Thank you for your reviews, putting this story to favorites and/or subscriptions. They really mean a lot to me. I hope you won't be disappointed by this chapter. This is the longest one I've written for this fic.

I'm sorry as I am not at all an expert in writing battle scenes.

Chapter 6

A Battle for New Life

:-:

Just like the battle he had with Seijuurou days ago, Haruka had attempted to connect with the water spirit lingering at the sky. He lifted his chin up, facing the dark clouds over the arena that obscured the sun. Just in case Haruka needed the rain to strengthen his spirit, it would be easier for him to summon.

The first thing Haruka had noticed when he stepped onto the battle arena was the lack of audience at the seats near his right side. That was where the soil was located. After seeing the monstrous flower puffing out its gas that seemed to be highly toxic, Haruka understood why. Of course nobody wanted to take even a whiff of the mysterious gas. It looked like Makoto was pretty well known for his aromatherapy.

Now, even the MC had stayed as far away as possible from said area, taking a safe spot outside the actual arena. That was where he also stayed in order to avoid Seijuurou's heat wave two days ago.

More enormous, identical flowers crept out from the damp soil, quickly filling the plain area of brown soil with colorful curvy-petaled flowers, each of them puffing out different colors of toxic gas. In seconds, Makoto had created his own little garden.

"Those flowers didn't burst out of nowhere, though," informed Rin, turning his head toward Haruka. "Makoto must have planted their seeds in the soil. Although, like what you've seen, he could instantly grow a seedling to full-bloom."

"Do you like these flowers?" Makoto called out to them, smiling even more brightly, "These adorable sweethearts were Rei's creations."

"Ooh, the glasses guy, eh?" Rin grinned back at Makoto, "As expected from Rei."

He knew this feeling wasn't right, but Haruka couldn't help but feel a bit betrayed by his roommate.

Yamazaki Sousuke closed his teal eyes, concentrating hard in his attempt to connect with more stronger ice spirits roaming in the nature. The results brought up the temperature around them to drastically plummet. Their breaths started to become visible. Makoto was breathing more heavily. He even began to sneeze.

"Sousuke..." he whined, "this is too freezing."

"Shut up. You're my opponent." Sousuke bluntly answered.

"Okay." Rin's hand was lifted up to massage his neck. A little cracking sound was heard as he cocked his head to the side. Then, he stretched his arms to the front, as if to warm up. "This is indeed freezing, but not a problem for me. I'm ready for the battle." He revealed his row of sharp teeth to Haruka when he grinned. Those intimidating teeth confirmed Haruka that he'd chosen the right person. "So what should I do, Nanase?"

"What else?" Haruka's lips almost twitched to a small smile, but it hadn't reached a smile yet. His blue eyes were still fixed against Makoto's green irises, which seemed to pull his attention like a strong magnet. "Burn." As he commanded, Haruka sprinted toward the large volume of water at his left side, settling himself beside it.

Matsuoka Rin would burn all of Makoto's plants, but Haruka wouldn't let Makoto to use the water to extinguish the flames. With consideration, he had suppressed the heavy rainclouds floating above them. Rainfall would put Rin at disadvantage. It wouldn't be only Haruka who got strengthened, but Makoto could also gain a great benefit from it. He exhaled a frustrated breath. He and Makoto shouldn't be opponents in the first place. Their elements had the tendency to merge rather than to oppose against each other.

"Be ready, Makoto." Rin lifted both his hands near his chest, creating a ball of fire in between his palms. "I'll show you how much I've improved." As his hands slowly parted, the fire ball was stretched larger. Haruka could see Makoto's face scrunched up in worry as the brunet watched the fireball in Rin's hand.

Worry?

"Take this!" Rin shot up his great fireball toward the gigantic flower on Makoto's side, leaving traces of heat in the cold air. Very much to Haruka's surprise, a flash of fear was visible on Makoto's face. The brunet was horrified as he threw his body in front of his flower, stretching his arms to each side as if trying to protect it.

