The Wish-Granting Fish

You might have heard of stories about fishes that held mysterious powers, and fishes that could even grant wishes. There's a children's story about a fisherman who asked a magical fish to grant his wife's greedy wishes. And there's another story that told about the legendary river king that was rumored to be capable of curing any illness- though you might have to spend hours and hours fishing it with a golden or a higher-grade rod. But here I will tell you of a wish-granting fish who got its personal wish granted.

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There's a legend that originated in the remote islands somewhere in the Central Pacific region; it tells about a fish that could grant wishes.

The legends say that once every hundred of years, a special fish was born. It was a fish that was dearly blessed by the gods. It would have scales as black and shiny as volcanic glass, and eyes that would glow brighter than any living creature. It is said that these fishes were sent on earth to hear the woes of the world.

And so, the gods gave it three gifts:

The first gift was, the fish would be able to understand any living creature, be it man, beast, bird, or fish. The fish would travel all over the rivers and seas, and to the deepest parts of the ocean, listening to all creatures that had voices of their own.

The second gift was, no creature would have the heart to harm the creature. Because of this, the fish would know no fear. It was mainly due to this gift that the fish would have the tendency to explore the unknown. It would travel to the most perilous rivers and lakes, and even approach the most ferocious predators; yet no harm would come to the fish by any creature that had a will of its own.

The last and the most important gift was, it could grant a single wish at the end of its life. After a hundred years worth of journey, and when the first of its scales would fall, it would embark on a final journey to find and grant a single wish to the creature that needed it most.

It is said that once the fish dies, it would go back to its home in the celestial realm where it would sing about all its adventures on earth and all the creatures it met. There it would dwell with the rest of its kindred until it was ready to face another journey on earth once more.

Because no traces of the fish would remain after it dies, its existence remained only as a myth.

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There's a story about a special fish that was born in the depth of the Pacific ocean as a black flounder. It didn't know that it was a special fish, nor did it know about the legends surrounding itself. The only thing it knew was that it was the only one left of its kind. The fish was alone, but it did not find it odd; rather, it encouraged the fish to wander about the depth of the ocean.

It was during one of its travels that it met a cowardly shark. The cowardly shark couldn't stop moving because that's what sharks do, yet it was always afraid of what it might encounter farther ahead. The shark told the fish that it wanted to be a bird so it could fly far from anything that would try to catch it. The fish couldn't speak shark-language, so it just listened.

The shark's stories made the fish curious about the skies, so one day, it went to the surface. And that was how it saw the clumsiest-looking creature riding the strangest fish; it was a fisherman on a boat.

Thinking that the boat was a fish, the fish approached it, but it didn't answer. The fish nudged the boat, and still the boat didn't speak. It tried to circle around the boat and coax it to talk, when suddenly, the fish couldn't move! The flounder got caught in the fisherman's net! And then it was lifted up, up, up and above the surface of the sea.

When the fisherman took a good look at the ugly fish, he saw the unearthly glow of its eyes. Then suddenly, the fisherman didn't have the heart to hurt the fish. But he couldn't set it free either because he was in dire need of money. He thought that, perhaps, he could fetch a fair price for the ugly fish, for its eyes were the most beautiful eyes he'd ever seen. So, he went to a pet shop and turned it in. To his amazement, he got more than enough to feed his family and his sister's family for a whole month without fishing!

As for the fish, it was its first time above the sea, and it was very curious indeed. It continued to watch at and listen to the funny two-legged creatures(men) wearing funnier-colored furs(clothes). It watched the skies as it turned from pale blue, to an array of yellow, pink, and red, to the darkest blue, and then back again. It watched the trees turn pink, green, then red, before it sheds off all its leaves as the whole scenery outside was blanketed with white puffy balls that fell from the sky.

And then the fish realized that there's a wider world out there waiting to be explored.

It wasn't long before the fish was bought by a new owner. The fish couldn't remember much about the travel since it was always kept in the dark, but it didn't know that it was being brought to the heart of the largest city in that country. And there, it was sold to a young boy. It was an encounter that would drastically change its life forever.

The boy was very rich; he was provided with everything he needed, and could have everything he wanted. He had all of his heart's desires, all except for one: the recovery of his very sick mother who he loved most. Ever since his mother's accident, the boy steeled his young heart and warmed up to no one.

But the boy was also very different any other creature that the fish had encountered. He was very intelligent for his age, yet also young enough to keep a little corner in his heart, enough to fit a silver of hope for fairy tale endings. It might be his intense desire to see his mother well again that made him want to believe in miracles. And thus, when the boy saw the fish, he believed that it was a very special fish.

Yet, a strange fate seemed to be woven between these two very unlike creatures. The boy found that the fish could understand him, and he thought that it was the most peculiar thing. It made the boy more and more curious still as he tried to understand the strangest fish.

