This is a Mermaid Melody Pure one-shot with some AU twists. Kaito had recovered his memories of Lucia and the others a lot faster (Try eighteen episodes faster), Rihito gets in on the secret about the girls faster and learns about his own power, and Mikaru is out of the picture in this one, but this time, we're focusing on Nagisa and Masahiro.
Basic plot line: Rina and Hanon have dates with their boys on the same day, but Hippo and the others once again remind them to be careful and not let their secret about being Mermaid Princesses out. While Rina is aware of it, this saddens Hanon. However, what they don't know is that Nagisa and Masahiro have heard the whole thing from behind the door and needless to say, it's a huge shock; how will they confront the girls about it?
It was another beautiful, summer day at Pearl Piari. The sky was bright and clear without a cloud, the sun was shinning brightly, and the waves were great. There were birds flying round in the sky, dolphins frolicking, etc., and everything seemed at peace.
Down at the beach nearby the hotel, a young girl in her mid-teens was sitting on a blanket at the beach. She had shoulder-length, dirty blonde hair with red ribbons on the side, her eyes were brown-gold, and was wearing a pink tank top that bore her midriff with matching red shorts. She was wearing sandals, and was sitting by a picnic basket with a boom box next to it.
"Kaito! You're doing great out there!" She called over to her boyfriend, who was surfing on the waves.
The young man she was referring to had spiky, orange-brown hair and had brown eyes. His wetsuit was red and black with some yellow parts, and he was surfing like a professional. He did a few stunts and the young girl who was cheering him on kept on watching him with love. From his surfboard, he gave his girlfriend a mock salute before doing one more stunt.
He soon came back to shore, and he said, "Yo, Lucia!"
Standing up, the girl, Lucia, said, "It's your favorite, today!"
"Nice! Your fried chicken is the best," Kaito said, as he and Lucia sat on the blanket and started to eat. "It's too bad you can't get in the water with me when we're out here with so many others around."
"I know, but you know why, after all." Lucia said, before looking to her winged seashell pendant.
Kaito put an arm around Lucia before telling her, "We can't be too careful when it comes to being in the water in public. Rihito-san and I are in the clear because we don't change form when we get wet, but…"
"I get that; the girls and I thought you were just a human, and legend says that if a mermaid reveals her identity to a human, she'll become sea foam," Lucia said. "That's why I couldn't tell you directly."
"If I wasn't so dense, I would have figured out you were my mermaid a lot faster; I would have saved you so much pain," Kaito said, with a sigh, after swallowing a bite of chicken. "But if we had found out I was Panthalassa a lot faster, then that legend would have been null and void."
"I guess we were both a bit slow on the uptake," Lucia said, with a giggle, before turning back to Pearl Piari. "But as for Hanon and Rina… It's not that simple."
Kaito had been informed of Rina and Hanon's relationships with human boys, and he knew that he and Lucia would have to go back to the North Pacific Palace in the future so she could be the ruling princess she was meant to be. He knew that it would be a really bad and painful break-up for Hanon and Rina.
"I guess it isn't," Kaito said. "You and I are safe together, but with those two, it won't be."
"Now that I think about it, Hanon and Rina have dates with the others today," Lucia said. "We'd better make sure that they're doing okay."
Kaito nodded in agreement; the pair packed up their picnic and went back to Pearl Piari to rendezvous with the others.
The music box that was often played was going and turning as the others had met up in the dinning area of the hotel to talk over the issue that Lucia and Kaito had somehow stumbled upon.
"Lucia-san is right," Hippo, the talking penguin that posed as Lucia's pet, said. He was standing on the table to be at eye level with everyone else. "As much as I understand wanting to be with the one you love as much as you can, it's a star-crossed romance. It won't work out in the end, and I'm speaking from experience."
"You should talk," Lucia said, a little annoyed. "You were the one who got caught up in 'Romeo and Juliet' with Yuuri."
"Like I said, I understand, Lucia-san," Hippo protested, a vein throbbing in his forehead. "We just can't have Hanon-san or Rina-san turning into sea foam!"
"Okay, okay," Kaito said, a little tired of the penguin's ranting; he still needed some time to get used to a talking penguin. "Let's not get into a heated argument over the issue."
