(J.I.C.) Disclaimer: I don't own Free! or its characters. I only own my OCs.
A/N: This fic is currently under construction/revision. Anything from here on may be changed. For more updates, please refer to my profile link up above. Thank you for reading!
Chapter One:
Eleven years ago, I was anxious for the summer when Mom, Dad, and I planned to go to the beach together. The shores were close to home yet still a way out. It was my first trip ever, and I eagerly awaited the cool water splashing on my legs, the heat on my back, and best of all, meeting my best friend there. As soon as my parents parked the car, I raced down to the shoreline. I took in all of it at once, breathing in and tasting the salty sea air and watching the foam dissipate at my feet.
I went off to play with my friend while my parents watched from our spot on the sand. There were other kids who joined us, but their names have ever since faded from my memory. I remember that all of us made sandcastles and chased each other up and down the beach until we were out of breath. One of them suggested we go swimming and everyone but me jumped into the water. I didn't know how to swim at the time, so I quietly sat back and watched the others. After a while, they kept begging me to get in. I figured that if I were with them, it'd be safe, and went in after them.
That day I learned that the ocean wasn't to be underestimated. I dared myself to swim out more, and a current pushed me under. As a tiny child, I couldn't fight the water no matter how much I tried. My friends' screams were muffled under the water as I sunk to the bottom. On the inside I cried for help, wanting to wave my arms and catch my parents attention, but I had no more strength left. I could only look up at the gleam of the waves in the sunlight.
If it weren't for him that day, I wouldn't be alive. The boy that I desperately try to remember now saved me and disappeared out of my life in a flash. He was like a part of the water; graceful, calm, and sure of himself.
He was my hero...If only I had the chance to thank him.
"Kasumi! Come down for breakfast!" my mother called from downstairs.
"U-Uh, coming!" I answered.
I looked back in my mirror for one last routine check. My uniform was buttoned, laced, and prepped for my first day at high school. It was a week or so after moving back, and years since I'd last been here. Iwatobi was still the same, a small town that was mostly quiet and friendly. I had hoped that I'd be able to see familiar faces among them all.
"Go get 'em, Kasumi! Fight-o!" I told my reflection.
I marched downstairs determined to brave the new day. Mother was in the kitchen washing dishes when I came in. She heard me and turned around.
"Oh, there you are! Your breakfast is on the table for you, Kasumi."
"Thank you, Mom."
Her egg omelets were always best fresh. I sat down and slowly ate while my stomach churned with anxiety. School was going to start in less than a half-hour, and there were going to be so many people at school...I had to clear my thoughts if I didn't want to panic. Oh, but so much was happening...
As I cut another piece of egg off, Mother sat next to me at the table. She looked over at me and then to the empty seat on my other side.
"It's such a shame that Papa had to go into work early today. If only he could see you off, too."
" it's okay. Papa has more important things to do so it's okay."
"Oh, you're so sweet!"
I smiled back at her and finished the omelet. When my eyes darted to the clock, I nearly dropped my plate. I had five minutes to get to the train to make it on time.
"Gotta go! Love you!"
"Oh, but Kasumi-"
I had already stumbled into the sunlit hallway to the door while trying to tug my socks up to my legs. Mother followed me with my "bento" (lunchbox) in her hands, trying to tell me that I almost forgot it. Running out the door, I quickly thanked her and tripped as I fixed my shoes.
Luckily I had caught the train on time and got to school with everyone else. My new homeroom teacher, a short woman with a brown bob and a yellow cardigan, waited for me in the teacher's office until I arrived. She took me upstairs to the classroom, introducing herself as Ama-sensei, and talked to me about my new classes. I did my best to answer her, but my heart kept beating at such a fast pace. Every time we took another step forward, I felt myself slowly sinking down to the floor. I could just think to myself, If only someone could snap me out of this-
"Wait!"
Both my teacher and I jumped out of our skins. We turned to the bottom of the stairs where another girl was crouched over, catching her breath. She looked up and asked, "Are you...Ama-sensei?"
