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Shuichi swam up to the same warm, cozy rock he did every day, doing his best to peek around the side of it without his webbed ears sticking out too much. His tail splashed excitedly behind him as the small, purple-haired boy made his way to the water’s edge, and watched as he sat down to begin singing a beautiful lullaby. The tune was so soothing that even months after hearing it the first time, the mermaid still found himself coming to listen to it; completely swept away by its hypnotic melody.
“♪They live below the surface, in secret, hidden coves
People of the deep, with scales and skin that glows
To find one grants you power, a wish of yours to choose
But he stays away! I want to play! To me, it seems, I lose…♫”
His song would last anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes, never the same length of time, never the same lyrics. Then the human would just… talk. For hours. In the beginning, Shuichi found it improper to listen in on someone’s private conversation, cursing himself for doing so anyway, but the more he observed, the more intrigued he became.
Often, the ramblings were utter nonsense; a scribe telling stories worthy of coins and praise. But sometimes, his words were genuine, flowing as poems from a bard’s mouth filled with pining and wanting and yearning. Shuichi found both to be undeniably fascinating, not preferring one or the other, and poked his head out just a little more to watch with anticipation on what he would do today.
The lullaby came to a peaceful end, and the human stretched before lying back into the sand - clearly not caring about the state of his dress. He began telling a silly tale about a boy named Apple who was fond of a cat that kept itself hidden underneath a house, despite both the boy and the cat wanting the same things. Eventually, the feline ventured out when the boy presented food as a gift, and it ended happily with Apple adopting the cat once it grew to trust him.
Latched onto every word, Shuichi had been mindlessly clawing at the rock, wearing away at it over time. But, by the time he noticed, it was too late. His hands slipped and he lost his balance, causing a large splash to echo as he slid into the water.
Amongst the chaos, there was enough time for him to lift his head from the waves to see startled purple eyes staring right at him. Even though he should’ve fled, should’ve darted away immediately to keep his identity a secret, he couldn’t help but stare back at the enigma which visited his sea daily.
It wasn’t until the boy attempted to call out to him that Shuichi came to his senses. He dove underwater to scurry away quickly through the rocks he knew the human wouldn’t be able to traverse. Still, he didn’t stop even once he was far, far away… the most desperate, “Wait! Don’t-,” he’d ever heard left long back at the shore.
-x-
On the sunrise of the next morning, the mermaid found himself perplexed. He really, really wanted to swim back out to see if the boy would return again today, but struggled to go in full confidence with yesterday still fresh in his mind. As the day dragged on, he’d been drifting closer and closer to the area he knew the human would travel, perching himself on the rock anxiously as the normal meeting time approached.
He waited ten minutes... twenty minutes… thirty minutes… but there was still no sign of the purple-haired anomaly. Panicking, he dared to get closer to the beach, searching around for who he wanted to find. When he determined that there was absolutely no one around, he breached land, crawling onto the sand as far as he could while still keeping his body hydrated.
“H-Hello?” Shuichi tried, looking everywhere to make sure an unexpected guest hadn’t waltzed in on him. However, there was one place he didn’t check-
A sudden force came crashing into him from above, making him roll a couple times before landing on his back and being pinned down into the wet sand. When he opened his eyes, all he saw was the boy’s face looking down into his own - their noses almost touching. “Aha! So you finally came out from behind that dumb, stupid boulder to say hi to me!”
In absolute fear, the mermaid began thrashing violently. His tail smacked at the water over and over again trying to escape, his claws tore at the ground while he fought against the other’s strength, and he bared his fangs in a desperate attempt to look intimidating. But it seemed to all be fruitless as the overpowering human never budged.
“Mm, sorry there, fishy~! Buuuut I’m kinda the strongest person in the whole town. And- Hey! Calm down! I’m not gonna hurt you! Ow-! I- I just wanna talk alright!?” At the words, Shuichi began to relax, but still looked tense and angry. “Heh… okay, okay… how’s about this,” the boy got off him and flopped onto the beach with a vice-grip on the sea creature’s right wrist, stunning him into cooperation. “I give you some breathing room and you stop trying to eviscerate me... deal?”
It took a long while with an unrelenting staredown for Shuichi to finally nod and acquiesce, letting out a deep sigh. This left a rather awkward silence between them, but it finally broke when the assailant said, “Sooo… gotta name?” while he inspected the mermaid’s webbed hand.
