As morning approached the eastern world, Hiei confirmed with Mukuro one last time about her actions. He wanted to know for certain that Kurama would meet his end.

"Yes, Hiei," she said. "I left the baby in an area where no one would find him. He'll die soon enough."

"Really? Then why did I hear him crying?"

"Babies cry, Hiei. Obviously, since he's out of his element, he can't do anything but cry. I'm willing to bet he's suffocating right now from the lack of water going through his gills."

"Hmph. Very well." Satisfied, Hiei went in a different direction.

"Where are you going?"

"To watch an emperor suffer. Who knows? Maybe his entire world will crumble and fall. It's what he deserves after stealing my world from me."

As Mukuro watched, a smirk creased her face. If only Hiei knew of Mukuro's tricky ways. She glanced up at the surface satisfied over what she did, thinking something entertaining will come of it.

"This should be fun," she declared before swimming away.

Meanwhile, news of Kurama's disappearance brushed over the kingdom in waves. Traces of Hiei's ink were still left behind debilitating and sickening those who got in the way. However, once the news reached home in Emperor Yoko, depression had developed a tighter grip on the widower.

"GO AWAY," he roared to his court. "LEAVE ME BE! I WILL NO LONGER HEAR THIS NONSENSE!"

Yomi, being the trusted advisor that he was, directed traffic, "Please. Our emperor is obviously in distress. Please go now."

Alone, Yoko sat on his throne distraught once again, "What have I done? What have I done…to deserve this? First, my empress. Now, our son? Great goddess…what have I done?"

"My lord?"

"Construct a search team. Immediately," Yoko commanded, his waist-length, platinum blonde hair swirling around him in regal fashion. "I will not rest until my son is found. In Botan's honor, our son will be found."

"My lord, given the growing perimeter of the affected areas, your son couldn't have gone that far. He could be found within hours."

"Consider what you just said, Yomi. You clearly stated a growing perimeter which means until we get a definitive distance, we don't know how far my son may have traveled or how long it will take to find him. Now is not the time to be absent-minded. Scale every sea there is. Oceans as well. Send word to the other kingdoms if you have to ask for clearance. That includes my sister to the north. I want no stone unturned, no wave unchecked, no reef ignored. My son will be found even if I have to raise every drop of water off this earth to do it. By the word of our goddess and in honor of our empress, our son will be found."

Yomi bowed, "Yes, my lord. I will get right on it."

"Don't just sit there! That's an order! Go!"

"Yes, my lord," Yomi swam away. "As you wish."

Completely alone, Yoko sat in his thoughts. Out of desperation, he swam up to the altar of the sea goddess to say a prayer. The deity of the waters was positioned with open arms draped in shells and pearls and a ningyo's tail adorned in a tentacle skirt. Her head displayed the crown of multiple styles, lengths, and textures of the children she created and was plastered on a wall watching over the empire Yoko and Botan have made their home.

"Great goddess. Forgive me for doubting you. I have seen the error in my ways and am ready to atone for them. I have lost my beloved wife to you. There's nothing I can do to change that. However, I want to believe that my son is still alive. Please, great goddess. Please, bring my son home. I can't…I can't go on…with this pain I have. Please assure me that my son is alive and will be found. That's all I ask for."

Once finished, Yoko belted a sorrowful cry so loud the entire kingdom could hear it. On a nearby mountain range, Hiei heard the cries of the king and smiled.

"Serves you right," he said. "She was mine, you sea prick. Now you know how it feels to have your world and dreams inexplicably taken away from you."

Fifteen years later…

The sounds of a whistle marked the beginning of another swim practice over at Meiou Private Academy. The swim team of the school is making preparations to compete for the upcoming national swimming tournament. But first, the prefecture round. Top swimmers, Ohta Karasu and Minamino Shuichi, took their respective places, poised and ready for another race disguised as a practice swim. Not only were these two young men popular in terms of technique and competitive records but they were also popular socially. Especially among the girls. As Shuichi adjusted his swimming goggles, Karasu took the time to heckle.

"Ready to lose, Minamino?"

Karasu was a young man of fifteen who stood tall at about 5' 8"and had a lean muscular frame perfect for swimming at his age. His hair was strictly black for most of his academic career but decided to go blonde recently for flair and to stand out among his team. Fortunately, hair wax is washable.

"Need I remind you, Ohta, that this is only a practice swim? I wouldn't count it as a race."

"Oh-ho. 'Practice', he says. Well, I wonder if you'll be saying that once I beat you."