My teacher stuttered, "U-uh, yes...I am. A-are you another stu-student?"
"Yes, "the girl answered as she stood up, "I'm Samantha Mueller. It's nice to meet you, ma'am."
Is she..American? Her accent was the most noticeable of all. But when I looked carefully, Mueller-san had a foreign yet charming look about her. She was much taller than me, with shiny, sandy-colored hair and hazel, round eyes, not to mention a broader build than our teacher. I looked down at myself to compare; next to her, I looked like an elementary student.
I turned away as Ama-sensei invited Mueller-san along with us to our classroom. For a moment everything was okay, but then I started hearing people chatting inside the classrooms in the hallway, and my head started to spin. The thought of new faces staring directly at me, watching as I stepped up to the front of the class to introduce myself...My palms felt clammy in clenched fists, and the hall became hot and humid in my uniform coat. There was a loud pumping sound all around me. I was spooked at first, but then I realized that it was my own heart beating rapidly in my ears.
Trying to take deep breaths was beyond helping me at that point. All the thoughts in my head were either deteriorating or jumping from wall to wall in my head. Please, you've gotta calm down! Whatever you do, don't panic! Take a deep breath and calm yourself!
"Misuzu-san, isn't it?" the other girl asked me.
I looked up at her, finding the two of us waiting outside for Ama-sensei to call us in. How I could've blacked out while walking to class, I'd never know, but with a deep breath I cleared my head and answered, " Um..yes?"
She gently smiled at me. "I'm Samantha. You can call me Sam if you'd like.
"So, you're a new student, too? Where'd you move from?"
"Uh...Wakayama..."
Again, she grinned. My heart became calm while she built more of a conversation with me. I was at ease to talk to her that I found myself smiling when she mentioned manga to me that she knew about.
In the middle of our chat, Ama-sensei called for us to enter the classroom.
Oh no! I internally screamed.
I kept my head down as I headed in first. The classroom grew silent as I entered. I could feel all of their eyes on me...I shivered at the sudden thought of them when my eyes would meet theirs. The reality of it made my heart sink as I stepped up to the front. Samantha-san didn't seem as scared of it as I was, but she was a lot stronger than me, from the way she carried herself to the pretty twinkle in her eyes.
Samantha-san turned back to the door to look for something. I watched as she peered outside from left to right, and our teacher noticed it as well.
"Um, Ms. Samantha, is there something outside?"
"Uh..."
She turned back to Ama-sensei and said, " I can't find the doorknob..."
The class erupted in confused mutters, and Ama-sensei, having been baffled, exclaimed, "Eh?!"
Samantha-san turned back to the door replying, "It's weird that-oh..."
She slid it out from behind to close it. Our classmates burst out laughing as she bowed to the teacher apologetically.
"I'm so sorry. I'm used to western-style doors that I forgot it was different at school here!"
Ama-sensei sighed in relief. It was, for the moment, as though she believed Samantha-san when she said the door happened to "vanish," but then pushed it aside to start class. She looked at me and asked if I could introduce myself. I nodded slightly, feeling my heartbeat intensify once again. As I looked up at the class, I saw a boy my age staring carelessly out the window. His short, indigo hair reminded me of that other boy, the one from years ago...
"Ms. Misuzu?"
"I...I'm...Misuzu Kasumi. It is nice to meet you, " I found myself saying to the class.
I kept my head down as our teacher asked Samantha-san to do the same.
She bowed just the same as I had, smiling at the rest of our classmates. "I am Samantha Mueller. It is nice to meet you all. I hope we can get along this year!"
Our teacher then let us help ourselves to a seat while writing our names on the board. Samantha-san took no time to find one. She immediately walked toward the empty desk at the end of the third row in a graceful manner as I slowly made my way to the seat on her right.
Everyone else turned back to Ama-sensei once the introductions were over. As the class continued, I noticed my name written in one corner of the board. It reminded me of how my friend Nanami used to write...
I wonder where Nanami is now...is she still here in Iwatobi? I thought as literature class began.
