"Fine Line"
"Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try."
Chapter 12: Empedocles And Fire
This was mortifying.
It was mortifying in every which way! Terrifying! Horrifying!!
"I hate you Aya…" Oh, and I must be really mad to actually refer to her without a chan.
Anyone want to guess the situation I am in right now?
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Hm. Guess not.
Well, to start from the beginning, but also keep things short, I was brought to this Empedocles event that Marui mentioned. And true to his words, I would be joining it.
In fact, I'm already in it, waiting for it to start.
Why can't I just have said no or left? Let's say these hosts- yes, these hosts, cause its not Marui alone- had a way of persuading you, breaking and picking at your mind's lock till you give in and give them what they want.
"Kumiko-chaaaan! Let's do our best!!"
Also because Aya was in it as well.
"Well, no not really, I'm still single~"
And Rinko as well.
But those two were in it, so why am I still so uncomfortable?
Four reasons.
1)We had been provided swimsuits. Which lets just say, I never liked wearing anything that shows more than half my skin.
2)This was actually a race. I sucked at racing. I can't even move well on land, needless to say land sprayed with water, and in water itself.
3)This wasn't actually a small contest or event like the mochi making. It was huge. Most of the people at the festival are here, watching and participating. I don't do well with crowds.
4)This was a group match. Problem is, the groups consisted of one guest, ONE guest from the many throngs of female for each group, and two hosts. That meant two guys- two very note-worthy guys- and one girl. Did I mention that they were wearing trunks?
……hm. Guess not.
So you all understand my position now? And hence, why I look like a sunburned tomato?
Yea, I hope you understood.
I don't think Aya and Rinko do though. Rinko seems all too happy with the situation and Aya isn't really affected.
That leaves me alone, with no one to wallow in sorrow with. Where was Yura when you needed her?
"……" I stood there awkwardly, between Marui- who was chewing gum even if he was about to get soaked- and Shiraishi, who looked calm as usual, absent-mindedly checking out the other groups.
"Chances of your team winning is 45%."
"Eeep!" I squealed in shock. I whipped around, eyes still wide from the fright to find a man with his eyes closed, and brown hair.
"Oi! Renji! Don't scare us like that!!" Marui huffed, patting the area where his heart would be.
Renji merely smiled, but he turned to apologize to me. "Forgive me for scaring you, Ishimaru-san."
I blinked repeatedly. "Did we meet before?" How did he know my name?
"He's our personal database, you can say." Marui shrugged, blowing another pink bubble. "Its creepy sometimes, how he knows so much about you, but the customers seem to like it~"
My face twisted into confusion. Why would they like it when someone knows so much about them when they didn't even give the info out?
"I understand their needs and their preferences, so everyone is always 100% satisfied." Renji said, that small smile still on his face.
Despite him smiling, I still get a very 'serious' sort of vibe from this host. "Oh..okay.." What else was I supposed to say?
"But really, 45% only?" Shiraishi asked from my other side.
"It should be at least 80% with a genius like me on the team!" Marui pouted. "Did you get your data wrong?"
Renji shook his head. "You and Shiraishi make up the 40%." He opened his eyes, and piercing brown eyes met mine. "She however, makes up the 5%."
"………………" That just hurt. It really hurt.
"Don't say that." Shiraishi frowned in disapproval. Shiraishi could probably tell that I took a hit from that.
Marui crossed his arms and frowned as well. "Why only 5%? And why only 20% for me and Shiraishi each?"
"I can't give you all my data, but because I don't want you to come back with terrible performance either, I'll hint you." He gave a twist of a smile and a smirk. This guy holds scary resemblance to a mad professor or something…
"That 20% of yours comes from your natural physical abilities and as you would put it, your genius skills. Shiraishi's comes from his constitution and his absolutely flawless moves. Ishimaru-san however…" I stiffened, trying to prepare myself for the verbal bashing; although I knew Renji didn't mean it. He doesn't look like the type of guy that went out to harm people with his data. He was just straightforward. "We cant have any member from Club Prism doing badly."
