Open Waters | Free! Fan Fiction

26. Coming Closer

Open Waters

Chapter Twenty-Six

Coming Closer

The wind was a little cooler as Hana climbed up the hill, but it wasn't exactly noticable. When she reached the top, she smiled softly to see Haru standing there, elbows on the fence as he leaned over it.

Not long after Nagisa had left to get Rei, Haru had walked off to this hill. Makoto had offered to grab drinks, while Hana had decided to follow him up here.

"Haru?" Hana murmured. She walked up and stood beside him, resting her elbows on the fence like he was. She was very, very aware of the minimal distance between their bodies. "How... how are you?"

"I'm okay." Haru spoke to the view, but when the last word passed his lips he turned to face her and a small smile crossed his face. "Thanks for your concern, Hana."

"You've done so much for me, with teaching me how to swim and all. And... I can't bear to see you down." Hana hesitated, then lifted one of the sleeves of her yukata, and the bracelet she'd received as a gift from him shone lightly in the moonlight. "You know... I only take this off at school, because I'm terrified of losing it there. But all other times... I never take it off. You don't know how much this small bracelet means to me. So... I haven't said it properly yet... but thank you."

Hana thought that maybe Haru's cheeks had coloured a little, but after she blinked, they were their normal colour. She deduced that it had been a trick of the light, surely. "I remembered how upset you were after losing it."

"Yeah. It was my favourite thing to wear at the time." She flushed. "I can't believe you remember that."

He shrugged. Hana rolled her eyes and turned her gaze back to the view. The moonlit waters dominated the view, but Hana didn't feel uneasy. Instead, she was mesmerised and captivated by its beauty.

The sound of footsteps echoing through the night air met their ears. Hana lifted her head to see Makoto make his way to them, three drinks in hand.

"Here." He passed a drink to both Haru and Hana.

"Thanks." Thus time, was sure to check what type of drink it was before she took a sip. The fizziness didn't catch her off guard this time, and she smiled as the drink refreshed her. It wasn't long until she'd finished it.

For a while, it was silent between the three of them, the only sounds the faint rustling of the leaves, and far-off sounds of the festival below. It was a tranquil and calming environment, the mood finished with the soft glow.

"You know... we didn't get to prepare for that relay, so I got a bit frantic," Makoto started softly, attracting the attention of the others. "Swimming has hard as I could, so the next person could go... but in the process, I remembered what we saw that day." He smiled, looking across at Haru. "I was happy to swim in a relay with you... with everyone."

Haru sighed, glancing down at the empty can in his hands. "I'm... not so sure anymore. I don't need a reason to swim; I just need to feel the water. That's what I've always believed. But when I lost to him, everything went dark. I won't get to swim with Rin again." He squeezed the can in his hands, and it crushed under all the pressure. "I didn't care about anything else at that point. But then..."'He hesitated, then continued. "First, Hana was there, and then I watched you guys swim. I thought, I trained hard with these guys. I might end up being nothing more than a filler, but, if you guys really wanted to swim in a relay, I would swim. That's when I remembered how it felt to swim in the same lane together, how it felt when everyone was waiting at the finish line." He straightened up, looking at both his friends. "And made me, just as happy!"