Umi no Uta

Author\'s Note: a little about the merfolk will be revealed in this chapter. They live in different clans. Thank you to Falcon Bertille for your review. I did my best to capture the essence of little children. There\'s a school behind my apartment, so its rather easy to listen to them. Hearing them hyper is perfect inspiration. Thank you very much, again.

For everyone reading this, I thank you. I hope the story keeps going in a way that your interest is captured. There will be a total of 13 chapters, the prologue, and the epilogue. We\'ll see how things go from there. That\'s the plan, at least, unless my brain decides to mess me up by adding more detail.

Please tell me what you think of this story. Anything helps. I\'d like to know who you like, don\'t like, etc. Thank you very much.

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Chapter 5

Kuroi sat up, stretching his arms out, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He sighed, grabbing his waist-wrap off the rock next to the moss he fell asleep on. Running his fingers through his hair, he looked up and shrieked in surprised horror. He looked around, not recognizing anything in the place he was. He shrieked again when he heard someone clear their throat behind him, fleeing behind a large rock.
Dientte cocked his eyebrow, silently sitting on top of the rock Kuroi was hiding behind. “You’re jumpy this morning.” He stated softly, staring down at the youngling.
Kuroi jumped as he heard Dientte above him. Cautiously he looked up into the golden eyes of the elder. “Sir? Where am I?”
Dientte sighed, relaxing on the rock a bit. “You’re in my home. Lucifer brought you here last night. Kelso will be coming by later, as well as Shisatsujin. Until then,” His face softened a little, bringing Kuroi to relax a bit. “You’re welcome to stay here. Please, come eat something.”
Kuroi nodded cautiously, following the elder into the far depths of the cave. “Sir…do you live here alone?”
“Yes.” Dientte replied after a moments pause. “Yes, I live here alone…”
Kuroi blinked curiously, pausing a moment before continuing behind Dientte. He fell silent, taking a seat on the rock Dientte indicated. He nodded his thanks when given food, not knowing what to say or how to say anything to the silent elder.
Dientte waited until Kuroi was halfway through his breakfast before talking once more. “You’re not to go outside today. Not until I’m given the ok. We’re going to be visited by Kelso later on. My br-” His voice cracked a little. Dientte coughed before continuing. “Lucifer may drop by later with some of his family.” He sighed, staring at the youngling across from him. Kuroi had stopped eating to stare at Dientte. Dientte sighed again. “I honestly don’t know what will happen.” Dientte stated before pushing off his rock. He swam slowly towards the front of his cave, not looking back at the youngling.
Kuroi watched Dientte swim away, his heart sinking. He didn’t like the tone of Dientte’s voice during his little speech. Something….something in his tone made Kuroi feel he wasn’t going to see his sister much anymore. He sniffed, trying not to cry as he poked the remainders of his food around. Giving up, he curled up behind the rock he was sitting on, staring off sadly into the darkness of Dientte’s cavern home.

Dientte listened to Kelso with closed eyes. They swam in slow circles just outside Dientte’s home, discussing the current problem. Kelso was finishing up his tale of what happened with Shiroi and Dasatsu. “- so basically Lucifer and I arrived while Shiroi was yelling at Dasatsu for being a moron. We managed to break up the fighting couple before any more damage could be done. Dasatsu had some scratches and bruises…apparently Shiroi didn’t hold back anything when she slapped him. She was so angry we had to sedate her…She’s currently staying with Shisa, getting some long-deserved explanations and therapy. Dasatsu is with Lucifer getting his ears chewed off. I’ve taken the initiative and had Shiroi relinquish guardianship of Kuroi over to me…which I’d like to give to you.” Kelso sighed, looking into Dientte’s surprised golden eyes. “You haven’t been well since….well, since Akuma. You’ve been living alone for so long. You’re children have all grown and mated. You’re a recluse even though you’re an Elder. He’ll be good for you. Both of you…you can heal each other…”
Dientte gave a small growl. “You’re meddling, Kelso…Perhaps I was perfectly happy to remain a recluse.” Dientte loomed over the Orden Elder, forcing Kelso to back against the cavern wall. “Were you not my brother’s mate, I’d teach you not to meddle in my affairs.” He glared into Kelso’s eyes, backing off only when Kelso had begun to shiver. “But you are correct.” He stated softly, startling Kelso. “My behaviour isn’t healthy. Fine, I’ll take the youngling into my cave. He will be welcomed by Metsubo Clan as a member. Perhaps…” Dientte sighed, beginning to swim once more towards his cave. Kelso followed slowly, still shaken from his scare. “Perhaps the clan will heal faster…”
Kelso nodded slowly. “I’ll go tell Shisa and Lucifer that you accept. Please, forgive me.” He softly stated before swimming off in the direction of Lucifer’s cave.
Dientte watched Kelso go, sighing once more. “I’m sorry, Kel. Perhaps this will be good for me. Children do heal, I hear…I wish mine were still around, though…Akuma, forgive me…” He slowly swam back towards the entrance to his cavern, deep in thought.

