31 Days.

Sunday. 31 days left.

Bright blue eyes stared up at the ceiling as a frown decorated Haruka’s face. It was too cold. Twisting and turning restlessly in bed, Haru settled on his side, dully noting the large boxes adorning his new apartment—yet to be opened. Truthfully, he did not know what to make of his current situation. Moving to Tokyo just seemed like a good idea at the time, and Haruka was someone to follow his instincts.

There were more job opportunities and prestigious schools in Tokyo, rather than in the subarbs. And restaurants and public pools were far more easier to access. But Haru knew that deep down, that wasn’t really what brought him to the city.

What really attracted his attention was a flyer that dropped by his house a few weeks before. It wasn’t the neat color scheme or the pen that came with it. In fact, his first instinct was to just throw the paper away. He made the effort to skim the page, however, when he noticed the large imprinted letters of Support the Iwatobi Swim Club! on the flyer, particularly the swimming part. Right below it, there were two very familiar names: Makoto Tachibana and Nagisa Hazuki. There was also two others, Rei Ryugasaki and Gou Matsuoka, but they didn’t quite ring the bell as much as Makoto and Nagisa did.

Haruka didn’t waste much time before looking into a new apartment and packing up. He hadn’t heard those names in over 5 years. At the moment, there wasn’t a single doubt in his mind. He wanted to see them again. But most of all, he wanted to make sure a certain someone was okay.

Currently, however, he was beginning to regret that decision. What could he possibly say to his childhood friends? How would he be able to explain his reason for leaving so suddenly back then without even a goodbye? Would they even recognize him anymore?

Unwelcome questions invaded his head as the blue haired teenager snapped his eyelids shut, willing himself to drown in the sleep that eventually consumed him. After all, it was easier for him to just hide from the doubt for as long as possible before reality kicks in.

“Rin!” Haruka stared, wide-eyed as Rin kneeled on the side of the pool, uncharacteristically shedding tears. It was supposed to be a friendly competition between Haru and Rin, but it wasn’t even a competition anymore.

“You didn’t even take me seriously, Haru. How can I ever think of myself as an Olympic swimmer if you beat me this easily.” With those words, the two swimmers glanced at each other. The blue haired one clutched his jacket tighter, helplessly watching the other pick up his pride and making his way out the building—and possibly taking his friendship with him.

It was that day that Haruka truly knew the feeling of sadness. Tears rolled down his cheeks as the normally vibrant eyes lost their shine. Even the water couldn’t reflect on them.

He didn’t know how long he was there, carefully memorizing how cursed his talent really was and burning into his mind the look on his friend’s eyes. He did the only thing he thought he could do.

He ran away.

The next day, he turned in his resignation form in to his swimming coach and school principal before moving out into the suburbs. His family died long ago, so he knew that his friends could never find him, even though some part of him, sometimes, still wished that they would look. That moment, Haruka turned his back on his past.

His new life wasn’t any better. In fact, it was probably worse if the swimmer hadn’t dubbed Rin’s agonizing, accusing eyes as the worst. At his new school, he knew nobody. The feeling of being an outcast strangled him as days went on where everyone talked behind his back, wondering why his name was so girly or why a city boy would ever come to the country without a family. His face was always emotionless, but inside, Haruka knew that while the words hurt, it hurt more that every curious or accusing look at him reminded him of Rin. The purple haired boy haunted Haruka’s dreams, following him like chains throughout the day.