Natsume

* Manga
* Anime

## Name

**Natsume** (なつめ) is a major character of Mermaid Saga, appearing in the story “The Ash Princess” .

## Biography

She died as a young girl during the Sengoku period, and out of pity for her father who mourned her death while standing in front of her bones and holding her skull, a Buddhist monk regretfully brought her back to life from her bones using a secret technique called “Hangon” (返魂) together with a mermaid liver, that was handed down through his temple, placed in the rib in order to ensure the process worked, which consequently made her immortal and have an appetite for livers.

She would spend her life with her father whom she wonders if he’s really her father since she was resurrected with no memories and due to him getting older unlike her, all the while taking and consuming the livers of cats and dogs she’d capture and even humans injured in a war.

Many decades later, she helps her father in his shady business in a village by demonstrating her immortality to people on his sideshow by cutting her arm and showing her wound get healed instantly.

One day during sunset, she eats the liver of a dog and is attacked by the monk who had been looking for her, getting her left arm cut off but is saved by Yuta who jostles the monk causing him to hit his head against a rock. In her anger, she tries to attack the unconscious monk with a rock, but is stopped and calmed down by Yuta who then brings to her father. While being treated and having her left arm reattached by her father, she becomes fascinated to meet someone like her when Yuta reveals to be immortal too, but unwillingly tries to eat Yuta’s liver during their sleep although she is stopped by her father. The next day, she apologizes to Yuta who was tasked by the monk to watch over her for 7 days while he strengthens his dharmic power to return her back to bones and sympathizes with him during those days and asks if he would like her to stay with him. On the seventh day, she expresses how she would like to grow up and be able to live on her own and is moved when Yuta asks if she would like to leave with him, leading her to go find her father so they could say goodbye.

However, she couldn’t find her father and after deducing he went to the hill to resurrect a princess from her bones as requested by her parents, she runs into the monk again who extracts her liver, but her determination to go with Yuta gave her the strength to cut off the monk’s right arm and she runs away. Much to her shock, she finds her father about to extract the liver of Yuta held captive to use it for his resurrection attempt on the princess so pleads with him to stop, but he swats her away, causing her to ruin the resurrection process by jumbling the princess’ bones. She cries and apologizes to her father who notices that her liver was extracted, so he carries her up until reaching a cliff from where he then jumps while still holding her saying he will always accompany her and that she won’t be lonely. The fall didn’t kill her though and as Yuta holds her in his arms, she says she’ll follow him wherever he goes then reverts to bones. Yuta wouldn’t allow the monk to pray for her and picks up her bones, swearing to take care of the last rites himself.

## Trivia

* Her seiyu provided the voice of Ten from Urusei Yatsura and Kazuko Furuda from Middle-Aged Teen in the Rumiko Takahashi Anthology.