Spirit Academy

Lance stopped when Shiro asked him if he would've liked to go swimming with her today. It was a nice day outside today. Perhaps relaxing with Shiro instead of training today would help the both of them relax after their rather harrowing night in the forest?

"I suppose that's alright. Give me a moment to get changed and I'll meet you outside."

He told her, going to find his shorts. He didn't really have a swimsuit so he usually just wore a tight fitting T-Shirt to cover up his tattoo in the place of his scarf and some shorts. He didn't really find much of a point in swimming just for fun rather than training your muscles or in the case of an emergency, but if it was going to help Shiro relax then he would gladly do so.

Shiro looked at him before she nodded and smiled brightly, leaving the room to go get herself something to wear as well as she swam. Making sure she shut his door behind her, going quickly to her own room and looking through her things. Though this made her sigh, she didn't have anything that would be considered a normal bathing suit. Seeing one of her lighter sundresses she grabbed and put it on, she could swim in it since it was shorter and light so it wouldn't drag her down. After she had it on she went outside quickly, waiting just outside the front doors as she hummed quietly. Often before she swam just to train herself, or get exercise on hot days.

After changing into his newer clothing, Lance walked out of his room and went to go meet up with Shiro at the front entrance. He raised an eyebrow to her choice of outfits, seeing as swimming in a dress seemed a little unorthodox to him.

"Do you not have anything better to swim in besides a dress? You could always ask Ikari if you need something to swim in. She tends to practice her music by the pool anyway so she's always wearing something suitable for swimming in should she feel the need to."

He asked her.

Shiro looked at Lance when he came out and smiled slightly before hearing what he said, glancing away some at that.

"I don't want to ask for a suit though.. I haven't worn one before anyway, I can swim in this."

She said quietly, mostly she didn't know what sort of suits the girl had so how covered she would be in the end.

"If you think it won't work too well though I can go ask for one really quickly though."

Lance shook his head.

"Whatever works for you is fine with me. Just be careful with the others in the pool. Though if Ikari is there then she'll probably help you out if she needs to."

He tells her, starting out towards the pool in the outdoor training area of the school.

Shiro tilted her head slightly as she looked confused, following him though as she started to smile again at the thought of the pool.

"Do you like sweets at all, Lance?"

She asked as she walked next to him, she mostly wanted to find out more about him to grow closer. Having him as a friend now made her happy, especially with how he saw what her other form was and only complimented her.

Lance blinked when Shiro asked him about liking sweets, continuing to walk to the pool while he answered her back.

"Well that's a question out of the blue. I suppose I don't really mind them very much if I'm given them. I'd rather have more bitter foods if we're talking about what flavors of foods that we like."

He responds.

Shiro tilted her head some as she thought about his answer, trying to think about what sort of things he liked to eat then.

"Do you like ice cream at all then? Like if you got some ice cream when it was hot outside. Not a super sweet ice cream though... maybe some sort of fruit?"

She said and seemed to be thinking as she spoke. She was trying to think of what flavor he might like as they got to the pool, and she walked around the gate to get inside.

Lance raised an eyebrow to her as he let her go first around the gate before following her.  The sound of some music being played on an acoustic guitar could be heard at the far edge of the pool area.  Ikari was there wearing a light orange, striped two piece swimsuit and sitting on a deck chair away from the pool.  She was humming to herself and playing her guitar, it's soft sound echoing across the pool area as she strummed away on it with her eyes closed.  Another girl was there as well, someone Shiro didn't recognize.

She had long brown hair, brown eyes and wasn't actually wearing a swimsuit.  She seemed to just be lying back on one of the sun chairs and relaxing with her eyes closed as she listened to Ikari's playing.  Lance walked with Shiro as he answered her again, waiting for her to pick a spot near the pool to settle down.

"I suppose Ice Cream is fine....is there something on your mind Shiro?"

He asked her, confused as to why she was thinking so hard all of a sudden.

Shiro listened to the music being played when they got to the pool and started to smile some, looking at Ikari and noticed the girl never seen before. Her head tilted slightly as she went to sit in a more shaded part of the pool as she sat down and looked at Lance some.

"I am just curious is all... I am just curious what to do with you since I haven't had someone to spend time with before. So I was considering maybe I could make some sort of popsicle or something for us when we hang out..."

She said quietly, moving to put her feet in the pool after.

Lance nodded slowly as Ikari stopped playing after having finally noticed that the two of them had shown up at the pool.  She called out to the both of them, making the new girl perk up her head.

"Hey you two!  Glad to see ya'll decided to come and pal around at the pool today!  Even Kiria managed to stop being sick so she could come and play today!"

She called out, the new girl blushing upon the mention of her being sick.

"I don't get sick that often Ikari....geez....you make it sound like I'm gonna die at a young age or something...."

She mumbled, sitting up and waving in Lance's direction.  Lance nodded to her in greeting before turning back to Shiro.

