Clouded Distance

Chapter Six

Sakura

Hana breathed deeply as she was called up for her race. She had already gone through the usual pre-swim routine: placed her clothes and towels in her locker, struggled to fit her swim cap over her head, and grabbed her goggles.

Now, she stood in front of the pool, ready to race. She bit her lip as she looked at the expanse of water before her. Had the pool always been that long? She played with the blue strap of her swimsuit as she waited for her race to be called up, a nervous habit she'd picked up recently. Hana was very much aware of the swimmers on either side of her. She was in lane three, and felt a little claustrophobic as the people on either side of her continued to close in, making her lane look that little bit narrower.

Hana knew she was being silly. There was no need for the nerves she was currently experiencing. But, this was her first real competition. She could see all of the spectators within the stands. She'd managed to zone in and find the location of her friends, and they all waved to her as she waited to be called to the starting blocked. She smiled as she was able to find her Iwatobi friends, as well as Rin on the opposite side of the spectator's stands.

Knowing that her friends were there, eager and ready to support her, made Hana feel a little more at ease. Even though she was swimming on her own, she wasn't truly alone. She had her friend's support to keep her going.

"Ready." The announcement took Hana by surprise a little. With a start, she pulled her goggles over her eyes, making sure they were securely in place as she walked up and stood up on the starting blocks. She didn't want them falling off like they had for poor Rei on several occassions.

Just like the other swimmers, she bent down, wrapping her fingers around the edge. Her toes dangled a little over the block.

The shot sounded to start the race. At once, Hana launched herself forward, positioning herself to dive. The tips of her fingers were the first part of her body to hit the water, and soon as she was entering the underwater phase of her swim.

Hana gasped in a lungful of air as she reached the surface once mroe, and quickly began her stroke. She could hear the crowd cheering even though the water continuing to interupt with her hearing. But she didn't really notice that - all she was focused on was getting to the other end.

She pushed herself harder, giving it all she had. She didn't know where the other swimmers were - all she knew was that she had to kick harder, move her arms faster. Her 

The halfway mark was approaching. As always, Hana felt her stomach perform a somersault. Her turns were the weakest part of her swimming.

She had to move in without hesitating, or she'd lose her momentum. Hana gasped in a deep lungful of air as she went for the turn, the world spinning a little. She felt a deep sense of satisfaction as she managed to get a good kick-off.

The last leg was before her. Hana pushed herself with everything she had, making herself go faster without losing her technique. Her heart hammered in her chest and she continued to edge closer to the finish.

One more strong kick, one more movement of her arm, Hana told herself. Strong kick, move the arm, repeat. She was close...

Her hand slammed against the board. Hana stood up, breathing deeply and heavily as she ripping her goggles and cap off, looking up at the board to see how she'd placed. Her eyes widened.

She'd won. And she'd achieved a personal best.

Hana chuckled through her gasps for breath. With a smile on her face, she pulled herself out of the water, shaking her damp hair back. She paused as she got out, looking back to where she knew her friends were. She saw them, all waving. She waved back, before she trooped back to the change rooms to get back into her jacket and trousers.

She wasn't too long, though she had to spend a little extra time inside in order to dry her hair. She got ready as quickly as possible and left, walking at a brisk pace so she could meet up with her friends.

Nagisa spotted her coming first. 

"Nice job, Hana-chan!" Nagisa called, waving vigorously as Hana weaved her way through the stands to stand beside her friends.

Hana came to a stop before her friends and smiled. "Thanks, Nagisa." She quickly scanned down the line of people. Nagisa, Makoto, Gou, Rei, Miss Amakata, Sasabe... but no Haru.

Hana sighed, running a hand through her still-wet hair that she allowed to hang loose. "Haru's already gone to get ready for his race?" She cursed her long, thick hair for taking such a long time to dry. If her hair was shorter, then she might have been able to make a dash for the stands and wish Haru good luck before his race.

Makoto nodded. "Yes. But, he told us to tell you that he said, good swim."

A small blush coloured Hana's cheeks, just like it always did when Haru complimented her swimming. Most of the time Hana felt as though she didn't deserve the praise - Haru was such a good swimmer and so much better than she was.

