I am stopped on my way into the Samezuka pool. I just finished my race against Rin. He beat me to the block, margionally but I knew I wouldn't be able to carry on for an eleventh lap. So I dropped out and got a coffee from Aya-chan's shop.

It sucks that Makoto didn't get to see the race. But he was still on his flight. It can't be helped. The road trip'll be soon too. Then I'll get to spend some time with Makoto, I haven't had the chance to just be alone with him in a while. Mei-chan thinks it's funny since six months ago I was refusing to do anything remotely weird with Makoto and now I just can't wait to see him. It's been about three weeks since he and Haru left on a cheap flight to Tokyo to settle into their respective apartments but at the same time...it feels like forever.

"I've been waiting for you, Chouko."

"I hate it when people call me Chouko, Yuma." I state with a glare. "Please let me by, I have an event to attend."

"Tch, this will only take a second." Yuma dismisses.

"What?" I demand.

"You were never around when I tried to talk to you, that or the psycho shota wanted me away from you." Yuma says.

I sigh. "You could have asked Kurono-kun to get my number for you."

"Sakura and I are no longer dating."

"Huh?" I tilt my head. "You're...not...? But she still leaves on Fridays and doesn't come back 'til Monday."

"I know. She's been making ammends with Shizuka."

My jaw drops, eyes wide.

"Really?"

"What's his face, Sasake, knocked some sense into her."

"HINATA!" I laugh.

"Yeah, him."

"Sorry..." I stop laughing. "That breakup isn't funny...what is it that you wanted to talk about, Yuma?"

"I wanted to explain myself."

"You DID?" I tilt my head.

"Yeah. i wanted to tell you why...why I blamed you...I know it wasn't you, dep in my heart, I know it wasn't your fault."

"Then...why?"

"Because it was easier to blame Chouko, the butterfly girl, the girl Shizu was with for what happened. It was easier than blaming a guy I would never meet. It was easier than just accepting she was gone and the last things I said to her were heartless and I never got to tak them back." he admits, avoiding eye contact at all costs.

"Huh?" I tilt my head, brows up.

"I was mad at her, she wanted me to go with her and I was mad. I had a life outside of swimming. I had friends other than her. I told her she wasn't that important and then stormed off. I got a call a few hours later, telling me she passed away and couldn't handle it." Yuma states. It looks as if he's in pain. Does it really hurt him that much to tell me all of this? Maybe because I was Shizu's best friend and I'm the one who always seems to find a way to see her.

"Oh...I remember, Shizu said you weren't in a good mood and didn't want to go to the beach." I recall.

"I wish I had been there." Yuma makes a fist.

"You don't." I place a hand on his shoulder hesitantly.

"I would have helped her." Yuma mutters.

"I helped her." I smile sadly.

"I wanted to have helped her. I wish I had been told after she had been called into the hospital. I wish I could have said goodbye to Shizu', not the corpse of Shizu'." Yuma's sounding kind of angry now. Is he angry at me again...or is he mad at himself?

"She wasn't mangled or anything!" I protest.

"I was at the funeral. I came over as you made that theatrical sppech abour forfilling her dream. I knew I had to do what she loved too, you know." he snaps. I flinch, backing off a bit.

"I know." I nod once. "Yuma..."

"But I couldn't win like you could! You could beat me! Matsuoka Rin could beat me! Yamzaki Sousuke would cream me! Fubuki beat me! YOUR DAMN BROTHER BEAT ME!"

"My brother has nothing to do with Shizuka!" I defend.

"But he had about two years of experience! He was a land runner not a water baby!"

"It takes a lot to do what Rei's done. He's strong now!"

"And I'm NOT!"

"You're still mourning." I muse.

"I know...aren't you?"

"Sort of." I smile sadly. "I hate that she's not here but I'm glad that I got to know all of the people that I may not have met otherwise. Like Kaito, I may not have got to go to school with Fubuki; with that, I would have never met his friend Katie-chan. Mei-chan would still hate me. What happened to her...haunts me...but....I know that she has my back. She has mine, she has Fubuki's, and Kaito's, Rin's, Sousuke's, yours... I think she likes to see how Kisumi's doing too and whether we're okay. Notice how whenever we talk about her, a butterfly comes along." I smile softly.

"Like...there?" Yuma enquires, and on a violet flower bud, sits a butterfly, bright clementine wings. Not moving.

"I like to think that's her way of letting us know she's okay." I beam, eyes watery.

"OI!" Mei-chan shouts. "YOU'RE GOING TO MISS IT!"

"YOU'LL WANT TO KNOW IF YOU LOST THE BET AOI-CHAN!"

"DAMMIT!" I call back to my classmates. I gently take hold of Yuma's arm. "Come in. Make ammends. That's what she would want."

"But...Sakura..."

"Won't be inside. She hates these kinds of things." I smile.

"HURRY UP!" Hika-chan calls.

"Gomen! Gomen!" I laugh.

We go inside and the main team is to line up. I join the line.

"Today marks the retirement of the third years. Soon the new members will join you and a new team will form. My hope is that you make that team into the ultimate team. And the year after that, another team will form, and will carry on our dream. That's why I want all of you to look toward the ultimate dream and push on."

"Hai!"

"You're not crying today." Sousuke says. Too bad Nito's in tears. He's been latched onto Rin for about a month now and spontaneous floods of tears were not uncommon.

"That's why...Ai."

"Hai!"

"You will be the new captain."

Hell yes! I was right!

"Take care of them." Rin smiles softly.

"I will!" he vows.

"Take care of us!" Momo instructs, jumping on Nito'.

I hug my friend.

"Congrats Nito'!" I beam.

"Dammit, we owe Aoi so much now." Mei-chan sniggers.

We all hug Nito'. I look over my shoulder and there stands Rin and now he is crying.

Nito's crying too. Oh god, Nito'! I continue to hug him.

"I wonder who will be my vice." Nito' laughs.

"Choice." Momo sniggers.

"Now let's make preparations for the sakura pool!" Rin declares.

"Hai!" the team bow before Rin and begin to get the bags of cherry blossom petals that our team have been collecting. We discard them throughout the pool. Then the sun roof is opened, despite it being winter.

We wait.

It was tiresome to fill the pool but at the same time it was nice, Yuma helped out too, despite my classmates trying to gun him down with death stares.

"They're here! Positions!" Rin hisses. The team rush to the changing rooms and dress into our other swimsuits while the select few put on their tracksuits again, including, Fubuki, Kaito, Hinata, Nito, Sousuke and Momo.

They grab the paper bags with sharks drawn on them and stand guard outside the door to the pool. We wait for our cues to get into the sakura pool.

"I've been waiting for you." Rin laughs. "Now, I'll show you...the most incredible sight you have ever scene before, right here!"

And with a dramatic punch of the door, some of the first years toss the remaining petals outward.

The Iwatobi team leap into the pool laughing with Rin. Once we hear the splashing of their innocent play, the rest of us can go. I'm in my favourite swimsuit; the one with the bow that flusters Makoto and Fubuki so. I spring into the pool and hug my boyfriend.

"Ugh." Mei-chan groans. "I'll pay you back when we go back to the dorm."

"Fine." Ami-chan chirps.

I hug my boyfriend tightly.

"I've missed you so much already." I state as he hugs me in the pool. 

There's an ocassional camera flash. Mei's taking so many photos. Oh so so many photos. She is bound to be grateful for her waterproof phone and her waterproof camera. Once the camera is put somewhere safe, she leaps in to take underwater selfies in the sakura pool with everybody, including a cute one with her kissing Hinata's cheek under the water.

This is the best day ever.