I know this took me longer than promised and I apologize! I was actually pretty sick with this really nasty stomach virus and stuff. And I know this chapter is a little short so I apologize again! But anyways please tell me what you think! I'd really appreciate it!

After school the entire swim team, all six of us, get packed on a public but to head to the next city. The city is home to Samezuka Academy, a private all boys boarding school known for its top-notch swim school the entire swim team, all six of us, get packed on a public but to head to the next city. The city is home to Samezuka Academy, a private all boys boarding school known for its top-notch swim team.

How exciting.

I lean my seat back, then I shut my eyes and remind myself that this, this terrible, bumpy, bus ride, is all for Takumi. All for the baby brother that I adore. The bus hits a pothole, sending my head snapping forward into the seat in front of me. I groan as I rub the forming bruise and lay my head back down. Fuck this. He's going to owe me big time after this trip.

Said little brother of mine is sitting in the seat diagonal from me along with Rei and Nagisa, all three of them completely oblivious to the malice directed in their direction. Takumi looks really happy to be here, which is less than I can say about the first year girl sitting next to me.

Kou lets out yet another sigh after checking her phone for something and seeing that whatever it is isn't there. It's a cycle that has been never-ending since she sent a text this morning. I have no idea who it was to, but they need to hurry up and reply before this girl sighs the life out of herself. Kou sighs again, an I feel something inside me snap. That's it. One that I cannot stand is people moping around like this.

"Alright, what's got you so messed up?" I ask, eyes still closed. I can feel Kou shift, hesitating with her answer like she's trying to tell if I'm serious or not. "Just tell me already. I won't freak out or anything."

Kou sighs again, and there's another split second before she finally spills. "It's my brother."

That peaks my interest, I didn't know Kou had any siblings. I move my seat back up so the two of us are level. "You have a brother?"

"Yup," She nods, a soft smile spreading across her lips, but then it quickly fades back into the grimace. "Sometimes it doesn't feel that way though. He won't answer any of my messages. I keep sending them, but he doesn't reply. I don't even know if he got them Not to mention he hasn't come home, or even called me in weeks. It really worries me."

I frown. I'd kill my little brother if he pulled shit like that, luckily for him he doesn't. "Sometimes little brothers are like that. They think they're ready to be on their own, but we know they aren't."

Kou looks down at her hands, which are clasped together tightly in her lap. "Except he's not my little brother, he's my big brother."

My frown deepens. Older brother? Doesn't that idiot know he's doing his job all wrong? He should be the one checking up and worrying about her, not the other way around. It's an older siblings job to look after their younger ones, so what could possibly be running through her brothers mind she I don't know, and frankly I didn't care. No one should be treated how he is treating Kou.

"You want me to break his nose?" I ask jokingly. Kou's eyes widen in complete horror, and it makes me laugh. "Kidding, kidding. I'd probably do something a lot worse than break his nose. I'm think something along the lines of cutting off his—"

"We're here!" Nagisa announces, jumping up from his seat. He's the first one off the bus when the door opens, leaving the rest of us to clamber out after him. How does he do that?

I squint in the sudden sunlight that assaults my eyes as I hop down the last bus step. The weather here is totally opposite of back home.

"Alright! Game faces on!" Kou's sudden change in attitude makes my eyebrows raise. "We're about to practice with our opponents, so we can't let ourselves be intimidated!" It's like once she stepped off that bus she transformed from a hurt little sister to a full on mature coach. Impressive.

Everyone around me answers in unison. "Right!"

The inside of the school is massive, the pool even more so. The tang of chlorine assaults my nose, making me scrunch up my face. Every whisper and chuckle, every sound made inside these four walls echoes off of each other, making it louder in here than it would be anywhere else in the building. The voices of two people to the right discussing their dinner plans for after practice floats over to me. I must be getting hungry.

Haru stares at the pool for a not even a second before speed stripping and jumping in. I admit, it's a nice sight. The rest of the boys go to the locker room, while Kou shows Amakata-sensei where the bathroom is. Before he leaves Takumi comes up to me and asks me if I'll be alright, indirectly gesturing to my lower body, and I tell him not to worry. I'm a big girl. That leaves me sitting on one of the metal benches inside the pool area. I feel a little uncomfortable because I didn't bring my track pants to school today, which means I'm stuck in the dark blue spandex shorts, which is admittedly much better than my uniform skirt, and the light blue and white track jacket I was wearing at practice. What's even worse is the socks I have on aren't high enough to cover the scars on my legs, leaving them open for everyone to gawk at. No one on the Iwatobi team said anything, but I caught everyone looking at them at least once. Usually I'm pretty confident with my looks and everything, but when it comes to my scars I just to want to curl up in the dark and hide from the world.

