Oku One Swimming Club (Free! Fanfiction)

Chapter 1: Prelude of the Ocean's Mist

Today was the start of school, the sound of freshman conversing filled the halls, assorted banners hung high between homerooms each advertising the variety of courses and extracurricular groups boasted by the Oku One High School. It was the only high school in prefecture and was the rival school of 黄松, from the Geisuima School district. Three friends stood together in the immense hallway, dumbstruck by the selection. Mari, Lilina, and Bricen were incoming first years to the school- and had not yet decided what extracurricular course they would join. Mari and Lilina had known each other for years, and later on Bricen came along when the pair had entered secondary school.

As they walked through the hall perspiration struck them, as they heard the downpour of water coming from a back room. Bricen's eyes widened with a crazed look of ecstasy, he steadily rose his voice, "You hear that guys? It's coming from there! The mother nature room!" His shrill voice made him stand out in a crowd- you could not really call it feminine, but it sure wasn't masculine, though in a literal sense- his height made him seem as though he were drowning in a sea of students, he stood at a mere four foot ten, he looked like a fifth year student from primary school. Mari rolled her eyes, and sighed "Not this fantasy again.." Lilina continued to remain standing with a grin as she watched Bricen's little scene (no pun intended). Bricen faced Mari, his thin lips turned into what appeared reminiscent to an upside down v-shape- his amber eyes seemed as though they were ready to burst out of him, they were filled with his ambitions and his dreams. "Seriously guys, I've got a hunch- that lying on the other side of the door is the plant that manifests the great secrets of this school. Remember when I was I was surrounded by those thugs and I-" abruptly his coarse words were interrupted by the stark tone of Mari "Yeah, yeah- blah blah blue blah". Suddenly at that moment, Bricen went laconic and displayed a stubborn grimace, "Anyway, Lilina come with me to the next room-" Bricen ran to the so called "mother nature room".

Sometimes it was just a little difficult to understand what was running through his head, but surely Lilina thought he had good-intentions and qualities that were behind those quirks, and plus- it could be entertaining to watch his aimless quarrels with Mari. "Bricen, we're going to be late for our first period! Come back!" Mari shouted and chased the short boy, dragging Lilina with her. Once inside, they were greeted with a large vicinity of water, in the corner was Bricen running around the edges of the pool like a psycho midget. "AH! SCARY ROBOT MAN!!!" Was what the short boy said until he ran out the room... Once again. "Bricen, what's the matter? Come back over here!" Lilina pitched in surveying the room until she saw Mari splashing the water upon herself, as though she had the least of cares. Lilina did not do so much as sigh, she turned her back and hollered "Bricen, Mari; hope you fare well for class today despite the two of you getting yourselves wet." And with that, she walked out of the poolroom and left Mari to continue playing with the water and Bricen to do... Whatever he was doing.

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It was already well past the lunch bell when once again the three friends could reunite- it was an interesting day for all of them; who all had different class schedules, though they managed to all find at least one opportunity to speak to each other, whether it be during passing period or a class in which they shared. For Mari and Lilina, that class was language arts- while the trio found themselves in the same physical education class. The three of them had met all sorts of students here, and rarely knew any other students prior to the first day, with an exception of a few others from secondary school. For example, it seemed as though Lilina always had her mind drifting onto Makoto, the brunette she had classes with in the past. It seemed safe to assume that it still had been that way.

Now that lunch had begun the cafeteria swarmed with strangers from all the years, it was so overwhelmingly unbearable to consider sitting by the cliques of their classmates- so once assembled they stood in the hall. It wasn't until then it occurred to them that there was an exit ladder extending towards the skyline of the building. Climbing up unveiled the vacancy of the air around them, proving itself to be a preferable. It truly was a beautiful sight- upon the glass were arbors and trellises of morning glories, violas, carnations, and tiger lilies adorned the rooftop and stretched outwards as though the multitude of cosmos and camellias were beckoning rays of color. The sky itself shone with an almost maroon sheen twisting through an azure sky, deep like a pool of clear water hanging above the building.

Mari whistled, "Dang... This school is decked out..." Lilina beamed "It's only what you'd expect from a prestigious school such as this one, I mean, it only suits a school with this kind of reputation." Her navy hair looked as though it were a deep ROYal blue when it shone in the light, she ran her fingers through it, which ran down her back steadily as though it were a glossy river. Her face was curtained by strands of hair arranged into layers, meeting her hairline whereas her bangs were cut just above her admiral eyes. "But, as far as the athletic department goes- their reputation for their swim team is below mediocre." And for once today, Bricen seemed to lose the hyper attitude that he possessed just a few hours ago- and returned to his mellow state. "You know- perhaps things would change if the team had more enthusiastic members to lead them to victory." Lilina's words trailed off as she met her gaze to Mari. It was then that in just a moment's time Mari pitched in, "Then it seems we are just what the team needs, I'll be the first to volunteer." She then proceeded to chuckle, but what seemed to be a faint chuckle grew to sound as hellish as the ear-piercing cries of a hyena stalking its prey. "Anyways, let's eat. I'm hungry." The raven haired female smiled as she loosened her maroon necktie, the sleeves of her white button-up shirt already rolled up. Mari brought out a simple, scarlet bento box with flames around the edge, while Lilina took out one with a more complex design on it, one depicted a red-haired hero in a more chibi form sitting atop hearts. On the other hand, Bricen had a bright pink Hello Kitty bento box, with a matching plastic spoon and fork set instead of chopsticks.

"Bricen- you still don't know how to use chopsticks? It's been well over three years since you transferred to Japan!" Lilina belted out in an almost scolding way, "I reckon it's time someone taught you." Mari piped in, "I'll teach you! It's not even that hard, dude..." Bricen fumbled around with the chopsticks, though he inevitably gave up after flicking a wad of rice onto the collar of his uniform. "Well, one day when you have a girlfriend she'll have to go through the trouble of teaching you." Bricen cut Lilina off mid-sentence with a grin "Shut up, man- that kind of thing won't happen anytime soon anyway." Lilina simply ended the conversation interjecting with "Things change in front of your eyes, things happen so fast, you might not even be able to see them initially." Unknownst to them, the same statement held truth for all of them. In many ways that they would not realize until it struck past them.