Look Onwards to the Beach Horizon

*Sura's POV*

"Did you have to drag me over too? Brat."

Mopes Kyuu-san as she drags her body lazily to follow me. Her tail no longer showed its floofy shine and was just gathering dust. Skipping the way ahead, I bounce over a curb on the path and spin around gleefully, waving to an energetic lamb girl with curly hair as she bleats back a hello.

"Mom said you had to watch me!"

Heiwa is alive with everybody busy amongst the streets! The shop sellers sometimes yell their stuff, a dragon lady trying to not rip the dress she put on with her robust body, and students on their way to school. The Crystacie Kireinas… blue butterfly dragons I called them! Some I saw were perched atop near the canopy of the Magami Aura. From all the way down here, they look like ants hehe.

As we got near to the Magami Aura, I noticed a small crowd gathered, and taller than the rest of them was Goddess Myriam.

"Something's wrong."

Kyuu-san mutters as we close in for a look. Resting in Goddess Myriam's arm, was a young child who looked pale. His life energy, I feel it is weakening as his lizard tale limply twitches.

"Mokuren…"

Kyuu-san notices she too, was by the child's side. Though she has some type of special glasses that had small, zooming in and out holograms. She was looking intently at the child, up and down, as she courses pulsing, steady healing energy into the child. She was emotionless, focused, as if time froze all her face except the eyes.

Beside the child was an almost equally pale father and mother, their reptilian eyes shaking in anxiety. Everyone around tried to comfort them, saying it will be alright.

"Please, I don't know what is wrong… I know it is some sort of familial disease from my wife's side. There was a chance for it to happen… Goddess Myriam, Mokuren-sama…"

Mokuren asks calmly, but seriously, without looking away.

"It appears… to be a terminal disease, genetically passed down. I'm guessing it was a fifty-fifty chance whether the disease would manifest…"

The father collapses to his knees, cold sweat mixing with his emerging tears. His and the mother's grief, sadness, the look of vacant hope in their red eyes. It was my first time seeing someone so hopelessly broken. They reminded me a bit of when Mom was crying, but this was happening now to them. I felt a similar strong urge to help… and confusingly, anger. Mokuren smiles confidently.

"Here, mom! Located at the origin, in the spinal region, right under the medulla oblongata. By the spread of the illness, it seems rather complex. If you could quickly before it reaches the brain."

Goddess Myriam nods as she cusps her hand over the young child, and breathes golden energy as the mantra ring behind her glows. It enters the boy slowly through his mouth… everyone remains quiet… before the child's complexion regains its color, and his cheeks a healthy blush of red.

"Pa!"

The father, overjoyed, gets tackled by the boy as the crowd rejoices. Together they cried streams of joy and relief. The father and mother thanked Mokuren and Goddess Myriam profusely, their arms still trembling as if the anxiety and fear still lingered. Kyuu-san crosses her arms, as if proud as she smugly smiles.

"Well done as always, Mokuren!"

"Kyui!"

They embrace in a quick hug… is it me or they seem a bit closer? Goddess Myriam comes over, her ever radiant aura lifting everyone's mood. The crowd bows and praises them both, while Mokuren politely bows to try to turn down their overwhelming generosity.

"Greetings Kyuu-san, little flower maiden, Sura~"

I was curious, isn't Goddess Myriam super powerful in healing power?

"Goddess Myriam, how come you couldn't heal the boy entirely and all over?"

Mokuren wags a finger, taking off her glasses.

"Of course it could work but, it's best to find what caused the issue in the first place. For better future insight, and to directly fix the origin so as it may never potentially resurface… so~ what are you two doing?"

Kyuu-san pats me on the head heavily… I guess that makes sense.

"I have to watch this brat, we're visiting the under town. Meeting up with Jacky."

"Oh! Hehe, then I won't hold you back~ enjoy~ and Kyui? Good for dinner together later?"

Kyuu-san jolts a bit in surprise and answers a bit too quickly with a blush.

"Ah yes! *Ahem* yes, definitely. Anyways, seeya, and pardon us, Goddess Myriam!"

Moving past them towards the Magami Aura, Goddess Myriam laments behind me.

"Aww… how about me? Can't you invite your mommy to dinner with you?"

"No."

Was a reply so straightforward and blunt, I almost felt the ompf as Goddess Myriam pouts. Mokuren is a bit mean to Goddess Myriam isn't she?

A fountain of water erupts from an entrance to the underwater village. Splashing onto Kyuu-san for a rude awakening.

"Ya'll finally took up ma offer fora tour of the Heiwa underwater town!"

The water droplets are still coming down, sparkling in the sunshine. Dripping from head to toe, was Jacky in her bipedal form. Her orange hair was matted and hung on her like a wet mop but could not hide her peaking, sharky happy grin and sunny freckles. She wore a short jacket that exposed her belly and sporty shorts... I bet it would get in the way if she wore long pants and she transformed.

"Takes forever for ma hair to dry whenever I come out, I tell ya."

Electric flames erupt from Kyuu-san's palm as she puts on a smile that could carve you up. I felt bad cause anyone near us instinctively felt her murderous aura and scooted away.