"She clearly is uncomfortable with the two of you, and had been unwilling to join from the start. It'll cause problems for the team later on. The 5% comes from-" He paused, and suddenly shook his head. "Why don't you find out what that 5% is yourself, Ishimaru-san?" With that, he gave me a short bow and then turned and left to stand on the sidelines, a book and pen in hand, scribbling down notes as he went.
Soft patting on my shoulders brought my gaze up to see those of Shiraishi's. "Don't mind him, Ishimaru-san. We'll win. No matter what it takes."
"There's no way we can possibly lose!" Marui snorted from the left side of me, and I looked to see a determined yet childish pout on him.
Renji's words from before struck me like lightning. It wasn't pleasant to have someone tell you that you sucked….although he didn't outright say it. But I get the idea. I will probably be the one to drag this team down.
I heard a voice booming, announcing the start of the race, and instructions being given out.
It was a water filled race, and stretches out to various places of the palace, although it all still remained outside. I guess they didn't want to get the inside wet.
Aya was jumping up and down already, eager to start the race, and so were her teammates, a man by the name of Wakato (sounds really familiar for some reason) and a host from Club Prism, Yagyuu.
Rinko was teamed with Oshitari Yuushi, and she seemed to be enjoying his presence…and a host from another club which she referred to by Bane-san.
I can hear the crowds cheering, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. My subconscious was out screaming their voices. I was upset.
And angry.
Not at Renji. But his words, and what they evoked in me.
Cause problems for the team? As if I didn't know that already. I didn't need him to tell me that.
5%....20%...45%....what does it matter?!
They are just numbers, percentages!
I know I might be a turtle, both physically and mentally.
But didn't they know that turtles are mermaids when in water?
"Winning is all that matters." Shiraishi spoke up from my right.
"We'll finish this quickly~" Pop- another bubble burst.
Within me, I can feel my heart pounding faster in anxiety. I was anxious, and scared, for when the race will start, which is soon. I never did do well before in anything time related. But there is one difference from all the races I took part in previously in school and now: determination.
I don't want to disappoint Marui and Shiraishi. I don't want to be overshadowed by Aya and Rinko- not this time.
I wanted to prove Renji wrong. It was weird, even I had to admit. That very brief meeting with him had ignited this fire in me, which I had only ever experienced once before- and that was when Aya's feelings were on the stake, and there was the help of alcohol.
If I had to describe myself, I'd be the water. I go with the flow. I don't try to fight it. But…
"We'll win…" I whispered. Marui and Shiraishi looked at me simultaneously. I still had that meek look on my face, but I was churning with anticipation...no...determination, inside.
"100%!"
I'm going to go against the flow this time.
Renji closed his notebook, as he saw the race was about to begin. Someone took a spot next to him, and he smiled. "It's certainly a good chance to collect data."
The person snorted. "Of course~ Loads of them running and competing; they'll be demonstrating emotions and things you wont see working in a host club room." A pause. "So? What did you say?"
"Gave her hints that she was terrible, as you asked." He looked to his side. "I expect to have the data sent over to my computer as promised, Chiyoko-san."
Asuka waved a hand airily. "Yea, yea. Jeez, is data that important?...No wait, don't answer that."
"Any particular reason why you wanted me to put her down?"
Asuka shrugged. "Not really. Just wanted to see my good friend win. Aya-chan and Rinko-chan don't count; they win too often."
"And putting her down would help?"
"I was hoping it would. I remembered back during her birthday she was not willing to drink the champagne- but one look, just one look from Aya-chan was enough to make her drink it."
"So the guilt factor?"
"Nah. Something else that I think Kumiko-chan has."
"What would that be, may I ask?"
Asuka rubbed her chin, thinking. Then she grinned at Renji. "I don't know!"
