Rei thought that the whole reason he couldn't swim was because of the speedo he borrowed from Nagisa. But that was just wishful thinking. Either way, we were still going to the mall to buy him a new swimsuit. The plan was to meet at my house and head to the station together. I decided to wear the outfit that Yukari gave me the other day. It's now one of my favorites. Haru and Makoto were the first to arrive—being the closest to me—so my mom had come out to talk to them and offer food.
"Hi Mrs. Matsumura!" Kou called as she came up the walkway.
"It's so nice to see you again, Kou!" mom pulled her in for a hug. "When Riku told me you were the club manager, I was so excited! Tell your mom I say hello."
"I will," she smiled. A few moments later, Nagisa practically skipped up to the door, Rei in tow.
"Hey Mrs. Matsumura!" Nagisa said. My mom smiled, holding out a bag of sweets for him. I shook my head. She really was ridiculously nice. Nagisa's eyes lit up and he immediately ripped the bag open.
She turned to Rei, "You must be Ryuugazaki. Riku's told me a little about you. You're welcome to come over anytime."
"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Matsumura," he bowed, glasses nearly falling off his face.
"Everyone's here," I said, "we should probably get going."
I sent a smile to my mom as she waved us off.
.oOo.
On the way over to the train station, Nagisa told us that Amakata-Sensei couldn't come and proceeded to spout off far-fetched excuses for the next five minutes. I tried to tune him out. I should probably get a new swimsuit while we're here. It's been a while since I bought a new one. On the train ride over Nagisa was now talking about what style and color Rei should get for a swimsuit. When the train had reached the station Nagisa was the first to be out the door and walking to the sports equipment store.
From the moment we entered the sports equipment store, Haru was drawn to a collection of purple jammers. He stood staring at them with intent until he finally picked a few off the rack. Makoto and I watched him from the side.
"I'm trying them on," he said before heading to the changing room. I spared a glance at Makoto—I could tell we were thinking the same thing.
Rei followed Haru to the changing rooms.
Makoto and Nagisa neared the changing rooms while I sat down on the bench with Kou. I could tell she was excited. She was almost quivering at the thought of seeing muscles. As soon as Rei revealed his suit, I was stunned. Why would anyone want rainbow jammers? I peered up at him as he began to explain his reasoning.
"Given the fact that each color has an impact on one's state of mind, I'm stacking the deck in my favor," he held his head high, letting out a maniacal laugh.
"You don't mind looking like a technicolor zebra?" Makoto asked. I had to stifle a giggle.
"I'm finished too," Haru announced as he opened the curtain. He gestured to his swimsuit, "How is it?"
"They're great," Makoto said.
"But how are they any different from your other pairs?" I raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to tell me otherwise.
"They aren't any different," Nagisa agreed.
"They are too. They fit me better, just look," Haru looked pleased as he glanced down at the suit. I face palmed as Nagisa whisked Makoto off to get swimsuits of their own. Kou, of course, was already fangirling over the the boys' muscles. I watched as they changed into different swimsuits, but as soon as Rei tried on one that literally looked like a human-sized butterfly, I left to get my own. No point in staying for that circus.
There was a grey and white striped bikini that caught my eye on the way over to the one-piece bathing suits. I grabbed one in my size before I continued on my way. After going through all of the bathing suits, I narrowed it down to two. One was a black one-piece with a grey stripe going down the sides, and the other was black and white. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of maroon hair. I figured Kou had probably gotten bored of the boys continually trying on suits. I was glad she'd be able to help me decide.
"Hey, which one should I get?" I asked; but when I turned around, it wasn't Kou… it was Rin. I grimaced. He was the one person I didn't want to see.
"That one," he pointed to the one with the grey stripes.
"What are you doing here?" I asked as I turned back to face the rack.
"Captain Mikoshiba wanted the team to come and pick out jammers."
"Then you should go find them. You don't want to be caught with someone who's not worth your time."
"You're not a waste of my time, Riku," Rin had grabbed my shoulder, forcing me to face him. My heart began to race at his sudden touch. I peered into his red eyes, searching for some sort of sign that would tell me what he was thinking. I didn't find anything.
"You have an odd way of showing it."
Our conversation was cut short, however, when Makoto called to me, "Riku!"
Our gazes broke as I turned toward the noise, but then I looked back up at him, "I have to go."
"Are you two…" Rin trailed off, completely serious.
"Really, Rin?" I narrowed my eyes. I couldn't believe him. "You of all people should know Makoto's like a brother to me."
