Blessed of the Sea

By: Dyaoka

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

Notes/Warnings: Uh…same as the previous chapters.



…….

Part Three

…….



Golden eyes literally bore into her skull as they stared intently on her. Sakuno flushed, looked away and did her best to cover her naked body with her long hair. Ryoma took off his jacket and swung it around her shoulders, zipping up the front as he did so. “Are you alright?” he asked. “Do you need any help?”



When Sakuno tried to answer, she found that her voice wasn’t there. The sea witch really did take her voice…and it seems to be permanent too. Sakuno only looked back up at Ryoma with her sorrowful eyes, one hand rubbing gently at her throat. Ryoma held out a hand to help her stand, and Sakuno readily took it. However, the moment she stood, she felt a pain of thousands of knives and needle tops pricking at her feet. She fell over, unable to move.



“Wait here” Ryoma said. “I’ll be back.” With that said, the dark haired human briskly ran out of sight, leaving Sakuno back on the beach alone. It wasn’t before long he came back, but with someone else in tow. It was the man named Nanjirou, Ryoma’s father, from what the seagulls had told her.



Upon seeing the girl, Nanjirou’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. “You weren’t joking, boy! How could you do that, just leave her waiting in a place like this? Hell knows what could have happened!”



“I can’t pick her up” Ryoma muttered, rolling his eyes in irritation. He was late for tennis practice…and if his stupid father was going to be like this the whole time, he never should have gone to him for help. His mother could help; she certainly would know what to do.



“Well, girl, I’m going to pick you up, is that alright with you?” Nanjirou asked. Sakuno nodded and strong arms lifted her up, away from the sandy beach of which she laid on. She was carried into their home and settled into the bathtub, in which a woman had come in and started shrieking at both Nanjirou and Ryoma.



“Ryoma, here’s your jacket, hurry up and go to practice. Nanjirou, go upstairs to find some clothes for the poor thing to wear! Now, go! Shoo!” she waved her hand, indicating for them to get on with their assigned tasks. She then turned back to Sakuno, who was cowering in the bathtub. “Don’t worry” the woman said with a soft smile. “We’re all good people here, so don’t worry about anyone trying to hurt you.” Sakuno kept wondering why they were thinking that; that someone had hurt her. The woman lifted her hand and turned on the faucet, letting the water run. At first it was cool, but then it turned warm. She looked over at Sakuno and with her hand, she brushed away the hair that stuck to Sakuno’s neck.



“Whoever it was must have really done a job on you,” she said, looking over something at Sakuno’s neck. Sakuno didn’t say anything, though she wanted to. “Let’s get you cleaned off, shall we?”



Soon, Sakuno was out of the bath, dried and dressed in a t-shirt and shorts. Her long hair was dried with the mechanical hair dryer and braided into two pigtails. Both the woman, Rinko, and Nanjirou had smiled and talked to her. They were exceptionally nice to her and offered her many things to eat, in which Sakuno had accepted them all. Human foods were rather different from those of the merpeoples. Their sweets, however, were delicious.



In the corner of their living room, Sakuno noticed a framed picture sitting on top of something that seemed like an altar. Small sticks of incense were stuck into a small decorative pot. Looking back at the picture, she noticed it was a girl. And it looked rather like her, straight down to the eyes and hair. Sakuno’s heart skipped a beat. Who was this girl?



~ * ~



Ryoma had hurried over to practice, though he still arrived twenty minutes late. Rescuing damsels in distress took up a lot of time, Ryoma discovered, even if they did look like his deceased sister.



“Oi! Echizen you’re late!” a violet eyed youth called out, walking towards the golden eyed boy. Ryoma said nothing, but lowered his cap in acknowledgement.



“Nya, grab your racquet and hurry up” a vibrant red head yelled.



Ryoma complied, but with an absent mind. It was stuck on the girl that he found on the beach. Three years ago, his sister had drowned in the sea, because she didn’t know how to swim. It was in that horrible storm…when the ship had been hit by lightning. He, however, was miraculously saved, having drifted to shore, though he was positive that his sister was with him at the time. When he opened his eyes, all he saw was a girl with lilies in her hair and, strangely enough, fins. She disappeared in the next instant though, so he wasn’t sure if it was an illusion or reality.



