The Twelfth Lane

A/N: Fun fact! I can't swim. Haha That being said, a lot of these numbers I'm using for the times are just what I've researched from online. (For the 100 meter course, for those curious) Which, unsurprisingly, is a lot more difficult to pinpoint than you would think. So, I appreciate all of you that give suggestions about what would sound a lot more believable and I've gone back to make that a little more consistent. So, thank you!

And DEAR LORD. These new episodes are just SINGING to my soul. I am SO in love with the new Samezuka team. I just miss Seijuurou ;A;

Also! You're more than welcome to follow me on my tumblr (I'm kaytoko on there as well) to follow all my stupid screaming about swimming boys and other fandoms I dabble in along with catching all the tumblr exclusive oneshots and drabbles I tend to write in between writing this story. So if you need more SeiGou, that's a good place to find more!

But enough from me. Onward to the story!
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Chapter Seven

"I've made a terrible mistake," Gou groaned, flopping face down on Nitori's bed.

The other boy gave her a sympathetic smile from his spot at his desk. "It's not that bad, Gou-kun. You've just got to keep trying."

"No, I can't,' she moaned. "The math gods are out to get me. I'm never going to pass this test."

"You passed the English one fine two weeks ago. I think you'll be able to do this one as well," Nitori said calmly, going back to writing out a set of flashcards for a different class.

Gou made a dramatic groan again, but she knew that he was right. He was a much better tutor than she could have ever asked for, and an even better friend. Over the three weeks she had spent at Samezuka, Nitori had quickly become her closest friend and biggest support. He reminded her a lot of Chigusa, if Chigusa was a shier boy, but the familiarity of their friendship was relaxing for her. It helped take her mind off the more stressful things that plagued her mind. Like the upcoming race with Shinichi Satoru.

The following day after she threw her challenge at the record holder of the butterfly, she immediately started regretting her impulsive decision to confront him. Throughout her entire childhood, Rin had always been the better swimmer in their family and, as a younger sister who was constantly teased by her brother, it was only natural for her to rise up to a challenge. Especially when it came to swimming. She didn't even give it a second thought. Two weeks later, the cutoff date for the relay teams was coming up quick, and she was starting to regret not just choosing somebody easier to race. Because Shinichi wasn't just laughing at her challenge and remaining confident that he was going to win, he was improving every day and breaking his own records to prove it. His fastest time started out as a solid minute, and after two weeks of constant practice, he broke it twice and it now sat at an unreachable 58 seconds. Even at Gou's fastest, she could still only garner a 1.01, and for the first time since she started swimming with Samezuka, she was feeling like she had bit off way more than she could chew.

Rolling on her side, she absentmindedly flicked a crunched up ball of paper off the bed towards Nitori, watching it roll across the floor to settle beside his feet. He looked down at it before casually kicking it back, giving his friend an uncertain look when Gou didn't react to it. He gave his pencil a couple twirls around his thumb before speaking up.

"Are you actually that worried about the math test, or is it something else?" he asked.

"I'm still having nightmares about long division, if that's what you mean," Gou responded with a wince.

"Ha. Ha," Nitori said, unamused. "You know what I'm asking about, Gou-kun."

Gou sighed and rubbed at her eyes. "I dunno, Ai-kun," she said quietly. "Maybe I'm not meant to be better than this. He's already broken his own record twice and I haven't even touched his first one. How am I supposed to out swim him like this?"

Nitori hummed slightly, thinking it over. "Maybe the answer is a lot clearer than you think," he said after a moment. "It kinda sounds like you're overthinking it."

"Is it even possible to overthink swimming?" Gou asked flatly.

"You're the one doing it, not me," Nitori responded. "All I'm saying is that you're overdoing something. Maybe you should give it some thought."

