When I pushed my way past the gate opening up to the community pool, I was thrilled to see that it was still open, and also devoid of all other people besides myself. I threw my arms up in the air with celebratory attitude, chanting to my good luck. "Look at this! We get to have the pool to ourselves!" Being in full link with Lumina, I still didn't want to risk that somebody lurking or hiding nearby could overhear my physical voice, so I shouted in the safe space of telepathy.

My mood really was as good as I made it sound. Ever since last night, I've felt a lot better about our situation. It wasn't the brightest of topics, but we managed to feel better about the past, and I felt more attached to Lumina's sisters than ever. Plus, going by what she suggested earlier, I figured now would be the best time to try out something new Lumina could enjoy. I was stoked to arrive at the pool with it being just the two of us.

"Yay..." Lumina sounded most deterred to be in this kind of place with me, for reasons I already knew why.

"I bet you don't get to go swimming a lot in your world. But because it's so cold out, you should be able to feel all of that water rushing around me." I'm a bit nervous to dive into a pool when it's below fifty, but then it's literally the only way Lumina can share such sensations with me in the first place.

"Yeah... On second thought, how about I just shut off sensation node where I would feel the water, and you just have your fun at the pool today?"

I should have known she was going to try and chicken her way out of this. But I'm still surprised to be reminded that she can even do that with telepathy in the first place. "Come on. Quit being such a baby about it. It's just water."

"I'm not being a baby about anything... I just don't feel like swimming today is all."

Based on her voice, I'm imagining her making such a cute fish face trying to get out of this. But she has to learn at some point how to swim. "Oh, I get it now... You're just afraid of a little bit of water." I made sure to tease her about it obviously, waiting for her desperate denial.

"I am not afraid of swimming in the water!"

But it was too late for her to pretend she was fine now. A sadistic smile formed through my lips, and right as she was talking, I dragged my bare foot an inch deep into the cold pool water, slushing it forward before lifting it out again.

"Reeightebee!" Those weren't even words just now, but her expression was totally priceless. "Why would you do that? It feels so gross!"

Her reaction was too cute and funny to ignore, so I just started laughing at the thought that I could sneak that onto her. "That's rich! Out of everything you are and everything you've been through, a little bit of water messes with your head? Haha!"

"That's not funny Reed! You know Altiri people don't like going for a surprise swim."

"Yeah... Wait, it's not just you? All Altiri people are this way?" Call me shocked. I was under the impression that it was just an irrational fear only Lumina had. But if all the Altiri have the same reaction to water on their skin, it warrants answers.

"We don't like to get water on our skin."

"I know. But why is that? Don't you drink a ton of that stuff every day?"

"Yes, in our mouths. Anywhere outside of that, and it messes with my peace of mind."

It sounds like even she doesn't really know why. "That's crazy. What happens when somebody spills a drink on themself by accident? I do it all the time with my water bottles."

"Please don't remind me of those moments that I hate." Her response tells me it has happened before, and at the same time, it doesn't cause any specific harm.

I giggled slightly to think on it, amazed that by all things, Lumina could be defeated by water. "I guess I just find it insane that Altiri people don't like getting water on their skin, considering their outer layer of skin is thicker and rougher."

"If it spills on me, it will be a really bad day."

I wish I knew why. Lumina seems to cringe at the idea of having water touch her skin when it isn't supposed to, kind of like students would cringe when finger nails scrape against a chalk board. "So... I just want to test something... I'm going to dip my hand into that water, and I want you to tell me how it feels."

"I already turned off my ability to feel the same things you do. I can't risk that you might try to cannon ball in there."

"I'm kind of disappointed that you can just do that. But I'm more unimpressed that you won't even give it a chance. After all, it's just me touching water. Due to telepathy, it's not actually getting on you."

"I don't even want to feel what it's like, even from your skin." She makes it sound like I'm trying to let a big hairy spider crawl all over her.

"Come on! You can't seriously be afraid to touch a little water."

"There is no need to, so I won't!" Her declaration was fierce, putting me in my place since she is technically correct.

"Jeeze! You're worse than a house cat."

"What did you just call me?"

"Nothing. You're just overreacting is all."

"I'm not overreacting. And it's rude to make fun of me like that."

"I just thought it was funny." Nothing about this was as cute as it was before. Lumina really was being as serious as possible about ensuring I just drop it. I wasn't expecting her to get so defensive and angry at my teasing like this.

"Well it's not funny to mess with me like that, nor is it fair. Besides, I'm sure there is something highly specific that you won't ever let touch your skin."

"Sorry, but I can't think of anything at the moment." I don't have those kinds of problems. I can handle the creepiest bugs, and horror movies only make me laugh these days from how bad they are at their job.

However, Lumina wasn't giving up, insisting that I had a fear similar to her own, her tone playful when bringing it up. "Something dark and crisp, something that can wrap around like a coiled snake, but also stretch and tangle into a mess?"

"Wait..." No, Lumina couldn't mean... But as soon as I thought about it, the image was planted into my mind. My imagination and memory activated on its own, bringing up the visual representation of the mess she spoke of. Just thinking about it visibly made me cringe from top to bottom, as I tried to shunt the thought away.

