A Shocking Swim
The sudden loss of air, combined with a sensation I was experiencing for the first time—yet felt strangely familiar—left my body completely limp. I couldn't hear a thing. Everything around me felt so distant. The sound of the water flowing beneath us seemed to wash everything away. Slowly, I raised my hand and touched my lips. The sensation from underwater hadn't faded; they were still burning hot. My wet fingers traced my soft lips. But unfortunately, I couldn't recreate the feeling from moments ago. My gaze drifted to Shine's lips, curved into a playful smile.
"A prank...?"
"Yep. You were trying to play a prank on me, so I played one on you too."
As Shine moved her legs, my body sank slightly. My limp legs could no longer support my weight. As long as I was clinging to her to stay upright, if she pulled away, I would sink into the water. My body moved on instinct. Reaching out to keep from drowning, my hands tightly gripped Shine's body in front of me. My face pressed against her chest. Her soft breasts felt incredibly hot. Startled, I quickly pulled away from her. My legs were still weak, but at least I could support myself better than before. As I backed away from Shine, my back hit something hard, forcing me to stop. There was nowhere left to retreat. Shine watched me with a relaxed smile and stepped closer. She closed the distance I had just made. Her face drew dangerously near. I touched my burning cheeks and averted my eyes.
"You couldn't breathe in there, could you?"
"U-uh, yeah."
"How did it feel? When you couldn't breathe."
I cautiously looked at Shine and slowly opened my mouth, hoping she couldn't hear the frantic pounding of my heart. "I-it was painful. I was suffocating, and my vision went blurry..."
Splash— A small wave tickled my chest. Matching the rhythm of the water, Shine reached out and placed her hand on my chest. Her hand, clinging to my wet swimsuit, slid smoothly upward. The sensation was so ticklish that a shiver ran down my spine. Shine smiled, seemingly enjoying my reaction. Her hand slowly climbed until it brushed against my lips. Her wet fingers moved slowly. Everywhere they touched burned as if scorched by fire. I couldn't move. I was naturally being swept away by the atmosphere Shine had created. My body's reaction was strange too. Along with that familiar sensation, a faint anticipation began to bloom in a corner of my chest.
"How did it feel when I gave you air?"
Her small finger lightly pressed against my lips. At the soft touch, my mouth parted on its own. Shine's finger slipped inside naturally. My tongue moved as if it had been waiting for this familiar intruder. I mumbled, trying to answer her question, but the finger inside my mouth kept getting in the way. I moved my tongue to push her small finger out. The finger, which had been exploring the inside of my mouth, easily retreated along with the movement of my tongue.
"Haah..." A thin, sticky thread of saliva stretched from my mouth to her finger. She let out a soft chuckle and said, "Go on, tell me."
Everything around us felt so distant. It felt as if Shine and I were the only ones left in this space. "Tell me everything you felt when I gave you air."
I nodded and answered her. It was hot, and sticky. My chest felt tight. It tickled, and a sharp tingle shot down below my navel. The more I spoke, the deeper Shine's smile became. She asked me once more, with a smile even brighter than before. It was the exact same question. "Was the prank fun?"
Time ticked by as I failed to answer. After waiting for a long moment, Shine slowly reached out with both hands and cupped my cheeks. She gently brushed back my wet hair. Looking into my eyes, Shine said, "Shall we do it again?"
I couldn't answer. The girl reflected in her eyes was utterly flustered. A face flushed bright red, a chest rising and falling rapidly, and a faint sigh escaping slightly parted lips. But that was as far as it went. Before I could even answer, Shine slowly backed away. The touch on my cheeks faded, and her close breath gradually drifted away. And at that exact moment, as if on cue, someone burst out of the water.
"Yee-haw!" It was Rain. She had a strange piece of plastic attached to her head.
"R-Rain?" I could guess what that long, flat piece of plastic was meant for. Having suddenly popped up, Rain dove back under and began circling us. Thanks to the black plastic on her head, at a glance, she really did look like a swimming shark. If I couldn't see Rain right beneath the surface, it wouldn't have been strange to actually think so. After circling us for a bit without getting a reaction, Rain peeked her face above the water.
"I am a shark!" Rain shouted confidently. Where on earth would you find a shark with long, golden hair? Wouldn't a cute dolphin suit her better than a terrifying shark? I let out a small chuckle at the sight of her. The heat that had wrapped around my body was gone before I knew it. The agonizingly sweet sensation from just moments ago had vanished like a midnight dream.
Shine reached out toward the Rain-shark. But the Rain-shark slipped away and dove back into the water. And so, a game of tag began. Shine moved to catch Rain, but no matter how athletic Shine was, she was no match for Rain in the water. I tried to help Shine catch her, but Rain, swimming like a real shark, deftly dodged our hands. Having slipped past all our attempts, Rain swam in circles with her fin sticking out of the water. It felt like she was teasing us. If we were on land, she definitely would have been sticking her tongue out at Shine and me with a smug look on her face.