Lucifer shook his head slowly as he listened to Kelso explain what happened. “My brother hasn’t been the same since the accident. Do you hold it against him? I can talk to him if you wish…”
“No, Luc. I don’t hold it against him. He’s right, you know…I am meddling in his affairs…I should have asked if he minded…” Kelso sighed, staring down at the end of his tail. “Heh, my tail seems off today.”
“Don’t say that, Kel. You’re fine. These times…these are stressful times…No one ever likes to get involved in this stuff. Look, I’m going to take Akusuko over to Dientte’s place so Kuroi can get comfortable being here…Why don’t you go talk to Shisa? He’s having a hard time with this too, you know. Give each other the comfort you need.” Lucifer pushed Kelso gently. “You’ll fix your tail as soon as things settle down. Be strong, love.”
Kelso gave a weak smile. “Thank you, Luc. Be gentle, please…He…he wasn’t himself today.”
Lucifer nodded slowly. “If you wish.” He replied, swimming off in search of his son.

Dientte jerked his head up, hearing a noise outside his cavern. Slowly, almost as if he’d forgotten the language, he let out a few clicks of inquiry. Hearing his brother’s reply, Dientte gave a small smile, turning to the sleeping Kuroi. “Kuroi.” He whispered to the youngling. “Kuroi, Lucifer and Akusuko have arrived to visit you.”
Kuroi sat up slowly, rubbing sleep from his eyes. He nodded in acknowledgement, slowly following the elder to the front of the cave. He stayed in the shadows shyly, not trusting his emotions. He didn’t have much of a choice, though, for Akusuko snuck up behind him, hugging the youngling close. Akusuko buried his head in Kuroi’s neck, whispering random things into the youngling’s ears.
“I’ve missed you, Kuroi.” He finished, giving his father time to talk to his uncle. “I’m glad you’ll be closer.” Kuroi turned around in Akusuko’s arms, crying into the adult’s chest. Akusuko seemed to understand Kuroi’s feelings of confusion for he said nothing; rather he twined his tail with Kuroi’s, running his webbed fingers through Kuroi’s long hair soothingly. After Kuroi’d had a good cry, he lifted the youngling’s face up towards his. “Feel better, love?” Kuroi nodded. “Feel up to a tour of my clan?” Kuroi nodded again, allowing Akusuko to lead him from the shadows.
Akusuko clicked an inquiry to his father, effectively stopping Lucifer and Dientte’s conversation. “Excuse me, father, Elder. I would like permission to take Kuroi through Metsubo.”
Lucifer nodded his consent. “I need not grant you my consent for you, though my child, are old enough to make your own decisions.” He replied in the formal fashion of a parent to his adult child.
Dientte looked apprehensive but agreed. “My charge may go with you, though I ask you to care for him as your own.” He replied formally. Informally he gave a small smile. “Though I won’t do it, Akusuko, if you call me Elder again. I am your uncle after all. Family, we are, family we shall be. Now off with you!” He motioned for Lucifer to enter his cavern, dismissing the two younglings effectively.
Kuroi just stared. “Uncle?” He asked.
Akusuko smirked. “Yea, Lucifer is Dientte’s brother. They have two other brothers, I think, but I’m not sure…I haven’t actually met my grandparents or other uncles…Rumor has it that I even have an aunt…but I don’t know.” He shrugged. “But that’s beside the point. Oh! Look! That over there is my cave!” Akusuko pointed off towards the edge of a canyon. “It’s the closest I could find to my parents and you.” He slyly stated, pulling Kuroi in that direction.
Akusuko proudly gave Kuroi a small tour of his little cave. “It’s not much but…it is comfortable.” He grinned happily. Kuroi nodded his approval. “Well, let’s get going! If I’m to show you most of Metsubo, we have a lot of swimming ahead of us. I’ll just show you the cool parts.” He darted off, forcing Kuroi to swim extra fast.
“Akusuko!!! Slow down, please!” Kuroi called weakly.
Akusuko paused. “Sorry, Kuroi. I got excited for a moment…If we go to a certain place here at a certain time, we’ll see some of my cousins.” He grinned. “But you can meet them later if you want.”
“No…it’s ok…” Kuroi replied. “You just startled me by going so fast so suddenly…” He looked down. “I’m not used to this place, so…I guess I’m intimidated.” He gave a low, nervous laugh. “Silly, isn’t it. They’ve told me I’ll be living here until Shiroi and Dasatsu fix things…or until I’m adult. A little sudden for me, I think.”
Akusuko took Kuroi’s hand, giving him a reassuring smile. “I think you’ll like it here. We’re different than Orden…the people here are much more open and accepting of people who look different, or who act strangely, or who feel differently than they do. You’ll see people with much different tails than the ones we sport. There are octopi, squid, eel, and more living here in Metsubo.” He shrugged. “I guess the clan started for outcasts then just grew. Oh look!” He pointed. “That over there is Lucifer and Shisa’s cave! Kelso is also welcome there, but you know he lives in Orden.” Akusuko snickered. “Kelso used to visit even when we were halfway across the sea. Lucifer and Shisa raised most of us…”
