Chapter X: Muro Island Mayhem! Kasumi's Secret Unveiled!
Summertime is a time for three things: the cool beach, a long and well-deserved break, and love along the coastline. Of course, summertime is also about getting a delicate tan or stinging sunburn for that matter. It is the time for hot and cool treats as well. But that's not the focus of this chapter. This is all about Kasumi and her magical secret.
Haruka and her friends went to Muro Island (Dewford Island) for a well-deserved summer fun. Where there is an island there is always bound to be nice beaches and a cool sea breeze. They found a nice spot at the south side of the island—a few minutes away from Muro Town (Dewford Town). This time, they brought a new friend with them—an acquaintance of Satoshi and Kasumi's classmate: the squinty-eyed and girl-obsessed Ryuzaki Takeshi (Brock). They were all lucky to have such a multi-purpose person as their friend and the newest addition to the gang.
"I appreciate your kindness, Haruka. It's second to none." Kanata seemed a little pissed off about something. A good evidence of that was her vein sticking out on the back of her head. "But I still can't understand why you needed to invite HIM along." She immediately pointed at her least favorite person in the world who was already in his striped swimming trunks: Shuu.
But because of Shuu's wonderful exposed body, Haruka couldn't answer her friend's question and kept on looking at him with a dazed face. "Shuu…"
"Are you listening? Haruka…! Haruka…!"
"Shuu…you're so…hot kamo…"
Kanata pulled her friend's ears wide open and yelled with all her might: "HARUKAAAAAAAAAAAA…!"
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHH…! My ears…!" Haruka quickly covered her sensitive sense of hearing. "Kanata, that hurts! Don't you know I have sensitive ears?"
"I had to do something! You were practically busy admiring Shuu's 'macho' body."
"So are you finally admitting that Shuu is hot, huh?" Haruka smirked.
"N-No, it doesn't mean that way!"
"Oh really kamo…?"
From the edge of the cliff, they saw the vastness of the ocean sparkling with the help of the light of the sun. Kasumi got ahead of them and jumped off from another cliff for a cool-off in the sea. Just like before her two feet immediately transformed into a mermaid's tail upon contact with the water. Obviously it was unusual; that's why before they left for Muro Island, Kasumi gave both of the girls a heed of warning.
"Whatever you do, don't tell anyone that I'm a mermaid okay? Not even to Satoshi, Takeshi, and Hikari…"
"That's easier said than done." Kanata sighed. "What if somebody accidentally sees her tail underwater?"
"Kanata, where do you think she got it?" Haruka asked.
"Hmm…from birth I suppose; or maybe it's a curse. I'm not so sure myself."
"If you'll look from here, she's very pretty isn't she?"
"Yeah…better kiss your beloved Satoshi goodbye."
"Kanata…"
"Yeah…?"
"There are jagged rocks on the bottom of this cliff."
Kanata quickly froze when she heard doomsday was below her feet; forcing her to retract. "Um…okay, forget what I just said."
"Good girl…" Haruka smiled. "Let's go find a nice diving spot."
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When it comes to outdoor cooking, none can rival the all-purpose Ryuzaki Takeshi. Behind those squinty eyes and his exceptionally-strong obsession for cute girls, he's the perfect husband for a lucky girl. Sadly, he hasn't been very successful in love. He kept on being turned down by most of the girls in his bingo book; and if the situation called for drastic measures just to keep him in control, Guregguru (Croagunk) would come out of its monster ball (Pokeball) and hit him with a numbing Poison Jab attack. Give him five seconds and he's back on his feet. It makes one wonder: why don't girls go for Takeshi when he's very skilled at housework (heck, he loves doing housework)?
Guregguru looked out at the vastness of the open sea—nothing to do but to stare and inflate and deflate its cheeks in intervals. Guregguru was always a Pokemon of action. It didn't like doing nothing; it needed something invigorating to make its day worthwhile. At least, the most worthwhile thing Guregguru could do was to become Takeshi's chaperone. Its trainer was busy both on the grill and on making Pokemon food. To sum everything up, they make quite a pair.
"Takeshi-senpai, do you need any help?" Hikari said.
"Nah, I got it." Takeshi replied. "Oh and just call me 'Takeshi'. I'm not used to formalities."
"Wow! What a cute little fellow." Hikari approached Guregguru and tried a friendly pat on the head. "Hello, I'm Hikari. Let's be friends."
"H-Hikari, don't do that—"
"Huh?"
Guregguru turned around and hit Hikari with a Poison Jab. It was the price to pay for walking up behind it when it's in the middle of something (seriously, was it in the middle of something?).
"I-I feel numb…" Hikari fell, face first on the sand.
