I quickly change into my swimming trunks. They chose a nice light blue color that I can't really argue with, blue is a really pretty color after all. I also got a pair of sandals, which are super cozy. The strap is made out of some silky yet super strong fabric, so it doesn't even chafe.

  I walk back out to the beach and the scene before me is quite nice. The sun is getting close to setting, so the blue sky has taken on a slight orangeish tint. It makes it look like the lovely blue ocean is catching on fire or something. A few stars are starting to appear in the skies. In the distance, I see another of those whale creatures as it jumps and glides through the air, creating a large wave as it lands.

  Liv and Moxie are making a sandcastle. Moxie seems very uncomfortable though. Liv chose an emerald green swimsuit that puts all of her muscles on display for all to see. They are definitely attracting the eyes of many passersby. Meanwhile, Moxie is wearing a nice yellow swimsuit, and she kept her hat on.

  Lemon is right where I left her. Her and the other dragons are busy sun bathing, taking up a large area. A helpful staff member gave us a sign that we put up saying ‘gentle petting allowed.’ So naturally a bunch of kids and many adults are busy spoiling the heck out of them.

  I squat down next to the sandcastle. It is quite well built, apparently Liv is an engineer of sand structures. “So, where are Stephen and Violet?”

  Liv looks at me and rolls her eyes. “Stephen is out there.” She points towards the ocean, where I can see a faint dot several kilometers out, it's Stephen of course. I bet his ridiculous muscles are also on display. Perhaps he took the waves to avoid a horde of admirers or something. “As for Violet, I've got no clue where she went off to. Perhaps she is hiding in the water or something.”

  I hear a crunch of sand behind me and it is quickly followed with a slap to the back. “Dontcha worry about it Maka. I am sure she is somewhere around here.”

  “Tien!” I shout as I jump away. “Dont sneak up behind people, it's rude.” I turn around to find Tien in a nice white swimsuit. She has ditched the straw hat in favor of some awesome sunglasses.

  “Ah relax a bit, Maka. No need to be so tense, we are here to have fun after all. What's more fun than a bit of sneaking up on people?” She feigns innocence, but I know she has malicious intentions.

  “Well then, Ima go swimming.” I proclaim and start walking towards the water.

  Just as I am about to dip my toes in, a giant wave appears on the horizon. There are dozens of people on some sort of surf board. They are gliding effortlessly along the wave and doing lots of cool tricks.

  My eyes immediately gravitate towards one of the surfers. She has absolutely beautiful white hair that seems perfectly at home in the salty air. I can see the glint of her blue eyes that seem to match perfectly with the water. She is wearing a super sexy red swimsuit that seems tailor made to highlight every single one of her good spots – which is every spot of course.

  She launches off the wave and flies through the air. The sun has mostly set, so it looks like she is surfing on the stars themselves. It's so badass. The entire time, she is smiling brightly, and it damn near kills me. She nails the landing and rides the wave as it gently breaks against the shore.

  I, along with a crowd of others, rush over. Though it seems everyone else wants to talk to everyone but Violet. Which is good news, because it means I get to annoy her all by myself.

  The moment she sees me, her face takes upon that cute scowl of hers. “Fuck off.” Ow, I didn't even speak and she already started off so coldly. But that's good, it means it can only go up from here.

  “You were sooo awesome. Why didn't you tell us you could surf?” I try to speak as cheerily as possible. Though I am not the best at it, if I can make her smile again that would be wonderful.

  “Mind your own fucking buisness, creep.” She gives me a cold glare, I feel like I am in danger.

  “So does that mean you won't teach me how to surf?”

  She lets the silence stretch on for several terrifying moments. “That sounds like a great idea.” A grin spreads over her face. It's still cute, but I am not sure I am going to like what caused her to grin like that.

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  – One acquiring of a glideboard later –

  The skimmer rumbles as we travel out to sea. Since there aren't any large natural waves, they have to use a giant machine to create them. But it has to be a fair bit from shore so as not to cause flooding.

  Violet is sitting right next to me, pressed up against my side. Not voluntarily of course, the boat is so cramped that there simply isn't space. She hasn't complained about it though, so maybe it's a common occurrence. Lots of people are staring at us, or rather her. It turns out that surfing is not a popular sport for those of the upper stratum, so she draws quite a lot of attention with her white hair and blue eyes. Though with how beautiful she is, she would draw attention anyway.

  It feels correct to have her there, to be able to feel her warmth against my side. Though I bet she is internally squirming and wishing she was anywhere else. But it is too late, she promised to teach me to surf.

