Drowning on Air Chapter 2: Part 1, a free! - iwatobi swim club fanfic

A/N: Thanks to babyvfan and Jem for the reviews!

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Present Day

~Part 1~

If you were to ask Rin how he expected to see himself as a teenager, he would have enthusiastically stated that he'd be a fun, care-free guy who loved hanging out with his friends in between training for a scholarship at one of the top three Universities in the country. That was back in Japan, back when everything had been simple.

Not now.

Now all Rin did was study, train with his swimming coach, eat with Lori and Russel and spend the rest of his down-time listening to music while cuddled up with Winnie on his bed or traipsing along the quiet stretch of beach down by the cliffs. He had a few people at school he was on first name terms with, however he'd actively avoided being sucked into any large friendship groups. Australia had made it clear that he wasn't welcome there.

It wasn't as though he hadn't tried to fit in. He'd joined every after-school club Lori had suggested and had even spent evening playing football in the back garden with Russel. Somehow, though, it didn't win him many favours at school. In the end, after a year Rin had pleaded with his exchange-parents to let him drop all of his after-school activities and just focus on his swimming lessons. They had exchanged worried looks but eventually relented.

That wasn't the only thing that he'd put a stop to.

He had been e-mailing his friends, embellishing his life all too much to Makoto, Haru and Nagisa. However, he'd read back through his replies late into the night and wished with everything inside him that the words he typed were trust. As the reality of it settled inside his mind, it festered, growing dark and darker, gradually consuming him over the course of the last two years.

As it was, he'd all but stopped talking to them.

He got the odd e-mail here and there from Makoto, who kept him briefly updated on what was happening, but the words no longer held any weight for Rin. They were just words on a computer screen. He doubted that Makoto was even the same as when they'd hung out together in his junior school. It made him feel old and cut-out completely. Almost like an alien.

Other than that lone e-mail from Makoto, Rin had no one.

Things got easier when the weather turned warmer. Lori didn't mind him walking around outside along the beach or the shopping strips since the days were longer and warm weather didn't have the same nail-biting hostility as frigid winds and snowstorms did. That meant that Rin could do as he pleased as soon as school let out for the day. Usually he spent his evenings at swim-practise, however his coach had insisted that he only needed to do three nights a week now. Rin tried to push for more but it fell on deaf ears.

On this particular day, Rin hooked his earphones around his neck and into his ears, swung his leg up over his bicycle and easily rolled down the school's drive towards the main road. The sun was hot on the back of his neck, his shirt almost sticking to him with slim patches of sweat. Cycling downhill made enough of a breeze for Rin to feel the weight of the school day lift from his shoulders. His bike sped along under him and brought him closer and closer towards the stretch of brilliant blue ocean.

His red hair whipped into his eyes as he cruised down the long, winding roads, choking a little on the dust that billowed up from the cars rushing by. Summer in Australia was harsh; unlike Japan, it was hot and dry and felt as though every grain of sand was burying deeper inside him. Even sweating was exhausting. The only reprieve seemed to be through swimming or in the hot, black nights that barely lasted thirty winks.

Rin was so lost in thought that he managed to go down a road he hadn't been down before. It was barely 3:30PM so he just shrugged and carried on peddling lazily through the dappled shade. His exchanged parents rarely expected him home before 6PM. With a grunt, Rin dismounted and awkwardly manoeuvred his bike around the metal barrier. Stopping was the worst thing he could have done in that heat. Sweat beaded down his face and the back of his neck.

He had to take his time with the bike trial beyond. It was cut out in the side of the cliff and was a lot steeper than he'd anticipated. He paused halfway to catch his breath. 'Maybe this isn't a good idea,' he thought. 'I'm going to have to make my way back up here later.'

'And do what?' his brain snapped. 'Sit at home and do your homework?'

Rin grimaced, clutching the bike handles. The ocean stretched out, bright and blue and cool before him. With a push, he managed to guide his bike down into a grassy knoll that overlooked the beach. His stomach churned a little as he anticipated leaving his bike unattended.

'I won't be leaving it for long,' he reassured himself as he shouldered his schoolbag, adjusted his cap low over his eyes and pushed his bike into a crevice in the rock. It was shaded by a sparse little tree.

The remainder of the trail was steep making Rin skid awkwardly a couple of times before his converses landed in the soft, white sand.

The sound of the waves was magnified.

