Here's the fifth chapter! Enjoy!

Getting a New Member

Haru was at the pool, not being in it, which was hard for her. She sneezed. I want to have that magical feeling again... Haru thought. Makoto told her she can't swim until it gets warmer. She just stared at the water. And sneezed once again.

"Whoa!" said Nagisa's voice from far away. Haru got up and checked out what was going on. In the room, Nagisa and Makoto awed at what Gou was showing them. "We can swim here in the off-season! Awesome!"

"Right?" said Gou, smiling. "I think schools like us without indoor pools can probably use facilities like these."

"Way to go, Gou-chan!"

"You're supposed to call me Kou!"

Everyone noticed Haru. "Haru-senpai." The dark-haired beauty took the paper and looked at it. "How are we going to pay for it?" she asked.

"With our club budget of course!"

"The gym is pretty expensive to pay though," Makoto stated. "If our club budget can really cover that..." He trailed off as he saw the blue eyes on Haru's face sparkle.

This is why we started a swim club, Haru thought to herself.

"That's probably what you're thinking."

Haru pouted and said, "Shut up."

"This means we can swim year round!" Nagisa said gleefully.

"That's not possible," said Miho. The four swim club members were in the faculty office.

"What? Why?" Nagisa asked, feeling down.

"The school isn't going to give that much money to a brand-new club with no accomplishments. There is an aphorism form the Bible: 'He who does not work, neither shall he eat.'"

Makoto sweat-dropped. "I don't think you're using it the right way."

"You can't eat a pool," Nagisa added.

"So, we'll get the money if we deliver accomplishments?" Gou asked.

"I suppose so," Miho answered. "That's the best way to secure lots of money for your club."

"Accomplishments..." Haru said quietly.

"So what if we can place in a summer tournament?" Makoto asked.

"Your request might be approved at a second-term budget review meeting. But you'll need at least four swimmers to bolster your case."

Haru was playing with the collar of her uniform. Swimmers...just one more of us...then I can swim freely like a bird! Haru went out of the office.

"W-wait, Haru-chan!" Makoto called out.

"Ah, it looks like she's motivated!" Nagisa said.

Haru had a spare Iwatobi-chan doll in her hand, so she went to a couple of students and took out the bird. "Hey," she said to them in a dark tone. The two saw her and froze where they are. "I'll give you this if you join my swim club."

"Uh...no thanks," the two students said as they left her. Haru tried at least.

"Man, that's all Haru-chan can manage," Makoto said.

"Don't let it get to you, Haru-chan!" Nagisa shouted.

Later, Nagisa dragged Haru and the others to the track field. They all saw the "perfect" fourth member of the team.

"Is that him?" Haru asked, pointing at a guy with blue hair and red glasses.

"Yes!" Nagisa answered.

"I remember him. Wasn't he on the swim team in middle school?"

"Does he hold a record?" Gou asked. Haru shrugged.

"It's his name!"

"His name?" Makoto repeated.

"Ryugazaki Rei-chan!" Nagisa said. "He's the same as us!"

"That's your reason?" Haru asked.

"Look at those deltoids..." Gou softly said with her fangirl face on her.

Haru sweat-dropped. "Looks like Kou-chan agrees with him." She looked at Rei. "Oh, he's about to jump." Everyone was watching how Rei calculated how he's going to do and pole-jumped over the bar. He did it flawlessly. He didn't hit the bar at all! He landed nicely on the mat. Impressive, I guess, Haru thought.

"His form was beautiful!" Makoto said. "He must be a great diver."

"Absolutely! And those biceps look beautiful!" Gou squealed.

Nagisa was just speechless at the performance. Haru sighed. Oh gosh.

The next day, Nagisa told Haru and Makoto that there's no luck. He told them he doesn't like water.

"Don't let him join then," Haru said. "We don't need anyone like that. Don't let him into the water."

