A/n: Is this considered a late update? Because I just decided that I might update every 5-7 days. I dunno, just to quell my sadistic side? xD
Yeah anyway~ thank you for all the favorites, follows and reviews!
I absolutely loved writing this chapter. Like really really really. I had so much fun. So I hope you guys have as much fun reading it as I did writing it :D
Love~
Chapter 6
"Well this is new."
Kou, Makoto and Amakata sensei stood beside the school pool and watched Haruka swim to and fro. The two women turned to look at Haruka's one and only childhood friend.
"So? What brought about this wonderful change?" Makoto 'hmm'd and tapped his chin.
"I'm not so sure myself.. I went over to his house as usual today and found him already frying Mackerel." Kou looked the least bit convinced.
"And this is different because..?" Makoto gave her an are-you-kidding-me-right-now? look.
"Because Haru's always in the tub when I go over!"
Kou tilted her head. "Okaaaaaaay."
"But today he was already frying mackerel!" Makoto was posing like Kou was missing the entire point of his explanation. Like she just wasn't seeing how important the fact was, that it was an apple that fell on Newton's head and not a banana or an orange. Amakata sensei waved off the two and smiled brightly.
"As long as no more nonsense about anyone quitting comes up everything's perfectly fine~" She tilted her head at the other two. "Right?" Kou and Makoto nodded vigorously.
Haruka came up with a splash and stared at Makoto.
"What is it Haru?"
"Why are you there?" Makoto smiled and started to strip.
Kou's eyes sparkled as she 'oooh'd and 'aaaah'd at the sight of Makoto's triceps. Then she watched with delight as the meadow-haired teen flexed and took a running jump into the pool.
"Waaaah~ So beautifull~~" Amakata sensei patted the swooning girl on her head and disappeared into the school building.
"Don't be out too late kids~"
"Ah that's right! Have you two seen Nagisa kun and Rei kun?" Kou asked, pausing in her series of snap shots of Makoto. Haruka couldn't care less, as he continued to swim. Makoto paused for Kou's sake and pretended to think. Then he smiled brightly, shrugged and swam after Haruka. Kou sighed.
"These two lovers and those two lovers. So useless. Poor Onii chan hasn't a hope in the world." She placed a hand against her cheek and mourned for her brother's pathetic existence.
"Achoo!"
"Ah Matsuoka senpai! Look you did catch a cold after all!" Rin glared at Nitori.
"Shut up. What idiot catches a cold in August." So saying, he dived into the pool again, leaving a distraught Nitori to look after him worriedly.
"Oi Matuoka!"
"Haah what is it Buchou?!" Samezuka Academy's Swimming Team captain raised an eyebrow at Rin's snarky response.
"What's with you man? And here I was concerned you had a cold." Rin growled and ducked underwater. Nitori cried.
"Oi Nitori chill. Matsuoka ain't a girl to come down with a cold that easily." Mikoshiba reassured the first year.
"So what kind of idiot catches a cold in August?"
Kou looked down at her sick brother with a blank expression. Rin cussed and growled back at her. Kou rolled her eyes and sat down beside him.
"And here I was worried something serious had happened when I received a call from Mikoshiba san." Rin glared at Kou.
"Since when did you two exchange numbers?" Kou stuck her tongue out at him.
"What's it to you?" Rin growled and huddled inside his blankets.
"Ah Onii chan stop being so stubborn already! You can atleast come home when you're sick!"
"'Dun wanna."
"Mou!" Kou grabbed the covers and whipped them off, causing Rin to tumble on to the floor. Cussing, he rubbed his head and sat up.
"What's your problem?!" Kou pointed a finger at Rin and wagged it menacingly.
"Nitori kun told me you haven't been taking care of yourself Onii chan! Why would you float in the ocean till midnight?! Are you trying to bleach your hair!" Kou made a horrified noise and Rin tskd at her.
"As if. I just.. got lost in thought. What's with that reaction?!" Kou clutched her heart and stumbled backwards. Then she rushed forward and placed a hand on Rin's forehead and one on her own.
"Onii chan you're burning up." Rin stared at Kou blankly, a sense of de ja vu washing over him.
"I'm perfectly fi-"
"Kyaaa! Onii chan!"