Rin's fireball crashed onto Makoto's body. The brunet let out a shrill pained cry. Makoto was easily engulfed in flames, helplessly trying to jerk his body out of the fire consuming him.

"Tachibana Makoto protected the flower with his own body! Oh my spirit, is he okay?" The MC's voice turned frantic.

For a moment, hesitation crawled inside Haruka. It pained him to see Makoto like that. When he swept his vision around, he realized that Rin and Sousuke didn't expect Makoto to do something like that, either. Both of them, especially Rin, seemed to be in panic.

"O-oi! Makoto, why are you acting stupid? That ball of fire can kill you!" Rin practically shouted. Guilt had replaced whatever facial expression he'd shown. Haruka concluded that even on the battle arena, one shouldn't threaten the life of others. Makoto kept whimpering in distress when flames licked every inch of his body. He made an attempt to reach the body of water behind Haruka. Haruka sensed the situation as something alarming. Without any more thought, Haruka moved his arm toward the body of water behind him.

Wash over him, Haruka commanded, save him.

After his hard attempt and some seconds passed that made him more anxious, the water finally started to move in a whirl before it formed up like a huge tidal wave behind Haruka. Releasing his control, Haruka let the water crashed onto him, Rin, and Sousuke. Very soon it reached Makoto's burning body, washing over him until the water slowly dissipated when it was absorbed by the damp soil behind Makoto.

When the wave was over, Makoto was standing on his knees. His arms wrapped around his own body, a hiss of pain made its way out through his clenching teeth. His eyes were shut, and a lot of burns were visible in many parts of his body. Parts of his uniform had been torn out to ashes. Haruka felt conflicted. Makoto was the one who healed the burn on his back, and now he just burned Makoto.

What a good way to return the favor, Haruka sarcastically thought to himself, but...

"Mako-chan, are you alright!?" Nagisa's alarming shout rushed to Haruka's ears.

"I'm fine!" Makoto responded with a shout as he steadily stood up. Despite the visible burns on both his body and face, Makoto smiled gently at him. "Haru, thank you for saving me."

Haruka couldn't bring himself to reply.

"Wow, Rin," Makoto heaved a sigh as his hands clasped together in front of his chest, "I didn't expect that fireball to be so powerful." Haruka could sense a great healing wave swirling around Makoto. It healed every burn on the brunet's body. Although not to complete health, Makoto looked much better in seconds. Haruka's jaw went stiff. Of course Makoto could heal himself. Did he make a wrong move by saving Makoto in the first place?

"Of course it is." Rin answered, readying himself again. "If not for some mercy from Nanase, we should've defeated you."

"I like that confidence." Makoto smiled innocently at Rin, "By the way, thank you for that. I'm glad I'm not defeated yet."

A powerful ball of fire would defeat Makoto? This seemed too easy. Haruka felt strangely uncomfortable. Makoto's sky spirit and earth spirit aura radiated stronger than before. Out of the blue, a strong and unfamiliar aroma started to invade his nose. The moment Haruka took a small whiff of the aroma, realization knocked on his conscious mind. He immediately slapped a hand to cover his nose and mouth.

Oh, damn it.

Rin had taken the wrong way to harm Makoto. The brunet's droopy green eyes turned dangerously calm, and his smile cracked to a wider one.

"Shit." Rin, who was standing nearer to Makoto, felt his body went stiff. The redhead suddenly collapsed on the surface of the arena. "D-damn you, M-Makoto..."

Letting out a small laugh, Makoto revealed a lot of burning incense sticks hidden behind his burnt uniform. He pulled them out, holding the thin sticks in his palm. Intense aromatic smoke drifted heavily in the air.

Makoto had used Rin's fire to lit up all the incenses he hid behind his clothes. "Thanks for the fire, Rin." He chuckled, "You burnt all the incenses. They're, as you might have predicted, toxic. Don't worry, the toxicity won't threaten your life, I promise. They were carefully crafted."

"Matsuoka Rin has been knocked down! The battle hasn't even started three minutes ago!" The MC announced.

