《Path to become a Sea Dragon God》


 Chapter 1

    Ryuji was just an ordinary 14-year-old boy with brown eyes and brown hair.


    One day he was wandering through the woods near his home, when he stubbed his toe on something hard. He held his foot jumping up and down holding back tears of pain as he cursed into the empty forest. After the pain subsided, he looked down and saw a small, key half-buried in the dirt.


    It was an old key, its surface covered in dirt and rust. Despite its outer appearance at first glance, the key gave off a special vibe. When he picked it up, a mysterious voice echoed inside his head.


    "Do you wish to become a dragon?"


    Ryuji thought that it was just some kind of silly question. He laughed and said, "Sure, why not?¡±


    He never would have thought in a million years that those three words would change his life forever.


    Nothing happened at first so Ryuji just shrugged it off and continued walking. Suddenly, a sharp searing hot pain shook his entire body and he collapsed and started writhing on the ground uncontrollably for what felt like ages but was only a few minutes.


    As the pain slowly faded, Ryuji gasped for air to steady his pounding heartbeat. After a few minutes of laying down on the ground, he stood up, his legs still shaky from the ordeal, and looked around to see three glowing balls of light buzzing around him, their soft light pulsing rhythmically.


    He couldn¡¯t understand them, yet something deep inside told him they were connected to the cause of the terrible pain he just went through. Maybe if he followed them, they would lead him to the answers of his growing whirlwind unanswered questions.


    Curious to see if any of this was real or some dream he made up, he followed the floating balls of light until he arrived at the loading dock of a grocery store. There was a back entrance for employees only which was kept locked at all times. Instincts told him to insert the key into the door if he so chooses to precede.


    Hesitant at first, Ryuji almost turns back around but pauses and lets his curiosity get the best of him as he quickly inserts the key into the lock and it turns. Filled with nervous excitement he opened the door to reveal a dark cave lit up with luminescent moss.


    As he stepped inside, the entrance shut behind him, leaving only a dim glow from the moss growing on the cave walls to light his way. The only way forward was an ominous looking tunnel filled with dark murky looking water at the opposite end of where he stood.


    His guts told him that if he wanted to get out, he had to swim down that water filled tunnel all the way to the exit. If he failed, he would die.


    Ryuji¡¯s stomach twisted and he gulped, feeling a little nervous. There was no way forward except through the underwater tunnel. This left only two choices for Ryuji: Stay in the cave and slowly starve to death, or have a chance to survive by swimming until he reaches the end of the underwater tunnel.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Ryuji took off his shirt and shoes, looked at the dark entrance of the tunnel and gulped. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves, closed his eyes and dived into the freezing dark water and started swimming.


    The first tunnel was long, but he kept swimming on until he arrived at another cave. He broke through the surface, desperately gulping in air, his chest heaving. His vision blurred, and his lungs burned from the desperate lack of oxygen. He had barely made it. He swam to the bank and lay down to rest for a bit, breathing hard.


    After catching his breath, Ryuji looked around. The little glowing balls were still flying around him. With the dim light they gave off, he could tell that the bank he was on was only a few feet wide and the cave ceiling was just barely high enough for him to stand. The ceiling sloped down until it hit the floor.


    As he was studying the area he was in, he noticed something on the wall. He stepped close to the spot and the floating lights flickered closer to the wall, as if they could read his mind. They illuminated the spot, revealing a map carved into the wall.


    It showed the cave and tunnel that he just came from as well as the chamber he was in right now. It also revealed that the tunnel he swam through was sloping down; there was another tunnel heading even deeper into the earth.


    He wondered what he got himself into. Would he be able to get out alive? Maybe he shouldn''t have let his urge to satisfy his curiosity get the best of him.


    As his expression grew darker with each thought, the glowing orbs around him bounced around emitting a soft hum. It almost felt like they were trying to cheer him up and give him some encouragement.


    He slapped his face with one hand and then shook himself out of the gloomy thoughts that were creeping into his mind and decided that there was only one thing he could do if he wanted to survive and make it out alive.


    He looked around for the next tunnel and found it with the help of the luminescent orbs. He jumped into the cold water and swam forward, not looking back in fear that he might give up.


    The next tunnel was longer, but this time he kept his eyes open. The lights flew alongside him as he swam, lighting up the dark water as he swam, keeping him company along his journey.


