Title: Hydrodynamics
Summary:
She walks over on a bright day, the cherry trees surrounding the pool shedding their petals in the wind. He sits in front of the pool, head hunched over, and his fingers covering his face in depression. "Hey, race against me." She demands, and immediately he sits up, facing her and wiping away any sense of sadness on his face. "Sure" He says, and flashes a smirk, showing those strange shark-like teeth that he possessed. Her heart flutters when she sees that smile, that smile that he rarely showed her, and embarrassed, she starts walking over to the diving blocks. He follows her, their steps in perfect sync, until they stand side by side, facing a beautiful outdoor pool. "Ready?" He asks, positioning himself in a diving stance, and she copies his movements. "Ready" She says, and they dive, streamlined together, into the cool blue pool. Confusing, she thinks, as she dives. Why does he have to be so confusing? At one moment we're so connected and at other times, he distances himself so much! As she surfaces the pool to take a breath, she sighs. Why did feelings have to be so confusing? Must be a case of the hydrodynamics.
Pairings: OC(Nanase Kasumi) and Matsuoka Rin, Nanase Haruka and Matsuoka Rin, Tachibana Makoto and Hazuki Nagisa. Gou might appear on the side with people too.
Genre: Romance, Angst, Drama, Family, and a bit of Comedy :)
Rated T for Language.
A/N: So I really love Free! (What kind of hormonal girl doesn't) and I love the relationship between Haruka and Rin, but I wanted to add a bit of a twist. I'd like to thank Mika Yamichi, my best friend and my beta reader (omg SAO BETA TESTER) for helping me.
Chapter 1: Immersion
"Kasumi."
"What is it? Not in the mood right now."
"Look at me."
Kasumi spun in the direction of the voice, her long, dark blue hair following her movements like a cape. His eyes shone a calm red, unusually so, as she had never seen him like this.
"Leave me alone Rin. I never want to see you again."
He was silent now; he didn't reply until Kasumi started to turn back to face the setting sun.
"Why don't you just rip my heart out and eat it, Kasumi? Do you think I want this for us?"
"You're pathetic, you do realize that." She started, then corrected herself. "No, it's my fault for trusting you. I hate you, Rin"
"I still love you. I always will, Kasumi. Don't forget that." Rin whispered, almost so quietly that Kasumi thought she was hearing things.
Kasumi scoffed and rotated her body so it faced the other way. She began to walk, no destination planned from the old brick wall of the school where she faced.
Don't cry. You don't love him. You never did.
"Kasumi. What in the name of hell is this?"
Kasumi blinked, rubbed her eyes and looked back at the teacher with cold silver eyes.
"This paper is utterly unacceptable. Did you think this would pass?" The teacher scolded.
"No, I thought I would give it a try though." Kasumi sharply replied, tucking her bangs behind her ear. "I could ask you the same question though. Why do you teach such pathetic things?"
"Kasumi, I will call-"
"No need, they're in America. They don't care, so don't bother, and my brother won't care either."
The teacher remained speechless, then waved her hand in the direction of the door, as if to usher the teenage girl out of the room. Kasumi obliged, taking her small swim tote bag, her school bag and her phone with her. Kasumi stepped out onto the marble hallway and quickly made her way to the swim team lockers. Swimming was the only thing that Kasumi did not feel indifferent towards, even though she hated everyone on her team. As soon as Kasumi had reached her locker, she expertly pulled her hair into a tall bun with a hair tie around her wrist and slapped on her white swim cap, reading her last name, Nanase, and her school, Samezuka Gakuen. Kasumi pulled off her school uniform and haphazardly threw it into the small locker along with her phone and her swim bag. Underneath her uniform, she had already had her swimsuit on, a black and blue streamlined speedo with a racerback for lesser resistance in the water. Kasumi also pulled her clear blue goggles over her neck and quickly exited the locker room after locking her locker.
