The Seal
Rin had been walking out of the pool alone when he spotted her for the first time being chased out of the complex by a slightly larger, fatter boy shouting obscenities at her as he noted the natural swimmers build she had regardless of the chest she seemed to be developing as an early bloomer.
Hibiki herself would make eye contact with the boy as she ran and keep going like hell was on her heels unaware she had attracted his attention as he watched her swim with the other boys the next day.
"Why do you let that boy chase you out?" Rin asks when he holds a hand out for her to take as Hibiki eyes it unsurely for a moment before getting out on her own.
"He's my cousin and if I don't run I'll get my ass kicked because I can't fight back without consequences. I'm Potter Hibiki by the way" Hibiki explains quietly before going on to ask if he wanted to practice with her since the other boys didn't want to due to her gender and her cousin's bullying.
Rin would agree in hopes maybe he'd get over the wall unaware she would be giving him the building blocks to do so later on down the road, but for now he just wanted to see what she was capable of since she reminded him of Haruka with how she seemed so at home in the water.
"What's it like? Swimming in a relay I mean" Hibiki would ask quietly as they walked out of the pool complex months later of practicing and training as a pair unaware of the progress they had both had made. Neither noticed when their timings hadn't changed much and Hibiki showed up at the pool at least twice a week covered in bruises that most of the adults ignored because of how important her uncle was as a sponsor to the school.
"Why do you wanna know?" Rin asks rudely, noting the slight flinch she gave at his tone but waiting for her answer before he apologized.
"Well I've never done it since most of the other boys don't like swimming with a girl and the ones that ignore my gender are afraid of Dudley. I wanna know what it was like being a part of something bigger and swimming as one unit with three other swimmers" Hibiki explains quietly, her green eyes shining brightly with her excitement as Rin grunts and keeps walking.
"It's okay if you don't wanna answer. It just means that I have to experience it for myself someday. Till then I don't mind training with you" Hibiki says with a small smile, earning a softening of Rin's posture in return as he asks what had happened to her hair since it looked like someone had taken garden sheers to it with how short and boy like it was.
"Some of the girls in class stuck some gum in my hair is all...I had to have coach cut it out but that's okay it was just getting in my face anyways while I swim" Hibiki waves off tugging on a strand of her black hair while Rin just sighs and ruffles her hair knowing as a Brit and a girl on an all-boys swim team she still had issues fitting in and likely without him she'd be totally alone.
When Rin returned to Japan for his second year of high school Hibiki followed after her relatives abandoned her in Australia.
"It's a lot warmer than London is" Hibiki says quietly peeking her head out the window of their dorm room as Rin just sighs and drags her back inside wondering why she had dyed her short black hair white.
"Why did you dye your hair white? You know the black will only grow back" Rin says annoyed as Hibiki just smiles slightly at him before sitting down in his lap.
"Yeah well when you have a slightly older brother you look exactly like minus the glasses then why wouldn't I? I mean I like my male name but I don't want his friends if he and they ever decide to visit to be calling me by HIS name. Not when I'm trying to make a name for myself here" Hibiki explains fooling around with her phone, noting Rin's phone going off and knowing he was ignoring it.
"I still don't get that by the way" Rin points out slightly put out as Hibiki hums, her generally bright demeanor dimming slightly at the point as she gets up.
"Yeah well my mum and dad didn't want me due to some things so they left me with a friend who was forced two years before middle school to give me to my mother's sister…The only good things that came out of it were swimming and meeting you so there's nothing to understand. They're long dead and my older brother has no time to come see me so let's move on because I wanna see the pool and meet the team since they let me join" Hibiki explains still looking cheerful before leaving, slamming the door behind her.
Hibiki would join Rin in checking out his old swim club and walk right on in and past Haruka, Makoto and Nagisa startling them unintentionally when their flashlights caught the tail end of her white hair.
"Rin did you get what you were looking for?" Hibiki asks jumping up and onto his back to peek at the trophy he'd won during his first and last relay to date that she knew of. Rin would only nod looking at it before both hearing the commotion from inside as Hibiki giggles remembering the other boys she'd startled.
"What did you do now" Rin asks slightly annoyed as Hibiki just jumps off to walk inside, ignoring his question as it leads to a confrontation with Haruka, Makoto and Nagisa. She would watch the whole thing with calculating green eyes and realize what was going on and why Rin had quit swimming during their second year of middle school.
"So you're the team he did his last relay with" Hibiki says startling all three boys as Rin walked away after he and Haruka realized the pool was empty, letting Hibiki do her thing since she would compete against them eventually.
"Are you a friend of Rin's?" Nagisa asks as Hibiki gets in their faces and stares them down as they took in the jewel like quality to the girl's eyes for she was a girl they realized.
"Yup I'm Potter Hibiki and best friend of Rin, also only girl to make it onto the all-boys team at our high school" Hibiki says brightly, it was like looking at an older, tamer female version of Nagisa if Makoto was honest with himself.
"You swim?" Haruka asks having seen the same spark in her that he had once as Hibiki nods happily before looking towards where Rin had gone.
"Yeah well I gotta go otherwise the Shark won't wait for me. Maybe I'll see you around" Hibiki says brightly before running after Rin.
Hibiki would spot Gou talking with the captain as she swam and realize she had come looking for Rin and duck into the water when the captain made to motion to her direction as she slunk to the other end of the pool and got out.
"Your sister came to see you…the captain looked a little too happy in trying to help her out" Hibiki explains quietly when Rin finally came back to their room, finding her on her designated half of the bottom bunk.
"Hey you look happier" Hibiki says sitting up excitedly as Rin just rolls his eyes and pushes her over as Hibiki just grins.
"You swam against him didn't you?" Hibiki asks quietly as Rin looked to her sharply wondering how she knew.
"Oh don't give me that you Shark. You were both chomping at the bit to get back into the water, racing each other back at your old swim club so it only stands to reason that when the blonde learned through your sister that you were here that they would come for a visit" Hibiki explains, yawning slightly before grabbing one of the pillows and curling up around it.
"You gonna ask how I did?" Rin asks as Hibiki sleepily rolls her eyes at him.
"You won obviously since you kept in shape with me even though you haven't swum in a long time and he hasn't swum from his overall physique since the end of his first year of middle school. Now I have my run in the morning so let me sleep or face the wrath of the angry Seal in the morning" Hibiki mumbles finally dozing off, tired from practice and having stayed up late to secretly watch the race.
Rin unsure how to take the last piece of information goes to sleep as well aware she'd kick him out of the bed when she got up at dawn for her daily run.
"I'm glad you joined me in the fun Rin" Hibiki says cheerfully running at the maroon haired boy's side as Rin just grumbles and goes to swipe at her only to earn a cackle as she ran ahead of him to catch up with the other boys as Aiichiro or as Hibiki fondly called the guy, Rin's fan-boy came up to his side watching Hibiki talk with the captain excitedly and making gestures that suggested she was obviously excited for the joint practice.
"Why did they bring a newbie who can barely float" Hibiki asks quietly to herself as she stood at the captain's side waiting for her turn as he pit her against Haruka since like him she swam free style generally but was good for backstroke as well for someone of her size and had a passable butterfly since she'd practiced with Rin for so long.
Hibiki would jump in at the same time as Haruka as her captain blew the whistle and feel the adrenaline as she out swam her best friend's former teammate much to Rin's slight amusement as Hibiki got out of the pool her eyes less bright as Haruka touched the wall while Nagisa, Rei and Makoto looked to her in surprise as she smiled and looked at her time, pleased with herself while Gou saw difficult competition in the white haired girl.
