Disclaimer: I don't own Free – Iwatobi Swim Club or any of its characters. I've used references to some real-life places, institutions, and events, but all characters are fictional and there is no intended resemblance or relation to any real-life individuals.

Chapter 1: The individual medley of coming home

One year prior ~

The setting sun cast streaks of fiery orange and indigo across the surface of the blossom-strewn pool. Everyone who had any sense at all got out of the water when the temperature rapidly dipped—everyone except Haru. Any other day, Rin would've sighed, rolled his eyes, clicked his tongue or something and stood there with a hand perched on his hip, chiding his friend about making himself ill. Today, though…

Haru floated lazily on his back with his eyes closed amidst the drifts of pink petals, the dying sunlight sparkling off his skin and black hair.

Rin was halfway to the door, with his Samezuka warmup jacket draped on his shoulders, his leg skins still damp, clutching a towel in one hand. Footsteps, conversation, and bits of laughter receded behind him.

"Rin, you coming?" Sousuke asked, his deep voice quiet and emanating from somewhere near the locker room door.

"Yeah… In a minute." Rin walked forward instead, chucking his towel and jacket onto the slick tile. He dove in smoothly, penetrating the glossy, cool water, and surfaced with a slight shiver from the cold. "Haru." Rin pushed dripping strands of crimson hair from his face as his feet found the bottom.

Haru didn't respond, his chest rising and falling slowly with breath, though Rin knew he couldn't be asleep.

"Haru." Rin lowered his voice, dropping his hand back into the water, sending a circle of cherry blossoms rippling outward from the motion. "I'm leaving tomorrow. I'll be back for the Olympic Trials next April, so…" His left hand curled near his thigh, his mouth flattening into a hard line. "So I'd better see you there."

Haru exhaled as he rolled over and stood up, shaking his head to flick the droplets from his face and hair. "I already told you I'd be there. Why are you bringing it up again?" Water and petals slid across his skin as he moved, starting to glide past Rin towards the side of the pool.

Rin reached out, snagging one of Haru's wrists. Haru's skin was cold to the touch from his time in the water. "Because I mean it," he said, his fingers tightening a little.

Haru stopped, turning slightly, his ocean-blue eyes narrowed. "So do I."

A chilly breeze brushed against them, rustling the swells of petals that rested on the water's surface.

Rin's skin was immediately riddled with gooseflesh, but he held Haru's gaze a moment longer. He wasn't mad, exactly. It was just easier than other things…like saying goodbye.

At length, Haru looked away and sighed. "Rin." Haru's eyes flicked towards him aside, no more than a glance; a slight press of lips and the faint softening of that water-blue gaze were traces of emotion in an otherwise dispassionate face. "You have petals in your hair."

Rin's eyes widened slightly—involuntarily, his grip slipping. Haru pulled away and Rin let him go. He hated goodbyes, even when it was only for a year, even when it was something he had to do. He finger-combed the silken blossoms from his wet hair, listening to the sound of the water as his friend swam to the side of the pool and climbed out.

Good enough. He'd managed to keep it together. But Rin still waited a moment more, gathering himself with a breath, before he followed.

Sunday, April 3rd, 2016

The sign on the wall above the escalators read 'Yokoso! Welcome to Japan,' over a background of Mount Fuji, capped with snow and wreathed in branches laden with cherry blossoms. Rin spared it no more than a glance as he rode down towards Immigration and Customs, in line with the others who had just gotten off the Sydney flight, music playing in his earbuds. When he stepped off at the bottom and started walking again, the strap off his duffle bag slipped off his shoulder. Rin righted it without stopping, tucking the strap tightly under the hood of his dark gray sweatshirt. He thrust his hands into the pockets of his jeans, his eyes shadowed from the glare of overhead lighting by the brim of the baseball cap he wore.

After all the necessary forms, passport stamps, and procedures, he carted his luggage with him as he exited into the Arrivals section of the airport, his music off and ear buds draped around his neck, dangling against his T-shirt, as he scanned the crowd—

"Rin, over here."

Rin paused when he heard his name, glancing in that direction… Well, it wasn't hard to find Sousuke. The man towered head and shoulders over the people he stood next to.

Sousuke had a hand lifted in greeting and a warm look on his face that couldn't quite be called a smile. The clothes weren't as familiar. Instead of casual or athletic wear, Sousuke wore tailored, charcoal gray trousers, a button-down shirt in a checked pattern, and a lightweight black jacket in denim.

Rin smiled, tightening his grip on his bags and heading over. "Yo. Thanks for coming to get me."

"'Course." Sousuke did smile then, his green eyes flicking over Rin's luggage. "Is that all you brought?"

Rin looked at his duffle bag and suitcase. "What, this isn't enough?"

