Lost in Blue! Touring Toroa!

[Fox]

A loud growl filled the quiet morning air. Kasumi roused from her slumber, opening her sapphire eyes slowly. The sight of tree branches overhead greeted her as well as another loud rumble from her stomach. She placed a hand on it and sat up, drowsy with leaves and twigs sticking out of her blue hair. She blinked slowly, glancing around the clearing now that it was daylight. She’d been wandering throughout the night until she’d just crashed beneath a tree.

“Mm?”

She spotted something in the distance. Rubbing her eyes to clear the blurriness from them, Kasumi squinted and looked again. Oh! It was a city! A town! A place! It looked pretty big. Maybe someone would give her something to eat? She was very hungry - as her stomach kept reminding her. Okay! Kasumi bounced to her feet. She wasn’t wearing much in the way of clothes. Just her white, dirt stained night dress. She didn’t have shoes, so her feet were sore and had cuts, but it was okay!

Surely, some nice person would give her something to eat if she offered to do something for them! Maybe they’d even give her new clothes if she was lucky! Yes! With her mind made up, Kasumi quickly dusted her outfit off, completely oblivious to the leaves and twigs in her hair, and jogged off toward the city. She’d never really been in a big city by herself! She hoped that she would be okay!

It took longer than Kasumi thought to get to the city. And the city was a lot bigger than she thought too! Buildings towered high above her head. She stared up slack jawed in awe. There were so many people around too! Kasumi did her best to stay out of everyone’s way as she walked through the streets. A lot of people looked at her the same way that the field fishmen had. She furrowed her brow in concern and put a thoughtful finger to her lips. Were they angry of her? Wary of her? Why? For what reason? She didn’t really understand.

Part of her thought to ask, but another part was afraid that she’d get yelled at again. Or worse. A troubled Kasumi paused on the sidewalk as a horse drawn carriage rode through the street swiftly and splashed a bunch of dirty water onto her. Kasumi flinched in dismay - not because she’d been drenched - but because the gown that her prior owners had given her.

“Oh…”

---

Kasumi | #0f52ba | Post Count: 1

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #1

Two men walked through the city and even if one tried he could hardly find friends that looked so different as these two. Gabriel was tall, aristocratic looking gentleman with dark although slowly greying hair and stubble beard that covered his strict face. The perfectly fitting suit of his was in direct contrast with the simple pants and open vest that were covering the body of his companion. Blonde man of average height but incredible musculature that was keeping an eye on the crowd as his brooding companion seemed to be lost in his own thoughts.
Not that he would need any guarding as most people were keeping their distance from these two. While Toroa wasn´t part of the World Government and most of their exploits took place in East Blue, their dangerous reputation quickly spread among the Toroan nobility and low born alike. After all, who wouldn´t like fresh gossips about lord whose had was worth over 36 million?
Despite mostly ignoring everything that was happening around him, the Professor suddenly stopped as he noticed in his peripheral vision something that didn´t really fit into the city. Surprisingly large fishwoman who was standing by the edge of the road, completely drenched by dirty water splashed at her by a carriage.
Despite very strong fish features, all Gabriel could see was a lost and helpless puppy, that needed his help.
“Oh, not again…”
Noticing the direction of his master´s gaze, Namkhai rolled his eyes, but he knew better than anyone, that it was already too late to talk him out of it.
So, he just quietly followed the Professor, who made his way through the busy road, ignoring the angry voices that were yelling at him from all the carriages his presence forced to stop.
“Miss, I am sorry miss, but are you alright? Did someone rob you?”
Noticing she was missing her shoes, the stern mask on Gabriel´s face slowly melted, leaving behind kind and friendly smile that most people used when they met especially cute puppy on the streets.

[Fox]

Kasumi stepped away from the street and began the process of trying and failing to wring out her gown. She could get the water out, but the stains remained, which were the most distressing part. She didn’t have access to soap or anything of the sort. Her lip quivered. Now wasn’t the time for self pity and tears. She had to figure out how to fix these sorts of things herself now. She didn’t even notice the commotion in the street as she thought about her options.

