"Good morning, Haru!"
The sparkle in Makoto's eyes as he greeted Haru was something he had missed lately. Apparently, their first night at the hotel had been a peaceful one.
"Hey," Haru replied.
"I haven't slept that well in ages!" Makoto sighed, confirming his suspicions. "What about you?"
"I slept okay." Makoto laughed.
"You're excited to swim again, aren't you?" Though Haru didn't answer, the light in his eyes told Makoto everything he needed to know.
They left their hotel room and twin beds behind for the cool morning air, and Haru breathed in deeply as they strolled along the pathway to the swimming pool. He resisted the urge to strip right there and bolt for the water. But his restraint paid off and soon, eyes widening in anticipation, he found himself pushing apart the wooden doors to gaze upon the pool…
…or that's what he would have done had his vision not been blocked by several sets of cameras and flashing lights.
"What the…" Makoto began. Haru's lips parted in silent agreement. His eyes swept the pool area, trying desperately to find the source of the chaos. When they did, he couldn't help but stare.
There, at the side of the pool, there was a rosy-eyed man, whose hot pink hair ended in a singular spike atop his head and contrasted violently with his lime-coloured shirt. He was being interviewed by a woman in a pantsuit, and Haru would have found the entire scene ludicrous had he not recognised the man already.
"Really, Mister Igarashi?" the woman exclaimed. "That's fascinating!" The man laughed.
"Well I, Hideaki Igarashi, professional swimmer and professional bad-boy (if I do say so myself) may have a passion for swimming…but drama is in my blood. My dear, I am the very definition of fascinating!"
"Who is that man?" Makoto whispered, following Haru's gaze to stare in wonder at him.
"He's my coach." Haru replied.
"Ehh?!"
"So that's why he was so desperate to come." Haru frowned at the sound of the voice, then turned around to see one of his teammates grinning at the mayhem.
"Hey," he said.
"What's up, Nanase?" He turned his gaze to Makoto. "Oh, you must be our replacement member. Sorry about our coach; he takes some getting used to."
"I can see that," Makoto laughed. He hesitated. "So...do you know what's going on here?"
The swimmer sighed. "Well, Coach has always had a flair for the dramatic. I guess he got over-excited when a reality television program agreed to do a few episodes on our teams."
Makoto gasped. "Wait, so they'll be filming us the whole time? Haru, did you know about this?!" Haru opened his mouth, but no words came out. Makoto groaned. "I'll take that as a no…"
"HIDEAKI IGARASHI!"
Haru tensed as Makoto jumped next to him. The coach of the woman's team, though generally calm and collected, had never been able to restrain her anger around Hideaki.
Hideaki himself, however, seemed unfazed.
"Oh, what is it, Kaida?" he drawled, leaning back in his chair as she stormed into the pool area.
"YOU ORGANISED A REALITY TELEVISION CREW TO FILM MY TEAM! BEHIND MY BACK!" Kaida shouted, her polar-blue eyes flashing.
"Our teams, dear," Hideaki sighed. "Besides, you can't pretend you wouldn't enjoy a little attention."
"Our teams?" Makoto whispered. "Does that mean"-
"Yeah. She's the coach of the women's team," Haru replied. "Kaida Suzukaze." Makoto opened his mouth to respond but was cut off as Kaida unleashed a fresh wave of fury upon Hideaki.
"YOU DIDN'T EVEN THINK TO ASK ME, DID YOU?"
Well obviously, you would have said no. So I went ahead and did it anyway."
"Yes! Because obviously, I'm not a completely incompetent, self-serving dirtbag!"
"A-are they really professional swimming coaches?" Makoto stammered.
"You wouldn't think so," Haru's teammate said. "But they're both pretty good. They've produced some world-class swimmers, and say what you will about them…they're passionate about what they do." Suddenly, Kaida's voice rang out across the pool area, directed at the swimmers this time.
"THAT'S IT, PEOPLE! LISTEN UP!"
Silence fell at the sound of her voice. Her white-blonde bob was a mess, and she was clearly still seething. Haru and Makoto stared as she breathed in, then exhaled slowly.
"Sorry about that." Her voice was unexpectedly serene.
"You should be," Hideaki muttered. Kaida's eye twitched, but she ignored him.
"I'm sure you've all gathered from that little…conversation…that we're going be filmed throughout the course of this program. I'm sorry you have to deal with this…I'd prefer that you focus on your swimming." She paused and closed her eyes. "However, Hideaki made the point that it might motivate some of you to improve your standard…and if that's the case, I'm happy."
"So calm…" Makoto said in wonderment.
"Only Hideaki can make her that mad," Haru replied. Kaida allowed silence to hold the room for a few more moments before she clapped her hands together.
"Right, moving on from here," she grinned, "let's get into the important stuff." Her eyes scanned the crowd. "We want this program to bring out the best in you. And even though Hideaki and I don't always get along…we want our teams to be able to learn from each other. So, during this program, you will be in pairs. One boy, one girl, no exceptions."
Haru looked down as a wave of mutters and murmurs bubbled up from the crowd. He had hoped that he would be able to spend most of his time with Makoto.
"Don't worry, Haru." Haru lifted his face at the sound of Makoto's voice. "I'm sure we'll see each other all the time! And we still have a few hours outside of our activities as well." Haru stared at him for a second, then nodded gratefully.
