A/N: Wow, it's been a while, hasn't it? Yes, another new fanfic, and no, no slight Mary-Sue-ness or supposed authoress inserts. I hope that y'all will enjoy this little idea of mine, because I stumbled across it while doing a bit of soul-searching minus the soul part and re-discovered what made me wish to write in the first place. Please be kind and leave a review, minna-sama! On with the fic!
Disclaimer: I do not own the plot or cast of Yu-Gi-Oh, nor do I own the song featured in this story. It shouldn't be that hard to figure out since I'm writing on here, ne?
All You Wanted
Chapter 1: Meetings and Departures
"Marina, get back in here! We are not finished yet, young lady!"
"Does it look like I care! You're such a tyrant!"
"I am your father, and with you for a daughter, I need to be!"
BOOM
Astara sat in her sitting room with her mother, listening to her younger sister argue with their farther for the millionth time this week, and frankly, she was pretty sick of it.
"Mom, remind me why this is so important to her again?"
The blonde woman looked up at her oldest daughter from across the room with amused sea foam-green eyes. "When you were her age, didn't you want to use the Great Neptune Tide?"
"Eh, good point, but I still wasn't as worked up as she is, and I certainly didn't try to pick a fight with dear ol' dad."
Another sonic boom.
"And besides all of that, must we put up with the sonic booms around here? People are going to another title wave's coming, or an underwater volcano is getting ready to erupt."
Both women smiled a bit before going back to their previous activities. Brushing a strand of her own auburn hair away from her face as she lat on the sofa, Astara watched with grey-blue eyes as her mother floated away from the door just as it flew open with a crash.
Thin frame, long strawberry-blonde hair, clear grey eyes, and a temper that could kill; yah, that's how Astara would have described her sister Marina if you had asked. Standing at a height of about 5'10", Marina stormed into the room as her father followed, ranting and raving to his daughter.
"Marina, you are still too young!"
"Oh, puh-lease! I'm 153, thank you very much! You let Alotta go at 146! She's 162 now!"
"Marina, it is not the age I am worried about, it is the maturity!"
They continued squabbling for a few more minutes until Astara finally threw a pillow at them. "Will you two just shut up already! Dad, just let 'Rina go, ok? She's plenty mature enough, and she'll just keep bugging you if you don't." Their father stroked his long white beard while eying his oldest daughter. Finally, their mother chimed in. "Asriel, 'tis time; just let her go."
"But, Anemone-"
"No buts; you're letting your daughter go and that's that. Now, Marina, the tide begins ins just a few hours, so we need to get you ready, ok, hun?"
Astara joined her sister and mother as they left the room, leaving their father alone, sighing about his children growing up too fast.
"Well, how do I look?"
"Like we've been saying for the past gazillion times, fine! Now hurry up is you want to be one of the first up!"
Astara and her mother pushed Marina towards where a huge crowed was gathering. In the center of the group was a large circle of sand that had many designs running through it in other colors of sand. It was almost impossible to pick out individual conversations because of the noise level, which grew slightly louder as the time neared.
Marina adjusted her skirt as looked to her sister. Astara smiled a comforting smile while squeezing her younger sister's hand for reassurance. Their mother urged her husband forward into the center of the circle, causing an eruption of cheers to emit from the crowed.
"My people," he called in a regal tone, "It has been seven years since we were all gathered in this sacred place. Those of you who are planning on visiting the other world, remember that you will only have a month's time to travel freely between this realm and the other. With that said, go in peace." The sunlight reached directly over the center of the circle, causing the colored sand to begin glowing. Marina moved from the crowed to the center of the circle as others moved to sections of the design. Suddenly, everyone began to glow, and Marina waved at her sister as she became a golden orb and shot up toward the surface. Asriel sighed as the others began leaving.
"Oh, don't worry, Dad," Astara said, "Uncle Isaac's piloting the boat."
"That's what I'm afraid of," he said sadly. "That, and her changing too much.
