The next two weeks after the storm were spent repairing damages in town. The storm his mother had mentioned had apparently been pretty bad for Iwatobi. Tanaka-san – an elderly man that lived next door who worked shucking clams in a shop on the pier in Iwatobi – told Nitori last Wednesday that some nasty winds had whipped through town and uprooted some of the smaller shacks along the beach. The tide had rose as well and within moments the ocean had devoured twisted scraps of metal, broken shards of glass, and splintered wood with its gaping maw. Needless to say, Aiichiro had been pretty surprised when he had gone into town the following morning and seen the damage.
They had been unlucky that most of the debris had been flung straight at their town, but fortunately the damage was not something irreparable and most importantly none of them had been harmed. Still, it was slow work patching up buildings and cleaning up all the garbage.
A whole crop field had gotten torn up as well, and that was where it hurt them the most. Nitori was fortunate enough that his family had a private garden, but others were not so lucky. His father worked in the town hall and had come home one night exhausted from a hard day's of work, and Aiichiro listened as his father told his mother about the shortage of food. Some of the people who worked in Iwatobi suggested selling the crops that did survive and invest in some surface food for the time being until the next harvest. However, it had fallen through, because a mass majority of the village was wary of the surface people and avoided interaction with them as much as possible.
Tanaka-san had said it was "a damn shame" as Nitori had stood with him outside his home, listening to how great the pork was – a cut of meat that came from pigs apparently. Whatever pigs were.
After that, Aiichiro had excused himself and made his way to the surface and had watched from a safe distance in the water as men in uniforms had worked on reconstructing some buildings. He couldn't quite fathom how people on the surface could just hire workers to fix their problems for them. He knew it was a city thing – but it still seemed weird to him – though that was mostly because the sea people didn't deal with money.
What had taken Samezuka two weeks to repair, had taken Iwatobi half the time and within days the beach was bustling with people again and Nitori was steering clear of that area once more.
Since the storm, Aiichiro had not seen those kids on the pier again, and his days were once more back to their quiet repetitiveness. Still, on some days, as Nitori lie on his back, drifting with the current, he couldn't help but wonder how that boy was doing – the one who had been scolded by his father. Did he get in a lot of trouble? Was he confined to his room? Was he still friends with those other boys?
Aiichiro knew it wasn't any of his business and that he shouldn't concern himself with it, but that didn't change the fact that he still wanted to know. At first, he had thought the boy was violent just for the sake of being so, but the way he had tucked his head and balled his fist as his father spoke to him had made Nitori curious. He had been so wild just moments before and then within seconds he had become timid and quiet. He couldn't help but feel that something was eating at the boy, and Aiichiro really wanted to know what.
It was a full month later that Nitori finally saw that boy again. He had been floating on his back, eyes closed, and enjoying the sounds of the ocean when he heard footsteps and quickly dunked beneath the water. When he poked his head up above the surface a couple of seconds later, the boy was sitting on the pier, legs dangling over the edge as he grumbled quietly to himself. Aiichiro stared in shock for a moment, before swimming a little closer, being careful to stay out of the other boy's line of vision.
"Stupid dad," he muttered – Rin his name was, if Nitori remembered it right – and Aiichiro frowned. If the circumstances had been any different, Nitori would have definitely asked him if he was alright. Even though both of his parents could be a little over bearing sometimes, Aiichiro loved them unconditionally and he didn't think he'd ever truly been mad at his father. But Rin was clearly upset and he wished he could do something to help.
He stared a bit longer, frantically looking around the coast before diving under and swimming closer. He lingered beneath the surface on the right side of the pier, close enough he could grab Rin's leg if he wanted to, but angled so he was just out of site.
'I'm going to get in so much trouble,' Aiichiro thought, pacing back and forth beneath the water.
He took a deep breath; all he was going to do was ask if he was alright – that was it.
It took another couple of minutes for Nitori to build up enough courage, before slowly bringing his head up above the surface, "Are… you alright?" he asked and the boy flinched before quickly swiveling to look behind himself – Nitori ducking instinctively.
He didn't say anything though, so Nitori tried again, "Are you okay now?"
