Chapter Text
— January 20XX —
A boy laid in a pool of his ichor. His body was freezing cold as the winter chill bite at his fingers— the sounds of snow crunching were imperceivable. Every single breath was shallow. The tips of fingers felt as if they could shatter, his body aching in fatigue. Trial and error repeatedly, it felt like a constant spiral of hell. His tears couldn't even fall as they froze against his face. What else was punishable by death? Being a burden? A horrendous stain on his family name? What else? All he wanted was to protect them, but they didn’t need to do it in return. As the snow fell on his body, his fingers curled around his locket. The dying remnants of strength he did have finally fading.
— September 20XX, Afternoon —
Every step across the floor felt heavy, as if something was holding her down. The door creaked closed behind her. Yashiro wrapped her arms around herself, her dainty hands trembling as her heart pounded against her ribcage. She nipped her lower lip and kept her gaze fixed on the floor, forcing herself to be as composed as she could. She didn't want him to realize or notice the vulnerability she exposed there.
Once she made it out of the hallway, she did exactly that. She ran. The moment she finally let herself blink was the moment her eyes began to let out a rush of tears. She could barely see where she was going; her legs had a mind of their own, taking her somewhere, and she hoped she'd get there soon.
In her sprint, her feet fumbled, slipping over the next step as she fell against something … fabric? A startled whine slipped out of her, followed by a squeal. Suddenly she felt her shoulders seized, stopping her from falling backwards. Yashiro's mouth fell open but quickly shut again.
“Oh my god! I'm so sorry I-” her words felt scattered and frantic, she was unable to compose herself.
Firm and tight hands had her now, Yashiro’s head snapped up; shock coursed through her as she saw a young man, most likely her age. His choppy brown hair nearly covered his honeysuckle eyes. What stood out the most was the bandages he sported. Though his gaze was elsewhere, it felt avoidant as he seemed to check if she was okay. Alongside his button-up poking out from under his deep red sweatervest, his sleeves were rolled to his forearms. He wore black jeans and leather-laced boots to fit. However, the attire was ruined by his current state. Cuts and bruises littered his arms. It didn’t even look like a fight, more of a mauling.
“Oh…” Yashiro gaped.
Their eyes connected again. The distinct misery immediately reminded the girl of who this boy was.
“Amane-San? Why are you… ” She immediately went to touch the wound. “Let’s go to the nurses! You shou–”
As his fingers loosened their tight grip, their eyes connected but broke away in an instant.
“Don't run in the hallway.” He muttered, quickly cutting her off. His voice was low but careful, as if treading lightly around her. Then he pushed her to the side. He kept his arms firmly at his sides as he walked. But as he did, he limped a bit, his right hand gripping his left side. The fabric poked out of his fingers, with splotches of blood on his palms. “I-it’s not important..” he finalized, trying his best to keep steady
Unease wobbled in her chest. She saw the student stagger and slump against the wall. Immediately she went to him, “That’s it?? You’re bleeding!” She said quickly, as she pinned him to the ginger colored wall. The sudden force caused a squeak to come out of him. He becomes frozen stiff as she slings his arm over her shoulder and begins to walk alongside him. “Let me help you walk…”
“I…” His voice dried up, only giving a quiet nod. They continued to walk across the school hall. Amane was tall — and heavy— which didn’t help, as he was also considerably built. Despite that, Nene continued to assist him.
“Who were you fighting this time?” She asked with a small smile, her tone light and playful. “A bear?”
Amane shook his head. “Some delinquent was bothering me.” He said, tapping the new scar on his cheek beneath his right eye.
Nene pursed her lips together. “And who would that be?”
“No one special. Your eyes are puffy again…” He said, his eyes boring into hers.
Nene blinked then looked down. “Nakahara was–... just mad,” she murmured.
Amane squinted. “Mad? Did he say anything to you…?” His gaze was intense, his brows furrowed.
“..Just the usual..”
“…Oh.” Amane's eyes were wide before he took his gaze to the floor. He then spoke up, “You deserve better…”
Yashiro stopped in her movement, leaving Amane to fall off of her and to the floor.
