A year later…

Hiei didn't know why he'd returned to the spot where he'd met Kurama. He had no reason to expect that the merman would show up again. He was almost certain that Kurama's people would have moved on after his return.

But here he was, sitting alone on a small boat, staring out at the rolling waves of the ocean. The stars mocked him with their faint glow, each one calling him an idiot for acting so sentimental.

But sometimes he still dreamed of the merman's song. He often wondered what had happened to Kurama. Had he really made it safely home?

Hiei put the whistle to his lips and blew.

Kurama's people probably didn't even measure time the way humans did. Kurama likely had no concept of what a year was or it's significance.

The rest of the world hadn't forgotten about him though. Even though Kurama was gone, those animal activists had continued to fight to have the species declared endangered. The owner of the aquarium, Sekyo, had dropped any objection to the law after it became clear that Kurama had slipped beyond his reach. With his only merman gone, what was the point in wasting money on something that ultimately would gain him nothing?

So the merpeople were now considered protected. It was illegal to hunt or kill them.

Not that it stopped people from looking for them. Hiei's little village had become quite a tourist attraction, much to his disgust. Yusuke, however, was thrilled. He was happy to regale visitors with the tale of the redheaded merman that his friend had found.

But no matter how many times he was asked, Yusuke never gave out Hiei's name. That was something that Hiei was grateful for.

Hiei blew the whistle again, a last-ditch effort to draw the merman up from the depths. He had to acknowledge that it was probably a futile effort, though.

He waited for fifteen more minutes before he departed. Wherever Kurama was, Hiei had to trust that he was safe.

—

"I saw one! I saw one!"

Hiei glowered at the noisy child waving enthusiastically at Yusuke as he climbed onto a stool.

"Yeah?" Yusuke asked tolerantly as he passed a drink to the child's father, who was smiling at the boy. "A dolphin?"

"No. A mermaid. I saw a mermaid."

Someone nearby scoffed. "No one's seen one of them in a year," the man said. "Not a real one, anyway. Not since that one in the aquarium disappeared."

"I saw one. Daddy took a photo."

The boy tugged on his father's sleeve insistently. The tourist reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He tapped the screen a few times before passing it to Yusuke.

Yusuke's eyes widened as he flipped through the photos. "Well," he said. "Take a look at this, Hiei."

He held the phone out to Hiei. Curious, Hiei took it.

The shot was a bad one, but the red hair was clear enough. As Hiei flicked through the photos, each one blurry and indistinct, the truth became clear. Here and there, Hiei could see a fin poking out of the water, sunlight glinting off red scales, a gleam of emerald eyes.

"It's just someone playing a prank on the tourists," the man who'd complained earlier said. "Gotta keep them coming back somehow." He glowered at the father and his boy.

Hiei handed the phone back to the father. "It wasn't a mermaid," he said.

"See?" the other man said in satisfaction.

"It was a merman," Hiei finished.

"A merman?" the boy asked.

"Yes. It was male," Hiei said.

Yusuke shared a knowing look with him but said nothing.

Kurama was safe. He had returned, but not to Hiei. Instead, he'd returned to show off to the humans. How typical.

But at least he knew that Kurama was safe. Hiei was satisfied with that. Yusuke was right. Their worlds weren't meant to cross. They were too different.

END