Chapter Text
Ch. 1
Yuki
The sun is hot. It hangs my head heavy and stings my eyes. My face is covered in sweat, my body in bruises.
I’m not cut out for this sort of thing!
When I became of age to protect the village, they threw me into training immediately. There’s been some trouble as of late, and apparently it is now my responsibility to keep the townsfolk safe. Of course, I’m not the only knight—or newly appointed knight—but the pressure still perches on my shoulders.
Ayumi, though friendly, is a captain to be reckoned with. He somehow sees strength in me that I fail to feel. He’s rigorous, determined, and stubborn. He makes me train long hours to catch up with the others. I’ve begged him to let me free of this burden, but he will not hear it. Instead, he always sits close to me when I cry, explaining that it is his duty to help us to grow strong so that we may live a safe, carefree life. I hope to reach that carefree life someday.
For now, I live with my grandmother in a small home amongst the other villagers. She’s all I have in the world since my parents’ passing during the last war. I miss them terribly, but what can be done? The best I can do is stay by my grandmother, Kate’s, side and keep her safe.
It’s still so, so hard though.
The heat makes today especially hard. I feel on the verge of fainting when Ayumi signals for us to take a break. My friend, Natsuki, quickly disappears, no doubt in search of water and food back at the village. We currently train in a forest about a 30 minutes’ walk away from home. The trees provide cover, but not quite enough on a hot summer day like this. I decide to head into the woods to look for water. I don’t have it in me to walk all the way back home just to come back. Besides, I’d rather spend my time drinking and taking a nap than walking back and forth all day.
There’s gotta be a river around here somewhere.
Before long, I begin to hear the babbling of a river. It’s a large one that cuts through this land, always providing us with sustenance. However, I hadn’t been to this part of it before. The unfamiliar landscape makes me anxious, but I’m too thirsty to care about it too much. When I reach the river’s edge, the water is clear and sparking and delicious. I kneel and cup it in my hands, drinking it religiously. Since the river is constantly moving, it stays relatively clean and fresh. I’m just about to wipe my mouth and stand up when—
“Hi! I’m Haru! What’s your name!?!”
I let out a squeaky, embarrassing screech at the voice. Someone is suddenly in front of me, yelling and splashing in the water.
Where did they come from!?!
The shock of it all makes me jump and land into the once life-giving river. The current quickly makes work of me.
I can’t swim!
My tired limbs struggle and chop at the water, to no avail. My training armor quickly bogs me down, making it nearly impossible to keep my head high enough to breathe. I go under once. Twice. Fear sears into every inch of me as I go under a third time.
Oh my god. I’m going to die here. Grandma, I’m sorry!
My mouth bursts open, unable to hold my breath any longer. Everything hurts. I feel myself drift both farther from shore and farther away from consciousness. Everything is very fuzzy and blue. I suddenly feel myself being hoisted upwards by an unknown force. I try to look around to see what is happening, but I do not have the strength to. I just accept it.
Maybe my parents are here to save me?
The surface inches closer, and before I know it, I’m being practically chucked to the shore, my back landing harshly on the pebbles and sand. I cough and wheeze a lava-flow of water before coming back to my senses. My chest aches. I blink several times to get my eyesight back to what it used to be. I see nothing and no one. Confusion soon drapes itself across me.
“Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you!?!”
That voice again. I jump in my skin but keep myself from taking a second dip. I look sharply to my left and find the culprit: an androgynous looking person with purple eyes, pale skin, blond hair, and a---
Tail!?!
Nope, my eyes do not deceive me. There is a mermaid sitting directly next to me, staring at me like there’s no tomorrow. Their scales are a bright, golden color that shimmers when the light touches it. Are they real—an angel? I feel like I’m going insane. When I look to their face again, they’re pouting.
“Hey, I asked if you were okay!”
“Oh—U-Uh, yes, well, I’m alive,” I stammer out.
“What a relief,” the creature sighs and lounges against a large rock happily.