“AH! I’m sorry!…Jeez you—“
Amane's nose was now bleeding, but he still looked at her with a smirk. She couldn’t help but wince at the sight. His stupid mouth was gonna make a move. "You're doing great by the way.” His tone dripped with sarcasm as he tilted his head to the side.
“I’ll drop you again, c’mon.“ Nene scrambled to pull Amane up. Thankfully he complied as he assisted her. He was able to get to his feet again.
They both took another step forward, but a weight pressed on Nene’s neck, Amane began to slump.
Nene was quick to plead, “Amane, work with me here, you’re too heavy!!”
Trying his best,, he lifted his legs a bit to provide support and gave her a small glare. “I’d be there faster if you put me down–”
As promised she dropped him again. A sudden shriek came out of him, his hands quick to catch himself against the wall. His back pressed against it as he gave Nene a– shocked, yet agitated look. Immediately she pulled him up to his feet, continuing to her path to the desired destination.
Amane couldn't argue much anymore, letting the girl drag him to the nurses’ office, although he was tempted to barrage her with whatever he could to free himself. The burning pain in his body would need medical attention no matter what. She had a better chance of getting him there than he did alone.
As they reached the nurses' office, warm sunny rays shone through the long window. Cobwebs crawled on a doll sitting on the sill, leading to the bed beside it. There was a curtain shielding whoever was in it. A couch also perched next to it and another bed soon to follow.
Said nurse, Yako-San swiftly turned in her chair. She was a woman with long beige hair, tied into a braid with a little nurse hat on her head. She simply sighed as she leaned back. Her eyes were emerald and long slits for pupils, the student body often teased her for it.
However she sat up quickly, given who was standing in the doorway. The vixen's brows scrunched, stepping over the young man, “What foolish stunt did you pull this time?”
Amane simply kept quiet. Sitting on the couch instead, lifting up his beaten arms.
“Small girl- leave,” She spat out. “I'll attend to his wounds.”
Nene was rather annoyed by the disrespectful term. She let herself out, keeping a smart comment to herself. She gave a small sigh, worn out from lugging her fellow classman around. Nene could hear them talking past the door but didn’t prod. Closing it with a quiet shut, she then motioned to her back. Expecting to feel her sparkly and dolled up carry-on, but there was nothing.
Hands ghosted for the item, and she went pale. Nene sank a bit, discomfort and anxiety pooled into her chest as she realized.
“Oh right,” she murmured. “I l-left my bag with Nakahara-Senpai…” She gave out a humiliated groan.
Each step felt heavier than the first as her feet dragged. To escape the inevitable, she could hear the student's laughter echo down the stairway. Her ascension upwards got her closer to the previous whereabouts of her “boyfriend”.
The door creaked open, her hesitance letting it drag on longer than needed. As she looked through the crack, she saw spilled contents and torn paper scattered on the floor. Nene's heart sank, her fingers trembled on the nob before she suddenly slammed it open. “NA-NAKAHARA!!” She shouted, only for it to die within the same breath.
His posse of yesmen flocked around him, mostly men of similar stature and status. Nakahara for starters, was tall, he would often have to crouch to reach her height (he never does this). His bangs were split in the middle, with brown eyes that shimmered as they revealed themselves through his locks. He had a strong jawline, with his clothing casually formal. Tailored beige pants, with black leather shoes. And a white button up and jacket.
She fell head over heels when they first met, his silky voice alongside his beauty captured her heart. Sure, harsh jabs at her legs and face made it difficult but that wasn’t a first. What mattered was a boy finally noticed her, or… she thought so. It was her fault anyway.
Nakahara's smooth smile contrasted with the steps he took upon her stuff. Nene winced as he tilted his head, “Well well, look what the cat dragged in.” he stepped towards the petite girl who was noticeably trembling. The pretty boy pressed a finger under her chin and lifted it. “..Came for your bag? Sorry we uh- tripped over it.” His proud smile told otherwise. But it was her fault as always. She deserved it; she was the one who started it.
