Flandre's Quest (Touhou) World - (Madness Quest)
- Thread starter Entropy Judge
- Start date
Sinsystems
Patron Librarian
Well if I remember correctly in Silent Sinner in Blue Remilia had Patchouli construct a pool in the mansion's library.
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
The weakness is 'flowing water,' so a pool is fine.
HymnOfRagnarok
Let's Rock
What about a wave pool?
Or does it have to actually be something like a river or ocean, where what is going place to place instead of something relatively small and self-contained?
Not trying to nitpick to death, just curious about the limits of weakness.
...but does Homura or revived-Kyouko know that? It's just, Homura grinning at Flan? It raises my Admiral Ackbar.
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
The fact that it's (mostly) self-contained is the main reason pools are relatively harmless. Ponds and small lakes (such as the one by the park) are in a similar category of relative harmlessness, but rivers and oceans are more dangerous. Flandre is being over-cautious, but it's also worth pointing out that being submerged in running water is more dangerous than exposure to sunlight.
No, although Homura has run into the idea before.
[X] Agree to go to the Pool Party.
-[X] But Lutecia and Agito must come as well.
[X] Skip to the Party?
It's a pool, we're fine as long as the water is standing and not running.
Ripples probably don't count.
-[X] But Lutecia and Agito must come as well.
[X] Skip to the Party?
It's a pool, we're fine as long as the water is standing and not running.
Ripples probably don't count.
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
Votes not locked.
[X] Agree to go to the Pool Party.
-[X] But Lutecia and Agito must come as well.
-[X] Also we're going to need swim wear, your not going to swim but it's part of the fun.
2
[x] Agree to go to the after-party.
-[x] Talk to Homura about Kyousuke and Hitomi.
1
[X] Agree to go to the Pool Party.
-[X] But Lutecia and Agito must come as well.
2
[X] Skip to the Party
5
-[X] But Lutecia and Agito must come as well.
-[X] Also we're going to need swim wear, your not going to swim but it's part of the fun.
2
[x] Agree to go to the after-party.
-[x] Talk to Homura about Kyousuke and Hitomi.
1
[X] Agree to go to the Pool Party.
-[X] But Lutecia and Agito must come as well.
2
[X] Skip to the Party
5
*Looks at the Tally*
My vote is different from the first one. Ain't of that much importance as long as it isn't a winning one, but still...
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
...
So is that the third time I've proven I have problems reading, or only the second?
[X] Agree to go to the Pool Party.
-[X] But Lutecia and Agito must come as well.
-[X] Also we're going to need swim wear, your not going to swim but it's part of the fun.
1
[x] Agree to go to the after-party.
-[x] Talk to Homura about Kyousuke and Hitomi.
1
[X] Agree to go to the Pool Party.
-[X] But Lutecia and Agito must come as well.
2
[X] Agree to go to the Pool Party.
-[X] But Lutecia and Agito must come as well, if they actually want it, that is. Ask them about it.
-[X] Also get/buy all that is needed, like a proper swim wear if we (Flan and her "retinue" if they are going) lack those.
1
[x] Skip to the Party
5
-[X] But Lutecia and Agito must come as well.
-[X] Also we're going to need swim wear, your not going to swim but it's part of the fun.
1
[x] Agree to go to the after-party.
-[x] Talk to Homura about Kyousuke and Hitomi.
1
[X] Agree to go to the Pool Party.
-[X] But Lutecia and Agito must come as well.
2
[X] Agree to go to the Pool Party.
-[X] But Lutecia and Agito must come as well, if they actually want it, that is. Ask them about it.
-[X] Also get/buy all that is needed, like a proper swim wear if we (Flan and her "retinue" if they are going) lack those.
1
[x] Skip to the Party
5
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
Alright, votes are locked.
[X] Agree to go to the Pool Party.
-[X] But Lutecia and Agito must come as well.
-[X] Also we're going to need swim wear, your not going to swim but it's part of the fun.
1
[x] Agree to go to the after-party.
-[x] Talk to Homura about Kyousuke and Hitomi.
1
[X] Agree to go to the Pool Party.
-[X] But Lutecia and Agito must come as well.
1
[X] Agree to go to the Pool Party.
-[X] But Lutecia and Agito must come as well, if they actually want it, that is. Ask them about it.
-[X] Also get/buy all that is needed, like a proper swim wear if we (Flan and her "retinue" if they are going) lack those.
2
[x] Skip to the Party
5
-[X] But Lutecia and Agito must come as well.
-[X] Also we're going to need swim wear, your not going to swim but it's part of the fun.
1
[x] Agree to go to the after-party.
