Clouded Distance

Chapter One

A New Beginning

"The water is alive. Once you dive in, it will immediately bare its fangs and attack. But there's nothing to fear. After all, this water has been tamed. It's been defanged and neutered. For me... it's not enough."

It was strange how, only a mere year ago, overlooking the waves as they crashed against the land would send a thrill of fear through Etsumi Hana's body. How she would freeze and panic at the mere thought of being pulled under the icy waves once more.

That was a year ago.

But now, she stood, leaning against the railing overlooking the ocean, feeling nothing but calm, content, and very, very, cold.

The waves, coloured a light grey that reflected the clouded sky, rolled over one another as they crashed against the shore. They were bigger than they were in the summer, since the winter wind was howling over the surface.

The wind was cold and, if you were standing right on the beach, sans would have been continually flicked against any exposed skin, the grains stinging. But no one was on the beach, perhaps for this reason, and the ones nearest to it stood on the road overlooking the grey waters.

Though she wasn't being constantly attacked by minute grains of sand, Hana still had problems with the wind. She suddenly cursed herself for not tying her hair back when she left the house: strands of light brown hair constantly got in her eyes, no matter how often she tucked it behind her ears. In the end, she gave up, instead focusing on keeping herself warm. She crossed her arms over her chest and dug her chin into the scarf she was wearing. Even though she had rugged up well, the wind that day was relentless.

It wouldn't have been too bad a day, really, if it hadn't been for the wind.

Hana glanced down at the watch on her wrist. She'd rolled up the sleeve of her light blue jumper so she could keep an eye on the time. She grimaced. She'd been waiting for about ten minutes now. She guessed it was her own fault for arriving much earlier before their scheduled time.

I hope he doesn't take too much longer. This wind is awful. Why did we decide to meet on the beach anyway?

Hana was so preoccupied with keeping warm that she hadn't heard anyone approach behind her, so she jumped a little when she felt someone's arms wrap around her body. But she soon relaxed, a smile coming on to her face as she leaned back, allowing the arms to squeeze her just that little bit more.

Tilting her head back, Hana grinned to see two vibrant blue eyes, the exact colour of the water on a beautiful, sunny day. "Hey, Haru."

Nanase Haruka's expression remained mostly unchanged, but Hana knew his face enough to see the smile in his eyes, and the look of fondness and love he reserved only for her. "Hey, Hana," he said in response.

Hana smiled and detached herself from his arms, so she could turn around. Standing on tiptoe, a bit irked that, despite that she'd grown a little, she still remained about half a head shorter than Haru. She interwined her hands in his and kissed him. He did the same. It only lasted for a short while, but it still meant as much to Hana as a long, drawn-out kiss would.

They'd been going out since the regional competition the previous year. They had been unsure and hesitant about the whole relationship thing at first, neither having much experience to do with relationships. Hana's only knowledge came from books and movies, and the occasional video game, while Haru hadn't had much of a clue at all. But they'd tested these new waters together, and eventually the awkwardness had vanished, and they suddenly were in tune with each other to the point they were more comfortable around each other than anyone else.

Maybe that would exempt Tachibana Makoto, though: they'd both known him from childhood.

Hana smiled and buried her face in the warm fleece of Haru's jumper. "You're so warm," she moaned.

"And you're cold," he said, taking her cold hand. "Let's get going."

"That's a good idea. This wind is bitter."

Haru smiled, nodding agreement. They turned their backs on the ocean and started to walk in the direction of their intended destination, holding hands as they did so. Hana chuckled, remembering how awkward holding hands had been for them both at first. Everything had been awkward in that first week, really.

Not many people were outside today, no doubt wanting to stay out of the biting cold. They were rather smart. Hana leaned in close to Haru as they walked at a brisk a pace as was possible. 

Fortunately, the coffee shop they wanted to go to hadn't been too far away, so they got there relatively quickly. Haru quickly opened for the two of them, and they hastily stepped inside. 

Inside, the coffee shop was sugary warm. Hana could feel the heat seep through her chilled veins, warming her up from the inside. She shivered as she shrugged off her jacket. This was just lovely, a welcome relief from the cold outside.

