The Mermaid Saga is the property of Takahashi Rumiko. I've always had a soft spot for the Mermaid Saga because the 1991 OVA of Mermaid's Forest was the very first anime I ever saw in the original Japanese. It came to my attention a few weeks ago that the month of February marks the 30th anniversary of the end of the Mermaid Saga. So I decided to write a fanfic in tribute to the series.

But really, I wanted to write a fanfic of Yuta and Mana in the 21st century. If you've read the Mermaid Saga, then you know what to look forward to with this story. Lots of violence and death, some of which happens to our two heroes.

I hope you enjoy.

Prologue

1994

When faced with eternal solitude, days blended together like a color smear on a palate. The old woman knew that the solitude was a necessity to her. The world was changing too much too fast. There was no way for her to keep up.

And…perhaps it was a penance as well. Isolation, alone with no one to talk to. No one but the occasional hiss from the sea. The splashing of water. A fin emerging every so often. Old, decrepit faces and long fangs. Faces she had fed with the flesh of innocent girls. She knew that she deserved to be alone with them, and the silence often caused her to reflect on her choices.

Fourteen years of isolation and quiet. The days melding together into a monotonous routine. It was because of this that she was not prepared.

The sun had not risen when she was awakened by the roar of engines and loud voices. Her hut was small and kept out very little of the elements, but she scrambled out to see a horde of men. She assumed that they were men, as they had the build of male bodies and had deep voices behind frightening masks with double snouts. They were dressed in strange white garbs that hugged their skin and hair, and thick gloves on their hands. None of the intruders had distinguishable characteristics.

Before she could further react, two pairs of hands seized her arms and the old woman was bodily dragged out of her hut. "L-Let me go!" she shouted with alarm.

"Is this the cove of mermaids, old woman?" one of her captors questions her. His dark mask was even more frightening up close.

The old woman stiffened in alarm. Her breaths coming out in loud gasps. How did they know?!

"This is the place." The invaders snapped to attention as another figure clothed in the same clothes and masks as they stepped forward. His voice had an authoritative tone. "Stories of missing female babies going back over 200 years. The disappearances stopping abruptly in 1980. The babes were brought here."

The old woman felt the blood rush to her head, as her grim secret was exposed. Murmurs of shock and disgust rippled through the invaders, and she was dragged towards the man who knew too much. "W…Who are you?" she gasped softly.

The man—the leader, no doubt—tilted his head down towards her. "How many mermaids are in the cove?" he asked her.

The old woman knew not what to say. Never had she expected herself to ever be in this situation. Not even fourteen years ago, when the last outsider made his way to the mountain, had she been taken so greatly off-guard like this.

"How many fish were you feeding girls to?" the leader enunciated sharply. "We do this the easy way or the hard way, woman. Especially with how many girls you murdered."

Murdered. She had seen it as a necessity, but the leader was right. She had taken babies from their families and raised them to be sacrifices to the mermaids. She had done it to save the mermaids, but…but there was no denying how tainted by innocent blood she was. Perhaps it was because of this that the old woman had a moment of weakness. And she blurted out an answer that she knew that she should not have given.

"Thirty."

The invaders murmured again, but this time in surprised delight. Their leader straightened his posture. "That will be enough for us. Come."

They dragged her to the rocky coastline and she was violently thrown to the water's edge. For a brief moment she saw her own reflections in the sea water, but then she saw a face staring back at her. And then another. Suddenly the sound of splashing filled her ears and she cried out a warning. "No—!"

It was too late. The mermaids—her companions, her sisters—rose from the water to greet her. And as they did, the invaders struck.

The old woman's cried out but she was seized again and dragged away from the waters as the invaders jumped in to the waters. Shouts and shrieks filled the air as the mermaids were swarmed by the men. The old woman saw tails rising as they tried to flee, but there were too many invaders. None could escape. The old woman's breathing was labored and pained and tears stung her eyes.

"Sir, what should we do with her?" one of her captors asked the leader.

The leader turned towards him, but before he could speak a new rose answered behind them. "She's immortal. Cut her head off and that will kill her once and for all."

The old woman stiffened, and her heart leapt into her throat. How did they—

But the thought broke off when she saw someone run up her, swinging a large axe straight down upon her. In her last moments, a singular strange thought whispered across her mind.

Mana-sama…

Ahh, retribution long and coming. But who were these invaders, and how do they know so much?

According to what I've read, Yuta found the mermaid village and met Mana in the year 1980.