Blessed by the Seas

Under the glaring sun, people were diligently cleaning up the shore. Zuikaku wiped the sweat off her brow, the drip leaving her glove slightly soaked.

The sweltering heat was punishing, but nobody was grumbling, and everyone was seemingly in high spirits. She guessed the presence of the upbeat music had something to do with that—even though it was some old Showa-era tune, coming out of a pair of speakers that had seen better days if the distorted, shaky sound they produce is of any indication.

Zuikaku idly tossed another errant wrapper into the bag she had with her and wondered if the heat was getting more intense because her head felt like it was boiling on the inside. She drank her last bit of water and disposed of the bottle, but it did little to ease her dizziness and blurring vision.

"Hey, you alright there, Zuikaku?"

Zuikaku stopped massaging her head and turned to the speaker.

"Oh, nothing much," she dismissed. "Just getting too much heat and—mpfh?"

She didn't get to finish as something soft and old-smelling landed on top of her head. She scrambled to remove it, to find out it was a cap emblazoned with a Maritime Self-Defense Force emblem.

"I figured as much," said Lieutenant Ohtori Kensaku, whom Zuikaku noticed was carrying an empty trash bag over his shoulder.

"Yeah, sure," Zuikaku put the cap back on. Annoyed as she was, wearing it was admittedly more comfortable. "Hey, are you not participating in the clean-up?"

"I was about to. Granny asked me and others to distribute those old caps from the storage to anyone not wearing a hat before that. It's hella hot, you know?"

"Don't make fun of me," Zuikaku grumbled. "So, I guess quite a lot forgot to bring a hat, huh?"

"Well, yeah. Mostly children," he replied. Zuikaku narrowed her eyes—that last bit had a suspicious emphasis to it, and he seemed to hold back a laugh afterward.

"Are you saying I'm a child?" she growled, her free hand balling into a fist.

"No, not at all," Ohtori denied the accusation, but Zuikaku hit him in the arm anyway, though only lightly.

"You and your half-baked denial. You were clearly holding back a laugh there."

"Man, you really need to cool off," Ohtori rubbed the spot Zuikaku hit earlier, even though it didn't hurt. At least she was now smiling, all but telling him everything was in good-natured jest.

"Oh, I'm cooled off, alright. I could use some water, though, if you have any."

"I don't, but I could show you where you could get one."

"Eh, alright, lead the way."

***

Zuikaku downed the entire bottle in no time and then another, leaving the lady manning the cooler amused, which she was blissfully oblivious to.

But Ohtori wasn't surprised. Her plastic bag was already swelling with heaps of trash she'd picked along the way—she was that diligent, and not even thirst nor heat could deter her from doing her duty. In contrast, his wasn't even half-full, but he chalked that up to the fact she had a good head start. And besides, they weren't competing.

"Hey, are you not going to drink? Water is important, especially in this kind of weather," Zuikaku remarked after a swig of her third bottle and noticing Ohtori was only looking around.

"Judging from how you drink it like there's no tomorrow, I guess that's true. Auntie, pass me a bottle, will you?"

"Here you go, sonny. Lucky for you, it's the last one. Or should I say, 'unlucky?'" the lady gave him a bottle, winked, and laughed at his incredulous stare.

"But unlucky? Why?"

"Because she doesn't get to share hers?" the lady continued, and her grin grew along with it, especially when she noticed Zuikaku visibly swallowing and turning a little red—but that was the extent of her reaction.

"Heh. Lucky me," Ohtori took the offered bottle. He was thankful Zuikaku took that joke pretty well, at the very least.

"So, are you two going to continue cleaning up? It's okay if you don't. Most townspeople are doing this, so there won't be much to do soon, you see."

"Well, I at least would—my bag's not even full. Dunno' about Zuikaku, though," Ohtori shrugged.

"I'll clean up some more," Zuikaku readily answered. The lady was grinning again—she even blushed a little—and offered Zuikaku a new bag.

