POND

Chinatsu started digging through his school bag–the one Miyabi had been carrying. He always kept that thing with him because of all the sports clubs he participated in after school.

“What the hell are you doing?” Miyabi asked.

“Looking for this!” he said, holding up a can of deodorant spray.

“Hmph. I like the way you think,” Miyabi smirked.

Chinatsu turned to Peony, who seemed perplexed by the can.

“Peony, make us a fire!” Chinatsu commanded.

“Um…sure?” Peony’s confusion was apparent, but they immediately pulled out their flint and got to work.

Miyabi handed Peony some paper for kindling while Chinatsu pulled out the pink pig-patterned craft knife from his pocket and started sawing off a thicker segment of ivy.

While the slime moved slowly, it was steadily closing the distance between itself and the group. They had to act quickly before it encroached on their space.

With a whap of the flint and a spark, they had fire!

The slime had begun to squish its way onto the untouched grass, which hissed as it was dissolved underneath.

“Hurry!” Peony shouted.

“I’m trying!” Chinatsu was struggling to saw through the last bit of the branch.

Miyabi leaped up and tugged at the branch, finally breaking it off.

The slime was getting closer.

Chinatsu took one of the discarded knee socks and wrapped it around the end of the stick. He spritzed it with the deodorant and dipped it into the small fire Peony had been nursing. It lit up.

“Miyabi, when I give you the signal, I want you to spray that can for as long as you are able,” Chinatsu said, extending the makeshift torch towards the slime.

Miyabi readied the deodorant.

The slime was beginning to push them into a corner. It was do or die.

Chinatsu closed his eyes and prayed it would work. Miyabi put her arm around his shoulder.

“NOW!”

Miyabi pressed the nozzle on the can and directed the spray towards the torch.

Chinatsu could feel the heat of the aerosol igniting. He opened his eyes to witness the dazzling blue and orange flames shoot out, hitting the slime.

“Keep going!!” he urged.

The slime began to pulsate and contort violently. It recoiled from the fire, but due to its slow nature, it was unable to retreat.

“It’s working!!” Miyabi cheered.

The slime expanded and contracted rapidly. Miyabi held the spray nozzle down with her thumb hard enough to turn the knuckles white. They just needed to hold on a little longer…

Like boiling sugar, the slime began to bubble and pop.

HISS—

SHLORP—

It exploded.

The torch extinguished.

The sword that was suspended in the slime clanged to the ground, the bones clattered as they dropped, and the can rattled as it hit the cobblestones and rolled.

Chinatsu and Miyabi were covered head to toe in the…well…

Peony peered at them from around the corner, having been spared from the aftermath by hiding.

“...Are you okay?”

“Um…I guess so…” Chinatsu said, shaking slime off his hands.

“ARGH!! SOME OF IT GOT IN MY MOUTH!!” Miyabi retched.

Peony inspected them closely.

“Interesting…You're covered in it now, but not dissolving. You two don't even seem to have any burns,” pondered the Elf.

“There are certain types of acids that denature when heated up. This thing must have been made of one of those,” Miyabi explained.

“Huh? Seriously?” Chinatsu wiped slime off his face.

“Don't tell me you didn't know that…”

“Honestly, I just couldn't think of anything else besides fire,” Chinatsu tapped his index fingers together.

“You mean you didn't even know what this thing was made of!? We could have been killed!!” Miyabi tried to lunge at Chinatsu but slipped on a puddle of slime.

“But we weren't! My gamble paid off!!” Chinatsu stood proud, slop dripping from his hair.

Miyabi flung slime at him.

“Now, now! Let's all calm down here and be grateful we made it out of this encounter unscathed,” Peony said, trying to keep Chinatsu from hurling more slime at Miyabi.

Miyabi picked up her sword, shook the slime off it and sheathed it.

Chinatsu smelled the slime in his hair. That smell was so familiar. What was it again…?

“Ah!” Chinatsu exclaimed.

Miyabi and Peony startled.

“What!? What’s wrong!?” Miyabi asked.

“A pool!”

“A pool?”

“The smell of that thing was so familiar, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was before. I just realized it was the smell of a swimming pool,” Chinatsu laughed.

“Honestly, you…” Miyabi trailed off. “Swimming in a pool does sound really nice right now, though.”

