"Annalise!"
Sitting up on the bed, Lucy frantically looked around the unfamiliar room with erratic breaths as she struggled to calm herself. "Right..." she sighed and felt sadness stir within her stomach after realizing that she had snuck into Annalise's bedroom. After her disappearance, Lucy always found herself in her older sister's bed and would immediately leave the room to escape the memories she once shared with Annalise.
Burying her head in a pillow, Lucy smelled the familiar scent of her sister's shampoo and felt tears sting her eyes when she realized that even though they never got along, she missed her badly. Every night, she'd pray that it was all a nightmare that she would eventually wake up from but, time grew on and she accepted the harsh reality of her sister's disappearance.
"Lucy?" her mother called out gently and slowly entered the room with a worried expression on her face. "Mother..." Lucy murmured as she sat up on the bed and toyed with blankets as silence hung above the two women. "Did you fall asleep in her bed again, Lucy?" Mrs. Hinukajin asked and saw her daughter look away before slowly nodding at her mother's question. "You're not the only one who misses her, dear." she cooed and wrapped her in a loving embrace the moment she started crying.
"I-It's my fault she left. If w-we never had fought in the first place...she'd still be here." the young woman sobbed and held onto her mother tightly as the older woman consoled her. "It's okay to fight with your siblings, dear. Don't worry. She'll be home in no time at all." Victoria assured her and pulled away to look at her daughter with radiant violet eyes. 'No she won't.' Lucy thought and shifted her gaze to a picture on the nightstand. "You'll need to get ready for the tournament, Lucy. You don't want to be late." her mother explained and Lucy nodded as she got up from the bed to leave the empty room, gently shutting the door behind her as small tears trickled down her face.
After watching her daughter leave, Victoria took the picture from the nightstand and felt her heart ache with sadness as she gazed at the picture with a tear streaked face. Annalise was carrying a young Lucy on her shoulders while her first ever gold medal proudly hung around her neck. Both girls wore an expression of happiness and pride as she remembered the moment her husband had taken the photo.
"Annalise...please..." the woman whispered through choked sobs as her lip quivered at the thought of never seeing her eldest daughter again. Looking out the window, she muttered a silent plea before completely breaking down on the bed.
"...come home."
"Listen up, everybody!" Gou exclaimed as she arrived at the ITSC building with Coach Sasabe following behind her and a flyer in hand. "What's up, Gou-san?" Rei asked as the men jumped out of the pool and quickly made their way to the team's manager while drying themselves off. "There's a swimming tournament going on this afternoon and I was wondering if you guys wanted to come along and watch." Gou explained as she passed the flyer around so everyone could see. "Practice is pretty much over, so why not?" Makoto replied and the entire group rushed into the change rooms to get ready for the event.
A few minutes later...
After changing into their clothes and heading down to the local swimming arena, the group was stunned to see how many people had filled the stands for the event. "Wow! There's so many people!" Nagisa murmured as they searched for seats. Makoto noticed the Hinukajin family in the crowds and led the group towards them, wondering why Kyle had come to the event. "Kyle!" Nagisa called out and the young man turned to give the group a small smile before motioning them over.
After briefly introducing Gou and Coach Sasabe to the family, the group sat down by the family and eagerly chatted amongst themselves as they waited for the events to start. Haru lifted his head when he felt a hand brush over his knee and saw that little Catherine was leaning towards him as she stared with big violet eyes. "Are you onii-sama's friend?" the little girl asked and he nodded before shifting his gaze onto the pool when the female swimmers appeared on the deck. "The women's one hundred meter free-style event will commence in two minutes." an announcer declared and the crowd cheered for their respective teams as the women climbed up on the ledges.
"It's nee-san! It's nee-san!" Catherine exclaimed happily as she bounced on Makoto's lap. "Lucy's competing?" Makoto asked his friend and he nodded, pride twinkling in his eyes as the group watched Lucy stretch her arms. Her black swimsuit had intricate gold lines designing the sleeves and legs while her team's crest was sewn onto her chest. "Is there going to be a relay?" Rei wondered as he played with Catherine, who kept trying to take his glasses so she could wear them. "Swimmers! Take your places!" an official exclaimed and the swimmers climbed onto the ledges, backs arched as they held onto the ledge while their eyes remained trained on the pool.
"On your mark! Get set! Go!"
