A/N: So I went swimming yesterday after 3 years, and tried backstroke again. Let's just say, Mako-chan and Momo make it look EASY. Then butterfly, I don't even know how Rei does it as a beginner. Anyways, thanks for the reviews guys
Kayamegumi: Awesome idea! Thanks a lot, I'll do something like that, but change it a little. It won't be that easy though. I'm just gonna leave you hanging for now! :D
Otakuchan88: I may get Rin involved in the story, but he'll probably have a minor role instead of a major one. Most of the similar fanfics to this involve using the reversed method to change the person back, but I'm gonna make this more interesting and not be so simple.
This chapter will be about Makoto's dream while they're all asleep in the rest house. Enjoy! Disclaimer: I don't own Free!
"Where am I?" young Makoto looked around him, but all he saw was empty white space. It felt surreal, ethereal, like a wave of peace was washing over him. As he drifted about the void, he heard something calling out to him.
"Come, my child." a voice from the void spoke.
"Who are you?" he tried to ask the voice.
"We are the water spirits of the ocean." The voice replied. "We exist to help young ones like yourself, but there are also corrupted spirits, who seek to destroy those who venture into the deep."
"Why have you brought me here?"
"You are special, young one. You are the child of the sea, yet you fear your own home. Now, come. We will show you something."
As the voice spoke those words, he felt air rushing by him, and something pulling his arm, as if he was being pulled forward. He was scared. He didn't know what to do, so he shut his eyes, praying to whatever God out there that the 'spirits' would not harm him.
"Please open your eyes." The voice prompted. "This is something important you must see."
Opening his eyes, the sight in front of him could not be any stranger to a 7-year-old, who didn't know any better. What he saw in front of him was a 17-year-old version of himself, who appeared to be chained up by all 4 limbs. The chains extended into the void, out of sight, and the teen appeared to be asleep.
"…Is this… me?" he asked, voice shaky, afraid of what was in front of him.
"Yes, this is your true self." The voice sounded sad at these words. "This man is afraid of the water, his rightful home. He believes unknown beings exist in the water, which would drag him down. In a way, he is correct, because there exist corrupted spirits who would harm him. However, good spirits like us are willing to help, if only you would reach out to us."
"…I'm afraid of the ocean…" young Makoto spoke. "But why am I like this? What have you spirits done to me?" he almost screamed.
"Young one," the voice was calmer than ever. "You need to learn how to control your own fear. Your friends need you. That night, when you tried to save your friend, your fear overwhelmed you. The Water God decided he needed to help his son overcome his fear, and turned you into the form from when your fear came about."
"That doesn't make sense! My father is human! I was not born in the water!"
"Ah, that is correct. However, when you were born, the Water God blessed you with the gift of water, just like your friend, Haruka Nanase."
"Haru-chan…? He's human too, and you're not making sense!"
"Do I have to?" the voice laughed, then turned serious and sad again. "Your friend accepted the gift of water, and embraced it with his heart, allowing him to become one of the best swimmers around. At first, you embraced it too, but when your fear came about, you locked away your gift, and your hidden potential. Dear child, you have the power to be so much more than you are now, you just have to overcome this obstacle."
"But I don't know how!" Makoto pleaded. "Please help me, whoever you are! I want to stand by Haru-chan's side, and help him as a friend!" he cried.
"This is something you must do on your own. All I can do is provide you the information I have already. When you overcome your fear, you will return to your normal body. In the meantime, it's up to you to make the choice to accept your gift or not. Goodbye."
At these words, the image of his older self started to fade away, and he felt like he was falling out of the light, into the darkness. "Wait! I don't know your name! Please, don't go! Don't leave me!" Makoto begged.
"My name does not matter, young one." The voice laughed. "It is time for me to take my leave. The rest is in your hands. When you wake up, you will find yourself near the ocean. What you do from there is completely up to you."
With those parting words, silence surrounded the child, and he no longer felt at peace. He started falling, down into the void of darkness. Reaching upwards, his small hands tried to grab something, anything, to stop himself from falling into the abyss. He finally got a grip on a structure on his right side. Hanging on tight, he pulled himself upward.
"LET GO. YOU MUST LEAVE THIS PLACE." The voice boomed, in a commanding voice.
With those words, the surface beneath the poor child's hands crumbled away, and he fell into the abyss below. Closing his eyes, he relaxed his entire body, and braced himself for the impact when he hit another surface. It never came.
When Haru awoke, the first thing he noticed was the sun starting to rise outside the bedroom window, and that it had stopped raining. The second thing he noticed, was that his arms were pressing down on empty space, slightly above his stomach. "That's strange." He thought. "I could've sworn I was holding Makoto last night when we all fell asleep-"Then realization hit him. Makoto was gone. Scrambling to his feet, he ran to wake Nagisa and Rei from the other side of the room. "Guys! Wake up!" he practically yelled, slapping both their faces.
"…Huh? Haru-chan..? What's wrong?" Nagisa groggily grumbled, still half-asleep.
"What's the big deal, Haruka-senpai?" Rei mumbled, rubbing his cheek from where Haru had slapped him.
"Guys, Makoto's gone. We have to find him!" Haru shouted while running out the room.
"What?!" Nagisa and Rei were now fully awake, aware of the situation.
"Find him! Nagisa, Rei, search the first floor. I'll search the second floor!" Haru commanded, and all ran out of the room to start searching.
Five minutes later, they all assembled at the main entrance of the rest house, with worried looks on their faces.
"We couldn't find Makoto-senpai anywhere." Rei spoke. "Where could he be?"
"Don't tell me…" Nagisa shuddered at the thought.
"Let's go!" Haru ran out of the house, motioning the others to follow. "Before it's too late!"
The three made a mad dash down the cliff, onto the beach. Once they reached the beach, the first thing they saw was Makoto, still in his child form, lying on the sand, just out of the waves' reach. He was wearing the oversized t-shirt from the rest house, and he slept with a calm expression on his face. Rushing over, Haru bent down and shook him awake.
"Makoto. Makoto, wake up!" he begged. Feeling the boy stir, he looked down, and saw Makoto slowly opening his eyes.
"Haru-chan... You really are the best in the water…" he croaked weakly, before falling back asleep.
Running over, Nagisa and Rei saw Haru picking up Makoto in his arms. "Haruka-senpai, what do we do now?" Rei asked, obviously concerned.
"We bring him back up to the rest house to rest, and we think of a solution." Haru stated, his stoic expression returning. Without another word, he walked off, back in the direction of the rest house, leaving poor Nagisa and Rei to follow him, not knowing what was going on.
Although his expression was stoic, Haru was genuinely concerned for his friend. "Please be okay, Makoto." He internally pleaded, hoping the worst situation had not happened.
A/N: The whole thing about the 'voice' was something I dreamt up last night. You know when some people have near-death experiences, they imagine themselves 'floating' or walking through a white void? I was working for something like that. I really enjoyed writing this, listening to Danse Macabre while writing. It kinda made me feel at peace. That music is a masterpiece, relaxing, yet chilling at the same time.
I'll update this story once every 2 days, but as I said before, I'm writing off the top of my head, so no update= no idea. When that happens, please do me a favour and review so I can get a new idea. Reviews appreciated a lot. Thanks everyone!
