*Author's Note: I do not own Free: Iwatobi Swim Club or their characters. But I do own the characters that are unfamiliar to the series. Please enjoy!

(Chapter Two: Finding Happiness)

"Ah– pheeew!" I sneeze loudly and put a hand on my forehead. My skin was unnaturally warm.

I quickly remember why, and I start to regret going to Samezuke Academy and swimming in their pool. When the four of us where going home, my clothes were still drenched and I had to walked back to my house in the freezing night. Now I got a cold and my brother forbad me to go to school today. I was stuck in the house with him, hurray.

"Hanaru!" I hauled my upper body from my bed and watch as my brother, Kaoru, barges in my room with a bowl of hot liquid. "Have some more soup," he pushes the third dish in my hand. "Do you want a warm towel, or a book, or the computer, or some company, or more sleep, or–"

"I want you to go to work." I cut him off while sipping the liquid.

"Who needs work?" he said with a smile.

"You do!"

"But I have to take care of my little girl." he pats my head. When I look up at him, I never realized how different we actually are. Appearance wise I mean. He has orange hair while I have dark brown. He has hazel eyes while I have turquoise. His nose is much bigger than mine and he has freckles all over his pale body. My fair skin didn't even have one beauty mark.

I push his hand away, "You make me sound like I'm your daughter, which is creepy when I think about it. Most big brothers wouldn't even care about their little sister."

"But I'm a different and unique big brother."

"Yes you are…" I roll my eyes.

"Oh and I have surprise for you!" Kaoru hooted and ran out of the room. After a few seconds, he came back with a box.

"What's inside it?" I ask.

"Your proper high school uniform, my love. Your school sent it to us last night." he rips the box apart. "Now you don't have to wear that boy's uniform anymore. It looked good on you, but it was also baggy and large. Beside, I'm sure the school made a mistake for calling you a boy." When the box is finally opened, Kaoru's face went white as he pulls out a dark blaze, a white dress shirt, and a red tie. This time, the uniform looked like it would fit me.

"Okay, I guess they keep making that same mistake. I don't care if I have to wear a boy's uniform. I think it's comfortable anyway."

Kaoru shoots up like a rocket and clenches his head with both hands. He then shouts, "Why do they think you're a boy!"

-:-

While I'm napping I dream about Haruka and Rin's race last night. After Makoto yelled go, the two flew off their platforms with so much force that both platforms shook vigorously. Rin was in the lead at first from his strong kick, but Haruka's stroke was much faster as he cut through the surface like a scissor.

Nagisa was shouting words of encouragement to Haruka while Makoto watched both swimmers carefully. When the two rivals pushed off on the opposite wall, they were both neck and neck which made my heart punch my chest repeatedly. I didn't understand why I was feeling so nervous, but the race turned into an all-out war.

Though it was strange towards the end. Haruka seemed to be slacking off before he could make the finish, which surprised me. When I looked more closely at his form, his body seemed more relaxed than tense. He seemed to realize how swimming was supposed to be fun and enjoyable, not this competitive. I felt my nerves cool down when I finally understood why.

Rin won, and he seemed pretty happy about it judging by the way he acted. Nagisa, Makoto, and I rush over to Haruka and saw how he was out of breath, but not disappointed about the loss. He looked more tired and relieved, like a weighted was just lifted from his shoulder. When he turned to Rin to congratulate him, the scarlet haired man returned his glare upon his face and pulled Haruka towards him forcefully by his blue goggles.

Before things got any uglier, a teacher ran into the pool and yelled at us about trespassing and told us to get out. Rin left quickly without another glance while the four of us went out in silent. My pants kept falling down, due to the weight of the water molecules trapped in the fabric, so I had to hold them up the whole ride home. Makoto didn't look at me while Nagisa told Haruka that I was really a girl.

"I know." he replied. This shocked both Makoto and Nagisa.

"When?"

"When I met her."

I never understood what the big deal was. I don't actually care if people think I'm a guy or girl, no one really cares anyway. I mean, I'm not going to go around town say, "Hi my name is Hanaru and I'm a girl." What's the big deal? I'm pretty sure people care more about personality instead of appearance so it's fine if I'm called a dude or dudette.

