Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Water Love ❯ Story Telling Time ( Chapter 6 )

Title: Water Love

Writer: Angela (orangeaura868)

Genre: Romance/ Fantasy… this is an Alternate Universe fic

Rating: PG-13 to be safe

Spoilers: None (because it is an AU)

Warnings: Well…there's yaoi…cute mermaid boys…water dragons…maybe some language.

Pairings: YYY with side SJ and mentioned BR MM…you should know who they are.

Disclaimer: This is a `disclaimer.' The point of having one should be blatantly obvious. Either way…I'll still say it…I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.

Summary: Yuugi is the ever curious merboy with an ill-fated arranged marriage to some unknown son of an ocean kingdom. Yami is a human deathly afraid of sea water. How could these two have possibly fallen in love? This is a love story crossing land and sea, proving that love indeed knows no boundaries.

Plot Bunny: LittleMermaid (thanks to whoever drew it and posted it!)

Let's begin now…

(o)(o)(o)

The South Equatorial current and the Gulf Stream provided the Merfolk population with a warm habitat year round. It constantly drifted in with warm, heated water further out in the ocean. The place was mildly warm and very comfortable to the fish and the merpeople. The heat from the sun's rays also eliminated any possibility of deep water currents. Carribbea was the most perfect home to be found and most everyone wanted to live there. This was not to say that other mermaids and mermen did not find their own home satisfactory. Many of them did. After all, they've all adapted so that the cold did not affect them. However…no merfolk in their right mind would turn down a chance to live in Carribbea.

This simply made the situation even more confusing and complex. Why had both the king and the prince not turned up? It would be understandable had it only been the prince who refused to attend…but the King of Atlantis as well? That was preposterous. The sea king swished his cup of wine made from the fermented roots of Burivalia. The drink stayed in the cup, not at all bothered by the fact that it was surrounded in other liquids -primarily water.

So far he could only assume that the Elder King of the far lands must have found it embarrassing in some way to come without his son. That, or he found it pointless. Quahyder moved the wine glass in circles again, watching the dark blue liquid spin in a single swirl. It was a mess how things ended up. It was like a whirlpool that threatened to dare consume one of its own. He gulped the bitter drink down. King Quahyder tried to forget the unusual thing, but the absence was still on his mind.

Not even the prideful King of Atlantis could escape the alluring promise in a trip to Carribbea. It was unheard of…insane.

He downed the rest of the wine and returned to brooding at the long stone table. Mai came down a moment later to eat breakfast. She looked tired, and the king would have said something had she not been tired every morning. Instead, he let her take her seat and remained quiet as they ate. Breakfast at the palace was no entertaining event.

Yuugi was still sleeping at the time. His room was on another level of the palace completely. He slept at near the very top of the architecture. There, he received a wonderful dose of the full heat from the Southern Equatorial current. He slept late, as usual. His light blue tail waved slowly through the water. It was a merfolk tendency that was uncontrollable. It was an instinct. As he waved his fins back and forth slowly he caused a slight friction in the water, he created even more heat.

Yuugi breathed out slowly with microscopic bubbles making their way out of his mouth. His brow line was relaxed and he exhaled peacefully into the water as he slept. His covers were slipping off of him and one arm was dangling off of the sea sponge that he slept on. Yuugi continued to rest though, he hadn't a single care today.

By human standards this was the weekend. For the Merpeople in Carribbea it lasted only a single day. Yuugi took full advantage of this by sleeping in. He'd been busy all week long.

A soft humming rang in his ears. It was a mystical tune that had a shrill sound to it. It droned on and on monotonously despite the melody it had. A few minutes later the water around Yuugi began to move around as if someone were swimming frantically back and forth. He groaned.

"I'm up I'm up I'm up!" he cried as he got up suddenly. He grumbled throwing the blanket off of him and cursed the well structured system in the palace. Everyone was up by nine past regles. That was related to 7:00 A.M, human standards. Slowly Yuugi put on his gold cuffs and later the necklace. He ran a hand through his hair and frowned. Yuugi made a note of smuggling to the surface to brush his hair sometime later today.

He made for the door and slowly worked his ways down the spiraling staircase that was more like a metal road. As he swam, Yuugi began to catch remnants of the night before. He obviously didn't swim back to his own room. He didn't remember doing that. Yuugi realized that Mai must have gotten him back. He still had to thank her for the times she did that when he was young.

The dining room was on the first floor as well. From the chamber, it was directly down the left hallway and then to the right. Yuugi came in just as the same shrill melody began again. He sat down hurriedly.

"Morning, Father." He greeted. King Quahyder nodded in is direction and returned to his fish. Mai was drinking a form of Buri juice, and Yuugi poured himself some too.

"Thank you." He whispered across the table to his sister. Mai's eyes were droopy and tired but she dared not to fall asleep at the table. Yuugi quickly ate his breakfast.

