Dance of the Waves

Prologue

The wind blew softly, as he headed out. Brushing the bangs from his eyes, Nanase Haruka, or 'Haru' as he liked to be called, looked up to the blue sky that greeted him. It was an ordinary day. The sun shone down warmly, giving everything a golden, butter like feeling.

As he descended down the steps toward school, Haru only had one thought in his mind: It's warm enough to swim.

The thought itself made him walk a little faster, trying to reach his destination quicker. Iwatobi High School; where his beloved swimming pool was. The thought that he had class first was pushed far back in his mind.

As was every other day, the boy's thoughts were clouded with thoughts of swimming, water, among the like. The only difference today was Makoto wasn't beside him talking about nonsensical things he was unlikely to remember. The taller boy was running late today, one of the twins had caught a cold, and he was caring for them first. It had been a long time since Haru had walked to school alone.

His path to school was a simple one, a quick walk down the steps, turn right at the second turn, and cross the bridge over the river. At the time of year, the trees overlooking the bridge were in full bloom. Plush green leaves filtered in the early morning sunshine, turning the area into an almost magical tunnel. He had just set foot on the overpass when he noticed someone standing near to the middle. Her hands rest gently on the side railing, peering up at the sun smothered foliage.

She had chocolate brown hair, flowing like little streams down her neck, and spilling over her shoulder blades. It framed her pale face, showcasing her rosy pink cheeks. She looked in his direction, and their eyes made contact. Gorgeous eyes the colour of mahogany, searching deeply within his own ocean blue eyes. He walked closer, giving her another look. She was wearing the Iwatobi High School uniform, and the bow around her neck a bright red. She was a first year, the same age as Nagisa and Rei.

He looked away, continuing to walk down the bridge, slowly approaching her. He had barely brushed by her, when she finally spoke up, "Um... Hello!" She called out, and he turned back to look at her. She had rather shy posture, "M-my name is Ashimei Maiha." Her rosy pink cheeks were getting brighter by the second, "T-this is my first day of school here, n-nice to meet you!" She bowed quickly and politely.

The raven head was surprised, and as he stood there in front of a girl he had never met before, who had introduced herself so suddenly, he could feel his face growing hot. It must have been the sun. "Shouldn't you be telling that to your class?" He asked, looking away, his gaze fluttering away to anywhere but the girl named Ashimei Maiha.

"Ah! Sorry," She replied sheepishly, "I just... I promised myself the first person I saw I would say hello to, was that weird?"

His response took a second, "... No."

She smiled at that, "It's nice to meet you," she said again, "What's your name?"

"... Nanase Haruka."

"Well, I'll see you around Nanase-san!" She greeted kindly. And just as quickly as she had waltzed in with her strange introduction, she was gone; walking down the overpass, the sun filtering through that chocolate coloured hair of hers.

Haru stood there dumbfounded. His previous thoughts of water, and swimming, momentarily forgotten. Ashimei Maiha... What a strange girl.

Hello everyone! This is my second fanfiction for Free! and my first multichapter contribution to the fandom. I'd really appreciate feedback! So if you could pretty please leave a review and tell me how it is, I'd be really happy! Thank you! :)

As well, this is just a prologue, but I'm hoping that the chapters themselves will be longer. Thank you for reading!~

~Mikashi-chan :)