On the way to the surface, Marina felt a pang in the lower half of her body and began to have difficulty breathing. Finally she reached the surface after a few others, where a boat was floating. Bursting through the water, Marina gasped for breath as she felt a pair of arms drag her out of the water, not wet at all.
"Well, lookie what the tide dragged in! A beautiful mermaid princess!"
Marina looked up at the dark-haired man who had pulled her onto the boat. "Uncle Isaac? Eee! It's so good to see you!" she shrieked while glomping her favorite uncle. Laughing, he spun his niece around before setting her down on a bench. "It's good to see you too, 'Rina. So how's that brother of mine been treating you, eh?"
"Like an overbearing tyrant, so same as ever." Marina glanced down and it took her a minute to adjust to the fact that instead of a fin, a pair of pale, well-sculpted legs were coming from underneath her skirt.
"Whoa," she breathed while wiggling her toes.
"Yah, those are legs, Highness," Isaac laughed while pulling up another person. "Since this is your first time up here, you'll probably be a bit unsteady, due to gravity and all that jazz, but you'll get used to it. Oh, here, these should fit," he tossed her a pair of light blue flip-flops. Slipping them onto her feet, Marina stood from the bench, holding onto the back of the bench while she attempted to get her land legs. Of course, she fell the minute she stood up. As soon as Isaac finished getting up more people, he laughed when he saw his niece's disgruntled form on the deck of the boat.
"I told you that it'd be difficult to get your balance!"
"It's not that funny," Marina grumbled while a pink tinge came to her cheeks. Isaac shook his head, looking up towards the helm. "Ok, then," he called, "Let's head back in!" The engine roared to life a few seconds later, the ship turning around and heading for shore.
Not counting the crew, there were about forty people aboard the vessel. On the way, Marina talked with her uncle about this world, trying to learn as much as she could before they hit shore.
"So, how's your wife doing, anyway?"
"Ah, Jun's got her hands full these days; we had a set of twin girls about five years ago."
"Aww, congrats!"
"Yup, and they're gorgeous, too!" Isaac whipped out his wallet, letting a roll of pictures unfurl. "Aren't they just precious?"
"Uh-oh! Isaac's got the pictures out again!" one of the crewmen laughed.
"Oh, shut up, Nohiro!" Isaac rolled his eyes while Marina laughed. "Do you show everyone these pictures?"
"Every time he gets the chance to, Miss!" Nohiro laughed again.
Isaac rolled his eyes while Marina continued to laugh and ogle over the pictures of his daughters Jill and Moriko. After a few more minutes of awing to make her uncle happy, Marina finally got a chance to ask where exactly they were headed.
"Why, to a little place I like to call home; Domino, Japan."
"Japan? Really? WOO! HAPPINESS!" Marina bounced up and down in her seat.
"Well, I've already got a place for you, so we'll probably just need to get a few more clothes for you, since you didn't come with anything." Nodding, Marina glanced out over the water as they finally came near shore. "Welcome to Omega Beach! Please watch your step and have a pleasant stay here in Japan!"
Marina rolled her eyes at her uncle. "C'mon, let's go shopping!" Getting off the boat, Isaac led Marina over to a woman with beautiful jet black hair and two little girls; his wife and daughters. Quickly, they left the beach by means of the boardwalk to get some paraphernalia for Marina's stay.
It was the last day of July, & the last day before the portal closed. Marina stood on her balcony, looking out over the ocean. Her uncle said that was where Astara had stayed when she was last up here, so they had to do a few minor repairs to the beach condo for her. Sighing, Marina grabbed a pair of sunglasses and headed down to the beach. She sat down near the peer, watching people swimming and laughing.
Over the past month, Marina had become very happy above the surface, but she wasn't about to stay up here for another seven years; nothing that important was her to make her stay. So, she sat there for a while, enjoying the breeze coming off the ocean, tinted purple thanks to the Tide. Glancing to her right, Marina saw two boys about ten and six running towards the water, and was just able to make out their conversation over the crash of the waves.