"………" He just lost a good opportunity for data, just because she didn't know. Oh well. He'll figure it out soon anyways, so it didn't matter. "Although I must admit, from what I gathered, the data I gave them just now is indeed true."
"….so you weren't lying to them?"
"No."
"So they're going to lose anyway?!!" Asuka cried.
"Perhaps. Depends on whether they can bring their percentages up, and whether Ishimaru-san discovers what that 5% meant."
Asuka huffed, dropping a beer can on the floor and stomping it. "Think she would?"
Renji smiled mysteriously. "I think she might have already found it."
"Ready!"
Shiraishi raised his head, smirking down at all those who made eye contact with him, sending most of them to the floor…as they were all females. "Ah~ Ecstasy!"
"Set!"
I wringed my hands nervously. "We're going to win…we're going to win…" I chanted to myself. I still had that same determination as before. But it was a different matter when you're only seconds away from beginning.
"Go!!"
"Let's end this quickly and go get sweets!!" Marui cheered as he took a running jumpstart, quickly outrunning both me and Shiraishi. I didn't know Marui was that fast!
"Oi! Marui, it's a team match!" Shiraishi called after him. But the red-head waved a V-sign backwards, showing us that he heard.
Shiraishi caught up to Marui easily, and it took a little more struggle on my part to reach them, but I did- surprisingly enough.
After running about 160 meters, we came to a halt. The other teams as well; all of the teams from the start was still here, since it wasn't a very hard task in the first place- we just had to run.
But…
"Canoes?" Aya asked loudly, voice laced with confusion.
"Teams will now have to each grab a canoe and drag it all the way up to the canal using the path provided~ you can use any method you wish to get your canoe there faster. But of course, there's a catch~" The announcer's voice boomed through various speakers around the place. "Only two members of the team will be allowed to move the canoe along. The other will have to sit inside the canoe as they move it. So it's best to choose your lightest member~ and as you can see, in the canoe there are mandarins."
"More like lots of mandarins…" Marui muttered.
"The person sitting in the canoe can help their teammates by lightening the load, through throwing the mandarins out of the canoe. Of course, you are also allowed to throw the mandarins at others teams~ into their canoes, at their faces, anywhere!"
"S-so we have to move it and fend and attack at the same time?!" I cried.
"Seems about right." Shiraishi nodded. "Come on! We cant dilly-dally. Ishimaru-san, you sit in the canoe."
"Eh..erm, o-okay." I quickly got in, feeling my foot cooling instantly from the skins of the mandarin surrounding it. I hope I don't get hit too much…
As soon as I sat down, all the mandarins piling around me, Shiraishi instantly began to pull on the red ribbon attached to the canoe at the front, while Marui pushed from the back. Hurriedly, I started throwing mandarins out of the canoe at random as well, but I found that the numbers weren't going any less- Because Aya was throwing her mandarins into our canoe!!
"Hihi~ Sorry, Kumiko-chan! But I'm going to win this one!" She waved at me as her team sped up from the lightness of their canoe.
I pouted across at her from my canoe. "Kumiko-chan you-"Marui began but stopped when I suddenly grabbed several mandarins and aimed it all at Wakato's feet. He stepped on one that rolled by his foot and went slipping onto the floor. "Owww!" I'll apologize to him later…
Aya gaped down at Wakato, who was rubbing his sore foot and bum, before glaring at me. She took a mandarin and aimed it at my head.
"Eep!" I ducked and the orange fruit went flying above my head. I heard someone scream from behind me, and I turned to see that the mandarin had hit another girl in the canoe beside us square in the head.
"Uh oh…" Was Aya's only response when the girl focused angry blue eyes on her.
I ducked my head to avoid all the mandarins being thrown at Aya, and while Aya was busy with the incoming mandarins, I took my chance to quickly empty the canoe of mandarin, throwing some of them into Aya's canoe and that of the girl.
