I've always wanted to write a second MakoHaru multi-chapter fic. I was feeling like my other fic, Happyville, might be a bit too heavy for me to dump some MakoHaru fluffs to satisfy my MakoHaru fangirl side, so this fic is written. It isn't exactly MakoHaru fluffs, of course, but at least it will definitely be lighter than my other fic.

I don't know where this idea is originally inspired. It just came to me and really, I don't know. Let's say that this fic is a result from my imaginations gone wild.
I hope you will enjoy this story!

Disclaimer: Free! and Free! Eternal Summer belong to Kyoto Animation

Chapter 1

A Portal Behind the Waterfall

:-:

Nanase Haruka possessed a spirit of water.

He remembered the first time he found out that he was extraordinary. It was back to his elementary school years. At the age of seven, he was invited by his grandmother to her room. It was a small, traditional tatami-based room with futon and abundant sheets of photographs holding precious memories throughout her long life. It was a cozy place where kareishuu—a distinctive peculiar odor, or the smell of gaining years—lingered.

Young Haruka presented a polite bow to her in respect, before settling himself in front of her; palms relaxed on his thighs, which rested on his legs. His grandmother smiled at him, then pulled him into a warm, comfortable embrace, the kind he could only receive from a plump, warm and fragile body of a grandmother—all loving and didn't last very long.

"My dear child," his grandmother's voice was serene, like gentle stream of a river, "are you aware that you have a gift of the water?"

At that time, Haruka probably felt like superheroes in the movies when they first discovered their superpowers. The kind of feelings where bewilderment and excitement mixed up and manifested to heroic acts and the townsfolk would go 'all-hail' to said superhero, with applauses, cheers, and fangirl screams.

"A gift of the water...?" Haruka echoed in a whisper of awe. He always thought that the water was alive, of course, and he enjoyed submerging himself in it, breathing under it.

"Are you aware that people can't normally breathe underwater?" His grandmother asked again, releasing her embrace.

"I thought some people can't, but others can do that. It's like swimming, Grandma. They learn."

"Did you ever learn to breath underwater?" She gave him a merry grin, her eyes crinkled.

"No, Grandma. It's like breathing air. I never learn how to do it." Haruka was immersed in the gentle, lively blue eyes belonged to his grandmother.

"That's it. You are gifted, my child. Just like your mother and I are gifted."

At the mention of his mother, Haruka squirmed in his sitting position. When Haruka was only four years old, his mother and father had gone out for a romantic dinner, leaving Haruka in the care of his grandmother. He'd waited and waited for them to come home, fighting his eyes not to droop down and holding his consciousness as tightly as possible. It was past twelve at midnight and his parents hadn't come home.

They never came home. It was like they had vanished into thin air, drifting away like candle smoke. They left no trace, not even a lingering presence or smell could be detected. He was left with his grandmother, and Haruka eventually grew a special love for his grandmother—probably he loved her better than his parents.

Haruka's blue eyes blinked. They were like a pair of pearls painted in a rich, vivid color of the sunlit ocean—beautiful eyes inherited from his mother, and grandmother. "Does that mean I can be a superhero?" He asked with the innocence of a child, with sparkles visible in his eyes.

Her wrinkled mouth broke into soft laughter. "It depends, Haruka-chan, but I asked you to come here for a purpose. I have to inform why you're restricted with our rules. It's because you're specially gifted and not all people will just accept us for who we are. Remember our rules of treating water?"

"Don't stay underwater for more than a minute." Haruka lifted his right index finger, "Don't play with water more than appropriate." By appropriate, it meant Haruka shouldn't try to control the water and let it do what it wanted to do. "Don't try to merge with the water because the water and I are two different individuals." That's the third one, even though Haruka considered merging as something impossible for him to do. Finally he said the fourth one, "Do not waste the water."

"Smart boy. Keep it that way until you become ordinary. Tell me what I've said about becoming ordinary."

"When you are ten, they call you a prodigy. When you are fifteen, they call you a genius. Once you hit seventeen, you're just an ordinary person."

:-:

Nine years later, his grandmother died.