“Echizen, are you paying attention or not?” Momo yelled from over the other side of the court.



“Eh? Oh…” Ryoma pulled a tennis ball from his pocket and quickly served it. Instead it ended out of the court, bouncing off of Eiji’s head in the process.



“Ah! Ochibi!” Eiji tackled the younger boy almost immediately and proceeded to give him a noogie. “What was that for, nya? I didn’t do anything!”



“Kikumaru, Echizen, back to your courts” Tezuka’s commanding voice broke through.



“Nya…” Eiji gave a lopsided smile to the captain before bouncing back over to his best friend, Fuji.



However, as the day progressed on, it became evident that something was on the golden-eyed boy’s mind. It must have been really important, or otherwise it wouldn’t have effected his playing all that much. But almost every time during a simple rally, his balls would go wide or hit the net. Eventually, when practice started to end, Momo managed to ask the question of; “What’s been on you’re mind?”



The only answer that he received was; “Nothing.”



“If it was truly nothing, then it wouldn’t have effected your playing” Fuji said, from the opposite side of Ryoma.



“Echizen, if anything is wrong, you can tell us” Oishi supplied. Ryoma only fixed them all a cool glare before walking out of the courts.



“Nya…” Eiji whined. “I say we follow him!”



“Eiji! That’s wrong and mean!” Oishi scolded his red headed doubles partner. Eiji only stuck his tongue out childishly at the green eyed youth.



“Don’t do that unless you actually plan to use it” Fuji joked from the side as he also walked off of the courts; heading in the same direction Ryoma had walked off to. Eiji turned pink in the cheeks before sputtering something that was completely nonsensical before chasing after Fuji, with Momo on his heels.



“…Ii data…” a oddly mysterious and frightening voice said from behind a green book as it also walked off of the courts.



“You guys!” Oishi exclaimed, exasperated when Taka gave an apologetic smile and ran off as well.



~ * ~



“See? He’s just going home. Nothing else. Can we go now, please?” Oishi asked, nearly bordering on whining. Everyone, minus their youngest genius, was present.



“But there has to be some reason! Come on!” Momo urged as they ‘casually’ walked closer to the Echizen home. They eventually ended up all down by the beach, which gave a view into the house through the glass windows. Not far above them was a balcony.



“Unya…I don’t see him!”



“Ssss…maybe he’s not on this side of the house?”



“Ssh! I see someone!” Taka warned.



Sure enough, someone came along and opened up one of the glass windows. To their surprise, it was a girl. She walked and moved with all the grace in the world and her pale; porcelain skin was a wonder. Her hair was long, trailing even below her waist. Wide, expressive eyes were another distinct feature that the Seigaku regulars remembered of her. She took another step, going as far as the ledge would allow her to go. Her step was light; almost too light to be human.



Momo felt his jaw go slack. How come Echizen had such a girl cooped up in his home and didn’t tell him, Momo, anything?!



The girl leaned over on the railings, as if trying to smell the ocean.



“You don’t want to fall.”



Sakuno turned around to face Ryoma, who had just arrived home from practice. He looked at her strangely; it wasn’t hate, nor was it love. Instead, he just looked…lost. Sakuno just smiled encouragingly at the dark haired human. Walking as lightly as she could, she came towards him and teasingly pinched his cheeks before dashing back inside as quickly as her feet could take her. Though moving on two feet were significantly slower than when she was in the water, she found that it was lots of fun, despite all the pain.



For him, she would bear the pain. For him, she would smile. For him, she will do anything.



Ryoma had chased after the girl, but after turning a corner, he nearly collided with her. The girl was short, but Ryoma was short too, barely taller than the girl.



“What did you stop for?” he asked, but the strange girl just looked back at him with he wide, expressive eyes. She pointed at a picture that sat on top of a small altar. Upon seeing the picture, an age-old picture, Ryoma’s sharp golden eyes softened. “That…was my sister” he said softly, gently brushing a finger across the delicate frame. “She’s dead.” He looked back over at the girl, who was staring rather intently at the picture, probably wondering why it looked so much like her. It was true, Ryoma’s late sister resembled the girl a lot.



Sakuno gave a small smile and stepped away, knowing when to leave a subject alone. She wasn’t a princess for nothing. Back in the underwater kingdom, she had been taught and lectured about etiquette and manners.



