Tsumugi Kihara
The first time I saw her, I thought she was the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. No, I'm not talking about Chisaki, I was talking about Manaka Mukaido. She was so little, yet when she hang on that net and those shiny blue eyes stared back at me, it was like the sea said hello to me.
I'm not a really showy person, but I was really happy when she was in my class. I thought that I'd only be watching her from the side, since she had that boy with her all the time. That was fine for me, really. But then I saw her sprawled up on the ground, her eyes closed and her skin losing its shine. Of course I helped her. I settled her down in our bath tub, putting salt on the water to make sure her Ena would regenerate. And when those eyes finally opened, I couldn't stop myself from saying out loud that she was, indeed, beautiful.
Even the fish on her knee was beautiful. She got too worked up on trying to cover it, but really, I saw it already. And she was cute. I liked the way she covered up her mouth and talked like the fish on her knee the next day at school. Her leg has still has that handkerchief wrapped around it. I kind of knew she was lying about it, but I found it hilarious and went along with it. When she finally confessed and apologized about it, I laughed as hard as I can. And it wasn't a fake laugh, because at that time, I really felt glad that someone like her existed.
I even made a pond. Because seriously, I like the sea people. I liked the four of them. I wished they could stay more in the surface. At that time, I wished she could stay more on the surface.
I think I might be lucky, because I often found her alone. When Hikari wasn't with her, I was. Even when I didn't really hope to, she somehow ended up walking on the streets alone. And I somehow ended up being the one to find her. It seemed already unreal when she got caught up on my net. But the next days seemed weirder.
I've always been perceptive, and she was the first one to find out about that. As she sat behind me on the wagon, she talked about herself. I told her about her true nature, and she'd said I was someone who can see things other people can't.
I was perceptive that I even found out about Chisaki's likeness to Hikari. I think Manaka liked Hikari too, but I also think Manaka liked me at some point as well. To be honest, even if it was just a hunch, I wished Manaka did feel that way for me. Because… because somehow…I feel that way for her.
It happened twice see, her being caught up on the net. Those two events always burn in my mind until now. She talked about the sun that night, how she thinks that it's ever so distant, that even when she reached the surface, she can't touch it. Honestly, I expected she would tell me I'm like the sun or something. Then she told me about the sea as well. She told me about how she was able to survive life on the surface. It was because of the sea. It gives her ena, and that ena gives her the power to stay in the surface while enjoying everything with its beauty. And that sea, she compared to Hikari.
Well, it's not like I didn't see that coming. I was waiting for that moment, even. I knew that time would come eventually. I was waiting for it, yet I didn't want that to happen.
That's why when I found out about Chisaki's feelings for Hikari and that Manaka was there to hear it, it felt like I became part of something that started to change.
Chisaki was different. She wanted everything not to change, even if she knew that would hurt her. She was always quiet, yet I noticed she was fierce at times too. In that moment, I realized she was like the sea, the same way Manaka thought of Hikari as the sea. I have an immense likeness for the blue, that's why I stayed with my grandpa rather than in the city with my parents.
Manaka was the one who taught me about it. When she talked about Hikari, I swear I was trying really hard to still be myself at that boat. I tried not to fall behind on the sea. Though I think she'd save me even if I did. She showed me how to find the great points of a person. She showed me that I found it in Chisaki. Perhaps that's why I started to take interest on Chisaki.
Well, that, and of course…. Because I knew I'd be losing over Hikari if I pursued on Manaka. Because truthfully, at some point, she had been my sea. Perhaps she even became my sun. Yet, she had another sea within her. And even though I liked treading the waters, it doesn't mean it's safe. She had another sea in her life, and if I continued to like her, then I'd have an ocean in my life instead. That's a big scale, one I didn't think I could handle since we were just fourteen.
So the time skip happened. I didn't know. Maybe it was fate, but somehow life has given me more chances to spend more time with Chisaki and know her that well. And of course, I started liking her the more I knew about her. I can read her the way I can read the sea. I'm a bit selfish, because once I hoped that it would be alright if Hikari and the others never woke up at all. It was because I was afraid, and I knew that somehow that could keep Chisaki away from me, talking about Hikari and Kaname. But I was wrong, really wrong. I hated myself for thinking about that. Because I was beyond happy when I saw Hikari, Kaname, and Manaka come back.
Manaka… She never changed. I aged five years, and she's still fourteen. Perhaps that was life's way of saying give it up, you can never be with her. So I had to look at her as if she was just a friend. Besides, I have a growing fondness for Chisaki, and that's real.
As now, we continued to live the life. Chisaki and I were able to tell each other how we truly feel. I worked hard on trying her to admit it. Admittedly, I think I wasn't myself after the Boatdrift Ceremony. I was changed, the same way Chisaki did. So I have to go along with her. I was lucky, because I had her. Someone who was always there for me during the time I've felt alone on those years.
If there's something I'd like to change, it would be that Kaname, Hikari, and Manaka never fell into the sea. I wished Chisaki and I could've grown up with them together. I swear, that would be really fun. That would be better. I think… my future would've been different if that happened instead. And I'm interested to see what kind of future that is.
It's because I missed a lot of things during the five years. Seeing that girl laugh was one.