Quest - Part 1...

~ Third Person Pov, the next day~

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"Hey, I heard we're getting a new transfer today..."

"Huh? Really? It's like the middle of the semester. Don't they think it's a bad time?"

"I don't know, but I heard it was a girl... Some rumors say she's from the sea, the Mie prefecture."

"No way!?... You mean those people? I thought they decided they would never come back on land since like, what? Near a century ago if not more? What do you think changed?"

"Apparently the birth rates been in decline down there... Don't you all watch the news or read the news paper?"

"Nah, who even reads newspapers these days?" One of the students scoffed, leaning back in his chair. "If it's not trending online, I ain't seeing it."

"That's your problem," another student shot back, flipping through their phone. "It was trending. A whole article about it last week. Some kind of cultural exchange or whatever... Apparently, the government's involved too."

"Huh...? So, what? Is she's like some kind of ambassador?"

"She's probably more like a test subject," someone else muttered. "Maybe seeing if their people can integrate again after all these years."

The classroom was essentially filled with speculation, whispers overlapping theories as well. Some wondered if she'd have gills like the stories, others joked about webbed fingers, some fins and others tails... A few even questioned if she could drink fresh water without getting sick.

Then, the door slid open. Immediately, the room fell silent, while their teacher stepped inside. But he wasn't alone.

Behind him stood a girl...

She was slightly taller than the average girl, lean, with a certain fluidity to the way she moved, like she wasn't entirely used to the gravity pressing down on her... Her uniform was neat and crisp, identical to theirs of course, but there was an odd grace in how she held herself—controlled and modest.

Her hair was a deep shade of violet, almost shimmered under the classroom lights. But the most striking thing were her eyes. A soft ocean blue, like moonlight reflecting off the ocean's surface.

The teacher cleared his throat. "Everyone, settle down. We have a new student joining us today. Introduce yourself little miss..."

A girl stepped forward, her voice calm but carrying an undertone of something unreadable...

"Um... Good morning, my name is Chisaki Haminora. I hope we can all get along." She bowed.

For a moment, no one spoke...

Then—

"Whoa, isn't her voice kind of hypnotic..."

"Shut up, dude!"

But no one could deny it... She was breathtaking... 

While Ayano couldn't have really cared less. However, hearing the rumors, he was a bit confused, but also curious, even if it was to a small degree...

He barely spared the new girl a proper glance. While the rest of the class buzzed with curiosity, whispering theories and speculations about her origins, he remained mostly uninterested... 'Still... The hell are sea people?' The rumor sounded absolutely absurd to him, like something out of an old myth.

Still, it wasn't his problem at the moment.

His fingers tapped lightly against his desk as his mind drifted elsewhere. Last night's training had given him a lot to think about. After taking down over a hundred thugs, he had realized a glaring flaw in his fighting style—he knew that his close-range combat was up to par and mostly efficient, but against larger numbers, it wasn't as versatile as he wanted it to be...

There were still gaps in his movement, moments where he wasted energy when he didn't need to. That was why he had decided to pick up a new martial art to balance himself out.

Taekkyeon.

Unlike boxing or Muay Thai, which emphasized close-range strikes, Taekkyeon specialized in speed, distance control, and powerful, precise kicks. The ability to control space would be a major advantage when dealing with multiple people at once. He had spent hours training last night, and thanks to his passive, he was already getting the hang of all the fundamentals.

Now, all that was left was to simply test it out properly.

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"Oi, Keiji."

The voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Ayano turned to see Renji giving him his usual lazy smirk. "You're zoning out again there bud."

"Just, thinking..." he responded.

Renji chuckled. "Lemme guess. Not so much about the new girl?"

Ayano barely reacted, offering a half-hearted shrug. "She's just another transfer... Not really a big deal."

Renji scoffed. "Man, you're the only guy here not losing his mind over her... Look at 'em all."

Keiji's eyes swept across the entire room. As expected, most of the class was still fixated on Chisaki, and he couldn't blame them entirely... The girls looked intrigued but also wary of her, while the guys were utterly entranced. He did feel a bit bad for her since they would instantly flock the poor girl as her as soon as break/lunch time came...

But, as he was looking, he also saw the expression of Sekai...

'Hm? What's with her?' Ayano thought, 'She looks like someone ripped her heart out...' But, he decided to ignore it for the time being...

"Alright, quiet down everyone... Chisaki, you can sit beside Sekai. Sekai, please raise your hand."

Ayano shook his head, 'Phew~ Talk about bad fortune...'

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~ Ayano's Pov, break time... ~

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"Finally, some well needed alone time..." I opened my lunch, I needed to finish within ten minutes so I could get some more practice in before I continue that damned quest I have. The more I practice, the better I get.

"Why are you in a rush? Something going on?" Renji asked, eating as well.

"Not, really... But, could I ask you something?"

"Ah, sure? What do you wanna know?"

"Well, I'm absolutely clueless about who these sea people are, mind filling me in?"

Renji, shook his head, "Sorry man I can't really tell ya' the details on that, since I'm not so well versed in that part of history..."

Keiji was slightly bummed out about that, but he turned his attention to Katsura instead, "Hey, Katsura-san, do you know anything much about them by any chance..."

Katsura stopped eating for a moment, "Hmm? Are you also interested in Chisaki-san by any chance?" She asked, innocently.

"As someone to like, no, not really, but definitely about her origins... I haven't heard about them before."

Katsura tilted her head, tapping her chopsticks against the side of her bento. "Huh, you really don't know? I guess that makes sense… It's been nearly a century since the last major event involving them."

She placed her food down and leaned forward slightly. "Alright, listen up. You know how some old legends talk about people who lived beneath the sea? Well, those weren't just stories. A long time ago, there were actual settlements underwater. The people there—Chisaki-san's people—were called the Sea Dwellers. They had their own culture, traditions, and even some… unique traits that set them apart from us."

