Free! x Reader Scenarios

Blood and confusion [ haruka x reader ]

His intense stare sent curiousity running through my bones.

It had been a couple of days already, and those looks just kept growing longer and longer.

We'd been together for quite a while now, so it was strange how his eyes scanned my legs, arms, neck and face. It wasn't an erotic kind of gaze, more of one that was searching for something, as if he was trying answer a question, and the answer was hidden on me. 

Strange. That's what it was. How he looked deep in thought, his eyes clouded a little as if something was bothering him. 

How he randomly pulled up my shirt to scruntinize my torso and back, or crawled under the table to look at my feet.

It was hard to understand his train of thoughts normally, but it was even more frustrating trying to figure out what on earth was wrong with my boyfriend, when all he would say when I asked was "everything's fine".

Something was bothering him, and it was starting to bother me too. Because I didn't know what it was. Because I couldn't understand his sudden fascination with my body. Because he would do something so ridiculously weird like pick up my hands while I was working to look at them, then put them down, and walk away as if nothing had happened. It didn't make any sense, and it was getting on my nerves too. 

Then he started add unusual ingredients to the food he cooked. Saba with ginger. Saba with lily bulb. Saba with tumeric and seweed.

These ingredients aren't even complementary to the taste to makerel, and for someone who was rigid enough to eat mackerel everyday for something like the past 10 years of his life, these sudden changes in behaviour and cooking habits were kind of alarming. 

And the answer of "I wanted to try something new" wasn't exactly very convincing either.

As someone what somewhat little cooking experience, googling the use of these new additions to my menu gave exciting results. 

Medicinal cuisine.

But since when was Haru interested in traditional chinese medicine?

These raging questions nagged at me day and night. While doing work, I would make sure Haru wasn't gazing at me like some lovestruck pigeon or coming over to check the insides of my wrists. 

While sleeping, I would get annoying dreams of strange new culinary concotions presented to me to eat. 

Honestly, I just wanted to knock Haru on the head (gently, of course) and ask him what on earth was wrong.

So that was exactly what I did. 

Or attempted to do.

While he was reading some article on his laptop, I snuck over and prepared to lightly karate chop his head. 

Then I realised he was reading an article titled, "What to do when suffering from Hamaturia (blood in urine)".

"Ne, Haru, does your parent or friend have this?" Was the only logical conclusion I could come to. So he was trying our methods to solve this issue by cooking medicinal cuisine and using me as a taste-tester, right?

"No."

"Then?"

"You."

"What. How did you reach that conclusion?"

"Red pee in toilet bowl. Red pee on weird shaped diapers. Drops of red pee on the shower floor."

For a moment I didn't get what he meant. diapers? pee in the shower? Red pee? HUh? nAni?

 Then I had an epiphany.

Period blood in the toilet. Period blood on sanitary pads, not diapers. Period blood which dripped when I showered, and I didn't notice.*

Oh.

And I couldn't stop giggling.

And that confused, half-annoyed dead look Haru gave me didn't help either.

"Ne, Haru, what did you do in Biology class?"

"Sleep."

"That explains a lot."

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I've been working on this for quite long. I just didn't know how to finish and I finally came up with an ending (feeling super guilty for not updating in so long).

If you don't understand (I think it's a bit hard to get my train of thought here oops but well):  You're on your period. Haru sees the blood left behind in the toilet bowl, and on the pads, and on the shower floor. He doesn't know what it is, so he checks your arms, legs, torso etc to see if you've cut yourself. But there aren't any cuts so he's really confused. Since there's blood in the toilet bowl, he assumes you have Hamaturia. So he makes medicinal cuisine for you so you can get better. But obviously everything he thinks in wrong.

＊EDIT:
"Period blood in the toilet. Period blood on..."
Just for clarification: sometimes i realise that the blood doesn't get completely flushed away especially if your flow is pretty heavy
Also about the pads parts, sometimes your pads get unraveled (? Is that the word? )
I had no intention of portraying the narrator (I) as lacking personal hygiene or anything.
Just wanted to clear that up :)
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On the topic of menstruation.

In many parts of the world, menstruation is a touchy topic, and honestly what people do to women on their period is horrifying.

If you guys want to read up more on these discriminatory practices, have a look on child marriage in India and Afghanistan and the practice of Chuapadi in Nepal. World Vision has some programmes which support these women, so if you're interested you can donate and help :)

I just want to say that if anyone discriminates against you for being on your period, or being a female in general, stay strong and keep your head up. Because your biologial characteristics don't define you. It's your character, your attitude towards life, and the way you carry yourself that makes you worthy of respect. 

Here's an article on sexism in the US { Harvard Business Review: are US Millennial Men Just as Sexist as Their Dads? }

I want to end with the quote from the Merchant of Venice (literature text anybody?)

"Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimension, senses, affections, passions? Fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer as a Christain is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? "

-- Shylock, Act 3 Scene 1.

This quote is a means of justifying Shylock's action of seeking revenge on Antonio for the derognatory statements and actions that Antonio had cast upon Shylock, causing the audience to feel sympathy for Shylock. However, it does bring up other important points on equality, discrimination and fairness. Although it talks about the conflict between a Christian and Jew, how Jews are seen as sub-human, it can apply to other contexts. In the case of different religions (eg. Christian and Jews), it shows how one religion shouldn't claim itself higher than another. In the context of gender, it shows that females and males are equal. It can apply to race, age, societical standing, nationality and a whole lot more. 

This quote highlights the shared humanity that we humans have. And I think that's an important point for everyone to remember. 

Thanks for listening to my rambling.