Chapter Text
Rei didn't know what to expect when he strolled into the gates of one of the most renowned and prestigious boarding school in Japan with nothing but a one-day experience of swimming without sinking in the water like a complete moron.
Samezuka Academy was different. Anyone who had been to any swimming tournament in the country would know the condescending and powerful aura they exude, the chills that ran down the audience's spines when the team's united cheers and chants resounded. But Rei had never attended any, and so was oblivious to how much influence the school had on the field of competitive swimming.
They walked into the pool complex (the school had a separate building housing the swimming club's training facilities, that's enough proof of how serious Samezuka was about winning) and Rei gasped at the sight that greeted him. Besides the enormity of the Olympic-sized pool that stretched far across in a beautiful glittering blue, Rei was, above all, captivated by the sheer amount of students flooding the place. There were boys everywhere –sprinting in the water, stretching beside the pool, getting ready on the platforms- just about any direction he turned, his vision was filled with members of Samezuka's swim club.
It was such a contrast compared to their small party of five. Makoto-senpai did mention something about the school having a lot of young aspiring swimmers hoping to get scouted, so Rei had imagined thirty, forty people or so… But this? This was outrageous.
Rei could feel his blood running cold. The promise he had made to Haruka-senpai about not letting Water down appeared so hard to fulfill now.
Speaking of Haruka-senpai, it seemed that for once he was able to keep his blazing lust for Water in check without needing any intervention from Makoto-senpai.'That's good,' Rei thought, doubting that the Samezuka team captain would be delighted to see a student from another school happily monopolizing the pool, treating it like his own private bathtub.
"Rei-chan! Come on, let's change our clothes~"
"Umm, Nagisa-kun, I don't feel so good…"
Rei was saved from being dragged to the nearest bathroom when a loud "Gou-kuuuuunnn!" resounded. A tall, crimson-haired boy with an impressive display of well-sculpted muscles and a stupid love-struck grin waved at the group enthusiastically, making his way towards them. Rei had to do a double take because he swore he could see a tail wagging behind the cheerful young man.
"Mikoshiba-kun," Gou greeted sweetly, though the forced smile on her face suggested otherwise. Rei had a feeling that the two had met a few times before, seeing as the guy had the guts (and balls) to actually add a –kun to their club manager's already boyish name.
Gou could be intimidating and downright terrifying if she wanted to. Rei knew this from firsthand experience.
"I'd like you to meet the members of Iwatobi High Swimming Club. Makoto-senpai is our captain," Gou continued their introduction, not bothering to correct Mikoshiba's nickname given to her on his own accord. "Haruka-senpai is the vice-captain, and these are Nagisa-kun and Rei-kun."
The four of them bowed simultaneously, and by now Rei was trying hard refraining from throwing up. He was already feeling sick in his stomach; the action only aggravated the situation.
"I'm Mikoshiba Seijuurou, pleased to meet you. I hope we can learn from each other," The redhead spoke with poise and confidence befitting the captain of a powerhouse team, nodding politely at them. Then, he immediately turned to Gou and all of a sudden the previous professional image vanished into thin air, leaving behind a big infatuated puppy ('yeap, that's a tail alright'). "So Gou-kun I was wondering if you're free this Sat—"
"Senpai, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!"
Captain Mikoshiba was cut off by the sounds of a petite, silver-haired boy noisily tripping over a second year stretching his legs on the floor, apologizing repeatedly with a furious blush on his cheeks. Mikoshiba shook his head, smiling fondly at his junior's antics. Having such a large club under his watch came with lots of responsibilities, and it looked like he couldn't afford flirting right now. Nope… 'Operation Winning Gou's Heart' would have to wait.
'Looks like it's back to serious business.'
"Everyone! Listen up!" The Samezuka captain clapped his hands twice in the air, instantly gaining his members' attention. "We're conducting a joint practice Iwatobi with High today, so I want you to get into the lines now. We need four timekeepers. Nitori!"
The clumsy boy from earlier came running obediently, shouting a proud but shaky 'Yes, sir!' When he reached their spot, Nagisa noticed that he was standing almost eye-to-eye with Nitori. 'Finally, finally there's someone of my size! And with such an adorable feminine face too!'