Nene slowly inched her head away, peaking past Nakahara. Her notebooks, pencils and other supplies were trashed and covered in water. A lump hit her throat as she found it rather difficult to even look up at the senior. Nevertheless, she quietly stepped past him to gather her stuff, a frustrated grimace forming as she did so. Nakahara casted a shadow over her, stirring discomfort in her chest. Why’d he have to do that? Didn’t he know how frightening that is?!
Nakahara coughed into his fist, Nene's head snapped up. Then he went to grab the backpack, “Give me that. I’ll buy you a new one, that one was too girly. And annoyingly over designed.”
Her mind raced around for a means of leaving the conversation, “..you don’t have to do that. I ca-can– I’ll do it myself!” Nene tightened her hold on her pen, giving him no attention yet. As she worked through the discarded things, trying to find anything salvageable, the young man stood beside her. The petite girl stood, pushing her hair into a bun as she slung her bag over her shoulder.
Her dearest’s gaze grew slightly agitated, “Oh, because you have such a rich sense of style and personality.” His tone was cut throat and direct, Nene winced at his tone. “You’re basic as they come.” He gripped her wrist, Nene flinched before ripping it back.
“Y-you don’t…I’m n-not..” Nene stammered to find her words, but her love continued.
“I told you buying that bag wasn’t a good idea.” Nakahara forced Nene to look toward him, a swift command shut it all down. “Don’t.” He planted a kiss on her forehead, but it didn’t last very long. Despite the blatant neglect, she ignored it to the best of her abilities. She had done too many reinventions, maybe staying in her lane would be better.
Nakahara grazed a hand across her cheek. Nene didn’t know what to feel, but it was better not to fight it. “Okay…” she took his hand, forcing a smile.
She was dragged back into Nakahara's friend group, all the voices overlapping each other. Nene sat back, her mind moved on to questions regarding that Yugi boy. She’d always seen him terribly wounded or bruised. It was concerning, not just to her but everyone. Was he safe? She knew he wasn’t the best student, and was rather abrasive and cold to everyone. Yet— it never felt malicious, he wasn’t always mean to her. Her thoughts drifted to his sudden concern for her moments ago.
Amane struggled a lot, often sleeping or daydreaming in class. Tsuchigomori often had him stay back to do class work. He didn’t protest much, he just did it. His constant scowl and paranoia made it easy for others to stay away. And everyday the wounds he’d gain worsened.
Then another voice snapped her to reality, “By the way,” Nakahara said, “I’m cancelling the date for this weekend. I have other plans.”
Like always. Nene let out a quiet laugh, then flinched as her wrecked bag dropped in her lap. She tightened her arms around the bag, biting her quivering lip. The things she wanted to express, to have others like her, to– have something. But it all felt, at this moment, empty as ever. The amount of voices swirled around her, this was usually her lunchtime. Nakahara’s other friends– if one wants to call them that– were not fun to be around, but she felt better as she felt invisible in the sea of them.
Beneath the floor tiles, away from the group. A pair of eyes peaked at the girl, water bubbled underneath that small tile. She was perfect, no one would notice a thing, a quiet chuckle came from whatever watching her.
“Your Highness, we’ve found her…The perfect princess.”
————————————
She decided not to leave the school yet– her mother and father would be worried sick if they saw her like this. Crying, a mess, their sweet little girl breaking apart. It made sense to stay to compose herself. She found herself choking back cries in the garden. The flowers that had lost their tint drooped over. She was hidden in between bushes and shrubs. She buried her head in her knees, letting her emotions pass here is better, it’s better like this, its–
“Yashiro-San?”
A squeak erupted from her as she slowly tilted her head back, Amane was looming over her, his honeysuckle eyes piercing into her. The usual scowl was gone, replacing it with a cat-like stare. Nene jolted up, rubbing the stream of tears away quickly, “W-wait I-” she was stumbling over her words and ruining her makeup from her sobbing.
“He made you cry..” Amane muttered, getting closer to her. His voice was beside her right ear as a hand ran through her hair. Yashiro’s watery eyes blinked as she looked over at Amane. His expression was incredibly tender, his eyes holding a weight of empathy.
