Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket/Furuba. I think you get that by now, though... -.-' You'd be really stupid if you didn't. And don't worry, I'll tell you when I'm rich enough to buy it.
I recycle. Wanna know how? I've used that exact disclaimer before. In fact, the document I used to write this has been recycled, too. I love the environment! Aren't I just inspiring!? RECYCLE!! CARPOOL!! USE LESS PAPER! DON'T BREATHE SO WE HAVE ENOUGH OXYGEN! Last one only applies to you people. I'm allowed to use the oxy - another brand I do not happen to own - as much as I want, though I don't have to. Yes, I'm very subtly insinuating I'm a vampire. And only I would come to that conclusion. And yes, I gave a pet name to an element. You should try it. Read on, my pretties! READ!
No, I am not insane...
Yet.
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I'm getting very close.
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"It. Was. So. Wonderful," Kagura exclaimed stertorously to her sisters, fanning herself as pictures of the handsome Prince Kyo flew through her oxygen-depraved mind. Satsuki only watched on in mild interest and concern; much the opposite to the youngest mermaid's sisters. Isuzu was glaring at her nails, Saki was muttering something about grilled meat (something no one but the particular siren could fathom), Arisa and Kimi were making faces at one another, and Machi was, well, sitting in a corner and throwing bits of coral around the room in her frenzy to mess things up.
"Of course it was, Kagura-chan," Satsuki replied, seeing as none of the sisters batted an eyelash at the youngest of their numbers; after all, they had been through the same thing. Or so they thought. Truthfully, none of them had saved a human man from drowning, depositing him into the arms of another. But that wasn't really important, because Kagura was smart enough not to spew the gory details of her adventure to every willing - or unwilling - ear.
Aforementioned mermaid sighed happily for the umpteenth time and collapsed back onto a coral bed. Around her, a flurry of fish flew from their mermaid-laden haven, causing a soft current to wash over her face, calming the blush that threatened to rise on her cheeks.
"Mama," Kagura murmured, her eyes drooping closed from blissful exhaustion due to the day's events. "Mama, I want to go back to the surface tomorrow and the day after and forever..."
The gentleness of the sea came to a stop when Satsuki screeched, "NO!" and Kagura's brown eyes flew wide. She jumped to attention, gulping as every pair of eyes glared at her. "You must never go there again!" her mother continued. "Kagura, didn't I tell you not to fall in love!? Didn't I tell you to be careful! The journey to the surface world is to teach you one thing: that we can never mix! They kill our brethren, they walk on two legs! Do you have legs!
"No, Mama," Kagura snapped. "I do not have legs, but I do have something no one else here has! Determination! Perseverance! A will to fight for my love!" She turned to glare at every one at her siblings, then at her mother. "I'll win Prince Kyo's heart, and then you'll see!"
And, just like that, Kagura took off into the open ocean. And no one could see her tears.
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"Ooh, kowaii..." Kagura was in the darkest part of the sea; a place where even the bravest mermen didn't dare to come. But she knew what was down there; and she knew it could help.
Akito the Seawitch lurked the deep trenches of the ocean, always doing her shifty business in the shadows where no one could stop her. In the shadows, Akito was strong. In the shadows she had magic. And that's what Kagura intended to use. If she could trade something for legs, she could live on the surface. She could seduce Kyo and have him for her own! She could prove her sisters and her mother wrong; she would keep her love just like they could have. If they weren't afraid. And Kagura wasn't afraid. She was never afraid.
Unless you counted the moment small and slimy brushed against her tail.
With a screech, Kagura battered the object with one swing of the green fin, also propelling herself away from the strange, creepy, unseen thing. Kagura didn't know if it was a jellyfish or the tentacle of a giant squid, and sure as Davy Jone's Locker she wasn't taking any chances.
But instead of the battle cry of an attacking Kraken, the was met with an, "Oww!" and a small grunt of sorts. Then laughter followed.
"You could have been nicer," a taunting voice whined, and out from the shadows came two seahorses. Kagura blinked. Slimy? Neither of them looked particularly slimy. And really, what would two seahorses be doing in such a creepy place? They were the weakest of all sea creatures; how could they stand a chance?
"I'm sorry?" Kagura questioned, watching cautiously as the talking seahorse approached. Odd. Usually sea creatures couldn't talk...
"I apologize for my companion's idiocy," the second seahorse muttered. He was larger and sounded much more polite. "I am Hatori, and the cretin you hit was Shigure. I'm indebted to you."
"Ah..." Kagura droned, not sure what to make of the two strange creatures; Mama had warned her about such things as them. Sure, seahorses weren't exactly, well, intimidating, to say the least. But it wasn't their species that had Mama worried; no, it was the empty in their eyes, their intentions to bring her into the dark. It was that they had given theirs souls to the darkness. Then again, Mama had also warned her about Akito...
