Big Book of Writing

Shadow of the New Moon (IRL Sanniuri, SDRA2)

This is a Little Mermaid AU with a hint of Mikaeda and Setsusoruko in there too! Just for the record, both the human and AI Mikado exist together, but the AI is Mikado's younger brother named 'Tei'!

This is a gift for my friend, Alex, as a kind of friendship anniversary gift! Since most of my friendships don't last as long or have as much interaction as this. I remember meeting you by commenting how Mikado was a horny bastard and then proceeding to vent about my dental work while constantly needing painkillers to function with it. Ever since then, you've kept my company when I was really lonely during the lockdown, continuing to support me while I was on my bullshit. I really am grateful, no friend I knew in real life actually contacted me during the pandemic, and I probably would've gone crazy from the solitude. So Alex, if you're reading this, thank you so much for staying with me and putting up with my nonsense! I hope that we stay friends for a long time to come!

Warning: implied backstory CSA, described phantom pains, kidnapping, attempted murder, mentioned violence

***

Ever since Nikei was a child, he had dreamed of going to the surface.

But according to the law of the merfolk, this wasn't allowed. Merfolk were not to interfere with the affairs of humanity lest they risk bringing disaster on the underwater kingdom. Humanity had an unlimited potential for cruelty, and nobody wanted to bring bad things to their home. That didn't stop Nikei from wanting to see the surface.

In the merfolk kingdom, Nikei had the job of a journalist and prided himself on his power over the people. His silver tongue and elegant writing was said to be highly revered in his newspapers, and he had an attractive appearance to match. In addition to brushing out his smooth, black hair everyday, he had a purple tail that was akin to an African butterfly fish. His tail fin looked like a curtain in a horror movie, but his side fins were pretty.

But even so, Nikei had bottled up and pushed down an inferiority complex that he had since he had been abused by his parents and was subsequently given up to an orphanage. With all of the children getting adopted and leaving him behind, he believed wholeheartedly that he wasn't good enough for anyone as he aged out and began to live on his own. Now an adult, he joined a group of merfolk that lived hellish lives and survived to tell the tale.

Hajime, his closest companion in that group, had the tail of a nurse shark and survived a terminal illness, though he was abandoned by his parents in the process. Emma had a tail of a Siamese fighting fish and was abused by her father after her mother ditched them, and Iroha had the tail of a seahorse and was thrown into the streets by her family that forced her to live up to unreasonable expectations for drawing and gave up on her when she couldn't meet them.

Nikei was the last to join the group and took control of it, but it had started when Hajime took Iroha under his wing and they later found Emma hiding in an coral reef. The four of them were happy together, but they could tell that Nikei was longing for a taste of adventure and a place he didn't know.

Little did they know he would get his wish soon.

***

One night, Nikei woke up in the house that the group shared and decided to sneak out. He didn't see a reason not to, they couldn't control him, but he wanted to see the surface. As he swam out the door and hyped himself up, he kept swimming higher and higher and felt the current get rougher.

As his head broke the surface of the water, he noticed that the rain was pouring and the sound of loud thunder was a backdrop for the storm that was occurring. Nikei looked around and spotted a ship a few miles away going past him, but the rough seas were taking its toll on the old ship. The crew was frantically trying to steer it to the mainland that was barely in sight, but some men had just given up and were trying to get on the lifeboats.