A long time ago, in the beautiful waters of the Musutafu Sea, there lived a beautiful mermaid, a boy with a fish tail. He sang with his sweet voice to the fishermen who sailed in search of food, but he had never done anything more than that, staying away from any human being.

One day, while swimming near the coast, hidden from everyone, he saw a young fisherman who was facing strong waves, and had the ability to catch the best fish in the net.

He was impressed.

The beautiful mermaid began to follow the fisherman secretly, observing his work and admiring his strength. At first, the fisherman did not notice the presence of that beautiful mermaid. Accustomed to the company of marine fauna, the feeling of being watched was common to him and he did not worry at all.

However, as the days passed, the fisherman began to notice something different. There was a constant presence that wouldn't go away, a sensation that enveloped him and made him feel a kind of inexplicable curiosity. He began to pay more attention to his surroundings, looking through the waves and under the surface of the water, but he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.

It was then that, one quiet night, while he was alone in his boat, he heard a soft and charming melody. At first he thought it was his imagination, but the melody persisted, each note clearer and more beautiful than the last. It did not come from the town or its radius, and there was no other ship in sight.

It came from the sea.

The fisherman leaned over the edge of his boat, trying to discern the origin of that heavenly music. His heart was pounding, and his eyes scanned the darkness of the ocean, hoping to see something, anything that could explain that mysterious song. But all he found was the reflection of the moon on the surface of the water and the whisper of the waves against the hull of his boat.

The mermaid, hidden in the shadows, continued singing, his voice full of longing and mystery. He knew he couldn't get too close, but he couldn't help but want to be close to him, even if it was secretly. Every night, the fisherman found himself waiting for that melody, feeling an inexplicable connection with the being that produced it. And although he couldn't see him, he felt her presence, he knew that something wonderful and unknown was watching his from the depths of the sea.

One day, while sailing, the young fisherman was caught in a heavy blizzard. The waves of the sea rose aggressively and stormily, hitting their small boat with fury. In the midst of the chaos, a particularly strong wave capsized his boat, throwing him into the water. He fought desperately to stay afloat, but the sea consumed him with each attack, filling his lungs with water and stealing his breath.

The fight to stay above the water was becoming increasingly difficult. His strength was beginning to fade, and he felt how darkness enveloped him. In the last moment of desperation, just when she thought all was lost, he felt a hand holding him hip firmly.

"They found me, the lifeguard will save me," he thought foolishly, assuming that that presence was another human being. However, I was wrong.

With a force he had not expected, he was pulled to the surface and carried toward the shore. Barely conscious, he felt the cold air on his face and the salt water escaping from his lungs as he coughed violently. He opened his eyes, expecting to see his savior, but found only the empty beach. There was no lifeguard, there was no one else around him other than the abrasive sea and the storm that was beginning to calm down.

He sat in the sand, shaking and confused, trying to understand what had happened.The days passed and the young fisherman couldn't help but share his strange experience with others. His story intrigued and amazed many in the town. It was then that an old man, with a wise and serene appearance, approached him. With one hand resting on his chin and the other holding a cane to steady his walk, he began to speak.

—There are legends, myths, about beautiful women who swim in the sea like fish. — Said the old man, his voice charged with the wisdom of the years. Her snow-white hair moved slightly in the sea breeze as he continued.— Women who sing to lure men to their doom. It is said that they hypnotize them with their melody and then drag them to the depths, where they drown them. Nothing is ever heard from them again. Be careful, boy.

The young fisherman smiled kindly and nodded at the old man's advice. However, deep down, he saw it as unlikely. To him, those stories were just old tales among sailors, tales designed to prevent men from lusting after any woman and straying from their work.

— I appreciate your advice, grandfather. — The fisherman responded respectfully. — But I think what happened to me was something different. I don't think those women are real.

The old man stared at him, his eyes shining with a mixture of concern and wisdom accumulated over the years.

— The wisdom of the ancestors is often disguised as stories.— Replied the old man.— Do not underestimate the power of the sea and its inhabitants. There are things in this world that are beyond our understanding.

The fisherman nodded again, although his heart continued to cling to the idea that what he had experienced did not fit into those dark stories.

Upon returning to his boat, while he was organizing his nets and planning the next day of fishing, the young fisherman felt that presence on him again. The distant melody, like a lighthouse in the night, called to him. He approached the shore of his boat, looking into the distance, searching for the origin of that beautiful song, but he could find nothing but the vast sea.

— What is your name? —Suddenly he heard the voice of a boy, a voice that didn't seem to be more than 17 years old. The young fisherman turned his head in all directions, but saw no one on his boat. Quickly, he ran towards the shore again and, to his amazement, found a pair of beautiful emerald eyes that sparkled with the light reflected from the sea.

— Oh God! Did you fall into the water? — I'll help you, please calm down. — the young fisherman said desperately, diving headlong into the water to try to rescue the boy who was so close to his boat.

The boy in the water just laughed, a soft, melodious laugh. The fisherman, completely soaked, opened his mouth to ask, but his question was stuck on his tongue, unable to articulate any words.

