Heyyyyyy guess who finally decided to edit this and post it here from AO3

Disclaimer: I don't own Free! Iwatobi Swim Club or any of the characters. I just own the first 3,000 words of this story.

It was raining in Iwatobi. It was nice. The rain was always welcome to the inhabitants of the seaside village, seeing as the sun reflected off the water made everything very hot and the sea breeze could only offer so much respite.

The soldiers who came could see the appeal in such a place as this. It was so tiny that they had almost missed it, but they needed provisions for their journey to the capital. Then one of the soldiers spotted a group of beautiful girls walking along the waterfront. A meeting with the head of the village was quickly arranged. The village leader agreed to meet with them over dinner to discuss the mission of the soldiers.

The battalion of soldiers, along with a royal advisor, had been dispatched to find the two most beautiful girls in every village and bring them back to the capital. Upon further questioning, the head of the battalion produced from the folds of his clothes a scroll with his orders on it. To take the two most beautiful girls from every settlement in the kingdom of Iwami to the capital for inspection by the king and court. The reason stated was the soon-upon-them coming of age for the prince. The prince needed one or more wives before he was able to become king.

The village leader, upon reading the rest of the scroll, resigned himself to their wishes. The orders were that the girls were to be retrieved upon pain of death from any who stood to bar the way

A village meeting was called, and the village leader explained the situation to his people. Regretfully, all the girls aged between ten and twenty were summoned to the council house where meetings of the village council were held. The lead soldier picked out all the girls who had weird noses or fat cheeks or other unattractive features. He sent them home, where their parents were overjoyed to have their daughters staying.

The Nitori triplets were too bony. Three of the Hazuki daughters had short fingers. The Ryugazaki girl had abnormal hair. Sometimes alone, sometimes in groups, the girls were sent home. Eventually, it was narrowed down to three girls.

The soldiers stayed in the village for three days, watching the three girls and how they interacted with people as they pondered which girl they were to leave here. The obvious choice would have been Mikasa Mikoshiba, as the youngest and barely more than a child at eleven, but she was likable and excitable and it would have been a waste to leave behind a person so easy to get along with. She had slightly spiky straight hair of a vivid blood orange. Her eyes were golden, like the sun that so tortured the people of the desert country of Iwami. The girl seemed to like anything and everything, never once complaining or making a fuss. Every day, she would accompany her older brothers Momotaro and Seijuro to the beach, where they would stay for an hour or more, Seijuro teaching his siblings how to fish in absence of their long-dead father.

Nagisa Hazuki also had a wonderful and cheerful personality, making her an attractive potential bride for the prince. She was an attractive thirteen-year-old with curly blonde hair that fell to her shoulders in a way that mirrored clouds in the sky, albeit not quite as poofy. Her magenta eyes, mesmerizing as they were, shone from the middle of her face. But as it turned out, Nagisa was betrothed already to a boy her age named Rei Ryugazaki, not that it should have stopped the soldiers from taking her anyways. But, the village leader said it was to pay off an old family debt and the whole town just needed that stupid debt paid off so the threats could stop between the two families. Out of pure sympathy and a desire to end feuds, the girl was vetoed. Blood feuds could be taken to the High Court in Samezuka, and often they were more trouble than they were worth.

The only girl they were sure they wanted to keep was the last girl, a fifteen-year-old named Haruo Nanase. Her hair was darker than the hollow in the crescent moon, spilling down her back and over her shoulders in soft curls that resembled a wave just before it crashed against the rocks. Her eyes were the crystal clear blue of the sapphires that decorated the many pieces of jewelry that the royal family wore on a daily basis. Despite her bored-with-everything personality, she would disappear every day for a few hours to the waterfront, where everyone said she went to swim, which she seemed very passionate about.

At long, last, it was decided. Announced to the people of Iwatobi as they clutched their daughters to their bosoms or hiding girls behind brothers and fathers and uncles and cousins, as if a family member could shield them from the soldiers. The girls they were taking were Mikasa Mikoshiba and Haruo Nanase.

Mikasa's older brothers shouted their protests. She wasn't even a teenager yet, how was she expected to become a wife, much less a mother? After all, the girls were being taken so that they could bear children to the future king. The rest of the village was in uproar. They said that He would be angry if Haruo was taken from Iwatobi. He was not one to cross. The village leader begged the soldiers not to take Haruo. If Haruo was taken, then He would wreak his vengeance on the people of Iwatobi, maybe even on all of Iwami.

