TWO: A Somewhat Selfish Merman

Saruhiko's earliest memory was a pair of arms pushing him into the water. It was fuzzy, he couldn't remember much. Just the sight of bubbles and a twinge of fear.


The underwater kingdom was a beautiful place. It nested in a part of the ocean that was still untouched by human pollution. The continent above it, Shizume, was only beginning to industrialize and only a few of the countries there had factories of any sort. Anyways, they were on the other side of the continent and did not affect the world under the ocean. Of course, with that said, the civilians living there didn't know of what was happening either.

No, the biggest concern of all mermen was to not be seen by human eyes. That was the number one rule of their society. If there was one thing mermen understood about humans, it was that they were selfish, paranoid creatures. In the mermen's perspective, humans cannot get along with others, they fight and they waste, they only want to come out as the winners. Under that belief, the first king of Atlantis had declared that no merman or mermaid was to be allowed to talk or be seen by a human. He hoped that as long as the merpeople followed this rule, they won't be feared by humans and therefore hunted and killed.

Over time, of course, this rule was broken and altered and the merpeople were given exceptions. They were allowed to go above the surface, but not too frequently. There have even been stories that some mermaids and mermen found love on land. Those were just stories, of course, and Saruhiko never believed them. Because, it just wasn't possible. Not without strong magic. Only the King had that sort of magic. ...And, well, a few other whispered places as well, but Saruhiko wasn't supposed to know about that.

The underwater kingdom was structured similar to the ones on land. They had a king which they all obeyed, then there were aristocrats, the middle class, and the poor. They all had their own jobs and currency. The king had his guards and the kingdom had an army. It was all very similar to Homra and Scepter4.

Saruhiko's place in this world was very strange. He wasn't exactly a prince, but somewhere along the line, he became something like one. He couldn't remember a lot about his childhood. He remember being shoved underwater, but that was it. Afterwards, he had been brought back to the palace and treated like a prince.

He was given the best food, the best clothing, the best everything, but he held no actual power. He never stayed by the king's side, but rather watched by the attendants. He didn't bother asking why he was given this treatment because he could already sense that no one was willing to tell him. Or, even if they did, most of the palace servants probably didn't know.

Saruhiko's tiny world was so boring.

There was no rule saying that he had to stay inside the palace at all times, but he would receive disapproving looks if he asked to go outside. And any time he did, he was accompanied by a guard or two. It was obvious that he was not permitted to go outside the city so Saruhiko didn't even bother asking.

Pretty soon, not just the palace, but the city life of Atlantis bored him. From what he was taught in school, there was apparently nothing beyond the city. Although he was pampered like royalty, Saruhiko still had to go to a public school. It seemed like the requirements of being treated like a prince only extended to food, shelter, and protection.

It was at school that people whispered rumors of a banished witch who lived outside the city. It's home wasn't all that far away, but enough to be out of sight and out of mind. There, they say, lies a coral reef that was tainted by its black magic so that everything was dead and broken. At the time, Saruhiko paid no attention to the rumors. They were just rumors and he wasn't interested in a witch that lived a solitary life. It's not like he could learn magic from the witch anyways (he wasn't of royal blood).

The classes were rather boring. The only thing that ever sparked his interest was when they mentioned humans in his history class. He had found it odd, despite the fact that they co-existed for so long, humans didn't know of them and they barely knew anything of humans. Saruhiko wanted to know more about them.

But the information was so limited. He would try looking in libraries and bookstore, but still he barely found anything. The only worthwhile thing he found was in the restricted section of the library. He had to sneak in there to find the book, too. All it detailed were a few objects they found on the ocean floor that humans had accidentally dropped. However, no one could figure out what the objects do. There were a few speculations here and there, but none of them was certain. Apparently, the only item that nearly all scientists agreed upon was a three pronged object that was used to comb hair. Saruhiko thought that it was a strange comb, you'd have to comb a long time with only three prongs.

