57
A chilly, but extremely clear night was overhead the luxe high rise rooftop in downtown Tokyo.
"Aren't you tired of the cold yet?" A young woman in a textured, cerulean blue bikini snarked; tone beyond bothered as she flicked brown curls off her shoulder irritably with an grumbled huff.
She was enjoying her soak in the hot tub, a perfect 105 degrees, until this annoyance came along.
"Not quite." A puff off a pipe.
Ashley pissed, narrowed her lids to slits, nostrils quivering, semi-grossed out. "I don't get tobacco." She scoffed; a hand gesture. "People smoke for all sorts of reasons, but the taste is so nasty." She sipped at her rich wine in an outright uptight and snooty manner. "Where'd you get that ugly thing anyway?" It was like she was sitting next to a Leprechaun minus the gold, cheer and rainbows.
And no beard or being fat either.
Her father kept himself cleanly shaved mostly, and he was fairly in-shape.
But still, a pipe?
For novelty's sake she supposed!
Just like that deli sandwich not long ago with imported mustard.
There she was eating a filet, and he was eating a god damn sandwich.
Bothersome.
She swore her father just did things like this to get under her skin.
Dr. Connelly let out a rapid, rolling steam; his lounge chair sat alongside the tile edge close to her. "Didn't stop you, did it? When you'd command our poor weapon to kiss you, eh?" Language came out dark and seeped in aggravation. "The taste and smell didn't bother you then did it?" A mean smirk, a teeth clench.
He flat ignored her question.
This pipe was an import.
Expensive.
Inlaid with gold and ivory.
At the moment, he wasn't caring for the regular biting, trivial back and forth type of conversation that he most usually carried with her.
Other things much more heavy and foul filtered across his headspace, his gaze loomed off into the distance above the city's multi-colored lights as he thought.
You know, he didn't give a two shits if his daughter wanted to design the playthings he'd let her have.
Let her cut and color the hair, give them tattoos, pierce the skin, whatever.
Dress them like fucking clowns if she wanted!
Ouija Ouji, she'd stupid named, their new, personal killer, had a completely different look than when they'd first scooped him up.
Plucked right from the streets.
It wasn't any different to Dr. Connelly than a little girl jerking around a dolly, except for the fact that these ones were not made out of plastic.
They had beating hearts.
He had to let her know who indeed it was that was running this whole show; it was time to put his foot down.
Not because he cared that these 'things' of theirs that they called assassins were living beings, but because his Ashley dear had been lying to him.
Lying to him about one very specific individual that he still considered to be their treasure.
One lost from their fold, but soon, would return, like a prodigal son.
He didn't mind lying, for he lied all the time. It was how business operated in the the underground.
You never told the truth about what was occurring in the clubs.
Of course not!
So, it wasn't enraging that Ashley was lying, but more what she was lying about.
It was because it impacted his plans this time.
His plans.
Sure, he thought in the terms of 'us' and 'we', as it was only him and his daughter.
However, he was the only one that was truly, actively working for their uprising.
The Connelly uprising.
Of course she was helping, was more than willing, as she was just as terrible a person as he, but she did not hold as much corporate presence as he did.
They were set on path to reign over Japan themselves; wanted to take it out from under All For One, and they were well on their way.
They ran dance clubs as a front to spread and sell drugs, traffic people, and hide scientific facilities, and they were at the pinnacle of the mental quirk group's pyramid.
All the others were subordinates at this point, as all their products were funneled in and out from under the Connelly's wings.
They monitored it for All For One, which meant they were in semi-control of it themselves.
More than half the time none of the LOV were around, and never had they received an in-person visit from All For One, as he kept his true identity concealed due to being severely injured by All Might some ten years past.
So, how easy would it be to simply 'take control' out from under All For One?
Gears were clinking.
Time was moving.
Assets shifting.
Piece by piece.
Dr. Connelly was in the process of making deals, smoothing out weak-points and establishing new connections of his own to steal the whole operation, the whole she-bang.
If you can control the darkness of society, you can control the masses.
And the masses have power, a lot of power.
So much power that they can overthrow the government.
They could overthrow military.
The police.
It would put Japan in a total anarchist state.
Then, after all retaliating parties were annihilated; all forms of government destroyed, military, police and hero branches ended, who would step in?
The Connellys.
