A/N: Something I wrote because I wanted to get it off my chest and also because of overwhelming makoharu feels. Sorry for any mistakes. It's 3am give me a break.

Haru was never keen on conveying his feelings to others. He had soon come to regret this.

It had happened one cold morning in the fall. Haruka was walking to school alone. Makoto had promised Ran and Ren the day before that he'd walk them both to school so he told Haru hurry on ahead and that he'll catch up to him. Of course Makoto had told him this after he had gotten him out of the tub this morning. After eating his breakfast of toast and mackerel, Haruka headed off to school, for the first time in a long time, without Makoto. It was getting more and more chilly these days, the white mist coming out of Haruka's mouth was proof of that. He remembered Makoto's nagging voice telling him just before he left;

'Don't forget to bring a scarf with you.'

And so he did. The warm piece of fabric was wrapped around his neck and Haruka was thankful for its warmth because the cold breeze that blew past him was strong enough to make him squint. He shuffled the scarf closer to his face and let out a long drawled out yawn.

'What's taking him so long.' Haruka thought.

The raven haired teen sighed, his breath coming out as a white foggy haze. He was making his way up to Mutsuki Bridge when he was able to get a glimpse of a girl standing by its ledge, looking at the waters forlornly. It was a girl from their class, Haru noted, though he didn't quite remember her name. The girl had noticed Haru approaching from the corner of her eye so she turned to greet him.

"Ah Nanase-kun, good morning." The girl greeted, that tone of dejection evident in her voice.

Haruka stopped and gave a curt response, not really knowing how to respond. Without Makoto to do the talking, Haruka really had no idea what to say in situations like these.

The girl smiled before looking back at the sea with those gloomy looking expression. Haruka suppressed a sigh. He was no expert on interacting with others but he knew he was going to be forced to ask,

"What's wrong?"

The girl looked at him mildly surprised before blushing a deep red,

"Oh, I'm sorry. I must have worried you. It's just that... my scarf..." the girl said before pointing to the river.

Haruka followed her gaze. He didn't see it at first but then he spotted something fluffy and pink floating in the river, drifting farther and farther away from them.

"The wind was so strong today that... it was blown away." The girl explained.

The girl sighed. Haruka looked at the girl with her red nose and cheeks and wondered for how long was she just standing there, watching the scarf drift farther and farther away? It was obviously already too late to do anything. Was she expecting it to just magically drift ashore? To be honest, it wasn't that far away. In fact there was riverbank just beside the bridge that leads to the river. He could have probably jumped in and gotten her scarf for her. Besides, he was already wearing his swimsuit underneath his uniform. But that was beside the point.

"It's too late. You should give up." Haruka blatantly stated before starting to walk away.

"A-ah... Y-yeah... I guess you're right..." the girl said.

For a moment, Haruka wondered if maybe he sounded a little too cold. But it was the truth. She should face it. But perhaps he could have been a bit more delicate about it...? He sighed. It was Makoto who was supposed to deal with troublesome things like these. Haruka shook his head before continuing on his way to school. He did not notice that the girl, despite his efforts had lingered behind.

Haruka was starting to get annoyed. Makoto was taking really long. Haruka had even slackened his pace a bit so that maybe he could catch up and yet the first bell had already rung and he was nowhere to be found. He stared out the window hoping to catch a just glimpse of him rushing up the gates before they were closed. No such luck.

"Nanase-kun."

Haruka turned to the unfamiliar voice. Some friendly looking guy was smiling at him. It was the guy sitting in front of Makoto's desk. Haruka couldn't remember his name either.

"Is Tachibana out sick today?" he asked.

"Not really." Haruka answered. People were so keen on striking up a conversation with him today. Just because Makoto isn't around...

"Ehh... That's rare! He's usually not this late. Besides, don't you guys usually walk to school together?"

Haruka shrugged.

"Hmm..." the guy said. "I wonder where he is?"

'I'd like to know that too.' Haru thought. That annoyed feeling was back. Just before the guy could ask any more questions, Amakata-sensei walked in.

"Alright you guys! Enough chit-chat. Get back to your seats."

There was a collective groan from the class before the students shuffled into their own seats. The absence of his seatmate made Haruka irritable.

"Stand."

"Bow."

"Sit."

Still no Makoto. Haru sighed for the umpteenth time that day. Amakata-sensei was just about to do a roll call when they heard loud footsteps echoing in the hallway. Haru thought that maybe it was Makoto but the theory was quickly diminished when it was followed by a distressed voice that obviously did not belong to Makoto calling for the sensei's name.

"AMAKATA-SENSEI! AMAKATA-SENSEI!"

The classroom doors opened with a loud bang and the whole class flinched. One of the older male teachers appeared in the doorway, panting.

"Senjou-sensei?" Amakata said, "W-What's the matter?"

This Senjou-sensei needed to catch his breath but he had forced himself to speak.

"Y...Your... One of your... Your students... T-Tachiba... Tachibana... Makoto has—"

There was a sudden clatter of a desk and chair and everyone turned to Haruka in surprise. When his friend's name reached his ears, Haruka knew something was wrong. Terribly, horribly wrong.

"Nanase-kun..." Amakata said and as if that had snapped him from a trance, Haruka turned his attention to Senjou-sensei and briskly walked up to him.

"Where?" Haruka said when he was only a few feet away from the teacher.

"Excuse me?" the teacher said, confused. This had only sparked Haruka's annoyance even more. He glared fiercely at the teacher before grabbing his shirt collar.

"Where is he?" Haruka demanded.

"Nanase-kun!" Amakata-sensei reprimanded. She tried to pry the teacher from Haruka's grasp. "Calm down!"

Haruka clicked his tongue, getting really impatient and released his hold on the teacher.

"I'm so sorry Senjou-sensei. Please excuse his behaviour." Amakata said apologetically.

"Ah... No... This is...?" Senjou pointed at the brooding teen.

"Ah, he is Haruka Nanase. Nanase-kun is a childhood friend of Tachibana-kun." Amakata-sensei explained.

"He doesn't need to know that. What happened?" Haruka asked impatiently.

Amakata-sensei wanted to scold Haruka again but she wanted to know what happened as well so she saved it for later. Senjou-sensei looked at both of them grimly. Haruka felt his insides grow cold as the teacher's words left his mouth. Nothing registered in his mind. The only word that kept replaying in his head was

...drowned...

End of Part 1