Chapter Text
EPISODE 1
- Sano, Elementary School -
Ayumu looked down at her small hand linked with the hand of her best friend. She hasn’t been in Sano for too long but it’s long enough that she has stopped feeling the sting of not being with her brother, her twin. She knew that when she was to be sent to their grandmother that she would be going alone. The twins were too young for the trip and her brother, Makoto, would never agree to being parted from his beloved Haru-chan. She wonders how the younger twins are doing as she is dragged out of the snow and into a warm building. She rolled her eyes.
Of course it’s a swim club. It’s always a Swim Club.
Matsuoka Rin grinned at her toothily, nudging his head towards another boy with dark hair swimming laps of the Butterfly stroke of all things in the pool.
“Sou!” Rin said - well, yelled but Rin always sounds like he’s yelling - and Ayumu gasped a little realizing that this must be the legendary Sousuke that Rin keeps talking about. “Sou, I brought that girl I met at recess.”
The dark haired boy - Yamazaki Sousuke - got out of the pool and regarded the newcomer with cold eyes that almost made Ayumu want to shiver. Underneath the scowl, Ayumu saw a spark of affection for Rin as he continued to drag her towards the terrifying butterfly swimmer.
Rin shoved Ayumu in front of him and encouraged her to say something. “Hi, I’m Tachibana Ayumu.” She extended a hand towards the taller boy, wishing she was elsewhere reading instead of in this awkward situation. “It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot from Rin.”
Sousuke stared at her extended hand and slowly shook it. “Yeah.” He said blandly in response. “Do you swim?” He asked, his eyes pointed behind Ayumu to - who she assumed was - Rin. The other boy must have encouraged him to say more.
“I did, back home.” She admitted, looking at the pool. “My brother and I swim backstroke. His best friend and his sister swim freestyle. And their other friend swims breaststroke.” She smiled, remembering them and their days spent swimming at the Iwatobi Swim Club fondly.
Rin perked up behind her and rounded her so he stood in front of her next to Sousuke. “You had a team. You didn’t tell me that! What are their names, maybe I met them in a swim meet.” He grinned.
Ayumu blinked at Rin and his friend and smiled widely, proud to be able to call the people at Iwatobi her friends. “My brother is Tachibana Makoto and his friends are Nanase Haru-chan, Nanase Ako-chan, and Hazuki Nagisa-chan!”
Rin and Sousuke blinked.
“Na-Nanase??”
- Iwatobi, High School -
Tachibana Ayumu was a little bit stuck.
She wasn’t stuck in the literal sense, more the figurative sense. She sighed, just thinking about the predicament made her lose a bit of her sanity.
The what of the problem? The Swim Club. Because, as always, all problems in Ayumu’s life went back to swimming in one way or another. It’s been a thorn on her side for two years since graduating from Middle School. Those days swimming with her friends were great days and although she wasn’t as passionate about swimming as they were Ayumu was good at what she did. So, finding out there wasn’t a swim club in Iwatobi’s High School department contributed to a great deal of Ayumu’s emotional distress.
It’s not like they didn’t have enough members to make one. Ayumu and her twin were two and the Nanase siblings would make them four! The perfect number to start a swim club.
The who of the problem? Nanase Haruka. Because, as always, their world - the four of them and even Nagisa and Rin sometimes - revolved around the walking contradiction named Nanase Haruka. Ever since he stopped swimming in the middle of, well, Middle School everyone seemed to let go of swimming altogether. Nagisa left. Mako stopped. Even Asahi and Ikuya went away eventually. The only ones still swimming were Ayumu and Ako.
The only normal thing in Tachibana Ayumu’s life? Nanase Ako.
It’s a shame the Nanases didn’t have any more children because a Tachibana without a Nanase to watch over and be watched over by was as unfathomable as Haru without water. Thankfully, unlike her sometimes useless sometimes useful brother, Ako was the definition of consistent.
Like today, Ayumu found Ako practicing in the ocean early that morning with a duffle bag sitting in the sand not too far from her. And even though the water was cold she maintained her two hour work out and probably ran four times around the neighborhood beforehand. Luckily for Ayumu, she was wearing her warmer set of swim gear so she probably won’t catch a cold but she will have to find a swim club with a heater for the colder seasons because left unattended like this Ako always chooses swimming over the possibility of catching a cold.
