Chapter Text
“Mama, Mama!”
Rui swam through the window, using his tentacles to keep from moving too far past it with the running current outside. He kicked off the wall with his feet and swam towards his mom.
She glanced up from the counter when Rui bumped into her side. Her tentacles wrapped around his waist and arms to stop him from drifting past, and she pulled him closer to hug him lightly.
“Hi Mama!” The little boy exclaimed excitedly as he looked up at her, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist.
“Hey Rui, what are you up to?” She asked with a chuckle.
“Emu and Mafuyu and I finished up school! And then we went and played in the reefs! And we got Toya to join us, too!”
“Oh, Toya got to play with you today?”
“Mhm!”
Rui’s tentacles wrapped around her waist and he lifted himself in the water to peek at the pot on the counter.
“What’s for dinner?”
“I’m making crab. It’s almost ready, so go make sure your room is clean!”
“But I don’t wanna clean my room!” Rui pouted, his bottom lip poking out.
His mom chuckled, and she gently patted his head.
“I’ll read a story for you tonight!”
At that, he perked up, his eyes shining again.
“Can I pick?”
“Only if you clean your room, love.”
“Okay!”
Rui carefully turned and kicked off the counter, swimming towards the seaweed curtain leading to his room. His mom smiled at him gently, then turned her attention back to the pot.
A quiet squeak rose to her right from the front door, the water shifting in the room, before gentle arms wrapped around her waist, a set of tentacles drifting with her own.
“Welcome home,” She said with a smile. “How was work?”
“Just fixing some problems with the carriages for the Otori’s. Heard a few certain someone’s were messing with them the other day,” Rui’s dad said.
“Mm, Mafuyu did mention something about the carriages.”
They both chuckled quietly. The water shifted when another joined them, slipping in through the small window long after Rui.
“How were your classes, Mafuyu?” His mom asked, glancing over at the small girl.
“They were okay,” She mumbled, her gaze a bit distant.
Rui’s mom frowned slightly, watching Mafuyu sink to her seat at the table. She looked up once settling, then forced a gentle smile in their direction. His mom returned the smile, though it was sympathetic.
Rui drifted back to the table, his tentacles clinging to the chair while he lowered himself down. He looked up eagerly, waiting for his food.
“Can you go check his room for me, love?” His mom asked.
His dad nodded, then turned and swam towards the kid’s room after pecking her cheek, disappearing through the seaweed curtain.
His mom sent a smile towards the two kids, then grabbed a couple bowls and scooped some of the cooked crab pieces for them. She passed them to her tentacles, and sent them back to set on the table while she reached for two more bowls.
“Did you two get any homework today?”
They grew quiet. Unusually quiet for the two kids, well, more so Rui than Mafuyu, but it was suspicious nonetheless.
She turned and glanced at them, frowning.
Their silence spoke volumes, though this was nothing new for them. Neither of the children had been willing to do their homework, let alone their schoolwork , for the past several months.
Not that she could blame them, though …
“You didn’t do it, did you?”
The kids glanced at each other, the both of them frowning. Rui took a shaky breath, then nervously turned back to his mom.
“They want me to learn how to use the power in my tentacles to kill innocent fish,” he mumbled.
“And they want me to train my voice so it can become strong enough to sink a ship.”
She sighed, and glanced at Rui’s dad as he joined them at the table. His brows raised slightly when they shared a look, but he shook his head, looking back at the kids.
“Your classes are meant to train you to survive out here in the sea. It’s an important skill to have if you ever plan on leaving the kingdom or just plan on traveling in general,” he said.
“Learning how to kill human people won’t teach us how to survive in the sea if we stay this low under water, or stay in the villages and cities!”
Rui’s mom grew tense at her son’s words, and she glanced at his dad. They shared another look, before glancing back at the kids. Mafuyu shifted nervously in her seat while staring at the bowl in front of her.
“Um… let’s… let’s talk about that in the morning, okay? You two have the weekend off, so we can spend some time together to work it out,” his mom suggested.
She forced a grin as she set the two other bowls down, and took a seat across from Mafuyu.
“I just… don’t wanna hurt human people…” Rui mumbled, and he picked up a piece of crab.
“And you shouldn’t. Humans have done nothing to hurt us. So there’s no reason to hurt them,” she reassured, her voice shaking slightly, glancing at Rui's dad for backup.
“But not everyone thinks that way. And it will be difficult to convince others to think the same,” his dad added.
They all grew quiet as they ate, the two kids nodding solemnly. They stayed quiet, the water between them tense and awkward, until Mafuyu rose from her chair, glancing between the three of them. She gently pushed her empty bowl away from the edge, then glanced away.
