Nocte, puteus Viue (Tonight, We'll Live Forever)
A Free – Iwatobi Swim Club fanfic
Chapter 1 – Saturday
The pool at the Samezuka Academy lied in its stillness. The water barely moved as there were no movements in the water. The moon shone its light through the window to the water itself. And it was indeed a beautiful sight to watch. And for sure, there was no one there since it was 1.30 in the morning. Not a single one was there. Or at least, there was one when the main entrance door to the pool was pushed opened. There was a man in his swimsuit, walking towards to the pool. Each step showed the sign of how determined this man was when it comes to swimming.
He fixed his blue eyes at the pool. It almost had the same color as his eyes. Could that be the main reason that he loved swimming so much? This man, he felt he had a strong connection with the water. It was his main goal in life, after all. He wanted to swim in any places that he could. And he did. He had fulfilled his dream. But he thought it would be nice to go back to the place that sparked his passion for swimming once more.
The man reached the pool. He stood there, his gaze fixed onto the pool. He breathed in and out as well as warming up his body. He was alone, for sure. There was no one there. It was silent as well. The man smiled, he loved it when there was no one to distract him when he swam. He stretched his muscles a little bit more before finally getting into the water. And there, he started to swim. His movements were like dolphins, strong and fluid. The reflections of the moon on the surface of the water broke as the man swam from sides to sides. It was good for him to be swimming in this pool again. He turned his body up and kept floating. The moonlight shone onto his masculine body, showing how perfect body was. The man closed his eyes and let his imagination did its job. In his mind, he was no longer in a pool but a vast ocean. He was there, alone, and floating into the nothingness. He wasn't afraid of it. He felt happy about it.
He opened his eyes as he heard the noise of the door being pushed opened. "Who could be at this hour, except for me?" thought the man. He swam to one of the stairs and got up from the water. The water slowly dripped from both the man's hair and his body. He breathed in and out as he looked around him. There was no one there. He was about to get into the water once more when he felt a firm weight of a hand on his shoulder. He turned his gaze and smile. It was his lover. "Makoto." said the man, still smiling at Makoto. The other man, Makoto, didn't say anything but one word – "Haruka". He replied the smile back and moved himself closer before giving Haruka a soft kiss on his lips. It was warm and comforting. He hadn't felt like this for quite a while now since he left Japan seven years ago. "We should swim together." said Makoto, pulling out his lips from the man. Haruka nodded as he went back into the water, waiting for his lover to join him.
Makoto took off his clothes, little by little, until the only thing that was left was his swimsuit that shared the same color as Haruka's. It was black with two red stripes on the left and the right. He warmed up his body before getting into the water as well. His body was as masculine as Haruka's as well. After all, he was the most fitted swimmer in the club back in the days when they were still in the Iwatobi Swim Club. He walked towards to the pool steadily and got into the water. Haruka backed off a little, giving his lover spaces to get his body into it. Makoto swam to Haruka and shot him another smile. "It has been so long, Haruka. I've never thought you'd come back for me. I thought you were going to have someone else as a partner. I mean—". Makoto paused when Haruka kissed Makoto and held him in his arms. "I've never had anyone." The blue-haired swimmer whispered into Makoto's left ear. "Let's swim" said Haruka.
And there, they swam from sides to sides. And no, it wasn't a competition. It was just a moment for them to relish and to remember. They would occasionally stopped and floated together, talking about their past and how they've come to love each other more than just being friends. Haruka had a lot to thank Makoto when he came out to his parents and he was proud that his lover stood beside him when he was in troubles.
As the clock stroke 2.30, both of them got out of the water and cleaned themselves. "Your swimming is still excellent. I've missed the sight of that for so long." said Makoto, handing the white cotton towel to Haruka to dry himself. "I've missed yours as well." Haruka shot Makoto a smile. Usually, Haruka wouldn't smile a lot. But when he was with his lover, it was something else. Haruka grabbed his underwear and wore it. He stretched his body once more. He felt relaxed and refreshed.
"Makoto, I'll be in Japan for a few more weeks. We can spend more times with each other more." Haruka stepped closer to Makoto and placed his mouth on his lover's neck and kissed it softly.
"Of course we can. You know, the guys would be happy to see you." Makoto held his lover in his arms tightly as he felt the warmth of Haruka's body being shared with him.
"Ah, I've missed them as well. How's everyone?" Haruka was happy when Makoto mentioned about the other guys of the now disbanded swim club.
"They're doing just fine. Rin quitted swimming a few years ago due to an accident. He was hit by a car when he was about to cross the street." Makoto showed a sign of sadness on his face. He felt bad for Rin and his crumbled dreams of being a swimmer.
"That's unfortunate." Haruka replied with the same tone as Makoto's.
"But hey, I've heard that he's now working as a part-time writer for the local newspaper. I've read his articles before. You're not going to believe how good they are. I guess it's one of his hidden talents." Makoto put on his blue T-shirt on. It has a logo of the Iwatobi Swim Club on it as well.
"Where did you get that shirt?" Haruka was intrigued by the shirt as he was putting on his shirt as well. It was black with white stripes on the left and the right.
"We made it when you left Japan. Gou was the one drawing it." Makoto walked closer to his lover, letting him felt the softness of the shirt. Unnoticed to Haruka, Makoto reached for one particular object before went back to his lover.
"Oh, well. That's really soft. I've never know Gou could draw such a–" Haruka paused. He felt something was struck directly at his abdomen. He looked down and he saw a knife.
"I'm sorry." Makoto whispered into Haruka's ear as he pulled the knife out and stabbed Makoto once more, fiercely. And he stabbed Haruka again and again.
Haruka didn't know what was happening at the moment. He felt an excruciating ran through his body as the red fluid started to bleed out from his abdomen. He didn't understand why Makoto had to do this. He tried to let out a voice but he couldn't. He was shaking. His body fell down to the solid ground. Haruka's gaze was fixed at Makoto, still holding the bloodied knife in his hands.
"I had to do it or he'll kill me and my family!" shouted Makoto; his voice was a mixture of anger and sadness.
Haruka tried to ask him who was it that made Makoto did this. He didn't have the chance as Makoto stabbed him once more. The blue-eyed swimmer spurted out blood from his mouth. He didn't feel angry at what his lover just did to him. And in that moment, he gained an understanding. It was because someone was threatening him. Someone drove Makoto to his edge and took control of him. This wasn't Makoto that Haruka knew for so long. This was someone else, being controlled by someone.
Makoto pulled out the knife from Haruka's abdomen. His face was covered with tears from both of his eyes. He grabbed his pants and wore it quickly. He threw the knife away, right beside the body of his dying lover. Makoto panicked. He just killed the person that he loved the most in his life with brutal actions. He cried harder. His voice was shaking. He didn't know what to do. "I'm sorry!" Makoto shouted once more.
Haruka looked into Makoto's eyes and smiled. He understood why Makoto had to do this. He looked down onto his abdomen, blood still bleeding out from it. He knew he was going to die in a matter of minutes. But at least, he died in a place that he loved the most. The pain was still there. Makoto wiped off the tears on his face and ran away with all of the stuffs he managed to grab. Haruka looked directly at Makoto as he ran away from him. He was alone, once more. The entrance door was slammed opened, indicating that Makoto had left.
The pool was silent once more. The surface of the water lied still as no one was there. The moon shone its light onto the pool. No one was there, except for the body of the world's most renowned swimmer – Haruka Nanase. His eyes were opened wide and his gaze was fixed at the entrance door. This is how Haruka died. A death by the hands of his lover.