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“Koala, where did you go nyuuuu!” Hachi’s vision was spinning as he stepped out of the illusion tunnel and was promptly faced with a walkway of shifting floor tiles. For Koala, it was much easier to get through all the twists and turns of the fun house maze, but for a large fishman it was a completely different story.
It had been a long fifteen minutes since Koala had entered the fun house, and Hachi– being the only one that could squeeze through the human sized spaces– had to leave Fisher Tiger and Jinbe behind to go search for her. This wasn’t her first time getting separated from the three of them, but this was her first time visiting such a crowded space so it was only natural that they would feel anxious.
The original plan was to go on a relaxing family trip to the beach– perfectly planned out by Jinbe down to the second– but Koala showed such excitement when they passed by the boardwalk. They practically had no choice but to cave in…
Hachi could feel ink bubbling up inside him with worry. Was she crying alone in some corner of the fun house? What if she tripped and got hurt while walking through one of the rooms? What if she got eaten by a clown?!
“Koala! Koala, it's time to go!” Hachi tottered into the next room. The new room was a maze of mirrors, with nothing but dark purple lights to lead the way. He used three of his arms to hold himself against the wall and closed his eyes to make the spinning stop.
There was something oddly chilling about the room. A mix between the dim lights and being surrounded by your own dark figure… It was even more scary than the bottom of the sea, which was at least lit by the glow of the underwater vents, and the force of the water against your body was somewhat comforting.
Just as Hachi began to open his eyes again and steady himself, a small figure darted out from around one of the hidden corners.
“Boo!” Koala shrieked, her reflection bouncing off several mirrors, surrounding every corner of Hachi’s vision the second he opened his eyes. Ink spewed from Hachi’s mouth as he fell down to the floor with a thump.
Koala giggled at the puddle in front of her. Hachi, who was a feared fishman both in the water and on dry land, was no match for her– a little human girl no bigger than his forearm.
“Did I scare you that bad?” Koala laughed and jumped onto Hachi’s stomach, wrapping her arms around him.
“Nyuu…” Hachi groaned as he used four arms to peel Koala from his waist. He thought to reprimand her for hiding inside the fun house, but the sparkle in her eyes and non-stop giggling made him decide to leave it to Jinbe and Fisher Tiger.
When the two of them finally exited the other side of the fun house, both Jinbe and Fisher Tiger rushed over.
“Koala! You have ink all over you, what happened?” Jinbe removed her from Hachi’s arms, who belatedly realized by holding her he had gotten his ink all over her too. Jinbe pulled out a pack of wet wipes from the large bag hanging off his shoulder, but they proved useless against the black ink.
“It was so funny! I was hiding and then Hacchan came and I scared him so bad he fell backwards and got ink everywhere!” Koala excitedly recounted the experience without taking a breath.
“Is that so?” Fisher Tiger chuckled. “Why don’t we head to the beach? Get you in the water and all cleaned up.”
“Oh the beach! Yes please, let's go!” Koala clapped before grabbing Jinbe and Fisher Tiger's hands and pulling them along to the entrance to the sandy beach. Hachi walked along behind them, just to make sure Koala didn’t let go of their hands and run off again.
—
The beach was Koalas' favorite place to be. Not once would she miss the chance to play by the water with her three favorite fishmen.
While they all set up the towels on the sand, the sun was setting slowly, making the water sparkle.
“Now don’t go into water deeper than your ankles, understand?” Fisher Tiger patted Koala’s head lightly.
“Got it!” Koala quickly pulled her ink stained clothes off, revealing a swimsuit with a red sun symbol right in the middle of it. Tossing her clothes haphazardly before running to the water.
The first touch of the sea caused her to flinch back, but it only took a few seconds before the coldness became a comfortable tingle on her feet. The fishmen watched carefully from their towels as she waddled further into the ocean.
Koala began splashing around, digging into the sand with her feet to search for different colored shells, until she collected enough to fill both her palms and the sun was almost dipping under the horizon.
That is what got her to pause her enthusiastic search and look up towards where the sun was slowly falling. Sunset was her favorite thing in the world to watch together with Jinbe, Fisher Tiger and Hachi– her family.
Every night when her fathers tucked her into bed, they told her stories of where the sun goes when it dips down into the sea. One day she hopes she can visit the place that they hold so close, but she knows she has a long way to go till then.
Koala turned back towards her fathers who were resting on their towels watching her. They would sometimes tell her about scary things too– their fearsome days as the Sun Pirates. But to her, not once did she ever think of them as fearsome or scary.
Hachi, who spews ink whenever she scares him or acts cute. Jinbe, who never forgets to bring his trusty bag which holds anything Koala might need if she gets hurt. Fisher Tiger, who takes the time to teach her to swim and tuck her into bed after she gets tired. They were not scary criminals in her eyes at all.
“Koala, it's time for us to get dinner, why don’t you come and let me dry your feet?” Jinbe called out, waving for her to come back.
Just as quickly as they had set up their things, everything was refolded and packed, including the many seashell’s Koala had collected carefully placed into the bag by Hachi. Jinbe dried Koala’s feet before slipping her sandals back on, so that she could avoid splinters on the creaky wooden boardwalk.
The second Koala reached the last step leading off the sand, her feet turned heavy. After running around and playing under the sun all day she had become drowsy, as the sun was no longer there to power her excitement.
She paused her steps and tugged on Jinbe’s kimono sleeve, raising her arms up towards him. He smiled and wordlessly lifted her up into his arms.
Dinner was the last thing on her mind, as she slowly drifted off in Jinbe’s warm embrace, her pink sun-kissed cheek softly resting against his chest.