My brother even freaks out about the way my appearance is, coming from the man who's an entertainer and dresses up in both men and women costumes to please the public. The only thing I learned when I saw him dressed as a comical woman, it doesn't matter what you look like it matters more on the inside.

During the day, my energy begins to rise and my cold slowly decreases. I keep sneezing a few times, but it doesn't bother me at all. I was home alone for a few hours while my brother had to run some errands. When he returned, he shows me the new contacts he purchased for me after my glasses broke. I put them in and everything seems clearer than before. I sigh with relief.

While I was resting, my brother plays with his guitar and keyboard to fill the air with soothing music to comfort me. I think he gets his musical talent from our mother because she used to be a music teacher. It was magical to see, ever instrument she played was marvelous to listen too. Then she married my dad because she loved his singing voice. I never heard him sing before, and I'm sad that I never will.

Soon I'm out of bed and putting some normal clothes on. I wore my khakis and a black and white stripe shirt with tennis sneakers. While I'm cleaning my face, I sneeze once again and hear the doorbell go off. Kaoru was in his bedroom so I go answer the door. After opening it, my eyes widen when I see Nagisa on my doorsteps.

"Nagisa?" I question but he abruptly goes into a huge bear hug. I notice he was still wearing his school uniform.

"Hana-chan, why weren't you at school today?" he cried and I sigh at his childish ways.

"I wasn't feeling well," I pat his golden head. "But I'm better now and–"

He swiftly averts his face towards mine and this overly joyed boy is red with happiness. I get slightly scared. "Great, please come with me!"

Gripping my wrist like he was holding on for dear life, Nagisa violently forced me out of my home and dragged me all the way to Haruka's. I got one last glimpse of my brother who stood by the door way with a bewildered look.

-:-

"Whatever. Knock yourself out." Haruka blandly answered Nagisa's question.

Apparently, Nagisa had an idea that suddenly popped in his mind hours ago. He wanted to start a swim club.

Just hearing it made my own heart sink to the bottom of my stomach. That awful memory a few years ago replayed in my mind, a flashback that was planted in brain forever. I could almost feel the stinging sensation on my left cheek again. It was in the past now, but I still wanted to roll up in a ball and lay on my bed.

Nagisa was quiet excited about the answer, but Makoto seemed a little unsure. I sneezed loudly again. When we finally got Haruka out of the tube, the four of us made our way to the main room where we sat around a table. I noticed a girl with long scarlet hair kneeling next to me, but blushed and looked away.

Oh wait! She was the girl from two days ago. When I accidentally bumped into her as Nagisa pulled me around the entire school. I didn't catch her name, but I wasn't sure if I should ask because she seemed embarrassed about something.

I look up and watch as Haruka dried his hair with a towel, still in his trunks of course. Makoto too averted his eyes up to his body, a little hint of sympathy shown. "Are you sure about this?" he started. "We won't be doing this by ourselves. You're expected to join the club."

"I know." Haruka replied. His tone was still the same, except it sounded like he was trying to hide something.

"You sound like you don't want to do it, Haruka-sempai." I speak out. Haruka glared his blue eyes onto my turquoise ones, still drying himself with his towel.

"I do."

I was cut off by Nagisa before saying anything else. "Oh, yeah. Haru-chan and Hana-chan weren't with us the other day. This is Rin-chan's sister."

I felt my eyes grow to the size of dish plates. Looking back at the girl, my jaw dropped to the floor and I mentally smack myself in the head. She did have some kind of resemblance to him, with the hair and eyes, but the facial expression was too different. She gazed up at Haruka looking hopeful that he'll remember her.

"H-Hello, it's been a long time." she said.

"Matsuoka…" he dragged until it hit him. "Kou."

"Yes!" she gasped with glee. "I'm sorry about what my brother did yesterday." she apologized for Rin, but Haruka was indifferent about it.

"Don't sweat it."

Haruka put a baby blue sweater over his body and then tied an apron around. He stalked away to the kitchen preparing tea with Makoto calling out on how he had squid with him. I turn to Kou to introduce myself.

