Second chapter! I'll try to update pretty frequently, so the next chapter will probably be up either Sunday or Monday, I'm not sure yet. Anyways, you'll find out a lot more about the Igarashi siblings in this chapter and I'm excited for everyone to read it! Please, enjoy!

"A swimming club?" Takumi and I had already found a place on the edge of the large roof. It is over by the farthest wall. We hop up on the high edge, letting our feet dangle off into the damp, almost humid, spring air as we eat our lunches. I ignore the sharp pain that shoots through my leg as I bend my knee to sit down with him.

Shit.

A wide grin spreads across my brother's face when he sees the newly restored pool below us. He's completely oblivious to just how much my leg hurts, and I want to keep it that way. I won't lie, swimming isn't something I ever understood, or liked. All it is for me is a form of physical therapy. But my brother adores it like he's a fish himself, and the good-sized pool looks nice for the funds a public school gets, really nice. A chunk of rice falls out of Takumi's mouth while it hangs open, and onto some poor unsuspecting soul below. They shout something up at us, but Takumi isn't paying them any mind. "I didn't think Iwatobi had a swimming club! It wasn't in their brochure."

"Close your mouth." I snap, passing him my last napkin. He's such a messy eater. I even packed a bunch of extra ones just so this wouldn't happen. "And I know, neither did I."

"Did you sign me up?" He wipes his face a few times with the paper, the tosses it into the pile, I mean mountain, behind us. No wonder those other kids moved away.

I massage my sore knee through my thin sock, trying to figure out the right words to use so it doesn't sound like I just dished him out to the swimmers so they would leave me alone, which is actually what I did. "Not exactly. More like I made an agreement, a bet I guess you could say."

"A bet?" His eyes sparkle. The only thing I've ever seen him more enthusiastic about than food, is competition, more specifically winning. "So I just have to go to this practice and we win?" I nod. "What do we win?"

I steal one of his vegetables with my chopsticks and pop it into my mouth. "Satisfaction, little brother, satisfaction."

He scowls at me, then turns so I can't reach his bento anymore. I made the thing for him, it's only fair I get a little of it. "And what are you going to be doing while I'm practicing with them?" He shovels more rice into his mouth. "Watching me like the stalker you are?"

"Actually, I'll be practicing with the track team." I inform him, shooting a look his way. I'm not a stalker. I just don't like it when he slacks off, which he undoubtably will do if in not around to kick him in the ass a few times. "One of the captains is in my home room."

His chewing slows, then what I said seems to register with him and his eyes practically pop out of his head, not surprising considering I haven't set foot on a track in about a year. "You're going to...track team? Track team? Nee-chan, are you feeling alright?" He puts a messy hand on my forehead. "You're not hot, but that doesn't mean anything. I'll go get the nurse!" He jumps up.

"Wait!" I grab the back of his shirt, stopping him from getting any further away. I yank him back. "I'm not sick, you idiot! I just..." I straighten up, jaw clenching as determination uncurls in my stomach. "The way you feel about swimming...that's how I felt about running, how I still feel. That feeling like you can go anywhere and do anything...I want to feel that again. It might be selfish, but I want it more than anything. I know I won't be as fast as I used to be, or as strong, and it'll probably hurt a lot, but I want to at least give it a try, even just one time."

Takumi looks at me thoughtfully, and can see a little bit of worry added into his look, then the corners of his mouth raise up slightly. "Alright, Nee-chan. If it's what you want, I'll support you just like you support me." Takumi's smile makes me feel more assured. I smile back at him, and he finally sits back down next to me. "Did the captain recognize you?"

I snort. Oh yes, he recognized me. He was practically breathing down my next the whole class, and when he finally approached me he looked like he would faint. I guess what's what I get for posting the fastest female 100m time in the states for almost six years in my age division, then second in the world as a fifteen year old, but those days are behind me. My body doesn't work the way it use too, it's broken, and my dream is already out of reach. "He recognized my tattoo."

"That's what you get for getting that thing." He teases, sticking his tongue out.

I roll my eyes and give his shoulder a good shove. "Shut up." The bell rings again, and everyone else begins to get up and start towards the stairs. "I'll see you after school."

"See ya!"

Time Skip

Takumi's POV

People pass me as I stand outside the locker room door. Nee-chan told me to wait here for the other swimming club members, but it's already been six minutes and no one had showed up. I frown. Either they're just late, or Nee-chan was probably playing another one of her sick jokes on me. I hate it when she does that. When I was in third grade I had a huge crush on this girl name Nina. I asked my sister for advice, and she told me that farting was like a mating call, the louder I farted, the more Nina would like me... My face heats at the memory.

