Keiran was gone.
Kurama searched every dark corner of the caverns but found no sign of the younger merman. An uneasy fluttering started in his stomach as if he'd swallowed a feather star. It was too coincidental. Only yesterday he'd told the boy about his little adventure. Had Keiran decided to go to the surface alone in search of the humans?
Karasu was also gone, but that was of no concern to Kurama. It wasn't unusual and Kurama was certain that Karasu had nothing to do with Keiran's disappearance. Though he might have encouraged Keiran, Kurama thought with annoyance.
Kurama decided to go out and search for his friend. He'd just check the spot he'd visited yesterday. If Keiran wasn't there then Kurama's fears were baseless and he'd return to the caves.
He chose not to tell his mother of his plan. He knew that she would worry about him.
—
Karasu studied the radar screen in front of him.
"I can't see anything," Bui grumbled from beside him. "There's just a lot of small fish. This is a waste of time."
"Have some patience," Karasu chastised. "This will be worth the wait."
He smiled to himself. He'd overheard the two younger merman talking last evening. It hadn't been hard to subtly encourage the younger to come out to this spot. He would have preferred the elder, but he was too suspicious of Karasu to fall for his bait. And it was unlikely that he would want to return here after his experience with the human.
Karasu was certain that the human the redheaded merman had referenced was that short recluse Hiei. He'd seen the man in the local bar many times. Lucky for Karasu, the fisherman was an idiot. He should have bundled that merman up in nets and dragged him back to shore. He could have made a fortune.
Karasu wouldn't be that stupid.
He rubbed at the itchy spot on his chest, right next to his heart. Even through the cloth of his shirt, he could feel the scarring. Though it still irritated him, Karasu thought that it was worth the payoff. The merpeople had no idea that he wasn't one of them. The old witch knew what she was doing.
Though why she had one of the merpeople's gems was puzzling. How had she came across it? Removing the gem from a merperson was essentially the same as removing their soul. It would eventually kill them.
And for a species that was supposedly immortal and had no belief in an afterlife or reincarnation, that was a horrific prospect.
"What's that?"
Karasu turned his attention to the screen and followed Bui's pointing finger. There was something large moving beneath the school of fish.
"Get the net," Karasu ordered.
—
Kurama's blood boiled with anger as he saw the familiar shape of his young friend swimming in circles beneath the school of fish. What a fool.
With a strong flap of his tail, Kurama swam up to him. He grabbed the merman around his arm and pulled.
Keiran startled, taken completely by surprise. He thrashed for a moment, alarming the fish he'd been stalking. They scattered. His eyes met Kurama's, wide with shock.
Go home, Kurama told him sternly.
But-, Keiran started to protest, trying to pull his wrist out of Kurama's grip.
The fish are gone. Go home, Kurama ordered.
Keiran pouted but Kurama was not swayed. Finally, Keiran's tail flicked, gently bumping Kurama's. Kurama released his wrist and watched a sheepish Keiran swim down into the depths toward home.
Kurama turned his eyes up, towards the surface of the sea. He could see sunlight filtering through the water. And a dark shape cutting across it.
A boat, Kurama guessed. A boat that was larger than the one he'd seen the evening before. This must be a very popular fishing spot for the humans.
Kurama was about to follow Keiran home when something sharp dug into his tail. He twisted, his tail thrashing violently in the water. Something small whizzed past him, narrowly missing his hand.
He felt another sharp pain in his tail, further up than the one before it. Then in his cheek. Confused and frightened, Kurama realised that he was bleeding.
This was bad. Sharks would smell the blood and think he was an easy meal. He had to get to safety.
He almost wasn't surprised to see the net descending slowly through the water above him. Kurama's movements were sluggish but he still managed to escape its range.
But what could he do now? Keiran was gone, no doubt expecting Kurama to be on his tail. He might not realise that Kurama had stayed behind. Even if he did, he might not think that there was anything wrong. He would probably assume that Kurama had somewhere else to be.
Kurama left a bloody trail behind him, like the long tentacles of a squid, as he swam. The most important thing for now was putting some distance between himself and the boat.
Had that human came to his senses and decided to try to capture Kurama? That seemed a likely explanation.
Or did the humans not realise what Kurama was? Perhaps they thought that he was a dolphin or a shark.
Kurama's strokes grew weaker as he swam. His vision began to darken. He was unaware that above him, a large, dark shape followed along the surface of the ocean.
