Temoshí stood tall on the boat, gripping a fishing rod like a warrior with a sword, ready to conquer the sea. "Alright, fishies, get ready to meet your fate! I'm coming for you!" he shouted, tugging the rod with all his might, his body wobbling as he tried to maintain balance. He was dressed in simple swim trunks, shirtless, with his tongue sticking out in pure concentration as if this were a life-or-death battle.
Venos, watching this disaster unfold, shook his head and swiftly grabbed the rod out of Temoshí's hands just as he lost his footing and plopped onto his backside. "You absolute moron!" Venos yelled, rolling his eyes. "That's not how you use a rod!"
Temoshí glared up at him from the deck, still stunned. "Hey! You scared the fish away, old man!"
Venos sighed, taking a deep breath and tossing the rod back in the water. "First of all, you don't treat a fishing rod like a weapon, kid. You need patience. You reel it in slowly... gently... like you're wooing the fish, not yelling at it to come here and get eaten." He gave Temoshí a patronizing look. "You gotta be smooth, like this." Venos effortlessly cast the line again, looking calm and composed as if he was born with a fishing rod in hand.
Temoshí stared in disbelief. "I swear, I thought fishing was just a matter of brute force."
"And... the hell does 'wooing a fish' even mean?!" Temoshí asked, clearly confused and irritated. "Am I supposed to serenade it? 'Fishy, you light up my life!'?" He gestured dramatically to the ocean, mocking the whole idea.
Venos grinned, unbothered. "It's like wooing Chiaki here," he said casually, motioning toward her. "Charm it with your best moves, make it feel special. The fish will come right to you."
Chiaki blinked, completely puzzled. "Wait, you're comparing me to a fish now?" She put her hands on her hips, clearly unimpressed. "I don't know whether to be flattered or offended."
Temoshí, still taking this way too seriously, rubbed his hands together. "Oh, I get it now! If I can woo a fish like I woo you, Chiaki, this'll be easy. I'll throw in a few compliments—'Hey, fish, you've got beautiful scales, want to swim with me sometime?'"
Chiaki just stared at him, her expression flat. "Good luck with that, buddy. If that's your best pick-up line, I think you're better off sticking to fishing."
Venos laughed, clearly enjoying the banter. "Maybe start with 'How you doin', fish?' before trying anything else with Chiaki."
"What? I don't care about any of that," Temoshí scoffed. "I usually just pull up some fish people, tell Ralphie to roast 'em, and boom, food's ready. Fishing with a rod? It's like trying to talk to Tarot—he's too thick to even argue back." He crossed his arms, proudly standing by his "efficient" method.
Venos chuckled, shaking his head. "You sure know how to keep an old man entertained."
Just then, a blue, off-the-shoulder top flew straight at Temoshí's face, causing him to stumble back, blinded. "What the hell is this?!" he groaned, pulling the shirt off his face, only to hear a loud splash.
As his vision cleared, he looked down to find Chiaki floating in the water with a mischievous grin. "Oops! Sorry, didn't mean to blind you. Just wanted to cool off. Too bad you can't join me, huh? A gorgeous, young girl like me in a bikini, swimming right next to you. Sounds like an adventure, doesn't it?"
Temoshí leaned over the boat, acting unimpressed. "Real funny, Chiaki. And honestly, I wouldn't care if that were the case. I can still see you just fine from here. Your little tricks don't work on me." He tried to act nonchalant, but Chiaki had other plans.
"Is that so?" She grinned, giving her bikini straps a playful tug, inching them down just a little. "What about now? Care for a peek?"
Temoshí's face turned bright red. "Hell no! I'm not falling for that!" he blurted, turning away quickly, hands clamped firmly over his eyes, only to sneak a tiny peek from the corner.
"Uh-huh. Why are you looking then?" Chiaki smirked, floating just out of his reach.
Temoshí sighed and turned around completely, facing the boat's railing. "Forget about it. I'm gonna eat," he muttered, trying desperately to avoid eye contact.
Several minutes later, Chiaki climbed back onto the boat, dripping wet. She grabbed an icicle from a nearby crate and started licking it while sprawling out on the deck. Meanwhile, Temoshí was stretching and throwing on some warmer clothes. "Hey, how much longer until we hit Lyvoria Crest? We've been out here for ages," he asked, glancing over at Chiaki as she relaxed with her popsicle, her attention half on their conversation.
"Couple more hours, tops. We're not too far off," she replied lazily, still working on her treat. "But if you're tired, you can take a nap. I'll handle the steering."
Temoshí didn't argue. He didn't have the energy to debate and figured a nap wouldn't hurt, so he headed to the main cabin to crash on the bed.
"He's so lazy..." Chiaki muttered under her breath, dragging her tongue up to the top of her popsicle. But before she could relax, a voice suddenly interrupted.
