Hara nodded with a smile as they shook their hand. "Well then, Ushida-san. The pleasure is mine." She chuckled softly when she heard the grunt from the man. She watched as her new friend prepared herself with the equipment. "Um.. sure. I'm not very good at it though. Would you mind teaching me about diving and snorkeling?"

Kasumi nodded. "Sure. I don't think it's too hard to learn. I was able to pick up on everything back when I was little." She went over to her bag, taking off her shirt and shorts so she was now in her swimsuit. She then zipped open the bag, taking out a couple of diving masks, snorkels, and swim fins.

Hara nodded and dropped her bag on Kasumi's beach blanket. She applied some lotion to her skin before pull of her sweat shirt and shorts, so she was now in her swimsuit. She peered curiously over Kasumi's shoulder to looked what she just pulled out of her bag. She chuckled softly and smirked slightly. "Glad you brought additional equipment so I didn't need to rent any," she said happily.

Kasumi chuckled "I guess I just got a little over-prepared." She sat down and grabbed a pair of the fins, pulling them over her feet. Once finished she grabbed a diving mask and snorkel, adjusting the latter onto one of the mask's straps. "I know this is going to sound a little gross, but you're going to want to spit inside your mask and rub it in until its clear. The moisture from it will help keep it on your face." Once that was over, she pulled the straps onto the back of her head, then lowered the front of the mask onto her face, gently pressing on it to make sure it fit and would stay on. Once she was certain of it she raised it up to her forehead, now ready to head into the water. She looked back to Hara. "How are you doing?"

Yusuke: *He sat down on his beach towel which he'd laid beside the girls set up, he crammed an umbrella into the sand next to him and laid down on the full-blanket-sized beach towel, he sighed and sawched the girls walk to the break and he chuckled before laying back completely* I guess I can hang around for a while...

Hara was looking curiously at Kasumi like five-year old kid and then began mimicking her movements. She sat down on the beach blanket which Yusuke laid down, mostly because there is still some free space for her to sit down there. She pulled the fins over her feet, following Kasumi's example and picked the diving mask and snorkel from next to her. She followed Kasumi's suggestion and made sure that the mask is fit on her face and comfortable before raised it up to her forehead. She looked to Yusuke and poked him on the stomach. "Just don't forget to go to your therapist later, old man." She teased with a smirk on her face before stood up and walked over to Kasumi. "Everything is ready, Sir!" she joked.

Kasumi looked all over at Hara, who looked pretty cute now decked out in her bathing suit and the snorkel gear. With all the excitement she was exhibiting , Kasumi couldn't help but start getting excited herself. "Let's go in then! This is going to be a lot of fun!" She started walking toward the ocean, staying close by Hara to help just in case she had difficulty walking on the sand with the fins on her feet. "When you were talking with your friend earlier did you mean by therapist? Is he okay?" From the teasing way she'd been addressing him it didn't seem like he was under anything life-threatening at least. After moving a few more feet she finally started to step into the ocean waters, doing her best not to tremble too much from the initial feeling as the cold water touched her bare skin. It took her seconds to get used to it and she continued slowly stepping into the water, stopping when it had started to reach up to her thighs. "This looks like a good place to start off," she said, glancing over at Hara. As she did, she pointed over to the bottom end of her snorkel. "Remember, when you have the end piece in your mouth, just make sure to breathe slow and steady. You should be used to the feeling pretty quick." She then turned all the way to face Hara. "I'm going to be holding your hand the whole time we're underwater so we don't get separated. At any point if something's wrong, or you just want us to surface to tell me something, squeeze my hand as hard as you can, okay?"

Walking on the sand with fins felt funny, like you're walking with over-sized shoes, kick then step, kick then step and continue with the same pattern. Hara looked over to Kasumi and just chuckled. "Well, his mental is alright if that's what you're asking. He just get some wounds from surfing and scratched by the coral yesterday. But I think he's fine enough to enjoy this beach." She chuckled again and began stepping into the cold ocean waves. "Whoa... Feels nice.." she murmured and continue walked in until the water at her thigh level. She nodded and grabbed Kasumi's hand with a smile on her face. "Okay. Let's go!"