"I suppose since Ikari and Kiria are here you should be at least a little social.  I'm not going anywhere after all and they're both nice people.  Just go and say hi and you can come right back if you don't like them."

He told her, going to jump into the pool with a splash.  He popped up a few moments later and began to swim laps back and forth the long way around the pool.

Shiro looked at Lance after watching him and Ikari talk together, starting to pout though even though he already jumped in. He sounded like he was trying to get her to make friends or something, she had a hard enough time with him but adding two people might be a bit harder. She would try anyway though, getting up with a sigh she walked over to the two girls.

"Hi Ikari, it's nice to see you out here."

She said and looked at the new girl some as she offered another small smile.

"I'm Shiro, it's nice to meet you. Are either of you going to go swimming at all? I thought it might be a fun idea since it was getting pretty warm today."

She said and glanced at the water.

Ikari grinned and waved at Shiro as she came up to greet her and Kiria, shifting a little bit at Shiro's question.

"I'm not really sure if Ikari'll let me. I mean I like to swim and I love the water but I just get sick really easily if I'm not careful is all."

She told Shiro, Ikari frowning at the girl in response.

"It's not like I'm gonna strap ya to a chair or somethin! Sheesh ya make it sound like I'm some kind awful dictator Kiria...."

She responded, Kiria giving a small giggle at the thought of Ikari being a dictator or even just a leader in general. Ikari was great at supporting her friends and being there when she was needed the most but she was never much of a leader.

"I don't see you filling much of a leader role though Ikari. If anything I see Lance doing something like that. He's strong and brave and such a decent guy."

She mused, her face turning red when she noticed that she was talking so highly of Lance in front of everyone like she had been and making Ikari start to giggle and laugh at her embarrassment.

Shiro looked at Kiria as she spoke, and watched the two girls together some while she felt out of place. They seemed pretty giggly and happy like normal girls might be, but she never felt like she fit into such a scene.

"If you want to join in and swim, I don't think you should be held behind unless you feel yourself that you don't want to. I am probably going to go ahead and swim around with Lance though, more training not to drown practice though."

She mumbled quietly and turned around, walking back over to the pool even though she had her dress on. She would train with dresses on, just in case something happened sort of situations so she didn't mind it. Though she glanced back at the two girls before getting in, curious if they would join in as she walked into the water carefully away from Lance.

Ikari sighed and rolled her eyes as she watched Kiria give her hopeful eyes about swimming in the pool.

"Go on then. I'll wait here with a towel and some juice for ya."

She told her, Kiria giving a happy shriek and getting up to shed her shirt. She had a small blue and white striped bikini on underneath her normal clothes and she happily jumped into the water near Shiro, splashing her on accident. She popped up a few moments later with a happy laugh and gasped when she saw that she'd splashed Shiro on accident.

"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry Shiro! Do you want me to get you a towel to dry off?"

She asked, concerned that she'd ruined Shiro's sundress without realizing what she'd been doing. Lance had stopped swimming laps at that point and was relaxing on the side of the pool with his arms holding him up outside of the water. Ikari was smiling and watching nearby, having put her guitar away and gotten a big sky blue towel and a small carton of fruit juice for Kiria like she'd said she would.

Shiro jumped a bit when Kiria jumped into the pool and ended up splashing her some, smiling slightly though since she was happy to see someone else enjoying themselves. When she heard her apologize quickly about getting her dress wet, shaking her head quickly as she smiled.

"I was planning on swimming in it anyway, I don't have a bathing suit or anything. You don't have to worry that much about it, go ahead and enjoy yourself."

She told the other girl before she actually got into the water and sat down on one of the steps to get into the pool. Though as she watched the two other girls some she felt weird having a dress on as she swam, like she was just weirdly sensitive about how covered up she was as well. Especially with Lance at the pool it would feel pretty weird to her.

Kiria and Ikari both exchanged looks when Shiro mentioned that she didn't have a proper swimsuit to swim in the pool with.

"Ya don't have anything at all to swim in besides a dress? I thought I told ya that you could come ta me if ya needed something to wear or clothes you could borrow?"

Ikari said, Kiria resting on the side of the pool the same way that Lance had been doing.

"Why would you want to swim in something that covers up so much? Part of the fun in swimming is showing off your body after all. Some people even do it to flirt and have some fun if they really want to!"

Kiria asked her.

Shiro started to blush as she looked down at the water, messing with her dress slightly as she stayed quiet for a minute.

"I know... I didn't want to bother you though right now. Plus I.... don't like to wear much of anything that covers me less then my dresses. Even the outfit I got from you the other day Ikari... kind of felt weird to me after so long of just dresses."

She said quietly and messed with her dress some. She felt weird now, like she didn't want to be there much since she didn't fit in with the two girls who seemed so normal. Besides, she hadn't even tried to flirt with someone before and felt like if she said it to the girls they would just giggle.

