A/N: Yes, finally! Finally an update! I'm sorry for the two months gap(?!), I honestly got distracted. I'm determined to put a closure on this fic though, no worries! One more chapter after this and it's the end! I'm sorry for dragging this one out. I hope you enjoy!

The dislike(because hate is such a strong word) on my OC was laughable btw. It entertained me so much LOL honestly, I don't appreciate OCs much myself.

Chapter 5

Erika couldn't believe it at all. She just sat there staring at the picture on Kou's cellphone as if she had not heard Kou's declaration before looking at Kou for confirmation. It didn't look like the younger sister was lying at all and with that, Erika didn't even know what to think anymore. Things just wouldn't set in in her mind. Nothing seemed to connect.

"Brother used to swim with Haruka-senpai back when they were still in elementary school." Kou explained awkwardly while withdrawing her cellphone and putting it back in her pocket. "And a lot of things … happened."

Kou's statement at least gave Erika an idea as to why the man seemed familiar. "Could this man be the one in that picture with Rin?"

"Picture?" Kou repeated, her tone rising with surprise.

Erika pointed at the shelves where the pictures were displayed and that one frame was facing down. Kou turned to where she was pointing and her red orbs widened in realization. "Brother allowed you to see that picture?"

"No." Was Erika's immediate answer with a pout. "But because Rin called out the name "Haru", I thought that picture was connected to her somehow." And indeed it was but… "Turned out he's a man. So then, why would Rin call out that name out of all people?" Yes, that was the biggest and most confusing question to Erika. Calling out a name of a man? And with tears too! She didn't understand what sort of relationship two men could have that would initiate that kind of reaction. And from Rin of all people! Rin wasn't the type to care about his same gender to the point that he only had a few of them to call a friend. And she was quiet sure that none of his male friends would be able to give him a nightmare to tears and tear their names out of his lips. Which made the existence of this "Haru" even more intriguing and irritating to her.

Kou seemed to have frozen with her mouth slightly open at Erika's question. It seemed like the girl in question didn't know the answer herself and she struggled to draw out words out of her mouth to answer. In the end, she slapped her hands to her face and wailed. "This is so hard to explain, Erika-san! I don't know where to start!"

Although feeling pity at how the red-haired girl was struggling so much with an explanation, her curiosity exceeded that pity because as Rin's girlfriend, she wanted to know everything about him. And with that title, she had the right to know, right? "Then, please tell me what happened between the two of them."

Removing her hands from her face, Kou looked at Erika with drooping eyebrows, her red eyes trembling with sadness. "I'm not very sure with what really happened and I also don't think that I should be the one telling you these, Erika-san. I think it'd be better if you just ask brother or wait for him to tell you these things himself."

"But he won't!" Erika exclaimed, standing up from the couch and walking to kneel in front of Kou. "I mean, even if I ask, he might not tell me! He had his chance to tell me; we've been dating for almost a year and I've even tried asking about the snow globe and the picture-" she cut herself off as if she'd realized something and she turned her head towards the shelves. "Come to think of it, what does this "Haru" have to do with that snow globe? And why doesn't Rin want me to look at the picture on that frame?"

Kou followed Erika's line of sight and saw the objects mentioned. "Ah, if it's the snow globe, it must be because of the dolphin. Haruka-senpai was always associated with a dolphin that it's kind of become his animal character. As for the picture…" Kou sadly smiled. "I put it there but it seems like brother doesn't like seeing it so he always kept it facing down."

"Did Rin hate "Haru"?" Erika asked, her gaze not leaving the shelves.

"Hate?" Kou vigorously shook her hand. "Not at all! I mean, I don't think he does. It's actually more like…" she trailed off, shutting her mouth and bringing her gaze downwards.

Erika glanced at Kou as she waited for the rest but it looked they won't be coming out soon. So she was just about to speak up to urge Kou to spill out the rest but Kou beat her to speaking. "Anyway, I still think that you should just ask brother about these. You've been going out with him for a long time and that's already a miracle! He must love you so he should be able to tell you about Haruka-senpai when he's ready."

Disappointed and frustrated, Erika decided to just do as Kou suggested and maybe try asking Rin about his issue with "Haru" later on.

After Rin had recovered from his cold and fever, he stated that he wanted to get out of the house after staying cooped up in it for three days. Erika immediately asked him out on a date and thought that this might be her opportunity to discuss with Rin about Haru.

While worried and anxious and impatient to interrogate Rin about Haru, it was still very easy for her to get distracted. She almost forgot about Haru when she walked the streets hand in hand with Rin, enjoying how other girls looked at her boyfriend with admiration then looked at her with envy. She didn't mind the animosity directed at her at all, knowing that other girls were only jealous of her anyway, which actually fed her ego some more.

Then even though she did not hold any interest in swimming as much as Rin did or in general, she didn't have any interest in sports at all, she still enjoyed shopping with him in a sports store, looking around with him for swimming gears and swimming trunks and the like. The way Rin looked very serious when it came to swimming and the way Rin's person relaxed at its presence always made Erika's heart race and throb.

