"Where the hell is he?" Rin growled, glancing up at the clock on the wall. Joint practice between Iwatobi and Samezuka had officially started 10 minutes ago and Rei had yet to show up. Being late wasn't exactly against any rules or anything, but Rei had never been late to a practice in his entire time on the swim team. Rin wasn't worried about Rei, he was more annoyed at the inconvenience Rei was causing.

"Don't worry, Rin-chan! He probably just lost track while reading or something," Nagisa reasoned, always the optimist.

"He's never late though," Makoto agreed with Rin's sentiments. "I hope he's okay."

"He better be lying dead in a ditch. That's the only reason being late to my practice would be considered acceptable." Every Monday, the swim teams at Iwatobi and Samezuka participated in a joint practice that were always headed by Rin. Makoto didn't mind turning the reigns over for the afternoon seeing as how he was more laid back than the read-headed captain.

"Rin!" Makoto warned his friend. Just as Rin was about to argue back for no other reason besides the fact that he was grumpy, Rei slid into the room. His friends were a little surprised to see he wasn't alone. Riding atop his back with arms wrapped around his neck was a girl. She was dressed in leggings and a hoodie and had her black hair tied up in a tight bun. Rei let the girl slide off his back and onto a bench against the wall. He turned to say something to her before heading over to his team, who were awaiting his arrival with curious looks.

"I apologize profusely for my lateness," he began. "I assure you I have an explanation for my tardiness."

"Who's that?" Nitori joined the group and pointed to the girl who had stretched herself across the bench and was typing on her phone.

"She is the reason I was late."

"Listen fooling around with your girlfriend isn't a valid excuse for being late for practice," Rin growled under his breath.

"E-excuse m-me!" Rei spluttered. "Airi is hardly my girlfriend. She is my cousin." Rin's face blanched in embarrassment and his next thought was caught in his throat.

"Rei-chan! I didn't know you had a cousin," Nagisa gushed merrily. "She's so cute! What school does she go to? Why is she here today?"

"Nagisa." Makoto put a hand on his shorter friend to cease his bouncing and incessant questions.

"I apologize for not getting permission in advance," Rei addressed Rin, "but it was an emergency; I had to bring her here."

"Emergency?" Haru had pulled himself from the pool and was now standing with the rest of them, dripping on the tiles beneath him. He looked over at the girl everyone else's attention seemed to be on. She was curled up on her side and watching the Samezuka swimmers do laps across the pool with a bored look on her face.

"Yes. You see, my cousin does ballet: the most beautiful sport of all. Today at rehearsal, one of her fellow dancers dropped her out of a lift."

"Ouch!" Nagisa exclaimed.

"Yikes," Makoto agreed. "Is she okay?"

"For the most part, yes. She strained her hamstring and as a result has to sit out the rest of the week just to make sure she doesn't make it any worse. When you get an injury in a sport like ballet, there is a great danger that putting strain-"

"Yeah, yeah, we get it. That doesn't explain why you brought Swan Lake along," Rin retorted.

"I was getting to that." Rei shot Rin a look to go along with his unamused tone. "My aunt is working and my mother is out of town so there was no one to take her to see the doctor except me. Afterwards, I didn't want her walking, especially not all the way home by herself. So I decided the best idea would be to bring her here and take her home when practice concluded. I promise she will not make any sort of disturbances. It will be as if she-"

"I get it! Whatever, it's fine." Rin turned his back on them and stalked back to the edge of the pool where he snapped his googles on and dove in. The others trickled back to what they had been doing before the disturbance. Rei shook off the stupor and took his tracksuit off to join his team. Twenty minutes later, as Rin was barking orders at members of his team who had been goofing off, Makoto noticed he was one team member short.

"Where did Nagisa slip off to?" Haru gave him a blank look and a shrug. Rei let his feet touch the bottom of the pool and pulled the googles from his eyes.

"He was here just a moment ago," Rei told his captain. Their attention was grabbed by a tinkling laugh from the side of the pool. Nagisa was leaning against the edge of the pool and Airi was lying on her stomach near the edge, chin tucked in her hands.

"Airi!" Rei snapped as he swam over to where the two were. Haru and Makoto exchanged a brief glance before following. "What are you doing up? I told you to stay put! I promised Rin you wouldn't be a nuisance."

"I'm not being a nuisance!" Airi defended herself, scrunching her nose up in frustration. Her eyes were the same bright, violet color as Rei's, but held a sense of mischief behind them that Rei didn't have.

"I don't mind, Rei-chan! I like your cousin. She's funny and really cute," Nagisa gushed, making the dark-haired girl blush.

"If you're going to be like that though, I'll go back to my bench," Airi sighed and stood up, making sure to keep from slipping on the wet floor.

"Careful!" Rei scrambled out of the pool and reached out to help her walk over to the bench.

"No! You're all wet. I can walk there myself, Zaki-bō." Rei scowled at the nickname his cousin used for him. It was obvious by the smirk on her face that she had used it with the intent of bothering him. He waited and watched her limp back to her seat just in case she slipped.

"Are you all planning on swimming today or are you just going to stand around?" Rin yelled at the Iwatobi swimmers. They quickly resumed their swimming in order to appease the grumpy Samezuka captain. Practice ended and Rin gave some final words to his team before sending them off to the showers.

