Once Amakata Miho gave permission to her students, then requested a week's paid leave from the school board, she found herself in a curious situation. The prefectural tournament fell on the penultimate weekend of the first trimester, leaving them three more weeks to prepare for it, but since the trimester was nearing its end, no one would grant Amakata-sensei leave during the exam period, which was a mere two weeks away. This left her no choice but to suggest that the training camp be held in the final week of June, just before exams and just in time for the prefectural tournament. Her proposal was eventually accepted on one condition: that she provide ample study material for her classes so that they could prepare for their Classic Literature exams in her absence. As their exam would have been a take-home essay anyway, Amakata Miho was in luck. After all, it was her five students who had to make do without a week's worth of study material, but since the swim club was prepared to give it their all, the rest of the week was spent inquiring after the course load they were going to miss, and cramming for upcoming exams so that the material would only need be reread a few more times once they arrived back home.
The sudden increase in their workload, coupled with practice and other obligations, soon pushed any other concern out of their minds, and before they knew it, the day of departure had arrived. Come dawn of the last Monday of June, Makoto found himself dressed and ready to leave, his family gathered in the hallway in nothing but their pajamas to bid the eldest son a safe trip.
"Have fun," said Ran with a yawn.
"Buy souvenirs," moaned Ren as he rubbed his tired eyes.
"Stay safe, son," said Makoto's father, while his mother nodded with a look of tender concern. Makoto's shoulders were drooping under the equipment, which he had brought back from Haru so they could assemble and test the tents just in case, but now he straightened and did his best to look confident.
"I will. Take care!" he said to his parents before his eyes flitted to the twins, who remained inconsolable and released Onii-chan with a heavy heart. "Be good now," he told them with his brightest smile, and a moment later, the door closed behind him for good. He let out a sigh once nobody could hear him anymore, and before he left for the gate, he put his hands together by the moss-covered rock and its glass bottle.
"I bet you would have loved to swim instead of me," he whispered to his fish beneath the cold earth, still unable to raise his voice after six long years. A soft gust of wind swept by. The petals of the flowers in the glass bottle fluttered in its wake. "I'm sorry."
Makoto bowed his head in goodbye, then walked down the steps in front of his gate, but when he turned towards the stone stairs, he spotted Haru sitting under the single torii with one of the neighborhood cats purring contentedly beside him. He seemed to be lost in thought, his hand brushing over the cat's fur in slow, even strokes. Makoto broke into a smile. The way Haru used to stare at the white kitten in his hand had him worrying his friend didn't like cats at all.
"Morning, Haru!" he called to the other from below. Haruka lifted his head in a silent greeting, gathering his bag and the blue cooler beside him to join Makoto. He took one look at his friend and thought all that camping equipment might be heavy, especially when Makoto also had a bag of personal belongings to carry. Haru paused.
"I'll take one of the tents," he said, pointing to the bags peeking over Makoto's shoulder. His friend blinked in surprise.
"Are you sure, Haru? You don't have to.."
Haruka merely nodded in reply, and once he relieved Makoto of a single tent (Thank you, Haru), the two began their descent towards the bay.
"Oh, the twins told me to say hi," Makoto told him as they made the first turn. Haruka looked at him, his brow quirked. "They were really upset they weren't allowed to come with us. They told me they were going to miss out on all the fun."
"Ah," came the awkward reply. Makoto paused.
"Say, Haru.."
"What?" asked Haruka, his voice smaller than usual. Makoto gave him a sheepish look.
"You will probably be really busy after the training camp with exams and whatnot, but when you have some time, Ran and Ren would love for you to come over."
"Why?" Haru found himself asking, catching Makoto off guard as well.
"Eh?"
"Why do they want me to come over? They don't know me."
Makoto laughed. Haru's lips pursed in a small frown.
"Well, uh.. they've heard a lot about you, so they'd like to get to know you better," said Makoto, his eyes lowered and voice growing softer as he added, "And if we could spend time together, it would mean a lot to me."
Makoto must have meant himself and the twins, Haruka knew it was the only rational way to understand those words, yet his face grew uncomfortably hot as he turned his head and replied,
"Only if I have time."
