I should write a story about writer's block because that seems to be the only muse I have nowadays! This chapter was the chapter from hell and I think I spent literally two months on the first half because kept I hating everything I had wrote and deleting it about four times. Anyway it's finally, finally done and it turned out quite longer than I expected so enjoy a (slightly) longer chapter!

Thank you also to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, followed, and been patient with me as I slowly gurgle out chapters. It really means a lot to me!

Gou pulled the skin near the corner of her eye away to the point her vision became blurred in that one eye. Very slowly, watching the entire time in the mirror across from her, she lifted her hand as if she were about to perform a magic trick. Trying not to blink she moved the pencil slowly across her lid. She held her breath. If she messed this up it was going to be a pain. Whoever had invented eyeliner must have been a truly sadistic person. It always took so long to redo it if you messed up…

Faintly from the living room she could hear Seijuro shuffling about getting ready as well. Gou had opted to get ready here rather than at Hana's place. After having spent the majority of the day dress shopping with Hana, she had wanted to give herself some time with him, even if most of that time was spent with her standing goggle eyed in front of the mirror. Not to mention how the debate team lodge only had one bathroom. Four girls fighting over one mirror was no fun for anyone.

There came the dim chime of Seijuro's phone, a sound Gou had come to recognize the just as much as her own. "What was that?"

Seijuro appeared in the mirror behind her. "It's Nakagawa." He adjusted his tie over her head, tall enough to do so without needing her to move. "He's heading over to the restaurant with a few others. They'll go ahead and get us checked in for the reservation and get things set for the rest of us."

"Oh, good."

In the mirror she could see he hadn't put on his jacket yet. His button down shirt hugged his torso just slightly and Gou found she was having a hard time keeping her gaze off his reflection. Such nice abdominal muscles. Hastily she set down her eye pencil before she ended up scrawling all over her eyelid. "Makoto-senpai and Hana-chan said they would be leaving soon as well," she nearly squeaked. She coughed. "I told them we'd meet them there."

"What about Sasabe-san and Amakata?"

"They decided to go out on their own date. They thought it would be too awkward having two old people around a bunch of teenagers – their words, not mine – and wanted to let us celebrate uninterrupted." Gou frowned at the ceiling. "I think they were just looking for an excuse to go off on their own honestly."

"That sounds like Sasabe! Can't blame him, though! Oh!" Seijuro perked up suddenly. "I have something for you guys."

"Something for us?" Did he mean Iwatobi?

"Yeah." He disappeared out of the bathroom before she could question him further.

What could he have possibly gotten them? Pizza maybe? Or mackerel? She shuddered. Please god no. She had had enough of either of those to last her a lifetime.

She was somewhat relieved to not see a flat box or metal cans in his hands when he returned. Instead what he held out to her was a piece of paper. "Here."

She eyed the sheet a little warily. The last paper he had given her had been none other than their marriage certificate the night after their little drunken escapade. What could it possibly be this time? A death certificate? An arrest warrant? Jury duty? Chain letter?

Carefully she took it, handling it like it was oozing with goo. She turned it over. She stared. Then she stared some more.

"This is…"

A check. A check for two thousand five hundred dollars.

"Half the winnings," said Seijuro. "Well, half the winnings from the relay anyway."

Gou stared at the paper in her hands. Half the winnings. Exactly half.

"But…why?" She looked up at him. "Why would you give this to us?"

"Well, you guys did technically win after all." Seijuro shrugged. "Truthfully we only became the victors because of a technicality. You guys deserve that money as much as we do. So I figured we'd split it! Half and half."

Gou knew shat he said wasn't entirely true – Seijuro had thrown the race to let Iwatobi win to begin with – but the last part of what he said is what truly caught her attention.

Half and half.

When you're married you do everything by halves.

Just like her mother had said.

"Thank you." Her heart was so full she could scarcely muster a half whisper.

Seijuro laughed. "Don't thank me! You guys earned that! Just make sure you spend it wisely! I want to race you guys again and beat you properly next time. You wouldn't be able to do that if you were stuck swimming in bath tubs all winter long or whatever."

Oh, that. That was true. If Iwatobi was to have any chance of making any sort of victories next summer they would need a proper way to practice.

"Although," Seijuro continued thoughtfully. "You could have just asked to use the Samezuka pool."

Gou blinked. "The Samezuka pool?"

"Of course! You've already used it once, remember! You could always use it again."

Oh, yeah. They had used the Samezuka pool before hadn't they? Back when Rei was doing his best impression of a submarine or stick or whatever he had claimed. "Well, I wouldn't have wanted to impose on you guys."

"Oh, please! You can use it as much as you want! We'd love to have you there."

Did he mean Rin as well when he said 'we'? Then again after yesterday's race there was no reason why he shouldn't, was there?

"I don't know if it would be such a good idea for me to be there though…"

Seijuro's face fell like she had just told him he wasn't going to get a birthday this year. "What? Why?"

