Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club and make no money from these writings.

A Mermaid Among Men

Chapter Two

The beeping of Kagome's alarm echoed through her new bedroom as it pulled her from from a deep sleep. Groggily, Kagome reached out and fumbled with her small alarm clock until she managed to get the beeping to stop. She tossed the covers off of her upper body and kicked them the rest of the way off before her back arched in a satisfying stretch. Once her muscles relaxed again, she sighed and looked out the open window over her bed.

It was late summer and the morning already indicated that it was going to be a hot day. The sun shone brightly, and Kagome smiled. It was a new day in a new city and she was going to make the most of it.

Rolling over, Kagome swung her legs over the edge of her bed. "I'm trying out for the team today," she mumbled as she looked at the many bags that littered the floor and corners of the room. "Now which bag did I put my swimsuits and gear in?" She wondered aloud as she picked a bag and began her search.

During lunch the day before, Nagisa had managed to find Haruka's copy of the rulebook for local high school swim teams. It hadn't said that she couldn't join the swim team. It had just stated that in the absence of a girl's swim team, a girl could compete alongside the boy's team as long as her qualifying times met the competition's minimum requirements. 'I can do it!' Kagome thought as she finally found the bag that she'd been searching for.

Pulling out a black suit with hot pink detailing around the seams, Kagome smiled. Resuming a normal life in the modern era hadn't worked out for her at home in Tokyo, but she was determined to make it work in Iwatobi. She rummaged around in the bag some more until she found her matching pink swim cap and goggles. Finally, she pulled out a pair of short black shorts. Kagome glanced around the room for a bag to take to the pool, and her eyes landed on a faded but familiar yellow backpack. She almost reached for it before she thought better of it and grabbed a small duffle bag instead.

Kagome tossed her cap, goggles, and shorts into the bag before she crawled over to her suitcases and flipped them open. She needed to find a change of underwear to take with her so that she wouldn't have to wear a damp swimsuit home. She had a bra draped over her shoulder and was searching for her panties when she heard a light tap on the doorframe of her room.

Makoto had originally come by the Nanase house to make sure that his friend was on schedule to leave in time for practice, but he figured that it couldn't hurt to make sure that Kagome was up and about as well. Her bedroom door was open, so he knocked lightly against the frame before poking his head around the corner. "Kagome? Are you up?" He asked. He laughed a little when he saw her sitting on the floor with her hands shoved into a suitcase full of clothes. "We offered to help you unpack yesterday, you know?"

Kagome's hands immediately came up to smooth down her bed head as she smiled in embarrassment at the tall boy. "I know," she said but stopped dead when her hands grazed the bra that was still hanging over her shoulder. She quickly yanked it from its perch and tried to hide it behind her back, but one of the hooks caught a small tangle in her hair and caused her to yelp.

"Are you okay?" Makoto asked as he set his bag down and took a step into the room.

"I-I'm fine!" Kagome responded trying to her best not to sound mortified. She quickly turned her back to Makoto and tried to get her bra untangled from her hair. "Give me just a second!"

"Can I help with something?" Makoto offered politely as he stepped forward so that he was standing over where Kagome sat and could look down at what she seemed to be having trouble with.

Time seemed to freeze for both Kagome and Makoto in that moment. Kagome tilted her head up to look at Makoto and, utterly embarrassed, watched everything play across his face.

Makoto looked down at Kagome with a genuine want to help. He became a little distracted though when her head tilted back and she blinked up at him with large blue eyes. He could tell that she had just rolled out of bed by her slightly disheveled hair and rumpled shorts and tank top. He couldn't help but think that she was adorable! But when his gaze traveled to what her hands were working on, his smile faltered a little and a blush rose to his cheeks at seeing the blue and white polka-dot bra. He was just about to apologize and turn around when a voice called out to them.

"What are you two doing?" Haruka asked as he toweled off his hair from his bath. His friend and his cousin turned to look at him, both of them wide-eyed and blushing. He narrowed his eyes slightly and opened his mouth to ask them his question again but ultimately decided against it. He merely closed his eyes, shook his head, and decided to go make his breakfast.

"I think I'll go with Haru," Makoto said quietly as he beat a hasty retreat for the door, grabbing his bag along the way.

