kokkeiten

The Sealed Pendant
Episode Ten - A Day At The Beach


After they had gotten everything in, Kaoru and Dominic enrolled in school, since they'd be staying for a long while, and getting them uniforms, they settled down for Summer Vacation. They were at the beach: the whole lotta them. Sakura and Madison were trying to get Kokkei to come into the water, but she clung tightly to the large umbrella they had. "There's sun out there! I'd like to keep my pale complexion." They looked over at Yue, who also lay under the same umbrella. "You're just as bad. I can now see why Kaoru said you guys looked alike, after Meilin told me." Madison said. "Having a tanned complexion doesn't really help with the color of my hair." "He's now also vain. Kokkei spoiled him." Sakura sighed, "Where's Ceaira and Hannya?" She looked around. "Oh." Kokkei sat up, still holding the umbrella, "They went with Tori and Julian to get more snacks. Antonio went also, so Anastasia must be with him." Madison and Sakura sighed. "Come on, Kokkei. Meilin's in the water with Dominic. Li and Eriol are there also. Kaoru went off somewhere. You and Yue are just sitting here." Sakura placed her hands on her hips. "It's unhealthy to not get sunned."

Kokkei let go. "Fine." she groaned, "Since you nag me so much, I'll come." She took off her shades and set them aside. She gave Yue a mirror to hold up and started taking out her contacts, while muttering, "I can't believe they got me to do this..." She put them back in their case then looked back in the mirror. "I hate my eye color." Her eyes were a light, light blue, almost silver if you happened to look at it in a certain way. Kind of like Yue's. Her hair was a brown color and she had two different color streaks in it. One, the light brown, was natural, and the other, the red, was the washed in kind. "Quit worrying about your complexion." Madison said, dragging her out. "I wasn't." Kokkei said, positioning herself between Sakura and Madison, hiding in their shadows, "I was complaining about my eye and hair color." She stopped a few feet from the water and sank into the sand. "Just... bury me." She started digging a hole. Halfway there, a wave broke, and water spilled into her fairly large hole. "No! All my hard work. Mizuiro..." She turned slowly and glared at Antonio. "Get in the water." he said, crossing his arms, "Sakura told me about you." "You ruined my hole." she wailed. "Just get in the water." "I specifically picked this spot because it was far enough from the water, and you ruined it. Besides, it's cold in there." Antonio just smiled.

Kokkei squeaked as she found herself lifted off the sand. She looked at Julian and Tori, who had her by the arms. "When'd you guys come back? Where are you taking me?" she added as they carried her down to the water's edge. "No. I don't wanna." As the water touched her feet, she pulled them up. "Ceaira! Hannya!" She twisted around to see them. Ceaira laughed and turned to her sister. "Do you hear something, Hannya?" "Yup." she giggled, "The sounds of waves, seagulls, and people laughing." "You two are gonna paaaaaay!" Kokkei pulled her legs up further as they went further. Julian and Tori walked out until the water was a little past their waists, then Julian took Kokkei's legs while Tori held her arms. "If you carry me back in, I promise... to do something for you; anything." Julian smiled. "That's very thoughtful of you. Ready, Tori?" He nodded, grinning. "Ready when you are, buddy." They started swinging her back and forth slowly. "You're gonna...? They're gonna toss me. No! Don't!" Madison and the others watched from nearby, giggling. "One..." Tori started. Her swings became longer. "Two..." Julian said. Kokkei squeezed her eyes shut. "Three." they both said together, giving one final swing, then letting her go.

