Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club and make no money from these writings. The original idea for this story belongs to Bishonen'sFoxyMiko.

Fish and Freedom

Chapter One

Summer was in full swing in Iwatobi. Schools were out for their summer breaks, and that meant one thing for Makoto Tachibana: babysitting. Already in his second year of college, he'd come home for his break so that he could see his family and friends. He'd been accepted to a college several towns over and was enjoying his studies in Classic Literature, a decision that Ms. Amakata had been ecstatic about upon being told.

Rei and Nagisa had actually ended up going to the same school after they graduated and were even roommates in the campus dorms. The two younger boys had declared their majors as Chemistry and History, respectively. While Rei's choice hadn't come as a surprise to anyone, Nagisa's had struck everyone as being a little tame for the boisterous young man.

Makoto had been in touch with Rin a few times since coming back to Iwatobi. The redhead had gone on a family trip with his mother and sister, who had also come back for the summer. He wasn't sure what Gou had decided to study, but he knew that Rin was studying Sports Science. He was also still training in his swimming, and there was talk that he held a high chance of making it onto Japan's swimming team for the next Summer Olympic Games in a few years.

The only person that Makoto was really worried about was Haru. In the past two years since they'd graduated, his best friend had seemed a little lost. He was taking classes at a small community college, but he was only taking the cores that any degree would require. He'd left his major as "undeclared" and hadn't shown any interest in changing it. The only thing that Haru had mentioned even partially enjoying was the part-time job that Coach Sasabe had given him as a swim instructor at the Swim Club. Even though Haru wasn't a fan of teaching, he was happy that he got to be in and around the water as much as he did.

"We're almost there!" Ran called out happily from her spot several steps ahead of him and Ren.

"Yes, yes," He called back. "Go knock on the door." With that, Ran happily ran ahead of her brothers to go get the boy who had been like a second older brother to her and Ren.

Though their mother was a homemaker, she'd had an appointment that afternoon, so Makoto had offered to take the twins out for the day. They were currently on their way to pick up Haru for their day out together.

Makoto and Ren were just approaching the front door when they saw Haru slide the door open while still towel drying his dark hair. 'At least he's already out of the bath,' Makoto thought to himself with a small laugh. "Hey, Haru," he called out as he lifted a hand in greeting.

"Hey," Haru replied as he stepped aside for the siblings to enter his home.

"It looks like you're about ready to go," Makoto observed. Haru was already dressed in his street clothes of jeans, a t-shirt, and a short-sleeved hoodie.

Haru hummed as he pulled the towel out from around his neck and walked back towards the bathroom to drop it in the hamper. When he returned, he saw Ran and Ren looking over the books and pictures displayed on his bookcase. Still watching the two, he asked, "Have you talked to Nagisa and Rei?"

Makoto nodded happily as he answered, "They're meeting us there. I had to make sure that they were coming so that I have help keeping you out of the water." He chuckled at the flat look Haru shot him. "So are you ready to go? If we don't leave soon, we'll miss our train."

Nodding, Haru grabbed his house keys, cell phone, and wallet. He followed Makoto and the twins out of the house and locked up behind them before catching up with the trio. He'd planned on just spending the day at home after his only swim class of the morning had ended, but when Makoto had invited him on an outing with his little siblings, he'd had a hard time telling the other man no. It had always been that way. Well, that wasn't necessarily true. He often told Makoto no. He just had a hard time enforcing it.

He listened as the twins chattered back and forth all the way to the station. He usually found the small kids that he taught to be a little overwhelming with the way that they constantly talked about nothing in particular, but he'd never felt that way about Ran and Ren. He supposed it was because he'd known them since they were born. As an only child, they were as close to younger siblings as he'd ever had.

The train ride wasn't long. Deboarding and walking the few necessary blocks, Haru noticed that the closer that they got to their destination, the more excitable the children got. Finally, the large building came into view and Haru read the sign. Iwatobi Aquarium.

"We haven't been here in a long time," he mused aloud.

"I know," Makoto agreed with smile. He caught sight of Rei and Nagisa waiting by the ticket gate and waved. "But I've heard that they've done a lot of work to it and updated the exhibits in the last few years. One of Ran's friends apparently came and saw a show not long ago. After she told Ran about it, she's been asking to come here almost non-stop." He stopped as he watched his brother and sister run ahead to energetically greet his friends and former teammates. "And when I mentioned coming here to Nagisa, he seemed excited about it, too."

