"Sea Foam Stuck on the Rocks"
By stalactice
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with 'Free! Iwatobi Swim Club' or 'Free! Eternal Summer.' I also am not associated with any of the music mentioned in any of the chapters to come. This was made for purely entertainment (and partially cathartic) purposes and I make no profit from it. No copyright infringement is intended so please don't sue me. Thank you. Carry on.
Musical inspiration: "Little Lion Man" by Tonight Alive (Cover of Mumford and Sons)*clean version available*
Chapter 1: Unsolicited Advice
It was almost as if the water was fighting him that evening. Regardless of how much he trained, how much he prepared, how much he wanted this goal, the water did not bend to his will. If anything, he was slowly submitting to the water's.
He slammed his hand against the wall of the pool and surfaced with a gasp. The chlorine was almost suffocating today and he hated it so, so much. He yanked his goggles off and twisted around to check the clock measuring his lap time. It was almost three-tenths of a second slower than his last run.
Matsuoka Rin scoffed, thinking the whole thing – the water fighting him, as Haru would say – was absolutely ridiculous. He could not afford any more slip ups. (Not if he wanted to win, not if he wanted to beat Nanase Haruka.)
So lost in his thoughts and the roaring of blood in his ears, Rin almost missed the shy prod from his kohai, Nitori Aiichirou, standing on the ledge above. "Um, Matsuoka-senpai?"
"Yeah?" Rin managed in between his ragged breaths. His head was pounding even more than the usual adrenaline rush. He made a mental note to look into it later, but knew that it would probably get lost in the chaos that was his brain.
"Don't you think that…well, everyone else has already left…" Nitori gestured to the empty benches soaked in puddles of pool water; the occasional drip-drop fell to the linoleum floor. "So…maybe you should call it a day–"
Rin glowered through one of the wild maroon stands of hair plastered across his face. Despite the grey-haired first year's best intentions, Rin was not in the mood for his concern and the headache was not helping.
Nitori yelped and headed over to the booth to restart the clock. "Or maybe one more lap wouldn't hurt," he finished quickly.
"Tch," Rin clicked his tongue against the back of his teeth while messily shoving his hair back under the swim cap. He pulled himself out of the water and snapped his goggles back on, the familiar clap of the straps against his skull centering his attention back to his task. Nitori gave him the thumbs up to mount the starting block.
"Ready! Set!" Nitori called from across the pool. Rin braced himself to dive. The block felt like sandpaper against his skin today. He almost swore that the pads of his fingers and toes would tear off. But he had to focus…had to improve…faster…faster…three…two…
"MATSUOKA!" a disembodied form that sounded peculiarly like his captain bellowed from the far corner of the pool. And judging from his tone, Mikoshiba Seijuurou was not pleased with him. At all.
Great, Rin thought still frozen in place on the platform. Just fine and dandy. Straightening up from his lunge, Rin slid his goggles up to his forehead and tilted his head – probably a little too cockily – at his red-headed captain. Judging from his attire of Samezuka issued sweatpants and jacket with a towel slung over his shoulder, Mikoshiba probably just finished his shower and was ready to lock up.
"What?" Rin inquired in an exasperated tone. Mikoshiba sent him a warning glare. Rin sighed and reiterated more formally, "Yes, captain?"
"Better," Seijuurou remarked – his tone still less than impressed. He turned his attention to the clocking booth. "Nitori," Mikoshiba called in a gentler tone.
Nitori stood to his full height and saluted, "Yes?!" Rin thought the salute was a tad overboard, but he couldn't blame the kid for lack of manners.
Mikoshiba nodded towards the open door behind him, "You're dismissed."
The grey-haired first year shuffled towards his captain, bowed, and rambled through a formal farewell. "Thank you, captain I look forward to practice tomorrow!" His feet pattered and splattered as he made a beeline for the exit.
Silence reigned save for the sloshing of water against the edges of the pool. Rin chanced a glance out the window to guess how late it was. There was no sunlight to be found. He checked the clock that happened to be directly above Mikoshiba's head. 20:30.
"Shit," he hissed under his breath. "Here we go again."
Mikoshiba took deliberate steps from his side of the pool towards Rin. One he reached the younger red-head, Seijuurou glared up at his stubborn kohai, who still stood firmly planted on the starting block, hands on hips. Rin returned an uninterested stare. With a growl, Mikoshiba began, "Didn't we just talk about this not even twenty-four hours ago, Matsuoka?"
