Chapter 12

"Aww, Onii-chan! Where are you going?"

"I told you guys! Kanade and I are heading to the school to see our friends!"

"Whaaa? Kanade-Onee-chan is going, too?!"

Ran and Ren were holding on to Makoto's waist at the entryway of their home. Kanade had her duffle bag in her hand and she smiled at the twins. She put her hands on their shoulders, making them turn around.

"We'll be back later," Kanade said to them.

"Promise?" Ren asked. Kanade nodded.

"Oh! And guess what?" Kanade said, making her eyes wide. Makoto could not help but smile, happy that she was so good with the twins. "A special friend is coming home today."

"Special friend?" Ren asked. Ran's head snapped up to Makoto.

"Is it Haru-chan?!" Ran chirped.

"Yep!" Makoto answered. Ran and Ren glanced at each other and bounced and cheered happily. "So can you guys wait until we get back this afternoon?"

"Okay," they both said happily.

Makoto glanced at Kanade, grabbing his bag. He gave her a thankful smile.

"Ready?" he asked. Kanade nodded.

"Let's go!"

Haru slumped in his seat and stared out the window. The scenery whizzed by as the train sped down the track on its way towards the coast and his hometown. He sighed as he leaned his head on his hand, feeling anxiety bubble in his stomach. He opened his phone to his most recent text messages.

One was from Makoto.

To: Haru

We're heading to Iwatobi High, can't wait til you get here!

The other, from Torii.

To: Haru N

Make sure you actually talk to him. You need to get your focus back on track.

Haru put his phone away. It would be fine. He would just bring up the rumors and talk to him about it. Without Kanade there. Haru furrowed his brows. He felt uptight as he tugged on the sleeve of his shirt.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. Haru sighed again and pulled it out.

1 New Message

Rin

Haru's eyes widened at seeing the contact. He immediately opened the text.

To: Haru

Hey, Haru! We're having extra training, but I'll be back in Iwatobi at the end of this week. Can you handle this Makoto situation until then?

Haru tapped his fingers nervously on his knee, studying the text. He might be able to talk to Makoto in that time. He just has to get Makoto alone.

To: Rin

Maybe.

...

Then, Haru remembered Gou's message about attending the training camp. He wrote out another text.

To: Rin

The Iwatobi swim club is doing the summer training camp again. Want to come?

Only a few minutes passed until Rin sent a reply back.

To: Haru

Is Makoto going?

To: Rin

Yeah

To: Haru

Will he be okay?

Haru hesitated. He had not thought of that. It had been a while since the whole incident with Rei and Makoto's near-death experience, so Haru was unsure of how Makoto was handling it all. Rin knew about Makoto's fears, but he was unsure if he knew about the incident at the islands. Did Makoto still have fears?

Haru furrowed his brows. Just another thing that made him feel distant from Makoto.

To: Rin

I'm not sure

There was a brief pause in between the texts, and Haru leaned back in his seat and folded his arms across his chest. He tapped his fingers against his arm, waiting impatiently for Rin's text. Finally, he received a text.

To: Haru

Hell. Maybe I'll go. Sounds interesting enough. And maybe I'll get to talk to Makoto about this girl, then.

Haru paused, his eyes glued to the screen. He hung his head as he typed out a text back.

To: Rin

Actually… you'll get to meet her. She's in Iwatobi with Makoto.

Another long pause.

To: Haru

…When's the wedding?

Haru's eyes widened and he slid his phone shut, not wanting to respond. He put his phone in his lap and stared back out the window.

Wedding?

He needed to talk to Makoto.

"Alright, everyone!" Gou called. "Makoto-senpai and Haruka-senpai will be here soon! So let's get warmed up, shall we?"

"Uwahh, can't we just wait until they get here?" Nagisa whined.

"Nope!" Gou said. "Coach Sasabe has been so busy lately that he hasn't been able to come help us out. So we need to show those two that we are capable of adjusting without him."

"Ohh, I can't wait until they get here!" Nagisa chirped.

"You're right, Nagisa-kun," Rei said. He put his hand to his chin thoughtfully and had a wistful look in his eyes. "I have so many questions for them! What it's like at university, and how their courses are going…"

"Rei-chan, you're so boring…" Nagisa pouted.

"B-Boring?!"

"Now, now! Let's get training!" Gou commanded. "We have to start some laps before Makoto-senpai and Haruka-senpai get here."

"Oh, should I come back later?"

Everyone turned towards the pool entrance wall and saw Makoto standing with a duffle bag in his hand, his head tilted and a smile shining brightly on his face. Nagisa's face lit up and he jumped.