The casual observer would notice that only three merpeople were present at the table. They would notice that the food was far too much for just the three of them. Another observer, who could catch details, would notice that the three didn't seem to care…and that a merman swam back and forth near the door. They would see that he was the one to clear the table of food and that he distributed it amongst the elderly or orphaned -those who could not hunt for themselves.

The dining room was big. Granted, it was smaller than the Chamber of the Sea King, but it was large nonetheless. The walls were pale blue marble with white streaks running through. It matched the water nearly perfectly as well as the bits of artificial light that broke the water into small curved sections and ran through them. Despite the stone walls, the room seemed very open. Long tapestries hung in places on the wall, each an equal distance from the other. Light orbs were placed in the corners of the Dining Hall and potted plants lined the edge. The ceiling was a brown stone with another type of Burivalia plant growing.

Generally, Buri grew in magical circles with large clumps of the threads found every 30 degrees. The ones in the room grow downwards and required no magic to grow. This was, however, because it could not be used for anything save for rope and decorations. Yuugi stared at the ceiling when he had finished his fish. His father had finished before him and had left to take care of `kingdom business'. Now the only other person here was Mai…and the merman clearing the plates.

Yuugi remembered something dimly. "Did you want to tell me anything, Mai?" he asked quietly. He wasn't sure if it was a dream or not. Something told him that it might not have been though.

"…I guess." she answered. Mai was shocked that Yuugi had said anything at all.

She hadn't slept well the last night with so much on her mind. Mai wasn't one to usually overanalyze every situation. However, she had defied rules and order before. It could always happen again. The last night she shifted around the soft sponge endlessly. The mesh-like plant molded to fit her contours. It made her even more uncomfortable because every which way she had turned she felt the same. Mai had given up her futile attempts at tossing and turning awhile ago in the middle of the night. The shrill call of the sea elves had started by that time, sleep had become pointless, and impossible.

"You aren't wearing your earrings." Yuugi remarked.

This statement now had Mai freeze. She held a miniature trident in her hand, a fork in human tongue, and it just stopped there…as if stuck in the water between her lips and her plate. She dropped the fork, breaking the small measure of silence.

"I guess I'm not." She said softly. Yuugi frowned.

"You haven't always worn them," Yuugi noted, "who gave them to you?"

The battle of phrases and answers stopped. Mai rested the fork on one side of the plate. She had her face down and her blond hair fell down to cover her eyes.

"I had something I've been meaning to tell you."

"What?" Yuugi asked. The merman in charge of collecting food accidentally dropped a plate of jelly and wabrofish. The timing was perfect although accidental. Mai broke out of her depressed gaze.

"Not here!" she whispered back. She folded her cloth napkin and got up, push in her chair, and left. Yuugi followed.

There was a small alcove in each guest room. Currently they were all empty and Mai led Yuugi inside one. Her expression was hard to read. She wasn't quite sad, nor angry, or even determined to let out the truth. It was empty. Mai stepped into the new threshold and placed a small silencing charm at the entrance.

"The reason we are banned from land is my fault. It was something that I did." She got straight to the point, leaving Yuugi flabbergasted.

"What to you mean?" he asked. He had to ask it quickly before Mai's hand reached up and pointed a finger at him. Yuugi quieted down. Now that everything was near fully in motion, Mai sat down in a sponge chair. She dimly noticed they were older and harder than the ones in her own room.

"Let me tell it to you straight out," she began, "a few years back the merfolk were granted time at the surface. When we swam with the dolphins, we were allowed to jump up above the water as they did. It's different now if you haven't noticed."

Mai played with her mermaid ears, naked of her usual loop earrings. "At that time I also went to the surface. Young mermen and mermaids weren't allowed, so you never knew about it. One day, I was caught. Some human saw me and refused to blame it on the sun, his sight, or even a dream. He started watching for us and soon, none of us could go up."

"He's sure to have stopped watching by now." Yuugi interrupted.

"Let me finish," Mai responded curtly, "he did. He eventually gave up. Although…that was after he saw me again. Soon enough we were seeing each other…above and below water. He was a nice man and always supported me. He listened to me and comforted me. The both of us could relate. He lost his father while I, no, we, lost our mother. Long story short, we fell in love."

A deep breath came from Mai. The pause in the tale was brief, though. "You know merfolk never had a choice, right?" the question was almost rhetorical. Mai had the answer in her head already. Her sad smile told that she did.

Yuugi nodded along all the same. He was shocked by what he was hearing, but it didn't bother him. It explained a lot about his sister. He just felt a little lonely and left out because he hadn't known about this. It was all new to him.

"So it was a miserable love story. A mermaid and a man. It would have never worked. I had to stay underwater, and he above. In the end we stopped seeing each other. We stopped fleeing our homes at night to meet. We stopped causing our one and only parent grief…but we never stopped loving each other, or at least, I never did." She laughed grimly, as if she were the fool -as if loving someone whom was impossible to have was funny in some way.

Yuugi frowned dismally. So this was why Mai was the person she was now.

