I wasn't sure where I wanted to end this so this turned out to be the longest chapter yet.

Also during editing I removed a few of Haru's lines that didn't make it to the final publication last chapter to try and keep him IC but I enjoyed them so held onto them, and then before I knew it I started making up lines from famous movies that Haru would say. I think I'll start calling them Haruisms.

"My soul has died," said Haru in a dead tone. "Without the water I am nothing. Without the water I cease to be." - removed line from fic

"This is my pool! There are many others like it, but this one is mine! Without me, the pool is useless! Without the pool, I am useless!" – Full Metal Jacket quote

"There's no crying in swimming!" – A league of their own quote

Yea. I need more hobbies.

She awoke to the smell of cooking.

For the first few moments, still in the state between dreaming and barely awake, she thought she was back at home. Her mother would be downstairs making breakfast. Even though Gou told her it was fine, she would just have some toast or something, her mother always insisted on making something for her. Every morning she did this. She would wake up early to make breakfast and pack Gou's lunch. Always she thought of others before herself. She had always been like that. Especially after Gou's father died.

It wasn't until Gou opened her eyes fully and saw her alien surroundings that she remembered she wasn't at home. Far from it. On the other side of the world. Mikoshiba's place. She remembered now. She wasn't at home and her mother wasn't here. But somehow the smell of cooking had still remained.

She sat up and blinked owlishly down the hallway. The cooking smell was definitely emitting from inside the house. But who in god's name was cooking?

Curiosity won out over tiredness and Gou got out of bed. Yawning and rubbing at an eye, she walking into the living room. The couch was empty save for a pillow and the blankets lying distorted and crinkled. So Mikoshiba was awake too. He couldn't be the one who…

To the left of her the kitchen lights were on and Gou followed her nose into there. In the doorway she stopped and leaned against the frame. She rubbed hazily at her eye again. Could she still be dreaming?

Mikoshiba was in the kitchen. Cooking. A spatula was in his hand and on the stove in front of him lay a pot and pan, the place where the heavenly scent was originating. It only took him half a second to notice her. "Good morning!"

It took her a moment to process what she was seeing in order to generate a proper response. "G-good morning." Unable to help herself, she stepped forward, wanting to see what he was making. Ham and poached eggs. She stared at the food. When was the last time she had eaten stuff like this? At the Iwatobi lodges they normally ate mackerel or hot dogs or pizza, even for breakfast. This food looked like five star cuisine compared to the fodder she had been forced to eat the last few days.

"Do you want some?"

"Huh?" She couldn't possibly have heard him right. Had he seen her desiring eyes when she had been staring?

Mikoshiba's expression was open and friendly, though he wasn't really smiling. "Are you hungry?" he asked her. "I could make you some."

"Umm…" If she went back to the Iwantobi lodge she would be forced to eat mackerel again or something weird like ice cream covered mackerel or mackerel covered pizza. The thought alone made her want to vomit. "A-are you sure? I don't want to eat all your food b-but…if you don't mind…"

Mikoshiba smiled. A full smile that lit up his whole face. "I wouldn't offer if it wasn't fine."

She settled at the small table close to the entrance of the kitchen next to the fridge. She felt it would be rude if she went into the living room after he had just offered to cook for her, and outside of the coffee table in the living room this was the closest thing Mikoshiba had to a dining table. While his place was a decent size it did lack a dining room.

On the wall next to her was a tack board. Only one paper was tacked there and Gou found her eyes drawn to it. The program schedule for the Samezuka swim team. Her eyes trailed down to today's date. The Juraj Temple. That's where Samezuka was going. That was good. Iwatobi had the pool for practice today. She wouldn't be stuck in Mikoshiba's hair all day. Even if she had to come here every night at least they would have their days separate.

"Did you sleep well?"

Mikoshiba's voice pulled her away from the study of his swim team's schedule. "Oh, yes, thank you." Too good actually. That bed. It had to be the bed. It was too comfortable. She had slept like a baby.

She thought about asking him if he slept well in return but decided against it. It might just dig in the fact he was stuck on the couch since she had taken over his bed. That wouldn't be fair. She wondered if he regretted his decision to let her take the bed.

"You can unpack your things whenever you feel like it," he continued. "Your packs are still in the living room, aren't they?"

"Yes." Gou dragged out the last syllable as she looked behind herself to where her bags still sat where he had placed them last night. There were so many of them she didn't look forward to unpacking. Oh, well, least she hadn't packed as bad as Amakata. If she had they would have needed to rent a truck to transport all her stuff last night. "I'll do it later this evening if that's alright. We have pool practice today."

"That's fine. Take your time, no rush."