"Misuzu-san?" someone asked me.
I looked up to find Samantha-san standing next to my desk with a brown paper bag. Oh, it's already lunchtime.
"I was wondering if you'd like to eat on the roof with me."
"Th-the roof?"
"Yeah. I've always wanted to do that like in the anime."
"O-oh..."
"Hm? Haven't you been able to do that before?"
"I...I don't think I have."
She gasped out loud.
"Then we're gonna fix that. C'mon!"
Samantha-san waved her hand at me for me to get up. Out of mere impulse and befuddlement, I followed her out of the classroom. Now and then she'd turn back and keep encouraging me to follow her, which then I saw a certain eagerness about her like an impatient child. She was nearly bouncing up and down like one, motioning me further towards her.
"Let's go! It's supposed to be beautiful weather out right now!"
"Uh..umm..."
I slowly put my hand on hers. At first, I thought that she'd drag me with a superhuman force, but she grinned and gently led me up the staircase. I stared at her for what seemed to be the longest time...her hand was so soft and warm..and she didn't seem afraid of being in a new setting, probably in a new country she hadn't been to before. Samantha-san was too taken by silly anime references and the spring weather.
"Oh my God, look at the view!" she exclaimed.
On the roof, it was warm with the sun reflecting off the light concrete. It looked like an ordinary rooftop to me, but somehow mesmerizing to Samantha-san. She spun around and said, "Isn't it wonderful, Misuzu-san?"
I opened my mouth to speak but was suddenly interrupted by someone else.
" 'Misuzu-san' ? As in, 'Misuzu Kasumi' ?"
A girl with red hair pulled into a ponytail stood up, her friend seated next to the doorway with her bento open.
"'Gou-san'?"
"'Kou'! You still don't remember?"
"Oh no, I do! But..uh..you were close with Nanami, too, then?"
"Just as much as you!"
She put on a confident smile at that statement, just as she had done when we were little. Kou-san invited both of us to join her and her friend. I sat down with Kou-san as Samantha-san walked up to us hesitantly.
"'Mueller-san,' right? You are from America?"
"Um, yeah.."
She folded her skirt under her before taking a seat next to me. Kou-san and her friend scooted in towards the circle with anticipation. According to my memory, Kou-san was always talking about visiting different countries and swimsuits, which explained why someone from America could undoubtedly pique her childhood interest. Kou-san asked my classmate a series of questions, ones of her hometown to what the newest film was. Of course, Samantha-san lit up with excitement as she answered, but there was something off about her expression before she smiled. It almost seemed sad, or depressed,...I could only guess that she was homesick deep down.
"The newest movie I've seen lately was The Host, but I didn't get to see it right away. You see, I-ouch!" she yipped.
While telling the story of her going to the movies, she reached over to grab her lunch bag. Two of our classmates walked past us, the tallest one accidentally stepped on both her hand and lunch. He stopped beside her to apologize.
" 'Daijoubu-' (Are you okay)" he started to ask.
Both of them looked into each other's eyes, taking an abrupt pause on whatever they were going to say. It was only for a moment, and then Samantha-san turned her head. If it were a romantic "first glance," then it seemed like she looked away out of fear. But she was directing her attention to her hand sitting on top of her smothered lunch, so that left anything heartwarming out of the question.
"I'm fine, really, "she shyly admitted, "however..."
Something wet had seeped through the bag. I reached into my pocket for my handkerchief, but the boy had his out already.
"Oh, I-I.."
"Here. It's alright. You can take it, " he told Mueller in a soothing voice.
She gingerly reached out and took it. The boy smiled as she wiped her hand clean. I felt as though I was being too nosy by watching and looked away-and soon realized I had met another's glance. The boy from the classroom, the one I first spotted during homeroom, stared at me with a nonchalant expression on his face, sitting by the ledge with a friend.
"Kasumi-san?" Kou-san asked.
I noticed myself staring once he had turned away. My face grew red in embarrassment, and I quickly spun around to hide my shame. My heart was beating excitedly again, although that time it wasn't out of anxiety.
