The throne.

"What..."

"Thats true. And sorry for that rudeness earlier. Fear not. I will not kill you, for you are the person my daughter chose for herself." I was not understanding a bit what he was talking about. Airi-chan cannot be his daughter, no matter what! What is he talking about. He is a dead man. "So without delay, I will answer your questions."

I could see a throne emerging from the shadows from my right. That thing slowly took its time and walked towards it.

"Fishes are the animals of the seas. The sea is vast, it has millions of fishes. Those fishes bring colour, bring life to the whole sea. They have emotions, much like your kind. But what has your kind did for the past— who knows how many— years? Kill them, torture them, rip away the mother from the school of baby fishes, kill them in front of their eyes, set traps to trick them. What did your kind not do to them?"

He sat on the throne. I had no answer to the questions he asked. All of them were true.

"For millions of years, their collective negative emotions built up so much that it needs a vessel for it to be kept, and what vessel is better than a drowning human? The fishes nominated me as the Tsurihito, they give me the title of the fish king. Thats all."

Tsurihito was real.

"I was nominated as the vessel of the sea last year by the fishes. I don't have any memories of my past before drowning. Last year on the blood moon, I chose her mother as my bride. This year, when my underlings found her, somehow I could recognise her as my daughter."

I could feel that he calmed down a bit.

"Fear not. I will not make her my bride. I have at least that much pride in me. I will spare you too, I don't want my daughter to hate me. Take her with you, she doesn't belong in such a creepy place." He looked straight into my soul. "I hope you take good care of her."

"Yes I do!", I said on instinct. I couldn't say any words before, but now, I could say those words like an idiot, in front of someone, no- something straight out of a movie.

"You truly are a funny man. I have work to do, so I will kindly take my leave.", he disappeared into the shadows, without any trace.

He was truly terrifying, even if I could feel my legs regaining its strength, I could not stand up. Airi-chan was still hanging there, without any clothing in this cold weather. I blinked for a second, but in that blink, the log was gone. Airi-chan fell from the skies.

I wrapped my hands around herself mid air. She might've been injured if I haven't caught her! What the heck is that bastard thinking?? But now is not the time for that. Her body is freezing cold. It felt like a dead body... I hurriedly checked her breathing.

"She is breathing...", I cried. Tears were streaming down my eyes like a waterfall. She was alive... after all this time I have thought she was dead.

"Why are you crying, Katsuhito-kun?", she placed her cold hand on my cheeks. It was the same grey eyes I recognised. She was the same Airi-chan.

I wrapped my shirt around her. "Take this, I am fine! But we have to leave."

What an idiot am I, she must not have eaten for two or three days. She can't run in this condition. I placed my hands under her and picked her up. "We are going." She didn't look like someone who didn't eat. Her face wasn't filled with fatigue.

I ran in the same direction that I had come from. I somehow could remember the route. I was sure I would forget it. This is a good thing.

While running, I couldn't help but sneak a peek at her. Everytime, she was looking at me with a smile. Her grey eyes were beautiful, her white hair like silk.

I could see the speedboat I once came from. It was still there. I placed Airi-chan in her seat and redirected the boat outside, before hopping on and turning on the engine.

"Hold on tight, Airi-chan.", I told her.

"Aren't you cold?"

"Nope. My body is filled with heat the moment I saw you!"

She giggled. Ahhh, how much I missed these giggling faces.

"We are going now!", I pressed hard on the gas, throwing us forward at high speeds.