Disclaimer: I, KawaiiTenshiCeres does not own, Free! Iwatobi Swim Club / Eternal Summer, or Nettaigyo no Namida by Flower. I only own my OCs such as Okimoto Asahi.

熱帯魚の涙/ Nettaigyo no Namida / Tears of the Tropical Fish

Chapter Twelve

Time was running out.

"…What am I going to do?"

Already more than a nervous wreck, Asahi felt her hands shaking while she looked at the door leading towards the Swim Club room. After asking Nagisa and Rei about the whereabouts of Haruka after their club activities, she had to confront him here and now. However…

"Stupid, stupid, stupiiiiiiiiid," she whined, kneeling to the ground in horror. "Why am I hesitating over a phone?"

Opening the door after finally collecting herself, heading towards the back, the artist could hear someone still swimming. Reluctantly placing down her bag in one of the cubbies, the blond slowly cracked open the door, entering into the pool, greeted by silence. Peering over the railing, Asahi looked over at Haruka, who was peacefully floating on his back, relaxing for the time being. It gave her the chance to try and simply…strike up a friendly conversation while she was at it.

"…H-Haruka-senpai?"

His eyes quickly flashed opened, causing him to quickly stand up, and looked straight at her. A nervous smile formed on the girl's face, as she nodded at him.

"Uh, Senpai. I…" Asahi began.

It was difficult for her to speak. Somehow…She felt nervous. It was like that day.

I like you.

Why did she think of that? It was insane. All she needed was her phone, and she could just run away and live happily ever after…Right?

"…You?" Haruka sighed. "You're usually here when there's practice, right? You already know that Gou left for the day," he remarked, eyeing her with slight concern.

"I-It's not that!" she shouted, stomping her foot on the tiling, like a small child. "I just want my phone back!"

Raising an eyebrow, the dark-haired male closed his eyes and turned away from her. "You shouldn't be so attached to that thing," he stated. "…After all, all you talk about is Aki, and nothing keeps happening between you two,"

Marching towards the edge of the pool and kneeling down, Asahi forced a smile at him. "I don't care," she said, childishly.

Letting out a long sigh, Haruka approached her, and looked up at her. "Alright. Give me your hand," he remarked.

"…My hand?" she questioned, extending out her hand to the swimmer.

Lightly holding her hand, the swimmer yanked the girl's arm, pulling her into the pool, making a huge splash. A brief silence passed before Asahi's head popped up from under the water, her hair soaked and her gold hues glaring at him, infuriated over what happened. Enough is enough, and this was probably the final straw. Her face puffed up, readying up to scream and insult the teen, but instead, Asahi turned around, slowly wading towards the ladder.

"…I'm going home," she called out.

"Wait-"

Grabbing her arm, Haruka saw his kouhai slowly turning around and facing him. "Senpai…" she said in a stern voice, snatching her arm away. "…I've had enough! If you really hate me, you could've said it to my face..."

"…Just tell me before you leave," he began, looking at her with a concerned look on his face. "…Who was in that painting? That painting with the golden jellyfishes?"

Asahi quickly felt her face turning hot, realizing what he talking about. "W-Wait. Y-You saw it?" she questioned, backing away from him.

That familiar lump formed on her throat. That nervous feeling bubbling in her stomach. It was her chance to easily lie and run away again...Then again, it felt like it was her only chance to say it.

"…That painting…was based off of you. Just that…That day…When we talked together about those jellyfishes, it made me so happy. At first, I was only in here just to get some sort of inspiration, but after seeing you swim, and being around you for this whole time…I began really liking you, Haruka-senpai,"

Already, Asahi hated to admit that most of her most recent paintings had Haruka as the dark-haired male mermaid…Especially since her contest entry had nearly won the grand prize and it was something that those two only talked about with each other. Without a second thought, Haruka gently touched Asahi's cheek and pushed away her soaked locks that hid her face. His eyes looked into hers, and his thumb grazed against her lips.

