Hanako x Nene (Oneshots)

Pirate x Mermaid au P1

The sun was hot and unforgiving against Amane's back as he pushed his way through the crowd of villagers, eager to return home to his father before lunch, though the prospect of eating anything with any form of texture left him with a grimace. He knew that his mother made sure all meals were cooked to perfection, but that didn't mean that he had any desire to see it, especially since their last meal had been some kind of fish or fish egg, something that tasted like an acid wash when it hit the back of his throat. He felt bad enough about lying to everyone about where he'd been, but if he kept telling the truth, they would all say he should have been born as a fish than a boy.

That wasn't fair, and there had been plenty of times where Amane wished that he could just become someone else entirely, someone different, but he couldn't help being who he was, and even when he thought he could change that part, he didn't want to because then he might lose someone special, maybe forever.

***
over the passing days, storm clouds could be seen rolling in, something that wasn't completely normal, but also wasn't bizarre. Tales of storms knocking pirates off their ships into salty waters yet the men themselves only having a small scratch when found on the shore, most of the men that were found on the shore were younger lads whose looks would make any woman fight for him. A rumor was spread that a mermaid had been seen in the reef not too far from the port, many taking up ships and crew to find or capture the sea maiden, yet she never came out from hiding.

***
Amane knew better than most, mermaids were gentle at heart, like a mare in a stable, they never want to be captured. Being in the water is their only way to survive, the boy decided to join a forming crew, there wasn't much of anyone there yet, a few teens and a middle aged man of a captain.

Amane took it upon himself to explore the ship before they set off, hearing the distant chatter and more rumors that were being spread from the land, something about a storm and two beings of different species switching lives for a week or so. Though this never piqued his interest, it was a rumor, nothing could come from it even if it was  true.

He wandered around the deck, exploring everything from the small storage room to a room filled with cannons, each looking older and heavier than the last, all loaded, ready to go to war, he shivered slightly. War wasn't necessarily in the ideal, but if there were many that wanted this fabled mermaid, then there would be more than a few broken splinters from the ship's hull.

Amane shook those thoughts away when he saw a door opening up above deck, a figure stepping out onto the deck with their back facing Amane.

"Ah, the new kid, let's get started on you today, I'll start with the basics." The voice belonged to a young man, probably about twenty, this was the eldest son of the Captain, Teru, he started at the same age Amane did, which was 13, but now he was just as skilled as his father. "First up, do you know how to handle a sword?" He inquired, circling around the smaller boy to see if he could even pick one up. "Not yet, but I'll get the hang of it, I have been practicing with a wooden sword for about a week now." Teru nodded, getting a wooden sword from a barrel and tossing it to Amane, grabbing one for himself for a sparing match. "This is only to test you, you won't get hurt."

The taller boy stated while walking over to the center of the deck, preparing to lunge forward.

They began, both striking at each other relentlessly until Teru knocked the wooden sword from Amane's hands and sent it skidding across the planks of wood. The boy sighed, picking up the sword and holding it in an awkward position, making Teru frown as he walked over to Amane. "Hold it in front of yourself, but not too far, you want to have a good grip and be able to protect your torso. holding it like you were was leaving your stomach defenseless!"