Chapter 5: A Turning Point
Sayuri could do nothing but stare at Kei. Was... was she serious? She expected her to start to her bubbly laugh any moment now and call Sayuri silly for falling for such an obvious thing, but she didn't. Moments passed and still she couldn't find her words.
They get human legs when out of sea water. Human. Legs.
Oh, holy First, had she heard right?
”Sayuri? I know it might be a bit unbelievable, but,” Kei managed to look even more sheepish than before, which was a feat in itself, ”I might have found it out by actually going on land...”
”You... You went there?” Sayuri found her voice to be quivering. This was unbelievable. Kei – the silent one, the obedient one – adventuring on her own on real land. With humans.
Sayuri didn't know whether to be proud of her courage or faint from horror of what might have happened. It amazed her a bit, because she had never felt protective towards her sisters before. And why should she have? They were all safe. And life was dull and boring.
Until now.
”Well, yeah, I mean, I don't come here often and one time I just wanted to know how the land feels like. And then...” Kei explained and smiled at the memory she was reliving now. Her teal colored eyes brightened and her mouth fell apart in wondrous smile.
”Then?” Sayuri urged her on feeling the tight tension in her gut tighten. She couldn't remember the last time she was this excited. Well, maybe the time when her father had promised she was allowed to go to the surface with Eri had come close, but this...
This was just on a whole new level.
”It just happened. My scales started to vanish and this soft skin appeared instead. And legs. That was so strange. I actually had legs. And toes!” her sister continued on her gaze distant, as if she could see in the past and how it had happened. Sayuri frowned at the strange word. Toes. Toes. The word tasted funny on her tongue.
”Toes?” she asked. What were toes? They sounded like a very small fish.
”Those wriggly things humans have at the end of their feet,” Kei told her and spun around in the water, her earlier embarrassment gone, “and you could dug dig them into the sand to feel the coldness of the earth fighting the warmth of the sun.”
”I don't think I've ever seen those,” Sayuri contemplated. “Toes, I mean. I've only seen one human before. He didn't show me his toes.” For some odd reason Sayuri found that thought a bit sad. She would have liked to have seen toes.
”Well, they are a lot of fun.” Kei nodded vigorously. “And useful!”
”Were you scared?” Sayuri suddenly asked. She would have been terrified! Imagine yourself, trapped on land with... with legs! And no one there to tell you what was happening and what was going on.
Kei looked at her with an eyebrow raised like Sayuri was the dumbest person in the whole sea. Then again, Kei looked at her like that a lot, so it didn't really bother Sayuri that much. At least, not now.
Legs. L-E-G-S. She could walk on land. She could befriend a human maybe!
How wondrous and utterly awesome would that be!
”Duh, of course I was! I thought I'd be human forever! But then I just wriggled my way back to the sea and – poof - I turned back!”
So they got legs when not touching sea water. And they got their tail when going back.
Piece of fish.
”That is so unbelievable,” Sayuri took a small pause to breathe, “I want to try it too!” She could already picture it. She touching all those strange things she had heard about: flowers, grass, trees...
”I... I don't think we should,” Kei interrupted her daydreaming. Sayuri's head snapped in Kei's direction quicker than she could say megalodon.
”What? Why?! You said yourself you have gone to the shore! So why can't I?” There might have been a whiny undertone in her speech, but Sayuri justified her actions on the fact that she really, really wanted to go on shore now.
”Because you are a stranger! They've grown used to me, but if you appear suddenly they might grow suspicious!” Kei's eyes widened in amazement in sync with Sayuri's when they both realized what Kei had left out of her mouth.
”They?” Sayuri stuttered. Kei couldn't mean... Could she?
”I think I've said enough.” Her little sister shook her head, making her hair form a cloud around her head where she could escape from Sayuri's penetrating and accusing gaze.
”No, Kei! Who is 'they'? You mean the humans? You actually talked to them?” Sayuri surprised even herself when she realized she sounded just like her father when he milked information out of Sayuri. She found herself disliking that thought. She really, really didn't want to become her father. “I'm sorry, Kei. I don't mean to be like father. But... this is important to me! You know how much I like the stories of humans and their customs and their cities and how some of them can use magic!”
