Swimmer Boy (Book 1)

Chapter 14 ~ Festival

It's exactly as I remember it... Makoto's back stroke leaves everyone behind, Nagisa always speeds up after the turn, Rei's made such amazing progress, and Haru's just as free as ever.

I had to hold back tears as I watched our swim team swim the relay. The coordination and timing was perfect. I never thought a small team of just four people could have such teamwork.

Our small group of fans cheered as Haru finally reached the final wall. "WE WON!!!" The team cheered next to the pool. I finally let my tears of happiness out.

"They did it!" Kou exclaimed. "We're going to regionals!"

I wiped my eyes and looked around at the cheering stands. Down near the pool I spotted Rin. He seemed to have a bit of sadness and nostalgia in his eyes. Even if he's in the wrong right now, I feel bad for him. I want to help him, and I know the rest of the team does too, including Haru.

                                     ~~~~~

"Haru, why aren't you dressed yet?!" I whined as I tried to tie my kimono.

"I'm not going to a boring festival." He said and tied my bow for me.

"But it' be fun~" I tried to convince him and right on time, the doorbell rang. "See, everybody's already here."

"Who-"

"Please, Haru!" Nagisa burst through the door.

"Don't you think it'll be something fun before the tournament?" Makoto asked.

"Whatever." Haru mumbled and grabbed his shoes.

"So, what do you think?" I twirled around in my kimono in front of Makoto.

"Very cute." He blushed. I smiled and pecked his lips.

"Let's go." I grabbed his hand and we all started making our way to the festival. There were so many different stands and lights decorating the town. "It's just like I remember it." I smiled. I haven't been to an Iwatobi festival since before I left years ago.

First, we had to stop by all the food stands, per Nagisa's request. We then walked around the game stands. There were lots of people here, but it was still nice. "Sakura, we have a problem." Nagisa whispered behind me.

"What's wrong?" Makoto asked. Nagisa pointed to a couple other students across the road. There was Rin and his underclassman.

"What do we do? The last thing we need before regionals is more conflict." I said.

"What are we whispering about?" Haru popped out of nowhere.

"N-Nothing! How about I buy a round of squid burgers for everyone?" Nagisa jumped in front of Haru's sight.

"Excellent idea, I'll help!" Rei agreed.

"Go find a table and I'll bring them." Nagisa winked at me.

"Yeah, we'll need to find a table for all of us." I grabbed Haru with my other hand and quickly looked for a table.

"That sure is a lot of food." I mentioned as Nagisa finally came to the table.

"Where's Rei?" Haru asked.

"He ran into an old friend, they're catching up & stuff." Nagisa made up. No doubt Nagisa sent him on a wild goose chase for Rin. He was enjoying this all too well.

After we ate, we walked around the game stands some more and tried to win some prizes. Makoto even won me a kawaii shiba inu. While everything was fun and all, our minds were still occupied with Rin. Nagisa was constantly checking his phone with updates from Rei. Finally, Haru sighed. "What's going on, Nagisa?" He asked. I looked down worriedly as Nagisa explained everything. "I'm not mad, so you can tell Rei that he can come back now."

"Right, I'll go find him." Nagisa said and ran off.

"Sorry, Haru." I said.

"It's fine. Your intentions were right." He said calmly. I smiled and we walked to one of the bridges overlooking the whole festival.

"You know, we didn't have much time to prepare for that relay." Makoto started. "But what I felt during it, was happiness, because I got to swim with you and the guys, Haru. We were together."

"I..." Haru stuttered. "I just don't know anymore. I don't need a reason to swim, I just need to feel the water. Well... that's what I always thought, but when I lost to Rin, I didn't care about anything anymore. But when I came back and watched you all swim and how hard you worked, I realized I couldn't just walk away. And suddenly, I remembered how it felt to swim in the same lane with my friends, how it felt to have everyone waiting for me at the finish line. I... I felt happy." He grabbed at his heart. "I was so happy, just like you all."

"That's great." Makoto smiled and I gave my brother a big hug. He definitely wasn't one for expressing his feelings like this.

"Haru!" Nagisa and Rei came running up to us.

"How long were you two there?" Makoto asked.

"Long enough." Rei answered.

"Nagisa, Rei, Makoto," Haru said. "I want to swim with you guys in the relay, together. One more time."