"Merpeople have very little choice in life. Even a commoner is left with little options. Childhood fun is there to mask all of that. Once you're an adult you realize that your life was destined for you in some way. I was just one of the exceptions -a rule breaker. Father couldn't marry me off to anyone because of that. It's another thing that we can't control. Once a merperson falls, they've fallen."

So simple, and straightforward was the rule that Yuugi nearly yelled out and protested. That would mean he could never love, right? If he was to be married, and restrained to that one being…then he'd never be in love.

"I'm sorry." He said softly. He couldn't find anything else to say. He couldn't wish her luck. He couldn't hope that she gets over that one love. He couldn't even bring himself to blame anyone. It was all the same in his case as well, there was hardly a difference. He couldn't quite say it was his father's fault, or the other king's fault. He was only left to feeling bad for himself and his older sister.

"Me too." was the reply.

"He gave you the earrings, right?"

A nod was the reply to that question. Yuugi excepted it. He excepted a fair amount of what life had given him.

Mai sat up, her violet eyes were clear and shining. Yuugi's were too. She swam over to ruffle his hair as she always did to comfort him. Yuugi tried to comfort her too.

"You're crying, Mai." he pointed out.

She smiled slightly and shrugged carelessly.

"I couldn't help it." she said in her easy tone.

The two smiled and left the room, back to normal…Mai kept her arm around him protectively the whole way. She took off the charm with her other hand because of that.

She felt that he would need guidance in the coming days.

(o)(o)(o)

A/N: I'm so sorry not to have had this up on Saturday. My usual goal is to post chapters then. (Hint hint people!) I'm not sure if I can keep up with that though. Terribly sorry. I hope you enjoyed this chapter because it didn't quite meet up to expectations with what was in my mind. A lot of detail could have been crammed in there…but I'm not one to cram. Going back I'd like to point out a few things.

The currents named in the beginning are real. I'm not as sure about the Gulf Stream simply because I don't think the main heat would come from that one. Notes on deep water currents are also true. They are not present in the tropics.

Anything you've never heard of is most likely made up. The fish is completely fictional. Burivalia drinks do not exist. (And even if they did you couldn't buy it at your local grocery store!)

Regles are also fictional. I also don't think that sea elves make much noise, nor do I plan on looking into that. Their daily schedule also fails to bring me to attention.

A basic outline is given in the castle's design. It's just barely enough to set the mood though. I'm lazy to do anything else. Also…look for hints! I had a ball reading over some things!

Oh, and you also found out my original character's name! He's definitely not a Mary-Sue! (Although it would give me a wonderful time if some reader accused me of making one…)

I hope you also enjoy the bits on merfolk life. I made up the whole lot…because I find everything else on the web complete rubbish. (Even though the anatomy information was helpful!)

That's all for this chapter. Thanks to my reviewers!

Ksaturn: Yay Death! I also agree very much! (Nods.) Thanks!

Rikainiel: Your senses were correct. Thanks for guessing ahead! A writer finds that most entertaining. Thanks for the review and the comment on my story being cute!

Carmen5-Nemrac: Wow. You really are hyper! Thanks for reviewing!

Johnny-Depp-Luv: They'll meet up son enough. I bet you're really anxious, right? Thank you for reviewing!

Hopeless Case: Hey! Oh blah. Your review made me blush! Now I'm almost positive I won't meet up to expectations…blah, again. Thank you for reviewing though!

tiger witch: Thanks for the comment on Mai's personality. You're guess (for I'm counting it as one.) was slightly off though. She's the farthest thing from mean in my story! Thanks you so much for reading and reviewing!

ladywolf( Terri: I have yet to reveal who he is. I'm sort of still deciding. Thanks for reviewing!

Lady Shinigami: Wow. More compliments on Mai! Thank you so much! I also get that inspiration syndrome…most be contagious! Thanks!

Dark Raven, Hiei's girl: Nope. I didn't say! You'll definitely know that I did when I have though…but I have yet to decide! Thanks for the review!

Esther'nEra-goddess-ofChaos: Yep! Very right! Great guess, although it isn't Jou. Sorry. Jou's with Seto. Thanks for trying, and also for reviewing! (I can relate to telling someone your pen name though…)

SoulDreamer: Thanks very much!

yaminakathy: Oh good. I'm not alone. Thank you very much for telling me!

Pharaoh Atemu's Angel: I know. That thing didn't show on the site and didn't let me on it for a day or so. Sorry about that! I guess you found out though! I also tried to update as soon as possible…was a day late though! Sorry! Thanks for reviewing me, anyway.

Yana5: My answer is in the story. I hoped you liked it! Thanks for reviewing!

Someone like Her: Thank you very much. I'm not all that sure I even have style. I'm also glad that you liked the fact that I researched. I think I'm done with the bulk of the research though…although the `current' thing took awhile! Thanks for the review!

Thanks to everyone who reads! You've made me a very happy person! I've never received so many reviews. Thank you all very much. I hope you enjoy this story and tell me a bit on your guesses to what will happen! (There are more clues because this is a longer chapter!) Please review!