His deviant mind had the blueprints ready for the take over.
They would offer a solution to the people for cleanup, without the general public knowing it was them all along that had caused the downfall.
He had done plenty of think-tanking.
More than enough.
Show the people that a return to the old ways would save them; a return to a monarchy is best to recover society... but let them not fully 'decide'.
Don't ever give them that decision-making power!
Have it be decided for them behind the curtain, while distracted of course!
And distracted by what exactly?
Destruction.
Devastation.
A firey inferno that was once such a beautiful country.
An ultimate disaster of unparalleled dimension.
One specific disaster to be exact: Satoko Kasaya.
He easily gathered that it would take many things being demolished; buildings, roadways, canals, schools, transportations.
Let Japanese citizens shriek during ultimate fail of the land.
Let them starve, fight over resources and suffer.
Let them be traumatized by their young weapon, body and eyes glowing white as it ruined.
Let Satoko's image cause shiver and screams to erupt from their mouths; a fallen angel, much worse than a comet, who has come to kill without reason, completely unjust.
Then to disappear as if he'd never existed.
For Dr. Connelly knew of the ultimate power inside the teen. They both knew now, so did their mental quirk associates.
It had a name- For One's All.
He'd seen it that day too, with his own two eyes.
When Ashley had called on Diasuta's uppermost level just once, for the first, but last time, a crazy transforming occurred.
The young man's whole being that was tangible faded.
Skin became air.
Blood nothing but glowing, pulsing energy.
The outline lost.
And the man affront the aura, the Satoko mist?
After an ethereal, illustrious halo of fog and light etched with navy lightning touched and swarmed around the flesh like a mad wave of piranhas, the man simply... puffed.
Down it fell.
Slow.
Black ash.
Human ash.
That traitor had been easily vaporized.
Atomized into how most basic form.
From dust, to dust once again.
It was the only time he'd ever seen his daughter screech out in sheer terror, but opposite, Dr. Connelly did nothing but wickedly smirk in that alley's shadows, hidden like a true predator.
Such a powerful force for their assassin to wield.
Perfect for them then.
Still perfect for them now.
Perfect to start and finish a genocide with, that mystic fog surrounding and sweeping into every fiber of the land.
No soil forgotten by it's unforgiving touch.
Because afterwards, a miracle, a true miracle would step in and begin clean up.
Saviors!
From the rubble, an ultra-rich foreign family, The Connellys, will donate their time, money and supplies to the country's infrastructure for rebuild, all the while expressing imminent power to accomplish it, as a way to manage in tumultuous times.
Since no government would exist, all politicians and officials targeted, there will be no election or objection loud enough!
Oh, and how would he silence these government leaders?
Easy.
Amidst the chaos of the island country burning, people dying, a hitman squad he was currently formulating would operate, gun them down or snatch them up and 'shut out their lights' so-to-say.
The masses won't know who to listen to except the ones with the loudest voice.
Politics at its best.
The ones with the biggest wind, always made the loudest noise, left the most brilliant echoes.
And whose voice would be loudest?
Dr. Connelly and his daughter's voice!
The two are exclaiming what's most important: repairing, rebuilding, constructing, reestablishing.
While the public is distracted, a new 'government' will formed, one of seemingly 'humble' imperialism.
Oligarchy, perhaps?
No voting required.
Dr. Connelly and his daughter will be the ultimate leaders; all branches they create under their control.
There will be a new society, and with it, a new 'military', a new everything, all of it completely loyal to the monarchy.
He the King, and Ashley his Princess.
So, her lying about this specific thing that he knew she was lying about, was no laughing matter for Dr. Connelly.
This was serious.
But as he was in fact, himself, an intelligent mastermind, he'd prepared for even a backfire; Plan B fully established.
It was already created, just in wait thanks to that blood that the Vanguard Action Squad siphoned off some UA Students.
He'd gotten ahold of some it himself.
That will soon come to fruition, if Satoko Kasaya's destructive force fails under their control.
Japan will be destroyed one way or another.
He smiled sickly.
One way or another, he'd get his way, and he'd be on top, Ashley in tow.
Years prior, before he'd dreamed all of this up, all these schemes, when Satoko Kasaya was only their personal assassin, long before him and Ashley came to know of him as For One's All, when he first caught his daughter commanding the young man under her quirk's spell to kiss her, he'd had grabbed her by the arms, took her into a side room and smacked her.
