(I'll be writing in a more natural/my preferred way because the way I wrote beauty and the beast, I absolutely hated it and it was cringy. And not to mention all the fancy symbols took too much time)
(Type out my shit on Google docs so all the italics get removed when I paste it on here ;-;)
Hakuji jumped up again, awakening in the woods this time.
Well, not really the woods.
It was more like an underwater kelp forest, and it was a really magnificent view. The way the sun shone on parts of the waters as the kelp waved lazily around the—
"Hakuji!"
"Hakuji!"
"Hakuji!!"
Zoned out, Hakuji wipped his head around to see a weird crab calling his name. Was he going crazy??
"Er—"
"Your father king Triton wants to see you! Why weren't you in the meeting??"
".. Oh shut up lobster."
"Lobster? Lobster?? I'll let you know that I, the most loyal subject of your majesty, is most certainly not a lobster! I am the crab, Sebastian!"
Scoffing, he swam off and away from the kelp, leaving Sebastian way behind, trying to catch up with him.
'... I guess I do look pretty nice.'
His tail resembles a betta fish, colorful and very.. flashy. Koyuki would definitely love to see him like this.
.:•=——=•:.
Swimming to catch up with the large ship, Hakuji had a strange curiosity towards it.
The fireworks blasting off reminded him of that moment when.. What moment?
It felt familiar yet so unrecognizable. What was the memory he was thinking of?
"Hakuji- what are you— Jumping jolly fish!"
Without another care, Hakuji began to swim towards it, his eyes gleaming with interest.
"Hakuji- Hakuji—! Please, come back!!"
Peeking onto the ship, his eyes glimmered in the lantern light, where he saw a kitty— and a lady.
'Koyuki!'
Those soft pink eyes of hers- he could just stay here and stare at her forever..
Leaning his head on the floor, he gazed dreamily at her, watching her smile, and her movements to pet the cat.
((She's the main character this time. Up to your standards?))
It felt like he was falling in love all over again.
Pushing the annoying seagull that just dropped down his side away, someone on the ship suddenly gathered everyone's attention.
"Silence! Silenceee! It is now my honor, and privilege to present our esteemed princess Koyuki with a very special, very expensive, very large birthday present."
The cloth covering the, as said, very large present was removed, showing a quite large statue of herself.
"Oh..?"
Koyuki nervously laughed, rubbing the back of her head.
"I commissioned it myself. Of course I had hoped it would be a wedding present."
Koyuki now chuckles for real.
"Oh— don't be like that. You're not still sad because I didn't fall for the previous Prince, are you?"
"Oh Koyuki, the entire kingdom wants to see you happily settle down with the right man."
Gazing into the sea, Hakuji had a strong feeling that Koyuki was thinking of him.
"Believe, when I find him I'll know about it. Without a doubt it'll just.. bam! Hit me like poison."
The sudden thundering in the distance stole the attention of the whole crew.
Heavy rain began to pour down, and the waves immediately began to grow harsher and harsher.
"Hurricane coming!"
Hakuji had already leapt back into the sea, but the ship was now falling apart.
The sails on the boat lit up into flames as the boat rocked heavily among the large waves, barely managing to stay afloat.
As all the people sank or escaped on lifeboats, his eyes were only looking around for one person.
Dragging her back onto shore, the light of the morning sun dowsed both Hakuji and Koyuki in the bright light.
'Oh shit— what the fuck do I do??'
Having been taught nothing about what to do when someone almost drowns, Hakuji cupped her cheeks and could only hope she wakes up again.
"Koyuki- hey- Koyuki- wake up."
"Oh no! He's saved a human- he must be going insane—"
"Shut up Sebastian, not the time."
With a few watery coughs, Koyuki's hand slowly moves to touch the hand on her face.
Her eyes slowly blinked open, looking at the person in front of her.
"... Ha—"
The footprints on the sand started both of them, Hakuji immediately tugged his hand back reluctantly, and leaped back into the sea, leaving Koyuki confused and dazed.
"Wait—"
"Ms. Koyuki!! It must be such luck that you were washed up on shore oh my lord. Are you alright? No injuries?"
"That— Hakuji-"
"You must be so confused, c'mon now, we'll have to take you up to the castle to see if you're okay."
"There was someone—"
"There was nobody, you must be hallucinating now! C'mon, C'mon, let's get you back to the castle.."