"Guregguru doesn't like being surprised." Takeshi said maybe a bit too late.
"Now you tell me…"
Meanwhile…
"I think I hit something hard." Kanata surfaced from the water with a painful sensation right at her backside. "I must've hit a rock somewhere."
Haruka emerged from the depths of the Temple of the Sea a few seconds after diving. "Yeah, you hit something alright. You hit my backside, kamo."
"But we jumped off the cliff together. How is that even possible?"
"What do you mean 'jumped off together'? You dragged me down as soon as you jumped kamo!"
Then, they heard a loud cry from the top of the cliff they jumped off from—a "Cowabunga!" kind of cry. They saw a pair of trunks coming towards them at high speed. There was no time to get out of the way. Their faces kissed the diver's butt side and sank back into the Temple of the Sea. Compared to the pain the two friends shared, that was nothing compared to kissing somebody's rear traveling at mach two. Eventually, it turned out to be the property of Satoshi.
"Ah! That really hit the spot!" He surfaced back up after diving. "I think I just hit something. But I see no rocks here. Then again, it felt kind of mushy."
"So, my face is mushy eh?" Kanata emerged from the depths once more but this time with seaweeds covering her face.
"Kanata, was that you? Sorry about that…my bad…"
"You're going to pay for hitting me with your butt side!" She caught Satoshi in a headlock; choking him with terrifying force.
"A-Ah…! I said I was sorry. Come on, I give."
"Satoshi…even your rear side is wonderful, kamo." Haruka said quietly from afar. "Now I can die happy."
She pushed Satoshi's head underwater where he struggled to break free and hold his breath at the same time. There he saw Kasumi swimming from a distance but with a peculiar kind of swimsuit—a mermaid's tail (well, he thought it was some kind of swimsuit). She was even communicating with the water Pokemon nearby. He had known Kasumi for a long time yet he didn't know everything about her.
So much for her secret; he just became witness to something supernatural.
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It was almost time for lunch and everyone had already returned to the sandy shore for a delicious meal under the shade of a tent. Everybody except one…
"Where's Kasumi?" Takeshi asked. "Normally she's the first one when it comes to lunch."
"Hmm…that sounds more like you, Satoshi." Kanata laughed. "Maybe you two are meant to be."
"Sure; as if drowning me wasn't enough for you." Satoshi replied; pointing at the cliff where he first jumped off. "I think I saw her swimming when Kanata tried to drown me to death. Although…"
"What's wrong, Satoshi?" Hikari couldn't help but ask.
"Her swimsuit was very peculiar." His testimony of what he saw was enough to freeze both the keepers of Kasumi's secret.
"What do you mean 'very peculiar'?" Takeshi asked again.
The trainer was about to testify when finally Kasumi returned to the campsite with her two dry feet—not a tail. Haruka and Kanata both let out a sigh of relief. For a minute there, they started bracing for what she would throw at them for breaking the promise.
"Where've you been? We were so worried." Takeshi said.
"Why? You thought that I would ditch you guys?" Kasumi replied. "I wouldn't leave without my bag, you know."
"Sorry I was just thinking too much."
"Whew! All that swimming sure made me thirsty. Can I have a glass of water?"
Haruka quickly grabbed a plastic cup and filled it with fresh water up to the rim.
"Here you go." The brunette girl brought Kasumi's glass of water but a loose rock made her spill the water out of the cup and right into Kasumi's two legs.
Slowly, her two legs turned into a tail—just like what Satoshi saw when he was being drowned by Kanata a few minutes ago. Anybody who wasn't shocked to witness a supernatural event taking place wasn't normal. Eventually, Kasumi lost her balance and fell down on the sand. The magical mermaid has been exposed.
"K-Kasumi…your legs…" Takeshi commented first.
"W-W-What's going on?" Hikari demanded an explanation for all of this.
"Uh-oh…you've done it this time, Haruka." Kanata said.
"I'm sorry—I'm sorry…!" Haruka repeated her words at least several times while bowing down in rapid succession.
Satoshi witnessed the transformation first-hand. It was no swimsuit at all. But then his mind generated a different thought.
"Kasumi…" He began.
"S-Satoshi…I wished you wouldn't see me like this." Kasumi replied; crying.
"Are you kidding me?" He seemed very fascinated instead of shocked.
"W-What…?"
"That is some swimsuit you have! Just add water!"
Her tears suddenly disappeared and everybody, except the two of them, came crashing down into the sand.
"Satoshi stop acting stupid kamo!" Haruka yelled.
TO BE CONTINUED
Author's Acknowledgment: Many thanks to LuciferIX in his recent review of this chapter for his/her immediate response to Croagunk's correct Japanese name.