Ayuka ventured out to the coast where the Sanguine Rose was docked to collect Sanguine Rose and rescue Kou. In preparation, she was apprehended by a gang of 'Sun Soldiers' who wanted to stop her from completing the task. They mistook her for another female and utilized violence, forcing Ayuka to battle three of them at once. She was outnumbered in battle, and after failing to protect Tomomi, she threw her into the ocean after a ferocious attack. Kou's desire to save Tomomi prompted him to swim deep down and arrange a rescue, but just when he thought everything was going well, a massive and powerful vortex slammed into the party. While Ayuka was trying to break free from Kizu's tight grip on the shore, someone unexpected joined the conflict and rescued Ayuka. Ralphie arrived just in time, eager to fight the 'Sun Soldiers.'
Standing next to Ayuka, Ralphie kept a tight eye on Kizu and the rest while the three of them smiled with a suspicious smile. They weren't amazed by Ralphie's arrival, but were surprised about his successful strike.
"He looks to be a member and an ally to these four, and there's something very particular about him that bothers me to think through."
Bow took a step forward, his arms folded in front of his chest, and his face was serene. He exchanged a suspicious stare with Ralphie before swiftly discovering Ralphie's true identity.
"Do you now go by the name "Ralphie"? Wasn't it you who was meant to be the Primal Restaurant cook who was mistaken for a waiter? I thought your name was Zumo at first, but was that simply a ruse to fool folks like us?"
"My given name has left an indelible impression on you. My name is Ralphie, and I used to be a member of the SP Agency until deciding to leave. It was the only reason I saw that agent ship, sink to the bottom of the sea. I don't want to lose more than I already have."
"You were extremely quick on your feet, and you even managed to hit Kizu. I suppose the function of an SP Agent does convey a lot of information about their skills, but why did you sign up with these pirates in the first place? You were alright until you decided to board their ship, right? Perhaps they were old acquaintances of yours..."
"I don't need to share that information. Let's say I owe them, but that's all I'll tell you. If you don't have something else to do, maybe you should leave this area and leave a girl like her alone. She didn't do anything to deserve such cruel treatment."
"She disturbed Empress Oriyana, that is enough for us to be deployed into action and drag her back to the castle."
"She stayed with us for the entire time. From the minute we set foot on this island, I was next to her. We were passing you by, and I never took my gaze away from her until she returned to the ship. You are mistaken if you believe she caused difficulty in such a short period of time after returning to the ship. Before she left us on our own, you were already deployed."
"The description we were provided is spot on. The individual depicted was intended to be clad in a red jacket and have white hair and blue eyes. If I must repeat myself, every detail is spot on."
Ayuka and Ralphie were still bothered, and it made Ralphie suspicious. He turned his gaze back at Ayuka and inquired for possible information.
"You are the only one wearing the red jacket off the girls, right? I know they said that the described person had white hair, but it just doesn't make any sense to me. I was with you the entire time, and I know that because we even came back to the craftsman's house. If I haven't given you directions to the house, you wouldn't be capable of finding it on your own."
In response to his question, Ayuka nodded and promptly confirmed. "No one else in the girls wears a red jacket, and no one else has white hair. Tim is the only one who matches the details. He does have white hair, blue eyes, and a red jacket, but he's not a girl, and I don't think they'd mistake him for one."
"This doesn't make any sense to me at all."
"Ralphie, that's not the biggest problem. Other than these idiots, we have a bigger problem and something to be concerned about. Take a look at the Rose. When I arrived, Kou was alone on the ship, and when I was attacked and was forced to drop Tomomi in the ocean, he went swimming after her and hasn't surfaced yet! We can't afford any more squandering of time!"
"Kou and Tomomi are both in the water during this insane storm?! You can't be serious!"
"I can go chase them down, but I can't with these fools in the way. Do you think you could keep them occupied for a while? I know that three of them may be difficult for you to handle, but if you just gather some time, then I can-"
"Don't say another word. I've already saved you, so I suppose I may as well keep these numskulls occupied. Okay, hurry up and go after them, but be careful, the sea is going wild."