"Because!" She flipped her hair extravagantly back over her shoulder. "I would just be way too much of a distraction for you! We can't have the great Samezuka captain faltering because he's too busy thinking about girls now, can we!"

She waited for Seijuro's facial expression to become embarrassed but no such delivery was offered. In fact Seijuro's expression didn't change in the least at her cheeky response. "Oh, well, I was doing that during our last joint practice anyway—"

Gou's mouth dropped.

"Why do you think I agreed to that in the first place?" he continued guilelessly. "It's not like Samezuka really needs any additional people to swim against. Agreeing to that joint practice was just so I could get you over there—"

"W—what?!"

"—and even if you weren't there I'd still be thinking about you anyway."

"Oh my god!" Quickly Gou turned away. She had been trying to make him flustered but instead the opposite had happened!

And after all this time Nagisa had been right! It had been sexual appeal that had gotten her that joint practice! He can never, ever know! She would never hear the end of it otherwise.

"Y—you are so embarrassing!" She pushed Seijuro out the bathroom, or attempted to anyway. All that really happened was he sort of leaned slightly and looked on the borderline of laughter. "G—go call the cab or something!"

He did laugh now. "I already have!" He held up his phone to peer at it. "They should be arriving any moment now. Are you ready?"

I would be if I hadn't just sweat all my make up off! Thankfully a quick assessment in the mirror showed she didn't look like some sort of sad weeping clown and after a momentary touch up she was ready to go.

Despite having an entire cab to themselves she and Seijuro ended up nearly sharing a seat anyway. She leaned over him to look out his window rather than bothering to look out her own, nearly pressed against his side. Their hands lay clasped atop his thigh.

The restaurant was downtown, close to the place where they had seen the play. That place with all those fancy lights and extravagant atmosphere. Gou was really looking forward to it.

"Looks like the gangs all here," Seijuro commented and Gou glanced out the front of the cab. At the entrance to the building they were pulling into stood none other than Iwatobi boys.

The four of them looked over as Gou and Seijuro's cab pulled up to the curb, and Seijuro stepped out. "Sei-chan!" Nagisa called out to them like he hadn't seen them in years rather than just yesterday. "You're here!"

"Sorry we're late!" Seijuro offered a hand to help Gou out of the cab. She fussed with straightening her dress momentarily before accepting Seijuro's hand once again to step up onto the curb, and held it. "You guys weren't waiting long were you?"

"Not at all. You're just in time." Makoto's smile was wider than usual. If he managed to look any happier stars were going to start shooting out of his eyes. "Glad you two made it."

"The Samezuka members have already headed inside." Rei pointed to the large elegant building they were standing in front of. "I think it would be best we head in as well so the others are not kept waiting."

"Of course!"

"Have you guys seen my brother?" asked Gou as they headed for the front door. The Rin from before would likely not have even shown up to this sort of event, or only with great reluctance and much scowling like he had for the play. But now…

"He arrived earlier." Haru did not turn when he answered her. "He told us he would meet us at the restaurant."

Gou nearly stopped in her tracks at the answer. The fact that the information came from Haru, Haru of all people, so easily and so casually, spoke such utter volumes. Things have definitely changed. And for the better. Not to mention…

She thought of the check tucked away in her purse. She'd have to tell them later. If she told them now it would only cause a scene. Nagisa and Rei would likely cry, and cling in said weeping state onto Seijuro. Haru would be so happy he likely wouldn't know what to do about it. He might start taking off his clothes imagining all the swimming he could do and then he'd get them kicked out of the restaurant for public nudity. Getting kicked out and arrested for indecent exposure their last night here would definitely not be a good note to end their trip on. Goro would kill them. Yes, I will definitely have to wait until later to tell them.

Seijuro pushed open the doors, held them for Gou, and they had scarcely stepped inside when a chorus greeted them. "Captain Mikoshiba!" "Hey captain!" "The captain's here!" "Captain!"

Samezuka members. Dressed up as they were she hardly recognized them.

"Hey!" Seijuro waved to them with his free hand. "Looks like everyone's here!"

"Now everyone is." Nakagawa stepped away from the restaurant's host desk. In a suit he only looked that much sterner than usual. "It's about time you arrived. They wouldn't seat us until everyone was here."

"Oh, really? Sorry about that. Hey miss!" Seijuro shouted at the receptionist. "We're all here! You can seat us now!"

"Couth as always," observed Nakagawa. "I hope we don't get billed for being too loud." His gaze shifted downwards and he spotted their linked hands.

Gou stiffened. Such signs of affection around Iwatobi was no big deal; they knew everything that had occurred. But having a Samezuka member who was unaware about everything seeing it was a little nerve wracking. She didn't know what to expect. The Samezuka members might not be accepting of her and this sudden new relationship presented to them.

Nakagawa didn't say a word, yet when he turned away she swore she him smiling.

"Gou!" someone called and Gou raised her head. She knew that voice.