There was no proper funeral. Nobody paid such respect to his grandmother except for Haruka himself. His family had always been shut out by the society. People had been spreading rumors about them involved in forbidden practices of witchcrafts. Haruka often thought of why did he still have to pretend he's ordinary when he was clearly not, since people had known about it anyway?

Haruka wasn't as innocent as before. He knew what he possessed wasn't a gift like what his grandmother had told him. It must be a curse.

After digging up his grandmother's grave in the backyard of the house and carefully positioning her inside a coffin he'd bought, he sealed the coffin shut and did the most respectful burial he could manage.

Before his grandmother passed away, she gave him an old book—a diary, locked with a tiny silver key. Only when Haruka had reached, or nearly reached seventeen, he would be allowed to open her diary and read it. Because, his grandmother had told him, there's an important secret inside.

Throughout the years, Haruka's water spirit grew even stronger. In fact, he was even pushed far away from the term 'ordinary'. An old saying of his grandmother didn't apply itself as truth. At the age of sixteen, Haruka could shape and form pretty much anything with water, easily sculpting them like mold. If he tried hard enough, Haruka was almost sure he could merge himself with the water and flow along the river, losing himself forever in the limitless water. That sounded nice, but he was too curious about the secret of his grandmother's diary to disappear in the ocean.

His days were boring. Submerging himself for hours in the water, sculpting more and more water furnitures, painting, cooking, reading old books that bore him to slumber, grilling and eating mackerel, wasting the money he inherited from his family, repeat. Each day he hoped that he could experience somnolence, so he could waste away without dealing with meaningless monotony. He couldn't even apply for high school, let alone work. Not with people sneering at, gossiping and calling him names. He had neither friends nor families.

Haruka could sell his paintings for money, but who in this small town wanted to take 'cursed' or 'enchanted' paintings—the ones made by a warlock or wizard?

Stupid people, Haruka thought, spreading rumors when they don't know the actual truth. When I no longer have money left, that's it. I'm going to waste my life in the ocean.

He couldn't be sure whether he should be grateful or not, because when it was only half a month away from his seventeenth birthday, he still had plenty of money for him to spend. That meant he could live longer before wasting his life to the sea, but the life he had at the moment was not at all meaningful.

So what's the point?

Haruka found himself couldn't wait any longer. His grandmother had said that when he nearly reached seventeen, he could open the diary and quench his curiosity. On his futon, inside a room casted with moonlight, Haruka unlocked his grandmother's diary.

He was reading it thoroughly, finding himself getting more sleepy by each word in the diary that registered to his mind. Nothing out of ordinary. The diary told the story of his grandmother when she was young—falling in love for the first time, getting married, having a daughter, having him as a grandson. Despite his sleepiness, Haruka was smiling from time to time when he read it. The diary made him feel like his grandmother was still alive, sitting beside him, telling him stories of her younger years.

His drowsiness drifted away the moment he turned the next page.

'Dear Haruka-chan,

By the time you're reading this, I have probably left this world, and you are dealing with loneliness. I am crying as I write this, Haruka-chan, because it pains me when I think of you being alone, scorned by the people of our hometown. That is why, I want to give you a chance for happiness. I want to give you a new home.

There is a secret place behind the waterfall on the mountain near our house.

I do not know if you're still willing to trust me, but just this time, please trust your grandmother, Haruka-chan. I want you to leave your house, leave my grave, leave everything away. Take whatever you need to take, but just leave the rest.

Climb the mountain. I have prepared a map for you in this diary. Keep going, until you find a waterfall. I'm sure you will know that is the one, because that waterfall will impress you with its beauty. Visit the back of the waterfall at night time, Haruka-chan. You will find a cave inside.

I have written what the most essential things you have to prepare at the back of the map, along with an instruction about what you should do behind the cave.

This is my last resort to grant you a place you can call home. Grandma loves you.'

Haruka immediately turned the pages until he found a hand-drawn map. With teary-eyes, he curled up a smile.

:-:

He saw the waterfall.

It took him a full day of searching and climbing, avoiding snakes, and stumbling upon overgrown plants. All the fuss, heat, and fatigue were no longer bothering him when Haruka spotted the waterfall. His lips broke to form a nearly perfect 'o' as he watched the waterfall in awe.