"Good job" Aiichiro says excitedly as Hibiki gave him a swift punch to shoulder in annoyance before walking away having sensed Rin's slight annoyance since like her, his victory against Haruka felt half-baked due to how out of shape the other boy was.
"This time yeah but next time when he's actually in shape fan-boy we'll either be neck in neck or he'll kick my ass so I have to train harder and get faster" Hibiki says quietly with bright green eyes at the idea of the challenge.
"Nitori show some control please and stop fan-boying. It's best to focus on the present and the present is training to get faster and make better times so sleep otherwise you will find another nasty surprise in your swim trunks" Hibiki says grumpily from her part of the bed as Rin dried his hair while Nitori heaped on the praise from practice earlier, Hibiki having swam with Rin as a means as competition like the old days.
"Don't go to sleep with your hair wet otherwise you'll get sick" Rin says tossing her the towel as Hibiki catches it not looking up from her phone before tossing it back down onto the bed annoyed.
"What has you so annoyed" Rin asks as Hibiki shows the message from her older brother's friend, Ronald and how it was just an apology and to stop with the messages that her brother would get into contact with her when he was ready.
"His friends and supposed girlfriend have been giving me the same god damn message every time I try and reach him…He hasn't once responded himself and I know for a fact he doesn't have a girlfriend so her responses annoy me" Hibiki explains quietly drying her hair before abruptly grabbing the phone and turning it off.
"Every message?" Aiichiro asks concerned for his other roommate as Hibiki nods before settling herself in Rin's lap like she used to when she wanted comfort. She would leave the phone off for the next three days while they practiced, cheering up slightly since Rin was really getting into it.
When she wasn't training she was secretly watching the Iwatobi club train and feel slightly envious of them for getting to swim relay with her friend and unaware to her Rei had kept an eye on her silent watching of them and notice the sad and longing look in her gaze.
"That girl you mentioned with your friend has been watching us practice" Rei would mention to Nagisa as the blonde looked up startled as he asked why.
"Probably just curious about you, Makoto and Haru" Rei says as Nagisa nods and mentally decides to invite her to watch them practice or even join them.
"Hi" Nagisa says brightly from behind Hibiki as she jumped about a foot in the air and turned to look at him with slightly guilty green eyes.
"It's not what it looks like?" Hibiki squeaks out as Nagisa just laughs before dragging her to practice since at Samezuka Academy practice wasn't till way later that day.
Haruka, Makoto and Rei would both look up to see Nagisa dragging the strange girl towards the pool as she flushed slightly in embarrassment looking sheepish.
"How do you know Rin?" Makoto asks breaking the slightly nervous and tense silence, getting a smile as Hibiki brightened up.
"Through swimming of course; we met during our first year of middle school in Australia. Like here I was the only girl on the boys' team since I was out swimming my peers and not being challenged enough in the girl's coach's opinion. Anyways Shark approached me after swim practice a month after he had transferred in…I think it was after a particularly bad day with dealing with my fat ass cousin chasing me from the pool with his friends that he took interest. He practiced with me after that up until he stopped swimming for a time anyways. Still came out to watch me and help me practice. I'm glad he raced with you, it's been more fun swimming with him again" Hibiki explains excitedly as Haruka nods.
"Why were you watching us?" Rei asks as Hibiki flushes and tugs on a small patch of her short hair looking embarrassed.
"I wanted to see what Rin's former team mates were like since he wouldn't talk too much about you…mind you I had no room to talk till my relatives abandoned me but best thing to ever happen to me" Hibiki explains before asking if she could be of any help before her practice since she had noted Rei's problem.
"What would you suggest?" Makoto asks curiously as Hibiki just smiles and stands up.
"Well from the looks of things Rei looks like a numbers and theories kind of guy so he's got the theory of it down it's just the feelings behind it that's the issue. Why do you swim? What are your feelings when you're in the water? What kind of swimmer do you wanna be? Those are the questions you kind of have to ask yourself. Like for myself I started swimming because it gave and still gives me freedom, my feelings once I'm in the water are happiness and excitement to face a new challenge and the kind of swimmer I wanted and still want to be is someone who is having fun and is swimming freely with my soul" Hibiki explains brightly as she strips down to her swim suit of swim pants and a swim top that looked like a sports bra, all in white with black accents unaware that Makoto was taking in some of the scars she had on her arms, legs and back.
Rei would look to her slightly lost as Hibiki sighs and holds her hand to him after climbing into the pool.
"To simplify it for you Rei the main question what makes you want to swim, what style do you want to specialize in? Is it the back stroke, breast stroke, butterfly or free style?" Hibiki asks as Makoto sees the wisdom in those questions while Nagisa and Gou ask why those kinds of questions were important.
"Because it determines whether or not you'll be another part of the crowd in the swimming circuit or someone who will one day lead the pack as a great swimmer and most of it all it determines whether or not you're swimming freely, full body, heart and soul" Hibiki says brightly as she helps Rei back up after he sank again.
Hibiki would leave a little while later after warming up and head to practice a little happier and a little wiser as to what had drawn Rin to those other boys.
Seijuro would ask where she'd been and she would just smile and say she'd been doing some soul searching and would dive into practice a little more enthusiastically than usual much to his amusement as she lived up to her reputation as a task master when she was in a mood. It motivated the rest of the team though so he couldn't complain.
Unbeknownst to her in England Harry had finally found her messages and wonder what was up and who she was, going to goblins to do some investigating only to discover what the old man had done and that he had a little sister who had turned out a squib and had been forced to live with the Dursleys while he had been at school. He felt dread pool into his stomach once it became clear she'd been left behind on a trip to Australia and had using some funds Snape had left her to follow a friend she'd made to Japan. He also learned she was a competitive swimmer and was good enough to compete with the other BOYS in her age bracket.
"Rin this place is amazing" Hibiki says in awe as she looks around the area in excitement as he just snorts and nudges her in the direction of the indoor pool and successively distracts her from exploring. She had a tendency to get into trouble when she explored on her own.
"How do you do that?" Aiichiro asks watching Rin drag Hibiki from trying to wander off.
"Practice…Hibiki is a trouble magnet and if left alone long enough attracts it like a moth to a flame" Rin grumbles as he lets her go towards the change room as Seijuro nods gratefully to him having remembered the few incidents before Rin had joined the team.
Hibiki would spot Nagisa, Makoto, Gou, Rei and Haruka watching their training camp from the huge windows outside and would subtly wave to them while Rin was distracted.
Hibiki would look outside having been jostled slightly awake by Rin and note the storm having remembered that the others had gone the camping route and slink outside to see if she could be of any help only to be dragged along for the adventure, being stuck with Haruka and Makoto.
"Well that was fun" Hibiki says with a shaky laugh as she helps Makoto sit up after having Haruka revive him.
"Why did you come and help?" Haruka asks seriously as Hibiki's usual bright demeanor changed to serious.
"I saw the storm and since you guys weren't in the lodge I figured you'd gone to camping route so I came out to check on you when I got caught in the tail end of you and Nagisa trying to save Makoto and Rei" Hibiki explains shivering slightly before worry became evident on her face as all three of them moved onto find better shelter.
"Rin is so going to kill me if Seijuro doesn't do it first" Hibiki says pleasantly to herself watching the boys comfort each other before Nagisa brought up the issue of being cold as Hibiki clears her throat and points up to the lighthouse she had spotted while they talked.
"Where did you get all those scars?" Makoto asks curiously after revealing he was afraid of the ocean while Hibiki brought her knees up to her chest looking vulnerable and scared for a change from the usually bright and cheery person they were used to.