I wanted to be like you, I wanted everything
"Hay, Mokie! Guess what I am!" the older boy called to who Marina assumed what his little brother. She watched as he lay at the break of the waves on his stomach, moving his legs as of they were attached together.
"Ooh! You're a mermaid, right brother?"
The older boy stood up. "No, I'm not a girl, Mokie! I'm a merman!" He came back to his brother, tackling him into the sand and tickling him. Smiling, Marina rubbed her arms as the wind picked up a bit, wishing she had brought a light sweater to put over her white shorts and turquoise halter top. She watched the brothers good around for a few more minutes until the older one went into the water again, his brother Mokouba sitting on the shore.
All of a sudden, Marina noticed a larger wave coming towards shore, the water already starting to withdraw, taking the boy with it. Slowly and shakily, she got to her feet, praying she wouldn't need to intervene, but the wave crashed down and she lost sight of the boy.
So I tried to be like you, and I got swept away
"Seto! Seto, where are you!" Mokouba was up, frantically scouring the shoreline for his brother. Tossing her glasses to the sand, Marina ran towards the sea, kicking off her flip flops in the process. Diving into the ocean, Marina was glad that her sprouting legs hadn't meant loosing her clear underwater sight.
Frantically swimming through the waves, she finally saw him slowly sinking down. Quickly, she grabbed him around the waist as a wave was coming above them, so Marina jetted to the surface, riding the wave into shore. Coughing, she got the young boy onto higher shore, where Mokouba frantically ran over, tears streaming down his face.
"SETO!"
Marina felt really bad for the kid as she checked his brother's pulse, noting that she needed to give him CPR. At this point, a small crowed was forming, more gathering still. "Come on," she muttered to herself, "don't give up on me yet, kid." After another minute, he started coughing up water and Marina rolled him onto his side.
"SETO!" Mokouba cried as he gave his brother an insanely tight hug.
"Hay Mokie," Seto responded hoarsely, still coughing a bit. Marina heaved a sigh of relief, glad that he'd be okay. "Hay, how about some fresh water for him? Might be nice to flush the salt out of his systems!" One man in the crowed handed the young boy a bottle of water in response to Marina's demands.
"Hay, you okay, kid?"
The boy looked up from his brother, swallowing a drink of water, and Marina couldn't help but note his chestnut hair and gorgeous blue eyes. 'This kid's gonna be a heartbreaker someday,' she thought.
"Yah, I think so. Thanks, you saved my life! I'm Seto, by the way, and this is my brother Mokouba."
"Nice to meet you, Seto and Mokouba; I'm Marina." She smiled, still happy that these kids were alright. "Hay, where are your parents? Aren't they here?"
"They're at work right now, so I volunteered to take Mokie to the beach today for some fun. That didn't exactly go as planned, huh?"
"No, I guess it didn't." She smiled again, and it got slightly bigger when Mokouba said he wanted ice cream. 'Man, these kids sure can change the topic quickly.' "I'll take you to get some ice cream, ok?"
"Really?"
"Sure, Mokie; my treat."
"Yay!"
Marina laughed as the boys dragged her down the boardwalk towards the ice cream parlor, amazed at how much energy they still had after what just happened.
The sun was beginning to set while three figures sat on the sand, watching the red orb set behind the water.
"Hay, Marina?"
"What's up, Seto?"
"How old are you?"
Oy. Always the difficult questions. "How old do I look?"
"Um, fourteen?"
"Yup, you guessed it." She smiled at the boy as she heard someone call for the two boys with her. Glancing up towards the boardwalk, they saw a car, Seto signaled to someone in it for a few more minutes.
"You're parents, right?"
"Yah, so we'll have to leave in a minute. Um, Marina? Where are you from?"
"Why do you ask, Seto?"
"…Because you look like an angel," he said quietly, blushing. Smiling, Marina figured that these kids deserved to know. Besides, there was nothing that said she couldn't. Putting an arm around each of their shoulders, causing Seto to look like a tomato and Mokouba to stare at her with huge and intent eyes, she told them.
