A/n: Note- I changed the genres from Angst/Hurt/Comfort to Romance/Hurt/Comfort. I really wonder why I forgot to add romance. Silly me... -laughs nervously-

Anywho~ Chapter 8 minna! Enjoy ^

BTW do any of you ship MakoGou? -peeps out from behind sofa- What if I said I do? -shielding self with whale plushie- B-BUT THEY ARE SO CUTE! I CAN'T HELP BUT WANT KOU TO BE IN UNREQUITED LOVE WITH MAKOTO!

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Love~

Chapter 8

Kou was worried. Even though everything had to have been fine and dandy now that Haruka had decided to stay with the team and his enthusiasm for training had influenced the other team members as well, but it wasn't so. Kou couldn't place the source for her worry, but she was sure it had something to do with the fact that Makoto had a forlorn and lost air about him ever since he came back from the infirmary. It had already shocked her when Haruka had arrived alone, claiming Makoto was right behind him, but when the latter had returned, there was something off about his smile that continued to nag at the back of Kou's mind. She was sure something had happened between the two in the infirmary. But whatever had happened had affected Makoto and not Haruka, or so it seemed. She squinted in the sun, as she watched Haruka dive into the water, causing the rest to applaud at his brilliant dive. He seemed more ..inspired, Kou thought, for loss of a better word. She had shrugged off Makoto's behavior as him being tired of handling Haruka, but she just couldn't seem to wash off the feeling that something was off about him. Kou turned to see that Nagisa and Rei were congratulating Haruka on another beautiful dive and she noticed Makoto's smile falter when Nagisa addressed him. It seemed she wasn't the only one who noticed it, because Rei had a mildly worried expression on his face. Kou clutched her clipboard to her chest and decided she'd have a talk with Rei after practice. She was sure that the overly observant athlete must have noticed something strange about Makoto's behavior. Kou frowned and wondered why this whole thing was bothering her so much. Was she reading into the situation too much? She couldn't be sure. As long as the nagging doubt clung to the back of her mind, she couldn't focus on anything else. She needed to consult Rei before it drew her crazy.

"Rei kun! Can I talk to you for a second?" Nagisa pouted when Kou walked up and latched onto Rei. She smiled sweetly at the blonde and clung on tighter to Rei's arm. Nagisa was stubborn. But Kou wasn't about to let the boy steal away what seemed to be another witness to her problem. "I'm sure Nagisa kun can walk home alone today?" Nagisa's expression was aghast as he eyed Rei desperately. The other simply pushed his glasses up and cleared his throat. Obviously whatever Kou wanted to talk to him about was of utmost importance. He for one knew that their redheaded manager wasn't one for idle talk. And she sure as hell wouldn't choose him as a companion for it.

"Nagisa kun why don't you start off and I'll catch up to you soon enough." Rei said in one breath, before Nagisa could say otherwise. Nagisa started to protest, but Kou dragged Rei away before the blonde could so much as utter a dejected cry.

"Alright then, let's get right to it. It would be a problem for me if we took too long." Rei eyed a sulking Nagisa through the glass doors and wondered what would pacify the blonde. Kou cleared her throat and stared at Rei. The latter raised an eyebrow.

"Rei kun, have you noticed something odd about Makoto san?" Rei was taken aback at the suddenness of the question.

"Excuse me?"

"Like I said, have you noticed something odd about Makoto san?" Rei gave Kou a confused look and the girl groaned and squeezed the bridge of her nose.

"I'm telling you there's something strange about him!" Rei nodded vigorously as Kou stuck her face into his personal space. She sighed and leaned heavily against the side of the shoe lockers.

"I thought there was something off about him since he came back from the infirmary. I can't quite place it, but there's definitely something strange about the way he's behaving." Rei pushed his glasses up and assumed a thinking pose. He nodded slowly and looked at a grease mark on one of the lockers.

"Well I did think he was acting slightly more disoriented than usual. Especially today he made several blunders that were unaccounted for and definitely not normal." This piece of information obviously interested Kou and she raised an eyebrow.

"Such as?"

