Chapter 5: Ocean of Spirit ~ Juanita Kaimana

In the Sunny city of Palma, Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands of Spain, a young girl awakens on a hot Summer morning. After taking a moment to shake off her drowsiness, she sprang out of bed, bright eyed, with an excited grin, immediately starting her day with her stretching exercises.

“Por fin! Today is the day! The big day! The best day! A day that will go down in history as a… a really good day! I’m so excited I could burst with joy!”

Her exuberant exclamations were suddenly interrupted when her nose caught a whiff of a stench. “Oh, dios mio… it seems I’ve already burst with sweat. This Summer has been extra caliente. I have to wash up. Can’t face such a perfect day when I’m so stinky.”

Sliding into the bathroom, as if she were on ice, she cleansed herself with a refreshing shower, only to bump into her father upon leaving.

“Juanita! Mira a dónde vas!!”

“Lo siento, Papa, I was just excited! Todays’ the big day!”

“Big day? The day you finally get a job?”

“Sí! I’ll make you proud, Papa!”

“Veremos…”

“Don’t be so cynical. I’ve been training all year for this!”

“I know you Juanita. No amount of training will whip your perezosa brain into shape.”

“This won’t be like my exams, or work experience, or those job interviews! This is something I truly care about!”

“Sí insistes…”

Ignoring her doubtful father, Juanita returned to her room to dress, before leaping down the stairs in search of breakfast, scaring her little brother.

“Santa cielo, Juanita! You nearly crushed me!” The boy cried.

“Aw, I’m sorry Marco.” She replied, bending down to pat the young boy on the head.

Juanita was a tall, tanned and toned girl, with short turquoise hair and sunglasses, usually perched on her forehead. Her attire consisted of running shorts, a tank top, sweat bands and flip flops. Needless to say, she had an enthusiasm for fitness and was quite athletic.

“But, today is the big day!” She rejoiced.

“Today? You mean that day is today?”

“Sí.”

“You mean we’ll get to see you on TV, live on stream?”

“I suppose so.”

“I’m gonna go tell the others!”

Marco rushed into the living room, where his three younger brothers were gathered around the TV eating breakfast. Rudy the second oldest, Jorge the third oldest and Luis the youngest.

“Guys!” Marco called. “Today’s the day!”

“What day?” Rudy asked.

“THE day!”

“You mean the day Juany’s been doing all that training for?” Jorge yelled.

“Yeah! That day!”

“I don’t get it. What’s today?” Luis asked.

Juanita took the remote, switching from the morning cartoons to the local sports. There was a large group of athletes gathered on the shore of Cala Major Beach, warming up for an event.

“Today is the day of the Water Surfing Qualifiers!” Juanita explained.

“That’s that thing where you slide on your feet, right?” Jorge asked.

“Sí. You apply Agua Magus to the soles of your feet to slide across surfaces, like you’re ice skating and when you use it in the ocean, you can walk on water and surf the waves!”

“That sounds really hard, though.”

“That’s why I’ve been training, tonto.”

“Hoy!” Rudy spoke up. “If this is live and they’re all on the beach, then shouldn’t you be there with them, Juany?”

“Don’t worry. The event doesn’t start until ten.”

“But, it is ten.”

“Qué…?”

Juanita burst through the front door in a desperate rush to the station.

“THIS IS NO LONGER THE BEST DAY!”

She headed to the bus station, not to catch a ride, but to follow the bus route. The distance between Son Espanyolet to Cala Major was roughly two miles and Juanita didn’t have the patience to sit around waiting for public transport. Instead she put her training to the test and gathered water underneath her feet, reducing the friction, allowing her to skate down the road at high speeds.

Like running in rollerblades, once she picked up enough speed and got into a good rhythm, she barely needed to exert any energy and let the momentum of each step carry her forward. Of course she still needed to watch out for pedestrians in her way.

