Open Waters

Chapter Twenty-Three

A Second Chance

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Hana wasn't sure how much time had passed since she'd sat down with Haru. She didn't mind the quiet or that they didn't speak. If Haru just needed someone to sit beside him and comfort him, she'd do it.

But, her mind continued flashing back to the others. When were their races? She wanted to be there to see them. Especially Makoto's. They were close friends, and she wanted to see him race and be there to support him.

"Hey, Haru-chan! Hana-chan!" Hana blinked as she heard the voice. But... I thought they said not to come after Haru... so why is he here? She looked up and saw Nagisa run up, coming to a stop before them. He'd been running as fast as he could; Hana could tell from the way he bent over, his hands on his knees, and breathed in heavy, ragged breaths. He was also gasping out his words. "There you are! Mako-chan's race is about to start! Hurry up."

Makoto's about to race? Hana leapt to her feet in an instant. She wasn't going to miss this for the world.

However, Haru broke the eye contact between the two. "I'll pass."

Hana glared at him, shoving him lightly in the side. "Nanase Haruka, I think not," she growled. Makoto was his closest and oldest friendl; Hana wasn't going to let him pads this up now he knew about it. She looked at Nagisa and nodded. "Nagisa, help me out here."

Nagisa nodded. "Right." Together, they each grabbed one of Haru's hands and hauled him to his feet, no matter how unwilling he may be. "Let's go," Nagisa gasped, and the two dragged him back down the hallway. Though she had been comforting Haru and appreciated that he might need time to recover his thoughts, Hana thought that watching his friends race might be good for him. It would give him a reason to take his mind off his race with Rin.

When they broke the outside, they found themselves standing in the stands again. Hana felt a little disappointed that Makoto's race had already started. She had wanted to see the beginning of it.

From the small Iwatobi crowd, the cheers were loud, assisted by Sasbe's loudspeaker. Hana smiled fondly at the cheering crowd and returned her eyes to Makoto. He was currently coming second, and it was a close thing.

In the end, his effort wasn't enough, Makoto narrowly coming second. Hana felt her heart shatter a little as she caught the disappointed look on her friend's face. He had been training hard, like everyone, and the loss had probably disappointed him greatly.

Nagisa went to sit down with the others, but Haru remained standing. Because he wasn't moving, Hana wasn't going to, either. She stayed by his side, even as her legs started to ache with standing for so long.

They stayed and watched the others swim. Nagisa trailed behind at the beginning, but after the turn he sped up and closed the gap between himself and the leader. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to claim a victory.

Rei got the worst deal. When he dived in, his goggles slid off, leaving him to get water continuously in his eyes.

With each of her friend's losses, another little piece of Hana's heart broke. She could see the disappointment on their faces as clear as day as they left the pool, and knew they were leaving thinking all their efforts just hadn't been enough. And they had put in so much effort, possibly more than the other schools. What other school had gone so far as to swim in the ocean with deserted islands for a training camp?

When Rei's race finished, Hana glanced over at Haru, seeing the same passive expression on his face. Once again, she wondered what was going through his head. How was he reacting to the constant losses of his friends?

She honestly didn't know.

Haru sighed. "I'm leaving."

"What?" Hana grabbed on to his arm. "Why? What are you going to tell the others? Are you going to tell them at all?"

"I will. I'll just tell Makoto I feel sick."

"He'll see through that." Hana sighed, realising that there would be no arguing with him. "Where are you going, anyway?"

"To the school's pool. I need to be in the water."

Hana nodded. "Right." She hesitated and then added, "If you don't mind... I'll... I'll come with you."

Haru was surprised, but Hana stood her ground. Something was troubling Haru, and obviously eating him up. The most likely reason was his race with Rin, but she didn't ignore the possiblity of there being other contributing factors.

Even if the cause was unknown, there was one thing that wasn't.

Hana wasn't going to leave him alone until she was sure he was alright.

If he was there for her when she was drowning, she would be there for him when he was down.

*          *          *

It didn't take long to get to the school. By then, it was dark: the sky black and dotted with far-off stars, the moon casting a white light and creating long shadows.

The entrance to the pool was open, so it didn't take much to get inside. Once they had, Haru pulled off his shirt and usual trousers and dived into the water. Hana would have joined him, but she hadn't even thought to bring her swimsuit along. Instead, she settled herself by the edge, watching Haru as she dived and swam through the water. She brought her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around them, sighing in content. It was oddly enticing, watching Haru swim through moonlit water.

