Akiyuzu-chan: Oh, well, if English isn't your first language then I guess this phrase would sound pretty creepy. "To keep your eyes peeled" basically means to keep your eyes open. It has nothing to do with actually peeling them. Nagisa is indeed a little shit, but in this chapter he shows a more sentimental side of himself. KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED lol.

kyouno-aru: FLOWER LANGUAGE FTW. And the last paragraph was meant to scare you so I'm actually pleased with myself.

Lady Monochromic: This chapter is a bit more sad in its own way. Then again, it's only sad if you find it that way. Others might find it comical.

ahhhh: I considered Archive of Our Own but I already post this story up on tumblr... should I make an AO3 account?

Eion1783: Here is chapter nine as desired!

Alyssa James: I've seen textsofgayswimmers before but I've never seen this one that you're talking about. Which one is it? And in stories, love does not always have to win, but to do so would just make a sad ending.

NyxLied: Ufufufufu, your theories are neither right nor wrong, but you can only wait to see what I come up with~ and I thought that I managed to nail down Rei's general personality pretty well. Then again, he's not that hard to write. Just write him spouting about beauty every couple sentences and you've pretty much got it.

Kami-Rin44: Thank you very much for reading! Please regard me kindly in the future.

WolfPacFaan: It's not that Haruka doesn't remember his past well (remember that in the canon he could remember Gou and that she preferred being called Kou), just that he doesn't remember what he doesn't hold much interest in. But then again, maybe that's not the case~? Ufufufufu. Makoto... yeah, I gave Makoto a rather rough childhood.

Abiding Angel: OMG BEING A WEDDING PLANNER IS LIKE ONE OF MY TOP FIVE WANTED JOBS SHARE WITH ME YOUR SECRETS SENPAI :DDDDD And I'm glad that you liked all of their relationships with each other! I always thought most of their relationships were cute.

Guest: Don't you just hate that feeling? LOL, but I can't say much since I caused it.

Haruko: I love you and your analyses. I've been thinking about (*cough cough planning cough cough*) bringing back Masaru for another few chapters. He does have a larger role in the story. I adore your reviews. Keep them up! (and thank you for liking my Legal Drug fanfiction)

Anon-chan-san: Thank you~ I love your account name :)

I do not own Free! Iwatobi Swim Club or any of the characters in it.

This chapter is perhaps, in a way, both the strangest and mindfucking chapter that I have written thus far. Not to mention that it's not even about Makoto and Haruka. It's about Rei and Nagisa. For those of you who weren't expecting it, you're all in for a huge surprise. Just as a warning.

Nagisa had begged to sleep over for several days – it turned out that the carriage they had come in was packed with supplies for about a week – and Haruka was naturally inclined to consent. However, this started a whole thing with Rin who also demanded to sleep over as to not be left out.

"You can share my room, Rei," Makoto offered to his fellow servant. Rei was about to cheerfully accept when Nagisa tackled Rei around the middle.

"No! Rei-chan will sleep with me!" Nagisa protested at the top of his voice, resisting all attempts to be shaken off. "Rei-chan! This is an order from your master! Sleep together with me in my room!"

"Master Nagisa, such orders go beyond the proper boundaries!" Rei protested, vainly attempted to dislodge his captor. Nagisa pouted and held on even tighter.

"I'm your master! If I want to order you to sleep with me then you should obey me!"

"Now now, Master Nagisa," Makoto soothed him, gently prying away his hands from his fellow servant. "Rei is right. The boundaries should not be breached."

Behind Nagisa's back, Haruka shot him an incredulous look. Makoto snickered.

Rin noticed the little exchange and frowned.

"At any rate, Master Nagisa, I do think that Rei should sleep in my room. If you wish to have company, why not sleep with Master Rin or Master Haruka?"

"He is not sleeping in my bed," the redhead flatly rejected. "He kicks and he clings. It's annoying."

"How rude, Rin-chan! I cling to you because I love you."

"In that case I feel very sorry for your future wife."

"Then? Master Haruka," Makoto gently pushed. "Will you let Master Nagisa sleep in your room tonight?"