  We come to a stop and I stare out at the ocean. Beneath the water I can see a giant contraption. It is basically a giant pulse cannon that is two kilometers wide. Supposedly it's capable of creating enough sonic energy to create a wave one hundred meters high, but it is not turned up that high.

  The instant the captain gives the all clear, dozens of people jump off the boat, surfboards in hand. Before they hit the water, they manage to get their boards underneath them and go soaring off, hovering just above the water.

  The sport is called glidesurfing, taking inspiration from the ancient sport known as surfing. Rather than using the water to propel oneself, the board propels itself and the goal is to glide just above the water, without dipping in. Far more sophisticated than that silly old way.

  “Idiot, get on your board.” Violet says, and then jumps off the boat without bothering to show me how. To be fair, she agreed to teach me how to surf, not how to get on the board.

  I turn to one of the attendants that are standing nearby and ask them. They show me that there is a headset and glove that I have to wear. The moment I put them on, information starts flowing into my brain at rapid speed. An overlay appears displaying tons of useful information like weather conditions, water temperature and such.

  Imitating some of the stragglers – likely other people new to the whole surfing thing. I put my board up on the rail and step on it. Then, with a simple movement of my fingers I go soaring off the edge of the boat. Not as cool as jumping off and doing it mid-air, but I'll take what I can get.

  I drop off the side of the boat, and plummet directly into the water at high speed. The water is freezing. I kick and push and manage to surface myself only to find Violet hovering just above me on her board, looking all smug with a grin on her face. “Idiot.”

  I manage to get my board under me and start hovering properly. “As if you didn't do the exact same thing your first time too.” I quip back.

  She turns away and looks in the other direction. Which is practically a confirmation that she also failed the first time. Seems she isn't instantly perfect at everything after all. “Come on idiot, start moving. The glove lets you control your direction and speed. If you fall again I'm not coming back to save your sorry ass.”

  After a few minutes of practice I start to get the hang of it. I only end up falling a few more times before I am able to cruise at a nice speed. I even manage to do a small jump into the air.

  “Idiot, don't die, Lemon would be sad.” Violet says, just as the wave machine releases a large pulse of energy.

  Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of water are displaced and form into a massive wave about twenty meters tall. I stare at the overwhelmingly large wall of water and I feel a bit of fear, but then I smile.

  I follow Violet as she takes off the wave and starts climbing it. She is fast, she has definitely done this quite a bit. Her board is purple and shows signs of heavy wear, reinforcing that idea.

  I race up the side of the wave, practically going vertically. I manage to pull a whopping 2.4G as I try to keep up with her. Being safe, I curve around the top of the wave instead of jumping off the top like she and others try. I would almost certainly go splat if I tried that.

  At some point my smile turns into a laugh, and it doesn't stop. I feel powerful and a bit mad as I cruise across the wave, the now fully starry sky above me and the deep blue of the ocean beneath.

  At some point I will try to do a few tricks. I skim the back of my board against the wave while looking out at the beach. I can spot the dragons enjoying the attention of many passersby. I also spot our other squadmates, Liv seems to be waving at me, so I try waving back.

  Of course, in my infinite wisdom I wave back with my gloved hand. Which causes me to go spinning wildly out of control as it tries to interpret my movements. I end up getting submerged in the wave, and my display flashes red with a warning: ‘That is not how you do it, idiot.’

  Violet reprogrammed the fucking warning message, I bet she is cackling right now.

  Through some miracle I manage to regain control and emerge from the wave. I resume my surfing, but I drop a bit lower down, I am too exhausted to try anything more difficult.

  The wave dissipates and we slowly glide onto the shore. I instantly find Violet, and she smiles at me. “You are not half bad for being a completely incompetent fool.” Her words ignite a fire in me. From her, that is the highest praise imaginable.

  I sense danger to my back and dodge out of the way as Liv tries to hug me. Her momentum carries her forward and she goes flying and lands in the sand. “Ow, you’re so mean, Maka.”

  Ignoring her, I turn to Moxie who has a big smile on her face. “Maka awesome.” Then she makes some runes that form into a floating board of light that moves all around her, doing all sorts of tricks. Her magic only seems to get more advanced by the day, it's no surprise that she would still be practicing on vacation.

  I look around at my squadmates, and our dragons in the distance. Then I look at Tien and we lock eyes, she smiles at me.

  At this moment I am sure of one thing. We can do anything as long as we work together. So those damned monsters better watch out, cause we, the Asteria Squadron, are coming for them.

  Next Chapter: One Punch KO

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