“Thank you for dinner… I’m going to bed now,” She mumbled, before she swam off to her room.
Rui shoved his last bit of crab into his mouth, then pushed up from the table.
“Am gon’ go bed… ‘nd find a book,” he struggled to say through a mouthful of food.
“Don’t talk with your mouth full, Rui,” his mom reprimanded.
He hummed in response, then kicked off his chair to make his way towards his room. They waited until the little boy was gone from sight, before they both sighed.
“What do we say to them?” His dad mumbled.
He picked at one of the crab legs and looked up at her, his expression hesitant.
“You know how the others would react… we just… I don’t know. I wanted to raise them without this whole, ‘kill all humans’ thing, but the schools are pushing that agenda even more now, since they've started hunting us more actively than before. And that’s all they'll teach them how to do now.”
“Do you still want to take them-?”
“I need to make sure it’s okay. I’m not sure how things are right now.”
“And is it safe?”
“I’ve talked with Yoisaki over it. She’s still looking into it to see what she can find.”
“I see…”
“Mama?”
They both jumped, looking at Rui when his head poked out between the seaweed curtain. He held up a faded book, then held it to his chest and pushed the seaweed off his head.
“Can you read us a story now?” He asked quietly.
His mom smiled gently, and nodded.
“Of course. I’ll be there in just a moment, baby.”
The little boy’s face lit up with excitement, and he ducked back in his room. His mom looked at his dad, giving him a tired smile, then pushed up from her chair.
“I’ll be back.”
She bent down and kissed his forehead, then drifted her way to the kids’ room. She peered through the curtain, smiling more when she saw them.
One of Rui’s tentacles was wrapped around Mafuyu's tail to help hold her down as her hair drifted, a small, but strong current circling through the open window into the room. She tugged at her dark curls as they floated around her face, growing frustrated.
“I told you, if you used seaweed to tie your hair back, it wouldn’t get in your face all the time,” Rui said, before he pulled her back down to sit next to him on his bed.
“I don’t like how the seaweed makes my hair feel. It’s all… gross …”
“It can’t be that gross, Mafufu!”
His mom chuckled and moved over to shut the window, using the wood planks to block the current from entering. Mafuyu finally sank back to Rui’s bed, sighing in relief when her hair stopped moving in her face so much.
“Rui’s right. The seaweed will help keep your hair back. Or I could see what human treasures I find to help keep your hair up. It’s starting to get long, too,” his mom said.
She grabbed a random comb and sat by the kids, running it through Mafuyu’s hair.
"Do you two have any plans for tomorrow?"
"If they'll let her, we're gonna play with Emu in the reefs again!" Rui exclaimed while excitedly squirming in the bed.
"Is Toya gonna join you again?"
"We asked, but he said he has to do more vocal training with his dad…" Mafuyu mumbled.
"I see…"
A short moment passed, and Rui's mom set the comb aside. She loosely braided Mafuyu's hair, then held out her hand for the book in Rui's hands.
"What are we reading today?"
Rui giggled, then shifted his blanket so he could slip under it, his legs and tentacles covered by the worn fabric. His mom smiled when she read the faded letters on the book's cover.
"You really like this one, don't you?" She asked.
Rui nodded with a grin, getting comfortable in his bed. Mafuyu pushed off his bed with her arms and swam across the small room to hers, then laid down under her blanket.
Once the two kids were settled, his mom opened the book to the first page. She smiled sadly at the faded letters and pictures, and brushed her fingers gently over the worn page.
"Alright, who's ready?" She asked with a wide smile when she looked up at the kids.
"Me! Me me me!" Rui exclaimed, waving his hand above him.
"Ah- M-Me too!" Mafuyu stuttered with a nod.
His mom chuckled quietly, then settled on the rock floor, using her tentacles as a cushion for her legs.
She looked back down at the first page, then cleared her throat.
Once upon a time, there was a young mermaid. She loved to explore the sea with her friends and explore new places. But after a while, she grew bored of the sea. She’d explored every bit she could reach! But her father forbade her from exploring anywhere away from their small village. It was dangerous!
One day, she was swimming near the surface, when a boat passed by above her. She grew curious, and went to go check it out. When she got to the boat, she managed to climb up the side and watched the people as they went about their work on board. She was in awe of how they moved quickly and worked hard together!
She had to leave quickly, so the people wouldn’t notice her. But she decided she wanted to explore the land above the water! She went to tell her father, but he got angry and told her she couldn’t go.
After attempting to see the people again, her father caught her, and locked her away in her home under the sea. She grew sad, and her father didn’t know what to do to cheer her up. He was worried about her, and just wanted her to be safe.
