Free –HighSpeed! Reunion
Chapter 13: Furious All-Out!
The atmosphere I was in at the moment felt so heavy, you could feel the hostility in the air between these two, "So what do you want?" Rin asked
"I have two questions for you." Ryugazaki answered
"Huh? What are they?" Rin responded
"Then here is my first question." Ryugazaki stated, "Why did you suddenly decide to swim in the relay?" he asked
"I changed my mind." Rin replied, "You came out here to ask me that?"
"That answer does not convince me." Ryugazaki retorted, "You've been fixated on racing Haruka-senpai all this time. Your reason was that you couldn't move forward until you defeated him." I could hear Rin grunt in anger at Ryugazaki's response…, "And in the last tournament, you beat him. Doesn't that mean you've achieved your goal?"
"My goal isn't to beat Haru." Rin answered, "And it's not to win tournaments in this country. I aim higher. My goal is the world."
"The world?" I mumbled… Haru mentioned that Rin's dream was to become an Olympic swimmer, is that what he's talking about…
"Very well." Ryugazaki responded, "Moving on to my second question. How do you feel about Haruka-senpai?" How does he feel about Haru-kun? Why does Ryugazaki want to know that? But now that he's brought it up…I'm a little curious myself.
"Huh?" Rin was clearly confused by the question
"In grade school, you and Haruka-senpai were close rivals. I saw old pictures of you guys when we were at Coach Sasabe's house." Ryugazaki stated, "You used to smile all the time." At that moment a memory of Rin floated through my head from elementary school, Ryugazaki's right, what happened to that smile? "With Haruka-senpai, Makoto-senpai, Nagisa-kun and even Aki-senpai…" I gasped slightly at the mention of my name, "All of you were always together and having fun. So what made you change after going to study abroad?" he was asking the same questions I did, but Rin never answered me, he just walked away…
"Why didn't you contact Haruka-senpai or any of the others after you returned to Japan?" Ryugazaki continued, "What happened while you were abroad? You used to be good friends, so why? You swam in a relay together, so why? You must have been thrilled about swimming in a relay with them! Aren't you the one who understands more than anyone how great that relay was?" Just hearing this conversation, I had a sensation of déjà vu; I didn't need to see Rin I could tell he was probably getting angry, just like he did when we had a similar conversation.
"Shut up!" Rin roared, "I let you talk, and you think you can spout all the stupid logic you want?! Why do I have to explain myself to you?!"
"Because I'm a victim." Ryugazaki replied and I felt my heart sink, "I was originally on the track team, but I ended up joining the swim club. After watching Haruka-senpai swim, I wanted to swim like him. Practice was hard at first, but it started to grow on me. Eventually, I was having fun swimming with everyone. At prefecturals, I finally swam in a relay with them. That was the first time I really understood relays as more than just a theory." He explained "I realized how fun they could be! I can still remember how it felt. We were finally united as one! We felt like a real team! But they all kept talking about you! Rin-chan! Rin-chan! Rin-chan!" I couldn't help but feel guilty and broke out into a cold sweat.
"That's not my problem!" Rin yelled
"Like hell it's not!" Ryugazaki shouted I could hear a bang and I peeked around the tree slightly to see, Ryugazaki holding Rin by the collar against the wall, I didn't know what to do, should I come out? Should I break them up? "It's your fault Haruka-senpai stopped swimming!"
"Huh?! What are you talking about?!" Rin asked
"Haruka-senpai felt guilty about beating you in middle school!" Ryugazaki screamed, "So why are people acting this way?! I don't get it! You beat Haruka-senpai in your last race! Isn't that enough?! Why are you swimming in the relay now?! What do you want to do?! What do you want from Haruka-senpai?! What will it take to satisfy you?!" There was a brief silence between the two of them, I couldn't tear my eyes away but then Rin began to grit his teeth…
"In that case…What about you?" Rin retorted, "You weren't involved in any of this, so why are you giving me all of this grief?!" He grabbed Ryugazaki by the collar, "What do you want to do?!" he screamed
"I…I want us to become the best team at the tournament." He answered, "I want to swim with them as a member of that team. That's all I want." Rin slowly let go of Ryugazaki's collar in response, "If you interfere, I will never forgive you."