And the most wonderful thing of all that removed her doubts and worries and anxiety was when Rin said he'd buy her a gift as thanks for taking care of him while he's sick. She was in utter bliss as she looked around a shop for accessories with Rin and her heart almost jumped out of her throat when he suddenly brushed a hand against her hair. When she looked up at him, he was looking at her almost lovingly and she felt rather stupid for even concerning herself with Haru. Rin was with her now and he's looking at her, not at Haru. He's only probably a person of the past Rin couldn't forget but she's Rin's present and, hopefully, his future. She felt stupid for getting jealous of someone from the past and of a man, of all things. And she found that she felt not as worried anymore.

"I really like you hair." Rin told her and handed her a hairpin of a pink flower. If she remembered right, it was a flower named cherry blossom. Somehow, Rin really liked this flower, she didn't ask why. "This suits you."

She beamed up at him and loved the hairpin. She felt really thankful she had her black hair as it was one of the things that attracted Rin to her. Every fan knew that Rin's type of girls most often had hair as dark as the night and eyes as blue as the ocean. It was very advantageous for her to have both features and they were her greatest assets into conquering Rin. And with every compliment she heard from Rin, she loved her hair and eyes more and more. They became a part of her pride.

After shopping, they settled down in a café to eat. She changed her mind on asking about Haru for she felt that he didn't matter anymore and most probably wouldn't in the future. Still, with Haru aside, she found herself curious about Rin's childhood years. It came as a surprise to her that they had not discussed about it in the past and so decided to inquire about it now.

"Rin, tell me about your childhood. Like, the swimming club you went to and the friends that you had." She eagerly started.

There was a flash of strong emotion in Rin's eyes that Erika couldn't quiet put her finger on, and for a second, it scared her. But he closed his red orbs with a sigh and dismissively replied, "There's nothing to tell."

"Oh, but surely, you had friends there?" She pushed on.

This time, Rin glared at her. She slightly stiffened from his look and he seemed to have realized that he was glaring and he looked away, insisting, "No one like that."

Now she was confused. Why wouldn't he say anything about Haru or the other kids on that picture? He was smiling so brightly, so genuinely, back there; how could they not be his friends? Something really did happen back there, didn't it? And that was why Rin had dreams of Haru that made him cry.

With newfound curiosity bubbling in her, she was determined to know what exactly happened. But she stopped questioning Rin, doubting she'll get anything from him anyway, when he was so keen on not mentioning names. So she decided to ask the next person who knew but refused to tell her. She felt guilty that she'd be forcing the info out of a good sister but she craved for the truth.

First step to her plans was to confirm that Rin was really good friends with Haru and the other kids. Kou had already returned to Japan so she wouldn't be able to ask much about it; not if she didn't want a big number on her phone bills. But she thought of one excellent way that had her grinning as she pressed on Kou's number on her phone for a quick call.

She listened to the ringing for a few seconds before it clicked and Kou answered, "Hello?"

"Kou!" She cheerfully greeted. "I'm sorry for calling you so suddenly but I have a favor to ask."

"Oh, it's fine." Came Kou's modest reply before she asked, "Um, what favor? Is this about onii-chan?"

"Yes, actually, but it's nothing to worry about. It's just that, you have an album of Rin's childhood pictures, right? From when he was in elementary school."

"Oh!" Kou exclaimed and the worry in her tone vanished. She even giggled. "Yes, I do have pictures."

The grin on Erika's lips widened as she continued, "Great! I was just thinking that I'd love to look at them with Rin. You know, to have more bonding moments and get closer to one another? So I was going to ask you if maybe you can send us a few albums here?"

There was a giggle on the other side and Kou replied in a cheery tone, "I'd love to! I'll send them to you right away. And um…" there was a few seconds of hesitation before Kou asked in a lower voice, "… since you're asking for the albums, I take it that you talked with onii-chan about Haruka-senpai?"

Erika fell silent and contemplated on her answer. Would saying the truth be safe? After thinking about it, she hesitantly answered, "Well, no… but it doesn't matter anymore." A lie. "I don't want to force Rin to tell me anything he doesn't want to. You'll be sending the albums soon, yes?"

"O- of course…"

Before Kou could hesitate any further and change her mind, Erika quickly said, "Then, I'll be expecting it. Thank you so much, Kou! I'll talk to you again some time."

"Ah, yes. Please take care."

"You too!" Erika hung up and sighed. She shouldn't really be troubling Kou like this but… she wanted to know. She needed to know. And she had the right to know.

When the albums arrived at Rin's apartment, Erika instinctively hid them. She feared that Rin would be angry she had his photo albums sent to her without his permission and she was determined to at least have a look at them before he knew. The album would tell her just how close Rin was to Haru and the other boys and she couldn't be more eager to find out.