Ayumu, knowing this, brought two thermoses of warm soup that day and walked with Ako to school.
They part ways when classes start because, unlike Haru and Mako, Ayumu is older than Ako so Ako goes to her class alone while Ayumu heads to the class she shares with her twin and Ako’s older brother.
When Ayumu gets there she levels Haru with an ‘oh seriously?’ look. “Ako was swimming in the ocean today.”
Haru perked at the mention of the ocean before turning to Makoto.
Ayumu turned and left them to go to her seat, sighing when she heard the telltale shouts of her twin telling Haru he is under no circumstances to swim in the freezing water. It’s a relief when the teacher comes in and tells them that class will commence shortly. She refuses to even glance at Haru because he is no doubt ignoring everything and staring out of the window to his beloved ocean. His beloved water.
Seriously, if Ayumu’s brother knew better, he’d have lost all hope at being first in Haru’s heart. But, Tachibana Makoto was kind of a dumbass in regards to Haru, because he’s not only alright with this but is even happy to let a non-living non-coherent mass made up of hydrogen and oxygen be placed above him on Haru’s list of priorities.
When she says this to Ako at lunch Ako just smiles and laughs because that’s Ako for you, she’d rather laugh than do anything negative. “Ayu-chan, you know that’s not true. Haru loves water.” She wiggles her eyebrows. “But he definitely loves Makoto more!”
Before Ayumu could say anything about it, they both are on the roof staring open-mouthed as Hazuki Nagisa runs over to them with his arms open wide.
“You-” Ako blinked up at the blonde in disbelief. “You’re here.” She almost shrieked. And Ayumu would agree but she’s temporarily lost the ability to speak.
Nagisa grinned at the younger Nanase. “Ako-chan, starting today, we’re classmates again! So, let’s form a swim club!”
- Iwatobi, Elementary School -
“Nagisa! Stop dragging me, I was almost done.” Ako frowned as she carefully made her way to the pool. For all of Nagisa’s running about she actually was concerned about slipping up and breaking something. Her slowing down made Nagisa go a bit slower but he still hastily brought her over to Makoto’s side just in time for Ako to see Haru at the starting block next to someone new.
Ako’s mouth dropped open as Makoto called out for them to start. “Onii-chan?” She said in a hushed voice watching as the newcomer swam almost at the same speed at Haru. Ako’s observant eyes noted that his movements while not as fluent as Haru’s were more consistent. He favored a certain technique and it showed in his strong turns. By the time they both reach the end Ako is nearly breathless with the need to know just who this kid is.
Makoto moved to pull Haru out of the water as usual and it made Ako ache to have Ayumu by her side again. “Nobody can beat you when you’re in the water, Haru-chan.” He says and Haru replies with his usual “stop calling me -chan already” but Ako’s eyes remain on the redhead still floating in the water. She almost doesn’t notice that he’s speaking to Haru.
“You’re as fast as the rumors said.” The kid said as he leaned on the floating lines. “What’s your time?” He asked and Ako bit back a laugh.
Haru turned away but Ako could tell he was the slightest bit curious about him. “I don’t care about time.”
The kid, Ako shouldn’t really call him that since he’s obviously older than her, looked shocked for a moment before his face split into a wide grin.
From the moment Matsuoka Rin laughed and asked her brother to form a relay with him, Nanase Ako was undeniably over the moon and past the stars in love.
- Iwatobi, High School -
Nanase Ako was stuck.
Not in the figurative sense, no. But very literally stuck on her chair. It’s lucky that it was about time for classes to be over because she would hate to miss lunch just because her skirt decided to be joined in unholy collusion with a screw in her chair.
The who of the problem? Hazuki Nagisa. Ako’s best friend from elementary and, for a very brief time, Middle School was assigned the seat behind her and managed to prank her on his very first day back. And really, she’d be pretty screwed if Rei hadn’t been around.
Haha, screwed. Because she’s stuck on a screw.
“Nagisa wants to form a swim team.” Ako said, feeling more than seeing Rei perking up at the mention of swimming. Honestly, Ako was pretty sure Rei wanted to swim but couldn’t because he couldn’t see how the science could ever apply to such an unreasonable sport.
Rei looked up at Ako from where he was undoing the screw with a screwdriver he found who knows where. Knowing Rei, he probably had one in his backpack just in case. “I thought you loved swimming, why not do it?” He asked.
