"Alright, next we're going to do five sets of 50 m free." Nao called out to the four first years who were stood in a line behind the starting block.
"Asahi, can you do it?" Nao continued, directing his attention towards the red headed boy.
"Yes!" Asahi replied before Nao continued explaining
"I'm going to time you now, okay? Let's start with Haruka."
The sharp sound of the whistle jolted Ikuya out of his thoughts, causing him to physically flinch at it's sound. Makoto must have noticed Ikuya's reaction as he then asked
"Ikuya, are you alright?" Makoto's kind voice asked. Nao glanced over at the first years who were still stood next to the pool.
"I'm fine." Ikuya said with a weak smile. Inside however, he was filled with dread at the thought of getting into the pool.
"Okay, if you're sure..." Makoto replied uncertainly.
Haru was now swimming back as Ikuya drifted in his thoughts once more.
"Next, Asahi!" Nao called out
"Yes!" Asahi replied, pulling his goggles down over his eyes as he stepped up to the starting block. Ikuya stared at him for a moment, deep in thought.
Asahi and Makoto both swam before it was Ikuya's turn.
Well this is going to be fun, isn't it
Ikuya was dreading it. He knew that he went a bit overboard yesterday and now his thighs were stinging like hell.
Nao blew the whistle again, and Ikuya dived in and began swimming, trying to ignore the burning feeling of chlorine getting into the many cuts that littered his thighs.
I'm so stupid, why did I do that, someone's going to notice something's wrong...Actually, they probably won't, they don't care about you...No one cares about you...
As his thoughts ran wild again, Ikuya tried to take in a big breath of air to try and calm down however, his mouth filled partly with water, causing his panic to grow even more.
When he reached the end of the pool again, his whole body was shaking and his heart was beating at a rapid pace
"Ikuya, are you alright?" Nao asked, causing Ikuya to jump slightly. He nodded slightly, earning a worried look from Nao who obviously didn't believe him.
"Well if you're not feeling too good just go and sit down for a bit." Nao said to which, Ikuya nodded, pulling himself out of the pool with shaky arms.
Well done idiot, now you've lied to Nao when he was just trying to help you...you're so stupid, you really do deserve to die...
"How's it going?" Natsuya asked as he walked over. Ikuya flinched slightly at the sound of Natsuya's voice but he managed to hide it this time, not wanting Makoto to ask him about it again
"Their individual times aren't bad but the problem is their exchanges for the relay." Nao explained
"Hmm." Natsuya said "We're going to do relay training now."
There was a quiet reply of yes as the four boys all avoided eye contact with Natsuya.
"Ready." Nao said before blowing the whistle. Ikuya watched, slightly zoned out as Makoto swam back towards him again. When Makoto reached the end of the pool, he dived in, wincing once more at the chlorine filled water.
He got back to the end of the pool slightly slower than usual, pulling himself tiredly outnof the water whilst Haru and then Asahi swam.
The four boys finished the relay practice, only to be stared at disapprovingly by Natsuya.
"You're slow." Natsuya started "What do you think the reason for that is?"
"Our exchanges?" Makoto asked, looking up slightly
"That's right." Natsuya said
"So then, what is the reason for your exchanges aren't going well? Nao asked the four boys continued avoiding eye contact
"Do you want to swim the relay?" Natsuya asked. At this, all four boys looked away completely
"We should all just do individual events." Haru stated, earning both surprised and shocked faces off the other five people stood with him. "I'm fine just swimming individual free." He continued
"Haru..." Makoto began however he was cut off by Natsuya
"I told you if you quit, then we won't be able to participate in the relay!" Natsuya raised his voice slightly, causing most of the first years to flinch slightly, especially Ikuya who was beginning to have trouble controlling his breathing.
"All of us think it's fine to just do individual events." Haru added
"Well, it's impossible to do the relay with these members to begin with." Ikuya said, trying to act normal so that no one would suspect the wave of panic that was close to rushing over him.
"Don't say that! I don't think that at all." Asahi said, slightly louder than necessary and so, Ikuya backed up slightly, in an attempt to avoid Asahi.
"Then try to co operate with me a little. Asahi, you just swim however you want!" Ikuya wasn't sure what had come over him but once he had started, he couldn't stop. His breathing was speeding up at a rapid pace and all he wanted was to just leave.
"Shut up!" Asahi's voice broke him out of his thoughts once more before Natsuya's voice cut the two of them off
"Enough. The reason your exchanges aren't going well is because you all are just thinking about yourselves." Natsuya's voice was loud, too loud. Ikuya's panic was amplified by the loud voice. All four of the boys looked away
"Individual events and relays are different. Think hard about what that means. All of you, cool your heads." Natsuya said as the four boys walked off to go and get changed.
"Wait, Ikuya!" Natsuya called out just before he went into the changing rooms. Ikuya stopped dead, not even turning around to look at Natsuya in case his brother saw the panic filling his eyes.
"Ikuya, what's going on? You've not been yourself recently, especially today. Nao said you looked sick before, is everything alright?" Natsuya asked, his voice filled with concern
"It's nothing, I'm fine." Ikuya replied simply before attempting to enter the changing rooms once more. He was stopped however by Natsuya who put his arm in front of him, preventing him from leaving.
"Ikuya, I know that's not true, I'm not blind, I know that there's something going on with you. Please just tell me what's wrong so I can try to help you." Natsuya pleaded. It was driving him insane knowing that Ikuya was going through something alone however, if he didn't know what the problem was, how could he help.
"I said it's nothing! Please...Just leave me alone...I'm fine" Ikuya replied, his voice harsh. Natsuya's arm dropped and Ikuya turned away from his brother, preventing him from seeing the tears that were building in his eyes as he ran off to the now empty changing rooms.
A/N: Awww, poor little Ikuya, how mean I am to make him suffer like this. Anyway, the next chapter is going to be exciting. This fanfic originally started as a one shot and then I decided to add more before the chapter i originally wrote which is the next chapter the next chapter. So yeah, the next chapter could of ended up as a one shot if I didn't enjoy making Ikuya suffer so much. I promise though it will have a happy ending, I'm just not sure when, but it will be happy and fluffy and yes I kind of ship Ikuya and Natsuya don't judge anyway, I'll shut up now, byyyyeee