Waves of Future

Part 5

In the quiet solitude of January, Gou mulled over Haru's absence. She recognized the load he bore on his shoulders and made a mental note to address their unresolved matters when the time felt right. For now, she chose to be present with her brother and her two friends, Ayumu and Izuzu, engaging in conversations that ranged from the trivial to the heartfelt—all invariably circling back to their shared interest in muscles.

The new semester ushered Gou into a whirlwind of activity. She navigated the chaos of moving into her new dorm and bidding farewell to her brother, who was returning to his regimented training schedule. Nagisa and Rei had also departed for college in Tokyo, painting her reality with strokes of change and separation. These transitions weighed heavily on Gou, subtly evidenced by the skipped period that went unnoticed in the bustle of her daily routine. As she drowned in her studies and sent out a stream of supportive messages to her brother, she often found herself hovering over the idea of reaching out to Nanase. Yet, apprehensions about seeming too dependent held her back, prompting her to embrace her new day-to-day life with a resilient spirit.

By the third week of the month, updates from Souske or Makoto filtered in, sketching a vivid picture of how Haru's friends were faring—a motley crew of individuals she had briefly encountered on her last visit to Tokyo. Despite their rivalries, an undercurrent of deep-seated friendship united them all. Gou's curiosity about swimming flickered within her, a flame never fully realized since she had never learned the skill. Dismissing the thought, she retired to her bed, only to be roused by a peculiar craving for grilled saba—a dish that didn't usually appeal to her palate. Her solution was a midnight trip to the vending machine for dried saba, which she munched on before drifting back into a slumber filled with visions of endless blue skies and a name that resonated in her mind upon waking: "Sora." 

Despite the inexplicable nature of her dreams, she shook off the remnants of sleep and hastened to her classes, her heart quietly aching for the friends she missed in Tokyo.

Haru, too, was wrestling with his inner demons. Nights brought dreams of his grandmother and his closest friends, along with existential musings on his affinity for water and swimming. An old interview replayed in his mind, a time when he grappled with questions he couldn't answer, questions that now seemed to carry more weight in the absence of Rin's influence. Rin, once the compass guiding Haru's swimming trajectory, now represented a path he had to tread alone. 

Visions of his younger self attempting to flee from everyone, countered by his older self's admonitions not to run, led to mornings where Haru awoke with tears staining his cheeks and a heart struggling to regain composure.

His sensei suggested that a foray into the dating world might offer a reprieve from his burdens, yet the flurry of names and faces only served as a temporary salve. Haru's true solace was found in the rigors of training, although this too once culminated in a collapse, with Souske coming to his rescue. Disregarding Souske's concerns and the gentle reminder that "time would fix things," Haru plunged back into his grueling regimen—a relentless pursuit that overshadowed all else.

As Gou contemplated a future perhaps in Tokyo and Haru grappled with solitude, both trudged through the chill of January, each in their own way, searching for the strength to face the challenges that lay ahead.