Rin filled his lungs with a deep lung full of the fresh, salty air and felt something rippling through him. His skin tingled with electric energy. All he wanted to do was run over into the water, strip down and submerge himself. He wanted nothing but the water rushing in his ears, keeping him inside a small blue bubble completely separate from the harsh heat of the world.

'I could swim.' The thought burst into the blank void of his mind. 'I could swim and feel refreshed. It would make me feel better.'

His fingers itched to take his clothes off. He had suncream in his bag and a bottle of water –he'd only take a dip. Just to calm himself down. The heat was making him irritable, making the world melt into a pale horror around him. Pressing his mouth into a determined line, he undressed next to a large rock and folded everything neatly into the shade. The sun burned down on his skin.

His stomach flipped.

He hadn't felt this excited in a while.

With quick footsteps, Rin hurried over to where the washed crashed onto the sizzling sand. As soon as his feet sank down into the damp sand and a wave broke over his toes, Rin felt pleasure pour through him. A smile broke easily onto his mouth –he even felt himself twitch a little. It shouldn't have felt that amazing but it was pure bliss. In that moment everything seemed to fit into place.

Wadding deeper, the water lapped up over his knees.

It was cool and refreshing, cool tremors running through his muscles. Steeling himself, Rin dipped down so that he was crouching in the water up to his shoulders. The sun bleached the stretch of beach and the cliffs, blending it into the white-hot sky. The only colour Rin could see around him was the teal-blue of the beautiful ocean.

Tipping his head back into the water, Rin let himself float in the shallows.

He could feel the sun baking his skin but as he closed his eyes he found he didn't care too much. He wouldn't stay out too long, though.

He'd been drifting. He'd let his mind wander and he'd managed to float a little further away from the shore than he'd planned. Letting his legs sink, Rin started to tread-water and surveyed his surroundings. He hadn't floated out too far so that was good. Slowly, he started to breast-stroke back through the waves.

Something cool snagged his ankle.

Rin barely had time to yelp before his mouth was flooded with sea-water. The bitterness of the salt made his eyes, nose and throat burn. He kicked and clawed desperately up for the surface, panic setting in. He kicked his legs harder and harder, trying to simultaneously freeing himself and attacked whatever had caught him. After a lot of tugging and kicking something gave.

In a flurry of bubbles Rin's head broke the surface.

He didn't stop to take relief in breathing again. Instead, he swam as fast as his arms could carry him towards the shore, his lungs screaming in his ears that he needed to rest and catch his breath.

After a lot of tugging and kicking something gave.

In a flurry of bubbles Rin's head broke the surface.

He didn't stop to take relief in breathing again. Instead, he swam as fast as his arms could carry him towards the shore, his lungs screaming in his ears that he needed to rest and catch his breath. He didn't stop. He couldn't stop. If there was in fact something chasing him, he couldn't stop. His life depended on it.

It was only when his knees burrowed into the packed sand that he stumbled to his feet and hurried awkwardly out of the shallow waves, almost falling over as they crashed into the backs of his legs as he ran. He collapsed on the hot sand, wet hair falling into his eyes as he scurried backwards.

Panting, Rin watched the waves. Nothing came after him. They were calm and lazy, just like they had been earlier. There was nothing untoward about them. So … what had attacked him? Raking his hair out of his eyes he managed to calm his heartbeat. Sand clung to him in thick clumps. His chest heaved heavily, his mouth running dry like sandpaper as he braced himself up on his arms.

Whatever it was –it wasn't chasing him now.

The thought did little to reassure him though.

'I need to get home!' he thought as he scrambled to his feet, glancing briefly down at his ankle and making sure it was definitely uninjured, before grabbing his clothes, shoes and scurrying back up to the dirt track before he finally stopped to breathe. His chest was tight, the sea-water bubbling off his skin and his arms aching from the panicked retreat.

Clawing into his clothes, Rin made sure all his belongings were in his bag, sent a text to Lori to let her know he'd be home within the hour, before dragging his bike out from the crevice he'd hidden it in. His legs shook a little. With a weight settling over his shoulders, Rin decided to push his bike all the way up the narrow dirt track until he made it back to the metal barrier that cut the trail in half. At the top of the slope, he turned back and cast his gaze back over the secluded beach and felt his chest tighten.

No, there was nothing out there.

'You're just being paranoid,' he told himself as he mounted his bilke. 'Just get home and have a calm evening.'