"Ahh, well then, you can leave that full bag of yours and use this," she said in an oddly dreamy tone.

"Um, well, thanks, auntie. We'll be off," Zuikaku said before leaving just as hastily.

"Come on, son, go after her," Ohtori heard the lady badgering him.

"Oh well, no need to tell me. Thanks, auntie," Ohtori shrugged and went after Zuikaku. The lady's giggle continued to haunt him as he did.

***

"What is it?"

She asked, and it dawned on him she must've noticed he was stealing glances at her. And if she did…

"Well, I'm just thinking something along the lines of 'wow, this girl sure works hard.'"

Zuikaku fished another piece of trash lodged within the sands. She didn't immediately reply, but he could catch a glimpse of her smiling as she tossed it into the bag, even though she wasn't looking him in the eye.

"Everybody works hard, not just me."

"...and she's also modest, too."

Zuikaku paused again, still smiling, still stubbornly avoiding eye contact.

"Seriously, what's gotten into you?"

"The heat's getting to me, it seems," Ohtori laughed over that and pulled his cap a little lower over his face, hiding his eyes from view. He didn't notice Zuikaku doing the same.

"Heh. It's getting hotter, huh? No wonder I'm feeling weird, too," Zuikaku slipped behind Ohtori and lightly nudged him closer to the shoreline.

"C'mon, that means we need to finish this quickly."

Ohtori didn't object to that and didn't regret it either when he had to keep up with Zuikaku and her newfound, terrifying drive.

***

With Shoukaku's tempura in hand, Zuikaku quietly allowed herself to be entranced by the dusk upon the horizon and the whisper of rolling waves, surrounded by the glow of lanterns and the scent of grilled seafood—She's one of the many celebrating the end of the day's work.

Time would fly by like it was nothing, and the respite that comes after that would be worth the while—and she believed that sincerely.

Her peace was disturbed when she felt something cold pressed into her cheeks and promptly yelped.

"What was that for?" she lashed out after regaining herself, though inwardly, she was more annoyed over getting her guard down than the prank.

"I wanted to try that sometimes," Ohtori tossed Zuikaku the bottle of ramune he was carrying. "That's your favorite lemon-lime flavor."

Surprised and actually pleased he remembered something she mentioned in passing some time ago, Zuikaku decided she could forgive him this time.

She barely had the chance to get that would-be refreshing drink down when they both heard the unwelcome click of a camera shutter.

Even when confronted with the two's angry glares, Aoba was remarkably calm.

"Oh, hey, you two. Thanks for contributing a nice picture for this coverage."

"...Look, there are plenty of more exciting things around here you can take photos of," Zuikaku was now smiling through gritted teeth.

"Oh, don't be so modest. Every photo serves a purpose," Aoba laughed it off, even when she had just said something Zuikaku found quite profound for her. "Or, how about this—I'm going to interview you guys. Then we can forget the photo."

As a sign of goodwill, Aoba handed her camera to Zuikaku, who met the offer with a frown.

"Interview us? What for?"

"Weeell, giving different perspectives a chance to shine is always a good thing," Aoba briefly shifted her glance to Ohtori, then back at Zuikaku, "and besides, won't it be a good chance to get to know each other better?"

Zuikaku firmly grasped the camera after feeling it nearly slipping off her hand.

"Uh, I don't know if that's a good idea or not, and—"

"If you put it that way, I'm down for it," Ohtori stepped forward.

"Oh—Ohtori?"

"Eh, what can I say? I just don't see any harm. Still…" Ohtori paused to narrow his eyes at Aoba, "...you better not ask weird things."

"Tch, doubting my journalistic integrity like that. But worry not, I'm writing a coverage, not a gossip column," Aoba clicked her tongue. For a second, she looked scandalized. She returned to her grinning self as she took out her notepad.

