When Kotori woke up, she was greeted by the sight of her worried shipmates hovering over her. The moment she opened her eyes she felt a giant weight collapse around her. Kotori's heart almost skipped a bit, but she was quickly calmed as she recognized the form of Umi around her.
"I was so worried!" The other cried, hugging her friend close.
"I'm sorry I worried you, Umi-chan," Kotori replied with a small smile, wiping away the other's tears. It made her happy inside that the other cared so much for her, but she also felt a bit guilty for making her worry so much. "I'll have to make some macarons for everyone in apology."
Umi chuckled a little, finally letting go of Kotori. It was only then that Kotori noticed the figure that was standing behind Umi with an amused expression on her gentle face. Umi took notice of her gaze, opening her mouth to introduce the mysterious girl to Kotori.
"This is Toujou Nozomi," Umi said with a gesture towards the other, "She's the one who saved you."
Kotori was a bit breathtaken by the other. She always thought that Umi was gorgeous with her long flowing hair and mature aura, but Nozomi was enchanting in a totally different light. Her dark lavender hair was long, even longer than Umi's, with gentle waves that reminded Kotori of the ripples in water. Her turquoise eyes seemed to hold infinite knowledge, and reflect the depths of the ocean. Kotori was completely charmed by the other, and she couldn't tell if it was because she had rescued her or she was simply that beautiful.
"It's a pleasure to meet you!" Kotori chirped, shaking herself out of her thoughts. "I'm Minami Kotori. Thank you for rescuing me!"
"No need to thank me," Nozomi replied with a small airy chuckle, "I was simply there at the right time."
"Why were you there?" Umi questioned. Despite her gratefulness towards the other for saving her childhood friend, she couldn't help but be a bit suspicious of how suddenly the other appeared. Why would she be swimming in the ocean that far out in the middle of a storm? She felt a tad guilty suspecting the other, but it was certainly something to keep an eye out for.
"I'm always swimming in the ocean," she said with a slight teasing tone. Umi couldn't help but frown a bit, feeling that while she wasn't lying, she wasn't telling the complete truth. Once again however, she pushed those feelings aside.
"Kotori-chan!" The three looked towards the door to the cabin to see a ginger-haired girl peeking in from around the corner. She ran in, practically throwing her at Kotori in order to give the other a giant bear hug.
"Honoka-chan!" Kotori exclaimed in surprise, hugging the other back. "I'm sorry I worried you…"
"Don't fret about it," Honoka responded in a chirpy manner, squeezing the other close. "But geeze, you should get changed! You're practically drenched!"
It wasn't until Honoka's words that Kotori realized that she was still wearing the clothes from when she fell in. Nozomi looked about the same, her ruffled purple dress damp from the ocean. Umi looked a bit sheepish, admitting that she was so focused on making sure Kotori was okay that changing her clothes totally slipped out of her mind.
"Don't worry about it, Umi-chan," Kotori said gently, stretching a bit once Honoka released her from her embrace. "I always have spare outfits! Toujou-san, would you like to borrow an outfit?"
"If it's not much trouble," she accepted with a small smile. "And please, call me Nozomi."
"Nozo… Nozomi...chan?" Kotori struggled to get the words out, blushing a bit. It was hard for her to break the habit of calling people with 'chan' as the honorific, and it felt strange to her to try and drop it.
Nozomi and the others laughed, Kotori eventually joining in with them.
"I suppose that's good enough for now," she teased the other.
"Oi, Honoka! Umi!" an annoyed voice called out, causing the two to share an amused look. "Get over here, and stop slacking!"
"N-nico! You shouldn't talk to the captain like that!" a smaller more nervous voice murmured, only being heard due to the quietness the other's yell caused.
"We're coming!" Honoka called back, taking Umi's hand in hers.
"Kotori, I take it you can deal by yourself?" Umi asked, smiling when Kotori nodded an affirmative. "We'll be off then. And again, thank you for rescuing our friend, Nozomi."
The two left, gently closing the door behind them. Kotori fidgeting around a bit nervously, not sure what to say to the other. She didn't know Nozomi at all, but she wanted to. She wanted to know about her savior. Kotori blushed a bit at the word 'savior', wondering if she was starting to have a hero-worshiping mentality towards Nozomi.
"Do you make all the outfits?" Nozomi asked suddenly, drawing Kotori's attention.
"Umm, yes!" Kotori replied with a surprised stutter. "How did you know?"
At that question, Nozomi giggled, pointing at Kotori's desk. It was organized neatly with various compartments holding various sewing equipment and materials. Kotori realized Umi must've organized her desk after the storm, because the various plans for the crew's outfits were laying in a neat stack on top of the desk.
"You must be talented," Nozomi complimented the other in her usual calm and soothing voice.
"Thank you!" Kotori chirped in return with a large smile. She took pride in her sewing skills, having made outfits for her and the others for as long as they were children. "I suppose I need your measurements to make your outfit though," she remarked, thinking about the others and their body types. "Most of them don't have quite a large bust as yours, and Eli's too tall for hers to fit on you."
"Oh? What size are you?" Nozomi asked, a gleam of curiosity and excitement in her eyes.
"Size..?" Kotori repeated, trying to think of what Nozomi was talking about. She pouted a bit, drawing a blank.
"Never mind," she heard Nozomi say with a small chuckle. "You should get dressed, and then you can take my measurements."
"R-right!" Kotori stammered a bit, being startled out of her concentration.
"I should turn away, right?" Nozomi asked in a mischievous tone, her smile seeming a bit devious. She didn't wait for the other's reply before turning away. Despite that, Kotori felt like she was still laughing mentally.
She quickly changed into her casual outfit, a high waisted plaid skirt with a bow along with a plain yet cute sailor top with puffy sleeves. Kotori had designed them for fun, but the other seemed to like their simple design. Honoka thought that it would also be cute for them to have a unifying theme, and the idea stuck.
"I can probably modify one of Hanayo's old outfits," Kotori announced, getting out her measuring tape. "She's probably the closest to your body type." Nozomi hummed her agreement, patiently letting the other fiddle around to write down various measurements onto a scrap piece of paper.
"W-woah," Kotori muttered as she measured Nozomi's bust, "An 88? No, a 90!"
Nozomi let out another laugh, accidentally causing Kotori to tighten the measuring tape a bit. "Is that so surprising?"
"N-no!" Kotori stuttered out, "It's just really impressive, especially considering the average bust size for Japanese, and your height!"
Kotori felt extremely embarrassed at her exclamation, ignoring Nozomi's amusement and continuing to take notes. She finished quickly, checking them over one last time before going to her desk in order to start on the outfit. Kotori was so focused on her task, she almost didn't notice Nozomi pulling up a chair next to her in order to watch her work.
"Thank you, Kotori."
Kotori couldn't help but smile, sensing the sincerity in the other's voice.
"You're welcome, Nozomi-chan."
AN: I'll fully admit I'm not confident in my portrayal of the characters in this fic. I think that KotoNozo actually has a very cute basis for a relationship that could lead to drama later on. Both of them are very much supportive characters, and tend to help others more than they take care of themselves. Isn't that an interesting dynamic?
Ultimately however, I'm not a giant Kotori fan, and the way I write her may seem completely out of character. As stated in the summary, this is a giant gift to my friend, and I personally have never actually been interested in boating, so my knowledge is rather limited when it comes to life on the sea. Sure, I live near water, but that's nothing compared to being on the open ocean.
The one time I went on a sailboat I got sea sick.
So, I'll try my best to continue this fic, but please be aware I'm still trying to get a grasp on how to characterize Kotori and the others in this AU.
Thank you!