Open Waters

Chapter Twenty-Four

Plans and Possibilities

While the team may have celebrated their victory last night and thought their happiness couldn't fade, there was still a dreadful reality they had to face: they had school the next day.

Even still, Hana basically skipped into school the next day, unable to control her elation. The buzz from the previous day's win, even though it hadn't been her own, continued to linger. She felt so happy for everyone as they got the win they all so deserved.

Makoto laughed as they approached the school gates. "Are you even going to be able to focus on school today, Hana?"

She shrugged, attempting to calm herself and appear more constrained as they neared the school gates and were surrounded by their fellow students. "Who knows? I might, I might not."

Makoto shook his head and was about to answer when a loud voice yelled, "Hana-chan! Mako-chan! Haru-chan! Over here, quickly!"

"Nagisa?" Hana murmured, spotted him, Gou and Rei standing by the entrance to the school gate, waving his arms to grasp their attention.

What's this all about? Hana was curious as they approached the three. It was then Hana noticed something else: Nagisa looked extremely excited, Rei a little embarrassed, and Gou a mix of both, though her excited side appeared more dominant.

"What's going on?" Haru asked.

"There's going to be an assembly during homeroom, to acknowledge our victory at prefecturals!" Nagisa exclaimed excitedly. "We've all got to stand up front, even Gou-chan and Hana-chan!"

Hana  felt her eyes widen. The boys, I can understand, but me?

"Wait, should I even be up there?" she asked. "I'm not a swimmer!"

"You're a part of the club, Hana-chan!" Nagisa said. "Now come on!" He grabbed her wrist and stated to pull her along.

"Eh? Nagisa... ah!" Hana cried out as Nagisa began to drag her along. She looked back at her friends, desperate for help, but they only laughed as they followed. Some friends you guys are, she thought, and allowed Nagisa to continue pulling her along.

The tennis courts were used to hold the assembly. Hana bit her lip as she realised a small block to act as a stand had been set up. Great. We have to stand up there?

Some of the school had already filed in. The others soon arrived, and they too looked shocked by the stand. Nonetheless, they all stood up. Hana was the only hesitant one.

"Hana-chan, you need to stand up here!" Nagisa said. "Gou-chan has!"

Hana hesitated for a whole longer, and then slowly stepped up. She stood between Haru and Makoto, stepping a little further back from the boys as though to emphasise the fact that it was them who had won. Makoto glanced back at her and chuckled lightly, reading her like an open book as always.

It didn't take long for the rest of the students to assemble. Once they had, the principal stood up to the microphone to make the address. "Despite being a brand-new club, our swimmers placed in the top eight for prefecturals and qualified for regionals. We hope that they are able to advance to nationals. That is all."

The other students and staff all clapped. Hana flushed deeply, looking down at the ground. She wasn't even a swimmer, and neither was Gou, and yet they were being applauded. She just wanted to step down and let the boys receive all of the applause and recognition.

When the brief assembly was over, classes were to begin as normal. Hana thankfully stepped off the stand, cheeks still a brilliant red. Great. Now to go to classes, where I'll be recognised as the girl on the stands. As if I wanted that sort of attention.

"You didn't enjoy that at all, did you Hana?" Makoto teased her as they walked along.

"Of course not!" Hana fired back. "I didn't even swim, yet somehow I receive credit?"

"A team can't ve without their manager."

"Gou's manager! I'm only an assistant!"

"Your help is more valuable that you think," Gou said.

Makoto looked at germ triumphant. "See, even Gou... whoa!"

The last exclamation came from his collision with someone. Nagisa and Rei had shopped in front of them, and without noticing, Makoto had run into Rei. Both of them were searing at something.

"What is it -" Hana demanded, but her voice was cut short as her eyes followed her friend's path and saw the same thing they saw. "Oh."

There was a sign, ganging from the school building, for everyone to see.

Congratulations to the swim club on making regionals.

As if the assembly wasn't enough... Still, Hana couldn't help but smile. The boys definitely deserved to be recognised for all their efforts.

