Blessed of the Sea

By Dyaoka

Disclaimer: I don’t own the Little Mermaid nor do I own the Prince of Tennis.

Notes/Warnings: Shonen-ai. Don’t like, leave. And if you hate Sakuno with a passion, leave also. Other than that; welcome to the second input of this three-part fic.

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Part Two

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The sun rose slowly and steadily, out of the dark, mysterious depths of the almost never-ending sea. Sakuno had placed the object of her affections there, on the sandy beach as she marveled at the sunrise. Never once had she ever seen the sun out of the waters. It was beautiful, though it hurt her eyes as she stared at it. But one cannot help but be entranced with the sun. It was just simply beautiful and warm.



The sleeping boy slowly stirred, blinking. A beautiful gold that rivaled that of the sun rested itself upon the form of a girl that sat not so far as several feet away. Blearily, the dark haired boy tried to blink and rub at his eyes, his vision was blurry and failing him. If he didn’t know better, he would have thought the girl had fins. How absurd was that? However, when he looked again, there was no one there but a strange trail leading into the ocean. There were only handprints on the sand, no footprints, but it had all disappeared when the tide came in, washing all evidence of the girl that had just been there not a minute ago.



Sakuno had dived down under the waves the moment the boy had stirred. Why? Even she herself could not fathom why. The moment those golden orbs had settled themselves over her, she felt the strong urge to flee…and flee she did. She had hauled herself from the sand and quickly back into the ocean, swimming back into its deep depths, feeling the warmth of the sun leave her skin and the sensation of water take over.



Sighing, Sakuno swam even deeper into the depths of the water, to a place where sunlight never reached; a place where she called home.



When traveling home, she played with a family of dolphins and talked with a school of fishes, who knew much about the world above. They were all too happy to tell her of the horrors, which were called fishermen. They set nets and lines down into the water, baiting them to eat the delicious treat that hung at the end of a sharp, pointed hook.



It didn’t take Sakuno very long to arrive home, deep, deep in the crevice of the ocean. Her older sisters, who had been patiently waiting for the other two to return, immediately greeted her upon her arrival. Tomoka did not return yet, and they did not know how long they would have to wait until she came home. “What did you see?” Ann asked excitedly. “Did you see the stars? Did you see the ice? What did you see?”



“I saw the stars! They were beautiful” Sakuno said and Saori beamed. “Like tiny, blossoming pearls in the sky, like the gleaming insides of oyster shells…” she trailed off, looking rather thoughtful. “I saw fire and a ship. I saw humans…I saw them drown and I saw them laugh and cry. They are not so different from us…except that they have not the fins we have.”



“Humans?” Saori paled at the thought. “Humans are…evil. They pollute our water, driving us far, far away from our original home. They kill our friends; they don’t hesitate to kill us. I don’t like them.” Ann readily agreed and Sakuno looked downcast. The youngest girl didn’t say anything to her sisters, who had strayed from the conversation of humans to a much better topic to talk of; such as the upcoming ball for their grandmother’s birthday.



However, that same night, Sakuno surfaced into the outside world again. She had hoped to catch a glimpse of the mysterious dark haired human-boy that she had saved. Sakuno had swum back to where she had left the boy, but he wasn’t there. At first Sakuno had thought the tide had carried him away, but there were footprints in the sand that lead away from the water. She was relieved, yet she was disappointed. Relieved because he hadn’t died. Disappointed because she couldn’t see him again. She went back home like that, quiet and thoughtful. Her mind was a million miles away, dreaming and thinking of the human boy.



Tomoka arrived back one night, an excited expression upon her face. When she saw Sakuno there, she was quite surprised, but said nothing. “I saw the most wonderful things! I swam here and there and saw many different things. Look, look! I found this! Isn’t it beautiful?” she held up a beautiful oyster shell…except it wasn’t real. The humans crafted it, but it was a wonderful sight! It sparkled and glittered and was many different colors. The sisters gushed at it.



As time came and went, Sakuno found herself going back to the same beach every night, in hopes of taking one last glance of the dark haired human boy that had stolen her heart upon a single look. She saw fruits on trees ripen, snow on mountaintops melt, but never once, did the boy come by. Sakuno was very disheartened…and it didn’t take very long for her sisters to notice. One peaceful night, the three sisters corner Sakuno, forcing her to tell them what was wrong.



“It’s…it’s a boy…” Sakuno confessed. “When I left home, that one night…I saw a ship. A storm struck and he was thrown overboard…and I saved him.”



Tomoka laughed and patted Sakuno on the back. “Is that all? So you just want to see him again? What’s he look like? Maybe we can find out!” Tomoka giggled joyfully. “Ah…our baby sister is growing up!”



“But you’re not that much older than Sakuno” Ann pointed out. Tomoka only made a face before darting out of their room, only to reappear a few moments later. “This will be so fun…”



Sakuno sighed, knowing what Tomoka’s sense of fun is. The older sisters only giggled, but reserved any comments they had to themselves.



