The Frog Kingdom
Words: 4800
Summary: The girls go fishing. Somehow, they’re actually successful. Who would have guessed? Meanwhile, Nana introduces monarchy to the frogs.
“This is possibly the worst idea we’ve ever had,” Junna said, “even worse than the Pool Noodle Massacre.”
“No way,” Claudine argued. “Nothing is worse than the Pool Noodle Massacre.”
Junna, who was already completely sunburnt, looked Claudine dead in the eyes and asked, “Are you sure about that?”
Claudine laughed, reeling in her fishing line. “I still can’t believe you burn faster than me. Didn’t you put on like seven layers of sunscreen?”
“Yes.” Junna pouted, arms crossed. She had stolen Nana’s sunhat, too, the wide brim casting a shadow over her red face. “What I can’t believe is that you actually know how to fish. Where did you learn that?”
“Oh, you know,” Claudine answered, throwing her line back into the lake.
“No, I really don’t.” Junna followed suit, her hook landing with a quiet splash. They were sitting on a big raft in the middle of a lake, legs dangling in the water. It was warm. The sun was shining, and only the barest breeze ruffled through the trees lining the shore. Somehow they had all agreed to a day of fishing, despite only three of them having any sort of experience. Futaba and Mahiru seemed confident in their skills, though Junna was starting to doubt Claudine’s claims. The rest of them were making it up as they went. Those of them that were actually trying, that was. Kaoruko was lying in the middle of the raft, parasol propped up to shade her face. Futaba and Nana were sitting nearby, discussing the best types of fish to eat, their poles sitting idly in their hands. Mahiru was on the other side of the raft, coaching an energetic Karen and a strangely awkward Maya. Junna had a feeling that Maya had never been this far from a city before in her life. She was going through a rough adjustment period.
Junna pulled in her line and grimaced at the clump of pondweed stuck to it. “Are there even any fish in this lake?”
“Does it really matter? You don’t go fishing for the fish. Come on, Jun, get with the program.”
“Then why are we actually here?”
“Cause we’re a bunch of gay losers with no better ideas?”
“....Fair enough.”
“Ah! I got one!” Karen shouted, jumping to her feet. She was holding her fishing rod like a baseball bat, trying to pull the fish out of the water. Mahiru hurried over to help, reeling in the line. The group watched with only mild interest. This was the fifth time Karen had called that out this hour, and each time it had been a disappointment. It was looking like there was finally a chance for success, though. Karen and Mahiru were fighting for their fish, pulling with all their might.
“We’re almost there!” Karen shouted.
Bubbles rose to the surface of the water, a dark shadow beneath them. The group leaned forward, holding their breath. Was it true? Did Karen do it?
“Alllllllllmooooooossssssttt!” Karen and Mahiru made one last, big push of effort. Something broke through the surface-- everyone gasped--
“Wait- Hikari-chan????”
Hikari looked up at Karen and Mahiru’s shocked faces, the hook stuck in her hair pin.
“I found this,” she said, handing Mahiru a purplish piece of seaweed. “It reminded me of you.”
With that she sank back underwater, swimming away. Everyone stared after her, open mouthed.
“I hate these group trips,” Junna finally said.
“What… do I do with this?” Mahiru asked, looking around at everyone, seaweed in her hand.
“Eat it, probably,” Kaoruko said, choking on her laughter. “What a catch, Karen-han!”
“You might just win biggest fish of the day!” Futaba called. They were keeping track, of course. They were too competitive a group not to. Junna had her notebook tucked inside her oversized shirt - another stolen item from Nana, who was delighted by the sight - and was ready to mark down the winners. Assuming any of them managed to catch a fish in the first place.
“I’m going to go look for frogs,” Nana declared a few minutes later. She slipped into the water, swam underneath the raft, then reappeared by Junna’s feet. “Wanna come with, Junna-chan?”
Nana’s usual banana hairstyle had fallen apart after their initial swim to the raft. She had retied it into a short ponytail, and combined with her eager smile, she was too adorable to dismiss. Junna sighed.