Ako sighed. “Only three people would actually agree to it.” She eyed Rei hopefully. “You know, my offer to teach you to swim still stands-”
“I appreciate it but you know I can’t swim.” His nose crinkled, a clear sign he was uncomfortable with the direction this conversation was taking.
Ako could see that he was wearing down though so she decided to take up that particular gauntlet another day. “I’m glad Nagisa is back, he might be able to get Haru off his ass.” She sighed.
“No offence, Ako-san. But, you’re his sister and you couldn’t do it so I highly doubt Hazuki-san can.” Rei stated matter-of-factly.
Ako hit him lightly on the head. “Stop calling me -san. It’s just Ako. We’ve been friends for years you dummy.”
A hard knock on the classroom door signalled the arrival of Tachibana Ayumu. Ako smiled at her, saying with her eyes what she didn’t want to say aloud. Ayumu nodded, getting the gist of it. “Nagisa, huh?” She sighed. “We better hurry if we want to stop them before they commit the lofty crime of trespassing.”
“I’m almost out, right Rei?” Ako looked down at the bespectacled boy and grinned.
Rei smiled back at her as the screw came loose and she was freed. “I do not advise trespassing but I know you’ll do whatever you want so… stay safe, Ako.”
Ako cooed at his affection and gave him a quick hug in thanks. “Thank you, Rei. You really are the best friend I could ever have.” She hurriedly looked at Ayumu and laughed. “Well, guy best friend. I’ll see you!” She waved bolting out the door with Ayumu in tow.
Rei sighed and waved regardless of the fact that he could already see Ako and Ayumu rushing through the gates of the school. “Bye, Ako.” He muttered.
Ako and Ayumu caught sight of the boys just as they entered the corpse of what once was Iwatobi’s Swim Club. Ako stared up at it, huffing to release the pent up energy. She was a bit of a scaredy cat. It’s not as bad as Makoto’s fear of almost anything scary but she can be a tad jumpy in dark places which is why she never watches horror films. Oddly enough, Ayumu didn’t seem to be as scared.
“I really would rather not go in.” Ako sighed. “But-”
“Onii-chan might need help.” Ayumu grinned, predicting what Ako would say. “Let’s go save them.” She said, walking through the double doors and leading the way into the abandoned swim club
With one last deep breath, Ako followed her.
It was a mistake. The place looked like the worst kind of horror show. More than a horror show, it looked like one of those zombie apocalypse films where everything is abandoned but not abandoned enough that you can’t live in it. And just as you become comfortable a zombie pops out to eat your brain.
But nothing, no horror or zombie film, could ever match the dark and painful stab that Ako felt as she watched Matsuoka Rin stomp past her with cold indifferent eyes.
“Ri-” Ako turned around and reached out. “Rin?”
For a moment, Rin stopped and turned to look at her from the corner of his eye. Ayumu could have sworn that in that moment it looked like he was going to tear up but then his face became cold again as he stared at Ayumu with disdain. “Still following her around like a dumb puppy. It’s pathetic.” He turned back around to leave. “You’re just like your brother.”
Ayumu wanted to scream, to shove Matsuoka Rin for not just insulting Makoto but for hurting Ako. But, she was frozen by the look of defeat in Ako’s eyes that continued to watch as her first love walked away.
“It’s like… I mean I knew all along that we had nothing. But, Ayu-” Ayumu pulled her close to her side and started walking out, if anyone was to be punished for trespassing she’d let it be Nagisa but she couldn’t let Ako cry like this in public.
“Let’s go, Ako.” She said, guiding them back to their homes. “Let’s go home, we’ll sort it out tomorrow.
- Iwatobi, Middle School -
Shiina Asahi is… well, he’s pretty annoying to be honest.
Ako is thrilled to have Ayumu back, but since she came back from Sano it appears she’s been busy writing letters to a guy she met. She says it’s a friend of Rin’s and Rin has said he met Ayumu back in Sano but neither of them mentioned just who this friend was. Ako didn’t like to assume things but she recognized the happy glow fading into sad melancholy in Ayumu’s disposition. It’s the face of someone who’d met their first love and has to cope with being far away from them.
It kind of makes Ako want to write to Rin.