He rode up the hill toward the main road. There was a niggling thought in the recesses of his brain, but he ignored it. Instead, Rin focused on peddling his bike and how sunburned his skin was going to appear in the coming hours.

Lori hugged him as soon as he entered the kitchen.

"Oh, Rin there you are! I was getting worried!" she gushed, her wide smile showing her relief.

Rin frowned as he unplugged his earphones from his ears. "Sorry Lori. I got a little lost. I went down a road by accident and had to ask for directions."

"Oh dear! You could have called me," she laughed. "I could have come to pick you up."

Rin gave an awkward smile. "I'm sorry –I didn't think."

She waved him away. "Go and get yourself washed up."

He didn't need telling twice. Turning from the kitchen, he took the stairs two at a time and headed straight into the bathroom. He had a cool shower, taking time to rinse the salt water from his body. He could already feel the tingle of faint sun burn blooming over his skin. It wasn't as bad as he'd expected, but he still needed to slather cooled after-sun cream over his back.

Dinner felt different that night. Rin couldn't put his finger on it, but it was easier to join in the conversations and even share a laugh with his exchange-parents. He could tell that Lori and Russell both noticed a change but were smart enough not to question it. Whatever it was, Rin decided to hang onto the moment for as long as possible.

He even stayed downstairs and watched football with Russell whilst Lori Skyped with her sister.

By the time he went to bed, Rin was feeling relatively relaxed. Winnie shuffled into his room and hopped onto the end of the bed, her black ears perked up when he sat at his PC and started working one some of his essays. The one good thing about having no friends and no distractions was that Rin had no excuse to fail at any given subject. As a result, he excelled in all of them. He was smart, but he'd trained himself to be the smartest.

Most people just said it was because he was 'Asian'.

Clamping his headphone over his head, Rin blocked those thoughts from his mind and started work on his English paper.

He made solid progress for the first two hours. Every so often his eyes would drift to the bottom corner of the PC and make a mental note of the time. He didn't want to get into the habit of staying up until 2am. Leaning his head on his fist, he continued to scribble notes down as he browsed the internet for information. He had a system of making notes and then letting the idea ferment in his brain for a day or two before coming up with a coherent report. He wasn't going to turn-in rubbish. His mum had worked hard getting him all that he needed to be sent on the exchange program.

He couldn't let her or his sister down.

It as funny, in a weird way he'd thought he'd be free from the responsibility of his family once he'd moved to Australia. However, as a year and then two had passed he came to understand just how much of a sacrifice it was for his mum. It had been straight after his parents had divorced. He'd resisted the idea initially, but being a kid it was easy for his mum to make light of everything, telling him it would be an adventure. He'd done a lot of research for weeks about what he might get up to in Australia. His younger self had gotten hyper at the idea of seeing a kangaroo or a koala and make even a shark-attack if he was in the right place at the right time.

None of that had happened though.

The only time he'd gotten to see anything of Australia -other than when Lori and Russell took him for weekends across-country -were when his school had field-trips. Other than that, he kept to the small corner of the country he knew and was used to.

Something touched his leg.

Jumping a little, Rin lazily peered down as Winnie hopped onto her hind legs and pawed at his knees.

He brushed her away and tried to focus on his homework.

My pawing.

Grinding his teeth together, Rin took his headphones off and raked a hand through his flat hair. "Winnie, girl, you have to let me work okay?" he said. He picked her up and held her in his lap. She squirmed; that hadn't been the attention she was after. Instead she grumbled and yipped towards the window. "What's up?" he asked, stroking his fingers over her soft coat.

Another yip.

"Did some car lights go by and spook you?" he teased with a grin.

Winnie wasn't amused. She yipped again, her little body tense in his lap.

"No barking," he warned, tapping her snout. "You don't want to wake up Lori and Russell, do you?"

The little black dog didn't relax and eventually, Rin let out a sigh.

"Fine," he said as he stood up and stretched his taut muscles. "You and these street-lights are getting silly though. You're a house-dog. You're surrounded by moving lights." He turned towards the window and tried to fiddle with the blind and get it down. It was stiff and had been sticking a lot lately. Russell had promised to fix it on the weekend but Rin didn't mind. He liked having the window open.

Unfortunately, Winnie didn't seem to.

Then he saw it.

The flashing light.