Rin had gone back inside to the swimming area and Ryugazaki begun walking in my direction, I needed to get away but before I could move, "How long do you plan on hiding, Aki-senpai?" I jumped slightly at the sound of my name but I slowly emerged from behind the tree.
"How did you know I was following you?" I asked
"Your cell phone gave you away." He answered, "Besides I have some questions for you too."
"For me?" I mumbled as he walked towards me
"Follow me." He instructed and I couldn't help but oblige…
Ryugazaki had led me to his home, he asked I wait in the living room whilst he changed out of his uniform. I couldn't help but be nervous for some reason, I mean I have been over to a boy's house before…whilst someone else was there, it appeared that neither of Ryugazaki's parents were home…I wonder what they do for a living?
"Aki-senpai, you can sit in my bedroom now." Ryugazaki stated, snapping me out of my train of thought and I followed him…this was the first time I've been in a boy's bedroom. When I entered, you could definitely tell it was Ryugazaki's bedroom, the décor was primarily black and white and everywhere I looked you could see books lined up on shelves. "Make yourself comfortable." He said as he pointed in the direction of the glass table with a cow print rug beneath, on the table he had set out, two bottles of barley tea.
"Thank you." I muttered as I sat down next to the glass table, "So what did you want to ask me?" I asked as I watched him sit down on the other side of the table.
"I'll get straight to the point." He stated, "What happened between you and Rin-san?" he asked
"Huh?" I was baffled by his question, does he mean back in elementary school or…
"At the Hachiman Festival, I was following Rin-san at one point he bumped into you and the two of you had a conversation." He began, "I'm sorry but I did overhear your conversation, you apologised to him for what happened at prefecturals. So I'll be more specific, what happened at prefecturals?"
"Oh…" I mumbled, "It happened just after Haru-kun's loss in the 100m freestyle, I was upset and I didn't want anyone to see me looking so sad so…" I had begun to explain, "I went to the vending machine to get a drink, I bumped into Rin-san there and I kind of snapped at him. In fact when I eavesdropped on your conversation then I got a sense of déjà vu…"
"What do you mean?" he asked
"I asked him about what happened in Australia; he got angry and pushed me against the wall." I continued
"He assaulted you?!" he cried
"W-well I wouldn't call it assault! Besides it was my fault for snapping at him all of a sudden…" I explained waving my hands in a vain attempt to calm Ryugazaki down
"Even if you made him angry, he had no reason to do such a thing!" he cried
"I'm sorry, Ryugazaki-kun." I apologised
"Why are you apologising, Aki-senpai?" he asked
"I made you worry about me and I made you feel like an outsider…" I answered, "But I'm glad, I got to talk about what happened though, it feels like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders! So thank you, Ryugazaki-kun!"
"You're welcome…" he trailed off
"Hm? Is something wrong?" I asked
"You call the others by their first names yet you still refer to me by my surname…" he stated
"Ah, I'm sorry I just thought you wouldn't feel comfortable with me calling you by your first name." I answered, "Do you want me to start calling you by your first name?" I asked
"Yes…" he mumbled
"All right then, Rei-kun" I called him by his name and a blush came across his cheeks, "Rei-kun is something wrong, you're blushing."
"Ah, w-w-well" he stuttered as he was about to continue the door bell rung, "Ah, I better answer the door." He stood up and sped out of the room
"Did I say something wrong?" I wondered
"Heya, Rei-chan!" I heard a voice at the door…Nagisa-kun?! What was he doing here?! "We're here to see you." He stated, he came running into the room, "Huh? Zaki-chan! What are you doing here?" he asked as Haru and Makoto followed Nagisa through the door
"Uh, well you see…" I scrambled for an answer
"Ah, you must be here about Rei-chan's stomach-ache!" Nagisa suggested
"Oh! Yes!" I answered, mentally thanking Nagisa.
"I thought Gou-chan said you were shopping for your mother…" Makoto pointed out
"Ah! You see I already finished shopping and Gou-chan texted me about Rei-kun so I thought I'd stop by!" I answered
"So where are your shopping bags?" Haru asked
Crap…
"Ah, more importantly it looks like Rei-chan's gonna be just fine!" Nagisa exclaimed, I couldn't help but sigh with relief, thank you Nagisa-kun! I thought. "Gou-chan and Ama-chan were worried, too. Goro-chan was worried you weren't taking care of yourself with a tournament coming up."