Haruka was displeased by the fact that one of his companions had been knocked down in such a very short time. The moment he sensed a strong, icy aura emanating near him, he turned his head to the side, spotting Sousuke beside him. Luckily, he'd followed Haruka toward the water and was far enough to avoid the strong aroma filling the air around Makoto. Again, he was left with only Sousuke and himself.

Another whiff of strong aroma slipped itself through Haruka's fingers and entered his lungs. This aroma was even stronger than before. He coughed, shaking his head as if it could help. The smell was sweet—a bit too sweet that it made him nauseous. Worse, his vision suddenly went a bit unclear—not darker, but it was like water had covered his vision. He closed his eyes for a second.

This aroma made him feel strange. It was like his senses were dulled. Haruka shook his head again, trying to regain his senses with no avail.

"Is he immune to all those aromas?" asked Haruka, taking another step back. He was really close to the water now. Why did his head felt so light?

"Just like what you've seen," Sousuke answered with a heavy sigh, "yes, he is. The aroma is naturally from the plants. It's very well associated with his own earth spirit, just like Rin is immune to fire and heat. Learn our lesson. Don't get near him. Attack him from the farthest distance possible."

"Got it. Yamazaki, once the water reaches him, trap him in ice." Haruka lifted his hand to summon another wave and clasped his hands together.

"If you're going to summon a huge volume of water," Sousuke did the same—joining his hands together, "then I'll have to summon the wandering ice spirits out of my being to freeze the water instantly to your desire."

"Can you do it?" asked Haruka while concentrating on his spirit connection. This time, it was just a low tide when the water passed through Haruka and Sousuke's ankles.

"Sure."

Form up a wave, Haruka thought, crash him with all your might.

To Haruka's successful spirit connection, the shallow water immediately huddled together, creating a whirlpool so high that towered over Makoto. As if untying an invisible tide knot, the water released itself and fell onto Makoto. He should feel satisfied, but instead, Haruka blinked in confusion. This was easier than before. Too easy. The water moved exactly the way he wanted it to. He never expected to be able to control the water so easily through a connection.

"The ice spirits are ready." Sousuke muttered, opening his teal eyes slowly.

Makoto saw the wave coming. Aware of the fact that he couldn't escape this powerful surge of water, Makoto gave in. He closed his eyes and joined his hands together in front of his chest. He seemed to be praying. Before Haruka could interpret Makoto's intention from doing that, his high wave crashed onto Makoto's body like a waterfall, and the water were instantly frozen to ice. It seemed to be a job done by a more powerful ice spirit that Sousuke had summoned. In an instant, Makoto was trapped in ice, frozen solid in his position of praying.

Just like Haruka had thought. When he was frozen, Makoto was achingly beautiful. He wanted to slap Rin back to consciousness and beg him to release Makoto from the ice with his flames, yet at the same time, he didn't want to do it. He wanted to preserve Makoto for his own.

And that—Haruka was completely aware—was a dangerous, lustful, and selfish thought. What was wrong with him? After lightly shaking his head to bring his right mind together, Haruka gathered a handful of water flowing on the arena and quickly shaped it into a sharp-tipped spear.

Without the need for Haruka to ask him, Sousuke's palm rested at the water spear, slowly but surely freezing it to hard ice. Unlike before, the cold didn't really bother Haruka. It confused him when he realized that he didn't feel cold at all. Again, Haruka didn't think too much about it and focused his eyes on Makoto's frozen body.

Seijuurou could melt the ice with his heat presence alone, but Makoto should be vulnerable in his frozen state. It was more easier to inflict a damage on him.

"Prepare yourself," Haruka muttered, charging his spear toward Makoto's frozen body. His blue eyes widened in surprise when he felt something constricted his ankle in a tight knot, preventing him to approach Makoto. Haruka quickly turned his attention downward, spotting strong, sharp vine plants wrapped around both his ankles, its razor-sharp tips pressed on his skin until they penetrated inside. Yet strangely, he didn't feel any pain.

