Kansae X Yueko
"It's too hot... in more than one way," Yueko whispered to her sister.
Iyume, devouring slices of pizza one after another, rolled her eyes as she swallowed. "C'mon. It's just Kansae. So what if he's shirtless?"
Yueko's face flushed with embarrassment. "Look at all the girls here. What if he starts flirting with one of them instead? Most of them are most certainly prettier than me."
Iyume glanced around the pool bar area, and shrugged. "I'd be more worried about the girls flirting with him. I mean, has no one any decency nowadays? Most of them are practically wearing strings."
Yueko raised an eyebrow at her sister, who was wearing a baggy, dark red, boat neck shirt and denim Capri’s. That was the closest thing to girly as she was going to get. "You only say that because the most skin you'll ever show is probably the amount you're showing now. Besides, who wouldn't wear strings in this blistering hell?"
Iyume shoved a piece of pizza crust in her mouth. "Dah's wha da pooh ish foh."
Yueko sighed. "Yeah, I guess." She glanced over at her boyfriend, Kansae. He was at the bar on the other side of the pool, ordering some sodas. His black hair was wet and plastered to his face and neck, and his back was red from sunburn, but glistened with sweat. Yueko felt her face get very hot, and wondered if her sunburn could cover up her blush.
"You're blushing, you know," Iyume said. Yueko grimaced.
Iyume sighed and brushed her greasy fingers on a napkin. "Look, don't worry about the other girls. Just go and hang out together, and have fun. Once the sun sets, you guys should go hang out on the beach. There's a nice breeze developing down there already."
Yueko nodded. "Yeah, we'll probably do that."
"By the way, why don't you just read his mind? You haven't been using your power lately. Is it stressing you out?"
Yueko shook her head, her brown and red hair flopping on her shoulders. "No, it's just been a bit hard lately. I haven't been on missions where I have to use it, so I try not to."
Iyume nodded, satisfied with her sister's answer, and started on her second piece of pizza.
Yueko looked up to see Kansae approaching them with two cups in his hands. He sat next to Yueko and placed a cup in front of her. "Raspberry iced tea, right?" He smiled crookedly at her.
Yueko's heart did back flips. "Yeah, thanks." Yueko smiled back and stuck the straw in her mouth. She sipped at the refreshing and sweet tea, stealing glances of Kansae. Kansae stole a piece of pizza from Iyume's plate and got slapped for it.
He laughed. "You hit me like a girl!" He bit down on the corner of the spicy pastry.
Iyume snorted. "Well, first, I am a girl, and second, I can't exactly fire a ball of plasma at your face with all these people around."
Kansae munched thoughtfully. "I guess that's true."
A thought suddenly struck Yueko. She looked over at her sister's left arm. A light red jagged mark ran up from the back of her hand to her shoulder, signifying that she had mastered her powers as an Energy-type NeoHuman. "Why aren't you covering your mark?" Yueko asked.
Iyume glanced at her tattoo, and shrugged. "I dunno. Most people just think its henna, anyway."
Yueko nodded and looked at her own Maturity Mark. It was along the same design as Iyume's, but it was white, and it started on the front of her neck and curved down to her shoulder blade. It wasn't as visible as Iyume's was, but it was starting to stand out against her sunburned skin. She touched it self-consciously.
Iyume stretched and stood up. "Well, water isn't my thing, and I think I got enough sun for today. And you stole my last pizza, you jerk. So, I'm gonna head on back to the trailer, and soak up some air conditioning." She picked up a small purse that Yueko was lending her. "See ya later."
Yueko and Kansae waved and watched her walk carefully next to the pool, dart through the gate, and vanish behind some soda machines in the alley between the resort park store and the pool bar kitchen.
"Well, when we're done here, wanna walk on the beach? There's a nice breeze picking up." Yueko gestured to the river behind them, across the street and behind some trailers and motor homes.
Kansae smiled at her. "Sure. We'd better check on the wave-runner anyway. I told Vera and Nanashi I would."
Yueko smiled, and waited patiently for Kansae to finish his soda and pizza. Then he got up and put on a gray t-shirt. "The sun hasn't set yet, and I really don't need skin cancer."
Yueko laughed. She pulled out a hooded, short-sleeved sweater from under her beach towel, and put it on. Then she grabbed her half-empty cup of tea and followed Kansae out and around the pool area to the Eastern strip of Emerald Cove's beach.
They walked together silently, stumbling on the sandy slope and watching the boats, wave-runners and jet-skis race each other on the green water of the Colorado River. The setting sun reflected the orange and gold stripes of the California and Arizona cliffs, making the shadows appear that much deeper.