    Just as he felt his chest aching, almost about to pass out, he came to another chamber and broke through the surface and swam to shore panting once more. He pulled himself onto the solid ground and fell asleep completely drained of energy.


    After a while he woke up and the glowing balls danced around him and the wall. He took a look at the wall and noticed another map, just like the last one but with an additional tunnel, the one he just swam through and another entrance hinting to another waterway he had to travers.


    Ryuji sighed in dejection and tiredness. His body was aching all over. He hadn''t had so much exercise since the school year ended. His stomach growled, indicating how long he had gone without food. He wondered if he would ever make it out alive, or if he would end up starving to death.


    The orb then shifted towards a pile of moss growing on the floor. Ryuji blinked at them, confused. He crawled over to the moss pile, too weak to stand up and walk. The lights bounced in the air excited as he came closer.


    Suddenly, Ryuji had a feeling that they were trying to tell him to eat the moss that was in front of him. He gagged, repulsed by the idea of eating moss which he didn''t recognize, but the hunger gnawed at his stomach forcing him to take a handful and shakily stuff it in his mouth.


    To his surprise, the moss wasn''t as gross as he thought it would be, slightly slimy and very chewy. As long as he ignored the texture and pretended to be eating a salad, it wasn''t all that bad.


    After the first bite of moss entered his mouth, he quickly grabbed more and more handfuls and stuffed his face with the moss. The texture was off, but he was too hungry to care.


    After satisfying his hunger, he succumbed to his exhaustion once more and fell into a deep sleep.

 chapter 2

    Ryuji woke up after an unknown amount of time. He sat up and realized that he felt better. His muscles no longer ached with pain and he felt somewhat stronger, and lighter after resting.


    He looked around the cave watching the floating balls of light sparkle and dance around him with their now familiar comforting glow. He wondered how much time had passed by since he first entered this place, but decided that time was the least of his worries at the moment. He needed to focus on getting out of this mysterious place.


    Ryuji closed his eyes, took a death breath and plunged back into the water, sending a rush of bubbles up to the surface.


    He opened his eyes and noticed something different about the water. It was no longer freezing. Instead, it now felt pleasantly cool.


    He swam around the pool for a little bit, the glowing balls flew alongside him in the water as he swam. He went up to the surface for air then headed into the next tunnel, continuing his journey forward.


    And so, Ryuji swam and swam, moving through one tunnel after another. When he reached the surface and entered a new chamber, he would catch his breath, rest, eat some moss to curb his hunger and gather strength, then head back into the water once more.


    As he continued swimming, his strokes grew stronger with each passage. He felt more and more comfortable underwater with each passing moment. He was no longer nervous like before.


    Each new tunnel forced him to test his limits. Hold his breath further and further. Swim further without air or rest, but it didn''t bother him anymore. In fact, he felt joy in pushing forward, testing his body¡¯s limits before collapsing from exhaustion each time.


    As Ryuji swam, he grew more comfortable in the water. With each dive, he found himself needing to go to the surface air less and less. Sometimes he just swam right through the chamber without surfacing for air.


    At first, he didn''t notice anything different but as he continued subtle changes to his body were revealed. His lungs no longer ached from lack of oxygen. He only came to the surface when he felt a twinge arise from his chest every now and then to remind him that he still needed air.


    He felt more and more at ease as he continued traversing the water filled tunnels with only the glowing balls of light as his companions. He didn''t know what they were but his instincts told him that there was something special about them. They felt alive.


    On and on he swam, further and deeper. The further he went, the darker it became, until the only sources of light were the glowing orbs that danced around him. Their soft glimmer was the only thing lighting up his path.


    It felt like the deeper he went, the more the world around him faded, leaving him surrounded by an endless darkness, but he didn''t fall into despair.


    The lights kept him company, their vibrant hues bouncing up and down, lifting his spirits up and encouraging him to continue whenever he started to show signs of feeling down.


    With each passing moment, he felt more connected to them. The thought of returning home was slowly fading to the back of his mind, no longer top priority. He wanted to explore this place more and get to know what the lights were and how they were connected to everything.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    As he swam down the tunnels, he noticed something strange happening to him. His vision was changing. The darkness that should have made him unable to see no longer blinded him. Even the areas untouched by the glow of the lights were no longer concealed by the darkness. It wasn¡¯t perfect, but it was enough to swim through the ever growing complicated tunnels with newfound confidence.


