A/N: Hey everyone! I am thinking of possibly turning this into it's own series. Probably not a super long one, but it's own series nonetheless. Let me know if you guys would like to see that! Every review, follow, favorite and view is much appreciated!

"You're Haru, right?"

The raven haired boy looked up to see a pretty girl standing in front of him. She had dark brown hair, the color so deep it was verging on black, bright green eyes behind thin framed glasses, and a friendly, inviting smile.

He nodded, but didn't make any further reply. She didn't seem put off by it, though, and sat down at the seat across from him. Haru had been sitting in the library, trying to get some studying in before his afternoon swim team practice, and it irked him slightly that some random girl was taking away time he desperately needed.

"I'm Kana. We have Art History together," she explained.

"Oh," he nodded.

"Anyways, I know you're probably really busy, but I just wanted to meet you and tell you that I know a lot of people around here can be really bitter about international students who come here with big sports scholarships, and I know some of the other swimmers lack maturity when a newcomer comes along who has more talent than they do. But not all students are like that. If you need a friend, you know where to find me at 8:30 Monday and Wednesday mornings." Kana stood and gave him another warm smile before adding, "Mata ashita ne!"

"You speak Japanese?!" Haru blurted, cerulean eyes going wide.

Replying again in Japanese, Kana said, "Yes, I am half Japanese. I was born in Kyoto, but moved here, where my mother's family is from, when I was twelve. I was the new kid from halfway across the world once, too, which is why I really wanted to meet you."

More relaxed just by being able to communicate in his first language, Haru replied, "Thank you, Kana."

"No problem! My offer always stands, okay?" When she had received a nod, she turned and he soon lost sight of her amongst the stacks.

He finally had something interesting to tell his friends during their weekly Skype call.

A few weeks passed, and Kana always went out of her way to greet Haru whenever their paths crossed. He noticed that she didn't sit far from him in their shared class, either. Part of him desperately wanted to cash in on her offer of friendship. It would be like a piece of home, being near someone with a shared language and culture. Plus, she had hit the nail on the head in their first conversation; many students and several of his teammates did resent him for his talent and scholarship. Although he had never been one who needed constant human interaction, he was still human, and he missed having the kind of close, constant friendship he had back home.

But she was a girl, and an upperclassman at that. He was just a sophomore, and she was a junior. He didn't want to be a charity case. And although he had like Kou well enough, she had been very high energy and into things too dissimilar to his interests to have the same kind of friendship he had with his teammates and Rin. He wasn't sure he was up to trying another co-ed friendship. And anyways, he didn't have the time to try to make a friendship he was unsure about work. He had swim practice from 6am to 8 am every week day, then another practice from 7pm to 9pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, plus an additional 8am to 11am practice on Saturday mornings. He loved being in the water so many hours each day, but he had so much classwork to do, too. It seemed like all of the time he didn't spend in class or in the pool was spent in the library or at his desk in his dorm room hunched over books. He was exhausted, and it was beginning to take effect.

"Hey, Haru!" A familiar cheerful voice greeted him.

He looked up from his position of taking his notebook and textbook from his bag to see Kana standing beside him.

"Hey."

"Do you mind if I sit here today?" she asked, gesturing to the seat beside him. He hesitated for a moment; he liked his seat because nobody sat right beside him. But he didn't want to be rude to the one person who went out of their way to be kind to him, so he nodded. She grinned and sat down, shrugging out of her coat as she did so. The motion wafted the scent of coconut in his direction, and he appreciated that she wasn't one of those girls that smelled overwhelmingly like fake flowers. He opened his notebook to the next blank page and propped it on top of his open textbook.

He sighed, already dreading the upcoming 75 minutes battling against drowsiness. This professor was a big believer in using his projector, and not a big believer in keeping any lights on in the room. Who even does that in an 8:30 Monday morning class? It was asking your students to fall sleep, in Haru's opinion.

