Dragon Lagoon Beach

[Bloodedge]

"Well then, those other girls you're talking about are also weird," was Kou's rebuttal. Hikari was set on being persistent in her points, though, leading to a bit of back-and-forth between her and Kou. "First, Karna's a jackass who just ended up tagging along with us after we killed his Avatar. Second, people are quiet sometimes! Third, how is you pestering me supposed to be 'taking care' of me at all?" he asked with a sigh that seemed just a little annoyed. He wasn't sure why Hikari was so hung up on his association with Miki, when as far as he was concerned, there was nothing she needed to be bothered with. "Why would I do that? We weren't even about to go anywhere, and I was fine where I was. Besides, that was fresh off an awkward situation. Those things happen, it's no big deal. Now, are you done pulling at straws? There's nothing going on here; whatever you think is happening wouldn't work outside of your head."

[Apollymi]

A shake of Hikari's head would go along with the idea that girls who associated themselves with her were also weird because of how they thought of their sibling bond. "You don't get it, and never will with that kind of attitude," she said in her usual way. As they moved right along, Kou came with an itemized list of things to rebut the points brought to his fore by Hikari. His words made her look at him for quite a few minutes and he seemed rather annoyed but this didn't seem to bother the lass in the least. "You killed his Avatar and he's still hanging out with you, must have made a good impression. And sure people are quiet sometimes, but all day... not unless they have to be," she said seemingly annoyed herself but she only smiled after a second choosing to save her last bit for later. "Because that girl is as big a nerd as you are, and there is no reason you wouldn't. And people tend to ease each others awkwardness, that is the point of being in social groups. And if it will make you happy for the moment I'll be done 'pulling at straws' I guess," she said playfully nudging her brother only to look up at him for one more jab. "If I didn't pester you, I couldn't know what kind of stuff you got going on in your head ya' know? And I haven't seen you in ages, I have a lot of this built up..." the lass mentioned with happy and devious light shining in her eyes.

In the time they had the last of their hurried discussing, Miki had finished the design of a couple of custom pieces for Kou. At which point she stood clutching her egg as those two drawings were turned over and pulled out another blank female canvas for her work with the little raccoon girl. "Hikari-chan, it's your turn!~ Make sure I'm super cute, alright?" she said offering the girl a playful wink which she accepted as she bounded off but only after nudging her brother one more time. "Hai hai!~ I'll do my best!~" she said as she ran off to talk to the other woman. In this moment, Hikari reminded Miki of another friend of hers, one of the only people she'd ever called such in her life. It brought a small smile to her face as she began to wander the small shop thinking about incidentals while carrying the egg. Only to feel the smallest of pulses from the creature within. "Sugoi! You growing up in there?" she asked of the creature not expecting an answer but having fun holding on to it just the same.

[Bloodedge]

Kou sighed upon having the thought that his sister would continue behaving in such a way. Allegedly, there was just something he didn't understand, and never would while having the attitude he exemplified. She claimed she would be done pulling at straws, as Kou put it earlier, but he felt this wasn't truly the end of it. "Just because people have something in common, doesn't mean it's alright to try and push them together," was the only thing he had left to say in this exchange. Much to his satisfaction, this conversation came to an end when Miki announced that it was Hikari's turn to speak with the seamstress. While she was walking away, Kou looked toward the selection of swim trunks in the shop. It was during this time that Miki browsed as well. Kou found himself looking in the girl's direction, and as he did, he saw her addressing the egg she carried. Sighing within his mind, Kou decided to approach and reach out to the egg. "Might be an early hatch. It feels pretty strong in there."

[Apollymi]

As the conversation between brother and sister came to an end, Hikari got all the information she needed about where her brother's mind was, she didn't technically know what to do with this information on the whole, 'Dick-sensei will know what to do about him. I don't really at this point since he doesn't even acknowledge that she likes him,' the girl thought to herself as she went back to designing the swimsuit she thought would best accentuate the figure of the blonde lass while leaving enough to the imagination of her brother. Even though she'd said she was joking, she did really have a decent idea of the type of thing he actually enjoyed looking at and would help him out in that regard. Even if he claimed he didn't want the help. In the meantime, Miki's speech to the egg was answered, strangely enough by Kou who spoke about the nature of the egg and even touched it while she carried it. "It does feel strong. It's exciting... I've been wracking my brain wondering what it will look like..." Miki mentioned knowing she was far too excited about the prospect of hatching this egg, even in spite of the random annoyances that seemed to keep popping up around them. She was content to go back to regular nerd level conversation. She expected some changes to the group dynamics but not to the extent they seemed to be, but she supposed this was bound to happen regardless.

