Rin was dreaming again. He stood at Haru's front door, insistently ringing the doorbell. There was no response; he let himself in. Just like in his previous dream, he wandered into the living room first. He noticed the same red goldfish floating in it's bowl but it appeared strangely still. Before he could step closer to get a better look, he heard a creaking sound behind him. He whirled around, expecting Haru to be standing there but there was no one. He decided to check the bathroom. He knew that Haru spent most of his time at home in his bath but the bathroom yielded no Haru. Just a bathtub filled to the brim with murky dank water the color of slime. Repulsed, Rin fled the bathroom, a sudden feeling of dread entering the pit of his stomach at his inability to locate Haru.

He climbed to the second floor in order to search Haru's bedroom. Pausing in front of the door to Haru's room, Rin could hear weird strangled sounds coming from inside the room. Was Haru hurt? He flung the door open in alarm. The sounds were definitely coming from Haru, who was currently lying on the floor. His eyes were clenched tightly shut, but not in pain. His cheeks were burning red. His chest was rising and falling rapidly and he was covered in a thin sheen of sweat. He was also completely naked and slowly stroking himself. Rin stared in shock before quickly averting his eyes. He had never imagined Haru would do these kinds of things in his free time; for all of the time Rin had known him, Haru had never shown any overt sexual tendencies. Well, not until their little "meeting" in the locker room. Rin had also never considered himself to be a voyeur, but there he was, hesitantly returning his eyes to the sinfully sexy portrait before him. He could feel his own arousal coming to life as Haru's labored breathing became wanton moaning. Haru titled his head back slightly and finally opened his eyes. As he stared at Rin, his gaze glazed over with lust and desire. He reached out for Rin, silently beckoning him to his side. Rin obliged him, falling softly to his knees beside Haru's head. He went down on all fours so his lips could hover dangerously close above Haru's. Haru's breath hitched and he whined softly, desperate for Rin to touch him. Rin smirked, Haru's unwavering devotion to him never failed to boost his ego. Finally, he bent down and connected their lips, kissing Haru softly and slowly. He pulled away after a few seconds, his eyes drifting open, and the sight that greeted him was horrific to say the least. Where Rin's lips had touched his, Haru's own lips had begun to tear open and bleed profusely. Haru gave him a questioning look, confused by the fear he saw in Rin's eyes, and raised a hand to his lips. He saw the blood on his fingertips as he withdrew his hand; his gaze shifted to meet Rin's, his blue eyes swimming with bewilderment and something bordering joy.

"Touch me, Rin." he whispered, reaching out to grab one of his arms. Rin immediately pulled away, unsure of Haru's intentions, but Haru managed to grab his hand and yank him forward, pressing the palm of his hand to his chest, directly over his heart. Where Rin's skin met Haru's, the flesh began to tear open. Rin began to strain furiously against Haru's grip, cringing at the sight of blood dripping thickly down Haru's chest.

"Haru, stop it, let go!" Rin cried desperately; he didn't like the look in Haru's eyes, the strange pleasure flickering in his azure irises.

"Why? I like it when you touch me. I want you to stay with me Rin." Haru purred, "I like the way it hurts."

Rin's heart clenched at his words. He became almost frantic in his desperation to remove his hand from Haru's chest. But it was to no avail; Haru's grip was like cement, refusing to release Rin. Rin watched, mortified, as Haru's body melted down to blood and bone before his very eyes. This was no dream; it was a nightmare.

Suddenly, he could feel himself falling… into water. He rose to the surface, gasping for air. He was in a pool, an Olympic pool. He was at the Olympics! The gruesome image of Haru's disfigured body left his mind as he swam over to the edge of the pool and pulled himself out of the water. A middle-aged man was waiting for him to guide him over to the winner's pedestals. Rin followed closely behind and did not falter in assuming his rightful place on the highest block. He bent forward as an older and more distinguished-looking man stepped forward to hang a gold medal around his neck. The stadium full of people burst into cheers as Rin threw a first into the air in victory. He scanned the massive crowd and with the sort of magic accuracy that only a dream can grant, he located his family in the stands. His father, mother, and sister were all seated together in a row. He waved and called out to them but the smile fell from his face as he watched his mother and Gou frown and turn their heads away, as if they didn't recognize him. He looked to his dad for recognition but his father's expression was even worse than that of his mother and sister. His face was full of anguish and disappointment and he simply shook his head before turning away as well. Rin cried out to them again and again in desperation but they refused to look at him. The cheers of the crowd slowly transformed into horrid screaming.

