Author's note: Hi, this is just a little thing that I was supposed to do for a friend for Halloween, but college happened and now it's a Christmas gift. Written from 1am to 6am of Christmas day and only slightly edited, so don't hit me. Enjoy~ (if you see this on tumblr, it's the unbetaed version and a piece of poo)
'The water—I'll be safe there! I have to be…!' the pool was empty, bottom drained away and concrete cracked.
"Swim, little fishy~let's see you swim out of this!" Large hands reached for his throat and he struggled. The hands released him—after years, it seemed—but he felt himself fly through the air and land with a reverberating thud somewhere below. The pain was the only thing he could focus on.
A loud sound thundered in the room. Before long, his pain was soothed by a cool embrace. He was sure it was water. It had to be. But it was okay if it wasn't. If he fell asleep now, he would wake up refreshed. He was safe. He would be okay. So he closed his eyes.
The reflooring of the old swimming pool was complete by the next day.
The day after, a missing person's report was posted:
Missing Person: Nanase Haruka
Date: xx/xx/xxxx
Nanase Haruka (10), male, from the small town of Iwatobi. Resides with grandmother, paternal. Last seen walking towards the then-temporary closed Iwatobi Swim Club. Grandmother believed he was spending a night over at a friend's house. Suspected victim of kidnapping.
Tachibana Makoto was literally a kitten given human form. A very shy, gentle, doesn't-bite-the-furniture, adorable kitten that was afraid of his own shadow. While the boy was a sweet, little youngster, unfortunately cursed with a girly name, he had few close friends.
Children were hardly appreciative of kindness and gentleness; they enjoyed the dynamic and explosive philosophy of having fun and living in the moment. So Makoto stayed alone, lingering on the fringes of friendships throughout the first half of grade school.
Mr. and Mrs. Tachibana were pained to see their son lonely.
"Makoto, what would you like to do? Why don't we pick a nice club for you to join?" Mrs. Tachibana suggested over the dining table. The family of three was seated and resting off their dinner, the pregnant mother peeling tangerines for her son and the father lightly perusing the newspaper.
"U-um… maybe… swimming? That looks fun," the boy hesitantly decided.
"That does sound fun! We can sign you up for that swim club that just opened again," his father interjected cheerfully. At his son's shy smile, he ruffled the boy's hair. "You'll probably meet some good friends there, yeah?"
"Un!"
"Do your best, Makoto!"
In high school, he wouldn't remember the first day that the dreams started. It wouldn't matter to him at that point. But the night before his first day at swim club was the exact night; the dream was like a prelude of things to come.
Makoto awoke on dewy grass that had yet to be mashed in mud—the kind that decorated the sides of the river on the weekday mornings, before anyone had yet the time to traipse through the scene. He woke up because there was a gentle touch on his arm that brushed him rhythmically.
His eyes widened with wonder as he fully roused.
A beautiful creek of clear, blue water coursed down the sloped grounds. He could see some fish flitting about. His arm was wet, but the day was so pleasantly and forgivingly warm that he didn't care.
Movement from his side surprised him. Makoto whipped around and stepped back, startled, but stopped at the sight next to him. It was another boy, close in age and slightly taller than Makoto. He was dressed in a light jacket and shorts. The boy had little expression and would look to be nothing but a shallow doll except for the depth in those lustrous, oceanic eyes.
The boy peered disinterestedly at him from beneath his smooth, black fringe. Makoto eyed him back with an anxious smile. Neither made a move.
Finally, the other boy looked away. His hair flipped a little as he whipped his head towards the water. "… are you here to swim?" He asked.
The non-sequitur didn't seem so—not in a dream.
"I guess. Except it doesn't seem deep enough," Makoto replied back tentatively. The other boy looked back at Makoto with furrorwed brows. Makoto felt like a book being perused in judgement.
Apparently, he was found adequate. "We can go deeper," was the monotonous reply from the other boy. He took Makoto's bemusement as hesitance and gingerly held out a hand. "I'll lead you."
As Makoto enclosed his hand around another similar form, he was led into the creek, the cool water lapping up his now bare body (save for swim trunks) along with the other boy's—
And he woke up truly.
"Woah! You have a girly name, too!"
Makoto wasn't sure what to make of the little blond ball of energy that accosted him in the pool. The first day of swimming at the Iwatobi Swim Club was going smoothly, aside from the cursory snickers that resounded whenever he introduced himself to new people. He didn't pay too much attention to the other introductions as they went around in a circle, so he missed the little blond boy's name.
"Mako-chan, I'm Hazuki Nagisa! Just call me Nagisa!" The blond crinkled his magenta eyes. "I can call you Mako-chan, right?"
Makoto smiled bemusedly. "O-of course, Nagisa-kun…"
With that small permission, Nagisa's chattering shot off. "I thought I'd always be made fun of, y'know? My sisters always mess with me and stuff, but I bet you don't have to deal with that!" Nagisa pouted. "It's because I'm so small!"
"Maybe you'll get bigger when you're older, and then they'll say sorry to you," Makoto theorized.
