It was horrible; the maddening feeling of your body being chucked around, along with the raging underwater current. Every attempt of resurfacing, failed. You don’t exactly remember when, but at some point you stopped resisting the waves; letting them carry you along with their fearsome claws. Your body was tired, sore from fighting back against the inevitable. The last remnants of air had already been drained from your gasping lungs. You had no other choice, and there was no denying it. You were going to die. And what’s more, you were going to die alone; cold; and engulfed in fear. Funny, you had planned your death to be at an old age; surrounded by friends and family as they watched you drift calmly into an eternal sleep; everyone’s ideal way of dying.
As the last strand of consciousness faded from your body, you could have sworn…just for a little bit…that somebody was calling your name. Just as it all fell into oblivion.
***
“…san…” /Huh?...\
“..San!...” /Is that a voice..?\
“..n’t die, [name]-San!!” It was a voice. Was it real? It was too distant to tell.
/Wait, what is this around my hand?\ You felt around with your weak fingers. Palpating to make out what is was. It felt rough…kind of like, sand. Yes it was sand! Did that mean you were safe? Wait, there was another feeling. Something was on top of you; something warm… and alive. Slowly and steadily, you felt the breath coming back into you. It was refilling your lungs. /I’m being saved?\
After what seemed like minutes, the water inside of your lungs rose through your throat and you spit it out.
“*COUGH COUGH. HACK*” The vision was blurry, but a figure was coming into view, “…M…Ma..koto?”
“[Name]-Chan!” You felt a crushing on your bones. No doubt, you were being embraced in one of Gou’s hugs. She was in tears. “I thought *hic* that you were going to die!! Geez, don’t ever scare us again!” /Us?\
You looked around, only to find the worried faces of the entire Iwatobi Swim club.
“We thought you were a goner [name]-Chan!” Nagisa bellowed, fresh tears brimming from his eyes.
Your groggy self was trying to sink it all in and you did your best in trying to grasp the situation. “Wait…what happened after I went in?” Haruka’s face went grim and his eyes veered toward Makoto, whose green eyes seemed lost and afraid. He just sat there beside you, staring at the ground.
“Tachibana-San?” You let yourself loose from Gou’s mighty grip and sat face to face with him. “Tachibana-San what’s wrong? Look, I’m okay, I’m fine.” It took a few moments for him to react.
“Ah! I’m…I’m fine..” He put on an obviously fake smile and continued, “I’m just glad you’re okay.” But you knew it wasn’t fine. Something about his expression didn’t seem normal. At that very moment Rei placed his hand on your shoulder, “Miss [name], I think it’s time for us to get you home. Can you walk?”
“I-I think so.” You stood up, only to feel a sharp pain on your ankle, “AGHH!” Every ounce of you plummeted itself onto Rei, who flustered.
“I’m sorry. I think, I sprained my ankle pretty badly, Hehehe..”
“M-maybe you should go to the hospital.” A dazed Makoto suggested from behind. You looked back and smiled, “I will, first thing in the morning.” Your confirmation seemed to have calmed him down a little bit.
