Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Today is the day. It was only a week into your second year of high school, and you are moving from a prestigious, all girls academy in Tokyo to Iwatobi High School. You loved your old school. No, you didn’t love it. You loved the pool. That pool was the best you had ever swam in. You missed outdoor pools a bit, unfortunately there was no room for things like that in the heart of the city. It was a bother at first, but eventually you had grown used to the city and now it was time to go back to a small town type of scene. If that wasn’t bad enough, it would be the first time in a few years you would be at a girl AND boy school. Boys were a weakness for you. It was like they speak different language. You just freeze up or start rambling on about random things. It was a new school with no friends and you was going to be completely alone . . . or so you thought.

Since your dad was stuck doing business in another country, you had to move houses and unpack by yourself. He was going to be away for a few months, so you had to set up and settle into the house alone. It wasn’t the best situation, but you were used to it with the frequent moves your family makes. Although the moves have always been in Japan, you still have a difficult time adjusting. Swimming was the only thing you had everywhere you went. Whether it was an ocean or a pool, hell, you would settle for a bath if you were desperate enough, you loved the water.

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You set the last of the boxes in the living room of your new house and the giant moving truck pulls away. You walk into the entrance and almost shut the door, when you hear someone yelling in the distance. You turn around and see a tall guy with two small children running close behind him.

“Wait!” he yelled. You got a better look at the guy as he got closer. He was about six feet tall with a muscular build. “Hold on!” He ran up to the door, panting shallow breaths and slouched slightly over as the kids behind him got to the door. He stood up at full height, the sun brushing over his dusty brown hair. You could see a rose blush start to grow on his cheeks as he started talking. He was frozen looking at you. The way your eyes glimmered with the light and your hair framed your face. You looked pretty, no, you looked beautiful.

“H-hi, my younger siblings,” he gestured towards towards the two small kids behind him and they gave a small wave to you, “they saw the moving truck pull away and they wanted to see who was moving in. The house has been on the market for a pretty long time.” He chuckled slightly and ran his right hand through his hair, allowing the light to glisten in his emerald eyes. “Anyway, this is-”

“ONII-CHAN!!! I want to introduce myself!” The little girl stepped forward, brushing her dark brown hair out of her face and looked up at you. “I’m Tachibana Ran! And this is my brother-”

“No, Ran! I am introducing myself, too!” The little boy’s brown eyes glared at her intensely and he slapped her hand away.

“Don’t hit me! ONII-CHAN GET HIM TO STOP IT!”

“Why don’t you get me to stop yourself!” They continued arguing with each other with an occasional slap to the arm and a small yelp.

“Sorry about them.” The guy looked at you again, smiling. “They do this a lot. Oh! I almost forgot, I’m Tachibana Makoto.” He looked at you as if he was waiting for you to say something, but you were lost staring at him.

“Uh, sorry, I’m (L/N, F/N)” You smiled genuinely at him.

“I AM TACHIBANA REN!” The little boy maneuvered himself away from Ran and offers his hand for you to shake. You lightly shook his tiny hand. He then turned around and stuck his tongue out at Ran.

“Stop it, Ren!” she squealed.

“Race you to our house!” Ren shouted as he sprinted down the street, his sister not far behind.

“I should probably go after them. It was nice to meet you (L/N)-san. I hope I see you again soon.” He walked backwards a few steps and almost tripped over a rock. You started giggling as a heavy blush erupted on his face while he gained his balance. He nervously laughed it off as he walked away, turning around this time.

“Bye, nice to meet you too, Tachibana-kun.” You waved, even though they couldn’t see you and walked into your new house. You shut the door completely and leaned back against it, slowly sliding yourself into a sitting position. You sat for a moment and thought. Maybe Iwatobi wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Chapter Text

Today is the day. It is your first day going to Iwatobi High School. You were a little skeptical of the uniforms, but the skirts here had at least an inch extra compared to the ones in Tokyo. You had moved here later than expected and you are starting school a week late. Speaking of late, you should have left five minutes ago to the school. No, no, no! I can’t be late on my first day. You thought as you ran out the door, desperately hoping you had enough time to get there. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t a good start to the day. At least you can look forward to swimming after school in what you hoped to be a giant indoor pool. You could see it now, air conditioning for summer and heating for the winter, the light blue water lay smooth, it called to be swimmed in. Then the crush of reality set in. You had no idea if the school had a swim club, let alone a pool, but you hoped for the best.

