Okay I think this is the second longest chapter, and it took ages to edit (ugh). But this chapter is, so far, my favourite chapter because of how it starts. I hope you guys all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Disclaimer: Free! and it's characters do not belong to me and belong the respected owners. I only own/made this story.
My eyes fluttered open as I felt a cool breeze run over my skin, my vision slightly blurry and adjusting to the bright light. Once my eyes had adjusted, I looked around to see everything was white. The only colourful things around me were, what seemed to be, a forest of cherry blossom trees that were fully in bloom, and crystal clear water covering all of the ground that didn't even reach the top of my toes. I raised a confused eyebrow and looked down to notice I was wearing a plain white, collard, buttoned up shirt and long black pants.
I felt a slight tingling feeling on my right hand, raising it to see a red string tied around the pinkie finger. My eyebrows furrowed as I raised my hand to see the string was incredibly long, and my eyes followed it for as far as I could see. The string went right into the cherry tree forest, and that's where my eyes stopped as I couldn't see past the thick brown trunks.
A strong wind blew past me and the cherry trees all swayed, their pink petals falling off the branches and dancing in the wind. I looked up with wide, shining eyes, not believing what I saw. The white sky had somehow turned into a beautiful blue colour, with a few perfectly placed fluffy clouds. The cherry blossom petals surrounded me and the sky, thousands of them floating around me. I looked down to see the blue sky reflecting off the water I was standing in, and some of the petals floating around. They made small, delicate ripples when hitting the water, and I found myself breathless.
I felt as if I was in complete peace, my body and mind as a whole in a state of serenity. I continued to watch the cherry blossoms fall and closed my eyes, taking a deep, relaxing breath. This was my paradise, this was my heaven and my sanctuary. I felt so at ease, I felt as if I could fly off with the wind and float with the cherry blossoms.
This feeling was gone in an instant however, as the red string tugged on my finger. I frowned and raised my hand once more, staring at this red string. Again, it tugged, and I almost stumbled at the force.
Did it want me to follow it?
I looked into the forest of cherry blossom trees and tried to follow the string with my eyes once more, but again, they were stopped by the amount of trees. I frowned as I stared into the trees, wondering who was there. Then, I tugged at the string myself.
Someone has shown up in my sanctuary, invaded my paradise, so the least they could do is show themselves!
As nothing happened, I tugged at the string once more, feeling that there is definitely someone at the end of it. I didn't want to move from my spot, I was in the dead center of this open area, where I was in peace. I felt as though if I moved, the world around me would crumble and my paradise would be gone. So there was no way I was moving.
The red string, which was hanging lightly above the watered ground, slowly began to drop. My eyes widened as I realised this person is actually walking towards me, they were actually going to show themselves. I looked back up into the trees and waited, waited for this person to come out.
The breeze around me had stopped completely, the water no longer rippling as no cherry blossoms were landing on it. I found myself holding my breath because, for some reason, I was scared. Why was I so scared to see who was at the end of this red string? Why was I so scared to see who had managed to make their way into my paradise? Is it because the only things that are in my paradise is what I want? Even though I never wanted someone, another human, into my paradise? If so, how was this person here? How did they manage to get in?
Maybe, my mind unconsciously wants them. Maybe I unconsciously want them. Maybe, just maybe, I haven't realised what it is I've wanted this whole time, even though it's always been there at the very back of my mind.
As I watch intently for this person to appear, I realise that my paradise isn't just made up from my mind, but also from my emotions. Everything in my paradise, I love dearly.
I love cherry blossom trees, I love the wind against my skin and carrying the petals around me. I love the bright blue sky with perfectly placed fluffy clouds, and I love the crystal clear water, reflecting the sky off its surface. All these things, all of them together, make me feel...free. Everything surrounding me are things I love, and this person that is now stepping out from the trees has slipped into this category unnoticed.
I squint to get a better look at this person, not being able to see their face but clothes. I see that they are wearing the exact same thing as me. A plain white collared shirt that's buttoned up to show their chest and long black pants.