"My name is Suzuki Hanaru, Kou. I'm new to this school, but it's nice to meet you." I smile which for some reason signaled her to turn completely red and look away from my stare.

"Hanaru… that's a nice name…" she tapped her fingers together. Her eyes locked on the floor like she was having a staring contest with it, her face was still cherry red. "My real name is Gou, but I prefer to be called Kou please."

"Why? I like Gou, that's a nice name too. But I'll call you Kou if you want." I said. This made her whole body turn completely scarlet. Was I doing something that was embarrassing her?

"What? Wouldn't chocolate be better?" Nagisa complained out loud.

"We'll compromise and have mackerel." Haruka said without looking back. Isn't Mackerel a fish?

"That's not a compromise." the blonde stood up and trotted over. "I'll give you a hand! Is this okay?"

Makoto and I lock our eyes together for the first time today and we smile at Nagisa's energetic personality. He didn't seem to want to bring up the whole, I-just-found-out-your-a-girl situation and honestly, I didn't care. Though at some points today, I would catch his eyes glued on me only to be flickered away quickly. Kou seemed to notice something and I turn to see her looking at the trophy Rin threw to the ground a couple days ago. It had a red ribbon tied around it. I also notice the picture of the four of them when they were younger celebrating, that same picture that made me jealous. Suddenly, I sneezed again.

"Are you okay Hanaru?" Makoto asked.

"Yeah I'm fine." I wipe my nose with my hand.

"Isn't this…"

"Ah, right." Makoto answered Kou quickly. "That's the trophy the four of us won as kids. Rin told us that he no longer needed it." I remember that. Kou picked up the photo and looked at it sadly.

"Are you okay Kou?" I snapped her from her thought. She was startled by my voice.

"Oh y-yes Hanaru," she blushed red again, but then it faded pink when a smile was placed on her face. "Everyone's smiling, I just noticed."

"Actually, Haru's the sole exception in the photo." Makoto nudged closer to me to get a better look. Nagisa came back with tea and kneel right in front of my back.

"Haru-chan is always smiling on the inside." he commented.

"You make him sound like a bad person." Kou giggled, and then she turned back to me. "Hanaru, did you do competitive swimming as well."

"Well," I rethink this threw before answering that question. I did do horseback riding too, but I thought it was unimportant to mention that. "Not the competitive swimming the boys did, I would race more in the ocean."

This caught everyone's attention as I watched them gape at me like fishes. I did compete in ocean races believe it or not, but they were more dangerous, so it's a reason they're not as popular around the world. It's also this special tradition to do this sport in the town I used to live in.

"How did you do that Hana-chan?" Nagisa questioned.

"They're all different actually, like swimming a mile out and coming back, or diving underwater, and my favorite, the island races." I explain.

"What's that?" Makoto asked.

"At my old home, we had two islands that are two and a half miles away from our shores. The race is simple to comprehend. Everyone has to swim to the first island and then follow a path when they get there. The path is three miles long, but when you get to the end, you have to swim a mile to the next island and do the five k all over again. The first person to get back to the shore wins."

"Is it like a circle?" Kou questioned like making an O in the air.

"Something similar to that." I nod. "So I'm more of a distance swimmer and runner."

"That's sounds so cool." Nagisa remarked on. "I wanna try that!"

"It's harder than you think…" I said, but his enthusiasm still shined brightly. I guess our topic was done because Makoto asked Kou a question.

"Oh, so is this the first time Rin's come back to Japan since he left?"

"Huh?" Kou was coming back to that topic. "Oh, he came back every year for New Year's."

"Really!" Nagisa exclaimed with distress. "And he never told us? That's mean."

"Why would he do that?" I ask her.

"Oh! I-I'm not exactly sure…" she looked down again.

This whole thing seemed oddly fishy. First Rin just happens to come back to everyone's lives but he pushes them away. To make it worse, he's really been coming every New Year's. Judging by the way he's acting, I can tell something is bothering him and that one of the guys caused him to feel that way. It made sense because of how cold he acted to all of them. My biggest guess was Haruka, but I don't want to be pointing fingers yet.