"They were really ready for this," Nagisa murmured.

"It's obvious that they used an old one," Rei said, referring to the sheet that said "swimming club" that hung over the club the banner was originally used for. "But it's finally starting to sink in that we won."

"Yeah. They'll treat us like heroes when we enter the classroom!" Nagisa exclaimed, beginning to walk off. Even Gou disappeared as her friend called out to her.

"We won?" Haru muttered.

"Huh?" Before Hana even had time to contemplate what he meant, Haru had walked off. She shook her head and chuckled, she and Makoto hurrying to catch up with him.

When they arrived at class, Haru and Makoto were soon congratulated by everyone in the class. Hana too received some recognition as manager, and was commended on doing a good job so far. Hana just flushed deeply in response and took her usual seat, ignoring all the sudden attention that assembly had brought on.

Soon after, classes started for the day. The elation of the previous day began to wear off as Hana worked through difficult math problems and jotted down notes. She only started to feel remotely alive again in the period before lunch break, which was literature.

When they were dismissed for lunch, Hana gathered with Haru and Makoto, and the trio headed for the door. However, Hana was stopped by their teacher's call of, "Etsumi-san, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Hana blinked, surprised. He wants to see me? But why? A knot of nerves twisted in her stomach. She had rarely ever been called out by a teacher, and when she was, it was to hand back an assignment she hadn't done particularly well. Occassionally it would be to mention that she'd done fairly well in a project, which had almost always been in literature, but not often.

"Yes, Akiyama-sensei," she said. She turned to Makoto and Haru, both who were looking at her, shocked. She shrugged. "I'll see you guys later."

"What did you do, Hana?" Makoto asked, hushed.

"I guess I'll find out." She shrugged once more and turned, leaving them behind. She approached their literature teacher, hands clasped behind her back as she stood before him. They waited until the last person, Haru, had left the classroom, and each second that passed felt like torture. "Sensei, what is it?" she murmured, once the door closed.

"Ah, Etsumi-san. I wanted to talk you you about your latest assignment."

"Oh." The knot in Hana's stomach tightened. "D-Did I fail it?"

Akiyama looked at Hana for a moment, and then laughed. "Quite the contrary, dear girl. You got rather high marks."

Hana froze. Rather high marks. Rather high marks. Did he just say that?

She felt a rush of giddiness as his words sunk in, a bright smile crossing her face. "Oh my goodness, really?" she exclaimed, trying to keep her excitement contained but failing miserably.

Akiyama chuckled at her reaction. "Yes. Quite the exceptional little author you are, Etsumi. I highly recommend that you look for further opportunities with your writing. Joining the journalism or writing club would be a good place to start." He adjusted his glasses and sent her a pointed stare. "Or you can go one step further and look for competitions to enter."

"Sensei..." Hana trailed off, shocked. He thinks I'm good ending to enter competitions? I can't have heard correctly. And joining a club this late in the year? Is that even allowed? "I don't think... I mean, I've already joined the swim club and it's already so far in to the term..."

"Etsumi Hana," he interrupted her, arching an eyebrow. "You can join more than one club, yes? And there are many writing competitions are held across the country. You don't have to pursue writing if it's not your thing, but I personally think it's a waste of talent."

Hana nodded slowly. "Yeah. Okay. I'll think about it."

He smiled at her response. "Now, I think I've kept you back long enough. Have a nice day, Etsumi-san, and congratulate the swim club for me."

"Thank you, Akiyama-sensei. I will."

With a final smile, Hana turned and left the classroom. When she was in the corridor and headed for break, alone in the corridor she stopped, squealed and jumped up and down, overwhelmed.

I might not be sure about writing in the future, but that doesn't mean I can't get excited right now!

Hana laughed, allowing herself a few minutes to let herself go. When she had finished, she danced down the rest of the corridor and headed for the roof, where she knew her friends would be waiting.

"Hana-chan, what happened?" Nagisa demanded, as Hana appeared of the roof. "Are you in trouble?"

Hana shook her head. "Nope. Apparently, I got the highest mark for our shirt story assignment in literature. Akiyama-sensei wants me to look more into writing as a possible option for my future."

