Emiko's morning began a little later than some of the others. It was a day off from many of the lessons that were scheduled for the group that had fairly recently completed their transformations from humans into merpeople, with the exception of Denji, who had been there with Emiko on a short cruise from Kyushu more than fifteen months prior to Nate and his friends arriving on the merpeople's island where they'd all ultimately transformed. But of the present group, Denji was the first and Emiko remembered all of it. The plan for the cruise had been to sail north toward the Tsushima Islands, circle around them and then head south to the Gato Islands before returning Fukuoka on Kyushu. It was a fairly standard sort of tourist trip that would have given Emiko and Denji time for various pictures and to at least get away from many of the expectations they had from their respective families.
But the plan was soon lost, as shortly after leaving the area around the Tsushima Islands and heading south the portal storm came out of the east and almost seemed to focus on the ferry that they were on. Emiko remembered panicking and clutching at Denji as the ferry turned for land and desperately tried to make it back. They'd barely gotten in sight of Fukuoka when the storm overtook them and they'd found themselves looking at a strange new island and with nothing else in sight and the ferry couldn't withstand the waves and lightning that seemed to come with the storm and it began to take on water as it sailed now toward the strange island. The waters were reasonably clear, despite the storm, and did attract attention, but Emiko was still panicked, and especially so when the ferry began to flip over. Denji threw her forward and she landed in the water and managed to swim to shore. She arrived on the shore of the merpeople's island to look back and see that the ferry had capsized and was going down. She heard some screams, which she thought were sharks attacking the others that had been on the ferry, and that left her to sob at now being lost and alone on a strange island and thinking that Denji was dead.
She'd spent a few days exploring the island and finding its mountain being a former volcano or hollowed out by something and the pools at the mountain's base. She found the caves that lead inside the mountain and that lead to her discovering the merpeople tending to holy animals living in pools at the bottom of the inside of the mountain. That had been a surprise and one that Meiko feared as they weren't human and some of the conversations she overheard suggested doing something to "guests" that didn't sound right. That then kept her away from the pools and the beach. She found some things to eat, mostly some fruits and nuts, none of which were native to Japan, and managed to survive, but it wasn't much. Then after a few days, to her surprise, Denji returned. She'd been walking along the outside of the island and she looked out to see him laying in the surf, it was a surprise, but one she welcomed at first. She'd run to him, only to find that he was in the surf because he was trying to hide his silver merman tail and what frightened her more was that Denji rapidly urged she join him, which countered all her memories of him as they'd met and begun courting in Fukuoka.
From there, for the next fifteen months, she had periodic contact with Denji and even from a few other friends of hers and Denji's that had been on the ferry with them. All of them had become merpeople and seemed to love it and all of it countered what Meiko knew of them and their personalities, and she let her fears dominate her. After a time, most of her other friends left the island, likely off to join the rest of the merpeople's civilization on this magical ocean world, but Denji remained and still wanted her to join him. Emiko thought that was simply part of the "brainwashing" that the mers that transformed him had done to him and she resisted, feeling that this was worse than Denji being dead. Then, Nate and his friends seemed to stumble onto the island. Hoping for help and rescue, Emiko made contact with them, but they didn't believe her report on the island being magical or that the merpeople there were real. To prove it, she took them to the caves inside the hollowed out mountain, though that only lead to the accident that them all falling into the pool and being too injured to escape the merpeople's holy animals... Like the one that had become her light rose pink, maroon, and white mermaid's tail.
"Emiko," Denji said softly from the bed as he seemed to stir and pulling Emiko out of her thoughts.
She turned to him as he was lazily rising from the bed with a small smile on his face, which was actually something that did remind her of the Denji she knew. He was always optimistic and friendly and that had been one of the things that had drawn her to him in Japan. Both of them came from loving families, but families that also expected much from them. Denji's family worked as accountants and Denji was expected to major in financing and essentially take over the family business. Emiko's family had worked in the law with her father a policeman and her mother an attorney for the city prosecutor's office. Both of them knew those expectations but didn't necessarily want to live out that life. Emiko liked to tell stories and to draw, and privately she'd hoped to write and draw manga for some of the various studios in Japan. Denji never really had anything that he'd planned on, but he'd liked a wide variety of things, including stories and games that related to magic, science fiction, sports, and eventually Emiko. Sometimes it seemed like a form of escape to Emiko, but in many ways it was fun and drew her to him. Though, he'd never seriously said anything about wanting to experience those sorts of things, which also gave Emiko the sense that Denji wasn't against his family's plan so long as she and his interests were there as an escape, and that wasn't a bad thing either.
"I am fine... just... thinking," Emiko managed with a small, though less confident smile, often as she was more quiet and despite her plans to go into a career that didn't relate to what her parents did she hadn't told them.
"About breakfast, I hope," Denji answered as he swam up to one of the dresser where some of the clothes that they had with them.
They were rather simple, particularly when compared to the rather extravagant things that the special merperson fashion designer had proposed. Those clothes weren't necessarily bad, but Emiko got the sense that much of his presence and offering was only because of finding out that Nate was a lost mer-prince. Emiko soon did the same and selected her clothing for the day.
