Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, 5xS Summary: Duo's a mermaid, I mean merman. And Heero's a prince with a taste for fish, well he is Japanese, likes that sushi you know. Anyway when one of his fisher bring him a merman, things start to get a little crazy and everyone seems to want to either see and steal his mystical fish.
Gami1x2, if any one wants to see a picture of what Duo looks like in this let me know with your e-mail address and I'll send it to you. Because I don't think I gave the description justice for him. Because he looks freaking neat!
Chapter One: The Capture.
"Come on Heldi. I want to show you something." Duo said, dragging the girl with all he had. Heldi laughed and looked at her brother with a, you-know-father-won't-like-this, kid of look.
Heldi admired her brother. He was gorgeous and she only hoped that one day she would be just as beautiful. His hair was an odd chestnut color, with gold's, browns, reds, and blonds all weaving together, and his hair flowed loose around his body. (1). He had pale creamy skin that faded into a deep purplish tail. Heldi always liked Duo's fins and tail. He was the only one in the sea who had purple scales. And he had the most fins too. He had the fins on the back of his tail, two where lined up next to each other near the top (where your butt would be) and curved back into his tail in the middle (where your knees would be), then the third started in the middle of the two (about the thigh area) and curves down to the tail fin. The tail fin itself was longer then normal and tattered looking, but he was born with it like that. On the front of his tail, were two smaller fins side by side low on the tail (where your shins would be). Duo's long fingers were slightly webbed, and he had a fin that traveled from the side of his wrists and continued completely up his arms. On his back he had three spines that where webbed together, one sat on each of his shoulder blade's, and the third on his spine, which reminded Heldi of a lion fish. Duo's ears where slightly pointed and two thin gills sat behind each one (2). Duo's eyes matched his fin like most merpeople. He was simply stunning.
Duo pulled her into the dangerous waters known as the 'netting place.'
"Duo, we shouldn't be here. Fish get caught and brought to the surface here." She said.
"It's Okay Heldi, I just wanted to show you what one of the ships dropped, and it's too large for me to lift on my own." Duo said. Heldi moved closer to her brother. They moved deeper into the clear waters and Duo looked for his treasure. He spotted it. "There, there it is." He said. Heldi's eyes widened.
"It's a treasure chest." She said. Sure they found a lot of these with sunken ships, but this one was different. Duo opened it and Heldi's eyes widened even more. "Wow, is that a crown?"
"Yeah, neat huh." Duo said, picking up the only object in the chest. It started floating out of his hand, but he pulled it down.
"Yeah, it's really pretty." Heldi said. Duo put it back in the chest and locked it. He then tugged really hard on one of the handles, turning the chest around.
"And look at this." Duo said. The chest was carved with little angels and clouds. "I was going to give it to you as a birthday present but I couldn't lift it on my own. So how does an early birthday present sound?" Duo asked.
"Cool. Okay I'll help you, but let's just get out of here." She said, taking a handle. Duo took the other one and with a kick of there tail fins they lifted it, with a little difficulty, out of the rocky floor. They swam up until they where over the underwater cliffs and started heading back for home.
Out of nowhere fish we suddenly rushing past them screaming.
"NETS, NETS, NETS." Duo and Heldi looked behind them to see a large heave next coming in there direction.
"Drop it Heldi, well come back later. We got it this far." Heldi did as she was told and let go. Both she and Duo took off towards safety. But didn't get very far. The net appeared in front of them. Duo looked around quickly and found that the net was in a 'u' shape and was being pulled upward. Duo push Heldi in the direction of the opening just as the net reached them. Fish where swimming everywhere in confusion. "Heldi go, swim as fast as you can." He said. They where almost there. Almost there. A large fish slammed into Duo, knocking him back into the net. Duo immediately tried to swim forward but his fins and tail where tangling in the net with ever kick.
"Duo!" Heldi cried out, turning back to help him. He screamed at her though.
"NO!, Get out of here Heldi. Get out of here!" He screamed at her. Reluctantly she listened though only enough to get out of harm of the net. She swam to Duo on the other side and tried to get him untangled. But they seemed to just be making it worse.
"Duo, please." Heldi cried, trying to free her brother. Duo could barely even move now, and some of the ropes where making it hard for him to breath. His gills couldn't move much.
"Heldi, I'll be back I promise. Let Father and Mother now that I'll be okay." Heldi shook her head.
"Duo, they eat fish." She cried.
"I won't let them eat me I promise." Duo said weakly. Duo noticed that the ships where coming into view and pushed Heldi away. "Go, I can't let them catch you too." Heldi nodded and swam away, not before looking back at her bother.