Hana guessed that she might have been dropping off to sleep at one point, for when her phone rang, she jumped a mile into the air, her eyes flying open. After recovering from her shock, Hana pulled her phone out of her pocket, reading the name displayed on screen. Makoto. He's probably worried about Haru.

Hana flipped her phone open and pressed it against her ear. "Hey Makoto, what's -"

"Hana, are you with Haru?" Makoto said, cutting abruptly over her.

Hana glanced up, watching Haru start to climb out of the pool. He doesn't want to be found yet, I don't think. "No, I'm not," she said, as calmly and casually as possible.

Makoto seemed to buy her lie, but there was still another question he wanted to ask. "Where are you?"

Oh. Where am I? "Home," she blurted, but quickly recovered. Taking a look up to the sky, an easy lie came to her head. "Trying to sleep before you woke me up."

"Oh, sorry." She could imagine Makoto flushed with embarrassment. "Well, if you're not with Haru... do you know where he is?"

"He did stop by the pool, but I'm not sure if he's there now." It wasn't a total lie, and Makoto wasn't likely to go down to the pool and check if Haru was there or not.

"Oh, okay. Thanks, Hana."

"Goodnight."

Hana snapped her phone shut, and noticed a pair of feet by the floor in front of her. She looked up and saw Haru standing there. "What was that about?" he asked.

"Oh, the others just wanted to know where you are," she replied. Hana stuffed her phone in her pocket, but kept a keen eye out for Haru's reaction.

He on,h nodded, expression hardly changing as he grabbed his towel and placed it around his shoulders. "I see."

Hana smiled, and then frowned as she heard the distant sound of a stomach fainting grumbling. Her eyes narrowed in concern. She knew that wasn't her stomach that had just growled. "Haru, are you hungry?" she asked. She shook her head. Stupid question. "No matter. You haven't eaten in a while. I've got stuff left over from my lunch."

He froze, glancing down at her for a moment. Then, he smiled ever so slightly and sat down beside her. "Thanks, Hana."

Hana smiled, and felt her cheeks heat up a little. "Uh - yeah. Well, uh, here, I'll get it out." Hana didn't understand why she was suddenly so flustered. To hide her cheeks, she ducked her face closer to her bag than usual, taking an extended amount of time to draw out her lunchbox.

She placed it on the ground in front of her and opened it. "Right, so... I've got cookies, a sandwich, oh, we'll leave that... mochi, and a muffin. It's not very nutritious, but... it's all I've got. I was packing I'm a rush and basically grabbed everything I saw and -"

"Hana." Hana stopped her rambling and glanced up at Haru. He placed a hand on hers, which sent an electric shock up her spine. "It's fine."

Hana felt her cheeks hear up so it felt as though they were on fire. She pulled her hair out and allowed it fall over cheeks. Now that was taken care of, she grabbed the muffin and halved it. After judging the two sizes, she handed the larger one out to him. "Here, we'll go halves on the muffin."

"Thanks." Haru took the muffin and had a bite.

Hana smiled and bit into her own half. They spent time under the night sky, eating Hana's small amount of food. They didn't speak, but still, Hana found herself incredibly self-conscious and glancing across at Haru from time to time, only to look hastily back down when she found he was looking back.

When everything but the sandwich was eaten, Hana placed her lunchbox back in her bag. As she glanced up, Haru had got to his feet and had a hand outstretched for her.

"Oh, thanks." Hana grasped his offered hand and he helped her get to her feet.

"That was nice, Hana," he said, once Hana had swung her back over her shoulders. "Thank you."

Hana looked down at her feet. "You're welcome." She pulled her jacket sleeve up to reveal her watch, breathed in and looked over at Haru. "It's late. Do you want to head back?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

Hana smiled and took her place beside him as they made their way back to his place. As they walked, Hana couldn't help but reflect how different the familiar streets looked while moonlit. This was her first time really walking through the town at night, and it put the place in a whole new perspective for her. In the distance, as they stood on a hill, she could make out the ocean. It was grey in the moonlight, silver in some areas.

Hana wasn't sure why, but she didn't feel as scared looking at the ocean as she used to. Sure, there was a small stab of instinctual fear, but it didn't overwhelm her, much like it had on her first day at Iwatobi High as she walked near the beach. Something had calmed her down, made her more at peace around the water.

And she knew what that was: the Iwatobi swim club. Without Haru, Makoto, Nagisa and Rei, she would still be afraid of the water. But if it wasn't for Rei's determination to continuing trying to swim even after he'd failed countless times, Haru's patient guidance and obvious love for the water, Nagisa's enthusiasm for swimming and Makoto continuing to get in the water even though Hana knew he was still afraid of the ocean, she would never have bought a swimsuit the day they went to the sports store, and she would not have gotten into that pool.

