Chapter Text
The sea has not been so calm for a long time.
Peeking out of the corner of his eye, Yuuji lets out a sigh of relief after the relentless stormy days he's had to spend in their nest in the cave with the water raging constantly and the current changing every minute. Sukuna, as usual, went hunting which he often does on such days because in his opinion, prey is easier to catch when it is stressed. No matter how worried he was about his brother and how many times he advised him to stay at home, he stubbornly did not listen to him. The young mer had come to terms with this a long time ago, so he stopped openly insisting even if he thought otherwise. After the death of their grandfather, Sukuna is the only family he had left and losing him would ultimately break Yuuji.
Today is one of those clear days after the storm, which means another trip in search of various curiosities that remain in those huge structures that people call ships. Yuuji has been interested in the world outside his home since he was a child and was stunned when he first learned about life on land. Creatures very similar to him, except for two legs instead of a tail and flippers. Grandfather especially warned them not to deal with people, because according to him, mermaids became persecuted for the healing abilities of their scales and blood. Entire large mer villages have died out since then, many children were left without parents, brothers without sisters, wives without husbands, and all those who managed to escape now live alone and far away. For people, they dissolved in time, becoming only funny myths and fairy tales that are told to small children at night, hiding the unpleasant truth.
Taking everything to heart, the young Itadori-kun couldn't stop grieving for the many souls who gave their lives for his family and for the loss of the few who survived. But despite all this, the interest in other people never disappeared. Yuuji still believes that there are both cruel and good people, because mermaids are not all kind and good either. The moment when his parents abandoned him and Sukuna at a young age without leaving any explanation with his grandfather is still fresh in his memory. But, despite his firm opinion about the human race, the merman tried not to interfere in their affairs unnecessarily and accepted that life outside of the sea would never bore him.
After breakfasting on the sweet scallops and fish left over from yesterday, Yuuji packed the necessary tools into a makeshift, self-sewn bag made of tougher seaweed, and headed towards the newly found ship. Sukuna wouldn't be back in the cave until lunchtime, so he had plenty of time to search for sunken treasure and watch from the shore. His brother disapproves of his interest in humans, so he tries to protect him with his own methods, which sometimes include small beatings and violence. Yuuji doesn't support this, but remains silent so as not to anger Sukuna more than necessary. It's enough that he can slip away whenever he wants, otherwise Nobara can guard his back.
His irreplaceable friend is a red-tailed mermaid with stern brown eyes and short hair, the same red as her tail. They met two months ago when Yuuji was just returning home from a coral reef where he was looking for more scallops for dinner. Nobara happened to be swimming nearby, looking for red seashells for her necklace, so Itadori, delighted at the new meeting, kindly decided to help her. Since then, they have become a kind of shelter for each other: for Yuuji from his terrible brother, and for Kugisaki from her constantly grumbling grandmother.
I need to visit her soon.
The further he sailed away from his current hiding place, the better the view around him in the depths of the sea became. A small school of brightly colored fish swam to the left, which Yuuji looked at in admiration. On the opposite side of it is a coral reef formed near shallow water that stretches along the entire length of the shore.
The current is from the east, so the water is warmer than usual. If so, it should last another week before changing again.
Following the already studied direction, Yuuji bypassed the rocks and the sea slope. Before swimming to the deep-sea channel, you can see the wreckage of the ship. The young mer brushed past them and headed straight for his goal for today.
Before him appeared a huge sailing ship with three tall masts, to which the remains of sails were attached. The ragged and torn fabric in many places testifies to a great storm that this giant could not overcome, for which he paid with human lives on it. Another unforgettable proof that the sea does not tolerate pity.
Swimming closer, Yuuji noticed how damaged the ship really was. A hole with a diameter of at least ten meters extends from the right side of the board. The deck is also completely destroyed. Many things could simply fall out of it and be carried away by the current long ago, but the young mer did not lose hope of finding something worth paying attention to.
Having easily entered through the hole and not noticing the sharp shard sticking out from above, Itadori accidentally injured his face with it. A sharp pain unexpectedly pierced him, forcing him to stop for a moment. A long diagonal cut goes across his nose and reaches part of his forehead. Feeling his blood on his face, Yuuji immediately opens his bag in search of his comb from the last molt from the small bunch he always carries with him in case of an emergency. Having healed the wound, the mer continues his little exploration, this time moving more carefully so as not to stumble upon another trap.
I have to be more careful. The next molt is not soon, and I don't have many scales left.