Nagisa whipped his head towards Haruka, who merely shrugged. "I don't mind. As long as he doesn't keep me awake all night."

Nagisa raised his eyebrows and made a coy, naughty expression. "You never know, Haru-chan. Maybe I'll surprise you."

"MASTER NAGISA!"

"THAT'S IT! HARU'S SLEEPING IN MY ROOM!"

"Rin-Rin is too protective, seriously."

"DON'T CALL ME RIN-RIN."

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Makoto's room was very simplistic, as expected for a servant. His room was narrow, just big enough for a dresser, a single bed, and a small desk with a chair. Makoto must have done some rearranging after first moving in, because there was also a shelf installed on one wall with books lining it. A normal slave would not be able to write, let alone read.

Then again, Makoto was not exactly an ordinary slave.

"Sorry, but we'll have to sleep on the same bed. It'll be a little cramped," Makoto apologized. Rei surveyed the room with criticizing eyes.

"It isn't too bad, Makoto-senpai," Rei answered sincerely. "I used to have to share my bed with children who constantly moved in their sleep. One gigantic wall of muscle should be easy to sleep with."

Makoto turned to stare at him, a funny look on his face. "... Rei, did you pick up a strange hobby? Ah, not that I'm judging you or anything. Everyone has their own desires..."

"What? ... No. No. Oh Lord, NO!" Rei yelped. "I cannot believe you, Makoto-senpai! Do you honestly think my tastes would run towards... no! That is not beautiful in any sense of the word!"

"Sorry. Exactly what did you mean?"

"... After I was forced out of my home, before I officially received this golden earring, a family on a small farm took me in. In exchange for helping out with chores and watching their children, they gave me a place to sleep and meals to eat," Rei touched the golden earring in his ear. "... Shortly afterwards, I was picked up by them..."

"Ah yes. Those people."

"Yes. And that is when I met you, Makoto-senpai," Rei smiled. "You helped me in raising my rank in the organization. For that, I am forever grateful. Well, though my level is still nowhere near yours," he added with a laugh.

Makoto patted Rei on the back and gestured for him to sit on the bed while he himself took his desk chair. "Frivolities aside, Rei, we need to talk business."

His junior immediately took on a serious look and sat straight up on the bed, back straight and chest out. "Yes, of course. Makoto-senpai, have you heard any news?"

"The Master's annual event will be happening later than arranged. Well, for the two of us, it is a good thing," Makoto said with a humorless smile. "This is the first time that Master is organizing the event himself, so he wants everything to be perfect."

"I've never met him personally, but I've heard the rumors about his perfectionist attitude," Rei nodded sagely, pushing up his glasses. "Such people need to learn how to loosen up and take things slowly."

"I think you ought to look in a mirror and repeat those words, Rei," the brunette teased his blue-haired friend. "At any rate, we should be prepared for any... meddlers."

"Are we going to have any?"

"Oh yes, from both sides, I'm sure. The third force, however, will keep their distance. I've made sure of it," another humorless smile, which looked so strange on the normally kind face. "Sakaguchi Ryousuke-san's death was the perfect sacrifice."

Rei nodded, the news of being in the same room as a murderer not fazing him at all. "That was a well-planned move, Makoto-senpai. I must applaud you for your ingeniousness on that one," he rubbed his chin self-importantly and added, "However, Sakaguchi Ryousuke's death also changes quite a few things. Is the Master pleased with this? Even if it's you, the Master may not forgive you this time."

"The Master is free to do as he wishes with me," Makoto replied easily, "but I will always obey my Master, no matter what the costs."

"Even if this change in plan requires you to harm Haruka-senpai?"

"Even if," Makoto agreed. "After all, in the end, I am only following orders."

Rei chuckled slightly. "Even the Archduke Makoto-senpai must follow the orders of our Master, hm? Even though within Ácweorran you are of the third highest rank..."

"Of course, Marquis Ryuugazaki Rei," Makoto smiled. "After all, our Master is our King."