"Ouch!" Marui rubbed his head painfully, where a mandarin had hit him. Grabbing one of the last few mandarins in our canoe, I threw it at the girl who hit him.
"Nice hit~" Shiraishi laughed from the front.
"Thank you." I giggled, but was cut short when a mandarin hit me instead. "Owww!"
"Shiraishi, lets finish this quickly and get out of this battlefield!" Marui pleaded with the man, and the two of them quickly pulled and pushed harder. I tried to make it easier for them by keeping still and removing any more mandarins that flew into our boat.
As we reached the canal which we can now see, the announcer's voice came again.
We weren't the first to reach the canal, but we're one of the first few. Aya was not too far behind us.
"Teams will now have to row their canoes all the way to the platform designated~ your next set of instructions will be given there. As you can see, on the trees there are various decorations, cant you? Did you think they were only there for deco? As you go along the canal, there will be trees planted at intervals along the way. The number of trees will lessen as you go further up. Watermelons are hung in a net on the trees."
We looked down the canal, and sure enough, there were red nets with a ball of something in it.
"Teams will have to try to get a watermelon off the tree as they pass by it. You can grab as many as you want to give a disadvantage to the other teams. Note that there are only limited amounts of watermelons available, so teams that did not get one will be eliminated. If you did not get a watermelon and there isn't any left, you can choose to steal the watermelons of the other teams."
"Go,go,go,go!" Marui pushed the canoe into the canal, with me still in it, and the two of them quickly jumped in as well. I grabbed one of the oars inside and started rowing as fast and hard as I could. Marui did the same, while Shiraishi stood up and waited for us to pass the next nearest tree. Another canoe was rowing beside us, and one of the hosts in there was also standing up.
"Ah! Hirakoba Rin!" Marui cried, pointing to the host that was standing up. Rin smirked and winked at us. "Sorry~ But our team will win this~ Water sports are the specialty of us Okinawans."
Shiraishi smirked back at Rin. "Hn. But that's only if you get the watermelon!!" With that, he lithely jumped and grabbed onto a watermelon, just as Rin was also jumping for it. Our canoe rocked lightly as he landed back down and got his balance, holding onto the watermelon protectively as Rin tried to steal it.
"Sorry, Hirakoba. This one is ours~!" Marui winked at him, and we quickly rowed away now that Shiraishi won't fall off from us rowing too fast. He passed the watermelon to me and asked me to put it under my legs to protect it from other teams.
"We seem to be first for now. We have to keep it up to win." Shiraishi noted as he looked behind to see other teams fighting for watermelons, and some people were actually getting thrown into the canal.
We arrived at the platform quickly, but we were not alone. Aya and her team was not too far behind. The girl shook a fist at me."Kumiko-chan! Watch out tonight when you're in bed!!"
I winced, waving at her guiltily before running off after Shiraishi and Marui, who was carrying the watermelon.
"The next part of the race is a gauntlet!! Teams will have to dip their watermelon in the buckets of cream given."
Shiraishi quickly did this as soon as it was said, to save time. Expected of him, to not waste time.
"Teams will have to run through the gauntlet with their watermelons!"
The gauntlet is actually a whole line of staffs and even the guests, lined on either side with a moderately large path in the middle. Each person was armed….with a water gun?!
"They don't hurt…right?" I gulped. I heard stories of people being hospitalized from being shot at with a water gun that has high pressure….
"Teams will have to try to avoid their watermelon being sprayed by the water guns as much as possible! You must have at least a little bit of the cream on your watermelon when you reach the end, or else you must start all over. But be careful! It's reaaally hot today~ The cream might completely melt off the watermelon before you reach the end!"
And true enough, we can see the cream beginning to melt on the watermelon already. Marui dunked it back into the bucket.