He almost expected Makoto to start cajoling him as people were often wont to do, but Makoto merely tilted his head with a smile that verged so obviously on amused laughter it exasperated Haruka, all the more so because he no longer found it as annoying as he should have.
By the time the two of them reached the bay, Sasabe Goro had prepared the squid fishing boat for departure. Kou, Nagisa, and Rei formed a tight cluster as they waited for everyone to arrive, all of them dressed in bright, happy colors that made Haruka and Makoto look rather boring in comparison.
"Haru-chan! Mako-chan! Over here!" cried Nagisa with big sweeping waves of his arm, as though the four of them with their piles of luggage were easy to miss. Makoto waved back with a grin, he and Haruka soon joining the circle for a round of cheerful good mornings (or in Haru's case, a reasonable facsimile thereof.)
"Is everyone here?" asked Sasabe, who judged the group from around the table complete. Rei pushed his glasses back.
"We're still missing Amakata-sensei," he replied, and as if on cue, a tiny pink car swept past them, whirling around with lightning speed to take the first free parking space nearby. Everyone was stunned still, but their shock lasted well beyond Ama-chan's reckless driving when she finally appeared in a flowing summer dress and a large rolling suitcase. Kou merely smiled and Sasabe stared confused, but the boys eyed her and that large beige monster in dull-eyed disapproval. Was Ama-chan aware she would be dragging those tiny wheels in the sand for a week straight? Somehow, they doubted it.
"Sorry to keep you all waiting!" chirped Ama-chan as she drew her suitcase over to them. She then reached inside her handbag, completely unfazed by their baffled looks. "You must be Sasabe-san," she said to the gawking coach next, producing a neatly bundled bento that she reached out to him with a smile. "Thank you for your help. Please take this. It's just a token, but…"
"Oh, thank you," blurted Sasabe as he relieved her of the gift, his eyes never leaving her face. Amakata Miho quirked a brow.
"Is something wrong?"
"Oh, uh… I was wondering," replied Sasabe, his eyes narrowing in concentration and what he could only describe as déjà vu. "Have we met before?"
It seemed like a harmless question, yet Amakata stared at him as though she had seen a ghost.
"No, we haven't!" she cried at once, forcing an innocent smile. "This is the first time I've met you..!"
"Is he trying to hit on her?" muttered Kou behind Sasabe's back. The coach flinched.
"I'm not trying to hit on her!" he snapped in reply, then cleared his throat more loudly than necessary. "Everyone, time to get on board!"
As the boys had been crowding by the side, they shoved their bags onto the boat, and once they all climbed in, Makoto reached out a helping hand for Kou. In turn, Coach Sasabe did the same for Ama-chan when he was done hauling up her luggage. They were now ready to sail, and to add a little extra flair to their cruise, Sasabe hoisted a large colorful flag on the mast with Big Catch Sasa written on it.
"I'll fly our flag with a prayer for your training camp's success!" he said to the others, obviously happy to see the flag in its rightful place after a long hiatus. He then made his way over to the stirring wheel, while the others hurried to find themselves suitable places on board.
Nagisa immediately singled out the very edge of the bow, so Rei stopped a few steps away to keep an eye on him. Ama-chan and Kou sat down near the two of them to enjoy the view, and after some consideration, Makoto sank down by the side with his back to the water. In some respects, his seat was ill-chosen as he now faced the cabin, but Haru decided not to ask. Instead he perched himself opposite his friend, just a little to the side to stay in clear view of the water but within easy distance of Makoto.
"Now, let's set sail!" called out Sasabe.
"Full speed ahead!" cheered Kou.
"Deserted islands, here we come!" cried Nagisa, throwing his arms wildly to the side at the front of the bow, his shirt seized in the back by an anxious Rei.
"We're not going to a deserted island and don't stand so close to the edge, Nagisa-kun!"
"I'm king of the world!"
"Nagisa-kun!"