She screamed and landed in the cold water with a fairly large splash, sinking to the bottom. She blinked several times and opened her eyes. Rubbing her hands over her arm and realizing it did nothing, she floated to the surface, took a deep breath, then went back under. Seeing a few air bubbles, Tori and Julian looked at each other, then dived under. Tori spotted her first, with her arms wrapped around her and her eyes clothes, and grabbed her, going back to the surface with Julian. Julian held out his arms, and Tori placed Kokkei on them, checking to see if she was still breathing. He looked at Julian and shook his head. By now, everyone had gathered, around, even Yue had gotten in the water. Tori was pumping at her chest, keeping to a rhythm, while he let Yue do her breathing. After a few minutes, she coughed, rolling in Julian's arms and resting against his chest, finally feeling the effect of being out of the water. Everyone sighed, relieved. "Are you ok?" Yue asked, looking at her. She nodded. "But you didn't need to get me." They slowly started heading in a little. "I'm fine, you guys. I just wanted to get away from the sun as best as possible, so I sank into a subconscious state." She grinned. "I can do that. I did it all the time Mr. Tomido used to be boring." She sweatdropped.

Julian dropped her and she popped back up, sputtering. "Hey! But don't forgot, I'm still shorter than you guys." She swam back in, and when she could stand, started walking. Yue had already gotten out, and was drying off, wrapping his towel around his shoulders. "Well, at least you got in the water, and out from under here." Kokkei said as she rubbed her hands up and down her arms. He smiled weakly, then sat down, stretching out, then pulling his knee up, and resting his head on it. She knelt down and looked over the snacks, finally deciding on a bag of chips. She popped it open and started to eat some, walking back down to the water's edge. "You guys. I'm gonna stroll for a while." Most of them nodded. Meilin walked out, squeezing out her hair. "I'll walk with you. Besides, your outfit reveals too much, and you wouldn't know to tell guys off." "It reveals?" Kokkei asked around a mouthful of chips. She looked down at her beach bikini. The top was of the sky, the sun on one side, and seagulls going across, like they were flying, the clouds scattered. The bottom was like the ocean, with the two different colors it always seemed to have. The top was held up and together with two strings that tied around her neck. "Just don't stretch or anything." They both laughed and continued down the shore.


Kokkei had finished her chips a while back and was now looking for a trash can. "Oh. There's one, and also a volleyball game!" They ran to the trash and Kokkei threw away the bag, then went to the volleyball section. "Uh, hey, guys." The boy who caught the ball looked over at Meilin, who had spoke. They all did. "We wanted to know if we could play." They all nodded. Kokkei smiled. "Who's going to be on each of our sides?" They each pointed to a different girl. The two girls sweatdropped. "I'll take the other side." Meilin finally laughed, pushing Kokkei forward, "I play better over there." Kokkei nodded and stood in the middle of the boys. "I play better at the front, okay, guys?" They were all in a trance, and nodded, forming around her. Meilin was serving on the other side. "Heads up, Akarui!" Kokkei grinned as Meilin's serve flew over the net. She let the boy behind her hit it back. The game was now on, and it was a war. People had began to gather around them. Meilin's team was ahead by a couple of points, and since they were playing till fifteen, Kokkei's only needed a few more, and they were on a break, so some of the people dispersed, to re-gather later.

Kokkei flopped down in the sand. "I thought you played better in the front." Meilin taunted, sitting next to her. "We're only four points behind, mind you." "Just score and get it over with. An ace could win it." "Yeah. Then we'll win it." Kokkei jumped up as Meilin smirked, dusting off the sand as best she could, "Let's go you guys. Game's back in." The boys jogged back over. "Don't they give up?" one groaned. "Who cares? I'm just glad girls like that are playing with us." They laughed, agreeing, and took up their spots. Kokkei and Meilin were in the front. "You're gonna eat sand, Rae." "In your dreams, Akarui." The ball was tossed back and forth a couple minutes, then Meilin's side missed it. Kokkei laughed triumphantly. "And since I'm the queen of aces, this game's in the bag." She danced around a little until she heard the service yell, then moved back into position as the ball flew over to Meilin's side. She and Kokkei were in a stare-off. The ball was hit high and Kokkei took the opportunity. She jumped up, and slammed her closed fist down on the ball, sending it whizzing straight for the ground. Meilin tried to make the save, but the ball landed in the sand a few seconds before she did, in her dive.

