Thank you for your reviews, also putting this story to favorites and following this story! I don't know how to express my thank you except by saying (or writing) it and trying to write better.

Here's chapter 3. Perhaps I will refocus on my other fics after this, or I will continue this immediately, I haven't decided yet. I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 3

The Wolf Who Howled to the Sun

:-:

"Spirit of water who occupies my being," Haruka whispered, "I am Nanase Haruka."

While he was engrossed in his own serenity, an image unveiled itself in his undisturbed mind. An image of personified water—pure, colorless, beautiful.

Alive.

"We accept one another. I am you, and you are me. We are water."

In an abrupt gap between one second and another, Haruka was one with the water. The transition sent an alarming shock through his being, and his eyes immediately snapped wide open. He was himself again, in his solid body.

Drip. Drip.

When his pair of ocean blue eyes shifted down, a crystal clear liquid framed his vision before falling down to the ground in a droplet. When Haruka looked up to the sky, he found out that the water vapor in the clouds were condensing to a drizzle.

In his isolation, Haruka had plenty of time to learn from his grandmother. This was one of them. When he was young, he never thought he would be able to actually do it. Then again, if his grandmother could, he could. This was what he'd always wanted to do, after all.

One more time, he told himself, or a lot more times. Until I am ready.

It was still five in the morning on the day of his entrance exam. It was the day to determine whether he had the opportunity to change his fate, or not.

Tachibana Makoto, Haruka thought as he closed his eyes again, clasping his hands together in front of his chest, I will defeat you.

Earth might be the strongest element, solid and strong, but who cares?

Water would win.

:-:

"What do you mean, Makoto?"

Makoto opened up his leaf-green eyes, yet they were still hesitant to roll up. "It can't be helped." He took a deep breath, "It's no big deal. Nanase-kun is trustworthy."

"And how the hell do you know?" The voice was gruff and annoyed.

"Nanase-kun comes from the other world." Makoto finally braced himself to face the person in front of him, "He won't do harm."

"Shut up." The man in front of him sighed, lightly clutching some strands of his black hair, "Your naivete can bring destruction, Makoto."

"I know, and I'm not that stupid, really." Makoto groaned, "But... you know, Sousuke."

Yamazaki Sousuke looked at him. His droopy teal eyes turned a bit more gentle.

"Maybe it's weird. Maybe I'm just naïve, but when I saw Nanase-kun, I felt some sort of security. It's like—if it's him, it will be okay." Makoto unconsciously cracked up a smile.

This time, Sousuke didn't answer. His teal eyes fixed on him, and Makoto saw pity in them. Makoto hated that pity, so he decided to look down, refusing to meet those eyes.

"Don't look at me that way." He said with lower tone.

"I'm sorry." Sousuke's lips finally curled to a small smile. "So this Nanase guy is the new student who will use the battle arena today?"

Feeling grateful for the change of topic, Makoto nodded and smiled again. "That's right. What is it, Sousuke? Do you and Rin want a rematch?"

Sousuke's smile widened. "Sure. Why not?"

Makoto laughed softly. "Fine. By the way," He turned to look outside the window, "isn't it a bit too cloudy since morning? Probably since dawn?"

"Seriously? You're talking about weather?" Sousuke relaxed his back to his chair, following Makoto's gaze outside the window.

"It leaves me wondering," said Makoto, "if it's someone I know who is the culprit behind this."

:-:

If there was such a thing called 'stage fright', this must be it.

Or, it was much worse than stage fright. For someone who never received so many attentions, the battle arena was ridiculously overwhelming. The moment he approached the place, all the foods in his gut seemed to raise up to his throat. Haruka was ready to throw up. Normally, he didn't care what people think about him when they saw him, and even more so when he was swimming, but this.

This.

He couldn't imagine how it would feel the moment Mikoshiba Seijuurou and Tachibana Makoto announced their rejections. That kind of fear for the upcoming humiliation was consuming Haruka more than he allowed.

The battle arena was massive. It was shaped in a perfect rectangular. The path Haruka was standing on and the path for his opponent across him divided the rest of the area in two. Large volume of water encased together on his left side, and solid earth on his right side. Rows of seats occupied by chattering, noisy students in uniforms were circularly surrounding the area. Four giant torches, all had been ignited with flames, stood firmly on the four sides of the arena. The arena represented the three main elements. Haruka concluded that people with the wind element didn't need their element to be preserved in the arena. They could make it come.

