Rin Matsouka from Free!

~~~

Your eyes scan over the countless smiling faces watching you as you stand in the front of the room. "Hajimemashite," you say slowly, the syllables awkwardly rolling off of your tongue. That's... This is the first time we've met, right? And then I say, "Douzo yoroshiku!" Nice to meet you!

You glance around the room, just waiting to see if anyone corrects you. It would be a lot less humiliating than wondering if you said it right. The teacher, sensei, began to talk and you quickly rush to your seat. Maybe you actually didn't make a mistake. You breathe a sigh of relief and continue to look around the room. These are all of my potential future friends. You hope you won't be stuck with the blond with that hyperactive, almost devilish grin on his face.

The lesson drags on and you can only catch a few words here or there, much to your irritation. but before you know it it's time for lunch. The students rise up in one massive movement, grabbing boxes and small bags as they file out of the classroom. Grabbing, your PB&J, you rush towards the door.

"(y/n)-san!" A girl calls out. She waves her arms, and the two boys standing next to her join in. They all began to call you over, and gratefully, you walk towards them. The three begin to bombard you with questions, the blond more so than the other two.

"Wakimasen," you say, shaking your head in the universal no. "I don't understand, I'm sorry."

"Eh?" The girl turns to her companions and they chatter on as though they're having an argument. One of the boys pushes his glasses up as though he's readying for a debate, and the girl whips out her cellphone. The blond only grabs onto her arm and sways her back and forth like a child begging his mom for candy. You stare as the girl frantically dials a number. A few rings, and she says, "Onii-chan!"

Older brother! you realize. Why in the world is she calling her brother!

The girl beams as she holds the cell out to you. You mutter a small, "Arigato," and raise it to your ear.

"Hello?" Someone grumbles on the other end.

The three shush each other as they watch you interact with the cellphone. "Hi," you say. "You... do you speak English?"

"Yes, I do, in fact. Those losers you see in front of you want me to come over and act as translator. My name's Rin, by the way. You'll have to tell them that I'm busy practicing."

"I'm (y/n). And I can't. My Japanese is downright laughable. It's bad."

The guy on the other end sighs. You hear yelling in the background and wonder what kind of sport he's practicing.

"Which ones are you with?"

"What?"

"What are their names?"

You balk a little at his hostile tone. This is not someone I want on my bad side! Why in the world did they call him!?! He sounds like a jerk! "I- uh- don't know."

There's another agitated sigh and Rin asks you to tell him their hair colors. He then tells you the trio's names and his personal opinion on each. The blond one is a handful, the guy with the blue hair and glasses is a complete nerd, but he has guts, and the girl is his sister and probably snatched you up so she'd have some feminine company for once.

"Okay...? And you are?"

"We're all... friends. I go to Samezuka Academy; it's nearby. There's two others beside them, but they're a year older. Nanase Haruka and Tachibana Makoto. Nanase's a bit odd, let me tell you. You'll find out soon enough."

"Okay... But how do I tell them that you're busy practicing?"

"Isogashi." Beep.

The three wait for you to say something. "Ah... Isogashi?" You shrug. You hand the cell phone back to Gou and she immediately starts dialing again.

"Seijuro?" Gou says.

-----

At the end of the school day, Gou and Nagisa practically dragged you out of the classroom, Rei following behind. They seemed super excited, so you thought it best not to argue. Besides, making friends is good, right? Even if they do have scarey brothers.

You all stop at the side of a crystal clean pool a little ways from the school. A boy with dark hair is already swimming inside, twisting through the water like he's been waiting for that moment all day. A taller male sits at the side with his feet dangling in, a smile pulling at the corner of his lips. "Mako-chan!" Nagisa calls out.

So that's Makoto... And the other one's Haruka?

You dip your fingers in the water. Brr! How does that kid stand it? The kid in question surfaces for a moment. His deep blue eyes regard you with a silent stare. Gou quickly introduces you, and the boy nods before diving back underneath the surface.

Just a short while later, you spy someone approaching the pool. He gets closer without anyone noticing, a small frown potent on his face. You nervously tap Gou's shoulder. "Sumimasen." She swivels around and you point towards the guy as he enters the poolside. Her face lights up. "Ah! Onii-chan!"

Wha- That's her brother!?!?! Okay, sure, they both have that red hair, but... You glance back between the two. Gou looks so nice, and he looks kind of...

