Azure Beats (Sousuke x Reader)

22 - Always in Motion

It was finally here, the day everyone has been practicing and working hard for; competition day. Every single person was nervous and on edge. If they win this, they will advance to Nationals, something every single one of them wished for. Nagisa and Rei most of all, perhaps. They wanted to make this last, this competition to be a long lasting memory, something they can hold on to when they talk about their swimming experiences with the best team ever.

To say '(Name) is nervous' was an understatement. She was so jumpy with nerves that after finally falling asleep last night, she woke up at 4 in the morning, and she could not go back to sleep. In the end, she had laid awake on her bed, looking at the plain white ceiling, her mind going all over the place.

That explained how she got dark circles under her eyes, while Gou looked just as she usually does.

So far, the results turned out great. Makoto had won against Momo, and Nagisa eon against Nitori.

It was now Rei's turn. He was placed right beside Sousuke. The two were stepping forward towards the diving block. (Name) could feel her heart hammering, even though she was not the one swimming. She looked at Sousuke, who seemed to be talking to Rei, maybe wishing him luck?

Once the first whistle rang, they both got into position to dive, just waiting for the start signal. A few seconds later, the whistle blew and both of them dove beautifully into the water.

(Name) cheered, her voice drowning in the roar of the crowd. She was sure they couldn't hear her, but she still cheered on for them both. (Name) had took Gou's advice and put it to play in her head, telling herself she would be happy for whoever wins. After all, Rei was part of her team, while Sousuke was.... A very close friend.

Rei's improvement in swimming baffled the team. He went from sinking like a stone to swimming neck and neck with Sousuke in a race. Rei himself was swimming as fast as he could. He knew from the start that he had to try his best to beat Sousuke, because the latter was far more experienced than he is.

This made him push himself even further to keep swimming towards the other end of the pool, where they will make a turn and swim to the finish line.

At the turn, however, Sousuke's kick was stronger, making him pull ahead of Rei. This was greeted by the loud cheer on the Samezuka side. Everyone on Iwatobi team also shouted for encouragement for Rei, knowing he still have a chance of pulling ahead.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depends on how one views it, Sousuke slammed his hand on the wall first, earming Samezuka a first place in 100 m butterfly stroke.

The cheers from Samezuka was deafening as Sousuke gave Rei a polite nod and a smile, before lifting himself out of the pool.

(Name) exhaled a breath of relief and turned to Gou, "your advice from two days ago, it did work, Gou. Thank you."

Gou gave her a small smile, "you're welcome, (Name)! Its Haru and my brother after this, I'm so nervous! Oh and by the way, its KOU!"

Haru left shortly to get ready for his race. He would be swimming against Rin, and he knew for sure that no matter the result, he would be happy with it. All that mattered to him was swimming with his best friend.

So because of that, he knew he had to give it his all, to give Rin the competition he deserves.

(Name) was nervous all over again. Haru and Rin. They were both equally skilled, so she could not exactly predict who would win. She stayed beside, Gou, nervously watching ans the two got ready, side by side on the diving block.

When the whistle sounded, both of them dived in. (Name) was mesmerized by the way those two swam. Haru was like a dolphin, gracefully cutting through the water with his hands and propelling himself forward. Rin was just as amazing. His swim was powerful, like a shark chasing its prey in the open waters of the ocean.