This went through so many rewrites it's kind of embarrassing and I stayed up way too late working on it when I have to be early for work but it's finally, finally done!

Thank you again to everyone who has reviewed, Favorited, and followed! You guys make this long fic totally worthwhile!

Gou stood in the heat radiating and dusty street shop, staring with a twitching eyebrow down at the rows upon rows of uncountable amounts of the specific item they had come here for. Dolls. Dolls everywhere. Dolls sitting on racks in each row, dolls hanging from the ceiling, dolls sitting on the floor. Dolls to the right, dolls to the left. Dolls in glass containers like they were fine jewelry, dolls in plastic cases, in boxes and bags. Dolls with ribbons, dolls with curls, dolls with glass eyes and yarn eyes. Dolls that were made of plastic, or wood or cloth or ceramic.

Her lip arched up as she looked over them. When she was younger she had had dolls. Many dolls and in fact she still had one to this day, her favorite one she had held onto regardless if she were in high school and supposed to be too old for them. However those old dolls of hers had been cute and cuddly and nice to look at. The majority of these dolls on the other hand were just weird looking. If she stared at them for too long they gave her goosebumps.

"Are you sure this is what your mom really wants?" Gou fought a grimace. "They're kind of creepy…"

"Oh, trust me, I know." Further down the row they stood in Hana picked up a doll. She peered intensely at it before setting it down. Gou shuddered at the mere thought of touching one. It made her feel like she was desecrating some evil artifact that should never be touched.

"My mother loves these things." Hana moved to peer at some others. "I can't stand them myself - I think they're creepy too - but she collects them like crazy. You know how excited she'll be if I bring her one from another country?" She leaned away from the dolls she had been pawing at. "Anyway let's keep looking. Remember, the creepier the better!"

"S-sure." Gou kept her arms and hands pressed close to her body to make sure she didn't touch anything. She didn't want to accidentally brush up against one and end up with worst luck than she already had. There might be curses stored in these. She sighed. If she had known this is what they would be looking for she might have rethought coming along with Hana to shop for souvenirs on her free day.

Maybe I should have gone with the boys. They had decided to spend their free time on the beach with some light volleyball and Frisbee play, wanting to do something physical but not overly draining to keep up their exercising stint. They had even talked about possibly renting a gaming system for the lodge later that night to indulge in.

Gou had thought about going along with them but considering what they were doing she figured she would have felt like a fifth wheel. She was in no way out of shape but she wasn't exactly physically inclined either. Any volley ball side she was on she would have drug down and it was likely she would have ended up just sitting to the side watching them in order to not do so. Not the most fun thing to do.

So she had opted to go out with Hana instead. Maybe I should have seen what Ama-chan was doing. Although if she wasn't mistaken she had seen the teacher walking off with Goro somewhere this morning. What the two were doing she had no idea and she wasn't about to text them. Not when they were out together like that. Could it be they're on a date? Or were the two just spending time together because they were the only adults they knew here? Gou didn't know and while she knew it was none of her business she couldn't help but be curious about it. What with their subtle flirting at all. There really is something in the water here.

It took twenty minutes for Hana to finally settle on a selection. The doll she chose had a big smile that was more sinister than friendly, a mop of curly red hair, and oddly orange colored eyes. Gou was relieved when Hana shoved the thing into the paper bag the store clerk gave to her so she wouldn't have to look at the thing.

"That just leaves my brother." Hana peered about the multitude of shops lining the street they stood on. "He'd want some kind of sports stuff. Let's look for that."

Good. Something normal. There was no way a baseball bat or basketball could be creepy.

"What are Yuko and Yuka doing today?" asked Gou. She had hardly seen the other two debate team members since the night they had gone out to the bar. Most of the time she would see them for a minute or two when she went to meet Hana at their lodging but the two girls had already been absent when Gou had gone over this morning.

"They went to check out the mall."

Gou nearly stopped in her tracks at the statement. Going to the mall seemed like it went have been a better place to go shopping then here... "You didn't go with them?"

Hana shook her head. "It's too far and too expensive. Besides, this kind of stuff feels more authentic, you know?" She veered to the side to head into a shop filled with electric gadgets and other such toys. "I'm pretty sure they're just going to check out boys anyway." She grinned at her. "That's something you wouldn't be interested in though, right? Being married and all."