"Good practice, Rin. We'll see you next week," Makoto said, smiling. He merely growled something under his breath and followed his team to the showers. Makoto shrugged off the interaction, chalking up Rin's hostility to a bad day. He grabbed a towel and joined his team, who were all gathered by the bench. Rei had slipped his tracksuit on and replaced his googles with his glasses. He was gathering his stuff quickly as Nagisa chattered away at Airi, who watched him with an amused glint in her eyes. Haru stood with them silently, staring off into the distance.

"If you will excuse us, I have to make sure Airi gets home safely." Rei squatted slightly with his back to the bench so Airi could get on his back. She pouted for a moment before wrapping her arms around her cousin's neck and her legs around his stomach. He made sure she had a good grip before heading towards the door.

"Bye, Airi-chan!" Nagisa shouted. "It was nice to meet you!" Airi hollered a goodbye back over her shoulder before the two disappeared around the corner.

Next Monday, the Iwatobi team was filled with a sense of déjà vu when Rei was once again late to practice. The Samezuka team was already running drills under the watchful eye of Rin, who seemed to be in a better mood today. Makoto crouched down and waited as Nagisa slapped the side of the pool and resurfaced.

"Did Rei say anything about going somewhere besides practice after school today?" he asked he younger swimmer. Nagisa shook his head, sending droplets of water everywhere.

"He brought her again." Makoto and Nagisa had their attention grabbed by Haru's monotonous tone. Rei was marching towards the same bench from last week, dragging his cousin behind him. Both were scowling and as Rei shoved Airi onto the bench, the two engaged in a brief argument before Rei stomped over to his friends. The slight commotion had pulled the attention of Rin and Nitori who drifted over to the Iwatobi team.

"I apologize once ag-"

"I see you brought along Sunshine again today." Rin had an eyebrow raised and a curious expression on his face.

"Yes," Rei hissed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He let out a long sigh to regain his composure before going on with an explanation. "When Airi arrived at rehearsal today, she thought it was a good idea to confront the boy who dropped her last week. Unfortunately, Airi's idea of confrontation is not conversation, but instead punching people in the face." Rin snorted and Makoto gave him an unamused look. "Anyway," Rei continued. "She's suspended for the remainder of the week and I had to escort her out of the studio because she was...well let's just say she was a little hostile."

"And you brought her here?" Rin wasn't mad, but he wasn't entirely thrilled to have Rei's cousin present at practice once again.

"I don't trust her anywhere else."

"Fair point. Carry on." Rin turned his back on headed back over to the pool with Nitori right on his tail. Joint-practice went on as usual once again and soon enough, the teams were dispersing. Rei made a beeline over to his cousin who had book and papers scattered around her and was chewing on the end of a pen.

"We are leaving now, Airi," he ordered, hands on hips. She quickly gathered her belongings so she didn't further agitate her already miffed cousin. Before she even had a chance to say goodbye to Rei's friends, he was dragging her away.

"I swear, if he comes in late with that girl again..." Rin paced the floor with his arms crossed, shooting glares at the clock. Rei had yet to arrive for practice for the third week in a row.

"He's never like this when we meet at Iwatobi." Gou stood near her brother watching him stew.

"You haven't been to these practices the last two weeks. Ryugazaki was late two weeks ago because his cousin was hurt or something and last week because she punched someone in the face."

"She sounds...fun." Gou knew her brother was getting so upset by Rei's continued lateness because he thought it was undermining his authority. Rin was concerned some of his own team would start showing up late. Sure enough, a minute later, Rei came into view with Airi. This week, he didn't look flustered or angry; he looked concerned. Airi looked like she had been hit by a truck. She collapsed in a heap on her usual bench and let out a delicate sneeze.

"Don't." Rin held up his hand as Rei approached and opened his mouth to apologize. Rin rolled his eyes and walked away, leaving the Iwatobi team together.

"What's wrong with Airi-chan this week?" Nagisa asked.

"I had to stop by her school and pick her up because she's running a fever. I was actually hoping to miss practice just for today so I can get her home and in bed. I promise Makoto-senpai, it is only for today. I assure you that this will not happen again and I will not let Airi make me late for any more practices." Rei had bent in half in a bow in front of his swim team captain and was rambling at a pace nearly too fast to comprehend.

"Of course!" Makoto told him with a smile. "Take care of your cousin. Just be sure to work extra hard at tomorrow's practice so you don't fell behind." Rei expressed his many thanks and bowed again before rushing over to Airi. He gingerly helped her stand and guided her out of the building with a firm arm around her waist.

The next day, Rei was already in the pool by the time the rest of the team arrived. He had kept true to his promise to Makoto and was already working hard. After a few mandatory stretches per Gou's request, the others changed into their swimsuits and joined Rei in the pool. Practice was going better than usual that day with several of the members setting personal records. Makoto was giving Nagisa a few notes on his entry into the water when Rei's voice stole their attention.

"Airi!" The others turned their attention to the small ballerina who was standing by the edge of the pool. It was apparent she just come from dancing because she wore a leotard, tights, and a tutu all a pale pink color, with a blue hoodie over them. Her duffle bag was slung over her shoulder and she gripped the strap tightly in one of her hands.

"I have had a stroke of inspiration!" she announced proudly. Rei and Nagisa pulled themselves from the pool as the other three drifted closer to listen in.

"Inspiration? What are you talking about? And shouldn't you be at rehearsal?"

"You remember how last week I was telling you about the project we have coming up?"

"Yes," Rei replied shortly, crossing his arms.

"Well I've decided what I am going to be doing my project on." Airi smiled smugly and placed her hands on her hips.

"What?" Rei tilted his head to the side and quirked an eyebrow, obviously concerned to where this was going.

"You!"