"Hana-chan?" She spotted the girl behind some Samezuka members. She raced over to go greet her.

"Oh, my gosh, Gou!" Hana threw her arms around her. "You look so good!"

"I look good?! You look good! That new dress looks perfect on you!"

Out of the corner of her eye she saw her brother making his way over to greet the Iwatobi boys. To greet them with warm smiles and friendly words rather than hot glares and cold silences, and Gou would have paid more mind to it, but she was quickly distracted by Yuka and Yuko coming over and gushing about how great they looked.

They were ushered shortly to their table and Gou could see Seijuro really had gone all out for this. He had rented a private area near the back of the restaurant, giving them an entire room to themselves so they wouldn't be a disturbance to other guests. A good choice considering how loud a large group of teenagers could be. The lights had been dimmed ever so slightly, creating a more romantic atmosphere, and the long table had been set with glasses of water, wine glasses, and napkins that had been cleverly folded to look like swans.

"Should we sit according to our bus seating assignments?" joked one Samezuka member, eliciting a string of laughter from his fellow swim members.

Gou almost wished they would. It would have made things so much more convenient for her. But as it were she moved mindfully towards the head of the table at once, nearly dragging Hana with her, taking a seat directly to the left of the head of the table whilst the rest of the Samezuka tram distracted themselves with how they were going to sit.

Yuko and Yuka followed behind Hana and Gou, with the Iwatobi boys claiming the seats after them, and Rin and Nitori on his other side. On the other side of the table sat Nakagawa, and next to him the boy Noro, who sat in his seat stiffly, almost like he were sitting on a bear trap that might snap closed any minute rather than a chair. His gaze flickered on Gou like she were some sort of wild animal. For a moment she had no idea what his problem was until she realized.

He had overheard about the marriage when she had tracked Seijuro down in that locker room, hadn't he? It was no wonder he was looking at her so strangely. She was going to have to talk to Seijuro about that later.

"Thanks for coming everybody!" Seijuro addressed them from the head of the table. "Tonight we're here to celebrate all our hard work these past few months and all are great victories! Thanks for a great summer and here's to hoping we'll have more of them in the future!"

There was a chorus of hoots and hollers in loud agreement. Nagisa almost came cheering completely out of his seat, Rei barely able to keep him from belly flopping onto the table.

"Please feel free to order whatever you want!" Seijuro continued. "It's our last night here! Let's make sure it counts!"

The hooting and hollering was much louder this time and for a moment or two there was merry boisterous chaos. Nakagawa scolded them for being too loud, insisting they were going to get kicked out, but scarcely anyone heard him. Gou was faintly glad for the distraction. It wouldn't do for Seijuro to see her smiling so about what he had said.

"Rei-chan!" Nagisa's voice came from further down the table. "Let's order everything!"

"Absolutely not! That is way too much food! We would never be able to eat all that!"

"Sure we can! Rin-chan will help us!"

"I'm not going to eat that much food!" protested Rin. "And I've seen what you've been eating. I don't want any of that!"

"Are you on a diet too, Rin-chan?"

"A diet has nothing to do with it!"

Gou kept her gaze on her menu, fighting to hide her smile. Maybe she had been wrong thinking earlier that things had changed. It couldn't be said that they had changed exactly. It was more of a return to the way things had been. The way they should be. With a little addition thrown in for the better, of course. Rei and Nitori. And Seijuro too.

She looked at Seijuro from behind her menu. Thinking about Noro's awareness regarding their marriage reminded her they still hadn't talked about what they were going to do after they got back to Japan, had they? Somehow she got the feeling Seijuro wasn't going to bring it up unless he absolutely had to. He would be trying to give her the space and time to decide what she wanted completely on her own terms without any outside influence on his part.

Which…was just another way of saying he was partial to them staying married, wasn't it? If she asked for a divorce he would go along with it without argument or complaint, but he would be doing it to make her happy, not because he actually wanted to. Just like Nagisa had said.

She frowned a little. She hadn't thought much about what they should do in terms of their marriage upon their return to Japan. With everything else going on she hadn't had the time to really think about what she wanted to do; if she wanted to get a divorce or remain married. Their relationship was one thing, but their marriage was something else entirely. Before it had been so black and white but now…what did she want to do now?

"Gouuuu." Hana leaned against her shoulder. "Gou, what are you going to order?"

Oh. She hadn't even looked at the menu yet. Best to think on all that later. She still had a little time and they were supposed to be celebrating tonight. Her decision about the marriage could wait until later.

"I'm going to get this thing!" Hana pointed. "It's called…escargot, I think? I don't know what that is but it sure sounds good!"

"O—oh, that's…" Well, never mind. Hana would find out for herself. "I think I'm going to get some wine to start with."

"Wine?" That word was echoed not just by Hana alone. Gou looked over to Seijuro.

"Of course! We're supposed to be celebrating aren't we? Besides, you're only supposed to sip wine. And anyway, what's the worst that can happen?" She gave him what she hoped was her cheekiest smile.

