TV Animation Free! Novelize/Episode 06: Haru Janakya Dame Nanda

Haru Janakya Dame Nanda (ハルじゃなきゃダメなんだ lit. It's Pointless Without You, Haru)
'Synopsis: Haruka Nanase ponders the events of the Iwatobi High School Swim Club's summer training camp using the open ocean. While there, Rei Ryugazaki makes an unwise decision leading to Haruka and Nagisa Hazuki rescuing Makoto Tachibana and Rei from near-drowning. As the boys recover inside an abandoned rest house, they get to know one another better. Haruka gains insight about his relationship with Makoto and although he doesn't say anything, Makoto understands his feelings without Haruka saying a word.'

Haruka is dwelling on the memory of an elementary school Makoto telling him, "It's pointless without you, Haru," and how he didn't know what to say in response back then. It was okay because Makoto apologized for saying something weird and smiled. Haruka took advantage of the fact that Makoto understood him without him having to say a word. And now it's happened again for a second time, the night of their team's training camp...

Makoto dives into the ocean during a storm to save Rei who is training alone, at night, for some unknown reason. The problem is that Makoto's childhood fear of the ocean has never left him and he freezes mid-rescue. Nagisa and Haruka dive in to save them but Haruka loses sight of Nagisa and Rei as he struggles to bring Makoto to shore. Pulling his friend onto a deserted beach, he quickly realizes that Makoto's breath is far too weak. Terrified, Haruka prepares to breathe air into his lungs just as Makoto coughs up water and regains consciousness.

The duo takes shelter under an overhanging rock but it does little to shelter them from the storm. Haruka doesn't understand why Makoto even suggested a training camp in the ocean when he's been terrified of it ever since he lost a friend to a typhoon when he was a child. That's when Makoto says those words again: "It's pointless without you, Haru." Haruka doesn't have a response for him now, either.

The group reunites at an abandoned rest house and dries off. They pass the time playing a dice game that gets them to talk about themselves, though the person forced to share the most is Rei. It's fitting since he's the newest member of their group. When the storm passes, they head outside to stare at the starry sky, Rei now a full-fledged part of their group.

Back indoors, Nagisa suggests another round of dice-game with different rules: the person whose name appears gets to select a topic and everyone else has to answer. Rei gets to ask first and his question involves eating the strawberry atop a piece of shortcake. Nagisa wants to eat it right away because his sisters might steal it. Makoto leaves it for last in order to savor the moment. Haruka is noncommital in his quest to remain "free," but then wonders to himself if forcing himself to be free is truly being free at all. Rei logically cuts the strawberry off into a perfect piece all by itself and eats it as an exquisite beautiful item.

They field various questions and Makoto shares his fear of the ocean. He then asks, "What are you all most afraid of?" Nagisa admits that he's afraid of his sisters which leads to a strange discussion before Nagisa turns to Haruka and asks, "What are you afraid of, Haru?" An image flashes in Haruka's mind. It's Makoto's weak breathing as he lay on the beach and the fear he felt that he might lose Makoto at that moment. He tries to brush it off, even as Makoto looks at him with a worried face. But since he doesn't have words to explain himself, he says, "I am afraid of water disappearing from the world."

They finally all fall asleep and Haruka has a peculiar dream. He's floating in the middle of an endless ocean. When he looks to his side, he sees a floating orca toy, but no Makoto. Fear fills him and he begins to shout for Makoto over and over. When he awakens, it's morning. Looking beside him, Makoto is gone and Haruka has an irrational thought that perhaps Makoto has really disappeared.

He heads outside and finds his friend watching the sunrise. Having rushed out so quickly, Makoto asks in a strange voice, "What's wrong, Haru?" And although Haruka now realizes he has a response to Makoto's twice-made declaration, he's too embarrassed to say it and hesitates. Makoto simply smiles, reminding Haruka that Makoto can read his thoughts.

"Nothing. Thank you, Makoto," Haruka says, taking advantage of his friend's feelings once again.