As Makoto left the room and shut the door behind him, Kagome's fumbling fingers finally worked the small hook free from her hair. Falling backwards to stare up at the ceiling, Kagome pressed her hands to her face and prayed, "Please don't let this be an omen for the rest of the day."

Downstairs, Makoto dropped his swim bag next to Haruka's low table and took a seat. He groaned as he leaned forward and rested his forehead against the smooth wood. There was a small noise to his left, and when he turned his head he saw a cup of tea sitting next to his head. Makoto sat up and smiled as he said, "Thanks Haru." With a quick sniff he could already smell the mackerel cooking.

"You never act this weird around other girls," Haruka observed while giving his friend a look.

Makoto watched Haruka walk back into the kitchen and noticed that he was actually wearing clothes under his apron instead of just his jammers. "I know," he said with a smile as he pushed a hand through his hair. Picking up the tea in front of him, he took a sip before continuing, "I don't mean to. It's like I can't stop it."

Haruka hummed his agreement from the kitchen. This wasn't anything new to him. Even when they were kids, the natural ease that Makoto usually had about him got thrown off around Kagome. "Try treating her like anyone else on the team," Harka suggested.

Sighing, Makoto nodded at his friend. "I'll try," he said.

Both boys quieted when they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. A moment later, Kagome stepped into the room and dropped her bag on the floor next to her seat at the table. She looked much more put together with her hair brushed and in a fresh set of clothes.

Kagome trotted into the kitchen and asked, "So what are you making for breakfast?"

"Mackerel and toast," Haruka answered her simply.

Wrinkling her nose a little, Kagome patted her cousin on the back. "I think I'll just stick with toast and tea. It's a little too early for a fish as strong as mackerel," she said. She laughed a little when Haruka looked at her like she was crazy from the corner of his eye. "Oh, do you have honey? Toast and honey sounds perfect!"

"That cabinet," Haruka pointed out without taking his eyes off of his grilling fish.

"Thanks!" Kagome chirped as she turned to go about making her own breakfast. She poured herself a cup of the tea that had already been made, grabbed the small squeeze bottle of honey, and piled three slices of toast onto a napkin. Balancing everything, she made her way back to the low table where Makoto sat and plopped down on the thin cushion beside her bag.

"You're much more of a morning person than when we were kids," Makoto pointed out with a light chuckle.

"Yeah, I guess I am," Kagome nodded in agreement. She was just as happy as he was to never again mention the fact that he had caught her with her underwear tangled in her hair. "Want some toast?" She offered.

"No thank you," Makoto declined. "I had breakfast with my family this morning before I left."

"Oh, it's been forever since I saw your mom and dad," Kagome mused as she drizzled honey on one piece of toast before taking a bite. "How are they?"

"They're good," Makoto smiled. "I don't know if Haru told you, but I also have two younger siblings now; a brother and a sister."

"Awww!" Kagome cooed. "How long after I left did that happen?"

"Not long, actually," Makoto thought back. "Probably within a year of your last visit."

"Well I can't wait to meet them! Maybe they'll help me miss my little brother less," Kagome smiled as she took another bite of her toast. She noticed Makoto watching her and blushed a little. "Mama would kill me if she saw me eating this without a plate," she told him. "I just don't see the point in getting a dish dirty if I don't have to, you know?"

Haruka came to join them at the table with his own breakfast resting on a napkin. Makoto laughed at the two cousins and said, "Well I'm sure Haru appreciates it since he's the one who does the dishes." Haruka didn't respond, but the other two at the table could tell that Makoto's statement was true. "Okay you two," Makoto told them as he glanced at his watch. "Enough talk. I came to make sure you left in time for practice and we only have a few minutes left. Eat up so we can head out."

Haruka rolled his eyes and ate at his own pace while Kagome folded her piece of toast in half and took a large bite.

A little later, after breakfast had been cleaned up, the trio left the Nanase house and started their walk towards the pool. "It's going to be a beautiful day!" Kagome said as she stretched her arms up above her head.

Makoto hummed with a nod in agreement. "The weather's been good lately. It'll start getting cold before too long though."