“I suppose.”
“Yay, Junna-chan!”
“You’re so whipped,” Claudine said.
“Shut up.”
Junna joined Nana in the water, careful not to splash her glasses as they swam over to shore.
“How interesting,” Kaoruko said, watching the pair go. “The parents have abandoned their children. Whatever are we supposed to do now?”
“Probably something that’s not whatever you’re thinking,” Claudine said.
“How boring. I’m sure Tendo-han would be interested in my idea.”
“What?” Maya looked up from the tangled mess of a fishing line she’d managed to create. Futaba winced at the sight of the giant knots.
“Tendo, how did you even do that?”
“I’m… not sure.” Maya frowned at the disaster sitting in her lap.
“You’re just useless when you’re not on stage, aren’t you,” Claudine said, rolling her eyes. Art and fishing, Tendo Maya’s apparent weaknesses.
“What if we make this a stage?” Kaoruko asked sweetly. Instantly everyone turned to her, a gleam in their eyes.
“Go on,” Claudine said.
“Wellllll, I was simply thinking that’s it been soooo long since we did any improv work…”
“Let’s pretend we’re on a boat!” Karen shouted, bouncing up and down, the raft rocking under her feet. “I’ll be captain!”
“Woah, why are you captain?” Futaba countered. “You’d strand us in the middle of the ocean!”
“We are in the middle of a lake…” Maya commented, looking thoughtful. She set her rod aside and got to her feet.
“I’m calling for mutiny,” Claudine decided, standing up as well. The rest of the group followed.
“W-wait!” Mahiru said, wrapping an arm around Karen. “Let’s not be hasty! I’m sure Karen-chan can get us out of here.”
“Thank you, First Mate Mahiru!” Karen said. She placed her hands on her hips, striking a confident pose. “I will get us out of here, absolutely!”
“You better!” Futaba placed her hands on Kaoruko’s shoulders, who instantly adopted a worried look. “My fiancee and I were supposed to get married on this ship! Not get lost at sea!”
“Yes!” Kaoruko chimed in with her perfect offended princess voice. “How dare you! I’m lodging a complaint!”
Claudine laughed. “You’re lodging a complaint? To who? The shark?”
“Shark!?” the group cried out. Hikari circled the raft, hands pointed above her head to mimic a shark fin. Karen sang the Jaws theme song under her breath for dramatic effect.
“Everyone, behind me!” Maya called, throwing an arm out. All her city girl awkwardness had disappeared under the shine of the stage. Her voice echoed with power.
“What if we sacrifice her?” Claudine whispered to Karen as she huddled with the rest of the group.
“I’m on it!” Karen rushed forward and flung herself at Maya.
“Ah!” The pair hit the deck, wrestling for control. “Captain Aijo! I demand-- be sensible!”
One moment Karen was on top, straddling Maya’s waist, the next Maya had flipped them over, trying to catch Karen’s wildly swinging arms. Claudine was laughing so hard she was crying.
“C-Captain Karen!” Mahiru called out. “Watch out--”
Karen and Maya rolled right off the edge of the raft and into the water. Immediately Hikari dove after them, teeth bared in a feral grin.
“Well,” Futaba gasped through her laughter, “I think that makes Mahiru the next captain?”
“Ummm. That’s okay. I’ll pass.”
“I’ll be captain!” Kaoruko announced, graciously stepping forward. “As the most beautiful person on this ship, the duty clearly falls to me.”
“Hold up,” Claudine said, eyes narrowed in challenge. “Most beautiful? Says who?”
“Says the fact that I’m the one getting married, of course!”
“Yeah? You’re just a fiancee right now, Hanayagi. I am a wife!”
The three girls still alive on the raft gasped dramatically, hands to their chest. Claudine smirked, flipping her hair over her shoulder.
“Never expected that, huh?”
