Open Waters

Chapter Thirteen

Hestitant Change

They had started trying to teach Rei how to swim two days ago.

On the first day, with Gou watching with folded arms and wearing an expressiong that made Hana want to run far away, Nagisa had tried instructing Rei to swim breastroke. And it seemed to be going well, until Nagisa let go and Rei sank to the bottom. On the second day, it had been Makoto's turn, and he'd attempted to reach Rei backstroke. But, like Nagisa, once Makoto let go, Rei just sank.

Hana found herself watching Rei every day, with each passing day started to feel even more ashamed. Here was Rei, sinking and no doubt humiliating himself more with each passing day, and yet he continued to get up and continue swimming.

And as for Hana? She reflected guiltly that after one incident, she'd told herself that she'd never swim again. Then again, her situation had been far more drastic than something like this, which just involved a pool, and not the ocean.

On the third day of the week, it was raining. Comparing that with the cold, and swimming was ruled out for the day. So, instead of training, Nagisa had proposed to hold a meeting purely for discussing possible reasons as to why Rei couldn't swim.

And now, there they were seated, ready to start the meeting.

"Okay, let's begin the 'Why Can't Rin-Chan Swim' meeting!" Nagisa said, much to Rei's obvious embarrassment. "Anybody have any thoughts?"

A thoughtful silence fell over the group. Hana knew that she would be basically useless in this discussion, since she didn't swim either. But still, she looked at Rei just like the others, pretending to be immersed in thoughtful silence.

"The water doesn't like him," Haru said eventually. As soon as he spoke, Hana sighed and rolled her eyes. Only Haru would come up with a suggestion like that!

What amused her more than Haru's suggestion was the question was the way Nagisa took it seriously. "Poor Rei-chan," the blonde muttered with utmost sympathy. Hana had to refrain from face-palming there and then.

"That can't be it," Makoto said, dismissing the idea. Hana smiled at him, reassured that she wasn't the only same one at the meeting.

"Maybe he's athletically challenged!" Gou cried, leaning far over the table.

"Rei-chan's really fast, and he does well on tests," Nagisa countered at once.

"So Rei's smart," Hana hummed. It didn't really surprise her. Rei definitely looked like an achiever to her eyes.

"Do you like mackerel?" Haru asked.

"DHA..." Gou muttered.

"I know!" Nagisa exclaimed, as though he'd had the most brilliant thought in the universe. "His head is too heavy!"

"All that studying has enlarged his brain!" Gou gasped, sounding almost horrified.

Hana closed her eyes. Gosh, spare me. She loved her friends, she really did... but these suggestions were just ridiculous and made her want to burst out into laughter. And also start to feel more than just the slightest concerned.

She wasn't the only one who had had enough. "That's enough!" Rei said loudly. He stood up as he spoke, easily gaining everyone else's attention. "The problem is the way you guys teach!" Rei continued. "If I had a proper coach, I would be fine!"

Well, that all makes sense, only there's one problem... where would we find a coach? Hana frowned and slumped backwards.

"A coach..." Makoto hummed thoughtfully. He was silent for a moment as he thought, and then he gasped. "There is a coach!"

"Oh, who?" Hana inquired, as Makoto pulled out his phone.

"Our former swim coach, Coach Sasabe. He delivers pizzas now." Makoto looked up. "Any specific pizza you want me to order?"

Hana felt her heart soar, and she bit down on her lip to refrain from outright grinning. But still, the corners of her lips tilted upward, betraying her. She momentarily was annoyed it it. "Anything," she chirped. "Any type of pizza, I'm happy with."

Makoto chuckled, probably expecting that response from her. As everyone else started to speak their suggestions, a flicker of movement caught Hana's eye. She looked over to see Rei standing and moving out of the room.

Instantly overcome with concern for Rei, Hana bounced up to her feet. "Excuse me for a moment," she murmured, and ran around everyone else in pursuit of Rei.

She foud him in the room opposite, his back against the wall, his head bent down so his glasses were partially slipping from his nose. Gosh, with all the melting my heart has been doing lately, I'm surprised it isn't just one big puddle of heart muscle by now.

Hana walked over to his side. "Rei... are you okay?" she asked gently.