But when he did compliment her swimming - even the simple things such as "good swim" or "nice form" - Hana felt her confidence in her swimming increase just that little bit more as she thought that Haru, of all swimmers, found something good enough to compliment about her swimming.

Their gazes returned to the pool. "Haru-chan and Rin-chan are up next!" Nagisa piped, as Rin and Haru walked up to the pool amongst the other swimmers.

Hana's eyes were instantly drawn to the two as they stretched and prepared for their race to be called. She smiled as she saw them talk so casually before the race. It was so different to the race they'd swum almost a year ago at prefecturals, where it was just competition between them.

She was glad that they had managed to fix their relationship and be friends again. Hell, she was happy she had fixed her own relationship with Rin. He truly was a wonderful person once they stripped down the mask he had constantly been wearing.

The competing swimmers all got up on the starting blocks. "Ready..." the announcer called, and they all bent down, hands gripping the edge of the blocks.

The shot sounded, and all eight competing swimmers dove into the water.

They're so fast, Hana thought in awe, as Rin and Haru both began to break away from the other swimmers even though the race had barely started. Their fast and practiced swimming styles made her swimming look amateurish in comparison.

Well, Hana never had seen herself swim, but she sure felt like an amateur swimmer as she watched her friends cut their way powerfully through the water.

"Rin-san is pulling ahead..." Rei muttered, as Rin started to pull himself in front. They were about halfway through the race, and Rin had himself a rather healthy lead, already entering his turn. Haru certainly a fair bit of work shear of him if he wanted to catch up.

"Don't give in, Haru-chan!" Nagisa yelled.

"You can do it, Haru!" Hana called, cupping her hands around her mouth and yelling from the bottom of her lungs.

She wasn't sure if it was her voice, that Haru had somehow managed to hear it between the noise from the crowd and the thrashing of the water, but as soon as he made the turn, he was swimming a little bit faster, closing the gap between himself an Rin.

Not only was he catching up to Rin, but the two of them were leaving the other swimmers in the dust.

Do you use that saying when it applies to water? Hana wasn't sure where the thought came from.

"They're on an entirely different level from the other swimmers," Makoto muttered, watching as the distance between those two and the other swimmers only to continued to increase.

"Haru-chan's amazing," Nagisa exclaimed. "He's catching up to Rin-chan!"

Indeed he was. The two of them were powering through the water, the gap between them only small as they approached the finish. Hana leaned forward over the railing a little, willing Haru on. You can do it, you can do it...

They reached the finish. The two of them slapped their hands against the wall, breathing heavily. Hana gasped. She couldn't tell who had come first just by looking. Hesitantly, she looked up at the board and gasped.

The number 1 was next to both Rin and Haru's names.

Did they really just...

"They came in at... a tie!" Rei said, sounding as shocked as Hana felt.

The announcement system crackled to life. "The swimmers in lanes four and five, Nanase-kun and Matsuoka-kun, have just set a tournament record," a woman's voice said, as Haru and Rin gasped, recovering from their swim.

Hana smiled, happy for the both of them. Her boyfriend and her close friend... they deserved it. Her smile only grew wider as they gave each other a high-five. It was so good to see such good competition between them, and not the sort of cold competition they had last year.

The day continued. Everyone else swam their events, everyone doing well and placing first in all their races. Hana found this to be encouraging.

Maybe... they could all make it through to regionals this year.

Soon, the day was through, and everyone was gathered outside. It was still bright blue skies outside - the public tournament wasn't as large as the prefectural tournament, so it finished quicker. Hana was grateful for the sun and small breeze that was blowing - hopefully, that could aid in drying her thick hair just that little bit quicker.

"You were amazing, Haruka-senpai!" Gou gushed once again. "You broke your own record and tied with my brother!"

"All of you did an excellent job!" Miss Amakata commended with a smile.

Sasabe made a comment next, but Hana and her friends didn't notice. Their attention was preoccupied when they caught sight of a group in black jackets walking past them, a red-haired figure among them.