As if reading his mind, Kana said, "This class can be pretty rough to sit through, huh?"

He simply nodded.

Again, not bothered by his simple mannerisms, she said, "I always make a project on Sundays to bake something or cook something to get me through this class. Yesterday, I made blueberry muffins. I brought an extra, if you want it?"

Haru hesitated, eyeing the proffered muffin warily. "I'm okay, thanks."

Looking slightly crestfallen, she said, "Oh, alright. I just figured since you must have gotten up hours ago, and there probably isn't time to stop at a dining hall after practice and before this class, you were probably pretty hungry. And having something to snack on always helps me stay awake and focused in class so…"

The muffin was still held out to him, and he considered the offer again. She had a point; he never ate breakfast anymore because there just wasn't time. Slowly, he reached out and took the baked good.

Instantly brightening, she settled back and pealed the paper away from her own muffin. Haru mimicked her, before slowly nibbling at the sweet smelling item. He was happy to find that it was light, fluffy and buttery. He took a larger bite, his stomach thanking him for finally providing some sustenance with a small growl. His eyes instantly went to Kana, wondering if she had heard. She didn't seem to, instead setting up her own notebook.

He watched as she pulled out a stack of notecards, each one with a picture of one of the artworks described in the current chapter taped to it. Unable to help his curiosity, he asked, "What are those?"

"Oh, these?" She picked up the index cards again. "I sit down and just make these flashcards before we start a new chapter. When I skim the reading for homework, I add the important stuff like name, artist, where it was created, what style and what it's made of, all that fun stuff. Then, when I get to class I can take down notes that the professor mentions about why he thinks it's a significant work of art. That way, I know how to approach the essay questions on the exam in a way he'll probably agree with."

"That sounds… time consuming."

"It is initially," she allowed. "But when it comes time to study for the exam, I have everything I need where I need it and organized how I want it."

"Oh." He frowned, thinking of the mess that resulted from him trying to study for these exams. Their professor designed the tests in a way that you have to memorize tons of details about each work of art, but only a few ended up being on the exam at all.

The professor walked in just then, so the pair fell silent. Class was as boring as usual, but the muffin really did help him to stay awake. He was distracted throughout class, however, by Kana and her flashcards. Was this something he should be doing, too, or was this girl just crazy? Either way, he had been able to eat breakfast and stay awake that day, and he was grateful.

When class ended, they both began packing their bags in silence. Haru finished first, but hesitated when he turned to leave. He turned back to Kana and mumbled, "Arigatou."

She gave him another of those smiles, and he hurriedly turned and exited the lecture hall.

This pattern continued for a few weeks with Kana sitting next to him in Art History and bringing him whatever baked goods she had made for the occasion. He enjoyed her company when they had their small chats before class, and her occasionally leaning over and whispering comments about their professor in his ear. She even got him to crack a smile in their previous class when she had wondered, "Don't you think he looks kind of like that cranky guy? Two people to the right of Jesus? See, the one pointing his finger like 'Yo, I'm the baddest bitch in town'?" She then dissolved into silent giggles, struggling to keep her head bowed and her shoulders from shaking to avoid detection by their professor, who did, indeed, look like the grumpy old guy she had pointed to in Michelangelo's Last Judgment.

One day he got to class and Kana was already there. She smiled when he sat down beside her and greeted her with a quiet, "Morning."

"Morning!" she replied cheerfully. "Hey, Haru, I was thinking this weekend…"

She extracted a tupperware container from her backpack and handed it to him. He raised a brow, looking at it in confusion. She giggled and explained, "I realized that with practices in the morning, you may not eat breakfast any day you don't have this class, so there's your solution!"

He popped open the lid and found a batch of flaky looking pastries inside. He flushed lightly, surprised that she cared so much about whether he was eating or not. Shyly, he said, "Thank you."

"That's what friends are for, right?"

"Friends?"

