1st Wave - A Sparkling Surprise [2]

“For the sake of your uncle’s beard, can we go back now?”

The sun was nearing the horizon, basking the sky in orange, red, and yellow hues. What had once been a vicious, wild, and vigorous wind was but a gentle breeze playing teasingly with the waves.

Undoubtedly, there was no more perfect scenery to end a day.

That was, if the princess agreed to end it.

“We didn’t find it yet…” she spoke with gritted teeth, biting her nails while her eyes kept searching in all directions, matching her nervous pace.

The squid had no idea what “it” was, and why Eirin was torturing themselves—especially Risei—for hours and hours, refusing to back away.

Risei grabbed and pulled her by the tail, forcing the mermaid to stop swimming for a cursed minute, while he glanced over the clock wrapped in another tentacle.

“Yeah…listen. I humored you as far as I could,” and as far as he was willing to, “but I have an appointment I cannot miss.”

Eirin widened her eyes, her voice becoming pleading and mellow.

“Are you really going to abandon me? When it’s almost nighttime?”

“Yes. So go back soon before your uncle drowns his entire family in his own tears. I heard your mother sent another messenger today.”

As the princess averted her gaze, her demeanor changed. The faked sadness disappeared, being replaced by something deeper. As gelid as it was distant, something real and tangible; a sorrow.

Risei’s grip on her softened until he finally let go of her tail.

“Just go back.”

They both knew he was not talking about the Palace of Corals. And yet they both pretended he was.

“…I will, soon. Give me a couple more hours, and I will find it for sure.”

The squid sighed, yet nodded all the same, resigned. Such a rebellious and troublesome child she was. Fortunately, Tama—the beautiful lead singer of Daughters of the Seven Waves of Love—was a true angel.

And he had bought a ticket to their meet-and-greet session.

“Don’t stay here too long!”

With a wave, Risei swam away while singing ‘Kiss, Kiss, Swim My Love’.

Eirin rolled her eyes, baffled at how a squid his age managed to spare all his three hearts to obsess over a group of young mermaids. Yet her current mission was far more important than the suspicious tastes of her friend.

She had a human to charm. And even more importantly, something shiny to get.

On their search, they did come across a few boats. However, nothing ever caught her eye. And hours later, as the last rays of sunlight disappeared from the sky, Eirin became more and more anxious.

Today was supposed to be a good day…no! It is a good day. A great day!

I will make sure of it.

She swam harder, faster, making sure to go to the surface now and then to look out for anything she could miss from within the water.

And though it was later than she intended, she did find it.

A single small boat.

The princess’ eyes popped out as she gasped, the burst of joy that exploded inside her filling her with hope. It took no time for her to be swimming only a few meters away from it, breaking the water’s surface as silently as she could.

There’s…just one of them?

It was certainly odd.

Usually, a small boat like that would have between three and five humans doing their things. There would be a lot more nets as well. But for this one, all she could see was one single human putting away a fishing rod—which Princess Eirin called a ‘piercing stick’—and a dog.
Which, to Eirin, were called ‘four-legged furry beasts’.

When the human finally turned toward her, unaware of her presence, two things happened.

Princess Eirin, having lived with little to no awareness of the world and a negative knowledge of matters concerning the heart, could not process what she felt.

The human with dirty blond hair who was hoisting the sails was, like most sailors she had bewitched, a man. He had a scar crossing his left eye and wore simple clothes with suspenders.

And somehow, he was different.

To Eirin, that was the most handsome man she had ever seen. Yet since the princess had never felt attraction to anyone of her own kind, much less humans, there was no way for her to know the reason her face flushed and her heart raced.

And as those things happened within her, something kept reflecting the last rays of sunlight. Something Eirin also continued to notice as her heart raced and her body warmed up. So when the man turned—giving an even better view of his face—the princess made her own erroneous judgment of why her heart was racing.

Which was not the man himself—

But the shiny pendant he wore around his neck.

Yes! I found it—I knew I would find it today!

Before long, the mermaid was analyzing how she would approach this. She had to have that shiny thing, no matter the cost. The furry beast could pose a problem…

…yet it could also be a great experiment.

After all, it was so rare to find furry beasts in the open sea. Why not test how her voice affected other land creatures? With a grin, Princess Eirin swam closer.

Inside the boat, Okirin gazed at the sea.

Okirin was a big dog. And, before being a big dog, Okirin was a good boy.

He knew how to watch out for his master’s needs and how to pay attention to anything suspicious lurking in those waters. He also knew how to pick up the scent of an approaching storm before his master could, and how to let his master know if anything was wrong.

Okirin liked being a good boy.

Yet Okirin was not what others would call a bright boy.

And before being a good boy, he was a dog still. So when Okirin saw a creature he had never seen before approaching the boat, the moment he realized it was a person, Okirin stopped and tilted his head. It was certainly odd to see people swimming. His master never jumped into the water when he was fishing.

When the person got closer, Okirin realized it was not only a person but also a lady. One that had funny ears and odd things on her arms, but a lady who was very pretty. So Okirin sat and barked once, giving the pretty lady his very handsome smile.

His master had taught him how to behave, and since Okirin was a good boy, he was even nicer with pretty ladies—all so they could be more impressed by his master.

When Princess Eirin opened her mouth, what first began with a low hum soon became a sweet melody. One that reached Okirin in the same heartbeat.

It was the most beautiful lull, carrying its own lovable warmth. Something precious, unique, delectable.

Sleep

Okirin’s eyelids became heavier. It was strange. He was a very good boy, he did his best to be one. And since his master needed him, he never closed his eyes while they were at sea. Yet somehow, that song was so beautiful…

...peaceful...

Before long, Okirin was lying down with his belly upward, being pulled by the sweetest of dreams. A dream where his master kept smiling at him, petting his head, and rubbing his ears while calling him the best boy there was.

Eirin’s grin got even wider at the sight of her accomplishment. Of course her voice would work with furry beasts—why wouldn’t that be the case? They had ears as well.

She had sung purposely low, only for the beast. She didn’t want the man to sleep—otherwise, she would really have to steal the shiny object.

The princess threw her hair back, starting her song once again. This time, however, she sang for the entire world. A voice that echoed and filled the entire space, robbing the waves and wind of their sound without asking for permission.

Two seconds passed.

Then five.

By the tenth, Eirin stopped.

The man had her back to her once again, continuing to hoist the sails and pull cords.

The mermaid shook her head. She was still singing like she had for the human’s furry beast, very likely—Eirin needed to change the song again. Sing on a different scale, with other notes.

A new melody began, louder and bolder than the previous one.

Almost twenty seconds passed.

And the man did not even turn her way.

Princess Eirin’s face got redder than a crab’s shell. It simply wasn’t possible. His damn furry beast had fallen asleep, why wasn’t he reacting at all?!

Why was a mere man ignoring her?!

Before she could even stop herself, Princess Eirin did something she had never done. Something she considered to be shameful, petty, a last desperate act.

She jumped out of the water and charged at the man, making them both fall hard onto the wooden boat’s floor.

“What is wrong with you?! Why won’t my song work?!”

Eirin shouted the words—her heart racing, her breath uneven, her eyes wide, her hands trembling as they grabbed the human by the collar.

Yet it didn’t take three seconds for Eirin to back away, even more shaken than she had been previously.

The man stared back at her with utter shock. Not only that, there was sheer fear in his eyes. As if he had no clue she had been there, or what she was talking about.

Eirin knew how powerful her voice was.

Yet as she sang, that man hadn’t even turned her way. Not because he purposely ignored her, but because he hadn’t heard her. And the reason Kojin Okihiro didn’t hear Eirin’s song—

Was because he hadn't been able to hear a single sound since he was twelve years old.