"Everybody was worried about me?" Rei asked
"Of course." Haru answered
"It was the first you've ever missed practice." Makoto added, "It'd be one thing if Nagisa missed…"
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!" Nagisa cried and I couldn't help but smile…they really are a team
"Sorry, okay?" Makoto laughed, "Oh, these are incredible. Are they from middle school?" pointing at the trophies on one of the bookshelves.
"Yes, but that's all in the past." Rei answered
"But now he has all these swimming books!" Nagisa added gesturing towards the bookshelf towards the left of his desk.
"You're right!" Makoto stated.
"You've read all of these books?" Haru asked
"Oh, yes." Rei responded, "I've got all the theories down."
"You're not supposed to say that, Rei-chan. You'll set yourself up to fail!" Nagisa stated
"Why would you say that?" Rei asked looking somewhat hurt
"Rei, did you really go to see Rin?" Haru asked, huh?! How did he know?!
"I told them everything." Nagisa admitted, "Sorry, Rei-chan."
"It's okay." Rei replied, "Yes, I did."
"Wait that explains why Rei missed practice but why did Zaki-chan miss practice?" Makoto asked
"I saw Rei-kun leaving school and I followed him to Samezuka." I explained
"Did you go to Samezuka, because of what I told you about our past?" Haru asked, directing the question towards Rei.
"No, I had my own reasons for wanting to meet Rin-san." Rei answered, "But it's okay now. I'm done worrying about him. It's not my problem." We all jumped in surprise at Rei's statement but then sighed with relief.
"Okay, then." Haru responded, "The four of us are a team now, Rei."
"Haruka-senpai…" Rei mumbled
"Yep, we need you to contribute to the team." Makoto added
"That's right!" Nagisa agreed, "Every member is irreplaceable, Rei-chan!"
"Yes!" Rei responded, I couldn't help but tear up a little at their camaraderie and wiped away the tears forming in my eyes.
"Let's take a break then!" Nagisa concluded rummaging through a plastic bag and throwing several packets of melon bread onto the table.
"Why did you bring melon bread as a gift?" Rei asked
"Because an actual melon would be too expensive." Nagisa replied, "This is really good though." Nagisa stated as he opened the packet of melon bread. "Here, Haru-chan." Nagisa leaned over the table to feed the freshly opened melon bread to Haru, "Open wide." Nagisa instructed
"No, it's okay…" Haru replied before Nagisa stuffed the bread into his mouth…
"Well isn't it good?" Nagisa asked as Haru was turning various shades of purple…
"Losing moisture…" Haru mumbled
"Are you okay, Haru?!" Makoto asked
"Water! Quick! Someone get him some water!" I cried
"Hey, Rei! Bring him something to drink! Quick!" Makoto instructed
"Yes, I'll be right back!" Rei replied as he got up to get something for Haru to drink
"Haru-chan?" Nagisa mumbled
"Can a person even turn this shade of purple?!" I asked slightly panicked by Haru's state.
"Haru!" Makoto cried
"The drink that goes best with melon bread is…Barley tea." Rei announced entering the room with another bottle of barley tea, "The Ryugazaki family has been pairing melon bread with barley tea since my grandfather's time."
"Just bring him something to drink!" Makoto cried
"Water…" Haru mumbled
"Is Haru-chan okay?" Nagisa asked
"Obviously not! He's purple, Nagisa-kun!" I exclaimed
"Haru! Hurry up, Rei!" Makoto shouted
"Oh, sorry!" Rei replied, "Haruka-senpai, I'm coming to help!"
"Don't die, Haru!" Makoto exclaimed
Train ride home…
I sat in between Haru and Makoto on the way back from Rei's apartment although the train ride was filled with silence as we practically had the carriage to ourselves, "Um…" I broke the silence between the three of us…
"What's wrong, Zaki-chan?" Makoto asked
"Well, I'm sorry about lying earlier." I apologised
"Don't worry about it." Haru replied
"Besides, Zaki-chan, you only followed Rei because you were worried about him, right?" Makoto asked
"Yeah." I replied, "I was worried about Rei-kun."