He can't ask Sukuna, and he doesn't want to. His brother has distanced himself from him and Yuuji doesn't want to burden him with his problems again, although there are very often times when he misses his care as in childhood. The truth is that he misses Sukuna, no matter how cruel he is to him sometimes.
Yuuji swam through another opening in the cabin that probably led to the office. Maybe there should be something interesting there. A lot of boards and destroyed junk are lying on the floor, but suddenly some golden glitter caught his attention in the periphery of his eye. Itadori swam closer to him.
Knife.
A small knife with an unusual engraving glistened in the light that penetrated from a small opening above the deck.
It won't be easy to get to him.
The problem was that he was lying dangerously close to falling behind the huge-looking chest of drawers and into the small hole below. Even the slightest push would be enough, so Yuuji worked carefully. Getting even closer and almost not making waves from swimming, the young mer finally reached his treasure and took it.
Looking at it more closely, he saw that the engraving on the handle extends all over the knife, forming an unusual ornament that reminds him of the stars in the sky. The handle had a cylindrical shape and on the opposite side from the sharp tip there was also gold carving. Four gold and four black lines spiraled toward the center, reminding him of a vortex. Turning the knife over, his eyes involuntarily widened.
For the Heir of the Gojo dynasty.
Gojo Dynasty.
Yuuji had heard a little about them from his grandfather. One of the three oldest and most ancient kingdoms, ruling the land and the sea, where they moved in times of persecution and the only one of all the kingdoms that kept neutrality. While the Zenin and Kamo clans sought methods of immortality through experiments with their blood, the Gojo Dynasty decided to achieve the goal through more humane methods. Relatives of the mermaids, who were captured by cruel clans and had hope of survival, exchanged some of their scales and blood for their family's return home. The Gojo clan, in turn, rescued most of them and returned them to the sea. This dynasty entered the history of mermaids as the only ones worthy of respect, so the gods of the sea awarded them with a special sense, which is now called Six Eyes. This ability allows you to see through the souls of creatures with just one look, and its striking feature is the presence of bright blue eyes, which cannot be confused with anything in all the heirs to the throne.
Itadori looked around to see if there was anything else of interest. He thought of getting Nobara something too, but his friend is so picky about everything that most of the things he finds for her she immediately throws away. Even so, Yuuji doesn't lose hope of finding something for her that she will really like. Sometimes the search drags on for so long that he barely has time to swim home before Sukuna, so he postpones this task for another day.
Looking for something on top of the ship next time.
Having checked whether all his things were with him, Yuji decided to return to the nest.
***
Swimming across the sea slope, the boy-mer notices something.
Fishing nets.
There is only one reason why they appeared here. And he doesn't like it.
The fish found here is very rare, and Yuuji has accompanied it on its migration more than once, because many people hunt its meat to illegally sell somewhere in the market. It is all too familiar from his own experience, and the young mer does not want even such a small soul to go through the same thing as him, especially if he can change it.
Getting closer, Itadori sees that some fish are already stuck in the net. Poor little things, trying to free themselves from the trap, become even more entangled in it.
I can't just leave it at that. The rope is not that thick, so I think I can break it myself.
Yuuji swam into the small opening of the trap and began to carefully untangle them. The smaller they are, the easier it is for them to get out, because they can immediately slip to freedom on their own due to the sufficient size for them between the nodes. It is more difficult with the bigger ones, because Yuuji has to release it himself through the exit.
Almost all.
When all the fish were free, Yuuji breathed a sigh of relief.
Now I can return home finally.
As soon as the boy moved his tail to swim out of the trap, the net prevented him from moving any further. Yuuji stared at the rope in surprise, not noticing how he himself got tangled in it. From the force of his push, it should have broken long ago, but there is no hint of it.
The young mer tried to tear her with his hands now with all his might, but even that didn't work. And then he noticed this unusual glittering from the thread. This is what he sees only from his scales. The realization of his predicament hits him with the speed of a freight train.
"Oh no. I seem to be stuck.”
Thinking that it couldn't get any worse, the net started to go up.
No no no no no-
Yuuji can no longer hear his thoughts due to the ringing in his ears. His heart pounding in panic in his chest, fear makes him become even more trapped. The pupils of his eyes are dilated with fear, his hands are shaking as if he were crazy. In some way he actually is.
Yuuji is pulled from the water.
The contrast of temperature outside makes his body covered in goosebumps. Suddenly, as if hundreds of eyes turned on him. The screams of people on deck make him even more scared. Yuuji's eyes are clouded with tears and stress, he can't see what's on the faces of the people on deck from his appearance. But something still catches his eye.
Blue.
The last lightning thought before all darkens is:
Sorry Sukuna. I failed to keep my promise.