Hey guys, sorry for this repost. I submitted the previous version with the wrong story chapter text. I'm really sorry for that, here you go though. The real Shirohebi chapter. Hope you enjoy it.
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The rain is pouring like mad lately. Not quite the weather to go out fishing. The waves slam into the bay and waft into my boathouse.
My feet are already wrinkled as I try to pull in the last of my wooden boats that were drifting in the water.
My name is Takeho Zuda, the fisherman of Chiraha bay. For the last few weeks there have been signs of a storm coming, but just like most others I ignored the warnings for the sake of going out fishing for longer to stock up on seafood. The bay is rich with wildlife and a treasure trove of delicious and rare fish, scallops and lobsters.
The boat creaks over the floor, leaving skid marks on the wood. But at least it's inside now.
"Finally. That was the last one. Damn, things are really ramping up out there."
The rain was just pouring down relentlessly, blown about by the harsh winds that rallied the crashing waves as well. Thankfully my little boat house is very stable and the waves just gently slid up the ramp of my little dock.
I blow some air and stretch my back, sitting down on a bench next to my fishing rods to watch the storm happening outside.
I put my hands behind my head, rubbing the rain out of my hair. I slouch over and struggle with the decision of whether I should whip out my fishing rod to try some storm fishing from the edge of the dock or if I should head inside and prepare some hot chicken soup.
But this choice was taken from me as my eyes wander outside. While the waves moved the water up and down in a steady rhythm, there was one spot that was wildly splashing about with bubbles rising to the surface in rapid succession.
My eyes shot open in an instant. Someone must have been drowning.
"By the gods!"
My body jerks up and I hastily get up from the bench, almost falling over as I transition into a sprint towards the water.
I throw off my shirt, get rid of my black boots and jump off the edge of the planks. I dove head first into the waves. It was so damn cold, but I had to suck it up. On top of the cold, the water was dark and muddy from the torrents riling up the sand.
It was hard to see but I could barely make out the bubbles rising from the depths. A white, lengthy silhouette came into view as I came closer to the ground.
It was a woman as far as I could make it out. She must've been wearing a white dress or something like that because I could see a large body of white on her. She was struggling with something and shaking her body violently. I got in close enough to at least see her face somewhat clearly. She had white hair and almost equally light skin with deep, dark red eyes.
She jerked up when her eyes flicked up at me. We wordlessly exchanged questioning glances, not understanding how each of us got here.
I touched her shoulder, signaling the question if she's alright. She vehemently shook her head before looking down at her legs and signaling me to do the same.
I could hardly see her lower body with all the sand blowing about but I felt around in the dark and discovered the problem. She got stuck in an old fishing net that was anchored in the ocean floor.
I floated up to her again, seeing her watch me with a worried and scared look. I signal her to calm down and reach into the back pocket of my fishing pants. When I pulled out my gutting knife, the woman inaudibly gasps with bubbles coming out of her mouth.
I again signal her to calm down, patting her shoulder. After her jerking settled down, she gulped and nodded.
I nod back and swim down. I was worried. I didn't see anything. But I had to do it now. I was running out of air.
Hurriedly, I felt around for the main knot of the net since without it, the rest of the net would just fall apart. But I also knew that it would be the hardest part to cut.
It was getting hard to stay underwater. My vision was slowly blacking out.
"Cut through for gods' sake! Cut through!" repeated in my head over and over.
I had no idea how far I've even come, but it felt like the net loosened.
And then... finally... The rope gave way. With the release of tension, my consciousness faded. Just as I could see the woman slip out of her trap. I fought unconsciousness and tried to follow her, but I was getting too weak.
I moved slower and slower until I came to a halt. The cold and the torrents took away my strength and I began sinking.
I never imagined dying like this. I didn't want to. But at least I saved someone doing it. And with those thoughts, everything turned black.
It was so dark around me. I saw absolutely nothing. I felt like I was drifting until a great relief of pressure came over me.
Suddenly, my vision faded back in. It was so bright that I blinked several times before my eyes adjusted to it. I saw a wooden ceiling and a few bright shining candles.
"Oh my... I'm so glad you're up." A gentle and soft female voice spoke to me.
"Wha...? Where am I?"
"In a safe place. Keep calm. You still need to recover." A faded, blurry head entered my view, shielding me from the blurred glow of the candles.
"Am I in heaven? Are you an angel?"
"*giggles* Quite the opposite. You're the guardian angel here, silly." The face comes more into focus and as I recognize red eyes and straight, long, white hair, I notice that it was the woman I've freed. Her hair was still slick and dripping with water but yet she was smiling softly as if the storm before never happened.
Her elegant hand caressed my face and I couldn't help but smile back and feel warm inside. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"Oh it was horrible!" She said genuinely worried and clenching her chest. "You passed out underwater. I had to pull you up and brought you to the closest safe space I could find."
I look around, seeing familiar furniture. "This is my boathouse."
"Phew, I was hoping this was your house. If it wasn't, it would've been really hard to explain the break-in." She sighed in genuine relief.
"You... you didn't break anything, did you?"
She blinked a few times before answering. "No... of course not. You should get your lock checked though. It may be a bit... loose."
"*takes breath* Well, at least we're both okay. But I have one more question though."
