Hi guys! It's been awhile since I last updated- sorry about that I just kept having stuff pop up at the worst of times and trying to deal with that and writing something good at the same time was not working out. That said, I've updated each chapter and you do not need to go back and reread them at all. They haven't changed much in terms of content- except chapter 4 but that's mostly characterization- I just rewrote it because I wasn't happy with it. I just wanted to make them flow better and I wanted to fix mistakes I made in starting this story. While I'm sure that there are still some grammatical errors here and there, please point out anything and I'll get back to it as soon as I can, I like what I've gotten.

I've changed my name from Vixbee to poprockie in case anybody was wondering. I also updated the stories summary because I never really liked the old one all that much. This new one has grown on me a bit. To new readers: you probably don't know what I'm talking about. Which is great for me. But I wasn't happy with earlier versions of this story and have rewritten these first five chapters about three times now. Yes, it was that bad. And it took me over a year to do so. I hope I never have to take an extended hiatus like that again because I've really grown to love writing this story and can't wait to finally continue it. Reviews are especially helpful in reminding me to write by the way! Sometimes I just forget and they help me get motivated but I always love hearing what people have to say.

Oh! And before I move onto the chapter- this story was created before any information was out on the Spade Pirates but the originals do exist in this universe (my extended hiatus has allowed me to read up on things). Masked Deuce, Isuka and everybody else. I would think of it like this: because of Quinn and other factors Ace ended up taking a different route than his counterpart and wound up in Saigen instead of anywhere else. This is due to him not getting his hands on a map to Sixis and instead overhearing about Saigen, a trading port sanctioned by the Marines, and getting his hands on an old map to Gaimon's island. And then the story changed from there. Seeing as the original Spade Pirates do exist we might just be seeing them in the future- though I can't say for certain whether or not they'll be allies.

Anyways, without further ado, here we go!


It was sudden and shocking.

Even though she'd expected it, knew that it was coming, it still didn't prepare her for the sheer… experience that hitting the water would be. 'Cause it was hard to describe, really. And left her a bit at a loss for words.

When the Beast had lunged at them it had immediately shattered the boat into pieces and the only reason Quinn was still alive was because she'd managed to fall back before it'd hit her head on. That still didn't help her from being thrown into the water, back first, and certainly didn't stop the wind from getting completely knocked out of her. Yeah, going for a breath after a hit like that, only to be met by a lungful of water, was more than a little disorienting. To make matters worse, the Devil Fruit had hit like a freight train- and she was stuck under the tracks.

Quinn nearly snorted. And that was putting it lightly.

See, a Devil Fruit user doesn't just lose their ability to swim and suffer from a weakened state, no, it was far, far worse than that. It was as if the entire ocean was holding you down and grabbing you, like it was dragging you down to the sea floor as fast as it possibly could, trying to bury you deep, deep down into its abyss. It weighed on your limbs, unimaginably heavy and strong, and only got worse the further you got from the surface. And that had been terror inducing.

Quinn had choked, vision blurring, and could only watch as the sunlight got dimmer and dimmer, the surface further and further out of reach with each passing second. And even though she tried, and managed to force her arms to move in a few weak strokes, it did nothing against the pull of the sea. Then her back had hit the floor, sending up sand and dirt to cloud her vision and ruin her view of the sunlight and the surface.

And that had sent a whole new wave of panic through her- just the feeling of being absolutely powerless to forces completely out of her control. It wasn't a new feeling, but it'd been so in her face and sudden and nauseating; dialed to eleven, that she'd nearly passed out right then and there.

Really, staring up at the bubbles drifting past her fingers, the horror of losing oxygen, her lungs constricting and throat tightening, and vision darkening with each moment safety got further out of reach was-

Abruptly Quinn shook her head, biting down on her lip to pull herself out of those thoughts.

It wouldn't do to get caught up in that experience any longer. It was horrible, that was that, and she'd rather not remember it any longer than she had to- "What're you doing?"

She asks. Thoughts stalling.

She has to wince at the sound of her voice. Scratchy. And ripping through her throat like knives.

Katsura nearly tripped over himself in surprise.

"Ah-!" He managed to catch himself, nails digging into the rock wall to hold himself up. "You scared me!" Katsura yelps, one hand on his heart, eyes flung wide.

He was at the corner of the shore, crouched over the water.

"I scared you?!"

"W-Wha-" His mouth falls open, as if catching what he'd said, "I-I-I mean, I wasn't scared at all! Just… surprised! Yeah, surprised, is all." Katsura coughs into a fist awkwardly before clapping and pointing at the water. Quinn followed his finger. "I was just checking out the sea currents before we head up!"

"The… sea currents?" She tries to keep the confusion out of her tone but fails. Instead brows furrowing curiously at him. "You can feel them?"

"Yeah," he chirps, "The Beast, when he gets into a real bad mood, ends up thrashing around in the water so much that he makes it go crazy. He's strong enough that they go absolutely wild and- yeesh- if that happened while your friend was in the water…!"

Katsura made a face and slid a thumb over his throat, miming a choked noise in a pale imitation of someone losing their head.

"Wow. Thanks. I really needed to hear that right now." Quinn can't help but deadpan.