"That's disappointing," Kagome pouted. "You guys said that your pool is outdoors, right? That means I won't get to swim with you much before the weather gets too cold."

"I wouldn't worry about it too much," Makoto told her. "We have a pretty good relationship with Samezuka's swim team. We have joint practices together sometimes, and they have an indoor pool. We won't be able to swim as much, but we'll still have some practices until next spring."

"Isn't Samezuka that all-boys academy?" Kagome questioned.

"Yeah," Haruka answered as they rounded a corner. "It's where Rin goes to school."

"Rin?" Kagome asked. The image of a little girl with a side-ponytail and a cheerful smile came to mind, but she shook it away. "I heard that name a few times yesterday during lunch with you guys. So who's Rin?"

"He was on our relay team when we were kids," Makoto supplied. "He went to Australia for a few years, but now he goes to Samezuka. I guess you could call him and Haru swimming rivals."

Kagome looked to her cousin and asked, "You have a rival? He must be good."

"He's okay," Haruka answered with a small smile.

The trio continued to chat about various topics all the way to the pool. By the time they arrived, everyone else was already there. "There you are!" Gou called out as she spotted them. "What kind of example is it setting when our Captain and Vice-Captain are the last ones to get here?" She chastised.

"Sorry," Makoto apologized with a soft smile. "I decided to swing by Haru's to make sure that he was on time, but we both ended up being late."

"Ah," Miho said ignoring her two tardy students and focusing on the young lady that she'd yet to meet. "You must be Haruka's cousin. The rest of the team has been telling me about you. I'm Miho Amakata, the club advisor."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Kagome said with a respectful bow. "I'm Kagome Higurashi."

Miho smiled at the polite girl. "Nagisa said that you want to try out for the team today?"

"Yes ma'am!" Kagome chirped as she adjusted her swim bag a little on her shoulder. "The rest of the team checked the rules yesterday and I'm apparently allowed to join since this school doesn't otherwise have a girls team."

"Well that's fine with me then," Miho approved as she took a seat on her sun chair. "Go get changed, you three. We'll start practice soon."

Kagome followed Haruka and Mikoto into the locker room and the three stopped as they realized something. Deciding to voice what she knew the other two were thinking, she said, "It's not exactly co-ed friendly, is it?"

"Uhh…" Makoto intoned as he tried to think of something to say.

"Well, it's not a big deal right now," Kagome told them with a shrug as she stepped into the room. "I wore my suit under my clothes, so I don't need to actually change," she explained. "If you can just show me where I can put my stuff, I'll get out of your way."

"What about after practice?" Makoto asked surprised at Kagome's lax attitude about the situation.

"I can either wait until all of the guys are done changing or I can change in the showers after you guys leave," she smiled and laughed a little at Makoto's expression. "It's really not a big deal to me, Mako. Relax! Now where can I put my stuff?"

Makoto pointed out a free cubby along the wall before he started pulling off his shirt. Though they had all worn their suits to practice, he was going to have to figure out a solution to their little problem soon. He was Captain after all. It was his job!

"You guys go on ahead," Kagome told the two boys. "I'll be right out." With that, Makoto and Haruka watched Kagome head into the back room where the showers were and heard the water turn on. Looking to each other, both shrugged their shoulders having no idea what she was doing and decided to head outside.

Once she got outside, Kagome started her warm-up stretches with the rest of the guys. "Good morning!" She greeted the two boys that she hadn't arrived with.

"Kagome!" Nagisa called as he greeted the shorter girl with a hug. He pulled back after a moment and looked at her funny. "Why are you already wet?"

"It's for my hair," Kagome laughed as she pulled a hair elastic off of her wrist and held it between her teeth. She reached back and began to twist her wet hair into a bun as she spoke around the elastic, "I have long hair, so I like to take care of it. Chlorine isn't good for hair, and since my cap doesn't keep it completely dry, I wet it before I go swimming." She took the elastic out of her mouth to tie around her bun before continuing, "If I saturate my hair with clean water before getting in the pool, my hair isn't able to absorb as much chlorine and doesn't get as damaged."

"That's a good idea," Rei mused as he reached up to touch his own hair. He had noticed that the ends had gotten a little dry since he joined the team. Perhaps he would also start wetting his hair before practice.