"You know that day where I mentioned my relatives abandoned me in Australia and how it was the best thing to ever happen?" Hibiki asks quietly as Rei nods and Nagisa asked why.
"Well to be honest I hadn't always lived with them but someone interfered and my guardian was forced to give me to my relatives for most of the year after it came to light I didn't display the skills needed to get into the school my parents went too while my older brother went to said boarding school up in Scotland…My brother doesn't even know I exist because of this interference and the continued interference of his friends. I'm getting off track though anyways my aunt, my mom's sister had despised my mom for years so once I was forced to live with them having come from a background they deemed abnormal they took out their anger and fear on me. It's why I'm so small and why I have so many scars. Up until I met Rin I hadn't had any friends because my cousin would drive anyone who tried away so I took up swimming since the water seemed to be my only safe haven from my relatives, where I was free to be me and be good at something" Hibiki explains quietly rubbing her eyes when she realized that her eyes had watered up.
"Why didn't anyone say anything?" Rei demands harshly, causing Hibiki to flinch slightly before answering.
"Anyone who tried disappeared and any case files opened regarding me were left open ended because the case worker in charge mysteriously forgot and I was returned to them just like my brother before me only he had gotten the better end of the stick since he could disappear to his school for ten months out of the year" Hibiki explains as Nagisa jumps forward and hugs her while Makoto just smiles and points out the flinch gently.
"Yeah due to the abuse and starvation I tend to get twitchy around loud voices and I have hair trigger reactions to negative physical touch" Hibiki explains with a nervous laugh as Nagisa asks how Rin had changed everything.
"He gave me an out, somewhere to go after school and someone to be close with after so many years of it just being a world of only me. Sure he was and still is a little surly with me but I wouldn't give it up because he's always looked out for me like I have for him" Hibiki says gently.
Hibiki would climb out of the ocean and tackle Rin as he ran by having spotted his former friends in the ocean and her before realizing she had a mishap and had gotten into trouble again.
Rin would startle Hibiki awake from a nightmare he was having as she fell out of bed with a squeak while Aiichiro asks if Rin was alright while Hibiki rubbed her head having fallen head first.
"Geez forget about me much" Hibiki mutters sulkily getting up and digging through her bag of things in the corner as she pulled on a white long sleeved shirt over her swim top and pulled on her favorite pair of sweatpants before going on ahead to the pool to talk to Seijuro about the events she wanted to enter.
Gou would note Hibiki's entries in the butterfly and back stroke when she showed the others the data she had managed to gather.
"Nitori" Hibiki calls out when she spots the younger boy bugging Rin about why he'd only entered the 100M free style.
"Potter chan?" Aiichiro asks coming up as the white haired girl just sighed and patted the spot next to the pool for him to sit.
"Just let Rin do as he pleases, he'll enter those events the next go round its just important to him to face off against his old team mate is all. Anyways you need to focus on the event you entered so let me deal with Rin and you deal with getting a better time and placement on the events you managed to get into" Hibiki reassures as Aiichiro nods before following her back into practice.
Rin would note back in their dorm room the missed message on Hibiki's phone from an unknown number while he did sit ups with Aiichiro as Hibiki came in from her shower, towel drying her hair and ignoring the phone still.
"You want me to come?" Hibiki asks knowing where Rin was going before the competition tomorrow as Aiichiro demands to know where he was going as it turns into an argument that earns an unusually dark look from Hibiki to Aiichiro before she sits in the chair to give the gray haired boy a look.
"Look you do what you can and just train harder, focus on yourself and what you can do for the team. Stop looking out for what Rin and I should be doing since we all have our quirks considering we're your seniors we should be bugging you not the other way around" Hibiki explains looking slightly amused about the last bit as Rin points out Aiichiro's endurance and how he was more cut out for the 400M free style earning a grin from Hibiki as she finally notices her phone and the unknown number.
"Hmm that's curious…I'll deal with it tomorrow after the competition" Hibiki says with a sigh as Aiichiro and Rin went out to talk, motioning to Rin to bring her back something.
Harry with George would get seats near the Iwatobi Swim Club to watch Hibiki swim having got a picture of her from Dudley and would note they shared a lot of traits like their hair and eyes and how short they were.
"There she is" George points out as they spot her talking with a maroon haired boy unaware that Makoto was looking to them strangely before realization came onto his face of who the black haired man was before smiling slightly as they watch Rin wave her off with a slightly fond look on his face while she scampered off with a grin on her face.
"She looks happy" Harry says quietly as they watch the race with interest as Rin comes in first while Haruka comes in second.
"I don't get why she dyed her hair white though" George says with a snort as Harry motioned to himself and then at her with his free hand while George held the other as the red head realized Harry was maybe 3 to 4 inches taller but otherwise they looked almost like twins as Makoto moved to have his turn, subtly pointing the two men out to her as they walked up to the starting point.
'Nii san?!' Hibiki thinks to herself in shock before taking a breath in and out to steady herself as she pulled her goggles on and looks around for Rin, spotting him in the shade ready to watch her out of sight.
At the beep she was off, taking the lead straight off with Makoto on her tail while the others in the stand watched, Nagisa and the others cheering Makoto on while Harry watched Hibiki swim in awe as she in the end took first place with a happy squeal before looking to Makoto with a smile.
"That was great, hopefully we'll compete again next time" Hibiki says getting out and offering a hand to Makoto who took it, slightly disappointed with his results but noting the happy look on Hibiki's face diminished it as she chattered about how she hadn't had a challenge from someone like him in a while and tips to improve.
"Hibiki is amazing" George says in awe as Makoto comes back to sit with the others while Nagisa took his turn.
Hibiki would go on to beat Rei as well in the butterfly but only because of Rei's goggles slipping off. She would run after them at the end of the day to talk to Rei and would catch the tail end of him apologizing.
"Hey" Hibiki called out happily as she jumped on Nagisa with a hug as they all greeted her.
"Aren't you supposed to be with your team?" Gou asks as Hibiki gives her the peace sign with a grin.
"Nah I came to see if maybe sometime between now and regionals if Rei wanted a rematch" Hibiki says as Rei looked to her with surprise before she tugged on the goggles around her neck to make her point.
"I kinda want a fair match since Rei's goggles slipped but anyways did you see where those two guys sitting next to you went?" Hibiki asks as Makoto shrugs and Gou thinks back on the two men, realization coming onto her face as the adults drove off.
"That was your brother?" Gou asks as Hibiki nods before pulling her phone out, recognizing Rin's ring tone.
"Yeah looks like I gotta go. Rei if you want a rematch just ask Gou since she has my number bye" Hibiki says in a rush before running off to answer her phone as she began talking rapidly in English much to their confusion and Rei's amusement since he could hear Hibiki chastising the person on the other end of the phone for hiding and not watching her swim properly.
Harry meanwhile would approach the team captain to see if he could talk to her and would walk away slightly frustrated when it became clear that she had wandered off to find Rin.
Hibiki would stand and watch Haruka and the others swim the medley relay in awe as Rin came to stand at her side as she looked between him and the pool, noting his mood as Haruka won.
"That was amazing…C'mon Rin lets go" Hibiki softly looking to Rin as he watched Nagisa, Rei, Haruka and Makoto celebrate before dragging her friend away gently.
Hibiki would finally come to face with Harry as she got ready to go with Rin and Aiichiro to a summer festival, having gone with casual clothing and foregoing a yukata due to the hot weather.
"Hibiki there's someone at the front desk looking to speak with you" the dorm supervisor explained peeking in as she looked up confused, having been pulling on a black summer dress while Rin and Aiichiro looked the other way.
