Cloudy with a Chance Pt. 2

There have been so many moments when I questioned my existence, and it was only after I met the girls that the number of said moments increased tenfold. Here I am, standing in the center of a crowded building. On the wall was a poster of a fish. On another wall was another poster of a fish. There were even signs in the shape of a fish.

Fish... They're everywhere, even in my mind. This is what I skipped my last two classes for. To go look at fish.

What is the meaning of 'fish?' Is fish perhaps... the answer to life itself?

Okay, what... What is even going through my head right now? I'm tweaking hard.

"The... aquarium...?" I mumbled. "Seriously?"

Lana skipped over and bumped into me for no reason. "Yeah! I've always wanted to go to one, but Poseidon never let us, claiming that we'd be 'no better than the bastards who hunt down his children.' Now that we're all off doing our own thing, we decided to go! Eee~ Isn't this exciting?!"

"What's so exciting about a bunch of fish?"

"You're kidding, right?! It's a chance to learn about what goes on in Old Man Bubbles's domain without actually having to go under the ocean. The last time we visited his palace, we didn't know how to swim, so we were restricted to riding chariots pulled by hippocampi. Plus, the water messed up our hair for a while, so we said never again!"

"...Old Man Bubbles?"

"Yeah. That's the nickname we gave Poseidon. You like it?"

"It's pretty good, but... isn't it blasphemous?"

"Ehh~ What's that guy gonna do to me?"

From what I know, the Big Three are among the most powerful gods. Poseidon is one of them, so if Lana is so confident that she can take him, just how powerful is she?

"Woo~! Aquarium time!" Lana exclaimed as she ran up ahead.

I let out a sigh as Alice approached me from behind.

"Relax a bit, Aikami," Alice smiled. "As Lana said, it's not every day we get to visit a place like this, so we want to take advantage while we can."

"I get that, but why during a school day? We could've gone on a weekend, or even after school."

"We could've, but why wait when we can do it now?"

With a sigh, I rubbed the back of my neck. "Well, there goes the chemistry quiz next week."

"Oh, quit being such a killjoy. If you really care that much, we'll gather the lecture material for today and give it to you later."

"Huh? How are you gonna do that?"

"Remember Athena? We'll just have her dig it up" 

"...You say it so casually."

"Heh. Anyway, let's catch up. Chloe and Lana have already gone ahead while you were busy sulking."

Alice and I approached the front desk and received our wristbands for entry. Despite my earlier hesitation, our first stop honestly blew me away.

We stepped into a vast, dimly lit corridor made entirely of glass. The walls curved upward from the floor, arcing over our heads in a seamless, dome-like tunnel before swooping back down on the other side. The only thing not made of glass was the soft, carpeted floor beneath our feet. It felt like the entire space was illuminated solely by the glow of the tank itself.

And the real highlight? The hundreds of unique fish gliding gracefully around us in shimmering schools. It was mesmerizing—like stepping into an underwater dreamscape.

"Hm… For someone who was so skeptical just a few minutes ago, it looks like your eyes have already been stolen, Aikami," Alice said with a light giggle.

"What are you even talking about?" I mumbled. "I'm already here—partially against my will, I'll remind you—and it's not like there's much to do besides look around."

"Indeed," she replied with a knowing smile, "but it seems like you're doing far more than simply indulging. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're actually enjoying yourself."

"It's just a matter of choosing the better option in a bad situation. I could stress about classes, which are already beyond my control right now… or I could just take in what's in front of me. Besides, I'm not the kind of person to ignore a beautiful sight when I see one."

"No, you most certainly are not."

Suddenly, she stepped in front of me and leaned in, her face drawing close enough to cut off my breath for a second. If I hadn't caught myself, I don't even know what would've happened.

"What do you think?" she asked. 

"Of what...?"

"Of me. I put in a bit of effort to style myself today. So?"

"T-this again? You could just read my thoughts and find out,” I muttered under my breath.