It's only mildly entertaining watching him suddenly turn pale and choke for real this time. Looking absolutely horrified. Before he slaps a hand over his mouth, "Oh my- I'M SO SORRY! J-Just ignore what I said!" He garbles. "That's only if the currents were bad a-and it doesn't look like they were too horrible, honest! They were actually surprisingly calm this time so your friend should be just fine!"

It's comical to watch him wave his hands around and bounce from foot to foot and Quinn almost cracks a smile before she's crossing her arms and raising a brow at him. "And you can read them just like that?" It's said with an alarmed sort of disbelief and Katsura looks taken aback. Even a bit offended maybe?

"Of course I can!" He snaps. And Quinn blinks. That was a quick change of tone. "I've been reading the ocean and the weather for as long as I can remember, there's no one that can read and predict the ocean better than I can! And you can take that to your grave, you know?!" He's practically shouting at this point, and burning with a sort of passion that has her more than a little startled.

She can't help but slowly tilt her head at him, face scrunched. "Oh-kay?"

There's a moment of silence.

Then he squeaks.

"THAT CAME OUT WRONG- GSHHK!" And bites his tongue.

Quinn's more than a little weirded out.

"Uh- You okay there?"

"Grhshhh… Ish fine…!" He buries his face into his palm and shoots her a shaky thumbs up. "Ish all good- keh- gyeh- ow." From the blood dripping down his face it's clearly not fine and not all good but Quinn isn't really sure what to do. So she just shifts uncomfortably, more than a little befuddled.

Just- who kept doing that?

Katsura sucks in a whimpered breath, a little teary eyed, to continue on like nothing happened, "But it's a bit strange is all."

"What is?"

The fact that he kept biting himself? Because Quinn definitely thought that was more than a little bit strange and it was even more sad if this was the first time he'd actually realized that normal people don't regularly try to bite through their own damn tongue.

"Well, normally, after the Beast attacks a ship, the waters way worse than this." He coughs up a bit of water, letting it fall through his fingers, "This is pretty normal for this area."

Oh, so not the tongue thing then.

Quinn was… admittedly a bit disappointed.

She shrugs at him, "So what? What's the big deal if he isn't throwing a hissy fit in the water for once?" It'd be wonderful if she never saw that things ugly mug again. "Isn't it better for us getting to the surface if he isn't causing us trouble?"

"Well, yes." Katsura admits before paling dramatically, biting his nails. "It's just creepy is all! Like- like- Have you ever heard a real scary ghost story? The waters givin' me that kind of feeling you know?"

"I think you mean goosebumps."

"Right, that!"

"How do you not know what goosebumps are-?"

"I just forgot the word! People do that sometimes!" He garbled out, cheeks flushed bright, which he tried desperately to hide. He failed by the way. "It's- It's not that weird! I- Just let me check out the water a bit more to make doubly sure it's safe, okay?!" Quinn opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by him- "Okay! I just need to make sure that everything's really, really alright. Gotta feel it now-"

She pursed her lips, more than a little bemused.

"-so-so no interrupting!"

She raised her hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay, I got it." And decided to just settle back and watch the redhead at work. She wasn't completely buying the fact that he could "apparently" read the ocean currents and gauge the general going-ons of the sea but Quinn had a feeling that the more she didn't believe what she was told the more she'd just be proven wrong in the end. There were certainly crazier- and freakier- things in the Blues' World.

For all she knew all fishman could read currents.

She didn't really remember a lot on them.

(She'd kinda… skimmed the Fishman Island Arc. She was only semi-regretful.)

Katsura sucked in a deep breath.

Feeling the water flow between his fingers, over the webbing on his hands, and the amphibian skin that made up the lower parts of his arms in thick, tough layers, letting his skin breath in the familiar comfort of the water. Truthfully, feeling the currents was a bit of a redundant statement. It was more as if he was… sensing them, so to speak. Understanding them. Listening to them. Each coil or twist or lap that ran over his forearms was just an echo of the currents, telling him what he needed to figure out their rhythm.

A beat.

He let out a slow, deliberate breath through his gills.

Normally, after the Beast was upsetted, the currents would be so loud and constant he could only stand to be in the water for a few minutes at most. It was just overloading to his senses. But this time there wasn't any of that- and, like he said, it gave him goosebumps. Quite literally. He could feel his hair standing on end as they popped up all over his skin.

The sea was shockingly calm. Rolling, twisting and churning how it normally did. Which was admittedly not that calm, but calm enough to warrant him trying to sniff out any problems.

Another beat.

He let his gills tense and shudder before pulling his hands out and rubbing a handful of water over them, letting them settle back into his skin. "Krrm… It seems like it's all okay. As far as I can tell we're all good to go!" He huffed. "So I guess we can-"

There was a loud, creaking noise. Sounding like ropes snapping and old wood groaning; the wooden remains on the shoreline tumbling tumultuously over each other. Quinn winced as a crash rung out, something slamming into the rest of the rubbage, and peaked over the broken mass curiously.

Katsura let out a loud yelp and a curse, wiping his hands off on his shirt. "GAH- Goddamnit, that makes me jump every time!" He grumbled, face beet red.

Quinn couldn't help but quirk a brow. "Well, that's foreboding."

Caught in the water and slamming into the rest of the wreckage was the bits and pieces of what could only by Ace and hers ship. Completely and utterly destroyed beyond repair.

Katsura followed her gaze and couldn't help but cringe, coughing into his fist awkwardly.

