I present to you...the crappy continuation. But seriously though, I am not the best at writing action sequences. And I tried being artsy, I guess.

Anyway, all the usual disclaimers (which I'm frankly not sure are really needed on every chapter), I don't own Free! or Frozen, and sometimes I like to take established personalities and warp them to fit my narrative. Quite literally. But, enjoy.

"Hello, Kou," Elsa greeted her friend. "My, there's a lot of people today!" She set her bag onto a nearby table while Haru and Makoto wordlessly headed into the locker rooms to change.

"Yup, they all just joined today," Kou slid into a chair at the table Elsa sat down at. She decided they should jump right into it. "Soooooooo, Elsa, why were you and Haru so late to practice today, hmm?" The entire pool area dropped to a whisper.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be late." Being her usual cordial self, Elsa profusely apologized. "I went to the staff room after school and asked our teachers to make copies of the work from the past two days. For Haru and Makoto, since they've been absent recently."

What an angel. "Oh, I see. But how did you two end up arriving together?"

"We ran into each other in the classroom. Makoto had forgotten something in his desk."

Who's Makoto again? Oh yeah, Haru's tall friend. Talk about a third wheel. "Oh, I see, I see. Discuss anything interesting on your way over here?"

Elsa pondered for a moment. "Oh, yes! Makoto quite liked the cake from yesterday and asked for the recipe. I proposed maybe someday we could all get together to bake just for fun."

Man, I wish we'd been invited to have some cake yesterday. Ooh, and a baking date would be too cute! Kou caught on instantly to the suggested baking get together. As both girls grew excited in planning a big event for all of the swim club, the spectators and new members seemed to all gravitate toward their table, casually walking by ever closer to listen for any key information. They subtlely leaned in their chairs and inconspicuously lingered a little longer around them.

"HEY, GOU!" Nagisa's voice shot through the thickening atmosphere. "I FORGOT WHAT I'M SUPPOSED TO BE DOING! COME HELP MEEEEEEE"

Kou gritted her teeth; as much as she liked Nagisa, this was not the best time. "In a minute, okay—"

Elsa stood up, the harsh scraping of her chair ripping at the tense environment. "I'll go look at the clipboard for you, Nagisa-kun. Kou, I'll be right back." She headed to the clipboard, which was on its usual hook at the opposite end of the pool area.

The yard silently groaned in disappointment. They were wasting their precious after school time at this dingy puddle of water, and yet not a single juicy piece of gossip had surfaced about Elsa and Haru. Why couldn't that annoying blond kid just keep splashing around in the pool like he always does? Get back to asking and answering questions please. The redhead manager also pursed her lips in frustration. But, as she watched Elsa's back, she finally took notice of the leering glares and investigating stares directed at the blonde from the spectators and had a sudden realization. Oh god, how could I have been so naïve? Kou guiltily ran her hand through her bangs. Of course, they're all here for Elsa. And I'm the swimming club manager. I should be managing, not trying to squeeze rumors out of my friend. Standing up from her chair, Kou turned toward Elsa, who was already halfway past the pool. "I'm sorry, I'll go do it myself after all…"

But before she could even take a step, wet and quick footsteps slapped rapidly against the concrete. Before anyone could yell not to run in the pool area or anyone could even see who it was, a heavy body slammed into the oblivious blonde girl.

The thirty something students present could only watch in horror, not even letting out a gasp, as Elsa's thin body flew back with a sickening crack. Her white-blond hair shrouded her expression, which had only begun to grasp what just happened. With no one nearby to catch her, the shocked exchange student arced into the pool. And as the teal water rushed closer and closer to her, the only thing Elsa could see in her stretched wide blue eyes was hard, black, all-devouring ice running and spreading from her fingertips as soon as she would hit the water.

"Elsa!"

Suddenly a huge mass rose up out of the water beneath Elsa. Shaggy blond hair and broad shoulders engulfed her before shoving her back away from the pool. Kristoff put as much strength as possible into pushing her away from the water. But soon after, Kristoff sank into the pool, struggling to stay afloat. Elsa managed to land her feet onto the concrete. Unable to regain her footing on the slippery surface, she began to topple over again. Her arms flailed out and she let out a small squeak for help.

