They Call Him the Gentle Giant

Finding Makoto

Nagisa and Haru made their way through the crowd, looking for either Rei or Makoto. Haru was more worried about Rei than Makoto during this time. He had just joined the swim club and he's still new to the whole swimming thing. He didn't want to lose a new member of an old swim team.

"Haru-chan! Over here!!" Nagisa led Haru towards an old tree where he spotted Makoto leaning against it. Makoto looked as if he was acting "cool" and "tough" while standing against the tree. Nagisa and Haru ran to him and got his attention with just a simple "Makoto" from Haru. Makoto looked up at Haru and smiled at him.

"Oh. It's you two. What are you doing here?"

"We should be asking you that!" Nagisa complained. He held Makoto's soft hands and tried to pull him away from the tree. Haru continued to stare at Makoto, trying to figure out what was on his mind.

"Makoto. Do you know where Rei is?" asked Haru. He looked for any signs of guilt in Makoto's eyes, but there was nothing to hide. Makoto was completely innocent, and shook his head at the question.

"Nagisa, didn't you bring Rei to the science club earlier?" asked Makoto.

"I diiiiid~ But Rei-chan didn't come back. I'm worried."

"I'll help you go find him." The fact that Makoto offered to help Nagisa go find Rei made Haru feel even more uncomfortable. The wind suddenly rushed throughout the campus, giving a slight chill to everyone. Nagisa and Makoto, knowing that Haru was okay with them tracking down Rei, went off  for the time being. Haru didn't care if he was alone, but deep down inside he wanted company. He decided to go be with Rin while the others were looking for Rei.

__________________________

"Meeting was boring, this is boring. Gou, the next time you bring me here, let me know ahead of time. You're lucky this time."

"Now, now, brother. Ah! Haruka-senpai!"

Haru casually walked up to the Matsuoka siblings with his usual boring expression on his face. He stared at Rin as if he was a thug on the run. The wind slowly died down a little as the other students were putting up tents and going in and out of the buildings, moving their luggage in and out. It was cold, clear night at Iwatobi High. The time was now 8:15pm.

Haru, Rin, and Gou were on their way back inside to get their belongings and camp outside with the others since that's where most of the students were staying anyway. No questions regarding Rei's whereabouts rose among the three. It was a somewhat silent time for them. Haru's heart began to ache every time he thought about Rei. He knew he's that piece to the puzzle that everyone was looking for. 

Chigusa and Gou were setting up their tent, having conversations about what happened in their classes. Haru and Rin were setting up their own separate tents; Rin wanted to sleep in his own, but wanted to keep a sharp eye out for anyone who tried to put their hands on his little sister. Haru wanted to share his with Makoto, but had a feeling that he didn't want to because of his awkward behavior. Instead, he kept Rei's belongings with him just in case.

The time was now 8:30pm...

Some students were already going into their tents for the night while others were still roaming about. There was no response from Makoto or Nagisa, which made Haru worry even more. He went to Rin for help, which was rare of him to do so. Rin was a bit hesitant, but chuckled at Haru, knowing that Haru was becoming less superior to him.

"Haru, I've been thinking..." Rin started in a low voice that was close to a whisper. Haru looked up from his night clothes and gazed at the shark's red eyes. Rin's reflection was very clear in Haru's ocean blue eyes. He was pretty much swimming in his view. Rin sighed a little and looked at the full moon for a few seconds before asking Haru.

"How has Makoto been lately?" The tone in his voice didn't sound very good. Haru felt his heart being stabbed repeatedly with a dagger while receiving so many emotions from Rin. The look on his face made him scream inside so much that he just didn't want to look at him anymore.

"He's been... I don't know." What kind of cheap answer is that? Rin would think that, but he just let it slide for now.  He stretched for a while, letting out all the pain he's been carrying for quite a while. Haru's eyes felt a bit heavy, but he wanted to stay up in case something happened. Still, no sign of his friends. Gou crawled out from her tent while Chigusa was fast asleep and noticed her brother slowly stretching by himself. She took a quick glance at Haru and felt a bit worried as well.

Haruka-senpai isn't himself this time.. I wonder what's going on?

"You should get some sleep, Gou. You have classes tomorrow morning, right?" asked Rin. Gou shook her head and smiled.

"Since it's lock down season, we don't have classes until it's over. We're pretty much free to do what we want. This is our temporary home."

"Yeah." Haru said softly. He was getting ready to go to bed until he heard Rin's voice again.

"Well.. I hope the others come back.." Rin said under his breath. "... Good night." He yawned, slowly lying on his back. Gou looked at her brother and sighed. She then turned her head to the vice-captain and raised an eyebrow at him.

"What?" Haru wasn't sure of Gou at the time. She was just.. there.

"Oh, nothing. Well, see you tomorrow morning, I guess."

"Okay..."

The two slid back into the tents for the night. It became slightly chill, but very calming, until...