Azure Waters, Crimson Tide

by EternalFluffy

A crystal blue sea, ruled by dual princesses...a sea witch and her twin shark familiars...a peaceful, happy world... Yet, for one brother, fate might not be so easily averted... (100% AU, rating will increase later).

1. Part 1 Chapter 1

Fair warning that this fanfiction will eventually get pretty dark. Rating will increase in future chapters. Nothing sexually explicit will occur, but this story will deal with some very dark themes later on.

This fanfiction is completely and totally an AU. I'm not trying to say "this could have really happened". It couldn't. This is not intended to be any sort of "Sal apologist" story.

Hello. It's been a very long time since I've posted anything, so my writing might be a bit rusty. I apologize. But this is the first time I've had a story compelling enough to really work on in quite a while.

My characterizations may be a bit different than expected. Wadanohara, especially, is more mature than usual, but I think, in this universe, she grew up differently, so it would have an effect on her personality.

I apologize to Old fans, as well. I don't hate him, I promise, but this role seemed to make sense for him.

Regarding the "Salmon" thing, I know that his name is literally "Salmon-san" in Japanese, but...I just thought it was a neat little touch. Beware of cute.

Unfortunately, most other characters besides the main trio and familiars will pretty much just be cameos, since I really want to focus on them. There are just so many characters in Wadanohara.

I'm sorry for these long notes, but I always get nervous in a new fandom and want to address everything. Neverthless, enjoy, and praise be to Mogeko.

(-)

Part I

Chapter 1

Fresh salt air. Freedom. The infinite world rolling out towards the horizon. A soft breeze brushing over. Serenity. Hope. Possibility. The sea was absolutely beautiful this afternoon, its gentle little waves fanning by.

Most everyone else grew tired of this sight after looking at it all their lives. It became the same commonplace vision as a tarred road in our world—just another ordinary aspect of life that didn't even deserve a thought. But not to her…never to her. She loved it with all of her heart, and the image never faltered. This wonderful, picturesque world was her own, and it never tired her, no matter how many islands she visited, no matter how long her voyages took.

A little smile peeked onto her lips as her hands slid over the smooth, gray surface beneath her. It was all so perfect, and she loved every moment. Right now, their destination didn't even matter…it was these small moments together that counted. Just spending time out here…with them.

"We should be there soon. I don't really understand why you want to go there, but if you're really sure…"

"Aaaand jump!"

"Of course. It's a lovely place, really. It's just a little hard for people to see the appeal sometimes."

"I know, I just…don't want you catching cold."

"Whee-hee!"

"It's no problem. But if you're really that worried, I can cast a rain-repellent spell."

"That would probably be a good idea, yeah."

"Fwoo!"

"Hahaha."

"And this better not be for some dumb fetch-quest either!"

"Whee!"

"No, not at all. I just wanted to spend some time together. It's been quite a while. We've been doing a lot as a whole group recently, so I've kind of missed this."

"Ta-dah!"

"Will you knock it off already?!"

"…Nope. Too much fun."

"Rrrrrrgh…!"

She laughed. Oh, she really had missed this.

Today, the sea witch Wadanohara was taking a little trip on the surface with her twin shark familiars. She had five familiars in total, but the two shark brothers were her first, and she hadn't done anything with just the two of them in quite a while. Familiars bound themselves to a witch through magic and also their hearts, so despite their varying personalities, she really loved all of them in their own way. Even so, these two…these two were a little bit special.

The small pigtailed girl smiled and leaned a bit back against the tall dorsal fin of the big, gray shark she rode on. It was a lot of fun to ride on Samekichi's back again instead of using her regular boat for transport. This first shark was a bit irritated now, and could use a little calming before they arrived. Samekichi's jagged mouth turned down in an even deeper scowl than usual, and although his eyes always looked a little angry, they seemed even more so now. He could be kind of gruff sometimes, and easily angered, but underneath was a wonderful heart of gold. He cared a lot for her…and for the others as well, though he never really showed it. Wadanohara could always feel safe and comfortable in his warm, unspoken protection.

Currently, Samekichi was gliding along the surface of the sea, glaring over at the head of another shark, which bobbed along beside him. "Do you always have to be the center of attention, Sal?"

"Well, yes. Most of the time, at least."

"Did I ever mention how much I utterly loathe you?"

"Every day of my life."

"Good. Never forget it."

Wadanohara couldn't help chuckling a little. The second shark, Samekichi's brother, Sal, loved to get on his nerves and poke fun at him. While Samekichi leisurely swam and carried Wadanohara on his back, Sal had been jumping from the water over and around him, performing aerial stunts like backflips and spins, like some kind of show dolphin. In fact, it was hard to believe they were brothers sometimes, because Sal actually looked more like a dolphin. He was smaller and slimmer and also pure white, with round blue eyes. He was much more cool and collected under normal circumstances, but the thrill of the adventure must have been getting to him. Plus, bugging Samekichi was his all-time favorite hobby…as was trying to steal Wadanohara's attention and make her smile. Most of the time, he succeeded.

Although she felt just a slightly deeper connection with Samekichi, she loved having Sal around, too, and in the past, she used to ride on him once in a while as well. He had a kind heart, despite his intermittent quirkiness.

As frequently as the two shark brothers fought, it wasn't too hard to tell that they really did care for each other underneath it all. In fact, only Samekichi has been chosen as Wadanohara's familiar at first, when they were all very young…but Sal had insisted on being tested for familiar status as well, because he couldn't bear to be separated from him. Even though he would say he resented having to share the position with his brother, Samekichi had really been very happy on that day…when Sal had passed and had come to join them.

And although they'd never known it before, the pair of them made a nearly flawless combat team. Samekichi was definitely the stronger of the two, but Sal was quicker and slightly more agile. While Samekichi was more skilled at feeling out a situation and acting on instinct with the right timing, Sal preferred to hang back and form an analyzed plan for dealing with it. Samekichi's abilities were more physically orientated, while Sal's were more magically…exc. In fact, that may have been the reason Wadanohara was permitted to have both of them for her familiars at such a young age…they balanced each other out almost perfectly.

Normally, novice witches were only allowed a single familiar to start, though they could acquire more as they gradually grew in power and knowledge. And Wadanohara had five…which was extremely rare. The limit was usually three…most apprentice witches couldn't handle having more than three familiars…to connect with so many different hearts and spirits. But Wadanohara actually found it rather simple.

Even so, most people weren't surprised that she'd been able to achieve such a feat…after all, she was the great wizard Meikai's daughter…and Meikai was possibly the most powerful and revered wizard in the entire ocean. To her, though…he was just Dad. Her loving, calmly patient, sometimes eccentric Dad. Maybe they'd pay him a visit later today, in fact. He lived at Sea God Palace, along with her surrogate mother, Tatsumiya. Wadanohara didn't live with them herself because once she'd started her formal witch training, it was advised that she move out on her own to focus on her magical development. It was completely fine, though—she never had to worry about money, and with so many familiars, the house was never lonely. Plus, she could visit her parents anytime she wanted to—sometimes she even stayed over on a weekend. It would be her duty to help protect the sea…so she knew how important being their witch really was. This area hardly ever came under attack, except for a few occasional misunderstandings with the neighboring Tosatsu Kingdom, but still, it was critical to always be prepared, just in case.

Right now, though, training came second. Today was adventure day. Technically speaking, familiars were an important aspect of a witch's magical skillset…so, spending time with your familiars was actually time spent training.

Samekichi continued at a smooth, even pace, while Sal skipped up and down with the waves next to him. Wadanohara closed her eyes for a few minutes, just savoring the gentle rocking sensation and the movement of the soft shark body beneath her. The next time they opened, a multicolored lump had appeared in the distance, slowly, slowly growing and brightening.

"Here we are," she announced. "Almost there."

A little gravitational tug poked at her center as Samekichi suddenly sped up…probably eager to get out of the water and away from his brother's embarrassing swimming habits. A few more lines of inconsequential banter were exchanged, though they mostly stayed quiet as the island approached.

Majestically, a hilly, mounded land mass emerged from within the blue ocean spray, many muted colors dotting its paths. For whatever reason, all islands in this sea were the same geological shape…though their "flavors" could be entirely unique. Atmospheres, plant and animal life, locations of cave openings…all of these were unique to each island, and Wadanohara yearned to explore them all. She'd already been here, of course, but it happened to be one she didn't get to visit very often, and one she enjoyed quite a bit.

A little rumble from below indicated Samekichi's displeasure…but oh, well, he could just deal with it for now. At last, they came up to the soggy, tan shoreline, the sharks effortlessly gliding in between the rocks to the beach.

Wadanohara expertly hopped from Samekichi's back into the sand, with only a slight puff of a sand cloud around her shoes. The ground was so wet, it was packed together tight. A constant drizzle flowed down her white sailor suit and skirt, dripping off the ends of her brown braids…but she seemed altogether unfazed.

With a quick flash of blue light and a deep warping noise, Samekichi phased into his humanoid form, tramping up out of the water. Sal followed closely behind, but he was a show-off as always and did his morphing in mid-air during a leap. Yet somehow, he still managed to land on his newly re-formed feet.

"Hah! That was amazing! Did you see that?!"

"I've learned by now to tune out everything you do, so no. You don't exist, as far as I'm concerned." Samekichi grumped.

"Well, how about Wadanohara? You saw that, didn't you, Wadda?"

"…"

"Wadda?!"

She giggled. "I saw, Sal, I saw. It was really something."

He put his hands on his hips and slightly puffed his chest in reply. "Well, naturally."

"You're really begging for a smackdown today, aren't you?"