"I could, but where's the fun in that?" She took a step closer. "I want to hear you say it.”

Seriously, what is that? Why does she always make me say these things out loud? It's not the first time, but somehow it's still just as embarrassing.

"You… look beautiful today," I said, doing my best to keep my voice steady.

Her smile widened instantly. "Hehe~ Cute."

"W-wha—?"

"Oh? Did you want me to say it back?" she teased, tilting her head. "Because unlike you, Aikami, I don’t have a problem voicing what I really think."

She leaned in again—too close. So close, in fact, I could feel her breath brushing against my ear.

"You… are… cute~" She spun on her heel and skipped away with a gleam in her eyes. "Keep up, Aikami."

I stood there, stunned.

Again, I can't tell if she's being serious or just messing with me. Don't get me wrong, I want to believe she meant it—but why would she? That'd be ridiculous, wouldn't it?

Then again… I'd probably be a delusional idiot to believe it. Yet, here I am, caught in her little game again. It's a lose-lose situation, and she knows it.

I took a moment to collect myself, letting deep breaths in and out. Calm down, Aikami. This is nothing to worry about. That's just Alice being Alice. Alright... I think I'm good now.

When I took a single step forward, a subtle flicker caught my eyes. I turned to see a random fish swimming up to greet me from the other side of the glass. Its scales shined like a prismatic gem, and its jeweled eyes were amazingly radiant. I've never seen a fish like this before. Whatever it is, it seems rare.

Right as I was about to walk away, a small tap rang in my ears. I tilted back at the fish, who was still hovering there, watching me. Suddenly, it smiled, a shiny flash emitting from its teeth as it winked at me.

"Hey~ Waddup, mortal?"

I paused for a moment. To my surprise, I didn't really have a reaction. Maybe I've become numb to all the mystical stuff that's been happening to me lately. Yeah, that has to be it.

The hell?! No, I am most definitely not! Did that fish just talk?! And smile?! And wink?! And it has human teeth! They're in better shape than mine! What kind of fish has perfect human teeth that shine?!

I've been way too complacent—calling these things normal, but this? This isn't normal! Not one bit!

"Oh, calm your ass down, mortal. I ain't gonna hurt you," the fish said again with an informal accent. Now that I was rationalizing this situation, I noticed that he had an... uncannily deep voice.

"Are you... in my mind...?" I mumbled.

"You could say that. The name's Poseidon! Ruler of the sea and friends with all who dwell within."

I felt a crack splitting my skull apart.

"Po... Poseidon...?" I gulped.

"Yeah, that's it. Say it one more time."

"Poseidon..."

"Oho~ Yeah. Yeah, that's good. Anyway, looks like Aphrodite wasn't lying, huh? A mortal is hanging around with the fates, and they just so happen to be here."

"Um..."

"It's chill, don't worry. I ain't tripping over a mortal. The problem here is those witches... I told them to stay clear of aquariums, yet what do I find them doing?"

He paused and looked at me as if expecting an answer.

"Um... V-visiting an aquarium?" I mumbled.

"Yeah!" he bellowed. "They're visiting an aquarium! A sea prison! The wardens who've imprisoned my children! The audacity is insane! I can literally feel it in these gills of mine!"

"...Uh-huh..."

I'm starting to wonder if the gods are as big and bad as those mythological tales portray them as, because this... is a far cry from the guy who sank an entire island nation.

"Anyway, kid. I, Poseidon, the great ruler of the sea, have a mission for you. I need you—"

"Piss off, Old Man Bubbles!"

"Agh?!"

From downtown, a cyan-colored fish came barreling through the open water, tackling Poseidon a couple of inches. With their grunts and battle cries fully audible in my head, they began wrestling, fins against fins.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that?!" Poseidon shouted.

"I'll call you whatever the hell I want, Old Man Bubbles!" Lana clapped back. "What were you talking about with Aikami?!"

"Whatever the hell I wanna talk about, you witch!"

"Witch?!"

Am I... seriously watching two fish duking it out right now?