𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐- 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐏𝐒𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒
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The steps to Haru's home were always the bane of (Y/N)'s existence, with the boy living at just the right height to make her loose all feeling in her legs and pray on her dear friend's downfall.

With a final huff and a curse slipping past her lips, (Y/N) finally makes it to the top of the stairs and rings the bell. She waits a minute, her foot tapping against the ground before raising a brow and walking towards the back of the house.

The sliding door was open, so the tired girl quickly makes her way through the threshold and down towards the bathroom. Muffled voices could be heard from behind the door, which causes the teen to grit her teeth and grab the handle.

"What the hell?!" She yells, throwing the door open to see Makoto pulling a half naked Haru out of the bathtub. "(Y/N)!" The brown haired boy shrieks in surprise, his hair standing on end as his friend glares at him.

(Y/N) feels her eye twitch as she stares at them. "I have been waiting half an hour for you two! And here I find one of you still taking a bath?!" Her voice rises with every word, getting more high pitched as her frustration bubbles over.

She looks down and points to Haru's swim shorts. "Get those off and go change! We're already late as it is!" He only stares at her, which makes Makoto sweat as he nervously watches metaphorical fire surround his childhood friend.

(Y/N) and Haru stare at each-other for what seems like an eternity, before the water addicted boy finally obliges and steps out the bathtub. "Fine." He says simply, and begins to walk towards the bathroom door.

He stops when he's standing directly infront of his still fuming friend, and gently nods his head to her. "Morning, (Y/N)." He hears her tongue click against the wall of her mouth before she finally rolls her eyes and steps aside, allowing him past. "..morning Haru."

Makoto watches from the side, and feels a chuckle tickle against his chest when he notices (Y/N)'s puffed out cheeks. Said girl whips her head in his direction, and small hairs begin to fall from her bun.

"It's not funny, I thought you guys ditched me." She says plainly, her arms crossed. Makoto makes his way towards her, a smile evident on his face. "I know, I'm sorry it's been a hectic day." He says softly, and opens his arms when he reaches her. (Y/N) watches him for a moment before sighing and wrapping her arms around his torso while his go around her shoulders.

"Morning Makoto.." she grumbles into his shoulder, and her friend laughs softly against her forehead. They both let go before Makoto looks down at her, his cheeks a faint pink and his grin only growing at her less grumpy face.

"Morning (Y/N)."

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"I haven't had breakfast yet." Haru explains with boredom, both Makoto and (Y/N) at his side as they watch him grill a piece of Mackerel.

The young women had since given up on being mad and resorted to seeing how long it would take before her gentle giant of a friend looses his patience with Haru. Makoto sighs as his bickering comes to a stop, and looks towards (Y/N) with a dramatic sigh.

She snickers as she watches, and raises a brow when the brown haired boy comes up next to her and begins to fiddle with the flimsy elastic holding her hair together.

"By the time we get to school your hair will be all over the place." He says softly, and begins to undo her bun and gently run his fingers to get rid of any nots.

(Y/N) hums as she watches Haru continue to make his breakfast, neither of them speaking. She studies his face, and notes that his eyes had become a lot more distant than when they were kids.

The ding of the toaster brings her back, and she sighs when golden brown toast pops into her vision. "Mackerel on toast..again."

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On the way to school, the trio had begun to catch up on what they had been up to during the small break. Makoto and (Y/N) continued to chat while Haru stared off into the distant, the sea practically sparkling when he catches sight of it.

He failed to notice the small treat his shorter friend had popped into her mouth, while Makoto watched her with a small stare of disapproval. "You know your teeth are going to rot with how many of those you eat in a day."

His scolding folds on deaf ears as he watches (Y/N) continue to munch away, her arms folded behind her back as she continues to walk between her friends.

Makoto sighs, before looking up and noticing Haru's distant gaze. "I sure hope it gets warmer soon, then you can swim again." He says, and both his friend turn their heads to stare at him. (Y/N) softly chuckles while Haru turns his head away in embarrassment, and ignores both of them until they arrive at school.

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"Miss (Y/N) (L/N)?" The trio's new teacher had been busy with roll call by the time they all walked in, which was just in the nick of time before they took their seats.

(Y/N) raises her hand from infront of Haru, before the teacher moves on and calls out the next name. "Let's see..Miss Haruka Nanase?" The mistake causes a snort to choke the teen just as Makoto raises his hand to correct his teacher.

"Excuse me Miss! Haruka's a guy!" The class erupts into laughter and side eyes while the teacher apologizes for the misunderstanding, not that Haru was listening, he just wanted to get back into the water.

