It was finally Friday, and Yukari was waiting for me outside of the school. There was no swim club after school today, so we could all go home. After I hugged her, Nagisa came over to give her a hug as well.
"Can you show me Riku's outfit for tomorrow?" Nagisa asked.
"Nope! It's a surprise," Yukari hummed.
"Aww, why not?" Nagisa whined.
"Because it's a surprise. I don't want anyone to see it until tomorrow."
"It'll probably be exactly like Yukari's cheerleading outfit for Iwatobi, with Samezuka's school colors of course." Rei pushed up his glasses.
"That would be a little too obvious," Yukari smirked.
I looked at her and could tell it was a little white lie. It had to have been similar to hers, but, knowing Yukari, she added something to the design.
Then Kou lightly jogged out of the school with a plastic bag in her hand. Kou gave it to Yukari. I couldn't help but wonder what Yukari needed from Kou.
"Thanks, Kou! You're a lifesaver," she beamed.
Nagisa tried to look inside the bag but Yukari hit his hand.
"We should get going. We'll see you guys tomorrow." I waved before I linked arms with Yukari. Haru and Makoto walked with us as well.
"So, are Ren and Ran going to participate tomorrow?" I asked Makoto.
"Yeah, they were really excited about it. They also asked if you could bring some sweets from your mom."
"I'll tell her when we get home." I turned to Yukari, "Ren and Ran will be excited to meet you. They might almost knock you over if they get too worked up."
"I can't wait to meet them. Do you guys know who Rin rounded up to swim for Samezuka?" Yukari asked.
"I think Nitori will join him, but for the rest, I have no idea," Makoto answered.
Yukari smiled, "I'm excited to see my first Iwatobi versus Samezuka match! I know you guys will beat them."
The four of us chatted until we had to go our separate ways. Yukari told me about the cheering outfit she made me. It was a black shirt with an iron-on shark patch, a black and red skirt, and red socks. When I asked her about the bag from Kou,she told me that she asked Kou to get Rin's swim jacket so I could wear it tomorrow. Yukari explained how she couldn't really find a way to incorporate the yellow, so she thought I could wear Rin's jacket. She did have the idea of adding yellow letters to the back of the shirt just in case she couldn't get the jacket. I suggested that she still do the letters on the shirt for a nice keepsake. Yukari planned on doing it after dinner.
.oOo.
When we arrived at my house, I was met with an unexpected visit from Kaori and Koji. I internally groaned because I really hated when Koji came home unannounced, and I hadn't asked Rin about the double date with Kaori yet.
"Hey! I talked to my boyfriend about the double date, he said he's up for it," Kaori said as soon as I came into the kitchen.
"I haven't asked Rin yet. Things have been kind of busy." I gave Kaori a sympathetic smile.
"Trouble in paradise?" Koji perked up.
Yukari sent Koji a death glare. "Far from it."
"Nice to see you Kinoshita," Koji smiled.
"You didn't have anything better to do on a Friday night?" I asked.
"I was really homesick and wanted to come home to a nice, home-cooked meal. Hopefully you don't burn it," Koji said with a smile.
Before I could even respond, my step-mom came into the kitchen. "Hey, guys. Yukari and Riku, do you want to help with dinner?"
"Yeah, we just have to put our stuff in my room. Do you think you could make some sweets for Ren and Ran? Makoto mentioned it on our way home."
She nodded. "Of course."
As soon as Yukari and I reached my room, we shared a look.
"I'm not going to let him ruin our night." Yukari shook her head.
"I'm hoping that he'll stay for dinner and then go."
"Also, when did you plan on going on a double date with Kaori?" she asked.
I shrugged. "I honestly don't want to go anytime soon. Well, it's not that I don't want to, but that I haven't had the chance to really ask Rin."
"You guys have a lot to worry about with prelims and then the photoshoot."
"Yeah, it's a lot." I frowned. I still had to tell my dad about my career choice too.
"No frowning! We're gonna have fun tonight! Come on, let's go help your mom cook." Yukari poked my shoulder before walking out of the room.
I smiled as I followed behind her.
Koji had disappeared from the kitchen when Yukari and I came back. Kaori was talking about her boyfriend and swapped some college stories with Yukari too. It was nice that Kaori got along with Yukari. Yukari refused to even try to be nice to my brother—he saw right through his act—and Kaori mostly ignored the things he said.
During dinner, Koji was going off about how good he was doing at college, earning praise from my father. He was doing it just to rub it in my face, and Yukari was quick to change the subject. Koji didn't stay for much longer after dinner, but Kaori stayed to help mom while Yukari and I went up to my room.
.oOo.
Yukari and I planned on eating popcorn and watching a movie before we went to bed. We decided on Life of A Mouse. The sequel was going to be released in a month—Yukari wanted to go see it. As the credits were rolling, we were finishing up the bag of popcorn.
I looked over at Yukari. "Rin would probably like this."
"Do you think he'd enjoy it if the photoshoot was more of a romance movie theme?"
"He won't admit it, but he would really enjoy it. Do you have any ideas?" I asked.
"I had a few ideas of where we could shoot. The park would be cute. Maybe we could set up a little picnic or something. Then we could try the coffee shop if it isn't too busy. For the final scene, I thought taking pictures on the beach at sunset would be gorgeous. I've already sketched the outfits out. I'm gonna make yours soon since I know your measurements," Yukari explained.
"The last one sounds so romantic. I can't wait."
"That's the plan. You two are going to be the best looking couple in my class!" Yukari smiled.
I laughed before I let out a yawn.
"Alright, time for bed. You need to be well-rested for tomorrow. I don't need you falling asleep during the match," Yukari teased.
"Okay mom," I laughed as I got under the covers.