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Rin had long retired back to his own guest bedroom while Nagisa had stubbornly stayed in Haruka's room and was still demanded to sleep with him. The blue-haired reluctantly gave in.

"This is great! It's been so long since I've been able to sleep in the same bed as Haru-chan!" Nagisa exclaimed gleefully. He eagerly bounced away on Haruka's mattress, ignoring the fact that Haruka was staring very intently at his face.

"... Nagisa."

"Hm? What is it, Haru-chan?"

"... What's wrong?"

Nagisa stopped bouncing momentarily before whipping his head around to give Haruka the widest grin ever. "What are you saying, Haru-chan! I've never been better! Do I look sick? Aww, is Haru-chan worrying about me?! I'm so happy!"

"It's about Rei, isn't it."

The smile slowly dropped off of the blonde's face. "Eh?"

"You've been acting unnaturally since you first go here," Haruka crossed his legs and folded his arms, giving Nagisa a knowing stare with his ocean-like eyes. "It's not unnatural for you to be clingy, but it's unnatural for you to cling to only one person. And you're like me," ocean-like eyes narrowed slightly. "You also follow the proper etiquette when it comes to people of lower-class, so you don't get them in trouble with others."

Nagisa scratched at his cheek. "... But Rei-chan used to be a nobleman too! He was the son of a Earl before..."

"His family fell to ruin? A common story," Haruka remarked thoughtlessly. Nagisa shot him an angry look. It was so uncharacteristic that Haruka actually reeled back a bit.

"No. Not his family. Just Rei-chan," Nagisa's voice gradually got smaller. "Only Rei-chan became a slave while the rest of his family thrived."

Haruka raised an eyebrow. Nagisa curled up so that he was able to rest his chin on his knees, arms hooking underneath his thighs. The look on his face was so miserable and so different from usual that even the water-lover felt worried. "Nagisa...?"

Nagisa sniffled. "Hey, Haru-chan? Did you know that Rei-chan is really smart?"

Haruka blinked. He had no reason to be even the slightest bit aware of Rei's academic talents, but he nodded to humor his upset friend.

"Rei-chan was from a noble family at first, so of course he would be educated. But even for a future Earl, he was smarter than anyone else. On top of that, he is kind. Kinder than anyone else. Even if he acts all stuck-up, he still cares about others. He cares about others more than he cares for himself," Nagisa made a funny little hiccupping noise. It sounded like he was about to cry.

"He's so kind and smart and he's well-acquainted with politics. He keeps himself updated on all the troubles of Japan and he works out solutions himself of how to fix them. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and I find him in the library, muttering to himself of how to make the world a better place," the blonde let out a genuine sob, much to Haruka's alarm. He reached into his bedside drawer to pull out a handkerchief and handed it over. Nagisa took it gratefully and wiped at his wet eyes. "Stupid, kind Rei-chan who thinks of others even though his own world had been smashed to pieces."

"'Smashed to pieces?'" Haruka repeated. As in someone else smashed it?

"Hey, Haru-chan?" Nagisa gave him a watery smile with his teary pink eyes. "Don't you think Rei-chan would make a good Prime Minister?"

Alarm shot through Haruka faster than a bolt of lightning. This couldn't possibly Nagisa. The Nagisa he knew was so cheerful, bright, and bubbly. He was someone who, despite all of his denials, could not wait to become the leader of his people so that he could give them a better tomorrow. Nagisa was not the sobbing wreck in front of him who thought someone else more worthy of the title.

"Rei-chan is smarter than me and he has lots of good ideas of what he can do for his people. He knows a lot more than me about people's suffering," Nagisa was saying. "I'm sure that in the future, he will become an excellent Prime Minister."

"Nagisa," Haruka spoke firmly, thinking it was about time to insert some reason into the conversation. "You are to be the next Prime Minister. I'll admit it's true that somebody else from an outside family could be elected Prime Minister, but never a slave."

Another uncharacteristic flash of anger. Haruka thought that those pink eyes would burn straight through him.

"Stupid Haru-chan!" Nagisa exploded, leaping up to his feet on the bed. "Don't call Rei-chan a slave! He shouldn't even be a slave! I had no choice but to buy him! Because...!"