"For a few weeks, sure. For coming home…"

Rin rolled his eyes. "Everything I need is here. Just because you pack like a girl doesn't mean I have to."

A withering look crossed his friend's face. "It's called being prepared, Rin. Don't tell me you're still irritated about our closet back at Samezuka."

"Nah. I'd forgotten about it until just now. Though—" he grinned "—I'm a little worried now, what I'll find at your place. You've been shopping again."

Sousuke sighed, scrubbing one hand through shards of short, black hair. "I made room." He turned. "Come on. You want help with one of those?"

Rin shrugged, but relinquished his suitcase. "Thanks."

Sousuke took hold of the bag with his left hand.

As they headed for the escalators, Rin trailed his friend slightly, eyeing the shifting of muscle beneath the jacket Sousuke wore. "How's the shoulder?"

"Eh, the same."

"…So you're not going to?"

Sousuke shook his head. "No, I didn't change my mind."

Rin exhaled as a knot of disappointment formed in his stomach. He couldn't blame Sousuke for making that decision, but it still sucked. Somehow, he'd always hoped that some miracle would happen, that Sousuke's shoulder would heal completely, that they'd swim together in the Olympic Trials.

"Don't make that face, Rin." Sousuke, two steps down from him on the escalator, was looking back over his shoulder.

Rin gathered himself, his lips flattening into a line; he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "I'm not."

Amusement danced in Sousuke's eyes before he turned away.

-x-

It was evening and they took the express train into Tokyo. Rin watched the sun set—red and golden through pockets of clouds and rain—over familiar terrain and cities. He'd been this way often, coming and going from Sydney. This time, though, he was coming home to realize his dream. All the years of training abroad, of giving up everything in pursuit of this one goal—all of that hard work and sacrifice was about to pay off.

They transferred at Tokyo Station, taking the subway up north. Sousuke's apartment wasn't far from Todai's Hongo Campus. The building was broad and white, balconies colorful with neon hangers for drying clothes and small wind chimes dangling from the eaves. A narrow elevator took them to the fourth floor.

"Are you hungry?" Sousuke asked as he unlocked and opened the door to his place. "Or maybe you just want to sleep?"

Rin shook his head. "Nah, I need to go for a run. I can feel it in my body, that I've been sitting on a plane for the last nine hours."

Sousuke smiled faintly. "I'll come with you."

The bathroom was to the left off the entryway, the bedroom straight ahead. To the right, there was a small main room that led out onto the balcony, with a kitchen attached. There was an alcove with tatami flooring and a kotatsu. Every table surface was covered with medical books and notebooks, binders. The décor was a few pieces of abstract art, with whites and grays as the predominant colors.

Sousuke set Rin's bag down in the main room. "Do you want the futon or the bed?"

Rin snorted. "I'm not putting you out of your bed, Sousuke. I'm the one crashing."

The larger man shrugged. "If you'd sleep better, I don't care."

"Tch. Don't baby me. The futon will be fine."

-x-

They changed and headed back downstairs. Rin stretched a little in his light jacket and running gear—black with slashes of yellow and silver reflective material. He gathered his hair back into a tiny tail. It was cooler here than in Sydney, breezier and less humid. The sky was overcast; it looked like it would rain overnight. He couldn't help but miss running along the beach, either in Sydney or back home in Iwatobi. But dreams came first.

"Are you ready?" he asked Sousuke in English.

Sousuke flicked his eyes skyward and joined him.

Under darkened skies and in bright pools of street lamps, they jogged down the narrow street and ran past the station. Eventually, they were turning down broad, tree lined paths on the edge of the university's campus.

"How're your studies?" Rin asked.

"Brutal." Sousuke was slightly out of breath. "Pre-med isn't for the faint of heart."

"Whatever. I'm sure you're killing it as always." He slowed to a jog, letting Sousuke rest a little.

"I've got a meeting with one of my professors in the morning, but I'll make it out in the afternoon. Certainly before the finals."

Rin shrugged. "Haru and I aren't swimming in any of the programs tomorrow. It's all the four-hundred meter stuff."

Sousuke exhaled, his next words spoken under his breath. "'Haru and I'…huh."

Rin glanced at him as they passed by a tall, ornate hall of beige brick. "Did you say something?"

"Have you talked to him yet? Nanase." Sousuke paused. "His place isn't that far away, if you wanted to meet up."

"Nah." Rin slowed to a walk, wiping the sweat from his brow with his sleeve. "Not until the starting blocks. That's what we agreed. We're in the two-hundred meter free on Tuesday."

When Sousuke didn't answer, Rin looked back at him.

Sousuke's face was grave, the pale street lights illuminating swaths of his face, leaving the rest in shadow. "You know you're racing against the clock, right? Beating Nanase isn't enough."

