Depths of Friendship [Miu & Levi]

Every so often, Tokyo Tides put on special exhibits. Usually when they got some a new type of big aquatic creature that would draw in crowds. Like the octopus, sea turtles or sharks.

However, this time, unusually. It was to celebrate mythology, an exhibit in-partnership with the museum, next door. It was just Miu’s luck that the rubber costume was the perfect size for the young trainee.

Miu was found with a crowd of children – circling around her. All whilst dressed like a giant sea snake called a Leviathan. The girl took it in her stride, smiling jubilantly at the children. Who in contrast to her cheery attitude looked upon the girl with confusion or mirth. Some leaning across to their friends and giggling in cupped hands.

As the children walked away towards the far more interesting shark enclosure. Miu sighed to herself and wiped the sweat that was building up from the humid air and the warm suit.

“Miu? May I have a word.”

The young girl jumped and span around as someone approached. Narrowly missed slapping them in the face with the long scaled, sequined tail.

“Oh, Mr. Kobayashi!” Miu said, bowing her head to the Aquarium Director. The rubber dragon-like hood falling over her eyes.

“It’s nice to see you, sir.”

Mr. Kobayashi was a portly, round man with a large mustache and kind eyes. Although, Miu got the impression that he was definitely motivated more by money than by the creatures in the tanks. However, she didn’t hold this against him.

“And to you, my little guppy. To see how you’ve grown since you’ve started,” he said, beaming a warm smile at Miu.

“I do need to ask you a favor though. I was going to stay until closing... but, I have a business venture to finish up...”

By “business venture”, Miu knew that he meant some kind of new aquatic critter to purchase.
“Will you be able to lock up tonight? I know I can trust you.”

Miu smiled a bright smile and nodded. The rubbery hood flapping backwards and forwards.
“Yes, sir. I can do that, no problem!”

“I’ll go and uh, get this costume off and then I’ll get right on it!” Miu smiled once again and wobbled away.

The Leviathan’s tail swishing dangerously behind her. Almost unseating an old man who sat on a bench as she took a sharp left. Mr. Kobayashi watched the girl for a second and then turned to leave. Swinging the briefcase, full of money in his right hand.

By the time that Miu had freed herself from the costume and stumbled back out into the main hall. The entire aquarium seemed deserted… at least, as far as she knew.

---

Little feet, both squelching and stomping as the little shark walked, duck footed, down the corridors. Leaving wet footprints behind her.

Her wide yellow eyes moving from left to right. Often pausing to stare through the large panes of glass that divided her from the assortment of creatures within.

“Same, same,” the little Shark muttered to herself, pressing her fin-like hand against her chin and she thought.

There were worse places to be lost for sure. But in all her time, she had never seen anything quite like this.

Nor, had she ever seen creatures like these. They didn’t watch any of the aquatic friends that she knew from her own world. Samemon tilted her head as the occasional brightly colored fish drew closer to the glass, clearly as interested in the shark as she was of them.

“Am confu...confuzed,” she muttered again.

Samemon paused at the nearest tank, the one that contained the Great White Shark. After looking up at it with her large yellow eyes, Samemon tapped on it, several times with her tail. 

“Can help? Which iz find to Sunken Elysium?”

The events that followed this seemingly normal afternoon were… definitely one of the strangest days that Miu had ever been witness too. Little did she know that this was merely the tip of the iceberg of weirdness.

–––

With her tasks in mind and now free from that rubber Leviathan costume. Miu took long strides across the now deserted entrance hall. All the kiosks were free of people. Except, the guests had left a scattering of pamphlets and other discarded trash littering the floor around the foot of the desks.

By the time Miu had almost cleaned the mess up, night had truly fallen and only the dimmed lamps that hung from above – shaped like a smack of floating jellyfish lit the room. Both the floor and ceiling had been designed to resemble a pool of clear ocean water.

“Phew. I guess that’s about it,” the girl said, stretching and holding back a yawn.
As she ducked down to pick up the last few pamphlets which gave a myriad of information about the various species of sharks. An odd rustle caught Miu’s attention.

Perplexed, Miu turned her head but couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Slowly, she moved across the long stretch of shimmering water floor.

“Is someone the-th-there?”

Miu put her hands out to steady herself as she almost slipped across a puddle of water. If seconds before, someone had not shouted a warning. She’d have definitely ended up on her butt.

The blue haired girl turned her head, trying to catch sight of whomever had warned her. “Excuse me, but we’ve closed so I don’t think it’s a good idea if you…”

Miu’s mouth dropped open. What stood before her, albeit in shadow, was… unmistakably a black furred dog. Although, it stood on its hind legs. Not to mention the fact that it spoke, like a human, in plain human language.

“Oh man, did I fall and hit my head… or what?”