It took being addressed directly for her to snap out of it. Kasumi flinched at the sound and looked down at a man who cut quite the austere figure. Her default response to his approach was to straighten up immediately, bow her head respectfully, and keep her gaze pointed at the ground. While she towered over him, this would hopefully make her appear non threatening and small.

“A-Ah, no sir,” she answered promptly, her voice soft and low, “No one robbed me.”

Kasumi hazarded a glance at the man’s face, only to see it light up with a smile. She tilted her head to one side in confusion as a reflex, the fins on her head flopping to one side. That wasn’t an expression that she’d expected, but she found it reassuring! Maybe she could be of use to him?! Her eyes lit up. It wouldn’t replace the home that she’d lost, but!

“B-But! I am on my own! If… If you’re looking for workers, please consider me? I won’t take up too much space, I promise! A-And I’m a very hard worker! I can babysit, sir, and cook, and clean, and I’m very strong, so I can do any heavy lifting you require. Oh, and also, I was trained to fight, so I can protect you and your family, sir. Please consider it!”

While her life as a house slave was hard, it was all that Kasumi knew, and all she longed to return to. She didn’t understand why the other Fishmen had kicked her out, or why the young master… had done what he’d done, but! But! Her eyes wandered to the man’s companion who had a quite different kind of wardrobe, but he was still a human, so she quickly lowered her gaze.

---

Kasumi | #0f52ba | Post Count: 2

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #2

The Professor was left speechless, by how perfect puppy Kasumi was, his smile becoming wider and more genuine with every sentence she said. Even the way she tilted her head to the side in confusion was completely perfect to the point, that when she stopped he had to focus very hard not to pat her head to show her how good puppy she was.
Well of course, there was the technical problem of him not really needing any workers as most things around his manor were handled by the more junior members of the organisation, but he didn´t have it in him to break her heart. Besides, didn´t she mentioned she was trained fighter? Perhaps she could even know the basics of Fishman Karate and help the research team with this topic? That was definitely a possibility he had to explore.
“Well to be honest…”
Gabriel started carefully, trying to figure out a working condition he could offer the fishwoman without offending her.
“I could use someone like you. I guess, you just arrived to the city?”
He risked the bold approach mainly because his own social anxieties were rendering him pretty much useless when it came to something like careful negotiation.
“I mean…I would need to test your skills before offering you a more qualified position, but for the beginning what would you say about…200 000 Belly per month with three meals per day? We also have our own physician, and I am pretty sure we could arrange a room for you as well.”
As most of the hiring was usually done by either Myra or Sarah, the Professor had literally no idea is what he was offering her was a good deal or no, so he tried his best to sell it with kind and welcoming smile.

[Fox]

“Yes! Just now!” Kasumi answered the man’s question honestly and earnestly. She was brand new to this city! Actually, she was really just brand new to this island. But, more importantly, he could find a use for her! She perked up immediately, her sapphire eyes sparkling brightly. She leaned forward, hanging on his every word and nodding when he said that she would have to prove her abilities. She had no issue with doing that. But what he said next made the smile fade from her face.

“Oh… I… that sounds really lovely, sir, but I can’t afford to pay you 200,000 Beli right now,” Kasumi said, completely misunderstanding Gabriel, “I can get a job though! I’ll just need some time to get the money together. The meals and room would be so lovely, and I’d be sure to cook and clean everyday, so you wouldn’t have to worry about me slacking on my duties even if I work part time somewhere else.”

Kasumi looked down at the ground and knit her hands together. She understood if that wasn’t good enough. When she’d made money for her other masters, she’d been praised for her work ethic, so she was fairly confident that she’d be able to earn enough to make this new master proud. He seemed so kind since he was willing to take her in off the streets and give her a home.

