Your best or not at all

New work schedule. C: I work from 11pm to 7:30am, Sunday-Thursday from now on. I’ve barely had any calls, so basically I’m just getting paid to… stay up late… and use tumblr… it’s really weird.

"We can start at the five,"  she said, stretching her arms out before getting herself into a proper starting pose,  ”both of us.  Don’t you dare give me an advantage.  I might be a girl, but I can tolerate a total loss if that’s what it’s going to be.  Don’t get cocky, though.  I might’ve been swimming all day, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m going to take this 100% seriously.”  She took another calming breath, watching the clock.

Seijuro pushed himself hard until his hand made contact and his finish was sealed. He wasn't surprised to turn and see that he'd beaten her, but he was surprised that even after swimming so much Hamako had managed to finish that race without her time suffering too badly. As soon as she finished alongside him in her lane, Seijuro smiled and laughed. "I guess this means you have to considering returning to the competative circut, right?"

[text: big brother] Either that, or I joined the Samezuka swim team and don't remember...

sms; Feel free to wear it, too.

"…does he… have one of those…?”

"Pinch the bridge of his nose with one hand, and pat him on the head with the other. It'll probably shut him up."

"I haven’t slept in a week."

"I take it you haven't found Mo's snooze button yet, huh?"

"You want to… race?" Her voice was confused, but there was a small glimmer of interest there. She brought a hand up to her cheek and tapped her own face in thought, looking away to try and figure things out. A race… couldn’t hurt, right? Especially with a stake like that. Maybe if he won… it would be the push she needed to try and reach back out again. "I’ll race you, but if I win… you have to teach me how to swim butterfly! Even if it means you have to come back here and meet me every single week! Asking me to consider going back into competitive swimming is a big commitment, so you’ll have to commit to something equally big!"

"Yeah, I want to race." He confirmed, moving his goggles down more properly onto his eyes as if to affirm that they were doing this, "The stakes sound fine to me, you want to improve your butterfly stroke?  Win this race, and I'll take time out of my schedule to come visit you at least once a week until you've got a fly you can be proud of."  He grinned, grabbing the edge of the pool and moving to get into a starting position.  "Your breast stroke was pretty impressive, how about we race breast?  I'll even give you a three second advantage, if you want."

She shifted slightly and sighed, leaning her head against the edge of the pool, “I had to quit because I didn’t have time for it, before.  I guess I’ve got the time now, but I’m sort of nervous.  I’m rusty, you know?  I think it would be weird to swim with people again.  Even weirder if I enjoyed it and then had to quit again.”  She straightened up wtih a smile,  “Call it apprehension or low self esteem or something, I guess.”

"Say, lane three..." It wasn't that he couldn't recall her name, just that this was probably going to be her new nickname, "...I really think it's a shame that you're not pushing yourself and swimming competitively.  I can tell from the look on your face that it's something you loved.  So I've got a proposition for you.  How about you and me race?  If I win, you have to agree to consider going back to some sort of competitive swimming, and if you win.  Er... we'll think of something."

“How about it…?"  She asked as she righted herself in lane three beside him, leaning against the edge of the pool with a smile, ”Does your critical eye approve?”

By the time the blonde returned to Seijuro's end of the pool, he was waiting with a smile.  "My critical eye says that if this were a tryout, you would've just made the team." He laughed, and motioned to her with one of his thumbs.  "The back of your suit has a bit of drag, I bet you'd improve your time a little if you had a newer suit with a bit more compression.  So what school team is lucky enough to have you on it?  With a stroke like that, there's no way that you're just a recreational swimmer."  

Moving to accept the offered hand, Hamako bobbed in the water slightly, not needing to stabilize herself on the edge of the pool.  ”Ogawa Hamako, and the pleasure is all mine… lane two.”

"If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to see that nice back of yours." he heaved himself out of the pool, sitting on the edge so that he would have a better view if she agreed to swim for him, "I warn you, I can be pretty critical. Even on someone with such a soft face." He added a smile for effect.

It was rare for Hama to get a chance to take a trip with her father into the bigger cities, and so every time she did she took advantage of the opportunity to visit the indoor pools there, as was the case today. She had been minding her own business, focusing on her breaststroke, but she kept getting distracted by the form of the boy in the lane beside her. Eventually she found herself stopped beside him while he resituated his goggles, and she could no longer keep quiet. “I-it’s so beautiful! Your butt—er… Fly! Butterfly! Your stroke, I mean! Not your uh… butt… even though I mean, I’m sure that’s also nice. I’m… going to shut up and go back to swimming now. Thank you very much for your time.”

"Ah--" He smiled at her fumble with words, gripping the edge of the pool lightly, "No need to apologize or swim off, the compliment is very much appreciated! If I can say so, your breast is quite beautiful as well." He laughed warmly, hoping it would be well received rather than seen as harassment, and moved slightly closer to the lane divider in order to hold his free hand out for her to shake, "Mikoshiba Seijuro, pleased to meet you, lane three."

Did it have to wait until the middle of the night…?!

Do me a favor: if you’re just trying to get a negative reaction out of my muse, don’t send the ask. These asks are part of the reason I’ve been on such a long hiatus and I would really like to be able to stay on this blog. I understand that the questions are toward Nitori, and that’s fine, but they hurt the muse and frankly they annoy the mun. Nitori is NOT here for you to use as an emotional punching bag, and my blog is not a place for your opinions on pairings and character’s relationships. Thanks!