Free!Dom (Free! Fanfic/ONC Entry)

Lost

The outward appearances indicating things for Haru were returning to normal and yet inwardly Haru didn't feel like they were. Makoto stayed for quite sometime after their homeroom teacher left making sure Haru got back into the routine of things. Each step of getting back into a routine felt grueling and yet Makoto didn't give up on his friend but even made sure Haru was snug in his bed rather than cowering under the sheets.

The return to his daily routine didn't prevent Haru from dreaming, but this time the dream was different.

He found himself walking around a small space, but also saw a couple of men with masks who opened the door every so often. In the back of Haru's mind, he wondered why he didn't simply punch one of the guys in the nose and escape. Eventually one of the men let him go to the bathroom and Haru locked the door behind him. When he looked into the mirror, he saw nothing but a blur as the mirror along with the rest of the bathroom wasn't cleaned in a long time. The ropes around his wrists chafed his wrists painfully.

His attention turned towards the window and he stepped up onto the toilet and began shifting the window open. He felt his fingers scrape against the windowsill painfully as he wrenched the window open and the next thing he knew he was sliding through the window. In the back of his mind, Haru wondered how someone his particular size would fit through the window as he was quite muscular but quickly didn't think anything of it as his bare feet touched the ground.

He began walking as the items on the ground bit into his feet, but the darkness of the city around him prevented him from seeing where he was going and yet he kept going despite the pain he felt. Someone tapped him on the shoulder and he felt himself turning towards the person in fright, and yet Haru wondered why he should be afraid.

Instead of seeing who tapped him on the shoulder Haru saw instead the ceiling of his room. A few rays of sunlight came in through the windows. Haru sat up and walked to the door so he could slip on his shoes. His hand reached out and grabbed his wallet and phone before determinedly walking towards the nearby train station which would take him to Tokyo. None of the neighbors out and about paid him much mind as they'd become used to Haru's odd behaviors.

He bought a ticket and sat waiting as a few more rays of sunlight appeared. When the train arrived, he got onto the train and sat down again. One of the on-train vendors came by offering a bento, or box lunch to eat and Haru said, "Mackerel?"

"No, sorry. I don't have any bento with mackerel."

"Oh. No thank you."

The train continued on the route to Tokyo and Haru looked out the window as the scenery rushed by. Eventually, the entire train filled with sunlight. A few passengers came and went at some of the stops, but Haru paid this no mind and instead focused on his sole task of getting to Tokyo, though if someone offered him mackerel, he might find himself distracted from the task. Focusing on the task stopped him from worrying, but he wasn't at all bothered by his task.

His phone went off and Haru flipped the phone open.

"Haru! Where the hell are you! I looked at your house, the beach, the school pool, the classroom..."

"Tokyo."

Makoto went silent.

"Tokyo, Makoto."

"I heard you Haru. I also told you last night not to go."

"I go. I find."

"I told you we don't need to go looking for you as well."

"I find her."

"Haru, do you even understand how big Tokyo is? It's not some small seaside village like our village is. It's a very big and scary place."

"That's why I go." Haru heard Makoto let out a sigh just as the train announced the interchanging stop. "I've got to go."

"Haru, Wait a second. Don't..."

Haru didn't give Makoto the chance to say not to hang up on him yet didn't realize that was what Makoto was trying to say. He got off at the station and carefully looked at the chart before getting on his next train and repeated the process. Soon the rural scenery was replaced with the sight of the buildings in Tokyo and Haru sat up straight. He recognized the sight from the few times he'd visited his parents in the city but didn't seemed perturbed by the rather vast city as he was familiar with the station they came into.

That was until his stomach grumbled.

Haru's attention turned to finding something to eat; specifically, he was thinking of filling his stomach with mackerel. After walking for some time he found a convenience store and walked in so he could buy some canned mackerel and a box of forks so he could eat them. He walked over to the counter with his canned mackerel along with his box of forks and set them down on the counter. The clerk looked up at him in curiosity. "I've not seen you here before."

"No."

"Shouldn't you be in school? I mean, you look like you're still in high school."

"No."

"Are you sure you're not playing hooky."

"Yes."

In Haru's mind, this wasn't a lie. The man had indeed never seen him before. He wasn't supposed to be in class because he was looking for her. He wasn't playing hooky because his task of looking for her was important, and nothing could convince him otherwise. That is, nothing but mackerel and an inviting body of water screaming, "swim in me!"

Haru headed out and found a place he could sit and eat his can of mackerel in peace and carefully savored every single bite. He tossed the can into the bin as there was no place for recycling. His blue eyes stared at the box of leftover forks wondering what he should do with it when a noise drew his head up. He saw a bus drive by with a picture of the missing idol.

He also realized he was hopelessly lost. His hand went to his phone and his finger went to the button which had Makoto's number programmed in. Makoto's voice soon came on the other line sounding slightly exasperated. "Haru..."

"I'm lost."

"I am honestly not surprised. That's why we're on our way to get you. That's what I was going to say before you interrupted me. Stay where you are and I will find you, but if a police officer asks you, let them help you."

"Find Haruna?"

"No, no. I am not going to prioritize finding her over you. You, I just need to follow the GPS tracker on your phone."

"Oh. What's that?"

"It's simply something I set up in case something like this happened. The odds were slim, but I need you to hang up and wait. Okay?"

"Okay."