Kou sobbed into a tissue as Nitori tried to pacify her.
"R-Relax Matsuoka san! Senpai was just weak from dehydration and lack of food.." Kou whipped around and stuck her face in front of Nitori's;
"You're his roommate aren't you?! Why aren't you taking more care of him!" Nitori paled and Kou sniffed angrily at him. The two looked up when Mikoshiba arrived waving a piece of paper.
"Ah Matsuoka's little sister!"
"Call me Kou already!"
"N-Noway… First name basis already.. I-I'm not ready-"
"Buchou she doesn't care." Mikoshiba sat heart broken beside a pitying Nitori, as Kou read the report.
"Huh a 103˚ fever. He really is an idiot." Kou huffed and turned towards the two males.
"You two! Why are you still up?! Get to bed already!"
"B-But-"
"But nothing!" Kou pushed a worried Nitori and a gleeful Mikoshiba back to the dorms.
"And find somewhere to sleep today Nitori kun because I'm staying over!" Kou sighed and watched the two teens walk away.
'So unreliable. Got to make sure neither of those two idiots catches Onii chan's cold or I'll feel guilty and end up taking care of them.' Kou squared her shoulders and marched up to Rin's room.
It was going to be a long, tiring night.
"And that's how you ended up with a cold?" Kou glared as Nagisa shook with laughter.
"What idiot catches a cold in Aug-"
"Yeah yeah, I've heard that one already." Kou sulked. She had successfully cured Rin of his cold and successfully caught one herself. (She blamed their red hair and similar genes.) So the Iwatobi swim Team had come over to visit. Haruka seemed the least bit interested and just sat staring out the window the whole time. Makoto was mothering Kou and had even cooked her some hot chicken soup. Rei was just awkwardly trying to stop Nagisa from laughing; the latter found the whole situation too amusing for words. Kou groaned and huffed at Nagisa.
"Stop laughing at a sick person you sadist!"
"Wahahahahhaaa! But it's just like Gou chan to catch her brother's cold! You are redheads after all! Pff-hahahahaa!"
"Stop reminding mee!" Kou whined and looked at Makoto with pleading eyes. Makoto sympathized with the girl and ushered a delighted Nagisa out with an apologetic Rei.
"You guys should be more grateful!" Kou screamed after the duo.
"Maa maa they're gone. Anyway you shouldn't work too hard Kou chan. A good night's rest is a must!" Makoto wagged a finger in a motherly way and Kou glared at him. She turned and huffed.
"Atleast wear just an apron so I can get some fan service."
"Eh… Even though I'm taking care of you?"
"Hah! You're only here to keep an eye on Haruka san!" Kou watched as Makoto rubbed his head sheepishly.
"Atleast deny it! Aaah you guys suck! Get out!" Makoto and Haruka promptly left before Kou started throwing things at them. The redheaded girl fwumped back on her bed and placed an arm over her eyes. Her mind wandered to the previous night…
"So what exactly happened between you and Haruka san?" Kou asked as she placed a cold pad on Rin's forehead. The other groaned and turned his head. Kou sighed. Maybe it wasn't the time to bring up that topic after all..
"Where do you want me to start?"
Kou looked at Rin with surprise and then tilted her head.
"I don't know, at the beginning?" She sat down beside her brother and waited for him to start. Rin took a deep breath and started,
"I decided to join Iwatobi Swim Club in middle school because-"
"Uwahh not that far ahead! I know that story already!"
"Will you let me speak or not?!"
"Ugh fine… Atleast make it short.."
"Why are you complaining?! You're the one who asked!"
