Chapter 92 - Down Time XXIV
...
After the operation was unmasked, all pretenses were off for Hina, who- true to her word- began pushing her subordinates hard via hellish training. Despite this, she still took the time to come back and spend time with Arona, Problem Solver, and I, even while having paperwork to do.
Unfortunately, said paperwork kept her REALLY busy, so the others and I hung out without her. I even helped Arona and the others learn how to swim. Hina's turn will have to come later, sadly.
Fortunately, the Head Prefect is not without mercy, so she allowed her team a true vacation for the last couple of days of the planned week-long training trip. Despite the others getting a break from their training (read: torture), Hina was still swamped with work. This was shown when Hina texted me around noon.
About this evening's dinner plans, Sensei. Can we push them back a bit?
Sure? Work got ya busy still?
Indeed.
Well that's fine. We can always do something tomorrow, or the next day.
Or even after y'all get back to the academy.
Fair point.
Still, thank you for understanding. I've been very busy these past few days.
You aren't pushing yourself too hard, are you?
No, it's nothing too serious. It just means I have to move my schedule around.
I'll be spending today on paperwork rather than patrolling.
I'd say that's serious. Paperwork always sucks.
Well, it's not that rare for this kind of thing to happen to me.
Anyway, I'm feeling better after talking to you, Sensei.
I need to get back to work. Talk to you later.
Hmm. I shouldn't let that be. I think I'll go and see if I can help the poor girl out a bit. Fuck paperwork.
Entering her room, sure enough, there was Hina busy with paperwork, still clad in her swimsuit.
"Huh? Sensei?" She blinks, surprised by my appearance. "What brought you here so suddenly?"
"I figured I'd come and lighten your load." I say, closing the door behind me. "It's a waste to come all the way out here and be busy like this."
"You shouldn't have come all the way here just for that." She argues. "I appreciate the gesture, but this just makes things harder, Sensei. We're not here to have fun, even if this is a vacation spot. I may be taking a break from the Prefect Team, but the tasks that must be done continue to pile up. I can't do anything else until I'm finished. And on top of that, I don't understand what you mean by 'a waste'."
"She says, despite wearing a swimsuit." I point out, raising an eyebrow.
"W-Well..." Hina looks away, knowing she's lost this one. "I'm merely dressed for the occasion. It doesn't mean there's a special reason I had to put it on."
"Besides, I genuinely wanna help you, Hina." I say, crossing my arms.
"You were being serious...?" She mutters, a small smile growing on her face. "You really are a strange one, Sensei. Very well. If this is what you want, then I will gratefully accept." She then grabs a stack of papers and dumps them into my hands.
"I take it this is it?" I ask.
"Most of it. This is our task. The Prefect Team's management plans for the second half of the year, the third stage of the Gehenna road maintenance project report, the club activity report, the meeting logs... and this." She says, motioning to the stack in my hands. "Can you start by splitting these documents that need approval and those that don't? And don't worry, Sensei, there's much more where that came from." She pauses, noticing my deadpan expression. "This isn't too much, is it?"
I smile and shake my head. "Nah. If anything, this is making me want to lighten your load even more."
Hina's smile widens. "Then I'll spend today getting you thoroughly familiar with my tasks, just as you wished."
And so, we got to work dealing with the veritable hydra of paperwork. What do I mean by that? When one paper got done, two more appeared. Maybe I should learn that trick Heracles used so I can finish one hundred papers at once.
By the time we got done, the sun had began to set.
"Now, this should be the last one." Hina says.
"THANK GOD!" I shout, exhausted. "And I thought I had a lot of paperwork..."
Hina giggles at my grumbling. "Good work, Sensei. I finished faster than I expected thanks to you. We'll be able to have dinner on time, fortunately."
"Nice." I grin.
"Then, what shall we do about dinner, Sensei?" She asks.
I stand from my seat, before holding an arm out for her. "I shall cook us a feast, worthy of our hard day's work."
Hina smiles as she stands up, before locking her arm around mine, a blush on her face. "Then lead the way."
Hina and I went to a nearby beach restaurant and ate a lovely dinner together, chatting about this and that. After we parted ways, the night had fallen. Then, I received a suspicious text from Iori.
