One Last Wave - Epilogue

                                                             FOUR MONTHS LATER

Above the deep blue waters, the wind propelled the small boat with purpose.

Vigor.

Sheer will.

Even if the wind disagreed, the boat had its own direction—its own place to be, even amidst the vast open sea.

The sky was bright and clear, the water fresh and inviting. Yet the moment the boat arrived at its rightful place, the sails were lowered, and no matter how much the wind blew, there the boat remained.

For it was there that it belonged.

I hope there won’t be anything odd today…

Just like that, Okihiro Kojin began another day.

Looking forward to what the deep blue waters would bring his way.

                                                                 𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼

Within the depths of the vast, blue ocean—

At the Palace of Pearls, a young merman was finally rejoicing.

“I never considered you might be interested in learning more about our estate of affairs, Seikan. I apologize, this was rude of me.”

“Nonsense! You have nothing to apologize for. Especially considering I will become a citizen of Pearls myself, it’s an honor to learn more from the Queen herself.”

After days of research and outings, Prince Seikan finally found the perfect opportunity to invite the Queen of Pearls for a date.

For there was a special play being held that day to commemorate the Palace’s anniversary; a play that would retell Pearls’ history and legacy.

The mermaid gave a brief nod, her silver hair tied in a high bun with the crown perfectly placed on her head.

“Yes, I see your reasoning. As this is the case, it’s a pleasure to accompany you. I also oversaw the screenwriting of the play, so I’m quite curious about how everything turned out.”

There were many things that surprised Seikan on their way to the venue.

First, although he was fully expecting Queen Yūritsu to look beautiful, he was not expecting his inability to prevent himself from flushing and being unable to meet her gaze.

Second, he would’ve never dreamed the Queen and her guest would have to sit isolated from the rest, in the Queen’s private seats—things were quite different at Cobalts.

Finally, the last thing that surprised him…

Was Queen Yūritsu’s dedication.

“W-what are you doing, if I may ask?”

Yūritsu turned to him with a small frown as she set up a small table in front of them, placing seaweeds and ink on top.

“I must make sure we will be comfortable throughout the play, as we take our notes. Also, you are free to write down any questions you may have during the play. If I notice any discrepancies, I shall inform you as well.”

Seikan blinked a few times, somewhat still a bit confused about what the queen meant. He only became certain fifteen minutes after the play started, noticing how focused the mermaid’s gaze was as she attentively listened to the actors’ monologue.

…the important thing is that I finally convinced her to watch a play together.

Yes, this is what truly matters.

This is how Seikan’s first outing with Queen Yūritsu ended up as a study date.

                                                           𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼

Crossing the distance to the grand Palace of Corals—

Things were anything but quiet.

Though King and Queen of Corals had been gone for a few days, and would stay away for a few days more, as both enjoyed a romantic getaway.

Yet in a particular room…

“This is unacceptable. Give us another proposal.”

“B-but—how can you expect the club to be ready for both concerts with so little time between them?!”

“We don’t care. You are the one who begged us to be responsible for the merchandise—figure it out.”

Princess Hin and Prince Tsun were in a one-sided argument with Risei. Though the squid usually avoided interacting with the twins, things changed quite a bit when they decided to take a “small side project”, as they kindly put it.

Risei let out a long sigh, his head throbbing alongside two of his hearts.

“We are only asking for a bit more time in between. Four more days will hardly compromise your plans for the group.”

The twins exchanged glances.

This squid must really take us for fools, sister.

I would argue he is the fool himself, brother. Blinded by the culmination of platonic love.

Agreed. He’s still offering the club’s services for free, however, so we can at least pretend we will consider his idea before proving how wrong they are.

Agreed.

The twins would stay in that room, pretending to listen to Risei’s plans, for a couple more hours before reaching the limit of their patience.

It was an unfortunate drawback they had to tolerate since becoming the new managers of the great musical group Daughters of the Seven Waves of Love.

At another place in the Palace, in the eldest princess’ chambers, a seahorse patiently waited.

“Forgive me for the delay! I hope you didn’t wait long. Please, whenever you are ready.”

Princess Kei entered the room with a warm smile, her voice gentle and soft.

“Worry not, Your Highness! If you allow me, then, I will start.”

The seahorse adjusted the great, flamboyant collar on their neck and cleared their throat. Then, in a blink, their friendly glow and charismatic gaze shifted and became something completely new.

An expression that was both calm and unsettling.

“Princess Kei of the Palace of Corals from the Undisonus Sea, you speak with the Chief of Internal Affairs of the Palace of Radiances. We are sending you this message after your mother’s visit, upon careful consideration of her first proposal.”