"Well, yeah! Aren't we friends, Haru?" The frown looked so foreign on her lips that he had to nod. She brightened up immediately and said, "Right! So how about we get together to study for Monday's exam? I know you have a shit ton of practices and all, so I totally get it if you don't want to, but I just figured maybe it'd help to compare notes and-"

"Okay."

"Oh," she said, sounding surprised. "Really?"

Haru nodded and said, "I'd have to set aside time to study anyway."

"Okay then! When are you free?"

He thought for a moment and said, "Only sporadically during the week. Tomorrow evening, Thursday evening or anytime other than Saturday morning I am free."

"How about Thursday, and if we need to, we can do something Sunday, too?"

"Sure."

Kana smiled in satisfaction and set about preparing her notebook and notecards for the day's lecture.

"Your room is really nice! It's awesome that you can have a single as an underclassman."

"Yeah, the swim team's schedules are so off that it's just easier for teammates to either live together or in singles," he explained.

"Why did you choose to live alone rather than with one of your teammates?"

Haru didn't answer right away, fishing his textbook off of the bookshelf at the foot of his bed. Finally, he said, "I don't really get along with them all too well. Most I get along with alright, I guess, but some of them…"

He noticed her take a seat at his desk, looking at him thoughtfully. "Why is that? They should have gotten over a newcomer by now."

Haru sat on the edge of his bed, sighing. He hated conversation sometimes. "Because I'm on track to be picked for the Olympic team."

"Oh, Haru, that's great!"

He was surprised at the honest excitement in her voice and on her face. A faint blush bloomed on his cheeks and he muttered, "Thanks."

"Well, too bad for the other guys. They'll have to get over it, or else wallow in their own bitterness. Plus, you probably have way cooler friends than that."

"My friends from back home also swam competitively. One of them is also trying to make it to the Olympic stage, and I guess he has some of the same problems on the team he swims for."

"Do you get to talk to your friends from home often?"

Haru nodded. "We Skype every Friday afternoon."

She smiled and said, "That's really great. I wasn't really able to keep in touch with my friends from high school. Only two of them, really. But I made a handful of really great friends here, so that helped. You might know Natalie? She's on the women's swim team here."

"Yeah, I think I've seen her around. I've never spoken to her, though."

"Who do you hang out with, Haru? I feel like whenever I see you, you're either rushing to and from class or practice, or you're in the library."

He was silent, trying to find an answer that wouldn't make him seem like a pathetic loner, but it took him a moment too long to come up with something because she said, "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to pry. I just was curious…"

"It's fine," he answered. "I haven't ever really had time to meet people who aren't on the swim team, so I just sort of keep to myself."

"Well, you talk to me!" she grinned. He nodded and she asked, "I don't annoy you do I? Say the word and I will stop hanging around, no hard feelings or anything, okay?"

"You don't bother me," he said, realizing for the first time as the words left his mouth that they were true. "I'm glad you talked to me that day in the library."

It was finally her turn to blush, but hers was a brilliant red. She hastily took her notebook and flashcards from her bag, avoiding his gaze. He shrugged off her weird behavior, and opened his own notebook and textbook. The pair sat in silence for a while, each pouring over their own notes. Haru stopped on one work of art, trying to remember what in the world was so important about it, but he couldn't recall the distinction the professor had made about it. He hesitated, bright blue eyes flicking between his textbook and the pretty girl seated only a few feet away. Did he risk seeming like an idiot?

"Hey, Haru?" He nearly jumped when she broke the silence and interrupted his inner turmoil. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and asked, "I feel like I messed these flashcards up. Did I mix them up when I taped the pictures on?"

She handed them to him and he looked at each before skimming the information written in her tiny script on the back. He thought for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, they're switched."

He handed them back and their fingers brushed as the exchange was made. His heart beat a little faster, surprising him. Shaking it off, he asked, "What did the professor say about this one again?"