"Maybe," Nagisa echoed. He turned his pout into a blinding grin. "Let's go swim, Mako-chan!"
The smaller boy's giggles were infectious. Makoto's chest clenched with a happy tickle. Things were looking up.
The dream from before was only the beginning. He didn't actually get to swim until after a week of the same dream; the first few days comprised of the same meeting between him and the other boy by the river, where he was asked to swim and led into the water.
He didn't remember inside the dreams, but when awake he would realize that the other boy seemed to have grown increasingly frustrated and curt with Makoto as each dream passed with little progress. He was quicker to ask and direct Makoto towards the creek each day.
And finally, for some reason, the dreams moved on. He started today already half in the creek, the other boy's cool hand a strong guide on his. They waded the creek in comfortable silence, until Makoto decided to talk.
"I'm Makoto. What's your name?"
"… Haru. Haruka," the other boy muttered. The grip on his hand didn't loosen once.
Makoto nearly beamed. What were the chances of him meeting another boy just like Nagisa and him? And they all swam!
"I'm really gald to finally be able to swim with you, Haruka-chan," Makoto murmured shyly.
Haruka turned his head away from Makoto. " Don't call me 'Haruka'," he ordered, displeased and embarrassed.
"Hmmm, then Haru?" Makoto was quick to placate his newest friend.
An assenting grunt. He smiled. "Haru-chan," he tested gently. The name rolled out from his mouth so smoothly and naturally.
"…drop the -chan," was the grumbling reply. There was a strange expression on Haruka's face, one that Makoto had trouble deciding whether it qualified as a smile or not. He did seem happy, undoubtedly.
"Okay, then," Makoto acquiesced. He forgot that complaint almost immediately once the creek opened up to a stone reservoir. At the edge of the reservoir was a carved lip in the rock, shaped like some fish. And the water poured in careful measure down to a large quarry, whittled from the hardened earth into an elaborate natural swimming pool.
"Makoto."
"Eh?"
"Jump."
He woke before he hit the water.
"Hi, my name's Matsuoka Rin! I may have a girly name, but I'm a boy!" Everyone laughed at the enthusiastic redhead's self-introduction. His red eyes were bright with mirth, but there seemed to be a hidden agenda to them as they scanned the clusters of children around the swim club.
His hidden agenda stayed so, though, and the new boy was quick to attach himself to Makoto and Nagisa. "So, we're kinda like a secret club," Rin said matter-of-factly. He had a way of talking that implied authority and was quick to establish himself as the unofficial leader.
Makoto didn't mind. Rin was passionate, energetic, and brilliant at swimming; he was fun to talk to and his outbursts and comments decorated Makoto's life just as much as Nagisa's whirlwind enthusiasm and almost-bad ideas did. With his transfer into the same elementary school as Nagisa and Makoto and the same class as Makoto, to boot, there was never a moment of peace. In a good way, of course.
He did have a competitive streak, though. Rin always asked more than they gave the last time around—always pushed for their 110% in swimming. Each millisecond more on their time was as personal a disappointment to Rin as his own failures.
"Rinrin, why do you got to be so pushy?" Nagisa complained.
Rin scowled, but on his baby face, it was more cute than fearsome. "Y'know, I think we're the only ones here who actually have talent," he commented offhandedly.
Makoto paused in toweling his hair. They were changing in the locker room. "Rin-chan, that's a little unfair to say…"
Rin scoffed. "You know it's true! Of course, I'm the best—"
"Only you care about that, Rinrin," Nagisa interrupted in a sing-song voice.
Makoto peered inquisitively at Rin. His friend did care a little too much… "Rin-chan? Is something on your mind?"
Rin fidgeted, but Makoto was always good at reading people. It was in his caring nature—and being as emotive as he was, Rin's cues were easy to pick upon. And now, he nervously set down his towel and stared at his drying toes.
"Let's participate in a relay together!" No surprise to Makoto, Rin's outburst took him by surprise.
"Eh?!" two voices let slip in unison.
The maroon-haired boy scowled defensively. "What?! You guys don't want to?!"
Makoto was quick to smile. "Is that why Rin-chan always wants us to do our best?"
Rin turned his chin up and away. "Of course! I only want to swim with the best! You know I want to be an Olympic swimmer when I grow up."
Nagisa laughed. "So we have to work hard for Rinrin? How selfish~!"
"It's not like that!"
It was easy to see that Rin revealed a very personal desire, with how blind he was to Nagisa's teasing words. Makoto's smile softened. "Of course we'll swim with you."
"Un!" was Nagisa's empathetic agreement.
"You guys…" Rin looked like he was about to tear up. He couldn't contain himself. He grabbed the other two into an almost-naked embrace. "I'll show you guys a sight that you've never seen!"
"—and yeah, we're waiting to see what he promised!" Makoto concluded happily. Haruka just single-mindedly dove back underwater, twisted around for a bit, and glided with eviable grace towards Makoto. After resurfacing, Haruka's blank face seemed slightly less wooden than usual. It actually seemed a little morose.
"Haru-chan?"
It was testament to his heightened emotional state that he didn't rebuke Makoto for his term of address.