The other boy, Tachibana Makoto, as Kou-san had explained, offered to buy Samantha-san another lunch from the cafeteria. Both of them left while his two friends leaned over the ledge as they ate. I tried to pay attention to my friend and eat at the same time, but the mysterious boy's presence was so overwhelming that I felt I had to sneak another peek at him. The coincidence of him being the same boy from before was almost impossible, though, maybe...
As though Samantha-san's incident wasn't enough, there came another girl bounding up the stairs and towards Tachibana's friends.
"Oi! 'Shota' !" she yelled as her finger pointed at the short, blond guy.
He turned around with two school-lunch breads in each hand. After swallowing his food, he then exclaimed, "Oh, that girl from class!"
"Yeah, that's right! And you're the one who took my sweet bread!"
"Huh?"
"I wanted one of those breads, and you took the last two!"
"Oh..sorry..."
She grumbled to herself as she glared at him. The girl had no choice but to give up, flicking her long ponytail in frustration.
Wait a minute...She's...I thought to myself.
I walked up to her without hesitation. The closer I got, the more I recognized the blonde in her partially dyed dark brown hair in a long tail. Her voice and hair were the same, but the personality had gotten much wilder. But it still was-
" 'Takemono...Ella' ?"
She turned to me saying, "Who's aski-"
Ella gasped when she saw me. She grabbed my hands and exclaimed, "Kasumi! It's so good to finally see a familiar face!"
"I know, it's been-"
"A couple years. You've gotten taller..."
I smiled even though that was an empty comment (There's no way that I've grown in the last couple of years..). But it really was Ella.
We met so many years ago when her father and mine got together for a few days to talk about business. As far as I knew they worked for a local industry, and his family was as small as mine. Ella's mother was newly pregnant at the time, so I figured that Ella had a sibling or two by then.
"Um..You remember Kou-san, 'neh' ?"
She gasped again and looked over my head to our corner. Kou-san waved at her then turned to her other friend. Ella-san made her way to the others as I turned to this "shota" and the mysterious boy. I bowed, then replied, "Please forgive her. She means well, but comes off a different way."
"Ah, no problem!" the blond boy told me.
When I looked up, I caught the other boy's glance once more. My cheeks grew red like before and my palms clammy. I quickly bowed for the second time and escaped with my life.
By the time I sat down, Samantha-san had come back with melon bread and a water bottle. She smiled at Tachibana-kun, thanking him for the food. He smiled back and walked away. Suddenly she turned to Kou-san and replied, "Do you guys know him?"
"Know him? That's 'Tachibana Makoto'-kun! Everyone knows him as the 'nicest boy on the planet.' And his shoulders..."
Kou-san trailed off as her eyes peered up at the sky in wonder. She giggled to herself in a sort of odd way.
"Kou-san, are you alright?" I asked.
"Oh, don't worry about her. She...has her moments like this," her friend replied.
Moments? Does she have an illness of some sort? I wondered.
Kou-san continued to daydream for the rest of the lunch period while her friend tried to snap her out of it, and Samantha and Ella-san had conversations in English. This first day back wasn't as scary as I had imagined, but I could tell it would be as energetic in the near future.
At the end of the day, I went up to Samantha-san and asked her if she were riding the train home.
"No, I'm sorry. I live nearby in town. Are you farther out?"
I nodded, feeling a bit left out with the other students leaving together.
"Hey, I'll walk you to the station. I've wanted to see more of the town, anyway."
I smiled at her and waited for her to pack her bag. We left not too soon after the last of our classmates. Samantha-san and I continued our conversation about manga from earlier outside to the station. It was easing to think about something else besides having the stress of my first day take a toll on me, but then I turned to the front of the street and saw Tachibana-kun and his friend. The other boy was just as expressionless as ever while Tachibana-kun continued to talk to him with a happy smile on his lips. I tried not to speak as loud so that his friend wouldn't notice me. If he saw me again, would he think that I was following him?
