A/N: So I actually don't know how I feel about this one. I recently started watching this anime and I think the only reason I do is for the broad shoulders and sexual tension. Because who doesn't love that? Anyway, I tend to fall for the mysterious, quiet, impossible to crack characters, and I was supposed to be working on an essay, so this is what happened instead. Again, sort of eh about it but let me know what you guys think ^_^
The pool looked so big. The water so still. But she knew better. She let out shaky breath after shaky breath. The images flashed through her mind in a blur, making her dizzy. She shut her eyes tight, begging the memories to go away. She tugged at the sleeves of her jacket, willing the tears not to fall from her eyes.
She was weak.
"What are you doing here?"
She staggered back, away from the edge of the pool. She met eyes with a dark haired man.
"S-Sorry! I thought the swim team was done."
"They are."
She looked away. His blue eyes were a bit too intense for her.
"What were you doing?"
"I…nothing."
He cocked his head and looked from her to the water. "It doesn't bite, you know." He said, not looking at her.
"I know that!" she snapped. A dull yet sharp pain rose from her side. It did bite. She remembered all too well.
"You're starting on the wrong end."
"What?"
"The shallow end is on the opposite side." He said, pointing with his fingers.
"I know how to swim!" she spat out, grabbing her bag and rushing out. She'd just have to try again tomorrow, when the boy wouldn't be there.
He watched her rush out. He didn't know what to make of it, and he didn't particularly care. With the girl gone he would be able to swim uninterrupted. He took off his shirt and dove in.
.~.*.~.*.~.*
She scanned the room upon arriving the next day. No one in sight. She let out a sigh of relief. She put her bag down carefully on the ground and made her way to the shallow end, as the boy had told her yesterday. The water was still so unmoving. So calm. She took a deep breath. Small steps, she thought. She rolled up the bottom of her pants. With another shaky breath she held desperately to the railing.
She began to sweat. I can do this, she thought, just one foot. She slowly lowered her left foot into the water, to just the first step. But as the water consumed her foot she pulled away gasping, tears welling up in her eyes and desperate breaths rattling her body. She stumbled back, falling onto the ground. She pulled her knees up to her chest. She was pathetic.
"Don't resist it. Accept its presence."
Her head shot up. It was the boy again. "What would you know?" she muttered.
"Nothing." He said, sitting down next to her. "What makes you afraid?"
Her cheeks burned, and she squeezed her knees. "It's stupid." She mumbled.
He outstretched his legs, leaning back on his arms. "Fears tend to be."
Her cheeks continued to burn, with a slight tinge of anger. "You'd never understand. You're a swimmer."
He looked at her curiously. He'd never understand girls. Swimmer or not.
They sat in silence. She couldn't figure out why he hadn't decided to leave yet. He didn't exactly seem like the comforting type.
"I'm Rinko."
He looked at her. "Haru." He said simply.
She squeezed her knees again. "It's…alive. To me. The water."
His eyes went wide as he looked at her and she instantly regretted saying anything at all.
He stared at the motionless water in the pool. "I know what that feels like."
She gasped despite herself. "R-really?"
"Mm." he affirmed.
"I'm not completely hopeless!" she blurted, trying to make herself not seem so lame, "I used to swim a lot. All the time."
He blinked. "What happened?"
She tried her best to not cringe at the memory. "I got ahead of myself. I almost drowned."
He nodded, acknowledging the fact that her words carried a lot more in them than what she had said out loud.
"Lie down." He said.
"What?"
"Lie down."
She didn't know why, exactly, but she did as Haru told her.
"You can feel the concrete, right?"
"Yes."
"So you know you're in no danger."
"Yes."
He got up and kneeled down by her feet, pulling them forcefully.
"Wait! What are you-"
"Shh."
He held her feet tenderly, placing them slowly in the shallow water. He let them rest on the step.
"You're completely grounded." He said.
Her cheeks burned, but she nodded.
"Is it scary?"
"No." she said softly. "It feels," a wave of relaxation washed over her, as she closed her eyes and spread out her hands on the ground, "Kind of nice."
He gave her a single nod.
"Haru-san." She said, opening her eyes.
"Hm?"
"Can I call you senpai?"
He looked away, but she could see a small pink hue on his cheeks. "Do what you want."
She smiled. "Hey, you're on the swim team, right?"
"Mm."
"How come you're always here after practice is over?"
"I like to swim."
He said it so easily, and while she didn't know why, it made her really happy, so she started to laugh.
"What?"
"Nothing." She shook her head, "It's just wonderful. I wish I had a passion like that."
"It's not passion. I just like it. So I do it."
