The Iwatobi Swim Club stood in front of their pool, clad in their swimsuits as they looked upon the water's glistening surface. It was undisturbed, without a single ripple to be seen. Yet none of them could bring themselves to take a single step closer.

"We're not safe anywhere," Makoto murmured. Haruka glanced over at him.

"I thought that maybe if we just stayed away from the ocean, we could have a chance."

"But he brought the ocean to us," Nagisa said. "He's strong. What if Rin-chan can't defeat him?"

"And that's if we can trigger his memories," Haruka chimed in quietly.

"Listen to yourselves," Rei said suddenly. Everyone turned to him, surprised by the sharpness of his tone.

"Rei-chan…" Nagisa murmured.

"You're all right," Rei said. "We're not safe. We don't know if we can trigger Rin's memories. We don't know if he can hold off Mikoshiba. But we know he won't strike until Nationals, which means we have three chances to return Rin's memories!"

Rei took a breath before continuing. "Samezuka will be too guarded to see Rin-senpai, but we have three whole tournaments to try and get him back to his old self. So we have to keep training!"

"But Rei-chan, Mikoshiba attacked us! He could do it again!"

"He performed his test, and he probably will wait for Nationals before getting us again. He'll want to make a big show to Rin, remember?"

"But-"

"Let him finish, Nagisa," Haruka said.

"Makoto is right; we're not safe anywhere. But now that we know that, we might as well just continue on. All we can do is train hard to try and get through the tournaments. What is a swimmer who doesn't swim? If we don't try, we will never make it no matter what! Today, we ride!"

"But what exactly are we riding?" Nagisa asked. Makoto elbowed him, and the blonde fell straight into the pool.

He came back up to the surface, gasping.

"Way to ruin the moment, Mako-chan!"

"I should be telling you that!"

Haruka watched as Nagisa yanked Makoto into the pool, who somehow managed to drag Rei in with him. He looked at the three of them splashing around in the water, each yelling hysterically.

And then he was laughing. Haruka was laughing. He doubled over and sank to his knees as the sound bubbled out of him. Tears pricked his eyes and he wiped them away before standing up again.

His friends had stopped splashing around and watched as Haruka finally pulled himself together.

"Heh, sorry…"

"You don't have to be sorry, Haru-chan!" Makoto said as he pulled himself out of the pool, the other two following him.

"It's just that I couldn't ask for better friends than you," Haruka said. Another giggle escaped him, and the next thing he knew all four of them were doubled over laughing.

"So, eh ehehe where exactly are we riding?"

-Free-

Waves lapped gently at Haruka's feet, and he had never been so relieved to feel the ocean. Makoto had already gone into the water, and Haru watched as his friend dove into the waves. The team captain didn't resurface, and alarm bells sounded inside of Haru's mind. He began to wade out into the water, and turned to find Rei and Nagisa, only to see they had disappeared as well.

"Rei!" He called. "Nagisa! Makoto!"

Haruka waded out further, his eyes growing wide in panic. Something small poked his shoulder, and he turned about wildly only to be met by the sight of a small butterfly.

"Rei?"

The butterfly landed delicately upon his nose before settling again upon his head. Haru waded even further into the water, careful not to go under for Rei's sake. He paddled along slowly, and with each kick his feet distanced themselves further from the bottom.

Upon reaching more open water, Haruka's foot managed to strike something slippery from beneath him.

"What?"

And then he wasn't swimming anymore, and found himself very suddenly sprawled on top of a whale. Haru righted himself quickly before he could fall off. A squawk caught his attention.

"Nagisa stop laughing at me," Haru said dryly. The penguin squawked again and Haru rolled his eyes. Rei landed on Nagisa's beak, prompting the little penguin to waddle over to sit in Haru's lap.

Haruka huffed. "You guys are a bunch of dorks…"

They rode around like that for hours until the sun began to set, sometimes dipping into the water just a tiny bit. The whole thing would have been very majestic, except for the fact that they looked like idiots. Haruka didn't care though. He was with his friends, and that was all that mattered.

"At least we're all idiots together," he said. Nagisa squawked again.

Makoto turned back towards the shore, and the next thing Haruka knew he was in the water again, and hanging on to a squirming blonde.

"Mako-chan you could have at least given us a warning!" Nagisa wailed. Rei spluttered a bit, having transformed after hitting the water. Makoto resurfaced.

"I'm sorry, I got tired," he said sheepishly. Nagisa tackled him back into the water, and Rei and Haru both sighed.

"Come on, let's go home. It's going to be dark soon," Haruka said.

They waded slowly out of the water, the waves tugging gently. It was calm, and Haruka felt at peace. The feeling was probably only temporary, but that was enough.

"Haru, are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah," Haruka said as he turned to Makoto. Water dripped off of them, washing away all of the fear with it. "I'll call you in the morning."

"Okay," Makoto said. "Just be careful."

Haru nodded before grabbing his towel and his clothes from the sand. He walked with the others back to the train station, pulling on his clothes as he went. The sky grew dark, and Haruka hurried home. He weaved in between houses, watching the shadows as he went. All was still, and a good vibe stuck with him as he headed up the steps.

As Haruka turned the corner to find his house, he noticed that all of the lights were on.

"That's odd, I turned everything off this morning…"

Apprehension flooded his stomach, and Haru felt something akin to dread rise up inside of him. Was Mikoshiba inside of his house?

Each step he took felt heavier than the last, and Haru suddenly became very aware of his heart rate. He pulled out his phone and held it by his side, his finger resting upon Makoto's name.

The front door was unlocked, and Haruka could hear voices. They were too faint to make out.

"Only one way to find out," he muttered to himself. Haruka opened the door softly so as not to be heard. If Mikoshiba heard or saw him, he might not be able to escape.

The voices grew louder as Haruka drew near; they were in the living room, a man and a woman.

Haru rounded the corner and stood in the doorway, stopping short upon seeing the intruders. The woman was sitting on the couch, the man a few feet away. He glanced up and did a doubletake upon seeing Haru, and the woman turned. She stood up quickly and put a hand over her mouth.

"Mom," Haru said, his voice a whisper. "Dad?"