"Are you sure that thing's not gonna get in the way?" Was the first thing Kisa asked about the crudely made pendant that hung around Ritsu neck.
Ritsu was confused for a moment before he realized Kisa was looking at the singing stone. "Oh-no-it should be fine. I think. I'd really rather keep it on."
"Where'd you get it anyway?" Kisa asked curiously. Ritsu definitely hadn't been wearing it before.
"I had the stone with me when I came on the ship and asked Hatori for the string." Ritsu explained.
"Is it special?"
Ritsu nodded. "It's from someone back home."
"Someone you don't want to forget?" Kisa guessed with a sly smile. "Someone just as special as the stone?"
"Just a friend." Ritsu said.
"Sure, sure, a friend." Kisa's smile widened, seeing right through the teenager and jumping on the opportunity to tease him.
"Are we fighting today or not?" Ritsu asked, holding up his sword.
Touchy subject then, Kisa assumed. Ritsu hadn't even blushed or stuttered like he normally would have, rather he had tensed up considerably and averted his eyes. Kisa decided to drop it (much to Ritsu's relief) and held up his own sword. "If you're ready."
"I'm always ready." Ritsu said firmly, adjusting his stance.
Kisa's grin returned. "Let's see if that's true."
"You're so full of shit!" One pirate exclaimed with a roll of his eyes.
"It's true! And I don't take kindly to being called a liar." Another replied, eyes narrowing and his grip on his drink tightening dangerously.
Ritsu had just decided to join everyone for dinner and walked into an argument. He leaned toward Kisa, who did not seem bothered at all by the commotion, and asked in a lowered voice, "What's going on?"
"Oh, just a few men exchanging tall tales, trying to one up each other." Kisa said, not bothering to try to quiet himself.
"It's not a tall tale, Captain. The last crew I was a part of was taken down by a whole school of mermaids. I was the only survivor. They're not the pretty little things other sailors will have you believe. They're vicious, greedy creatures. Rip your throat out for a ring, they will."
"Yes, yes, we'll be sure to keep an eye out for mermaids." Kisa said. It wasn't that the captain and others didn't believe in such creatures, it was just that they didn't believe anyone could survive an encounter with them.
"What do they look like?" Ritsu asked quietly, gathering enough courage to actively participate in the conversation. There was a round of groans from everyone else.
"Don't humor him!"
"We've already heard enough of his ramblings."
"Shut up, the boy asked a question!" The alleged mermaid survivor silenced the round of complaints before looking at Ritsu. "Real scaley bunch, not just on their tails, but up their arms and chests too. Sharp teeth, like a mouth full of razor blades and the ugliest fish eyes you've ever seen. Twig thin, makes you wonder what they eat down there, if they eat at all. Don't think that means you can underestimate their strength though. They'll easily hold you under the water till you stop kicking and screaming. But it seems the only thing they truly care about is stuff that shines. If you give up your valuables without a fight they might let you live. Might."
Ritsu listened with rapt attention. It wasn't hard for him to believe that mermaids were real since he had met a siren. Though, mermaids sounded much more terrifying, if what the pirate was saying was true.
"Alright, we've heard enough from you, let someone else have the table." Kisa said with a small, amused smile. "What about you, Richan? Any fun stories? Surely being a prince must have had some exciting moments."
Ritsu froze as he felt multiple pairs of eyes turn to him. "Um-I don't-I don't really know…" Ritsu hesitated.
"Ahhh, he's holding out on us!"
"Probably doesn't wanna accidentally spill royal secrets."
"Pft, you all think too highly of the boy." One man scoffed. "He's still just a kid! He probably hasn't experienced anything outside of the golden cage he grew up in."
Ritsu frowned and with a sudden need to prove himself he spoke rashly, "I met a siren once." He regretted saying it the moment it left his mouth, expecting to be laughed at, expecting ridicule and to be made fun of, but he was instead met with an unsettling quiet.
One accusation broke the silence, "You're lying."
"I-I'm not." Ritsu said with a shake of his head.