"Let me help you with that."

"Guilty as charged ya ruffian!"

Hands up in innocence, Jacky shields herself behind me despite sounding so brave in making fun of Kyuu-san. With a thumping step forward, Kyuu-san exclaims.

"I'm gonna burn off your accent as well!"

Quick! Defend Jacky! I spread out my arms and pout!

"No bullying! I wanna see the underwater town, and mom said you have to watch me and accompany me! I'll tattle tell on you!"

Holding up a peace sign, Jacky compromises.

"Ahem! Leave me be, and I'll treat ya'll to dinner! It's an offer ya can't refuse!"

Her frizzled fur finally starting to soften, Kyuu charges with a little quanta to dry off her clothes and hair.

"You better not go back on your words, lucky the brat is here."

Doing a cartwheel back towards the opening to the underground, Jacky lifts her chin up and humphs.

"My ma taught me to never break a promise, ya have my word! Now c'mon and dive with me!"

She leaps with elegant grace making a tranquil splash and into the depths she disappears, slipping into the water as if the surface was never disturbed in the first place. Oh I always wanted to do this ever since I saw it on Crythoscreen shows! Kicking my geta shoes in the air, I run back barefeet a couple meters before the entrance, before I let loose and sprint!

"Cannonball!!"

I ball up in mid-air as I close my eyes, bracing for impact. The shimmering surface water envelopes me in a cool splash that then becomes gently warm. It was like falling through in slow motion as something cushions all around you.

Suspended in this warm water, I open my eyes… the glowing roots of the Magami Aura tree stretched far and wide, forming the roof of the underwater town and planting themselves throughout this large basin smaller than Heiwa but super spacious.

Gliding through the water, Jacky shows her long, beautiful aqua cyan tail as she meets me.

"Welcome to my underwater home!"

She says without moving her mouth. Jacky's throat and gill seemed to vibrate when those words came, is that how she speaks underwater? I look behind me as the sunlight shines through the opening. With a burst of bubbles, Kyuu jumps in with a large bubble around her head. A faint outline of energy around her body.

"Here let me help ya."

Jacky blows a stream of bubbles, tickling my face as I giggled. When I realized it, there was a sort of large bubble around my head. I can breathe! Woah! I reached out my finger to poke the bubble but Kyuu-san pokes me in the rib.

"Oi are you trying to suffocate yourself? Don't break the bubble!"

"Oh… right, ehe."

"Alright ladies, follow me!"

Circling around us in excitement, Jacky shoots down to the village as a warm current pulls us with her. A school of bioluminescent fish hovers by us, panicking as they disperse, showing their slightly translucent bodies show their glowing organs.

Perched upon one of the roots of the Magami Aura is a small cute house. It had a kind of crown roof with some corals. It looked like a little hut hehe, made of wood that looks the same from the Magami Aura. There were many huts and small houses like Jacky's spread out in this underwater basin, some stacked upon each other and some larger with more rooms. All with their own little backyard gardens too! The door was just seaweed hanging down, that Jacky parted away to enter.

"I'm home!!"

Jacky shines brightly forming a Y with her arms, yet… no one replies back. The little hut was a cozy and small place. A small living room with a kitchen, and one small bedroom. Some bulbous plants grew from the ceiling serving as little chandeliers of light. To the right was the bedroom that was lit with jars of glowing green algae as night lights.

Jacky floats and settles on a giant couch of springy sponge. Upon sitting, all the pores emit a gush of tickling massaging bubbles!

"Where are your paren- oof!"

I got a light jab to the side but it still hurt!

"Ow! Kyuu-san!"

"Oh leave the poor lil' girl alone, foxy. It's fine."

Jacky pouts, giving a light wap with her tail to Kyuu-san.

"My parents are gone lil girly, for a long while now. I live in this tiny hut of mine with my pet! Come here Angie!"

An antenna pops out from the bedroom door frame, before creeping, jagged teeths come into view. Twin hollow eyes with just a tiny speck of dirty light peeks at us. It kinda looks scary… I float back a little as Kyuu-san just simply makes an expression of squinting displeasure. However, Jacky swims forward and hugs the animal.

"Don't be afraid! It's my pet angler fish, Angie! He won't bite ya! He's actually scared of ya right now and quite shy."

Angie squirms a little and snuggles under Jacky's arm, awww… it is kinda cute. I slowly hover my arm in front of it. Angie tentatively moves forward a bit, not sensing any hostility, it then bumps into my hand. The skin felt a bit rough, but strangely squishy, and a bit slimy.

"Hahaha, Angie is brave today aren't you~"

Jacky scratches his chin and takes out a small fish biscuit from a treat box.

"Catch!"

Throwing the treats floating in the water, Angie quickly snaps up on each of them happily, wagging it's small behind tail furiously to chase the treats. Angie passes a large board hung up on the wall, full of pictures. So pretty…

"Ah, this is my photo collection, I made it my life goal to try to take a photo of every kind of ocean and beach out there. This…"

Jacky waves in front of one of the photos lovingly, as she smiles bittersweet, as she hums a little.

