M.A.R.

“Mitsukuni…” a low hush whispered from the waves.
Mitsukuni, being the only one who could hear the murmur, ignored the voice, deciding that it wasn’t as important as what he was doing. Ami slightly sighed against his lips giving him the cue to depend the kiss.
“Mitsukuni.” The voice was still soft beside the waves, but its sound was much sterner.
Still ignoring the call, Mitsukuni pressed harder against Ami’s soft, velvety lips as she began to wrap her arms around his neck, securing his face to hers. He wrapped his arms around her waist, gently pressed his wet body against hers, sending shivers up and down her body.
“MITSUKUNI.” The voice called again, this time in a more authoritative tone.
Disappointed that he had to stop, Mitsukuni reluctantly pulled his lips away from hers. He watched as she opened her eyes. They were just as he had hoped: empty, dead, with this clear haze over them, distant and aloof. He lightly picked up the doll-like Ami as he whistled out to the seals. Just as he put her delicately in the water, two of the seals had appeared by her sides. “Take her to where we met this afternoon,” he directed the seals, “And Ami,” slowly, she turned her dead gaze up to him, her eyes cold and lifeless, “You should wait until your underclothes are dry before putting on your other clothes and go back home, okay?” he murmured to her. She nodded once, a slow, slight, nod with her eyes shut. With that, the seals turned around and carefully swam away, making sure that Ami’s head stayed above water.
Mitsukuni felt his tingling lips. It was just a quick, light brush of his fingers as if he were wiping something off of them. Then he dove deep into the ocean current. He swam deeper and deeper until he slipped through the sun’s bright fingers and the darkness swallowed him whole. He stayed there in the darkness, the freezing waters not even giving him goose bumps, as he waited for the owner of the voice. Mitsukuni wasn’t surprised when a colorful, flashing light broke the never ending sequence of shadows. It slowly drifted closer and closer to him until he could hold the flashing jellyfish in his palms, knowing it wouldn’t hurt him. It had found its own way to cope with the darkness with its bright, flashing lights. As soon as he was holding it in his palms, he could make out a face a foot in front of him.
The face had huge deep, blue eyes like the blissful Caribbean waters, and long, wavy, sea green hair that seemed to expand for miles. She had full, red lips that were only out-matched by her rosy, vibrant cheeks.
“What,” the person began with an annoyed yet kind tone, “are you trying to prove, Mitsukuni?” Her voice was that of a Goddess’s: whole and commanding, as if it contained all of the secrets of the world. But why wouldn’t she have a Goddess’s holy voice? She is the goddess of the sea.
Mitsukuni sighed and turned away from both the sunlit jellyfish and his mother. “Something.” He merely stated.
“Something..?” his mother asked, though it sounded more like a statement rather than a question. “Mitsukuni…” she took a deep breath in, taking his hands in hers so she was also holding up the jellyfish. He quickly retracted his hands and crossed them against his chest leaving the jelly in her care. She gave him an understanding look as she held the jelly to her torso, stroking it with one hand as if it were a pet. “If your father finds out that you were doing ‘something’ then he will throw a fit! Especially if he finds you with that…girl!” she disgustingly spat out the last word as she shot her son a concerned and upset look.
“Then he can’t find out.” Mitsukuni answered without even thinking about it.
His mother then quickly and firmly grabbed his chin and turned his head to face her. “What do you want with that human girl?” she asked. Her voice was calm and reasonable, despite the death grip she had around the bottom of his face.
Mitsukuni pulled away from her grasp and stayed silent for a moment before he answered, “Isn’t it obvious?”
“What is obvious?” his mother asked him, confused.
He turned to her, his eyes suddenly soft, as he gave her an innocent smile. “She’s the girl from the story.”
His mother groaned and turned away, dreading the day she told him that fairytale.
“Mother, she is the princess!” he exclaimed excitedly. “The hair! The eyes! Everything! Mother,” he gasped her shoulders and beamed at her, “Mother, I found her…”
Her eyes widened in surprise at the pure, sparkling glint in his gaze.