"…did Haru-chan wish that he could swim with us?" Makoto guessed hesitantly. "You'd be great and you would be able to swim freestyle since none of us—and I bet you'd get along great with Nagisa-chan and Rin-chan!"
"Drop the -chan, and you're just saying unnecessary things," Haru said shortly. But his sudden resubmergence told Makoto everything he needed to know. He was getting pretty good at reading the other boy, especially his embarrassment and joy.
Excitement from the anticipated relay kept all three boys wired. They had yet to find a fourth member for their medley, but it had already been decided that Makoto would lead with the backstroke, Nagisa would follow with his breaststroke, and Rin would continue on with the butterfly. Finding a fourth member for freestyle would be a cinch. So they didn't worry too hard about it and just focused on each other and themselves within the trio.
One day, for lack of break time gossip, the subject drifted towards dreams. And with the relay so close and his half-remembered conversation during his slumber, he couldn't help but mention Haruka. Nagisa 'ooh'ed and 'aah'ed at the right places, but Rin was surprisingly silent and intense in his focus towards Makoto (as in something not-swimming, of sorts).
In fact, Rin didn't mention anything about the conversation until they were changing and Nagisa was still in the shower.
"Makoto… I think you shouldn't think about those dreams," Rin said softly. The boy was serious, especially with his tone and volume.
Makoto turned around, a fluffy green towel on his head and almost shading the slight hurt in his wide green eyes. "What do you mean?"
Rin pursed his lips. He responded carefully. "I dunno… some kid ya don't even know ("But I do know him," came the protest) just drags you along ("He's not a sea monster!") and you just tell him your whole life?! And you remember these dreams, too—I barely remember having a dream ever."
"Rin-chan, you're making Haru-chan sound like something weird," reproached Makoto.
"I dunno 'cus this sounds weird to me."
Makoto was almost actively pouting and by the way Rin was avoiding looking at his face, he knew Rin felt guilty about his negativity. Still…
"Is there more, Rin-chan?"
"Huh?" Rin looked surprised and dismayed all at once. "Right, you're doing that mind-reading thing," he said accusingly. Rin was pretty easy to read, witn practice. "Well… that Haru-chan guy—just… I guess he sounded sorta familiar." The boy looked away, his eyes with a gleam that was only present the first time Makoto met him. "I knew someone like that, but I didn't really know him, y'know?"
Makoto didn't.
There were days that he was too tired to dream. But there were days that he did dream. He was back in that pool with Haruka again (the pool's design, Makoto had learned, was almost like those ancient ruins halfway across the world—Mayans? Aztecs? But either way, it was really cool) and he was floating about on his back, grateful for the break from swim practice. Haruka, as always, was weaving about the water, diving up and down, never stopping. He seemed a little upset recently.
Makoto had wanted to ask, but every time he was about to speak it seemed that Haruka's face clouded over with some hidden distress and Makoto would lose courage. He gave up. Haruka was someone who came to terms with his own feelings and would tell him things if necessary. Or if Makoto prodded enough.
"Ah," Makoto let out a breathy sigh. He was sitting at the edge of the pool. The sun was bright and gentle. "If only I can be like this every day! Especially with Haru-chan, too!" He turned with a sunny smile towards the bobbing head in the water. The water in front of the other's face bubbled and Makoto knew what reprimand was in those bubbles. "I feel like I'm really lucky, you know. I get such nice friends when I'm awake, and I get to swim with Haru-chan when I'm asleep."
"When you're asleep," Haruka parroted, a strange little expression on his face that Makoto learned to interpret as the face his friend made when he was happy but sad at the same time. Bittersweet, his mother told him.
"… I like swimming with Makoto, too."
Makoto blinked. He didn't expect that. He refocused his gaze on Haruka. "—I…Haru—" Makoto flushed but couldn't help the large grin splitting his face.
"I… want to—" Haruka seemed to have lost his nerve. Quick as a fish, he flipped back into the water and away from the non-swimming boy's warm smile.
In the end, they managed to wrangle someone to swim in the relay for the freestyle leg. They didn't come in first, but second—Rin's soul-wrenching disappointment was worse than any tantrum that Makoto or Nagisa could imagine.
But they had to admit that each and every one of them tried their best and there was nothing more that they could ask of each other.
"Y-you'll w-write me, right?" Rin was a bawling mess. He grew especially close to the other two: He heckled them into running with him to and from swim club; Makoto introduced him to his family and the stray cats nearby his house; Nagisa wrangled them into helping him survive and escape his older sisters. Rin would definitely miss his closest friends.
"Yes, yes—I'll bother you every day," Makoto promised. "Um... maybe not every day, because I don't know how far Australia is and if it's a giant island, how will my letters get there?"
"Maybe you should put the paper in a bottle and let it drift to Rinrin!" Nagisa cheerfully supplied. "Then we can be like pirates!"
Makoto shuddered. He didn't like pirates—they were usually really scary men.
Rin snorted. It was a little gross due to his tears. "You guys know nothing—Australia can get letters!"
"How?" Nagisa challenged.
"Uh… Ask your mom!" Rin retorted. Makoto thought that was a sound suggestion, but Nagisa didn't seem to think so and stuck out his tongue.