They swam through the main points in Metsubo. Akusuko pointed out the main market, a few jewelers, an artist alley, and other typical facilities before dragging him into the main gathering area. “Since we just recently moved to this location, nothing fancy has been held here. Folks are still getting their jobs and hobbies up and running. Usually there are quite a few festivals we hold. The elder just put together a planning crew to celebrate our move here.” Akusuko grinned. “They’re loads of fun! Oh look! There’s Nazo! NAZO!!!!!”
The merman swam over to the two, sporting a small smile. “Akusuko, you look well.” He greeted, giving Akusuko a small hug and pat on the head. Akusuko fended the pat off with a small glare. “And who is this?” He asked, holding out his hand to Kuroi.
“My name is Kuroi, sir.” Kuroi replied, covering Nazo’s hand with his own.
“Well met, Kuroi. As you may have figured, I’m Nazo. I am one of Akusuko’s half-brothers.” Nazo smiled sweetly at Kuroi before turning to Akusuko. “So, Akusuko, have you heard about Yamiko? She made warrior status. Isn’t that great! I was just heading to tell father about it.”
“That’s great for her, Nazo!” Akusuko replied. “Oh, I’m sorry, Kuroi. Yamiko is Nazo’s little sister. She went off to one of those…what are they called?”
“I’ll explain.” Nazo snickered, causing Akusuko to glare. “Yami went off to train in one of the other clans. Taido, I believe…there’s a guild there that is involved with fighting and protection. She wanted to be a fighter. Like I’m an artist, Yokira is a jeweler, and Chimen….well, he just turned adult so he doesn’t have a profession yet.” Nazo chuckled. “Yamiko is one of the first females to make it through such intensive training and be elevated to warrior status. She’ll be coming back to Metsubo in a little while. I think father misses her, but…well, you know father!” He chuckled again.
“Congratulations to her, Nazo, sir.” Kuroi commented quietly.
Akusuko laughed. “I’ll tell him later, Nazo. Sorry we held you up! Are the others in the playground?”
Nazo shrugged. “I haven’t seen Shi or Sei in a while. They might be playing with the older younglings. They won’t mind you joining in the play, even though you are adult.”
Akusuko swatted Nazo with his tail. “You know you played with us even after turning adult. You still play with the younglings! Don’t pin that on me!”
Nazo grinned. “You asked. As for Chimen, he’ll be where Shi, Sei, or Kaiki are. More likely with Kaiki, since those two are inseparable.” Nazo winked. “I’m off, lest I miss father before his meetings. Catch you two later!” The merman gave them both a hug (to Kuroi’s surprise) and kicked off, lazily swimming back the way Akusuko and Kuroi came.
“Well, that was Nazo for you. Say he’s in a hurry but takes it at a leisurely pace.” Akusuko sighed. “Let’s go find the others. They’re more playful. Believe it or not, Nazo is only 10 cycles older than I am…He’s the oldest of all of us, yet he still plays with us.” Akusuko shook his head. “Yokira is 7 cycles older than my, and Yamiko is 5. Shi and Sei are 16 and 14 cycles respectively. Chimen has 18 cycles. As you know, I have 20 cycles.” Akusuko shrugged. “But we’d best be hurrying towards the area they play at.”
Kuroi swam next to Akusuko, keeping close to the older merman. “What do you study as an adult?” He asked quietly.
Akusuko shrugged. “I haven’t really decided yet. I don’t have the patience to do politics, I’m mediocre as an artist and jeweler, I don’t want to go learn the ‘ways of the warrior’…I guess I’ll figure something out. There’s an ornamental weapon’s smith here in Metsubo. I might try my luck at that. What about you?”
Kuroi shook his head. “I am not very good at much…I haven’t learned anything except easy ways to escape. I have learned a bit of politics from Kelso and others but…I don’t know. I guess I’ll find my calling when I get older.’
Akusuko smirked. “You make your own sashes, don’t you?” At Kuroi’s blush, Akusuko grinned wider. “Why don’t you try being a designer like that? We don’t have one in Metsubo and I’m sure the girls would love to try something new as a sash.”
Kuroi shrugged. “I guess I’ll give it a shot.”
“You have 2 and a half more cycles left. I’d start now, though, and get your name built up…I can help if you want…” Akusuko offered with a sweet smile. Kuroi blushed, mumbling quietly. “Oh, look. There they are!” Akusuko pointed towards a group of playing younglings, firing off a series of rapid clicks. The younglings stopped their play, turning to reply. Akusuko grinned. “They don’t mind us joining. They’re playing tag right now. Let’s do introductions first, then we’ll start playing together.”
As they neared, one came forward, putting his hand out. Akusuko quickly grabbed his hand. “Ah, Akusuko. I thought I recognized your voice.” The youngling whispered.