Kei squirmed until she finally sputtered out:
”I talked to them, yes!” She let out a long sigh, as if a hard burden had been lifted from her shoulders. “But only after they discovered me!” she added in her defense.
”They found you on the shore?” Sayuri pressed on. This was vital information. If she ever wanted to visit the land, she didn't want to run into humans head on. She wanted to have a different approach. Study from afar. And maybe, when she knew enough about their customs, she might even reach out and talk to someone.
Yes, she would like that. She would do that.
”More like on the outskirts of the town... But I said I was a daughter of a fisherman, who was a hermit and didn't like other people! And he has sent me to the village to take care of his things. Like selling pearls. And fish. So nowadays I visit the village sometimes,” Kei explained. Sayuri almost stopped breathing. Kei actually... Kei actually...
”So you... actually... interact with humans. And... And they believe you are like them?” Sayuri's thoughts were running around like a wild crab. This went beyond her wildest fantasies and that was something.
Fishtastic!
”Yes, although I think they might still be a bit suspicious with me, but they tolerate me. And they let me buy sweets and honey!”
Honey. She couldn't remember the taste of the treat she had gotten so long ago anymore, but what she could remember was the feeling of her mouth coming alive with taste she had never experienced before. She had been grinning for the whole week after that.
And she had been very, very young.
”What are sweets?” she asked and tilted her head. They sounded like something she would like.
”They are little round things which taste better than honey,” Kei explained with a happy grin.
”They can't!” Sayuri blurted out before realizing she was yelling. She let out a nervous giggle when Kei glared at her.
“They can't,” Sayuri whispered like she was a conspirator.
”They do!” Kei sounded offended. “I wouldn't lie to you.” She took a pause when Sayuri gave her a pointed look. “Well, not about this at least.”
”I want to taste them too! And I want to taste honey again... Oh, can we go already! I can't wait! Humans and sweets and honey and a whole new world! Oh, oh, do you think my legs will be silver like my tail?” Sayuri spun around showing off her tail which now glistened in the sunlight, making her eyes sting if she stared at it for too long.
“It'll just be the color of your skin, Sayuri,” Kei said like it was the most natural thing. “Humans don't have colorful legs. Except when they have colorful clothes on.”
Clothes. She had heard that somewhere before... From the tales. And that boy had wore something on him...
“Oh yes, humans cover themselves with fabric! What are the those things called... the things you put on your legs?”
“Trousers?” Kei suggested.
“I want silver trousers!”
“You are such an idiot, Sayuri.”
“You would know.”
“Baka!”
**
Sayuri had the creeping feeling her father would lock her in a cell for the rest of her long life if he would ever find out what they were doing. And because she was older than Kei, she should be the reasonable one and talk them out of this.
Hah! Like that was going to happen.
She did another spin of joy, just because she could and followed Kei towards the beach. Kei had learned so many new words and seen so many new things Sayuri couldn't help but to feel a bit jealous. But then again, Kei had promised to teach her too!
The newfound friendship from a sister she hadn't paid much attention to was a welcomed welcome thing in her daily boredom. Not that her life would be boring anymore. Secrets, hidden passages, human village and keeping that all from her father... She couldn't resist another spin.
She felt alive again.
“Could you stop that?” Kei asked with a hint of annoyance in her voice. Sayuri giggled and her sister couldn't hide the small smile that tugged her lips too.
“No! I want to jump and somersault and scream at the top of my lungs and... I feel alive!”
“Just remember: when we get to the shore, you don't yell! No matter what happens, don't yell! There aren't usually people in this part of the beach, but with humans you never know. They sometimes have really strange thoughts and urges.”
“So do we!” Sayuri laughed and started spinning round and round and round until hear head was spinning too.
“You will never grow up, will you?” Kei sighed. “You know that father has talked about how you should be starting to take your life seriously. He wants you to be a proper princess.”
“Pfft, father has said that for years now! He's tried to do something about it, but has yet to succeed.” Sayuri sent a mischievous smile towards her sister.
