Title: The Little Quincy Mermaid
Series: Bleach
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: IchiIshi
Original title is original. Holy crap, this is the longest one shot I've ever written. That's because I wrote it for a contest on DeviantART and the minimum was 4500 words. I seriously sat here and just wrote it all day instead of doing stuff for History. GO ME!!!! Originally Mayuri was supposed to be ursula but the Ursula character didn't work with what I was doing so I just cut him xP I sowwy Mayuri.
Anyways, enjoy!
It was a beautiful day, almost like one you would see in the movies. The sun was shining brightly, its rays penetrating through the windows and adding a brightness to any room. Birds were building nests in the trees for their young, squirrels were running across the grass looking for their nuts. It was the perfect springtime scene, but that only meant one thing.
Spring cleaning.
Ichigo pulled down the ladder into his attic and stared at it. He really didn't want to clean up there, he knew how disgusting it would be. Although they did a big clean every year, the attic hadn't been cleaned for quite some time. Sure they threw stuff up there, but nothing every got taken out or dusted off every so often. He prayed hard, dreading having to go up there. How prayers were, however, somewhat answered. "Ichigo!! Uryuu is here to see you!!!!" Yuzu called at him, "Wants to know if you're busy."
"Send him up then," he sighed, maybe he could get out of cleaning. Then again, Uryuu was a neat freak. he probably would be tickled pink to clean up.
Uryuu headed up the stairs and looked around, "What's going on here? Every one's cleaning."
"Dad gets into a kick every so often, usually in the spring, and forces us to clean every single thing in the clinic. I have to do the attic but I'm not exactly looking forward to it. Want to come?" he offered him, at least he wouldn't be alone.
"What, going to make me do all the work? I don't think so," Uryuu crossed his arms.
"You're the one who wanted to hang up, so let's go," he headed up the ladder. Uryuu rolled his eyes and followed him, knowing that at some point Ichigo would poke his head down and whine about being alone up there. Ichigo didn't realize exactly how much stuff was up there until he got there. There were boxes on boxes on boxes everywhere, with only a small path to move. Ichigo would have to go through every single box to figure out what was staying and what was going. He didn't really want to touch anything since with his luck he would find something dead. He walked over to a box and pulled it off the pile and opened it, wishing the boxes were labeled. Uryuu had already made a mental note once he got up there that he'd take care of that. They must have had some sort of psychic connection.
When Ichigo opened up the box, he found tons of old books. The box was split into two, half were Yuzu's books and half were Karin's books. The difference in book types were obvious, but he noticed the old fairy tales were split among them. He picked the first one up off the pile and looked at the cover. It read 'The Little Mermaid'. He opened it and flipped through it, "Man, I haven't seen these in a while..."
"Seen what?" Uryuu went over to him, curious as to what he'd found.
"Old books. These one are my sisters'. Mom used to read it to them. She would read to me and then to them because she thought I wouldn't listen to their stories. Little did she know I'd sneak over and listen to her read to them, too," he admitted as he stared at the pictures.
"Oh, so you admit to reading fairy tales?" Uryuu teased him, poking him jokingly.
"Says the man who sews better than a woman can," Ichigo shot back, going back to the book. Ichigo remembered how he especially loved the illustrations of the book. They were so vivid, so lively. It was almost like you were in the book, they were just so welcoming. He felt like they were saying 'Welcome! Come in!'. Before he knew it, that was exactly what happened as his mind began to wander to a place of his childhood.
****
"What the hell is this supposed to be?"
"I don't know, why are you asking me? You're not even supposed to be touching it!!!"
"Says who? If you won't tell I won't tell." Uryuu stared at the object in his hands. It had six circles, all attached together. It bent slightly, but it wasn't extremely flimsy. It was white in colour, but the more he twisted it the whiter it became. He'd seen many things similar to it, but nothing exactly like that. "I should take it back to my room," he commented, looking back over to his crabby friend. Literally, his friend was a crab.
"If you take it back to your room your dad will see and be pissed.." Renji commented, lifting his claw and snapping it to gain Uryuu's attention, "Why would you ever think of doing that?"
"Not that room, dumb ass, my secret room," Uryuu hissed at him, annoyed by his stupidity. Uryuu had a secret hideout where he kept all the interesting artifacts he found out in the ocean. he had to keep them there or else his father would be very angry. He despised anything that had to do with the land people. He didn't know why he hated him, he just knew he did. So he had to keep his curiosity under wraps. Uryuu was always one to learn, so exploring the unknown was exciting for him. he just had to find out about the world above theirs. Unfortunately, he couldn't stay above water for more than a few minuets.