This probably wasn’t what the other Fishmen meant by finding her own way when they’d left her on the shore. But it was the only way that she really knew how to live. Why should she want for more? Wanting for more had gotten Melany killed. Wanting for more had ruined her peaceful life. She wouldn’t want for more ever again if she could find the peace that she’d once had. Kasumi closed her eyes to keep them from tearing up. Oh Melany…

---

Kasumi | #0f52ba | Post Count: 3

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #3

This was one of the very rare moments, when Gabriel found himself dumbfounded by someone´s words. He looked at the poor puppy, who was standing right in front of him with her head down thinking, how she could even misunderstood his words to this extent. After all, most fishmen he met knew the common language pretty well, was she from some very distant part of the word? Or was she mistreated by someone?
That was the moment when he realised what was going on and his face clouded gentle frown, that was quickly replaced by soft, encouraging smile. She was a former slave, either released one or escaped one, it didn´t really matter that much to the Professor as he was pretty sure, no outsider would be stupid enough to press this matter on Toroa soil, and definitely not against him. Still, it meant that her socialization might be a bit more challenging.
“That´s not how it works you silly.”
Gabriel said kindly, gently patting her head.
“I am not going to rent you that room. I am offering you a job with room and food as the working benefit. So, you will train, help the research team and around the house.”
He pointed on her with his index finger, before turning the same finger towards himself.
“I will pay you money for it, feed you and give you a place to live, is it clear?”
The Professor asked in tone, that normal humans were using for a lost puppy, that desperately needed to be adopted.
“Anyway, the mansion is quite far away and you can not walk through the city with feet in such state, you could get an infection or something.”
Almost as if he was reading his master´s mind, Namkhai muttered.
“I´ll find a carriage.”
Gabriel nodded, looking one more time on her injured feet, before turning his eyes back up towards her face.
“When we get home I ask our doctor to look at them and buy you some proper shoes, alright?”

[Fox]

The silence stretched out for long enough to make Kasumi uncomfortable. She snuck a peek at the man, seeing confusion plain as day on his face. What? Kasumi blinked with both surprise and extreme confusion of her own. She didn’t understand. She thought she’d been very clear about it. Had she said something strange? She was even more confused when he suddenly frowned and just as suddenly smiled up at her. Him patting her head only baffled her even more.

“I- Oh,” was all Kasumi could manage as the man explained it to her. She nodded slowly when he asked her to confirm if she understood. This sort of independence was wildly different from how she’d lived her life so far, but she wasn’t totally dense. This… this must be how things worked when… Kasumi frowned a little. When you were free? She supposed? The concepts still felt a little foreign and uncertain, far from the safety and comfort she’d known.

“I…Alright,” Kasumi said, putting her hands together and smiling gratefully, “Thank you, master… er… sir?”

She fumbled over her choice of words. Master probably wasn’t appropriate here even if it was what she’d be the most comfortable using. In fact, she didn’t even know the name of her benefactor, nor had she had the decency to introduce herself. She started to bow only to stop herself halfway. Was bowing appropriate?! Kasumi’s face flushed red with embarrassment. She didn’t know how to handle this, so she just needed to go for it!

“I-I’m Kasumi! Okonomiyaki Kasumi. Th-Thank you for your kindness, sir!”

---

Kasumi | #0f52ba | Post Count: 4

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #5

She was so cute and lost in what was going on around her, that Gabriel had to use a lot of his considerable willpower to stop himself from hugging he and patting her head, especially when she blushed, unsure how to address him or if bowing was acceptable or not. He would love to say her that she have to bow to no one now that she was free, but with how many nobles and royals she could meet during her life in the capital it probably wouldn´t be the best life lesson to start with and so he left it be for now.
“You can call me Gabriel. I don’t really care about titles or anything. The only time you should call me master is if you decided to learn some martial arts from me, all right?”
He gave her an encouraging smile, only to turn around as a well-maintained carriage of black and silver color, pulled by pair of strong horses stopped at the side of the road.
“Hop in!”
Namkhai grinned as he opened the doors from inside. His face however darkened as the coach looked down at Katsumi with barely contained disgust.
“Oh hell no, I am not taking that fish in!”
He yelled, attracting the attention of the crowd around them.
“Are you joking?”
The Titan asked with a hint of anger and warning in his voice, prompting the man to another round of screaming.
“Joking? Oh, no good sir I am very serious! I have no idea what your plans wit are this cre…”
His voice disappeared as he noticed the look that Gabriel was giving him. Where Namkhai was angry the Professor was furious, his cold, murderous rage emanating from him in a way it became almost visible to the people around him.
“Insult my puppy again and I will rip your head off.”
This wasn´t an empty thread from the look on the elderly coach´s face it was obvious that he was aware of that. And not just him. The curious bystanders that were watching them until now suddenly realized that they have some more urgent businesses elsewhere and headed away as quickly as possible.
“I…uh…”
Smirking, Namkhai leaned out of the door, patting his shoulder.
“Better if you´ll shut up and drive. To Moon´s manor.”
The elderly man nodded, turning back to his horses while watching the Professor from the corner of his eye.
“After you.”
As if by magic, the fury in his voice was replaced by kindness, while the Professor gestured to Kasumi, that she should get inside the carriage.