She would not have had Haru teach her how to swim, and she wouldn't be enjoying it like she was now.

She couldn't help but chuckle lightly. I owe so much to these boys, and they don't even know.

Before long, they had reached the stairs to Haru's. The stairs didn't bother Hana as much as they had the first time she'd climbed them, and saw them as more of a nuisance now. She thought they might have strengthened her leg muscles up a little; they didn't ache as much as they had the first time she'd climbed them.

As they reached the door, Hana was about to say goodbye to Haru and leave, but that plan was stopped once she saw Makoto. He was sitting by the entrance to Haru's, his head resting agaisnt the door, asleep.

Makoto? What's... what's he doing here?

"Makoto?" Haru murmured.

Hana smiled at her friend, and then noticed the phone held out in his hands. And it wasn't his. "Haru... is that your phone?" she murmured.

"It is." Haru stared at the phone for a while. There could only be one reason Makoto had Haru's phone outstretched; there was a message. Haru reached out and grabbed his phone and then looked at the screen. Hana peered over his shoulder: there was a message.

"Here, Hana." Haru motioned for her to come closer. Hana frowned, confused, but leaned in anyway so her cheek was almost pressed above his shoulder, but just left hovering there. Haru brought the phone between them and allowed the message to play.

"Haru-chan, where are you?" Hana's eyes widened. Nagisa.

"Please hurry back. We're all worried."

"I'm sorry, Haruka-senpai! I signed you all up for the medley relay tomorrow!"

Gou... did what? Since when? Why didn't she tell me? This is sort of a big shock to spring upon the boys last minute!

"So let's swim together tomorrow, Haru-chan," Nagisa piped.

"Don't worry about me!" Rei exclaimed suddenly. "I'll have the theory memorised by tomorrow!"

"Rei-chan, that's just setting yourself up for failure!"

"Then I'll just have to remember the theory for not failing as well!"

The message then ended. When it did, Hana realised there was a soft smile on her face. Those three, she thought with a fond smile. She wasn't sure about Haru, but that message had touched her deep down. It hadn't been just a, we're swimming in the relay tomorrow message, it was more heartfelt and reflected everyone more than just a straight message.

She glanced up at him, wondering how he was taking it. "Haru..." she murmured.

Haru stood there, apparently deep in thought. After a small pause, he knelt down by Makoto's side and placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking him awake. "Makoto. Makoto."

Makoto groaned, a long, drawn-out and tired sound. Blearily, his eyes opened, and he rubbed a hand over his eyes to help him see clearer. "Haru," he muttered, voice full of sleep. His eyes then caught Hana, and they widened ever so slightly in dulled surprise. "Hana?"

Oh, right, I'm supoosed to be in my bed, trying to fall back asleep. Hana tucked a lock of hair behind her ear self-consciously.

"Makoto." Makoto glanced back over at Haru, who looked fairly serious.

"We have a relay to swim, don't we?"

*          *          *

Mae had been surprised when Hana woke up early again the next day, hurriedly dashing through the house again and getting ready for the day in her Iwatobi jacket. She hadn't been expecting a second day at the tournament. Neither had Hana. But still, she was looking forward to watching her friends swim again.

Like the previous day, Hana met up with Makoto and Haru and they caught the bus to the venue. As they travelled, Hana found herself to be overly-aware of Haru. She didn't understand why, and spent most of the journey glancing over at him, trying to figure out why.

Unlike yesterday, the trio met Gou and Ama-chan outside the venue, and Rei and Nagisa weren't there.

"Are you sure about this?" Miss Amakata asked in concern as they waited. "You haven't practiced for the relay at all, right?"

"I don't know how well we'll do, but we'll give it our best shot," Makoto responded with a smile. "And this isn't our first time."

"But it is for Ryugazaki-kun's."

Gou forehead. "Nagisa-kun and Rei-kun aren't here yet," she observed. Hana but her lip. I hope they turn up soon -

"We're here!"

Hana turned around to see Nagisa and Rei running up to them, slightly breathless already. She smiled as the team assembled.

"Sorry we're late!" Rei apologised.

"Man, what were you guys doing?" Gou demanded, folding her arms.

Nagisa laughed. "Actually..."

"We were practicing the exchange in the pool at school," Rei supplied.

"That eliminates the possibility of Rei-chan completely failing!"

Hana's mouth dropped open. They did what on such short notice? She tried to speak, to ask them when and how, but found herself to be temporarily speechless. She was a little overwhelmed with their dedication. Not many people would have done that if put in the position they all currently were in.