"So," Kagome started as everyone was finishing up their stretches. "How are we going to do the tryout?"

"Well," Makoko thought for a moment. "We should probably see what your best strength is. We each have our own strokes that we're best at, and we have the four basics covered between us. What strokes do you know?"

"I can do all of the major four, but I'm best at front crawl," Kagome told them.

"No surprise there," Nagisa piped in with a glance at their Vice-Captain.

"Why not just let her race each of us using our own strokes?" Haruka suggested.

Makoto stared at Haruka for a moment before shaking his head. "I don't think that would be fair," he said. "We've been swimming all summer, and Kagome's a…" He trailed off at the end of his sentence and glanced at Kagome. He knew that he'd misspoken by the annoyed look on her face.

"A what, Makoto?" Kagome asked peevishly. "A girl? Yeah, so what? I was swimming in Tokyo before I came here, you know. It's not like I'm so far behind all of you. And, in case you've forgotten, I'm going to need to know where I stand swimming against guys if I'm going to compete against them." She stared him down with her hands on her hips before she straightened her back a little more and lifted her chin. "I think we should go with Haruka's idea," she finally stated as she began to put on her swimming cap. "You don't mind if I do a few practice laps for each stroke beforehand, do you?" When Makoto quickly shook his head wordlessly, Kagome nodded with a quick "Thank you" and made her way to the starting block at the far end of the pool.

The four boys stared after her in silence but were distracted by a pair of giggles. Looking over to their advisor and manager, they saw the two trying to hide their laughter and failing. "I like her," Miho finally said with a smile. "You boys could use some of her sass around here."

"You should probably do some warm-up laps too," Gou suggested.

That was all it took for Haruka and he was in the water a second later. The other three decided to watch Kagome's first dive before the started their laps. She stood on the starting block and pulled on her black shorts before adjusting her goggles over her eyes. Just as she dove in, Rei spoke up, "Why is she wearing those shorts while she's swimming?"

"Hmm?" Makoto questioned confused for a moment before realization dawned on him. "Oh! You've probably never seen them used before. It looked like she was wearing drag shorts."

"Drag shorts?" Rei asked. Makoto was right, he'd never seen them used and wasn't sure of their purpose.

"Yeah!" Nagisa spoke up. "Some people like to practice and train with drag shorts on. They increase drag and water resistance when you swim. It's sort of like running with weights. When you take them off to actually compete, you feel lighter and the movements come easier. It helps your body and your mind."

"I can see how it trains the body, but how does it train the mind?" Rei asked curiously. If it was something that he could incorporate into his own training, he wanted to understand it completely.

"Any athlete is going to perform better if they feel better about their performance," Makoto explained. "If you practice with a lot of resistance and can feel good about your strokes like that, imagine how light and free you would feel without that resistance. It can give swimmers a big boost in their confidence while competing."

Rei nodded in understanding as the three boys turned their attention back to Kagome's laps. She had started with the butterfly stroke but as she reached the starting block again, she pressed her hands to the wall and rolled backwards into a backstroke. "Her transition is a little rough, but she seems to be pretty good at an individual medley," Makoto observed. "That's something we could use on the team."

"Come on, Mako," Nagisa said as he tugged on the taller boy's arm. "Let's do our laps and we can watch Kagome later when she's racing us." Makoto followed his other teammates and got in the pool to open up his stroke and prepare for his upcoming race against Kagome.

The boys did a few laps each with a few different strokes and waited for Kagome to signal that she was ready. They all perked up when saw her finally get out of the pool and grab a towel to dry her face. They were just hefting themselves out of the water when they overheard Gou and Kagome talking.

"I wanted to ask you about your suit, Kagome," Gou said as she looked over the slightly older but shorter girl.

"What about it?" Kagome asked with a smile as her breathing began to even out from doing her laps.

"I know that most girls wear one pieces for competing, but they're usually open-backed. Why did you choose a suit with a closed back?" Gou asked.