Yueko watched a passing boat tow an inflatable tube as she thought about the other girls at the pool bar, until Kansae snapped her out of her trance.
"Well, the wave-runner's still here." He gestured to the purple, slick-looking water bike floating just a few feet from where the boat wakes were crashing up on shore, secured there by a rope tied to the front end of the bike and a pole stuck in the sand, and another, thicker rope which disappeared into the green water, where a small anchor was hidden. "And the ropes look secure to." He stretched and looked at Yueko. "Hey, let's go to the dock. There's no one over there right now."
Yueko looked over to the brown plastic dock next to a boat ramp. "Sure." She started off back the way they came, and he followed.
"So, how's work been lately?" Kansae walked alongside her, holding each end of his towel that hung around his neck. His gold eyes shimmered in the fading sunlight.
Yueko shrugged. "Oh, you know, one new world decides to join the Alliance, all the worlds decided to as well. It's like a new trend. I didn't think the Blackert'd scared so many people."
Kansae nodded. "Yeah. They're so hard to argue against. But I guess that's only natural when you're population is growing out of control, and you only have a little bit of territory. It's like their version of a slum, I guess."
Yueko nodded. She sometimes forgot that he was one of the four leaders that ran the Celitia Alliance. He was only 20 years old. Then again, all the leaders were young. Poor Nanashi, the youngest, was 19. To bear the burdens of four galaxies worth of worlds must be hard, especially when you're just starting to take college classes.
They jumped the rotting wood fence that bordered the entrance to the bridge that led to the dock. They bounced across the unsupported plastic and metal bridge, and walked to the very end of the floating structure. There they stood, watching trucks pull out of the boat ramp with pontoons and wave-runners in tow. They sat down after a while, avoiding the most recent gull and duck droppings by sitting on Kansae's towel, their feet dangling in the cool green water.
Yueko sipped at her tea, but it was empty, only ice rattled at the bottom of her cup, melting fast in the still-blistering heat. Kansae took the cup from her and pulled a piece of ice from the bottom of the cup, and popped it in his mouth. He made loud crunching sounds as he munched on the frozen water. Yueko watched him, his face still deep in thought about his work. His forehead was creased in concentration.
Yueko suddenly got an idea that might get his mind off of work. Slowly, she found the biggest piece of ice, and as quick as she could, she shoved it down the back of Kansae's shirt. She laughed as he suddenly jumped, and began clawing at the back of his shirt. He found the ice cube, and pulled it out from under his shirt. He looked at Yueko accusingly, but he was laughing with her.
"You're so gonna pay for that!" Kansae threw the ice at her, and Yueko squealed, trying to get out of its path. Yueko jumped up and dumped the rest of the ice on Kansae's head, some of it slipping down into his shirt again. He jumped up, and started shaking his shirt out, laughing so hard his face was redder than his sunburn. Yueko was laughing uncontrollably as well, especially when he started dancing to get the ice out of his shirt.
When he had finally gotten all the ice out of his shirt, he chased Yueko down to the other end of the dock, getting ready to throw another ice cube at her.
Yueko slid to a halt at the edge of the dock, but lost her balance. She fell backwards into the water.
When she surfaced, Kansae was busting his gut laughing so hard, that he didn't even notice his girlfriend sneak up on him and grab his ankle. Yueko yanked at his foot, pulling him into the water. He toppled over her into the water, still laughing. Yueko grabbed onto the dock, trying to keep her head above the water as she giggled uncontrollably.
Kansae surfaced, coughing out the water he swallowed while laughing in the water. Yueko started to climb out of the water, but he grabbed her waist and pulled her back in. "Oh, no you don't!" He swam past her to get out first. Yueko, hindered by her giggling, let him go.
When he was up on the dock, he offered out his hand, and he pulled Yueko out of the river. He grinned at her, his gold eyes sparkling. "Man, I haven't laughed like that in a long time!"
Yueko giggled and smiled at him. "That was pretty funny." She took off her sweater and wrung the water out of it, then put it back on.
Kansae nodded, smiling while squeezing the water out of his t-shirt. He walked back, picked up Yueko's and his own towel, and walked back to Yueko, handing her towel to her. She wrapped it around herself, the sides hanging off her head and in front of her. "Thanks."
He smiled, then wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her close. "Thanks for making me laugh today, Yueko. And don't worry about the other girls here. None of them could ever stand a chance against you."
She didn't know how he found out, but she didn't care. She nuzzled her face into his shoulder, hugging him back. "Thank you, Kansae," she mumbled.
After a moment, they started back across the bridge toward their campsite, holding each other's hand tightly and laughing like crazy people.
