A/n: I'm back earlier this time :D Too early maybe :/

Well anyways, I'm proud to say that I have completed upto 12 Chapters of this fic and you can look forward to many more :D

Thank you again for all the reviews, follows and favorites and of course for reading!

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Lots of love~

Chapter 5

"H-Haru?!"

Haruka found himself breathing in Rin's scent. Rin shivered. As a final ditch effort, Rin tried to pull away from Haruka and save both of them from severe problems in the near future. But before Rin could act, Haruka did something that once again, caused Rin to go through a mental turnover.

Haruka licked Rin.

"…Salty." Rin squealed and jumped back, effectively tripping over himself and landing in the water with a splash. He gawked at Haruka who returned his look with one of amusement. Rin gulped. It seems he had gone and turned on a switch in Haruka that neither had known existed. A switch that Rin had accidentally found out about a few days ago when Haruka had been sick. Rin watched the familiar sparkle in Haru's eyes as a sick feeling settled in the redhead's stomach.

"Rin-" Rin jumped up and tackled Haruka before the latter could say anything. He rested a hand against a stone and breathed heavily.

'This shit isn't good for my heart'

Rin took a deep breath. He wasn't sure where things were going, but he was sure that one more thoughtless move from him and they'd be going in the same endless loop again. Rin had to end this. And this time he'd cut it clean. No loose ends. No chance for more coincidences. No chance for more anything. He had said what he'd said for a reason. And he was going to keep his end of the bargain. Even if it meant once again selfishly pushing his desires onto Haruka and forcing the other to submit. Rin knew it was either now or never. Every time he saw Haruka, had a conversation with him, even stood next to him, he found his mental wall crumble. He could feel his will dissolving and molding around Haruka. He knew that one word from Haru and he'd willingly dive into that endless cycle again. Like the white and dark koi swimming eternally around each other in their little pool of life. The very thought caused Rin to shiver. He'd take care of things here first, then he'd clean things with Makoto. Make sure there were no more openings.

'I'm tying up these lose ends once and for all.'

"Haru.." Rin started, he hoisted himself on a rock and waited for the other to do the same. When Haruka was looking at Rin with wide earnest eyes, Rin shut his red ones, refusing to waver again. He breathed in and said everything he wanted to say in one breath.

"You were right Haru. I should stop playing around. It's enough already. Neither of us have to do this anymore. I meant what I said that day. And I'm sticking to it. You should stop connecting to me too Haru. Isn't it enough already? How much longer will you wait? How much longer will you base everything you say or do around me? I left for a reason. And just because I've come back doesn't mean everything automatically goes back to what it was. Actually isn't it the opposite? Doesn't this mean I'm here for a fresh start? Do you get what I'm saying Haru?" Rin paused, wondering if anything he was saying was going into the dolphin like teen's head. Haruka shifted, his bangs covering his eyes and casting a serious air about him. Rin swallowed and continued;

"So let's end this once and for all Haru. It's not like you have to quit swimming just because I said I'd never swim with you again. Hell I said it so you'd get even more worked up about it and work harder! That's the Haru I know! This Haru, I don't even want to acknowledge as my rival." Rin grimaced when Haruka flinched at his last sentence. He took a deep breath and went on. The damage was done. Might as well snap the frayed rope clean than let it hang by a thread.

"Swim for yourself Haru. Swim because that's what you do. Not because you want to swim with me or anyone else. Just swim because that's what Nanase Haruka does. Are you a quitter Haru? Are you going to quit and make Makoto worry? Well if you are then too bad. Because then I will never accept you as my rival. My rival isn't this pathetic person who sits around and mopes everyday. Get up Haru! How long are you going to chase after me?! Are you listening! Oi!" Rin leaned over and grabbed Haruka by the shoulders. What happened next effectively changed everything about the two teens for ever more.