Gou rolled her eyes. Her accidental marriage would have nothing to do with her being uninterested in checking out boys. She was surrounded by boys constantly for God's sake, why would she need to actually try and seek them out? "You…you didn't tell them about anything did you? I mean Yuko and Yuka, about the marriage."

"No, no, I didn't." Hana peered up at the wall that was covered in cheap mesh tennis rackets, as if trying to avoid Gou's eyes. "I did tell my sister though-"

Gou's mouth dropped. "Hanaaaaaaa!"

"It's fine, it's fine, don't worry!" Hana stepped back and held up her hands with a laugh. "My sister is away at college remember? She doesn't even know you guys and even if she did tell anyone else they wouldn't know who she's talking about anyway. So it's okay if she knows."

"But still! I asked you to-"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! But I just had to tell somebody! I mean it's not every day that your best friend gets married-"

"By accident!"

"I know but it still counts, right?! So I had to share it with at least one person! Trust me, its fine, don't get upset about it. She's not going to tell anyone and like I said, even if she did no one is going to know who she's referring to. It's fine, really."

Gou's grimace did not slide off. Her eyebrow was ticking a little bit again. "She won't tell your parents?"

Hana guffawed through her nose. "Heavens no, why would she do that? Besides I doubt my parents would believe her besides."

Gou glowered at the ground. She wasn't particularly happy about Hana telling somebody but it could be worse. She had been smart enough to tell someone who was far away and not even remotely involved in the situation. At least there was nothing Gou could think of offhand that would lead to trouble with Hana's older sister, who was a world away, knowing. She couldn't blame Hana for needing to tell at least one person either. She would have wanted to do the same if she were in Hana's position.

"Speaking of which what's Mikoshiba-san doing today?"

"They're swimming." Gou poked at a mini electric helicopter. It whirred its propeller halfheartedly but did not rise.

"How are things going between you two?"

Gou shrugged. "Same old, same old." She hadn't seen him much yesterday or today. She had left early for Iwatobi's swimming yesterday and he had come home late from whatever he had been doing for his free day. Gou knew because she had still been awake when he arrived. Despite going to bed at a decent hour she had been unable to sleep and oddly had only been able to get relaxed when she had heard him come home, even if she hadn't gone out to see him and they hadn't spoken at all. Just having him there in the house seemed to make her feel more at ease for some reason. Maybe because she was not used to sleeping there with him absent. That had to be it.

"Is it weird living with Mikoshiba-san by the way?" asked Hana. "I mean since he is a boy and stuff…"

Gou shrugged again. "Not really. Maybe at the beginning it was a little but not anymore. We've worked it out nicely." He even went so far as to give up his bedroom to me. Gou still felt kind of bad about that no matter how many times he told her it was okay. It wasn't very fair to rob him of such a comfortable bed and make him sleep on the couch. She had given up trying to switch with him though. Anytime she had brought it up before he had insisted she take the bed.

"Have you ever caught him…doing things?"

The way Hana said that gave Gou pause. She stared blankly at the other girl.

"Y'know…" Hana glanced around them as if making sure no one else was close enough to see them. Then she proceeded to make a jerking motion close to her crotch. "That."

Gou nearly planted herself face first into the wall of cheap tennis rackets. "H-Hana!"

"What?!" Hana squawked. Was her face turning red? "I'm being serious! I mean he's a teenage boy! At his age he's bound to be doing that sort of thing, right?!"

"Why would you even want to know about such a thing?" Gou's face was turning just as red as hers.

"Well, I mean you two do live together. I figured you must have seen something at some point. You are there all the time."

"I am not over there all the time! I'm over at Iwatobi's place a lot too!"

"But you're over there a lot more, aren't you?!"

Gou couldn't argue with that. But for Hana to be thinking about such a thing was unbelievable! Gou certainly wasn't so gullible to believe Seijuro wouldn't do such a thing while they lived together - not for three months anyway – as he was a guy and at the prime age to be doing it quite often. That didn't mean she was trying to see him doing such a thing and she doubted he would ever want her to catch him in the act either. That…that would just be mortifying.

"I-I'm pretty sure he does it in the shower." Gou wet her lips. "And I've spent nights over at the Iwatobi lodges instead of there, s-so he's had…alone time." Oh God I can't believe I'm having this conversation.

Hana's sudden gasp made her jump slightly. The other girl's hand was nearly covering her mouth. "D-do you think he's done it in the bed you've been sleeping in when you're not there?!"