"I'll be down in second then…Could you wait for me?" Hibiki asks looking to Rin and Aiichiro as Rin just nods and motions for her to hurry up as he and Aiichiro follow her out as she bolted out of the dorm room and down to the lobby only to crash into the red head she'd spotted with her brother.
"Hibiki san you should watch where you're going" Aiichiro chastised as the older boy she crashed into picked her up literally and put her back on her feet.
"Hibiki?" Harry asks softly as Hibiki turned around sharply to meet a familiar pair of green eyes she only ever saw in the mirror before attempting to tackle the owner of the voice, only just being restrained by Rin as he gave the older man an assessing look before letting Hibiki loose.
Poor Harry would fall backwards from the weight of the younger girl as she sniffled and get a firm hold on him.
"You finally found me nii san" Hibiki mumbles into his shirt as Harry softens at that and with the help of George stands up.
"Yeah finally found your messages…things have been hectic at home and some of my phone calls and mail have been lost and or taken/erased before I could look at any of it. You're calling of George's number actually got through and Snape left me your address amongst the things he left behind in his will" Harry explains in English as Hibiki nods letting go to wipe her eyes.
"I figured but anyways I saw you come and watch the other day" Hibiki says excitedly dragging both men out the door to follow Rin and Aiichiro who had walked ahead.
"Yeah you're really fast" George praises as Hibiki just grins and looks ahead.
"Mhm practicing with the team has helped plus with Rin swimming again I always have a challenge and a partner to practice with outside of practice" Hibiki explains happily as she covered their train fare.
"Where are we going exactly?" Harry asks amused as Hibiki chattered on about her school and swimming and her misadventures with Rin and fan-boy Aiichiro.
"Oh there's a festival in Rin's dad's home town and the team was going to head to the temple to pray to the god there for the team" Hibiki explains as George asks why she didn't wear a yukata if it was a festival, having done a little research.
"Didn't feel like it really and the one yukata I have doesn't look very good with my hair" Hibiki explains with a shrug as they finally reached their stop as she looked over to Rin concerned, Harry catching onto this.
"What's up with your friend?" Harry asks as he follows her towards the shrine.
"He's just questioning some things after watching Iwatobi swim the medley relay…he kind of hit a wall when we were in Australia and when he came back during the New Year he stopped swimming for a while. He still came out and watched me but it wasn't really the same" Hibiki explains before being nudged forward by Harry to pray with her team.
Seijuro would get introduced to Harry by Hibiki as a means to communicate if they couldn't track her down since like Rin the team captain seemed to have a sixth sense for when she got into trouble or into mischief.
"Are you happy here?" Harry asks as he walked hand in hand with George while Hibiki munched on a candy apple.
"Mhm everyone is nice and welcoming on the team and I get to swim whenever I like with Rin…hopefully we'll get to do a relay soon" Hibiki says wistfully as Harry asks why it was important to her.
"I want to know what it's like to swim as one unit and what it's like to share the victory with my friends and team mates in comparison to the small individual victories I have. I want to experience what I saw the other day from Iwatobi" Hibiki says before spotting Rei following Rin.
Harry spotting her attention was elsewhere urged on to check on her friend and that he would meet her with George at the train station later.
"Thanks Nii san, George" Hibiki says happily before running off while the couple went and explored themselves, running into Makoto and Haruka with Nagisa in the process.
"Rin" Hibiki calls out excitedly as she jumped onto the boy's back as he came to a stop in front of the park he made his promise with Haruka back in elementary school.
"What are you doing and why aren't you with your brother?" Rin asks as Hibiki just grinned and clung onto his back.
"I came to see if you wanted company and my brother wanted to explore with his boyfriend George so he let me go for a bit. We're meeting up at the train station when we leave with the team" Hibiki explains as Rin just sighs and looks over the park and pool, reminiscing over the relay he'd swam with the others only to run away, Hibiki still on his back as she waved at Rei.
"Whoa really you wanna swim in the relay Shark" Hibiki says excitedly as Rin asks the captain to take part in the relay. She would hug tighter around his neck in excitement as she looked to Harry who was walking up with George both looking happy and carrying a couple souvenirs from the festival.
"Other than the red eyes throwing me off he seems to care about her if the restraint he showed when he stopped her from tackling you out right was anything to go by" George points out as he and Harry walk back to the hotel they were staying in as Harry himself nods.
"Yeah from the sounds of things Rin was for her what you and Fred were for me during those first few years at Hogwarts" Harry says as George nods.
Hibiki would sigh and nudge Aiichiro over and follow Rin when she noted his mood at practice just following him silently and would watch on concerned as Rei and Rin argued over things Hibiki had noticed from the beginning coming out into the open for the first time for Rin.
"Rei that's enough" Hibiki says trying pry Rei off Rin when Rei confessed why Haruka stopped competing as Rin fought back, causing her to fall backwards and onto her butt as Rei answered Rin's question of why it mattered to him.
"Rin you're finally noticing it uh" Hibiki says quietly the next day after the confrontation noting his swimming is off as she stood at Seijuro and Aiichiro's side as they both looked to her.
"I think he's finally realizing why he's stuck or at least putting the pieces together of the wall he's hit in his progress…" Hibiki says quietly cutting Aiichiro off from waving off the captain's worries as Seijuro raises an eyebrow at her as she watches Rin with worried green eyes as he just sighs and ruffles her hair.
Hibiki would sleep, her head leaning on Rin's shoulder through the ride to the pool complex where the Regionals were hosted and follow him to his meeting with Rei as Rei asks what the meeting was about.
"It's about your second question. I never answered it" Rin explains as Rei waves it off and explains he was over it, noting the concerned looking Hibiki.
"No thing is I won't be over it till I do. You wanted to know how I feel about Haru. You were right I was pretty obsessed with racing him, but it wasn't his fault I wanted to quit swimming. Don't get me wrong I was pretty shocked when he beat me but that wasn't what did it. After moving to Australia I trained every day, participated in every tournament, but I could never truly swim the way I wanted to. The Olympics were completely out of reach and I felt more and more like I was getting left behind. I could only wonder why I was struggling so much. Why, then it hit me I swam in a relay I ruined myself. That's what I thought at least. Things looked up a little when Hibiki came along but when I got back to Japan and didn't make any effort to get into contact with the four of them. Hell why would I, I had given up swimming for good, but then I swam with Haru. That race gave me the breakthrough I needed. After that I fell in love with swimming again. Then District came and I saw you swimming with the three of them it reminded me of our relay" Rin explains as Hibiki hugged his side in silent reassurance and encouragement.
"You don't think that I'm…" Rei began to say as Rin explained he was swimming the relay for Samezuka and that he was going to show how good he could be, that he with his team should do their best and that he would be watching so Rei shouldn't embarrass his team and that was all he wanted to say before walking away.
"Hey so will I and try to relax and have fun" Hibiki points out quietly with a smile before following after Rin.
Hibiki would look concerned as Rin went to talk to the captain before looking to Aiichiro as the younger teen shrugged before Hibiki got up quietly to watch the captain explain Rin had been removed from the relay line up and how Rin needed to focus on the other parts of the tournament he'd signed up for and sort out whatever had been bothering him.
"Oh no…" Hibiki whispered to herself before getting up sharply and quickly making her way down and towards Rin having seen how unfocused he had been before the start of his part of the tournament unaware Aiichiro would follow on her tail with the whole of the Iwatobi team, both finding them before she would.
"Which way did he go?" Hibiki asks quietly catching up with the others as Makoto pointed to where Aiichiro was running to.
"Rin" Hibiki called out sharply catching the maroon haired teen's attention as red met calm green.
"What do you want" Rin asks sharply as Hibiki just sighed and crossed her arms.