You have what I asked for, right?
Again, you can't tell the others about it!
I think ya misdialed, Iori.
Sensei...?
afjhdaklfhdalk
N-Nothing!
Ignore the message I just sent you.
Worrisome... I think I'll go and see what that's about...
I quickly tracked Iori down, finding her walking on the beach, still in her swimsuit. I can hear her grumbling to herself too.
"I know it was a mistake, but of all the people the see the message, it had to be Sensei..." She groans, before freezing as she glances at her watch. "Great, I'm going to be late now. I have to hurry to the meeting spot."
Very sketchy... I follow as she rushes off.
Soon, I find her meeting up with a girl in a bikini- a suspicious-looking girl. I mean, why else would she wear sunglasses at night?
"It's about time you showed up." The other girl says. "I've been waiting."
"Did you bring it?" Iori asks.
"Obviously." The other nods. "I never expected the Prefect Team's cold and calculating specialist to go through secret channels to do business with me."
The tan sniper frowns. "I didn't have any other choice. The others would have noticed if I tried to buy it through normal means. Anyway, you're going to keep this a secret, right?"
"Of course." The other girl nods. "Protecting our customers' confidentiality is in our own best interest. Now, let's see the item, shall we?" She holds out a box to Iori, filled with... floaties? The kind kids wear around their arms and waist to float in the water...? What the fuck?
"Everything checks out." Iori nods, satisfied. "Here's your money."
Their exchange complete, they part ways. But...
"Y'know..."
"AAH?!" Iori jumps, clutching the box to her chest.
"...if you don't know how to swim, you coulda come with us, Iori." I deadpan, revealing myself.
"S-Sensei?! What are-?" She asks, wide-eyed.
"You think I wouldn't check up on ya after that sketchy text you sent?" I say, crossing my arms.
Iori growls. "This is why I was trying not to get caught! Now you're just going to make fun of me!"
"Why the hell would I do that? I didn't make fun of Hina, or the others when they told me they can't swim, why would I do that to you?" I ask, almost offended by the accusation from the tan girl. She's surprised by my sudden retort as well, crimson eyes wide in surprise. "Besides, I'm sure with all the Prefect Team stuff, you don't have the time, huh?"
"Y-Yeah..." She admits. "I often end up missing my swimming classes due to Prefect Team business. But what would happen if a fugitive were to flee via the water and I couldn't swim? That would be disastrous. So... I was buying these in secret so I could practice swimming."
"And you didn't bring this up when I told y'all I was helping Hina with the same thing? Or even tell me in private after?" I ask.
She looks away, upset and embarrassed.
"Still, I'll help ya." I offer.
"What?" Iori blinks. "Why would you want to do that?" She then narrows her eyes. "...You have some kind of dirty ulterior motive in mind, don't you?"
"Do you really think THAT badly of me...?" I ask, a bit hurt by that one. Iori has the decency to wince at that. "But seriously, I've been helping girls with this for the past few days. What's one more to add to the list?"
She eyes me for a moment. "Fine. I'll accept, but if you pull any funny business, I'll kill you where you stand."
I flash her a challenging grin. "You'll hafta work for it, Iori."
She grins back, but her cheeks get a little red.
And so, I helped Iori practice swimming for a few hours, before returning to the hotel. Once back, I got a text from her and Hina. I open Iori's first.
Thank you for helping me, Sensei.
I'm still not used to it, but I know how to swim now. I don't think I need the support tubes anymore.
Glad to hear it.
Still, the duck on the side of those things was pretty cute, huh?
Sh-Shut up! I'll kill you!
I find myself laughing out loud from that last text. She's a real spitfire, that one. I then open up Hina's text.
I feel really refreshed. Thank you for helping, Sensei.
Anytime, Hina.
But I can't keep making excuses like this. I'll finish off my work a bit faster.
And then I...
Since we're here already...
You're right. Now would be a good time to rest.
I hope you'll be with me like you were today when the time comes.
Naturally. I'll be there.
Hina is a sweetheart, that's a hard truth. Walking a bit further into the building, I very nearly collide with Chinatsu as we both turn a corner.
