Open Waters

Chapter Seventeen

Training Camp

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After getting permission from Ama-chan, and sorting the final few things about the camp, it was finally time to get it underway. Hana had packed her bags the last night. She wouldn't be swimming, but she still packed her swimming costume anyway. It was better to be prepared than regretting it later.

Hana was greatly looking forward to this, so much that the early morning start didn't faze her in the slightest. She was eagerly anticipating time she could spend with her friends, away from most parental supervision. Miss Amakata would be there, but Hana knew that she wouldn't get in the way from letting the boys train. So, it was safe to say that when the boys weren't training, the six of them were going to have a pretty easy time together.

She would be joining the boys in camping, even though Gou had phoned and offered her to stay with her and Ama-chan at a lodge they would stay at for the course of the trip. Hana had declined. She hadn't been camping in ages, and the thought of doing it with her friends was too good an opportunity to pass up.

Just before she left, Hana double-checked her bag, and performed a quick scan of her room. It didn't look like she'd forgotten everything. She smiled and hitched her bag over her shoulder, grunting a little at the weight, and proceeded to make her way downstairs to the kitchen.

Surprisingly, her parents were already up. Hana had expected them to still be in bed, sleeping in, but it didn't look like they were going to miss the chance to say goodbye to their daughter.

"Have fun," Mae said, leaving her steaming up of coffee and embracing her daughter. Hana couldn't help but laugh at how different she and her mother looked, her mother with her bed hair and dressing gown, and herself with her hair tied back in a neat ponytail, and wearing denim shorts, a yellow tank top, and a light, white cardigan.

Hana squeezed her mother back. "I will."

Her father stood next. "Stay safe," he said, hugging her as well. "I hope you have a good time."

"I promise I will." Hana waved at her parents as she left the house, closing the door behind her.

As soon as she was outside, Hana whipped out her phone and selected Makoto's number. The phone only had to ring once before Makoto picked it up.

"Morning, Hana," he greeted warmly.

"Morning, Makoto!" Hana grinned to herself. "Where are you meeting up? Outside Haru's, I guess? It's only a short walk from there to the harbour, right?"

"Yeah, I'm at Haru's. I should have stopped by for you, but I wasn't sure if you were awake."

"You shouldn't have worried about that!" Hana laughed into the receiver. "Alright. I'll be there in a second. See you then." She snapped her phone shut, stuffed it her pocket, and set off for Haru's at a brisk pace.

It morning breeze ruffled Hana's hair, bringing with it the saltiness of the nearby ocean. Hana breathed it in apprehensively. Sure, she was looking forward to spending time with her friends, but she wasn't exaclty looking forward to the journey they needed to take to get there. The ocean unsettled her more then pools did.

It won't be for that long. And it's a cloudless day. No chance of history repeating itself today. With that thought in mind, Hana nodded firmly to herself and walked faster to Haru's.

Fortunately, it didn't take her long. Makoto and Haru were already waiting for her, though.

"Morning, Haru," Hana said first, as she approached. "Morning, Makoto. Sorry if I kept you waiting for too long."

"No, Hana, it's fine," Makoto said reassuringly. Hana smiled, and they headed toward the location Sasabe had handed them.

It didn't take long, five minutes at the most. It helped that the three of them lived do close to the ocean. Once they arrived, they all kept a sharp eye out for their friends.

"Haru-chan! Mako-chan! Hana-chan! Over here!"

Hana grinned as she caught sight of Nagisa, Rei, Gou and Sasabe standing by a boat, Nagisa waving wildly. Unconsciously, Hana picked up her pace, Haru and Makoto having to quicken their own in order to keep up with them.

"Good morning," Gou greeted as the trio approached.

Hana smiled brightly at her friend. "Morning!" she chirped back, similar greetings coming to Haru and Makoto.

Sasabe nodded to acknowledge their presence and quickly scanned their assembled group."Is everyone here?"

Hana frowned and performed a quick survey herself. We do seem to be a bit short.

"We're still missing Miss Amakata," Makoto realised. Hana slapped herself on the forehead for forgetting so quickly.

