Taiga hadn't been kidding.
The sun had long-since set, and the slither of moonlight that reached them from under the canopy was meagre. Phone torches and a massive solar light illuminated the hiking trail; turned out Taiga hadn't realised he needed to buy batteries to go in the torches. At least the cooler was working. It was full of sodas from the overpriced vending machine, a bribe Omura had demanded in exchange for his participation.
Naseru, despite not being forced to attend this fishing expedition, had met the rest of the Hanagawa team while Fumiko and the rest of the team proceeded to prepare for the evening of meditation.
Kaho was freezing in her leggings and t-shirt as she and the small group of Hanagawa players slunk into the hiking trail from that morning. They were at the mouth of the overgrown trail to the ponds. It looked far creepier at night, the brambles, knotweed and thorns reached out like claws, trying to coax her away under a spell.
Taiga lifted his solar lamp over his head like it was an emergency flare. Omura was on his heels, beckoning Eiji and Yuta to come along. Kaho trailed behind them. Naseru was behind them too. She wondered whether Taiga had selected Naseru to participated since his older brother had been there when the Kenjoku Kaijus spotted the fish.
"Do you really think we'll see it?" Yuta asked over his shoulder.
Kaho shrugged, "I for one would rather find it today than tomorrow when we have school on Monday. I don't want to go back to classes without having slept."
Eiji grinned, "Tapping out already, Kaho?"
"Kaho?" Taiga exclaimed, "Never!"
She groaned and dragged her feet, scuffing her shoes on upturned stones and the rest of the undergrowth.
The pools of water were incredible; they cascaded down a rock face in small interconnected systems, trickles of water dribbled from one pool to the other as a fresh water source spurted crystalline tears from between a cluster of rocks.
There were five pools in the centre, descending toward the floor, like a staircase. However there were dozens of smaller pools, like something you'd see at the beach; weathered stone had made crevices the size of a fist, where shimmering flowers bloomed, and larger, deeper crevices, some were thinner and more like streams than puddles or lakes, while others were rounder, like watermelons or car tyres. Kaho ogled the pools. No wonder this area was fenced off. It looked like a health and safety nightmare. Dozens of small pools where, depending on the circumstances, even the most competent swimmers could drown. It was dark, and dank and smelled of stagnant water, but there was a hint of something else. Something magic. The air seemed alight with something intangible like they were encroaching on something sacred and enchanted. Was this just Taiga's hyperbole or something else?
Kaho rubbed her eyes. It was incredible. The other members of the team seemed just as awestruck. Eiji snapped a picture, spurring everyone else to do the same. Eiji and Yuta even squatted by the edge of one of the pools and took a selfie, crossing their eyes, sticking their tongues out wide, and while Eiji held his phone, and made bunny ears behind Yuta's head, Yuta poked dimples with both hands. It was probably one of those moments they'd look back on in the future and reminisce.
In each pond, the water shone with a glistening sheen of bioluminescent algae at what Kaho could only guess was the bottom, which was whisked abound in the currents made by the fish and other animals within.
The bottom pool of the cascading waterfall-like structure, looked deep; the algae giving it the impression of being shallower. Kaho watched Omura kick a stray pebble into the water, and it disappeared, far beneath a sheet of algae, as if it was a membrane concealing a whole world underneath. Should they have packed snorkels, or better yet, wetsuits and scuba gear to trap the fish in their grasp? Maybe they could call it off, and send Taiga back to the sports superstore in the morning?
"Alright, Team!" Taiga said, gesturing to the pools, each separated by what looked like walkways between them, covered in a slick sheet of green goop, which could be moss, or maybe even more algae, "We are looking for that fish. It's big and it's fast and it shimmers like the moon in the water. Do not make the mistake of chasing the light, you will fall in."
Yuta and Omura were quick to grab nets. They walked across the lowest walkway of moss and scrambled along the rock faces to peer into the taller pools. Taiga looked at Kaho with a self-satisfied smirk on his face, "You know, when I saw it, it was in that one, next to you."
Kaho glanced back down at the seemingly endless water. She wished she had a pair of goggles or a periscope. All she could see were the ripples of water, the refracted moonlight, and the occasional disturbance of the algae.
She moved on to attempt to assist Omura, who was, rather stupidly, attempting to cross over from the left side of the pool to the right via the narrowest stone lip. He scaled it like an action hero, shuffling just an inch with each step. The rocks crumbled underfoot, sending more water trickling from under his feet into the pond below.
Kaho pointedly didn't look at her brother, who had torn off his shirt and revealed a pair of swimming trunks. Despite the pondweed, algae, moss, fish and potential leeches in the water, Taiga waded into the second pool from the bottom, one above her on the helter-skelter of gushing water. The rest of the team clambered up the rock face for a better view, even though, from where Kaho was standing, it seemed like any water at the top would resemble a puddle, instead of a lake. Omura, Eiji and Yuta were like a colony of ants on a mission. It was strange to watch them.
Taiga let out a little yelp, shouting that the water was cold. Of course it would be cold, it was nine PM, and he was standing in a pond. The water was up to his mid-chest. He looked like he was part of a spectacular water fountain, not an idiot in his twenties, playing in a pond.
"Coach, are you really going to catch the fish bare handed in there?" Eiji asked with a snort. He was, apparently, very good at climbing, and had somehow made his way up the dimpled rock face to the top, above where any water falls, his head just inches below the canopy. He ought to be in a harness, but he seemed completely nonplussed by his height. After all, he had a bird's eye view of the whole area, like he was looking for just a wisp of light in the water that was distinctly different from the moon. He whistled to Yuta, who snapped to attention.