"Ah!" The bespectacled girl yelps. "Th-There you are!"
"Sorry 'bout that." I quickly say. "Were you lookin' for me?"
"I was." She smiles, before it becomes a shy smile, along with a blush. "I was wondering if..: you were about to head to bed."
Ah, I see. "Yeah, I was. You wanna come with?"
She jolts slightly from the boldness, but smiles regardless. "I'd like that."
Not long after, I return to my room and get dressed in my sleeping clothes.
Someone knocks on the door. "Sensei? Are you there?"
"I am. C'mon in, Chinatsu." I shout.
In walks the elven medic, carrying a bag- likely containing some clothes for tomorrow. After closing the door behind her, she stills upon seeing my state of near-undress. I marvel at how she saw me with even less clothes back at the onsen, but is blushing over something like this.
"I, uh.. Give me a moment." She says before hurrying into the bathroom. A few moments later, she comes back out, wearing a black bra and panty combo, her face beet red as her gaze is focused anywhere but on me.
I unconsciously let out a chuckle, causing her to pout. "You don't hafta be so shy." I say with a smile, before laying down.
Chinatsu follows suit, laying her glasses on the small dresser next to the bed before laying down next to me. Smiling, I pull her close, causing her to let out a squeak. "Eep!" She pouts again as her chest is pressed up against me. That doesn't last long as she relaxes quickly, smiling back at me as she snuggles against me.
"Good night, Josh."
"Night, Chinatsu."
We soon happily fall asleep.
The next day, after waking up next to my beautiful elf girlfriend, I got a text from Iori.
We have a situation, Sensei!
We just got a report that some delinquents are causing a scene in front of the Beach Shack!
I'll be there.
And bring your swimsuit, we may have to go into the water.
Wait, what? Why would I need to go into the water?
After that, she stopped responding. I oughta go check on her.
As soon as I reached the Beach Shack, Iori was yelling with some swimsuit-clad girls, before chasing them- breaking into a dead sprint. Not a moment later, they were captured and arrested.
"Looks like you didn't even need me." I say, walking up to her.
"I guess not. Though they were kinda hard to catch on foot." Iori says. "Honestly, don't these fools ever get tired? Not a day goes by without them starting some sort of scene." Then she mutters, "I haven't had any time to put on my sunscreen and just enjoy a good sunbath..."
"Hm?" I ask, feigning not hearing her.
"N-Nothing!" She quickly says. "I was just complaining about having to chase those idiots." Then she pauses, looking like a thought came to mind. "Anyway, would you mind keeping an eye on this area, Sensei? I'm going to patrol the deserted beach over there..."
I raise an eyebrow. I know what she really means.
"You get it, don't you? You never know what sort of troublemakers are lurking in seemingly deserted areas like that." She says, attempting to coerce me. "I need to get eyes on places I wouldn't normally go myself as the Prefect Team's specialist."
"Then why don't we go together?" I suggest.
"What?!" She shouts. "No, I don't need you. Absolutely not! I can handle it by myself! It's dangerous, so you wait for me here."
"Fine, fine." I say, raising my hands in surrender. "I can take over here."
"Do you really get it?" She asks.
"I get it." I confirm.
"You absolutely cannot follow me!" She reiterates.
"I got it." I confirm, dryly.
"I'm trusting you on this!" She shouts.
"I got it. Now shoo." I say.
Finally, the idiot leaves, very obviously going to sunbathe. That girl can't be honest at all, can she?
"Hey, Sensei!" I hear Mutsuki yell. Turning around, I find her, Arona, and the other three of Problem Solver all coming up to me.
"Yo." I greet.
"What are you doing, Sensei?" Arona asks, curious.
"Iori went to scout and wanted me to wait here." I explain. "Between you and me, she just wanted an excuse to sunbathe."
"That sounds right. From what I've seen of her, she isn't too honest with herself." Kayoko comments.
"I know, right?" I grin.
"Th-That's pretty mean, going to have fun while leaving Jo-Sensei by himself like this." Haruka says, almost calling me by my name instead. Kayoko raises an eyebrow at her.
"Indeed. What a rude thing to do." Aru comments. "We would never do such a thing to such a valuable ally such as Sensei."