“I might know a place, then!” said Peony. “It's off the path to the center, but if you'd like to see it–”

“Please take us there!!” begged the slime-covered teens in unison.

The trio stepped carefully around the puddles of goop as they left the area to find the pond. Peony then took them East within the maze, navigating the turns and forks like someone making a trip to the store.

“You know this place pretty well, huh?” Chinatsu said to Peony.

“I’ve had 50 years to explore, haven’t I?” Peony laughed.

“How have you survived this long?” Miyabi asked.

“I’m not much for fighting, so I’ve survived by hiding and healing myself when injured. Though teaming up with others like yourselves can be helpful. Sometimes people bring food in here with them, and they repay me by feeding me!” Peony held out their hand.

The two realized what the Elf was asking for and started digging through their bags.

“Um, maybe there’s some candy in here…”

“I’m joking! I’m joking! Ahahaha!!” Peony howled with laughter.

“...”

“Anyway, the pond is right around the corner up ahead,” Peony said, running off.

The Elf turned left and disappeared. Chinatsu and Miyabi hurried after.

When they turned the corner, the space within the walls opened up into a large garden filled with shrubbery, trees and flowers. In the center was a perfectly circular pond lined with grasses and covered in water lilies. A huge weeping willow bent over the pond with drooping branches just barely grazing the surface of the water.

“Tah-dah! What do you think!?” Peony asked excitedly.

Chinatsu watched as insects buzzed around the pond and birds swooped down to eat them. There were actual animals here!!

“This is incredible,” Miyabi gasped.

“I was thinking we could camp here tonight as well! But only if you’re fine with that…” Peony looked at the teenagers with pleading eyes.

“Somehow I feel like I can’t say no to that,” Chinatsu laughed.

Perhaps, because the tall walls of the maze would cast enough shadow to block out most of the sun at all times but midday, this space felt so much brighter and hotter. The pond looked so inviting.

Chinatsu removed the bow-tie and started to unbutton the blouse when Miyabi stopped him.

“NO!”

“Huh!? I can’t!? But I’m covered in goo!!”

“Y-you j-just can’t undress!!” she stammered, re-buttoning the blouse.

Chinatsu looked over at Peony, who was getting comfortable under a tree.

“Is it because you think Peony is a boy?” he asked.

“HUH!? Th-that’s not–” Miyabi grew flustered. She grabbed Chinatsu by the shoulders and looked around.

She blushed. It was so odd for Chinatsu to see himself blush. She pouted. That was strange too–did he ever make those kinds of expressions and not realize it? She took a deep breath and exhaled.

“Listen, I haven’t told Peony we switched bodies,” she whispered. “S-so just…You can’t undress while you’re in my body, okay!?”

Chinatsu jerked away from her.

“So I guess I’ll go swimming in my clothes then!?” He stomped towards the pond and grumbled to himself. “Unbelievable…”

Chinatsu kicked off the loafers and stepped on the rocks at the edge of the pond.

“Ouch!”

A new blister had formed and burst. It was bleeding.

As he waded into the pond, the cool water stung the open wound. Wading up to his knees, he began to wash the slime off his arms and legs. He’d figure out how to wash it off the clothes and the hair after cooling off.

Chinatsu noticed some bubbling in the pond about half a meter away from him. As he was getting into the water, he noticed some fish were swimming in the water and assumed the source of the bubbling was likely a turtle.

He leaned over and began splashing his face with water when he realized the bubbles were creating huge ripples on the water’s surface. The fish were gone, but he could have been the one to scare them away, right?

The source of the bubbles was getting closer.

What if it’s one of those huge snapping turtles that can bite people’s toes off!? Or a crocodile!? Or a shark!? Or...or…

His imagination ran wild. Chinatsu started frantically trying to wade back to the shore of the pond when he slipped on a slimy rock and went under. He felt something grab onto his foot. Not the big turtle…!!

Before he could be pulled deeper into the water, he was jerked to the surface by Miyabi, who pulled him to the water’s edge. Chinatsu gasped for air and coughed.

“Chi–”

From a thunderous geyser, a huge mound of living vegetation emerged from the water. Birds flew en masse from the tree near the pond, and the only sound they were left with was their own screams.