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Description
The rest of the day proceeded with a haze. _______ was left alone in the corridor to be discovered by Nagisa eventually. She was dragged off to watch the rest of the team compete in their heats. Sitting next to Gou she was struck silent, until she noticed everyone cheering on Makoto. She responded robotically, cheering on the gentle giant and the rest of the team later on.

After the disappointing end of the competition they all regrouped outside the venue. Standing on edge she surveyed the group's sour disposition, and waited for the awkward silence to end. Makoto smiled gently at her, as if to comfort her. She realized that Makoto was trying to lessen the tension and a sneaky blush rushed up to her cheeks. 'Makoto was too nice for his own good' she thought. He had just lost in his own heat, and the only thing he was thinking about were the feelings of those around him. It made her feel useless, not having anything to say to cheer the guys up. Instead she was stuck in a daze filled with Rin's lips, tongue and fingertips. She eventually shot Makoto an apologetic look before Gou finally broke the silence.
After Gou's surprise announcement everyone hurried over to Haruka's residence. On the way to his house she decided to finally kick her mind into overdrive, she had to try to help them. She felt useless, like she did when she first met Rin. She didn't know how to deal with his tantrums, he was always quick to push her away, but once he started to let her in she felt immense gratification. She had to give back to the group, especially after all they did for her. They had reunited her with Rin, and helped her understand him better. They also stood by her when she was weak and made things less lonely. Considering the situation, she felt like she owed them a great deal.

By the time Haruka had gotten home, everyone had left. Everyone, except Makoto. Haruka silently held up his phone up to his ear. He listened carefully to the voicemail on his phone. The swim team was urging him on to join the relay. He felt something stirring within him, his team's resilience knew no bounds. Just when he thought the voicemail had ended the silence was engulfed by ______'s voice.
"Nanase-kun. I know this matter has nothing to do with me, but I hope you hear me out. This is worth another shot."
Haruka's eyes widened and a thought instantly struck him. A gentle shadow of a smile drifted to his lips and he decided to wake Makoto up.

The phone had been ringing constantly for the past half-an-hour, and she couldn't get herself to stretch her hand and pick up the phone. She hid her face underneath the warmth of her blankets and struggled to ignore the shrill tone of her phone's ringtone. After a few moments of silence she sighed. Her peace was short-lived as the phone sprung to life once more. She groaned loudly before throwing off the blankets and grabbing her phone off the bedside table.
"Moshi moshi." she answered groggily.

"Ah! _______-san! I have been trying to get a hold of you. The boys are participating in the relay!" Gou's excited voice proclaimed.

"Seriously?! I'll head out as soon as I can and join you."

"Great! There isn't much time left so hurry up."

Hanging up the phone she hurriedly trotted to the bathroom to take a quick shower before heading out.

By the time she reached her destination, the relay race was about to start. She stood next to Gou, holding on to the railings tightly as she diligently cheered on the team. Her eyes were drifting across the crowd and her voice fell silent mid-cheer as she spotted Rin's stupefied face. For some reason it made her smile, it was an expression she rarely witnessed on his face and it reminded her of the fire within him that she cherished so much.
Once the team had claimed their victory, her voice was husky from all the shouting and a grin etched itself across her lips. She was walking to catch up to the team when suddenly Haruka blocked her way.
"O-oh Nanase-kun. Congratulations on your win."

"Do you still believe it is worth another shot?"

His question baffled her and she hesitated to reply. She instantly remembered her words from the night before. She had chosen those words as encouragement to the young swimmer, but she never thought he would realize the underlying desperation within them.

"Yes, I do." was her straightforward answer

He nodded determinedly. Their thoughts were conveyed easily and it shocked her, but it also brought a slight comfort.

"So do I." replied Haruka

A sudden silence transpired and she averted her gaze from Haruka's strong one. She felt her body stiffen up at the subject discussed, but tried to calm down at the rare words of encouragement that Haruka offered her.

"The water is alive, once you dive in it bares its fangs and attacks. Don't be afraid." Haruka stated randomly before walking back to the group.

