She didn't believe him. It was unusual for Makoto to lie, but she knew that was the case here. Makoto was afraid of the ocean, so why did he agree to the 'Training Camp from Hell on a Deserted Island?" It didn't make sense.
"Makoto," Haruka began.
"It's fine." He responded without looking up from where he was sorting camping gear.
Obviously not fine. He didn't even know what she was going to say. They were double checking supplies. She could have had something to say about that. Maybe she was going to ask if he wanted Mackerel for dinner? It was a common conversation topic. The fact that he jumped to such a conclusion meant that their trip was not fine.
She thought about asking him again but didn't. It was too much effort. If Makoto wasn't going to talk then that's fine. He's been weird lately anyway.
Ever since she showed up to joint practice with fake tattoos, he has been distant. They still did everything together but something was off. He wouldn't watch Hamtaro anymore. Makoto loved Hamtaro.
"Ok. Looks like we have everything. Haru, don't forget to pack pajamas. My mom won't be there to give you some and we will be camping with Nagisa and Rei also."
She grunted and made her way into the kitchen. It was already late but they hadn't eaten anything for a while. Makoto followed shortly after and began digging through the refrigerator. When he found a sufficient arrangement of vegetables he shut the door and looked at Haruka.
"Here." She said and handed him the cutting board and knife. Her eyes never left the mackerel she was filleting but they didn't' need to. The two of them have had the same routine for a while.
"I was thinking Yasai Itame since that's fast and it's already pretty late. There's some leftover rice from earlier too."
Haruka didn't respond but placed the wok on the range indicating that she agreed. While the fish was the on the grill, she started caramelizing the onions and garlic; stepping aside as needed so Makoto could add in more vegetables and the ginger root.
"That's good."
"Haru, you need to eat more vegetables." Makoto scolded and added the remaining cabbage to the mixture. "You can't live on just Mackerel."
She thought of protesting but decided against it. They've had this conversation enough times that she knew how it was going to end. Makoto always won simply because she didn't care enough. As long as she still had more Mackerel than anything else on her plate, she was happy.
"You like Makerel way too much!" Gou said when she opened the second chest and saw that it was filled with nothing but Makerel.
"That's impossible." Haruka responded in a surprisingly serious tone.
Before she could counter that it is possible to like Mackerel too much, Rei interrupted.
Inside the athletic center was Samezuka Academy's swim team. It took immeasurable effort to conceal a fan girl squeal. Not only did this training camp now include more muscles but Rin was here also. Fate brought Haruka and her brother here at the same time. It was so romantic!
"Did you do something again, Gou?" Makoto asked sounding slightly displeased.
"Huh? I didn't know anything this time. Promise."
"Really?" Nagisa asked cautiously before he became excited. "That means its just a coincidence! We should go down and say hello then!"
"No. We are both here to work hard, so let's wait until perfectionals to show him how far we've come. Haru, can you help me set up camp?" Makoto said and started walking away followed by Haruka.
Gou gave one last look before following everyone back to the beach. Even though she was the resident Rin and Haruka shipper, she still needed to respect Makoto. Perhaps the other boys didn't know why their captain was acting strange but Gou certainly did. It also helped that Chigusa informed her of the little spill that happened during free period last week.
"All right, let's go check into the lodge." Ama-chan said after seeing that camp was sufficiently established. "We booked lodging for ourselves over there. Nanase-chan, I reserved room for you too. Girls shouldn't be expected to sleep outside surrounded by boys."
"It will be fun!' Gou said with a smile that was not returned by the other girl.
"I'm content here." Haruka responded.
"Nanase-chan, really, you don't have to feel pressured to stay out here with the rest of the team." Ama-chan said again this time looking o the boys with a stern expression.
"Haruka-sempai, Ama-chan is right, you shouldn't be sleeping out here with a group of guys. What if your parents find out?" Rei asked in a concerned voice.
"It's not a problem." Haruka said in her usual bored tone.
"Rei is right, Haru-chan, what if they make you quit the swim club? Then we couldn't swim together anymore and, and,..."Nagisa began to talk faster as he became more nervous.
"That can't happen." Haruka whispered before looking at Makoto. It appeared they were having some silent conversation until he nodded.
"Guys," He began and looked back at Haruka as if he wanted to continue whatever happened before. Their eyes didn't meet; however, as the she entered the tent to avoid the conversation.
"It will be ok. Haru is an emancipated minor so even if her parents were to disapprove, they couldn't force her off the team. She can do what she wants."
Gou looked at Ama-chan for assurance. The teacher seemed to be having an internal struggle over the topic. She obviously assumed that Haruka would take her up on her offer and didn't think of a retort for the stubborn girl.
After a dramatic sigh, she turned and looked at Makoto. "I do not approve of this but since Nanase-chan is legally an adult and your parents wrote a letter giving permission to share a tent, then it is what it is." She paused and Gou watched in horror as her adviser changed from her usual cheerful self to a scary demon. "But no funny business while you are under my care, mister."
"Yes-Yes, Ma'am." Makoto gulped.
"Nanase-chan, the offer is there for the duration of the training camp if you change your mind." Ama-chan said loudly before gesturing to Gou that it was time to leave.
This was not good. Regardless of how bad of a closer Makoto was, something definitely would come out of this situation. It was one thing for them to share a tent during family vacations but this was different. Seriously, how irresponsible were Makoto's parents for allowing this?
A vision of two adults flooded Gou's mind. They were sitting on the couch laughing then turned as if they could see her. Mrs. Tachibana started chanting, "grand kids, grand kids" while her husband talked.
"Your meddling won't work anymore Gou. We will have Haruka as a daughter-in-law no matter what." He said and they both started to laugh again only this time it came out more like a cackle.
"No!" Gou screamed forgetting that her vision was a figment of her imagination.
"Gou, what's the matter? Ama-chan asked without looking up from the brochure she was reading.
"Haruka-sempai." She began feeling anxious. "You're really going to let her sleep with Makoto?"
"Please don't word it like that. I dislike the situation as much as you but…" Ama-chan paused as if she were choosing her words carefully. She shrugged and her tone became nonchalant. "This place is lovely place. They even offer rock bathing nearby. I'm sure she will change her mind."
Gou stood there stunned. Perhaps the reason she cared so much was because of her own agenda. It was probably true. Still, how would Rin react?
If she happened to run into her brother and he asked about Haruka she shouldn't lie about it. That wouldn't be meddling; it would be the honest thing to do. That's all.
He could do this. Makoto watched as Rei and Nagisa excitedly entered the water - the ocean water. Feeling those beautiful blue eyes bore into him, Makoto turned to meet Haru's concerned gaze.
"Don't worry. Let's get going." He said with smile before rushing to catch up with the other boys.
When he was younger, Makoto was afraid to swim in both the ocean and a pool. It didn't matter the location, whenever he was swimming, he felt like he was running away. Then during his third year of swim club, he finally experimented with the backstroke and his fear was lifted.
His fear of the pool at least, this was his first time swimming in the ocean in almost ten years. He contemplated swimming the backstroke here also, but only for a moment. It was too slow and tiring of a style for long distance swimming. The front crawl was the only one that would work.
It was ok though. He could do this. As long as he was swimming with everyone, then he could be strong. Maybe it would cure him of his thalassophobia too.
A/N: Thanks again for all the reviews, follows and favs! My nap-time chill period is still not happening so I am slowly chipping away at chapters during the 20 minutes I have to myself after bedtime. :( Next up are the drowning and lighthouse scenes... and maybe some Rin?