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As Midori breathes in the salty air of the beach, his two best friends take off across the vast expanse of sand ahead of them, the two shouting and laughing as though they hadn’t seen the beach in years. In their hands are their flip-flops, and at Midori’s feet are their bags and suitcases, which warrants a sigh from the tall boy. He occupies himself with looking around at his surroundings, stuffing his bus pass into one of the outer pockets of his bag.
“Ahaha, isn’t this great, Shinobu-kun? We haven’t been to the beach in forever! I missed this place so much... I’m gonna go here everyday now that we’ve graduated! We need to do that thing where we stand in the water and let the waves hit us! I heard if you don’t flinch at all, you’re considered super manly!” Tetora says as he and Shinobu run back to where Midori was standing.
“I-Is that so? Well, this ninja will do his best in accomplishing such a feat, de gozaru!” Shinobu says, stopping and beaming at the two in front of him. “Midori-kun, are you not excited that we’re seeing the beach for the first time in 4 years?” Midori blinked, his focus back on his two friends and not the horizon, where the sea meets the sky and an invisible line divides the two. “Oh… Yeah, it has been a while…”
“I’m totes excited! Summer rocks! Ooh, there’s the boardwalk! I wonder if there’s a fair where we can do that punching machine thing!” And with that, Tetora’s off, thankfully bringing his bag with him this time. Shinobu chuckles and turns to face Midori again. “I-If it is alright… I would… like to check the three of us into our hotel, de gozaru.” Midori looks down at Shinobu, who seemed to have a determined expression on his face.
“Are you sure…? I can go with you if you want.” Shinobu shakes his head. “I am sure you would like to take a walk on the beach, de gozaru. You spent quite a long time there last time, as I recall! S-So… Please do as your heart desires, and I shall text you when I have located our hotel room!”
“Okay,” Midori says calmly, handing his suitcase over to Shinobu and putting his phone in his pocket, slinging his bag over his shoulders. As Shinobu rushed away to find the hotel, Midori took off his slippers so he could let his feet sink into the sand, letting the tiny grains warmly embrace his toes. He starts walking along the shore, watching how the waves lazily splashed against the sand, how the sun inched ever so slowly towards the horizon.
Midori closes his eyes as he walks along the beach. There wasn’t a piece of trash in sight, so it seemed, so Midori wasn’t exactly worried about tripping or stepping on anything. There was only the soft, warm sand enveloping his feet, the sound of waves crashing against that same sand, and the faint smell of salt lingering in the air, as though Midori could taste it on his tongue.
“I could definitely get used to this,” Midori breathlessly whispered aloud as he sighed, basking in the soothing atmosphere the beach brought to him.
Opening his eyes again, he finds himself a short distance away from a hill of rocks, that rises until it forms a cliff near the seaside, where waves crash against it. Midori looks at the rocks, and though he couldn’t see the other side, there was something so enticing and inviting about it that made even him curious. He looks over his shoulder at the entrance to the boardwalk far in the distance.
“At least I can still see it, I guess,” Midori shrugged. The area he was currently in was quite secluded, and with no buildings nearby it was obvious that not many visitors wandered this far. It was a chance to be alone for a bit, he concluded, and set off to climb the hill of rocks in front of him.
He bites his lip immediately after stepping on the first rock, feeling the slipperiness under his feet. He opts to put on his slippers again, remembering the “three-limb rule” Tetora had taught him. The first few steps are taken with ease, but as the hill grows steeper, Midori bends down to place a hand to give himself more support as he climbs on the slippery rocks. The climb upwards slowly becomes more treacherous than Midori had anticipated, he realizes too late when a rock wobbles under his foot and threatens to fall. He quickly swings his foot to another rock and stabilizes himself.
“I regret everything… Well, it’s too late to turn back now, I guess…” Midori says as he continues up the steep hill.
Many rocks nearly collapsed under Midori’s weight, but thankfully he was able to climb to the highest point of the hill of the rocks. Looking over to the other side, he nearly gasps, dropping his bag as he looks over a gorgeous cove area, with sand even brighter and rich in color than the sand on the beach, if that was possible. The water was a beautiful shade of blue-green, with smooth spires of rocks peeking out from the deeper parts of the shore. Even with the sky beginning to turn orange, the sight was gorgeous.
The best part about it? There wasn’t a person in sight.
