Wohoo! We've hit 10 chapters! Didn't expect it to go so fast! Almost done with the first season arc ( I think...) and then we'll get on to the next bit. I don't own the characters.

For the first time in her life, Haru felt as though things were going too fast. Normally she would pray that time would hurry up and let her hit the age of 21, where she would finally be considered a normal human and be allowed to live in peace without high expectations from others. But this round, she wished that she could just remained in this time of space for a little while longer. "Now, although Haruka-senpai is the only one who managed to enter regionals for her level, you guys still have to work hard. You may have improved your times, but now that you don't have the pressure of the competition ahead, use this time to train and beat your records next year!" Gou shouted as everyone pumped their fists into the air as they heard a splash.

"Ah. Haruka-senpai jumped in before I finished my inspiration speech," Gou sighed as Haru started to do her front crawl, her body sliding in and out of the water with ease. The others just continued with their stretching before jumping into the water as well, the pool soon filled with the sound of people swimming and diving. Gou kept an eye on them, watching and taking note of anything that may be different or wrong with their movements. She knew that even though she sucked at swimming big time, she could at least be a good manager and make sure they were in tip-top shape.

"Yo, Amakata-sensei! Gou-chan!" a voice shouted as Goro entered the tiny gate at the side, a bunch of equipment in his hands that he deposited onto the bench at the side. "Ah, Coach Goro. Whats with all of this?" Amakata sensei smiled as he peered at her, making her gulp. The guy had developed a habit of thinking that he had seen her somewhere and even though Gou thought she may know the answer to that mystery, the sensei would kill her if she dared to tell such a ridiculous proposition to him. "Anyway, these are for those guys, and girl," Goro said as he began to set up what looked like cameras. Gou and Amakata-sensei helped him to roll the wire over the water and soon the swimmers stopped to get a good look at what was going on.

"Eh, what you up to Goro-chan?" Nagisa asked as Goro snapped at him to not add –chan to the back of his name like he did to everyone, regardless of their gender. "This should help you guys see whats wrong with your movements and adjust to them. Although Haru may be the only one who made it to regionals, you guys can still improve. No telling if you might have to go for a competition next," Goro grinned, the reality of the three of them not making it into regionals making them more pumped than ever to prove their worth. They spent the next hour swimming and checking their movements on the screen, Goro pointing out anything they needed to change. Haru seemed to be the only one who needed the least adjustments but she still asked for advice anyway. Something in her stirred the need for her to do well in this meet

"Oh man! That was tiring!" Nagisa groaned as he stretched his arms as they walked to the train station. The sun was already setting as he and Rei walked to the train station. The others trailed behind them, Haru and Makoto exchanging thoughts to each other. Somehow over the years, they managed to develop a technique that enabled them to know what the other was thinking by their body movement and facial expressions. Now, Haru had a look on her face that prompted Makoto to stay silent and give her some space to drift off when Nagisa piped up, "Hey, I just remembered that the festival is tomorrow. Anyone up for it?"

"That would be great! You guys deserve to have a break after all the training you did, especially Haruka-senpai!" Gou said as she turned to see Haru looking pretty sullen. "Say Haruka-senpai. Have you got a yukata?" she asked. "Too troublesome to wear," she scowled as Gou grinned. "I bet Oni-chan would love to see you in one," she grinned as Haru went scarlet, trying to hide the blush as Makoto tried to stop the jealousy bubbling in his chest. "Why don't we go shopping now? I know I great place selling yukata!" Gou said and without giving Haru time to say anything, seized her by the arm and dragged her off. As Haru protested, the other three saluted her as she was dragged away by Gou, who began to go on about how cute she would look in a yukata.

"Gou is really insistent, isn't she?" Nagisa said as they waited for the train to arrive. Makoto stared at the ground, his mind wandering off as he thought about Haru. He had seen her in a yukata when they were children and she had indeed look really cute… "Makoto-senpai, aren't you going to go back? You don't normally take the train, do you?" Rei asked as Makoto gave him a weak smile. "Ah, sorry Rei. I thought I would accompany you guys on the way here. Goodnight," he said as he turned to walk away, his eyes trained to the sea in the distance. "Is Makoto-senpai alright?" Rei asked. "I don't know… he's been like this ever since Rin came back…" Nagisa said as Rei thought, "Could it be that he is in love with Haruka-senpai?"