"Wah! It's Mako-chan!" Nagisa shouted. He ran over and jumped on top of Makoto, giving him a huge hug. "Mako-chan! Mako-chan!"

"Nagisa!" Makoto chuckled, hugging him back. "It's so good to see you!"

"Nagisa-kun!" Rei shouted, and was standing next to them in flash. He pulled off Nagisa and then bowed to Makoto. "It's so good to see you, Makoto-senpai." Makoto smiled at him.

"You too, Rei," Makoto said. "I've missed you!"

Rei's eyes widened and then squinted when they filled with tears. He rushed over to Makoto and gave him a hug as well. Of course, Nagisa joined back in for another hug, burying his face in Makoto's chest.

"Ah, Makoto-senpai!" Gou said, running towards him. "I'm so glad you're here!" She flashed him a small and put her hands behind her back.

"Ah, me too, Gou-chan!" Makoto said.

Then, the sound of the gate shutting could be heard from outside, and Nagisa perked up, lifting his head from Makoto's chest.

"Ah, that must be Haru-chan!" Nagisa ran out from the pool and towards the gate.

"Uwahh, w-wait, Nagisa!" Makoto called.

"Haru-chan! Haru-chan!" Nagisa shouted, and disappeared behind the wall. He saw a figure standing by the gate and he ran up and jumped on them. "Haru-chan!"

"Uwahhh!" the person yelled as Nagisa fell on top of them, and they both fell on the ground.

Nagisa leaned his head up and glanced down at the person he was on top of. It was a girl with black hair and blue eyes. She stared up at him with wide eyes. He cocked his head in confusion.

"Huh? You're not Haru-chan," Nagisa said. The girl gave him a small smile.

"Heh, I'm sorry," she apologized.

Makoto came around the corner and saw Nagisa sitting on top of Kanade and he ran towards them. Gou and Rei were right behind him and Rei's jaw dropped when he saw Nagisa on top of her.

"Nagisa-kun, what on earth are you doing?!" Rei yelled.

"Huh? I was looking for Haru-chan," Nagisa said plainly. He stood up and helped the girl up. "Sorry about that," Nagisa apologized with a smile. Makoto, Rei, and Gou walked over to them.

"Ah, no biggie!" Kanade said, putting her hands on her hips. "I'm pretty solid!" Kanade winked at Makoto, who jumped and smiled. He remembered when they first met.

"Oh, I hope you didn't get hurt from the fall earlier!"

"Nah, I'm pretty solid!"

Makoto smiled at the memory. He stood next to Kanade and turned to face the rest of the group.

"Guys, this is Kanade Shizumi. She's a good friend of mine from school," Makoto introduced.

"Ohhh! A friend from school!" Nagisa shouted. He paused and put a hand to his chin. "Kanade… Shizumi… Kana…OH! Kana-chan!"

Kanade jumped at the new nickname. "Kana… chan?" she repeated.

"Nagisa-kun, don't be rude!" Rei scolded.

"I'm Nagisa Hazuki! And this is Rei-chan and Gou-chan!"

"Kou…" Gou corrected.

"I'm Rei Ryugazaki," Rei corrected. He bowed. "It's nice to meet you, Shizumi-san."

"It's nice to meet you, too, Ryugazaki-kun!" Kanade greeted.

"So you're from Makoto-senpai's university?" Gou asked. Kanade nodded happily.

"I'm on the swim team there," Kanade said, a little shyly.

"Wha! The swim team?!" Nagisa shouted. "Wow! Mako-chan knows how to make good friends!"

"Nagisa-kun, are you suggesting that they are only good friends because she is on the swim team?" Rei asked, his brow cocked.

"Aw, don't be like that, Rei-chan!" Nagisa said. "So, Mako-chan, how'd you two meet?"

Makoto jumped and rubbed the back of his neck. "Eh, w-well, we kind of ran into each other. Literally."

"Ohh, so Kana-chan is clumsy!"

"Nagisa-kun!" Rei scolded.

"C'mon, Mako-chan, Kana-chan! You need to meet the rest of the team!" Nagisa ran back into the pool area. Makoto looked at Kanade and gave her an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, he's a little energetic," Makoto said as they walked towards the pool area.

"I think he's fun," Kanade giggled.

"So, are you thinking about being a professional swimmer?" Gou asked. Kanade nodded.

"That's the goal!" she said.

"Hey, over here!" Nagisa called, waving from the pool. He stood next to the three first-years. "Let me introduce you!" Nagisa introduced two of the three first-years to Makoto and Kanade. "And this is Dai-chan!"