    On and on he swam. As he continued swimming through tunnel after tunnel and chamber after chamber, the changes grew more pronounced. His vision sharpened. He could now see his surroundings which were once hidden in the shadows without the help of his new glowing friends.


    Somewhere along the way in one of those many water filled paths, a sudden, persistent itch appeared on his neck. Without thinking much about where he was at that moment, he stopped to give it a scratch. This relieved some of the itchiness as some dead skin fell to the bottom and revealed bumps on his neck.


    A rush of panic flooded through him, and without thinking, he opened his mouth, gasping in shock. A second later he realized his mouth was open. He closed his mouth and grabbed his neck expecting to be choking on the water, only to find out he was perfectly fine.


    He held his breath, or what was left of it anyways and hurriedly tried to reach the next chamber. He didn''t want to run out of oxygen. The familiar feeling of suffocation clawed at his lungs and his vision blurred, starting to fade out. The lights bobbed around him frantically, clearly worried about him.


    Just as his consciousness was fading away, he heard a steady, calm voice urging him to breathe. He wasn''t sure if it was a hallucination from the lack of oxygen going to his brain or something else.


    He didn''t understand what the voice was telling him.


    Breathe?


    Underwater?


    Surely he would die if he tried to breathe underwater, he thought.


    The voice told him to breathe again and Almost as if possessed, he took a quick breath still expecting to choke on water, but instead found the pain in his chest disappear and his vision became clearer again. He took a bigger deeper breath and sighed in relief. He wasn''t going to drown.


    Suddenly his eyes opened wide with shock. He was breathing. Under water. He was surrounded by water and was breathing perfectly fine. He tentatively touched his neck as he remembered the unfamiliar bumps. He touched his neck again and breathed in and out like normal. The ¡°bumps¡± moved in rhythm with his breathing. It was then that he realized he now had gills.


    Ryuji was shocked. He couldn''t understand what was happening to him anymore. His ability to hold his breath longer had seemed natural, like something anyone might experience after spending so much time pushing their limits and holding their breath for a long time. He attributed his improved vision, being able to see in the dark more clearly, as something like his eyes just adjusting to the lack of light in the enclosed area.


    But getting gills was something different. It was something more than just adapting to surroundings. Something in him was changing and he wasn''t sure what to think about it. He didn''t quite understand what was happening.


    Panic rose within him as he realized that he now had gills. The feeling on his neck was too real to be fake.


    Questions started to fill his head.


    Did that mean he was no longer able to go on land?


    Would he be stuck living underwater from now on like other sea creatures?


    What would happen to him now?


    Would people notice he was missing?


    Maybe he shouldn''t have followed the lights.


    Thoughts of doubt filled his head as he continued to worry about the sudden change to his body as he fainted from shock, losing consciousness before he could swim to the next chamber and get onto solid ground.

 Chapter 3

    When Ryuji opened his eyes again, he found himself back in the forest where it all began.


    The key was still in his hands. He quickly dropped it, backing away slowly, eyes wide with fear. Without hesitation, he turned around and ran as fast as he could back to his house where his mother and younger brother were waiting for him.


    He arrived back home and his family opened the door. They greeted him warmly, welcoming him back just like they normally do. Ryuji jumped into his mother¡¯s arms and hugged her tight.


    "I missed you mom," he told his mother, holding back tears of relief. ¡°I am sorry for everything mom, making you worried and causing trouble. I promise to be a good boy now and I won''t get into any more mischief and make you worry about me.¡±


    His mother stared at him confused and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong Ryuji? Did you hit your head somewhere?¡±


    Ryuji didn''t say anything. He just continued to bury his face in his mother¡¯s embrace, clinging to her tightly, afraid that she would disappear if he let go. His mother just let him be, gently patting his head.


    For Ryuji, time seemed to stand still. In his mother¡¯s warm hug, he felt safe. Maybe all those strange and terrifying things that had happened to him were just a bad dream. He wanted to stay like this forever, to feel the nice warmth of home.


    His 10 year old brother interrupted their bonding moment by poking Ryuji hard in his side with one of his toys, a plastic sword that their father got his brother right before he passed away in a car accident.


    The sharp pain from losing his father hit him once more and a few tears fell down his face. His family looked at him. Their gazes filled with confusion at his unusual behavior.


    ¡°You''re acting weird brother,¡± his little brother said. ¡°Are you sick or something?¡±


    He pokes Ryuji again who yelps in pain and scolds, ¡°Hey! That hurts you know!¡± He glares at his brother, who giggles playfully before hiding behind their mother. His brother sticks his tongue out at him before bolting back into the house.


