The characters "Mana" and "Yuta" are the sole creation of the 
brilliant manga artist Rumiko Takahashi.  All other characters are created by 
me, Luna Hinomura (my alias/pseudonym).  Any constructive C&C is welcome.  No 
destructive, please.  I would particularly appreciate any information on how 
to draw readers in, and how to make scenes more descriptive.  Oh, BTW, I kept 
the surnames in the traditional Japanese format, so the surname is spoken 
before the first name.
     For those of you who have neither heard, read, nor seen Mermaid Saga, it 
is based on a legend that whomever eats mermaid flesh will become immortal.  
However, 99.9% of the time, it either kills the person or turns them into a 
"lost soul," aka "one of the poisoned."  Only very rarely does a person come 
along who eats the flesh and becomes immortal.  Mana and Yuta are two of 
these such humans, and they travel together.  It is also assumed by me that 
they might possibly be... in love...  ^_^
	This fan-fic is posted on my website at 
http://homepages.go.com/homepages/l/u/n/lunahinomura/mermaid00.html if you 
would like to go see it.
	<Example> denotes a thought.
	*Example* denotes an accented word.
	*        *        *  denotes a break in the story.
 
Ningyo no Yakusoku 
(Mermaid's Promise) 
~ Chapter 3: Forgotten Memories ~


	It was such a nice day.  At first, she'd planned on staying inside 
and reading her book, but after seeing the beautiful weather, she decided to 
work on her garden instead, planting flowers.  Each time she placed a new 
flower down, she inhaled deeply, taking in their rich aroma.
	She heard Ikeda coming long before he was in sight.  Kyoko was 
barking, and the tags on her collar completely gave away their location.  
That's odd. . .  Was Ikeda talking to someone?  Perhaps he'd made a friend on 
the way home.  That was fine -- as long as his friend only stayed for dinner. 
 As they rounded the bend, she stood up from her kneeling position.  She left 
her gardening gloves on, holding a spade in her right hand, and turned to 
greet Ikeda.
	"Mom!  Look who I met!"
	She looked at Ikeda's friend.  Blinking, she realized it was most 
definitely a man, not a boy near Ikeda's age as she had assumed, since she'd 
only heard Ikeda's voice.
	"Hello, how do you do?" she asked politely, worries edging into her 
mind.  Didn't Ikeda know better than to talk to strangers?
	"Hello," the man replied, looking down at the ground.  If she didn't 
know better, she'd think he was worried, depressed, or even shy.  Was there 
something wrong with him?
	"My name is Hisakawa Ayana.  How is it you met Ikeda?" she asked.  
The man only sighed.
	"I met him when I was taking Kyoko on a walk.  You know what Mom?  I 
think he has amnesia," Ikeda explained.
	She stepped back.  "Amnesia?  Are you sure?"  Looking back at the 
man, she asked, "Do you remember what your name is?"
	The man raised his head and looked her in the face.  She was 
momentarily startled by the ageless look in his eyes, but told herself it was 
only because he was so young.  Yes, that was why he looked like that.
	"No," he said sadly.  "I can't remember a thing, except for a name. . 
."  His words drifted off, and he looked away.
	"Yes?" she prompted.
	"Just the name 'Mana.' "
	"Well, I don't know anyone by the name of Mana. . .  Do you remember 
a surname?"  The man shook his head.  Ayana pursed her lips in thought. 
         "Mom, can he stay with us?  I've already given him a name, 'Masami.' 
 Can't we just let him live here until he remembers something?" Ikeda asked.
	"Well, all right.  Just for tonight.  Where did you two meet?"
	"He was lying on the rocks," Ikeda said.
	"You couldn't have fallen from the highway above the beach, then.  
It's much too high.  You'd be immediately killed on impact.  Maybe you were 
on a boat that went down, and got washed ashore.  That could explain how you 
hit your head," Ayana said.  "Why don't you come in?  I'll start dinner."
	"Hurray!" Ikeda said, hugging his mother and running into the house 
with Kyoko on his heels.  "Come on, Masami!  Let's wash up."
	The man smiled and walked in the house.
	Ayana followed slowly behind. 

