Forward Momentum (rei ryugazaki love story) Chapter Three
Kenichi, Kenji and I walk to school the next morning.
"~yawns~" I look at Kenji,
"Woah, that was a big one." I state. Kenichi just smiles.
"Hey, Sis,"
"Yeah, Kenichi?"
"Remember, you're rooting for the Swim Club today. So, don't worry about coming with us after school."
"Huh? But, Kenichi-"
"Hito-kun!" I see Rei and Nagisa, waving to me. I give Nagisa a blank stare.
"Hito-kun? Really?" I turn back to my brothers, "I'll see you later." I walk towards them,
"Hey, Hitomi!" Nagisa says. "Morning!"
"Hee, hee. Morning to you too, Nagisa, Rei."
"Morning, Hitomi." Rei says, with a hint of blush. I smile.
"Ready for your race against Samezuka? I know you guys will be great!"
"So, your brothers are okay with you watching?" Nagisa asks, with hopes that I say yes.
"Oh, yeah. They're cool."
"It's just, yesterday at lunch, you stood and said something to your brothers on how something's unfair or other."
"Oh, you heard that, huh?"
"Yeah, did something happen?"
"No, just a normal brother/sister argument. Trust me, okay?" I smile; Nagisa and Rei aren't stupid. I can see they know that I'm just full of shit. But, I can't REALLY tell them what's wrong.
"Well, okay." Rei finally says, adjusting his glasses.
It's finally after school, I decide to head back home and see if Shion and Yumi want to come with and help support the swim team. Shion has his green and yellow striped swimming shorts and Yumi in a pink one piece with a white skirt. I'm in the same style swimsuit except it's white with a light purple skirt.
"Alright, everybody's suits fit?" Both kids nod yes. We get out of our suits and in our street clothes. All three of us in jeans. Shion in a black T-shirt, Yumi in a red polka-red summer dress that's made to go with jeans. I wear a white, long sleeve shirt and a blue T-shirt with a white, knitted beanie hat I slip on, rest of my hair just hangs, pony tail still. I pack the swim suits and towels and some bottles of water. Dad is home, doing some DIY maintenance work. "Kay, Dad, we are heading out." I say.
"Alright, you kids be careful." My dad says. Shion says,
"Bye, Daddy! We'll be back soon!" Smiling, Dad wishes us well and to have fun.
We finally make it to the Iwatobi SC Returns. I'm trying to find Nagisa, figuring out where we're supposed to go. The place is crowded with people and kids.
"Yo, Hitomi!" I turn behind me and it's Gou coming this way.
"Oh, hey! I guess we made it in time, huh?"
"Yep, they just headed in the changing room. Oh?" Noticing Shion and Yumi, she bends to their height. "I'm Gou. What's your names?" I can feel their grips on my legs getting tighter.
"I'm sorry, Gou. They're both shy." She stands back up,
"Oh, it's okay. Are they your younger siblings?"
"Yes; my brother, Shion and my sister, Yumi."
"Wow, I pictured you being the baby of the family."
"Nope, not anymore. Yumi is now."
After helping Shion and Yumi change in their suits, I change in my suit and grab our towels and head to the pool.
"Now, we walk, don't run. They won't start without you." We enter through the doors and people are everywhere! From the pool to the bleachers, swimming and having fun. A blond, older man appears in a coaching outfit.
"Hello there, youngers."
"Oh, hello, sir." I greet back to him.
"I'm Sasabe and I'm the coach of this place."
"Nice to meet you, sir. I'm Hitomi and this," Pointing down, "Is my brother, Shion and sister, Yumi." He bends to their height and smiles,
"Nice to meet you, Shion and Yumi. Would you like to be part of the doggie paddle race?" They look at me in approval. I smile.
"Sasabe, is it okay if I'm in the water with them to guide them? And, so they don't freak out?"
"Of course, of course!" We make it in the pool and it's made of three small lines of kids. Parents are with their kids. I hear on the overhead,
"Final call for the kiddies doggie paddle race!"
"Hitomi?"
"Huh?" I look to my right and I see Makoto, in his swim suit; black with green stripes. "Oh, Makoto! Hi!" 'Wow! His muscles!' I smile.
"It's good to see you here. Nagisa was wondering if you were coming."
"I'm sorry if I'm late. I was taking care of my little brother and sister."
"You have younger siblings!? Me too!" As he pats a young boy's and girl's head. "This is Ren and Ran." They both smile; I would say just a few years older than Shion, but still in grade school, no doubt about that.
"Nice to meet you. My name's Hitomi." They notice my siblings. "This is Shion and Yumi." As they hide behind me. "Oh, come on!"
