Author's Note: Hi, guys! This is the last chapter. Please enjoy!


Beginnings


The day was finally coming to an end. Usually, Haru looked forward to going homem snacking on mackerel and being able to take his nightly bath before bed, but today, for some reason, he was almost wishing the day would go on.

The day had been strange, so there should've been no reason Haru felt this way. For one, he kept feeling a ringing in his head when one of the basketball players kept apologizing for every minor thing. Makoto, too, had admitted that he felt awkward with the green-haired boy's companion: a black-haired boy who laughed far too easily. Sousuke, Haru's semi-rival in personality, kept circling a glasses-wearing boy who was accompanied by a pun-making idiot. Momotarou, one of Rin's old teammates, was also seen having a tense eating contest with a purple-haired giant.

As if these things weren't odd enough, he'd met Kuroko Tetsuya again, the boy who had asked him for advice on the beach during Golden Week. The two hadn't spoken much during that vacation, other than awkwardly introducing themselves.

When he'd first met the boy, Haru had the feeling that they were similar. Although the boy had seemed lost at the time, he now assumed a quiet, self-assured air.

That same comfortable air that had been between them was still present, and Haru found himself speaking more than usual to the blue-haired boy. Kuroko introduced him to Kagami, who had flown over from America to visit, and some of his previous senpai, Hyuuga Junpei, Kiyoshi Teppei, and Izuki Shun. Although the original team was mostly disbanded, they still had a companionable air, much like the one Haru and Makoto shared with their high school and middle school teammates.

Then there were the rivals. For Haru, it had been Rin and Ikuya, the rest of Samezuka, and now people like Albert Wåhlander and Kaede Kinjou. For Kuroko, he had a group he called the Generation of Miracles, whom he talked about with a soft smile on his face.

Teammates and rivals.

In a way, there was so much difference between the two, and in another, they were almost the same. As Haru got older, the line between the two blurred even more, and he wondered if it would someday disappear entirely.

It was night, and everyone was beginning to leave in ones and twos and threes. Haru reflected over the day's events: like when the food ran out in the first hour, and Momotarou and the purple-haired giant volunteered to get more, but had to be accompanied by Nitori and Himuro to keep them in check (some of the girls had volunteered to bring food, but they were quickly shot down for various reasons); or when the wind blew some cherry blossoms straight into Kagami's mouth. How Asahi was still struggling to come up with a pun of his own, goaded on by Izuki, and Kisumi and Kise Ryouta had suddenly left for the nearest basketball court.

Akashi had pulled a shōgi board out of nowhere, but only three people really challenged him: Midorima (who looked used to losing), Rei (who cried out in frustration when the strategy theory he'd read online didn't work), and Nao-senpai (who accepted his defeat with grace). Nagisa had managed to find another victim to his teasing in Sakurai, Natsuya and Hyuuga complained about the troubles of leadership, and Rin had somehow become friends with the surly-looking Aomine. Then Sousuke and Kiyoshi had bonded in overcoming their injuries, and Ikuya and Hiyori tried to stay detached, but even they couldn't resist Takao's persistence. Kuroko appeared and disappeared, giving Makoto and Mikoshiba Seijuurou a fright every time.

Haru always thought that it was swimming that brought him together with other people. But now, talking with Kuroko, he realized that there were other, broader ways to meet people.

Kuroko and his teammates had forged a bond through basketball. And Haru and Kuroko had met simply through their shared love of sports.

Maybe someday he'd meet people who loved volleyball or baseball. Maybe he'd become friends with fellow mackerel-worshippers or people with a strange artistic side.

It was freeing, in a way. To know that the world out there was vaster than the ocean, deeper than the waves. And that, no matter how hard he searched, there would always be surprises underneath the surface.


A/N: So this chapter alludes to the fact that there are some voice actor overlaps (Suzuki Tatsuhisa, who voices Makoto and Takao; Hosoya Yoshimasa, who voices Sousuke and Hyuuga; and Suzumura Kenichi who voices Momotarou and Murasakibara). Also, if some of you are confused by what Haru means when he mentions meeting Kuroko during Golden Week, that's because that's the story I wrote for the zine. This is basically a continuation of that.

I hope you've enjoyed this small story. Once again, thanks for reading, and if you have any comments, please let me know. I'd love to hear them!

~ J. Dominique