Hey, guys! So here's the second chapter. Sorry that this is going up super late — well, in my timezone. It wasn't as easy to write as the first had been.

Summary: —

Disclaimer: I don't own Free! Iwatobi Swim Club. Thanks for reminding me.

[CHAPTER TWO: "ARRESTED IN FIRDOUS."]

"Welcome to Firdous:
City of Enchantment and Home to the Royal Family"

Haruka allowed his eyes to wander over the weathered down sign situated just outside the large, breathtaking wall that had been mentioned to him the evening prior. The letters had a gold tint to them, but the wood appeared to be rotting; it was clear that the sign had been through many, many years of harsh desert storms.

"Firdous," Haruka repeated quietly to himself. The city in the north.

Haru glanced over his shoulder at his beloved camel, unwrapping the cloth he wore around his neck from his face. "We're here, Baa-chan," He told the camel, who grunted and immediately started walking forward, wanting to enter into the town. Haruka let Baa-chan pull him along for once, equally as happy to have finally made it to the city he'd been directed to. Walking was so tiring; it was nothing like how he remembered swimming to be.

Travelling at night was significantly easier than during the day, though, Haruka commented to himself as he was lead along by Baa-chan, his blue hues staring down at the desert floor. He watched as it slowly turned from grit and sand to the same hard, solid ground that every town he'd come across seemed to be settled upon. He and Baa-chan had headed north just after their encounter with that ghostly figure at sunset, walking all night without having to feel the burn of the sun or the sting of sand in their eyes. They hadn't ran into any bandits or thieves, either, which made Haruka wonder why on earth they hadn't been travelling by night all along.

Father once told me it was dangerous... The black-haired young adult thought, grunting as his arm was jerked backward, Baa-chan attempting to make him stop. Wait... When did Baa-chan get behind me? Haru thought to himself, frowning. He stopped, glancing back at Baa-chan, the rope that connected the two at full extension. The camel grunted at him, shaking her head like she was trying to nuzzle her snout into the air. Haruka glanced ahead of them. His eyebrows raised.

The old man's description was spot on; this city really did look like all the rest had from the inside. Run down establishments such as bars and shops situated just on the corners of streets, stands where people were selling their own homemade goods, trying to get anyone and everyone they could to buy something. Children played in the street, dressed in rags and their faces freckled with dirt. Haruka couldn't help but to make a face.

I was hoping it'd be at least a little different, The male thought as he gently tugged on Baa-chan's rope, urging her forward as he began to walk. His eyes scanned both sides of the street they were on, taking in this city of supposed "enchantment" that looked just like any other worn down village one would be bound to stumble upon in the middle of the desert. There was nothing special about it whatsoever; his own home had been better than this, even after the oasis had dried up.

It was just then, as this thought fluttered across Haruka's mind and he began to long for home, that something gold flashed in the corner of his eye. The male frowned, turning his head slightly to the right where he could see a big crowd gathering and heard the soft clanks of what sounded like metal hitting metal. He looked over at Baa-chan, then back at the crowd, wondering what it was he had seen.

That was when he saw it again— just a bright flicker in a sea of dark colors and dirty faces. A gold bangle, along with a full head of golden blonde hair. Haruka felt himself being pulled in, his feet beginning to move as he headed over to the crowd, Baa-chan following behind him. He was curious. He'd just found something that appeared to be unlike anything that he'd ever seen in any other village he'd ever come by and wanted to know just what that something was.

"Excuse me," Haruka mumbled as he pushed through the crowd, making his way to the front. He stepped on a man's foot during his trek through the group, causing said man to hiss before grunting, turning and leaving the scene. Haruka watched him with icy blue eyes before giving a grunt of his own. Then he heard a giggle. The male looked ahead of him.

There for all to see, shining under the already bright and dazzling sun like a lightning bug caught in a flame, was a boy. He was about a year or two younger than Haruka, donned in a pink ensemble that Haruka briefly noted was just a few shades off from matching his eyes, which were both pink and abnormal. There were gold bangles donning both his arms and legs, dropped down to around his ankles and being carefully kept around his wrists with the way he pointed his hands.

The way he moves... His movements were what really hooked Haruka.

The boy was dancing, but in a very different way than he'd ever seen someone dance before. He was fast and moving to a set rhythm, smacking his bare feet against the ground in accordance to the rhythm in his head, moving his arms every which way and letting the bangles cling and clank together. His hips snapped from side to side in what was meant to be a somewhat sexual display, his head bobbing.

