Old World Remnants

[Nayt]

"Baka gaijin," Etsu noted aloud.

Naturally, Akizetsumei hadn't the slightest clue what Etsu just said, and didn't know that it was prime time to defend Eld's honor. She missed out on a pretty good opportunity.

"It is game my fr-iends and I pr-ray," Etsu replied.

Akizets tilted her head to the side. "What kinda game is it?"

"I wir-rr expr-rain," Etsu nodded.

And before anyone else knew it, she had reached out, snatched Eld by the hand, and was dragging him in towards shore aggressively. Akizets meeped when she came to terms with it, and reached her hand out to take Eld's other hand-- but she was too late. Etsu released Eld the second she and he were closer to shore. There, the water was up the middle of Etsu's thighs and just below Eld's knees. She looked down at his knees for a second, considered her vertical handicap, and grabbed him by the hips, once again moving him against his will, to force him to stand a little deeper, so the water was at level with the middle of his thighs, too.

By this time, Akizets, Emily, and Sarah had gathered around the two of them. Akizets was a little worried about Etsu and Eld again, whilst Sarah and Emily were just curious what the hell was going on here.

"Object of game is to furr-ry dunk opponent in this r-row water," Etsu explained; "Perm-anent injury is not arr-rowed on pur-pose but accidents can hap-pen r-regar-rry. Any and ar-rr other means are ar-rrowed. Our river rur-res are best two out of th-ree; I do not know of your r-rake rur-res."

[Zach Kaiser]

"Just because I've never heard of this game doesn't make me a gaijin," he complained as he was dragged toward shore. Though on the other hand, he supposed it beat being called a pervert.

Even once they made it to whatever arbitrary part of the water Etsu wanted, she apparently wasn't happy with where he stood so she ended up adjusting him.

"P-Permanent injury?" That was not something he expected as part of the description. There was an important thing Etsu left out--namely how exactly they were supposed to be dunking each other--but with the word she'd used he had a good guess. "Wait, we fight each other? And you play this with your friends back home? Sounds kind of rough for girls." He paused, and then decided to amend that: "Girls who aren't Sarah, anyway."

Needless to say, there weren't any local variations of the rules here.

[Nayt]

Sarah coughed at Eld's comment. Not that it wasn't true or anything. Sarah was one of the rowdiest girls in the village, after all. Easily the toughest girl in the village, too. It was kind of a point of pride for her, really. So much that she really didn't mind Eld's jab. It was more like a compliment than anything else!

"Y-yeah-- ummmm, this game sounds kinda dangerous . . ." Akizets admitted.

"My ass it does," Sarah smirked, "This game sounds awesome. Where'd you come up with this, anyways?"

Etsu was happy to explain the origin of this game-- and others like them. There were more. In fact, this was probably the least painful of the games Etsu had invented with her friends back home.

"There is an ar-rr boy academy near my schoor-r. Many of us at my academy pride our-ser-rves in our abir-rity to beat up most of the boys' academy," Etsu explained calmly, "We have invented many a game to embarrass and humir-riate them. This was one of them. Except we had much fun pr-raying it ourser-rves so we pr-rayed it together of-ten."

"Yeah . . ." Sarah cleared her throat, "You're, uh, you're my new best friend now. Just sayin'."

"What about Eld?" Emily prodded conversationally.

"He is Old Best Friend. Old Best Friend is about to get his ass handed to him by New Best Friend." Sarah nodded firmly, "Words cannot express how awesome this is gonna be."

Well now. That just gave Etsu ten times more urge to beat Eld at this game. She now had something to prove, and a good reason to prove it. Even though Sarah was clearly joking around here, she reminded Etsu of a few of her friends back home. It would be nice to impress Sarah, even if only a little bit.

[Zach Kaiser]

"Definitely sounds like something you'd like," Eld commented to Sarah. Etsu, on the other hand...he had trouble seeing her doing anything terribly rough. She said she was used to playing and humiliating the boys, but he had to wonder if the boys didn't lose on purpose for the sake of getting close to the girls.

He could hardly get excited about that himself, though. It seemed like a no-win situation to him: if he won Etsu would surely resent him for it, but if he didn't she'd think he was even more pathetic than she already did.

Well, there was no use getting trying to get it out of it now--given that she'd challenged him specifically, she'd definitely think the least of him if he refused to participate. "Whenever you're ready," he said uneasily.

[Nayt]

Akizetsumei still had reservations about this. She didn't want Eld to get hurt, after all! Etsu was probably super tough, and Eld didn't seem like the type to hit a girl . . .

"Hai," Etsu replied.

Well then, if he was ready, so was she.

It would all happen so quick, though. Etsu had only taken a few steps and she'd already made her move, one which would prove to Eld that at least on some level, Etsu was actually pretty tough . . .