"What is—" Haruka's eyes swiftly moved toward the source of the vines. It came a long way from Makoto's little garden of gigantic flowers. The vine plants were long enough to cross over the arena and reach Haruka.

Sousuke was the first to realize what Makoto was doing in his position. "Nanase, be careful. Even in his frozen state, Makoto is making a connection to the earth spirit outside. So even when he can't move, he still can control his plants."

Haruka irritatedly stabbed his spear to the vines binding his ankles. The vines were severed by the sharp cut, and Haruka broke his ankles free of them. He quickly backed away when the vines moved around, trying to reach him again. If he couldn't approach Makoto, he had to think of another way.

Suddenly, he got an idea. Makoto's earth spirit could attract lightning. He failed to harm Seijuurou with lightning before, but this time, it might inflict a great damage for Makoto.

Now that Haruka was thinking about it, how did Seijuurou vanish into thin air when he was struck by lightning? The blue-eyed teen shook his head. He shouldn't think about that now. Haruka turned around and found Rei, who was once again sitting beside Nagisa at one of the rows of seat. He was about to gain Rei's attention to help him, but hesitated.

What if the electricity would be too damaging for Makoto?

What if Makoto got heavily injured?

What if he died?

"Do it." Like a stream of cold water, Sousuke's icy gruff voice snapped Haruka's mind. He turned to face Sousuke, insecurities had taken control of his heart. "Just do it," Sousuke repeated, "go. Injure him. Kill, if you must."

What did he say...?

"Nanase-senpai!" Rei suddenly waved his arm, "I will help you!"

Wait...

"Haru-chan, I have brought more clouds!" Nagisa exclaimed. Haruka furrowed his brow at this strange phenomena of deja vu.

"The clouds are ready." Sousuke's voice added more confusion. "Establish your connection."

Hisses of thunders were heard. Haruka looked up to the sky. A black cloud was glowing with dangerous light, floating above Makoto's frozen position. What was left for Haruka to do was to let the rain fall, and therefore, the upcoming lightning would strike even stronger. Haruka shivered and gulped at the thought of striking Makoto with powerful lightning. He couldn't do it. The thought alone made him somewhat sick.

Haruka spun his body to face his friends. He took a breath to voice out his thoughts—to tell them to stop—that it was dangerous, that Makoto could get killed, but it was too late.

A powerful flash of lightning thundered over Makoto in a sickening, blinding whiteness that burst into Haruka's vision. Haruka's heart trembled in shock and fear, his lips went dry, eyes couldn't get more wide, when electrical charges burned the vines protecting Makoto and crashed open the ice. A great terror constricted his chest and suspended his breath the moment he saw Makoto.

The brunet fell on the ground with a loud thud. Dense smoke drifted in air from his burnt body. A sickly mixed smell of lavender, sweet orange, melted skin and burnt flesh made Haruka wanted to throw up.

No.

"Oh my God..." that was the MC's voice. "I announce this battle to stop. Right. Now! This has crossed the boundary!"

Haruka felt sick—really sick. He could no longer feel any aura from Makoto. His spirits' auras burst into nothingness. It was like...

Like the moment his grandmother died.

How could this happen? He jerked his body toward Sousuke. The teal-eyed teen was standing in shock. This is your fault, Haruka wanted to scream, but the words failed to roll off his tongue.

"You killed him!" Nagisa screamed from the audiences' seats. Upon hearing Nagisa's voice, Haruka wanted to snap and shout back that it was the blonde's fault, but when his eyes caught Nagisa's figure, the blonde was shaking Rei's body in anger. "You killed Mako-chan!"

"I didn't! This isn't entirely my fault! It's your clouds too, Nagisa-kun!" Even from the distance, Rei's pale face was obvious.

Haruka wanted to go home and cried on his dead grandmother's lap.

"This is your fault," Sousuke snapped at him, "it's you who wanted to strike him with lightning."