[Bloodedge]

Miki had curiosities about the Filolial's appearance when it hatched. Though he still felt things were fated to be a bit awkward, especially after conversing with Hikari on her topic of choice, Kou found this to be a fine topic he had a bit of insight to. "Well, I did a bit of digging when I played..." he said as he rose and ceased touching the egg. "With the precautions we took, it'll be one of two tiers. It'll either be the top tier and be gold or silver, or... it'll be the secret Superior Class Filolial. Those start off looking like one of the lower tiers, unless it's gone completely wrong somehow. That's the best-case scenario, though it'll be a little bit harder to figure out."

[Apollymi]

Miki listened to Kou as he spoke about the particulars concerning the looks of their Filolial. "That sounds amazing!~" she murmured. She spent sometime in her head trying to decide what gold or silver Filolials would look like. She'd seen a great number of them on the farm but none of them seemed to stand out a whole lot to her, except the teal one she'd chosen before. "Even if it's hard to figure out. It should still be a great bit of fun!~" she chimed holding on to the egg as she turned to look at some more items. It was nice being back to a somewhat normal amount of conversation, besides that she'd expected a bit more awkwardness from Kou than he was currently showing. Perhaps a couple other people around wasn't as bad as she thought it could be. Only a second later, Hikari appeared back at Miki's side, having given her input to the seamstress who was now in the back of the shop behind a curtain, sewing her hearts content on a few different mannequins. "Ano, she said she'd be done in a few minutes and we could finish looking around," said Hikari though she managed to look a bit huffy. "She wouldn't show me the sketch for my swimsuit..." she said frowning deeply. "Of course not, it's supposed to be a surprise. That one really likes that sort of thing, the look of happiness on someone else's face when they get something unexpected. She's great!~" mentioned Miki trying to take the lass' mind off the impending wait. "Anything else you think we'll need for the beach trip?" she asked content to let Hikari pick out towels, carrying accessories and other such things. "Hai hai. I'll take care of it. There are a couple other things... I'll look around~" the small girl said as she looked around the store. Miki chuckled after this. She'd never had any siblings and found the small girl to be adorable in her helpfulness and excitement.

[Bloodedge]

"It is. I wouldn't get my hopes too high for the Superior Class one, but... I only barely missed it the way I raised mine in the game, so raising this one at the beach might give it that extra jump," he explained, leaving out the description about the look of a Superior Class Filolial to avoid giving too much to hope for. "As long as we don't get a low roll and end up with an A-Class, we're in the clear. I had that happen once, and it was horrible, but... this one feels like it'll be fine." Soon enough, Hikari was back from discussing business with the seamstress. A brief exchange occurred between her and Miki about the beach trip, and in that time, Kou realized he still needed to pick up a pair of swim trunks. With that in mind, he began looking around again.

[Apollymi]

Kou went on to explain that he'd barely missed the Superior class when he'd been raising his own Filolial. She nodded her understanding of this and given the spot she'd chosen for the hatching and rearing of it she'd hoped it would turn out excellent. As for the feeling of this one being fine, she nodded and spoke as well. "Hai, it feels really excitable, it's been moving around a bit in there and its bristling with energy. At the very least, this world has been rewarding us in a way that gacha mechanics can't so... I think it's okay to have higher hopes than normal," Miki said watching as the lad went about looking around the place. She knew he was looking for trunks and the like given what he'd been told, but within a moment it was rendered unnecessary. "Male outfit done!~" chimed the woman from behind the curtain as she pushed forward a mannequin wearing a pair of deep blue trunks with golden swirl like patterns in single lines across the front as well as a singular jacket with a monochrome color scheme and a a hood. "Male outfit? I thought she didn't make those?" said Hikari which made a chuckle come from Miki. "Yeah, she's got a weird extra quest line and is the start of one of those hidden things. Basically she doesn't like wasting her own ideas on men's clothing because she had a bad experience with it once. But she'll make the designs of a girl for a guy if she asks for it. Gomen, it'd slipped my mind until she spoke to you directly." said Miki holding on to the egg. "Anyway, I figured it wouldn't really be fair if ya' didn't get something cool out of it too!~ So, I threw together a little something based on your current armor choices~" she said to Kou so he could go have a look at the outfit created by the seamstress and technically designed by Miki. Hikari looked at the lass with wide eyes, 'And goodness scale ridiculous... and watch he probably won't think much of it. Nii-san don't be a jerk,' she silently urged on this situation from the sidelines as she finished up the shopping.