"Like what?" he asked, genuinely intrigued now.

"Well, for one, I read that they don't age the same way we do..." she explained. "They live much longer, or at least, they used to. They could also survive underwater indefinitely because their bodies adapted to it over generations, but some say it's a force called Ena. But their way of life started changing about ninety or so years ago I believe."

Renji raised a brow; "Correct me if I'm wrong... But, wasn't that when the big migration started happening? When a bunch of them decided to live on land?"

Katsura nodded, "Yes... Back then, there was some big divide between the Sea Dwellers and land people. Some of them thought that mingling with humans would destroy their traditions, while others believed it was necessary to survive. Eventually, the ones who wanted to live on land left the ocean behind. But… it wasn't that simple. Some lost their ability to breathe underwater, while others had trouble adjusting to life up here."

Ayano crossed his arms, slowly piecing it all together. "And the ones who stayed behind?"

"They kept their way of life, but at a cost," she said. "Over time, their numbers started to shrink. Birth rates dropped, and without new blood, they started fading. No one knows exactly why, but some say it's because their connection to the sea isn't as strong as it used to be."

Renji whistled. "So, wait, if Chisaki's here, doesn't that mean…?"

Katsura nodded... "She's likely part of whatever effort they're making to reintegrate with humans again. Maybe they're also testing if they can adjust without completely losing their heritage."

Keiji glanced toward the classroom door, his mind now lingering on Chisaki for a moment. She didn't seem the type to be openly struggling, but there was a quiet tension about her. If she was really here as some sort of 'trial,' then she was carrying more than just school stress on her shoulders...

"If that's the case, I... kind of feel sorry for her..."

Renji raised a brow at Keiji. "Huh? Didn't think you'd care."

Keiji shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "It's not about caring. Just… sounds like a pain to deal with... Think about it. Imagine being sent to a completely different environment, surrounded by people who likely don't understand you, all while carrying the expectations of an entire civilization on your back." He scoffed. "It's a setup due for failure if you ask me."

Katsura sighed, resting her chin in her hand... "You're... Not wrong. It must be exhausting, trying to fit in while knowing everyone sees you as an outsider first..."

Renji snorted. "Yeah, but look at her. She already has more than half, if not all the guys in our class being ready to throw themselves at her feet. I can tell you one thing, she won't be struggling for attention, that's for sure."

"True... But, attention doesn't inherently mean acceptance," Katsura countered softly, "People are only interested now because she's new and mysterious, but even that won't last forever... If she doesn't fit in, they'll move on."

Keiji didn't respond, idly tapping his fingers against the desk. To him, it sounded like Katsura was genuinely speaking from experience...

"Alright guys, let's not dwell on the potential negatives... Actually, you both wanna see something cool?"

Katsura raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? W-what are you planning to show us?"

Keiji smirked, standing up and stretching his arms. "I've been working on something new. Figured I'd test it out."

He took a few steps away from the desks, rolling his shoulders before settling into a stance—one noticeably different from the boxing or Muay Thai movements. His posture was more relaxed, yet calm, his weight quickly shifting lightly between his feet.

Then, without warning, he moved.

Fwish!~

Keiji's leg snapped out in a sudden, sweeping motion—controlled, yet deceptively fast. The air seemed to almost ripple as he executed a wide, circular kick, his body twisting with a natural grace... He didn't stop there. Flowing seamlessly into the next movement, he spun on his heel and delivered another kick, this one rising even higher, striking an invisible target in a near perfect arc before he landed effortlessly back into his stance...

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Katsura and Renji stared, momentarily speechless.

"Woah...! That was CRAZY good..." Renji shouted.

Katsura nodded, still speechless at what she had seen... 'I-It's, beautiful...' She had thought. She noted that he had done it so fluidly, it looked completely unreal, almost unnatural even... She knew he was likely a very good fighter before they had started to hang out, but not to this extent...

"That—that wasn't your usual style... What was that?" Renji asked.

Keiji exhaled, "It's a martial art called Taekkyeon," he answered. "It's also a martial art focused on fluidity, flexibility and power. Thought it'd be a good addition to my skill set...

Katsura folded her arms, intrigued. "I think it suits you. Your movements looked... natural, almost like you were dancing, at least to me..."

Keiji smiled somewhat shyly. "Yeah, thanks, that's kind of the point of it really. It's pretty much all about rhythm and adaptability as far as I'm concerned, as well as the above mentioned of course... I definitely needed something like this in my repertoire."

Katsura on the other hand continued to observe him, still captivated by how effortlessly he had moved just moments ago... "It really didn't look like regular martial arts to me" she mused. "It was almost... too fluid. If I had to put it into words, it's almost as if you weren't bound by weight or force."

Keiji tilted his head slightly, considering her words... To an extent, she was somewhat correct, "That's because Taekkyeon focuses on natural movement... It's not about brute strength or rigid forms—it's about flow. It lets me control my momentum instead of fighting against it."

Renji smiled, "Well, it definitely makes you look like some kind of action movie protagonist."

Keiji smiled. "Guess I'll take that one as a compliment."

Katsura, however, was still thinking... Watching him move reminded her of something—something beyond just martial arts. The way he carried himself, the way his body moved without hesitation... it almost felt like it wasn't just skill, but on instinct.

She wasn't sure why, but for the first time, she found herself wondering just who Keiji really was. Until, she saw him suddenly stiffen up...

Keiji looked as if he was staring into blank space, but to him, a new quest had popped up;

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{SIDE QUEST: Check on Sekai Saionji...

REWARD: ??????}

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Reading it made him even more confused... 'You have got to be kidding me...'

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END