Chapter 6

The next morning Rin felt more rested than he had in a long time. The sun seemed to shine brighter, and when people spoke to him, it wasn't as irritating.

But he still wasn't in the mood to smile.

Pulling his duffel bag over his shoulder, he headed out of his dorm room. Nitori seemed upset today but he didn't want to be bothered by it. In the morning the silver-haired boy had almost fallen out of his bunk, refused to speak a word, and basically tried to ignore Rin this entire time. This was a strange thing considering that the younger boy seemed to be obsessed with him.

Rin watched the other boys load their things onto the coach bus. They were supposed to be going to some kind of island retreat or something to practice. As always, Rin never payed much attention. Putting his headphones on, he watched the other guys carefully. It had taken him a while, but he accepted that he liked Makoto. But he didn't consider himself attracted to other guys per say. He watched the other muscled swimmers lift the large coolers and equipment. It was just starting to warm up as spring began. It had been unnaturally cold the other day.

Rin tried to pay careful attention to their muscles as they flexed, but he wasn't sure what he was looking for. To him, they just looked like some guys you'd go out drinking with or something. When he thought about Makoto, it felt different. Like some kind of explosion was going off in his chest. Rin felt his fingers flex.

"Matsuoka-senpai!"

Rin turned around in shock. An earbud popped out of his ear and he noticed Nitori looking at him with a frustrated expression.

"Huh?"

"I've been calling you for a while, its time to get on the bus", Aiichiro lifted his own large bag and headed towards the waiting vehicle.

Rin's thoughts wandered back again to his sexuality. Could he be attracted to Nitori? He watched the younger boy's butt as he walked away with a bored expression. Nothing. He tilted his head to the side checking out the younger boy's lower back when someone's hand came down hard on his shoulder.

"Matsuoka! Don't just stand there!" the captain of the team started dragging him along towards the bus. "You're acting weird…".

Rin snatched his sleeve away from the upperclassmen.

"I'm coming", he walked up the steps to the bus and sat in the empty seat next to his roommate.

The smaller boy seemed to relax once Rin was seated there.

They were headed towards the ocean. Out there it was much different than in any pool. If you got caught up in the waves, it was best night to fight against them. His thoughts drifted back to Makoto. If he were here, he might be freaking out about being so close to the open water. Being near the ocean still bothered Rin a bit too.

"Senpai?" Nitori was poking his side.

"What?" Rin tried not to growl at the boy.

"Are you still sick…?" the younger boy looked at Rin with worried eyes.

Rin found himself tracing the other boy's lips with his eyes. Did he want to kiss Makoto? As soon as the thought entered his mind, he dismissed it.

"If you liked someone, you'd want to kiss them, right?" he mused almost to himself.

Nitori's cheeks burned bright pink but his gaze didn't waver.

"...yeah…" he managed finally before turning to look out the window.

So that was how it was. Rin put his other earbud in and closed his eyes. He would try not to think about it the best he could. If he overthought it too much he might end up doing something stupid. But at the same time he realized he would have to go about this in some sort of organized manner. He couldn't just drag the other guy off from Haru and hope for the best. When he got back he would deal with it. He needed to focus on his swimming for the time being.

The first day of training had been rigorous but not as intense as the redhead had been expecting. Even if his body was a bit out of shape, this still wasn't that much of a challenge. Rolling his neck and shoulders Rin noticed Nitori standing beside the pool staring at his feet. Taking a step towards the underclassmen, he paused. A familiar scent tickled his nose. Waving it off, he continued to stand beside the silver-haired boy. Nitori noticed his presence and stiffened. Ever since their conversation the night before, he seemed a bit on edge.

"Your time has gotten better", Rin managed not making eye contact.

Nitori lifted his head searching for Rin's gaze.

"Thank you Matsuoka-senpai…" he responded after a few moments.

"Let's go to the convenience store", he sighed and started to walk away.

Nitori followed behind him regaining a bit of his content demeanor. After changing into normal clothes, the two walked from the giant swimming facility to a small store down the street. The entire place was overly air conditioned and smelled like plastic. Nitori was visibly shivering, so when he purchased some items that he hid from Rin, he stepped back out into the warmth outside.

The boy was standing in the doorway, letting the warm air in. The store managed gave Rin a dirty look. He stood beside Nitori.

"What're you-" he looked up to see his younger sister standing in front of him.

She looked a bit more adult than when he last saw her, but she still looked like his mother.

"Nitori, you go back", he watched as Aiichiro hurried away.

Gou suddenly had a guilty look on her face. She put her hands behind her back.

"The rest are here aren't they?", Rin sighed.

"I didn't set it up", she giggled awkwardly. "It's a coincidence! You didn't tell me you were coming here", she pouted.

Rin sighed. "I'll walk you back, 'kay?".

He furrowed his eyebrows. Everything was suddenly being rushed. He had been determined not to think about Makoto this entire trip, but it seemed like fate was determined to make him as uncomfortable as possible. As the two siblings walked back towards Gou's lodgings, an unspoken tension rose between them.

"Wait, where are they swimming if we're using the pool…?" Rin turned to Gou stopping.

She paused contemplating whether she should tell him or not. She pressed her lips together tightly and wrung her fingers. Looking down at the ground, it seemed like she was stalling for the sun to finish setting.

"The...ocean…".

Rin's heart stopped. The crushing waves, cruel winds, and harsh icy depths of the ocean seemed to swirl around him. Clenching his teeth he took a deep breath, bringing himself back to the present. The ocean was merciless.

"Is Makoto okay with that?" he asked quickly. "The ocean, is he okay with that?"

Gou averted her eyes again. "He seems to be fine".