"Actually more over other things and where we've come from and come to," Emiko said slowly.
"You're still thinking I was brainwashed?" Denji turned to her, remembering one of the things that Emiko had used in rejecting his attempts to get her to join him.
"No," Emiko admitted after a moment.
That had been part of her fears of the merpeople at first that they would brainwash humans that had been transformed on the island. It was something that she figured that was how they'd gotten Denji to like being a merman so much and why he'd often said he didn't want to go back to Fukuoka. However, in the course of her own transformation into a mermaid, she'd had very little interaction with the staff that ran hospital facility there and the island and most of it was more to check her health, things that she actually expected from a doctor. Most of the lessons were things that came after arriving at the Summer Palace, and this being mostly a result of Nate being a lost mer-prince, and the lessons that were taught were on things that could be done and how the body worked and so on. In many ways, it was something that reminded Emiko of things that went back into her time in college and meeting Denji as well.
Only this time, the merpeople didn't get a clerical error on her name that resulted in many knowing her by the name "Meiko" rather than "Emiko." It had been an odd error when her college had made that error, much to her irritation. Her parents also didn't like it, but the college never really backed off the error, and in time as Emiko told stories about that error, friends she'd made started calling her "Meiko" at times, if only as a joke. Eventually, even Emiko laughed at it and would accept being called "Meiko" in informal situations among friends. Though, most of them had also been on the ferry and of them, only Denji remained, which made Emiko guessed that she'd driven her own friends away and that all she had was Nate and his group of friends, who'd been kind to her when she found them on the island and Denji, who didn't swim off, if patiently waiting for her.
That all contributed to her recognition that she may have been wrong or too fearful over things. After all, if the merpeople weren't brainwashing people, had she hurt her own friends by rejecting them. If that was the case, why had Denji stayed? Particularly when it seemed like going back to Earth would be legally impossible given how merpeople didn't want their world being found by humanity. Though at the same time there were also questions on why Denji had said he didn't want to go back and was happy to let his parents think him dead. There were many things that just ran through Emiko's mind that at times troubled her. And those thoughts stayed there even as she adjusted to being a mermaid and finding herself accepting what had happened.
"Just thinking over a lot of things, some I was right on some I was wrong on... and how all those things interact," Emiko said slowly as the two of them finished dressing and preparing themselves to head out, "you being brainwashed was... was one of those things where I was wrong."
"I've long forgiven you, Emiko," Denji said to her, "for you were scared and that's always understandable. People do a great many odd things when their scared. Now we can move forward into a brave new world. Me working with their magician's guild. I might only end up a clerk or an instructor... but I'd ultimately get to help merpeople that can do magic learn it and that would hopefully include our children when we have them. They'd learn magic quickly and I could help them... even if you and I can't do it ourselves. And this kingdom doesn't have anything like Manga back home. You could be the start of a business like that here... stories and comics that might even show bits of our old world."
Emiko smiled a bit at that. A good part of her did like the opportunity for that sort of thing here and it was something where she could get away from the expectations of her parents without having to explain that she didn't want a career in the law or law enforcement. And creative writing and drawing functioned in much the same way in the merpeople's world as they did in the human world. It was in a sense an opportunity to do what she wanted to do without having to feel pressure to explain her differences with her parents. But this still ran into the fact that she knew that despite the pressures that their parents had put on them, Emiko knew that both her parents and Denji's did love them.
"And that's good..." Emiko managed as they made their way out into the hallway that would lead to the dinning area, "but there are still other questions and worries... on a variety of things."
"Like what?" Denji asked.
"Part of it is on how the others that were on the ferry that were friends of ours left," Emiko said slowly, "I drove them away and they swam off... because I was afraid. They must hate me now."
"I wouldn't think so," Denji assured her.
"How do you know that?" Emiko asked back, "they were friends of ours and I essentially said they were brainwashed too... I'll admit that I was afraid and wrong on that, but that won't change the harm that it caused."
Denji drifted over to wrap one arm around Emiko's shoulders as Emiko continued.
"And Nate and his friends have been polite, and they are quite good for Americans," Emiko answered, with one thought on Rose being friendly and she liked that. She remembered Rose urging her not to push Denji away, which had actually helped them reconnect in some small ways. And that had helped with some of the plans Rose had put forth to at least get messages out to their family, and she was glad that Denji was happy to help in that regard. That was ultimately another part that helped her accept that she'd become what she'd been afraid of and get the realization that the things she feared weren't as real as she thought they were. "And I am happy to have made friends with them... but..."
"You're now afraid our old friends won't like you," Denji finished as they arrived in the breakfast area that was part of the whole wing where they were presently staying in the Summer Palace. For the moment things were quiet, which was good as Denji could also recognize the stress and frustration that Emiko was letting out, and he hoped all the love he could give her would make Emiko feel better. It was why he helped figure out a way that would enable Rose to get a message out from the merpeople's world to Earth and get around any magic that would be used to prevent the merpeople's world being exposed. It was something that would show all that he would do for Emiko.