Watching her get dragged off from behind the rocks, his gaze continued to stare at the same place where she was last seen, grinning unconsciously.
Navigating through the kelp and coral, his fists clenched. That annoying-
"I can't believe you've done that! You've saved a human! A human!"
"I know who I saved alright! Shut your crabby mouth and give me a moment of peace for god's sake.."
"King Triton- oh what would your majesty think if he knew about this?!"
"He won't, trust me. Because if you tell him a single word about it, I'll turn you into paste. Crab paste."
Sebastian paused suddenly, staring at Hakuji with a very nervous expression.
"You know, on second thought I think I was hallucinating a lot. I might have imagined all of that."
"Skedaddle," in a rough voice, he rolled his eyes as the crab scurried off.
.:•=——=•:.
"He did what?!"
An enraged voice rang through the palace, where King Triton clutched his trident tightly with one hand, his other hand darting forward to grab Sebastian.
"He- He saved a human, your majesty— a-a human girl."
Hakuji was in this strange place.
It was filled with human items over the walls, and basically everything. Basically a grotto (cave).
While just swimming around and looking at all the different things, a dark shadow approaches from behind, an outraged King Triton appearing.
'... Damned crab.'
Well.. there goes all the human things. There goes everything actually, there's nothing left. No nothing but the ashes of what previously remained.
Being left in this empty space just made him want to make his way up, find her and just end it all. End this stupid story.
The crab sat remorsefully next to him. A flounder fish swam close by.
And like usual, these thoughts were interrupted by something. So of course, his face scrunched up with frustration seeing two erm- not pleasant looking eels swimming around him.
When can he ever get a moment of peace?
With nothing else in his mind, he blankly followed the eels deep under the sea, and entered a dark cave.
"Hah.. he'll be the key, don't you think?"
Illuminated by strange creatures in the dark, Hakuji looks at his surroundings.
"Welcome, Welcome! Oh, look who they brought in? Hurry and enter, it's quite rude to just stand at the front door isn't it?"
A strangely familiar voice spoke out.
Why was this voice familiar?
"I'm Akaza, just a magical person to help you with your problems and dreams! You can tell me everything, I'll do it for you, just with a little fee."
Odd person. He had the tail of a swordfish, with multiple scars over.
The person, Akaza, rolled over from the rock they were laying on, and made his way towards Hakuji.
"Just sign a deal. A contract with me."
"... what's the price, assuming you know what I want?"
He smirks. "Of course I do," With a laugh, he turns away to look at the cauldron in front of him. "It's her, am I right? You're here because you have a thing for this human, this uh, Princess fellow? Not that I blame you, she is quite the catch, isn't she?"
There was a tense pause.
"... I'll give you legs, I'll make you walk, breathe, and eat on land."
"No, I'm asking for the fee. What is it?"
"..."
Tossing random bottles into the strange mix, Akaza simply gave him a smile.
"If you really wanted to be with her, my price should be nothing to you."
"Just say it."
"You'll have three days of time to kiss the girl, if you don't manage to succeed, there is no going back. And to make this a little harder of a challenge and as payment, I'll be taking your voice."
"..."
With careful thought, Hakuji looked at the seafloor for a while.
(( Just do it. ))
"... I'll do it."
"Lovely."
With a snap of his fingers, a sheet of glowing paper unrolled itself towards Hakuji. A quill made with fish bones by the side near it.
I hereby grant Akaza—
That was really all he read.
'Contracts are stupidly complicated anyways.'
.:•=——=•:.
Coughing up the waters from his lungs, and oh how glad he was to see that the guy at least gave him some sort of coverage. (You didn't actually think I'd write out the part where the seagull helps 'Ariel' get dressed did ya. No, he's spawning with clothes)
He lifted himself up slowly. Somehow despite having previously walked before, it took him a few seconds to get used to it again.
"Oh dear heavens what have you—"
'I do not want you to talk in any more ways Sebastian, the last time you uttered a word you caused a cave to be basically blown up.'
Nothing came out.
Just a dry cough. Hakuji instead gave him a glare that told him clearly to 'Shut your damn ass up'. He grumbled frustratedly and sat down on the rocks, staring off into the sea.
(( Don't worry, she'll come by soon enough. ))
'.. I know she will. She always comes by. It's how the story probably rolls anyways.'