Haruka lifted his head and looked to the sky. The arena was an open area, and the clouds over him were quite dark. The day was cloudy, just like what he'd wanted. He'd asked Nagisa a difficult task of 'bringing the clouds over with the wind', and received a whine from the blonde in return, but Nagisa had done his best to help Haruka. Looking at his work, Haruka knew that despite his appearance, Nagisa had an amazing control of his wind spirit.

His late-grandmother's words hung in his mind.

Haruka-chan, the clouds can travel at the speed of more than a hundred miles per hour. It is beyond us to control, but when you have a spirit inside you, my dear, it is connected to all spirits of the same kind. You can't bring the rain, but you can connect your spirit with the spirits outside your being, and those spirits will bring the rain for you. These spirits are very strongly connected in their natural realm.

Haruka was now inside their natural realm, so it should be possible. With head lifted up, Haruka closed his eyes.

I am water, and I fall. I become heavy, I am massive. I am colossal, that the light doesn't have a place to shine through me until I am dark and I fall.

The rain didn't fall.

Damn it.

He had to make more connection, but before Haruka could concentrate again, a loud voice—magnified by a microphone—was heard.

"Welcome to the battle arena of Iwatobi Academy!" The voice was practically shouting, and it was definitely too loud for Haruka's taste. An MC was already standing in the middle of the arena—a guy Haruka didn't know (and didn't care). "Today, we have an unexpected, wonderful guest who will—probably—join us in our beloved school for the spiritually gifted! He is a guy occupied with a magnificent, beautiful, pure primary elemental spirit of water! Please welcome, Nanase Harukaaa!"

Haruka hated the way the MC talked. He hated the way he emphasized the 'ka' of his name. Loud, encouraging cheers and applauses broke out from the students surrounding the arena. Haruka couldn't help but blush a little. He didn't expect such a welcome. In the distance, he could see Nagisa and Rei sitting side by side on the front row—shouting, screaming, and cheering on him. Makoto was also there, sitting beside Rei. He lifted his hands near the sides of his mouth, shouting something at him. Haruka concluded it was some kind of encouragement.

Two more people settled themselves beside Makoto. Haruka didn't recognize them as people he knew, so he didn't give a care. Yet, he was flattered at all the cheers. In a moment, he felt at ease. It was probably the first time he was accepted so openly by the people beside his family, without anyone judging at him. He'd always thought that he was okay by himself—that he was alright if he was alone.

Yet in reality, his heart screamed a great desire to stay in this place. With a new, great determination, Haruka climbed up the stairs to the arena. It looked wider and bigger when he was actually up there. Haruka couldn't kick the fluttering butterflies out from his stomach.

"Nanase Haruka's first opponent will be the leader of our prideful Samezuka faction! We all know him as a crazy hellhound who knows no 'tire' and 'fatigue' in his dictionary. Please welcome our famous, energetic leader gifted with wild and powerful spirits, Mikoshiba Seijuurou!"

Louder cheers echoed around the arena. At the other side of the arena, Haruka could see Seijuurou climbing up the stairs. He settled himself in front of Haruka, with muscled hands on his hips. Mikoshiba Seijuurou was big with well-toned muscles. He had golden eyes, with slicked back and tousled hair, looking a bit fiery in bright red color. He wore a black jacket with red lines. There were white stripes alongside the arms, with arrow-like strikes on the white stripes. He could see a gold, triangle symbol on the jacket that somehow reminded him of shark jaws.

In five seconds of staring at his tall opponent, Haruka knew.

The aura emanating from Seijuurou was definitely powerful. Heat wave rolled away from him. It was fire—no, more than a fire. The energy coming out from him was too powerful and almost limitless. It produced uncomfortable heat. He also felt a wild, sharp, threatening aura of a silent killer.

It was the combination of the sun spirit and a spirit of a wild animal. Hellhound, the MC had said. With the sun spirit, it could be hellhound.

"So you're Nanase Haruka?" Seijuurou grinned at him. "Welcome to Iwatobi Academy. Show me what you've got, kid. No need to be shy."