The guys helped her up and she looked over at where Kokkei was already being carried around on the guys' shoulders. She sighed then gave a surprised gasp as she was also lifted u. "You were both great!" they cheered, carrying her over to the net. The audiences clapped and talked excitedly. Kokkei was already there and they shook hands. "Great game." she said, smiling. "You, too. We oughta get back though. We've been gone quite a while." Kokkei nodded and they were both lowered by the guys. "We had fun." Meilin said, dragging Kokkei away. She waved helplessly at the laughing boys, and let Meilin drag her. They shook their heads and walked away from the net, along with the audience they had gathered. Meilin tossed Kokkei into the water and dived in after. Kokkei screamed and jumped up. "C-c-cold!" Meilin popped up after and looked at her, shrugging. "Race you back." Kokkei smirked. "You're on." They both dove underwater and started swimming for the other end. Meilin was a powerful swimmer, but Kokkei had a better advantage, with speed and agility, and made it to the group quicker.

She grabbed onto a rock near the one Meilin was holding, so they could stay underwater. Meilin pointed to the several set of legs and Kokkei nodded. Telling them apart wasn't hard and Kokkei and Meilin each swam to a pair of male legs, under them, then popped up, holding whoever on their shoulders. They took deep breaths then looked up to see who they'd picked up. "I never knew you were so light, Eriol." Kokkei laughed. "I always knew Li was light." Meilin stated. They looked at each other and winked, Eriol and Li now finding themselves tossed backwards. Madison and Sakura laughed along with Kokkei and Meilin. The two boys came back up, both smiling. Kokkei leaned on Eriol for support and stared at the shore. "Yue hasn't move from that spot yet?" "Nope." he sighed. "He even fell asleep after you left, and you've been gone for a while." "So, he only left once. When he thought I was in trouble, and that's it?" They all nodded. "Jeez. When a person comes to the beach, they either swim, stroll, or get a tan. He did neither." Kokkei bubbled after coming back up, after she had let Eriol dunk her. "You did all three." Li said, balancing Sakura on his shoulders, "And also squeezed in a game of volleyball." "How...?" "Kaoru told us." Kokkei looked at Madison. "But then he left again. He hasn't been back since." "Dominic?" Meilin asked, slowly trudging out of the water. "Oh. He went to the caves down there. Said something about pearl hunting. Go figure." Sakura, still on Li's shoulders, said, as they started out.

"Ceaira, Tori, Hannya, Julian, Antonio, Anastasia?" Kokkei asked, letting Madison, along with Eriol, pull her out. "All on the boardwalk." they said. Meilin ran up the beach and grabbed her towel. She looked at Yue, who was still sleeping and sweatdropped. The others came up and formed around her. "You think we should try?" Eriol asked. "Maybe. Can't you just levitate him down the beach, and we'll cover from both sides." Madison asked. He nodded. "That could work." Eriol moved to Yue's side and closed his eyes, holding out his arm. Yue fell into a deeper sleep and started levitating off the ground. Madison and Sakura moved to Eriol's sides, and Li, Kokkei, and Meilin took on the other, all six of them scuttling down the beach like little crabs. Eriol floated Yue over the water, then broke the concentration, letting him fall. Kokkei looked at the water as Yue popped back up, gasping and sputtering for air. "What'd ya do that for?!" he yelled. "You wasted your beach time." Sakura said, "Julian had more fun than you." "I... don't... care." He started out of the water but they all tackled him down and back underwater. The opened his eyes and glared at them. He pushed, but they held on tight. He sighed then closed his eyes, falling limp in their arms.