She swerved through crowds of people, as they were left bewildered by her agility. Most citizens only used Water Magus for cleaning as it evaporated far more quickly than regular water. Maintaining Water Magus for extended periods of time took dedicated training that the majority of people simply couldn’t afford.

However, Juanita was obsessed with Water Magus. Ever since she first saw Water Surfing when she was little. Seeing how the athletes skated on the waves, riding and manipulating the ocean with their Magus whilst performing elaborate tricks and stunts.

Their unrestricted movement was invigorating, as they were free to play however they wanted, much like a car randomly pulling out in the middle of the road, while Juanita was gunning it full speed down a hill.

“No! What are you doing!? I need that road for running!”

Unable to decelerate, Juanita thought fast and quickly surrounded herself in a water bubble. As she crashed into the car, the bubble absorbed the impact, rolling over it like a bean bag. It burst upon hitting the ground, with Juanita landing on her butt.

“Dios mio! Are you okay, señorita!?” The driver asked.

Juanita immediately got up, completely unharmed. “No! I lost all my momentum!”

“Momentum?”

“Olvídalo! I don’t have time for this!”

She immediately turned and skated away, leaving the driver dumbfounded.

After kicking into high gear, Juanita arrived at Hotel Cala Major, twenty minutes late for the competition. Hoping she could still make it in time for the opening acrobatics round, she darted to the other side of the hotel, only to find all entrances to the beach blocked by crowds of spectators.

“QUE!? Who put all these people here…!?” She cried, catching her breath from her mad dash across town.

“They’re tourists.” A foreigner in a burgundy uniform answered. “Since the beach is being used for the Water Surfing Qualifiers, the hotel guests were given free seats to the competition, as compensation.”

“Oh, why must this perfectly justified act of kindness hinder my efforts to win a competition I wasn’t even punctual for!?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that and now I have to go.”

Juanita looked over the crowd, still leaning on a wall to conserve her energy. The crowd was far too thick to force her way through, not that she had the strength to even attempt it. Even if she could, the guards watching over the event wouldn’t tolerate such behavior.

That didn’t stop Juanita from hatching an alternate plan. She looked up at the roof of the large hotel and pondered to herself.

“If I can’t get through the crowd then maybe…”

Juanita ran inside the hotel and immediately entered the elevator. Using her time waiting to reach the top floor to gather her strength, she soon exited, only to run into another problem.

“Bloqueado!? No!”

She found the door to the roof locked. She jimmied the handle as much as she could, but it refused to budge.

“No, no, no! How am I supposed to make my big entrance now!?”

“Excuse me, ma’am.” A bellboy at the hotel asked. “Only staff are allowed on the roof.”

“You’re staff, right? Would a handsome young hombré like you open this door for me?”

“No.”

“Please?”

“No.”

“Please!?”

“No.”

“PLEASE!?”

“No! Why do you want to get to the roof so badly!?”

“I can’t reach the beach!”

“Just watch the show from your balcony.”

“No! I need to get on the roof!”

Juanita frantically kicked at the door, hoping to break it open, as the bellboy pulled her back.

“What the hell!? Stop that!”

“But… I’m gonna miss it…” She whined, tears rolling down her face.

“Oh god, please don’t make a scene… if you promise to stop kicking and screaming and crying, I’ll escort you to the roof, okay?”

Juanita immediately perked up, giving the bellboy a peck on the cheek as thanks, embarrassing him even further. “Gracias! You’re the best!”

“Uh… s-sure.”

Once on the roof, Juanita rushed to the edge of the building, looking over the beach where the athletes were wrapping up their Water Magus performance for the judges.

“Oh no…” Juanita moped. “It’s over already?”

The bellboy responded. “They said they’d be done by this afternoon, so they’ve probably finished with the first round.”

“Afternoon? So, there’s still plenty of time.”

Juanita stared at the beach with an intense glare, like she was running calculations in her head.

“What’s with that look on your face?”

“Cómo? Oh! Just reminiscing about my school days.”