Crunch
Crunch
"Oh! Oh wow, is someone here?"
Footsteps approached him.The honey sweet voice Hakuji has always known rang out into the small cave. The crab and the fish quickly dove back into the waters, hidden from view right as Koyuki stepped out.
"..!"
He would have exclaimed her name. Would have. If only he had his voice with him.
'Ah Shit!'
Instead, Hakuji stood up and walked (or actually stumbled) towards her. He grabbed her on the shoulders and kept his grip tight so as to not let her go. Looking into her eyes with affection and determination, his face relaxed into a soft smile before he pulled her into and affectionate embrace.
".. Hakuji."
Koyuki hugged him back with equal affection, burying her head into his chest (she's just that short).
(( Awh.. How sweet. ))
"Hm.."
Akaza raised an eyebrow. This was indeed odd for a pair that just met to be showing that much affection.
"This proves to be a challenge more than I'm aware of..."
Taken back to the castle, Hakuji had his own little room, and plenty of gossiping people around him. Not that it bothered him too much, but the dinner with Koyuki and this random guy she introduced as Grim was just awkward. Very awkward he would say, especially when the crab was in his food and had to sneak over to his plate.
By the window, Hakuji leaned outside to stare into the sea.
'But she did promise me we'd go to the market tomorrow..'
Sighing, he walked back in and closed the blinds, flopping down on the bed, waiting for sleep to take him.
Bang.
Bang.
The sound of fireworks bursted within the dark sky, lighting it up like an attempt to create an artificial sun.
Someone held his hand.
Their face were a distant haze, a blurry image he could've sworn he'd seen before. But he can't remember this moment. No matter how hard he tried, nothing.
"⅄̶o̶ᴎ̶,̶ɹ̶ǝ̶ ̶ɐ̶ɯ̶ɐ̶ƹ̶ı̶u̶ɓ̶'̶ ̶H̶ɐ̶k̶ᴎ̶ɾ̶ı̶-̶ꙅ̶ɐ̶u̶˙̶ ̶M̶ı̶|̶|̶ ̶ʎ̶o̶ᴎ̶ ̶p̶ǝ̶ ̶ɯ̶ʎ̶ ̶ɥ̶ᴎ̶ꙅ̶p̶ɐ̶u̶q̶¿̶"
Words. They feel so familiar. Was he supposed to remem–
His eyes slowly blinked opened once again, while he rested on the bed. It wasn't a good sleep. Confused as he stared at the ceiling, Hakuji eventually just sighed and sat up, ready but also not so ready to start the day.
'Why does everything feel so.. different?'
((.. it's probably just your imagination. Now hurry and get ready, Koyuki is waiting for you.))
'You don't have to tell me twice.'
(FLUFF, also the part where I give up trying to italicize everything)
"Hakuji-San!"
A cheerful Koyuki ran up to him, looking-
'Just as beautiful as ever.'
Softly grinning back at her, Hakuji pats her on the head. Koyuki beamed and grabbed him by his hand, leading him down to the marketplace.
The only thing that was troubling him, was the fact that he couldn't verbally tell Koyuki about anything, and he didn't want to do anything to her without her consent. God what the fuck is he supposed to do in this moment? Keeping his inner thoughts away from his expression, Hakuji maintains his smile, not wanting to trouble Koyuki at all.
Seeing her point at everything enthusiastically was just so adorable to him, he wanted to jump off a cliff from all of her cute expressions. Not that he was actually going to do it. She's definitely going to be the end of him one of these days. Hakuji squeezed her hand a little tighter, nervous about losing her in the crowd.
"Look at that!"
"That looks interesting!"
"You look amazing in that!"
"Gasp- That's so cute!!"
"Do I look okay? I don't look too weird right?"
'Cough—'
'I'm gonna fucking choke.'
Seeing Koyuki put on a hat that looked too big for her, he turned his head away from her, covering his face with one of his hands.
She stared at him with a little concern, before he turned his head back to look at her, a bright blush on his face.
Hakuji walked closer and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.
'Adorable..'
She looked up at him and flushed bright red, yanking the hat further down on her face, covering up her blush.
"You're such a tease.."
Grinning in response, they continued their way around the place. Occasionally, Koyuki would run off after seeing something cool, while Hakuji attempted to chase her back.
"Hu- Hakuji!! Look at that!!"
She ran off again.
'Damnit!'