    ¡°You little brat! Get back here!¡± Ryuji shouts before chasing after his mischievous little brother, determined to get back at his silly little brother, ignoring the feeling in the back of his mind that something wasn''t right, that none of this was real¡­


    He carried on as if nothing had changed, living just like before, forgetting about the cave and underwater tunnels. Everything was normal. Or at least, it seemed that way for now.


    Every weekday, he would wake up to the blaring sound of his alarm clock jolting him awake at 6:30 AM. Half asleep, he would fumble for the snooze button, hide his head under his pillow in an attempt to steal a few extra minutes of sleep. Fortunately or unfortunately for him, his mom would yell at him to get his butt out of his bed and ready or he would be late for school. Only then would he reluctantly drag himself out of bed and get ready.


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    He would take a quick shower to wake up, brush his teeth, and change into his school clothes. In the kitchen he would greet his mother and brother good morning. Sometimes his mother would make pancakes for them to eat. They were always so tasty and filled the air with a nice warm feeling. If no pancakes were made, they would have cereal or toast. On the days that he was in a rush, he would quickly make some toast and eat it as he rushed to the bus stop.


    While on the bus he would either finish some last minute homework on his phone, listen to music with his earbuds while looking out the window at the scenery passing by, or play a game on his phone.


    He would arrive at school and either hang out in the cafeteria, talking with his friends about random things going on in life, or go study in the library. He was a very diligent student. When the bell rang, signaling the start of the new school day he would always attend classes, never skipping them as he wanted to go to a good college in the future.


    Between classes, he would meet up with his friends, joking and fool around with them before the next class. Sometimes he would rush to finish some last-minute homework that he may or may not have forgotten about for some reason.


    Lunchtime was the best part of the day. It gave him a chance to relax and reenergize himself for the rest of the classes that came after. He sat with his usual friend group, telling stories about any incidents that happened in class, and laugh at random things his friends would say.


    After school, he would either attend a club he joined, stay after school with a teacher to get extra help or just go home on the bus.


    After arriving at home he would relax in his room, play a game or watch a video or two on his computer to unwind and destress from the school day. If he had a lot of homework he would start tackling it before dinner and finish the rest later. If there wasn''t too much homework, he would push it off until after dinner.


    Even if he was a diligent student who studied and got good grades, he still despised homework like everyone else.


    After dinner he would head back to his room and change out of his daily attire into more comfortable loose clothes then go complete any unfinished school work.


    After finishing his homework he would study for his classes for an hour or two, then put everything away, jump into bed and watch YouTube, or listen to music on his phone until he grew too tired to keep his eyes open . He made sure to plug in his phone, set his alarm for the next morning, before pulling his blanket over himself, succumbing to sleep.


    The weekends followed a similar schedule except for a few things. He would wake up much later since he didn''t have to go to school. Instead of attending classes at school, he had a part time job to go to.


    It wasn''t anything special, just a cashier at a grocery store. It wasn''t anything special, but it wasn''t that bad either. His co-workers were nice and easy going, making the atmosphere of the store more enjoyable.


    The customers for the most part were friendly enough with a few exceptions of a grumpy person or two that came through the line here and there, but this just helped him learn how to be patient and let them be.


    He enjoyed working as it gave him something else to do besides staying home all day and was a change of scenery from always being at school. Plus, he was also saving up money for his college tuition. He had it all planned out. After his shift was over he would either go home or go hang out with friends.


    It was a nice balanced routine between work, school and home. Everything was going along perfectly for a while until he noticed something different.

 Chapter 4

    It all happened one day during summer break. It was a nice hot sunny day.


    Ryuji and his brother went for a dip in the pool.  As he jumped into the pool, he noticed something felt different.  He couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on it, but he just had this feeling that something was off.


    Before he could think about it, his brother splashed him in his face, laughing at Ryuji¡¯s startled reaction.


    ¡°Come on brother, let''s play!¡± his brother shouted swimming away quickly while still laughing.


    Ryuji pushed the odd feelings to the back of his mind and swam after his brother shouting, ¡°Better swim as fast as you can little bro before I catch you and make you regret splashing me!¡±


    And so, with that, they swam around the pool chasing each other all over, splashing water all over the place, filling the air with laughter.


