Author's note: Second set of entries from Kanabe's Journal. I understand that chapters for this story are a great deal shorter than my other story, but that's because this one's not supposed to be as long as "The Invasion Grows". It's meant to tell us how Isumi (AKA Ika Musume) was born between an Ocean Walker and a Human, and detail exactly what happened to her parents.

I do not own Ika Musume, and I never will...

Kanabe's Journal

Missing Food

Day 20: I must be eating more than I realize. The rations I have prepared for this month have almost completely run out. I'm not ready to return to shore, however. I have prepared for eventualities such as this. I have prepared a fishing rod and net, and I intend to take from the ocean's bounty, as so many sailors have before. My only concern is that it may take time away from my search. To remedy that, I've decided on a schedule: early in the morning is when I'll fish for both breakfast and lunch, hopefully dinner as well. I need a balanced diet, so I may have to dip into next month's rations to stay healthy. In the worst case scenario, I'll simply have to chart the vessel to the nearest port and restock. My dreams are important, but I can't follow them if I starve.

Day 21: I made a big catch today! I let the net hang behind the boat to scoop up passing fish while I set it to auto-pilot on my normal heading. The number of shrimp in this region is astonishing! It was so many I had to let most of the catch go! Strange note, however… Among the many shrimp I released, I could have sworn that one of them had arms and legs. I'm afraid that my search might have caused this hallucination, so I had stop the search early for some rest and relaxation. Thankfully, shrimp wasn't all I caught for the day, as my fishing rod can attest; I managed to successfully catch some bream as well. I put the cookbook and sailor's guides to work as I prepared the meals for later consumption. After my meals, I relaxed on the deck of the boat and read one of the books I brought with me on the trip.

Day 24: Something is wrong. I caught a large bucket of shrimp the other day, which I figured would last me several days of meals, and kept them in the refrigerator. The bucket is almost completely empty, and I know that I didn't eat it all. I not a hundred percent certain about this, but I have a feeling I'm not alone on this boat. I hope I'm just paranoid.

Day 25: This time I'm sure of it. Someone is stealing food from my fridge at night. Before I went to sleep last night, I checked the fresh shrimp I had caught yesterday. I had refilled the bucket completely, and didn't touch it all day. This morning, when I checked the bucket, it had been dug into ever so slightly, as though someone had taken a handful and absconded with it. I searched the entire boat from top to bottom and found nothing. My conclusion, as paranoid as it may seem, is that an Ocean Walker is sneaking onto my ship while I sleep and taking food from me. As thrilling as this idea is to me, I'm not sure that I want my first contact with them to be on such bad terms. However, as any creature on this planet, I need to protect my food. I have set up a simple trap in the kitchen area, which might detain-

A loud crash resounds throughout the ship in the darkness, causing Unzen to fall out of his chair in surprise. "Could it be…" He mumbled as he rubbed his head. "My trap went off!" Excitedly, Unzen grabbed the fisherman's knife on his nightstand and rushed out of his cabin. As he made his way to the front of the boat, he saw the light from his fridge flowing out onto the deck of his ship. He gripped his knife but kept it in its sheathe as he leapt in front of the kitchen door.

"Let me go, degeso!" The intruder yelled angrily as she tried to fight with the net. "Let me go!" Her hair danced around the floor, unsure of which way was up, as she thrashed about the kitchen and knocked pots and pans to the floor. "You have no idea who you're messing with, degeso!"

Unzen dropped his knife to the deck. The sound reached the ears of the intruder, who stared at him with wide, blue eyes. She appeared to be a beautiful woman in her twenties, wearing a white dress with wavy laces. On her head was a white hat that looked a little like a squid. The hair that draped down from her head was actually a collection of tentacles that moved around like a bunch of snakes. "No way…" Unzen choked out as he fell to his knees.

"Ah," The woman sighed. "Guess I'll have to go back to finding my own meals, geso." With a wave of her tentacles, the net was torn to pieces, falling around her like confetti. She quickly got to her feet and rushed in the opposite direction of Unzen.

"Wait!" Unzen jumped to his feet, stumbling as he sprinted after her. "Please, wait!" He cried out. He felt as though he may never see her again if he didn't stop her now. As he finally got to the deck he saw her almost to the edge of the ship, preparing to dive off.

"MIRA-TAN!" Unzen bellowed as he collapsed to the deck. The sound of his cry echoed over the ocean, stopping the intruder cold. As he panted on floor, tears running down his face, he heard the sound of footsteps.

"How…do you know that name, degeso?" He heard her ask. He looked up quickly, to see her standing just a few feet away from him, but she gave him a stare that forbid him to come any further.

"Because…" He choked out. "My name is Unzen Kanabe…" He reached into his pocket, retrieving a small, worn seashell attached to a pin. Tears streamed down his face as he recalled that fateful day so many years ago.

"Unzen, geso…" Mirabelle thought for a moment, trying to remember. Suddenly a flash of memories flew threw her mind, and she widened her eyes. "Unka-kun?" Unzen smiled, absolutely certain at that moment.

"Yes, Mirabelle…" He confessed. "That's the nickname you gave me all those years ago…" He felt as though an enormous burden had been lifted from him. "Fifteen years ago, you saved me from drowning in the ocean. After that, we spent the entire day playing together. You taught me about how wonderful the ocean was, and I listened to every word because it came from you!" He could feel all the barriers of his heart being torn down. He allowed her to see the seashell he'd been cherishing since his childhood. "Do you remember this, Mira-tan?" Mirabelle gasped as she stared at the relic of her childhood past. "I've taken care of it for all this time, because on this shell a promise was made….a promise that we would meet again…" He waited for her to respond. A tentacle gently pulled the shell from his hand, and he allowed it. She brought it close to her face, feeling it with her delicate fingers. She smiled a sad smile.

"It feels just like it did then, geso…" She replied softly. "It's color has hardly faded at all, geso…." She knelt down to look him in the eyes. "You've kept this seashell all this time? Why? We only knew each other for a few hours, yet…."

"Yes," Unzen stared into her eyes. "Though our time together was brief, I will never forget what you did for me that day…never…"

At long last, Unzen is reunited with Mirabelle, but now what will happen? What exactly happened fifteen years ago? What does Mirabelle feel about this? All shall be revealed in the next chapter!

Please reveiw, or the story dies right here...buahahaha!