"This is my favorite one."

It was a picture of an endlessly stretching ocean. A surface of reflective violet pink that glowed a cool orange that blended like hot chocolate and milk into the beautiful horizon as the white sun set. I could almost feel the cool breezy air and the smell of the ocean looking at it.

"Bring back some memories I tell ya. Now my bedroom!"

I flail my arms a bit, and propel myself to her bedroom. Swimming over me, Jacky twirls around to face me. There was a sort of glass desk with a metal pencil… maybe it could write underwater? A circular floofy bed sat in the room with a bedsheet woven out of seaweed.

"Ahaha, it ain't much, most stuff is out there in our actual cities."

"Actual cities?"

"I'll tell ya what I mean later!"

A sea-shell camera rested on her bed, it was really pretty. The soft pearl pink of the shell and the little crafted handle.

"This is the camera I love and treasure that I used to take the photos. Now come on!"

Jacky pulls me in closely, and bumps against Kyuu-san who was just awkwardly following us the whole time, probably bored.

"Say cheese!!"

*Snap!*

"Gargh!!"

Kyuu-san exclaims as the camera flashes quickly, not closing her eyes in time. It ejects a photo to which Jacky shakes for a bit.

"Captured the grump's face just fine!"

A photo of me and Jacky together, alongside Kyuu-san's flinching, aggravated face as she squinted as if something slapped her in the face. Hehehe, she looks funny.

"Why you!!"

Quickly evading Kyuu-san, Jacky pulls me along.

"Come! Follow me! Let me show you a bit more around!"

Swimming out of her house, we follow her as we circle around Magami Aura's roots. Just like the nighttime lantern orbs of Heiwa, the underwater town also has its own versions: Jellyfish. They glowed a soft purple to an undulating blue. Bloop bloop bloop, they went around almost aimlessly in their gelatinous mundane lives hehe.

I saw some Jalaparee (जलपरी) people like Jacky, feeding groups of small fish in large cages suspended in water. Each large enough to be a house as it teemed with grouping fish. Some of them wave back at us. One girl whose hair was done in a cute bun yelled.

"Sup freckles!!"

"Nothing ya dork! - Those are our aquaculture, good honest work. It's for carnivores folk. Now lil' girly, everyone can eat vegetarian, but for some lineages, they require meat for a certain supplement to live. We help with that!"

Oh! I didn't know some people had to eat meat, I just thought it was super tasty hehe. Though mom had always taught me to pay respects to the animal that provided us with the meat. Which I do gladly!

We swam over forests of tall dark green kelp and prairies of sea grass. Nursing grounds for fish and homes Jacky told me, pointy to a small group of orange angelic fish popping in and out of the sea grass to peek at us. A small lazy shark swam towards me, it had a mouth shaped like a cat and nuzzled against us, seeking attention. Awww... I pet it a couple times before it went back to the bottom, burying sand on itself.

"It's not much down here, ya must be wondering! I mentioned before how this isn't our actual cities, cause this place ain't actually our folk's homeland, it's the entire wide ocean on this planet! This underwater town is more like a temporary hotel and place for us to stay for the night, most of us venture out into the ocean for most things! Though I stay here more often since my job is in Heiwa."

She points to the large two tunnels into the side of the basin. They each have a gate made of marble… and one I can feel a slightly warm current coming through and the other going out.

"Those are the passageways that lead out to the ocean! I can't wait to show you! Ah but definitely ain't enough time today. Hey, how bout it? Bring your friends and family to the beach in that direction? Then I can also show ya some true beauty of the oceans!"

Going to the beach… I've never done that! I tug on Kyuu-san's gi… I almost forgot she was here, dragged along to our currents one could say.

"I wanna go! I wanna go!"

I pleaded…

"No way! What are we gonna do there? Wasting time is what! I hate getting wet by accident!"

She says. Hmmmm…

"Fine! I'll just ask Mokuren then!"

"...wait what?"

--------------------

"We should go, Kyui~ I'll tell some others and you could bring some people too~. It'll be a sizable beach day. The day's been getting a little hot too."

And here we are! Now sitting at a restaurant… me, Kyuu-san, Mokuren, and Jacky. I have a small bruise on my head ehe, courtesy of my mean big sister. Kyuu-san scrunches her eyes…

"Plus~ you'll get to see me in a swimsuit."

*Crack!*

Kyuu-san's head slams onto the back of the chair, drawing a few eyes towards her and startling a fairy waitress as she yells Eep!

"Ow tch... Don't say that as if I'm some pervert!! That title belongs to Klara."

Gushing red as always… hehe, I knew Mokuren was Kyuu-san's weakness. Jacky chews on her plate of fish like a straw, spitting out the bone onto the plate.

"Ya two outta getta room, making me puke here."

Mokuren smiles gently, but also pinches Kyuu-san on the hand.

"Ow!"

"That's revenge, you owe me~ this dinner was supposed to just be the two of us hmph!"

"But Jacky is paying! I had to take advantage."

"You're so dense ugh… I like that part too though~"

Muhaha! My plan worked, I can't wait to tell mom!