The swimmer made to flip the book around, but Kana had already moved, seating herself beside him on his bed. She tucked a lock of dark hair behind her ear as she leaned closer to him, her eyes finding the sculpture he had indicated. He almost blushed again at her close proximity, causing frustration to rise in his chest. Why was he reacting like this to her?

"This one is important because it marks his transition from painting to sculpting."

"Oh, right," he nodded, luckily snapping out of it in time to catch her answer to his question.

"Time!"

"Three minutes, twenty-seven!"

"Excellent run, Nanase!"

Haru pulled his goggles and swim cap off, clenching them in his hand as he pushed himself up and out of the pool. He ignored the usual glares he got from certain teammates, and headed in the direction of the towel bin. He faltered, seeing a familiar brunette with bright emerald eyes standing near the door, a look of wonder on her face. When they made eye contact, she approached him, saying, "Haru, that was amazing! I heard you were fantastic but to see it was like…"

He felt the annoyingly familiar surge of heat rushing to his cheeks, and he looked away bashfully. As if remembering why she was there in the first place, she said, "Oh! I grabbed some of your notes by mistake or something last night as I was leaving. I'm really sorry."

"Thanks." He paused and said, "Can you hang on a minute so I can…"

He lifted his wet hands and looked pointedly at the papers clutched in her hands.

"Oh, right, of course! I'm really sorry again, Haru. I didn't know where else I would be able to find you to give them back before the exam."

She followed him sort of awkwardly over to the towel bin, still babbling about how she felt guilty for screwing up and interrupting his day. He ran the towel over his face, shoulders, arms and hands, before accepting the notes from her.

"Thank you, Kana."

"It's my fault; no need to thank me," she sighed in frustration. "I apologize again for crashing your practice."

Haru shrugged. "You're welcome to drop by sometime. I sort of miss having friends around when I swim."

Kana's eyes widened, then she smiled warmly. "I'll keep that in mind."

A few more weeks of shared classroom chatter, being stocked up with baked goods, and a few more nights of studying, and Haru found himself completely confused. It had been a long time since he had warmed up to another person as quickly as he had to Kana. But it wasn't like with Makoto, Rin, Nagisa, Rei or Kou. Well, not entirely. Just as with them, he felt comfortable and happy and would listen to her chatter all day without complaint. But he also just liked hearing her voice, and watching her facial expressions change. And damn did he appreciate anything that made her smile.

Part of him reasoned that he had only taken to her because he was desperate for friendship and there was the added bonus that she was half Japanese and could share something with him that very few others at his school could. But another part of him thought it was because of her sincerity, her selfless kindness and adorable mannerisms. Whatever was going on, he found himself spending more and more time with her as the weeks passed. He even surprised himself on one particular Wednesday.

Kana was getting up to leave after the lecture, flashing him a smile and saying, "Haru, have a good weekend. Try to get some rest and eat around all that practice, alright?"

"Yeah," he nodded. As she made to walk up towards the back of the lecture hall, he found himself saying, "Wait. Kana?"

"Yeah?" she asked, turning back around to face him.

"Did you wanna meet up Friday afternoon? I think I want to try that flashcard thing."

In fact, he really didn't want to sit down and make flashcards for several hours, but it was a reasonable enough excuse.

"Sure, that'd be great!" Kana replied happily. "Around three?"

He nodded, and was suddenly rather looking forward to his Friday afternoon.

Annoying music began chiming from Haru's laptop, making him groan. He sat on his bed with Kana, a pile of paper scraps between them from cutting out all of the pictures they had printed for their flashcards. They had been having a really good afternoon, Kana doing much of the talking, but Haru contributing here and there. They talked about Japan and what it was like to grow up there, about Kana's experience moving to such a different culture partway through her childhood, and about Haru's swimming. But of course, all good things must come to an end.

"Oh right, I forgot you Skype your friends from home on Fridays!" Kana lamented. "Here, I'll gather my stuff and be out of your hair."

