"Hurry up!" Tanji groaned, shifting on the towel and making the tiny woman lose her already flimsy footing. Falling face-first into a glob of sunscreen, she let out a muffled scream, sliding down Tanji's arched back and towards her ass like an ice cube. At least she was now also covered with the same white cream. They were both pale, but it was clear that she needed it much more than the lazy Neko. "I told you I don't wanna get burned."

"Why didn't you ask Tamiko to do this?" Naomi wiped her face, throwing the excess into the warm sand. Applying sunscreen to Tanji was like being forced to paint a huge mural with no brushes and coconut-scented paint.

"Tami is busy building her stupid sand castles." She sneered. They were certainly better than Tanji's asymmetric clumps of sand. "But I guess her doing something cute and dumb would be good for the photos."

Lifting the mouse girl, Tanji wiped off the remaining sunscreen against her bikini, rubbing her tiny body against her breast as if she were scrubbing dirt from something. Naomi winced. The day just started and her hair was already messed up—as if by some divine will. And this time, she even combed it!

EikōBio laid their claim to the beach. Banners bearing their leaf fluttered against the salty breeze. As the harsh sunlight seeped past them, green shadows were cast against the white sand. The subtle smell of charcoal in the air announced that the food was being prepared. They could have brought an electric oven with them, but cooking with charcoal seemed more "casual" for the cameras. Koko also insisted that you could tell the difference in flavor, although neither Naomi nor Tanji seemed convinced. Meat was meat.

Yulka—Hiro's bodyguard—seemed to agree. The 8-ft-tall wolf stared at the barbecue as if she was watching her next prey. Her hungry amber eyes were hyper-focused on the sizzling meat, with the rest of the world melting away. It was a bit scary, seeing her loom over the 3-ft-tall fox girl and almost drooling on her head. At least it seemed like Koko could take it, casually flipping the patties and sausages over while tapping the thongs in tune with the music coming from the tiny yet powerful speakers.

She didn't want to think about it, but Naomi always found Yulka to be creepy. The fact that she wore a bright yellow sundress didn't make her seem any less scary, having the same silver hair which seemed to glow like moonlight on the darkest nights. Even when petted, she somehow found a way to be terrifying, baring her fangs in what some might have interpreted as a smile. Considering that their first interaction was the woman pinning Noah against the wall when he insinuated that he maybe perhaps would not be interested in working for her master, that fear wasn't entirely unwarranted. Now, instead of pulling the man up by the collar, she could just pinch the tail of the mouse girl that he became.

"You know." Tanji teased, looking into her open palms just to see the tiny head of Naomi poking out. "You're about the same size as that patty right there. Worried that the mutt might gobble you up?"

Naomi couldn't help but yelp."That's not funny!" She tried to sound threatening, but her squeaks made it nigh impossible. With no way of picking up Tanji and shaking her like a can of beans, she needed to use her words to cut the Neko down. "Besides, you're the one with more meat on the bone. Want me to tell Yulka that you called her a mutt?"

Sneering, Tanji put her hands together, throwing Naomi around in her grasp. It felt like being in a painful and warm bouncing castle; her soft hands at least provided some cushioning. Rays of sunlight slithered in through the spaces between her fingers, but that hardly helped with orientation. After just a few seconds, Naomi's head was spinning. She gave up on trying to resist and went limp, opening her eyes only once the cruel grasp was released. "Did you say something?"

"I think I am going to be sick..." Her shaky arms gave up as Naomi laid down as flat as a pancake. Tanji nodded—seemingly satisfied—and placed the mouse girl on her shoulder. Shaking her head, the woman tried to pop all the gears of her mind back into place to make a semi-coherent sentence. "I am still your handler, you know."

"Su-re." Tanji winked, sticking her tongue out. Neither really believed that to be the case anymore. The Neko had some understanding that there was continuance between Noah and Naomi, but she couldn't bring herself to see them both as the same. No, to see the tiny mouse girl on the same level as her master would be offensive! Offensive to Tanji, no Noah—obviously!

"Hot dog! Jumpin' frog!" Their attention turned towards the singing figure of Mirei as she strode towards the ocean—hot dog in each hand. They didn't pick up anything special in store for her, so she wore a modest two-piece bearing the olive shade of green seen on EikōBio products. Mirei still had some sniffles this morning, but the sunlight would probably do some good for her. "Oh, hey!" Stopping right in her tracks, the horse girl began waving at the pair as if there was any chance they could miss her.

