The next day, Iwatobi is blanketed in white, blessed on the first day of the New Year with winter weather. That, of course, only means one thing: snowball fights.
Two teams meet in front of the Museum at ten in the morning, clad in their best winter-wear and ready to fight. When they arrive, however, they find that their teammates are not who they expected them to be.
"Last night when we were having pizza, we decided it would be cool to draw lots and have different teams than last time," Nagisa explains to Haru and Makoto. "So we're going to draw them now, once Rei-chan's found the lots."
Rei is scavenging through his pockets, his efforts so concentrated on finding the lots that he doesn't hear Nagisa talking to him.
"Rei-chan, I thought you were always prepared," Nagisa says, a little annoyed that it's taking Rei so long to find the lots.
"Of course I am!" Rei says indignantly, still searching. "I have pencils, pens, erasers, elastic bands, paper-clips, a calculator, a pencil sharpener, tape, string, tissues, hand sanitiser, plasters, scissors, sticky notes in several colours, highlighters, a hole punch, a ruler, and of course, the lots!" He pulls the small paper strips from his pocket, his face triumphant.
"I knew you could do it, Rei-chan!" Nagisa says, taking the lots and organising them so the colour at the bottom isn't showing. "Everyone, take your pick!"
Everyone takes a paper one-by-one, leaving Nagisa with the last paper. On the Red team are Makoto, Rin, Rei, and Nitori, whilst the Blue team consists of Haru, Nagisa, Mikoshiba, and Yamazaki. Haru can't say he's the most excited to be on the same team as two people he rarely speaks to, but it's more unsettling to be on a different team from Makoto and Rin. He can see why for Rin - Rin is so competitive that it makes more sense to want to be on his team - but for Makoto, Haru isn't sure. Makoto doesn't look like he would be that competitive, but then again, looks can be deceiving.
"Is everyone ready?" Nagisa says. "The rules are simple - it's a snowball fight. The last one standing is the winner."
"Let's go!" Rin says, and the teams split apart.
A few minutes of running later, Haru finds himself crouching with his teammates in an alley between two houses. It's small and cramped but it's the best they can find on short notice.
Nagisa takes charge. "We need to think of a strategy."
"Just follow your gut," Haru offers. It's the easiest strategy he can think of. If they follow their guts, they'll find the other team eventually.
Yamazaki, however, doesn't agree. "That's stupid, they'll ambush us. We need to have a solid base."
"You mean like a snow fort?" Mikoshiba asks. "Like Blue team HQ?"
"We could make a base here," Nagisa says, looking at each side of the alley. "If we pile up the snow on either side-"
"Then we wouldn't be able to get out," Yamazaki says, shooting down that idea. "You can do it at one side, but we'll need someone to keep guard here."
"Wouldn't we be better moving freely?" Haru says. He doesn't want to be cooped up in one place. "That way we won't get ambushed together."
"You think we should split up?" Nagisa frowns at the idea. It might be dangerous, not knowing who on your team has been struck down.
Yamazaki nods. "Sounds reasonable. Just don't focus on one target. Make sure to watch out for anyone nearby."
They also agree with the plan and split up, ready to take on the Red team.
Before he starts running, Haru gathers up a snowball, just in case he's ambushed. He doesn't want to be completely defenceless against the other team if they attack him by surprise. He wouldn't put it past Rin to do something like that. Nitori doesn't seem like the type of person who would have a very good aim, so he's probably safe if Nitori attacks him. Rei would use all sorts of logic to deceive the other team, so Haru might need to watch there. As for Makoto...
He has no idea what strategies Makoto might use. Ambushing him isn't something Haru can imagine Makoto doing, especially since he has a heavy tread. He has a big build, so it can't be easy for him to hide. Maybe he just faces the enemy head-on without any pretences.
Haru is prevented from thinking about it any further by a snowball flying past him, grazing past his shoulder. Without checking behind him, he ducks behind a tree and scoops up a second snowball. The crunch of snow tells him his enemy is getting closer, but he doesn't dare look out from the tree, not until he's sure he won't get hit with a snowball.