“I haven’t seen a human in so long, so I got too excited, sorry! Won’t happen again!”
Yeah, it won’t, because I’m not coming back here.
I simply sit there speechless.
“You don’t say a lot, do you?”
The mermaid flicks their tail irritably at that. I’m still at such a loss.
“So, this is real? You’re a mermaid? And you just saved me from drowning?”
“Yep, yep,” they reply, head nodding excitedly.
I sink back down into the dirt to think about things. He leans over me curiously, eyes wide and iridescent.
“Whatcha doin’?”
“Trying to think,” I reply between grit teeth.
I shut my eyes, so I don’t have to see that face staring at me. None of this makes sense, but I guess it’s happening anyway. After a minute, I open them again, surprised to see that they had shifted into a sitting position a few feet away from me. I sit up, shake out my hair, and get a better look at them.
I always thought they were just fairytales. Natsuki will get a kick out of this if he believes me.
They catch me staring. I start and look away.
“You’re back! So, what’s your name? Mine’s Haru!”
“Y-Yuki. Yuki Sanada.”
“A nice name for a nice person,” they grin.
“You don’t know me, though.”
“I don’t have to. You just seem nice!”
“Uh, well, thanks for saving me, I guess,” I garble out as I get to my feet.
The mermaid stranger looks upset at this. They flip onto their stomach to crawl up the shore a few inches, a desperate plea on their face.
“Please, won’t you come again sometime? It’s very lonely by myself!”
“By yourself? Don’t you have other mermaid friends or something?”
They turn away, expression painful.
“No, because I’m actually human. A mean witch put a curse on me a long time ago! She said that if I touched a human before someone loved me, I would die!”
What an odd predicament. Do I believe them? I guess so, seeing as there is an actual, real mermaid tail right there.
“I’m sorry to hear about that. I must be getting back to my duties, now, though. So, uh, this is goodbye.”
“Oh, okay,” they replied solemnly.
As I walked off, I heard a small splash, no doubt the mermaid slipping back under the waves. A twinge of guilt hits me, but it’s not strong enough to make me turn back around
Haru
“Oh, Coco, I messed up! He’s not gonna come back!”
I’m at the bottom of the river again, where I usually reside. It’s quiet and comfy here. Still, it’s always been rather lonely, save for my sister, Coco. She’d been transformed into a small fairy while I was made a mermaid. She’s able to create an air bubble and sit underwater with me.
“I told you not to be too loud and scary!! When you’re excited, you fly off the handle!”
I’m crying before I know it, but my tears are invisible underwater.
“I was just so happy! I couldn’t stop myself!”
“I know, Haru, I know.”
“Cocoooo I want him to come baaaaack,” I whine, sadness flowing over me.
“Just try to forget about him. He’s probably not the one anyway.”
I let myself slowly sink down to the riverbed and let my head rest in my crossed arms on top of my sleeping rock.
Maybe she’s right, but maybe she’s not!
“It’s been so long, Coco. I just wanna go back,” I sob quietly.
“I know. I do too,” she sighs.
She bubbles closer to me and we fall asleep for a while.
Yuki
“I swear that’s what I saw!”
“Just how tired were you?”
Natsuki and I are finally back home and sitting in Grandma and I’s home. Of course, he doesn’t believe anything I’m saying. Grandma interrupts us by placing some stew and bread on the table in front of us.
“Why don’t you boys eat your supper and then argue,” she winks.
“Thank you, Ms. Kate,” Natsuki replies before digging in.
For once, I don’t feel very hungry. The others eat, but I just find myself staring at the ground.
“Yuki, you need to eat,” Kate urges softly.
“I just can’t stop thinking about it. I’m telling the truth, you know.”
Between bites, Natsuki speaks up.
“I know you’ve never lied, but it just seems so impossible!”
“Nothing is impossible, I suppose,” Kate suggests.
I get an idea and stand up from my seat.
“Come to the river with me, then. Tomorrow at training,” I demand.
Natsuki smirks at me, mouth full of food.
“You’re on!”