The beautiful boy, with long, green hair like algae, raised his fish tail, laughing softly at the young sailor's stunned face. The siren, who until then had been just a mystery wrapped in nighttime melodies, now stood before him, tangible and real.

— You don't need to rescue me.— The mermaid said with a smile. I live in the sea. — My name is Izuku, what is your name? —He asked, observing how the young man's shoulders were still stiff, how his eyes were still glued to the long fish tail, how he looked like a wooden statue that only floated in the water.

—Kat-Katsuki...— He stuttered. Thinking that perhaps the old man was just playing a prank and had hired an actor in a costume, but that boy didn't even look like he was human, and any costume would get completely soaked in the sea, or lose its shape.

I was afraid. What if that old man told the truth? Would I die at the hands of this beautiful boy?The boy laughed softly, a melodious, hypnotic laugh that seemed to calm his fears.

— You're soaked, and I learned that humans get diseases if they stay at sea for too long.— The boy said, smiling as he offered his hand to Katsuki, the young fisherman. Katsuki looked at the strange hand, with long, sharp nails, and fearfully took it, thinking that if he didn't obey, being drowned wouldn't be the biggest of his problems.

The beautiful mermaid, Izuku, carried Katsuki to the edge of the coast, close enough for him to walk on his own, and far enough away that he wouldn't be stranded without water on the sand.

— Thank you.— Katsuki murmured, still unable to believe the strange and wonderful reality he was living.

Izuku smiled sweetly, his emerald eyes shining with a mischievous glint.

He left with a smile, his perfect hair dripping with salt water, while Katsuki remained on the shore, rethinking everything he had learned about marine fauna over the years. He couldn't help but think about how that boy had stolen her breath and him heart with just a wave and a dip.

Both Izuku and Katsuki began meeting secretly, quite often. Izuku approached the beach while Katsuki worked on his nets. They talked about their lives, their dreams, and with each encounter, their hearts became closer, falling madly in love with each other.

However, the love between the mermaid and the fisherman was doomed from the beginning. Nature was cruel and prevented them from being together. Izuku couldn't get out of the sea, and Katsuki couldn't live underwater.

One afternoon, as the sun was setting, painting the sky with warm tones, Katsuki sat on the shore with Izuku. Their hands were intertwined, and their gazes reflected both love and sadness.

— I wish I could always be with you, Izuku.— Katsuki said, his voice thick with emotion. But I know it's impossible. This world does not allow us to be together.

Izuku looked at him with eyes bright with unshed tears, his heart pounding.

—I wish it too, Katsuki. Every time we are together, the world seems a better place. But... I can't abandon the sea, just like you can't live in it.

One day, Katsuki embarked on a deep-sea fishing mission. The horizon promised a productive day, but the sea, capricious and temperamental, had other plans. As he entered the ocean, the waves began to grow, transforming into aquatic monsters that furiously hit his modest fishing boat. The wind blew with excessive ferocity, roaring like a wild beast and causing the sails to flap violently.

His ship swayed dangerously, sometimes rising as if to touch the sky and other times sinking as if to be swallowed by the depths. Salt water invaded the deck, wetting everything in its path, and Katsuki's belongings were thrown into the sea like discarded toys. Amidst the chaos and roar of the waves, Katsuki fought with all his might to maintain control, every move calculated as he attempted to navigate through the rough seas.

The sky darkened rapidly, heralding an even more intense storm. Katsuki held onto the helm with determination, his mind focused on surviving nature's fury. With each crash of the waves, I felt the boat shake and buckle under the pressure. The sound of the wind and the crash of water against the hull resonated in his ears like an ominous echo.

In the midst of the storm, one thought clung to his mind: Izuku. He knew that he must return safely to the shore, which he promised to return to his secret place by the sea. The memory of his love drove him to fight against adversity, to resist when everything seemed lost.

But the sea gave no respite.

Despite being an experienced and skilled fisherman, Katsuki was helpless before the fury of nature. He fought with all his might, tried to maneuver his boat, but the waves were relentless and each attack brought him closer to catastrophe. Finally, in a moment that felt eternal, their ship passed the brutality of the ocean and began to sink. Katsuki, caught in the chaos of the raging waters, was swept along with his boat into the depths.

Meanwhile, on the shore, Izuku had returned to the beach like every day. Him heart held the hope of seeing once again the young fisherman with whom he had fallen madly in love. Every encounter with Katsuki had been a delight for Izuku, who was fascinated by the stories of maritime adventures and the melodies that the fisherman shared with him. But that day, when we arrived at the beach, the landscape was different. Instead of finding the familiar figure of Katsuki, he saw a crowd dressed in black, faces marked by sadness and mourning.

People gathered around Katsuki's fishing boat, throwing white flowers into the water in silent tribute. The atmosphere was filled with sorrow, and the murmur of those present mingled with the soft sound of the waves. 

The old man saw the boy in the sea and his face twisted into a grimace of fury. With a shaky movement, he raised his staff and hurried towards the shore of the beach.

