The sun felt quite nice, as it bled through the curtains of Yukari Aoishii's room. The orange light was accompanied with the soft sounds of water flowing, and nearby cries of the birds that served as the usual alarm for the lady of the house. Aoishii rose, as as she moved towards the window, parting the curtains and pushing out the glass doors. The smell of the sea wafted in as she felt herself slowly revived, seeing the endless expanse of the ocean before her. She could say a lot about the city of Rinkai, but it was quite beautiful. Coming to the Archipelago had been a little hard on her, if she didn't have something so nice to wake to, it might have been too much.

  Running a hand through her hair, she moved over to look at herself in the mirror. She looked a mess, her auburn hair was long and unkept from the pillows and her sleepy eyes could only manage to stay half open. Aoishii's slender, pale hands would slap her cheeks softly, enough to jostle herself a bit, as the girl took another moment to stare into the mirror. Her attention shifted for a moment as she would focus more on her mindspace. Her alarm was set for another half hour. She was already awake, as per the norm, so the girl would drift away from the soft pinks and yellows of her bedroom, and head towards the bath.

  "No point in fussing about things now."

  A bath and discarded alarm later, Aoishii would finish dressing in the sleek and decorated uniform of the Rinkai Elite's prestige. A black base, with pink and gold highlights for girls, white stockings and black shoes with a slight heel to them. Just wearing the uniform accommodated some respect from the usual town folk. It was an expensive, difficult academy to get into. Even Aoishii with her talent wouldn't be attending if not for the connections of her father. As she moved to leave her room again, she'd glance at the picture sitting by her bedside. A tiny Aoishii standing a step in front of her father and mother. The girl would utter a small prayer and wave at the beautiful young mother, before leaving.

  Racing out of the room, bustling past the maid seeking her out, Aoishii would escape her seaside home. The massive, grassy hill led to an overlook, with a rock face and nothing but ocean below. At low tide, a little sand could be seen, and Aoishii had certainly explored. A little cavern was only really accessible when the water receded. The path up the hill was aa cobblestone walk, too small and delicate for vehicles. The gardens were well maintained, and the security gate to thge Yukari property was a special reinforced white metal.

  Aoishii would place her hand on the control plate, as the gate moved free, and she'd hurry out, letting just enough froom for herself as it closed behind her. She could be seen as difficult or ungrateful for all the things she'd been given, but Aoishi believed that she just needed someone that would talk to her like a real person. There was one place she could go each morning to get a little splash of reality in her face.

  The streets of Rinkai weren't too busy this early in the morning, she saw a few regulars as she walked down to the city proper. The simple break streets occasionally had a car come by, it really caused the girl to pause as she watched them. A splicing of the old and new... Rinkai, like much of the archipelago, was pretty old-fashioned. It was a place of nature and luxury coated in a strange simplicity. But, even this place couldn't ignore the advances of the mainland, with their ships and their cars, and most critically: the Divers. Everyone had a Dive Implant now, it was how they used any of this mainland technology, but the city still worked hard to keep that rustic charm and appeal. It had resisted modernization for decades, slipping in diving plates and supercomputers where they'd be more out of sight. It was a small was of allowing the people here to feel like they still had some kind of independent culture.

  The schoolgirl entered a nice little cafe on the corner. Hyakyi's was well known in the city for having some of the best food in the whole city. It wasn't the food that interested Aoishii, but the matron. Hyakyi, herself, was a woman who's loyalty and care could never come to question. She wasn't a paid servant, either. She'd be straight forward and offer wisdom to those who wished for it.

  Looking about the place, nobody else was here. It was only technically open, the breakfast rush would be in another hour, only silly girls like Aoishii would ever bother Hyakyi this early. Like always though, the woman was there... a proud, graceful woman wearing a maid's attrite for her customers. She stood near the back of the place, setting up the final touches on a table. She'd not bother look over immediately, as she finished what she was doing. A tall woman, with slender build... shoulder length blonde hair, and a matching cat's tail that swept the air once at Aoishi. Turning to face the girl, the feline slits were obvious in bright blue eyes.