I'm hunched over on the bench, hands clasped over my knees, when a tall guy with red slicked back hair approaches me. I actually have to calm myself down once I register the fact that he's wearing a speedo. I inwardly groan at my sudden flusterdness. Damn me and my attraction to everyone with red or reddish hair. Sometimes it's a real setback.

"Oh! You must be Natsume!" He says, placing his fists on his slim hips. A sudden, and extremely vivid picture pops into my mind, one I'm not totally comfortable with myself. I feel my face flush. Oh. My. God.

I just nod.

"I'm Seijuro Mikoshiba, the captain of Samezuka swim team."

"It's, uh, it's nice to meet you, Mikoshiba-san." This is another reason why I was dreading today.

The boys.

I don't care who she thinks she is, or where she came from, or what she's been through, there isn't one teenage girl alive that can be around all these seriously fit and gorgeous guys and not have her minds wander a little (or a lot), and if she doesn't then she's either not attracted to guys, or she's lying. There is no in between.

"It's really an honor having an athlete of your capacity in our presence." It makes me feel really happy that he didn't use past tense at all in his sentence. Too many people do that to me. You were so talented. She was going to go so far. Her skill was unmatchable. I hate that. It makes me feel like after the accident I lost part of myself, like I'm suddenly not as much of a person as I use to be, and no matter how hard I try I can't shake that quiet doubt in the back of my mind that I'll never be whole again.

"Thanks, " I say, swallowing down my infatuation and embarrassment. Come on girl, get it together. "I really appreciate that."

"No problem." He grins down at me. "I was actually hoping you being here would motivate a few of my lazier swimmers to work a little harder. So if you need anything, just ask."

I nod at him as the Iwatobi team comes back into the pool area. I ease myself up from my uncomfortable, but necessary sitting position. Mikoshiba's eyes flick down to my legs for a second, and I feel like covering them.

He seems to notice my discomfort, because he suddenly gets serious, his playful expression thinning. "You know, you shouldn't be so ashamed. Scars tell stories, and the story yours tell is a great one. I'll admit that it's sad, but still worth hearing."

My mouth hangs open slightly, and I feel my eyes widen. A story? I've never thought about it that way. Slowly my surprise turns into admiration, and I find myself genuinely smiling at the Samezuka captain.

"There you go!" He exclaims, slapping my back. I actually rock forward a little bit. "Now that I've fixed that, why don't we get the practice started?"

About an hour into the practice I get up to get myself a drink. I wasn't sure how much longer I could stay in there with the smell and all the humidity. Takumi comes with me to show me where the drink machine is, he got a tour when he was considering Samezuka, and as I stare into our reflections in the plastic covering on the machine, I realize just how differently we are built because of our sports. Like most swimmers, Takumi is slim, but still noticeably muscular. I'm just as fit as he is because I still work to keep myself in good shape, but it goes to totally different places. I'm a lot more compact than he is, with more noticeable thighs and calf muscles. I admit, his abs might be nicer than mine, but only by a little, and though my arms are toned, he beats me there as well.

"What are you waiting for? Your can already came out."

"Oh." I blink at him, then bend down to get my can out. "Sorry, I was comparing something."

Takumi narrows his eyes. "And what was that?"

I pull the tab open and take a quick sip before answering. "I was comparing how differently our sports had molded our bodies. Like if I did swimming I'd be built like you, and vice versa."

"Please don't tell me how you metaphorically related all that back to how a person's life experiences mold them or something cheesy like that." He whines. He makes a face with his eyes rolled back and his mouth open, like a 'oh my god you've got to be kidding me' look, then holds his hand out. I pass him my can and he takes a gulp. "I get enough of that from watching soap operas with the tragic backstories."

I scoff as he hands it back. "Not even close. I was just making an observation."

"Save the observations for the pool." I glare at him, and he holds his hands up in mock defeat. "Joking, joking."

"Uh huh."

The rest of the practice is uneventful, as uneventful as it can be with the Iwatobi team. Did I have to yell at Takumi because his form was off, or he wasn't putting in a hundred percent? Yes, at least twelve times.

"Did you see me smoke that guy?" Takumi grins, posing in front of me after hopping out of the pool.

I'm sitting with Kou near the side if the pool, and Mikoshoba is standing just a few feet off yelling at one of his boys. "Yup." I pat him on the cheek, but that pat quickly turns into a pinch, making him yelp. "But I also saw sloppy form! Legs straight, Takumi. Legs straight!"

Takumi starts saying 'I'm sorry' over and over again, trying to get me to release him. Once I do he runs off to go get changed.

I hear Kou shift beside me. My eye flick over to her, and she's looking at Takumi sadly.

"What?" I ask.

She looks away from me. "I just wish Onee-chan and I had a relationship like that..." Kou gets up from the floor before I can say anything, and shuffles out of the swimming pool area. I frown. If I hadn't talked to her on the bus, I would never have known just how upset she was with her brother. Her smile hides it all.