Gou's face reddened more. "W-what is wrong with you?! Don't put images like that into my head!" I still have to sleep in that bed after all! Hana just didn't know when to quit. It was natural for her to be curious especially since neiher of them had been involved in any sort of extended contact with boys outside of their siblings and now here was Gou living with one. But still! Thinking about Seijuro masturbating. Masturbating in the bed she normally slept in one of those nights when she was away. Surely he wouldn't do such a thing…

Then again the bed was the most comfortable spot in the house. Maybe on one of the nights she was gone, on his back with his hand down his pants or maybe he slept naked when she wasn't there. He seemed like the type who would do such a thing. Or in the shower standing up with the water coursing down every finely shaped muscle and curve, the extra exertion making him pant and legs quiver slightly and-

Gou ran into a display full of books.

"Are you alright, Gou?"

"I-I'm fine." Gou swallowed around her throat which was a little too tight. Good thing it was nothing breakable. If it had been breakable and expensive she might have landed up in jail or been stuck working there for days to pay for it. "And it's Kou!" She bent down to retrieve the books she had knocked out of the shelf.

"Your face is awfully red," Hana observed. "Were you thinking something perverted?"

"No, I wasn't!" She tried not to let her face get any redder even though she could feel it like a hot flash. "And neither should you!" Especially not about Seijuro. If Hana wanted to have dirty thoughts about other boys Gou didn't care but not about Seijuro. The thought of Hana thinking those sorts of things about the Samezuka captain intensely irritated her in a strange way.

Hana ended up buying a baseball mitt for her brother and was blissfully distracted paying for it as Gou calmed down sufficiently enough for her face to return to its normal hue.

"Can I ask you something?" said Hana once they returned onto the open street.

"Haven't you already asked enough?!" Gou huffed.

"No, well, I mean, it's…kind of an odd question."

Her hesitation made Gou pause. Hana wasn't the type to be hesitant. If anything she was the exact opposite. For her to be hesitant meant it was something even she was shy about. "What?" she growled warily. If this was another thing about Seijuro…

Hana fiddled with her hands. She opened her mouth, closed it, and then leaned in close to whisper. "H-have you ever watched porn before?"

Gou closed her eyes. I should have known it was going to be something like that. The color rose in her face again. "Why are you asking that?"

"B-because." Hana crossed her arms slightly, rubbing the upper area, gaze wandering to anything but Gou. "I'm just…kind of curious about it." Her gaze switched back. "So have you?"

Gou sighed. Well, it wasn't like Hana was actually teasing her this time. This was very genuine. "No. Have you?"

"I haven't." Hana dropped one arm to her side. "But I kind of want to. J-just to see what it's like. I mean I've seen stuff in the movies but that's all fake. I've never seen what it's actually like."

Gou's face was definitely red again now. "Are you saying you want to see it?"

"A little. Don't you? I mean just to see what its like."

Gou was unsure whether it was in reference to porn or it it. Well, I guess they are kind of the same thing. Did she want to? She had never really thought about it before. It wasn't exactly an activity one would bring up to do with their friends and even the thought of watching such a thing at home where her mother might catch her made her want to die a little. Or her brother, in which case he would want to die. No, watching porn at home was way beyond her scope of bravery. But if it was a private place where no one would know about it? She would be lying if she said she wasn't a little bit curious.

"M-maybe," she confessed. "But just to see what it's like! That's it!"

"Me too." Hana tapped a finger against her lip. "I wonder if my brother has some lying around I could steal when we get back."

Gou rolled her eyes skyward. Hana had the worst ideas in the history of ever.

"Or maybe you could steal some from your older brother," Hana continued.

Gou choked a little on her own spit. I take it back. She was saving the best for last. "A-absolutely not!" There was no way in hell she wanted to talk about any...adult materials her brother might have. She didn't even want to think about that. Ugh. "What else do you need to buy?!" she said much too loudly. "A pocket watch for your dad?! Flowers for your mom?! Class?!"

Hana giggled. "Oh Gou, you are too cute."

If Gou was honest with herself, and she tried to be, she became more than a little curious about what her and Hana had talked about whilst walking down that market. She hadn't thought much about porn before. Anything she had heard about the subject had mostly just consisted of an off the cuff remark made at school (typically by a boy), followed closely by a string of 'Ew' from the girls and that would be the end of it. But now that Hana had brought it up she was utterly curious about it.

