A/N: In addition to claiming no ownership of InuYasha or related characters, I also forego any rights to Disney characters and slapstick cameos. On with the show…

Iruka

No one was afraid of the little imp that came into town. He would've been easy pickings and even made a good day's sport. But the twin-headed dragon he led by the reins reminded people of their better senses.

"Here, brat." Jaken passed Rin the reins. "Now stay safe. Remember what Lord Sesshomaru –"

"I know what Lord Sesshomaru admonished."

Jaken nodded. "Good, then you know that you are never to remove your blade under any circumstances, carry the spare tessen, and should anything arise do not hesitate to activate the Shadow Teeth technique," he recited unnecessarily. If she weren't bored enough, Rin would have marveled at how such a small body held such capacity for breath. Jaken fixed his stare on her again. "Another piece of advice, since you're a young woman now…" Jaken somewhat stumbled and stuttered over his words, but just in case she came across the wrong element of people… "Rin, men are dogs."

She smirked. "Like Lord Sesshomaru?"

"Yes, just like –" Jaken spluttered as he realized what he was agreeing to. "No! Don't be a smart aleck!"

"You said it, not me." Rin smiled sweetly.

Jaken waved the Nintojo as high as he could, so it just brushed under Rin's chin. "Mind yourself, pipsqueak."

The girl only grinned. Then knelt down to Jaken's level, making a genuine effort to compose herself and extrude the earnesty she felt. "You and Lord Sesshomaru are always protecting me." She proudly patted the scabbard at her side. "I can't possibly think I'll be in any immediate danger."

Big yellow eyes bouncing from his lordship's gift to the girl's face, Jaken tiny claws finally flew up in the air, exasperated. "Your life," he snorted, stomping away.

With barely-contained amusement, Rin watched the little imp continue his haughty march until it broke into a scamper to hurriedly find a way back to Lord Sesshomaru. Forever Master Jaken.

Shaking her head with a smile, she turned back to the dragon. "Wait here for me, Ah-Un?" She stroked the left head's muzzle and its twin rumbled appreciatively. "I'm going get some things, then I'll be right back."

Both heads dipped in unsynchronized, awkward nods.

Rin giggled at the obsequy. Just as she turned for the village the water of one rice paddy bubbled. Kichiruka popped up. "Hey!"

No longer startled by his sudden appearances, Rin only glanced in the water demon's direction. "A starfish?"

"Huh?" Kichiruka blinked. Then remembered their guessing game. "Oh, uh, nope. Teehee…"

Rin continued walking to the village, calling out guesses along the way. "A manatee?"

"What the heck is that?" The sea yokai followed Rin up to her doorstep.

"Never mind. Hold on a second." She hustled inside her hut.

Kichiruka waited outside, and spotted a familiar face. "Kohaku!"

The demonslayer waved back. "Kichiruka!"

Pushing off from the post, he walked over to greet Rin's friend. "How's your arm?"

"Much better. It's healing quickly with treatment." He flexed, showing off the successful recovery. "Miyoko and I should be back on the job by next week." Then Kohaku leaned in to whisper in conspiratorial tones, "It's really too loud at my sister's house. I can't wait to go."

Kichiruka laughed.

Rin stepped back out, still adjusting one of the earrings. "A whale?"

Kichiruka paused. She was close. "…No."

Rin scowled.

Kohaku looked back and forth between the two. "I'm lost."

"Rin's trying to guess my subspecies."

The taijiya mouthed a silent "o," then smiled.

"Do you know what it is?" Rin demanded.

Kohaku grinned lopsidedly. "Now that would be cheating."

Kichiruka laughed. "Are you ready to go?" He turned to the taijiya. "We're off to Mikan Beach today."

Rin nodded. Then looked back where she had left Ah-Un. "We're taking the dragon, though."

"Does it fly?"

"Well, it would take a couple of days at least if Ah-Un just walked."

Kichiruka blanched. "I'll take you," he offered.

"Okay, what then? Teleporting?"

"Yeah, I think I can manage for the two of us."

That doesn't sound too bad, but how do I explain Ah-Un not being at the beach to Lord Sesshomaru if he drops by? Rin's brow knit.

"If you don't mind, we'll take Ah-Un." Kohaku stepped forward. "I know how to handle it and Shippo's been begging to go to the beach for some time now. It might be preferred if we go as a group, hm?"