The girl was still trying to take this all in when the dog spoke once again. It was definitely legit. The jaw moved up and down and sounds came out. Either that or it was a very well made puppet.

Tilting her head ever so slightly, she bent down so she was level with the dog creature.

“You mean to tell me… that… there is another one of, uh, whatever you are. Running around this aquarium. But this one is a “small blue shark with a chain around their tail” and they’re in danger?”

Miu tilted her head in the other direction and she tried to digest all of this.

“You’re definitely… real? Right? No offense or anything but dog’s don’t usually talk… I mean… I don’t mean to offend you or anything, really. I’m sorry… let me start over.”

The girl’s cheeks flushed a deep crimson. She coughed a few times. As if she was trying to compose herself.

“Hi, I’m Miu. I’d be glad to help you find your… shark friend? Do you have any idea where they might be. Just… this aquarium is pretty big and kind of dangerous if you take a misstep. I’d hate for anything bad to happen to you or your friend.”

This was not even to mention that the Aquarium connected to the Museum next door. So if this “shark” escaped, that’d be even more area to search and who knows who it might cross paths with.

In her mind, a giant and monstrous bipedal shark, as large as the glass tanks was lurking round corners and waiting to take a bite out of someone. She shivered and then looked to the dog.

“I think we might have to start by following the footprints? What do you say… uh, I didn’t catch your name. If you have a name?” Miu said, tilting her head for the third time. So many questions had burst into Miu's head but it seemed prudent to concentrate on the task at hand. 

This all seemed very odd, almost unbelievable even. Almost like she had fallen over and hit her head and now she was dreaming. If this was a dream, and considering how vivid and crazy it really was, it was likely. It was rather incredible.

Miu took a deep breath as if to steady herself and looked down at her new companion. But Jackie spoke before she got a chance. The dog creature held out a candy bar to Miu in her gloved paw hands.

“Oh, right. Thanks! I will.”

She looked down at the brightly colored wrapper and tilted her head ever so slightly.

“Uh, how… where did you… find this?” Miu asked, a look of confusion crossing her face.
So many more questions filled her head, but she pushed these to the side. Once again.

“We don’t even sell these in the gift shop or in any of the vending machines,” Miu said, turning it over in her palm.

“You’re sure… amazing.” She pocketed the candy bar and a few seconds of silence fell between them.

Then, quite suddenly. Miu jumped, as if she had been electrocuted.
“Right, we need to get going. Our little shark friend or whatever this is. Has quite a head start on us.”

“Come on! Let’s go!” Miu grabbed the hand of the Jackie and then walked her down the corridor.

Miu led the way, down the deserted corridor which led towards the tropical fish tanks. But also a lounge-like area where visitors could rest for a while.

“The trail led this way, I think.”
An arrangement of red chairs lay in an alcove, half way down the corridor.

“Oh, I think we might have got our first clue.”

The cushions which had been replaced neatly upon her last passing had been thrown all over the place. Large wet footprints lay across the upholstery and the information pamphlets had been thrown all over the place.

“That seems quite… conclusive, huh?” Miu bent down to scoop up some of the pamphlets and replaced them back in the holders. As she did so, a question that she had been sitting on bubbled up to the front of her mind.

“So, Jackie. Can I ask you something? Just, how… how dangerous is this thing?”

As once again, images of human-sized, humanoid, monstrous sharks creatures roamed in the shadows. Striking at them from the darkness with a jaw with arm-sized teeth.

This was was true. No harm had come to anything that had been disrupted by this supposed shark monster. Which, gave Miu some relief.

But at the same time, Jackie’s other explanation of “aquatic digimon becoming giant” had the very opposite effect.

“Big enough to swallow us whole...” Miu said, gulping. “Let’s hope not. I’d rather not be eaten today. I don’t even think I’d taste any good.” She forced a smile across her face and continued onward.

The watery trail carried on down the corridor. Past the tank with the seemingly aggressive and territorial Puffer Fish who was secretly just nervous and puffed up when frightened. Then, past another which held an octopus that made copious amounts of escape attempts and finally past fish that glowed eerily in the darkness of the aquarium, after dark.

As they went, Miu described these to her dog companion. Somewhat by force of habit and also to lighten the mood.

“I never actually asked. Do you even like fish and aquatic creatures? Maybe, just the normal sized ones. Not the giant monstery ones.” She indicating the tanks.

The two walked for a short way until they reached the end of the corridor which split into two. There it was. Stood right in the middle of the corridor, between the two paths. Yellow eyes, wide, bright and large. Its long tail which was very shark-like moved slowly from side to side. Jackie had been quite correct in the description of the thing.

“Uh, so, that’s the monster shark?” She said, tilting her head. “It’s smaller than I thought. Cuter too.”