"How long will you keep up with this attitude of yours?"

"On your mark," shouts the timekeeper, giving the boys time to take their stance.

With the sound of a whistle, the race was on. Within the first lap of a 200m freestyle swim, the competition was neck and neck. By the time of the first turn, Shuichi gained a slight lead as his team cheered him on. At the second turn, Karasu caught up only to be overtaken by Shuichi again. This freestyle run was definitely heated. At turn three, Karasu was slowing down while Shuichi maintained his pace. It was impressive, as if Shuichi was born to swim. When the race ended, Shuichi became the victor with a commanding seven second lead.

"Perfect," the coach cheered. "That's exactly what we need for the tournament. Such fire and drive. Well done, you two. Minamino, way to go!"

"I don't know what came over me during that last 50," Shuichi accepted much to the delight of his team.

Karasu, on the other hand, was not so pleased, "Seriously? I had you! I seriously had you! How the hell did you manage to beat me?"

"Perhaps that's something you should consider in the coming weeks. Especially in time for the relay race. You were good though. Your form is getting better."

"Say what you will. Pretty soon, it'll be my name on the top of the list with you as the runner-up."

"I'll hold you to that."

Classes had ended for the day leaving most of the school empty. Out on the courtyard, one student stood by waiting for a member of the swim team to show up. He was a charismatic young man or so he thought, one who always believed he could swing any girl he wanted to. As he watched a group of girls step out of the building, he noticed the one person he was waiting for.

"Hey! There's my fishy friend."

"Must you, Kuronue?" Shuichi addressed.

"So long as you're the captain of the swim team? …Yes," Kuronue answered as he cheerfully wrapped an arm around his best friend. "With you on the team, we'll be at nationals before you know it."

"That's only if we make it past the prefecture round."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever, Ariel. Anyway, onto the next order of business."

"Next order of business?"

"Yeah! Like when the hell are you going to get a girlfriend? No way am I gonna let you live your life without a girl on your arm."

"I haven't…haven't really thought of that."

"Bro, seriously?! Are you that blind? Has all that chlorine gotten to your brain or something? Just about every girl in school is looking at you like you're the next Jesus. Not one of them is catching your eye?"

"Shouldn't you be focusing on yourself?"

"Oh, I'm good. Matter of fact…" Kuronue detected, "I already have one in mind."

The group of four girls were members of the school's volleyball team and student council. Two of the girls were transfer students from England and China while the other two were natives. The one Kuronue focused on was a girl of blasian descent. Her waist-long box braids swung from side to side as she happily conversed with her friends on topics such as music and the latest popular TV show.

"I hate to see her leave but enjoy watching her go." Kuronue commented.

"That was…nevermind." Shuichi suggested, "If you like her so much, why don't you go talk to her? We are in the same class."

"Are you kidding?! I can't talk to her."

"And why not?"

"Dude, seriously? I can't. You know what they say about…" Kuronue mumbled, "black girls."

"And that is…?"

"You know…they can be a bit…intimidating. It's the stare, man."

"Excuse me? The stare?"

"Yeah," Kuronue nervously replied. "You know. Kinda like…the Beyonce but…worse. I bet girls like them give the female gaze a run for its money."

"Kuronue, you've said some ridiculous things since our friendship began but the things I'm hearing from you now have reached an entirely new level. I'm even impressed at the stupidity of it all."

"Don't believe me? Okay, then. Let's test it out."

Meanwhile, the girls discussed things amongst themselves. One of them, an English student named Alana, shifted the conversation.

"Alright. How about this? Chanmina or…Doja Cat?"

Her other foreign schoolmate, who was given the name Honoka, responded, "Chanmina!"

The one named Mei agreed, "Yeah, Chanmina. She's better."

Alana turned to, "Kiyoni?"

"Mm…" Kiyoni answered, "I was going to say Doja Cat but I'm getting mixed news about her so I don't know."

All of the girls protested, "What?!"

"Wait, wait, wait. Let me explain. Doja… Well, you've heard of the song, Best Friend."

"Oh, right," Mei realized. "Chanmina was on that, right?"

"Yep and that would've been my answer but again there's mixed content about her so..."

Honoka professed, "Okay, how about…Awich or…Nicki Minaj?"

All of the girls belted a giant "Ugh!" Such a ridiculous question.

Kiyoni added, "Oh, it's Awich hands down. I'm not into Nicki as much as I used to be."