Gou a face and stuck her tongue out at him, but tucked his advice away in the back of her head. She glanced down at the time on her phone and groaned as she went to sit up. "I've gotta go. I promised Mikoshiba-senpai that I would run an extra practice tonight before the meeting in the morning. Something about 'one last blast to do your best!' or whatever." She grimaced as she pulled her duffel bag over her shoulder. "He's been way too enthusiastic about helping me out since I challenged Satoru. It's almost scary…"

"I'll send your family flowers when you die," Nitori said back earnestly. Gou tossed her shoe at him as she went to leave. "Just remember, Gou-kun," he said as she opened the door. "Don't think too much and you'll do fine. I know you can do it."

She smiled in response. "Thanks, Ai-kun."

She knew he had good intentions, and maybe he really was onto something, but after run after run of crappy times and building frustrations, Gou couldn't think of anything except improving. After a particularly slow run, Seijuurou just sighed and kneeled down by the edge of the pool where she was still trying to catch her breath. She looked up at him, getting the feeling that whatever he was going to say, it wasn't going to be good.

"Something tells me that you're distracted," he said.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly, pulling herself out of the water. "I know I can do better."

"I know you can do better too," he agreed. "But knowing that isn't really going to change your times right now." Gou pressed her lips together, disappointment settling like a rock in her stomach. She slowly pulled the swim cap off her head, watching the droplets fall from her hair as Seijuurou moved to sit down beside her. He placed his stopwatch and clipboard down and turned to give her his full attention. "Why don't you tell me what's on your mind."

Gou twisted her fingers into the plastic straps of her goggles, trying to fight through the thickness forming in her throat. "It's stupid…"

"If it's holding you back, then it's not stupid," Seijuurou responded simply. "What is it?"

She glanced over at him uncertainly before giving a quiet sigh. "It's just… I'm not improving," she said. "There's still so much I need to accomplish before the end of this month and if I can't make the relay team…" She let her words trail off as the cold fingers of failure squeezed at her heart.

Seijuurou eyed her for a moment. "This is about Shinichi Satoru, isn't it?"

She shrugged slightly. "Maybe it was too cocky of me to challenge him."

Seijuurou just laughed at that. "Hardly. The kid needed something to kick his ass back into gear. At least now he's swimming the way he should be."

"Which doesn't help me at all," Gou sighed. "It's just… How am I supposed to defeat somebody who just keeps getting better? It's like, no matter how hard I try, he's just one step ahead of me. And at this rate, I'm never going to catch up to him in time."

She kicked at the water slightly, feeling a little more down than the moment before. From beside her, she heard Seijuurou hum slightly as he thought over her words. "Well, you're not wrong," he said. Gou frowned at the thoughtful certainty in his tone. "But you're not quite right either."

She glanced over at him feeling a little confused. "What does that mean?"

"It means you're overthinking things," he told her. She stared at him, hearing the echo of Nitori's advice in her head. "You're right that you're not going to catch him at this rate," he continued. "You're trying to fight him on his own playing field when he's already got the mechanics down to an art. It's almost impossible to beat him at his own game." He looked over at her, a small smile on his lips. "But that's not how you swim."

She pressed her lips together, a hesitant feeling bubbling up in her chest.

"Do you know why I agreed to train you, Matsuoka?" Seijuurou asked. She shook her head uncertainly. "It's because I saw something in you that I haven't seen in people for a long time." He reached out lightly to tap the edge of her collarbone, right above her heart. "Determination. You have something to prove and you're willing to do anything to make that dream come true. You don't swim perfect, Gou-kun, but your swimming has passion, and that's why I know you can beat him."

He gave her a smile that warmed her heart somewhere deep in her chest. She watched as he picked up his stopwatch and his clipboard and went to stand up again. He offered her a hand to help stand up, which she took and let him lift her to her feet. He placed a warm, encouraging hand on her shoulder.

"Stop thinking about how to swim," he told her. "Just swim."

She let a smile curl up on her lips as the determination she hadn't felt in a couple weeks came roaring back to life in her heart. It was about time she stopped moping around and actually did something to change her circumstances. "Right."
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The next morning, Gou was feeling a little more confident in herself as she headed out for morning practice that Saturday. She met Nitori and Ryuu in the pool area, ready to swim when she realized something else was going on. Nobody was in the pool and they were all gathered around the meeting board, passing around a stack of papers to take. Gou picked one off the top of the stack it passed by and read the bolded title that was written in a funky font that was supposed to be fun.