The water was pristine and sparkling under the moonlight, positively vibrant, falling with all its might and crashing to the water below. It created endless, powerful white splashes at the bottom of it, where the river flowed in steady stream.

Haruka was practically calling the waterfall his first love encounter. Forget about the uninteresting cave behind it—he would be happy to merge himself with this waterfall, disappearing forever.

His ocean blue eyes were too transfixed at its beauty that it took him quite a while to notice that someone was kneeling on the ground beside the waterfall. It was a boy, seemingly having the same age as Haruka. The moonlight shone on him, revealing strands of brown hair—wait, it was olive brown, Haruka's keen eyes decided. He could still differentiate color details even only with the help of moonlight. The boy's hands were clasped together in front of his chest, his eyes closed. It looked like he was praying, seized by tranquility.

The moment Haruka noticed the boy, the waterfall was almost forgotten. He was mesmerized by the sight in front of him. The boy was gorgeous—almost ethereal. He doubted that he was seeing an ordinary human being. The brunet was probably an angel in disguise. There was a breathtaking aura emanating from him.

Something clicked inside his mind.

The boy probably possessed a spirit belonged to the sky—unreachable, distant, ethereal. That was the only explanation. His grandmother had taught him that gifts of the spirits weren't only from the water. Haruka blinked slowly, several times, making sure that what he was seeing was real.

After the fourth blink, the brunet was no longer there.

Did he just... dissolve and merge with the air? Or was I seeing a mirage?

Haruka let out a deep breath. Forget it.

He walked toward the place where the mysterious boy had vanished, bathing himself with a cast of moonlight. He could see large rocks lined up to form a path to the back of the waterfall. Thankfully, Haruka didn't have to charge the waterfall directly with his body, although it wasn't a big deal for him. He carefully made his way to the back of the waterfall, climbing and stepping on the large, solid rocks, although they were damp and a bit slippery.

He had expected to see a dark cave with no light, but he was taken aback when he saw torches were arranged at both sides of the cave, all lit up and the flames burned brightly. However, he could see the inside of the caves only for several meters away, where the area was illuminated by torches. The rest of the cave was impossible to look through. Complete darkness welcomed him at the end of the last pair of torches. Haruka couldn't guess what he would find in that kind of darkness—seemingly void and abyss—it felt like once he'd entered the dark, it was impossible for him to see the light again.

With no intention to explore further, Haruka decided that where he was standing right now should be the place for him to perform the peculiar things he had to do, just like his grandmother taught him from her diary. Haruka crouched down, releasing the sling bag from his shoulder and put it beside him. He pulled the zip down and fished out a glass bowl.

Leaving his stuffs for a while, Haruka brought the glass bowl with him and walked back toward the waterfall. He stretched out both his hands that were clutching on the bowl toward the waterfall, filling the bowl with hard splashes of water. He turned back to his previous place and kneeled down, placing the bowl in front of him.

Haruka clapped his hands several times, palms rested against each other. After taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes. "Spirit of water who occupies my being, I am Nanase Haruka. With the purest water I could manage to take, I request your permission to give me a key to unlock your natural realm."

He was silent for a full minute, expecting something sparkling around him, or personified water engulfing his body, or most preferably a magical door to another world appearing in front of him, whatever it was beside nothingness. Yet it was nothingness that answered his peculiar words and awkwardly performed ritual.

"Hello."

Now this was least unexpected. A simple hello, but it was still better than nothingness. Was the personified water trying to talk to him? What should be his answer? Hello? Nice to meet you?

"Um... can you hear me?" The voice was heard from behind him.

Haruka's eyes swiftly opened up and he did a quick turn of his head, a bit too hasty that his neck ached. He saw a boy—the same brunet with olive brown hair who was praying beside the waterfall. Now he was standing behind him, giving him the gentlest smile he'd ever seen. Finally, Haruka could see his eyes clearly. They were green—bright, lively green, like young leaves washed with the richness of sunshine. Those eyes were gorgeous, a perfect color to his whole feature, especially that rare color of olive brown hair.

"Are you Nanase Haruka?" He asked again with soft voice.

"Yes." Haruka answered hesitantly. His presence seemed so odd, but comforting at the same time. He clearly didn't expect another person to approach him in a place like this.

"May I join you?"

