Chapter 7

They were late. Akira had been planning to go by bus. But their mother decided that she didn't trust her only two children to go that far in a bus alone, and made them wait while she arranged for the driver to take them in a car. Akira had gotten annoyed, but her own stubbornness had been inherited from her mother, who refused to let her children take some bus when they could afford a car and driver.

"Drive faster, please," Akira begged, leaning forward in her seat. The relay would hardly take a few minutes and if they missed it, Katsu would probably start crying and she'd have to handle that.

"We're almost there," the driver assured her, as he pulled into the building's parking lot. There was a crowd of cars and Akira unsnapped both her and her brother's seatbelts, grabbing him and pulling him out of the door. They both raced inside, and hurried to the stands, just to see the announcements for the relay beginning. She grabbed her brother and pulled him up the bleacher.

"There's Gou-nee!" Katsu chirped, spotting the red-head a few rows away. Akira hesitated. The sight of Gou suddenly reminded her that she was a sort of persona non grata here, and that maybe her presence wouldn't be welcomed. But her brother was unstoppable, and he dragged Akira alone. "Gou-nee, Gou-nee!"

"Katsu-chan!" Gou greeted with a smile. She paused and turned to look up at Akira, her smile dropping slightly. "Akira-senpai. Glad you could both make it."

Akira plopped down into a seat, not even attempting to fake a smile at Gou. Her stomach was churning and she felt she was going to be sick. She took a deep breath, telling herself it was going to be all right. She could see the boys lined up in below; Nagisa's blonde hair peeked out from under his swim cap as he bounced on the balls of his feet.

Would they win? Akira crossed her fingers tightly, as the whistle blew for the race to start. Makoto began first, his powerful back stroke allowing him to easily keep up with the other swimmers. She could hear Gou and Katsu screaming beside her, but Akira could barely move. The moment Makoto touched the wall, Nagisa dove in. His arms extending while he swam powerfully. Akira clenched her fists further.

Rei was next, his stroke somewhat sloppy compared to the other swimmers. He slowly lost the lead and Akira panicked. They were falling behind. Could they make it? Would Haruka be able to cover the gap? He dove in like a dolphin, and Akira paused for a moment, wishing she had her camera to capture the beautiful, split-second entrance.

"He's passing them!" Gou squealed, jumping up and down in happiness. "He's in third- not he passed the other one, he's in second!" They all watched in terrified silence as, with one last powerful stroke, Haru crossed the swimmer in first place and slammed his hand on the wall seconds before the other.

They won. Akira watched in shock as screams erupted from around her, the loudest ones coming from the boys at the pool below. They pulled Haru out of the water, all jumping to hug him. Akira laughed as Nagisa leapt into Haru's arms, causing the taller boy to stagger backwards in surprise. She heard his happy laugh and felt her heart skip a beat. If there was one thing Akira knew, it was this.

She wanted Nagisa Hazuki in her life.

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They waited outside the locker room for the boys to come out, Akira's hands shaking. There was no getting out of facing Nagisa now. Katsu was determined to congratulate his precious Makoto-nii before they left and Akira couldn't think of a way to escape. Could she slip into the girls' locker rooms? Would they figure out she wasn't a swimmer?

"Makoto-nii!" Katsu squealed, jumping onto his favorite Iwatobi swim club member the moment he stepped out of the locker room. Makoto laughed, grabbing onto him and stopping him from falling. "Makoto-nii, you were amazing! You were all amazing!"

Makoto laughed. "Arigato, Katsu-chan," he said with a smile. He looked up and noticed Akira standing a little distance away, her face white and her palms sweaty. She wasn't looking at him, though. She was looking at Nagisa, who had just stepped out and was staring at Akira in surprise.

"Akira-senpai?" Nagisa asked slowly. Akira flushed as he stepped closer to her and gave her a small smile. "You came. I'm glad," he said softly. Akira's eyes widened and her throat closed up as she saw him smiling at her. Tears leaked out of her eyes. Glad? How could he be glad? Nagisa should hate her for what she did, how could someone be so forgiving, so perfect?

"C-congratulations," she choked out finally, causing his eyes to widen as he realized she was crying. Nagisa stared at her in shock. "Y-you did really well. That was amazing," she stammered, her throat burning as she spoke. Nagisa stepped closer to her, slowly, worried.

"Senpai…"

"No, it's okay," Akira muttered, shaking her head and covering her face with her hands. She was so humiliated, so ashamed. She'd never broken down like this in public before. She could feel everyone staring at her, but the sobs just came pouring out. What was she doing? "G-gomen, I didn't mean to ruin your moment," she choked out, her voice muffled as she covered her face and turned her back to him. "You shouldn't have to d-deal with m-me now, go ce-celebate."

Nagisa shook his head and before Akira knew it, a firm hand on her shoulder had turned her around before she was pressed into a hard chest. Nagisa's arms enveloped her quietly, and she grasped his shirt as she sobbed into it, her body racking uncontrollably. Nagisa held her tightly, and her shaking slowly stopped.

"I'm sorry," Akira whispered once she felt she could speak again. She was still speaking into his shirt; wet from her tears. Nagisa held her tightly, his face nuzzling into her neck and hair. Akira shivered as he tightened his arms around her. "Nagisa-kun, I'm so sorry," she whispered again, as she shuddered, still recovering from her sobbing fit.

"It's okay," Nagisa replied, his lips brushing her hair as he spoke. He closed his eyes, grasping onto Akira as hard as he could. "It's fine. Please don't cry, Akira-senpai. If you keep crying, I'll start crying and that would look really bad," he mumbled into her hair.

Akira smiled slightly, pushing herself away from him and looking into his magenta eyes. They were a little shiny and she realized that he really was on the verge of tears. "I was horrible to you. I'm sorry. I know words can't fix what I said, and I have no excuse, I just-"

Nagisa shook his head. "Akira-senpai, it's okay. You don't have to do this. It's my fault, you kept telling me that I was annoying and to leave you alone but I never listened, I just kept pushing. Of course you were going to snap eventually-"

"I never meant it!" Akira cried, burying her face into his chest again as she grasped his shirt. "I mean- I did at the time, but I was angry and I didn't realize how much you meant to me. I… I've missed you. So much. Nothing's the same without you, Nagisa-kun."

Nagisa beamed. "Did you really miss me?" he asked eagerly.

Akira frowned and hit his chest lightly. "Baka. Of course I did."

"Then can we hang out together again? Can I sit next to you on the train and will you come watch swimming practice like you used to?" Nagisa asked eagerly. He was grinning widely and Akira frowned at him, drying the tears on her cheeks with the heel of her hand. She stepped back from him and Nagisa's smile fell. "What? Did I say something?"

"You shouldn't forgive me so easily," Akira muttered, looking up at him. Nagisa stared at her, his magenta eyes looking confused. She sighed and shook her head. "You're too sweet, Nagisa-kun. But I guess that's one of the reasons why… I like you," she choked out. "I'm sorry it took you getting hurt and leaving for me to realize it."

Nagisa's face was red. "Do you really mean it?"

Akira nodded, pressing her face into his chest so he wouldn't see her blushing. Nagisa grinned and wrapped his arms around her again, kissing her hair gently. "I like you too, Akira-senpai."

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