"I know that." Rin turned away, taking it up to a run again. Like I could ever forget that.

Monday, April 4th, 2016

It took just about an hour, by train, from Sousuke's place down to the Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Center on Tokyo Bay. Rin carried his gear bag, slung over one shoulder, in his black and red warmups with a rain jacket over top. Even if he wasn't competing today, he needed to get in the water. Outside, the clouds were low over the city, obscuring the tops of the skyscrapers, heavy with impending rain showers.

Among the crowds of morning Tokyo commuters, Rin could pick out other competitors with their gear, particularly the closer he got to the bay. Seven days of events, seventy-two programs with all the prelims, semi-finals, and finals included. And only two Olympic spots up for grabs in each event, provided the times qualified. JASF Olympic qualifying times were faster than FINA's official Olympic qualifying times, and by a decent margin. Just as well. He'd watched his Australian teammates sail by the official times like the clocks were standing still. Passing that hurdle didn't mean you were in contention with the best in the world.

As a light rain began to fall, Rin got off at Tatsumi station and merged into the sea of multi-colored umbrellas as crowds of people headed for the venue; he pulled the brim of his cap lower to shield his face from the rain. Buses lined the north side of the street, letting off scores of athletes in identical uniforms from all of the biggest swimming schools and clubs in the country. He was the odd man out this time. He didn't know of anyone else who had gone to train in Australia; a handful of competitors had trained in the States, however—big names with amazing times. This wasn't their little Iwatobi-Samezuka pond anymore.

He found himself looking around for familiar uniforms. There would be a few Samezuka alumni competing and the school had a long tradition of sending its elite swimmers to the Olympic Trials for inspiration's sake. But he was really looking for the navy blue uniforms from Koutei University—Haru's school. Koutei's swimming club was the elite of the elite, training under the same man who would coach the Japanese Olympic Team after it was formed following the Olympic Trials. So far, though, he didn't see anyone he recognized.

In the broad, well-lit entrance hall, Rin checked in at registration and headed down to the locker room. After changing, he went straight downstairs to the warmup pool on the lower level, hoping to get in a few laps before the official events got underway. The fifty-meter pool was already crowded with practicing swimmers, but Rin found an empty half-lane and got to work.

He was three laps into two-hundred meters of butterfly when he felt a familiar presence slide into the lane next to him. Notably, not Haru. He finished the fourth lap and paused to catch his breath, just as the swimmer in the adjacent lane glided up next to him and surfaced, resting on the lane rope.

"Yo, Matsuoka." Mikoshiba Seijuurou grinned at him, pulling off a Koutei University swim cap and goggles to reveal water-dampened sunset-orange hair and golden eyes.

"Mikoshiba." He almost said Captain. Rin's eyes immediately flicked towards the starting blocks, looking for Haru.

"He's upstairs."

Tch, was it that obvious? Just written on his face?

Seijuurou laughed. "It's good to see you haven't changed. I'm sure he's looking for you, too." He redonned his cap and goggles. "We'll catch up later."

Rin nodded. "Good luck." He climbed out of the pool as Mikoshiba continued with his warmups. Rin toweled off, watching briefly. Mikoshiba would be swimming in the prelims for both the 400m individual medley and 400m freestyle events this morning.

Of the handful of Samezuka alumni participating in the trials, most had times that were merely good. The spectacular times belonged to him and Mikoshiba. Well, and—

"Rin-senpai! Rin-senpai!" A gleeful, young voice pierced the relative decorum of the warmup pool area.

Rin managed to plant his feet just before the five-foot-eight, seventeen-year-old barreled into him. "Momo." He was able to stay upright, peeling the giddy, starry-eyed teen off him.

Mikoshiba Momotarou was in his black and white Samezuka gear and wouldn't even graduate high school until next spring. If I'd had the same stupidly amazing times at your age…

"You're back! Did you bring me anything? You're gonna watch me swim tomorrow, right?" Not waiting for an answer, Momo was pulling on his arm. "Hey, you gotta say 'hi' to everyone."

"Oi, Momo—" The kid was also ridiculously strong-armed. Rin finally wrenched his arm free halfway to the locker room. He pulled on his black and red warmups and followed Momo upstairs.

Stepping into the huge stadium with its glossy 50-by-25m pool, the uniformed officials doing their final checks, athletes and spectators gathering in the stands—it hit him fresh. This is happening. His dream of becoming an Olympic swimmer was so close he could taste it on the chlorinated air.

"Over here. Over here—" Momo was tugging on his arm again.

Rin gave up, letting himself be led up into the stands towards the Samezuka group.

Momo bounded up the stairs, waving wildly. "Hey guys!"

A dozen or so heads swiveled their direction. "Captain Matsuoka!" "Matsuoka-senpai!"