Roughed her up just enough, made sure she was good and mentally scared.
All to make her stay in her lane.
Who cared if he whacked her a few times?
The bruises meant not to fuck up.
And after that, she didn't; only stares at him on the dance floor, having him do some kisses on the cheek here and there, her fixing him up to look pretty according to her will, commanding him to undress for a bath while she was standing right there, watching him rape some traitors.
That stuff was all trivial.
He'd let her use her eyes to see whatever she wanted of the boy, but not to touch.
He wanted her to understand at the time that this assassin that they had, he was not to be seen as a physical thrill, only a tool.
Less than human.
For he knew inside that body of Satoko Kasaya that housed so much power, was still the mind of a youngster, trapped and locked up, no doubt getting screwed up more and more every single day that went by.
Mr. Connelly was fine with that, but frankly, he was surprised.
Surprised all to hell.
For someone that they'd broken, destroyed, and whacked down, someone that they'd changed from a 'someone' to a 'something', Satoko Kasaya seemed to be human once again.
After Satoko Hisashi, the pain-in-the-ass older brother, was able to snatch him away, Kasaya seemed like he was able to mentally come back from it all somehow.
Enough to start going back to school, to gain some since of 'himself' enough to function, and now... this new discovery.
This discovery, was the thing that Ashley was lying about.
The young man indeed was doing so much better after having time to recover!
He really was recovering, if not recovered already.
That pissed the elder doctor off.
He preferred the boy to still be attached and suffering, surely that would make it easier for them to latch him back into their schemes.
He could no longer just slap her, and have her 'get it'.
This was beyond reprieve.
"So, you can't feel it anymore?" He stated firm, contemplating what exactly he should do.
"I can't. I've been too busy with Ouija lately to check anyways." She swallowed, sniffed meanly, looking away, pulling the strap of her bikini's top back up on the shoulder more.
Ashley lied through her sneering.
She'd known it wasn't there for awhile now.
But what was truth, was that before checking, she really hadn't checked for more than three months.
Her pride.
She just figured... well, that with how broken and jacked up he was, no person would be able to sway his heart and being in such a way that would bust her last attachment to him: The Emotion Control, LOVE.
Unsure how to break it to her father, but also to give herself time to calm down, she'd kept it to herself for a few weeks.
She'd been in an absolute fury, all because she knew what LOVE being gone meant: some gorgeous, young woman (other than herself), Kasaya had fallen head-over-heels in love with while he was going to school at UA.
He'd felt a romantic love, a real love so strong that it was equivalent to her Emotion Control's one, most likely and possibly even stronger, and that's what clipped that last knot she'd had wrapped around his fibers.
Ashley wrecked her room, threw glasses at the walls, exploding shards everywhere.
She banged holes in the drywall with her fists, kicked through a door, smashed wine bottles and busted the mirror in her large, marble tiled bathroom.
Pissed.
Angry.
Screaming, then messy crying.
Wild.
Completely unable to calm down; like she was struck with a sudden psychotic breakdown.
The servants and maids, were left to clean up the mess as she stormed on.
But, this was unavoidable.
She knew she was in for it!
After telling her father the bad news, it left her on edge.
How would he react?
She never knew, so she was trying to lessen her personal blow by lying about the time frame.
She didn't want to be seen as irresponsible by him again.
When she'd lost Kasaya to his older brother, due to her negligence and pride, she wasn't beaten then, only scorned, terribly scorned. It left her ears ringing and her head hurting.
She had been let off easy.
But was this as bad an offense as that had been?
Not checking on the LOVE emotion for three months or so?
She figured she should of been beaten for the first offense of losing Satoko, and since this wasn't as bad (in her opinion), she'll just have a wrist slap for this one, right?
"So, you've no idea how long it's been since LOVE hasn't been there, hm? That was the last one you had attached on the poor child... wasn't it?" He licked his lips and puffed on his tobacco, he was completely inflamed and angry at his daughter.
"No, I don't know how long." She rolled her eyes. When would he go away?
"What have I told you before, about this business? You must check on a consistent basis on all your assets, lest you might lose control or overlook something. You remember what happened to all the outliers at the last meeting with the League of Villains, right?" He wanted to get under her skin.
She said nothing, only sipped on some red wine, knowing she was in deep shit.
