riptide | kyojuro rengoku

I | lost

IT HAD HURT. That was the first sensation you remembered followed by the cacophonous rage of the ocean around you. Your eyes burned and you rubbed at them furiously, letting out a scream when the pain only seemed to worsen. The salt dug into your eyes and you cried, hoping that some tears would pour and ease the pain.

The first fortunate thing to come on that day was the rain. Your bare feet tried to clutch onto the pebbles underneath you for some stability. You couldn't make sense of where you were, childishly croaking out for your father as you reached your hands out, only coming into contact with jagged pieces of wood.

You didn't need to search to know. The wood was the first of many remains you'd find that day. The storm had swallowed the ship up whole, spitting it out in an area that was incredibly unfamiliar to you. Your small hands tried to make sense of the world around you, still crying as you hoped that maybe one of your father's friends would pick you up.

They would pull you against their chest, brushing your hair back and kissing your damp forehead comfortingly. However, that never happened. You blindly reached out to bodies and more bodies, recognizing none of them as your father. For a moment, you had thought one was, that maybe your father had become too disfigured for you to recognize him.

Still, though, you refused to let the storm consume your hope too and continued searching. When all your hands met were small fragments of wood, you knew that you had gone too far and attempted to retrace your steps to the spot you had originally woken up in. You were still far off, but the sudden sensation of water made you freeze.

You looked in the direction of it, kneeling down and prodding with your tiny hands in hopes that this was the ocean. It was the only thing you could see, after all. Your suspicions were confirmed as your hand sunk deeper into the pebbles, your entire forearm covered in saltwater. Although it hurt, you peeled your eyes open.

Like a panther about to pounce, you pulled your body low to the ground, shivering from the cold as you crouched and leaned forward. "Papa," You called out, mumbling fruitlessly into the night as the waves crashed harder at your response. You peered into the depths of the ocean, breath hitching when you saw the typical species.

Lantern fish, bright red blossoms of coral, something with what looks like purple seaweed for hair and hoards of hooks at the ends of its limbs. Jumping back, you grew even more scared as the howling wind grew louder. You screamed out when the water swallowed up your form, drenching your already cold self.

The wind picked up around you, something hard knocking into your head as you fell onto the beach once more. When you came to, everything felt warm, the sand and pebbles cooking your skin as you yelped, rushing to stand up and tripping once before regaining your balance. You swallowed down your complaints, looking out into the sea once more.

"P-Please," You could feel the sensation of blood dripping from your bottom lip, pressing your fingers against the cut and whining quietly. "Someone help me." Your milky white eyes were in a daze, trying to recognize what was beyond the ripples of the sea. Just as you were going to take another step forward, you turned your head at the sound of footsteps.

"Kagaya, there's a child here!"

"Amane?"

You followed the voices, tears spilling from your eyes as you blindly reached out, trying to face the right direction. You hiccuped, stumbling over your words as a desperate tone took over your voice. "M-My name is L/n Y/n. I'm seven years old. I can help, I'll be good!" You cried out, reaching your hands towards the voices.

Your father had instilled those phrases in you. Although you were shielded by him for so long, you no longer had that luxury. This world was frighteningly cruel, especially to you. So fragile, so young, too brittle to bend but so easy to break. He carried you in that ship, living in fear that someday you'd be taken from him.

With your ability, there were no limits to what could be discovered. You were incredibly fortunate that your father loved you more than anything in the world; had you been with anyone else, would they treat you so fairly? They would abuse you, forcing you to stare into the sea till they saw a glimmer of gold, the shine of something rare, a species to capture and 'discover'.

"I'll be good, I swear!"

You stumbled, crying out when your ankle caught a wooden plank, gashing the skin roughly. You fell to your knees on the hot sand and the footsteps grew quicker, arms gently wrapping around you. Amane's hold on you was calm, chilling compared to the sand, and beyond comforting. "Kagaya, the shipwreck. . . this child. . . "

There was a tone of awe to her words and you blindly reached for her face, your small hand pressing against her smooth cheek. "You can't see," Amane mumbled softly, hearing your sniffles and only pulling you closer against her. You cried out more, hearing another set of footsteps followed by panting.

"Child," You looked up at that voice, trying to locate it and stopping when gentle fingers held your chin in place. Kagaya didn't need to question what was going on, he had seen this before. "She's like me, Amane." His words were quiet, but you tensed. Amane looked down at you with a careful gaze, brushing back your hair as her cool hand met your forehead.

You hiccuped again, coughing harshly afterward. The saltwater that had lodged into your throat had made your mouth grow sore and you could feel someone press a cloth against your bleeding lip. Amane settled her hand against your ankle wound, trying to compress the bleeding cut.

"Tell me, child," Kagaya questioned. "Can you see into the ocean?"

"Y-Yes," You hiccupped.