Uryuu swam off to his secret room, his blue tail shining brightly as it moved up and down, up and down, up and down to keep him moving along in the clear waters. Renji fluttered along behind him, trying to keep up. He didn't exactly have any other 'friends' so he had to keep up with the one he had. Uryuu squeezed through the small hole in what simply looked like a wall. He emerged on the other side, revealing a large cavern on the other side of the wall. There were objects displayed everywhere on small areas of rock that worked like shelves. He placed his new object on a shelf that was now full. "There..I haven't found a new object in a while. I hope that some more people will come and drop some more things off for me..." he sighed, going off into his own little world where the people did it just for him.
"How about you don't? If your dad finds out then we're screwed. Besides, they don't do it just for you. And they want to eat me!!! They aren't good people, Uryuu," Renji popped the bubble that was Uryuu's fantasy world.
"Oh shut up..." he flicked him away, sending him flying across the room, "I can do what I want to do. He can't hold me back forever."
"Well, technically he can. He's king of the sea, he can do whatever he wants to whoever he wants," Renji pointed out to him. It was true, King Ryuuken was king of all of the sea. However, he wasn't exactly the most liked guy around. He took his position very seriously, as well as punishments for crimes. Thankfully there weren't too many rules, but there was only one with very severe punishment: Don't associate with the land people at any cost. According to him, they were the worst of everything on the earth. They would fish you out, skin you alive and chop you into little pieces. Or worse, they'd put you on display and people would laugh at you all day. He spoke of these horrors often to keep the other merpeople in their place, but that didn't stop Uryuu. His thirst for knowledge was too much to ignore, and he had to associate with them. Unfortunately not many people came out to their waters very often. The only people that did were dead.
"Hey...maybe I could go find the shore and see if I can find any land people," Uryuu stroked his chin in thought, the wheels turning in his mind.
"Oh no! That just spells trouble right there. You'll be in deep shit..." Renji threw his claws in the air and flailed them around.
"That's assuming he'll find out, which he won't," Uryuu pointed out, "Not on my watch anyways."
"Well, at least we'll do something exciting for once.." Renji tried to be optimistic, but it didn't last for long, "NO! I will not talk myself into this."
"Fine, I'll go alone then," Uryuu swam over to the small whole from whence he came. Renji sighed and reluctantly followed after him, knowing that if Uryuu got into any trouble he'd have to find a way to help. "What, I thought you were very clear about not going?" he smirked at him.
"Shuddup or I'll kill you.." he scowled at him.
"What, are you going to pinch me to death?" Uryuu snickered and swam up ahead, causing Renji to have the usual problem of not being able to catch up. He knew this was going to lead into something very big. He didn't know exactly what would happen, but he knew it would be something that would change their lives forever.
*****
"We're here we're here!!!!" Yuzu cried with happiness, running into the warm sand of the beach. Ichigo and his family decided that it had been far too long since their last minuet, so at 5AM they would all pack into the car and go to the beach(Well, actually, it was Isshin's idea. Everyone just had to go along with it). He watched as his sisters and his father set up a spot on the sandy beach, putting up the umbrella and unfolding the folding chairs. He looked around, trying to even remember the last time they'd come. He couldn't understand why, it was such a beautiful place. The sand was clean and yellow, and the ocean waters were a deep blue that made you want to look at it more than go in it. There were plenty of trees for shade and some rocks to get a view of what was past the waters, even though there wasn't anything typically to see.
As his family continued to set up, Ichigo went up to one of the cliffs over the ocean. People rarely came up there so it was a good place to be alone. He stared into the water, watching as it sparkled in the sunlight. Suddenly, he noticed something strange. he rubbed his eyes, but when he did it was gone. He swore he saw a person under the water, but no one ever came swimming up in that area. Suddenly, he saw it again as it quickly moved through the water like a snake. Who or what was that? He leaned forward to get a better look....only to lose his balance and fall in. Now Ichigo knew how to do a lot of things, but there was one thing he never bothered to learn, and that was how to swim. And even if he could, the rocks at the bottom wouldn't help matters very much. He flailed around in the water helplessly, feeling like an idiot. He figured, however, that no one would see him die and their last memory was he was flailing. The thing was, he was wrong about that. Or at leas he thought he he was wrong about that. There was a figure swimming around him, but he didn't look normal. Something about him was strange, yet captivating. He couldn't help but stare to try and figure things out, but before he did all he saw was darkness.
"Don't touch it! What if it attacks us?!" Renji scowled, "I don't want to have to go all bad ass on some land person."