Now that's odd, but then Haruka remembered that this boy was praying as well.

"I'm..." Haruka really didn't know how to answer. He couldn't tell him that he was currently trying to perform a stupid ritual to open up a door to another world or whatever it was. "I need to concentrate, so please leave me alone."

He didn't leave or utter an apology. Instead, the brunet laughed.

He laughed.

Haruka gritted his teeth in annoyance, jerking his head away. He shut his eyes again in front of his water bowl and started to clap his hands several times. Five times, to be exact. He could feel this green-eyed boy lingered beside him. When Haruka opened his eyes a little to pay a glance, the brunet had kneeled beside him, palms lightly touched against each other, his green eyes closed in serenity.

"Spirit of water who occupies his being, he is Nanase Haruka." He said, "With the purest water he has managed to take, I request a key for him to unlock your natural realm."

Was it just his imagination, or the waterfall seemed to sound more quiet like the stream had slowed down?

"I am Tachibana Makoto." He continued, as if answering a mute question. In that moment of prayer, Haruka was once again nearly convinced this green-eyed boy was too ethereal to be human being. "The earth spirit who occupies my being, I declared my life spared by the spirit of the sky, and I request a key to unlock and enter your natural realm."

In an instant, Haruka was deaf.

He couldn't hear a thing. It felt like he was trapped in time. Everything felt empty, void, like his spirit was in-between his world and another world—cramped in their clashing.

A hand was outstretched to him, and Haruka took it, squeezed it for dear life. Then, his body was pulled with an unnatural force. Haruka had stood up, and the boy pulled him toward the moving waterfall, crashing onto the droplets of water that fell in slow, unnaturally smooth motion.

With eyes opened wide, he saw a vision of pure water framing and falling like the insides of waterfall, lasted for a split second.

And then, he was no longer deaf, his body was soaked, falling and crashing to a shallow water. The sound of gentle stream of water filled his ears. The moment Haruka opened his eyes, he wasn't near the waterfall or even on the mountain. It was a completely different sight—a moonlit park, and he was lying on his palms and knees in the shallow water under a fountain.

"Nanase Haruka, welcome to the garden of Iwatobi Academy."

The voice of the boy—no, his name was Tachibana Makoto—entered his ears. When Haruka looked up, Makoto was sitting at the edge of the fountain, giving him a bright, amiable smile. His body was also soaked.

"Mako-chan, who is this?"

Haruka turned his head around, trying to find the source of the voice. There was no one in sight, except Makoto who had lifted his chin up toward the sky. Haruka slowly looked up, following Makoto's gaze.

There was a blond boy flying in the air, watching Haruka with magenta eyes that seemed to be sparkling. The flying boy was eyeing Haruka like he was some sort of a new species, which was ironic, because for Haruka, it was he who was seeing a new species.

Because, really, this boy was frickin' flying—hanging in the air with thick blond hair whiffed in every direction, like it was blown by wind.

Wind, that's it. This boy must had a wind spirit. He wasn't really flying—he was supported by an almost visible gust of wind who lifted him airborne.

"Come down here, Nagisa. It's inappropriate." Makoto said, heaving a sigh.

When the blond boy's body slowly descended to the ground, Haruka could feel a gust of wind crashed to his body, seemingly blowing up from under the boy's feet. After his feet reached the ground, the wind started to drift away until the air was still.

"Ne, what's your elemental spirit?" The blonde pranced toward Haruka, looking overly excited. He was wearing a white shirt with short sleeves, red dotted necktie, and gray trousers. Haruka could see a bird-like symbol at his pocket, and he assumed he was wearing a school uniform. "My name's Hazuki Nagisa! Are you a new student? Welcome to Iwatobi Academy!"

Haruka stared blankly at them. A windy blonde and an ethereal—or earthy—brunet, he couldn't be so sure, but he was sure that in this world, he had finally become ordinary.

Nanase Haruka hadn't even reached seventeen.

Notes:

Thank you for giving this fic a chance! I hope you can share what you think about this particular one because it can be quite... 'bizarre'. I can't put much to the summary, but this fic is about an Academy for the spiritually gifted. It's about spirits and deals with spiritual realm and elemental abilities.

Reviews are very much appreciated. I hope I will see you again in the next chapter.