"Rules are simple!" The golden-haired girl in yellow declared, clearly having done this many times. "Fill your bucket, throw the water at anyone not on your team. The most soaked person at the end loses!"

"No ganging up on one person for more than three throws in a row!" The boy with brown hair added.

"And no running from the area or you're done for the round!" The girl with black braids finished.

Everyone nodded in agreement before chaos erupted.

Children rushed to the fountains with them plunging their buckets into basins, water splashing everywhere. Reinhard found himself at the fish fountain alongside Hel and Martha, filling their buckets quickly.

"Strategy!" Martha whispered urgently, eyes gleaming with tactical consideration despite her child's voice. "We target the ones who are already wet first. They'll be easier to soak completely!"

Hel nodded seriously. "And we cover each other. If someone throws at one of us, the other two throw back immediately!"

Reinhard smiled. "Understood."

The battle began after a bit.

The red-haired boy charged first, bucket shaking as he aimed for the girl with golden curls. Water arced through the air. But she dodged, although not completely, as the water caught her shoulder and side, drenching her white dress.

She roars out with a playful glare as her own bucket comes up. Water flew in retaliation, striking the red-haired boy square in the chest.

More throws erupted across the plaza!

Water flew in every direction as everyone dodged, ducked, and leaped over low throws. Some tried to block with their arms while others simply accepted hits and immediately retaliated.

Reinhard stayed with Hel and Martha. They moved as a unit by backing each other up, covering angles, and coordinating their throws without needing to speak.

The boy with brown hair targeted Martha, and his throw came fast, aimed at her back.

"Martha, behind you!" Hel's warning came sharply.

Martha quickly stepped to the side while turning, and the water missed by inches. Her own bucket came up instantly, and she threw without aiming. The water flew in a perfect arc, striking the brown-haired boy across his legs and soaking his pants completely.

While this was happening, one girl with black braids and another with short blonde hair rushed towards Reinhard with a coordinated attack. They came from opposite sides with their buckets ready and grins on their faces.

But Reinhard threw the bucket of water towards the black-braided girl mid-approach. The water splashed across her face and made her sputter and stumble.

Before he then raised his bucket to the other girl as she threw some water. He wasn't fully splashed as the bucket blocked most of it, but some got on his shirt.

Then Martha's throw followed immediately, striking the blonde girl before she could complete her attack. Water drenched her from shoulder to waist.

Hel laughed, already running back to refill her bucket.

The battle continued with everyone eventually getting wet.

Water-soaked clothes, dripped from hair, created puddles that made the cobblestones treacherous.

All of them slipped before catching themself with a laugh and continued fighting.

Reinhard found himself targeted by three children at once, with water coming from left, right, and center. He dodged left with the first throw bucket missing, but then the second caught his shoulder and soaked his shirt.

Then the third splashed him across the face, making him laugh and the other giggling.

Martha and Hel retaliated instantly. Their throws came from different angles, catching two of the three attackers and driving them back.

The golden-haired girl proved to be the most tactical. She hung back, waited for others to engage, then struck when targets were distracted. Her throws were always precise and at the right time without wasting her water.

But Martha seemed better as she seemed to know where everyone would be before they got there.

Her throws were perfect when it came to almost always hitting the target and predicting where they would go.

Gradually, the pattern emerged with some children who were completely soaked and water dripping with every movement. Others remained relatively dry, having dodged or blocked more successfully, and only part of them were soaked.

The red-haired, freckled boy was drenched, and the girl with golden curls wasn't far behind. The boy with brown hair had somehow stayed mostly dry despite being targeted frequently.

But no one could match Martha, Hel, and Reinhard. They'd covered each other too well, as Reinhard's clothes were damp but not soaked, and his face dripped with water. Hel had gotten wet during a few exchanges but had mostly dodged successfully and was running around fine.

Martha was barely wet at all, with just a few splashes on her shorts and shirt where she'd taken deliberate hits to protect Hel or Reinhard.

Finally, after hours of playing, children collapsed around the fountains, laughing and breathing hard. Water dripped from everyone, creating puddles that merged with the existing dampness.

"The most soaked..." The golden-haired girl stood, surveying the group, and her finger pointed at the red-haired boy. "It's definitely you!"

Everyone looked to see that the boy was completely drenched. Every part of his clothing was dark with water, his hair plastered flat against his skull, water still dripping steadily from his elbows and knees.

He groaned. "I got targeted by everyone!"

"Because you're easiest to hit!" The girl with black braids laughed.

Arguments erupted, playful debates about who had actually been most soaked, who had the best throw, who had dodged most impressively. Reinhard smiled before he picked up another bucket of water, drenching everyone in water and making them shriek.

"Now everyone is wet." Reinhard said with a grin.

All of them glanced at each other before grinning and went to quickly fill up their bucket while saying. "You aren't fully wet yet!"

And then the fun continued with everyone chasing after Reinhard to drench him while he ran away.

Eventually, they all ended up sitting on the fountain basins' edges with their legs dangling, feet swaying above wet cobblestones.

Someone had bought meat sticks from a nearby vendor, and the skewers were passed around, everyone taking one.

Reinhard found himself in the middle. Hel sat to his left with her violet hair still dripping and her meat stick held in both hands as she happily bit into it.

Martha sat to his right with drenched hair and eating more delicately but with obvious enjoyment.

The conversations flowed around him.

"Did you see when Martha threw that water, and it curved around the fountain?"

"That wasn't curving, she just aimed really well!"

"No way, it definitely curved! Like magic or something!"

"And when Hel dodged those three throws in a row-"

"I slipped! I wasn't dodging, I literally slipped and they all missed!"

Some of them began laughing, leading Hel's face to flush, but she was grinning.

"Reinhard's block with his bucket was amazing though!" The boy with brown hair pointed his meat stick at Reinhard. "That water would've hit him directly in the face if he hadn't blocked."

"And then Martha and Hel threw it immediately after that one time." The golden-haired girl added. "Perfect teamwork."

There was more discussion and more laughter that passed between everyone. Stories about the best moments, the funniest slips, the most impressive dodges.

Each child added their perspective, arguing playfully about who had really performed the coolest move.

Reinhard remained quiet while eating his meat stick slowly and listening. A smile stayed on his face, one without worry, concern, and a burden, for the moment, Reinhard felt like a child for the first time in his life.

Around these children, he couldn't help but enjoy having fun and forgetting who he was.

Hel leaned against his left arm, still talking animatedly about how she'd definitely improve for next time.

Martha leaned against his right arm, occasionally adding her own observations about strategy and technique.

Water dripped from all of them.

The afternoon sun was warm on wet clothes, while meat sticks slowly disappeared as conversations continued.

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