When Mikoshiba set the plate down before her a few moments later Gou stared at it. Poached eggs, ham, and wheat toast. He even had orange juice. Have I died and just not realized it? Iwatobi had been drinking the sugariest soft drinks that were probably known to man. Gou was honestly amazed the things were legal. They always tended to make her feel a little ill after she drank one. It was no wonder Nagisa was such a spazz drinking that stuff all day.

"Is it alright?" Gou raised her gaze to find Mikoshiba staring at her over the two plates. He actually sounded hesitant.

She waved her hands frantically. "No, no, it's—it's great! I was just…" Thinking about sugary softdrinks that should be illegal. "W-well it doesn't you."

He smiled at her then set to eating his own food. Gou picked up her fork and held it stiffly in her fist like she were about to do battle with it. The food looked nice but how it would taste? She was almost scared to find out. Forcibly she stabbed into a piece of the egg. She hesitated then compelled herself to place the food in her mouth.

Oh god. She had died. She was dead. She was dead and she was in heaven. Heaven where the food was good and didn't taste like grease or fake sugar or—or mackerel. She set on the food like a starving hound on a fox. "D-do you always eat like this?" she asked around bites. "All the time?"

"Of course." Mikoshiba leaned back against the wall. He was sitting sideways rather than towards her. A good thing considering his long legs and the lack of space under the tiny table. His feet would have practically been in her lap if he sat the normal way. "Swimmers have to eat healthy. If they don't it affects their performance."

Gou paused with a piece of ham halfway to her mouth. All the bad stuff the Iwatobi boys ate on a pretty much daily basis flashed through her mind. If they were doing that…could it be affecting their performance negatively? Gou had never considered something like that before.

"Oh really?" The ham finished its journey to her mouth and she chewed blissfully. The Iwatobi boys were useless when it came to information about good diets. But Mikoshiba, he sounded like he had a better handle on good eating habits. "What…what sort of foods are bad?"

His gaze lifted to the ceiling in what must have been thought. "Anything fatty. Pies and sausage rolls for example. White breads and pasta. Hot dogs—" Gou flinched. "Fried chicken. That sort of thing. Saturated fats can slow performance along with trans fat and hydrogenated oils."

"Uh-huh," Gou said slowly. She was trying desperately to put all of that memory, although she had no clue what trans fat and hydrogenated oils were. "What are the sorts of foods you stick to then as a competitive swimmer?"

"Carbohydrates," he answered without hesitation, warming up to the subject. "That's the most important nutrient. It's the easiest way to get the energy you need to move and swim faster. Complex carbohydrates are the best source because they release slowly throughout the day. Simple carbohydrates are good too but they only give you a quick energy burst."

"What foods are complex carbohydrates?"

"Rice, cereal, pasta, noodles, beans. That sort of thing. Even popcorn."

Gou frowned. "What about this then?" She held up her fork with a piece of ham stuck to it. "This isn't a carbohydrate right?"

He shook his head. "That's for protein. Swimmers need that too. It helps repair your body after training and helps your muscles get stronger. The meat just need to be lean and low in fat."

So meat is good so long as it isn't fatty meat. Check. "What meats are a lean meat?"

"Poultry without the skin. Fish."

Oh good. If Haru couldn't eat mackerel he'd have a nervous breakdown.

"Steamed or roasted meat rather than deep fried," Mikoshiba continued. "Vegetables of any kind are good too, and fruit. They're good for snacks."

"Snacks," muttered Gou. She was going to have a hard time remembering all of this to write in her notebook later. Who knew eating was so complicated.

There was a ringing sound and Mikoshiba pulled out his phone. He pushed a few buttons, looking at the screen. "The others are ready. We're going to that temple today."

"Uh hum," Gou hummed, her eye sneaking over to the calendar.

Mikoshiba stood and straightened his shirt, and it suddenly occurred to Gou that she was still in pajamas and had been the entire time. Her cheeks reddened a little. The thought of getting dressed had never even occurred to her. Then again he had seen her in her sleeping clothes last night too so it wasn't that big of a deal. It's not like I can exactly hide from him anyway considering we have to live together. They would be seeing each other in their sleeping clothes for the next three months so might as well get used to it.

Mikoshiba picked up the two dirty plates and set them in the sink. "Lock the door when you leave, would you," he said. "When you're on your way back here text me so I can unlock the door for you if need be."

"Ah, o-okay." That was weird. They were talking like a married couple discussing and planning their day. Gou mentally smacked herself. Roommates! That's what they were. Just roommates! Not…not that!

With his usual wave Mikoshiba departed, leaving Gou alone in the house. That felt weird too. Being in his house without him there, like a guest who remained at their host's house when the host wasn't there. Needing to give herself something to do, she got up and then with much heaving and grunting succeeded in dragging one of her packs into the bedroom. It was the one with the majority of her clothes. She unpacked it, placing her clothes into the free drawers Mikoshiba had given her.

