Type: Short Story (No reader insert)
Written by; @rikkaxira4ever
POV: Third person

It was one late afternoon, when Iride shared a brilliant idea of his with the others in the common room.

"Let's all go to the pool together!" He had announced.

His fellow gamers glanced at each other in confusion

"W-What..?" They all said in unison

"Come on! It'll be fun!" He smiled

"P-Pool? Don't you mean the public bath?" Himiko said. Karin and Zakuro instantly started blushing.

"W-WAIT! YOU'RE SUGGESTING THAT WE ALL TAKE A BATH TOGETHER!???" Karin screamed.

"EVEN THOUGH WE'RE OPPOSITE GENDERS!?!??!?" Zakuro finished, as if reading her mind. Although, he and Karin were concerned for themselves.

"No no. Onigasaki told me that he found a public pool on one of the floors. I was thinking that we could all check it out!"

"O-ONIGASAKI!!!" Zakuro turned to face him.

"What? I was looking around the building." Kaikoku shrugged innocently.

"That sounds fun!" Himiko said. Now it was Anya's turn to be displeased.

"Count me out. No way in HELL am I joining in."

"Aww come on Anya!" Iride pleaded, "It'd be more fun if you came!"

"Quite the opposite actually.." Zakuro muttered. Although, Anya clearly heard him.

Anya banged the table and shot up, grabbing the collar of Zakuro's shirt. "YOU WANT TO SAY THAT TO MY FACE YOU LITTLE PUNK!?!"

"Let go of me:" Zakuro said sternly.

"WHO MADE YOU THE BOSS OF ME!!?!?!"

Anya and Zakuro then started arguing, as per usual.

Yuzu sighed. "Ah, there goes Zakk and Anboy and their usual disputes."

"I'm out too!" Karin instantly stood up. "I have to... um... uh.."

Yuzu smirked and got up as well, hugging Karin the way she always does. Which Karin especially hates.

"Aw Karirin.. you scared..?" Yuzu mused.

"S-SCARED!?!! OF THESE GUYS!?!" Karin gestured to the five boys of the group.

"I didn't say anything about boys.." Yuzu winked.

"U-UH..."

Yuzu let go of Karin. "I say it's a great idea Akki, it'll be fun!" Yuzu glanced at Karin, and winked "it'd be fun to spend time together..."

Karin shivered. "Now I'm actually scared."

Iride beamed. "What about you, Onigasaki?"

"Sure, why not." Kaikoku said, "Not like I have anything better to do..."

"Aikawa?"

Of course, Makino wasn't listening. He was fast asleep.

"We'll take that as a yes then!" Iride said.

"ALRIGHT EVERYONE! Yuzu cheered, "LETS GO!"

"YEAAAHHH!!" Iride joined her. Kaikoku grinned his usual grin and Himiko smiled.

As for Anya, Karin and Zakuro. They were scared for themselves and regretting ever getting involved in this.

........

"Here we are!" Yuzu's voice came ringing in the room.

The pool room was surrounded by glass walls, kind of like a greenhouse. The sun was illuminating the room with its beautiful natural light. A massive pool surrounded the area with a deck enclosing around it, which included beach chairs and tables. There was also a hot tub, with shelves filled with towels.

The eight gamers entered the room, wearing swimsuits and shorts. Everyone started roaming around the place, everyone but Karin, Zakuro and Anya.

Anya sighed and muttered, "Can't believe I got roped into this..." he made his way to the pool and sat on the ledge.

Zakuro was beet red. Maybe from how hot it was in the room, due to the steaming water in the hot tub, or maybe from his embarrassment.

Karin, however, wrapped her arms around her body, almost as if protecting herself. She started sweating and shivering, trying to predict what terrible thing might happen next.

Iride was having the time of his life, excited to get in the pool. He slowly got in the water. "Wow! It's so refreshing!" He turned to Zakuro and Karin and called to them. "Hey guys! The water's great! You should come in!!"

"U-Um... maybe later..." Zakuro said, he walked over to a chair where Kaikoku sat and sat beside him.