For someone who had never been on a boat ride before, Makoto had a very agreeable journey, if only because he never once looked at the waves below, his gaze almost always fixed on Haruka. The other was his complete opposite, eyes constantly on the water and hardly sparing a glance at Makoto, but as he proved all ears when it came to his friend's attempts at conversation, they spent their time in loose talk and entertained each other very well. Kou and Ama-chan scooted closer and closer over time, until they ended up sitting together, immersing themselves in some private conference that Nagisa and Rei could have eavesdropped on easily, but both had missed the opportunity. Nagisa remained by the bow till the last moment, and having inadvertently forced Rei to stand guard by his side on a wobbly platform for the entirety of the trip, Rei's discomfort soon swelled into raging seasickness. His complexion turned green by the time they pulled up to the pier, and the moment his foot touched solid ground, Rei blurted Excuse me and rushed off towards the nearest beach facility, with nothing but a handkerchief pressed to his face.
"Is Rei going to be okay?" asked Makoto, his brow creasing in worry. Nagisa patted his arm with an awkward smile.
"Don't worry, Mako-chan, I'm sure Rei-chan will be fine, but I'll check on him just in case!" he said, then promptly dashed off to the building Rei disappeared into, leaving Haru and Makoto to help unload everyone's luggage from the boat.
"This place is gorgeous!" sighed Kou, accepting Makoto's arm again once every item had been hoarded onto the pier.
"I'm so glad I came!" agreed Ama-chan as Coach Sasabe gallantly took her suitcase for her and helped her off the boat. He then climbed back on board and disappeared in the cabin, only to emerge with a red cooler.
"And here's a gift from me," he said as he handed it over to Haruka, who in turn was relieved of it by Makoto so it could find its place next to Haru's blue cooler.
The moment Rei entered the restroom, he fell to his knees in one of the stalls, waiting in agony for his seasickness to either disperse with time, or leave him by sheer force. That was how Nagisa found him, and though he shook his head, his expression was laden with guilt.
"You should have sat down, Rei-chan," he said quietly as he dug into his pocket and pulled out a packet of strong mints to give Rei a piece. The other fumbled for it and shoved it into his mouth, sucking furiously until the cold burst of menthol shot through his nostrils, clearing his aching head.
"It is you who should have sat down, Nagisa-kun.." he managed to force out between hard suckles of the mint. "Standing near the very edge.. low railing… what if you had fallen…"
Nagisa let out an awkward laugh and scratched the back of head, his cheeks a warm pink.
"I didn't really think about that…" he said as he walked over to the small window in the far end, propping his arms on the windowsill to wait for Rei.
"What were you thinking about then..?" demanded Rei in a weak voice, but he received no answer. He fell silent for a little while himself, crushing the mint between his molars and taking deep breaths to steady himself, and once his nausea relented, Rei rose from the toilet and walked to the sink to wash his face. Nagisa was still standing by the window as motionless as a statue. Rei frowned.
"Didn't you hear what I said, Nagisa-kun?"
"Rei-chan…" came the alarmingly slow reply. Rei blinked and closed the distance in a few hurried steps, his head peeking out above Nagisa's.
"What is it?"
"There..!" pointed Nagisa. Rei's eyes widened in a gasp. "Do you think it's—"
"We'd better tell the others right away," said Rei in an urgent tone, and once Nagisa nodded in agreement, they bolted out of the restroom and ran back towards the pier.
In the few short minutes the two of them were gone, Coach Sasabe assumed his place by the stirring wheel again to leave the shore for Iwatobi Harbor. Everyone present gathered by the edge of the pier to see him off and wave goodbye, knowing well he was only to return on their last day of camp.
"Good luck! I'll see you in a week!" shouted Sasabe. A few expert maneuvers later, he brought his boat around, and set sail with his flag still in place.
"Thank you very much!" cried the others after him, their arms in the air until Coach Sasabe had shrunk so much into the distance they could no longer see him waving back.
"I'll look around for a good camping site," offered Ama-chan, who had been longing to take a walk down the beach. Her motion was gladly accepted. The others remained behind to look after their bags, all of which had been accounted for in the meantime except the coolers, the contents of which remained unknown and had tried Kou's patience far enough. She unlocked and opened the red cooler left to them by Coach Sasabe, finding it chock full of ice, a few canned sodas, and half a dozen frozen pizzas courtesy of Pizza Boy. Kou shook her head with a lenient smile. She then opened the blue cooler Haruka had brought with him. Her eyes narrowed.
