View source for 2026-05-12: Seeding The Water Garden

*'''Log: Seeding The Water Garden'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Miho Ijuuin]]
*'''Where:''' Aoba Ward, Sumaru City
*'''OOC Date:''' May 12, 2026
*'''IC Date:''' Thu Nov 8, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Yua has decided that she wants a water garden, a pond for fish to keep up in their penthouse area.  Yua has thus taken Miho out to investigate FISH, and one of the many criteria they have is fish it's less likely for their cat Tiger to eat... They find good fortune in their choices.''

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 <Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.

	A couple of days ago, Miho came home to Yua developing an /evil plot./

	She wants a water garden! Shishi gave her the idea!!

	(Shishi, of course, is what Yua calls /Shiryuu;/ it's a combination of his name and /shihaisha./ He's the shihaisha named Shiryuu, so, you see, he is Shishi! Yua has completely managed to miss the way /Shiryuu/ feels about being nicknamed in the process of naming him, of course.)

	She spent the next day /researching ponds,/ and measuring out their sizable outdoor patio, making plans...

	In the end, her scheme calls for a pond to be built into the very top level of their penthouse, beside their pool; since that rooftop is already /designed/ to be hollowed out to set a pool into it, it's not such a great demand to add /another/ variety of pool. She has her heart set on one with an artificial waterfall built in, to make it a more attractive observation piece while they're sunning by the pool, and to allow Miho to grow poisonous water-lilies in the space the fish can't reach to nibble; if she puts it beside the pool chairs, they can sit there and watch the /fish,/ not just /Yua./

	(Who is, being fair, also a fish.)

	And so, they come to Thursday -- where Yua tugs Miho /out/ after dinner. (Tyrrha, tonight, is busy studying a textbook to prepare for /going to school./) There aren't that many aquariums open past sundown, but the Ijuuin name opens a lot of doors... and also, conveniently, ensures that they can view the fish /privately./

	Here, there are a variety of ponds out the back of the aquarium holding koi of different ages and sizes; thanks to Miho's assurance, the shopkeeper will be inside waiting for their decision, so they're able to explore the big fish out here with some privacy.

	And that's the first thing Yua notices, as they step out from the tanks inside with the smaller fish kept there to /these/ ponds: "They're so big...! Not even Tiger could eat some of these fishies!"


 <Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.

Miho has been working, of course. It's been... work. But when Yua came to her with a request and an idea, Miho was pleased at Yua's initiative. Not just because it's a nice idea--but because it's Yua showing interest in something! So, even before there was the matter of the poisonous water-lilies... 

Now, Miho is out after dinner, and she is looking at fish. She considers one. "This one's colors are ideal..." 

Pause. She considers. "Hmmm," Miho reflects. "He might try anyway," she points out fondly. "He is a great hunter." 

A pause. "But it would probably not be wise. And I think he would not." 

"I enjoy their scale patterns..."


 <Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.

	"Wow... did you know that one's called the kikokuryu, Mimi?" Yua gasps, as she looks down at the dark-and-white spackled shiny fish swimming close to the surface. It's notable, of course, because that name means /sparkly black dragon./ The /kikokuryu/ has metallic skin; and with Yua identifying it, they're able to find a /plaque/ describing that variety of koi, too. "Hey, hey! This says that when there's changes in stuff like water temperature or chemistry or lighting or stuff, their black can turn blue, or even silver...!"

	She claps her hands together, and here is the best part about Yua's /evil pond ambitions:/ she's smiling! "It's okay! We can teach him not to! Besides, there's a fence in front of the pool... so he shouldn't be able to get in, anyway!" Aside from fencing one's pool being /child safe,/ it is also /cat safe,/ because who knows if Tiger might not be able to swim one day? "Mmm... we'll have to make sure Tykko knows these fish aren't for fishing, though..."

