Everyone was in class, or they were supposed to be, besides, who went swimming in the fall? Only members of the swim team, or more specifically, a certain Candian with a knack for slipping out of sight. Especially out of sight of admirerers. Konosuke wore her school issued bathing suit, a white and blue one piece and some blue goggles. She was so excited to check out the pool at her new school, and moreso the great bathouse connected to it. Wow!

The pool was large and ornate, Olympic size! This was perfect! She set her baby blue, Spica embridered towel over a chair nearby and got to strteching. Then, pulled her goggles down, got up on the blocks and then....dove!

She hit the water gracefully, like she'd done a thousand times before and choose the butterfly stroke to warm up. Each time she leapt from the water, only to plunge back in, ever propelling forward was more and more invigorating. She felt like she was flying. She hit the end of the pool, turned and pushed herself off with her feet, propelling the other direction. It turned into a race against herself, pushing faster and faster until finally she shot up where she started gasping for air, muscles burning from the exercise.

"Yeah! That's what I'm talkin' about!" She said in English, yelling it happily and tearing off her goggles, completely satisfied. She pushed herself back again into float. She smiled up at the ceiling, this new school would do just fine as her new home. She was so happy in her little bubble of joy, she didn't notice she was no longer alone

Being Etoile meant many things. It meant a certain amount of prestige, as you did have to be elected to the position by your peers. It also meant having a number of new responsibilities, in addition to any you might have had prior to your election. But, it also meant that there were a number of eyes that would be locked onto your every move. If there was one thing that all three schools had in common, it was their obsession with whoever was Etoile. Everybody had an opinion...and if they said they didn't, they were probably lying.

People like to gossip and spread rumors. Talk about where the Etoiles were going, who they were talking with. It seemed to Coyote that the best thing to do, was to take all of the training that Kari had given her and use that buy herself a little time away from all those interested parties. And it was remarkably easy to do.

So, yes, maybe she did skip a class. But, she knew a couple of teammates from the Hockey Club were in that class, so she could find out what she needed to know and nobody would be any the wiser. It was always helpful to have some loyal accomplices. And while she could have slipped away to the bunker to grab a quick little nap, or catch up on some reading...or, maybe just watch some videos on her computer...Coyote elected to go to the pool. A few laps could do her some good and she needed to make sure she got some practice in. She was still part of the Swim Club, after all, and needed to make sure she performed well.

Plus, she could always check out the bath house, afterwards and take the time relax a little. Really, there was so much more time when you skipped class. Goggles around neck and towel slung over a shoulder, she entered the pool to the sounds of someone already racing through the water. This gave the Canadian Etoile a moment of pause, before she realized what was going on. Apparently, someone else had the same idea that she had. She grinned and walked a little further, tossing her towel on to a nearby chair, before she spotted someone in a school issued bathing suit just like her own, popping up out of the water and letting out a triumphant cry. In English, no less.

"Way to go!" she cheered on, with a big grin. Red hair, speaks English and is a good swimmer. Familiar details, that matched the description of a new transfer student. Ishihara, she believed her name was. She had heard that the girl already had a number of admirers, herself. And a fellow Canadian! She was very excited to meet this newcomer, from her homeland.

She was surprised to hear a reply and looked up, but she was relieved that it wasn't a Sister. She changed to a standing position in the pool and gave the newcomer a grin and smiled.

"Heh, Thanks!" She said, still forgetting to use Japanese. Another look and she realized it was the Etoile, Coyote! "Hey!" She waved to portay her recognition and swam toward her, propping herself up at the edge of the pool to get a better look. Not bad, she looked strong, had the arms and body of...a fellow swimmer?

"No way!" She said, pushing back a little, "Don't tell me you can swim Etoile-san." She grinned, her red eyes sparkling misvheviously. Her tone was friendly, "why don't you come on in and show me whatcha got?" She took a few strokes back to give the girl room to enter the pool.