When another snowball flies past him, this time nowhere near hitting him, he takes his chance. He ducks his head out and throws one of his snowballs at the assailant. Rin dodges it with a crouch, scooping up some more snow as he does. Haru throws his second snowball and makes a third before dashing out towards the nearest building, ducking through the trees.
Rin follows him, yelling, "You can't run, Haru!" He isn't wrong, either; Haru is incredibly slow on land compared to in the water. It must be the wind resistance or the ground against his feet, or something he doesn't know or care about at the moment. All he's thinking about is getting to somewhere where he can shield himself from Rin's snowballs.
The trees provide a good coverage, though. Rin's aim is good, but all of his attacks miss their marks because of the obstacles before them. They're also difficult to navigate quickly and there are roots along the ground, making Rin slower than he would usually be. Haru keeps running, because while he's not fast, he doesn't need to focus on aiming at a moving target.
After a few minutes Haru reaches a building and ducks inside. Part of the rules is that they can't attack when the enemy is inside (because that might damage the building and they don't want to cause anyone trouble), so Rin can't attack him here. He hears Rin curse.
"Don't be a coward, Haru," he says. "You can't just hide in the Museum."
Yes, he can. He can't do it for long, but until Rin is gone, he will.
When Haru doesn't respond, Rin curses again and jogs off, probably to find a better target, since Haru isn't coming out any time soon. Either that or he's going to hide nearby and surprise Haru when he leaves. In the meantime, though, Haru goes to the bathroom and deposits his melting snowballs into the sink. He'll stay for a few minutes then leave, maybe after taking a tray or something to use as a shield. Nothing in the rules said they can't use a shield, after all.
He goes into the cafe, which is being manned by one of the Museum assistants.
"Welcome!" they say, smiling. "What can I get you?"
"Can I borrow a tray?" Haru says, looking at the plastic trays used to serve drinks to tables.
The assistant looks surprised, but nods and gives him a tray. "Just bring it back when you're done."
"Thanks." With his new shield in hand, he walks back to the Museum entrance. He scans the area with his eyes, but he can't see anyone around. Of course, it could still be a trap, but he takes his chances. Using the tray to shield himself, he crouches and pats a snowball together. Then he starts to walk.
No one attacks him. There is no rustling of trees or hurry of footsteps. No one is nearby. For some reason, this worries Haru even more. Why is no one here? Are they focusing on the rest of his team?
Instead of dwelling on it, he walks towards the plaza, half hoping he doesn't find anyone. For a while, he doesn't. The fight might have moved onto the other side of the river, for all he knows. After all, he was in the Museum for a few minutes, and he hadn't seen anyone for a while before that. He checks his watch - it's been half an hour since they started, and there's only half an hour left. He wonders who in his team is out already. Maybe Nagisa has been hit, or Mikoshiba. Have any of the Red team been hit yet? He hopes Rin has, but he can't imagine that happening easily, considering the speed at which he trailed him through the trees.
Haru is in front of the Town Hall when he hears footsteps behind him. He ducks behind the bulletin board and peeks out. It's Rei, but it doesn't look like he's seen Haru. Rei stops in front of a bush, his back to Haru. Haru could easily hit him from here. The bush rustles.
"Mikoshiba Momotarou-kun," he says to the bush. Mikoshiba must be hiding behind it. "I've done research and compiled all of my data, and I have the perfect gift to offer you in place of your surrender."
The bush rustles in response.
Rei pulls some pieces of paper out of his pocket. "I have these candid photos of Gou-san that I am sure will appease you."
The bush freezes. Haru squints at Rei's hand - from here, it looks like all of the photos are blank. Does he seriously think that will work?
"I have photos of Gou-san doing many sorts of things. I'm sure they will meet your standards."
The bush rustles and a head of orange pops out, but as soon as it's there, it's gone again, pulled down by a disembodied arm.
"You can't do that, Momo-chan!" Nagisa's voice comes from the bush, hushed but still in earshot. "There's no way Rei-chan would have that sort of thing!"