Right now, in their humanoid forms, the two sharks looked a lot more like the twin brothers they really were. Their hairstyles were nearly identical, and they were the exact same size. They could easily borrow each other's clothes, not that either of them would want to. It was like night and day looking at the two of them next to each other—dark gray fin-spike hair and white fin-spike hair, deep, thoughtful dark blue eyes and mischievous bright blue ones. Oddly enough, despite their different sizes in shark form, even their shark tails were the same size this way.

Samekichi wore a dark gray jacket with a white feathery collar over a lighter gray shirt and anchor necklace. Trendy dark pants and black boots completed his punk-like ensemble. Meanwhile, Sal dressed more simply, in a dark gray, buttoned jacket and matching pants over a light gray turtleneck. Samekichi's look just said "guy thinks he's a tough bad-boy punk", and Sal's said "dude thinks he's a smooth, trendy hipster"…which was pretty much on par. Though most people would never know how much of a sweetheart Samekichi really was, or how much of a goofball Sal really was.

The trio hiked up onto the island pathway while being drizzled with rain. Off the beach, flowers of various colors lined a winding, muddy walkway. Giant snails about the size of cats crawled along between, clearly enjoying their environment. Most people would call this place gross and damp, but sometimes, it was just…peaceful. The shaded, cloudy sky, pastel flower blooms, and the constant pattering of raindrops…it was altogether quite calming.

"So…what are we here for, again?" Sal finally asked. "I'm sorry, I wasn't entirely paying attention."

"Big surprise there," Samekichi quipped.

He'd probably just heard the words "surface" and "with Samekichi and I" and the rest completely didn't matter.

Wadanohara paused at a split in the path and whirled around, smiling brightly to them. Droplets slid off the little blue ribbon of her white hat on the left side. "We're here to pick up some flowers!"

"Flowers…?" Samekichi's eyes shifted around, taking in the sight of the massive flower bushels around him. "But this is Hydrangea Isle. Only hydrangeas grow here."

"That's fine." She shook her head a little, dislodging a few more spattering drops. "Hydrangeas will be perfect to use in the next type of spell I'm learning. And there's so many here, it won't matter if we take a whole bunch." Her arms spread out, excitedly. "So I want us to pick a whole bunch of them and bring them all back!"

"…." The lids of Samekichi's blue-gray eyes lowered. He was probably less than thrilled about picking flowers and disappointed that they'd come out here just for this…but he would do it, if it was for her.

Sal seemed to sense his displeasure, and so he nudged him in the ribs. "Hey. Bet I can get more than you."

He rolled his eyes. "Do you have to make everything a contest?"

"Uh, yes. Why do you even bother asking such rhetorical questions?"

"True." Samekichi muttered and turned away.

"C'mon, Samekichi!" Wadanohara prodded. "We can start at the top of the hill!"

"And I'll start down here, that way we'll cover more ground." Sal nodded, and then suddenly took off into the bushes, his feet squishing into the mushy ground. He wasn't looking where he was headed and narrowly avoided collision with a very confused, knee-high snail. "And that way I get a head start, too, haha!"

He promptly disappeared beneath the flowers, and a moment later, Samekichi blinked back to life. He followed after Wadanohara's beckoning gaze, and they headed up the path side-by-side.

"What an idiot," he groaned, and she softly chuckled.

This was what he'd been waiting for, and she knew it, so she'd made up a reasonable excuse for them to go off somewhere on their own. Wadanohara's father had been teaching her about this kind of stuff, so she could properly handle it. Samekichi had been dying to spend some time with her alone, without his doof muffin of a brother hanging around. She knew that. It was kind of adorable. And that was why she purposely arranged it this way. She kind of liked that little jealous look of his.

He had kind of a crush on her, which she earnestly returned, though they were both too shy to confess their feelings yet. It was cute, seeing the signs when his brother was getting in the way. Although… Wadanohara worried sometimes that Sal might have a secret crush on her too.

But part of her just felt that…he knew about all of this. Despite what he may let on, Sal was actually very intelligent. He probably knew all about their hidden feelings and liked to joke around and flirt with her just to get on Samekichi's nerves. The whole situation was just so ridiculous and amusing.

Samekichi seemed a lot calmer once they arrived at the hilltop. His shoulders relaxed, and his grumpy face gently faded. A tiny smile even graced his lips as he followed Wadanohara to a bush and began plucking out hydrangeas. She hummed a little as she gathered bushy, pastel purple and blue flowers in one hand.

"You really shouldn't let him bother you, you know. It's exactly what he wants."

Samekichi smirked. "I know. But…where's the fun in that?"

Of course. She'd known that all along—that their banter was always just their own weird version of brotherly love. Come to think of it, she couldn't remember them ever having a serious, deep-seeded fight.

Ah… Right now, in Samekichi's comfortable glow…it was like heaven. They made a bit more small talk while they gathered flowers together, about some of their neighbors in town and the last time they'd had a familiar training session. Just talking to him naturally like this…it felt so light and blissful. To see him smile that little smile and halfheartedly chuckle to himself. It made her so happy.

Once Wadanohara's fistful of flower stems was getting too cumbersome, Samekichi took some for her…and softly rubbed a little mud stain off her hand in the process.

She smiled. "It looks like we've almost got enough now. Maybe just a bit more, and then we can head back. Okay?"

Samekichi nodded, a bit wistfully. He yanked out another flower bunch and stared down into it for a moment, before finally getting up the courage and shifting his gray eyes up again. "…Hey, Wadanohara?"

"Mm-hmm?" Wadanohara spun around, a light blush dusting onto her cheeks through the gray haze of the rain. It was just so adorable when he was all shy like this.

"…What was your real reason for coming here?"

"Huh?" She coyly played dumb with him, hiding her smile behind her massive ball of flowers. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Samekichi gave a frustrated sigh. "Don't act dumb with me. I know…this can't be just for spell practice. You could have just gotten flowers shipped to the house if you really needed them. And I know your father would provide you with any kind of material you might need for magic. You've got some other plan for these flowers, I just know it." His eyes shifted towards the ground. "It better not have been some stupid mermaid or a random fish or something asking you to go get them flowers, because if they're imposing themselves on you again…"

"No, no!" Wadanohara waved a single hydrangea bushel at him, trying to catch his attention again. "Nothing like that. But, alright, I guess you caught me." She giggled. At heart, she was just too kind a person to keep up any sort of ruse for very long.

With round, innocent eyes, she smiled up at Samekichi, reflecting the affection she held within her. "I wanted to get these to…liven up the house a little. It just feels kind of…dull lately, and I thought these flowers would be perfect to brighten everything up and maybe bring everyone a bit of cheer. They'll help remind everyone of the surface and all the wonderful things in our sea, even on days when we're too busy to leave the house. I think it would be nice to share some with the townspeople as well, so that's why I thought we'd get as much as we could carry."

Samekichi could only blink. Sometimes, her level of kindness and thoughtfulness was simply astounding, and he was just left speechless. It was one thing he really loved about her, though. "Ah…uh…well… Yeah…I guess…that would be nice…to have. I never…thought about that."

Wadanohara giggled. She spent the next five minutes watching his bashful reactions while they finished gathering hydrangeas and completely enjoying every moment.

At last, she decided they'd picked enough and they started to head back down the path, arms wrapped around their bundles of flowers. They didn't even get halfway to where they'd started when a wavering shout caught their attention.

One brief glance to the side revealed Sal sprinting towards them, weaving in and out of hydrangea bushes and snails like a single white-capped streak, brandishing two huge bouquets. Instantly, Samekichi's face darkened again, and Wadanohara could only stifle a laugh.

He slowed to a halt in front of them, splashing through a small puddle, and stepped up in front of Wadanohara. With one graceful motion, he swept into a bow and held one of the bouquets out to her, clutching the other behind his back. "For you, miss."

She laughed. "Oh, my, how sweet of you!" Though she couldn't actually hold any more flowers, she made a little curtsy as a show of acceptance, and muffled gagging sounds came from Samekichi beside her.

"What's the matter?" Apparently, Sal had heard his noises too. "Is someone jealous? Perhaps you would like a little token of affection as well?" He grinned devilishly and held the second bouquet out towards him in the same manner.

"Piss off," Samekichi responded.

"Oh my goodness! Such boorishness! I would never!"

"You've got freaking mud all over your tail, I hope you know."

"Oh! Whoops!" Sal whipped around and tried to wipe the little muddy dollops off, but he only succeeded in smearing it around and making his white tail appear light brownish.

Samekichi groaned. "You're useless."

"Sooooo…" Sal cocked his head at him, purposely dodging the insult. "How many have you got? I've got thirty-seven."

"Who gives a shit?" Samekichi snapped…but Wadanohara looked down and started tallying the flowers in his hands with one finger.

"…thirty-six, thirty-seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine!"

"What?! There's no way. I'm counting them myself."

The toothy cringe on Samekichi's face was pretty comical as Sal stepped uncomfortably close to him and began picking apart the flower bushels in his arms.

"Damn it! You're right, Wadda. I can't believe you beat me by just two." He threw up his hands. "Arrrrgh! Well, story of my life, I suppose."

Playing along, Wadanohara freed one hand and quickly patted his shoulder. "It's okay. I'm sure you'll catch up one day soon."

Sal rubbed at his forehead a little. "Er, thanks for the vote of confidence…I think."

There were some days when Wadanohara really did feel a little bad for him. Sal was the younger of the twins, by only a few minutes, and so it was sort of natural to him to compare himself to his older brother and try to play catch-up. Though she'd told him several times that he should stop trying to compete with him…that he had his own unique talents separate from Samekichi's, and that he was just as good…it was hard to get that through to him.