Rin sighed but smiled, looking over several familiar faces among the third-years and recent grads. They'd been first- and second-years when he'd been captain.

"S-Senpai?" A silver-haired boy pushed through the group. Nitori was dressed in his Samezuka team warmups with an alumni badge on his shoulder; stopping in front of Rin, his large eyes immediately filled with tears, his lower lip quivering. "W-welcome back."

Rin pushed damp hair back from his face. "Yo, Ai." His smile softened. "You're really gonna cry, huh?"

Nitori sniffed hard. "…Senpai." On cue, the waterworks started, thin glistening trails spilling down the boy's cheeks.

Rin exhaled, shaking his friend affectionately. "Swim team captains shouldn't cry, Ai."

Nitori quickly brushed at his tears. "H-hai—"

There was a sudden rush of footsteps, along with a squeal— "Onii-chan!"

Rin turned, just in time to catch his sister as she flung herself into his arms. "Gou."

She was grinning, shards of long crimson hair from her ponytail flying everywhere as she hugged him fiercely. She was wearing one of her bright yellow Iwatobi T-shirts with that weird chicken-looking thing on the front. She'd always insisted it was a penguin, but to him—stick a little red crest on it and the damn thing was a chicken. Behind her, also in street clothes—

"Rin-chan, you're back!" Nagisa was beaming, standing between Makoto and Rei. Nagisa's blond hair was as tousled and unruly as ever. The faded athletic jacket he wore was one Rin had seen him in a zillion times before.

"Hey guys…" Rin said, giving Gou a gentle push.

"We're all here! Let's swim a relay for old times' sake! Come on, you guys—" Nagisa tugged simultaneously on Makoto's left arm and Rei's right.

Makoto laughed softly. "Nagisa… They're starting soon." He pulled his arm free, smoothing the sleeve of his shirt. "We can't use the pool. Besides, Haru…"

"Haruka-senpai has team obligations I'm certain," Rei said, adjusting his red glasses. His dark blue shirt matched the color of his hair. The faint white plaid pattern of the shirt and the tailored, light gray pants made Rin wonder if Rei and Sousuke shopped at the same stores.

Rin met Makoto's gaze. "The Koutei team…"

"Ah, they're on the other side." Makoto looked out across the pool.

Rin followed with his eyes. There, he could see men and women in matching navy blue uniforms filing into a section of seats in the front few rows. His hands curled at his sides when he picked out Haru from among them. As usual, Haru was the one looking calm and completely unfazed by the monumental importance of the next seven days. Tomorrow, Haru. We'll finally swim together as serious competitors on the world's stage. I always knew you'd be here with me.

Just before taking a seat, Haru paused along the rail and looked over. Their gazes met. A familiar, electric feeling ran through Rin, eager tension climbing up his spine. Tomorrow. He grinned. Haru's expression never changed. Rin's raven-haired rival eventually looked away and sat down.

-x-

Rin ended up sandwiched between the Samezuka and Iwatobi groups when the morning's events began. He was in the front row with Nitori and Momo on his left, Gou, Nagisa, and the others on his right. The stands were far from full—only those dedicated to the sport would come to watch the prelims. A woman's voice came on over the loudspeaker, announcing the start of the program. Uniformed officials walked out, paused for their introductions, and took their positions.

The prelims for the men's four hundred meter individual medley were up first. There were seven heats and Mikoshiba was in the sixth. The sunset-haired man walked out in his preferred swimming attire—still a speedo—and took up his position by the fourth lane.

"Nii-chan!" Momo waved wildly, leaning over the rail while Nitori tried in vain to keep him seated.

"Sei-chan, fight-o!" Nagisa yelled, pumping a fist into the air.

"Sei-chan?" Rin said, frowning.

Beside him, Gou had covered her gaping mouth with both hands.

Rin elbowed her. "Oi, Gou—"

"Those trapezius…deltoids…" She sighed happily.

Tch. Rin rolled his eyes.

The whistle sounded—four short bursts, getting the swimmers into position, and then a long whistle had them climbing up onto the starting blocks. The ready signal was given and then the start—

Eight racers dove into the pool, starting the butterfly leg of the medley. Rin sat forward in his seat, watching Mikoshiba's perfect form as he moved through the water. But butterfly wasn't Mikoshiba's fastest stroke. There was a respectful amount of cheering from the audience, which increased slightly as the swimmers neared the end of the second lap and made the turn, switching to backstroke. The announcer read off the name, club, and time of the fastest swimmer for the first leg. It wasn't Mikoshiba, but even as she was talking, the former Samezuka captain was churning up the water, flying past the lead swimmer and hitting the turn first at the end of three laps.

"He's so fast," Makoto said, smiling, but his voice was slightly wistful.

Rin didn't say anything. Makoto was good—damn good. But that wasn't enough, here.

"Nii-chan!" Momo shouted again as the swimmers neared the end of the backstroke leg. Mikoshiba was clearly in the lead now—seconds ahead of the next fastest swimmer.

They hit the two hundred meter mark after four laps, making the turn into breaststroke.

The announcer came on, "After two hundred meters, the lead is in lane four, Mikoshiba Seijuurou-kun, Koutei University. Two minutes, zero seconds, fifty-nine one-hundredths."

"Sei-chan!"

Mikoshiba kept the lead throughout the breaststroke and then into the seventh and eighth laps for freestyle. The cheering got louder and louder on the final lap, particularly the final spurt— Rin held his breath as Samezuka and Iwatobi members shouted and whistled around him—

Mikoshiba hit the wall at four minutes and eleven seconds—a full second under the Olympic qualifying time set by the JASF. Momo was on his feet, hopping and waving.

"Momo-kun." Nitori wrestled him back down. "The next heat's starting."

With a time like that, Mikoshiba had easily made tonight's finals, one race away from a ticket to the Olympics.

"Sei-chan's amazing, isn't he?" Nagisa said.

Rin shook his head. "When did that even start?"

Makoto laughed softly. "It's Nagisa."

"Mikoshiba-kun comes home to visit sometimes," Gou said, slightly frowning. "A lot, actually."

Rin folded his arms. "Probably still hitting on you, too."

His sister chuckled uneasily. "Yeah… That hasn't changed."

"Gou-san. Gou-san!" Momo dove across Rin's lap, capturing Gou's hands, looking up at her with gleaming eyes. "If I make it to the Olympics will you give me a kiss?"

"What? No!"

"What if I give you a stag beetle, too?"

"Momo." Rin dumped the kid off his lap and onto the floor. "Keep your hands off my sister."

"Aww." The boy curled up on the floor, pouting.

Rin rolled his eyes and stood up. "I'm gonna get a drink. Anyone want anything?"

Nagisa's hand shot up into the air. "Hai! Strawberry juice!"

He sighed. All that sugar…

"I'll tag along if that's alright," Makoto said, getting up.

"Sure." He shrugged.

"Rin-senpai, iced coffee!" Momo said from his feet.

Rin rubbed his face. "Like you need any more caffeine."

"Captain Matsuoka, can I have a cola?" "Iced tea for me, Matsuoka-senpai!" A chorus of overlapping voices rose and a forest of hands waved in the air.

"You guys!" He glared at his former teammates. "I'm here to swim, not babysit the lot of you!"

"…You did offer," Makoto said in a gentle voice.

Rin gave the sandy-haired man a look that had him backing up a step.

"Ahh, Rin-senpai!" Nitori shot to his feet. "I'll help, too!"

"Good grief," he muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets and turning for the stairs.

-x-

"When did you get in?" Makoto asked, trailing slightly behind him with Nitori as they headed for the vending machines.

Rin slowed his steps a little, so they could walk abreast. "Last night. I'm staying over at Sousuke's."

"Oh, that's not far." Makoto smiled. "I'm sure you'll be busy training, but if you wanted to, it wouldn't be hard to get everyone together at some point this week. Rei and Gou are staying with me. Nagisa's over at Haru's place—"

Rin narrowed his eyes. "What about my sister?"

Makoto winced, waving his hands defensively. "She has the spare bedroom all to herself, I swear. Seijuurou-kun offered as well—his place is a lot bigger, but I wasn't going to let her— Anyways, it's just for a couple of days…"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "…Sorry. I know she's eighteen and out of high school and all, but." He made a growling sound in his throat. "She's my baby sister. If I could send her away to a girls' college, I would."

Makoto's face relaxed. "Well, you could try, but I don't think it would work. Separating your sister from her precious muscles…"

"I know." Rin frowned down at his shoes. "I tried to talk her out of it, but she's hell bent on that sports medicine program she found. I'm not sure how she grew up to be so stubborn."

Makoto snorted, covering quickly with a cough.

Nitori cleared his throat awkwardly.

Rin shot his kouhai a glare. "You're being awfully quiet, Ai. How's school?"

Nitori's eyes widened, his face lighting up at being addressed. "Classes start on Friday, but I won't go until Monday." His cheeks reddened. "Because…because I couldn't miss watching Senpai swim."

He grinned. "This won't be your only chance. In August, you can watch me on TV. In Rio."

There was a soft scuff of footsteps from an adjacent hallway.

Rin's steps slowed unconsciously; he felt that presence, knew immediately—

"That's confident talk, Rin," Haru said.

Rin stopped and shoved his hands into the pockets of his warmup jacket, turning coolly towards that mild voice. "It's not just talk, Haru. I'll show you everything in the water." He grinned, baring his teeth. "You won't believe what you see, this time."

