𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟔- 𝐅𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒
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The wind had slowly died down, its cooling tone changing to a hot, uneasy air. (Y/N) clenches her fists at her side, her lips pulled into a thin line while Rei and Rin slowly eye eachother.

"So." Rin starts. "What is it that you want?" His voice held an edge to it, like an animal backed into a corner.

Rei sighs. "I have two questions and I want you to answer them honestly." Taking a small step forward, he stands just slightly infront of his friend, his shoulder hiding half of her face.

Rin glares at him harder, but allows him to speak.

"Alright, here's the first one." Rei adjusts his glasses, before clearing his throat. "The relay, what's the real reason you decided to participate?"

Both (Y/N) and Rin raise their eyebrows at him, quizzical. The (H/C) girl licks her lips, suddenly just as curious.

The sharp toothed boy pulls a face, but shrugs. "What? A guy can't change his mind? How is it any of your business anyway?" His tone was diverting the conversation, to which Rei quickly picked up on.

"Deflecting the question isn't an answer, you've been fixated on racing Haru since before the two of us even met." He continues. "I've deduced you couldn't move forward until you'd beaten him I just wanted to see if you'd own up to it"

(Y/N) feels her face pull into a small smile as she listens to her friend's analogy. "You achieved that goal in the last tournament, so what's the matter? Don't you have a new challenge to work towards?"

"My goal has never been to beat Haru." Rin speaks up. "It hasn't been about winning tournaments either. I'm aiming higher, for the world."

"At least you have ambition." (Y/N) snaps, a taunting smile on her face while she watches him. Rin flinches under her gaze, as she recites the exact words he used against her.

"..that makes sense." Rei mumbles slowly after a minute, and clears his throat. "In that case here's my next question."

He looks up, and sets a firm hand on (Y/N)'s shoulder. "I wanted to know what your feelings are towards Haru, and (Y/N)."

Quickly his friend whips her head up to look at him, her eyes wide. "Is that why you dragged me here?" She whisper yells, "You guys need to stop meddling-" she's cut off when Rei slowly puts the palm of his hand over her mouth, and she gruffly sighs before folding her arms.

Rin frowns harder at the question, his eyes trained on the grumpy girl beside Rei, who clears his throat. "I know that in grade school you and he were close rivals. When we visited Coach Sasabe I saw several old photographs of you and the others."

A small flash passes by (Y/N)'s eyes. The small picture of them all laughing while Rin had his arm hooked with hers while the other was held by his sister. "Haru, Makoto, Nagisa, (Y/N)..you were always with them, and there wasn't a single picture in which you weren't smiling."

Looking up, she sighs as he continues, and slowly removes his hand off her mouth. "It's obvious that you got a lot out of the comradely. So you can imagine my confusion when I see that things are so different now.

What exactly happened while you were studying abroad? And why didn't you try to contact any of the others after you returned to Japan?" Tilting his head down, he gestures to the nervous girl beside him.

"You used to act like she meant everything to you, but now all you do is insult, berate and hurt her any chance you get!" (Y/N) shakes her head when she looks up at Rei, silently, pleading with him to stop talking.

"They were your friends and teammates, you flat out ignored them. What happened to the comradely? How do you think it makes them feel when their old friend acts like they're no better than a bad memory?"

"Rei, stop." (Y/N) mumbles softly, her nerves on high alert when she gently tugs on his arm to pull him back.

However, he ignores her. "You're the one that turned them onto the relays in the first place! You have a responsibility-"

"SHUT UP!" The two flinch at his yell, his throat scratching and itching while he continues. "I let you talk, that doesn't mean you get to blast me with all this sentimental crap!-"

"And you don't get to treat us all like we mean nothing to you, Rin." (Y/N) interrupts him, finally speaking up before taking a small step forward. Rei watches her, uneasy as she continues to take cautious steps until she stood right infront of the agitated teen.

Rin gasps softly when she stops a breath away from him. "You don't get to act like we were nothing." She repeats, her hands trembling before she shoves them into her jacket. "The guys miss the boy they used to swim with..and I miss the boy I was proud to call my friend." Mumbling, she inhales shakily.