That night, after a visit to a strange clinic, called a hospital, the family had dinner. Sakuno was included in on it; she sat next to her beloved human. His mother and father were very helpful and seemed joyous and sad at the same time—just like Ryoma was. Every time they looked at her, they would smile with joy, but their eyes betrayed their sadness. This in turn made Sakuno very sad. But she didn’t let that deter her from her goal; to ensnare the boy’s heart.



But as night rolled around, Sakuno found that she couldn’t sleep. As silently as she could, she stepped away from the bed she was given to sleep in. She walked towards the front door, wanting to go and see the sea again. She didn’t get very far when someone else in the household awoke and followed her, albeit very silently.



Sakuno walked all the way down to the shore, her feet feeling as if stabbed by dozens of swords through and through, and combined with the roughness of the sand, they started to bleed crimson onto the sand, leaving a trail as she walked. How ironic, her situation was. Many times have she been watching the very house she was in from the ocean, and now, here she was, at the house, looking back out at the ocean. It was a bit before dawn when Sakuno went back into the house, but surprised to find that all three family members were awake and worried about her.



When they saw her bloody feet, they were immediately bandaged. They offered her as much comfort as possible that Sakuno felt that she really was part of the family. Ryoma sat by her the entire time, holding her smaller hands in his own rougher, callused ones. There was a small smile that he would only show to her when she looked over at him. Sakuno’s heart nearly flew.



Noon rolled around and the mermaid-turned-girl suddenly found herself answering the door at one o’ clock. She peeked out behind the door, wondering who was it that would come and visit. Ryoma was only several steps behind her, but she had reached out to open the door first. She was met with a bunch of boys, all of them sporting bright smiles (minus one with a bandana and one with glasses).



“What are you doing here?” Ryoma asked irritably. “There’s no practice today.”



“We came to visit you!” a violet eyed youth exclaimed loudly and entering the house as he kicked off his shoes. A vibrant red head followed him in with much enthusiasm, and the rest came in, though without the gusto the other two had. “Of all the time’s I’ve come here, it’s the first time I’ve ever been in the house!”



“Momo-sempai, you came in without being invited” Ryoma stated. Momo just laughed and sat himself onto a nearby sofa comfortably. The red head, Eiji, followed in suite.



“Sorry for intruding” a polite green-eyed youth said. His name, as Sakuno found out, was Oishi.



Ryoma sighed and ushered them all in. “Ssss…who’s this?” Kaido asked when he almost ran into Sakuno when he entered the house. Never had Sakuno thought there was someone that could rival the fright she got when she entered the sea witch’s place.



“There’s no need to be afraid of him” said a new voice. She looked up to a tall spiky haired youth with thick glasses. He smiled at her, as if urging her to answer the bandana-youth’s question. Sakuno just looked to the floor sadly—she couldn’t speak even if she wanted to. Sakuno lifted a finger to tap at her throat. The bespectacled youth, Inui, only nodded and the green notebook in his hand was flipped open as he muttered something under his breath as he wrote things down in it at a astonishing speed. “Ii data. Since she’s dumb, Echizen, why don’t you answer for us?”



Ryoma shrugged as he took a seat to the floor. “I don’t know.”



“Well, she’s here, nya! You should know who she is, nya?”



“I told you I don’t know.”



A smiling auburn haired youth chuckled. “Was she the one that was on your mind yesterday?”



Ryoma looked fairly surprised when Fuji had asked the question. Inui continued writing, not looking up once from his green notebook as he wordlessly took a seat next to Fuji.



“What use is data like this?” Taka wondered from the other side of Inui.



“Lots of use” Inui said mysteriously as he chuckled, pushing his glasses farther up the bridge of his nose. “Besides, data is data. And I couldn’t help but notice this, Echizen, why is her picture on the altar?”



Attention was all directed to the altar with a picture of the girl that resembled Sakuno. Fresh new incense sticks were there; it’s tip glowing a deep, fiery red. “She’s not dead, Echizen.”



“Don’t tell me that she’s not dead” Ryoma snapped. “That,” a finger pointed at the photo. “Was my sister. She” the finger moved to point at Sakuno. “She is a stranger. She floated up on the beach yesterday, that’s all. So don’t tell me that my sister isn’t dead!”