Let's just say it ended with me stuck in one of the chairs outside of the principal's office.

"Excuse me, are you Natsu-chan's little brother?"

Natsu-chan? I spin around and come face to face with a broad chest. I crane my neck up, and end up staring into the green eyes of a seriously tall brunette guy. He looks a little older than I am. He must be the guy Nee-chan was talking about! The swimming club captain! "Y-yes! I'm Takumi Igarashi."

"Makoto Tachibana." He holds his hand out and it envelopes mine as I shake it. "Just call me Makoto."

My eyes flick behind him, expecting to see the rest of the team, but there's no one there, which is weird. "Uh, Makoto-sempai, if you don't mind me asking, where are the rest of the club members?"

"They're already waiting at the pool." He assures, pushing the metal door open for me to go through. "Oh! That reminds me, do you have a swimsuit?"

He just now thought of that?

I put my bag inside one of the lockers, and pull the yellow and green jammers I stuffed in there this morning just in case. "Yup. I always have one with me! I never know when I'm going to get the chance to go for a swim."

"Great!" He exclaims, clapping m on the shoulder. "Get changed, then I'll introduce you to everyone else."

I don't know what Nee-chan was talking about. I muse as I strip from my school uniform. This guy is actually pretty nice, and he seems capable enough for a team captain. She was probably just being her usual self. I know sometimes my sister can seem a little hotheaded and demanding, blunt too, but she's actually a really kind person to those she cares about. She's surprisingly maternal, cooking and cleaning all the time at home, and her brashness actually adds to her charm because she tells people how it is. It's why she's been such a good coach for me and my sometime lazy actions. And to add to that she's actually very unwelcoming of too much attention, especially about her track record. She'd much rather be an average person than who she is, which I think is crazy. If I was her I'd never stop rubbing my crazy accomplishments in people's faces, never.

After I put on my suit Makoto-sempai leads me through the door on the other side of the locker room, through another small hallway, and outside. The new summer sun beats down on me as we go up the stairs leading to the pool. I can feel my feet tingle in anticipation. Once at the top of the stairs, I see three other guys, all older than I am, and two girls waiting for us, one of them is a teacher, the other girl is in my home room. Her name is Kou I think. "Everyone, come here!" Makoto calls, waving his hands. The people gather around me, smiling welcomingly. I kind of just stand there. Don't tell me this is it? This is the swim team? Makoto-sempai's next sentence confirms my fears.

"This is Takumi Igarashi, Takumi-kun, this is our swimming club!"

Natsume's POV

I pause in front of the mirror in the now empty girl's locker room, finally dressed in the school track uniform. It's nothing fancy, a blue and white tank-top with a giant yellow rockhopper penguin on the back, darker blue spandex shorts, and sneakers.

The large scar on my right leg is what caught my attention and made me pause, standing out against my skin. It's an angry pink color, and about ten inches long, running in a straight line down the bottom of my thigh, over my knee, and ending on the upper part of my shin. The scar is still puckered, and will probably never blend in with the rest of my skin, with a row of little dots on each side from the stitches. There is another scar on my left leg, a 'U' shaped one on the right side of my calf from the bone sticking out through my skin. I usually wear pant or knee-high socks to cover the two scars because of the way people talk and stare, but I can't do that while I'm at track practice.

I grit my teeth turn away from the mirror. Hopefully Takumi is having a better time than I am...

Takumi's POV

"What do you mean he can't swim?!" I wail in utter disbelief. I take it back. Nee-chan was right about them. They're hopeless!

"Mako-chan means exactly what he said!" The blonde-haired, pink-eyed, Nagisa-sempai exclaims, poking at the cheeks of the non-swimming boy with the blue hair and glasses. Rei-sempai attempts to swat him away, but it's no use. "Rei-chan can't swim!"

I face palm. "But this is a swim team!"

Makoto chuckles softly. "We know."

"Can you two swim?" I question, narrowing my eyes at my seniors. If they can't then I'm gone. Sorry Sis, but this is an absolute disaster.

"Yup!" Nagisa-sempai exclaims. He starts acting out the breaststroke like that's suppose to convince me, but he just ends up looking like a penguin with its head cut off.

I point to Haruka-sempai, who's floating around in the water. That's all I've seen him do so far, and he hasn't spoken one word to me yet. "What about him? Can he do more than just float?"

"Oh yeah! Haru-chan is an amazing swimmer!" Nagisa-sempai wraps a skinny arm around my shoulder.