-[x] Talk to Homura about Kyousuke and Hitomi.
1
[X] Agree to go to the Pool Party.
-[X] But Lutecia and Agito must come as well.
1
[X] Agree to go to the Pool Party.
-[X] But Lutecia and Agito must come as well, if they actually want it, that is. Ask them about it.
-[X] Also get/buy all that is needed, like a proper swim wear if we (Flan and her "retinue" if they are going) lack those.
2
[x] Skip to the Party
5
Pool Episode I
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
[X] Agree to go to the Pool Party.
-[X] But Lutecia and Agito must come as well, if they actually want it, that is. Ask them about it.
-[X] Also get/buy all that is needed, like a proper swim wear if we (Flan and her "retinue" if they are going) lack those.
[x] Skip to the Party
You start to mull it over, but Agito beats you to it, standing up and waving her hand. "A pool party? Like swimming and all that, right?" Homura nods.
"Yes, and of course you two are invited as well," she says, and Lutecia smiles and bows slightly as Agito cheers. "And because I do not believe you have appropriate swimwear, tomorrow we'll all go shopping, alright?" She looks at you and cocks her head.
"Uh." You hesitate, then shake yourself. "Of course, that will be fine. Shall we meet you at the train station there?" Homura's grin falters for a moment, but she nods all the same.
"That will do, yes, that will do." She bids you goodnight and pirouettes before leaving the room. Agito elbows you in the arm and grins at you.
"Don't know how to swim? Don't worry, it'll be fine!" You snort dismissively.
"Of course I know how to swim!" She laughs.
"Good, then you can help me teach Lulu." You look at the magician as she nods embarrassedly. "She's never been swimming, so this'll be good for her." She wraps her up in a hug, and you shake your head before glancing up at the railing. "… Does she usually get like that? It was - uh, a little creepy, to be honest." You shrug.
"I've never seen her like that, so I don't know if it's a normal behavior for her, or if she's planning something." You're tempted to follow her, see if she's doing anything else that seems odd, but consider it unnecessary and shake your head. "Anyway …."
…
The next day, after Homura's school ends, you meet her by the restaurant you met Junko at last time, but she's not there today. Homura, back to her usual impassive self, guides the three of you to a large multileveled building and takes you to one of the shops on the third floor, which seems to be dedicated to water activities.
"Try not to get everything," she says as she leaves you at the swimwear section. Agito drags Lutecia toward a rack while you sigh and try to find something that's not very revealing. You fail, eventually selecting a red-based set with ruffles on the top. After a moment's thought, you take a second - Agito is loaded down with three dark blue sets, and Lutecia has three different ones. By the time the three of you find Homura, she's managed to fill a small cart with … translucent weapons and a variety of small packages, including such things as 'water balloons.' You eye them warily as the three of you hand over your suits. "You made sure they all fit?"
"Yes, we did. What's all the stuff for?" Agito leans over the cart and starts digging through it, only for Homura to stop her.
"For the party. You'll find out when it's time." You sigh. More surprises.
The rest of the week passes fairly mundanely. You have a working knowledge of Mid-Childan and the 'Belkan' scripts that Lutecia knew, and she reads German pretty well, although she doesn't speak it nearly so well. You spend a couple nights stalking near the areas Homura pointed out, but don't find any Witches. Then comes Saturday, and the palpable excitement makes you itch. Or it could be the sunlight. Homura takes you to the pool, where you meet with Madoka and Mami.
"It feels like there isn't anyone here …." Mami puts her arm around Madoka.
"It's alright, Kaname-san - they did say it was a private reservation, so it's not that strange." She glances at the four of you and gestures toward the door. "Shall we go in?" Homura nods and leads the way, pushing her covered cart in front of her. You all get changed, exchanging appreciative remarks regarding each others' suits - though you glower enviously at Madoka's one-piece outfit. Kyouko waits for you at the exit, eying Homura's cart with satisfaction. "Sakura-san," Mami says cautiously.
"Hey, Mami. Sorry for not warning you about this, but there's something really important I need to talk to you about right now, so you're gonna have to come with me for now." Without giving the older girl time to react, she grabs her wrist and begins pulling her along, away from the rest of you. Madoka starts to follow, arm upraised, but Homura passes her.
"Have fun!" She turns back to Madoka and gives her a genuine smile. "Come on, Sayaka's here, too." She leads the way out, and you all follow her to the pool. It's pretty big, with lots of space for both swimming and sitting out of the water, but …. You frown and sigh unhappily as a careful study of the area reveals that, as you suspected, there is no place that is satisfactorily out of the sun. Even the attached complex is in the wrong place to provide shade. You resign yourself to discomfort as Agito guides Lutecia to a small area with little cages.
