Clouded Distance

Chapter Twenty-Four

Helpless

It was only a day before Regionals.

Most of the morning was spent packing. Hana wouldn't need much; they would only be staying overnight, so all she needed was her swimsuit, a change of clothes, her Iwatobi jacket, pyjamas and other small things. It should only have taken half an hour to pack, but somehow she'd managed to misplace everything.

Well, it was either that, or she was so overcome with the nerves at the realisation that the Regional tournament was tomorrow that she looked over things.

At twelve o'clock, Hana met the others to catch the bus. After she said goodbye to her parents, she boarded the bus along with her friends and Miss Amakata. She and Haru sat beside each other; the last thing Hana remembered was resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes.

The next thing she knew, someone was shaking her awake. "Hana," a low voice said. "We're here."

"Huh?" Hana rubbed at her eyes and slowly opened them. She flushed, realising she'd fallen asleep with her head on Haru's shoulder. "Oh. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

Hana smiled, stood up, swung her bag over her shoulder and headed off the bus. She looked up at the hotel as she jumped off, and her mouth fell open.

It looked huge.

"Did you stay here last year?" she squeaked.

Haru shook his head. "No. This is an entirely different place."

Well, if it looked impressive on the outside, it was nothing compared to how it looked on the inside. Hana worked hard to keep her mouth closed as they wandered inside. The lobby was huge and beautifully done, with warm wooden floors and red carpet and furniture.

"This hotel is huge!" she exclaimed.

Nagisa nodded. "It's quite a step up from our hotel last year."

"You don't think Miss Ama-chan and Gou are staying here, and we're getting stuck in a tent?" Makoto panicked suddenly.

"Like our training camp last year?" Hana laughed. She recalled that training camp fondly. Sure, the storm had been a rough patch of the journey, but the rest of it had been fun, just spending time with everyone. She had enjoyed camping out in the tent, and hadn't minded too much that Gou and Miss Amakata got to stay in a small resort.

But that didn't look like Gou or Miss Amakata's line of thinking this year. "What are you talking about?" Gou exclaimed.

"That's right," Miss Amakata said. "You're the stars of this show, after all. However, there's a famous saying that goes: there is nothing more expensive than that which comes free, for it is priceless! So make sure you all put up good results, okay?"

Hana exchanged a look with the others as they wandered further in to the hotel, the same questionable look on their faces. "Right..."

"Ah! Gou-san!"

The new voice was loud and enough to capture Hana's attention instantly. She chuckle, having recognised it. She hadn't heard it too many times before, but she had heard that voice yell out that name many times.

Sure enough, Samezuka was just entering, Mikoshiba Momotarou at the front and waving at Gou.

"What, you guys are staying here, too?" Rin said.

"Yup!" Nagisa confirmed in his usual bright manner. "It's good to see you, Ai-chan!"

Nitori frowned. "Please don't call me that."

"That reminds me, Sousuke-kun," Gou piped up, having to look right up to see Sousuke, "I saw you at the station near our house the other day. What were you up to?"

Sousuke stiffened at this. Hana bit her lip, recalling what Kisumi had said the other day, about Sousuke's shoulder being injured. She exchanged a knowing glance with Haru.

"Oh, nothing," Sousuke said offhandedly, though there was something else in his eyes. It's definitely not nothing, Hana thought, looking at Sousuke's shoulder. She wondered just how badly he'd injured it.

Will he be able to swim in this tournament after all?

"Gou-san!" Momotarou cried out, jumping in front of Sousuke and into Gou's direct field of vision. "Please pay attention to me, not Yamazaki-senpai! Mikoshiba Momotarou! My favourite ice cream bar is the chocolate pudding flavour! My favourite hamburger is the triple-cheese burger! And, my favourite type of girl is..."

Before he could finish, Rin grabbed the younger boy by the wrist and dragged him off. "We're going," he said shortly, not paying attention to the way Momotarou fought his grip or yelled. Hana watched them leave, a chuckle passing her lips. It certainly was amusing to watch.

"See you later," Sousuke said, once the other members of Samezuka slowly began to follow.

Hana chuckled. They waited for Samezuka to finish checking in and then checked in themselves. Hana beamed to find that she would be sharing a room with Gou.

"Right, let's put our stuff in our rooms then meet back out here so we can head to dinner," Gou instructed, once everyone had received the keys to their room.

