Their Tale [Kimetsu No Yaiba Oneshots]

A Song Of The Sea

When the sailors haul up the net and take a good look at what they've caught, Giyu's blood turns to ice when they all realize just what it is in the net.

While the others are exclaiming and already thinking about how much they can fetch for such a novelty, Giyu knows what this means, and he knows what they have to do quickly before they face consequences.

The creature - mermaid, siren, nereid, whatever name is most convenient - in the net is still and silent and utterly terrified. She is young, her tail lavender and pale pink, inky hair swept to the side and affixed with a pink and green piece made of coral. Her hands are in fists, pressed to her chest in fear, and her mauve eyes dart from face to face. Her mouth opens and closes but no sound escapes, and Giyu wonders if she can speak at all.

In the span of mere minutes, the rest of the sailors have devolved into arguing - some want to keep her, some want to sell her live, some want to kill her and sell her in parts. Not one of them suggest returning her to sea, and the more time passes, the more Giyu's gut churn.

"You have to let her go," he says, his voice lost in the din. He tries again, his voice pitched high with his own fear. "You have to let her go!"

The mermaid gazes at him, her eyes serious. Not surprised, or hopeful, or relieved - just serious.

"Are you crazy, lad? You haven't been alive long enough to know what this thing could fetch us. We wouldn't have to worry about going hungry for the rest of our lives!" one of the men says, and Giyu shakes his head.

"You don't understand," he says, but it's the wrong thing to say.

"What I do understand is that this lad thinks he knows better than the rest of us," the man sneers. "Fallen in love with the pretty thing, have you? Want to keep her all to yourself? Well get in line, buddy, but you'll be waiting a long time."

"You don't understand!" He yells, and draws the knife from his belt.

He rushes towards the mermaid, and she is still calm, even in the face of the flashing blade. But one of the other crewmembers grabs him, throwing him against the side of the ship, and Giyu's only thought is to hold onto the knife or he'll lose his chance of setting the creature free.

He has to set her free.

But he's already taken too much time, the rest of the crew hindering him in any way they can, and though he is not the smallest amongst them, the others are still bigger. He can feel the hairs on his neck rising with each minute that passes; the wind picks up, the sky darkens, and a soft, eerie sound begins to fill the air.

The rest of the crew looks around, bewildered, but Giyu knows what this means, what this begets.

"What the hell is happening? Is she doing this?" a crewmember demands, and though the sailors might be dumb in the face of myth, they aren't when it comes to the weather.

"Then kill her now, before she brings anything worse!" another snarls, flashing his own blade, "She'll still fetch a pretty penny dead!"

No, no, no no, Giyu thinks, if they kill her, there's no forgiveness, not at all.

The men are good sailors, but they are not sea-touched like him. Such a thing is why they've brought him on board, younger by several years he may be. As such, it's why they don't know - you cannot take what the sea does not freely give.

You cannot take the children of the sea, not if they are unwilling.

Giyu runs. He tackles the crewmember nearest to the net, then scrambles to cut the rope. It's harder than it looks - his knife is not the sharpest, and the net is tough, for obvious reasons. Someone elbows him in the side and he grunts in pain, but he doesn't let up. He doesn't have to cut the whole net, the girl just needs a hole big enough to crawl out.