Nene focused on his hands. The bandages wrapped to his elbows, the blood and gauze bleeding into the white fabric. For such careful hands, they were tainted. Her hand reached for his, but he flinched. She reached again.
“He did…” Nene finally admitted. Getting to touch the rough hands. While there were more bones than skin, they still seemed to interlink. “You don’t eat much?”
Silence followed, Amane retracted his hand as he went to fix his wrappings. “Shouldn’t we be focusing on you?”
She sighed, rubbing her eyes, “I don’t want to talk about it…” Nene squinted “What kind of fight were you really in??”
“With a person.”
“That lie is not working twice…”
“If it did it’d be a godsend…”
“Amane Yugi!! For most of high school you sleep in class, always either injured or out of the school bounds! It's on and off! Day in and day out!” She hurled herself on top of him, “And I-!” She pressed a hand on her chest, “-have had to drag your bumbling ass to the nurses every few days!! So at the very least—“ she took a deep breath, “..tell me what’s going on, please? I won’t tell anyone else.” She got off of him, her eyes held a sincerity in them.
Amane found himself a bit uneven til he saw her back away. He pursed his lips together, taking a long hard stare, “…you promise?”
She nodded, giving a small smile.
Amane nodded as well, “Alright. Maybe, I should tell you the truth about me then." Amane suddenly pulled out a slick kitchen knife seemingly out of nowhere, "I'm an exorcist hunting a dangerous mermaid. They’re supernaturals."
She blinked at him, her face molded into surprise. She then nodded slowly. "Right.. uh, are you allowed to bring that?" She asked as she pointed at the knife.
Amane kept his eyes on it, "No, but it's better to be safe than sorry. I've had a license since my first year in high school.” He spun the knife, letting it dangle between each of his fingers. "Besides that mermaid, she's threatening the students here. Planting what we call matchmakers.”
"Matchmakers..?" Her thoughts wandered to something like a dating show. Imagining a mermaid being the host in a bachelor type show. The marvelous tales that would be unleashed were truly in the clouds, she giggled, “That’s oddly romantic..” a smile grew on her lips.
Amane rolled his eyes, “If that’s what you think.” the delinquent rummaged into his hipsack, pulling out a scale. It was purple fading to blue, "This is a mermaid scale. It binds two people into a powerful curse and bond." He was placed back in the sack.
"So those are the 'matchmaker's?" Hm... The curse part didn't sound fun but.. a bond.. specifically a powerful one. "How does it work? Do you both just hold one?" She then paused, looking away for a moment. "Well.. probably not, cause what would stop someone else from having one too? Then three people would be linked right?"
"It's limited to only two, so when you get the other one. You both swallow it. So say, I eat the scale right? Well, under a scenario where you ate the other. We'd be linked. No third can intervene."
"Oh! Huh.." It made sense at least, matchmakers already sound like it's a thing for dating. "Aside from the link forming, does anything else happen to them? Like do they get a personality shift?"
“Define personality shift.”
“Well-! Let’s say they're rotten jerk-! Would the scale harm the user?”
“I’m…by law not allowed to answer that.”
“Arbitrary! You told me you're an exorcist—“ Nene inched closer, causing Amane to scoot away, “--there’s this mermaid around school that none of the teachers warned us about! And—“ she got closer, “The alleged matchmaker~” the girl bashed her eyelids, “And a girl like myself wouldn’t mind having one!”
Amane's eyes snapped wide open, the closer she got, the more he froze up. With their noses now touching. his cheeks tinted a light pink. Then quickly he shook his head,
“It’s not a toy.” He said, “So I’m not handing it to you.” Their eye contact finally broke. Nene couldn’t help but sulk as the exorcist lightly inched her away from him.
“I—!!”
“Can’t you talk to your family about it?”
“It’d just be a bother to them! My fathers a doctor and my mother is a secretary! They're always busy and I can’t just— ask them about such a small issue.”
“Hm. Then why not a teacher?”
“Teachers would just call up my family…It’s happened a few times before.”
Amane hummed, his brows quickened into a furrow. His eyes held an intense gaze, Nene felt a chill creep up her body. The exorcist squatted, tilting his head to the side, “Do you have any regrets?”