Haruka's guilt-ridden heart was set ablaze with fury. "I didn't even ask you to! This is your fault! You've killed Makoto, damn you!" He screamed, charging toward Sousuke. The teal-eyed teen was stronger than him. He easily pushed Haruka back with powerful force. Haruka fell back on the surface of the arena, dizziness made his head throb.

This isn't real. Tell me this isn't real. It's just a nightmare.

"Haru."

Like a surge of electrical energy, Makoto's voice pulled Haruka back to his senses. He quickly looked up, blinking his eyes in genuine bewilderment when he saw Makoto. He was standing in front of him, as if he hadn't got injured at all. His usual smile adorned his serene expression.

"Seems like you're in a nightmare. Wake up, Haru."

:-:

"Haru-chan!"

"Nanase-san, wake up!"

The moment he heard Nagisa and Rei's voice, Haruka's vision went clearer. He quickly looked around. He was on the arena, but Makoto's burnt body wasn't there. Sousuke wasn't there. He wasn't even near the water. Instead, he was in Makoto's little garden at the right side of the arena. His body, arms, and legs were bound by strong vines rooted firmly under the ground. He blinked in confusion.

"You finally wake up!" Makoto's cheerful voice seized his attention. Haruka followed the voice, finding Makoto relaxing his body on one of the petals of his gigantic flower. The monstrous flowers around him were no longer puffing out gasses. Makoto's arms crossed in front of his chest, a smile of satisfaction adorned his lips.

Wake up?

"Nanase Haruka has finally reacted to the audiences' calls. He has regained consciousness! That's great, but unfortunately, he has fallen asleep for quite a long time and has only eight minutes to win this battle!" The MC announced through the speaker.

"Oh, sorry, Haru." Makoto straightened up, walking toward Haruka. The dark-haired teen struggled in his bond, but the vines were stronger than he expected. He felt so weak and nauseous, his heart raced up uncontrollably. "I put you in complete trance with my incense and then you were knocked unconscious. The aroma induced you to sleep. Not entirely my fault, since it was Rin who burnt it, remember?"

Haruka clenched his teeth. He didn't even realize he had fallen asleep.

"If you inhaled a sweet smell that made you nauseous, then that's when you were affected." Makoto explained. He chuckled, "Do you like it? Me and Rei crafted these particular incenses together for a school project. We used hallucinogenic plant as one of the ingredients. Instead of instant sleep, you were put to trance before your consciousness was pulled into a dream. You wouldn't even feel sleepy."

That was why it seemed so easy to control the water like he had become the master of spirit connection. That was why he felt neither pain nor cold, why Sousuke had said heartless things, why Nagisa and Rei acted weird, why his head felt airy, why his friends mindlessly attacked Makoto to death. They were all a dream—of things in his memories, things he wanted, and things he feared—gathered in his subconsciousness.

"What dream did you have, Haru?" Makoto casually asked him. "Something pleasant?"

Haruka didn't hide his annoyance, "Yes. We struck you with lightning and you were killed."

"Eeeh? That doesn't sound pleasant at all!" Makoto complained with a tired huff. "Oh well, putting that aside... Haru, you have wasted your time by sleeping so soundly. Now you have around five minutes left to win this battle. Look around you."

Despite him being pissed off by the whole situation, Haruka followed Makoto's words. He spotted Sousuke and Rin near him, both still asleep and bound with strong vines.

"All of you have inhaled my flowers' toxic gas in your sleep," said Makoto, explaining Haruka's nauseous and erratic heart state. He took a small bottle lying on the ground and showed it to Haruka, "although it isn't life-threateningly dangerous, this is the antidote. Here's my challenge to you, Haru. If you're able to take this antidote from me, I will really consider to accept you in Iwatobi faction. Of course, in order to do that, first you have to break free from my vines."

How did Haruka do that? He pulled his arms, testing the strength of the vines. Definitely not something he could break with his physical strength alone. Without Rin and Sousuke's help, he was helpless.

Makoto smiled cheerfully at Haruka, lovingly patted the petals of his giant flowers that were actually ugly for Haruka's taste. When Haruka shifted his gaze back and formed an invisible connection between his ocean blue eyes and Makoto's leaf-green ones, Haruka knew what Makoto expected him to do.

