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Once upon a time, in an ocean far away, there lived a race of beings that only exist in myth. They were once human, a long time ago. But their ancestors took to the seas and soon they became of the sea itself. They had a rich culture with a high intellect and many ways to express their feelings. But they still breathed air, so these beings would rise to the surface when they needed to, bringing the oxygen back down to the ocean floor in their lungs and spleen.
These people were the Merfolk.
They lived all over the world, in Kingdoms of their own design that had very little to do with the human nations that existed by the coasts. Some of them even lived in freshwater, in deep enough rivers and vast enough lakes.
Within one of these Kingdoms, the Kingdom of Almighty, there lived a great King of the sea known as Toshinori. Toshinori was one of the most beloved Kings in the history of Almighty. Kind, fair, just, he was a King who believed in using his wealth and power to bring joy and happiness to his people. He was often called the Hero King for his great deeds and there were many Merfolk in and outside of the Kingdom who admired him.
One of those merfolk was a young lad named Izuku Midoriya.
Izuku deeply admired Toshinori’s kindness and power and did all he could to be like the wonderful Heroic King. But Izuku was born sickly and odd, no magic in his bones, preferring the waters that the humans explored over the deeper ocean where most of the Kingdom’s territory existed. There were rumours that Toshinori could travel on land and Izuku was fascinated by the humans because of those rumours.
Though in fact, there was one human he was fascinated with in particular.
A young boy named Shouto Todoroki.
Shouto was the fourth son of a wicked and tyrannical Lord in the Kingdom of Endeavour. He was a man who despised the sea and wanted to destroy it. But his youngest son adored the ocean, was fascinated by the fish and the coral and the dolphins. Shouto often snuck away to the beach, to spend his time gazing into the rock pools and dunking his head in the sea.
And Izuku often watched him, too fearful to approach. Most Merfolk avoid humans due to their own shyness and Izuku was no exception. Plus he did not understand Shouto’s tongue and feared he would not be able to communicate with him. They were simply not meant to be.
Yet, Izuku could not be more wrong.
One day, Shouto was exploring the rock pools on the edge of the water, staring into puddles. Izuku was watching him in turn, daring to cling to the rocks.
Then Shouto looked out at sea and their eyes met.
They couldn’t look away, awe and confusion keeping their eyes linked.
Then Shouto slipped on a stone and the spell was broken as he dove under the waves and Izuku swam over to him, to help get him back to the sandy part of the beach, away from the rock pools and slippery stones.
Shouto tried to thank Izuku for helping him, but the two could not understand each other. Shouto’s words and Izuku’s clicks meant nothing to either of them.
Yet, the two continued to have many encounters after that.
Izuku would bring things from the ocean floor to show Shouto, who would observe them in fascination. Shouto would also bring gifts from human society to Izuku, who would touch them in amazement. The two continued to try to verbally communicate with each other. But with their ears and vocal bones being shaped differently, it was impossible.
So instead, they learned to speak with their hands.
They both had 5 fingers and 2 hands, even if Shouto’s fingers had webbing between them. The two of them worked out that waving both their arms above their heads meant ‘Danger’, that one hand waving high meant ‘Welcome’, that a clenched fist and a thumb pointing down meant ‘Bad’. It was a very rudimentary language, but the two of them continued to practise it and steadily were able to say many things to each other.
They told each other their names and of their homes, Izuku’s cave and Shouto’s castle.
They told each other their hopes and of their dreams, Izuku’s admiration of Toshinori and Shouto’s wish to travel the world.
They told each other their fears and insecurities, Izuku’s lack of magic marking him as sickly by all who knew him and Shouto’s scar marking him as the unsightly son of a man who drove his wife to madness.
They fell in love and continued to see each other more and more often.
While the Lord of Endeavour grew more and more wicked.
The Lord knew his youngest son was behaving strangely lately. Waving his hands erratically when he’s alone, spending more time out of the castle walls instead of in them, gazing off into the sky as he hums and smiles. It all pointed to one of the Lord’s worst nightmares.
His son was in love.
The Lord only had so many children so he could marry them off for better political relationships. But Shouto was different. Shouto was going to be his successor.
His successor can not waste his time on love.
So the Lord followed Shouto when he left and was disgusted to find him fawning with a boy in the water. Not just a boy though. A Merfolk boy! The Lord despised the sea and all who lived in it, but especially the Merfolk. The Lord would not allow Shouto to fall in love with one.
The Lord burst into the scene, screaming and shouting at his son, demanding he abandon Izuku, but Shouto refused! Shouto fought to try and protect himself and Izuku helped as much as he could, bound to the water as he was, splashing the Lord with his fin. But the Lord had enough and put his hands on Shouto, dragging him away and making Izuku call out for help-
When Toshinori, the Heroic King, rose from the sea to answer their call.
Toshinori used his magic to turn the evil Lord into a gecko, trapping him in a glass jar. A jar that Shouto decides to throw as far and as hard as he could into the ocean.
Izuku and Shouto thanked the Heroic King for helping them in their hour of need. Toshinori laughed and said it was only the right thing to do. And since he can see how much the lovers adore each other, he offered to grant them the ability to be together no matter where they go.
“I have a magic that is passed down from Ruler to Chosen, which allows me to transform into a human at will. And I can share this magic with the two of you, should you continue to remain of pure heart. Do you accept it?”
Izuku and Shouto accepted and gained the ability to shift between Human and Merfolk as they liked. They travelled the land and the ocean together for all their days and lived happily ever after.
The End.