Now that they were in the same level, she could see this was going to be a lot of fun. "Race you to the blocks!" She splashed the etoile and turned, it was only a few feet away, but still, she could beat her in the small distance, but the real test would be the whole length. "To the end and back again!" She declared, fastening her goggles into the correct place and pulling herself up to stand on one of the blocks and shake herself to get "in the zone" she took the pre diving position and waited for her competition to do the same. One last smiling glace at the girl and...

"Go!" She called, launching herself into the water.

To anyone else, the English might have been something that would throw one off. But, this was Coyote...and English came pretty easy to one who grew up speaking it. Right away, the Ishihara girl recognized her as a swimmer. Quite the attention to detail she had, there.

"Sure!" she agreed to the challenge and jumped into the pool with a bit of a splash. Only after she resurfaced did she bother getting her goggles affixed in their proper position. Which she might have wanted to do first, but it was too late to second guess that decision, now. The redhead splashed her and started off the first round of competition, a race towards the starting blocks. Coyote was left in the role of pursuer and tried to get around to snatch a quick victory. Unfortunately, her opponent proved a bit too quick for her.

Well, there was still the main event. A chance for Coyote to give this new comer a run for her money. Coyote climbed out and got herself in position, next to her fellow Canadian. She grinned in reply to that last glance before the race was given a swift start.

The purplenette dove into the water and kicked her legs hard. Swimming may not have been her primary sport, but it was still one she devoted some time to. And if this girl was even half as good as she had heard, than this was going to be a very interesting race...

The butterfly stroke was her favorite, she she took to using it to go forward as fast as she could. It felt so good, and familiar to have the sound of competition beside her, the splashing, the water. It faded to a sense of propelling herself and nothing else. Moving her arms, kicking her strong legs. This was good, but her fellow Canadian was good too, keeping on her heels and gaining. If she'd have had time to say it, she'd have called out an encouraging "C'mon!" or "Yeah!" but she was too busy breathing and bacing her lungs for the next splash under the water.

Each leap was more invigorating than the last, she just had to push a little more. She couldn't tell where the other girl was when they made it to the other side, but she hit the wall and pushed back the other way quickly. The home stretch! Out, bring hte arms forward, down, back, up, out, forward, down. Breath. And she whipped back to the other end of the pool as if she'd been born in the water.

She hit the wall and looked over to see the other girl beside her, with no one around to call it, who knew who won? But Konosuke was laughing and breathless, too happy to care. "That was great!" She laughed, smoothing back her hair and moving her goggled up to her forehead."You're not bad!" she complimented.

She breathless, she pulled herself up, smiling and offered a hand to her companion so they could go sit down.

"So, Etoile-san," she said when she caught her breath, "What brings you to the pool at this hour? Should you be in class?" She winked, knowing she, too should be in class, but meaning to poke fun at the Spican. "Shirking your duties already?" She laughed, "I don't blame you." Her English was laced with a french accent that was more noticeable the more she spoke. But she had a playful sparkle in her eye that no matter her words, she meant no offense.

For Coyote, there were some times in competition where she just lost herself in the motions. Keep your arms moving. Breath in when you can. Preferably when you didn't inhale any pool water. And keep moving forward. That was also important. Coyote cruised through, as fast as she could. Ishihara was very good and very fast. It took all Coyote had to keep up with the other Spican.

Once she reached the other side, Coyote spun and kicked off the wall. She caught a glimpse of her opponent, but it was difficult to tell if she would be able to pull ahead. And there was little time to worry about it. At the end, however, it didn't seem to matter much. The true winner had earned their victory by a second, at best. And while the identity of the winner may never be known, Coyote didn't mind. The Ishihara girl seemed very nice and pushed Coyote to be even better at the sport. She was certainly going to prove a valuable asset to the Swim Club.

"Not so bad, yourself." she grinned, accepting the hand and pulled herself out of the water with it's assistance.

She took a seat and glanced over at the other girl. Who rightly pointed out that there was a class, currently going on. Which also meant that she, herself, was cutting said class. Of course, it seemed like both girls were aware of this fact. Coyote laughed and shrugged a shoulder, "I guess I'm busted." she said, "But, I've ducked out of a class or two, before...why stop now, right?"