"Alright fine already geeze!" Kou sulked as Rin glowered at her. He sighed and started again,
"So as you know, I was always awed by Haru's swimming. I simply couldn't get over it. The beauty with which he dove into the water, his clean graceful strokes, they reminded me of the dolphin show dad had taken us to long ago when we were kids.." Rin paused briefly and Kou watched as a shadow passed over his face at the mention of their late father. She squeezed the excess water from the cold pad and placed it on his forehead again. Rin continued,
"I decided that I wanted to be an Olympic Swimmer and that beating Haru was the only way I could do it. So even after I moved to Australia, one New Year's when I came to visit, I bumped into Haru and challenged him to a match." Rin smiled darkly and passed a hand over his eyes. "Of course I lost completely. It was… mortifying. Even after all that big-shot training I went through on the other side of the world, I still couldn't beat him. It was like the water was a part of him. The way he'd just skim across, like as if the water was what was pushing him and making him move, I thought it was unfair. I refused to admit Haru had beaten me. Not after everything I'd been through. And because of my… I guess vanity would be the word, I just thrust all my selfish and pathetic whims onto Haru and left. And all this time I had selfishly assumed Haru had been waiting for me. Waiting for me to come back, waiting for me to challenge him again.. And I thought by finally beating him I'd be able to move on.. That it wouldn't matter if Haru was like a dolphin because I was like a shark and I'd just rip through everything in my way. But this whole time, it had been just me. It had been just me selfishly throwing around my wishes and dreams, me selfishly forcing them onto Haru, me selfishly assuming he had been waiting for me, me selfishly cutting all ties with him whenever I fancied, it was all just me." Rin groaned and turned around, his back facing Kou, effectively hiding his expression from her. Kou swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. She reached out a hand and flinched when Rin shied from her touch. Taking a steadying breath, she tried again. And this time Rin didn't move away.
"Ne Onii chan.. why would you even think that way? It's true you might have selfishly pushed your ideals onto Haruka san, but why would you assume for even a minute that Haruka san blamed you for it? I mean did you expect him to tell you what he felt? This is Haruka san we're talking about. Makoto san tells us what he thinks, not himself." Rin snorted and cracked half a smile to what his sister said. He had thought the exact same thing the last time he met Haru.
"A-And anyway!" Kou continued, in a last-ditch effort, while Rin kept quiet, "Onii chan isn't the kind of person to mope about such stuff! What happened to that arrogant jerk who thought the world of himself?!" Rin made a growling sound in the back of his throat and Kou thought maybe she'd gone too far.
"That's just it. Maybe that's all I am. An arrogant jerk who thinks the world of himself." Kou mentally slapped herself. The fact that Rin was even talking to her was a miracle. And now she'd gone and said something unnecessary and effectively caused him to cut himself off. She sighed and stared at the back of his head. Then carefully, she reached over and tucked a strand of red hair behind his ear.
'We really have the same hair colour huh.' And for some reason, at that moment she found the - otherwise annoying thought – comforting. She took a deep breath and tried again, this time carefully wording what she wanted to say;
"Maybe you should stop assuming and have a heart to heart with Haruka san. For all you know, he might be thinking the same things you are." Rin snorted and turned to give Kou a look of amazement.
"That guy? Are you serious? Pssh the only problems going through his head are which swim suit to wear and which side of a fish to fry first." Kou smiled sheepishly. Unfortunately her brother might just be right. She sent a mental apology to Haruka.
"Well yeah, maybe you're right." Rin rolled his eyes and Kou huffed. "Okay you are right. But that doesn't change the fact that maybe – just maybe – Haruka san feels the same way. You'll never know unless you try!" Rin raised an eyebrow at his sister.
"Why are you so bent upon fixing this anyway? It has nothing to do with you."
"It has everything to do with me! Until recently, Haruka san was going around saying he's quitting the swimming team! That I just so happen to be the manager of! Do you know how much of a pain it was to convince him otherwise?! My life is in the question here!" Kou huffed and Rin buried his head underneath the blanket.
"Geeze well I'm sorry for you, but since you're talking in past tense, I'm assuming Haru's stopped being stubborn and is doing whatever you want him to do right? So isn't that problem solved?" Kou crossed her arms and pouted, unable to admit the fact that Rin was right. After several moments she continued,
"Anyway! You should stop belittling yourself so much Onii chan. You're worth more than you give yourself credit for." Kou was expecting Rin to haughtily agree with her, but instead he simply lay there without responding. Kou gently poked her brother's cheek and found that he had fallen asleep.
'Geeze and here I was being nice! Well whatever.. As long as he doesn't fall sick and over do things I guess I won't meddle..'
A/n: Yup that's the end of this chapter guys! Didn't you enjoy it? Huh? Huh? I even liked the part where Rin was telling his depressing story to Kou. I always loved their relationship and wanted there to be more of it. So I hope you guys enjoyed~ See you again in 5-7 days! -sadistic smile- 8D