This person is slowly getting closer and closer, a long red string, the same red string that's tied to me, following behind them. I continue to stare at them as they slowly come into focus, their features now properly showing. My eyes widen when I finally see them clearly.
Long, flowing red hair. Bright, shining crimson eyes, and those unmistakable sharp teeth which were only slightly showing to make a small, warm smile.
"Rin"
As I say his name, the wind comes back to life and the cherry blossoms fly once more. Every step he takes makes soft ripples in the clear water, and it's as if he's walking on air, floating towards me.
He gets closer and closer, now only a few meters away, and he raises his left hand to show the red string tied around his pinkie finger. I raise my right hand, to show the same string, and he tenderly grabs it once being close enough.
The cherry blossoms surround us both, as if they were dancing around us. His hand is so warm, so welcoming, and so gently grasped around mine. Almost as if he's afraid he'll break me if he squeezed too hard.
Yes, he was the one that made me love these cherry blossoms. He was the one that made me love the cool wind against my skin. He was the one that showed me just how blue and beautiful the sky is. He made me love the crystal clear water more than I already did. He changed my view of the world completely.
Before I met him I didn't have a paradise, I didn't know what a paradise was. He made my paradise.
He moves even closer to me, the hand that was gripping mine now making its way to my cheek.
"My paradise" I say breathlessly, feeling warm fingers touch my skin
"My heaven" I sigh, my eyes clouding over as he takes a step closer to me
"My sanctuary" I whisper, closing my eyes as he slowly leans forwards to place his lips against mine.
As we got closer, the cool breeze turns into a strong wind. Becoming so strong I can barely stand. My eyes widen as Rin's fingers go ice cold against my cheek, and blue meets horrified crimson.
Rin takes a step back, and my eyes widen as I notice the cherry blossom trees behind him are completely bare. The wind being so strong it blew all their petals off, now making it a forest of empty, hollow trees. I look up to see the sky has turned pitch black, as has the water. The only thing showing in the water is the glowing ripples around my and Rin's feet, and only my reflection.
This isn't my paradise, something is here that has ruined it. I look down at the string connecting Rin and I together to see another one tied to the middle of it, except it's black.
I follow the string, which is shorter than I thought, to see a tall brunette standing at the end of it.
"Makoto?" I gasp, not believing it was actually him.
His green eyes are narrowed and a cold look of anger and hatred fill them, but not towards me. I turn to see where he is looking and find his eyes are pointing directly at Rin.
The redhead stares at Makoto for a while longer, the wind still howling at a high speed and making our clothes and hair fly around. Rin gives Makoto a fearful look and raises his hand to grab me, only for his hand to hit some invisible barrier.
My eyes widen and I step forward, placing my hands flat against the barrier to look at Rin with a questioning, pained expression. Rin begins to bang his fists against the barrier, trying to break through it, and the whole time Makoto is just standing there, watching him.
The barrier slowly begins to fade to a black colour. My eyes widen as I realise, if the barrier turns completely black, I won't be able to see Rin anymore.
I now bang my fists against the barrier, trying to break through it. I look at Rin to see him yelling something, and read his lips to find he is yelling my name.
"Rin!" I yell back, the barrier now almost completely black "Rin! Rin! Don't leave me! Not again! Rin!"
Then he's gone, the only thing I can see is black. I look down to see if the red string is still around my pinkie finger, and raise my hand to see it has been cut. Now, at the very end of the string is no longer Rin, but a tied black one. Unlike the one I was tied to with Rin, it wasn't just one long string, it was two tied together.
I follow the black string to see Makoto, who was still standing there, smirking at me, and my eyes widen in horror. This is not my paradise, this is not my heaven, this is not my sanctuary. I don't feel at peace, I don't feel free, I am no longer surrounded by things I love. But why? Why did Makoto do all this to my paradise? He is my best friend, I may not love him, but he is still an important part of my life. So why? How could he destroy my paradise? Why did he separate me from Rin?
I feel something cold around my hand, and look down to see the red string has gone black. The black colour suddenly moves onto my hand, spreading as if it were dripping paint. I watch as it makes its way up my arm, then to my chest, and turn my head to see it crawling over my other arm.