She looked at him thoughtfully. He really was a strange sort of guy. "Well, I think I'm ok for now. Don't let me stop you from swimming."
He nodded and stood up, taking off his jacket and tossing it to the side. Without any hesitation he ran, diving into the water. She sighed. One day, she'd be able to not hesitate too.
The steady rhythm of his strokes was relaxing, as he cut into the water repeatedly. He didn't seem to slow down or take breaks, even though she was sure a significant amount of time had passed. She sat up slowly, trying to get used to the image of her feet in the water. She let out a shaky breath. I'm okay.
She glanced over at him and gasped. He was fast, but it was unlike anything she had ever seen before. The water seemed to move out of his way, submitting respectfully to him. He came up at the other end, tossing his head to get his hair out the way, gasping for breath.
Just something he 'liked', huh?
"Haru-senpai!"
He jerked his head up in surprise, almost as though he had forgotten she was there. She pulled her feet out of the water and stood up. "Um, will you be here tomorrow?"
"Maybe." He said. His voice echoed in the emptiness of the room.
She nodded, smiling at him. "I want to get stronger." She said, putting her hand in a fist over her chest. "So I'll be back too!"
He didn't say anything as she left, but the image of her shining eyes was one he couldn't shake away.
.~.*.~.*.~.*
It had taken a lot of patience from the both of them, but after nearly three weeks she had made it to the very last step of the shallow end, the water hitting just above her knee. He didn't know why he was helping her. It was something Makoto would have been better at, but he found himself wanting to see her progress. He wanted to see her swim one day.
"Slowly." He said.
She nodded, exhaling shakily. With trembling legs she took the last step, finally in the actual pool. Her knuckles were white from grasping the railing so tightly. He laughed. "Let go."
She shook her head fiercely. "No way."
"Hm…then take my hand." He offered his hand, palm up.
She looked from his hand to him. "I don't know…"
"I won't let go."
She extended her hand and took his, hesitantly letting go of the railing. He pulled her gently, and she was finally standing in the three-foot deep water.
"Deep breaths."
She nodded, inhaling and exhaling.
"Talk to me, Rinko."
"I'm fine." She said through gritted teeth.
"You're cutting the circulation in my hand."
She snarled at him. Perhaps she was easy to read, but he always saw through her easily. "I don't like it. I feel like it's swallowing me."
He caught her chin in his other hand, and made her look at him. "You're not drowning."
She inhaled slowly, nodding. "I know." He let go of her chin.
"I think I want to get out now."
He nodded and guided her back to the railing.
She sprawled down on the ground, taking in deep breaths and steadying her thoughts. She would have to wear shorts from now on. Her pants were soaked. She refused to wear a swimsuit though. If she did then Haru would see her stomach…
Haru. At the thought of him her stomach lurched. She didn't know why he had chosen to help her, but she was thankful for it. She turned to look at him. "Aren't you tired of me by now?"
He walked past her without saying anything.
"Hey!" she sat up.
He looked back at her, his face expressionless as always.
"You're supposed to say no!"
He scoffed, a small smile tugging at his lips. "No."
Without another word he dove into the pool.
.~.*.~.*.~.*
"I won't let go."
"I know you won't." she snapped.
He scoffed. "You worry for nothing."
"Shut up." She nudged him, but as her eyes met his her expression softened, "You really won't let go?"
He shook his head.
The water hit the middle of her torso, the bottom edges of her shirt wet. She felt happy she was finally in the water, but her nerves were still nipping at her. She was able to go deep enough to where her swimsuit's bottom piece was finally put to use. But she wouldn't take off her shirt. Not in front of Haru. Her arms were up above the water, her fingers linked securely with his.
She nodded, taking in a big breath.
He inhaled too, and they sank together, completely submerged. As the water covered her head, she began to panic. She remembered the waves, the pain. She shook her head, shaking her fingers free, shooting her head back up, gasping desperately for air and smacking the water away.
"Rinko!"
"No!" she slashed at the water, trying to break free, but the water slowed her movements. It was pulling her down. It was trying to swallow her, and she couldn't get away.
Haru grabbed her, picking her up, and holding her close to his chest. He walked out of the water calmly, placing her gently on the ground. She held her knees to her chin, shaking.
"I'm sorry," she said, burying her face, "I'm so weak."
"You're not weak."
She smiled at him, sniffling. Then she sighed, although it came out as a sort of groan, and she fell back against the ground.
She was still shaking, he noticed, but she was trying to put up a strong front.
"I'll get there."
Her shirt had slightly ridden up, and he noticed a scar extending from her lower hip. She caught him looking at her and she quickly pulled her shirt down, her face wearing an expression he had never seen. "A lot happened that day." She said softly.
