Chapter Text
Once upon a time in a far away land, a 22 year old sat on a high chair in a bar named Lupin. He had numerous names like the Demon Prodigy and one half of Soukoku but his real name was unknown. However, he went by a name that was of the ordinary type too–Osamu Dazai.
Dazai wore an unexplainable expression as he flipped through a book about a beautiful mermaid princess finding her one true love above the sea and on the luxurious fairytale land.
“Dazai-san?” Dazai looked up to meet the eyes of his bartender. He had known the guy ever since he was 15 and the bartender had learned of a couple deep dark secrets that Dazai had kept “hidden” from the majority of the world. “Why are you frowning so much? I thought you liked books about princesses?”
Dazai casted his eyes down toward the book about Princess Ariel and Prince Eric’s story shown through art. “I do.” Their story had partially fascinated Dazai; their legacy in their own little world was unusual or at least that was what Dazai believed. “I guess I’m just jealous.”
“Jealous? Why?”
“Because,” Dazai put his hand on his cheek to lean on the bar table, “I want to be able to devote my entire life for a man who will love me just like Ariel did to Eric. Despite Ariel’s rash decision, she knew that Eric would love her to the very end.” Dazai flipped to the last page of The Little Mermaid to look at the royal family’s grand celebration of the marriage between Princess Ariel and Prince Eric. “I want that for myself.”
The bartender let out a short chuckle, “I see, I see. Well, I hope you find your prince charming someday, Dazai-san.”
“Thank you.”
The bartender left Dazai alone in the empty bar and went to the back to take a break. He didn’t need to worry about Dazai stealing anything because they had enough trust between them from years of knowing each other.
With the bartender out of sight, Dazai pulled out a blank white book. Every organization, be it small or enormous, had been fighting over the book that Dazai held possession of for years on end. The book was said to be missing in Yokohama but Dazai had it in his possession for as long as he could remember.
Dazai opened the book to one of its numerous empty pages; he took out a pen and put the tip of it on the paper. Black swirls of ink flowed out from the book and surrounded Dazai—the brunette stayed still because there was nothing to worry about. From years of experience, he knew that he was safe in the clutches of the book’s power.
Black inky swirls captured Dazai within the depths of the blank pages, allowing for a new fable to be told . . .
“Come on everyone! Get to work!” a merman yelled. He was carrying a box of decorations to which he dropped them off to a blond mermaid.
“Thank you,” the blond mermaid took the decorations and set them on the table next to her, “Put these decorations up as quickly as you can! We don’t have much time!”
Mermaids in all shapes and sizes swam along the seafloor. They had a job to do and they only had an hour left.
“How is everything going?” a powerful voice spoke.
“Your Majesty!” a mermaid said. “Everything is going wonderful! We are just finishing up the last touch ups!”
“Good,” Gen’emon Tsushima, the current King of Atlantica, said.
“We need everything to be perfect for our princess,” Tane Tsushima, the current Queen of Atlantica, said, clasping her hands together. “We want Shuji to enjoy his crowning ceremony or else we may run into some problems in the near future . . .”
“Don’t worry, Your Majesty,” a merman said, bowing in respect. “We will make sure everything is perfect for His Royal Highness.”
And the servant was correct. Every one of the royal servants made sure everything was in tidy shape.
An hour had passed and the citizens of Atlantica and the citizens from far away cities had all gathered in the royal hall for the banquet and crowning of His Royal Highness, Shuji Tsushima. The prince had finally become of age only two weeks prior and now, the heir to the throne had to be officially crowned as per tradition.
“Mom?” a beautiful mermaid princess spoke.
“Yes, Tama dear?” Tane said.
“When Shuji becomes an official prince, will be drowned in work?” Tama Tsushima, the first born of the royal family, asked.
“If he is, then won’t he try to kill himself again?” the second born of the royal family, Toshi Tsushima, chimed in.