"Are we leaving now?" Samekichi spoke up. His cute little pouty jealous face was turned towards her with questioning eyes.

"Yes, yes." Wadanohara led the way back in the direction of the beach. "We've got what we came for. We should probably get back undersea and dry off."

Though that sounded completely nonsensical to anyone else, in this sea kingdom, it was entirely logical. Something about the magic in the transportation between sea and surface made it feel like…being under the ocean was like being comfortably dry. Except that fish and mermaids could breathe fine in it, of course.

The soles of her boots squished into the sand as they met the shoreline…and suddenly, Sal ran out ahead of her, waving his bouquets and trailing footprints.

"Hey! Hey, Wadda! You should let me carry you back this time!"

"Huh?" Samekichi halted beside his sea witch and directed a death stare at him. "She doesn't want to ride with you."

"But that's no fair!" Sal scowled, half-seriously. "You got to bring her out. Why can't I do the way back?"

"You're too small," Samekichi bluntly stated. "You're not comfortable."

Sal planted his fists on his hips. "Well, maybe she likes them small! You don't know that!"

Meanwhile, Wadanohara could only smile to herself. By now, she was pretty used to them play-fighting over her like this. "It's alright," she finally spoke up, looking to her gray shark with dancing eyes. "You can carry the flowers for us."

A silent pause. Samekichi blinked as he took in what this actually meant. "W-What…?! You're actually going to…!"

"Yeah." She firmly decided. "It's been a long time since I've rode with Sal. If you could kindly carry our flowers for us…"

"Yeah!" Sal wasted no time chiming in. "We need you to carry the flowers! Your big back would be perfect for that!"

You could practically hear the grinding of Samekichi's teeth. Damn. It just made perfect sense, and he couldn't refute it with anything now. "Alllllllriiiight," he grumbled out between his lips. "But just for now."

"Hwheeeee!" Sal's exclamation was almost a whistle. Wadanohara chuckled at him as he broke into a little dance in place. "Ohhhh yeah! This is going to be fun!"

More indistinct mutters and complaints arose from Samekichi, but he eventually conceded to walk into the water first and morph back into shark mode. Wadanohara and Sal loaded the giant mass of hydrangeas onto his back, tying them in place with a magical string she transmuted from a small branch nearby. The pastel flowers ringed around his dorsal fin so tightly that you could barely see the tip of the fin among them. Frankly, it was amazingly adorable—the big, tough-looking great white topped by a massive flower crown.

Once they were all finished, Sal gave him a teasing little rub on the nose, and he growled.

"Someone really wants his hand bitten off."

"Someone else could really use a massage." He laughed and turned back to Wadanohara. "You ready, Wadda?"

She nodded to signal her approval, and he slipped down into the water, effortlessly phasing into his ivory dolphin-shark form. Carefully, she lifted her dress a little and waded in, seating herself a bit awkwardly on his back. Of course, he was quite thinner and there wasn't as much leg room, but at least she had just enough space to fold her legs sideways and settle in comfortably.

"Hold on." His round blue eyes swiveled back to look at her. "Hold on real tight, and don't let go."

"Alright," she consented, and gripped onto his fin like a handle.

Growly shark noises sounded from Samekichi, and he thrashed his tail a bit. "Just get on with it."

"Alright, then." Sal beamed, as much as a shark could. "Let's gooooooooooo!" As soon as the word left his mouth, he shot off into the water, causing Wadanohara's braids to fly out behind her.

"H-Hey!" Samekichi barked. "Freakin' slow down!"

But there was no stopping an overexcited Sal. Pretty soon, they'd all but left Samekichi behind, a small gray lump in the distance, and they sped along the water's surface, streaking past birds and fish in flotation devices. As much as she tried to fight it, Wadanohara couldn't help but laugh out loud with enjoyment. Sensing her delight, Sal bobbed up and down a little, making her slightly bounce. An excited squeal subconsciously burst out of her. Though she generally preferred Samekichi's more leisurely pace, it had been so long since she'd ridden Sal that she'd almost forgotten how fun it could be. He was more like an amusement park ride than simple transportation.

"Okay…" He spoke up, with a devious little smirk. "Make sure you've got a real good grip now… Ready?"

At his request, Wadanohara shifted her hands on his fin a little and tightened her legs over his body. "Ready!"

"Here we go!" Sal dove under the waves, pulling her down with him. Crystal water flowed around her, gushing past as they streaked downwards… And then, he suddenly changed direction, shooting upwards, accelerating.

Wadanohara could feel the water pushing back against her, and she closed her eyes a moment. He's…he's going to jump! She realized, and adrenaline rushed through her chest, though from fear or excitement, she couldn't tell.

An intense splash popped in her ears, and when her eyes opened, she found herself arching through the air. "Ha…hahahahaha!" Laughter bubbled out of her, though she clung to the white fin with all her might. This was…pretty amazing and wonderful. Sal laughed as well, a strange noise more akin to clicking. Then, they splashed down, spraying water over themselves, before leveling out and just drifting for a moment.

"That was so much fun!" Wadanohara couldn't help exclaiming. "…One more time?"

Sal chuckled. "Alright, but just once more. We're almost to the gate."

Their time was almost over already…but Wadanohara could just feel it in her heart. She'd strengthened the bonds she shared with her two wonderful shark familiars, and she was practically radiating joy. I want to stay with them…for all time, she wished…just before slipping down into the sea once more.

(-)

"Hello, everyone! We're home!" Wadanohara and the shark twins stepped through the doorway of the three-story underwater house, looking more like a bushy pastel mass than three separate people.

On their way back down to Deepsea Town and through the town itself, they'd encountered quite a few curious fish and one spacey jellyfish, asking about the hoard of hydrangeas. To her embarrassment, Wadanohara had had to explain that she'd be handing some out later, but that they were too encumbered at the moment to stop and pick some out. Pulmo, the jellyfish girl, worked at Sea God Palace, so she was probably floating off now to tell Lord Meikai that his daughter had returned safe…if she didn't get distracted on the way.

The other three familiars were surprised when the sharks struggled in, thoroughly surrounded by flowers. They immediately stopped what they had been doing at the living room couches and stared…though for entirely different reasons.

"Sheesh! Took you guys long enough!" The small seagull girl squawked and pattered closer to their side, her wing-arms flapping.

A shy dolphin girl followed her, though she hung back a few paces. "Pretty…" she softly mused, focusing black eyes on the hydrangeas. "Not so scary…like this."

A tall boy with octopus tentacles poking out the bottom of his robe glided up and wordlessly began taking flowers from Sal's and Wadanohara's arms, easily holding them in his multiple ones. Promptly, he turned away and began placing them in various vases and cups around the house, completely ignoring the hydrangea-laden Samekichi.

"H-Hey!" the gray shark boy cried out. "What's the big idea?!"

Sal chuckled at him, but held out his hands to take some of the flowers—a surprisingly benevolent gesture from him when it came to his brother.

Wadanohara strode into the center of the living room to get a good look at the bouquet placement. "You can just…leave those ones there, Fukami, it's fine. Oh, and…a bit more purples on the left? That's perfect."

"So, so you guys went to Hydrangea Isle?!" the seagull girl pestered, looking first to Wadanohara, then to the sharks.

"Obviously." Samekichi plunked the rest of his pile onto the end of the nearest couch before taking a seat himself.

"Ah, man! Wish I coulda come too!"

"You would've just annoyed everyone by throwing slugs at them." Sal exasperatingly shrugged and crossed his arms.

"Aw, c'mon, Sal. You would've totally been down for that."

"Hmm…I suppose…only if we were throwing them at Samekichi."

Samekichi groaned. "You know, someday, I'm going to just…murder you in my sleep."

"Eh. I don't doubt it."

The dynamic between the shark duo and the remaining trio of familiars was a little weird…but somehow, they managed to mesh together into a happy little family. Memoca, the seagull, got along with them pretty well, though she sometimes got on Samekichi's nerves, and Sal would join her in getting on Samekichi's nerves. She really liked Sal, because she could rope him into helping her prank people…though sometimes he would grow tired of her antics and just wanted to be left alone. Unlike her, he at least had tact and the maturity to know when such things wouldn't be appropriate.

Fukami, the octopus, quite obviously held some sort of grudge against Samekichi for unknown reasons. It was impossible to know what he was thinking, since he was always so mysterious. He calmly tolerated Sal, though, and although the two weren't exactly friends, they could frequently be found quietly reading together in the den.

And Dolphi… Well, Memoca's timid little dolphin friend was afraid of them both, so she hardly ever spoke to them.

In another minute or two, Wadanohara and Fukami finished setting up the hydrangeas, and the witch took a seat next to Samekichi's bundle, beginning to shuffle through it. "I think we should give everyone two. That way, there will be two different colors, if maybe they don't like the first one." She wrapped a pink and a blue bushel together and set them aside.

"I'm hungryyyy," Memoca whined. "Isn't it almost lunchtime yet?"

Samekichi glanced sideways at a shell-shaped clock near the wall. "Yeah. We should stop for lunch before heading off again."

"Good idea," Wadanohara agreed. "Um…"

"….Leave it to me." Fukami curtly nodded, his gray-aqua hair bobbing a bit. He strode over to the tables in the corner and began rifling through a small refrigerator. As it appeared, Fukami was their usual cook, and he was pretty darn good at it, too. Having ten operating appendages was probably a big help. Wadanohara cooked on special occasions, and once in a while, Sal made a few decent meals, to give the octopus a break, but the other three should not in any case be allowed anywhere near the stove.