…

Haru tugged uncomfortably at her yukata, the cloth fitting her body perfectly. She thought she looked a bit fat in it and she wanted to hide the bulge in front of the yukata, wishing she had a flatter chest. Her face was slightly red but she put on her calm face as usual and walked out. She hadn't bother to do her hair since she always thought it was a nuisance since it would get messy anyway but the regret sank in a little when she saw Makoto waiting at her door as usual. "Good evening, Haru-chan," he smiled. He was dressed in his normal clothes and he gazed at her in the yukata, trying to find the right words to say. "You look really nice," he said, thinking of how stupid he sounded when Haru mumbled, "Thanks."

They walked along the beach to where the festival was held. Kids and adults alike were walking about in yukata or normal clothing, laughing as they enjoyed themselves. Haru watched as couples walked hand in hand and she tried not to think about the idea of being a couple with Makoto. Makoto was nervous about having to walk around with Haru with the number of people whispering how cute she looked. He felt like he had to shield her from the world and protect her from others. Why was he thinking like that? She didn't belong to him…

"Haru-chan! Mako-chan! Over here!" Nagisa shouted as he and Rei came over in yukata. "Wow, you two look great!" Makoto smiled as Gou and he friend came over as well. "Wah, you look so cute, Haruka-senpai!" Gou squealed before frowning, "Why didn't you do your hair?" "Too troublesome," Haru muttered as Makoto said, "Lets go have some fried squid shall we?" The sound of seafood turned Haru's attention back to Makoto and she followed him to the footstalls, the others behind them as they pointed out the things on sale. Nagisa was going all out with buying a lot of food while Rei tried to control him while Gou and her friend kept squealing at how some of the jewelry was. Thinking of how their group was drawing a lot of attention, Haru sighed as Makoto handed her some fried squid. "Here," he smiled as she fished in her pocket for coins. "No need. Its on me," he said as Haru nodded, "Thanks."

She munched on the squid, savoring the taste it had when a voice caught her attention. As she turned to see, she felt disappointment in her as she thought she had heard Rin talking. "Yo!" Nagisa called, heaps of food in his arms as he waved at them. "Nagisa, you're going to gain weight like that," Makoto groaned as the small boy winked, "I have a high metabolism." "Where's Rei?" Haru asked as Nagisa's face slipped a little into a bit of uneasiness. "Oh, he went to the toilet," Nagisa said as he grabbed Haru by the arm. "Come on, let's go eat over there!" he chirped and Haru tried not to trip as she was dragged behind the small boy.

"He's taking an awfully long time," Haru muttered as she gazed around, occasionally picking something from the mountain of food Nagisa had bought for them. As Haru licked the candy apple in her hands, Makoto set some drinks in front of them as he looked around at the stalls. "Hey, Haru. You want to go get some goldfish?" he asked. "Too troublesome," Haru muttered as Makoto smiled his usual smile. Haru remembered how he had some pet goldfish before and when they had died, Makoto had cried so much over them.

"Yo, Rei-chan!" Nagisa called as the bespectacled boy came over, looking out of breath. "Where have you been?" Haru asked with her eyes narrowed as the boy smiled, "Stomachache." Even a stomachache wouldn't make someone go to the toilet for that long… "If you guys want, we can go play at the stalls," Makoto said as Haru stood up. "I'm going home. Feeling tired," she said as Makoto stood with her. "Then I'll come with you." "You don't have to." "You're a girl and I can't let you walk home alone on a night like this." Makoto's face turned a bit red as he said those words as he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her away, leaving the others staring at them.

"Makoto, you don't have to come with me. I can take care of myself," Haru said as Makoto replied, "I'm tired too. We're going back the same way anyway." That made Haru silent and she let Makoto pull her to his side, letting them walk together. As they walked, she thought of how Makoto was like now, taller and stronger than she was. She treasured him as a friend but now the way they were walking… when they reached the intersection leading to their houses, Haru waved goodbye as she walked to her house, closing the door and pulling off her shoes. As she walked through the living room, she paused in front of the mirror, looking at her reflection as she thought, "What would Rin have thought of me if he saw me wearing this?"

Hehe I like it when Makoto gets jealous...