"Show them to the changing room. There's no time to waste," Mikoshiba instructed, before Nagisa even got the chance to say hello to the pretty boy who shared his 'fate of a shota'.
Oh well, that could wait for later.
The Samezuka swimmers truly lived up to their reputation. Their swiftness and agility were admirable, and Rei watched in awe as each of them dove into the pool with ease and swam to the other side in their own preferred style.
Rei was beginning to forget how to breathe.
Even sitting for Calculus test was never this nerve-wracking; then again, he was an ace at numbers so there was nothing to get worked up on. Sneaking a glance at Nagisa through the corner of his eyes didn't help much, because the breaststroker seemed to possess nerves of steel and was now jumping up and down in anticipation, stretching his arms and legs oh so casually.
Their eyes met for a brief instance. Nagisa winked cutely at him and sent a flying kiss like it's nothing, and Rei spluttered, coughing loudly into his fist.
"Ryuugazaki! Stop fooling around and just get in the line already!" Mikoshiba urged, blowing the whistle once. Startled, Rei nodded slightly and did as told, fixing his goggles in the process. Nagisa was still stifling his giggles.
"Tachibana, now is Iwatobi's turn," Mikoshiba said, wearing a proud and triumphant grin with a challenging side to it. "Let's see how you guys measure up to my boys."
"Go for it, Rei-chan!" Nagisa whispered dramatically. "Show 'em what you've got!" Just then, his mischevious hand delivered a hard slap to his boyfriend's ass. Rei choked on empty air.
"W-what was that for?!"
Nagisa simply stuck out a tongue at him and giggled. That brat.
Rei was about to break into a lengthy lecture of public morals and decency (not that Nagisa ever listened anyway) when he barely registered the loud splash made by Makoto-senpai's dive.
Makoto-senpai's breath capacity fell short compared to the other two swimmers in adjacent lanes as he resurfaced a few milliseconds earlier, but his strong strokes make up for it. Samezuka backstrokers had nothing on him; he was fast, and extremely efficient. Rei observed how each of Makoto's stretch of hand propelled his body a good few meters more, giving him the far and obvious lead. With another quarter of the 100m left for Makoto to complete, Nagisa stood on the platform, getting ready for his turn.
It was then that the realization hit Rei harder than a solid brick smacked to his face.
He had never watched Nagisa swim. As in, the really swimming kind of swim.
All those times during practice, they were more focused on striving to teach Rei, and even when Nagisa was swimming, Rei'd never paid full, undivided attention like he was doing now.
There's a different air to Nagisa when he's being serious. The chatterbox Hazuki Nagisa– always aloof, borderline idiotic smile in place, leaping here and there like a supernova waiting to happen- was nowhere to be found.
Makoto reached the opposite end of the vast pool, the timekeeper yelled 'next!' and a split second later, Nagisa lunged in for the dive.
At that very moment, Rei's world stopped spinning on its axis.
Nothing could have prepared him for this.
Putting his outrageously bright swimming trunk aside, there was nothing faulty with the way Nagisa swam. He was shorter than most (Rei was willing to bet 100 yen that he was indeed the shortest), even when compared with fellow first-years, so his dive didn't get him far. But his strokes, god, his strokes -they were energetic, powerful and wonderfully executed and how on earth did he catch up so fast?
Nagisa overtook one swimmer, then another, and by then Rei had known he was staring; he could actually feel his hair stand on end, jaw growing slack and dropping dramatically not unlike in the manga his classmates so keenly read. There was a significant gap left behind the breaststroke swimmer now as he marched on impeccably.
It was easily the most beautiful sight Rei had ever seen in his sixteen years of living.
In fact, it was so beautiful, he even forgot that he was to go next. When Nagisa touched the plate on the far end, there was a deafening whistle that blew. Everyone expected the next person -who happened to be Rei- to dive into the pool without delay. Upon the dawning apprehension that everyone was now staring at him, Rei fumbled and scrambled in place clumsily, finally taking the leap…
…and falling into the water straight on his face.
"Ouch, that must hurt like hell," Mikoshiba remarked, cringing a little. Makoto's colour had drained from his face as they waited for Rei to resurface.