Laughing silently to himself, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back, stopping her from entering the massive crowd that had gathered around a shop.
"Nooo..."
'No my ass. Large crowds are just the key to losing you again.'
'...'
'Again?'
Before he could process his thoughts any further, Koyuki had walked further in front of him.
'... swamp.'
That's where they were, in a boat, floating on a body of water. More likely to be described as a lake.
Sebastian was running around in circles, trying to-
"Hakuji."
His attention averted to her.
"Look at the moon," In a quiet voice, Koyuki points up at the night sky, staring at it with a soft expression. "The moon is beautiful, isn't it?"
'Oh..'
'Oh..!'
Hakuji grinned gently, taking hold of her hands and clutching it firmly in his own. He nodded to her words, while he slowly leaned closer to her.
Her face had a soft blush. She looked back at him, beginning to close their distance—
*˗ˏˋ BAM 'ˎ˗*
Something hit the side of their boat, toppling them over into the shallow waters, ruining the mood in the process.
"Ah god damnit!"
Sebastian cursed, and two eels could be seen swimming away with a mischievous smile.
Hakuji also let out a very frustrated groan, cursing within his mind and looking absolutely pissed.
"Good job boys. That was a close one. Too close."
Akaza scoffed before picking himself up to swim around in frustration. If this were to continue to happen, then they were bound to kiss before the day comes. A wave of worry washed over him, but he quickly pushed it aside.
"If I'm not going to be able to do anything about it right now, who will?"
With a malicious laugher, a new plan began to form within his head.
By the shoreline, Koyuki could see what resembles a guy walking near the waters. They had a really similar look to Hakuji, and her curiosity peaked. She approached him herself, right as he turned around to look at her.
Racing down the staircase eagerly, Hakuji looked around the palace for Koyuki, only to see her—
'What the fuck?'
Pink hair. Same height. What the hell, he even had what seemed to be his own voice? Was that—
'Akaza!'
The man, sensing his presence turned around to look at him, his face at first neutral, splits into a mocking smile, while he kept his hands behind his back.
"So.. is this the person you've been talking so much about, Koyuki-San?"
'Who the fuck does he think he is, talking to my wife as—'
With an extremely angry expression, Hakuji flips Akaza off, before storming away back up the stairs into his room once again.
'Well isn't he just a bundle of joy," with a rather harsh remark, he turns his attention back to Koyuki, who was staring at Hakuji while he stomped up the stairs with a rather worried look.
"Excuse me please, I want to go check on him."
Anddd there she goes. What was even worse was that Akaza had fully planned out how this should go, and Koyuki following Hakuji like a lost kitty isn't part of the plan. In fact the only thing she had been talking about throughout their 'conversation' was all about how she admired him greatly. Yet when he questioned if she loves him or not, she simply flushed red and changed the topic. Love spells don't even work, hypnotizing spells also don't work? Nothing works! How was he supposed to separate the two of them if nothing worked? Geez, and he thought they had just met?
Koyuki ran after Hakuji, grabbing him by the wrist and holding on rather tightly. Her eyes looked up with a mix of confusion and worry, refusing to let go, despite the fact he looked visibly angered at the moment.
He snapped his wrist out of her hold, before quickly realizing how harsh he may have seemed in her eyes. But somehow once again, he couldn't.. Think for himself? He wasn't able to control his feelings... Using his best attempts to try and surpass the negative feelings that were stirring in him, Hakuji groaned and used his other hand to rub the bridge of his nose, letting his arm fall to the side. Koyuki was increasingly startled by his actions, flinching and taking a small step back.
With the coldest look that he could muster at her, his blue eyes pierced into her soul before he walked off without another word.
"Ha..."
Stretching her arm out impulsively, Koyuki stumbled a few steps closer to him, before letting her arm fall to her side again and watch him walk off.
Tears glossed up her eyes but she quickly wiped them away.
"Didn't realize he'd do that to a lady either."
Placing a hand onto her shoulder, Akaza suddenly approached her, taking the chance.
She immediately moved his arm off. "I'm sorry, please leave me alone sir," in a whispered tone, her footsteps echoed through the hall as she walked off again.
Anddd there goes his chance again.
Standing by the beach, Hakuji replayed his thoughts.
Over.
And over.
And over again.
'Why did I do that?'
'I just— why did I snap at her?'