He felt his pedestal turn lumpy and squishy beneath his feet and he looked down to see the emaciated bodies of Haru, Makoto, and Nagisa forming the platform upon which he stood.

He woke suddenly with a cry and sat upright in bed. He was drenched in cold sweat and Nitori was hovering by his bedside, looking worried.

"I'm sorry, Senpai. I should've woken you up sooner. You must've been having a really bad dream because you started calling out names and then I noticed you were crying so I—"

"Crying?" Rin gingerly raised a hand to touch his cheek. He could definitely feel the traces of tears there. He scowled and quickly rubbed them away.

"It was nothing, Nitori. Go back to sleep."

It was late at night when Haru finally returned home. He had no idea how long he had laid in that locker room, paralyzed by the fact of what had just happened between him and Rin. When he had finally managed to pull himself up off the floor, he took a quick shower in order to wash all remaining traces of Rin from his body. He thought that he might start crying again but, surprisingly, he didn't shed a single tear. His body had shut down and was refusing to show any outward signs of emotion. It was better this way. Haru felt vulnerable after allowing his emotions to take such complete control over of him; he should have forced himself to remain stoic and impassive like he always did; that way, he never got hurt. But in this case, his fear of losing Rin again had consumed him.

He changed back into his Iwatobi track suit and left the locker room with a heavy weight in his chest. Leaving that locker room was like entering a world he never knew existed. A world outside of Rin's empty heated gaze, a world free of Rin's heavy breath on his neck. He shuddered at the memories, he couldn't seem to shake Rin's presence from his mind. He left regionals without saying a single word to Makoto, Nagisa, Rei, or Gou. He couldn't stand to face them at a time like this. Haru wandered listlessly for hours, his head filled with regret. He should've known it was too late. He had lost Rin years ago and throwing himself at Rin so desperately had only been asking for more pain. He eventually ended up at the Iwatobi pool. It was dark out and the surface of the water reflected the thousands of stars now making themselves known among the endless black. Haru bent down and extended his hand, intending to run his fingers through the cool water. But something stopped him. His heart clenched and something felt ominously out of place. He stared at the water, trying to find the answers to the unasked questions in his head, but he found nothing. He withdrew his hand and stood up. He suddenly felt dizzy, like he was about to pass out. A single thought was crashing around in his mind like a fire alarm. He didn't want to swim. The thought of the ice cold water of the pool enclosing his body suddenly made him feel sick to his stomach. He fled the school, feeling cold sweat break out across his skin. He just wanted to get home as soon as possible.

When he saw lights on in his house, he paused. Makoto maybe? His head was spinning from sprinting home. He opened the front door, his breathing still a little labored, and was greeted by Makoto sitting in his entryway and sleeping peacefully against a wall. He had to smile slightly at the sight. Why was Makoto at his house this late at night? He noticed his cellphone held loosely in Makoto's hands. He removed it gently to avoid waking him and flipped open the phone. He had one voicemail, he played it back.

~Playing new message.~

"Haru-chan? Where are you right now?"

"Please hurry home. We're all worried."

"I'm sorry, Haruka-senpai! I signed everybody up for the medley relay!"

"Yeah, so let's swim together tomorrow, Haru-chan."

"I'll be fine! I'll have the theory memorized by tomorrow!"

"Rei-chan, that's a sure sign that you'll fail."

~End of message.~

Haru didn't know what to think. He gazed at Makoto, sleeping so soundly, and memories of their conversation on the deserted island blended with Nagisa and Rei's message, creating a torrent of voices in his head. It has to be you! I want to swim with you! They all wanted him to swim. They we're all counting on him... But those voices were soon overridden by an eery mirthless chuckle. Those red eyes burned into his mind and suddenly the water was filled with frenzied killer sharks all thirsting for blood. Haru's stomach twisted at the thought and he gripped his sides, suddenly feeling ill, dropping his cellphone in the process.

Makoto's eyes drifted open at the clattering sound and he was surprised to see Haru standing before him.

"Haru?" He jumped to his feet at the look of discomfort on Haru's face. "Are you okay?"

Haru closed his eyes and forced the sickening feeling down, not wanting to frighten Makoto. "I'm fine." was what Haru said, but the lingering sensation of Rin's hands gripping him ensured that he was anything but. He could never tell Makoto what had happened in the locker room.