((@ MiyuFan, By all these suggestion and techniques, I begin to wonder if you're really a snorkeling instructor? XD))

Kasumi smiled at Hara's comment on the water feeling good, softly splashing the water a little with her free hand "I agree. It's a little cold, but also really refreshing." Kasumi then raised her hand out of the water up to where her diving mask was, pausing for a moment as she felt a nice, cool breeze pass by her. "It feels really appropriate for a place as nice as this." She then lowered the mask back down over her face. "I just wish I'd brought a camera with me," she stated, pretending to sound more disappointed than she really was. "Oh well. Maybe next time" she added with giggle. She then placed the snorkel in her mouth, taking breaths to make sure she had it in correctly. Once she was completely ready she dove into the water, letting herself float along just under the surface, using the extra kick from her fins to gently swim through the ocean floor. Every now and then she would look over at Hara to make sure that she was handling herself well underwater.

((No, but I have read up on it ^^))

((Haha, if you keep this up you'll be a great roleplayer!))

Hara was playing with the water softly as Kasumi splashed on her, she chuckled and splashed back with a giggle. She straightened up and lowered her diving mask that Kasumi kind-heartedly lend to her. When she heard the disappointment tone she chuckled. She offered a camera to her with a wink, she have planned to bring camera along since this is her first diving experience. Hara then dove at the same time as Kasumi dove in, trying to not be left behind. She was gripping Kasumi's hand a little too tight because of the excitement. Her feet kicking up and down, she inwardly laugh. She felt like she was a fish! She looked to her new friend and winked again, showing she was happy.

Before they dove Kasumi had accepted the camera that Hara had kindly offered her, one that was underwater-proof no less, and used a strap on it to keep it on her wrist so it would not get lost. As the two girls continued to swim underwater, she could see the expression in Hara's eyes through her mask. The look made it clear that she was enjoying herself a lot, even winking at her. Kasumi nodded and winked back at her. As the two continued to swim on, the ocean floor gradually began to grow bigger and bigger. More rocks and plants and even some fish were starting to become visible. Eventually she slowed down, moved in close to Hara, pointing the camera to the two of them, and snapped a picture, before kicking again to continue swimming. After moving on for another few minutes, Kasumi stopped swimming forward and changed her position so she was floating upright, grabbing the camera and snapping some pictures of the fish swimming around them. Then she pointed it at Hara, motioning to her to suggest she make a pose.

Hara's eyes widened in awe as she noticed the ocean floor gradually got wider and bigger. Her eyes followed the view of under ocean life. Haha, that words reminds me of mermaids movie, she thought and inwardly chuckled. She touched some fish gently that passed by her and smiled. It was amazing! She looked forward just in time for Kasumi to snapped a picture, making her have a funny face in the camera. She inwardly giggled and then struck a pose when Kasumi pointed the camera at her. She made a peace sign with one hand and the other pointed to some fish that she thought amazing. Once she snapped a picture, Hara swim forward and take the camera from her before mentioned for Kasumi to make a pose while she pointed the camera at her.

After Kasumi took the picture, Hara took back the camera and motioned for her to do the same. She smiled and nodded, putting one hand on her hip and her other behind her neck. After Hara took the photo Kasumi turned and saw that a fairly large fish that was about half the size of her head had swam up close directly in front of her eyes, with the lens being the only thing that separated it from her face. Though it was harmless, the shock of it being that unexpectedly close to her wound up taking her by surprise, making her nearly jump back into Hara's arms while also making drop her snorkel out of her mouth, forcing her to hold her breath so she wouldn't accidentally swallow any water. As the fish swam off she looked at Hara smiled, giggling inward to herself. She was about to put her snorkel back to her lips when it occurred to her that she should check out just what their distance from land was. She took Hara's hand again and with her other pointed up above, swimming to the surface and taking in air. As Kasumi floated above water she started looking around until she spotted the shore. It was fairly far away by now; with anyone on the beach looking like tiny specks. "Wow. We're farther than I thought we were."

