Tsuna was the only male to be born into the tribe of sirens – hell, the only man, boy, whatever, to be born ever. A merman, they called him, lacking a term for it. The women were sirens, the men were...mermen?

Sirens, the kind that lured sailors to their death. They sat on rocks, combed their hair, and sang. Tsuna couldn't sing, not like them; he could barely stand to hear himself. He had been told he was fine, he could sing – Sirens were also excellent liars.

"Tsuna," one called, gesturing. "Go help the men." That was his job, to help the stranded sailors get to the island without drowning. Tsuna obeyed, diving into the water with an agility none of the Sirens had. He couldn't sing, but he could swim.

And the Sirens sang their prophecies, while Tsuna dragged men to their death, his four-year-old frame struggling to bear their weight.

~o0o~

"Watch out for a man named Reborn," one of the older women, about a hundred years old, told him. She only appeared twenty, but the way she held herself spoke of eons. Her eyes were pale, rather than the usual full inky black the rest had.

"Reborn?" Tsuna frowned. "Do you mean another man will be born here?"

She shook her head violently. "No. A human. They will learn of here, and drag you to their world." She gripped his shoulders. "The prophecy, what I saw – you will become human, and you will-" She choked on her words, then focused again. "Find it. Use the Void."

The Void was terrifying, Tsuna wanted to argue. He hated the sense of loss that came with leaving his body. He wanted to be able to see the future, like the others, but instead he had been given that.

"Find what?"

"...Find-" And she stopped, mouthing something. "I can not tell you."

"...Elder?" He looked uncertain. "Why can't you?"

Pale eyes turned on him. "It's forbidden. Child, you will lead but that is all I can say."

"Confusing," Tsuna muttered.

"Yeah. Life's like that. And remember, as I keep telling you-"

"Don't leave the vicinity of the island," Tsuna chanted.

"Exactly."

~o0o~

Tsuna allowed his mind to float, drifting almost aimlessly across the ocean. It was difficult to stay near their island, and even more so to stop himself from going all the way to the stars. But he had been told never to leave the air, and never to go near land. Tsuna obeyed, too scared to ever leave.

"Tsuna," one of the others said, and Tsuna reluctantly reentered his body.

"Yeah," he said groggily, tail flapping.

"The elder called for you."

Tsuna blinked. "Why?"

She shrugged, leaning back against the rocks. "See if I care."

Tsuna hesitated, then shoved himself off the rocks and back into the water. He pushed himself down, twisting around slightly. He swam idly, ignoring the sense of urgency that wriggled in the back of his mind.

"...Tsuna," a voice said. He stopped, tilting his head. It wasn't...a female voice.

"Yes?" He said by reflex.

"...Come...here..."

What was that voice? Where was it coming from? But he had never met anyone else off of their island, and had never, ever been called by name by a man.

Curious, he followed the sound, eager to find the source. Whoever it was kept calling out for him, and Tsuna kept swimming.

He didn't notice how far from the island he was until he burst through the surface, gasping as he readjusted to his nose and not his gills.

"Where are you?" He called.

"Here," the voice said, and Tsuna stared upwards, awestruck.

"You're...a man?"

"Yes." The man in question crouched down, smiling. "How are you?"

Tsuna was taken aback, then glanced around. "Where am I?" There were rocks, and a cliff out beyond the sand, but no obvious sign of habitation.

"Japan."

Tsuna blinked. "Um, where is that?"

The man blinked back. "Your eyes are black. That's strange."

Tsuna touched an eyelid. "Where am I?" He repeated, more forcefully. "And, human-" He jerked back as the man reached out. "Don't touch me. I don't want your filth."

"Filth?"

"Humans are filthy. That was what I was taught."

The man paled, then burst out laughing. "Oh, gee, the Ninth was right."

Tsuna glared. "About what?"

"How arrogant you are."

"I'm not-"

The man straightened. "My name is Iemitsu," he said courteously. "How do you do."

Tsuna turned away, intending to leave. "My mystery has been solved-"

"Ours hasn't," and that was when the net closed in on him.

~o0o~

He was thrashing wildly, the sensation of burning coating his tail. "Wa...ter," he gasped, immediately thankful when liquid was trickled into his mouth.

"Difficult, huh?" Iemitsu asked.

A man with a staff leaned over him. "Just like Talbot said. As soon as we catch wind of a merman, we'll find our answer."

"The next heir?"

"...Yes. He's the spitting image of the first-"

"Let me go, you bastards," Tsuna spat out, then hissed curses at them in Siren.

"-If not for the eyes," the man with the staff – or stick, whatever – finished. "But I can fix that."

Iemitsu nodded. "Do it."

The man lifted a single finger, an orange flame igniting. Tsuna froze, then cried out, "No, don't do it, humans are disgusting-"

Iemitsu pinned his arms as the man pressed his finger against his forehead. Tsuna passed out as the Sky Flames overrode his mind.

~o0o~

His legs felt unnatural, his head heavy, and when he looked in the mirror, his eyes were wrong. But he had felt that way for years now, with no answers. His father avoided looking at him, and he didn't know why.

Unbeknowst to Tsuna, the only thing that remained from his other life was his ability to escape to the Void, an ability he rarely used, until a certain hitman named Reborn came knocking.

/sigh/ another fic. lmao

also: prompts for this:

Tsuna is a merman

Reasonably describe why/how he in a merman, what that has led to and manouver him to the same start point as canon then explain how he evades discovery

Tsuna astral projects into the void regularly

(courtesy of torashii -)

also: reviews make me write quicker...ahaha yes this is v shameless