No response.
Rin saw his captain bite the inside of his cheek – a habit he returned to whenever he wanted to keep his temper in check. Crossing one arm over his chest and lowering his forehead into the other palm, Mikoshiba continued wearily, "You've certainly been swimming long enough to know that when the whistle blows, practice is over." Rin opened his mouth to speak, but his captain pressed on. Tightly he added, "It's not just for show. It's a rule." He shifted his arms to pull Rin down from the block and fixed him with a disapproving frown. "You don't get to decide which ones you want to follow and throw away the rest."
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Rin chimed in pressingly, "It was only a couple of extra practice laps. My times were slower than usual today and I wanted to fix it for tomorrow's pract–"
"It's because you're dragging on your starting dive," Seijuurou cut off. At Rin's gawk, the third year waved it off, "But that's beside the point," Mikoshiba barked. Rin hated that he winced at the change in volume but held his gaze with his senior. Seijuurou pushed forward, "Practice ended an hour and a half ago, Matsuoka." By this point his tone went cold. Rin bit his tongue to avoid saying anything else stupid. "Despite the fact," the captain hissed sardonically, "that you had enough common sense to have another person with you while you decided to practice, we have rules for a reason. I'm also not very pleased with the fact that you decided to drag your kohai – who nearly worships you, by the way," Rin already knew this but did not want to dwell on it at the moment, "into something like this."
Rin felt a curl of his lip begin to form, but he covered it with a formal bow, stray strands of hair falling across his cheeks, drops of water slipping down his arms. The puddles gave some relief to the hot spots forming on his feet. "I apologize, captain. This is the last time it will happen."
Mikoshiba released small scoff. "That's what you said yesterday when we had this exact same conversation, Matsuoka. And stand up; I'm tired of the bows today." Rin thought it best to comply. Seijuurou sighed and scratched the back of his neck, "I can't fault you for your determination, but, frankly, your methods of improving suck."
Rin pulled off his cap and half-heartedly scowled. Mikoshiba chuckled under his breath at his team member's antics and turned to head for the exit. With a small backwards wave, he called, "Get some rest, Matsuoka. Until tomorrow."
"Wait! Captain!" Rin trotted after him. "What do you mean I'm dragging on the dive?" he raised an accusing eyebrow.
Mikoshiba simply chuckled in response. "See you at practice tomorrow, Matsuoka. Now, get out so I can lock up."
After gathering his things, Rin headed for the main hallway to the dorms – the clanging of Mikoshiba's keys fading behind him. Rin tugged at his bangs and sighed, "He didn't even answer the question. Dragging on the entry…what's that supposed to mean?" Releasing a frustrated groan, he adjusted his gym bag and slung his SHARK towel around his neck.
The thought of trudging back to his dorm crossed Rin's mind. Then he remembered that Nitori was probably buzzing with anxiety at the moment waiting for him to return. Honestly, Rin didn't want to deal with that much energy. So, instead, he took a 'detour' though the halls. He was fairly content that his dorm room window directly overlooked the aquatic center and it wasn't too far from class, but it had one major flaw…
"Matsuoka-senpai!" As Rin opened the door to his dorm, his greeting was Nitori bombarding him with questions and flurries of apologies. "Please don't say that you were kicked off the team, Matsuoka-senpai. If you were, I'll go talk with Mikoshiba-senpai immediately and," he began hyperventilating, "and…and…"
Rin dragged a hand down his face, wondering if he could escape while his kohai rattled faster and faster. Upon seeing the genuine concern in Nitori's face, Rin decided against his instinctual response and simply cut off the ramblings. "Nitori," he sighed tiredly. It had the desired effect as Aiichirou stopped mid-sentence with his arms spread out quite comically. Scratching the nape of his neck, Rin continued, "Don't worry about it."
Emptying his bag, Rin maneuvered around Aiichirou to toss his laundry in the basket. He reached over Nitori to grab a t-shirt and sweatpants for the evening before heading to the bathroom to change.
However, a resigned voice from behind him made Rin stop in his tracks. "Um… Matsuoka-senpai?"
Rin craned his head over his shoulder. "Hm?"