Haruka stared blankly at him. His brain kept turning for a solution. There was no way he could win with water alone. He needed help. Akihiko had told him that he was allowed to gain help from the audience. Haruka did a quick scan over the crowd cheering on them, trying to feel their auras. It was almost impossible, but he tried anyway. The moment Haruka looked at Makoto, their eyes met.

Makoto smiled gently at him, yet it wasn't the smile that kept him transfixed on the brunet. It was an aura emanating from him—wait, near him. Haruka gave him a very slight nod before shifting his eyes to the person sitting beside Makoto.

This was it. That person could be the key.

He immediately grabbed the MC's microphone, taking it away with force. Before the MC could protest, Haruka lifted the microphone to his mouth. "I want to talk to the person beside Tachibana Makoto."

Confused murmurs filled the air. Almost all of the students turned their attentions toward Makoto and the people near him. Haruka breathed before continuing, "Yes. You. The one with black hair and bright teal eyes. I request your help on the arena."

It was a man, a bit taller than Makoto. He looked baffled by the sudden call. Haruka could see Makoto was talking to the guy, discussing something a bit too intently. The guy snorted and rubbed the nape of his neck, looking grumpy and annoyed, but it didn't take long before he finally stood up and stared at Haruka with droopy teal eyes. He left his seat and climbed down the stairs.

"Gaining help, eh? And why him? Is he someone you know?" Seijuurou asked, flashing a wider grin. All these people must had a happy, joyful life that they could all smile like this. Makoto, Nagisa, and Seijuurou. Haruka silently envied them.

"I don't know him, but I know his spirit." Haruka finally answered, "And I know your spirits, too."

"Ooh, really? Have you gathered some informations about me?" Seijuurou looked at him in new interest.

"No." Haruka replied, "I can sense your aura. You possess a sun spirit and spirit of a wild animal, don't you?"

"Impressive." Seijuurou's mouth parted open in wonder and amazement, "This is the first time I meet a person like you. I feel like I can accept you already in my faction, but we will see."

"So." A new voice was heard. Haruka turned his head and found the guy he'd asked for help was already standing behind him. "What is it that you want from me?"

"Yamazaki Sousuke." Seijuurou's grin showed him a row of teeth that looked somewhat sharp, "Fine. Two on one. If you win, Yamazaki, you will be the pride and joy of Samezuka faction."

"Sure." Yamazaki finally gave up a small smile, "So, Nanase Haruka. Why do you ask me to come?"

"Ice." Haruka gazed at him, "I need your ice spirit to assist me."

Those teal eyes widened. "How do you know?"

"I just know. If you help me, Yamazaki." Haruka walked toward the water at the left side of the arena. He let his hand submerged in it, before pulling up a ball of water, easily gathering it in his hand. He quickly and deftly shaped it in a weird form of a bird with perfectly-rounded head. "If you help me, I will give you this exclusive Iwatobi-chan shaped water. I guarantee that it won't easily break." Haruka proudly presented his creation in front of Sousuke.

Both Sousuke and Seijuurou's faces showed no particular expression.

"I don't want that thing." Sousuke finally said.

It disappointed Haruka more than he expected.

"Stop wasting any more time. Prepare yourselves, Nanase, Yamazaki!" Seijuurou stripped his black jacket off, and Haruka found out that he wasn't wearing anything behind the jacket. Next, Seijuurou started to strip his trousers off, leaving him wearing only an unnecessarily short boxers.

"I'm sorry for our embarrassing leader." Sousuke said to him, "We're not at all like him, so don't you ever dare generalize, Nanase."

I don't care, Haruka thought, I just want this to be over.

"Finally!" The MC had taken his microphone back from Haruka's hand, "Ladies and gentlemen, I announce the battle to begin in three! Two! And one! Mikoshiba Seijuurou versus Nanase Haruka assisted by Yamazaki Sousuke! Who will gain victory?"

Enthusiastic cheers boomed around the arena. Seijuurou bared a sharp canine teeth at him before lowering himself on the battleground, standing on his palms and feet. Bright red fur started to wildly grow on his whole body, and in several seconds, Haruka was standing face to face with the most enormous wolf he'd ever seen, with red fur and glowing, intimidating golden eyes. His sharp-looking teeth and large mouth were drooling uncontrollably. Flow of saliva dripped on the surface of the battle arena. His body was burning in scorching heat that Haruka felt like his skin could melt just by being near him.

