Shouzu

Shouzu is a shikigami from the game Onmyoji.

Biography
With a body of human and a tail of a fish, this young lady sits in a shell. She is curious about humans and their world. She imagines it to be full of beauty and surprises. But the world is a lot colder and more predictable than she expects. Though for this reason, she finds its brief moments of beauty all the more delightful.

Biography SP
"What are you doing out there, miss? It's raining! Please, come inside."

''The water in the courtyard pond was cool and refreshing. I sat by the pond quietly, catching raindrops with my fan, and ignored what the maid was yelling at me.''

"You're the minister's only daughter, you must take care of yourself! If something happens to you, I will be held responsible..."

Father was always busy at work, and my mother passed away when I was little, so I was often left alone in that big house.

''For twenty years, I was never allowed to leave so the water in the pond is my only connection to the outside world. I liked to sit by the pond, imagining how beautiful the world outside my courtyard was.''

''The god of the pond must have pitied me, because I began to grow scales and a tail. I was so close to turning into a spirit and swimming away through the waters of my pond.''

''But the maid discovered my secret, and pretty soon the whole city knew that the minister's daughter had turned into a monster! They carried be down to the seaside, and drowned me in the ocean.''

''And what about the minister who's supposed to love his daughter? He had a strange calmness on his face when I lost my breath.''

''I never imagined that the first thing that would happen, when I finally left that place, was my own death. I welcomed it. I didn't struggle, and closed my eyes...''

"Shouzu! Shouzu! Can you hear me?"

My friends woke me up, and I realized that I was wearing the new clothes they gave me before I fell asleep.

"But, if you were already a mermaid, you couldn't have drowned, like in your dream."

"You're right... It would me more logical for me to turn into a spirit after I was drowned."

"Right! So, I wonder if this dream is just your wild imagination, or if it's a memory left by someone else."

I told them all about my dream, and they thought and discussed it thoroughly.

Links

 * https://onmyoji.fandom.com/wiki/Shozu