Of course, she was listening to his words, but also in doing so, actively trying to con a way out. By finding a way to use her father's words against him, she might be able to manipulate him.
It's worked a few times before.
She was his daughter after all.
"They were all found. Nika buried her's alive; threw him into a hole at a construction site while he was blacked out." A nasty smirk. "I'm sure it was great feeling observing the bulldozer unload tons of earth atop a person whom tried to get one over on you. Since then, operations have tightened."
Ashley only let out a breath of air, ready to defend herself, but her father's finger came up to her lips which shut her up.
She smacked it away.
He cackled, blowing out smoke. "What were you goin' to do Ashley dear? Try to say something to convince me that you're detail oriented when you aren't? Goin' to say, 'Oh father, I'm sorry, I won't let it happen again.'?" He put his hand on her cheek softly, and turned her chin to face him. "You think I'm some sweet person? Someone whose willing to forget about it, hm?"
She was looking at him defiantly.
"Just because I have forgiven you for losin' your grip on Satoko doesn't mean I have forgotten..." He looked menacingly into her blue eyes, which blinked rapidly in response. "Now, this too... not checkin' on the last thread you have on him, the LOVE emotion. Or should I say, 'had'." He changed the verb tense. "Checkin' late, only to realize that it's gone." Her rubbed her reddening cheek with his thumb. "Please tell me why I am so lenient with you, my only daughter."
Suddenly, he grabbed her, wrapping a hand around the back of her neck, water sloshing as he yanked her upwards towards him with just one palm. His thick fingers twisted sharply into her hair, forcing her face into his face.
"Le'go! Ow... daddy!" A childish scream; an attempt to manipulate.
"Oh, bringin' out nicknames of familiarity are we? I know that's false! You forget, I know how you act! YOU SNOTTY BRAT!"
She brought her palms up around his wrist, begging, lipstick getting wet with spit as he shook her rapidly.
"I've given you a chance to redeem yourself, and this is how you repay me? By once again being negligent?" He sat his burning pipe in the ashtray's side slot, and ripped one of her hands off his forearm, letting go of her hair. He held her in place.
She sighed in relief, a few tears streaming out of her eyes.
"Please tell me why I am so overlooking of your actions? Hm?"
"Because... because I'm... y'your... your daughter..."
He saw that she wouldn't look him in the eyes. Mr. Connelly yanked on her arm viciously. Her head snapped upwards.
"But what I am askin' is... should I be?"
Her eyes popped open wide.
"Sure, at that meeting each leader within our mental quirk organization had an outlier, someone that had slipped out of their grip, but they've all cleaned it up... except us." He tightened his grip on her wrist which made her whimper in pain. "Do you actually see how integral it was to maintain what we could on Satoko? That LOVE control was important! You being negligent of it, once again, makes us look like buffoons in front of the other leaders, it puts us behind in destroying society and taking control of everything!" He yelled so loud spit shot out of his mouth.
"I'm sor.."
"NO! SHUT UP!" He shook her. "They don't know you've lost the attachment, nor that you even had a last one attached, as that was our business! Nor will I tell any of them it's gone now, as that tarnishes us more!"
"Thank y..."
He yanked her. "But you listen here." He got into her ear, vicious. "I am sick and tired of this bullshit! We are the last ones to get our shit cleaned up; I want you to understand the gravity of what that makes us look like to everyone else. And now this... you losing your Emotion Control on him. I know you're lying!"
Ashley shivered.
Things were not going her way.
No manipulating on her part could be done.
"You think the maids didn't call me to let me know you destroyed a ton of dishes in the penthouse a few weeks ago? Who pays their salaries? Who do they answer to? You or me? Do you think you can just 'sorry' your way out of this? Do you think you can just bat those eyelashes and expect me to give into your whims, because you're my daughter? I let you off easily when you let Hisashi Satoko slip in and break Kasaya free of you. I let you off with a smack when I caught you controlling our weapon to kiss you. BUT NOT THIS TIME!"
He smacked her across the face.
She screamed, lip bloody.
"You better not lie to me again!" He grabbed her hair and wrenched her head back. "What do I have to do? Take everything away from you that I've given? Shame you harshly? Beat you into AN ABSOLUTE PULP! I CAN DO ALL OF THOSE THINGS! EASILY!"
Ashley's eyes swirled with fear.
