"MONSTER!" Screamed the old woman. Yala just stared at her as she bit into the fish and tore it's head off, causing little streaks of blood to trail down her mouth. Hakue and Zi rushed into the house as soon as they heard the woman's scream.
"What's going on here?" Asked Hakue, seeming furious.
The old woman ran over to the two monks and cowered behind them. She pointed to the purple haired woman munching on a fish head.
"There's a monster! Help me!" Said the scared woman. Zi looked at Yala and then back at the old woman.
"Mrs. Annya," said the young monk, "That's Yala. She won't hurt you."
The elderly woman faced the young man and scowled at him, "Do you even *know* what she is?"
"Huh?" Zi scratched his freshly shaved head in confusion, "Not … really?"
The old lady looked at the purple haired woman and gave her a dirty look, "She is a siyokoy."
"A siyokoy?" The young man asked in clarification.
"That's not possible," said Hakue as he shook his head, "Siyokoys are male and look more like fish. This woman might not be human but I doubt she is some kind of sea monster."
Yala swallowed the chewed up, mushed fish head in her mouth right before she devoured the rest of the fish whole. She licked her slimy, blood-stained hands and rubbed them on her robe.
"Well I must go," said the elderly woman as she began to take a few steps back, "I need to return to the harbor. My husband needs my help with fishing. Please remove this disgusting creature from my home." The human woman then left the room.
Zi walked up to the purple haired woman, "Yala," he placed his hand on her shoulder, "You can't be breaking into people's houses like that. It's an invasion of their privacy and you can get into a lot of trouble for that."
Hakue approached the woman, seeming to be a bit irritated with her, "Perhaps she shouldn't be staying here. The village was already attacked by one group of odd creatures so the villagers won't take too kindly to her staying here with them."
"But Father," said Zi as he faced him, "She hasn't done anything wrong."
"I'm aware of that," the man nodded, "However, the villagers are not aware of that. We might see an innocent, helpless woman, but the villagers just see a monster who is ready to attack them at any moment."
"Father," Zi pleaded, "She needs our help finding her child, remember? That's why she sought us out in the first place."
Hakue looked down and put his hand on his face. "You're right," he sighed, "We must help this woman."
"Great!" The young man smiled.
"One problem," Hakue faced Zi, "The niece could be anywhere. How do we know she's here in this village?"
"She is here." said Yala.
The two men faced her. "How do you know that?" Asked Zi.
"I remember she was here last time I saw her."
"Oh?" Hakue raised an eyebrow, "Show us where you saw her last."
"Follow me." The woman swiftly walked out of the room and the two men trailed behind her.
She led them to the shore near their monastery. In the distance, a myrtle green fin, attached to a scaly head, arose from the ocean along with a pair of bright, lime green eyes. The creature glared at the two men while keeping it's distance from the shore. As they were walking on the beach, Hakue got a strange feeling that they were not alone, despite the fact that the shore seemed very barren and they were the only people there. This made the older man feel a bit uneasy, causing him to constantly look around and over his shoulder. Yala walked into the ocean and stood on the wet sand a couple feet below the waves, letting the water wash over her feet which were hidden under the dirty cloak. Her robe started getting wet as it began soaking up the saltwater around it. The two men ran over to her but stood a few feet away from the moist sand in order to avoid getting splashed by the incoming waves.
"She was right here." Said Yala, not paying any mind to her clothes getting soaked.
"Yala!" Yelled Zi in a concerned tone.
"Your clothes will get wet and you'll be cold!" Said Hakue, seeming equally worried.
"Huh?" The woman turned to face them. She looked down at her robe and noticed the moisture quickly creeping up to her torso. Zi kneeled down and began rolling up the bottom of his cream beige robe. He rolled the bottom of his pants up to his knees before he stood up and ran into the shallow water. He approached the woman and held out his hand.
"Come with me. We'll get you a fresh pair of warm clothes." Said Zi. Yala grabbed his hand and he led her back to the sandy shore. Afterwards, the two men brought her into a small house near the beach. Zi placed a fresh pair of tan beige clothes on the table for Yala to change into.
"We'll be back after you've gotten dressed-" Zi stopped the moment the two men saw Yala's robe fall to the ground after she pulled her arms out of the sleeves. Hakue's face turned cerise pink in embarrassment as he turned his face away from her and covered his eyes with his forearm. Zi stood there and stared at the woman in curiosity as he noticed that her body was covered in teal green scales and she had flippers on her feet that were about a couple inches long. Hakue grabbed Zi's arm and pulled him out of the room before closing the door behind him. He faced Zi and looked very furious with him.
"A holy man does not gaze at a lady while she is undressing!" He yelled at the young man.
"But Father-"
"No buts!" Hakue crossed his arms, "Under no circumstance should a man, such as yourself, be staring at an unclothed woman."
"Father please!" The young man begged, "Hear me out. I wasn't staring because I was having any unholy thoughts. I was staring because there was something odd about her appearance."
"My son," Hakue shook his head, "We do not shame one for their appearance."
"That's not what I meant, Father. She has scales all over her body, the same color as mine, and webbed feet as well."
Hakue's angry expression slowly shifted into a look of curiosity. "Scales that looked just like yours?"
The young man nodded, "Yes, Father!"
"Maybe," the older man scratched his chin, "She is some sort of sea monster."