The day you found him was still fresh in his mind. Satoru hadn’t stopped thinking about it, about you.

It had been late at night, the ship’s deck silent as everyone slept. He’d been struggling against the net, dragged too close to the surface by a crew he hadn’t expected. The rope had bitten into his skin, his tail thrashing uselessly as he waited for morning.

But then, there you were.

You’d appeared without a sound, cutting through the water just when the net had nearly dragged him to the surface. The memory of your steady hands freeing him from the ropes lingered—how you hadn’t hesitated, even when he grabbed you in panic.

Now, he was here, somehow back in your life—but on two legs.

It had been a shock to see him standing awkwardly on the palace steps, his snow-white hair wild, his blue eyes wide as he stumbled toward you barefoot. He’d talked non-stop, full of energy, marveling at the human world. It didn’t take long for him to worm his way into the palace, becoming a constant presence—nagging you, following you, charming everyone in his path.

You weren’t sure why you let him stay, why you allowed him to tag along in your quiet life as the heir to the kingdom. But the truth was, Satoru had a way of making it impossible to say no. You’d grown used to him.

That was why you weren’t surprised when he wandered into your room one night, something he had taken to doing lately. As the heir, your room had the best view in the palace, a balcony overlooking the ocean. He loved to stand there, staring at the water as if it called to him. Tonight was no different.

His voice broke the silence, soft but nostalgic. “Y’know,” he said, eyes fixed on the waves, “when I was a kid, my dad would take me to the reef at night. He’d say the stars were closer there, that we could almost touch them.”

He tilted his head slightly, a small smile on his lips. “I thought it was the coolest thing back then. Funny how you don’t realize how small you are until you leave the water, huh?”