"Why?" Haru asked
"I was worried when he said he felt like an outsider but I think now that he's been re-assured he's a member of the team." I responded and I could feel a smile forming, "I think everything will be okay."
"Mmm, you're right." Makoto responded, "There's something else…"
"What?" I asked
"Zaki-chan, didn't you come to school on your bike?" he replied and it hit me like a rock
"Dammit!" I screamed…in the middle of train carriage…
The next morning….
"Oh, thank God! It's still here!" I cried, hugging my bike which didn't have a speck of rust on from being left overnight and the lock was okay too. The others were there with me as they had noticed I was running to school this morning…
"Aki-senpai, I don't want to sound rude but it's just a bicycle." Rei stated
"It is not just a bicycle!" I shouted, "I've had this bike since my second year of middle school! It's like my child!" I stood getting in Rei's face. I'm not normally like this but this bike is precious to me!
"Well, the important thing is your bicycle is alright and you won't forget it." Makoto intervened to try and calm me down, "Anyways, we should go inside otherwise we'll be late."
"Ah, you're right!" I agreed as I checked my watch and we all ran towards school.
Later that day….
It was two days before regionals however tomorrow the guys would head off to the venue therefore today was the last day of practise with Coach Sasabe.
I was carrying a cooler filled with bottles of water for the guys with towels on top whilst Coach Sasabe was coaching them in the pool. "Okay, boys! Get pumped!" Coach shouted. I set the cooler down on the edge of the pool, Haru and Rei were getting ready to go into the pool it looked like they were going to practice their exchange.
"All right! Keep it going!" Coach shouted
The next day…
Gou and her friends had prepared a banner with the mascot Haru had designed on it, the banner read: "Fire it up! Iwatobi Swim Club. Persevere." The banner had a rather flashy design that was sort of hard to not look at. We had this banner prepared to see the guys off, they were going to stay at a hotel otherwise they would be tired if we travelled in the morning to the venue.
"Okay, I've taught you everything I can!" Coach cheered, "All that's left is for you to perform your best!"
"Fire!" Nagisa cheered
"That banner is really embarrassing." Rei commented
"That drawing…" Haru mumbled
"Oh! It's the one Haru-chan drew!" Nagisa exclaimed
"I didn't think it'd be used for this." Haru said, clearly surprised by the presence of his drawing on the banner.
"Well, we'll head up tomorrow morning." Miss Ama-chan explained
"Get plenty of rest at the hotel venue near the venue." Gou added
"And make sure you eat plenty!" I finished
"The Roman general Caesar said it best." Miss Ama-chan begun, "If we cross, we will wreak tragedy upon this world. If we do not…"
"Oh, it's the bus." Nagisa announced
"Well…" Makoto begun
"We're off!" The four of them said in unison, the four of them quickly got onto the bus and I felt bad for Miss Ama-chan she never got to finish her speech
"Um, Miss Ama-chan if you want you can tell us the rest of the quote." It was my attempt to cheer her up
"It's fine, Yazaki-san." She answered, Gou's friends were wrapping up the banner they had made and I walked over to Gou.
"Shall we head back?" I asked, we planned to head to school to make some banners to support the guys for tomorrow.
"Ah, can you give me a minute?" she asked pulling out her phone.
"Sure, I'll be waiting with Miss Ama-chan." I stated as I walked away
"Well, I better head back to work." Coach Sasabe stated to Miss Ama-chan as he was getting on his delivery bike, "I'll see you ladies at the tournament tomorrow!" before he rode away.
"See you tomorrow!" I waved, Gou soon walked over putting her phone away, "Did you have to call someone?" I asked
"Oh no!" she answered, "I just sent my brother a good luck message!"
"You're a good sister." I commented patting Gou on the head, causing her to blush.
"Zaki-senpai! You're embarrassing me!" she cried and I couldn't help but giggle, "Come on, let's get back to school, those banners aren't going to make themselves!" she started running on ahead, she's so cute, I thought to myself as I followed her back to school.
As soon as we returned to school, we focused on working on the banners as a result the time seemed to have flown by…
"It's done!" Gou declared, displaying a white and blue banner with a drawing of what looked like a rooster, "What do you think?"
