Aqua Terrarium (Nagi No Asukara)

Chapter One: Fated Meetings

A/N: I've decided to overhaul this fanfic. I'm hoping to combine some chapters and add a few new scenes along the way since the flow of the story didn't sit well with me. It won't be long before the hibernation arc and I'd like the first half to have a smooth transition so that some plots I've thought of will fit nicely once the second half starts.

Edited: June 02, 2020

--*--

Once upon a time, the only world humanity had ever known was the world within the sea. With the blessings of the Great Sea God, the human race were granted 'Ena'; a protective skin that allowed them to live underwater. Life was peaceful and simple then, the people living out their lives under their God's divine protection.

Of course, man had become curious of the world beyond the sea, several of them rising above to explore the world. It wasn't long before man craved for the blessings of land, their once peaceful life at sea now becoming mundane as they longed for the world they could not have.

They begged the Great Sea God to let them explore the land but their God became furious for their lack of appreciation to the life bestowed upon them. And so he made a deal with man-

"In exchange for your wish, those who would leave to venture forth into the land above must give up their life in the sea below..." The Great Sea God bellowed.

It was then that they realized the punishment that the Sea God had inflicted upon them for turning their backs to him. Upon touching the shores of the land, the first people who had gone against their God were stripped of their 'Ena', doomed to forever wander on land with no way of returning to the sea...

--*--

The distant creaking of the windmills that slowly moved against the sea current served as her background noise while she sat quietly on the bridge's concrete rail.

Sunlight shimmered brightly from above the underwater village of Shioshishio, the dazzling light not too penetrating but warm enough not to make them freeze. Salt flakes danced in the water like snow, caking the ground in thin blankets of white. Jellyfishes could also be seen floating overhead, several people cautiously avoiding them so that they wouldn't get stung.

The grassland before her is always breath-taking to watch, the pulls of the waves allowing the trees to move as if it were being blown by the wind. She spotted Uroko-sama's shrine not too far from where she waited, the huge tree-shrine looming before their little town in a willowy embrace.

Several sunfishes could be seen swimming past the bridge lazily, their eyes ever distant and empty as they swam for the tall white pillars visible from where she sat. Looking down, she could see the sea slugs crawling all over the white-washed walls of the bridge , their colors vibrant and appealing to the eyes.

This was the world that she grew up in and the view it always displays for her never gets old.

"Good Morning, Aoi!" Her observation was halted when a feminine voice greeted her, eyes looking away from the fishes to see her friend landing slowly on the bridge.

"Good morning, Chisaki!" Aoi chirps back, her smile just as wide as her friend's.

"Ah, Chisaki and Aoi, good morning." A third voice joins them, the sight of the owner enough to make Aoi's cheeks turn pink.

"Kaname, good morning," Chisaki greeted, her cheeky smile never leaving her face when she elbowed her blushing friend.

"G-good morning..." Aoi stuttered to say, her voice getting quieter and quieter the closer Kaname came to them. The young boy tilted his head curiously at Aoi's unusually timid reaction, Chisaki's smile morphing into giggles which made Aoi turn even redder from embarrassment.