Dai sat quietly at the edge of the pool, kicking his leg solemnly in the water. He glanced up at Makoto and Kanade and gave a curt nod.

"Eheh… he's a little shy," Nagisa explained, rubbing the back of his head. "So, you guys are gonna swim with us, right?"

"Yes, yes, we brought our jammers, Nagisa," Makoto said, trying to calm down his excitement.

"Yay! Then I'll be going in first! Let's go, Dai-chan!" Nagisa pushed Dai into the pull and Dai fell with a yelp.

The other first-years laughed, while Rei face-palmed. Makoto and Kanade glanced at each other and smiled, while Gou shouted at Nagisa and told him to be nice to his kouhai. Dai rose to the surface with an irritated look on his face. He turned away from the group and swam down his lane.

"Well, I'll go get changed," Kanade said, heading towards the girls' locker room. Makoto nodded and followed, heading into the guys' locker room. Makoto came out in his jammers and Kanade her swimsuit. She wore track pants over it.

"All right!" Nagisa shouted, putting on his swim cap and goggles. "Hey, watch me, Mako-chan!"

Nagisa got on the starting block and got ready. He dove in and tore through the water in his breaststroke. Makoto smiled brightly, and Kanade glanced up to see his smile, making her smile.

"Wow, he's gotten so much better!" Makoto exclaimed.

"That's our captain!" Gou said, putting her hands on her hips. "He's really done well, Makoto-senpai." Makoto smiled and nodded at Gou. He turned his head back to watch Nagisa's last leg, his arms stretching out just like usual, pulling him ahead even faster. He hit the wall and lifted his head up.

"Did you see, did you see?!" he shouted. Makoto laughed and nodded.

"You looked awesome, Nagisa!" Makoto said.

"You were really fast, Hazuki-kun!" Kanade said with a smile.

Nagisa's magenta eyes sparkled and lifted a hand out of the pool. "All right!" he shouted.

Rei, who was standing next to Gou, put on his goggles and then placed his hands on his hips.

"Well then, since Haruka-senpai isn't here yet, perhaps I'll have to show you my butterfly technique! You'll see that it has definitely improved since last year!" Rei said, and he stood on the starting block.

Rei took a deep breath and then dove in, his dive hitting the water accurately and precisely. He started his butterfly stroke down his lane. Makoto smiled brightly at him.

"He's improved, too," Makoto said.

"I agree!" Gou said. "He's a lot faster than last year. I think he can compete in individuals a little more easily this year."

Makoto nodded at Gou and then turned to face Kanade. "What do you think, Kanade—" Makoto stopped talking when he saw her face.

Kanade's eyes were wide and her jaw was dropped. Her brows were lowered in worry.

"Kanade?" Makoto called.

He was about to put his hand on her shoulder when she suddenly took off and ran down the side of the pool. She knelt down in front of Rei's lane and when he reached the wall she grabbed his shoulder. Rei stopped swimming and snapped his head out of the water and stared up at Kanade.

"Ah, Sh-Shizumi-san?!" Rei panted, confused.

"Ryugazaki-kun, come out for a second," Kanade said. Rei blinked at her, but complied, dragging himself out of the pool. Kanade helped him out of the pool. He took off his cap and goggles and stared at her questioningly.

Nagisa, Makoto, and Gou all approached the two, all with worried expressions on their faces.

"Kanade, what's wrong?" Makoto asked. Kanade glanced up at him.

"Ryugazaki-kun is doing his butterfly stroke incorrectly," she said simply.

"What?" Rei asked. "That's impossible! Rin-san showed me exactly how to do it. I studied all of the theories."

"Ryugazaki-kun, has your shoulder been bothering you?" Kanade asked.

Gou and Nagisa jumped at Kanade's question and they turned to Rei with questioning glances. Makoto also looked at him with a worried look.

"Well… maybe a little," Rei said quietly.

"Rei-chan!" Nagisa yelled.

"Rei-kun!" Gou said in a scolding tone.

Rei flinched and looked down. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I didn't really think it was a problem."

"Ryugazaki-kun, sit here," Kanade said, motioning to the edge of the pool. Rei blinked a few times and then complied, moving to sit at the edge of the pool. He sat down with his legs in the pool and his back to Kanade. Kanade grabbed his right wrist and lifted it straight out.

"W-What're you—"

"Just trust me," Kanade said in a low whisper. Rei looked at her and felt a small blush on his cheeks. He glanced down at her hand grasping his wrist. She moved his arm back in the butterfly motion and then pulled it up over his head. She held it up over his head and used her other hand to feel his shoulder. "Does it hurt right here?" she asked.