"So its all about speed…and defense." Shiraishi eyed the path for a moment before looking at me and Marui. "Alright. Follow my lead. We'll move so that we can avoid the reach of most of the guns. Ishimaru-san, hold onto the watermelon and run directly behind me. Marui, run by Ishimaru-san and take any of the water aimed at her."
Marui sighed. "I'm playing the barrier then."
"There isn't an attacking side to this after all~" Shiraishi chuckled. His eyes suddenly narrowed, when he spotted a few more teams coming up. "Let's go!!"
"W-wha-hey! Wait!!" I cried, quickly running after him. He took off so abruptly that I was taken off guard. With as much accuracy as possible, I followed the steps he took; instead of running straight ahead and being an easy target, Shiraishi was moving diagonally back and forth, making it hard to the people to aim. Of course, he was also a barrier of sorts for me as he was in front. Marui switched around from back and to my left and right depending on the directions where water was being shot.
I got wet slightly, and I could feel the cream sliding down my arm. "It's melting!!" I cried. Due to its slickness, I nearly let slip the watermelon.
"Careful! If you drop it, we're done for!" Because a sitting watermelon is equivalent to sitting ducks.
"Ack!" Spluttering, I shook my head to rid of the water that hit me straight on in the face. Little sprays of water were still felt against my skin, and I peeked an eye to see Marui soaking, taking the shot that was aimed at me when I was off guard.
"Quick!" He urged me on, and my steps quickened automatically, seeing the cream nearly all gone- either melted or sprayed on.
We were almost at the end of the gauntlet, but there was a constant waterfall of water being fired at the end, one which we had to get through and make sure we still had cream on our watermelon.
"It's not going to make it!!" I sobbed, hugging the poor green and white fruit closer to me.
"Yes it will! Just run through it!!" Shiraishi called back at me.
We only had a little bit of cream left on the fruit, and if we get hit anymore, it'll all be gone. Marui and Shiraishi knows this, and both together were trying to keep any water off me.
"Kumiko-chan! Keep running!" At Marui's urging, I kept running even though I did not think our watermelon will survive the last torrent of water at the end. As I ran through and out of the gauntlet, not a single spurt of water hit me. Marui and Shiraishi had both stood on either side of me, stretching their arms out and covering as much area as possible to protect me and the watermelon.
A man in white quickly came over to check that there was still cream on our watermelon, before we were sent off running again.
"That…was-!! Exhilarating!" I panted, heart still pounding from the amazing drama back there. "I felt like the Men in Black!"
"Or the Men in Trunks!" Marui laughed.
We had to go through several more tasks, one of them being an obstacle course that got us completely soaked.
We reached the final leg of the race- a large swimming pool.
During the several last tasks, several teams has already caught up to us, and Aya's team was no exception.
"Two members will have to make a mini-seat with their hands in the water, and the last member shall sit on them!"
"Kumiko-chan! Quick!!" Marui beckoned me frantically into the water with his hand. As I squatted to get into the water, the two of them each placed their right hand onto their left arm, and then connected each of their left arms to the other's shoulders- creating a makeshift seat.
"Eh?! I'm sitting?!" I was baffled, and instantly turned red again. I'm going to be sitting on their…hands!! "I'm heavy!!"
"You're still lighter than both of us!! Hurry! They are already getting in!" Shiraishi urged.
I looked to see Aya, and several other teams, and even Rinko's team, already getting into the water and picking up their lightest members.
"R-right!" Not wanting to lose and disappoint, I quickly got on, although I was burning, despite the cold water.
I wanted to win, and I still had that same determination to. But this was just too much for me to handle.
A man suddenly came over and handed me a purple ribbon. I looked down at it in confusion.
"The person sitting will have to tie the ribbon into their hair, in what style, it doesn't matter~ Each team will now have to try and steal a ribbon of another color from another team by pulling it out of their hair~ Only the person sitting can steal and be stolen from of course~! So better tie your ribbons tight! But not too tight that its going to hurt when pulled~! You may eliminate teams by pushing the person sitting off their seat as well~!"
