Makoto was drowning.

Makoto was drowning and Haru didn't think he'd ever been as scared in his entire life.

He'd been limp in the water when Haru had caught up to him, unnaturally so – the only other time Haru could remember Makoto being anything like it had been long, long ago, when they were younger, when they were practicing for that relay with Rin, when Rin had still been their friend. He'd frozen in the water, but Rin had saved him then, when Haru himself had been confused and slightly disturbed by it and had done nothing. But it was his turn to save Makoto now. With his arms firmly around his best friend, Haru swam as fast as he could, faster than he ever had before, desperate to get them to the closest shore so he could check Makoto and find the reason for his stillness.

He'd staggered up the shore, his desperate grip on his friend's limp form loosening with his exhaustion and felt a pang of guilt when Makoto's body hit the sand with a soft thump. But Makoto didn't stir through the fall, which worried him even more.

"Makoto...Makoto!" He still wasn't stirring, not even when Haru grabbed his shoulders and shook him, distress making him rough and his grip too tight. But he'd worry about that later, once Makoto woke up. If only he would wake up. "Wake up!"

For a brief moment, panic ruled his mind. He didn't know what to do. Makoto wouldn't wake up. Makoto, who had been by his side from before he could remember. Makoto, who Haru couldn't imagine a life without. Makoto wouldn't wake up and he didn't know what to do.

"Someone..." He looked around, frantic – he needed someone to help. Someone to tell him what to do. Because Makoto wouldn't wake up. There had to be someone. "Is anyone there?! Nagisa? Rei!" But the beach was empty and Haru could feel that desperation swell within him, threatening to consume him. He didn't know if they had made it to shore, didn't know if they were okay. And Makoto wouldn't wake up.

He needed to calm down. This panic wouldn't help anyone. Crying out frantically wasn't going to do anything. He needed to calm down. He brought his thumb to his mouth, pressing it between his teeth, trying to use the sensation to help him focus and noticed his hand was shaking. It was a conscious effort to force the fear to the back of his mind.

First things first – Makoto needed immediate attention. He tried to remember what he knew about lifeguarding and first aid. Ah! Listen to the chest! Check the breathing!

He lowered hi s head to Makoto's chest and held his breath to listen. It felt like too long before he heard anything, but there! A beat, faint and sluggish...then another, then another. He sat back and sighed to himself in relief. Until a thought occurred to him – what if he was injured? But a quick sweep of his body showed nothing. Then what...

He put his hand to Makoto's cheek and turned his head gently towards him so he could put an ear to his mouth and listen to his breathing, only to hear the faintest rasp, too shallow to do much of anything.

"His breathing is so weak..." What were you supposed to do in this situation? Haru wished he could remember more. CPR? That was if his heart wasn't beating, right? Then, mouth to mouth, to help him breath? That seemed like the best course for now. But, first there was something – yes, tilt the head back to clear the airways...then, pinch the nose...the mouth falls open and...

Makoto chose that moment to take a sudden, gasping breath that didn't quite make it past his throat and turned to the side, coughing out bile and sea water, choking and wheezing. Haru leaned over him, equal parts relief and concern warring within as he called his name until Makoto looked back at him, eyes glazed and confused.

"Are you okay?"

Makoto was slow to respond, eyes roving around him, and when he did his voice was weak and raspy. "Where are we?"

Was disorientation a bad sign, or was it normal? "I'm guessing this is Sukishima," he supplied helpfully, "The island facing the tents."

"Where's Rei?" Makoto levered himself up on shaking arms and turned his head to look around. But when he saw nothing, he grew frantic. "Rei!"

"You shouldn't be moving around! You need to rest!" Haru tried to calm him down. Makoto had just survived one hell of an ordeal, had nearly drowned and Haru could see the way his body was shaking and weak. It made Haru want to kick himself for allowing this expedition to the ocean to happen in the first place. If he worked himself up now, he'd get worse. And for Haru as well, now that Makoto had woken up and was out of immediate danger, that initial panic had worn off, receding to the back of his mind where the image of his best friend's limp body would haunt his nightmares. He'd seen Nagisa grab Rei and dive under an especially large wave and had lost sight of them then, too focused on saving Makoto. But he had faith in Nagisa's abilities and was sure he had gotten Rei and himself to shore, even if it was a different part. They'd had different trajectories, after all.