Nitori slid down against the wall under the window, pulled his knees to his chest, and stared at a stain in the hardwood floor. "Did you get in trouble because of me, senpai?" he managed a brittle squeak.
"Nitori," Rin nearly demanded. When his kohai finally met his eyes, he continued, "If I get in trouble it will be my own fault and problem, not yours. Got it?" Nitori nodded enthusiastically and wiped at his eyes with the hem of his shirt. "Get some sleep," Rin ordered tonelessly and moved on his way again.
Just as he closed the door behind him, Rin heard a rushed, "Thank you, Matsuoka-senpai!" The light seeping through the crack under the bathroom door disappeared. Ten seconds later, the thump of Nitori hurling himself onto his bunk signaled Rin that the first-year took his advice way too seriously. At a quick glance in the mirror, Rin noticed that the bags under his eyes were worse than yesterday (and the day before).
In the back of his mind, a thought tickled that maybe he should take his own advice.
Since when have I ever done that? He thought spitefully.
Changing into his pajamas, Rin groaned as he discovered several hot spots forming on the pads of his toes. Even after applying soothing salve, the skin did not fit quite right. He ignored the sensation and finished getting ready for bed.
As he washed his hands, Rin could not help but notice that his hands felt heavier in the water than before. Memories of an eleven-year-old Haru – blue eyes steady and tone completely serious – stating that 'the water was alive,' flashed through Rin's mind.
"Yeah, right," he muttered bitterly to his reflection before switching off the bathroom light and collapsing into his bunk.
The following classes were uneventful to say the least. Much to his frustration, Rin caught himself almost nodding off during Physics and English. Shaking off the drowsiness during Mathematics, he tried to convince himself that he would get more sleep the next night, though he had a nagging feeling that it was not going to happen in the near future.
Or at least until I beat Haru.
"So, guess what today is?" The professor regained the class's attention, feigning enthusiasm. "Pop quiz!" He added in an overly-cheerful manner despite the chorus of groans from the students. The professor waved a dismissive hand at their antics and passed out the quizzes. Once Rin grabbed his copy, he skimmed over the problems and thanked whatever part of his brain that urged him to review last week's material after his run earlier that morning. "Since I'm feeling generous today," his sensei added, "everyone has until the end of class to finish. Good luck." Rin translated that statement as 'I need more time to finish grading papers.'
The quiz was nothing exceptional, but Rin always liked math because it just made sense to him. Clean and clear cut. Judging from Katsurou Kawaguchi's face, he was either not prepared for the quiz or just did not understand the material. Granted, Kawaguchi pretended that he was a delinquent, but in reality he barely intimidated Nitori. So, he stuck to various levels of pranks throughout the school. Either way, Rin stayed clear of him.
Turning back to his quiz, Rin drummed his pencil against his forehead in an effort to remember the formula for chain rule derivatives. Once it clicked into place, he finished out the final problem, only to discover that twenty-minutes of class still remained. He took fifteen minutes to check his calculations and polish up a couple lines of work before gazing out the window, feeling confident in his abilities.
With ten minutes to spare, Rin's gaze followed the billowy, white clouds floating through the sky. Once out of view, he turned his attention to the cherry blossom trees in the courtyard below. The smallest sliver of pink peeped through each bud. Rin wondered if he would have the opportunity this year to fulfill another dream of his: swim in a pool of cherry blossoms.
A shrill trilling sound from beyond the courtyard, even beyond the school pulled him out of his musings.
The bell signaling the end of class and the quiz reverberated through the halls. After turning in his quiz, Rin grabbed his music player from his desk, shoved the headphones into his ears, and strolled to the cafeteria downstairs for lunch.
After ordering his lunch and sitting, Rin vaguely recalled that Samezuka's sister school, Ikagara Academy, was only a couple of miles down the road. Coincidentally – or perhaps not, he mused – the siren from earlier seemed to come from its direction. Not that it really matters to me anyway. Rin brushed the thought away, shuffled through songs in his music player, and took another heaping bite of salad.
After all, he had much more important things to focus on like his dives (which he had yet to figure out how to even begin to fix those), his studies, and beating Haru.
"You have got to be kidding me."
All Rin wanted to do after class was eat dinner, finish up some homework, and then spend the rest of his evening practicing his 100m freestyle race for the upcoming prefectural tournament. Was that too much to ask for? Apparently so.
