Free! (Fanfiction) The Year That Never Was – Spring
Haru, Rin, Makoto, Nagisa and Rei were running the usual race of 'who can reach the pool first?' for their group practise. It was something they all looked forward to, especially Haru; he got to swim with everyone he cared about, what could possibly go wrong? Usually the winner of the race was either Haru or Rin; Haru's love of swimming would motivate him whilst Rin didn't like losing. Makoto would often be following behind, shadowing Haru, where as Nagisa and Rei often held back to compete with each other. With it being spring the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, along with the beautiful weather Haru was more than eager to start, however they were still far away. Desperate to start swimming, Haru picked up pace, his eyes reflecting the clear blue sky, a spark of passion in his eyes, shortly noticed by Rin who copied Haru, reluctant to lose like last time. Their eyes met, and as if by instinct their speeds increased until they were bounding at full speed through the streets, much to Makoto's displeasure. "Haru! Rin! Slow down!" Makoto yelled; a highly unamused expression on his face as he mimicked the two of them, trying to maintain the distance between them. The trio soon found themselves a rather large distance from Rei and Nagisa, Makoto shouting various precautions and warnings as per usual, however Haru and Rin were too far gone. Both of them had blocked out the world; the only thing they could think of was their destination. In a flash, Rin's speed increased causing Haru to fall behind, Makoto looking slightly relieved as he finally started catching up to him. But Haru's mind was elsewhere, just one road between him and the pool. As Rin reached the other side of the road he turned around, a devilish smirk on his face, however it faded even faster than it had appeared. Haru, his mind set solely on the thought of reaching the pool, failed to see the oncoming traffic that Rin had swiftly managed to avoid only moments earlier.
"HARU!"
Snapping back to reality, Haru turned to face an oncoming car; panic-stricken faces looking directly at him as the breaks were slammed, creating an extremely loud, ear piercing screech. Frozen with fear, Haru stood there helplessly, shutting his eyes and allowing himself to see nothing but black.