"Nothing Rin I was just concerned and curious as to what you truthfully wanted to do right Haruka" Hibiki asks as Haruka ran onto the scene as she stepped aside to reveal the teen as Rin started beating on himself and encouraging Haruka to boast as it turned into fight leading to the revelation that Rin just wanted to swim with his friends.
"It's not too late Rin, let's go" Haruka says as the others catch up and encourage Rin to just swim if he wanted to.
"Is there room for one more?" Hibiki asks quietly looking to Rin with hopeful green eyes as Rin nodded and she laughed and followed them inside to stand pool side with the others with a smile giving the team upstairs a peace sign.
"C'mon Haruka you can do it" Hibiki cheered, jumping up and down slightly at Makoto, Rin's and Nagisa's side as the cheers becoming deafening as they took first place.
"Aww guys stop with the tears please" Hibiki sniffled before being dragged into the group hug, courtesy of Rin.
"What did you think?" Rin asks quietly as he walked with Hibiki to apologize to the captain and team.
"It was amazing Rin and lets with Aiichiro do something like that" Hibiki says excitedly as he smiled slightly at her excitement.
"Did Rin sort himself out?" Harry would ask Hibiki over the phone having gone home at the end of the tournament, leaving a new number for her to use.
"Yeah he did nii san and we're improving greatly, we just need a couple more people and we can do our own relay team" Hibiki explained quietly as Rin laid with his head in her lap after practice as she admired her copy of the group shot they had taken at Regionals unaware that with the new and last year of their schooling they would get the other two members.
"I'm glad and hopefully once I get things sorted with Andromeda you'll be seeing more of me, George and your honorary nephew Teddy" Harry explains as Rin looked up at her questioningly as she just smiles glad.
"Where do you plan to move to?" Hibiki asks before looking to the clock on the desk in their room realizing the time.
"Iwatobi but you should be heading to sleep, it's late so I'll talk to you later Hibiki" Harry says firmly as Hibiki just yawns and says her good night and hangs up.
"What did he have to say" Rin asks cautiously as Hibiki adjusted her pillow and laid out next to him looking happier than he'd ever seen her.
"He's glad things have sorted themselves out and once he's settled things in England he plans to move here with George nii san and Teddy, his godson" Hibiki explains sleepily before falling asleep curling into Rin's side.
Hibiki would be getting ready to go and race Seijuro at the farewell practice for the senior members of the team when Haruka and the others showed up and would squeal in joy, tackling Nagisa in a hug since they had become close over the winter since the Iwatobi team had included her in some of their practices since she was a well spring of ideas from her time in Australia.
"So glad you guys could make it" Hibiki said excitedly as she switched to stand at Rin's side as Seijuro challenged the next swimmer trying to convince the others to swim against him like everyone else till someone beat him. "I nearly beat Seijuro too" she continued when Gou asked if she had already gone.
Seijuro would appoint Rin captain much to Hibiki's delight as she tackled the older boy in a hug before running off to get her camera much to everyone's amusement since she'd been taking pictures with everyone for a huge album she was keeping at the suggestion of her older brother.
"Keep him in line" Seijuro says in amusement as Hibiki gave him the peace sign as he went on to inform her of the new swimmer that would be transferring in.
"I'll help keep things in top shape and hopefully the new guy is as good as you say" Hibiki says in amusement before snapping another picture with the captain and saying good bye.
"Uhm Rin who's this?" Hibiki would ask after class seeing the reaction between the new guy, Souske Yamazaki and Rin.
"Oh right Hibiki this is Souske a friend from elementary before I transferred to Iwatobi and Souske this Hibiki my girlfriend and team mate from Australia" Rin introduces as Hibiki nods with smile holding her hand out to the taller boy as Souske shook her smaller hand noting the muscle in them and how she had the muscle mass of someone who could swim national level.
"How did you and Rin meet?" Souske would ask Hibiki at practice after introductions as she smiled at the memory stretching out at his side giving him full view of her scars from over the years.
"The first time we made eye contact or the first time we had a conversation?" Hibiki asks cheekily as Souske asks for both while Rin just face palmed at how well they were getting along even though they had different views on swimming.
"Well first eye contact it was coming out of the school's pool complex as he was walking out and I was being chased out by my fat ass of a cousin with some of his friends who were in the swim club. Rin approached me the next day at practice and asked why I didn't fight back and my reply was I didn't want to deal with the consequences. I would give him my name when he seemed satisfied with the answer and ask if he wanted to practice with me and we swam together every day like that and he would watch when he wasn't swimming since I was the odd woman out in the all-boys swimming team" Hibiki explains quietly with fond green eyes that would look up to meet his teal ones as he nods in understanding going on to watch Hibiki pinch Aiichiro's ear.
"Ai we talked about this remember" Hibiki says serenely as a dark aura appeared behind her much to Rin's amusement as Aiichiro continued on anyways with discussing Souske with Rin.
"Let him go Hibiki he seems to have desensitized himself to your death grip on his ear" Rin says quietly as Hibiki lets go with a pout before following to try her hand swimming against Souske.
Souske would beat her by a small margin but he would congratulate her for keeping up considering her small size.
"Oh I need a pick with the team for the album since Rin made captain…gotta let nii san know too" Hibiki mutters to herself as Souske asks what that was about.
"Oh my Nii san is still overseas in England with his boyfriend and his godson newly adopted as their son and till he moves here I've been keeping an album of the major and minor events since last year's Regionals so he can see what I've been up to" Hibiki explains animatedly showing the water proof camera, having dug it out of her swim bag as Aiichiro comes over to have a look.
"How is Harry san?" Aiichiro asks as Hibiki smiles leading the way to the change room unfazed by all the changing boys much to Souske's shocked amusement as Rin just sighs and shakes his head.
"Oh he's good, got to see him for a little bit over winter break with my nephew and George nii san. They brought a couple friends with them though so it was kinda hard following some of their stories and trying to stay included in some moments but in the end I was happy to see him for the break" Hibiki explains cheerfully not noting how Rin had noticed the slight dimming of her eyes at the mention of trying to stay included in listening to her older brother and his friends stories. He would gently hit her over the head with a significant look as she pouted as Souske asked Aiichiro quietly if they were dating.
"Yeah, but they spend most of their time here and training so it doesn't seem like it sometimes but with moments like that you can see it" Aiichiro explains fondly as Hibiki wandered off to gather the team for a new group shot.
She would later learn of the relay and ask Rin if she could take part or at least come as a spare if he found two other since she knew Souske would jump at the chance to swim with his friend.
"Oi Momo get your ass over here" Hibiki called out the day of the relay as Seijuro's little brother did a 180 and would have jumped her if not for the fist that met the top of his head courtesy of Hibiki.
"We discussed the jumping Momo now my boyfriend here and our friend have something to ask you and warning you now if you don't truly think over the offer we will be having words" Hibiki says pleasantly as Momotarou Mikoshiba nods quickly having heard from his older brother how Hibiki could be when she wanted something.
"Good job Hibiki" Aiichiro says cheerfully as she holds her fist out to him with a grin.
"Yeah I put the fear of kami into Seijuro so it only stands to reason he shared the message to Momo here" Hibiki says with a grin as Aiichiro asks what she had done.
"Oh remember in the early days of last year when we were dealing with your major fan-boy tendencies? Well when Seijuro wasn't getting the message I didn't appreciate his flirting so I left slightly more embarrassing and longer lasting versions of those little gifts I'd leave you if you got to out of hand" Hibiki explains cheerfully as Aiichiro winces while Souske raises an eyebrow.