Ako shakes her head, there’s no way she’s even important enough to Rin for her to warrant any kind of reply. She and him were never close. He only ever wanted to talk to Haru regardless of how much faster Ako was compared to all the other girls in her bracket. Since Nagisa left in the middle of their second year, all Ako had now was Ayumu and Haru’s new team.
“Oh! It’s megane guy!”
Ako winced and rushed over to where Asahi was yet again causing a ruckus. “Asahi, be quiet.” She said as she found him eagerly chatting with a boy her age holding a book about swimming. “Oh, hi.”
“Hello.” The boy with the swimming book waved shyly.
“Hey, why are you so quiet, megane? You were just scolding me for being loud in the library and for calling you a megane.” Asahi tilted his head.
Ako placed a hand over Asahi’s mouth before he could say anything else and smiled apologetically at the boy. “I’m sorry about him. He means well. He’s just very enthusiastic.” She said, taking a closer look at the boy. Her eyes widened. “Ryugazaki-kun? Are you Ryugazaki Rei from my class in Iwatobi?” She grinned.
Rei’s face heated up at her recognition. “Yes, I am. It’s nice to meet you. Nanase… Akio-san, right?”
“Ako. You can call me Ako.” Ako shrugged. “Akio is a boy name.”
Rei thought about it before nodding. “Alright, Nanase Ako-san.”
Ako stared at him and laughed. “I’m going to be your friend so you should just drop the san right now. Call me Ako.” She insisted.
“Ako.” Rei said like he was testing it. “You may call me… Rei.”
“Rei.” She nodded approvingly. “Pleasure to finally meet you.”
- Iwatobi, Nanase House -
Ayumu made sure that for that day Ako wasn’t around the boys. It was the right call because the boys talked about nothing but Rin all day.
As expected, Ayumu found Ako in the ocean that morning but she stopped swimming earlier than normal so she got to school earlier than even Rei who was the earliest in her class. Ayumu found herself sitting in the grass with the boys that day for lunch while Rei went to the cafeteria with Ako.
From the corner of her eye, Ayumu spotted a familiar burst of red violet hair.
The appearance of Matsuoka Gou brought a stormy feeling to her heart. Unfortunately, they won’t be free from the issue of Matsuoka Rin just yet.
That is how Ayumu ends up sleeping over at Ako’s house that night.
Fortunately for her, she and Ako decide to go down for snacks at the exact time that Makoto makes the dumb decision to suggest going to Samezuka Academy at night to confront Rin. Ako freezes at the mere mention of his name and Ayumu’s grip on her arm tightens as they both walk towards the source of the noise.
Upon spotting his younger sister in the hallway, Haru’s eyes fill with the force only an older brother has and he answers loudly.
“No.”
Nagisa and Makoto deflate as Ayumu fights the urge to punch them both in the face. For the two more sensitive guys in the group they sure can be insensitive at the wrong time. As if it wasn’t bad enough, Nagisa and Makoto continue to push even as Haru uses the need to dry his hair to block out their whining.
“Let’s visit Samezuka Academy!” Nagisa whined.
“Don’t you want to see Rin?” Makoto asked.
Haru leveled a glare at the both of them. “We saw him yesterday.” He snarked, glancing over at Ako. The siblings stared at each other for a long time until Haru finished drying his hair. Ako smoothly entered the room holding Haru’s dry clothes and a towel, taking his shorter towel to dry.
Ayumu took this time to look at Makoto and finds him making a face she doesn’t like. Makoto is acting now and he looks like he’s about use the biggest weapon in his arsenal.
“Here I was thinking you could finally swim if you came.” He said, smirking victoriously at Ayumu. “Samezuka is supposed to have an… indoor pool.”
Ayumu wishes he could get mad at her twin. There’s no arguing with Haru when there’s a pool involved.
- Iwatobi, Middle School -
Ayumu doesn’t know it, but Ako was there when it happened.
In the middle of their Middle School years Rin had returned to Iwatobi for a visit. It was on one of the better days they had. Ako was starting to make friends at the swim club. She and Ayumu were gaining a reputation for how fast they were. Ikuya and Asahi had welcomed the younger girl into their fold. And, for once, the Tachibana twins decided that they would go home ahead of their respective Nanases leaving the Nanase siblings to walk home together.
“We should do this more often, Nii.” Ako smiled, her hand reaching out to cling to Haru’s arm.
