Clouded Distance | Free! Fan Fiction

29. Clear as Day

Clouded Distance
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Clear as Day

A week passed, and no one heard anything from Haru. Hana couldn't stop the worry gnawing within her, and she kept thinking back to their last encounter. The more she did, the more reason she had to cringe.

She felt guilt. Looking back on their conversations, she realised just how forceful she'd been when talking to Haru. She was kicking herself for it now. She should have instead been encouraging and supportive, and gently guided him in the right direction instead of breaking down in the middle of that street and screaming. If she'd handled it better... Would Haru have needed to go to Australia? Would he be happier? Or would it have not made much difference at all?

But they didn't have too much time to worry. Nationals were just around the corner, and every spare moment the boys had was spent preparing for the event. Hana stayed at the writing club, both helping others and working on her piece for the short story collection they'd put forth at the end of the year. With nothing much else to do, she found she had ample time to work on her story. It was coming along much better than her last story had, as the inspiration had come to her instantly. 

Between school, working on her story and the writing club, Hana lost track of time and before she knew it, she had to pack her bags to head down to the Nationals venue. They'd arrive there two days before the tournament, so they had time to practice in the pool.

That day would also be the day Haru arrived back from Australia.

While Rei and Nagisa practiced their swimming, Makoto had gone to the airport to collect Haru. He had invited Hana to come, but she'd declined. She wanted to spend a bit more time collecting herself, and wasn't sure Haru wanted to see her, anyway. Just Makoto would be enough. 

She didn't stay in the pool. Instead, she remained outside in the area where Makoto said they'd all meet up. She sat back on the stairs and looked up at the sky, focusing on nothing in particular, just willing time to pass.

When Nagisa and Rei joined her outside, she knew that Makoto and Haru would be arriving soon. Sure enough, soon after they joined her, they heard Makoto call out to them. 

Hana sucked in a deep breath and looked up. She saw Makoto walked toward them, a slighter, darker-haired figure by his side.

Haru. 

Something inside her broke when she saw him. It was relief, overpowering relief that he was back here with them.

"Haru-chan!" Nagisa called, waving. He and Rei ran to meet Haru. Hana followed, slower than she would've thought, lost in a daze. 

Haru was there, greeting everyone with a small smile. "Nagisa, Rei." His eyes met hers, and for a moment time froze and all that mattered was that they were looking at each other. Hana caught a swirl of conflicting emotions in Haru's eyes - guilt? Gladness? Relief? She couldn't tell. "Hana." His voice so was soft, so gentle. She hadn't realised how much she'd missed it, missed him, until he was standing right in front of her. 

If the others had noticed the time where they'd been locked in each other's gazes, they didn't show it.

"Welcome back, Haru-chan!" Nagisa exclaimed brightly, a large smile on his face.

"I'm so glad you made it home safely!" Rei said, an equally large smile on his face.

"Jeez, Rei-chan was really worried about you, you know."

"N-Nagisa-kun!" Rei stammered, to laughter from the others.

Haru smiled, bowing his head apologetically. "I'm sorry that I made you worry."