Then he was slowly winding down, twirling gracefully on one foot as the crowd cheered, several people dropping bits of money at the boy's feet before leaving, returning to their every day lives. Only Haru stuck around to watch, with the exception of Baa-chan. His eyes stayed on the dancer as he finally stopped mid-twirl.

"Like the show?" The blonde asked, his voice teasing as he bent down, collecting the money he'd earned. He'd noticed how intensely the other male had been watching him, especially towards the end of his dance.

"At the end... You changed," The Haru commented, causing the boy to blink, turning to look up at him. "Hm? Ah, yeah. Well, it was the end of the dance, and..."

"Will you dance for me again?" Haruka asked, not sure what exactly was coming over him. There had just been something about the way the boy had moved in the last bit of the dance; something familiar and wonderful. The blonde blinked once more, standing. He looked a little surprised at first, before he slowly smiled.

"I usually don't do the same dance twice in a row," The boy said, putting away the money he'd received from his last performance in a small change purse, which he kept strapped to his hip. Then he turned his attention back to Haru, grinning. "But I can make an exception, I'm sure." The boy said, giving Haru a once-over. He was cute.

Haruka shook his head. "I don't want the same dance," He stated, "I want a slower one."

The blonde blinked, perplexed. People usually wanted fun, upbeat dances— not slow ones. "I guess I can do that," He said with a shrug, smoothening out his outfit before he smiled, taking a step back from Haru. He raised one of his index fingers to his lips, winking.

"Just remember this doesn't come free," He reminded the older, taller male, who nodded. The blonde smiled, his pink hues glancing past Haru and towards Baa-chan for a moment before shutting as he went still. He appeared to be going over some slower moves he could do for the black-haired beauty's request in his head. Then he took in a small breath as he began to move, ready to go. Ready to go slow.

Now this dance really was like nothing Haruka had ever seen before. This dance was filled with slow, precise movements that flowed into each other. This dance had no stomping feet, but rather pointed toes. The movements of the blonde's hands and feet didn't bring about all that clinking and clanging, but instead just a soft clink here and there. The boy rolled his hips in a surprisingly nonsexual way, moving his torso along with them, and there were all sorts of turns that Haruka had to stop and wonder how the boy didn't get sick or dizzy. It was beautiful: calm and serene, peaceful and magnificent.

That was when it hit him: like water. The boy's dance reminded him of water; the way they both moved, slowly but with great confidence, and flowed along, doing their own thing.

Upon discovering this, the dance seemed to only look more and more beautiful to the male, until it was finished, a thing of the past. Haruka watched the boy winding back down, this part of the dance just like the ending scene of the one before it, and felt reluctant to see the boy's free, calming style of dance disappear. But all good things must come to an end.

"So," The blonde panted slightly, having felt the handsome stranger's eyes on him the whole time, "What did you think?" He asked, smiling as he put his hands on his hips. Haruka watched the boy for a moment, before nodding and stepping back towards Baa-chan. The blonde boy blinked, watching as Haruka went into a small bag on the camel's side and pulled out an even smaller bag, loosening it's strap and reaching inside.

The blonde's pink hues lit up when he caught sight of Haruka's money, their glow only intensifying as the male reached forward, taking his hand and placing the coins inside. The boy giggled, closing his hand around the money.

"Thank you," He said in a sing-song sort of voice, putting the money away like he had the rest. The stranger's next comment, however, sent him for a loop, catching him off guard.

"You moved like water," Haru said, eyeing the boy, who raised his head back up to catch his blue gaze. "Eh? Like water?" Haruka nodded. "It was beautiful," The taller male said, causing the shorter's face to flush.

"O-Oh, um, thank you," The blonde boy said, fidgeting a bit. He'd never been complimented before; people were always giving him money, but they never said much to him. That's how it always is... The blonde looked down, face flushed.

Haruka nodded, his business there done, and turned to leave. The blonde's heart sank.

"W-Wait!" The boy was following Haruka to Baa-chan in an instant, causing both the male and camel to look at him. He shuffled back and forth on his bare and dirty feet, hands behind his back.

"I'm Nagisa! What's your name?" The blonde, Nagisa, asked, smiling in a friendly manner. Haru stared into the boy's pink hues for a moment before introducing himself. "I'm Haruka, and this is Baa-chan." He took the liberty of introducing the camel. Nagisa giggled.

Baa-chan? That's a weird name to give a camel. Can't be too surprised, though. This guy's definitely an out-of-towner. He's super handsome, though, so I shouldn't mention it.