“School?”

“Sí. I remember sneaking onto the roof with one of the boys during lunch for a little tiempo de besos.”

“De besos…? Y-you mean…?”

“Oh, just thinking back on how cute and nervous they were! Teasing them until their faces turned bright rojo.”

“You were one of those girls in school?”

“You mean the flirty chica who played with all the cute boys? Maybe… your face certainly looks cute when it’s all rojo. I hope that’s not sunburn.”

“You’re getting a little close there…”

“You don’t sound like you’re from around here. Do you speak Español?”

“N-not much, the hotel needed some native English speakers, for the tourists, that’s how I got here.”

“So, if I said: Querer besar? Would you agree?”

“A-are you coming on to me?”

“Hay algún problema?”

“I could get in trouble if we’re caught on the roof, you know…?”

“Entonces hagámoslo rápido.”

Without warning, Juanita pressed against the unsuspecting bellboy’s chest as their lips met and her tongue dived down his throat.

After making out for a good minute, she pulled away, satisfied with her performance. “I just love the easily flustered ones. So cute.”

“Uh huh…” The bellboy was utterly dazed by the experience.

“Since you were willing to risk your job to bring me here, I figured you deserved a nice recompensa. Te gusta?”

“S-sí…”

She grinned at a job well done. “It’s been so long since I kissed a nice boy like you.”

Juanita backed off and turned to the beach, with newfound spirit and excitement. She hopped onto the ledge of the roof, where one slight slip would result in a ten storey drop.

“Woah! Wait a minute! What the hell are you doing!?”

“Hasta luego!”

Juanita smiled again, before launching herself off the roof, like a torpedo with a torrent of water, leaving the bellboy traumatised.

“That girl’s loco!”

As the contestants went on break after the opening athletics show, the judges gathered together to discuss the competition.

“We’ve got some impressive Magus users this year.” The old black man in the hawaiin shirt commented.

“And it was an honour that you were here to judge them, Mr. Quaero.” The second judge replied.

“Nah, don’t say that. I’m just an old man from a bygone era, watching over the next generation of Magus users, that’s all.”

“It’s a shame we were one short, though.” The third judge lamented.

“Sí. There was one girl who seemed to show much promise. Sad she couldn’t drop in.”

From out of the sky, a large bubble suddenly crashed onto the beach, spraying sand over the judges, like an exploding landmine.

Once the dust settled, they found Juanita, sitting in a sandy hole. Her water bubble burst, as she rubbed her behind.

“Ouch. I landed on my bum.”

“Where in God’s name did you come from!?” Akachi cried.

“Oh, I jumped from the roof.” She pointed, as if what she just said didn’t sound completely insane.

“From the-!? Did you hit your head!?”

“No, I landed on my bum.” She grinned, completely unfazed.

“Perdóneme.” The second judge asked. “But, why did you divebomb onto the beach? We’re in the middle of a sporting event. The beach will be free later this afternoon. We ask you to please have a little patience.”

“Espera un segundo.” She pulled out her entrance form. “Look, I’m a contestant, but I was a little late and couldn’t get in because of the crowd.”

The judges looked over the form.

“Juanita Kaimana?” Akachi read. “You know, Miss Kaimana, you could have just shown this to a guard and they would have escorted you through.”

Juanita just stared blankly. “Huh… I didn’t know that.”

“Well, in any case, you’re too late now.” The third judge asserted. “We’ve already finished judging the Water athletics round, all that’s left is to make preparations for the race.”

“What!? But, that’s not fair! I surfed all the way here! I was hit by a car! I jumped from a ten storey building! Please, dame una oportunidad!”

“Yes, yes, that all sounds very impressive, but you’re still late. We don’t have time to waste on you now.”

“But, what about all the months of training I endured!? Just look at this finely toned body I’ve sculpted! You’re not going to let it go to waste, are you!?” Juanita’s deep, blue eyes glistened and sparkled from her tears.