    After a while of fooling around in the pool, Ryuji¡¯s brother left to grab a snack in the house for a minute, leaving Ryuji alone.


    Ryuji swam around underwater with relative ease, enjoying the cooling sensation from the water soothing his skin from the hot summer sun¡¯s gaze.  The water surrounded him like a cozy blanket and made him forget all his worries for a while.


    Then, his brother came back, and, seeing Ryuji swimming so easily underwater, he laughed and called out to him.


    Ryuji rose to the surface of the pool upon hearing his brother and waved, ¡°Come on in.  The water is just perfect right now.¡±


    His brother said, ¡°You do look very comfortable in the water.  You''re swimming around like a fish.  I''ve never noticed how good you are at swimming.  Have you ever thought about joining a swim team?¡±


    Ryuji floated on his back and stared up at the clear blue sky. The sun shone brightly in the clear blue sky.  It sure was a lovely summer day.


    ¡°Swim team?¡± he repeated, a bit surprised by the suggestion. He shrugged, still drifting lazily in the water. ¡°I don¡¯t really know.  I¡¯ve never really thought about it. I just swim for fun during the hot summer.  It¡¯s a good way to cool down.¡±


    His brother urged on saying, ¡°Well, I think you''d be really good at it. You swim way better than most people I know.  You''re a natural.  I''m surprised that I never noticed before.¡±


    Ryuji considered the idea for a moment but wasn''t sure how it would go.  It could be fun, but it could also distract him from his goals.


    ¡°I guess it could be fun,¡± Ryuji said, ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡±


    His brother grinned and jumped into the water with a splash, joining his brother and said. ¡°You should! It¡¯d be cool to see you compete against others.¡±


    Ryuji smiled at his brother before diving back underwater, enjoying the feeling of the cool water enveloping him again.


    After hanging out in the pool for a little bit more, they went back inside and got cleaned up.


    As the summer flew by, Ryuji spent more and more time in the water, either in the pool, soaking in the tub, or going out to the beach with his friends.  He would swim underwater as if it was just natural.  His affinity for swimming in the water amazed anyone who saw him passing by.


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    His friends would challenge him to a race or a contest of who could hold their breath the longest and in the end, he would win every time.  His friends all teased and poked at him saying that surely he must''ve cheated but he denied it.  They all stared at him with silent admiration and acknowledgment.


    One day while swimming alone in the pool, he felt his hands start to itch and went to the edge of the pool and pulled himself out of the water, and looked at his hand.  The skin on his palms were red and irritated.  They felt extremely itchy.


    He wondered aloud, ¡°Is this some kind of allergic reaction? Maybe something got in the water.  But I don''t believe I have any allergies.¡±


    Ryuji scratched his hands but that didn''t really help relieve the itch at all.  He couldn''t figure out what was happening but decided that it was probably nothing too serious and just shrugged it off.  He went back inside and put some cream on his hands, relieving the itch a little bit.


    The same thing happened again when he soaked in the tub later that night.  His hands started to itch uncontrollably again and he started scratching them furiously, wondering what was going on.


    Over the next few days, he realized that his hands itched only when he touched water.  He decided to ignore it at first, but then he noticed that his feet started to turn all red and itchy as well.  This made him wonder if there was something in the water that reacted with his skin, but even that didn''t make any sense as the rest of his body was fine.


    One week later, the itching suddenly stopped, but instead, his skin started to get super dry very fast.  His mother noticed his dry skin and bought him lotion, but no matter how much he used it, it never truly helped.


    Only soaking in a pool of water would relieve the dryness of his arms and legs.  His brother teased him for taking so many baths, but Ryuji just shrugged it off.


    He also grew more and more parched as time went by, even though he kept himself well-hydrated with lots of water, it did little to soothe his thirst. He couldn''t understand what was happening to him, so he just dismissed it as some weird side effect of puberty.


    That was until something else happened.  Something that could not be explained as just another puberty effect.


    In mid-summer, after learning to deal with the new changes to his body, something shimmering on his hands while he was soaking in the tub one day.


    Scales had appeared on his palms.


    Smooth, hard scales covered the surface of his palm gleaming in the bathroom light.  Colors of light blue and pale silver shimmered like the shell of a scarab.


    A wave of panic surged through him as he opened his mouth to scream.  Luckily his mother and brother were out of the house running some errands, so they didn''t hear his scream.