“T-toshi!” the eleventh born of the royal family, Reiji Tsushima cried. Tears welled in the little boy's eyes and he let out soft little sniffles. “Don’t–don’t say that big brother is going to die!”
“Reiji,” Ai Tsushima, the eighth born of the royal family, hugged Reiji dearly, “don’t worry about Shuji, okay? We’ll keep him safe.”
“You shouldn’t comfort him with such lies,” Bunji Tsushima, the fifth born of the royal family whispered to Ai.
“But we will keep Shuji alive, brother,” Soichiro Tsushima, the third born of the royal family said. He crossed his arms in disapproval of his younger brother. The fact that Bunji didn’t believe they couldn’t keep the heir to the throne alive ticked him off.
“All we need to do is keep him on a twenty-four hour surveillance and we’ll be set,” Kinzaburo Tsushima, the fourth born of the royal family, said. He swam in a horizontal circle and he waved his arms in a ridiculously dramatic way. “It’s that simple!”
“I don’t think keeping tabs on our little brother will do the trick,” Kiya Tsushima, the ninth born of the royal family, said, crossing her arms. “Besides, he needs his freedom. Shuji will come to us if there is a problem. We just need to be there for him when he needs us!”
“You aren’t forgetting the fact that Shuji never talks to us about anything, right?” Eiji Tsushima, the sixth born of the royal family, said.
Kiya gave her older brother a mean glare. “If you guys didn’t pester him to be perfect all the time, maybe he would actually feel comfortable enough to tell us what’s wrong!”
“Being perfect all the time?” Bunji’s voice raised an octave. “We were only preparing him to be the next king!”
“He has a role to play in our society! Just like the rest of us!” Soichiro angrily argued.
“But you put too much press—”
“Enough!” Gen’emon yelled. “All of you, that is quite enough.”
Sighing, Kiya crossed her arms and looked the other way. There was no point in fighting with her family when she knew they wouldn’t understand how Shuji truly feels. Shuji may not come to her for comfort but at least he comes to talk to her on a regular basis without having to wear his annoying but necessary facade.
“Anyways,” Tane put her hands on her hips, “where is Shuji?”
Gen’emon and Tane looked around at their ten children but none of them seemed to know the whereabouts of Shuji.
“So what I’m getting at is that no one knows where Shuji is?” Gen’emon asked.
The quiet seventh born of the royal family, Keiji Tsushima raised his hand and spoke to his father: “I saw Atsushi head towards Shuji’s little cave down by the coral reefs this morning. There is only one reason why he would go there.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Bunji groaned. “He’s totally ditching his own crowning ceremony!”
“Guards!” Gen’emon yelled. “Go to Shuji’s cave and bring him back here at once!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” the royal guards said in unison.
The cold sea water flowed all around the pastel pink fins of the royal prince, Shuji Tsushima. Decorative seaweed and algae scattered Shuji’s brown curly locks despite him swimming faster than a shark.
“Your Highness!” a huffed out voice called out to the prince miles away. “Please! Wait up!”
“Atsu~ if you can’t keep up then go home,” Shuji yelled. He made taunting motions to the young merman trying to catch up to him.
“Absolutely not!” Atsushi cried. “I would get my fins cut off if I left you alone!”
Shuji stayed still for a moment so he could let his dear friend catch up to him. It was only a moment's generosity before he sped off to the far away underwater ravine that captivated his curiosity.
Atsushi frantically followed Shuji into the depths of the dark ravine but he was met with a sudden loss of direction. He had no idea where the young prince had swam off to. Atsushi looked all around him but Shuji was nowhere in sight.
Atsushi turned his head to the right as quickly as he could because he heard a sudden loud crash. He swam over to the sound. “Your Highness? Where are you?” Another loud crash came from the opposite side of the ravine. Fear overtook Atsushi not because he was scared for himself (he was) but for the heir to the royal throne. Atsushi was totally screwed if he lost the young prince and even worse, if Shuji got injured.