"... Because...?"

Nagisa's hands, which were so angrily fisted, eventually dropped and slowly loosened up. "... Haru-chan."

"What?"

"Rei-chan has every right to be the Prime Minister," Nagisa said, kneeling back down and slipping underneath the thick blankets. "He's smarter than me and he knows more about the world than I do. Even if others oppose, I'll do anything and everything in my power to ensure that he'll be the next leader of our beautiful country," his golden head laid on the pillow, his hair fanning out to the sides like a halo.

"But Nagisa – "

"Also, Rei-chan has inherited the right to become the next Minister."

"Eh? Inherited? What do you mean?"

"Because Rei-chan is my younger brother," Nagisa rolled over so that he was facing the opposite direction. "I'm tired Haru-chan. I'm going to sleep now."

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"Good morning, Master Nagisa. Master Haruka," came Makoto's gentle voice. Haruka heard curtains open from the other side of the room and Rei's boisterous voice calling out.

"We have prepared breakfast! Please wake up and eat it while it is still fresh. Master Nagisa, please wipe off that unseemly drool."

"Good morning Rei-chan... ah, blueberry muffins! My favorite!"

Haruka opened one sleepy blue eye and say Makoto's face fondly looking down on him. Next to him was a wheeled cart topped with delicious foods and shining silverware.

"Is there – "

"Yes, Master Haruka, there is mackerel."

Five minutes later, both Haruka and Nagisa were dressed in casual yukatas and eating their delicious breakfast, specially prepared by Rei. Said servant had dressed the mackerel with lemon dressing and Haruka had to admit that he enjoyed the new flavor.

He eyed Rei and Nagisa and their interactions with each other. Nagisa was acting as if the previous night's conversation had never happened. Rei was, of course, clueless. He watched as Rei reprimanded Nagisa sternly for stuffing two muffins into his mouth at the same time. Nagisa merely made a face at him, cheeks bulging, and reached for another sweet pastry.

Before he knew it, Makoto had disappeared yet again.

"If it's Makoto-senpai you're looking for, he went to fetch Rin-san," Rei explained at Haruka's growling question. Nagisa giggled and tugged hard on Rei's sleeve so that they would sit next to each other. "Master Nagisa – "

"Just Nagisa!"

"Master Nagisa, this is highly improper for a servant to be seated at the same table as his Master – "

"This isn't even a table! We're all just eating off the cart!" Nagisa latched himself on to Rei and snuggled his head against the junction of Rei's neck. "Pretty please, Rei-chan? It's just us here! No one else in this household has to know! Right, Haru-chan!"

"Whatever," Haruka replied. He watched as Nagisa squealed happily and tried to make Rei eat one of his own blueberry muffins. The bespectacled servant protested loudly but eventually gave in, allowing himself to be hand fed.

"Master Rin is here," Haruka heard Makoto's voice call from his bedroom door. Rin's redhead popped in from the threshold and gave them all a feral grin.

"Morning, Haru, Nagisa," Rin plopped himself down next to Haruka and glanced over at the cart. "Do you have any hot tea, Makoto?"

"Of course," Makoto nodded, pulling a china teapot from somewhere. "Is matcha acceptable?"

"Sure," Rin agreed. Makoto poured him a cup and handed it to him, along with a chocolate croissant. As he munched away, Rin glanced at Haruka who was still staring at Nagisa and Rei. "What the hell are you looking at so intently?"

"Nothing," was Haruka's blatant lie. He picked up his own cup of matcha tea but put it back down without drinking it. "... Hey, Nagisa."

"Hm?" Nagisa looked over from stuffing Rei's face. The poor servant looked like he was about to suffocate. "What is it, Haru-chan?" he asked with his usual smile.

"I'll show you Rin and my 'secret place' so let's go for a walk or something."

"Seriously?! I'll go! I'll go!" Nagisa jumped up excitedly, leaving Rei to fall sideways and still choking down the pastry. Makoto hurried to his side and thumped him on the back. "Let's go now, Haru-chan! Rin-chan!"