"I had a few reasons for wanting this suit," Kagome explained. "It took forever to find one like this!" She said as she touched the top of the zipper that all the way up to her neck. She knew that the suit she wore was odd, but she felt the most comfortable in it. For the most part it fit like a normal one piece swimsuit. It differed in the closed back and high neckline. The suit came all the way up to the base of her neck. "I like the high neckline because it reduces drag. With a neckline this high, the water can't be pulled between my breasts while I'm swimming, so it makes me more streamline. When I finally found this suit I went ahead and bought a lot of them," she laughed as she finished explaining.

"That's so neat!" Gou said as she circled Kagome to get another look at her suit. "I don't swim competitively, so I didn't know about that kind of stuff."

Kagome smiled at the other girl, but her eyes took on a competitive spark when she spotted the boys getting out of the pool. "Are you guys ready?" She called out to them.

"Whenever you are," Makoto told her with a smile.

"Great!" She said as she made her way to stand in front of them. "So who's going first?"

"I will," Makoto raised a hand to volunteer.

As they made their way to their starting blocks, Kagome took off her drag shorts and dropped them beside the block. "One hundred meters?" She asked looking over to the team Captain.

"Sure," Makoto nodded as he hopped into the water and placed one hand on the starting block's bar.

Kagome slipped into the water and got into position to kick off from the wall once given the signal. She looked over to see Makoto also taking up his position. "Mako," she said to catch his attention.

"Yeah?" He asked as he reached up to pull his goggles down.

"You better not go easy on my because I'm a girl. I want you to race me with everything you've got," she told him with a serious look.

Makoto blinked at her a couple of times through his tinted goggles before he smiled and nodded. "You got it."

The two swimmers waited for Gou to give the start signal before launching off from the wall and diving backwards into the water. The rest of the team watched eagerly from the sidelines.

Rei looked at Nagisa when he heard the blond hum and saw that the shorter boy was frowning. "What's wrong, Nagisa?"

"The race," Nagisa said as they watched Makoto start the second leg of the race. "Kagome is smaller, so she doesn't have as much weight to pull through the water. But Mako has more muscle in his legs and was able to get a stronger kick. Kagome's doing well, but she just can't catch up after the lead that Mako's kick gave him." He paused to watch the time difference between Makoto and Kagome starting the last leg. "She's keeping up, at least. The distance between them isn't growing. She might be more of a match for me and you, but I don't think she can compete with Mako and Haru."

"I see," Rei said as he watched Makoto finish several seconds ahead of Kagome.

As she touched the wall, Kagome was already well aware that she'd lost. She floated on her back for a moment before righting herself and removing her goggles. Turning to face Makoto, Kagome extended her right hand. "Good race, Mako," she said with a smile despite being disappointed.

Makoto smiled as he shook Kagome's hand. "You too. And just so you know, I really gave it my best."

Kagome's smile brightened as she released Makoto's hand and made her way to the edge of the pool. "I'm okay with losing as long as it was a fair loss," she told him. Pulling herself up and out of the water, she looked to the rest of the team. "So who's next?"

"Don't you want to rest for a couple of minutes, Kagome?" Gou questioned.

Shaking her head and tucking away a few stray locks of hair, Kagome said, "No, I feel fine and ready to go! So, come on, who's next?"

The next three races against Nagisa, Rei, and Haruka went much the same as her race against Makato. She lost each race, though she had come much closer to beating Rei than any of the others. It was also agreed that her best stroke was indeed the front crawl. But it didn't change the fact that she just couldn't compete with the speed that the guys' well built muscles gave them.

Kagome tried to hide her disappointment and frustration as she yanked off her swim cap and sat on a nearby bench. The guys all wanted to say something to cheer her up, but they weren't sure what they could say that wouldn't sound patronizing. "I can't believe I lost every race," Kagome mumbled as she leaned back and tilted her head up to look at the blue sky. Her chest rose and sank with deep breaths as she caught her breath from back to back races.

Makoto was trying to think of something to say, but his mind was drawing a blank. Kagome couldn't compete with their times, and they weren't even the best during the last competitive season. There was no way she was going to be able to compete and hold her own against guys from some of the other schools in the prefecture. She might be able to do alright in the individual medley, but even then he wasn't so sure. It was while he was watching her sitting on the bench that something occurred to him. "Kagome," he started. "Did you take breaks between the races?"

"Huh?" Kagome asked none-too-eloquently as she lifted her head to look at the group of boys again. "No, why?"