But Kagura did not mind in the least. In her opinion, questionable - though they seemed pretty welcoming in her eyes - sea critters that couldn't lift a finger against her were much better company than her family at this point. They did not discriminate for her love of the surface (at least it seemed they wouldn't) and surely they wouldn't yell at her for voicing her desires; for pursuing that which was important to her. It was their profit that she should desire things, for it brought her soul closer to the dark depths of which they haunted. Desires would corrupt her, no matter how little, and she knew this. Accepted it. Possibly even welcomed it.
"Could you please tell me where Akito the Seawitch of the Pacific happens to be?" Kagura asked in her politest tone, a tremor of fear breaking through what she hoped to be a calm appearance. Lest not show the ones of the dark fear, for it is like blood to a shark; a beacon for the attack. Even if these inhabitants of the murky waters happened to be pitiful, powerless seahorses.
The one that had a swell on his head, the one that had been introduced as Shigure, laughed jovially. It was such a sight to see such a big laugh come from such a small creature. "That is precisely why we are here, my dear! True, we were not expecting you, but there is no such thing as a coincidence! It was destiny; our meeting! Now, follow Ha-ri and I and you will meet Akito."
"Hai, Shigure-san." Kagura nodded, a small hint of a grin seeping through the emotional barrier she had put up to keep all the fear from engulfing her features. Who knew such supposedly evil creatures could be so helpful? "What do you mean by destiny?"
Shigure shrugged - as much as a seahorse could, anyway - and answered, "Destiny refers to an event that would definitely happen. Without it, nothing is possible. From one thing, you see, many other things can be imagined. And yet there is a path that life must take; a predetermined course. Yours has led to our meeting. Mine is to lead you to the answer of your desires."
"That sounds very smart," Kagura muttered to herself. "I never knew a seahorse could have such a way with words! You could become quite the novelist." Shigure only laughed and shook his tiny head.
"Be forewarned," Hatori intervened, "Akito asks for a price of each customer. There is no such thing as a gift; for one thing to be claimed, sonething of equal value must be sacrificed." Kagura shrugged, but the seahorse continued. "Speak with caution. Words can easily be twisted. And you must show sincerity. Akito likes not one who puts no effort forth."
"Right," Kagura huffed. "Lazy people are worthless! It's such a bad habit; I'm glad my Kyo isn't lazy!" At this point, both guides ignored Kagura's ranting, which surely turned into a jumble of compliments to the prince she knew nothing of. But that was what Kagura decided imagination existed for; so she could build her love up to be the epitome of men - a god in human skin.
In the midst of her incescent murmuring, the three had arrived upon a cavern that jutted deep into the ocean floor until it twisted horizontally, its path hidden from prying eyes. Kagura shuddered as she found herself being led closer and closer to the opening at the pace of a snail. Seahorses swam unbearably slow, she had decided. Scooping up the other two in her hands, she dove into the hole and sped through the tunnel. Finally she found a dim light bouncing off the rock walls and her stomach jumped higher to accompany the heart that beat fast within her chest. Was the infamously evil Akito just aroudn the bend? Despite common sense, she hoped so.
"Just go!" Kagura urged herself, and with one powerful swish of her tail she was propelled around the bend and into a much stronger light. To whoever was watching she gave a queasy smile, her eyes darting around the large, circular dead end to the passage.
Over in one corner were bottles of strange, unknown things, some of them moving the the beat of Kagura's frantic heart. Then, resting on a shelf of rock that jutted from the wall was a merperson skull, something the young mermaid really didn't want to see. There were a few books; something that truly baffled Kagura. She had yet to lay eyes on human letters, nevermind partake in the epic journey that would surely happen if she attempted to read such a thing. But what truly frightened the poor girl was the large cauldron in the center of the room, which emitted the eerie green glow that lit the cavern. Around it was a halo of light, then shadows seemed to lurk in the far places of the room. One of them seemed to be moving.
"It seems we have a customer," a cruel voice taunted, making even the seahorses in Kagura's hand shiver in fear. Kagura herself had nearly collapsed in a puddle of terror, but somehow managed to keep herself calm and in one piece. It was time to display her strength.
"I take it you are Akito," the mermaid said quite bluntly, her voice managing to stay straight and free from fright. "I am Kagura, and I have come to ask of you a favor."
The shadow moved; a person emerged. Kagura gasped at the sight that was before her. There stood a woman with a strange, haunting beauty she had never seen before; perhaps in was an affect the magic and maliciousness she was said to possess. Her hair was short and the deepest black, as here her deathly eyes and her lower half. Instead of a fish tail, the woman had eight thick, round tentacles laden with pink suckers. The blackness in her tentacles in hair contrasted her bale, pallid skin oddly, making it seem as if one half of her was disappearing and the other was glowing. Yes, this was definitely Akito.
