10th Wave - A Stolen Song, A Lost Treasure [2]

That day, Okihiro woke up with his scar itching.

…hm, maybe I got bitten by some bug?

Though Kojin Okihiro never realized himself, whenever his scar itched, things would happen. And it was not a matter of luck or misfortune, no no.

It was a matter of scale.

Like a huge wave crashing into his life, carrying with it whatever was pulled into its way. Sometimes they would be good things, sometimes they would be bad.

However, Okihiro had never made the connection, and even if he did, little could be done to prepare him for the fates that awaited him. So in a way, ignorance was indeed a bliss for the young man.

Yet not for that day, though.

“Oh, Okirin?! You had a shift today?”

Ketsuya’s face lit up the moment he spotted Okihiro, the tone in his voice carrying the same pleasant surprise. The younger man nodded as he signed his name for the morning shift.

“Ah, I see! Boss called you because of the expedition, right? Guess those folks are in a hurry after all…”

Okihiro followed his coworker’s gaze, landing on a group of well-distinguished men caught up in a heated discussion as they pointed and gesticulated toward the big ship, with worker after worker carrying boxes and equipment aboard.

“Everyone’s saying this one will be different, yet…I don’t know, something tells me these people are rushing too much, you feel me? It hasn’t even been a month since the last expedition, and we all remember how that one ended.”

Though many people got enthusiastic and expectant whenever a noble announced a new expedition, Okihiro never had any particular interest in the topic. The rumors never reached him on the streets, so unless he went out of his way to ask or read the papers, he was none the wiser.

Ketsuya suddenly glanced back to his junior, a sly smile appearing on his lips. “But say…you look happy today. Did something happen? Or you are also excited about the expedition?”

As Okihiro read the spoken words, his heart began to race.

Do I look different…?

Okihiro was, in fact, very excited and anxious, yet not about the expedition. That day, he would finally sail again.

To look for Eirin.

And as Okihiro and Ketsuya helped with the expedition’s preparations, something stirred trouble within the calm blue water.

In the form of a young, oblivious mermaid.

“How do you even know where you’re supposed to go? You never swam nearly close to the shore before.”

While the lack of her song made her feel hollow, like she was no longer herself, she decided to focus on the goal at hand. The real purpose of that mission.

The shiny trinket.

“I asked around a few times before, if anyone remembered the boat’s trajectory. It gave me a good idea of where he should normally anchor.”

The squid turned to her with sheer dread in his eyes, shivers cursing through his entire body strong enough to make his temporary [and indeed very comfortable] home shake.

Not only she's obsessively tormenting the poor man, she is now stalking him like prey.

Eirin’s expression soured as she spoke. “Whatever you are thinking, stop. It’s making your face look ugly.”

When they finally arrived at the port, it was almost noon. Risei surfaced for a brief moment, taking note of their surroundings. The port was way more agitated and crowded than usual, shouts being carried by the wind as sailors walked left and right in hurried paces.

Is this good, or bad…?

Since there were way more humans around, if the princess were careful enough, they could take advantage of the chaos and have her sneak in without attracting much attention. On the other side, if something happened, there would be many more eyes on her.

Knowing Eirin, a “careful approach” would be something quite arduous to achieve.

It’s a bad sign, then…

Risei rubbed his forehead, preparing himself for all the headache Eirin was about to cause him. He turned, already thinking of the words he was going to use to explain the plan to her.

“Listen, there must be something happening today since there are many more humans than usual. This means we need to think this through and—”

The words bled out on the squid’s throat, making him choke the rest.

She’s drinking already?!

All his peace of mind levitated from his body, alongside his soul, as he saw the princess gulping down every last bit of the potion.

Eirin looked at the empty bottle with a curious gaze.

This tastes good…I wonder what this is.

It was strawberry. With some hints of vanilla.

Back in the surface world, Okihiro was already signing off his shift, his muscles a bit sore from all the heavy labor.

“You sure you want to sail today? If you wait a bit, I can take you to that pub I talked about. We never really went out for drinks, did we? As your senior, I’m ashamed…Let me treat you today, Okirin. You’ve worked hard.”

Okihiro was not paying attention to Ketsuya’s words at all, yet judging by the expectation in his eyes and the way the man kept smiling at him, Okihiro concluded he was trying to ask him for a favor or was about to go in one of his speeches.

So he grabbed his notebook, scribbled the words in a hurry, and gave them to Ketsuya before rushing away, Okirin chasing him while happily wagging his tail. The older man read the paper, scratching his eyebrow with a frown.

“What appointment does he have to make him rush like that, though…?” He sighed, watching Okihiro disappear into the crowd. “I wonder why I worry so much about that kid…”

Back at the ocean, a few kilometers away from the port.

“Eirin…why-why didn’t you wait…there’s so many humans, we don’t even know how to enter that place…”

Risei’s flaccid body was almost floating away, all his strength gone as he tried to reach out to the mermaid in a last attempt to put some good sense into her.

He was utterly ignored.

“Oh, do you think I will need those human clothes?”

Risei’s sanity took another blow.

You only thought of this now?!?

Yet before the squid could die of a heart attack, Eirin’s tail began to glow, bubbles appearing all around her as if the water surrounding her was boiling.

The princess dropped the vial, a numbing pain striking her every bone and muscle. Each scale in her body burned and ached, as if they were about to fall off. Eirin gasped as the pain intensified, her vision blurring, her body shaking.

More and more the bubbles grew in size and quantity, the blinding glow shining even more fiercely, to the point Risei could not see the mermaid anymore. And after a couple of minutes, when the waters finally calmed down, the squid widened his eyes.

For what he was seeing was a mermaid no longer.

At the port.

From that moment onwards, things started to overlap. And to what some would call some twists of fate, others would see as mere coincidences.

The first thing was how Okihiro passed by a group of men who stared ahead with squinted eyes.

“Think it’s some shark?”

“Make it a dozen, to cause this many bubbles. And what about that glow?”

“Nay, ain’t no way. That’s just the sunlight reflecting, can’t ya see how sunny it is?”

Yet the young man paid them no mind, much less glanced at the ocean. Instead, he continued moving forward, toward a small shop.

A few minutes later, a man complained about how his clothes were gone when they had been lying on top of a barrel just a second ago. Yet within the shop, Okihiro chose the best baits for the day without a single care.

Moments later, as Kojin Okihiro had his back toward the entrance, a shape passed across the shop’s window. One wearing oversized drenched clothes, with long, silver, damp hair. The moment the figure passed though, the man turned and walked toward the seller.

After exiting the store, Okirin identified a very familiar scent, one he was missing. The dog started to bark, pulling his master by the shirt.

What is wrong with him?

Without any further warning, Okirin gave his master’s shirt one final tug before charging ahead, begging to be followed. Okihiro, thinking the animal wanted to play, let out a sigh as he chased after his dog.

Okirin followed the scent until they arrived at another very familiar location.

Tomi-san’s boat.

Kojin Okihiro’s shoulders dropped, a faint smile appearing on his face.

Is he that excited to sail again?

Well, it has been some time.

His master petted his head, scratching Okirin behind the ears. Okirin understood that as his master congratulating him for being a good boy and following the scent, which made him very happy. And as Okihiro crouched to pet his dog, walking away from the boat was the same drenched silver-haired figure.

After putting away the baits in the boat, the young man checked his list.

I have the bait, and Okirin’s meal is also inside. Oh...I guess I left my lunch at the port.

Leaving Okirin to guard the boat, he rushed back to the port, and though he did notice the weird and confused expressions on people’s faces, Okihiro just kept walking. He wanted to leave as soon as possible, since there was no guarantee he would find her on the first try.

When Okihiro was going toward one of the port’s main buildings, the drenched figure was going back. And even when the young man was trying to keep the thoughts at bay, his heart kept racing at the prospect of what he had planned.

It should be fine…Tomi-san said I improved a lot in the past days. Even if I don’t find her today, it should happen by the end of the week.

Meet…Eirin again.

His cheeks flushed, his heart faltering and thumping hard against his chest.

Right before Okihiro got to his boat, however, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. He had forgotten the map Tomi-san drew for him the night before—something he definitely couldn’t depart without. The young man made his way to the woman’s house, stopping at the door before he knocked.

He waited a few minutes, frowning when no answer came. He peeked inside, seeing the house empty.

Tomi-san did say I could enter without an invitation…still…

To enter a woman’s house like this…

However, who could tell when Tomi Seina would return home. And since the boy was quite desperate to leave, he took a deep breath and turned the handle with hesitant fingers.

Ah...Forgive me, Tomi-san…

His mission was to get the map, and leave. And Okihiro did just that.

He walked toward the living room and opened the main drawer, finding the hand-drawn map lying on top of everything else. Okihiro let out a relieved sigh, his heart continuing to palpitate.

Soon…we will meet very soon.

Kojin Okihiro had never been more right in his entire life.

Others would’ve heard the wood creaking behind him, steps getting closer.

Okihiro heard nothing.

So when he turned in a rush, he never expected to bump into anything. Much less someone.

As that someone’s legs gave out, both bodies crashed down and fell to the floor. And when Okihiro raised his head, he found himself in a very familiar scene—with some minor changes.

Because this time, it wasn’t Princess Eirin cornering him against the boat and grabbing him by his collar.

But Okihiro himself lying on top of her, staring into the princess’ flushed face.