Midori’s excitement combined with peace of mind allowed the trip downhill to go smoothly, and soon enough, his feet landed on warm, velvety sand. Now being in the vicinity of the cove, Midori felt as though there was a magic settled over the area, and he felt absolutely enchanted, caught in its serene spell. He looked over and saw that one of the bigger rocks in the cove rose and extended over a deeper part of the water, like a very tiny cliff. Making sure his phone was secure in his bag, Midori leaves it a good distance from the shore, where the waves couldn’t take it, and wades into the tide.
The waves are significantly calmer in the cove too, as though the tide itself was also under the cove’s soothing spell, the waves just barely lapping across the sand. The water is cold, but he quickly gets used to it as he wades deeper and deeper until he reaches the rock, then climbs atop the flat surface, being careful not to walk too quickly across it. He reaches the tip, which really isn’t high above the water at all. If anything, the rock was a smaller boat, forever anchored to the sand, never swaying.
He sits down, his legs dangling over the edge, the waves gently pushing against the rock as he dips his toes in the water. He sighs as he mulls over the day-long bus trip that he, Tetora, and Shinobu had to go on to get to the beach. It had been long, stuffy, and had involved a lot of bus transfers, but Midori knew that it would likely be worth the trip. The last time the trio had traveled to the area, they’d spent all their time on the boardwalk’s carnival, riding the extremely scary rides, eating sickly sweet cotton candy brighter than Tetora’s future, and Midori’s favorite part: playing the carnival games for the cutest and softest stuffed animals. Midori sighed happily, wondering if Tetora and Shinobu would be okay with going to the carnival again.
“Aaah, I’d love to add another one to my collection… Maybe there’s an arcade with a claw machine too…! I’m so glad I brought my coins in anticipation of this, ehehe…” Midori giggles to himself, smiling at the thought of him winning more games for yet another Hello Kitty plushie. He was definitely looking forward to the rest of the week.
“Hey, you’re a human, aren’t you?!”
A pair of hands slapping against the rock snaps Midori away from his thoughts, and he lets out a surprised squeak, his head frantically looking around for the source of the voice. His eyes finally land on a head with dark red hair, quickly disappearing under the water with a hearty laugh, much to Midori’s dismay.
“So much for having alone time…” Midori says with a groan, before standing up and looking over the water for the mysterious voice.
“Don’t worry!! I think I’m pretty good company! At least, that’s what my friends say!” The voice comes from the left of him, and he turns and finally gets eyes on the source of the mysterious voice. Midori bites back a gasp, making sure his jaw was closed.
It’s an understatement to say the stranger was beautiful. His face looked as though it had been sculpted by the god of creation’s hand personally, and his arms, which were crossed and resting on the edge of the rock were just as sculpted and built, just the right amount of muscle to go with it. Midori gulped, grateful that he couldn’t clearly see his bare torso.
“Um…” He begins, but his brain seems to short-wire before he can finish his sentence, leaving the two in awkward silence for a few moments. The stranger laughs and oh God his smile is gorgeous , Midori immediately thinks. He doesn’t know a thing about the person, only that he’s loud but pretty, and Midori wasn’t sure how to feel about that combination.
“Ah, don’t run away, please! I haven’t even gotten the chance to introduce myself! Oh, and get your name, of course! You know, humans usually can’t even see this cove… It’s truly a miracle that you got through the gates!”
“T-The gates…?” Midori tilts his head, absolutely lost.
The stranger smiles widely and nods. “Those rocks you probably had to climb? Those are meant to ward off wandering humans! Most humans usually can’t see this cove though, because of its magic that keeps it hidden! However, some humans have been able to come through… They were all really special humans, though! Which means you must be special too!” He sways his head back and forth excitedly.
Midori, frankly, is still lost. “Special…? I’m sorry, I think you’ve got the wrong person… I’m…- Why do you keep calling me a human anyway?”
The stranger chuckles. “Oh, you really have no idea… Allow me to introduce myself, then!” He pushes off from the rock and sinks back into the water. Midori watches the water closely, seeing ripples of motion heading deeper and deeper until he jumps out of the water, revealing a bright red tail as opposed to legs. Midori can only gape as he makes a pose in the air before landing back in the water with a splash. After a few moments, he’s back in the air with another pose.
“The red tail is the mark of justice! Burning bright red, the waves of justice! Defender of the sea… Ryusei Red, Morisawa Chiaki!!!” He yelled to the evening sky, which was beginning to fade into soft shades of orange and yellow.
Midori was silent for a moment. Or ten. He raised his arm as if to begin a gesture, but quickly lowered it. Chiaki reappeared next to him, resting his arms on the rock and laying his chin atop them, his tail swinging in and out of the water. He hummed a happy tune, as if unaffected by Midori’s expression of shock from Chiaki’s revelation.
