With her coins now out of her control, having been spirited away for safekeeping, Shion sat alone. The way she saw it, she had three options. Either go out and fight some of the monsters that were around, or use her network of duplicates to find out what was going on on the streets. She had a basic understanding of the new situation thanks to Makoto's, fittingly, squirrelly nature when it came to her home timeline, but there was still so much grey area. The third option was to simply stay put, but that was never really an option for her, at least not completely. So as usual, after sending the last of the files she'd compiled at the beach resort to her higher-ups in the P.I., she created her duplicates and sent them out, some via the streets, some via rooftop, even two via sewer, all to gather as much information as she possibly could. Perhaps it was time to finally get to know these other magical girls? The only one she'd had any contact with, though, was the boy she'd slammed her chest into during Keijo. Still, she had a better rapport with him than any of the others... So she made sure that her clones knew to keep an eye out for him as they traveled. 

She decided to wait at the location where she and Mariette had met to finally get her share of the gems. According to the news, it seemed to have been months since they met for the second time and the gems were put in Suzette's possession. Already, reports were coming in. It seemed the old haunts of certain magical entities that Shion had kept track of had been abandoned as even extensive investigations of them revealed that nobody who went missing returned to them after the "vacation." She marked them off on her list. Still, there was good information coming in on the current status, information the P.I. may deem fit to fill her in on notwithstanding. She continued sitting around, assuming that since Mariette had been at the beach, it would take some time for her to reorganize and inform Suzette that they had both returned. As she waited though, the door opened slightly and tiny footsteps could be heard. Ko had arrived.

"SHION I'VE GOT HUGE NEWS YOU WON'T BELIEVE IT I KNOW YOU LOVE MAGICAL COINS AND ALL AND GUESS WHAT I WAS GIVEN!? A HECKIN' [i]PLATINUM COIN[/i] IS WHAT!"

[color=00aeef]"What!? That's great news! Also stop yelling you'll give away our location!"[/color] Shion yelled back.

Ko jumped up onto Shion's shoulders and quieted down, whispering. "Oh, yeah, sorry. I'm just so excited, I ran here as fast as I could!" She rummaged around in one of the two bags she had on her back. "Where is it...? C'mon where are you?"

A moment passed. Then another. The rustling sound Shion heard just behind her head grew more frantic. "Um... Lemme just..." Ko jumped onto the ground and took the bag off, dumping the contents onto the floor. There was a flat-head screwdriver with half the head missing, a power drill battery, a map of another universe's Scotland, a thermos of lighter-fluid, a bottle of ten-times purified water, and a audio-tape recorder, but there was no sign of a platinum coin, or any coins for that matter.

"Wha-...? Where'd it go!?" As Ko began to hyperventilate, Shion picked up the bag, a simple child's backpack, and examined it. 

[color=00aeef]"... There's a hole."[/color]

"Huh?" 

[color=00aeef]"There's a hole in the bag."[/color] Shion held it out for Ko to look at.

"... So there is." Ko replied, still breathing heavily. 

Shion shrugged. [color=00aeef]"Oh well, no worries."[/color]

"NO WORRIES!? I THOUGHT YOU WERE OBSESSED WITH MAGIC COINS!?" 

Shion covered her ears. [color=00aeef]"Stop yelling! Yes, it would be fantastic to have that coin, but I've been working hard to get enough magic [i]without[/i] having the coin you were going to give me. I wasn't factoring it in, so while it would be a great surprise and bonus, it's not necessary."[/color] She explained. [color=00aeef]"I do greatly appreciate it, though."[/color] She added sincerely.

"Well then. I guess I'll just... stay here for a while. Maybe I can use my new knowledge to help out!"

[hr]
Summer was laid out on a beach chair, enjoying the endless summertime, listening to [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwuaYUer00U&t=1s]fitting summertime music[/url] when an idea struck. What if she...? And so she did. And then again. And again. And again. She began the process of learning this new movement. It took several hours. But finally, finally. 

She had finally learned how to swim.