“Oh, Mother,” he threw up his arms and turned around, “Wait until you meet her! She’s…she’s…so different from anyone I’ve ever met! I believe she can come down here and change all of merman society as we know it! It will be great!”
“Wait. Come here?” his mother asked, pointing down.
“Yes.” Mitsukuni nodded then threw a smile her way.
“But she’s human. She needs air to breath! She can’t breathe both like we do!”
“Father could change her.”
“Oh, right! Father could change her.” She mimicked in a sarcastic tone. “Your father, ruthless king of the ocean, change a human girl into a mermaid? I don’t think so.”
Mitsukuni hung his head low. He knew it was a lot to ask for, but he was hoping for a miracle.
His mother, noticing his darkened eyes, glided towards him and laid a soft hand on his cheek. “It’s okay,” she cooed, “You don’t even know if she would have come to our kingdom.”
“But she would have!” Mitsukuni turned towards his mother. “She lost both of her parents in a ship wreck and she would’ve been lost, too, if I hadn’t saved her! Just like in the story!”
His mother stood speechless. Was this true? Has that much of the story been played out in real life? She searched his eyes for any hint of falsehood, but found nothing. Her son wasn’t lying. She didn’t know what to say to her child, a prince under the waves who had abandoned everything in hopes of making a fairytale breath.
“I…I don’t know what to say anymore.” She mumbled.
“Don’t say anything,” he stated, “Not a word to anyone. Especially not father… I really want this. Want her…” his frown blossomed into a soft smile as the last part escaped from his lips.
Just then, his mother noticed something odd. “Mitsukuni… Are you smiling?” she asked.
Surprised, he felt his lips to find out he really was smiling. He turned back to his mother, the smile still painted ear to ear. “I am smiling… She makes me do that. Even just thinking about her makes me… smile.”
Astounded, his mother shook the shocked expression off of her face and cupped the other side of his face with her hand as she commanded, “Then be with her. Change this world for the better if you believe you two can. I will try to distract your father and confuse the guards that are looking for you.”
Mitsukuni’s eyes automatically brightened up at her offer of help and he nodded his head vigorously.
His mother, though worried, touched his forehead, a royal goodbye in merman worlds, before he was swept away in a current of water. She sighed to herself, frightened of the possible outcomes of letting her only child run away for a seemingly hopeless dream. She watched the flashing jellyfish float on as she herself was swept away…_________________________________________________________________
When Mitsukuni resurfaced, Ami was still sitting on the beach, waiting to dry like he had told her to. He then, with a perfect wave, sat next to the emotionless girl. She didn’t even seem to notice. Mitsukuni leaned in and whispered “Wake up” into her ear.
As if she had literally just woken up, Ami yawned and stretched her arms up, reaching for the sun. She blinked a couple of times before realizing where she was, and then she frantically began looking around until she was facing sea foam eyes.
“M-Mitsukuni?” she half stuttered, half slurred in her sleepy state. “What am I doing here?” she took another look around before the chilly breeze made her check herself out, wondering why she was so cold. “WHY AM I NAKED?!” she freaked out as she quickly covered her body as well as she could and began hysterically looking for her missing clothes.
Mitsukuni knew this would happen. He purposely erased her memory in the kiss. But he played it off as if it were normal. “Don’t worry. You aren’t naked. You’ve still got your underclothes on.” He teased as she hurriedly stood up and ran towards her dry clothes.
Ami glared at him as she got dressed, but then she realized that this was the first time she had ever seen him completely out of the water.
Her eyes were glued to his bronze, defined, hardcore six pack, his strong, arms that were well toned, and ,all in all, his super hott (hott hott!) body.
Ami’s temperature shot up about 100º and her face turned at least 50 shades of red as a billion naughty thoughts flew into-and swiftly out-of her head.
Mitsukuni threw her an alarmed look at her sudden color change. “Ami! What’s wrong?! Your face is garnet!”
Ami gasped in embarrassment, adding more red to her face. Madly, she pulled up her pants, thankfully the last article of clothing she had left, and then dashed into the forest leaving Mitsukuni alone, stunned, and worried on the setting beach.