"Meh, it's fine. I think I'll go bother her in a minute." I grin.
Mutsuki impishy grins back.
"Anyway, what're y'all up to?" I ask.
"Kayoko saw something about a shaved ice stand nearby." The small AI explains.
"Ah." I say. Damn gluttonous AI. Where does it all go? "Well, I won't keep ya. I think I actually passed it, off that'a way." I say, pointing towards the stand.
"Really?" Arona smiles, stars in her eyes. "Let's go, then!" She says, happily running off.
"H-Hey, wait! Arona!" Aru whines, chasing after her. Mutsuki giggles as she drags Haruka along by the hand, causing the purplette to squeak. Kayoko just sighs and walks off after them.
As the girls leave, I smile and shake my head. Hmm, I think I'll go and check on Iori. Walking over to the empty part of the beach, I find Iori in the shade of a boulder, laying down on her stomach on a red towel. But why is her swimsuit top undone?
I hear her sigh. "It would be a waste if all I did was work after coming all the way to the beach. There's nothing wrong with occasionally enjoying a nice, relaxing-"
"Break?" I finish, causing her to jolt. She nearly leaps up, but remembers her state of undress.
"Wh-When did you get here?!" Iori shrieks, her face red and eyes wide.
"It takes some balls to try and trick me, to leave me hangin' like that." I say, a bit upset at her trying to trick me like that.
Her tail whips around, matching her angry and embarrassed expression. "Have you been watching me this whole time...?" She growls out.
"I was talking with some others..." Then, a sly grin appears on my face. "...but you'd like for me to have been watchin' ya, wouldn't you?"
She only looks more angry at that. "Y-You...! Damn pervert! Die!"
I smile.
"Ju-Just so you know, I'm not fooling around!" Iori shouts. "I-It's all to protect morality on the beach...!"
"Says the girl topless." I retort, causing her blush to strengthen.
"A-Anyway, how long are you going to keep staring like that?! Go away!" She snaps.
"Until I get an apology for sneaking off in an attempt to waste my time 'patrolling'." I say, sternly, surprising and confusing her. "I'm not mad about you wanting free time, but I am mad about you trying to trick me."
She growls. "Ugh, okay, fine! I... I'm sorry for trying to trick you."
"Thank you." I say. "Next time, just tell me you're takin' a break. Okay?"
"...Okay." She quietly says, sounding more ashamed of herself than anything.
"Text me if ya need me, Iori." I say, leaving. It's kinda fun teasing her, but I really was a bit upset by her trying to fool me like that. As I walk away from the hidden sniper, I hear my phone ding.
"Oh, it's from Hina." I say to myself.
I began work earlier than normal today, Sensei. I should be finished by later this afternoon. So would you like to...
Sure.
But... I haven't even finished asking.
I'd love to spend time with you, Hina.
...You really are something.
A-Anyway, you said something about it being a waste to not have fun on our vacation. I still don't understand, personally. But if you insist.
I do.
Okay, good. Then would you spend the afternoon with me?
Maybe just visiting the beach shore?
It's something... I might be able to do.
Sure thing. I'll be there.
Okay, then... See you after lunch, Sensei.
A bit after lunch, I waited on the beach for Hina, to no avail. At a little after one p.m., I decided to go and try to find her. I knocked on her hotel room's door, before coming inside and-
Oh.
Inside the room is Hina, still clad in her swimsuit. She's laid down on her bed, sound asleep. Her white hair is pooling all around her small body. Her face is serene as her petite chest rises and falls with each breath she takes.
She just keeps getting more and more beautiful without even trying, huh?
I sit down next to the bed and scroll through my phone, looking at this and that while quietly letting the whitette sleep. A little after the sun completely sets, she stirs.
Hina groans as she opens her eyes, yawning as she rolls over and looks at the digital alarm clock next to her bed- reading a little after seven p.m. "Ah!" She shouts, leaping up to a sitting position, worriedly staring at the clock. "Wait. I've been sleeping for far too long."
"I think it was just the right amount of time." I say, causing her to jolt up and whip her head around as she stands up.
"S-Sensei?" She asks, wide eyed. "What are you doing here of all places?! And why didn't you wake me up? It's already..."