"Anymore insolence from this point on, do you get it? I will treat you as a subordinate of mine, and not a daughter!" He let her go, her arm falling weakly. "Do you forget that I am the one who is doin' all the grunt work to get young Satoko back into our fingers, into your fingers too... to be precise." He grabbed a vanilla folder off a side table and threw it on the tile next to her. "And how do you thank me? Lying to me? Being an idiot? Being non-detail oriented? Fucking around in this penthouse and doing whatever the fuck you want!? I pay the bills here! I pay your tab." With that he grabbed her glass, and glugged it all down. A sort of nonchalant 'fuck you'.
She sat unmoving in the hot tub, as the jets whirled steamy water around her.
He stuffed another pinch of tobacco in the pipe and lit it, as his last had burnt completely out.
Taking the wine glass in his hand, he sniffed aggressively looking at the clear, etched design and with twitch of his mouth chucked it like a baseball player across the rooftop.
Ashley jolted as it crashed into the cement wall shattering.
Instantly, he calmed, like a flip of a switch. "I don't like hitting you Ashley dear." He put his index finger under her chin to smoothly glide it upright, her eyes remained closed, shaking, unable to look at him. "But I can and I will, or I can do other things to mentally torment you. What do you prefer, hm?"
"No... don't." The brown, curly-headed girl softly squeaked out, her throat tight in it's delivery.
"Your mental quirk may be strong, and it may be useful, but it's not as strong as mine." He licked his lips blowing out a puff of smoke into her face to simply spite her. She winced. "Do you want me to use it on you as punishment? I can. You'll absolutely lose your mind in whatever physical arousal I want you to have."
"No... no."
He gribbed her small chin tighter, digging in fingernails. "What? You don't want me to cause you to have a panic attack that lasts for hours? You don't want me to make you feel zapped of energy, like you've ran a marathon? Or..." Dr. Connelly got into his own daughter's face.
She froze feeling hot air on his mouth breathing words.
"Do you not want me to send your body into a sexual frenzy?"
"No... please." She knew full-well what her father's mental quirk could do.
It was a mental quirk that controlled physical feelings all bodies could have, any and all natural feelings a body could feel he could produce inside someone, which is why Nika was using his blood to formulate the new drug they're putting out onto the market.
It absolutely couldn't be copied with his DNA inside it.
X-On already had two replicas in the market. You-X would be imposible to remake once released, which meant even more control in the Connelly's hands.
The street peddlers wouldn't be able to get it any anywhere except from their dealers.
It wasn't the drug that was dangerous, it was the after effects, the 'coming off it' that was.
It was three times more addicting than their previous invention X-On.
She feared her father's quirk.
The things he created were all wonderful, but evil.
"Hm, begging. I like it, but I also hate it." He played. "I am kind of bored, and also very pissed off. What to do..." He sat his pipe down again and grabbed her hair, yanking it backwards, exposing her neck. "You know, I've never thought of you entirely as my daughter." He whispered into her ear. "You have half of my genes, yes, but you know... my relationship with your mother, it was all fake. All in hopes to produce offspring that was powerful... to produce you."
She squirmed, cries.
"People have been doing that for a long time. Arranged marriages." He whisped snakish. "So, I act like a father when I want, but only when I want. I love you, but only when I want." Dr. Connelly hushed to her. "Remember, I can act however I want with you. The only ties I have to you are genes. I don't even have to let you live here, I don't have to give you as many allowances as I've given." More darkly into the side of her face, he whispered even more silently, using just a little bit of his quirk on her; a tease of it to scare her.
For he knew.
Knew it terrified her.
She started to panic internally, but was entirely unable to resist.
Ashley's breath got a bit quick, heavy, her cheeks began to flush. She began to feel a swimming feeling in her guts, a warmth in her loins. The insides of her mouth got wet, and saliva formed.
She looked up at her 'father', the 'father' that she has called father for so long, in the most pleading way she knew how.
This was the first time he'd threatened her in this way, and she absolutely had no clue what to do.
She tried jerking backwards and moving away but he grabbed onto her arm tight.
"Le'go. Stop, stop this." Her words to him begged.
"Ohh, you may not know this, but you don't want to look at me with that look on your face."
He slinked out more of his quirk to her, inching it forwards into her blood.