Why don't they just go up there and ask them, Saruhiko had wondered in annoyance. Honestly, these merpeople were just so paranoid.


The only other boy around Saruhiko's age in the palace was another strange prince-like misfit. He was a year younger than Saruhiko, but had been in the palace for much longer. He was a serious boy and was always seen by the king's side. So the only times Saruhiko spoke with him in private was when they went to bed in the room they shared.

Kuroh Yatagami had been found in the outskirts of the city when he was two years old. The king, who was a kind person, took him in and since then, Kuroh had a strange fascination with the king. He would follow him around like a loyal dog and even took up training to be the king's personal bodyguard. Of course, he couldn't be the king's actual bodyguard, he was only a child. Maybe when he's older. But the king humored him and let him carry around a wooden sword and learn to fight from the generals.

To Saruhiko, he was just another nutcase.

"Black dog," Saruhiko called Kuroh by his popular nickname, "Can you tell me about the day I came here?" It was night time and the sea was dark. Saruhiko couldn't sleep and decided to try and make conversation with Kuroh, who was sleeping on the other bed on the other side of the room.

"Hmm..." the younger boy rubbed his eyes and turned to face Saruhiko. He was only half awake and in a somewhat deluded state. Without thinking, he answered Saruhiko, "It was...that person's birthday."

"That person?"

"Um... I was six at that time."

"Yea," what did that have to do with anything? Saruhiko wanted to hear the important part...

"Which means you were seven. And so...he was thirteen. Yea, that sounds right. So he was allowed to go to the surface."

"Tsk, I don't need you to remind me how old I am," Saruhiko snapped. "If you're not going to tell me anything worthwhile, just go to sleep!" Saruhiko, who was pampered, had a less modest and polite personality than Kuroh, who spent his days being dedicated to someone rather than taking gratitude. And so, Saruhiko had more of an attitude problem and was more likely to snap or disobey orders.

Just before both boys fell asleep, however, Kuroh mumbled, "It was... the...prince..."

At some point, Saruhiko decided he wanted to learn to fight like Kuroh. Of course, the king was not against it and instructed Kuroh to teach him. Although Saruhiko would've preferred an adult to teach him, he was not completely disappointed. He was nine now and Kuroh was eight. Yet, Kuroh had learned nearly all the techniques the generals had to offer. He had a long way to go from mastering them, but he knew them well enough to teach Saruhiko.

"Like this, like this," Kuroh demonstrated by swinging the sword forward.

"Why would I do that? Wouldn't it be better if I just stab?" Saruhiko retorted as he thrusted the sword outward.

"Because that's not the style!" they were training outside the palace in the gardens and there was no one watching them.

"Tsk," Saruhiko clicked his tongue, "There should be more ways to learn how to fight." With that statement, even the calm Kuroh was about to lose his cool. "Whatever, I'm leaving," he threw the sword on the ground and started swimming upwards.

"Saruhiko, where are you going?" Kuroh yelled after him, but did not follow.

"Somewhere else!"

Kuroh didn't dare follow him. He didn't dare do anything without making sure he had the king's consent first.

And so, Saruhiko was out of the city. That was way too easy.

Outside the kingdom, Saruhiko glanced back. They were supposed to guarantee his safety and yet, they didn't even bother to keep an eye on him! He should've done this long ago. It probably wouldn't be too hard to get the servants to look the other way and he'd be able to wander out again.

The school books were true. For about a quarter of a mile, there really was nothing outside of the city. The ground was just bare sand with rocks. The further Saruhiko went, the more lively the place became. There were fishes and crabs and seaweed, he wondered why there was nothing near the city. Perhaps the fish ran away in fear of being eaten?

No matter, it was nice out here and he was going to enjoy it.

After about an hour of swimming, Saruhiko found himself in a strange place. He had been swimming in a coral reef filled with life, but everything suddenly faded to a lifeless gray. This part of the reef looked dead. There was no sign of anything living. As he swam curiously, he reached a cave opening at the edge of the dead reef.

