𝘞𝘢𝘳 𝘖𝘧 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 / 𝘈𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘪 𝘚𝘢𝘵𝘰

𝘝

After the rain that occurred the day before, the dark clouds were no longer to be found in the sky. Now there is only the sun, in the center of the sky, shining over the entire Republic City. Birds sail across the skies. Other animals came out of their shelters and went to quench their thirst in the river. Within the river, three standing silhouettes could be seen. And another could be seen under the shade of a tree.

"Can we start, guys?" Hikari asked the three children as he came closer to them. " No cheating, ok?" He pointed his finger as a warning.

"You can start counting, Dad!" Sora shouted with an excited smile while slapping her hand on the water.

"We're more than ready, Uncle Hikari!" Bolin replied with the same titillating smile as Sora, while Mako responded with a firm nod.

"In their seats..." Hikari looked between them. "Prepare..." Hikari took a long pause.

"Hurry up, da-" Sora was suddenly interrupted.

"Go!" Hikari shouted, causing Bolin and Mako to start swimming. Sora, who didn't get out in time, took a lot of water to the face because of Bolin and Mako. But after Bolin and Mako's departure, Sora began to flap her arms and legs nimbly, creating rhythmic, lithe movements in the water.

Watching their little competition, Hikari noticed that, despite being a little ahead of Sora, Bolin, and Mako were already showing signs of exhaustion; which resulted in a reduction in the speed of their strokes. Himari knew of the competition that existed between Mako and Sora. So, it wasn't surprising when Mako, even though he was tired, continued to swim as if he was being used by some animal. It was obvious how much Mako would like to rub his victory in Sora's face. And the same can be said for Sora, who, as raised her head to allow oxygen to enter her lungs; noticed the tired state of the two boys and increased his speed, forcing her muscles to work hard.

Hikari saw that Bolin was behind Sora and Mako, he controlled the water with a smooth movement of his hands and propelled Bolin to the "finish line". When Bolin rose from the water, Hikari quickly lowered his arms and offered the younger boy a smile.

"Did... I... Win...?" Bolin asked in between breaths to Hikari, reaching up with his hand to brush the wet hair out of his eyes.

"You won, Bolin!" Hikari replied with a proud smile, going back to ruffling the boy's hair.

"I WON!" Bolin let out a victorious laugh. " Now you have to respect me because I am the king of the seas- or in this case, river!"

When Mako and Sora reached the finish line, they got up from the water still panting from the effort, they looked at Bolin with a frown on their faces when heard what Bolin had said.

"What? How?!" Sora looked at Bolin with a surprised face. How could Bolin win their competition when he was behind her?

"At least Sora didn't win," Mako murmured as he looked at the white-haired girl out of the corner of his eyes. But Sora heard that and gave him a piercing look, which was returned by the boy.

Stopping glaring at Mako, Sora found it strange how silent her father was and turned to him, squinting her eyes in his direction. Hikari, noticing Sora's gaze on him, looked away from her.

"Dad... What did-" Sora was once again interrupted.

"Let's get out of the water to rest, kids!" Hikari signaled to Bolin and Mako to go sit on the lawn. Turning to his daughter, Hikari found a soaked Sora with her arms crossed, staring at him with narrowed eyes.

"What happened to 'No cheating', Dad?" Sora arched her brows as she looked at her father with an accusing face.

"That rule only applied to you guys." Hikari placed his hands on his waist while copying Sora's expression.