Kohaku, you're a lifesaver. Rin beamed gratefully at him. "That sounds great!"

Kohaku turned and hollered over his shoulder. "Okay, everyone hear that?" No less than three children sprouted from around the corner around Rin's hut. "Rin says she wants us to go with them!"

The three oldest of Miroku's children raced off to find their parents while, in a puff of turquoise smoke, 'Kohaku' transformed back into a small kitsune boy. "Woot! Wait'll I tell Inuyasha!" He dashed off before Rin could even draw breath to yell at him.

"Did you know that was Shippo?" She fixed the remaining demon beside her with a glare.

Kichiruka stood there with a toothy grin plastered across his face. "He gets credit for a very good disguise."

By the time Rin and Kichiruka arrived at Kagome's, the priestess was already packing a woven basket with enough dried snacks of everyone. "This is good idea, Rin." Kagome smiled and looked at her husband. The hanyo rolled his eyes. "Miroku and Sango could use a break with just the two little ones."

Inuyasha groaned. Pegged for babysitter again. "Kohaku an' his chick are still coming, right? So we better count Kilala in."

"Whoo-hoo! Beach party!" Shippo pumped a fist in the air.

Kohaku – the real one, Rin verified – rotated his wrist and extended the elbow of his recovering arm. "I should get used to using it for slightly more strenuous exercise. Ah-Un's a good start."

Ruffling a hand through silver bangs, Inuyasha grumbled, "All right, Kichiruka, how do we get to this place?"

After exchanging directions and swapping suggestions, the two airborne parties took off, leaving Rin and Kichiruka to head toward the brook.

"We'll have an easier time teleporting from there. The rice paddies are kinda murky," the water demon commented.

Rin looked from the pond and back to the meadow they crossed. Going from one body of water to another... "What does Mikan look like?"

"You'll see when we arrive." Pulling the conch staff from its place at his side, he offered the shell over to Rin. "Wanna hear it?"

She smirked. That was an old trick. "Don't all seashells sound like the ocean?"

"This one's different," Kichiruka promised.

They stopped walking a moment and she pressed it to her ear. A satisfied smile crossed the water demon's expression as Rin's eyes widened.

"Wow," she breathed. It wasn't the hollow, shallow circulation of air, but the full crashing majesty of breaking waves. The playful turbulence sounded as real as if she stood at the shore.

Slowly pulling the shell away, Kichiruka broke the enchantment. "Let's go."

Kichiruka extended his hand. Rin felt a tingle race up her spine when she slipped hers into his. Somehow going into the brook this time with Kichiruka felt different than the first. He had a slight uncertainty that Rin found sweetly attractive. The insecurity of not knowing if she would reject or accept him, but hoping all the same. Her heart thrummed at the way his eyes sparkled like sapphire when she moved beside him in the water.

Her back against his chest, Kichiruka pulled Rin close, one arm encircling her waist and the other a little higher.

"Are you copping a feel?" she said, peeking out of one eye.

"Er…Lean back with me."

"Perv."

Kichiruka cleared his throat and put on something of an announcer's voice. "Picture ocean water, green tinged and foamy. It laps at the shore and the sand underneath is rough with small rocks dragged in by the tide this time of year. Remember the sound of the seashell? Recall that. And hang on."

Quickly, before she lost her train of thought, Kichiruka slipped a hand over Rin's mouth, pinching her nose with his thumb. Then he dunked them both backwards into the rushing brook.

Rin screamed silently, keeping her mouth shut. The deafening sensation of water already clogging her ears, she wasn't sure if she wanted to open her eyes. Suddenly, she heard Kichiruka's voice gently at her shoulder.

"Stand up."

Rin did as instructed. In a strange turn-around, Kichiruka caught her before she tripped. "Steady."

Pushing the matted bangs from her eyes, Rin looked behind them. A cold wave lapped at her waist and the undertow pulled pebbles under her sandals. "We're here!" She jumped up and threw her arms around Kichiruka's neck like he just did something incredible. He had to remember aquatic teleporting was an everyday event for him, but for Rin…

I want to show her more. "Do you see the others yet?"

Rin scanned the beach. "Nope."

"Time to ourselves, then." He looked Rin up and down. She was drenched, but as much as he liked the way the fabric clung, Kichiruka remarked, "We'd better dry you off."