This time, a hand roughly grabbed Elsa's arm and yanked her back from the water. She fell onto a swimmer's bare chest, shaken and embarrassed but safe and far enough away from the pool. Elsa clamped her eyes shut and clenched her fists, inadvertently digging her nails into her rescuer. Feeling the arms around her wince in pain, she immediately released her grip and stood back. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I'm was just so scared—"

"What are you scared of?"

The familiar voice made Elsa take another step back. Haru rubbed the spot on his chest where the blonde's nails had left a few marks, and Elsa stiffened at his questioning gaze. She'd let it slip. She and Kristoff had been so careful to guard their secret, but then in the heat of the moment, she'd just blurted out. This one incident would ruin everything, and all of Japan would know by tomorrow, and she would have no choice but to return to Arendelle in defeat. Elsa looked away from Haru and felt her body temperature rapidly dropping. She was losing control. She made no effort to hide her movements as she groped her pockets for her gloves. Everyone was going to see her. She was so occupied with searching her pockets that she didn't notice Haru out of the corner of her eye moving toward her again.

"Stay still." Elsa's panic was abruptly soothed by Haru's deep voice. Looking up to him, Elsa felt a warm, dry towel gently drape over her head, completely concealing her face to the intrigued onlookers. Haru held the towel securely over her and brought his face forward a few inches from Elsa's. Their blue eyes met; Haru's filled with a kind determination, and Elsa's with dread. "What are you scared of?" he repeated slowly and warmly.

The first thought that came to Elsa's mind was to push Haru away. She was too cold and only getting colder by the moment; even the typically imperceptive Haru would eventually notice. But, she just couldn't bring herself to look away from his eyes. They were usually so crystalline and clear of any emotion, but now… they were overflowing. "If there's something wrong, you should say so."

Elsa hesitated. As much as she trusted Haru in that moment, it still wouldn't be wise to just let the cat out of the bag. But, what would cover up her secret and still convince Haru and the rest of the people there? Taking a deep breath, Elsa whispered as quietly as possible, as if she refused to let even Haru hear. "Um, I'm… I'm…afraid of…water…"

"…what." Haru's face rapidly devolved back to its apathetic state.

"I mean, I'm afraid of, um…drowning!" Elsa tried to lightly laugh. "Yes, I never learned how to swim, so I'm deathly afraid of getting in deep water!" Seeing Haru's expression change, Elsa quickly removed the towel covering their faces and took several more steps away from both Haru and the pool. The spectators thickly surrounded the two now but cleared a path for Elsa as she backed away.

Interrupting Elsa and Haru's scene, a bout of yelling came from the far corner of the pool area. "Hey, you! You're not wearing our uniform! Who do you think you are, coming in here and shoving girls around?"

Everyone turned to look at the spectacle and caught a glimpse of some of the swimmers trying to stop a dark-haired man jumping over the fence. Before anyone could grab him or get a good view of his face, he was outside the pool yard and sprinting away into the town. Demands immediately came from the new members to run after the unknown man who had tried to push Elsa into the pool. Some of the swimmers were beginning to climb over the fence before Rin raised his voice over the crowd.

"That's enough!" Rin yelled back at the increasingly angry mob. "I've already called the police, and they'll catch the guy. The rest of you, get back to your stations!" The new members seemed ready to challenge Rin, but a threatening glare from the redhead captain sent the swimmers begrudgingly back to their lanes. As the crowd dissipated, Haru gave Elsa one last glance before heading back to his own station. As for the blond exchange student, she stood on the deck, her legs trembling like a newborn deer. Kou tentatively approached her and placed a hand on her tensed shoulders. Elsa winced, she must've sprained her arm when she'd gotten slammed into. Kou said nothing, only sharing a sympathetic look with her before guiding her to a first aid kit.

Meanwhile, a small scrap of bright yellow paper near the fence caught Rin's eye. At first glance, it seemed to have fallen from the man's jacket as he escaped, but as Rin came closer, he saw that it'd been carefully tucked into the fence wires. Pulling it out and unfolding it, he furrowed his brow. English writing had been scrawled shakily onto the paper in thick ink. If the other swimmers had seen it, they probably wouldn't have been able to tell it was English, or if they could, would've dismissed it as unintelligible scribble. But with his experience, Rin was able to make out what the sloppy hand had written; a mysterious note, reading:

"Misfortune follows the blonde queen."

I think there were a few people asking for Rin to show up, and although he will be making many more appearances later on, unfortunately Sousuke will not be. Also, Rei won't get very much attention either.

R&R and feel free to go Grammar Nazi on this chapter.