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Hypatia was worried about naked cats?

But he was pretty much naked all the time!

Itsuki looked down at himself in confusion, and then back up at Hypatia, the senshi holding a very slinky red swimsuit meant for women. "Ah, don't worry, Hypatia-san. I'll do my best to look good in red~! Arigato gozaimasu~"

The Mauvian-turned-boy scuttled across the boat's flat interior to nab the swimsuit and immediately began to disrobe like a small explosion. Everything from small accessories to large items like a pair of pants went flying with giddy abandon. "Cats are naked anyway, Hypatia-san~ No need to worry!" Stretching his long and skinny limbs through the bathing suit, and pulling his tail free of any kinks or snags, Itsuki proudly posed at the end of his furious round of dressup.

"Ah! Perfection~! Now to swim! BONZAIIIIII~!!!"

While the Mauvian's mental image of his dive was nothing short of elegance and grace, in reality, the practice wasn't nearly so impressive. Towards the end of his clamoring to the edge of the boat, the Mau slipped and his foot caught on the inflated edge, causing him to unceremoniously belly flop into the water.

He resurfaced a few seconds later, sputtering water. "Ah... Hypatia-san... That wasn't what I was hoping for!"

Wet ears swiveled to find Hypatia's voice over the sloshing of the sea water. "Fufu, you think so, Hypatia-san? These legs are funny, definitely different from cat legs! If you could turn into a cat, Hypatia-san, I'd help you out! It's not so bad - you can fit into lots of places a human couldn't, and people love on you because you'd be honto kawaii. Plus, cats own the internet, but I'm sure you knew that already. I mean, Youtube is full of cats, so--!"

After that, the reef senshi entered the water with more grace than her feline companion did. She seemed a natural.

Her offer of fins and goggles were accepted wholeheartedly with several energetic nods. "Hai! I wonder if you could turn into a mermaid, Hypatia-san. I bet a tail would be better than fins!" Itsuki gratefully took up the goggles and slapped them on after situating them over his ears, which were higher on his head than a human's. Itsuki didn't have to worry about goggle straps pinching his furry ears. After several adjustments, the cat plunged his face into the water.

"Ubbbu herpble-fluhhhb---!"

Enthusiasm made Itsuki forget he couldn't speak underwater, and, after lifting his head back up, repeated himself. "Hypatia-san! The goggles make everything so much clearer! Still no fish, though..." Next came the fins, which were much more difficult to put on, given that Itsuki was in the water, but the task was completed eventually.

Now the catboy was bobbing around with much greater ease. "Suuuugooiiiiii~!! Is this what a fish feels like?!"

While Hypatia was doing the important work of exploring, Itsuki was purr-fecting his breast stroke. Or trying to, anyway, The cat's tail was soaked to the bone and still held aloft like a rudder as the cat paddled about the surface, face in the water. Miles upon miles of ocean sand and rolling waves greeted his eyes, but he found little else. No fish, no sharks, no mollusks or jellyfish or anything else that might have been tasty. Itsuki wasn't sure about the jellyfish, but he was fairly certain the rest could have made it onto a roll of sushi at one point or another.

When the senshi returned to the surface, Itsuki shook his head. "Hypatia-san, I can't find anything! Isn't that weird? Do you think we scared all the fish away? Maybe my bucket was too obvious..."

The thought made his ears droop. The Mau was really looking forward to dining on space fish. "The water is so clear though, Hypatia-san! I bet it's clearer here than back on Earth! And the air is so fresh~ It's like a vacation spot! Except... no fish."

cat_crying

It really was a travesty.

"I bet your people were mermaids, Hypatia-san! I haven't seen any houses... I wonder where they lived!" Plunking his face down in the water again, Itsuki cat-paddled his way to the senshi before surfacing again. "I can be the fuzzy shark of your planet, Hypatia-san! GAOOO~"

So menacing!

"Haaaaiiiii." squeaked the teen-Mau, cat-paddling thoughtfully around the boat and near Hypatia. "I didn't see any wildlife on Themi-chan's moon, either. Or Lacri-san's asteroid! I don't think anyone has mentioned any life on other planets... that I know of, anyway. I could ask Ash-denka! And consult the Mau Headquarters computer! Seems like a bad coincidence to me."

Ears flattening, Itsuki made a perturbed face. No life meant no fish, which meant no space-fish in his belly for him to write home about! This simply would not do!

Maybe the fish were hiding somewhere instead? Maybe they knew about the intended trip?

Hypatia's shock over the possibility of mermaids earned a good-natured snicker from the Mauvian that did, indeed, prove the humans aren't alone in the universe idea. cat_wink "Hai, Hypatia-san~ If Mauvians can exist, who's to say mermaids can't? You'd be a honto utsukushii mermaid, Hypatia-san! You're an excellent swimmer and your powers come from the sea!" Throwing his arms in the air, Itsuki thought himself a genius for a split second before realizing he needed his arms to tread water and stay afloat.

"Honto utsukushii~"

Itsuki's eye lit up like Christmas tree at the mention of fresh, cooked fish ready and waiting for his empty belly.

"UWAH, Hypatia-san, you're the best! All this searching for space-fish is making me hungry!" Unlike Hypatia, her Mauvian companion was not so graceful in the water, and took much cat-paddling to make it back to the edge of the boat. After that hurdle had been crossed, the next obstacle had presented itself.

Getting back onto the boat.

"HRNGFJBKDNGNNFFGGGG--" came a cry of exertion and the teen-Mau, clad in a red women's swimsuit, clamored back onto the raft in a wet wad of fur and limbs. In a split second, Itsuki was shaking in the only way a wet animal could, before pulling his beloved pair of chopsticks from subspace. "Arigato gozaimasu, Hypatia-san~" cat_blaugh