"A-Ah-" His mouth fell open and he turned a bit red in the face, sheepish, "I-I guess I forgot to mention that most of the surface currents pick up all the wreckage and end up bringing it over here. That's why I've got all these shipwrecks on my doorstep."

"Figured it was something like that…"

There was a crash, shipwrecked parts slamming into each other and collapsing against the new weight.

And then it all continued to crash.

...And snap.

...And break.

Every which way.

Katsura cringed at each new noise, a strangled noise coming from his throat. Quinn couldn't help but sigh, rubbing her temples. "Alright, as fun as… this is, let's get this over with."

It was said with a sort of pained trepidation, knowing that she was not going to like what they did next.

And, god, was she right.

In order to leave the cave they had to, just as Katsura had said, use the currents. If that in itself wasn't foreboding to a newly-minted Devil Fruit user than she didn't know what was. Because being an anchor meant she couldn't take more than a few inches of sea before she became as limp as a noodle.

So, Katsura grunted, "Okay, I got this!" And waded into the water. Quinn held in his arms bridal style.

And she was. Not. Happy.

Now she didn't know exactly where this was going but why'd it have to come to this- of all things? She grimaced pathetically, gripping the red head as she struggled to get away from the weakness of the water. Shit. It was already lapping at her ankles and she could feel her breath come out in short, harsh beats with every step Katsura took. "I hope this works…" She heard him mutter and whipped around.

"W-What do you mean, I hope?!"

"A-Ah- n-nothing! I've just never done this with another person!"

"What?!"

"Hey, it's your fault you can't swim! You should really learn!"

"Me learning is not the problem-!"

She struggled even more.

Katsura flashed her a quick grin, a bit strained, but cheeky enough to have her cursing him out, "Hold your breath!"

The water washed over them.

And Katsura nearly let out a whoop of relief.

Whoosh~ He just loved dipping into the water and feeling it rush over his gills. Each breath pumping in water to his fishman lungs, absolutely refreshing to his-

His-

His-

"Uh, oh."

He squeaked.

"You're not supposed to be here."

He said. To the gnarled face of the Sea Beast.

...

...

"Woooo~"

Ace let out a low hum of appreciation, taking in the sights from his spot. Currently situated on what was easily the highest point in the village. "This is a pretty nice place you got here!" He complimented.

It didn't beat the view from his treehouses crow's nest but it was definitely up there.

There came a choked sputter.

"I k-kno-o-ow-" Tava gasped, "Lemme' go you- you bastarr-!" Oh, will you look at that? He couldn't finish his sentence. How sad. Ace grinned, squeezing tighter.

"Is that what you want?" He asked. Changing his grip on him from where he had him wrung out by his neck, caught in a headlock, and couldn't help but smirk as Tava clapped a hand against his arm. Trying to tap out from the looks of it. "You sure about that?"

The answer was mostly just him choking but Ace took it as confirmation and shrugged.

"Alright. You asked for it!"

What?

He was a bit vindictive.

"Oh, thank go- A-AAAH- N-NO- NO!"

Ace snorted back a laugh, catching the guy by the back of his shirt before he could drop more than a few feet. Just enough to scare him really, and give him that satisfying feeling of dropping in the pit of his stomach. "Sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you!" He snickered.

"Oh- man- Augh… Y-You bastard-"

His grip slipped a bit.

"AH NO, I'M SORRY- SORRY- P-Please, don't!"

Ace hummed. "I don't know." He grinned, lifting him up so he could see his face. He was a bit green. "You've been kind of an asshole up until this point."

"I… think I'm gonna throw up…!"

That's not something he wanted to hear. "Don't look at me when you do it." He sweat drops. There was a chance that, maybe, he'd gone a bit too far. Then the guy called him an asshole again and that thought immediately went away.

"How about you show me where that Catfish guy is at now?"

He groans a bit more and his face flashes through a few shades of color that Ace doesn't know how to describe. Not good, he settled on as it turned a sort of ashen yellow- which, coupled with his skin tone, made him look like he was dying. "C-Can I just…" He sounds queasy. "Ask one question?"

"You're not really in a position to be." But Ace shrugs, "Sure, whatever. Can't promise I'll answer."

He blushes a bit, head down. "...Was I really that weak?"

That was an easy one. Ace snorted. "Oh, absolutely."

Oh, hell, was he going to cry? Ace didn't know whether to laugh or shake his head, this guy was just ridiculous. Tava hung his head, eyes downcast, and swallowed pathetically, before saying in a small voice, "F-Fine… I'll take you over to the d-damn fish freaks lair." A grin splits over his face.

"That's all I wanted to hear!"

Tava's expression gets screwed up, looking all bent out of shape. And growls. "Just get me down from here already! This is way too high up, damn it!"

He's waiting for his feet to be placed on the roof so he can climb down or for Ace to begin slowly making his way down himself so that they can take a nice and steady trip back down to the ground.

Unfortunately, that's not what happens.

"-AAAAAAA-"

"Chehahaha-!"

"-OH MY GOD-!"

Ace jumps off and lets gravity take its course.

...

...

"What the hell- you jerk! Go away!"

Katsura snapped at the fishy-face of the Sea Beast.

"Were you waiting for us to leave this whole time?! That's… actually kinda smart. What gave you the idea to do that?"