The petite girls' brows furrowed, "Excuse me? I–” a scoff came out.
“Will anyone miss you? Do you have any dreams? Any response will do.”
Nene stammered to respond, “W-well…I w-want to be a biologist?”
“Of what kind?”
“M-marine science…what exactly are you trying to say??”
“Seeing if you’re not a foolish little radish.” His delivery seeped with a smug quality to it.
Nene's face morphed into a scowl, quickly she raised her hand and gave a slap to his left cheek. The exact one that he had a patch on. Amane nearly stumbled onto the grassy floor. Touching the burn, he gulped, “O-oh...”
Nene heaved, standing on her two feet as she gripped the front of her skirt. “S-speak for yourself y-you…” tears pricked her eyes. She then forced an uneven smile, “–Black cat!!”
“Th-that’s an insult?”
“Ugh!” she groaned, smacking her fist across his nose. Amane recoiled as the world spun. The sound of fabric shuffled as he forced himself to overcome the pain. He then saw Nene holding the mermaid scale, moment away from consuming it.
“Give that back Yashiro...” He said carefully, his voice dropping several octaves. Nene felt a chill run down her spine.
“It’s just a single scale! What does one alone even do?!” She argued, her hands clasping around it.
Amane grumbled. He kept wanting to avoid dropping pivotal information on her, especially since with how much he exposed to her in the past few minutes. There was no way he’d allow the girl to be wrapped up in his life like that.
He pinched his brow, then gave a sigh, “It’s a cursed object, you want to be bound to that guy for the rest of your life?? Not to mention it’s difficult to even reverse a curse like that. I doubt I could either way. Why are you fighting me on this…”
“This might give me a chance! Nakahara may be a jerk, but he’s the only boy that’s ever shown interest in me! If I can bind us together, maybe he’ll want to be with me. Maybe the scale will…fix me...”
“I don’t see anything wrong with you…” Amane’s brows furrowed, then began to step towards her, “Even so, I’m not going to allow you to keep it.” His voice again lowered, another chill ran down her spine. Amane took a step closer, his hand ghosting over where his knife would be.
She laughed a tad nervously, “A-amane wh-why is–” suddenly he rushed at her— grabbing her jaw, not too hard but still a little firm. She yelped before kneeing him directly in his abdomen, Amane doubled over. His hold loose, giving Nene the chance to flee.
Nene was back in the hallway, as she ascended up one of the stairways to the upper floor. Glancing around the area, keeping the scale close to her chest.
Meanwhile— around a corner, with a confident stride, Teru Minamoto. The heir of the Minamoto Clan + local pretty boy, he was roaming the halls of the school. Sword in its hilt slung over his shoulder, his eyes traced for his target, Around somewhere anywhere- he had seen them earlier. Hiding around in the corner, of course he knew conversing with them wouldn’t bring him much. But he knew he had to find them eventually.
His eyes snapped to the attention of footsteps. He was taking a turn towards the next hall, then overheard footsteps... And then slipped back to the wall to listen. He held the hilt. Silver peering past the guard. The noise became louder, no doubt, whatever it was was headed towards him. They began to grow in pace, speeding up the movement as if it was running after him.
Teru darted from the cover, unsheathing his sword before stilling in surprise, "Yashiro-San?"
She yelped loudly in fear, falling onto her behind with a yelp, "AA! NooooooOOOooooOoh!! O-oh my g-god!" her eyes panned up to see the princely blonde. She quickly pinched herself, then stared in bewilderment at her fingers. This was no dream, she had to pull herself together, “I-I..y-you..I…I-”
Teru did not help the girls’ sanity. Kneeling down prince like, as he held out his hand, "Alright you alright Yashiro-San?"
“Y-yes..Uhm thank y-you…” She giggled, taking his hand as he pulled her back to her feet. Pushing the scale into her shorts’ pocket.
Teru then gave a curious expression, "Why exactly are you staying so late after school?" He smiled softly, "You do know supernaturals come around this time don't you?"
"Ah- the-they do? So soon though?"
