Makoto was struggling to breath as he stepped into the large building, the sense of urgency in his stride evident to anyone watching. He had sprinted to the Samezuka Building after getting an ominous text from an unknown number, but the person that awaited him certainly wasn't who he expected.

"Damn, Tachibanana, didn't think you'd come." Sousuke seemed a bit out of it, as he sat on the bench. Makoto looked around a bit to see if anyone else was there, and sighed in relief as he realized Sousuke was the only one present. "Really? Relieved? Who the hell did you think that text was from, huh?"

"I... I had a few ideas. Maybe Rin, or... a ghost... like Gou's dad's ghost... it scared me, because it came at an, um, interesting time... And you can just call me Makoto, because my last name is actually Tachibana..." Makoto blushed a bit as he realized the absurdity of his claims.

"You think Gou's dad texted you 'come to samezuka right now or i'll kick ur ass, fuckboy'? Maybe Rin would say that, who knows..." Sousuke chuckled to himself at the thought. His whole badass demeanor somehow seemed a little less composed than usual to Makoto, and the raven haired boy's tinted eyes gave away the reason why.

"Sousuke... are you... high?" Makoto cautiously broached the subject, not wanting to offend Sousuke if he wasn't under the influence of drugs. However, the brunette's hesitance only caused a wave of laughter from the stoner in question.

"Of course I'm high, Makoto. You think I text random dudes past midnight to come meet me for other reasons? Because that sounds gay as fuck, and I'm not that gay. Not yet. I haven't reached that level, Makoto, so don't even think about it." Sousuke produced a joint and motioned it to Makoto as if to ask if he wanted a hit, to which Makoto vehemently shook his head.

"...Not... yet? You know what, I'll just be content with that amount of information about your sexual orientation and move on, because I'm not really interested in anything of that nature either. But uh, I need to ask... why did you call me here then? I don't think you'd have a motive... And I don't really know if I qualify as a 'fuckboy'." Makoto took this opportunity to sit down on the ground, as he still felt a bit tired from sprinting all the way there.

"Oh, Makoto, you're the very definition of fuckboy! Look in the dictionary under the word 'fuckboy', you know who you see? Justin Bieber. And right under that is you." Makoto cringed a bit at the comparison, but with how guilty he was feeling, it almost seemed accurate.

"Why do you think that...?" Makoto couldn't help but ask.

"Come on, man! Gou's like, my little sister, super innocent, and you're having sex with her!? I bet she didn't even know what a penis was before you started with her, man. That's fucked up. Imagine someone marginally less attractive dude fucking your little sister, man. It's just wrong." Sousuke took a few hits from his joint as he said this, eliciting a sigh from Makoto's end.

"Marginally less attractive...? Okay, look, Sousuke... While I will certainly chastise myself for my lust driven actions, Gou isn't as innocent as you think... She certainly had a part in initiating it. But you're right, I should have been responsible and said no. And please don't talk like that about my little sister, she's barely 5 years old..." The brunette reflected on the events that had occurred prior and wondered if the arrangement in question had ruined their friendship as well. She won't want to talk to me anymore, right? Do I have to quit the swim club, or will she resign as manager...? Or will we just be super awkward about it?

"Look, Makoto, my man. I know Gou's always been a little eccentric, and after meeting her after she grew up, I realized guys would get the wrong idea because of her muscle fetish. I'm always telling her, 'Gou, man, the greatest muscle a man has is his brain!', but she never listens..." Sousuke shook his head.

"...I have a feeling you've never said that to her, Sousuke. Look, if that's all you have to say, thanks for the advice, but it doesn't really apply anymore. We won't be having sex anymore." Makoto sighed for the umpteenth time that night, willing himself to leave and sleep the night's events off. "And you really shouldn't be smoking in a school building, Sousuke. The smell lingers and the the whole swim club could get in trouble. I hope you know that stuff's illegal."

Sousuke threw his joint away and looked at Makoto for a bit. "It's okay for me. They give me medicinal stuff for my shoulder."

"Oh. Well, as long as you won't get in trouble. You know, I've never really smoked, but I always felt like it was a social activity... Is it fun to smoke alone?" Makoto was gathering himself and getting ready to leave, but he had to let out what was on his mind.

"It's not fun." Sousuke's tone turned somber, much to Makoto's surprise. "Not at all. But the scouts, they do drug tests and all, so Rin and the others won't touch the stuff. Doesn't matter for me. I even skipped out on the training camp Rin and the others are at right now." Seeing such a vulnerable expression on Sousuke's visage induced Makoto's intense sympathy, but he didn't know what to say in the situation. "I guess I envy you, Makoto. You can swim competitively if you want to, you've even got Gou... your life is made."