"So close…if not for the drawing…" Chigusa commented
"Was it supposed to be Iwatobi-chan?" I asked "Because it kinda looks like a rooster…" I commented but you could clearly see the effort, Gou had put into making the banner.
"Quiet! The both of you!" she retorted, the door slid open revealing Miss Ama-chan.
"Girls, you should go home." She instructed, "We'll be leaving early tomorrow morning."
"Yes, we're almost done…" Gou replied then her phone started buzzing, "Big brother?"
"Is he replying to your message from earlier?" I asked
"Sorry, but could you two clean up in here?" she asked grabbing the banner and her bag running out the classroom past Miss Ama-chan. We all wore confused expressions as we watched Gou's retreating figure…
Later that evening…
"I'm home!" I shouted as I sat down to take my shoes off.
"Welcome home!" My mom replied, "You're home late." She stated
"Sorry, we were working on banners for tomorrow." I replied
"Don't worry about it, why don't you go get changed? Dinner's nearly ready." she suggested
"Alright." I answered, standing up and heading to my room. I simply threw on a white short-sleeved hoodie dress with a black stripe pattern on tied my hair into a loose side ponytail with a black scrunchie, I put my slippers on and headed downstairs.
Coming down the stairs, I was greeted by the smell of pork walking into the kitchen, "Something smells good." I hummed, "Are we having pork belly?" I asked
"Yes, it's been in the pressure cooker since this afternoon." She answered, "Could you do me a favour and set the table?"
"Sure!" I responded heading towards the cupboard where we kept the bowls
"Oh, we'll just need three bowls." My mother noted
"Who's missing?" I asked grabbing three bowls instead of four
"Shota. He said he was sleeping over at a friend's house." She answered
"Why?" I asked
"He said his friend's house is close to the college and he has an early lecture tomorrow." She replied
"Fair enough." I said as I placed the bowls beside her so she could plate up the food and went to the draw where we kept the chopsticks. I placed the chopsticks on the table where we usually sat, "I'll go get Dad." I stated
"Thanks." She answered as I walked out of the kitchen and went to my Dad's workshop.
I was about to call my Dad as I came down the stairs but then I noticed he was working on the finishing touches to another boat, "Something I can help you with?" he asked
"Dinner's nearly ready." I answered and he turned around putting his equipment down on the table.
"Alright, I'm coming up now." He said as I watched my Dad put his tools away, my gaze wandered down to his leg, "Is something wrong? You're staring." He asked
"Dad, do you ever regret it?" I asked
"Regret what?" he retorted
"Giving up on swimming." I answered, I could see him twitch when I answered and he stopped what he was doing, "I mean, if you continued swimming maybe you could have gone on to compete at the Paralympics…"
"Aki, when I was in high school things were different." He begun, "A lot of things changed when I got this prosthetic leg, people treated me differently well it was more like they didn't know how to treat me." He begun to walk over to me, "I quit swimming because I couldn't stand the way I was being treated by everyone. Well, I say "everyone" but your mother never treated me any differently, she gave me something more precious than a swimming career." He put his arms around me and pulled me in for a hug, "I have you and your brother and that to me is better than some swimming career." He loosened his arms slightly and looked down at me, "So what brought this on all of sudden?" he asked
"It's just something that always been at the back of my mind…" I answered, "And I guess it's because I'm nervous about tomorrow…" and my Dad smiled
"Those boys can only do the best that they can and you've supported them the best you could." He replied, "So when you go watch them tomorrow, keep your held high and be proud no matter what." I smiled in return
"Thanks, Dad…" I thanked him and hugged him again, he's right I have to keep my head held high for the guys, no matter the outcome…
The next morning
I had to wake up early to meet Miss Ama-chan and Gou at school, I was getting my shoes on ready to head out and I turned around to look at my parents, "Well then. I'm heading out!" I declared
"Good luck, Aki!" my mother said as she gave me a hug.
"Go knock 'em dead." My dad chimed in, I nodded in response and turned towards the door.
Dad was right the guys have trained hard, Gou and I have helped them out as much as we could and now the only thing left to do was cheer them on. The rest was up to them…
Nearly there! I'm sorry this took four years to write! But I will try to get the last chapter done in the next month. Thank you for those who have stuck with this story!
