The night air was thick with salt and silence. Waves lapped lazily against the shore, their rhythmic pull almost enough to drown out the faint sound of sand crunching beneath Jin Bubaigawara’s boots. His mask hung loosely from his fingers, swinging at his side while the other hand held a cigarette halfway to his lips. The smoke drifted up, swirling in the cool breeze that came off the ocean. His expression was tired, bored — the kind of look belonging to a man who’d seen too much and felt too little for too long.

He squinted at the horizon, the moonlight glinting off his tired eyes. The sea was calm tonight, deceptively peaceful. That’s when he heard it — a splash. He paused for a second, glancing toward the sound, but dismissed it with a quiet grunt. Probably a fish. Or trash. The ocean didn’t care much about what it swallowed. He took another drag, continued walking. Then another splash — closer this time. His brow furrowed. He looked again. Nothing. But as he kept walking, the water… followed. Each step seemed mirrored by a ripple and a soft splash.

Jin stopped. The rhythmic motion of the waves filled the silence between him and the sea. He sighed, dragging his mask back on until Twice once again stared out from behind the fabric. “Alright, fine, you wanna play?” he muttered, voice muffled through the mask. He made his way toward the docks, crouching at the edge. With a flick of his fingers, he dropped the cigarette into the dark water. For a second, nothing happened. Then—splash! The cigarette flew right back out, landing beside him. Twice tilted his head, eyes narrowing in curiosity. “The hell…?”

Before he could voice another thought, something broke the surface — a head. He stumbled back, nearly falling off the dock. “Holy shi—” His words died on his tongue as his gaze focused. The figure emerging from the water wasn’t human. Scales shimmered under the moonlight, water dripping down skin that caught the light like glass. A tail flicked through the waves behind them, elegant and powerful. Twice blinked once. Twice. Then exhaled a disbelieving laugh. “…Oh, great. Now I’m hallucinating sea people.”