Hara have to chuckle when she see her friend shocked when she and the fish was engaged in staring contest and when she jumped back to her, it knocked her back slightly as well. She saw Kasumi's smiled and began giggling inwardly as well. She looked up when Kasumi motioning above, she just nodded and began to swim up to the surface, their distance to surface wasn't too far luckily so Kasumi doesn't have to hold her breath for too long. She shook off the water from her head as they finally reached the surface. "Yeah. Guess the diving really make me forget the time." She looked down into the water again before resurfacing her face. "The view was amazing!!" She said cheerfully.

Kasumi glanced over at Hara, still amazed at everything down below them. "I know. It's so easy to forget about when you're down there. Once I was down so long that I didn't realize how much time had past until it was starting to get dark," she said with a chuckle. She looked down into the water as well, surfacing in moments. "The area down below should probably be our limit for how far we swim out today." They didn't have anything like an inflatable boat with them, so they would have to swim back all their own. It would be a mistake to tire themselves out too badly before they reached the shore. "Oh, by the way: you were incredible down there! I know I said you should get used to it very quickly, but you took to everything within seconds," she exclaimed, putting a congratulatory hand on Hara's shoulder. "You have some excellent diving skills!"

"Ooo.." Hara said, responded to Kasumi's first statement. Though she visibly pouted when she said this is will be their limit for how far the swim out today. She still wanna see much more! "Oh? Already? That's too bad..." She sighed before smiling lightly at the praise. "Oh really? Thank you so much! When I was so interested, I tend to learn about it fast. It's just me being me." She scratched the back of her head nervously, still embarrassed because of the praise. An idea suddenly make itself known in her head and Hara snapped her finger. "Then, how about we swim back there on a race? Whoever lose should follow the winner's order for a day!" She said enthusiastically.

"A race, huh?" Kasumi looked at the shore, then back at Hara. She had really proved herself so far during their swim. Something like this would be a nice "exam" on her first snorkeling lesson. "Sounds like fun! You're on! And just to make it interesting, as a rule we should only swim underwater the entire time. If either of us surfaces, than she forfeits." Kasumi glanced down into the waters below her, noticing a rock down below. She swam over so that she was floating right above it, as it would serve as their starting line, then motioned for Hara to follow her to it. She lifted her mask up to her forehead again for the moment. "Alright. On go, we put our masks and snorkels back on, dive, and swim straight for shore. Got it?"

((welcome back!))

Yusuke: *He saw the girls conversing and pointing to shore so he stood and waved a bit to confirm that they were returning* Oh, man... *He sighed* It's about time...! They've been at this for a while!

Hara nodded excitedly, it has been a long time ago the last time she have a nice race with anyone. And the one who seemed like a nice rival for her before, right now was sick ((aka Yusuke)). "Okay!" She said enthusiastically before swam over to Kasumi and smiled lightly. "Understood." She gave a thumb up and began to let her body float on the water on horizontal line instead of the vertical one she have been in before. She pushed her mask up to make the condition fair and square. "Alright. Wanna count?" She asked her friend.

Kasumi nodded. "Sure. One request though: could you let me have your camera again for a second?" After taking the camera Kasumi swam close by to Hara and put one arm around her, then pointed the camera back at the two of them, all while smiling as wide as she could."Smile for the camera!" After giving Hara a few seconds to react, she then took a photo of them ready for their big swim off. She then handed the camera back to Hara. "No matter who wins, let's both do our absolute best on this, okay?" After that she put one hand on her mask and another on the snorkel nearby. "3... 2... 1... go!"