"Huh?" Memoca glanced over when Dolphi tugged on her sleeve. "What is it?"

"Pictures…?" The little dolphin spoke. "Pretty pictures…please?"

"Oh, yeah!" Flapping her wings to get Wadanohara's attention, she announced. "Dolphi and I were in the middle of drawing, so…we're going to go draw until the food's ready, okay?"

"You guys sure draw a lot, don't you?" Samekichi commented.

"I-It's fun…" Dolphi mumbled.

"You should join us!" Memoca burst out.

"Eh, no thank you."

"Saaaaaaaal?" The bird-girl cocked her head at the white shark, almost pleading. "You'll come, though, won't you?"

He frowned, tapping one foot as he considered it. "I…guess so. I suppose it beats hanging around with that idiot." He pointed his thumb, indicating Samekichi.

Wadanohara chuckled…then plopped a big pile of hydrangeas onto the gray shark's stomach. "This idiot and I will be finishing the bouquets together. Won't we, Samekichi?"

He groaned and sat up straight on the couch cushion again, though a little bit of a flush was creeping onto his cheeks. "Yeah, yeah…sure."

Everything was peaceful and right… Fifteen minutes flew by while Fukami roasted various ingredients in a pan. Sal didn't typically draw with the two girls like this, but he'd been bored anyway and wanted a change. Dolphi finished an adorable picture of their boat, with six colored dots standing at its prow for each of them. Memoca's was a bit of a mess because she couldn't make up her mind what to draw, but the thing on her paper now slightly resembled a snail, with some sort of demon horns. Sal drew a picture of himself leaping above the water, with Wadanohara on his back, and then spent a good while bragging about it to an excited Memoca and a slightly nervous Dolphi. Meanwhile, Samekichi and Wadanohara almost finished off all the bouquets together before Fukami came and slid plates of lunch onto the table.

Eventually, everyone gathered around the living room table, and there was just barely enough room for all of them. There was always just barely enough room somehow. During its construction, the house had only been intended for one witch and up to three familiars. Lord Meikai had used it himself, with his two, before moving up to the palace and then bequeathing it to his daughter once she was old enough.

Fukami had made some sort of vegetable rice dish, with chicken on the side, much to Memoca's horror. She tried to insist they only ever use steak or ham, but sometimes, they just couldn't help it. Samekichi only ever ate meat, so they had to include a meat portion with every meal…though Wadanohara had plans of trying to coax him out of that habit.

Oddly enough, though Sal was a meat-lover too, he really enjoyed vegetables as well, and had absolutely no problem with them.

"I'm all the more convinced you're not actually a shark," Samekichi had told him the first time they'd all sat down for a meal, and he'd been nibbling on some seaweed. "You're, like, part rabbit or something."

"Hey, if I'm part rabbit, you're part rabbit too."

"No, that just means you're probably adopted."

"Ha! If only I could be so lucky."

At this time, he had a small piece of chicken along with the rice, while Samekichi piled the majority of the chicken onto his own plate. Between all of them together, there were no leftovers, and Fukami was secretly grateful, since he didn't want to have to package anything else up as well.

Afterwards, Wadanohara began arranging the hydrangea bunches and spreading them out for all of her familiars to carry. They were going to go out into town and deliver the bouquets before making a trip out to Sea God Palace. That had been her plan all along. A few of the familiars seemed less than thrilled about it (particularly Samekichi), but they all knew how important it was to maintain a positive presence in the eyes of the citizens. After all, they were the ones designated to defend these fishy people from both external and internal threats. The various sea creatures that populated Deepsea Town had a right to get to know their own guardians.

There were just so many fish in this sea that Wadanohara had already decided they would visit and just leave one bouquet at each house. The familiars even broke up into various groups at times to cover more ground. It was especially useful when one small flapjack octopus tried to kiss her as usual, and if Samekichi had been there, they would've wasted a lot more time. Tarako and Samekichi fought even more frequently and more intensely than Samekichi and Sal.

Eventually, they made their way eastward, handing out a bouquet to an excitable sea serpent and her eel partner as they came to greet them. The eel immediately dove into the hydrangeas and started ripping out petals, to which the girl yelled "Duuuuuude! Segurooooo! You're ruining them!" and tried to shake him out.

Further on, they bumped into a group of friends in the middle of concocting some sort of money-making scheme (though most of them weren't paying attention), and gave them two bouquets, as Wadanohara's way of trying to get them to stay out of trouble.

Their last stop was a wide house near the edge of town, and everyone came in this time. This place was the home of one of their closest friends, and it would be better if the gang was all here.

"Oh!" A boisterous voice sounded across the room almost as soon as they stepped in. "Everyone's here today! How exciting!"

Wadanohara walked in through the hallway, and everyone else followed. At the other end was a humongous lobster and a much smaller shrimp man in a suit sitting at a table and leisurely reading. "Good afternoon, Doloz, Cherryblod," Wadanohara announced.

"Aw, where's Lobco?" Memoca asked, glancing around near the bookshelves.

"She's out training with that witch of hers, I'm afraid." The lobster man, Cherryblod, spoke, softly closing his book and shaking his head a little. His extra-long antennae slightly swiveled. "She's spending a bit too much time with her lately, I think."

"Oh, honey, it's probably just young love," the lobster replied…though nobody wanted to make any comment on that.

Samekichi presented one bouquet for the two of them and a second one specifically for Lobco, as per Wadanohara's request, and set them up on the table.

"Oh, how wonderful, darling!" Doloz squealed, and even poked one with the end of her claw. "Plants from the surface! Thank you very much!"

"I'm sure she'll love these when she gets back," Cherryblod added.

By this time, it was already getting pretty late into the afternoon, so they didn't have time to stick around any longer. With polite greetings and good-byes, everyone finally set off for Sea God Palace.

It was a bit of a walk along the Sea of Stars, but it was definitely worth it. On the way, Memoca and Dolphi swung a couple of Fukami's tentacles, though he didn't seem to mind, while Sal and Samekichi bickered about some small thing, as usual. As they grew closer to the monumental Japanese-style tower, Wadanohara joined in and tried to keep them occupied.

Going to the palace was a bit of a mixed bag for all of them at once. Memoca grew quickly bored, Dolphi tended to wander off, and Sal was always uncomfortable there for some reason. Wadanohara had her suspicions that it might be due to a certain someone, but she really didn't want to bring it up in a group like this. Still…even when that person wasn't around, Sal really disliked being in the palace, so she was trying to talk to him now and keep him from thinking about it.

A squid door attendant nodded them in as soon as he saw Wadanohara, and they went straight into the long climb to the second-to-highest floor…where her father lived with his familiars.

This sea was ruled by two princesses who dwelled on the top floor with their attendants—Princess Uomi and Princess Mikotsu. Naturally, being in such an eminent position, Wadanohara was friends with the princesses as well, and they'd probably get to see them a bit later.

Legend had it that they were the daughters of the God of the Sea…and when it came time to choose an heir to the throne, both refused the rule if the other couldn't be at her side as an equal. Presented with the pearl holding the sea's blessed barrier, the two sisters broke it into equal halves, and to this day, each guarded her own half with her very life. One half was useless without the other…and so their reign as co-princesses was sealed. It was a wonderful story, and even though most citizens believed it to be just a fable, Wadanohara and her familiars knew it to be entirely true.

Just as they reached Lord Meikai's floor, they happened upon one of Princess Mikotsu's attendants, drifting along the hallway. "Oh. It's you, Wadanohara. Brought the whole crew with you this time, hm? How very troublesome, hehee."

This one could be a bit of a bother, sometimes…and they liked to hang around Lord's Meikai's familiars quite a lot. A nautilus with trailing white tentacle hair and an oversized black robe dress snickered at them, and Samekichi glared right back, undaunted. "We're accompanying her to see her father today. You got a problem with that?"

"No, no, just…making an observation." They waved at him, sleeve flapping in the water.

Wadanohara smiled and clasped her hands together, pleading. "But…since you're down here already, Sheep, do you think you could let him know we're here?"

"Oh, alright, no problem." Sheep turned and waved at them a little again. "I was just heading in there myself, you know." The sliding door slid open, and the attendant disappeared inside for a moment.

Memoca childishly groaned at having to wait a little longer, but Fukami quieted her by poking her a few times with his tentacles.

It wasn't long, though, before the door slid open again…and on the other side, the Great Wizard stood before them, smiling gently. Wadanohara broke into a bright smile, and the familiars all bowed a little out of respect (though Memoca had to be forced).

"Aha, Wadanohara! I had word of your little adventure today, but I wasn't expecting you to come by. And with everyone too! What a pleasant surprise!"

Lord Meikai really looked a lot like his daughter—his short, slightly ruffled hair was just a slight shade darker brown than her own, and his eyes were the same soft hue, reflecting the gentle soul within him. He wore the traditional witches' hat, in dark blue, matched by a long blue overcoat suit set and a cravat. Everyone really got along with him, since he was really just an older, wiser, male version of Wadanohara.

"Well, come in, come in!" He waved them in before anyone even had a chance to say a word. "We were just finishing up a training session."

"We brought some hydrangeas for you, Papa!" Wadanohara happily chattered. "And some for Tatsumiya and Old, too."

"Ah, that's wonderful! I'll have to find a good place to set them up."

And so, in a ragtag bunch, they stepped through the paper doorway together…and into a different sort of world.

(-)

Sal absolutely hated this place. He always tried not to show it in front of Wadanohara, because he knew how important it was to her and how emotionally attached she was to everything about this palace. But the honest truth was that he couldn't stand it.