“Well, as long as you are there to cause trouble, he doesn't pay any attention to me.” Kei shrugged her shoulders. “So I guess it's a good thing you are still childish.”
“I'm not childish!” Sayuri exclaimed and threw her sister a hurt look. Kei just stared at her. Sayuri found that she didn't have the patience for having a stare down with her sister. She just was too excited right now. “Alright, I'm childish!”
They reached the beach quicker than Sayuri would have thought. Kei looked like an expert when she calmly sat on a rock drawing her tail out of the water with her.
The next thing took Sayuri's breath away. Kei's scales shimmered in the sunlight before slowly dissolving and unveiling the soft flesh underneath. It was magic. It couldn't be anything else.
Now Sayuri knew what toes were. Kei's were small and round and she wiggled them at her.
“See, they're fun!”
Sayuri was about to answer to her when she looked up and saw Kei's hair.
Kei's light brown hair.
“Wha-what?” Sayuri asked and pointed at the hair that had before been a light pink.
“This?” Kei pointed at her head and Sayuri nodded. What on the endless sea had happened to her sister's hair? “I don't know what causes this. It turns back to normal when I'm back. I think my skin also looks a bit gray. And my eyes aren't as vibrant as before. But it helps when dealing with humans!”
“Will that happen to me too?” Sayuri asked and looked at one coral colored lock she had on her hand. She liked her hair this way.
“Probably,” Kei said and stood up. “This always feels so strange.” She shook her head like trying to orient herself better to the task at hand. “You won't probably learn to stand up right away. It took me quite a few times too. And then there's the walking bit. It's harder than finding a room without mother's handicraft.”
“I'll keep trying until I learn how,” Sayuri said feeling newly found determination in her. She had gotten herself this far. She would learn how to be a human. And she would explore and her life wouldn't be a waste.
Maybe when she was older she would tell stories about her adventures and they would live on as tales like the ones about the First and his adventures.
“You are daydreaming again,” Kei pointed out.
“Because this is surreal!” Sayuri exclaimed with her mouth wide open. “This is so...surreal!”
“And this might be your only chance. If father finds out about this...” Kei didn't need to finish her sentence for Sayuri to know what would happen.
“We'll never get to be here again, I know!” she answered a bit annoyed. She wasn't stupid. Well, not always at least.
“Swear to me Sayuri.” Kei's look was so stern Sayuri didn't recognize her as her little sister. She looked so much older. And wiser.
“Swear what?” she asked, still wondering about the change she saw in her little sister. Little sister she hadn't paid that much attention to. Maybe she should've.
“That you won't tell father.”
“Why would I tell him?”
“I don't know! Just... Swear please? I don't want you to ruin this one for me too.”
“I'll swear on kraken's unholy bottom that I will not tell father about our adventures!”
“Thank you. I'll go find you some clothes. You can't go around naked. I'll be right back. You just practice.” Kei jumped down from the rock on the land. “And if you see anyone but me, leave. Immediately. Wait for me somewhere near the tunnel.” And then she was gone, jogging towards green something. Maybe trees? Trees were green and big.
Right?
Sayuri looked around her. Everything looked strange to her. When they had saved the boy, she hadn't been allowed to come this near. Eri had continued along alone and left Sayuri wriggling her hands on what he had called a safe spot. She couldn't help but to feel a bit afraid. She was all alone now.
The rock ahead of her looked menacing now. Yet at the same time she felt so excited she was afraid her heart would jump out and swim to the sunset. Were hearts able to do that?
Sayuri shook her head. Stupid thoughts.
Kei would ridicule her if she hadn't climb on that rock when she came back. Sayuri was sure of that. If they were in reversed positions that was what she would do.
So in the end her pride, stubbornness and curiosity won her fear of what might happen. As she sat on the rock, free of the confinements of the sea, she felt strange. It felt oddly liberating to feel the wind in every part of her body. And the sun.