[Bloodedge]

"Hai," Kou replied. "Hope is good, at least. I'm sure it'll be great when it hatches." He shared these words while looking around for something worth wearing to the beach, but as he did this, the seamstress called attention to... the male outfit she'd just finished. Kou turned to the seamstress, stunned, and just as confused as Hikari seemed to be. "What she said," he added, pointing to t he demi-human. It would be Miki who cleared up any confusion shared by the siblings. This had been a place she'd dealt with in Age of Eternity, and she had also seemingly followed a quest-line related to the seamstress, in which she discovered the reason behind the woman's refusal to make men's clothes. The simple answer to said refusal was for a girl to suggest the design, so Miki had gone about drawing something up for Kou's swimsuit. What's more, he had to say it was an astonishing look. "So you... designed clothes for me?" he asked in rhetoric as he approached the mannequin and appraised the gear. "It looks... fuckin' awesome! Arigatou!" Kou concluded, legitimately beaming with satisfaction at what he was seeing.

[Apollymi]

The explanation that Miki provided was taken well by everyone and then Kou went on to inspect his gear. "Basically," the lass answered the question of her designing his clothing for the beach. She figured it was the least she could do to make sure he had something nice as well. And much to her surprise he was pleased by what he saw. To be honest, when she'd made the suggestion she wasn't exactly sure what he'd like, such a favorable reaction as the one she was presented brought an honest smile to her face in the moment as she clung to their egg. "I'm glad you like them!" she said with a small blush coming to her face, she couldn't have been more pleased in the moment. Hikari watched the whole of this interaction and couldn't understand how this pair didn't see that they were a couple in the making. There was simply no way they could both be that stupid about romance. Whatever the case, she finally went over to have a look at the outfit the girl had designed and she was also stunned. "Wow! I really don't have anything to worry about... if you design a man's outfit this well, your girl clothes input has to rock, Miki-nee!~" the lass said. And such an assumption would soon be rewarded by the addition of another mannequin. "Our cute little demi-human's bikini!~" mentioned the seamstress before going back to work. This outfit on the mannequin seemed to be several layers of waving fluff. Beyond that a thick bikini top and thick bikini bottoms all in a slightly lighter shade of blue with white trim. It was sized small like the girl's body but allowed her to be a combination of cute and innocent. "Sugoi! Sugoi! It's so cute!" was all the girl could say, all the while Miki had a gentle smile on her face. She was happy she had done something useful for this pair and happy they both liked their clothes.

[Bloodedge]

As things progressed, Kou continued inspecting his trunks and jacket. He eventually began removing the garments from the mannequin they had been made upon, after which he slung them over his left forearm. Interestingly, he could see this outfit feeling very natural, not just for him as Kou, but for him as his human form in the world he was from. This led to a new train of thought which left Kou messing around in his own hair with his free hand. "Ano..." he said, seeking the attention of the seamstress while viewing a golden accent string on his swim trunks. "Could I have an extra one of these?" he asked. In the time between, he viewed Hikari as she witnessed her own beach ensemble. Such a sight took him back mentally to a different time, before the girl's sickness became something crippling. He could only smile as he basked in the nostalgia. 'It's like when she learned how to swim back home.'

[Apollymi]

Miki watched as Kou collected his clothing and further began playing around with his hair. His next question was directed towards the seamstress where he asked for an extra accent string like the one which was attached to his trunks. The seamstress glanced over her body still blocking her current work. "It's your lucky day I have an extra I'm not using... here!" she claimed extending her arm to drop one over the mannequin which had previously housed his clothing. She went back to work immediately after, busily working on what had to be Miki's swimsuit and jacket request. In the meantime, Hikari went about removing her outfit from the mannequin as well, happily having gathered the rest of things they would need for the beach like towels and the like. "Alright, just adding the finishing touches and... here!" this was the claim of the seamstress before she sat down Miki's outfit also on a mannequin. It was a white one piece swim suit with a tear drop sized opening in the front. Sleeve less with a low cut top and teardrop style large openings around the sides. The entire back of it was also missing leaving it just large enough to cover the most important parts of the lass tastefully but also leaving her mostly nude. The jacket of choice was midnight blue, with golden accents and a red jewel like decoration at the top of the right shoulder. It came complete with a hood lined in black fur.