Midori says nothing, still. He pinches his cheek and closes his eyes tightly, and opens them again. Nope, Chiaki’s still there. He tries again, pinching his arm this time. Nope, Chiaki is still there, tail and all. He disregards his brain telling him there is a gorgeous guy that’s also a mermaid right in front of him and first addresses a more pressing issue.
“Right, I’m dreaming. There’s no way this is real… Then if I jump into the water and drown, will I wake up?” Midori begins to walk over to the edge of the rock.
“No no no!!! You’re awake, you’re awake!!!” Chiaki quickly swims over to the edge before Midori can walk into the ocean. “It might be a little hard to believe, but… You can trust me, okay? I’m the defender of the sea, after all! Hahaha!”
He’s too loud for it to be a dream, Midori thinks as he winces from Chiaki’s loud volume. He sighs in defeat as he sits down, pulling his knees close to his chest and resting his chin on them. Chiaki bobs his head side to side, overwhelmingly cheerful as ever. “I… have no idea what to do,” Midori sighs deeply.
“Well for starters, you could tell me your name!”
“Takamine Midori.”
“Okay, Takamine! Do you come to the beach often?”
“I haven’t been here in 4 years, actually… You said I’m a ‘special human.’ Why?”
Chiaki beams up at him from the water. “Only special humans can see past the protection spell cast over this cove! I haven’t seen a human get past the spell in a very long time, and every other time I’ve only heard in passing from others!”
Midori gawks at him. “There are more ?”
“More like me? Yep!! I’d show you our kingdom, but it’s actually a bit of a swim from here. There are magic coves just like this all around Japan, this is just one of the ones mermaids don’t visit too often!”
“You’re… You’re saying the distance is the problem…? How about the air? How am I supposed to, you know, breathe…?”
Chiaki shakes his head. “That isn’t a problem at all! All mermaids have the ability to cast certain types of magic spells, such as water breathing spells and spells that can keep your belongings dry, since one of my friends said that some of you humans’ box device things can get really damaged from water!”
“Box device things…?”
“T-Those, uh… The rectangles that light up? Kan- Er, my friend, brought one back from a human he knows and showed it to me!”
“Oh, a phone. Oh… Oh crap, I haven’t checked my phone for hours…!” Midori stares at the setting sun in the distance, where it was closing in on the invisible line on the horizon. “I’ll be right back!” He quickly gets up and runs to the shallow end of the shore, wading as fast as he can through the cold water before running across the wet sand towards his bag. He’s met with countless texts and missed calls from Tetora and Shinobu. He quietly panics on the spot, texting a be home soon, got distracted to their group chat before throwing his phone back in his bag and lugging it back to the rock.
“I’m really sorry, um… Morisawa-kun. I completely lost track of the time and my friends are getting worried about me...”
Chiaki nods in understanding. “Don’t worry! My friend is probably expecting me too. It’s just that… It’s really, really rare to see a human face, you know?! So don’t worry a bit, I know what I said was definitely a lot! But there is just so much to sea underwater! Hahaha!” He chuckled a little too much at his own pun.
Midori rolls his eyes at the pun and checks the time. “It took forever to get here… How am I supposed to get back before the sun sets? Haah, this is so troublesome, can’t the sea just take me with it?”
“I can gladly arrange that!”
“N-No, I didn’t mean take me to your kingdom…”
“Oh. Well, the invitation is always there, if you want one! I’ve never brought a human home with me, I’ve always wanted to do that! Chiaki Morisawa… Defender of the sea… Bringing home a human! It’s a dream come true, even!”
“Yeah, yeah…” Midori sighs and sits back down on the rock, looking at the sun beginning to dip below the horizon. The sky was painted with hues of orange, purple, and hints of blue. The sunset was even more beautiful in the cove, like the sky was a simple canvas to its magic, painting a picture among the clouds. The waves rhythmically lap at the shore before receding, and Chiaki is quiet for once, also watching the sunset in the distance. He turns back to Midori with a smile on his face, as always.
“I know a way to get you back home quickly, Takamine!”
Midori looks at Chiaki. “...Really?”
Chiaki nods, his eyes practically sparkling in the fading sunlight. “There’s a different way out of the cove, going underwater!” His expression slightly faded, becoming more serious this time. “You’re really going to have to trust me, though.” Midori blinked, staring at the sudden change in Chiaki’s bouncy nature.
“Um… I mean, if it’ll get me back to the boardwalk…”
Chiaki looked at Midori and sighed, much to Midori’s own surprise. “A mermaid’s spell is- Ah, well… I can tell you when we get to shore! Come on, come on, do you have everything?” Midori looked down at his bag and his slippers, then nodded.