She didn't know which part of her body started to tingle first, but in no time it had spread to every fiber of her being. Sayuri wasn't sure if it was a ticklish sensation or pain, it just felt strange. Looking at her scales disappearing under newly formed skin made her nauseous so she closed her eyes instead. She had seen Kei's transformation. She didn't need to see her own. Especially when it felt so strange.
It ended quicker than she had thought it would. One moment the sensation was there and then it was gone. Just like that. Sayuri opened one of her eyes. Leg. Another leg.
And toes! She had toes! She tried wriggling them like Kei had and found that it was harder than she had thought.
How did humans live with these things? She tried moving her legs and they both seemed to move uncontrollably. The other went to right and the other to left and ow!
She inspected the scrape she had on the other one now.
“Great,” she muttered. “I hope you won't show in my tail...”
But how in the forsaken seas did humans live with these things! They didn't do anything she wanted. She wanted to stand, not to fail her limbs around!
And why was her hair the color of a murky water now? It looked like mud mixed with water.
“This is just stupid,” Sayuri decided. “How do you work?! And why do you look like someone threw a bucket of mud on you! And why does my skin look like a sick crab's!”
There was no one around to answer to her. Which probably was good.
Sayuri sighed. She just wanted to see humans. And walk on land. And learn new things. And taste sweets. It shouldn't be this hard!
When she finally got the hang of it and managed to stand up, she lost her balance and fell to the sea with a might splash. It was strange, to be back on the familiar water just floating with your tail whisking lazily instead of trying your hardest to use weird limbs you shouldn't even have.
Sayuri also noticed the scrapes in her legs were transformed to her tail. She cringed. Those would be hard to explain. She'd probably need Kei's help to convince her parents of them being a result from an accident in the palace.
Because accidents happened so often in the palace. She rolled her eyes.
Stupid rock. Stupid legs.
“Sayuri, you here?” came Kei's voice from the surface, strangely distorted by the water.
“Here,” she answered and bothered not to move. Stupid, stupid, stupid legs.
“Sayuri?!” There was a slightly panicky undertone in Kei's voice now. Sayuri sighed and swam to the surface. Was Kei deaf?
“What? I'm right here,” she said, slightly annoyed. This was supposed to be the greatest day ever and instead she couldn't even walk. And she had scrapes on her tail.
Her father would surely realize something was amiss.
“I couldn't see you! I thought you'd wait on the rock, like we agreed!” Kei's eyes were huge and accusing. And she was wearing clothes. Brown ones. Sayuri didn't like them.
“I fell from it,” Sayuri muttered and tried not to look at Kei. She felt angry but she didn't know towards who. Maybe towards the rock.
“And you didn't try again?” Kei sounded amazed. Well, Sayuri didn't want to try again. It had taken ages just to get standing and then – she – had – fallen. Fallen. From the cursed rock.
“It's so annoying! They don't work as I want them to work!” she spat out and the immediately regretted it when she realized how she sounded like – her sisters when they had broken a nail.
“You are so whiny sometimes!” So, even Kei had noticed. Sayuri tried not to wince.
“Am not!” she muttered.
“You are! You'll never get to the village if you don't learn how to walk,” Kei tried to reason with her. Sayuri knew Kei was right, but...but...
“Well, maybe I don't want to go to the village!” she finally worked out and felt even more stupid than before. Why couldn't she go back in time and erase that one sentence?
“Gosh, you are so childish! And spoiled! I didn't succeed on the first try. Or the second. Or the third!” The look Kei gave her was disappointed. Sayuri didn't know what to answer to her.
“I just thought... It'd be easier.”
“That you'd magically learn to walk immediately and then we could waltz together to the village and everyone would be your best friend?” Kei offered, with her eyebrow raised high. Well, not that Kei spoke Sayuri's thoughts out loud, they did sound kind of naïve.
“Well... Yes,” she admitted. Kei just sighed. Long.
“We could come back later and try again, you know? We don't have to do everything now. I think someone might miss us anyway,” she suggested. Sayuri thought about it for a while and realized that she was the only one currently not having a personal guardian.
“What did you do to Shin-san?” she asked horrified. If Shin-san knew that Kei was missing...