One by one, everyone started to leave Haruka's house. Kou bowed and went her way while Nagisa went to the train station. That left me and Makoto alone outside. For some reason, I felt slightly awkward about it because he did freak out about learning my true gender and wouldn't even make eye contact with me. I never understood why, but I wasn't going to ask.

Instead, he asked me a question.

"Are you a cross-dresser Hanaru?"

"Huh?" I was taken aback by his sudden curiosity. So I laugh and shake it off. "N-No it's not like that at all, it's just like what I said before, my school just sent me the wrong uniform and I have to live with it. I don't really mind the mistake."

"Oh," he sighed. "So why don't you just get a regular school girl uniform?"

I laugh at the memory this morning. "Well you see, they did send in another uniform before noon but the thing was they sent a boys uniform again. My brother freak about that, I was fine however. Why are you asking?" I was suspicious.

This caught him by surprise and he raise his hands in defense while nervously chuckling, "I'm just curious and want to know Nagisa's friends a little more. I'm sorry if I asked something too personal–"

"No Makoto-sempai!" I cut in. "It's not like that at all, really, but you just seemed so weird when found out I was a girl, so I hope I didn't scare you."

"Well, it was just a little twist of events." he rubbed the back of his head. "And it's not every day a girl is disguising herself as a boy."

"You'd be surprised…" I think back to my brother and his job for a second. I never realized this but compared to me, Makoto is very tall. I literally had to look up to him, which felt kind of terrifying, but I was happy to know he was a friendly giant.

"You know Makoto-sempai, I think you're pretty cool." I smile.

"C-Cool?" he stammered with embarrassment, blushes forming around his cheek bones.

"Yeah, you're a really nice guy, that's all. I'm happy to have met you." I show my teeth this time and feel my eyes droop a little. Okay, why is it that when I talk to someone they go tomato red in the face? Seriously I'm not causing this on purpose.

-:-

My stomach felt heavy, like I just swallowed a gigantic rock. My sandwich didn't even taste that good anymore, even if it was my brother's masterpiece. The juice even tasted sour on my tongue. Though, I think the reason I'm feeling this way is because of how guilty I felt.

A couple days ago, Nagisa was being pesky and trying to convince me to join their now opened club, but I refused his offer. The scene went something like this:

"Please Hana-chan." he begged on his knees.

"I already said no. Besides, girls can't join a boys club anyway."

"But you swam before and we really a fourth person!" he began tugging at my pants. "We can hide your sex and then you'll be able to join."

"Nagisa get off me! And you shouldn't persuade me after I gave you my final answer." I cry to him. He was so desperate that he wrapped his arms around my leg and cried into my knee.

"Please Hana-chan! We need someone in order to start our club. We don't want to waste our perfectly new pool. Don't you want to feel the water again, like how Haru-chan does?"

"Nagisa get off me NOW!" I snapped at him with venom in my voice. Like a scared kitten, he removed his arms and crawled away a few feet, eyes shiny with fresh tears.

"I-I'm sorry Hana-chan…" he whimpered. I was too mad to focus on how scared and depressed he looked. I literally couldn't take it anymore! I told myself I would never swim again and focus on my studies. That's what he would want.

"I'm never swimming again Nagisa. Stop acting like a brat and leave me alone!" I growl and walk away. I could almost hear him sob a little to himself. Great, I just broke a sensitive boy's heart.

But I still didn't feel better about myself. It was the next day after what happened and I tried to avoid Nagisa and his friends as much as I could. I didn't even give any glances to the blonde boy during our classes together and whenever I saw Makoto or Haruka coming by in the hallway, I would turn back and walk the other direction. It was wrong to avoid them, but I'm good at shutting people away.

The days went by rather quickly and I felt my heart grow heavier each hour. I would catch a scene of Nagisa trying to win students, but he always got rejected. It was rather sad to watch because he tried so hard, but I couldn't show it on my face. I promised I would never swim again and I had to keep that.

After school one day, I went to a nearby fast food restaurant to pick up some dinner tonight. I was standing line, patiently waiting for the person in front of me to order, when I caught a glimpse of scarlet locks. I turn to see that it was none other than Kou.

