Chapter Text
“Aki!”
The redhead was taken aback as her mother and father were suddenly at the water’s surface, swimming over to her and Carly. She had no idea where they’d come from and had no time to ask as her mother took Carly from her and her father gestured for her to come with him.
“We need to hurry to save that human!”
Aki blinked, absolutely stunned to hear such a thing from her father, but she set it aside. The most important thing at the moment was saving Yusei. She followed the king down into the water, both swimming as fast as they could. The ship hadn’t gotten to the seafloor yet; still making its way down. Yusei was still conscious, futilely trying to push the mast off of himself. King Hideo and Aki swam up on either side of him, adding their strength, but the top of the mast had caught along the railings at the ship's side, effectively locking it in place.
King Hideo frantically looked around, trying to come up with an idea before his eyes landed on the trident. “Aki, give me that! With the witch dead, the ownership of the trident should be back to us!”
Aki passed the weapon to her father with shaky hands and he swam up above them to get a better shot. Aiming at the mast, the trident glowed red on the spikes and fired at the wood, breaking it apart and making it easy enough for Aki to lift on her own. She pulled Yusei up, seeing that he was reaching the limit of holding his breath and preparing to drag him up to the surface. However, King Hideo swam over to them with the trident still glowing. It formed a bubble that encased Yusei’s head and the prince gasped as he realized he could breathe again.
“Yusei! Yusei, are you ok? Are you hurt anywhere?”
Yusei placed his hands over Aki’s as she fretted over him. “I-I’m ok.”
She sighed, holding him close as she allowed herself to finally relax. It was all over now. Yusei was ok. Carly was ok. Everyone was ok. Yusei wrapped her in a hug too and she could feel his body lose its previous tension as he had the same thoughts she did. They stayed there for a while, savoring the feeling of relief and togetherness, before pulling apart slightly to turn their attention to King Hideo. He’d silently left them to have their moment, returning with Queen Setsuko and Carly, the latter sporting her familiar tail under her dress.
“You must be Aki’s parents,” Yusei said. He did his best to give a proper bow to them while still underwater. “Thank you for saving my life.”
King Hideo shook his head. “You saved my daughter and the entire kingdom. I think it was the least I could do.”
Aki wondered how he could have possibly known that before a vague memory popped into her head. Divine had turned her parents into a crown, hadn’t he? King Hideo noticed her confusion and clarified.
“We were still conscious inside the gems of his crown. That meant I could see and hear everything that happened.” He fixed his gaze squarely on Yusei. “I saw how hard you fought against that witch. And I heard you say how you did it not just for your people, but mine as well. I never would have thought I’d ever see a human fight on behalf of merpeople. You didn’t have to. You could have done it to save yourself and your own kind.”
“That wouldn’t have been right,” Yusei immediately interjected, “I would never let anyone be attacked and used by someone like Divine, whether they were from my kingdom or not.”
King Hideo smiled. “Hm, honorable and true. Aki tried to tell me you were trustworthy, but see how wrong I was not to believe her. But, I wonder, are all humans like you or are you a standout among them?”
“I believe that people are inherently good. I can’t say every human is virtuous; I’ve witnessed them do wrong. Divine himself was originally a human and he was as evil as can be. No matter who or what someone is, they have the capacity to do good or evil, but I do truly think that people choose to do the right thing more often than not.”
King Hideo shared a look with his wife, the expressions on both of their faces looking pleased. Aki couldn’t help smiling at Yusei herself. His positive ideals were impressive, especially with the conviction he put into his voice as he said them. He didn’t say anything to sound grand or clever; his words were honest and what he believed in to his very core.
“Then I choose to trust you.” King Hideo turned his gaze back to Yusei and Aki, focusing on his daughter. “Aki, I realize now that I was too hard on you. You were right all along and I should have trusted you more, but all I did was push you away. It’s probably my fault you even got mixed up with that witch. Do you think you can ever forgive me?”
Aki left Yusei’s side to hug her father as she answered, “Of course I forgive you! I love you, Papa, and I know you were just trying to look out for me. I must have hurt you and Mama so much by running away. And I should have been smart enough not to make a deal with Divine. Can you forgive me?”
King Hideo nodded, teary-eyed. Father and daughter quickly embraced once more, this time Queen Setsuko joining in. The family enjoyed their moment before they released each other. King Hideo briefly glanced upwards, an idea forming in his head, before he smiled at Yusei.
“You’ll need a new boat to take you home. Allow me to make you one.”
Yusei seemed a little confused as to what that meant, but he nodded anyway. Aki swam to his side to help pull him along as the group swam upwards, breaking the water’s surface into the limitless blue waves. King Hideo held up his trident, pointing it ahead of him, but he turned his head around to look at Aki.
“Why don’t you help me make it? After all, I assume you’ll be taking the boat back to Domino too?”
