The idea of going to space made no sense to Hydrus. The logistics of going to space made no sense to Hydrus. Why would he want to go into the vacuum of space, with the barest of hope that there would be enough oxygen to sustain him for just enough time for something else to kill him? There was no logic in any of that, much less a guarantee he had a homeworld that wasn't a giant red star, or something equally devastating.

Then again, Hydrus was a sailor senshi who could summon tiny leviathans. If that was possible, so was the ability to exist in space without dying a horrid death in ten seconds.

He had, by process of elimination and the realization he had a phone while powered up (but not tea, something that bothered him greatly) figured out that the sleek device he'd pulled out of no where had an option for 'homeworld'. Hydrus was partially anxious about the whole thing as he stared at the brightly lit screen. Being the magical warrior of leviathans of all things made him highly worried that he'd 'call home' and suddenly be within one of the beasts, or worse, surrounded by millions of gallons of water. The thought of the latter along sent quivers of fear down his spine. Little known was his fear of water, something they'd never pegged down as to why. When he was younger, baths always made him anxious, but he could on the bottom and felt safe enough. Pools brought on a sense of dread, and he'd often take the position of snack keeper or what have you. He just simply avoided it. Ships were a nightmare, and his father only tried once. Never again. The phobia had gotten easier to manage over the years as he got older, but he still took some of the quickest showers possible.

It was often joked that he'd been traumatized in a past life about it.

He owed it to himself and Mintaka to go, at least once. He wanted to make an informed decision before joining her, and this was part of it. If his anxiety and panic flared into attack levels, he'd get himself out of there as fast as he could. It couldn't be worse than being in the stomach of a giant youma train with pustules. That was something he never, ever wanted to go through again. If that meant he had to go to Chaos, then that was a good point for that decision. No one should ever have to be in the belly of a youma. Especially one with an active digestive track.

His fingers hovered over the button. The fear of being dropped in the middle of an ocean stilled his movement. Hydrus frowned, glaring at the phone and himself. Usually his fear of water didn't hamper his life. He just... avoided it. Sponge baths were a thing, after all. There was a possibility of him 'zoning in' into a pool of water and oh god that fear paralyzed him to the ground and why was he ever doing this this was a terribleideahowcouldthisevenwhywhywnononono--

Mintaka's face flashed through his mind, smiling at him and drinking tea.

Hydrus let out a long breath, the anxiety present but not forefront on his mind. He could do this. Mintaka believed in him, and he could do this. Water or no water, he had to do this. He took a breath, closed his eyes, and pressed the 'call' button.

The air smelled of salt, but slightly off. It wasn't the same as the ocean on earth, that pungent mix of dead fish, oil, and salt. It was a clean smell, almost akin to the smell of rain. It was quiet, save a far off echo of waves. He opened his eyes to find himself standing on land. Land that seemed to stretch for a while, with hills and shrubs even. He was... confused. Thankful, really, but confused. If he was supposedly powered by leviathans, why was there land? The senshi walked around the (probable) island. There wasn't much there, and it was too quiet for his liking. The dirt crunched under his feet, the low lying shrubs slowly thinning out as the salty smell grew more potent.

Hydrus continued until a building came into view. It looked like a series of docks, and a warehouse, nestled on the edge of the island. He could see a glint of the water beyond, an oddly dark green color that shimmered in the light of the sun above. The sky itself was a sea-green looking color, he noticed, mostly covered with fog and clouds than the color of the atmosphere. The docks themselves looked rather run down, the warehouse's roof fallen into the building. He wondered what it was used for; perhaps there used to be some sort of shipping business? Obviously there wasn't anything here now, o'course, and he wasn't about to go over and investigate the ruined warehouse. It was a safety hazard, and who knew what sort of environmental hazards this world held to begin with, not to mention that was almost too close to the water for his liking with that bobbing dock.

Well. That was that. He turned, intent on exploring the other direction of the island. No point in going any further in that direction. Perhaps there was a settlement on the island or something interesting. Surrounded by land, and not close to water at all.

"Oh this is ridiculous," said a voice behind him, and Hydrus turned to come face to face with a tall young woman with long black hair braided with strands of beads. She wore what he could only describe as a mix of oriental sailor and commoner gear, a simple tunic crossed over her chest lashed with a tied belt, simple pants and hardy leather shoes. The sea green eyed young woman gave him an exacerbated look. "The Heir Apparent is going to be only one who won't bond with his leviathan because it involves standing in knee deep water."

"Undertoe is incredibly dangerous Mayu, besides you know water and I do not mix, and haven't mixed for the majority of my life. It's hard enough living in the city as it is. The leviathan can be transported to shore, or yes, I won't be bound to one," he replied curtly, looking at the far off docks with a worried expression. It was difficult enough being enclosed in one of the pods to travel between the shore and the capitol city. Tiny pods, with potentially weak structures and depths below forbid they run into a wayward leviathan or rock on the way and crack the hull and --

"Tatsuya." Her voice startled him out of his thoughts and he focused back on her.

"Yes?" His sister let out a soft chuckle, musing his hair gently.

"The docks won't kill you. You go there all the time." He must have made a panicked expression because she mused his hair again. It was a calming gesture from long ago. "You can wait until the beast is there first, run down there, do the bonding, and then run right back if you insist. Will that be sufficient?"

He swallowed, trying to push the fear and panic down. He nodded, and she guided him towards the docks.



Hydrus blinked, feeling panic flare in his chest as he glanced around for the young woman. He found nothing, just the broken warehouse and the docks, closer now than he liked. He took a few steps backwards, more into the warehouse than into the rest of the island. The panic subsided as confusion filled him instead. He was sure he'd seen a young woman, someone named Mayu, and there was something about bonding with a leviathan?! That... that couldn't have been real. There wasn't a way that was real, this was the first time he'd ever been here. Yet he - Tatsuya - had the same fear of water, the same panic, the same paralyzing anxiety. He didn't know what it meant, not at all.

Were those... memories? It felt like the faint flickers he'd had from the future, but these were clear and almost as though he'd been there. The future had been fuzzy, and hard to decipher. This... this was not.

Hydrus glanced into the warehouse briefly, seeing nothing but ruined planks and a broken door at one end. He had no desire to go in there, not with his anxiety flared so badly, and decided it was time to go home.

The Senshi of the Leviathan winked out existence, panic in his chest.

[ WC: 1439 ]