[Fox]

Addressing her new master by his first name seemed terribly improper to Kasumi, but she wasn’t one to argue with her new benefactor if those were his commands. She scratched her face and smiled somewhat uncertainly before nodding in understanding. Almost immediately, Namkhai arrived with a carriage and opened the doors to allow them inside. Kasumi took a step forward when a harsh voice made her jolt and stop completely.

“...Fish?”

Kasumi glanced around for a fish walking on the side of the road. When she saw none, she finally pieced it together that he was talking about her. That look in his eyes. He was looking at her the same way the young master had. But… he had only just met her. How could he think so poorly of her when she’d done nothing to arouse such ire? Kasumi was troubled. She put her hand to her mouth. Was this what the others had meant when they said that she needed to experience the world? This was…upsetting.

Very quickly, hostilities escalated between Gabriel, Namkhai and the coachman. She instantly felt the need to step in and offer to walk, but she felt something cold emanating from Gabriel that made her pause for just a moment. It was all the time Gabriel needed for the matter to be completely resolved and for him to welcome her inside the carriage. She did as instructed, gingerly climbing inside and tucking herself into the corner to make room for Gabriel. She smiled a little sheepishly at Namkhai. It was obvious to her now that she understood very little of her prior situation. She wondered if these two would have some answers.

“...He called me a fish, didn’t he?” she asked after a moment, “Am I… scary to humans?”

Kasumi was beginning to think that maybe Melany was the exception and the young master was more akin to the norm. She was bigger than most humans. And stronger. She’d never use her strength to actually hurt anyone, but… well, it must have been like standing in front of a very large animal. The young master had also been scared of horses when he was younger. An animal… These two though… Kasumi’s sapphire blue eyes flicked to each of them. They treated her differently.

---

Kasumi | #0f52ba | Post Count: 5

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #6

As they got inside the carriage, Gabriel closed the doors, and the coach prompted his horses to walk. The Professor hoped that Katsumi will ignore the previous episode, but his hope turned out to be a false one, as she asked about it right away.
With a sigh, the Professor turned toward his overgrown puppy trying to figure out an explanation, that wouldn´t hurt her too much.
“In a way…yes.”
He nodded after a while.
“You see fishmen and mermaids are very rare in the West Blue, so most of the citizens of Toroa never saw one in their entire lives. And since the giantess attacked the island a few weeks ago, they can be afraid you could try to hurt them.”
It was really true. That old guy was a racist plain and simple, but Gabriel couldn´t force himself to explain this to Katsumi, despite the disagreeing look he was getting from Namkhai.
As he finished the explanation, the horses picked a faster tempo and soon, they arrived at the M.A.R.I.´s Headquarters. A large dwelling house, located on the outskirt of the capital city. The building was made from fired brick, first two floors lined with granite, while the third one used a combination of white and dark brown wood instead. It had a pitched roof, covered with ties of dark green color. The whole manor was standing on a large piece of land, that was enclosed by three meters tall stone wall guarded by uniformed men.
“Here we are.”
The Professor smiled as they got out of the cart, offering their coach a few banknotes for the ride. The old man took them with a shaking hand and quickly rode away, leaving them alone on the driveway. They didn´t even have to announce their arrival as the entrance gate suddenly burst open, as a malamute with the height of a horse and the bulk of a grizzly bear rushed towards them.
“DAAAAAAAAD!”
The creature yelled happily, just barely managing to stop herself in front of Katsumi.
“You are back! Who is this? New sister?”
She asked, tail wildly wagging left and right.