At that she pulled her mask back down and placed her snorkel back in her mouth, diving underwater with a power kick. She swam as fast as she could, using all the strength in her legs she could muster to move, all while taking appropriate breaths so she wouldn't weaken herself. For a moment she considered intentionally slowing to give Hara the lead or even the win, but decided against it. Right before the race started she'd promised Hara that they'd both be putting their all into this. If she threw it in any way that wouldn't be fair to Hara. After several minutes Kasumi finally reached where the area where the sand was close enough to walk on if she chose to, around the same area they've started diving at. At that point she started looking around to see if Hara had made it to the same spot already, or if she was still behind her.

Hara nodded at her request and pass her camera that she have been holding on for a while to Kasumi and watched as Kasumi swam over to her and swung one arm around her, then making a pose. She guessed she would make her pose for the camera again, and she was right. She chuckled before smiled and made a pose in front of the camera. She wasn't like her schoolmates who love to selfie so she didn't think much and put some special moments to a photo. So she was grateful that Kasumi indirectly reminded her to put the moments of her very first diving experience to photos, so she could remember it. The camera snapped and Hara accepted the camera that was given back to her. She positioned herself again for their big race and waiting for the command. "3... 2... 1... go!" She could hear Kasumi and on go, she quickly pulled her mask and snorkel back down, position it so it will be comfortable when she swam.

She dived in and she used her strength that she could gather to produce one good start kick. She used the style that she developed on her own to make her swim her fastest and she was almost have the lead a few times but apparently Kasumi was better than her. She changed her swimming style that took her for a moment to adjust before shooting forward. With this style, she was able to take the lead from Kasumi for a few minutes before Kasumi sped off and take the lead from her again. She smiled, knowing they already promised to give this race their all, she tried again to win. A few minutes later, she saw Kasumi raised her head from the water, her little mind accused that Kasumi forfeits and Hara was the winner. But she then looked down and noticed they already near the shore. She arrived at their diving spot a few seconds later than Kasumi.

Yusuke: *When they reached shore he helped each girl up and draped a towel over them to warm them up and let them dry* Hey, if you two wanna hang out more we could head to my place at the inn we can get drnks and food too. Wanna come with me? It's still early. *He smiled and pointed to the inn whose lights were now flaring to life under the amber skylight*

Only a few seconds after Kasumi had started looking for where Hara was, she finally noticed her friend pop up only a few seconds later. She crawled over to Hara, gently hugging her. "You were incredible," she said, still trying to catch her breath a bit. "We were neck and neck nearly the entire time. The way you're going, the next time we do that you'll be miles ahead of me." And she was completely serious, as she hadn't seen anyone that skilled develop so fast. Hara had to be some sort of swimming prodigy. Sitting down on the wet sand, Kasumi pulled her mask back up, then looked back to Hara. "So be honest: how was your first time snorkeling?" She kicked her fins a little as a few small waves past her.

Before she could continue talking to Hara much longer, Kasumi heard some soft footsteps in the sand behind her. Turning around, she saw that Hara's friend had come up to where they were, offering .to help them up as well as some towels. After grabbing his hand and pulling herself up, she accepted one of the towels and used it to dry off as best she could before slinging it over her shoulder. As he offered to take the girls to his part of the inn, Kasumi smiled. "Oh,thank you! I wouldn't mind getting something right now. We would just need to drop our gear off first. We'd probably look a little silly with this on the entire time," she said with giggle, raising her left foot slightly to indicate the diving fin still covering it. "Say, that reminds me. I don't think I ever learned what your name was before" she exclaimed, offering him her hand.

Yusuke: *He smiled* Sakurai, Yusuke Sakurai. Nice to meet you. *He smiled again and placed his hands on his hips and sighed* I'll pack up here while you two change. *He started gathering all of their things up*

Hara smiled and blushed at the compliment. "Thanks! You're amazing as well! Let's work hard so we can have this exciting race again. Your skill on diving was awesome! It could benefit you one day, like you can be instructor and get paid." She grinned naughtily. "I hope you can stay here though, I think we would make great friends!" She chuckled as she take off her mask and snorkel and lead her back to her beach blanket. She smirked and wrapped an arm around Kasumi's shoulder. "Honestly? It will be the best snorkeling experience I ever had! Even with my entire life that I spend in this town, I never knew how beautiful the undersea of the ocean of my own town. Thanks to you, I discovered that now." She smiled and removed her arm from her friend's shoulder.