"Kaito's right," Nikora, the manager of Pearl Piari, said. She was a mermaid from Lucia's kingdom, posing as Lucia's older sister so she could act as a guardian while on land. "It's not worth arguing over."
"I just hope that they figure out a way to break the relationship without spilling the beans." Kaito said, as he knew that it would have to happen one day.
Meanwhile, upstairs, Hanon was trying to chose an outfit to go on her next date with Nagisa. She kept turquoise as her main color, but since it was just going out for a bike ride as always, she did not want to get too fancy.
"Aha!" Hanon said, as she soon changed into her clothes.
It was a nice, turquoise halter top dress with her hair in its usual style; the hem was down to her knees. She kept her necklace on at all times. Nagisa was younger, so she did not want to be inappropriate. She was wearing shoes that matched her dress, but they were not open-toed to avoid getting hurt; since she could not ride a bike, she wanted to be safe.
"Knowing Nagisa, he's going to try to go the extra mile for me," Hanon said, with a blush. "I've never met a guy so brave, so willing to go so far for me. Tarou-chan never did that… Then again, he knew his place, and he had Sara…"
Hanon gushed when she thought of Nagisa and how his childishness put her off.
She remembered the one time where he mistook Kaito for the guy who gave her the music sheets that Tarou gave her before he left for Germany. While she was quite upset with him for that, she appreciated the piano book he got for her. She also remembered the time that Nagisa took her out on a date by boat. They were planning on going to a Celebration Night event, but because he lost the tickets, they went to see the fireworks out on the water instead. What she had learned was that Nagisa was persistent and knew to never give up. This was something about him that caught her attention, and she felt her heart pound in that moment.
"I can't wait!" Hanon said, before laughing.
With Rina, in another room, she was decked out in her usual clothes; as always, she did not really go the extra mile with her wardrobe, and it was not like her boyfriend, Masahiro, minded. There was just something about him that caught her eye, but she could not put her finger on it. Her interest grew as she kept getting to know him.
Oddly enough, Masahiro first met her when he saw her crying on the beach due to a letter she had gotten from the North Atlantic Ocean palace, which asked for her return. At the time, she knew she had to go back, but she did not want to leave behind Hanon or Lucia, her two best friends. However, they did not really talk, but she noticed him there and soon ran off.
The following day, he had approached her, telling her that he was glad she was not crying. To say she was embarrassed that he saw her crying was a bit of an understatement.
Later that afternoon, he caught her reading the letter again, but just as Rina was about to go into the river to head back to her kingdom, Masahiro literally pounced on her from out of nowhere to stop her, thinking she was planning on doing something stupid. They ended up getting some of their items mixed up, thus he learned her name, but because he knew better than to invade privacy, he did not read the letter.
Lucky thing for her, too. If he found out she was a mermaid, that could have been trouble.
"Crap… Why did this have to happen to me? If I knew it was going to be so painful to say goodbye someday…" Rina said, as she was about to get ready to leave.
Rina had tried. She had tried multiple times to break things with Masahiro sooner rather than later, because she knew that when she, Hanon, Lucia, and Kaito had to go back to the ocean, it would mean parting ways with Masahiro. In her heart, she did not want it to happen; she did not want to fall in love with a human, but Masahiro had stolen her heart before she even knew what happened.
It was a star-crossed love, and Rina knew it; Rina was also positive Hanon was going through the same epiphany of the same type. They both knew they would have to end things with their boys in the future, and they knew a human-mermaid romance was frowned upon. Even their friend, Karen, the Antarctic Ocean Mermaid Princess, had fallen for a human man, but she gave up on it because of the danger he would be put in as well as her own role.
Then again, there was the previous Indian Ocean Mermaid Princess, Sara, and their former music teacher, Mitsuki Tarou, who had a romance with each other, but that did not exactly end well due to lack of communication between the two of them.
The bottom line was that Rina and Hanon would have to break the boys' hearts as well as their own due to their own destiny. If they had any option, they could stay with the boys forever, but they were monarchs in their ocean kingdoms, so they did not have any choice.
"Rina, come on!" Hanon said, as she came to Rina's bedroom at the hotel. "The boys could be here any minute!"
"Coming." Rina said, before leaving out the door.