His heart stopped. It had been so long since he'd last seen it. Forcing the window open, he leaned out onto the outdoor sill and strained his neck trying to see exactly which direction it was coming from. Was it down by the fish market? Or was it out further than that? It wasn't the lighthouse he knew that much; that was down by the West coast not the East.

"What the hell is that thing?" he pondered aloud as he drew himself back into the coolness of his room. He locked the sticky heat outside and pulled his fan closer to his bed. Winnie stood up at the window, whimpering, her paws up on the ledge. Rin pulled the blind down and blocked the view of the outside world. "Come on girl, let's call it a night."

Winnie turned her wide, dark eyes up at him but let herself be carried to the bed and –after much wriggling around and long looks at the window –she settled down near his pillow, her small head in her paws.

Winnie stood up at the window, whimpering, her paws up on the ledge. Rin pulled the blind down and blocked the view of the outside world. "Come on girl, let's call it a night."

Rin stretched out over his bed, one arm tucked under his head with a book open on his stomach. Reading would take his mind off the light –even if he was tempted to ride out on his bike after school tomorrow and see where exactly it was coming from. He didn't know why it felt important to know. Maybe he was just that bored? Either way, he felt the hairs on his arms prickle at the idea. It would be an adventure.

He gave a bitter little laugh as he turned a page.

Adventure indeed.

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The following afternoon, Rin was trying to stay focused in his chemistry class but found it hard to focus. He had something other than schoolwork and swimming on his mind for the first time in months. In a strange way, he wanted to hold onto that feeling. It was different and he missed experiencing the unexpected.

He'd gotten life in Australia 'down' as though it was a game to be conquered.

The teacher handed out last week's quiz. Rin lazily accepted it, his gaze still lingering on the view outside the window. He barely flicked his gaze over his test –the large red 'A' signalling that he'd gotten a perfect score again –before tucking it into his folder and resuming his staring.

The bell chimed.

Rin took his time backing his bag before slinging it over his shoulder and proceeding to leave the cool room. The white-washed halls and lino floor were the same, however the summer months seemed to make the building even more uncomfortable. Tugging at his t-shirt, Rin tried to cool himself down as he made his way to his locker. Students milled around him, jostling and bumping against him as though they forgot he was there.

He was pretty hard to forget though.

Standing at just under six feet tall, with dark red hair and a wide mouth with sharp teeth –well maybe people weren't ignoring him. Maybe they were afraid of him? The thought almost made him chuckle.

Afraid? Of him? That was ridiculous! He was the social outcast, why would anyone be afraid of him?

Reaching his bright red locker, Rin shifted his books around, leaving behind any that he didn't need over the weekend, before slinging his back over his shoulder. He had no more lessons for the day and didn't have after-school clubs anymore. He could probably start looking into getting a summer job. That had been one of Lori's suggestions last year but Rin had lied and said he didn't feel confident in his speaking skills yet.

They'd both know he was lying, but Lori had smiled in her motherly way and simply said, "Well you can have a try next year."

Rin hadn't been thinking about it … but maybe he did need something else to get him out of the house? And surely his work colleagues would be more open-minded about him?

Shaking his head he mounted his bike and rode home through the bright sunlight.

Outside his front door, he stood underneath his bedroom window and cast his gaze in the direction the light had been. He pursed his lips. Had he ever gone that way before? Were there any landmarks that way? Would Lori know?

'No,' he thought as his shoulders sagged. 'The last thing I should do is tell Lori I'm chasing lights.'

Clicking his tongue, he mounted his bike again and slowly let the bike drift down the road in the vague direction he'd seen the light in. He followed the main road over and over, trying to head towards the coastline. He was sure it had come from that direction. The sun was hot overhead as he followed the curve of the roads and barely had to peddle much before he finally came to a stop at a guard rail on the top of a cliff.

The sea was a rush of blue and green frothing waves that stretched on forever.

Rin had to remember to breathe.

Was this where the light had been flashing from? He wasn't sure if there was any real way to tell unless he came out at night and looked for it. He gnawed on his bottom lip as he looked down at the beach and blanched.

This was the same beach he'd been to yesterday. Where he'd felt something grab at his ankle.

A bead of sweat ran down his forehead.

'Nah,' he shook his head, backing away from the rail, his bike squeaking between his legs. 'Some blinking light isn't worth it.'

With that, he awkwardly turned his bike around, re-mounted and peddled home.

A/N: How did you guys like this chapter? Let me know! x