A/N: Hello! My name is Em and welcome to my first blue/mizu fic! [I might throw in some more ships later, too...!] This is just a short prologue, but I've got a lot of ideas in the works, so bear with me while I get the characters and the setting down. I'm always looking to better my writing, so please feel free to review or message me and let me know what you think! Just be respectful, okay? I guess the best way to introduce this fic is as a loosely-based retelling of the Rapunzel fairytale. Hopefully, that'll make more sense as we get further in, but for now, enjoy!

Prologue

"Once upon a time, there lived a man and a woman who had long, in vain, wished for a child...", the boy began.

He paused briefly to look over at the young girl, silent and still, except for her breathing. A wave of guilt fell over him as he looked at her. She was so small. She looked so fragile, like he could have broken her in two with just a flick of his wrist. She was much younger than him, too, no doubt. She was still just a child. Ten, maybe? He was almost a man now- at fourteen.

Almost a man. Almost. But, for as much of an adult as he felt, he still felt guilty.

"We're not sure...Has a broken arm, a few scratches, and..."

"What about...?"

"She's been out quite a while."

"We'll have to see when she comes to."

He heard one of the doctors exchanging words with his caretaker, Miss Takana, just outside of the cracked door. He sighed deeply as he looked through the door's thin window just in time to see the doctor walking away. When silence again filled the air, the boy turned his attention back to the book in his lap.

It was than that he heard footsteps approaching the doorway once again. Who is it this time? Her parents? The thought made his stomach turn. They're gonna kill me... The footsteps stopped just outside the door.

"No, I'm sorry. We haven't found any records."

"Nothing?"

"No, she's just a 'Jane Doe'...We'll have to wait a bit longer for the rest of the test results."

It wasn't her parents. It sounded like a nurse this time. There was a pause in the speech coming from the hallway. He leaned over towards the door, trying his best to eavesdrop. His caregiver spoke.

"What's this?"

"This was all we found on her, but there are no names. Just a date."

"These must be her parents."

For a moment, the talking ceased, allowing the boy to turn his attention back to the book in his lap. He'd asked for some reading material while he awaited the results, but, being in a children's wing, the nurse had simply handed him a worn collection of fairy tales. How lame. He'd thought about just setting the book aside, but had decided to read aloud to the young girl. It was the least he could do after startling her the way he had.

"But, one day...", he continued, "It appeared that God was about to grant their wish."

Before he had time to read much further, the door creaked open and in came Miss Tanaka. He felt her gaze fall on him, but he didn't look up. He just sat in the chair beside the bed, thumbing through the worn pages of 'Rapunzel' nervously. Miss Tanaka grabbed a chair from the other side of the room and pulled it up to sit next to him. After several moments of awkward silence, the boy finally mustered the courage to speak.

"Well?", he asked her.

"It could be worse."

"Don't say that! I want to hear 'Fine! Fine! Everything will be fine!'", he retorted, waving his arms about wildly as he replied.

Miss Tanaka huffed a slight laugh at his expense, shaking her head as she did so. She then looked her charge dead in the eye, suddenly serious.

"I will be expecting you to help with her medical fees. We're low enough on funds as it is."

"I can do that."

"And, I'd like for you to come by tomorrow and see if she's made any improvement. The doctor expects she'll be awake by then."

"I can do that, too."

The boy turned away from his caregiver to look back at the girl once more. She looked so...peaceful. Her pale skin and almost colorless hair seemed to blend together with the mess of white blankets she was wrapped in. He wanted her to wake up. He wanted to apologize. The wait was killing him.

As the two sat there, the boy saw Miss Tanaka placed a small, crinkled photograph on the table beside the young girl's bed. Before he had a chance to inquire, Miss Tanaka spoke.

"It's time we headed home. It'll be daylight before we even get to the car if we stay much longer and you have school in the morning."

At that, Miss Tanaka rose and began to gather her things as well as some of his. She handed him his coat, which he threw on halfheartedly, and headed towards the door. When she got there, she paused to look and make sure he was following. After he'd donned his coat, he'd paused to look at the photograph she had placed on the side table. The picture showed a young man and woman, probably in their twenties, standing in front of some old building. The woman was short and petite, with long dark hair. She was making a peace sign at the camera. The man was tall and thin. He had his arm wrapped around her. They were both smiling, their eyes squinting in the bright sunlight.

I hope they come soon. I need to apologize to them, too.

With that, he set down the old fairy tale book on the side table, the photograph now being used as its bookmark. He smiled to himself, strangely satisfied, as he looked her over once more. He'd finish the story for her when she woke up. After all, It'd be much more fun reading to someone who was actually listening.

"We'll finish it tomorrow, then.", he told the young girl.

"Mahad.", he heard his caregiver say.

"I'm coming."

Then, they were gone.