With that, the blonde grabbed on to both Haruka and Rin, not caring that he was spilling tea or making the two of them angry.

"FUCKING HELL NAGISA STOP THAT!"

"IT HURTS! OI!"

Makoto sweat-dropped slightly. "Such a lively master you have," Makoto sighed, handing Rei a glass of fresh milk to swallow down the rest of the muffin with. "Are you going to be alright?"

"I will be fine, thank you," Rei said, his voice sounding slightly strained. "I wonder if something is wrong. He's never been that forceful with me before."

"I noticed that too. It seems that Master Haruka is also distracted by something."

"As for Rin-san..."

Both of them chimed in at the same time.

"He's as oblivious as always."

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"Uwah! What a beautiful place! What's on that island in the middle?" Nagisa asked, dancing on the sandy riverbank of the egg-shaped lake. "I can't believe this place was so close and yet I've never seen it before! Haru-chan, Rin-chan, you're both so terrible, keeping me in the dark like this! This place is great!" he turned to see both Haruka and Rin stripping off all their clothes. "Eh? What are you guys doing?"

"We're swimming. Hurry up and take off your clothes, Nagisa."

"Mou~ Haru-chan~ You can't just demand something like that~" Nagisa teased. "I bet you tell Mako-chan those sorts of things all the time, huh?"

Haruka's naked body flushed scarlet and he promptly dived in to the water to avoid the question. Nagisa yelped as a wave splashed over him from the jump. "ARRRGH! HEY!"

Rin burst out laughing and dived in after Haruka, sending another wave of water out on the blonde. "Come on, Haru! I challenge you to a race!"

"You're on," Haruka agreed, propelling himself like a torpedo in the water. Rin followed closely after him towards the other side of the lake, while Nagisa was still trying to get his sopping wet clothes off.

"Wait for me!" Nagisa complained, finally managing to fling his clothes off and dived after them into the lake. Performing the perfect breaststroke, he somehow managed to catch up to the freestyling duo. "You jerks! Take this!"

"YEOWCH! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO PASS US NOT RAM US!"

"MWAHAHAHAHAHAH! I SHALL SLAY YOU ALL!"

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"How noisy," Rei remarked from further back in the woods surrounding the pond. "Well, Master Nagisa has always been the overly playful type."

"Does he do that to you too?" Makoto asked, wincing in sympathy as Nagisa accidentally kicked Rin in the stomach. He hoped that his Master Haruka would be able to avoid any bruising.

"Not always," Rei said in a way that said fuck yes.

"Leave them be. I don't think they'll get in too much trouble here. Not to mention that the water is Master Haruka's element," Makoto chuckled. "We might as well take a stroll around the forest. Let's give them some privacy to talk."

"What do you think they are going to talk about, Makoto-senpai?"

"I have no idea, but I think Master Haruka brought them all here for a reason. Let's go back. We need to discuss more of our plans anyway."

"Ah yes, of course."

Rei hurried after Makoto back towards the house, the sound of the splashes gradually getting softer until they couldn't be heard at all.

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"So?" Haruka said, after becoming fully confident that Makoto and Rei had left. "What is this about Rei being your younger brother?"

Rin, who had been blowing bubbles in the water, choked and swallowed a mouthful of lake water. "WHAT?!" he yelped between coughs. "Who is your younger brother?!"

"Not you, Rin-chan!" Nagisa said cheerfully. They were all standing in a more shallow area where the water only came up to Nagisa's shoulders. "Rei-chan is my younger brother through blood. Well, half of our blood."

Rin's eyes comically widened. "He's an illegitimate child then?"

"That doesn't make sense," Haruka interrupted, ignoring his childhood friend's confusion. "You were talking about how you wanted Rei to become the next Prime Minister – "

"WHAT?!" yelped Rin again.

" – but if he's illegitimate, then not that many people would support his reign. There's no point in trying to establish him in a position that he is considered underqualified for."

"Rei-chan isn't unqualified. In fact, he's more qualified than both me and my sisters," Nagisa patiently explained. "Haven't you heard those rumors about me being born from a mistress? Those rumors aren't exactly untrue, you know?"

