The Twisted Tale of The Little Merman

_-*Chapter 10*-_

Tendou POV

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Atsumu stayed in my room that night, and I'm perfectly fine with that. Safety is in numbers.

That night, as Atsumu was curled up, sleeping in my giant clamshell bed, I suddenly had the strongest urge to go to the surface. I don't know why or what called me to do so, but I did it anyway.

It was dark in the water, but when I broke the surface, the light from the moon illuminated everything. Including the shape of the man on the beach. I quickly ducked beneath the surface of the water, leaving only the top half of my face above the water.

I carefully swam closer to the shore, ducking behind rocks everynow and then, curious of who this strange man may be. As I neared, the water grew shallow and my tail dragged along the sand. It took quite a lot of control to keep from splashing in the water.

Suddenly, one of my scales snagged on a rock and sliced through my flesh. I gasped suddenly at the pain and my train splashed loudly in the water.

"Eek," I squealed and ducked under the water.

"Who's there?" The man from the shore called with an oddly familiar voice, "Show yourself at once!"

I covered my mouth and closed my eyes, too afraid to move. My wound was stinging from the salty water but I ignored it.

"If you come out and show yourself I promise I won't harm you," The voice shouted and it finally struck me who it was.

The prince. I quickly raised my head out of the water before immediately regretting my mistake as he noticed me.

"Who are you?" He called out, walking closer to the water's edge. I remained silent and sat still. Then the prince spoke again, "Are you bleeding?"

I glanced down at the water and noticed it had started to turn a pink color. I felt woozy but managed to clear my head. When I looked up again, I noticed the prince had stepped into the water and was advancing toward me.

I quickly fumbled back using my arms, I stumbled and fell back into the water. By the time I recomposed myself, the prince was only a few feet away. He had stopped moving and just stared at me.

I froze hoping that if I stood still enough, he wouldn't notice me. But that was foolish.

"A mermaid," He breathed, his olive eyes widened slightly and he knelt down and reached out.

I recoiled my tail away from his touch and he stopped, "Merman."

"Pardon?"

"Mermaid is feminine, I'm a merman," I clarified.

"Oh, sorry," He apologized and I stared at him skeptically, "But I knew it. You're the one who saved me-" He continued ignoring my gaze.

"Wait," I held up a webbed hand, "you remember that?"

"Of course," he stared at my face and I blushed and looked away, "who wouldn't remember such a lovely face and even lovelier voice?"

"Oh,"I blushed again, "Thank you, uh, I didn't catch your name?"

"Ushijima. Ushijima Wakatoshi," he stretched out a hand, "and you?"

"Tendou," I said, dropping my Name.

"Just Tendou?"

"Just Tendou."

"Well, Tendou, would you mind if I took a look at your tail?" He asked politely, "It looks like you're bleeding."

"Well, I suppose I am," I agreed, captivated by his voice and staring stupidly at his handsome face.

"Is that a yes?" He asked.

"Oh, yes, sorry," I stuttered. He smiled a little and suddenly lifted me out of the water.

I gasped softly and he looked at me worriedly, "Are you well?"

"O-oh, yeah, I'm fine," I laughed, "Just a cold shock."

"Are you able to breathe above water?" He asked as he carried me to the shore.

"Of course," I tilted my head, "why not?"

"Well," He gestured to my gills, "I wasn't sure if thes worked above water."

"Oh," I touched the flaps of skin, "As long as they are wet I can breathe. Usually up to a few hours in the open air is the limit."

"Interesting," He hummed and placed me down gently in the sand. He then removed his coat and draped it over my shoulders, "Here, you said you were cold."

"T-thanks," I replied, shocked by his generosity. Then he knelt down next to me and tentatively traced his fingers along my scales. I shivered slightly at his touch.

"This looks deep," He frowned, caressing the scales along the cut. The sensation sent a shock of electricity up my body and I shuddered slightly, "Sorry," He halted, "did that hurt?"

"Just tickled," I laughed, hiding my confusion from the reaction.

He hummed and suddenly ripped a strip from his shirt.

My jaw dropped, "why'd you do that?" I asked, incredulous.

He shrugged, "I didn't have any bandages on hand."

He carefully blotted the cut, which was bleeding slowly, I winced at the slight pain and he muttered an apology again.

A few minutes later, I sat on the sand with a fresh bandage wrapped around my tail. I flipped my fins a few times, testing how durable the makeshift bandage was. Pretty good.

"Uhm, thank you," I said shyly and he nodded, touching my scales again.

". . .Beautiful," He mumbled under his breath tracing the red lionfish design of my red and white tail. The touch, again, caused butterflies in my stomach. He spoke so quietly that I could barely hear it.

"Did you say something?" I tilted my head and met his eyes.

"Oh uh," He paused but before he could continue, we heard a voice call out from a distance.

"Ushijima, Your Highness!" We both turned quickly in the direction of the voice. There was the light from a—what's it called again?—lantern bobbing up and down in the darkness.

"I have to go," I said hurriedly, crawling back to the water, which was a great deal further away than I imagined.

"Here," Ushijima picked me up and carried me to the water quickly. Before placing me down, he asked, "when can I see you again, Tendou?"

"How about two moons from now?" I offered, he nodded and placed me gently in the water, "Goodbye, Wakatoshi-Kun."

"Goodbye, Tendou," He waved after me as I splashed below the surface of the water, feeling sad I had to leave.

I swam a safe distance away before watching as Wakatoshi greeted the stranger and they walked away, glancing over his shoulder before he faded from view.

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