Seijuro's face lit up the same exact way it had their first night here and she had decided to stay and drink with him in that bar. He yelled out to the waitress. "Miss, miss! Bring us some wine!"

"Yes, wine!" another all too familiar voice echoed down the table. "Let's order that too, Rei-chan!"

"I didn't think you liked wine," commented Nakagawa to Seijuro. "I've never seen you order it before."

"We're celebrating, Nakagawa! You're supposed to drink wine when you're celebrating!"

"Is that not champagne you're thinking of?"

"Oh, is it? Hey, miss! Bring us some champagne too!"

Despite ordering quite a bit of alcohol most of them managed to control themselves. Even Nagisa, who put his drink to the side once their food arrived and became much too busy socializing to indulge in it too much. Gou took sips throughout rather than downing her drinks like she had the first night at that bar, and stopped once she felt a slight buzz. She gave a reassuring wave to Makoto when she caught him looking her way. He was still watching out for her, but she had learned her lesson. Having to endure a hangover tomorrow on a nearly day long plane ride did not sound in the least bit fun. She might end up puking in Amakata's lap and then she would never be forgiven.

The dinner was merry and boisterous. Seijuro kept holding out morsels for Gou to try, insisting she try different things. Noro stared, his fork held limply in his hand as he seemed to forget he was in the middle of eating a delicious meal. Nakagawa barely paid any mind, only commenting that if the two of them had wanted a romantic dinner they should have just gone by themselves, which prompted Seijuro to try and feed him as well.

"Stop that! I don't want your nasty germs!" Nakagawa swatted the instrument away.

"My germs aren't nasty!" protested Seijuro.

"All germs are nasty!" Nakagawa insisted. "Did you not pay attention in biology?! There are approximately twenty billion microbes in your mouth at any given time! That's gross!"

"I don't mind them," said Gou.

A moment of silence followed her confession.

"G—Gou-kun!" Seijuro looked like he might cry.

"Please don't use Gou and kun together."

"Gou-kun is so amazing!"

Gou started to turn red.

"W—well, then…" Nakagawa pulled at his collar. He coughed into his fist. Noro looked like he was about to experience a mental breakdown.

"I wish I had someone to share my food with," grumbled Hana. "Or share germs with too."

"Do you?!" Seijuro sat forward in his chair a little too eagerly. "I have a brother whose been looking for a girlfriend! When we get back I could introduce you if you wanted!"

"R—really?"

"Of course! He's younger but I'm sure you'd like him!"

"Oh, yeah! That would be great!" Hana turned to Gou. "You never told me he had a brother before!" she said in an accusatory whisper. "Why were you holding out on me?!"

"You never asked before! And what do you mean 'holding out on you'?!"

"Do you have any other brothers?" asked Yuko, leaning over.

"Sorry, no, just the one!" said Seijuro. "I do have a sister though."

Yuko considered. "That could work."

Noro choked on his wine.

They spent the rest of their time in pleasant conversation. As they finished their food Seijuro left his seat to go talk to others further down the table and it didn't take long for it to seem like his swim team was playing a game of musical chairs. His members switched seats, moving about to socialize with each other, rotating around one another to talk to everyone. Even Rei and Nagisa followed suit, Rin bringing them over to introduce the two to his other teammates.

Gou almost dropped her wine glass at the sight. Her brother was actually introducing people, not to mention one of those people being Rei. She had never imagined her brother and the other boy were that close. Then again she still wasn't sure what had happened the night before the competition when her brother had asked for Rei's number. Maybe more had happened between the two of them than she was aware of, and they were closer than she had thought.

Regardless of that, seeing her brother laughing and smiling among all his peers and Iwatobi was more than Gou could have ever asked for. Being able to have both swim teams here together, plus Hana and the girls, freely enjoying each other's company for a pleasant evening without misgiving or worry was a dream she didn't believe would ever come true.

And the ones who had made that all possible…

She glanced down the table to Iwatobi. Without them her brother would likely never have returned to being the person he used to be – the person he was supposed to be. Like a plane that had been knocked off course they had fixed his engine and brought him back onto his true trajectory. Each of them had helped in their own way to make it possible to bring her brother back.

But it wasn't just her brother they had helped, was it? They had helped her so much too, and not just for this summer. Without them she wouldn't have been able to experience all the great things she had since she had first joined the swim team. Without them her life without would be quite lonely and dull she imagined. They brought a level of excitement and joy to her life she couldn't imagine living without anymore.

Not to mention…

Her gaze slid further down the table. Seijuro was talking to one of his teammates, and Gou placed her chin in her palm to watch them. If not for Seijuro none of this would have happened either. He had enabled Iwatobi to bring back her brother, having gone so far as to give up a very precious victory. She knew better than to think he had done that for her brother's sake. He had done it for her. She knew that.

And everything else he had done for her over these precious months.