Water teleportation.

That was the only way he could think of to escape the vines. Makoto wanted to see if Haruka could do water teleportation within the remaining five minutes. Fortunately for Haruka, the water vapors in the clouds above them were ready to condense to rain.

Spirit of water who occupies my being, I am Nanase Haruka, he thought with closed eyes, I am you, and you are me. I am heavy enough and all I have to do is fall.

The rain hadn't fallen yet. Of course. Contradicting what he had in his dream, this time the connection was real, and it wasn't easy. Makoto didn't do anything to stop him. His green eyes bored into him, watching Haruka expectantly.

I am water. Haruka tried again, I am... water, and I fall...

Drops of water fell from the sky, dampening the whole arena. Makoto's eyes widened a little, then a gentle smile followed after. Haruka's heart softened by the sight. Like a proud mother, Makoto looked content at his small success of summoning the rain. All of Haruka's doubts and annoyance vanished in an instant.

Now for the teleportation. Haruka tried to focus, closing his eyes again. He had always believed that when he tried hard enough, he would be able to merge with the water.

Haruka was confident that he could do it. If he could do the water teleportation when he faced Seijuurou, then Haruka could do better when he faced Makoto.

Because he hadn't met a stronger reason to try.

"Makoto," Haruka couldn't break his gaze from the hypnotizing beauty and liveliness of Makoto's droopy green eyes, "I am winning this."

"Not yet," answered Makoto, his fingers playing with the small bottle of antidote in his palm.

The rainfall poured over them in heavy sheets. Now they were surrounded by Haruka's element. This was a great advantage. Feeling the water perpetually covering up his clothes and skin in endless flow, Haruka smiled as he felt stronger than ever.

He was one with the water.

He didn't back off like he did in his private training. The transition was no longer shocking for him. Instead, it felt so natural—the same feeling he experienced when he was battling Seijuurou. Haruka didn't know anymore what was going on around him.

Except that he was now standing behind Makoto.

With no hesitation, Haruka charged onto Makoto's body, gathering up as much water around them as possible. Before Makoto could react, Haruka huddled up the heavy rainwater and formed a huge water ball to submerge both of them whole. He pressed Makoto on the ground, securing both his palms to his sides and tried to take the antidote.

Haruka trapped Makoto under his grasps, slamming his body onto him. He drowned him in the water ball he had created. He didn't know how much time he had left, but this was his last chance. Makoto struggled in panic. Haruka could see that he had successfully ambushed Makoto that the brunet hadn't got the time to inhale some air. Bubbles escaped through Makoto's opened mouth.

Give me the antidote, Haruka thought, as if he could communicate with Makoto through some sort of telepathy, I can breathe underwater. You probably have only a minute to survive from drowning.

Much to Haruka's frustration, it seemed like Makoto was stubborn. He still kept refusing to release the antidote in his palm. Haruka did his best to hold him down, knowing full well that Makoto was physically stronger than him. Yet as he drowned, Makoto got weakened.

All Haruka could do was wait until Makoto was weak enough to let Haruka snatch the bottle out of his stubborn grasp. Then he could release Makoto before something he didn't wish for actually happen.

Come on, just give up.

Something slipped near Haruka's neck and constricted his throat. Haruka coughed in surprise. From the rough texture against his skin, it seemed like Makoto's vine plant was strangling him. That was the weakness of a water ball. Things could move in and out of it, unless he had Sousuke to turn the outer part of the ball to ice, but now Sousuke wasn't available to help.

Makoto's eyelids opened up, just slightly, finding Haruka's eyes.

They were in a battle of survival. It was either Makoto who would break his limit and lost his consciousness because of drowning, or Haruka who would left completely breathless with the vines constricting his neck. The one who survived longer would win.

Yet, Haruka was aware in full knowledge that Makoto was restricted from doing life-threatening harm. Sooner or later, when Haruka was about to reach his limit, Makoto would definitely release the vines and let Haruka breathe. Haruka would do the same with Makoto.

