𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟗- 𝐃𝐎𝐋𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐍 𝐊𝐈𝐂𝐊
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After the following adventure, (Y/N) had decided to set up a hang out with her friends.

Gōu had apologized and claimed she wanted to try and get in touch with her brother again, leaving the rest of her friends to all gather inside Haru's home the next day.

(Y/N) laid down next to Makoto, who was busy flipping through a newspaper while Haru and Nagisa sat near the small study table they all had moved from the living room so the Mackerel loving boy could do his work more easily.

Makoto hums as he reads, before turning his head and watching the girl next to him begin to nod off. Her hand folded behind her head, while the other curved infront of her and her fingers gently gripped her friend's sleeve.

He smiles slightly, and leans forward to brush his nose against her hair, his eyes closing while he sits in thought.

He looks up when he hears Haru begin to inhale sharply, before he lets out a loud sneeze. The sound startles (Y/N) awake, and she jerks her head up. A loud thump resonates through the room, and Makoto bends forward on his knees, his hands gripping his throbbing forehead.

"What the hell Mako?" (Y/N) asks through gritted teeth, and sits up to rub her own pulsing skull. She sighs before reaching down and rubbing her friends back, and gently guides him up so she could get a better look at his injury.

Makoto waves his hand. "It's okay, that was my fault.." he trails off when she leans forward, and gently blows against his forehead. Heat rushes to his cheeks, and he quickly ducks down to hide his face in his jersey sleeve.

(Y/N) stares at him for a moment, before shaking her head with a chuckle. She pats her friend's hand, and diverts her attention towards her two other friends, both watching with raised brows and amused smiles.

"Looks like someone's talking about you." She muses, a small grin on her face as she snatches a tissue packet off the floor and hands it to her friend. Haru rolls his eyes, but nods his head in thanks. "You sound like my grandma.." he mumbles, and (Y/N) pats his head, adorned with a small yellow towel.

Nagisa thinks for a moment before looking up and smiling. "It must be Rin who's talking about you!" His suggestion makes (Y/N) and Haru look up in thought, but gets shut down when Makoto speaks.

"It's also possible that he's just sick, after all you did decide to go swimming in April." Haru looks up at his friend and glares slightly, ignoring the way his nose pressed into (Y/N)'s cheek as she continued to lean over him.

"I'm not some baby that gets sick from-" his counter is cute off when he lets out another sneeze, and the table shakes at its intensity. (Y/N) jerks away, but smiles when Haru continues to sniff, his voice stuffy.

"It's not warm enough to swim outdoors yet." She reminds him, and tries to move the small towel atop his head to wrap it around his shoulders. "We'll just have to hit the gym until the weather gets better." While Haru tries to hold back an eye roll, Nagisa pipes into the conversation, his never ending smile on display.

"Hey, guess what I heard from Gōu." The attention shifts to him, and Makoto scoots closer to the table while (Y/N) rests her chin against Haru's shoulder. "She told me that Rin just joined the Samazeka swim team!" This causes (Y/N) and Haru to gasp softly, their gazes meeting before they look down at the table.

Makoto slowly grins, ecstatic at the news. Nagisa studies his face, and tilts his head. "Is something wrong Mako?" His friend shakes his head, and folds his arms with a smile.

"I wouldn't worry about it, but since he's on a team now, there's a chance we'll see him at a tournament." His conclusion causes Nagisa to slam his hands against the table, and (Y/N) quickly tries to catch pieces of rice that were sent flying into the air.

"So let's sign up for one already!" He exclaims. "We can totally dominate the relays!"

"You know that I only swim free style." Haru quickly reminds his excited friend, his eyes never leaving the book infront of him. Nagisa pouts. "Are you telling us you don't do relay's anymore? Haru! Tell me that's not true!" His only response is the turn of a page.

In an instant, Nagisa is on his knees, his forehead bent in a bowing position. "Please, just swim with us!" He begs, and Haru shakes his head. "Besides, we can't do the relays because we only have three people." His gaze turns to his friend still leaning against his shoulder.

(Y/N) shakes her head with a sigh, she couldn't enter the relays due to her being the only girl of the team. They needed to find another swimmer and fast, before Nagisa's pleas become any more louder.

"Does that mean.." the blond begins to understand the situation. "We gotta find another swimmer to join our team?!" His yell hangs in the air, and his head tilts to the side dramatically when (Y/N) throws a few pieces of rice at his face.

"Obviously that's what it means, Nagisa!"

_____

The following day, (Y/N) had made it a point to visit the kitten a little earlier than usual, before apologizing about not visiting sooner. The kitten however didn't mind, and meows enthusiastically before snatching the bag of treats she had brought before scurrying away.