Her arrival must have been silent, or Rei must have been so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't hear her. Because when she spoke, his head snapped up so sharply Hana jumped back a little out of surprise. After recovering from his initial shock, Rei laughed. "Oh, Hana-san. No, nothing's wrong."

"Please, just call me Hana. No need for formalities here."

Rei nodded. "Well... okay. Thank you."

Hana's lips quirked up into a knowing smile. "And I don't believe you when you said nothing was wrong." Her smile faded, and turned more into concerned curiousity. "Is it because of this meeting?"

Rei didn't answer at first, he only looked down. Hana didn't press him for an answer though, she just stood by patiently and awaited one. It appeared that Rei might have been having some sort of internal debate with himself. Hana wondered if that debate was whether or not he should admit or not, depending if admitting anything went agaisnt Rei's sense of beauty.

It just not have been too un-beautiful to admit, for Rei murmured, "Yes. It is."

He sounded like he was expecting Hana to laugh or scorn. But instead, she stood up on tiptoe to place a hand on his shoulder, much to Rei's surprise. "There's no need to be ashamed, Rei," she said gently. "You're not the only one who can't. I can't swim, either. I haven't been near the water in years." She cracked a small grin. "But guess what?"

Rei looked confused. "Hana-sa - Hana," he corrected instantly, after catching Hana's look. He didn't know where Hana was going with this.

"Watching you, continuing to try swimming after all this time..." Hana paused, recollecting and chuckling inwardly at a few odd memories. She glanced up and looked at Rei in the eye. "I think you might just be inspiring me."

If possible, Rei looked even more confused. "I don't follow."

"You don't need to. Maybe, you'll understand soon." Hana heard the sound of something pulling up outside, and an excited exclamation from Nagisa. Hana grinned, spinning around to face Rei. "Oh, I think pizza's here," she said excitedly. She grabbed Rei's wrist, laughing as she did so. "C'mon, Rei. Let's get there before the others devour all of the other slices."

*          *         *

It turned out, Coach Sasobe didn't want to be a coach, at least not for Rei. His departure had left the small group feeling rather dispirited, but gave them all the more incentive to find a way to teach Rei to swim.

Hana gripped one of the nearby poles, feeling the train sway beneath her feet. Knowing her, Hana knew that if she lessened her grip, she'd be most likely to somehow lose her balance and topple over. Wanting to spare herself from that embarrassment, Hana resolved to keep a firm grip.

The train was taking her to do something she never thought she'd do with any willing boy ever: shopping. Though, this wasn't usual shopping; they were shopping for a new swimsuit for Rei. They had all decided to make this trip the other way, when Rei had declared that his speedo was to blame for his inability to swim. Hana still chuckled at the memory. Rei had been very dramatic, and besides, wearing a proper swimsuit did not make you a professional swimmer overnight.

And Rei was supposed to be smart. Hana shook her head, rolling her eyes. But, he also had a thing for all things beautiful. And his swimsuit was apparently not beautiful.

But Rei wasn't the only reason Hana wanted to come here. It was something that had been nagging at her for the past two days, and this trip to the sports shop was the perfect opportunity for her. All she would have to do was slip away under an excuse she'd rehearsed, and then she could do what she wanted to.

"So why didn't Miss Ama-chan come with us to buy his swimsuit?" Makoto asked presently, bringing Hana from her brief reverie.

Gou leaned forward a little to make herself more a part of the conversation. "She worked for a swimsuit maker in Tokyo, right?"

"Well, I did ask her, but she gave me a wide range of excuses," Nagisa hummed, leaned back. "From I have something else to do on Sunday, there are other brands, I have my reasons and, I won't be able to provide an objective perspective."

"What's with the flurry of random excuses?" Rei muttered sceptically.

Hana frowned. "That sounds a bit odd," she murmured. She didn't understand why Miss Amakata would suddenly babble out a number of excuses that didn't relate to each other what so ever. It was as though she had been caught on the spot, and was flustered. But what would cause her to react like that? They were just headed to shop for swimsuits. There wasn't anything wrong with that, right?