"Because you're only just breathing heavy after racing all four of us, one hundred meters each," Haruka explained after catching on to what his friend was trying to say.

Nagisa's earlier melancholy left him as he jumped in with what the older boys were saying. "You might not be able to match our speeds, but you can probably out swim us at longer distances!"

"You think so?" Kagome asked as she began to perk up.

"It's possible," Makoto agreed happily. "Why don't you catch your breath and we can try again. The five of us can race at the same time with all of us doing the crawl, and we'll see how you do against us then."

"A-all of us?" Rei questioned. He was getting better at other strokes, but he still wasn't good enough at the crawl to think about racing with the stroke.

Makoto laughed awkwardly as he remembered the younger boy's swimming troubles. "Maybe not all of us," he said. "I guess it'll just be me, Haru, and Nagisa against Kagome."

"What distance?" Haruka asked.

Thinking for a moment, Makoto reasoned, "Well we all usually take the one hundred and two hundred meter events at competitions, so why don't we go one further and do four hundred meters?"

Nagisa did some quick math on his fingers before stating, "That's sixteen laps since our pool is only twenty-five meters. I think I might sit this out too." When he saw that Makoto was going to argue with him, he continued, "Sixteen laps can be a lot to keep up with when you're focused on a race! If the three of you race, me, Rei, and Gou can count your laps for you and let you know when you're on your last one by calling out your name!"

Makoto faltered a little but considered Nagisa's offer. Finally, he nodded and said, "Okay, that sounds fine. As long as Kagome is fine with just racing against me and Haru."

Kagome looked up at the taller boys standing around her before her eyes went from Makoto to Haruka and back to Makoto. She sighed as she stood and stretched her back. She really didn't want another loss in one day. 'No!' She thought as she clenched one fist. 'I definitely won't win with that attitude. I can and will do this!' With a deep breath, Kagome looked up at Makoto and nodded. "Let's go," she said as she started putting her swim cap back on.

"Already?" Makoto asked. "It hasn't been that long since your last race. Are you sure you don't want to wait a few more minutes?"

Looking over to Haruka, Kagome asked, "We were both the last ones to race. Are you ready to go again, Haru?" When Haruka nodded and pulled his cap back on, Kagome looked back to Makoto and smile. "Yeah, I'm ready," she said.

"Okay then," Makoto said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Gou, Rei, you're going help count laps with Nagisa, right?" When the two nodded, he said, "Okay then. Nagisa can count for me, Gou can count for Kagome, and Rei can count for Haru. Don't forget to yell our names loud enough for us to hear when we start on our last leg." Pulling on his own cap, Makoto made his way over to the starting block.

Makoto, Kagome, and Haruka lined up on starting blocks two, three, and four respectively. They all pulled their goggles into place and got ready to dive into the water. They waited and listened for Gou to give the signal to start. Then, on her word, they lept into the water. Haruka took the lead followed by Makoto and then Kagome, but Kagome was able to catch up to Makoto towards the end of the leg. The two boys pulled ahead of her again on the turn, but she always managed to catch up a little. It wasn't until several turns in that it became obvious that the boys were beginning to tire and slow while Kagome was able to keep going strong. She eventually managed to pass Haruka and the distance between her and the other two only continued to grow with each turn. By the time things were over, Kagome had managed to secure her first victory of the day and even beat Haruka by several seconds.

All three stood in the water panting at the end of the race, but Kagome's smile was radiant as she tugged her goggles and cap off with a cheer. "I did it!"

Nagisa and Gou cheered from the edge of the pool while the other team members smiled at the sight. Officially tired, Kagome pulled her hair from the bun that was beginning to give her a headache and flopped back into the water to float on her back.

"Well," Makoto said as he pulled himself out of the pool and sat on the edge. "That was good enough for me. It looks like we have someone to compete in the long distance freestyles and individual medleys now."

Kagome paddled her way up to the edge of the pool and righted herself before slicking her wet bangs back out of her face. "Thanks everyone," she said with a sincere smile. "I won't let you down!"

Makoto and Haruka smiled as Nagisa jumped into the pool and tackled Kagome while Gou got onto them from the sidelines. They were supposed to be practicing after all.