The stuffy smell of the pool always calmed Kasumi, although she never knew just why. As usual, Kasumi arrived an hour before practice to warm up in the pool. The pool water was completely still; it hadn't been stirred in a while. Kasumi audibly sighed in content, and walked alongside the edge of the pool, running her fingertips in the water to create small streamlines that allowed the still water to ripple slightly underneath her touch. The beautiful indoor pool never ceased to amaze her. At her old school, the pool was outdoor and dirty. Kasumi finally reached the diving board, which she quickly ran across, feeling the dry, bendy board under her feet until she reached the end, in which she pulled her goggles over her eyes and dived perfectly in the water, only slightly disturbing the still water with her presence.
"Kasumi. Early again?" A voice called out from above the water.
"Coach Kanon! What are you doing here?" Kasumi called as she quickly swam to where the pretty young coach was standing. She was standing in place of Mikoshiba Seijuro, the main coach of the swim team.
"I was going to write our regimen for today on the whiteboard. Hey, can I ask for a favor? I need someone to show the new student around the building. Apparently he's a pretty good swimmer." The coach replied, standing back up and walking over to a wall covered by a large whiteboard. Kasumi hoisted herself out of the pool and followed the coach to the whiteboard.
"Today we're working on butterfly to prepare for the meet next week. I expect hard work today. If you could also help the new student that'd be great." Kanon spoke.
"Butterfly? Alright something that isn't boring for once. And wait, why do I have to watch over a new kid?" Kasumi asked, a twinge of excitement coating her words; butterfly was her favorite stroke, along with a pinch of disgust at the thought of a new swimmer.
"Yes. Your form has been looking excellent lately, and you are here pretty early. I think you'd be a great help to the new student"
"Why do I have to deal with another noob? I've already showed like five kids around the building. This swimming team is pretty much a gangbang of shitty noobs."
"Kasumi, this school has gotten three swimming championships. I don't think the swimmers classify as shit"
"Well the other schools must be pretty shit too then."
Kanon paused, then shook her head as she used her jacket sleeve to erase some unwanted text on the whiteboard. "Why don't you just warm up then? 100 free? Use one of the kickboards and work on your flutter kick."
"Yeah, fine." Kasumi sighed, and walked over to the white cubbies where the swimming equipment was stored, and grabbed a sleek black kickboard. With one swift move, she placed the kickboard underneath her lean fingers and glided into the water.
"Rin! You're early!" Kasumi heard Coach Kanon yelp, and Kasumi turned towards the door,with the kickboard still underneath her arms. Standing in front of the door was a gorgeous, red-haired male with bright red eyes. He looked a bit annoyed, Kasumi noticed, and he was holding a pair of dark-blue tinted goggles.
"I assume you're Coach Kanon" The man spoke, showing off oddly pointed teeth in his mouth.
"Yes! Welcome. Kasumi here will show you around the swimming building, as well as our policies here." Kanon called, and gestured to Kasumi, who was still in the water with a look of bewilderment coating her blue eyes. Rin walked over to the edge of the pool and kneeled down.
"Hey." He said, and Kasumi blinked.
"You must be the new kid huh." She replied.
"Yeah I think Coach Kanon made it pretty clear" he responded, smirking a little and he held out his hand towards her.
"What are you doing?" Kasumi asked, and Rin rolled his eyes.
"Dumbass. I'm trying to get you out so you can show me around the school" he clarified, and Kasumi silently complied, reaching out for this muscular hand. Rin easily hoisted her out of the pool, and still carrying the kickboard, Kasumi stood in front of Rin. Easily he shadowed her height, and Kasumi sighed as she walked past him and gestured comically towards the door, as if an usher. "Ready to begin the tour?" She teased, and she could see a small glimmer in Rin's eyes as he nodded and walked towards the door.
"Show him the outdoor pool too" Kanon yelled, and Kasumi nodded as she followed Rin out of the door. This was going to be interesting, she thought, and allowed a fleeting smile across her lips. "Turn left. We're going to visit the lockers first" Kasumi instructed, and Rin complied.
A/N: Please R&R! I accept flame graciously, but please make your comments constructive so I can actually aim to fix something.