Rei jumped. "Y-Yes," he said, surprised.

"Thought so," Kanade said. "The angle of your arms is too narrow. You need to widen it a little, like this," she said, and she moved his arm slightly out. "Now, does this same spot hurt?" Kanade pressed on the same spot on his shoulder.

Rei paused and then glanced back at her. "N-No, it doesn't!" he said.

Kanade smiled at him. "Good," she said. "You think you can remember to change your technique a little?"

"O-Of course! I will study it, immediately!" Rei said.

Kanade patted his shoulder and stood up.

"Why don't you give it a shot? It might be a little uncomfortable, but you'll get used to it," Kanade said, giving him a smile.

"Yes!" He said. He put on his cap and goggles and got back in the water, starting his butterfly down the rest of the lane.

"Wow!" Nagisa said. "Kana-chan, that was amazing!"

"How did you know about that?" Gou asked.

Kanade rubbed the back of her neck. "It's such a subtle change that can make a huge difference. It's hard to spot."

Makoto watched as Gou and Nagisa interacted with Kanade. They all had smiles on their faces and Nagisa was very excited about Kanade's trick to help Rei. Makoto smiled, his head tilting to the side. He felt pride swell inside his chest.

"All right! I wanna see Kana-chan swim!" Nagisa said. Kanade glanced back at Makoto.

"Wanna race?" she asked him. Makoto blinked but then put on a determined face.

"Let's do it!" he said.

They both walked to the starting block and took a step up onto it. Gou had a stopwatch and a whistle ready. Nagisa, Rei, and the first-years stood on the outside and watched.

"Ready!" Gou shouted.

They both leaned down at the block.

"Go!" she shouted, starting the stopwatch.

They both leaped from the block and dove into the water, starting the front crawl. Gou's eyes widened as she watched Kanade start to pull ahead of Makoto.

"What?! She's beating Mako-chan!" Nagisa shouted.

Kanade made it to the turn first, now seconds ahead of Makoto. Makoto could feel his heart pound as he tried to cut through the water. He pushed himself harder, his hands pushing the water out of his way.

"Go, Mako-chan!"

Wha… Nagisa?

"Makoto-senpai!"

Rei.

Makoto waited for the last call of his name, but when he did not hear it, he tried to imagine it. He pushed through the water again, trying to hear that cheer in his head.

"ibana-kun! Tachibana-kun!"

Makoto's heart jumped.

What? Whose voice…

"Tachibana-kun!"

This was not imagined. It was a memory. A memory from when they swam together the first time: when she asked to see his backstroke. She cheered for him that night. The voice echoed in his head as he swam down the lane, his hands hitting the wall.

"Wow!" Nagisa shouted.

"That was a beautiful race!" Rei commented, his hand on his hip.

"That was amazing!" Gou shouted.

Makoto took off his cap and goggles and looked at the lane next to him. Kanade was leaning her arms over the lane separators, panting. She had pulled off her goggles and swim cap and held them in her hand. She stared at Makoto and put on a smile and gave him a thumbs-up. Makoto smiled at her. He turned to the side of the pool and climbed out, walking to her lane. He extended his hand down to her.

"Nice race, Kanade-chan!" Makoto said with the tilt of his head. Kanade looked up at his hand and then his face and smiled.

"You, too, Makoto-kun!"

Haru walked down past the long buildings and towards the gate. He heard some shouting from the other side and he listened intently.

"Go, Mako-chan!"

"Makoto-senpai!"

Haru felt his heart jump, and he rushed to the gate, walking through it and heading towards the pool. He heard more voices.

"Wow!"

"What a beautiful race!"

"That was amazing!"

Haru turned the corner and froze. In front of him stood Makoto, extending his hand down to none other than Kanade Shizumi.

"Nice race, Kanade-chan!"

"You, too, Makoto-kun!"

Haru's heart jumped inside his chest.

Makoto-kun?

Kanade reached up and took Makoto's head and he pulled her up. A second leap raised his heart into his throat. He felt that unfamiliar feeling sink in his stomach once again, harder than it had in the past. He took a step forward, wanting to go straight to Makoto, but his foot froze when he saw the two of them talking happily, bright smiles on both of their faces.

"Ohh?! It's Haru-chan!" Nagisa shouted.

Haru watched as Makoto turned his head back and they made eye contact. While Gou, Rei, and Nagisa approached Haru and started to hug him, Haru kept his eye on Makoto, and Makoto did not look away. Even though they were only feet away, Haru felt that they were miles apart from each other. For the first time, Haru saw something different in those green eyes. Something he did not quite recognize.

And it was driving him crazy.