Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club and make no money from these writings. The original idea for this story belongs to Bishonen'sFoxyMiko.

Fish and Freedom

Chapter Three

Haru bit back a sigh of impatience. After they had gone to drop off Ran and Ren, Makoto's mother had invited everyone to stay for dinner. While the woman was a wonderful cook and had basically adopted him after his parents had moved away, Haru really just wanted to get to the pool. But in the end, he decided to just bite his tongue and eat with his friends and second family. Normally, the way that Makoto could easily read him and what he was thinking annoyed him a little, but as dinner was winding down, he was grateful for his friend's little talent. Makoto had been the one to notice him glancing at the clock and had eventually made their excuses that they had somewhere to be.

Now, as he could see the entrance to the Iwatobi Swim Club, it was all that he could do to keep his pace calm and even with that of his friends. People usually thought that since he didn't express much, that he also didn't feel strongly about much. But it just wasn't true. He experienced happiness, sadness, anger, and surprise just as much as his friends did. He just preferred to keep it to himself. For reasons that he had never fully understood, ever since he was little, expressing his emotions outwardly always made him feel vulnerable. It made him feel uncomfortable, so over time he became able to control what he did and didn't show. Now whenever he did show emotion, it was usually only in the faintest of ways and it was easily missed. It was just how he was most comfortable when around other people.

Though, truth be told, Haru both envied and admired people like Nagisa sometimes. Part of him had always wondered what it would be like to emote so openly and not care what other people thought.

When they were finally in front of the doors, Haru reached out to only find the door locked.

"Is Goro already gone?" Nagisa asked as he pressed his face to the glass.

"No," Haru answered. "The lights are still on." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his keys and unlocked the door. As the group of men entered the building, Haru explained, "He's probably just in his office going over paperwork."

Makoto lead the way down a side hallway and knocked lightly against the doorframe as he said, "Hello, Coach Sasabe."

"Makoto?" Goro asked as he looked up from an invoice to see his previous students standing just outside of his office. "What are you guys doing here this late?" He questioned as he stood up from his chair and made his way around his desk.

"I need to use the pool," Haru answered matter-of-factly.

While it wasn't uncommon for Haru to come in for a swim after hours, he didn't usually feel the need to let him know about it. So, filled with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion, Goro asked, "Why?"

Overflowing with excitement for what was to come, Nagisa burst out, "Haru's trying out for a new job!"

Goro blinked. He was quiet for several long moments before his brow creased and he looked at Haru. "Let me get this straight," he spoke. "You want to use my pool to interview for a new job?" When Haru merely nodded, Goro sighed. Honestly, if it were anyone other than Haru, he might have actually been annoyed. But he had always known that Haru wouldn't work as a swim instructor forever. He'd hoped for it, really. He had known these boys since they were just little kids, with the exception of Rei, and he'd always known that Haru was meant for better things. And if he need to use the pool for his interview, it must have meant a job involving water. "Fine, okay," he finally acquiesced. "But what kind of job is this for, anyway?"

"Merman," Haru answered quickly before anyone could call him a mermaid again.

Goro opened his mouth only to close it again. He honestly hadn't been expecting that. "Haru," he began slowly. "Did you dive into the shallow end of the pool and hit your head?"

"No, it's not like that," Makoto laughed. "We went to the aquarium today. Apparently, they've added a mermaid to their shows. We ran into her on the train on our way home, and she said that they were looking for other people. Now she's coming here to test out how well Haru can swim as a merman."

"I'm still not following," Goro said as he rubbed the back of his head. "The aquarium has a mermaid?"

Nagisa hummed with a nod as he lifted up the envelope of pictures that he'd purchased earlier and pulled out one of the pictures. "Look! She's a diver at the aquarium, but she looks just like a real mermaid!"

Taking the offered photo, Goro's eyes widened. Sure enough, there was Nagisa hugging a woman who he would swear was a real mermaid if he didn't know better. Looking to the clock he had hanging on his wall, he said, "I promised Miho that I'd be home in time for dinner tonight, but I have to watch this. What time is she supposed to be here?"

"Seven," Haru answered just as they heard the front door open.

"Or now," Rei amended.

"Hello?" They heard a feminine voice call from the front hall.

"You boys go on ahead," Goro waved a hand at them. "I'm gonna call Miho and let her know I'll be a little late." He smiled a little as he picked up his phone. Sometimes he still couldn't believe that he had talked the model-turned-teacher into going out with him.

