Part 2:

Rin?!

Why was Rin listed as his roommate...? Rin was studying in Australia... Why would he show up here?

Nitori hadn't spoken to Rin, or even texted him, since the week after the tournament... Would Rin even recognize him? Or even remember him at all? With all of his years away, maybe he would have forgotten Nitori ever existed.

Nitori slowly organized his stuff and shoved it in the corner, not wanting to pick a bed until Rin arrived, he'd let his elder pick first.

It took twenty minutes, but Nitori's new roommate finally showed up.

The door swung open harshly, and Nitori heard someone curse loudly. A few bags were visible first, being pushed through by their clearly peeved owner.

The bags were dropped, and the door was slammed shut.

"Need some help with that?" Nitori asked gently from the desk he was seated at.

Rin seemed to pause for a second, and he came around the corner so he could see his roommate.

Rin was about to speak, but Nitori spoke first.

"I'm Nitori Aiichirou, nice to meet you."

Rin's eyes were wide. "Why... Why are you introducing yourself?"

It was Nitori's turn to be shocked. "You actually remember me?"

"Of course...! Dude, I've known you since I was two." Nitori noticed that Rin's voice was no longer raspy and perky, it was a deep rumble that had no excited undertones.

"It's been five years, I expected you to forget."

"How could I?" Rin shook his head. "I swear, Nitori, you don't give me enough credit."

Nitori smiled widely at this. Despite Rin's new gruff personality, Nitori knew that the old Rin was still there.

"What's that grin for...?" Rin muttered, but Nitori could tell there was no hostility in his tone.

"I've just missed you." Nitori said simply.

Rin was still a bit shocked. He rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact with Nitori. "I've, uh, I've missed you too..."

Nitori's eyes lit up, and he jumped out of his seat, running towards Rin. He tossed arms around him quickly, hugging him tightly.

"Wha-"

Nitori pulled away after a moment. "I'm sorry, it's just been too long."

Rin ruffled Nitori's hair. "Yeah, it has been." His voice was a whisper.

Nitori smiled lightly and changed the subject entirely, as he knew Rin hated sappy situations.

He pointed at Rin's suitcases. "Do you need any help with those?" Nitori let his gaze drift towards the set of bunk beds. "And do you want the top or bottom?"

"Huh?" Rin was a bit surprised.

"The beds, you dork."

Rin blinked. "Yeah." He took a look as well. "Bottom."

Nitori had to hold back a laugh at Rin's distant demeanor.

Rin saw Nitori's face, which was a bit scrunched up as he tried to hold back his laughter. Rin shook his head and snapped defensively.

"Shut up!"

Nitori just laughed.

Things began to settle into a pattern. Nitori and Rin knew each other well enough that meshing with each other's schedules was easy.

Nitori was still messy. Rin had always hated the habit Nitori had of hoarding unnecessary things. Rin, of course, had his flaws as well. Sadly enough... His turned out to be worse than some simple messiness.

He was growing distant. Cold, even. Nitori tried not to misunderstand his roommates anger, he knew a fallout had occurred between Rin and his old friends from the relay. It became harder as days went on, however.

Rin began to shout at Nitori, snapping at him for the littlest things. Nitori knew that Rin had always had a short temper, but it began to worry him... Rin's health couldn't stay high in the state he was in.

Nitori always tried to help, but it usually just resulted in a harsh snap, or a brush of that hand that told Nitori "you aren't needed now."

It never bothered him too much, though. He knew and understood that Rin was having difficult times, it wasn't his fault that he was so angry all of the time.

The day of the finals came. Rin had been taken off of the relay for their school, and he was a mess. Nitori could see it clearly, but he didn't dare confront Rin about it.

Instead of annoying Rin, he decided to do his best to cheer him on.

It was time for his 100 meter free. Nitori watched intently from the bleachers, silently giving his best wishes to Rin.

Nitori knew after a few moments, however, that his wishes would prove ineffective. Rin had a late start, and his swimming was nothing close to its usual perfection. Nitori had been right, Rin was in a bad state... It hurt Nitori to see him that way... And he wasn't going to wait around.

Once Rin managed to drag himself out of the pool, Nitori was already on his tail. He shouted for his friend, begging him to listen, but Rin refused. Rin simply wouldn't take any form of reason from him.

"Listen to me, Matsuoka-Senpai!" Nitori had taken to calling him that as they drifted apart. Calling him Rin didn't seem appropriate once Rin started calling him Nitori.

They resided in a hallway that led towards the exit. Rin was trying to leave, and Nitori couldn't stand to let him.

Rin was furious. Not at anyone else... Not at anyone besides himself. He was worthless, he had no skill. At least he believed so.

"SHUT UP!" Rin cried, swinging his fist out and slamming it into the window beside him. Luckily, it didn't break, it only trembled profusely.

Nitori flinched, although he was sadly almost used to the violent displays. He had never actually been hit, but some accidents had been close to occurring.