As she walked home dejectedly, her thoughts wandered. She had failed to meet Rin after the relay race. There was so much she needed explained and the only one who could clear up all the misunderstandings was Rin. After their encounter the last time her thoughts were laced with images of his face, the heat in his eyes, the way he held her, and most importantly the way he had left her with no explanation for his actions. The pattern in the recent interactions with him was becoming obvious, he would react instantly to her and then leave with no explanation. Her heart almost exploded when his lips latched on to hers, but it was instantly crushed when he left her oozing against the wall and dashed off.
Haruka's words echoed in her mind. The words themselves wouldn't mean anything in relation to the situation, but Haruka was elusive. Suddenly she found herself standing in front of her room's locked door. She had made her way into her house without noticing. She walked into her room and dumped her belongings on the bed before heading to the bathroom. She stared at herself in the mirror, clearly seeing her reflection, but her mind could not comprehend or realize her surroundings. She was starting to feel completely out of it and started to freak out. In her rush to awaken her slumbering consciousness she decided to draw herself a relaxing herbal bath.

The steam that was rising off the surface of the water in her bathtub lulled her into a sedated state and she eased herself into the hot water. As she lay half submerged, her aching muscles unfurling she glossed over Haruka's words. Why they had affected her this much was a mystery but she could feel a certain importance emitted from them.
Without noticing she started to mumble the words over and over again. In her hazed state she pictured Rin's face and her muscled clenched unwillingly. She could feel the warm water holding her captive, her emotions floating around her and suffocating her slowly. Lazily she leaned back and submerged her upper half in the water. After a few minutes her lunges began to scream for oxygen and she burst through the water with realization.
Her love shouldn't be feared, she should embrace it and let it submerge her in honesty.
Her lips spread into an all-knowing smirk and she relished in the surprising comfort her senpai had given her.

She was never one for festivals, too many people for her taste. To her surprise she agreed to go, once her classmate Matsuoka Gou suggested a visit to the Hachiman festival.
It had been a long time since she thought of wearing a yukata, but she couldn't back out now after she promised her friends that she would also wear one. Her mother had laid the yukata out on her bed. It was a simple one, more mature than the ones she used to wear when she was younger. It was a calm navy blue, surrounded by a pale pink cherry blossom pattern.
She stared at her reflection in the mirror, her (h/l) (h/c) tresses were swept up in a simple up-do that was held in place by an elegant hair ornament. She looked much different than usual, and it made her feel quite giddy. After she heard a few knocks on the door she rushed to head out with her friends.

Once in the festival she became mesmerized by all the lights. There were many people around, groups of children, families, and highschoolers were drifting around the different array of stalls at the festival. The crowd didn't seem to bother her as much, the atmosphere distracted her from everything that had been going on. She kept close to Gou and her friend; Chigusa. While wandering around they bumped into the swim club boys.
"Oh, you're all here!" greeted Gou

"Ah Gou-chan, _________-chan." answered Nagisa

"H-hello." intercepted Chigusa

"You're all wearing a yukata." observed Nagisa

"You look cute." stated Makoto

Her face instantly went red with obvious embarrassment, but thanks to some force out there Chigusa interrupted the awkward exchange.
"You mean our yukata?"

"Not exactly." replied Makoto sheepishly while scratching the back of his head.

All three girls burst into a fit of giggles, but then after a few exchange of words they separated with the group of boys.
They wandered the festival stalls and participated in a few events before _________ grew a little tired.

"You guys, my feet hurt a little from all the walking so I'm going to take a break. I'll catch up with you in a bit."

"Okay, just give us a call and we'll tell you where to meet us." answered Gou

The two girls made their way through the festival as ________ wandered around trying to find a place to rest for a while. During her search she spotted Nagisa, Makoto and Haruka and shuffled her way to the group.

"Oh _________-chan, why aren't you with the girls?" asked Nagisa

"I got a little tired from all the walking so I decided to take a break."

"You're welcomed to stay with us if you want." offered Makoto with a gentle smile on his face

She nodded shyly in acceptance. A comfortable silence drifted around them and she breathed a sigh of relief.
As Haruka was talking with two little boys she noticed Nagisa whispering to Makoto. She unintentionally heard Nagisa mention Rin being in the festival, and turned to the two boys wide eyed.

"R-rin is h-"

She was instantly cut off by Nagisa as he covered her lips with his palm. He held up his finger to his lips to indicate for her to keep quiet.