"What about you Karin?" Iride asked.

"U-Um..." Karin was hesitant, but she tried not to show fear. She played horror games all the time! What's so scary about a pool?

"S-Sure.." she concluded, she tried to put a brave face and walked toward the pool, dipping her feet inside.

Suddenly a shadowy silhouette appeared. Karin instantly removed her foot, shrieked and backed away.

She screamed. "A-A GHOST!!!"

The pool water started to bubble.

"YU-YUZU! IF THIS IS A PRANK TH-THIS IS NOT FUNNY!!!"

"That wasn't me..." came Yuzu's voice from behind Karin. Everyone turned to face her. They then turned to face the bubbling water.

Iride looked a little confused. "I-If that isn't Yuzu.. then..."

All of a sudden, a head shot out from the water. I will say that the events afterwards... are hard to describe. Not only was it a person's head... it was more like a llama's head.

"Ah! I see you all have found that pool area!" Paca said, in his usual cheery tone. He got out of the pool to face everyone, despite the fact that he was dripping, llama head to toe.

Karin screamed again, picked up a water bucket from the ground and chucked it at Paca, causing him to fall back into the pool.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE B*STARD!?!!" Anya yelled at the defeated Paca.

"Hey Paca!" Iride smiled, acting as though this is normal. "Would you like to join us-

"AKATSUKI ARE YOU MAD!?" Anya Yelled again.

"YEAH I SECOND THAT!!" Karin agreed with Anya.

Paca got up and came out of the water once more, wringing his clothes. "My my, everyone! What's with the violent upbringing?" He asked, offended. As though this situation wasn't his fault in the slightest .

"WHY ARE YOU ACTING SO CASUAL!?!" Karin demanded.

"Miss. Sarayshiki, whatever do you mean?"

"Unbelievable.." Anya uttered.

Paca grew serious, "What was that Mr. Kudou?"

Anya splashed water out of anger. "NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS!!"

"Hmm.. what an unexpected change of events.." Yuzu chimed.

Karin faced Paca, "WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE!?! GET OUT!!"

"Miss Sarayashiki, do relax. I was just here to observe how things are going here"

"Yeah right.." Kaikoku came in.

"Alright then" Paca shrugged, "if you all are so against the idea of me being here, I suppose I shall now take my leave" he turned and walked towards the door.

"YEAH GET LOST!" Anya Yelled after him, "AND NEVER COME BACK!"

"You're always welcome to join us Paca" Iride called after him, "if you want!"

"Why thank you, Mr. Iride" and with that he closed the door, leaving the gang completely quiet.

The door unlocked again and Paca came back out, Karin shrieked once more.

"Oh and Miss. Sarayashiki, I didn't not approve of the bucket..." Paca said darkly.

"JUST GET OUT!!!" Karin threw one more, Paca was just in time and he closed the door.

Awkwardness aside, the gang resumed their activities.

Himiko suddenly realized something "Oh! I'll be right back!"

"Alright!" Iride said.

Himiko got out of the water and went for the door, passing Makino who was asleep on a chair. Anya's eyes followed her as she closed the door, he then turned away.

The door unlocked Himiko came in, with shampoo bottles and Punitsuki in her arms. Anya instantly got the message when Punitsuki looked him in the eyes and smiled.

"NO NO NO!! AND NO!" He immediately said

"I just brought him in so he can get cleaned!"

"HE's A FRICKIN SLIMEBALL! HOW CAN HE GET CLEANED!?!"

"Take that back! Punitsuki is more than just that! Besides, he gets bored sometimes I thought maybe he could have some fun!" Himiko protested.

"I AM NOT GETTING NEAR THAT THING IN THE WATER!!"

"Kudou give him a chance! He's not as bad as you think!"

"Puniii!" Punitsuki exclaimed.

"NOPE! NO WAY!!" Anya got out of the pool, walked towards her and poked his finger in Punitsuki's slime base. "NEVER!"

"Puni..." Punitsuki said sadly.