Aki blinked, surprised. “You-you’re ok with me leaving? I thought you and Mama would want me to stay.”
“Well, it's obvious trying to control you was a bad decision. You should have the freedom to go wherever you wish.”
“However,” Queen Setsuko chimed in, “Maybe you can at least promise to visit? And, of course I mean you as well.” She dipped her head to Yusei, an almost giddy smile gracing her lips. “I’d love to get to know the man my daughter fell so hard for!”
“Mama!” Aki sighed, embarrassed even if it was the truth.
Yusei laughed bashfully, cheeks turned red. Still, he nodded to the queen, a silent promise that they would visit. The sight made Aki’s heart feel light; she’d never have thought her parents would be friendly towards Yusei. She’d thought she would have to choose between the land and sea, but they’d found a way to coexist. Both felt like home to her and she didn’t have to lose one to keep the other. The happiness of that flooded her thoughts as she placed her hand on the trident, feeling warmth from it as her father willed its magic to start.
A gentle, sparkling red haze filtered from the spikes and, in the distance, it formed a ship. It appeared slowly with King Hideo thinking primarily of how a ship looks and functions and Aki’s thoughts, filled with love for the land and sea, gifted the boat with it as well. It was made mostly of wood, as all boats were, but everywhere else was covered in coral and plantlife. The wood had an iridescent sheen that made it appear blue or green depending on the angle and the wheel was entirely made of hard, red coral, all because of the magic coursing through it. The railings along the deck were white limestone, wrapped in twists of flowers of all colors. All the way up the masts were serpentine vines and along the ropes of the sails, more flowers grew. Wood and plants with coral and the colors of the ocean; the boat was a perfect marriage of land and sea.
Aki couldn't be prouder of how the ship had turned out and she sent an excited smile over her shoulder at Yusei. He returned it, in complete awe of the beautiful boat in front of him. King Hideo gestured for Yusei to get closer to Aki, intending to command the waves to lift them up onto the deck but Carly quickly swam over as well.
“I need to go back to Domino too!” She fidgeted with her hands as she mumbled, “I-I still need to apologize to Jack about everything. I’ll probably come back to Atlantis afterwards though. With how mad Jack will be at me…”
Aki placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder, knowing all too well how prickly the King of Domino was. However, Carly glanced at Yusei, remembering what he’d said before and hoping he’d be right about Jack’s feelings. The understanding smile and nod he gave her helped boost her confidence at least a little bit. He seemed to realize something while looking at her and he focused back on King Hideo.
“I know your people are wary of humans, but I want to extend an invitation to your kingdom,” he said, “If there’s any merpeople who feel curious enough to come to our land, then we’d welcome them with open arms. As a Prince of Domino, I guarantee that they would receive only the best hospitality.”
The king hummed, surprised but delighted by the offer. “Then I ought to extend the same invitation to your people. We can treat it like… a cultural exchange between our kingdoms. Our peoples should get more comfortable amongst each other since there’s a chance our regions may join permanently in the future.”
He cast a knowing look between Yusei and Aki, causing the couple to blush profusely. With a chuckle, he waved his trident, whose pulsing magic brought the waves swirling around Yusei, Aki, and Carly. It lifted them up in a tornado of water. The mermaids’ tails transformed into human legs once again as the wave gently set them down on the deck of the ship. Yusei immediately went over to the wheel, familiarizing himself with the feel of it. The sails, powered with magic, sensed he wanted to set off and moved into position of their own accord. All he needed to do was steer them towards Domino. Aki waved goodbye to her parents before joining Yusei at the helm, so thrilled by how everything had worked out that she couldn’t even speak. She just had a huge grin plastered to her face and it made Yusei chuckle. He took a hand off the wheel to pull her into a sideways hug and she leaned against him, savoring the warmth of his presence.
They only separated once Domino came into view. The ship, noting the destination was ahead, affixed the wheel to naturally stay on course, allowing Yusei and Aki to join Carly on the main deck. They leaned over the railing to scan the land, seeing the unmistakable sight of many people crowded together all along the piers, houses, and roads of the kingdom. The citizens of Domino were tipped off by the unthreatening and gorgeous appearance of the boat that all was well and Yusei, Aki, and Carly could hear their cheers before they were close enough to make out details. The citizens were in a joyous fuss and they only got more excited when they could see the ship’s passengers clearer, especially their prince.
Yusei, cheeks dark from all the praise being sent his way, smiled and waved to his people, making them applaud louder. However, Yusei caught sight of the dock they were pulling into and his smile grew wider as a coursing wave of relief flowed through him. Standing there, waiting for them, were Jack and Crow. They were completely back to normal now; the poison really had stopped affecting them once Divine died. Jack stood with his arms crossed, his stance seeming nonchalant, but the smile on his face betrayed how happy he really was. Crow was jumping up and down, calling out Yusei’s and Aki’s names and waving like a giddy little kid. As soon as the boat was docked and the ramp magically appeared to connect the ship with the pier, Crow rushed up it to practically ram into Yusei with a crushing hug.