Hara looked over Kasumi's shoulder and saw Yusuke walked towards them. She smiled at him as towel was draped over her shoulder, using it to dry herself, avoiding the cold as much as possible. When she finished, she wrapped the towel around her shoulder again and began to notice her friends was talking. She mostly will go where the crowd would, so of course she would go with Yusuke and Kasumi. "Thanks, Yusuke-san!" She grabbed Kasumi's hand and lead them to their beach blanket to take their clothes change and then walked to the public bathroom where they could have a shower and change their clothes.

Kasumi used the chance to take off her fins and mask, leaving them near herbag. Hara was going to lead them to an area where they could shower after being underwater, so she grabbed the t-shirt she'd had on earlier and then followed Hara into the bathroom. After hanging both the towel and her shirt she found a nearest shower stall and turned the water on. It did feel pretty refreshing; as much as she loved swimming it was nice to get the saltwater out of her hair. She looked at Hara who was nearby. "By the way... the diving gear you used earlier? If you want, it's yours."

Yusuke: *He smiled and waved as they walked to the showers he kneeled down and gathered everything when he finished packing everything he walked over to a small stone wall where he sat and waited*

Hara followed Kasumi to the nearest shower stall and settled with the next shower stall beside Kasumi's. She glanced at her and smiled brightly. "Really? Are you okay if I take it from you? I mean .. it's yours and all." Hara asked shyly. Sure she'll treasure her first diving gear that bring her down to the sea for the first time, but she never felt really good taking something from a stranger. Sure Kasumi is a friend, but they just met and all, so she didn't felt right to accept things from someone she just met. Hara washed the saltwater out of her hair and body, feeling her body refreshed again.

Kasumi nodded. "It's okay. I have more than just those. When I was younger I grabbed a bunch of different sets based on whatever color or design they had, so I think I have about five different pairs of gear left. " It didn't take her much longer to finish up. As she was was finished up right around this time she leaned back up against a wall, waiting for Hara to finish as well. "Though I guess part of that's because I just loved going onto the ocean so much. I also wanted a few spare pairs of gear since I went swimming so much, just in case I wore any of them out."

Yusuke: *He was gulping down two medium-sized pills of Ibuprofen (Painkillers) whilst awaiting the girls* Ugh... Being injured sure sucks...

Hara dabbed the towel to her body as she finished washed the saltwater out of her body and hair. She took her time to change into one of her favorite attire, blue T-shirt with Jeans that ripped at knee, completed with her grey jacket that left unzipped. "I see." She murmured as she urged Kasumi back to their where their beach blanket is. "I was wondering.. how long are you going to stay here? I have promised you take I'll take you to surf together, but since the day is coming to an end I think I'll take you tomorrow. So ... I was just hoping ... maybe you'll stay .. at least until tomorrow?" She laughed nervously.

Yusuke: *He groaned a bit as he got up since his back hurt and he'd developed a few extra scratches all over his body while surfing* Are we all ready?

Kasumi toweled herself off, then pulled on her shirt once she was 100% sure she was completely dry. "I only live a few miles away, so it takes about 20, maybe 25 minutes to get here by bike. I can come back pretty early tomorrow." As she exited the bathroom she heard Hara mention their planned surfing lesson. "I haven't forgotten. I know you said that you weren't too good, but if you can at least keep me sitting upright on one of those boards for more than 20 seconds you're a great teacher in my book. Besides, we need to go on another diving trip soon and head further out next time." Especially since now Hara didn't need any handholding. She returned to her towel and grabbed her shorts and sandals from earlier, throwing them back on. She then grabbed her things and walked to where Yusuke was. "I guess so. I have everything on me. Are you good, Hara?"