"What's this?" she said out loud, staring down at what appeared to be raw fish.
"Mackerel," came Haruka's reply from behind her. Kou groaned.
"You like mackerel way too much," she said to Haruka with a glare, only to be interrupted by the distressed cries of Rei and Nagisa, who came running full speed towards their group.
"Everyone!" Rei called out to them the moment they reached the base of the pier. Nagisa's shoulders were shaking as he doubled over with loud gasps.
"You gotta see this!" he blurted out between ragged breaths, one hand limply thrown out in the direction they were coming from. "Hurry, hurry!"
Makoto and Haruka exchanged looks, one more worried than the other, and once Ama-chan could be prevailed upon to come back and guard their equipment, the boys and Kou hurried off with Nagisa and Rei.
It took them some ten minutes of arduous running to get to the very heart of the tropical forest that seemed to stretch from shore to island shore, but at last they reached the upper glass walls of what appeared to be an enormous deep-structure sports facility. Ama-chan had briefly brought it to their attention when she received permission from the school board, but they quickly dismissed it as financially impossible. Now it seemed it was just as well, for the entire pool had been reserved for none other than the swim team of Samezuka Academy.
"Inoue! Yamanaka! You're falling behind! Pick up the pace!" they heard a familiar voice shout from below. Makoto tensed, his brow creased at the memory of hearing it up close.
"So the students we saw from the window really were from Samezuka Academy…" muttered Rei as they gathered by the glass to take a peek inside. Nagisa kneeled down to get a closer look and sure enough, he soon found what he was after.
"Look, Rin-chan's here too..!" he said as he pointed out a small red-haired figure near Captain Mikoshiba. Rei's eyes widened. He quickly turned to shoot Kou an accusing look.
"Is this your doing, Kou-san?" he asked with narrowed eyes. Kou looked positively shocked.
"What? I swear I didn't know about anything this time!" she blurted, her cheeks flushed in indignation.
"Really?" asked Nagisa. Kou sighed and lowered her head.
"I mean, my brother never even talks to me anymore…" she said in a small voice that turned Makoto's features hard as stone. He and Haruka were the only ones still staring down at the Samezuka swim team, but the look of disapproval Makoto gave the eldest Matsuoka from above was heavy enough for four times his number. Thankfully, it went unnoticed by everyone around him, Rin included.
"And besides…" continued Kou, stealing a glance at Haru whose distant, determined expression caused her to stop mid-sentence. Neither she nor Haruka had mentioned the fateful encounter behind the ZERO store to the others, and as Haruka chose not to speak, Kou decided to leave that decision to him.
"Besides?" Nagisa prompted her, but Kou merely flashed him an apologetic smile.
"Oh, it's nothing."
"So it's just a coincidence," said Nagisa, sounding cheerful again. "In that case, we should go down there and say hello!"
"Don't," said Haruka in a firm voice. Nagisa blinked.
"Huh? Why not?"
Haruka lowered his eyes, but his expression remained the same.
"I promised him we would meet at prefecturals."
"What? Really?" cried Nagisa in surprise, and when Haruka nodded, he and Rei broke into hopeful smiles.
When did that happen? wondered Makoto, but while Nagisa and Rei welcomed Haruka's news as an exciting development, Makoto's lips curled into a small, bitter frown. Rin seemed to hang over them like a dark shadow whatever they did, wherever they went. Of all the sports facilities in Japan, why did he have to come right here, right now, and why would Haru make him such a promise in the first place? Had Rin not caused enough damage? Did he coerce Haru to make that promise? The more he thought about it, the darker Makoto's expression had become, and though he did his best to smooth out his features by the time Rei suggested they leave, he shot the culprit one last look that sent barbed tingles up Rin's spine. His eyes darted to the glass above and missed the united Iwatobi Swim Club by mere seconds. Nitori followed his eyes.
"What is it, Senpai?" he asked in a cautious tone. Rin's shoulders relaxed, but only a little.
"Oh.. I thought I smelled something," he found himself saying, his thoughts whirling around a line from a famous English play. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Or was there a better English phrase for it..?
"Smelled something?"
To smell fishy: to seem suspicious. That's it.