He didn't say anything, feeling as though he had already crossed some lines.
She sighed. "You must be curious."
He shrugged.
She rested her hands on her stomach, staring up at the ceiling. "I have an ego problem."
He smirked. "That much is obvious."
She nudged him with her foot. She sighed again. "I was still little. About eight or nine."
He joined her on the ground, staring up at the ceiling with her.
"The waves were choppy, but I was convinced I could handle it. Like I was some sort of god or something." She let out a shaky breath.
He stayed quiet.
"I got lost. Out there in the ocean. It swallowed me. It nearly ate me alive. I got stuck in some seaweed, and I almost drowned." She began to cry, and her voice was cracking, but she kept going. "At the last second it snapped, and I got tossed under the waves. I hit some rocks, and I lost a lot of blood." Shaky hands held her stomach, "A lot of blood."
Silence hung in the air for a few moments, before Haru finally spoke up.
"If that didn't kill you," his eyes never left the ceiling, "Then I'd say you're pretty strong."
She turned her head to look at him. He looked at her back. She smiled, the tears lining her eyes, making them shine.
"You know," she said, returning her gaze to the ceiling, "You don't say a lot. But you do say the right things."
He blinked, motionlessly staring at the ceiling. He didn't know about that. But he was glad either way.
.~.*.~.*.~.*
"Haru-senpai!" She jumped into him, water splashing around them. She jumped with such force he leaned back, trying to keep his balance and stay upright. "I swam! Did you see?" she laughed happily.
He smiled. "Yeah. Good job."
"Thank you." Her grin was wide and her eyes were shining.
He had never seen someone look so happy. She was so genuine, in every way. Without thinking, he cupped her cheeks with his palms and brought his lips to hers.
"Mm!" her eyes went wide and she stiffened. She turned her head away, blushing deeply and biting her lip. "Haru…senpai…"
His eyes went wide in turn and his ears turned red. "Sorry. I…"
He retreated into the water, and stayed under for a while. She followed him down, before she cupped his cheeks and met her lips to his beneath the shimmering water. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him as they slowly rose to the surface, still entwined.
She felt breathless, and for the first time in a long time, it didn't bother her. They stared at each other, both smiling, both with pink on their cheeks. He lowered his head hesitantly, but pulled back, unsure if he should kiss her again. She lowered her gaze, but looked up at him quickly, hoping he would do it again.
"Haru…"
He didn't know how to explain it, but in her voice he could tell she was giving him permission to touch her again. He took her in his arms, kissing her forcefully, unable to hold back. Electricity ran through him, sparks exploding when his skin met hers. He pushed them back, stumbling into her as her back met the edge of the pool. He pressed his broad chest up against hers as his lips captured hers over and over. Her fingers tangled in his hair as their motions became more desperate, her leg wrapping around his thick thigh, her grip tightening as his tongue parted her lips.
She moaned, and something in his eternally calm demeanor snapped. His eyes shot open and he pulled away quickly, grabbing her hips and lifting her up and out of the pool. He followed her, climbing over her so that she was forced to fall on her back.
"Haru-" she breathed.
His smashed his lips onto hers. He had never felt so greedy before. He wanted her. All of her. This consuming feeling scared him somewhat, since he wasn't able to fully control it. But she didn't seem to be resisting. She wrapped her bare legs around his, connecting them.
He tugged at her shirt, wanting to touch as much of her skin as possible. She lifted her arms to help him, forgetting about her scar. He smiled into her lips, finding her extremely alluring in just her two-piece swimsuit. His hands roamed her body, but as they fell on her scar, he stopped. He blinked hard. It was a lot larger than he had expected. It ran from the bottom of her hips up to her ribs, then diagonally up to just below her breasts.
She lifted his chin with her small fingers. "Please stop looking," she said.
"Sorry." He exhaled nervously. "Do you want your shirt back?"
She shook her head, not looking at him, sadness draping her face.
"You're beautiful." He blurted.
"You're just saying that." She huffed, but he could tell she was happy.
He kissed her deeply, pressing his toned chest against hers. "I mean what I say."
She blushed. "I know."
He rested his forehead on hers, his blue eyes meeting her brown ones. Their motions had stopped, and they had become still, like the water next to them. Stray droplets ran down his arms and onto her chest.
"Kiss me again, Haru." She said bravely.
He smiled, pecking her lips.
They stayed on the ground for a while, not speaking but enjoying each other's company. He held her in his strong arms, and she rested her head on his broad chest.
"Thank you," she breathed.
"Hm?"
"I'm not afraid anymore. So thank you."
He looked down at the girl in his arms, his heart both expanding and warming at the same time. "You're welcome."