Alana concurred, "True. I would rather listen to Megan thee Stallion."

Kiyoni protested, "Ugh! If only I was able to go to the Super Sonic festival this year!"

Mei had the same mindset, "I know! I would've died once I saw her on stage."

Kiyoni did a quick turnaround, "Saaaaaaaame!"

By the time the teens were approaching an intersection, the boys had finalized their plans. Kuronue went over the play-by-play one last time.

"Okay, Minamino. You have one minute. Just one. We'll see who knows more about girls than the other."

Shuichi wished he had kept his mouth shut, "This has to be one of the silliest things I will ever do."

Kuronue gently shoved Shuichi towards the girls, "Okay. Lights…camera…action!"

The girls were deep in their conversation by the time Shuichi showed up, him managing to hear a bit of what was said. That only gave him mere seconds to think of a conversation starter.

"That's like comparing Drake to…Yamamoto Daichi." Kiyoni stated much to the delight of her friends.

"Who would you choose though," Alana wondered.

"Seriously?!"

"Excuse me, ladies." Shuichi interspersed, "I hope I'm not interrupting."

"Oh…my…god." Honoka bashfully acknowledged, "It's Minamino! H-hi!"

Mei and Alana joined in, "Hi, Minamino."

"Hello, once again," Shuichi greeted. "I was wondering if you could help me out with something."

"Cough it up." Kiyoni stoically demanded.

"I'm-I'm sorry?"

Kiyoni requested again, sticking out her hand, "Whatever it is you two boys have placed on the table, I want it now. Hand it over."

Kiyoni believed that no random boy would ever step to her clique of friends and not have some sort of sick, disrespectful, ulterior motive about it. It was her thing to see past the bullshit. Such an interesting gift for a girl her age.

"Forgive me," Shuichi pleaded. "I don't have a clue as to what you're referring to."

"Wow, even the most popular boy in school can lie. Shocker. Don't think I didn't notice. You two placed a bet on us. As to what the bet is, I neither know nor care. Final warning. Run it."

Knowing he was caught, Shuichi looked back at Kuronue who was monitoring the time. It didn't help that he was actually encouraging Shuichi to keep going in return. Time for plan B.

Shuichi cleared his throat, stood tall and teasingly declined, "...No."

The girls collectively gasped as Kiyoni stepped to Shuichi. She was a few inches shorter than the swimmer but she didn't care. She knew of one way to knock down the tree in front of her.

"You're gonna wish you hadn't said that," Kiyoni teasingly replied with a sadistic grin.

"How?"

Within seconds, Shuichi received a double whammy with a knee to the groin and an elbow to the back. It was now Kuronue's turn to regret his decisions.

"Hooooooly shit," he stuttered.

As Shuichi recovered, Kiyoni checked his pockets and hit paydirt. Inside was a nearly-crisp 2,000 yen bill.

"Cool," she smiled. "Now I have enough money to buy that new manga I've been eyeing. Thanks!"

"My…" Shuichi huffed, "pleasure."

While Mei, Honoka, and Alana tended to the student athlete, Kiyoni continued her trek home. With the coast clear, Kuronue finally joined the group.

"Oh, crap, man. Are you okay?"

"You owe me…" Shuichi stated as he slowly got up, "you owe me big time."

"Just for that, yeah. That was totally on me."

"Sorry about that, Minamino." Mei confessed, "She has strong legs."

"I'll say. What was her name again?"

"Ikeda Kiyoni," Alana answered, "Vice captain of the school's volleyball team."

"That explains her leg strength," Shuichi admitted, never diverting his attention from Kiyoni. "She is interesting though."

"Interesting, how?" Kuronue asked, "Because she just kicked your ass?"

"Beyond that."

From Kiyoni's perspective, she couldn't care less how Shuichi would recover. However, it was kinda surprising for Shuichi to even notice the other students in his class. Realizing her solitary surroundings, Kiyoni pulled out her earbuds and played one of her playlists from her phone.

Honoka can be heard screaming at Kuronue in the distance, "You're a real jerk, Misaki! You know that?"

"Okay, okay." Kuronue relented, "I'm sorry. Jeez. What more do I have to do now?"

"How about an apology," Mei listed.

"An apology?" Kuronue awkwardly scratched the back of his head, "Mmm…"

The suggestion was emphasized when all of the girls and Shuichi started at Kuronue.

"Okay, okay. I'll do it."