"My father was a big prankster back in his day and I got the genes so I prank those who bother me to within an inch of their sanity and back to get my message across. Ai is just lucky Rin and I like him that I only pinch his ear now" Hibiki explains on their way to the pool after convincing Momo to come with them.
"With Momotarou here what will you do?" Ai asks a little concerned as Hibiki shrugs and continues walking not saying anything as Rin dragged Momo.
"There's always next time I guess" Hibiki says with a shrug keeping the slight disappointment she felt out of her features and voice since Rin was listening.
"Souske enough" Hibiki called out quietly having followed the taller boy as he warned Haruka to stay out of Rin's way.
Souske would raise an eyebrow at Hibiki as she clenches her jaw and glares before stomping away totally annoyed only to end up standing with Gou and the Iwatobi coach silently fuming to herself as she watched the relay and how evenly matched at freestyle Souske and Haruka were.
Souske would wake up with the English word, asshole written on his forehead courtesy of Hibiki who was missing from the room that morning as Rin got a good look and asked what he had done to piss of Hibiki that badly she had dug out her permanent marker. Souske would shrug knowing full well it was retaliation for what he had said to Haruka at the pool.
"Momo I warned you to not get like a puppy in front of Rin" Hibiki says quietly by Aiichiro's side before heading down to the pool knowing she and Rin would be seeing Rei later after practice.
"Hey Nii san" Rin would hear Hibiki said happily as she answered her phone later while she waited with him for Rei to show up.
"Is everything alright Hibiki?" Harry would ask having noted the slight difference in her cheerful tone as Hibiki said yeah that she was just with Rin waiting for Rei at the pool.
"Oh are you helping him with something?" Harry asks knowing she probably wouldn't say anything with Rin there if it was connected closely to him.
"Rin is helping Rei expand on the swimming styles he can do since Rei only swims butterfly currently and I decided to keep them both company and help out if needed. Anyways how is packing going?" Hibiki asks as Harry just chuckles and explains that Teddy had started displaying some magic outside is metamorphmagus abilities and that he was making things float and getting into George's prank stuff if no one kept an eye on him long enough.
"The joys of parenthood I guess anyways Rei is here so I'll message you later, bye nii san" Hibiki says with a laugh, hanging up when she heard him curse and tell Teddy not to get into the canary creams.
She would go with Rin to help some of the newer members get new swimsuits and a new one for herself when it became apparent her bottom and top were looking a little frayed and would run into Gou shopping in the sports food section of the store.
"Gou…if you're going to work on your team's nutrition do the research and go to a god damn grocery store, this is only for on the go and will not improve diet like you're looking for" Hibiki sighed, going ignored to her ire as she stomped off to find Rin and Souske having let her anger go with the later for the time being.
In the end she had to restrain Momo from bothering Gou and help Rin with getting Momo to look at a proper swimsuit after finding what she needed in black with white accents much like Rin since they didn't sell white in this store.
"Your sister is going to give her team and your friends food poisoning, though Nagisa might survive considering he seems to have an iron stomach with how much sugar he inhales" Hibiki grumbles to Rin who raised an eyebrow as she explained what his sister was up to only to go a little green at the picture being painted when they spotted Souske getting a pop from the vending machine only to end competing for it while Hibiki sipped on another brand of pop listening to the two reminisce on a promise they had made when they were younger.
"Let me ask you something. How come I never heard from you in all that time? What happened over there other than Hibiki here? You didn't call, you stopped writing. It's like you fell off the face of the earth. For all I knew you had. I didn't push back then because I didn't want to get all up in your face about it. But now I feel like I need to know" Souske asks as Hibiki sighs and looks to the two fondly.
"It wasn't anything major. I hit a wall with the swimming. Life can be rough when you're the new kid. I fell down and couldn't fully get on my feet. It happens and I thought about saying to hell with swimming altogether until Haru with a little guidance from Hibiki kinda stepped in and woke me up. He and his buddies" Rin explains as Souske states he likes them while Hibiki just grins and leans on Rin.
"Well yeah. It's cause of them I fell in love with the water again and because of Hibiki I didn't give up completely. They made me see in a whole new light. It's like with them I recaptured that spark you know. I don't swim for myself anymore, not really. The people who have inspired me have become a part of my dream" Rin explains as he helps Hibiki stand up.
"There's my Rin; if the world ever needs a poolside soccer tease you can dive right in" Souske teases as Rin says screw you while Hibiki just grinned with her arms crossed behind her head, happy before heading back to find the others.
Rin and Souske would spot Hibiki helping Ai train on their run as she coached the younger boy and swimming back stroke with him to show him how to pace himself and what he could do to improve.
"Hey Hibiki thanks for helping me with training" Aiichiro thanks quietly on their way back to the dorm as Hibiki just smiles and punches his shoulder lightly in fondness.
"You're a part of this team now and we have to look out for each other, we're family now and to me family is important so of course I would help. You can always come to me or Rin if you need help and truthfully if you stick with this you might just get to see something amazing" Hibiki explains softly with bright green eyes as Aiichiro nods excitedly hugging Hibiki tightly glad she saw him that way.
"If we're swimming relay how will you fit into the equation?" Aiichiro asks as Hibiki hums and then gives her answer since he knew she wanted it enough.
"I can alternate for it truthfully since it won't always be what someone who is on the relay team is going for but as long as I can swim with you, Rin, Momo and Souske it doesn't matter to me. I don't have a big dream like you guys I do. I swim because I enjoy the competition of it and the freedom it's given me" Hibiki explains leaving Ai at the door to his room before she headed on to hers with Rin and Souske.
"Momo focus" Hibiki barked out as Momo tried getting the others attention at practice the next day as Rin talked about the new training regime he was doing and how he was more trim and fit because of it and how if you don't put in the effort you won't make it to the international level as Momo rammed into another member of the team.
"Can I just prank him? Just once to get the message across?" Hibiki asks in a deadpan as Rin and Souske shot down her question just as her phone beeped signifying a message from someone and opened up to read a message from Nagisa updating her on what was going on with him, causing her to shake her head fondly.
"What's up?" Rin would ask reading the message over her shoulder only to sigh as Hibiki responded congratulating him and the others on convincing Nagisa's parents to let the blonde stay on the Iwatobi team.
"Seijuro behave" Hibiki sighed as the red haired boy looked to her as she stood with her hands on her hips annoyed as Momo freed himself with the distraction. "You may have come to watch but for the love of KAMI behave and keep both your hands to yourselves unless GOU says otherwise" she finishes in a hiss as both Seijuro and Momo nod quickly while Hibiki just smiles and looks to Rin pleased with herself only to squwak in surprise when her brother's boyfriend lifted her up into a hug.
"George put me down or else I will show you how I put the fear of kami into those two" Hibiki exclaims as Harry with Teddy on his hip just laughs while Rin face palms before they all headed to where they needed to be.
"Go Ai" Hibiki cheered loudly at Rin's side before turning on the other boys next to her with a hiss as they all flinched under her angry green gaze before she stomped down to the pool side for her turn.
"MOMO behave" Hibiki snarls as she punches the younger boy in annoyance before getting into the pool. In the end Hibiki would surprise them all by beating Momo but losing to Makoto.
"Oh for the love of Kami can't you keep it to yourself" Hibiki grouses as before cheering with everyone else for Rin.
It's not surprising Rin, not when it's our last year but true he's going too fast" Hibiki explains with a grin as Rin catches onto her train of thought remembering the first time Hibiki has kicked his ass.
"It'll be okay now lets get going" Hibiki says as she heads pool side again with Rin to swim against Haruka. The three would swim in near sync as in the end she tied with Rin while Haruka came in first and would stand proudly with her success following Rin onto the bus later that day, only looking back to give Souske a concerned look.