It was as though saying her name had been a cue. As soon as Makoto had finished speaking, a light pink car slowed down and parked by them, one Hana had often seen around the school. Its colour had always reminded Hana of light pink roses.

Miss Amakata stepped out moments later, her smile as soft and bright as sunshine. Hana felt her chin drop a little at the sight of Miss Amakata's attire, but soon snapped it back up.

But still, it wasn't everyday you wore a dress, jacket and delicate hat out to a camp. Her look was more suited for town or fashion show than an island.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting!" she said, though her tone was hardly apologetic. She soon spotted Sasabe, the only other adult there, and approached him with a small, woven basket that reminded Hana of the baskets her grandmother used to use to put homemade treats in. "You must be Sasabe-San," she greeted. "Thank you for your help! Please take this, it's just a token, but -"

"Oh, thank you." Sasabe accepted the basket, and a frown crossed his face. He leaned forward a little, closing the distance between his face and Miss Amakata's by a small amount.

"Is something wrong?" Miss Amakata asked, clearly uncomfortable with the sitatuon.

"Oh, uh..." Sasabe cleared his throat. "Have we met before?"

The look of Miss Amakata's face changed in an instant, going from being cheerful yet mildly uncomfortable to horrified, even scared.

"No, we haven't!" she protested hastily. "This is the first time I've met you!"

Hmm. That was a bit of an odd exchange. Hana was aware of Gou elbowing her lightly in the side, and turned to face her friend. "Is he trying to hit on her?" Gou hissed.

Hana bit her lip, considering the pair before them for a while, who seemed comfortable to put a bit of distance between them as they headed onto the boat. She shook her head. "No, I don't think so." As she thought back to their exchange, she thought that Sasabe had appeared more curious, while Miss Amakata frightened. That got Hana thinking. What had caused their usual bright teacher to react in such a sudden way?

"Okay, let's set sail!" Sasabe declared, clapping his hands together as he looked proudly up at the flag flying from the mast. "I'll fly our flag with a prayer for your training camp's success!"

Hana felt her stomach lurch as the boat started forward. Delighted shouts came from Nagisa and Gou, but she paid little attention to it. Hana smiled weakly though, and wished that she could join in with their excitement. But she found that she couldn't. Even though she sat with Haru and Makoto, joining in the conversation, her carefree nature was only a mask, concealing the whirlpool of emotions inside.

The last person she'd known to own a boat had ended up sinking and drowning, after all.

Hana stared at the ocean swirling beneath them and sighed, rubbing her forehead.

This is going to be a long voyage.

*          *          *

Hana sat tight for the entire cruise, saying away from the edge of the boat in order to find more sense of security. She couldn't help but notice Haru sent several looks her and Makoto's way. No doubt he was worried about the both of them, and how they were taking this.

When she wasn't being a worrywart, Hana found the voyage to be rather enjoyable. The sun gently beat down and and caressed their skin, warming them pleasurably. The blue colour of the water was oddly calming, if you just saw the colour and not what it actually was. Several birds flew overhead, and Hana found herself lying back and counting the number that flew by.

When the boat came to a stop, Hana sat up, faintly relieved that they had finally made their destination. She sat up to take in their new environment, and was immediately taken in by the beauty of the place.

White sands, lush green trees... a lot of green, actually. Wow. You don't see this at Iwatobi.

"This place is gorgeous! I'm so glad I came" Ama-chan said as they stepped off the boat, weighed down a little by their luggage.

"I'm glad no one tried to stop me," Hana said, and shot a pointed look Haru's way. "Knowing how beautiful this place is now, I wouldn't have forgiven them."

"Are you okay, Rei?"

Hana twisted her head around and saw that Rei was kneeling down on the edge of the dock, a cloth pressed to his mouth. His face was deathly pale. Makoto stood over him, resting a reassuring hand on Rei's shoulder.

"I'm okay." Rei's shoulders heaved, and he hastily climbed to his feet. "I need to go to the restroom," he said, and ran off.

Poor Rei. Hana felt guilty about not noticing it sooner. She'd been too preoccupied with her own fear to consider how others might be coping with the voyage. Seasickness didn't sound like a pleasant thing at all.

"Hana. Hey, Hana." Makoto placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hana, are you okay? You look a little out of it."

