riptide | kyojuro rengoku

VIII | sirens

YOU BLINKED AWAKE, stumbling up towards the top part of the ship. Kyojuro, unsurprisingly, was already awake. The rope for the sails was threaded in between his fingers and when he saw you, he greeted you loudly. "Hey, Y/n!" You nearly jumped at the yell, but you managed to smile in his direction too, throwing a shy wave.

You picked up fruit from one of the storage containers you two had, moving to sit at the back of the boat as you stared into the sea. You watched with interest, seeing families of sea turtles, a few electric eels, and a weirdly-shaped starfish that seemed to convulse every few seconds before spewing out a purple liquid.

You didn't want to know what that was, nor were you curious.

The point is, things slowly started to become more and more strange for you. You didn't recognize much of the creatures in the sea anymore. You didn't want to bother Kyojuro yet though. It was your task to recognize these animals and let him know if anything seemed overly dangerous.

You weren't sure what would come of it afterward, but trusting that Kyojuro could protect his own boat, you just hoped he had some kind of weapon on him. Tentatively, you searched for your fruit knife. You had tucked it into its leather casing earlier (courtesy of Kagaya) and carried it with you the entire trip.

"Y/n, do you see anything?"

That was the first time he had asked you something that entire boating trip. You could hear his own nervousness and your brows furrowed in confusion. He's the one leading the sails. Shouldn't he at least be somewhat familiar with these areas? Especially if we're retracing the same way they. . . 

You shook your head lightly. You had come this far with this man, you weren't going to start doubting him now. The desperation and genuineness of his character was something too strong for you to push away so abruptly now. The murkiness of the water didn't help and you felt Kyojuro tug the boat at the sound of a groan.

Looking into the ocean, you saw something slimy, vaguely remembering it from your travels with your father. It was a bright white with shiny teal fins, but it never meant any harm; it only ever attacked when provoked, so it was relatively harmless. "Don't be scared, keep sailing! It won't attack if you don't!"

Kyojuro took your advice, steadying his grip and continuing to sail as if the giant monster underneath the boat didn't exist. You had grown tense; the water was clear to you, but it was a world only for you and you alone. No one else would be able to understand what you were describing for a second which was what scared you. 

If you had seen something deadly, would you even be able to warn Kyojuro in time? 

You smacked yourself. This wasn't any time to lose your nerves. This man had gone through a lot for you so far and overall, he was in a terrible situation. You definitely didn't want to add on to the weight on his shoulders. You suddenly felt the boat turn, your brows furrowing at the sensation. 

Why is he changing directions so drastically now? You stumbled slightly, going to ask the Flame Pillar. "Kyojuro, where are we going?" Your only response was pure silence, your heart dropping in your chest. Something's off. . . this isn't right. You hadn't been with the boy for long, but Kyojuro would always respond to you.

He was especially sure that he did considering your lack of eyesight wasn't a benefit of any sort; it was better for him to respond to reassure you that he was there. You attempted to go find him, your hand laying on his as you used the rope that was used to steer the sails in order to find his figure. 

"Kyo—" You paused, noticing something in the water. Most people called them mermaids or enchanters, but you only knew them by one term: sirens. They were sea-green in color with razor-sharp teeth and long claws. Their yellow eyes had slits in them too and typically, the grayer their eyes were, the weaker they are.

However, the sirens that grinned back at you and howled at your presence had the brightest golden eyes you'd ever seen. Your heart dropped and you took a step back away from the rim of the boat, tensing slightly. You looked back to Kyojuro, squeezing his hand, but receiving no response.

Of course, that's why we changed direction. Kyojuro's following the Siren's Call. . . Females typically were unable to be affected by a siren's call, only males were. You had learned that all too well after your father had fallen victim to one; you and the other female crewmates had to work fast to snap them out of it.

It was hard to remember how you did, so you panicked for a moment, your mouth drying. There must've been a whole swarm of them if there were only a few in the ocean, but Kyojuro had turned the boat to the right. You swallowed, looking into the sea. If you kept trying to wake up Kyojuro to alert him, it would take too long.

Nonetheless, you weren't sure how to snap him out of it. You had only run into this species one other time in your life and even then, you had the help of others. Out here, though, it was just you and him. The blind Ocean Seer and the Fire Village's Flame Pillar. You sucked in a breath, stepping towards the back of the boat.

"This might get rough, Kyojuro. I'm sorry," You mumbled underneath your breath, holding your fruit knife up and squinting slightly. If you could aim it right, it would drop down and hit the teal-finned creature from earlier. With enough rage, it would definitely attack the nearby sirens. Maybe it wouldn't bring Kyojuro back to reality, but it would deter the sirens for now.

You aimed, taking in a breath. 

And suddenly, you let go.