you're the reason [haruka nanase]

《5》bad idea

(A/N): a tech suit is what competitive swimmers wear at important meets to streamline efficiency and reduce drag while racing. it is also referred to as a fastskin or a kneeskin. they look different than regular women's suits. you'll see that term a bit throughout the story so i didn't want to be confusing. in case i haven't mentioned it before, i'm actually a swimmer myself irl so i'm meticulous about getting the details right when it comes to this ^-^.

▬▬▬▬▬▬ It was fated to be one of the most important days of her life. A few days after (Y/N) & Rin's encounter with Haru at Shimo U, the three swimmers were all preparing for the Prefecture Invitational, a tournament open to any swimmer that has residency in Japan.

(Y/N)'s tournament was scheduled for early in the day whereas the men's was to take place in the afternoon. Taking note of this, (Y/N) suggested that she and Kiro should stay and watch their male friends competing after them. Kiro happily complied as her she never turned down an opportunity to watch her boyfriend swim.

Finding herself in the exact same position as a few mornings ago, (Y/N) groaned as she reached to shut her alarm off and she still felt a sharp pain in her shoulder. Today was not the day for this.

Forcing herself out of bed at the insanely early hour, she immediately hunted her kitchen cabinets for pain killers to ease the uncomfortable sensation. "What are you doing?" Kiro asked, a yawn immediately following her question as she emerged from her room and into the dark living room.

"My shoulder is sore." (Y/N) responded casually, not wanting to reveal the full extent of the injury.

"On the day of the tournament? Yikes! Pull it together, (Y/N)'s shoulder!" Kiro responded lightly poking one of (Y/N)'s shoulders. (Y/N) inwardly cringed, struggling to not accidentally spill that her shoulder has been hurting for longer than a day.

"That's not even the one that hurts, idiot." (Y/N) snickered and Kiro mumbled a small "whatever".

"I'm so nervous I can't even contain it." Kiro exclaimed, faceplanting into the couch.

"Well you're going to have to. We need to be at campus for the bus in an hour." (Y/N) reminded.

"What are you swimming today?" Kiro questioned, breezing over (Y/N)'s statement.

"I'm in the 100 and 50 free. You?" (Y/N) responded, butterflies entering her stomach at the realization that she would be racing a couple hours from now.

"200 back and the medley relay. I wasn't even supposed to be in the relay, but apparently the girl coach had in mind got injured. I don't mind being a sub, though. Most first years don't get the opportunity to swim relays." Kiro responded, laying on the coach as she stared at the ceiling. Anxiety was probably starting to set in for her, too.

"Wouldn't that suck, getting injured? Imagine if we couldn't swim anymore." Kiro wondered aloud.

"Yeah, it would." (Y/N) agreed quietly, pouring herself some water when she finally located pain killers.

"Oh, I don't mean to scare you. Your shoulder is just sore, right? It doesn't hurt that much?"

"Yes, it's just sore." (Y/N) lied, but Kiro seemed to trust her friend.

"Alright, I'm gonna gather my stuff and then we'll head out." Kiro announced, skipping to her room.

(Y/N) didn't bother responding and instead swallowed the pain relievers, taking two big gulps of water.

'Your shoulder is fine,' (Y/N) tried to convince herself. However, a voice deep inside of her knew that wasn't true.

A shuttle ride to Shimogami University and then another bus ride accompanied by the other members of the team led Kiro and (Y/N) to the pool arena. There were two pools- one for warm-ups, one for the actual racing. The warm-up pool was already occupied by a few different teams getting ready for their early events, but the racing pool laid unoccupied. Everything about the empty pool was mesmerizing- the way the light bounced off of the surface, the stillness and calmness, and the alluring color of the water. To (Y/N), nothing was prettier.

Except maybe Haruka Nanase, but that was her secret.

(Y/N) sighed, dreamily gazing into the water and temporarily forgetting about all of her worries. Her focus was interrupted when Kiro called her name from behind her.

"(Y/N)! I'm warming up. Wanna come?" Kiro asked, pulling her back swim cap over her head. Her silver-tinted mirrored goggles were hanging in the shoulder strap of her black tech suit.

"No, my first event isn't going to be for a while. I'll warm up in a bit."

"Alright. Cheer me on for the relay, okay?" Kiro yelled, being led by the arm by one of her relay team members to the warm-up pool.

"You got it!" (Y/N) shouted back, cupping her hands around her mouth.

(Y/N) sighed. The medicine she took dulled the pain a bit, but it was still present. Even if she was able to race and beat the base times, she would then have to swim at finals the next day; which she was in no condition to do. (Y/N) considered telling her coach about her shoulder. 'No,' she decided. 'Maybe after my events, but then she might pull my events. If the pain gets worse after swimming then I'll alert someone.'

This was a terrible plan.

(Y/N) opened the pamphlet that listed the events and heats of all of the swimmers and turned to the map at the back of the book, to locate where the athletic trainer's office was. If a swimmer was to get injured at the tournament, this is where they would go.

In hindsight, (Y/N) probably should have realized that if she thought it was important to personally find the athletic trainer's office, maybe she shouldn't be swimming. In spite of that, she was too blinded by her own ambition.

Time passed by and (Y/N) found herself cheering on Kiro for the medley relay. The medley relay, where every person swims a different stroke; started with Kiro's backstroke. With a flawless start and a new personal best, (Y/N) felt her insides swell up with pride at her best friend's stellar performance.

The relay ended up placing second, with a time of 4:45.2. Though they didn't take heat winner, they still landed in the top 20 of all of the medley relays swam in the tournament so they made finals. Making a mental note to congratulate Kiro when she saw her again, (Y/N) realized she was long overdue to warm-up when her coach sent a death-glare her way.

(Y/N) trailed over to the warm-up pool. To her delight, it was relatively empty. She capped herself and adjusted her mirrored purple goggles. She pushed off of the blocks, her arms snapping into streamline as her body entered the water at a 30 degree angle. The water enveloped her like a warm, cozy blanket and (Y/N) was reminded why she chooses to do this every day. It's home.

Though not unhindered, (Y/N) was able to swim without any excruciating pain. Satisfied with her warm-up, she hauled herself out of the pool and glanced up to the time board to see that she was one event away from her first event.

She spent about twenty-five minutes anxiously tapping her foot against the railing in front of where her team was set up before she decided to head to the pool deck. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she counted the heats before hers.

"Heat seven out of seven of the women's 200 freestyle," the announcer called and (Y/N) found herself standing with one foot on the blocks.

'Crap,' she inwardly cursed. 'I'm in the fastest heat. This is going to be a free-for-all.'

(Y/N) felt her blood run cold as three consecutive whistles were blown, signaling that competing swimmers needed to step up to the blocks.

"Take your marks."

"Beep!"