Indoor Pool

It was a Saturday afternoon, and Konata, clad in her darling school swimsuit, waited eagerly for her friends to show up (before then, she had her swimwear underneath her casual clothes, so it took her no time at all to get ready). The atmosphere surrounding the vast indoor swimming pool was enough to fill anyone with utmost delight. Youngsters were throwing themselves off diving boards, teenagers were descending rapidly through the twisty tunnel slides... even a few elderly people were swimming full laps, proving to themselves they had as much stamina as the youths of today. Fortunately, the pool was able to contain numerous people, and yet still have plenty of room for new arrivals.

"Ossu!" Kagami suddenly greeted, as she, her sister and Miyuki walked over to where Konata stood. Kagami also wondered how the blunette got ready in the dressing room in such a short space of time.

Konata returned the greeting, and her eyes feasted on the three swimsuits her friends purchased a few days ago. Tsukasa looked rather delicate in her pearl-white two piece swimwear, with pink frilly bits around her mid-drift. The younger twin stood waiting nervously with her hands behind her back. She was shaky; swimming was not one of her specialities in life. Kagami's one piece swimsuit, colour-wise, was somewhat of an opposite comparison to her younger sister, for it was all black, save for a lilac zigzag that run diagonally across her stomach. Also, seeing Kagami without her pigtails was a rare sight indeed; her untied hair made her seem more mature. Miyuki also wore a one piece, and her choice of wear was certainly an impressive one. From her shoulder straps to her chest, Miyuki's swimsuit started off as a bright, lime green, but the lower half slowly blended into a deepish blue, a colour similar to Konata's school wear. Also, Miyuki had on a pair of clear swimming goggles; she never enjoyed going underwater with exposed eyes.

Kagami took one glance at Konata and lowered her eyelids.

"Still cosplaying?" she remarked with a dry expression.

"Why Kagamin, whatever could you mean!" Konata replied, as she felt a sense of sparkling pride overflow her, "I'm simply reminiscing my beloved school years!"

"You haven't left school yet," Kagami pointed out, and the tone in her voice suggested this conversation was going nowhere.

Konata was the first of the four to test the water; she plonked her big toe in and immediately shivered all over.

"Is it cold, Kona-chan?" queried Tsukasa, who also started to shiver from Konata's reaction.

"Mm!" nodded Konata, taking one bold step forward, "But fret not, for I, Konata, shall brave through these waters and prove to you all that-GLMPH!"

That 'Glmph' noise was the sound of Konata plummeting straight into the cold waters... with all the grace of a large brick. The girls failed to check that they were in fact standing by the deepest end of the pool.

"Konata!" Kagami called out, whilst the others gasped in shock.

A moment later, miniature bubbles began to appear... and thankfully... Konata violently resurfaced the water, thrashing about, spluttering, and generally behaving like a crazy thing possessed.

"MHPH-BLARG-HHPH-GLARBLE-HELPH-MEPH-GLORB!!"

Kagami and Miyuki were swift to react, as they both reached out for a hand, and pulled Konata back to the surface. Konata looked like a drowned rat.

"Haarggh! Why didn't anyone tell me this was the deep end?!" Konata complained, flapping her arms around like an angry goose.

As Konata recovered... Kagami felt some laughter emerge from the back of her throat, so she covered her mouth with both hands, lest she burst out giggling.

"Kagamin!" Konata said, flabbergasted, "Are you laughing?!"

Kagami tried her best to contain herself, but in the end failed in a spectacular fashion. As she laughed out loud, Kagami held her stomach tightly, to prevent herself from falling over.

"I can't help it!" she said between sniggers, "First you were acting so mighty and confident, and then, whoosh! You fell straight in! It was like watching a slapstick!"

Miyuki also began to giggle; she delicately covered her smiling mouth with one hand. Tsukasa was the third to laugh, and began to mimic the same actions as her sister.

"Sorry Izumi-san, but it was rather comical!" Miyuki said.

"It was like you just disappeared into thin air!" giggled Tsukasa, causing her sister to nod rapidly in agreement.

"You're supposed to be my friends!" whined Konata, "I thought I was at death's door!"

* * * * *

Once all the commotion had died down, the girls ventured off into different areas of the pool. After getting used to the temperature, Miyuki wasted no time in swimming long distances, whereas Tsukasa was still experimenting the shallow end. As for Konata and Kagami, they approached the deeper aspects of the pool, partially submerged, but remaining in one spot, casually bobbing up and down. Konata spotted three women striding down the left side of the pool; a busty, bikini wearing brunette with a tomboyish hairstyle, a petit framed, shoulder-length haired blonde lady in a moss coloured swimsuit, and a tiny thirteen year old with long black hair and matching swimwear.

Konata studied each girl and pointed to each one respectively as she spoke. "She's the human warrior... she's the high-elf spellcaster... ...oh! And she's the halfling rogue!"