This time Rin started turning in his direction and so Nitori ducked with a splash – heart racing and praying he hadn't been seen.
He could see Rin as he stared down at the place Nitori had been moments before and so he swam a little lower – he was sure the shadow the pier casted on the water made it dark enough that he couldn't be seen but it was better safe than sorry.
Minutes passed with Rin still staring at the water and Aiichiro bit his lip – too afraid to come up again. He was hoping the other boy would tire of staring so hard, but his gaze was unwavering.
So Nitori waited – cheeks flushed red in embarrassment – each second ticking by ever so slowly; when finally, finally Rin sighed and looked away.
Aiichiro sighed in relief, before frowning as Rin got to his feet, cast one last lingering look at the water, before walking down the pier. Nitori slowly came up to the surface, watching his back as he went, and wishing he were a little braver.
Nitori wasn't feeling well when he got home, and with some assurance to his mother that 'it really isn't that bad' he made his way to his room and plopped down on his bed face first – hands sliding beneath his pillow as he buried his face into the soft surface.
His heart was still racing from earlier – it had been one-sided, but he'd spoken to someone from Iwatobi. He had, ultimately chickened out, and lying here he wished his mind had been more clear – wished he would have just swam to the other side of the pier and popped up there before trying to speak again.
His head was a mix of excitement and anxiety. He wanted to try again tomorrow – he would definitely try again tomorrow. His mother would surely be heartbroken if she even found out what he was planning but… there was something about the other boy that drew Nitori in. Maybe it was because he was human – maybe it was because he seemed to be lonely like Nitori was – but whatever it was, it was strong enough to make him want to try a little harder, to be a little braver, and to speak to the boy once more.
At dinner, Aiichiro half-listened to his father talk about work – wondering if Rin would be at the pier again tomorrow – wondering if the boy went there straight after school or if he went home first. Nitori didn't remember seeing him with a backpack, and that begged the question; did the backpacks in Iwatobi look like the ones in Samezuka did? Did they wear uniforms too?
He hoped the boy wouldn't be mean to him – hoped he was as interested in him as Aiichiro was in Rin. It was silly, but Nitori hoped they could be friends. That would be alright wouldn't it? He wasn't being too hopeful was he? Aiichiro hoped not.
Giddy, he gobbled up the rest of his food, placed his dishes in the sink, and then raced to his room after bidding his parents goodnight.
He couldn't wait for tomorrow.
Aiichiro was waiting beneath the surface by the pier when Rin showed up – hands stuffed in his pockets as he looked around. A small part of Nitori was hoping Rin was looking for him, but he quickly pushed that thought aside as the other boy sat down in the same way he had been yesterday.
'Alright Aiichiro, you can do this,' he told himself, taking deep breaths before coming up above the water – careful to be out of sight. He had a small speech prepared, and so long as Rin didn't interrupt him then this would end in his favor. 'Okay, here I go'.
"Hi! I'm from Samezuka and I'm not supposed to be talking to you but you looked sad yesterday so I thought I'd say hello – please don't look at me I'm shy!" the words tumbled out quickly and recklessly, like a wave crashing on the shore - and then hung in the silence that followed. Aiichiro gasped for air – eyes not leaving Rin's stiffened back. It seemed like minutes before the boy's shoulders drooped as he allowed himself to relax – no doubt startled by Nitori's earlier exclamation. Every second was tense, and the crashing waves on the beach rung in Aiichiro's ears like a ticking bomb as he waited with baited breath – body tense and on the ready to flee should he need to.
Nitori continued to wait in silence – a little put off that the other boy had yet to say a word - nerves on fire, and heart thudding in his chest as he ran over what he had said in his mind, wondering if he had made a mistake, wondering if maybe he hadn't been loud enough, wondering if the other boy had chosen to ignore him. Aiichiro certainly hoped it was not the latter.
"Umm…" he started – and it sounded pathetic even to him – quiet and shaky; Nitori wouldn't be surprised if this time Rin really hadn't heard him. He cleared his throat, "How are you?" Aiichiro hoped he didn't sound as desperate as he felt – but after having made up his mind last night, he'd been really excited about approaching the other boy again. Thinking back on it now, Nitori figured maybe it had been childish to think that they would suddenly become fast friends – especially since most of the kids in his class thought him to be a little too over-eager a majority of the time.