“Soon enough. I recommend heading back. I have my duties to attend to. There’s a dangerous supernatural around here I need to find.”
"Uhm! Can I ask which one? I could probably help!" She tried to offer, thinking this could be a way to obtain more scales. And hopefully Amane wouldn’t pursue her.
”Who else? Hanako-San.” Teru calmly responded, his eyes still kind but noticeably more intense in them than before.
"Hanako-San..? That famous supernatural story?”
“Right, and a problem with them has arisen recently. I have to deal with them or let the school suffer as a consequence.” Teru fixed his sword, then took his eyes back to Nene, “..Also, I have a question regarding you, Yashiro-San. You often assist Amane Yugi with the nurses, correct?”
“R-right. Is- there an issue with that?”
“Oh not at all! I must warn you, he’s not who you think he is.”
Nene’s eyes flashed a pang of unease, “I-I see.” She thought about his confession regarding his duties, and then his knife. Wounds all of it, was that it? It must be.
“If there's any strange behavior, do report it to me.” Teru then walked past her, leaving Nene alone to her thoughts.
She kicked lightly at the ground, her eyes wandering to her pocket. Slowly pulling out the scale, to examine, to wonder. To think of the memories, the pain of Nakahara striking her. As well as the comments her family had made. Her past lovers from before Nakahara flipped through her mind. All the faces staring at her imperfections and disfigures. Her swollen ankles, her chopped bangs, her weird interests, and her small body. Nothing men wanted. She couldn’t help but dwell on all the things her friends had that she didn’t. She trembled, her eyes clouded with tears as she forced the scale into her mouth.
She could see Amane had nearly caught up, his expression morphed into panic. He then winced as he heard the fatal gulp. He looked at her for a moment, the girl becoming disheveled and dazed.
The scale itself didn’t taste good, far from it. Nene stepped back, uneasy while Amane looked visibly unnerved. They shared another connective gaze, then Nene broke it off, with a quiet, “S-sorry…” then rushed away from the garden.
After carefully reentering school, Nene slumped against the wall near the lockers. She held up the secondary scale she got, it was still beautiful. It seemed like a translucent gem, its texture was firm, a little like plastic. Nene clutched it, and began to move to the exit.
The coldness was felt around her, the surrounding ground and walls began to distort. Reality and the netherrealm mixed as a closet of some kind showed up. She opened her mouth to speak but— then quickly turned around to see Amane. Who had her by the wrist, she screamed “AAA-“
“W-wait-“ Amane was struck across the left cheek, “OW?!!” he snarled right at her, “WHAT WAS THAT FOR??”
“YOU SCARED ME!! And- How’d- wait…bu-but I was just at the exit…now I’m…” Nene glanced around at her surroundings
“Not important. Give me the scale sack now. I don’t want her to be able to target more students.”
“What’s so dangerous about her exactly?”
Amane hesitated again, his mouth opened but then closed it quickly. “Well…she’d turn you into a servant is one thing and another thing you’d be trapped with her for a long time.” He crossed his arms, “You’re practically a moving target now.”
Nene took a moment to think about what he’d been saying, for the most part mermaids from her knowledge, were kind and generous. They often were shown as good, and despite the sirens- Nene didn’t want to think of them as vile. “Wouldn’t that be nice though?”
“Not if you’re a slave to them. He broke your bag, he’s been mean to you…” Amane stepped closer to her, and cupped her cheeks, “I don’t want that for you. I don’t want to see my friend getting hurt.” He whispered softly to her.
Yashiros’ heart swelled, letting his hands guide themselves to her cheeks. Hers’ reached for his, letting her fingers wrap into his palms. “...I-I just felt…Li-like he’d love me more.”
“He doesn’t. You know that…don’t you?” Each word was carefully delivered, Amane's eyes were so full of kindness. Something so sincere, and gentle. Despite the rough exterior, he was sweet.
She hesitated on what to say though, it was always her fault when Nakahara was mean. So she thought, then whispered, “I-I’m sorry..”
“It’s okay. I’ll help you, I promise.” Amane’s smile came back, pulling his hands away from her cheeks. Tracing to her hands, then turned to open the door.
