𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟗- 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄!
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(Y/N) quickly takes her phone out to snap picture after picture. The boys had departed not long after her and Sasabe's speech to line up down near the pool, the rest of the swimmers surrounding them and adding to the intense air.

Zooming in, she smiles gently when she sees the stoic faces of her friends, all fidgety but excited for their venture. Gōu watches her from the side, her head tilted as she admires her friend.

Clearing her throat, the young girl comes up and bumps her hip into her friends. "You know, I never asked you why you stopped swimming." The question makes (Y/N) look up at her friend quickly, taken aback by the question.

She rolls her lips before answering. "It just became a past time, I guess." The answer is quick and short before she turns away and raises her camera again. Gōu frowns at her dismiss but sighs, and leans against her friend while she continues to snap more pictures.

Moving the camera around, (Y/N) jumps a little when Rin's face takes over her screen. The maroon haired boy's eyes lock onto hers from all the way across the room, his gaze tired and intense. Slowly she brings the camera down and stares back, a small tug in her chest when she takes in his disheveled appearance.

His hair was unkept and fell into his eyes, more than what she was used to. His eyes were sunken and a bit red around the edges, she knew that he was either crying before the tournament or he hadn't been sleeping.

She frowns further as she stares at him, and quickly mouths 'are you okay?' As her expression turned worried. She watches him go stiff, and his lips tremble just a bit before shaking his head and facing forward, his fists clenched at his side.

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"Next, we have the men's one hundred meter free style, third heat." The announcers voice echoes through the stadium, and (Y/N) feels a cold shiver go down her spine when she sees Rin step up onto the platform.

"This'll be Rin's big moment!" Nagisa calls from behind her but she doesn't listen. She leans against the railing, while Gōu and the rest of the her friends line up next to her to support the Iwatobi flag.

He takes his mark, his shoulders shaking while he grips the edge of the diving board between his fingers.

"Come on big brother you can do it!" Gōu yells from her spot, and his eyes flicker to her in acknowledgment. They stop when they see a worried (Y/N), biting her lip and tapping her foot as she watches.

He sucks in a shaky breath, trying his hardest to calm himself down but failing ultimately. The small beep goes off, and he jumps in a second too late. The team watch with wide eyes while he swims, far behind from even the slowest swimmer.

His breathing is forced when he pushes up for air, his arms flailing rather than moving and guiding him through the water. (Y/N) glances up to the Samazeka team, her hand gripping the railing when Rin makes the turn and remains far behind.

"What the hell.." she mumbles, and the team all watch, shocked and confused when he finally hits the other side of the pool. He tears his swimming cap off and coughs, water spluttering out from his mouth due to his uneven breathing.

(Y/N) takes a small step back when she sees him trying to get out of the pool. His arms shook violently and were failing to pull him up, causing him to sink back into the water. He tries two more times before finally giving up and rolling onto his stomach to get out.

The boys watch, but jump when (Y/N) takes off into a sprint up the stairs and towards the exit. "Hey! Wait for us!" Makoto calls, and he, Haru, Nagisa and Rei take off after her, no doubt sure of where she heading to.

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By the time they reached the other end of the center, Rin was in the midst of the yelling at the younger silver haired boy who had tried numerous times to calm him down.

"It was obvious I couldn't get better! That's why I was taken off the relay, I give up, I quit years ago and I shoulda stayed quit!" (Y/N) watches wide eyed when he kicks a trash can half way across the floor, its contents spilling out and making a mess of the once polished floor.

Watching him walk away causes a small sting to erupt on her chest, and the rest of the team watch on as he walks away, to where they aren't  sure. The young, silver haired boy looks back at them in embarrassment, and casts a look of pity towards (Y/N) before running off, no doubt in search of Rin.

"I don't get it." Nagisa speaks up after a moment. "Why would anyone want to take Rin out of the Relay?"

"Here I thought we would be able to race with him in the finals.." Makoto mumbles his own thoughts, and turns around in worry to watch a wide eyes Haru and a nauseous (Y/N). He calls out to them, but their minds are drifted off and pulled to a memory they want so badly to erase.