It is spreading, spreading all over me, and it's cold, oh god it's cold.
I look down into the water to see it running up my neck, now making its way to my face. It has now become so cold it burns, like my naked body is covered in snow. I drop to my knees as the black colour runs up my mouth, and I hold my hands to my face, trying to tear away my skin.
I watch as it goes past my nose, past my eyes, almost covering my whole face completely. And as it covers that last bit of skin, I let out a bloodcurdling scream.
...
Blue eyes shoot open as Haruka quickly sits up in bed, his whole body sweating from the traumatic nightmare. He raises his hands and examined them, sighing in relief when seeing they were a normal pale white with no string attached.
He took a few deep breath's to calm himself down, wondering why he had a dream like that.
That dream was about the red string, a string that is said to tie you to the person you love. A string that's meant to tie you to the person that is your destiny. But there were multiple questions in Haru's head about that dream.
Why was Rin tied to the end of the string? Why was Rin in the place he called paradise? Why did Makoto destroy his paradise and separate him from Rin?
None of it made sense and it just left Haru confused, but he had to wonder if he had the weird dream because he kissed Rin. All Haru wanted to do was check if all of what Nagisa had told him was true, except the raven haired teen got much more than expected. Haruka felt as if his world was just the inside of a large clock, and all the gears were spinning around him and confusing him. He needed to find a way out of this clock and back into the real world. So he decided it would be best to call his mum and see if she could help him with it.
He looked at the time to see it said six thirty, and knew she would be up and getting ready by now. Of course, since Haru had school, he should have been getting ready too. But he guessed that could wait, as calling his mother to solve his problems was more important.
Haruka stretched and yawned before turning to his bedside table to pick up his mobile phone, then searched through his contacts and pressed on the one that said Mother.
He held it to his ear and let it ring, until she picked up and a light "Hello?" was heard.
"Mother, it's me" Haruka answered, knowing she'd recognise his voice
"Haruka!" she exclaimed "Usually I'm the one calling you!...is something the matter dear?"
Haruka was silent for a moment, realising he hadn't actually planned what to say, but decided to go with "I had the dream about the red string"
A light gasp was heard on the other end of the line "Haruka that's wonderful! But I am busy today and I do need to get ready, so you had to tell me this now?"
"Well...it wasn't exactly a normal dream"
There was silence, and Haruka's mother asked "...how so?"
So Haruka told her about the dream he had. About how it started with Rin walking into his paradise, then Makoto showing up and somehow destroying everything. He left out names, though, as his mother knew who they were.
"Hmm..." she thought "Well, it sounds to me like this person that entered your paradise is someone you want to be there, someone that is part of your paradise"
"Part of my...?" Haruka questioned, confused as to what that meant
"And" his mother continued "the person that forced their way into your paradise is taking away the one who you want to have in your paradise, destroying it all together."
Haruka's eyebrows furrowed "But...how does that work?"
His mother cleared her throat "Well, it sounds to me like you can't have a paradise unless this person is in it, the person who was at the end of the red string. But it also sounds like someone else is trying to split you two apart, and is forcefully tying themselves to your string by cutting it in half and separating you from the person whom you should truly be with."
"Truly be with?" now Haruka was really confused, what did that make Rin? But the bigger question is, what does Makoto have to do in all of it?!
"Oh I am so sorry Haruka, but I really need to get ready now. I got to get to work soon and we can talk about this later, bye!"
"Bye"
The phone hung up and Haruka sighed, rubbing at his temple while trying to fit everything together. Why did Makoto destroy his paradise? Why was Rin part of his paradise? Was he just confused because Rin had kissed him?...well to be fair he had kissed Rin...why did he do that?!
Haruka groaned and shoved his face into the pillow. All he wanted to do was see what love was, to see if what Nagisa had said was true. So he kissed Rin to see if he loved him and...wait...doesn't that mean he loves Rin?
The teens face heated up as his eyes widened and he yelled out "N-no!" then froze as he stared at his pillow. He groaned again and face planted down into the soft material.
