Your best or not at all

Hey! The name's Seijuro Mikoshiba, former captain of the Samezuka swim team. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. (Indie RP Blog for Seijuro Mikoshiba from Free!) OC/Multiverse Friendly. Tracking Tag: enthusiasticcaptain

[fidelisecheneidae]

enthusiasticcaptain replied to your post: whY ARE YOU AWAKE AT THIS UNHOLY HOUR

New work schedule. C: I work from 11pm to 7:30am, Sunday-Thursday from now on. I’ve barely had any calls, so basically I’m just getting paid to… stay up late… and use tumblr… it’s really weird.

[enthusiasticcaptain]

Yeah, it's 1:25 or so. I went to sleep a while ago, but I woke up because my flatmates are playing a drinking game. They're trying to get their party on before school starts, I guess. Sounds like you've got a sweet shift, I'd trade you.

[filiaxmaris]

[filiaxmaris]

For a moment, Hamako was convinced that maybe she should back down from this.  She was getting a little exhausted, so this probably wouldn’t be her best time.  But… maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing?  Maybe if this pushed her back towards something she loved, losing tremendously would be totally worth it.  Her eyes fell on the red head beside her, who was already moving. They were seriously going to race. Hama took a deep breath and nodded, "Breast is fine by me."  Her hands trembled as she pulled herself out of the water, but she wasn’t going to turn back.  It wasn’t like this was a serious race, it didn’t mean anything.  It was just a silly match between her and a guy that she’d just started talking to.  

Even if she did lose, if she decided she didn’t want to ‘take her goggles off the shelf’, so to speak, she didn’t really have to.  It was just a bet made in jest.  

"We can start at the five,"  she said, stretching her arms out before getting herself into a proper starting pose,  ”both of us.  Don’t you dare give me an advantage.  I might be a girl, but I can tolerate a total loss if that’s what it’s going to be.  Don’t get cocky, though.  I might’ve been swimming all day, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m going to take this 100% seriously.”  She took another calming breath, watching the clock.

[enthusiasticcaptain]

"I'm not really in the position to argue with someone who sounds that determined, so an equal race it is."  Sei cast a quick glance to Hamako, smiling, and then focused his attention on the clock.  "At the five, then, we'll race wholeheartedly."  It wasn't too long after those words left his mouth that the hand of the clock snapped to the five, and a whistle blew in Seijuro's mind.  

The former captain launched from his starting position and straight into race mode.   Hamako seemed like the kind of person who could handle it even if she lost, and he had no intentions of letting her off the hook when it came to this bet, so he put everything he had into his stroke.

Before he knew it he'd made it to the turn, and for a moment he saw the other swimmer coming up her lane. Despite what he was certain was an honest effort on Hamako's part, he'd managed to get a decent advantage on her. It would take a serious push if she had any intentions of beating him. The girls warning to not get cocky rang through his head. Even thought he was almost certain he'd win right now, he wouldn't relax until he'd made it back to the other end of the lane--he owed her that much honest dedication.

Seijuro pushed himself hard until his hand made contact and his finish was sealed. He wasn't surprised to turn and see that he'd beaten her, but he was surprised that even after swimming so much Hamako had managed to finish that race without her time suffering too badly. As soon as she finished alongside him in her lane, Seijuro smiled and laughed. "I guess this means you have to considering returning to the competative circut, right?"

[filiaxmaris]

sms; Did I leave my old club jacket on you when I took you home?

[text: big brother] Either that, or I joined the Samezuka swim team and don't remember...

[enthusiasticcaptain]

sms; Take care of it until I see you next time?

sms; Feel free to wear it, too.

[fidelisecheneidae]

"…does he… have one of those…?”

[enthusiasticcaptain]

"Pinch the bridge of his nose with one hand, and pat him on the head with the other. It'll probably shut him up."

[fidelisecheneidae]

"I haven’t slept in a week."

[enthusiasticcaptain]

"I take it you haven't found Mo's snooze button yet, huh?"