"Ughhh!" Her head launched backwards and laid on the cement. She was feeling intense sexual arousal.
"I told you." He slid off his chair, and into the hot tub's water with his clothes on, his t-shirt and lounge bottoms, while still pinning her one arm.
Approaching, he grabbed up the other arm, and slammed both into the hot tub's tiled edges, pressing his body up against hers. "I can do more than just slap you and beat you, and you know it. I can also make you feel ashamed, and not just with words." He forced a certain 'piece' of himself up against her. "It's tough isn't it?"
She mewled at the presence of his lips brushing her cheek.
"I've never told you this, but you're just a test tube baby." He grinned. Her eyes shot wide. "That's right. Your mother and I never did 'it'. We never had sex. You were artificially inseminated. I barely even raised you. It was more so the caretaker." He licked the cheek.
She moaned, but mind raced.
"It's true... and you know it. I've never straight told you, but I off'ed your mother soon after your birth. She was set on taking you away from the scientific facilities; I wouldn't let that happen. To me, I get to view you however I want. You're my daughter for now, but you also don't have to be. I can make this relationship whatever I want."
"Pl... pl..."
He wrapped his arms behind her lower back, letting her fall limp to her sides, she simply gave into him. "You're a woman now. By the rules of Japan's current society, you were able to be in an adult, sexual relationship three years ago, with your guardian's permission, and that guardian so happens to be me. So..." He trailed, planting the softest, most tender kiss on her right ear, licking the lobe. "How about that?"
"Nngoo." She could barely move.
"I know a little something else as well." He whisped seductively, rubbing his entire parts on hers. "In that folder there..." He pointed with his chin. "Those are government documents. I bargained with an LOV hacker for them. Want to know what they are?"
She couldn't move.
"Satoko has went through Merge School." He sighed. "So, you're little calling on his brain thing for Diasuta to use his highest tier power won't happen as easily. He's in charge of his whole head now." He laughed darkly as he bit into her neck. "I knew this would happen eventually, only a matter of time. So, now that some of his 'ease of use' has been taken away, and he's lost his last emotion control... I'd say he's damaged goods." He sighed. "You've really let those goods get damaged."
"Noogno."
"No?" He cooed. "Still lying in your state?"
"Whats going on?" A voice sounded.
"Oh?" He looked up.
Ashley was instantly a mess, horrified inside. Someone! Someone was seeing this! This awful powerplay!
"Nika."
Ashley's eyes would of popped open if they could, but they couldn't. Instead, she hazily and lazily hung onto her 'father', feeling wild inside.
"I was just putting her in her place on something." He shrugged.
"I overheard, you finally told her about her mother?" Nika came over. She was wearing a dress, and hiked it up to put her pale feet in the water.
"Of course." He let go of Ashley and switched to his actual lover, one of pale skin and dark hair.
"The quirk is strong isn't it?" Nika put her palm up on Ashley's forehead feeling the heat, as she indeed was a doctor herself.
Ashley was horrified! Who was this woman to just touch her! And, and to be able to be like this with her... her 'father'! Especially after what she just saw!
Him all... all feeling her up and stuff!
Licking and kissing all over her neck, ears, cheeks!
Nika was abnormal!
Fucked up!
Absolutely, sociopathic and uncaring.
"Still got it on her, hm?" She whispered giving him a luxurious kiss on the lips.
"Yes, I'm going to let her suffer for a bit." He began unzipping Nika's soft, velvet dress.
"Wha... wha." Was all Ashely could say as the quirk had her frozen. Were they going to? Was he going to?
Right next to her?!
"You don't have to watch Ashley dear, but I want you to know..." He lapped at Nika's neck. She vividly moaned. "I could have done this to you too... so easy. I could have ruined you more than you could ever imagine."
Nika chuckled a sick laugh.
"I could have caused you so much shame." He reached out and touched her chin to rotate it to face them.
What she saw caused her insides to stop.
The man she called 'father' and a naked Nika up against the hot tub's side. A thick penis slammed inside the woman, and she and him moaned together in unison.
Lips locked and feverish in a forlorn delight getting pleasure from having her watch, from putting her in her place, from shaming her.
Her father was enjoying having Ashley watch.
After a few minutes of thrusting and sucking, he pushed her head the other direction so she could live out the rest of the thirty minutes or so only listening to them and feeling the water move next to her from their movements.