Samezuka Summer Training Camp!

She felt a rock plummet in her stomach and she elbowed Ryuu in the ribs who unceremoniously yelped at the attack. "What is this?" she demanded.

"Jeez, what did I ever do to you?" he groaned, rubbing his side. "What's the big deal? They announced this trip last week. We're heading out to an island to a special training facility that we go to every year. Weren't you paying attention?"

She was sort of starting to recall the meeting that supposedly happened, when Seijuurou called them to attention at the front of the room. "Okay, listen up! Our summer training camp starts this afternoon! We'll be clocking your times today to give you a goal to work towards by the end of this week, so be sure to give it your all! As soon as you finish, you're free to leave and go pack your stuff. The busses leave no later than 3 pm, so don't be late! You'll get your room charts when we arrive at the island, so don't ask me about that anymore, got it?"

There was a chorus of responses from the team around her, but Gou's eyes were stuck on the line in the packet that explained their rooming situations. They were going to be put into four large rooms to conserve club funds, so they were suggested to pack light and not do any "weird squirmy stuff that nobody would want to see". This usually wouldn't have been much of an issue to her, but this would be the first time she had to sleep in a room with somebody besides Seijuurou at Samezuka, and she was suddenly feeling a whole lot more nervous than she did before.

"Hey, everything okay, Gou-kun?" Nitori asked. "You look a little pale."

"N-no, I'm good," she forced out with a weak smile. "Everything's fine."

Nitori didn't look entirely convinced but chose not to press her on the subject. Which was probably better, because Gou couldn't get her head together enough to keep her story straight in that moment. The practice ended quickly with everyone's times being written down and Gou didn't even bother to stick around to hear what it was. She ran back to the dorm rooms to figure out a game plan for this week long trip that she so conveniently forgot about. She slowly packed her duffel bag, giving herself a pep talk as she stuffed a couple tampons into the secret interior pockets.

"It's okay. You've done this before. You've just gotta be careful, Gou," she said to herself. "Watch your back, be alert. Act manly. Everything should be fine."

An hour and a half into the trip and Gou was completely certain that everything was, in fact, not fine. She realized very quickly that she was lucky to have a roommate like Seijuurou and friends like Nitori. Ryuu was the closest thing she had to a bus full of teenage boys and even then it was still overwhelming for her. It was just loud voices, thrown objects and whistles as they drove past pretty girls walking on the sidewalks. The whole thing was just giving her a headache and she tried to curl up into a ball into her seat and ignore it the best she could. It only lasted a little bit before something was bounced against her head and she bolted upright with a nasty glare at whomever did it. From the seat behind her, Ryuu laughed, holding a ball in his hand.

"What the hell," she hissed at him.

"Woaah. Calm down, Matsuoka," he said cheerfully. "This trip is supposed to be fun. What are you so stressed out for?"

Gou gave a drawn out sigh and flopped back in her chair. "It's nothing…"

"Alright, whatever," Ryuu said. "Now listen up! I have things to tell you about Sakarai-san. Turns out she's actually pretty well-versed with sports, which is surprising because she's so book smart, y'know? She said her favorite sport was baseball, but she said she could easily like swimming because it's such a quick exciting race. She even said she'd come to one of our competitions when they get started."

"Not that she'll see you swim or anything," Takeshi commented beside him.

Ryuu shoved him. "I'll be at one of the competitions this year. I'm almost good enough to run some singles races in the lower divisions." He paused for a second and looked back over at his friend. "What are you doing here? You don't even swim."

"I don't have to swim to enjoy a vacation to an island," Takeshi casually responded, taking a sip out of his juice box.

"It's not a vacation," Ryuu protested. "It's an intensive training camp that tests the minds and bodies of young boys and helps them reach their full potential to become fully grown men. This isn't just a vacation. It's a journey."