They train soon pulled to a stop. The group trooped out of the train, a light wind caressing their skin. Hana looked around the station, not knowing where exactly they were. "So, um... where's the sports shop?"

Haru pointed in one dirction. "Only a short walk over there." Hana managed to catch his pure blue eyes, and she suddenly felt a little squirmish under his gaze.

Still, once they started walking, Hana found herself keeping pace with Haru. They didn't talk much, since Haru wasn't one for conversation, but the silence suited Hana fine.

It didn't take long for Hana to spot the sports shop. Sports Zero was a large shop, able to be seen from quite a while away. She felt fairly impressed by the size as they walked on through and entered the shop.

Hana guessed the boys had been to this shop previously, for they seemed to know where they were going as they headed to the male swimsuit second. 

Hana stuck by Gou as they looked through the numerous racks of men's swimwear. "There are a lot to choose from," Gou muttered, sorting between swimsuits.

"Mm," Hana agreed absently. She wasn't really paying attention to the swimsuits before her, rather, she was discreetly searching the shop for something else. She was soon able to locate what she was searching for. Unsurprisingly, it was right next to the male swimwear section. Hana bit her lip. She hoped she could slip over there without being noticed.

Hana was aware of Rei rambling on about choosing the right swimwear somewhere in the background, but didn't pay much attention to it. Instead, she pretended to be engrossed in helping Gou, Makoto and Haru search for appropriate swimwear, all the while just itching for then to move into a position where she could slip away to the neighbouring section without being seen.

Haru selected two swimsuits from the rack. Hana eyed the swimsuits with a critical eye. They both appeared almost indentical to the one she had seen him wear for practice.

"I'm going to try this on," Haru declared suddenly, walking away.

Gou leaned back a little. "Oh, Haruka-senpai is also looking to buy a swimsuit," she noticed with surprise.

They're all going to be gathered by the change rooms. Hana smiled to herself. Perfect.

"Hey," she spoke up. "While you guys are here, I'm just going to pop on over and look at a few tracksuit pants. I don't have many left that still fit me, you see, and they're really comfortable to wear." She shrugged, smiling.

Makoto and Gou nodded, acknowledging that they'd heard her. With a small wave, Hana started off for the active wear section, while Makoto and Gou sauntered over to the change rooms.

Once she was sure no one was looking, Hana turned away from the active wear and headed to the section she really wanted to go: the female swimsuit area.

Soon, Hana found herself surrounded by bikinis and one-piece swimsuits. Instantly dismissing the bikinis for being too revealing for her taste, Hana focused more on the one-piece swimsuits.

Hana hardly knew why she was here. But she did know this: after seeing how Makoto got so easily over his fear, one they'd gone through together, and how Rei had continued to attempt swimming again and again despite the number of times he'd just sunk to the bottom, Hana had had a certain revelation: maybe, the water wasn't so bad as she'd made it out to be.

After all, she'd only been a child when she'd almost succumbed to the ocean. But she had grown up. She could deal with things more logically now.

If Rei and Makoto could get over their fear, then surely she could, too. Even if she gave it just one shot, at least she could say she didn't just back away, couldn't she?

But before she entered any sort of water, she needed a swimsuit. Due to the fact she didn't swim, she didn't have one in the house, so she was grasping this opportunity to make a purchase.

The only problem was, there were so many swimsuits, it was almost overwhelming. Hana made the easy decision first and grabbed a pair of goggles. Easy out of the way, Hana returned to het daunting task of choosing her first swimsuit in who knew how many years.

Eventually, Hana started to eliminate certain swimsuits due to their style and colour. She finally settled on one that was a light blue colour. Satisfied, she grabbed her chosen swimsuit and headed for the change rooms.

Fortunately, the ones the boys were using weren't the only change rooms in the store. Hana wasn't sure why she was so shy about then knowing; she guessed it would just make her feel a little self-conscious. They only knew of her as someone who was afraid of the water, and she didn't want to have to put up with any questions that would come from seeing her in a swimsuit.

Hana pulled one of the curtains closed and undressed, feeling momentarily exposed, knowing only a curtain seperated her from the outside. Hastily, she pulled on her swimsuit, surprised when she found it fit perfectly. She glanced in the mirror placed at the wall to the back and studied herself for a moment before nodding. Yes. This one will do nicely.