Upon seeing this, Miki looked with a large grin on her face. "Sugoi! You do a pretty good job at this whole designing thing yourself, Hikari-chan!~ Arigatou, I love it..." she said happily. "And you, lady seamstress, this looks like my favorite jacket, arigatou," she said. This made Hikari beam with pride. "Hai hai! Glad you like it. And don't worry, I'll get it off there for ya' so you don't have to put down your egg." she mentioned moving to collect Miki's things as well. After which the seamstress took inventory and calculated the cost of everything here. "Alright you owe me 60 Gold pieces for everything. That includes the discount I owe your cute faced man friend." mentioned the seamstress with a smile. "Hai hai." said Miki this was about what she expected and she didn't have any problem paying for quality merchandise. In fact, she handed over a small sac of coins with 100 of them present. "Arigatou Gozaimasu!~" she said. The seamstress managed to look astounded but had only this one more thing to say. "Wait one moment, do you know about the Dragon Pond at the top of the falls?"

[Bloodedge]

"Sankyuu!" Kou said to the seamstress. He went on to claim the string and add it to his other items. Moments later, the seamstress completed her final task: Miki's swimsuit. Kou knew it to have been selected by Hikari, but if he didn't know any better, he'd assume it was made by another male. Indeed, it certainly fit many criteria for a male fantasy or two... or six. This was so much the case that Kou was left a bit dumbfounded. Much went on in his head about this bikini, but none of it could exit his mouth. As Hikari went about collecting Miki's swimsuit, Kou approached his sister with much skepticism as to how she managed such a thing. "Neh, Hikari... you didn't happen to see any weird books laying around the house back home, did you?" he asked of the lass.

[Apollymi]

Kou had nothing aloud to say about Miki's swimsuit, but he hadn't commented on Hikari's either, given this there wasn't anything apparently to worry about. For the most part, Miki was busy conversing with the seamstress, giving payments and the like. As such the conversation between Kou and Hikari would start again, this time with Kou asking if she'd perhaps seen some odd books lying about their old home. "Huh? Why would you ask that, Nii-san? Was there something there you didn't want me to see?" she asked with big imploring eyes. In this moment it would be like Hikari intended to stare though the boy's soul, almost challenging him to call her on where she might have gotten such ideas from in clothing design. With everything they needed all together she placed the items inside of a square atop a table and closed a certain bag like cloth around them having everything captured within the bag and content to be the one to carry it for whatever reason.

All the while, Miki's left brow rose. She knew that overpaying the seamstress tended to get her to give information, but it was normally weather related and the like, she knew nothing of this 'Dragon Pond'. "No, I've never heard of that, what does it do?" she asked of the lady who continued speaking about it, with a large grin on her face. "The Dragon Pond is an anomaly caused by the gods. It fills one of the craters at the top of the falls with water straight from the belly of a dragon. The path is treacherous and the crater only fills under the light of the moon. But if one makes it there, it is said that the Dragon Pond will bless those who bathe in it with the power of good fortune and vigor!" she said calmly before leaning back. "It's just a legend no one's confirmed it but... I figured a nice adventuring party like yourselves might enjoy something like that..."

[Bloodedge]

In response to Kou's query, Hikari had one of her own. Her stare, and the question itself, made Kou realize he'd backed himself into a corner with the initial question. If there was even the slightest chance she hadn't seen such books, then he'd be exposing her to the knowledge. "Err... no, not at all," he said, subconsciously leaning away from her piercing gaze. "I just figured, you know... maybe tou-san left something behind that you shouldn't have seen... being irresponsible and all..." Kou figured at this point that it was best if he left this conversation as quickly as possible, so he began taking measured steps in Miki's direction. Seeing that the blonde was locked into a discussion with the seamstress, though, he kept a reasonable amount of distance to avoid any unnecessary prying. Still, he offered a question. "Everything good?"