I scowl at him. "I don't believe you."

"It's true." Makoto-sempai interrupts. I look over at him, and there's so much fierce admiration in his eyes that they sparkle with it.

Is he...gay?

I suddenly feel embarrassed.

Makoto-sempai smiles at the floating boy. "Haru is the most amazing swimmer I've ever seen."

Oh yeah. He's gay, and he's got the hots for Haru-sempai.

And to think...I can feel my face get even hotter. And to think I stripped in front of him earlier!

Natsume's POV

"Alright, that concludes practice for today! You're dismissed!" The team captain barks, ignoring the drop of sweat running down her face. Turns out the guy in my class was only a co-captian, and everyone knows that actually means nothing.

Long-legged, with beautiful red hair and matching eyes, the captain is actually really attractive, in a 'no nonsense' 'do as I say' sort of way.

I plop down on the closest bench, with a grunt, thoroughly exhausted from today's workout. Damn. I'm so out of it a high school practice is even hard, and my knee...there were points during the practice, mostly the running up and down the bleachers, that I felt like it was going to snap in two. It's sad considering I use to practice with world champions, but on the other hand I expected this. It's a miracle I'm even able to keep up with these guys, let alone win the sprints I participated in.

"Igarashi, good job out there." Capitan Miyabi claps me on the shoulder, then lowers herself on the bench next to me. "You know, I use to look up to you a lot as a kid, so this is an honor. I never once thought I'd be on your team, let alone the captain."

I start to massage my aching knee. "I guess we're both equally surprised then, huh?"

Her eyebrows go up, then she seems to understand I was joking and she laughs. It's a nice sound, musical, completely different from her deeper voice. "I guess we are."

The two of us make eye contact, a moment of understanding, but that serenity is quickly broken by one of my younger teammates.

"Excuse me, Natsume-chan." I sigh, and look over at the group of runners that approached my bench. They're standing at the end, still not close enough to hear what I'm saying to Miyabi-san. Wait a second. Does everyone here get so familiar so quick? I thought this formality stuff was a thing in Japan? And can't they see I'm flirting with the Captain?

Captain Miyabi murmurs a 'see you later' to me, then takes her leave before the other four girls cross the rest of the bench.

"What is it?" I ask, furrowing my eyebrows in frustration. They better not ask me for tips in form or anything.

The green-haired girl shifts under my gaze, her face turning pink. "Can, uh, can we have your autograph?"

"Huh?" I blink at them, thoroughly surprised at the request. An autograph? That's not what I expected at all. "Uh, yeah, sure." It's been a while since anyone asked me that, more than a while. I didn't think anyone would care about a washed up young athlete like me anymore, guess I was wrong. I was expecting them to ask me questions about my accident, and how I felt now that dreams had been crushed, stuff the reporters asked, but an autograph? That I don't mind.

One of the girls hand me a pen while another one holds out what they want signed. My eyes widen when I see it. "That's..."

"Yup!" She exclaims sheepishly. "It's from your last meet." In her hands is a picture of a girl, her I'm guessing, along with her team. I'm kneeling with them, smack dab in the middle, dressed in my USA gear, grinning wider than I remember ever being able to grin. It was taken during one of the meet-and-greets after the meet.

The other kids shift awkwardly as I stare down at the old memory, silently wondering if they've offended me. I quickly pull myself together. "That's a nice picture. Your team was the Raiders, right?"

She looks surprised that I remember, but that surprise quickly fades into excitement, even a little admiration. Her voice comes out a little stronger this time.

"Yup!"

Takumi's POV

"No, I'm leaving!" I assert, trying to wrench myself from Nagisa-sempai's grip. It's surprisingly strong for someone barely taller than me. I don't even know how I got into this. One second I'm heading towards the stairs, and the next this guy is tackling me, refusing to let go until I stayed.

"Taku-chan, you can't leave!" Nagisa-sempai whines, rubbing his face against my leg like a cat, a rabid cat.

"Yes, I can!" I snap.

"No, you can't." Makoto-sempai exclaims, trying to get Nagisa off of me, but also trying to convince me I should stay. "Your sister promised you'd stay!"

I shake my head vigorously. Whatever my sister agreed to, it's off. "I don't care, now let go of me!"

"No, I can't!" Nagisa cries. "We need you!"

"No, you don't!" I shake my leg harder, but he doesn't even budge. What is up with him? Does he do steroids or something? I'm pretty sure this isn't even physically possible!

