Beyond the sea 7

 They stared at each other for a moment until he spoke again.

"Didn't need the tail, did you." It wasn't a question, but she shrugged and nodded anyway.

"Yeah... it's amazing. He likes me!"

"Congratulations," he muttered dryly.

Elly completely missed his sarcasm and nodded, clasping her hands between her breasts. "I just need to know how to change back and everything will be awesome!"

"Let's see what your conditions are, then." Aizawa took a few scallop shells out of a chest on the sea floor and tossed them towards her. They slowly sank, some ending with the curved inside visible. These had markings on them that glowed red like his single eye for a moment.

He spoke without looking at her, his tone as enigmatic as his hidden face. "You'll change back if he drowns."

"Wh - what? I get legs again if he <i>dies</i>?!" The words sounded as hollow as her heart suddenly felt.

"It specifically says <i>drowns</i>."

"<i>NO</i>!"

"I can't change the conditions, nor did I make them. This isn't like a stupid fairy tale, you know. It's out to get you."

"Isn't there anything you can do?" Elly reached out to touch his arm but he flinched backwards, his lower half flashing orange with surprise for a second. "Please?"

"No." The merman scowled darkly at her and crossed his arms. "You knew what you were getting into. Besides, if I could reverse this I'd have changed <i>myself</i> back a long time ago."

"What's your condition?"

He frowned. "I have to have... relations with a certain someone." A bitter sweep of his hand encompassing his rather frightening lower body spoke more than any words could say. "I chose not to burden her with my presence at all."

"So you're going to be like this forever."

"I'm certain of it."

"Why wouldn't you try? It's not like she has to <i>die</i> or anything." Elly angrily snapped her tail, stirring up the shells on the sea floor. She balled her hands into fists as she struggled to calm herself.

"It's more complicated than that now," he murmured.

She spun around so fast she created a line of bubbles that floated up towards the surface. "What was that?"

"I'll lose her for certain if I try," he said quickly, looking away and rubbing at the back of his neck. "You know, maybe this is a curse to pay us back for our impertinence."

"Impertinence?! Is love rude, or wrong?!"

Aizawa sighed deeply. "We were, in essence, looking for a way to enhance ourselves. Isn't that tricking them?" He gathered the shells in one pass of his tentacles, bringing them up to the box he opened with his hands. "I thought that as - as something that may have been her fantasy I'd have a chance."

"Don't you still have one? Damn it, Aizawa, Hizashi has to <i>die</i> but you only need to sleep with someone!"

"Oh? Would you like to be touched by these?" A rubbery row of suckers extended towards her but Elly stood her ground.

"Octopuses aren't bad," she said stubbornly. "And you're still a merman. It counts as a fantasy guy even if you don't have a fish tail."

"Does it?"

"Why not?!"

"Hnf." His lower half undulated in tandem as he thought. "Then would <i>you</i> care to see what I have to offer in regards to sex? It frightened <i>me</i> the first time I saw myself."

The outstretched tentacle curled towards her cheek as if to caress and this time she jerked back, her eyes wide. The dark-haired merman covered his face with a shaky hand, turning so she couldn't see his expression. His shoulders drooped in defeat. The unicorn fish darted around his head, sticking her face in the long hair floating around him until he straightened a little.

"It's useless," he muttered. "I knew it a long time ago."

"If you knew..." Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "You should've stopped me!"

He drew himself up, his hair rising in the current he created as if alive and his eyes burning bright. He even bared his teeth at her, the longer canines displayed in a sudden fit of rage. His companion fish swam off, startled, to hide behind a clump of coral.

"You pestered me for a month straight after you read about that stupid local legend! I begged you, if I remember correctly -" He faltered, his inner voice breaking, "and I do <i>not</i> grovel easily. But you didn't care. All you wanted was <i>him</i> any way you could get him." He deflated, sinking to the sandy floor as his fury wore off.

Elly screamed with rage and sadness and swam quickly away, causing small schools of fish nearby to scatter in fright.

He was right, but she was still furious. It was so much easier for her to feel anger at him than herself, even when she was fully responsible for her own decisions.

It was even worse because he was right; she would <i>never</i> hurt Hizashi. She was going to be stuck like this with only the octopus merman as a potential partner, and they both loved someone else.

Aizawa watched her go, his tentacles blushing a deep, distressed red and writhing restlessly. He slipped slowly backwards into the dark recesses of the cave without another word.