“I have a deal with him,” Kei answered with a wicked smile on her face. “I won't tell father that I saw him and Chiyo kissing and he lets me wander off without him.” Sayuri could feel her mouth fell open. Chiyo? As in her sister Chiyo? As in the most prudent of them all?
“Chiyo?! And him?!”
“Oh yes. And more than once!” Kei seemed to be very proud of herself. “I have caught them more than just once.”
“What?!” Sayuri's mind was reeling. Really? Chiyo? Chiyo was the first one to act on father's orders and always did what she was told. And spent her time knitting. She was always knitting. Or reciting whale-poetry.
“You should've seen their faces when I popped out and said 'hi' when they had just lip-locked.”
“You are horrible,” Sayuri giggled, her previous bad mood all forgotten.
“And you wouldn't have done the same?” Kei pointed out.
“Well, yes, but...” Sayuri tried and gave up. “Alright, you are absolutely right, I would have done the same. Except that Eri-kun wouldn't have kissed Chiyo.”
“I don't think he would have kissed anyone. He was so...” They both tried to search for the right word.
“Eri,” Sayuri suggested.
“Yes.”
“Do you think father will be mad about the scrapes?” Sayuri changed the subject. She still missed Eri terribly. Even thinking about him made her heart ache. Leaving without even a good-bye...
How could he have done that? He had been her best friend.
“He rarely even meets you, I don't think he'll notice,” Kei assured her while stripping out her clothes.
“Well, hopefully. I don't know how to explain these.”
“Just say that you were bored and ran into some rocks while daydreaming. It's exactly something you would do.” Kei winked at her and dived into the water. Her hair instantly was radiant pink again and her familiar tail almost slapped Sayuri into the face.
“Geez, I'm not that stupid.” She rolled her eyes.
“You totally are. Last one at the tunnel is a ugly cat fish!”
“I'm not an ugly cat fish!”
They spent most of their way home jabbing at each other and trying to make up even worse words to call each other. Kei had won the swim to the tunnel and had dubbed Sayuri the queen of the cat fishes. Kei then had become a sleazy manatee.
It didn't end until they reached the palace and they both realized things were eerily quiet.
“Where are everyone?” Kei whispered to Sayuri who shrugged her shoulders. She didn't know. She didn't like this at all. Usually silence meant something very unpleasant.
“Kei-san!” Kei's head immediately whipped to the direction of the voice. Sayuri didn't recognize the hushed voice, but the dark red hair she knew.
“Shin-san! Where is everyone?”
“Where in the name of the Leviathan have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you while trying to avoid everyone! Luckily your sister warned me ahead of time. You should all be in the courtroom!” he quickly explained while trying to rush them inside.
“Why? What is going on?” Kei asked, her brows furrowed in worry.
“A prince has arrived from the Shadow Lands,” Shin explained and sighed when both Kei and Sayuri stopped in their tracks and asked in unison:
“A prince?”
“From Shadow Lands?”
“Yes. Apparently your father had invited him here. To look for a bride. Move along now, you are in a hurry!”
“A bride?!” Sayuri blurted out. This was not good, this was not good...
“Yes, your father had originally thought of giving Chiyo's hand to him, but apparently he has changed his mind.”
“Yes?” Even Kei was worried.
“He thinks you should settle down.” Shin looked straight at Sayuri. Sayuri swallowed.
“Me?” Her voice was barely above a whisper. She wasn't ready for marriage! She didn't want to marry a prince! She didn't... She didn't want any of this!
“He is to become your fiance.”
Sayuri couldn't help herself. She fainted on the spot.
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Table of Contents
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Chapter notes: Beta: inuyashas_only_1
Rating: T
Pairing: Kakashi/OC
Genre: Romance, Adventure, Fluff
Warnings: Same old, same old...
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I only own the OC's you don't recognize from the manga/anime.
Word count: 4,200
A/N: I'M BACK. AGAIN. Sorry. Also, Sayuri is back! I also draw Sayuri a while ago. I'll probably post her in my deviantart-page at some point (I'm ontuva there too).