The official fired the gun and the swimmers jumped into the pool. The crowd cheered loudly as they watched Lucy surface and earn the lead.
"Go Lucy-chan!" Nagisa cheered as they stood up in excitement while cheering for the young woman. "She's already got a massive lead." Haru murmured as he watched the other swimmers struggle to catch up to Lucy, who was already near the halfway mark. "You can do it, dai shimai!" Catherine exclaimed and happily waved the flag that had her sister's team name sewn onto the fabric, which made Makoto lift her onto his shoulders so she could see. "Go go go!" Rei exclaimed and urged the crowd to cheer for the young swimmer, who had already turned and began the swim back.
"What team is she swimming on?"
"Hachiro High. The team came to swim with her one last time before heading back to Tokyo."
"Amazing! Lucy-kun's almost there!" Gou exclaimed and almost as if in response, the crowd cheered loudly for Lucy as she neared the finish line.
'Just a little further!" Lucy thought as she swam with all her strength. Slapping her hand against the finish line, she gasped for breath and turned to see her rank on the leaderboard. "Lucy Hinukajin lands another first place in the women's one hundred meter freestyle event! Is there anything she can't accomplish?!" an announcer exclaimed and the crowd cheered, filling the stadium with cries of joy and happiness.
Making her way to the stands, she spotted her family and the Iwatobi Swimming Club cheering and waving for her, pride written on their faces as they waved her team's flag in the air. "That was awesome Lucy! You've gotten a whole lot faster!" Makoto complimented and she blushed lightly, eliciting a small laugh from the older swimmer. "Nee-san! That was so cool! Those other swimmers couldn't catch up to someone as fast as you!" Catherine exclaimed and hugged her older sister's legs tightly, a wide smile on her face as she celebrated her sister's victory.
Haru couldn't help but notice that the girl was looking at the leaderboards with a deep scowl etched onto her face instead of paying attention to her younger sister's beaming face. With a clenched hand, she held onto her goggles and dug her nails hard enough to draw blood. Suddenly, reporters flocked around the woman and cameras flashed brightly as they took her picture while microphones were thrusted into her face. She struggled to answer each question as the numerous reporters fired question after question at her, causing her frustration to grow.
"You were five seconds over from beating your sister's record last year! Any thoughts?"
Clenching her fist, Lucy looked at the ground with a grim expression as the reporter waited for her answer. Not only did she hate it when anybody mentioned her sister's records or achievements, it annoyed her that they didn't care about her personal records and were only after Annalise's. "There's a rumor that Annalise will be returning this year. Is it true?!" another reporter questioned and like a high strung rope, she snapped.
"Why are you always asking me about Annalise?! 'Is she coming back?!', 'Where is she now?!', 'Are you swimming for her until she comes back?!'" Lucy yelled and the four men were taken aback by the sudden hostility. Just a moment ago, she seemed cool and happy. Now, she was far more hostile than they imagined. "We were just..." a reporter stammered and Lucy struck the man in the face, knocking him to the ground and causing the arena to gasp at her actions. "If you want to know every damn detail about her, why don't you all do me a favor and find her yourselves! I didn't come here to supply you with information about someone I don't care about anymore!" the pink haired woman spat and turned to leave the stands to prepare for the next event.
Makoto, Haru, Nagisa, and Rei stood there in shock as they tried to comprehend what had just happened. Haru could feel a slight jump in his heartbeat as her words echoed in his head, hinting at the bitterness she felt for her sister within. Feeling the need to follow her, Haru brushed past the stunned reporters and followed the woman into the halls, where three girls wearing the same outfit stood by the drink machine.
"Oh my goodness! Is that the Haruka Nanase?!" a light blue haired girl exclaimed and the other two turned around, causing them to squeal uncontrollably. Haru looked past them and saw Lucy grabbing a drink from the machine, but the girls began to crowd around him and made it harder for him to keep an eye on Lucy. "Excuse me, ladies. I need to go talk with your teammate." he explained and brushed past them, causing them to pout and narrow their eyes at Lucy.
As he walked towards Lucy, he could hear the three girls whispering about their teammate and he wondered if the freestyle swimmer had ever heard the things those girls say behind her back.
"What would a guy like Haruka want from Miss Loner?"
"He's probably going to ask her out then turn her down."
"I dunno know about that, Tsubaki. He's probably going to ask her about personal stuff regarding Annalise."
