Chapter Two- Sea Romance

Joey sprinted for the docks, his bare feet slapping the pavement. He slipped between to docked tankers before diving into the water. He swam through the water, getting far from the docks and the ships. The air in his lungs was burning as he headed up. His head broke the surface and he drew in lungsful of air before treading water. He looked left and right, but saw no one. Where is he? Joey thought. We agreed we'd meet right-

Joey's train of thought derailed when he was yanked down. He felt a hand grab his before his lips received a kiss. His eyes snapped open to see a brunette with a deep blue tail. The merman parted and Joey said, "Seto! You scared me!"

Seto grinned. "That was the idea. I'm glad it worked.

Joey pretended to be angry but he couldn't keep the grin off his face. "You tease," he said affectionately. Joey let Seto led me to their favorite underwater spot while the blonde reflected on how he and Seto met:

Joey had rowed out to sea, desperate to get away from his dad and just be alone for a bit. He had brought the boat to a stop and pitched an anchor over the side before lying back, closing his eyes, and tilting his head up to the sun. Everything was calm and quiet which was perfect to him.

"Hello."

Joey had sat up fast upon hearing the voice. He had looked around for a boat and then down when seeing no other boats. There, bobbing in the water, was a guy with brown hair, blue eyes, and tanned skin. There was a friendly small smile on his face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. My name's Seto."

"I'm- I'm Joey," the blonde had answered. He had gestured to the boat. "Climb aboard."

"I'm afraid I can't." He had drifted to a sideways position and exposed his fins and a bit of his tail.

Joey had gasped. "You're a merman!?"

"Yes, and we absolutely cannot leave the water. Rumors say it could be dangerous to even crawl onto sand. I'm not sure what they mean by dangerous and I don't want to find out."

"That's cool. I understand. So, what's it like to live in the sea?"

"Why tell you when I can show you?"

"How?"

"Hold my hand and as long as you do, you'll be able to breathe underwater."

Joey had slid into the water, took Seto's hand, and went under. Joey had taken a breath out of reflex before going under. He let it out and took a breath and grinned. "Wow! This is cool!"

"In the past long ago, we existed peacefully with humans and helped them to collect pearls and other trinkets. But then one day, we were betrayed by humans and we fled to the bottom of the sea. Since humans can't breathe underwater without us, we were safe and humankind now considers us to be myth. I don't know why we still have this ability, but I'm glad we do. I've…seen you a few times on the beach and by the piers. You seemed like someone worth knowing and trustworthy as well."

"I'm glad you decided to approach me. I love making friends. Now, how about showing me around?"

It's been an amazing year since we met, Joey thought. We fell in love about six months after we met and I couldn't be happier honestly.

Seto glanced back at Joey briefly as they swam. The two had talked about every aspect of their lives. Seto spoke of living with his father and his cousin, Atem, whose parents were dead and was a couple of years younger than him. Joey spoke of living with his dad while his mother and little sister lived elsewhere. He admitted that his home life could be better as his dad wasn't the greatest. Seto suspected that Joey spent most of time away from home. A shame he can't be a merman. I imagine he would jump at the chance.

They reached their undersea spot and sat among the flowers, still holding hands. "Joey, if it was possible for you to be a merman, would you take it?"

"I…don't know. It would be great as I could stay with you all the time, but I would miss my friends and couldn't tell them where I was."

"I understand. If I could be human and stay with you, I don't know if I would take it as it would mean leaving my family who wouldn't know where I was. As far as I know, I'm the only merperson to have contact with humans."

"I'm probably the only human who knows merpeople exist." Joey gazed around the area. It was certainly beautiful and he could enjoy living here, but he had friends back home; he couldn't just leave them. If only I could actually travel between land and sea. That would be the best of both worlds.

"So, how were your recent lessons?" Joey asked.

"Pretty good. Atem and I learned a lot and be able to help any creature in trouble. Father even had us help him in gathering cures, using the trip as a test to see how much of the material we had absorbed."

"You could be a healer with that kind of information."

"Maybe, but every merperson needs to know this stuff. Hmm, Joey would you like to learn? It would help me retain what I learned."

"Sure, why not? Where do we start?"

"Come on, I know the perfect place that's not far from here." Seto pulled Joey up and led him to an assortment of pretty and grotesque plants. He began pointing out the dangerous ones and Joey was surprised that some of the pretty ones were poisonous. Actually, it makes sense. Pretty can conceal its dangerous nature while the healing ones are concealed by their unappealing looks. He paid strict attention to what Seto was telling him, which he planned to write down when he got home.

Hours later, both boys surfaced and hugged one another. "So, we're still on for our picnic tomorrow?" Joey asked.

"Definitely; at the cove. Until then." Seto ducked down while Joey swam for home. Seto resumed studying the plants, pleased that he had recalled what he showed Joey, but then again he shouldn't have been surprised. He was an intelligent merman, just like his cousin. And speaking of cousin, there he goes. He watched Atem swim off, his distinctive hair making him the most recognizable merman in the sea as well as the most desirable. Seto wasn't jealous; he had his own admirers but he had eyes only for Joey. He was warm and friendly, eager to learn about Seto's world. He understood that Seto had no interest in the human's world, save for him. Seto was like most merpeople, preferring not to interact with the human world in any way, but he chose to interact with Joey, the human he loved. I'm the only one to have any contact with humans, but I wish there was someone who was also interested. Then I'd have someone to confide in.

Atem swam quickly through the water. He had had a wonderful time with Yugi, but had felt a pang when his friend swam onto land and walked off into the city. He so wanted to see the city, to walk among the humans. But, I can't. He ducked down and headed through the water. Yugi and he had another meeting tomorrow and he couldn't wait. He swam over a chasm but went back when something caught his eye. He went back and looked: Something was flashing down there, reflecting the little sunlight that reached down there. He swam toward the flash and he came upon a curious object. It was the color of the reflective light of the sun on the water's surface. It had a hard oval that had a long chain looped on the top. The chain looked like the ones he had seen attached to anchors, but smaller and more delicate.

I wonder what it is. Maybe Yugi can tell me. I'll bring it with me tomorrow and ask him. Coiling the item in his hand, he hid it in his fist as he headed home, put it in his dresser drawer, and then out to the garden to study some more on plants.