Clouded Distance | Free! Fan Fiction

26. Acceptance

Clouded Distance
Chapter Twenty-Six
Acceptance

It felt strange, returning to Iwatobi after everything that had occurred during Regionals.

The first day back at school was almost disorientating. Wherever she went with Haru and Makoto, they were being congratulated for making it to Nationals. She didn't receive such treatment and mostly hung in the background. She didn't particularly mind; being in the spotlight would've been tiring for her.

Still, she appeared at the swim club on occasion to assist Gou in her manager duties, and watch how her friends were progressing. Sasabe now had some free time on his hands and was popping down to the swim club for coaching. Sometimes Hana was glad that she was no longer a swimmer, since Sasabe's practices were gruelling and left her friends exhausted by the end of it.

At the end of one such session Nagisa plonked himself on the seat and moaned, leaning right back so his head hung behind the chair. "Demon Coach Goro is really tough..." he muttered, stretching out.

Rei too sat down. He closed his eyes and sighed. "He was even more spirited than usual today."

"Just think, it'll give you that extra edge at Nationals," Hana reminded them with a light laugh.

Gou nodded and hummed thoughtfully. "We should bring a gift over to SC Returns to thank him."

Rei looked over at her skeptically. "No protein powder, okay?"

Hana chuckled. I don't think even Gou would consider protein powder as a gift. She leaned back thoughtfully and pondered what Sasabe might like as a gift.

"We should bring him an Iwatobi Cream Bread!" Nagisa enthused, his earlier tiredness forgotten as he shot into a sitting position.

"What?" Rei and Gou spluttered in unison.

Hana laughed at their reactions, but her laughter died from her lips as Haru stood up and began to walk away from their group.

"Haru? What is it?" Makoto asked.

"I'm going to swim a little longer," Haru said evenly. He didn't look back at them.

Hana bit her lip. Normally Haru staying behind to swim wouldn't bother her, but this time she felt a twinge of unease.

And it looked as though she wasn't the only one who felt this way.

"Haruka-senpai," Rei said tentatively. "Um..."

"That's our Haru-chan!" Nagisa piped up, speaking loud enough to cut over Rei. "You sure are fired up!"

Makoto smiled at their friend. "Got it. We'll go on ahead."

Haru turned and proceeded to the swimming pool and dove in. They only lingered behind for a short while before Makoto said, "Shall we?"

Everyone else started to make their way back, but Hana didn't move. "I'll stay behind," she murmured, watching as Haru glided through the water.

"Hana?" Makoto placed a hand on her shoulder, and she had to crane her neck back. "Don't you think he might want to be alone?"

She just shook her head. "I'm staying, Makoto," she said softly. She was just so worried about Haru at the moment and didn't want to leave him alone.

Makoto looked at her for a moment and then relented, nodding slightly. "Okay."

He walked off the the change rooms with the others. Once they were gone, Hana wandered over to the edge of the pool and sat herself down, allowing her legs to dangle in the water. The ground she was sitting on was wet, and her skirt would be soaked by the time she stood up. But she didn't care. Haru was more important than a wet skirt.