Shuji, who was a master at hiding, swam in the shadows of the dark ravine. He was quite the trickster from such a young age and that didn’t change now that he was considered “of age” and a soon-to-be adult.
Shuji swam along the sidelines, getting ready to pounce on his terrified friend. “Boo!”
“ AHHHH! ” Atsushi screamed for his dear life. He jolted at the sudden touch on his back by the playful prince.
Shuji laughed his ass off. Tears rolled down his face and he held his stomach from laughing too much. The face Atsushi gave Shuji sent him to the bottom of the sea floor in a fit of laughter that he had a hard time subduing.
“Your Highness!” Atsushi raised his voice. “That. Was. Not. Funny!”
“It–it totally was!” Shuji snorted. “But look on the bright side, Atsu!”
Shuji swam to Atsushi and put his arm over the younger boy. “Bright side? What bright side?”
Smirking, Shuji said, “You’re no longer a guppy! That’s the bright side!”
Blood rushed up to Atsushi’s face as he said: “I was never a guppy, Your Highness!”
Shuji couldn't help himself but to laugh as he saw the embarrassment and anger flood Atsushi’s face. He always loved the way Atsushi reacted to his jokes–he always reacted so humanely.
“Now that you’ve caught up! Let’s go exploring!” Shuji dramatically waved his arms all around in such a playful manner that Atsushi almost forgot what he was going to say.
“Your Highness–”
“Shuji.” Shuji put his hands on his hips and a scornful look on his face. “We aren’t in the castle anymore. Let alone Atlantica! Or a city for that matter! So please Atsushi, drop the formal act!” Atsushi raised his eyebrows with a questioning look. “I know you know how to say my name, Atsushi. So just use it.”
“ Your Highness ,” Atsushi said. “I will not deny that we are friends but as someone below you in status, I simply can’t refer to your name with ease.”
Groaning, Shuji waved his hand at Atsushi before swimming off. He had this talk with Atsushi more times that he could count but the younger never budged. So he saw fit that they should end this conversation.
“Let’s go explore the bottom of the sea floor, Atsu,” Shuji said. “There are usually a lot of cool things that fall from ships at the bottom of this ravine.”
“No, Your Highness,” Atsushi said, following Shuji to the bottom of the dark ravine. “Your crowning ceremony should be starting soon. We need to get you back.”
“But you promised me that you would explore the ravine today!” Shuji complained.
“That’s because you tricked me!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Shuji huffed out. His gorgeous pink tail fluttered in between the tall and growing seaweed that littered the bottom of the seafloor.
“You had me promise you to explore the outskirts of Atlantica before your crowning ceremony was announced to the public!” Atsushi said. “This exploration adventure was intentional to get away from your duties as the heir to the throne!”
Shuji stayed silent as he swam under, in between, and over the numerous wildlife growing on the seafloor. He had nothing to prove that his adventure wasn’t intentionally set up to avoid his crowning ceremony–he only had his word and nothing more. Atsushi knew this too but he didn’t bother to continue pestering Shuji for an answer when he knew he would only get an answer that avoided his original question.
Sighing, Atsushi silently but closely followed behind Shuji, who was rapidly swimming close to the sand on the seafloor. The prince’s eyes were fixated on the weird objects that scattered the sand. There were a lot of dinglehoppers, gizmos, whosits, whatsits, and thingamabobs on the floor but Shuji had quite a large collection of them already. He wanted something new, something fascinating, and most certainly, something pretty. Shuji had quite the eye for pretty objects such as pottery and jewelry.
“Shuji?” Atsushi muttered. Shuji didn’t stop moving but he cast a gaze at Atsushi to keep going. “You are going to be okay, right?”
Shuji knew exactly what his younger friend was referring to. Atsushi always worried about the type of punishments that he would have to endure for disobeying his family but in all honesty, Shuji could care less. There was nothing that his family could do that they haven’t already done to make Shuji regret being alive.