Time passed, and her father allowed her to explore places near her home again. But she still wanted to return to the surface. She wanted to explore new places and meet new people!
So she went in search of a sea witch, so she could trade her tail for legs! She found one, and made a deal with them.
If she could bring the sea witch a human soul, she would be able to keep her legs! But if she failed, she would turn into sea foam!
So the mermaid went to the surface with her new legs, in search of a human soul to bring to the witch. She made friends with the townsfolk near the sea, growing close to them.
Days turned into weeks, which then turned into months. The mermaid never forgot her task, but she didn’t know where to find a human soul. She asked her human friends, but they didn't know what she meant.
After a while, the mermaid returned to the beach. The sea witch came to see her, asking for the human soul. But the mermaid didn’t have it. She didn’t know where to get it, and didn’t want to keep looking. She told the sea witch she just wanted to continue living on the land with the humans she got to know.
But, because she broke the deal, the mermaid was turned into sea foam. The sea witch returned to her cave, leaving the sea foam to return to the sea.
His mom stared at the faded picture on the last page of the book. She ran her fingers over the picture of sea foam, then looked up at the kids when they spoke, pulling her out of her thoughts.
"Are sea witches real?" Rui asked curiously, his eyes sparkling.
"There's been no record of a sea witch in over a century, Rui," Mafuyu said with a shake of her head.
"What if they went into hiding?"
"Where would they hide?"
"There's plenty of places in the sea to hide! Like the depths!"
" No one goes there."
"Ex- actly !"
His mom chuckled as she watched the two bicker. A quiet knock rose from the entrance of the room, and she looked back.
His dad floated in the entryway, holding the seaweed curtain aside while smiling gently at them. She gave him a quick wave, then turned back to the kids.
“What do you think? Do you think sea witches are real?” She asked.
“I do!!!” Rui exclaimed.
“There’s no way …” Mafuyu mumbled.
His mom chuckled quietly. She got up from the rock floor and put the book away, then moved over to Mafuyu. She pressed a kiss to the young girl’s forehead, then tucked her in. She moved to Rui, and did the same thing. He reached up and hugged her tightly, their tentacles drifting together.
“Hey, Mama? When can I go see your workshop?” Rui asked in a quiet voice as he let her go and snuggled back into his bed.
“I need to talk to your dad about it more, but I’m thinking soon.”
“Really?”
His golden eyes lit up with excitement, before squeezing shut when he yawned.
“Really. Now, go to sleep. It’s the weekend, so we can talk things out and play in the morning after breakfast.”
She ruffled his messy hair, then caressed his cheek.
“G’night, Mama.”
“Good night, Rui. Good night, Mafuyu.”
“Good night…”
“I love you two.”
“Wuv you too, Mama!”
“Love you, too…”
She pushed up from Rui’s bed, then drifted her way out of the room. His dad followed her back to the kitchen, and helped her clean up the dirty dishes from the table.
“He really wants to see the workshop, huh?” He asked.
“He does… Maybe once they go on break from school, I can show him.”
“I wouldn’t mind that. As long as you’ve gotten everything dangerous cleaned up.”
“There’s nothing inherently dangerous. Only if he mixes things he shouldn’t, or tries to drink something.”
They grew quiet as they grabbed an old cloth and cleaned the dishes.
“How many more times…? Do you think…”
“I don’t know. I’ll head out to see Yoisaki tonight, like we planned. And maybe she’ll have more answers for me, or at least, a clue. But… I should hold back, so we don’t risk anything.”
“Mhm…”
Her smile grew sad, and she glanced out the window. The ocean outside was dark and still. All the other fish and sea folk had gone to sleep, or were in their homes going about their night routine.
“You’ll be careful, yeah?”
She turned to him, and nodded slowly, giving him a soft smile.
“Should we tell him about… that soon?”
“If you want to. Though… I’d wait until he’s older. Or if we decide to take them away from here. You know how Rui is. I don’t want him to get too curious, or he might get himself hurt… or in trouble .”
“Yes, that’s true… We can wait longer, then.”
“Mafuyu’s been good at keeping it a secret.”
“She has been. But I’m sure she doesn’t want to remember.”
“Mhm…”
Small arms wrapped around her waist. She flinched, and looked down. Mafuyu looked up at her with tired eyes as she clung to her waist.
“What’s wrong, dear?” She asked as she lifted the young girl in her arms.
“Are we gonna go back…?”
“We need to talk it out more. And don’t worry, we’ll protect you from anything that happens.”
The small girl hummed, and leaned against her chest.