Her eyes roved over the bureaus, counting the drawers. Even. They were even. The amount of drawers he had and the ones he had given her. He had divided them evenly.

"When you're married you're supposed to do everything by halves." Her mother's voice long ago as she brushes Gou's hair.

"But why halves?"

"Because." Her mother strokes her hair. "When you're married everything you own becomes half of his, and everything he owns is half of yours. That way, when you combine them together, you get a whole."

Gou shook her head. She really didn't want to think about that sort of stuff right now. She doubted that was the sort of advice her mother would be giving her right now if she found out about Gou's current…situation.

She looked down at the pearl ring on her hand. Thinking about her mother and the words she had spoken so softly made Gou ache. Maybe it was true. Maybe you did give away half of yourself when you got married. When Gou's father had died, did that mean her mother had lost half of herself as well?

Gou shook her head, pressing her palms to her temples. She really didn't want to think about this anymore.

She closed the drawer, her unpacking finished for the time, and got ready to head over to the Iwatobi lodges.

"Alright!" Gou brandished her notebook like it was the latest commandment and she was about to divulge it to the masses. "I have news for everyone!"

Whenever Gou got out her notebook the boys knew it was serious. Therefore they stopped whatever they were discussing to pay her rapt attention. Gou thought this was a good thing. If she didn't have anything to present them with they'd probably pepper her with questions about Mikoshiba and staying over at his place. Questions she didn't want to answer.

"It has come to my attention that what we have been eating, especially in these last few days, are incredibly unhealthy," she began, trying to sound as official as possible. "These unhealthy foods are," she paused to flip open her notebook, "affecting our performance and making our swim times slower," she read off. "Because of this knowledge I propose," she closed her notebook with a smart slap, "that we initiate an eating regiment from this day forward!"

She was not met with the enthusiasm she expected. The boys simply stared at her for a long moment. "An eating regiment?" Nagisa asked at last.

"She means a diet," said Rei.

There was a sharp intake of breath. "A-a diet?" Makoto's mouth was twitching. "Do we really need something like that? None of us are overweight I don't think..."

Nagisa was poking his toned stomach experimentally.

"It isn't a diet to lose weight!" Gou slammed her hands down on the table. "This is to make sure we give our best performance out there and aren't slowing ourselves down! If our bodies aren't in the best shape then we have no chance of winning! And if we don't win than our club is doomed to have no accomplishments and we won't be able to afford anything! In order to make sure we win, we must make sure we are in the best shape possible!" She dug into her notebook. "Here. I wrote up a chart for everyone. These will be the planned meals for the next few weeks."

She handed them out to each boy and to Coach Sasabe, who, after a moment of reading over it, nodded. "This is better. Definitely better than those poisonous seawater drinks you boys have been drinking. I definitely agree those need to go." He frowned down at the paper in his hand. "I don't see any pizza on here though."

Gou stiffened. "T-that's because we won't be eating pizza…It isn't good for you." She waited for the outburst, which Goro was more than willing to give.

"N-no pizza?!" He stared at her like she had just told him the rudest phrase ever conceived. "How could you say no pizza?! Pizza contains every food group on the food pyramid! How could that possibly be unhealthy?!"

"How does it contain every food group?" asked Rei wonderingly. "Pizza doesn't have fruit or vegetables."

"Pineapple!" Goro insisted. "And spinach! There's your fruit and vegetables right there! Any food group you can possibly think of can be found on pizza, I'm telling you!"

"No hot dogs?!" Nagisa cried. "Why can't we eat hot dogs?!"

"They're bad for you!" said Gou.

"How are they bad? They're delicious!"

"Because," said Gou, "they contain—" She paused to flip open her notebook again. "They contain trans fat and hydrogenated oils. That's why they're bad for you!" She still had no idea what those were, or if they were even in hot dogs, but she doubted Nagisa would either.

"Mackerel." Haru's monotone cut through the protests. "Mackerel is on here."

"Yes, it's a lean meat. It's healthy so we can have it."

Haru didn't say anything in return but he seemed to be smiling softly. Good. At least one person was relatively happy about this.

"What about popsicles?" asked Makoto. From anyone else it might have seemed like a strange question but Gou had seen on multiple occasions Makoto split his popsicles with Haru without Haru ever having to say a word. It was like the little special thing they did.

"When you're married you each get half."

Gou's mother's voice again. Maybe it should have been Haru and Makoto to get married that night. The situation would likely be a lot easier than what it was currently. The two were pretty much married as is.

"Popsicles are okay but only oncea week," Gou stressed. "No more."

Makoto didn't look too happy about that but he accepted it without a fight.

"Whose going to cook this menu?" asked Rei, always the one to ask the important questions.