"But, if you say that...NOBODY CAN JOIN!" Nagisa said. "We'll have to spend the winter lifting weights and jogging!" He got closer to her face, which made Makoto uneasy. "You want that, Haru-chan?! Are you really okay with that?!" She turned her head and muttered, "No."

Nagisa pulled himself back. "I think we'll need Ama-chan to strip down for us, and if that doesn't work...then Haru-chan-" Haru suddenly had dark aura around her.

"I'm...sitting...right...here..." she said in a scary voice.

Makoto shivered. "I-it's not like I'm supporting this idea or anything! I think it's a bad idea!"

"Well, thank you, Mr. Tachibana," said Miho's scary voice. Everyone turned to her. She had the same aura and look as Haru.

At sunset, Haru and Makoto were walking back home. "Nagisa and his outlandish ideas..." Haru mumbled.

"H-hey, I said I didn't agree to it!" Makoto said. He remembered he wanted to tell Haru something. "Haru-chan?" He got the silent treatment from her. "It sounds like we'll be entering tournaments. Are you really okay with that?" Still got the silent treatment. "E-even if you're going to race Rin again...and...beating him?"

Haru bit her lip at Rin's name. "Who told you?" she asked.

"I...happen to ran into Couch Sasabe the other day." Makoto remembered when he went to the old swim club and ran into the tan, blonde man he knew was Couch Sasabe. He smiled.

"It's all in the past now. Besides, he's swimming again. That's enough for me." Makoto smiled again, this time, at Haru.

Haru changed the subject, saying, "Why can't I get back into the pool?"

Makoto was surprised that she asked that. "Because I don't want you to get sick, Haru-chan."

"I'm not a little kid and you're not my parents. I can take care of myself."

"Well, you can't swim if you get sick. I'm helping you."

Haru just kept glaring at the ocean. "I can swim with a cold."

"That cold is going to turn bad if you keep swimming in cold water. Think about it, Haru-chan."

The dark-haired girl sighed. "Why are you so protective of me, Makoto?"

Because I love you, he thought. But he couldn't tell her that, so he said, "Because you're my best friend. Best friends look out for each other."

I guess it makes sense, Haru thought. I consider him a friend after all. Haru suddenly felt her heart flutter. Gah! What's happening?! Why is my heart like this?! I guess I care for Makoto?

The next day at the pool, the swim club member met up with each other. "Alright you guys, listen," Gou announced. "Amazingly, I was able to schedule a joint practice with Samezuka!"

Nagisa and Makoto were excited. "What?! Really?!" exclaimed Nagisa.

"Did you ask your brother?" Makoto asked.

"My brother wouldn't listen to me, so I went straight to the coach."

"Ha! That's our super manager, Gou-cha-"

"Kou."

"That means we have permission to swim in Samezuka's pool now," Makoto stated.

Haru's eyes twinkled. Yes... she thought. YES...

"But...since it's a joint practice, we'll need four members at a minimum," Gou stated.

"Aw, that means we need to recruit a new member during practice," Nagisa said. "Especially since Gou-chan used her sex appeal to give us this chance."

"WHAT?! I DID NOT use sex appeal!" Gou shouted.

"Wait, you didn't? Really?"

"OF COURSE NOT!"

"Seriously, Nagisa, it's like you're a pervert or something," Haru stated.

"Heh?! I'm not!"

"You thought of using me and Miss Amakata for recruiting by wearing a swimsuit, TWICE, and now you thought Kou used sex appeal to give us this chance?"

"Yeah, that's true..." Makoto agreed.

"Whoa whoa whoa! I swear! I'm not a pervert! Honest!" Nagisa looked straight at her eye. She sighed.

"Fine, I guess you're not. But stop thinking like that, will you?" Nagisa nodded. "Good."

Rin was jogging with the swim team of Samezuka. He stopped to take a breather. "Nobody told me there would be joint practice," he panted. A boy with short gray hair and blue eyes was next to him to take a breather as well.

"The captain made the call," he said. "Your little sister is part of the Iwatobi swim club, right? Their members are Nanase Haru, Tachibana Makoto, and Hazuki Nagisa. At least one of them doesn't have a girly-" He looked up at Rin, who had the face that said, "Shut up". "Sorry..."