Rin and Haruka both looked even more puzzled. "But wait," Rin said, rubbing his chin, "I thought Rei was supposed to be the illegitimate child. How is he legitimate and you're not? Your mother is married to your father, isn't she?"

"She is, but she isn't his first wife," Nagisa shrugged. "This is will take a while to explain. Let's get out and get dressed first, okay? I promise I'll explain everything."

"You'd better," Rin grumbled.

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"Rei-chan's mother is Father's first wife," Nagisa spoke after they all had dried off and gotten dressed. Laying around in the soft green grass, Nagisa began his story. "But at the time, for whatever reason, she was unable to give birth. It was probably illness or something, but eventually his advisers told him to get a wife or at least a new concubine. He didn't want a wife who couldn't give him something back, and so he agreed to the separation. Then he took a girl he had been having an affair with for a while into the household and married her. My mother.

"But as the Prime Minister he wanted to have the divorce quietly so that it wouldn't affect his social standings and reputation. He sent her away to Earl Ryuugazaki's mansion and there she fell in love with the unmarried Earl. They married each other and had a son, Rei-chan's older brother."

At this point, Nagisa hesitated and he rolled over from his back to his stomach. His voice, slightly muffled from the grass, become softer and sadder.

"I don't know why, but while I was in my mother's stomach, Father probably grew impatient or something. He went to go find my mother and forced her to have sex. As a result, Rei-chan was born."

Rin looked like he wanted to interrupt but Haruka elbowed him hard in the gut before he could open his mouth.

"I don't know why he did it. Maybe it was because he was nervous that Mother could only provide him with daughters – my three older sisters. Father wanted a son to carry on his work and legacy. Most likely, after he heard that his original wife was able to give birth, he decided to try his luck with her. He probably thought that I would be a girl."

"Well, you can't say he's entirely wrong," Rin managed to say something before Haruka lightly slapped at his leg. Nagisa stuck his tongue out.

"But after I was born, Father realized that he had made a mistake. He panicked. He didn't want an illegitimate-legitimate son becoming his heir. It would murder his reputation and the rest of his life. But there was no news from Earl Ryuugazaki's household. There was no announcement of the birth of a son or daughter.

"But years later, after I reached the age of ten, Father heard rumors of a second son within the Ryuugazaki household. Terrified that one day his mistake might be brought out in to the light, he used his personal elite team of spies and – "

"The Prime Minister has his own personal elite team of spies?"

"All good rulers have a personal elite team, Rin-chan! Whether they're ninjas or clowns, having a secret weapon is an absolute must!"

"How the hell is a clown a secret weapon?!"

"So anyway..."

"Don't ignore me!"

"Father got his elite team to take Rei-chan's official papers – his birth certificate and the like – and sold them. I don't know where or who he sold them to, but those people came looking for him and Rei-chan was forced to run away."

"He ran?"

"His parents told him to run, I think. I'm not sure, though, of what happened between the time of where I picked him up and when he first ran."

He probably met Makoto somewhere, Haruka thought. Rin asked a very logical question that threw the water lover for a loop.

"Why did your dad even let Rei into your house as a servant then? He's met Rei, hasn't he?"

"He has. And he was the one who approved of Rei-chan being my tutor," Nagisa lifted his head slightly from the ground, a funny smirk on his face.

"What the hell? Did he not recognize him or something? That's weird!"

"It's not weird at all," Nagisa scowled suddenly, the expression looking strange on his face. "After all, Father did not bother getting to know what Rei-chan even looked like before he sold him."

"Huh? Then that means..."

"Exactly," Nagisa rolled over on to his back again. "Father doesn't even know Rei-chan's face. He tried to get rid of someone that he can't even recognize. Isn't that the saddest thing?"

So how many of you did not see this coming?

For those of you who did see this coming, I applaud you.

I was thinking about writing an omake or something similar for the celebration of summer vacation cometh. At the very least, I know that I'm going to write something for Haruka's birthday. It'll probably be an omake, meaning out of the story line altogether.