Happy New Year, everyone!
Chapter Nine- Reunited
"Shizuru, this better not be a cruel joke," Senma warned as they headed to the pier the next day.
"It's not a joke. Kazuma is a merman and loves Yukina, who's a mermaid," Shizuru protested. She approached the edge of the pier and looked down at the water. The surface rippled before Kuwabara and Yukina surfaced. Shizuru assisted her brother up to the pier and he sat as he looked up at his parents. "Mom. Dad," he said, a bit choked at seeing them after months of non-communication.
Senma and Celina rushed over, knelt, and embraced their son. The adults cried while saying his name and Kuwabara couldn't prevent himself from shedding a couple of tears. Shizuru stared as the tears left Kuwabara's face and turned into the most beautiful pearls she had ever seen. She stooped and picked them up, turning them over in her palm. "Beautiful," she breathed softly, catching her family's attention.
"What is?" Celina asked.
Shizuru crouched and showed the pearls. Her parents stared at them. "They are beautiful," Celina said. "But, where did they come from?"
"Mom, I told you that the tears of merpeople turn into pearls. Kazuma just shed them."
Senma and Celina looked at their son to see dried tearstains on his cheeks which he rubbed away. "Sorry," he said. "I'm just so happy to see you again."
"We missed you so much," Celina said.
"I can visit," he said. "It takes a full day to get here from my new home."
"A whole day? That close?" Senma asked.
"Well, that could be as we swim," he admitted.
"Shizuru said you have a girlfriend," Celina said.
"I'm here," a voice spoke up and both parents crawled to the edge and looked down at Yukina. Celina held out her hands and Yukina took then and allowed herself to be lifted onto the pier. Celina continued to hold her hands as she said, "Thank you for saving our son. We understand that he can't be human again, but as long as he's alive, that's all that matters."
"I loved him too much to let him die and being a merperson seemed the ideal solution."
Senma nodded. "So, you were caught for your pearls?"
"Yes. I understand that they sell for a lot. You could sell the ones Shizuru's holding."
"Are you sure?" Celina asked. "They're rare, aren't they?"
"Rare if one does not have access to the source," Kuwabara admitted. "We would be willing to give you at least one a month."
"And we would like to see you at least once a month, too," Senma said. "Say, one of the full moon days."
"One of the full moon days would be acceptable," Yukina said.
"Wonderful," Senma said. "We would like to see you too, Yukina."
"Perhaps Mother and Hiei would like to meet you," Yukina suggested.
"That would be nice," Shizuru said. "We're grateful that Kazuma has a place to live."
"Speaking of which," Senma said. "What is your town like? How does it operate?
"It's more like a small city," Kuwabara said. "It has stores and vendor stalls and we use shells and sand dollars as money."
"We learned to harness the electricity of electric eels to provide light for us to see," Yukina said.
"So, you just swim to get where you're going?" Senma asked. "No other mode of transportation?"
"We do utilize dolphins to pull chariots if we choose to go on vacation and I've heard that some cities have giant seahorses to ride."
"Is there a royal family?" asked Celina.
Yukina gently laughed. "Oh, no. Each town and city is overseen by a governor and an elected council. They set down reasonable laws and settle any disputes that arise. There's no law against human contact as most of our kind tend to stay underwater."
"And we promise to not speak of your existence," Senma said. He gave both a hug as did Shizuru while Celina gave each a kiss before they left the pier and Kuwabara and Yukina slipped back into the water.
"Mother, they're so nice and accepting," Yukina gushed as they sat in the living room. "They're grateful that I save Kazuma and that he has a home with us." She paused and added, "Considering they thought he was dead, of course they're grateful."
Hina gently laughed before saying, "It clearly didn't take long to meet them."
"Well, it took a day to get there and it wasn't until mid-afternoon the next day to meet Shizuru. She spoke of Kazuma being in heaven which he explained to me."
"What is heaven?" Hiei asked.
"A place in the sky where human souls go when they die…as long as they're good in their life," Kuwabara said.
"Hn. I'm guessing that greedy human won't go there."
"No. His soul will go to hell, an underground scalding pit of torture where bad souls will burn for eternity."
"Gosh, living as a human seems difficult considering where your soul could end up," Hina said.
"Not really," Kuwabara said. "Most people don't give death much thought as they go through life. It's accepted that if you don't hurt others or do things that are wrong, you'll go to heaven while doing the opposite will get you sent to hell."
"Okay, tell me this," Hiei said. "How can humans keep track of time?"
"A clock," Kuwabara said. "It's usually a round object with the numbers one to twelve along the circle's perimeter and nine dashes in between each number. A battery moved two hands that point at the numbers."
"Battery?" Hiei repeated.
"A power source that keeps electronic devices working without a plug. Batteries and electronics won't work underwater, though."
"Of course not," Hiei said. "Humans don't usually invent things to work underwater as they can't breathe underwater unless they use an air tank."
"True enough," Kuwabara said. "But humans tend to improve things all the time. One day, they might invent batteries and electronic items that'll work underwater."
"I hope I live to see that," Hiei said.
"Maybe we will," Hina said. "But, for now, we have a human family we can visit once a month."
Kuwabara smiled as he laid in bed. His family now knew he was alive and he could provide them with a source of income. You know, I could indeed be a jeweler. There are jewelry sellers here in town and I can learn from them. No doubt they would be patient and friendly. Kuwabara fell asleep, dreaming of his future under the sea; a future that was free and peaceful.