    He looked at his hands again, hoping that maybe he was just hallucinating from the heat, but alas, they were not illusions.


    The scales were not just on his palms, but also on his hands and forearms.  He even had scales on his feet and lower shins.  If that wasn''t enough of a change, his fingers and toes now had skin between them that resembled webbed feet like those of a frog or otter.


    He stood up abruptly and quickly got out of the tub and dried himself off.  He worried about what would happen to him now.  He knew that nothing good would come from having some unusual features that could attract unwanted attention and wondered how he could hide it from people.


    He dried himself off and took a look at his hands hoping to study the new scales more, but to his amazement, his hands were back to normal and so were his feet.


    He sighed in relief.  At least now he didn''t have to worry about hiding in his room all day to prevent people from seeing the scales.  Only now, he had to find out what triggered them and how long it took for them to disappear, but he had a feeling that it had something to do with water.


    He went to the sink and turned on the faucet and put his hands under the water and then scales appeared where the water splashed on his skin.  He looked at the scales in wonder for a minute before turning off the water.


    When his hands were dry the scales disappeared so now all he had to do was just avoid getting his hands and feet wet or dry them off quickly if that wasn¡¯t possible, to make sure no one would discover his secret.

 Chapter 5

    As time went by, Ryuji learned to adapt to his new life but seeing his hands and feet covered with scales whenever he touched water was still unnerving no matter how many times he saw it.  But there was nothing he could do about it if he wanted to stay clean.


    As long as he avoided getting wet in front of people, the easier it was to keep his secret hidden. As long as he dried his hands and feet off, the scales would disappear within seconds.  On the other hand, if he let his hands air dry, it would take about one to five minutes depending on how fast his hands dried naturally.


    Over the summer, he did his best to avoid swimming with his friends.  He would find a way to avoid going to the beach or pool, claiming that he was busy, or pretend to have stomach aches or be sick whenever they invited him to hang out somewhere that involved getting wet.


    His friends couldn¡¯t help but notice that he kept avoiding places with water. After weeks of inventing random excuses, they finally decided to confront him.


    "Anytime we ask you to join us at the beach, pools or some water park you just make up some excuse to not go.  It''s been happening for weeks now. What''s up, bro?" Ajax asked, trying to mask his concern.


    He hesitated, shifting uncomfortably. "I don''t know... just not feeling it, I guess." he said, looking at the ground.


    His friends looked at him, not buying any of it.


    Another one of his friends, Mika spoke up, "It¡¯s definitely way more than that dude.  You used to love going to the beach with us."


    ¡°Yea.  you used to be the one making all the plans for pool parties or meeting up at the beach.  You would be the first into the water and the last one out.  We practically had to drag you out of the water.  What happened?  Did you have a bad experience or something?¡±


    Ryuji looked at his friends and decided to tell them about the dream that he had. He just ignored it but then recently his body was changing and maybe the ¡°dream¡± wasn''t really a dream.


    ¡°I had a dream¡­ It was more of a nightmare¡­¡± Ryuji hesitated, his friends watching him closely.


    He took a deep breath and continued, his voice trembling slightly as he continued to retell the dream that had haunted the back of his mind for so long.


    ¡°I had a dream that I was trapped inside a cave.  There was only one way out.  It was to swim through the tunnels that went on and on forever.  I was being guided by some floating lights, like they were showing me the way through the maze.  It was scary at first but I started to enjoy the quiet peacefulness of being alone as time went on.  But then I entered a tunnel.  I was swimming along like normal but then something appeared on my neck.  It scared me so much that I opened my mouth in shock, and all the air just left my lungs. I couldn¡¯t breathe... and just as I felt like I was going to drown, I woke up.¡±  Ryuji shivers at the memory.


    His friends looked at him in silence, a heavy feeling filled the air around the three of them.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Mika said, trying to comfort Ryuji with a hard shoulder pat. ¡°It''s quite understandable now why you avoided going to the beach and pools after having that crazy nightmare.¡±


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°Yes.  Yes, it is.¡± Ajax agreed, ¡°But you should''ve told us this.  We thought you didn''t want to hang out with us anymore.¡±


    Ryuji was surprised.   He hadn¡¯t expected his avoidance of the beach to make his friends feel that way.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry guys.  I didn''t think about how you would feel.  I only thought of myself, I guess.  I didn''t want to look like a wimp in front of my best friends¡­¡± he said regretting his decision to just avoid everything without any explanation.