It didn’t take very long for Tomoka to find out how the boy looked like from Sakuno. How she figured out who the boy was though, was a complete mystery! “His name is Echizen Ryoma!” Tomoka had announced proudly one evening. “And, I found out where he lives! It’s really close to the sea, so follow me, Sakuno!” She laughed merrily and quickly lead the way through the ocean, her younger and older sisters following after her. The swim was rather long and tiring, but they got there before the night was over.



“Look, look!” Tomoka pointed at a house in the distance. “You see that? It’s his home, right there.”



“Tomoka, how do you know this?” Saori asked. “You didn’t go ask any humans, did you?”



Tomoka made a face. “You’re joking. Why would I do that when I have a perfectly good news resource back at home? Jeez…just ask couple of seagulls and they’ll tell you. Mighty fine gossipers that they are!”



Sakuno laughed along with her sisters as they continued to joke. The four of them soon depart for home, since dawn was almost breaking.



Since then, Sakuno would always go there, to the house overlooking the sea. Sometimes, she caught sight of him, Ryoma, sitting there by the sea, just staring out at nothing in particular. Sakuno watched and watch and watched and every single time, the human boy was oblivious. It nearly broke her heart to know that he would never know her…nor would he ever know her love of him.



One night, she did not go there, however. Instead, when it was at night and everyone in the palace was asleep, Sakuno snuck out. Why? She wanted to see the human boy up close, to touch him, to hold him. She wanted him to speak to her, to hold her in return. Sakuno swam the opposite direction of the human boy’s home, the usual direction she would always go. She swam quickly and her eyes kept darting behind her, careful of anyone following her. There was no one there every time she looked.



Soon, she came to a near-deserted part of the ocean. It was completely covered in sand; nothing grew there. In the center, was a giant whirlpool. Beyond it, was the dwelling of the sea witch. The sandy ground stretched out to the whirlpool, where the water, like foaming mill-wheels, whirled round everything that it seized, and cast it into the fathomless deep. Through the midst of these crushing whirlpools Sakuno was obliged to pass, to reach the dominions of the sea witch. Beyond this stood her house, in the center of a strange forest, in which all the trees and flowers were half animals and half plants; they looked like serpents with a hundred heads growing out of the ground. The branches were long slimy arms, fingers like flexible worms, and moving limb after limb from the root to the top. All that could be reached in the sea they seized upon, and held fast, so that it never escaped from their clutches.



Sakuno froze in fear when she saw these and she was about to turn away, but her original intention of being there flashed across her mind. Quickly darting through the grotesque half animals/half plants, Sakuno became relieved the moment she passed them. However, when something grabbed at her arm, the mermaid shrieked loudly and turned around to face whatever it was that grabbed at her. It was a human skeleton, floated down from the world above and had rotted under the sea. It had grabbed at everything it could, leaving it in a pile behind it. Treasures from sunken ships, skeletons of fish and land animals were all there. Including the corpse of another mermaid that seemed to have been strangled to death. To afraid to do anything, Sakuno found the dirty skeleton wrapping its bony fingers around her neck and squeeze with a terrifying power.



Abruptly, the skeleton let go and immediately walked away, almost as if it was sulking. Sakuno dropped to the sandy ocean floor, coughing. Then, a gentler grasp landed on her arm and guided her upright. Sakuno found herself looking into the dark depths of the beautiful sea witch’s eyes. The sea witch said nothing as she let Sakuno’s arm go and beckoned the girl to follow her. Sakuno obliged, and followed the dark sea witch into the depths of her home.



“I know why you’re here,” the sea witch said. “I know why you have come. It is foolish, yet you still try.” The sea witch smiled wryly at Sakuno. “Now that you are here, do you still want to go through with it?”



Sakuno nodded dumbly, not knowing what to say to the sea witch. She had used to be of the court back at home, but was banished right after Saori’s birth for reasons unknown. It was rumored that she had tried to take over the kingdom, but was found out by a young merman who had happened to chance by the sea witch’s room.



“While you’re here, you might as well call me Nanako” the sea witch said, tossing her dark hair behind her shoulder. “Come, there is much to discuss…princess…”



Sakuno let Nanako lead her to a chair, in which she sat in…or rather, collapsed in.



“The human’s heart you seek, will it be easy to get, I wonder?” Nanako spoke aloud. “You do know the story, correct? We, the children of the Sea, cannot become human and live like them. If one was to fall in love with a human, it would be…quite a sad fate for the mermaid. But if the human in turn falls in love with the mermaid, the mermaid has a chance at becoming human—to gain legs like them. But they will never again be able to enter the sea again.”



Sakuno looked over at Nanako, fear showing quite well through her expressive eyes.



Nanako turned to Sakuno. “Do you still wish to continue? I give you one last chance.”



Sakuno nodded determinedly. “I want to see him…I love him.”



The sea witch smiled, though it was anything but pleasant. “Very well, princess. You are in luck, since this is the only night I would be able to help you. If you came any later, you would have been waiting till next year!” Nanako giggled. “I cannot help you again until next year, but for now, I will brew you a potion that will give you the two supports that you need. All mortals that lay eyes upon you will find you the most beautiful creature they have ever seen. You will retain the same gracefulness that you have in the water and no dancer should ever tread as lightly as you. Though all these have a small…catch.” Nanako smiled wickedly again as she grabbed something off of her shelf that was in the far corner of the room.