Haru emerged from the shadowed hallway, his hands resting at his sides, his lithe, muscular form clad in Koutei University team warmups—navy blue with one slash of white across the left shoulder. His ocean-blue eyes were cold like Tokyo Bay waters, his mouth and chin defiantly set, everything about him echoing his life's mantra—I only swim free.

"I hope so. I won't be satisfied by anything less."

Rin narrowed his eyes, taking a step forward. "You're gonna eat those words, Haru. Everything's different this time. No more cute little games. I've never been more serious."

"Good." Haru held his gaze. "But remember our promise, Rin. If you lose, you don't cry." Those pale hands curled at Haru's sides. "And you don't quit."

Rin straightened. "Tch. We're not grade-schoolers anymore." He leveled his stare at his friend. "Same goes for you."

The seconds ticked by as they glared at one another, neither willing to be the first to back down and look away.

"Ah, Senpai…" Nitori's voice was soft, nervous.

Makoto sighed. "You two…"

But it wasn't enough to break the electricity charging between them. Rin fingers coiled within his pockets. This won't be like Regionals or Nationals in high school. We've both been training with this one goal in mind. You're gonna swim all out for me, Haru. This time—

A deep, boisterous laugh preceded the slap of footsteps on concrete and a navy-clad arm crashed down around Haru's shoulders. "Now, what're the two of you glaring at each other for?" Mikoshiba asked, grinning. He was wearing Koutei warmups, his spikey hair still damp. "We're gonna be on the same team, you know."

Haru said nothing, looking away.

An odd feeling punched Rin in the gut, seeing Mikoshiba all friendly with Haru…and Haru not immediately drawing away. Rin's fists tightened in his pockets. That's…that's mine. Being that way with Haru.

"Good race, Mikoshiba," Haru said, shrugging off the arm. "Shouldn't you be preparing for the next event?"

"I have a few minutes," Mikoshiba said, propping his hands on his hips. "I was looking for Gou-kun, but since you're all here—" He produced a small, white envelope from his pocket. "Can you give her this?"

What were they—third graders? Rin snatched the note from Mikoshiba's hand. "No. Stop hitting on my sister."

Mikoshiba folded his arms and grinned brightly. "Over-protective big brother. No worries, I get it. But that's a note from my sister to yours, so…"

Rin straightened, embarrassed. He stopped crushing the envelope in his fist. "Oh. …Sorry."

Mikoshiba laughed and waved it off. "As I said. …Well, I'm headed back." He turned to leave. "Nanase. Takara-kun was looking for you."

"A-ah," Haru said. He exhaled and followed Mikoshiba down the hall.

Rin watched them leave. "Takara…kun?" He frowned. Boyish name, but with the captain, it was impossible to tell…

"Sakamoto Takara," Makoto said. "She's swimming in the four hundred meter individual medley this morning. I'm surprised you haven't heard of her. She's fourth seed."

The knot in the pit of his stomach grew. Because I never pay attention to the women's events. "She's Koutei?"

"Third year, like Seijuurou-kun."

His free hand curled as he looked back at Makoto. "And they're, like, what? Dating or something?" The words came out sharper than he meant them to.

Makoto drew back, his brow creasing with confusion. "Ah, no. Haru doesn't… Haru doesn't really date. At least, not that he's mentioned." He cleared his throat. "But they swim together, you know? Practice and mixed relays. Stuff like that."

Honestly, it didn't make him feel much better, hearing that. What the fuck, Matsuoka? You're jealous or something? He exhaled roughly, shaking it off. "I guess we'd better get on with it," he muttered, shoving the note in his pocket and walking on.

-x-

As they headed back, arms laden with cans and bottles, Rin noticed that Nitori was being even quieter than before. In fact, he hadn't really said a word since Haru showed up.

Rin hung back, letting Makoto walk ahead of them. "Ai."

The silver-haired boy had been walking with his head tilted forward, eyes on the floor in front of him. At the sound of his name, his head snapped up. "Ah, uh. Hai? Senpai?" He tightened his arms around the bevy of cans he carried.

Rin flicked his gaze over Nitori's face. "What's wrong? Don't tell me you're depressed or something."

Nitori's eyes widened and his face clouded. He looked away, an embarrassed blush darkening his cheeks. "N-nothing. Sorry."

Rin rolled his eyes. "Tch, whatever. You suck at lying, Ai."

Nitori's lips thinned into a line, his gaze falling to the floor again. "…It's. It's just…" His words were quiet, barely above a whisper. "You only fight with people you really like, Senpai."

"Huh?"

Nitori hugged his burden tighter. "Nanase-kun, Yamazaki-kun… You never fight with me."