“Shuichi…” a small response came, “Shuichi… Saihara. P-Prince of the Sea-”
“Wha~a~at!? I, Kokichi Ouma, Prince of the Land, am meeting my all-time rival and arch nemesis right here!?” The twinkle in the human’s eye was prominent as he continued, releasing his grip on Shuichi’s wrist and sitting up. “Well then, Shushi, I guess I’ll spare your life- buuuut only if you visit me here at this shore every day for a year!”
At the threat, Shuichi bolted up, blubbering, “Spare my life!? You intend to kill me!?” True fear once again took over his features until a shrill, genuine laugh rang out as a response.
The giggling exaggerated until Kokichi mimed wiping a tear from his eye. “I sure do! And the only way you get to live is by seeing me every~ single~ day! Think you can do it Shuichi?” But, even through the words, after listening to this boy sing and speak for months, it all came off as rather lonely. Plus, had the mermaid truly been visiting daily only to give up now that they had met? This is what he wanted! He didn’t have to hide anymore!
“Okay…” It wasn’t as confident as intended, but it would have to do. “Y-You haven’t hurt me yet so - we can start today? I have a long time before I need to be home.” At the mention of ‘home’ Kokichi froze, brandishing a blank stare unlike Shuichi had ever seen. His gaze was vacant, and the curious fish found himself staring into the deep violet pools that seemed to expand more than the ocean itself. Only, he didn’t have a way to dive down and find the answers.
However, right as he opened his mouth, the human came to, acting as if nothing had happened. He immediately started a line of questioning, wanting to know absolutely every facet of mermaid culture and all it entailed. “So how’d ya become a prince? Were you born into it? Fought your way to victory!?” Kokichi casually put his elbow to his knee, cocking his wrist to put his cheek into his palm.
Moments ticked by with Shuichi shrinking at every question. “No! No… nothing like that,” he started, now staring at the grains of sand instead, “I’ve learned a lot about humans from my uncle, the King, and it seems like you don’t have magic like we do. But I’m not actually related to him. I was chosen based on a vision.”
“Woah.” The smaller man tried to keep his excitement in check, nonchalantly saying, “I heard you were magical, but a vision!? So you must be super duper special huh?” The mermaid seemed reluctant, almost guilty, to answer the question further. In a worry that he’d attempt to swim away at the wrong wording, Kokichi switched up his strategy. “Nah, that can’t be right! You definitely fought your fifteen siblings for family dominance and came out the winner! Being the youngest member ever to succeed!”
He was shocked when Shuichi relaxed his shoulders and smiled, humming, “Yeah let’s go with that. Okay, my turn?” The human nodded eagerly, not exactly planning a back and forth, but excited at the development nonetheless. “Why do you come to the beach everyday?”
Debating whether to tell the truth or run with his earlier story, Kokichi lifted his head and lolled it away. “Well, I told you I’m a prince myself, remember? I live amongst the land. The earth is my kingdom, y’know?” He then turned back, a wicked grin upon his face. “I noticed you were infringing on my territory! I had to watch you!”
Shuichi shuddered but made no movements to leave, letting the water continue to lap his scales. He placed a finger upon his chin, thinking deeply. “That doesn’t explain the singing. Or poetry. Or stories...” he mumbled before trailing off, and found himself blushing thinking about the sheer amount of times he’d traveled to that lone rock.
A small sigh released from the human’s nostrils, the subject being dropped immediately once it got too personal. “Hmm, what a silly thing to use your one question on. Oh well, this machine is now out of coins. So you’ll have to try again tomorrow!” With that, Kokichi was the first one to get up and leave, shouting, “Same time, same place! Don’t be late, Fish Prince!” as he left.
“Huh!? One question!?” The mermaid squeaked, watching him vanish into the mysterious forest at the back of the sand. Tomorrow, huh? His heart was beating fast, excited about keeping up the bargain to meet again and all the days to follow. He wadded his way back into the deeper water, and turned back one last time to see the enigma peeking his head out from a tree watching him leave - a wonderful reversal of roles from normal - and gave a timid wave before swimming off.
He didn’t stop thinking about him the entire journey home.
-x-
The next day, Shuichi breached the shore looking for Kokichi reverently and excitedly; much different than the day prior. And two new questions were asked.
“How did you get your magic?”
“Oh… it’s just in our DNA? That’s what I was taught. We can predict the future, manipulate water, grant wishes… and more. How did you find this cove?”
“I was… looking for a new hiding spot.”
Every day was like this, with one new piece of information gained each time they met.
Shuichi learned about Kokichi’s lack of a living space, sleeping in a make-shift shack in the forest, stealing food and needing to be on the run. How he wasn’t really a grandiose prince of land, instead a peasant just trying to live. Able to spend his every day at the beach because he had nowhere else to be.