This received gasps from the others. "Hana, that's great!" Makoto said, smiling.

"Yeah." Hana clasped her hands together, staring down at her feet.

Did she want to pursue writing? Right now, she wasn't sure.

She sighed, running her hand through her hair. She still had another year to decide what she wanted to do with the rest of her life.

But that didn't mean she couldn't give this writing thing a look.

*          *          *

When school ended for that day and clubs were about to begin, Hana noticed that Haru bolted from his seat and made a dash out of the classroom. No doubt he was headed for the pool.

Is that race still bothering him? He's been strangely quiet all day, quiet even for Haru. Concerned for him, Hana leapt out of her own seat and made a dash out of the door, pushing through a the students now filing out of their classrooms. A few remarks were sent her way as she pushed through, but Hana didn't care: she just had to catch up to Haru.

It was easier to run once she'd made it outside. Once she had, she soon spotted Haru, swimming in the pool. But... there was something different about his swimming, and Hana didn't like it. Something's bothering him. He needs a distraction.

Hana hurried to the change room and pulled her on suitsuit, grabbing her towel from her bag. Once she'd finished changing, she made a dash for the pool, an idea sparking in her head. 

"Haru!" she yelled. Even though he was swimming, Haru heard her to pause, turning to look at her.

Hana grinned and ran up to the pool, deciding for once to be reckless in the water: to Haru's shock, Hana continued to run to the edge of the pool and jumped, bringing her knees to her chest and did a bomb dive into the pool.

When she emerged, Hana was laughing, water dripping down her face and into her eyes. "Oops," she muttered, realising her mistake. She wiped her eyes with her hands and blinked furiously, and then put her goggles on.

Once she'd cleared her vision and her goggles had snapped into place, she looked up to find Haru was staring at her. "Hana..." His tone was enough to imply that he was more then surprised.

Hana smiled, pushing him lightly in the side. "You looked a little down, and have been all day. I figured that would at least shock you out of your quiet state."

"Hana..." Once again, he stared at her. Then, his lips spread out into a small, fond smile.

Hana beamed at him. "You up for a race?" she chirped. She wanted to do something out of the ordinary that could change Haru's attitude, and that was the first thing that came to mind.

"A race?"

"Yeah! To the end and back again, freestyle. And don't you dare go easy on me." She pointed a finger at him, narrowing her eyes.

"Hana, do you know how to turn?" he counted.

"Turn?" It took a while for Hana to understand what he meant: entering the turn at the wall. She chuckled. "Oh, no... I don't. But, I'll improvise! Come on Haru, just a little fun, alright? What could go wrong?"

Haru paused for a while, contemplating things. He then sighed, staring at the smaller figure before him. "Alright."

Hana beamed. "Right." She hoped that this little, unimportant and fun race might distract Haru.

Hana dived into the pool. Though unsure of the proper entry angle, she felt that she might have done a reasonable job. A cold shock overcame her as she was suddenly all submerged in water. Temprarily, she froze, her body remembering the docks. But as soon as she started her stroke and began to reach the surface, cutting her way through the water, she felt herself ease up and swim.

She'd never swum all-out before, and it was a new experience for her. She'd never forced her legs to kick through the water as hard as she could, and move her arms as powerfully through the water as possible in order to cut open a path for her body to follow. Her breaths came to her in ragged gasps as she pushed herself as hard as she could go.

Soon, she was approaching the wall. By then, Hana figured Haru was in front, since she couldn't spot him. Now the obstacle was before her, Hana couldn't help but wonder how exactly she was going to turn. In the end, she ended up doing what she'd seen Nagisa do at his turn: it was definitely easier than the turn Haru and the other frestyle swimmers did. It might cost time, but it at least ensured that she turned.

By the final stretch, Hana found herself beginning to tire. She didn't do much physical activity, and it was beginning to show. Still, her determination to make it kept her going, one stroke after another, until she reached the end.