"She's getting better" Harry says with pride as Teddy babbles in George's arms having gone black haired and brown eyed that day while they followed Samezuka team back to the school.
Hibiki could see how down Ai was when he didn't make relay and she did along with Momo and Souske. She would go back to her dorm though when she noted Souske dealing with it and would give a fond punch to the taller boy before heading off to sleep.
"Let's do good today and win boys" Hibiki says excitedly as Momo nodded with her as the relay began. Hibiki would beat Rei and in the end Samezuka won as they celebrated while Hibiki smiled brightly at all three of her boys watching Souske walk off a little concerned.
"I enjoyed that Rin" Hibiki says quietly that night as she curled up on the bed putting the pictures her brother had taken at District in the album.
Nagisa would text her the next day and inform her of the scout and would be chugging back some water as she let Rin take his turn on the chin up bar only to choke much to Ai's surprise, stopping in his praising of Rin long enough to see if she's alright.
"I'm fine, just got a surprise is all from Nagisa…looks like that same scout that was looking into me is looking into Haruka too" Hibiki explains quietly, feeling a little down about it because it meant that she may lose her chance.
"Only one offer?" Ai asks as Hibiki nods before walking off with a towel around her neck and back to the dorm room, missing out on the argument between Rin and Souske and the concerned look on Ai's face as the next day only one more offer came to Hibiki scout wise.
Hibiki would practice harder at practice as Ai asked Rin if she was alright having noted Souske had taken a day.
"I don't know she hasn't said anything but I think the lack of offers even though she put out her personal in comparison to Haru and I has been a minor blow to her pride. She did get an offer from the school I got an offer from that Souske plans to attend though so it's why she isn't totally down about it, why she's practicing harder" Rin explains as they both watch Hibiki swim against Momo and only just beat him and the other two swimmers in pool with her.
"It must be hard being the only girl in the men's circuit" Ai sighs as Rin nods but then points out its why she works so hard and why she loves the challenge.
"What does she want to do after graduation" Ai asks as Rin thinks on it and just shrugs knowing she would only follow him wherever he went, but doing what she wanted at the same time.
"I think Ai will be alright now…I've been trying to help but he swims more often than I can keep up with him on top of my own practice routine" Hibiki admits fondly as Rin ruffled her hair as they both watched Souske coach Aiichiro. She would continue to watch sitting by the door.
At the next practice though she would note Souske's mood when Rin praised him for Aiichiro's progress.
'Something is wrong' Hibiki thinks to herself watching Souske closely as they all gathered in the hotel getting their respective relays assigned before they all split off, Hibiki following Souske.
"Souske what the hell" Hibiki demanded stopping Souske abruptly in the hallway.
"Don't say anything to Rin" Souske says as Hibiki stares him down before nodding slowly but stops him again by grabbing his arm.
"I won't say anything but you will tell Rin when you're ready okay, this isn't something you can hide. I need you to promise me Souske and not because of Rin but because your my friend too and I know swimming is important to you too" Hibiki explains quietly as Souske softens slightly and nods before asking why she'd followed him.
"Rin went to see Haruka but since he was in the elevator with us I guess he only got Makoto. Plus I felt you may have wanted company" Hibiki explains with a small smile as Souske nods and asks about the scars, having put it off but with the secret exchange he asked.
"My mother's sister and her husband abused me for the longest time and before my cousin decided to change he would get rough as well. It's why I'm so small to, same with my nii san but eventually they abandoned me in Australia and truthfully it was the best thing they ever could have done for me as I've kept swimming and following Rin wherever he feels he wants to go" Hibiki explains quietly staring ahead before leading the way back to their hotel room for some sleep.
'Let's do this' Hibiki thinks viciously as she swims next to Makoto, coming in first as he came in second.
She would stand with Souske and watch Rin swim and cheer quietly for her boyfriend and join the 6th heat as she swam against Haruka, beating him much to her shock and everyone else's she climbed out of the pool rushing to the change room to catch the tail end of the argument between Rin and Haruka before leaving it alone having noted Souske's absence from the stands.
"Souske" Hibiki calls out softly into the shower room with some stuff she had used in the past for her injuries before what little magic she had mended them. She would kneel down and move his hand to rub in some of the medicine into the shoulder using her small frame to shield it from the water.
"What are you doing" Souske asked tightly as Hibiki continued her work.
"What I did when my cousin nearly screwed up my shoulder…I only just got lucky it didn't turn out as bad as it has for you and this helped numb the pain and will help you get through this if not for yourself but for Rin and the others. Now let's go" Hibiki says quietly as she led the way back to the pool and joined the other swimmers for the butterfly.
Rin would win with her coming in a close second but both would note the absence of Souske as Rin with Hibiki in tow went to check on him. She would sit down first next to Souske as Rin asks if anything was wrong that Nitori was worried.
"Everything's fine" Souske stated as Rin took a seat as well and pointed out he had been weird at practice that morning having up and took off.
"Don't worry about it, it's nothing" Souske says not looking up from the floor.
"Look man when you miss practice like that I'm going to worry. You wanna tell me where you were. C'mon dude you gotta talk to me here" Rin points out as Hibiki moves sensing the tension before Rin does and stands up.
"I just said it was nothing" Souske shouts as Hibiki flinches a little at the angry tone in his voice as Rin gets up and buys a cola from the vending machine and tosses it to Souske, forcing him to use his bad arm and catches him in his lie.
"Your shoulder is in pretty bad shape isn't it, even though Hibiki did what she could to help you hide it" Rin points out before asking to see it while Hibiki steps back in surprise as Souske tries fighting Rin off only to have his shoulder revealed.
"When did this happen?" Rin asks Souske after getting a good look and noting how angry it looked but how the swelling had gone down slightly as the smell of that cream Hibiki had used when her shoulder had been just as bad in middle school.
"This morning but its really not as bad as it looks" Souske admits still trying to cover it up.
"Oh c'mon you and I both know this didn't happen this morning" Rin points out as Souske sighs.
"Looks like I can't slip anything past you can I or Hibiki for that matter. Truth is I injured it about two years ago, pushed myself too hard in training" Souske admits as Rin asks why when he had already been scouted and knowing which college he was going to.
"Because I didn't, I lied. No one scouted me" Souske admits before asking if they could leave.
"Answer me Souske. Tell me why you lied to me. I think I deserve to know" Rin demands as all three of them stood outside, Hibiki the only one aware of Haruka on the bench nearby.
"You and me, we're like rival and shouldn't be on the same team. At least that's how I used to see it. When you told me you were transferring to Iwatobi I didn't say a word. Why would I. When I started middle school all I did was focus on swimming. You were off chasing your dreams in Australia. So I figured I bust my own ass for my dream. After a while your letter stopped coming, I kept rooting for you though. I knew you'd break through that wall one way or another. Once I got into high school I got even more obsessed with my training. My dream was going to happen hell or high water. I used to imagine what it would be like to make it to an international meet. Every time I pictured it you were right there beside me. Those were crazy times. I trained hard all day, every day. No one could touch me, I was the best. That's when it happened. My shoulder started giving me issues, nothing I couldn't handle at first. I ignored it and kept on going. Eventually it got worse, every damn day it hurt a little more. But no matter how bad it got I refused to give up. I had to get stronger, it was like my dream was out there calling from a distance, mocking me. I stayed at it, but before long my shoulder finally gave out. It was the summer of my freshman year. You wanna know why I lied? Cause when Gou told me you were back I didn't want you to see me that way. I didn't want you to know the truth. I just couldn't handle it if you of all people to see me broken down. Rehab, injury, rehab that was my routine day in and day out. A busted rotater cuff makes it tough to come in first. I got sick of being the loser. Truth is I was miserable and then one day I accepted reality. No matter what I did my dream wasn't going to happen. So I turned my back on swimming for good" Souske explains as Hibiki nods in understanding having watched some of the older members of the high school team back in Australia have to do the same thing for different injuries and reasons.