Rin laughed, slogging out of the ocean with him. On shore, spotted hands folded over twice and the water demon whispered a syllable that sounded like ice. Then he touched the sleeves of Rin's summer yukata. Instantly it dried and straightened. After absorbing the water, Kichiruka dusted the excess salt from his hands. "There."

Using her comb, Rin managed to straighten out a snarl from her damp hair. "Can you dry this too?"

Kichiruka hesitated. "It's connected to you, so how 'bout we just leave that to the sun?"

Rin remembered what happened to the hostile demons on Obon. Of the spells that Kichiruka might make a mistake with this probably wasn't one to gamble. "Okay. Um, want to walk?"

After the water demon performed the spell on himself, they combed the shores. A quiet, companionable silence that Rin was used to stretched between them. When she found a smooth stone, Kichiruka showed her the technique for skipping across waves.

"Got three off of that!" Rin turned. "Did you see?"

"Hm?" A couple feet away, the demon looked up from the wet, tightly packed sand. With the pointed tip of the conch staff, he wrote the hiragana for Rin's name, a small smile quirking his lips. "Got distracted."

Walking over to lean on his shoulder, she looked up into the blue eyes. "How do you write yours?"

"Like this." Kichiruka drew a pair of kanji followed by three short characters.

"Kichi-iruka?" Rin enunciated.

"Yeah, but no one ever says the middle vowel." With his foot he erased the two short lines for "i." "It's more of a slur. The way you've been saying it is best."

"Your parents used to call you that?"

He nodded.

Rin looked over the kanji a moment, and smiled. "Kichi – as in clever?"

The water demon laughed. "Tensai hardly believed it himself!"

She studied the hiragana. They could've just been for euphony's sake. "And 'ruka'? Or 'iruka'?"

"Well, now, that would be telling." Kichiruka smiled.

Rin blinked.

"Hey, look! It's Kohaku!" He waved skyward and Ah-Un's rider returned the greeting.

Rin and Kichiruka met up with the rest of the group as they landed. Light quilts were unpacked, Kagome produced a basket with lunch, and Inuyasha took a headcount.

"I'm missin' a brat," he barked. "Where's the carrot-top?"

Shippo popped up on Kichiruka's shoulder. "Over here!" He stuck out his tongue. "What's the matter? Salty air messing with your nose?"

"Not funny, snot."

As everyone got settled, Rin approached Kagome. She unhooked one of the earrings and handed it to the priestess. "Kich' and I are going to wander off for a bit, but just in case anything happens you can get a hold of me through here."

Kagome smiled. "That's very responsible of you, Rin."

The young woman huffed. "Well, Lord Sesshomaru taught me not to be stupid."

"I'm sure," Kagome giggled. Then set the earring into the collar of her blouse. "Just try to be back by dark."

Rin nodded. "Will do." She turned and walked to where the water demon sat constructing…A giant sand castle?

Sango's first son sat in the middle of the pavilion and the surrounding towers, complete with columns and fluted rooftops, were nearly as high as the twin girls that crawled around them. Tapping his conch staff, Kichiruka added a bit more water to the constructed mote, then with a wave of his hand pulled another detailed tower straight out of the sand. All the children, Shippo included, clapped delightedly.

Kichiruka smiled over his shoulder to Rin. "Wanna join?"

Rin laughed and sat down to play with them a bit more. After a while of extending the sand city – it was hardly just a castle anymore – and burying one of the twins, Rin asked Kichiruka if he'd like to go for a stroll with her.

"Where to?"

"Forward." Rin hooked her fingers through the demon's, gently rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb.

"Okay." Kichiruka stood with her. He had no idea where they were going, but down the beach with Rin – forward – sounded good.

oOo

"Oh! Kichiruka! Kichiruka!" Rin waved him over to a tidepool.

"What is it?" the demon tucked a loose lock behind his ear to get a better look at whatever the commotion was.

"A purple sea urchin!" Rin exclaimed, pointing at the spiny water creature.

Though he felt mild pity that it was wasted on such a common denizen of his realm, Kichiruka had to smile at the girl's excitement, it was like seeing the world through a fresh pair of eyes. "Why don't you pet him?" At the suggestion, he was met with a startled gaze. "They don't hurt," Kichiruka quickly assured. "And this one isn't poisonous. Look."

Rin watched as a claw gently poked a finger among the purple quills. The other tines moved forward to embrace the rest of his finger. "Wanna try?"

