Open Waters | Free! Fan Fiction

21. Before Prefecturals

Open Waters

Chapter Twenty-One

Before Prefecturals

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How is it already five days to the prelims?

The note on the countdown calendar Gou had created had been like a slap in the face for Hana as she wandered into the pool after school. She had frozen and stared at it, reeling in disbelief. It felt like no time had passed since they had started the swim club, and they were already facing the prelims which were just around the corner.

Maybe it had something to do with everything that had been going on recently. There had been her party, the training camp, endless swim practices, and weekends where all she did was go over to either Makoto or Haru's place, without needing invitation, to spend the day with them. She would have visited Gou, Nagisa or Rei, but they lived fuehrer away, and Makoto and Haru were basically just around the corner.

Her swim practices with Haru were also going well. Over the past practices, Hana had found her technique improving, and her ability to swim growing. She was able to cover larger distances without as much effort, and slowly her times were getting better. The more she practiced, the more she got used to it. Hana was surprised to find that she was actually enjoying all her swimming practices. She didn't think she'd like it as much as she was. Sure, there was still a stab of fear whenever she first submerged herself in the water, a stab of fear that had been drilled into her mind since she was young, so it would be hard for her to overcome. But still, she was swimming, enjoying it, and had Haru by her side every time to help and encourage her.

Hana found herself anticipating her next practice after training finished that day. She found it odd, how eager she was about this. Just weeks ago she'd do anything to avoid the water. Now, she just had to wait for training to finish so she could get in herself.

Like they'd been doing for a few days now, Hana and Gou stood on the edge of the pool, stopwatches in hand, timing the boys on their strokes. A qualifying time had to be sent through the the prefecturals no later than the third day before the date, and they were watching their friends increase their speed.

That day, Hana was timing Haru's 100 metre freestyle, and Gou timing Nagisa's 100 metre breaststroke. Makoto stood behind them, checking the times, just like the reliable captain he was.

Hana's eyes didn't leave Haru as he swam along at the fastest pace he could manage. As soon as his hand made contact it's the egged of the wall, Hana clicked the button on the stopwatch and checked the time displayed on the screen. Her lips spread out into a grin. "Haru, that's another personal best!" she exclaimed. "Your times just continue to improve!"

"The training camp from hell surely paid off," Gou chimed in, as Nagisa finished his breaststroke. Gou stopped the timer.

The blonde-haired boy ducked into Haru's lane. "What about me?"

Gou checked the stopwatch and smiled indulgently. "You'll have to work a little harder, Nagisa-kun."

"Still, I think we've come a long way in such a short time," Makoto said with a smile. He glanced up, and Hana followed his line of vision to see Rei practicing his butterfly in the far lane. "And Rei's been improving his butterfly time."

Hana nodded to herself as she watched Rei practice. He had truly beautiful form, and had been working hard on improving his technique and time during the entire lead-up to the prelims. His determination was hard to miss, and all his hard work was paying off as his time continued to decrease. Hana was glad for him. He'd come into the swim club with no clue how to swim, and now he was swimming and steadily improving.