"We'll miss you, Rin-chan," Makoto said simply and left it at that. Rin's bittersweet smile reminded Makoto of another's, but the actual memory escaped him now. Rin looked like he wanted to say something more, but looking at Makoto's face seemed to have silenced him.
"Yeah, it'll be weird without Rin-chan, but I'll be okay. I'll just have to survive a year without Nagisa in middle school and high school," Makoto summarized. Haruka was swimming, of course, and acting like he wasn't paying attention. He remained silent. Makoto's dreams were happening daily again.
"But I have you, too, Haru-chan (drop the -chan, already) but that's not when I'm awake," Makoto amended. Haruka finally rose from the water. He sat next to Makoto.
"… I feel like I'm real. When Makoto's swimming with me, I feel like I'm real," Haruka murmured. "I… wish…that—" he clammed up.
Makoto turned towards his friend. It was the second time he said something so… personal. So heartfelt. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought that Haruka was… anxious.
Without Rin around, Makoto was a little lonely. Nagisa was no longer enough to fill the spaces left behind; nothing against Nagisa, definitely…but Rin so perfectly carved out his spot among them and leaving left it irreparable.
Makoto found it easier to remember his dreams with Haruka as time went on and with a dearth of friends, he found himself talking about Haruka more. Nagisa was bemused but accepted it. His parents were suitably awed by the precision of his imagination and thought nothing more of it. He didn't mention it to Rin—that conversation in the locker room still rang in his mind. It was such a strange accusation against Haruka, and a bit unfair. Other kids started to learn in passing of Makoto's swimming friend and chalked it up as an imaginary friend—no big deal, everyone had one; Tachibana was just freer with his.
But as everyone aged and matured, that cute quirk of Tachibana Makoto became a point of censure among his peers. "That Tachibana, talking about his imaginary friend again. What a weirdo—" "—yeah, who does that, anyways?"
With Nagisa as his only friend physically present, Makoto learned how harsh others could be. While he was never really bullied because he was kind to everyone, even his compassion couldn't save him from the stigma of being 'weird'. The others at swim club started treating him differently. Boys and girls would snicker in his direction. Whenever others would overhear his conversations with Nagisa, they would stick out their tongues, swirl their fingers next to their temples, and cross their eyes.
Makoto's kind heart was a soft and vulnerable one. Nagisa could do little against such torment. Rin, having found out from Nagisa because Makoto refused to tell such things to their friend, was spitting fire at Makoto.
"You need to stand up for yourself, Makoto!" His voice was scratchy over the phone. "If I was there—"
"Really, Rin-chan, it's okay," Makoto tried to placate. "It's…it's just words, y'know?"
The line went quiet for a moment. It was a tentative silence.
"… Makoto," Rin started hesitantly. "I know you don't tell me everything. But I do know (Nagisa, Makoto belatedly realized) and I just…" He was quiet again. Makoto let the boy gather his thoughts. "Maybe you should let this thing about 'Haru-chan' go? You know he's… not a real person, right?"
Makoto smiled ruefully. Those words pained him just a little. "I know. But he feels real."
"You're quiet." Haruka swam up to him. Makoto was again sitting on the side of the pool. Haruka rested his arms upon Makoto's lap. "What's wrong?"
Makoto didn't want to say anything. He smiled and started to placate with 'it's nothing' but… Haruka's eyes were staring almost imploringly at him. They demanded an answer.
"You've been like this for a while," Haruka stated blandly. "Are you okay? Is everything okay…out there?" 'Out there' was how Haruka preferred to refer to his life whilst awake.
Makoto couldn't resist, not when Haruka was being so insistent with his concern. He told him everything, all his worries, all his troubles… and Haruka just listened. And when he was finished, Makoto found himself in a warm hug. He looked up to see a fierce look on Haruka's face.
"I…wish," Haruka started quietly. Makoto just let him continue. He knew it took Haruka time to find the right words. "I wish… I could protect you."
It felt like the sun burst in his heart. "I'll be fine, Haru-chan… really."
"…drop the -chan," was the muttered reply from a blushing face.
Eventually, Haruka's arms slid down and his hand grabbed onto Makoto's.
"Haru-chan?"
Haruka turned towards Makoto, face full of intent. "I want to show you something. Let's swim deeper, Makoto."
They dove towards the bottom of the stone pool, a bottom that Makoto never reached because it just wasn't pertinent. But Makoto realized, as they swam deeper and deeper, that the pool had no bottom. The walls faded into the darkness and away. The cool water was the only thing there except for Haruka. He forgot about breathing, everything. It was just Haruka and him at the depths.
Haruka's eyes were soft and focused on the present, unlike the faraway look he always had. He stared straight at Makoto. 'Peaceful, isn't it?' they seemed to say. Makoto gave him a close-lipped smile, the widest one he could give.
Makoto woke up, mind still faintly clinging to the sensation of the ocean depth.
