Chapter 12

The next day, Mr. Shark was wondering what made Mr. Piranha a little peppy in the morning. The said river fish was humming as he was making himself a breakfast burrito with some homemade salsa. He wondered if the mission with Mr. Wolf was a success, since he was stunned from the last mission.

"Want some?" Mr. Piranha offered a rolled burrito in front of him. "I think I made a lot today. Don't want you going hungry on a mission, bro." He then resumed his chow before Mr. Shark could even sit down on the opposite site. The great white shark was trying to figure out what's making his friend all hyped up.

Mr. Piranha stopped before raising a brow. "What's up? You're not usually this quiet, you know."

Mr. Shark began to laugh, realising how right his friend was. "Yeah, man. I don't usually see you this happy before. Did something happen at the karaoke bar with Wolf? Lemme guess: you saw some hot girls there?"

Immediately, his freshwater friend's face began to turn red, earning a mischievous grin from the shark. "Oooh, I knew something was up! Tell me what's she like- don't tell me...she's fallen for your charms, right?"

Mr. Piranha gulped, a sheepish grin formed on his face. "Yeah...Shark, I think you should know that she's got a voice like a siren's. In fact, I think you know-"

"Hurry up, Shark!" Mr. Snake called from the elevator shaft with Ms. Tarantula on his shoulder. "The sooner we go, we'll be able to catch those guys at sea."

Giving his friend an apologetic smile, Mr. Shark went off to join the reptile and arachnid for the mission. "We'll talk later, man!" he called out. He felt a bit guilty for leaving his friend hanging but, he knew deep down that Mr. Piranha would understand.

He wanted to know who was his freshwater friend's date.

...

Mira swam across the bouncy waves of the sea. It was a hot day today and Mira figured a swim would take her mind off of things back home. The scary sea was so cool and inviting, a contrast to the heated arguments behind closed doors when she gets back home.

Ever since that night singing with Mr. Piranha, Mira had never felt so confident in a neon room where no one except him heard her voice that was not her usual whisper. Today, she snuck out of the house while her mother and grandparents were complaining with her father about something as small as tablecloths.

No wonder her sisters were sent away rather than coming back home.

Being the perfect daughter was somewhat of a gift and a curse at the same time. People looked up to her, admire her, but at the same time, have an image of her that she couldn't escape from.

But here, the sea takes anyone, really. Smart, dumb, beautiful, ugly; all will become one with the water and its depths.

A morbid thought but then again, the ocean was a wonderful yet a dreadful place. With her course in mind, Mira knew that swimming and exploring were the ways to be in touch with what she loved: life under the sea.

With her goggles on, she began to dive again. Thankfully, she had her phone in a waterproof seal if she were to take some amazing photos. She would upload them online and kept a few for her research proposals. Thankfully, there weren't any dolphins in the ocean as she swam.

She doesn't want to repeat the same incident twice in a row.

Just then, she noticed two figures swimming on the opposite side, near a white boat. Out of curiosity she swam close but kept her distance. Mira was surprised to find both Mr. Snake and Mr. Shark out here. In fact, they were climbing onto the ship in black suits.

'What are they doing?' she asked herself, trying to stay afloat in the water. However, that was short-lived when the boat decided to chart a course somewhere else, out of her sight. Taking this as a cue to leave, Mira swam to the shores.

She wished she had brought a towel now that the breeze was starting to kick in. The things she brought from her little bag were her sunglasses, sunscreen and the goggles case. Despite everything, a swim in the ocean helped lift her spirits up.

It was a shame that won't last if she goes back.

"Hey! You're here too?" a familiar voice made her heart jumped. It was none other than Mr. Shark, already out of the black suit he wore when he went onto the boat. Mira greeted him with a smile. Mr. Shark returned with his own sharp-tooth grin. "Is it alright if I join you?"

In the sun, the great white had never looked so beautiful with a few water droplets dripping off of his body.

