The smell of the sea was in the air, soft moss carpeted the log bench she was seated on, and Hanon was delighted. It was all well and good that the class was currently engaged in one of their many field trips to the beach. The delight of this particular trip lay in the fact that Tarou Mitsuki, the music teacher, had once more signed on as the trip's chaperone.

The hour was late, and most of the other students were already asleep—tuckered out after a long day of splashing, swimming, water-polo and beach volleyball. Hanon, Lucia and Rina were not tired in the least. Being mermaids, it would have meant trouble for the trio if they got wet and revealed themselves to these humans. Life as sea foam did not especially appeal to them. Hanon heaved a sigh. Sea foam is what she would turn into if she revealed her true identity to the man she loved. Her eyes were drawn to the figure of Tarou Mitsuki, seated across the fire from her. Her thoughts brightened. At least Rina and Lucia had gone into their tent, purposefully leaving Hanon alone with the young music teacher. She felt guilty for taking advantage of the rules, but she was glad to be alone with him. He was obligated to stay awake and supervise until the last student had gone to their tent for the night. She spoke up, tentatively.

"Mitsuki-Sensei, I'm sorry to keep you awake… are you tired?"

His soft smile was reassuring as always, and characteristic of his kind nature.

"Don't worry yourself about it, Hanon-san. I enjoy being outdoors and sitting around the fire. But what keeps you up so late? You seem preoccupied."

Hanon was ecstatic that Tarou was taking an interest in her well-being. Flushing red with both pleasure and embarrassment, she turned her eyes back to the flames. She couldn't exactly confess that her motive was to spend time with him privately—so she gave him another excuse instead, one that was no less honest.

"I've never seen fire like this before. I've never been close to it like this. It's amazing, and warm, and makes me feel nervous and glad all at the same time."

Her eyes had drifted upward of their own accord, locking her determined brown gaze with his gentle gray one. She was horrified when she realized that she had not been speaking of the fire, and feared that he would notice the double meaning behind her words.

Is he blushing?

Giddy, and still beet red herself, she hoped that the glow from the fire disguised her uncontrollable blush. She decided that must have been the case concerning Tarou, for his response didn't skip a beat and his voice sounded quite normal.

"Never seen a campfire, Hanon-san? That's odd… and unfortunate. There are few things as wondrous as sharing a warm fire with a close companion."

Hanon felt very… scrutinized, as Tarou fell into a thoughtful silence. She doubted that he realized he was staring at her in such an odd manner. She certainly was startled when he suddenly leapt to his feet and hurried away.

Hanon was dismayed, left to wonder if she had somehow offended him. What had she done wrong? She was just beginning to tear up when Tarou returned with two long, thin sticks and a puffy bag of marshmallows. He parked himself right next to Hanon instead of resuming his seat. This cheered her up immensely. The grin he gave her as he handed her one of the sharpened sticks lit up her world, and she felt she would explode with happiness, despite her confusion. She reverted to using her nickname for him without a conscious thought.

"Tarou-chan, what am I supposed to do with this?"

He looked at her strangely for a moment, although that grin never left its place as he obligingly speared a marshmallow on the ends of both sharpened branches.

"You put it over the fire and let the heat cook the marshmallow, like so."

He demonstrated by slowly rotating the marshmallow over the fire until it reached a delicate shade of golden brown. He inspected the tasty morsel critically before nodding his head decisively.

"Perfect! Go on, Hanon-san. Taste it."

Hanon hesitantly plucked the treat from the roasting stick, but her misgivings faded when she tasted the sugary goodness.

"This is amazing! I'll make one for you now, Tarou-chan!"

She enthusiastically thrust the end of her roasting stick into the fire pit… only to have the marshmallow burst into flames in a matter of seconds. Hanon let out a surprised wail and frantically waved the thing in the air, trying to put out the fire. Tarou gently caught her wrist and pulled it towards him, blowing out the blazing mass of sugar.

Hanon's lower lip began to quiver, knowing that she had ruined the present meant for her Tarou-chan and fearing that he would scorn her clumsiness. Tarou surprised her by laughing heartily as he devoured the blackened crisp of a marshmallow. His laughter was catching, and sounded like music to her ears.

"Burning it is half the fun, Hanon!"

Laughing with him, Hanon rested her head against his shoulder. She was so lost in bliss that she didn't even think twice when she felt his arm draped over her shoulders as if it were he most natural thing in the world. She was lost in the warmth of Tarou at her side, the peaceful night around them, and the gentle rolling of the sea in the background. She felt calm and sleepy, and that contented feeling burned its way through her heart to her voice. She hummed the tune against the fabric of Tarou's ever-present suit jacket as the lyrics known to every mermaid princess drifted through her mind.

Nanairo no, kaze ni fukarete…

Hanon was jostled from her sleep all to soon. Tarou was gently shaking her, and she blinked blearily up at him with a lazy sort of smile.

"Tarou…?"

Hanon briefly thought that he looked alarmed, but when she blinked once more he was only wearing his usual soft half-smile. He had cleared his throat awkwardly and put on his 'teacher face'.

"It's very late. Off to bed, Hanon-san."

Still half asleep, she made a whimpering noise of protest when Tarou stood up and pulled her into a standing position as well. If she were more awake, she might have noticed the slight trembling of his hands and voice as he led her to the tent she shared with Lucia and Rina. Unzipping the tent for her, Tarou smiled a gentle smile and Hanon was propelled lightly inside. She fell asleep to sweet dreams, happier than she could ever remember being.