AN: Hello Free! readers! FD here with another fanfic. Before we get started, I just want to give a shoutout to my sister, Starla, and for another author on this site, named XxFuyukaina-BakaxX, for they're role in inspiring me to write this story. The idea first came to me when Starla told me that there are surprisingly few fanfics with these characters as the marine animals that we associate them with, especially with Sousuke as a whale shark, and I thought, why not give it a try myself (lol).

Also, around that time, I had just finished reading an amazing story by XxFuyukaina-BakaxX called 'Across the Waters' and the ideas from that story really inspired the concepts in this one, so please check out this amazing story (it's a really amazing story to read at 1 AM). And then, lo' and behold, this story came to be after countless late nights that I should have used to do my homework.

Disclaimers: I do not own anything. The characters from Free! Iwatobi Swim Club belong to their respective owners, and this is a fictional work made purely for fun and enjoyment. This story is also not in any way connected to 'Across the Waters' by XxFuyukaina-BakaxX. That story belongs to them, and this story stands on its own.

And another quick note for this chapter: The story jumps around a lot time-wise. If it makes things less confusing, think of the first section with Haru and Makoto as taking place in the present time as they flashback to the past, while the other two sections take place in the past. I hope this makes sense.

With all that out of the way, please enjoy 'Into the Deep Blue Sea'.

Where Stories Begin in the Deep Blue Sea

"Haru-chan! Wait for me!" Makoto whines as he pushes himself to go faster through the water.

The speedy dolphin merman turns back and sighs, anxious to keep moving, "Drop the -chan."

Panting, the killer whale merman gestures upward, and the two surface or, in Haru's case, leaps out of the water for some air.

Diving back down, Makoto crosses his arms and huffs, "Haru…we should wait for the rest of the pod."

Haru, in turn, also huffs in annoyance, but complies anyway, choosing, instead, to swim circles around Makoto as the larger killer whale merman's crossed expression melts away, and he laughs at his friend's antics. This makes Haru smile ever so slightly as well, seeing Makoto so happy and carefree.

As the two laugh and swim together, it's easy to forget sometimes that what they had didn't start out quite like this.

Haru had lost his own pod years ago. Sensing the young dolphin's distressed clicks and screeches, Makoto's pod found him wandering in the open ocean for days, starving and utterly lost and alone. His mother took pity on the dolphin merboy and welcomed him into their family. At the time, Makoto was only a few months old and was actually terrified of the slightly older dolphin, clinging to his mom's side to hide and not knowing what to even think of the new addition to his family. At the same time, the small, blue dolphin was also very shy and timid to the orcas around him, opting to be more cautious and swim with Makoto's family rather than with the other members of the pod. Haru only rarely spoke to Makoto's mother and was often found either by her side or at the edge of the pod. Either way, he didn't really acknowledge Makoto, and the young killer whale thought that it was because Haru didn't really like him. So they kept their distance.

Then, one day, Makoto's mom decided to push her sons to go play with the other killer whale merboys their age, while the pod rests and goes out to hunt. But try as he might, Makoto just couldn't keep up with the others and was left behind time and time again. Crying, the small killer whale was about to swim back to his mom when Haru swam up to him.

"Are you okay?" the slightly smaller dolphin merboy said with a small tilt of his head. Makoto wiped his tears away and shook his head. Frowning, Haru held out his hand, "Come on. I want to show you something."

Makoto was stunned and hesitant at first but then a weak smile spread across his face, and he takes the other merboy's hand. After going up for air, Haru led Makoto downward towards the sandy ocean floor. After letting go of Makoto's hand, Haru began swimming on his back as Makoto watched in confusion. Haru puckered his lips and let out a puff of breath, releasing a burst of bubbles.

Makoto was even more confused, "Bubbles?"

Haru held up one of his hands and tried again. With the right formation, the dolphin blows a small, rough ring of bubbles, amazing the young killer whale. He tried again and again until finally, an expanding bubble ring floated up in front of Makoto. He stared at it in awe, wanting to reach out and touch it. But before he could, Haru swam up with a flick of his tail through the ring, startling Makoto.

However, instead of crying, the younger merboy giggled, all traces of his previous sadness gone. They spent the rest of their afternoon swimming through rings that Haru made and playing along the sea floor until Makoto's mom calls them to return to the pod. Smiling, Makoto and Haru swam back hand-in-hand, chatting together all the way and knowing that this is that start of a truly amazing friendship.