There was something about the Palace of the Sea God—the atmosphere or the energy or something—that just set his entire body on edge. No matter where he went, he was always really uncomfortable here. It was like something unseen was squeezing lightly at his windpipe, freezing the edges of his stomach, and sending sparks along his legs. It was a weird feeling, and he couldn't accurately explain it to anyone. Was it…foreboding? Anxiety? Revulsion? Fear? Sympathetic grief? He couldn't be sure what exactly was causing it or how to alleviate it. Though…there was one possible contributing factor.

Samekichi knew about Sal's aversion to the place, and he suspected that Wadanohara had figured it out as well, though she wouldn't have as much insight as Samekichi. The brothers had…discussed it a little, and it was decided that Sal would only make the trip when he absolutely had to. Right now, he didn't absolutely have to, but… At the same time, he felt he couldn't keep avoiding it forever. He wanted to conquer this fear or whatever it was…or at least this part of it. A large part of this feeling…was probably that he didn't want to have to see him again.

Everything was fine at first… Wadanohara chatted with her father about her trip and how they'd gone out to visit the townsfolk, and he beamed down at her and carefully arranged her flowery gifts on top of a bureau in the corner. Next to him, Samekichi was glancing around, hands stuffed into his coat pockets.

I hope he's not worried about me, Sal thought.

Meanwhile, Fukami was looking around with a similar vaguely-interested expression, although he was mainly eyeing the bookshelves. Lord Meikai sure had a staggering collection of books, spellbooks and otherwise. Dolphi stared at the various odd trinkets in the room, including hanging star mobiles and globes of various sizes and swirled marble colors. Memoca hopped up and down accenting Wadanohara's story when appropriate and generally trying to gather as much attention as she could.

"Have a seat, everyone, relax," Lord Meikai finally spoke once his daughter's story was over. He gestured to the cushions around the center table. "I'll set out some tea if you'd like."

"Oh, yes, please!" Wadanohara practically chirped. They awkwardly settled themselves around the table, and there was barely enough room. Meikai didn't have quite as many familiars, so his table wasn't intended to serve a group this large.

Samekichi immediately seized the spot next to Wadanohara…so Sal plopped himself down on the other side of her and shot him a deliberately smug look. Samekichi growled back at him. "If she wasn't in between us right now, I'd…"

"Well, I am in between you," Wadanohara asserted, patting them both on the head at the same time. "So simmer down."

Sal just continued grinning, and Samekichi grumbling as the others got themselves situated. Though he was playing up being aggravated, Samekichi was…clearly quite relieved. It was reassuring to see Sal acting like his usual self in this place…which was why Sal was forcing himself to. More than anything else, he hated when his brother fretted over him.

But only a second after Dolphi had taken her seat, halfway in Memoca's lap, another door towards the back of the room slid open…and they walked in.

"Oh, aha. I apologize for not announcing it earlier, but we've got guests tonight," Lord Meikai glanced over at the two fairly tall figures, a teakettle in his hand. "Perhaps you'd like to join us for tea?"

"Oh! Wow, even Sal and little Dolphi came out. How wonderful!" The first exclaimed. "Unexpected, but wonderful all the same. Hello, Wadanohara! Hello, Samekichi, Sal, Fukami, Memoca, Dolphi…"

"Sure got crowded in here all of a sudden," the second commented. "Ain't no room for us at that table even if we wanted to."

"Oh, there's always a way," Meikai replied. "Though I know you're not the tea-drinking sort, Old, so we don't need to worry about you, haha."

"Yyyyyeah, that's about right."

Lord Meikai's first familiar, a female oarfish with white, red-tipped hair, in a flowing red kimono, happily chatted with Wadanohara and the other familiars who were willing to socialize. Tatsumiya was always friendly and caring, gently protective and wise. Though Wadanohara had no present mother, she was her mother in everything but birth. Whenever she didn't have the time to visit, Wadanohara would always write letters to Tatsumiya, mostly so she wouldn't worry. Naturally, she was the favorite of many of the other palace residents and servants, and she completely deserved the love they gave her. The second…..

One glance at Lord Meikai's second familiar, and you might immediately think he was Samekichi and Sal's father. His resemblance to Samekichi was striking, even at a distance, and they even dressed practically the same. Their fluffy-collared jackets seemed like they'd come out of the same punk apparel shop, though Samekichi's was shorter and also more…casual. Even their hair was almost the same shade, though this shark's was much longer and strung into a thin ponytail in the back.

In truth, Old wasn't their biological father…but he was essentially their foster parent. Everyone knew of this strange family dynamic… A long time ago, before he'd settled down and become Meikai's familiar, Old had been a friend of the twins' birth parents. They'd left the two very young sharks in his temporary care and went off to battle…a deadly feud between shark clans, perhaps…he'd never quite been willing to share the details. Of course, they'd both turned up dead only a few days later, leaving Old an instantaneous father. Unfortunately, neither twin could remember a thing, and Old never wanted to discuss them…he probably held some sort of unspoken grudge against them.

While Tatsumiya squished in next to Wadanohara, and a cheery Meikai doled out teacups, Old hung back, leaning against a cabinet and watching. Though he tried to ignore him as much as he could and focus on the group's chatter, Sal could just feel the weight of his eyes, locked onto him. The sensation grew oppressive rather quickly, and he had to force himself to laugh and respond to the others' conversation.

"It's very good to see you, Sal," Tatsumiya told him. "I always tell Samekichi he should bring you along more often."

"Ahaha…" he nervously chuckled. "Well, the palace is a little…overwhelming for me sometimes, so I prefer to stay quietly at home."

"Ah, it's okay, then." She gave him a gentle, understanding smile. "Still, it's wonderful when you do come to visit."

"Please, by all means, take him," Samekichi joked. "It would make my life a lot easier."

By now, the wavering feeling in his stomach and the clenching of his muscles was so distracting that Sal didn't even respond, and Samekichi knew to just drop it.

Once most of the tea was gone, and the snack biscuits had completely disappeared (mostly into Memoca), Lord Meikai began to clear off the table again, and Old finally spoke up to the entire group.

"Hey. Before you all dash out of here…why don't we put in a little training?"

"We just finished our session, though," Meikai told him, while rinsing out some of the teacups. "You never can relax, can you?"

"It would be beneficial to your daughter's magical development, especially since all of her familiars are now present." His deep eyes shifted over towards his "sons", and he cracked a little smirk. "It'll be a fun exercise, too. How about it, Samekichi?"

"Heh." Samekichi returned his gaze with a challenging smirk of his own. "You know I wouldn't turn down an opportunity to kick your crusty old tail."

"B-But, I'm the one who has to give the orders," Wadanohara clarified. "If…if we're having a familiar duel." She never much cared for these "familiar duels" herself, though she acknowledged that they were essential to improving her skills as a witch. If it wasn't for the healing magic administered to both parties afterward, she would never have agreed to them.

"Yeah, I know," Samekichi replied. "But I'll win using my own strength." He was already standing up from his seat and preparing to pick a fight with his foster father…it was pretty much already decided.

Lord Meikai laughed a little and dried his hands. "Oh, alright. I suppose we can have a go. Just try not to destroy any of the furniture, okay?"

There. There it is. Here we go again. Sal couldn't bring himself to watch, even when Wadanohara implored him and the other familiars to cheer her on.

Lord Meikai cleared a large space in the center of the room, and both Samekichi and Old shifted into shark forms for the oncoming battle. Memoca was getting all excited, while Dolphi hid under the table, and Fukami appeared to be falling asleep. Tatsumiya smiled pleasantly towards Sal, so he just focused on her face for a moment, trying to get his mind off of this. It was almost making him sick.

Wadanohara stood and clenched her hands into fists. It was obvious that she hated to see Samekichi get hurt, but she also wanted to do this for him.

Lord Meikai took up his long wizard's staff, topped by a moon-shaped pearl and teardrop-shaped crystals, flaring a cape behind him as he turned. He gave a soft smile to his daughter, understanding how she felt, and inclined his head slightly, granting her the first move.

"Alright, Samekichi," she ordered, determinedly setting her fists at her collar. "Shark Fang, left!"

With a sharp forward force, the smaller gray shark bolted off, gnashing razor teeth at his father's left side.

As a shark, Old was larger, more ragged, and a bit battle-scarred…though they still looked phenomenally alike. He turned, battering Samekichi back with his massive tail, but Samekichi connected, stabbing into the base of the tail with his teeth.

"Heh. Heh, heh…" Old gave a toothy grin, turning his angled eyes back towards him. "Still as hasty as ever, I see."

From the ground, Lord Meikai noted their position and also smiled slightly. "Okay, Old…Power Thrash."

The muscular shark flung himself upwards a bit, dragging Samekichi with him, and flung his tail with the whole extent of his force. Samekichi barely managed to yank himself around in the water before his body brutally slammed into the floor.

"Hah." He hung there a moment. He grimaced, as only a shark could. "Figured you'd try a dirty trick like that."

"Hey. All's fair in familiar battles. You need to be prepared for things like this, son."

"Samekichi, hang on!" Wadanohara called, gripping the ends of her sleeves. "Try a basic attack this time! To the front!"

Their battle continued just like this, neither one really seeming to overtake the other. Old was fast and vicious, but Samekichi was swifter and better able to dodge. However, whenever he did manage to land a solid hit, it barely made a dent in Old's tough hide. The two sharks battered themselves against each other, a blur of whipping tails and flashing teeth. At some point, blood had been drawn, and it floated up towards the ceiling like crimson dust...though there was no way of telling whose it was.