There was a chorus of agreement, and they headed for the elevator. They'd all be on the same floor, but Gou, Hana and Miss Amakata would be a fair distance away from the boys. When they reached their designated floor, they had to split ways to their respective rooms.

It didn't take long for Hana and Gou to find their room. When Gou opened the door, Hana gasped. It was one of the nicest rooms she had set eyes on. They had an amazing view, the decor was nice, and the beds. They looked so comfy.

"This room is so nice!" Hana dropped her bag of belongings and promptly collapsed on the bed. She sighed happily and closed her eyes, a small smile on her face as she sank into the soft mattress. I could go to sleep right now.

Hana curled up on her side. "Too bad we're only here for a night," she murmured. "I wouldn't mind staying longer."

Hana couldn't see her, but she could imagine Gou rolling her eyes. "Come on Hana, we need to head out. Everyone else will be waiting for us."

A soft groan passed Hana's lips, but nonetheless she forced herself to clamber off the bed. If she didn't, Gou would drag her off. Hana would much prefer to get up on her own terms; Gou would probably have her collapse on the floor.

The two headed back out of the corridor and took the elevator to the lobby. When they arrived, the boys were already waiting for them. Well, Hana didn't think any of them paused to collapse on the bed. They'd all slept here last year.

"Hey everyone!"Gou called, waving vigorously. "Let's go!"

Their group joined up, and they wandered outside into the city streets. It was fairly quiet due to the late hour, but still a certain activity going on. The street lights were so bright and close together that the place looked like it was lit in a soft golden glow.

"We've got plenty of funds from Amakata-sensei," Gou explained as they walked down the street, "So feel free to eat whatever you want!"

"Whatever we want?" Nagisa exclaimed, his eyes brightening up. Hana's did too, at the thought of perhaps ordering the best pizza in town. But she deflated once she recalled that probably wasn't the best meal to eat the day before a competition. Pasta might be a better option. She couldn't complain; she loved pasta.

"I want this," Haru said presently.

He and Makoto had fallen a little behind them, and were now staring at something in a window of a shop. Hana and the others wandered over to see what it was.

And when she saw it was fish Haru was looking at, swimming in its tank, she didn't even bother to try and withhold a roll of her eyes.

"How cute!" Nagisa said.

Rei stared blankly at what was in front of them. "Chub mackerel..." he muttered.

Makoto groaned. "Haru..."

Hana opened her mouth to say more, but shut it once a loud chortle of familiar laughter met her ears. Wait a second... I hadn't been expecting to see him here!

Sure enough, when she turned around she saw none other than the tall, red-haired Mikoshiba Seijuro, who was talking with a shorter, older man whom Hana didn't know.

"Captain Mikoshiba?" Rei murmured.

"Why is he here?" Makoto questioned.

Seijuro looked up from his conversation with the shorter, darker-haired man. As soon as his eyes landed on them, his face broke out into a bright smile. "Oh! Gou-kun!" he greeted in his booming voice. "And Nanase-kun and the team!"

Calls of good evening filled the air. Hana beamed to see him again.

"And who's this?" Makoto asked, referring the unknown man beside Samezuka's former captain.

Seijuro grinned. "This is Toudou-san, who oversees all scouting for my university," he introduced.

"A scout?" Hana repeated, her eyes widening. I hadn't expected to run into university scouts here!

Seijuro nodded. "As an alum, I thought I'd introduce some of Samezuka's members to him."

"Nanase-kun?" Toudou-san repeated. "As from Iwatobi High School?"

Seijuro confirmed it.

"He's heard of Haruka-senpai?" Gou gasped.

"Of course I have." Toudou-san looked at the back of their group, where Haru was standing. "Ah, you're Nanase-kun, are you?" Haru didn't confirm or elaborate, but the scout continued nonetheless. "Nanase Haruka, the freestyle swimmer," he mused, a delighted smile on his face. "Who could forget you after the way you sean at the prefectural tournament? We, along with other colleges, I'm sure, have had our eye on you. I sense that your talent has infinite potential. We can't allow that talent to go to waste. I'm positivity you'll climb to far greater heights. We've got high expectation for your race tomorrow!"

Hana noticed Haru stiffen out of the corner of her eyes. She glanced across at him and noticed he'd looked away from the man. She winced. This isn't good.

"Ah, look at the time!" she exclaimed. She tried not to cringe at her voice; it was high pitched and unnatural. "If we don't eat now then all the shops will close!"