Ikari just shrugged at Shiro's answer to her questions.

"Eh, whatever floats yer boat I guess. I'm not much of a dress kinda girl though."

She answered, Kiria tilting her head a bit at Shiro's answer to her own question.

"Do you not feel comfortable enough in your own body then? I bet a dress like that can be really hard to train or fight in if you had to. I can even imagine it getting yourself killed too by giving an enemy something more to grab onto should you need to run away."

She asked her, Ikari looking over to Lance who had his eyes closed enjoying the sun on his face.

"Hey Lance! Are ya just going to sit there like a lump all day? Come join in on the conversation!"

She told him, Lance shaking his head and taking a deep breath without opening his eyes.

"I'd rather just sit here and relax for a little while thanks."

He told her, making Ikari frown and lay back onto her chair a little bit.

Shiro looked at Kiria and nodded a bit quietly as she listened some, feeling more and more like she wanted to go be alone now though from the situation coming up.

"I've never felt comfortable being with people, let alone having people stare at me because I am wearing something that shows my body so much. I think it's stupid when someone stares just because I happen to have something on that they can see my body, makes me want to punch them."

She mumbled quietly and shrugged some.

"I have been starting to ask for clothes from Ikari, mostly cause Lance told me pretty much the same thing.... Ikari? Do you have a suit I can borrow?"

She asked and looked up at Ikari, wanting to try it just to see how easy it might be.

Kiria gave a really surprised and kind of fearful look at Shiro upon her mentioning how she felt about wearing something that didn't cover up very much, making her look at her own clothing in anxiety.

"O-Oh....sorry...."

She said quietly, getting up and out of the pool to get her towel from Ikari who gently wrapped her up tightly and handed her her juice that she'd gotten for her. Ikari shook her head when Shiro asked her about the swimsuit.

"I don't have an extra one on me hun sorry. I'd have to go back and get one from my room."

She answered her, Kiria staring into space and making Ikari look at her in concern.

"You okay hun? You're not starting to get cold are ya?"

She asked her, pulling the girl into a gentle hug just in case she was cold. Kiria shook her head slowly as she slowly moved into the hug and closed her eyes, prompting Ikari to lie back again while she rested on her chest.

"I-I'm okay....just tired is all. Can I take a nap here with you for a little while Ikari?"

She asked innocently, Ikari smiling and nodding while stroking Kiria's hair. Soon she started to hum a gentle tune as Kiria started to cover up her body more with her towel, Shiro's comment making her uneasy. Lance swam over to Shiro at that point and looked up at her.

"What was that all about?"

He asked, a confused expression on his face after seeing all the commotion.

Shiro shook her head at the offer to go and get the suit from the dorms, she didn't want to leave right now. When Kiria got out though and seemed to be trying to cover herself more she looked confused. Was it something she had said? Had she hurt Kiria? She hadn't thought anything she said was terrible for anyone else, it was just what she thought about showing her own body. Though when Lance swam over she looked over at him and shrugged.

"I don't really know... I was just talking some about why I don't tend to have many clothes that form fit. She just got out after..."

Lance looked over at Kiria after hearing what Shiro said before sighing a little bit and leaning back up against the side of the pool.

"Kiria's just sensitive in a few more ways than you'd think. The girl doesn't seem to ever get bothered by the cold either but we can always feel that her skin is like ice. I guess that's why she likes human contact so much like she does. The warmth is a nice feeling to her. Anyway, just leave her alone and you can ask her what's wrong later. More importantly, what did you want to do today besides just swim around?"

He asked her, curious as to why she would drag him all the way out here with her for a while if she only wanted to swim. Surely Ikari and Kiria would've been enough company for her?

Shiro looked slightly worried about Kiria as she listened to Lance. She wondered even more now if she had done or said something bad to hurt the girl. When he asked why she asked him to come along she tilted her head some and looked at him.

"I just wanted to be with you for a while longer. I thought it would be weird to hang out in your room though. I thought maybe swimming on a day like would be nice too. "

She said and looked at her skirt quietly. She wasn't sure why he was curious all of the sudden though.

Lance nodded slowly in response to Shiro's answers to his question before getting out on the side of the pool and going to grab a towel.

"I'll be right back. I'm just going to get us a couple of towels."

He told her before walking off into the towel room to get a couple of them for him and Shiro. Ikari stopped her gentle humming for a moment, noticing that Kiria had actually fallen asleep on her chest. She looked over at Shiro with a small smile on her face.

"I knew you two were going to get closer like this eventually. You must really like him huh? Can't say that I blame ya of course. Lance is a very sweet guy once ya get to know him. Although personal relationships just kind of escape him which I guess is why he's never really had a girlfriend before."

She asked Shiro quietly while she waited for Lance to come back with the towels.