“Hey, she’s a girl! Girls are sensitive, you know? Stop giving her a hard time! She’s mute and she’s in a completely new place—give her a break!” Momo said, rushing to Sakuno’s defense. Sakuno felt strangely grateful towards the violet-eyed youth. She gave him a shy smile, but she felt her happiness fade. All those smiles, soft tender touches, were all reserved for the sister that Ryoma had lost years ago.



Ryoma blinked, golden eyes darkened with something akin to fury, but he calmly controlled himself. “Of course.”



“Ah…you wouldn’t mind lifting your head again, for a moment, would you?” Inui asked Sakuno. Sakuno complied, though she was confused as to why the bespectacled youth would ask such a strange request. “Did you take her to a doctor? Perhaps the reason her voice is damaged is because someone had hurt her.”



“Did that yesterday” Ryoma answered.



“Hm…” Inui tucked the pencil behind his ear and closed his green notebook.



“She’s hurt?” Taka blinked.



“Look at her feet; they’re bleeding. Her neck and throat are bruised with scratches” Fuji said. “Seems like she’s been through a tough time. Did anyone file a missing person report on her?”



Ryoma shook his head. “Nope; no one knows her name or where she’s from.”



“Quite a mysterious Cinderella, eh?” Inui said. “Was anything found with her?”



“Ssss…why are you so interested suddenly?”



“Put yourself in her shoes, Kaido. You were suddenly washed up on shore to a unknown place and unable to speak, what would you do?” Inui reasoned. “It would make sense that you want help.”



“Only pearls” Ryoma answered.



“Cinderella indeed! More like a little maiden from the sea, nya!” the red head teased, pulling Sakuno over to sit down next to him. Eiji never knew how right he was. “Nya, you’re feet is bleeding. You’d better sit down!” Sakuno only gave a soft shaky, shy smile to the beaming red head.



Later that day, when Ryoma’s friends have come and gone, Sakuno had found herself wandering around the vast house. Though there weren’t as many rooms as there were back in her palace home, the house was still fairly large. Even though every step she took, sharp pain went ricocheting up her feet; Sakuno still persevered. She explored the whole house from top to bottom, with some help from Ryoma. Ryoma’s room was messy, but had a comfortable atmosphere about it. There was a cat that would lounge around in Ryoma’s room, basking in the sunlight during the day and relax with Ryoma at night. How she envied that cat, Karupin. Ryoma had the softest expression when it came to the cat. There was no doubt that Ryoma loved the cat.



Quickly, though, the days started to pass into weeks. The mermaid-turned-girl soon found herself being dragged to odd places by Ryoma and his family. They took many visits to the hospital and to the police station. Every time they would go back home with half-hearted smiles upon their face. It seemed that Sakuno’s ‘family’ was nowhere to be found and that a missing person report had never been filed. But none of the humans needed to know that her family didn’t exist above water, now did they?



Night after night, Sakuno snuck out of the house to go stare out at the sea. There were times when Sakuno had thought that she saw distant figures in the ocean. Oh…how she longed for the company of her sisters! To share the stories of what she has seen…But sadly, she cannot speak…nor can she enter the water again. Sakuno was mightily depressed over this.



~ *~



“Oi, girl, come over here for a moment” Nanjirou said the moment Sakuno had come downstairs. Blinking in surprise, Sakuno obliged. Seated around the table was also Ryoma and Rinko. Sakuno looked around nervously at the family, afraid that something drastic might happen. “I know that you probably didn’t mean anything, but you should stop trying to sneak out at night.”



Sakuno tried to contain her surprise and sadness. Would they ban her from the ocean? Would they ban her from her previous home?



“Going to the beach is dangerous, especially if it’s late at night and if it’s by yourself” Rinko reprimanded in a gentle way.



“Ah well…do you want to go swimming?” Ryoma intervened. The sadness on Sakuno’s face was a mirror image of his always-saddened sister. “It could…cheer you up. Though we won’t go to the ocean, we’ll be going to the pool.”



Sakuno’s face brightened at the fact that she was going swimming. She never thought that she could! Sakuno smiled and bobbed her head up and down. Rinko smiled softly. “Then let’s go get you a swimsuit!”



