Chapter 8: What Changes it All

After school, like always, club activity's time has arrived–which means the club members were already gathering at their usual spot. That includes the swimming club. The pool area was already filled with swimming club's members, already dressed in their swimsuit and finished their warm-ups. Now the only thing they needed to do was waiting for their captain along with his commands.

Asahi did his warm-up; stretching his left leg and bending his knee slightly. But, as he stretched to make his muscles ready to swim, his fuchsia eyes focusing itself on something else. The pair of orbs watched as Haru and Ikuya bending their left leg until they lowered to the ground and stretched their right leg.

Makoto had his jaw hanging slightly at the sight. It continued; Haru and Ikuya stretched their upper arm at the same count and in the same way. That's where Makoto finally opened his mouth.

"Hey, Ikuya. What's up with that?" he asked in confusion.

"What do you mean?" the said boy asked back, not looking at Makoto.

"You're imitating Haru –"

"I'm not!"

Haru ignored it, deciding to focus on his warm-ups even though his face clearly screamed discomfort with the imitating thing. Makoto scooted closer to Haru.

"Hey Haru, what's up with Ikuya?" he whispered to black-haired boy.

"Like I know." Haru remarked, not even sharing Makoto a glance.

And they heard a splash. Haru and Makoto, along with Asahi and Ikuya, immediately looked at the source of it. They greeted with a sight of Tomoya swimming backstroke, slicing through the chlorined liquid with ease.

"What's that!?" Asahi exclaimed as he saw something he had never seen before.

Halfway through the lane, Tomoya switched her swimming stroke–from backstroke to breaststroke. Ikuya also had his amber eyes widened slightly, completely off guard with the quick changing. Tomoya entered the turn, slapping the wall with her hand before kicking it.

"Hey, first years!" Natsuya called as he approached them with Nao beside him.

"Hello, senpai!" Makoto greeted back after he turned towards the upperclassman.

"Hi!"

"'ello."

Asahi and Haru did the same thing as Natsuya and Nao responded it with a smile. Realizing something was lacking, Natsuya looked at Ikuya who didn't say a word since the two upperclassmen arrived. The dark sea green-haired boy didn't say his greetings.

"Ikuya, greetings." The older boy reminded.

The said boy looked. "'ello." He said curtly.

Natsuya scanned the four of them before blinking. "Where's Tomoya?"

As if answering his question, the said girl slammed her hands on the wall–signaling she finished her 50m swim. Tomoya panted, trying to regain her breathing pattern as she removed her swimming cap and googles. She shook her head, trying to dry her dark chocolate-colored hair from the water.

"Tomo-chan," Makoto called her. Tomoya looked up, her eyes met with two hands that were outstretched for her. She smiled as she took both of it in her grip, Haru and Makoto pulled her up from the pool.

"Thank you." She thanked her friends and turned towards Natsuya and Nao. "Hello, senpai!"

"You shouldn't have practice until both of us arrived, you know." Natsuya scolded her softly as he poked her forehead. Haru narrowed his blue eyes as he studied the gesture.

"Sorry," she apologized sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her head. "I couldn't help it, I just want to try something."

"By the way, what was that!?" Asahi asked eagerly. Tomoya looked at him and blinked.

"What?" she asked back, confused.

"How you swim! You used all strokes in 50m swim!" Asahi exclaimed as he drew his face closer to Tomoya, who had to step back so their head didn't bump to each other.

"Uh… that's – "

"Did you just do individual medley?" asked Nao as he looked at the younger girl while Natsuya had his jaws hanging slightly.

"Individual medley?" Makoto asked in confusion as he looked at Haru, who looked back at him before the two looked at Tomoya–who looked back at them while shrugging her shoulders.

"It's a new type of swim," Nao started to explain. "Individual medley used all strokes. If it's 100m, then it means 25m backstroke, 25m breaststroke, 25m butterfly, and 25m free. It's getting popular and earned a position in official swim competition."

"I don't know that kind of thing exists…" Makoto commented. "Tomo-chan always do it since we're little, I thought it's just for fun."