Funny, if someone had told her before coming on this trip what would happen and who she would come to care for she would have laughed and told them they were crazy. But now she couldn't imagine things any other way. Having Seijuro fall into her life, however recklessly or insanely, had been the best thing to happen to her.

I'm glad I met you.

It was growing late by the time they wrapped everything up. The food had come and gone, and everyone had eaten more than their fair share. More than their fair share. Gou was sort of regretting that last piece of pie she had scarfed down with Hana. If she had eaten anymore she might have exploded.

"We have a flight tomorrow!" Seijuro reminded his teammates as they gathered to depart for the evening. "A very long flight, so make sure you get lots of sleep tonight!"

"We can sleep on the plane!" protested one slightly inebriated Samezuka member, which only elicited a string of laughter from the others.

Makoto suggested they let Samezuka go first before Iwatobi departed, a suggestion which the others quickly agreed to. With the large amount of members Samezuka had they would be hard pressed to try and find a cab of their own at the same time as them. Better to let them go first then they could get a cab later.

Not to mention it gave Gou a perfect opportunity to make her announcement! She held onto her purse, trying not to look too obvious to the others.

Hana leaned over to her. "I'm going to the bathroom," she whispered. Gou only nodded, too distracted thinking about presenting the guys with the check.

"Are you guys going to wait here?" asked Seijuro, nearly making her jump.

"Y-yes! We'll wait here. Oh, by the way I thought you might want to say something to Noro. He seemed…a little tense tonight."

"Noro?" Seijuro seemed to be surprised by this then he frowned in thought. "Yeah, I guess he did. He was there in the locker room, wasn't he?" He scratched his cheek. "Well, I suppose I could explain things properly to him. Maybe tomorrow before we board the plane or during the flight. Not like we won't have plenty of time then! I mean, if you're okay with that, that is."

Gou nodded. "That sounds good."

The smile that bloomed across his face was unmistakable. What could it be that he was so happy about? Did talking to Noro really make him that happy? Gou didn't understand it at all.

"I'll see you in a bit then!" He patted her on the head and conveniently missed the glower she aimed at his back as he walked away. She had expected a kiss, damnit. What was this pat on the head nonsense?

Then again…her brother was still there, wasn't he? With him around they had to be discreet. She aimed a narrow glare his way as he headed for the bathroom, a little impatient for him to leave.

Wait, the bathroom?

Indeed. Instead of heading out with the rest of the Samezuka team he was headed for the washroom.

"He's heading back with us."

"Hmmm?" Gou looked up to see Haru addressing her. He must have seen her looking.

"He's heading back with us," he repeated.

"Oh? R—really? "

"Before going back to the Samezuka lodges, yes."

"Oh." She raised her hand in a vain attempt to hide her smile.

Haru saw it anyway. He turned his face away. "What?" he grumbled.

"Nothing, nothing!"

Haru would always be Haru. Regardless of coming out of his shell a bit he would always be Mr. I Only Respond to Certain Voice Commands like water, mackerel, Makoto, and more water. Not that Gou would ever want him to be any other way. He wouldn't be Haru otherwise.

"Oh!" With Rin momentarily gone it gave her the perfect opportunity to present her surprise. She dug into her purse. "I have something I need to show you guys, by the way…"

Rin stood in front of the mirror, appraising his reflection as one might do with something they vaguely recognized but still felt strangely alien. It had been unintentional to find himself standing here like this, but upon leaving the stall it had been right there in front of him, and it he had felt compelled to linger. It felt like forever since he could stand in front of his own reflection without forcibly having to turn away after only a brief moment of looking at himself.

But now things were different. He felt different. In fact he felt better than he had in years. He felt free. Unshackled and unfettered. Cleansed. Like he had been reborn, given a second chance at life, redeemed.

The slate wasn't completely clean. He knew that. You couldn't make up for years worth of coldness and animosity in a day's time. Maybe not even in several years time, but he was okay with that too. It might be a long time before he felt completely satisfied within this new skin of his, but he had his foot on the right path now. That old path of his that had become gnarled and twisted during his time in Australia, leaving him lost with an uncertain future, had been straightened and the future was a wide open blank space that he could make into any sort of canvas he wanted to.

That was all thanks to Haru and the rest of Iwatobi. They had really done a lot for him. He was looking forward to being able to repay them for it.

He stepped to the sink to wash his hands, tearing his eyes away from the mirror. The others were waiting for him. He couldn't stand there too long in introspection.

As the water coursed over his hands, vaguely through the wood of the door next to him he could hear someone's phone going off outside.

"Hello?" A girl's voice answered. "Hey, sis! Oh, no, don't worry it's not too late here! We're actually still at the dinner. Don't worry, don't worry, we won't be staying up much longer! We're leaving here in a just a moment. Oh but it was so nice! You'd be so jealous! I got to eat this thing called escargot! Its snails or muskrat or…something. It was actually pretty good!"