Suddenly– she saw Amane freeze up. A shadow cast over the two for a moment. Through the small window into the closet, two beady but widely separate eyes stared at them. Nene kept her view upon the shadow, frozen to the bone. The entity in front of the door, had a third eye in the center open.
Amane tsked, he pulled Nene into his arms suddenly and whirled around. The door was struck off the hinges, opening with a mutated shark ripping into the room. Its mouth wide to give a chomp, but bit into the door. Amane took the small chance they had, to pull Nene through the wedge between them and the shark.
They sprinted down the hall. Amane now had Nene on his backside, “Hang tight!! I’ll get you out of here!!” Nene kept her arms rung around Amane’s neck, while Amane supported her by hooking her legs around his waist.
Running across the school’s hall however, things began to shift. The hallway seemed to stretch, the sound of splashing faded in, Nene heard Amane swear. She glanced around, seeing the hallway condense into glass fragments– into an otherworldly appearance.
The walls had morphed into a rocky texture, the ceiling alongside it. With a light peaking through, the entrance of a grotto. Not only that, but Amane and Nene were practically submerged in water. The caves floor shined with jewels, trinkets, and
Expecting to choke, Nene took a deep breath– however opened her eyes to feel no pressure on her. Astonished, she looked around, ready to kick her legs but- found them to be singular. Or rather, one whole, a tail. At first caught in its beauty, she darted her eyes to her body. A small white dress, underneath the tail, with the color of it a warm, light creamy, pink fading to teal near the fins. A small giggle came out of her, then an excited laugh, glancing to Amane to see his reaction and–
His eyes locked onto her, “Nene…” Amane muttered out, his attire completely different. His clothes now reflected an army captain, his cap to match. Casting a shade over his eyes, giving a shade over his eyes. He reached up to the gloves he now wore, and tugged one.
Nene’s eyes looked him over, reaching to him, “What is…why are your clothes different?..A-amane where are we?”
“The mermaid’s boundary. A place between the living world and the dead.” Amane then took her hand, “And if we’re here, she’ll have the advantage in the fight…” he muttered, then pulled out a circular object, he downed too fast for her to register what. “Hopefully this is the right card to play. Because we’ll potentially die if we don’t leave here…”
“Die?”
Nene felt a shade cast over them both, Amane noticed it as well. The two then both looked upwards- to the entrance of the cave.
Seeing a large fish, with hair draping over her eye, giving an unnerving grin. Her body was massive, her shoulders were scaled with dark purple fading into a lighter hue. Her hair is nighttime blue and her fishlike. Teeth sharp and sleek as she revealed a twisted smile. “Look at who wanders into my clutches again. I missed having visitors for a time!! Especially the leader of the Seven Pillars!!" she darted towards Amane and spun with her tail rushing in to strike.
Amane pulled out his knife from the sleeve, the tail collided with the blade. The water nymph grinned, as she spun again and smacked him away. Amane’s backside collided with the rocky walls, his gaze locked on the mermaid again.
The mermaid then did a movement, summoning two large uncanny sharks. One resembling a hammerhead, the other great white they had encountered in the schools’ closet earlier. Amane gripped the handle of his knife and swung at the first.
Narrowly grazing as the shark moved through the water with ease, then lunged into his side and bit into his waist, causing him to shout from the sharp pain. It dragged the boy across the rocky terrain, Amane stabbed at its snout repeatedly.
Then the shark tossed him down, the other– bashed into it, and kept him pinned. He let out another painful cry.
Nene gasped and hurried to help him, “Amane–!!” she wasn’t familiar with the water bound movement however. Struggling to move herself– the mermaid raced in front of her, with a wide grin, “I heard that wish of yours girl. I didn’t expect your determination to do such. However, all this would’ve done is bond you two as one.”
Nene’s eyes wavered, “W-what?” she backed away, her tail swishing in the water.
The mermaid roamed around Nene, “While I did not expect your form to take on one of a princess, I can offer special options for a husband! Wouldn’t you love to have the power to have anyone for you! Anyone of any status!! However, if you decline my offer. I will stop at nothing to hunt you down girl.”