  "Miss Yukari, welcome. Please, take whatever seat you'd like."

  To plenty within the town, they'd worry over Hyakyi's appearance. She was Enchanted. Magic had ripped into her and stolen some measure of her humanity. So most people, this was a pretty big deal. On the mainland, Aoishii had seen very few of such people too openly. The archipelago was a bit more diverse with it.

Aoishii took her seat, as she waited for the cat woman to take her order, returning with the hot chocolate as described. The best in town for certain, it made Aoishii melt a bit just drinking it. As she had some, she'd look over to the matron, a little flushed up. The woman spoke again, taking a seat across from the girl.

  "Another dream?"

  "Mm. It's the same thing... a huge battle. It feels like it gets more real each time it comes."

  "Perhaps, you are only remembering more details, or conflating different dreams together?"

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  "Maybe... but... it feels so harsh. Unfair, really. A whole ocean leaping p to attack a girl. She's not even scared or anything... it just swallows her up. If that is supposed to be dream-me, that is super uncalled for."

  "Dreams often speak in metaphor, Miss Yukari. Perhaps some hidden fears or concerns."

  "It doesn't feel like a nightmare, though." Aoishii would sigh a bit as she folded her arms under her chest, looking to the drink a little bitterly. "It feels like... I don't know. Like something needs to happen for it. Like I should know something for it."

  "Ah, prophetic dreams then? Perhaps you are the universal key, upon which all our fates depend." The cat woman smiled as the girl across from her burst into a little fit of giggles, clasping her hands around the cup she'd been drinking from. "Or, perhaps, it feels more real as it processes through your Implant?"

  "Oh. I didn't think about that."

  "My dear, you have a mental submursion device in your head. Nobody really, truly, understands dreams. But when you image something it activates the Implant. I can only imagine what a powerful dream could do, especially if you feel lucid."

  Aoishii nodded at that. A simple explanation, reasonable. It didn't feel terribly right, but Hyakyi also didn't really try to dismiss her concerns. She was only offering a casual's explanation. Maybe she was right, and Aoishii was overly concerned. That'd be better. It didn't feel better. Aoishii looked out at the soft light slowly lifting from the window, focusing on any ounce of clarity she could extract in this sleepy morning.

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  The sun was rising nicely, as a boy listened to his father. The large screen that sat in the kitchen of the Governor's Estate was usually showing a news report for the island. Instead it had Ritsugi Keichi's face spread across it, so he could lecture his son. The boy would listen dutifully as it went on, but Ritsugi Kenta had long sense checked out. The conversation had moved past the upcoming Dive exam, and into his personal life. Something-something good work on securing Yukari. Something-something legacy. Something-something connections. Something-something vital for the family. Kenta would occasionally nod his head, but he just couldn't care about this sort of thing, until his father's tone shifted a bit sharply.

  "Are you listening, Kenta?"

  "I've heard, Father. Though I find it a bit misguided." The boy's gray eyes sharpened a bit as he decided this was at least a place he could directly challenge the man on. "Aoishii is not the kind of girl that's going to bend so easily. If I tried to move faster than I am already, she's going to get defensive and break things off." The boy rose as hemoved to grab the uniform jacket behind him, his father's annoyance plastered on the huge screen.

  "Where are you going now?"

  "The sweet young lady you have been simply gushing over has invited me to breakfast at some local cafe. It would be rude to keep her." It was sort of true, and it was enough of an excuse for Kenta to make his leave. The man on the other side of the screen would not bother to respond, as the call ended. It returned to a weather report for the island, as Kenta left the massive estate. He'd been living here since he could remember, but it had never felt so clausterphobic as it did now. He knew getting into the Academy was going to raise expectations as well. He just didn't expect it to feel so slimy.

