A/N

I think after I finish this fic, I'll write something featuring Ama chan-sensei and Nagisa because FUCK YEAH, CRACK PAIRINGS and statutory.

If it wasn't clear in previous chapters, this story takes place before Iwatobi swim club entered the regional competition. This is such a long chapter compared to the others, but I swear stuff happens! Although, I'm saving the climax for next time. Right now, you will be finding out the real reason for Rin being shipped off to Australia...

Some things in this part draw from the light novel (locations, shrubbery) and were not made up by me.

Read on.

Above her head, the bubbles of air she let out broke the mostly still surface of the water. Gou's lungs felt close to bursting at any moment. She squeezed the hand she was holding onto for support, then pulled up into the air, gasping. "10 seconds." Rin told her as she stood. She breathed fast and hard, exhilarated, panicked, afraid, but alive. Of course, Rin wouldn't let her drown in a waist deep pool, but that was how irrationally her fear would make her think. It had taken him a while to calm her and get her in with him. For the past few hours, he had been making her do simple breath holding excersises to get her more comfortable with being in the water, but still, her body trembled and waves of unpleasant feelings went through her.

"I'm doing much better, but I think I want to stop for today..." She held her free hand up to her chest and felt the rapidly beating heart through her skin, then realized her other hand still clung to Rin's which caused her muscles to tense. She snuck a glance at him. His skin glistened with sweat and water, making his biceps and triceps look especially appealing. It made her face burn thinking of how attractive her brother was. What kind of pervert had those feelings? She let go of his hand.

"Yeah. We've been here for long enough now and I'm hungry." Rin agreed, looking away from her. She couldn't tell, but she thought he was blushing too.

"Well, there's a takoyaki stand not far from here. Want to go, nii?" He nodded and waded out of the pool, shaking the droplets of water from his hair.

The stand was old fashioned, looking somewhat out of place on a modern street corner. Poplar trees were planted next to it. The same breeze that had been blowing all day rustled their leaves and gently tapped the outside of the place. Rin walked up to the uncrowded front and ordered for them both. "I hope I'll be able to swim before the next time we camp." Gou said as he sat next to her on a nearby bench to wait for the food. "I really want to be able to join Haru and the guys in the water." Just being the manager didn't make her feel like a part of their team and that made her think of herself as unnecessary.

Rin sneered at the mention of Haruka. "Why is that so important?" The question was meant to be rhetorical. He didn't seem to want to hear about her team. "Nanase-" he started, but was interrupted by shouting.

"Gou!" Both Matsuoka's looked up to see Makoto and Haruka walking towards the takoyaki stand, Makoto waving at them. He wore a green t-shirt with a dolphin on it over khaki pants, and she felt sure she'd seen the shirt before, recalling a day at practice when she'd told him how much she liked it.

She waved back. "Hey! Did you come to get takoyaki, too?" she asked when they reached her. Rin stood, nodded stiffly to them, and went back to the front of the stand to retrieve their food. Gou could tell he was getting more and more annoyed.

"Yeah." Haru answered her, not watching Rin. Her brother brought her a small paper plate with the steamed balls arranged in a circle on it.

"Gou, I want to talk to you about something. Do you mind?" Makoto smiled at her. The usual, cheesy Mako smile.

"I don't have time to stand here and listen to this small talk." Rin said indignantly. His words changed Makoto's expression to a surprised one as the red haired boy stormed off.

Haruka awkwardly scratched his cheek with a finger. "I only wanted to let you know about this idea I have," Makoto said, "I think we should have a pool party before the regional competition. It would help everyone loosen up and have fun while sort of practicing at the same time. You should swim with us too, Gou chan."

She nodded, "I'll tell Ama chan-sensei and help her plan it!"

"Sounds like fun." Haruka said before going to the front of the stand.

"Of course he would say that a party involving the water sounds fun," Gou laughed. "Anyway, I have to catch up with big brother. See you guys at training tomorrow." Makoto cheerily waved again as she walked away.

To find Rin, she would cross Mutsuki bridge, a large wooden bridge that extended over the width of the river. Like some parts of Iwatobi, it looked antique (though sturdy,) pulled out of the pages of a Japanese history book and placed in the fishing village. When they moved there as small children, Gou and Rin would have to cross it every day to get to their school. She always held onto her big brother's hand until they were safely on the other side. Now, she really missed the days like that. What broke her heart, however, was the distance that had inched in between them and the way he had let it.

Rin would surely have gone back to Samezuka, and across the bridge was the shortest way to get there, so she stepped onto it with determination. Looking over the rail and down into the dark water, she shuddered before pulling back. A classmate from grade school had almost drowned in it once.

She came upon the academy quicker than expected and made her way inside the dorm building. People walked down the halls, socializing before school resumed the next day. Suddenly, she was stopped by a boy with hair redder than her own and golden eyes. He smirked at her wolfishly. "Are you here to see me, Gou kun?"

"No, but could you please stop putting -kun at the end of my name?" She asked pleasantly, just like every time she ended up meeting Mikoshiba Seijuuro. He didn't seem to hear her.

"So, you must be looking for Matsuoka, then." He pointed at a door to the left of where they stood, "that's his and Nitori's room. I just came back from checking in on him since he didn't show up to the pool today." Gou felt a little guilty for being the cause of that, but she didn't mention it and thanked him before darting in the dorm.

Rin was lying on the bottom bunk of the bed, staring at his phone. "Nii?" she wondered what on the screen could be that interesting, before he put the phone down on the floor. Judging by the look on his face, she knew that something bothered him. His brows were knit, but not in a mad way. "What's wrong?"

The older brother who always seemed so mature dissolved into a little boy again right in front of her. She sat down on the mattress next to him. "I guess I should tell you." Rin picked the phone back up, opened a message, and held it in front of her. Immediately, she noticed it was from their mother, which was odd because she and Rin never seemed to get along well. Her eyes moved down. Leave Gou alone. You have no business trying to ruin her life, she read silently.

She shook her head, somewhat confused. "What does that mean?"

He sighed deeply, sitting up, preparing, shoving a hand through his hair and holding it there. "When I left to go to Australia, it wasn't only to swim. Mother sent me there to get away from you. She thought we were becoming closer than siblings. It wasn't true then, but it seemed that each holiday when I came to visit, you were... more beautiful every time. That's when I realized it myself. Big brothers don't, uh, feel like that about their sisters." He mumbled the last sentence and with a clenched fist, turned his head so that his eyes wouldn't meet hers.

Gou was silenced. All the time that she had missed him wasn't his fault. She regretted ever telling her mother anything when it came to Rin. "I've been thinking that your attitude has been to blame.. I even joined Iwatobi's swim club because I thought they could help change you back to your previous self." He stood up, looking as though he expected to be scolded by her, but instead, she threw her arms around his waist from where she sat. Neither spoke, he only pet her ponytail, but those confessions were the beginning of bridging the gap that so many years had forced between them.