"How come Koko let you eat two wieners?" Tanji clenched her fist, feeling as if she was missing out on something. "Did you raid the barbecue before anyone else?"

"I was hungry." She shrugged, putting one of the hot dogs up to her lips and taking a bite. "Oh, and hi mousey!" While Tanji had some understanding that Noah was Naomi, Mirei was completely clueless. He had tried explaining it to her a few times, but she seemed to have a selective memory when it came to this. Right now, he was just a mousey.

Naomi laughed. "You sure seem excited about those."

"You want one?" Before Naomi could even begin formulating an answer, Mirei tried shoving the oversized sausage in her mouth. Instead, it smacked against the cheek with a PLOP.

"Mirei!" The mouse girl wined, wiping the mustard off. Giving a defeated exhale, she began climbing down Tanji's bikini—using its strings as ropes. "Great...now I smell of sunscreen and mustard." She looked up briefly, noticing 2 ft-tall Neko's blue eyes turning into thin slits. "Tanji I swear..."

"What?" Her slits were still there. The disturbing thing about Tanji was the fact that even when she did something silly, it always seemed precalculated. Trying to understand these calculations was another matter, and it seemed only she held the key.

"Ugh..." Naomi began traversing through the pale desert, making her way towards the blue horizon. "I am going to wash off."

"You're going into the ocean?" Suddenly, Tanji's eyes turned back to normal, her nose wrinkling as if she had smelled something gross.

"What's wrong? Afraid of a little water?" The mouse girl teased, clasping her arms behind her back.

Tanji pouted, turning away. "How can I be scared of water? I drink it all the time!" That wasn't exactly what she meant, but it did at least confirm Naomi's suspicion.

"Yeah. Su-re." She mimicked, feeling the sand below her feet getting damper with each step.

Mirei scooted over, taking out a small piece of deflated rubber. "Don't forget your floatie."

"I am not a kid. I know how to swim." Naomi dismissed, turning back towards the ocean. "I..." And then, the realization hit her. These waves were huge! From her new point of view, the gentle beating of the ocean resembled a wild tempest of foamy white water—inching closer and closer towards her feet. "...I'll take the floatie."

Huff! Huff! Huff! It took Mirei only a moment to pump it full of air. The pink floatie (being around the size of an actual donut) bobbled around her hips as Naomi felt the cold water touching her ankles. "In I go." She nodded for bravery, closing her eyes and running in.

Being out here on the open waters was oddly comforting. No matter if you were 5 inches or 5 feet, the ocean was endless either way—depths of azure shimmering occasionally as if sprinkled with gems. Above her was the cloudless sky and the symphony of the ocean. Naomi washed her face, feeling the weak stinging of the salt. Pulling herself up onto the floatie, she crossed her legs, looking over the horizon. The single yacht in the distance soared elegantly, making itself a part of this composition.

...But something was wrong. She may have enjoyed bouncing on the waves but now there was a huge shape moving below her—a dark shadow blacking out the depths themselves. With a loud SWOOSH, a huge sleek gray tail appeared above the water, pushing against the surface and throwing buckets full of liquid at Naomi. It would have been enough to soak a human, with the tiny mouse girl utterly drenched.

Clenching her teeth, Naomi began peddling to the surface. When her arms weren't enough, she used her legs—splashing even more in the process. Of course, she couldn't have just spent a day relaxing. Oh no, that would be way too simple, wouldn't it? She was the Sisyphus—the boat, her boulder. And the giant creature? It was the mountain.

Naomi dared to look down. That was a mistake. There was a huge eye staring back at her. As if she needed more proof that this thing wasn't a human, its scleras were completely black—the white pupils appearing like stars in the night sky. She blinked. It blinked back.

The water was disturbed as a whirlpool formed around the lone floatie, throwing the mouse girl in circles as she gripped onto the flimsy rubber for her dear life. Smooth, ivory boulders emerged from the water all around her, trapping the tiny sailor as she went down the hatch. Were these its teeth? If yes, each was larger than a man.

Quickly going through all the stages of grief, the maw closed above her, basking the woman in complete darkness. She heard brine gushing down the creature's throat, almost going down this esophageal slip-and-slide before being pushed into one of her cheeks by the muscular tongue.

Leaning against a tooth, she had to fight for the stale, warm air inside of the creature's mouth. Her breaths echoed throughout the walls of the coral-pink cavern. If even the sound couldn't escape, what hope did she have? As if to add to the feeling of helplessness, viscous saliva soon began dripping onto her head, with no amount of wiping truly getting it all off.

