Old World Remnants

[Nayt]

Akizetsumei had spun around with Eld awkwardly. The truth was, she hadn't actually let go of his hand just yet; she still had her fingers intertwined with his and she was comfortable like that. She had to walk around Eld in some right to make that work. Her brother eyed them both suspiciously, which in turn got Akizetsumei to defiantly stand closer to Eldridge. She even reached over with her free hand to hold onto Eld's forearm, so that she was effectively clinging to his left arm entirely. It seemed Toushikyo got the idea-- or at least quickly concluded how this system worked between he and his sister and Eldridge Tsukimono.

"We competed over grades?" He (whilst ignoring his little sister) asked, then stated as if declaring inarguable fact: "Were that the case, you weren't much competition."

"H-hey! That's really mean to say!" Akizets protested before anyone else could have the chance.

"Nevertheless," his tone hadn't even changed once, it seemed, "You could have overpowered and injured her easily. You merely chose not to."

It was as if he were implying that Eld would not have that handicap with Toushikyo-- that overpowering and injuring him would be a lot more difficult than with Etsu. Etsu was tough, but she had her frailties. For instance, Etsu might have been willing to outright hit Eld, but Eld could have seriously hurt her if he returned that.

"But if you are, instead, a coward . . . then I will be on my way."

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld gave a small sigh, shrugging in defeat. It really didn't matter what he did once Toushikyo got like this; whether he played along or called him out on the odd behavior made no difference. But strange behavior or not, he had a point, even if no one but Eld himself realized it.

Well, about being able to overpower Etsu, not about the grades. He could say what he wanted; they were both at the top of the class and pretty much dead even all the time, and no amount of bragging was change that in the memories of the girls. (If anything, they were probably fed up with both of them at the time for being so competitive about it--even if neither admitted it.)

"What can I say? I don't like to hit girls." It was true, after all: he refused to strike Etsu, even though she'd clearly had no qualms with hitting him. (Or at least pushing him as hard as she could.)

"I know you won't leave now, but I suppose I'll humor you." He once again gently removed himself from Akizetsumei so that he could play this silly game.

Well, he wasn't terribly confident, as he was still a bit drained from the ordeal of saving Etsu, but he'd have to make do. He waded out to the depth required. "Just...try not to suck a lungful of water in, okay? One person a day is more than enough."

[Nayt]

"I'd advise you do the same," Toushikyo replied coldly.

Akizetsumei didn't really want to let go of Eld, but she did at Eld's behest. She glared at her brother, too. She wasn't keen on Eld and Toushikyo fighting, after all, and she was a little peeved that Tou would go so far as to challenge Eld to a match in this dangerous game of Etsu's.

Their duel was actually quite bitter. A lot more bitter than Eld's battle with Etsu. It was like the gloves were taken off right as soon as they got into the water. Neither boy was against throwing actual blows. Toushikyo punched Eld in the gut at least once, for instance, and Eld had got him in at least one lock that could have dislocated Toushikyo's entire arm. They were even for the most part, though. Both of them were fairly strong, a lot stronger than they looked, either clothed or unclothed, and were equally capable of beating the tar out of each other. Sort of like when they committed themselves to this duel of sorts . . .

The win ultimately went to Toushikyo, though. It was a surprise tactic in the third round, wherein Toushikyo wrestled Eld down to his knees, then threw all of his weight into Eld, effectively throwing he and Eld both into the water rather quickly-- except Toushikyo was atop Eld, winning on technicality.

After that battle, Eld was given a long break from fighting. No one challenged him anymore, perhaps with intent to give him a rest-- though Toushikyo saw a couple of challenges. All of which he denied. Etsu and Emily wound up fighting more often than not, with Sarah interjecting to utterly destroy the winner of the last match.

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld sighed in contentment. Finally, some relaxation. Not that he hadn't enjoyed the fighting game a little (save for the Etsu nearly drowning part), but it was very exhausting. Plus, he had to wonder what was up with Toushikyo today; the least he could have done after beating him was indulge Sarah a bit, since neither Etsu nor Emily was really tough enough to stand up to her.

He wondered if Maya had anything to do with it. Maybe he wanted to impress Maya by beating him, given their history. Or maybe he was just trying to keep Akizetsumei from clinging to him like she was prone to do, which seemed to annoy him for reasons that Eld didn't get.

And then he stopped wondering about it, because it was getting on his nerves for some reason and floating on his back as he was he wished to do nothing more than bask in the sun a bit.

[Nayt]

It would be rather sudden, really. Eld would be up and floating on his back one second, and then the next second, he'd be submerged in water out of absolutely nowhere.

