"Yaaaawwwwwnnn" smack smack

Strrreeeeetttcchh "Sigh"

"Remind me again, why do I need to get up at five in the morning to go swimming." I said through slurred words and hazy vision, catching only the reddish tint of his hair and the blurry orbs of fire that was his eyes. I watched him sigh as I leaned on his arm, falling asleep. We were driving on the highway, seemingly alone on the road.

"Your practice may be at noon, but that doesn't mean you can neglect your workout. Conditioning is just as important as participating at practice. Besides, once we get some food in your belly you'll be your normal perky self." He lectured, the added under his breath, "As well as a pain in my neck."

Chomp

"Ow! I didn't mean it, well I kinda did but-"

CHOMP

"OOOWWW! Ok, ok, I love you, I love you, LET GO OF MY ARM!" He sighed as I released his arm from my jaws, "Nande, why is it that I allow you to control me?"

I giggled, "You said so yourself, you love me."

I heard him sigh and I mentally pictured him shaking his head as I began drifting back to sleep. I unconsciously began going through the day's schedule in my head.

"Right, let's see; no special events, swim with Rin until seven, run around track till eight, go to beach till ten," I smiled at the so called exercises Rin probably had planned, "warm up for colorguard, I can't believe we got second at nationals at... Wait a minute."

...ding!

"WINTER GUARD ENDED LAST WEEK YOU DIMWIT!" My outburst caused Rin to swerve, "This is my time off! I could've slept in for God's sake! Also band isn't part of winter guard, it doesn't start for another month! It's freaking May! Where the hell are we going?! It's too early to swim!" As I was furiously scolding a very guilty looking Rin, another realization popped into my head, "WE GRADUATED YESTERDAY! DCI tryouts are in three weeks! Where the hell are you taking me in my pajamas?!" I was now wide awake, and fuming.

Rin scratched the back of his head with his free hand, laughing nervously, "Well, you know how I transferred to California from Japan, right?"

I crossed my arms and huffed, "Of course I do, you also went to Australia, what kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't? You're always talking about your friends back home. Let's see here; your sister Gou, Haruka, Nagisa, Rei, Sousuke, Ai, the Mikoshiba brothers, annnnd..." I paused, "Naka..., no, Maaak.."

"Mak-" I clamped a hand over his mouth.

"No! I got this! Makooo, OH! Makoto! I remember now! He's !" I clapped my hands cheerfully, all earlier frustration forgotten.

" ?" Rin glanced over at me, once again questioning my logic.

"Well, in english letters his name is spelled M-A-K-O-T-O, right? So the first four letters, M-A-K-O, are pronounced may-ko, instead of ma-ko, when read in english. So the mako is a type of shark, hence was born!" I explained proudly, earning myself an exasperated sigh and a shake of the head from the aquatic athlete.

I giggled at his reaction before speaking again, "So, mighty butterfly, where are you taking me at... flipping three in the morning?"

"I really wish you would stop calling me that." He sighed as I stuck out my tongue at him, "I will give you three guesses, and you're not allowed to put on your glasses."

"Arg! Why do you torture me so!" I exclaimed melodramatically, "Ummm, a road trip?"

"Kind of, but no." He chuckled.

"Kind of?! Arrgh! Uhhhh, national winter guard competition?" I asked meekly.

"Nope! Take another guess!" Rin was getting more and more giddy by the minute. It seemed as if he couldn't even sit still!

Then I heard a strange roar. I jumped and saw a massive white bird-like mass fly above us. Everything just clicked into place.

My mouth just dropped at the possibility, "No way! Are we really going to...? Wait! What about all the preparations?! My dad?!"

"I took care of everything! I packed everything, made reservations, got your passport, everything! I even, ah..." he paused, blushing and rubbed the back of his head, "I even talked to your father."

I gasped in joy! One of my life long dreams were coming true! Never in my life, or even during my time with Rin did I ever believe that this was going to happen.

I was going to Japan!