He has to somersault out of the way of jaws slamming down inches from his face.

"Damn it, Beast, you put me in such a tight spot here!"

Quite literally. His back was shoved up to the shore wall and his hands were tied with Quinn in his arms. Katsura huffed, shooting off the wall just in time to dodge another strike. The Beasts jaws clamping down on nothing but water and making the currents ripple beneath its weight. Katsura cursed.

And cursed again when he looked down and caught sight of the bubbles beginning to force their way out of Quinn's mouth. From the scrunch of her face and her eyes turning dazed it was clearly taking all she could to keep her hold on his shirt. Which he could uncomfortably feel loosening.

The goal of jumping in the water- or rather, the entire purpose, was to grab a current that he could use to twist himself up onto the land about fifty feet above them. And the problem with the beast showing his ugly mug was that he was able to disturb the currents with just a twist of his body and a snap of his jaws. In fact, just as Katsura was about to use the ocean and get out the waves changed abruptly and ruined his hold on the water around him.

Effectively cutting off his exit.

"Just great-!"

The dodging was getting ridiculous. Katsura grimaced as the seconds ticked by.

At this rate, he'd never get out.

The Beast thrashed around, roaring, and the waves changed abruptly around them. It snapped out, "Ah, fu- and the only reason he'd managed to get out of the way with Quinn in his arms was backflipping awkwardly and using the currents to siphon himself a few feet away. The sound of the wall crumbling behind him was somewhat muffled by the water, wood and rocks tumbling into the ocean and slowly sinking past him.

"HEY! Don't do that, you're gonna mess up my shell collection!" He couldn't help but snarl for once careful not to bite his tongue. More blood in the water would only serve to make getting out of here harder. And all this rumbling would cause his shell-piles to fall and break. "That took years to put together and organize!"

Okay.

He was fed up.

"Sorry, Quinn, you're gonna have to hang out by yourself for a minute!"

He imagined that if she wasn't only semi-conscious that her eyes would've snapped open and she would've let out an underwater scream. As it was, all she could manage was the distinct feeling that she should be pissed off- especially as she found herself without anything to hold onto, suspended and sinking a short second later. She knew she shouldn't have trusted him to hold onto her.

"C'mon Beast! Let's fight!"

"Brrrghhhhhh-" Said Beast was growling like a wild dog, lips pulled back in something vaguely looking like a sneer. "-rroooooaaagh!"

He twitched a bit nervously.

Truth be told, the last time he'd gone head-to-head with the Beast it hadn't ended well for either of them. But, "Yeah, yeah," he stuck his tongue out, "just come at me already, you jerk!"

Katsura couldn't help but grin a bit. Giddy, almost.

If… If he could beat the Beast once and for all then that'd prove that he'd gotten stronger since then.

The thought had his heart skipping a beat, though he couldn't tell if that was the result of a good feeling or not. Finding himself surging across the length of the monstrous body, hands at the ready, slipping around the violent jaws with ease now that he could move freely. "Alright, I've got this…!" He muttered, barely able to contain himself. Rearing back his hand, in order to feel the water stretch across his fingers in long, sharp tendrils. It was a familiar feeling.

One that was followed by the currents around him shifting. In some small way it was akin to the movement of the Beast, but required much more finesse and concentration. Not wild movements that sent the waves crashing. Rather, focus and thought.

Katsura took in a deep breath. The build up of water around his fingers felt like it was going to explode, barely contained concentrations of sea. It was always hard fighting unassisted like this- he was unused to the strain- and he could feel his focus beginning to fade with each passing second.

His muscles groaned beneath the recognizable weight of using the ocean to do his bidding and couldn't help but smirk, "You're going down, Beast!" Slashing across the back of the Beasts hide with all the strength he could manage.

There were long lines of spume blocking his vision but he'd definitely felt the strike connect and he couldn't help but let an excited feeling of triumph race through him. Blinking wildly as the bubbles popped and disappeared, tense as he waited for the Beast to twitch or make so much as a single move.

"That's right! Take that, you be- GAH!"

Was… Was that his tail…?

"SNNNK- Kehsh- sh- shit- fuh-" Katsura grasped his face and held back a howl, blood spraying into the water. "Shda-damn it!" That was…

Ugh. He was sent absolutely reeling from that hit. It'd whipped out too fast for him to even attempt to dodge.

Spitting and sputtering as blood spurted from his busted nose, out into the water, Katsura let out a weak cough at the sudden, shocking impact.

Ah.

That was not good.

"Aw, shit."

Katsura ran his tongue across his teeth anxiously, both the sharp and the not, careful to not let it get cut despite his sudden paleness. Attention suddenly taken in by the fact that the hit- "did absolutely nothing!"

There wasn't so much as a scratch on him. The Beast hadn't even flinched. Damn. Unfortunately, from the looks of it, he wasn't the only one who'd gotten stronger.

He wiped the blood away with the back of his arm. Spitting out a glob into the water.

The Beast seemed to breath in the smell with a sort of zealous satisfaction. And if Katsura didn't know any better than he'd say that he was smiling.

That thought was not a fun one.

"Alright, Beast, it's going to be like that then." He spits. More than a little chagrined and meets the snarl of the beast with bared teeth and a growl. The Beast's eyes are bloodshot now, and he looks even more ferocious than he did before. Katsura holds back a shiver at the sight. The blood in the water was going to send him into an even worse frenzy if he wasn't careful.