"How? How could you have possibly met a siren and survived?"
"I-I don't know." Ritsu said. "He never really tried to kill me."
"No, that's not possible, no way you could have lived through an encounter with a siren! Sirens aren't docile creatures you can just approach and chat up without consequence."
Ritsu shrugged. "You don't have to believe me. You asked me for a story and I told you one." He said.
"No, that was not a story, that was a summary." Kisa said suddenly, leaning in closely. "Details! We need details! How did you two meet? What was his name?"
"Captain, you can't actually believe this-"
"Richan has no reason to lie to us." Kisa said dismissively before turning his attention back to Ritsu, watching him with waiting and shining eyes.
"Um," Ritsu hesitated, but after a moment of consideration he realized it was fine to tell the others about Saga. It wasn't as if the pirate crew would actively go search for him. Divulging a little information wouldn't put Saga in any sort of danger. "His name is Saga. Saga Masamune. We met on a private, small strip of beach a little over two years ago after I ran from home one day." He started.
"Ah, so you've got a track record of running away then." Kisa teased with a smile.
"Well, I never intended to stay away, I just needed some time to myself, but then I saw the siren. I was terrified, I won't pretend like I wasn't, but also...intrigued. He was helping a seagull escape some fishing net and I thought it was so strange to see a siren perform a kind, selfless act, especially after hearing terrible things about them. So I went back to the beach to find out more about him. He definitely wasn't happy to see me after I made myself known and he certainly threatened to hurt me, but he never did." Ritsu said. "We ended up forming this...tentative friendship." He added. "I'd visit him two or three times every Summer and Winter. We would swim or read or just eat whatever I brought for lunch that day. It was never really anything exciting." It was silly, really, when Ritsu thought about it; how much he loved Saga and how much he was willing to give up for him when they had only seen each other during brief, fleeting visits. But silly or not, Ritsu's heart had flung itself into Saga's hands, only to be dropped onto the sand without care.
"How can you say it was never anything exciting? You broke bread with a siren, Richan!" Kisa exclaimed, absolutely baffled at the casual attitude Ritsu had about his siren friend. "Did you tell him you were running away?"
Ritsu shifted in his chair uncomfortably. "I did. I asked him to come with me."
"Oh?" Kisa was both excited and nervous at the thought of a friendly siren potentially trailing their ship.
"He laughed."
"Oh." Kisa's tone fell flatter as he watched Ritsu frown.
Ritsu shrugged, looking away, wishing he hadn't brought Saga up in the first place. He hadn't spoken about he and Saga's parting out loud, not ever, and now it was difficult not to get worked up. However, his pride prevented him from crying in front of so many people.
"That's all there really is to it." Ritsu said. "So, um…" He trailed off, desperately wanting someone else to jump in and tell a story so the attention was no longer on him. Perhaps he'd even be able to slip away from the table if someone else spun a spectacular story.
However, he encountered no such luck.
"I still don't believe it."
"Did he ever sing for you?"
"What did he look like up close? I don't think anyone's ever gotten to look a siren in the eye and live."
"I wonder if a siren's feather is worth anything. You wouldn't happen to have one on you, would ya?"
The men continued on like this and Ritsu felt overwhelmed by the barrage of questions the pirates had, though he really should've expected it after bringing up something as insane as he and Saga's short, but intense whirlwind of a relationship.
"Um, I don't-he didn't-no-" Ritsu shook his head, trying to keep up and answer them, but they were rapidly firing off one after the other.
"Is he the one that gave you that stone?"
Ritsu turned to look at Kisa, who was patiently waiting for Ritsu to answer him. Ritsu frowned, gently clutching the stone in question. "No."
Kisa nodded, taking note that Ritsu had just lied to him.