"What about me?" he asked. I stared up at him, dumbfounded. Why did he want to know? Rin wasn't acting like the asshole he had been over the past few weeks. I took a deep breath in before I gave him my answer.
"A dick," I picked up the grey and white bikini with the other two one-pieces. "I'll see you around, Rin." I gave him a small smile before walking off.
"Hey Riku, where did you go?" Makoto asked as I came into view.
"I couldn't let you guys have all the fun," I rolled my eyes, holding up the swimsuits.
"So, you're getting all of those?" Nagisa asked.
"Oh, I guess I forgot to put this one back," I held up the swimsuit that Rin didn't pick. I couldn't put my finger on the reason I took Rin's advice, but somehow I felt it was genuine.
"That'll look really good on you!" Nagisa agreed before he went back to picking out swimsuits for Rei.
"Thanks," I smiled, "Where's Haru?"
"He's trying on another swimsuit," Makoto said. I did my best not to look worried when I thought about Haru and Rin running into each other. When I looked up at Makoto, I knew he could tell, but before he could ask, Rei had spoken.
"Has your mom always been into cooking?"
"She's actually my step-mom," I said. He turned to me, ready to apologize, but I interjected first, "It's okay. Ever since she came into my life, she felt like my real mom. My step-mom won my dad over with her cooking and her kindness. I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Check it out Rei! This one was meant for you," Nagisa held out a zebra striped speedo with a devilish grin on his face.
"Stop trying to get me to wear another speedo!" Rei yelled. Makoto and I laughed at their antics.
"How about we look over there?" I suggested as I pointed to the longer suits. Nagisa skipped off towards the racks, and the rest of us trailed behind. It would at least get us away from the speedos for now. Rei let out another unnerving laugh when he found the pair for him. It was black with blue stripes down the side. Rei had grabbed a swim cap and prescription goggles too, so all that was left was the check out. But we could find Kou after we paid, so we decided to head outside.
"There you are!" Nagisa said when he saw Kou leaning up against a wall outside.
"Is something wrong?" Makoto asked. Kou strutted over to us, plastering a smile on her face.
"What gave you that idea?" she waved her hands, and let out a nervous giggle. I raised my eyebrows. Did she know Rin was here?
"Have you seen Haru?" Nagisa asked.
"No," she replied quickly. Just as the words were spoken, Haru showed up behind her. I tried to read his expression, but it was stoic as always. Hopefully he hadn't run into Rin.
.oOo.
Rei only had two days left to learn to swim. He hopped on the starting block with confidence. Hopefully this was the solution we were looking for. Makoto, Nagisa, Kou, and I were sitting at the edge of the pool while Haru dried himself off with a towel.
"You know, from over here he looks like a world class swimmer," Makoto said.
"Guess we'll see if the clothes make the man," Nagisa added.
"This just might work!"
"His entry point is spot on," Makoto said as Rei took the dive. Unfortunately, he couldn't manage to stay afloat.
"Why!" Rei yelled, clenching his goggles in his fist. To all of our surprise, Haru dove into the water and offered to teach him freestyle.
"Did Haru just offer to teach Rei, or am I dreaming?" I said, mouth hanging open.
"With Haru on the job, Rei can't fail!" Nagisa cheered.
The four of us watched as Haru taught Rei how to swim free. Now was the moment that Rei would swim the stroke by himself. But yet again, he sunk to the bottom within seconds.
"Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration," Amakata-sensei spoke through Rei's screams of frustration.
"That's Edison right?" Makoto asked.
"Basically, hard work always trumps natural talent," Kou shrugged.
"Looks like we're in for some serious forty-eight-hour training," Nagisa sighed.
"Not exactly," Amakata-Sensei got our attention once more. "I interpret Edison's saying as all the hard work in the world means nothing without inspiration. So uninspired labor is pointless."
"That's not very inspirational!" Kou whined, hanging her head, and running a hand through her hair.
After that, I went to change back into my uniform (I planned on showering at home). Makoto and Nagisa were drying off, watching Haru and Rei who were sitting in the corner of the pool deck.
"I'm gonna go see what's taking so long," Nagisa started to walk over.
"Nagisa," Makoto got the attention of the first year, "Let them talk it out. They actually have a lot in common. I think they're beginning to realize that for themselves."
"I think you're right," Nagisa smiled to himself. As I watched, I realized that they truly were very similar.
I smiled to myself. They'd make a great team.