By the time she finised, Hana was breathing heavily, trying to recover. Haru was waiting for her at the end. She grinned as she removed her goggles, a laugh coming out between her gasps for breath. 

"Ah, as expected, I lost by miles," she said in a matter-of-fact tone as they began to clamber out of the pool. Hana hadn't expected to even come close to Haru. This race had just been for fun, and maybe to take Haru's mind off things.

"Your determination helped pull you through."

"Haru, don't sugarcoat it."

"I wasn't. I was -"

"Haru! And... and Hana?"

Hana froze, staring at the others with wide eyes. Snap. I thought I'd hear them come. Oh God. This is... just a little awkward... uuh...

"Oh... hello," she stuttered, rubbing the back of her neck. She smiled, but felt as though it might be a little forced.

Makoto looked as equally shocked. He might as well have been frozen, for he hadn't moved since he'd seen her climb out of the water. Only the wind picking up and playing with strands of his light brown hair caused any movement at all.

"What are you doing?" he eventually choked out.

I can understand his surprise. Hana was starting to regather herself, the earlier shock waning off. "I was swimming."

"But... but..."

"We've never seen you swim is all!" Nagisa exclaimed suddenly. It was then Hana noticed how surprised the others were as well. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I have said before that I don't swim.

Wow, I bet I've got a lot of questions headed my way very soon.

Despite the cool water, Hana felt a flush creep up her neck and colour her cheeks. "Eh... well, I'm just going to go dry off," she stuttered. She clasped her hands behind her back and stepped on over to where her towel was hanging. She grabbed it and wrapped it around her wet form, the soft material feeling nice against her skin.

The sunlight felt nice against her skin, taking away the slight chill she felt while exiting the pool. Hana quickly dried off her body, and pulled her Iwatobi jacket over her still-wet swimsuit. Now she was dried, she wasn't that cold. The sun would warm her up in no time.

After wrapping her hair in a turban to stop it dripping down her back, Hana wandered back over to the group as Nagisa cheered, "Alright, let's start by warming up!"

He and Rei dived in to practice their respective strokes. Makoto and Haru, however hovered by the edge of the pool. Makoto noticed Hana coming and turned to her, concerned.

"Hana..."

Hana smiled lightly, and gave her friend a little push in the direction of the pool. "Makoto. Go, practice, now. We can talk later."

He hesitated, then noded. "Alright."

As he dived in to the pool, Hana sighed and closed her eyes. Yeah, I'm definitely going to be facing an interrogation when this is all finished.

*          *          *

"So, why were you swimming, Hana?"

Hana glanced up at Makoto from her position. The two had walked back to his place, grabbed a little something to eat on the way in, were greeted by his two excitable younger siblings, and finally made it up to Makoto's room. Upon arrival, Hana had fallen back on his bed and now lay sprawled out over it. Makoto sat on his chair nearby. Hana sighed and propped herself up on her elbows in order to look at him.

"Because I wanted to," she said plainly. "I've seen how you guys love it so much, and after watching you get in time and time again when I know you're still afraid, and Rei continuing while he kept failing, it just gave me to incentive to give it a try." She smiled and fell back on the bed. "I had nothing to lose so I gave it a try, and I'm actually enjoying it now."

Makoto shook his head, staring at his friend as though viewing her from a new light. "You have never shown any desire to go near the water since the docks. Well, apart from the training camp..."

"I've been swimming after school for the past month or so. Haru's been teaching me."

"Huh?"

Hana laughed at her friend's reaction. After he'd so blatantly refused to initially coach Rei in swimming, she guessed that this was a cause for surprise. "At first, I was keeping it secret from all of you, especially you and Haru. I knew you'd instantly be concerned. But Haru stumbled upon me in the pool, and in the end he offered to teach me freestyle."

"He offered to teach you freestyle?" Makoto's eyes had widened so much that they looked like dinner plates.

Hana shrugged, playing it casual as though this was something Haru did everyday, enjoying her friend's reaction to the news. It was most definitely amusing. "Yeah."

Makoto sighed. "He changes when he's around you."