"No, don't worry. I'll make it quick."

"You don't have to do that, Haru!"

"It's fine," he said simply, spinning his laptop around on his desk so he could accept the call.

"Moshi moshi, Haru-chan!" came Makoto's cheerful voice, followed by greetings from his other three friends.

"Haru-chan, what took you so long?!" whined Nagisa.

"I was working on something," he replied shortly.

"Nerd," Rin quipped.

"Haruka-senpai is quite admirable, balancing his school work with his swimming," Rei defended.

Kana stifled a giggle behind her hand and moved on to cutting out the pictures left in his pile. Haru turned to her and said in English, "I can finish those in a minute."

He realized his mistake when his four friends gasped and asked, "You aren't alone?!"

"No."

"Who's with you?!"

Haru heaved a sigh before looking at Kana. She understood his expression and smiled. With her consent, he turned the laptop a little further so they were both in frame. He was immediately embarrassed by his friends' excitement.

Rin rolled his eyes at his comrades' enthusiasm, and greeted her in English, "Hello. I'm Rin. The brown haired guy is Makoto, the blond is Nagisa, and the one with glasses is Rei. Their English isn't very good, but we're happy to meet Haru's friend finally."

Nagisa laughed and said in Japanese, "Friend, Rin-chan? We all know Haru-chan likes her and just won't admit it to us or himself."

There was a tense pause on Haru's side of call. Kana's eyes widened with surprise, instantly turning to look at her raven haired companion. Haru glared at Nagisa before pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Haruka-senpai?"

Slowly, he lowered his hand and snapped, "She speaks Japanese."

Now there was tense silence all around. Finally, Rin broke it, saying, "Nagisa and his jokes, huh, Haru? Kana, our little buddy is a bit eccentric. He says whatever comes into his head. Don't even think on it at all."

Kana nodded, but Haru could tell she saw through the awkward cover story.

After more silence, Makoto said, "Well, I hope we can talk a bit longer sometime, Kana, but it is actually pretty early in the morning our time and we all have to be getting ready for our morning classes. Good bye!"

And with that, the Skype call quickly ended. The pair sat still on his bed for a long while, the air between them thick with awkwardness and tension.

Finally, Haru couldn't take it anymore and blurted, "Sorry, I-!"

"Haru… do you actually… like me?"

His cheeks turned the shade of pink only she could cause, and his heart was beating like a drum behind his ribs. "I uh… I don't really… It's hard to say."

"What do you mean?"

He was silent, but Kana's determined eyes left him with no doubt that she wasn't leaving without an answer. "I mean… I've never been interested in a girl before, so I don't really know what it would feel like if I was. And I mean… of course I'm a little more attached than I normally would be since you are the only person here who has ever really-"

He was cut off by a pair of soft, full lips catching his own. Blue eyes stared wide eyed at Kana, her eyes closed and head tilted at just the right angle so that her glasses weren't in the way. It felt like his body temperature was sky rocketing, and although he was terrified of all the new things he was realizing he felt, he liked it. He let her lips guide the movement of his, relishing the feelings twisting in his chest.

After a few moments, Kana pulled away. "Did that clear anything up?" Slowly, Haru nodded. Tentatively, she asked, "And…?"

He let a small smile turn the corners of his mouth. She returned it with her own bright, earnest grin and wrapped her arms around his neck. "It's about damn time. For someone who is setting speed records in the pool, you have got to be the slowest boy in the world."

She nuzzled the tip of her nose against his and said softly, "The exam isn't for a couple weeks. We can finish the flashcards some other time, right?"

He nodded, still partially in shock at the turn of events. "So we're… together, right?" he asked awkwardly.

She giggled and said, "Well, I hope so. I've been trying to get you to like me for a couple months, after all."

He smiled a small smile again before wrapping his arms around her waist and shyly enveloped her lips.