“Let’s get you back to bed, Mafuyu. You’re gonna play with Rui and Emu tomorrow, remember? You gotta get plenty of rest if you want enough energy to play with them.”
Rui’s dad took Mafuyu, and drifted back to their bedroom. He came back a moment later with a sad expression.
“I’ll head out, then,” she mumbled.
She wrapped her arms around him tightly, their tentacles drifting together in the water.
“Come back safe. We’ll be here for you,” he said, then pressed a peck to her lips.
“I’ll be back before sunrise. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
They reluctantly let go. Then, Rui’s mom drifted to the door. It squeaked open when she pulled it, and she glanced back. They shared a sad smile, then she pushed off the stone floor with her feet and started swimming away.
Rui’s dad shut the door behind her. He swam past and checked on the kids, noting that they’d both passed out. Then, he headed off to his own bed. As he settled under the blanket, he couldn’t erase the uneasy feeling he had, before he fell into a restless sleep.
~ * ~
Rui and Mafuyu sat quietly outside the office of the town hall. The adults inside were trying to be quiet, though , that was a difficult task when the office only had a seaweed curtain as a door.
Their voices were muffled slightly, and Rui could only make out some words.
Sea foam… Surface… Human people…
It didn’t take a genius to know what they were talking about.
Rui’s gaze turned to Mafuyu when she squeezed his hand. Her eyes were emotionless, just like the time his mom brought her home .
Rui’s lips trembled, and he glanced away. He didn’t want to cry. He couldn’t cry… Not here. Not now . This wasn’t the place to cry. He had to hold his tears back.
His tentacles floated around his legs, crackling with the unstable electricity caused by his wrecked emotions. He quickly reached out and grabbed them with his free hand so he wouldn’t sting Mafuyu when they drifted a little too close to her, but only flinched when he shocked himself instead.
She squeezed his hand again, and turned her attention back to the stone floor in front of them.
The merfolk glanced at the two kids as they swam past. Their attempts to whisper to each other were weak and half-hearted.
“She should’ve known not to go near the surface.”
“It’s her fault for getting too curious.”
“She’s been nothing but trouble since she got here.”
“Vouching for human people when they’re such evil creatures.”
“A human person probably killed her.”
“Then they wouldn’t have found her sea foam. Human people love collecting that stuff.”
“A shame.”
“They’re so young, too.”
The seaweed curtains shifted, and Rui’s dad pushed his way out of the office. His eyes were red and puffy, and he wiped at his nose.
“Let’s go, you two,” he mumbled.
He drifted past Rui and Mafuyu, who pushed up from the stone bench. Rui took Mafuyu’s hand, and she pulled him through the water behind his dad.
Rui glanced ahead of them, his own gaze as emotionless as he could get it to be as they moved through the water and towards their home.
“Does anyone even know what kind of fish she is-... was ?”
“She can’t have been normal! How does someone who has the tentacles of a jellyfish, also have a pair of human people legs?”
“And she passed that on to their son. He doesn’t even have a full set of tentacles like she did.”
“I feel bad for the poor boy. He got a weird mom who gave him weird traits. And now she’s turned into sea foam and left him to be ostracized by everyone-”
“Shhh! They’re passing by!”
Rui grit his teeth. He squeezed Mafuyu’s hand and tried to block out the voices around him, his tentacles crackling in his hand and stinging him more.
He has to keep holding on to his tentacles, despite how much it stings because of how little control he has over his electricity and emotions, and because he’s not yet used to the sting, like his dad. He’ll accidentally sting Mafuyu, or some other innocent passersby, otherwise.
All the merfolk they swam past could do was gossip over him and his dead mom. Gossiping about her, no, both of them, because they were both different.
Different in a way that most sea folk didn’t accept .
They finally reached the house. As soon as Mafuyu pulled him in, he let go of her hand and slunk his way into their room.
Even now, when they were in their home, he could hear the voices of the sea folk gossiping. Their words couldn’t escape him.
Rui buried himself and his tentacles under his blanket, stuffing his poor excuse of a pillow over his head to try and block out the noise in his head. Block out the voices, the thoughts , that wouldn’t leave him alone.
A small body laid next to Rui, arms wrapping around him tightly. Another, smaller , body joined him on his other side. The both of them clung to him.
Their soft voices overtook the ones in his head, and his shoulders trembled. They both hugged him tightly, then a third set of small arms wrapped around him.
He couldn’t hold himself back, and he started sobbing into his bed, his tentacles crackling under the blanket and stinging his legs. The other three clung to him as he cried, doing their best to comfort him.
