A tense silence settled over the trio, broken only by the steady fall of rain—shhhhh—and the distant murmur of the waterfall—splash-splash.
Charles, still on the ground with Kaira sitting on him, felt the air grow heavier.
’Please... don’t let her be another fight-crazed maniac,’ he thought, wincing internally.
The blue-haired girl watched them with curiosity, but her annoyance was clear, her piercing blue eyes boring into them.
Kaira, frowning, broke the silence first.
"Sorry... are you Saria?" she said, recognizing the girl.
Saria tilted her head, clearly confused.
"Yeah, who’re you?" she asked, her voice calm but firm.
Kaira crossed her arms, still naked and drenched, showing no hint of embarrassnt.
"What? You don’t rember?" she said, waving her hands. "We’ve eaten together a bunch of tis with Lira."
Saria paused, staring at the sky as if trying to recall.
’It’s been a while since I ate with Lira... let alone with soone else. Or maybe I did, and I forgot...?’
After a mont, she nodded slowly.
"Oh, right..." she said, but her tone was so forced that both Charles and Kaira instantly knew she was lying.
Kaira, visibly annoyed, shifted, her weight moving slightly on Charles’s... sensitive area.
Charles bit his lip to keep from reacting, because, though he hated to admit it, Kaira’s movents on his groin were... distracting—squirm.
"Were you using this place to train?" Kaira asked, her tone more accusatory than friendly.
"Of course," Saria replied, her calm starkly contrasting Kaira’s attitude. Her eyes slid to Charles, a subtle smile forming. "And that guy... he your boyfriend?"
The question caught Kaira off guard. Her cheeks flushed red for a mont, and she stamred.
"W-what?" she said, nervous. "Why would you think that?"
Saria pointed at their position, raising an eyebrow.
"Well..." she said, her tone teasing. "The way you’re... so close. Thought you were a couple sneaking off to hook up in my training spot."
Charles felt his face burn, and it wasn’t from the rain—whoosh.
’Hook up?’ he thought, incredulous. ’We were nearly drowning five minutes ago!’
Though, to be fair, Saria’s assumption wasn’t entirely off-base.
Kaira, still on top of him, sat up straighter, clearly offended.
"This place isn’t yours!" she snapped. "You can’t claim a whole lake just ’cause you train here."
Charles couldn’t believe how Kaira had dodged the boyfriend jab.
Saria let out a short laugh, shrugging.
"Why not?" she said, her tone smug. "I’ve been coming here every day for almost a week, and no one else has shown up. This area’s mine."
Kaira’s jaw dropped, indignant.
"That’s ridiculous!" she shot back. "You can’t just decide an entire lake is yours ’cause you hung out here a few days."
Charles, stuck on the ground, tried to focus on the argunt, but Kaira’s gestures kept shifting her weight on him.
Every ti she leaned forward to make a point, her body pressed against him, and though he tried to hide it, he was enjoying it more than he wanted to admit, especially since she was stark naked.
The two girls kept bickering, Kaira raising her voice while Saria responded with calm sarcasm.
"You can’t claim a public place," Kaira said, pointing at the lake. "It’s absurd! This lake’s for everyone."
Saria rolled her eyes, adjusting her soaked blue hair.
"Don’t like it? Leave," she said. "I’m not here to share my space with just anyone."
"Anyone?" Kaira exclaid, giving a small hop that squashed Charles’s friend, making him grunt softly at the pressure shift—oof. "You’ve got no right to kick anyone out!"
Charles, caught in the middle, fought not to laugh.
’This argunt’s dumber than a bag of hamrs,’ he thought.
But before he could say anything, a thunderclap roared in the distance—CRASH!
Kaira whipped her head toward Charles, her eyes accusing.
"Was that you...?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.
Charles raised his hands, still on the ground.
"Whoa, whoa," he said defensively. "I’ve got nothing to do with that. We’re in a storm."
Saria, watching the scene with a mix of amusent and irritation, swam to the shore and climbed out—drip-drip.
"These thunderstorms are a pain," she said, annoyed. "Always screwing up my training."
Charles, trying to lighten the mood, chuckled.
"What?" he said, teasing. "You ever been struck by lightning or sothing?"
Saria looked at him, dead serious.
"Yeah," she said without hesitation. "And it hurts like hell."
Charles blinked, caught off guard, while Kaira giggled, covering her mouth.
Saria turned to her, frowning.
"What’s so funny?" she snapped.
Kaira, still laughing, stood up from Charles, finally giving him a mont to breathe easier—phew.
From his spot on the ground, Charles got a direct view of Kaira’s naked body, including her exposed core, leaving his jaw slack.
Though clearly exhausted, her body trembling slightly from the day’s strain, Kaira’s expression was resolute.
"You know, Saria," she said, "I’ve been thinking for a while... I’d love to duel you, because—"
Before Kaira could finish, Saria raised a hand. The lake water responded instantly, surging into a blast that shot toward Kaira—SPLASH!
The jet hit Kaira square in the face, knocking her flat before she could react—thud.
Charles gaped, watching Kaira fall on her back, coughing and spitting water, while Saria smirked coldly.
He jumped to his feet, stunned.
"Hey!" he shouted, pointing at Saria. "What’s your deal? She wasn’t done talking!"
Saria shrugged, unfazed.
"She challenged ," she said, her tone final. "If she can’t handle a little water, she shouldn’t run her mouth."
Charles helped Kaira sit up, her soaked hair plastered to her face, body shaking, but her eyes blazing with fury.
"That wasn’t fair!" Kaira growled, wiping water from her face. "I wasn’t even ready!"
Saria laughed, crossing her arms.
"Fair?" she mocked. "You think fights in this clan are fair? Grow up."
Charles, still supporting Kaira, frowned. He knew Saria had a point—this was Kaira’s fault for picking a fight—but still...
"Fine," he said, glaring at Saria. "You’re tough. Happy now?"
Saria looked at him, a playful smile spreading.
"You’ve got an interesting look," she said, stepping closer. "Wanna fight too? I haven’t had a good spar in a while..."
Before she could finish, a lightning bolt lit up the sky, followed by a deafening thunderclap—BOOM!
The sound echoed across the lake, and to Charles’s shock...
The bolt struck Saria!
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