Just like Hana she too had seen sex scenes in movies but that was different and completely fake on top of which. At the worst in movies you might see some nudity but that was it. There were certainly no shots of actual penetration or anything like that. But what was porn that actually did show those things like?

Has Seijuro watched porn before? She couldn't help but wonder about that as she put away some laundry she had done. Surely he must have. He was a boy and older than her. It would only make sense for him to have some sort of dirty material lying about somewhere.

Her eyes glided along the bedroom. Maybe it's even hidden in this very room. She tilted her face to look towards the bed. It was the prime location, and she barely managed to prevent herself from going over to it and peeking underneath it. She wasn't sure if Seijuro would be upset that she had raided his porn stash, for lack of a better word, but more so than that she didn't want to invade his privacy too much. Scouring around like some kind of pick pocket in an effort to locate any porn of his was a little too far.

Did guys pack that sort of stuff when they went on long vacations for that matter? Goro had his swim suit magazines but those weren't exactly exceptionally dirty. I wonder if he reads the articles like Rei does. Haru's porn had to be easiest of them all to bring along. He just had to turn on the faucet.

Could there be porn on the TV? She highly doubted it but it couldn't hurt to try, could it? She wandered into the living room a bit hesitantly, biting her lip and shuffling her feet. She stood in front of the black screen like it was a black hole. It was a little embarrassing thinking about watching porn in the midst of their living room but this was one of the few times she was there by herself. She fisted her hand. I must take advantage of this opportunity! Seijuro likely did the same thing when she wasn't there after all. It was only fair she do the same.

She reached for the remote with a bit of a shaky hand. I'll just turn it on for a moment or two and then turn it off. Just long enough to see what it's like. The worst scenario was Seijuro came home in the midst of her watching. She would have to listen closely for his footsteps coming up the path and keep her finger poised over the power button if she managed to find what she was looking for, that way she could turn it off quickly.

Alas as she flicked through the channels, as she had expected, there were no dirty channels on the basic cable or whatever they had been provided. The closest thing they had was some nature documentary channels and she wasn't about to watch that.

Well, there goes that idea. She sighed dejectedly. She had actually been kind of looking forward to seeing what it was like…

The sound of the door opening made her jump. She nearly launched the remote away from herself but stopped at the last second. She hadn't actually been watching anything incriminating. Even though she had been intending to if she had managed to find it, which luckily she hadn't. So much for hearing his footsteps coming up the path…

"Hey." Seijuro came through the door.

"H-hey." Gou tried to ignore what might possibly be sweat streaking down her temple. "Y-you're home early."

That wasn't true at all. It was actually rather late for him to be getting back.

Seijuro shrugged and dropped his bag near the end of the couch. He stretched his arms over his head. Gou stared a little too unabashedly, fingers tight around the remote she clutched. Such amazing pecs and oblique's.

"We finished up swimming a while ago," he said, not that Gou was paying much attention to his words. "I stayed a bit later to get in my own swimming time but not too long. I have plans for the evening."

Now those last few words did catch her attention. "Plans?" Could it be the bar again? She frowned a little.

Seijuro looked to the TV where Gou had stopped on some random channel. The people on screen were currently doing some weird little dance in their underwear while having what looked like orange Kool-Aid thrown at them. "You're not watching anything are you?"

"N-no, I couldn't…find anything." Well, that wasn't a complete lie.

"Oh, good." A mischievous smirk curled his mouth. "You can come along then."

"Come along?" She blinked. To the bar? But if they got drunk together again there was no telling what would happen. They couldn't get married again but there were certainly other stupid mistakes they could do.

But Seijuro didn't say the bar. Instead he said, "To the Iwatobi lodges."

Her brow furrowed. "The Iwatobi lodges?"

"Nagisa invited me. They're playing video games apparently."

"He did?" Nagisa hadn't invited her. Or had he assumed that by inviting Seijuro she would come along as well? Her hands tightened around the remote she still held, knuckles turning white. That little…

"So you're coming, right?" asked Seijuro.

The annoyed at Nagisa part of her wanted to say no but the way Seijuro asked stopped her. She had never thought about it before but maybe it was just as hard for him to invite her along as it was for her to invite him. His usual cocksure personality, self-assurance, and lack of embarrassment wouldn't have made her think so but maybe extending that offer made him just as anxious as it made her when she had asked him to go get a soda during the golf game.

And that made any notion of her saying no melt away completely. "I-I'll come."