Taking a deep breath, I submerged myself. With a bubbling gurgle, everything around me fell silent. Just as expected, Rain was swimming hard underwater with a smug look on her face. She looked slightly surprised to see me suddenly dive in. But she quickly flashed a mischievous grin and began wriggling through the water. Rain's small body cut through the current as she approached me. I quietly waited for her. There was one rule when we played together: no using abilities. If we used our powers, the game wouldn't be fun anymore. Rain seemed to have temporarily forgotten that fact since we were underwater. Rain's cheeky smile drew closer and closer. She opened her mouth wide, as if she were going to bite me like a real shark. I've been waiting for you, Rain. I mouthed the words underwater. I didn't know if she could hear me, but even I could barely hear my own voice. Countless bubbles rushed past, blurring my vision. I reached my hand through them. Crackle! A blue light flashed from my outstretched hand. Just like I had done for Appleton. I channeled an electric shock that had the effect of relaxing the body. Just a bit stronger this time. Strong enough to make her completely lose all strength. Strong enough to make her go limp and float. Grinning fiercely, I activated my ability. The flashing blue light dazzled my eyes. Through the scattering bubbles, I saw Rain's horrified expression. Rain's body shuddered as if she were being electrocuted. But the shock on her face was soon replaced by a soft, blissful smile. Like someone having a happy dream, she slowly began to float to the surface. But a problem arose. I had used my ability underwater. Contrary to my intentions, the blue light spread in all directions, catching my eye. I quickly turned my head. Shine, who had been standing next to me, was also floating limply in the water. I quickly scrambled back to the surface.
"Gasp." I covered my mouth as I looked around. Every single student who had been in the water, just like Rain and Shine, was now floating limply. The pool water was slowly turning a strange color. I grabbed Shine and Rain and quickly dragged them out of the pool. The two limp girls shuddered intermittently.
"H-heeeeh..." Rain was not in a good state. Wriggling with a blissful smile, she looked exactly like a drunk person.
"Jeff..." Shine must have felt the same as Rain, but she was panting with her eyes narrowed.
"I-I'm sorry. I forgot we were in the water."
Shine looked up at me without a word. Or rather, she probably couldn't speak.
"W-was the prank fun?" I had no choice but to ask with an awkward laugh.
A massive commotion broke out at the pool. It was only natural, considering kids who had been playing perfectly fine suddenly started floating to the surface. Avoiding the gazes of the surrounding students, I dragged Shine and Rain into the changing room. The two, completely drained of strength, still couldn't even think of standing up.
"W-what should I do..." I mumbled, looking at the two limp girls. Rain was letting out occasional whimpers while spitting out water. The water spilling from her mouth was soaking the floor. Shine was desperately trying to move. Her face flushed bright red, she twitched and struggled. Eventually, she managed to push herself up and lean against a locker.
"What was... that just now?"
"T-that?"
"Yeah. What you did to Rain and me."
My hands twitched at Shine's question as I answered, "Y-you know, the thing I usually do for Appleton... to help her relax."
"That wasn't just relaxing," Shine said, letting out a sweet breath. Haaah... With a faint groan, her small chest shuddered. Shine desperately tried to stand up. But her trembling legs refused to support her, and she kept collapsing back onto the floor.
"Jeff."
"Yeah...?"
"Don't ever use that on me."
"Uh... okay."
"And..." Shine's gaze drifted over to Rain. Rain was still completely out of it. "Not on Rain, either."
"O-okay. Then what about Appleton?"
Shine's expression turned complicated. Slowly catching her breath, she spoke again. "You said it's what you usually do for Appleton, right?"
"Yeah, though I made it a bit stronger this time..."
"If it's what you normally do, that's fine."
"Ah. Okay." Watching Shine stumble, a strange sensation washed over me. Knowing she had ended up like this because of my touch made me feel... well, a bit weird. A ticklish feeling made me wiggle my toes.
"Let's go back," Shine said in a weak voice.
"What about the swim club?"
"It's awful."
I actually quite liked it, but she thought it was awful. Letting out a small sigh, I scooped up the twitching Rain in my arms and headed to the shower room. The shower room was completely empty. It was only natural, since class was still in session. After washing myself first, I thoroughly cleaned the collapsed Rain. Rain whimpered every time my hands touched her, making the atmosphere feel a bit strange, but I couldn't just leave her limp like this. As the warm water kept hitting her, Rain slowly began to regain consciousness.
"Jeff?"
"Yeah. It's Jeff."
Rain's blurry eyes began to look up at me. I held the showerhead over her face. Whoosh— Rain smiled as the cool stream of water poured over her. "Is this a dream?"
"Why do you think it's a dream?"
"Because Jeff is washing me."
I let out a soft chuckle at Rain's words and lathered her body with plenty of body wash. I spent quite a while carefully washing Rain's body, and then Shine, who had finished showering first, walked over.
"Shine too?"
"Rain." Shine poked Rain in the armpit. Startled, Rain jumped straight up.
"Rain, you could move?" I stared at the suddenly standing Rain in surprise. Since she had been so limp and helpless, I thought she still couldn't move her body, but she had just been hiding the fact that she could. Covered in soap suds, Rain laughed awkwardly and stepped under the shower stream.
After finishing our showers, we changed back into our regular clothes. I looked down at the damp swimsuits. The ones Shine, Rain, and I had worn. Where should we put these? While I stood there hesitating, Rain suddenly reached out and grabbed the swimsuits. In an instant, all the water soaked into the fabric drained out. Having completely stripped them of moisture, Rain stuffed the now-light swimsuits into her pocket. Patting her pocket with a satisfied expression, Rain noticed my gaze and laughed awkwardly.