"He won't be any trouble! I'll make sure he behaves!" Himiko pleaded, "why are you always so against him!?"

Anya stayed silent. He turned around, furiously, crossed his arms and walked back to the pool. He didn't turn back to face her. "Fine.. Whatever.."

"Puni! Puni!" Punitsuki instantly got happy again. Himiko brightened up. She walked over to the pool and set Punitsuki and her bottles down. Anya, watching.

"Aw come on Anya! Cheer up!" Iride put his hand on his shoulder. Anya slapped his hand off his shoulder and turned to look away from him. Iride, a little surprised.

"Why are you always so mean?!" Karin demanded.

"What's your problem?!" Anya shot back.

"HIMIKO's DOING NOTHING WRONG! AND AKATSUKI WAS JUST TRYING TO HELP!"

"NO ONE ASKED YOU OCCULT GIRL!"

"G-Guys! Please stop!!" Himiko pleaded. Anya and Karin noticed she was holding two flash grenades, one in each hand. They immediately stopped.

"WHY DID YOU BRING WEAPONS TO A POOL!?!" Anya yelled.

Meanwhile, Iride noticed Zakuro sitting on a chair on the deck, blushing furiously and fidgeting. Iride got out of the water and walked over to him.

"Hey Oshigiri.. you okay?"

Zakuro jolted and looked up at him. "I-Iride.. uh.. sorry .. I didn't see you.."

"That's okay, I noticed that you looked pretty uncomfortable... everything alright?"

"Oh.. uh.. yeah.. everything's fine.."

The two stared at each other in silence.

"Okay then!" Iride said, "just thought that something was wrong, let me know if you wanna talk about anything okay?"

"S-Sure"

Iride was about to turn around, but Zakuro's impulse was quicker.

"Wait!"

"Yeah?" Iride faces him once more.

"U-Um.. well.. sorry if I worried you or anything.. I just get.. uncomfortable in situations like this.. uh...b-but I'm fine.." Zakuro felt like a complete idiot while saying this.

"Oh.. is that all?" Iride smiled, "no need to apologize. I just wanted to make sure you were okay, but I'm glad you are! Is it your girl issue thing?"

"G-Girl issue..?" Zakuro blushed furiously, "we-well I wouldn't say that is an issue-

Anya came in, as though he were cued. "More like his fear of girls" He snickered.

"I-I'M NOT! I'M NOT SCARED OF GIRLS!!"

"Suuure.." Kaikoku smirked.

"O-ONIGASAKI!!" Zakuro spun around and saw Kaikoku's grinning face. He had completely forgotten that he was beside him.

"HAH! PATHETIC!" Anya taunted. Zakuro uncapped his dagger and pointed it at him.

"SAY THAT AGAIN, AND I'LL CUT YOUR TONGUE OFF!" Zakuro said, threateningly.

"AGAIN WITH THE WEAPONS!!"

Makino was still passed out, completely unaware of the situation. Yuzu laughed at the scene, treating it as though it was entertainment. Karin scoffed.

"Idiots.." she muttered.

Everyone continued doing what they were doing. Zakuro and Anya ended up resulting in a water fight with each other. Eventually, they ended up giving in.

Himiko started applying soap on her hands. "Alright Punitsuki! Come here!" She called.

Punitsuki made his way over to her, looking a little excited. Himiko reached out to him but Punitsuki immediately slipped through her hands.

"Come on now Punitsuki! Hold still!!" She struggled. Punitsuki clearly didn't seem interested anymore, he kept looking back at the pool deck. He started making his way toward it.

"W-Wait Punitsuki! Come back!" Himiko called after him.

Punitsuki approached Anya and touched his back. Anya turned to see Punitsuki pushing a shampoo bottle toward him, with a big smile on his face.

"The hell's wrong with-" Anya got the message, "NO! NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

"Oh look Anya! It looks like Punitsuki wants you to clean him" Iride pointed out.

Anya looked disgusted, "I AM NOT GETTING MYSELF INVOLVED WITH THAT THING!"