"You don't need to tell me twice. When I'm done, I'll make sure to help you fight, but until then I trust you to keep them busy, and not fall to them."
Ralphie nodded, and Ayuka took her first stride, rushed for the water, and leapt inside it like a dolphin, enraged the 'Sun Soldiers,' especially Kizu, who used the golden flash to try to stop Ayuka. Ralphie sprang back into a flip, elevated his left leg, and slid down as soon as he realized.
Ralphie made it above Kizu's head before he could grasp Ayuka and slammed his heel at the top of Kizu's head "Battle Axe Kick!" and mercilessly smashed him on the rocks beneath the water, splashing and lifting Kizu's legs over.
"I'm sorry, but I can't let you get close to such a lovely and young lady."
Without any further obstacles in her way, Ayuka dipped her entire body under water and started to scout the underwater, hoping to find or see Kou and Tomomi. Her feelings toward the cold water weren't surprising, due to her being quite used to cold areas and without complaints or drawbacks, she swam deeper, where the rough waves continued to flow throughout the underwater and above the water, tossing the underwater items and bodies all around.
Kou's feet were flapping faster than before as he started to cover some ground to the surface from the vortex, but every second he felt his oxygen leave his body, and without proper training to hold his breath long, he felt weakened in matter of seconds, but the only personality, he expressed was pure determination to rescue Tomomi from the vortex, who had already been unconscious due to the pressure put onto her body.
("Keep pulling, Kou, come on! If you want to stay on the ship with the others, you have to save Tomomi and escape this madness!")
He collected the confidence to keep going by cheering himself up and repeating words to increase his desire to save and continue sailing across the ocean. He began to make slow progress, his arms barely retaining any strength. They were trembling, but he began to move away from the vortex despite the tremendous pressure pounding and roughening his body.
("Keep going!")
As his body abruptly gave up on its own, he flapped his feet faster and continued to drive his own body closer to the vortex's departure line. His body was being drawn back into the vortex, and his mouth was leaking the last of his air. His vision began to dim, but he maintained a firm grip on Tomomi's body and swam with unwavering purpose.
("Keep... Going!!!")
("Keep! G-Going!!!)
In an instant, Kou's muscles stiffened. He grasped both of Tomomi's arms and began swimming faster, stronger, and more fearlessly. As he began to retrace his steps and exit the vortex, he noticed that his body was becoming lighter. He noticed that the vortex's intensity was weakening, so he took advantage of it and swam up to the surface at breakneck speed.
He felt a strong rush of water slam into his body and start to blow him away as he began to lose sight of where he was headed, but Kou held firm in the current and waited for it to pass.
("I won't let you drown, Tomomi! We'll make it out of here alive! I still need to travel over the Vast Expanse! I'll save you and myself, I promise!")
The current passed by in a short period of time where he regained his control over body, felt it become less tense and finally started to swim back up toward the surface, where a sudden shark started to swim toward him with the head of a lion and opened its massive jaws, prepared to devour their bodies. It caught Kou in surprise, but while swimming in the position he quickly pulled Tomomi behind his back and swam backward for the Lion Shark to miss its bite and swim right past Kou's body.
("What in the world is that?! I need to hurry, I need to make my way out of here! I need to save her!")
A giant jaw opened in front of his body, enormous enough to crush his body in one bite, and a darkness encompassed his body. When he saw the jaw approaching closer and its teeth already sharpened to feed, his eyes trembled once again.
Ayuka dived through the water at breakneck speed and froze a little bit of water around her wrist, which she froze into a sharp spike, just in time. She got to the lion shark just as it was about to eat Kou and slashed its body through its skin with her left hand while holding Kou's right arm and pushing him backward. She slammed the lion shark into the water, causing blood to mix with it.
Kou's vision blurred, and he felt his body being dragged to the surface by Ayuka, who maintained a solemn stare at the light above and held her breath. She swam faster than she had anticipated and eventually made her way to the ship without stopping.
("The ship's right there. I'm so close! We can make it!")
To be continued...