Of course, it wouldn't take him long to figure out the culprit. The second he'd get his head out of the water, regardless of if he paused to wipe the moisture from his eyes, he'd hear her giggling. It was Akizetsumei. She'd dunked him with no prompt and found the whole act pretty hilarious.

After all, it actually was pretty hilarious!

For all that one could be upset with someone over something like that, there was a detail that might coerce Eld to think otherwise: this was the first time Akizetsumei had laughed in at least a few hours . . .

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld's peaceful reverie was suddenly interrupted by a pair of arms deciding to submerge him. Fortunately, he wasn't too deep, so there was minimal floundering before her surfaced.

He expected to be faced with Sarah or Em, or perhaps even Etsu if she was feeling a bit vengeful, but was instead greeted by Akizetsumei's laughing face. He couldn't help but be a little exasperated, but he found it difficult to stay mad at her.

"Haha, funny," he said as he moved closer to her. He even extended his arms out to her.

And then grabbed her by her sides and tossed as high as he could. Turnabout was, of course, completely fair.

[Nayt]

Akizets giggled a little quieter after Eld spoke to her. Hey, it was pretty funny! He just didn't seem quite as amused as she was . . .

It was all this water play, though. It was making her want to play around, too. And the only person she really wanted to play around with was Eld, so this right here was just inevitable! She was going to dunk him and laugh, and then maybe try to get away from him if he went after her.

Except she didn't actually get away. When he reached for her, she felt suddenly confused and kind of hopeful. Hopeful for what, she had no idea (this happened a lot when it came to Eld doing things with, for, or to her). Her hopes, whatever they may be, were dashed once she felt her hips leave water. She was about up to her belly button at this depth, so the sudden burst of air on her skin was quite alarming. And then it became evident that Eld had lifted her out of the water with raw and impressive strength.

"Eeeeek!" she cried as he let go of her.

Akizets hit the water soon after and submerged entirely. She flailed the whole way down, and even flailed some more once she was under. The whole thing came to her as a major surprise, and though she didn't gulp any water whilst down there, she was super disoriented and had no idea where she swam up to get out of the water. The girl emerged right in front of Eld, followed quickly by a gasp for air. She had a habit of rubbing her eyes like crazy to get all the water away before she opened them, so whilst she rubbed her shut eyes, she had no idea where exactly she was.

The truth of the matter was that Akizetsumei was standing right in front of Eld. There was literally an inch of space between his chest and hers. Here, at this distance, he could have put his hands on her again with far less malicious intent. If the urge just so happened to strike him, of course . . .

[Zach Kaiser]

He felt a little better now. It may have been mean, but it was no more mean than her dunking him, he reasoned. At least she had been looking at him when he did it and wasn't caught completely by surprise.

Fortunately for everyone, she managed to not breathe water like Etsu and surfaced without incident. Without incident save for being about an inch from Eld, anyway.

Suddenly, seeing her rub her eyes like that, he felt a little guilty. Just a little. "You alright?" he asked, looking down at her and putting his hands on her shoulders to steady her.

[Nayt]

Finally, by the time Eld put his hand upon her shoulder, Akizetsumei managed to get all the water away from her eyes-- or so she thought. Truthfully, it didn't actually matter. Her hands were wet, which set further moisture upon her eyelids. This was just a habit of hers that she couldn't break, nor ever gave it any real thought.

"U-umm-- y-yeah," she said with a nervous giggle.

It didn't take her long to recognize their proximity and how she couldn't stop staring up at Eld's face-- or more specifically, up at his lips. It was kind of distracting, actually! The shade of pink upon her cheeks was unmistakable just then, and she turned away from Eld quickly to avoid staring anymore. She wondered what was with her and why she kept getting these weird urges more and more whenever she was with Eld. This whole thing was getting seriously weird, and she didn't know what to do about it. She wasn't ultra anxious around Eld anymore. In fact, she was really coming out and being herself around him anymore. It was just . . . those weird hopes and urges she got whenever she was close enough to touch him, or for him to touch her.

When she turned from him, though, she stayed in relative proximity. In fact, before she knew it, she was practically leaning her shoulders against his chest.

"S-so, um, I'm having fun, you know?" Akizetsumei stated, as if trying to affirm something and reassure Eld at the same time, "I thought I wouldn't, but I am."

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld was less red than she was, but even he was a bit startled when she looked up and he became suddenly aware of how close their faces were. He was both relieved and disappointed when she turned around, which seemed odd to him but he pushed it out of his mind.