"We don't want Haru-chan to know so Rei is following him right now." whispered Nagisa

"R-rei?" she questioned

"Yes, he last spotted him near the park in the third district." replied Nagisa

"We think he might be going to our old elementary school." supplied Makoto

"Do you think it's okay if I go see him? I-I mean it could also help distract him but there's a few things I need to talk to him about." she asked determinedly

"I guess it could help." answered Nagisa as Makoto nodded softly in agreement

"I need to go, but I'll try to catch up with you guys later." she stated loudly to the group of boys.

It caught Haruka's attention and he turned to her and nodded. The boys waved at her while she haphazardly walked away.

She dragged her feet as fast as she could to catch up with Rin as fast as possible. Her mind was running with questions she wanted to ask him and she tried to organize her thoughts to no avail.
She eventually spotted Rin standing at a fence separating him from the school grounds. He had his fingers curled around the wire fence, his body stiff. She had wanted to run instantly to him, but she hesitantly stopped in her tracks to observe him. His expression was conflicted and her chest constricted at the sight. For no apparent reason all the questions in her head disappeared and left behind one simple realization. The one she loved was just as conflicted as she was, she had to put into consideration everything he was going through. She didn't have any direct information about what was going on, but she pieced things together from what she heard from his childhood friends.

She quietly made her way towards him and tapped his shoulder gently, he obviously flinched before turning towards her. His eyes were glazed as he stared at her, surprised by her sudden appearance. Before he could question her she cupped his face in her shaking hands. She stood on her toes so she could reach him and closed her eyes before she sealed her lips against his in a tender kiss. She tried to convey all her feelings of support in the kiss, and hoped that it could make him understand. After they separated their eyes instantly locked and they stood silently. She ran her teeth over her bottom lip in mild worry before finally grinning sweetly, her cheeks a little flushed. She suddenly started to make her way back to the festival. Rin called out to her, but she only turned around slightly and smirked before breaking into a run.

She felt all her inhibitions start to drain from her. Her heard filled to the brim with all the love she had. She made up her mind, she would wait until he was ready to accept her feelings. She couldn't keep rushing things, and she knew his answer will come to her when the time is right.

What she had failed to notice was that Rei had seen the exchange between her and Rin.

Description
The rest of the day proceeded with a haze. _______ was left alone in the corridor to be discovered by Nagisa eventually. She was dragged off to watch the rest of the team compete in their heats. Sitting next to Gou she was struck silent, until she noticed everyone cheering on Makoto. She responded robotically, cheering on the gentle giant and the rest of the team later on.

After the disappointing end of the competition they all regrouped outside the venue. Standing on edge she surveyed the group's sour disposition, and waited for the awkward silence to end. Makoto smiled gently at her, as if to comfort her. She realized that Makoto was trying to lessen the tension and a sneaky blush rushed up to her cheeks. 'Makoto was too nice for his own good' she thought. He had just lost in his own heat, and the only thing he was thinking about were the feelings of those around him. It made her feel useless, not having anything to say to cheer the guys up. Instead she was stuck in a daze filled with Rin's lips, tongue and fingertips. She eventually shot Makoto an apologetic look before Gou finally broke the silence.
After Gou's surprise announcement everyone hurried over to Haruka's residence. On the way to his house she decided to finally kick her mind into overdrive, she had to try to help them. She felt useless, like she did when she first met Rin. She didn't know how to deal with his tantrums, he was always quick to push her away, but once he started to let her in she felt immense gratification. She had to give back to the group, especially after all they did for her. They had reunited her with Rin, and helped her understand him better. They also stood by her when she was weak and made things less lonely. Considering the situation, she felt like she owed them a great deal.

By the time Haruka had gotten home, everyone had left. Everyone, except Makoto. Haruka silently held up his phone up to his ear. He listened carefully to the voicemail on his phone. The swim team was urging him on to join the relay. He felt something stirring within him, his team's resilience knew no bounds. Just when he thought the voicemail had ended the silence was engulfed by ______'s voice.
"Nanase-kun. I know this matter has nothing to do with me, but I hope you hear me out. This is worth another shot."
Haruka's eyes widened and a thought instantly struck him. A gentle shadow of a smile drifted to his lips and he decided to wake Makoto up.