'I said I quit, I'm done swimming.' Rin's voice from all those years ago swarms their ears, clogging them while small tears threaten to fall from their eyes. Of course this burden would have kept eating at him, they all shared a moment that was supposed to be fun and exciting but instead caused their friend to hate everything about swimming.

(Y/N) looks down when she sees Haru slide against the glass window, his head tucked between his pulled knees and arms shielding his eyes. "It's over." He mumbles. "I'll never get to swim with Rin again.."

Both Nagisa and Makoto try to calm him down, and (Y/N) looks up and locks eyes with Rei. His hands were gently balled into fists while his head hung low, a deep frown on his face. She takes small steps towards him and stops to tilt her head, small tears swimming in both their eyes.

After a moment, he sighs, and offers her a gentle smile. Her eyes widen when she understands, his expression turned sad but still his smile is warm as his idea.

"I have something to say to all of you." He speaks up, and the group, minus Haru, look up at him. "I was waiting for a more appropriate time to tell you but Rin and I had a talk last night." He shrugs and gestures to the girl beside him. "(Y/N) was there too but she was asleep." This lists small amused chuckles from the group.

"He told me that back in middle school the real reason he wanted to put swimming behind him had nothing to do with losing to Haru, or having (Y/N) not cheer for him." (Y/N) tilts her head, and looks to see Haru shift a little showing he was listening.

Rei continues. "He hit a wall training abroad, it shattered his confidence, he couldn't take it anymore so he quit. But then he came back home. He raced Haru again, his perspective changed and his spark was rekindled." Small flashes of memories ring through (Y/N)'s eyes, and her shoulders pull down in relief.

"He told me that after seeing us at district, it recaptured that old feeling, relay appealed to him again. He was determined to swim with Samezeka and give us the best race we ever had."

"I had no idea he felt that way.." Nagisa says gently, but Rei shakes his head.

"He couldn't care less, it wasent about the competition per se, he wanted to swim with his friends again. Rei eyes each and every one of his friends. "You're not just his old teammates, you're the reason he swims at all." Finally, Haru lifts his head up, and his eyes lock with (Y/N)'s.

"How do you know?" He asks before standing up, his hands falling to his side. Rei sighs. "Because, honestly? I feel the exact same way." He smiles gently, his expression sincere. "For me, your it. You guys are why I'm here. But I know that deep down it's the same for you too." His eyes are trained on Haru as he speaks.

"It's what swimming free means, who cares if we win or loose right? It's about who you swim with." Haru's eyes widen just slightly, before he nods, the tiniest of smiles blooming on his face.

"I..I wanna swim with Rin again." He says finally, and the group all watch him with smiles. A small sniffle brings their attention back, and they all turn their heads to see (Y/N) with her face in her hands, tears spilling from between her fingers.

Makoto jumps to her. "(Y/N)?!" He yells, his arms hovering over her shoulders while the rest gather around her to see what's wrong. She sniffles once, twice before picking her head up, her nose and eyes red.

"You guys are such saps!" She cries out, and her friends deadpan at her. Her crying subsides after a moment before she rubs her eyes. "Then what are you waiting for?" She sighs when they watch her with tilted heads.

"Rin's going to really quit and you guys are the only ones who can help him before he makes a decision that we'll all regret." They listen intently, nodding along with hard expressions.

Makoto scratches his cheek. "But..what can we do?"

"You still don't understand?!" Rei yells, gritting his teeth at his friend's slow mindset. "Think logically for once! The answers staring you right in the face!" (Y/N) nods with him, and waits for her friends to understand what exactly the two were saying.

After a moment, Haru carefully eyes his friend. "But Rei, are you really okay with that?" He gently asks to make sure his friend was doing something that he wouldn't regret later down the line.

Rei moves his hair out of his eyes from his yelling, and gives his friends a genuine, bright smile. "Just make it beautiful!" (Y/N) wraps an arm around his shoulders before tugging him close, admiring his selflessness as she squishes his cheeks. "And swim as a team!" She adds, and the group all nod.

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