Swim club was the same. Makoto had been keeping a tighter leash on his words, careful to not mention Haruka as casually as he did before. Nagisa, surprisingly for the obliviousness he portrayed, was looking at him with sympathy and support. He was mentioning a silly tale from his homeroom, eager to take Makoto's mind off the unkind atmosphere from his peers.
Makoto laughed at the punchline. "You mean that really was Souda-kun in the dress, not his sister?" Nagisa burst into giggles and snorts.
The larger boy wiped his eyes of the tears that came with the laughter. As he looked past Nagisa, towards the pool, he saw a familiar figure execute a perfect dive into the water. He wiped his eyes again. "Haru-chan?!" he let out a surprised yelp. A hand waved in front of his face, suddenly blocking his line of vision.
"Tachibana, are you still being crazy?" One of the boys in the club was next to them. Nagisa immediately flanked Makoto for the little bit of support he could give.
"I just—I thought—I saw—" Makoto's stutters were cut off by careless, mocking laughter. He felt tears warm the corner of his eyes. He was doing so well at avoiding any mention of Haruka and to slip up so...
"Maybe you're just so desperate for friends because you only have Hazuki—trying to kiss up to everyone and everythin'—"
If the boy's friends hadn't call him over, Makoto would have burst into tears at his next words, whatever they were. But he was trying to force them down, Nagisa tightly gripping on his arm and rubbing his back.
"Mako-chan, it's okay. It's okay—they're just being dumb; it's okay—" Nagisa's comforting babble was cut off by a scream.
Not a scream from Nagisa, though. A scream from one of the other kids. Makoto looked up through his watery eyes and gasped in shock.
The boy that was tormenting Makoto before was now floating lifelessly in the shallow end, red blossoming near his head. A wet path led to the edge of the pool, where the boy fell.
The coach strode over in alarm. "Somebody, get the nurse! But don't run!" He yelled. He lifted the boy out of the water and onto the wet walkway. "Damnit—! This is why you don't run near the pool!" All the children were ushered out by the assistant coaches as the head coach started first aid. Before Makoto left, he thought he saw a mop of black hair sink back into the pool.
"I know... I know that he was being mean to you, Mako-chan," Nagisa whispered solemnly. "But do you think he'll be okay?"
"I don't know."
"I'm sorry something like that happened today," Haruka said softly. Makoto shook his head.
"You know… I thought… I thought I saw Haru-chan for a minute today." Makoto paused, and gave a self-depreciating chuckle. "Strange, huh?"
"Can you drop the -chan, already?" was the noncommittal reply.
Makoto did some lazy circles on his back. They were at the surface of the pool. The sky was cloudy.
"It makes me sad."
The soft sound of water droplets returning to the pool signaled Haruka whipping his head towards Makoto. Makoto continued to talk.
"I guess I got scared of them making fun of me, and I just realized that I haven't been back here for a week or so," he explained. "But I'm glad of all nights, I came back now."
Haruka expectantly held out his hand, and Makoto grabbed it as they both swam back into the deep. Makoto had the fleeting thought that Haruka's grip was a little tighter than usual.
It could be attributed to a string of bad luck, if only the consequences weren't so fatal. Slips here, spills there at the swim club—one boy fell in the showers and cracked his head against the concrete. The diving board was unsteady during a dive and the shift caused another kid to smack against the board, fall into the water unconscious, and nearly drown.
The only good thing Makoto could mention to Rin was that the other kids were too tense to tease him anymore. The sound over the phone sounded like Rin pulling a face, or so Makoto would imagine. But what Makoto didn't tell Rin, or Nagisa, or another soul at all, was that he felt like he was seeing things. He was actually seeing fleeting glances of Haruka around the swim club.
The most recent sighting was when he was waiting for his mother to pick him up (they had some errands to run so Makoto didn't jog home that day). He was under the awning of the the swim club building, somberly eying the road for a familiar car. A girl was hurt today. Makoto knew her as the one who like to make sarcastic conversation with him, always intending to mock him about Haruka with falsely nice words and smiles. Her goggles came loose and she dove down to the bottom of the pool to retrieve them. Of all days, she didn't have a swim cap and had her hair tied back with a red rubber band. And of all the misfortune, her luxurious long black hair got caught on the filter at the bottom of the pool and she drowned.
Makoto bit his lip in unease at his thoughts. The corner of his eye caught movement. He looked to his left, and there was Haruka. He gave Makoto a small smile (the one that meant he was actually really happy to see Makoto, but was too embarrassed to fully show it) and Makoto spied a distinct red rubber band on the other boy's wrist. Haruka's jacket sleeve fell down and covered up the accessory the moment Makoto saw it. He didn't even have time to say a thing to Haruka before his mother walked up to him.
"Mako-chan," she greeted warmly. "We need to pick up those packages and get to the office before it closes." Makoto quickly ran up to his mother and grabbed her hand for reassurance. She looked down at him, eyes with a tired and sad sympathy at what he saw today. She ran a warm hand through his hair and patted his head gently. Hesitantly, Makoto turned back towards the swim club building.
There was no Haruka. No one was there.