"Me too." Tomoya added. Haru looked at her, raising an eyebrow. The said girl just chuckled nervously.

"I guess there's many things we don't know, huh." Makoto said.

"And that's a rare one." Natsuya commented before he looked at Asahi. "How are you Asahi? Think you'll be able to swim free again?"

"Yes!" he said confidently while holding a fist up. "Because Nao-senpai suggested the cause might be mental, I went to the library yesterday and borrowed some mental training books!"

"Hmm. Good work." Natsuya complimented the boy for his effort. Asahi rubbed the back of his head sheepishly because of it.

"Hopefully you'll be able to swim again."

"Yes! I think I'm okay now!"

"I see."

Ikuya kept his mouth closed, his amber eyes focused on the tiled floor beneath his feet as his ears caught the conversation between his older brother and Asahi. He could only clench his fist to channeled his emotions.

"Then, I'll leave the first years to you." Natsuya finally said as he looked at Nao and the said boy nodded. The captain turned his back to walk away, but somehow, he found himself glancing back. His amber eyes managed to caught Tomoya's figure over his shoulder.

The said girl, who noticed she's being watched, looked towards Natsuya. She smiled at the older boy and Natsuya immediately looked away, fixing his halted pace. Ikuya, on the other hand, tried to ignore everything–especially the negative emotions pressuring his chest. He knew he couldn't always kept his posture straight, he also knew he frowned every time he interacted with his brother.

"Captain, shall we get started?" one of the members called out to Natsuya.

"Yeah, I'm coming." The said boy said as he slightly jogged to reached his place faster.

Makoto, Haru, Tomoya, Asahi, and Nao watched him go. The older boy with lavender hair sighed as his lemon green eyes fixated on Natsuya's figure. Haru, with his keen blue eyes, managed to catch the gesture in his sight.

"He really is kind of awkward." Nao muttered to himself. Then, the older boy turned away to look over his shoulder. Haru followed his gaze and that gaze rested on Tomoya–who's in the middle of conversation with Makoto.

"And now, things got more complicated." Nao continued. Haru looked back at Nao with slightly widened eyes.

The older boy, who noticed Haru's gaze, turned to look at him and smiled at Haru. Nao finally faced the five of them with his hands on his hip.

"Then, shall we get started?" he suggested.

"Yes!"

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Soon enough, the first years found themselves wearing their swimming cap and googles. Lining up behind the starting block, Haru and Asahi stepped on it. Behind them, Makoto and Ikuya fixed their googles' position so while they're swimming water wouldn't interrupted their vision. While the boys used two lanes, Tomoya went to a separated lane just beside the two and positioned herself on the starting block like Haru and Asahi.

"Let's begin with practicing starts." Nao announced. "Let's try a track start. The one where you place one of your feet in front of the other."

Haru, Asahi, and Tomoya followed the instructions; positioning their foot in front of the other and bending their body so their hands could touch the starting block.

"Don't bend your knees too much. Pay attention to how long it takes for you to react." Nao instructed as he studied their figure.

"Ready!" Nao placed the whistle on his lips and blew, signaling the three to jump into the water.

"Next!"

Makoto and Ikuya did the same thing as before; positioning themselves on the starting block to make a track start and waited for Nao's signal.

"Ready!" Nao called out and then blew the whistle. Makoto and Ikuya immediately jumped into the water. They repeated it for a few times like start practice should do until they finally gathered by the poolside to hear Nao's opinion.

"That's no good," The older boy commented. "You're all taking too long to jump in after the sound of the whistle. You aren't using the benefits of the track start at all."

"Try concentrating on the spot right under your belly button," Nao explained as he placed a hand on Asahi's stomach to show how it's done. He then pushed Asahi's shoulder so that the red-head would bend down. "All of you, because that's where your center of gravity is."

The rest of them bend their body down to match Asahi's posture with their hands didn't touch the floor.

"How is it? It feels stable, doesn't it?" Nao said. "That will make you feel more at ease. Now take a big breath, and then let it out. It should feel like you're breathing out all the tension in your body."

