[Free! ] Dolphin rearing posture

It is already a very cold season.

Since the morning, Nanase Haruka has felt a little hot.

He knew that this might be a sign of a mild cold or a fever, but he didn't think too much about it. Usually, when he had this symptom, it was almost relieved after swimming, almost gone.

But even with the key in hand, I was afraid that Rui would not be willing to borrow their swimming pool to practice, so Matsuoka decided that all members of the swimming club should go to block Rui after school.

"...Ah, are you looking for the chairman?" When everyone in the swimming department was lying on the back door of class two (2) and looked in, a shadow came into their eyes.

Matsuoka raised his head subconsciously, and found that the other party turned out to be Jun Nakajima, the head of the art department!

Hey, speaking of it, Jun Nakajima doesn’t look like a lunatic when he usually draws around the apron he usually uses in art, but he’s actually pretty good looking. To put it bluntly, he looks like someone from Ikebukuro living with the fairy Celty The underground esoteric doctor [cross out].

At this moment, he took off his glasses and cast a puzzled look at them.

"Um, Nakajima-senpai." Rei Ryuzaki moved his hand back and made a gesture of pushing his glasses, "Does Nakajima-senpai know where Amami-senpai has gone?"

"Xiaoyao, Rui isn't here." No one was found in the whole classroom from the back door, Tachibana Makoto turned to look at Nanase Haruka who had been staring at Rui's seat, "Eh...Xiaoyao?"

Could it be that Nanase Haruka was dumbfounded?

"...It's nothing, Makoto." Nanase Haruka also straightened up, silently shifting her gaze elsewhere.

"Is Nanase looking for the chairman?" Jun Nakajima's voice suddenly came out, making Nanase Haruka stunned.

"...No." Although he was indeed looking for it.

But Nanase Haruka really felt that his body was upright, so he had no choice but to [spread his hands].

"If you are looking for the Chairman, she left early today." Jun Nakajima wiped his glasses for a while with some regret, then glanced at her table, Jun Nakajima continued, "It seems It looks like there is something very important, she is not in a good state today."

"It seems to be true... I heard from Aya-senpai that when she and Arisa-senpai had lunch with Rui-san at noon today, Rui-san seemed to be out of shape." Matsuoka Jiang seemed I remembered something.

"Me too! Usually, if you accidentally bump into Miss Ruyi, she will definitely blow up!" Ye Yuezhu nodded and echoed, "But today, Miss Ruyi just ignored me and walked away!"

"Speaking of it... When I went to ask Rui-senpai for advice, she didn't call me 'idiot' before she taught me patiently like usual..." Rei Ryuzaki pushed his glasses, and his eyes pretended to be deep , "Could it be..."

"Could it be...?" Ju Zhenqin frowned, and began to analyze with everyone, "Ruyi is usually a typical tsundere like Xiaoyao..."

"That's not it." Nanase Haruka's brows could not help but twitch.

"Well... I really should ask Yami!" Higurashi Arisa, who was holding Tachibana Makoto's arm, trembled, "Awei is really weird recently!"

"Look at her being so restless... Maybe she's in love." Yuan Yaya, who happened to pass by, heard their discussion and said after thinking for a while, "Although it's winter now, won't spring come soon? , not to mention our age... we should fall in love."

Probably remembering something, Minamoto continued to inspect the school with a smile on her slightly flushed cheeks.

It's not like Rui was absent from class without reason, not to mention that Rui also asked Mina Yami for leave beforehand, she understood that Rui just wanted to see someone.And it's because of that person...there is Amami Rui who is now the chairman of the Disciplinary Committee.

**********

For the first time in her life, Nanase Haruka did not go home from school with Tachibana Makoto, but walked towards the opposite direction of the school.Ju Zhenqin, who was standing at the school gate smiling and waving goodbye to him, put down her hands, put her hands together and put them on her lips, and took a breath of hot air to keep herself warm.

Although he didn't say it, according to his understanding of Nanase Haruka...

That direction also happened to be the direction of Tianhai's family.

...As expected, Haruka cared a lot about what President Minamoto said.

"Excuse me..." Nanase Haruka stood at the door of Tianhai's house, raised her middle finger and knocked lightly on the door, then took half a step back, and looked up in a daze.

He remembered that the place he looked at seemed to be Rui or Rui's younger sister Kaori's bedroom, but he didn't have time to think about that much.

At the same time that Amami Zoriki opened the door, Nanase Haruka took a step forward. For some reason, he felt that his current self had added a sense of anxiety.

……Why is this?

"Aunt Tianhai... Excuse me, where did Ruyi go?" She must have gone to other places, but she must have returned home once before.It is also impossible for her to leave early for no reason, there must be something in it...