The class quickly moved by with lunch coming just in time. (Y/N) swiftly collected her bento from underneath her desk before jumping up and turning towards her friends.

"Lunchtime! Wanna head to the roof?" Both boys agree, slightly amused at the comical drool dripping from the girls mouth at the thought of her mother's food.

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"Salmon is the best fish what are you talking about?"

"No it isn't."

"Yes it is!"

"Mackerel is better."

"..no it's not!"

"..yes it is."

Makoto listens as both Haru and (Y/N) continue to bicker away about which fish deserved to be the best. Students walking by often gave the trio weirds looks, not that any of them minded as they all agreed the topic of conversation was rather stupid.

Just when they turn to walk down another flight of stairs, a high pitched but strangely familiar voice calls out to them from below.

"Haruka! Makoto! (Y/N)!"

Looking down, they all stare at a younger classmate of theirs, his hand waving frantically in the air. "It's been a long time, huh?" He says cheerfully. "Guess who finally made it!" (Y/N) stares at the younger boy, and her attention quickly shifts to his bright yellow hair.

Her eyes shoot open just as her other friends finally figure out who the boy was. "Nagisa!" The trio shout at the same time, and (Y/N) quickly dashes down the stairs towards him before flinging her arms out and giving the boy a tight squeeze.

"It's Nagisaaa!" The girl yells towards Makoto and Haru, and picks Nagisa off the ground to spin him around. Both boys watch from above the staircase, not bothering to calm their friend down as the younger one of the group shrieks in surprise.

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"We haven't seen you in forever!" Makoto breaths out. The group had since calmed down from their reunion with the ruby eyed boy and finally made it to the rooftop for lunch.

(Y/N) continues too munch on her milk bread as she listens to the boys catch up, her stomach thanking her when she goes in for another bight. Off to her right she spots two girls sitting together in the corner, but what catches her attention the most is the hair colour of one of the girls

Maroon, (Y/N) squints her eyes as she stares at the back of the girl's head, and flinches when she makes eye contact with her. Quickly ducking her head, (Y/N) feels her cheeks begin to heat up as the girl continues to burn holes into the side of her head.

Finally swallowing the small lump in her throat, she lifts her head and the two lock eyes, but the Maroon haired girl swiftly turns her head the other way just as (Y/N) started to raise her hand and wave in her direction.

The crippling pain of rejection knocks her off balance, and causes (Y/N) to miss out on the entire conversation her friends had been having.

Nagisa continues to harp on Haru joining and starting a club together with him, which the (H/C) girl found rather amusing as she listened. The bell rings shortly after and they all begin to make their way back inside, with the bright haired boy refusing to back down.

"Hey, you guys heard about our old swimming club, right?" (Y/N) listens as she walks beside Makoto, the taller of the two carrying her bento as a courtesy. "They lost the lease or something so they're gonna tear it down soon." This causes all three of them to flinch at the statement.

That club was where (Y/N) really got into her passion for swimming, where she made so many amazing friends and even better memories. It was her safe haven as a child and now that haven was getting torn down.

"So I was thinking." Nagisa's steps draw her attention to him. "We should stop by before they do, for old times sake." He ends his offer with a smile, and Makoto nods along. "We have to go dig that up, don't we?" (Y/N) watches from the side before glancing back and locking eyes with Haru.

His eyes showed hesitation, but the way his lips were pulling down showed her that he was also upset at the news.

"Exactly! It's already closed so we could sneak in under the cover of darkness." Nagisa continues his little rant as Haru comes up behind him, his face stern and body rigid. "Have fun with that but count me out." He states simply, and grinds his teeth when the back of his uniform is grabbed.

"Don't do that Haru! Please come with us!" The younger boys pleads are on deaf ears as Haru glares at (Y/N) still gripping his uniform so he can't escape his friend's offer. "You should come!" Makoto speaks up as he comes to stand beside Nagisa, and Haru turns his face away in stubbornness.

"Give me one good reason!"

The brown haired boy and (Y/N) lock gazes, before they both grin with an idea already set in their minds. "Well you'll have full access to an indoor pool." Makoto starts off, and looks to his friend to continue.

"A pool that happens to be much bigger, than a bathtub." (Y/N) speaks with a hint of mischief lacing her voice. Haru pauses for a moment before turning his head to stare at her, his big blue eyes practically sparkling with the thought of being able to swim again.

Makoto laughs, and brings his hand up to bump with (Y/N)'s as Nagisa begins to cheer and jump around at the notion that he's finally going to be having an adventure with his childhood friends.

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