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Innsmouth jabbed the radio in her direction, and growled,
“If you value this woman’s life, then you will tell them exactly this: We couldn’t find the stowaways”
Tsuyu’s mouth went dry, and she locked eyes with the woman in question, struggling against the crushing grip of the villain’s tentacles.
“Don’t do it Frop-!“ And the rest of Sirius’s words were muffled. Her eyes flashed as she tried in vain to convey some kind of message to her intern. In her expression, Tsuyu could see a drop of fear, but that was quickly replaced by steely determination.
Tsuyu started to sweat. She had only met Sirius a week ago, but she felt closer to this woman than she could describe. As she could see the tentacles tightening around her friend, Tsuyu felt her own chest tighten and she couldn’t breathe. She had loved her internship and the opportunity to work with Captain Selkie, but getting to know Sirius had undoubtedly been the highlight of the whole thing. Her sunny smile and kind eyes had made the most menial chores on the ship enjoyable. They had often sat together on the deck after finishing work, and Sirius would ask about Tsuyu’s goals, and her family, and what made her want to become a hero. Sometimes, they would stand close to each other and lean over the ship’s railing, and Sirius’s would move her hands animatedly as she talked about her nerdy fascination with marine biology, taking the opportunity to point out whatever could be seen from the ship. During these times, Sirius looked at her with a smile in her eyes that made Tsuyu feel like they could have been the only people on Earth, and she would have been happy. Was barely a week enough time to fall in love with someone?
Seeing Sirius’s life in sudden danger brought Tsuyu the clarity that, yes, a week was enough time. And she didn’t have much more time to make her decision, she realized. She had stood frozen in her thoughts for too long.
“You don’t care about what happens to this woman?” Innsmouth demanded angrily.
“Ribbit!” Tsuyu protested. Because no, that wasn’t it at all. Tsuyu did care, more than anything. She wanted to do what it took to save Sirius. But Sirius didn’t seem to want that. In fact, Sirius had tried to tell her before being silenced what she thought was the right thing to do. At the end of the day, all of Sirius’s wisdom about what it took to be a hero would come down to this moment.
Sirius’s words echoed in Tsuyu’s mind.
We’re going to follow the Captain’s orders. Because we believe what the Captain has decided must be the best course of action.
Tsuyu never did well at following orders. There wasn’t a whole lot she ever believed in blindly, besides herself. But she did believe in Sirius. And that meant that whatever Sirius had decided must be the best course of action.
Tsuyu’s eyes locked with Sirius’s brilliant blue. She turned her gaze downward and made her decision.
“I’ll do it”
Innsmouth smirked victoriously and pushed the comm button on the radio. In that instant, Tsuyu summoned all the determination she could, clenched her fists, and shouted, “The stowaways are at Double Rock!”
Chaos erupted.
“Froppy!” Sirius screamed, and that was all the warning Tsuyu got before Innsmouth slammed Sirius into the deck and turned to attack Tsuyu. She hopped off the deck in a flash, and then from rock to rock. “Sirius!” She cried. Please be ok, please be ok. She needed an opening, needed to get Sirius to safety. With a resounding “Ribbit!” She shot her tongue out and wrapped around Sirius. Yes! But she was too slow.
Innsmouth grabbed the long tongue and used it to bash Tsuyu against the rocks. Her vision swam with the impact. She let out a weak “Ribbit”. Was Sirius safe? The villain jumped onto the rocks after her. Her blood was roaring in her ears and she could barely make sense of what was happening. Did he just say he was going to kill her? Was Sirius okay?
Just in time, Captain Selkie hurtled out of the water to crash into Innsmouth at the speed of a torpedo. Relief washed over Tsuyu. She took deep breaths and slowly came back to her senses just in time to see the Captain deliver a final blow to Innsmouth, knocking him out and into the water.
“Froppy!” Sirius called out to her. Tsuyu was hopping in the direction of her voice before even looking twice. She landed smoothly on the deck and rushed forward, scooping the woman into a tight embrace. Sirius tensed in shock for a moment, then relaxed and squeezed her back. “Froppy, I’m so glad you’re ok”
“Are you ok? I’m so sorry, I just wanted to do what you thought was best, and-” Tears escaped Tsuyu’s large eyes as she buried her face in Sirius’s shoulder.
“I’m ok” Sirius reassured her, pulling back. “You were amazing. You did exactly what I needed you to do.” She smiled , grasping Tsuyu’s shoulders. “My hero”
Despite the situation, despite the danger that had just barely passed, Tsuyu found herself blushing.
~
On the last day of her internship, Tsuyu said goodbye to everyone she had worked with on the ship and prepared to leave. There was one face that was missing from the rest, and she felt she couldn’t leave without a proper goodbye. Surely Sirius wouldn’t let her leave without a proper sendoff? After a quick search, she found Sirius leaning on the railing at the starboard side of the ship, watching the ocean with a thoughtful look on her face.
“Sirius?” Tsuyu ventured.
Sirius startled out of her thoughts and turned towards her, smiling warmly. “Froppy, are you leaving already? I must have lost track of time”
“Yes, I wanted to come see you before I left. Is… is everything ok, Sirius?” Tsuyu reached out a hand and touched the older woman’s arm to comfort her.
Sirius tilted her head slightly and scratched the back of her neck in a slightly nervous way. “Y- yes, I just- I’m going to miss you very much, Froppy”
Tsuyu suddenly felt like she was back at Double Rock, that her chest was tight, and she couldn’t breathe, but this time it was a pleasant feeling.
“Sirius,” Tsu beamed. “You should call me Tsu. And, Sirius, I’m going to miss you too”
Gently, she wrapped her arms around Sirius and held on. “Thank you for everything. Thank you for showing me what it means to be a hero, and for making this internship so amazing, and thank you for this”
The exact meaning of “this” went unspoken, but Tsuyu felt it pass in the air between them all the same. She felt Sirius relax into her and felt her smile in the way the dip of her cheek pressed into Tsuyu’s temple. Reluctantly, they separated.
“Tsu-chan, I’ve only known you for a week, but it’s felt like a lot longer than that,” Sirius began, smiling her warm radiant smile. “I can already tell, you’re going to make an amazing Pro Hero. In three short years, you’ll be changing the world, and I’ll be hearing your name on all the news channels. But just remember, you were my hero first.”
With that, Sirius leaned in and placed a kiss on Tsuyu’s cheek. When she pulled back, her cheeks were pink, and she laughed softly, like windchimes. “Good luck,” She said, before turning away and disappearing into the ship.
Tsuyu just stood there in shock, feeling lightheaded. Sirius’s words ran on a loop in her mind.
Three short years. Three short years.
It felt like a promise.