“I’ll be fine, Atsu,” Shuji said, reassuring his dear friend.
A faint glitter of gold shined as bright as an angel behind dark green seaweed. Shuji’s eyes immediately caught sight of the sparkling gold. Shuji swam toward the seaweed, parting it to look at his new finding.
“Oh my god,” Shuji whispered. “Look! Atsushi! It’s an hourglass!”
Shuji shoved the golden hourglass in Atsushi’s face to show him how beautiful the object was.
“It’s very pretty, Your Highness,” Atsushi smiled. “Let’s take it back to your cave.”
“Okay!” Shuji wore a huge smile as he happily swam up and out of the underwater ravine. Atsushi was more than glad that he could get Shuji to return closer to Atlantica. Once they were closer to the city, he would somehow get Shuji to go to the grand throne room in the royal castle for his crowning ceremony. But for now, all Atsushi had to do was make sure that Shuji went to his beloved cave full of mysteries.
Amongst the rocks covered in algae and the coral surrounding the entrance to Shuji’s cave, laid hidden treasures that the young prince cherished with all of his heart. From valuable gems to beautiful art and sculptures, Shuji hoarded all of them in his beloved cave.
Shuji and Atsushi swam into the cave that Shuji called a second home. He looked all around the cave to find the perfect spot for his new treasure.
Butterflies fluttered in Atsushi’s stomach from sheer terror. He was not sure if Shuji had caught on yet but he saw the tip of a guard’s tail hidden in between some seaweed patches. He kind of figured that Shuji was too deep in thought to even comprehend his surroundings. Hence, the sudden fear rooted deep in Atsushi’s mind.
By moving a golden cup to the right, Shuji made room for his new golden hourglass to sit on the fourth shelf of his twenty layered shelved cave. He swam back a few inches to look at the beautiful object he had acquired earlier in the day. He then flipped the hourglass over with so much fascination. Shuji’s eyes sparkled with joy as he watched the sand in the hourglass fall down beautifully.
Shuji failed to notice the water shifting behind him. He failed to notice the little shriek that came out of Atsushi’s mouth . . . He failed to notice the mermaids and mermans behind him.
“Shuji!” Gen’emon shouted. “Where have you been?”
Shuji stilled instantly. He knew his father’s raging voice all too well. “I’ve been exploring.” He found that there was no point in lying to his family about his whereabouts this time. Especially since he had Atsushi come with him. “Did you need something father?”
Turning around, Shuji was not only met with his father’s angry gaze but Soichiro, Bunji, and Eiji’s furious, sharp gazes. Shuji played the act of a clown like he had been for his entire life. He knew that if he played his role well, he wouldn’t get in too much trouble.
“Shuji! Do you know what was supposed to happen over an hour ago?!” Bunji yelled. He couldn’t contain himself. His younger brother’s actions infuriated him to his very core. He never truly understood why his brother wouldn’t use his natural intellect to serve his kingdom. It was beyond maddening to Bunji that Shuji would fake stupidity to get out of things. He knew for a fact that his younger brother was extremely intelligent but he lacked motivation and fidelity. “Your guests have been waiting for two hours , Shuji!”
“. . .My guests?” Shuji tilted his head, feigning innocence. “What do you mean my guests? I didn’t have anyone planned to come over today?”
From Shuji’s father to his brothers, they all were being tested in their patiences. Bunji’s lack of resistance to Shuji’s infuriating performance would have made him blow up within seconds, if it wasn’t for Soichiro.
Soichiro held his hand out to stop Bunji from doing anything stupid. He had his own ways of getting information from Shuji and it was far more competent than his sibling’s methods.
“My dear brother,” Soichiro said in an overly sweet voice. If Shuji didn’t know better, he would have actually believed that his brother was being genuine. “What have you found today? A painting? Jewelry? Oh! I know! A watch!”