A little more confident, Rin knelt beside him. "Okay." She carefully touched where Kichiruka had. The quills moved in.

Rin giggled. "A sea urchin hug!"

Scooting closer, Kichiruka drew Rin into his lap. "How does a demon's embrace compare?"

She gently pecked his forehead. "Why do I get the impression you're testing me?"

"Well, you're defying every story I've ever heard about humans." Kichiruka shrugged. "…Besides all the stuff about needing to sleep and eat all the time."

"So do you!" Rin pointed out.

"Hey, I'm a living creature, too." Hands rose defensively. "Yokai, even the greater ones, need to rest to recharge themselves."

"And you just like to eat?"

Kichiruka grinned. "Gotta have fun."

In the midst of their chatter, neither noticed the ocean's eerie calm. Rapidly swelling waters broke and unleashed a tidal wave that crashed upon them both. Like a god's fist, in one swift, violent motion, the riptide dragged them from the coast.

Rin! Was Kichiruka's first thought, immediately followed by Air! At once he spotted her, and grabbed a hold around her waist. Kichiruka sped to the surface in less than a second.

Rin spluttered and gasped. It wasn't a tsunami, but the great wave had been enough to drag them from the coast. And we've wandered too far to be spotted by Inuyasha or anyone else. She started to panic when Kichiruka surfaced beside her. The reassuring strength of his arm supporting her.

"Don't worry," the waterlogged yokai swore. "I'll return you safely."

"Kichiruka!" Rin shrieked, pointing behind him as a second wave thundered down. She closed her eyes and waited for the torrent to pass.

Feeling the cold rush of the open-air again, Rin peeked from her lashes. Water lapped at her hands and knees, but she was obviously floating on…something. Then she felt the dorsal fin between her hands. And the creature below her cackled, a higher octave of Kichiruka's cascading laughter.

Rin swayed, nearly losing her grip, when she realized she was astride the largest spotted dolphin she had ever seen. Its dorsal fin was easily as high as a man was tall and at least half a ri in length.

"Kichiruka?" she tried.

From the corner of its vision, a large, dark cerulean eye focused on Rin…and winked.

Rin laughed. Of course, it's in his name! Iruka!

Vigorously, she rubbed his sides with her free hand, the other still clinging to his fin. "So now where are we going?" Rin asked, admittedly feeling silly talking to what looked like an oversized animal. "Back to the shore?"

The dolphin clicked and chirped.

Rin rolled her eyes. "Of course…You can't speak in this form, eh?"

An offended noise squealed from under her. Then Kichiruka chirped and gurgled.

"Are you teasing me?"

He laughed. There was a heady rush of yoki as Kichiruka's true form condensed into its familiar temporary state. Slowly, so as not to lose her, he rolled on to his back and with fins that gradually became arms kept Rin balanced just under his stomach. Pupil-less eyes stared back at her.

"Um…Kichiruka? Are you all there?"

His eyes still had that unsettling glow and he blinked until the boundaries of his irises were reset and the pupils resurfaced. "Better?" He smiled.

Rin nodded. She looked him over, everything was back in order, right down to the bright blue buttons on his vest and clam shells decorating the outer shirt. "How do you get the clothes to come back?" It was a silly and odd question, but a normal conversation out in the middle of the sea felt like something she needed right now.

Kichiruka grinned. "Trade secret."

"So what's the deal with all the clicking and cackles?"

"It's the common language of the ocean, unchanged for millennia. They say that at one point all land was connected and only one ocean existed." Kichiruka shrugged. "I'm not sure how true that is, but there must be an ounce of fact since everyone still talks like that, even the foreign yokai."

Rin blinked. "Do regular sea creatures speak it too?"

He smirked. "Not dumb beasts, no. Though I've heard that the simple cousins of my kind have enough intelligence to remember some of it." Kichiruka squealed and whistled.

Rin laughed and, since she was sitting on him, the water demon felt the whole joyous motion travel through his body. He started to chuckle, then stopped. Blue eyes abruptly dilated and a blush crept up his cheeks. Rin suddenly became aware of their position, how tightly she straddled his waist, and the firmness of his arousal.

"Um…sor—"

But before the apology could leave his mouth, Rin made sure that Kichiruka's lips were sufficiently sealed. With a kiss less chaste than their first, relief washed over Kichiruka that Rin was the one controlling it. The undulating waters made it too difficult to think.

