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•|• Lesson One •|•

There in that round little tank clutched between her hands, he floated...he floated...he had turned into a goldfish with splattered black accents and golden scales, some of the said scales poking out in various places, just as his messy raven locks had once done.

"I-I'm a fish!?"

"Uh-- yeah, okay...well, seems to me you like it! That's great, I was rather worried for a moment you wouldn't."

"No way!"

"On a more serious note." He watched as her stance shifted straighter directing her gaze down upon him with a disappointed stare. "I thought I clear when I warned you that everything I do comes with a price."

A prickly sensation made itself present along his backbone as he dared not looked her way. She had been right. She had warned him before they even attempted the first try at swooning Yashiro. He had been in the wrong, too bad he only just now noticed.

At his distress and thoughtful expression, a sigh slid past parted lips as a more light-hearted tone tinted her words. "You've been inflicted with the curse of the mermaid." She briefly explained moving them back towards the desk to sit him down, shifting over to take a seat on top of the one in front of him.

"So that's why I turned into a fish...Fish are the servants of mermaids after all..." A bubble floated above his head as he attempted to speak.

"Had you made someone else ingest the other scale, the curse's power would have been split between the two of you, and you wouldn't have completely turned into a fish." Hanako huffed leaning back on her arms letting her hat tumble from her head with a quiet 'plop' as the stray strands of (h/c) fell back off her face. "You'd still be fish like though. The mermaid curse only affects the one who ingests it, we call it a matchmaker because two people with the same curse are tied together with a strong bond. But you haven't done that if you don't mind me asking, why?"

"I..." He started, only quickly cutting himself off to think.

He could have had her eat the second scale if he wanted to. He could have claimed her as his own and made her share his burden, but he didn't. Why? When he thought about it, was it her he was after, was her heart all he desired, if so then he could've, no, he would've taken the chance of having her cursed like he is. But he didn't.

"She likes someone else. I don't want to ruin her chances for my selfishness...besides, I think the only reason I wanted to be with her was to cure my loneliness..."

That's right. He was lonely. Sure, his brother was there and he got along well enough with his classmates, but none of it felt genuine. Behind closed doors, Tsukasa still treated him like dirt. After school, none of his peers dare even glance his way. He was lonely. He craved the attention and affection a friend or lover could provide, and because of that, he pushed all his selfishness onto the first person to show him an inkling of kindness.

"I don't want to be a terrible person. I'm tired of twisting things for my selfishness." A tense silence hung over the room as the ghost tenderly looked down at the fish, her heart swelled with unknown emotions as her lips pulled into a tight smile. Opening her mouth to speak she let a pleased laugh slide off her tongue as the fish swam about anxiously.