"You were running late, so I came to check up on you." I explain. "And... you looked way too peaceful... It would've been a crime to wake ya up."
Hina blushes. "Sensei... But... We promised to meet today. I was the one who contacted you about spending time together." She then sighs. "I'm sorry. I even promised to go to the beach with you. I've ruined everything. There's no way I can face you like this..." She bemoans.
"It's fine, Hina." I smile. "You were probably just tired from wakin' up early."
"Well... you may have a point there." She admits. "It's true that I had a lot of tasks, and I did get up especially early today. Even so. That has nothing to do with it. This happened because I failed to be responsible."
"Hina." I say, sternly. "You're always incredibly responsible, I think it's fine to be a little irresponsible every now and again. So stop beating yourself up like this, dummy."
Hina's purple eyes widen at my words.
"Besides..." I begin, standing up and walking over to her.
"Wh-Why are you suddenly grabbing my hand?!" Hina all but shouts, face red as a tomato.
"...the beach is a lot closer than you think." I smile, pulling the small girl towards the hotel room's balcony.
"What do you...?" She stops herself, realizing my intent as I open the clear sliding doors. "Are you sure you're okay with this?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.
Hina huffs, smiling. "You're always like this, Sensei... If this is what you want. Then, shall we...?"
Nodding, I open the door, letting go of Hina's hand. The temperature has dropped quite a bit without the sun, noticeable by how Hina shivered when she came onto the balcony. Her face turns red as I stare at her for a moment. A thought comes to mind, prompting me to pull something from the Shittim Chest- a white hoodie of mine.
"Here." I say, holding it out to her.
"...Thanks." She bashfully says, taking the thing and putting it on. Hina faintly blushes as she puts her small arms through the hoodie- clearly a few sizes too big for her.
The balcony as some chairs and couches- all cushioned nicely. Hina sits down, looking at the moonlit sea, knees raised by her chest, her wings- now small- poking out from underneath the large hoodie, her white hair gently swaying in the cool breeze.
"...Honestly, I've never understood people's fascination with the ocean." The Head Prefect admits. "While everyone's having a good time, I've never felt the same way. It's blurry underwater, and I get nervous when my feet can't touch the ground."
"Nothin' wrong with that." I say, nostalgic. "I hated being underwater when I was little- even hated running water on my face in the shower."
Hina giggles a bit, looking at me. "I can't imagine you like that, Sensei." She then looks back at the ocean. "I find it eerie... The way the sea is just a bottomless well at night. I hate how it feels like I'll be sucked in just looking at it. But... you know..." She turns back to me, a small smile on her face. "I think I'm beginning to understand. At least a little bit."
She turns back, looking at the surface of the water, shimmering from the lights- both from above and from the somewhat nearby street lights.
"The ocean can be so beautiful..."
"Yeah." I say, despite looking straight at her.
"It's a new feeling, but it's interesting too." Hina says, turning back to me, a much brighter smile on her face. "Thank you, Sensei... for being here with me. And for everything you've taught me."
Scooting over, I grab onto her shoulder and pull her into a side hug. She tenses for a moment-
"You're welcome, Hina."
-but quickly relaxes as I say that.
"Tomorrow, I'm teaching you how to swim. Work can wait." I decide.
"...That's fine with me." She says, resting her head against my chest.
The two of us sat for a while, watching the sky continue to darken, the sky turning from a deep purple to pitch black.
After getting back to my room, I got a text from Hina.
Today was fun.
Taking in the beach is fine every once in a while.
I'm glad you had fun. I'm sure tomorrow'll be fun too.
As do I.
Hehehe. I'll be looking forward to it, Sensei.
Heh, usually girls here have been falling in love with me, but I honestly think it might be the other way around with Hina. I feel so... drawn to her, oddly enough. It's how I felt with Jane...
This time will be different than that- I fucked up that confession, HARD.
Though, maybe I'll wait a bit before telling her. Maybe after the Treaty is signed and everything calms down at Gehenna and Trinity.
The next day, I met Hina at the beach bright and early in the morning. No work, no obligations, nothing to distract us- just the two of us spending time together as she learns to swim. Sure enough, there she was, along with her massive white, ringed tube.
