DISCLAIMER: I do not own Free!

Author's Notes: Part of the "A Shiver of Sharks" series revolving around the Mastuoka siblings and their relationships with the people around them. I have no real excuse for this. Next chapter will be longer I swear.

She hadn't really known when it had started. Maybe it had been there from the beginning and she had just ignored it. Maybe Chigusa had tried to warn her once before and she had been too distracted. Gou wasn't entirely sure when her fellow classmates had stepped up their game, but this was ridiculous.

Frowning at the state of her locker, Gou merely waded through the mess of foam and ribbon (pink foam and ribbon no less), reaching for her books at the back. When her fingers clasped around the hardcover, she yanked it out. Several pages were stuck together and it looked like the cover was soaked, but it was still usable. Gou sighed in relief. If she had to explain to her mother why she needed a new textbook this late in the year, then she would have to explain all of this.

Closing her locker, Gou paused when voracious giggling reached her ears. Eyes narrowed as several girls down from her were talking behind their hands, finger pointing back at Gou and the foam that had latched onto her school jacket.

Gou closed her eyes and counted to ten. It would do no good to snap at them now, especially when there was a crowd forming as the girls continued to giggle at the state of her. When she opened them, they were still there, so Gou turned and left.

It didn't entirely phase her. She had better things to do.

At least, that's what she told herself as she walked down the halls. Ignoring the curious glances, Gou wanted to pull her jacket around her tighter. Why were people whispering? Had they never seen something like this before? Was it so unusual?

When she broke out into a sprint, she wouldn't be able to say. But, one minute Gou was taking the steps two at a time, and the next she had closed herself in the locker-room beside the pool, leaning against the door.

Her eyes prickled. Why her? She had heard the names. The stupid rumours. Idle adolescent gossip, as her mother had put it one night when they were doing the dishes and Rin was in the other room.

'She had a masculine name so clearly she had a dick'

That was one of the newer charmers. 'She was a slut'. And old one, but a good one. Clearly she was managing the members of the swim club in more way than one, accommodating all their needs. How else would a girl get on that team?

Wasn't that the way the story went?

A humourless laugh left her. There was no real way to ignore it, really. Her eyes fell to her sleeves. She'd have to clean it off soon if she didn't want to worry the others. Gou didn't want them to find out. If they did, there was no doubt in her mind that they would tell Rin and well, that was just asking for trouble. Rin had his own problems. He had to just believe she was doing fine.

Almost mechanically, Gou removed the jacket and took it into the showers, turning on the tap at one of the sinks, throwing the jacket underneath the spray of water. Gripping the edge of the sink, Gou stared into the mirror. She didn't understand why they didn't like her.

Was it the way she looked? Her hair? She knew the colour was a little off, but the sheer amount of time spent in the sun had lightened it (and she wouldn't deny spending a summer or two experimenting with hair dyes). Was it her teeth?

Subconsciously she opened her mouth, running her tongue over her teeth. Gou knew Rin had uncharacteristically sharp teeth – his incisors ridiculously so – but so did she. Was it scary when she smiled? Was she smiling wrong?

Fingers brushed over her features, tracing the bridge of her nose up to her eyes. Was there something about the shape of her eyes, or her hairline, or something that had people whispering behind her back? Surely it couldn't just be her club activities. There had to be something to make people want to break into her locker and fill it with ribbons and foam. There was always something else.

"Gou-chan!"

That snapped her out of her reverie. Gou jumped nearly two feet into the air and nearly slipped on the way down. A pair of hands rested on her shoulders while another turned off the tap. Wide eyes stared up at her, and if it wasn't for the blonde hair she wouldn't have been able to distinguish who. Her attention was stuck on the sink.

Oh, it had overflowed.

The water was tinged pink and the foam that refused to break down floated by her feet. It was then she noticed her socks were soaked. Gou wasn't quite sure when that had happened. But now she could feel it and it felt really gross. Is this what people felt like when they saw her?

Looking up in the mirror, she met Makoto's worried gaze and could hear someone talking in the background about what was she doing is Gou-chan okay should we call Rin-chan

"Don't contact my brother. Please."

No no no no no

She couldn't have Rin worrying about her. She was fine. There was nothing to worry about. It was a one-off thing. She'd go home, have some dinner, go to bed and tomorrow would be a new day. Rin didn't need to know. Rin didn't need to know. Especially since it was the weekend and he was planning on staying on campus for additional training. He really didn't need to know.

Gou was led to the nearby bench, and another jacket was draped around her shoulders. She hadn't realised she'd been shivering. A bark of laughter left her when she realised she hadn't realised anything.

Startling Makoto with her sudden laugh, Gou felt the tears finally leave her. She had been so stupid. How had she not noticed? The signs had all been there.

"Gou-chan," it was mumbled somewhere beside her but she couldn't tell whose voice it was. Probably Makoto. He was the only one with her at the moment, an arm around her shoulders as she sobbed into his shoulder. Maybe it was Rei, who was standing there aghast, before disappearing into the bathroom again. Gou didn't blame him. She must have looked a mess. Definitely not 'beautiful'.

"Don't tell my brother. Please, Makoto-sempai. Please don't."

"We have to tell the school at lea–"

"No!" Gou pushed him away then, brushing away the tears. But they wouldn't stop. Looking down was the next best option to hide her face. She couldn't believe she cried in front of them. She was supposed to be strong. She was their manager. She was supposed to be unmovable. Unbendable. Unbreakable. Isn't that what she swore when she started?

A pair of shoes came into view and Gou looked up hesitantly. Haruka stared down at her, almost impassively, but she had taken a hint from Rin to read Haruka's eyes. And when she had, she had found they were ultimately more expressive than she imagined.

And in that moment she knew, and meekly nodded.

Haruka was on the phone in less than a second (Makoto's, of course, as his was home apparently), whilst Rei brought her jacket out of the bathroom and Nagisa hugged her close. She could hear her brother yelling over the phone about him being on his way and she started crying again.

Why why why

Please review.