“Nice try, but I’ve seen the Magus tears trick one too many times to be fooled so easily. You’ll just have to try again next year.”

Juanita pouted, crossing her arms at the man ruining her fun.

“Hold on a second.” Akachi asked. “Where are you from, Juanita?”

“I came from Son Espanyolet in Palma.”

“Geez, that’s pretty far on foot and you say you surfed all the way here?”

“Por supuesto!”

“What?”

“Of course!” Water covered the soles of Juanita’s feet as she twirled and span on the spot, demonstrating her Magus expertise. “Once I build up enough speed, I’m faster than any bus and I don’t have to obey traffic laws.”

“And once you got here, you jumped from the roof of the hotel?”

“Sí. Is that weird?”

“Just a tad, but still impressive.”

“With all due respect, Mr. Quaero.” The second judge interrupted. “She has no way of proving she really surfed all the way here.”

“That’s true, so why don’t we put her Magus to the test?”

“What do you have in mind?”

“Just get Samuel.” The third judge intervened. “If her Magus really is good enough to carry her all the way from Son wherever, with such little effort, then she should have no problem standing up to him.”

“That sounds a bit harsh.” Akachi responded.

“I just want to get this over with quickly, so we can get back to the contestants who were actually punctual.”

Juanita sulked to herself. “Aguafiestas…”

“I heard that. What did you call me?”

“Aguafiestas! It means: killjoy, party pooper, SKELETON AT THE FEAST!”

“SKELETON!? How dare you!”

“Pelea conmigo, hombre esqueleto!”

“What!? I!? Samuel! Hurry up and get over here! I want you to teach this brat a lesson!”

Juanita turned to find a tall, muscular man in a burgundy uniform facing her.

“Is this the girl I’m supposed to test?” Samuel asked.

“She’s already tested my patience. Please, make short work of her.”

Akachi pulled Samuel aside for a moment. “Look, the judge is getting all pissy again. Just fight her like you're scouting her out, I want to see how good her Magus is.”

“Gotcha.”

“What kind of test is this?” Juanita was confused, this didn’t seem like the type of athletic performance she was expecting.

“It’s simple.” Akachi explained. “If your Water Magus is strong enough to carry you all the way across Palma, then you should have no trouble defending yourself against Samuel’s own Water Magus, right?”

“Ooh. That sounds emocionante.” Juanita psyched herself up, ready for the challenge.

“Alright then. All you gotta do is defend yourself against Sam’s attacks. Think you can handle that?”

“No hay problema!”

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Sam announced. “Let’s start with something simple.”

Sam swung his fist down toward Juanita’s face, but she defended by wrapping herself in a protective veil of water. The water ran across her body like a suit of armour and after a few more punches, it was obvious Sam’s attacks were ineffective.

Through the water coating her body, he could still see Juanita grinning to herself.

“Manipulating your Magus into armour is one of the first and most reliable techniques Magus Knights learn and by the look on your face, that was child’s play. In that case, let’s try something a little more advanced.”

Samuel pointed his hand, with all fingers forward, as a torrent of water spiralled forth from his wrist, covering his hand in an aqua drill.

“Caray!” Juanita gasped. “I had no idea you could use water like that.”

“Brace yourself.”

Sam thrusted the spiralling water drill into Juanita’s shoulder, as it slowly tore through her protective veil.

“Basta!” She cried. “You’re splashing water everywhere!”

However, the guard pressed on, drilling dangerously close to her skin.

“What are you doing!? This isn’t fun!”

Soon, the drill broke through her veil and pierced her skin. The moment Juanita felt a prick in her shoulder, she freaked out.

“STOP!”

Her water veil suddenly expanded into a large, bouncy bubble that pushed Samuel back before he could do any more damage, only leaving a tiny red dot on her shoulder that bled slightly.

“What were you thinking!? Eres estúpido!? You could have hurt me! Getting hurt isn’t fun!”