Kotoko wasn't one to give up. She had fought tooth and nail against her clan, insisting they wait for Masamune, and at first they agreed but eventually their patience wore thin. If Masamune didn't want to return then they couldn't make him and if he was gone...well there was nothing that could be done about that either. However, Kotoko refused to believe that her son was dead, potentially killed by humans or perhaps even captured by them to be observed. Wherever Masamune was, he was there of his own volition, and eventually he would return to them like he always did. He'd have a little more difficulty now that they had relocated, but Masamune would manage. She had full confidence in her son's ability to find them.
That was why Kotoko called for him every day, waiting for the one time he would actually hear and follow. If he was too far away her voice would not reach him, but they'd have to cross paths again someday and Kotoko would be damned if she missed the opportunity to lead her son back home.
It was not lost on Kotoko how the other sirens whispered to each other and watched her with pitying eyes. They spoke with her gently and never brought Masamune up. They only offered her small talk and shared hunts. She was not interested in either. She was still plenty capable of providing for herself and the small talk was boring at best and annoying at worst. It was obvious the way everyone walked on eggshells around her and she could not stand it, so she avoided conversation as much as she could.
Kotoko did not allow their pity to discourage her. It was obvious none of them had faith that Masamune would return. They didn't know Masamune, though, since the brooding teenager had made sure not to get close to anyone in the clan. Kotoko, however, knew of Masamune's resilience, his strength, his stubbornness. Masamune wouldn't go down without a fight.
Cowards, she thought in disgust as she noticed a few sirens glancing in her direction and talking in hushed voices. She almost wanted someone to tell her Masamune wasn't coming back so she could yell at them. The way they were all dancing around her and the topic of her son was ridiculous. Did it not occur to any of them that perhaps she wanted to talk about Masamune? That she wanted to talk about how worried she was, how she could hardly sleep at night, how she regretted that Spring she clipped Masamune's wings as it had clearly driven him away? If only one of them would extend a hand to her, offer a smile and tell her that it was going to be okay, that Masamune was alive and well and this was just an experience to learn from.
She took a deep breath, releasing it in a sigh. No one would offer such kind words as none of her clan believed in them. They were not interested in providing what they would perceive to be false hope. Although they may be sympathetic, they would not pretend like this situation was anything but grim. It'll be alright, Kotoko told herself. The only person who needed to believe Masamune was okay was herself.
With that thought her determination was renewed and she began to sing out the call again, ignoring how the others watched her.
Come home, Masamune, she thought, the desperate wish leaking into her song.
The others did not join her nor did they stop her and they tried not to listen to her either. This song wasn't for them. The regret and fear and love was not for them. It would be invasive to listen to such a song.
However, they would be ready to grieve with Kotoko on the day she finally accepted her son was not coming back.
"Sorry about them, Richan, but you can't blame them for being excited!" Kisa said, leaving dinner with him and giving him a clap on the back. "I mean, it's certainly not every day someone meets a siren and lives to tell the tale! Let alone befriend them." He smiled.
Ritsu nodded along, wanting nothing more than to go to bed. "It's fine. I just...I guess I didn't expect so much attention." He was exhausted after answering their insistent questions. It was especially strange considering most of them tended to just ignore him.
"I still find it a little hard to believe myself." Kisa admitted. He'd never heard of a friendly, merciful siren. Sirens, to his knowledge, did not hesitate to kill.
"You think I'm lying?" Ritsu asked, pausing in his steps to look at the captain as he tried not to frown. If the others didn't believe him, he didn't care, but for Kisa to think he was a liar would admittedly hurt his feelings a little bit.
"No, not at all. I know you're not lying about meeting the siren because you're a terrible liar. You should really work on that, you know?" Kisa smiled. "Maybe then you can properly lie to me about that stone." He added, reaching out to gently tap on the pendant twice.
"What-I didn't-" Ritsu instinctively put his hand up to cover the singing stone.
"It's okay, Richan. It's obviously special to you and at the end of the day it's none of my business." Kisa shrugged. "But, if you ever do decide that you want to talk about it, my door is always open."
Ritsu looked away, but nodded, feeling ashamed that Kisa had caught him so quickly in his simple lie. Additionally, he felt a pinprick of guilt since Kisa was being so nice about it.