Nene flinched at her threat, seeing the guards and her claws hone in. Then the mermaid leaned in closer. “Tell me what your heart desires, Nene Yashiro.”
She yearned to have a full disposal of all at her feet, of many men and women to flaunt over her. But she also wanted someone that would love her, everything about her. Her eyes glanced at Amanes. He was shifting from his human form to “yokai”, his eyes were foggy. His hand reached for her, bandages unraveled, revealing deep cuts on the arm. Nene’s heart sank seeing him like this. Bleeding, broken like before. Those terrible sharks had done their work on him long enough. That boy that had stayed for her, tried to keep her out of harm's way, and was so…patient.
It was time to pay her dues.
A frustrated cry ripped out of her, “You’re hurting my friend and–!!” she grumbled then spun around and smacked the mermaid right back, “I don’t want to be your slave!!!” she darted after Amane, “I’m coming Amane!!”
“What?!!” The mermaid hissed, “You dare defy me!! I’ve been around for centuries, you disgusting– FILTHY BRAT!!” the mermaid growled lunging after her, she smashed her fin into Nene’s side launching her against the rocky floor– then slid into Amane. The boy yelped, Nene struggled to get onto her elbows. Looking towards the mermaid…
opening her mouth to consume her and Amane.
As she took Amane’s hand, his form morphed back to the yokais. His eye connected to Nene, both their eyes lit up a bright vermillion, something coursed around them. Nene turned her gaze back to the mermaid, she was frozen still.
Amane then grinned, “Thanks..” He pulled Yashiro behind him as he pulled out his knife again, swiftly cutting it in two. As the attack struck, the boundary began to shatter apart, the world returning to the school.
Nene was soaked in water, holding onto an also soaked Amane. They both leaned on one another, Amane's wound fully healed. His head turned to the girl, “You saved me…”
Nene giggled, a bit winded herself, “I-I did..” she then giggled, and then saw herself. Human again, “I’m back to normal..” she glanced over, seeing small fragments of scales on her. She winced, “W-what the..”
“I swallowed the other scale…” He grinned, nudging her. Leaning over a bit, “It’s called Spirit Bonding.”
“Spirit bonding..?”
“Similar and yet different to Spirit Link- this method is through a shared curse or powerful bond.”
“So you swallowed the other scale?!”
“Well duh. It was the best option.” Amane motioned his hand to her, “It’s my duty as an exorcist to guard humans. Additionally, we now both share the bond.”
Nene pondered on it, her thoughts on her partner, “T-then what about Nak-nakahara?”
“What about him? I think it’s better to open yourself to other options.” Amane shrugged, then stretched, “I gotta hit the hay…moon’ll rise any second now.”
He was right, they’d be in school for hours now. Her parents must’ve been worried sick, though were they home? Maybe not– she could sneak in and– wait— “Wait-” Nene paused, her eyes gleamed up to Amane.
Her memory traced back to Teru’s words, about Amane hiding something about himself. It wasn’t the exorcist, surely enough it was obvious probably.
“Th-that doesn’t explain one thing though!” Nene protested, poking his chest hard, “She called you Hanako.”
Amane flinched then turned to her, Nene took his hand, “You’re Hanako-San. Aren’t you?”
Amane made a face, almost unnerved hearing her say the name. But then, he squeezed her hand lightly. He didn’t know how to reply, “What if I said yes…”
“I’d…repay you for tonight! I’ll help you every time there’s a danger-!”
“That’s reckless-”
“Bold coming from you…”
“You’re human, normal, and…small. I-I can’t just—!”
Nene rangled her hands into his sweater, “Then until you undo the curse. I’ll help you…” she cupped his cheeks, giving a warm smile to him. “It’s the least I can do for you.”
Amane’s eyes shifted to look into hers, giving a chuckle. “Alright…” He squeezed her hand, “C’mon. I’ll walk you home.” He nudged his head to the exit.
Nene blushed as she glanced to the floor, “I-if…if you say so.”
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Next update: Mokke & The Shining Exorcist!