You sprinted down the streets and rushed passed the stores and you arrived at the school with only a minute to spare. You huffed as you slowed your pace to a walk. You headed into the teacher facility and asked for some help. A woman walked up to you and stared.

“Excuse me, I am (L/N) F/N). I just moved here and I have no idea where I am going.” You said politely and bowed slightly.

“No need to worry. We can get someone down here to help you. I’ll call a student down here right now.” You sat there for about five minutes and finally a girl with scarlet hair walked through the door.

“I’m sorry for keeping you for so long. I’m Matsuoka Gou, but I prefer Kou. I am a first year here, but I know the school so we should be fine.” She flipped her long red ponytail to behind her shoulder and smiled gracefully. You stood up from the seat and introduced yourself.

“I’m (L/N) (F/N), but you can call me (F/N). I’m a second year.” Together the two of you walked out of teacher area and into the empty hall. Kou was confident she knew the way and started with the bottom floor. She showed you all the rooms and the next thing you knew you were in a strange hallway.

“Kou? Do you know where we are?” She turned around. Her face looked almost offended at your comment.

“Uh- Ya. I mean yes, of course I do. We are uhhh.” She did a full circle turning around and looked back at you. As soon as you made eye contact, she quickly glanced away and a dust of pink blush appeared on her cheeks. She couldn’t help not blushing while looking at you. There was something about the way you smiled and looked at her that she loved. “W-We are on the second floor right next to classroom 2-1.” She still avoided eye contact as she continued to move around you to show you the entrance. “This is your class. I-uh- do you have a phone?”

“Oh, ya-uh- here.” You pulled out your phone and unlocked it. Kou grabbed the phone from you and a finger brushed past you hand. You didn’t notice how her blush darkened and she smiled a little more. Kou looked down at your phone, trying to hide her blush and smile as she entered in her number.

“I have to go now, but if you need anything just text me.” She winked and skipped down the hall. You didn’t think much of the situation. Maybe she was just really cheery. You shrugged it off and opened the door to your new class.

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You stepped into the room not knowing what to expect. A woman looked at you for a moment before giving an enthusiastic smile. You smiled back and looked around the room at your new classmates when your mouth falls open. Is that Tachibana-kun? No, it can’t be. He would be a third year, right? You look around some more, trying to avoid staring at the Tachibana lookalike.

“Ahh, you must be our new student, (L/N F/N). I’m Amakata Miho, your new homeroom teacher. Nice to meet you!” She seemed like a good teacher. “Here take a seat by Tachibana Makoto.” Okay, so that is Tachibana-kun. That’s slightly more reassuring than an alien doppelganger. You nodded at the teacher and walked back to the open seat. Makoto smiled as you sat down. Being polite you smile back. Your smile was fascinating. He wished he could see it all the time. You sat in the seat and noticed the boy next to Makoto was staring at you. He had raven hair and eyes like crystallized water. You thought Makoto was the most attractive guy in the school, but he might be tied with this fella.

After examining the rest of the people in the class, you decided it would probably best if you started taking notes. You were already a week late into the school year, you couldn't miss anymore time. Eventually, the bell rang and you could not be happier. Your hand was cramping from all the notes you took. You looked at the time and noticed it was lunch. Another plus. You were starving. You reached in your bag to grab your lunch, or what you had found laying around the house. All you had was a small container of water, an apple, and “tuna” in a can. Makoto moved his desk over to Haruka’s and pulled out a lunch of his own.

A girl from your class walked over and asked to sit with you. Of course you couldn’t say no and you needed to meet some new people, right? I mean it’s not like you were going to stay here long anyway. What’s the point of a new friend when you move every year? The girl stared at you and pouted a bit with worry of why you were not responding.

“Sure.” You said and she eagerly sat down.