"Eh?!" I gulped.
"Once that person is down, the team is out! So lifters, take care to not let them drop~"
Shiraishi and Marui suddenly moved, eliciting a yelp from me and I held onto both their shoulders to keep balance. I looked behind me, where Shiraishi is positioned, to find Aya's team heading towards us.
Shiraishi looked up at me. "Sorry. But they were coming, so we had to move."
"Yunami-hime and her team are pretty aggressive." Marui commented, blowing a pink bubble.
"Marui!! No gum in the pool!!" Someone from the sidelines screamed at him, and Marui winced, quickly popping the gum and keeping it in his mouth. "Erk..Sanada…."
"Once you get a ribbon, the team will have to swim over to the other end of the pool, and run over to the lake outside the backyard gates~!" The announcer continued. Lake? I didn't see any lake within the palace walls..so it was outside the hedges surrounding the backyard?
"Aiee!" Another involuntary squeal came from me, as Aya swiped at my hand.
"Stay still Kumiko-chan!!" Aya cried, reaching out for the ribbon in my hair again. I had it tied in a messy ponytail.
"Who would stay still for you to grab the ribbon!" Marui yelled at her, eyes widened in absolute disbelief.
"She would! Wouldn't you, Kumiko-chan? For me? Pleaaase?!" She pleaded, giving me that same pout and face that she used to make me come here.
I shook my head. "Sorry, Aya-chan. Not this time."
She pouted again. "Fine then! This is WAAAR!"
She reached over from her seat and got me into a headlock. I winced, and felt her hand pulling at my ribbon. Being friends with her for years now though, I also knew where she was weakest. I started tickling her abdomen.
"Ahahaha—Hahaha!Hey!aha-S-stop it!!" She squirmed and squealed, and I continued to tickle her. Suddenly, she grabbed my hands and pushed against me, trying to make me fall off. I grounded my teeth together and pushed back.
"Woot! Cat fight!!" The host named Wakato whistled. 'Right on us too! This is the best, isn't that right Yagyuu?"
Yagyuu's glasses seemed to flash in the sunlight, but he merely frown. "Pitting women against each other is very ungentlemanly."
"Come oooon!! Get her ribbon!" Marui cheered, lightly jumping in the water from excitement.
"Marui! Stop jumping! You're putting her off balance!" Shiraishi exasperated from the other side.
The four men then stood side by side, two on the front of Aya and me, and two behind us, watching us two girls fight it out.
"Oww! Jeez Kumiko-chan! When did you pack so much fight in you?!" Aya cried, rubbing the part of her head where I pulled her hair in an attempt to grab the ribbon.
"I learnt it from you and Asuka-chan!!" I answered, before making another grab.
It was painful, this fight. If it went on for any longer, we might have pulled all of each other's hair out. But we were laughing, and enjoying ourselves. The guys as well, as they started to kick each other's legs to throw the other off balance.
In the end though, we got Aya's red ribbon. Shiraishi had accidentally stepped on Wakato's foot, and though we're in the water, it was only the shallow part- and so it had hurt.
"Ouuuch!!" Wakato's foot slipped again, and at the same time, I pushed Aya off her seat.
"Ahhh-!!" Her scream was cut short when she dropped into the water.
Without wasting any time, Shiraishi and Marui started moving towards the other end of the pool, and I turned around to shout out in apology. "Sorry! Aya-chan! Foot-san!!" I didn't know his last name, so I called him that…since he got injured in the foot a lot today.
I shivered when we reached the deeper ends, because I was afraid Shiraishi and Marui would not be able to hold me up while swimming at the same time. But they did it.
We reached the edge and they let me up before getting out of the water themselves- then three of us then quickly ran towards the backyard, and towards the lake. We can hear another team behind us, and I peeked to see Rinko with her team instead this time.