Gou grimaced. She hadn't thought about that. Haru was a good cook but she knew his response would likely follow along the lines of 'it's too much effort' or 'I only cook free' if she asked him to do it. "Coach Sasabe?" she offered hesitantly after a moment.

"Absolutely not!" he flared. "I'm not a chef!"

"You cook pizza all the time!"

"Yes, I cook pizza all the time! Not the rest of this stuff! If I'm going to cook then this whole menu will be pizza! Pizza—" He looked at the paper. "Pizza fruit, yogurt pizza, pizza salad, mackerel pizza, egg pizza, pizza soup! That's what we'll be having!"

Gou sighed heavily. This was more taxing than she had anticipated. They were being more resistant to the idea of healthy eating than she had figured. Faintly she wondered if Mikoshiba's swim team followed the same diet regiment he did. On one hand she could see him doing it as the captain but on the other she could see him doing it as his own thing. He took swimming so seriously after all. She'd have to ask her brother next time he saw him.

"My, my it's so loud in here." Amakata stepped into the room, dabbing a towel delicately at her wet hair. "What seems to be the problem?"

"Gou's torturing us," said Nagisa.

"I-I am not! Eating healthy is a good thing! You should be thanking me!"

"Eating healthy?" Amakata sidled up to Rei to look over the paper. "Oh, this is a nice selection."

"Huh?!" Goro stared at her as if she had grown a second head.

The teacher slid the paper out of Rei's hands to look over it better. "Oh yes, this is pretty good. Very healthy. Did you make this, Gou-chan?"

"Uh, y-yes. I did." Gou was a little flattered to tell the truth. She had thrown it together after listening to Mikoshiba and after a little bit of research on her own, but she had thought it was sloppy at best. Most of the stuff she had taken a wild stab at it. "None of us can make it though. None of us are very uhhh…cooking inclined."

Amakata spent a few more moments looking over the sheet. "I can make this easy," she said. "In fact this is pretty close to the diet I used to use when I was a swimsuit mod—uhhhh working in the swimsuit industry." Her smile was almost pained. "This shouldn't be hard at all."

Gou's eyes widened. Amakata. Why had she not thought of her before? She had sampled a few of Amakata's dishes in the past and all of them had been good. Amakata was the perfect candidate. "A-are you sure, Ama-chan?" asked Gou. "You're cooking has always been delicious but I know that's a lot of responsibility."

"Oh, it won't be that bad." Amakata waved her hand. "I won't be doing much anyway when you guys are busy swimming or going on tours. This will be a great way to fill my day. I do enjoy cooking."

"That's not really fair, is it?" Goro's arms were crossed. "Asking you to cook all the time."

"Well, not all the time." Amakata laughed. "We can go out on occasion and I'm sure you'll be willing to help sometimes." She gave him her sweetest smile.

Goro blinked. "Uhh, y-yes. O-of course." He coughed and suddenly seemed to find the wall opposite Amakata very interesting.

Gou stared at the two. Is she hitting on him?

"Oh," said Amakata, as if she had just remembered something. "We got a new schedule by the way. One of the hosts dropped it off this morning."

Gou's brow furrowed. "A new schedule?"

"For the program." Amakata dug a piece of folded paper out of her pocked and handed it to Gou. "I figured you'd want to hold onto it, Gou-chan."

Gou nodded, her attention already focused on the paper she was unfolding. Their schedule had been changed. Their swim days were still the same but everything else was different. All the events the host country were throwing that they had to attend had changed. That was odd. Why had they suddenly done that without consulting Iwatobi first? Maybe they had some schools they over looked and they're trying to fit them in now. Oh, well. Not much she could do about it. She tucked it into her notebook.

"I-it's time to go!" Goro hollered. "Let's get a move on! The pool isn't going to wait all day!"

He face was oddly red as they marched outside.

It was late by the time Gou left the Iwatobi lodges. She had spent most of the day at the pool with the boys, timing them and making notes, but by early afternoon she had left the pool to go shopping with Amakata. The whole food stock of the house had to be redone and Amakata had taken the time while they were practicing to go through everything and throw out anything unhealthy.

The shopping trip took longer than Gou wanted to admit or think about it. It would have taken long regardless but Amakata tended to get excited when she found food she liked or new food she had never heard of to try. Food shopping with Amakata was equivalent to accompanying a toddler through a candy store. She got distracted constantly and would often squeal and disappear down some aisle, leaving Gou racing to catch up with her.

By the time they got home with all the groceries and put them away, Gou was exhausted and they still had the cooking to do. Amakata put Gou on chopping duty which wouldn't have taken so long except she was too tired to cut with any sort of speed.