Outside the hotel, Nagisa, a young boy of about thirteen, with dark blue, bushy hair, and blue eyes, pushing a bike made for two people over to the hotel. He had a big smile on his face, and he was really motivated to give Hanon a great time on their date. While there were times where she seemed depressed about something, Nagisa knew better than to pry, so he decided to just leave the subject alone and be optimistic, which would often cheer her up.
"This is going to be great," Nagisa said, as he took out a guidebook. "I reserved a seat for a reasonably-priced bistro, and have been saving up my allowance for a great meal. Hanon will love it!"
He soon heard the revving of a motorcycle engine, and he saw a familiar motorbike ride up to the bike parking area of the hotel. Nagisa smiled a bit as he knew who it was.
The older man took off his helmet to reveal green eyes and green hair, before taking out a pair of glasses and putting them on. He looked over to Nagisa and he smiled a little bit.
"Nagisa-kun," He said, putting the helmet away and taking off his safety gear before putting all of it near his bike and locking it up. "You here for a date with Hanon-chan?"
"I sure am," Nagisa said, with a nod and a smile. "You're here for Rina-san, aren't you?"
"Yes," Masahiro said, before looking off into the distance a little bit. "But…"
"Is something wrong?" Nagisa asked.
"I always get worried that each time we have a date, it may be the last." Masahiro said.
"What makes you say that? That's ridiculous!" Nagisa said, indignantly.
"Maybe to you, but she's always saying that she and I can't be together in the future, and that some day, she has to go back to her hometown. She's never told me about her birthplace, or anything else," Masahiro admitted. "And she can be really cryptic in explaining why; she's never specific."
Nagisa's facial expression hardened a bit before saying, "Now that you mention it, there are times where Hanon gets depressed, and it's not over Mitsuki-sensei, but something else, but just like Rina-san, she doesn't really talk about why."
"I guess that's just something they'll tell us when they're ready." Masahiro said, before heading up to the hotel door with Nagisa.
They entered the hotel, but even though they knocked the door was open and so they let themselves in. However, they were about to shout out to Rina and Hanon, when...
"It's an impossible love! It's ill-fated, star-crossed!" Someone shouted; they did not recognize the voice, but they decided not to jump in and interrupt. They saw everyone in the room gathered, but they hid behind a wall to avoid being seen or heard.
"I keep telling you, nothing is going to happen between me and Masahiro!" Rina said, in defense. Hearing mention of his name, Masahiro's interest was piqued and even Nagisa got interested.
"Why do you keep insisting nothing will happen when the two of you have already kissed and Nagisa had already played 'hero' for Hanon?" Lucia said.
Nagisa and Masahiro looked at each other, but Masahiro put a finger to his lips as a 'quiet' gesture.
The penguin that they saw jumped up onto the table and said, "We all have to go back to the ocean one of these days! And the sooner the two of you break up with the boys, the easier it will be!"
"What do they mean 'go back to the ocean'?" Nagisa asked, looking up in confusion. "Hanon told me she can't swim."
"Rina-chan said the same thing." Masahiro said, also noticing the suspicion in the exchange.
"We get it, we get it," Hanon said. "Everyone back in the South Atlantic is waiting for me to come back to help get the kingdom back to normal, I get it. As the Aquamarine Pearl Mermaid Princess, I have a duty to reign in the South Atlantic ocean, but it scares me to leave Nagisa."
"Aquamarine Pearl… Mermaid Princess?" Nagisa repeated, shocked to hear this information. "She's a mermaid…?!"
Masahiro covered Nagisa's mouth to avoid the two of them getting caught, and kept listening.
"As much as I love Masahiro… I can't love him! It's taboo as the North Atlantic Mermaid Princess," Rina said. "As the keeper of the Green Pearl, I need to boost morale back home by going back someday. I don't want to separate from Masahiro, but I have no choice."
Masahiro also felt the shock of learning that Rina was a mermaid. Both he and Nagisa stared at each other in shock as they saw the conversation go down.
They peeked out from their hiding spot, they saw that there was a penguin, two older women, one a lot younger than the other, with the older woman having long, gray hair and a crystal ball in hand. They also saw a boy with orange hair, and a girl with dirty blonde hair.
"I guess that's Lucia…" Nagisa said, as he muttered the name.
"And I assume the boy is Kaito-kun," Masahiro muttered. "But a penguin…?"
"Even I think that's a little weird…" Nagisa said, both boys sweat dropping.