Without much thinking involved, Shuji grabbed the golden hourglass from its place. He put it out for his sibling to see. “You're close! It’s an hourglass!” Shuji flashes his pearly white teeth as he happily explained what he found.
“Oh my! What a find!” Soichiro said, leaning forward to get a closer look at the hourglass. “You really do have an eye for such beautiful objects!”
Giggling, Shuji said, “Thank you, big brother!”
After he had finished showing Soichiro the hourglass, Shuji put it back in its rightful place. He did a little dance too, swimming back to his big brother. He gave Soichiro a big hug and warm snuggles.
Soichiro returned the hug by squeezing Shuji tight. “You really shouldn’t have defied us again, Shuji. There is only so much that we— no— I can take.”
“Huh?” Shuji pouted. “What do you mean, big brother?”
Without a drop of guilt, Soichiro muttered an incantation that was foreign to Shuji. The young prince prided himself on knowing all kinds of magic spells but this one, he didn’t have a single clue as to what it was. So there could only be one answer to why Shuji didn’t know the spell: his brother made it himself.
Words of binding surrounded Shuji. The words trapped him in a tight clasp, not even allowing for his tail to be able to move. The end of the chain linked to Soichiro’s hand much like a leash.
“B-big brother!” Shuji cried. “What’s going on?”
The fear stricken Shuji tugged and pulled at the words that bound him. He desperately tried to get the chains off him but the words only squeeze him tighter.
Soichiro looked at Shuji with eyes of superiority. “You should have listened, my dear younger brother.”
Tears streamed down Shuji’s cheeks as he was tugged out of his beloved cave. Atsushi watched on the sidelines with fear evident on his face but that quickly changed when Shuji gave him a smirk that he couldn’t describe.
“ Owww! ” Shuji cried. “Big brother! That hurt!”
No matter how much Shuji pleaded for mercy, none of his family took his bullshit.
Despite Shuji’s clear and honest answer of not realizing that his crowning ceremony was that day, they didn’t believe him. The royal family was done with Shuji’s antics and the only thing on their minds was to commence the crowning ceremony despite it being a couple hours later than what was intended.
Through the back entrances of the castle, the royal family and their copious amount of guards escorted them inside.
Once Shuji realized that Soichiro was taking him to his dressing room, he squirmed in protest. His pleads went unheard of as he was forced to sit down. The royal valets immediately surrounded Shuji, whispering mummers of annoyance about how the young prince messed up their beautiful work.
“When will you be done?” Gen’emon asked one of the valets.
“We can finish in about fifteen to twenty minutes, Your Majesty,” one of the valets said, bowing his head in respect.
“Good,” Gen’emon said. He turned to leave but before he did, he whispered something to Soichiro that Shuji couldn’t make out; but Shuji figured that his father told Soichiro to keep a watchful eye on him.
With the valets prancing around the room, grabbing all sorts of accessories and makeup pallets that they could possibly put on the young prince, Shuji was forced to stay still. Any movement that looked like he was trying to flee only made Soichiro tug at the leash to make him stay put.
Shuji was quite literally hounded as the valets dolled him up for his crowning ceremony once again. Shuji always hated getting ready for royal events because that only meant that he would have to keep up the royal appearance.
“All done,” one of the valents said. “Now then, Your Highness, let’s get you to your crowning ceremony!”
Shuji groaned as he was pulled out of the room and down the hallway. It wasn’t long until Shuji saw the grand doors to the throne room.
“I am going to unleash you now but,” Soichiro turned toward Shuji with a harsh glare targeting the young prince, “if you so dare try to leave, you will face the consequences.”
Shuji let out soft little whimpers and wore a dismayed pout to deceive his older brother which worked because Soichiro undid Shuji’s bindings; even leaving Shuji in the hallway alone with his guards to go through a hidden side door to the throne room.