Kokkei blinked and shook him. "Yue." she said through bubbles. She looked at the others. "He's playing, right?" They nodded slowly, but she shook him some more. They let go and helped him float to the surface. "Eriol. You should know. He is kidding, right?" "That'll be a first. Yue hardly kids." Kokkei growled and attempted to beat Yue's chest in, but Eriol and Li held her back, and Yue jumped back at the same time. "You're dangerous." he said, shaking his head. Meilin sighed and pushed them both underwater. "Seek help." Then dove under herself. When she came up, she was a good ways away from them. She waved. "I'm gonna look for Dominic! You guys should start packing up. We might be leaving soon." She dove under again and disappeared. "I guess she's right." Sakura said. "Yeah." Madison added, "When the others went to the boardwalk, they were already dressed." "Then it's settled." Kokkei said as they ran up and grabbed their towels, "You guys pack up, while we girls shower and change." They three girls grabbed their bags and ran off giggling. The guys sighed, but started packing away the things. After they'd switched turns, and packed everything up in the van and the car, Sakura and Madison looked for the couples on the boardwalk, and Kokkei looked for Meilin and Dominic.


She held her shoes in her hand as she splashed through the water in the lagoon-looking grotto. She had on a pair of short yellow pants, with a white shirt, with the picture of a dandelion on the front, and a picture of a sunflower in the back. "Dominic! Meilin! Where are you? It's time to go." Her voice echoed back to her for a while then stopped. "Guys, come on." She stood on a boulder and looked around. "Guys." she whined, jumping up and down. "Kokkei..." She gasped and looked around. "Guys?" She hopped to another boulder.

She made her way inside. As she stepped down into the ankle-deep water, it felt as if something passed through her. She shook her head and when she looked around again, she saw Meilin off to the side, kneeling. "Meilin." She rushed over and reached down to touch her shoulder. Her fingers touched water and the image rippled, breaking apart. She pulled back her arm, as if burnt, and looked around. "Meilin, where are you?" "Kokkei. In here." Kokkei followed the voice through another rippling pool wall. This time, Meilin rushed to her, hugging her. "Oh. Glad you made it. I thought you would get lost like me." Kokkei pulled hey away and looked at her. "What happened? Where's Dominic?" "We were both together, and searching, though he didn't find much. Then, he found this fairly large clam and opened it. That's how this whole cave of reflections and shimmering water walls formed. Then he just disappeared. Help me find him." Kokkei nodded and looked around. "But, where to start? This place seems like a maze." She gasped as a bright light shone from her chest then floated in front of her. "Whassat...?" she mumbled. It started flying away. "Hey! Wait up. Come on, Meilin." The two took off running after the glowing light. They went through several different pool walls and then ended up in a cave, with nothing but shimmering walls. The light grew bright then died out. Meilin looked around and saw Dominic in the corner, curled up. "Dominic!" she cried, rushing over there. He looked up at her and smiled. "Meilin!" He jumped up and met her halfway, hugging her tightly. A pinging sound caught Kokkei's attention, and she turned around, only to see nothing. When she turned back around, Meilin and Dominic were both gone. "Guys? She turned all around, looking. The walls and ceiling of the cave slowly started disappearing, along with the ground. As the surroundings turned black, Kokkei felt like someone was pulling at her. She started falling into the darkness, screaming.

When she opened her eyes, Kaoru was holding her in his arms and Meilin and Dominic were standing around him. "You guys... were in... the cave." "No." Meilin said, "We heard you calling us, and came out from the other side, just as you slipped and hit your head. Kaoru had also seen it." Kokkei looked at Kaoru and he smiled at her. "No..." Kokkei groaned and tried to stand. "You were in there. Meilin hugged me..." She only him and started forward. He stopped her. "No. You shouldn't really be walking." "No, I'm fine." She held his hand as he stretched out his arm. She gasped and fell to her knees. Kaoru grabbed her and picked her up in his arms. Meilin and Dominic ran up. "Is she going to be ok?" Dominic asked. Kaoru nodded. "She should be." They started forward and he looked down at her, smirking, since Meilin and Dominic were behind him. He brushed a stand of Kokkei's hair out of her face as her eyes squeezed close tighter.