"You're lucky, Lucia," Hanon said. "You and Kaito can stay together."
"Lucia's a mermaid, too?" Nagisa said.
The boys stepped back and then they started to whisper to each other.
"I don't believe this… They're mermaids?!" Masahiro said, his face in shock. "Why didn't they tell us?!"
"We'll confront them about it," Nagisa said. "They owe us an explanation!"
"Let's pretend we didn't hear them for now," Masahiro said, trying to placate Nagisa. "And then we'll break the ice."
Both boys nodded before pretending to knock on the wall.
"Konnichiwa!" Masahiro said, as he and Nagisa came into the room, as if they missed the conversation.
"Ah, Masahiro!" Rina said, coming over to Masahiro.
"Ready for our aquarium trip?" Masahiro said; he knew that Rina loved the aquarium, and now he knew why that was.
"I'm excited for today, Nagisa!" Hanon said, smiling.
"I've been saving up for a nice meal at a reasonably-priced bistro," Nagisa said. "Let's go!"
The two pairs left the building and they were happy to be with the ones they loved. However, what they failed to realize was Nagisa and Masahiro were on to their secret.
"Lucia, want to go back to the beach?" Kaito asked.
"Great idea! If no one is around, then we can both go in the water." Lucia said, as she wrapped her arms around Kaito's arm and then they left the building.
"Lucia-san's become much more aware of her responsibilities as a mermaid princess," Hippo said. "If Kaito-san were a human, I'd be on her case about it, but he's not, so it's okay…"
With Hanon and Nagisa, they were at the bistro that Nagisa had found; it was very reasonably-priced, so he felt better about spending money on Hanon for a good meal.
They had just been served some nice, Italian breadsticks with marinara sauce on one side and olive oil on another one. Nagisa had been trying to figure out a way to break the ice over the issue about the mermaid thing, but he just did not know how to do it. For one thing, it would not be a good idea to just say something about it in a public area.
"Wow, I'm surprised you even learned about this place, Nagisa!" Hanon said. "It's really nice."
"I thought that since you like mature guys, I thought that maybe going out to lunch at a more mature place would be your thing." Nagisa said, trying not to let a tone of annoyance slip into his voice.
"I love it!" Hanon said, and Nagisa smiled as he saw her light up.
"Here's your orders," Their waiter said, as he came up to them with the food. "One chicken cacciatore without wine for the young man and lemon shrimp scampi for the lady, as well as two glasses of water for the both of you."
Immediately after they got their food, Nagisa and Hanon started to eat, but Nagisa kept his eye on Hanon, and saw how blissfully unaware that she was that he had learned her secret.
Unfortunately, Hanon had no clue Nagisa had found out about her duties as a mermaid, but since she was sure that he had no clue, she kept going on with him as she always did, not letting the truth on.
"Is it good, Hanon?" Nagisa asked, as he ate his cacciatore.
"It's really great! I've never had such good pasta before!" Hanon said, as she ate a bite of her dish. "The lemon really makes it taste good."
"I doubt there's anything like this in the South Atlantic ocean…" Nagisa muttered.
"What was that?" Hanon asked.
"Er, nothing…" Nagisa began; he thought it would have been a bad idea to talk about the issue in public the way they were.
He went back to eating his cacciatore and soon was looking over the dessert menu for desserts such as gelato, cannolis, etc., and such. He wanted to look over what he could pay for and stay within budget so he did not have to worry about the bill, but in the back of his mind, the mermaid thing was eating at him.
Meanwhile, Rina and Masahiro were at the aquarium, as they had planned. They were in the part of the aquarium that held marine wildlife of the North Atlantic Ocean. There were fish such as blowfish and bluefin tuna, both of which were from Rina's neck of the waters, so to speak. Looking at some of the ocean creatures, she smiled a bit and saw how peaceful it was.
"Hey, check it out," Masahiro said, pointing to a manta ray. "A manta ray!"
"Wow! It's been a long time since I've seen one." Rina said.
"Been a long time?" Masahiro asked. "You've been here before, haven't you?"
Catching her slip-up, Rina covered it up by saying, "That's… Um… Yeah, I have, but I haven't been to this part of the aquarium in a long time. The first time I came here was to see the pink dolphin, Momo-chan."