"...I don't have Gou. I mean, she's not an object for people to own, anyways... She's her own person and she chooses her destiny. I just don't think that destiny has anything to do with someone like me. I'm nothing special." Makoto laughed in a self deprecating manner, plastering on his usual fake smile.

"Yeah, to be honest, you've got nothing on someone like me, but don't be too hard on yourself. You got that 'gentle giant' thing going for you." Sousuke chortled a little at his analysis. "You're just sad because it didn't work on Nanase, eh?"

"...I'm not sad about that. Haru can make his own choices, and he prefers Rin. I guess I'm just a boring homebody to him, while Rin is the one who lights him up." Insecurities that has been rooted deep in Makoto's mind began to surface.

"It's funny, though, because there's a certain girl out there who thinks you're anything but a boring homebody." Sousuke smirked at the blushing Makoto, who immediately understood the connotations of what Sousuke was saying.

"...She doesn't, she likes Ri-" Sousuke shushed Makoto in the middle of his sentence.

"That crybaby shark? I doubt he's that popular. Things change, Makoto. Just let yourself change too. Don't be complacent with everything in life, man. If change will do you good, let change happen." Sousuke's strange stoner knowledge was so spot on that Makoto wanted to question how he knew the situation so well, but he felt something more immediate tugging at the back of his mind. He said his goodbyes to Sousuke and headed out quickly.

"Go get 'em, fuckboy." Sousuke shouted the words which echoed in the huge Samezuka pool room. He was surprised Makoto hadn't questioned why he knew so much about their relationship, but as long as things went smoothly, nothing more was necessary. He looked back on his text history with Gou that provoked the confrontation in the first place.

Sousuke, I don't know who else to ask about this... You know Makoto, right? Yeah, you witnessed that scene before. Well, we're not actually dating, but I think I... like him... But he likes someone else. How do I get him to notice me?

Sousuke hadn't thought of what to reply and decided he would think of good advice before sending anything back, until up to about an hour ago, when Gou sent another somewhat cryptic text.

Never mind, haha. He'll never notice me over someone like Haru. Just like Big Brother, right? Guess there's no chance, like always. Sorry for the bother.

Like always, huh? Sousuke chuckled at the thought. Your love won't always be one-sided, Gou. Not if I have any say in it. But I get how you feel. I lost to Haru, too.

Meanwhile, Makoto sprinted back to the Matsuoka household he had just left, finally starting to accept what the feeling he had been trying to push away was. A heavily breathing mess, he immediately rang the doorbell of the Matsuoka household a few times since Gou was the only one home. The door opened slowly, a crack at first, and then fully.

"Eh... Makoto? What are you doing here?" Makoto froze in his spot. The one who had answered the door was not Gou, but Rin.

"R-R-Rin! I thought you were at a training camp!" Makoto stuttered and tried to cover up his surprise with nervous laughs which only succeeded in making Rin tilt his head in confusion.

"If you thought I was at a training camp, what did you come here for, ringing the doorbell like crazy? Gonna rob us?" Rin smiled, showing off his natural shark teeth. "Actually, the hotel had some issues with their pool, so we were sent home... I just got back about 10 minutes ago on the bus. Hey, it's cold out here, so why don't you come in and you can tell me what's up?" Makoto tried to refuse, but the words wouldn't come out at all and he was roped inside by Rin.

The redhead went into the kitchen to make some tea for Makoto, while the brunette sat down awkwardly, trying to think of an excuse to why he came and another excuse as to why he had to leave.

"Eh... Big Brother, I hear voices... did Kintarou or whatever come back to confess his love again...?" Gou's sleepy voice reverberated in the small hallway as she stepped out to see Makoto. Her expression changed and immediately became alert, though a hint of sadness was present. "Oh, hello, Makoto. I guess you have to talk to my Big Brother about something. I'll just go back to bed." She turned away quickly, not bothering to make eye contact with Makoto once. Makoto held his hand out, as if to pull her back, but she didn't glance backwards at all.

"Geez, Makoto, put your hand down... Are you practicing other strokes when you're on land? I doubt that's necessary. Now tell me, what have you come here for?" Rin served Makoto tea and set out a few cookies and various other snacks, whatever was left in the cupboard. He sat down across from Makoto, sipping tea calmly.

"I had sex with your sister."

Rin spit out his tea.