After quickly taking off the swimsuit and pulling her usual clothes on again, Hana headed for the front counter. She smiled as the woman behind the till sent a cheery smile her way, paid for the swimsuit, and stuffed it as quickly as she could in a bag. She blew out. There. That was done.

With her own shopping out of the way, Hana headed back over to the change rooms to see how the boys were doing. She rolled her eyes to find they were still trying out swimsuits, but Gou wasn't anywhere nearby.

She's probably outside. Hana changed her direction so she headed for the exit. On her way there, she noted that there were a number of new people in the store that hadn't been there before, and a rather large number, too. Hana just shrugged it off and continued her venture to the outside.

Sure enough, she found Gou just outside, purchasing a drink from a vending machine. Surprisingly, the usual bright and cheerful girl now just looked drained of all energy. Hana ambled on other, clutching her bag tightly in one hand.

"Hey," she greeted warmly, as Gou reached into the machine to grab the drink she'd purchased.

Gou looked up and smiled wearily. "Hey," she mumbled.

Hana's brows furrowed. "You alright? You don't sound like yourself."

"Huh?" Drink in hand, Gou straightened herself up and shook her head. "I'm just exhausted. Now I know how guys fell when they have to go shopping with girls."

Hana chuckled. "And here I was thinking you'd love to spend a day just swooning over muscles."

This earned her a scowl from Gou. "I do not swoon," the redhead said tartly. "And I was enjoying the show, until everything just became repetitive. They weren't stopping. It was just swimsuit after swimsuit. And don't get me started on some of the swimsuits Rei-kun somehow managed to find."

Hana chuckled. "Yeah, I can definitely see you point. And... do I dare ask about what Rei found?"

Gou shook her head. "No. For someone who is all about beautiful, Rei-kun does not have a sense of fashion."

Hana snorted. "Which boy does?"

Gou mulled this over for a little and then shrugged. "Point taken."

"Hey," a new, familar voice called. "Fancy meeting you here."

Though she wasn't by any means upset to hear his voice, Hana still closed her eyes and groaned softly. Boy, what a coincidence this is.

When she turned around, Seijuro Mikoshiba was walking up to them, his trademark warm smile on his face. Hana stepped back so her back wasn't facing him, and so she was in line with Gou. She clutched her bag containing her swimsuit behind her back, grasping the handle with both hands.

"Captain Mikoshiba..." Gou trailed off, surprised.

Seijuro grinned, his whole face expressing only friendliness. "Are you doing some shopping, Gou-kun, Hana-san?"

"We are," Hana said, at the same time Gou mumbled tiredly, "Please don't use Gou and -kun together."

Seijuro indicated back to the store. "We're here to look for new swimsuits," he informed them.

Oh. That must have been why there was a sudden increase in number in the store. Hana nodded to herself and then gasped. Wait, if all of Samezuka's here, then does that mean...

"Does that mean my brothers here?" Gou gasped, voicing Hana's thoughts.

"He is," Seijuro informed her.

While Gou smiled, Hana bit her lip. Rin was in there, and so was Haru and the others. It would he very likely for them to run into each other, and Hana wasn't sure if either of the boys would want that, especially after what happened during joint training.

"Well, I'm going to leave now," Hana said, very awkwardly. She waved and stepped back slowly, aware that both Gou and Seijuro were sending bewildered stares her way. She continued to walk backwards until she was in the shop, which was when she turned around and started searching for the boys again.

It wasn't hard to find them. As Hana neared the swimsuit section, she could hear Nagisa and Rei's voices. A ruefully smile on her lips, Hana quickened her face and headed their way.

"Boys, boys, what on earth is the problem?" she asked, rounding the corner.

When the boys turned to look at her, Hana performed a quick head count: Nagisa, Makoto and Rei. But where was Haru? For some odd reason, she was more worried about him than any of the other boys, even Makoto.

"We're trying to decide which swimsuit is best for Rei-chan," Nagisa piped up.