They communicated in a language of fingers. The first time Kaho had seen them do this without a basketball for cover. Eiji lifted his left hand up, and gestured to the ground beneath him. The fish was in one of the five cascading pools. That was reassuring.
Yuta gave him a thumbs up, and then rotated his wrist, indicating he wanted more information.
Eiji held up his thumb, pointer and middle finger. Yuta looked from the five interspersed pools and squinted up at Eiji. He lifted his own hand and counted down on his fingers until Eiji copied him. Two. The second pool.
"Omura, it's in your pool!" Yuta whispered. Omura let out an excited whoop and plunged his net into the water with a loud splooshing sound. The team deflated.
They continued their mission to catch the fish, which seemed to be taunting them at the top of the rocks for half an hour before Kaho lost the will to live. There wasn't enough of them to look for the fish, five people couldn't cover all this ground. She huffed and turned her head and spotted Naseru.
He was sitting down by the biggest pool, with his trouser legs rolled up to the knee, and his socks and shoes disgarded to the side. His feet were submerged in the water like he was at a spa. Kaho crouched down beside him.
"Do you think all of these pools are connected in some kind of stream within the rocks?" she asked Naseru, sitting down beside him.
He shrugged, "Do you think all of this is a steaming sack of shit?"
Kaho giggled, "I don't know, I think there has to be some truth in it. And it's not like this place isn't beautiful, right?"
Naseru shrugged again.
"Guess it doesn't beat a good old-fashioned grass verge, huh?"
He let out a slow breath, "Aigawa, why are you doing this?"
"What?" Kaho asked.
"This," he said, gesturing to the world around him. She furrowed her brows.
"Why am I still trying to be your friend?" she asked, "Because I think you need someone in your corner."
Naseru scowled and kicked his feet, disturbing the algae. Kaho's eyes widened. Under the surface, that iridescent glow flickered, so deep, and so well-concealed that it had to be the fish. She squeaked and reached for the net someone, likely Taiga, had abandoned at Naseru's side when the slippery ground beneath her gave way.
Kaho fell backwards into the water, her eyes burned in the murky water as she desperately thrashed about, no longer caring about the fish. She kicked her legs, no longer able to tell which way was up.
She couldn't breathe, and she didn't know which way to swim. She was just thrashing, running out of air as she writhed in the water. She closed her eyes, trying to silence the searing pain, when she felt something grab her arm and yank, forcing her upward, dragging her. She kicked her feet obediently, helping whoever had her, pull her to safety.
She broke the surface with an unceremonious gagging sound. Her orifices were full of pond water. Snot poured from her nose, and there was algae in her hair. Her lungs felt like they'd shrivelled up like raisins and they hurt. She took fast, shallow breaths. She was alive. She was alive.
She rubbed her eyes and saw Naseru, dripping wet, and also covered in the green ooze. She took a few more breaths.
"Thank. You," she wheezed.
She was freezing, shivering with each laboured breath, and as the rest of the Hanagawa basketball descended from their places, their mission to catch the fish abandoned, Naseru hoisted Kaho onto his back and made a careful descent. Taiga had lodged the solar lamp into Naseru's waistband since he had to wait for the others to climb down. At least then, there was some light, but also a weird, spear-like bulge coming from his hip. In any other circumstance, she may have laughed. But she stank of pond water and was desperate for a shower.
Kaho had wriggled down from Naseru's back before they made their way into the clearing where Fumiko and the others were meditating. Both Kaho and Naseru were covered in algae, they each marched, sopping wet, back to their rooms.
Kaho fell asleep the second she was out of the shower. Her skin was lobster red, and scrubbed raw. She was no longer some kind of swamp monster. Her bedhead might be unruly, but every muscle in her body demanded rest, and so, she listened.
She woke up feeling even more exhausted than she had before falling asleep. Her body ached, and Fumiko was long gone. Kaho stretched as she plodded from her empty room toward the dining hall, rubbing her eyes. She bumped into Eiji in the hall.
"You okay?" he asked.
She nodded.
"Good," he grinned, "They have a kale smoothie today. Looks just like your hair last night."
Kaho let out an astonished laugh, and went to swat at Eiji. He broke into a run, snickering as he turned the corner toward one of the exits. Kaho dashed after him, laughing, and calling after him. Eiji didn't stop running.
Not until they both all but knocked into someone as they careened toward the few luxury rooms by the dining hall. It was a man wearing a powder blue police uniform. His eyes were wide, like a spooked deer, and he shuffled back into the doorway. He swallowed the lump in his throat and held out a trembling hand.
"You can't come in," he squeaked.
His colleague rolled his eyes and sighed, "They weren't coming in, Kid. Look at them. He's probably just taken the piss out of her."
Kaho blinked up at them and gazed at the door they were blocking. It was one of the few suites on site, where guests had panoramic views of the reserve through one-way glass. She'd seen the suites before, but hadn't paid them much heed.
"Sorry to disturb you," Eiji said, bowing his head, "We were just- we're sorry."
"What happened?" Kaho asked instead.
The two officers shared a glance, before the more experienced one sighed and crossed his arms, leaning against the door frame. He seemed exasperated. Had the rookie been that exhausting? Was that just him being cranky and coffee-deprived?
"There's been a murder."