"First Aya-chan and now Rinko-chan..?!" I despaired.
"Must be a curse you have…" Marui said.
"There is a mini-volcano which spouts out steaming water underneath the lake~!" The now familiar and loud voice of the announcer came again. "The female of the team will have to swim down below to the volcanic geyser-the other two can come as well of course, to fend off any evil-doers from the damsel- and tie the ribbon around the pole there. First one to do that WIIINS! Only the female can tie the ribbon though, I mean, it's a ribbon after all! As if us dudes will know how to tie one~"
"That's guy on crack." Marui scowled, shaking his mane of red hair causing water to go spraying around.
"Well, I don't know what he meant by 'evil-doers', but not much we can do just standing here. We'll win, no matter what!" And with that, Shiraishi dived into the lake bravely, and Marui followed suit after a bit of hesitance. I took a deep breath and gulped, before wading into the water.
Before I could even get to my shoulder in water, Shiraishi and Marui suddenly emerged again. "They didn't even provide oxygen tanks for this! We can't see the geyser!"
"So we'll have to keep coming back up for air as we search?" I asked, dread filling me. I was hoping this would be easy and finish it quick. But it seems the last task is always the hardest…
"That's about it. The faster we find that geyser and get you there, the quicker we end this and win." Shiraishi told me.
"We should stick together though. If one of us other than Kumiko-chan finds the geyser first, it'll be troublesome to find each other again." Marui pointed out, and the three of us quickly agreed to swim within a certain radius of each other, so we can maximize the amount of space we cover and also not lose each other.
We weren't the only ones swimming about in the lake looking for the geyser now though. My eyes were unused to being open in water, but luckily, I found that they indeed did provide goggles in a box located at one side of the lake. Guess they didn't want everyone having it easy…
We resurfaced multiple times to get a new breath of air before diving back down.
A black gloved hand suddenly came from my side and grabbed the two ribbons in my hand. Instinctively, I pulled down on the ribbon, and a tug of war ensued between us.
The man, decked in a diving suit which covered his face as well, was suddenly thrown to the side by Marui who swam into him, causing him to release the ribbon. Our team resurfaced.
"W-what the hell was that?!" I gasped.
"Ahaha~I forgot to mention, we have…let's call them Water Ninjas shall we? Yes, the Water Ninjas are around and lurking, and they will try to get your ribbon from you. So boys, make sure to protect your princess~! If they took your ribbon, you can try to get it back from them though it's unadvisable. These guys swim awfully fast, and you'll waste a lot of time retrieving it. But there's also good news! When they are around, it means the geyser is nearby…hm? Oh? I wasn't supposed to tell them that? Oh well." And the announcer tuned off again.
"This is crazy." I breathed, still trying to steady my flow of air.
"It sure is. I'm gonna knock some sense into the person who planned this event later!" Marui grumbled.
Shiraishi, still keeping his cool turned to both of us. "Least we know the geyser is near. Let's find it, quick!"
He dived again and we followed suit. Although this time, Marui and Shiraishi stayed nearby, in case anymore of those…Water Ninjas came.
And sure enough, another two came. A bulb clicked in my head, and I figured we must be nearer if there were more of them coming. Hah, I felt like I was in a video game…
Those Water Ninjas guys weren't that hard to fend off. The event runner probably didn't want any real fighting going on, and real injuries to occur so he had them go easy on us. All Marui and Shiraishi ever did was struggle with them a bit, trying to push them back, and after sometime, they'd leave- which was a good thing. I didn't want anyone to get hurt from this.
My eyes squinted in the water when I saw some white fogs ahead. Fog in the water? It then hit me what it was and I quickly resurfaced, the other two following suit. "The geyser!" I whispered to them quietly, not wanting to alert the other teams.
Marui dunked his head into the water to check, and sure enough, he resurfaced with a huge grin on his face.
The three of us quickly dived down to the geyser, and there it was, a small mountain of rocks and sand, sprouting warm water out from it.
