Arcadia

Songstress of the Sea

"Hi! My name is Isabella. Nice to meet you!"

"Hi! Nice to meet you too!" replied Leanne. Silence, then she suddenly threw herself at this new girl and hugged her affectionately.

"Hey, hey, ain't she cute, Yura? She's just like our token loli!"

Yura stepped back a bit, being more careful in her approach. "Oi, what are you doing?" She looked at Leanne seemingly squeezing Isabella. "And... 'token loli'?"

"I want to take her home. Yura, she'll be coming back with us!"

"Uhh, I don't think that's possible because of several things. Secondly, I'm not making my bed available!"

With a commotion being started, the little pink-haired girl simply giggled. "Hehe, it's alright, Yura. I'm really glad that you have a friend like her."

"Welcome to Iruka Island's newest attraction, the underwater tunnel tour. In a few minutes time, prepare to witness the wonders of nature and technology a hundred meters under the sea. The tour will last for around 30 minutes and will go around the restricted developmental area underneath Iruka Island..." A voice from the PA system was heard, which caught the three's attention. "....As a safety precaution, please remain seated on your seats. This event is brought to you by Dreadnought Corporation, and we hope that you enjoy the trip."

Leanne immediately found a seat beside a window and fastened her seatbelt. "Ooh, it's starting, it's starting!" 

"Dreadnought Corporation, huh? Is that the group in charge of developing this island resort?" asked Yura.

While seated, Isabella quietly hung her head and looked down. She turned towards the window and leaned her face onto it.

The three soon felt a rumbling within the submarine as it started moving. The lights on the submarine dimmed, while the submarine took a quick and strong plunge down the pathing of the clear, glass-like tunnel. 

As the submarine reached a target depth, it began moving forward in the circular path. Leanne, looking attentively at the window, saw several fishes swim past them. Besides those, she can also see the other submarines that took part in this ride. 

"At the first phase of the tour, you will be treated to a view of the sunlit zone of the Iruka ocean. This area outside Iruka is noted for its lush wildlife. On your right-hand side, you may see the lush habitat of a lot of marine wildlife the island has to offer...." The PA continued. "....On the left side, you could see an underwater forest. This was a result of the collaboration between Dreadnought Corporation and technology from the city of Arcadia. It took several years to create, but now serves as a valuable space for cultivating species."

Leanne unbuckled her seat belt and constantly shifted seats in order to take a look on both windows.

"Leanne, careful!" reprimanded Yura. Isabella did not mind, however. She kept her face glued to her window. 

After some more minutes of narration, the submarine reached its midway point of the tour and reached the open ocean, a far distance from shore.

"A rumor is that during the early years of Iruka Island, this place was teeming with creatures heard only from tales of old. It was said that sea serpents and hydras roam these treacherous waters. However, these rumors were officially dispelled for quite some time now, as Dreadnought Corporation has successfully cleaned the area up with no hits. The only known  'rare' specie in these waters is a giant squid."

Yura, who was seated at the middle of the sub, looked at the windows. She furrowed her eyebrows and rubbed her chin. "Legendary creatures huh?" Somehow, she felt that there's really something within these waters besides the mentioned squid.