"S-Senpai?" she questioned.

On an impulse, Haruka leaned down, briefly kissing the blond on her lips. A chill ran down the blond's spine, causing her to eye at the equally embarrassed male, who quickly turned and looked away from her.

"…Sorry," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "Let's go. You're going to get sick if you're going to stay here any longer."

Taking her hand into his, the swimmer helped Asahi out of the pool and led her back to the changing room. The situation felt familiar to her, except with a different person. Compared to holding Makoto's hand back then…She didn't want Haruka to let her go. Before long…She felt his hand reluctantly releasing hers, watching him shuffle through his belongings. He tossed her a fluffy towel, as Asahi reluctantly began drying her hair. Looking up, she watched the swimmer making way back outside, causing her to quickly step forward.

"…H-Haruka-senpai!" the blond stuttered, watching him turn back and look at her. "…I really don't mind! So let me stay outside with yo-"

"I was going to take a shower," Haruka retorted, looking at her horrified expression. "I just don't want to take advantage of you while you're like that,"

His blue eyes looked away from her once more, as he quietly threw his white sports jacket towards her. Asahi reluctantly nodded at him, hugging his jacket over her shoulders. Feeling a towel being patted on her head, the girl looked up at Haruka, feeling his arm being wrapped around her body, giving her a brief hug.

"Let's go home together."

The sun was setting and the two of them were walking side by side each other in silence. What could she talk about with him? Normally if she was with him, she would be bothering him, cracking a joke, or pestering him…Yet this was different. She hasn't been kissed by a guy in a while. It wasn't before long, however, that they found themselves in front of Asahi's home, much to her dismay.

"…Thanks for walking with me," she nodded.

"Asahi," Haruka began. "…See you," as he began to walk away in a haste.

'See you,' was that it?

…She wanted more.

"Senpai!" Asahi called out to him, watching him turn and look back at her.

Quietly approaching him, the blond looked at him shyly, lightly tugging on the end of his sleeve. She knew her little 'request' was probably selfish. Probably a bit much for him to do especially since they were out here. But…

"Something wrong?" he questioned, looking at her heated face.

"C-Can…" Asahi began. "…Can you kiss me again?"

Looking away from her, Haruka felt his cheeks turning red at her little request, unable to say anything. After a few minutes of silence, the artist blinked at him, realizing it was impossible. She was better off giving up.

"I assume it's a 'no' then! F-Forget about it!" she chirped. "I-I'll see you at school,"

Watching her turn around, the swimmer watched his kouhai walk back towards her house. Already, it was a bit much to kiss her the first time. Just thinking about doing it a second time in a row…

"Wait," Haruka spoke up, letting out a frustrated sigh.

Turning around, Asahi was greeted by the swimmer who closed the distance between them. Tilting her head up at him, the blond felt his lips gently kissing her forehead, causing her to laugh.

"Really~?" she teased.

"You didn't say where," he muttered.

Covering her mouth, Asahi continued to laugh, as she gently pushed him. "My forehead's enough," she nodded, gently waving at him.

Moving down her hand, Haruka leaned in for a firm kiss on Asahi's lips, causing his underclassman to stare at him with a stunned look on her face after they pulled apart from each other. The artist couldn't help, but to smile at him, as she looked at the tiny smile that crept up on his face.

"I'll be going now," he noted, gently touching her hand.

Holding his hand tightly, the blond playfully nudged him. "Try not to eat so much mackerel, I could taste it off of your lips," she joked, feeling his elbow gently tapping her arm. "I'm kidding!"

After he was long gone, Asahi soon entered her home and was greeted with a wrapped package addressed to her. Kneeling down and ripping open the package, the girl looked at the box which contained a new cell phone, and stared at it for a brief moment, before realizing there was a note that came with it. Letting out a long sigh, she closed her eyes, frowned at the contents of that note:

'It's troublesome to contact you.
Don't lose your phone again.
-Okaasan'