"You quit swimming?" Rin asks in shock.
"But I wanted to see you swim one last time before I retired. So I dropped in on last year's Regionals" Souske admits.
"Wait you actually saw that race?" Rin asks as Hibiki looks surprised.
"Yeah I wanted to watch the best swimmer I've ever known accomplish a goal we used to share. Thing is when I saw you struggling the way you were. What can I say? It broke my heart. I thought you were the type of guy who could overcome any obstacle, burst through any wall, but something was wrong. Something must have happened. I wanted to call out to you, but the words wouldn't come. And then the relay you swam with Haruka. You went at it with such intensity. It's like you were a changed man. Seeing you with the guys and Hibiki afterwards the way you were laughing and carrying on. I don't know gave me a little twinge of hope I suppose. The old dream came back to life I suppose. You and me were going to swim side by side. Honestly I didn't know what it meant to you, how important it was to swim as part of a team. I realized it's over for me, but before I go I want to swim the damn best relay I can with you today" Souske admits as Hibiki keeps a steady hand on Rin's shoulder as he shoves Souske against the tree demanding to know why he didn't say something sooner and why he lied.
"Because if you had known it would have broken your heart" Souske admits as Rin breaks down into tears unable to form a sentence as Hibiki smiled sadly through her tears before wiping them away and stepping back.
"Souske do you really want to do this…like I suggested to Ai all those weeks ago we could alternate so you can still swim, so you can still swim with all of us even after this" Hibiki asks quietly surprising both teens as they look to her as Souske nods in the end and explains it what he had planned from the start and that this was the end for him and that Rin needed to make peace with that as he goes onto the see to the end of this race as the end of their dream for him anyways.
"Let him swim" Ai says with Momo in agreement as they came onto the scene as Hibiki sniffled and smiled in pride.
"You guys, how did you?" Rin asks as Ai speaks up.
"We are a team and I've wanted to swim with you ever since I saw you compete at regionals. That's how long I've waited for this honor. Please don't take that away from me. Souske and Hibiki both put a lot of time into my training. Let me show you what I've got" Ai pleads as Momo steps forward to speak.
"That's right, c'mon man how many people get to say they were apart of something larger than themselves. Isn't it what this is all about? Who cares if its all of the table tomorrow? We can give it all our today" Momo points out as Ai says they were his dream team.
"You heard them Rin lets go" Hibiki says firmly as all four boys look to her and the bright gleam in her eyes. "If this is to be Souske's last race make it count, kick everyone's ass and we'll figure something out later. It's not if Souske has to leave swimming for good he just has to let his shoulder heal and he can do other things like coach or even teach swimming. There's so many things he could do but for now let's show those other schools Samezuka can kick ass" she continues with a grin as Souske points out she, Ai and Momo were right and that Rin is there captain.
"C'mon boys give it all you've got" Hibiki says softly from next to the rest of Samezuka.
"Okay men cheer loud and proud" Hibiki barks jabbing a finger out as the team nodded and began chanting loudly with Hibiki.
"C'MON SOUSKE FIGHT, SWIM" Hibiki shouts loudly as the teams goes quiet as Seijuro gave them shit and pointed out Hibiki as they all cheered and she cheered louder when Souske fought through the pain. She would dash down to the pool deck just as Rin hit the water and cheer with the rest of the relay team as Iwatobi won.
"You did great guys" Hibiki says excitedly tackling all four of them in a dog pile of a hug as they teased Souske for being cheesy before kissing Rin much to Momo's shock and Ai and Souske's amusement while in the stands Harry just shook his head before leading the way home since he would talk to her later.
With Rin and Haruka she would go back to Australia in attempt to give Haruka a wake-up call.
"It's so nice to be back in the warm weather regardless of the reasons" Hibiki says content as she and Rin went to get some water, leaving Haruka alone by a huge water fountain as Rin apologized and admitted to having always looked up to Haruka before leading the way to the beach.
"Haruka just step in the water please" Hibiki says quietly as she kicked off her own shoes and stepped into the water till she was ankle deep, having worn a knee length sweater dress as Haruka admits to fighting with Makoto and it being their first after Rin admits to fighting with Souske all the time.
"Hey we get into fights too, just not major ones, but I'm glad Makoto figured out what he wanted to do" Hibiki says before going quiet and letting Rin talk to Haruka about his time here in Australia as she smiled fondly as she too reminisced about those days at school and with Rin at swim practice as Haruka asks him to stop that he got it that Rin had felt like a nobody in a big bad foregin country before Rin leads them to one last stop for the day as they stopped at the house of the family Rin stayed with as the couple fussed over both Rin and Hibiki and asked how they were doing and if Rin was still at odds with Haruka, spotting him standing off by himself nearby.
"I missed you both and my big brother finally tracked me down with his boyfriend and their adopted son" Hibiki admits with pride as Laurie cooed and pulled her into a hug while Rin coaxed Haruka into saying hi.
At dinner Hibiki would just eat quietly and smile as they talked about Rin's days in Australia and how Hibiki had made it a little better once Rin started bringing her home even though Rin had been having such a hard time.
"So I was right in that you noticed" Hibiki says fondly as Laurie nods as Rin apologized for making them worry as they went onto tease him, changing the topic as Hibiki spoke up once in a while indignantly in some cases when other girls were brought up.
Once checked into their hotel Hibiki would flop out on the bed and watch the show as Haruka and Rin argued only to burst out into laughter as later all three of them went to sleep on the small bed.
"Boys, go to sleep or for the love of Kami face my wrath in the morning" Hibiki hisses from her spot between them before curling up into Rin's back and going to sleep.
The next day all three of them went to the Aquatic center the next day to show Haruka the pool the international team swam in as they raced with the international team.
Rin would also explain that he and Hibiki and been contacted by his old coach here to swim with the team and that they were there to ask if it was a formal invitation.
"Oh kiss and make up already you two, it hurts to watch you struggle alright" Hibiki says quietly as Haruka struggles to figure out what to say.
Rin and Hibiki would find the team after dropping Haruka off with Makoto. She would note Souske's absence and nod when Ai explained Souske had some things to do while Momo fooled around with the boomerang Rin had brought back for him before heading on inside to practice.
"I'm happy to be here with you guys I hope you know that" Hibiki says softly at Rin and Souske's side watching Ai and Momo swim.
The next day with her camera Hibiki would take pictures with everyone and of Haruka and the others swimming the relay, having gotten a group shot with Ai, Momo, Souske and Rin earlier thanks to Harry.
"They did it" Hibiki says softly looking up at Rin with sad yet happy eyes as they all went home.
"Oh Ai don't cry please otherwise you're going to make me cry and no one wants that okay" Hibiki says with happy tears in her eyes at the third year's final practice as Rin passes on the torch to him as the team celebrate.
After graduation like expected Hibiki followed Rin to the universty he choose to go to and continued to practice and train with him, going to school to become a swimming coach and minoring in photography leading up to the international stage a year later against Rin and Haruka, the only woman to stand amongst the men in a men's competition and the last to do so till her daughter, Hiro Matsuoka took up her mantel with her father as her coach, Rin and Hibiki having moved back to Iwatobi to teach and raise their family of five with their one daughter, Hiro and twin sons, Yuri and Junko.