"Yeah."
"Hey, new kid." Makoto glanced around in confusion before realising that Kaida was speaking to him.
"M-me, ma'am?"
"You're Nanase's friend, right?"
"Yeah…" Makoto flinched as Kaida strode towards him, then stopped right in front of him. She gazed intently into his eyes." Makoto swallowed.
For a few moments, the silence was thick with tension. Haru could see Makoto trying his best not to shake. And then, without warning, Kaida smiled. "Welcome aboard!" she said. Makoto breathed a sigh of relief.
"Um…thank you!" he said. Kaida nodded, then pulled out a notepad and scribbled something on it.
"Alright, I think I have a good idea of who our pairs should be now," she said. Haru frowned. Did she have someone specific in mind for Makoto? His thoughts were interrupted as Kaida began listing pairs.
"Shoma Itawi and Yui Kagawa. Hiroto Tatenaka and Aoi Yokokawa." Her eyes fell on Haru. "Haruka Nanase and Aika Hino." Haru glanced up at the sound of his name. Aika Hino? He caught someone waving out of the corner of his eye — a girl with cocoa-coloured skin and mischievous, amber eyes.
"Yo!" she called. Haru opened his mouth to respond, but stopped when he heard Makoto's name.
"Makoto Tachibana and Sayuri Shinkai." Haru swept his gaze across the room. He could see Makoto doing the same behind him. However, no-one gave any obvious signs that they had heard their name called.
"Hey, Haruka!" Haru looked up to see Aika strolling towards him. "It is Haruka, right?" she asked, stopping as she reached him.
"Yeah..." Aika grinned.
"Good to finally meet you! Seen you around campus a few times — I hear you're a legend!" She turned to Makoto. "And you're Makoto, right?"
"Yeah, that's me," Makoto replied, surprised. "And...your name's Aika, isn't it?"
"That's it! Aika Hino. Can't do breaststroke to save my life, but I swim a pretty mean butterfly!"
"Really? I usually swim backstroke, but butterfly is a beautiful stroke too."
"Backstroke, huh? That's pretty cool." She tilted her head. "What about you, Haru?"
"I only swim free." Aika frowned.
"Only freestyle?" She laughed. "That's a little strange!"
She fidgeted with the side of her swimsuit when he didn't reply.
"You don't talk much do you?"
"I talk freely."
"Ah, should've guessed." Aika smiled. "Well, silence and I get along pretty well anyway, so it's all good. I mean, I won't force you to talk or anything like that..." She rubbed the back of her neck. "Er…actually, I was hoping I could ask you guys a favour?"
"Sure, what is it?" Makoto asked.
"Do you…do you think we could stick together? In our pairs I mean." Makoto smiled widely and he glanced at Haru, his eyes shining.
"That would be great! Haru and I are old friends actually, so it shouldn't be a problem — right, Haru?
"Right."
"Great!" Aika said. Haru frowned. There was relief in her eyes…
"Er…pardon me for asking," Makoto began, "but is there a particular reason why?" Aika hesitated.
"Actually, there is…" Makoto started as she moved aside, revealing the petite young lady who had been hiding behind her. "Makoto…meet your partner. This is Sayuri."
Makoto stared at Sayuri in surprise. Her inky hair stood in contrast with her porcelain skin and large, moon-like eyes, which were currently fixed on the floor.
"Um…hello Sayuri," he said. Except to reach for Aika's hand, Sayuri didn't react. Aika held it tightly as she looked back up at Makoto.
"Sorry," she said. "See, Sa-chan is my best friend and…well…it would be easier for me to look after her if we stay together. She's really shy."
"I-I see," Makoto stuttered, evidently surprised.
"S-sorry Aika…I didn't mean for you to have to go to all this trouble," Sayuri whispered.
"Hey, it's no trouble!" Aika replied. "Now go on…say hello." Sayuri nodded, then took a deep, shaky breath.
"H-hello…" Makoto stared at her. Then, his features melted into a smile.
"It's nice to meet you, Sayuri!" Sayuri flinched at the sound of her name. Makoto glanced at Haru for moral support, but when none came, he turned back to Sayuri. He chose his next words carefully.
"I…I'm glad to have you as my partner, you know." Sayuri didn't move.
"Why do you say th-that?"
"Well…" Makoto paused, and Haru could almost see his mind working. "I guess it's because this place is pretty scary, y'know?" For the first time, Sayuri dared to lift her gaze to his. "I mean I don't know anyone here except Haru. It's nice to have someone else I can stick with!"
"…You're scared too?" she asked.
"Yeah!" Sayuri scuffed the floor with one foot, but didn't take her eyes off Makoto.
"C-can we be scared together, then?" Makoto's eyes crinkled at the edges.
"Well if we look after each other, neither of us will have to be scared!" Sayuri hesitated. Then, she smiled happily.
"Okay!"
Haru surveyed the exchange, hiding a small smile.
He could guess that Kaida had chosen Makoto to be Sayuri's partner because he was the "new kid", someone hopefully vulnerable enough for Sayuri to understand. But he could see clearly that more than that, Makoto would happily look after her like his own sister.
There really was no better choice.
There never usually was when it came to Makoto.