Patting the spot next to her, Mira scooted over to let him sit beside her. She was small compared to him. Mr. Shark chuckled nervously, fiddling with his tooth necklace. "Sooo...good swim?"

Mira nodded, then tapped his knees. She gestured to the ocean and then back at him. It dawned on him of what the young woman was asking. "Did you see me swim? Well, I was on a mission with Snake and Webs. I don't know where they went after we split up from the boat, though..."

"T-trouble?"

Mr. Shark nodded, closing his eyes. "Yeah...those guys on the boat were...I just...let's just say I'm one of the lucky ones who has all of his fins together."

Mira understood what he meant by that. It saddens her whenever there's any harm toward the marine life. Overfishing and hunting down illegal species were the things that depresses her on a daily basis.

The ocean was so vast, and yet becoming smaller each day.

Gently, she took one of his big fin-like hands into her little ones. Giving him a squeeze, it was her way of telling him that she understood what he had said. In return, he gave her a sad smile. "Even if we have turn to the good side, people will still find a way to make us the villains. Then again, we have a movie about sharks in a tornado."

This caused Mira to giggled, causing him to laugh as well. It was nice- it felt nice to just hang out and not worry about anything. The sight of the waves lapping the sandy shores, seagulls flying overhead and the sounds of laughter from others on the beach was a peaceful moment to remember.

Without knowing, the both of them had leaned into each other's touch as they enjoy the scene before them.

Mr. Shark was resting against a propped up umbrella while Mira was sitting in-between his legs, head resting on his pudgy stomach. Even though his skin was as rough as sandpaper, it was cool against hers. Her face couldn't get any redder when she allowed him to hold her gently by the wait while her thumb brushed across his fin.

'This is nice,' Mira thought to herself with a sigh. She hoped Mr. Shark wasn't feeling too awkward with most of the silence coming from her.

"Mr. Shark?" Mira spoke up quietly, trying to quell the waves inside her. He looked down at her with a concern expression. "Are you okay? Dolphins again?"

Mira shook her head, taking out her phone to show him all of the photos she had snapped during her swim. During their bond, Mira was well aware of how much she was talking. She wanted to stop, hoping that she wasn't burdening him with all of her nonsense.

But the great white shark was laughing and asking questions about the photos. She was happy to answer most of them until something out of left field popped up. "Say, have you ever built a sandcastle before?"

Out of sheer embarrassment, she reluctantly shook her head. It was funny that her mother wouldn't let her play in the sand, since she hated the dirt, and yet she allowed her to swim in the sea filled with unknown creatures.

"Aww, I can teach you if you want?" Mr. Shark offered his hand to hers. Gingerly, she took it they went to the shore to find the best spot to collect shell.

...

Not far from the human and shark, two pairs of eyes were watching them with excitement. "Damn, who knew Shark has game," Ms. Tarantula whistled as she recorded the scene before them on the phone.

They were here for a mission after all!

"Heh, pretty sure we're winning the bet," Mr. Snake chuckled to himself as he sucked on his Push Pop. "I wonder how my darling wife's gonna react to this."

"You two must be desperate for that win, huh?"

The Eastern brown snake shrugged. "Either way, we're both getting a kick out of this. Though, it's kinda depressing when you think about Rani and Mira's mom. I mean, I've met a lot of horrible parents throughout the years but this..."

"Yeah..."

Little did they know, a figure's watching them with their beady black eyes.

They were taking photos of Mira and Mr. Shark without being caught. Their client paid them a large sum of money for some evidence if the perfect woman was indeed eloping with someone outside of their knowledge. It was worth to see their reaction over this for sure!

Oh yes, plenty of pictures for the client and how much they would get in their bank account!

Gee, who will Mira pick by the end of this story? And it looks like our Bad Guys are gonna face another evil figure in this story. I think you all know who's the stalker!

Sorry for the slow update. I was at my lowest point and yet I managed to post this because it has been on my mine for a while