"You like tormenting me, don't you?" He gasped when she pulled away. Claws brushed gently against her cheek. Keeping his hands on her hips, Kichiruka raised Rin slightly into the air. She started to fidget. "Don't struggle."

"Okay, but what are –?" Rin never got to finish her question. The demon tossed her like a ball into the air.

Reciting as quickly as possible, Kichiruka flipped into an upright position. Eyes bleeding blue in haste, he pulled the conch staff from his side and pointed at Rin. The half-second before she connected with the ocean, a film of water enveloped her in a bubble. The clear surface bounced once off a low wave, then rolled to a stop under Kichiruka's palm.

"You all right?" The yokai traits had rearranged into their familiar, friendly expression.

Rin squirmed into a seated position. "Perfectly fine," she said in a shaky voice. After another minute, the frantic pitter-pat of her heartbeat slowed. Though it looked like there was ample room to accommodate her height, the curving sides of the bubble made it difficult to stand. She opted to sit still.

"Are you settled?"

"Well, everyone likes a warning," Rin grumbled.

"Fine, next time I'll tell you flat out I'm going to throw you sky-high and pop you into a bubble." His eyes gleamed mischievously. Then, in a more serious tone, he said, "I didn't plan on coming out here, but might as well show you around. Now we're going to dive."

"How do I work this thing?" She pressed against the wet walls of the bubble. They stretched, but didn't break.

"You don't." Kichiruka motioned with his arm to follow and, of its own volition, the bubble dove after him.

Rin yipped.

She noticed that Kichiruka didn't kick the way people did when they swam. Instead she felt brushes of yoki from the demon propel him along. And, as if by some invisible cord, her little spherical craft followed.

After a second or two more, Rin stopped trying to figure out how Kichiruka's magic worked and embraced the magnitude of exactly where they were. Underwater – it was a special world all its own, furnished with coral and filled with not just fish but bizarre creatures she'd never seen before. And they aren't even yokai! Common animals with fins and flippers, sails and scales, flit by in an endless array of colors and contours. A puffer fish huffed on by, accompanied by a small rainbow of tiny fish Rin had never seen before. Anemone waved their short tentacles invitingly between rocky-edged coral. I can't believe there are so many colors! Rin had always thought the ocean began and ended in shades of blue, green, and gray. Now she couldn't believe she would never have thought to explore it otherwise.

"Wait, what's that one?" She pointed at a bright yellow guppy with blue stripes and matching fins.

Pushing with his hands, Kichiruka hurriedly steered her away. "You don't want to talk to that fish," he said. "It sings and sings the most horrid tunes and never shuts up or leaves you alone after. Nobody's sure how it got here."

As her guide led them on a detour route, Rin caught snatches of the fish's song.

"The seaweed is always greener in somebody else's lake…"

"That doesn't even make sense," Kichiruka grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"It sounds bouncy."

"You say that now."

Rin laughed and went back to enjoying the scenery. They were still close enough to the surface than sunlight filtered in, gracing everything with a shimmer. Even a few fallen warships looked more intriguing than intimidating.

Kichiruka chatted aimlessly, pointing out the odd mussel or shoal of fish here and there; he mostly liked watching Rin's simple awe. Her hands pressed to the sides of the bubble as she tried to take in everything at once. Kichiruka did his best to detour to wherever she was looking, but then Rin's head would turn in the opposite direction, absorbed in something else.

Most people, Master Tensai said, were so afraid of drowning or so unfamiliar with the sea that they forgot all about the beauty just under their passing vessels. But Rin's different. Kichiruka smiled as she ventured near some tiny fish and discovered a flounder laying flat on a rock's surface. She'd never match any of the terrible stories he'd heard of humans.

Suddenly, a large shadow fell over a coral that Rin inspected. She whirled around. A silhouette that could've been a whale or a shark for all she knew swam overhead. "What's that?" She pointed at the black figure.

Kichiruka squinted. Then made out hooves. "Momo!"

The bubble rolled off balance as Rin scrambled backwards. The killer pony!

But the kelpie was muzzled and had a rider. An inky black cape flowing from his shoulders, he looked like a tall, young man. Then Rin remembered they were deep underwater and nothing human could possibly be riding a demonic steed like that. And certainly not over our heads.

Recognizing them – probably Kichiruka, anyway – the rider nudged his mount to circle downward. Rin noticed that his cape was split and fanned out like wings. She had trouble discerning whether or not he actually held the water horse's reins. Close enough, the demon dismounted and glided up to Kichiruka.