She traces his face with her eyes, and scoffs. "You need to get off your high horse once in a while, jackass." The end of sentence ends in a grin, which only makes Rin even more perplexed at what she was saying.

He scoffs. "'Friend'? You obviously thought Haru was your only friend in the whole damn world while I was just the back burner when you got bored." (Y/N) frowns deeper.

"That's not true." She whispers.

"It's not." Rin nods in an equally softer voice. "But it's how you made me feel."

Taking a few steps back, she watches him with wide eyes, clearly deviated at this. Rei gently takes her by the shoulders and guides her behind him, his whole body shaking.

(Y/N) feels the vibration from his hands, and looks up. "Rei-"

"We were united as one, we were a real team." His voice rises with every word. "But all they could talk about was how great you were. Rin this, Rin that, CONSTANTLY!" Small tears well at the corners of (Y/N)'s eyes, and she frowns even further.

Rin grunts. "Sounds like your problem."

"Like HELL it's my problem!" Rei takes off in a sprint, and grabs Rin by the front of shirt before shoving him against a wall, his fists pushing into his chest.

The maroon haired teen looks behind him, his eyes wide as he stares at an equally wide eyed (Y/N).

"Get over yourself and take responsibility for once! Haru stopped competing and (Y/N) can't stand watching us swim because of you!" At the mention of the girl he jerks his back for emphasis, and Rin halts his struggle to push him away.

He looks over the boys shoulder, and frowns when he spots (Y/N), head turned to the side and her hand covering her mouth and nose to control her breathing.

"What?" He whispers, remembering all those times she would stand near the pool, a bright smile on her chubby face as she ran along side them. She loved watching them swim, she loved cheering and she certainly wouldn't have given that up just for him, there's no way.

"Oh come on! Do I have to spell it out for you?!" Rei pushes him back against the wall, yelling as loud as he could. "Haru felt guilty about hearing you back in middle school!" Quickly he lets go of Rin with his right hand and points behind him.

"(Y/N) felt guilty because she cheered for her friend and not for you! How unfair is that HUH?!" Once again he ends his sentence with a loud yell, and grits his teeth when Rin stared at him, wide eyed and in disbelief.

"Rei, leave it!" (Y/N)'s voice comes out in a small plea, wanting more than anything to leave. Her friend once again ignores her pleas, and continues. "I just don't understand your logic, why can't you just leave them alone?!

You already beat Haru when the two of you raced at district and (Y/N) wants nothing to do with you-!"

"Is that true?!" Rin quickly interrupts him to jerk his head over Rei's shoulder and stare at (Y/N). "Tell me he's lying-" he's cut off by another rough shove.

"I'm not done!-are you swimming in this relay just to rub it in?! Why can't you leave it alone?! What do you want from them? What is it gonna take to satisfy you?!" Rei's ramble of questions only seize for a moment, his breathing coming out in short pants.

(Y/N) continues to watch from behind, unsure of whether or not she should interfere.

"What about you?" A soft scoff draws her attention back to Rin. "What the hell is your deal..you weren't involved in any  of this until now, so why are you throwing all this grief my way tough guy?!" Ripping Rei's hands off, Rin glares harshly at him, his pointed teeth snarling in his direction.

"Bringing (Y/N) here just so you could get a one up on me and my feelings for her, you're pathetic." Gritting his teeth, he refuses to meet her perplexed gaze and grabs Rei by the front of his jacket. "And look at her! She clearly doesn't want to be here! You dragged her here and for what?!"

He pulls Rei forward, spit flying out his mouth while he becomes more and more angry. "So tell me, what the hell do you what out of this?!" His yell echoes through the dense wood, his cheeks flushed red from all the yelling and embarrassment.

"Me..?" Slowly, Rei meets his gaze, and takes a small step back. "I want my friends and I to become the best damn team we can be, and I wanna do my part as a member of that team." He flicks his gaze behind him. "I want (Y/N) to feel like she can cheer us on regardless of what you think, she doesn't deserve to feel guilty for anything, no more no less that's it."