“Oh wow!” Akachi remarked. “A protective bubble? I haven’t seen anything like that in a long time and it doesn’t look like Sam is familiar with it either. This just got interesting.”

“She defended herself with a bubble?” Sam reacted. “Surprising, but nothing I can’t handle. I’ll just pop it.”

Juanita pouted. “I came here for a fun contest, not to get hurt.”

“The Water Surfing Qualifiers are just a ‘fun contest’ to you?” Akachi asked.

“Well, why else would I compete? If I’m not having fun, then why even bother?”

In a huff, Juanita sat in her bubble, crossing her legs and folding her arms in defiance.

“Just try and burst my bubble! Estúpido!” She yelled.

Accepting her challenge, Sam thrusted his water drill into Juanita’s bubble, but to his shock, it didn’t burst, in fact he couldn’t even pierce it. The bubble stretched around the drill, smothering it until Sam couldn’t keep it spinning any longer. The water on his fist dissipated and dripped off his hand.

“Wha-? What happened?”

“That bubble ain’t made of regular water, it’s Magus.” Akachi explained. “It’s expanding and contracting to absorb your attacks. You ain’t gonna pierce it with brute force.”

Sam was slightly embarrassed that he needed help fighting a young girl, but this bubble technique was something he had genuinely never come across before.

“This girl hasn’t budged an inch.” He thought. “But, she can’t stay in there forever, or she’d suffocate. She must be letting oxygen in somehow.”

With Juanita refusing to move, Sam could freely examine the bubble and quickly found that it wasn’t a complete sphere. At the bottom, where the bubble should be meeting the sand, there was a small gap, allowing air inside.

Taking advantage of this discovery, Sam slammed his hand into the ground, as a torrent of water burst from underneath Juanita.

“Sloppy!” Sam taunted. “You really thought I wouldn’t notice the gap in your defense? If you don’t pop that bubble now, you’ll drown in that little water balloon.”

Now, Juanita was mad. Getting injured, then criticised, and now drowned in water. None of this was very fun. She closed the gap underneath her bubble, sealing herself inside the ball of water, with no oxygen.

“Wh-what is she doing?” Sam questioned.

The bubble suddenly burst, but the water inside remained still, like a sphere of liquid floating around Juanita’s body. The water created from Sam’s Magus was now under her control.

“Oh, crap. I didn’t think she’d figure out how to do that.”

Juanita pointed her fist forward as the sphere of water twisted around it, forming a large, spiralling drill. The glare on her face confirmed that this attack was going to be especially painful.

She charged forth and thrusted the water drill into Sam’s chest. Using his own protective water veil, the attack still threw Sam off his feet as the drill tore into his defenses before bursting, raining droplets of Magus all over the beach.

The two combatants were left gasping, her drill may not have been as sharp or precise, but it hit Sam like a truck as he stood, shaken from the blow.

“Alright! That’s enough, Miss Kaimana!” Akachi yelled. “You qualify already!”

Juanita’s serious glare immediately turned into a joyous smile. “I did!?”

“You also scared the hell out of half the contestants.”

“I… really… made it…?”

“You okay?”

Juanita fell to the ground, exhausted. “Sí… I’m… just gonna… lie here… until you’re ready… ”

After half an hour of preparations flew by, the contestants all lined up across the shore of the beach, ready for the big race.

“Are you still lying there?” The third judge asked.

“The cool sand and warm rays of the Sun have left me muy relajado…” Juanita explained.

“Well, get up. The race is starting in one minute.”

“Muy bien!” She jumped to her feet and immediately started her stretching exercises.

“Oh and take this.” The judge handed her a large sticker with the number 69 on it. “This will be your race number.”

“Oh my… how lewd.”

“Yes, I also laughed at the funny sex number when I was a child. Now, just stick it to your shirt and head to your position.”

“It looks a little cheap.”

“W-will you just go to your starting position already!”

