"Close your eyes, and focus."
"Hooooooo..."
A blue light formed within the pale palms of the Sea Witch, whose focus continued to tighten. Even in the absence of sight, Wadanohara could still see the energy growing into something spectacular. Her icy breath spread throughout the flowing water while the sea embraced her body, everything flowing into a state of union that felt so utterly surreal.
"HA!"
The small sphere of energy exploded and sent small traces of light blue energy towards her mentor, who made light work of the 'assault' with a swift chop. Wadda let out a small breath as her frosty blue eyes opened and immediately set their sights on her mentor.
"Did I do good?"
"You did excellently; he would be proud."
"Yay!"
Wadda's eyes glistened like little pearls as her mentor's face swelled with pride, prompting the youthful witch to jump about in celebration. The light giggle from her mentor further enabled this childish behavior until 'the hand' was raised and Wadnohara's playful frolic ceased without fuss.
"Such energy you have! Come on, let's go inside now."
"Okay!"
Wadanohara softly gripped the sleeve of her guardian's lengthy furisode, trailing closely behind as they both disappeared into the glistening field of undersea stars.
A content expression rested on Wadanohara's face as Tatsumiya's fingers gently sifted through her messy, brown strands.
"You are becoming a mighty fine witch. Even without your staff, you are incredibly capable."
Wadonhara's sincere grin contorted into something rather smug as the constant appraisal fueled the incredible fire burning within.
"Well, I aaaaaaaaam the Great Sea Witch, after all."
She carried herself with a bit of pomp, crossing her arms and leaning back into the chair with motions so exaggerated she'd embarrass even the most dramatic of actors.
"Oh, hush you! And stay still, lest you want knots in your hair."
"Boooooooooooo!"
Wadda pouted in jest, allowing Tatsumiya's fingers to finely manipulate and bend the brown strands to her whim, converting the messy head of hair into a proper set of twin tails. The young witch's boredom would prompt her to stare into the mirror's reflective glass, envisioning and comparing her father's form with her own. She was getting older, bigger, and each day Wadanohara could see more of her old man in herself.
"Hey... Auntie."
"Yes, dear?"
She focused all her attention towards the blue outfit in the corner of her eye, adorned with fabulous ribbons, anchor ornaments, and that marvelous witch's hat. A strong yearning stirred from within, one that the young lady could not dispel.
"Am I ready yet?"
The hesitance of Tatsumiya's form in the mirror's reflection, paired with that deafening silence; she didn't need the answer spelled out for her.
"I knew it."
Wadanohara's full descent towards the abyss was halted by that familiar touch gently grazing her back.
"Now, I know it may be disappointing, but every day you make progress, and that progress is truly remarkable."
"Uh-huh."
Wadda tried her best to maintain the doom and gloom by shoving her face into the nightgown's flossy fabric, serving as a comfortable retreat from the harshities of reality.
"Hm, it seems I've got a grumpy little Wadda on my hands, whatever shall I do?"
"........."
The young witch was determined to stand her ground, even as the foundation of her fuzzy fortress would come crumbling down almost immediately as Auntie Miya's tickle assault began. Even so, laughter began to slip through the young lady's sealed lips despite her best efforts.
"A...Ah! Staaaaaaaahp, Auntiiiiiiiiiiiie!"
Pleading would do the little lady no good, as she could feel her mentor aiming for all the good spots. Laughter exploded outward from the little witch's body like a mighty torrent, sealing her fate as the loser of this little excursion. Wadda meekly limped back into the chair with a weak pout now staining her face as she rested her head on the desktop before her.
"No fair, Auntie, that's dirty..."
"All is fair in love and war, my child."
"Hmph."
Auntie Miya's efforts to lighten the situation were an utter failure, as the crushing defeat slammed down on Wadanohara like an anvil. How long would it take, how many grueling years? Surely it didn't take her old man this long; what did he have that she didn't? Were her concerns just going to be swept under the rug forever? Crushing disappointment was beginning to turn into burning frustration as that same tired dialogue would wear on Wadda's weakened spirit.
"Wadda, I know it's disheartening. You put your all into training every day, yet despite that, my response never changes..."
It grated on Wadda's ears like nails on a chalkboard, and eventually she would rise from her seat to walk towards the door. The young witch blocked out any and all words that left Tatsumiya's mouth, leaving without so much as a peep.
The wind gently caressed Wadanohara's form as she floated above the ocean in a rather aimless fashion. Time had been completely lost on the girl as she stared down at her reflection in the water, only to be met with that same stark frown that affixed itself on her snow-white face. This regret was something that Wadda had been unable to shake for as long as she had been out—a time loop that the girl was desperate to break free from. The young witch continued to relive the same moment over and over and over-
"Huh?"