[Fox]

Kasumi considered Gabriel’s answer quietly, noting Namkhai’s reaction. It… probably wasn’t the whole truth that she was being told, judging from that. Fear might play a factor in it, but there was more than just fear in her former young master’s eyes. More than fear in the carriage driver’s eyes. It looked akin to anger. It almost looked akin to the looks that the other Fishmen would give her when she went out into the fields or at the masters in stolen glances.

As the carriage stopped, she allowed the two men to step out first before following suit. Her eyes widened as she took in the massive estate standing in front of them. Kasumi knit her fingers together somewhat anxiously. She still felt rather uncertain about what the future held for her. What she should do with herself. What she wanted to dedicate her life to. All of those questions had had answers up until a very short time ago.

Kasumi didn’t have very long to dwell on those questions because a huge beast burst out of the gates. She flinched in surprise. The thing roared, and it took Kasumi a moment to process that it was speaking intelligibly. It skidded to a stop right in front of her. Oh. A dog. Did dogs talk? The young master’s hounds hadn’t talked.

“...Uh. Hello?”

Kasumi smiled and reached out hesitantly to pat the dog’s head.

“I’m Kasumi.”

---

Kasumi | #0f52ba | Post Count: 6

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #7

Being patted, Beast smiled happily, wagging her tail even more furiously than before. Then, however, she suddenly stopped, almost as if she remembered something, looking at Gabriel with a hint of worry in her eyes.
“Oh dad, there…”
Whatever warning she wanted to give him came too late as suddenly another person appeared at the gate. Slender, petite-looking woman in her early twenties, with long dark hair tied up in a bun, wearing a martial arts uniform.
“Gabriel!”
Hard to say how a woman who could barely convince the scale to register 45 kg look scary and dangerous, but man she accomplished just that.
“You selfish, irresponsible dumb*ss! Do you even have an idea how terrified I was?! I returned to an empty house, all you left behind was just some stupid note, and when you finally return after months you are going to fight giants before even going home?!”
As she marched towards him, angry as a little devil that just escaped hell, Gabriel looked from left and right, trying to find some help as he had no idea what to do in such a situation. His puppy never barked at him like this!
“Don´t look at me man, you are on your own.”
Namkhai laughed, gently taking Kasumi´s arm, and pulling her towards the house.
“I bet you are hungry. Let´s take a look at the kitchen, shall we?”
He grinned, as Beast crawled away from Gabriel´s side, joining them on their journey towards the kitchen.
Being left alone, the Professor looked down on Sarah with a mixture of guilt and confusion.
“I…I am sorry, but…”
He paused as she firmly hugged him, tears running down her cheeks.
“I missed you so much! Don´t you ever dare to disappear like this again!”
Speechless, the Professor hugged her back, patting her head.

---

Meanwhile, behind the gate, there was a completely different world, compared to the rest of the city. Right next to the main building, a giantess in a two-piece swimsuit sunbathed on the freshly mown grass, with an over six meters tall sumo wrestler preparing a barbeque in the shadow that was cast by her body. On the other side of the building was an open-air gym, where groups of around fifty people, men and women alike trained their bodies and martial arts under the watchful eye of a heavily muscular, bronze-skinned warrior whose upper body was covered in tribal tattoos.
“Welcome to M.A.R.I.”
Namkhai chuckled.

[Fox]

Kasumi’s hand froze as Beast’s response became even more enthusiastic and then suddenly stopped. Her mind flashed to the young master’s hounds who happily turned on the other Fishmen at a command, tackling them, biting, and barking as they cried out in agony. Kasumi withdrew a little bit into herself and startled as a voice pierced the relative quiet around them. Kasumi’s sapphire eyes snapped up to see a fierce, petite looking woman. Once she registered the look on the woman’s face, her eyes instantly dove for the ground, and Kasumi took a step back.