"Here comes the hellhound Mikoshiba who had cracked a bar of steel with his deadly crunch! How will Nanase Haruka handle him?" The MC kept talking, keeping a safe distance from the bloodlust wild wolf.

A spirit wolf, and of course, he can shape-shift. The sun spirit is the source of energy itself, and he probably doesn't even need the solar energy from the actual sun. This cloudy weather won't affect him so much. Haruka thought, feeling a surge of panic in his body. Damn it all.

"Seijuurou is a mad dog." Sousuke informed him, "The key is keep calm. Don't let his aura intimidate you. This is just an entrance exam. He won't really do life-threatening harm. It violates the rules, and Seijuurou is as loyal as an actual dog to this school."

That eased Haruka a little. Just a little.

"Victory isn't that important." Sousuke said again, "He just wants to see how you handle things with whatever spirit inside you. So using too much of my help will actually lower your score. Keep that in mind."

Haruka nodded, facing the giant wolf in front of him. He quickly positioned himself near the water. Seijuurou hadn't made a single move yet. Instead of charging on him, Seijuurou let out an earsplitting howl, directed to the sky—to the sun that had been concealed by dark clouds.

Despite what I've thought, I might probably put him in disadvantage by concealing the sun. At least he can't absorb solar energy from the direct sun, and that means...

Haruka stripped off his clothes faster than Seijuurou did, revealing black with purple stripes jammers wrapping his thighs.

"Ooh! What an incredible speed of stripping clothes! And much to my surprise, Nanase wears swim suit!" The MC commented loudly. He didn't know why, but images of Makoto and Rei's disapproving face entered Haruka's mind.

He needed to concentrate. "Yamazaki!" Haruka called, "Turn everything I hand you to ice. That's your only task." Haruka turned back to the water, "Thank you." He added, before he jumped and submerged in the water.

Spirit of water who occupies my being, you know who I am. I am water, and I fall. I am so heavy that I fall from the sky. Haruka kept concentrating in the water engulfing his body. He could hear a faint sound of thunder booming outside.

Finally. Just a little more.

He didn't know why, but the water felt warm. A little bit too warm—no. It's hot.

Shit.

Haruka's eyes snapped open. He swiftly swam to the surface, feeling heat all over his body. He was boiling. The moment Haruka's head broke to the surface, he hissed in pain from the high temperature of the water. Seijuurou was standing near, submerging his sharp-clawed paw inside the water, sending heat to the water until it almost boiled. Haruka's body jumped in alarm, climbing back up to the arena. Haruka felt like he was burning. Face flushed, Haruka glared at the red wolf in annoyance.

"What do you think you are doing, Nanase?" Seijuurou's voice came out from the wolf—slow and reverberated. Haruka sensed a more stronger aura from him, "I can boil you like steamed fish."

"Tch." Haruka quickly stood up and looked at the large volume of boiling water. They were steaming. Haruka's eyes widened. He could use the heated water. They would vaporize to the sky and created heavier clouds.

"Nanase, watch out!" Sousuke's voice filled his ears. Seijuurou leaped to him, muzzle opened up and bared his scorching sharp fangs. With all his senses alarming him in panic, Haruka dodged the attack and threw his body to the side. His arm burnt the moment it touched Seijuurou's fur, leaving a little part of his skin melted.

The clouds on the sky were now darker, obscuring the light to shine onto the arena. Despite Seijuurou's heat wave, he could feel the air temperature dropped low. When Haruka looked up, his eyes caught Sousuke, who was standing not too far from him, hands clasping in front of him with closed eyes. Sousuke was trying to establish a connection to the ice spirits outside his being.

Haruka needed low temperature in order to create rainclouds, to turn the water vapor to ice crystals until they were heavy. With Sousuke, they were almost ready.

"Trying to make rain?" Seijuurou asked in a growl, "That won't affect me—"

A blinding light crashed the solid ground on the right side of the arena in lightning speed. The roarings of thunders echoed from the dark clouds. Both Haruka and Seijuurou were taken aback, and something immediately clicked in his mind. Haruka spotted Rei on the front row, waving at him. "Nanase-san, I will help you!"

"Nanase-kun!" Nagisa screamed beside Rei, "I've brought more clouds!"