“Hi, I’m Ozaki Kimiko. I know you’re new here, but that’s fine. The people here are really nice and . . .” Her voice started to drift off as you still looked around. You turned back and your eyes caught with the raven haired boy’s. You two stared for a few moments before he broke the contact and said something to Makoto. You leaned a little back so you could hear what he was saying.

“Yes, I understand, but why is she staring at me?” The raven boy said, his face in a total deadpan.

“Maybe she thinks you’re cute.” Makoto says turning around and smiling at you. You’re face turned bright red and you tried to turn away fast enough that they wouldn't notice, but you couldn’t move.

“AHHHH! (L/N)-chan, you are blushing so hard.” Kimiko squeals as she talks. You finally unfreeze and slam your head on the desk in embarrassment. “Do you like them? I mean they are really cute, but Nanase-kun doesn’t talk much. Oh c’mon! Are you trying to be invisible?”

“Would that work?” You muttered under your breath and Kimiko kept rambling on.

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It felt like forever before school ended. You were just happy the school day was over. You wouldn’t have to deal with today’s embarrassment unless you talked to those guys again. Simple solution: avoid them at all costs. You grabbed your things and headed out the door. As you were about the walk down the stairs you saw a bulletin board. All the clubs had posters, so swim club had to be there somewhere. You scanned every poster again and again, but there was no swim club. How was that possible! There are so many kids at your school at least one should have thought, Hey, let's make a swim club! You looked again at the board, hoping that you just overlooked it. Reality sunk deep into your heart. How would you live without a swim club? As if it couldn’t get worse, you stuff dropped on the ground. You desperately tried to pick it up and someone kneeled down to help you. You looked at the kid. He was shorter than you, with shaggy blonde hair and giant pink eyes. Not another first year, please not another first year. He picked up the remaining paper and stood up. He stared at you for a moment before blatantly checking you out.

“You perv!” You almost screamed as you grabbed the papers back. “Why are you staring at me like that?” All he did was lift his finger and start to speak.

“Hello there, I’m Hazuki Nagisa.”

“You didn’t answer my question.” He completely blew of your comment and continued speaking.

“You look like you want to join the swim club. Well, it’s not really a club yet, but we are getting there. Do you know how to swim? You have a swimmer’s body, so you should be able too.”

“Uhhh-” You didn’t know if you should flattered or creeped out by what he was saying.

“That doesn’t matter. If you don’t, we can teach you!” He grabbed your hand and pulled you down the stairs. “We have two other members in the club, besides me. Oh, I forgot to ask who you are!” He stopped dragging you and turned to face you.

“I’m (L/N F/N). I’m a second year.”

“That’s great! The other two on the team are second years, too. You guys will be best friends.” You had a few moments to breath before he dragged you along, this time picking up the pace even more. Nagisa eventually stopped at a grassy patch in the school’s yard. “Guys! I found someone to help with the swim club!” You looked over at the other guys and let out a sigh of disappointment. Your day could not get worse. Haruka and Makoto sat there on the grass and looked back at you. Makoto’s cheeks tinted a light pink and Haruka just sat there.

“Okay, so this is (L/N F/N), but you can call her (F/N). Right (F/N)?” Nagisa was bursting with excitement as he spoke. You didn’t realize he was still holding your hand until he squeezed it, waiting for your answer.

“Yeah.” You let go of Nagisa’s hand, but you were and still looking at the guys and mentally cringed at what had happened earlier today.

“She is not joining the swim club.” Haruka said to you, although he was looking away. You glared at him with a look that could kill.

“Haru, you can’t just say that.” Makoto sighed. Haru was definitely one to speak his mind, but why could you not join? What was his issue with you? Was it because you’re a girl? Did he think you couldn’t swim? You were the best butterfly swimmer at your old academy. Best.

“It’s obvious that Nagisa just drug her here against her will. She probably can’t even swim.” Haru looked up at you, “You can leave now.” He looked back down at the ground.

“No, I’m here for swim.” You confidently said. You were going to show that guy who could swim.