"Such as.. the time when Amakata sensei asked him how much of his regimen he had finished, he said all of it, though he'd skipped most of the drills in between. And when Nagisa had asked him a question, on more than one occasion it had taken a repetition for Makoto san to acknowledge the question." He paused when Kou didn't react.

"What?"

"You reaaaaaaaaaally observe unnecessary things don't you?" Rei gasped and sniffed as his pride had been wounded.

"Well I'm sorry but you were the one who asked me-" Kou waved him off.

"Yes, yes, I know." She sighed and closed her eyes.

"So it really wasn't just me reading too much into it." Rei took of his glasses and cleaned a spot on it. Pushing it back up his nose, he said;

"Well either ways, Makoto san's behavior might be of some concern. The regionals are coming closer by the day and we can't afford to have our Captain running into poles and apologizing to them." Rei sighed as Kou gawked at him.

"Yes, the other day he walked into a pole. It really was quite a sight. I would have even considered it amusing had he not fainted from a nosebleed after that." Kou snorted and found herself slapping Rei's shoulder with obvious mirth.

"Well that settles it! If things don't improve by next week, we'll have to take matters into our own hands!" For some reason Rei was slightly unnerved by the gleam in Kou's eyes.

"Ma-Ko-To-San!" Kou bounced upto Makoto and smashed her lunch tray on the other's head when the teen failed to acknowledge her presence. Makoto cried out in surprise as milk slid down his face. He looked up at Kou with a confused and shocked expression at her sudden violence. The girl returned his look with a sweet smile and sat down next to him.

"What are you eating?"

"Huh? Oh uh I'm not sure. Salad I think." The two eyed the tray of food in front of Makoto. There was anything but salad on the tray and Kou smiled sweetly at Makoto.

"Well that's nice. Salad is always good for your health." Makoto backed away. He wasn't sure why, but he could feel a menacing aura around Kou and he was sure it was directed at him. When the girl continued to smile at him, he gulped and decided to take the bait.

"Wh-What about you Kou chan? It's rare of you to join me for lunch."

"Really? Even though we've been eating lunch together for a week now?"

'A week?! Had it been that long?!' Makoto stuttered and Kou sipped on her nearly empty carton of milk.

"Is everything alright Makoto san?"

"Wh- O-Of course! Why wouldn't it be?!"

"Oh that's good then. I heard you've been running into poles so I was a little worried." Kou watched as the colour drained from Makoto's face.

'Bingo.'

Makoto tried desperately to come with some sort of believable excuse, but Kou patted him on the shoulder and stood up. Once again – to Makoto's utter horror – she smiled 'sweetly' and started to walk away.

"I'll see you at practice Buchou san~" The girl called over her shoulder, causing several pairs of eyes to stare at Makoto. He groaned and sunk as low in his seat as he could. He wasn't sure what he had done to upset Kou to such an extent, but whatever it was, he better do something about Kou's mood before she skewered him with a fork the next time they met.

"Huh?"

"Like I said, you've been missing out on several drills these past few days. I would have kept quiet about it if you hadn't gone and told Amakata sensei you were skipping club because the teacher had called you out."

"But the teacher had called me out!"

"Now now Makoto san. It won't do for the Captain himself to be so lost and disorderly. And as punishment, you have to do three times as much as usual today if you plan on going home." Kou said with finalty, as she swished her ponytail and walked away, leaving a dumbstruck Makoto to gape after her.

"Wow that was harsh… Gou chan really hates you huh Mako chan?" Makoto looked at Nagisa with a look of desperation that the blonde returned with a bright smile. He patted the meadow-haired teen on his shoulder and skipped off, calling good luck over his shoulder. Makoto looked after him hopelessly. He was about to move when he heard someone clear their throat and the metal edge of a mop glinted brightly from where it stood next to Kou, with all the authority of a weapon of punishment. Makoto wanted to run and hide in a hole, but having no choice, he began the tedious process of repeating his drills three times as much as usual.