Shuji bent down to grab some sand before he turned around to be met with his guards shielding the way. “Excuse me.” Shuji blew the sand right in the guard’s faces while muttering a spell that made the guards absent-mindlessly stand still.
Without a moment's hesitation, Shuji swam as fast as he could toward his bedroom. He had ways to get out of the castle but they mainly resided near his room or even inside his bedroom.
As Shuji swam down the hallways of the castle, he made sure not to bump into any royal staff because it was certain that they would tattle tail on him. Shuji had always been sneaky when sneaking out of the castle so escaping from his royal duties was as easy as breathing.
The window in which Shuji usually escapes from was finally in sight–he swam faster knowing that his freedom was ensured.
Opening up the hatch, Shuji squeezed through the window and out to freedom. Spotting the royal coral reef from his peripheral view, he bolted to it for hiding. It was much safer to use the coral reef as a shield to hide from any unwanted eyes than swimming out in the open.
Shuji successfully reached the coral reef in under a minute. He zig zagged through the coral only to be met with one of his most loyal servants, Ryuro Hirotsu.
“Ahhh!” Shuji yelped.
“Your Highness,” Hirotsu bowed his head, “where do you think you’re going?”
“I–I was just–” Shuji was stuttering because a lie hadn’t formed on his lips quick enough.
“You need to get back before the other’s realize you have escaped,” Hirotsu said.
With a change in tactics, Shuji let tears fall down his face, “B-but Hirotsu! B-big brother was so mean to me! And daddy too! All of them–all of them are so mean to me! I–I–”
“Your Highness,” a familiar voice spoke out; it was another loyal servant that Shuji cherished with all his heart–Atsushi Nakajima. “ Please . I’m begging you, Your Highness! Don’t make things worse!”
Shuji was taken aback by Atsushi’s presence. Never in a million years would Shuji have guessed that Atsushi would betray him like that.
“Come now, Your Highness,” Hirotsu said. He grabbed Shuji by the arm, dragging him back to the castle. “Forgive me for my rude touch upon Your Royal Highness but we need to get back as quickly as we can.”
Hirotsu and Atsushi had successfully dragged an unwilling Shuji back into the castle. When they got inside, the guards and even the royal family were all distraught by looking for the heir to the royal throne.
“Big brother!” Reiji screamed out in joy. “Where did you go?!”
“Shuji!” Bunji yelled at his younger brother not out of joy but in anger. “Where the hell did you go?!”
“ Oh –I was just taking a little breather,” Shuji lied. He was terribly slanted while being dragged which resulted in his hair ornaments slipping off. “Hirotsu and Atsushi were kind enough to show me the way back because I had gotten side-tracked . . .”
Soichiro huffed out a short laugh, “Lying won’t get you anywhere, Shuji.”
As Shuji was dragged down the hallway and past Soichiro, Shuji whispered: “I guess you don’t know the importance of deceiving people, big brother.”
Instead of leaving Shuji by himself with his guards to enter the throne room, Shuji had all his siblings beside him. They were tasked with keeping an eye on the heir to the throne.
The entire beginning of the ceremony had been changed in order to watch the young prince just in case he decided to plan an escape once again.
With his siblings all lined up in order of birth, they entered the throne room as their names were announced. Shuji was the tenth out of the eleven children of the royal family so he was second to last. Therefore, he had some time to talk with his dear little brother.
Reiji was shifting his weight back and forth as he waited for his turn.
“Do you like being a prince, Reiji?” Shuji asked out of the blue.
“Hmm?” Reiji turned his attention to his big brother, “Of course I do! It’s so fun being a prince!”
Shuji grimaced at Reiji’s happy smile–Reiji truly believed that being a part of the royal family was a luxury that was only granted to a handful of merpeople. Reiji had yet to see the truth behind the facade that their family wore. Or maybe Reiji would never see the ugliness and Shuji would have to show him when the time was right.
