Clouded Distance
Chapter Thirty-One
Eternal Summer

The night was one of the most beautiful nights Hana had ever experienced.

Maybe she was being a little bias. Maybe that opinion also came from the fact that Haru was lying beside her and that they were alone in the middle of the forest, a stream softly running beside them, with no one else to tease them or interrupt their time together.

But it was such a beautiful night. The temperature was just right, and the weather was fair enough that they were able to sleep outside their tent. The night sky was cloudless, revealing a scattering of stars as far as Hana's could see. It was peaceful, too, secluded far away from any bustling city.

They'd finally made their small dream of camping under the stars together become reality. When Hana brought it up that night by the beach, it seemed so far away, but achievable. Around Regionals, it seemed nothing like a daydream or far-off fantasy.

But then school had finished and freedom was staring at the face, and they'd turned to each other and said, "Let's make it happen."

Freedom together before college, and also to celebrate the end of high school. The last few months of high school had been stressful, with almost every spare moment being filled with studying. Hana had finished her short story for the writing club; she had thought it her best work so far. She had named it Eternal Summer, and wrote it based on her experiences as a third year. She had retired from the writing club when she had handed in, with no regrets.

When the collection of short stories had been published in the school library, Hana had been strangely proud that it had made multiple people cry. She had put all effort and emotion into that story.

After many nights of pulling all-nighters and spending the entire day cramming with Makoto and Haru, exams had eventually passed. Hana had been ecstatic with her results. Her lowest result had been in maths, as she'd expected, but she'd passed all her subjects, and achieved the highest result in literature. Haru and Makoto had also received good results.

As soon as school was over she and Haru began making plans for their camping trip. A week later they had been packing up, carrying backpacks fit with all their supplies for three days of camping and were leaving Iwatobi, with Hana's mother yelling after them to be responsible. Hana had rolled her eyes at that.

Now they were camped out under the stars, lying so close side by side that they touched. Hana lay with one hand behind her head, a soft smile on her face as she gazed up at the heavens. That was a sight she could never tire of.

"The stars are beautiful tonight," she whispered.

"They are," Haru admitted. "But not as beautiful as you."

"Oh, shut up. That's so cheesy," Hana muttered, hitting him on the side. But her cheeks were bright red, and her face had split into a wide smile. She chuckled, and leaned back. "I can't believe we're in college now," she whispered. "It's so difficult to believe."

Haru hummed in agreement. "Tokyo is different to Iwatobi, isn't it?"

They'd stayed in Tokyo for a few days, to move their belongings into their new apartment they'd be living in together. It had felt strange, unpacking in a building without any adult supervision. They weren't yet sleeping in the same room, though, but maybe in the future they'd find that the time was right to do so.

"Very different," Hana agreed. They'd only slept in Tokyo for one night, but it had been so different to their sleepy, ocean-side town of Iwatobi: it was busier, brighter, noisier, and brighter. Tokyo was nice

Remote and peaceful. That brought back memories of a place they hadn't been in since the previous year. "This reminds me of training camp, camping out like this," she hummed, remembering how they'd slept in tents on the island, just by the ocean.

"That was fun," Haru said, nodding as he too remembered.

"It was." Hana smiled fondly, a memory returning to her. "It was the first time I went back in the ocean since you saved me, remember?" she said wistfully, recalling how she'd joined everyone in the ocean to play a game of beach volleyball. "I could do it because I knew you were there with me."

"I was worried. But that was nothing compared to the time I found you in the pool alone."

Hana chuckled. "And then you decided to teach me how to swim." She turned over fully on to her side, staring right into the depths of Haru's ocean-blue eyes. She smiled, a light blush on her cheeks. "Thank you, Haru," she whispered. "I can never thank you enough for helping me overcome my fear of water."

He shook his head. "I should be the one thanking you, for supporting me through everything."

"That was no problem, honestly," Hana stammered. "We're there for each other. That's what matters."

Silence fell briefly. Hana found herself unable to look back at the stars; she was currently lost in the depths of Haru's eyes, her vision captivated by his beautiful face.

"Hey, Haru," she whispered.

He looked at her. "What is it?"

She smiled, her hands reaching out to grab his own. "I love you. More than anything." She looked at him from under her lashes. "You know that, right?"

He squeezed her hands back. "Of course. And you know I love you."

"And you know that I'll always love you, and I'll always have your back, right?" she whispered. "You can count on me."

He chuckled softly. "You took the words out of my mouth. Whatever problem you have, no matter how small, I'll help you through it."

"We help each other, no matter what. Deal?"

"Of course. Deal."

Hana smiled and placed her head closer to Haru's. Their lips met and Hana groaned, melting in the bliss. The kiss was sweet and tender, and made her insides warm. Her hands were playing with his hair, soft beneath her fingers, and his hand was cupping her cheek as though he was holding something fragile.

When they broke apart, Hana giggled and rested her head next to Haru's.

"We'll be late back to Iwatobi if we stay up for much longer," she pointed out reluctantly. Really, she just wanted to stay up talking and spending time with Haru all night, but the rational side of her brain was telling her it was illogical. "We should probably sleep if we're going to make it in time for both visiting the swim club and Samezuka. I wonder what Rin has planned for us?"