*        *        *

	"Did you wash your hands really well, Ikeda?" Ayana asked, stirring 
the miso soup on the stove.
	"Yes, Mom.  What about you, Masami?"
	"It's ok, I washed my hands.  Just worry about yourself, all right?"
	"Sure, if you say so."
	It was such a hot summer evening that Ayana wondered if cooking soup 
was a bad idea.  Oh, well, she did make sushi and sashimi, too.  There was 
nothing Ikeda loved better than the tangy and sharp sting of wasabi.  Sushi 
was quick and easy, maybe tomorrow she'd have more time to make a nicer 
dinner for the two.
	<What am I doing?  I told Ikeda that Masami could only stay for one 
night>, she told herself.  Still. . .  It was nice seeing Ikeda have some 
paternal figures in his life.  He'd lived his whole life without a father.
	"Here you go," she said, placing the dishes on the table.
	"Yay!  Thanks, Mom, you're the best!" Ikeda said before digging in.
	Masami smiled.  "Arigato," he said, before picking up his bowl of 
soup.  Then, he reached for the largest slice of the sushi roll on the table.
	"My, you must be hungry," Ayana said, laughing.
	"I am, as a matter of fact.  Your food is very good," Masami said.
	"Why thank you, Masami, I--" she paused.  "Is something wrong?"  He'd 
reacted so strangely when she'd called him 'Masami.'  Perhaps he just wasn't 
used to the name. . .
	"No, I'm all right.  I'm sorry to trouble you like this."
	"Oh, it's no trouble.  Ikeda and I live all by ourselves, it gets 
lonely sometimes.  It's nice to have" <. . . a man in the house. . .> "some 
company."
	Masami smiled again, and drank some more soup.
	"So how was your day, Ikeda?" Ayana asked after awhile.
	"It was all right," Ikeda said between slurps of soup and bites of 
sushi.  "Kyoko and I went treasure hunting!  We looked around the beach, and 
I guess we found treasure 'cause we found Masami."
	"Oh, that's neat."  She got up to feed Kyoko.  Would *all* of today's 
conversations end with Masami?  Ikeda was getting a little more attached to 
him than she would have liked. . .
	"What do you do for a living?" Masami asked.
	"Me?  Well, it's nothing big."  She returned to her seat.
	"That's ok, I'd still like to know."
	"Well, I'm a manga writer," she said, looking down at the table.
	"Yeah!  My Mom's really good at it, too!" Ikeda added.
	"Wow.  You must be famous," Masami said, impressed.
	Ayana sighed.  "Not really.  I do all right, but even though people 
say my art is good, most critics say my stories and plots need work.  I've 
never published anything, the most I can do is sell short stories to comic 
magazines."
	"Maybe you just need a little inspiration," Masami suggested.
	"Perhaps you're right," Ayana looked back up and met Masami's gaze.  
His eyes looked a little less empty than before, and he was a great deal 
happier.  In fact, she wondered how she ever could have thought his eyes as 
'ageless.'
	"Mom!  I'm finished, can I go watch TV?" Ikeda burst suddenly.
	"All right, but you have to go to bed on time.  I'll wash the dishes. 
 You can relax with Ikeda if you'd like, Masami."
	"No, I'll help," he said, picking up a dishtowel to dry the dishes.  
They worked in silence, concentrating on cleaning.
	When Ayana was mostly done with the dishes, Ikeda yelled out, "Mom!  
Masami!  Come see what's on the news!"
	She was in the middle of washing the pot she'd used to cook the soup 
when she'd heard him yell.  Dropping the pot into the soapy water that filled 
the sink, she ran into the living room.  Ikeda was pointing to the television.
	"Mom," he was saying, "that's just above where I found Masami!"
	She looked at the television.  "--have found the assailant's body, 
but have yet to find where the second man went.  He is known only as 'Yuta,' 
but no surname has been discovered in hospital files or police files."
	"Wow.  Nothing like this ever happens in our small city," Ayana said. 
 " 'Yuta,' eh?  I wonder who this 'Yuta' person is; I've never heard of him." 
 A sudden thought lit up her mind.  "Masami. . .  does the name 'Yuta' ring a 
bell?"
	Masami shook his head.  "No.  I've definitely never heard of him, 
either.  Are there a lot of tourists in this city?"
	"Yes, especially during this time of year.  This city is one of the 
nicest places to go during the summer, since there's such a small population, 
and the beaches and mountains that surround us are very beautiful," Ayana 
said.
	She looked at the clock.  "Ok, Ikeda.  Time for bed."  She shut off 
the TV.
	The anchorman's last words before the TV went off were "Yuta is 
suspected to be dead, and the recovery of his body has been anxiously awaited 
by a young girl by the name of--"
	No one noticed a thing. 