He grinned like the tallest kid in a basketball match. "Good. I'm going to take a quick shower first. We can leave after that."

"O-okay."

He moved past her towards the bathroom, shedding his shirt over his head as he went and giving Gou a completely open view of his muscled back. Gou dropped the remote. With a mild curse she bent to pick it up. Damn you, Nagisa.

The worst part of all was she seemed to be proving Nagisa right.

Two days later Gou sat in the hot sun, her notebook in her lap and sweat beading on her forehead. I should have brought a hat. She fanned her miserably hot face. If it were this bad for her she couldn't imagine what it was like for those who were actually participating in the camp. Regardless none of them had been complaining, not even Nagisa.

Wiping a hand across her forehead, she peered at the notebook splayed in her lap like it was going to predict her future. Across its white pages was her many, many notes. Notes about the competition the boys would be facing that she had been compiling. She had been working on the data for a while now but today was especially important for collection. Because today was the last day of their training camp.

Lowering the notebook, Gou looked up towards where the boys were doing their exercises. The number of participants had increased dramatically the last two days. In addition to a few other Japanese schools there were now also schools from Hungary and South Africa on top of the Germans and Chinese who had come along before. Even with the training camp drawing to a close there were those who were eager for some sort of guided practice to fill in their free time away from the pool.

And it was giving Gou a great opportunity to observe. The competition that is. Not just their rippling sculpted muscles. Heavens no. That was just a bonus. It was unfortunate she wasn't able to observe them swimming and that she was unable to determine what swimming event they would be participating in by sight alone but getting their names or swimming style when possible was helpful. She ran her pencil gently along her paper, shading in one of those bonuses she couldn't help but sketch.

Their days for today and yesterday had been completely devoted to the training camp. With the camp winding down everyone wanted to get as much time in as they could. It had been starting earlier and ending later, nearly going from dawn till dusk. Everyone, even herself who wasn't participating, was utterly exhausted by the end of the day but it was well worth it.

Whatever we can get. She stretched her arms over her head.

While their days were filled with the training camp the nights on the other hand had been spent with her and Seijuro going over to the Iwatobi lodge, where they would spend the evening attempting to beat each other into the ground at video games. Despite not having played video games in quite some years Gou had picked it up fairly well. It hadn't taken long for her, Seijuro, and Nagisa to be battling it out at the racing game the boys had chosen, flinging random objects at each other's racers to knock them off the track and attempting to knock each other off cliffs. There had been more than once when Gou had pushed – or at least tried to push - the laughing Seijuro over when he had managed to knock her racer off course, and he had only made it worse by moving back and causing her to practically fall into his lap. Nagisa had taken advantage of their distracted teasing to send Seijuro's racer plummeting straight into a canyon, making Seijuro exclaim in protest, and Gou ended up coming in last place because she was laughing too hard to properly play.

At least she wasn't as bad as Rei. For some reason he was a lost cause when it came to video games. Whenever he had attempted to play he had spent most of his time running into walls and spinning in a circle. He was utterly inept at understanding the controls no matter how many times others explained it and eventually he threw up his hands and gave up.

Surprisingly it had been Haru who proved to be the exceptional player. He had consistently placed in the top three, leaving the others to battle each other out in the midst of the pack of racers while he glided serenely along at the front.

After playing video games for a while they had had all dinner together too, courtesy of Amakata with some help from Makoto and Rei in the preparation. The teacher had even gone out of her way to invite Seijuro – a little too friendly like in Gou's opinion – and Seijuro had been more than willing to accept. And as usual when all of them were together, dinner had been a boisterous affair, with conversations whizzing back and forth, Seijuro and Goro debating swimming methods, Makoto talking quietly to Haru, and Nagisa routinely taking things off Rei's plate to Rei's protest. In other words it had been barely controlled merry chaos.

The highlight of the evening had been when Nagisa had leaned too far over for the wasabi and had plummeted straight into a bowl of udon noodles that splashed everyone. Poor Nagisa had been so covered in the sauce he had to go change his clothes. Rei had gone with him to 'help', and even though he had whined about it and scolded Nagisa Gou knew it was just because he liked it. It wasn't like Nagisa needed him there to change his clothes after all…

And Seijuro. In the midst of her wiping off the sauce that had gotten on her, he had leaned over and cleaned her face with his own napkin. He had done it so nonchalantly, as if it was the most natural thing in the world for him to be doing such a thing. He hadn't even broken off his conversation with Goro as he had done the action.