"Momo-chan, huh? I hear they only had him for one day when he got reunited with his mother after some craziness with water dragons and singing idols that came out of nowhere." Masahiro said, albeit he did not know it was related to Rina's secret as a mermaid.
"Er, uh, I heard that, too." Rina began, as she felt a little anxious. 'Crap, that was Lucia, Hanon, and I when we were first starting out on our mission to stop Gaito and his cronies from ruling the land and sea...'
Seeing her anxiety, Masahiro knew she was covering up her secret of being a Mermaid Princess, but he knew that she could not keep it from him anymore. He was going to get it out in the open and get her to admit it one way or another. Either way, the truth was out, but Rina did not know it.
"Nice habitat they have here, isn't it?" Masahiro said to Rina.
"It is!" Rina said, before looking back at the tank and getting a little sad; her facial expression also reflected it.
In the past, it always freaked him out when she made that face, because he was afraid she would leave him one day. Now that his fears were confirmed, and he knew why, he had no intention of letting her leave him again.
"Check it out! Squid!" Masahiro said, as he looked up and saw a squid floating in the water past the pair.
"I wonder how Somegoro is doing?" Rina muttered.
"Somegoro?" Masahiro inquired.
"Um, er, no one…" Rina said, as she tried to cover up her slip of the tongue. 'Crap, slipped again. I hope Hanon isn't have such a hard time with keeping her mouth closed.'
As Rina tried to keep herself from leaking any more sea-related information in front of Masahiro, Masahiro grew more and more certain that Rina was in fact a mermaid, just like he had overheard earlier.
Meanwhile, Hanon and Nagisa were walking away from the bistro and taking a stroll. Nagisa wanted to try and find an isolated place to talk over the mermaid issue with Hanon so that way she would not freak out and make a scene; the last thing he wanted was for her to become sea foam because of his clumsiness.
He wanted to try and find an opening to break the ice about Hanon being a mermaid, but he was trying to time it correctly so he would not mess up and cause a problem.
"That was delicious, Nagisa!" Hanon said, as they made it to their usual forest place where they would often have their dates with each other.
"It sure was, Hanon," Nagisa said. "I still can't believe I stayed within budget, tip included."
They were sitting in front of a pond while lying against a tree, and soon, they were fairly relaxed; Nagisa saw no one else there and decided then and there would be a good idea to talk about Hanon's secret.
"Doesn't the water look beautiful from here, Nagisa?" Hanon asked.
"It sure does," Nagisa said. "But not as beautiful as you."
Hanon blushed as she saw a more mature side to Nagisa.
"I'm really impressed," Hanon said, as she and Nagisa stood up and walked a little closer to the water. "The fact that you went and researched an affordable place for the both of us to eat and paid for it all by yourself, tip included! You've really surprised me today."
"Speaking of surprises, I'm surprised you ate shrimp scampi," Nagisa said, as he saw a few fish swimming in the water. "You being the South Atlantic Mermaid Princess and all."
"Yup." Hanon said, with a nod, but then she realized something: Nagisa was not supposed to know she was a mermaid.
Her face went from happy to surprised as she then looked to Nagisa, who was looking at her with a stern expression. Her mouth twitched, as did her eyes, and then...
"S-South Atlantic Mermaid Princess? What kind of fantasy book were you reading?" Hanon lied.
"Don't play dumb, Hanon!" Nagisa said, before slamming her against the tree, pinning her to it to try and get her to look him in the eye. "You're the Aquamarine Pearl Mermaid Princess!"
Hanon knew that there was no way out of it this time. She was busted, and she could turn into sea foam in a matter of seconds. Hanon remained silent and refused to meet Nagisa's eyes.
"How did you know…? I never told you." Hanon asked.
"I heard you over at the hotel; every word. Masahiro-senpai was there, too, so he knows, as well." Nagisa said.
"You heard our conversation?" Hanon inquired.
"Yes. Now I know the truth about you. You're a mermaid… Why didn't you tell me?!" Nagisa demanded, tears about to stream down from his eyes. "Why did I have to learn this without you telling me directly?"
"If you would stop acting so immature and let me go, I'd explain!" Hanon shouted; Nagisa got the hint and backed off.
"You being a Mermaid Princess is a huge piece of information! Why didn't you say anything about this?!" Nagisa asked, a vein throbbing in his forehead.