“I knew you’d kick that witch’s butt!” He suddenly pulled back, scanning Yusei’s body. “Wait, you aren’t hurt, are you? I didn’t just, like, break any almost broken bones or anything, right?”
Yusei laughed. “No, Crow. I’m fine.”
The ginger turned to the girls. “And you two? You’re ok too?”
Carly nodded, shy considering she’d never Crow before. Aki, however, smiled and answered, “Yes, I'm completely fine. Better than fine, actually.”
“Oh, that’s right! You can talk now! That’s awesome!”
Crow turned to Jack as he came onboard, as if to point out Aki’s new speaking ability, but the king’s gaze was set squarely on Carly. The girl squirmed under his withering stare, feeling as small as a bug as he walked silently to tower over her.
“J-Jack, I-I’m…” She stumbled over her words, unsure of where to begin.
“Was it real?” He spoke before she could sort out exactly what to say. “Was what we had real to you?”
Carly was surprised to find she was a bit angry by that question. “Of course it was real! I’ve never cared about anyone the way I care about you! I love you!” She gasped, covering her mouth. She hadn’t meant to just scream that out, but, after she took a breath, realized it was just her honest feelings coming out and she needed to vocalize it. So, she said it again. “I-I love you. And I really wanted you to love me too, but I was so scared to tell you what I was. I-I’ve been rejected a lot, so much so that I figured you’d throw me away as soon as I gave you a reason to. Divine took advantage of my fear and I made a stupid deal with him without thinking it through. It’s my fault you got poisoned, but it was never what I wanted. I’m so sorry, Jack.”
He was quiet for a moment and every second felt like an agonizing year to Carly before he finally said, “So it was an accident, then.”
His tone was breezy, like it wasn’t a big deal, and the sentence sounded more like he was talking to himself than her. His expression hadn’t changed, but his voice had held no malice. Was this forgiveness or not? Carly had never been so puzzled before and she had to ask for clarification.
“D-do you forgive me?”
Jack opened his mouth, but paused, casting a sideways glance at the people witnessing the conversation. Yusei and Aki were at least trying to act like they weren’t actively listening in even though there was no way they couldn’t, but Jack especially hated how mischievously Crow was staring at him. But he couldn’t leave Carly hanging either.
“Well,” he said, turning his back to everyone else, his profile still visible to Carly, “it was a pretty stupid move you pulled, but saying sorry doesn’t cut it. It's going to take a lot of work to make up for it and I expect you to stick around to do so.”
He turned his head slightly towards her so she could get a better look at his face. Now that everyone else couldn’t see it, she noticed how softer his expression had become. Carly broke into a watery smile; she understood him now. He did forgive her and wasn’t really ordering her to stay so much as hoping she would. She nodded and a look of relief flickered over Jack’s face, but only for a second as he could still feel the others’ eyes on him. He turned to leave, but Carly, too caught up in her happiness, went to walk by his side. She took his hand in hers and he didn’t resist it, gripping her hand tight as they descended the ramp. Yusei, Aki, and Crow shared pleased looks with each other and the ginger, now sensing a similar romantic mood falling over the other couple, took his leave as well.
Now Aki and Yusei were alone and it struck her suddenly again that everything had turned out how she’d wanted. She had rekindled her relationship with her parents, receiving their blessing to be on land and with Yusei. She was accepted by Yusei’s brothers and even Carly, her dear best friend, was included. They were all happy and healthy and safe and together. It was all so perfect.
Yusei’s eyes showed the same delight she felt and she snuggled up against him, his arms wrapping around her. Being so close to him always felt pure and wonderful; she relished in the sound of his heartbeat and how she could just barely smell his natural scent under the overpowering salty ocean breeze. She glanced up, finding him staring at her in a way that had become so familiar. That warm, tender, loving gaze that held so much emotion for her, the same emotions she felt for him. He brought one of his hands up to her face, caressing her cheek with a delicate touch. She leaned into it, placing her own hand over his and cherishing the feel of his thumb rubbing her smooth skin with utter fondness. He leaned down and she closed her eyes as he brought their lips together.
And this time they could savor it. There was nothing to interrupt them or force them to pull away from each other. They could just be. Aki kept her hand over Yusei’s, but her other traveled up his chest and brushed against his neck. It made him shiver and he pulled her closer against him, deepening the kiss. Joy made Aki smile and giggle, parting their lips for a moment as both took a second to take in the sight of each other again. They both wore matching expressions: elated and content. Aki started the kiss again, craving the perfect feeling of Yusei’s lips and body against hers.
She couldn’t ask for a better happily ever after.