The little shark monster copied her, head also tilted. Albeit in the other direction. “Um, so, now what?” She wasn’t sure if it might attack if she approached or if it’d run.

Before Miu or Jackie would make a move, either way. Something odd occurred. The cell phone in Miu’s pocket began make a horrible noise. Somewhere between a tin whistle and an angry swarm of bees. She pulled it out, trying to silence it, but the noise only grew.

“What’s wrong with this thing??” She said, shaking it. But to no avail.“It’s never acted like this before.”

Miu shook it more but the whistling screech filled the corridor. The screen seemed to flicker wildly in various colors. 

The shark took a step back, looking a little concerned and maybe a little scared of the noise. The pupils of the eyes seemed to contract into slits for just a second.

Then, it ran as fast as it could to the left. Tail slapping from side to side. Continuing to leave large wet footprints across the floor. As the creature vanished, the noise began to wain and then vanished completely. 

“Wait! No, don’t go!” Miu shouted after it, stepping forward. “Jackie! Quick, let’s follow.”

Now the shark had vanished, once again. The phone that sat in Miu’s palm seemed as normal as boring as any other cell phone.

Miu tilted her head, slightly confused by the proceedings. “I guess, I mean. It only did it when the shark was here.

It’s not doing anything...” Miu paused and held out the phone near the black dog Digimon’s right ear.
“Not doing anything when directed at you.”

“Is that normal? I don’t get ANY of this. I just wanted to study fish,” Miu blurted out. Pressing a hand against the glass of a nearby tank as if to steady herself.

“I don’t get any of this, really. First, a talking dog and then a shark monster. Am I dreaming, Jackie?”

“Wait!” Miu said, jumping back to her feet.

“We can’t just stand around and do nothing! We gotta follow that shark monster thing before something even worse happens! Come on!”

The pair followed in the direction that the shark had run. Large wet footprints still inked their way down the black marbled floors.

“Not the gift shop!” Miu said, more to herself than to Jackie.

“You know how touchy the staff is in here? You stand around one time, laughing at a funny postcard and then you get thwacked by a broom for loitering and kicked out.”

“Basically, the manager. Is… very sharp. Like a shark tooth. So let’s be...very… careful….not… to...damage... anything. Okay?”

The very second, the final word came out of her mouth. As if life was just making a fool of her. There was a catastrophic BANG.

An entire book shelf fell. The books that it had once held flew across the room. Loose pages soared up into the air and then fell sadly back to the ground, far away from the spines.

“No! No! No! No! Noooooo!” Miu shouted. Trying to grab the soaring pages with flailing hands.

Across the room as the little shark monster reappeared. It jumped resolutely over the book shelf and then up onto a higher shelf that held a variety of plush dolls of the various sea creatures that the aquarium held.

For a few moments, the little shark Digimon looked down upon the BlackGaomon. She had paused in her destruction of the strange human area around her. Head slightly tilted. Hesitant but curious.

Eyes wide, it stared down. The black slit that cut across the yellow, began to fade and then vanished. Leaving only the large yellow eyes, clear. 

Meanwhile, Miu was jumping across the floor like it was made of molten rock. Scooping up whatever that the little shark had dropped and trying to repair the books, to no avail.

“Aww man, I am so gonna be blamed for all this. Who would believe that a talking dog was helping me try and catch a crazy tiny shark that breathes on dry land… that went berserk through the aquarium,” Miu said to herself, her hands full of loose pages of a book on various types of aquatic mammals.

The little shark continued to look down at the dog Digimon for several moments. Head tilting, ever further to one side. The long shark tail waving hazardously from side to side, in danger of swiping more items from the shelf in which she perched.

“Hungwy! Food?!”The little shark said, opening her mouth wide.

Without another second of thought, the shark jumped down from the shelf. Mouth wide.

“Nom nom! Food! Food! Food! Hungwy,” she chanted as she landed safely in the doggo’s arms.

Talking the candy and began to chew through the wrapper and to the delicious sea-salt flavor candy within.
Miu stood up, arms still full of papers. She marched across the room towards the now content and peaceful shark and raised a hand. Almost like she was going to begin to berate it for all the chaos it had caused.

The little shark looked up. Eyes full of sweetness and clear childish glee. And suddenly, all of Miu’s frustrations evaporated.

“Uh, I hope you… liked that candy. Now, I think that you should probably go… to… wherever you came from.”

Miu looked across to Jackie, her own head tilted this time.

“Would you be able to take the shark home? I think there had been more than enough chaos for one night? Wouldn’t you say.”

“Where exactly do you come from, anyway?” Miu asked, hesitantly. Unsure if she actually wanted to know the answer. There had been far too much oddness, already.