Yukari got up to throw the bag away before getting into the other side of my bed. I closed my eyes, knowing that Yukari would stop any conversation I wanted to have. Plus, I was really looking forward to the relay tomorrow.
.oOo.
As always, Yukari was up before me, and she woke me up like she would any other match. After my mom made us breakfast, we got ready. Yukari planned on wearing my Iwatobi jacket since I was going to wear Rin's.
When we finished getting ready, I grabbed the treats for Ren and Ran. Yukari practically skipped out the door. The swim club wasn't too far of a walk from the house, which was nice. It would be Yukari's first time seeing the inside; she was really excited since she hadn't been inside when it was abandoned.
Rei and Nagisa were waiting out front, but Makoto, Ren, Ran, and Haru hadn't arrived yet.
Nagisa's eyes sparkled as soon as he saw the both of us, and he skipped over. "You guys look super cute!"
"So I was right," Rei said proudly.
"Half right. I put a little shark pack on the front, and I put yellow lettering in the back. Plus, she's wearing Rin's jacket." Yukari pointed out the differences.
Before Nagisa could even mention anything about Rin to make me flustered, the rest of the group showed up.
"Riku!" Ren and Ran both yelled as they saw me. Just like last time, they almost knocked me over.
"Hey, guys! My mom made you some treats." I grabbed the bags out of my bag for them.
"Thank you so much!" Ren smiled.
"Who made your outfit?" Ran asked.
"I did! I'm Iwatobi's unofficial cheerleader and personal fashion designer." Yukari grinned.
Ran's eyes lit up, and she bounced in excitement. "Can you make me a pretty dress?"
Yukari kneeled down to look at Ran. "It would be my pleasure. It may take some time because I have some assignments I need to do first, but I promise I'll make you a gorgeous dress."
Ran nodded before she turned her attention to Rei as Ren went over to him.
"Sorry about that," Makoto apologized.
Yukari waved her hand. "Don't worry about it! I'm always looking to make clothes for people. It helps me practice working with different body types."
"Riku's outfit looks really good, Yukari! How did you get a Samezuka jacket?" Makoto asked.
"I asked Kou if she could get Rin's jacket for today." Yukari shrugged.
"Speaking of Kou, she's probably waiting for us. We should head inside," I said.
All of us headed inside to see Kou and Ms. Amakata waiting at the entrance. Kou gave us a program to look at as soon as we reached them. Kou was going over some of the events when I heard yelling coming from outside.
"You're a filthy liar, and I hate your face! You made it sound like we were going somewhere I could practice my moves on wall-to-wall hotti-"
"Hey! Shut up! There are kids in here, idiot! Easy on the PG-13 stuff." Rin cut off the redhead.
"Somebody, help! I've been tricked!" The redhead started sobbing.
"You are so late!" Kou scolded her brother before running over, "Hey, big brother!"
"Hey, Gou. 'Sup?" Rin asked.
I followed behind Kou to go greet Rin and show him my outfit.
"Are you excited?" Kou asked.
"Hold on a second. I think—I think I might be in love." The redhead stepped forward and looked at Kou.
Rin placed his hand on his forehead; I took his hand down so I could kiss his cheek.
"Do you like it?" I did a twirl.
"Y-Yeah, you look beautiful." Rin's cheeks were flushed.
"Thanks for coming, Rin. We really appreciate it," Makoto smiled.
I turned around to see Makoto while Rin put his arm around my shoulder.
"Sure," he replied.
"Thanks for inviting us. I've been looking forward to it," Nitori said.
"So this is why Gou wanted my jacket." Rin said, inclining his head at my outfit..
"Yeah, it was Yukari's idea." I looked up at him.
"Oh, Sosuke!" Kou exclaimed.
We all watched her greet the tall dark haired guy with teal eyes. This had to have been Rin's childhood friend. He was a lot taller than I was expecting, but I was excited to meet him either way.
"Woah, feels like I haven't seen you in forever," he said to Rin.
"Right? I can't even remember the last time we met up. I guess transferring to a new school means you treat the old crew like they fell off the face of the earth. Not that Rin bothered to stay in touch with anyone," Kou said.
"Well, you know," Sosuke smiled.
"Yes, I do."
Sosuke turned his attention to me. "You must be Riku Matsumura. Rin has told me a lot about you."
"It's nice to meet you! You can call me Riku. I know we're going to be fast friends." I gave him a genuine smile.
Rin ruffled my hair. "She's always so optimistic."
"He used to write about how pretty and optimistic you were when he was in Australia."
"Shut up." Rin looked embarrassed.
I was intrigued. "Really? Did he talk about me a lot?"
"We should go get ready. See you guys in the water?" Rin asked the boys.
"Yep." Makoto nodded.
Rin turned to his guys. "Let's go." He ruffled my hair once more before walking off.
A small laugh escaped my lips. I guess Rin really didn't want me to know what was in those letters.
"I'm Momotaro Mikoshiba! I love nature! I collect stag beetles. My mantra is 'just keep swimming.' I can cook an egg five different ways—not poached, that's a pain in the butt—" Rin grabbed Mikoshiba by the collar and dragged him off.
Yukari came over to join me as I watched the Samezuka guys walk off. I couldn't help but notice that she looked dazed.
"Who's that?" Yukari pointed to Sosuke.
"Sosuke Yamazaki. He went to Sano elementary school with Rin. I'm so happy that I finally got to meet him and that they can swim together in their last year."
Yukari just nodded. "Are you feeling okay?" she asked.
"Yeah! I'm perfectly fine. Let's go watch the first event." She gave me a bright smile.
Yukari, Kou, Ms. Amakata, and I all went into the pool as the boys were going to get changed. I knew Nagisa was looking forward to competing in the breath-holding contest.. I could probably talk to Rin once he and his team got settled. Maybe then I could hear more about Rin's letters.