"So what? This is what we came for isn't it?" he pointed out, "Or at least what I came for. I wanted to see some land people. Besides, they can't breath water. We need to help him or he'll die!"
"Good riddance.." Renji muttered and was suddenly sent flying, "Hey!!!"
Uryuu grabbed the figure and carried him up to the surface. He wished he could say he accomplished this with ease, but damn were those land people heavy. He carried him over to the shore and hoisted him onto it, panting hard. "I hope he's going to be okay.." he frowned, concerned for the land person he'd just met.
"Why are we going to all this trouble again?" Renji had returned and was crawling up onto the shore.
"Because it's the right thing to do," he said as he stared back at him. He inspected the land person, he was unlike anyone he'd ever seen before. He was even different from any merpeople he'd ever seen before. Just like Ichigo thought of him, Uryuu found Ichigo captivating as well. The bright orange hair was the feature that pulled him in the most. It was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen, more interesting than all the treasures in his secret room. Looking around, he slowly reached up a hand to touch it, but quickly retreated when he started to move.
"Run!!!" Renji scurried back into the water quickly, "Before he sees us." Biting his lip, Uryuu retreated back slowly into the water. He looked back a couple times before finally diving in and swimming away. At this point, Ichigo groaned and woke up, wondering what had happened. When he saw up, all he saw was what he thought was a mermaid tail.
He rubbed his head, "Ugh....I must have hit my head really hard...I swear I just saw a mythical creature..." He struggled to stand up and stared out at the ocean, wondering if there were many mysteries people hadn't found. And perhaps he may have just found one of them. "...Nah.." he shook his head and headed back to where his family was finished setting up.
"That was way to close! Were you trying to get us killed?" Renji yelled at him.
"No...there was just something about him that gives me a feeling I've never had before..." he was swimming backwards, still facing in the direction of the shore.
"Does it make you feel all tingly inside?" the crab asked him.
"Sort of.." he clutched his chest, "It was just really weird..."
"I think you're in love, dude. With a guy," Renji pointed out.
"So? What if I'm in love with a guy?!" Uryuu snapped at him, but then quickly stopped, "Not..saying that I am or anything.."
"Hey hey hey I'm not saying anything about that, I could care less if it's another guy. What I, and more importantly your father, are concerned about is that he's a land person," he replied simply.
"So what?! Has anyone ever met one of them?! Hmn?!" he replied angrily. Renji kept silent, simply staring back at him. "I thought so. Maybe they aren't as bad as everyone says! And I'm going to prove it!!!!" he swam off.
"Oi! What are you planning on doing?!" Renji tried to follow.
Uryuu flipped around, "I'm going to turn into a human, and I know just the person that can help me."
"No..you're not going to see that crazy old merman are you?" Renji frowned, "He's crazy."
"Oh, but I am," Uryuu turned back around and swam away, leaving Renji floating there in shock.
****
"So...do you think you can help me?" Uryuu asked.
"I don't know, can I~?" the merman smirked at him, his bright green tail fanning his face.
Uryuu scowled, "Just tell me dammit!!! Now I know why everyone thinks you're crazy, Urahara."
"Hey heeeey now calm down~" Urahara replied, frowning, "Are you doubting my ability? Of course I can help you."
"Great! What do I need to do?" Uryuu was suddenly very excited and forgot about being mad at him.
"It's only a potion, nothing serious. There's only one teansy weansy probl-"
"Great great find just give it to me!!!" Uryuu was anxious to take it before his father somehow found out.
"Let me finish. There are two things you need to know about this before I give it to you. First off, it has a...side efect. Usually one or your senses goes moot while you're in the body. You might not be able to talk, hear, smell, taste..hopefully it's something minor but you won't be guaranteed what will happen. Second of all, this potion is only temporary and will eventually wear off," he explain to him as he dug around to find it.
"What if I want it to be permanent?" Uryuu inquired. He wanted to know just in case.
"That's easy, all you have to do is receive a kiss from your prince charming~" he twirled around.
"Why would you have to do that?" Uryuu frowned, "Sounds kind of cliche."
"I don't make the potion rules up so don't blame me," he put his hands in the air, one of which was holding the potion vial.
Uryuu swam up quickly and grabbed it out of his hands, "Thanks!!!" He then swam away excitedly for the shore. Once he arrived, he opened the bottle and stared at the liquid. It didn't really look that appealing. It didn't smell that appealing, either. He held his breath and downed the drink in one big gulp, gasping once he had taken it all. He felt very strange for a while, all tingly inside. Before he could feel anything else he passed out. He was unaware of anything that was happening. That is, until he woke up. He was laying on a towel, with another towel wrapped around him. He looked up to see the same land person he'd seen before and jumped.