If asked, Rin would admit that a few strange events already occurred since he returned from Australia:
1. Running into Haru, Makoto, and Nagisa at the abandoned Iwatobi Swim Club.
2. His sister, Gou, becoming the manager of the inaugural swim team for Iwatobi High School. This club just so happened to include Haru, Makoto, and Nagisa. But they're still missing one member. Good luck with that, Rin thought sarcastically.
3. Nitori. Just Nitori.
But this took the cake.
There, in the pool – in the Samezuka Academy swim team pool – was a group of eight girls. The buoys for the lanes are gone… And what were they doing? Synchronized swimming: with raucous, obnoxious music playing. No, much to Rin's dismay, it was not a figment of his imagination. He could not blame it on the suspiciously prepared chicken he had for dinner or his lack of sleep the night before. Nope. It was all right there in front of him in its high-energy, spandex glory.
And now just their legs are out of the water…Rin tilted his head sideways, blinked twice, and prayed that the sight before him would disappear. Sadly, it did not. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Nitori – who looked like he was on the verge of passing out. "S-senpai," he stammered, "isn't what they're doing with their legs a bit…" Each swimmer hit a full split upside-down on the next beat. Nitori gulped, "…sexual?" and managed to flush an even deeper shade of red – or was it puce at this point?
I certainly wouldn't let Gou do any of this, if that's what you're asking. Not really knowing how to respond, Rin hummed noncommittally.
For a couple of seconds, the swimmers spiraled under the water and clustered together. When they resurfaced, one was launched into the air, spinning innumerable times before diving out of sight. Two beats later, the eight girls regrouped in a close-fitting block formation to strike a final pose that seemed to take up the entire pool, stretching in strange (which appeared entirely uncomfortable) positions.
Music gone, Rin could finally think again. To his right, Nitori opted to sit on the floor and find his mental happy place, staring blankly into an imaginary horizon. Rin figured Nitori was a lot less emotionally scarred than he initially expected, so he did not need too much more attention. Back to the current problem though… Rin scanned the room for his captain, but found he needed to crane his neck a couple times as the synchronized swimmers filed out of the pool. Catching sight of the red-head, Rin made a beeline for the third-year who seemed to be talking to one of the girls who performed earlier. He had a lot of explaining to do.
"Captain, what the h–"
"Matsuoka!" Mikoshiba exclaimed in a honey tone. "Just the guy I was looking for!" Suddenly, Rin felt his senpai pull him flush to his side in a strange rendition of a bear hug. Under normal circumstances, Rin would push away anyone – recently including his own sister – who tried to hug him. However, Seijuurou had a solid ten centimeters on him and there was no way Rin could break free if Mikoshiba wanted to keep him there. And the bastard knows it too. "I'd like to introduce you to the third-year captain of Ikagara's synchronized swimming team, Hamasaki Etsuko. Hamasaki, this is Matsuoka Rin, the kid I told you about earlier."
Etsuko seemed nice enough, even without the meaning of her name. She eerily reminded Rin of Makoto, sans the green tinted hair and eyes; each of her features had warmness to them, from the amber flecks in her deep brown eyes to the hints of gold in mahogany hair that fell out of its bun. Surprisingly, she was as tall as he was. Giving Rin a genial smile (Are you sure you're not a Tachibana?), she extended her hand and offered, "It's nice to meet you, Matsuoka." A pregnant pause hung through the air as Rin shook her hand, surprised by the existence of callouses on the pad of her hand. Mikoshiba released his hold of Rin only to clap him on the back, tired of waiting for a response.
"It's nice to meet you too, Hamasaki," Rin coughed out in his most polite tone while taking care not to grit his teeth – from both agitation and the stinging pain brought on by Seijuurou's slap. Hamasaki hid a chuckle behind a cough. Once the pain receded, he was able to fully process Mikoshiba's last statement. Raising a quizzical eyebrow at Seijuurou, Rin pressed on, "I have two questions. One," he jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the synchronized swimmers drying off and hitting the showers, "why is the Ikagara synchronized team here…in our pool?" Turning his attention back to Hamasaki, Rin added cautiously, "Two, what exactly did captain mean by 'told you about earlier?'"