A few days ago, Rin had told them all to meet them at Samezuka's pool, and to bring their swimsuits. They'd been bewildered, but nonetheless accepted the invitation, while wondering just what Rin had in store for all of them. 

"Knowing Rin, it'll be something unbelievable," Haru mused.

Hana laughed once more before closing her eyes, curling up into Haru's side.

"I wouldn't expect anything else."

*          *          *

It was a struggle to get back to Iwatobi in time the next day, so they could shower and make themselves presentable, but somehow Haru and Hana managed it. They joined up with Makoto, Nagisa and Rei as they first headed down to Iwatobi SC Returns, putting little notes describing the sights they'd seen in the relay and burying it in the garden. Despite not having been a part of the relay, Hana added her own note, describing just how she felt when she watched her friends win.

Like I was on cloud nine. I She smiled as she wrote on and on about how proud she'd been of her friends. Now, the note was buried beneath the earth, ready to be dug up again.

Once they finished that, they caught the train and headed to Samezuka, where they would be meeting Rin for his surprise - whatever it may be.

"It's really quiet," Makoto noted as they walked through the school. Everyone had left for the holiday break. Hana found it odd, walking through the complex when it was so empty. The other times she'd been here, the school had been busy and filled with people. Well, excluding that night after the festival she'd run to Rin, but she'd been so blinded by her grief that she hadn't noticed much else at the time.

"Why would Rin-san invite us to Samezuka when the year has finished?" Rei asked.

Nagisa shrugged. "We'll find out soon enough."

Sure enough, a sight was awaiting them when they reached the pool. Hana's eyebrows raised when she saw Rin waiting for them, several Samezuka members standing around. For some reason, everyone except Rin had a paper bag over their head, an expression she guessed that was supposed to be scary traced on in thick marker.

What on earth is this all about?

"I've been waiting for you!" Rin called, when they came to a stop in front of him. "Now I'll show you the most incredible sight you've ever seen right here!"

The door to the pool swung open, and Hana gasped.

This was more than she could've imagined. The roof to Samezuka's pool had been left open, and the sakura petals from the trees above had fallen down and filled Samezuka's large pool. It was more than they could've achieved at Iwatobi, and was gorgeous.

"Rin! That's amazing!" Hana exclaimed, left momentarily speechless.

They all stared at the pool for a moment, held temporarily spellbound captivated by its beauty.

Then their moment of captivation was lost and they were yelling, running toward the pool at full speed. Hana fumbled with her shirt as she ran, pulling it off and halting to hastily pull off her skirt - almost tripping in the process - leaving her in her light blue swimsuit. With a scream of delight she dove into the pool, at once surrounded by sakura petals, water, and her friends.

When asked exactly what happened at Samezuka later, Hana couldn't explain or remember exactly what did happen. What she did remember was giving in amongst the sakura petals, inhaling their sweet scent as she swam,  splashed waves of water at her friends, laughed as she got splashed in turn. Laughter, there was lots of that, as they mucked around in the pool, losing track of time and just relishing in each other's company.

When they finally clambered out of the pool, the sun was beginning its descent and their skin was wrinkled from the water. After grabbing their towels they sat in a loose circle. Hana lay down and used Haru's legs as a pillow and joined in the conversations.

"I'm going to miss you guys," Hana sighed, once conversation had quietened down. She looked at everyone gathered, meeting them all in the eye once at the same. "All of you. It won't be the same next year without you all by my side." She smiled, and hastily wiped away the tears that came to form in her eyes. "You're the best friends I could ask for."

"We can still talk," Haru pointed out. "We can call, text, use social media."

"It won't be the same as meeting up everyday. We won't even be able to see each other as often." Hana sighed. "And since Rin will be in Australia, we'll barely get to see him!"

Rin chuckled and raised his hands, but Hana swore she briefly caught a sparkle of tears in his eyes.

"But we'll be able meet up on weekends!" Nagisa piped. 

"And Rin needs to come and visit us every once and a while," Makoto said. "It'll be difficult for five of us to find the time to go to Australia..."

Rin stretched out. "We'll manage."

Rei smiled "We will."

Hana grinned and stood up. She made her way over to her bag and whipped out her phone. "Right guys, time for a picture!"

"Hana, really?" Rin groaned.

She grinned. "Of course! To remember this moment forever! Gather around, everyone!"

There were groans and words muttered under breath from some of the boys, but everyone gathered around. Their faces were pressed tightly together as they all tried to fit into the tiny frame of Hana's phone.

Eventually they managed, and with a call of "Smile! Say free!" from Hana, she managed to take a photo that at first made her burst out laughing - some of her friend's facial expressions were ridiculous - but later came to treasure.

In time, she would come to frame that figure and keep it by her bed, so she would wake up each morning and remember just how much fun she had with her friends, and how important each person was to her.

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OMG THIS WAS THE CHEESIEST THING I'VE EVER WRITTEN I CANNOT BELIEVE MYSELF

but there you have it... the final chapter! i hope you enjoyed! next up is the epilogue and then this is over...