Ah yes. This is the time. Hana exchanged looks with her friends, and they all nodded. She and Haru quickened their pace to pursue Rin.

"Rin!" Haru called out, grabbing their friend's attention.

Rin glanced back at them and came to a stop. "You guys go on ahead," he said to his teammates, who had stopped when their captain stopped. As per his instruction, they walked off, leaving Rin behind.

"What's up?" Rin asked.

"We need to talk to you," Haru said. "Come to Iwatobi High later."

"What for? Are we settling the score there?"

"Ah, you'll find out once you arrive," Hana assured him, a wide grin on her face.

She couldn't wait to make the revelation. It was taking everything within her to not show just how excited she was.

Rin truly had no idea what sight was awaiting him at Iwatobi High.

*          *          *

The evening sun filtered through the open window of the swim club building, illuminating the room in gold and orange. Hana leaned back against the wall, a smile on her face as she and the others patiently waited for Rin's arrival. Their plan was all set up, and they were ready.

Hana couldn't wait to show Rin the little surprise they had in store for him.

"Hey, Haru, Hana! I'm here. Come out!"

Hana stiffed a giggle. "He's here." A thrill of excitement passed down her body. She couldn't wait to show their friend this little surprise they had in plan for him - and she knew the others were eager as well.

For a small moment, there was no sound. Then, they heard the muffled sound of footsteps come from the other side of the door, the sound seeping under the gap made between the door and floor.

The doorknob was rotated, and the door lightly creaked as it was pushed open. A slither of fading sunlight filled the room, which only grew larger as the door was pushed further open to reveal Rin standing in the threshold.

Hana grinned. Now.

"Bring him!" Nagisa exclaimed. Before Rin had time to react to anything, they advanced, placing the ridiculously large Iwatobi-chan head over Rin's head, which effectively blindfolded him.

"What the... Hey! Let me go!" Rin shouted, as Makoto and Rei each grasped one of Rin's arms and started to drag him along after them.

"Come along quietly," Haru said as they walked across the clubroom, Hana doing her best to suppress the laughter that threatened to spill from her mouth at any given moment. She wasn't the best at keeping a straight face of withholding her laughter, and the sight of Rin, with the massive head that was way out of proportion to his body, being dragged along, looked strange and hilarious.

Rin struggled a little. "What - hey!"

"Haru-chan, the sentence ending!" Nagisa reminded him.

"Come along quietly, moge."

"Don't moge me! Let go!"

They left the clubroom and started their walk outside. Hana glanced at the pool and grinned. It's almost time...

"Oh, no! Don't take my brother away!" Gou exclaimed, letting her presence be known.

"Gou, you're here as well?"

"Rin, stop kicking!"

They entered the pool area. It's time.

"Will you guys give it a -"

Before Rin could finish his sentence, Haru removed the oversized blindfold from Rin's head. As they stepped back to give Rin a plain view, their friend squinted at the sudden exposure to the sunlight. When he was able to open his eyes fully and see properly once more, Rin gasped.

Before him was the pool they used for training... but it wasn't just filled with water.

"When we were in grade school, you once said that you wanted to swim in a pool of cherry blossoms," Haru said, in response to the shocked expression on Rin's face.

Makoto smiled. "The idea was to open the pool early so we could attract new members," he explained.

"Thanks to Ama-chan's hard work!" Nagisa piped.

Hana's mind flashed back to a few days ago, when Miss Amakata had approached their small group, and informed them that the school had given them permission to open the pool early - meaning they could fill the pool with water. They'd been excited at the prospect and, having thoroughly cleaned the pool by then, opened it up one day so the first years could watch them swim.

"Though it still resulted in zero new members," Hana sighed. She recalled how upset they'd all been when no one showed up despite their efforts to ready the pool once more. It just seemed that no one else in Iwatobi wanted to swim - something Hana found strange, considered the ocean was basically right on their doorstep. She thought everyone might have grown up with water.

Apparently, that hadn't been the case.

But, since their pool had been filled early, the pink petals from the nearby sakura trees fell from overhead, resting on the surface of the pool. It had looked gorgeous, Hana had just wanted to jump right in and swim within the petals, no matter how cold it might have been.