Etsuko sighed lightly and began untying her bound hair. Combing her fingers through her hair, she frowned slightly in contemplation of how to best approach the subject. Once she figured it out, she engaged Rin matter-of-factly, "Earlier this morning there was a malfunction in the electronics for the smoke detectors and the sprinklers in the aquatics center." So that's what the alarm was earlier. Stupid self-fulfilled prophecy. "According the fire chief, the circuit boards overheated, caught fire, and," she shrugged, "well, you can guess the rest. It's pretty ironic how the reason that the circuitry that was supposed to activate the sprinkler systems was the part that burst into flames." She laughed humorlessly. Hamasaki buried her face in her palms and let out a muffled scream.
Rin looked up at Mikoshiba who simply shook his head with a befuddled look; no one understood women.
Suddenly, Etsuko shot back up as if she had not just had a miniature meltdown in front of them. "Sorry about that. It's been a pretty hectic day." The smile felt a little forced. Hands on hips, she picked the conversation back up, "Even though it was short notice, our club's advisor contacted yours for permission of extended use of Samezuka's pool. It's just deep enough that it meets the requirements for practices." Tugging at the ends of her hair, Etsuko smiled tremulously, "We were pretty freaked out because we have tournaments beginning in about a month. Luckily," she breathed and calmed a bit more, "nobody was hurt and we now have a place to practice." Hamasaki bowed lowly at Mikoshiba, "Thank you very much, Mikoshiba! I cannot fully express the gratitude my team and I feel for this favor!"
Seijuurou grimaced, obviously uncomfortable with someone in the same year bowing at him. "Uhh… it's not a problem at all. But, we still need to go over practice schedules. It wouldn't do for both our teams to fight over the pool," Mikoshiba jested.
Etsuko giggled at his joke, adding, "No it wouldn't, but the girls could probably take out about," she hummed and surveyed the Samezuka jumping into the pool, "half of the guys you have here." She smirked – the same kind Gou had when she knew something you didn't and would probably hurt you later. Great, just great Rin continued his mental sardonic streak.
Mikoshiba raised his hands defensively, "I don't doubt that, Hamasaki-san!" Tired of the conversation – and the waning time for practice – Rin cleared his throat subtly. Mikoshiba was unimpressed. Dryly, he addressed Rin again, "As for our conversation about you, Matsuoka: we found somebody that just might be able to help you with those dives."
"I have it under control," he rebutted almost immediately. Liar his subconscious poked at him.
"I don't believe you," Mikoshiba retorted smoothly, crossing his arms over his chest with a knowing smirk plastered across his face. That smirk is getting really old, Mikoshiba. Rin simply scowled. "Oh come on, Matsuoka, grow up," Seijuurou groaned, "at least meet them and then decide if you want to spend the rest of your swimming career with sloppy starts." Rin clenched his fists inside his Samezuka jacket to avoid punching something.
Rin was about to throw another denial at Mikoshiba when Hamasaki bellowed, "Zolno! Just where the hell do you think you're going?!" This outburst garnered several concerned and confused stares from the rest of the Samezuka team. Out of the corner of his eye, Rin noticed that Nitori was so startled he fell into the pool. "Don't think you can sneak past me!"
Both Rin and Mikoshiba flinched. Maybe her name doesn't fit…The Samezuka students slowly turned around to see what caused Etsuko to flip.
"Remind me never to piss her off," Mikoshiba mumbled.
"Done," Rin concurred.
The person dubbed 'Zolno' – who already changed into a lightweight, long-sleeved shirt and shorts – froze mid-step halfway through the exit.(Rin expected that with a name like 'Zolno,' the accused would be male; but considering his own name was ridiculously feminine, he figured he had no place to judge.)
"So…short…" Rin muttered and shared another bewildered peek with Mikoshiba.
"Can't be over 165 centimeters," Mikoshiba huffed.
Etsuko barked from behind them again, "Freezing in place is not going to make me forget you're there, Zolno!" Another communal shudder. This is ruining our images of masculinity. Zolno dropped her shoulders and head in defeat before turning about face to her captain. "Come here," Etsuko entreated sweeter than before, "I think I have a solution for what we talked about yesterday."
A crow cawed from a tree branch outside. Rin did not like where this conversation was steering. And I still haven't gotten in the pool! Does Mikoshiba want me to be eliminated a prefectural's?!
Zolno's interested was piqued, though as she straightened up and cagily strode barefoot towards the trio. "Yes, captain?" she replied in a thick accent while tying her damp, dark-chocolate hair up into a bun.