Iyume, devouring slices of pizza one after another, rolled her eyes as she swallowed. "C'mon. It's just Kansae. So what if he's shirtless?"
Yueko's face flushed with embarrassment. "Look at all the girls here. What if he starts flirting with one of them instead? Most of them are most certainly prettier than me."
Iyume glanced around the pool bar area, and shrugged. "I'd be more worried about the girls flirting with him. I mean, has no one any decency nowadays? Most of them are practically wearing strings."
Yueko raised an eyebrow at her sister, who was wearing a baggy, dark red, boat neck shirt and denim Capri’s. That was the closest thing to girly as she was going to get. "You only say that because the most skin you'll ever show is probably the amount you're showing now. Besides, who wouldn't wear strings in this blistering hell?"
Iyume shoved a piece of pizza crust in her mouth. "Dah's wha da pooh ish foh."
Yueko sighed. "Yeah, I guess." She glanced over at her boyfriend, Kansae. He was at the bar on the other side of the pool, ordering some sodas. His black hair was wet and plastered to his face and neck, and his back was red from sunburn, but glistened with sweat. Yueko felt her face get very hot, and wondered if her sunburn could cover up her blush.
"You're blushing, you know," Iyume said. Yueko grimaced.
Iyume sighed and brushed her greasy fingers on a napkin. "Look, don't worry about the other girls. Just go and hang out together, and have fun. Once the sun sets, you guys should go hang out on the beach. There's a nice breeze developing down there already."
Yueko nodded. "Yeah, we'll probably do that."
"By the way, why don't you just read his mind? You haven't been using your power lately. Is it stressing you out?"
Yueko shook her head, her brown and red hair flopping on her shoulders. "No, it's just been a bit hard lately. I haven't been on missions where I have to use it, so I try not to."
Iyume nodded, satisfied with her sister's answer, and started on her second piece of pizza.
Yueko looked up to see Kansae approaching them with two cups in his hands. He sat next to Yueko and placed a cup in front of her. "Raspberry iced tea, right?" He smiled crookedly at her.
Yueko's heart did back flips. "Yeah, thanks." Yueko smiled back and stuck the straw in her mouth. She sipped at the refreshing and sweet tea, stealing glances of Kansae. Kansae stole a piece of pizza from Iyume's plate and got slapped for it.
He laughed. "You hit me like a girl!" He bit down on the corner of the spicy pastry.
Iyume snorted. "Well, first, I am a girl, and second, I can't exactly fire a ball of plasma at your face with all these people around."
Kansae munched thoughtfully. "I guess that's true."
A thought suddenly struck Yueko. She looked over at her sister's left arm. A light red jagged mark ran up from the back of her hand to her shoulder, signifying that she had mastered her powers as an Energy-type NeoHuman. "Why aren't you covering your mark?" Yueko asked.
Iyume glanced at her tattoo, and shrugged. "I dunno. Most people just think its henna, anyway."
Yueko nodded and looked at her own Maturity Mark. It was along the same design as Iyume's, but it was white, and it started on the front of her neck and curved down to her shoulder blade. It wasn't as visible as Iyume's was, but it was starting to stand out against her sunburned skin. She touched it self-consciously.
Iyume stretched and stood up. "Well, water isn't my thing, and I think I got enough sun for today. And you stole my last pizza, you jerk. So, I'm gonna head on back to the trailer, and soak up some air conditioning." She picked up a small purse that Yueko was lending her. "See ya later."
Yueko and Kansae waved and watched her walk carefully next to the pool, dart through the gate, and vanish behind some soda machines in the alley between the resort park store and the pool bar kitchen.
"Well, when we're done here, wanna walk on the beach? There's a nice breeze picking up." Yueko gestured to the river behind them, across the street and behind some trailers and motor homes.
Kansae smiled at her. "Sure. We'd better check on the wave-runner anyway. I told Vera and Nanashi I would."
Yueko smiled, and waited patiently for Kansae to finish his soda and pizza. Then he got up and put on a gray t-shirt. "The sun hasn't set yet, and I really don't need skin cancer."
Yueko laughed. She pulled out a hooded, short-sleeved sweater from under her beach towel, and put it on. Then she grabbed her half-empty cup of tea and followed Kansae out and around the pool area to the Eastern strip of Emerald Cove's beach.
They walked together silently, stumbling on the sandy slope and watching the boats, wave-runners and jet-skis race each other on the green water of the Colorado River. The setting sun reflected the orange and gold stripes of the California and Arizona cliffs, making the shadows appear that much deeper.