“Hello, Sei. How are you faring now?” Akusuko replied, pulling Sei into a hug.
“I’m doing alright. Papa is talking with someone to help with my eyes, but so far nothing. This is alright with me at the moment since it’d be very weird to suddenly see when I haven’t been able to in so long.” Sei replied.
“Shi does have it a little easier, don’t you Shi?” Akusuko turned to the second youngling, the older of the two youngest.
Shi nodded slowly. “Papa…helped…found…seaweed? Yes…”
Akusuko shook his head. “Click, Shi. You’re not used to using your voice yet.”
Shi blushed. He clicked out a slow message, which Kuroi understood. Shisa had found something to help his vocal chords heal, but they were still in limited to no use. Shisa said that with time he would be able to speak again.
Akusuko gave Shi a hug, dropping Sei’s hand. “That’s great news, Shi! And Chimen, how’re you doing? Have you seen Nazo? Hello, Kaiki.”
Chimen nodded. “We’re doing well. The stuff for Shi didn’t help Kaiki at all, but she just said she’s alright. Nazo told me the good news, I can only guess he told you. Isn’t that cool! Apparently Yamiko will be back in a few days! Cool, huh!”
Akusuko grinned. “Very! Oh, everyone, sorry for being rude. This is Kuroi. He’s the youngling from Orden. He’ll be staying with Dientte for a while now.”
Kuroi nodded his head, suddenly very shy. “Nice to meet you.” He whispered. He was startled when Sei put a hand on his face, feeling his gills and hair a moment.
“I like him. He has a good feel to him, Akusuko.” Sei commented, making Kuroi blush.
“I’m glad you approve, Sei.” Akusuko grinned at Kuroi. “If you haven’t been able to tell, Kuroi, Sei here is blind. He was hit on the head at our last location during th--” Akusuko’s voice cracked a moment. “During the accident.” He finished. “I’ll tell you about that later. Shi here had his throat strangled, so his vocal chords are messed up a bit. Shisa is working on a solution for both of them. It sounds like he found a solution for Shi, but not for Sei.” Sei nodded in agreement. “Chimen there is Dientte’s son. His friend Kaiki is mute, so don’t expect to hear her talk. She clicks, though. She also makes hand signals that only Chimen can understand. They find it fun.”
Chimen grinned. “It keeps us both in and out of trouble. Plus its fun!” He replied happily.
Akusuko shook his head. He stared off in the distance before clicking out a rapid call. The others quickly swam to safe spots around the area. Kuroi stayed slightly behind Akusuko, not knowing what to do. He could see the faint shape in the distance coming towards them. Akusuko sent out a louder set of clicks, putting one hand behind Kuroi. Kuroi grasped the hand in his own, trusting Akusuko to protect them both if the need came to that.
Luckily for all the younglings, the reply was a positive. Akusuko shook his head, signaling the others to come out of hiding. He pulled Kuroi next to him, putting a protective arm around Kuroi’s waist.
“Who is it?” Kuroi whispered, still slightly fearful.
“Someone from Taido. I recognize the accent, but I don’t know who it is. Female, that’s for sure. Though why a female from Taido would be coming here, I don’t know.” Akusuko replied.
The figure neared and all of them gasped at the sight of the female approaching. She had long light blue hair, pale skin, and wore blue and purple sash and chest cloth. She had matching armbands, automatically giving away her status as an Elder. Her sash jewel glittered, her neck piece matching. The group was in awe. None of them had ever seen the Taido Elder before, but they’d heard of her. She was one of the two females in all the clans who made Elder status.
She neared the group, her eyes deep and a little cold. “I am looking for the Elder of Metsubo. Which way must I pass?” She asked, her voice thick with an accent.
Akusuko pointed towards the main city. “Pass through the city, ma’am. The Elder’s caverns are on the other side of the marketplace, just a short swim outside the clan’s territory. Would you like a guide?”
She considered the question for a moment before nodding. “Would one of you accompany me to the elder’s cavern?”
Chimen spoke up from behind Akusuko. “We will, mistress, if you approve. I am Chimenzoku Makoto, son of the Elder. This is my best friend Kaiki. We will show you the safest path to the Elder.”
“I am Kazeko. I thank you. I will be glad you have you show me the way.” Kazeko nodded. “I thank you, young adult, for your aid. Chimenzoku, Kaiki, please lead the way.”
Chimen nodded. “See you later, guys. At home, I guess.” He said quickly before he and Kaiki began to lead the Taido Elder towards the clan.
“Well…” Akusuko stated when they were out of range. “That was random.”
“That was the Taido elder?” Kuroi whispered. “She had an air of…cold…surrounding her…”
Akusuko shrugged. “Taido isn’t in the warmest part of the sea. But that makes me chilly thinking about it. Shall we play tag?”
Sei nodded. “Shi was ‘it’ when we were playing earlier…Shi, you ok with being it again?” Shi nodded. “Then let’s play!”