"Huh?" Hana turned around, craning her neck up to stare at her friend, and shook her head. "No no, I'm fine. I'm just, worried about Rei."

A flash of concern crossed Makoto's face, and he glanced in the direction Rei had left. "I'm sure he'll be fine," he said, though a little uncertainly.

There were only two others pieces of luggage left on board. Hana took one, Makoto the other, and they carried it off the boat and placed it on the dock.

Now that his boat was depleted of all luggage, Sasabe headed back on board, and started his boat once again. "Good luck!" he called, pulling out of the dock. "I'll be back for you on your last day!"

"Thank you very much!" the group chorused. They waved in response, their hands dropping back to their sides once he was far out.

"Is Rei-chan okay?" Nagisa wondered, turning to face the direction Rei had run off.

"I'm sure he's fine," Hana tried to reassure the blonde, picking up on Makoto's words to her. "It's seasickness. I'm sure it'll pass..."

Nagisa didn't look too convinced. Hana wasn't surprised; her attempt at providing comfort had been rather pathetic.

"It seems there's a sports facility over there," Miss Amakata said. Thankful for a different focus, Hana turned to see her homeroom teacher consulting a small brochure in her hands. It has a fifty-metre pool. We could swim there -"

"We don't have the money to go there," Makoto informed her heaviy,

Ugh, with all these times we haven't been able to afford something, I'm starting to feel rather poor. It made Hana feel a little disgruntled; it wasn't as though she was poor, but the number of closed doors they were facing just made her feel so.

"I'll go look for a good camping site," Ama-chan said, and walked off.

Hana nodded and noticed Gou was crouched down by an orange esky. She tilted her head to the side and trotted forward. "Oh, what's this box? I don't recall loading it on to the boat."

"It was a gift from Sasabe," Gou explained.

"So, what is it?"

Gou grasped the lid and pushed it upward, revealing several circular shaped food with a variety of toppings. Hana gasped, eyes alight at the sight, but Gou grumbled. "Pizza. And this is..." She looked over at Haru, who was opening his own esky.

When Haru unveiled what was in his esky, Hana both rolled her eyes and wrinkled her nose. "Mackerel," Haru stated, as though the numerous fish wasn't explanatory enough. Hana backed away a little, never having been the biggest fan of seafood.

"You like mackerel way to much!" Gou exclaimed.

Hana chuckled. "That's one way of putting it," she mused.

"Hey! Come over here!"

Hana blinked at the new voice, and turned to find Rei, apparently fully recovered, standing and waving over at them.

"What's up, Rei?" Makoto called.

"Come see for yourself!"

Hana shared a quick, befuddled glance with Haru and Gou, and then rushed up to meet Rei. Nagisa and Makoto soon followed, and they trailed on after Rei.

Hana couldn't help but smile as they walked along. This island was so different to Iwatobi, or any place she'd been to in Japan. Everything was so lush and beautiful. It was a nice change to see the rich green of the leaves instead of endless streets of housing. Hana thought that she could refuse to leave this place, and sged have been relatively happy.

And then there was the added bonus of the fresh scent of the forest, mixed in with the salty tang of the ocean. Hana smiled and slipped off her shoes, carrying them in her hand and allowing her toes to feel the soft sand, followed by the smooth grass.

It didn't take long for them to realise where Rei was leading them: to the sport's facility. She frowned and folded her arms. I thought that we didn't have enough money for this?

"What are we doing here, Rei?" Makoto asked. "We cat afford it.

Exactly what I just thought.

"Come this way."

Hana was surprised when Rei started to lead them through the thick of the trees, going around the sport's facility instead of going in it. The harsh, grey brick contrasted greatly with the green foliage as it swayed gently in a small, cool breeze.

Rei led them all the way around to the point they had travelled halfway around the block, and stood before a glass window. Hana squinted to see past to sun's light initially reflected back at her eyes, it she was soon able to see.

Hana gasped. They were now gazing upon a pool, a very impressive pool at thst. If Hana had thought the Samezuka's pool was nice, this one was even more impressive. It was much longer, fifty metres in length, and triumphed any twenty-five metre pool any day.

Speaking of Samezuka...