Rin turned off the water and reached for a towel.

"But I've got such great news!" the voice continued outside. "Do you remember my friend? The one who got married upon first arriving here."

Married? Rin thought vaguely. It had to be someone older then. The girl outside barely sounded older than sixteen.

"Well, I think now they've decided to stay married! Isn't that great! I'm so excited for them!"

Rin tossed his paper towel in the trash. He moved for the door.

"If you ask me Gou-kun really lucked out!" said the voice. "Not everyone is so lucky to get such a cute husband like she did, you know!"

Rin froze. What? Had she said Gou? Gou as in Gou Matsuoka? Gou Matsuoka as in his sister? No, he couldn't possibly have heard that right. Not his Gou.

"And Mikoshiba-san too!" the voice continued on. "He's such a nice guy! He did this big fancy dinner for everyone, but I honestly think it was just for Gou's sake. No wonder she broke into the locker room to go after him! Oh but you know, he has a brother! If he's as cute as Mikoshiba-san then maybe I can marry him and then Gou and I could be sisters-in-law!" A peal of gay laughter.

Rin stared at the wood in the door, the words falling one by one into his skull like bones down the shaft of a well. No. There was no way. Mikoshiba? No, that wasn't possible. Not that Mikoshiba. Not that one. That big loud mouth whimsical idiot. There was no way. There was no way! He had had an inkling about Mikoshiba's unsavory interest in his sister before, like sometimes getting an overwhelming urge to punch the idiot to the floor whenever he saw him talking to Gou, but he had never in a million years thought it went that far or that Gou returned those feelings. There was no way Gou would ever like someone like that.

And she sure as hell wouldn't marry him! Not his Gou. She would never do such a thing. Never, ever. Gou would never—

Rin teetered on his feet. He stepped back, hand grasping for the wall. He felt like a man who had been in outer space for much too long only to be yanked back down to earth in a nanosecond, returned violently to reality.

He had known something strange had been going on. He knew it! Almost since the very moment they had arrived in this country he had felt something. The reason Samezuka and Iwatobi had been placed together for every damn thing the entire trip here, Mikoshiba and Gou always being paired together, the bizarre and almost constant pounces of an overly affectionate Nagisa like he were trying to deter his attention, Makoto's very out of character kissing display at the industrial facility, how the whole of Iwatobi always seemed so intent on standing in front of Gou like they were trying to shield her, Gou's ring that she had started wearing like a wedding ring, Mikoshiba's constant smiling at her, the way he always went out of his way to greet her or stand close to her, the very reason why they were here tonight.

Rin almost couldn't believe it. It was all so obvious. All this time the signs had been right there in front of his face. How the hell had he missed it all this time?!

Because, he realized, he had been so wrapped in himself. That was why. He had been so caught up in his own inner dilemma and turmoil that he hadn't been paying attention at all and had missed everything. He was such an idiot.

He froze suddenly, another thought striking him. Could this be the reason why Gou had been looking so tired so often on this trip? Was it because of…

Rin's hand curled into a solid fist. Mikoshiba! That son of a bitch! He was going to kill that bastard.

He pushed the door to the bathroom fiercely open. The louder than usual sound of the door opening made the girl outside look up. Rin recognized her. One of the girls that he typically saw Gou with.

Her eyes widened when she caught sight of him. She let out a gasp, like she had been caught in the midst of doing something forbidden. She clutched the phone that she had been holding to her ear against her chest.

That was all the further confirmation Rin needed.

He stepped towards her. "Tell me," he growled, "everything you know."

Seijuro stepped back inside the restaurant. The last of his swim team members were on their way back to the lodges now, having finally found enough cabs to take them all. He looked up in surprise when he saw Nakagawa standing in front of him. "Hey. What are you doing here? I didn't know you had decided to stick around."

Nakagawa shrugged one shoulder. "I was just waiting for everyone to leave to make sure they all left safely."

"They've all left now. That was the last of them."

"You're still here."

Oh. Nakagawa had a point there. He smiled goofily. "Were you worried about me, Nakagawa-chan?'

Nakagawa made a face. "Please don't ever call me that again. And I'd have to be insane to not worry."

Seijuro laughed. "Well, we'll be leaving here shortly. Now that everyone else is taken care of."

"Will you be leaving with Gou-san?"

"Of course!"

"I see." Nakagawa ran a hand through his hair. "Is that what you wanted to talk with Noro about?"

He had overheard Seijuro talking to the other boy, not that Seijuro particularly minded. "Yeah."

"He did seem a little uptight tonight. Does he not know about you two?"

That was a tricky question. In some ways Noro knew more than Nakagawa did, but at the same time he knew less. "Something like that. It…sort of got sprung on him." That's one way of putting it.

"Well, I'm sure he'll understand once you explain it properly."