"I am fine." Naomi let out a high-pitched giggle—even for a Nezumimi. "I am fine..."

The world rumbled as the beast prepared for another dive. It felt like being inside a leaky submarine, with the water level around her rising as the cold liquid sneaked its way through the tiny gaps between her teeth. Naomi puffed her cheeks full of air, preparing for the worst.

Once again, there was a gushing of water as the beast took another sip. This time, however, her tongue didn't save her. She was sliding down it, repeatedly slapping her hands against it to gain some kind of friction. Grabbing onto the closest thing possible, Naomi soon swung from the roof of the titaness' mouth; her uvula was like a fleshy pendulum around which the mouse girl locked her arms and legs.

Not learning her lesson, she looked down again. There was a dark tunnel below her—one which went on and on. She shivered imagining what awaited at the end, tightening her grip. In response, the beast made an unpleasant low-pitched hum, clearly not appreciating being fondled. Pressure increased as her cheeks were pumped full of air before Naomi was expelled from her mouth in a jet of water with such force that she found herself airborne for a good few seconds. The woman grasped her floatie, finding some symbolic security with it still around her hips as she tumbled down like a leaf caught in the wind. "Don't fall on the stomach! Don't fall on the stomach!"

Mirei squinted, shading her eyes and watching a small object skipping towards them. "I didn't know we were cutting water."

"Eh. I never win at those anyway." Tanji dismissed, squinting at the unidentified object. "Oh wait, that's Naomi."

Everyone except them two had their gaze firmly focused on the giantess which stood waist-deep in the sea as if it were a kiddie pool. The whale girl was truly massive, with her long, messy black-blue hair covering both her eyes as well as her nipples. Only a shy frown and hints of pink from her blush were visible. Noticing the beachgoers gawking at her, she retreated into the safe embrace of azure.

Walking up to Naomi, Tanji nudged the tiny woman with her foot. "Are you okay?" Her floatie deflated with a drawn-out pfft, providing her answer.

"I think I swallowed some sand..." Few scrapes. Nothing was broken, fortunately. But everything hurt.

Still, she had a job to do, so Naomi forced herself up, balancing her wobbly legs and following everyone else to look at the timid giantess. Preparing herself to once again gaze into her creepy eyes, having them hidden was a pleasant surprise. She seemed so gentle from the shore. You could almost forget that this beast had almost swallowed her whole.

"Good morning, EB! This is Sunohara speaking!" A roaring sound of somebody trying to imitate a radio announcer came from the yacht, with a figure approaching a railing with a megaphone in her hands. The woman's green hair was licked down, with a single forelock that stuck straight up and stood at attention. Her unzipped jacket fluttered in the breeze, much like the dark blue banners of Genovista which were raised at the mast. "I am afraid you have taken our spot. So—you know—scram!"

Yulka cracked her knuckles while Koko reached for her pistol. Trying to defuse the situation, Naomi climbed up Tanji's bikini, standing atop her head while shouting. "Go away!"

"What?" The person with the megaphone asked, her tiny voice not being carried very far.

Taking a deep breath, Naomi screamed so loudly that it hurt. "GO AWAY!"

"Can't you just let them have it?" Tanji looked up, getting annoyed by the mouse holding onto her strands of hair. "There is plenty of sand somewhere else."

"No there isn't." She shook her head. "Besides, they are trying to bully us."

The megaphone screeched before the woman's voice was heard again. "Who do you think you are, rodent?

"...rodent?" Naomi's eyes narrowed in confusion. Still, Sunohara seemed determined, continuing her rant while leaning dangerously close overboard.

"I am over here, on a yacht, eating sushi off the body of a naked shark babe. And where are you?" As absurd as that sounded, she was correct. There was one of the new Kemonomimi from the Aqua Femme collection currently lying perfectly unmoving on a table, with pieces of sushi covering her body—from the breasts to her tail. She had dark red hair and healthy-looking sun-kissed skin. Their eyes met, and the woman gave Naomi a bored smile—her teeth going down to many sharp points. By comparison, Yulka's fangs seemed inviting.

"Did she call me a rodent?" Focused on that insult, Naomi assumed a wide stance. Well, as wide of a stance as her 5-inch body allowed.

"Hey! Hey, why don't we solve this like civilized people?" Tamiko tried to laugh it off, but there were several beads of sweat rolling down her forehead. By now, Koko was already taking an aim. "How about...a friendly volleyball match?"

Koko pressed her lips together. A random 'mimi making such a proposal was way out of line. But fine. She was willing to humor her. "If they win, they will surely want us to move. But what if we win?"