	Yua points to a pitch-black fish, swimming lazily. "Look, look! It's a karasu, Mimi! Caw, caw!" 'Karasu', of course, being /crow./ "I read about them... they're good luck! Good luck, good luck... seven koi will be good luck, too!"

	Seven is a popular lucky number in /most/ places, but in Japan, there are seven Gods of fortune; and, of course, the seventh day of the seventh month is a lucky /festival.../


 <Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.

"I did not." Miho regards the black dragon fish. "It is beautiful. ...And could change? Would these alterations to its environment prove beneficial, or harmful? Or neither?" She is very curious. Lighting wouldn't be a big change, but... 

Yua is smiling. "True," Miho says. "He does like to learn. ...But as you say; he shouldn't be able to get to them anyway..." 

Pause. "...Yes. Yes, we will have to be sure to tell her that." 

But that fish--karasu! Hmmm. "A wise--or foolish?--choice. I think I like this one. Fortunate, too..." 

A seven-times-seven lucky number! ...Well no, they probably can't fit seven of them. But Miho does like this one too.


 <Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.

	As it happens, seven fish is /perfectly doable,/ if the pond's sufficiently long... apparently, each fish needs about five hundred gallons to swim comfortably. And the reason that's doable is because the pond needs to be two metres deep so the fish don't get cold in winter or hot in summer, Mimi!!!

	(Yua's research notes are the cutest research notes. She put little fish stickers on her fish binder, which is a thing she has, now. ... technically, the mimimum recommended depth is more like one-point-/two/ metres, but if the Ijuuins did anything by minimums they'd get strange looks at social functions.)

	"Water chemistry wouldn't be too good for the fishes," Yua explains, and quite confidently, despite appearances. (She might not be wearing her leotard, still, but she doesn't /look/ like someone who spends a lot of time with fish.) "Fish get sick if there's pollution in the water making the acid change... that's why you see algae, too! Koi fishies like it when it's a little warm, but not /too/ too warm, like... like they're comfiest in October! Or, or between April and June!" That is, between an average temperature of 20 and 15 celcius -- or a range between 17-24 celcius to 10-18 celcius.

	Yua does get around to saying, "you know, like... fifteen to twenty-five degrees!", but only /after/ she frames it in terms of how hot it is during the year.

	Japanese people, of course, use Celcius, and so intuitively understand that's the heat range which Farhenheit would call 59 to 77. We here in the narrative have translated for universal understanding.

	"But lightning is easy to change," Yua assures Miho, confirming her intuition about the safest option. "Fishies don't mind when the light changes so much!"

	"Maybe we can bring him up for supervised fishie time," Yua supposes, tilting her head. "So long as he's good...!"

	Yua giggles, thinking of how /Tyrrha/ might have to be reminded to be good, too.

	"Caw, caw...! And look, look! They've got kohaku, and and taisho sanshoku, and showa sanshoku, too! They're so traditional...! I bet Sister would be really impressed if we had those fish!" They're traditional, of course, because they were some of the /first/ varieties of koi -- developed during the nineteenth century. Indeed, while the kohaku is the first, the other two celebrate the Emperors who reigned when they were bred: the Taisho Emperor and the Showa Emperor, respectively.


 <Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.

Happy day! Many fish are available and can be housed! 

Yua's research notes charmed Miho; even if she weren't inclined to give Yua what she wanted, they are detailed and persuasive and... very cute. Minimums are hardly the way to go. "Hmmm, yes," she says. "I see... that's a good range..." 

Not so difficult to maintain, either. Universal understanding aside, Miho pays close attention to matters such as season and the temperatures which one can expect within them. 

"Good," she says of light. And she laughs softly. "Perhaps," Miho says. "So long as he is good. He can be a rascal..." 

"Traditional..." Yes, fine fish. Miho nods. "I think it would be good to have some of those," she agrees, and not just because her sister would approve but because Miho likes that kind of thing, too. 

"Do you have any others that particularly catch your eye, Yua?"