They followed the instruction, opening their mouth and take a big breath before exhaling it slowly.

"Now, this is the important part…" Nao said as he walked to stand behind them, eyes never leaving their figure. "After you exhale, while carefully regulating your breathing, turn your whole body into an ear."

"An ear?" Asahi repeated in confusion as Ikuya furrowed his eyebrows.

"That's right, an ear." Nao confirmed as he placed of his hands behind his ears. "Like you're listening for the whistle with all of the nerves in your body."

"This is hard…" Makoto commented.

"An ear…" Haru and Tomoya muttered at the same time.

"Well, you probably don't understand," Nao said. "It's fine."

Asahi lifted his head to look at the older boy, surprised. "Is it?"

"Yeah, it's just something that you have to learn by doing." Nao explained and then he walked away. "Now everyone, come over here."

"Eh?"

The five of them lifted their heads up to look at Nao, confusion plastered on their face. Nao looked back at them.

"Let's play slapjack." He said, which confused them even more.

The next minute, Haru found himself folding his legs to sit on a blue mattress with eyes looking at a bottlecap that placed in front of him. He also wore the swim club's jacket along with the others. Nao himself sat across the younger boy. It's clear that neither he nor his friends understand what's going on.

"Nao-senpai? This is…?" Makoto asked as his voice faltered.

"Like I said: slapjack." Nao said. "Place both your hands in front of your knees, and lift your hips a little. The one who knocks this cap away first wins."

The older boy explained as he placed a hand on the bottlecap. "If you keep doing this, you'll learn what it means to turn your whole body into an ear."

Nao then looked at Haru. "Let's start with Haruka. Makoto, please blow the whistle."

"Ah, okay." Makoto nodded and placed the whistle on his lips.

Silence engulfed the six of them immediately. Asahi, Ikuya, Makoto, and Tomoya looked at Nao and Haru who're consentrating as their eyes fixated at the bottlecap. And then Makoto blew the whistle.

Just as Haru began to thrust his hand to slap away the cap, it was already thrown a few meters from where they were. Clearly Nao was the one who slapped it away. Haru had his eyes widened at as he slowly turned his head to looked at the bottlecap which clatter to stop. Not just him, the others had bewildered expression on their face.

"I win." Nao said as he smiled. Haru looked at him for a second before looking away with a frown.

Asahi suddenly laughed and put a hand on Haru's shoulder. "You must be weak at this, Haru. Next is my turn!"

Asahi sat down and not a second after that Makoto blew the whistle. Nao, with his amazing hearing, quickly slapped the cap away. Asahi didn't even have his hand thrust out to reach the cap. The red head had his formed a dumfounded expression.

Then it went on like that. Ikuya had his turn and also failed, his outstretched hand wasn't fast enough to slap the bottlecap away before Nao did. The same thing applied to Makoto and the two could only watched at how fast the rounded plastic object could be thrown a few meters from them in such speed.

"He's a monster." Asahi concluded as his face filled with horror.

"Hm?" Nao looked at Asahi who immediately looked away.

"Nothing!"

"Tomoya's turn now." Nao said as the said girl had her hands up and immediately shook her head.

"I'm the same as them, so–"

"You won't know if you try, right?" Nao cut her off and Tomoya sighed in defeat.

Finally, the younger girl seated herself on the mattress with her hands on it. Haru was the one who held the whistle and ready to give it a blow. The two fixated their eyes on the bottlecap, engulfed in silence before Haru blew the whistle.

Tomoya had her hand touch the mattress, losing the bottlecap as it was slapped away by Nao. She looked at the thrown bottlecap in bewilderment, just like the others.

"Why is this guy just a manager?" Haru muttered while the said older boy just smiled.

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"Now then, shall we start on your exchange training?"

Nao suggested as the five of them currently stood while backing the pool and that suggestion sent a frown to Haru's face.

"We don't have much time left until the practice tournament with Sano Middle School."

Makoto and Tomoya, who noticed the change of expression turned to look at the boy.

"Haru? Are you okay?" Makoto asked. The said boy faced them for a second before looking away.