"Disconnect!" Kagami snapped.

* * * * *

Later on, Konata, Kagami and Tsukasa were somewhere between the shallow and the middle end of the pool. A colourful beach ball landed and splashed in Tsukasa's direction, and the little girl who threw it quickly apologised to the younger sister before retrieving it to play elsewhere.

"Okay!" Konata announced, bringing the twins back to attention, "Whoever can remain underwater the longest is the winner! Ready?"

"Ready!" the twins nodded.

On a count of three, the three girls ducked quickly into the water. It only took two and a half seconds before Tsukasa resurfaced with a loud gasp. Tsukasa then waited a further five seconds before her sister and Konata appeared around the same time, making it difficult to tell who won. Before they decided on a second round however, Miyuki gracefully surfaced out of nowhere, her hands delicately clutching the end of the pool when she did so. In extra slow motion, the beautiful girl closed her eyes and adjusted her head slightly, allowing her long pink hair to flow all the way down to her back. The water droplets in the sky resembled tiny crystals; they were stationary, as if waiting for her to acknowledge the real world, before descending back into the pool again. One could picture the scene with a sky blue background, complete with shining stars and tiny bubbles.

"Oh! Hello everyone!" greeted an eyesmiling Miyuki, when she realised her friends were in the same vicinity.

Miyuki however, adopted a more confused look when her friends were staring at her with an awestruck expression.

"How long has she been underwater?!" thought Konata, "Furthermore, Miyuki-san, do you even realise how awesome you looked just now?!"

"I thought she wasn't supposed to be very good at swimming," wondered Kagami.

* * * * *

When they heard the wave machine was going to be switched on, the girls with all haste met up in the centre of the pool. They linked hands together and waited for the waves to appear (Konata was on the left end, Miyuki was on the right end, and the twins were in the middle). Sure enough, they came thick and fast, and the strength of each wave felt like they were pitting themselves against the sea itself. Laughter and screams were heard throughout the pool. Truly, it was an uplifting experience for everyone taking part.

A few minutes later, the waves eventually succumbed to a standstill.

"Th-that was scary!" Tsukasa admitted out loud. Although she was happy to take part, she felt more than relieved when it was all over.

"Mm!" Miyuki giggled in agreement, "You held my hand pretty tight there, Tsukasa-san!"

"Same here," added Kagami.

"Ah! Sorry!" the younger twin apologised in embarrassment.

Kagami continued to breathe in and out, enjoying the sudden thrill of it all. However, when she turned to the left, she realised Konata had disappeared; the waves must have released her tiny grip, and took her all the way to the end. With some frantic doggy paddling, an exhausted Konata managed to join up with the group again.

"Kagamin! Why didn't you hold my hand tighter?!" Konata complained to Kagami, as her fists were raised childishly to the air.

"It was you who did not hold my hand tight enough!" Kagami argued.

* * * * *

When the queue to the slides were cut in half, the girls decided to get out of the pool and have a go themselves. Tsukasa needed some extra encouragement from her older sister, but in the end, she decided to tag along as well. Konata let her excitement overtake her as she ran to the slides with exceptional speed, so fast in fact, that the lifeguard nearby had to blow his whistle. The sudden, ear-piercing screech caused Konata (and the others) to freeze.

"Hey!" the lifeguard told Konata, "No running please."

Konata sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "Ah, sorry, sorry!" she replied.

The lifeguard then looked at Miyuki with an equally stern expression.

"And you," he said to her, "make sure you have better control over your daughter."

The twins were stunned, but Miyuki, though quite surprised, nonetheless bowed and apologised.

"Come on mama! Let's go to the slides!" chortled Konata.

Kagami drowned in her own disbelief.

"Have you no shred of dignity?!" she thought to herself.

* * * * *

After ascending the metallic steps, one bye one, children, teenagers and adults plunged into the entrance of the tunnel slide; their thrilled screams quickly disappearing as they sailed towards the end.

"Banzai~!" Konata called out. She dived straight into the tunnel and happily allowed the current to momentarily take care of her body.

Ee-eee... aaaah!" Miyuki panicked. Miyuki huddled herself into a defensive ball before finally going down the tunnel as well.

Tsukasa was next, but she seemed less than enthusiastic to go. Her hands were strongly clasped together, and her knees were knocking into each other.

"Oneechan... I don't think I can do this..." she whimpered to her sister.

"Of course you can!" replied Kagami, with a knowing smile, "When faced with fear, all you have to do is close your eyes, count to three, open them up again, and just go for it!"

"O-Okay..."

