Open Waters | Free! Fan Fiction

23. A Second Chance

Open Waters

Chapter Twenty-Three

A Second Chance

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Hana wasn't sure how much time had passed since she'd sat down with Haru. She didn't mind the quiet or that they didn't speak. If Haru just needed someone to sit beside him and comfort him, she'd do it.

But, her mind continued flashing back to the others. When were their races? She wanted to be there to see them. Especially Makoto's. They were close friends, and she wanted to see him race and be there to support him.

"Hey, Haru-chan! Hana-chan!" Hana blinked as she heard the voice. But... I thought they said not to come after Haru... so why is he here? She looked up and saw Nagisa run up, coming to a stop before them. He'd been running as fast as he could; Hana could tell from the way he bent over, his hands on his knees, and breathed in heavy, ragged breaths. He was also gasping out his words. "There you are! Mako-chan's race is about to start! Hurry up."

Makoto's about to race? Hana leapt to her feet in an instant. She wasn't going to miss this for the world.

However, Haru broke the eye contact between the two. "I'll pass."

Hana glared at him, shoving him lightly in the side. "Nanase Haruka, I think not," she growled. Makoto was his closest and oldest friendl; Hana wasn't going to let him pads this up now he knew about it. She looked at Nagisa and nodded. "Nagisa, help me out here."

Nagisa nodded. "Right." Together, they each grabbed one of Haru's hands and hauled him to his feet, no matter how unwilling he may be. "Let's go," Nagisa gasped, and the two dragged him back down the hallway. Though she had been comforting Haru and appreciated that he might need time to recover his thoughts, Hana thought that watching his friends race might be good for him. It would give him a reason to take his mind off his race with Rin.

When they broke the outside, they found themselves standing in the stands again. Hana felt a little disappointed that Makoto's race had already started. She had wanted to see the beginning of it.

From the small Iwatobi crowd, the cheers were loud, assisted by Sasbe's loudspeaker. Hana smiled fondly at the cheering crowd and returned her eyes to Makoto. He was currently coming second, and it was a close thing.

In the end, his effort wasn't enough, Makoto narrowly coming second. Hana felt her heart shatter a little as she caught the disappointed look on her friend's face. He had been training hard, like everyone, and the loss had probably disappointed him greatly.

Nagisa went to sit down with the others, but Haru remained standing. Because he wasn't moving, Hana wasn't going to, either. She stayed by his side, even as her legs started to ache with standing for so long.

They stayed and watched the others swim. Nagisa trailed behind at the beginning, but after the turn he sped up and closed the gap between himself and the leader. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to claim a victory.

Rei got the worst deal. When he dived in, his goggles slid off, leaving him to get water continuously in his eyes.

With each of her friend's losses, another little piece of Hana's heart broke. She could see the disappointment on their faces as clear as day as they left the pool, and knew they were leaving thinking all their efforts just hadn't been enough. And they had put in so much effort, possibly more than the other schools. What other school had gone so far as to swim in the ocean with deserted islands for a training camp?

When Rei's race finished, Hana glanced over at Haru, seeing the same passive expression on his face. Once again, she wondered what was going through his head. How was he reacting to the constant losses of his friends?