“Alrighty! We don’t have a minute to waste, so just come on in the water!” Chiaki beckoned Midori with his arms, gesturing towards the water that was becoming darker and darker with every minute, with no sunlight to give it the colorful shine it had when Midori had first found the cove.
Holding his bag high above his head, he jumps into the water, finding that it only reached his shoulders. For once in his entire lifetime, he blessed his height as he continued to hold his bag above the water. Chiaki swam over to him and looked him in the eyes, dark brown irises speckled with red gazing into irises blue as a clear afternoon sky. He smiles, then places a hand on Midori’s bag and mumbles something in an unrecognizable language. He retracts his hand and nods.
“I just placed the waterproof spell on it, so it should be fine!” Hesitantly, Midori lowers his bag into the water, and much to his surprise, it doesn’t get wet at all, his hand still feeling the dry and soft fabric float through the water. Chiaki looks at the bag, beaming brightly, then turns to Midori, his expression softening.
“So to get out of here, I’m gonna need to put the water breathing spell on you. It’s gonna make you a little lightheaded and drowsy, but as long as you hang onto me, you’ll be fine, and you’ll be able to breathe and see underwater.” Midori slowly nods in understanding, looking down at Chiaki’s tail as if he were still dreaming.
“Somehow, I still think I’m dreaming…”
Chiaki simply hums in response, and places delicate hands on Midori’s cheekbones. After mumbling in the unrecognizable language again, his fingertips slow a soft, pale red, and Midori feels like fizzy bubbles are rippling all throughout his body, like a soda can freshly cracked open. The feeling disappears when Chiaki removes his hands.
“I’ll ask you again, Takamine. Do you trust me?”
Midori is silent for what seemed like years.
“Even if you’re really loud, and you’re literally a mermaid… I don’t see why I wouldn’t be able to trust you, I guess…”
Chiaki smiles and takes his hands. “Thank you! The trip back will be quick, you can close your eyes if you want, I swim really fast and it’s dark, so you won’t be able to see much other than rocks and seaweed.”
Midori closes his eyes and lets Chiaki guide him deeper into the water, his entire body finally submerged. “Alright…” He takes a deep breath as he feels his feet leave the ground, and feels as though he’s gliding through the water. Cracking open one eye, he finds that Chiaki’s are now wrapped around him in a hold that felt incredibly safe, the world under the sea flying past him in a blur, Chiaki’s tail smoothly gliding this way and that, sparkling in the dim light that was left of the day. He let himself close his eyes again, suddenly overcome with an overwhelming sleepiness that left him yearning for the bed in his hotel room that he hadn’t even seen yet.
…
When Midori opens his eyes again, he finds himself longing for a hug, as though he’d missed the safest hug he’ll ever feel in his life. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he finds himself in what is probably his hotel room. As he rubs his eyes, he vaguely recalls Shinobu and Tetora dashing towards him in a frenzy, the boardwalk’s planks practically creaking against their slippers as they yell at him, demanding to know where he had been, hugging him tightly and not letting go until they were all in the hotel room, which was probably why they were still sprawled out together on one bed, with Tetora’s snoring echoing through the room like a car engine. Shinobu had curled up between Tetora and Midori, clinging onto the sheets and sleeping peacefully. Midori smiled, gently patting Shinobu’s hair as he quietly slipped out of bed. Something was calling out to him, and despite his brain screaming at him to get back in bed, that something felt important, important enough to ignore the voices in his brain.
Luckily, their hotel wasn’t far from the beach at all. In just a couple of minutes, Midori’s feet are touching soft sand again, and he’s looking out to the horizon, where the sky is a gray-ish blue, a usual morning color where the sun hides behind the clouds. “Haaa, it’s too early to be out here, so why am I…?”
He clutches at his shirt, but instead of feeling just the fabric of his pajama shirt, he felt something small sticking under his shirt. Realizing there was something around his neck, he took it off, looking at what seemed to be a white seashell tied to a red string, beaded with small, red pearls. It felt so familiar , Midori thought to himself. He tried to recall what he did yesterday, but turned out with nothing.
He couldn’t remember a thing.
Weird , Midori thought. He could have sworn he had done something, experienced something amazing, like something out of a fairy tale. He can only vaguely recall the safe, warm embrace of someone holding him close, but nothing more.
Midori looks out to the shore, longing to know what had drawn him here, longing to know what had him yearning for the feeling of a warm embrace.
In his hand, the seashell glows a soft, pale red.