The more they spoke, the clearer the accent became. It was unmistakable to Coyote.

"So, you're from Quebec?" she guessed. It was certainly a safe bet. "I'd assume Montreal, in specific."

"How'd you guess?" She chuckled, knowing her accent gave her away, "You are correct, my dad used to be an olympic trainer there, now he coaches at a Public school in Osaka."

She eyed the Etoile, "And you, are not from Quebec? But you are from Canada eh?" She joked, adding the unnecessary sound to the end of the question to make it funny. She never thought she'd be playing hookie with the seme Etoile, swimming with her and chatting like this, but it was really cool. If things went well, she figured they could go get something to eat sometime. For now, she was just resting till she could get back in the pool.

She looked at the water, "it's beautiful here, I like it a lot. I mean, I had friends at my old schools, but no one serious so moving was easy for me. What was it like for you?"

She held up a hand ,"Ah, I'm being nosy, don't answer if you don't want." She noticed the scar on the other girls face, but pretended it wasn't there. Scars were cool, but not the things you just asked people about outright.

"Oh, cool!" Coyote said. The accent was dead give away, but Montreal was more of a guess. And if she was already a well known swimmer, Coyote assumed that she had to have come from a major city, like Montreal. Not that she really needed to give a detailed account of her guess. There were probably some other details she could pick up on, but it was a little hard figure out, at the moment.

"Well, it's no trouble at all." she assured the other Canadian, "Actually, I spent most of time in Tokyo. My mom is from Montreal, though. Well, just outside of Montreal. I had a couple of friends from the city, but it wasn't too rough of a change. We keep in touch, every now and again."

The matter of the scar was one that was well known around the campus. At least, in so far as the rumors went. Some of those stories ranged from slight exaggerations to outright fantasy. Where people came up with some of those was beyond Coyote.

"But, I'm glad you're adjusting well!" she said, "Astraea Hill is a wonderful place, I'm glad I came here. And it's nice to have a fellow Canadian kicking around, too."

"That's true," she said acknowledging the fact that it was indeed nice to have a similar nationality around. "I mean I'm glad you speak English. We spoke Japanese at home, and to my grandparents when they would call, spoke Canadian French at school and English for fun, of the three languages, I'm used to using the other two more believe it or not."

She paused, then stretched. "Wanna go again?" She said pointing toward the pool with a smile and pulling down her goggles. When confirmation was received, she ran and jumped, pulling up her legs and tucking in her chin. "Cannon Ball!" She called, and hit the water with a splash and surfaced seconds later. "Wooo!" She gave the call and urged Coyote to do the same. She cupped her hands around her mouth to project her voice "Etoile-san! Etoile-san!" She chanted and put one hand in a fist, moving it in a circle to root her on.

She would cheer if the other girl obliged and clap when she surfaced. "Ten point oh!" She scored, Playfully then, she'd splash her and dive under for another splash attack from behind. She felt like she had a friend already.

"That makes sense." Coyote nodded, another grin appearing on her face, "To be honest, my French is still a little rusty. It's been mostly Japanese and English for me."

Another pleasant bonus of befriending a fellow Canadian, was the opportunity to converse in the language she hadn't been using quite as much. There were plenty of opportunities to speak English. It's how she spoke with her mother, after all. And there were always students who would want to practice their English with a native speaker. The fact that she was Etoile, now, would probably add to the incentive. But, French? That was a rare one. And something she was eager to fix.

Perhaps she could even use this as an opportunity to teach Hiroko some French! Now that would be fun.

"Let's do it!" she agreed to Round 2 of their competition. Or, maybe it was Round 3? Neither of the two appeared to be keeping track of anything, so she supposed it didn't matter much. Besides, this was far too much fun to keep track of who was winning what. The redhead was quick to leap in, pulling into a cannon ball and promptly announcing what she was doing. The splash was impressive and she was persuaded to attempt one of her own.