"Okay, so first thing we do is put sunscreen on, or else we'll get sunburns and that will be uncomfortable, healing magic or not." She begins liberally applying it on herself and Lutecia. "Remember that time you fell asleep in the sun?" Lutecia nods dolefully, and you apply some as well. It probably won't help, but it shouldn't hurt … you hope. "And you're sure you want to leave your hair loose like that? It'll get in the way …." Lutecia nods.
"I'll be fine, Agito. Can we go in, now?" Agito sighs and nods, and you follow her to the pool's edge.
"Right, so now we -" You jump into the pool before she can finish. Might as well get it over with sooner. It's not that you have anything against swimming, exactly - but it's a poor substitute for flying, and you don't like the feeling of restriction that water has. And if you combine your flight with exerting yourself enough to not feel restricted, you send water all over the place. Overall, it's just something you've ever enjoyed for its own sake. "… Or we can just jump in like Flandre, there. That works, too." You stick your tongue out at her as you come out of the water, then make a face.
"Blech. Water tastes funny." Agito shakes her head and sits down on the pool's edge, slipping her legs into the water to test the temperature before slipping in the rest of the way, and Lutecia follows her example. You turn to the fairy. "So, where should we start - floating or swimming?" She sighs and looks at the magician.
"Do you feel comfortable with learning immediately, or do you want to spend a bit of time walking around this side first?" You look down the pool and see Homura, Madoka and Sayaka clustered at one side, while Kirika and Yuma sit near a set of planks extending over the water as someone - presumably Oriko - prepares to jump off one.
"Um … I don't mind learning how to float first …." You grin and slip behind her, catching her in a hug before pushing off the wall and drifting down the pool on your back. Agito yells and swims after you, but Lutecia seems calm. Once you're in the middle of the pool, you float and pull Lutecia up so she's on her back.
"Jeez! There's no need to rush through this …." She begins explaining about swimming and buoyancy and all that, so you splash her and look Lutecia in the eyes.
"Okay, enough of that. Here's what you need to know: We're here, and you're going to be fine. Relax, and take a deep breath; keep breathing normally. And most importantly, remember that as a rule, corpses float, so if you start sinking, you're doing worse than most dead people. You're better than that, right?" She giggles as Agito splutters indignantly; you wait until she calms down and begins breathing normally, then let her go. Agito gives you an incredulous look as you wait; after twenty seconds, you grin and yell. "Yay, Lutecia's better than a dead person!" She breaks into a fit of giggles again and starts to sink, but you catch her and pull her up, grinning.
"Yes, yes, very funny. Can we try to be serious about this?" Agito glowers reproachfully at the two of you, and you notice that she's keeping herself up properly instead of flying.
What do you do?
[ ] Keep teaching Lutecia.
- [ ] Properly.
- [ ] How you feel like teaching her.
- [ ] Hang back and let Agito teach her most things.
[ ] Drift off by yourself.
- [ ] See how those plank things are supposed to work.
- [ ] Pick a spot out of the water and get your parasol out.
- [ ] Chase everyone with Danmaku.
[ ] Go see how other people are doing.
- [ ] Tell Sayaka about Kyousuke immediately.
- [ ] Go talk to Oriko.
- [ ] See where Kyouko is.
[ ] Other?
-[X] But Lutecia and Agito must come as well, if they actually want it, that is. Ask them about it.
-[X] Also get/buy all that is needed, like a proper swim wear if we (Flan and her "retinue" if they are going) lack those.
[x] Skip to the Party
You start to mull it over, but Agito beats you to it, standing up and waving her hand. "A pool party? Like swimming and all that, right?" Homura nods.
"Yes, and of course you two are invited as well," she says, and Lutecia smiles and bows slightly as Agito cheers. "And because I do not believe you have appropriate swimwear, tomorrow we'll all go shopping, alright?" She looks at you and cocks her head.
"Uh." You hesitate, then shake yourself. "Of course, that will be fine. Shall we meet you at the train station there?" Homura's grin falters for a moment, but she nods all the same.
"That will do, yes, that will do." She bids you goodnight and pirouettes before leaving the room. Agito elbows you in the arm and grins at you.
"Don't know how to swim? Don't worry, it'll be fine!" You snort dismissively.
"Of course I know how to swim!" She laughs.
"Good, then you can help me teach Lulu." You look at the magician as she nods embarrassedly. "She's never been swimming, so this'll be good for her." She wraps her up in a hug, and you shake your head before glancing up at the railing. "… Does she usually get like that? It was - uh, a little creepy, to be honest." You shrug.