“Objection!” Futaba said, pointing a finger at Claudine. “I’m engaged to Kaoruko, so you can’t be married to us. Mahiru was shocked by your announcement, so you can’t be married to her either. That leaves only Captain Aijo and Tendo, who have both been tragically killed.”
The group paused for a minute of silence, the memory of their comrades’ deaths still fresh in their minds.
“You’re forgetting someone,” Claudine said after the moment passed.
“Who?”
“I,” Claudine stated in her haughtiest voice, “am married to the shark.”
There was a beat of silence as everyone processed the words.
“EHHHH????????”
Hikari surfaced, leaning on the edge of the raft and flashing Claudine a grin.
“Good work, my beloved,” Claudine said, returning the smile. “Soon this entire ocean will be ours.”
Hikari winked and disappeared again.
“Isn’t my wife hot?” Claudine asked the rest of the crew. They mumbled their agreement, casting fearful looks between them.
“But, but…” Karen whispered, treading water a few feet away. “Hikari-chan is…”
“Hush. We’re dead, remember?” Maya pushed Karen’s head under the water.
“Now!” Claudine said, taking control of the ship. “I am your new captain, and I expect order! I want all three of you cleaning the decks. I want them spotless, you hear me?”
“Yes ma’am!” The three girls saluted and went to work, getting on their hands and knees and pretending to scrub the raft. Claudine oversaw them, commenting on Futaba’s and Mahiru’s work, while purposely ignoring the way Kaoruko scooted over to the edge.
“Hey, hot shark girl,” Kaoruko whispered, looking behind her to make sure Claudine wasn’t watching. Hikari raised her head out of the water.
“Yes?”
“You like your wife, right?”
“Of course.”
“You want to make her happy, right?”
“Ideally.”
Kaoruko grinned. “Good. Because I bet Claudine would be really, super happy if you decided to eat her. If you know what I mean.”
“Hmm.” Hikari dropped below the water again, keeping eye contact with Kaoruko the entire time, until she was deep enough to swim beneath the raft. Then she was gone.
“Hanayagi!” Claudine called. “That doesn’t look like work to me!”
“I’m very sorry,” Kaoruko said, lacing her voice with false sincerity. “It’s simply that I finished already.”
“Finished? That fast?”
“Oh, yes. If you don’t believe me, why don’t you come inspect it?”
Claudine thought about it for a moment. Futaba and Mahiru were watching out of the corner of their eyes, waiting to see what would happen. “Fine. I think I will.”
Claudine marched over to the edge of the raft, peering down at the wood. “Hmm. Looking at this, I don’t think you spent a single second working at all-- Ahh!!”
Hikari burst out of the water and wrapped her arms around Claudine’s legs, pulling her in. They disappeared in a cloud of bubbles. The trio left alive watched as Claudine’s bright hair faded away into the murky depths.
“Another one bites the dust,” Mahiru murmured.
“I’ve had enough of this shark!” Futaba declared. “It’s eaten three of our friends! It must be stopped!”
“Babe, no!” Kaoruko cried out as Futaba dove into the water after Hikari. More bubbles rose to the surface as they wrestled under the water. Kaoruko and Mahiru caught only flashes of movement.
The fight must have ended in a draw, for neither returned to the raft. Instead they joined Karen, Maya, and Claudine, treading water in the designated Dead Person Zone.
And then there were two.
“Well, I’m still planning to get married on this trip,” Kaoruko said, turning to Mahiru.
Mahiru took a step backwards. “Ummm. Well, we don’t have anyone to officiate anymore, so…”
“I think that’s fine,” Kaoruko said, taking a step closer to Mahiru. “If there’s no one to officiate, then there’s also no one to complain.”
Mahiru’s heels were at the edge of the raft. One more step and she’d tumble into the water. She had to do something - but what?
“I…. I have a confession to make!” she shouted. Kaoruko paused, eyebrows raised.
“Oh?”
“Yes!” Mahiru nodded seriously. “I will only marry someone who can beat me in a wrestling match!”