After his question was answered, Shuji faced forward and toward the doors. “Next is the tenth child of the royal family and the heir to the throne, Prince Shuji Tsushima!” Shuji heard his name being called; he dreadfully swam inside the throne room once the grand doors opened. He had tuned out the annoyingly loud applause and cheers for him as he swam to his designated spot.
Once the cheers died down, Reiji was introduced. Gen’emon and Tane’s children were perfectly lined up in order of birth in front of the thrones that they sat upon. With the sound of seashells being blown, each child went to the sidelines of the stone stairs, leaving Shuji by himself but close enough to quickly grab onto him if he decided to flee at any moment during the ceremony.
Shuji was not grateful for these changes but stayed quiet the entire time of the crowning ceremony. He only spoke when he needed to and of course, smiled like a good prince should.
In all honesty, Shuji spaced out during the entirety of the ceremony. He only remembered glimpses of the event like his father speaking (or rather, in Shuji’s opinion, yelling): “. . .The Sea and Land have always been in conflict but the first Tsushima saved us all in the war against the humans! And as his bloodline continues on, we honor him and thank him for his service. The first Tsushima lady is one to thank too! She was far superior in strategic reasoning and helped her husband win the war. And we honor and thank her too . . .”
Shuji hardly remembered anything else because it was simply boorish talk that his father was spilling. He knew the history of his family and he honestly could care less. Even when his father continued on with his speech, Shuji zoned out the majority of it such as when his father said: “. . .At the first Tsushima’s request, we pick one of our children to become the next ruler of the Sea and this time has come. Prince Shuji has exceeded all expectations, even showing greater superiority than his predecessors. Prince Shuji is even on par with both the first King and Queen’s natural abilities and that is why we, the current King and Queen of the Sea have decided for Prince Shuji to become the heir to the throne!”
All the speaking coming from both of his parents was putting him to sleep. Even when his father crowned him with his new tiara–that had too many jewels and seashells in his opinion–his eyes were drooping. He almost yelped out loud when his father secretly pinched him on the side but thankfully, Shuji was able to take control of his body before he did.
With all that being said and done, Shuji now laid on his bed in utter exhaustion. He always hated royal events because they simply drained him. Having to talk with everyone after being crowned was the worst part about the entire event. Pretending to be happy and liking everyone, drained Shuji so much that he was bound to fall asleep at any moment.
Shuji turned on his side, looking out the window. The good thing about the placement of the castle (and his room) was that he could see the distorted version of the moon. It was so high up in the air that it had to be midnight.
Almost everyone in the city would be asleep now that the crowning ceremony was over and the fact that it was so late at night. Which prompted Shuji to take off his blankets and swim out of his bed. He was beyond tired but he didn’t want to be in the castle anymore. Besides, he needed to clear his mind so he thought it would be a good idea to go out on a night time swim.
Swimming out of the open window, Shuji left the castle grounds as quietly as he could. This time, no one caught him and he was out of the city in no time.
The rush of the tidal waves getting stronger as he went to the surface electrified Shuji with more energy to keep on swimming. He jumped out of the water in a beautiful leap–matching the elegance of a dolphin wanting to play. Giggles left Shuji’s lips as he played around on the surface. What he didn’t realize though was that he was getting closer and closer to land with each jump.
Shuji only realized how close he was to land when he found a giant rock that was so close to the shore. Without much thought, Shuji climbed onto the rock and laid on it. He flipped himself over, looking at the beautiful full moon. He admired the glowing moon in the dark night sky for quite a while until he heard a cough from another living being which prompted Shuji to turn his head in the direction of the sound.
Shuji’s eyes widened as he realized where the sound was coming from. A boy around his age with raven hair and deep amethyst eyes was reading a book on one of the rocks on the shore. Shuji’s breath left him as he admired the handsome boy reading. The said boy didn’t notice Shuji laying on the rather large rock so he got off of it and swam toward the shore in hopes of striking up a conversation with the young boy.