"M—maybe," said Seijuro, fighting another laugh. He couldn't help but imagine it was going to be hilarious seeing Noro's reaction to Seijuro's revelation, and anyway Noro deserved it after crashing his swimming date with Gou. He was certain Noro had sure gotten a kick out of his reaction upon catching the other boy trying to break into the pool with those girls. It was only fair that Seijuro get him back for that.

Someone moved at the other end of the hallway and Seijuro turned his head. "Oh, Matsuoka." He hadn't expected the other boy to still be here. "Do you need a cab called for you?"

No immediate answer came. Rin only stood there, his arms held stiffly away from his body, shoulders moving like he was breathing harshly. His hair had fallen forward to hide his face.

Seijuro cocked his head. Even from this far away there was a tense charged energy to him, like a bow string ready to snap.

"Something wrong, Matsuoka?" asked Nakagawa.

Rin spoke and when he did it was bitten out, harsh like a curse. "Y—you."

That was all he had managed, but it was enough, and when he started marching towards them his gait was purposeful, measured with intent and Seijuro knew there was only one possibility as to why Matsuoka would be approaching him in such a state. He turned to face the other boy fully.

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

Around the head of the table the four Iwatobi boys were standing in a clump. They were all gathered around Makoto. And in Makoto's hand he held the check.

"This is…"

"Mikoshiba-san really gave us…" Rei was just as speechless as Makoto. Next to them Haru sort of resembled the fish he loved so much. His eyes looked like they were nearly going to bulge out of his head.

Nagisa let out a laugh. He shook Makoto's shoulder, making the check jerk like a flag caught in the wind. "Sei-chan!" he exclaimed. "Gou-chan, did you use sexual appeal to get this?!"

What kind of…She resisted the urge to fling a napkin at his head. "No!" Or at least…she didn't think she had. She bit on a nail.

"But why would he give us such a thing?" Makoto couldn't tear his eyes away from the paper. "I mean, all this money…Why would he…"

"It's because Sei-chan loves us!" Nagisa proclaimed.

Makoto didn't look convinced by this logic. "There's no way it would be okay to give us something like this. Seijuro couldn't possibly…"

"He wouldn't offer it if it wasn't okay," spoke up Haru, who had managed to piece back together his usual cool expression and speak in his usual bored tones. "That's just the kind of person Seijuro is."

Seijuro? Haru had never called the Samezuka captain that before. Gou turned her face away so he wouldn't see her smile.

"Haru's right!" Nagisa agreed. "Plus Sei-chan's our friend! Friends are supposed to help each other!"

"Not to mention it is likely his way of thanking us," Rei said thoughtfully, hand around his chin. "For everything that's happened this summer, I mean. It would make sense that he would want to repay us in some way."

That was true, wasn't it? Funny, Gou hadn't thought of that before. After all the Iwatobi boys had done to help them this summer Seijuro would want to pay them back in some way. Giving them the means to continue their training in winter was exactly that. Seijuro was enabling them in their time of need.

That guy…

Her smile was too big. If Hana-chan came back from the bathroom and saw her she'd likely accuse her of thinking something perverted or something.

"Well..." Makoto began hesitantly. He looked back down at the check in his hand. After a moment, he smiled. "I suppose we'll have to repay Seijuro by giving him another good race, won't we?"

There were sounds of excitement and agreement from the others. "Yay, Mako-chan!" "Makoto-senpai!" Rei might cry.

"Then!" Nagisa grabbed the check and held it up towards the ceiling as if searching for hidden markings. "What should we use the money on?!"

"We can't decide that yet!" sniffled Rei. "We need to talk to Ama-chan sensei first! Not to mention we'll need to make a budget and balance credentials and possibly look into stock options—"

Makoto's smile became a little strained. "I—I don't think we'll need to go that far…"

"I'm the treasurer!" Nagisa exclaimed suddenly, eyes sparkling as though he had just remembered this. "That means I get to decide what we do with the money!"

"That's not how it works!"

"Pools," said Haru.

Gou turned away, leaving the four to their hijinks. They'd figure out what to do with the money later. Once they were back home she'd research pools to rent or gym memberships. Although, if they got to use the Samezuka pool as much as Seijuro said they could then maybe they wouldn't need to do so.

"Gou!"

She looked up. "Hana-chan?" It sounded a lot like her, but unusually high and panicked. The only other time Gou could recall her sounding like that had been right before they had been flung into the ocean during that storm.

The next second Hana came careening around the corner. "Gou!" She flung herself at Gou. "I'm so sorry!"

"Hana-chan!" Gou barely managed to steady her without falling out of her chair. "What the heck are you doing?!"

At the head of the table the boys had halted their discussion of the money.

"Oh, Gou, I'm so sorry!" Hana cried. "It's all my fault! I'm so sorry!"

"What are you talking about? What's your fault?" Had she managed to flood the bathroom somehow? Found a dead body in the toilet? Drugs?

The next words Hana gasped out were much, much worse however.