 <Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.

	"It's kind of like my comfy range!" Yua declares, brightly. "Though I don't like it when it's twenty-five... I get too hot. Twenty's okay," she decides, nodding to herself. "Twenty's comfy."

	(She's not entirely comfy in those long sleeves... but it's a balancing act. At least at home, Miho can command the air conditioning to hold at the perfect temperature to keep Yua happy...)

	"Eiko-san told me how he gave Welwetes a sound beating when I took Tykko to the park last Sunday!" Yua exclaims, of /Tiger's crimes./ "He went yipe yipe yipe yipe all the way back to her room! Heehee, but that's not so bad... now they know who's boss, Tiger can come out into the loungeroom again! And Welwetes knows he's okay so long as he doesn't cross Tiger, I think..."

	She hums, thoughtfully, leaning forward. "Hmmm... oh, look, Mimi!" She points to a white fish with a single white spot atop his crown. "That's a /Tancho/ Kohaku!" Unlike most of the kohaku, whose red patterns are blotched across their entire body, /Tancho/ variants have only the one spot -- and this one is a perfect circle. "You deserve a fish like that, Mimi! You won gold for Japan three times! If anyone should have a flag fish, it's Memimi! Oh, oh! And there's that beautiful /ogon,/ too! Of course we need a golden fish for Mimi...!"

	And that's seven, count 'em up -- the black-and-white kikokuryu, the pitch black karasu, the foundational trio of kohaku and taisho sanshoku and showa sanshoku, the patriotic tancho kohaku, and the golden ogon. Lucky seven fish...!


 <Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.

"Yes," Miho agrees. "It is similar. ...I think it will be quite doable, to maintain this range for these fish." 

Miho does command the AC!! ...Which they actually have, unlike a lot of places... 

"Ha ha ha," Miho laughs, amused by the story even now. "Yes. It is important that Welwetes know his place. Tiger must have free roam of the apartment..." Pause. "Though Welwetes is also cute," she allows magnanimously. 

But there--the perfect spot! A fish like that... 

"Hmmm. Yes," she says. "I agree, that would be quite suitable. But--ah, a golden fish for me...?" 

Seven! Miho will agree to this, though she will pretend at something like humility briefly, just to be polite. 

A little. Not that much.


 <Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.

	"Mm, mm! I've never /kept/ fishes before, but I've been reading a whole lot! I took Tykko to the library to find some books she needs to study, but I got books on fishies, too!" Imagine going to the /library!/ Perhaps that's just one of those things Yua's picked up from her humble background...

	Of course, they have a /personal/ library, too, though it's kind of scattered throughout the house rather than being localised to any one room. There are bookshelves in the loungeroom, in their studies, and even a fancy little one in the /kitchen/ for Yua to store all her cooking-related tomes!

	But before Yua knows the correct fishie books to buy so that they may consult them at leisure, she must read them... perhaps, in this, the library is an institution of /wisdom./

	"I'd be very cross at him if he scared Tiger in his own home!" Yua insists, cheeks puffing up. "He'd have to sleep outside! Except... he's a robot, so does that mean staying outside would rust him up...?" Yua wonders, tilting her head. "Hmm... I guess it's a good thing he's polite! And he really is cute," she adds, smiling. "Especially when he does that little wiggle...!"

	Is it a programmed wiggle? Yua isn't worried about something like that. Surely he's a real pet!

	(Fun fact: she was also distraught when her Egg Watch died in high school. She cried on Miho /all afternoon,/ and not just because it was Miho who bought her such an expensive gift...)

	"Mm, mm!" Yua hums, brightly. "Gold for Mimi! Gold for Mimi! I'd be really happy if Mimi got a stunning golden fish... a golden fish to go with Mimi's flag fish! Like mascots for Mimi's medals...!"

	Miho can pretend at humility, because Yua will never stop applauding her talents. /Never./




[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]