Haru was equally surprised, which was unusual for him. "When did you..." he trailed off.

Nagisa smiled. "Haru-chan, I'm thrilled that we get to swim in a relay together again."

"Let's do this together, Haruka-senpai," Rei added with a nod.

"Okay, time to show everyone that our training paid off!"

"Yes, that's why we're here!"

"Alright! Let's give it our best shot!" Gou encouraged.

The group out their hands in the middle. Hana smiled and put her hand in with everyone else. "Yeah!" they exclaimed, lifting their hands in synchronisation.

While the boys went to report for their swimming, Hana, Gou and Ama-chan went to get admitted into the venue. After Miss Amakata got them all in, they went to the same spot in the stands as yesterday and sat down. Hana perched on the edge of the seat like a bird about to take flight, fiddling nervously with her hands. The race would start soon. The boys wouldn't be coming down to meet them before the race: they were going straight to assemble.

I should have wished them good luck before the race. Hana cursed herself inwardly. Oh well. They have to know I'm supporting them from the stands.

Soon, the swimmers were brought to the pool. The entire time, Hana kept her eyes trained on her friends. She hoped that they were ready for this. She was particularly concerned for Haru. Would he still be able to swim well even after yesterday's events?

He had to.

The whistle sounded, and the backstroke swimmers got in to the pool. Hana felt her body tense up as Makoto dived in, and prepared himself to dive back.

The next call for to get set, and then, the signal to go went.

At once, Makoto dived back into the water, quite powerfully. Hana couldn't stay sitting down any longer, she stood up and approached the railing, gripping it tight as she watched Makoto swim. He was going well; with his quick stroke, he was soon swimming at first, and only continuing to extend the lead after the turn. Hana felt pride as she watched her friend swim. You can tell he's put a lot of hard work into this.

Finished his leg of the race and then, it was Nagisa's turn. Hana grinned as Nagisa too continued to pull away from the main crowd, his unique stroke obvious to all.

They're doing so well! Could they actually win the relay? Hana felt a thrill of excitement pass through her as she thought this. If they win, they can go to regionals!

Nagisa finished his leg, still at a very comfortable first. Hana tensed up as Rei dived in, hoping beyond hope that his goggles wouldn't fall off again. Fortunately, they didn't, and Rei was swimming comfortably through the water.

However, as expected for a new swimmer, he wasn't as fast as the others. The gap built by Makoto and Nagisa only decreased as the more experienced swimmers caught up. Hana felt anxiety build through her as Rei's place continued to drop. When he finished his leg, Iwatobi was in fifth.

But - and there was a large but here - Haru's swim was next. Hana gasped as Haru dived in and prepared for the final leg of the medley relay.

If anyone could make up the places they'd just lost, it was Haru.

Sure enough, Haru's entrance to the water was immediately noticeable. His stroke wad strong and fast, and before much time had passed, he was passing the first person in front of hi,.

"He passed one! Fourth!" Gou exclaimed. Hana glanced over at her and back at the pool, where Haru was swimming at his top speed. She gripped the railing even tighter. Her heartbeat racing in her chest.

As they approached the turn, Haru managed to speed past another. "Third!" Hana whispered to herself, dizzy with the excitement that was coming upon her all of a sudden.

Haru reached the turn. With his kick, he was able to push himself into second place.

"He's in second! Second!" Gou squealed. Hana felt a grin cross her face as Haru started to catch up on the lead swimmer.

"Haru!" she screamed from the stands, unable to withhold her excitement.

Haru swam. And swam harder. He was catching up on the leader. Hana leaned forward, screaming her lungs out, hoping her words might somehow reach Haru through this crazy loud noise that was the spectators encouraging their friends.

Haru overtook the leader. Hana screamed, jumping up and down, her hands slapped over her mouth as he continued to increase the lead, and slam his hands against the wall.

Hana screamed into her hands, unable to believe her eyes. They did it. They actually did it. Her eyes instinctively flicked up to the board. And, sure enough, Iwatobi was listed as the first-place school.

Hana turned to Gou and Ama-chance and squealed. "They did it!" she yelled, and flung herself as Gou. They laughed as they hugged, dancing on the spot in elation and celebration.

They'd done it.

Iwatobi had acheived a first place in the prefecturals.

They... they were now headed for regionals.

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aaah my gosh the haru/hana at the beginning, sorry if haru wasn't exactly, uh, haru, or if... yeah. sorry about that, but i wanted to write something cute... and look how it turned out XD

but they've won the relay! regionals are upcoming, hooray! :)