The boys got back around sunset, tired but pumped after their practice, and Gou had to spend the next hour listening to them continually complaining they were hungry and where was the food. At one point she found Nagisa trying to scarf down some sweet bread he had snuck in from somewhere, and she chased him around the house batting him with her notebook and yelling at him. To her surprise it was actually Haru who intervened and took away the sweet bread, throwing it out the window while saying something about eating mackerel because it was a lean meat and healthy. Using my words. Gou's eyebrow ticked.

When Amakata finally served up the food, everyone made comments about how long it had taken. However when they finally did begin to eat, nobody complained. Amakata had made roasted chicken with rosemary and brown rice. And it was delicious. Gou almost couldn't believe it.

"You have a wonderful gift, Ama-chan!" Nagisa proclaimed and Amakata tried to wave it off like it was nothing, even though she was clearly flattered.

Everyone had only nice things to say after that and they all ate so much that there were no leftovers. Once they were done eating, the boys lounged about in food comas like zombies and Gou felt pretty comfortable believing that they would stick with the food regiment now. If Amakata kept making meals like that one anyway.

So it was late by the time Gou set out for Mikoshiba's. Makoto had offered to walk her but she had refused. If she was going to walk every night she didn't want to have to wait for an escort every time. It wasn't far and she wanted to get used to walking it by herself. Makoto was too full to offer much protest. "Text me when you get there so I know you're safe," he had said.

Gou had rolled her eyes in response but she did appreciate his care.

She was halfway to Mikoshiba's before she remembered she was supposed to text him too. She pulled out her ugly grey phone and punched in the message letting him know she was on her way. It was hardly a moment later when she received a response back.

'K.'

She frowned down at bright screen with its short message. Well, that must mean he was at the house and it was unlocked. Otherwise she hoped he would have sent her something a little longer. Something longer either way.

When she opened the door, it was unlocked like she had assumed and he was home too. "Yo." He was sitting at the tiny table in the kitchen, a direct line of sight from the front door, and he waved a hand in greeting. "How was the pool?"

"Alright." Gou dropped her bag and let out a grateful sigh to have the thing off her shoulder, feeling like she could finally relax after a very long day. Without even thinking about it she approached him. "How was the temple?"

"Large," said Mikoshiba. He had turned back around and was frowning down at some paper lying on the table in front of him. "And violent. I think the guide said they beheaded around one hundred odd people there."

"Oh." Gou grimaced. "Isn't that…pleasant." She leaned over slightly to see what he was looking at. "What's that?"

"I got a letter."

"A letter?"

"From the government."

"The government?" That couldn't be good. Anything that involved the government here had been bad news. 'The drinking age is sixteen so feel free to get smashed! You got married while drunk and dumb, but we won't let you get a divorce! You got married by mistake and we won't let you get a divorce, but now you also have to live together!' The list just went on and on.

Mikoshiba held up the paper for her to look at better. "It's a congratulatory letter."

A congratulatory letter? Her eyes roved over it. A congratulatory letter on their marriage. "Oh." She frowned at it in distaste. "How nice of them."

Mikoshiba chuckled. "Should we frame it?" he asked. "We can hang it up somewhere." Gou's panicked stare was all the answer she could muster and he quickly held up his hands. "I was kidding, only kidding." He looked at the paper with a strange expression. "I'll hide it somewhere."

Or throw it out, thought Gou but couldn't bring herself to say it. For all she knew Mikoshiba planned on keeping the documents as a souvenir. Something to show his kids when he was older maybe. 'See the stupid mistakes Daddy made when he was a teenager! Don't drink alcohol, kids! It will be the biggest mistake of your life because the next morning you might wake up and discover you got married to a near total stranger!'

Well, if that's what he wanted to do he could go ahead. Personally Gou didn't want to keep anything to remind herself of this. Once they were back in Japan and the divorce had been performed she would wipe it from her mind and pretend it had never happened.

"I'm exhausted," she stated. "I'll unpack tomorrow if that's okay. We have the aquarium tomorrow that I have to be up early for it."

"Really?" Mikoshiba asked the word in a tone that made Gou pause. He was frowning slightly. "We have the aquarium tomorrow too."

She narrowed an eye and then leaned to the side to look past Mikoshiba at the schedule attached to the board. Aquarium was printed on the square marked for tomorrow. "Huh, so you are." It wasn't the first time their two schools had been matched up but still. It was a little strange. She shook her head as if clearing away flies. "I'm going to bed."

"Have a good night," said Mikoshiba.

Good night Gou tried to say but it was swallowed by the massive yawn she gave instead.

This is so awkward.

