hydrophiliac| completed.

S2 - Episode 10

"You gonna tell me what you and y/n were doing together?" Rin asked Sousuke.

"IT'S NOTHING!" Sousuke shouted.

Rin, not knowing whether Sousuke got mad at the fact my name was brought up or because Sou was keeping a secret about himself. Sousuke didn't know why he got defensive either.

Rin stood up and walked over to the vending machine, "Sousuke, incoming," Rin said, tossing a can of soda at him.

"Arghh!" Sousuke missed the can. He couldn't hold up his arm with the pain attached to it.

"Your shoulder is in pretty bad shape, isn't it?" Rin walked closer, "Let me see it!" Rin grabbed Sousuke's tracksuit jacket.

"Piss off!" Sousuke said as they tussled overexposing Sousuke's shoulder.

Rin won that battle, he gasped at the purple and red colors radiating and scattered on Sousuke's shoulder cuff, "When did this happen?"

"This morning...got worse when you pushed y/n and I caught her. It's not as bad as it looks," Sousuke lied.

"Oh, Come on! You and I both know it didn't happen this morning."

"Well, I guess I can't slip anything by you, can I?" Sousuke smirked, "Truth is, I injured it about two years ago. I pushed myself too hard during training."

"You were already being scouted. Why push it when you knew what college you were going into?" Rin asked.

"...Cause I didn't. I lied. No one scouted me."

***

"You okay?" I asked Haru.

"Yeah..." Haru sighed, drifting off into the sky.

"You mind if I sit here?"

"Be my guest," he responded, still looking up. I sat next to him to do the same.

We stayed quiet for a while, "Did you come out here to check on me?" Haru asked.

"No, I just needed a place to doze off at. I saw you and decided I would rather doze off next to you," I chuckled, "Though the race will start soon."

"Yeah...I know," we spoke in a normal conversation without budging our eyes from looking at the clear blue sky.

Another few minutes of silence go by, "Sousuke, answer me honestly. Tell me why...why did you lie to me?" Rin's voice was coming from the trees nearby.

Both our interests piqued, "I think I deserved to know."

"You and me are like rivals, we shouldn't be on the same team. At least that's how I used to see it. When you told me you were transferring to Iwatobi, I didn't say a word, why would I? When I started middle school, all I did was focus on swimming. You were off chasing your dreams in Australia, so I figured I'd bust my ass for my own dream. After a while, your letters stop coming, I kept rooting for you though, I knew you'd break through that walk one way or another. Once I got into high school, I got even more obsessed with my training. My dream was going to happen, come hell or high water. I used to imagine what it would be like when I finally made it to a big international meet. Every time I pictured it, you were right there beside me. I trained hard, all day - every day. No one could touch me. I was the best. Then, I met a girl, a familiar one and we raced for fun. I fell for her...hard. She was the first one to ever beat me in a race. She's one hell of a chick. Then, I left and that's when it happened. My shoulder started giving me issues, nothing I couldn't handle, at first. So, I ignored it, kept on going. Eventually, it got worse. Every damn day it hurt a little more. But no matter how bad it got, I refused to give up. I had to get stronger, it's like my dream was out there, calling from a distance...mocking me. I stayed at it, but before long my shoulder gave out. You wanna know why I lied? Cause when Gō told me you were back, I didn't want you to see me that way. I didn't want you...or anyone to know the truth. A busted rotator cuff makes it hard to come at first. I got sick of being a loser. Truth is, I was miserable and then one day, I accepted reality. So, I turned my back on swimming for good..."