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username: ADLANTISAG

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[adlantisag]

[ She doesn't take it as a random text--firstly because, A. it's true, and B. what better way for a friend to catch up? ]

It is a noble and refreshing pastime! Would you like to come swimming with me, Gintoki?

[jumpfesta]

_{[ UM RIGHT... about that...! minor detail!! about being unable to swim!! ]}
absolutely.. im the greatest at swimming i mean thats why i asked you!!!
us good swimmers gotta stick together!!

with our new mission coming up it might be a great idea, oi!!
you're a genius!!
_{[ d'oh. ]}

[adlantisag]

[ That's right--hadn't Uruz mentioned their next mission would be 'tropical'? Ocean. Kida's excited.

The fact that he's bullshitting flies way overhead. ]

Oh, excellent! Ninat will be so pleased, she does like you so. Will you meet us at the lake? We can do laps.

[ :) :) :) :) :) ]

[jumpfesta]

_{[ SWEATS ....
SWEATS x2 BECAUSE NINAT ... ]}
yes absolutely!!!!!
i'll have EVERYTHING i need for this!!

_{[ ah... well.. maybe he can still somehow make this cool even though he'll have a floatie with him... ]}

it's uh
been awhile since i've done any swimming so
_{[ I'll need help. ]}

[adlantisag]

Oh, you will find it is a skill the body always remembers!

[ YOU'LL BE FINE. ]

1.2

[jumpfesta]

_{[ I'M GOING TO DIE ]}
my body forgets crap sometimes so don't count on it
_{[ and with that, he'll break the feed and ... start blowing up the floating item he has.. ]}

2.2 perma-action

[jumpfesta]

<sub>[ He has finished blowing up the blow up doll he received from ALASTAIR back in December only to look at her for a moment— at those round, cartoony looking eyes and round cartoony looking ... other things.. and the perfect circle her lips make. Ah, it's a perfect fit for something.
Gintoki's fingers drag down his face as he paces in a few circles in his room with that weird thing staring at him. He couldn't use this as a flotation device in front of Kida, but he didn't have anything else.

Was he really that terrified of swimming?

He stops and gives it one last glance as he ???? talks to himself. You know. Usual Gintoki thing he does. ]</sub>

Sorry, Janice-san.
Maybe you should just exist for your intended purpose.

_{[ He leaves his room with nothing but a towel, wearing his black pants and shirt and leaving his yukata behind. When he arrives at the lake, he takes his time getting there, almost wanting to turn right back around and text Kida, saying he's sick or constipated or some hideous combination of both, but it is a skill he wants to overcome and never had the chance to really get the grasp of it as a child.
With a deep breath as he hears the water nearby, he calls out: ]}

Oooooi, Kidakakarot!

_{[ 'She knows I'm here! No turning back now! Rest in peace, Gin-san! I only wish Bl**ch would have ended before my fate!' ]}

[adlantisag]

[ From the lake ahead, it's not Kida that surges up to meet him but Ninat, plowing out of the water with a grace that would almost be frightening if the movement wasn't so absurdly joyous.

She rushes for Gintoki, quite ready to knock him over. Kida's a ways in the lake, watching them, laughing. Her shoulders are exposed; she's either wearing a bandeau...or nothing at all...because there aren't any visible straps. ]

Ah, Gintoki! [ Those nicknames will never be cute, but you know what, she won't say anything. IT ISN'T WORTH THE FIGHT. ] Your presence makes Ninat very happy.

[ As if that wasn't obvious. ]

[jumpfesta]

_{[ Gintoki's posture stiffens when he sees the big.. cat shark thing making her way towards him and he puts his hands out defensively. Ah, it's just like coming home to Sadaharu. How nice. ]}

Ooooi, Ninat-chan! Down! Heel! Stop!

_{[ Gintoki opts for covering his head with his hands, wrapping his arms around his face because he knows those shark cat baths.
He knows them very well. ]}

Kida-san, do you not discipline her? Spray her with water?
_{[ that would be very ineffective. ]}

[adlantisag]

[ It's an amusing sight. Kida's grin doesn't face. ]

She does not do this to anyone else!