"Fine." He remarked quickly. Both Makoto and Tomoya let out a low sigh as they received the respond. They didn't notice Nao's eyes were boring to their figures.

"Now everyone, get ready." Nao said. "Tomoya, can you hold the stopwatch?"

The said girl only nodded as the device was placed on her hand. Tomoya suddenly felt a hand landed on her shoulder. She looked at the owner of the hand, which was Makoto.

"Tomo-chan too, are you okay with this?" he asked in a concern tone. Tomoya nodded while curling up a sour smile.

"It couldn't be helped," she answered while looking at the stopwatch on her hand.

Makoto nodded and wore his swimming cap along with his green lensed googles. The boy jumped into the pool and gripped the railing on the starting block.

"Get into your starting position," Nao said and Makoto pulled himself so he got into backstroke's start position. The others watched from the dry side; Ikuya began to wear his swimming cap and Asahi did a little warm up. Haru, on the other hand, looked away with a sour expression etched on his face. Tomoya had her eyes focused on the pool even though her face was slightly downcast.

"Ready!" Nao said. The older boy blew the whistle not too long after that and Tomoya immediately pushed the start button on the stopwatch.

Makoto jumped into the water to start his underwater phase before he started to move his arms to swim forward, slicing the water with his stroke. Nao looked at him with smile leaving his face. As Makoto entering the turn, Ikuya stepped on the starting block and bent his body to make start position.

Ikuya looked at Makoto's figure who's getting closer to the starting block. Then he jumped into the water with the wrong time, when Makoto wasn't even touching the wall.

"Ikuya, that was too early. That's a false start!" Nao said.

Now, Asahi stepped on the starting block as Ikuya started to swim closer to it. While Ikuya jumped into the pool too fast, Asahi was the opposite. The red head jumped into the pool a few seconds after Ikuya had his hands touched the wall.

"That was too slow! What would you do if you lost time in a real race because of that?" Nao said as he watched Asahi swim away. Ikuya stepped out from the pool, removing his swimming cap and googles as he panted.

Now it's Haru's turn. The black-haired boy stepped on to the starting block. His eyes focused on the chlorined liquid beneath him before looking forward, seeing Asahi started to get closer from where he started. But, his sight changed. It wasn't Asahi who's getting closer.

It was Rin.

Haru's eyes widened as he looked down, his sour expression doubled after the memory of his relay haunted his mind again. Makoto and Tomoya looked at him, not saying anything. Haru bent down, positioning himself so he made a track start. Asahi smacked the wall with his hand and Haru dive into the water a few seconds after it happened. His start was slow, just like Asahi.

"You were also too slow, Haruka!"

Makoto and Tomoya watched as the boy's swimming pattern changed; from the graceful one they used to see into a frantic one filled with frustration.

"Haru…" Makoto and Tomoya wore concern face.

"His swimming has become sloppy. Even though he was fine yesterday." Nao commented. Both Makoto and Tomoya glanced at the older boy for a few seconds before they looked back at Haru.

Haru himself, didn't enjoy his swimming at all. The relay flushed his usual emotions into jumbled one. He lifted his head to take his breath; the view in the water and above the water didn't help him at all. Even while he's swimming he kept frowning; his negative emotions gnawing on him even deeper as he pushed himself to finish the lap.

"Why is it, that when it comes to relay racing, he breaks down?" Nao asked as he turned to look at Makoto and Tomoya.

The two looked at Nao with slightly widened eyes before they're returning to normal. Makoto looked at the ground, forlorn etched on his face, before lifting his head up so he could look at Haru's figure swimming closer to the starting block.

"That's…" Makoto started. "Because we won a medley relay together back in elementary school."

The brunette smiled at the memory. "We really had the best team…"

Makoto let the smile faltered into a saddened one.

"I think Haru feels like there can't be a better team than that." Tomoya complemented.

"I see." Nao said as he looked at the pool. "Are you okay, Makoto, Tomoya?"

"I'm a bit lonely, too." Makoto said frankly. His sad smile replaced with a happy one he usually wore. "But Haru and Tomo-chan are still swimming with me."