His close proximity and the somewhat intimate touch made Gou utterly freeze and her face to heat up. For a few good minutes afterwards she had a hard time getting her heartbeat under control and had done her best to ignore the smile on Amakata's face that the teacher seemed unable to contain.

Tilting her head, she watched Seijuro from where he stood at the head of the training camp. He was surrounded by what looked like some coaches and possibly other captains from different countries. She kind of wanted to go over there but she couldn't at the moment. Her brother was with him, most likely helping to translate. She would have to stay away for the time being.

Seeing the two of them together made her sigh internally. The last two nights had been a lot of fun and it had been enjoyable having everyone there together. It would have been nice for Rin to be there too but even if Gou had invited him, which she couldn't do due to the secret marriage, the chances of him accepting were virtually nil. And because they were hiding the marriage Seijuro couldn't invite anyone from Samezuka either. Hiding their marriage had created a separation between Seijuro and his swim team and while he had never complained about it, Gou was sure he would have liked to have both swim teams enjoying such times together rather than having to choose one or the other. They had that one night at the bar before their silly mistake.

She placed her chin moodily in her palm. One day maybe. Even after they got divorced Rin would be in Samezuka so it wasn't like Samezuka and Iwatobi would totally stop associating with each other. Especially if Rin returned to the way he used to be, like Gou hoped he would. She tightened her fingers on her face. I really hope the boys can bring him back to the person he used to be.

By the time they started to wrap up it was late afternoon. "Good job, guys!" Gou handed out water to them. "You guys look like you're doing great! Looks like you've improved quite a bit!"

"It does feel that way," Makoto acknowledged. He took a swig from his bottle. "I don't feel as tired as I did when we first started."

"It'll certainly be nice to see how this will reflect on our swimming times," Rei agreed. "When is our next swimming day?"

Gou flipped open her notebook to double check. "The day after tomorrow. We have a hosted event tomorrow."

"What event?" asked Nagisa. He brightened. "More cooking?"

"Or wine tasting?" asked Rei.

Gou almost snorted. After what had happened between him and Nagisa the last time they had done a wine tasting she wasn't surprised he would like to do another one. "The hosts would have to be out of their mind to schedule another of either one of those after what happened last time. It's a memorial we're going to. The Thulile memorial."

"Another place where they likely beheaded a hundred people." Makoto grimaced. "How lovely."

They gathered up their stuff to get ready to leave and as they did so Gou noticed they were absent a member. "Where's Haruka-senpai?"

"He went to the bathroom." Makoto looked over towards the building that contained the bathrooms for the beach. "I think he wanted to wash up a bit. He should have been done by now though."

The boys were still finishing packing their stuff. Gou was the one most free at the moment. "I'll go check." She headed towards the building. "You guys finish up here."

The entrance to the men's bathroom was curved enough that Gou couldn't see directly into it. A good thing since she wasn't exactly eager to see Haru's more…intimate parts. She did enjoy ogling his muscles but that was as far as that went. She hesitated at the entryway, listening intently for the sound of running water, but only silence greeted her. Could he have left and she had somehow missed him when coming over here? She was just about to call for him when another voice stopped her.

"Why did you come to this competition, Haru?"

Gou's mouth froze halfway open. Her brother? There was no way she could get his voice wrong but why…

The sound was coming from around the corner, at the back of the building, and Gou went to look. She halfway rounded the corner and instantly drew to a halt, nearly skidding in the dirt underneath her feet. Rin was there and Haru was with him. Hastily she scrambled to get back out of sight. She ducked against the wall around the corner from them. It was a measly way to hide but she didn't have much choice. If she was lucky they would stay out of view and not come around the corner. Thankfully they hadn't seen her either. Haru's back had been facing towards her and Rin had been looking away when she had peeked.

But what the heck were they doing? Since Rin's return from Australia she had never seen her brother interact with Haru once, much less have a conversation with him. Something was definitely going on. Were they trying to work things out perhaps?

"The others wanted to," Haru answered Rin's previous question, tone impassive. "They thought it would be a good way to earn money."

"And you?" Rin pressed. "I know you don't care about money. So why did you come?"

There was no sound forthcoming but Haru must have shrugged or something, for Rin continued, "What have you been doing these last three years?"

Once more only silence. No response from Haru came.

"You're better than this."

"I'm not better than someone who's been in Australia," Haru responded at last and Gou stiffened.