"Please Kudou? Punitsuki keeps slipping through my hands. Maybe... if you would-

"NOPE! NUH-UH! NEVER!" Anya crossed his arms.

Himiko had just about enough. "WHY ARE YOU SO AGAINST HIM!?! WHAT HARM WOULD BE DONE JUST TO CLEAN HIM!? I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY CAN'T YOU JUST BE FRIENDS WITH HIM!?"

Anya looked taken aback. In fact, everyone did. They had no Himiko had it in her, to scold Anya like that. Then again, she is known to be the motherly type.

Himiko just realized what she had done and instantly felt bad. "K-Kudou.. I.." she tried reaching for Anya, but he got up and grabbed the shampoo bottle and Punitsuki.

"So damn annoying.. jeez.." Anya muttered.

He walked over to one of the shower stations that the pool included and instantly got to work.

"Who knew Kudou could be disciplined.." Zakuro said.

"By Himiko of all people" Karin added.

Himiko instantly started blushing. "EH!? I-

"WILL YOU GUYS SHUT UP!?!" Anya yelled from the shower station. Punitsuki looked like he was having the time of his life.

"Puni! Puni!" He exclaimed.

"DON'T LOOK SO HAPPY BUDDY, THIS IS ONLY A ONE TIME THING!" Anya yelled again

Iride smiled. He was glad that Anya's spirits were getting higher, in their own way.

As a result of all this, Anya came back ten minutes later with a sparkling Punitsuki.

"Wow! You did a pretty good job, Anboy" Yuzu said.

"This was the same dumbass who was so against the idea in the first place..." Zakuro muttered.

Anya grit his teeth, "YOU WANNA TAKE THIS OUTSIDE!?!?"

"I'd like to see you try" Zakuro replied rather calmly.

A vein began to pulsate on Anya's forehead, "OH YOU WANNA GO!?"

"Alright guys, cut it out" Kaikoku said.

"NO, THIS GUY CLEARLY WANTS SOME SOLID EVIDENCE THAT I CAN TAKE HIM DOWN!"

"Please, spare me with your overgrown ego.." Zakuro said smoothly.

"OVERGROW- YOU LITTLE SH-

"Okay that's enough you two" Yuzu stepped in and pushed the two boys away from each other. "Honestly you both need to learn to get along."

Everyone was watching Anya and Zakuro still spatting insults at each other. Yuzu decided to give up and leave the situation to Kaikoku. She walked over to stand beside Himiko.

Yuzu noticed that Himiko was looking at the scene rather intently, which is a surprise since she would be the one trying to break the fight. Yuzu looked harder and noticed that Himiko was looking more in Anya's direction than the scene all together.

Three o'clock was rolling in, and Iride brought in lunch for everyone. They all talked and ate together, sharing the food amongst one another. Of course, Anya pushed the bell peppers of his portion to the side, which made Himiko uncomfortable.

A little while later, Yuzu and Karin approached Himiko with bundles of towels in their arms.

"Hey Himi" Yuzu said, "how about us girls take a dip in the hot tub? What do you say?"

"Hmm..? Oh, sure." Himiko replied.

Himiko followed Karin and Yuzu to the hot tub. They put their towels off to the side and got inside the steaming hot water.

"It feels great!" Karin told them. The other girls agreed.

They were watching the boys goofing around on the other side of the room. Iride was chatting with Makino, although Makino didn't seem to be giving him his full attention. Kaikoku seemed to be daring Zakuro to do something, probably sinister, as expected of Kaikoku. Anya was sitting by the deck, with a bottle of water in his hand.

Himiko had her eyes locked on Anya. She felt so frustrated with him. The strange thing is, she didn't know why. She wondered why he was so mean to everybody, and why he's always in such a sour mood.

There seemed to be something wrong with the expression that Anya wore on his face. He looked tired and kind of sad as he stared at the bottle of water in his hand. Himiko also noticed that he was rubbing his eyes a lot frequently today, which would explain his tiredness. Maybe he wasn't getting enough sleep these past nights. Then again, he doesn't seem to be the type to open up about things to others.