At the station, I quickly said goodbye in a rush. The train was about to set off, the bell signaling its departure when I ran up to the door in a panicked frenzy. Just when I would've missed it, I jumped off the platform, holding my hand out to grab onto something inside. I didn't see who, but someone was able to catch me and pulled me into the car in time. When my foot scraped the floor, I fell into their arms face first. I was crushed into their arms like...like a couple embracing.
The shame...the shame of it...in public! I should be ashamed! I have to apologize!
"Are you okay?" the person asked me.
I quickly jumped back from them and bowed too many times to count.
"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! I-I!"
My heart dropped to my stomach when I looked up. A stranger, a kind one, might have let me off at that, but fate had to bring the mysterious boy to save me from missing the train. And above all...my face...i-it touched his chest...
I grabbed onto one of the train poles and took a step back. The boy, still expressionless, looked at me and asked again if I were alright.
"I-I-I-I-I'm al-alright. I'm-I'm fine!"
He stood back from me as if my response had scared him away. I tried to clear the trouble up by swallowing my fear.
"I mean...I'm very sorry to have touched you. Please forgive me."
" 'Iie' (No). Don't worry about it..."
The boy looked away from me again and out the window. I hung onto the pole, quietly looking back and forth at him. Our conversation, however it may have been, only lasted for a brief moment, and silence between us had started to make me wonder. Was I too abrupt? Have I crossed a line of some sort? Should I say something to him?
Suddenly he turned to me and asked, "Have we met somewhere before?"
"Uh..uh. I wouldn't know. I just moved back here, so..we might have seen each other..in town?"
"Yeah..."
Our conversation dropped until we reached the second train station. Both of us tried to walk out at the same time, which almost led to me falling out after him. But the walk home was even more dreadful. I followed behind him to the square where the old lady swept away dirt from the side of her house. Down the road from her was my house, but the boy continued up the stairs. I quickly gathered some of my little courage and told him, " 'Ano' (Umm), thank you again. For helping me onto the train."
"Don't' worry about it...
"What's your name?"
"Eh?"
"Your name?"
I worried my lower lip with my teeth as I gathered more courage. "M-Misuzu Kasumi...and...yours?"
"Nanase. Haruka."
I bowed to him again and replied, " 'Arigato' (Thank you), Nanase-kun."
"Mm..."
He slowly nodded, then walked away. Once he was gone, I turned the corner and ran down the road. All of my energy had burst inside me that I couldn't help this feeling of...what was it? Excitement? Fear? Embarrassment? How could I even start to describe it...?
When I came home, Mother waited for me at the door. But I couldn't stop myself there. I ran right past her and up the stairs as she asked me how my day was. I made it to my room where I jumped up and landed on my bed, wriggling around in the sheets and hiding my flushed cheeks in my pillow. The indescribable feeling was still twisting around in me, and I couldn't figure out why I was feeling it. It suddenly ambushed me when I heard his name. Nanase Haruka...why did it give me deja vu..?
I had calmed down by the evening and sat at the kitchen table with Mother. I had to explain myself to her that I did have a good day at school, but was still flustered by it. She was content with that answer but still insisted on asking me if I were feeling
Later, when I sat on my bed and read a light novel, I looked out my window and stared out into the open. The nearby harbor water glimmered from the stars' twinkling reflection, seeming to call out to me like it had those past few nights. Every night it reminded me of that day almost as if it wanted me to suffer that painful memory. I was sure it would drive me mad.
That is...until I saw "his" face in school. To me he was like the ocean itself: he was terrifying with that stoic expression of his, like he were either judging me or looking right past me, like I wasn't important enough for his attention. Yet his pure blue eyes didn't match. They were welcoming and calming like ocean water. His mysterious aura about him confused me even more, and I found myself somewhat relieved that he was focusing his gaze elsewhere instead of in front of him.
But...
"Can he really be that boy from before?" I asked myself out loud.
I fell asleep thinking about that possibility. But I couldn't remember if I came to any conclusion...
Oh, well...