"Kou!" I called out to her.

Once her head rotated in my direction, her eyes widened and that same blush came back. "Hanaru!"

-:-

Kou came to visit the boys the next day while bringing juice and a few snacks which they were thankful for. Haruka and Nagisa were in the empty pool, covering the cracks with blue paint while Makoto was coloring the fence green. Kou began to walk over to Makoto, wanting to have a small conversation with him.

"I'll leave the juice here." she offered the plastic bag and put down by Makoto's feet.

"Thanks." he replied.

"I don't quite get it, though," she started and knelt down. Makoto looked rather puzzled. "Why didn't you try to start a swim club when you were first-years?"

The second-year had to think about it, almost like she had a point. He answered, "Haru wasn't interested."

"But he's such a good swimmer."

"Haru joined the swim club in middle school, but he quit at the end of our first year."

"Did something happen?" she investigated.

"No idea." he confessed. "He didn't want to talk about it. Our old swim club was shut down around the same time, and Haru hasn't done any competitive swimming ever since."

Kou looked back at Haruka who kept painting and felt pity for her brother's old friend. "So he wanted to quit swimming." She started to remember her conversation with Hanaru yesterday.

"Probably," Makoto answered. "Oh, Kou."

"Hm?" she turned back to him and watched as his eyes grew increasingly interested.

"Have you seen Hanaru in the last couple of days? Nagisa said she needed some alone time, but I want to make sure she's okay."

"Oh!" Kou tried to fight back her humility and bit her tongue after hearing she. "Actually, I met up with him– her yesterday and we started talking for a while." She retold her yesterday event.

Hanaru was at the same fast food place she was yesterday and he called out Kou's name, which made her incredibly happy. She had a crush on the new boy after all, but it felt so weird. She would normally fawn over men with amazing looking muscles, but there was something about Hanaru that was different. He was pretty slender with only a little muscle and her same height, except it was his big turquoise eyes and appealing face that got to her. He also seemed more down to earth and opened with himself, like he would be a perfect boyfriend to have.

A lot of Kou's friends also seemed to have a liking for the new boy, but Kou felt determined to get to know him better. So they sat down and began to chitchat about what they've been doing. Kou felt pretty proud of herself for not blushing red again. That was mortifying at Haruka's house. She explained how she went to go visit her brother and learned that he was not on the Samezuke swim team, which surprised both her and Hanaru greatly. She also asked Hanaru if he was going to join the swim club because she hasn't seen him helping out with the pool.

Hanaru choked a little on his drink, which Kou was a little shocked to witness.

"N-No, I'm not joining the swim club." he coughed in his arm.

"What why? I thought you were friends with the others." she was confused. Hanaru recovered from his choking state and looked out the wide window.

"I don't actually know if they are my friends. I mean, I just met them a couple days ago, but I'm not as close as they want me to be. For the club, I just have personal reasons that I'm sure no one would care about." he sighed deeply, making Kou's heart race a little.

"You can tell me!" she abruptly leaned forward to him, startling the boy a bit. "I'll listen, and I promise I won't tell. I'm really good at keeping secrets and I want to help if you have a problem."

Hanaru was hesitant at first, but Kou wasn't sure if it was because of her sudden offer or that she was three inches away from his face. He smelled so good, like warm vanilla. Hanaru began to think to himself, Kou could tell from that cute serious face. It took a whole minute for him to reply back.

"Um… I don't actually know. I mean, I don't want to bore you or anything."

"You won't!" she said rather rapidly. "I mean, it's fine… please, tell me why you won't join the swim club." she recovered herself. Hanaru took a breath and began to explain.

"Wait, so she doesn't want to join the swim club because she gave up on swimming? Like Haru?" Makoto explained.

When Kou was done, she left out the part when she discovered that Hanaru was really a girl who mistakenly got a boys uniform instead of a girls one. After their conversation, Kou asked him if he had a girlfriend and Hanaru said that she wasn't gay. At first, she was confused by his replied, until she finally put the pieces together. It was the most shocking news she's ever heard in her life, and she felt like such a fool. Now she couldn't look at Hanaru the right way anymore without getting white in the face from fear. But she also felt much closer to Hanaru in a strange way, so maybe there will be a chance for them to be friends in the future. Except, her future friend was alone.