“Haru, stop that.” Makoto scolded him and then stood up, looking at you. “That’s great. We actually don’t have a club yet, or a pool, but we can work that out later.” Nagisa grabbed you and bubbled over in excitement.

“(Y/N)! You should come with us to our old swim club!” You were going to say no, but his adorable puppy dog eyes were something created by angels. Before you knew it, you found yourself blurting out the words.

“Sure.” Oh, no. What did you just get yourself into. Nagisa just tilted his head and smiled. He acted as if he knew you couldn’t refuse his glance.

“Great! We should go tonight! We can stop at Haru’s first and then go from there.” Nagisa said, still holding onto you hands. You tried to smile. How did you fall for the puppy dog pout? Of all the things to fall for. You looked over at other guys. This was such a bad idea. If your dad knew, you would be in so much trouble. Luckily, you dad wasn’t here and you were able to make your own decisions. Makoto grabbed his stuff and glanced at you.

“You’re coming along right?” He looked so cute. “Only if you want. You don’t have to.” Ugh, he looked like he was actually worried you would say no, which made him look cuter.

“Yeah-I mean yes,” You could feel the burn in your cheeks. You seriously need to learn to talk to boys. Haru stood up and started heading out. Makoto and Nagisa walked ahead, but Haru stayed behind with you.

“You shouldn’t join swim.” He didn’t even look at you as he said it. His eyes were locked at the horizon while he walked straight ahead. Obviously, having no idea where you were going, you had to follow. “You feel like you have to because Nagisa wants you, but you don’t.” Your hands clenched into fists.

“Nanase-san, what is your deal with me joining? I love swimming and I’m going to join, but why do you keep trying to stop me?”

“Don’t call me that.” He still faced forward with an emotionless face.

“What do I call you then?” He thought for a moment before speaking.

“Call me Haru.” You looked at him, but yet again he wasn’t looking at you. You looked up and realized Makoto and Nagisa had stopped to wait for you two. The four of you walked up to Haru’s house and he unlocked the door. You followed the three of them to the kitchen and stood there awkwardly. What am I doing here? I am at the house of a kid I met today, with two other guys I barely know. Makoto told you to sit down at the table while Nagisa and Makoto got stuff out. Haru, on the other hand, was cooking. At first, you were fine, but then Makoto pulled out a shovel and you started rethinking this whole situation.

“Tachibana-san?” He looked over at you, still holding the shovel in his hand.

“Yeah?”

“Why do you have a shovel?” your voice wavered a bit, scared of the response. I just met these people and they have a shovel. A big shovel. The type of shovel murderers use. Did they lure me here to kill me? No, they seem nice and kind, or is that a mask. Maybe they are using me as a cover! What am I thinking? That is completely irrational. They must have a logical reason as to why they have a shovel that isn’t like the first five minutes of criminal minds.

“Nagisa wanted us to go to our old swim club to dig up a time capsule.” Makoto looked sweetly towards you with a light smile. I think I would be fine even if he was a murderer. Wait, did that sound as weird as it did in my head? I’m getting too flustered. UGHHH I should just go now before this gets worse.

“I think that I should go.” you said shyly. Nagisa appeared around the corner, he looked like he was going to cry.

“Why are you leaving, (Y/N)-san?” Makoto questioned. To be honest you didn’t have a real answer. You just couldn’t do it. There was a bad feeling looming around the idea and you knew if your dad found out, he would kill you. Literally kill you.

“I just have too much unpacking to do and school work to make up for the week I missed.” You tried to make it sound as honest as possible. Nagisa put on his puppy dog eyes again and you had to shut your eyes completely to avoid the power of his stare.

“Oh, that’s fine. Uh- do you know how to get home?” Makoto asked with a concerned look on his even more concerned face. Did you know how to get home? Most of the time walking there was filled with anger and confusion toward Haru, not taking in the sights.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. No need to worry.” You forced a smile onto your face and started to turn around.

“Wait! Um-do you have your phone on you?” Makoto stared at the ground, avoiding eye contact at all costs as his face lit up like a tomato. “You should text me-ah- no, I meant like if you get lost you can-uh-text me and I can help you get home.” He looked so cute when he was flustered. He ran his hand through his hair and, finally, looked at your face. You just stared at him for a bit before realizing that you had to respond.