Except Makoto was trying to lever himself onto his feet, his face a picture of fear and determination as he tried to head right back into the ocean. Haru wasn't sure what he was thinking, with that look on his face, and it concerned him. "What are you doing? You nearly drowned!"

"But Rei's in trouble! Rei – you don't understand, there's – he's going to get pulled under! It's going to – he's going to drown!"

Haru found himself grabbing him and pulling him back down, a feat that was easier than it should have been because of how unsteady he was. "Nagisa's taking care of it!" Makoto froze in his arms and looked at him. Haru kept his hold on him firm as he tried to make his voice more reassuring. "You don't need to worry."

But Makoto didn't look as relieved as he should have at that information, turning back to look at the still raging ocean and the ongoing storm with a worried frown on his face. "Nagisa..."

Haru took his moment of distraction to pull his Makoto further up the beach, to a sheltered spot under the jut of a rock. Makoto didn't resist him, caught in some inner struggle of his own.

There was a moment of indecision where Makoto seemed to be fighting with himself, and Haru could see all sorts of things flitting over his face, but the strongest ones he could pick up were fear and despair. He didn't understand why they were there. Then Makoto turned to him, apprehension clear on his face, even as he tried to hide it – Haru had known him for too long for Makoto to be able to really successfully hide anything. And this expression – Haru had seen it before, though it hadn't been on Makoto's face for a while now. When they were younger, he'd had nightmares that had trapped him and when Haru had woken him from them, had asked what he'd dreamed about, he'd have this look on his face. Like he wanted to say so much, but in the end he would only say that he'd dreamt he was drowning. And Haru had never pushed, because Makoto had looked like he might break.

"Haru...when we were in the water..." Makoto's voice was hesitant, even though he finally convinced himself to speak. Haru held his gaze, unwilling to let that hesitation stop him here. "You didn't...you didn't see anything, right? Nothing happened when you got to me...right?"

"...What are you talking about?" Makoto was searching his face and it made him want to answer in a way that would ease his distress. But he could only say, honestly, "There was nothing. Why are you asking? Was there something there? Did it bite you?"

"Nothing? Definitely nothing?"

Maybe something had bit him. Or stung him. There were a multitude of things in the sea after all. But could a toxin make Makoto act like this?

"There was nothing." Haru put conviction in his tone, because not only was it the truth, it also made Makoto's face relax. He watched it ease and thought maybe he could push a little more for some kind of explanation. "Makoto?"

He didn't get further than that because Makoto covered his face with his hands and Haru could see the faint trembling in his shoulders. So he put his hand on his back, they way he had after the nightmares and they sat for a while in silence.

~#~

Rin didn't know what woke him up – it was just some indescribable feeling, like something was calling him. In his daze, he could feel it, pulling him somewhere and he wanted to follow it. The clock said it was just past two in the morning and when he looked out the window, he could see there was a fierce storm raging outside. He slid his feet off the bed, barely feeling the cold floor and not completely aware of his feet leading him past Nitori's bed, towards the door.

As he lowered his hand to the door handle, he heard Nitori's sleepy voice calling him. "Senpai? What are you doing up?"

He had heard a voice, clear as crystal, but Nitori's calling to him woke him fully out of his dreamlike state and even as he woke it was already fading away. It filled him with inescapable feeling of loss.

"Ah, I thought I heard something, but it was nothing. I just woke up because I was thirsty, I guess."

"Oh. Well, I filled a bottle earlier from the fountain. Here, you can have some, senpai." The other boy handed him a bottle from his bedside, still full.

"Thanks, Nitori. Go back to sleep." He gets back into bed and closes his eyes, but the moment haunts him. The voice had sounded like his father.