Once they had all paid their admission fees and entered the aquarium's main building, Haru turned to Makoto and asked, "What kind of show is it?"

"A mermaid show!" Nagisa cut in to answer excitedly.

"Mermaid show?" Rei questioned. "What's that? There's no such thing as mermaids, so what can they do for it?"

Makoto checked the brochure he'd picked from an information desk and said, "It only says, "Come see Iwatobi's very own mermaid at the water show." And then it lists the times."

"When's the next show?" Ran asked excitedly as she tugged on Makoto's shirt.

Checking the time on the brochure's schedule and then checking his watch, Makoto answered, "It looks like we just missed the noon show." At seeing his sister's face fall, he was quick to reassure her, "But there's another show at two. We can explore other parts of the aquarium between now and then." Ran's face immediately lit up again and she nodded once in acceptance.

As the group set out to go through the exhibits, Makoto told his siblings, "Make sure you're always holding one of our hands. I don't want you guys getting separated."

"Okay," the two answered in unison with Ren grabbing Rei's hand and Ran taking hold of Haru's.

Making their way through the maze of hallways, the four men and two children oh'd and ah'd at the aquarium's many displays. There were sharks and rays and jellyfish and other things that none of them recognized. Ren particularly enjoyed the deep sea fish with the way they glowed, but large jaws and jagged teeth on many of the fish had scared Ran. And Makoto too if everyone was being completely honest. Nagisa had nearly fainted at the sight of the penguins, and he and Makoto had worked to hold Haru back from climbing into the tank as Rei and the twins reached in to touch the sea stars on display.

Haru and Makoto had Ran and Ren on their backs as they walked through an acrylic glass tunnel. All around them was the large tropical fish and reef display. The light filtering through the water bathed the inside of the tunnel in a soft blue light. Haru watched and Makoto laughed as Nagisa opened and closed his mouth repeatedly in imitation of a fish he was watching. That was when they heard the commotion.

The group all turned at once to see a large gathering of people who were pointing and taking pictures. Moving to the other side of the tunnel to see what all the fuss was about, they were all shocked at what they saw.

Swimming down the side of the tunnel was a young woman with a tail. Since they were at the end of the group of people in the tunnel, she paused in front of the Iwatobi swimmers and held up a sign that she carried. It read, "Come see me at the show! Starts in 20 minutes!"

"What was that about mermaids not being real, Rei?" Nagisa asked sounding a little smug.

Rei sputtered a little, still shocked by what he was looking at. It was a sentiment that most of the group still shared. There, floating in the water while waving and smiling at them, was a young woman with the tail of a fish. The light salmon-pink scales went from her hips all the way down to where her feet would be and then forked into a wide but delicate fin. The only thing covering her top was what looked like a white, strapless bikini top adorned with white sequins and pearls. A few small patches of pink scales decorated her upper half and the area of her temples running down to her cheekbones. Bright blue eyes blinked at them from a lightly tanned face surrounded by a cloud of inky black hair that moved and shifted with each little movement.

Haru stumbled forward a little when Ran leaned in to press her hand to the glass. He watched as this mermaid smiled brightly and pressed her hand to the opposite side of the glass from Ran's. The little girl squealed when the mermaid pulled away and blew them a kiss accompanied by lots of bubbles. Waving again, she flicked her tail a few times before swimming away and out of sight.

Ran and Ren talked animatedly with one another about what had just happened while Nagisa teased Rei about his initial speechlessness. Makoto glanced over at Haru and saw that his friend's eyes were still locked on the glass in front of him where the mermaid had been.

Haru's eyes were wide as he swallowed thickly. It was a mermaid. Of course he knew that she wasn't a real mermaid, despite how realistic the tail had seemed. He'd just barely been able to see where her knees and ankles bent in the tail as she swam away. But she got to be a mermaid. Her job was to swim through these tanks and perform at water shows. His pulse quickened as his chest tightened, and he quickly recognised it as the same feeling that he occasionally got during those pivotal win-lose moments in his races. He was excited.

Makoto watched as Haru finally turned to look at him. His normally apathetic blue eyes were lit with a desire that the taller man instantly understood. "Makoto," Haru said simply. Anyone else would have waited for Haru to elaborate, but Makoto had heard the statement hidden underneath his name. "I know what I want to do now."