Rin's eyes crease on the sides, and slowly, his grip on Rei's jacket falters before his arm completely falls down to his side. (Y/N) meets his gaze, and sighs sadly before grabbing her friend's bag off the floor.

"Let's go Rei, please." She waits, and tosses his bag before grabbing his arm and making a beeline down the path they came from. She feels resistance, and looks up with a glare, ready to yell at him to keep moving.

Rei stays rooted in his spot, before looking over his shoulder. "This means the world to me Rin, don't get in the way." A shadow casts over his face as their gazes meet. "If you do I will never forgive you." He begins to walk once more, his eyes catching the faintest sight of a tear running down his friend's cheek.

Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he tugs her close to his side and mumbles apology after apology atop the crown of her head. (Y/N) lets him, her mind too busy processing what exactly had just happened.

Rin watches them leave, his heart tugging him forward to grab her and pull her back into his arms. But he falters, and keeps his eyes on the back of her head until they turn a corner, and she's out of sight.

_____

"That was really stupid."

"I know."

"You didn't have to yell at him like that."

"Mhm."

"You want to marry him don't you?"

"Ye-no hang on!" Rei yells from his desk where he was working, his hair standing on end at the question. (Y/N) grins in triumph before tossing a pillow at him. "Liar! I knew you weren't listening!"

The two had decided to head to Rei's home to catch up on what had just happened, and while (Y/N) lied on her back atop the blue haired boys bed, he himself decided to push the conversation back and resort to studying.

He sighs and shakes his head. "You're right, I'm sorry-but I don't feel bad about what I did, he needed to know how much he was hurting you and the team!"

"But that wasn't your call to make Rei." She gently scolds, sitting up and folding her legs together and hugging a pillow to her chest. "Whatever's going on between me and Rin, I will talk to him about, same goes for Haru." Shrugging, she watches as Rei frowns, before sighing and nodding in defeat.

The doorbell ringing catches them off guard, and Rei quickly stands to open the door of his home. (Y/N) smiles when she sees Haru, Makoto and Nagisa all huddled together with bags most likely containing snacks and food.

"Gonna make myself comfy." Immediately Nagisa makes a beeline for the bed, and flops down atop (Y/N), who screams as her face gets smushed into his chest. "Get the helm off Nagi!" Her yells are muffled as she reaches a hand around to grab the back of his head.

Makoto smiles gently at the scene, and tugs Nagisa off of his friend, who gasps dramatically for air. Looking up from her position, (Y/N) smiles as she makes eye contact with him, and pulls herself up with his offered hand.

"What are you all here, is something wrong?" Rei asks from the side, and the group shake their heads.

Makoto is the first to speak. "Coach Sasabe sent us to check up on you, we even brought you a get well gift." Looking down, he smiles at (Y/N), and hands her a bag. "And since you weren't at school either I brought you some grape lollipops since you haven't had in a while."

He chuckles when the bag is immediately snatched from his grasp, and his friend quickly unwraps one before popping it into her mouth and biting down. She groans in satisfaction, and mumbles a thanks through her puffed out cheek.

"Hm?" Rei raises a brow. "But I wasn't.." he goes to explain but stops when Nagisa jumps to his side, quickly interrupting him. "Hey! If I didn't know any better I'd say you're in excellent shape, Gōu and Miss A were getting pretty worried about you to.

Sasabe said 'tell him he should be taking better care of himself before the tournament.'" He depends his voice to do a pretty well done impression of their Coach, and Rei watches them with wide eyes.

"Everyone..was really worried about me?" His question makes the group watch him fondly, and (Y/N) coos when she listens to her friends.

"Of course we were worried."

"It was the first time you've missed practice, it's hard not to worry, now if it was Nagisa-"

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" The group laugh at the smaller boys whine, his overly exaggerated pout making it even more laughable.