On the other hand, Kokichi learned all about mermaids. The ecosystem and rules of which they lived. The magic that allowed them to do anything they pleased. The burden of being chosen via prophecy that Shuichi didn’t even want to endure. How lonely he was, and how he too had been running the day they found each other.
The closer they grew, one fact at a time, the more they wanted to spend each second together.
Some days were filled with games and adventure alongside the trivia! Where the two wandered past the beach and explored aquatic caves. Some days were soft and warm! Where Shuichi would curl up in the other's lap, sunbathing, and get serenaded by the voice he’d come to love so much. Some days, like today, were filled with discussion and pondering - learning more about one another until there was nothing left to know.
...Save one thing. A topic that never came up no matter how many times Shuichi worried about it. He trusted Kokichi, absolutely, but the power that came with being friends with a mermaid could never go ignored. The song he’d sung the day Shuichi slipped would forever be etched into his mind, ‘To find one grants you power, a wish of yours to choose’.
His anxiety was finally realized almost exactly a year after they first met. Kokichi, as he was running his hands through the other’s hair, whispered, “Can you tell me about the Wish?” His voice was hesitant, testing; every syllable closer to opening Pandora’s Box.
“You get one. Anything you want,” Shuichi responded, making sure to analyze Kokichi’s reactions as he spoke slowly, “but… there are some rules. No killing, no reviving, no forced love, um, stuff like that.”
The human sat speechless, hands stilling before slowly pulling out from the blue locks. He looked forlorn, out into the sea, unable to meet the golden gaze desperately trying to get his attention. “Why? What would you wish for?”
A small, pained breath released from Kokichi’s mouth before he turned back with a smile. “Oh~ Nothing your fish magic can do for me, Princey!” he chirped, which caused Shuichi to bolt upright intently.
A minute passed with him looking the other over, gauging and inspecting the sentence. “Try me,” he finally responded, showcasing an intense stare as he did.
Violet eyes flashed open, clearly taken back by the sure confidence he wasn’t expecting. Waves rolled in the distance, constantly lapping them over and over - shifting the sand and changing their levels constantly. On the next tide, Kokichi put his hand in the water, drenching it, then moved to stroke Shuichi’s tail, a thing he’d done many times in the past, “Humans are just so… boring.”
His grip tightened, feeling the scales under his wet fingertips. “Every time you leave, I want to follow you. It just gets so…” he faded out, suddenly removing himself entirely to stand up and laugh. “You should see your face, Shu! All scrunched up and calculating over my best tale yet!”
Deflection. Shuichi had gotten very used to Kokichi’s stories, often napping wonderfully to them, and he knew this wasn’t one of them.
“There is a way… that you can become a mermaid.” He wouldn’t call himself a detective, but every clue made it seem like that was the other’s goal.
However,
“But the way to do it is, um…” Face flushing, Shuichi curled his claws into the wet sand, pawing at it uncomfortably, then whispered softly under his voice, “a Mermaid’s Kiss.”
A painful, awful silence surrounded the two for an uncomfortable amount of time. So much so that Shuichi wasn’t even sure that the other heard it until the boy sat down once again solemnly. “Would you want to?” escaped Kokichi’s lips. His body still facing away, “Kiss me?” Slowly, tantalizingly slowly, he turned around - fear, curiosity, excitement radiating off him.
Shuichi knew the answer; had known for a long time. Even before they talked, he chose to spend his days listening to songs and ramblings, infatuated beyond his understanding. The feeling had only grown stronger with time. “Yes. B-But I-” he breathed, only shutting up as two un-webbed hands caressed his jawline; Kokichi now on his knees hovering right above him.
“I wish you’d kiss me.”
With a request like that, knowing the other was fully aware of what would happen if he did, the mermaid lifted himself to meet the other’s lips - humming happily once he got to feel how soft and warm they were on his own.
Almost immediately the change was noticeable. At first, the smaller man had to pull away, coughing as gills, fins, and more started to grow. But once the initial steps were complete they came back together, already addicted to the saltwater taste.
Absent-mindedly, Shuichi ran his hand over the scales that were slowly forming on Kokichi’s shoulders, pulling back only to ask, “Does it hurt?” Only after getting a dazed ‘no’ did he dive in for more. The transformation was done after a few more moments, and a sleek purple tail slapped at the water giddily.
Once complete, Kokichi crawled into the other’s arms - panting, exhausted, exhilarated. He laughed until he cried, genuine emotion overflowing as he cooed, “Hey, Shuichi…?
“Take me home.”