Makoto bent down to pick up Haru's phone. "I see you got the message." Haru simply nodded, staring determinedly at his feet. He was afraid to look Makoto in the eye, afraid of what Makoto might see. They had known each other for too long, Makoto could read him far too easily for comfort.

"I know you didn't really want to swim in the medley relay but—"

"I can't, Makoto." Makoto's warm expression slowly faded as he processed Haru's words. Haru couldn't bear to see the apprehension in Makoto's eyes; Haru felt tired, and he just wanted this day to end. He leaned forward until his forehead was resting against Makoto's chest. "I can't swim."

It was the second day of regionals and Rin still felt shaken by his nightmare from the night before. He had had dreams of his father before but his father had always been happy or smiling. That look of disapproval in his eyes... it was chilling. And Haru's blood... Rin quickly shook his head to chase away the thought before it could give him goosebumps.

"Matsuoka-senpai! Come with me! Quick!" Nitori was running towards Rin at full speed.

"What is it? It's not time for Samezuka's relay yet." Rin was blatantly disinterested in anything Nitori had to say. He wasn't up for his antics at the moment.

"No! I just saw the lane assignments for the medley relay, and Nanase-san's club is in the relay!" Rin's mind jolted at his words and disbelief flashed across his face.

"Huh?"

"W-Wait for me, Matsuoka-senpai!" Nitori called out pleadingly as Rin sprinted down the hall, ignoring Nitori's voice. He held his hand up to block the sun from his eyes as he exited the main building. He glanced around quickly before locating the registration table. He stalked determinedly towards the poor woman manning the table.

He snatched up the listing for the medley relay from the multiple sign up sheets spread out across the surface of the table. "Iwatobi High School" was staring back at Rin in undeniable black typing directly below "Samezuka Academy". Rin turned his frustration onto the woman who had been ignoring him while slowly fanning herself with a clipboard.

"Ma'am, is this the listing for today's medley relay?" Rin shoved the paper towards her, demanding clarification. She gazed at him for a moment before turning her disinterest to the paper in his hand. With a sigh, she reached out and took the paper from him. At the top of the page, in large bold letters, the words "Medley Relay Sign Up Sheet" were typed out. By now, she was quite certain this boy with oddly shark-like qualities was mentally deficient.

"Yes hun, this is the listing." Rin scowled. He didn't know what he'd been expecting. It makes sense that Haru's club would want to do the relay as well as the individual events. So why did the idea of Haru swimming in a relay infuriate him so much? Meanwhile, the woman had begun scanning the names of the schools. Her brows furrowed when she reached Iwatobi High School.

"What?" Rin demanded. "What is it?"

"I asked them for the updated versions of the lists this morning, they must've forgotten..." She mumbled to herself as she uncapped a thick black Sharpie and proceeded to cross out Iwatobi from the list.

"Why isn't Iwatobi in the relay anymore?" Rin snapped. He was losing his already non-existent patience with this woman. The woman didn't even bother to look up, instead shifting her attention to the other lists, most likely checking for other errors.

"I'm sorry, dear, I don't know. Someone received a phone call from the club manager early this morning."

"Manager?" Gou. Rin drifted away from the registration table as he dug around in the pockets of his track suit, searching for his phone. He fumbled to get the phone open and nearly dropped it in the process. Why was he in such a hurry?

He had Gou in speed dial and in seconds he could hear her voice coming through the receiver. She sounded sullen and groggy.

"Brother? Is something wrong? Aren't you at regionals today?"

"Yeah, I'm at regionals. Why aren't you here? I thought Iwatobi was swimming in today's relay." Rin chewed the inside of his cheek, desperately trying to fight back his curiosity.

There was a pause before he heard Gou sigh deeply. "Well, everyone was so nice and willing to do the relay even though I didn't tell them that I'd signed them up for it until yesterday." Rin smirked at that. Of course Gou would do something like that without asking for permission first.

"We only needed Haruka-senpai to agree to do it too but he must've left regionals early," Rin flinched at this, "because we couldn't find him anywhere. We went to his house to wait for him but he never showed up. We tried calling his phone too but he'd left it at home. When it got really late, Makoto said he'd stay behind at Haru's house and wait for him so the rest of us went home." Rin bit down on his cheek a little too hard at the mention of Makoto waiting up for Haru.

