A Tale of Us | SasaMiya

2. Meeting Him Like The First Time

A/N: Day 2 - First Time.
Wanted to mention here that in this AU there won't be any honorifics used. I wanted to use them, but for this story and the fantasy world it's in, it wouldn't make sense. Hopefully that doesn't deter people!

.𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟.

2. Meeting Him Like The First Time

.𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟.

I drifted in and out of consciousness. Every time I did, I could feel someone carrying me, and my mind supplied it was the man I saved.

"Satoko, you have to help him, please!" The man's voice was raised and panicked, and I could dimly feel his harsh breathing. Calm, it'll be okay. I wanted to tell him, but I was too weak to move my body right now.

"Shuu?! We sent you out to do some fishing, and you come back with a mermaid?! Wait, oh my goddess, what happened to him?" A woman's voice grew frantic as she got closer.

"Can you help him? He saved me, I can't let him die!"

"Okay, okay. Put him in the tub—the one in the back, it should hold him. Run some warm water, and I'll prepare the Goddess Blessing."

It got quieter, and those arms clutched me tighter. "Just hang in there." He whispered to me, and the sentiment was nice to hear.

At least I knew he was a good person.

The next I drifted back it was to my body submerged in warm water. I heard the woman before chanting something... something that was putting healing properties in the water around me. It was a familiar magic, a magic like my own.

Water was always alive, and it cared for me willingly without my own magical intervention. It felt so nice that it reminded me of the few memories I had of being with my parents when I was younger... of a mother's warm embrace, and a father's tender care.

I miss them. The thought, the memories of them, made me too sad. I thought about Juuya and Yuki instead, and how even if we were separated, we would always be bound as family.

I submerged into sleep as the pain ebbed away. The next I woke, I was feeling refreshed. When I opened my eyes, I scanned the small room. It was a wooden structure, but there was tile on the floor and a grate so water could drain into it. Interesting. Human technology was still astounding to me. No matter how many times I read about them, I knew there was still more out there to discover.

My whole body was able to fit snugly in the tub, and luckily they kept my tail fin submerged so it wouldn't dry out. I didn't know if the man before was considerate of that, or if it was just a coincidence.

I wiggled a bit, and found no more pain. All my injuries had indeed healed over, and I marveled at the geometric shapes in the water. The Goddess Blessing. That woman must be a shrine maiden of some sorts if she was able to infuse the water like this with magic.

I felt boosted already, but now how to get out of here... I couldn't exactly pull myself out without a human's help.

Just then, the door slid open, and the man I saved before emerged. His eyes widened when he saw me, and he nearly tripped on his way to getting closer to me.

"You're awake!" He exclaimed, checking me over before his eyes met mine again. "Are you feeling okay? Do you still hurt anywhere?"

I shook my head and opened my mouth to speak. "I'm fine, thank you for helping me."

He tilted his head, confused. "Um, what?"

Crap, language barrier! I remembered them teaching about how merfolk couldn't talk to humans properly; something about the absence of a magical connection, or something. The only way to make that connection was via a direct kiss—the mermaid has to kiss a human so that all humans can understand the mermaid. It was something stupid that the winners of the war put in place.