He felt Makoto's grasp finally weakened. Haruka immediately snatched the antidote bottle away and let the water fell over them, spreading all over the ground and seeped into the soil. The vines constricting his throat loosened up, leaving Haruka hungrily gasping for air like a fish out of water. Makoto couldn't stop his cough, vomiting water out of his mouth.

"Ha...ru..."

"I..." Haruka was still struggling to suppress his cough and steady his breath, "...win."

"Uh... huh..." Makoto smiled weakly at him, eyes unfocused. "You did it..."

He did it.

Those words affected him more than he expected. He finally did it.

"Am I seeing it right? Nanase Haruka had taken the antidote from Tachibana Makoto! He did it, everyone!" The MC shouted louder to the microphone. "Still twenty seconds to go but it seems like the battle is over now—"

"No." Haruka interrupted with softer tone. The MC, of course, didn't hear it. Applauses and cheers filled the arena. Yet, Haruka didn't care. The most important thing was that Makoto had heard what he'd said, and the brunet smiled in understanding.

He left Makoto's body on the ground and ran toward Sousuke and Rin. The moment Haruka approached them, the vines binding them slowly loosened and gently lowered them on the ground.

Contradicting Makoto's gentle treatment, Haruka slapped Rin a bit hard on the cheeks in order to wake him up. "Matsuoka. Wake up. Hey, Matsuoka."

"What the...?" Rin's eyelashes fluttered until a pair of red eyes were revealed. "Wait, what happened...?"

"Here, drink this antidote." Haruka opened up the small bottle in his hand, "Makoto, how much should he drink?"

"For Rin, I think five drops should be enough..." Makoto had stood up, coughing a little and inhaling some air. "Three drops for you and Sousuke."

Haruka carefully tilted the bottle above Rin's opened mouth, letting five drops of antidote fell on his tongue. Rin's sleepiness vanished in an instant. "What the hell is this bitter shit?"

"Rin, hold your tongue." Makoto protested, "He's curing you."

"Now's your turn, Yamazaki." Haruka shook Sousuke's body awake impatiently, "Wake up, Yamazaki."

When Sousuke finally opened his sleepy eyes, Haruka gave him three drops of antidote and the teal-eyed teen instinctively spitted whatever disgusting liquid that attacked his sense of taste. "What the hell is this—"

"You too, Sousuke! Hold your tongue!" Makoto whined in protest. "You're no different than Rin. I don't need you two to insult my recipe."

Haruka finally tasted the antidote to cure himself. He couldn't describe the taste better than that it was the most disgusting thing that had ever landed on his tongue. Haruka slapped a hand to his mouth, fighting his best to swallow and not gagging it out.

The MC had approached them. "Is everyone okay?"

"Yes, thank you." Makoto coughed up a little and cleared his throat, "May I borrow your microphone?" After receiving the microphone, Makoto lifted it closer to his lips. "Nanase Haruka." Makoto's voice was magnified as he addressed him.

Haruka looked up, trying to ignore the horrible aftertaste of antidote on his tongue. When he spotted Makoto's gentle smile and soft gaze, his heart raced up again—the aftertaste forgotten.

"Before I announce my decision, let me honestly tell you what I've observed from you throughout the battle."

The audiences went silent. Haruka didn't quite expect this. At least, Seijuurou just simply accepted him in his faction, just like he'd promised, without commenting about his whole performance.

"First, when I was set ablaze, I actually acted it on purpose." Makoto smiled sheepishly at him. "I put you to a test, Haru. I wanted to see if you would allow me to use the water to help myself. Of course, even if you didn't, I still could help myself. Well, I must announced that I was pretty satisfied when you washed me with a nice tidal wave instead. You see, some people tend to be so focused on winning that they decided to use the helplessness and great pain of their opponent to claim victory. I didn't find that kind of person in you at that moment."