"There's no point in trying to resist him." Rei-sempai informs me, pushing up his glasses in a dramatic fashion. I growl at him. "He kept badgering me for days and days on end to join the swim team, and now look where I am. Nagisa is truly..." Rei-sempai pauses suddenly. "Beautiful!"

What?

Are all the members of this club gay? I look away from Nagisa and up at Rei, but he isn't paying any attention to us. He's staring, eyes wide, cheeks pink, across the pool. What's this guy doing? I follow his gaze, and see my sister standing near the stairs, hands in the pockets of her track jacket, casually conversing with Amakata-sensei and Gou-san.

Oh no...

Nee-chan seems to feel me staring, and locks eyes with me. "Yo, Takumi." Her eyes then travel to the three people surrounding me. She takes a second to take in the situation, I can see things flash in her eyes, then raises and eyebrow at me.

"Nee-chan! Help me!" I yell, holding my hand out.

"Nah," She smirks. That monster! She's enjoying this. "I don't really think that's my place." She turns back to Amakata-senesi, cruelly leaving me stuck with the three stooges.

"Nee-chan?" Rei-sempai mutters. Realization pours into in his eyes, and he latches onto my shoulders in a vice grip. Jeez, it's even stronger than Nagisa-sempai's.

"She's your sister?" I give him a 'no duh' look. I just just called her big sister. "I don't know why I didn't figure that out earlier!"

"Figure what out, Rei-chan?" Nagisa asks, finally releasing my leg. He's giving Rei-sempai a curious look. I am tempted to make a run for it, but I want to know what Rei-sempai realized, and if it's something bad, as my sisters brother, I have to defend her honor.

"Yeah, figure what out?" I question, eyeing him suspiciously. There's no way I'm letting him near my sister. He can't even swim!

"Your sister is Natsume Igarashi!"

My eyebrow furrow in disappointment. Her name? I missed my chance to escape so he could tell me her name? I was expecting something a little more than that from a smart-looking guy like him. "I know that already."

"Natsume...Igarashi?" Makoto-sempai echoes.

"Who's that?" Nagisa-sempai asks.

"Natsume was one of the most successful young sprinters in the world. She had the most beautiful form of all!" Rei gushes, hands clasped together in wonder. It makes me sick. "In her age group she placed first in every USA Youth Outdoor Track & Field Championships she entered since she was eight, and every other competition she competed in. She was in the Youth Olympic Games representing the USA against over 3,500 other runners, and she placed first. She was even going to be in the Olympics this year."

I feel a pang of guilt assault me. She'll never get the chance though, and it's all my fault.

"To be related to someone like that..." Makoto-sempai gapes slightly as he looks over at me. "It must be amazing!"

"Wow!" Nagisa clamps his hands together just like Rei-sempai, then he seems to think about something that makes his face fall. "Wait, you said was, why was?"

Rei-sempai looks over at me like he expects me to explain. I appreciate it because it isn't really his story to tell. "Because," I murmur. The three of them look at me expectantly, and I suddenly feel conflicted about telling the story, but it's not like it's a secret. The media was all over it. "It happened a little more than a year ago. Nee-chan had come to pick me up from swim practice, and we were on our way home when a car swerved onto the side-walk, it nearly hit me...but my sister shoved me back and it hit her instead." My eyes start to sting, and I look towards the ground to keep the tears from falling. "The impact broke not only her ribs and arm, but snapped the tibia and fibia in her left leg, along with fracturing her femur. She had to have screws and plates put into them. It completely shattered her right knee too, to the point where she had to get a metal kneecap put in, and did unimaginable damage to the muscles in both legs. The doctors told her she might never be able to walk on it again." I gesture to her. It's funny how she's completely oblivious to what's going on right now. "She can, as you can see, but her future was taken away. The accident happened just a week before the last qualifying round for the Olympics, and since she couldn't compete, she was disqualified."

"It was a big deal in America." Rei adds. "No one else in the qualifying round came anywhere close to her average time. She would have gotten in without a fight."

I nod, a somber feeling settling over me. "She got inducted into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame because of what happened, but it didn't do much to make her feel better."

"But she's still running..." Makoto muses, like he's trying to make me feel better. "That's inspirational."