She stood beside the Iwatobi boys in front of the aquarium. Next to her the four were fidgeting relentlessly. Nagisa was hyper – maybe he had found one of those sugar infused saltwater drinks that Amakata had missed – and Haru was twitching like a disjointed insect. Makoto was trying his best to keep him calm, muttering they should have used one of the sedatives he had left over from the flight to keep Haru in check before they had left the lodge. Having Haru around the aquarium was a bad idea. So much water…

Gou tried her best to ignore them. Her mind was on other things besides their strange quirks. She hadn't said much to Mikoshiba before leaving this morning. She had purposely left early; partly to avoid an uncomfortable situation, partly because she wouldn't want her brother to see her walking anywhere with Mikoshiba (especially out of Mikoshiba's own house), and partly because she had wanted to make sure the boys were sticking with the food regiment. They had been thankfully, although it wouldn't have surprised her if Nagisa was keeping a stock of bad things under his bed. She would have to check when they got back later.

As it were they were waiting on the Samezuka swim team to show up. Considering the large amount of students they had compared to Iwatobi it was no surprise that they would take much longer to arrive than they. Still the time was ticking by incredibly slowly and they were starting to get impatient.

Nagisa yawned and stretched. "Why isn't your husband here yet, Gou-chan?"

She straightened like she had just been electrocuted. "Don't call him that!"

"But that's what he is, isn't he?" Nagisa blinked his wide guileless eyes. "Do you not refer to him like that when you're alone together?"

Gou's face was so red she felt like all her blood had vacated to there. "Nagisa," Makoto said lowly in warning.

"Sorry, sorry." He waved his hand. "I know Gou-chan doesn't want us talking about her husband-chan."

Gou fought the urge to hit her head against something hard. Her hand tightened into a fist. Nagisa, I swear!

As if on que the Samezuka swim team made their appearances at that very second and frantically Gou maneuvered herself around a tree before they saw her reddened face. If her brother saw her he might think Haru had said something inappropriate rather than the actual situation. Which is much, much worse.

"Good morning, Tachibana-san!" Gou heard Mikoshiba greet Makoto from behind her. For some reason hearing his voice only made her face heat up even more. It's because of Nagisa! He just had to say that stuff about him being my husband! Oh god, now her face was so hot she felt like she was sweating.

"Good morning, Captain Mikoshiba," Makoto returned pleasantly. "Glad to see you guys made it."

Mikoshiba made a noise of confirmation. "Sorry to keep you waiting." There was a second of silence and Gou swore she could feel his eyes on her from the thin tree she was hiding behind. "Good morning, Gou-kun."

She stiffened rigidly. Did he have to talk to her right now?! She knew he was just trying to act normal and if he didn't say anything to her that'd be unusual but still. She would have preferred if he hadn't talked to her right this second. "G-good morning," she forced out.

"Hmmm," he said from behind her. "Are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine!" she squeaked. "And don't use Gou and kun together!"

Their guide for the aquarium approached them and thankfully the attention was taken off Gou. She still waited for the Samezuka team to go ahead of them before entering the aquarium. Nagisa was laughing at her and she stomped her foot at him. "You are the worst!"

Nagisa ran away laughing and Rei chased him, scolding him for running inside a building with lots of glass.

"So the fun begins," Makoto muttered under his breath. His hand shot out and snagged onto the back of Haru's shirt, pulling the dark haired teen up short and nearly choking him as Haru tried to make a beeline for one of the nearby tanks. Ahead of them Nagisa was already bouncing and tugging on Rei, pointing at various things he wanted to see. And ahead of them somewhere in that tangled mob of Samezuka students was Mikoshiba and Gou's brother.

Gou took a deep breath. "No kidding."

Gou wasn't sure what made the worst impression. The second day they had been here when the boys had tried swimming while hung over or today. Haru kept trying to disrobe and climb into tanks. Makoto had jumped on him to restrain him more times than Gou could recall and even Nagisa and Rei had had to detour him from taking his clothes off once or twice. At the start the guides had calmly asked that Haru control himself and refrain from making a spectacle, but after a while their patience had grown thin and they threatened to throw them out if it continued. That at least had broken through to Haru and the teen had finally restored some semblance of control to himself. Apparently getting kicked out was worse than not being able to swim so he refrained from performing another strip tease in the middle of the aquarium. Gou was really glad there were no kids around to see that.

With Haru behaving himself, the others were finally able to enjoy themselves more and take in the sights. They were given pretty much free reign of the aquarium and it was large enough they could span out and not run into each other much. Gou saw Rin a few times with the boy Nitori and she sidled up to him when he was watching some video on grey white sharks or something on a screen. Ever since Rin had been little he had liked sharks. Gou kind of got the impression he felt some sort of kinship with the beasts for some reason.

"Haru stop trying to climb into tanks?" he asked her without looking up from the video of a grey white shark grappling with seagulls over some floating corpse of a mammal.

"For now," muttered Gou. "They threatened to kick him out if he didn't stop."

Rin made a 'keh' sound. "Wouldn't be the first time."