"Nobody in the right mind would even think about mentioning Annalise to Lucy. Someone once said that she was so jealous of her older sister being scouted by that team in Tokyo, that they got into this huge fight and that's what made Annalise disappear." a girl murmured and one of them gasped in horror, their eyes flicking over to Lucy before turning away when she noticed the older swimmer looking at her.
"Even I wouldn't go that far."
"Someone also told me that the youngest of them doesn't even know who Annalise is!"
"I guess that's what happens if you're always living in someone's shadow."
Haru ignored them and grabbed a seat beside Lucy, whose gaze was focused on the floor as she drank the soda. "Congratulations on first place." he murmured and clasped both hands together, unsure of what to say next.
"I couldn't beat it."
"What?"
Lifting her head to stare at him with cobalt blue eyes, Haru could see the determination in them as he held her gaze for quite some time. "What couldn't you beat?" he asked and she showed him a sly grin, but the tears trickling down her face caused him to see past her facade. "Don't you see? I couldn't even beat my sister's record and set a new one. But, I'll beat her relay time. I swear to god I will." Lucy declared and determination shone in her once sad blue eyes.
It's like her attitude did a complete 180 in a blink of an eye. Haru thought as she made her way to the three girls who had been gossiping about her. "Tsubaki. Hibiki. Misaki." the woman called out in a stern voice and the three straightened their backs at the mentioning of their names. "Y-Yes ma'am?" the light blue haired girl, Tsubaki, responded in a shaky voice as her superior's cold voice echoed in the hallways. Haru watched in awe as her usually blank face relaxed into a small smile while she patted each girl's shoulder.
"The relay will be starting in a few minutes so go and warm up. I expect your best performances since this is our last race together. Understand?"
"Yes ma'am!"
The three girls raced to the warmup pool and Lucy silently followed after them, her lips pursing into a thin line the moment her teammates left. "Lucy..." Haru called out softly and almost as if she heard him, she turned to look at him with her beautiful cobalt blue eyes.
He was rendered speechless. Could a human ever be born with such beautiful eyes as hers? "Those eyes are going to be the death of me..." he muttered as he held her gaze for what seemed like an eternity. Turning to leave, she broke away and left an entranced Haru standing in the hallway, his expression resembling a deer in the headlights.
But why do I want to drown in them?
After winning gold in both the men's and women's four hundred meter relay race, the Hachiro High Swim Team gifted Lucy with a team picture and a bouquet of red and white roses. Rei, Gou, Nagisa, and Coach Sasabe bid the family goodbye and congratulated Lucy one last time before jumping into the coach's car and driving home. As they walked home, Makoto offered to carry the sleeping Catherine after noticing Mrs. Hinujkajin's tired face and though she politely declined at first, he assured her that he didn't mind. "She reminds me of Ren and Ran when they were younger." he mused as the blonde stirred in her sleep, her brow slightly furrowing as she struggled to find a comfortable position.
Haru walked beside Lucy as they watched numerous cars pass them by, their headlights causing shadows on the ground before disappearing in a flash. Keeping his eyes focused on the road, he felt something lean against him and saw the young woman, who looked about ready to fall asleep at any given moment, use his sturdy frame as support. "Lucy? Are you tired?" Kyle called out gently to his sister and she turned to look at him with tired blue eyes. "I'll carry you if you want. Think of it as re-living your childhood." he joked when she shot him a warning glare.
"I'm fine. Just a few more blocks to the house."
"If you say so..."
When they arrived, Makoto gently handed the sleeping little girl to her mother and thanked her for allowing them to spend the way with the family. Haru bowed before the couple and turned to leave with Makoto. "Hey, Kyle." Makoto called out and the blonde turned to look at his friend with his emerald green eyes.
"It was nice seeing Lucy smile like that today."
Casting a sideways glance towards his sister, Kyle couldn't help but let out a small smile as he watched the young men ascend the stairway to their homes. "It really was. It's only a shame that it doesn't happen often." he murmured sadly as he gazed at the moon, the pale moonlight illuminating his clear green eyes. Shaking his head, Kyle let out a soft sigh and quietly entered the dark home.
For those of you wondering what nee-san means, it's big sister in Japanese. Well, that's what I found on the internet. Anyways, this chapter intended some sort of interactions between Lucy and Haru, which I put in there...somewhere. See ya next chapter!