Chapter Text
"Nene, be careful while playing on shore, humans might find out about your identity" the mermaid queen said. Nene, the princess nodded, "I will, mom. I've already trained my skills, no one could tell." she said proudly. "Haha.. Be back before sunset, okay?" the queen giggled. "Mhm..!" Nene waved and left the palace.
On shore, she had already grown legs. She learned it from an old enchanted book of spells, her birthday gift from a distant relative. She played with the other kids at the beach and also built sandcastles with them. After a while, the sun was going to set, so she decided to head back.
"H-help..! Please...!"
Suddenly, she heard a weak voice asking for help. She looked around and saw a young boy gasping for air in the water. He was drowning.
She froze. She wasn't sure if she should save him or not, since birth, she's been taught that humans are cruel beings and that she should avoid them. But now, a human is in danger. He's around the same age as her, he still has so much more to live for!
She decided to save him, she couldn't just watch a live die in front of her. Just as he was about to pass out, she jumped into the water and carried him out. She tried getting the water out from his throat, it was successful despite not having any knowledge of first aid.
The boy woke up several minutes later, he was shocked by what he was seeing. Nene looked down, her legs are back to her mermaid tail! The spell had a time limit but she didn't know. "That's so cool..!" the boy gasped in surprise. His short purple hair with cyan streaks reminded her of jellyfishes in the sea.
Nene let her guard down, what could a kid possibly do to her anyway? "My name is Kamishiro Rui," he lend out his tiny hand. She stared at it, hesitated for a while but shook his hand, "my name is.. Kusanagi Nene."
He sat on the shore while she soaked in the sea and talked until Rui's parents came.
"Rui! Why weren't you on the bus?" his mom hugged him tightly. "Mom..! I'm sorry... I was too focused on collecting the sea shells.." he apologized, lowering his head. "What matters is that you're safe. Oh! And you made a new friend too" Rui's dad noticed the green haired girl soaking in sea water. "Uhm.. Hi, my name is Kusanagi Nene.." she said shyly.
Rui's dad looked around and saw no sight of other adults around. "Are you lost, little one? Where are your parents?" he asked worriedly.
"I.. Uh.." she didn't know what excuse to make. There's no way she can say "oh, my parents are the mermaid king and queen and I'm the princess so I'll be alright!"
"My parents are at home, I.. uh.. I live nearby so I can just walk back home" she said. "Are you sure? It's not really safe if you're out here alone, why don't we call your parents and tell them to come watch you?" Rui's mom suggested. "No..! There's no need! I've came out multiple times all by myself, this beach is very safe."
Haha. "If they find out I'm lying I'll be in trouble..." she thought to herself. "Ok... We'll be going now, do you have anything to say Rui before we leave?" "No, nothing."
"Wait!" Rui called out, "I wanna say something to her!" She was confused. What can he even say to her, they just met today! "Let's meet here again! Next week!" his eyes sparkled in joy, "Mom! Dad! We can come next week, right?" His parents looked surprised, "I'm sorry, but we'll be very busy next week.. How about next time?" Rui's dad sighed. Rui nodded, he seemed to be thinking, "how about next year? Same date!"
"Oh? You can wait that long?" Rui's mom raised an eyebrow jokingly. Rui nodded excitedly, "of course! Next year it is! Oh, oh! We can meet every year!" "Okay then, so, we'll meet again next year, is that alright, Nene?" Rui's mom asked. "Yes, it's alright for me" she nodded.
"Bye, Nene!" Rui waved as he got on the car, Nene waved back. She looked up, the moon is round tonight, soft moonlight decorated the sea, like glitter on dark blue fabric.
Wait, the moon?
She immediately swam back into the sea. She had forgotten about her promise to her mom.
In the palace..
"Nene! Why are you only here now?" her father swam up to her. "I'm sorry, dad.. I lost track of time.." Her dad sighed, "it's alright, your mother was worried sick. You should go find her."
He led her to their(Nene's parents) room, "Darling? Nene is back" he knocked on the door. No reply came from the room. "Makoto?" he knocked again, "I'm coming in, okay?"
He opened the door, she was lying in their bed, asleep. "Oh, your mom is asleep, Nene." "I can see that" Nene said. "You know, your mom gets sleepy when she's very worried" he shrugged, "Now, you should go to sleep too, it's not early anymore" "okay..."
"His name is... Rui... right? I wonder how he's doing now..."