Kaoruko paled, fear flashing across her face. “Wait-”
Back on shore, Junna looked up from her frog hunting just in time to see Mahiru tackle Kaoruko across the raft, the two of them tumbling into the water, Kaoruko’s shriek piercing the air. Then all was still, almost picturesque, an empty raft floating quietly in a lake. Junna decided she didn’t want to know what had gone down in her absence.
“Nana, I’m never saying no to frog hunting again.”
“Great!” Nana beamed at her, holding out her newest catch, a small speckled toad. “What should we name this one?”
Junna frowned. “Isn’t that Shakespeare again?”
“No, no! Shakespeare was smaller.”
“I see,” Junna said, not seeing at all. How Nana managed to keep track of the dozen frogs she’d found so far, Junna didn’t know. “How about…. Anne Hathaway?”
“Isn’t that some American actress?”
“Yes. But it’s also the name of Shakespeare’s wife.”
“Oh! That’s great, Junna-chan! Let me find Shakespeare again, I have to introduce them!” Nana bounded off through the reeds, Anne Hathaway carefully cradled in her hands. Junna watched her go with a fond, if exasperated, smile.
“Alright,” she muttered to herself, standing up and looking across the water. “Time to make sure the rest of these idiots haven’t drowned themselves.”
Said idiots were all treading water in the middle of the lake, pondweed tangled in their hair and algae freckling their skin with green.
“I can’t believe you betrayed me like that!” Claudine complained, glaring at Hikari. “We were supposed to be powerful together!”
“Kaoruko told me to eat you.”
“And you listened!?”
Hikari shrugged.
“Speaking of listening to bad suggestions,” Maya said, frowning at Karen.
“You don’t say no to sacrifice!” Karen declared.
“Exactly!” Futaba agreed. “Especially when that sacrifice is heroic.”
“My hero,” Kaoruko said, swimming over to Futaba and clinging to her arm.
Mahiru sighed. “I’m going back to the raft.”
“I wouldn’t, if I were you,” Claudine said, nodding her head in that direction. The group turned to look, then immediately turned right back around.
“Maybe if we pretend we didn’t see her,” Karen whispered, “she won’t notice us.”
“No way, she has her glasses on this time, we’re done for,” Futaba moaned.
“I don’t know why you’re complaining, Futaba-han,” Kaoruko said, cowering behind her, “You’re not the one she gets mad at!”
Claudine hummed in thought. “You know, Karen, I’m thinking we should go the sacrifice route again.”
Maya nodded. “This time I agree.”
“Aye-aye, captain!”
“Wait! No!” Kaoruko cried out as Karen grabbed hold of her and began dragging her to the raft, where an expectant Junna was waiting with her hands on her hips.
“Ah, Karen-chan, maybe you shouldn’t…” Mahiru trailed off, wincing.
“No, this is good,” Hikari said. “We can sacrifice both of them now.”
“Karen! Hanayagi!” Junna said, her voice loud enough to carry to the rest of the group. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“It was Kaoruko-chan’s idea--”
“Karen-han tackled Tendo-han--”
“Stop, stop.” Junna rubbed the sides of her head, already feeling a headache form. “One at a time. And the rest of you, come over here too.”
“Yes, Dad,” Claudine muttered as they paddled over to the raft.
“I heard that.”
Claudine made a face, sticking her tongue out. Maya giggled. When the entire group was assembled on the raft again, Junna asked, “Okay. Who is going to explain what happened?”
The girls looked at each other, none willing to speak up. Finally Maya poked Karen in the back, whispering something about sacrifices.
“Right!” Karen said, jumping to her feet. “See, Kaoruko-chan said we should do an improv play. So I decided to be captain of our boat, but Futaba-chan got mad because I stranded everyone in the ocean and she wanted to get married to Kaoruko-chan, but then we realized that Hikari-chan was being a shark, so I tackled Maya-chan to sacrifice her, and we both got eaten!”
Kaoruko picked up the story next, after a pointed look from Futaba. “Our dear Kuro-han then told us she was married to Shark Hikari-han, so I told Hikari-han to eat her, as any proper wife should, and then Futaba-han bravely jumped in to fight her, and then Mahiru-han tried to propose to me by wrestling me, and then we both fell off the ship!”