"It's Nanase-kun." Unexpectedly, Amami Oruki, who was usually gentle and cheerful, showed embarrassment at this time, and even her hand on the doorknob was unconsciously tightened.

"... Aunt Tianhai."

"Ah, I'm sorry I was a little distracted." Amami Oruki smiled softly, with some apology in his smile, "That child Rui left her schoolbag at home and went out... Is Nanase-kun waiting for her? Just sit down first..."

"No need, Aunt Amami." Nanase Haruka looked directly at Amami Zoriki for a while and then turned away, "Auntie, I think I should know where she went."

"Since Aunt Tianhai doesn't know, then I'm being rude." Nanase Haruka took a step back, and he already felt that his restless heart was slowly calming down as before.

"Nanase-kun, wait a minute." Amami Zoriki's voice was approaching and distant, and when he came back to his senses, there was already something extra in his hand.

—a string of pendants.

——"The child is in the cemetery not far from here... Nanase-kun should know that he lives near here, right, when the shipwreck..."

"Can I call you Aya?"

Nanase Haruka vaguely remembered that she nodded at that time.

He has unknowingly walked under the mountain road where the cemetery is located, as long as he walks up the road paved with plum blossoms...

The foot has stepped on it unknowingly, and there is no intention of stopping at all.

The pendant in his hand is hot, why, is it just because it is something that will be handed over to Rui later?

Nanase Haruka was already getting more and more confused about himself. Even when he stretched out his body in the water, he asked the water, which had always confused him, but it never answered him.

"—May you rest in peace." In his ears, he heard exactly what Rui said with her lips parted.

There was faint sadness in her eyes, and she carefully placed a bouquet of white roses in her hand in front of the tomb. Then she sat down on her knees again, clapped her hands lightly, forming a cross, and drooped her head.

When she got up, she was already shaking a little.She stabilized her heels, put on the scarf and fiddled with it again, then wrapped herself tightly in the thick windbreaker, and then walked towards this direction with her boots on.

——Naturally, she noticed that someone was coming.

Her expression froze for a moment, and then she slightly turned her head away.

"What are you doing here."

"..." Nanase Haruka didn't blink, the sea blue just stared at her, watching her unconsciously blushing.

Nanase Haruka lowered her head and spread out her hands, and gave Rui the pendant that was already scalding hot from his hands.

"Aunt Zoraki asked me to give it to you..." He looked away for a moment, and he felt that his heart, which was still calm just now, seemed to have a very strong rhythm, and he could feel it very clearly.

Ruyi pursed her lips, took off the gloves and took them, then put them back on, and walked slowly past him.

"……thanks."

Today's wind is very strong, especially when it blows on the face, a coldness pierces deep into the bone marrow.

But her voice...as if it was still in his ear just now.

Through such a strong wind.

**********

Rui went in the direction of Iwatobi Station.

Nanase Haruka didn't know what happened to herself today... He obviously didn't want to go at all.

Obviously he doesn't want to see her, doesn't want to think about everything about Tianhai Rui, but...

The body made an action that was completely contrary to his mind.

White air was exhaled from his mouth, and his body was already soaked through.Obviously just walking, just following her at a distance behind her, not walking fast but still making Nanase Haruka sweat profusely.

There are no steep slopes or stairs along the way, but the beating of the heart and the pulse spread throughout the body.Is it because of fever, chaotic breathing is uncontrollable.Even so, Nanase Haruka still didn't intend to give up her plan to walk behind Rui.

There was already a heavy snowfall in the afternoon, so this place has become a paradise covered in silver, surrounded by snow-white, it makes people feel happy to look at it.

Rui's footsteps never stopped until Nanase Haruka saw a tall boy leaning against the tree next to Iwatobi Station.

The boy has a straight nose, an indescribable taste between his eyebrows and eyes, his shoulders seem to be broad, and there is a hint of indifference in his dark green eyes.

Maybe he's the kind of person who would be colder about things that he doesn't care about.

"Zongsuke." Rui's voice was rare and gentle, unlike the tone of a little girl who usually revealed a bit of arrogance when treating them.

"It's pretty fast." Yamazaki Sousuke straightened up, his dark green eyes were a bit menacing, "Then it's time for you to answer my question."

His eyes sharpened suddenly, and Rui, who was very close to Yamazaki Sousuke, couldn't help shaking. In the already cold weather, his eyes were as cold as water, as if the cold had penetrated through the thick clothes in the bone.

"Why did you suddenly change schools before? Why did you suddenly propose to separate before?" His tone can be said to be aggressive in Rui's eyes at this time.

"Why did you leave without saying goodbye?" In the last question, Sousuke Yamazaki took a step forward and clasped her shoulders. The movement was so big that the red scarf that Rui had tidied up before was loosened a lot.

Seeing Rui's expression as calm as water, Yamazaki Sosuke couldn't help but twitched the corners of his mouth slightly, but his tone was full of sarcasm.

"You really look like that Nanase."

The eyes of Ruyi, who was held by his shoulders, flickered a few times, and then she slightly looked away.

"If I say... I am also a girl with self-respect." The slightly long bangs covered her eyes, and her eyes seemed to be covered with a shadow, "Sometimes I can tolerate a lot of things about Zongsuke ……but."

"I can't forgive anyone who breaks my pride."

Her voice was very soft, as if she was pleading.

"Zongsuke, even you, you have no reason to look at me with that kind of sympathy..."

Sousuke Yamazaki let go of her shoulders, probably because he felt a little irritated after hearing her answer, and his expression showed a little impatience. He wiped his pocket with one hand, scratched his hair with the other, and walked towards the gate of Iwatobi Station. direction to go.

"Rui, I will go to Samegara in April this year."

These were the last words Yamazaki Sousuke gave her when he left.

The wind picked up again, and it began to blow away her red scarf little by little. She pulled it a little with her hand, buried her face in the red scarf, and walked in the direction of going back.

The sound of boots stepping on the snow is very enjoyable, and Rui thought so too, but those cold eyes seem to overlap with the cold eyes of Nanase Haruka at that time....

She stopped suddenly because she saw...

"remote."

"...It's rare to hear you call me by my name."

Rui wanted to laugh at herself, but she probably wasn't in the mood to laugh anymore.She looked towards the river, and there was Mutsuki Bridge not far away. If she walked across the bridge for a while, and then walked along the coastline... she would arrive home soon.

"...You heard it just now." Ruyi raised her hand to press down the hair that was blown away by the wind, she didn't wear a side ponytail today, "I have a little past with him, but he is just my 'past' .”

She looked very serious when she said this, or she was still just acting out of anger.

"Is Haruka still looking for something? If there's nothing else, I'll go first..." Ruyi just turned around after speaking, and stretched out her hands from behind her, clasping her in her arms.

Stabilizing her heels, Rui put her hands on the hands surrounding her, while the body of the person behind her was slightly stiff, and her lips just pressed against her ears.

A clear and shallow kiss, like snowflakes kissing the lips, obviously his body is very hot, but why are his lips so cold.

"... Nanase, you are really cunning." Feeling that the surrounding temperature has suddenly increased a lot, Rui didn't scold him, but half of her face was buried in the scarf, and she could see it when she moved her eyes slightly. Reddish looking...huh?

"Yao?" She observed it uncertainly for a while, and then asked, "...do you have a fever?"

His body is also very hot, not at all like the feeling of his body getting hot after exercising.

Nanase Haruka's entire face was buried in the hollow of her neck, and she pressed against her cold collarbone, which was exposed to the air because the scarf was loose.

"...It's nothing." Nanase Haruka took a breath, always feeling that if he spoke now, his breath would be completely disordered.

"Sorry." He pushed Ruyi away, and shifted his gaze awkwardly, "Just now...don't pay too much attention to it."

"I don't care..." Rui shrugged, "Are you really okay? Hey... stupid Nanase... ah."

Rui didn't expect that a gust of wind would blow away her red scarf!When she regained her senses and wanted to grab the end, the red scarf was already floating on the river and being spun by the wind.

Haruka Nanase didn't blink her eyes, but she couldn't help being a little speechless.This situation...it's very similar to when he went to help Yaji...

Breathing a little more steadily, Nanase Haruka adjusted his breathing, and then said:

"Let me get it back for you."

"The river is too cold now, forget it, I don't need that one." Rui grabbed Nanase Haruka, "It's really dangerous to walk in the water now."

Gently shaking her hand away, Nanase Haruka turned her back, and when she took the first step towards the slope of the embankment, she suddenly felt dizzy.

Nanase Haruka couldn't help thinking, why did such a similar thing happen a second time?

His eyes were blackened, and he lost his balance all of a sudden.Originally, the touch of the soil with weeds should come from the soles of the feet, but now I feel that the soles of the feet are empty, and the body can't help rolling down to the embankment.For a moment, I couldn't tell the difference between up and down, it was my own body, but I didn't know what happened.

Ruyi's exclamation was near and far away.

The cold touch of water came up from his lower body, and he knew he had fallen into the river.His vision slowly began to recover, half of his body was submerged in the water.His right hand grabbed the withered grass on the river bank, and his left hand was wrapped with a somewhat dirty red scarf.

——It's really terrible. I don't say anything when I know her heart, and it's still like this... I fell into the river.

Obviously it was his favorite water, not only did it not heal him, it also ruthlessly took away his body temperature and deprived him of the right to think.

It's really too bad.

Nanase Haruka moved her fingers weakly, and finally couldn't help but fell into the deep darkness.