Sea Bunny Shores - HayaRyuu (Discontinued for now)

eighth.

Hayato and Ryuuichi returned to the ship. There was a cluster of people waiting at the entrance. Ryuuichi assumed these were the fisherhumans.

"Everyone!" Hayato yelled out. The crowd turned to look at him. Ryuuichi noticed that only six people were around. "Follow me up to the deck." Hayato began walking up the ramp to the ship, and the group followed.

"You think he's the way people say he is?" someone whispered. "Probably, I'm just here because I need the extra cash." Ryuuichi stops and listens. "Do these people dislike Kamitani?" The boy put on a sour face but kept quiet.

They arrive at the tier, and Hayato pulls out multiple nets. "We'll have to rotate the fishing grounds," he says. "We leave in a few minutes."

Ryuuichi raises an eyebrow and walks up to the pirate. "Are we all fishing... together?" he asked. Hayato puts on a confused look. "Of course. Fishing is difficult alone, even for me."

"Oh, I was just hoping I could fish... by myself?"

"Really?" Hayato sounds shocked. "Did you always fish alone?"

Ryuuichi nods slowly.

"Well, that's too bad." Hayato scoffs. "Here, sit down for a bit." Ryuuichi sits down on a box and watches Kamitani walk up to the ship's wheel. A gust of wind flies through the air and tickles at Ryuuichi's face again. But instead, the boy fixates on the valiant pirate facing the sea, eyes sharp and content.

Ryuu decided to stand up and rotate around to the front of the ship. The ocean shined beautifully, sunshine reflecting off of the water. He smiled as he turned his head up to the sky, watching the birds flap away. The boy turned back and was surprised to see Hayato gazing at him. When their eyes met, Kamitani looked away. Kashima smiled wider and let his eyes fall upon the view again.

☁ ~ ☁ ~ ☁

"We're here," Hayato says, hopping onto the deck. He watches the others pull the nets out along with different fishing rods. Hayato watches as Ryuuichi sits on the ground with the trap in hand. "He looks like he's in a trance." Kamitani walks over and taps Ryuu on the shoulder. The boy flinches up. "Hurry," Hayato voices. "Sorry." Ryuuichi apologizes and stands up, jogging over to a group.

Kamitani monitors curiously as the boy struggles to deal with the supplies. He sighs. "Do you need help?" he asks. Ryuuichi looks up sadly. "Yes..." Hayato chuckles and hurls the net over the side of the ship. "I thought you said you had fishing experience."

Ryuuichi hesitated. "Well, yes. Just not like this, I guess."

"Alright then," Hayato says. "I'll teach you."

"Hey Boss!" someone calls. Hayato turns around and sees a boy approaching. "We caught something, something massive..." he pants. Hayato and Ryuuichi spare a glance at each other before running over. A group struggled with pulling up their catch. Hayato held onto the side of the rope, his gloves with a firm grip. Suddenly, it lost weight, and the entrapment burst up. The crew stumbled back, looking at the twines. "What the hell?!" one yelled. There was a hole the size of a person in the net.

Ryuuichi looked cautiously at sea, but the water was too dark. Hayato helps the others stand up. "We should get out of here. What if there are more of those things?" someone says. "We might sink because of them!"

As much as Hayato doesn't want to, he has to agree. With a creature that strong, it may damage the ship. He rushes over to the wheel and commands the others to row.

Ryuuichi is still staring at the sea. The boy watches the sailors get together and quickly slips downstairs. He gets to a door that leads onto a platform that skims the water. Ryuu dips his hand into the water and realizes that it feels familiar. That's when he realized the ship was near the kingdom.