There was a strange light coming from inside and Saruhiko peeked in. He couldn't see much, just some strange items placed throughout shelves in the cave and-

Saruhiko let out a gasp and quickly turned around, swimming away as fast as he can. He didn't stop until he was far, far away. He didn't even know how long or how fast he had been swimming. It must've been a while because he could see Atlantis not too far away. Just a couple more minutes of swimming and he would reach there. He was beside the rock formation that was part of the entire continent above him and he was at a much higher altitude than the city.

He stared at the place in surprise. The people looked quite small, like ants, at this height and they were moving around busily without a care in the world. ...He didn't know, he didn't know they looked like that. Saruhiko grinned, and he would've never known if he stayed in that cramped city!

Just as he was enjoying this moment of victory, he heard a yell.

"Help!" Saruhiko turned to look for the source of the sound. It took him a moment to find it, but he saw a pair of legs dangling in the sea. Immediately, he started laughing as he swam towards it.

A human was drowning! Now, wasn't that a spectacular sight to see! These prideful, vain creatures were at the mercy of something as simple as the ocean. ...Priceless, who said these humans were so powerful again?

Up close, Saruhiko realized it was a child who was struggling for air, one that looked even younger than him. He began to feel a little guilty. He can't just let the child drown, but if he saved him, wouldn't he see what Saruhiko is? There were rules in place against this...

Baah, no one can enforce the rules out here, he thought before he swam up behind the child, "You look like you could use some help."

He pulled the child above the ocean surface and he saw the blue sky for the first time. As the child coughed and sputtered in his arms, Saruhiko was looking at the surroundings. The sky is blue, he didn't know that! And what are those green things growing at the edge of that rock? It wasn't thin and paper-like like seaweed.

It didn't take long for the boy in his arms to recover and introduce himself as Misaki Yata. They had a small conversation and how strange- this child wasn't anything like the humans he heard about. Aside from this Scepter4, he was so happy, so ready to accept anyone. That was very different from the humans he heard about. If this child was really as prideful as the rest of humanity, he wouldn't have bothered to thank or invite Saruhiko to play with him. Granted, he didn't realize Saruhiko was a merman, but... there was something about the way Misaki smiled and laughed that Saruhiko couldn't hate. That made it impossible for Saruhiko to believe that Misaki was a part of a species that fought and hated everything around them.

He didn't understand, but he couldn't be happier when Misaki invited him to come back the next day.


"Where did you go?" Kuroh asked when he returned to the palace.

"Swimming."

The good thing about Kuroh is that he only thought of the king and didn't really care about others' actions as long as it didn't affect the king. So, he let it go and returned to practicing his sword.

For the rest of the day, Saruhiko couldn't forget Misaki. When the next day again, he snuck out of bed early and swam away. It was before the servants came and they would probably assume he went to play somewhere. They wouldn't bother looking for him.

When he broke surface, the sun was still rising. He waited for hours before Misaki showed up.

"Wow, you're really here!" Misaki screeched in delight as he rolled up his pants and ran into the ocean to greet Saruhiko. Of course, he only ran so far before he realized that any further meant getting his clothes wet and his mother angry. "Hey, why don't you come out of the water?"

Saruhiko paused. Misaki...still didn't understand? "I...uh, can't," surely now he would get the hint that something wasn't right about Saruhiko.

Instead, Misaki looked at him with wide eyes before walking back to the beach. There, he quickly took off his shirt ran back into the ocean. Saruhiko kept his eyes glued on him in surprise. "Didn't you say your mother will be angry if you got your clothes wet?"

"It's only the pants so she'll only be half as angry!"

"...I don't think..."

Misaki shivered, "Why do you stay out here, Saru? It's cold!"

"... Saru...?"

"Yea, Saru! It sounds nice!"

He's so innocent, Saruhiko couldn't help smiling.

They met again the next day and they played in the water again. Misaki's mother scolded him, but it didn't stop Misaki from going to see Saruhiko again. Again, they promised to meet again the next day.