"I've never seen her like that, so I don't know if it's a normal behavior for her, or if she's planning something." You're tempted to follow her, see if she's doing anything else that seems odd, but consider it unnecessary and shake your head. "Anyway …."
…
The next day, after Homura's school ends, you meet her by the restaurant you met Junko at last time, but she's not there today. Homura, back to her usual impassive self, guides the three of you to a large multileveled building and takes you to one of the shops on the third floor, which seems to be dedicated to water activities.
"Try not to get everything," she says as she leaves you at the swimwear section. Agito drags Lutecia toward a rack while you sigh and try to find something that's not very revealing. You fail, eventually selecting a red-based set with ruffles on the top. After a moment's thought, you take a second - Agito is loaded down with three dark blue sets, and Lutecia has three different ones. By the time the three of you find Homura, she's managed to fill a small cart with … translucent weapons and a variety of small packages, including such things as 'water balloons.' You eye them warily as the three of you hand over your suits. "You made sure they all fit?"
"Yes, we did. What's all the stuff for?" Agito leans over the cart and starts digging through it, only for Homura to stop her.
"For the party. You'll find out when it's time." You sigh. More surprises.
The rest of the week passes fairly mundanely. You have a working knowledge of Mid-Childan and the 'Belkan' scripts that Lutecia knew, and she reads German pretty well, although she doesn't speak it nearly so well. You spend a couple nights stalking near the areas Homura pointed out, but don't find any Witches. Then comes Saturday, and the palpable excitement makes you itch. Or it could be the sunlight. Homura takes you to the pool, where you meet with Madoka and Mami.
"It feels like there isn't anyone here …." Mami puts her arm around Madoka.
"It's alright, Kaname-san - they did say it was a private reservation, so it's not that strange." She glances at the four of you and gestures toward the door. "Shall we go in?" Homura nods and leads the way, pushing her covered cart in front of her. You all get changed, exchanging appreciative remarks regarding each others' suits - though you glower enviously at Madoka's one-piece outfit. Kyouko waits for you at the exit, eying Homura's cart with satisfaction. "Sakura-san," Mami says cautiously.
"Hey, Mami. Sorry for not warning you about this, but there's something really important I need to talk to you about right now, so you're gonna have to come with me for now." Without giving the older girl time to react, she grabs her wrist and begins pulling her along, away from the rest of you. Madoka starts to follow, arm upraised, but Homura passes her.
"Have fun!" She turns back to Madoka and gives her a genuine smile. "Come on, Sayaka's here, too." She leads the way out, and you all follow her to the pool. It's pretty big, with lots of space for both swimming and sitting out of the water, but …. You frown and sigh unhappily as a careful study of the area reveals that, as you suspected, there is no place that is satisfactorily out of the sun. Even the attached complex is in the wrong place to provide shade. You resign yourself to discomfort as Agito guides Lutecia to a small area with little cages.
"Okay, so first thing we do is put sunscreen on, or else we'll get sunburns and that will be uncomfortable, healing magic or not." She begins liberally applying it on herself and Lutecia. "Remember that time you fell asleep in the sun?" Lutecia nods dolefully, and you apply some as well. It probably won't help, but it shouldn't hurt … you hope. "And you're sure you want to leave your hair loose like that? It'll get in the way …." Lutecia nods.
"I'll be fine, Agito. Can we go in, now?" Agito sighs and nods, and you follow her to the pool's edge.
"Right, so now we -" You jump into the pool before she can finish. Might as well get it over with sooner. It's not that you have anything against swimming, exactly - but it's a poor substitute for flying, and you don't like the feeling of restriction that water has. And if you combine your flight with exerting yourself enough to not feel restricted, you send water all over the place. Overall, it's just something you've ever enjoyed for its own sake. "… Or we can just jump in like Flandre, there. That works, too." You stick your tongue out at her as you come out of the water, then make a face.
"Blech. Water tastes funny." Agito shakes her head and sits down on the pool's edge, slipping her legs into the water to test the temperature before slipping in the rest of the way, and Lutecia follows her example. You turn to the fairy. "So, where should we start - floating or swimming?" She sighs and looks at the magician.
"Do you feel comfortable with learning immediately, or do you want to spend a bit of time walking around this side first?" You look down the pool and see Homura, Madoka and Sayaka clustered at one side, while Kirika and Yuma sit near a set of planks extending over the water as someone - presumably Oriko - prepares to jump off one.
"Um … I don't mind learning how to float first …." You grin and slip behind her, catching her in a hug before pushing off the wall and drifting down the pool on your back. Agito yells and swims after you, but Lutecia seems calm. Once you're in the middle of the pool, you float and pull Lutecia up so she's on her back.