"Why is Samezuka's swim team here?" Nagisa wondered. He pressed his face closer to the glass, to the point that Hana could see fog appear on the glass as Nagisa exhaled. "Oh! Rin-chan's here."

"Huh?" Hana followed Nagisa's general line of sight, and her eyes too came to rake out the familiar red-haired figure, standing beside Mikoshiba and Nitori.

How is it that Iwatobi and Samezuka, or Rin and Haru, continually run into each other? Gosh. It's like we can't go anywhere without them following! It's almost like being stalked! Hana shuddered delicately at the thought.

"Did you do something again, Gou-chan?" Nagisa asked.

Gou raised her hands. "I didn't know anything this time," she protested.

"Really?"

Gou sighed, suddenly becoming a little deflated, like a little air that had been let out of a balloon. "I mean, it's obvious my brother won't listen to anything I say," she murmured. "Plus..."

Hana arched an eyebrow. "Plus?"

Gou flushed, and shook her head. "No, it's nothing."

"So it's just a coincidence," Nagisa concluded. He jumped around to once more look own upon the pool. "We should go and say hello."

"Don't," Haru said abruptly.

"Huh? Why not?"

Haru was gazing steadily at Rin, a determined glint to his eye. "I promised him that we would meet at prefecturals."

"What?" Hana exclaimed. "When did that happen?"

Haru turned away. "Not important."

She sighed. Hana wanted to find out more, but decided that it would be best not to push the subject. It didn't look like something that Haru wanted to discuss.

"We should head back," Makoto said. "We still need to set up our tents before we actually start our training camp."

"Mm," Hana agreed distantly.

Their trudge back to the beach was just as silent between them as the trudge upwards. Though it was still a comfortable silence, it was obvious to tell that everyone was immersed in their own thoughts, and were more on edge than they had been before.

It was almost a relief when a bird would call out, temporary breaking the silence. Hana sighed and glanced up at the azure sky.

It seem like fate didn't want Iwatobi to swim without the reminder of Rin and Samezuka hanging over them.

Upon their arrival at the beach, they soon found the camping spot Miss Amakata had picked out for them. The tents were spread out nearby, and they soon descended on them to began to put them up.

Hana was grateful that Gou was there to help her out. It had been a long time since Hana had last put up a tent, and she had forgotten how. And because the boys were focused on outting the other two tents up, she couldn't ask them for help. But Gou provided a helpful hand, and they were making good progress to the point they beat the boys in setting their tent up.

"I want swim in a fifty-metre pool," Nagisa said suddenly, breaking the silence that had descended upon the group.

Miss Amata shrugged good-naturedly. "I guess powerhouse schools do get special treatment."

"Which just happens to be Samezuka," Hana murmured under her breath, though not loud enough for everyone else to hear.

"They're clearly in a different class," Rei muttered.

"Doesn't matter," Haru said shortly.

"Haru's right," Makoto agreed, looking around at the others. "Our goal for this training camp is to build stamina."

"Right!" Nagisa said, filled with excitement. "We still have our deserted islands!"

"Are you comparing fifty-metre pools to deserted islands?" Rei asked blankly.

"Aren't they similar?"

"How are they similar?!"

Hana was just about ready to intervene when Miss Amakata spoke up, her words catching everyone's attention as she addressed Gou. "Okay then. Let's go and check in at the lodge."

Gou smiled and picked up her bags. "Oh, yes."

"Lodge?" the boys exclaimed. Hana, who already knew of this, chuckled to herself and weighed for the sitatuon to pan out. She could almost feel the incredulous waves rolling off the boys.

"What do you mean?" Nagisa demanded,

Miss Amakata smiled sweetly. "We booked lodging for ourselves. Over there!" She indicated to several lodging houses nearby, all reasonably sized and overlooking the beach.

"What?" came the unified cry from the boys.

"You can't expect a couple of girls to sleep outside!" Miss Amakta exclaimed, sounding to be almost horrified, "Right, Gou-chan?"

Gou grinned, playing along and obviously having too much fun watching the reactions of the boys. "Right?"

Hana folded her arms and cleared her throat pointedly. "Ahem! I'm a girl, and I'm sleeping outside," she pointed out.