As we swam towards it, more of those Water Ninjas came, and I was left to swim as fast as possible towards the geyser and tie the ribbon to the pole in the center of it as Shiraishi and Marui half-heartedly fended off the so-called ninjas.
But it wasn't easy. I reached it, but swimming close enough to it to grab the pole was an entirely different matter. The water surging out of it kept pushing me back, and I struggled against the current. I was pushed to the surface.
I gasped for air, shaking my head about. Then went back down again- only to find Rinko at the geyser as well this time, trying to swim to the pole.
No way! When did she get here?!!
I gritted my teeth and swam harder. I did NOT want to lose, not after going through all that trouble of getting here!! Not after all the effort Marui and Shiraishi poured into this race to get us here!
And I did not want to be overshadowed, not this time!
Not after I finally took Aya down, something I had never achieved before. I'm not going to let Rinko take that glory away!
Rinko was abruptly thrown back by the torrent which got stronger. And I was only still at my place because of the frantic movements of my legs and hands, pushing as hard as I can to propel me forwards.
I still had a gulp of air within me, and I did not want to resurface only to come back down. I'll be wasting time.
My hand reached forward to grab the pole, but it slipped off. And I tried again.
Bubbles emerged from my mouth as I let precious air out little by little, feeling the energy drain from me as lack of air weakened my body and dampened my will.
'If Aya-chan was here in my place right now…' I thought, squeezing my eyes shut. 'She wouldn't give up, would she?!'
I gave one last push, my final effort, to reach the pole. With desperation, I reached for the pole and clung onto it, fingers turning white as I held on tightly.
The last of my air left me in a school of bubbles.
With one shaky hand, I tried to tie the ribbon onto the pole, but the gush of water was making things difficult.
'Come on, come on!'
I started to see spots from lack of air, but I kept going, trying to get the two darned ribbons on. I bet my parents would be cursing me, if they found I had died in a stupid contest trying to tie two ribbons onto a pole located in a geyser.
But I didn't want to lose. I really didn't!!
I dont want to let them down. I dont want to be the weakest link anymore. I dont want Renji's words to be true!
I wanted to make that 45% of ours…a 100%!!
Just as I almost lost all hope, I finally got the ribbon on, and my eyes alighted in joy.
All air had left me however.
As my eyes slid close, and all feelings left my body, all I felt was a soft touch to my lips.
If Atobe can have a mountain of ice and snow built, he can definitely build a underwater volcanic geyser =D
Bahaha. I love making small things dramatic! Its really good for laughs~Lol so yesh, sue me for stupid events and drama xwX
Thanks for the reviews, as usual =D
But man, I'm on a roll! One fic a day!
SapphireBreeze19: I understand what you mean~ I probably would faint from himlooking at me, needless to say hold my hand~
PhoenixRage92: When he said 'my customer' then Kumiko replied to him saying the same thing, saying she wasnt a customer xD Marui's just a confident lil host like that~ Thinking everyone loves him xD But he said that cause he meant that he was a host, and although Kumiko wasnt his customer, he was still a host even if they are currently in a festival. And he must do his job as a host haha XD If HK is an exotic destination to you, Bulgaria would be for me xD I went to Europe too haha but never Bulgaria =0'
Lady Ladington: well, if you read chapter 11 yesterday, you read this one today ;D But they sell mochi's at your place right? Mochi's are reaaally good haha One of my fave foods actually. Especially those with redbean paste XD But my fave is still rice cake; literal rice cakes. Mochis are actually rice cake, but there's another type of rice cake in Japan lol I'm not too sure of the name, but my friends from Japan gave me a box before and it was SO good T_T why didnt I ask them for the name?! Yea, school is in 4 days T_T probably one reason I am updating like nuts. Cause I have nothing better to do right now (although I have a lot of commissions to go through...) and when school starts, I'll be busy =/