"Sorry...did I scare you?" Ichigo said to him. Uryuu went to speak, but no noise came out. He quickly closed his mouth so it wasn't just hanging open. He nodded to indicate that yes, indeed, he had scared him. "I see...you can't talk?" he pointed out the obvious. Uryuu nodded again. "Alright..so why were you out on the sand naked?" he asked the million dollar question. Uryuu shrugged, indicating he didn't know. It must have been part of the transformation process. "Well I guess that's not extremely important..as long as you're all right.." Ichigo went on, "Do you know where you live?" Uryuu had never thought of that. He would have no where to stay, no money, no means to get a job. He shook his head, because really he didn't know. "We're leaving, I guess you can come back with us and we'll figure out what to do from there," Ichigo stood up. Uryuu tried to stand up, and it was then that he realized he had legs. He figured they would be no problem, so he stood up....and fell down. Thankfully Ichigo caught him before he got a mouth full of sand. "Whoa! Maybe you're still a little weak from whatever happened to you..I'll help you out.." he supported Uryuu and they walked to the car. Uryuu investigated his surroundings. Sure he'd seen a bit of it before, but never like this. When they got to the car Ichigo opened the door for him, and Uryuu stared at it. "Well....get in," Ichigo said, so Uryuu did. It startled him when Ichigo closed the door and got in on the other side. He watched as he got some strange belty thing and clicked it in to a rectangular box. He figured he should do it, too, so he would fit in. "Once we get to my place we'll get you some clothes, too," Ichigo said as they drove off towards their house. Uryuu simply nodded, staring out the window the entire time. His eyes were wide in wonderment like that of a child. Ichigo thought to himself that it was like he'd never seen it all before. Little did he know that was exactly how it was.
****
"He did WHAT?!"
"Hey! Don't shoot the messenger here, I'm just sayin'!" Renji scowled. He stared back at the furious king. By appearance he wasn't a very menacing merman, but he made sure to keep a firm grip on his kingdom. It was enough to scare anyone into behaving. That is, except for his son Uryuu.
"How could he have done this! He should know better!" King Ryuuken roared, unable to keep his anger inside.
"Well apparently not.." Renji pointed out the obvious.
"I knew I should have nipped his little fascination in the bud early..." he paced back and forth, "We have to get him back instantly...and you're going to get him."
"What?! Why me?!" Renji gasped, "I'm going to get killed out there!"
"Because I said so. Besides, you're the one who knows where he got the potion from. You can change, too, and go after him. He also trusts you. Just tell him I'm dying and he needs to come to take over the kingdom," he turned around, indicating he didn't want to see any more of him. Renji sighed and sulked off, not looking forward to this one bit.
Meanwhile, Uryuu found himself swimming in Ichigo's clothes. He didn't realize how much bigger he was until just now. "Sorry..I wish I had other clothes to put you in but that's about it," Ichigo commented, "So..I assume you aren't from these parts?" Uryuu nodded quickly, wondering how he knew. "Well, maybe I can give you a tour around? It's not that exciting but..I have a feeling that you'll enjoy it," Ichigo shrugged. Uryuu may not have known much about land people, but it sounded an awful lot like a date. He nodded quickly again, enjoying this idea. Ichigo still had to help him walk around, which he enjoyed immensely. They went to the park, where he saw trees and animals. he even got to feed the birds, watching at how hungrily they pecked at the bread. He showed him all the good shops around and the bad shops. He even showed him the school before it was time to head back to the clinic. Uryuu enjoyed his day more than he'd ever enjoyed any other day before. "Did you enjoy yourself?" Ichigo asked once they were in his room once again. Uryuu nodded enthusiastically, which made Ichigo laugh. "You know, even though you don't talk, I think we became very close today..." he leaned into him, and Uryuu blinked, "Do you agree with me." Uryuu thought about it for a moment, was Renji right? He slowly nodded. Ichigo moved in even closer, and Uryuu knew what this meant. He was so close, until he hear banging on the window. He looked over to see someone standing there. He had bright red hair pulled back and spiked out. After some contemplation he had a feeling it could only be one person. Wondering why he was there, he gave Ichigo an apologetic look and ran outside.
"Dude you need to come now. We've got big problems in the sea," he said to him quickly. Uryuu was wondering how he learned to walk so fast, but shook his head. "No, it's super important. If your dad dies then you're the new king. You need to come. I have a potion that can change us back right now," he pleaded with him. Uryuu stared back at the clinic, then over to Renji. He hung his head and followed him. He had to do what was best for everyone, and not just himself. Renji dragged him back to the ocean, and once they changed back they dove in and went to the palace. Once there, Uryuu got a big surprise. he was held back by two guards.