"Umm, Makoto-senpai, I think we should—"
Before Gou could finish her sentence, however, Haruka was already in the water, on his way to save Rei's sorry ass (who afterwards defended the notion that no, he was most definitely not sinking, just molding himself to be one with water and… stuff. Yeah.)
"Looks like we still have a lot to work on…"
Eventually, Rei had very little swimming done, just playing the role of a frowning bystander and sometimes the substitute timekeeper. That actually had an advantage; he was able to spend more time watching people (or Nagisa, mostly), but the disgruntled feeling that settled in his heart didn't go away. Even more so as throughout the training, not once did he see the 'Rin-chan' whom Nagisa was going on about.
But by the end of the day, Rei could conclude that Matsuoka Rin was, to put it bluntly, intense.
The guy didn't actually turn up for the joint practice. Captain Mikoshiba explained that he was probably off brooding somewhere ('brooding' was the exact word he used, not sulking or moping, but brooding), an occurrence that'd become some sort of a norm in the past few days. Gou also revealed that her older brother hadn't been picking up her calls or replying her messages.
'There it was again,' Rei noticed. 'The miserable and dejected faces they make when talking about him…'
How a person could leave such significant impact on others even in his absence was incomprehensible to Rei, but he understood that Rin must've been a dear friend to them.
They thanked, bid farewell to Captain Mikoshiba and headed home, but barely a few meters away from stepping out from Samezuka's main gates, Rei was struck by the realization that he had forgotten something very, very important.
His underwear.
He left his freaking underwear, and in a high school no less.
"What's wrong, Rei?" Makoto stopped walking and asked, noticing his junior's fidgeting and increasingly distraught expression.
"Ah, I think I left my unde- um, I mean," Rei paused, clearing his throat. Don't be suspicious, don't be suspicious! "I need to take something. You can go ahead, I will be right back."
There's no way in hell he'd let anyone -especially Nagisa- know that he left his underwear in the bathroom of another school. The last time he'd let slip a fragment of his shameful past (which also involved a piece of forsaken underwear), Nagisa poked fun at him the whole week at every chance he got. Knowing the teasing nature of the blonde, Rei was sure Nagisa would never let him live it down. Heck, he might even bring it up in the middle of a passionate making out session and kill the mood!
'N-not that I've ever imagined that, you know… that we'd m-m-make out or something like that!'
Makoto seemed to buy the lousy excuse and with a chirpy "Okay!", went ahead with the others. It was then -as Rei dashed to the bathroom to rescue his forgotten undies- that he passed by someone standing beside the door, arms crossed and looking fairly pissed like he'd just woken up on the wrong side of the bed.
It's common sense to not approach a person with such a glum and distressed appearance, unless you're the trouble-seeking kind of guy. Rei was definitely not one, so he decided to ignore him.
Unfortunately, the maroon-haired boy had other ideas.
"Hey, Speedo Glasses," he called out.
Rei turned around, and was met with a pair of dark gloomy eyes. They were crimson, bearing obvious similarities with Gou's, but sharper. 'Perhaps this is Rin-chan-san?' Rei wondered. "I beg your pardon. Are you by any chance referring to me?"
"You see anyone else around here?"
Rei shook his head slowly, and the boy chuckled. His teeth glinted under the lights, further accentuating the unusual sharp points. 'Like a shark… ' Rei thought, immediately convinced that this man is the famous Matsuoka Rin.
"Go figure. Yea, I was talking about you, Speedo Glasses. So, you're the new kid Nagisa brought in?"
"It's Ryuugazaki Rei," the bespectacled boy corrected, annoyed with the horrendous nickname he'd just received. As if the constant –chan coming from Nagisa wasn't humiliating enough. "And yes, I am. Not a kid, that is, but the new swimming protégé or a young rising star, to put it simply."
"You're quite the funny guy," Rin said, clearly still amused with Rei's apparent confidence. "Your butterfly sucks, by the way. Easily the worst I've ever seen."
"I am aware, but that does not warrant you the right to rub it in my face. I will get better. With practice, hardwork and determination."