"Jeez! There's no need to rush through this …." She begins explaining about swimming and buoyancy and all that, so you splash her and look Lutecia in the eyes.
"Okay, enough of that. Here's what you need to know: We're here, and you're going to be fine. Relax, and take a deep breath; keep breathing normally. And most importantly, remember that as a rule, corpses float, so if you start sinking, you're doing worse than most dead people. You're better than that, right?" She giggles as Agito splutters indignantly; you wait until she calms down and begins breathing normally, then let her go. Agito gives you an incredulous look as you wait; after twenty seconds, you grin and yell. "Yay, Lutecia's better than a dead person!" She breaks into a fit of giggles again and starts to sink, but you catch her and pull her up, grinning.
"Yes, yes, very funny. Can we try to be serious about this?" Agito glowers reproachfully at the two of you, and you notice that she's keeping herself up properly instead of flying.
What do you do?
[ ] Keep teaching Lutecia.
- [ ] Properly.
- [ ] How you feel like teaching her.
- [ ] Hang back and let Agito teach her most things.
[ ] Drift off by yourself.
- [ ] See how those plank things are supposed to work.
- [ ] Pick a spot out of the water and get your parasol out.
- [ ] Chase everyone with Danmaku.
[ ] Go see how other people are doing.
- [ ] Tell Sayaka about Kyousuke immediately.
- [ ] Go talk to Oriko.
- [ ] See where Kyouko is.
[ ] Other?
[X] Go see how other people are doing.
- [X] Tell Sayaka about Kyousuke immediately.
- [X] Tell Sayaka about Kyousuke immediately.
[X] Keep teaching Lutecia.
- [X] Properly.
- [X] Properly.
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
Votes are not locked.
[X]Keep teaching Lutecia
-[X]How you feel like teaching her.
2
[X] Keep teaching Lutecia.
- [X] Properly.
3
[X] Go see how other people are doing.
- [X] Tell Sayaka about Kyousuke immediately.
1
-[X]How you feel like teaching her.
2
[X] Keep teaching Lutecia.
- [X] Properly.
3
[X] Go see how other people are doing.
- [X] Tell Sayaka about Kyousuke immediately.
1
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
Locking Votes
[X]Keep teaching Lutecia
-[X]How you feel like teaching her.
2
[X] Keep teaching Lutecia.
- [X] Properly.
4
[X] Go see how other people are doing.
- [X] Tell Sayaka about Kyousuke immediately.
1
-[X]How you feel like teaching her.
2
[X] Keep teaching Lutecia.
- [X] Properly.
4
[X] Go see how other people are doing.
- [X] Tell Sayaka about Kyousuke immediately.
1
Pool Episode II
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
[X] Keep teaching Lutecia.
- [X] Properly.
"Yes, of course," you say, and Agito looks suspiciously at you as you pull Lutecia upright and face her toward the fairy. "Okay, floating's fine for when you're exhausted or just want to lay there, but it's not really swimming, which is what we're trying to teach you. Do you see what Agito is doing?"
"Hmm … moving her arms …?" She looks curiously at Agito's movements.
"Yup. Except her hands are like this …," you lightly cup your free hand and show it to her, "… and when she moves them in the water, they go like this." You glide your hand through the water at an angle, flipping it on the reverse stroke, and repeat it until Lutecia copies it.
"Hey … how come you're just floating there? You're not even kicking!" Agito scowls as you smirk triumphantly.
"I'm too naturally cute to drown," you say, and Lutecia giggles quietly as Agito stares dumbfounded. "Really, though, I'm flying. I can swim, and I'm good at it, but there's no point to it right now, you know?" Agito stares at you for a moment, then shakes her head.
"That's … okay, that's pretty smart, but it's still weird." Lutecia pulls away from you and starts trying to stay up by herself, but her kicks aren't patterned correctly, and you quickly have to hold her up again.
"It's … hard." She frowns as she rubs her arm, and Agito smiles sympathetically.
"That's 'cause you don't train yourself, and because you've never done this before. You're just using muscles that you don't normally use, and using other muscles in ways you don't normally use them." The magician starts to nod, then you all look up as a yell echoes across the pool. Kirika cartwheels down the plank, leaps twirling into the air as she reaches the end, twists and pirouettes nicely - then tucks herself into a ball at the apex of her jump and begins to fall, slapping into the water with her back and shoulders. There's a sort of stunned silence, and you can see Oriko put her hand to face as she holds onto the side of the pool.
"… Speaking of, when you jump into the water, you want to do it in as streamlined a fashion as possible, to prevent that from happening." Kirika surfaces and awkwardly begins trying to swim toward Oriko as the pale-haired girl moves out to help her. You almost wish she'd broken her neck, though ….