"Wouldn't be the first time he's gotten kicked out or threatened to be kicked out?"

Rin considered that for a moment. "Both," he said.

She saw Mikoshiba a few times too but he was busy with his teammates so she didn't bother him. It was a calm atmosphere rather than a frantic one like she had experienced when first encountering Mikoshiba in the museum. So long as they acted normally Rin shouldn't suspect anything and acting normally meant they were mostly involved with the teammates rather than each other so Gou was satisfied to leave things as they were.

By the time they started filing out of the aquarium in preparation to leave it was nearly sunset. Rei and Nagisa had come out with Gou but Haru and Makoto disappeared sometime ago, something about Haru wanting to see the mackerel again. Hopefully they would be ushered out with the rest of the students. The aquarium was closing soon.

Gou took a seat on the steps outside to rest her tired feet as she waited for the others. Her heels ached from all the walking and standing they had done today. She was ready to go home and stretch out on a couch and not move the rest of the night.

"Almost out of here." She looked up to find Mikoshiba settling on the step next to her. "You look tired."

She grunted. There was enough distance in between them that she didn't feel like he was invading her personal space and they were protected from view on either side by raised concrete squares filled with flowers so she only leaned back slightly to double check that Rin wasn't scouting around for her.

"Still waiting on a few people?"

"A few stragglers, yeah."

She made a small sound of amusement. "Us too. Haru and Makoto disappeared somewhere."

Mikoshiba frowned at the mention of those names. "What was going on with Nanase-kun today anyway? Does he normally try to get naked in public? I vaguely recall he tried to do the same thing at the Jurrian."

Gou tried to stifle her laugh. She could still remember when Haru had tried to get into the punch bowl at the bar too. At least there were a few things she could remember from that night. "He just likes water," she said. "A lot. Maybe even sexually."

"Aquaphilia."

She blinked at him. "Sorry?"

"Aquaphilia," Mikoshiba repeated. "That's when you're sexually attracted to water."

"Oh." Her brow furrowed. "I…I can't believe they actually have a word for it. A-and how do you know something like that?"

He was the one who laughed this time. "Trust me, when you've been in competitive swimming as long as I have you'd know it too. You'll run into one or two like that."

Gou grimaced. Now that she really didn't need to know. Haru was one thing but she didn't like to imagine what someone who actually did have aquaphilia would try to do when at an aquarium.

Someone called out Mikoshiba's name. "Sounds like we're ready." He stood. "See you at the house."

She grunted back in response and watched him walk away. Funny, Iwatobi managed to always get there before Samezuka when they had events planned together but somehow Samezuka always managed to leave first.

With Samezuka leaving, Nagisa and Rei moved over to where Gou was. "I can't get in touch with Haru-chan," Nagisa complained. His pink phone was in his hand.

"I have tried Makoto-sempai as well," said Rei, peering at his purple one. "Neither one have responded."

"Maybe they got lost," said Gou. She hoped that's what it was and that Haru hadn't decided to try and get into the mackerel tank again and manage to not only get himself but Makoto arrested as well. That was the last thing they needed, not to mention Amakata and Goro. Goro would probably lose it if the boys got arrested on top of all the other trouble the teens had caused the two adults in the short time they had been in this country.

Nagisa fell back on the concrete. "I'm so tired," he moaned.

That was no surprise. He had been running around like a maniac in the aquarium all day. Although Gou was tired too. Sighing she took out her phone and tried Makoto too.

The aquarium was past closed when Haru and Makoto finally showed up. "Haru really likes the mackerel," Makoto said as way of explanation with a grimace. "We never even realized the aquarium had closed and none of the guides knew we were there so no one came over to tell us."

The janitor had been the one to finally spot them and shoo them out.

By the time they had walked back to the Iwatobi lodges and eaten, Gou was too exhausted to make her way over to Mikoshiba's. "One night couldn't hurt, right?" she asked Rei. "We can just say we're having a sleep over."

Rei frowned that frown of his. "I was going to say one night couldn't hurt," he replied, "but saying you're having a sleep over with four males and no other females might raise some eyebrows, especially considering the fact that you're married."

He did have a point there, although Gou wished he had phrased it differently and left out the married bit. She texted Mikoshiba to let him know and was not surprised when he simply responded with an 'alright'. Maybe he was just one of those people who hated text messaging. She had seen him spend so much time on that phone maybe he tried to do it as little as possible. Well, at least he'll be able to sleep in his own bed. I'm sure he'll be grateful for that for a night.

"What's on the schedule for tomorrow, Gou?" asked Makoto right as they were getting ready to go to bed.

Gou was forced to go get her notebook and pull out the paper to check. She hadn't memorized the new one since their hosts had changed it on them. "Clam hunting," she said with some surprise.