Hara chuckled. "Well, I got school tomorrow so I think I'll be here at after-school hours." She perked up again as she mentioned about their diving session. The mere thought alone was enough to make her excited. "Okay! I'll make sure to brought my camera with me tomorrow! Yay! Deeper sea!" She cheered happily as they walked back to the beach blanket. She put her wet clothes and her new-given gear into her bad and then sling it over her shoulder. "I came here by bike. I don't know about you or Yusuke though. Can we maybe get my bike later?" she asked lightly.

Yusuke: I drove. I parked my car not too far away, I don't actually need it since I only live 15 minutes away but I don't wanna hafta carry all my stuff back and forth. Besides I just stay here in my suite usually so I can just come out to the sea in the morning... The College is on break for renovations right now so I'm free until next month.

Kasumi pointed to the direction she'd walked from earlier in the day. "My own bike's just a few yards from here." She overheard Hara mention her own bike, and how it was a little further away. "If you want, we can get it right now." It's not like they couldn't leave it near the inn.

Yusuke: That might not be such a bad idea.

Hara nodded and then took a hold of Kasumi's and Yusuke's arm to get them start moving. "Come on, the sooner we get our bike, the sooner we could mess Yusuke's place." She chuckled before rushing off to the place she parked her bike in, which was in the direction Kasumi pointed earlier.

Yusuke: Whoa! *Although he seemed surprised he wasn't but he let himself be dragged along*

It looked like Hara agreed with her, as before she knew it Kasumi was being half-dragged to where the bikes were. She looked over at Yusuke after Hara brought up the idea of "messing up" his place when they went inside. "Don't worry. We're not actually going mess your place up... at least I don't think we are," she told him, chuckling nervously. She noticed that they were walking in the direction that she had come from earlier in the day, meaning both she and Hara must have left their bikes near the same area. As they got closer to the lot, she saw where she'd stored her bike earlier. She didn't know what Hara's looked like though, so she didn't know whether or not they'd have to go on a little longer. "Is your bike anywhere nearby?"

Yusuke: *He released Hara's hand and walked on his own* Hopefully we can get this done soon, looks like a showers gonna come down on us... *He looked to the sky and sighed when he saw the clouds pulling over into a sheet of gray*

(Can I join?)

((Sure!))

((This board died, didn't it? ))

(Yeah, kinda)

((Sorry for disappearing! School is a mass of pure evil.))

"Yeah." Hara answered Kasumi's question and pointed to a direction where her bike is. "Can you please wait for a minute?" She broke off into a run and quickly approached a bike which colored in blue. She put some of the plastics into her basket before swung her feet and quickly ride the bike to where Kasumi and Yusuke currently is. "Sorry for the waiting." She grinned at Yusuke and chuckled. "Oh yeah, don't worry. We won't mess your place up ... I will." She chuckled and ride along with Kasumi for a while. "By the way, where's your car, Yusuke? I could give you a ride if you want. I agree with you, if we don't get some shelter soon, we will be caught up in rain."

Yusuke: It's just up the hill, it's kinda tedious if you try accessing the lot on a bike. I'll go get it, it'll only take about a minute. *He walked off up th hill, returning in a mid-sized four door* Hop in.

Hara raised an eyebrow as she check out the car. "Not so bad," she smirked and climbed into the car. "Kasumi, come on!"

Yusuke: *After they both got in and Hara's bike was loaded onto the roof rack, safely, he drove them to the Hotel, they got in just before the storm hit. Lucky them.* Whoo! Close call wouldn't you say? *He pulled his hair back from the front as it was slightly damp and became limp, drooping over his eyes*

Kasumi managed to locate the spot that she had parked her own bike in, since it was fairly close to where they were waiting. "Hope you don't mind me adding this," she mentioned once Hara returned and added her own bike. When that was over she quickly got into the car, noticing the approaching storm coming herself. Once they were at the hotel she looked outside. That wouldn't be something she'd be riding through anytime soon. "Do either of you two have a phone? I think I'm going to need to call my folks to explain why I'm going to be late..."