It was just as Nitori was thinking maybe he should just give up, stop making a fool of himself, and just go home; that Rin finally spoke, "Are you really from Samezuka?"
Aiichiro couldn't contain his gasp, "Yes! I am!"
He wished he could see Rin's facial expressions – because when he spoke again, "Really? That's so cool," back still obediently turned away as per his request, Nitori thought that maybe Rin was smiling.
Aiichiro learned very quickly that Rin had very little to say unless it had something to do with the things he was passionate about.
For the first week of their newfound friendship, Nitori just talked about himself and what it was like in Samezuka. He talked about the town center and how they didn't use money – he talked about what he had learned in school that particular day and talked about how they wore clothes despite what Rin seemed to believe and how their school uniform was white and Rin had been surprised by that, but not as surprised as Nitori had been when Rin had said that if he were to get his clothes wet they would get soggy and weigh him down. Nitori's clothes were wet to a degree he supposed, it was something he hadn't really noticed, but he noticed they'd become dry when he was above water – but they certainly didn't stick to him like glue when wet like Rin said his did. As far as Aiichiro was concerned, his clothes hadn't been made any differently. He had asked his father one night if their cloth was made differently or if it was just a sea folk thing, but his father had just looked confused and apologized about not having an answer. When Nitori asked Tanaka-san next door the next morning, the old man had just laughed and left Nitori just as confused as he had been yesterday.
Sometimes Rin would bring him candies or bread and in return Nitori would bring him something from the village. Some of the candies were melt in your mouth good and it was something Aiichiro was not used to. Samezuka didn't have chocolate – which in Nitori's opinion was the best thing in the whole world – and also really unfair if you asked him. Iwatobi though, didn't have star carrots, which Rin said were a lot sweeter than normal carrots(he called it normal but Aiichiro could hardly agree).
It was a full month and a half of meeting nearly every day before Aiichiro confessed to having seen him on the pier fighting, and another week before Rin talked about his father for the first time.
"He's an idiot," Rin had said, a bit more fired up than he usually was. When Nitori had asked him to elaborate, he had grown quiet – reflective – and Nitori wished more than ever he could see his face full-on.
"My old man's actually from the sea you know?" he went on to say, "He doesn't really talk about what it's like – but he says he won't ever go back. I think about Samezuka a lot – it's always seemed really cool to me and it sucks that I can't see it, but if it's as amazing as I think it is, I don't see why he won't go back."
It was confusing for Nitori. Rin's dad was from the sea? He'd heard about the occasional person leaving and never coming back – but it was rare, and something the adults definitely would not talk about with a child such as himself around. Even though Aiichiro was so fascinated with the surface, he couldn't imagine leaving Samezuka forever.
"I didn't know about it until recently – I don't know why he waited so long to say something. He knows how much I like Samezuka! So why would he hide it?"
And Nitori didn't have an answer.
"Anyway, it just makes me really angry. He's throwing away something amazing and for what? A crappy job as a fisherman?"
Aiichiro was quiet for the longest time, "But he has you doesn't he? And your mother and sister too." He finally said and Rin huffed.
"I know that… But still. He could go back and visit – he could get his family to come visit us – I bet they'd like to see their cute grandkids. But he's so stubborn and always says no. And it's so stupid and frustrating and I hate it. If I lived in Samezuka I would never leave and I think he's crazy for having done it in the first place!"
"… Maybe he was just curious about what it's like up here?" Nitori offered tentatively.
"I still think it's a waste. Besides, you were curious too but you haven't left the ocean yet – you won't even let me look at you. You're a lot smarter than my old man."
It was then that Nitori realized Rin probably didn't know about the rule – which said the children of the sea weren't allowed onto the surface until they were at least sixteen. He thought about telling Rin that that was why he didn't come up to sit with Rin on the pier, that that was why he wasn't out exploring the shops on the beach. In the end, he kept his lips sealed, because surely Rin would hate him too if Aiichiro expressed his desire to leave Samezuka - even if just for a day.