Annoyed? Irritated? Looks-at-the-glass-half-empty-kind-of-guy?

"Oy!" He says. Then, to you, "So, you're the girl that everyone keeps talking about?"

"Everyone?" You feel heat rise to your face.

"Everyone who's begged me to come over here." He rolls his piercing red eyes. Then he sits down next you, taking off his shoes and dipping his feet in the water. "She even got the Captain to bug me about it," he nods off towards his sister. "But... I'm sorry that I'm the only one who can speak good English. You'd probably be better off if it was Makoto... Or Rei."

"It's okay," you say quickly. "It's none of your guy's fault that I moved here anyway!"

"Mmm. Well, that's true." Rin faces you, his eyebrows uplifted in confusion. "So... What am I supposed to do? Just stand around and repeat things back and forth?"

You shrug. "I don't know. I don't even know what's going on. I'm sorry that you had to come over here for me, though. I didn't mean to be a bother or anything. But it is nice to talk to someone who gets everything I'm saying, besides my parents," you laugh. "So, how did you learn English?"

Rin watches Haruka swim for a moment, his eyes absently wandering from person to person. "I studied abroad in Australia as a kid," he says after a moment. "So naturally, I had to learn."

"How long did it take you?"

"Four months."

You gape. "Four months?!?"

"Un. But learning English wasn't my top priority, either."

"I forgot to ask, what sport do you play?"

He turns towards you with a small laugh. "I swim. You couldn't tell? Swimming pool." He points at the pool. "Swimming suits," he points at the other boys as they emerge from the locker room.

"Oh. Right." Crap. You glance away in embarrassment. How obvious could it be?

"(y/n)?" He pokes your side. "Hey. These are all nice people who wouldn't mind making another friend. Especially them," he nods towards Makoto, then towards Rei. "Rei has a lack of friends enough as it is, and Makoto's nice to everyone, so no problems there. In fact, he could use another friend too." He glances at Haruka.

You watch as Makoto holds out his hand to him and helps pull him out of the pool. Over in the corner, Rei and Nagisa take turns trying to scoop ice cream out of a practically frozen container. "What about him?"

"Nagisa?" Rin follows your gaze. "Oy, if he sends you any links, don't open them. Otherwise he's as nice as the rest of them. Don't give him your cellphone number either. He'll message you every time he's bored.

"As for my sister," he continues, stretching his arms out behind his head. "I'll stick around until you're fluent in Japanese if you promise to talk to her and do girl stuff. I get... Worried, when she spends all day with a bunch of highschool boys. It's not healthy."

Rin glances at his sister with a small smile. Even though he may not want you to know, you can tell that he cares about everyone here. Even Nagisa. You look Rin over, your mouth slightly parting in awe. Not many people would go out of the way just to communicate for some girl for four months. But you don't understand why he's trying so hard to act like he doesn't care about anything except Gou's social life.

"You know, of everyone here...?" You say slowly.

"Hmm?" Rin's eyebrows furrow.

"I think the one who needs another friend the most is you."

Rin stares for a second, a small blush coloring his cheeks. Then he grunts and leans back against the hot concrete without another word. Until Nagisa pulls him into the pool by his feet, that is.

Pretty soon, everyone found themselves in the pool, even though Gou and yourself didn't have suits. You were a bit alarmed to find out that Rin had been wearing one underneath his clothes the entire time. Boy, he really took swimming seriously!

And even though you didn't understand half of what everyone was saying (until Rin would repeat it in English), everyone still made sure to include you; tossing you a beach ball, giving you an ice-cream cone, and simply making small talk that you could sort of follow along with.

When the sun started to set, you weren't ready to leave your new friends, even though you knew you had to go home.

-----

"(y/n)!" Someone calls out as you walk down the sidewalk.

"Rin?" You turn around.

Rin jogs towards you, beads of sweat shining on his forehead. "Oy! You forgot something!"

"I did?"

He rushes up towards you, but his hands look to be empty. You stand in puzzlement as he takes a step closer. He wraps one arm behind your shoulders, his mouth hovering over your cheek. His hot breath tickles against your skin. Then he gently kisses your cheek, and takes a small step back.

"See you tomorrow," he says."Mata ashita ne."

"Mata..." You watch, shocked stockstill as Rin races around the corner. "Ashita ne... See you tomorrow, Rin."

~~~
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Fan-Tan-Chan on DeviantArt

I don't know about you but that picture cracks me up xD