[At Sea – Day 1]
The land disappeared hours ago.
Now it's just water.
Endless, shifting, loud in a way that gets under your skin the longer you listen to it.
The boat isn't big enough to ignore it.
[Upper Deck]
Wind cuts through everything.
Hair. Clothes. Thoughts.
Hariko leans over the railing, staring out like she's trying to pick a fight with the horizon. Letting the breeze push her.
Hariko:"Ahhhhhhh…sooooooooooooo worth it."
Behind her—
Kirutowa is standing exactly how he always stands.
Perfect.
Controlled.
Except—
His grip on the railing says otherwise.
The boat shifts.
He doesn't move. But something about him does.
Hariko glances back.
Smirks.
Hariko:"Wow."
No response.
Hariko:"Are you losing to water, Mr. Martial Artist?"
Kirutowa (flat):"I'm...adjusting."
Another wave hits.
His jaw tightens. Trying to hold back a uncomfortable vomit.
Hariko laughs under her breath.
Hariko:"Yeah. You look real adjusted."
He doesn't snap back.
That's how she knows it's real.
A few feet away—
Senshi crouches low, one hand pressed to the deck like he's trying to understand it.
Senshi:"…It moves different than land."
No one answers.
He nods to himself anyway.
Near the far side—
Kusu sits alone. Not hiding, just… separate.
A faint glow gathers in her hands.
A small turtle forms.
Still and quiet.
She watches it more than the ocean.
Hariko notices.
She hesitates.
Then walks over anyway. Drops down beside her.
No intro.
No buildup.
Hariko:"You're weird."
Kusu flinches slightly.
Kusukuru:"Yeah…I know."
Hariko panics a bit. Not trying to offend.
Hariko:"No, no, no!!! Not in a bad way."
A pause.
Hariko:"Just… not loud, I guess."
Kusu looks down at the turtle.
Kusukuru:"…Loud things break."
Hariko snorts.
Hariko:"Yeah. That's kinda the point."
The turtle flickers.
Hariko: "He's so cute!!!!!"
She gets more enamored by her Light Beasts Quirk as the turtle sparkles in and out of the sea water.
Hariko (quieter):"Hey…so, can you make bigger stuff?"
Kusukuru doesn't answer.
Doesn't need to.
Hariko:"Nevermind then."
Hariko gets up to give Kusu her space.
Kusukuru:"…It's safer that I don't."
Hariko leans back.
Looks up at the sky.
Hariko:"Safe is boring."
Another pause.
Kusukuru (soft):"…Not always."
She pushes her face into arm sleeves to hide.
Hariko doesn't push it.
Which, for her, is rare. Making friends like this, is a quite different. But worth it.
[Bridge – Interior]
The captain stands relaxed.
Like the ocean belongs to him.
Tokoyami stands beside him.
Still.
Watching everything.
Captain:"Weather's shifting."
Tokoyami doesn't look away from the horizon.
Tokoyami:"Storm?"
Captain:"Maybe."
Shrugs.
Captain:"Or it's something else."
That gets the Jet-Black Hero's attention.
Captain (lower):"You've been hearing it too, right?"
A beat.
Tokoyami:"…Animals."
Captain:"Yeah."
Leans back.
Captain:"Things out there changing. Not supposed to. Not this fast."
Tokoyami's gaze hardens.
Silence sits between them.
Tokoyami (quiet):"…We'll be ready."
But it doesn't sound certain.
[Interior – Lounge]
Snacks everywhere.
Too many.
The captain clearly cares about this part.
No one says it out loud, but it helps.
A little.
Hariko's already halfway through something she didn't check the label for.
Hariko:"Okay this one's good."
Senshi inspects a different package like it's a puzzle.
Senshi:"…Why is it shaped like this?"
Kazuto (from the wall):"Because someone made it that way."
Senshi nods.
Accepts that.
Kirutowa sits apart.
Not eating.
Still.
Hariko glances at him.
Hariko:"You're gonna pass out if you don't eat."
Kirutowa:"I'll be fine."
Hariko:"You look like you're fighting ghosts."
He doesn't answer.
Kazuto watches that exchange.
Says nothing.
But he's paying attention.
[Night – Lower Deck - Bow]
Dim lights. Stacked crates. The constant hum of the engine under everything.
Kazuto steps around a container, scanning labels.
Kazuto:"Captain said dry storage. Should be here."
Senshi lifts a crate like it weighs nothing, sets it aside.
Senshi:"…This one smells like snacks."
Kazuto:"That might be the only thing that smells like snacks down here."
He holds his nose, pointing to a crate filled to the brim with basically fresh fish.
The ship quiets.
Not silent.
Never silent.
Water. Metal. Motion.
Kazuto walks ahead.
Hands in his pockets.
Senshi:"…I'll carry it."
Kazuto:"Figured."
They reach the storage area.
Dim light. Stacked crates. Senshi moves one easily.
Senshi:"…This one?"
Kazuto:"Yeah, I think."
They shift it.
THUD.
They both stop.
Senshi looks around.
Senshi:"…That wasn't me."
Another sound.
Closer.
Kazuto steps forward.
Slow.
Between crates—
Movement.
Then—
A girl steps out. Long blonde hair.
Their age.
Hero costume.
Eyes already defensive.
Silence.
Kazuto and Senshi don't move out of sheer awkwardness.
Just watches her.
Tension fills the room. No introductions. No explanations.
Just three people who weren't supposed to meet like this.
Senshi:"Who are yo..."
No hesitation.
Before the boy could finish his words, she slams her fist into the floor. It glows bright orange.
BOOM.
The metal cracks. The whole boat feels the shift.
Captain: "That came from the bow!!! But I think I can hold her together!!"
Almost simultaneously, a whirlpool began to form. It tries to twist the boat off course.