“Sit upon the shore and drink the potion before sunrise,” Nanako said. “But when you do, you will feel the most horrible pain in you, like a knife cutting through you.”



Sakuno gulped, but nodded, her resolve held firm.



“Though graceful and beautiful that you are, every step that your delicate feet should take would feel like you would be standing at the point of a thousand knives and needles. Blood will be spilt, but you will have the legs that you yearn for. If you’re able to bear all this, then I will help and brew the potion for you.”



“Yes…I can handle it. I will handle it…not matter what.”



“Good…and another caution to this. Should your human beloved tell you that he’s fallen in love with someone else other than you, the morning after, your delicate heart will shatter and you shall become nothing more than foam upon the ocean waves.”



The sea witch examined the young mermaid’s expression and nodded in silent approval. “Very well then. Now, about payment…”



“What?” Sakuno blurted out.



“Oh, ho…don’t expect all that for free” Nanako said sweetly. “It is not a trifle that I ask, however. If you want it to be with your human beloved that bad, listen to all of my conditions. I want your voice, my pretty princess. It is said to be beautiful, oh so very beautiful. It is the price for the potion, since I must mix my own blood into the potion itself for it to work.”



Nodding numbly, Sakuno agreed. “But…if you do that, what will be left of me?”



“You still have your beauty, your graceful form, and those lustrous expressive eyes. What more do you need?” the sea witch countered with a sly grin. “Come, let’s take that beautiful voice of yours…Blow into this, princess, and it will take your voice away.” A black shell was tossed to the mermaid. Sakuno eyed the black shell for a moment before blowing into it as hard as she could, as per the sea witch’s instructions. When she pulled away from the black shell, she saw spots in her vision. Her throat was strangely numb, as if something had taken something from her. Sakuno opened her mouth to speak, but no words came. She was left dumb.



The sea witch laughed and picked up a knife and bottle off of her shelf. She cut herself on her arm, letting the black blood flow into the bottle. There, she trapped it and closed it tight as she went about gathering other things. Sakuno watched with fascination as many things were added to the bottle. When the final ingredient was added, it gave a strange cry, like the crying of a crocodile. Then, the sound slowly diminished till it was nothing.



“Here it is…my princess. The potion that will give you legs” Nanako said, handing the glittering black potion over to Sakuno. “Hurry now, you must be on your way. Dawn breaks in less than four hours. And take this, if any of my guards grab at you.” Another potion was placed into Sakuno’s hands. “If they grab at you, sprinkle a drop or two over them. It will burst their arms into tens of thousands of pieces. Now, good night, my princess. And good luck…” With a mysterious smile, she pushed Sakuno out of her lair.



None of the creatures dared to grab at her, the moment they saw what was in Sakuno’s hands. Even the skeleton stayed back away from Sakuno, not daring to go near her.



With haste, Sakuno swam back to her home. She dared not go inside, in fear of meeting anyone. She was dumb now, unable to speak or sing. Instead, she held her distance and gave a thousand farewells to her home before she sped off in the direction of her beloved human’s home. She crawled out onto the sand, feeling the rough pebbles scratch against her delicate skin. The sun had yet to rise. Sakuno looked at the potions that were in her hand. One, she buried under sand—the one that Nanako had given Sakuno for her protection. The other, she opened it and drank it.



The effect wasn’t immediate. Sakuno sat there upon the beach, wondering if something was wrong. She was about to slide back into the ocean to tell the sea witch that nothing had happened when a terrible pain passed through her. The mermaid was thrown back onto the sand, twitching and twisting in pain. Eventually, darkness washed over her as the pain become unbearable.



It was to an unknown heat that Sakuno awoke to. Blinking blearily, the girl tried to focus her eyes on her fins, wondering sleepily if they were feet. Indeed, they were. Two pale, delicate legs and two pairs of small feet were there, where her fins had once been. Smiling grimly to herself, the girl tried to stand, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. Unaware that someone had been watching her, Sakuno looked up to face whoever it was.



Who else would it be other than Echizen Ryoma himself?



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Part Two End

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WAI!!!! I was at Fanime today (I will be going all four days! XD!!!) and there was tons of people there! My first anime convention in the USA! And I saw the CUTEST Ryoma-sama!!! She (it was a girl cosplaying as Ryoma) was surrounded by her friends (who were also cosplaying as TeniPuri cast) and I was too chicken to go over to say hi…*sniff* I really wanted a hug…she made the cutest Ryoma-sama…I wonder if anyone else is going to fanime??? If you are, look me up. I will be one of the noisiest people there…and I will be gushing over all tenipuri things. XD!!! I got the tenipuri pins…they’re so cute…especially the sleeping Fuji…And I don’t do cosplay…so don’t ask…*cough*annelaineeveryoneelseiknow*cough*