"Who cares!" Taking a step forward, it looked like Yulka was ready to leap at the boat. "Let's just mess them up! You have that thing which lets you break laws, right Noah?"

Being called Noah was surreal, but Naomi quickly brushed it off. "That's not exactly how Echelon I works, Yulka."

“Echelon I?” Sunohara let out a laugh over the megaphone, making everyone cover their ears. “I have Echelon II, rodent.” Saying that, the woman considered what the blondie with the twin tails said before. She glanced at her crewmates and finally nodded. "But fine, we accept."

"Wait!" Tanji objected. "You didn't tell us what we get if we win."

"I thought you didn't want to play—and I quote here—'any beach games'." Naomi tilted her head at the sudden enthusiasm.

"Obviously. But if there is a prize involved, it needs to be a good one. What's the point of doing anything if there's no prize?" Her reasoning was odd, but it did make some sense.

Tapping her chin, Sunohara answered with a "You can take Kaede."

"Is that the big girl?" Naomi groaned, already thinking about that white elephant—or rather, white whale.

Some of the sushi slipped from her body and to the ground as the tail of the previously still girl began wagging. "I am Kaede." She growled. "And don't be mean to Chō!"

"I meant the fact that she was 100 ft tall!" The whale girl was a little chubby, so Naomi understood how it could have been seen as rude. She wanted to shout an apology at the poking head, but if Sunohara barely heard her from the boat, then Chō—out in the depths—had no chance of understanding even a peep.

"Yeah, yeah." Waving dismissively as if she were giving away old furniture, she ordered the boat to get closer to the shore and finally put that obnoxious megaphone down. "Let's start this thing!"

The shore was transformed into a makeshift volleyball court. A net was hastily assembled, and the teams lined up on opposite sides. On one stood the EikōBio crew—on the other, the players from Genovista. Above them, there came the sound of something whirling against the sky. Sunohara set up a drone overlooking the court. It was there to record the whole ordeal. Not for the sake of keeping the score, but as a bit of free marketing for her corporate overlords.

"Alright, we need a plan." Koko declared, huddling with the rest of the EikōBio team.

"I'll be the spiker!" Mirei flexed her arms. "I've got it!"

"No, you're the setter." She corrected. "Yulka, you're the spiker with that height advantage. Naomi, just try not to get squished by the ball."

Naomi was going to pretend that she didn't hear that. "I am a bit worried about that new 'mimi model. We are playing in her natural habitat." That might have been the case, but Kaede didn't have legs, so imagining her crawling on the sand felt cruel. The water was at least shallow. Unfortunately, Tamiko and Tanji would still need to play with only their heads and arms poking out. Well, Tanji would have needed to play like this if she wasn't currently lounging on a towel—observing the match as if watching the TV.

Tamiko made a nasty face at her own reflection, moaning in disapproval before finally settling down. Out of the two, she was more accustomed to water, but it still felt gross having the cold liquid all over her body. Fiddling with her twin tails until she calmed down, Tamiko found a newfound confidence. This was what her master wanted, so it was what she would do. As simple as that.

The ball soared back and forth over the net, making the players squint at the glare of the sun. Yulka, despite her imposing stature, moved with surprising agility. Mirei did her best as the setter, placing the ball for her teammates. But despite all this coordination, they still struggled. It quickly became apparent that Genovista had the upper hand. Kaede used the water to her advantage, switching from position to position like a darting torpedo. No matter how much pressure they put on here, there was always a response.

"After we are done, you can tell Hiro from PR that the only public relations he is going to have from now on will be with the people living on the street!" Sunohara found time to gloat after hitting the ball over to Kaede, allowing her to bring it down with the might of Poseidon and onto Naomi's head.

Koko and Yulka just stood there for a moment, allowing the mist to dance on their still faces. Then, something within them flipped. They were disrespecting Hiro—their owner! Their jaws collectively tightened as the semi-conscious body of the mouse girl floated in the water like a piece of driftwood.

"Alright, this was stupid." Naomi was willing to admit that there was no way of winning this. Yes, EikōBio had taken the bait. Yes, it will make them look bad. They may not be leaving this with dignity, but at least they will leave with their teeth. "Can we forfeit?" Looking over at the other players, she puzzled where their resolve came from. One thing was painfully clear: they weren't going to just give up.

