Makotorasha

“Yeah no worries, I’ll send you his address, and I think we might have to move something from Harus place but I’m not sure.” Rin replied, wedding the address through to Seijuros phone. “See you in a bit?”

“No problem, I like helping out,” Sei nodded. “Okay, I’ll see you two soon.” He left the natatorium with them and Momo was there. The two brothers embraced one another, a major highlight of their day and they began to walk towards the gate which was actually near the cafeteria. It took about five minutes, but those minutes meant so much to both brother. Sei and Kanji went to the nearby gas station and Sei got a protein bar for them both and Gatorade and began to eat it on the way to Makoto’s house.

Rin and Sousuke arrived at Makotos place after roughly 15 minutes. The red eyed swimmer smiled as he accepted Makotos hug and greeted the Tachibanas. He and Makotos parents got along really well and for a time when they were growing up the two had been quite close, Makoto was patient and nice when Haru didn’t want to hang out. Rin knelt down to hug the twins, listening to the two catch him up on how they had been while Mrs Tachibana offered Sousuke a drink. “The other boys are in the backyard getting things ready, thank you for helping today, the big tree in the yard was just a bit too fragile to take that last storm.”

“Oh no, the one you had a tire swing on?” Rin asked Makoto.

The other swimmer nodded with a sad smile, “Yep, but I’m glad it fell in a storm and not when the twins were playing on it.”

“Yeah that’s true.” Rin ruffled Rans hair as he stood up again, the two twins running off to go and get their homework done

Sei and Kanji finally arrived to the quaint home that belonged to the Tachibana’s.

“So how old are the twins?” Kanji questioned.

“They will turn ten later this year,” Sei told the bodybuilder. “I’ve only seen them in photos. But I know they will be lovely since Makoto is.”

Seijuro rung the door bell, awaiting somebody to let him in. He had consumed his protein bar and felt a lot better, though he would want to have a proper meal before long.

Sousuke was around the twins, both of them talking about how he was even larger than their brother. Were they in for a surprise.

Makoto had told his mother about the two and warned about how tall Seijuro was so when she opened the door she wasn’t too visibly surprised. “Hello! You must be Seijuro-san and Kenji-chan?” She asked before letting them inside.

Makoto went over to greet the two as well, “It’s good to see you Seijuro-san, how has your day been?” He asked gently.

“Yes, that’s us,” both males said with a polite smile as they looked down at the woman who was right around Gou’s height. Sei walked over to his former swim captain and said,

“Things are going really well! Got this guy to swim a lil bit of butterfly,” he said to man who was 11 years older. “Got to see my lil brother before I left. How about you. How have things been?”

Makoto smiled his signature smile at the two, “That’s wonderful! It is a good stroke, challenging though. Things have been well, I’ve enjoying having some time off to get to spend with my siblings. Oh speaking of, Ren, Ran, come meet our guests!”

The two excused themselves from Sousuke and ran over, the brother his behind Makoto shyly, but his sister was more confident and held her hand up to them to shake their hands, “It’s nice to meet you!”

Sousuke let the two go by, not upset since he wasn’t particularly good with children.

“Well, hello there, Ran. I’m Maeda Kanji, I’m a really good friend with this guy here.” He put his left hand on Sei’s shoulder.

“Hi, Ran, it’s really nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot of things from your older brother. He’s really special. I got two siblings like you as well.”

“Really? Are they my age?” She asked hopefully.

Rin smiled at Ren as Makoto gently nudged him forward a bit, the younger relenting and standing in front of his bother but behind his sister and holding onto the bottom of his brothers shirt. He was a timid child but he was sweet.

Seijuro let go of her hand and both men got on their knees to not look as intimidating.

“Unfortunatly, no, i”m afraid,” he said with a bit of a “sorry” look and a small smile. “My sister, Isuzu, is 18 and my brother, Momotaro, is 16. But they are good with children, from practice with some of my distant cousins.”

“Indeed. My seven y/o daughter met them and she really loved playing and hanging out with them,” reassured Kanji gently. He missed his girl so much.

“Oh…” Ran sounded a little disappointed but soon perked up again, “Aw you have a daughter? I can’t wait to have a daughter one day!”

Makoto pouted a little, “Don’t be in too much of a rush…” He commented and Rin chuckled, recognising the same big brother instincts.

Before he could comment a small force crashed into Rin and he looked down to see familiar blonde hair, “Hey Nagi.”

“Hey Rinrin! Hi Sou-chan! Hi Sei-san! Hi… Who are you?” Nagisa asked Kenji curiously.

“She means everything to me,” Kanji said softly. “You got plenty of time before you have a family of your own.”

Seijuro smiled at Ran’s enthusiasm, and he said, “I do, too. I want three or four children, myself, one day.” He continued to talk to her gently, waiting for Ren to come out of his shell since he was still shy.

“Oh, hey, I’m Maeda Kanji, a…special friend of Seijuro’s,” he said to Nagisa as he looked at the small male. He heard that the other was there to witness both incidents, but he had to use coded language around the two 9 y/o’s. He assumed that Nagisa would be able to pick up what he meant, but he would tell him privately if he needed clarifications.