[enthusiasticcaptain]

No offense but "I don't know OCs well so I won't roleplay with them" is the laziest excuse I've ever heard.  You're basically saying "I don't know my character well enough to figure out how they'd interact with this person".

[filiaxmaris]

[filiaxmaris]

The sudden frown on the other’s face made Hamako feel even sadder, and she shifted uncomfortably in place. She had just met this guy, but she already felt like her not swimming anymore truly bothered him, and that was strange to say the least. "I’d be a terrible gymnast…" she commented casually, trying to redirect the conversation. "I’m flexible and all that, but I’m totally uncoordinated on land. My older sisters used to joke and say ‘mom must’ve had Hama-chan out at sea! She was born with no landlegs to speak of!’ whenever I tried to do something that didn’t involve water." The blonde laughed, hoping that would redirect the conversation but… no cigar.

"You want to… race?" Her voice was confused, but there was a small glimmer of interest there. She brought a hand up to her cheek and tapped her own face in thought, looking away to try and figure things out. A race… couldn’t hurt, right? Especially with a stake like that. Maybe if he won… it would be the push she needed to try and reach back out again. "I’ll race you, but if I win… you have to teach me how to swim butterfly! Even if it means you have to come back here and meet me every single week! Asking me to consider going back into competitive swimming is a big commitment, so you’ll have to commit to something equally big!"

[enthusiasticcaptain]

Sei smiled at her attempt to redirect the conversation--it was a cute story, and he'd have to bother her more about it later, but as for now he was rather one-tracked in his focus.  He really wanted to get this girl back into the water in a more permanent capacity than just swimming on her own.  She had real talent and passion, and it was unfortunate to see that going to waste.  

"Yeah, I want to race." He confirmed, moving his goggles down more properly onto his eyes as if to affirm that they were doing this, "The stakes sound fine to me, you want to improve your butterfly stroke?  Win this race, and I'll take time out of my schedule to come visit you at least once a week until you've got a fly you can be proud of."  He grinned, grabbing the edge of the pool and moving to get into a starting position.  "Your breast stroke was pretty impressive, how about we race breast?  I'll even give you a three second advantage, if you want."

[filiaxmaris]

I should just retitle this blog: one girl’s fruitless quest to find someone to teach her how to do the butterfly stroke.

[enthusiasticcaptain]

don't worry shhhhh he'll make an extra deal with her after the race that girl will learn to butterfly we will train her like movie montage style karate kid here we go seijuro will make sure little sister learns that stroke even if he has to go ask someone else to tutor her.

[enthusiasticcaptain]

[ offline ]

[filiaxmaris]

[filiaxmaris]

  Hamako grinned like an idiot upon seeing his smile, and gave the water a celebratory slap when he spoke up.  ”Awesome!  I totally made the imaginary team I was trying out for!  Yahoo!”  She let out a small giggle and bobbed in the water, but then frowned and shook her head.  ”There’s really no reason for me to worry about replacing my suit so I can improve my time,I don’t swim on my high school team.  I don’t swim on any teams, really.  I haven’t swam competitively in a while.  And even at that… the last time I did was on a synchro team." 

She shifted slightly and sighed, leaning her head against the edge of the pool, “I had to quit because I didn’t have time for it, before.  I guess I’ve got the time now, but I’m sort of nervous.  I’m rusty, you know?  I think it would be weird to swim with people again.  Even weirder if I enjoyed it and then had to quit again.”  She straightened up wtih a smile,  “Call it apprehension or low self esteem or something, I guess.”

[enthusiasticcaptain]

"Huh? You have the time but you still haven't gone back to swimming?" Sei frowned, watching how the girl who had seemed so lively only a moment ago deflated when they hit the topic of her not really swimming with anyone anymore.  It made him a little sad to hear--the way she swam really made him feel like it was something she should be doing, and it felt like a real shame that she wasn't.  "Synchro... oh!  That explains the graceful way you swam, I guess.  And here I thought you were just a gymnast or something."  Despite the cheerful way he said that, it was still bothering him the way she'd spoken about quitting, and an idea was forming in his head.  