"Makoto?"

The said young merman snaps out of his trip down memory lane and looks over at Haru, now older and still smaller than him, yet still having the same deep, understanding, and kind blue eyes as all those years ago.

"What were you thinking?" the dolphin asks with a cute tilt of the head.

Makoto gives Haru his signature warm smile and holds the other merman's hands in his larger ones, "Just remembering."

Haru returns the smile with his own and the two half-cetaceans move closer to nuzzle their noses together, their tails brushing and curling against one another lovingly. Even after all these years, their hands still fit together so well, and Makoto hopes that there would never be a time or a world where they aren't together side by side.

"Onii-chan! Haru-chan!" loud calls signal the arrival of Makoto's younger twin siblings. Without any further warning, two speedy killer whale merchildren swim into both Makoto and Haru, wiggling their way in between them. While Makoto easily catches and hugs his brother, Haru has a slightly harder time handling a cuddling Ran, who's nearly his size.

"Why did you both run off?!" Ran squeaks, holding Haru closer.

"We wanted to play with you," Ren finishes his twin's thought, making both Haru and Makoto feel guilty.

"Alright Ran, Ren," Makoto placates the two, "We'll play here until the pod catches up. Haru? Can you do the rings again?"

Haru smiles. Of course he would. Anything for his family.

The ocean is a large and vast place. Its sheer size can make you realize that no matter how large or powerful you may think you are, the ocean is always going to be bigger, stronger, and scarier.

Sighing for what feels like the billionth time that day, Sousuke pushes forward in search of the next batch of plankton, having grown hungrier in the last hour after his last meal. Though he is still young, the whale shark merboy is growing a little too large for the cove he was born in and desperately needs to find more food. Instinct is urging him to leave the comfort and safety of the cove and head out into the deep, blue, mysterious unknown, and while he knows that more food can be found out there, a part of him is still too unsure and scared to leave.

Eventually though, his stomach finally overtakes his fears, and he takes the plunge and swims out, not even looking back at the place he'd call home for so many years of his young life. Instead, he focuses his sight on the wide open ocean, staring into the blue abyss. And it didn't take long for the fear and uncertainty to begin gnawing away at his resolve.

However, after just a few short hours of swimming aimlessly, the whale shark merboy finally detects a cloud of plankton and rich fish eggs. Momentarily forgetting his fears, Sousuke takes massive gulps of seawater and eats, not noticing a dark, ominous shape swimming towards him. If there's one thing he should have instinctually learn, it's that even when feeding, he should never take his eyes and senses off his surroundings, especially since he's still young and not anywhere near his full size.

Having swallowed his meal, Sousuke finally takes notice the presence coming at him, but it's too late. He feels something bump into his side, stunning him and preventing him from moving out of sheer fright.

A shark.

A shark…merboy?

The young whale shark barely has time to process what's happening when the merboy swims up to face him, looking at him with curiosity, rather than hunger. Sousuke knows that he's a whale shark, it being one of the few things he faintly remembers his mother telling him upon his birth, but he also learned from stories from fishes in the cove that there are other sharks out there not like him, that are ferocious predators willing to eat just about anything if hungry enough. Swallowing, Sousuke shuts his eyes and waits for the inevitable. Barely a few years of life, and he's going to get eaten. A whimper escapes his lips, and he shields his face with his arms, too frightened to get his tail working properly.

"What are you?"

Sousuke is shaking but stops upon hearing the shark's young voice.

"Hey…it's okay…you look like me…I won't eat you…" the shark merboy says as calmly as he could, holding his hands up in a placating manner.

Hesitantly, Sousuke lowers his arms and finally takes in the merboy in front of him. He has bright maroon hair that frames his face and a wide gentle smile full of teeth that aren't quite as sharp yet. From the waist down is gray and white fins that, aside from the coloring and stripes, look remarkably like his own. The shark merboy is also roughly his size.

The maroon-headed merboy smiles sheepishly, "I'm Rin."

"S…Sousuke…" he whimpers and then flinches, "are you really not gonna eat me?"

Rin shakes his head enthusiastically, "No! I already ate some fish before I saw you. Wanna swim?"