  Reaching the outside, he knew that his bike would already be waiting for him. The servents of the estate were like ghosts. Always just a room away if he ever felt the need. Always listening, preparing for whatever need he might have. If he was really going on a breakfast date with Aoishii, he'd want his motorbike, so it was now waiting for him. He didn't dislike them, and he'd have to accept they were amazing at ther jobs... but it was just another example that he'd never have a moment of privacy while he was at home.

  At least the bike felt great. The thrum of the small motor as the boy turned the corner off from the estate and onto the streets of Rinkai. Aoishii had invited him to come by at some point. It was some morning ritual she had, where she annoyed a cafe owner before they even properly opened. Kenta laughed when he thought of it. She was a total brat, spoiled to the core. He could understand why. He might have been pushed to look at her, but if he was going to pursue a girl, it would be one he was interested in. Aoishii was plenty of things, and all of them interesting.

  Arriving to the cafe, Kenta would rev the throttle of his bike once, as he looked at the girl through the window. She was the beauty of the school, whether she acted like it or not. She saw him, but ignored him, talking with the cat woman that owned the cafe. Kenta waited about a half minute, before reving the bike a second time. That was enough as the girl kissed her friend on the cheek and would casually leave the shop. Kenta would toss the girl a helmet with a smile.

  "Thought you might like a ride before class."

  "Not even a call, Kenta? Maybe I had some better plans in mind already."

  "Girls like the rash, spontanious type." The boy smirked as Aoishii put on the helmet, taking his hand as she'd sit on the bike sideways, an arm slung around his waist. The boy shook his head a bit, a finger tapping into the side of her helmet. She's put it on right, at least. "That's dangerous."

  "Only if you don't know how to control the bike, right?"

  So they'd be off, Kenta being a little more careful now that he had a passenger with him, one who wanted to test him. She seemed to be having fun at least, watching the people and buildings flitter past them, as Kenta took them out from the innermost sections of the city, to the outskirts where they'd be able to relax a little more. The salted wind of the ocean was always nice, and she could watch the ships and boats coming in and out.

 Once he was certain things could be a bit more peaceful, Kenta would properly start chatting with her. Most of it was over the simple pleastantries. Boyfgriends had to cover the bases before they got to the heart of anything, and Aoishii seemed perfectly practiced in drawing it out for just long enough to bring him to the brink of sanity. Kenta pressed a little more, as they took a nice sweeping curve.

  "Are you anxious for the Dive?"

  "Not tioo much. Scared I'll beat you?"

  "Not too much. I can't afford to lose that kind of face."

  "Maybe I'll go slow and stupid for your sake?"

  "You wouldn't. You are going to try to crush me now." The boy laughed as we stole a glance at the ports, admiring a huge warship entering the military port ahead of them. It took a moment to think past that ship's intense size and beauty to wonder. Why the hell would there be something like that coming to Rinkai? This was a major city, on the largest island in the archipelago. You'd have to be totally deranged to threaten it.

  "You think so poorly of me. I just want you to show me what all the girls say about you."

  "And what do they say?"

  "Terrible gossip, really~ You never lose face. You are like a machine. With muscles. And decent hair. Though I don't know if blondes are really my type." The girl giggled, as Kenta felt soft fingers stroking the hair on the back of his neck. The girl was trouible, but he wouldn't let it affect his steering. "A man's man~ Who does as he likes and demands others to follow. Girls swoon over that sort of confidence."

  "It isn't confidence, it is stubborness. I'm pretty sure you mostly described yourself. Save the muscles." Kenta felt a pinch on his neck for a moment. The boy responded by moving a little faster, swerving the bike a bit to jostle her, as Aoishii gasped into a fit of giggles. They'd continue their ride, but Kenta's eyes remained focused on that huge ship. This wasn't the sort of place that needed something like that. What was his father thinking?