♪ Puka Puka ♪

      It hadn’t taken her long at all to find someone–well, someone besides the people she could only describe as “NPCs.” Though she had taken a moment to bother one, at first, they hadn’t seemed to have as strong a personality or presence as she’d expected someone from this simulation world might have.. Bringing the conversation to an end, she’d continued her search to find someone who would hopefully be more..interesting.

      This boy seemed to be a better start. Hopefully she wouldn’t end up being disappointed, again..

“Whoa..! I love your hair! That’s such a pretty blue..”

Well, he did interact with a siren once, and he had a few bots based on fish. But of course, that was a different story.

   “Oh, you have some ‘experience’ then~ I am glad. ♪ Maybe you will learn even more and have some ‘fish friends’ of your own~”

   Leading Jack through the ruined library that housed his sector’s apartments, Kanata joyfully wobbled.

The sharp splinter through his thoughts had eased up, leaving a duller pain at the back of his head. It throbbed with every step, but it wasn’t so hard to handle it at this stage. Hayato still leaned both arms on the high, oval-shaped guest services desk when they reached it. The middle-aged man behind it peered at him with a blank face.

   Once at the desk, Hayato explained the situation briefly, and the man behind the desk seemed to quickly piece together the situation. It wasn’t difficult to tell once he looked at the teenager, soaked from head to toe in water, distracted by wall paintings and pamphlets on the desk.

   “Hehe. ♪ It’s okay to call me ‘Kanata’ if you like~ In Japan, the surname comes before the given name, so what you would call a ‘first name’, mine is ‘Kanata’~”

   If Jack was nervous, Kanata didn’t notice, and it wasn’t likely to change his behavior if he did. That facade was probably a good one to keep up. If he flubbed it, Kanata was likely to shove his head in one of the holding tanks.

    The pond in sector six was an ideal hunting ground, if only for the fish swimming about in the small ponds dotted around the place. She couldn’t really call it hunting when it was so easy, it was literally like shooting fish in a barrel. After skewering a fish with an arrow, holding it up to inspect it having shot it directly in the eye she notices someone watching her. He doesn’t look all that pleased, maybe he was hungry?

For her line of work, it was an advantage. For everything else…well. She didn’t let herself dwell on it - too much independent thought was a dangerous thing in Talon, so she merely forced her mind to stop thinking so deeply. For now, her focus was on the boy in front of him and ensuring that he did not learn too much from her.

“Ryu…Ryuseitai?” Widowmaker didn’t like this foreign word either, and her nose scrunched a little as she struggled to pronounce it. “Children…need friends.” She spoke slowly, as though she was actually unsure of her words. “When you grow older, that will change.”

Friends merely held one back. Allies were important, yes, but they were on a completely different level. The more he spoke, the more sincere her smile became - it was obvious she was amused, and probably wasn’t harboring dark thoughts for once. “You are not curious to ask how I would use you?”

   It’s when she continues, however, that he becomes sad. When a person grows older, they no longer need friends? He didn’t agree with this, but did it mean that she didn’t have friends?

   “I do not think that is true... When you are ‘alone’, it is very ‘sad’. It can feel like you are being ‘crushed’, and that everyone is just watching or ignoring it. I do not think that is grown out of easily.” He gave a smile as he spoke again. “That is why, I would like if you would consider me a ‘friend’. ♪ ”

Jack quickly nodded his head, “Yea, exactly! I want to be their friend!” looks like he was able to get himself out of that one and by the sounds of it, he might get more facts about fish out of this. Meaning he could find the perfect fish for his plans.

   “I am glad~ They will be very ‘happy’ to make a new ‘friend’, and it is almost time to feed them~”

   It’s a good thing Jack seems so eager because, now, Kanata took his hand and started to lead him towards his apartment full of fish tanks. He should be more wary to bring a stranger to his home, but the thought didn’t occur to him.

He paid no heed into it, that was until he noticed something by his feet… what he would assume was a jellyfish. He might have considered it cute, if he really had too.. but it seemed rather damp so maybe… well he had picked it up to notice the other from before running in his direction, which could mean a few things but he took his own hunch. 

Giving him a ‘chop’? His shoulders tensed, that didn’t sound good. The anxious feelings Jack had earlier appeared once again. “No, no, I don’t want to hurt your fish friends. I just wanna try to get less scared of them that’s all!”  he grinned nervously and started speaking faster than he was before.

   For a moment, Kanata gave Jack a stern expression. He would do what he must to protect his friends from the sea-- but perhaps he wouldn’t have to give this boy a chop? That was what he thought as he let his expression soften.

   “Hmm~... So, what you are saying is that you would like to be their ‘friend’...?”

   It was a leap in judgment, but it was fortunate in Jack’s case. Rather than being irritated, now Kanata was excited. Was this a future lover of the sea? A big smile spread across his face.

“I’m guessing you’re a big water fan. You aren’t a fish person, are you? Does your skin dry out if you’re far from home for too long?” It was a joke, but not one he’d flip out over if the stranger said it was the truth. He wasn’t stupid enough to argue everyone he met was human. “You’re going to get in trouble with someone eventually if you don’t find a better place to go. Like a pool, or your bathtub. Then the only person slipping on anything will be you.”

“I knew that thing gave me the creeps! You’re telling me it has electric organs and it’s venomous? It’s not cute at all!” It sounded so scary, but at the same time, schemes were starting to pop up in Jack’s head. What if he could get one of these stargazer fish thingies and used them for his plans?

   “You don’t think it’s ‘cute’...? That is sad. Since the Stargazer fish is a ‘friend’ from the ‘sea’, I wish that more people could appreciate it.”

   Kanata gave a small frown as he hugged the plush toy in his arms. People rarely agreed with him when he called a sea creature cute, but it was still disappointing....

   “Hm~? Since there are different types of Stargazer fish, that is a broad question to answer...”

   Why would he want to find one anyhow if he found them so creepy? It was odd indeed, and the older boy wasn’t particularly fond of the expression the other was wearing.