"That's right!" Gou said hurriedly, catching on. She too must have noticed Haru's discomfort. "We need to find someplace to eat. Nice to see you again, Captain! Nice meeting you, Toudou-san!" She quickly moved along, signal for everyone else to follow suit. Hana grabbed Haru's wrist so he would keep up with them, and get him as far away from the scout as possible.

* * *

Hana sighed. Her eyes travelled over the last paragraph of her book again. She'd reread that paragraph three times already, but her brain just didn't seem to be able to take the words in.

For her mind wasn't on the words in front of her. Rather it was back in the city streets, and focused on a pair of blue eyes that looked so troubled, so uncertain and so uncomfortable.

Haru's reaction to the scout kept playing over in Hana's mind. She cursed. She was sure he had been doing better - his relationship with Makoto had gotten over whatever brief obstacle had been present, and he was swimming with a clear sense of purpose. Hana thought he had gotten over whatever small slump he'd been in after prefecturals.

Maybe she'd been wrong.

Hana groaned and threw her book down and leapt to her feet. No. She couldn't stand here and just continue to wonder. She needed to get answers herself. She needed to check up on Haru.

"Hana? Are you okay?" Gou called, as Hana grabbed a jumper to pull over the pyjama top she was wearing. The redhaired girl sat up from where she'd been lying on her own bed, her own book in her hands.

"I'm fine," Hana reassured. She rested one hand on the doorknob. "I'm just worried about Haru is all. I'm going to go and check on him, okay?"

"Sure," Gou agreed readily. "Don't stay up too much longer - you've got regionals tomorrow."

"As if I could forget that." Hana opened the door and stepped out into the corridors. She hoped there weren't too many people out so they wouldn't catch her in her Hello Kitty pyjama pants.

Fortunately, there weren't many people in the corridors; most had turned in for the night. She only passed one or two people and they didn't spare her a second glance.

Hana hadn't been to Haru's room personally, but she knew which room number he was in. It took a bit of navigation, but eventually she rounded the corner that led her straight to Haru's room.

"Hey, is Haru -" Hana called as she neared the door to Haru and Makoto's room, but gasped when she saw one of the people gathered outside it. "Rin!"

He looked up at her and sighed. "You're up late as well, Hana? Goodness, don't stay up late the night before a tournament!" he grumbled. He proceeded to flick Nagisa on the forehead, who cried out and staggered backward.

"It's only eleven!" Nagisa protested.

"Did something happen?" Rei asked, addressing his question at Rin.

Rin shook his head. "I just dropped in to talk to Haru for a bit. But it looks like he's out, so I'm heading back." He smiled and raised his hand in farewell. "Later."

"Hang on, Rin-chan!" Nagisa called, before Rin could walk too far away.

We won't lose tomorrow."

Rin laughed, a grin on his face. "That's my line."

After a split second, Hana quickly said goodnight to her friends, promised she'd see them tomorrow, and ran after her red-haired friend.

"Hey, Rin," she greeted, falling into step beside him.

He smiled. "Hana. How are you?"

"Fine. Just wanted to talk."

He nodded. Comfortable silence fell between them.

"How's Haru?" Rin asked, breaking the silence.

Hana looked away. That's it, isn't it? Even Hana didn't truly understand what was going through Haru's head at the moment. "He's acting oddly again," she mumbled, wringing her hands.

"Don't worry." Rin placed a hand on her shoulder. "The competition's tomorrow. He'll forget everything to focus on the race. You'll see."

Hana sighed. She knew that was what Rin would do, but would Haru do the same?

"I hope you're right," she muttered.

* * *

Hana had already been to the Regionals venue before, but it still took her breath away.

The place was massive, and somehow the stands were still packed with swimmers, coaches, managers and spectators. The noise was amplified as the voices bounced off the walls. Splashes came from the pool where other swimmers were warming up. The air was warm and stuffy, chlorine dominating every other scent in the room. It bothered Hana when she first walked in, but she was getting used to it now.

She talked animatedly with the others, her words spilling out on their own accord. It must have been a side effect of her nerves. One of her legs wouldn't stop shaking.

The venue and the atmosphere of the Regionals alone was enough to indicate this competition was on an entirely different level to Prefecturals.

Even though she was caught up in her own nerves and conversations, Hana kept a wary eye on Haru; she hadn't forgotten her uneasiness about him last night. She noted he hadn't yet participated in any conversation but stared into empty space. She found his hand and squeezed it. "What's wrong, Haru?" she probed gently.