Finally home, Shuichi did a quick assessment of himself. Yes, his family jewels were okay but there was a small bruise around the shoulder blade area of his back. Perhaps Kiyoni took things easy on Shuichi. Doesn't kill the unforgettable feeling of the initial impact.

Throwing that idea on the back burner, Shuichi got comfortable, tossing his school-issued jacket on the bed and heading towards his aquariums. One of them was a fish tank that was nearly a copycat version of the dental office fish tank from the movie, Finding Nemo. The only creatures missing were a starfish and a Moorish Idol. To keep up with the theme, the tank was decorated with an imitation coral reef in the middle, plastic and water compatible flora along the sides, a small sea castle ornament on the coral wall, and all on a base made of neutrally-colored stones and sand.

"Hello, my companions," he welcomed with some fish food at the ready. "Feeding time."

The twin fish tank was purely for angelfish. The Emperor Angelfish to be exact. Native to oriental waters, Shuichi had to have them for their beautiful blue hue. He also liked the name.

"Yes, yes. I couldn't forget about you as well."

Personal chore done, Shuichi flipped the lighting switch before collapsing on the bed. The lights of the aquariums combined with the small LED lighting lamp sitting in a corner of his room transformed his pale colored walls into an underwater adventure. Streams of multiple shades of greens, blues, and pinks churned in a kaleidoscope-like dance that could make anyone feel like they're swimming in the Pacific. Even the posters of artistically drawn fish and mermaids seemed to take a life of their own. As if in a trance combined with a daydream, Shuichi abandoned his reality and immersed himself in the sea world of his dreams. He imagined himself floating through an underwater tunnel only to emerge in a world that could give the major cities of Asia some competition. Schools of fish split open to provide a gateway of pearlescent rainbows only to lead to families of sea turtles migrating their way across the ocean. Multiple octopi bury themselves in diluted sand to hide themselves from danger. And the coral. Oh, the coral. They might as well be compared to the skyscrapers of the surface world in terms of structure and just like the millions of people who occupy those buildings, creatures such as anemone, clownfish, angelfish, and starfish make up this astonishing maritime city. Shuichi was in the middle of it all, treating it as if it was his second home. What made it better was the way he went about it. While the top half of his body was as normal as any human boy except for the greenish color of his forearms, the bottom half was all piscine. A compatible collection of greens such as jade, peridot, sea green, and emerald, the fin was no different than a normal fish but relative to the rest of the body in terms of size and the way it cruised through the water seemed natural. If Shuichi didn't have somewhere to be, he'd gladly stay. However, the things that happened next interrupted everything.

It all started when Shuichi heard a voice in the distance. It was feminine in nature but faded in volume.

"Kurama…"

"Who's there?" Shuichi looked around, "Hello?"

"...Kurama…"

"Who's that? Who's calling?"

Shuichi focused his attention on a small orb of light far away from where he nested. Within that light emerged a small figure that only grew in size as it got closer.

"Wait, who are you? What do you want?"

"...Kurama…"

"Slow down. Tell me who you are," before Shuichi knew it, the image was gone, much to his relief. "That was close."

The moment was destroyed the second Shuichi turned around. In a horrific flash, the image reemerged as a faceless, blue-haired woman. Frightened, Shuichi woke up only to find himself still in his room just as he left it. Hyperventilating and slowly returning to reality, Shuichi realized that he allowed himself to fall asleep only to wake up from a nightmare.

"What was that? Who was that?"

Dinnertime at the Minamino home. Since neither parent felt like cooking, it was a pizza night. Mrs. Minamino enjoyed her share of pizza topped with shrimp. Mr. Minamino went for the Hawaiian-style that he indulged in while on a honeymoon to Hawaii. After grabbing what was left of a gallon of water from the fridge, Shuichi joined his parents and got to work on his share of the pizza topped with anchovies.

"Shuichi…" Shiori chided, "what have I told you about bringing that to the table?"

"Sorry, mother." Shuichi said before chugging, "I've been getting really thirsty lately."

"So I've noticed."

"How was swim practice," Kazuya wondered.

"Great. I'm getting closer and closer to beating my current record." Shuichi continued, "I defeated a teammate by seven seconds in a practice swim today."

"That's good," Shiori claimed. "Right? That's good?"

Shuichi slightly giggled, "Yes, mom. We'll overcome the first round with a solid win."

"That's our boy." Kazuya commented, "Ever since we brought you home from the hospital, we could never keep you away from the water."

"Guilty."

"So…maybe you'd want to…come work with your old man, someday? I'd feel better if you said yes."