"Smelled like mackerel," replied Rin with a sharp glare at the glass. Nitori didn't catch his meaning.
"Oh, Matsuoka! You've got a good nose!" said Captain Mikoshiba behind him, equally oblivious and obviously impressed. "We're having mackerel curry for lunch! Now practice hard!" he roared to the rest of the club, and everyone cried in the affirmative except for Rin, who turned away in resentment. He walked to the starting blocks and left Nitori staring after him in concern, wondering why Senpai disliked fish so much.
While Samezuka Academy pushed forward towards the sweet and spicy promise of mackerel curry, the Iwatobi Swim Club headed back towards the beach, where Ama-chan had been keeping herself busy with the aid of a small booklet. As soon as she saw them, however, she stood up, ready to hand all responsibility back to her students without a moment's delay.
"That spot near the stairs would be perfect for your tents," she greeted them, motioning towards a stretch of sand by the small flight of stone steps Rei had first taken to reach the restroom. The restroom, and a roof-protected wooden platform with a large table right next to it were within easy distance of the steps, so the boys agreed to erect their tents close by.
"While you boys set up camp, I'll go and get something to drink," Ama-chan told them next, and when everyone nodded and told her they would guard her suitcase, she left them with a happy smile to finally take the walk they had interrupted earlier. Her place near the bags was occupied by Kou so the tent building could begin, with Haruka and Makoto working on one as Rei and Nagisa assembled the other. The ocean frothed and foamed invitingly behind them the entire time, but for better or worse, their thoughts kept drifting back towards the sports facility, and one of its guests in particular.
When Ama-chan came back ten minutes later, the tents were starting to take their final shape.
"You are doing very well," she said cheerfully. Nagisa let out a whine.
"I bet Samezuka students get to stay in the hotel," he moaned as he secured another corner. "And go to a nice facility everyday..! I wanna swim in a fifty-meter pool…"
"Samezuka Academy?" replied Ama-chan with a surprised look, but when they filled her in on their discovery, she shrugged her shoulders with a soothing smile.
"I guess powerhouse schools do get special treatment," was all she had to say on the matter, unfettered by the idea of their having to sleep in tents instead of comfortable rooms.
"They're clearly in a different class," muttered Rei with a frown. Haruka shrugged.
"Doesn't matter," he said quietly. At his words, Makoto paused and broke into a smile, hoping it was simply another way of saying, I don't care if Rin is here as long as I can be with my friends.
"Haru's right," he said, glad to have something positive to latch onto. "Our goal for this training camp is to build stamina anyway."
"Right! We still have our deserted islands!" replied Nagisa with renewed enthusiasm. Rei scoffed.
"Are you comparing fifty-meter pools to deserted islands?" he scolded Nagisa.
"Aren't they similar?" asked his friend, earning an angry groan from Rei.
"How are they similar?!" he harped, but before Nagisa could draw up a list, Ama-chan cleared her throat and reached for the handle of her suitcase.
"Okay, then," she said as she turned to Kou. "Let's go check in at the lodge."
"Sure," came the happy reply, followed by a series of surprised chokes from behind the tents.
"The lodge?" came a chorus of confused voices as all of them hurried over to their advisor and manager to demand an explanation, Haruka tagging along out of mere curiosity.
"What do you mean?" asked Nagisa with his brow creased. Ama-chan flashed him a sweet smile.
"We booked lodging for ourselves," she explained, whirling around like a show hostess to extend her hand towards the rows of handsome houses in the distance. "Over there!"
Makoto, Rei, and Nagisa stared at her utterly betrayed, but Ama-chan remained as unmoved as Haruka.
"You can't expect a couple of girls to sleep outside," she told them with her brightest smile. "Right, Kou-chan?" she nodded to Kou, whose role had been key in securing less expensive accommodation for two, instead of Ama-chan having to pay for a single lodge all by herself.
"Right!" came the glowing reply.
Makoto, Nagisa and Rei stood there wide-eyed, absolutely gutted that even their faithful manager had forsaken them for a cozy bed, but Kou looked just as pleased with herself as Ama-chan. The two of them soon disappeared up the stone stairs and down the path, leaving the four boys and all their belongings behind.