"Ah, okay. So Haru, Baa-chan, have you been here in Firdous long? Gotten to see the city yet?" Nagisa asked, his smile widening as he leaned forward, towards Haru. The black-haired male leaned back a bit. "No."

"Uh-huh," Nagisa backed away, folding one arm under the other as he brought his hand to his chin, thinking. "Well then, I guess that can only mean one thing," The blonde said, face serious and causing Haru to start to worry just before the boy smiled and reached out, hugging one of the other male's arms, bringing it tight against his chest. Haru looked Nagisa in the face, mulling over the possibilities of what may or may not have been about to come out of the blonde's mouth. Those pink eyes were beautiful, but something false was held within their depths; he could just feel it.

"You need a tour! And for your sweet compliment earlier, it'll be free of charge, okay?" The boy giggled, already beginning to drag Haruka down the street before the black-haired male could wrap his head around what the blonde had said. Once he had, he shook his head quickly. "No, no—" Haru tried to fight the blonde off, discourage him, but Nagisa only laughed, pulling him along. Haruka had no choice but to go with the little blonde; he had a vice-like grip.

And so Haruka proceeded to be given a grand tour of the "enchanting" city of Firdous by Nagisa. He was shown all the old shops, where the people of the city lived, the best bars and even the back alleys, even though there was little to nothing there but a bunch of bums. The only spots Nagisa didn't drag him into seemed to be the brothels, which Haruka couldn't be more grateful for. That'd be in such bad taste.

"Well? It's all fascinating, isn't it?" Nagisa chirped with a big smile donning his face, before going onto pout as Haru merely shrugged. The younger boy watched the other look around, scanning the area, and giggled. "What'cha looking for?" He asked.

"Some water," Haruka murmured in response, causing Nagisa to jump to attention. "Oh, I'm sorry! Are you thirsty?" The blonde asked, to which Haru nodded, if only to pacify the boy and his worried expression.

"Okay! Come with me, then," Nagisa was back to grabbing onto Haruka's arm, pulling him forward. "We'll go to the center of the city. That's where our water source is," The blonde stated. Haru's eyebrows raised. "Water source?" He repeated, "I was told that there was an oasis outside the city; are you telling me there's a source of water inside the city walls, too?" Again, Nagisa laughed.

"Uh-huh," The blonde nodded, pulling Haru down the street, Baa-chan following along after them, Haru's hand still on the rope. "The oasis is for leisure, though. The water here in the city is for everything else: cooking, bathing, drinking," He listed, causing Haruka to nod. He got the point. They had quite a system going here...

The place is still a dump, though. Haruka thought to himself, though didn't voice his opinion and instead let their conversation drop into absolute silence as they walked. Nagisa lead him along, pointing out other things he'd apparently missed on the tour every now and then, but otherwise just continuing forward. Haruka found himself liking this better than he had the tour itself; Nagisa wasn't going on about every shop sign or crack in the ground this way. It was quieter.

Haru's breath caught in his throat when he saw it: a large, manmade fountain in the middle of the city. It's perimeter was built from stones, all mismatched yet beautiful as a whole, and a small geiser of water was spewing up towards the sky in the center, making the water droplets sparkle in the sunlight. As they got closer, Haru examined the structure more closely, wondering how they'd managed to build this sort of thing. The blonde beside him took in his amazement, giggling.

"Gorgeous, isn't it?" Nagisa commented. Haruka nodded in agreement, reaching out to stick his hand in the fountain, feel the water slide through his fingers. This caused Nagisa to gasp, however, and the blonde quickly reached forward, grabbing Haruka's wrist and pulling his hand away. "You can't do that, Haru-chan!"

"You have to use this if you want to drink from the fountain," Nagisa then went on to say, reaching under the hem of his shirt and pulling out what appeared to be a small clay cup. He handed it over to Haruka, pushing it into the black-haired male's hand. Haruka looked at the cup, holding it up to the light and examining it as Nagisa sighed. "You've really gotta learn how things work around here," he commented.

"I won't be here long," Haruka said, though in truth he didn't know. In the back of his mind he was still thinking about that magnificent body of water waiting for him in the palace, wherever that was. Not once during his journey the night before had he even started to draw out a plan as to how he was going to get there and now he was regretting it. The male pushed the thought aside however, reaching down towards the water again, this time with the cup.

As he was scooping up some water into the cup, Haru heard someone come up beside him, beginning to speak to Nagisa.

