Caught in the Act (A 'Free! Iwatboi Swim Club' Fanfic)

Chapter 3 - Revealed

            The next day quickly passed by as I persuaded myself to go jogging again instead of swimming. I had to throw the Iwatobi boys off the track. I tied my running shoes on before letting Aki know where I was going. I jogged to the park again, this time swinging on the swing. It was a good thing that I was underweight for a sixteen year old. I could swing around without having to worry about it breaking. I continued to swing in peace until I realized there were four people standing in front of me. I stop the swing and narrowed my eyes at them suspiciously due to the streetlight casting a shadow over their faces.

            “What?” I snapped irritably. The tallest one of the four stepped forward until I saw his light brown floppy hair and pretty green eyes, Makoto-kun.

            “Megumi-chan?” He asked. I stiffened. Rolling my eyes to show my annoyance, I sighed, “What do you want? Who are you anyways?” The four of them stepped closer into the light and I almost cried my eyes out anime-style. Wahhh, it’s the Iwatobi boys. Wahhh! I inwardly cried. I stood up and zipped my windbreaker up.

            “N-nice to see you guys, but I uh, have to go home now. It’s uh, pretty late, ne? Bye!” Just as I turned to go, someone grabbed my arm, yanking me backwards not so gently.

            “Eeeek!” I landed against someone’s warm chest and I looked up to see it was Haruka-kun’s. “L-let go!” I tried to pull my arm away but then his other arm went around my waist. I immediately stopped struggling, “Can you please let go? This is really uncomfortable.”

            “Haru-chan! Mei-chan said it’s uncomfortable! Let her goooo,” the shortest member said, tugging on Haruka-kun’s shirt. He let go of me and I backed up. Now, I was really fidgety. I felt my heart begin to pick up on its pace and I tried to calm down.

            “Ne, can you guys back up a little please?” I felt myself becoming dizzy. Four pairs of eyes stared at me, trying to access whether I was tricking them or not. Makoto-kun’s eyes went wide, noticing my face paling.

            “Guys, back up. Megumi-chan doesn’t look too well. Are you claustrophobic?” He gently asked me. I couldn’t answer – I was too busy trying to concentrate on slowing my heart down.

            “Che, she’s obviously faking. I mean, who could spend every day training the swimmers in an indoor pool if she is claustrophobic? My calculations tell me –” the second tallest boy with the blue hair, Rei-kun, began.

            “Ne, she really doesn’t look too well. Should we take her to the hospital?” Nagisa-kun, the short boy with blond hair, worriedly asked. Not the hospital! Not the hospital again! I shook my head no rapidly.

            “G-give me a s-s-second,” I gasped out. I dug my fingers into the palm of my free hand, the one not clutching my chest. I felt the skin break as blood slowly oozed out. The pain distracted me enough for my breathing to slow down on its own. “I’m okay now.” I weakly smiled at them. Makoto-kun gently helped me back to the swing.

            I looked at the four of them before shakily asking, “W-what do you want?”

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            “Ne, ne, Mei-chan, why are you still holding onto your chest? Does it hurt?” Nagisa-kun’s violet eyes were really sharp. I quickly grasped onto the chains supporting the swing.

            “No way!” Realization dawned on Rei-kun as his eyes lit up in admiration. “You’re Megumi Haruno?!”

            “She’s been helping out at the pool with Coach Daichi for a year. She really helped everyone.” The others said, confused.

            “No, no! I mean, she’s the Megumi Haruno! The elite swimmer!” Rei-kun excitedly announced. I narrowed my eyes and demanded, “Where did you hear that?”

            “Huh? I was in northern Japan for three years before I came here. I watched your matches on the television!”

            “Eh? Mei-chan’s an elite swimmer?” The other three cried in shock. Haru-kun’s aloof expression snapped to attention; Nagisa-kun’s round, sparkly eyes became excited; Mako-kun’s worried expression turned to interest and wonder.

            “She began swimming at the age of three, and became a prodigy by age six, even competing with the middle school division. By age ten, she competed against high-school students and won every single match in all the strokes. And by age fifteen, Megumi-sama took on the elites, like Olympic swimmers and –”

            “Jigoku o shattodaun suru! Shut the hell up!” I shouted, trembling. “No more. Please, no more, Rei-kun.” Tears dripped down my face. I lifted my face up so they could see the pain in my eyes. “No more.”

            Makoto and Nagisa knelt down on the ground, trying to comfort me: Nagisa placed his head on my lap and Makoto wiped my tears away with his long-sleeved. Haru stood there, staring at me. Rei on the other hand, panicked.

            “Megumi-sama, I’m sorry! Hontōni gomen'nasai!”

            “Ne, Mei-chan, what happened?” Nagisa worriedly looked up at me as I let me hands run through his soft hair. Makoto shot him a glare.

            “An accident,” I whispered softly. “It shouldn’t have happened.” I told them my story.