"And risk dying?" Hanon asked; Nagisa was taken aback by this inquiry.
"What do you mean?" Nagisa asked, calming down.
Hanon started to shed tears as she looked Nagisa in the eyes.
"According to legend, should a mermaid confess to a human that she's a mermaid, she'll turn into sea foam. She'll disappear; die; go 'poof'," Hanon explained, as she was about to cry. "That's why it's considered taboo or outlandish for a mermaid to fall in love and have a relationship with a human male; humans are stuck living on land while we mermaids belong in the water."
"Oh, so Lucia-san and Kaito-senpai can stay together, but not the two of us?" Nagisa inquired, fairly agitated.
"So you did hear the whole thing…" Hanon said, as she looked down, sadly. "In Kaito-kun's case, he isn't even a human; he's the prince of an ancient water race called Panthalassa. Since he's from the ocean, too, that rule doesn't apply to him and Lucia. But in our case… As well as Hamasaki-san and Rina…"
Hanon could not continue and just started to cry; Nagisa knew he went too far, and he pulled Hanon into a hug.
He sighed before saying, "I had no idea it was like that. If you became sea foam because you were to tell me you're a mermaid, then I'm sure the rest of the South Atlantic mermaid kingdom would suffer, too. I guess it would be the same for Rina-san, as well. I'm sorry..."
Hanon kept on shedding tears as she reveled in Nagisa's embrace; she felt really shocked at the thought that her secret got out.
Back with Masahiro and Rina, they were sitting at their usual cliff top spot together; this particular part of the coastline was a secret between the two of them and they would often go there together whenever there was something private the two of them needed to discuss, or they just wanted to hang out in a calm, quiet place.
"We've made so many memories here, haven't we?" Rina asked, as she sat on the grass; Masahiro sat next to her.
"We sure have," Masahiro said, looking out to the water. "I remember when I first saw you here in this place; it was almost as if it were fate that you and I could share this place together."
"I was surprised that you even knew about it, too," Rina said. "It's so weird."
"I know," Masahiro said, as he pulled Rina closer to him and put an arm around her shoulder. "I'm sure it must have been fate for us."
Hearing the word 'fate', Rina's eyes grew sad, as she knew that fate made it impossible for her to be with Masahiro for the rest of her life. She knew that she would have to part ways with him, but she was always vague on the reason.
He saw the beach where he and Rina shared their first kiss after he fell off a different cliff one time.
"I remember the day we shared our first kiss." Masahiro said, as he took Rina's hand into his own.
Rina blushed as she heard this, before saying, "Y-Yeah, I remember that, too."
Masahiro thought that since they were on the subject of their first kiss, he thought going into the events that led up to it would be a good way to break the ice over the mermaid issue.
"I remember the day you tried to dump me," Masahiro said, causing Rina to flinch. "We came here the day after. You told me that you wanted to be with me for the rest of our lives, but then you said we shouldn't see each other anymore. I said that I'd give up everything just to stay with you."
"Y-You're still on that?" Rina asked, not sure what to say.
"You said you were going to have to say goodbye forever one day," Masahiro said. "But you never elaborated why."
"I…" Rina began, as she had no idea what to say.
"I said that I would follow you wherever you were going," Masahiro said, before looking to Rina. "And you told me that it was impossible for me to do that."
"W-What are you getting at?" Rina began, as she tried to keep herself from getting all anxious over the situation.
"You said it was impossible… Now I know why," Masahiro said, as he made Rina stand up and look him in the eye. "Now I know why you're so distant from me."
Rina sweat dropped; she had no idea what kind of ridiculous theory Masahiro had come up with, but she knew that it was impossible for him to know that she was a mermaid… Or so she assumed.
Rina and Masahiro kept staring in each others' eyes, but only Masahiro was aware of the reason of the tension between the two of them: he knew. He put his hands on Rina's shoulders and pulled her closer to him.
"Now I know that it's impossible for us to be together for the rest of our lives… Because you're going to have to go back to the North Atlantic Ocean to reign someday while I'm condemned to live here on land without you." Masahiro said.
Rina flinched visibly and then she started to panic and stammer before saying, "H-How the hell did you figure that out?! You weren't supposed to know!"