Haru sighs in relief. At least both of them are still in the game. Now, whilst Rei's distracted, would be the best time for Haru to strike...
"You're a tough one, Nagisa-kun," Rei says, but he doesn't sound disappointed. He puts the papers away.
Ducking down, Haru scoops together a second snowball. He stands again and looks out. Mikoshiba and Nagisa jump out from the bush and run away, and Rei begins to pursue them. Haru takes his chance - he throws both snowballs in Rei's direction.
Unfortunately, Haru's aim must be as bad as his running because neither hit Rei. They land a few metres behind him, and Rei hears them. Haru ducks back behind the bulletin board, listening for any sign of approaching footsteps.
Rei doesn't come this way, though. He stops for a second before continuing his pursuit of Nagisa and Mikoshiba. In fact, the only footsteps Haru hears are from behind him.
He dodges the snowball by an inch, moving to the other side of the board and picking up more snow. On the other side of the board is Makoto, smiling in an oddly unsettling way.
"Hi, Haru."
Haru doesn't reply, not taking his eyes off Makoto. He knows that Makoto will be able to tell if he goes to make a move, but he is conscious of the melting snow in his hand. He needs to act fast.
Makoto takes a step forward, moving past the board. Mimicking him, Haru steps back. They continue their dance, never taking their eyes off each other, never raising their arms to launch the snowballs they hold. Haru's left hand grips the tray.
"What's that?" Makoto asks, not even looking at the tray. "You found a shield?"
Haru's eyes narrow. It looks like Makoto gets pretty competitive.
"Smart thinking. Why not use it then!"
Doing exactly that, Haru ducks and holds the tray in front of him. The snowball hits the tray and he launches his own ammunition before Makoto can collect any more. It doesn't hit its mark, but it gives Haru time to stand and put more distance between the two of them. He ducks behind a tree and finds Makoto in front of the bulletin board, his back facing him.
Yamazaki is on the other side of the board. It seems he tried to attack at the same time as Haru did. "You won't be winning today, Tachibana."
"Please, call me Makoto," Makoto says politely. The way he is in a slightly crouched stance, one that suggests he is ready to run at any moment, tells Haru that he knows he is still behind him and that he will know if Haru tries to attack. Haru isn't stupid enough to try if he knows the attack won't connect, although Makoto is essentially cornered. "Anyway, I'll be the one winning today."
Quicker than Haru or Yamazaki expects, he ducks and puts together a snowball, launching it at Yamazaki before running to the other side of the building. The snowball misses and Yamazaki follows him, but by the time he reaches the edge of the building, Makoto is too far away to catch up to.
Well, he could be caught up to, but instead of running after him, Yamazaki walks over to Haru. "You got yourself in a tight situation there."
Haru shrugs, half focusing on listening for any signs of the other team.
"You need to pay more attention to your surroundings," he says, scowling. "You could have been hit, you know."
"Makoto won't hit me," Haru says, although it's entirely possible that he will. "I'll know if he tries."
"You didn't know that time until it missed you." Yamazaki sighs. "Just watch out. He isn't to be underestimated."
Haru nods and watches as Yamazaki heads south. He wishes that someone he barely even knows would stop lecturing him as though he's his parents - then again, Rin did the same thing about careers, didn't he? Maybe they're just alike in that aspect.
Rather than standing around waiting to be attacked, Haru heads in the same direction as Makoto, a snowball in one hand and his shield in the other. This time, no one will sneak up on him. He hopes.
For five minutes, he encounters no one from either team, and when he does, it's only Nitori and Mikoshiba, covered in snow and chatting as though they're not on opposite teams.
"We both got hit," Mikoshiba says when Haru approaches them. He pouts, looking like a child after being refused his favourite sweet. "So we're out. It's so annoying!"
"Sousuke-senpai hit me after I accidentally hit Matsuoka-san as well as Momo-kun," Nitori says sheepishly.
Haru nods at them. He does feel a bit bad for Kou, though - she doesn't know what's happening, and she obviously didn't want to be hit. He casts it out of his mind for now though. "Is anyone else out?"