— You did this! You killed Katsuki! — He shouted in a heartbreaking voice, drawing the attention of the fishermen who were working next to the young man's boat.

Men and women turned in horror as they saw the boy in the water. His body ended in a scaly fish tail, just like in the stories of sailors seduced and taken to an aquatic death. The boy, stunned, watched as the mothers led their children away, while the men drew improvised weapons and pointed towards the sea, trying to protect themselves from the "monster" they blamed for Katsuki's death.

— Back! — Shouted one of the fishermen, his eyes wide with fear.

The boy raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, but his words were drowned out in the growing hubbub.

Izuku didn't know what was happening or what had happened. The scene before his eyes was confusing and disconcerting. He didn't know that man who was yelling at him and he didn't understand how Katsuki had spoken so differently about those people he lived with, the same ones he now feared for his life.

But something didn't fit in his mind. Izuku began to connect the dots with everything that was happening around him, based on how little he knew about the human community and how much he had studied each personality trait from a distance. He observed the gestures, the expressions, the palpable sadness in the air, and his intuition led him to a devastating conclusion.

Katsuki had always described the villagers as kind and hardworking people, but now those same people looked at him with hatred and fear. Mothers pushed their children away, men pointed their improvised weapons, and the old man's voice resonated with a mixture of pain and rage. Izuku looked closer, searching for anything that could explain this sudden change.

Suddenly, he understood. Katsuki had mentioned tensions in the village, whispers of sea creatures, and unexplained disappearances. Katsuki's death had been the spark that lit a fire of fear and superstition. The villagers needed a culprit, a monster on which to project their fears and pain. And that monster, for them, was Izuku.

Suddenly, his eyes widened and his heart broke in a second as he deduced the unthinkable: Katsuki was no longer alive.

At first, he refused to believe it. The idea of ​​not hearing his songs again, of not hearing his stories full of emotion and adventure, of not talking with him while the waves caressed the shore, was inconceivable. The pain of that revelation was too intense, a blow that took his breath away and left an abysmal void in his chest.Izuku looked around, trying to find an explanation in the villagers' distressed faces. The old man's rage, the fear in the mothers' eyes, the hostility of the armed men... it all made sense now. Katsuki, their friend and confidant, had been ripped from their life, and they blamed him.

A lump formed in his throat as memories flooded his mind: the laughter shared, the secrets revealed under the starry sky, the dreams they planned together.

Izuku remained motionless, staring at the sea that now seemed more vast and lonely than ever. The white flowers floated gently on the surface, carried on the currents, each a reminder of irreparable loss. The reality that Katsuki would no longer be there to share these special moments hit him with brutal force, and he felt a part of his own being sinking along with the fishing boat into the depths of the ocean.

He swam and swam trying to look for the young fisherman in the depths, on any rocky shore, in some hidden cave in the sea, on some faraway beach, on some island, but his search was in vain.

Katsuki had died.

He wouldn't come back.

Izuku could not bear the pain, and his wailing song became a wail that could be heard throughout the Musutafu Sea. She mourned her loss for days and nights, until she finally faded away and joined her beloved Katsuki in death, turning into foam, treasured to be able to see Katsuki again on the seashore one last time.

The fishermen along the coast remembered the sad love story between Izuku and Katsuki, a story that was told for many years in the docks and taverns. It became a legend, one of those stories that were told at nightfall, when the day's work was done and the men gathered around a table, sharing their own experiences and listening to the stories of others.

Some said that if you listened carefully on full moon nights, when the sea was calm and the wind blew gently, you could hear Izuku wailing. It was a melancholy and sad sound that seemed to rise from the bottom of the ocean, an echo of lost love that echoed in the waves and faded in the night breeze. The fishermen said that it was the spirit of Izuku, wandering the shores, eternally searching for his beloved Katsuki.

However, everyone knew that the love between Izuku and Katsuki had been so strong, so deep and true, that not even death had been able to separate them. Despite the tragedy that had separated them in life, their love endured in the hearts of those who had known their story. Every white flower thrown into the sea, every whisper of the waves, every sigh of the wind was a reminder that their love continued, indestructible and immortal.

The legend of Izuku and Katsuki became a symbol of eternal love, a love that transcended time and death. The fishermen continued to tell their story, not only as a reminder of the fragility of life, but also as a testimony to the power of true love.

And so, in every corner of the coast, their story lived, kept alive by the words and memories of those who believed that, somewhere, beyond the horizon, Izuku and Katsuki were together, united forever in the vast and mysterious embrace of the sea.

The love between Izuku and Katsuki had been so strong, so deep and true, that not even death had been able to separate them.

— End.

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This story was originally written for a contest called "Cuentos del mar de Chile"/"Tales from the Sea of ​​Chile" which was located in the city of Valdivia ~ (which I lost), I modified it to be according to the bkdk.

I hope you liked it✨💃🏻 suck it judges.

(English is not my first language so there may be inconsistencies.)