"Done!" Makoto lay in a pool of sweat and water, as he breathed in lungfuls of air. The sun had already set and he watched the pool lights blink on. It had taken him nearly six hours to complete the training regimen that Kou had forced onto him and he was finally done. He couldn't move a hair on his body from the fatigue. He just lay there for what seemed like hours, staring at the insects that hit themselves against the lights, making a pink-pink sound. A shadow passed over him and he squinted. A towel landed smack on his face and it took him several seconds to make the effort of pulling the cloth off. He looked up at Kou's lithe form, as the manager bent over him and held out a bottle of water. When Makoto made no move for it, she frowned with concern and helped the other sit up. She helped him slowly lean against the grills surrounding the pool and poured water down his throat. She watched the bulge in his throat bob up and down as he slowly gulped down the liquid, like the very effort of it was tiring. Kou sighed and squatted beside him. She took the towel and slowly began to dry Makoto. The other didn't complain. Or rather he didn't have the energy to. He just watched with heavily lidded eyes as Kou continued her ministrations.

'Maybe I over did it a little bit.' But she fought off the guilt that pressed against her mind by telling herself that Makoto deserved it. Makoto apparently thought the same.

"Tha….nks…" the teen breathed, his lips barely moving, as Kou finished drying him. The redhead gulped and frowned at Makoto's swim trunks.

"…..Sorry, maybe I went overboard." She sensed Makoto shake his head and then to her surprise, he reached out and squeezed her hand gently. Kou looked up at Makoto's tired face and watched a kind smile spread across it.

"No… I'm glad you did it… My mind feels clearer now. Sorry for all the trouble I caused you.." Kou's lips quivered and the girl threw herself at the other, causing him to wince in pain as the air rushed out of his lungs. Kou bawled her eyes out into Makoto's chest. The other was shocked, and reasonably startled, but too tired to do anything other than stroke Kou's head. The girl mumbled incoherent things – several sentences that were rebuking Makoto and his pigheadedness – and he couldn't help but smile. Whatever had upset the girl was obviously his fault and he hoped his punishment made her feel better. Apparently he had said this out loud, because Kou stopped mid bawl to raise her head and sniff at him. Then she smacked him on the chest and shrieked, "Makoto san you're too niiiiiiice! People will take advantage of you if you keep that uppp!" Makoto grimaced at the strength of the slap and Kou went back to bawling into his chest. Several minutes passed and the girl finally settled down, rubbing her nose on the towel she had wiped Makoto with. They sat in silence for awhile, the only sounds those of the crickets and the insects hitting themselves against the pool lights. They watched the designs that played on the surface of the water, as the insects milled about, attracted to the lights. Then Kou slowly broke the silence.

"Makoto san are you okay?" Makoto assumed she was talking about his physical condition and he began to reassure her he was fine, but she waved him off.

"Not that… I meant… In general…" Makoto looked at Kou wide-eyed. He hadn't realized that he had been so disoriented that Kou had taken notice. He had obviously been lost in thought these past few weeks and it had caused him to make several stupid mistakes, but he didn't think it had been that obvious. Kou raised an eyebrow at him, obviously surprised.

"Really? The whole world knew there was something wrong with you." Makoto wondered what she was saying and then suddenly realized he must have spoken out loud again. Kou scoffed and swatted a bug before it managed to come near her.

"You really should be more aware of yourself."

Makoto sighed. Then as a spur-of-the-moment thing, he leaned his head against Kou's shoulder, comforting himself with the warmth from her body. Kou stiffened at the suddenness of what he did, but didn't move otherwise.

"I've….. Had a lot to think about." He said. Kou made a sound in her throat and Makoto took that as his cue to pour out all his woes and worries. When he actually said them out loud, he realized how stupid and childish they sounded and he began to feel embarrassed that he had even brought up the topic. When he paused awkwardly, Kou egged him on, encouraging him to finish what he was saying. Shrugging inwardly he continued, after all what damage could it do? He had already embarrassed himself far more in the past few weeks. Again, he had said this out loud and Kou had found that extremely amusing. She had agreed with some surprise that Makoto had himself admitted his stupidity. That made him feel more stupid, but he chose to continue his tale. Kou was a good listener and sometimes what he said seemed to surprise her. She later told him that her brother had said the exact same things and she huffed to herself about what an idiot he was.

"I told him Haruka san would have been thinking the same things. Especially since they're so alike in so many ways." She crossed her hands and sulked and Makoto found this highly amusing.