"Nothing," he replied, but he couldn't exactly meet her eyes. Hana bit her lip.

"Hey!" a new voice called. Hana looked up at saw Hanamura, Gou's friend, climb up the stairs with two others. "We came to cheer for you guys!"

"Hana-chan!" Gou greeted, a bright smile on her face.

"We took the first train," one of the girls Hana didn't know said. Gosh, they must've been up really early!

"Thanks so much, guys!" Makoto said. They smiled and took their seats next to Gu. Hana leaned over to see them, and frowned. Isn't there someone missing?"

"Where's Coach Sasabe?" Nagisa asked, having noticed the sane thing Hana just had.

"The swimming clubs going to be just today, so he said he couldn't come," Miss Amakata informed him.

"Hey, aren't those university scouts over there?"

Hana heard the voice from behind her. University scouts? She looked back and saw a boy pout in a certain direction. Her eyes followed this point and they came to land on several people dressed in uniform, clipboards in hand. They're here alright.

"There are some over there, too," someone else said. "There sure are a bunch here..."

Now she looked, Hana realised there were a lot more scouts here than she realised. By doors, in stands... lots of them were present for Regionals. She swallowed. It's natural, I suppose. Regionals is a highly competitive competition with lots of talented swimmers, after all.

Still, Hana looked across at Haru, having recalled his reaction after meeting that unfixed sixty scout Seijuro had introduced them to the other night. This is the worst time for Haru to know scouts are here, watching. Haru's face was tight, his lips pressed firmly together. He didn't look comfortable in his seat. He overheard it, too, and he's seen them.

"Haru?" she murmured. She placed a light hand on his knee. "You sure you're okay?" She noticed that Makoto was also looking across in concern.

Haru nodded. "Yeah. It's nothing," he muttered.

Hana narrowed her eyes. It's nothing. Yeah, right. Something's bothering you.

But then Makoto announced he needed to make his way to his event, and Hana's attention was diverted as she wished her best friend good luck.

Makoto only smiled at her nervously, and disappeared toward the marshalling.

* * *

Makoto didn't qualify to compete in Nationals.

Hana's heart sank when she saw him stand at the end of the pool, looking at his time and place. Fourth overall. It wouldn't be a good enough time to qualify.

Hana knew how much Makoto must be hurting; he'd worked so hard to make it this far, and put in so much time and effort and stayed up late for so many nights.

To take her mind off those thoughts briefly, Hana checked the time on her watch. "I need to run to make my race," she gasped, already jumping out of her seat.

And, with calls of good luck following her, Hana swiped her swimming cap and goggles and headed downstairs to the changing rooms.

The locker area at the regional venue was larger than it had been at the prefectural tournament. Hana swallowed once she entered, seeing some of the people she'd soon be competing against. She swallowed, instantly noticing the step-up in competition the Regional tournament was; there were some girls here who were toned and looked like they'd been swimming for years, probably from some ridiculously young age.

Calm down. You've earned your spot here just as much as they have. After tearing off her clothes, leaving her in only her swimsuit, Hana slammed her locker door shut and left to marshal for her race.

She would be in heat two, and there were five heats overall. Hana sucked in a deep breath as they were organised. She'd be in lane two.

Before she knew it they were marching out to the starting blocks, and waiting behind those in the first heat. Her heart beat erratically in her chest out of nerves. She sought out her friends in the stands, and felt a little calmer once she had laid eyes upon them.

She was so busy calming herself down that she hadn't noticed the first race start and finish, and soon the whistle blew, telling them to get into position. Hana felt her legs shake as she stood up, snapping her goggles into position as she did so.

After readying herself on the block, Hana crouched down. Somehow, the pool here looked longer than the one at Prefecturals. Come on. That's just your imagination playing up. It's the same fifty metres.

"Take your marks, get set..."

A pause. Hana's heart skipped a beat and she tensed up, ready to dive.

The signal blared through the air, and Hana threw herself into the water.

At once, she knew she was in trouble. From the beginning, she could spot girls overtaking her in her peripheral vision.

Hana started her stroke, swimming hard through the water. Her arms thrashed through the water and her legs kicked hard as she did her best to propel herself forward.

But she could see others starting to full further ahead, and she was only being left further behind. Hana pushed herself harder, doing her best to close that gap.