Haruka gulped. Who would be so cruel as to let Makoto be in such pain in order to gain victory, anyway? A lot of people, probably, and Haruka shuddered at the thought of him potentially being one of them, when he remembered how he viewed Makoto's frozen body in his dream.

"Second, I was really impressed for your confidence and your hard work to make difficult things come true. Water teleportation isn't something easy to do. To conclude, I think you really are talented and skilled, Haru. You have the potential to be much greater."

Haruka found himself blushing at all the praises. He silently looked away, feeling a little hot despite the cold rain that had turned to light drizzle now.

"Third, I was holding back a little when you trapped me in your water ball. I could use the vines to simply pull you out of the water in order for me to release myself. Instead, I decided to let you trap me, although I did fight a little by strangling you with vines. To tell you the truth, I panicked." Makoto blushed a little in embarrassment. "Same purpose. I wondered how far you would harm your opponent in order to win. I was really at my limit, so yes, I couldn't hold it any longer that I let you have the antidote. Because of that, I couldn't really tell whether you would cross the safe boundary or not."

Of course he wouldn't. Haruka had prepared himself to release Makoto when he did reach his limit. He no longer cared for victory if that was the case. Yet, he couldn't tell it to Makoto. It was not his position to defend himself.

"But, when I saw you rushed over to Rin and Sousuke the very moment you got the antidote, without drinking it to cure yourself first—and ignoring the announcement of your victory—I was assured." Makoto tilted his head, green eyes shone vividly soft as he smiled. "You initially saved Rin first because yes, his condition was worse. Then you saved Sousuke, before you cured yourself. You believed them to have worse conditions than yours, and you put them to priority. Nanase Haruka, victory isn't important. It's how you handle others with love and care even in such a demanding situation, that I wanted to see from you, and I think that is enough."

Heart pounded against his ribcage, Haruka looked at Makoto expectantly.

"Enough for me to gladly announce that I, Tachibana Makoto, as the leader of Iwatobi faction, will officially and happily welcome you to our faction."

Loud cheers blared out from the audiences. Haruka could hear Nagisa and Rei crazily screamed at him, with voices louder than when he was accepted by Seijuurou. Haruka couldn't suppress his smile. He was happy—really happy—a kind of happiness that he'd never experienced before that he felt like he could cry.

"Congratulations, Nanase Haruka!" The MC grinned widely at him, "Now both factions can give you a tour before you decide—"

"I have already decided." Haruka cut off. He really had no reason to wait for what he'd longed for. It wasn't even about the faction, nor the popularity. It was about this warm feelings in his tummy whenever he was near the people he was comfortable with—the people he could probably call friends by now.

"You have already decided? That's great, then what is your choice?" asked the MC. Again, Haruka took the microphone out of the MC's grasp, holding it near his lips. The MC had learned to stop protesting.

"Iwatobi." Haruka announced, "I will join the Iwatobi faction."

Makoto's smile gradually blossomed to a more beautiful, adorable, wider one—with healthy tinges of pink coloring his cheeks. "Welcome—" said Makoto enthusiastically, "—to Iwatobi faction and Iwatobi Academy! From today onward, you are a student of our faction. We're happy to have you, Nanase Haruka!"

Makoto stretched out a hand toward him. Haruka stared at the hand before taking it. It was warm—this comfortable warmth that felt like home.

Home.

Haruka wasn't sure about that yet, but he knew that a better, brighter life had waited for him. It would definitely be a life with more laughter. A life with the wondrous phenomena his grandmother called 'love'.

Notes:

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I gladly announce that there will be less battle scenes and more high school life (and fluffs!) for several upcoming chapters.

For Guest: Thank you! I'm glad you love it! That's where the fluff is so I'm relieved to know you like that part. (It's okay, we're both still learning. My first language isn't English, too. ^^)

For kanamexzero fan: thank you! Hope you won't be disappointed by this chapter. You're welcome and thank you again.

For Guest: I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thank you. Hope this chapter won't be a disappointment. ^^"

Reviews are very much appreciated. I hope I will see you again in the next chapter. Cheers.