"Class difference again…" said Rei under his breath. Nagisa's brow creased pitifully.
"Are we really the bottom one percent?"
Makoto's lips parted. He almost caught himself saying he wished he could go with them, to sleep in a lodge instead of a tent that was much too close to the ocean, but he bit his tongue just in time. Having offered the tents himself, it would have been ridiculous to pine for what he couldn't have, and besides… Besides… if he asked Haru nicely, perhaps he wouldn't mind sharing a tent with him…
"Like Haru said, it doesn't matter," was all he allowed himself to say, and when Haruka turned to him with his brow quirked, Makoto tried for a smile that might have looked weak and insincere, but still had warmth enough to make Haru tense and turn his head.
Ama-chan and Kou soon checked in and successfully claimed their accommodation for the next seven days, marveling at their good luck when they realized that most of the neighboring buildings had been reserved for Samezuka Academy. On the street below, tracksuit-clad students kept popping up like mushrooms, but thankfully, none of them were noisy. All Kou could hear from her window was a faint murmur as they passed on the way to, or back from, the convenience store down the road.
"This is a lovely place," came Ama-chan's voice from behind her, having settled down by the small living room table to look at her booklet, which she stuck full of post-it notes for easy reference of everything the island had to offer.
"They offer rock bathing nearby, and the guide says they also offer a seasonal facial treatment in summer. If we go now, we can get free coupons for extra hyaluronan!" continued Ama-chan, unaware she had since lost Kou's attention to the steady flock of Samezuka students walking down the street. While her advisor unpacked her suitcase, then left with a small portable folding chair to supervise the Iwatobi Swim Club, Kou remained by the window for a little longer, hoping Onii-chan might show up as well.
She must have spent at least half an hour watching students come and go, to no avail. Indeed, she had seen dozens of unfamiliar faces before an acquaintance appeared at last, and unluckily for him, he wasn't the one she was most longing to see.
"Kou-san! Is that you, Kou-san?" waved Mikoshiba Seijuurou with a grin, having managed to catch a glimpse of her on his way to the convenience store.
"Captain Mikoshiba..!" replied Kou, her cheeks a little flushed at how loudly he was yelling to her from the street. Seriously… "What are you doing here?" she managed to ask in an innocent tone. Mikoshiba grinned even wider.
"Samezuka Academy is holding a training camp to prepare for prefecturals! The entire swim team is here!"
"Everyone..?" asked Kou with as much surprise as she could muster. "Even my brother?"
"Absolutely! In fact, Matsuoka's room is the one next to mine. Shall I relay a message to him, Kou-san?"
"Oh… no, it's fine," replied Kou with a sheepish smile. "I think it's better if he doesn't know we're here…"
"We? Is your family here with you, Kou-san?" asked Seijuurou, his tone a tad more serious at the idea that he might meet the young lady's mother. Kou blinked.
"N-No, actually, I'm here with the Iwatobi Swim Club," she replied, though the mental image of Ama-chan as the mother of four boys and herself made her want to laugh. "They are also on a training camp."
"How wonderful," said Mikoshiba, internally congratulating the swim club on having chosen the perfect time and place to harmonize with Samezuka. "Then tell them to train hard, for Samezuka will show them no mercy at prefecturals!"
"We will never lose to Samezuka!" cried Kou with her fist in the air, but the way Seijuurou grinned up at her with flushed cheeks caused her to lower her hand to hide her own smile. She smothered a giggle with little success. Seijuurou scratched at the nape of his neck.
"Are you busy, Kou-san?" he ventured to say at last, his voice politely lowered. "Will you have a cup of coffee with me?"
Kou blinked, then scratched her cheek with a finger.
"Oh.. sorry, I have to go and supervise the swim club," she replied, her tone almost apologetic. Seijuurou looked disappointed, but only for a moment. It was evident Kou-san would have gladly chosen him, had she no pressing obligations, and that was good enough for now.
"Ah, I see… well, some other time then!" he replied with a jovial smile and a casual salute, and once Kou said her goodbyes and disappeared from the window, Seijuurou continued his trip to the convenience store, his head so full of pleasant daydreams he walked right into a student at the entrance.