The dark cloud within Wadanohara's mind was seemingly purged by something of much greater precedence, an incredibly sinister energy that radiated from the ocean's darkest depths.
"What is that?"
It didn't take but a few panicked glances to inform the witch that she had fallen severely off course and into a completely foreign area of this expansive sea. That itself wasn't a concern; there were plenty of landmarks that could lead Wadda back home, but this enormous volume of dark energy? Wadanohara had sensed many strange things in her life, but none this strong or dark. Her eyes locked on to this large pit of negativity as she did her best to decipher and navigate this strange anomaly.
"It seems so... sad."
Coming to a conclusion was certainly challenging, but at the very least these negative emotions did not seem directly malicious. Inherent darkness was certainly a factor, but there was a great deal of other things as well: sadness, loneliness, all burning so intensely that Wadda's heart sank at the thought. She held her hand to her chest, wondering what one would have to experience to emit such anguish.
"Poor thing, I can't just leave it alone, right?"
Despite all forms of logic screaming no and the many, MANY warnings urged by her mentor, the Great Witch felt a level of responsibility to pursue this mysterious darkness. Few beings possessed the power and potential Wadda held—this ability she had to sense energy and emotion. This agonizing contemplation cyclically repeated until it was brought to an end by a single question, the most important one of all. If not her, who would?
"Forgive me, Auntie, but I'm going in."
The anchor was guided by her clear and unburdened thoughts as it shot down towards the ocean like an arrow. Wadanohara's features sharpened like a blade and pierced all remaining doubt as the waves rippled against her skin. The depths continued to obscure her vision the deeper she went; wherever this being dwelled was beyond the reaches of the Sea Kingdom's light. The only plausible reason she could conjure was so depressing that it was tucked into the recesses of her mind. Her anchor staff came to an abrupt halt as she sat alone in the gloomy abyss. Closing the gap did Wadanohara no favors as she struggled to determine this creature's true nature. The energy signature was incredibly huge, but did that represent the size of the being, or was its negative energy truly that great?
"Inhabitants of this dark realm, I do apologize."
Wadanohara generated an incredibly small ball of light in hopes that it would provide minimal disturbance to the local ecosystem, pressing on with shaky hands. She slowly moved the glistening orb forward and was met with what seemed to be an endless stretch of red... tentacles?
"Who goes there?"
The young witch was momentarily gripped by fear as the loud voice bellowed out like a roar, yet with a few calm breaths she managed to dispel her doubts—gently leaping off her anchor to stand before this mighty entity.
"Hello, my name is Wadanohara! It's a pleasure to meet you, oh mighty creature of the deep!"
She gave an extremely formal bow and would continue to hold her position in wait for a response that would never come. Despite her attempts at communication and its rather demeaning callout, the enormous creature did nothing but sit in silence. Was it confused, offended, or angry? The energy of this creature had turned into something unreadable, and Wadda couldn't help but feel a bit antsy.
"Um...sir?"
"Pardon me, I just... don't get many visitors."
"Oh, that's fine! I can just guide you through it, okay?"
"...Okay."
Wadda soon lost her jitters and melted into the waves as they smoothed over her delicate form, its surprisingly calm presence helping the girl relax.
"After I say my name, you say yours, and then give a little greeting! Do you think you can do that?"
"...Yes."
"Okay, my name is Wadanohara! And your name is...?"
"I don't... have one."
That revelation was so utterly depressing that Wadanohara struggled with a follow-up, but the young witch refused to yield! She was here to help, and help she would! Wadanohara would enter her mighty thinking stance, a state of deep concentration that was purely powered by her determination to dispel this great sorrow.
"Well, hm... What could I call you..."
The girl thumbed through all sorts of names and ideas, but nothing really stuck; how could she name what she could not see?
"Deep...dark...ocean...deep...dark...depths... Depths!"
Whittling it down to the basics would result in a stroke of genius. It was so utterly simplistic that the girl couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed; however, something was better than nothing. She proclaimed it with the confidence of a floundering oyster, the embarrassment only fully settling in AFTER she said it out loud.
"Fukami! Fukami! Fu...kami???"
"That's... a very nice name."
Much to her surprise, Fukami took a liking to the name immediately, and she couldn't help but smile at his adoration. Over the course of their interaction, Fukami's suffocating darkness had been transformed into a delicate warmth, wrapping around her comparatively miniscule form like a cozy blanket.
"It's nice to meet you, Fukami."
They talked, and talked, and talked, and talked, late into the night as the dark abyss consumed Wadanohara's ordinarily impeccable sense of time.