"Say, lane three..." It wasn't that he couldn't recall her name, just that this was probably going to be her new nickname, "...I really think it's a shame that you're not pushing yourself and swimming competitively.  I can tell from the look on your face that it's something you loved.  So I've got a proposition for you.  How about you and me race?  If I win, you have to agree to consider going back to some sort of competitive swimming, and if you win.  Er... we'll think of something."

[filiaxmaris]

[filiaxmaris]

Hamako’s eyes sparkled immediately at the suggestion that she show him her backstroke, and she bobbed in the water excitedly, suddenly full of energy. She was a showman, by trade, and it had been forever since she had really gotten to ‘perform’. Even if this was just her backstroke, and not one of her artistic routines, the thought that someone wanted to watch her in the water made her very happy. “I would love to!” she answered excitedly, already working on getting into a starting position. “But I should warn you… don’t blink, or you’ll miss it!”

Without missing a beat, she set off down the lane at an almost breakneck pace, gliding through the water with every ounce of power and grace she could pour into it. Her mind went blank—not a single worry or care—and even though her heart was still in the performance, she was suddenly unaware of anything else in the world. She didn’t think. She just swam.

And before she knew it, it was time for the turn. Knowing that she was being watched but not necessarily timed, she may have exaggerated her flip just a little bit, pushing herself with the same kind of flourish she might’ve given a grand finale when she was with her old team. It occurred to her for a moment that she was getting a little drag from something (she hadn’t replaced her suit in a while… was it too loose somewhere and she hadn’t noticed?) but she brushed it off, trying to think of nothing but the finish as she neared the other side of the pool.

“How about it…?"  She asked as she righted herself in lane three beside him, leaning against the edge of the pool with a smile, ”Does your critical eye approve?”

[enthusiasticcaptain]

He had to admit that as the former captain of a quality swimming team, Seijuro had seen quite a few people swim in his life.  When the cutie set off down lane three, however, he saw something different in her stroke.  A flourish, on top of her speed.  Something graceful and captivating.  He found that he was holding his breath by the time she hit the turn, watching her technique with interest.  It wasn't the fastest backstroke he had ever seen, but it was definitely impressive.

And she was captivating to watch in a way that he found few swimmers were.

By the time the blonde returned to Seijuro's end of the pool, he was waiting with a smile.  "My critical eye says that if this were a tryout, you would've just made the team." He laughed, and motioned to her with one of his thumbs.  "The back of your suit has a bit of drag, I bet you'd improve your time a little if you had a newer suit with a bit more compression.  So what school team is lucky enough to have you on it?  With a stroke like that, there's no way that you're just a recreational swimmer."  

[enthusiasticcaptain]

Hamako... why haven't I gotten... a cute bento... of affection yet...

[enthusiasticcaptain]

Everything was bright.  So, so very bright.  And she didn’t remember where she was, or how she got there or… why her head hurt so bad.  But there was something kinda… reddish in her vision.  So maybe…

"D-did we…get to eat… the biggest red bean mochi… in history…?” 

It didn’t make any sense, but nothing really made sense to her right now.  Which meant that the answer to the question was no, she didn’t remember what happened.

"I honestly wish the answer to that one was 'yes', but..."

"...you must've hit your head harder than I thought.  Don't move, okay?"  A worried expression crossed his face as he reached down to brush her hair a bit out of her face.  He had situated her on a park bench as soon as it had happened, but that didn't change that this was the most terribly this could've gone.  "You and me were walking in the park--do you know who I am?--and you climbed up on the ledge of the park fountain to see some birds..."  he motioned over to the offending fountain, working on getting his old team jacket off.  "But you slipped and fell in."  He laid his jacket over her with a sigh.  Maybe he should take her to get that looked at...