The group had since caught up on familiarities, and sat around small rounded table in the middle of the room. Haru watches (Y/N) swipe Nagisa away from her bag of lollipops, and raises his brow when she resorted to slapping her hand over his face and pushing him back.

Sighing, he shakes his head before looking between her and Rei. "So, is it true that both of you talked to Rin?" His question was more in interest than being accusatory, and both Rei and (Y/N) glance to eachother nervously.

Rei looks down and stares at Nagisa, who scratches the back of his head sheepishly. "I might have told them everything..sorry you guys, I feel bad." The two smile softly at their friend's worried expression, and (Y/N) gently pats the top of his honey like hair.

"Don't be." Rei assures him, before facing Haru and Makoto on the other side of the table. "Yes, it was quite the meeting." He stiffs when (Y/N) nudges him, both of them knowing it was much more than that.

"Was it because I told you about our past?"

"No, not really. I had my own reasons for wanting to talk to him, I needed some answers." Haru nods and glances to the (H/C) girl infront of, and raises a brow. (Y/N) sighs dramatically and leans back on her hands.

"He brought me along to set a point I guess?" She shrugs, and the group hums in acknowledgment. Rei looks at her with one last apologetic smile, and turns to the group.

"But it's okay now." The group look up in surprise. "I'm done worrying, especially for him! It's not my problem anymore."

He watches Haru and Makoto glance to eachother before smiling. "I guess that means the rest of us can focus on the team, right Rei?" Haru asks with a small smile, and Rei watches him, surprised.

"You mean I'm apart of it?" He yelps when (Y/N) wraps her arm around his neck and pulls him down. "Of course you are!" She says happily, and the rest nod.

Rei watches them all through hazy glasses, and his cheeks turn red before he smiles at them all in appreciation.

Nagisa kicks his lips, before clapping his hands and reaching into a plastic bag. "Now that that's settled, let's take a good break!"

"I never realized melon bread was gift material.." Rei mumbles from his spot, both he and (Y/N) staring down at the bread with unreadable yet similar expressions.

"We didn't have enough money to buy a real melon, but these spongy sweet buns are just as tasty!" Nagisa carefully opens the packet before fishing the bread out, and leans over the table in offering. "Here! Take a bite."

"..I'm not hungry-HM!" Haru's interjection gets cut off when his friend forces the bread into his mouth, and moves it around to imitate the movement of eating. (Y/N) snorts into her hand.

"See! Haru likes it!"

"Loosing..moisture.." suddenly, Haru's whole face grows almost pale, his mouth still in closed around the melon bread. The group all jump in shock, and (Y/N) slaps Nagisa's hand away allowing the dry creation to tumble onto the floor.

"I think he's gonna pass out!" She tells, running to his side and grabbing his shoulders. "Stay with us! Don't leave me with these fools-"

"What? Fools?!" Makoto gasps in offense, but shakes his head to focus on the matter at hand. "Rei hurry! Go get him some water to drink!"

"R-right!" Quickly, the blue haired boy darts out the room, before returning shortly after.

"I have something even better than water!" Turning around, the group deadpan at what exactly he had returned with. "Behold, barley tea!" Flicking his glasses in triumph, gesturing to the drink. "This refreshing beverage and Melon bread have been my family's go to combo for generation-!"

"Who gives a shit! Just give it to him!" (Y/N) yells in wild panic, her hands flapping wildly to cool Haru's even more paler face.

"Hm-water.." she hears him groan, and looks back to see him hunched over the table.

"I think he's dying.." Nagisa mumbles, and receives a quick slap to the head.

"Why are you so calm about it?!" Makoto yells in panic, and screams. "He's slipping!"

"Quit standing there Rei!" (Y/N) screams just as loud, pulling a face when she sees the blue haired boy standing still, a small genuine laugh plastered on his face.

Quickly the smile falls, and Rei rushes down to offer his friend some well needed cold tea. "Don't worry, Haru! Help is on the way."

"DON'T YOU DIE ON US!"

"Makoto Tachibana! Shut up!" (Y/N) yells before throwing a melon bread and watching in satisfaction as it hits him square on the forehead.

_____