pairing(s): Manaka Mukaido/Miuna Shiodome, Tsumugu Kihara/Chisaki Hiradaira; platonic Miuna Shiodome & Sayu Hisanuma
warning(s): None for this chapter; warnings will be added per chapter when necessary.
notes: Intended for Femslash February but not ready until now. It's a Little Mermaid AU/fusion featuring my favorite rare femslash pairing. The first chapter is pretty short, but the next ones are longer. Comments appreciated!
The ship overhead is one Manaka's seen before, but this is her first time seeing it up close. It's old and the dark wood is soft in between the barnacles that cover the bottom. Manaka tugs on the chain anchoring it to the ocean floor a few times out of curiosity, picks out strands of seaweed from in between the links and watches them float past her on the current. She swims back and forth the entire length of the ship, going around in circles just inside the ship's shadow.
When she surfaces she keeps as close to the ship's sides as she can, wary of attracting attention from any of the humans she's seen peering over the railing. The lights hanging over the sides cast a golden glow on the water below them and Manaka ducks down under the water whenever a voice gets too loud and close for her liking. She wants to get closer so she can observe the humans better. She swims around the ship again a few more times to try and find a place she can maybe cling to.
Up front there's a carving of a person dressed in layers of material, and Manaka is frustrated at the lack of handholds this presents her. The wood is too smooth for her to grip after a certain point, even when she extends her claws just a bit. She clings to the side of the ship until a strong wind makes the crests on her back flutter, and with a shiver of defeat she lets go and splashes awkwardly back into the water.
Her splash attracts someone to the railing, and when she surfaces their eyes meet. With only a look she's captivated. This human is staring right at her, eyes wide with surprise and, maybe, even a little fear. The moment stretches and Manaka commits this human's appearance to memory: skin that, in the glow of the lanterns, looks like the bars of soft metal that she's dug up from shipwrecks; short dark hair and even darker eyes that she finds herself drawn to. Manaka maintains eye contact with this human and swims slowly closer. She presses her hands to the ship and tilts her head up. Only a few feet separate them.
"Tsumugu, sir!"
A sharp shout breaks the atmosphere and with another loud splash Manaka flips away from the ship and hides herself just barely under the shadow of the ship, as close the surface as she dares.
"Tsumugu, sir, you're pale as a ghost. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Kaname. I just...I saw someone in the water just now."
"In the water?" Sharp sounds reverberate through the ship. "There's nothing there."
"There really was," the one called Tsumugu insists. "She- it looked like a girl in the water, with big blue eyes and long hair. She was looking right at me."
"If you say so, sir. I think maybe you've had too much to drink."
"I haven't had anything to drink, though, you know that...It isn't important, I won't worry about it. Anyways, it looks like there's a storm coming, so I think it's time to start the return to the harbor- "
Two sets of sound head away from her, back to the center of the ship where the other humans are located. After a while, the chain anchoring the ship to the ocean floor is pulled back up. Manaka dodges the heavy weight at the end of it and watches as the ship lurches into motion, moved by the wind blowing across the water's surface.
