This is based off of one of my Gou headcanons: bullying lead her to hate her name. A further explanation can be read on my tumblr, which can be found on my profile. Go there and find my "headcanons" tag.
Summary: When his little sister comes to him crying, screaming and begging to be someone different, Rin can't help but feel he understands. She may only have one in that moment, but he feels that he's been in her shoes.
Disclaimer: I don't own Free! Iwatobi Swim Club or any of the cutie pies associated with it.
"Quit it!"
Little hands fist themselves into closed, watering red hues as five-year-old Matsuoka Gou sniffles, trying desperately to wipe away the tears she'd tried just as desperately not to let fall to begin with.
Dressed in a small denim skirt and a white top with a frilly collar, a pink jacket thrown overtop, the little girl opens her eyes, looking down at the one sandal left between both her feet, which appears blurry from her tears. Her hair is tied up into her signature ponytail, her bangs sticking to her wet cheeks. In front of her, an older girl with pale blonde hair tied into two high ponytails and freckled cheeks stands with her two best friends, a little pink sandal dangling off her index finger. There's laughter. The sandal is Gou's.
"Aw, she's cryin', Mimi. Maybe you should stop," One girl says, but it's in a joking tone, sparking more laughter amongst the girls. The third girl slaps her knee, laughing hard at something that really isn't so funny. God glances up, sniffling, looking between them.
These three are her own personal bullies, always teasing and making fun of her. They've been doing it since the younger girl started school; since the first time they saw her on the playground, standing all by herself beside the swings. When she'd first seen them coming up to her, Gou had gotten all excited, thinking they wanted to be her friends. And they did have an interest in getting to know the little girl, until they found out her name.
"Gou?" The leader of the little trio of second graders had said when the little girl told them her name, looking at her two friends. The older girls exchanged pitying looks before looking back at the little girl.
"Gou is a boy's name. You can't be a girl with a boy's name. What, are your parents retarded or something?" The blonde asked, laughing. Gou frowned.
"What's retart-ted?" Gou had asked back, not understanding, causing the girls to laugh at her all at once. "You are, Matsuoka Gou. You're retarded. Living as a girl with a boy's name. How sad!" The blonde twirled one of her pigtails, snickering like Gou had decided on her own name and she'd picked a stupid one.
"Bet you're gonna hate life!" Another of the girls piped up as the trio turned away that first day, trotting away and leaving Gou to stare after them, eyes prickling with tears.
They'd left her alone the first day, but soon they'd started doing more than just insulting her. They'd mess with her hair, getting it all tangled, and take her things. As demonstrated now, with the little girl's sandal dangling from queen bee Mimi's dainty little finger. Looking at her shoe in the other girl's possession, knowing she may never get it back and would have to lie to her mommy again when she asked where she lost it, Gou started crying all over again.
She hated her name, hated it! Gou, Gou! It was so ugly! Everyone hated it and made fun of her for it!
Why did I have to be born Gou? The little girl sobbed to herself as she whirled around, crying as she ran away from the girls, leaving her sandal behind, forgotten.
The girls teasing Gou blinked as, for the first time ever, she turned and ran off. The girl to Mimi's right looked at her friend, frowning.
"What's her problem?" The girl asked, to which Mimi shrugged before tossing Gou's little shoe away like it was a broken toy she no longer saw the use in, skipping off with her friends as they headed for the monkey bars.
Across the playground, over on the blacktop, Matsuoka Rin was playing dodgeball with his friends when little Gou came running up. Makoto, the most responsible of his friends, was the first to pause and take notice of the crying little girl, stopping with one small orange ball tucked between his palms, ready to deflect any more just like it that might come his way.
"Gou?" Rin said, frowning as he turned, watching his little sister approach. "What's wrong?" He asked, eyebrows furrowing as he dropped the ball he was holding.
"Hey, Gou!" Rin exclaimed as the little girl fell into his chest, sobbing into his shirt as her little hands fisted into the material, effectively holding on for dear life.
"I don't wanna be Gou anymore! Kou, I wanna be Kou! Please lemme be Kou, Nii-chan! Please!" Gou wailed, sobbing her little heart out. The sight made Rin's stomach twist, knotting up. The boy reached out, placing his hand on the back of his sister's head, at the base of her ponytail.
"Hey, what happened?" He asked, deeply disturbed by his sister's crying, but the little girl just shook her head, staying quiet as she cried into her big brother's shirt, save for her choking sobs. Rin frowned, looking back towards his friends.
"I've gotta go, guys. I'll see you later," He promised, getting approving nods from his three friends, before placing his hands on his sister's sides. He lifted his sister up, quietly saying, "Hold onto me, Gou," into her ear. Once he felt the little girl's arms wrapping around his neck and her legs around his waist, her skirt stretching a bit, Rin placed his hands on his sister's clothed bottom, carrying her away. He didn't ask questions, because apparently she wasn't going to answer, but all the while he had to listen as she chanted,
"Kou, Kou. I wanna be Kou."
And just from that the first grader knew what was wrong; he'd been there, too.
Because Gou was a boy's name...
And Rin was a girl's name.
THE END.