He tried to not mention his sightings of Haruka to the boy himself. But while his nighttime dreaming was preoccupied with peaceful swimming and ocean depths, his daydreams became torments—Haruka's small smile turning into a sly smirk, him holding out his hand like always towards Makoto and proudly displaying that red rubber band like a trophy while he was expecting Makoto to come with him.
'He drags you along ("But he's not a sea monster!")'
"You came back," Haruka's voice is bland, but the emotions aren't expressed through that medium. It was all in the eyes, Makoto learned early on. His eyes were reproachful.
"I know it's been a while," Makoto replied gently, almost tiredly. He looked up towards the sky. The clouds were a tad too dark for Makoto's liking. It didn't look like swimming weather, which was odd in this dreamscape. He made no motion to enter the pool. Haruka paused in taking off his jacket.
"Is… something wrong?" Haruka looked worried.
Makoto didn't respond. He took his time looking over Haruka. Realizing it now, he's known Haruka for three years. The other boy was always close behind in terms of growth—he started larger than Makoto, but Makoto's height started increasing at an almost unfair rate and Haruka's body couldn't keep up. Haruka's hair was still sleek and not overly neat. His face wasn't as babyish as before. And from his body Makoto could glean a hint of the future Haruka's form.
Three years.
Suddenly seized by some insane burst of courage, Makoto reached out and grabbed Haruka's hand. It was the hand that was always held out to him. And he stared into Haruka's face, observing, hoping, praying… as he wrenched Haruka's sleeve up and it revealed a red rubber band.
"Haru…ka," Makoto gasped. Haruka's face looked pinched, defensive, but defiant.
'So what if I did? So what? I did.'
"I…" Makoto allowed Haruka his time for words. "I… I did it for Makoto."
The world screeched to a halt.
"For… me?"
"They were hurting you. So I had to protect you. I told you before." Haruka's voice was almost petulant.
"But—! You've hurt people, Haru-chan!" Makoto was beyond distressed. His hand was clenched tight around Haruka's wrist.
"I did it for Makoto!" Haruka was adamant. He whipped his head to the left, glaring down at the ground that surrounded the pool. And he sighed. "I need to get into the water." 'I need to calm down,' were the unspoken words.
Makoto wordlessly released Haruka's hand. The other boy mechanically undressed, uncharacteristically slow this time. He took deliberate steps into the water instead of diving in. When he was waist deep, he turn towards Makoto, about to hold his hand out until he remembered the rubber band. But he made no move to remove it.
He stood in the water, eyes almost desperate in imploring Makoto to come with him.
"I can't." The sapphire-hued eyes widened in shock. "Not this time. Not ever again."
"Makoto—"
"I'm sorry, Haru-chan." Makoto backed up towards the source of the pool, up towards the creek that he barely remembered, and ran all the way back to the patch of grass where he woke up next to the water. The running creek water sounded like Haruka's weak voice, "Please, don't go". His heart pounded like Haruka was chasing them. But no one did.
Makoto woke up sweaty and panting.
"You're quitting the swim club?" Nagisa exclaimed in shock.
Makoto nodded mutely. He hadn't had those dreams for a week.
"… I guess it's for the best," Nagisa responded softly, almost tearing up. "With what's happening… it feels weird."
Makoto smiled weakly. "We'll see each other at school. And we can hang out more, too."
Nagisa smiled a bittersweet smile and gripped Makoto's hand in a warm, tight hold.
Makoto didn't bother to explain why he quit to Rin. He figured that Nagisa would do all the explaining if Rin really wanted to know (and he probably did because despite being in an entirely different hemisphere, he was super nosy about their business). Rin didn't give him any hang ups about quitting, unexpectedly. He patiently told Makoto that Nagisa told him what was happening, that Nagisa quit as well, and what Makoto decided would be the end of that.
"But I expect you to keep swimming later on, okay?"
"I will. Just… not now."
"And I'll be back during break again."
"We can see the new stray this time."
The conversation died out to comfortable silence. Makoto looked out through his window. It was cloudy.
"Rin…"
"Hmm?"
"You were right. About the dreams."
Four years since he quit. Four years since he stopped having those dreams. He tried to ignore it, pretend it never happened.
Tachibana Makoto was, once again, the sweetheart at school, his unkind reputation falling away with him taking leave of the swim club. The swim club fell into dissolution a month after Makoto quit. With all the incidents, rumors sprung up among the adults in Iwatobi that the swim club building was either haunted or cursed. Some of the older folks remembered a prodigious swimmer from years ago, one who went missing in the streets of their city, and claimed that his spirit resided within the building.
Makoto resolutely ignored all of it.
He was in high school now. He attended the little public school Iwatobi High School. It was just a year before Nagisa would join him. And from Rin's grumblings over the phone, Australia wasn't going too well and he was thinking about heading back to Japan next year.
"I'd attend that boarding school nearby—Samezuka? The swimming school."
"Everything is about swimming with you, Rin," Makoto replied with mirth.
Nagisa laughed. They were on video chat with their missing friend. "What's with you and boarding schools? Us public schools too lowly for your highness?"
"Yeah, you bet I'm a king compared to you, shota-boy!" After some good-natured name calling, Rin clarified. "I want to keep swimming, of course. But I feel like my home turf might be better for me. I don't know... I feel like I'm missing something when I swim over here."