Everyone looked at Junna with determined faces, ready to defend their play. Junna stared back at them, open mouthed. It took several moments for her to collect her thoughts.
“So… You’re telling me… That we go to the most prestigious theater academy in the country… and this is the best improv play you could come up with?”
Everyone turned away, making various awkward faces as they tried to avoid eye contact with their disappointed pseudo father figure.
“So,” Futaba said, attempting to give a normal, friendly smile that didn’t show her embarrassment, “how’d the frog hunting go?”
Junna let out a long sigh. “Nana found 13 different frogs and has started weaving grass into little hats for them to wear.”
“God. Nana is really just the cutest person in the world, isn’t she,” Claudine said, shaking her head.
“It’s certainly impressive,” Maya agreed. “She’s still planning on cooking dinner, yes?”
“That depends. Have you caught any fish yet?” Junna asked, the silence confirming the answer she already knew.
“Okay!” Mahiru decided, taking charge. “Let’s get back to it! Maya-chan, I’ll untangle your fishing rod. Hikari-chan, stay out of the water, okay?”
“But-”
“You’re probably scaring all the fish away! If you want to swim, do it somewhere else.”
Hikari pouted, taking a pole and moving to the edge of the raft. The rest of the group followed suit, Karen and Futaba joining her. Mahiru took Maya to the other side, getting to work on the tangled fishing line. Junna and Claudine returned to their original spot, Kaoruko flopping down beside them.
“You’re not going to help?” Claudine asked.
“Of course not! Futaba-han is the one who does the fishing. I’m the one who does the eating.”
“It’s always eating with you, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Speaking of which, Junna-han, I’ve always wondered, does Banana-han taste like bananas?”
“I wouldn’t know,” Junna said, voice surprisingly steady for her red face. “I’ve never eaten a banana in my life.”
Claudine snorted. “Don’t let Nana hear that. She’ll cry.”
“Ugh. You’re so boring today, Junna-han.”
“Alright, Maya-chan,” Mahiru said, handing Maya her detangled rod. “Just throw the hook into the water.”
“That’s all?” At Mahiru’s nod, Maya tossed the hook as best as she could. It landed with a sad plop a foot away from the raft.
“Try… throwing it a little harder than that,” Mahiru suggested. “Like a baseball!”
“A what?”
“A… baseball?”
Maya gave Mahiru a blank look. Mahiru was starting to get very concerned.
“How about… I’ll cast the line, and you can reel it in once we get a bite?”
Maya nodded, gladly relinquishing control.
“Hey! Hey! I got one!” Futaba shouted, a fish dangling from her line. “Look at that! Hey, Junna! You gotta measure it!”
Futaba bounded across the raft and shoved the fish in Junna’s face. Junna grimaced. “A little less enthusiasm, Isurugi, please.” Junna gingerly took the fish and pulled out her pocket ruler. “It’s about… six inches.”
“Six inches! Nice!”
Futaba ran over to their bucket and threw it the fish in, watching in awe as it started swimming around. Junna wrote down the exact measurement in her notebook, marking Futaba’s name with a star. She was the current winner. Claudine leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Do we tell Futaba that six inches is the smallest thing she can catch in this lake?”
“No,” Junna whispered back, “she’s already short enough. We don’t need to shrink her ego too.”
The fish started coming quick after that. Mahiru and Maya pulled in an eight inch one, topping the leaderboard for an hour. Karen was winning in terms of amounts, catching fish twice as fast as the rest of the group. There were whispers going around the raft that she was catching the same one, throwing it back in already on her hook. Their bucket kept filling up, though, two dozen small fish swimming in circles, scales flashing in the light.
“We should start cooking these,” Maya said, depositing her latest catch. “I’ll bring them over to Daiba-san.”
“Careful,” Claudine said, “she probably has a frog army at this point.”
