As the sunlight crept through the gap of the bathroom window, Haru absent-mindedly cupped his hands with water and let the ray of light shone on it. This water was tamed. It was not as fierce as the water in the pool from their last tournament. For Haru, this water was not enough.

He sank in the water, letting his mind replay their recent competition. All the buzz and adrenaline rush that day kept on coming back to him. A small smile played on his lips. The feeling of owning the water, of being one with it, those were what he missed. Sort of.

But at the back of his mind, the red lights and alarms blared to life. He knew what woul come next. In fact, he knew these signs a little too well.

Haru heard the sound of footsteps coming to the bathroom and it could only mean one thing. He sighed. His time was up.

"Haru, I'm going in," Makoto said. "Just as I thought, you're here."

Haru stared, not amused.

"Don't look at me like that, we're going to be late you know," Makoto smiled and Haru sighed in resignation.

Makoto was getting more and more accustomed to Haru's morning routine. It had not been that long since Haru picked up again the habit of staying long in the tub every morning. The first time Haru missed their usual meeting time at the stony steps, Makoto came rushing inside the house, searching frantically for him. The guy almost slumped on the floor tiles when he saw Haru calmly enjoying his morning bath.

"You had me worried there," Makoto said.

Haru's chest squeezed at the sight that he almost reached out to Makoto. Almost.

Now that he's gotten used to it, Makoto just held out his hand. "Good morning, Haru."

Haru reached out and mumbled his greetings. He already missed the water when he stood up.

"You're still wearing your jammers!?"

Haru paid no mind to Makoto's remark, straightening his features when a small smile threatened to appear. Makoto's smiles were contagious, he thought.

"Please pass these forms and fill them up," Amakata-sensei told the class.

Once Haru received his, he gave it a once over and felt like a lead was dropped in his stomach. Written in the paper were questions like what would you want to do after high school and other questions which were like asking what were his orders in a fast food store. He glanced on his side and caught Makoto staring at him, not smiling for a change. He smiled a bit at Haru but the solemn look remained unwavering. Haru looked away and fixed his gaze at the bird flying outside their classroom window and he knew that he wanted to be like that bird.

Haru's class spent their homeroom waiting for their names to be called and interviewed by Amakata-sensei. Makoto was called first and told Haru that he would wait for him in the corridor. When it was his turn, Haru walked to the staff room and sat at a chair in front of his teacher. He let his thumb rolled against the other one while waiting.

Amakata-sensei stared at his form, long and hard, before finally speaking up. "What does this mean?"

"Nothing. It means what it says."

"It means what it means?" Amakata-sensei widened her eyes as she turned her gaze to Haru before putting the paper down. "Nanase-kun, you want to continue swimming, don't you?"

Haru chose to not answer her question. Why do adults think they knew before than himself?

"Someone with your athletic abilities could probably enter the sports world. Why don't you think a little more about this?" Amakata-sensei continued, pushing the paper towards Haru. When Haru remained silent, she flailed her hands trying to come up with a saying to somehow lighten up the mood. "There's a famous saying that goes: Give it a try. You won't know until you do."

Haru only sighed at that. He got up and excused himself as he walked out of the room. Makoto's eyes searched his face but Haru could not bring himself to look at him. The other guy pinched his lips and Haru waited for the next words to come out.

"Let's go home?"

Haru raised his head to look at his friend and he was only met with a soft smile. He almost laughed out of relief. Of course, this was Makoto were talking about. This was something he loved about this guy. Lo—Haru made a choking sound which he passed as cough. His face was heating up.

"Haru?" When Haru shook his head, Makoto smiled his most gentle smile. Haru gasped for air.

They walked together in silence and Haru could feel himself calming down. By the time they reached the seaside, he was alright again. Makoto asked him if he wanted to stop for a while he bought them juice. The two of them watched the waves rolled in and out of the shore as they sipped their drinks.

Makoto let out a defeated sigh. "Ama-chan-sensei said I should think things through. Easier said than done."

Haru nodded and willed himself to offer some answer when Makoto let an opening for him. "She said the same thing to me."

"So, uh, what did you choose? I mean if you don't mind!" Makoto hastily added the last sentence.

"I said I wanted to be free."

Makoto chuckled. "That's very Haru-like."

They talked a little more but Haru was barely paying attention. He was sitting beside Makoto but the same time he's nowhere. He was being taken away to a direction he did not want. But what direction did he really want?

At some point of their conversation, Makoto slipped his hand into Haru's, gently tugging him. He continued his one-sided conversation with Haru only humming in response. When Haru finally looked at Makoto's face, those green eyes were soft and warm in contrast to the strong grip in his hand as if saying I'm here. Haru took comfort to that, forgetting his troubles for the meantime.

I've only realized that I haven't mentioned about my playlist before or even the songs that inspired me with every chapter. I guess, I'll put the list in the last chapter. For this one, it's Tomorrow's Way by YUI. That's also where I got the title of this chapter.

I hope you enjoyed reading! :)