"Clam hunting?"

"And conch hunting," she finished. "Apparently the ancestors of this country used to hunt and eat them so it's part of their culture."

"I cannot decide whether that is going to be fun or utterly horrible," Rei voiced his opinion on the matter.

No kidding. Gou couldn't either.

Amakata loaned some clothes for Gou to use for the night and Gou settled in. Her last thought before she fell asleep was wondering what Samezuka was doing tomorrow and if Mikoshiba would enjoy not having her around for the night.

Early morning found them seated on a bench, dressed in light clothing with their bathing suits underneath and sandals on their feet. In front of them two buses were churring softly. The clam and conch hunting was further away than any of the past activities had been so they would have to bus to the location.

"Two busses?" Makoto had questioned when they had first arrived.

"Must be a big school joining us," said Rei and Gou had been too tired to notice the worrying glance Makoto sent her way.

Gou yawned into her hand, wishing these activities would start later in the day. You were supposed to sleep in as much as possible for summer, right? The host country forcing them to get up early was a travesty and grossly unfair.

She hadn't slept well last night either. She had tossed and turned a lot, and had woken up several times throughout the night. Mikoshiba's bed had cursed her. It was much more comfortable than the bed at the Iwatobi lodge. Or maybe her subconscious was stressed out by changing her sleeping surroundings so often. That had to be it, it was the only logical explanation behind it.

"The other school is here," said Haru and everyone turned to look.

Gou dully tilted her head that way to see who it was. Her eyes widened. Before she had even realized it she was on her feet.

"Samezuka," Makoto said quietly.

It couldn't be. Gou couldn't speak. She couldn't even form words. Again?! They had been partnered with Samezuka again?! Why! She wanted to bang her head into the metal pole beside her. Why! Why does this keep happening?!

By the look on his face as he walked up, Mikoshiba had not been expecting it either. "Uh, good morning." His greeting lacked the exuberance he usually greeted them with. He glanced at Gou and Makoto in confusion.

"G-good morning," Makoto managed to utter.

Gou felt like she couldn't breathe. Maybe she would pass out. Maybe she would pass out and then she wouldn't have to deal with this. Boy, that would be nice.

"I-I'm sure it's coincidence," said Makoto, that awkward smile on his face. "I mean it's not unusual for our two schools to get paired up. I'm sure it's because our schools are so close to each other back in Japan that they're doing this."

Mikoshiba just looked at him.

Gou worried her hands together. No, it would be fine. It had to be fine. They had gotten through the museum and the aquarium without incident. This shouldn't be any different. So long as they mostly ignored each other and stayed with their own swim teams everything would be fine! Simple as that.

With a deep breath, Gou managed to calm herself. Yes, so long as they conducted themselves in the same manner they had been there shouldn't be any reason to worry. Even if it was infuriating that they kept getting paired together it was fine. Completely fine.

Their guides for the day were already calling for everyone's attention. "Okay!" The woman clapped her hands together cheerfully. "Who is in charge of these two groups?"

Makoto and Mikoshiba's hands went into the air immediately. Gou, with a bit of hesitation, slowly followed suit. She was the manager after all. If that didn't put her in some sort of position where she was in charge she didn't know what would.

The woman's gaze raked over the three of them. "Excellent! We'll have you three sit in the front of the first bus!" She pointed at Makoto. "You can be on the right side!" She pointed to Gou and Mikoshiba next. "And you two can be on the left!" The woman was positively beaming.

Gou's mouth dropped. No. No. It couldn't be. Why she had raised her hand?! She was so dumb! Oh god. She swayed on her feet and Mikoshiba's hand shot out, grabbing her upper arm and holding her steady. He gaze the host a dazzling smile. "Alright, miss, understood!"

The woman moved on to the rest of the people there, assigning them seats. With the woman's attention elsewhere, Mikoshiba's smile faded, his face smoothing to a blank state that was a little unhappy. Next to him Makoto looked like he had gotten punched in the stomach again and even Nagisa's mouth was sagging downwards.

Mikoshiba's hand was still on her arm but Gou hardly noticed. She buried her face in her hands, the top -of her head coming to rest against Mikoshiba's chest. She didn't notice that either.

This cannot possibly get any worse…

A big thank you to everyone who has reviewed, followed, or favorited! You guys are amazing!

I had a few questions from reviewers so I'll try and answer them here:

Guest - There will definitely be chapters from Mikoshiba's view point in the future. I definitely want to do chapters from his PoV where we'll get to see his feelings spelled out more. Right now it just feels too early but they will be coming!

Darksknight - Yes, please let me know about typos or grammar mistakes or weird things like words missing! I type these on my laptop without a mouse so sometimes when I'm editing weird things will occur that I don't notice. I know there's a few odd missing letters in past chapters.