The four were having fun. Kuroi was ‘it’ for the first time, having been caught by Akusuko. He was currently chasing Shi when, suddenly, everyone stopped swimming, staring towards the surface. Kuroi stopped as well, following their gaze. The weirdest creatures were swimming down towards them. They had four limbs and the strangest fins on their bottom two limbs. They also had weird lumps growing from their backs, bubbles shooting up around them. Kuroi swam over to Akusuko, grabbing the adult’s hand in fear. The four began to click rapidly before noticing the creatures were heading towards them. From behind they heard a warning cry. Everyone recognized that call. Humans! There were humans nearby! Hide, everyone, hide! Get somewhere safe!
The warning cry went on and on, spurring the four to begin swimming as fast as they could towards Metsubo’s nearest caverns. Shi and Sei found covering in some coral cave just inside the boundaries of Metsubo. Akusuko was pulling Kuroi with him, urging the youngling on. Kuroi cried out in pain, his hand going to his neck to pull out a small dart. His eyes widened before beginning to droop. Akusuko cried out in alarm, clicking out a cry for help. Kuroi went limp in his arms, falling down towards the ocean floor. A hand grabbed Akusuko, dragging the young adult away from the open spot where he was. Akusuko cried out in anger. He wanted his Kuroi with him…but Lucifer dragged his son into the shadows, holding his weeping son close. Tears streamed down his own face as he watched the divers reach Kuroi. He watched as they began to pull the youngling to the surface. He saw Kuroi’s tail twitch, a sign that Kuroi was trying to struggle.
“He’s not dead…” Lucifer whispered to his upset son.
“”Kuroi…KUROI!!!!!!” Akusuko’s heartbreaking cry echoed in the silence of the clan’s territory. The members of Metsubo peered out of their hiding places, watching the specks at the surface. Two humans and one merman youngling…the humans had taken another…
“KUROI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”