That seemed like the wrong thing to say but surprisingly when Rin spoke next his words were not irritated. "Are you mocking me?"

"I'm not. You won our race."

"It'd be hard not to beat you considering the condition you're in."

"A win is a win. You won. Isn't that enough?" For the first time Haru's tone differentiated from something other than impassive. A hint of irritation crept into the last words, like a streak of red in black.

Rin responded to that irritation in turn. "It's not!" He shouted. "I want a real race!"

Gou's hand tightened on the fabric over her knee. It didn't seem like they were trying to work things out at all. So easily the situation had escalated and in a way it felt like there was a bomb being cradled between the two swimmers. A wrong move on either end could cause irreparable damage. Maybe that was why they had been dancing around each other so much for so long. Maybe both of them were reluctant to have that happen so they had been avoiding it.

"Or else." Rin's words were so quiet Gou had to strain to hear. "I can't move on."

Whatever Haru said next was too soft for Gou to understand, but in the next instance there came the sound of his footsteps approaching. "I only swim free." That age old line but this time spoken forcefully and with that same hint of irritation as before. "I won't swim for you."

More footsteps, someone running, and then the loud rattle of the fence separating the beach area from the road like someone had been pushed into it. Were they fighting? Terrified Gou looked around the corner. No. They weren't. They weren't fighting. They were…

She stared. Are they going to kiss?

The two were incredibly close to each other. Rin had Haru pressed back against the fence and his arms were on either side of the slightly smaller boy, as if caging him in. Gou held her breath. If this were a shoujo anime than this would definitely be a prelude to them making out or a love confession.

"You're going to swim for me," said Rin. His gaze did not waver from Haru's and after he said that the two stood there staring at each other.

Could that be a love confession? In the world of swimmers it might very well be. Then now, what would Haru's response be?

"In that case." Haru's hand rose. He grasped Rin's arm and with it he pushed the other boy back. "I want you to promise me something." He continued forcing Rin back with purposeful steps. "If you lose don't say you're going to quit." His words were biting. "Don't embarrass yourself. Don't cry if you lose."

From the look that came over Rin's face that was not something he had anticipated Haru saying. He nearly flinched at the last statement and the next instance he yanked away from Haru. He scoffed in such a way that made it sound like he was trying to cover up something. "I'm not a little kid anymore. This time I'll make it clear how different you and I are." He did not wait for a response from Hatu, not that it was likely he would have received one anyway. He turned and walked away. "Keep building up muscle before the tournament. We'll settle things there." He waved a hand without looking back. "Later."

Haru's back was facing Gou so she was unable to see his expression. She waited with baited breath for his response. But in typical Haru fashion his response was to not have one at all. He simply stood there and watched Rin walk away.

A noise to the side made her start and she looked up.

"There you are." Makoto stood at the opposite corner from her with Nagisa and Rei beside him. "Something wrong?"

"N-no! N-nothing at all." Swiftly she rose out of her strange position and over to them before they approached her. Haru likely wouldn't want them questioning him after what had just occurred, but more so than that Gou didn't want him finding out she had eavesdropped on that conversation.

"Did you see Haru?" asked Makoto.

"N-no, I didn't." She swallowed. "Sorry."

Makoto hummed thoughtfully in his throat. "He must have headed back then. I'm sure he's back at the lodge or on his way there." He hefted his pack more firmly onto his shoulder. "Let's head back too then."

"O-okay."

They left the building and crossed from the beach area to the streets but when Gou glanced behind the building Haru was now gone. Could he be avoiding them? He might have wanted to go off on his own for a bit, which Gou couldn't blame him for. With Haru there really was no telling, unless you were Makoto anyway.

"Something wrong?"

She jolted a little as Makoto addressed her once again. She cursed mentally at herself. He must have seen the signs of distress on her. He may not be able to read her as well as he could Haru but she wasn't exactly as hard to read as the dark haired boy either. "I-it's nothing." She smiled in a way she hoped was reassuring. "I-I'm just tired, that's all."

"Me too! I could sleep for a week!" Nagisa yawned. "When we get back let's watch Pretty Woman again."

"Absolutely not!" Rei bristled. "We've tried watching it three times already! All you do is fall asleep during it!"

"That's why I want to watch it again."

Gou's smile became more natural. Rei and Nagisa provided a good distraction, both for Makoto and herself. Taking a deep breath, she did her best to put any thoughts of Haru and her brother out of her mind for the time being.