"You have the spirit. We'll see in the coming tournament," Rin muttered, falling into silence. Rei almost took it as a cue for him to leave when the boy suddenly asked, voice low and unsure. "How're they doing?"
"By they, you meant…"
"You know damn well who I meant," the Samezuka swimmer snapped. "Haru… Is he keeping in shape?"
Rei couldn't hide the surprise on his face. At first he contemplated on answering, worried that his replies would cause any more conflict between them, but alas, he settled for a vague response. "Better than you might think."
"And Makoto? Still looking like a giant lost kitten?"
"Well, I've never seen him in that light before, so I'm not sure… He's doing alright, I guess."
"I assume Nagisa is the usual 5-year old, then?" Rin asked, and the soft smile that bloomed for a split second on his face did not go undetected. Rei suddenly felt bad for the boy in front of him, and guilty for judging him without basis. Emotions are tough, Rei knew this from his readings; sometimes people tend to bottle things up inside and even when they care, they cannot convey their true feelings. Sometimes people say things they don't mean, do things they know might be wrong. 'Maybe Rin-chan-san is also having the same problem…' He nodded as a reply, and Rin let out a small sigh.
"Okay then," he said, gesturing towards the male toilet with a smirk on his previously sullen face. "Your speedo is in the third cubicle, by the way. Interesting choice of colours, I must say." Then he walked away, leaving behind a dumbstruck and horribly embarrassed Rei.
"Rin-chan-san!" The ex-pole vaulter shouted out (he purposely used the nickname to get back at Rin for calling him 'Speedo Glasses', what kind of name is that anyway?), but Rin did not turn around, merely stopping mid-step to listen. "What's your real intention for returning from Australia?"
Looking up at the cloudless blue sky, Rin clucked his tongue, squared his shoulders and proceeded to walk forward, offering only a single sentence.
"I have my reasons."
"Hmmm… Rei-chan sure is taking some time… I wonder what's holding him back," Nagisa said, kicking a pebble and watching it bounce once, twice, before landing in a small puddle on the sidewalk. It was raining while they were inside, and now that it had stopped, the grounds were covered with countless puddles of glistening water.
Haruka's cerulean eyes were fixed on a larger wet patch just next to his feet. "If he's not back in five, I will miss my date with Water-chan," he said.
"Haru, it's just a bath. You can take it later."
"No. You don't understand. Bath time is a special moment between us. It's more… private," Haruka retorted. His fellow teammates winced at the disturbing imagery the word gave. "If I'm late, Water might not want to accept me anymore."
"Haru, please."
"It's okay guys, let me go and look for Rei-chan!"
"Wait, Nagisa! You don't have to—" Gou tried to stop him, but before long, the breaststroke swimmer was already bolting back inside the school's compound. Both the Iwatobi captain and manager released a long sigh; they knew that the last thing you'd want is having someone search for another person in such a huge, unfamiliar place. Add a grumpy and angry Haruka to that equation, and Makoto could feel a strong headache coming through.
'Just another day in the life of an Iwatobi swim team member.'
"Rei-chan… Come on, pick up your phone…" Nagisa mumbled into his cell, searching high and low for his 'lost' boyfriend. Unfortunately, the boy had his phone on silent (Rei mentioned something about common courtesy and discipline during practice), which left Nagisa running around, eventually arriving at the sports complex again. Shoving his phone back in his pocket after a few failed attempts, he accidentally overheard a few voices talking.
"Did you see the Specs' swimsuit? I mean, I could tolerate that it's neon yellow, but the design…" The boy paused, then instantly erupting into unstoppable guffaws and chortles. "The design is just horrible! You noticed the stupid penguin on his butt?"
"Yeah, I wonder what was going through his mind when he bought it… Pfft—"
"He must be colour blind or something. Or maybe his taste is just that bad! Hahaha!"
Nagisa's eyes narrowed.
He turned around excruciatingly slow to face the still talking boys, carving a bright, innocent grin. He recognized them; they were at the joint practice earlier, the rowdy bunch of second-years always huddled together in a corner, possibly badmouthing others just like they were currently doing.
But of course, they'd chosen the wrong person to talk about this time.