"Yo!" I call out, lightly jogging up to her.
"Oh, Sensei." She says, turning to see me. "Still, it means a lot for you to do this after so many interruptions."
"For you, always." I say. "I'm happy to be here."
Her purple eyes widen and blink. "I see... You're happy to be here..." A small smile grows on her face as a giggle escapes her.
"Don't worry, I've swam a bunch. You'll learn in no time." I assure her.
She nods. "I'll do my best, so I don't waste too much of your time with this lesson. It's one of my few strengths. I'm a fast learner."
I smile. "Even if you think of it as a waste, I don't. I enjoy spending time with you, Hina."
Her face once again goes crimson.
"Still, you don't have to rush." I stress. "Take your time with this. You have to put in time to master something."
"But still... This is a vacation- one of your precious days off. It would be a waste if you ended up spending it all with me." She says.
"I just said I enjoy spending time with you, so knock it off with the self-deprecation." I chide.
Her blush goes atomic as her eyes widen. "Y-Y-You actually wanted to spend the day... j-j-just with me...?"
I nod.
"You mean it? You weren't kidding? Prove it to me, right now!" She orders.
"You want me to grovel or somethin'?" I ask, flashing her a half-smile.
"N-No!" She says, quickly.
" 'Cause I can do that." I smirk, beginning to kneel down.
"No! Get up! You're going to cause a scene, Sensei!" She says, childishly.
"Fine, fine." I say in faux disappointment.
"Pfft." Hina holds back a smirk. "Honestly... Okay, fine."
"Then let's get to it." I suggest with a smile.
"So-" Hina begins, before we both tense, hearing nearby gunfire.
Looking at her, we both nod before running over to investigate.
"W-What are you doing?" A male tourist asks, frantic and afraid.
"Why are you shooting at us all of a sudden?!" Another- a female- shouts.
Sure enough, it's beach thugs. The blonde one scoffs. "Why? It's obvious!"
"We... passionately hate those people who who go all lovely-dovey because it's a steamy summer!" The redhead thug explains their stupid reasoning.
"I'm going to sabotage everyone's happiness!" The blonde declares.
"And in particular, I'll sabotage the days of those who show off their happiness!" The redhead adds.
"What kind of nonsensical reason is that?!" The male tourist shouts, indignant.
Hina growls, surprising me. "Sensei, please stay back. I won't be long."
I just nod as she walks off. Guess she's taking it personally.
I won't dare to write the scared screams of the duo as Hina ruthlessly knocked them out. The tourists thanked her profusely, causing her to say it was nothing special and that it was merely the right thing to do. Afterwards, she walked back over to me.
"They pissed you off, huh?" I say.
"Wh-What makes you say that?" She blinks.
"You used your gun like a bat." I deadpan. "You bonked them over the head with it no less."
She has the decency to look away, before we both jolt at a loud-ish popping sound. She turns around and sees her inner tube with a bullet hole in it- leaking air. "Oh. It looks like the tube was punctured."
"Looks like a bullet hit it." I observe. Likely when one of those thugs blind fired at her in fear.
"That was my mistake." Hina says. "Even if I was in a battle, I could have prevented this if I had been more alert." She grimaces. "It's the Prefect Team's equipment too... I've been using it for so long, I grew careless with it."
"It's an old tube from the sound of it. It ain't really your fault." I say.
"No, Sensei. It was my own recklessness." She argues. "Well... I can't do much about something that's already broken." She says that, despite looking a bit sad.
"...Why don't we fix it then?" I suggest.
"Fix it? The tube?" The whitette blinks.
"I don't see why not." I shrug.
"That may not be as simple as it sounds... It's the Prefect Team's equipment, so it's made out of special material. I'd have to go back to the academy and submit a repair request." She then grimaces, beginning to mutter to herself. "I suppose I should've expected something like this to happen... Sensei was going to teach me how to swim, too... This WOULD happen to me..."
That hurts me to hear.