The phone had been ringing constantly for the past half-an-hour, and she couldn't get herself to stretch her hand and pick up the phone. She hid her face underneath the warmth of her blankets and struggled to ignore the shrill tone of her phone's ringtone. After a few moments of silence she sighed. Her peace was short-lived as the phone sprung to life once more. She groaned loudly before throwing off the blankets and grabbing her phone off the bedside table.
"Moshi moshi." she answered groggily.

"Ah! _______-san! I have been trying to get a hold of you. The boys are participating in the relay!" Gou's excited voice proclaimed.

"Seriously?! I'll head out as soon as I can and join you."

"Great! There isn't much time left so hurry up."

Hanging up the phone she hurriedly trotted to the bathroom to take a quick shower before heading out.

By the time she reached her destination, the relay race was about to start. She stood next to Gou, holding on to the railings tightly as she diligently cheered on the team. Her eyes were drifting across the crowd and her voice fell silent mid-cheer as she spotted Rin's stupefied face. For some reason it made her smile, it was an expression she rarely witnessed on his face and it reminded her of the fire within him that she cherished so much.
Once the team had claimed their victory, her voice was husky from all the shouting and a grin etched itself across her lips. She was walking to catch up to the team when suddenly Haruka blocked her way.
"O-oh Nanase-kun. Congratulations on your win."

"Do you still believe it is worth another shot?"

His question baffled her and she hesitated to reply. She instantly remembered her words from the night before. She had chosen those words as encouragement to the young swimmer, but she never thought he would realize the underlying desperation within them.

"Yes, I do." was her straightforward answer

He nodded determinedly. Their thoughts were conveyed easily and it shocked her, but it also brought a slight comfort.

"So do I." replied Haruka

A sudden silence transpired and she averted her gaze from Haruka's strong one. She felt her body stiffen up at the subject discussed, but tried to calm down at the rare words of encouragement that Haruka offered her.

"The water is alive, once you dive in it bares its fangs and attacks. Don't be afraid." Haruka stated randomly before walking back to the group.

As she walked home dejectedly, her thoughts wandered. She had failed to meet Rin after the relay race. There was so much she needed explained and the only one who could clear up all the misunderstandings was Rin. After their encounter the last time her thoughts were laced with images of his face, the heat in his eyes, the way he held her, and most importantly the way he had left her with no explanation for his actions. The pattern in the recent interactions with him was becoming obvious, he would react instantly to her and then leave with no explanation. Her heart almost exploded when his lips latched on to hers, but it was instantly crushed when he left her oozing against the wall and dashed off.
Haruka's words echoed in her mind. The words themselves wouldn't mean anything in relation to the situation, but Haruka was elusive. Suddenly she found herself standing in front of her room's locked door. She had made her way into her house without noticing. She walked into her room and dumped her belongings on the bed before heading to the bathroom. She stared at herself in the mirror, clearly seeing her reflection, but her mind could not comprehend or realize her surroundings. She was starting to feel completely out of it and started to freak out. In her rush to awaken her slumbering consciousness she decided to draw herself a relaxing herbal bath.

The steam that was rising off the surface of the water in her bathtub lulled her into a sedated state and she eased herself into the hot water. As she lay half submerged, her aching muscles unfurling she glossed over Haruka's words. Why they had affected her this much was a mystery but she could feel a certain importance emitted from them.
Without noticing she started to mumble the words over and over again. In her hazed state she pictured Rin's face and her muscled clenched unwillingly. She could feel the warm water holding her captive, her emotions floating around her and suffocating her slowly. Lazily she leaned back and submerged her upper half in the water. After a few minutes her lunges began to scream for oxygen and she burst through the water with realization.
Her love shouldn't be feared, she should embrace it and let it submerge her in honesty.
Her lips spread into an all-knowing smirk and she relished in the surprising comfort her senpai had given her.

She was never one for festivals, too many people for her taste. To her surprise she agreed to go, once her classmate Matsuoka Gou suggested a visit to the Hachiman festival.
It had been a long time since she thought of wearing a yukata, but she couldn't back out now after she promised her friends that she would also wear one. Her mother had laid the yukata out on her bed. It was a simple one, more mature than the ones she used to wear when she was younger. It was a calm navy blue, surrounded by a pale pink cherry blossom pattern.
She stared at her reflection in the mirror, her (h/l) (h/c) tresses were swept up in a simple up-do that was held in place by an elegant hair ornament. She looked much different than usual, and it made her feel quite giddy. After she heard a few knocks on the door she rushed to head out with her friends.