"You miss us. Obvious."
"Shut up." Rin contemplated for a moment. "You two better join your high school swim team. Maybe competing against you guys will get me fired up!"
Makoto chuckled nervously while Nagisa playfully riled Rin up. "I'm not sure about competing against you, Rin—"
"—right, because we swim different strokes. Okay. Well, maybe the thought of beating your team will fire me up."
So Makoto tried to join the high school swim club. But there wasn't one. He didn't want Rin to be disappointed, and Nagisa was so excited, too...
He reinstated the swim club, somehow. He had no skills in art, so he had to beg the art club for help in exchange for some almost nude modeling. He managed to get a teacher on board with the club and recruited around five people to join. The other members didn't take it as seriously but that was okay with Makoto. It felt good to swim again.
Four years since he had that dream. He was by the creek. Makoto definitely didn't want to see Haruka. Who knew how he'd react, now that Makoto knew what he was capable of…
He figured that the dreams were tied to swimming, somehow; but damn if he gave up the swim club now. He had to wait for Nagisa. He had to wait for Rin. He couldn't let this fear make him cave in.
He looked in the direction of the pool and he walked further into the grass and away from that direction. He closed his eyes and kept walking until he bumped into something. And as he opened his eyes in the dream, mournful blue eyes looked back at him and he opened his eyes in reality.
Makoto was glad that he didn't quit the high school swim club. Nagisa was the spark that was needed for the club to truly flourish. The blond devil also corralled another first year boy into the club—another boy with a girly name: Ryugazaki Rei.
"Rinrin will be delighted! Too bad he doesn't swim front crawl... then our set would be complete!"
Makoto held his tongue, but smiled. Somehow, their newest member couldn't swim anything but the most technical of strokes, the butterfly. Rei was an oddity, but there was beauty in his swimming. Rin and Rei immediately butted heads in a good way and the younger of the two butterfly swimmers was taken under the wing of the older.
Rin's little sister Gou actually became the manager for the Iwatobi swim team and the old coach from the old swim club, Coach Sasabe, joined as the school's official coach. With Rin on the Samezuka swim team, Gou as the manager, the Samezuka captain infatuated with Gou, Samezuka and Iwatobi arranged many joint practices and developed a friendly rivalry that turned fierce at any official competition.
The two years swimming with everyone was a balm on Makoto. Practices with everyone; outings with Rin, Nagisa, and Rei (Gou would sometimes tag along if she was bored); competing and winning and losing—Makoto didn't focus on the dreams any longer. He didn't think back to the old Iwatobi Swim Club. Whenever the dream came back, he would just walk away from the pool with his eyes closed until he woke up. Everything was okay.
"Come on!" Nagisa was insistent. "You have never done a test of courage in your high school career ever. I swear that should be illegal."
"Nagisa-kun, that is excessive," Rei lectured. Nagisa happily ignored his friend and beamed at Makoto.
Rin rubbed the nape of his neck. "You gotta admit; it's kinda weak, Makoto."
"Rin! Why aren't you helping me?" Makoto pleaded.
"I'm helping you become a man, that's why!" Rin was probably a sadist.
"It's settled. We're going on a test of courage through the old swim club building for Rin and Makoto's graduation celebration!" Nagisa was definitely a sadist.
Makoto looked to Rei. "Can't you do something? Doesn't Nagisa sometimes listen to you?"
Rei pushed up his glasses. "I already calculated. I have used up my quota of obedience for this month. According to my data and personal experience, he won't be inclined to listen to me until the end of break."
Makoto sighed.
The four of them cautiously entered the abandoned building, which was scheduled for demolition during their break. Nagisa could barely contain himself. Rei was resigned, and Rin was just exasperated. Makoto had a death grip on Rin's jacket.
"For fuck's sake, Makoto—you're almost two meters tall! I should be hiding behind you!"
"Riiiiinnnnn," Makoto whined. Rin snorted but didn't complain any further.
Nagisa had tasks for all of them. Since Rei was the only one without history at the swim club, the other three were to go to separate areas in the building, grab an object of significance that had been left behind (or take a picture if immovable), and bring it back to Rei and try to make up a spooky story about the object before actually explaining the real story behind the object. Rei learned to just go along with Nagisa's schemes and Rin was a secret sadist, with the way he smiled to show all of his sharp, sharp teeth. Makoto just wanted to go home.
Makoto was assigned the pool. He secretly dreaded it, but he didn't want to ruin Nagisa's fun. 'There's nothing to fear in there,' he kept repeating in his head.
When he entered the pool area, somebody was already there. A lithe, dark figure, dressed only in dark swim jammers and a jacket, stood by the starting blocks The figure had a smooth, black fringe and hair. And the moonlight filtering through the high windows made the figure's ocean-hued eyes look supernatural. Makoto preferred the sunlight reflecting off those eyes. He preferred the less mature form; the one that didn't look like a lean, dangerous panther.
"Haru-chan."
"Makoto."