"Himi?" Yuzu tried calling her. Himiko didn't react.

"Uh.. Himiko?" Karin said.

"Eh?" Himiko jolted from her thoughts, "O-Oh.. I-I'm sorry..! Were you calling me..?"

"Himi, are you okay?" Yuzu asked with concern.

"Yeah! Of course! Why wouldn't I be?"

"You seemed to be deeply thinking about something" Karin pointed out.

"Oh it's nothing-

"Is it Anboy?" Yuzu interrupted. Himiko turned red.

"K-K-KUDOU!? WHY WOULD I-

"Yuzu that's crazy! Why would Himiko think about him of all people!"

"Just a lucky guess." Yuzu shrugged, "You seemed to be staring at him."

"I-IT WASN'T LIKE THAT I-

Yuzu bursted out laughing, "You really are cute when you're flustered Himi! Relax, I didn't mean it like that!"

"O-Oh..." Himiko turned red again, "O-Of course.. I-I knew that.."

"Care to explain then?" Yuzu asked.

"W-Well... I noticed that Kudou.. didn't look well.. the bags under his eyes are darker than usual.." Himiko explained.

"He probably had trouble sleeping. I noticed that he was up for most of the nights this past week." Yuzu pointed out.

"But.. he has medicine." Karin said, "Why wouldn't he take it?"

"Perhaps he has something on his mind.." Yuzu said.

Himiko looked down. Her suspicions were correct. There is something wrong with him.

"I'm sure he's fine. With that bad attitude of his, he can take it" Karin said.

"That's what I don't understand as well.." Himiko said, "Why is he always so mean?"

Karin and Yuzu were quiet.

"I mean. He's always picking fights! Why can't he just be nice to everyone?" Himiko said, frustratingly.

"I understand your feelings Himi," Yuzu said, "but we can't change people."

"I know that." Himiko sighed, "If only he can be friends with everyone. Everyone gets along so well with each other but.. Kudou seems so distant."

"Just leave him alone Himiko." Karin furrowed her brows, "There really is nothing we can do about him."

"Sometimes people need others to open up with, no matter how much they want to deal with their problems alone." Yuzu said.

"Well.. I guess you're right." said Karin "but he really does need to change his attitude. Sometimes he can be a real pain."

"I agree that Anboy's short-tempered, and there's no hope for his personality, but he really is a nice, loving guy, in his own way."

"How do you know that?" Karin asked.

"I just know" Yuzu shrugged casually.

Karin shook her head "You and your mysteries Yuzu"

"Himi, maybe you should talk to him and tell him how you feel"

Himiko hesitated "I-I couldn't... he would probably just shut me out if I tried.."

"Well, you wouldn't know unless you don't try, plus he seems to have a soft spot for you"

Himiko blushed, "R-REALLY..??!"

"And I mean, who knows... maybe under all that cold hearted-ness... he's nice inside."

"But... I..."

Karin sighed, "I still think that that guy's a lost cause... but.. maybe he has heart. Like Yuzu said, you won't know unless you don't try"

"Karin... Yuzu.."

Yuzu took Himiko's hands and Karin put a hand on Himiko's shoulder.

"Go and get to know the real Anboy, Himi. You might even learn something about him." Yuzu said, with a wink

Himiko smiled, "You're right.. I'll gather my courage.. and.. I'll talk to him!"

A few seconds after the heartwarming scene, Karin cleared her throat

"Oh, and if he decides to be a pain in the ass as usual" Karin cracked her knuckles "Just call me and I'll set him straight"

"T-That w-won't be necessary!!" Himiko assured her, "But... thank you.. both of you.."

"Anytime" Yuzu smiled

"Aww! How sweet and heartwarming!" A familiar voice rang from behind them. The three turned around to see none other than Paca once again, sitting right behind them on his knees on the ledge of the hot tub with a tissue in his hands

Paca dabbed his eyes with the tissue.
"It just melts my heart to see the friendship you all have!! Oh you gamers are just too much for my Paca heart!" He then blew his nose into the tissue.