"Not yet."
Bidding them farewell, Haru runs towards the river. He doesn't know if any of them will be on the eastern half of town, but it's worth a look. And it turns out to be very worth a look, because when he reaches that part of town, he sees Rin chatting with one of the bakers' assistants, smiling cheerfully. The assistant also looks quite cheerful, but also like they have no idea what's going on.
Haru sneaks up on him as quietly as possible and takes cover behind a tree. Snowball in hand, he takes aim.
Then the baker happens to look in his direction. But it's too late. He can't stop his arm from flinging the snowball. Clued in by the baker's glance, Rin turns and dodges behind the baker, who becomes the snowball's target.
Under his breath Haru mutters an apology before running off, hoping to lose Rin, who yells an apology behind him as he begins his pursuit. Haru may be slower than Rin, but he has a head start. He reaches another group of trees and ducks behind one, forming a snowball as quickly as possible and throwing it in Rin's direction. It clashes with one of Rin's snowballs, giving them both time to make up new ammunition and to take aim.
But neither of their snowballs have the chance to hit their target. Before either of them can take their aim, a snowball flies past Haru's head and almost hits Rin, narrowly missing. The two of them duck behind trees, not thinking to take advantage of the chaos to strike.
Yamazaki steps out, another snowball in hand. "I almost got you, Rin."
He almost got Haru as well, but he decides not to mention that.
"Almost being the key word," Rin says, grinning. He grasps his own snowball and steps out from behind the tree. "Your aim's seen better days."
Yamazaki rolls his right shoulder loosely. He looks displeased, but he agrees. "It has. But I can still hit my target."
"Then why haven't you hit me already?" Rin says. He doesn't take his eyes off of Yamazaki, but speaks to Haru. "Don't you try to hit me, either. I'll see you coming. I can take you both on."
Haru stays behind the tree. His snowball is warming in his hand.
"You sure about that?" Yamazaki says easily. "You might be able to take us both in a race, but in an attack?"
It sounds like Yamazaki is stalling for time. Haru tries to think of something he can do, something that will get them out of this situation. Then again, it sounds like Rin is stalling too. Does he want to end this at the time limit?
"Easy," Rin says. He tosses the snowball in his hand but doesn't make to throw it at Yamazaki. "You'd be pretty close competitors either way."
"At least if this was a relay you'd still have a full team. Two of yours are already down."
Two people? Nitori is one of them, but who could the other be? Makoto is a strong competitor, but so is Rei. Either Rei's theories failed him, or Makoto was caught unawares.
"That might be true, but Nagisa got hit at the same time," Rin says. Their teams must still be on equal standing, then. "Although I hear what happened afterwards was a little too juicy for public consumption."
Haru has no idea what Rin means. Nagisa isn't the sort of person who would do anything indecent in public. Perhaps there was a fight - but then again, Nagisa doesn't face conflict head on. There's no reason he'd have an argument with anyone here.
"Two on two, then," Yamazaki says.
"Maybe," Rin shrugs, looking too casual for Haru's tastes. Then his grin turns predatory. "Or maybe not."
Out of nowhere, a snowball flies at Yamazaki and hits him on the back. He looks down and falls to his knees. Haru turns and sees the attacker.
Makoto smiles apologetically. "Sorry, Sousuke." He doesn't look sorry at all.
Haru scoops up two fresh snowballs and backs away, trying to keep an eye on his two predators. Now that he's the only team member left, he needs to take one of them down, or else the other team will win. They have the advantage, of course, but he can't lose to them. He won't let himself.
"Two on one," Rin corrects Yamazaki and steps past him. The look in his eyes is enough to tell Haru that he is up against the two strongest members of the other team. Rin is fast and has a good aim, and Makoto can tell exactly what Haru is going to do a moment before he does it.
He's screwed.
He employs a tactic he would never use in any other situation: he flings his snowballs, one at each attacker, and tries to scoop and throw as many as possible in the hopes of catching one of them out. At the same time, he moves backwards through the trees, trying to get out of the line of fire.