    ¡°Well, now we know what''s going on, right guys?¡± Mika said brightly, wanting to shift the mood, ¡°We can all just hang out inside.  Who said that you need to go to the beach to have fun?  All that sun will make my skin turn red like a lobster.  I would much rather not be turned into a lobster over my vacation, thank you very much.¡±


    She grinned as the boys bursted into laughter at the thought of her turning into a red lobster.


    ¡°Maybe go shopping at the mall.  There is a store I''ve been meaning to check out recently.  What do you guys think?  Let''s go tomorrow, ¡®kay?¡±  Mika suggested.


    Ryuji and Ajax exchanged glances and shrugged. ¡°Okay sounds good.¡± They smirked.


    Ryuji added, ¡°Just try not to get carried away and buy half the store like last time¡­¡±


    Ajax nodded, ¡°Yeah, remember when you swore you¡¯d ¡®just browse¡¯ and ended up making me and Ryuji carry all your bags.  We could barely see in front of us.¡±  He shivered as if he was reliving a traumatic event.


    Mika gasped in mock offense. ¡°Excuse me!  That was one time, and I needed those items.  They were limited edition.¡±


    They exchanged knowing glances with each other as Mika continued to speak.


    ¡°Besides, I got you both snacks, didn¡¯t I?  You two eat enough to feed a family with three kids for an entire year.¡± she said, pretending to be annoyed at their appetite.


    Ryuji chuckled, ¡°Yeah, yeah. You bribed us with food so we wouldn¡¯t complain.¡±


    ¡°Classic Mika.¡± Ajax said and they all started laughing.


    Mika jumped up filled with excitement and exclaimed, ¡°Great! Let''s go tomorrow! Oh, and I already know the first store we¡¯re hitting.¡±


    Ryuji groaned dramatically. ¡°Oh no¡­We¡¯re doomed.¡± he looked over at Ajax who nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Guess we better prepare ourselves huh?¡±


    ¡°Guys!!¡± Mika said aspirated, ¡°Enough teasing me for one day, please!¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay," Ryuji and Ajax said.


    ¡°We¡¯ll stop, but it''s just so fun to see your silly reactions.¡±


    Mika glared at them intensely and they shivered in fright.


    ¡°Oh wow¡­look at the time.¡± Ajax said suddenly looking at his non-existent watch.  ¡°It¡¯s getting late guys. I gotta get back home and umm¡­ help out around the house. Bye guys!¡±


    And so Ajax quickly ran out the front door leaving Mika and Ryuji gaping at how quickly he disappeared.


    Mika huffed after his shadow and grumbled, ¡°Looks like he wants to do all the heavy lifting tomorrow.¡±


    Ryuji gulped at Mika¡¯s ruthlessness and thought, ''Farewell Ajax.  You were a real good buddy'', silently praying for Ajax¡¯s safety in tomorrow¡¯s shopping spree.


    Mika turned to Ryuji.


    Still concerned, she asked, ¡°Are you sure everything is good?  You know you can always lean on us if you need any help.  That''s what friends are for, you know?¡±


    Ryuji nodded, ¡°Yes I''m fine now, thanks.  No need to worry now.¡±  He said, grateful for his friends and how much they cared for him.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Mika said, hesitating to leave, ¡°Just give us a call anytime.  I gotta go home as well now. See you tomorrow, I guess.¡±


    And with that, she left, leaving Ryuji alone in the quiet house.

 Chapter 6

    Ryuji, Mika, and Ajax went to the mall the next day.


    As Ryuji and Ajax guessed, Mika went on a much bigger than planned shopping spree and ended up buying a mountain of things she probably didn''t need.  The boys tried to stop her but she just shrugged and found some ¡°important¡± reason to buy it anyway.


    And of course, just like she promised, Mika made Ajax carry most of the must-have items.  Before he realized, his arms were overflowing with bags and an assortment of goodies piled high that he had trouble walking without dropping anything.


    Ryuji and Ajax stared at each other in wonder at how a single person could do enough shopping for a whole family, just  for themselves.


    After a short break for some food, Mika¡¯s treat of course, they reluctantly continued their exertion around the mall.  Mika eagerly dragged the boys to the next store and they exchanged another look, this time filled with dread at the thought of carrying more bags than they already held.


    And so that was how the day went for them.  By the time they were done, Ryuji and Ajax were exhausted.  When Mika gave them permission to go home, Ryuji and Ajax collapsed on their beds that night, their energy completely spent, and fell asleep immediately, too tired to do anything but rest.