The two stood still, neither making a move to close the distance or increase it. Makoto saw that the red rubber band was still on Haruka's wrist, a frayed piece of elastic and string it was. The other had clearly plucked at it, probably removing it and putting it back over and over.
"You're not real," Makoto murmured resolutely. "You can't be."
"I'm real enough," Haruka replied. "With you, I can be real." He held out his hand, the one with the rubber band. "I tried taking it off. It wouldn't come off," he explained blandly, as if he was bored of the fact.
Makoto just stared at the hand.
"Makoto," Haruka whispered. "Please. I… I missed you."
The taller boy stood his ground. "I said I would never swim with you again."
Haruka's mouth tilted into a timid frown. "I thought… if I gave you enough space, enough time… Every time you walked, you always came back to me—" Makoto's breath hitched. It was what he feared but repressed and ignored.
"I said I would never swim with you again, Haruka," Makoto repeated, voice stronger this time. "This… whatever this is—it's not real. It can't be. And it shouldn't be."
Haruka seemed to shrink and wilt at his words.
"And after graduation, I'll leave Iwatobi. I won't have to be haunted by this. This isn't real!" Makoto was trying to keep his calm, trying to reassure himself. "I'm sorry, Haru-chan."
Haruka slowly walked towards Makoto. He wanted to move away, but it felt like he was rooted to the spot. The derelict pool was filled with water without his notice. The water rose past the edge of the pool and started to swell around their feet.
"I'm sorry, too, Makoto," Haruka whispered. They were only a feet away from each other. Haruka leaned in closer, eyes keeping Makoto from moving with their melancholy, and cool lips pressed against his lips. He lost the ability to breathe, almost. It was bitter and sweet, painful and elating, all these things at once. It was ephemeral. Haruka retreated until Makoto could see all of him again.
"I'm sorry, because I can't be real without you. I need you, Makoto." And there was a sharp pull on his wrist and his entire body lurched into the depths of the pool.
"I hurried back as soon as I felt the earthquake!" Nagisa said breathlessly.
"That was practical of you," Rei praised. He peered around. "Rin-san! Are you okay?" There was an echoing 'okay' from the distance. He looked back to Nagisa. "We should ascertain his state before we put ourselves in any potential danger in rescuing him. Otherwise, if he's in trouble, then none of us will be able to help him."
Nagisa nodded shakily. "Mako-chan! Where are you? Are you okay?!" There was no reply. Nagisa fidgeted.
Harried footsteps made their way towards the pair. "Holy shit, that was frightening," came Rin's crass greeting.
Rei inspected his upperclassman. "Rin-san, we're glad to see you are unharmed."
Rin waved him off. "Yeah, I'm okay. Where's Makoto? We should get out of here. This was a bad idea." Rin was tense. "I'm gonna check the pool area!"
"Wait for me! Rei-chan, you call the police!" Nagisa sprinted after Rin. Rei futilely tried to stop them.
Rei didn't rush after them, not until he heard the expletive that even echoed clearly all the way to his position. Not until he heard Nagisa's sharp cry of distress and shock.
He sprinted all the way to the old pool area and ran right into Rin and Nagisa. Rin's mouth had traces of throwing up. Nagisa's wide-eyed, terrified look nearly scared him out of the building.
"Rei, I really don't think you should look," Rin started, but Rei pushed past him. The sight he met was unsettling.
His swim team captain and friend was prone at the bottom of the cracked pool. Blood was pooling around his head, from where the head hit the sharp juts that formed in the earthquake. And his arms were in the grip of small, concrete-covered hands that breached the red-stained floor.
Incident Report xx.x
Date: xx/xx/xxxx
Young male from the town of Iwatobi, Tachibana Makoto (19), found dead in the condemned Iwatobi Swim Club facility. Death was called in by friends, Hazuki Nagisa (male, 18), Ryugazaki Rei (male, 18) and Matsuoka Rin (male, 19). Friends not suspects in homicide despite extenuating circumstances.
Hazuki, Ryugazaki, and Matsuoka all claimed that the four boys trespassed into the building to explore before the building was torn down. The victim, along with his friends, separated before an earthquake struck at 9:21 pm. After the quake stopped, Matsuoka and Hazuki met back with Ryugazaki. After not receiving a response from the victim, Matsuoka and Hazuki went to the pool area to search for the victim while Ryugazaki called the police before joining his friends.
Victim found dead at the bottom of the old swimming pool. Time of death, 9:15 pm. Primary cause of death, blunt force trauma—victim hit his head against the bottom of the pool and cracked his skull; bled out onto the concrete. Note: there was water in the victim's lungs, as though the victim drowned at the same time as hitting his head. No other part of body was wet. Water was seawater. None of the victim's friends were wet, as well. Items found with the victim: cellphone, house key, red rubber band.
Missing Person: Nanase Haruka
Found on xx/xx/xxxx at Iwatobi Swim Club facility.
Status: deceased
Suspected victim of homicide. Body was concealed in the foundation of the pool and was unearthed after the earthquake on the same day, 9:21pm. Bottom of pool cracked and arms were revealed as a result. Found in conjunction with Tachibana Makoto (Incident Report xx.x).