I didn't know that it was so cold and, you needed someone to show you the way
"In truth, I'm a princess. Actually, I'm the Princess of the Sea, and I have an older sister, too. We live with our parents in a place called Atlantica; it's out underwater city that we merfolk live in."
Both boys looked at her wide-eyed. "You're a mermaid?"
"Yuppers, and I can only pass between this world and mine freely for a month every seven years, and get legs just like yours." She reached down and pinched both of their knees. "Sadly, though, today's my last day for this Tide."
"So, does this mean we'll never see you again?" Mokouba had huge puppy eyes that just made you want to give him a hug, which she did. "No, Mokie, I'll see you again."
"When?"
I'll come back up to the surface in another seven years, ok? The Great Neptune Tide is in July every seven years, so I'll be back the first day of July in seven years."
"Alright!" Seto jumped to his feet, a gleam in his eyes as he looked at Marina and his brother. "When you come back, we'll both be rich and powerful and smart, so that we can take you places!"
So I took your hand and we figured out that, when the Tide comes I'll take you away
Marina let out a musical laugh. "Alright, it's a deal, then! Not to mention that I'll bring you down to visit Atlantica. I mean, it's only fair, since you're both so enthusiastic."
"Wait," Mokouba said, "won't we all look different in seven years? How will we know it's you?"
"Has anyone told you that you are an extremely intelligent six-year-old?"
Mokouba blushed, and trust me, even an ice queen would have glomped him. Of course, Marina resisted the urge to. After a moment of thinking, Marina took a breath and spoke.
"Well then, how about this; I'll come back up during the next Tide, and until you show up, I'll sing a song every day, alright?"
"We'll be there on July first, so you won't have to worry! Now what's the song?"
"Calm down, Seto! Now, promise you'll remember?"
"We promise!"
"Alright, alright!" Marina laughed as the two boys bounced in front of her. By no means was she an amazing singer by mermaid standards, especially with a sister like Astara, but she was good enough to impress the two little boys in front of her as she sang the chorus.
"If you want to, I can save you
I can take you away from here
So lonely inside, so busy out there
And all you wanted was somebody who cares."
Marina repeated it twice more, and if her eyes had been open, she would have seen theirs were the size of saucers. A car horn beeped, a signal that the brothers really needed to leave now. Kissing both of them on their forehead, Marina smiled as they both blushed furiously.
"Hay, hurry up and get back to your parents, because I need to leave as well, but don't you dare forget, you two!"
"Ok, but you better not either!"
"I won't; besides, I'll be watching you two until I return, so be good!"
Marina waved as they ran up the beach and got into the car. Marina sighed, smiling slightly, heading towards the waves and their sonorous crashing. Glancing back one final time, she dove into the sea as the purple-tinge became apparently lighter since the sun was hidden behind the brine.
Seto glanced out the back window just as she hit the water, as well as pop back up again a few seconds later, waving with her arm and a turquoise fin before diving back towards her home.
As they continued to drive away, Seto and his brother began to feel a tad sleepy, though they still seemed to have enough of that boundless adolescent energy left for the day to make one last promise.
"You know what, Mokie?"
"What, big brother?"
"When we're older, I think I'll marry Marina."
"Cool; would that make her my sister?"
"Yah, it would. That way, we could all stay together forever."
"Promise, Seto?"
"I promise, Mokie; I promise."
Mokouba curled up in his seat and fell asleep almost instantly, while his brother fought drowsiness a few moments longer. 'Besides,' he thought as his eyelids became heavier, 'she has such a pretty smile...I'd like to make her smile...'
A/N: Wow! I've actually completed a new fanfic that I can be proud of! feels pride Sadly, that will probably disappear with all you cruel reviewers! VV' Why must you be so cruel! Oh, the song featured in this fic is, as you probably guessed from the title, All You Wanted by Michelle Branch. Please review, minna-sama!
Bishies for all!
Serenity