Chapter Two

The First "Meet"



The emptiness of my home was apparent. Only my older brother, a plastic surgeon and a typical pervert, lived at home.



"Masaru," I yawned as I strolled into the kitchen while stretching.



He sighed before saying, "Konnichiwa, Kasumi."



After placing my apron on, I gathered the supplies needed to cook seared, grill salmon.



"Salmon today?" my brother asked as I nodded. "Fancy . . ."



"I'm going swimming today," I informed him as I placed the raw salmon on the grille.



"Ah, okay," he nodded as he flipped through the newspaper.



"How was work today?" I asked, trying to form a conversation.



"Good, I suppose," he replied with a smile.



"Hn," I beamed as I placed the cooked salmon on a plate.



Upon doing so, I took out some broccoli from the fridge and began to boil them. Soon after I placed them neatly on a part of the plate, I took out a corncob and microwaved it for two minutes before breaking it in half for the both of us.



"Here it is," I told him as I placed it on the table.



"Ah . . . looks delicious," he grinned as he put away his newspaper.



After I finished eating, I ran upstairs and changed into my one-piece swimsuit, covered by my light blue t-shirt and black sport shorts.



"I'm out," I informed him as I exited the house.



After walking about a mile, I entered the gates to the pool. There, I saw Haruka, Nagisa, and Makoto already there.



"Kasumi-chan!" Nagisa smiled warmly as he waved his hands randomly in the air.



"Nagisa-san," I nodded curtly before taking my shirt and shorts off to reveal my swimsuit.



"Nice swimsuit," Makoto commented with a beam as I dived into the ten-feet-deep pool.



"Nice pool," I noted out loud as I began to swim freestyle back and forth.



"I know, right," I heard Makoto murmur before I began swimming effortlessly. "Haruka especially swims like water itself. He's so graceful in the water."



"You make him sound like a ballerina," I noted monotonously, rolling my eyes as I floated on my back.



"Hahaha," Nagisa laughed endlessly as I managed to chuckle.



"Aha!" Makoto snapped his fingers, an idea rolling into his mind. "Why don't you and Haru-chan have a freestyle race! That'd be epic!"



"Uh . . ." I sighed as I thought about the proposition. "Depends on what Haruka-san thinks."



We all glanced at Haruka, who halted at the sight of us. He took off his fogged goggles and shook his head, making his hair twist and turn around wildly. Bishonen.



"Fine," Haruka said simply as he got to an end of the pool. "Back and forth alright with you?"



"Fine by me," I smiled as I stood on the diving stool next to him, goggles on.



"Ready?" Makoto asked us formally as we took our marks in ready position. "Go!"



Both Haruka and I dived into the water. Using the diving panel as a starter to a good jump, I dived. Using the power of my legs, I kicked. Using the power of my arms, I moved back and forth. At the end, I did a flip, and swam farther again. By the time I reached the ending point, I looked up to see Haruka panting slightly beside me.



"Who won?" I asked, taking off my goggles carefully from my tangled hair.



"Tie," he answered truthfully as I laughed.



"No way it was a tie, Makoto-san," I laughed nervously. "Haruka-san must have been faster and here before me."



"No, he's right, it was a tie," Haruka informed me.



"Oh, my . . ." I chuckled as I swam beside him. "Shouldn't you be swimming, aiming for the Olympics or something?"



"No," he said, looking down to the ground. "I lost my drive."



"Seriously?" I raised an eyebrow. "Your drive? How?"


"My USB drive," he told me as I anime fell. "It was supposed to be here on the panel here.



"Ah, here it is," he said monotonously. "As for the competitions, I need to beat a certain someone before I want to compete."



"Oh, I see," I smiled as I hoisted myself up using the railings. "I'll just dry off for a while before I go home."



"You like just drying off naturally?" Nagisa asked me as I nodded. "Oh, I like it better with a towel."



"With just that, it makes me feel . . . not fake . . ." I laughed as I shook my head side by side to dry off my damp hair. "You guys are actually the best people to hang around with."



"Thanks!" both Nagisa and Makoto commented before leaping into the pool.



"Arigato . . ." I heard Haruka mutter as he returned to floating freely in the translucent waters.



I sat down on one of the lounge chairs and closed my eyes against the sunset's rays.



Haruka's Point of View



Getting out of the water, I glanced at Kasumi to see her asleep on the lounge chair. Smirking, I cupped water into my hands and dumped it on Kasumi, causing her to squirm and glare at me.



"Haruka!" she screamed my name as she ran after me.



She managed to catch up with me and push me into the pool. Grabbing her ankle, she fell along with me.



I laughed as her angry face eventually turned into a grin.



"I have to admit," she laughed. "Nice one, Haruka-san."



"Hn," I replied as she splashed water on me, me doing the same.



Nagisa's Point of View



"Aren't they a cute couple?" I whispered like a gossip girl to Makoto who nodded endlessly in reply.



"You can say that again," he nodded his head to no end as Haruka and Kasumi splashed water on the both of us.



"Hey!" Makoto and I yelled as we both ran into the pool, making a gigantic splash.



"Hahaha," both Haruka and Kasumi laughed as we all started an official splash war.