An exasperated sound left Rin's mouth. He couldn't even face palm because he was holding so many things. "Ai. I fight with you all the time. You just don't fight back."

Nitori lifted his face, his eyes wide. "Huh?"

Rin smiled at him. "Come on. Let's go." He turned away, resuming a normal pace.

"Uh, hai!" Nitori hurried to catch up.

-x-

Mikoshiba made it past the prelims in the four hundred meter free, but his time and standing weren't as impressive as in the individual medley. Two other swimmers had individual medley times so close that a swim off was required. The one-on-one race was added at the end of the prelims. To loud cheering, the pair still finished within fractions of a second of each other. Rin couldn't help glancing across the way as the swimmers' new times were announced. How many times had he and Haru finished like that? Haru was looking at him, too. Rin wondered if the dark-haired girl sitting at Haru's side, leaning halfway over the rail and waving at the swimmers below…if that was Sakamoto Takara.

With the morning's program done, athletes and spectators filtered out of the stadium. The semi-finals and finals weren't until this evening.

Nagisa and Momo bounded out first onto damp concrete. The rain had let up and the clouds had lifted a bit, giving a clear view of Tokyo Bay and container ships moving through the port.

"Ahh, I'm so hungry. Rei-chan." Nagisa glanced back, grinning. "Let's find a bakery and buy some cream pan."

Rei sighed heavily. "Nagisa-kun. That kind of sugary confectionary isn't good for you at all."

"It's fine if Gou-chan brought the protein powder."

At Rin's side, Gou shook her head. "That's not how it works, Nagisa-kun." She patted her bag. "But I did bring some."

Makoto laughed uneasily, looking green in the face. "I'm sure all the athletes would prefer we find something a little healthier and well-balanced…"

"Nitori-senpai, look!" Momo ran up to Nitori, his hands cupped over something. "I found a—"

Nitori jumped back, horror on his face. "Momo-kun…"

Rin exhaled, taking in all his friends' familiar antics. He'd be lying if he tried to say he hadn't missed this. His teammates in Australia…they'd only ever be teammates. Not borderline family. You couldn't be choosy with family—you got it all—every last sloppy bit of it. He smiled. There was only one thing missing…

"—Rin."

At the sound of Haru's voice, he stopped, the tips of his shoes just at the top of the broad, concrete stairs leading down onto the street. He glanced back to find Haru standing in the stadium's entryway, alone.

When their eyes met, Haru turned as if to go back inside, pausing there and looking at him aside.

Rin shoved his hands into his pockets. "Makoto, I'll catch up later."

"…Sure."

He headed towards the entrance.

They fell in step with each other, walking deeper into the building. Rin looked at Haru from the corner of his eye. "What?"

Haru exhaled. "Don't look at me like that. This wasn't my idea."

With that cryptic response, Haru fell silent. Rin knew he wouldn't get anything else out of him. Unless he threw Haru up against a wall or something. That usually did the trick. But… No point overreacting.

They headed down to the warmup pool below, but bypassed the locker room. In the pool, a handful of Koutei University swim club members were practicing, their progress overseen by an adult in the same navy blue team warmups, with a couple assistants alongside. Rin inhaled, recognizing the man easily. Fujino Katsurou—head coach of the future Olympic team.

And Haru was taking him straight over there…

"Ah, Nanase-kun." Coach Fujino left his assistants and came to meet them. The man had the trim build of a former athlete and short black hair with a trace or two of silver. He smiled with a genuine warmth and extended his hand. "Matsuoka-kun."

They shook hands; Rin bowed deeply. "Coach Fujino."

"I've heard a lot about you," Fujino said. "Not only from the members of my team, but also from my associates in Australia. I'm looking forward to watching you swim tomorrow."

Rin bowed again as surprise and elation welled up inside him. "Thank you, Coach Fujino."

"No matter how things go this week, I hope you'll consider Koutei University in your future plans. I'd like the opportunity to work with you."

"Hai." Excitement was building in his chest but Rin managed to maintain his composure. "Respectfully, Coach Fujino, I hope to be working with you a lot sooner than that."

Fujino smiled. "As do I. Good luck tomorrow, Matsuoka-kun."

"Thank you, sir." Rin bowed again, deeply, as did Haru, as the coach headed back to his assistants.

His heart was pounding as he straightened. It was like his dream was landing right in his hands. His eyes flicked skyward briefly. Dad, I'm really doing this. I'm really—

Haru was walking away. Rin followed.

As soon as they were back in the hallway and alone, he couldn't hold it together any longer. Rin tackled his friend, capturing Haru around the shoulders in a half-headlock, half-embrace. "Haru, I could kiss you."

Those water-blue eyes flicked his way mildly. "Not here, OK?"