"How did you know?" the magenta-haired man asked.

"I participated in that tournament," said the gray-haired boy. "I believe it was your last tournament as a grade schooler, Matsuoka-senpai. My team lost at the prelims. That race was AMAZING to watch! Oh wait, was there a girl with you too?" Rin didn't have time for this, so he ran while the boy was still talking. The boy noticed and said, "Matsuoka-senpai! Wait for me!"

Gorgeous... Rin thought in a down mood.

Haru was feeding some pet food to a few stray cats. She sneezed once again and the cats ran away. I remember that my late grandma said that you sneeze when someone's talking about you... she thought. So someone must've talked about me.

At Iwatobi High the next day, Haru and Makoto saw Nagisa panting. "What are you doing?" Makoto asked.

"H...Haru-chan...Mako-chan..." Nagisa panted. "Oh, Rei-chan." The two saw the blue-haired, glasses-wearing man coming to them.

"So, are you Haru-chan-san?" Rei asked.

"Yes," Haru answered.

"Is something up?" Nagisa asked Rei.

"I'm willing to participate in your joint practice as a trial member," Rei answered.

"What?! Really?!" Nagisa's eyes sparkled.

"But on one condition. I'm not swimming."

Later at Samezuka Academy, the swim club arrived at the pool. Gou was fangirling over the Samezuka swim team's members. Then she fangirled over to Makoto.

"Hey, thanks for coming," the captain said.

The team bowed down to him. "Thank you very much!"

"Uh, sure." He looked at Haru. "So you're Nanase-san, right?" Haru looked up at him. "I heard you're the only girl on the swim team, yeah?" Haru nodded. "You won bunch of regional tournaments in grade school, right?" Haru nodded again. As the captain was talking to her, Rin arrived and looked at her. Still looking great as usual, Rin thought. But is Gou...

Gou noticed her big brother and ran to him. Nagisa went with her. "Big brother!" she exclaimed.

"Gou, what are you trying to do?" Rin asked.

"Rin-chan!" said Nagisa. "We can swim together again! Let's have fun today!"

"'Together?'" Rin repeated. "Hmph. You guys are a waste of my time, except for Gorgeous." He left the indoor pool just then.

"Big bro..." Gou muttered.

"What's his problem?" Rei asked, confused.

"Yeah, there's some history there," Makoto said.

...

"I was thinking that you could practice with our first-years today," the captain stated. He clapped his hands together. "Okay! Let's start with the individual time trials." He looked at Rei. "You there. Get in your swimsuit."

"Uh, I'm not-" Rei said before getting cut off by Nagisa.

"Sorry! He forgot to bring his swimsuit!" the yellow-haired boy lied.

"What? Why is he here then?" the captain questioned. "Ah well, we have a spare swimsuit, so get changed! Hey, Nitori!" The gray-haired boy went to Rei and said, "Follow me."

"I said I'm not-" Rei got cut off again as Nitori got him into the changing room.

Nagisa sweat-dropped. "Uh-oh..."

...

Rei was back in a spare swim brief. "The deal was that I cannot swim," Rei said, being very ticked.

"Don't worry," Nagisa replied. "These time trials are just for practice, so it doesn't matter if you're slow."

"But that's not the issue!"

"Oh, it's Mako-chan's turn!"

Makoto put on some swimming goggles and positioned himself on the board. From the corner of his eye, he saw Rin on the upper-level of the indoor pool. They both shot competition sparks at each other. As the whistle was blown, Makoto dived into the water.

"Alright! I'm next!" Nagisa stated as he put on his swimming goggles and went on the board. As Makoto hit the diving board side of the pool, Nagisa positioned himself on the board.

"Ready..." announced the Samezuka coach. He blew the whistle and Nagisa dived into the water.

"You're up next, Ryugazaki-kun," Makoto said.