A few stray bubbles popped in front of his face.

He looked down.

And flushed guiltily. "...right! I almost forgot! Sorry!" He squeaked.

It probably wouldn't do to end up accidentally drowning the person he was supposed to be helping. From the blue tinge on Quinn's face and the fact that bubbles were escaping her shut mouth at a horrifying rate the clock was ticking by faster than he'd anticipated.

"I-I-I'm coming, don't worry!"

Unfortunately the Beast chose that time to be an ass.

"ROA-"

"Ahgh!" He sputtered. "Striking while I'm distracted!"

"-OOOAGH

He clenched his teeth, eyeing the lanky body beneath him, glancing between the Beast and where Quinn rested between coral and rocks close to the ocean floor. The Beast wasn't going to just let him pick her back up and with his failure to pierce the Beasts hide- he looked down at his nails, long and sharp, and usually all he needed to break through rock and skin and whatever he wanted- well, he just wasn't going to cut it. The thought had him grinded his teeth against each other, shaking his head in frustration.

Fine. Fine.

He was just too weak.

It came with a flurry of feelings, mixed rage and self-hatred and disappointment.

"Next time, Beast," he snarled, "I'll be strong enough to take you down myself!" With that exclamation he was glancing back at the rock wall still behind him and purposely snapping his teeth around his tongue. "For now- have a taste of what's to come!"

And slammed his teeth down as hard as he could.

"GYAH! THAT ALWAYS HURTS!"

But it was as if a switch had been flipped.

"Brrooooooooagggggh!"

The Beast's eyes turned red in a haze of ferocity, roar escaping, and lunged.

Headfirst into the wall behind him.

Still teary eyed from the bite to his tongue Katsura cackled uproariously at the sight, "GET WRECKED ASSHOLE!" He sank into laughter, smirking and cheering at the sight of both the integrity of the Beasts skull and the rock wall failing. That'd surely knock him out of the running for a little while. He swooped down and gathered up Quinn in his arms, latching onto what currents he could with a spin of his body, a sheepish apology on his lips.

At least he'd managed to do something, Katsura thought- That is until Quinn's eyes widened and she struggled to point over his shoulder. He whipped around, mouth falling open, "What the hell?!"

Despite the blood smashed and smeared across his skull the Beast was sliding off the wall and bearing down on them once again.

"Shi-!"

The only reason they were able to successfully shoot pass his gaping maw and razor-like teeth was because Katsura had already gathered the currents around the pair and was already in the midst of sending them flying out of the ocean and straight up into the sky, landing in a crash of limbs and pain on the cliffs edge. The touchdown sending the two sprawling apart from each other in a wet mess of rolling bodies with only Katsura managing to pull himself into a crouch.

"Damn it," he snarled, slamming his fist into the ground, "I couldn't do anything to him!"

Quinn came up gasping for air and vomiting up water and bile.

Barely able to lift herself onto her hands and knees, heaving until she was convulsing and cramping and wanting nothing more than to collapse in on herself. "Nice… going, Kat." She growled. "Way to… forget about me…" Christ. Every breath she took in came out harsh and ragged, her voice garbled to the point of near incomprehension.

"It's Katsura." He muttered, annoyed. Sniffing back some drops of blood. "I already told you that-"

"Don't care." Quinn huffed, voice coming out in gasping breaths. "Gonna try and kill me like that… I'll call you whatever the hell I want…"

"I can kick you off the cliff, you know?"

"You won't." It may just be the water suffocating her brain but Quinn was pretty sure she could trust the fish-face. "You already saved me. Wouldn't be worth all the work you already put in."

"Grrr…"

"Why do you hate, hrrk… Kat anyways? It's cute."

He ducked his head, face contorting painfully. "It's weak is what it is." He wasn't kidding when he likened it to being the weak-link of the animal kingdom. "I'm a man… I'm not some soft hearted weakling."

Quinn snorted. Which was a bad idea since it caused some excess water to get stuck up her nose. "Uhg! O-Oh please. That's so stupid." She rolled her eyes. "Sounds to me like you're just being dramatic."

"Shut up." He growls, punching her in the shoulder. Though there's no real heat to it. "You don't know what it means to me. Being called Kitty all the time… It's worse than being called a fish-freak or a monster. Whatever the islanders are coming up with these days."

Given that they're both stuck on the ground, trying to catch their breath, neither of them can see each others reactions. Quinn in too much pain to really acknowledge him, diaphragm constricting. Katsura's teeth are slowly clenching and unclenching, marks of pain and anger crossing over his face.

Quinn sucked in a few breaths, dry heaving and coughing out a bit more water, and finally asked the question that she knew she'd have to ask in order for them to get anywhere else, "Why's it have such a negative connotation, huh?"

He sat back up, hand wiping across his cheek and neck. Looking decidedly defeated. "My gills… they look like whiskers don't they?"

"Yeah. Makes you sorta look like Naruto actually."

"You mean like the food?"

"Uh- no. Ignore me."

He shook his head, eyes downcast. "When I was younger and new to this island all I wanted to do was fit in." He grimaced at the memory. Yeah right. Like that could've ever happened here. "But…"

"Well, let's just say it didn't end well."

He closed his eyes.