Memoca whooped and cheered for Samekichi, while Dolphi hid behind a silent, watchful Fukami. Tatsumiya watched, distantly, tossing in her observations here and there. Meanwhile, Sal could only shake his head at all of this. Hand-to-hand (or teeth-to-teeth) combat just wasn't his thing, and sometimes, he had a hard time understanding why his brother enjoyed it so much.

At least it seemed Fukami felt the same way. "Idiot sharks…" he muttered, when they again caught themselves in a teeth-wrestle.

"Idiot sharks!" Dolphi agreed, clutching tightly to his flowing robe.

"Yeah, really," Sal chimed in, waving his tail with irritation. "Sharks are total morons."

"Uh, dude…look who's talking," Memoca teased. "Samekichi, don't listen to them!" She cried out, cupping her wingtips around her mouth. He probably couldn't hear at all, since he was currently too occupied with trying to gnaw his father's left flipper without getting painfully tail-smacked. "You're awesome! Go, go! Tear him to shreds!"

"Hey, Dummykichi!" Sal called, after her, in the same manner. "You suck!"

Memoca just shook her head, crossing her arms. "Man, that was weaksauce. Let me show you how it's really done… Yo, fish breath! Make with the slaughter already! Are those teeth or are those clams?!"

"Uh…" Sal shot her a confused expression. "I thought you were supporting him."

She winked. "Just giving him a little motivation, that's all."

"I will never understand…"

It went on and on, the sounds of sharks chomping and smacking, and Wadanohara and her father calling commands. More little spurts of blood gently floated out, and poor Wadanohara was practically sweating with nervousness.

Finally, at last, the brutal battle came to an end…when Samekichi nearly tore Old's right set of gills off, and Lord Meikai called defeat. Though bloodied and beat, the two sharks looked ready to keep going for hours…but they couldn't disobey their masters' wills. Glaring at each other, they lowered themselves towards the ground and phased back into humanoid form.

Immediately, Wadanohara rushed to Samekichi's aid, holding him up, the terrible concern apparent on her face.

"Yeah, whoooo!" Memoca celebrated, unaffected by his current state. "That's our shark-boy. You sure showed that old man!"

He smiled, though blood gushed down his shoulder. "Ah, it was nothin'."

"I'm so sorry, Samekichi!" Wadanohara fretted. She wrapped her arms around him and quickly poured her magical energy into him, healing his wounds. A gentle light blue glow flowed from her, bathing over him, soothing away the bruises and punctures in his skin. "I…I got you hurt a few times there. It's my fault for not being careful enough."

He blinked, relaxing in the smoothening of his pain…and reached up a little, cupping her cheek in his black-gloved hand. "It's okay. It's not your fault, it's mine. And…we won, didn't we? You're…way better than you think."

The healing process complete, Wadanohara gave him a smile and gently moved. "Yes. I suppose so. …Thank you, Samekichi."

At the same time, Lord Meikai was gently healing Old, though the gruff shark-man seemed a little bitter with the outcome. "Why'd you stop me?" he asked. "I could've had the kid."

Meikai just chuckled, his face bathed in his own healing glow. Old's wounds smoothed away and closed up, even the nasty fresh one on his neck, and once it was over, he pulled back his hands and fondly patted him on the shoulder. "Sometimes, you need to learn when to relent, old friend."

"Eugh…" Old looked away, slightly ashamed. "Hm, I suppose you're right."

Tatsumiya stood and glided over to their side, while the rest of Wadanohara's familiars swarmed Samekichi in bouts of congratulations and admonishment. "Well…now that you boys have had your fun…"

They looked up at the sound of her voice. Lord Meikai glanced at her in consent, almost like he could read her mind…and no one would be surprised if he actually could.

She bowed slightly, her red kimono floating around her. "If you don't mind…I'd also like to duel with Sal. It's really been quite a while."

Sal looked up towards her with wide blue eyes. He'd had a feeling she might ask for this, but he was still a bit shaken up and he wasn't entirely sure if he could. But on the other hand, he felt the same way—it had been so long since he'd dueled with Tatsumiya that he yearned to give it a try. While Samekichi frequently battled with Old, Sal was usually matched with Tatsumiya, since they were both mainly magic users. It was…admittedly pretty fun, if a little painful.

"…Alright," he finally agreed, slowly stepping beside Wadanohara. "I…would like that too."

Old lowly chuckled, turning his head away. "So, it's little Salmon's turn now, is it?"

Across the room, Samekichi shot him a deadly warning glare, as if to say "one more word outta you and I'll bite your neck apart."

A coldness swirled through Sal's stomach at the open mention of his full name. Even after he'd established his nickname, and everyone called him "Sal" now, Old refused to use it. It certainly didn't help the sick feeling taking over his body just from being here.

Tatsumiya smiled, gently, and took her place in the center of the room. "I'm so glad. Whenever you're ready, then."

Sal took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and swung his arms a little. The unsettled feeling was still very much present, but he was pushing it into the back of his mind, focusing on just the present activity.

Gently, Wadanohara came to his side and placed a hand on his forearm. "…Are you okay?" she whispered, her innocent face genuinely concerned.

How he hated worrying her like this. He just nodded, trying to focus his energy, unwilling to give her any indication of his inner turmoil.

"If you're sure…" She still seemed a little worried, but wordlessly acknowledged that he didn't want her to fret.

He stepped up to the makeshift arena, looking at Tatsumiya and trying to see only her and her kindness. Unlike the previous encounter, these two would battle in humanoid forms—the more magically-inclined state—so no shifting or preparation was necessary. Meikai positioned himself behind his trusted oarfish and stood ready, looking to Sal with curious eyes. At last, Sal nodded to Wadanohara, giving the signal.

"Alright…" She took a stance, planting her feet firmly on the ground. "Sal. Start off with Photogenic Breach!"

Good strategy…that would give him a moment to warm up, especially since he hadn't battled in such a while. Squeezing his eyes shut, he focused the magical energy generating within him and extended it to his body, sending a fizzle along his legs. This technique greatly enhanced his speed and maneuverability, and he'd be able to avoid many of the magical projectiles Tatsumiya could throw at him.

"Quickly, Tatsumiya!" Lord Meikai gave the order. "Graceful Banner!"

With a serene smile, Tatsumiya began to dance in the water…her red kimono and the long red antennae on her head furling around her body. Sal braced himself while she built up energy, preparing to avoid the attack.

Suddenly, she thrust her arms forward, sleeves billowing back, and a huge wall of translucent white magic flew out straight towards him. Electric force crackling in the soles of his feet, Sal threw himself forward, moving at a speed usually impossible for a human familiar. Tossing himself into a roll, he just barely avoided the onslaught, and quickly skidded back around, his shoes almost tearing up the classic tatami floor.

"Now, Dragon's Gate!" Meikai swept his arm out over-dramatically and chuckled as he gave the command. Apparently, he was enjoying this a bit more than he usually let on.

A concentrated ball of red energy emitted from Tatsumiya's forehead, hurtling straight at Sal. He dodged it, naturally, but almost immediately after, she was sending another one his way. Apparently, Meikai's strategy was to pepper him with attacks, hoping one of them might catch him.

"This is booooo-ring," the peanut gallery known as Memoca commented. "Is he ever even going to attack her?"

Dolphi seemed a little less afraid of this encounter, and was watching intently from beside a mildly interested Fukami.

"Ah, just you wait," Samekichi replied. He crossed his arms and glanced back towards the skirmish, smirking a little. "If I know my brother, the wait will be worth it."

Sal was softly panting as he avoided the onslaught, zooming and diving and tucking his body out of the way. It was even worse when Tatsumiya mixed in larger waves with the smaller projectiles. It was getting harder and harder to keep dodging, so Lord Meikai's strategy seemed to be paying off. But Sal could feel the magic coursing through him with each lunge. If he could use the dodging pretense to make his way closer to Tatsumiya, then…

Wadanohara took notice of how he was moving…and realized what he was trying to do. It was perfect. They just needed to wait for the right moment.

At last, Sal weaved himself through a grouping of red energy balls, coming out only a few yards from the magical oarfish, and it was time.

"Now!" Wadanohara snapped, her cutesy voice much more loud and forceful than usual. "Alabaster Curse!"

Sal grinned. Of course. This was his chance. Crackling up from his fingers, he formed a mass of electric bolts, sparking in blue and white…and chucked the huge blast at her at incredible speed.

"A-Aaauh!" Tatsumiya attempted to swerve away, but she wasn't fast enough, and it caught her in the side. A sizzle buzzed out, probably the sound of it burning her through her kimono. She clenched her teeth together and forced herself to stay steady. It clearly hurt…but she wasn't quite down for the count yet.

Sal panted, hard. He could hear his own breath in his eardrums, and the distant, bubbled sound of Memoca whooping and Samekichi saying something. His vision was beginning to shimmer and blur. No. He told himself, not now. I can't…have this now. Everything's going so well… But the hard truth was that the attack had drained a lot of his built-up energy, leaving him vulnerable to the effects of this uncomfortable environment.

Just below his collarbone, he could feel his heart beginning to pound against his ribcage. It felt…it felt so terrible… He gasped. Something was choking him—possibly his own windpipe—and he doubled over, hands grasping his knees. No. No, no, no, no, no…Stop this. Calm down.

Just barely, he thought he heard Samekichi shouting…footsteps…and his own father's low laughter. The tatami floor in his vision flashed red. Another lighter, yet forceful voice rang out…and it was all over.

In one huge magical blast, Tatsumiya caught Sal in his unguarded state, sending him careening backwards, tearing parts of his jacket, piercing his skin, and slamming him into the floor, on his back. Pain consumed him, and he nearly blackened out.

"Sal!" Wadanohara cried out, rushing out to his aid immediately. By doing so, she'd forfeited the battle, though it was pretty clear that Sal was in no shape to continue.

Tatsumiya bowed a little, though she cringed at the pain in her side. "Ohmygoodness. I truly apologize. Please heal him, quickly." Lord Meikai walked up to her side and began healing her at the same time.

Sal's eyes were closed, yet fluttering, trying not to lose consciousness, and Wadanohara knelt beside him, pressing her hands gently to his chest and pouring the healing magic into him.

"Man! He could've had it!" Memoca complained. "Why didn't he get out of the way?!"

Samekichi and Fukami just watched, grimly, thinking better than to say anything at this point. But Samekichi's face was even harder, because he knew what must have happened.

After a minute of healing, Sal's breathing steadied, and the blood trailing down his face disappeared. Even the tears in his clothing were being magically repaired. Silently, he resented the sad, worried face his witch was wearing…but he met her eyes all the same, just to let her know that he was okay now. It was almost over…when a voice floated out of nowhere.

"Oh, my. Well, it seems our witches are in top form today, as usual!"

Everyone turned, nearly in tandem, towards the back doorway…and any chatter immediately fell silent.

The royal sisters were standing there…as if this was the most natural thing for them to do. It was true, they did sometimes leave their top-floor chambers and wander the castle, but…not usually as a pair. Princess Uomi was the one who had spoken first, and Princess Mikotsu peered in the door behind her, looking around the room with curiosity.

Uomi was usually the more outspoken and commanding of the two…though still very caring and humble for her station. Meanwhile, Mikotsu was usually in charge of social gatherings, decorations, and such affairs. She tended to be a bit childish sometimes, but she was actually very gracious and pleasant to be around. It wasn't necessarily shocking for them to visit, considering the witch family's station…but neither had really expected them to pop up just now.

Uomi was naturally the most disconcerting, due to her overly large, bulbous eyes, though the two witches had been around her long enough that it didn't even affect them. Tactless Memoca still tended to stare at her, though the other familiars respectfully tried not to let it distract them.

"Oh, Your Highnesses!" Lord Meikai swept over to greet them, so Wadanohara could finish up healing Sal. Tatsumiya naturally joined him, though Old hung back a little. "Aha, please excuse us. My daughter and I were just ending our little exercise for the day."

"We were watching," Princess Mikotsu added, slipping fully into the room beside her sister. She smirked, and spoke in a little sing-song voice. "It looked like fun!"

At last, the healing process was complete…but Sal didn't want to move from the floor. Any relief the magic had granted him from the crushing inner feelings had just burst. To know that the rulers of this entire sea had just witnessed his obliterating failure… It wasn't hard to imagine how much he wanted to just sink into the floor and disappear right now.

At least Wadanohara seemed to sense it, and even though she looked a little tired and drained from so much magic use, she reached out and took his hand, tugging his arm up as if to say "Stand up and face it. You need to stand up and face it. It's okay."

So, as much as he didn't want to, Sal hoisted his body upwards, dropping her hand, so as not to put any pressure on her. The worst…was the way Samekichi looked back at him. That subtle pity and hesitation behind his narrow blue eyes.

As the two of them made their way into the royal reception party, a sudden slosh in his stomach almost made him vomit. Why…? Why did it have to happen like this?! Somehow, even just looking at the princesses was making him feel more ill…so he shuffled himself into the back and tucked himself down at the table, out of sight. Fortunately, no one seemed to notice him.

Lord Meikai discussed the type of magic Wadanohara was currently working on, and how well she handled her familiars. Thankfully, the only time he mentioned the last battle was to praise her on her choice to focus on evasion at the start and offense second.

Apparently, Sheep had told the princesses that Wadanohara was here with her whole crew of familiars, and Princess Mikotsu was eager to come meet them. Uomi was kind of…chaperoning, though she admitted that she'd really wanted to come as well. Sal tried to stay out of the conversation as much as possible, though he had no choice but to say his greetings to Princess Mikotsu, since she'd never actually seen him before.

After a bit, Pulmo floated through the doorway, announcing that dinner was ready, and everyone was invited to join the royal banquet. It was amazing and exciting for most of the other familiars (whether they showed it or not), but Sal wished he could just shift forms and jet out the window.

They were joined by Uomi's two advisors, Pulmo and Helica, and Mikotsu's two advisors, Sheep and Stella. Sal strategically seated himself by Stella, since he knew the young starfish girl was especially quiet and shy. The visit was all turning into a whirl of color and noise…a phantasmagoria of voice and clatter and pressure.

I'm not coming back. No matter how he forced himself to glance up and chuckle at Memoca's jokes and Helica's stories, avoid Old's eyes, and vaguely nod to Wadanohara and Samekichi, trying to tell them he was okay, it felt like a part of him was being sucked into a black hole in the center of his chest. No matter what they say. Even if I think I might be able to handle it. I can't. I'm never coming back here. Funny, how no one else noticed. Not that he wanted them to, of course…

(-)

The trek back to Deepsea Town was mostly uneventful. Wadanohara continually apologized to the non-shark trio and promised that she'd use them next time, even though Fukami insisted that he didn't care, and Dolphi never wanted to familiar battle in the first place (especially against Old, even if she were teamed up with someone).

Sal practically dragged himself along the Sea of Stars, and Samekichi kept bumping into him. All the tension that had been crushing him inside had finally flown away…but now, he just felt all limp and wrung out. Wadanohara had gotten the impression that he was depressed or sulking over the whole ordeal, and kept attempting to cheer him up. Honestly, he didn't feel that depressed about it…more than anything, he was relieved and a bit exhausted. It was like he didn't even have the energy left with which to be upset.

"It was pretty fun just watching you guys, actually." Memoca hopped up and down along the path, even as she looked back at the shark brothers. "It was awesome! Well, except for you, Sal. You sucked the big one."

"Memoca!" Wadanohara shot her a stern warning glare…as angry and threatening as she could make her innocent face appear. "Apologize! That was a terrible thing to say."

She just shrugged a little. "Ah, whatever. I'm sorry."

Dolphi tugged at her sleeve a little. "Mr. Sal is…pretty nice…for a shark." That was, apparently, her way of saying "hey, don't pick on him too much."

Fukami glanced back, but made no comment.

"Well, I thought you were excellent." Wadanohara smiled to him, an overly-cheery sort of expression. "You were so fast! It was amazing! And you were really close to winning, I know it!"

"Nah." Sal just shook his head and returned a half-hearted smile. "She's kinda right. I sucked. But it's just…because of stupid things, probably, and I don't really care. I'll try harder next time." There probably won't ever be a next time. At least not in the palace.

Unexpectedly, Samekichi strongly clapped him on the back, pushing him further forward. "Yeah, that's it. Just take it in stride. There were a lotta times I almost lost today, too. And I'm sure if I had, you would've never let me live it down."

"Heheh." Sal weakly laughed, mostly because he couldn't muster up a proper one. "Yeah, probably."

Before he could say another word, his brother grabbed him by the collar and started half-dragging him along the path. "C'mon, everyone, pick up the pace! Do you wanna get home before it gets pitch black out, or what?"

"O-Oh! Yes!" Wadanohara's eyes lit up, though she was a bit hesitant and puzzled when she strode ahead to keep up with him.

Memoca and Dolphi happily ran after, while Fukami just trailed behind, his eyes clearly reading "Why do I put up with these idiots?"

There wasn't a whole lot to do back at the house…everyone just fell into leisurely activities—Fukami started slowly cleaning, and Wadanohara bundled up the remaining flowers and the tiny petals that had fallen on the floor during their flower-arranging session. Sal sank into a couch, half-slumped, and Samekichi stretched out on the opposite one.

In any case, it had been an incredibly long day, full of immense ups and downs, and there was no reason the white shark shouldn't be thoroughly exhausted. But even so, Sal felt terribly over-exhausted…shivery, weak, limp, unable to even hold himself up. When Memoca came up behind him, tugged at his head-spike, and got no response, even she got the hint that he really wasn't feeling well, and scuttled off into the lounge with Dolphi.

Maybe I'm coming down with a cold or something, he thought. Sea God knows, with all those fish flitting through the palace, there's bound to be all sorts of germs floating around in there. It would be embarrassing, though, that he was weak enough to get sick after such a relatively small ordeal. It would only stand to prove that he was a physically imperfect being.

"Hey." Samekichi chose that moment to toss his head back, catching his attention. Around the same time, Wadanohara returned from the upstairs bathroom, smiling and joining them in the couch area. "Really, you weren't too bad today. You'd be pretty good, if you weren't such a moron."

"Heh." It was a jokey sort of compliment…the only kind he ever felt comfortable giving out. By now, Sal was definitely used to it, but he was just so tired right now, he didn't feel like playing with him.

"Oh, Samekichi…" Wadanohara chimed in, waving dismissively at him. "You were both really amazing. I'm so lucky to have the two of you."

"…You're too sweet," Sal managed to tell her, shaking his head a little and grimacing. "I'm…exhausted."

"I think we're all really freakin' tired." Samekichi righted himself on the couch, making more room for Wadanohara, and he slumped forward a little as well. "First this morning, then this evening. Did not expect to really do any training today, but…eh, it happens."

Sal couldn't take it anymore. Listening to him going on like that… No. What did he know? Nothing. Exactly nothing.

Gently and quietly, he pulled himself up and onto his feet. The world seemed to shift a little and the inside of his head rocked for a second before he caught his bearings…though he still felt like he wanted to hit the floor. "I'm actually going to head right up to bed now, if you don't mind. I'm just beat."

"Oh, of course we don't mind," Samekichi quipped. "Good riddance."

But, looking into his eyes, Sal could tell he was pretty concerned. Over the years, he'd learned to read his expressions…to hear what went unsaid from him and interpret what he really meant.

"Sal? Are you sure you're alright?" Wadanohara earnestly vocalized her concern. "You're never in bed this early."

"Yeah," he lied, chuckling to try to lighten the mood. "I know, it's weird. But today really wiped me out. I probably used a little too much energy. But I'll be fine—I should be back to normal in the morning." On achy feet, he slowly began to walk away. "Goodnight, guys. I'll see everyone tomorrow."

"Night," Wadanohara kindly answered. "Get a good rest."

Samekichi only grunted, but Sal could still see the worry in the crinkles at his eyelids. He probably saw right through him. Oh well. Hopefully, he really would feel better tomorrow.

Sal dragged himself up the stairs to the empty communal bunk room. Thankfully, it was early enough that even Dolphi wasn't in bed yet, so he had the place to himself.

In this room, six little beds were lined up against the back wall, where everyone slept. Technically, Wadanohara had her own bedroom, but she actually preferred to sleep in here with everyone else. According to her, it was too "lonely" to sleep in there by herself…she was weird like that sometimes. The space was admittedly a little cramped, but there was at least enough personal room for everyone…and the beds were surprisingly comfy for their sterile, bland look.

The rest of the room itself was rather plain-looking—a few coat hangers, a mirror, a small desk, a table…all in the same dull bluish tone. Thus, it was painfully obvious to notice the changes. Sal saw the little bunches of hydrangeas on the table, first of all, and then…that.

With a little mouth-turn of disgust, he noticed the pictures tacked to the wall in the corner. Apparently, Wadanohara had already hung up their drawings from this afternoon…including his own stupid self-glorifying one.

It was repulsive to look at now. To know how happy it had made him…this display. Sharks don't do tricks. Sharks don't love to twist and twirl about in the water just to feel the waves between their fins. It wasn't something he should ever be proud of.

Though his vision wavered, and his legs trembled, he strode over to the wall and popped the drawing off, stuffing it away in a drawer. Good. Now he wouldn't have to look at it while he got into bed.

Sal's bed was the second from the left-hand wall, between Samekichi's and Fukami's. He clutched his forehead and slowly made his way over, removing his shoes and his jacket. Under normal circumstances, he might've changed into something a little more comfortable, but he was just too exhausted, so he'd have to make due in his grey turtleneck and darker grey slacks.

Immediately, his body felt relief when it sank into the mattress…finally free of the burden of holding itself upright. The only problem was that his mind was still churning with thoughts and feelings from throughout the day…he'd have to do something to calm himself down so he could actually fall asleep.

"Rrrgh…" Grudgingly, Sal shifted himself over towards the edge of the bed, and slowly, painfully, reached under it to pull out a book. He'd stashed a few volumes under here for this exact purpose, and mentally, he praised himself for thinking of it beforehand. Gingerly, he curled himself against the headboard, propping the book up against a mound of quilt.

Ahhhh…okay. All set… Everything felt so much better already. For a while, Sal read in peaceful silence, letting the support and comfort wash over him…until he noticed himself beginning to nod off, and figured he'd better put the book away.

A small smile finally graced his lips again when he settled back down into his pillow. Everything should be just fine in the morning…nothing would even matter…he'd probably forget all about today's issues by tomorrow night. Everything…felt so good.

And thus, Sal finally closed his eyes…on the calm, serene world he'd always known...

(-)

Another outburst…Another one… This was the third or fourth time it had happened… It was always horrible, and it shook him to the core. The noises, the sharp tone, the fear and heartache… He felt that pain, too. By all rights, it shouldn't affect him, but…it did. It definitely did.

A small, stubby young shark cruised along, scanning the area with angled white eyes. His brother was here somewhere, probably hiding…and he'd resolved himself to find him this time. To go after him…to try to talk to him. He wouldn't stand for this anymore. He wouldn't hang back and just watch him hurting himself anymore.

For a little shark his age, Samekichi was highly perceptive. He knew what was going on. He knew what it meant. And that was why he wouldn't allow himself to remain idle and obedient any longer. It wasn't fair. And somehow, he knew it.

It wasn't too long before he spotted a little curved patch of white sticking up amidst a bed of yellow and green seaweed. Sadly, due to his coloration, his brother wasn't all that good at camouflage. Samekichi could typically blend in with rocky chasms, but…what would ever hide a pure snow-white shark?

Carefully, he looped his small body down in the water…coming into a hover right next to the poking fin. "Salmon…?"

The seaweed seemed to shiver a little. At least he'd managed to cover his head, though Samekichi could see bits of his body when the water waved the long stalks back and forth.

"S-Salmon? It's alright. It's me, Samekichi."

"Go away." The soft, squeaky voice was surprisingly cold. Well, at least he wasn't going to continue pretending he wasn't there. "I hate you."

Samekichi gulped at the lump forming in the back of his throat. He had to admit that those words stung a little…but he didn't want to give up. There was…no reason for Salmon to be so angry with him. "I…just want to help. I…I hate it when this happens, you know. I want you to feel better."

"What do you care?" Salmon's voice was hard, but you could plainly hear the tears cracking it. "You're…perfect. There's nothing wrong with you. Daddy loves you. Everyone loves you. You're a real shark. I'm…nothing."

"Ah…" Samekichi had to really fight back his tears now. Hearing that…was just too terrible. He couldn't take it. "N-No. I'm not 'perfect'. And I really want to help you. I like you. I…don't think you're nothing."

Through the gaps in the plants, he saw his brother's snowy body shudder. "Y-You'd never understand! You heard him… I'm…a defect. I was never meant to be born. I was a…mistake! It's you that matters—you're the only one that matters. I-I'm just…extra…waste! I hate you. I hate you!"

Salmon's strangled voice cried out between teary gasps, his body trembling and hurting. All of Samekichi's muscles tensed in sympathetic response.

"No." Determinedly, he lowered himself a little closer to his brother's hiding spot. No matter what, he was not going to let this go on. "No, Salmon. Daddy's…Daddy's wrong."

Silence filled the ocean water between them. To say that…that was treason against his own father. It was frightening, sure…but Samekichi couldn't let his mistreatment get into his head like this. He didn't want Salmon to have to hate himself like this…and he didn't want it to drive a rift between them.

"Daddy doesn't like you, and I don't know why, but…it's not fair. You are a real shark, no matter what he says. You're…my brother. I'm really glad you were born. This way, I…we won't ever be lonely. We'll always have a friend. I love you. It…it doesn't matter what color you are, or what shape you are. You could be purple with yellow polka dots for all I care. You're a shark to me. You've always been a real shark, just like me. I don't care what Daddy says."

The seaweed shuddered again, and sniffles and little sobs arose from inside. "You…really mean that…?"

"Of course so." A pause. Samekichi thought it best to stay quiet for now…waiting for Salmon to decide whether to trust him or not. It was agonizing.

After a solid minute, his small voice finally answered. "I-I'm sorry."

"I-It's okay."

At last, Salmon emerged fully, swimming out from between the seaweed and around to face Samekichi, though he still looked down in shame. He was a tiny little shark, slimmer and more hydrodynamic…and also stark white. Tears squeezed below his round blue eyes. Sweet little Salmon…

In truth, Samekichi was even a little envious of him. He was much faster and more flexible in the water…and other non-shark sea creatures tended to find him adorable and would accept him more easily. Though…they also tended to think he was a girl at first.

Tenderly, Samekichi nuzzled his snout to the side of his smaller one…the gesture felt soft and loving.

Salmon closed his eyes and returned it a little, teardrops smearing against Samekichi's little gills. "I don't hate you. I was lying. I'm sorry. I…I didn't like to think that you hated me like he does, Samekichi. I… You're my friend. I do…trust you."

"I'm so glad." Samekichi brushed a fin over his brother's back this time, fondly. "You'll always be my friend. I dunno what I can really do, but…I'll protect you, Salmon. I promise."

Salmon scowled, despite the loving gesture…it was an odd expression on his cute young face. "I don't like that."

"Huh?" A little shock went through Samekichi, worrying that he was going to reject his kindness all of a sudden, right now.

"Salmon," he clarified. "I don't like it when people call me Salmon. That's my name, but…I just don't like it. I've never liked it. I don't want you to call me that too."

"Hmm…you don't like your name?" Samekichi drifted a little to the side as he thought. "Then…maybe I could give you, like, a nickname…?"

"Yeah!" Salmon bobbed with excitement. "A nickname! I want a nickname!"

"Uhhhhhh…" Samekichi wracked his—admittedly not very creative—brain, trying to come up with something fitting. "Umm, White?"

"Eugh…" Salmon obviously didn't like that and began to slightly sink again.

"Mmmmm...Salmon…Salmon…" Samekichi swam in a tight little pacing circle. "Then…how about Sam?"

"Mm…" Salmon cocked his head a little, considering. "It's…alright, I guess."

"Salmon….Salmon…Salll-mon… Sal?"

Salmon blinked wide blue eyes at him. "Sal…?" He glanced around, a bit nervously. "Sal… Y-Yeah! That's good. Sal!"

"Sal!" Samekichi happily echoed, playfully bumping against him. "Yeah! Okay, then, Sal! I'll call you Sal from now on!"

"Whoooo!" Sal did a joyful little flip, and Samekichi laughed with delight.

Sal and Samekichi… No matter what Old tried to tell them, they were meant to be born together, as twins. And as they began to slowly make their way back home, swimming side-by-side…Samekichi could only hope that they could stay together like this…for the rest of time.