"Matsuoka, Mikoshiba," Etsuko grabbed their attention again, "This is Ekaterina Zolnerovich." Rin caught Hamasaki sending Mikoshiba a smug look, who reciprocated fully. Rin definitely did not like where this was headed. "She's going to teach Matsuoka how to properly dive."
A beat of silence.
"What?" Both Rin and the renamed Ekaterina mimicked simultaneously.
"No way," Ekaterina refused flatly. She turned to leave again but Hamasaki grabbed her by the back of the collar, turning the shorter girl around to face the group. Ekaterina stayed planted with her arms across her chest and one hip jutted out. "Please let go, captain," she chanced.
"Nope," Etsuko chimed in a sing-song tone. "Matsuoka here needs help with his diving and I've volunteered you to help him out since you do have experience."
Ekaterina rolled her eyes, unimpressed. "Why?" she nearly demanded dryly.
"Because," Etsuko gritted through her teeth, "Samezuka was nice enough to let us you use their facilities while ours is under repair." She smiled menacingly, "Especially on such short notice."
"Captain, you are squeezing my shoulder too hard. I cannot feel it anymore," Ekaterina deadpanned. Etsuko huffed and released her teammate. Ekaterina rolled her shoulders a couple times to get the blood moving once more before staring her captain down. "Why should I help him if there is nothing in it for me?" she shrugged and turned away a third time.
Rin wasn't sure what exactly was going on, but the only phrase that could describe Etsuko's grin was 'shit-eating.' Never mind, definitely not a Tachibana. Hamasaki has no remorse. Etsuko raised her chin and utilized her orotund voice. "Hey, Mikoshiba, how are Matsuoka's English marks?"
If he had a timeline, Rin could identify the exact moment, down to the second, when he felt his stomach drop. Oh no…oh shit. It was simple enough to put two and two together and he desperately did not want to be caught in the middle of what was unfolding before him. He tried his best to telepathically plead to Mikoshiba, but once the third-year matched Etsuko's grin, Rin knew he was sunk. "The best in his class," he added sonorously.
Ekaterina halted in her tracks. After Mikoshiba's declaration, she clenched her fists and began tilting her head back and forth, as if to stretch the neck muscles.
Etsuko made a small fist-pump. "Got her."
Zolno rotated excruciatingly slow about one foot and stared calculatingly at Rin. Her eyes were a hard, sharp green. It was slightly eerie contrast to how pale she was. "If he is willing to put in the work," she almost challenged. Rin nodded firmly. Ekaterina flicked her gaze over to Mikoshiba, "When do we start?"
Seijuurou beamed. "Seven o'clock tonight, right after we finish practice." He patted Rin on the head. "You have until prefecture's to get his dives into tip-top shape," he grinned, satisfied with the course of events.
"Fine." Ekaterina's eyes found Rin's once more and finished dryly, "We will sort the rest out this evening." Rin restrained himself from wincing again. Your accent is going to be difficult to work around.
"Right," Rin hummed. As the short girl and her captain – who nearly sauntered with contentment – grabbed their gear and began their trek back to Ikagara Academy, Rin sighed and tiredly included, "Can I swim, now?"
Mikoshiba chuckled, "Yeah, go ahead, Matsuoka. Thanks for your patience." Rin snapped his swimming cap and goggles on while he hurried to rip his jacket off. Mikoshiba interrupted him again, "I expect to see improvement. Prove to me you deserve this."
If it will help me beat Haru…
"I will," he commented deadly before finally plunging into the water below.
Author's Notes:
'Etsuko' translated literally means 'joy child.'
This is my first time attempting to write anything related to 'Free!' Hopefully I've managed to keep the canon characters…well… in character and that my original characters don't come off as Mary-Sues. If you're not a huge Rin fan, this might not be the story for you. This starts effectively a week or so after he joins the Samezuka team. In theory, I plan to have the plot follow the events of season 1 with the OCs (who should not dramatically impact the direction the show has already set) and perhaps into season 2. Hopefully that made sense.
Also, the 'musical inspiration' is just something I recommend you listen to while reading each chapter. It does not necessarily mean that the characters listen to this type of music.
I apologize in advance for any grammatical mistakes.
Constructive criticism and reviews are welcome.
Thank you.