"That's right! I know your secret fear! You're afraid of cassette tape!"

I almost jumped just from her saying that, not from the thought of the tape, but from the realization that she knew - and was leveraging that against me. "I... I outgrew that fear!" That's what I want her to believe, but my thoughts tripped over themselves trying to come up with that. I haven't touched cassette tape in a very long time, and I don't ever plan to again.

"Oh yeah? Prove it." I couldn’t see the wide smile Lumina held onto her face with both hands resting under her chin, but I knew she was enjoying this moment too much.

"What? Now? I don't even have any tapes to test it on..." I wanted to just play this off, but I was blowing every attempt to seem neutral about the topic. Even in telepathy, I was talking much faster than I normally do, trying to rush to the end of this. "Oh well. I guess I won't need to prove anything then. They don't even sell audio tapes anymore. Who needs to touch tape anyway? Certainly not me! Weren't we talking about something else?"

"... I think your acting needs some improvement."

"Okay fine! I don't like that icky feeling of cassette tape! Just thinking about it makes me want to jump out of my skin and hide in a deep dark hole!" Happy now Lumina? I'm sorry I even suggested that I don't like tape to her. I briefly mentioned a nightmare about a cassette tape I once had, and she somehow remembers it onto now.

But I really can't stand that stuff. As a little kid, when I was listening to an audio tape in one of those compatible beat boxes for a school lesson, the cassette glitched, causing the film material to suddenly wiggle and crawl its way out of the closed lid of the player itself. And at the same time, the audio playback did not stop. Some of the tap got jammed and caught into the turning wheels, so it was still trying to read the bloody mess. The results were audio corruption that made that lady sound like a demon possessed her soul. I was so scared of what was happening that I tried to push my hands against the lid to try and stop it. But that was another mistake. All of that thin wiggly tape got tangled and caught around my fingers, and I couldn't get them off. The physical sensation of that material has ever since terrified me. I'm somehow traumatized into hating audio tape over something that happened when I was so small.

"Well it's the same for me. Just replace tape with water. It's a really disgusting feeling."

I have to question why, since Lumina of all people was never traumatized by the sensation of water... "Wait, so for you, it's not a fear of the water, but a disgusting, distasteful sensation to the physical touch of moisture?"

"Yes?" I should have tightened up my question a bit, since she was now wondering where I was going with it all.

"It's the same way I get with that audio tape. Today, looking at it is fine, even touching it a little, but not when it gets all unraveled into a mess."

"Sure. Although, that nightmare you once had about the cassette tape turning into a tape dragon and then eating you alive was kind of a dead giveaway that your fear goes far beyond my own."

"I had no such nightmare!" She's just trying to mess with me now.

But Lumina giggled a little, reminding us both how much she gets off on humiliating me in any manner. "Fine. For making fun of me, you have to make it up to me."

Dare I even ask? "Make it up to you? How so?"

"Next time you are at school, I want you to admit to all of your friends that you're terrified of cassette tape!" Lumina became much more excited by the end of her dare, with her eyes going full mischievous with glee. "It's the perfect revenge!"

"Yeah, you lost me at the part where I tell all my friends about the tape. And besides, I'm not actually terrified of cassette tape. I just go insane when it touches my skin is all."

"Right," Lumina disagreed. "Man you're not cool at all."

So now she's using reverse psychology? She should know better. I mean, me, not cool? Lumina knows that I'm cool, right...? Right...?! "Fine! I'll do the stupid dare! But if they so much as bring it to school just to test it out, I'm going to punch you."

"Good luck reaching me from all the way over there."

Oh? She doesn't think I can do it? Without thinking on it any further, I slung my left arm around, holding a fist and punching myself in the right arm as hard as I could. The blow hurt me a bit, but unlike Lumina, I was expecting and willing to feel it.

"Ow!" "Hey! What was that for?!"

"Oh, well you seemed to think I wasn't capable of reaching a fist up there. I guess you forgot that we share certain pain receptors, so if I get punched, you get punched as well." I sounded so smug to say that too, proving her wrong.

"Oh Reed. Please don't beat yourself up for fun. It's really degrading to watch."

I cringed again, not expecting her to unleash a sick roasting burn against me. But she beat me at my own game too easily. "Now that I think about it, I thought you shut off your senses to that effect."

"I turned them back on. But now I'm turning them back off again. I wouldn't test me either if I were you. If you think punching me in the arm will deter me, I'll shove my foot up your ass and we'll see what happens to all that confidence you built up."

I curiously wondered how she could make that work. I've never seen someone literally kick their own butt before. The thought of her trying it made me laugh a little, until I concluded the only possible way she could accomplish this is if Junko walks by and kicks both our asses.

Before I could have any more fun with this, a few people suddenly opened the gate and started walking into the pool area with their own towels and change of clothes. "Someone's here? At this temperature? I guess I better play the part and swim." I was already bored of the idea of swimming, and now was only doing so to make sure I didn't seem out of place to be here. But not having the pool to myself and Lumina made the moment all too sad. I'll have to come up with better ideas next time.