Once again with her trusty dufflebag, Kagome stood in the front hall of the Iwatobi Swim Club. She'd heard voices down a hall and had decided to wait for someone to come greet her instead of exploring. But then a wall of pictures caught her attention. It was labeled "The History of the Iwatobi Swimming Club," and one picture in particular caught her attention. She couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face as she looked at the much younger versions of the men she'd met on the train that afternoon. Except for the man with glasses; he didn't seem to be in any of the older pictures. But then next to the one that had caught caught her attention was another with the same boys plus the boy with glasses in almost the exact same pose.

"Hello," Makoto greeted as the four swimmers came into the entrance's main area. Noticing what Kagome had been looking at, he smiled. "Looking at the old pictures?"

"Yeah," Kagome answered with a nod. Pointing at the picture of the four young boys, she asked, "This is your group, isn't it?"

"That's right," Makoto said. "All of us except for Rei. That was taken before we met him. But he's in the one there that was taken a few years ago."

"Ah, okay. I was wondering," Kagome smiled as she turned to face the men. "Now, let me see if I can remember everyone's name. You're Rei, Nagisa, and Haru," she recalled as she pointed to each in turn. She'd heard them call each other by their names on the train. But she faltered when she tried to recall the name of the tallest man. "I'm sorry," she apologized with an embarrassed smile. "I don't actually think I've caught your name yet."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Makoto apologized with a small bow. "I'm Makoto."

"Nice to meet you," Kagome returned. "So where's the pool?" She asked.

"This way," Haru said as he started walking in the direction he indicated.

"So you guys have been friends for a while?" Kagome asked to make conversation as they walked.

"Yeah," Nagisa piped up from where he walked beside her. "Me, Mako, and Haru were all part of the swim club here when we were kids. Then we met Rei when we brought back the swim team in high school."

"That's neat," Kagome smiled at the man who was only a couple of inches taller than she was.

"How did you come to be a mermaid?" Rei asked as they continued their walk.

"Well," Kagome Kagome started as her eyes shifted to the ceiling tiles for a moment. "I grew up on a shrine in Tokyo, and after I graduated high school I really wanted a change of scenery. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my life at that point, so I moved out here and managed to find an entry-level position at the aquarium. After I was around the animals for a while, I decided that I wanted to apply to their animal trainer internship. Then one day I was talking to a friend who had just gotten back from a trip to America where she saw these mermaids in a water show. I looked it up online and showed it to my boss, and he really liked the idea of adding something like it to the aquarium shows. I was already a strong swimmer and had a lot of dive experience in the tanks, so I said I would work on putting something together. This is my first summer as an actual mermaid for the aquarium."

"Where did you get your tail?" Nagisa asked. "You'll eventually need a tail, Haru!"

"There are a few places that you can get the tails," Kagome explained. "But mine actually came from a designer in America called the Mertailor. I looked up a few different makers online, and I liked his they best. They're expensive though. The aquarium gave me an advance on the money so that I could order one."

"How expensive are they?" Haru asked as they stepped into the large room that held the pool.

"In US dollars, since that's where the maker is, mine was a little under three thousand dollars, but I got the most expensive model," Kagome said with a slight shrug when the four men looked at her in shock. "My tail is made of a high-quality silicone that has a tight fit and feels and looks more realistic. I actually have an order in for another, cheaper tail and a couple of accessories."

"How can you afford that?" Rei asked. "Does the aquarium pay that well?"

"Why? Do you want to try out too?" She asked with a teasing smile as she patted her bag. "And as for how much I get paid, you would be surprised." Turning to Haru she elaborated, "If this goes well and you're able to come work with me, you'll basically be paid for two jobs. We do behind the scenes things like feedings and cleaning, but you'll be paid separately for your work as a merman. Plus, since you'll be buying your own tail, you can do whatever you want with it on your free time off work."

Haru's eyebrows drew together slightly as he asked, "What do you mean?"

"What I'm saying is that the aquarium pays well, but private parties pay better," Kagome told him. "For private affairs, you get to pick and choose what jobs you take and negotiate your own contracts. I've already done a couple, and in the next couple of months, I'm booked for two birthday parties and a corporate event."

Haru nodded. Goro didn't pay terribly, but he was running a small business and could only afford to keep Haru on part-time. So if he was able to get this new job where he got to swim and got paid better to do it…well, this job looked better all the time.

"Okay," Kagome continued as she set her bag down on the tiled floor. "Go ahead and get changed into your suit and take a dip to get your skin wet." The words had no sooner left her mouth than Haru was already diving in. Kagome's eyes widened before she blinked a few times and looked into the pool. "Holy cow, that was quick," she muttered. Looking to Haru's friends, she said, "I didn't know it was possible to get undressed that quickly! Was he wearing his swimsuit under his clothes?"

Makoto laughed a little awkwardly. "Yeah, he does that."

"And he's always been that way," a deeper voice added. They all turned to see Goro walking in to join them. Coming to a stop in front of Kagome, he introduced, "I'm Goro Sasabe. I own and run this place."

"It's nice to meet you," Kagome said with a bow. "I'm Kagome Higurashi."

"The boys tell me that you're a mermaid?" He asked with a raised brow. "And you're going to see if Haru has what it takes?"

"That's right," Kagome answered with a nod.

"Well," Goro said as he placed his hands on his hips. "If Haru can't do it, I don't think you'll have much luck finding anyone who can. That kid's been like a fish all his life."

Kagome laughed, "I guess we'll just have to see." Dragging her bag over to the side of the pool, she motioned for Haru to get out and sit on the edge. "You really only needed to get your legs wet, you know," she told him with an amused smile. "It just help reduce chafing with the equipment." She quickly pulled her shirt over her head and and shimmied out of her shorts to reveal a blue and white sport bikini under her clothes. "I'm going to get in the pool with you to show you how it's done."

Sitting down next to Haru on the edge of the pool, Kagome slid her legs into the water to dampen her skin before settling back on the edge. "Alright," she mumbled as she rifled through her bag a little. She soon pulled out two sets of swimming fins. "One of these should fit you," she told him. While Haru was seeing which set would be best for him, Kagome pulled out her own pair and a few straps that looked like wide belts. "These aren't anything official," she explained with a laugh while holding up the straps. "I made these to use while I was training myself to swim like this." Once Haru had slipped his feet into a set of fins, Kagome handed over three straps as she said, "I'll let you put them on yourself. Just do what I do."

Kagome proceeded to take one strap and loop it around her thighs just above her knees. She slipped one end through a plastic loop at the other end and pulled the slack tight before pressing the velcro sides together to keep everything in place. She repeated the process with another strap just above her ankles and the last one going around the fins where the arches in her feet were. She waited for Haru to get his straps in place before explaining, "These will keep your legs and feet from moving independently from each other." She easily slipped into the water and had her feet planted flat on the pool's bottom. The pool was shallow enough that the water only came up to her chest. "We'll probably have to work on treading water in a tank at the aquarium, but for now I just want to see how well you can swim like that."

Haru nodded as he slid into the pool as well. He held onto the edge to keep himself from wobbling on his bound legs. He looked back up to Kagome as she started speaking again.

"Okay," she began. "Now what you're going to want to do in the beginning is have your arms out in front of you, but your legs are going to push you through the water instead of your arms pulling you. It can take a few tries for you to get even the motions down. Think of your body moving in a waving motion. It'll start in your hips and follow down your legs to your feet. If you have trouble with it, I'll try to give you tips here and there, okay?" She finished with a smile. Pulling a hair band off of her wrist, she pulled her long hair back into a loose ponytail and said, "Just watch me and do what I do!" With that, she dove forward and lazily moved her body to propel herself forward under the water.

Over to the side, Goro kept his eyes on the pool but turn his head towards the others as he asked, "Who wants to bet that he gets it on his first try?"

"It is essentially the same motion that we use after the initial dive during races," Rei agreed. "I'm sure that he'll take to it naturally."

Makoto was quiet for a few seconds before he hummed and shook his head. "I don't know," he hedged. "Haru can be a little inflexible about the way he swims. I think he might have trouble fighting the urge to swim along the surface of the water."

"There he goes!" Nagisa gasped and everyone turned their attention back to the pool.

Haru dove forward as instructed and got in a few good strokes of his "tail" before his body unconsciously began to rise to the surface. Frowning, he tried again only to be met with the same result. Again he tried, and again he rose. He didn't even mean to do it. He'd spent so many years training to do exactly that while swimming, and now that he wanted to stay underwater while swimming, he was having trouble getting over years of muscle memory. He looked to his left when Kagome surfaced near him.

