9th Wave - Chants from the Depths [2]

At the Palace of Pearls, there existed a troubled merman.

It was somewhat tricky to measure merfolk age by human standards, seeing their lifespan far surpassed a man’s. However, though their growth rate was a bit slower than an average human, it was not impossible to have an estimate.

In his parents' eyes, Seikan was a slightly more mature child. In his brother’s, he was finally old enough to be his own person. To his people, he was an inspiring role model.

Prince Seikan was no older than a young boy. And though the prince himself was not fully aware of that, by the brief interactions he managed to have with the queen, he could tell she still was not seeing him as a possible romantic partner.

His brother was very set on disrupting his progress and “making Sei reconsider the worst mistake of his life”, yet to Seikan’s fortune, Ryousuke received an urgent message from his fiancée urging the elder prince to return as soon as possible. And his old brother was wise enough to comply.

However, even before his betrothed left the Palace of Pearls, he noticed the side glances the younger princess kept sending his way. Eyes that at first seemed just as inexpressive as the princess herself, but that he was later able to interpret. 

Eyes that shone with hints of suspicion and uncertainty, no matter how briefly.

“The day of the ball, you heard us, right? My brother and I.”

“What does it matter to you?”

Which made her quite conflicted regarding her findings.

“Because if you know what I think you know, this means you are the only one who can help me while your sister is away.”

“Help you…with…you mean, regarding…” She kept waiting for him to confirm [and even more, to deny] her first assumption.

“Conquering the heart of the queen. Your mother.”

So she felt it was her duty to remind him, exactly, of the situation he was in.

“And I’m single! A perfect match.”

“You are engaged. With her daughter.”

The young mermaid was, at that point, beyond shocked. She could see and feel in Seikan’s voice how truthful—how earnest—he was being. How he truly meant every word he spoke, with no ill intentions but the foolish ones carried by an even foolish-er love.

“Why do you want to marry the Queen of Pearls?” As the prince opened his mouth to reply, Reika swam closer, standing inches away from his face.

“I remember what you said to the first prince—I don’t want to know your intentions, or the extent of your feelings. I want to know why you believe you love my mother.”

And as they stared into each other's eyes, there was nothing Prince Seikan could do but respect and honor Princess Reika’s feelings accordingly. So he answered her truthfully.

Princess Reika remained silent for a long time, pondering. Considering the prince’s every word and how her reply would affect them. Her sister. Her mother.

She met Seikan’s eyes again, recognizing the flame that kept burning in his gaze. One that was pure.

“I will help you.”

And Reika’s voice never wavered as she spoke. “I will help you win my mother’s heart.”

“You know, for the past days… you have been acting quite strange.”

Kojin Okihiro continued to unload the boxes.

Most times, Hinomiya Ketsuya would start talking to Okihiro almost in a unilateral way. He would talk about all things going on in his life, Okihiro would “listen”, and that would be it. Though it could be tiring, he found the older man’s presence comforting in a way. That one person who cared enough about him to bother communicating.

And Okihiro never knew how to deal with that.

Okihiro tripped.

“I know old Seina-san is one of the good folks, but she is not abusing you or anything, right? ‘Oh, I need a strong and reliable man to help, so if you want to use my boat, you will have to do everything I say’, it’s not something like that, right? Because you know, Okirin, you can be too naive sometimes. You can’t let others be abusing your heart like that, you hear? You are too kind for your own good.”

‘I’m the one who asked Tomi-san for a favor. She is doing no such thing, so I would prefer if you could refrain from insinuating such things when it could create problems for Tomi-san.’

“You? Asked help for old Tomi?”

“What kind of help could you get from Seina-san, though? The only thing she has that could be of use to you is her boat, and she has neither any connections with the folks here at the port nor—”

Ketsuya’s voice faded, his words being lost in a void as he read his coworker’s question.

“My date with Hyou-chan?!” A warm and joyful laughter escaped his lips before he continued. “Oh, well, I was trying to keep things private, but if you want to know!”

Like a completely different person...

Kojin Okihiro let out a sigh of relief, glad that his life was no longer a subject of interest for their conversation.

And, occasionally, he would mouth a single word. Testing how his lips and tongue moved, imagining how it would sound, how it would echo and spread.

Anticipating the moment he would be able to say that word out loud. Not as a mere word, but as a call.