Rin and Makoto dodge his attacks easily and aim their own snowballs at him. It's difficult, but he manages to dodge them all at the same time as implementing his plan. In the corner of his eye he sees the other players gather to watch the final battle. The outcome looks obvious.
But that's when a snowball hits Makoto.
With his big build, it takes him a split second longer to dodge oncoming snowballs, and eventually he is hit. Clutching his side, he looks to Haru and smiles before falling to his knees.
Rin and Haru pause in their attacking. A member has fallen. Only two remain.
The final showdown has come.
Each of them take a single snowball and make their way to an area with no trees. This needs to be a fair battle. The last one standing will win.
Silence falls as Rin and Haru face off. Rin looks more determined now than Haru has ever seen him, even when he's swimming. Does he look that serious? Probably, considering his usual deadpan expression.
They raise their arms, holding the snowballs up. It's time. Wrists tilt back, then forward quickly. The snowballs fly. They dodge each other in mid air and fly towards their targets.
Unfortunately, Haru's aim is still pretty bad, and his snowball lands a few metres to Rin's left.
Rin's snowball hits Haru on the face.
The cold is sudden and it bites Haru, but he does not fight back. He accepts the snow, and the snow accepts him. This is his fate. If he thinks about it enough, the snow is just frozen water.
Despite that, his face is starting to hurt from the cold. He wipes the snow from his eyes.
"We win!" Rin cheers. He high-fives each of his team members before looking over to Haru, who has just finished removing the snow from his face. "You did good, Haru. The rest of you as well."
Even though they've lost, they're cold and their clothes are wet, they smile. They smile because this is the most fun they've had in a long time and they almost don't want it to end.
Haru finds himself smiling too. "You guys too."
They end up getting hot drinks in the cafe and chatting together for a while, drying off. Haru's bus isn't for another hour, so he has some time to kill. As far as he's concerned, there's no better way of killing time than spending it with your friends after a snowball fight.
"You guys did really well," Makoto says, back to his normal self. Haru is still haunted by how competitive he got during their snowball fight, but he tries to cast the image away.
"You guys were awesome, though," Nagisa says, grinning. "Mako-chan was so serious about it! I thought I was dead when you came after me."
"You ended up getting hit by Rei, anyway," Makoto says, glancing between them. Nagisa and Rei meet eyes for a second before they look away, blushing. Haru has no idea what went on between the two of them, but he can only guess that's what was 'too juicy for public consumption' earlier.
Rin looks over to Nitori and Mikoshiba, a stern look on his face. "Maybe you two would have lasted longer if you hadn't hit my sister."
They look down guiltily. "Sorry Rin-senpai," they say in unison, although Mikoshiba doesn't look sorry at all.
"And you hit the baker," Rin turns to Haru. "What was up with that?"
"I didn't mean to," Haru says, looking away. It must have been his aim again.
"Now, now!" Nagisa says, acting as mediator. "It's all in the past now! We all had fun, so let's remember the good things."
They talk together until it's finally time for Haru to leave.
"Have a good time at your parents' house!" Nagisa says, hugging him goodbye.
"I'm sure you'll be fine," Rei says. He knows Haru doesn't get on with his parents, but he's the type of person who thinks all people should see their parents at New Year's, even if they've had a huge fight.
"See you in a few days," Yamazaki says, then adds, somewhat awkwardly, "Haru."
Haru blinks at him, then replies, "See you, Sousuke." It's weird to call him by his first name, but he thinks he can get used to it.
He says goodbye to everyone else and walks with Makoto to the bus stop. Makoto is getting a later bus, but he offered to go to the bus stop with him anyway.
"Have a good time," Makoto says when the bus arrives. "And remember, you don't have to stay if things get too bad."
Haru nods, grateful for the advice. "Thanks. See you soon."
When he boards the bus and watches Makoto's silhouette fade into the distance, he wishes he was back there. Standing beside Makoto in the snow, feeling the warmth from his body. Smiling and laughing with his friends in the cafe. But there's nothing he can do, so he looks forward. It's only for a few days, after all.