pullmeoutalive | Hold me like the river Jordan;

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Hold me like the river Jordan;

[ it's strange to be back here again. Not that Makoto found being near the ocean to be a particularly odd thing, but it's been a year, and so much has changed since then. They hadn't been as well known back then. They could run down the beach or leap into the ocean or get hit on without fear of being overly crowded (though the latter was mostly Miki). For the time being, staying in the ocean had kept recognition to a minimum, and the other idols had split up to stay low and relax in their own different ways.

In Makoto's case, the ocean was still the place to be, and she's happily trotting towards it after some additional time spent on dry land (mainly keeping the twins from burying the Producer completely). Is she expecting company?

No, but at least she's open to it. ]

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[ sadly, while Makoto is observant, that's not exactly kicking in. Instead, her shoulders slump and her look is half-imploring and half-disappointed. ]

You're not going in...?

[...it's like he kicked a puppy.

And Makoto has never been good at saying no. He's always been the weak-willed one, at least when it comes to the happiness of those around him.

And so what can he do?]

It does look like a pretty nice day, you're right.

[And he sets to taking off his shirt. Okay Makoto. You win.]

[ at least he'll get her SPARKLING LIKE THE SUN a la ~~Gou~~ Kou, only with less awe. ]

That's the spirit! You really can't go to the beach without a dip!

[He's used to the sparkling by now. It's just something that happens when they all take their shirts off. Who knew.

So he tosses his shirt aside, and pants, because he had to wear his swimsuit to the beach regardless of his intentions to swim or not.

Maybe Haru is rubbing off on him...]

I guess you're right.

[hahaha ha...ha......]

[ at least the sight of Makoto in all his swimsuited glory gives her pause. Maybe because she hadn't actually seen him shirtless in her attempts to breathe last time, but it's glaringly apparent now that he's a swimmer with that kind of body.

Her dad would likely be jealous. ]

... Haru-san's not the only swimmer, huh?

[He just smiles at that, nodding easily.]

That's right. We're on the swim team together.

[...eh...]

Is it that obvious?

[ Makoto nods just as easily, taking a slow circle around him to confirm-- even if he'd already done that. ]

You've got really developed muscles, but everything looks balanced. It's not just your arms, but your legs, and your stomach looks tight...

[ and she nods once more, this time to herself. ]

You've got a lean look, and isn't that perfect for a swimmer?

[Now he can't help but be a bit flustered. Seriously, he wasn't asking for an inspection--]

A-ahaha... Thanks, I think.

You're right though. We're all swimmers--Haru and Nagisa and Rei and I.

[He gestures to them all, off goofing around.]

[ Makoto Kikuchi, earnestly straightforward in everything. ]

That's your team? [ she's looking in that direction, smiling when she spots them. ] They look like they're having fun!

[Makoto is relieved to not be the center of attention anymore, honestly.

And they're not in the ocean, so this is a win-win]

That's right. They can all be a little silly sometimes, but they're all very good friends.

That's the same as the other girls! Um, except not all of them are silly, but-- well. I'd introduce you, but I think all of them are trying to keep a low profile right now.

Perhaps another time then. I wouldn't want to ruin your day at the beach--it sounds like that doesn't happen very often for all of you.

[Poor, poor idols.]

Not anymore... but I wouldn't change where we're at now for the world.

[ a moment of silence, in which she stares nostalgically at the ocean-- and then she's back to grinning at him. ]

That aside, the ocean's waiting! Come on, Makoto-kun!

[.......ah yes, the...ocean....

It is waiting, he suspects.

That's...the problem....

So he just smiles at her weakly in return but follows her towards it because he already kicked the puppy once, he can't do it again.]

That's right, ahaha...

[ if only Makoto knew.

But sadly, she doesn't. ]

Did you want to race? I might not be on a swim team, but I'm pretty fast!

I bet you are.

[why is this happening, whyyyy]

Where do you want to race to? I don't mind giving it a try.

