Setting: Modern day, post-Dark Kingdom arc

Theme: Siren

Part 1

"My heart is pierced by Cupid
I disdain all glittering gold
There is nothing can console me
But my jolly sailor bold"

Caressing whispers have haunted my every waking minute ever since that day I opened my eyes.

I felt nothing. I remembered nothing. Nothing but that angelic melody.

It's said that when they found me lying on the shore, I was naked as the day I was born, with nothing on me but a pair of silver earrings and a large hideous scar across my chest.

I picked a name for myself, Kai. It felt appropriate enough.

It was tough at first, but not because I was a man of no identity nor was it because my unusually white hair for someone in his twenties kept attracting glares from passing villagers.

It was because I had not figured out how to tune out the singing. It would often catch me at my most unguarded and at night plague my sleep.

At times, the voice was soft and soothing, like a lover whisper. Others, it was full of anguish and resentment, a tormenting euphony.

"Upon one summer's morning,
I carelessly did stray,
Down by the Walls of Wapping,
Where I met a sailor gay,

Conversing with a bouncing lass,
Who seem'd to be in pain,
Saying, William, when you go,
I fear you will never return again"

It was a peaceful little village, running along a rocky coast. The main activity here was, unsurprisingly, fishing. The villagers were nice enough to let me stay in a humble cottage by the sea in exchange for my service in one of their sailing crew.

Today was my first day out in the sea. As I stepped on board and they set sail, for the first time in months, I felt alive. I closed my eyes and breathed in the fresh breeze of the morning.

And there it was again. The voice serenaded amidst the sounds of the ocean roar.

I felt very sick. Holding my stomach, I threw up. The other guys laughed and patted on my back, saying how normal it was to be seasick on one's first trip offshore.

Somehow I knew that was not it.

As I stood there above the waves, all that went through my mind was the mirage of a desert, with endless sand and scorching heat.

"His hair hangs in ringlets
His eyes as black as gold
My happiness attend him
Where ever he may go

From Tower Hill down to Blackwall
I will wander, weep and moan
All for my jolly sailor bold
Until he does return."

The haunting voice no longer hounded my sleep alone. Now there were battle cries, shouting and screaming. Images of familiar scenes and faces went flashing by; a lone tree under the moonlight, a golden smile, a half-lidded room, a pair of red-filled eyes, a blazen battlefield, and then pitch black.

My mind went completely blank the minute I awoke from these nightmares. Not a single clue would come up, save the melody that I have by now engraved in my memory.

Wiping the sweats from my face, I sat up and reached for my shirt. The crooked wooden floor never felt so cold to my feet.

I stood by the windows, gazing out into the ocean. The dimly lit candles on my table bore no comparison to the moonlight shining tonight. Outside, waves after waves came crashing in.

Ah, the sea is a harsh mistress. Mistress, not master. I wondered how this saying came into existence. It was a common saying here in this fishing village.

Something caught my eyes. A shadow. A girl? What was she doing out in the water in the middle of the night? Not even bothering to grab a jacket, I ran out to the shore.

But she was gone, if she ever there in the first place and not just a figment of my imagination.

I sat down on the beach and closed my eyes, letting the song fill my mind.

Who am I? – This I no longer dared question myself.

Why did fate bring me here? Is this where I really belong?

Is there nobody out there looking for me?

"My name it is Maria
A merchant's daughter fair
My father's fortune doth exceed
300, 000 gold
And he frowns upon his daughter
Who loves a sailor bold"

She was a young maiden who just came of age but whose beauty was already renowned for miles around. Her golden hair sprung like the ocean waves when she ran to me whenever I came around. Her cheeks donned a rosy color as she easily blushed when we talked. She was the embodiment of all things precious and delicate.

Why her father, the village chief, would want to entrust her to a man of no importance was a mystery to me. It couldn't just be because I saved her from drowning.

I admitted. I knew she had a thing for me. Even I was not that thick. It was funny how I felt a need to justify that.

Still, this could be the perfect chance for me. I could really start a meaningful life now. I could build a family.

Yet whenever I gazed down at her, something always felt amiss. And soon enough the siren in my head would raise her voice.

I turned away from her innocent brown eyes and looked to the blue sea. Somehow it was more calming.

Author's note:

This fic was inspired by the song "My jolly sailor bold" from Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tide. I recommend you check out Youtuber Elina's cover of the song in full. It's closest to the version in my mind.

Kai means the sea in Japanese. (And yes, that village girl was not Minako).