She didn't stay long at Iwatobi. Having Makoto around was dangerous when her mind kept wandering back to what she had heard and while she trusted the other boy it wasn't her issue to tell. She didn't want to go spilling secrets that were not her own and she didn't want to come between the two childhood friends. If Makoto was to find out then it would have to be because Haru had told him himself.

Haru was the other reason she had made a hasty exit. He was not at the lodges when they got there, not that she had expected him to be, and Gou had left quickly so as not to experience an awkward encounter when he did return. Makoto would know best how to deal with things when Haru did return, if Haru wished to take that route, so Gou beat it before she happened to accidentally make things worse.

Seijuro wasn't home either when she got to the house, which was just as well. It gave her sometime alone with her thoughts to digest what she had learned without being distracted.

Something had definitely happened between Haru and her brother, as she had suspected. What exactly it was she was still unsure. Something long ago maybe? It didn't sound like it was something recent, and as far as Gou knew the two hadn't seen each other much since Rin had left for Australia. Makoto and Nagisa hadn't even known Rin had been coming home for the holidays when she had informed them about that.

Whatever had occurred, it still haunted her brother for whatever reason, and his way of moving forward appeared to be beating Haru.

Winning again.

It all came down to winning.

And Gou was starting to get the impression that there wouldn't be anything she could do to resolve the situation no matter how hard she tried. This is something beyond me. Something she couldn't touch no matter how she reached because she hadn't been there. She wasn't involved. And that for some reason was slightly depressing.

By the time Seijuro got home Gou was stretched on the couch, grasping his pillow and staring morosely at the wailing TV.

"Hey." Gou glanced at the clock. "You're home late."

"Yeah, sorry. The other coaches and captains invited me out for a drink and I really couldn't say no." He stooped over to peel off his shoes.

"Ah." Surprisingly Gou wasn't bothered at all to hear he had gone out drinking. It was a far cry from the first time he had gone out and she had stayed up fretting until he got home. "The Jurrian again?"

He snickered. "Yeah. I'm pretty sure that's the main bar to be at here."

Of course it was. Gou snorted softly. The Jurrian. That old place of sin and bad decisions. What a place.

Seijuro took a seat on the other end of the couch. "Are you watching this?"

She shook her head. "I just had it on for background noise."

He took up the remote and flickered through the stations, and as he did so Gou returned to her prairie eyed stare. Regardless of her thoughts earlier she couldn't help but feel a bit sullen about the situation. Thinking she couldn't do anything about it didn't make her feel better but worse. If Rin lost to Haru in the upcoming race, would he be this way forever? Unsatisfied and discontented, bordering dangerously on the edge of constant anger, seeming to be lacking something that she had no idea how to fulfill? She really hated thinking like that.

"Something wrong?"

Gou blinked. Seijuro was looking at her. So he had noticed too, huh? Then again when did Seijuro not seem to pay special mind to her? "I-it's nothing. I was just…thinking."

"Swimming stuff?"

An old joke now. She smiled a little. "Sort of. It's just…" She struggled to find the right words without telling him explicitly what was going on. "Is winning everything?" She asked instead. "Is that all that matters?"

He raised his eyebrows at the strange question. It was a long moment before he responded. "For some people I'm sure it is," he said, rubbing the side of his neck. "I mean if you don't win then what's the point?"

So that's how it was. Maybe her brother was one of those people. Maybe winning really was all that mattered to him. "What about you?" She raised her eyes to his face. "What do you think?"

Seijuro frowned a little. "I don't know if I'd say winning is everything…however." He tilted his head to look at her directly. His eyes had gone from their normal melted gold to harsh amber, and his visage smoothed out into that sternness Gou recognized as his captain's look. That face he must wear right before he was about to start a race.

"I would be lying if I said it isn't the most important thing."

I bumped up the rating just to be on the safe side, even though it likely isn't necessary. I have no idea what I'm doing anymore.

Responses:

MusicalHeartstrings - Ungh. I really want to answer this but I don't want to spoil anything haha. We'll just have to wait and see I guess. /lies down forever.

Avalon92 & skyfoxRei - I must applaud you guys for your endurance in reading this ungodly long fic in such a short amount of time. I am glad to hear you're enjoying it though!

JustJolola - Good luck on your finals! Sometimes I think about wanting to go back to college but then I remember finals and suddenly I don't want to anymore.