"Uh, right, well, let's move this back to the shallower end for now," Agito says, gesturing to the trio gathering at the side of the pool. "Looks like they're getting ready for something." She begins drifting backward, still upright, and you carefully tow Lutecia back as well. On some signal, the three girls dive into the water and begin swimming across the pool. Madoka is the slowest and seems to be the least comfortable - or at least, the least-practiced - of the three, going by how much splashing she makes compared to the others. You let Lutecia go once you're at a point she can stand, and the three of you watch the competition. Lutecia watches Homura and Sayaka with interest.
"They're swimming differently?" You nod.
"Uh-huh. Homura is doing the crawl, but I'm not sure what Sayaka's using." You watch as the blue-haired girl keeps up with your host, her arms swinging out and forward. "It almost looks like a reverse frog-style." They reach the wall at the same time, turn, and keep racing, but Madoka glides to a halt a few seconds after and holds onto the wall, panting. The two competitors reach the starting wall, and both turn again. "… I don't think they're racing."
"Frog-style?" Agito gives you an odd look, and you nod.
"Uh-huh! 'Cause you look like a frog when you do it." You demonstrate a little, then shrug. "And also because frog-kin youkai seem to be deceptively powerful, so it's considered polite and more conducive to a long, healthy life." You wave to Madoka as she wades over to you.
"Hello, Agito-chan, Lutecia-chan, Flandre-chan. Are you having fun?" You shrug at her, but Lutecia and Agito both nod energetically, and Madoka smiles. "That's good … Homura-chan and Sayaka-chan don't seem to be getting along." She sighs.
"They look like they're having fun to me," Agito says, and Madoka shakes her head.
"Homura-chan said Sayaka-chan wasn't strong enough to protect me, so now they're … doing that." You laugh.
"Homura said that? Didn't she spend a couple weeks without an arm?" Agito winces, and Madoka stares at you before glaring and starting to open her mouth.
"Well, that's not a very nice thing to say," you hear, and the four of you jerk around to see Kyouko smirking at you. "And if it hadn't been for me, Sayaka wouldn't have gotten the shot off, so that's hardly fair." She sticks out her arm to Madoka. "Nice to meet ya, I'm Kyouko. Don't think we've met before, but Sayaka's told me about you."
"Ah, hello, Kyouko-san," Madoka says as she takes the proffered hand. "Is Mami-sa-"
"Just Kyouko," the red-head interrupts, face hardening for a moment. "I don't … anyway, Mami's over there, talking to Oriko." You all look down the pool, past the still-swimming girls, to see Mami talking to Oriko. Kyouko is with her too, and Madoka gasps and spins back to the grinning Kyouko, who somehow has a chocolate-covered stick in her mouth. You quickly check her over - red-and-yellow two-piece, no place to hold food, more sticks in her hand now, which she holds out to everyone - and glower. "Yeah, it gets a little … complicated, I guess you could say. But, not my story, so I'm not gonna tell it."
"… Uh-huh." Agito shakes her head and chuckles softly. "Anyway, you two - what do you need to get into pools around here? Lulu's never been swimming before, so we're teaching her right now, but one day's not even enough to teach her proper technique, let alone actually get her used to swimming." Lutecia blushes and hunches over a little, making Kyouko laugh.
"Afraid I don't know that one - never really been myself," Kyouko says, and everyone looks over at Madoka, who smiles gently.
"All you need is a pass, and they're not hard to get - Homura-chan or I can go with you to get one tomorrow. Ah …." She hesitates and glances at you, but you shrug.
"I won't need one; I don't care much about swimming, and I really don't like being out in the sun like this, but if I want to get around unseen, it's a simple matter …." Your eyes narrow, then you smile charmingly, and Agito looks at you suspiciously. "Say, Kyouko, you probably aren't very good at swimming, then are you?"
"Uh, no … can't, to be honest. Why?" She tries to draw away, but she gets suspicious too late, and you latch onto her wrist.
"Contest time! In … forty-five minutes, Lutecia and Kyouko will have a swimming competition - first one to get from the left side of the pool to the right and back again is the winner. Agito and I teach Lutecia, Homura and Sayaka teach Kyouko, Madoka judges." Kyouko squawks after gawking for a moment and tries to scramble out of your grip, but your smile grows. "Nope, I'll reject any further selfishness. Madoka, go get the other two coaches." The pink-haired girl moves off to interrupt the girls on their latest lap, and you grin at Lutecia.