The dolphin yokai bowed low. "Lord Ichikawa."

So this is the noble he and Tensai are always talking about. Rin marveled at the ocean lord. Resplendent in black and white, he stood – floated? – lean and limber, his height increased by the pair of ebony horns curving from his forehead. Where Kichiruka's eyes were a soft cerulean, Ichikawa's were a shifting green and pale blue. Ocean eyes, Rin thought. Royal purple marks over the lids and similarly hued triangles high on his cheeks off set the cold color. Long, dark hair fell just over his shoulders reminding Rin of youthful princes. His robes nearly as pale as his skin, the demon's milky pallor was offset by a jet-black cape that flowed from his shoulders and fanned out past his feet. It wasn't until the mantle rippled out from his shoulders like bat wings that Rin realized he had no arms, that the odd "cape" was physically connected to him.

A manta ray, she awed.

"Young Kichiruka," he addressed his subject. "You bring company this day. A human prop? Or perhaps an entree for tonight's dinner?" He smiled close-lipped, and Rin wondered how many serrated rows of teeth were hidden.

"Not at all, Lord Ichikawa," Kichiruka said respectfully, but took a protective posture beside Rin. "Though she is a human, she is…a close friend who would like to learn more about our realm."

"Indeed. And you never told me…?"

"We have an open-door policy: you say all visitors, near and far, are welcome. Species was never specified."

A one-sided smirk spasmed across the daiyokai's pale face. Rin had never been on the receiving end of Sesshomaru's perilously apathetic scrutiny he offered to strangers. The uncanny similarity to this ocean yokai set her pulse hammering. Rin's eyes never left Ichikawa as he fluttered around her little sphere. She didn't want to be surprised if there was anyone down here who knew how to break her dolphin friend's spells. But, much to the girl's relief, Ichikawa kept his hands – or would that be wings? – to himself.

"Strange candy, indeed," he mumbled. "Can't say I'm surprised, though. It would figure that you had the taste for them, Kichiruka." Rin didn't care for how daiyokai spoke as if she were too stupid to understand the conversation. "Whatever you do, don't bring her to court." He smiled Rin's way. "Not everyone is as tolerant as I, little girl."

At the ripple of his yoki, Rin's hand automatically flew to the green hilt at her side. A warning pulse of the powerhouse aura stored in there reverberated out.

Two small black triangles that Rin guessed were eyebrows rose high on his forehead. But Ichikawa made no comment. His yoki did curl back upon itself. He turned back to Kichiruka. "Do you plan on keeping this girl?"

"She lives above the surface."

"Don't play dumb. It's not befitting someone under Tensai."

"It is up to Rin if she wants," the dolphin rephrased.

"Rin?" Again the ocean eyes traveled to her sword. Then traveled up back to the girl's face as if seeing her for the first time. Ichikawa's eyes gleamed brightly, as if in on some wonderful joke. "Kichiruka…I have a simple assignment for you."

"My lord?" Kichiruka's expression remained carefully blank, but he crept closer to Rin again.

"Keep her. For now to yourself, but later – after an interview, let's say – I may decide to introduce…Rin, yes?" Ocean eyes double checked with brown ones. If this girl is who I think, then you're living up to your name, Kichiruka. Ichikawa remounted, a glowing smile still in place. "See you this evening!" he called cheerily as the kelpie carried him off.

Rin was relieved to see him go. Why don't I feel good that I've made someone like him so damn happy?

"I don't know." Kichiruka stared off before gathering his thoughts again. "Have you been down here before?"

"No."

Well, maybe he does have Rin confused then. "Lord Ichikawa certainly took an interest." He shrugged. "Eh, probably my fault for not asking permission to bring a human along." Affecting his general nonchalance, Kichiruka smacked the top of the bubble. "Let's go."

"Where to?"

"My…" Kichiruka hesitated at the word home. He didn't want to misuse it, especially when she floated right beside him. "Where I stay," he answered.

.

A/N: Kichiruka's name is a slur between the words "kichi" (wit, cleverness) and "iruka" (dolphin). Linguists can hang me for not spelling it "Kichi'ruka" or "Kich'iruka" (considering that the first two syllables are kanji, the former is more appropriate than the first) or "Kichiiruka," but that would've led to a weird pause in his name and, after all, it's a slur.