~ * ~



‘There are so many people!’ Sakuno mused as she stepped into the public pool. She glanced over at Rinko, who was already getting into the pool and heading over to her husband who seemed to be flirting with the younger girls. Ryoma was nowhere to be found. Also entering the water, she found that it was completely different from the salty ocean waters. It was…strange. It smelled horrible as well. But everyone seemed to be having fun. Taking a breath, Sakuno went under the water. Quickly, she swam to the other side, still looking for Ryoma the whole time. However, when she surfaced, she nearly bumped into someone.



Looking up, Sakuno found that it was Tezuka, the beautiful stoic captain of Ryoma’s tennis team. She had gone to watch several of their practices and tried to play as well. Needless to say, she was a disaster at tennis.



He nodded to her, his own strange and silent acknowledgement of her. Tezuka had never outright spoken to her, but he knew her.



Sakuno quickly adverted her gaze from Tezuka’s eyes. Usually he would be wearing glasses, but since he was at the pool, there was no need for it. And Tezuka’s eyes were very entrancing…almost as much as Ryoma’s own eyes. Speaking of which…



Ryoma had just managed to get away from Horio, one of his more annoying acquaintances. He wouldn’t really call Horio a friend, though they’ve known each other for a long time. Giving a sigh, Ryoma quickly dashed into the pool, glad to have escaped Horio’s ranting session. The unibrowed boy certainly had a loud and large mouth.



“Thanks for the idea, Tezuka-buchou” Ryoma smirked at his stoic captain as he swam closer to him.



“Hn.”



Ryoma noted that Sakuno was next to him, looking more relaxed than she had in days. There was a pleasant smile on her face that had faded since the time she’s arrived at Ryoma’s home. Her expressive eyes clearly told him that she enjoyed swimming or being at the pool. Ryoma was glad about that. He didn’t like seeing people sad. Sakuno beamed at him and then brushed a hand against his shoulder; it was as light as the wind. She smiled and then dashed off with amazing speed to the opposite end of the pool.



“It seems that she’s a good and fast swimmer” Tezuka observed.



“She loves the water” was the only response Ryoma gave. “My sister’s always loved the water too…How ironic that it took her from us…”



Tezuka laid a reassuring hand on the smaller boy’s shoulder. Nothing else was said, since that was the only action needed to basically…say everything. It was all there, in a simple, comforting touch. Sakuno’s heart nearly froze when she saw that.



~ * ~



Four months had gone by and Sakuno had been signed up for school and a swim team. Since practice hours were the same time as tennis practice, Sakuno wasn’t able to see Ryoma practice at all, whatsoever. It was quite disappointing, but at least she was able to learn how to write human letters. It seemed rather difficult, because she found that there was more than one human language. She had told Ryoma her name, when she learned to write, and Ryoma had smiled, cupped her cheeks, and kissed her forehead, telling her it was a beautiful name. Sakuno’s heart had soared high that night and she went to sleep peacefully.



As three more months rolled by, a total of seven months passed, Sakuno found herself so busy with school and the swim team that she rarely saw Ryoma and his family at all. But there were times when she was able to glance at Ryoma when they walked pass each other in the halls. Since she was dumb, she couldn’t say anything and therefore, she had no friends. It was quite lonely, but every time Sakuno was free and alone, she would go to the school’s pool and swim until class started. She loved swimming and found that she was superior to many of the swimmers on the swim team. The coach had praised her many times, but pitied her because she could not speak.



And there were those that disliked her to such an intensity that made Sakuno run away to the beach. They were the girls that use to be the fastest on the team, before Sakuno had showed up. Those girls were absolutely vicious to her and Sakuno was frightened just by the mere mention of them.



However, as the days rolled by, Sakuno found that she was placed in many swim competitions by the coach. It wasn’t that she minded, but she wanted to be watching Ryoma’s tennis matches. Instead, she went to a three-day swim meet with the coach and the other top swimmers.



The real surprise for her was that she spotted Ryoma in the crowd, giving her the smile that was reserved just for her. Sakuno’s heart skipped a beat as she took her position. The loud sound of the buzzer sounded throughout the whole pool area. Sakuno dived in and swam as fast as she could…



All because Ryoma was watching her. She would show him that she was the best.