"What?! I told you, I'm not-" Rei got cut off ONCE AGAIN.

"Yo, next swimmer! Get on the board!" the captain demanded.

"You might as well," Makoto said.

Rei gritted his teeth and said, "Fine! I'll do it!" He took off his glasses and put on a swimming cap and goggles.

"Don't underestimate the water," Haru warned him.

"I'm not!" Rei got on the board and positioned himself. He calculated how he would go. As Nagisa hit the diving board side of the pool, the whistle blew off. Rei jumped...and did a belly-flop on the water. The team was shocked. "WHAAAAAAT?!" they all said. Haru is realizing he can't go back up.

I warned him, she thought as she jumped into the pool to save him. Nagisa joined with her.

"Is he okay?!" the Samezuka captain worriedly asked. Haru and Nagisa pulled him back up. He coughed and breathed for some air.

"Don't worry, Rei, I feel your pain," Haru whispered to him. He wondered why she said that.

...

Rei sat with a towel on his head, being down.

"So, Rei-chan, you can't swim?" Nagisa asked.

"Yeah..." he answered. "Do you think it's all MY fault?! I told you I wasn't going to swim!"

"You could have said something earlier..."

"I wasn't going to admit I couldn't swim. That would go against my sense of beauty!"

"Rei-chan..."

"I'll clear things up with Samezuka. Sorry about forcing you into this situation," Makoto said. "Oh, it's Haru-chan's turn to swim."

Haru put on her goggles and swimming cap and went on the board. Rei began to watch her. She positioned herself on the board. "Ready!" the captain yelled. "Set!" Rin looked at her again to see how she swims now. The whistle was blown and Haru leapt into the water. That caught Rei's attention. Haru splashed into the water and began to swim her freestyle. Rei stood up.

"It's so beautiful to watch!" Nagisa commented.

Makoto noticed Rei and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"No...it's just that..." Rei trailed off as he saw Haru magnificently swam her freestyle.

"I told you so!" Nagisa said. "Haru-chan is an amazing swimmer." Rei was amazed at how she doesn't use calculation and theory yet she looks graceful while swimming. He wondered if he could do that. Makoto hoped he doesn't become a rival...

The next day on the track field, everyone was sitting on the bench, watching Rei's pole jump. Nagisa still hasn't given up on him. Rei was ready to pole jump. He ran, pole jump, and spread all his limbs out, which surprised everyone. However, he hit the bar and fell down. Suddenly, when he stood up, he headed to the members of the swim club. He looked at Haru. "I want to be like you, Nanase-senpai," he said to her.

He...wants to be me? she thought. Wow.

"What do you mean?" asked Gou.

"I want that kind of freedom."

"It's not freedom," Haru said. "It's freestyle."

"Fr-freestyle..." Rei repeated to himself. He pushed up his glasses. "Anyway, I would like to formally..." He bowed down to the team. "Join the swim club!" That shocked everyone, including Haru. She sighed. "If you want to swim, go ahead," she said.

"That's that, then!" Makoto said.

"Yay, Haru-chan!" Nagisa shouted in happiness.

"However, you were the one that initially invited me to join," Rei continued. "I expect you to take responsibility...Nagisa-kun." Nagisa's eye sparkled and he was super happy.

"Sure! You can count on me!" he said as he jumped to Rei.

"Hey! Watch it!" Everyone was laughing but Haru. She doesn't have the time to be excited.

At Haru's home, she had to choose which swimsuit to wear. There was a black and purple swimsuit, a black and purple swimsuit, a black and purple swimsuit, a black and purple swimsuit, and a black and purple swimsuit. She cannot decide, since she loved them all.

Outside, Makoto was playing with a baby kitten. Haru came out in her school uniform. He looked at Haru. "Haru-chan, today is the day," he said.

"Huh?" she said.

Ending here. What do you think?

I forgot I had to recruit Rei. NOW this'll have some competition and chemistry!

Read, review, follow, and favorite! Tell me if there's a typo or anything. I'll see you in the next chapter! ;D