However, the next day, Misaki didn't show up. Saruhiko waited for the whole day, but the boy didn't show up. He wondered if Misaki had forgotten. So the next day, he waited again, but Misaki, once again, didn't show up. Saruhiko kept trying for the rest of the week, but Misaki didn't show up. He began to consider why. Perhaps Misaki's mother had finally got fed up with the wet pants and forced him to stay home. Perhaps he just couldn't leave the house so often. ...It made sense and Saruhiko rationalized that it was probably better for him to just forget this and stop coming.

Even though he told himself he would stop trying to see Misaki, Saruhiko couldn't help but pop out of the ocean in hopes of catching a glimpse of him. He couldn't do it too often, school had started again and he couldn't skip every day to try and find Misaki. He missed the boy, but there wasn't much he could do about it aside from hope.

"Black Dog," Saruhiko asked one night, "Is there anyone you would miss a lot if you were away from them for a long time?"

"Of course."

"Who is it?"

"The king, who else?"

"Why do you think you feel that way?"

"...I love him, I suppose," he answered after a pause. "He's the family I never had."

"Family...huh?" Saruhiko wondered if it was necessarily a family-like feeling he had for Misaki.

Saruhiko was fifteen and Kuroh was fourteen when the king died. The next day, Kuroh went missing. Saruhiko hasn't seen him since. There was no one to succeed after the king. After all, being the king required magical powers and no one in all of Atlantis had that. So, the parliament ruled for the time being. It would last until they found the "crown prince." Saruhiko didn't understand the politics nor did he care about it. In order to get away from a depressed and plotting palace, Saruhiko decided he would try going to the surface instead. He hadn't gone in a while, not since the king got sick.

As he burst through the surface and took a breath of air, Saruhiko's heart nearly jumped out of his chest from what he saw.

A boy with red hair sat on the edge of the beach skipping stones.

"Misaki?" Saruhiko questioned under his breath, he was still too far away to tell. Besides, it had been years, Misaki was sure to have gone through some changes. Saruhiko swam closer and hid behind a rock to look at the boy carefully.

He was certain, it was Misaki. He was about to call to his long time friend when someone beat him to it.

"Yata-san!" a chubby young man ran down the less steep slopes on the other side of the beach and ran towards Misaki. "There's big trouble!"

"What?" Misaki quickly stood up and Saruhiko's eyes followed him. Sounds like his voice changed. He didn't seem much taller though.

"Scepter4 just started a fight over at the East side! We don't have a lot of people there so we need to hurry! Mikoto-san is going too!"

Misaki's eyes lit up in a way that Saruhiko didn't like.

"Alright, let's go beat up some fucking Blues!" Misaki yelled as he picked up a strange board that was leaning against the rocks and ran up the slope away from the beach. The other man struggled to follow him.

What had happened to Misaki? Saruhiko was shocked, this was nothing like the Misaki he once knew. The Misaki he knew wasn't someone who looked for a fight. No, he was kind...right? The more Saruhiko thought about it, the more he realized he didn't really know who Misaki was. For all he knew, Misaki could've been just like the rest of the humans.

His heart hurt.

No, no, no, even if Misaki was terrible like that... he didn't care. As much as he wanted Misaki to stay kind and innocent, it wasn't as much as he wanted Misaki to be with him. Not whoever he just ran off with. Not whoever he was running for. Not whatever else he cared about.

Saruhiko narrowed his eyes. No, Misaki was his to adore.


Ffff... So much for studying.

Anywaaaays, I kind of wanted to write more, but I was like, this is a good place to stop. Let's stop here :I As you can see in this chapter, I messed with the character relationships. And the facts of the original fairy tale.

For those of you asking for a happy ending... I like happy endings, but it's a little too early to say. Expect the unexpected!

Also, not sure if he'll show up again...but I'll be taking a reviewer's (ABECrudele) advice and in the future, Chitose will be referred to as Yoh.

Thank you for reading!