As for the fish, it experienced its many firsts. It was its first time being taught human games. It was its first time being asked questions and having to answer them. It was also its first time that a single creature payed so much attention to the fish. And most of all, it was its first time to encounter a creature that tried to understand it. The boy was the first creature to have ever tried to hear the fish's silent voice.

It was the start of a beautiful friendship.

Each night, the boy and the fish would talk alone in their pond. It started as a boy who tried to understand, and the fish who could understand. Then, the boy started to tell the fish about what children do, the games they play, and mostly about his dear mother and many other things there was to tell about his day; and the fish would make gestures that was only understood by the two of them. To the fish that never thought of being understood before, the nights it spent with the boy was the most magical.

And through the boy, the fish finally experienced a world that was very different from its own. In its dreams, it walked with the boy: up the steps of the temple as they welcomed the new day of the year, across the well-trimmed grass as they witnessed the first blossoms of the year, hand-in-hand through many stalls and a great crowd as they tried to find a good viewing spot for fireworks while trying not to lose each other, and finally with the boy's friends after the tiring games they played.

Time passed. The fish that was used to wandering finally found a place that it could call home. And the boy who closed his heart slowly opened it up to the fish.

Then one day, something happened to the boy, and something that also involved the boy's mother. It was then that the boy stopped visiting their pond. The fish didn't know what happened, but when the boy returned, he was greatly changed. The boy had become cold, distant, withdrawn, and harsh. He no longer talked to the fish, and the fish grew very lonely.

The fish thought that it was alright; it would only go on like the days before it met the boy. But the fish realized that it couldn't; its thoughts would always wander back to the boy and the days long gone.

Days, weeks, months, and years passed, yet the boy remained unchanged. The fish then feared that the boy would be lost forever.

Then, the fish thought of the only person it could think that could save the boy from himself: his mother. The fish fervently wished that it could heal the boy's mother.

Because of its love for the boy, the fish unknowingly hastened its own time. Its body grew weak, and its scales started to fall. And it gave to the boy the most beautiful gift it could give: its black scales that the boy loved so much.

The boy realized his mistake, and soon their friendship was amended. But the fish's end was already close at hand. A hundred year's worth had already been taken from the fish, and its health only continued to decline.

It was then that at the end of the fish's life, a miracle happened. Without words or speech, two thoughts became one: the fish who wished to be with the boy, and the boy who wished that his fish would continue to stay by his side.

And soon the fish passed from the mortal realm.

As the fish journeyed towards the blessed realm, it recovered all its memories from its previous lives. As it sifted through all its memories, through all its happiest times in the blessed realm, and through its saddest times on earth, its short time spent with the boy still stood out from all the rest. Then its little heart wept for the boy it left.

Along the way, a melodious voice asked the fish about the boy's wish, about their wish. The fish answered.

And their wish was granted.

Some said that boy's mother was cured. Others said that the fish became human. But most said that the boy and his fish stayed together. It is said that only two of the fish's scales remained in this world, and they continued to shine while their bonds lasted.

And here we reach the end of our story. No one knew what became of the boy and his fish, but I'd like to think that they lived happily ever after for the rest of their days.

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A/N: Sorry, this has been very late. I've been busy lately. But at last, this story is finally complete. Thank you all for following this story -bows-.

To the writers who are trying to find story ideas, I have some ideas/prompts that you might want.

"Kuroko Tetsuya's misdirection comes with a price: the more he uses it, the more he becomes invisible, until he becomes completely and permanently invisible."

That idea came to me while listening to The Lord of the Rings. It has been on my mind way before I wrote The Boy and His Fish. Unfortunately, I haven't gone further than that idea.

If the first one isn't your cup of tea, then here's a rom-com idea (with a little bittersweet taste) that came to my mind due to the numerous vampire!Akashi or non-human!Akashi fics:

"Kuroko Tetsuya was convinced that Akashi Seijuro was a vampire; he just needs to find some solid proof."

"On the other hand, Akashi Seijuro misinterprets Kuroko's aggressive behavior as romantic gestures. He wasn't interested at first, but because of Kuroko's persistence, gradually, he became interested. And that was how he found himself courting one oblivious Kuroko."

"A story where Tetsuya stubbornly insists that Akashi is a vampire, and goes to great lengths to prove it... and Akashi continues to misunderstand Tetsuya's intentions. The rest of the GoM is in for a major headache, while Akashi is heading for a major heartache."

That's laughter and tears rolled into one.

And last but not the least, because Akashi was the only uninvited GoM member during their Teiko night outs... (even Midorima was there!)

"In which Akashi only wanted to be invited to eat Gari Gari Popsicle too. But things tend to escalate quickly and blow up to astronomical proportions whenever Akashi is involved."

"Akashi is just a normal boy. He eats, he laughs, he sleeps, and most of all, he also wants to eat Gari Gari Popsicle with his friends after school. He's just an ordinary boy. -Really-."

I'm not sure if there's already an existing story like those in this fandom, but if there isn't, feel free to use them:D