The Samezuka boys saw him walking towards them but they didn't react, possibly passing him as harmless. What could a short, scrawny little kid who looked no different from a middle-schooler could do to them anyway? Throw a tantrum? Threaten to call the teacher?
Oh, how wrong could they be.
"He didn't buy it," Nagisa stated, sunshine smile dropping little by little. "I did."
And all hell broke loose.
Nagisa was not gonna lie; it felt fantastic to 'exercise' his knuckles a bit now and then.
It's been a long, long while since the last time he saw that look coming from people whose fates and lives hang from a single thread –it was the look of pure fear, the kind that a helpless deer portrays when its predator viciously sinks teeth into its neck. The boys weren't going to report him, Nagisa knew. Doing so would only exacerbate the blow their shattered prides received from getting battered by a seemingly wimpy swimmer from a rival school.
He hadn't done much actually, just left a couple of bruises here and there that're bound to turn an angry shade of purple tomorrow. Maybe a fracture or two.
He'd done a lot worse.
'So I haven't lost my touch after all. That's good to know. It still hurts a bit though…'
He returned to the gates after receiving a call seconds later from Mako-chan, saying that Rei's already back. They stopped by Iwatobi High for a short rest before returning to their own homes, Haruka glaring at everything and complaining about 'getting dumped' and 'late for date'.
"My apologies for holding you up, I encountered some… difficulties, along the way. That aside, Nagisa-kun, what's wrong with your hand?"
The blonde froze. Sometimes, having an extremely observant boyfriend had its shortcomings.
"Nothing, really! I just knocked into the wall, yeah… By the way! Rei-chan!" Nagisa exclaimed, hoping to distract him off his reddish fists. "You're free this Saturday?"
"Nagisa-kun… I have to do revision for the upcoming test, on top of studying and internalizing theories. You saw what happened during training just now, right? My dive was far from perfect. I'm not happy about that."
"If it's just the dive, leave it to me! I may look small, but my dive is powerful, you know!" The bubbly blonde coaxed, relentlessly tugging and latching onto Rei's arm like a hungry leech on a hiker's leg. "Come on… Let's go shop for some new swimsuit."
Upon hearing the proposition, Rei's ears perked up. "Well, that sounds productive, and I do have that planned in my agenda—"
"Oh, are you guys going shopping this Saturday?" Makoto suddenly cut in, warm gentle smile gracing his features. His still dripping hair suggested that he's fresh from the showers. "I'm glad! Haru and I also wanted to go, he's been complaining about the 'fit' of his swimming trunks all day—"
Makoto paused, noticing the look Nagisa was giving him. He knew his friends well -very well, in fact- and so could more or less read and distinguish the expressions they wear during conversations. Some he could even engage in a wordless, purely eye-contact based communication with, like Haru and on much rarer instances Nagisa. Currently, the chipper blonde was staring at him like he would a cone of strawberry gelato or a box of French fries, face scrunching up in disapproval. 'Mako-chan, don't come, don't come!'
So that's what the look was saying.
As sharp as ever, Makoto caught on.
"—buuuuuut maybe we can go on another day. Eheheh… Alright then, enjoy yourselves!" Makoto scratched the back of his neck and laughed awkwardly, giving friendly encouraging pats on his juniors' shoulders. Nagisa sneaked a thumbs up from behind an oblivious Rei's head, to which the olive-haired boy reciprocated with a knowing smile.
"So it's going to be just the two of us…" Rei muttered when Makoto-senpai was finally out of sight. He noticed that they're getting more and more 'alone time' these days; maybe they'd found out about the not-so-platonic love he and Nagisa shared?
'Oh no, are we being too obvious?!'
"Yaaaaay! It's a date, then!" Nagisa cheered, doing some sort of a happy dance that would surely look idiotic if performed by anyone other than him. He tiptoed to press a lingering kiss on Rei's lips, and through the playful nibbles, licks and soft sighs, somehow Rei found his arms winding around Nagisa's waist. A perfect fit, like always.
Rei had a feeling that that the 'date' had been the cheeky boy's plan all along, but still, his heart swelled at the prospect of spending a day with his… umm, his… lover.
'But a date… I've never had one before. What should I do?'