"-It's all your fault- you weakling!-"

"-You can't protect anything, kitty-cat!-"

"-Shut up! No one wants to hear your self-pitying moans!-"

"-Aww- the kit's crying! Haha-"

"-oh that? I tossed it. A dumb cat like you shouldn't be allowed to have anything that pretty-"

His eyes shot open abruptly. "I can't change what my gills look like- what I look like like. I was born this way!" He spat. "I won't be some weak-willed, demure little kitty. The appearance does not make the man!"

He froze, unclenching his hand, letting it fall limply into his lap. "Guess I'm wrong though… couldn't so much as scratch the Beast. All I did was take hits and talk shit. I'd need help if I ever even wanted to break his hide."

Quinn grunted. "What's wrong with that? There's nothing wrong with asking for help, doesn't mean you're weak." She groaned. "I asked for help after all- what would that make me?"

Katsura pursed his lips. "You can't even swim. Being compared to you is not exactly… filling me with confidence here." As soon as the words got past his lips he was burning a furious red and he looked wide eyed, slapping his hands over his mouth.

"Oh. Ouch. I'm gonna pretend I didn't just hear you say that."

"Please!" He almost whimpered.

"Anyways…" Quinn hissed as she stood up, feeling her body crack and groan in all the wrong places. "It's just a word. Take it back."

"Huh?"

"It happens sometimes with words with negative connotations."

Ugh. She felt her stomach roll.

"I don't-"

"Make it your own. Or whatever," she rubbed at her face, "I'm gonna go throw up. Again." She stumbled over to a bush and did just that.

It had Katsura blinking at her back, mouth falling open.

"I- I… I never thought of it that way." He smiled to himself a bit. It was a nice thought. "You know, you're pretty ni- GROSS!" He pinched his nose and grimaced, finally taking notice of what she was doing.

Quinn wiped a hand over her face. She did not feel good. "Thanks. I needed to hear that right now."

He slapped his hands back over his mouth, "S-S-Sorry!"

She paused, giving him a dry look. "I'm joking."

"I-I knew that."

"...sure."

Oofph. She's gonna throw up again.

Katsura yelps.

-0-

"Are you better now? Please tell me you're better."

It feels like she's gone ten rounds with a blender but she nods slowly. Katsura let's out a sigh of relief, hand on his heart. Quinn interrupts it.

"This is your fault."

"What? No. It's the Beasts!" He stabs a finger at the cliffs edge, looking affronted by the accusation. "I'm the one that got you out of there in the first place."

Quinn grumbles, shooting him an aggravated look from the corner of her eye. She'll begrudgingly give him that. "...Still dropped me."

"That- That was necessary to the situation at hand!" He defended. "It's not like I was gonna just leave you there-!"

She huffed out a reluctant laugh. "Kehehehe!" Patting him on the shoulder, "I know. I know. I'm just giving you a hard time, don't overreact. Geez."

He flushes. "That's not-" His face flattens, expression dry. "You were nice before, now you're just mean." It's said in annoyance but Quinn could swear she saw the corner of his mouth quirk up a bit. She takes that as a win. Though a win for what? She's not sure.

"If nothing else you have a potential career in waterboarding."

"Uhhh-"

He chokes on his own spit at that. Incredulous. She's just thankful that he didn't end up biting his tongue again.

Quinn cracks her neck. It feels like its been weeks since she last saw Ace but in reality it'd probably been- and she was already pushing it with this guess- half an hour. Dimly she wonders if this whole situation is different than what would have happened if she wasn't present before shaking her head, deciding not to think about it. "So where would he be?"

"Who?"

"Ace."

"Oh. Freckles. Right." Katsura taps a finger to his chin thoughtfully. "Well- There's a village on the other side of the island. The current that swept him up should've taken him somewhere over there."

She fails to hide her groan. Erk- walking. It didn't sound fun after feeling like she'd been run over by a train multiple times. "We'd better get going then-" Quinn stops, blinking against the glare of the sun. "Hey, is that a house over there?"

Katsura's head pops up.

"Huh?"

"Over there." He follows her finger and takes in the sight of the... Quinn wanted to call it a cottage. Katsura takes one look at it and almost immediately flinches. It's gone with a blink and she's left wondering if it was just a trick of the light.

"Oh- uh." He pales, tongue feeling heavy in his mouth. "That's just some old abandoned home. Nobody's lived there in four years."

"Ace could be there." Quinn suggests and starts making her way towards it.

Katsura gapes at her.

"H-Hey, wait!"

"What?"

"We can just skip over it and head straight over to t-the- KSHHH!" He howls as his teeth clamp down around his tongue. He curses at the familiar iron taste of blood feeling his mouth, teeth scraping along old and new scars alike. He whimpers. What horrible timing!

Quinn raises an unimpressed brow before rolling her eyes and continuing walking towards the cottage.

Katsura quickly stumbling after her, jaw working to try and swallow back the pain, and he stutters as he speaks up, hands waving frantically. "I promise the village isn't a far walk! Hey, hey, you're looking tired, maybe I can carry you back?" She actually pauses and has to consider that one. Then she glances down, noting that he barely reached her chin and decides against it.

"No. You're... too short."

"-Wha? I carried you just fine before!"

"That was out of necessity. With our height difference it'd just be comical."

He splutters.

