juuvenile | INBOX | JUUZOU SUZUYA

[Kaneki had dressed as simply as he could as well, electing for a simple shirt he'd picked up on Selena VII (when Trip wasn't looking, lording over his purchase decisions) and some shorts the CDC had supplied them with. He glances over to see Juuzou approaching. The wait hadn't been so bad at all, and it was actually fairly nice sitting on the beach. The weather was nice after the weird fluctuations it'd been going through.

He stands and greets Juuzou with a wave.] Hi, Juuzou-kun. [A beat before words accompanied with a glance out to the water of the cove.] You ready to give this a try?

I guess...

_{[He doesn't sound too enthused. If anything he seems a little nervous, which might seem strange coming from someone who usually doesn't care about anything.]}

I'm as ready as I ever will be.

[It is strange. Juuzou had seemed pretty fearless up until this point. Was water really more frightening than fighting with a ghoul?

Kaneki gives him as encouraging a smile as he can.] Don't worry. The water here should be safe, and I'll be keeping an eye on you.

[He walks down to the water, wading into the shallows up to his knees. He gestures for Juuzou to follow him as he continues.]

Okay.

_{[It's not so much he's frightened of anything that might be lurking beneath the surface, it's more so he's not exactly in the mood to sink and drown. Nodding he follows Kaneki into the water, letting his fingertips drag against the surface. So far so good.]}

[Kaneki continues to lead (and goad) Juuzou further out, up until they're in the water deep enough that it reaches mid-way up his chest (or maybe a little bit further for Juuzou, since he's a little bit shorter... I think... or just his posture is worse). He stops then, dropping partially into a crouch so he drops in the water up to his shoulders.]

Okay. Before I teach you to tread water or swim, first I want you to float. [He would demonstrate as he spoke, but... he stays still. He'd noticed when swimming to shore after dealing with the centipede beast that he felt a lot... heavier in water. Maybe having a density of rc cells enough to make a kagune as large as he could compressed into one organ worked in the opposite manner of a swim bladder.

Anyway.] Your lungs fill up with air when you breathe, right? What I want you to do is take a deep breath and try to float on your back. [He moves a few steps closer.] I'll catch you if you start to sink. I promise.

_{[He's still not all that sure about what Kaneki wants him to do, but he's willing to try it. Leaning backwards he bends his spine, arms out as he does his best to try and lay on the surface of the water. Unfortunately it doesn't go very well. As soon as he kicks his feet up he begins to sink, arms splaying and splashing as he goes beneath the water.]}

[Kaneki drifts closer to Juuzou the second he senses that he's starting to sink in the water, reaching out to put one hand under his shoulders and the other under his knees to stabilize him.] It's okay; try to relax. I won't let you sink.

[He gives Juuzou a moment to calm, holding him up so he can keep him floating in the water. Now, time for step two.] Now I'm going to let you go slowly. Just take a deep breath and relax. I'll catch you again if you start to sink again.

_{[It's not so much that he doesn't trust Kaneki to not let him drown. Rather it's the sensation of sinking, of having nothing beneath him that's frightening. It's different from falling, which he's fine with. It's more so the sense of false security the water gives that trips him out.]}

Okay...

_{[He tries to do what Kaneki tells him to, relaxing as best he can, taking a deep breath, shutting his eyes. Relax. That's all he needed to do.]}

[It is a frightening feeling, yes. But one must face their fears to gain the better of them, then to better themselves.]

Just stay calm. I'll be right here.

[Kaneki slowly lowers his arms in the water, allowing Juuzou to remain (hopefully) buoyant on the surface. He's watching him closely, ready to reach back up to catch him should he begin to struggle or sink. But with the water as naturally saline as it is, it should be somewhat easy to float... he thinks... He's no expert.]

_{[Easier said than done, in all honesty. Still, Juuzou does his best to relax. More and more he lets his muscles relax, arms and legs, letting his hips float to the surface, keeping his head tilted back. All he has to do is pretend he's laying on a bed, as relaxed as he'd be if he were sleeping.

When Kaneki lets his hands slip away from his body he finds himself floating, bobbing a bit. It seems to be working, at least until Juuzou looks up to glance at his toes, throwing his balance off, putting him under again. At least this time when he surfaces he's far less panicked than he'd been initially.]}

Like that?

[Kaneki watches with a small smile as Juuzou floats—for a few seconds, until he moves to try to look, and then he's lost his equilibrium again. He reaches out to the other guy to steady him, helping him stand up before letting him go. He nods.] Yes, you did a good job! So you see now, you're not always going to sink.

[That was the first step. Kaneki thinks a moment, trying to remember the next step for how he was taught to swim. It was a long time ago.]

Next, we're going to tread water. That's just so that you can keep your head above water when you can't reach the bottom.

[Kaneki takes a few more steps deeper into the cove, the water level rising towards his collarbones. He stops a little before that, mostly because Juuzou's a little bit shorter than he is.] Okay. I'll take you out a little deeper, and I want you to try it. Watch me first. See, you kick your legs like this, [as he spoke, he stepped and then swam out deeper, stopping several feet away. Stationary, Kaneki illustrates treading water as he continues explaining,] and you move your arms to the sides, like this. Got it? Want to try?

[A short pause.] I'll be right next to you, so if you have trouble, I'll make sure you stay afloat.

_{[Good job. It's been awhile sine he's heard that and it causes the corners of his mouth to twitch upwards. What a funny sight they must be, if anyone from home saw them. A ghoul and a dove, learning how to swim. It sounded like the set up of a bad joke.

Treading water sounded far more complicated than just floating but he's nodding soon after Kaneki's demonstration, getting ready to try himself. When he does try his effort is a valiant one, but it turns out looking like a desperate attempt to doggy paddle and not drown. The struggle is real.]}

(ooc: i realize now that im pretty sure you said you’re a lifeguard and i literally have no idea what im doing in this thread so hopefully i haven’t been dreadfully wrong in how to teach someone to swim yet……)

[They were definitely a strange duo, but that had been apparent from early on—their first few interactions had been a little rocky, but it hadn’t taken too long to broker a sort of understanding between them. Strange, considering how they would usually be acting like cats and dogs back home, but it was amazing what a level playing field like that which the CDC provided could change things.

Speaking of dogs: Juuzou does seem to be doggy-paddling at present, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. It was one of the best ways to learn how to actually swim. This probably wasn’t something he was going to learn in one day, and even with that in mind he was doing fairly well.]

That’s good. It’ll take some practice, but you just have to figure out what will keep you afloat.

[He observes Juuzou for a moment.] Your kicking is fine, but just—try to straighten out a bit, like you’re standing, keep kicking and try to move your arms like this.

[Like how Kaneki is treading water a few feet away, arms tracing wide and sweeping motions in keeping himself afloat with… a good deal less flailing than Juuzou was doing… we’ll get you there, buddy.]

INBOX | JUUZOU SUZUYA | M02-B25-013

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject