Leafy Sea Dragon

The loud instruments and soothing vocals filled my head as I sat at my bedroom desk, watching on my computer how cool “YouMe” is, the band I admire the most.

Especially her. That soft, whispery voice somehow perfectly suits a rock band. Skin as white as snow, short black hair, dark pink eyes, and that warm smile.

Reina Fujimoto… ahh… just as I thought. She’s the best!!!

Finally, after such a long time of not attending their live concerts, my savings are enough to watch their 5th anniversary concert from the front row. Yosh!!

Moment of truth. In five seconds, ticket sales will open. My hand has to be fast enough to get one.

Be strong, my hand. I trust you. You’re competing with 12,000 other viewers.

5… 4… 3… 2… 1!!!

My right hand quickly grabbed the mouse and clicked the search bar. My fingers typed the ticket sales website URL. A drop of sweat fell from my chin.

“YouMe” Concert, click.

Front row, click.

Buy, click.

24,000 yen. Bank payment method, click. I entered my PIN code to confirm the payment.

“Sorry, your PIN is wrong. Please try again.”

What??!! Damn it, hand!!! Okay… calm down.

I pressed the keys more carefully this time.

The loading icon spun in front of my eyes. I swallowed.

Ding!!

“Payment complete.”

Yoshhaaa!!! Front row! I can finally see their performance and faces clearly.

I leaned back in my chair and breathed a sigh of relief.

My name is Naoki Ishikawa, just an ordinary 25-year-old guy who lives in Kanagawa and works as an aquarist at a nearby aquarium.

I love “YouMe.” I first saw the vocalist, Reina, when she was still a street musician. I visited Tokyo six years ago, it was raining. I entered a subway station, and there I heard a clean electric guitar accompanied by a soft voice singing in the cold rain.

I moved closer to see her perform. She was wearing a one-piece dress wrapped in a denim jacket with the sleeves rolled up halfway.

“She’s beautiful,” I thought.

Only a few people stopped to watch her. Most just continued with their business.

After she finished performing, without thinking twice, I asked for her autograph.

“Can I have your autograph?” I said.

“Eh… really? Yes… of course.” She sounded surprised, as if no one had ever asked her before. “If you’re interested in my music, you can listen to my other songs on Spuurify.” Her voice was even softer when she spoke normally.

“Yeah… sure. I’ll definitely listen to your songs.”

Since then, I’ve listened to her music. And as a human being… I can say that I’ve loved her ever since. A year later she become big artist with her band

***

A few months later, in summer, after time tested my patience, this is the day. The day I will watch “YouMe.”

At 5 p.m., after coming back from work, I immediately went to the bathroom and washed up. After my bath, I picked the band T-shirt I bought at the first “YouMe” live concert.

Perfume, check.

Wallet and phone, check.

Penlight, check.

I tried turning on the penlight. Great. It was out of battery. Well, I can just buy batteries at a convenience store later.

After everything was ready, I left the house, locked the door, and walked about five minutes to the bus stop. A few minutes later, the bus arrived, and I sat in the back seat. It took two hours to get to Tokyo.

Two hours passed, and I arrived. I checked the map on my phone and headed to the nearest convenience store, which happened to be on the way to the concert hall.

A few minutes later, I stopped in front of the store to catch my breath. I went inside, bought batteries, and hurried out because the show would start in ten minutes.

While walking quickly, I took out the penlight and tried to insert the new batteries.

“Get away from me… will you!!??”

Before I could finish putting the batteries in, I heard a woman’s voice from an alley to my right. About a hundred meters ahead, I saw a woman wearing a coat, mask, glasses, and a hat. In front of her stood a man, is it her boyfriend? The tension was obvious. She clearly wanted him to leave.

Ehh… what kind of situation is this?

And why are there only the three of us here??

What should I do? I didn’t come here to fight.

Ahh… damn it. Fine. I’ll do it.

I slipped the remaining batteries into my pocket and walked toward them.

“Excuse me… what’s happening here?” I asked awkwardly.

“Don’t bother us. Mind your own business.”

Ehh… how rude.

“But… I think she wants you to leave, sir… right, ma’am?”

“Yes,” she said softly, her head bowed.

See? She’s definitely scared.

“I told you not to bother us. And what’s that? A penlight? Go back to your stupid idol, you stupid weeb.”

Ah… I see. You’re mocking the band I love and the person I love.

I took a deep breath.

“Shut your **** mouth, you stupid ****, im gonna **** your ****, get your **** to your ****, and ***** youuu!!!!”

Shoot!!! It slipped out of my mouth. I’m in danger.

“Hahhh!!??”

Brakkk!!!

A punch landed on my left cheek.

Instinctively, I hit his head with the penlight I was holding.

“Stop!!! Or I’ll call the police!!!” she screamed, holding up her phone.

The fight stopped immediately.

“Tch.” The man left without another word.

I leaned against the wall, processing what had just happened.

“Ma’am… I think you should break up with your boyfriend,” I said, trying to steady my breathing.

“No… he’s not my boyfriend. Anyway… thank you for saving me.”

Ahh… I see. That makes sense. I misunderstood.

“It’s fine.”

“Your cheek is bruised. You should come with me to the hospit-----”

“AHH!!! This is bad!!”

Five minutes left before the gates close. I immediately stood up and ran toward the venue.

“Eh…!! Wait!!” Her voice faded as I ran.

I made it!!!

Gasping, I joined the queue and handed my ticket to the staff member. The look on his face… yeah, I know. Something’s wrong with my face. It still hurts, by the way.

I entered the venue and stood in the front row.

Its so close with the stage!!!

Remembering what just happened… what the hell was that? That was ridiculous. Still… I feel like I’ve heard that woman’s voice before.

But where?

The lights dimmed. The curtain opened. The sound of drums, guitar, and bass filled the venue. The show started.

And there she was.

My idol began to sing. Her presence was dazzling. Her voice was warm, electrifying the entire audience.

“Make some noise!!!”

The crowd roared.

As the song went on, I waved my broken penlight.

Ahh… I’ve always known from the start. i’ve always realize that I can’t get to know her. I can’t ask her out. I can’t even talk to her, let alone make her my girlfriend.

She’s so close…

And yet so far.

***

A few days later, I returned to my normal life. Wake up at 7 a.m. Breakfast with rice and eggs. Take a shower. Get dressed. Need ten-minute bus ride to work.

At 5 p.m., I wiped the tank glass while watching the sea creatures inside. It’s so relaxing.

“Ishikawa-san, you’re still here?”

“Yeah… just a little longer.”

“Then I’ll go home first. Bye. Good work today.”

“Yeah… you too.”

My coworkers here are very friendly. I’m grateful for that.

I heard footsteps behind me. There are still visitors at this hour? Impressive.

“It’s so relaxing, right? Watching fish.”

It is… right? Same thought as me.

“Yes, it is.”

“Whoa… what is that? Is that… seaweed?”

Hehe. Let myself explain to you visitor.

“Oh, it’s great that you noticed that. That’s actually a leafy sea dragon, from the Syngnathidae family, relatives of seahorses and pipefish. It belongs to the genus Phycodurus if you want to know, and basically he is a seaweed horses, also hes good at hiding… ahh… I’m sorry, I’m talking too much.”

“Ahaha… that’s very interesting. Thank you for explaining.”

Wait… wait… wait.

That voice.

No. No way… There's no way.

I slowly turned my head toward her. She turned her head toward me too.

Skin as white as snow. Short black hair. Dark pink eyes. That warm smile.

Reina Fujimoto.

It’s her!!!

The real her!!!

CUTEEEEE!!!!

My mind went blank. I couldn’t speak. My legs felt weak, ready to collapse.

Why is my vision getting darker…?

“Are you alright? Hello?” She waved her hand in front of my face.

Before I realized it, I fell backward.

“Ahh!! Wait,are you okay? Someone help! Someo----,”

Her voice faded as I lost consciousness.

***