“Entendido, gracias… still looks muy barato…”

“That better not have been an insult! Any more of your lip and I’ll disqualify you right now.”

“Okay…” Juanita headed to her position, but not before muttering under her breath. “Aguafiestas…”

With the racers ready and waiting, the judge explained the rules of the contest.

“This race will be a test of endurance and willpower. You will surf from the shore of Cala Major beach into the middle of the ocean, where a cruise ship will be waiting to pick up those of you who manage to cross the finish line. Those who don’t will have to float back to shore and will not qualify for the pro league.

The full length of the track is ten miles and no attacking the other competitors. No tidal waves, tsunamis or whirlpools. Your Magus is to be used for movement only.”

“T-ten miles!?” Juanita wasn’t expecting to surf such a far distance, she was exhausted after travelling the two miles just to get here. “I don’t remember the race being that long. This doesn’t sound fun at all.”

“On your marks! Get set! Surf!”

Thinking she was clever, Juanita rocketed out of the start with a burst of water from her feet, shooting herself like a torpedo. Unfortunately, every other contestant did the same thing.

Realising the competition was more fierce than she anticipated, she kept her water jets blasting at full throttle and flew ahead of the herd, launching herself into first place.

“Wow, this was so much easier than I thought!”

Thanks to her trick, Juanita had already covered the first mile in record time and once she was comfortably ahead, she eased up on the jets and rode the waves at a more comfortable pace.

“I thought this would be muy difícil, but they’re all eating waves. All I have to do now is ride the momentum of my jets and I’ll coast across the finish line, without even trying.”

As she cruised along the ocean surface, without a care, her eyes suddenly became heavy and her vision blurred for a second.

“Woah… this is so easy I’m starting to get sleepy. Necesita mantenerse enfocado, if I get too lax now, I might lose from sheer boredom.”

With the majority of the race being a pleasant and peaceful ride, Juanita felt a disturbance in the water, something was getting closer. Looking back, she saw a man catching up to her, but not just one, soon more competitors closed in. Her comfortable lead was about to be challenged.

“Qué? How are they catching up? Am I not going fast enough? Guess I’ll speed up.”

Not wanting to lose her comfortable lead, Juanita boosted herself forward with another jet of water, skating across the waves to pull ahead of the herd again.

However, it wasn’t until she entered the last quarter that the true test of endurance began. Suddenly, she could hear what sounded like jet-skis rushing along the water’s surface. The other contestants were suddenly barrelling toward her at full speed.

“No, no, no! They’re coming! No more relaxing! No more pleasant sails! If I want to win, I’ll have to ponerse serio!”

Juanita lifted the soles of her feet off the water, ready to fire her water jets one more time, to bolt to the finish, but they petered out almost immediately.

“What!? There’s no oomph! Where’s the oomph!?”

Soon a handful of racers passed her by, as the waves they left behind threw Juanita off balance, ruining her mood.

“No! Why!? Stop it!” She reached out her hands as she desperately flailed to build any kind of speed, but her water jets were all dried up.

“Wait… no…”

As more contestants blew past her, Juanita’s vision blurred and her muscles tensed. She hadn’t noticed before, given the relaxing lead she built herself, but now that she was forced to exert the extra effort, the fatigue hit her like a brick wall. The more she pushed the harder it was to stay conscious, until eventually collapsing on the water, flat on her face.

Thankfully, she managed to not pass out, as her Magus kept her floating on the water’s surface, but that didn’t stop her from being absolutely livid with herself. Flailing her arms and legs, pounding at the water like a spoiled child.

After wasting what little energy she had left on a temper tantrum, she laid on her back in the middle of the ocean, now dead last. Juanita was so irritated she didn’t even bother to finish, instead choosing to drift back to the shores of Cala Major, sulking the whole way.

After a couple hours of self reflection and pity, Juanita finally washed up on the shore of the beach, still irritated beyond belief.