When she leaned against him, he unconsciously slid his hands from her shoulders to her sides. "I'm glad. I mean, things tend to get kind of crazy when we all get together-" which was one way Etsu was fitting right in "-but that's fun in its own way."

As usual, he wasn't paying much mind to how close they were...or how they must have looked to anyone watching them.

[Nayt]

"Yeah . . ." Akizetsumei smiled.

The reality of their circumstances right now didn't cross Akizetsumei's mind, it seemed. Or maybe it did, and she simply didn't pay it any mind. All she knew was that she was leaning into Eld, he had his hands upon her sides, and it felt very nice to stand like this.

So she moved her hands up to take Eld's-- and maybe he might go thinking that she was pulling his hands off of her, but if he did, he'd find himself sorely mistaken. Akizetsumei instead gently pulled his hands and arms forward, until he had his arms wrapped around her belly. Only then did she place her arms over his, lean the back of her head into Eld's chest, shut her eyes, and smile.

"I never used to have friends, you know?" she'd say, as if completely ignorant to what she'd just done, or what it must have looked and felt like to Eld, "Not real friends. Not, um, not like this."

She'd squeeze Eld's arms at that point. Whether or not she was indicating her and Eld's relationship or she was talking about this day and this outing in general, even Akizetsumei didn't know. She simply felt content where she was, both socially and emotionally . . .

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld smiled serenely. He was content again; well, so long as Akizetsumei didn't dunk him again, but she looked pretty comfy herself, so he doubted she would move.

"Well, as fun as it can be to explore the woods, it doesn't help you meet people. Usually," He added, recalling their run in with Remmy.

"You worry about everybody thinking your weird, but you have to understand..." He paused as though he was going to say something very heartwarming. "We're all just as weird as you are."

[Nayt]

"I-- . . ."

Akizets was at a loss for words. She didn't recall confiding that fear of hers to Eld-- but did she really have to confide stuff like that anymore? At this point, Eld could probably guess what was on her mind. He'd done it a ton recently. He was inciteful and intelligent. She liked that about him.

She especially liked how kind he was to her. How he made her feel wanted. It was such a strange feeling, too. Before Eld, she hadn't ever felt that. All of her "friends" were just the fair-weather types that wound up abandoning her eventually, anyways. They couldn't ever be counted on and they weren't really that nice to her even when they invited her along to go do things. But Eld? He spent time with her. He bought her things. He let her return the favor. He'd go out alone with her because he enjoyed her company. And now, he brought her out with his friends in hopes that she'd become close with them, too.

And maybe she was weird. But it was just like Eld said: he and his friends were all strange agents, too! She could actually fit in here. She could be happy.

"You're really sweet, Eldridge," Akizets said with a distinctly calm and serene tone to her voice, "You know that?"

[Zach Kaiser]

"E-Eh?" It was the kind of thing that would have caused him to scratch his head if he had his hands free. "N-Not really." He didn't think he was any nicer than any of the rest of his friends. Well, okay, he was nicer than Toushikyo. But according to Akizetsumei even he could have his moments of kindness.

"I mean...no more so than anyone else. No more than you..."

She was really the sweet one. She was always sincere and nice, and even when she wasn't happy she wasn't a jerk about it. And her cheeriness (as she was usually cheery) was infectious--if she smiled, it always brightened his day, without fail.

[Nayt]

"A-ah? B-but I'm--" Akizets was going to protest a bit, just like Eld did, but she didn't have the chance. Not this time, at least.

They were suddenly interrupted, though. Fortunately, this was not a violent interruption. It was very unlike Sarah. She'd come up behind Eld and slapped her hands upon his shoulders lightly to get his and Akizetsumei's attention. Akizets blinked and flinched, before looking up to barely see Sarah.

"You two lovebirds might wanna cool off a bit. Least in public." Sarah stated under her breath. It was the best advice she could give at the moment. "If Kyo sees you two like this . . ."

Akizets instantly recalled earlier, when Toushikyo borrowed one of Etsu's spears to make a point. She slowly broke away from Eld, then checked behind her to see if her brother was looking.

"He's occupied, don't worry," Sarah assured her, "He and Etsu got to talking about spear fishin', and he asked if he could join 'er. They're back there gettin' ready. But, uh, they're gonna be comin' out this way . . ."

And Toushikyo would definitely have a spear, then. Akizetsumei definitely did not want to be around her brother when he had a spear.

Sarah patted them both on the shoulders and backed away from them. "Right, then. You kiddos keep doin' your thing, you hear? Just make sure Kyo don't see, is all."