"What is wrong with me...?" Haru mumbled, his face continuing to burn.
He didn't like this, he didn't like love...
...
The morning routine carried on as it usually did, which was Makoto coming to pick Haruka up and get him out of the bath. But for some reason Haruka complained about not wanting to go to school, and Makoto noted this strange behaviour. Sure, Haruka wasn't too fond of school, but he never actually wanted to skip it. Makoto knew the only reason Haruka went to school was to see his friends and to swim. Of course his parents would probably kill him if he didn't go anyway.
After Makoto finally managed to drag Haru out of the bath and make him get ready, the two made their way to school at a leisurely pace and got there at a decent time. Rin was already sitting at his desk and looked almost as off Earth as Haru usually did.
"Morning Rin" Makoto smiled, putting on his facade once more.
Rin quickly turned to him, not noticing the brunette had arrived and said a quick greeting. Rin then turned to Haruka and his eyes widened slightly before he looked away.
"Morning..." he muttered
"...morning..." Haruka muttered back, his face heating up as he tried not to think about what had happened between them on that night.
Makoto looked at their strange interaction, staring at Haru and then Rin. Rin wasn't smiling, but he wasn't frowning either. Just as Makoto thought, it was so easy to read Rin's emotions when he wasn't smiling. So right now, Makoto could tell how the redhead was feeling, and he was clearly feeling embarrassed. Not only that, but Haruka was also feeling embarrassed.
Something happened, something that Makoto had a bad feeling about, and he had to make Rin tell him exactly what happened.
"I need to go to the bathroom, Rin can you come with me?" Makoto smiled warmly, but making his eyes look dark and menacing.
Rin swallowed hard, he knew Makoto would have to find out about this at some point. However, he didn't plan on telling the brunette, and he didn't think Makoto would hurt him as it would look suspicious.
"Sure..." Rin nodded, standing up and walking out the door with Makoto.
Rin had to wonder just what Makoto was going to do, he also had to wonder if Makoto actually already knew what happened. Haruka may have already told him...but that wasn't really in Haruka's character. So no doubt Makoto was going to try and make him talk.
Once reaching the bathroom, Rin slowly closed the door behind them. He felt a sinking feeling in his stomach as no one but the two of them were there, and he knew exactly what was coming.
In one quick motion Makoto grabbed Rin by the collar and slammed him against the wall, his eyes clouded with rage.
"What did you do to Haruka?"
"I didn't do anything!" Rin retorted. He wasn't lying, Haru was the one that asked to kiss, he just agreed to it. Even so, Makoto would still blame him for it for since Rin touched his Haruka.
"Don't play fucking dumb!" Makoto yelled, slamming Rin's head against the wall "Something is going on between you two, and I know it's because you did something! So tell me what it was!"
Rin snarled, showing his sharp teeth. Honestly he was getting sick of this, of being black mailed and threatened by the person he used to call his friend.
"I don't have to tell you anything!" Rin growled back "Haruka is not yours! He is not mine either! If you want him so badly then stop threatening me and confess to him! Or are you scared he's going to reject you because you know he feels things for me that he has never and will never feel for you?!"
Time felt like it had stopped, and Makoto stood frozen. Rin was breathing heavily from lashing out at the brunette, and he thought that maybe he had even gotten across to him.
That thought was short lived though, as Makoto's eyes flared up with anger and his face contorted into an expression of pure rage. Rin had pushed it too far, and he knew he did, but he couldn't take those words back now. They were the truth, after all, and he guessed that's what angered Makoto the most.
The brunette clenched his hand tight and slowly raised his fist. Rin's eyes widened as he stared at the large fist, surely Makoto wasn't going to punch him...?
"...you piece of shit!" Makoto spat.
Yeah, he was going to punch him.
Rin squeezed his eyes shut as he prepared for impact, and as Makoto swung his fist back, the bathroom door opened.
The person in the doorway froze as he stared at the two teens with wide eyes, both of them looking at him with equally wide eyes.
"Rin senpai and...Makoto senpai...?"
"R-Rei?!" Makoto exclaimed, quickly letting go of the redhead and laughing slightly "Rin and I were just...discussing things...weren't we?"