But they were all young. They didn’t know what they were doing. They didn’t know how to take the news. They couldn’t even begin to imagine what it was like to lose their mom. All they could do… was try to comfort Rui.
He didn’t know how much time passed, before he rolled over and pulled his pillow off his head. Mafuyu, Emu, and Toya all gave him sad, sympathetic looks, their arms tight, but comforting around him.
“It’ll be okay, Rui! It’ll be okay!” Emu said as she nuzzled her head against his shoulder.
“Mama’s gone… She’s gone…” He whimpered.
His eyes burned as his tears mixed with the salt water around them.
Just last night, his mom had been fine. They were making plans. They were gonna talk about their homework… She was gonna work out showing Rui her workshop… Then Rui would’ve gone out to play with Mafuyu and Emu. Maybe they’d convince Toya’s dad to let him play. Then he’d come back in time for dinner with Mafuyu, rushing ahead of her to cling to his mom and see what she was making… Just like they always did. Just like they used to do.
Rui covered his face and sobbed. The three hugged him tighter, nuzzling their heads against him.
The water shifted, and strong, gentle arms lifted the four of them. The hug tightened, then a kiss pressed to Rui’s head.
“I’m sorry, Rui,” his dad murmured as he held the four of them. “I’m so sorry… I shouldn’t have let her go out. Or maybe if I’d gone with her…”
His dad stopped himself from continuing, and he took a shaky breath.
“I’m sorry.”
He rested his head on Rui’s. The four of them held the small boy tight as he sobbed and clung to them, his tears seemingly never ending.
“We’ll be here for you, Rui,” Toya said gently.
“Mhm. We’ll always be here for you!” Emu added.
Mafuyu rested her head on Rui’s shoulder, her arms tightening around him.
“It’ll be okay, Rui. It’ll be okay,” she murmured.
They stayed with him until his sobs grew to quiet whimpers, his electricity finally calming somewhat. His dad carefully pet his head, then shifted them, before glancing at Emu and Toya.
“You two should probably head back home. I’m sure you both have extra lessons to attend to, and you’ll get in trouble if you’re here for too long,” he said.
“But what about Rui?” Emu asked with a pout.
She hugged him even tighter to emphasize she didn’t want to leave yet.
“Mafuyu and I will stay with him. And he’ll be here for you to see later. It’ll be okay.”
Toya was the first to reluctantly let Rui go. His fins flapped against the bed, before he pushed up. He fiddled with his fingers, his tail flapping slowly.
Emu turned to look Rui in the eye, then she cupped his face.
“If you need us, just call for us with the sea mirror, okay? Or Mafuyu can come get us! We’ll come as soon as we can!”
Rui nodded weakly, then rested his head on Mafuyu’s. Emu carefully rose from the bed and looked between the three of them. She shared a glance with Toya, then swam away from the bed.
“We’ll see ya later, Rui,” they both said, then left through the opened window.
Rui’s dad’s arms tightened around the two of them, and he held them close.
“It’ll be okay, you two. They have scouts collecting Mom’s seafoam, so we can give her the proper ceremony and let her go soon.”
“So… Mama’s really… really gone?” Rui asked, his voice cracking.
“She is.”
“... What happened?”
His dad grew quiet, then let out a soft sigh.
“I’m not sure. I don’t know what happened to Mama.”
Rui whimpered quietly. He shifted, then buried his face in his dad’s chest. They sat there together quietly.
“Do you know when they’ll get her sea foam?” Mafuyu asked quietly.
“They should get her back by the end of the week.”
“We should get flowers for Mama. She’d have liked those.”
“Mhm. I can let them know you two will be out of school for the week, if you want to take some time to get ready to let Mama go at the ceremony.”
“Okay…”
Rui wrapped his arms around Mafuyu, then tangled his tentacles with his dad’s. Mafuyu gently wiped his burning tears away, his eyes closing with the gesture. He felt a kiss press to the top of his head from his dad, who took a shaky breath.
“We can get started on that tomorrow. We’ll just stay home and rest today.”
Rui nodded, keeping his eyes closed.
He wanted to know. He wanted to know what killed his mom.
What did she do that killed her? Or was it someone else’s doing?
~ * ~
The teacher's voice droned on at the front of the classroom. The students were all peaceful, which was a first in a long while.
Rui sat at the back, his gaze hazy while he stared out the window, mindlessly watching the fish and other creatures swim by.
His eyes drooped a little, and his head became heavier. With a soft sigh, Rui lowered his head to his desk and closed his eyes.
No one seemed to notice, or care , as he drifted off to sleep in the back of the classroom, blocking out the voice of his teacher and the history lesson they were going over.