“OH! Ya-I mean yes, it’s in my pocket!” You tried to take out your phone but you couldn’t get your fingers to work properly. You couldn’t control how much of an idiot you looked like no matter what you did and, to make things worse, Makoto let out a muffled laugh.

“Here, I’ll get it for you” Makoto reached down to the pocket and took out the phone. He was so sweet. He was an angel from heaven. Are angels even real? Who cares, they are now because there is one right in front of you, adding his contact into your phone. It took a minute to realize that he was handing your phone back to you and waiting for you to take it.

“Yeah, thank you. I have to-I’ll get-uh- I’ll go now.” You were staring right into his eyes as you mumbled out the words. You turned around to head out the door, hoping your face wasn’t as red as it felt.

“Just text me if you need anything.” Makoto said softly.

“WAIT!” Nagisa yelled as he ran up to you. “You forgot your hug!” Suddenly, he pressed himself onto you, squeezing you tightly and, of course, you put your arms around him too. After a moment, he slowly drifted his hand from the top of your back down. You could feel one hand lay of the small of your back and your face exploded with embarrassment.

“Nagisa, she has to go!” Makoto called from the other room. Nagisa broke out of the hug and looked at you with his gigantic pink eyes as he spoke.

“I’ll see you soon, (Y/N)” He smiled innocently, waved, and walked into the room with the other guys. You were still flustered at what had just happened, but decided to shake it off. Maybe, Nagisa was just friendly. Really friendly. You opened the door and walked out. The sun was starting to set and the vibrant colors painted themselves across the view of the horizon. It was starting to get dark and was a bit chilly for the time of year, so you decided to pick up the pace of your walking. After all, who knows what you would see if you were out here too late. You kept walking until you heard something behind you and you started sprinting. What am I doing? I can’t be afraid of monsters in the dark! It’s my second year of highschool and I am running from my imagination. Ignoring the negativity of your thoughts, you continued running. After a few minutes, you turned your head to look behind you while you kept running and crashed into something.

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You open your eyes and see a hot guy below you. Your eyes widen as you realize the position you’re in. There you were, lying on a guy you don’t even know. Your day couldn’t get any worse. There is a scary looking shark boy below you, and he isn’t happy.

Chapter Text

Today is the day you are going to be mugged, or beaten, or forced to join a gang. You had no idea what was going to happen, but you were sure of one thing, it wouldn’t be pretty.

“What the hell?” the red haired boy below you groaned as he tried to push you off of him, “Get off me, idiot.” He pushed your shoulder, rolling you onto your back. The boy stood up, as you laid there, still in a slight state of shock from the impact. You got up and the boy started to walk away in the opposite direction.

“Hey! Aren’t you going to apologize for pushing me?” You ran up and stopped him.

“What are you talking about? It was your fault. You ran into me.” His red eyes glared at you.

“Was not!” You shouted standing on your tippy toes for intimidation purposes.

“Are you looking for a fight?” he growled back and shoved past you.

“Maybe I am,” You caught up to him again and grabbed his collar, pulling him down to your height, “And I’ll win.”

“Whatever,” he said yanking away from you yet again, “I’m not going to fight a chubby 12-year-old boy.” This time he started to jog away.

Did he just call me a 12-year-old boy? I am NOT a 12-year-old boy! I have boobs, real boobs. If anything he looks like a 12-year-old boy! God, he is an asshole. I hope I never have to see him again.

After you spent an unsettling amount of time talking to yourself, you decide to head home and sleep off the rest of your anger.

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You woke up to the sound of your alarm. You reached over and shut off the blaring noise before checking your phone. You had 200 messages from a new group made up of you, Makoto, and two unknown numbers. Well, the chat was called “Fish Friends”, so you could assume the two numbers were those of Haru and Nagisa. You didn’t have the energy to read the messages at the moment, so you got up and proceeded to get ready for school first. After putting on your uniform and eating what little food you had in your fridge, you grabbed your phone and walked out the door.