“But they’re all wearing cute hats,” Mahiru reminded them. “So it’s okay.”
“Please make sure she hasn’t tried to become one with the frogs again,” Junna said, looking over at the shore with a frown on her face.
“Again?” Maya asked.
“Let’s not talk about it.”
Maya left for shore, bucket held above her head. She set it on the beach, next to their little grill, and headed off into the reeds to look for Nana. The croaking led Maya right to her.
Nana was crouched in a little clearing, several driftwood structures in front of her. It looked like a little village, complete with walkways and road signs. Frogs and toads of all kinds covered the ground. each one wearing a small grass hat. There must have been close to 50. Nana was moving them about, humming to herself. Maya took it all in wordlessly, then turned around and left. She’d come back to this later.
“You know,” Claudine said, “I’ve been thinking we should ban Nana from frogs. I think she’s too into them.”
“I think it’s kinda cute,” Junna said.
“Sure you would. But did you hear what she told me the other day? She told me the frogs watched over my dreams and then sang her songs to tell her what they learned. That’s terrifying.”
Junna paused for a moment. “Okay, maybe you have a point.”
“Yes! Catch number 13!” Karen held up her newest fish and twirled around. “Aijo Karen, the best fisher girl in the world!”
Mahiru clapped politely. Junna sighed.
"I think I’m done with this," she said, getting to her feet.
"What, annoyed that Karen is having more luck than you?" Claudine asked.
"Yes.” Despite her best efforts, Junna hadn’t managed to catch a single fish in the entire two hours. No matter. She didn’t need a fishing rod to fish. “Kagura?" Junna held out her hand. Seconds later and a knife was in her grasp. Junna slid into the water and took off for shore.
"What is she doing?" Futaba asked.
"Trying to stab the fish?" Hikari suggested.
"More importantly," Claudine said, watching the awkward doggy paddle Junna had to use to keep her glasses above water, "why didn’t she bring her contacts?"
“I don’t think JunJun owns contacts,” Karen says.
"What?"
"Yeah, she says they’re annoying."
Maya frowned. "Wasn’t she wearing contacts during Starlight?"
"Nope!"
"So you’re saying that she was essentially blind the entire time?"
"Probably!"
"Oh, man," Futaba laughed. "That’s hardcore!"
"That explains why she was so insistent that the set pieces were placed in the exact same spot every time," Mahiru realized. Futaba started laughing harder.
"And why she ran right into the stairs when we moved them 2 inches forward!"
"What a loser," Kaoruko said.
"No, I’d say that’s very impressive," Maya said
"Don’t tell me," Claudine guessed, "you’re going to start practicing with a blindfold now, aren’t you."
"I was thinking about it."
"Oh my god."
“Oh?” Kaoruko asked. “I thought you’d be into blindfolded practice, Kuro-han.”
“Kaoruko, I’m going to push you off this raft soon.”
“Um, Daiba-san,” Maya said, back on shore. “Are you busy?”
“Hmm?” Nana looked up from her frogs. The village had grown in the fifteen minutes Maya had been gone, and now included a little driftwood castle. As best as Maya could tell, Nana was roleplaying a princess rescue, one frog trapped high up on the castle with a little grass crown, the other hopping along the ground and fighting the guards with its little grass sword.
Maya had no idea how to react to this scenario. She’d rather go back to the raft and learn about baseball. “We were… thinking of cooking soon. Did you want to help?”
“Oh! Of course!” Nana put down the seven frogs she was holding and tapped them on their heads. “Be safe now, okay?” Maya breathed a sigh of relief, leading Nana back to the grill.
“Were you able to catch a lot fish?” Nana asked.
“Somehow we managed.”
“Great!” Nana inspected the bucket, letting the smallest ones go free and passing the larger ones to Maya. The two of them set about to cleaning and cooking the fish.
Back on the raft, Kaoruko was getting bored.
“Futaba-haaaaan,” she called out, rolling across the wood to where Futaba was sitting. “I’m done with fishing.”
