Hey, guys. So, um, you can consider this, like, a "pilot chapter" I guess? I was asked a few days ago to consider doing a RinxOC fanfiction and so now I am, but I don't know if anyone will want to read it because there's an OC or what; obviously they're never anywhere near as popular as the canon characters are. But yeah. Um... If you've made it this far, I would just go ahead and read, and if you do read, please read the note at the bottom, too, because I don't know how much support I'm gonna have to continue this from, you know, the readers. And... I'll shut up now? Sorry for the short-ish first (if not only) chapter!
Summary: Ishida Keiko's parents started her dance career for her at the age of four. They raised her to compete and strive to win, always pushing her to go the extra mile. Keiko always loved to dance, but she always hated it, too. It was fun, but challenging and very restricting. All Keiko wants is to feel free for once and maybe, just maybe, the answer lies with her cousin, Haruka, in the town where it all began. This will be a RinxOC fic.
Disclaimer: I don't own Free! Iwatobi Swim Club. I do, however, own Ishida Keiko. Thanks.
[CHAPTER ONE: "THE GIRL."]
"He needs to trust the water; he's the one with the problem, not the water." Nanase Haruka defended his favorite chemical compound, fine, darkly-colored eyebrows furrowed together as he stared straight ahead. Beside him walked his longtime best friend and right hand man, Tachibana Makoto, who found himself chuckling before he could stop himself, causing Haru to look at him.
"I'm serious," The black-haired male said, a deep frown settled into his face. Makoto nodded his head, reaching up and wiping a tear from his eye. These walks home from swim practice in the late afternoon really were the best, though they were fairly new.
"I know, I know," Makoto said in an attempt to pacify Haru, laughing some more as the boy huffed quietly, casting his gaze to the side. Makoto smiled. Haru really was quite a character; he could go from blank-faced to dead serious in the blink of an eye, it seemed. And believe Makoto— there was a difference.
Much like how the sight of Haru's house on the hill was different than how it usually was; how it should have been. Makoto found himself stopping just as Haru did beside him, both of the boys staring up at the house.
"Haru... Why are your lights on? I could've sworn we turned them off this morning," Makoto said, shrugging his school bag back up onto his shoulder as he cupped his chin with one hand, frowning. Then the olive-haired teen jumped to attention, looking around. There had been out at swim practice a little bit later than usual today; it was getting dark. Could that possibly mean...?
"Haru!" Makoto's hand flew to the other male's shoulder, shaking it. "Do you think your house could be getting robbed?! Do you think there could be a burglar?!" The panicking male exclaimed; Makoto was a scaredy cat who didn't do well with creepy or dangerous scenarios. Haruka knew this and his friend's worry and fear were just two of the reasons his eyes narrowed. He'd cut the lights off this morning; he'd accidentally attempted to turn the switch on rather than turn it off because he had been thinking of other things, such as swimming and how quickly he wanted their swim practice to get there.
"Come on and we'll find out," Haru said, not liking the thought of someone unwelcomed in his house. He began trudging forward, leaving Makoto gaping, staring after him like he was crazy. Reluctantly, the taller teen followed.
"But Haru, this could be dangerous!" Makoto said in a quiet, hushed voice as he fell back into step beside Haru, matching his friend's rushed rhythm and long strides. "I like how you're assuming it's a break-in," Haruka commented, causing Makoto to frown. "I like how you're assuming it's not!" He shot back. Haruka grunted in response, saying nothing more. Makoto side-stepped closer to Haruka, clutching his friend's shirt sleeve. The shorter male fought the urge to shrug him off, considering the situation that could quite possibly be at hand.
Next he knew, the abnormal phenomenon really was at hand; his hand was clutching at the front door to his house. "Not locked," He commented back to Makoto, who gulped, stepping behind Haruka like he was a shield to help fend off anything and anyone that could be waiting inside. Bravely, Haruka took a deep breath, sliding the front door open.
The hallway was perfectly intact. And so was the kitchen, the sitting room, and the downstairs bathroom. Makoto looked around, scanning the area with not-so-wide eyes. "Maybe they broke in and forgot to turn the lights off," He said quietly to Haruka, who sighed.
"And forgot to steal anything?" The black-haired swimmer questioned, immediately making Makoto feel better about the situation, though slightly dumb for suggesting such a thing. Not that Haru had done it on purpose, of course. He knew Makoto's brain got lazy and as his logic all funny when he was scared.
"Ah, right," Makoto nodded, looking around still. "So we just didn't turn the lights off?" The male asked, provoking Haru to shake his head just as something fell to the floor upstairs. "Someone's here."
"Eh?!" Makoto was back on the alert as Haruka began to climb the stairs. "H-Haru, don't go up there!" The boy reached out for his friend, but was unable to catch the back of his shirt. Makoto leaned against the thin, old staircase, looking up it as he watched as Haruka stopped at the top of the stairs. "If not burglars, then it must be a serial killer! He's lying in wait for us!" He called up.
Haruka sighed, wishing Makoto would calm down. He knew how antsy and upset his friend got whenever something was uncertain, but them freaking out wasn't going to do anything. Still...
Haruka looked down the hallway, his eyes immediately flying to the open bathroom door as someone's voice, quiet and angry, could be heard. "Shit!" He knew he heard distinctly, among other things.
Frowning as his eyebrows furrowed together, giving him an agitated sort of look, Haruka carefully padded down the hallway towards the bathroom. Said room was the first door on the right, fairly close to the top of the stairs but still a good distance away. As he got to the doorway he put his hand on the light brown frame, slowly leaning forward to peer around said frame. What he saw sent a shiver running down his spine.
A bright orange face.
Haruka stumbled backward, breath catching in surprise, and his loud footsteps on the upper floor of the house echoed down to Makoto, who looked back up the staircase, alert. "Haru, are you okay?" He asked, but never received a response. Makoto frowned. "I'm coming up!" He called, pushing his fear back. If Haru needed him, he was going to be there for him, and no one was going to stop him!
Except the monster standing just outside the bathroom door, orange and terrible.
"Monster!" Makoto screeched and Haruka frowned, reaching back slightly and flicking his hand at Makoto, silently telling him to hush. The teen did, albeit reluctantly.
It wasn't a monster standing in his hallway just before them — though he had thought so, and apparently Makoto, too — but rather a girl. She was just about the correct height for a girl around their age and she was dressed in a orange t-shirt that said, in big bubble letters across the front, "Star!" and a pair of pink shorts with no shoes or socks. Her black hair was up in a high but small ponytail and her bangs were pinned against the top of her head, away from her face. Haru would dare to say she looked comfortable standing there in his hallway, save for the orange glop on her face, which Haruka found he couldn't identify.
Behind Haru, Makoto flinched as the girl moved, putting more of her weight on her left leg than her right, effectively thrusting her hip out like she was accostumed to doing such a thing, and crossed her arms. Her blue eyes stared hard at the two of them, the eyebrows staged above those familiar blue hues knotted together.
"Boy, you guys sure do know how to make a girl feel pretty."
[CHAPTER ONE: "THE GIRL" END.]
...Okay, lay it on me. And while you are, whether you liked this or not, could you please head to my profile and actually vote on it in the poll(I seriously typed "pool" first, god Jordan) I have/am going to put up. It's easier to know who agrees and disagrees with me continuing this. Thanks! PuddinPie out.