Then, Haruka spotted Makoto. The brunet was smiling at him. A simple smile, and Haruka understood. Makoto wanted to help, and together with Rei, Nagisa, and Sousuke, they would create lightning. In the clouds Nagisa had brought, the ice that Sousuke had created through his spirit connections would collide and create electrical charges. Rei would make them stronger, and Makoto's earth spirit would be the puller of the electrical energy.

"Nanase." Sousuke's voice snapped him, "The clouds are ready. Establish your connection."

Haruka ran as fast as he could to the solid earth at the right side of the arena. He was slow on land, and he was aware that Seijuurou was easily catching up to him. The wolf jumped, and Haruka immediately stopped and ducked, avoiding him and stopping at the side.

The moment Seijuurou landed on the earth, a flash of strong electricity fell from the clouds and to the ground, striking him. It could cause a massive damage to normal people, but Seijuurou was probably immune with his sun spirit.

At least, Haruka expected a little damage, but instead of seeing a damaged Seijuurou, he saw nothing. Seijuurou had vanished into thin air.

Haruka blinked in confusion. What's happening...?

"Nanase, behind you!" Sousuke shouted.

Before he could do anything, Haruka was pinned to the ground. Seijuurou was on top of him in his wolf form, but for some reason, his body was no longer burning. Perhaps he was holding back, making sure he didn't harm Haruka.

"Using your friends' spirits to control the weather? Not bad, but did you initiate it yourself?" Those glowing golden eyes stared sharp at Haruka, "I've told you before. Show me what you've got, kid."

I am falling. I am water.

"This is what I've got." Haruka said in soft tone.

And the rain finally fell.

:-:

"Haruka-chan, it's raining."

At the little announcement from his grandmother, Haruka's little legs quickly made their way out of the house. Haruka drenched himself under the rain, smiling while looking up to the sky.

"You do like rain." His grandmother watched him from the opened door.

"It's our element, Grandma. Plus, when under the rain, I feel stronger than ever, like no one can beats me."

His grandmother shook her head. "My dear child, the rain is not always about water. It's the result from various elemental spirits working together. The water spirit alone is not good, Haruka-chan. Remember, none of the elements is strong enough by its own. When they're together, they create harmony, and perfection can be reached. If it's not because of the heat, the water can't vaporize. If it's not because of the cold, the vapor won't create an ice crystal. If it's not because of the air and wind, the vapor wouldn't make it to the top and move to our place. If it's not because of the earth, our world will simply drown."

:-:

Although he'd been restricted from doing it since childhood, he finally did it. It was the first time Haruka merged with the water. The sensations were odd, but at the same time, it felt so right and natural. When Haruka opened up his eyes, he was standing behind Seijuurou, who was freezing in shock while looking at the ground.

He didn't really know what happened, but suddenly he was out of Seijuurou's grasp.

"Shit." He heard Sousuke's voice, "What the hell did I just see...?"

"N-Nanase Haruka just did a high level skill of water manipulation!" The MC screamed enthusiastically on the microphone, "Water teleportation! I never expect I will be able to witness it! Not even one of the graduating students gifted with water spirits could do it! As expected from the grandson of our legendary heroine, Nanase Mizuki!"

What's happening? How did he know my grandmother's name?

"Nanase-kun!"

It was Makoto's voice, echoing under the heavy rainfall. Haruka quickly looked up, spotting Makoto who was waving at him. He looked like he was so proud of Haruka. Although Makoto was quite far from him, he could see those leafy green eyes shining vividly under the dark clouds. "Win the battle and you shall face me next! I'm rooting for you!"

Haruka found himself smiling. His hand lifted up, gathering up the rainwater. He shaped the water in the form of a sharp sword. "Yamazaki." Haruka turned to him. "Freeze."

Sousuke walked toward Haruka and touched his water creation, freezing it to sharp ice. Haruka felt extreme cold in his hands when the ice sword formed up.

Seijuurou had settled himself in front of him. His body had burned up again, all the raindrops that hit him instantly turned to vapor.

"Haruka-chan." His grandmother's voice echoed in his head, "You have more potentials than you always thought."

Holding up his ice sword, Haruka closed his eyes. He would win this and change his fate.

Notes:

Thank you for reading this chapter. Reviews are very much appreciated. I would love to hear from you as well about this one.

Warm regards from Gariell.