She had been watching him and saw the trouble he was having. Honestly, if it wasn't for his trouble actually staying down, Kagome would have called the man a natural. "You're doing really well so far," she pointed out. "But try using your arms as your rutters. I usually keep my arms by my sides, but I use them sometimes when I need to stay down or dive deeper."

Nodding, Haru took a breath and tried again. When he felt himself start to rise, he pulled his arms back towards him and pushed his body down deeper into the water. As Kagome had said, he kept his arms by his side until he needed to push himself back down. Suddenly, the woman was swimming alongside him with a wide smile and a thumbs up. She pointed her finger towards the water's surface and they both went up for a breath.

"That's really great!" She cheered. "I actually had my doubts, but you picked up the motions really well. You'll still need to learn how to really control and steer yourself with a tail, but I think you'll be able to learn everything relatively easy. I just need to check one more thing before I make my decision."

Haru gave Kagome an expectant look as he waited for her to continue.

"A big part of this is how long you can hold your breath," she explained. "I'm going to help keep you underwater while I time how long you can hold your breath. I also want to check your pulse to see if it speeds up too much."

"Okay," Haru answered simply. If that was the only thing left, he felt confident that there wouldn't be any problem.

"Let's head back over to my bag and get this equipment off," Kagome told him as they dove back underwater and swam to the other end of the pool.

"Well?" Nagisa asked anxiously when they came back up in front of where the rest of the group waited.

"It went really well," Kagome smiled with a nod. She reached down into the water and removed the strap around her thighs before continuing, "Just one more thing that I need to check." Once she and Haru had their straps and fins off and on the edge of the pool, Kagome reached into her bag and fished out a stopwatch. "Waterproof," she said as she showed it off. Turning back to Haru, she explained, "What you're going to do is push as much of the air from your lungs as you can, take a deep breath, and then we'll both go under. I also want to check your pulse rate up here and then again underwater. That okay?"

Haru nodded as he handed over his wrist and Kagome felt around until she found his pulse. At the same time, Haru pushed the air from his lungs with a long exhale, took a deep breath, and the two went under together as Kagome started to time him.

Kagome still held onto Haru's wrist and felt for any change in his pulse, but when she felt the change, she was surprised. 'It's actually slowing down?' She thought. 'That usually takes training. Most people have their hearts speed up.'

The two continued to sit on their knees under the water and stare at each other. There really wasn't much else to do. Kagome almost blew the whole test as she bit back a laugh. Haru just looked so incredibly bored as he sat there with his dark hair waving around him. 'He really would make a great merman,' she thought as she looked him over under the water. He just sort of seemed to fit that environment and looked natural in it. It occurred to her that they would actually make a great pair since they both had black hair and blue eyes. 'I wonder what color tail he'll get?' She thought absently but came back to the moment when Haru moved towards the surface again.

They both gasped slightly as the took in the oxygen they'd been depriving themselves, and Kagome looked down at her stopwatch. "A little over two minutes," she said before looking up to the blue-eyed man. "That's a really good starting time! Some breathing exercises to work on your lung capacity and you'll be up to four or five minutes in no time." Pausing as a thought struck her, Kagome gave Haru an appraising look before she said, "Smile."

"What?" He asked confused at the command.

"I don't think I've seen you smile at all since we've met," she explained. "Aside from all of the swimming and tricks, you have to actually interact with guests and look happy doing it. So let me see your smile."

Haru faltered for a moment before he forced a very small smile. He hated every second of it, but if it would get him closer to this job, he'd do it. The smile faded completely and a frown took its place when Kagome started laughing.

"I'm so sorry," she gasped around her giggles. "That…that was just the grumpiest smile I think I've ever seen." She took a few breaths to calm her unprofessional behavior and eventually said, "You know what, don't worry about it. We can probably sell having a merman with a more serious nature. I'll smile enough for the both of us."

"Does that mean he passes?" Makoto asked from where he and the others stood above the two in the pool. They were all waiting with baited breath for Kagome's answer.

"I'll still have to clear it with my boss and get all of the paperwork done, but yeah, it's safe to say that he's hired," Kagome smiled up at the other men with a nod.

Haru immediately turned to face Goro and said frankly, "I quit."

Goro rubbed a hand over his face. Part of him wanted to be angry or irritated at Haru's resignation, but he knew that was just how Haru was. "Fine," he ground out. "You were never that great at teaching kids anyway."

Makoto looked down at his friend in time to see the barest hint of a smile tug at the corners of Haru's mouth.