Shrugging her shoulders, (Y/N) makes her way to the swim club, and sniffles a little when she sees pink Sakura petals begin to fall and decorate the pool. She sighs, knowing that she'd have to clean it before it got warmer, and heads towards the locker room.

When she pushes the door open, her ears catch just enough conversation to hear Gōu explain to the rest of the team about a training facility that they could use for the off season.

The maroon haired girl looks up and waves happily when she sees her friend. "(Y/N)! Come in, look what I've got." Enthusiastically handing her the paper, the team all watch as she nods along at the information.

Haru, being impatient as ever, snatches the flier from his friend's hands. "Who pays?" He asks Gōu, and ignores the glare (Y/N) gives him.

"The club will, of course."

Makoto looks down in thought, realizing that he hadn't thought that far ahead yet. "Just from the flier I can tell the dues at this place are gonna be pretty high." He says nervously, and turns to glance at his friends. "Do you honestly think we could get that money together?"

He watches Haru, whose eyes were wide in worry that after all his hard work, he actually might not get the chance to swim. "Maybe we should give up." Makoto says cheekily, and smiles when his friend turns away with a pout.

"No way!"

His slight determination causes Nagisa and (Y/N) to clap their hands. "We're gonna be able to swim all year round!"

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"I'm sorry guys, but that's just not going to be possible." Every ounce of hope deflates from (Y/N) when she hears this. They had all quickly rushed to Miss Amakata to ask her for the funding, but were shut down on the spot.

Nagisa whines. "What? Why not?"

"Well frankly, it wouldn't be responsible of the school to provide that kind of funding to a new club that doesn't have any sort of track record." She states mater of fact, but her words only cause the teens to deflate even more with each second.

"This reminds me of a verse from the Bible,it goes 'he who does not work, neither shall he eat'" Her lesson causes both Makoto and Nagisa to stare at her, a bit confused while Haru and (Y/N)'s mood's begin to sour.

"..I don't think that proverb really applies to our situation."

"Yeah how are you supposed to eat a pool?"

(Y/N) lightly nudges her friends at their questions, and watches as Gōu tries to convince their teacher. "So you're saying that if we wrap up some accomplishments, you can get us the money?" Miss A turns to the young girl and nods.

"That's correct! More accomplishments, more money and the easier it'll be to justify the forwarding of the funds to your club!"

They all nod along, before Haru perks his head up, his mind working. "Oh, I get it.." he mumbles, and glances to his friends, his eyes settling on a beaming (Y/N).

She smiles brightly at the news. "Do you think it would be enough if the team placed in the summer tournament?" Her question makes everyone turn to Miss Amakata, their eyes wide as they await her answer.

Miss A smiles at her excitement. "Pull that off, they might approve your request at the budget meeting." She quickly holds her hand up just as they begin to cheer, her face stern as she looks at each of them.

"But you'll need at least four swimmers, with just the three of you, you won't qualify for anything." Her warning prompts them all to erupt into excited chatter, and she can't help but smile at her students.

(Y/N) grins with her hands clasped together, before turning when she sees Haru hook his finger at his collar.

"..then I'll be able to swim all I want." His mumble causes her to tilt her head in question, before shrinking away as she watches his eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets. "Let's get to work!" His order causes the group to turn to him, slightly surprised.

They all watch as he turns and quickly marches himself right out the faculty office. "Haru?" Makoto calls after him, but frowns in concern when his friend doesn't answer.

Nagisa watches him leave with a grin. "Haru sure looks good and motivated, doesn't he?" His question falls on deaf ears as (Y/N) and Makoto quickly dart after the boy, both worried and confused at his odd behavior.

"Hey wait up!" (Y/N) calls out to him just as they exit the office, and watch as Haru makes a beeline for the nearest students he could find.

He stops directly beside two friends chatting away about their classes, his face stern and slightly unnerving. "Hey there." He speaks, and the two boys look up, a bit frightened when he holds up a little iwatobi keychain.

"You want this? Join the swim club." His offer sounded more like a threat, which caused the boys to immediately decline before turning and walking away.

(Y/N) slaps her palm against her eyes and rubs them, trying to erase the embarrassing scene from her mind. Makoto sighs from beside her. "We're doomed.." Gōu chuckles nervously as she watches while Nagisa drops his shoulders in surprise.

"We're a lost cause if that's the best he could do.."

The blond haired boy shakes his head before lifting his arms up and cupping them on either side of his mouth. "Hang in there Haru!" He yells, which causes (Y/N) to lean against Makoto in dramatic defeat.

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