"Well, there's more to it, but he– she didn't want to explain anymore to me. She's just like my brother and Haruka, the three of them seem so unhappy."

-:-

I picked at my dinner with my chopsticks, making weird shapes with my sauce and tiny pieces with my meat. I wasn't hungry, which was a little odd.

"Hanaru, why aren't you eating?" Kaoru asked me. I looked at him and saw a worried expression masked on his face. For a second he looked like our father, but that snapped away from my thoughts when I spoke.

"I'm not hungry I guess, I'm sorry." I mumble. He shakes his head.

"You don't have to apologize for anything, but you haven't eaten that much for a couple days now. Is it a woman thing? Are you on your–"

"Huh!" I interrupt. "No it's nothing like that! I'm just not hungry that's all."

"You're not sick again right?"

"No, I'm fine really." I bite back my annoyance. He could get irritating when he asks too many questions.

"You're not fine." he sighed. I perk my head up and give him a strange look. "I've seen you do this before, when dad died and when Mischief got sold. You're depressed."

Hearing my dad and my old horse Mischief made me choke. I turn my eyes back to my plate like a cowardly little girl. Kaoru could easily read my like a book, it was quite unreal. I guess it's because we only have each other and fear the idea that we might get separated. We're so open with one another, but when we're not, we automatically know something is wrong.

"Why would I be depressed?" I squeak.

"I don't know, and I'll be fine if you don't want to tell me. But I don't like to see you in this state Hanaru." he crawls around the table to get closer to me.

"I'm not in any state and I'm not depressed!" I defend. He didn't seem to take notice in that as he swung his arm around my shoulders and brought me closer to his body. His heart was beating against his chest and my ear was close enough to hear the soft melody. Perfume was slithering off his skin and my nose inhaled the scent. I didn't talk, I only listened.

"I know our life has been a little wild over the years, but I thought we could come back to Iwatobi to start all over. Begin a new untroubled life with no family disturbing it. I know it might not seem much now, but over time, maybe something great will happen. Something that will make us both happy again.

"That's all I'm asking Hanaru, I just want you to be happy. You're allowed to feel that way. But you keep holding on to the past which is preventing you from finding it. You have to let it go Hanaru, or else you'll miss out on great opportunities. Can you do me that favor? That's all I'm asking from you. Don't be that frighten little girl anymore, you're stronger than that."

I was so flabbergasted from his short speech. I never knew my brother could be so, intelligent. I knew he loved me, but I never thought he would love me that much.

"I guess…" I whisper. I knew what he was talking about too. Letting go of the past is the hardest thing for me to do. I always remember my least favorite memories and feel that gloom surround me like a cloak I'm unable to shake off. "How do I let go of the past?" I ask him.

I sense him smiling down at me, a beam of happiness he is well known for. "You do something you like to distract you."

-:-

"Huh? She's not here?" Nagisa asked with a defeated face. He wanted to visit Hanaru tonight and tell her more about the swim club. How Gou joined and became the fourth member, how the pool is done and filled with water, and how it's now opened for business. Since Gou joined, he had high expectations that Hanaru will too.

Expect when her older brother came to answer the door, he told him that Hanaru was out. "I'm sorry, but who are you?" the orange haired man was wary about the blonde boy asking for his sister.

"Oh, I'm Hazuki Nagisa!" he greeted with a pleasing smile. "I'm in Hana-chan's class and we're also friends."

"Hana-chan? Friends…?" Kaoru seemed confused by that last word. This caught Nagisa's attention.

"Hasn't she mentioned me or my other friends? Like Haruka or Makoto or Gou?"

"No, she hasn't actually. Are you sure it's the same Hanaru?" the brother was skeptical.

"Of course, I kidnapped her yesterday."

"That was you!" he yelled with disbelief.

"Yeah," Nagisa rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I'm sorry, but you see, we were planning on making a swim club in our school and I wanted Hana-chan to be a part of our meeting. But she doesn't seem to want to join…" he trailed off with glumness in his voice.