*        *        *

	Late at night, when Ikeda and Masami were fast asleep, Ayana climbed 
out of bed and pulled on a robe.  She crept over to Ikeda's door, and locked 
it quietly from the inside-out.  Then, she shut it.  Upon returning to her 
room, she repeated the procedure on her own door.  It wasn't that she didn't 
trust Masami. . .  She just didn't trust him *completely*, that was all.  
When she was about to drift back to sleep, she heard a scream.
	<Ikeda?!> she thought wildly before realizing that the scream had 
been much more deep.  <Masami. . .>  Something was wrong.  She pulled on her 
robe again and poked her head out the door.  Down the hallway, Ikeda was 
doing the same.
	"Mom!  What happened to Masami?" Ikeda asked.
	"I don't know!" she ran to the living room.  Though Masami was still 
asleep on the couch, he was thrashing violently.
	<He's having a nightmare. . .> she thought.
	"Masami!  Wake up!  It's me, Ikeda!"  Ikeda pushed back and forth on 
his shoulder lightly.  Kyoko placed her chin on the couch cushion and whined.
	"Who-- Wha?" Masami said, waking up abruptly.
	"You were dreaming, Masami.  You woke us both up," Ayana explained.
	"What were you dreaming about, Masami?" Ikeda asked.
	Masami was still breathing hard.  Realizing his fingers still 
clutched at the blanked Ayana had lent him, he relaxed his hands and let go.
	"Mermaids," he said simply.

*        *        *

	Mana knelt on the floor of the shop, giggling.  She flipped the page 
of the book she was holding, and continued reading in the dim light.
	"Mana," Yuri called, "you've been reading my books all day.  Leave 
some of the manga for the customers!  Try not to bend any of the covers.  
Aren't your legs getting tired from sitting like that?"
	Mana stood up and stretched.  "I'm fine, some of these stories are 
really cute.  Especially the shojo ones."
	"Of course, they're for young ladies like you.  Aren't you worried at 
all about your friend Yuta?  I'd imagined you'd be more distressed over his 
death."
	"Oh."  Mana knew nothing about acting.  And Yuta's death meant 
nothing to her but a nuisance, as long as his head wasn't cut off.  "I didn't 
know him very well," she lied.
	"Hm.  He didn't mistreat you, did he?" Yuri said, suspicious.
	"Oh, no!  Nothing like that.  Don't worry, Yuri," Mana said.  "I'm 
fine."
	"I hope so," Yuri muttered.  She walked over to the door to the shop 
and locked it, flipping the 'We are Open' sign in the window to 'We are 
Closed.'
	"Is your wound getting better?" she asked Mana.
	Mana instinctively reached up to touch the headband of gauze that 
encircled her head across her forehead and temples.  It had healed completely 
-- she'd checked it in the mirror -- but knew she couldn't let Yuri see it.  
If she saw it, she'd wonder how it healed so quickly, and she'd be in more 
trouble than she was already.
	"I'm fine," she said again, as nonchalantly as possible.  "Don't 
worry, Yuri."
	"You keep saying that, but I keep worrying.  I guess that's what 
happens when you get old, hm?"  Yuri smiled.
	"You're not old, don't say that," Mana said.
	"Mana, you're a very sweet young lady.  I like having you around," 
Yuri said.  "I'm going to bed.  If you'd like, you can pick one or two books 
to take with you to read in the room I've provided for you.  I'm afraid you 
can't watch any of my anime tapes, since they're all wrapped in plastic for 
selling."
	"Thank you, Yuri.  I like your store, I never get to read much," Mana 
said.
	"Well, you're welcome, Mana.  It's a pleasure having you here." 

~ End of Chapter 3 ~