"This morning, I received a text from Makoto. He said that Haru was sick and couldn't swim in the relay. But don't worry brother, I'll be there soon to watch you swim. I'm just finishing getting ready right now."

"Okay then, see you soon." Rin hung up before Gou could say another word. He didn't want to be rude to his sister but his head had suddenly begun throbbing like it'd been hit by a wrecking ball.

Haru too sick to swim? Since when?! Haru swam so often that he made himself sick from overexposure to cold water. Gou had mentioned to him how Haru had dove into the Iwatobi pool without hesitation the moment they had finished refurbishing it even though it still wasn't warm enough outside. Rin couldn't imagine a single thing on this planet that could keep Haru from swimming. None of it made sense to him. He clenched his hands into fists and ground his razor sharp teeth together. Images of Haru's emotionless eyes and limp body flashed through his mind. He could hear his own moans ringing in his head again. He could hear the weak echos of Haru's body banging against the lockers with each of his thrusts. It was like watching a horrible movie on constant repeat.

Suddenly, a crackling sound pierced the air and a voice came on over the speakers. The Samezuka Academy medley relay was about to start.

A week later, Rin received a call from Makoto. He sounded frenzied and panicked and... angry? Rin hadn't recognized the voice as Makoto's at first because he couldn't remember a single occasion where Makoto had raised his voice or lost his temper with anyone.

"Wait, wait, Makoto, slow down. I can't understand you." Rin was seated at the edge of his dorm bed, absentmindedly drying his hair with a towel. He'd just stepped out of the shower when his phone had started ringing.

He heard Makoto take a deep breath to calm himself. "Rin, something's wrong with Haru. Ever since regionals, he's been acting especially distant and cold. He talks even less than usual and he panics whenever somebody tries to touch him—"

"It's not my fault Haru can't handle a taste of his own medicine. It's about time he dealt with the pain of losing." Rin chose to block out Makoto's words. Haru wasn't of any concern to him anymore and the last thing he needed was more fuel for his nightmares. Those awful, awful nightmares that refused to go away and only got progressively worse with each passing night.

"You know as well as I do that Haru doesn't caring about winning or losing, Rin." Makoto's tone became ominously stern. Rin scowled and refused to say a word. He wouldn't put up with much more of Makoto patronizing him.

"There's more to swimming than winning..." Makoto continued, his voice growing quiet and distant. "At least, Haru thought there was something more. That's why he wanted to race you." Makoto paused before continuing. He hated to admit this to Rin. Haru's blind dedication to Rin had always bothered him. "And I'm pretty sure you're the one who taught him what that something was. When we swam in that relay in grade school, you—"

"What do I care?! I beat Haru! That's all that matters." Rin was seconds away from hanging up the phone when Makoto's next words froze him straight to the bone.

"Haru won't swim anymore, Rin."

Rin's dorm room suddenly seemed miles and miles away. The only thing connecting him to Earth at this point were those five simple words. Those five simple words that seemed so incredibly insignificant out of context, but to Rin, they carried the weight of a death sentence.

"What?" He managed to utter, his grip on his phone tightening.

"Aside from showers, Haru hasn't been in the water once since regionals." Makoto sounded incredibly tired, like someone had knocked all the wind out of him. He had lost countless hours of sleep this week worrying about Haru. The breaking point had been when Makoto noticed the plaid hem of regular boxers peaking out above Haru's jeans instead of his usual jammers. Makoto had always known that Rin had a strong effect on Haru but there wasn't a doubt in his mind that Rin must've done something pretty extreme to push Haru this far over the edge.

When Rin remained silent, Makoto seized his opportunity. He was determined to get an answer from Rin.

"Rin, what did you do to Haru?"

Rin remained silent, his wet hair long forgotten, as Makoto's words circled in his mind. Haru won't swim anymore. Rin shook his head and sighed.

He'd majorly fucked up this time, hadn't he?

Please don't hate me for taking away Haru's swimming. I hope you guys don't think it's too extreme of a plot device. I wrote this as quickly as I could so please overlook any spelling issues or grammatical errors. I'll go through and edit this chapter properly as soon as I have the time. By the time this fic is finished, I'm thinking it'll be roughly six chapters long. Also, I know some of you are worried about this fic becoming a MakoHaru fic. Let me assure you that, at least for this fic, RinHaru will be endgame 100%. However, I can't be held accountable for any slight deviations along the way. ;)

Reviews are greatly appreciated! :)