Indeed, Sakuno finished first in the freestyle and butterfly sections. She felt herself bursting with pride when Ryoma and his family came to greet and congratulate her.



“Good job” Ryoma said. “You were faster than all of them combined.”



Sakuno hugged him tightly, feeling very warm and happy.



~ * ~



As a total of eleven months passed, Sakuno found herself staring back out at the ocean again. It was the start of summer vacation and there was no school, but swim practice continued, just like tennis practice for Ryoma. It was near dusk and she had just finished taking a shower, her long hair was splayed out behind her as she walked upon the sandy dunes of the beach. She stopped at the same place she had laid at, eleven months ago, when she took Nanako’s potion that had changed her into a human.



So far…Sakuno thought that she had made progress. Sitting down upon the sand, Sakuno continued to stare out at the endless ocean, smelling and seeing and tasting the sea. It was salty and beautiful. How she missed the sea…



Just then, three heads popped out of the water. Long hair trailed behind them as they swam closer to shore, singing a melancholy song. It was Tomoka, Ann, and Saori. They looked sad, their eyes weary and red. “Sister! Come home with us!” Saori begged. She dared not go as close to shore as Tomoka, who had swam all the way up to sit beside Sakuno.



“Sakuno…come home. We miss you…” Tomoka said as she hugged her sister into a tight embrace. “Please…”



“It’s not the same without you!” Ann exclaimed.



Sakuno wept, long and hard, at the sight of her sisters. She never realized that she’s missed them so much. And behind them were her father and grandmother, though still far away, distinguishable. They waved for her to go back, to go back into the sea and be reunited with them. Sakuno shook her head. She wanted to speak with Tomoka, but she couldn’t. Her voice was gone, forever and ever, locked away by the beautiful sea witch.



All she could do was cry until she fell asleep.



~ * ~



“Whoa….better stay in bed” Nanjrou said with a small chuckle as he saw Sakuno try to get up. “You have a high fever. Don’t want it to get any worse, right?”



Sakuno laid back down onto her bed, finding that her body was unexpectedly weak. She felt hot and sweaty, uncomfortable. Making a motion for something to drink, a cup of water was immediately brought to her. Sakuno thanked Nanjirou in her own special way of a small smile that she managed to conjure up. Drinking the water, Sakuno placed it down on the dresser next to her bed and flopped down uncharacteristically onto her pillow, already asleep.



Nanjirou sighed. The mysterious girl, Sakuno, as she had written it out for them, was strange. Not only did Sakuno look like his late daughter, Sakuno was attached to the same loves that she was: the water. Had Ryoma not gone to look for Sakuno last night, the water probably would have washed her away. Ryoma had managed to carry her back into the house and everything fell into a chaotic mess from there. Nanjirou switched the cloth that was placed on top of the feverish girl’s head. She certainly was burning up rather badly…



The door burst open and Rinko stepped in, having just come home from work. “How is she?”



“It’s alright, but do you think we should get her to the hospital?” Nanjirou asked. Rinko blanched. She’s never liked hospitals…they were too clean and hold many bad memories…like how her daughter had been lost.



“Here, let me” Rinko said, as she sat down by Sakuno’s side. She felt the girl’s temperature and then reached for the girl’s feet. They were cold and frozen to the touch. “First, we get some of the heat up here down to her feet. Go give me an ice tray, Nanjirou, and some more blankets.”



Several hours later, Sakuno awoke. Her vision was hazy, but she was able to recognize that Ryoma had just walked through the door with dinner. He smiled a bit at her. “Dinner?”



Groggily, Sakuno shook her head. She couldn’t eat anything…she was tired and sick.



Ryoma gently patted her cheek with his roughened, cool hand. Sakuno couldn’t help but lean into it, relishing the coolness of it. “You should eat something.”



Sakuno looked up at Ryoma, noticing that someone else stood in the room also. It was Tezuka. Why was he here…? “Don’t force her to eat” Tezuka said. Sakuno was grateful for Tezuka’s comment and thanked him with a small smile she just managed to conjure. With that, she rolled back into unconsciousness.



Later, Sakuno found herself awoken to soft voices.



“It seems her fever is going down…maybe all she needed was rest?”



“Ah. It seems that way.”



Silence reigned for several moments and then Tezuka spoke again. “You care a lot for her.”