Haruka grabbed Rin and threw him in the water. Rin spluttered and shouted up at Haruka. The latter simply stood, dusted the sand from his trunks, threw on his shirt and left. Rin watched his childhood rival walk away, a dull ache started to build up in his chest. He shook his head and lay back in the warm ocean. The damage was done. Rin was sure he'd hurt Haruka's pride enough to push the other back up again. Now he'd just have to make sure Makoto didn't find him. Rin stared at the clouds. He refused to look when he noticed Haruka falter for an instant.

This was for the best. This way Haruka would finally be free. He wouldn't be held back by the shackles called Rin. Rin found himself laughing bitterly. He realized that for all his big break-up lecture was worth, he had selfishly assumed Haruka had been chasing after him. He had selfishly assumed Haruka had been waiting for him. Haruka had never once actually told Rin he wanted to swim with him. Rin found himself laughing to the sky. What if this entire time it had been Rin who had been obsessed with the idea that Haruka was obsessed with him than the latter actually being true.

'And then you realize everything you'd lived for was one big fat lie.'

Makoto wanted to shoot someone. The last time he saw Haruka, the latter was walking away from everything he ever worked for. Now Haruka was just lying there in a different state of depression.

'What exactly does this guy go through in those brief intervals when I leave him alone?!'

Makoto was worried. Haru already looked ready to jump off a building any second. Now he looked like he wanted to bury himself in the earth. Or rather he already had.

"Ne Mako chan~ What do you think happened to make Haru chan a sand crab?" Nagisa asked, as he poked Haruka with a stick. Or rather the bulge of sand that was Haruka. Makoto's face drained of colour.

"Nagisa stop that! What if he suffocates and dies?!"

"Impossible~ You worry too much Mako chan~"

"Nagisa please stop it!"

"Nagisa kun you're worrying Makoto san. He might just explode."

"Ah you're right. Maybe we should bury Mako chan too~"

Nagisa clapped his hands triumphantly and surveyed his work.

"Perfect! Now no one will ever be able to tell you apart!"

"Isn't that because they're just heads now?"

"Rei chan don't stress the details~"

"I don't think that's the point here…"

Matsuoka Kou nearly died when she appeared with a cone of ice cream in her hand. The soft serve fell onto the sand with a splat as the girl looked at her four team mates. Makoto and Haruka were buried neck deep in sand. Haruka seemed to have a devil may care aura around him and Makoto just seemed to have given up on the world. Nagisa seemed to be having the time of his life building a moat around the two buried teens and Rei… Kou just deemed Rei as not worthy of being considered. (A/n: Ouch poor Rei)

"….So? What did I miss?"

"Ah Gou chan did you get us ice cream?"

"It's Kou not Gou! And just for that Nagisa kun doesn't get any!"

"Eh~" Kou knelt beside Makoto and placed her umbrella over the other's head.

"Hello~ Makoto san~? Are you alive~" Makoto gave her an eerie smile.

"Ok that's it! Rei kun! Help me dig them out! Now!"

"Eh~ Wait why would you do that! They look so comfortable!"

"Nagisa kun go eat your ice cream and shut up please."
"Okay~"

After and hour and a half of digging and pulling, Rei and Kou successfully managed to unearth the two teens. Makoto just lay on the beach with a dead man's aura around him and Haruka wobbled to the ocean.

"Haruka san are you alright?!" Kou watched as Haruka rammed into a volleyball pole and then apologized to it. She whipped around and slapped Makoto a couple of times.

"Please get yourself back together! If you fall apart now I won't be able to handle Haruka san alone! Makoto san~"

That seemed to wake the meadow-haired teen up and he rushed after Haruka before the latter drowned himself in a whirl pool. Kou just hunched under her umbrella and squinted at the sky tiredly.

'I'm pretty sure Haruka san's mood swings have something to do with Onii chan. Maybe I shouldn't have sent him to Haruka san's house the other day after all. Especially since Haruka san came and thanked me for going over even though Onii chan was the one who went.' She sighed exasperatedly.

'Why does everyone around me live in their own little worlds full of problems?!'

A/n: And that's to the end of chapter 5! Thank you all for reading! Just a head's up: There will be a lot more of Kou in the future. Just thought you should know. For some reason i really like her and I've decided to give her an important role in this story nya~

Laters then~

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