The sun for the third day was to rise soon. He had spent most of the day on the sand, too ashamed to go back and face her. Too angered to see that person again.
Troubled with his own emotions, Hakuji took a seat. Watching the waves overlap one another, the only thing to do now was to wait. Wait patiently until the sun rises, until he has no choice but to leave again.
...
A hand ruffled his hair.
He blinked, turning his head upward to see her again. Standing by and watching the waves along with him. A loaded shotgun full of guilt hits him again, and Hakuji turns his head back.
"Are you okay, Hakuji-San?"
Seeing him look away, Koyuki sat besides him. Where both of them go, trouble seems to always follow. Was this worth it to just to see her again, not in hell but living and next to him? He didn't realize how problematic this may turn out to be. Heck, he didn't even ask for this!
".. I'm sorry."
Koyuki broke the silence again, this time he looked at her with a face that he always looked at her when she apologized.
"I brought him over. He was just— walking by the shore and I felt bad so... I'm sorry for bringing him."
...
How could he possibly stay mad at her, if she was just the most innocent and precious person he has ever seen? With a small sigh, Hakuji leaned on her shoulder.
This time, he took her hands and held them in his own while rubbing her wrist, telling her physically how he was sorry for jerking his hand away from her.
A moment of peaceful silence followed.
Eventually Koyuki gave his head a kiss, and he looked back at her again. The sun was rising, soon he'll be parted with her.
He didn't want to be parted again.
Right before she looked away, Hakuji placed a hand on her cheek, turning her head to look back at him.
Both of them remained in silence, staring at each other in the eyes, before-
He leaned forwards.
Finally letting their lips meet in a hesitant but soft kiss, it took Koyuki a moment to rejester what he did. It only lasted a few seconds, but it was enough.
A small smile rose onto her face, so did a blush.
((That wasn't how—))
((... how much more do you have to go through this, before you realize each time you mess it up, you'll just start a new one?!))
Still staring into her eyes lovingly, Hakuji brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear.
'As much as it takes.'
...
((Then very well, I have all the time in the world.))
Hakuji gave her one last embrace, before it went dark, and he woke up within a large building, dressed in rather poor rags this time.
This is the scrapped version, may or may not be reused, depends:
Hakuji jumped up again, awakening in the woods this time.
'What the fuck?'
Sitting on the soft grass, he had a ragged bag hanging over his shoulders, where out of curiosity, he opened it.
A gleaming crown was in the bag, and Hakuji could only guess he must have stolen this. If he was wealthy enough to buy this properly, why was his clothes worn out, and why was he in the woods?
An alarming sound from the distance took his attention away, and he immediately stood up and ran. He wasn't taking any chances, not when he had an entire crown with him that was most likely owned by a royal family.
Not looking at the direction he was running towards, the trees slowly began to thin, before he stumbled upon an open space.
In front of his eyes, was a large tower with no way up– or down.
.:•=——=•:.
*˗ˏˋ WACK 'ˎ˗*
A hard hit on Hakuji's head knocked him out cold after he just entered the tower.
However, it took him only five minutes to wake up, where he immediately became alarmed and looked around the tower.
He was tied up with... hair???
'What the fuc—'
A girl, quite young looking, stepped near him welding a frying pan.
A/N: I've never actually watched the little mermaid. So I also wrote this kind of based off my prior knowledge and the real story..?? Ish?? Maybe? But I also realized that the original ending would not fit the plot, so, you're stuck with this. So glad I got this over with though. Still as cringe as ever here.
In the middle of the story, I realized it might have been better to swap Akaza with the unnamed character who killed Koyuki, but it took too much brain power to rethink and rewrite the story again, and I felt like making Akaza there would be much more of a surprise.
Anyways, hopefully you enjoyed this. Once again, can you guess the next story? Did ya notice any references and hints in this one?
Not included into the actual story dialogue but I thought would be funny to just add here I suppose, after all I did kind of hit you with something hard with all those drama during the last few moments:
Sebastian cursed, and two eels could be seen swimming away with a mischievous smile.
Hakuji also let out a very frustrated groan, cursing within his mind and looking absolutely pissed.
'*Beep Beep* mother *Beep*, that stupid good for nothing son of a- *Beep* *Beeep* *Beep* *Beeeeep* I swear if i get my hands on them I'll- *Beep* *Beeeeeeep*'
((Jesus Christ..))