He knew from experience that the captain of the other team wasn't exactly 'okay' with being around the ocean. Grinding his teeth together Rin rubbed the back of his neck. He figured Makoto was probably forcing himself like he always had. But he wasn't sure if Mako would really be fine.

"Are you guys staying in the villas…?"

"The team is camped out on the beach", Gou started to walk forward again.

That was even worse. But what could he really do about it? He silently followed Gou back to where she was staying and continued on to the swimming facility. It just didn't feel right to him. Something was off. He looked up at the setting sun lowering behind the clouds.

"Will he really be fine?" he whispered almost to himself walking into the lobby of the hotel.

Getting up the next morning, Rin noticed the obvious change in himself. His skin was looking paler and his eyes looked tired and swollen. He hadn't slept all night, his mind had been worrying about Makoto being so close to the ocean. Supposedly, there'd been a storm overnight but the wind only seemed to pick up. Looking out the window of the bathroom, he saw that the small island didn't seem to be much disturbed. Turning his focus to the beach front, he saw bits of trees and branches strewn across the shore.

He dropped his toothbrush by the side of the sink and rinsed his mouth. Pulling on a shirt a mumbled a 'bye' to Nitori and pulled on his running shoes. The sun was still rising as the redhead started jogging towards the beach. As he got closer, his strides became longer as he picked up speed. With his heart thundering in his chest there seemed to be a unique sense of urgency like no other.

Reaching the beach, Rin doubled over as his chest heaved with every new breath. Looking up his eyes frantically searched for one person. He had to be alright. Even if that idiot was forcing himself, how could he hold up after a storm?

"Makoto…", he breathed seeing the tall brown-haired guy.

He stood there with that same old dopey smile on his face, yet his hands were shaking. He hid them awkwardly behind his back. Haru seemed oblivious to this, and he was staring at some kid Rin didn't recognize. Makoto seemed to drift further away from the group.

Taking a deep breath, Rin made a decision. Taking long determined strides towards the group, his sister was the first to notice his presence. She looked at him with a bit of worry that faded as he got closer. The next was Haru who seemed to visibly stiffen. Nagisa looked at him with a bit of hope, and that other guy...Rin could care less what he did. When Makoto's green eyes finally fell upon him, his shell seemed to crack. He looked pained and heavy.

"I'm gonna borrow this guy for a second", Rin reached out to grab the taller boy's forearm.

He was surprised to find it retracted. Makoto's face hardened in a way he was unfamiliar with. Instead of looking like Mako was hurt, Rin felt a pain in his own chest.

"What're you doing here?" the words seemed too cold to come from such a kind person.

Rin shoved his hands into his pockets. He didn't know what he'd expected.

"There was a storm...I wanted to see if…", all his cockiness was gone. He couldn't find the right words.

"Rin-chan…" Makoto started.

Rin turned his iron gaze on Makoto whose face seemed to have softened a bit.

"I guess you're fine", he tried to speak clearly as he clenched his hands into fists.

Standing still, no one made a move. It seemed as always Rin brought this unspoken tension to people. His eyes moved to Haru who looked like he was trying to shoot lasers from his pupils. Looking back at Makoto he saw that dumb smile again. It seemed strange to him now.

"I'll see you at the next meet", he looked only into green eyes.

He couldn't seemed to remember why he'd run here so fast.

"Wait, Rin-chan", Makoto pressed his lips together trying to hold back a laugh.

Rin scowled, what the hell was so funny?!

Haru looked away, but seemed a bit amused as well. Nagisa just burst out laughing while the guy wearing glasses looked completely lost.

"Rin-chan has bedhead!" Nagisa stepped up to Rin and pat his head.

Rin froze and his eyes widened. What the hell? Now that he thought about it, he had come straight there. he only had time to brush his teeth. Pouting, Rin pulled away from the smaller boy and ran his fingers through his hair.

"I'm not a kid-" he started.

"Oh shut up", Haru had his arms folded over his chest. He seemed irritated again.

Rin was about to respond when Makoto rested his arm around his shoulders.

"You came straight here Rin-chan? You must be worried about us", he chuckled.

Everyone except Rin seemed to be smiling. It seemed to be a strange feeling to be left out again. Even if they were all speaking to him, he felt excluded. Nagisa had started to talk about something like how he knew Rin would come find them. The guy in glasses seemed even more out of it than before.

"You seemed sick before Rin-chan…", Makoto continued speaking.

"He always looks like that", Haru muttered.

Makoto chuckled happily.

"You guys…what…?" Rin looked at them quizzically. They were talking to him as if he'd never left them.

"You're swimming again?" Haru spoke interested for once.

Rin opened his mouth but was cut off. Had they forgotten the things he'd said?

"We're gonna swim with Rin-chan again!" Nagisa started bouncing around in the sand.

"Rin-chan?" the glasses guy asked.

"It's good you're swimming again", Makoto kept smiling.

Rin sighed. It felt familiar and warm again. Standing there awkwardly, he let the rest talk. Until Nagisa opened his big mouth about Australia.

"Spiders….and bugs…" Rin shivered with the memory when he was asked.

They all laughed. But he was completely serious. Could he really just fit back in the with the rest of them, so easily?

"Look, I'm-" Haru cut him off with a glare.

"Just a big kid?" he raised a brow.

Rin pouted indignantly. "I was gonna apologize but not to you, idiot", he folded his arms over his chest.

"I'll show you who's a kid", he smiled.

"Rin-chan smiled!" Nagisa put his hands on his hips. "Haru, you owe me candy".

That little demon…To say the least. But it was nice having people be so forgiving with him. It was something he'd forgotten. And at least Makoto wasn't glaring at him anymore. That was a step forward.