"You've guessed right," she replied, her eyes taking in the mermaid before her. "Tell me your name, wench. I need your name to grant your deepest desires; if that is what you have seeked me for."
"Kagura," she asnwered.
"You seem quite willing to give your name to strangers, girl," Akito hissed. "It is foolish. Now, what do you wish, and what do you think is appropriate in exchange for my help?"
Kagura shrugged. "I want to become human," she whispered. "I want to be able to have my love return my affection. I want happiness."
Akito nodded, sighing as she made her way over to the vials that were sitting in the far end of the room. "For everything you desire you must pay an equal price in return. You can't get or give more; can't be more or less. You must be in balance, or else there'll be mishap. Whether it's to a person's physical self, or hidden fates, or spirits from another world, balance must always be present. That is why your soul shall be a perfect trade for a chance at happiness."
Kagura leaped away from Akito, tremors suddenly overtaking her body. "Y-you're going to kill me!? But how would I reach happiness then!? Don't you know mermaids cease to exist when they die?"
The seawitch only cackled maliciously at th mermaid's reaction before scolding, "You silly, foolish girl! I will not kill you. The weight of one's death is a very heavy one. As much as I would delight in such a thing, it causes trouble. Anyone who knows this would never kill. it's not worthwhile. Not in the long run."
"B-but souls..." Kagura stammered.
"Souls have different meanings," Akito explained with a small, cruel smile. "Souls can represent a person's important things. To fulfill a wish, the soul is presenting those important things as trade. I will take an important thing of yours should you want to fulfill your wish. This important thing should be the memories of your family; the only thing you have ever had in life. Would you accept my help for such a thing?"
"Yes!" Kagura exclaimed. "I do not care if I loose every memory of Isuzu, Machi, Kimi, Arisa, Saki... and Mama! Especially Mama!" Akito nodded and sighed.
"It's a simple spell," she muttered. "Now, just wait as I prepare."
With a dash from this vial and a pinch from that, Kagura and the two seahorses watched as Akito threw things into the cauldron, muttering queer things under her breath. Every now and then her eyebrows would crease and her lips would pucker into a frown. But finally, her scurrying came to a close and she wheeled on the mermaid before her.
"Come here, girl," she hissed. Kagura obeyed and Akito spread her long, dainty fingers wide. A strange green smoke from the pot before her surrounded them as she chanted to herself: "Lemures supremus! Lemures subter supter! Tribuo is piscis piscis suus votum! Occupo suus memoria! Lemures supremus , lemures subter supter , utor vestri ops temerarius meus to order! Tribuo mihi praemium , tribuo piscis piscis suus legs! Pro vestri opus EGO tribuo meus vita entwined per suus own! Lest is intereo pro terra recipero suus , EGO mos pariter! Lemures supremus , lemures subter supter , tribuo is pactum of votum!"
Kagura watched in amazement as the emerald substance swirled around her body. Then with a cry she felt a searing in her fin; it was ripping in two! The blood mixed with the green and she screamed; her head, too, felt like it was about to explode! Kagura collapsed onto the sand, only to have her hands clasp to her throat. She couldn't breathe! She was going to die!
"Shigure!" Akito's voice bellowed over the roar of swirling water, "Return to your original form! Take the girl! Bring her to land, do not let her die! Until she has made her way onto the sand her demise is mine! Do not let her drown, or you who have bound your life to mine shall perish as well!"
Kagura felt a strong hand clasp in her own; what a strange surprise it was. But as her chest burned from emptiness, she could not open ehr eyes, even as she was pulled quickly up. But even without her sight, Kagura knew she was approaching a brighter future. A chance at happiness.
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Hey! Sorry it took me so long to get this up. Really, thw first art was written on whim. Didn't even use Word. So, yeah. The chant Akito said was in Latin. Literally, it meant:
Ghosts above! Ghosts below! To give out this fish his prayer! To take possession his memory! Ghosts above , ghosts below , to use your singular bold my command! To give out me reward , to give out fish his legs! For your deed I to give out my life entwined very his own! Lest this to perish for earth to regain his , I will likewise! Ghosts above , ghosts below , to give out this agreement of prayer!
Apparently, there was no female in the Roman times. I honestly did type in "she." Either way, this is hard to decipher the was it translates. I wasn't sure if they had a word for mermaid, so I just put fish. Do you get the point? I hope so. Well, it's kind of, like... four AM. Sigh. Even hough it's summer I still gotta go to bed. There's band practice tomorrow, and I still gotta go over my marching band music. Groooaaaannnn. It looks hard. So, ja' ne. I'll get the next part out when I can. Review, ne?