But she continues, louder this time. "...I could look at the bright side of it, I suppose. I've used this tube for so long now, I never really considered that I'd have to let it go eventually. But I do, at some point. I can hardly float around in the water with a tube forever, can I?" She smiles, wryly. "Imagine the big, bad Head Prefect, being attached to a ducky tube. Ha." She sighs. "I guess that's that. It'll be better for our swimming lesson too, Sensei." She turns back to me. "Okay, then. I'm ready to train, sans tube."
Despite saying that so confidently, I can clearly see how upset she is.
"I suppose we CAN train without the tube..."
"Huh?" She blinks.
"And you'll have to stop using it sooner or later, like you said..."
"S-Sensei...?"
"But that day doesn't hafta be today, does it?" I ask, smiling.
"That's..." She blinks again. "That's not wrong, but..."
"Hina, I can see how broken up you are about the tube popping." I admit, causing her to blush and shyly look away. "So I won't give up without at least looking for a solution."
She frowns, clearly torn.
"I can tell it's precious to ya." I continue.
"...Geez." Hina groans. "You're always like this." She then sighs. "Fine. Okay."
I smile. "Good. I'm sure there's somewhere we can go nearby."
Hina and I then spent the afternoon looking around at places near the beach, hoping to find someone. Each one could do nothing about her precious tube. Until we asked one dog man in a speed suit as the sun set.
"This... I should be able to fix it." He says, looking the tube over.
"...Truly?" Hina asks, her purple eyes widening slightly.
The man nods. "A special material made of resources native to Gehenna... I can't make any promises, but I'd love to take on the challenge!"
"We leave it in your care, then." She nods.
"Yeah. Thanks a bunch." I smile, earning one from the man as he gets to work.
Hina and I then sat just outside of the man's shop, the sun setting behind the ocean in front of us as the man worked. Neither of us spoke, simply enjoying the view. Not long after the sun disappeared completely, the door to the shop opened up, revealing the man and the floaty, fully inflated and patched up like nothing happened.
"Here we are!" He smiles. "This ducky is ready to float again!"
"Th-Thank you." Hina nods, a small smile on her face as she stutters, likely surprised by his success.
"Right back at you!" The dog man smiles. "It was a great learning experience. I'm glad you're satisfied."
With that, Hina and I return to the beach, the sky purple but getting closer and closer to black.
"Well I'm glad that ended well." I smile.
"As am I." Hina nods. "I'm still shocked. I honestly thought it was too damaged for repair. I was trying to make myself feel better about it..." She admits, before smiling brightly up at me. "Thank you, Sensei."
"Gettin' to see you smile like this makes it worth it." I say, causing her face to turn red in an instant.
"But..." She begins, looking at the small rays of gold still barely in the sky. "We spent the whole day trying to find a place to fix the tube... I... Thank you for humoring me today, Sensei. I'm the one who called you out, I wouldn't want to keep you too late."
I scoff. "My time can only be spent in ways decided by me and ONLY me. I told you I was gonna help you learn to swim today, so that's what I'm gonna do."
"Huh?" Hina blinks.
"I promised I'd do this for ya, didn't I?" I ask, smiling. "It's not too late, is it?"
The Head Prefect blushes fiercely. "I... You're still willing to... for me...?"
I nod as a smile graces her pretty face once more.
"In that case... With your permission, I'll be monopolizing the rest of your day." Hina declares, smiling an almost blinding smile. "I promise to do my best too. I'll be your star pupil."
Hina and I then swam together for hours, both of us still having heaps of energy. I completely lost track of time, only focusing on enjoying spending time with the beautiful Gehenna student.
AN
Also, the last chapter got us up to 500,000 words! (At least on FanFic. The numbers get inflated there somehow) That was fast! Then again, most chapters recently have been 7-9k words each... This one was originally being planned as two chapters, but both ended up being very short, so I combined them together into one. I wonder what it'll be at when we reach the rest of Volume 3, as well as when it ends...
This is the last we'll see of the beach for now, but there'll be more summer(?) insanity before we reach the Eden Treaty, only it won't be in Gehenna.
As a reminder, this story and the Kaleid one are also on Ao3 and Wattpad, under the same name. Speaking of, the Fate/Kaleid story got nuked on Wattpad for having characters under 16 engaging in seggs. Go read it on Ao3.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next!