Tsukasa closed her eyes shut and whispered to three. She felt fear all the way to her fingertips, but in the end she slowly sat down and shuffled herself into the tunnel slide. The water current quickly took control of her, and Tsukasa found herself in a world of her own. All the excited ambience she once heard were now reduced to dull murmurs, as though two invisible hands were pressed forcefully to her ears. Tsukasa didn't have time to scream, but she could easily hear herself gasping with utmost nervousness. The tunnel slide was merciless; it took her through unpredictable directions whilst maintaining its frightening speed.

Finally... Tsukasa's ears exploded into reality, as she exited the slide and splashed unceremoniously into the pool. Tsukasa quickly resurfaced with a terrific breath of air. Miyuki and Konata were waiting for her arrival with big bright smiles.

"How was it Tsukasa?" Konata asked her.

"Are you okay?" Miyuki added.

Tsukasa found herself breathing deeply for some time. She had scarcely experienced anything like this before.

"Haaa... haaa... haaa..."

"Tsukasa?" Konata asked again.

"...haaa..."

"...?"

Tsukasa scrambled out of the pool and dashed her way up the steps again, just as Kagami splashed into the water.

"Wah-ha! That was great!" gasped Kagami as she resurfaced, "See Tsukasa? Told you there was nothing to be afraid of..."

Kagami looked around, but all she could see were Konata and Miyuki.

"Where's..." Kagami started to ask, but Konata interrupted her by pointing at the pink haired girl on top of the steps.

Kagami was lost for words.

* * * * *

Fifteen minutes passed by... and Kagami, Konata and Miyuki watched Tsukasa go down the tunnel slide for the twentieth time; a sweat drop appeared at the back of their heads. With a combination of 'yippees' and other excited sounds, Tsukasa proceeded to make it to number twenty one.

"She's like a machine..." Konata wondered out loud.

"I didn't realise she had so much energy..." Miyuki said nervously.

"We... really should be heading home now..." Kagami added.

…

...

* * * * *

…

…

It was finally time to call it a day.

After the girls dressed themselves back into their casual clothes, and exited out of the pool centre, they were welcomed with a cool breeze, delicately caressing their face and hair. The sun began to hide itself into a nest of white clouds, causing the temperature in the sky to steadily drop. It would take fifteen more minutes for their train to arrive, so they all took their time walking with a relaxed pace.

"Aah! The air feels really nice after a swim inside!" Tsukasa sighed happily.

"Oh I agree!" replied Miyuki, who was walking alongside Tsukasa at the time. The polite-mannered girl then noticed Tsukasa's hair, clustered with many still droplets of water, "Um... you should really dry your hair thoroughly, or you might catch a cold."

Tsukasa rubbed the back of her head and laughed nervously. "Ah! I guess I wanted to get ready in a hurry!"

Lagging a good distance behind Miyuki and Tsukasa, Konata and Kagami were also having a conversation.

"Tsukasa really caught me off guard," mused the short girl, "I never thought she had it in her."

"Well... I was surprised at first..." Kagami replied, "but then I remembered when we were five; we were playing together in the playground, that one close to our house. I was always encouraging her to go down the slide, but she would always shake her head in protest. Then one day, she finally plucked up the courage and slid down... and after that, she just wouldn't stop! All afternoon she repeatedly went down that slide, and in the end, our parents had to drag her back home!"

"Heh, I see," mused Konata, "so... when it comes to mentality, Tsukasa hasn't aged much at all has she?"

"Not really," said Kagami, feeling a smile creep up on her face. "But... you know, I really don't want that part of her to change at all."

Konata stretched her mouth into a big grin, and placed her hands on the back of her head.

"Nah... me neither," she replied.

…

…

* * * * *

…

…

When all the girls arrived back home, the afternoon had eventually turned into the evening, and the sky darkened into a navy blue. After finishing their dinner and watching some drama show on television. Kagami and Tsukasa tried to squeeze in some last minute studying. They were working together in Kagami's bedroom.

"Oneechan... I'm feeling tired..." yawned the youngest of the two.

"Come on Tsukasa, focus remember?" Kagami said, urging her sister to fight on, "All you have to do is close your eyes, count to three, open them again, and go for it!"

Tsukasa looked at Kagami with an uneasy expression on her face. "Um... I don't think that kind of motivation works in this situation," she said.

Kagami sighed and rose from her seat. "I'm getting a drink, want one?"

"I'm okay thanks."

When Kagami went downstairs, Tsukasa looked at her text book and took a deep breath.

"No, Oneechan is right," she thought to herself, "I can't just give up now... all I have to do is close my eyes... close my eyes... close..."

…

Kagami returned to her room carrying a glass of cold orange juice... only to see her sister sprawled out on the work table, surrendering herself to sleep.

"...another go on the slide Oneechan... weeee... ehehehe..."

Kagami gently placed her glass on the table, and looked at Tsukasa with hands placed on hips. She shook her head, but couldn't help but smile.

"You're hopeless..." Kagami said quietly.