Then, Makoto had recalled how, when he, Haru and Rin were in elementary school, Rin had expressed his desire to swim in a sakura pool. They had then decided that they'd show Rin this, so that he might experience his childhood dream.

"But since we got to see our pool of cherry blossoms as a result, we wanted to show it to you, too," Makoto said.

Rin's eyes sparkled. "You guys..." He sniffed and abruptly turned away, but they all saw him go through the motion of wiping at his eyes. Hana smiled. Oh, Rin.

"Rin-san, go for it!" Rei said, redirecting Rin's attention to him. His eyes still were shining a little.

"Go for it!"

"I guess I'll let you swim in it just this once," Haru muttered.

Rin froze. "Well, I do want to swim in it, but it's still kind of cold."

Hana looked a little up at her sky, frowning at it, as though to tell it off for bring so cold and ruining their surprise for Rin. Damn this weather.

Gou smirked. "Onii-change, take that stuff off!" she exclaimed, whipping out her camera. Hana chuckled as Nagisa and Makoto approached Rin, attempting to push him into the pool, laughing as they did so.

"Hey, quit pushing!" Rin exclaimed, trying to resist.

"No need to hold back!"

"He's right, you don't have to be bashful!"

"I'm not being bashful! Hey, seriously, stop -"

Everyone froze as they felt single drops of icy water on the exposed skin of their faces. Hana lightly touched her nose where the drop had landed and then up at the sky, crying out a little as she'd noticed that the sky was covered in grey clouds.

Oh, not now!

The heavens opened soon after, sending sheets of icy rain falling down upon them. Hana squealed a little as she was met with the icy cold.

""It's cold!" she heard someone cry, as they ran to find shelter. She, Haru, Makoto and Rin ended up under the shelter by the pool, while the others huddled by the clubroom.

Hana shivered a little, dismayed with how wet she was as she watched it continue to fall down rather heavily, ruining their sakura poi,. He must have noticed the small shiver passing down her body, for Haru placed his arm over her shoulders. Hana smiled appreciatively at him. She wasn't sure if would help much since Haru was just as wet as she was, but she was still grateful for the gesture.

"The weather report didn't say anything about rain today," Makoto muttered, as they all stared forlornly at the area outside of their small shelter.

"That reminds me..." Rin looked across at them. "Have you three thought about what you'll do after graduation?"

Whoa, Rin, where did that question come from?

"Not really," Haru muttered.

Rin looked across at a Haru, incredulous. "You can't not think about it."

Hana bit her lip, leaning back a little. She guessed she was sort of in the middle. While she understood that she'd be entering the world outside of school soon enough, she was still struggling to think of what life would be like once she was on her own. She knew nothing but life with her family. The thought of leaving the sheltered world she currently living in having to make decisions of herself was a little bit mind-blowing.

"You're aiming to swim at the world level, right, Rin?" Makoto asked.

Rin nodded. "Yeah. Since I wasted some time getting here, nationals this swimmer will be my last chance. If I can make it to nationals, I could get scouted. I'll set new records there and grab hold of my dream!"

Rin looked and sounded excited. He had reason to. That was his lifelong dream, after all.

"Haru, Hana, Makoto..." Rin stepped forward, looking over at his friends. "What do you guys plan to do?"

Uh... Hana but her lip, caught off guard by the question.

"I... haven't really decided yet," Makoto admitted, after a small pause.

Rin sighed, exasperated. "More like you haven't even thought about it." He looked over at her. "Hana?"

Hana shrugged lightly. "I'll probably end up doing something that involves writing, since that's where my real talent lies," she murmured. She honestly couldn't see her life going any other way at the moment. Writing was her only real obvious strength. "But still... leaving swimming behind entirely is going to be hard." She had developed such a passion for swimming, but she just didn't feel she was talented enough to continue.

The future was still a little way away. There was time to think things over, time to discuss things with the school's guidance counsellor, time to look over at possible universities and university courses.

She still had plenty of time to make a decision as to what she wanted to do with her life.

Didn't she?