"Me too. As long as Haru and Mako-chan are still swimming with me, I'll be fine." Tomoya said, voicing her answer.

"I see." Nao responded before looking at Makoto and Tomoya. "Do you like swimming, Makoto, Tomoya?"

The sudden question took the two of them off guard. Makoto and Tomoya looked at each other before nodding. "Yes."

"Really?" the older boy asked again.

"It's not just because Haruka is here too?"

That question completely had them froze in their place.

Makoto had his green orbs widened and his jaws hanging open. He couldn't move his muscles; he's completely rooted on his spot. His mind suddenly went blank after his brain registered the words. Tomoya had the same expression as him, but immediately snapped herself out as Nao looked at her.

"Tomoya, too. You've never been in a relay before, right?

"Are you okay with just watching Haruka and Makoto from afar?"

Tomoya felt her breath hitched her throat; she didn't even notice she stopped breathing. She had her turquoise orbs widened. Her chest felt heavy each second passed and she swore she could hear her heart stopped beating.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to ask something so harsh." Nao apologized at the two.

"Ah, no…" Makoto said back, snapping to his senses. On the other hand, Tomoya prayed to the God that Makoto didn't hear Nao's other question.

"I'm used to it." Tomoya blurted. The girl turned to look at the older boy, curling up a small smile. "I couldn't join them since the beginning after all."

Nao let his smile faltered. The smile didn't reach Tomoya's eyes.

"Haru! Almost there!" Asahi shouted, supporting the boy. Finally, Haru reached the end of his lap. He slammed his hands on the wall and panted while removing his cap and googles.

"Haru!" he looked up, meeting Asahi's figure who smiled at him and put a hand on the starting block. "Good job."

The black-haired boy only looked at him as he tried to regain his breath. Haru's eyes scanned Ikuya and Asahi's figure before it rested on Makoto and Tomoya's figure. Makoto still in a daze until he snapped his head up after he felt a pair of eyes boring at him.

"Ah, Haru! Good job." The said brunette said as he smiled at him.

He turned to Tomoya, who only gave him a smile and a nod.

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Evening had come and the club activities ended. Everything was bathed with golden color as the sun beginning to set. The pool was already empty and other members stood by its side–chatting to spend the last minutes they had before going home. Haru, Makoto, Tomoya, Asahi, and Ikuya stood in front of Nao by the poolside, listening to his last explanation for the day with towels hanging around their neck – except for Asahi who held the material in his hand.

"In a relay, you can really improve your time by doing your exchanges well." Nao explained. "But, I'm sure you guys are still faster in solo events, right now."

The older boy looked at each of them who wore the same expression; frown etched on their face. He let his smile faltered for a second before it lit up again.

"That's all for today." He announced. "Go say goodbye to the second and third years."

"Okay." it snapped Makoto out of his trance as he replied the command rather late.

Haru looked at him with furrowed eyebrows while Tomoya downcast.

The five walked home together after it. The sidewalk was empty from people except for them. On their right side, the road filled with vehicles passed by – signaling that many people went home from their whole day of work. On their left side was a river with calm stream.

"Well, I'm sure we'll improve soon." Asahi said, breaking the silence.

Walking behind him, Ikuya remarked. "We don't have to worry about our exchanges. If we're fast individually, there will be no problem."

While on the other hand, Haru and Tomoya tried to bring Makoto back to reality.

"Makoto," Haru called.

"Mako-chan," Tomoya added.

"Makoto." Finally, the last one managed to gain the said boy's attention who's too preoccupied with his thoughts.

"Ah sorry, Haru, Tomo-chan. What is it?" he asked as he looked at the two.

"Did something happen?" Haru asked. The boy clearly confused about Makoto's unusual behavior.

"Eh? No." the boy answered.

"What is it, Makoto? Are you worried about the relay?" Asahi asked as he and Ikuya looked at him.

"Eh, ah…" he stumbled on his words. "Yeah, that's right."

"It's fine!" Asahi assured the brunette. "We still have plenty of time until the practice tournament."

"Yeah, that's true."