Kyouko wins, of course, thanks to her longer arms and legs, but it's still a fairly close race, and she's actually breathing harder than Lutecia is when she touches the wall. She gives you a good-natured glare after helping Lutecia out of the pool, then stands up and gets everyone's attention. "Homura, got the stuff?" The black-haired girl nods solemnly, and the red-head grins wolfishly. "Right then! As I'm sure you all noticed, this pool and the building are completely deserted, which means we have free reign of the area. That means we can have a bit of fun that would otherwise be a tad difficult to accomplish - we're going to have a water-gun fight." Oriko clears her throat.
"Kyouko and I generated some teams, but if anyone has any other preferences, speak up afterward … Team One will consist of myself, Kirika, Mami, and Kyouko. Team Two will consist of Homura, Madoka, Sayaka, and Kyouko. Team Three will consist of Lutecia, Agito, Flandre, and Yuma. At least for the first round, no special abilities will be allowed, although that may change if everyone agrees. Thoughts?" Hmm … not bad, but you know some things other people don't ….
What do you do?
[ ] Accept the teams as they stand.
[ ] Team Three should consist of Lutecia, Agito, Yuma, and Garyuu, and you will Referee.
[ ] Team Three should consist of Lutecia, Agito, Yuma, and Garyuu, and Team Four will consist of Flandre, Flandre, Flandre, and Flandre.
[ ] Other?
DM Note: Team One has New Kyouko, Team Two has Old Kyouko.
- [X] Properly.
"Yes, of course," you say, and Agito looks suspiciously at you as you pull Lutecia upright and face her toward the fairy. "Okay, floating's fine for when you're exhausted or just want to lay there, but it's not really swimming, which is what we're trying to teach you. Do you see what Agito is doing?"
"Hmm … moving her arms …?" She looks curiously at Agito's movements.
"Yup. Except her hands are like this …," you lightly cup your free hand and show it to her, "… and when she moves them in the water, they go like this." You glide your hand through the water at an angle, flipping it on the reverse stroke, and repeat it until Lutecia copies it.
"Hey … how come you're just floating there? You're not even kicking!" Agito scowls as you smirk triumphantly.
"I'm too naturally cute to drown," you say, and Lutecia giggles quietly as Agito stares dumbfounded. "Really, though, I'm flying. I can swim, and I'm good at it, but there's no point to it right now, you know?" Agito stares at you for a moment, then shakes her head.
"That's … okay, that's pretty smart, but it's still weird." Lutecia pulls away from you and starts trying to stay up by herself, but her kicks aren't patterned correctly, and you quickly have to hold her up again.
"It's … hard." She frowns as she rubs her arm, and Agito smiles sympathetically.
"That's 'cause you don't train yourself, and because you've never done this before. You're just using muscles that you don't normally use, and using other muscles in ways you don't normally use them." The magician starts to nod, then you all look up as a yell echoes across the pool. Kirika cartwheels down the plank, leaps twirling into the air as she reaches the end, twists and pirouettes nicely - then tucks herself into a ball at the apex of her jump and begins to fall, slapping into the water with her back and shoulders. There's a sort of stunned silence, and you can see Oriko put her hand to face as she holds onto the side of the pool.
"… Speaking of, when you jump into the water, you want to do it in as streamlined a fashion as possible, to prevent that from happening." Kirika surfaces and awkwardly begins trying to swim toward Oriko as the pale-haired girl moves out to help her. You almost wish she'd broken her neck, though ….
"Uh, right, well, let's move this back to the shallower end for now," Agito says, gesturing to the trio gathering at the side of the pool. "Looks like they're getting ready for something." She begins drifting backward, still upright, and you carefully tow Lutecia back as well. On some signal, the three girls dive into the water and begin swimming across the pool. Madoka is the slowest and seems to be the least comfortable - or at least, the least-practiced - of the three, going by how much splashing she makes compared to the others. You let Lutecia go once you're at a point she can stand, and the three of you watch the competition. Lutecia watches Homura and Sayaka with interest.
"They're swimming differently?" You nod.
"Uh-huh. Homura is doing the crawl, but I'm not sure what Sayaka's using." You watch as the blue-haired girl keeps up with your host, her arms swinging out and forward. "It almost looks like a reverse frog-style." They reach the wall at the same time, turn, and keep racing, but Madoka glides to a halt a few seconds after and holds onto the wall, panting. The two competitors reach the starting wall, and both turn again. "… I don't think they're racing."
"Frog-style?" Agito gives you an odd look, and you nod.
"Uh-huh! 'Cause you look like a frog when you do it." You demonstrate a little, then shrug. "And also because frog-kin youkai seem to be deceptively powerful, so it's considered polite and more conducive to a long, healthy life." You wave to Madoka as she wades over to you.