"Did you think I wouldn't find out?" King Ryuuken said, not moving from his throne.
"What danger would it do to you if I stayed?! No one would miss me!" he scowled, trying to break free.
"If our secret got out we would all be dead!"
"How do you know?! You just sit here all day!!!!" Uryuu yelled at him, but it soon proved to be a bad move. The guards dragged him away, despite his yelling and resisting. They threw him in a cage far too small for him, where he sulked. He sat there on the ocean floor and sulked, only thinking about one thing: Ichigo. He knew he'd be put to death and that he'd never see him again. He hung his head and cried, although you couldn't see it under the water.
Days went by and Uryuu hadn't eaten or slept in that entire time. It wasn't because he didn't want to, it was because the guards weren't allowing it. His head was always hung and he didn't look up, until suddenly he heard a familiar voice. It was when the guards had left on their breaks.
"Hey you..." There he was, floating there in all his merman glory. It was Ichigo. he swam over to the cage and tried to get it open.
"What are you doing here..?" Uryuu replied weakly, "How did you know?"
"Well, I had already put two and two together that you had to be a merman. And secondly, your crab friend felt guilty and hooked me up," he opened up the cage. He expected Uryuu to come flying out, but he couldn't do it. Uryuu was too weak to get up. "Heh, even here I still have to help you..." Ichigo picked him up.
"Shuddup.." Uryuu was starting to doze off in his arms.
"You can't fall asleep yet, I have something very interesting to tell you....."
****
"WHAT?!"
"You seem to be yelling a lot today, Dad. Is it that hard to comprehend?" Uryuu said to him quietly, still being held by Ichigo, "Either you step down, or I expose to everyone you're a lying hypocrite."
King Ryuuken scowled at him, "You can't do that..they'll never believe you!!"
"Oh, but I think they will. Some people already believe this is what's going on. If I tell, then they'll have a reason to riot," Uryuu pointed out. Kibg Ryuuken looked like he was about to explode. "But don't worry, we'll still keep you around. Right Ichigo?"
"Yea, I think he'll make a nice housekeeper.." Ichigo smirked.
"You can't do this to me!!" he yelled again. Suddenly, the guards lifted him up. "What! Hey, I order you to put me down!!!!," he scowled.
"Sorry, but they work for me now," Uryuu was losing his voice. All he could hear were King Ryuuken's yells down the hall as he was taken away.
"Now then, I believe we have some business to take care of.." Ichigo looked at him, and Uryuu frowned. Suddenly ichigo leaned in and kissed him. It wasn't wimply, but it wasn't too hard since he didn't want to hurt him. After a long time he pulled away.
"Won't you be a merman forever then..?" Uryuu asked him.
"That was the point," Ichigo replied, still smirking at him. So, Uryuu and Ichigo both became kings of the sea. Ryuuken had the lovely job as being a housekeeper, having to clean every nook and cranny of the palace. Renji would have faced the same fate for blabbing, however since he did the right thing in the end he was spared. And Urahara continued to be the crazy old man exiled from the kingdom. For the most part, they all lived happily ever....
"Ichigo!"
"Mmmm..."
"Ichigo wake up..."
"No blueberry pancakes Mom..."
"ICHIGO!"
"Huh?" he slowly opened his eyes.
"You were out cold...are you all right?" Uryuu asked him.
"Yea..just fine.." he sat up slowly, rubbing his head.
"Were you dreaming while passed out? You were talking about mermaids and stuff...." Uryuu asked him.
"Was I? Oh well, it was just a dream anyway..." he looked down to see he was still holding the book. He scooted over and put it into the box.
"But I want to know.." Uryuu followed him over. How could Ichigo resist that face?
"Well....it was basically The Little Mermaid story..but with us. You were..The Little Mermaid...and your dad was King Triton..except he was evil...and Renji was a crab and I was the Prince..and Urahara was...being himself.." he explained, trying to recall everything.
"What about he Ursula character?" he asked him.
"Eh, she always scared the shit out of me so that would explain why she wasn't in it," he shrugged.
"Well, as long as you're all right.." Uryuu leaned in to give him a simple peck, but got a make out session instead.
"Yea...as long as I'm all right...hey, do you think mermaid exist?" he asked him after they were done.
"If shinigami exist, so can they," he pointed out.
"Maybe I don't exist, how about that huh?!"
"You're a moron, Ichigo..." Uryuu got up and walked away.
"Hey! Come back and help me up!!"
~THE END~