"Huh?" Hana furrowed her eyebrows, thinking back over their past few encounters. "I haven't noticed..."

"I guess you wouldn't. It's not so much that it's really noticeable, but he does change."

"Onii-chan! Hana-chan!"

Hana opened her eyes and sat up, recognising the voice and the sounds of little feet running up to Makoto's room. I know exactly who those two are...

"Ren, Ran!" Hana beamed at the twins as they dashed into the room, the two young, bright and excitable youths never failing to bring a smile to her face. "How are you?"

"There's a phone call for Oni-chan!" Ran declared. Hana only noticed now that she held Makoto's phone. She reached it out to Makoto now, Ren hovering just behind her.

Makoto smiled and took the phone, ruffling his sister's hair, which she instantly flattened again. Both he and Hana chuckled as a pout crossed Ran's voice. "That's very helpful," Makoto said through laughter. "Thanks, you two."

"You're welcome, Onii-chan!" The two scampered off again, slamming the door behind them. Hana laughed and Makoto shook his head, walking over to sit beside Hana. She briefly wondered by, but the question faded from her lips when she saw who the caller was. Nagisa.

Makoto quickly put the phone on speaker so they could both listen in on the conversation. "Hello, Nagisa."

"Mako-chan? Hi."

"What is it?"

"Oh, the festival for Hachiman-sama is on today, or have you forgotten?"

"Oh yes," Makoto realised. It took Hana a little more thought to recall what Nagisa meant, and when she did realise she gasped. It was unsurprising it took her so long to remember; the last time she'd been to the festival had been when she was a very young child.

"Well, do you want to all go? Rei-chan's already on his way. We'll get Haru-chan on our way."

"Yes, I'll join in," Makoto said, without hesitation.

"Great! Do you have Hana-chan's phone number?"

"I'm right here, Nagisa," Hana said, chiming in for the first time. She glanced down at her school uniform and shook her head. She couldn't wear that to the festival. "I'll go get changed now. I'll meet you both outside my house?"

Makoto smiled. "Sure, Hana." Hana grinned at him and, after snatching her bag from the floor, bolted from the house. She shouted a quick goodbye to Makoto's parents before she left the house, making a dash for her own. She grumbled irritably as her bag bounced against her back, which was exceptionally annoying and hindered her run.

Fortunately, it wasn't far to her own house, only a two-minute run. She tired out toward the end, and ended up reducing her speed to a slow jog.

When she reached her house, Hana quickly dropped her bag and hurried to her room. She bit her lip as she ran up the stairs, her mind flashing to her wardrobe. When she wore casual dress, she preferred to wear trousers and shirts. Did she have anything nice to wear? Did she even own a yukata? If she did, Hana had forgotten all about it.

"Hana?" Mae called, as her daughter stormed up the stairs like an elephant. "What's going on? Why are you making so much noise?"

"I'm going to the festival with the guys. You know, the one for Hachimama-san," Hana shouted back. She threw her wardrobe doors open, eyes scanning her clothes. I do not know the first thing about fashion. "What should I wear?"

"Hold up a minute." Hana paused, and soon her mother appeared in her room, approaching her daughter's wardrobe and looking inside with a critical eye. "Oh Hana, don't you have yukata?" Mae searched through all garments in her daugther's wardrobe, and made a triumphant sound. "Ah! You've got two, stashed tight at the back here, like you're desperate to forget them."

Hana chuckled knowingly, rubbing the back of her neck. She did try and forget formal wear, preferring casual wear.

Mae pulled the two yukata out and frowned. One of them was a soft pastel blue, with a wide purple sash and white lilies. The second was white, with a floral print link sash. Mae placed both against Hana and frowned, criticising both.

"The blue one," Mae decided finally. "It suits you better."

Hana took it, staring at it a little apprehensively. "I'm going to be wearing this around the boys..." she muttered.

"Don't worry about it," Mae said dismissively. "Lots of others will be wearing yukata as well. Now, go and get changed."

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*cough* so I may or may not be preparing for eternal summer already... I'm going back and editing that short story into past chapters to tie it in better.