"Hey, Nagi," The figure greeted and out of the corner of his eye Haruka could see it was a young man probably a few years older than himself. He had dark brown hair and bright red eyes and was dressed in mostly blue and white garments. Haruka let his eyes slide back to the cup Nagisa had let him borrow, watching how the water inside it reflected the sun's warm glow so perfectly. He didn't see the way Nagisa tensed beside him, uncomfortable with the prescence of the group's new addition.

"Oh, hey," Haruka heard Nagisa greet the other male, who began to talk to said blonde in hushed whispers. Haruka let his mind wander away to another place; obviously he wasn't meant to hear their conversation. Not like I'd be interested, anyway, The boy thought to himself, lifting the cup of water to his lips. He drank from it, gulping the water inside down with one swallow, and a shiver rocked his body. It was delicious.

Such wonderful water, Haruka found himself thinking, moving the now empty cup down from his lips and staring into the fountain in front of him. The water glistened in the sunlight, gently rocking against itself, and Haruka found himself being taken in by it's beauty. It was so nice and clean looking and the drink he'd just had of it had been so cool. Haruka gulped, wondering how it'd feel to have that coolness gliding across his skin, and slowly sat Nagisa's cup on the edge of the fountain. His hands came up to the cloth drapping over his shoulders. Slowly, he began to pull it off.

"So, what do you think, huh?" The tall male that had strode up to Nagisa moments before purred, leaning down towards the blonde, who shrank back a bit. "Eh, well, I'm sure that'd be fine," Nagisa said, unable to believe the situation and just about ready to ask if they could go talk elsewhere. Then he heard a big splash and the mouth of the male in front of him dropped forward as someone behind him screamed.

"Our water!" A woman nearby screamed and Nagisa whipped around. A hand immediately flew to the blonde's mouth and he gasped. "Haru-chan!"

Haru's clothes laid just outside the edge of the fountain and the cup Nagisa had let him borrow was sitting daintily on it's edge while Haru himself was in the fountain. The boy was submerged, totally naked under the water, and as a man screamed, "Somebody get that guy out!" the black-haired male raised. A woman shrieked, covering her little girl's eyes, not wanting her to take in Haru's nudity. Meanwhile, Nagisa stared at Haru's half, blinking. He continued to stare until he was bumped into.

"Eep!" Nagisa fell over a bit, having to catch himself before he fell into the fountain, too. A man had pushed past him and was now grabbing Haru by the arm, yanking him out of the water. "You!" The man snarled, pulling Haruka close to his face, his large nose turning a bright shade of red as well as the tops of his ears and the apples of his cheeks. "You, outsider! You just poisoned our water supply!" The man yelled.

Haruka looked dimly at the man before blinking. Poisoned? Haruka scowled slightly. "I didn't—" Haruka began to defend himself, but the man cut in, shaking his head as he tightened his grip on Haruka's arm. The boy winced. "You did! You're an outsider, right?" You already told the world that, pops. "Who knows what sorts of diseases you could be carrying from other towns and villages! You could be carrying something fatal, something serious that could kill us all, and you just ruined our water supply!" The man lashed out, thrusting his index finger out at the water. Off to the side, Nagisa winced. Manoto-san could get really aggressive.

"Somebody call the guards!" Cried a woman, whose two children had already been scared by the man's — Manoto-san's — yelling. Another man standing nearby her nodded, rushing off to fetch said guards.

Next Haruka knew, a dark brown gown of some sort was being tossed over him and pulled over his head, his arms being slipped through the holes they needed to be slipped through. His clothes and equipment were confiscated by some palace guards, who Haru first made the wrong decision of trying to fight off before giving up, letting them tie his arms behind his back and begin to leave him away. One of them walked on each side and as he was lead away the one on the left told him that he was being arrested and what for. Haruka wasn't listening, though.

"Wait," The blue-eyed boy turned to the guard to his right, effectively shutting up the one on his other side, and nodded his head back towards the fountain, Nagisa, and, most importantly, Baa-chan. "The camel comes, too," He said, blue eyes hard as the guard to his right looked at the one to his left. The two seemed to communicate silently for a moment before the one on his right grunted, motioning back towards Baa-chan. The other nodded, running back to fetch the animal. Once they were all caught up with each other, the quartet continued on.

Far behind them, a disheartened Nagisa watched them go, the red-eyed male from before standing beside him still.

"Haru-chan..."

[CHAPTER TWO: "ARRESTED IN FIRDOUS" END.]

...So what did you guys think? I know— it's shitty, isn't it? Sorry— I tried! To help raise your spirits, though, lemme remind you Episode 4 comes out in less than 48 hours!