"You really shoul have joined us, Hana," Gou said. "Sleeping would be so much more comfortable on a bed compared to a bed roll!"

"Class difference again," Hana overheard Rei mutter.

"Are we the bottom class?" Nagisa wondered.

Hana chucked to herself and retuned her focus to Gou. "Trust me, I'll be fine. It's not like we're sleeping on incredibly hard, rocky ground. Then I would be coming to sleep up on the lodge with you. But not this time around."

"Well, we're off!" Miss Amakata said. "Good luck!"

*          *          *

From what Hana saw, the training camp seemed to be going rather well. To her eyes, at least.

She'd disappeared into the tent for a while, grabbing the book she was currently reading and her iPod, before she'd headed back outside. When that had happened, she found the boys had already started their training. Hana could just make out the four swimming through the water a little way away. She bit her lip, still feeling concerned for Makoto. But, he should be alright, she'd rationalised. He was with the others.

While the boys swam, Hana had laid back on the ground, the soft sand getting into her hair. When the breeze picked up, sometimes it would catch the sand and blow it on to her skin. Normally, it didn't bother Hana, but if it was a particularly strong gust of wind, then it would sting. While the boys swam, Hana read her book, playing her music softly so as not to distract herself.

Sometime later, Gou and Miss Amakata joined her. Gou took several pictures of the four's training. With the zoom in her camera, she was the only one who would make them out; Hana couldn't see them too clearly as they swam further and further out.

Though not much happened, Hana enjoyed the calm of the island, a nice change from Iwatobi. The boys didn't appear back until the sun was starting to dip into the sky, causing it to turn orange. When they came stumbling back to the camp, Hana and Gou were awaiting them with towels.

"Here," Hana had said, passing a towel to Haru. "How'd it go?"

Haru had nodded in response. "It went well," he said.

After some discussion about their performance, Miss Amakata called them all over for dinner. Hana had rolled her eyes once she had expressed her concern over not having any seasoning. We're camping. Is there really any need for seasoning?

Gou had decided to rush off and get some, and she was gone longer than Hana would have taken for normal. When she did return, she looked strangely happy, a bright smile on her face. When Hana had asked her about it, Gou had shrugged and passed the seasoning to Miss Amakata.

They'd had their dinner, some of the boys, namely Haru, experimenting with different toppings on pizza, some toppings threatening to put Hana off pizza all together, something she hadn't thought possible. But that had been forgotten once she'd dug into her own pizza, remembering just how much she loved the food.

Shortly after they finished, everyone decided to call it a night, especially for the boys. They had another day of training tomorrow, and needed all the time possible to recover from today.

It was now just a debate as to who would sleep where.

"Haru and I will be in this tent," Makoto said, indicating the tent he and Haru were closest to.

"Huh? I want to sleep with Haru-chan," Nagisa moaned. Hana choked back a bout of laughter, turning it into an awkward cough. She wondered if Nagisa had heard himself just then. She understood what he meant, but it had come out wrong.

"You don't want to be in a tent with me?" Rei demanded, much to Hana's amusement. Goodness, if sleeping arrangements are debated for much longer, I'm going to have to run off so I can just laugh!

"Well, you probably grind your teeth when you sleep."

"I don't!" Hana plugged her nose to hold back a snort.

Makoto chuckled lightly. "We can use amida to decide."

"Right!" Nagisa exclaimed.

"You can debate about it," Hana said, rubbing at her eyes. "I'm going to go inside the tent and sleep." She sauntered on back to her tent and waved at her friends. "Goodnight!"

"Night," they called back, as Hana closed the zipper door behind her and clambered into her sleeping bag.

Hana sighed and turned over on to her side, eyes fluttering closed.

Hopefully all the upcoming days are as good as this on, she thought, and dropped off to sleep.

---------------------------------------------------

wow, up at midnight again writing this, and it's only ten minutes till i have to leave for school and i'm finishing editing... wow. sorry if this dragged on a little, i had to cut a fair bit off in order to make this not so long that it became boring!

ah, so, day one of training is over! ah, the next chapter... that's the reason i've been updating so frequently, i've been dying to get to that chapter since i started this, haha XD