It all started with one simple motion. Etsu entered Eld's personal space direction, breaching a gap and standing with the fabric of her bikini right up against his chest. And then, she pushed her right leg out, put her knee between his legs, but not far up enough to do any emasculating damage to him. Instead, she'd lifted her knee to be right up against where his knee met his thigh, immediately prompting her to lunge back, rearing her knee against the back of his, and at the same time, striking him in the chest, right between his heart and shoulder, with the palm of her hand, as hard as she possibly could. It was both an open handed punch and a shove, and the way she pulled her leg behind his knee, well . . . Eld would splash down back first-- perhaps with the utmost shock and surprise --in no time at all. Really, her whole tactic took little less than a second; she had it down. She was smooth and fluid. She was even relatively strong; her open handed punch and subsequent shove would actually be pretty powerful.

Were Eld a lesser man, he might have even found her initial approach and she way she breached the distance between them relatively attractive. And then . . . boom. Surprise, shock, and a little bit of pain. That's how she got boys back home with it, most likely.

[Zach Kaiser]

Despite his claim he was ready, Eld was caught completely unprepared for what followed. Etsu was fast, and far stronger than she looked; by the time he realized she was close enough to strike him, she had a leg hooked behind his knee and was shoving him entirely off balance; he hit the water back-first, creating a rather large splash as he submerged.

He sat up a few seconds later, coughing up water. He had trouble believing what just happened; it wasn't that he didn't think girls could be tough, as Sarah definitely was, but she also looked the part as well. Etsu, on the other hand, while not as fragile-seeming as Akizetsumei or Maya, didn't look particularly strong either.

It was especially stupid on his part, as the same could easily be said about him...

[Nayt]

By the time Eld emerged from the water, Sarah was submerged into hysterics. Eld's plunge had pushed her funny bone over the edge. No amount of mockery on Etsu's part could beat that.

In actuality, though, there really wasn't that much mockery on Etsu's part. She had her hands upon her hips and was looking down on Eld like some sort of lesser being, yes. He was caught in one of her oldest tricks, one founded on the idea that the viciousness of the female species was vastly underrated by their male counterparts and that boys preferred girls to be in their personal space. Which is to say that Etsu had convinced herself long ago that most members of the male species, at least those in her generation, were stupid perverts.

She only moved to check her bangs and make sure they were still over the left side of her face. She'd been pretty careful about keeping them there, even when wet. Once she was certain this was still okay, she reverted back to her position of superiority.

"E-Eldridge, ar-are you okay . . .?" Akizetsumei whispered behind him.

Akizetsumei was by Eld's side, wrapping her arms around his just like she did back when they were walking here. She was trying to help him up and see if he was all right at the same time-- and even beyond that, she also made sure to give Etsu a disapproving stare, as if to say both "that was a dirty trick" and "you're a big meanie" with a single look.

And not a single damn was given by Etsu Kotaino.

[Zach Kaiser]

"I'm fine, I'm fine, just surprised." He allowed Akizetsumei to help him stand, but he wasn't paying her much attention; he was watching Etsu. However, if she was expecting him to be awed or even afraid she'd be disappointed--his gaze was critical one.

She took this seriously; while she may have been quieter, she was just as competitive as Sarah. This prompted him to ask a question; it was one he'd ask Sarah several years ago.

"Etsu-san...what's better, in your opinion? An easy victory, or a hard-earned loss?" he asked in Cizokian, to ensure that she'd fully understand him.

[Nayt]

That was a . . . very deep question. Etsu stared at Eld for a long time. Although he was a stupid pervert, she entertained this-- and not to patronize him, either. That was the strange part. She might have patronized him with any other inquiry, but this? This was actually philosophical, and the more she thought about it, the less she found herself acknowledging either choice as a fundamental fact of her life, and the more she began to dislike the only honest answer to his question.

Sarah didn't know Cizokian, otherwise she'd have recognized Eld's question. Emily wasn't there when Eld asked Sarah that on that fateful day, and Akizetsumei didn't know a lick of Cizokian. Maya, on the other hand, was close by with Toushikyo, and she perked her head up a bit when she overheard this . . .

Etsu's look of thoughtfulness soon faded to one of a small wince as she placed the whole of her left hand upon her left cheek. It was as if she was forcibly reminding herself of something.

"Neither," was all she said, as she pulled her hand away and dropped her arms to her sides.

Though she did not verbally clarify, the way she touched the left side of her face would express the meaning behind her reply more than any words ever could. Eld would be the only one to understand, perhaps; even the others that spoke Cizokian didn't know about her injury, and for all intents and purposes, Eld shouldn't have known.

[Zach Kaiser]

"Interesting." Eld stared at her for a while longer, trying to decide what to do from here. While everyone else would certainly think nothing of the way Etsu touched her face, Eld couldn't miss it even if he wanted to, not after that day.

He'd really wanted Etsu to like him, figuring that she'd need a friend. But she had plenty of friends back home by the sound of it, and she was well on her way to making new ones here. And maybe what Etsu needed most right now wasn't a friend...

A glimmer appeared in Eld's eyes, one everyone save Etsu and Akizetsumei would likely recognize: it was the same glimmer he got whenever Sarah managed to goad him into seriously competing with her.

"It's best out of three, right?" he asked rhetorically, gently pushing Akizetsumei to the side so she wouldn't get in the way. He was relaxed now; too relaxed, perhaps, for someone about to basically fight--or at least spar. "Ready when you are."