Not that it really took much effort. Coyote took a couple of steps before jumping into the air. She wrapped herself up plunged in, letting out a whoop of her own as she crashed through the surface of the water. She resurfaced to applause and a very favorable score of 10.0. Not a bad performance, at all! The celebration was tempered with a splash to her face. Luckily, she already her goggled ready, but it still took the Etoile off guard. She laughed and tried to splash back, but Konosuke was already underwater and circling around for a sneak attack.

The red head slipped herself behind and between the other Cadaian's legs, sweeping her onto her shoulders as she kicked harder, whisking her a few feet to the more shallow water before she had to stand up for air, laughing. She had to put her hands on Coyote's thighs to hold her steady so she wouldn't fall. However, letting her fall seemed funny too, but she didn't want to seem like she was being mean.

Before things got awkward she sank into the water again and slipped away from the girl's legs only to appear in front of her with a mouth full of water. She spat it in a stream toward her, though it didn't hit the Etoile. She grinned. "Ah!" She said, suddenly thinking of something. "Watch this!"

She proceeded to dive again, performing some submerged acrobatics to impress her new friend. She twisted and turned, did a handstand and posed her legs and then flipped herself upright and looked for approval. "Whatcha' think? You got any moves?"

Coyote was transported over towards the shallow end of the pool, in spite of her not having planned on doing so. She had only just managed to steady herself, when Konosuke popped back up and spat the water out. Coyote couldn't help but laugh. This was hardly shaping up to be any sort of race or anything that even resembled one. But, it was still rather fun, all the same.

The redheaded Canadian was soon back under, this time to perform a handstand that brought her legs poking up out of the surface. She applauded the effort and grinned, "Well done!" she said, "But, most of my moves work a lot better when all this stuff is frozen."

She gestured to the water around them. And, of course, most of those moves involved getting pucks into nets and occasionally finding ways to knock out other players. Swimming back and forth was easy. And that handstand looked like it could be pretty easy, too. So, Coyote decided to give that a shot.

"But, let me give this a shot!" she dove under and pressed her hands to the ground, below. She pushed herself up and into a handstand, letting her legs break back through the surface, as she tried to keep herself steady.

"Bravo!" She said, clapping, but drifted closer helping to position the girls legs into a more balanced position. "There!" She's knew it wouldn't last, so when the girl would resurface "not bad! Now you can show your uke the tricks of the water hm?"

She wanted to tease her about having a girlfriend, but was careful not to be offensive. Instead of a tease, she opted for a question, "So what made you want to be Etoile?" She asked offhandedly, "you seem way too cool to be all caught up in that kind of thing." She pushed herself into a back float.

Who knew, maybe if they chatted a bit, Konosuke weep pulls make her first friend. And go figure out would only be the etoile of all people, not that she minded. The title was beans compared to the girl's spirit.

Coyote wobbled and steadied herself as she received some assistance from the redheaded Spican. Soon, she got the position right and was able to hold it for a bit, before the need for oxygen prompted her return to the surface of the water. She broke through and took a long, sharp inhale of air before laughing a bit.

"Haha, I'll have to give that a try." she said. Getting Hiroko into the pool seemed like an easy enough task. Shy as the girl was, she was becoming more comfortable with herself as time had gone on. Besides, they could always sneak in when no one else is around.

"Eh, well it wasn't exactly my idea." she shrugged, "Hiroko really wanted to run, though, so I agreed to it. Winning this whole thing made her really happy."

That was the short story. Some people might have known a little more about Hiroko's history and her relation to the famous Suzumi family, but Coyote didn't like to make a bigger deal out of it. As nice as Konosuke was, Coyote would always defer to Hiroko when it came to discussing such private matters. And besides, it was the truth that she would do anything that made the bluenette happy.

"So, I guess I just sorta stumbled into it." she laughed, "But, since we went and one the whole thing, we have to try hard to make the best of it for the whole campus. Not that it still doesn't feel really weird to have everyone know who you are."