Nagisa nodded in understanding, “It’s nice to meet you.” He smiled, though Hsi eyes were more sincere.

Very slowly Ren shuffled forward to stand next to his sister, “I want a family one day too.” He shyly announced.

Kanji smiled at Nagisa and began to strike up a casual conversation.

“I’m sure one day you’ll be a good father. When we get older, I’ll let you babysit my children or my nieces or nephews so you can get practice,” Sei reassured with a friendly smile. He figured he would probably be at least 27 when he had a child. Maybe 30. But he definitely knew he would teach them what he knew and learned throughout all this.

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The two twins smiled and nodded, “Thank you!” They said in unison, Ran more enthusiastic.

Makoto smiled and pat the two on the head, “You two should go finish your homework while we fix up the yard.”

“Aww! Fine, it was nice meeting you both!”

Makoto Tachibana // episode 3

[Translation] Free!DF Spotlight Color: Makoto Tachibana - Cross Talk 01

Theme 01: “How would you describe Makoto Tachibana in one word?”

Rei: When speaking of Makoto-senpai, the fact that he is a reliable senpai who started the Iwatobi High School Swimming Club and brilliantly lead us as the club captain, comes to mind! I respect him very much! Also, together with Haruka-senpai, I guess you can say they “breathe like A and Un.” Their relationship is truly beautiful…! (T/N: A-un no Kokyuu is an idiom that describes two people who are so in-tuned they are able to understand each other without using words or gestures)

Sousuke: Makoto just coddles him too much.

Haruka: What do you mean?

Sousuke: I said what I said.

Rei: Please, both of you! ….ahem…so, if you’re to describe Makoto-senpai in one word…

Haruka: Sloppy.

Sousuke: Big.

Rei: Huh!? Those are such insincere answers…!

Haruka: No it’s not. He doesn’t put the dishes back to the same place, and he leaves his laundry scattered around.

Sousuke: I don’t see many guys who meet my eye level, so he’s tall, right?

Haruka: He told me recently that he’s grown taller again at a physical exam for new students.

Sousuke: Seriously?

Rei: U-um… ehh, Makoto-senpai is, very kind and gentle…

Haruka: …you think so?

Rei: Huh? He is not!?

Sousuke: I don’t think someone who has such a hungry and powerful swimming style should be described as gentle.

Haruka: Rei, you too felt it when you swam with him, right?

Rei: Is, is that so…? But, there is also a gentle side to him, such as how he often shared half of his popsicle with Haruka-senpai after club activities…

Sousuke: He did that, huh? Buy your own popsicle, Haru.

Haruka: Shut up… it makes my stomach cold, so I don’t want to eat the whole thing myself, that’s all.

Rei: Geez, please play nice, you two~~!!!

(image courtesy of heyfuturefeesh)

[Translation] Free!DF Spotlight Color: Makoto Tachibana - Personal Data

01 Powerful Swimming Style Contrary to his gentle appearance, his swimming style capitalizes on his physique and is hearty and strong. You can even compare his swimming to an orca’s. He’s grown rapidly since primary school through middle school! Has the baby orca that used to be smaller than a dolphin become king of the ocean!?

02 A dream he finally sees As an extension of his dream to show children the joy of swimming, he found his path as a trainer. He’s now working vigorously towards his goal!

03 He loves games He likes games, and he’s especially good at shooting games. Except for scary games such as horror, they’re a no-go! When he plays games he would wear his glasses and switch to hardcore mode!

04 Everybody loves Mako-chan He’s super popular in his neighborhood, from children to grandmas! He’s received countless treats on his way to his part-time job or school. The line-up of treats is rather old fashioned, such as dried squid, dried fish and manjuu.

05 Connect people together He doesn’t like it when people get into fights or become awkward around each other. In high school, he worried about Rin, and in university, he tried to mediate Ikuya and Hiyori’s relationship with Haruka. He’s always busy with these things in his heart!

06 Ordinary imagination? He’s the type who can’t come up with any outstanding ideas even after thinking long and hard! Coupled with the fact that he’s not good at handling unexpected situations, he was once told by Nagisa that his ideas were “ordinary”…

07 Extraordinary clumsiness He’s your typical clumsy guy that mistakes sugar for salt and draws art that gets comments like “it’s kinda meh.”

08 He’s strict at times! It’s important to follow rules at the swimming pool where dangers lurk! He’s able to kindly but strictly caution people that “no means no.”

09 He’s very curious about fashion He’s the type who naturally follows fashion trends, and his clothes are all chosen from magazines! He especially likes bright colors such as orange or yellow-green.

(image courtesy of heyfuturefeesh)

Free!DF DVD Vol.4 Profile Card - Makoto Tachibana

Name: Makoto Tachibana

Age: 19

Birthday: 17 November

(Affiliation 1) University: Meijo Chuo University

(Affiliation 2) SC: -

Specialty: Backstroke

Entry History: Freestyle, Backstroke, Medley Relay

Favorite Food: Curry, chocolate

Least Favorite Food: None

Breakfast: Western breakfast

Morning Call: Yes (6:30am)

Schedule of a typical day:

6am-8am - (Community pool) Haru’s morning training 9am-1pm - (Main building lecture hall) Lectures 2pm-3pm - (Seminar room) Gathering 4pm-6pm - (Community pool) Part-time job 6pm-8pm - Cafe Marron 8pm-11pm - (Home) Reports, etc.

(image courtesy of heyfuturefeesh)

[Translation] Free!DF Spotlight Color: Makoto Tachibana - Item Check!

BAG: BACKPACK

In order the carry his lecture textbooks and notebooks, or swimsuit and jersey for his part-time job, he likes using a backpack that holds many things!

On his off days, he often studies with Haruka and the others where they borrow each other’s pens, so there are quite a lot of stationeries in the bag, and no one knows who they belong to.

He tends to think “maybe I’ll need it…” and ends up taking various things with him, such as a folding umbrella, a cardigan for when it’s cold, a map, a charger, mixed nuts for when he’s hungry, a hand towel he got from “Iwatobi Electronic Shop,” etc.

Because he’s unable to refuse people who hand out advertisements on the streets, his pockets are filled with tissue packets* and flyers. *T/N: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tissue-pack_marketing

Picture: When he doesn’t have much to carry, he also uses a sacoche bag!

COOKING TOOLS

His cookware such as apron and measuring cups, as well as his tableware set, are all prepared by his mother. However, there are things that Makoto doesn’t know how to use, and he’s still getting advice from Haruka.

Picture: When Nagisa, Rei, Romio and Shizuru stayed over, he didn’t have enough tableware and used a measuring cup as a glass!

RAN AND REN’S PHOTO

In his room, he has a photo of him with Ran and Ren on display.

He also brought gifts he received from them along to Tokyo with him, which he took care to adorn his room with.

He’s a kind older brother who loves his younger sister and brother.

MESSAGING APP AVATAR

It’s a picture of the beautiful sea in Iwatobi. The reason he took the picture is “because it was pretty!”

The icon that Makoto likes is idyllic like him.

SMARTPHONE

University gave Makoto the opportunity to upgrade his phone to a smartphone! He went to buy it with Haruka.

When he types messages, he always thinks “I must reply quickly!” and his sentences are kind of short, but when he’s not flustered, his messages are a bit longer.

Picture: I see. Good luck.

(image courtesy of heyfuturefeesh)

[Translation] Free!DF Spotlight Color: Makoto Tachibana - Personal Data and Item Check Interview

Interview questions based on Personal Data and Item Check!

- How is life at university?

Well…I was worried at the beginning, but the classes are interesting, and I made new friends, so I’m enjoying it every day. I was surprised to find out about extension programs where I can attend lectures at many different universities and not just at the one I’m enrolled in.

- How is your part-time job that you’ve just started?

It’s really fun spending time with the children. I’m in charge of the intermediate class where many kids, like Misaki-kun, already know how to swim. When I was helping out with coaching at Iwatobi, I looked after children in the beginners class, who were just getting used to being in water, like Hayato-kun. They are both swimming classes, but the children’s reactions are all different. There are really many layers to it, and I really enjoy working at my part-time job.

- Do you still keep in touch with your friends at Iwatobi Town?

Yes! Oh, but, even though I’m just replying to them normally, for some reason, I was told by Nagisa that I was “cold”… in the end, I always get tired of typing and calls them instead. Haru almost never answers his phone when I call, so it’s easier to stop by at his place after my part-time job, and Nagisa, I think we talk on the phone more lately? With Rin, there’s a time difference, so I use the messaging app. As for my family, I call them on the phone…it’s not too different from before, actually.

(image courtesy of heyfuturefeesh)

[Translation] Free!DF Spotlight Color: Makoto Tachibana - Cross Talk 01

Theme 01: “How would you describe Makoto Tachibana in one word?”

Sousuke: Makoto just coddles him too much.

Haruka: What do you mean?

Sousuke: I said what I said.

Rei: Please, both of you! ….ahem…so, if you’re to describe Makoto-senpai in one word…

Haruka: Sloppy.

Sousuke: Big.

Rei: Huh!? Those are such insincere answers…!

Haruka: No it’s not. He doesn’t put the dishes back to the same place, and he leaves his laundry scattered around.

Sousuke: I don’t see many guys who meet my eye level, so he’s tall, right?

Haruka: He told me recently that he’s grown taller again at a physical exam for new students.

Sousuke: Seriously?

Rei: U-um… ehh, Makoto-senpai is, very kind and gentle…

Haruka: …you think so?

Rei: Huh? He is not!?

Sousuke: I don’t think someone who has such a hungry and powerful swimming style should be described as gentle.

Haruka: Rei, you too felt it when you swam with him, right?

Rei: Is, is that so…? But, there is also a gentle side to him, such as how he often shared half of his ice pop with Haruka-senpai after club activities…

Sousuke: He did that, huh? Buy your own ice pop, Haru.

Haruka: Shut up… it makes my stomach cold, so I don’t want to eat the whole thing myself, that’s all.

Rei: Geez, please play nice, you two~~!!!

(image courtesy of heyfuturefeesh)