Kisa ruffled his hair. "Come on, Richan, don't look so down! We can work on your lying too." He said with a beam. "It's an integral skill any person should have, not just pirates. Plus, it can be like a fun game! Me trying to guess what lies you've told me."
Ritsu nodded again, but Kisa's attempt to cheer him up didn't work as well as the captain had wanted.
"You did good today." Kisa continued, feeling like he may have put his foot in his mouth by bringing up the pendant. It was something he did often as a pirate who didn't really have any shame, but he felt a bit bad now seeing how sad Ritsu's eyes were. "With the swordplay, I mean. You're getting better."
"Thank you." Ritsu said, glad that Kisa had changed the subject. "Will we practice again tomorrow?"
"If you're up for it. Otherwise you'll spend another day going around the ship with Hatori."
Ritsu nodded. "I think I should be okay to go again."
"Don't push yourself now." Kisa warned.
"I'm not." Ritsu said with a pout.
Kisa threw his arms around Ritsu and hugged him. "Ahhh, I can't say no to you when you look at me like that! You're so adorable, Richan!" He grinned.
Ritsu made a sound of complaint, not exactly appreciating being called adorable or the sudden embrace, but he was beginning to get more used to Kisa's tactile ways.
"But seriously, if you need a break then take one! The swords will always be there, your young joints won't be. One day you'll be an old man like me." Kisa said after he pulled away.
"You're not even old."
"Aw, thank you, Richan." Kisa said with a grin. "But, this line of work ages you." he added with a dramatic sigh. Ritsu was pained from the physical restraint it took to not roll his eyes.
The two soon parted, Ritsu saying he was quite tired and wanted to rest up for practice tomorrow and Kisa let him go without argument.
Ritsu settled himself into a hammock, looking up at the ceiling of the ship as he wondered if it had been wise to tell the others about Saga. Then again, Ritsu wasn't exactly known for making wise decisions lately.
Ritsu shut his eyes and took a deep breath. What's done was done. There was no taking back what he had said, not unless he wanted to prove the naysayers right. Plus, according to Kisa, he was a terrible liar, so he probably wouldn't be able to successfully convince anyone that what he had said was made up.
Ritsu could not resist sleep for long with the gentle sway of the hammock and the sound of the ocean just outside the ship's walls.
The Summer days slowly became shorter and shorter, the air chilling overnight and taking quite a while to warm up once the sun rose.
While there were no leaves lacking in green coloration on the sea (rather, there were no leaves at all) to indicate the coming of Fall, the colder weather was all the crew needed to signal the change of seasons.
Ritsu still spent every waking moment learning, practicing, and trying to prove himself useful to those on the ship. Every night in his hammock was spent desperately staving off tears and nightmares about the siren who broke his heart.
Kisa and Hatori continued to guide Ritsu along, both of them wanting him to succeed. Hatori still held certain reservations about having the prince on board, but he didn't allow that to get in the way of his lessons. Kisa still had not sent word to any royalty and he didn't plan to.
Youko, having spent far too much time at the Kohinata Kingdom, now waited for the carriage her husband had sent to retrieve her and bring her home. She went back to the Onodera Kingdom with tears in her eyes, having received no signs of Ritsu.
Tatsuo waited for his wife to arrive, an unfamiliar feeling of helplessness digging it's claws into him as the search for Ritsu continued to fail. At this point it felt too greedy to hope Ritsu would come home, rather he simply hoped Ritsu was safe.
An returned to the beach once a week, careful to not get caught or be followed. Neither Saga or Ritsu returned, much to her disappointment. Still, she continued to come back, too worried to sit in her castle and do nothing.
Kotoko rose with the sun every day and sang with her heart, calling out to her son endlessly. The other sirens continued to wait for her to realize her efforts were futile.
Masamune flew above the ocean, still having no luck in his search for the human who had stolen his heart, but he had no intention of giving up. The world was big, but it wasn't endless. He'd find Ritsu eventually.
Fall had officially come for all of them.