The next serve determined the winner. Mirei launched the ball with all her might. Yulka stood ready, her eyes locked on the approaching projectile. With a powerful jump, she spiked it over the net, sending the ball soaring towards Kaede. The shark girl attempted to intercept the attack, but the sheer force proved too much. It collided, and for a moment, time seemed to freeze. Then, with a loud PLOP, the ball rebounded off the now reddened face and landed on Genovista's side of the net.

"We won!" Mirei pumped her fist in the air. Yulka returned to her stoic demeanor, holding the ball above her head. Even Koko couldn't help but break into a victorious grin.

"We won?" Tanji placed her coconut drink away, squinting at the net.

"They won?" Sunohara blinked a few times as if that would change anything. Now as red as Kaede' in the face, she grabbed the megaphone. "What a fluke!"

"So, I guess the fishy is ours now." Finally standing up and stretching, the Nako walked towards the gathering like she was part of the team.

The Genovista handler threw her hands up in defense. "Hey! Hey, I was just joking-" Before she even finished her sentence, Yulka already lifted the shark girl with the same grace given to a sack of potatoes, walking with her toward the shore. "W-wait!"

"What do we even do with her?" Naomi pondered, looking at Kaede. She seemed oddly okay with this, likely already used to being a piece of property. This was just another transaction.

"Where do you want her, Noah?"

"The towel is fine." It looked like Yulka was going to stick with the whole "Noah" thing. She wasn't going to stop her, even if it was a little jarring.

"Hey! Didn't you hear me? I said I was joking!" A very awkward laugh escaped her clenched teeth. Ignoring Sunohara's protests, Yulka deposited Kaede on a towel. She shook herself off like a wet dog, sending droplets flying in all directions.

Dragging a cooler along, Koko handed ice cream over to everyone—including Kaede and Sunohara. Instead of eating them, however, the shark girl placed hers on her face to relieve the burning while Sunohara just stared at it.

"As we have stated before-" the Kitsune explained "-this beach is a property of EikōBio. This is just a gesture of our hospitality."

"Excuse me..." Tamiko piqued up, standing on her tippy-toes to be noticed. "But are we really going to take Kaede with us?"

Naomi spent a while thinking about it, finally saying "I think we can keep her in a bathtub for a few days."

"No, that's not what I meant!" She once again began fidgeting with her twin tails. "It's just that...would it really be fair to take a 'mimi away from her owner?" That's right. Tamiko never wanted to leave her mistress, did she? Kaede didn't seem to mind, but Tamiko looked like she was about to cry—like always.

There was a pause as Naomi ran through the situation in her mind. This whole thing was a ploy by Genosivta to humiliate them. They have won fair and square. And yet..."Fine." She exhaled in defeat as the eyes of both Tamiko and Sunohara lit up. In her mind, Naomi justified this as taking the moral superiority over the other company—like an older brother allowing the younger one to win. No, that wasn't right. EikōBio was the youngest major company; the line of seniority went from KyotoSynth to Genovista to them. "But not without quid pro quo."

The sky had turned black, filled with untold millions of stars. In the city, you couldn't get views like this. Everything here also seemed quieter. Sure, you could still hear the hubbub of Namiport, but the crackling of the campfire took over as the ambient sound rather than the typical industrial cacophony.

"You know, I think I am starting to get the appeal of this." Noah brought the tips of his chopsticks together around a particularly nice-looking piece of Nigiri.

"It's a placebo." Koko looked at the display with an unamused face, watching as the shark gal and her mistress laid down side by side naked. And while Kaede seemed to be a pro at this, Sunohara kept swirling and covering her face.

"Says the one who insisted charcoal changes the flavor of meat." Tanji rubbed her piece against Kaede's abs, hoping to get some extra flavor in there. "Just enjoy the meal. We've earned it."

"We?" Noah raised an eyebrow.

"I was cheering you from the sidelines!" She dismissed, already stuffing another piece in her mouth. "Besides, as Naomi, it's not like you contributed much."

He wanted to say something, but unlike Tanji, he didn't want to talk with a full mouth. After swallowing, he just added, "Eh, fair enough."

"Ouch! Watch it!" Sunohara moaned, shifting even more. "You got my nips!"

"Stay still." Now that Noah went back to being Noah, he was her master. This is what he wanted in return for his mercy. Even if she opposed it, Koko still needed to ensure that proper procedures were followed. "And you are not supposed to talk to the guests." Besides, watching the person who offended her true owner suffer was always amusing.

"Alright, everyone come together." Taking out his phone, Noah extended his arm. "We didn't take enough photos today, so let's get one by the campfire."

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" Jolting up, Sunohara now spilled everything trying to cover herself.

SNAP!