Sousuke recoils slightly in surprise. Is this merboy really asking to swim with him? What if he later decides to eat him? What if this was all a trick? He has heard stories of how ruthless and cunning some sharks are. Gripping his fingers and looking to the side, Sousuke is contemplating what to do.

The shark merboy, however, deflates a little, seeing the other merboy's hesitance. "I…I understand. It's okay. I'll leave you alone. It's just kinda lonely out here and I was hoping to swim with a friend." Rin lowers his head sadly and is about to turn and swim off when…

"Wait!" Sousuke stops the other merboy from leaving. He doesn't know what's come over him, but he feels bad for the other shark. He, too, had just left the sanctuary of his cove, where there were so many other fish and creatures of all shapes and sizes, and looking out into the wide-open ocean, he realizes that it looks really lonely out there. "I'll swim with you." He turns and looks away bashfully.

Beaming, Rin laughs gleefully and grabs Sousuke's hand, pulling him along. They end up sharing many stories about themselves and they're experiences so far, and Sousuke even learns that Rin is a tiger shark. Laughing, the two swim side by side, occasionally even racing each other as they explore the open ocean, yet remaining in relatively the same area of the ocean. It's nice.

Swimming next to Rin, Sousuke doesn't feel as alone and the ocean doesn't feel as large or as daunting. Occasionally, they would have to part to find food for themselves, but they always make time to swim together and challenge each other, especially when it comes to their speed.

However, as both merboys soon learn, all good things must eventually come to an end. The currents have moved on, and Sousuke knows that he has to swim further out to find more food. Rin, meanwhile, is hesitant and opts to stay in the same area, not yet ready or old enough to go any further. Realizing that this may be goodbye, the two merboys swim side by side once more, both silent and in their own worlds.

Rin then bumps into Sousuke gently, "Don't forget me okay?!" he tries to put on a tough face, but Sousuke smiles knowingly, seeing some small bubbles escape the corners of the other merboy's amber eyes.

"Of course I won't. Let's make a promise," Rin looks over in confusion but doesn't say anything, waiting for Sousuke to explain himself, "The next time we see each other…we'll swim together. Deal?"

"How about a race?" Rin asks eagerly, to which Sousuke smiles and nods.

The two shark merboys intertwine their fingers to seal their promise. With a parting grip of their hands and a wave, Sousuke swims off into the deep, open ocean, now a little braver and more ready to face the open ocean before him. And, of course, more driven to conquer his fears and make his way back to Rin.

"What is that?" Nagisa wonders aloud as he gazes at the small, strange creature below him. The little penguin goes back to the surface to breath, squawking excitedly to another penguin to his side, "Did you see that? What was that?!"

"Hmm," the other penguin lowers his head to peer down before looking back up again, "Kid, it's a spotted eagle ray merman. I wouldn't mess with them. They're related to sharks."

But Nagisa's eyes are already glimmering in excitement, "I've never met one before!" Before the older penguin can stop him, Nagisa is already diving down, trying to catch up to the small ray. "Hey! Hey you! Wait! Mr. Eagle Ray!"

The ray, with a graceful flap of its fins, whirls around to face the flapping penguin, who quickly realizes that the ray is about his size. Under its light gray, spotted wings, Nagisa can see a curious, young face as it tilts to the side in confusion. "Can I help you?"

Nagisa stops just in front of the ray and gapes at it in awe, "I've never seen a creature like you before! My friend called you a spotted eagle ray!"

"Yes, and you're a Galapagos penguin," the ray states more as a fact than a question.

"Yep!" Nagisa chirps happily before gasping, "Wait a moment." Going up quickly for air, the young penguin dives back down only to see the ray swim further away. "Hey! Wait!" The ray seems to wince a little, but does so anyway, once again whirling around gracefully that makes Nagisa utterly breathless. Once again, Nagisa swims up to him, "I'd like to know more about you!"

"I can't stay in one place for long though," the ray utters bluntly before swimming off again.

"Can I go with you?" Nagisa asks excitedly.

"I go down pretty deep."

"Then I'll go with you as far as I can."

The ray was about to protest some more, but the happy, gleeful look on the young penguin's face makes the ray give in and he sighs. Turning back around, he continues onward, and Nagisa follows close beside as best he could, after going up for some air that is.

"My name is Nagisa by the way. What's your name?"

"Rei," the young ray answers succinctly.