"Why're you trying to keep me from heading over there?"

Really. He's floundering by every definition of the word and Quinn doesn't have to know what's going through his head to figure out that he's trying to come up with some sort of explanation. An explanation that would most definitely be a lie if he could manage it. Just to try and get her to stop and head towards the village- which she was somewhat inclined to do but ultimately decided against it. But Quinn's a curious sort and with each second that he fails to come up with something she inches closer and closer in the direction of the cottage.

He clamps his mouth shut. And if Quinn took a second to glance back at him again she'd notice him twiddling his thumbs. "...Because..."

"'Because' is not an answer." She huffs. "We're already here anyways." Admittedly disappointed that that was the best he could come up with.

The cottage is… cute.

It's old and dusty and the boards are a bit worn but it's adorably small and earthy. It's surrounded by a half ruined fence and is halfway overgrown with weeds and what looks to be a tree twisting it's way up it's side. Quinn likens it to the humble abodes you'd always hear about in fairy tales, part of her is waiting for it to begin sparkling or for a pixie to come out of it. It's a sort of picturesque, sweet looking place.

"Looks like someone built their dream house…" She muttered, running a hand along the fence. Flakes of paint falling off in peels and dust and Quinn has to rub her fingers together to get it off. "It's beautiful." She was by no means an architect but one didn't need to be in order to be enraptured by the architecture and detail that went into the rickety old house. Weirdly enough, she had a bit of a soft spot for small houses off the beaten path and that were clearly made with love and family in mind. Even if this one had fallen into a state of disrepair.

"I really don't think going in there is a good idea."

"You said it was abandoned."

"Well, I guess I did. But that still doesn't make it cool for you to break into there! Besides it's all shut up anyways-"

Quinn raised a brow at him, planting a hand into the front door and watched it swing wide open. Katsura trailed off at the sight. "It's open." He opens his mouth to say 'yeah, I can see that' and insist that they head towards the village but Quinn's already pushed inside to take a look around. Letting out a short whistle as she did so.

Katsura huffed, fists clenching and stomping his feet indignantly.

Of course she didn't see it and he was left standing outside the house looking- and feeling- like an idiot. "Grr..." Katsura groaned, put out.

He bit his lip, not caring about the sharp edge of his teeth, looking up at the old cottage. Noting the familiar creak of the door as it swung on its hinges, rickety and high pitched with wear and tear. He fisted his hands in the fabric of his pants, clutching them tightly and not really knowing what to do as Quinn passed by the broken window, coughing at the dust that covered the place from head to toe, leaving him standing outside reluctantly.

He hadn't taken a step into the old home in years. Hadn't even gone near it in that time.

"Quinn…" He called after her weakly.

If she heard him she didn't acknowledge it, too busy waving dust away. Katsura couldn't help the growl and the whine slowly bubbling up through his throat. Not knowing whether to be angry or to hang his head.

The house was the same as he left it. It'd remained untouched. Just older now. More overgrown. No matter how many weeds and plants began to fester in its splinters and cracks the home was still dark and lonely and would remain that way until its pieces had been put back together.

Katsura swallowed at the sight. "You know… I haven't taken a step in here since I lost that shell I was telling you about." He let out a deep breath, unclenching his fists. A wave of nervousness washing over him.

Quinn's head popped out through the shattered window.

"Gyeh!"

"Oh yeah?" She rubbed her face, brushing off dust. "The special one?"

He shook off the frazzled look. He hadn't been expecting her to pop out just like that. "Y-Yeah. It's been about four years since I last saw it." He admitted, eyes flicking back to the door of the cottage. It continued to creak on its hinges, as if baiting him.

"What happened to it?"

"Huh? O-Oh," he started, distracted, "Uh- It got... It got tossed into the ocean."

"That's too bad."

She popped back into the house. And Katsura blinked, stumbling over to the window to peer in, "Oy, Quinn?" He couldn't see her. It was too dark and a cloud of dust came billowing out into his face. "Urk- Quinn, seriously, you shouldn't-"

There's a crash.

"...ow."

"Quinn!" He snaps. "You better not have broken anything in there!"

"No, no. I just tripped." Quinn grumbled. "Thanks for the worry much."

Katsura listened to the sarcastic mutter and huffed, rushing over to the door to slam it fully open and make sure that she was really telling the truth, a sudden wave of panic hitting him. She better not have messed anything up or he- he-

He stops short on the doorstep again. Practically skidding to a halt.

The cottage is frustratingly familiar.

Katsura feels his face contort painfully, taking a reluctant step inside.

Quinn had left footprints in the dust that layered the floor, a clear trail leading to a second room of the house, winding across the boards and around the old table and writing desk. Past the shell decorated walls and the cabinet with only two cups and two plates and past the broken chair tipped over on the ground, splintered and old, laying in the immediate pathway to the doorway of the next room. "Quinn?" He managed to bite out through clenched teeth, slowly shuffling over towards the other room.

"Over here."

Katsura felt his teeth clench down around his tongue reflexively. Taking in a calming breath- or, at least, it was supposed to be calming. All it did was make his heart stutter in his chest and his eyes blur at the edges as he tried to make his way through the room in the direction Quinn's voice had come. He nearly trips as he comes to a shuffling halt- the shape of a dusty picture frame coming into view.

He stared at the small photo for a long moment.