"Maybe a journey for you," Takeshi said, sliding back to his seat. "But I'm just here to enjoy summer vacation."

Ryuu rolled his eyes. "Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that Sakarai-san is finally warming up to me. I'm getting a good feeling. She might actually… like me."

"And I like Cheese Whiz," someone else shouted from the front of the bus. "Sit down, Yamaguchi!"

Ryuu threw the ball in his hands toward the boy who shouted, cracking a laugh when the other boy got smacked straight between the eyes. He dropped back down to his seat as the ball came hurdling back over his head. "Anyway. What I'm trying to say is that I think things are going well. Do you think maybe she'll say yes if I ask her out?"

"I don't think anybody would say yes if you asked them out," Takeshi commented beside him. Ryuu elbowed him again.

"I dunno," Gou said slowly, giving it a little thought. "It sounds like she's interested, but you can't be too sure."

Ryuu looked a little defeated. "Why not?"

"Because," she said, turning around to face him. "Girls are complicated. They could be really nice to you all the time, but you'll never know if she's just being polite or not. Girls naturally take a more passive stance when it comes to dealing with boys that like them. They don't want to hurt your feelings if they don't like you back."

There was a beat of silence in which Gou realized her statement was a little too insightful on the female mind. She coughed slightly, straightening her shoulders and pretended not to notice the knowing stare Takeshi was giving her again. "I mean, yeah, absolutely. If you ask her out she's gotta say yes. I mean, who could resist those manly charms, right? Manly. Manliness…"

"Um…" Nitori gave her a strange look, turning to face the other two behind them as well. "I think what Gou-kun is actually trying to say is that you should be careful. You can't know for sure right away, so you should just take things slow for a while."

"He's right," Takeshi chimed in calmly. He closed his eyes to sip at his juice box again and Gou gave a quiet breath of relief at the release of his knowing stare. She had a feeling he was onto her from the very first day she transferred to Samezuka. She had far too many close encounters with him already and he wasn't the oblivious type like Ryuu was. She didn't want to admit it, but having him on this trip actually made her a little nervous.

"I dunno," Ryuu was saying when she came out of her reverie again. "Maybe I'm not really doing anything right. Why are girls so complicated?"

"They're not complicated," Takeshi said with a loud sound of air being sucked out of the now empty juice box. "You're just dumb."

"That's it! I've had enough of you!" Ryuu exclaimed and started wailing on Takeshi who gleefully fought back. The two of them wrestled loudly in the seat behind Gou, the rest of the bus gradually getting louder with people cheering them on. She'd seen them fight like this before and knew it was all just lighthearted fun, but she couldn't help but feel her headache starting to return. Just an hour and a half in and she could already tell that this was going to be a long trip.

Two hours later, Gou was jostled awake by the bus misjudging how far away a curb was, a chorus of alarmed shouts tricking into loud laughs chasing away what remained of her nap. She stifled a yawn and looked out the window, noticing that they had finally neared their destination, the curve of an island coast running parallel with the bus. The sun was already sinking lower on the horizon, slowly starting to cast an orange glow on the sparkling surface of the ocean. She watched the beach roll by them for another ten minutes as they pulled into the parking lot of the ryokan, its traditional decorations and rice paper doors already calling her name. She could feel the excitement of the other boys on the bus as they started to stand up and grab their things from the bins above their heads, the buzz of enthusiasm encouraging her onto her feet as well. She stretched out her tired limbs some, pulling her arms over her head when something caught her eye. She paused and looked out the window, her heart immediately dropping to her stomach at the sight.

"Ai-kun," she said softly, catching Nitori's attention as he pulled their bags down from the top compartment. "Is that who I think it is…?"

Nitori leaned over to look out the window as well. "Oh, look at that. Iwatobi did decide to join us after all."

"Iwatobi?" Ryuu repeated. "Isn't that where you went to school, Matsuoka?"

She could already feel the anxiety pooling in her stomach as she watched the group of white and blue jacket wearing boys enter the ryokan next to theirs. She was already not excited to spend a whole week in close quarters with a huge amount of boys and it really wasn't helping that the only people who could possibly expose her secret without even trying stayed in the room next to them. She was going to have to think of some kind of quick solution and fast or everything she had worked for would be completely in vain.