He turned to said teen and gave him a honey filled smile. Rin quickly nodded and Makoto turned back to Rei.
"I have to get to class now, see you at lunch Rei!" the brunette said, quickly shuffling past Rei and out the door.
The two left in the room were silent, and Rin let out a breath he didn't realise was being held in. He slid down the wall to land on the ground in a sitting position and tilted his head back to be resting on the wall.
Rei had saved him, and thank god he did, otherwise Rin had no doubt that a few of his teeth would have been knocked out.
"...I was right" Rei muttered, making Rin turn to the teen.
"Huh?"
Rei frowned and readjusted his glasses "I asked if someone was threatening you to stay away from Haruka senpai...and looks like I was right"
Rin stared at him for a while, then sighed and closed his eyes "Yeah, you were right, and I have no idea what to do. I bet you're disgusted by this, two guys fighting for another guy...it's disgraceful and hardly romantic..." Rin chuckled slightly, hardly believing the situation himself.
"You think I'm...disgusted?" Rei questioned, raising a judgmental eyebrow "You mean you seriously haven't noticed? I mean, we weren't exactly subtle..."
"What in gods name are you talking about?" Rin furrowed his eyebrows at Rei, confused as to what the blue haired teen was going on about.
"Uh...n-never mind..." Rei blushed, realising he was going off track "Anyhow I am not disgusted by it, at all in fact. But I am kind of shocked at what I've seen...how long has Makoto been threatening you like that?"
"...a few weeks" Rin admitted, almost feeling embarrassed.
Rei frowned at the redhead "You need to tell someone! You have to tell Haruka senpai!"
Rin shook his head "No, I just...I can't tell him..."
"Then I will!" Rei retorted, now feeling angry at how weak his usually strong senpai was.
"NO!" Rin yelled, jumping up and giving Rei wide eyes "You can't tell him! Under no circumstances can you tell him!"
"Look I know you two are very competitive" the glasses wearing teen explained "but this is bullying, I am telling him!"
"It's not that!" Rin shouted back, then went silent as he willed himself to calm down "...it's not that..."
Rei gave the redhead a questioning look "...then what it is?"
Rin sighed as he leaned back against the wall and combed his hair back "...Makoto has been Haruka's friend for almost his whole life, they both go way back. Honestly, I can't even compete with their friendship. But how heart breaking would it be if that one person you've known your whole life was just putting on a mask? How gut wrenching would it be to find out they are actually violent and not at all the way you thought they were? Not only that, but they are hurting the other friends you have around you...wouldn't that just start eating at you?"
"...I think you're thinking too much into this, Rin senpai" Rei stated, giving the redhead a worried look.
"I'm not!" Rin yelled, slamming his fist against the wall "...I'm not, it's just...I've already hurt Haruka, and I still feel so guilty for that. I don't think I could stand hurting him again...even if it's not my fault I just...I don't want to see him hurt..."
Rei stared at Rin in silence, now completely understanding why Rin wasn't telling anyone. It would definitely hurt Haruka if he found out that Makoto had been hurting others, especially Rin, because he thought it would be good for Haruka. If anything, Haruka would blame himself for what was happening, and that was exactly what Rin didn't want.
"...I understand, I won't tell anyone. But you're going to have to get out of this somehow, and if you need to talk to someone about it...just come to me"
"Thanks Rei" Rin smiled, standing up and walking to the door "oh and by the way, Nagisa is far too easy to read, so just make sure you keep your boyfriend in check when he's around you."
"Sure...w-wait what?! But I thought you-" Rei was cut off by the closing door, and Rin snickered to himself while walking down the hall.
Of all the people to find out about this, he was glad it was Rei. It felt a little better to have someone he could talk to about this strange situation.
I hope you all enjoyed that! It was definitely fun to write, that's for sure! And my knowledge on the red string isn't exactly 100% accurate, so google it if you want to know more about it. I just think it is a beautiful little legend and more people need to know about it.
I will have the next chapter out sometime next week, so just wait till then!
Thanks for reading!