Kyrie
Chapter 6: Secrets in Mirrors
The room was empty, except for the table and chairs in the middle of it. An old map of Earth hung on one wall, illuminated by sunlight that came in through windows set high in the walls. The elaborately carved door swung open, slamming into the wall behind it. Ojii-san, his wife, and his assistant looked up as Arella stormed into the room.
"How could you do this?" She nearly shouted at Ojii-san. "How could you do this to Michel?"
"Arella-chan," His assistant began, but Arella cut him off. "Don't 'Arella-chan' me." She spat. "I came here for answers and I'm not leaving until I get them!"
"Arella, I could not allow the Dark Ones to take Michel away." Ojii-san said, "Nor could I allow all of us to be attacked by the Dark Ones, in which case they would have taken Michel regardless."
"So you took away his powers and sent him back to Earth, then sent me to explain to the Mermaid Princesses what had happened to him, so they could clean up the mess." Arella said. "Why didn't you just explain to Michel the truth about the Dark Ones?"
"The Dark Ones were never supposed to escape their imprisonment." Ojii-san replied. "I saw no reason to tell him about them. Now, Arella, is there anything else you need?"
"Yes." Arella retorted. "I gave the mirror to the Princesses, who are now hunting for the Heart Orbs. But I think you deserve to know that as soon as they finish collecting the Heart Orbs, they are going to give that mirror to Michel, and we both know what will happen when that happens. What are you going to do then?"
"… And then I defeated the monster by singing Beautiful Wish, and got another Heart Orb." Seira finished.
"The Heart Mirror is in your backpack, isn't it?" Hanon asked her.
"Uh-huh." Seira replied. "I try and take it everywhere."
"This so odd." Lucia said. "Why is there all this secrecy?"
Lucia, Hanon, Rina and Seira were heading back to the Pearl Piari after another day of school. As they walked, they discussed the monster Seira had fought.
"It is unusual." Rina finally spoke up. "I guess if that girl Seira got the mirror from shows up again, we'd better make sure to get some answers out of her."
The four of them turned onto the path that led to the front door of the Piari.
"Here we are; home sweet home." Lucia said. "I wonder if Kaito will come over today."
"Lucia! Is that all you ever think about?" Hanon asked.
"No." Lucia protested. "I think about other things." She said as the three of them entered the building.
"Michel's not here yet. I wonder if he's upstairs." Hanon said as she looked at the empty reservations desk.
"Lucia, I'm glad to see you're back." Nikora said as she came out of the breakfast room. "Would the four of you come here, please? There's someone here who'd like to see you."
The four of them followed Nikora into the breakfast room. Sitting at one of the tables was a girl in a short black-and-gold dress. Her hair was black, with a star clip on one side, and her eyes were gold.
"Arella!" Seira exclaimed.
"Hello Seira-sama." Arella said.
"Wait, Arella?" Hanon asked.
Seira nodded excitedly. "She was the one who gave me the Heart Mirror."
"Arella-san, why is Michel back on Earth?" Rina asked.
"So he could escape the Dark Ones."
"And they are?" Lucia asked.
"Our age-old enemies." Arella said with a sigh. "Our king, Michel-Dono (he was the one whose fossil you destroyed, remember?) defeated them the first time they tried to attack us, and banished them away. But that was so long ago; I don't even remember it. Anyway, somehow they got free, and attacked our castle."
"Why?" Hanon asked.
"They were angry, and wanted to take out their angry on the one who defeated and banished them. But Michel-Dono was already dead, so they decided to go after Michel-sama instead." Arella explained. She stood up.
"I can't stay here. In case the Dark Ones are tracking me, they might get suspicious."
"Why would they be tracking you?" Seira asked.
Arella gave dim smile. "They would try anything they could think of to find Michel."
"Then why did you come back here?"
Arella pulled out a yellow ball of light. "I found another one."
Seira set her schoolbag down and dug through it, then pulled out the Heart Mirror. "Now we have five Heart Orbs." She said as they watched it enter one of the slot on the mirror.
"You keep bringing these to us, Arella-chan." Lucia said.