Princess Kei's smile softened, surprised by how many things had changed and how others remained just the same, during those months.

Even when her cousin had matured a bit—something Kei herself once believed to be impossible—King Taon’s dependency on her was the same as it had always been, sending any messages he didn’t want to deal with her way.

 Yet this is life, I suppose…

Some things never really changed, the same way the sun always set from the west, some things were like the tides—fated to follow the whims of the sea.

Yet before Princess Kei finished listening to the message in its entirety, a very specific word stole all her focus and breath.

“W-wait a moment, what did you say?”

The seahorse almost bit his tongue mid-sentence, not that happy to be interrupted. When he neither continued nor replied, Kei spoke again.

“Marriage?”

With a voice that echoed along the shifting tides.

                                                                   𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼

She did not take long to find it.

The small boat, and its [ugly] charming octopus.

As she broke the surface, with the sun high in the sky, the metal pendant hanging from her neck shone brightly. The mermaid welcomed the cool breeze and the beauty of the blue sky, yet there was something else that pulled her gaze. A figure standing in the small boat.

He was a tall man with dirty blond hair, with eyes so green they glistened like jewels. With a scar on his left eye and his clothes dancing along the wind, that was the most handsome man she had ever seen.

Her heart raced and her cheeks flushed, Princess Eirin took a deep breath. Preparing herself for another day, another experiment.

She locked eyes with the furry beast, the dog who was already wagging his tail at her as he barked, too excited for his own good. And when Princess Eirin opened her mouth, what first began as a low hum soon became a beautiful melody.

One that reached Okirin in the same heartbeat.

Push

Okirin sat in the same moment, confused. He knew he was a good boy because he loved his master more than anything in the world. Yet for some reason, even though he was a very good boy, Okirin felt the need to jump at his master.

And without ever noticing the surprise attack, the moment the big dog jumped at Okihiro, the animal drove his human to the boat’s edge before giving one final push.

Kojin Okihiro closed his eyes, reading himself for the impact—for the ocean to swallow him whole before he could start swimming to climb back on the boat.

Yet, though he did get wet, once he opened his eyes, he saw something else.

…I guess hoping she wouldn’t do anything odd was too much, huh?

「What are you doing?」

He signed with a racing heart, and though he wished he could say his face was red due to the sun, Okihiro knew better.

“I came to pick you up—we shall go on an excursion today!”

Because as he fell into Eirin’s arms, their bodies clashing together, there was simply no way he would be able to remain calm.

「An excursion?」

Especially when the mermaid smiled at him like that.

“Yes! There is a small…huh, how do humans say…yes! An ‘isle’! It’s very close by. I will take you there.”

Their communication had improved a lot in the past four months. Not only were they able to use more signs, but both of them were learning each other’s speech with Tomi Seina’s help. Eirin would often mix the two languages whenever she spoke with him, to make it easier for the sailor.

Okihiro frowned.

If it’s close by, why am I wet?

「Can’t we use the boat?」

“We-well, we can get there faster if I take you there directly!”

The actual reason was the result of Eirin’s latest research on human courtship.

She currently held the belief that human males were prone to lowering their guard upon extended periods of light touching.

Carrying Okihiro to a deserted island was the idea she came up with—after a lot of careful consideration and planning.

「What about Okirin?」

And she forgot about the dog.

As Princess Eirin bit her lips in frustration, trying to come up with the right excuses and failing, Okihiro controlled himself not to laugh.

So cute…

She said nothing as he climbed back on the boat, clenching her fists with a frown. Fighting the urge to bite her cheek and lip.

“Eirin.”

Yet everything inside her melted as she heard him speak his name.

A sound filled with so much warmth and fondness, it made her heart skip far too many beats before it returned to normal.

「Come. Show me the way, and I will take us there.」

Eirin dove at first, before leaping out of the water at full speed. Yet when she broke the surface and went toward the boat, Okihiro was waiting for her with open arms.

They still fell down on the floor, though.

Just like they had done so, many times before.

And as both Eirin and Okihiro became aware of their proximity and their touching bodies, with racing hearts and newfound goals…

No matter what I have to do, no matter how long it takes…I will give him back his shiny necklace. I will make him give his heart to me. 

I need to find out this treasure that Eirin wants, whatever it is, and make sure I will never give it to her…

Because I can’t live without him/her anymore.

Neither was aware of the tidal changes in each other’s hearts, and that was all right.

For the sea, even being that vast and silent, still had its freedom.

And as long as they followed this love in their hearts, they would never lose their way back.

                                                                                                        SING!! SEASON I - END