"Ooh, look at that tongue action!" Fioren said with a sly grin, her voice dripping with exaggeration. "You're making that popsicle look like a whole different level of... art."
Chiaki yelped and leapt off her seat, spinning around to see Fioren standing there, grinning wildly with her sparkling teeth.
"Fioren?! You followed us?!" Chiaki exclaimed, her eyes wide with surprise.
Fioren just flashed her a thumbs-up. "Yup, sure did. And guess what? Razor's here too!"
At that, Razor emerged from behind Fioren, her tentacle arms slithering around Chiaki's waist and hips in a playful, if somewhat unsettling, embrace. "How ya doin', little chica?! Gotta admit, that's a killer swimsuit you got there!" she said, her voice bubbling with manic enthusiasm.
"Let me go! Your arms are too gooey!" Chiaki yelped, squirming as Razor finally released her, grinning widely with those sharp teeth gleaming in the sunlight. Venos, unbothered, kept steering the boat like nothing had happened.
"Why the hell are you even here?!" Chiaki demanded, glancing between Razor and Fioren, both standing there with their usual, chaotic energy.
Razor tilted her head, a wicked grin spreading across her face. "Oh, come on, sweetheart, a little company never hurt nobody. Besides, when you've got two young bucks—one with a full set of muscles and the other with a little more... charm—well, let's just say things could get interestin'. Gotta spice up the journey a bit, ya know?" She laughed manically, her voice like a cracked punk record—raspy, wild, and totally unapologetic.
"You sound so mean, Razor. Can't you learn some manners?" Fioren sighed, clearly losing patience. Razor, however, didn't seem to care at all. She spun in a dizzying, erratic circle, her tentacles whipping around like an uncontrolled storm.
"Oh, I love it!" Razor squealed, practically bouncing with excitement. "You know what they say—the more chaos, the better! Rules? Pfft, who needs 'em when you can stir up pure madness?!" She spun in circles, her tentacles flailing as if they were extensions of her wild energy. "I mean, come on! Who wouldn't want to just rip everything apart, throw it up in the air, and see what happens?! It's like living on the edge, and I'm absolutely loving it!" Her eyes sparkled with insanity as her grin stretched wider. "You wanna join in, Chiaki? Let's see what you're made of!" She laughed, the sound high-pitched and nearly unhinged, her body vibrating with the thrill of her own madness.
Razor's laugh echoed in the air like nails on a chalkboard, her whole body vibrating with frantic excitement as she spun around again. Chiaki, thoroughly unnerved now, took another slow step back, her instincts screaming to get as far away from this lunatic as possible.
Fioren let out a long sigh, her expression one of resigned patience as she shot an apologetic glance at Chiaki. Chiaki, however, couldn't help but recall her earlier experiences with Razor at Cascade Cradle. "I can't believe I'm stuck with a psycho octopus girl on my team," she muttered, her hand pressed to her forehead in disbelief. "This is just gonna be one big headache."
Razor, seemingly oblivious to the tension, bounced on her feet, her excitement palpable. "Yup, you sure are, baby! I'm a total freakshow! A certified madwoman! Gotta let it all out, y'know?" Her voice became almost sing-song as her tentacles flailed about, clearly eager for something to explode. "Like, I wanna rip something apart and feel the rush! Maybe I'll skin someone—oh, that would really get me going!" She giggled wildly, her eyes twinkling with a manic thrill. "Yeah, keep sailin', folks! Let's make this whole trip a wild ride of chaos, woohoo! You feel that? Let's just go full-on crazy!" She vibrated with a charged, unpredictable energy, her manic laughter echoing as she practically bounced from one foot to the other.
"Maybe I'll see you and Temoshí roll in bed together!" Razor exclaimed, her voice dripping with excitement. "Ohhh, now that would be a freakshow, baby! I'd be right there, watching it all go down, making sure it gets messier than a mud fight! Hell yeah, Chiaki, you gotta let yourself go wild with him! Get all over that, don't hold back, show him what you've got! Let's see if he can handle you, babe! Maybe you'll turn him into putty, or hell, maybe you'll have him beggin' for it! Ooh, I can already picture it—steamy, wild, and chaotic!" Razor spun around again, laughing hysterically as her tentacles whipped through the air like she was about to explode with excitement. "Can you imagine it?! You, all tangled up with him, goin' at it like animals! That's the kinda ride I'm talking about, Chiaki! Forget about control, forget about rules—just let it all out, baby!"
She practically bounced on her heels, eyes gleaming with insanity. "I'd be there, watchin', making sure you both have a blast—who knows, maybe I'll even join in, heh!" Razor let out a maniacal laugh, her body shaking with exhilaration as she waited for Chiaki's reaction.
Chiaki, breathing in deeply to remain calm, sighed with a hint of disbelief. "She's insane..." she muttered, trying to maintain her composure amidst the madness.
"I sure am, baby!"
To be continued...