Haru smiled down at his sister, one of those rare ones where she could see his teeth peeking out a bit, and nodded. “We’ll get ice cream together every friday, just us.”
Ako gasped. “Really?” She asked, pulling on Haru’s shirt excitedly.
“Yeah.” Haru almost laughed but he didn’t. It was a good day, but it wasn’t that good. “I promise.” He said, raising his pinky for Ako to curl around her own.
Their pinkies were still curled together by the time the train passed and they saw Rin on the other side of the tracks.
Ako’s hand left Haru’s shirt and she ran over the tracks, nearly tripping in her attempt to get to Rin. “Rin! You’re back!” She shouted, smacking into the taller boy’s chest and wrapping her arms around him. “I- we missed you a lot.”
Rin looked down at the younger girl and cracked a small but genuine smile as he patted her head with one hand and her back with the other. “I missed you too, Ako.” He grinned.
Ako noted that his teeth were becoming pretty sharp, like a shark. “I’m glad.” Her lower lip wobbled as tears gathered in her eyes.
“Welcome home, Rin.”
Like a gunshot, the moment Haru spoke Rin became stiff and pried himself away from Ako. “Haru.” He said, staring at the older Nanase. “Let’s race.”
- Iwatobi, Samezuka Academy -
If there was one thing that could make Ako happy during this trip, it was to swim. So, of course, the moment the pool was clear and night had fallen both Nanases stripped off their school uniforms and emerged fully prepared to dive into the pool.
Haru, spotting his younger sister’s clothes joining his on the floor, turned to Ako and smiled. “Swimming too?”
Ako grinned, snapping on a pair of light blue goggles in a manner that was eerily similar to Rin. “Ready when you are, Nii-chan.”
Both Nanases nodded and ran to the pool, flawlessly diving into the clear water.
Ayumu and Makoto reached out to try and stop them but let out a synchronized sigh at their behavior. Nagisa laughed next to them and stared dreamily at Haru. “Haru-chan still reminds me of a dolphin. And Ako’s still a porpoise, she’s not gotten much taller!” He grinned. “Mako-chan, Ayu-chan, let’s swim with them!”
“You’re kidding, we don’t have swimsuits.” Ayumu backed away from the pool, fearing that Nagisa will somehow push her in and get her uniform wet.
“We’ll get in trouble if they find us!” Mako nodded.
Their pleas went unheard. Nagisa pulled off his clothes and jumped into the pool… naked. Makoto hurriedly placed a hand over Ayumu’s eyes and seethed quietly as Nagisa began to splash around. “Mako-chan! Come over here!”
Ayumu squinted at Nagisa and sighed when Makoto - poor defenseless Mako - was pulled unceremoniously into the water with him. Makoto cooled down as he continued to splash Nagisa, generally making a huge ruckus in a pool inside a school they did not go to.
Ayumu sighed. “You idiots need to get out of there and be quiet or we’re definitely going to get-”
“What are you guys doing here?” A loud but familiar voice echoed across the deserted facility.
Ayumu edged away from the angry redhead. “Getting caught, apparently.” She motioned for Ako to come to the edge of the pool, holding out a towel that was in Ako’s bag. At least she came prepared.
Ako snuck out of the pool and draped the towel over herself, pulling on her uniform as fast as she could while the boys made awkward conversation. “Should we make a run for it?” She asked.
Ayumu shook her head. “I don’t know.”
Ako was about to reply when Haru emerged from the pool, shaking the excess water from his hair. He looked straight at Rin with eyes that understood. “I want you to show me that sight again.” He grinned. “I’ve forgotten what it was I saw.”
“Sure, I can do that. But, it won’t be the same this time.” Rin’s disdain melted into confidence as he returned Haru’s grin with a grin of his own, a sharp one that promised a challenge. “I’ll be showing you something completely different.” He said.
Ayumu could feel danger approaching as Haru and Rin got ready to start. Her eyes met Makoto’s and he nodded, nudging his head in the direction of the exit. “Ako, let’s go.”
Ako wouldn’t move. Her eyes were fixed on her brother and on Rin like that fateful day they met in Iwatobi Swim Club, back when the most important thing to Rin was to swim in a relay with Haru. “I want to see.” She muttered. “I want to see if he can show us that sight again.” She spun around and stared into Ayumu’s eyes.
“I want Rin back.”