Duo closed his eyes and prepared himself for what was just beyond the surface of the waters. He had never once been above water, and the thought scared him that know he was going to get his chance, and probably not live to tell his friends nor Heldi.
Other fish where being push against Duo. Duo tried to ignore their cries for help. There pleas for survival and to not be eaten.
When the nets broke out of the water, Duo could hear the fish screaming. Fire in there lungs, and his heart started to race. But when he broke the water the air filled his lungs it burned at first because he gasped it in with a little salt water but he found that it will his lungs faster then his gills did. He coughed a bit spitting some water out of his mouth and looked at the sky for the first time. It was blue, but not as much as the sea, and there where white puffy things floating everywhere. Then his he's fell to the ship that was just below him and the two things starring at him in shock. They looked like merpeople, but with arm like limbs instead of tails. Surely they would help him. Duo thought.
That's when the pain started. He was drying, his fins and tail where starting to burn. And he started to scream. There was yelling from the decks and he soon felt the hard wood below him. The nets where cut away from his body and a bucket of water was thrown onto him. Which immediately stopped the pain.
"Are you okay?" Duo looked up at a blond haired creature with blue eye.
"What are you?" The blond laughed.
"I was going to ask you the same question." He said. "My names Quatre Rebarba Winner. I'm a human. What are you?"
"I'm a merman, my names Duo." He said awkwardly.
"Wouldn't he make a wonderful present for King Yuy birthday?" Quatre asked turning to the uni-banged man behind him. "I mean royals get all kinds of magical creatures but I don't any of them get a merman." Quatre poured more water on Duo. Which felt good.
"Um, actually I was just wondering if you would let me go. You see I have things I need to do." Duo said. The taller man looked at him.
"You're right, Quatre. I think he would make a perfect pet, but do we have a tank large enough for him?"
"Trowa, we have the bathroom that's never used. That tub is a pool. We could keep him there until we build him a nice one in the castle. You know the bathroom next to Heero's room."
"Your right, it's 12 feet deep and 20 square feet, he'll have enough room to swim around until we can accommodate him better."
"Well you see I have a family to get back to." Duo said rolling onto his stomach and started dragging himself to the railing. 'So, I'll just be going." Then Trowa stepped in front of him, blocking his way. We have a tub in our Cabin; we'll put him there until we reach the castle. It'll only be a few days." Quatre poured more water over Duo so he wouldn't dry out.
"Do you guys even care what I have to say in any of this?" Duo asked, annoyed that he was being ignored.
"You see, Duo we are fishing in King Yuy's territory anything that lands on this boat is his. So you don't have a say in it." Trowa said. Duo sighed. He thought that much, or close to it anyway.
"Your not going to eat me though, right?" Duo asked.
"For heavens sake, no. it would be like eating our own kind. We only eat all fish Duo." Quatre said.
"Yeah I know…shark." He muttered. Quatre took in some breath in shock.
"You know I may not be into the killing and stuff to the animals, but we got to eat too." Quatre said.
"Yeah, you sound like a shark. Are humans the Sharks of land?" He asked. Quatre sighed and nodded, giving up on trying to reason with the young merman. He turned to a man walking by. "Please fill the tub in the cabin with sea water."
"Yes sir." They man ran off. Quatre poured another bucket, which Duo saw was handed to him by a young man, on to Duo.
"What do you eat Duo, if not fish?" Trowa asked.
"Kelp, Seaweed. Sometimes well have lobster and crab, hmm sometimes shrimp." Quatre sighed in frustration.
"See you kill animals as well."
"No I don't Lobster and Crab, and Shrimp are well…" Duo had to think. "It's different. They don't talk." Duo said not finding a better reason.
"Fish don't talk."
"I'm talking."
"You not a fish." Duo picked his tail up and waved it him Quatre's face.
"Oh really."
"Well I've never heard any of those fish talk." Quatre said, pointed to the fish they where pulling form the nets.
"Maybe that's because their all dead." Duo said, his voice cracking a little, after seeing so many fish dead in front of him. Quatre just stormed off.
"You know, you're the first one to ever get him frustrated like that." Trowa said. "Fish may talk to you Duo, But we can't hear them saying anything, even when there alive." Trowa picked Duo off the ground, careful not to hurt himself on Duo's quills on his back and carried him to the cabin He placed Duo in the now full tub. "And just to let you know, if you try to escape you won't make it. This tub is just far enough from the railing that you'll die before you even get to them." With that Trowa left the cabin, locking the door behind him.
And that is when Duo broke down, and cried. He would never see his family again.
Let me know what you think.
(1) Most mermaids have colorful hair, in my experience anyway. (2) Though mermaids (and merman's) could breath air like humans, they needed gills to breath in water