Rin laughed softly. He didn't let go. "Haru, this is my dream. I almost can't believe this is all happening. Tomorrow…"

"I know, Rin." That gaze softened infinitesimally towards him. "Tomorrow we get to swim together again."

Damnit. Emotion lodged in his throat. Rin pulled away, feeling his face heat. "Why'd you have to go and say shit like that?"

Haru shrugged, his face as expressionless as ever. "I just said what I was thinking."

Rin snorted. Typical Haru. He rubbed the back of his head, looking away. "So? You stuck here with your team or do you wanna come grab lunch with Makoto and the others?" Before Haru could answer, Rin's phone buzzed in his pocket. "Ah, sorry." He dug it out, glancing at the caller before he answered. "Sousuke."

"I'm almost there. Have you eaten yet?"

"Not yet. I was just trying to figure that out with Haru…"

"Oh, so I should leave the two of you alone?"

Rin frowned. "No, why would you say that?"

"Nothing. Meet you out front?"

"Yeah." He hung up, slipping the phone back into his pocket. "Sorry, Haru. So—"

But Haru's face had shuttered, hiding even the small bit of emotion he'd revealed before. "I have to stay here." He turned and walked away before Rin could protest.

-x-

The final for the men's four hundred meter individual medley was at 7:30pm that night. Unlike the prelims, which were all business and sparsely attended, the finals brought in fanfare—lights and music, packed stands, cameras everywhere. The events were broadcast on live TV, with sportscasters in an elevated booth overlooking the pool and press down on the floor with the athletes.

The swimmers were named one at a time, by lane, pausing to bow beneath an archway of shifting, neon lights, before walking out to loud cheering. They traversed the length of the pool before arriving at their lanes and stripping off their warmups. We'll be down there on Wednesday, Haru. Rin glanced across the stadium. Haru was the notably stoic one amidst an excited crowd of Koutei University students and supporters.

Mikoshiba was top seed in lane four. He was smiling, looking every bit as confident as he had in that morning's race. At the whistle, Mikoshiba climbed onto the starting block to loud cheering from the stands. The stadium fell pin-drop quiet for the ready signal and the start—

—The former Samezuka captain finished in first place for a raucous crowd, well ahead of the competition and with another whole second shaved off his best time. Rin exhaled, jealous. With a time well beating the JASF Olympic standard, Mikoshiba was officially bound for Rio. The second-place swimmer didn't qualify.

Momo nearly leapt over the rail, yelling and whooping. Both Rin and Sousuke had to hold him back.

Gou was fanning herself with her program, looking faint. "Olympic-grade muscles…"

Down below, Mikoshiba was escorted to a wall covered with sponsors' logos, where he answered a few questions in front of the camera for the press while stagehands quickly assembled the podium for the medal ceremony. The top three finishers, once more with their warmups thrown on, received their medals and bouquets. After a few quick pictures, they cleared the stadium for the next event.

Mikoshiba disappeared from view only to be reannounced almost directly after, for the men's four hundred meter freestyle final. He swam it on-par with his prelim time, but finished middle of the pack and slower than the qualifying time. In fact, all swimmers fell short of the JASF qualifier. Japan would not be competing in the four hundred meter free in Rio.

This was followed by the final for the women's four hundred meter individual medley.

"Sakamoto-san's in lane three," Makoto said.

"Ah." Rin followed his gaze as the swimmer in navy-blue kneeskins walked the length of the pool to loud cheers from the Koutei University crowd. Then he glanced at the start list. None of the women's prelim times were qualifying—all were over by a couple of seconds.

But that was when the race started. When it ended, Japan had two qualifying women for the four hundred meter individual medley in Rio: Nakagawa Mai (first) and Sakamoto Takara (second). It also meant that two of the three qualifying athletes thus far were Coach Fujino's Koutei University students.

The night ended with another disappointment in the women's four hundred meter free—no qualifying times. It was nearly 9pm when everyone filed out of the stadium to the buses and train stations. It was raining lightly again.

Rin tugged on his cap, trailing behind Makoto and the others, watching as Haru boarded the Koutei bus with Mikoshiba and Takara.

An umbrella tipped over his head from behind. "What's that look, Rin?" Sousuke asked.

Rin nearly jumped. He scowled. "Don't sneak up on me like that."

The larger man shrugged innocently in the shadow of the red umbrella. "So?"

Rin exhaled. "I don't know what you're talking about." He turned, heading in the direction of the train station.

"OK, sure. I can guess." Sousuke made a soft sound of amusement as they walked together. "Either you're jealous because you wish you were on the Koutei team… Or you're jealous that Mikoshiba and the others get to spend so much time with Nanase."

"Huh?" Rin glared sharply at his friend. "Don't make up weird shit like that."

Sousuke merely shrugged, smiling faintly.

He turned away, frowning. Because it wasn't that. It couldn't be that…