"What!" She had demanded, when she caught him laughing. And he had simply shook his head and said that she seemed to be suffering the most.

"Damn right I am! For some reason I end up in the middle of all the worries concerning you three. It's quite annoying honestly." She huffed again and Makoto found himself laughing – actually laughing – for the first time in what seemed like so long. Once Makoto had poured out all his woes, Kou had told him about her conversation with Rin and the two decided they had to do something about it. Kou was all fired up to intervene, but Makoto made her promise that she wouldn't butt in until the Regionals were over. Kou sulked but begrudgingly agreed. Especially since she felt guilty for the state Makoto was currently in. He waved off her concerns and said he was perfectly capable of standing. Which of course turned out to be untrue, because he nearly fell into the pool when he tried to walk and if not for Kou grabbing onto him, probably would have drowned. Kou wound an arm around his waist and insisted that Makoto leaned on her. He needed no more prompting and leaned heavily on the girl as they made their way outside. Kou's house was closer and she didn't give him a choice in the matter as she shepherded him off to her house. Her mother was going to be out for the weekend so it shouldn't be a problem she had said. Makoto had argued but Kou wouldn't listen to a word he said and so he had given up and let her drag him to her house. Of course what neither of them expected was that someone would be home.

"Oops!" Kou groaned as Makoto fell against her, toppling both of them to the ground. She rubbed her head where she had hit it to the shoe rack behind her that had – thankfully - broken their fall. She eyed Makoto who was draped over her and sighed. The other obviously had no strength to stand up on his own and she was tired from lugging him home.

'Maybe I'll wait a little while…' she thought and let her eyes wander. Her bright red orbs froze at the figure standing above them and slowly widened as they scaled upwards.

"What the fuck is going on here?!" Rin demanded, as he stared down at his sister and childhood friend. Both Kou and Makoto reacted at the same time, causing Makoto to raise his head from Kou's shoulder and Kou to turn towards him. The sound of a mug shattering echoed around the house as green eyes stared into red. By some accident, bad luck or coincidence, or a mixture of all three, Kou had accidentally kissed Makoto. On the mouth. In front of Rin.

Matsuako Rin roared like a maddened person and tore Makoto from his sister. Kou squealed and tried to get in between the two males before Rin beat up the already beaten up Makoto.

"W-W-W-W-Wait Onii chan! It's an accident!" Kou screamed and tried to pull Rin away but the latter wasn't listening. With a roar, Rin raised his fist and brought it down hard on Makoto's stomach. The latter doubled over and in a desperate attempt, grabbed Rin's legs, causing the three to topple over in a tangle of limbs and screams. Rin was the first to get back on his feet. He pulled his leg back, making to kick Makoto, but Kou pushed him just in time and Rin tripped and stepped on the broken shards of the mug. He screamed as blood splattered across the floor. Rin fell to the ground clutching his injured foot, Makoto meanwhile had slid back a safe distance from Rin and Kou stood in between the two males, her back towards Makoto in defensive, holding a closed umbrella and brandishing it like a sword. Rin stopped swearing for half a second to glare at Kou – who immediately dropped the umbrella and ran into the kitchen to get a cloth – and then he continued to swear as he plucked the piece of ceramic from his foot, the range and volume of his cusses escalating as the piece came out. Kou returned with a soft cloth and pressed it against Rin's foot, causing him to swear some more. Kou joined in the shouting as she tried to calm her deranged brother down. Makoto just lay slumped in a corner, wondering what he would do if Rin decided to attack him again. Kou helped Rin to limp into the living room and she rushed back to Makoto with a steaming mug of hot chocolate and some apples. While he downed the scalding liquid with gratitude, she cut the apples into bite sized pieces and helped him eat them. Rin roared from the kitchen and the duo flinched at the renewed flow of swear words. Kou grimaced at Makoto apologetically and rushed to her brother's side. She decided that she would keep Rin as far away from Makoto as possible, until he regained his senses and Makoto could defend himself.

Kou sensed another long night ahead.

A/n: Etto~ Well I really like how things are going C: And Rin chan is back! Ok so hope you guys liked it~

The continuation of this chapter comes next week!

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Love~