Karin whisked out of the water, grabbed a water bucket that was on the ledge of the hot tub and (once again) chucked it at Paca. "GET OUT OF HERE YOU IDIOT!!"

Everyone heard the commotion and came to where the the girls and the K-O'd Paca was

"What's going on?" Iride asked. He then saw Paca splattered on the ground, "Oh hey again Paca! You came back!"

"Y-Yes Mr. Iride.. I did.." Paca's muffled voice weakly said.

"THE HELL DO YOU WANT WITH US NOW!?!" Anya demanded

Paca got up and straightened his shirt. "My, your aim has gotten better Ms. Sarayashiki" Paca muttered, "Well anyway, I have came here to let you all know that it's currently 6:55 pm, which means that the pool will be closing in five minutes."

"Oh thanks for the heads up!" Iride smiled

"You're very welcome Mr. Iride" Paca glared in Karin and Anya's direction. "although I don't quite feel the gratitude from some very specific members of your friends"

"YOU WERE LITERALLY CRYING!" Karin screamed

"Because the positivity and friendship was just too much!"

"Whatever! Just beat it! You already gave us the heads up" Anya said rudely

"Hmm.. I suppose you're right" Paca said, he then started for the door.

Himiko and Yuzu then got out of the pool. Anya hesitantly held out his hand to help Himiko out. Himiko reached for it and Anya grabbed her arm and pulled her out.

"Y-You... Y-You good..?" Anya asked, averting his eyes away from her.

"Y-Yes! U-Uh.. th-thank you for y-your concern..."

"I-It's not concern!" Anya blushed in embarrassment "I-It's obvious that that demented alpaca was trying to peep.."

Himiko was staring at Anya's hand, which was still holding on to her arm
"U-Uh.. you're... still holding my arm." Himiko said awkwardly. Anya suddenly realized he was still holding her and immediately let go.

He turned away, trying to hide his embarrassment. "J-Jeez.. you're such a pain..." he walked away from her and joined Iride and the other boys, who were on their way to the boy's shower station.

Iride, who was watching the whole scene, was almost bouncing up and down from his excitement. "Oh! Oh! Anya's embarrassed!!!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP AKATSUKI!" Anya yelled

Zakuro shook his head, "Honestly.. can you go a day without yelling so damn loud.."

Anya brought his fist up to Zakuro, "YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME!?!"

Kaikoku stepped in, "Alright, alright! We'll get locked in if we don't hurry up"

Iride started walking beside Makino. "So, how was your pool experience?"

Makino stayed silent, then eventually answered, "Relaxing"

Kaikoku put a hand on Zakuro and Anya's shoulders and gently pushed them to start walking.

"DON'T FRICKEN PUSH ME B*STARD!!" Anya screamed

"ONIGASAKI!" Zakuro yelled, embarrassed that has to be pushed by Kaikoku, like he's a child.

Karin rolled her eyes, "Boys will always be boys." She grabbed her towels and started walking towards the girl's shower station. The other girls caught up with her, and went as a group.

"These two really need it settle their differences" Yuzu said. She saw Punitsuki sitting on one of the pool deck chairs, "Come on Punitsuki, lets go"

"Puni! Puni!" He trilled.

Karin sighed "I really can't say how that'll work out.."

"You don't really have any faith in them, do you Karirin?"

Himiko started remembering Anya's hand, and how it felt on her arm. She was then thinking about how she's going to approach him.

Don't worry, everything will work out fine!
She told herself

Himiko looked behind her and saw Anya, who looked like a child having a tantrum, with Kaikoku disciplining him.

She sighed

Or not...

Hey guys! What did you all think of that chapter? I had a lot of fun making it!

There will be a Part: 2 to this chapter that's coming soon! Which will mainly focus on Himiko and Anya and how Himiko's going to approach him and whatnot. It will be a HimikoXAnya chapter cause I ship these two a lot! I don't know, I just find them so cute together :)

Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed!