13th Wave - A Shiny Necklace [3]

Risei never tried to learn more about Sea Witches.

Something a creature had to inherit from the very first moment they were conceived, being born into the world already with an innate magic flowing in their bodies. Even when his family had a strong history of producing Sea Witches, the squid was never really amused by the subject.

This changed somewhat when he found out Tama-chan, the amazing Daughters of the Seven Waves of Love’s lead singer, was obsessed with magic.

Because of that, occasionally, he would send messages to his cousin asking one thing here and there, and research the rest himself. And although his current knowledge by no means exceeded expectations, it was still good enough to give him a good grasp of how magic worked.

When he saw Princess Hin and Prince Tsun had followed Eirin, he felt quite relieved. Yet he still didn’t dare to go back, not when there was no way of knowing what the kleptomaniac princess could do. So he was staying close to the port, trying to pass the time whatever way he could.

Which was, at that moment, trying to learn the Daughters of the Seven Waves of Love’s most famous choreographies.

He was doing quite a poor job. Yet, in all fairness, he was doing so inside a nautilus shell.

I’m pretty certain this is how Tama-chan moves…

Yet in that moment, as Risei trained the dances, he soon started regretting not learning more about magic before. For something started happening with his temporary house. The shell not only began to shake, it started to get warm.

Too warm.

Risei practically jumped out of the thing, letting it fall onto the sea floor. And as he watched the shell shake and glow, bubbles slowly showing up around it, the squid paled.

This…

This is not good.

For a vessel that was safekeeping and bonded with a merfolk’s song could not be broken or tampered with. It became an impenetrable fort, capable of being shattered only by the same hands that created it.

A high-pitched sound began echoing, a sound that came from the nautilus shell itself, getting higher and louder at a slow yet steady pace.

“…Eirin,” the squid whispered, his voice carrying a kind of concern he never imagined he would share.

The sound got louder, a new pressure coming from within the shell.

Strong enough to make it crack.

                                                                        𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼

Moments before—

The two of them had been walking for a long time, and still, the man had not mustered the courage to take the hand of his pocket.

Although he had been quite confident before, the moment the man met her eyes again, too many thoughts flooded his mind. Thoughts considering too many things, variables and constants, things he could control and things out of his reach.

Things such as when, where, how.

Which words, by which means, with which intentions.

Ketsuya’s words kept replaying in his mind, alongside Tomi-san’s question.

…why am I so nervous about this?

Somehow, Okihiro knew that once he answered that question, he would be far too close to answering Tomi-san’s. And that was something he was still reluctant to do.

At some point, they ended up near an empty building. On a road people more than often avoided, where the grass was not properly cut and the ground was overly dirty. However, Okihiro was not paying attention to where they were. He was looking at Eirin.

And as he watched her, with slightly blushed cheeks and wandering eyes, the man recalled why he had done that in the first place.

“…Eirin.”

She stopped when he spoke her name, that single word making her heart stop, only to flutter a second later.

The princess turned, meeting a green gaze that was—in her eyes, at that moment—more beautiful than any treasure she could ever find at sea.

Kojin Okihiro finally took his hand out of his pocket, fist closed. Without saying or signing anything else, he slowly opened his palm, revealing a small object; a metal locket pendant.

Princess Eirin lost her breath.

Her eyes went from the necklace to Okihiro’s eyes again, the silence stretching between them. Somehow, no words or signs were needed.

As if she had been struck by a spell, Eirin turned around and raised her hair. Without skipping a beat, Okihiro fastened the pendant with no rush. And when their eyes met again, the princess touched the new object that hung from her neck.

She felt its warmth and saw how beautifully it reflected the sunlight that poured between the tree’s leaves.

For the very first time in her entire life, Prince Eirin from the Palace of Pears received an actual gift from a human.

Okihiro's hands trembled for a bit as he pulled out his notebook to write, yet Eirin stopped him. Though she felt happy to see the human learning her language, she soon became too aware it didn’t make her feel as amused or enthusiastic.

Not when compared to whenever they used their language.

The princess recalled how thrilling it was for her all the days they spent on his boat, creating signs as they struggled to communicate. Soon enough, without her realizing it, those signs became precious, for it was uniquely theirs.