Yueko watched a passing boat tow an inflatable tube as she thought about the other girls at the pool bar, until Kansae snapped her out of her trance.
"Well, the wave-runner's still here." He gestured to the purple, slick-looking water bike floating just a few feet from where the boat wakes were crashing up on shore, secured there by a rope tied to the front end of the bike and a pole stuck in the sand, and another, thicker rope which disappeared into the green water, where a small anchor was hidden. "And the ropes look secure to." He stretched and looked at Yueko. "Hey, let's go to the dock. There's no one over there right now."
Yueko looked over to the brown plastic dock next to a boat ramp. "Sure." She started off back the way they came, and he followed.
"So, how's work been lately?" Kansae walked alongside her, holding each end of his towel that hung around his neck. His gold eyes shimmered in the fading sunlight.
Yueko shrugged. "Oh, you know, one new world decides to join the Alliance, all the worlds decided to as well. It's like a new trend. I didn't think the Blackert'd scared so many people."
Kansae nodded. "Yeah. They're so hard to argue against. But I guess that's only natural when you're population is growing out of control, and you only have a little bit of territory. It's like their version of a slum, I guess."
Yueko nodded. She sometimes forgot that he was one of the four leaders that ran the Celitia Alliance. He was only 20 years old. Then again, all the leaders were young. Poor Nanashi, the youngest, was 19. To bear the burdens of four galaxies worth of worlds must be hard, especially when you're just starting to take college classes.
They jumped the rotting wood fence that bordered the entrance to the bridge that led to the dock. They bounced across the unsupported plastic and metal bridge, and walked to the very end of the floating structure. There they stood, watching trucks pull out of the boat ramp with pontoons and wave-runners in tow. They sat down after a while, avoiding the most recent gull and duck droppings by sitting on Kansae's towel, their feet dangling in the cool green water.
Yueko sipped at her tea, but it was empty, only ice rattled at the bottom of her cup, melting fast in the still-blistering heat. Kansae took the cup from her and pulled a piece of ice from the bottom of the cup, and popped it in his mouth. He made loud crunching sounds as he munched on the frozen water. Yueko watched him, his face still deep in thought about his work. His forehead was creased in concentration.
Yueko suddenly got an idea that might get his mind off of work. Slowly, she found the biggest piece of ice, and as quick as she could, she shoved it down the back of Kansae's shirt. She laughed as he suddenly jumped, and began clawing at the back of his shirt. He found the ice cube, and pulled it out from under his shirt. He looked at Yueko accusingly, but he was laughing with her.
"You're so gonna pay for that!" Kansae threw the ice at her, and Yueko squealed, trying to get out of its path. Yueko jumped up and dumped the rest of the ice on Kansae's head, some of it slipping down into his shirt again. He jumped up, and started shaking his shirt out, laughing so hard his face was redder than his sunburn. Yueko was laughing uncontrollably as well, especially when he started dancing to get the ice out of his shirt.
When he had finally gotten all the ice out of his shirt, he chased Yueko down to the other end of the dock, getting ready to throw another ice cube at her.
Yueko slid to a halt at the edge of the dock, but lost her balance. She fell backwards into the water.
When she surfaced, Kansae was busting his gut laughing so hard, that he didn't even notice his girlfriend sneak up on him and grab his ankle. Yueko yanked at his foot, pulling him into the water. He toppled over her into the water, still laughing. Yueko grabbed onto the dock, trying to keep her head above the water as she giggled uncontrollably.
Kansae surfaced, coughing out the water he swallowed while laughing in the water. Yueko started to climb out of the water, but he grabbed her waist and pulled her back in. "Oh, no you don't!" He swam past her to get out first. Yueko, hindered by her giggling, let him go.
When he was up on the dock, he offered out his hand, and he pulled Yueko out of the river. He grinned at her, his gold eyes sparkling. "Man, I haven't laughed like that in a long time!"
Yueko giggled and smiled at him. "That was pretty funny." She took off her sweater and wrung the water out of it, then put it back on.
Kansae nodded, smiling while squeezing the water out of his t-shirt. He walked back, picked up Yueko's and his own towel, and walked back to Yueko, handing her towel to her. She wrapped it around herself, the sides hanging off her head and in front of her. "Thanks."
He smiled, then wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her close. "Thanks for making me laugh today, Yueko. And don't worry about the other girls here. None of them could ever stand a chance against you."
She didn't know how he found out, but she didn't care. She nuzzled her face into his shoulder, hugging him back. "Thank you, Kansae," she mumbled.
After a moment, they started back across the bridge toward their campsite, holding each other's hand tightly and laughing like crazy people.