𝐃𝐀𝐘𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆 | ᵏⁱᵐᵉᵗˢᵘ ⁿᵒ ʸᵃⁱᵇᵃ

003 thank you | shinobu

𝙧𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙

mermaid!shinobu au!

HOME

     OCEAN TIDES FLOODING the shoreline. seagulls chirping their melodies. rays of sunlight reflecting off of the shifting waters.

THIS WAS HOME

you have spent hours here, savoring the euphoric feeling of giddiness each time your toes wiggle in the sand. the warm, friendly breeze sifting through your hair. really, nothing could beat the sensation of hearing the calming tides clashing together.

your eyes were scanning the shoreline, seeking after a glint in the sand for a seashell. a sand dollar grabbed your gaze and you crouched down, huffing. this was your fourth sand dollar today. you wondered if you were ever going to get lucky finding a conch. rising back up again, you picked your head up and peered straight ahead.

an old fishing net was on the bank, and it appeared that something was captured inside it. whatever it was, the constant irregular stirring caused you panic and you dashed forward, raising your feet through the thick sand.

a whimper was heard inside the aged mesh, and without thinking, you abandoned the sand dollars your left hand was occupying and started tearing through the net, careful not to hurt the mysterious creature trapped inside.

you weren't going to lie, you knew what this creature was. you've hung around tons of sailors at the run-down coffee shop, spilling their over-seas stories as if it was their first time iterating the windy experiences. they've claimed that these creatures -mermaids- were hideous, cruel beings that only yearned for inflicting pain onto others. at first, you thought that was ridiculous. how could those things exist? why would they desire misery upon others?

but observing this unbelievable creature in front of your very eyes had you reeling those questioning thoughts back.

with one final tug on the wasted material, the net fully unraveled off the eye-catching creature. the crying ceased, and the once enveloped being glanced up at their savior. deep purple orbs searched your wide e/c eyes, silently thanking you.

you memorized the breathtaking being before you. her tail had what seemed to be a pattern of a beautiful pale butterfly, with an ombre of light green and baby pink. tiny white dots were coated at the ends. she was wearing a flimsy purple shell bra, tied loosely around her chest to her back. her hair had jet black roots and purple ends. you wondered if it was natural. then again, you wondered if what you were witnessing was truly real.

"thank you, i thought i was a goner," the mermaid spoke. she had a light, feminine voice. almost as light as a butterfly. the sweet tone quickly shifted into a sharp groan. her small, delicate hand gripped a deep gash on her tail, attempting to alleviate the troublesome injury.

you could only guess that her wound came from the rusty clasp at the end of the aged net.

luckily, the gash was not wide and could be mended with a plain butterfly stitch. 'how ironic,' you thought. she resembled a butterfly and needed a butterfly stitch.

"are- are you okay?" you asked, although you already knew the answer. it was obvious that she was in a lot of distress. you racked your brain for anything that could be helpful to get rid of the pain.

you hastily threw her an apology and told her that you'd be right back as you raced to your truck. hidden inside the glove box was a small first-aid kit. you often brought it with you as you traveled to the beach. it wasn't uncommon to uncover hidden glass embedded beneath the sand, and it didn't help when you ran full speed into them, barefoot, either.

you yanked open the passenger door to retrieve the kit and rushed right back to where the injured mythical creature lied, not before tripping on your own two feet headfirst into the sand.

curses flew out of your mouth as you pulled yourself back up, hoping she didn't witness your embarrassing fall. unfortunately for you, though, she did.

she snickered as you came back from your short trip, kneeling in front of her injured tail.

"that was quite the fall back there, " she teased, her unpleasant demeanor suddenly vanishing. she had her hand hovering over her lips in an attempt to hide another chuckle as she eyed your figure fishing through the cramped aid kit.

"yeah, yeah. just hold still would you?" you requested, lightly coating a cotton ball with some rubbing alcohol. she wordlessly complied while stopping her stirring.

silence overcame between you two. you still couldn't grasp that a mermaid was in front of your very eyes. but, instead of dwelling on the endless thoughts of whether or not other fictitious beings could possibly be roaming around your world, you gathered up the remaining blood that dripped on her tail into the once-white ball.

after throwing away the used cotton ball, you glanced up at the beautiful mermaid and questioned what her name was.

"shinobu," she replied, observing you grab a clean butterfly stitch, carefully taking the injured scales and pushing them together to heal with ease. 

after tending to the mermaid -who you now know as shinobu-, you took one last gander at her neatly wrapped wound and concluded, "well, shinobu, you should be alright now. in a few days, you can take the stitch off," you paused yourself, before adding, "how did this happen anyway? if you don't mind me asking."

she snorted at your question while turning her attention to the ocean ahead of her. her intense purple eyes searching in thought as she rolled her eyes at the not-so-fond memory.

"long story short - i tricked another mermaid, who i absolutely dislike, and he tricked me back."

"huh," you chuckled and shook your head, deciding not to wonder why she dislikes this certain mermaid.

"i should get you back in the ocean, right?" you gasped suddenly, scolding yourself as of why you didn't think of this sooner. "you're not having withdrawals, are you? do mermaids even get withdrawals?" you frantically moved your first-aid kit and began to gently grab the still injured being to the ocean.

shinobu wore a sweet smile, accepting the help you gave and was soon welcomed into the familiar waters. "to answer your question, yes, we do get withdrawals," she began, her head now peaking out of the water, playful eyes peering into yours, "but, if i'm being honest, they went away when i saw you."

a light blush crept upon your face as you stood upon the brink of the sand, feeling the ocean waves occasionally sweeping over your feet. your hand went to brush the nape of your neck as you sheepishly averted your gaze.

shinobu laughed at this, and her hand went down to her tail. she plucked a loose scale off of it. she gestured you with her hand to come closer, and you complied.

knee-deep into the rushing waters, shinobu dropped her pretty multicolored scale into your hand. you looked back at her, furrowing your eyebrows.

"thank you. you know, i never got your name," she stated, her hand going back into the water.

it's as if your brain didn't want to function correctly, you managed to mutter out, "it- it's [name]."

"[name]," the way your name rolled off her tongue felt very inviting. she gave you one last look before she started to swim back home.

"i hope we meet again, [name]."

and suddenly, you found yourself on the beach almost every day.

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