[filiaxmaris]

[filiaxmaris]

Hamako had become so engrossed in her own complete and endless shame that she had almost kicked off by the time the other responded to her. Luckily he didn’t hesitate too much, and managed to get her attention before she swam away. His smile eased her tension and she let out a sigh of relief before… turning bright red. H-had he just complimented her brea—OH! He’s making a play on the same mistake you just made, you doofus! “Thank you!” She said, quickly bowing her head and splashing herself inadvertently, “Although, really, if you think my breast is nice you should see my back!”

Moving to accept the offered hand, Hamako bobbed in the water slightly, not needing to stabilize herself on the edge of the pool.  ”Ogawa Hamako, and the pleasure is all mine… lane two.”

[enthusiasticcaptain]

It was taking everything Seijuro had not to laugh at the cutie in lane three, as she proved with every motion that cutie was definitely the right word for her. The slight color on her cheeks only served to pique his interest even further, and he found the way she accidentally splashed herself quite endearing. He took her hand and gave it a gentle shake, releasing her from his grip before motioning his head toward the expanse of the pool they were still in.

"If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to see that nice back of yours." he heaved himself out of the pool, sitting on the edge so that he would have a better view if she agreed to swim for him, "I warn you, I can be pretty critical. Even on someone with such a soft face." He added a smile for effect.

[filiaxmaris]

67: “It’s so beautiful.”

It was rare for Hama to get a chance to take a trip with her father into the bigger cities, and so every time she did she took advantage of the opportunity to visit the indoor pools there, as was the case today. She had been minding her own business, focusing on her breaststroke, but she kept getting distracted by the form of the boy in the lane beside her. Eventually she found herself stopped beside him while he resituated his goggles, and she could no longer keep quiet. “I-it’s so beautiful! Your butt—er… Fly! Butterfly! Your stroke, I mean! Not your uh… butt… even though I mean, I’m sure that’s also nice. I’m… going to shut up and go back to swimming now. Thank you very much for your time.”

[enthusiasticcaptain]

The Tottori Prefectual Indoor Pool in Yonago had always held some charm for Seijuro. The 25 meter pool only had six lanes, but it was well kept and he usually found it not to be too crowded--which was why he had decided on it for his place of choice for today. He had come to Yonago to meet with a former Samezuka team mate and do some training together for old time's sake, but his comrade had long since departed. Seijuro's stamina was still truly unmatched, it seemed.

The cute girl in lane three had not gone unnoticed by the former captian, nor had her powerful stroke, but they hadn't managed to time one of their stops approriately for him to introduce himself in the time that she'd been there. And by the time he stopped to adjust his goggles, he almost didn't realize that the cutie in lane three had stopped as well, and somehow she managed to beat him to the chase.

"Ah--" He smiled at her fumble with words, gripping the edge of the pool lightly, "No need to apologize or swim off, the compliment is very much appreciated! If I can say so, your breast is quite beautiful as well." He laughed warmly, hoping it would be well received rather than seen as harassment, and moved slightly closer to the lane divider in order to hold his free hand out for her to shake, "Mikoshiba Seijuro, pleased to meet you, lane three."

[fidelisecheneidae]

Did it have to wait until the middle of the night…?!

[enthusiasticcaptain]

Yes. It was of the utmost importance that he be unconscious when I told you this.

[fidelisecheneidae]

Just a friendly reminder that I will NOT answer asks that are sent with the sole purpose of hurting Nitori’s feelings, unless I publish a meme asking for them or I feel that the question was asked for character development reasons.

Do me a favor: if you’re just trying to get a negative reaction out of my muse, don’t send the ask. These asks are part of the reason I’ve been on such a long hiatus and I would really like to be able to stay on this blog. I understand that the questions are toward Nitori, and that’s fine, but they hurt the muse and frankly they annoy the mun. Nitori is NOT here for you to use as an emotional punching bag, and my blog is not a place for your opinions on pairings and character’s relationships. Thanks!

[enthusiasticcaptain]

Please don't harass Ai or Ai's sweet mun unless you want me to eat all of your favorite snacks in front of you without sharing any.