“What the? What are you doing back here?” Akachi asked, looking down at the sprawled out Spaniard. Her angry face contorted into a saddened mess, as she pounded her fists into the sand and cried incessantly.

“¡Metí la pata!”

“What?”

“I screwed it all up!”

“Oh… wait, how?”

“I… I used up all my stamina at the beginning and… and got tired and… and fell into last place!”

“Oh, Jesus… didn’t anybody teach you how to pace yourself?”

“But, going all out at the start was way more fun…”

“Yeah, if embarrassing yourself is your idea of fun. You can’t just live in the moment all the time! Don’t you ever think ahead?”

“But, that’s hard…”

“Well, why didn’t you finish the race? It didn’t matter where you placed, they still would have let you onboard. You’re missing out on the boat party. You can hang out with all the other athletes instead of being stuck here.”

“No… I’m too deprimido…”

“What?”

“Depressed…”

“Oh, for… well, at least get up off the ground. Look at you, you’re covered in sand.”

After having a good cry, Juanita sat up on the shore, as her Water Magus washed the sand from her hair and back.

“Hey, aren’t you a judge?” She asked.

“Glad you noticed.”

“Why aren’t you on the boat?”

“Someone had to stay behind and clean up, besides I get seasick too easily.”

“Why is an old man like you a judge anyway? You don’t look that important.”

“What!? You don’t know who I am!?”

Juanita shook her head, completely clueless.

“I’m Akachi Quaero! I was one of the leading researchers in Magus! I’ve been involved in this shit since before you were born! I’m older than the sport of Water Surfing itself!”

“Oh… bueno.”

“That’s all!? Bueno!? I-! Goddamn kids, don’t know anything these days…”

Juanita laughed. “You’re more upset than me!”

“Well, at least you’ve cheered up.”

Finally standing back up, Juanita looked over the ocean as she played with the water around her finger, whisking it through the air forming shapes like a sparkler on bonfire night.

“Un ano entero…” She muttered.

“What?”

“A whole year…”

“Oh, yeah… Once you miss your chance, there’s not much you can do, but wait ‘til next year.”

“What am I supposed to do until then?”

“Train harder, I guess.”

“No!” Juanita’s chirpiness suddenly vanished as her delicate fingers turned into a passionate fist. “I can’t afford to waste another year training! My Papa wouldn’t allow it! What would he think if I came home and I didn’t even finish the race!? He’ll be so disappointed. My brothers will be so sad. I can’t go home a failure!”

“If you just got on the boat, you may still have qualified based on your performance alone. You’re not exactly lacking in the power department, that’s for damn sure.”

“AH! Why didn’t I just finish the stupid race!? I’m such an idiota!”

“Hey, I actually understood that one. Welp, good luck to you, idiota.”

“No!”

As Akachi attempted to leave, Juanita dived at his legs, holding him in place.

“The hell are you doing, woman!?”

“You can’t just leave! There must be something I can do! Put me on the bench! Put me in training! Give me a job as a water girl! Anything!”

“A job!? Do I look like a social wor- wait a minute.”

That’s when the thought crossed Akachi’s mind. An idea that had been brewing in the back of his head for quite some time now, but could never find the right people for.

“You looking for a job?” He asked.

“Sí! I want to use my Water Magus, not keep it tucked away while I work on some assembly line or worse… retail!”

“Well, how about you come back to my hotel room and we’ll make a deal?”

“Ew! De eso nada, monada! I only like cute, innocent boys! You’re way too old and smelly.”

“That’s not what I meant! Fine! Wait here and I’ll get you a contract!”

“Contract?”

As instructed, Juanita waited on the beach, until Akachi returned, handing her a slip of paper.

“Is this the contract?”

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about it, so I had one prepared, just in case I- HEY!”

Juanita was far too busy folding the contract into a paper plane to pay any attention to her potential employer’s explanations.

“Give me that! What are you, six!?”

“I’m just young at heart!”