"Hello, Agito-chan, Lutecia-chan, Flandre-chan. Are you having fun?" You shrug at her, but Lutecia and Agito both nod energetically, and Madoka smiles. "That's good … Homura-chan and Sayaka-chan don't seem to be getting along." She sighs.
"They look like they're having fun to me," Agito says, and Madoka shakes her head.
"Homura-chan said Sayaka-chan wasn't strong enough to protect me, so now they're … doing that." You laugh.
"Homura said that? Didn't she spend a couple weeks without an arm?" Agito winces, and Madoka stares at you before glaring and starting to open her mouth.
"Well, that's not a very nice thing to say," you hear, and the four of you jerk around to see Kyouko smirking at you. "And if it hadn't been for me, Sayaka wouldn't have gotten the shot off, so that's hardly fair." She sticks out her arm to Madoka. "Nice to meet ya, I'm Kyouko. Don't think we've met before, but Sayaka's told me about you."
"Ah, hello, Kyouko-san," Madoka says as she takes the proffered hand. "Is Mami-sa-"
"Just Kyouko," the red-head interrupts, face hardening for a moment. "I don't … anyway, Mami's over there, talking to Oriko." You all look down the pool, past the still-swimming girls, to see Mami talking to Oriko. Kyouko is with her too, and Madoka gasps and spins back to the grinning Kyouko, who somehow has a chocolate-covered stick in her mouth. You quickly check her over - red-and-yellow two-piece, no place to hold food, more sticks in her hand now, which she holds out to everyone - and glower. "Yeah, it gets a little … complicated, I guess you could say. But, not my story, so I'm not gonna tell it."
"… Uh-huh." Agito shakes her head and chuckles softly. "Anyway, you two - what do you need to get into pools around here? Lulu's never been swimming before, so we're teaching her right now, but one day's not even enough to teach her proper technique, let alone actually get her used to swimming." Lutecia blushes and hunches over a little, making Kyouko laugh.
"Afraid I don't know that one - never really been myself," Kyouko says, and everyone looks over at Madoka, who smiles gently.
"All you need is a pass, and they're not hard to get - Homura-chan or I can go with you to get one tomorrow. Ah …." She hesitates and glances at you, but you shrug.
"I won't need one; I don't care much about swimming, and I really don't like being out in the sun like this, but if I want to get around unseen, it's a simple matter …." Your eyes narrow, then you smile charmingly, and Agito looks at you suspiciously. "Say, Kyouko, you probably aren't very good at swimming, then are you?"
"Uh, no … can't, to be honest. Why?" She tries to draw away, but she gets suspicious too late, and you latch onto her wrist.
"Contest time! In … forty-five minutes, Lutecia and Kyouko will have a swimming competition - first one to get from the left side of the pool to the right and back again is the winner. Agito and I teach Lutecia, Homura and Sayaka teach Kyouko, Madoka judges." Kyouko squawks after gawking for a moment and tries to scramble out of your grip, but your smile grows. "Nope, I'll reject any further selfishness. Madoka, go get the other two coaches." The pink-haired girl moves off to interrupt the girls on their latest lap, and you grin at Lutecia.
Kyouko wins, of course, thanks to her longer arms and legs, but it's still a fairly close race, and she's actually breathing harder than Lutecia is when she touches the wall. She gives you a good-natured glare after helping Lutecia out of the pool, then stands up and gets everyone's attention. "Homura, got the stuff?" The black-haired girl nods solemnly, and the red-head grins wolfishly. "Right then! As I'm sure you all noticed, this pool and the building are completely deserted, which means we have free reign of the area. That means we can have a bit of fun that would otherwise be a tad difficult to accomplish - we're going to have a water-gun fight." Oriko clears her throat.
"Kyouko and I generated some teams, but if anyone has any other preferences, speak up afterward … Team One will consist of myself, Kirika, Mami, and Kyouko. Team Two will consist of Homura, Madoka, Sayaka, and Kyouko. Team Three will consist of Lutecia, Agito, Flandre, and Yuma. At least for the first round, no special abilities will be allowed, although that may change if everyone agrees. Thoughts?" Hmm … not bad, but you know some things other people don't ….
What do you do?
[ ] Accept the teams as they stand.
[ ] Team Three should consist of Lutecia, Agito, Yuma, and Garyuu, and you will Referee.
[ ] Team Three should consist of Lutecia, Agito, Yuma, and Garyuu, and Team Four will consist of Flandre, Flandre, Flandre, and Flandre.
[ ] Other?
DM Note: Team One has New Kyouko, Team Two has Old Kyouko.