Haru, who walked behind Makoto, furrowed his eyebrows. Evidently, the brunette's state and how his mind always seemed to be in another realm confused Haru.

"But, man, I'm really jealous with Tomo." Asahi huffed. "It must be nice not to worry about the whole relay thing 'cause you're not joining it."

Makoto visibly cringed at Asahi's blunt statement while confusion completely wiped off from Haru's face because the boy clearly glared at the red-head.

"Not really." Tomoya said with her, surprisingly, normal tone of talk.

Ikuya snorted. "You're so insensitive, stupid Asahi."

"Stop calling me stupid!"

The five of them reached the intersection, where they finally parted ways. Ikuya and Asahi had to turn left to walk towards their home while Makoto, Haru, and Tomoya had to keep walking straight.

"Well, then, Ikuya and I are heading this way." Asahi said as he and the dark sea green-haired boy walked away from the other three. The red-head didn't forget to wave at the three as the distance between them getting larger.

"Why are we going home together?" Ikuya questioned.

"Because we live in the same direction, of course?" Asahi answered.

"You're such an idiot."

"What!? I didn't say anything weird, did I!?"

Makoto and Tomoya waved back while Haru just watched the two before turning away and continued steps, not bother to wait for Makoto and Tomoya. The two immediately follow said boy who walked ahead of them.

They used on walking in silence, but not with distance. The three reached the shore, which extended at their right with waves rolling and crashing the sand. The sun was already half-dipped into the horizon and its orange rays giving the blue waters some shade of purple and sparkle. The sky itself began its transition from blue into orange, yellow, and dark blue.

Makoto walked behind Haru, staying with his own pace rather than trying to keep up with the boy. Tomoya herself decided to slowed her pace, making her own distance with Makoto, which now walked in front of her.

Makoto looked at Haru, green orbs focusing on his figure who had his attention for the shore. The brunette just look, choosing to maintain the silence engulfing them as he looked at the ground beneath his feet.

Tomoya studied the two, using the distance they had to fixated her eyes on her two companions. To think a simple but sharp question affected Makoto this big was natural; that's what the girl thought. And Makoto's attitude also had its effect on Haru, who's clearly confused with the change.

The dark chocolate-haired girl sighed lowly; mind constructing the worst scenario that would approach them just in a matter of time.

Finally, they reached the neighborhood's familiar stairway. Haru was the first one who climbed the stony stairs, and decided to stop.

"Makoto." He called out.

"What?" the said boy asked looking up to Haru's figure, also stopping his tracks along with Tomoya.

"What happened?" Haru asked as he looked at his friend, seriousness etched on his face and tone.

Makoto was taken aback with the sudden demeanor. But he only smiled; a simple smile which didn't even reach his green orbs.

"Nothing." He said.

"Don't lie!" Haru yelled as he finally turned to fully faced Makoto.

The said boy stiffened at the outburst. Makoto looked down, somber expression present on his face. But he shut his eyes, getting rid of it and gathering himself more courage to mustered up another smile for Haru–even though the smile was a forced one.

"It's true…" he said as his tone faltered.

Now it was Haru's turn to be taken aback by the boy's expression and words.

"Makoto…"

"Really! Nothing happened." Makoto remarked as he hauled himself to climb the stairs quickly, looking at the ground instead of facing Haru and not even sparing Tomoya a glance.

"See you, tomorrow, Haru, Tomo-chan."

Haru whirled back, looking at Makoto's figure who jogged to climb faster as if he tried to run away from them. The black-haired boy had his eyebrows furrowed, hint of worry and confusion plastered on his face. After Makoto's gone from their view, Tomoya decided to climb the stairs rather than stay rooted on her place.

"Tomo."

She turned, looking at Haru straight in the eye.

"What is it?"

"What happened?" Haru's question managed to get the girl tried so hard just to make an answer.

"Makoto's just… not feeling well–"

"Not, Makoto. You." Haru cut her off. "You two were acting weird. What happened?"