Together, the two manoeuvred their way to a spare table. Knowing their usual orders, Haru left to place their orders while Hana seated herself on the dark wood chair and stretched out, inhaling deeply as she did so. The café had an aroma that was a mixture of sugars and spices. Accompanied with the dark wood of the furniture and the light colour of the walls, this place was cosy and beautiful, but not over the top.

No wonder they came to this place so often.

There wasn't a long queue, so Haru came back soon.

"I can't believe term is starting again," Hana murmured, as he sat down. She still found it hard to believe. When they went back to school she, Haru, Makoto and Rin would all be entering third year - their last year of high school.

The very thought of their final year, of graduation, made Hana's heart beat erratically. The prospect of ending school and entering the world as adults never failed to make her feel a little frightened. She wasn't sure if she was ready.

"It's gone quickly."

"We'll be third years, huh?" Hana sighed, propping her chin up in her hands. "I can't believe it. Third year always seemed so far off..."

It had. Even in her second year, Hana had looked at the third years, and thought that it seemed so far away.

Now, it was staring at her in the face. It had come up so suddenly.

A thought came to her suddenly, and Hana gasped. "Oh gosh, we'll have to start thinking of our futures soon! I don't want to think of my future!"

Hana was saved from going into overdrive as their orders arrived. Hana smiled, composing herself to thank the waitress and take her usual order of a hot chocolate and brownie. To calm herself down and force herself to breathe, Hana had a long sip of her hot chocolate. The hot, creamy liquid warmed her right up.

Hana lowered her cup, and found Haru looking at her, a little amused. "You okay, Hana?"

"Sorry." She blushed lightly. "I'm going a little overboard again. Let's change topics - to how soon we'll be able to swim again!" Her panic was quickly replaced by a huge grin as she thought this. She had missed being able to jump into the pool and swim, especially since last year she had been able to really start progressing with her freestyle. "The weather should warm up relatively soon."

"That would be good," Haru said, with a light smile. Hana chuckled, knowing that Haru was a lot more excited than he was letting on.

Hana had a small bite of her brownie, and another sip of her hot chocolate. It was funny to think that, a year ago, she would have refused to go in the water, and wouldn't give swimming a second thought.

But then, she came back to Iwatobi, reacquainted herself with Makoto and Haru, and then met Nagisa, Rei, Gou, and Rin. It was thanks to the swim team that she had been able to overcome her fear of the water and start swimming.

It was also part of the reason she and Haru had fallen for each other.

Now, Hana loved swimming, and found the time in winter where they couldn't swim in the outdoor pool a little boring - she missed swimming with her friends.

Hana sighed. "Sometimes I wished we were at Samezuka. They've got an indoor pool - it would be great to be able to swim all year around?" Not to mention, Rin was at Samezuka as well. After they'd mended their relationship, Rin had become a close friend. It was hard, not being able to see him as often as they'd like, especially since Samezuka was a boarding school.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while. Hana had a few small bites of her brownie, and dusted a few stray crumbs off of her lap.

"So, have you decided?" Haru asked quietly.

Hana blinked, cocking her head to the side. "Huh? Decided, on what?"

"Are you going to join the writing club this year?"

"Oh." Hana sat back. Last year, their literature teacher had recommended that she joined the writing club since she was rather skilled in that area. Hana had done a lot of writing over the winter break, but still hadn't made a proper decision about joining the club.

She sighed. "It hasn't been fully decided... but I might. My parents think it might be a good idea. They think it'll open up a few opportunities for me." She looked up at Haru and grinned. "But if I do, I'll still have plenty of time for the swim club, don't you worry about that!"

"I wasn't. I knew you'd be able to handle it."

Hana rolled her eyes. "Nanase Haruka, I know you too well. You were worried I'd quit the swim team and join the writing club."

"Hana -" Haru looked away.

Hana just laughed. "You can't lie to me or Makoto, Haru," she teased. "But you needn't have worried. I wouldn't drop the swim team when I haven't had a chance to compete yet! I don't think I'll get that far, since I'm still only new to swimming, but I do want to have the experience of competing! And even once that's done, I've still got my joint-manager job with Gou. So don't you worry, Nanase. I'm not going anywhere."

At this, Haru smiled. "I'm glad."

Hana smiled back. She couldn't help it. Whenever Haru smiled, a warm feeling passed through her, and she couldn't help but smile too.

As she looked down, her eyes lingered no her watch. When she read the time, another memory stirred in her head, and she gasoed.