Rin kicked a trash can, causing it to fly across the room, spreading trash everywhere.

"Senpai, STOP!" Nitori shouted, truly desperate to calm Rin down. "If you don't, they won't let you compete in any more tournaments!"

"I don't care! Don't you see? It doesn't matter! I'm done swimming!"

Rin stormed off. Nitori saw Rin's three old teammates and a fourth boy staring in pained shock. He knew that they were the only ones who could fix Rin's issue with swimming. He hated to admit that he wasn't good enough to help, but he knew it was true.

He just gave them a silent look of gratitude, mixed with internal hurt, since he knew that they would help Rin very soon.

He saw that they were still frozen for the time being, he knew it would take them a moment to recover from the frightening scene they had witnessed. So he chased after Rin, just to make sure he didn't damage his surroundings or himself too badly.

Eventually, he lost sight of Rin. He knew he had to leave it up to the Iwatobi swimmers.

He found his way back to the team, where Captain Mikoshiba was standing with his arms crossed and foot tapping.

"Where's Matsuoka?" He demanded.

Nitori shook his head. "He ran. I tried chasing him... But I can't help him with this. His old friends need to fix him right now."

Mikoshiba's expression softened. He could tell that Nitori was torn up, anyone who knew how much Nitori looked up to Rin could tell. The captain just nodded and instructed Nitori to keep an eye out for him just in case he returned.

Eventually, Rin did return. Nitori didn't see him until the rest of the team did, when Rin was in line for the Iwatobi relay. The blue haired boy with glasses that had been with group earlier had gone, Rin took his place. Nitori thought back to the relay as children. How Nitori stood on the sidelines and watched the mesmerized gaze fill Rin's face as he swam with his friends. He remembered how happy he felt when he walked away, knowing hat even if he would miss Rin when he moved, he would take joy in the fact that the last face Nitori ever saw Rin make was one of true happiness.

Sunset fell over the world by the end of the tournament, and Rin was bowing down in front of the captain. After muttering some apologies, he stood up straight.

Rin broke his gaze away from Mikoshiba's for a moment, letting his rest on Nitori.

"I'm, uh, sorry for yelling at you."

Nitori shook his head. "It's no problem!" He smiled, though it felt a bit hollow.

"-you can kick me off the swim team-" Nitori tuned back into the conversation and that was what he heard.

"Matsuoka-senpai, you can't-"

"No." Captain Mikoshiba's voice rumbled as he spoke. "I have a better way for you to make up for your actions."

Nitori saw the way Rin got a lump in his throat, almost as if his emotions were reaching up and strangling him from the inside. It broke Nitori's heart to see Rin frightened.

"Swim the way you just did for our team." Mikoshiba cracked a killer grin.

The captain directed the team towards the busses, but Nitori stayed behind with a shocked, yet relieved, Rin.

"Nitori." Rin spoke up, his voice rumbling in a manor similar to the captains. He paused for a moment, before rubbing his neck slowly and adverting his eyes. "Er... Ai."

Before he could continue, Nitori flung himself towards Rin, hugging him tightly just like he did the day he and Rin met again in the dorms.

Instead of being hesitant this time, Rin hugged his friend tightly. He hated how he had treated Nitori in the past months, and he hoped the hug would at least show some of his gratitude towards Nitori, since his friend had stayed by him even when he shouldn't have.

"Rin?"

"Yeah, Ai?"

"You're not leaving again, are you? You aren't going to a swimming school in Germany or anything, right?" Nitori's tone was playful and light, but his question about Rin leaving was sincere.

Rin broke away from the hug gently, chuckling warmly. "No. I plan on staying right here." Rin took a breath in. "Also... Ai, I'm going to be a better friend. I know I've been horrible lately, and you stuck with me, even when I was the equivalent of dog crap on your shoe."

Nitori was about to object the that final remark, but Rin kept talking. "I promise I'll get better. You deserve so much more than I've been giving you. I missed having you as a friend when I went to Australia, and when I came back and got the chance to reconcile, I screwed it all up. I really want to try to get better... No, I WILL get better."

The determination in Rin's voice reminded Nitori of Rin's younger self, the one full of ambition, ready to tackle any challenge that came his way.

"Okay, Rin. I'm glad. Thank you." Nitori's voice was relaxed and gentle.

"We should get to the bus." Rin said, placing a hand on Nitori's back.

Nitori nodded, allowing Rin's hand to stay on the middle of his back as they walked.

AN:

Well, I was originally going to make this a purely two-part story, but I felt like this moved quicker than I wanted, and the only easy way to end it was the way I did (otherwise it would have seemed choppy and it would have been wayyyy too long)

So, I'm going to make an epilogue, and I want your input! I want you to let me know what you would like to see happen. (I already have a few possible routes, but I want to know what YOU want.) Do you want them to end up dating? Or would you rather see them being besties for life? Whatever it may be, I'd like to know what you want to see :)

Hope you enjoyed! :D