"Your brother." Hana swallowed. "Your brother. I didn't know he was in the bathroom! H—he overheard me on the phone with my sister, and I—I…"

Gou stood frozen. Around her heart circled an icy hand.

"I didn't mean to tell him!" wailed Hana/ "But he was so scary! I was too scared to not tell him the truth! So I told him!"

Gou lifted herself out of her seat. There was no sign of her brother approaching their table. If he was going anywhere besides here then he would be going for…

Gou's eyebrows lowered. If that was the case...

Then there's no time to waste, is there?

"Gou, I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine," said Gou, meaning it. "It's not your fault."

If it was anyone's fault it was her's. Rei had been right. She should have told her brother ages ago. Dancing around it for so long had been foolish.

Well, no helping that now. The only thing she could do now was to tell the truth. The whole truth.

Time to tell brother everything.

Gou marched down the hall like a soldier going into battle. A soldier wearing a fancy dress and high heels into battle no less.

Whoops.

Oh, well. Her attire wasn't all that important and it wasn't like she had much choice in the matter. She'd look fabulous doing whatever she needed to do besides.

The others followed behind her. She could hear them muttering amongst themselves – "Rin knows!"— but she didn't pay them much mind. She was only focused on one thing.

She had long thought what would happen once her brother found out about the marriage. Previously she had worried about an altercation between Seijuro and Rin, concerned of what Rin might do, and what might happen. She knew her brother well enough to know what he would try to do.

But now she wasn't scared. She was only determined, undaunted, like she had been playing a very long and complicated video game and was finally drawing to its final conclusive battle bringing it to its end at last.

There was no way she was going to let Rin do whatever he wanted. Not to Seijuro. Never, ever. Whatever her brother tried to do she would definitely stop him.

She rounded the corner. Well, guess I can't stop everything when I'm not here.

On the ground sat Seijuro. His back was against the wall and across his face splattered some blood. One of his eyes looked to be in the process of turning itself into a not so pretty purplish color. Rin must have already punched him once or twice, and above him stood said puncher, fist cocked to punch again, veins standing out against his skin. Oddly there wasn't a single mark on Rin at all. Seijuro had not punched him back.

Near the entrance to the restaurant stood Nakagawa, stunned and looking way out of his league out of knowing how to deal with this. Poor guy. Hearing about the marriage must have been just as shocking for him. He probably had no idea who had done what to whom and whose fault was what.

Gou yelled out. "Stop that!" she commanded. "That's my husband!"

Rin barely paid much mind to her sudden entrance or declaration. "I know!" he emphasized. "Why do you think I'm doing this?!" He kicked at Seijuro's side, eliciting a grunt from the other.

"Stop that!" Gou commanded once again. "It isn't what you think! You don't know the whole story!"

"I—I don't know the whole story?!" Rin was incredulous. "He took advantage of my sweet innocent baby sister, the son of a bitch! Getting you drunk and then tricking you into marriage! I'm going to pound his face in."

"You already have!"

"Well, I'm going to do it more!" Rin turned around, ready to demonstrate said expression.

Gou raced forward. In her pretty dress and heels she flung herself atop Seijuro. "No! You can't!"

"I can't?! What the hell do you mean I can't?! This pissant took advantage of you!"

"He didn't! You don't know what you're talking about!"

Rin's eyebrows lowered. "Move, Gou."

"No!"

"Why the hell not?!"

"Because!" said Gou. She faltered, her mind searching for a more sufficient reason than 'just because'.

Well, she had promised herself she would tell her brother the truth, hadn't she, the whole truth? It was time to do just that.

"Because I love him!"

This chapter turned out longer than expected so there may be another chapter. Right now I'm aiming for one more chapter plus an epilogue but depending on length that might change (and hopefully the update won't take nearly half a year again).

Responses to some things!

Desertdawn101 - Hopefully this chapter answered some of your questions!

Guest - I've debated a sequel. As of right now I'm leaning towards a no. My interest in Free has weaned quite a bit since the end of the first season (I wasn't all that fond of the second season) and I feel like once this fic is finally done I'll be ready to move onto something new. I honestly don't feel like there would be enough of an sustaining interest in a sequel for this fic either. I think it will be great as a stand alone piece!

Darksknight - This update took so long I might as well have marked this fic complete, jeez. But at least two more chapters! They might be mini chapters but there's a bit more coming!

Creggafoeseeker - Thanks for letting me know about the qualifying times! Rin and Haru were so close in the anime I found it hard to believe that Rin would place while Haru didn't but I know next to little about racing competition outside of what I have looked up for this fic so you're probably right! Haru must have just barely missed the qualifying time, which makes his loss all the worse in retrospect. Unfortunately Momo will not be making an appearance in this fic (although he sort of got a cameo by Seijuro talking about him at last haha).

TLTL - You guessed right!

Vans321 - What's really amusing about this is I stole the idea of them shouting out each other's name during the race from the anime itself. The rest of it really was just pure self-indulgence on my part haha.

Coworly - Surprise!