"Actually, I'm kinda thinking about going to college after high school."

"Oh, that's nice." Shiori asked, "Any idea on what to study?"

"Marine biology."

"Well, I don't see why you couldn't work with us. Get some hands-on experience beforehand."

"I'll…I'll think about it. Actually, mom, dad, there's something I want to ask you."

Nervously, both Shiori and Kazuya glanced at each other, mentally assuming the worst. After fifteen years, is it finally time to come clean?

Shuichi continued, "It's about a recent dream I've been having lately."

Relieved, the parents continued with their dinner. No, now is not the time.

"We're listening," Shiori encouraged.

"It's been happening for the last few days now. I find myself swimming as if…I'm a mermaid–merman, if you will. Anyway, I always find a light in the distance and from that light comes a woman, a mermaid. An actual mermaid. Thing is I can never see her face. It was as if…she doesn't have one. Not only that but when she calls out to me, she never calls me by my name."

"What's the name?"

"She calls me…Kurama. To her, my name is Kurama. Mom, dad, any idea what that means?"

Kazuya took a moment to think, "I wouldn't worry about it too much. Probably thinking about that tournament."

"That's probably what it is." Shiori concluded, "Water on the brain. Nothing to worry about."

"Yes, well…" Shuichi specified, "what about the name? Do any of you know about this…Kurama?"

Both replied, "Nope."

"Never heard of it." Kazuya added, "Oh. Wait. There was the school field trip I went on to Mount Kurama during the third year of primary school. Anyway, once the season is over and done, you'll be back to having normal dreams in no time."

Shuichi relented, "I…guess so."

Later that night, as part of a nightly routine, Shuichi parked himself in front of the bathroom mirror brushing his teeth before calling it a day. On his mind was the faceless mermaid he encountered in his dreams.

Who are you…?

With fresh breath, Shuichi took some time to inspect himself in the mirror. On the surface, things seemed normal. Normal teeth, skin, eyes. A body compared to a young Michael Phelps in terms of physique. So why did Shuichi feel so…odd?

That question was ignored by a text from Kuronue. He informed Shuichi of Kiyoni's social media presence on TikTok and Instagram and suggested for Shuichi to check them out. Shuichi followed every instruction to the letter.

There wasn't much to brag about. While Instagram displayed pictures and videos of her skills in volleyball, TikTok had more depth. Topics such as music opinions and tastes, unsolicited Japanese lessons for her foreign followers, cosplay, and activism in her biracial heritage flooded her content. What stood out was a video discussing her mother's heritage. Kiyoni is the product of a Nigerian-American mother and a Japanese father. While her father isn't too involved with religion or spirituality, her mother is. Ifa to be exact. Gods or Orisha such as the fire god, Shango; the goddess of love and femininity, Oshun; the creator god, Olodumare, and others are all a part of this culture. In fact, Mother Ikeda is currently training to be a babalawo or priestess/elder of the faith for the black population within the Asian community. A feat in itself. Shuichi clicked on a video showing Kiyoni and her mother, Ava, participating in a private celebration of the water goddess, Yemoja, also known as Yemaya. Treated as if it was a normal mother/daughter date, both women arrived at a beach dressed in white, Ava wearing a sundress, Kiyoni in a one-piece swimsuit with white denim shorts, and the both of them wearing blue headwraps and necklaces of seashells. After performing a ritual bath on each other in honor of the sea goddess, the video ends with the two of them feasting on Yemoja's favorite foods such as lamb, sushi, sashimi, and watermelon, some of it offered to the goddess before the feast.

"Praise be onto Mother Yemaya," Ava claimed.

"Asé," Kiyoni confirmed.

Another video paraded an altar dedicated to Yemoja surrounded by stones of lapis lazuli, aquamarine, blue agate, more seashells, and candles that diffused the salty scents of the beach and sea. In the middle of it all was a statue of Yemoja draped in head-to-toe shells that adorned her crown and torso. Her tail was made to look like a flowing gown with each layer representing the waves of the sea and oceans she ruled over and her pose was of her standing tall with waterfalls flowing from her hands. The video's caption said, "This is why I love the color blue" in both English and Japanese. Shuichi took solace in that. Blue was one of his favorite colors as well. Hooray for finding commonalities. Tired of holding his phone and with the soothing lights of his fish tanks as his visual lullaby, Shuichi activated his alarm and went to bed, armed with information to bring to his classmate come tomorrow morning.