"Nagisa-kun and I overheard you and the others in the hotel earlier," Masahiro said, taking his hands away, and trying to be gentle about the issue. "But the question is, why didn't you tell me that you're a Mermaid Princess and save me so much grief?"
Rina sighed, and went back to being herself, albeit she was still scared and blushing; she said, "If a mermaid reveals herself to a human, then she'll turn into sea foam, according to legend. I literally wasn't able to tell you, or I could have become sea foam and died."
Hearing this, Masahiro's eyes went wide, and then he sighed before saying, "In that case, keeping silent about it was the right thing to do; I still want you to stay with me, but now that I know you're a mermaid… I can't want that anymore."
"As much as I want it, too, Masahiro, I know it isn't meant to be…" Rina said, before beginning to cry. "We're of two different worlds… I don't know when I can come back, but it's only if the peace of the oceans is threatened."
"I know that now, Rina-chan. But even if that's the case, I'll always love you, Rina-chan, and I'll try to find a way for us to be together, even if we're fated to be apart for all of our days when you leave. I'll find a way to prevent fate from getting in the way." Masahiro said.
"That's ridiculous, Masahiro!" Rina said. "If you were born from the oceans or I were born a human, that would be a lot easier…"
Masahiro sighed in defeat, before pulling Rina into a hug and kissing her before saying, "I'm sorry… You're right. If only I were born from the oceans or you a human like you said… Then this would be a lot less painful."
Rina began to cry as she buried her face into Masahiro's chest; Masahiro, in turn, held Rina close to him and made sure that he would not let her go ever again, no matter what happened.
Back with Lucia and Kaito, they were sitting on a rock in the water farther out in the ocean, looking out to the water. Kaito was still in his wetsuit while Lucia was in mermaid form.
"It's kind of strange…" Kaito began. "When we first met when you were in human form, I thought you were just another one of my fangirls… But now that I think about, there were a few times where I made connections between your two forms, Lucia. When I first saw my mermaid's pendant around your neck, I got a little suspicious, but then after that, I just sort of ditched the thought, but the idea came up every now and again."
"It's one thing for a mermaid to willingly reveal herself to a human; it's another for someone to ask the question and you answer it. I used to get upset whenever you failed to clue in or such…" Lucia admitted.
Taking her hand into his own, Kaito looked Lucia in the eye and said, "Now that I know the truth, I don't blame you. All the hints you dropped… the fact that you as a human and you as a mermaid were never in the same place at the same time… I must be a real moron for me not to have figured it out sooner. I would have saved you a lot of pain."
Lucia leaned onto Kaito's chest and then she said, "You really would have. But knowing that you fell for my true self before cluing in really made me happy."
"But when I first saw you in the North Pacific Palace, I guess the fact that I was breathing underwater never occurred to me. I must have been so focused on being so happy to see my mermaid again." Kaito said, before kissing Lucia on the cheek.
"Now if only Hamasaki-san and Nagisa-kun were underwater races like you… Then Rina and Hanon wouldn't have to keep quiet about being mermaids and they would be able to reveal themselves without any consequence." Lucia said.
"The last thing I wanted was for either one of you to disappear from me…" Kaito said, before turning Lucia to face him and gave her a kiss on her lips and hugged her. "And then for me to deliberately seal my memories of anything relating to the ocean… That only added to your suffering."
"You were just trying to keep us safe," Lucia said. "Your heart was in the right place."
The two of them started to cuddle again as they started to watch the sun set over the horizon. However, their happy moments were about to be dashed… But not for any reason pertaining to them.
After everyone reconvened at the hotel, Lucia and Kaito were sitting in a circle with Nikora, Taki, Hippo, and everyone else. However, the mood was not very lively. In fact, the atmosphere was thick with anxiety and tension, but Lucia and Kaito were unaware as of why.
The room was silent, but no one knew what was going to happen, and no one had any idea of how to break the ice. Lucia decided to try and end the awkwardness of the situation.
"So, um… How was everyone's day today?" Lucia asked.
Sadly, no one responded, but Lucia sweat dropped as a result of this. Kaito knew she meant well, but even he had a hard time putting a finger on the unease he felt.
"I really envy you, Kaito-senpai," Nagisa said, breaking the ice, as he stirred his drink. "I wish I were born Panthalassa; then I could live with Hanon in the South Atlantic Ocean when you guys return there."