“…I can’t help it. She’s exactly like her…like my sister. What, jealous?” Ryoma teased.



“Hn.”



“Ne, I heard you were going to Germany soon. Is that true?”



“It is.”



“Why?”



“Why else? You know already, Echizen.”



“It must be nice, to have so many people trying to recruit you into their school” Ryoma said. “To have so many people’s attention on you. Heh.”



“I don’t mind, but it is bothersome at times” Tezuka admitted.



“So many people wants your attention” Ryoma said.



Sakuno opened her eyes slowly, looking around the room for the source of the voices. She spotted them, near the corner of the room. What was the most shocking to her was that Ryoma had climbed onto Tezuka’s lap. His quiet whispered words did not escape Sakuno’s hearing. “But I want your attention too…”



Ryoma had brought his lips against Tezuka’s in a kiss. Sakuno could not bear it anymore and closed her eyes, turning away, making as little noise as possible.



Ryoma did not love her the way she wanted him to. He loved Tezuka. He only loved Sakuno as a sister. Silent tears streamed down her cheek as she cried silently into her pillow. Soon, Sakuno had fallen asleep into wonderful oblivion.



Later, Sakuno found herself awake again. She glanced over at her clock, it’s blood red digits glowing back at her told her it was only eight o’ clock; only an hour had passed. Getting out of bed, Sakuno walked downstairs, feeling every bit of the pain that went shooting up and down her leg. She turned a corner and walked into the living room, where everyone was gathered. Tezuka and Ryoma sat on one couch whilst the older Echizen couple sat on the opposite. Apparently they were in the middle of a conversation when Sakuno had walked in. Ryoma nodded at her and motioned for her to come in and not just stand in the corner of the room.



“It’s alright, Ryoma, we accept” Rinko was saying. She smiled kindly at both Ryoma and Tezuka and Sakuno noticed that their fingers were interlaced. Nanjirou was just nodding his head with a arrogant smile.



“I knew it from the beginning, brat” he said. Rinko gently nudged her husband in the ribs. She then gave a pointed look to Ryoma.



“And does this young lady know?”



Ryoma shook his head. “I…was going to tell her later.” He took his hand from Tezuka and patted at the empty seat next to him. Sakuno took a seat next to him. She knew what Ryoma probably wanted to talk about, but for his sake, she would listen. “Look, um…I know this might be rather sudden and though you’re not in my family, I thought you should know this too. Well, I’m with Tezuka here…together, as an item.”



Sakuno put on her brightest smile for him. She embraced him, knowing it was probably the last time she did so. She turned to Tezuka and congratulated him with a hug as well. The stoic youth had won Ryoma’s heart instead of her. Sakuno looked over at Ryoma, noting his surprise. He honestly had not expected such a response from the girl.



Rinko laughed and clapped. She rose from her seat and hugged Sakuno. “You seem so much better now” Rinko said. She felt the girl’s forehead. “The fever is completely gone. That’s good!” Sakuno beamed, though on the inside, she felt like she was dying. Sakuno looked over at Ryoma again, who seemed to have gotten over his surprise and was smiling serenely. Even Tezuka had a small smile upon his face as he placed an arm around the smaller youth.



She felt that her heart was already broken. The very next morning would bring death to her, and she would change into foam of the sea. She thought of the death that was coming to her and all that she had lost in the world, all that she had sacrificed. Sakuno could not help but think of her first rising out of the sea when she had first rescued the boy. All that she had sacrificed was for him.



As her congratulations to the couple, she put on music and danced for them. She told a tragic tale of unrequited love through her dance; of a little mermaid that sacrificed everything for a prince she saved. The little mermaid went through many things for the prince and in the end; he was wed to a princess of another country. Sakuno’s tender feet felt as if cut with sharp knives, but she cared not for it; a sharper pang had pierced through her heart. She knew this was the last evening she should ever see her human beloved, for whom she had forsaken her kindred and her home. She had given up her beautiful voice, and suffered unheard-of pain daily for him, while he knew nothing of it. This was the last evening that she would breathe the same air with him, or gaze on the starry sky and the deep sea; an eternal night, without a thought or a dream in mind.