That's right. My sister still hasn't totally given up. She likes to say that it doesn't matter to her anymore, than I'm the only thing, but I can see it in her eyes and face whenever we see anything that has to do with running, the longing, but she pushes that down and continues to help me. When the car was coming towards us, she didn't hesitate. She was willing to throw it all way for me, and she did. "Yeah, that's why she's the reason I swim." I admit. I don't know what brings me to tell them this, but once I start talking I can't stop. "As a kid I only did it as a hobby. I didn't even like it that much. But after the accident and knowing how good my sister was at track and seeing how much she still wanted it, it motivated me a lot. It motivated me to strive for the Olympics, to do what she'll never have the chance to do, and live that dream for her...I just...I just want to make my sister proud!" The last part comes out as an almost shout, and when I finally raise my eyes, Makoto, Rei, and Nagisa are staring at me with wide eyes and hanging mouths. I feel my face redden. Did I really just say all that? "Anyways, you guys should feel honored!" I sputter, trying to distract them from my mushy speech. "Your track is the first track my sister has set foot on since!"

Rei-sempai's eyes begin to sparkle again. "I bet her form is still beautiful!"

"Keep away from my sister, creep!" I yell, but he isn't paying attention. He's too busy ogling her.

"Say, Takumi-chan, if you really want to make your sister proud, why don't you let us help you?" Makoto-sempai asks, smiling at me sweetly. If you squint you can see the cheesy anime effects.

I clamp my eyes shut and huff as I turn my head away. "No way. You guys suck."

"Eh?!" Makoto-sempai gasps. I bet that smile has never failed him before. "Takumi-chan, that was so mean!"

"Deal with it!"

I open my eyes just in time to see Haruka-sempai standing on the starting block. He crouches, readying himself for the dive, and when he finally jumps it's like everything slows. He's got the most effortless, beautiful form I've ever seen before, better than the pros. He enters the water with the smallest of splashes, and the way he moves through it is so graceful it's like he and the water are one uniform being. It's like magic. "Amazing..."

I turn back to the other three, and they're looking at me with the most smug looks they can manage.

"Fine, I'll join." Makoto-sempai and Nagisa-sempai high-five. "But!" I exclaim, cutting off their celebration. "I have one condition." I eye Haruka-sempai, who has now exited the water and is approaching us. I extend my finger towards him. "At the end of the year, I want to race him!"

Haruka-sempai picks up one of the towels that is hanging on the fence and begins to dry his hair. "I only swim free."

"Great!" I exclaim. "Because I do too!"

Natsume's POV

I glare up at Takumi over the top of my book. We're sitting on the floor in my room, him in the middle of my fuzzy blue carpet, staring at the TV, me leaning against my bed with a novel in my hands. "I can't believe you agreed to join their team!" I spurt out. Takumi jumps slightly. "Now we don't get our satisfaction."

"I, for one, am very satisfied." He says, making that pouting face he always does when he disagrees with someone, lips pursed, eyes narrowed.

"Well I'm not!" I chuck the bound paper at him just hard enough that it will hurt, but not enough to leave a bruise. He moves out-of-the-way, and it hits the floor with a thud. "You better not have hurt my book."

"What about your book hurting me?" He asks, hopping up to flick the TV off.

I snort, crossing my arms. "Don't be such a wuss."

Takumi rolls his eyes as he sits back down on the floor, this time so that our knees are touching while he faces me. "We have a joint practice tomorrow at Samezuka Academy."

"Really?" I raise an eyebrow. Samezuka was the other school Takumi was considering, but he didn't want to go to an all boys school. He loves the ladies too much. "That will be interesting."

"I'm actually excited for it." He admits, a slight tinge to his cheeks. He gets embarrassed so easily sometimes, definitely didn't get that from me.

I reach forward to pat his shoulder. "Good, I'm glad you're excited, because I'll be there to make sure you don't slack off."

"What?" He gasps as I pull myself to my feet. I pick the book up and flip through it, making sure all the pages are still in place after their traumatic incident, then I put it back on the shelf next to my desk. "Why? Don't you have track practice?"

"Yeah," I shrug, leaning my butt against the wall by the door. "But I already explained to the captain that you and your swimming come first. My track career, though short, is already over. Your swimming career hasn't even really started yet, and I'm going to make sure you're prepared for when it does. And I officially joined the swim team today."

"What? When?" The look on his face is priceless.

"While you were having your little episode with your new friends, I was taking to Amakata-sensei about it."

Takumi groans. "You know, it's kind of embarrassing having my sister coach me, even if she is Natsume Igarashi."

"One day, when you make it big, thousands of people will know all sorts of really embarrassing things about you." I bend down to mess up his hair. "You'll thank me for the little embarrassments one day."

I know the switching between POV's can be really annoying, so I apologize to everyone who doesn't like it. But I promise it won't be happening much in the next chapters, probably not at all anymore. Anyways, review and tell me what you think please! ^_^ Thanks for reading!