[ You're special, Gintoki. Treasure it. Ninat butts her massive face against Gintoki in greeting a few time--that can't be comfortable, she's not exactly soft and fluffy--before pulling away just enough to start pulling him towards the water. Kida treads in place, arms making slow circles as she watches them. ]

Join me, Gintoki! The water is nice.

[ Certainly nicer than it had been during their 'initiation' of sorts. It's warm now, and full of lithe little fish that shiver against her legs. ]

[jumpfesta]

You don't recognize your size, do yooooou..!?
<sub>[ —is all he can really protest as Ninat butts against him, though, he does manage to caress her snout and head. It's a fond response from him, even if he words and reaction suggest otherwise.

Oh, but now we're going in the water..!? Gin-san is going in the water..!? The samurai resists, digging his heels in the dirt. ]</sub>

Hey, hey hey! Not yet! My shoes are still on!
Crap like this.. you gotta.. _{[ 'say your final prayers' ]} cherish! Admire the water first, all of that!

[adlantisag]

[ There's recalcitrant, and then there's that kind of difficult-to-read quality Gintoki has, where his unpredictability becomes almost obnoxious. Kida stays silent in the water, but she's watching him, watching him dig his heels in. For someone who claimed to enjoy swimming... ]

Ni-nu, tugit pen.

[ It's her tone, maybe, that cleaves right through Ninat's playful demeanour and makes her stop, that massive jaw unclenching from Gintoki's shorts. Kida swims a little closer to the lakeshore. ]

Gintoki. [ Her head cants, and there's a little smile on her face, half exasperation and half amusement. ] Ninat would be very upset if you drowned.

[jumpfesta]

_{[ SWEATS NERVOUSLY,,,,,
'It's like she already knooooows! How do women already know crap like this...!? She's got that look on her face that she knows!!' ]}

Uh.
I'm sure Sunrise would be very upset, too. It would be a let down. I've survived through so many arcs, to die by drowning seems anti-climatic, doesn't it?

_{[ 'Okay, you can do this.' ]}

Let me just ...
<sub>[ There really isn't any turning back now. No matter how chilly it might be; no matter any other excuses he may have. He's got this.
He's quick to undress down to his boxers (which were a childish looking red print with yellow stars on them), kicking off his boots and messily dropping everything else to the side, shoving them over with his foot.
He approaches the very edge and peers over at the water, looking at his reflection in it.
Gintoki clasps his hands together as if he is about to dive in and....





doesn't move at all. ]</sub>

H..Hey, it looks kinda cold. It's kinda cold, isn't it?
_{[ NO DON'T EVEN START WITH THIS. ]}

[adlantisag]

[ Oh my god. Suspicions confirmed tbh.

But you know what? Fine, let him suffer a little. ]

Ninat. [ The great cat-shark lifts her head a bit, just in time for Kida to lift one hand, point at Gintoki and make a beckoning gesture.

Which Ninat takes as a cue to heave her massive weight forward, shoving him into the water. It'll be a shock to him, and probably frightening, but as long as she and Ninat are around, there's no real danger. ]

[jumpfesta]

[ For a moment, Gintoki seems to remember something fond and warm as his gaze is focused on the rippling water before.

"There is nothing wrong with having fears, Gintoki. What is important is to overcome them and do not allow them to swallow you up. Now, do you think you could get in the water so I can show you how to overcome them?"

His calming voice was clear as day in Gintoki's mind, even though it was years ago. Despite his teacher's persistence, Gintoki ran as far as his little feet could take him away from water, and he never learned how to swim as a child.

Suddenly, though.
SCREAMING. THERE IS SCREAMING. THEN GURGLING. THEN DROWNING.
He's flailing and yelling, but his words aren't really coherent. Silvery hair bobs up and down in the water as he surfaces, then sinks, then surfaces and sinks again. ]

[adlantisag]

[ They don't let him thrash for long; Ninat slips into the water behind Gintoki, makes a short arc and re-positions herself beneath him before lifting up, forming a small 'island' he can latch onto.