“Hey, (F/N), I was just about to ring the doorbell.” Makoto stood a few feet from your door and looked at at the ground. “Did you want to walk to school together with Haru and I?” You didn’t even notice Haru standing at the edge of the walkway before Makoto mentioned him. Makoto looked up and smiled at you. God, that smile was impossible to say no too.

“Sure.” You said grabbing his arm and pulling him down the path towards Haru. You and Makoto talked for a majority of the trip, but Haru didn’t say a word. Occasionally, you would catch him staring at you, but he never actually talked.

Once you got to school, you separated yourself from Haru and Makoto. It wasn't that you didn't love strange conversations with a quiet guy staring at you, but duty calls. You walked up the stairs and walked down the hall towards the girls’ bathroom. You were about the open the door when it hit you in the face.

“OH NO! (F/N) are you okay? I am so sorry!” You had heard that voice before. You opened your eyes and saw a girl with scarlet hair in front of you. It was Kou, the first year that gave you her number. You let out a sigh and Kou wrapped her arms around you.

“I am sooooooo sorry!” Small tears formed in the corners of her eyes. “I didn't mean to hit you. I promise.” She tightened her grip around you and rested her face in the crook of your neck.

“It's . . . okay.” You said, barely able to breath you her suffocating hug. “I can't,” you pat her back to get her attention, “I can't breath.”

“I am so sorry. I didn't mean too! Why do I always have to embarrass myself in front of you?” Kou sniffled and backed away from you.

“It's okay, you didn't mean to.” you tried to comfort Kou and put you hand on her shoulder.

“I have an idea!” Kou’s eyes glistened as she spoke. “I will make it up to you by going out with you sometime. Not a date, of course not a date. Why would it be a date? I totally don't want to date you. I mean you are like perfect-”

“Sure, that sounds great.” You cut Kou off with your words.

“Okay, perfect!” Kou hugged you one last time before skipping down the hall. You heard her shout “Score!” in the distance, but payed it no mind.

Once you got back from the bathroom, the day went by extremely fast. The next thing you know, it was lunch. You sat outside on a patch of grass with the three boys you had grown closer to and listened to them talk about their run-in with a long lost friend.

“It was probably a dream.” Haru said blandly, staring up at the sky.

“No, it wasn’t” Makoto looked oddly upset that Haru thought it was a dream.

“It’s weird. Rin never acted like that before.” Nagisa looked sad when acknowledging the thought of how much Rin had changed.

“Ah, look alike.” Haru said in a flat tone.

“Do you really think it was just a random person who happened to know us all by name and fit the description of Rin?”

“Fine, ghost.” Haru rolled over as he spoke.

“He looked solid to me.” Nagisa chimed in.

“Evil doppleganger then.” Haru, making Makoto jump up.

“Just like the game we played as kids! Super Fusion Doppleganger!” Makoto made weird poses as he spoke and you broke out laughing. “What’s so funny?” He looked confused, which only made you laugh harder.

“Be quiet, I’m tired.” Haru started to close his eyes and sprawl out on the grass.

“Hey! Don’t fall asleep.” Makoto whined, but Haru ignored him.

“We should get back before class starts.” You said, hoping to stop the childish bickering going on around you.

“Come on, (F/N),” Nagisa said, grabbing your hand and pulling you up. “I’ll walk you to class.” He didn’t wait for an answer, but instead held your hand tighter and started walking.

“I’ll see you guys in class.” You waved back to Makoto and Haru as Nagisa pulled you further away. The blonde boy hurried around a corner and up the stairs to the classroom, stopping in front of the door. He held your hand and looked you softly in the eyes.

“I’ll talk to you after school and we can . . .” Nagisa’s eyes were a shimmering pink that pulled you in. His voice drowned out into a dull hum around you, “okay?” He shook you out of your daze and nodded your head.

“What did I just agree too?” You searched your mind for the answer, but you were left with a blank slate. “Oh well,” You shrugged, watching him dash down the stairs towards his class. Despite the lack of comprehension you faced in the situation, you were sure everything would be okay. Right?