Feeling like his heart was bursting before he shakily managed to knock it over so he couldn't see it, quickly hopping over the chair lying in the way and turning the corner. "What're you…"

"One of the floorboards was sticking up," Quinn huffed, rubbing her ankle, "Freakin' caught my toe and tripped me up." Quinn muttered, frowning at said floorboard. It was curled up in the corner, as if from water damage, with a rusty nail sticking up from it. A wicked thing that nearly tore through the sole of her shoe.

He didn't remember that being there.

The board was oddly knocked out of place too.

He eyed it for a second longer before shaking his head. "Hey, Quinn!" He hissed angrily, trying to push aside the shake in his voice. "I told you not to come in here!"

She raised her hands up in defense. "Ace could've been here. Besides it's not like I'm trying to mess with anything." She then pursed her lips, leaning in to stare at him. "You're being weird about this place anyways. There's nothing in here."

Well, not anything you wouldn't expect from something that had clearly once been a home.

"If you really wanted to stop me then you could've." She pointed out. "It's just some house."

"It's not just some-!" He stopped abruptly, getting red faced. Quinn raised a brow at his abrupt cut off. "Oh, just get out already!"

She snorted. "Okay, okay. I'm going."

He scowled at her until she left, tripping on the board again on her way out.

"Ow!"

Katsura slumped once she was out of view.

This was his fault really, he pouted. He should've remembered that the cottage was in view of the cliff edge when he shot them up. He'd just been so distracted and cocky when it came to the Beast that he'd completely thrown all other thoughts to the side in order to see how well he faired up against the goat. And wasn't that a mistake. He prodded his face. It throbbed something awful and he was pretty sure he'd fractured- if not broken- something.

"Damn it." He'd been so arrogant. Thinking that the Beast wouldn't have gotten stronger. "Come on, Katsura," he slapped himself in the face, "Knock some sense into you! No time to be weak, we just gotta try it again!"

There was just one problem though. He couldn't beat the goats control over the ocean- it just made the currents ferocious and stormy and whatever power he had could be stolen at the drop of a hat. Completely sweeping his feet out from under him.

He just needed something to focus.

Then he'd be able to beat the Beast. "-Just need something to focus..." He muttered. "That way I'll be strong enough to break his hide and win. Then I can search wherever I want for the Shell." While saying it to himself Katsura ended up rubbing a hand over his brow and the action caused him to look down.

Specifically at the upturned floorboard. And beneath the upturned floorboard at a parcel that didn't look like it'd been touched in forever.

-0-

There's a very distinct trail that Ace is leaving behind in the sand- er, well, the Tava-guy is leaving it behind. Ace just has him by the ankle, dragging him none-too-gently since he didn't seem to be much more than a deadweight at this point. Only managing to shakily point a finger and cough out a direction before Ace was off again.

Apparently the fall had been too much for his poor heart.

He screeched to a halt once he felt he had gone far enough that he'd maybe gotten turned around a bit, looking around for any sign of the Catfish guy. "Oy. Where next?" No answer. He shook the guy a bit. "Oy?"

There came a wheeze. "I told you, to the cliffside. It's-" He fell into coughs, spitting and sputtering, and wiping sand off his tongue.

"You should've kept your mouth closed."

He managed to snarl out between his coughing fit, pained tears in his eyes. "You could've just walked!"

Ace rolled his eyes. This guy was awfully dramatic.

Something then caught his eye. "Oh- is that it?"

As if saying that had some sort of magical effect- (lucky, one might say) -Ace watched as Quinn stepped out from inside some old cottage building and leaned up against the broken fence without even noticing him. Looks like the guy was showing him the right way after all and here Ace was beginning to think that he was just making up a direction. "Quinn! Oy!"

He watched her head pop up in surprise.

He's equally surprised to watch her smile and go to wave-

And then immediately fall over backwards as the fence she's sitting on collapses and sends her sprawling on her back.

Ace doesn't even try to cover his laugh in her expense. "Chehahaha-!" Guffawing and holding his stomach. "You okay there Quinn?!"

"Shut up!" She groans. Ace can barely hear it she's so quiet, muttering curses under her breath. Her voice sounds horribly hoarse. He jumps over to help her up, offering a hand. "Isn't it polite to not laugh at other people? Especially not people you know."

"Probably, but I don't have to be polite all the time." He shrugged. "Besides friends are always fair game."

They were ignoring him. Tava sighed in relief, never before had he been so happy to not have everybody's attention than now. It gave him time to wipe the sand out of his mouth and heave out a lungful more that he had, surprise surprise, swallowed. That freckled face jerk had a ironclad grip and Tava had a newfound respect for being able to walk on his own two feet and, you know, not be dragged around by the ankle.

Shakily he stood up and dusted himself off. Eyeing the black haired woman that was apparently the freckled-monsters friend and flinching at the sight of the old worn down cottage.

He just barely managed to catch the tail end of what they were saying in time to hear, "-yeah, this guy gave me directions." And see said freckled-monster jerk a thumb over his shoulder lazily.

Tava cheeped, freezing in his efforts to dust himself off.

The woman's scrutinizing gaze focusing in on him wasn't what set him off though. It was the shock of red hair and gills walking out of the cottage holding a poorly wrapped package that did.

Katsura took one look at the boy in front of him and snarled.