"Haru! We've got to meet up with the others soon, at Makoto's!" she exclaimed. Gou had called a meeting for the swim club that day. It must have been important, for she had made all the arrangements yesterday raher quickly.

Haru's eyes widened slightly, telling Hana that she wasn't the only one who had briefly forgotten. "You're right."

"Shoot, we'll need to get going." Hana stared at her half-eaten brownie and the remaining hot chocolate she had to drink. She mentally slapped herself for forgetting. "We cut ourselves really short for time."

"Come on, Hana." Haru stood, and before Hana could push herself back, he pushed the chair back for her. 

Hana flushed at this little act. "Haru, you gentleman." She quickly finished the rest of her hot chocolate and grabbed her brownie. She'd eat it on the way to Makoto's.

"Right, let's go!"

*          *          * 

It had been a shock, leaving the sugary warmth of the coffee shop and exchanging it once more for the wind outside. Now they'd been in that place of warmth, the wind seemed that much colder. Hana pulled her jacket as tightly around her body as she could, while eating her brownie as they walked briskly along, hoping that the exhertion would fight off some of the cold.

Makoto's house wasn't too far off from either Haru and Hana's. They knew the path to it well. They were able to reach it fairly quickly, and wasted no tine stepping inside,

As soon as they had entered the house, two excited voices called out, "Hana-chan, Haru-chan!"

"Ren, Ran!" Hana laughed, smiling fondly at the twins as they ran up. She bent down, allowing them both to give her a hug. "Where are the others?" she asked them.

"They're at the table, in the dining room," Ran said, smiling brightly.

"Great." Hana reluctantly tore herself from the twins and stood up. "Right, Haru and I need to go talk to them. I'll see you both later, okay?"

"Aww." Even though the twins were disappointed, they still allowed them to pass. Hana giggled, waving at the two as she and Haru made their way through the house to the dining room.

They were the last to arrive, it seemed. All their other friends - Matsuoka Gou, Hazuki Nagisa, and Ryugazaki Rei - were already seated around the large table, engaging in conversation that didn't sound to be meeting-related. They must have been waiting for Hana and Haru.

Makoto was the first to notice them. At once, his face broke out into a wide smile. "Haru, Hana!" he greeted.

Hana grinned, waving enthusiastically. "Hey!"

The others all turned around as Hana and Haru made their way over, calling out their own greetings as they sat down next to each other. 

"How are you?" Makoto asked.

Hana beamed. "Good," she responded. She took off her jacket and draped it over the back of her chair.

"What are we here for?" Haru asked, as he and Hana both took seats, scraping their chairs back against the wooden floor.

Gou cleared her throat, instantly taking charge of the meeting. "A new year is starting soon, which means that we're going to have to give a presentation for our club for the first years!"

Oh. As Gou said that, it occurred to Hana for the first time that when she, Makoto and Haru all graduated, Rei and Nagisa would be the only two swimmers left. To officially have a club recognised by the school, they needed four members, and when the three of them left they'd leave the swim club with only three members. They needed to find a way to recruit new members if they were going to be able to keep the swim club going.

"So we'll need to figure out how we're going to recruit new members for the club," Hana murmured. She rubbed the bridge of her nose as she thought. How could they make their club seem appealing to first years?

"Anyone got any ideas?" Nagisa asked hopefully.

No one spoke. Hana sat back in her chair, deep in thought. How could they make their club appear interesting to first years? She strained her mind, but was coming up blank.

"Well, I have an idea," Gou said.

Everyone straightened up and looked at the red-haired girl. "What is it?" Rei asked.

With a grin, Gou explained her idea. As she described more and more, Hana resisted the urge to both face palm and roll her eyes. Of course. That idea is so Gou.

While Hana was laughing about it, the boys were apprehensive. They even looked nervous, and taken aback from Gou's suggestion.

"Are you sure about that?" Makoto asked nevously. 

Gou folded her arms. "Well, does anyone else have any other ideas?"

Nervously and hopefully, the boys looked around at each other. It was obvious each of them was as blank and cluess about what to do as the others.

"Not really..." Rei murmured.

Gou smirked. "Then you can't complain!"

"Right..." they muttered in unison.

Hana giggled at their reluctance.

Even if their performance couldn't convince the new first-years, at least it should be entertaining to watch.