    Weeks passed after the exhausting shopping trip, and before they knew it, summer break was over.


    Mika, Ryuji, and Ajax found themselves back at school, starting their second year of high school.


    They compared their schedules and found out that they had completely different ones.  The only time they could meet up would be by chance in the halls on the way to their next classes or occasionally during lunch on certain days.


    This caused much disappointment for them.  They had hoped to at least have one class together.


    The bell rang and they all split up to go to their classes.


    And so another school year began.


    Everything was the same but at the same time different.


    Ryuji had to be very careful of his surroundings.  He had to make sure to not get water on his hands while he was around people.  If his hands got splashed with water, he had to quickly hide them in his pockets.


    When he went to the bathroom, he had to make sure no one was in the bathroom with him before washing his hands and then run to the paper towel to dry them off quickly.


    He no longer used water fountains as the water could splash onto his hands while he was drinking.


    He no longer ate anything cold during lunch as the condensation from the container would be wet.  This sadly included his favorite ice cream which he used to get everyday at lunch.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Still, as long as no one noticed the scales, as long as he could hide them, he could maintain his normal life.


    But deep down, Ryuji knew this wouldn¡¯t last forever.


    When he wasn¡¯t in contact with water, his skin would feel dry and itchy.  And it only got worse and worse as the days went by.


    To cope with this discomfort, Ryuji developed a routine.  He would go to the bathroom in between classes and quickly wipe himself down with a damp towel to soothe his skin, then wait long enough for it to dry before hurrying off to his next class.


    It wasn¡¯t a perfect solution, but it was the only way to keep the discomfort at bay.


    On good days, he could get through the entire class without needing a break.  But on the bad days, his skin would be so itchy that he couldn''t help but ask permission to leave the class just to go to the bathroom to relieve his problem.


    His classmates started to notice his increased trips to the bathroom and expressed their concerns.  They started asking if he was feeling okay or if something was wrong. If there was either a health issue or a more personal matter going on.


    He brushed them off and shrugged, saying that he was fine and that it''s no big deal.  His classmates looked at each other wanting to question him further but decided to respect his privacy as they weren''t all that close enough to question him about personal issues.


    And so life went on for Ryuji.


    After school, Ryuji would take a nice long soak in the tub, finally relieving his skin from its dryness and itchiness.  At first his mother and brother found it odd that he would take such long soaks after school everyday, but they just let him be and eventually got used to it.


    Ryuji made sure to lock the door of course so his family wouldn''t be able to suddenly barge in and see him with scales on his skin.  He didn''t want them to know, afraid of what they might think, the possibility of rejection and being called a monster by his own family scared him into silence.


    Other than those changes, life went on just as usual for Ryuji, but he was worried.  He wondered, for how long would he be able to keep this a secret from others?


    What would happen if someone discovered his secret? Would he still be safe? Would he be hunted down and turned into a lab rat?


    He shuddered at the thought of being hooked up to those monitors and getting poked and prodded with needles.  The mere image of getting his blood sucked from his veins or injected with who knows what kind of drugs or chemicals sent chills down his spine.


    He shook himself to get rid of all these scary thoughts.


    For now he just had to focus on his school work and hiding his secret from others to the best of his ability.


    Luckily for him, he did not sign up for the swim team and his brother never mentioned it again.


    Ryuji tried his best to keep up with his schoolwork and the usual routine to keep up the illusion that nothing was different even though everything had changed.


    Every day was filled with nerves for him, like he was walking on a tightrope 50 feet above the ground.  With one wrong step, one careless mistake, his secret would be revealed to the whole school, no, it would be exposed to the whole world.


    Ryuji grew paranoid from all the stress and worry.  Every glance towards his direction, every conversation whispered among classmates in the halls got him thinking, was it about him?  Was someone watching him? Did they find out?


    Ryuji knew he couldn''t let his guard down.  If he let his guard down and someone saw his hands covered in scales, then everything he had worked so hard to keep hidden would all be for naught and his whole world would come crashing down around him.


    He was just biding his time, clinging on to the last bit of normalcy in his life for as long as possible, because he knew deep down, that it was only a matter of time before someone noticed.


    He couldn¡¯t keep hiding forever.


    He had no idea what would happen when they would discover his secret.


    And that day might come sooner than he realized.