"Ah haha! It's okay, Hitomi." Makoto says.
*whistle blows* The whistle blows, starting the doggie paddle race. Makoto and I are the last to jump in the pool, since we each have two kids.
The last kid in front of us paddles along. Makoto and I get in the pool.
"Brr! It's freezing!"
"You'll get used to it." Makoto says. We put on our cap and goggles. Yumi and Ran are first.
Rei's POV
We make it to the pool and see Makoto with his brother and sister, along with Hitomi and two younger kids.
"Ah, see! Hitomi did come!" Nagisa says, getting excited to see Hitomi.
*whistle blows* And they are off. The two kids are doing good, Hitomi and Makoto teaching and supporting them. Hitomi and Makoto look like they are talking, but it's too hard to hear them. She nods her head to something. The two kids make it to the end, Makoto and Hitomi swim back, but, Hitomi dives underwater.
"What the-?" I walk close to the pool and Hitomi is swimming underwater. Her hands are by her sides, she's only using her legs to move. My eyes widen, "She's so beautiful. The way she moves under the water," She would make like a roll while swimming, "She swims like the perfect mermaid." Haruka comes next to me,
"She has no fear of the water. It's embracing her. You can see it." I look back to her; he's right. She looks so carefree under the water. Makoto and Hitomi are neck to neck considering the different swim styles they are using. Makoto finishes first and Hitomi second. The kids cheer as well as some of the other swimmers around them.
Hitomi's POV
I resurface from the water and Makoto gives a surprise look.
"Wow! I didn't know you could swim like that! How did you learn to swim like that?"
"Sis has always swam like that!" Shion says. "She's like a mermaid, isn't she?" He smiles happily.
"Ah, heh heh. Thanks, Shion." I praise.
The doggie paddle race is over. Makoto says,
"Next up is the Hold Your Breath contest. Are you planning to participate?"
"Yeah, that was a plan." I smile.
"I'll do it with you."
"Okay!"
"Hito-kun!" We look and Nagisa swims to us with his swim wear. "The Hold Your Breath contest, huh?"
"Yeah!" I notice Haru and Rei standing, talking to each other. I smile and wave to them. Haru nods and Rei waves back.
*whistle blows* Us, along with other participants sink in the water.
Rei's POV
"Hey, Rei." Turning around, Rin is walking towards us.
"Oh, hi, Rin."
"How come you're not participating?"
"You know I can't swim well." I look back at the contestants, popping out from the water. Nagisa resurfaces from the water and swims back to us.
"Man! I don't know how they do it." Makoto's next to resurface from the water. "What! Mako! Seriously!?" Nagisa freaks out.
"Ah, heh, heh. My lungs just couldn't make it." We look at Hitomi, who is still submerged under water. It's between her and another guy.
"Come on, Hitomi!"
"Keep holding!" Her younger siblings chant for their big sister to win. Hitomi's struggling, you can see it on her face, bubbles are coming out from both people's noses.
"Hitomi!"
"Go, Hito-kun!" Makoto and Nagisa cheer on for her. I look,
"Go, Hitomi!" I cheer too. It's getting too intense, they look like they are gonna pass out! Finally, the guy resurfaces, leaving Hitomi the victor. She resurfaces, swimming towards us.
Hitomi's POV
I swim back to the gang. My body's shaking. My siblings are cheering for me, Makoto and Nagisa are helping me out of the pool.
"Goodness, you're shaking, Hitomi." Makoto says.
"I'll get her a fresh towel." Nagisa says, taking off.
"I felt like I was gonna faint, but I couldn't lose. I can't." Rei sits by me,
"You did really great!" He smiles, I feel shy.
"Thanks." I see a maroon red head next to Rei,
"Nice job out there."
'His teeth.' Rei stands up, helping me stand up, I'm still shaking from the cold. Rei speaks,
"Hitomi, this is Rin Matsuoka; he's also Gou's brother and Captain of the Samezuka's Swim Team."
"Nice to meet you." He has a leader look in his eyes.
"I hope you welcomed Samezuka, where we will kick Iwatobi's ass in the relay race."
"Yeah, right!" Nagisa says, as he places the towel on my shoulders.
"Thank you, Nagisa. I appreciate it very much." He smiles. The sound from the overhead is being heard,
"Ladies and gentlemen," A lady speaks, "It's now time for the main event; The 200 Meter Medley Race! Let's give it up for Team Dolphin vs Team Shark!" I stand and walk with Yumi and Shion to Gou while the teams get ready. Shion, being a little boy and loves sharks,
"Go Team Shark!" Understanding that is Samezuka's swim team, making a response to Shion, doing their own cheers like 'Whoo' and all that good stuff. Yumi, doing the same but for Team Dolphin. Makoto and Nagisa wave back, giving thumbs up. I notice Rei putting his glasses away, that's when I saw his face. I can feel my face pink a little.