But the soldiers ignored the villagers. The two girls were loaded onto a cart along with two dozen others their ages or a bit older. The oldest was twenty, a girl named Alahandra. The youngest was Mikasa, at eleven.

On the long traverse to the capital, Haruo and Mikasa learned more about the prince. Seeing as Iwatobi was so far away from the capital, Samezuka, and could only just barely be called part of Iwami, the girls from the fishing village knew little to nothing about the royal family or much of anything outside of their own little corner of the world.

The royal house of Iwami was the Shigino dynasty, with it's king, Ichirou, and the crown prince, Kisumi. Kisumi was, according to various sources, handsome and strong, a man who would prove to be a goodly king and husband.

However, it seemed that Haruo believed nothing she was told.

A majority of the girls taken to the capital were sent back to their various homes, leaving only a sparse five girls to marry the prince.

There was Alahandra, with her long brown hair and big brown eyes. She was the oldest of the wives, twenty years old. She wove fantastic tales out of nothing at all, and it was in this way that the younger girls fell asleep.

Akia, with blonde hair and bright green eyes. Her face was pretty, and she was apparently the youngest daughter of an unimportant nobleman. She was seventeen years old.

Mikasa, with her fiery hair and golden eyes. Her loving personality made her an extremely likable person. She was, again, the youngest of the wives, at eleven.

Chigusa, with brown hair and eyes to match. She had come from a farming village near an oasis, where they grew barley and grapes. She was sixteen years old.

And finally, Haruo, with her black hair and blue eyes.

Out of his five wives, it was clear of the order in which the prince favored his wives. Mikasa was his least favorite. She was the youngest, and would one day become very beautiful, which was the only reason she was kept around. The fourth favorite was Chigusa, because she was rather plain but attractive at the same time. The third was Alahandra, who apparently was only good for storytelling. The second was Akia, because she had a charming disposition and was always ready to give the prince exactly what he wanted.

But the absolute favorite was Haruo. She was beautiful and mysterious. Ever since she was taken from her home, she had refused to say a single word except for her whispers of the same four over and over again.

He will be angry.

Everyone but Mikasa was at a complete loss as to who He was, and they were most anxious to learn, but neither Mikasa nor Haruo would say a word about it. Haruo refused to speak, and Mikasa refused to tell without the word from Haruo. From what any of the court could gather, He had been Haruo's lover back in Iwatobi and he would be angry that Haruo had been taken.

One day, about two months after the girls had arrived at the capital, a messenger came running from Iwatobi. He was Momotaro, Mikasa's brother. He came bearing news that Iwatobi was experiencing a terrible drought and the fish were swimming away from the nets of the villagers. Seeing as most of the fish in Iwami came from Iwatobi and other villages just like it up and down the coast, the fact that Momotaro was followed by a messenger from each and every one of these other towns was troubling to the king.

But before he could send anyone to do anything about it, the king took ill and died soon after. The Crown Prince Kisumi was crowned and acclaimed as king over all of Iwami, and his favorite wife, Haruo, was crowned as his queen.

She soon stopped speaking altogether.

Three years later, Haruo had still retained her silence. Akia bore the king two daughters and a son, although the son died when he was only a few weeks old. Mikasa was fourteen and Haruo was seventeen, and the younger of the two had grown aged like fine wine. Mikasa was a shining jewel at court, and many men found themselves thinking to court her before remembering that she was one of the king's wives.

Haruo, on the other hand, had taken ill for long periods of time, and very often, over the past few years. She became nothing but skin and bones. Her hair turned limp, her sapphire eyes lost their luster. She spent all her time staring out her window, dulled eyes looking for the ocean that she couldn't see anymore.

The drought had spread past just the coast. It now covered half of Iwami, but had stopped at Samezuka, proceeding no further into the kingdom. At first, water was imported from one of the oasis cities, but eventually even that became null for him.

Drink in the king's goblet would never reach his lips, and food would turn to sand in his mouth. Many thought he would soon die, but all of them were proved wrong. While he was cursed to never ingest food or drink again, he was also cursed to not die from starvation or dehydration. He cursed his ancestors a thousand times for his misfortune.

Meanwhile, Haruo grew sicker still. Her maids would often bring full plates of food back to the kitchens, the queen having refused to eat. She refused all water, and any medicine given to her would end up in the bushes under her window. The queen was nothing more than a scarecrow these days, sitting by her window and looking at the horizon as if it held the answers to the universe. Soon enough, however, she became too ill to even stand, let alone walk over to her window. The queen was dying, and her only illness was a broken heart. She longed for the ocean, the coast, and the sweet sea breeze that had captivated her in youth and she now needed for her life to continue.