She ended her dance, her face flushed and her feet bleeding. But she smiled and grinned and bore all the pain. Never had she danced like that before, nor did she ever dance upon land. She did dancing back home, in the palace. All the royal children were taught the etiquette of dancing.



Everyone was pleasantly surprised and applauded her.



“If you knew how to dance like that, we should have put you into dancing lessons!” Nanjirou said gleefully. “How about it?”



Sakuno only smiled.



Much, much, much later that very same night, Sakuno did not go to sleep, like everyone in the house. She looked out of the window to see the moon high in the sky. It was a crescent moon, making it look like the mouth of a joker. It even felt like the heavens were mocking her, Sakuno mused. Grimly, she got out of bed. As silently as she could, she tiptoed over to Ryoma’s room. She opened the closed door as silently as she could as she peeked in. There, Ryoma laid asleep with Karupin snuggled up against him. Oh, how he looked so peaceful and serene…



Sakuno quietly closed the door again and walked down the stairs. She followed the familiar trail that she had always taken to the beach, knowing that it was the last time that she would tread upon it. She made it there, her steps wobbly and unbalanced. Her feet bled crimson as she struggled to walk. Eventually she collapsed there, falling into the white foams of the ocean that came up to touch the shore. How she wished she could cry out her heart, but she had no voice. She could neither speak nor scream.



Amidst the soothing ocean waves that splashed against the land, Sakuno distinctly heard soft voices.



“Sister!”



Sakuno looked up, her vision bleary and blurred from her tears. She saw her sisters, rising from the depths of the sea and swim up to shore. Sakuno gaped at them, completely and utterly surprised. Their beautiful long hair no longer waved gracefully in the wind, it was short and cut.



“We’ve given our hair to the witch, Sakuno, so you would not die tonight. She has given us this in exchange; take it, Sakuno” Saori held up the dagger to Sakuno. Sakuno wordlessly took the dagger, which was decorated beautifully of many different gems and gold. “Before sunrise, take it and plunge it into the human’s heart. Let his blood fall upon your feet—they will change back into the fins of a fish so you will be able to rejoin us again. Sakuno, hurry! Before the sun rises! Our grandmother yearns for you so; Father does too! We all miss you! Hurry!”



Sakuno took the dagger and ran back to the house. She stumbled quite a bit along the way, but got there just before the sky started to turn pink. She entered the house silently, holding the blade close to her heart. Her bleeding feet left a trail of crimson upon the steps she walked on. She opened the door to Ryoma’s room and stepped in. Ryoma did not stir.



Sakuno kissed his brow, her hands trembling quite violently. If he was happy with Tezuka, then that was all that mattered. He was happy.



The mermaid-turned-girl froze when Ryoma stirred. He opened his golden eyes and looked over at her and then to the dagger she held in her hand.



“What…are you doing?” he asked. Sakuno turned and fled.



Down the stairs she fled as quickly as she could. She dropped the dagger somewhere along the way when she stumbled and fell. Distinctly, Sakuno was aware that Ryoma was behind her, shouting for her. But Sakuno persisted onward, making her way to the beach. The sky was streaked bloody red, an indication that the sun was rising. The rough and pebbly sand grated coarsely against her already bloodied and bleeding feet, adding ever more pain. But Sakuno withstood it all and made her way to the ocean, to the water. She wadded in, deeper and deeper.



“Sakuno!” Ryoma called.



Sakuno turned around to face her beloved. He was wading into the ocean as well. He stopped right beside her. “What’s going on? Were you trying to kill me?”



She only smiled sadly in return.



The sun rose that very moment and Sakuno closed her eyes as she felt herself disappear and became the foam of the sea.



And as of that day, no one ever saw the little mermaid again.



…….


The End

…….

Hehehe. Hey everyone. This is my tragic (TeniPuri) version of the tale, The Little Mermaid. I hadn’t want to follow Disney’s version of the Little Mermaid. Why? Disney changes too many things and it’s always a happy ending. In my fic, I also edited some things out from the original tale. Well, I didn’t want to follow it *completely*. It would be stupid and unoriginal, right? *giggles* The Little Mermaid is actually suppose to be pretty sad and depressing. The only one thing that really irked me was that the sea witch did indeed steal the little mermaid’s voice. How? She cut off the little mermaid’s tongue. That irked me a lot. And thank you all that reviewed. :)