「How is it?」

She signed with shaking fingers—face burning and heart racing.

Okihiro gave her a smile, one that was subtle yet warm. One that made something wrap itself around her heart and squeeze it tightly.

「Looks beautiful.」

Neither of them knew exactly what he was referring to.

Yet before she could give a response, a sound found its way to them.

“Oi, Kojin! Fancy seeing you here.”

“The scrub can’t hear, you dunce.”

“His girl can, tho.”

Eirin turned to the group of five men, not understanding a single word they were saying. As Okihiro followed her gaze, his body became rigid. A gelid embrace took hold of his limbs, cleared his mind of all thoughts, and his heart of all feelings.

All but panic and dread.

Before long, the group was standing far too close, surrounding them both, with a ridicule drenching in their presumptuous smiles and scornful gazes.

Eirin, however, was seeing their expressions in a…different light. Especially when one approached the sailor from behind and put his arm around Okihiro's shoulders.

The way they formed a circle, the way they're all smiling and looking at him…touching...

Is this…human courtship?

And for reasons she could not comprehend, the thought of a group of human males courting the sailor was extremely upsetting.

“Finally started missing your old place, Kojin?”

“Maybe he’s just trying to show off to his girl.”

“This shabby place? It will only make her run away from this scrub.”

“By her clothes, she must be even poorer than him.”

Is this…the day I die?

Okihiro thought, clenching his fists.

Meanwhile, Eirin kept trying to guess the meaning of their words by watching their smiles, and the more her imagination ran wild, the more she narrowed her eyes and furrowed her brows.

Are these humans…

…trying to steal him away?

Okihiro did not move. After all those years, even without his hearing, he remembered. He could still hear their contempt when speaking his name.

The voices that always made him feel like an entrapped animal. Shackled by his own powerlessness and fear.

…no. If I don’t react, they will get bored and leave.

Yet when she saw the man’s unresponsiveness to the group’s words, the princess started to become restless.

Wait, why is he simply standing still? Does he want to be taken away?!

“Why you ain’t saying nothing, scrub? Did you lose your voice alongside your hearing?”

“Nay, our Kojin here prefers to use this thing here—to show how pathetic he is,” the tallest among them said, tapping Okihiro’s notebook with his knuckles.

The sailor averted his eyes.

I don’t need to pay attention to what they’re saying. I just need to wait until they leave.

Yet the tallest one suddenly grabbed his face, forcing him to look up.

“What, don’t wanna know what we have to say? I know you can understand fine by watching others speak. You are quite famous around here, Kojin. ‘The deaf orphan who had to beg for a job because no place would accept him’, ‘the sorry blighter who sails away on a borrowed boat to cry’.”

Okihiro clenched his teeth.

He won’t hit me. As long as I don’t provoke him, he won’t hit me.

Eirin lost her breath.

Is this human trying to kiss him?!

Overcome by jealousy and the fear of losing her greatest conquest to a mere human, Eirin gave the tall man a strong push, sending him a couple of steps away from Okihiro.

And all of them froze.

As the sailor’s heart dropped to the pit of his stomach, the tall man began to laugh. A sound that, to Eirin, was as disgusting and disharmonious as a thousand musical groups out of tune.

“Who would think that?! His girl has more balls than him.”

“Is that why you chose her, scrub?”

“If not that, it must be because of her talents. Is she good, Kojin? Do you two have fun?”

Okihiro didn’t want to pay attention to what they said. Never did, not even once. Yet those words were enough to tune down all his fear and panic, and bring forth something he never dared to feel.

Anger.

He pulled Eirin by her arm, placing her behind him.

That was the moment the princess realized there was something wrong. Not by the way the others laughed, with mockery and distaste.

“Couldn’t stand having a girl saving you some face, you decided to show some teeth, scrub?”

“It’s almost cute, how hard he tries.”

But by how thicker the air became. By how unsettling that weight got, becoming so heavy not even she could ignore.

By how sharp the sailor’s gaze became.

The tallest man let his friends share their taunts, his eyes never wandering, his smile never faltering.

“Hey, Kojin.”

Then he slapped Okihiro hard across the face.

“You should know better than to look at me like that.”

And within her, Eirin felt a pull. An ache.

The place where her song should be—

It started to burn.