Open Waters | Free! Fan Fiction

9. Track

Open Waters

Chapter Eight

Track

Sunday afternoon found Hana once again lounging around at Haru's place. Haru was obviously there, as was Makoto and Nagisa.

As expected, Haru had come down with a cold. Hana wanted to shake him once she found out he'd fallen ill, or at least stalk up to him and say sharply, I told you so.

She didn't do any such thing, though.

They'd been talking for a while when Haru sneezed, his eyes scrunching up as he did so.

"That was loud," Nagisa commented.

"Haru, are you okay?" Hana asked. She leaned over the table so she was closer to him, concerned.

Haru rubbed the bridge of his nose. "My late grandma used to say that you sneeze when someone else is talking about you."

Um... I think you're sneezing because you're sick. Like we all told you you would be. Hana decided not to push it, though. She knew she most definitely didn't enjoy being sick, and doubted Haru was having much fun either. She'd just wait and he had recovered.

Nagisa gasped. "Then Rin-chan must be talking about you!"

"No, I'm pretty sure he's just sick," Makoto said. He shot a pointed look Haru's way. "It's because you were swimming in the pool in April."

Haru frowned. "I'm not a baby that gets sick from swimmi-" His sentence was cut off as he sneezed loudly, contradicting his statement. Hana pressed her lips tightly together to suppress a chuckle.

"It's too early for swimming in outdoor pools," Makoto said. He grabbed a pack of tissues and reached over to present them to Haru, who took one instantly. "We'll just have to work out until it's warmer."

Hana crinkled her nose. They sure are dedicated. I don't think I've ever been this dedicated to a sport before. Then again, I've never really found a sport that I actually like. It's obvious these three all have a passion for swimming.

"Oh, I heard from Gou-chan that Rin-chan joined the Samezuka swim team," Nagisa intervened suddenly, smiling.

Hana wasn't particularly fazed by this piece of information. Then again, she hadn't known Rin or particularly liked him. She glanced over at Haru and Makoto, and saw Haru had turned thoughtful, while Makoto had a knowing glint to his eye. She tilted her head to the side. What was that look all about, she wondered?

"Is something wrong, Mako-chan?" Nagisa asked, obviously noticing something unusual with Makoto's reaction as well.

"No, it's nothing," Makoto said. "But this means we might run into him in a tournament."

"Yep, we should enter tournaments!" Nagisa exclaimed. "Then we can do relays again."

Again. Subconsciously, Hana's hand reached out and grabbed the photo hear her, the one of the relay team. She studied it with a soft smile. Everyone looked so happy... exempting Haru, of course, who wasn't even looking at the camera, instead pointedly gazing to the side. The arm of a younger Rin was around his shoulders.

Once again, Hana couldn't think of just how much Rin had changed from what she saw in the photo to now. It almost didn't make sense how someone could change that much.

"I only swim freestyle," Haru said.

Hana's eyes flicked up as she was drawn back into the conversation, and she chuckled lightly at Nagisa's crestfallen face. "Does that mean you can't swim relays? Don't say that!" He sighed. "Come on..."