"Swim club…" Kaoru mumbled to himself looking utterly perplexed, until something abruptly hit him. It was like a lightning bolt just struck his whole body. Before Nagisa could question, Kaoru interrupted. "Um, I have to go now. Do you need money for the train or anything?"

"N-No, thank you." Nagisa was puzzled by the man's new action and how he just offered someone money just like that. Then with nothing else to say, he departed from Hanaru's house.

Nagisa walked on the side walk with a view of the beach to his left. He looked out and watched the sunset sinking into the horizon, turning the sky into various colors. The ocean was swaying calmly, the waves rising up the sand and then departing back to the wide sea. Nagisa liked that view. He wished he could live by the sea with his friends, that life would be so much better.

However, he halted after catching a figure in the water. Rapidly wheeling his head back to the speck, he narrowed his eyes to make out who it was. The distance was too far and the person was practically invisible with that black body suit surrounded by dark water. Nagisa took a couple steps forward to get a better view, but the person went underwater. He waited a few seconds until a familiar head broke the water surface, gasping for air.

Nagisa was stunned to see that it was Hanaru, the girl he wanted to see fifteen minutes ago. Her face was paler than usual and a blue color was painted a cross her lips. She must've been freezing. It was not that warm to go out in the ocean. Especially since the sun was going down!

The blonde boy was tempted to call out to her, but he couldn't find his voice. Why though? He wanted to tell her about the swim club, how Gou joined, and how she should join too. This was so unlike him, he's always blabbering things out without thinking first. So what was forcing him to stay quiet?

So he stood there and watched her from a far. She swam against the currents so easily, so her arms and legs must've been strong. The way she paddled through the salt water almost looked like she was fighting it. Those slender arms were tense as she did her strokes, but it looked so beautiful to watch. She wasn't like Haruka and she didn't have his freestyle. Hanaru was more powerful and aggressive in the water, not free at all. If she was, than her swimming would've looked so radiant.

During her swims, she would drive into the water and stay down there for God knows how long. Nagisa wondered if she could hold her breath for an inhumanly amount of time. The way she went for air a minute later, he could've guessed she's been practicing and trying to expand her lungs for her whole life. Her lungs must've been strong and incredibly clean.

When she swam to the shore and walked out of the sea, her eyes were closed dreamingly. She was breathing in and out, possibly smelling the sea, and gripping her now salted wet hair. Her pink tongue stroked her peach lips until they were shiny with salvia. The edge of her lips also began to curve up slowly until her high cheek bones where rosy red. Nagisa witnessed her eyelids opening without hurry and then saw those bright turquoise eyes gazing towards the golden sand.

For the first, Nagisa has actually seen Hanaru look happy. This sight was so wonderful to see. Her smile was small, but it revealed so much. It was a feeling that seemed to have been buried under Hanaru's other emotions for so long, until it finally rose up and exploded with life. Like a firework.

In his eyes, Nagisa could've smiled with glee as well and run to greet his friend. Except he didn't and it was smart not to. She seemed too peaceful right now and he'd rather not destroy that image. Swimming seems to make her happy, so why was she not accepting that? Maybe she didn't want to be happy… no that's such a silly thought, of course she wants to be happy. But how was Nagisa supposed to help her with that? The swim club seemed like a good option, but he knew what Makoto would say.

"You should give people their time, maybe she wants to take it slow."

Nagisa knew she would be mad at him for persuading her to join the club again, like before, but he wanted to help the sea turtle find her joy in swimming again. And he wasn't going down easily.

*Author's Note: I hope I wasn't long to update the next chapter. Thank you all for support on the first chapter, it means a lot and I'm really happy you like Hanaru. For the confusion last chapter, I decided to change her name because I thought Hanaru was a better fit. So now that's fixed!

For a preview next chapter: Nagisa tried to recruit Rei and Hanaru to join the club, and the two victims have a serious discussion about that. Also, Hanaru has a humiliating accident in the Samezuke swimming pool.

Please review or favorite or follow my story, because you love it so much. Until next chapter, I'll see you next week!

-Phoenix