Thankfully, Namkhai took her arm and led her away. Kasumi was all too glad to get away from whatever strife her new… employer, she supposed, and his wife had. She recalled similar fights in her old household. They’d never ended well. Kasumi offered Namkhai a small smile and nodded, following along as quickly as he walked, never daring to go faster than him. She flinched briefly when Beast joined them, but did her best to keep walking.

The sight that awaited her beyond the gate was something that seemed out of this world. A huge human relaxed in a truly provocative outfit. Kasumi flushed a bright red and hastily averted her eyes only to see a huge human preparing a meal next to her. Huge arrays of people trained under the keen eye of a tattooed instructor.

“I… I’m overwhelmed,” Kasumi mumbled in reply, “I’m sorry, I’m just… not used to this.”

She glanced down at Namkhai, putting a hand to her mouth.

“So, I’m to… train? And help the research team? Who is the research team? What should I do?”

---

Kasumi | #0f52ba | Post Count: 7

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #8

The Titan that was accompanying Katsumi couldn´t miss her blushing, that brought a wide grin on his face.
“Never saw a giantess sunbathing?”
As he laughed, his booming voice quickly drew the attention of the said giant, who rolled on her belly, so her face ended up barely a meter or so away from the fishwoman.
“Oooooh, who is this? New member?”
She asked, clearly excited by the opportunity to make new friends.
“More like new puppy.”
Namkha responded with a grin.
“We found her standing by the road and...you know the Professor.”
The giantess turned her head to the side with loud “oh”, before she raised herself on her elbows, trying to pat Katsumi´s head gently, so she wouldn´t hurt her fin
“That´s so sweet...I am Sigrid by the way!”
Sighing the Titan stepped forward to attract Katsumi´s attention again to answer her question.
“Yes, you´ll get the opportunity to learn martial arts here, among other things and as for the research...let´s put it this way. Our Headmaster, I mean Gabriel is quite obsessed with Fishman Karate. He even planned to go after Jimbe just to see it in it´s pure form and established research group that´s supposed to uncover it´s secrets but...since you are the only Fishman here I guess that will make you the leader of that team.”

---

Back at the gate Beast was sitting on the ground observing fishwoman. While most people considered her to be just a silly doggo she was quite observing and noticed the hesitation in Katsumi when she saw her, linking it to the look Rosalina gave her when they first met.
“Maybe she is afraid of doggos too?”
The malamute lady muttered for himself, swiftly transforming in the form of tall, glowing blonde in a white dress, before carefully approaching the woman again, followed by Gabriel and Sarah as despite preparing her angry speech for weeks the young woman couldn´t bring herself to be upset about the Professor for too long.

[Fox]

Kasumi’s face turned a bright red when she looked up and saw the giant woman in her face. She put her hands together and covered her mouth for fear of some unintelligible sound slipping out - or worse, the words that she was actually thinking. Namkhai handled explaining her presence there, but she was totally and completely taken aback by being patted on the head by a woman so unfathomably larger than herself.

“I-I’m pretty…! I-I mean!! You’re pretty!!! I MEAN!!” Kasumi slapped her face hard to get her mouth to stop fumbling her words. “I’m KaSuMi!”

It hadn’t worked.

Thankfully, Namkhai answered her previous question, saving her from herself. Her mind refocused when he mentioned Gabriel, realizing that she could be useful to him! She knew Fishman Karate! She raised one of her long arms excitedly and bounced on her feet.

“I know some Fishman Karate! I’d be happy to show Master Gabriel! I may not be as good as this Jinbe person because I’ve developed my own style, but…! Do you think it would be useful? Do you think I could be useful to him?”

Kasumi paused for a moment when she realized someone else was approaching her, a young blonde woman that she didn’t recognize. She was glowing, which was not something that Kasumi knew people to do, so she stared for a moment before realizing that she probably shouldn’t stare. Instead, she smiled at the blonde girl, avoiding eye contact out of a combination of respect and total subservience.

---

Kasumi | #0f52ba | Post Count: 8