[Nayt]

Akizetsumei moved away from Eld when he gently pushed her away, but she still couldn't help but find herself wanting to reach over and hold onto him again. She didn't, of course, but she still wanted to, if only so she could help keep him standing up!

"Please don't drown," Akizetsumei asked nicely. More like meekly begged. "I-- I don't know RPC . . ."

"CPR," Emily corrected.

"Umm-- y-yeah, that thing."

"Don't worry," Emily nodded and smiled, "I'll teach you when Eld's drowning."

That really really really did not sound like a good idea. The whole "Eld drowning" requirement put Akizetsumei off to the whole notion. If that's what it took for her to learn how to deliver CPR, she'd be happy to never learn!

"Will you two shut up?" Sarah spat, "I'm tryin' to watch this."

After all, things were about to become very interesting . . .

Etsu frowned slightly when Eld relaxed and got all joyfully casual again. He really wasn't taking this seriously, was he? Oh well. It was a disappointing prospect, but she wasn't going to turn him down if he wanted to get dunked and laughed at again. She was missing a part of the picture, something Sarah saw that Etsu did not. So, with it in mind that Eld was just going to get beat harshly again, Etsu took the same sort of methodical, pseudo-casual approach from behind. Of course, she wasn't going to use the same trick twice, but she closed the gap between them in a much similar way.

[Zach Kaiser]

I'm not going to drown in two feet of water. However, he didn't want to distract himself by actually saying this aloud. He had a feeling it would lead to something very silly, and Etsu would get the best of him again, something he couldn't allow.

Despite his casual stance, if Etsu were looking at his eyes, she'd see that he was focused intensely on her. If she'd seen that, what happened next might not come as such a surprise.

This time, it was Etsu that would suddenly find Eld in her space, just before she reached him--but rather than being chest to chest, he was crouched low and profile to her. One hand was on her stomach, and the other on her shoulder, but rather than a strong strike they only exerted just enough strength to adjust Etsu's own momentum, lifting her off her feet and sending her tumbling over him. Despite the likely outcome, it would hardly feel like he'd done anything at all.

[Nayt]

Etsu hadn't seen it coming. She'd taken Eld all wrong; she thought he was just going to keep being a pushover and get dunked quick and easy-like. She was utterly wrong, and before she knew it, she was over him and into the water, landing head first and sinking quick.

"Oho~," Sarah then whistled; she was personally impressed. "Old Best Friend's still got some moves!"

"Yeah, uh," Emily cleared her throat, "Can't say I saw that coming, either."

"Wooow," Akizetsumei seemed the most impressed of the three girls, though. She was easily impressed anyways, though. "That was crazy!"

As much as Akizets was impressed, though, she couldn't help but worry a bit about Etsu next! The girl hadn't surfaced yet, and Akizets would've hated to have to learn that CPR thing by Etsu drowning!

Finally Etsu did surface, though. First, she checked to see if the left side of her face was still covered in bangs; when she felt that there wasn't sufficient coverage (though not much of her damage could be seen right now, anyways), she worked to fix that. Then she stood up, now waist deep in water, and delivered a glare at Eld like she'd never glared before. So he was holding back, then? That was it?

Then she'd just have to step up her game a bit.

She walked by Eld, passing him in order to stand back at her required level again. The water had to be right below their knees to start, after all. Once she assumed position, she did nothing-- staring then at Eld's eyes and waiting for him to make the first move. Their spectators grew silent in wait . . .

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld wasn't terribly concerned about Etsu; from when she'd floored him, he knew she was tougher than she looked. When he had time to think about it, it would occur to him that that meant the blow that damaged her face must have been all the worse.

When she glared at him, his only response was for the corners of his mouth to curl up into a small, smug smile. All acting aside, it felt good to prove to her that he wasn't some useless pervert.

While she didn't say anything, he understood when she was ready. This time she was waiting for him to make the first move, and he was happy to oblige him. He rushed forward, a quick charge almost imitative of her. But rather than a full attack, he stopped short of her by several feet, dug his foot in for a moment, and kicked, sending water and sand at her haphazardly.

[Nayt]

Akizetsumei slowly edged her way around Etsu and Eld in order to stand next to Emily and Sarah. She wasn't the only person whose attention was on Eld and Etsu, though. Maya was sitting up at the shore to see. She'd have gotten in if she'd brought her bathing suit, actually. Toushikyo was nowhere to be seen, though. Not like anyone would notice right now . . .

"Hmmm, good opener," Emily admitted.

"A little hasty, though," Sarah commentated, "Leaves a lotta room for--"

Etsu didn't skip a beat. Eld had kicked water and wet sand up at her, and now she had a line of sand speckles running up her belly and chest, but it didn't phase her at all. In fact, Etsu had reacted as if nothing happened at all-- as if Eld had simply moved his leg and nothing more. She darted in whilst Eld retracted his leg, ducking down and throwing one arm out for his still lifted ankle. Her other hand aimed for his belly. She wished to pull up on his still lifted leg and push harshly upon his stomach-- a fairly sensitive spot and prone to pain when pushed upon like this --to send him down into the water.

"--counterattack."