"Well... yes," Emiko nodded, "they left. You were the only one from the ferry that I was friends with on the ferry that stayed."
"That's because I love you, Emiko," Denji answered, "the others went through their transformations and then learned on the rules and other things and then had to move on... find jobs and so on. They couldn't just stay on the island and wait for you to overcome your fear. I could because I LOVE you. Always have... always well, and the hospital's staff was willing to let me help as an apprentice to help the ones running that transformation wing until you became a mermaid."
Emiko felt her heart flutter a bit, "really?"
Emiko settled into one of the seats in that central area of the room while Denji moved about to the coral cabinets and areas around the walls of the room to collect what would amount to breakfast. It was different from what they'd enjoyed in the past, but then they were also very different now.
"Yes," Denji answered, "it's why I've waited for you... done the most to try and encourage you to become a mermaid... and to help your new friends in my studies with their idea to find a way to sneak a message to their families that they're okay. To be helpful to you and show that I'd do anything for you. The others from the ferry... they couldn't do that. As this world seems to be a bit more progressive in many respects than the human world, but many of the same sorts of issues are here as well. And now that you're a mermaid and we can be together... we can move forward as well. You could sell your story ideas to a publisher and come up with the merpeople's first manga... or we could get in touch with our old friends, as I'm sure we could find their addresses and where they moved to."
Emiko smiled a bit at that. That was something that through the past few days after her transformation had completed and starting their lessons, Denji with the merpeople's magician's guild and her actually learning more about the publishing and copyright practices were in the kingdom. She even got some tips on what was popular to read in the kingdom they were in order to have some ideas on what stories to tell or could be told. They weren't too hard and while the others said many of the practices were similar to things they saw in the US, Emiko didn't think there was too much of a difference from Japan, at least with regard to copyright and related issues. Though there was also some of the various small things that were going here and there, as Denji continued to show many of the small quirks and things that she'd grown to love about him and helped dispel her original fears that the merpeople brainwashed humans that ended up joining their society. That still brought things back to Emiko's other question.
"But then why not at least try to find a way to contact our parents?" Emiko asked, "they love us just as much as Taylor has said her mother loves her..."
"I won't deny that our parents loved us, Emiko," Denji answered, "getting your father's blessing to date you was a happy day... but you and I both know that neither of us will ever fully live up to their expectations. Your parents want you to be a cop or a lawyer, and by now... they've probably found out you've majored more in literature and art. My parents want me to eventually take over their accounting firm..."
"And you'd never said you didn't want to do that," Emiko pointed out as Denji returned to the table with a ready made breakfast.
"I never said I was opposed to it," Denji shrugged, "but you should know that it was also never something I was exclusively interested in. I'd do it so long as I would have time to enjoy a good movie, even the American ones, could watch soccer and baseball, could play computer games online where magic was a part of their narrative, or at least be with you... I never had the great desire to be an accountant. Here... some of those things that I've liked could be actual career choices... cataloging and understanding how actual magic works... it's far more exciting than looking at numbers and making sure they balance."
Emiko didn't say anything...
"And you know our parents wouldn't just change their expectations if we were to ask for them to join us here," Denji continued, "and that could mean we'd be stuck back where we were at home in Fukuoka. The fact that your new friends include a lost prince to this world and his fiancé won't change that..."
"I know," Emiko said slowly, but her voice fell off after that, "but you know they love you..."
Denji nodded, though a third voice cut him off by surprise as Mike came in and moved over to one of the cabinets that had closer to what the merpeople would have considered a snack food.
"That sounds more like both of you could stand to stand up to your parents," Mike commented as he came in and turned the heads of both Japanese merpeople to him. "Sorry... With everyone getting a day off from lessons, and with Taylor, Sam, and Amanda not here, most everyone has been getting a bit of time to socialize with those that are here. Some of it is with the guards and on things that would relate to what they do to relax or have fun. I'd just come back for a snack and overheard."
"Sorry," Emiko said weakly.
"It's okay," Mike answered, "and with your folks... I'd still say it would be best to stand up to them. Let them know what you want to do and if they love you... they'll accept it."
"Given that it's been fifteen months since our ferry likely disappeared from the waters off of Kyushu," Denji commented, "our parents have probably already had our funerals."
"Yeah... but given how all this magic stuff works, it probably wouldn't be too hard for Princess Amara to accept that request and provide proof that you're alive," Mike commented, "if you want to see them again... and if there is any trouble there... that's where you'd have to stand up to them. And I'm sure you can do it. I mean... waiting more than a year for one you love and putting up with our group freaking out over becoming merpeople and finding out Nate is a prince named Cain... that has to be proof you can do it, if you want to."
"Thank you," Emiko answered, "that would be something to consider."
Mike nodded, "and when you two are done eating, you're free to join us... and Princess Amara has said were free to go over much of the grounds... though certain areas, like the main throne room and press rooms would be off limits, along with a few areas outside... but those areas would have guards that would explain that... and they probably know that all of us are guests of Nate and Rose... I think with a day off, it'll mostly be seeing if the merpeople have a game like volleyball or something we could set up. You two are free to join us."