Hana rolled her eyes. "You're still searching for that swimsuit?" She sighed and turned around. "Well, I'm going to go find Haru. I'll see you -"

She was stopped by something grabbing her arm tightly. Hana gasped and whirled around to find Nagisa holding tightly onto her arm. "Help us, Hana-chan!" he pleaded.

Hana blinked. "Why would you want my help?"

"You're a girl!" Nagisa exclaimed. "Aren't you supposed to be an expert at this sort of thing?"

Hana would have raised her hands, but Nagisa's grip on one of them was too strong. "Whoa, hold up, Nagisa! You've got the wrong girl. I'm probably one of the girls least interested in fashion."

Despite her words, Nagisa wasn't going to be moved. "But you'll still help us, right Hana-chan?"

Hana hesitated before answering. A part of her just wanted to run after Haru, and make sure he and Rin didn't accidentally collode.

But, then again, why was she worrying? Haru would be able to deal with a simple encounter... then why was she so concerned over him?

Just getting worked up over nothing, Hana told herself. She blew out and stretched her lips out into a smile. "Sure. I'll help."

Makoto and Rei both looked a little relieved once she'd decided to help. And, Hana found that it was probably a good thing she did. She gently rejected a few of Nagisa's more, outlandish choices, and he listened to her instantly.

After some time of looking through numerous swimsuits, Hana produced one. The legs were long, and it was predominately black, a simple pattern coloured a dark blue. The design was similar to Haru's swimsuit.

"This might be good," she said, tossing the swimsuit Rei's way. He caught it deftly and inspected it, and nodded.

"I'll try it on," Rei said, and headed for the change rooms. The others followed him. As they walked, Hana noticed something Nagisa and Makoto were holding that she hadn't noticed before.

"You both got new swimsuits?" she said, surprised. "I wouldn't have thought you'd need them."

Makoto shrugged. "Well, we were all trying on swimsuits, and we just happened to find new swimsuits we really liked."

"Makes sense." Hana nodded.

Makoto glanced down at the bag clutched in her hands. "So, you found a pair of tracksuit pants?"

Hana instinctively shifted the bag from her right hand to her left, putting it further away from Makoto. "Yeah. They're really comfy." She smiled.

If a strange or suspicious look crossed Makoto's face, it was only present for a second, because Hana didn't catch it. But she was sure it must have been there, Makoto could read her like an open book.

They didn't have to wait long for Rei to come out of the change room in his new swim gear. Hana nodded in approval at him. "I think that's your swimsuit, Rei."

Makoto and Nagisa made similar comments of approval. Rei looked down at his swimsuit and nodded, agreeing with them that it was the best he'd tried out so far. Making the decision that that swimsuit would be the one he'd buy, Rei disappeared back into the change rooms.

"Finally, that's done," Hana sighed, exhaling in over-exaggerated relief. She checked her watch, and her eyes widened. "It's been a surprisingly long day."

Nagisa bounded over to check the time himself, and made a similar exclamation.

Makoto didn't seem to be interested in the time, instead looking around the store, eyebrows furrowed. "Where's Gou?" he asked. "I haven't seen her or Haru recently."

Hana frowned at this, standing on tiptoe and taking her own quick sweep of the store. "Gou... I last saw her outside. As for Haru, well, I have no clue where he is. He might be outside, too."

Rei chose that moment to emerge from the changing room. As a group, the four headed for the checkouts, where the three boys paid for their swimsuits. Once that was finished, they all agreed to go outside and look for Gou and Haru.

Neither of them were in the foyer, so they headed outside. There, they found Gou with her back pressed against one of the walls.

"Oh! There she is!" Nagisa exclaimed.

Gou jumped in surprise, whipping around to see the boys and Hana standing there. She instantly ran over to them, almost frantic.

"Is something wrong?" Makoto asked, noticing her strange behaviour.

Gou waved her arms wildly. "It's nothing!" she protested.

Hmm. Hana narrowed her eyes slightly, catching on instantly.

I think, Haru and Rin might have encountered each other after all.

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wow, so many updates fo this story, sorrynotsorry. but  i am really looking forward to a certain upcoming chapter, so i'm pretty much on  a high right now.

so, surprising action from Hana! were you expecting that by any chance? and she's going to try and get in the water again... how do you thinkthat is going to turn out?