Before Rin returned to the apartment from his usual swimming practice, she opened up the box that encased the albums and almost tore them open. Her eyes shone brightly like she'd just seen treasure at the sight of the albums. Then she carefully took one out and ran a hand on the front cover.

She wasn't sure what she was expecting but she was definitely going to confirm something. She breathed in deep as she opened up the front cover and laid her blue eyes down on the pictures plastered across the white page. Her breath was stolen out of her lungs.

In every single one of the pictures, Rin was so joyfully smiling in them. Unrestrained, innocent smiles that brightened up his features delightfully. Then, in most of the pictures, together with Rin, was Haru. Unsmiling and scowling Haru. Erika could see that Rin was definitely close with this Haru. In most of the pictures they were in together, Rin would be sticking close to the black-haired boy, sometimes with an arm draped across the other's shoulders. Then, there were the other boys too, of course, all of them showing off a smile except for Haru. She's finally confirmed it; Rin was pretty close with them. And something surely happened for Rin to not acknowledge them.

Erika thought up of various reasons for their friendship to go sour. Maybe it was because Rin flew out of the country to train and they had a disagreement over it. Or maybe it was because Rin became an Olympic swimmer when the others hadn't. Jealousy and envy was a pretty legit reason for friendship to suddenly end, and it surely left Rin bitter about it, what with how he rarely showed his smile anymore.

She enjoyed thinking up the scenarios of what could've happened as she flipped through the pages of the album and admired the pictures. Rin was so cute in each one of them and she couldn't help a grin spreading across her face. She loved learning things about her beloved boyfriend and her increasing knowledge about him were her pride.

Time had passed by in a flash and it finally got too dim for Erika to clearly see the pictures. The sun had already set on the horizon and soon, Rin would be arriving. But after she turned on the lights and returned to the couch where she had been sitting on and looking at the albums, she picked them back up, spread out on her lap and she continued to flip through the pages, telling herself that she'd stop by the next.

The flipping through the pages did not stop at all until Erika heard the front door opening and Rin calling out, "I'm home."

With wide blue eyes and paling complexion, Erika placed the albums back into the box in a fluster and kicked them out of sight just in time for Rin to enter the living room. She greeted him with her smile and a hug and kiss on the cheek, hoping that Rin wouldn't notice the box even though she hid it. Her heart thundered in her chest as she let go of him and he walked further into the room.

Just as she breathed out a sigh of relief when he didn't seem to have seen the box, he suddenly stopped on his tracks and Erika's heart did the same. She swallowed down her saliva and waited for Rin to move.

He bent down to the floor and picked up a white piece of paper.

Erika's eyes could have not gone any wider as she looked at the paper on his hand then to the direction of the hidden box. Her eyes returned to Rin, watching his reaction as he looked at the piece of paper. He visibly stiffened at what he saw, his red orbs going slightly wide in surprise before his expression turned into a scowl. His hand on it clenched tightly that he must've creased the paper as he sent death glares to the object. He looked like he almost wanted to crumple it completely or maybe rip it in half.

"Wha- what is it?" Erika asked, slowly and hesitantly walking up to him, hoping to see a glance of the picture he so heatedly glared at. She had not noticed at all that a picture had escaped her hold and she didn't know which one among the many it was. She definitely wanted to know though.

Rin turned to look at her, a frown etched on his forehead and he stared. She only looked back at him with wide, puzzled eyes until he turned back to the picture and released a sigh that was almost a growl. "It's nothing." He said and lowered his hand with the picture. His hold on it had relaxed as he headed for the stairs, probably going straight to his room.

Erika was jerked awake that night with Rin shifting on his sleep and groaning. She looked over at him worriedly and found him still fast asleep although with a frown forming on his brows. He looked like he was struggling and she assumed that he must be having a nightmare. So she was going to wake him up but tears started to roll down from his eyes and she froze mid-action at the sight. This was the second time she saw him cry in his sleep, or cry alone for that matter, and it was unsettling.

What was he dreaming about now? What was making Rin cry in his sleep, hunting him in his nightmares? Was it about what happened with Haru again? What exactly happened?

Desperately searching for answers with her questions that she knew she might never get, she brushed a hand along Rin's cheek, wiping away the trail of his tears there. Even though they've been together for so long, Rin still couldn't tell her everything about him. She wanted him to trust in her more, to tell her about him more, to depend on her some more, to love her more than…

"…Haru."

Everything seemed to still as the whisper of that name fell unto the air. Erika slapped a hand against her mouth to stifle a sob from the hurt of hearing another person's name come out from the lips of her beloved, female's or not. What was it about Haru? Why would Rin say his name in his sleep, not just once but twice, and maybe some more times? Why? Why Haru…?

"…I love you…"

Those words were definitely not for her and she knew.

Thank you so much for the reviews and the faves and the follows! I'm really sorry for making you guys wait so long. But we're reaching the end on the next one.