How about... [ she pauses, just long enough to point to a rather large rocky outcropping a little further out. ]

Over there?

[He inspects the distance.

It's no small feat, swimming-wise, but it's still not far enough out to be dangerous

(and they had been close when the ship had sank, very close, not far out enough to be dangerous, and it hadn't helped a single one of them)

Once they get out there, of course they'll have to swim back--

(It always felt, somehow, that there was something lurking, and the thought that it could get him on the way there or back is--)

He nods.]

That doesn't seem too far away. [Not that that means anything at all.] Sounds good to me.

Okay, then! On my mark...

[ she'd raced Hibiki out to the rock before, and won, but Hibiki had also gotten distracted by the marine life. She's definitely curious to see how she'd fare against someone who actually did this as a school sport-- and really, just thinking of it like that is enough to get her fired up. ]

And... go!

[ ... and off she goes, plunging in with a surprisingly smooth dive once the water's deep enough for her to take on. ]

[Getting into the groove of a swimming match helps. There's the mark--and they're off, and he can swim, of course he can, he's a swimmer.

He's won a freestyle competition before, though that's usually more Haru's thing, and he can swim freestyle now. If he just focuses on the thought that this is a race--just got to get to the end, nothing more than that--then he'll be fine.

He's not really fooling anyone, though, because he's swimming as if something were chasing him, and he's only just gotten into the water.]

[ Makoto's usually arrow-straight when it comes to focus in a competitive event-- so it's a little strange that she feels an urge, no matter how slight, to check on her fellow competitor.

It's just a glance, managed in between her own strokes, but what she sees is enough to almost make her stop entirely. It's hard to get a decent look at him, but-- had she imagined it?

There's something painfully desperate about him.

... No, she thinks (hopes), maybe she's wrong. First things first, though: finish this race.

But even as she speeds up, there's that concern unfurling in her chest. ]

[They both have the same thought, to just finish the race, and that's the thought Makoto grasps onto. Finish the race, and he'll be fine. Swim as far as necessary, and he'll be safe. So long as he's swimming, and swimming fast, whatever it was that killed those boaters won't get him.

It's the ocean, but he can treat it like a pool.

When he reaches the end, he'll...be...fine....

And that carries him a great deal further, because that sort of thinking is believable--until he realizes that they set their goal out in the middle of the ocean. When he gets there, he won't, in fact, be safe. He'll be at his most vulnerable when they finish the race.

And thus it is that with only a few strokes to go, that's what makes him freeze up. He has enough sense when he goes under the water to kick and break the surface again, but it's a near thing.]

[ she's close to the outcropping, close enough that she could claim victory, but this time-- maybe the only time, Makoto abandons the goal.

Somewhat. In the end, when she turns, and he's not there, and there's no actual splashing forward movements where she thinks there ought to be and there's that note again, something's wrong-- she takes a deep breath and uses that part of the rock still under the water to push off back toward him. The force, the slip, scrapes a foot in the process, but she's too busy swimming his way to care.

... She misses him resurfacing, but she'll pop back up in a minute. ]

[It's hard for him to forget years and years of coaching that has been drilled into him, so he's managing to tread water, though his breathing is fast and ragged and he's definitely looking only a few inches from a panic attack. He's honestly lucky that he's been swimming for so long, because otherwise he'd be going under.

But he isn't, and he doesn't see Makoto coming towards him, as busy as he is trying to not hyperventilate, and trying to convince himself (unsuccessfully), that nothing is coming for him.

His lack of success leads to him being unable to move one way or the other, and so he's stuck treading water right in that one spot.]

[ he's not entirely wrong; something - or someone - is coming for him, and hopefully Makoto doesn't trigger that panic attack when she suddenly pops up from the water, not as panicked, but definitely worried. ]

Hey-- [ a cough. Okay, Makoto, maybe clear your lungs before you try to blurt things out. ] Are you okay??

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