren't related by blood. Do they really have to be born of the same parents to be brothers? Regardless, he is happy because Haru-chan is around. Because he was born with a twin, he always has to share things with Ran: bedroom, games, toys, their oniichan; and Ran always wins most because she's stronger and older. With Haru-chan around, Ren is never left alone. And did he mentioned that Haru-chan is the other half of what he wants to be when he grows up—brave, can cook, always says yes to their every request, and can cook?
Take 14: Ran Tachibana
Ran Tachibana's wish is to marry Haru-chan so he can officially be part of the Tachibana family and that he doesn't have to go back to his house all alone. She'll try her very best to make him happy, make him smile every time, play his favorite games, cook with him. When they're married, he can even sleep in her oniichan's bedroom if that makes him happy. A smiling Haru-chan is her favorite Haru-chan, because Haru-chan's smile makes everyone happy.
Take 15: Haruka Nanase
Haruka Nanase thinks that he is a kind of person one has the misfortune to be associated with. He loves the water too much, eats mackerel too much, and expresses his emotions all too less. But no one can make him apologize for who he is. It is this set of peculiarities and oddities that garnered him lifetime companions who are willing to accept his frivolous existence, people who are willing to nurture his nonsensical whims and who profoundly accepts him for all his eccentricities and shortcomings. So maybe, he's not such a bad person after all.
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