Kida hasn't moved, and instead is watching him impassively, holding in place with light kicks of her legs. She'll let him sputter up whatever water he swallowed, though the expression on her face has shifted from amusement to a more genuine annoyance. ]

It is bad to lie, Gintoki.

[ He knows, and she knows he knows. She just has very little patience for pride getting in the way. ]

[jumpfesta]

_{[ CLINGING TO NINAT ISLAND. HELP. ]}

It's also bad that somebody my age doesn't know how to swim!
_{[ look, he's coming clean already! And enthusiastically, too. ]}

What do you expect me to say, aaa..!? It's not easy to say things like that to somebody like you! I'm pretty sure N*ruto would have issues confessing something like this to K*kashi...
_{[ a beat. ]}

Right..!?

[adlantisag]

[ Ninat loves you too much to let you drown, Gintoki.

Kida, on the other hand, surges forward, get right up close and personal. She reaches up, uses Ninat as leverage so she can lean right into Gin's personal space, surging out of the water like she's in the wrong Disney movie.

STARING INTO HIS EYES. GAZE LIKE FIRE. ]

Had I been anyone else, you would be dead.

[ (This is a good time to mention that she is, in fact, wearing a bandeau around her breasts. It's wet, and clingy. Fyi.) ]

[jumpfesta]

I've been through 62 volumes of published manga, I think that—
_{[ No, stop, stop right there, Gintoki. Don't go further on how you've survived through so many blows that typically would kill a person and that somehow you would have survived this.
And he does... he does stop. He swallows up his words. There is one thing that Gintoki is familiar with, and that is aggressive women and when to stop. ]}

That.. you're absolutely right.

_{[ He doesn't know what is scarier: Having Kida in the water or being in the water by himself. ]}

[adlantisag]

[ Good. ]

[adlantisag]

[ She relaxes, sliding back into the water far enough that only her shoulders are exposed. She hasn't stopped frowning. ]

I cannot expect all surface-dwellers to learn to swim. [ Someone explain to her what a pool is. ] You wanted me to teach you, was that it?

[jumpfesta]

<sub>[ Nope. You can relax in the water all you like; Gintoki is going to stay here (and maybe peep one more glance at her chest before it disappears under the water.) Alright, onward as you were, Kida. Show him your ways.

Gintoki scoffs. What is she trying to do? Humiliate him by saying it like that?
Wordlessly, he just nods like a kid who has just been scolded. Please help him. ]</sub>

[adlantisag]

[ She considers him for a long moment, mouth a thin line across her face, before ultimately sighing. This would help him, or at least keep him from turning into a floundering, panicking mess if they were in a flood situation. ]

Very well.

[ Kida sighs, then makes her way slowly to Ninat's side, putting both her hands on the cat's back that bobs just over the water. With her chin, she motions to the water next to her. ]

Come, join me. Ninat will keep you afloat.

[ He's going to have to trust her on that. Or at least trust Ninat. ]

[jumpfesta]

_{[ Gintoki stays where he is for a moment, quietly, before slowly slipping his legs in the water next to Kida. It's obvious he isn't relaxed as he clings to Ninat's back for the first few moments. It's progress.. progress. But his toes can still touch the bottom of the water, so this isn't so bad (yeah, he didn't realize he could stand in the water until now.) ]}

You swim a lot.. don't you?
_{[ He could tell by how passionate she sounds when it comes to water. What did she call him? A surface dweller? ]}

[adlantisag]

[ She shrugs emphatically. ]

I would go nowhere and accomplish nothing if I could not swim. Atlantis is beneath the sea; we must harvest from it, or we will die.

[ Her tone is matter-of-fact. She's been swimming for as long as she could remember. But that's beside the point: ]

Use Ninat as a buoy. Raise your legs and kick, like so.

[ She demonstrates, her body parallel to the lake floor, kicking up foam on the water's surface and frightening the fish. She'll let him just do that for a few minutes, getting used to the sensation. ]