“Have you even touched a fishing rod yet?”
“No. I’m a lesbian, I don’t do that.”
Futaba turned around to high five her. “If I let you sit in my lap, will you be patient?”
“Yes!” Kaoruko scooted over and gladly took up her favorite position, head resting on Futaba’s legs.
“Oh! Me too!” Karen said. She laid down in the middle of raft, head resting on Kaoruko’s stomach. “Ahh~ This is nice.”
Mahiru and Hikari looked at each other and shrugged, joining the pile, Mahiru in Karen’s lap and Hikari in hers. Claudine looked over at the cluster of people.
“Wow. We’re all just abandoning fishing now, are we?”
“Yeah,” Futaba said, setting her rod aside and falling backwards. She landed on Mahiru’s stomach, sharing the space with Hikari.
“Hmph. That’s fine. If there’s no one left in the competition, then I’m the automatic winner!” Claudine pulled in a medium sized fish and tossed it in the bucket.
“Nice one, Kuro,” Futaba said. “Where’d you learn to fish so well?”
“Oh, you know. Hey- Looks like Junna is finally coming back.”
“Is she… carrying a bunch of sticks?” Mahiru asked.
“Alright, I’m ready to fish,” Junna said as she reached the raft, pulling herself up. She was indeed carrying several sticks, each sharpened to a point, as well as a larger wooden creation.
“Did you… make yourself a bow?” Claudine asked, dumbfounded.
“Yes.” Junna dried the wood off with her shirt and tested the string, nodding proudly as it vibrated the way she wanted.
“But. How?”
“It’s not that hard. You just need a knife and the proper tree.”
“Junna, you’re a menace.”
“Are you going to shoot the fish?” Futaba asked, looking eager.
“Yes,” Junna answered again. The rest of the girls sat up, moving closer to watch Junna at work. Junna picked up one of her makeshift arrows and pulled the bowstring back. She’d have to be careful. Without feathers, the arrows would fly differently. There was refraction to take into account as well. That was fine. Junna had calculated harder angles. She spied her target, several feet below the surface, and let the arrow fly.
A fish floated to the surface.
“Incroyable!”
“That was amazing!”
“JunJun, you’re the best!”
“See?” Junna said, looking smug. “Who needs a fishing rod to fish?”
“Am I allowed to stab fish with a knife now?” Hikari asked Mahiru.
“No.”
Nana arrived a short while later, swimming over with Maya sitting gracefully on her back, carrying the tray of food. The smell reached the girls well before the food did, their stomachs growling. Pretending to fish all day was hungry work.
“Dinner time!” Nana called. “I’ve got nine hot plates of Banana Grilled Fish!”
“Yeah!” the group shouted, rushing to take their share. It was delicious, as was everything Nana cooked
“Mm, Banana, you’re the best,” Futaba mumbled around a mouthful of fish.
“Did you bring one of your frogs with you?” Junna asked, spying a patch of green on top of Nana’s head.
“Yes! I didn’t want Anne to be lonely.”
“What happened to Shakespeare?”
“She ate him.”
“...Ah.”
Claudine frowned at the pair. “Do I want to know what you two are talking about?”
“No,” Maya answered, thinking of the frog village, “you don’t.”
“Hey, JunJun! Who won the fishing contest?”
“Me, right?” Futaba asked. “My first one was pretty big.”
Junna flipped through her notebook, scanning through the numbers. “I won.”
“What?”
“I won.”
“You only caught two fish!” Claudine protested. “And you shot those with arrows!”
“And I aimed well!”
“Congrats, Junna-chan!” Nana gave a big smile.
“Yeah, congrats,” Claudine said, making eye contact with Karen. “And you know what they say: the winner is the sacrifice.”
“What?”
“I’m on it!”
“Karen!”
Karen tackled Junna right off the edge. They landed with a loud splash, quickly sinking below the surface as Junna tried desperately to fight off Karen. None of the girls reacted.
“Sacrifice?” Nana asked.
“Oh, you know,” Claudine answered.