The turn was approaching. Hana managed to get a good kick off - one of her best - but she could tell it wouldn't be enough. She couldn't tell where any of her other opponents were. She was swimming her hardest, gasping for breath when it came time to breathe, trying to gain speed with each stroke.

She was only falling further behind.

The end was just in front of her. Hana slammed her hand into the wall and stood up, ripping her goggles and cap off. Her chest rise and fell heavily with each breath that she gasped in. She'd pushed herself harder than she ever had before, and she was really feeling it now. Using the wall for support as she regained her breath, Hana looked up at the board to see which position she'd placed it.

Fifth.

Hana gulped in another lungful of air. Something twinged at her heart. She hadn't been expecting any better, but knowing she had lost still came as a blow. Now that she'd lost, Hana knew she had to retire from the swim club as a swimmer, and could only now join in with her co-manager duties.

Everyone else was clambering out of the pool. Not wanting to hold everyone else up, Hana heaved and pulled herself out of the water and onto the tiled floor once again.

Hana didn't particularly want to rush; she wanted to take her time and take as long a time to get to her locker as possible.

But if she did that, she'd probably miss Haru's race, and she'd never forgive herself for that.

* * *

When Hana ran up to the stands, the men's freestyle was just being announced.

"Rin's racing," Makoto informed her, as soon as she joined up with them. "Haru will be in the next race."

Hana nodded. "Got it." It would be weird, watching Rin and Haru swim in separate races. Hana had gotten so used to them swimming against each other in the same race.

Makoto smiled. "You swam really well, you know."

Hana shrugged. "I knew from the beginning I was playing a game of catch-up. I'm proud I was able to make it this far in such a short amount of time."

Makoto was about to say more, but then the marshal called for the freestyle races to begin. All conversation ceased when the swimmers climbed onto the starting blocks. After a small pause, the signal sounded, and the swimmers dove into the water.

Rin easily won his race. From the moment he dived in, he was only increasing the distance between himself and his competition. Hana only watched on with wide eyes. This was Regionals, and yet he was putting so much distance between himself and the others. It was a complete turnaround from his race last year.

When he placed first, Hana clapped and cheered for him, a broad grin on his face. With a time like that, there was no doubt that he would qualify for Nationals. And he deserved it. He had been working for a chance like this since he was a child. It was a step closer to his dream of competing on the International stage.

And then, it was Haru who was climbing on to the blocks. Hana wanted to cheer, but the stadium was in a state of deathly silent as they awaited the signal to begin the race.

"On your marks, get set..." It was so quiet, Hana thought you could've heard a pin drop.

And then the signal was given, and everyone entered the water.

Hana was cheering, yelling her support for Haru as he tore through the water, leaving his opponents far behind him, just like Rin. He was increasing the distance between them, and there was no way the others would catch up with Haru's speed and intensity. Haru hit the turn, and there was no one who could compete with him.

He's doing so well! Hana grinned and cheered louder. There's no stopping him!

Or so she thought.

Hana didn't see it coming. No one did. One minute, Haru was racing at full speed, just as he'd always done. He was invincible, and unable to be beaten.

And the next, he wasn't.

He'd stopped.

The breath was knocked from Hana's lungs and her cheers died from her lips as she watched as Haru just stopped swimming. His feet touched the ground so he stood upright, water dripping from his hair as he looked down. The other swimmers swam right past him, but he didn't seem to care.

Hana lurched to her feet and gripped the railing in front of her. She could feel the blood drain from her face and her legs begin to tremble. She tried to cry out, but nothing could pass her strangled throat.

What's he doing? Why is he doing this? What happened? What's wrong? Why didn't I see this coming? Why didn't he tell me? Why can't I help him?

Hana was frozen, those thoughts running through her mind. She couldn't comprehend, she could barely breathe.

"Haru!" she eventually managed to choke out. Her voice was strangled and came out strangely pitched and cracked, and it was hardly audible even to her own ears. "Haru!" Her voice was no more than a whisper. She wanted to cry out and shout, and let him know that he wasn't alone, that she was there and wanted to help him. But she couldn't force the words out

Hana could never recall a time where she had felt so helpless. Their roles were reversed; she wasn't the one drowning and Haru wasn't the one saving her. This time, it was Haru who was in difficulty, and Hana was the one watching on.

But this time, there wasn't anything she could do to help.

—————————————————————————

ah we all knew it was coming...