I pull myself up with a wince, then march out after her. I am almost to the end of the hallway when someone rounds the corner and runs right into me.

"What the hell?" I snap, stumbling backwards, whoever it is echoes my sentiments just a moment later.

I glare up into maroon eyes, the same eyes as Kou. The tall guy looks a lot like her, with semi-long, maroon colored hair that is parted in the middle with a few strands hanging into his face. His hair is a little lighter than hers, and his skin is slightly tanner. Whoever he is, he's seriously good-looking.

Wait, this must be her brother.

He's wearing a pair of black jammers with red stripes, which combined with his hair makes it kind of hard to focus. He scowls down at me. "Watch where you're going next time, Iwatobi."

I let that roll right off me, something bigger on my mind. "Are you Kou's brother?"

He groans, crossing his strong arms across his perfect chest. "She's still getting people to call her that? I thought she was over it."

I scoff at him. "Shows just how much you know about her."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asks, eyes narrowing.

"It means you're a complete dickhead to her." I snap, not caring about his hair. It doesn't matter how red his hair is if he's a complete asshole. "She worries about you day and night and you can't even answer her texts? What the hell kind of older brother pulls shit like that?" I can feel my anger rising by the second, fueled by my moral compass. "It's disgusting!"

"Who are you to tell me how I should act?" He yells, taking a step towards me.

"I'm her friend!" I yell back, mimicking his movement. He towers over me, but I refuse to be intimidated. What I'm saying he needs to hear. I don't care if it pisses him off. All I care about is making sure he doesn't upset Kou anymore than he already has.

It's silent, and something flashes in his eyes, a cross between anger and denial. "You have no idea what you're talking about." He mumbles, pushing his way past me.

"Actually I do." I assert. "I'm an older sibling myself, and I can tell you for sure that you're doing it completely backwards." I take a few steps after him, but the sudden pain in my knee stops me from going anymore. "I suggest you figure it out and stop being such an asshole, because there's only so much neglect someone can take, even if they are your family."

He stops and looks over his shoulder at me, eyebrows drawn together in a scowl.

"Hey, Nee-chan!" Takumi calls from behind me. I turn my head and see him running down the hall towards me, but he slows when he sees Kou's brother. I watch as Takumi fixes the older boy with a glare as he comes to stand beside me, like some sort of guard dog. It makes me smile.

"Come on, Takumi." I tug on his arm as I turn back the direction he came, and he follows me without a fight.

"Hey, sis, you want me to take care of that guy for you?" He whisper. His eyes keep shifting back to Kou's brother. "I can if you want."

I chuckle at him, knowing all to well how that would end. "Nah, I think I can handle it."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

Takumi pushes the door of the school open, casting a splash of sunlight on to the floor. "Who was that guy?"

"Kou's asshole brother." I say with a shrug.

Timeskip

"So what did you think of Samezuka?" I ask, running my comb through my wet hair again.

"I thought they were pretty good." Takumi admits, his eyes focused on the cards in his hand. He and Nagisa are playing some game on the floor in my room, why my room I have no idea, and I think Nagisa is winning. After practice Takumi felt the need to invite the whole team over, and to my surprise they accepted.

Makoto is with Haru over by my fish tank, but I don't know much longer it's going to be a fish tank with the way Haru is eyeing it, and Rei is watching Nagisa and Takumi play while I try to tame my mane, but as the night goes on I see him slowly nod off.

"They did have beautiful form..." Rei yawns.

"At least you didn't sink today, Rei-chan!" Nagisa exclaims, placing another card down on the carpet. Takumi groans. "I didn't see Rin-chan at practice though..."

The mood in the room immediately becomes a little more contained, and I find myself wondering who this Rin person is. They definitely aren't a girl because Samezuka is an all boys school. I look over at Takumi, and he shrugs, just as confused as I am.

Takumi asks who Rin is before I can, but he doesn't even take his eyes off the game as he speaks.

"That's right, you and Natsu-chan don't know Rin-chan." Nagisa says, his eyes flicking up from the game.

"He's a childhood friend." Makoto informs us with a grunt. He's literally holding Haru back from climbing into our fish tank. "Him, Haru, Nagisa, and I all use to be in the same swimming club in elementary school."

"And he's Gou-chan's older brother!" Nagisa exclaims.

"Really?" I blink at them. Oh shit. "Then I've met him already."

"Really?" Nagisa jumps up from the floor, gripping my hands. I lean back, a little surprised by his quick movement.

"Yup." I pull my hands from his. "He's sort of an asshole."

The struggle by the fish tank comes to a stop. "He wasn't always like that." Haru says, hair flopped over his eyes.

"Maybe not." I pick up my ace wrap and begin to wrap my aching knee. "But he is now."

Well, please review and tell me what you think! Thanks so much for reading ^_^!