They found out soon enough that the question was indeed ordinary. Not something that would arouse embarrassment or all kinds of unease. To Zuikaku, it was sufficiently relieving, but Ohtori seemed a touch too happy to answer.

"In celebration of Marine Day—why do you love the sea?"

"Easy," Ohtori began, "I grew up in Gifu, you know? It's nowhere near the sea. And because my father hates traveling, I could only see one for the first time when I was 16, and…" here he paused and turned a distant look at the waters. He had a very fond smile, which he had never given anyone, as far as Zuikaku recalled.

"...well, you can say I fell in love with it right away."

Aoba let out a suspicious snort as she jotted down the words.

"So, love at first sight, eh? I guess that's as good a reason as any," she shrugged, her tone suggesting she wasn't done. "That's not all, isn't it?"

"Haha, you can also say I love the sea because I get to meet truly wonderful people through it. And I'm grateful for that."

Hearing Ohtori speaking such things so casually irked Zuikaku a bit, if only because she could not bring herself to do the same.

"Now that's more like it. I'm sure those people would appreciate the sentiment," Aoba looked like she was about to burst out laughing over the answer. Still, it seemed she managed to restrain herself.

"And now, let's hear it from Zuikaku. What do you think of the sea?" She turned to Zuikaku, whose face was awash in the strange combination of blushing and the glow of lanterns.

"Uhhh…do I have to answer?" she groaned—it almost sounded like pleading.

"Oh, yes, we had a deal, didn't we?"

"I don't recall actually agreeing, but ah damn it, fine," Zuikaku sighed. "Um, how to put this… I'd say the sea is something I want to protect, I guess?"

"Oh, I see. That's admirable," Aoba nodded; Zuikaku noticed Ohtori doing the same, and suddenly she felt she could be a little bolder.

"Ah, no, it's not just the sea I want to protect. Everything in it too, and also people who depend on it. I will protect them all."

"Ah-ha. Now that's what I want to hear. Spoken like a true KANSEN," Aoba scribbled furiously on her pad. Zuikaku didn't reply because she was distracted by the thumbs-up Ohtori flashed her.

"Well, I guess that's all I'm going to ask," Aoba concluded. "Can I have my camera back so I can get rid of that photo like promised?"

If Aoba didn't have that look of genuine appreciation, Zuikaku would've been reluctant to do so. But Aoba did, and the camera soon changed hands.

A few clicks later, she told the duo that the picture was gone and bid them goodbye.

"I say that's a hell of an answer," Ohtori remarked as Zuikaku emptied her bottle.

"Really now…I thought that was kinda lame," came the prompt dismissal.

"Mine's lamer, by the way."

"You know, I…I don't see it that way."

"I could say the same about yours."

"Ugh, look, let's just drop it, okay? I appreciate it, though."

"Yeah, I agree," Ohtori laughed as he watched the sea. Even today, it was still as peaceful as when he first arrived.

"Beautiful, huh? I can see why you love it," he heard Zuikaku remarking.

"Haha, yeah. That's why I want to thank you," Ohtori told a bewildered Zuikaku.

"...Thank me? For what?"

"What you said earlier."

"Oh," Zuikaku uttered. She already had her fair share of the unexpected that day, but this one was the most surprising of all. And frankly, she believed he was definitely making too big a deal of it. But despite everything, she cannot deny that she was happy to hear it. She had no business being that elated, but she did.

"Seriously, you. But…thank you too, Ohtori."

Ohtori was about to ask what the gratitude was for but decided against it. She was happy, and he figured he must have done something right.

"I'm hungry, by the way. Think Shoukaku still has one of her tempuras lying around?"

Zuikaku grinned, and she turned to him with arms held on her back.

"Want to find out? You better hurry, though. People love them."

"You just want to have some more, huh?"

"Yup. If there's one left, it's going to be mine!"

Following the declaration, Zuikaku turned her back on Ohtori and set off.

He was about to give chase but soon paused to look at the sea for one last time.

"Thank you," he whispered.