“This is an employment contract for a Magus Defense Agency I’m setting up.”

“Defense? What are you defending?”

“Nexus City. The city where Magus was born. The place has been overrun with crime these past few years and if something isn’t done soon, it’s gonna reach a point where the problem can’t be fixed any more and who knows what the hell will happen to the city then.”

“So, you want me to fight?”

“Yeah. Like you did with Sam earlier, but against real criminals.”

“Like a superhero!?”

“Well, your Magus is certainly well above average, so-”

“Muy bien! That sounds much more fun than Water Surfing!”

“So, you’ll do it?”

“Sure, where is this Nexus?”

“Florida, in the good ol’ US of A.”

“Oh… I don’t know if my Papa would want me to move that far away from home.”

“Well, I’ll still be here tomorrow, so why don’t you go home and talk to him about it?”

“Sí. I will. Gracias.”

That evening, Juanita waited in the living room, waiting for her father to return home, employment slip in hand, anxious as to how he would react.

“There you are Juanita.” Her father exclaimed as he entered the room. “The puppy dog look, again? I’m guessing things didn’t work out the way you thought they would… again.”

“N-no. Not exactly…” She looked away in embarrassment.

“Oh, Juanita. When are you going to learn that life isn’t all fun and games? If you don’t take things seriously you’ll only be setting yourself up for disaster.

You have to stop listening to your impulses and think about what you’re going to do in the long term. Find something you’re good at and find a way to make a living from it, instead of wasting time on training for contests you’re too impatient to finish.”

“But, Papa! I really wanted to become a world class Water Surfer, I just didn’t realise how tough the competition actually was, even after all that training.”

“I gave you your chance Juanita, but now it’s time for you to find a real job. Something more feasible and secure, for your future, instead of wasting time with this Magus nonsense.”

“Magus is not nonsense!”

Her father was taken aback by his daughter’s sudden outburst. Juanita almost never yelled like this.

“My Magus makes me feel free! Makes me feel accomplished! It makes me happy!

I did not train for a year, just because I felt like it! I did it because I wanted to be the best! I wanted to show you and those judges just how strong my Magus was! That I’m not deluded!

But, when I got to the end of the race and realised I reached my limit, losing because of one stupid mistake… I couldn’t stand it. I hated myself for it. To put in all that work only to return home empty handed, admitting that you’re a failure… it’s the worst feeling in the whole world…”

“I… I’m sorry, Juanita. I’m just worried about your future. Putting in all that time training something you may never use, it’s just so risky.”

“It’s okay, Papa. That’s why I wanted to show you this.”

She handed her father the employment contract.

“Magus Defense Agency?” He questioned.

“One of the judges was so impressed with my Magus he offered me a job. I’ll use my skills to defend the city from bad guys and help the people.”

“But, Palma’s crime isn’t that severe, is it?”

“Oh… no… that’s why it's actually in Nexus City, in America.”

“America!?”

“Is that bad!?”

“No, I just… I wanted you to get a job, but I didn’t want you to leave.”

“I’m not so sure myself… I’ll stay if you think that’s best.”

“No! Juanita, you take this chance!”

“But, I thought you didn’t want me doing anything risky?”

“Forget about that. You trained your Magus for a year, hell you’ve been training it your whole life, and now you have an opportunity to make real use of it. Not only that, it’s a chance for you to experience the world on your own, without me breathing down your neck. You’ll be free to live your own life.”

“But, what about you and the boys? I’ll miss you… and Mama…”

“If Mama was still here, she’d be packing your bags already! Don’t worry about us! Go out there and make us proud, Juanita!”

“You mean it!? I can go!?”

“Yes! Show them what a Kaimana can do!”

“Okay! I’ll do it! I swear, I won’t let you down! I won’t get lazy! I’ll show you just how strong your daughter really is! I promise!”

“The only thing you need to promise is that you’ll stay safe.”

“I will, Papa…”