"It wasn't my idea to do any of this. I was opposed to it. But no one listens to me. There are seven Orbs to find." Arella said as she stood up. "Please keep Michel safe for us, Mermaid Princess-samas."
After Arella had left, Seira turned to the others. "Now do you believe me?" She asked.
"We never said we doubted you, Seira." Hanon said.
"Come on." Rina said. "Let's get to work."
The four of them left the room and nearly ran into Nikora. "Ah, Lucia." She said. "Did you talk to Arella-san?"
"We did." Lucia replied.
"Where's Michel?" Seira wanted to know.
"I sent him upstairs." Nikora replied. "He didn't look like he was in any shape to work, so I told him to go take a nap."
Rina turned to Lucia and Seira. "A nap?" She asked.
"You didn't see him today?" Lucia asked. "He looked like he didn't get any sleep at all last night."
"That's being polite," Hanon spoke up. "He looked like a zombie."
"Anyway, it's generally not good for business if your registrar falls asleep at his post, so I told him go get some sleep and come back when he was capable of staying awake." Nikora continued.
"Now that you mention it, he did seem to be rather tired during class today." Rina said.
"Anyway, Lucia, Seira, Hanon, it's time for you to get to work." Nikora said.
A strange white bird, with the head of a human…
A girl dressed in pink, with long blond pigtails…
A human man, with dark gray hair
Another girl with a microphone, this one dressed in blue…
Michel, sound asleep, rolled over and let out a moan. So many images, filtering through his head…
Another Mermaid-girl… how was he sure they were mermaids? This one was in a green dress, with long green hair… just like Rina…
A little orange mermaid….
"Seira…" Michel muttered.
How did he know her name...?
Michel jerked awake, trying to slow his rapid breathing. "What is happening to me?" He moaned as he put his fingers to his forehead.
Mermaids. Could it be possible that Rina and Seira were actually mermaids?
"No." Michel said to himself as he stood up and headed toward the window. "I know they're mermaids. But how do I know?"
He didn't know for sure, but he knew how to find out. The clock said it was only late afternoon. He headed downstairs, and found the others out in the courtyard.
"Ah, Michel," Taki said as she watched him walk towards the group. "You're looking better."
"Did you need something?" Nikora asked.
Michel stood there, alternating between looking at Seira and looking at Rina.
"Something wrong?" Rina asked him a moment later.
A moment later, he answered the question. "You and Seira are mermaids."
If Michel had had any doubts about their true identities, it was erased when he saw Rina's face a moment after that announcement. Her look was one of stunned disbelief.
"Then it's true." He said. "The two of you are mermaids."
Seira, on the other hand, seemed ecstatic. "You do remember!"
Michel shook his head. "No. I don't know how I know that. It's just what I keep seeing in my dreams." He confessed.
Lucia turned and noticed something. Seira's schoolbag was starting to glow. She grabbed the somewhat disappointed girl and carefully pointed out the bag.
Madame Taki also noticed the glow, and deduced the girls needed to leave. "Anyway, we decided to take the afternoon off. The girls were going to go out shopping."
"We were?" Hanon asked.
"Yeah, we were." Seira said as she grabbed her bag and followed Lucia, who was escorting Rina and Hanon out.
Michel watched as they hurried towards the front of the building. "Was Seira's bag glowing?" He asked.
"Umm, ah," Nikora paused, trying to think of a good excuse.
"No." Taki replied, calm as ever. "You just thought it was glowing."
T.A.R.N.S.: Yes, I know this is kind of a dud ending, but this chapter was designed to springboard me into chapter seven, so that's why it's got a weird ending. Anyway, as for the Ancient Ones, does anyone remember them from volume six? 'Cause the way I have it set up in this story, Ojii-san is the one in the middle, his wife is the woman standing to one side, and his assistant is standing on the other side. (You'd need the manga for that.)
Anyway, barring that, look forward to chapter seven coming... sometime soon. Hopefully. I don't really know when it's coming. Also, I'm keeping the 'a' in Michel's name when he's in human form. It's just easier that way.
Sorry I'm a bit rushed down here. Please R&R, and I'll see you next time.
[EDIT: No major edits. A bit of description added and names corrected. 2-17-17]