For a few seconds, Haru let silence fell between them. His blue orbs fixated itself on Tomoya, waiting for her reaction and answer. Would she be reacted like Makoto? What Haru got was how the girl took a deep breath before exhaling it slowly. Tomoya looked at him, forming a bitter smile.

"Somebody just voiced out my inner thoughts."

With that, Tomoya waved at him briefly before continuing her steps. Haru just watched her figure walking away from him before disappearing after Tomoya entered her front yard. Finally, Haru did the same–walking to his house and slide the wooden door open when he arrived.

"I'm home." He said, announcing his arrival as he closed the door.

"Ah, Haruka. Welcome home." His mother greeted him, looking at him from the kitchen's doorway before she approached him as he prepared to shrug his shoes off.

"Today I got a call from your father's work. Apparently, he got injured."

Haru halted his movements, the news surprised him because he looked at his mother with a hint of worry present on his face.

"So…"

"Ah, it's nothing to worry about." His mother said, ceasing his worries as his face wearing his normal expression. "He just needs someone to take care of him for a bit until he gets better. I think I should go."

The two moved into the kitchen without ending the important conversation. Haru looked to his left side, eyes greeted with the view of his dining room. Plates with today's dinner were already on the table, ready to be eat.

"For how long?" he asked.

"I'd leave tomorrow, for about a week?" his mother said as she put a finger under her chin. "What do you want to do? You have school."

Haru looked away, removing his gaze from his mother's figure. "I'll be okay by myself until then."

"Really?" his mother asked. "I'll be worried about you, but… Well, I can ask Tachibana-san to check on you."

"Okay." Haru nodded briefly.

"At first I want to ask Otohaku-san, but since she's also away I couldn't help it."

The boy looked at his mother, an eyebrow was raised.

"She's competing in the internationals, so Tomoya-chan is alone."

"Oh…"

With that, Haru climbed the wooden stairs to reached his room. He cracked the door open before walking inside. He switched the lights on, immediately flooding his dark bedroom with light. Haru, like usual, put his school bag on his desk after dropping his bag filled swimming gear on the carpeted floor.

He then unbuttoned his gakuran as he walked towards his wardrobe to fetch his change of clothes. But, he stopped his movements as his eyes caught the view of Makoto's room from his window since Haru's room was a floor higher than Makoto's. The lights were on but the window was covered with green curtain.

Haru's brows furrowed before he looked away, but once again he stopped on his tracks as his blue eyes caught Tomoya's house. Tomoya's room, which covered with turquoise curtains, had its lights on just like Makoto. The girl's house was higher than his house and Makoto's house, the house itself was two stories building. So, it's not difficult to get a quick look.

The black-haired boy looked away, continuing the delayed change.

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Meanwhile, Makoto laid on his bed facing the wall with his folded left arm as the pillow. He didn't even bother to change his uniform into something more comfortable to wear. He just dropped his bags on the wooden floor, his mind was to occupied to put his things on its respective places or even removed his dark grey covers first before laying on his bed.

Makoto's mind was tangled like bunch of string mingled together, his emotions were all mixed up. It was all because of Nao's question, which still haunts him even at the very moment.

Really? It's not just because Haruka is here too?

Makoto frowned as he curled up on his bed.

"No…" he murmured.

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Laying on her white sheets colored bed, Tomoya stared at her room's ceiling.

Not like Makoto, Tomoya conditioned herself by changing into more comfortable clothes after taking a warmth bath before rooted on her bed and staring at the ceiling. She changed into dark red and grey colored hoodie along with light grey shorts. Her dark chocolate hair was undo, falling over her shoulders and stopped at her mid-back.

The female sighed, her mind recalling Nao's words.

Are you okay with just watching Haruka and Makoto from afar?

Tomoya chuckled bitterly, curling up a small smile and placing her arm over her eyes.

"I really don't need anyone voicing out my thoughts, Nao-senpai…" she muttered.

Tomoya fell silent for a while, letting silence befriended with her hearings. She then pushed herself to seat on her bed as it creaks because of her movements. Her turquoise-colored eyes looked at the wave shaped clock on the wall.

"I guess it's time for dinner," Tomoya said to herself as she stood up to walk towards the door.