The whispered lullabies of the waves, the songs of the sailors when they came back from fishing with nets full of fish and eyes full of stories to tell. The cries of the gulls and the laughter of the wind, the salty breeze carried from the ocean on the backs of sea birds. That had been her corner of the world. Her kingdom by the sea. Her magnificent castle made of sand and seashells. The home she knew and the lover she had left behind.

She wrote with a steady hand on a sheet of parchment, sending for Mikasa. She beckoned for the fourteen-year-old to bend at the bedside, next to her closest friend. A whisper left the queen's lips into the other girl's ear. Mikasa nodded.

Three days later, Haruo and Mikasa, accompanied by the king and several attendants, were on their way to Iwatobi so that Haruo could spend her last days in the company of those who she knew and loved. The journey took three weeks, and the sand did nothing to help anyone's lungs. But after those three weeks were up, they arrived in Iwatobi. Momotaro and Seijuro came running out to see Mikasa. A heavily pregnant Nagisa and her husband, Rei, came in a rush to see Haruo- or as fast as an eight-month pregnant woman with short legs and a husband half again her height can go at the same pace.

A young woman with bright red hair followed Seijuro and Momotaro, carrying a small red-headed baby in her arms. She smiled at Haruo, laying on a palanquin between two camels.

The young woman who none of the imperial household knew, whispered something to Seijuro and handed him the baby. Then she ran off to the beach, her long red hair trailing after her like a stream of liquid coral. Mikasa ogled the child, cooing at it's pudgy face.

The red-haired young woman did not return.

It was three days and three nights before anything of note happened. The red-headed woman had still not returned from the beach, but no-one seemed concerned by this. After talking to various townspeople, they found that the young woman was named Kou and she was married to Seijuro and their daughter was named Mizuko. But no-one would tell them where Kou had come from or where she went when she disappeared.

But then something interesting happened. A handsome stranger, richly dressed in silk and rubies, marched up from the beach,his hair shining with droplets of water as if he had emerged from the sea itself, not paying one whit of attention to the townspeople. His hair was red as blood, and had crystalline eyes to match. He looked to be twenty years old at most, seventeen at the least. He sped up the farther he got into Iwatobi, eventually coming at the place where the imperial visitors were staying at a run. He burst into the chamber where Haruo seemed to be about to breathe her last without heed for the guards at the door. He knelt by her side, with all in the room sitting in stunned silence.

He spoke to her in a voice that reminded one of the soft waves that kissed the shore. "Oh, Haru. I missed you."

Haruo smiled, and the king fell in love all over again. Why wouldn't she smile like that for him, he thought? It was because she didn't love him back. "I missed you too." Haruo replied slowly, her voice cracking from lack of use. She tried to raise one bone-thin arm and hand to his face, but he took her frail fingers in his own when her arm started to shake with the effort. He shifted his hands after a few seconds to lift her into his muscled arms. He stood with the feather-light queen in his arms.

He walked out of the building with guards chasing after him, demanding that he put down the queen and surrender. The man ignored them and walked down to the waterfront, smiling down at the tiny woman in his arms. She would smile back up at him with tired eyes. The king followed the man, shouting abuse at him. But neither Haruo nor the mystery man seemed to notice.

As the mystery man walked through town to the sea, the townspeople slowly started to trickle after. First just one, then another, until the entire population of Iwatobi was following the handsome stranger who had just kidnapped the queen. None seemed alarmed, in fact they started to cheer.

He is pleased, He has smiled upon us again.

Soon enough, the congregation arrived at the waterfront, where they all formed a line where the sea lapped their sandals and wet their toes. But the handsome stranger kept walking, into the ocean and carrying Haruo with him. The king and his guards tried to follow, but the villagers stopped them, linking arms to form a human barrier around the shore. The king watched as the stranger lowered the queen into the ocean, where she smiled. A happy, bright smile that rivaled the sun in its intensity. A flash of light blinded all in attendance, and when they could see again, they saw the queen standing waist-deep in the ocean. Her hair, which had been dry like straw for the past few years, now shone like black pearls. Her eyes danced like the ocean around her, and she was dressed in deep blue robes that matched her eyes.

The queen was beautiful again, and she pulled the handsome stranger down by the collar of his rich clothes and kissed him, full on the lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and his hands wandered to her waist. They kissed hungrily, as if this was their last day together before The End of All Days. Several minutes later, they parted for want of air, but still clung to each other.

