[ perceptibly, his expression twists, horrified with the thought of a similar bargain being offered to him for something he'd sorely wanted; it wasn't like the premise alone wasn't enticing. hypothetically, if he could broker for the safety of his friends on tellus in exchange for his single, happiest memory, it'd be a choice anyone would rationally make. she'd wanted her tail so badly, too, might've gone to the ends of the earth to search for it.

but ... oona's admission jars at him, much in the same manner that the tap on her shoulder momentarily stunned her — a moment of exposed weakness, whether out of sentiment or longing or just plain bewilderment.

abruptly, makoto shoves any further thoughts on memories (or the lack thereof) to the backburner, schooling his demeanor back into warm assent, a humming undercurrent to his voice. ] If you drown me, we won't be able to learn anything about each other anymore. Don't you want to know about what kind of swim strokes I'm good at?

[ a hint of a goodnatured challenge, clean and sharp. they can't figure who would supersede the other in raw skill if one of them kicked the bucket mid-race, after all. it's common sense. ]

Or are you scared I might win? I've swam since I was young, so I'd understand if you were a little nervous to compete against me. [ okay, now he's definitely picking on her. ]