'Without his glasses, he's actually cute.' Makoto and another Samezuka member jump in the pool.
"Get set!" ... With the whistle blown, the race begins! Makoto and the Samezuka swimmer swim with the backstroke. Cheers from everyone, Shion and Yumi get excited and cheer for their teams.
Rei's POV
Nagisa and Nitori stand in position, ready for their turn. I look at Hitomi, with a small smile on her face. She turns her head, seeing Nagisa take his turn.
"Yeah, she's cute, isn't she?" Rin says, making a comment about Hitomi.
"For the record, as an Iwatobi student, it makes perfect sense that she would cheer for us."
"Or do you want her to cheer for you?"
"Huh? What does that mean?" His teeth show in a sly grin.
"Come on, man. She's very cute. I wouldn't mind making her MY girlfriend."
"Wha-? Hmph. You keep your mind on the race!" 'Why does that bitter me?'
Hitomi's POV
Rei dives in next, followed by Rin. I watch Rei, swimming the butterfly stroke. His stroke is so amazing. My eyes go wide, seeing how fast he is. Rin is starting to catch up.
"Go, Rei!" I cheer. He really is fast! "Come on, Rei! You can do it!" They make the turn. I put my heart on Rei to win his turn. His eyes turn to me, seeing me. I cheer again, "GO REI!" His eyes focus forward and continues to use his full momentum. I wonder when his eyes were on me, if he saw that I was cheering for him. His hands touch the pool, making him first between Rin and him. Haru jumps in, followed by the other Samezuka swim team member. Makoto helps Rei out of the pool.
Rei's POV
After I get out, I catch Hitomi looking at me. She smiles softly and looks down. I smile back,
'She's cute.'
The race ends and after celebrating victory, I went to look for Hitomi, but she already left along with her siblings. I look at the group,
"Does anyone know where Hitomi went to?" Everyone looks at each other for answers, giving out that they probably don't know.
"We didn't see her leave." Gou says.
"Who?" Miss Amakata, the swimming advisor, overhears our conversation.
"Hitomi Hirosi. She's a First year at our school." I say,
"Hirosi? Not related to the Skating Leader?"
"Skating Leader?" We all ask, except Haru of course.
"Uh, Never mind! There's an old saying, 'Curiosity kills the cat.'"
After Nagisa and I get off the train to go home, we notice some skaters skating from the right of us. Looking closer, I notice a glimpse of purple hair.
"Hey," I silently follow the group.
"Rei, wait!" Nagisa says, I turn,
"Shh!" We silently follow them to an old, abandon factory with small light gleaming out.
"Heh, heh! We did it, guys! We got through our goal of selling the steroids to the other derby skaters! For sure, they will win the District tournament and recruit us!" There's cheers from the group, but what I see before my eyes, I'm shocked the most. I see Hitomi, sitting on a box, cheering on. She's dressed in a same black shorts and gear from earlier, but is wearing tight long sleeve, black shirt that has the silk feeling to it and thumbs in the holes at the end of the sleeves.
Hitomi's POV
Maku, the gang's leader, gives me $200 for my deeds. I smile, knowing that my college tuition is adding up and I can get out of this town. I went to put the cash in my pocket and when I turn my head, my heart starts breaking. Guilt is sinking in my stomach, I see Rei and Nagisa on the other side of the building. Rei has a disgusted look on his face, walking away with Nagisa following. While Maku explains the next plan, I sneak away as fast as I can to catch up with Rei and Nagisa; I skate in from of them.
"Wait!" My arms spread out.
"For what, Hirosi!?" Rei says, my heart wanting to cry when he called me by my last name. "You're part of a gang? How long?" I look down, unable to look at him in the eyes. I don't answer. "Hirosi." I shut my eyes tight.
"Five months." I can hear Rei sigh in disbelief. I feel so sad, so suddenly. I look up,
"Rei, I'm sorry-"
"DON'T BOTHER!" I got scared of Rei, just how loud he's getting. "And here I called you my friend." I don't wanna hear anymore hurtful things from Rei, who I considered my friend also. I skate away from him, far away from everything and everyone.
Thanks for reading everyone! If you love this story, make sure you check out my other stories, and tell me which story you would like to see updated next. Let me know and like on my Facebook page cynderella1130 for fun pictures and what is next to be updated. send a message for any questions. and as always, keep me on your watch.
