mizuxfem!oc
The Ningyo (人魚, "human fish") is a creature with both human and fish-like features.
Many fishermen who find these creatures caught in their nets throw them back into the ocean.
For if a ningyo is caught, she will bring misfortune and cal...
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CHAPTER NINE: COLD DEAD HEART _______
Dinner wasn't set up where Mizu thought it would be (that is, the galley). Instead, she was led by the ningyo to her lodging. Her bedroom.
Three candles were lit for lighting on the floor, and their stews of fish sat on top of a blanket, like a picnic. It was all set up so... romantic. Mizu raised a brow and shifted her eyes to Sogo beside her as they stood in the doorway, searching for an answer. Blushing, Sogo had her head turned, failing to conceal her bright red ears.
...So that's it.
"P-please, sit!" she insisted, spreading her arms open for Mizu to enter the room first.
Without a word, she did so and sat cross-legged before the food. Sogo caught up behind her and dropped down across from her, having an uneasy smile on her lips as her heart raced.
"Please, eat!" she insisted again, bowing.
Something about her reminds me of Ringo.
Mizu held her bowl of fish stew and chopsticks in the other. It looked better than anything she slapped together aboard this ship. Sogo had found some unopened foreign spices Mizu didn't care to bother with in one of the cabinets, and she went to town.
The smell was heavenly, and Mizu's stomach growled in impatience for proper food.
The samurai felt conflicted as she held the warm, comforting stew in her hands. The heat radiating from the bowl was comforting. The fish didn't look burned or undercooked, like when Mizu cooked alone.
She painfully recalled her days before becoming a widow, cooking for her husband. The trial and error... for that, she never gave a damn about making decent food. As long as it was edible and didn't get her sick, she didn't care about the taste.
But Sogo's meal... had the comforting aura of an idyllic home she never had.
"...thank you," she whispered with a somberness to her voice. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate this."
Sogo tilted her head as she laughed. "Well try it first! You don't even know if it tastes good."
Don't need to. Mizu thought. I'd still feel the same.
She raised her blue eyes to the enthusiastic ones across from her. They reflected the flames of the candles like burning embers.
"Go on!"
Mizu nodded in compliance and pinched a slab of fish between her chopsticks. She brought it to her mouth, and immediately her eyes closed in delight, relishing the flavor. An approving hum came out from her throat.
"Um.. what do you think?" Sogo's belly was filled to the brim with butterflies.
"It tastes wonderful," she complimented, opening her eyes with a smirk. "Can't you tell?"