"Really?" Rei's pointed look makes the young penguin hold his tongue. But not for long, "Did your parents name you that? They must be pretty punny…"

"No," Rei interrupts the chittering penguin, "I barely know my parents. My mom just told me who I am at birth, and I was on my own."

"Oh…" Nagisa mutters quietly. He simply couldn't imagine what it must have been like. Being a penguin, his parents have been by his side ever since he hatched. Heck, if he tries, he could remember their calls and voices when he was still inside his egg! They fed and nurtured him for months until he was finally ready to fend for himself. So to be forced to fend for himself right after birth is simply mind-boggling. Rei, for his part, doesn't say anything and keeps swimming.

"You must be very strong then," Nagisa speaks up after a few moments of silence, "I don't think I can do what you did. Survive on my own."

"That's because you're a penguin and I'm a ray. I was born ready to be on my own," Rei replies back with a snap, hoping that the penguin would get the idea and leave him alone.

"That's amazing!"

Rei sighs. Since when has anything been easy for him?

The young penguin looks at the young ray with pure wonder in his eyes, "So where are you heading now?"

Rei sighs, "To find food."

"What do you eat?"

"Clams for the most part."

"Cool! I eat fish."

"Yes, I can gather that."

Nagisa giggles, "You're a strange one Rei. You seem to know a lot about me, yet I don't know a lot about…ugm." Nagisa stops mid-sentence, realizing that he's very much out of breath and begins swimming towards the surface.

Rei sighs at the moment of peace before his senses detect something large and dangerous coming towards them.

A shark!

Whipping his head upward, towards the surface, he sees Nagisa still flailing to get to the surface to breathe, and the shark is approaching fast. Without much thought and surprising even himself, Rei pushes himself upward as fast as he could, swimming with all his strength until he is facing Nagisa's back. Using his thin arms usually hidden under his larger fins, Rei grips the penguin and together, they fly out of the water.

Nagisa barely has time to even process what's happening, but when he felt the familiar brush of sea wind, his eyes widen and his mouth falls open to gape. He is flying. Like…actually…frickin…flying! And Rei is somehow holding him under his wing behind him. Boy…they must be a sight for sore eyes...but he's flying!

Rei could feel the wind whipping Nagisa's blond hair as it brushes softly against his chest. Even he couldn't help but gape that the fact that they're out of the water and in the air. He didn't know how or why, he just felt it deep within himself to get away from the shark but to also help the poor penguin. Jumping out of the water never even crossed his mind, and yet here he is. Here they are.

But the moment soon ends, and both ray and penguin fall back into the sea. Wasting no time, Rei clutches Nagisa under him, hiding him from the view of the shark, and swims in the opposite direction, pulling the wiggling penguin with him.

As soon as the coast is clear, Rei lets Nagisa go, and the young penguin exclaims, flapping his wings erratically, "What was that for Rei? I mean…it was amazing! But…!"

"There was a shark," Rei stops Nagisa's babbling, "I…I had to get us both out of there."

Nagisa looks shocked and glances back at the empty ocean, knowing that he very well could have been eaten if it wasn't for Rei's quick thinking.

"Thank you, Rei," the penguin whispers, bowing his head in gratitude.

The ray nods and swims around some more, "You're welcome."

After a few moments of silence, with Rei mostly swimming around Nagisa, the young penguin finally speaks up, his voice wavering in shame and fright, "This...this is my f...first time in the ocean. I…I don't…"

Rei, with an understanding smile, reaches out and gently pats the penguin on the head, "How about I answer a few more of your questions."

That immediately brightens up the young penguin, who starts asking question after question to the young ray. Together, they spend the rest of the day talking and swimming until it was finally time for Nagisa to head back to shore. Rei actually finds himself dreading the penguin's departure, as he'd never realize how lonely he is without a friend to swim with. Nagisa, too, feels bad about having to go but promises to come back the next day. With a parting wave, the new friends split off, one to go back to land, the other remaining in the sea. But there's always tomorrow, and both penguin and ray cannot wait till then.

AN: Thoughts? Let me know what you all think of this story! I currently have a few more chapters for this story done, but they won't be posted till much later, as I have college to get back into and a lot of other works to get started on. That being said, I have not forgotten about my other Free! fanfic, and I promise I'll get started on the next chapter soon.

With that, I hope you all have a wonderful day, and I'll see you all next time.

Peace!