Once in the festival she became mesmerized by all the lights. There were many people around, groups of children, families, and highschoolers were drifting around the different array of stalls at the festival. The crowd didn't seem to bother her as much, the atmosphere distracted her from everything that had been going on. She kept close to Gou and her friend; Chigusa. While wandering around they bumped into the swim club boys.
"Oh, you're all here!" greeted Gou

"Ah Gou-chan, _________-chan." answered Nagisa

"H-hello." intercepted Chigusa

"You're all wearing a yukata." observed Nagisa

"You look cute." stated Makoto

Her face instantly went red with obvious embarrassment, but thanks to some force out there Chigusa interrupted the awkward exchange.
"You mean our yukata?"

"Not exactly." replied Makoto sheepishly while scratching the back of his head.

All three girls burst into a fit of giggles, but then after a few exchange of words they separated with the group of boys.
They wandered the festival stalls and participated in a few events before _________ grew a little tired.

"You guys, my feet hurt a little from all the walking so I'm going to take a break. I'll catch up with you in a bit."

"Okay, just give us a call and we'll tell you where to meet us." answered Gou

The two girls made their way through the festival as ________ wandered around trying to find a place to rest for a while. During her search she spotted Nagisa, Makoto and Haruka and shuffled her way to the group.

"Oh _________-chan, why aren't you with the girls?" asked Nagisa

"I got a little tired from all the walking so I decided to take a break."

"You're welcomed to stay with us if you want." offered Makoto with a gentle smile on his face

She nodded shyly in acceptance. A comfortable silence drifted around them and she breathed a sigh of relief.
As Haruka was talking with two little boys she noticed Nagisa whispering to Makoto. She unintentionally heard Nagisa mention Rin being in the festival, and turned to the two boys wide eyed.

"R-rin is h-"

She was instantly cut off by Nagisa as he covered her lips with his palm. He held up his finger to his lips to indicate for her to keep quiet.

"We don't want Haru-chan to know so Rei is following him right now." whispered Nagisa

"R-rei?" she questioned

"Yes, he last spotted him near the park in the third district." replied Nagisa

"We think he might be going to our old elementary school." supplied Makoto

"Do you think it's okay if I go see him? I-I mean it could also help distract him but there's a few things I need to talk to him about." she asked determinedly

"I guess it could help." answered Nagisa as Makoto nodded softly in agreement

"I need to go, but I'll try to catch up with you guys later." she stated loudly to the group of boys.

It caught Haruka's attention and he turned to her and nodded. The boys waved at her while she haphazardly walked away.

She dragged her feet as fast as she could to catch up with Rin as fast as possible. Her mind was running with questions she wanted to ask him and she tried to organize her thoughts to no avail.
She eventually spotted Rin standing at a fence separating him from the school grounds. He had his fingers curled around the wire fence, his body stiff. She had wanted to run instantly to him, but she hesitantly stopped in her tracks to observe him. His expression was conflicted and her chest constricted at the sight. For no apparent reason all the questions in her head disappeared and left behind one simple realization. The one she loved was just as conflicted as she was, she had to put into consideration everything he was going through. She didn't have any direct information about what was going on, but she pieced things together from what she heard from his childhood friends.

She quietly made her way towards him and tapped his shoulder gently, he obviously flinched before turning towards her. His eyes were glazed as he stared at her, surprised by her sudden appearance. Before he could question her she cupped his face in her shaking hands. She stood on her toes so she could reach him and closed her eyes before she sealed her lips against his in a tender kiss. She tried to convey all her feelings of support in the kiss, and hoped that it could make him understand. After they separated their eyes instantly locked and they stood silently. She ran her teeth over her bottom lip in mild worry before finally grinning sweetly, her cheeks a little flushed. She suddenly started to make her way back to the festival. Rin called out to her, but she only turned around slightly and smirked before breaking into a run.

She felt all her inhibitions start to drain from her. Her heard filled to the brim with all the love she had. She made up her mind, she would wait until he was ready to accept her feelings. She couldn't keep rushing things, and she knew his answer will come to her when the time is right.

What she had failed to notice was that Rei had seen the exchange between her and Rin.