Clouded Distance | Free! Fan Fiction

28. Time and Distance

Clouded Distance
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Time and Distance

Hana didn't know how it happened. One minute she was walking, unsure of where she was going, and the next she was seated on a train.

She hadn't realised which subconscious thoughts had driven her to the train, but now she was seated and had time to process her thoughts, she realised that she'd been heading for Rin. Samezuka was miles away from Iwatobi, and Rin hadn't known anything that had just happened on the beach. It gave her a time to distance herself from everything, even if it was just momentarily.

There weren't many people on the train, and the few who were shot Hana odd looks. She caught sight of her reflection in the mirror and winced, noticing how untidy she looked. She was all too glad to get off the train and escape the stares of other people.

Samezuka looked and felt empty when she arrived; there were barely any lights on, and there wasn't a soul to be seen. Hoping she hadn't just missed him, Hana entered the administration building and approached the man seated behind the desk, who looked moments away from heading home.

"Is Matsuoka Rin here?" she asked the receptionist.

The man's eyes widened upon noticing her disheveled figure, but still responded. "He's still here. You're lucky to catch him, most have already left for the Oboron holiday."

"Where abouts is he?"

The receptionist listed the room number. Before waiting for anything else to be said, Hana ran off with only the numbers to guide her. The receptionist yelled something - probably something about girls in boys dorms - but Hana couldn't care less. She needed to see Rin, she couldn't hold this in more much longer...

Hana ran around Samezuka, and managed to find the dorm room. Eventually, after a few wrong turns, she located the dorm the receptionist said Rin was in.

Without caring that she was probably breaking a dozen school regulations that she didn't even know about, Hana slammed the door open, only able to catch a flash of red hair through the tears in her eyes and the strands of her own brown hair flying in her face. "Rin!"

Rin whipped around, his eyes widening upon seeing her figure in the doorway, what with her windswept hair, her tear-stained cheeks,  and rumpled yukata. "Hana?" he exclaimed. At once he was at her side, draping an arm around her shoulders. "Hana, are you okay?"

She shook her head and sniffed, wiping furiously at her eyes as everything came crashing down on her once again. "H-Haru..."

Understanding filled the depths of his eyes. After gently squeezing her shoulders, he guided her over to the bed. "Here. Sit down," he murmured. Hana did as he told her. Once she was comfortable he asked gently, "What happened?"

"Well..." Haru glanced up as she felt the bed dip once again, even though she and Rin were already seated. Her eyes widened upon seeing who was there. She hadn't performed a complete survey of the room once she'd arrived, having had eyes only for Rin. She didn't know how she'd missed him, especially considering how tall he was. "Sousuke-kun..." she muttered, looking into his dark eyes.

She was temporarily stricken by fear upon remembering their encounter at the opening of Iwatobi SC Returns all those months ago. She hadn't thought he'd liked her very much after that cold stare of his. Plus, if he had known that she'd overheard that conversation between him and Rin at Regionals, when he revealed everything about his shoulder... Yeah, he probably wouldn't like her very much.

But his face lit up into a gentle smile and he too rested a hand on her shoulder. "Talk, Hana. Get it off your chest."

Hana sniffed once more and wiped at her eyes, calming herself down. And then, once she was calm enough, she told them everything. She told them of Haru's uncertainty since the regionals, and how they were all scared for them, and how she'd just been accepted for the scholarship, and how Haru had just reacted when they'd all confronted him at the festival just then.