Haruo's lips curled into a small smile, and spoke softly to her stranger. "I missed you Rin, I really did."

The stranger, now named Rin, smiled right back at her. "I'll bet I missed you more."

Haruo raised one eyebrow, amused. "Was that a challenge in your voice?"

Rin smirked. "It might be. Do you want it to be a challenge?"

"You know, I just might."

It was at that moment that the guards burst through the barrier and rushed at the young couple. Rin chuckled, a deep, hearty sound, and Haru was right beside him, her own light laughter like faerie bells or falling stars. The two of them ran deeper into the ocean, until they were nothing but ripples in the waves.

It had been centuries since Haruo or Rin had stepped foot on dry land, since the King of the Sea married Haruo. Rin became King Rin Mate-of-Haruo, and Haru became Queen Haruo Mate-of-Rin. She reigned beside him and everyone was happy. Gou, Rin's sister, had decided to give up immortality to live in Iwatobi with her husband, Seijurou, and their daughter. The palace moved with the current, and one day they ended up on the edges of some island country that neither knew the name of. The waters seemed vaguely familiar, and Haruo wondered if she had been there before.

Over the years, Rin and Haruo had been arguing more and more, despite making up after only a few hours. The interventions of their three daughters, Mizuko, Gou, and Sakura, and their sons, Toraichi and Niji, kept them from going to blows. Finally, Haruo had enough. In a fit of rage in an argument she didn't even remember the cause of later, Haruo broke all ties with her husband, relinquishing her title as Queen of the Sea. She cast off her crown, and locked herself in her rooms. Then she prayed. For three days and three nights, she remained locked away, refusing all contact, even with her best friend and confidante, Makoto Mate-of-Sousuke.

She prayed for the gods to free her from her current form and bequeath her a new one, free from the clutches of her infuriating husband. And whatever gods were listening granted her wish. They pulled her from the depths of the ocean and severed her soul from her body. They sent her down to earth, in a new form that would fool anyone looking for her.

She was placed in the womb of a mortal woman, and was born this time as a boy named Haruka. His hair was dark, his eyes bright. And more than anything, he loved to swim. His best friend Makoto kept him in check, and Nagisa, just like the Nagisa that Haruo knew long ago in Iwatobi except this time not a girl, reminded him that it was alright to have fun every once in a while.

The first sign that Haru missed was the appearance of Sousuke Mate-of-Makoto, Rin's right-hand man and best friend. Sousuke appeared as Haru's step-brother. She thought it a coincidence that his name was the same, that he looked the same as Rin's best friend. The second sign that appeared, and this time wasn't missed, was Rin himself.

There he was, on the starting block beside Haru, ready to kick off into the pool. Haru was lucky for his (her? Haru wasn't sure anymore) self-control. If he was himself- herself? from back then, he would've punched Rin right then and there. But he simply ignored Rin in this life.

But Rin still shoved himself into every situation he wasn't welcome in, just as he always had. He brought together a circle of four, then he was gone. One day, he left without leaving a trace behind but a trail of broken hearts and empty eyes. But even without him, the world spun on and life continued. Nagisa left, too. Sousuke's father and Haru's mother divorced, and Sousuke moved away. And once again, it was just Haru and Makoto.

But then Rin came back, four years later, He brought with him four years worth of pain and tragedy. He drove Haru and Makoto back together with Nagisa, and then a new face joined their group. Rei, just like the Rei that had lived in Iwatobi with Haruo, and not Haruka, all those years past, the Rei that was hopelessly in love with Nagisa (The elders had often referred to Rei and Nagisa's love, despite being destined for an arranged marriage, as one that would last a lifetime. But it had lasted far longer than that.)

But in the end, it all worked out. Haru and Rin, still just as in love with each other as they had been when Haru was taken all those years ago, were friends again. Sousuke returned to the sea to be with his Makoto, and Nagisa and Rei had their happily ever after. Gou fell in love with Seijuro again, and they married, later to have a daughter they named Mizuko.

History repeated itself, as it always does.

Nearly five hundred years after they had first met, Haru and Rin were married again. In a human ceremony, with both of them as men, but still they were happy. And it was many years later, first as men, and then with a flash of light, husband and wife, Haruo and Rin disappeared beneath the waves. All that they left behind was a smile, footprints in the sand, and the soft, sweet scent of the ocean in the hearts of all that they knew.

And The Sweet Sea Breeze

Word Count: 3,934

Post Date: 5/11/15

Additional Notes:

I'm really proud of this one, guys.

Peace, Love, and Bacon,

Pwnie3