Lucia, Kaito, Nikora, Hippo, and Taki all flinched in surprise when they heard Nagisa say this.
"H-H-H-HOW DID HE FIND THIS OUT, HANON-SAN?!" Hippo shouted, as he flipped out and started squawking like crazy. However, he clammed up when he realized his mistake, and just sat back down.
Masahiro and Nagisa merely sweat dropped and Masahiro said, "Nagisa-kun and I found out your secret the same way: we overheard you guys talking about this earlier."
"In that case, why didn't we all become sea foam?" Lucia asked, as she looked to Hanon and Rina.
"Maybe because we didn't tell them directly? Maybe because they found out inadvertently?" Rina said.
"That makes sense. There's nothing in the legend that says that a human can't clue in on his own or see a mermaid change forms without her knowledge." Nikora said.
"You too, Nikora-san?" Masahiro asked.
Nikora sweat dropped; she had a hard time replying to this question, as she did not know how to reply to Masahiro.
"Madame Taki, too, right?" Nagisa asked, almost accusingly.
"Well…" Taki began, not sure what to say.
"The penguin, too?" Masahiro inquired. "Doesn't he have a human form?"
Hippo, sighing in defeat, changed into human form, but the only thing that remained the same was his clothing. He looked to the boys before sitting back down in his chair. He then changed back into penguin form before jumping back on top of the table.
"I thought so." Nagisa said.
"You didn't tell us, but you had your reasons. It was literally a life-or-death secret," Masahiro said, before taking Rina's hand and pulling her into his embrace. "I wish it didn't have to be this way…"
"Same here…" Nagisa said, as he sighed sadly.
"That's fate for you," Nikora said. "In Lucia and Kaito's case, there's nothing stopping them from being together, but…"
"Just keep this a secret and we'll be fine," Lucia asked, with pleading eyes. "We can't have our secret get out. If we reveal ourselves, we'll turn into bubbles."
"Sure thing, Lucia-chan," Masahiro said. "But I'm sad that I have to part with Rina soon."
"I don't want to separate from Hanon." Nagisa said, as he hugged Hanon.
"Well, sadly, that's how it has to be," Hippo said, as he once again waddled over to the boys. "But I know exactly how you two feel."
"What?" Masahiro asked.
"I was in a star-crossed romance with one of former adversaries; she was a water demon named Yuri-san, and as much as we loved each other, we couldn't be together. At one point, Lucia-san here decided to try and help me and Yuri run away together, but even that didn't work," Hippo said, explaining his story. "She never even knew that I had a penguin form."
"That's so sad… That really is like 'Romeo and Juliet'…" Nagisa admitted.
"Albeit only Yuri-san perished…" Hippo said, before tearing up.
Nagisa and Masahiro merely looked at Hippo sadly; the others gave Hippo sympathetic looks, as they also felt bad about their penguin pal's ill-fated love.
"It will be sad when it happens…" Lucia said, on behalf of her friends. "But we need to live in the moment, right?"
"I guess you're right," Rina said, with a smile as she held Masahiro's hand. "I've been so worried about parting ways with Masahiro that I was not really able to enjoy a lot of our dates whenever the ocean was brought up or when Masahiro talked about the future, or he mentioned about how aloof I was."
"Yeah, but now I know your reasons," Masahiro said, with a laugh. "Now I can make sure we go on dates where that won't happen."
"I'll also try to avoid such things with Hanon." Nagisa said, as he pulled Hanon closer to him.
"Besides, we can always keep correspondence through letters; we have a lot of messenger animals that can deliver letters to and fro. In the case of the Northern Pacific, we have pink dolphins." Lucia said.
"We have minke whales in the North Atlantic; the Arctic Ocean has orcas, and they have penguins back in the Antarctic." Rina said.
"It will be weird having to get a letter from a sea animal, but I guess that's the inevitable…" Nagisa said, as he hugged Hanon once again.
Hanon and Rina blushed before nestling at their boyfriends' side. Everyone shared a smile with each other as they all agreed to live in the moment before the inevitable day that they were to part ways with the human world.
So now Nagisa and Masahiro are in the know! This is just a one-shot, so there won't be any more chapters. I'm surprised it took me so long to write. Just let me know if you want any more one-shots.