It wasn't until after the sun had gone down and they had settled into their rooms that Gou managed to think of some sort of semi-decent plan. In her state of panic, she somehow came up with five different plausible stories just in case somebody asked one of the Iwatobi boys and found out the truth before she could do damage control, but as they started to settle in for bed to prepare for the next early morning, she was relieved that she might not have to use more than just one. She waited until she started hearing soft snores from the boys around her before she quietly snuck out of the room and made a beeline for the hotel next door. It didn't take her long to find which room the boys were staying in, thanks to Nagisa's love for staying up late to watch the stars, and she found her brother's old friends all sitting out on the back porch of one of the rooms, looking up at the sky. She snuck her way over to them and cleared her throat a couple times to catch their attention, their eyes going wide as if they had seen a ghost when they looked at her.

"Rin…?" Makoto asked into the night at a whisper.

"No," Haru corrected him softly. "It's Gou."

"Eh?!" Nagisa exclaimed loudly. "Gou-chan!? Why do you look exactly like Rin-chan?!"

"Shh!" she said quickly, looking around to see if anybody had heard. "It's kind of a long story."

"The girl's swim team got cut, so you decided to sneak into our rival school's swim team as a boy to prove that girls can swim just as strongly as boys can," Rei said coolly, pushing his glasses up on his nose.

Gou sighed. "Okay, so it's not really that long of a story. But, hear me out! You guys know that I'm a good swimmer. I swam with you guys all the time when we were little," she explained. "I love swimming. You guys know this. And I didn't want to have to give it up just because our principal thinks boys can swim better than girls. I want to prove to him—to everyone—that girls are just as capable as boys and that we deserve a chance to do what we love too. You guys understand… right?"

The four boys looked between each other, Makoto finally breaking the ice with an understanding smile. "Of course, Gou-chan."

"Yeah, Gou-chan!" Nagisa agreed. "You've definitely got what it takes to show them whose boss!"

She felt a huge wave of relief rush over her that she hadn't felt in weeks. "I knew I could count on you guys," she said with a smile. "So, then, do you think you guys could help me out in keeping my story straight? Nearly everyone on the Samezuka team knows I transferred from Iwatobi. I can imagine that a few of them would be curious enough to ask somebody from here about my old record."

"And I'm assuming you just want us to tell the truth, correct?" Rei supplied. "With a few adjusted pronouns of course."

"No need to sugarcoat it," she said with a slight smile. "I wouldn't have taken on this challenge if I didn't have the credentials to back it up."

"That's what I like to hear," Rei agreed.

"I just have one question, Gou-chan," Makoto said. "Does Rin know about this?"

"Actually… No," Gou said, averting her eyes slightly. "And I'd rather keep this a secret from him a little longer, if you don't mind. I can't imagine that he'd take me sneaking into another school dressed as a boy very well." The other boys mumbled quiet agreements with her statement. "Well anyway, I've gotta get back to the room before anyone notices that I'm gone. Thanks for hearing me out, you guys. And helping me out with my thing."

"You're welcome, Gou-chan," Makoto said kindly.

"Go show them who's the man!" Nagisa cheered.

She waved them goodbye with a content smile on her face as she started following her path back to the other hotel. For the first time in a long time, she was starting to feel like things were finally going her way. She was still kind of nervous about some things, but her biggest worry since they arrived at the island seemed to be covered, and now she could finally focus all her energy on what really mattered. She turned the corner of the ryokan with a skip in her step only to run face-first into whatever was standing there. She stumbled back a few steps, feeling a little disoriented until she realized just who exactly she had run into. She shot a panicked look back around the corner where the Iwatobi boy's room was and realized it wasn't that far away and judging from the look on Seijuurou's face, he had heard every single word.

It only took her three seconds to fully realize just how fatal the situation really was and her fate was sealed by his next three words.

"You're a… girl?"