There are witches in the deep sea, too.
They accept trades from any creature with a tail.
One tail in exchange for anything.
Until one day, a young witch named Aishiya broke that rule.
Little Mermaid: I want to trade my tail for a pair of legs, the kind that are long, slender, straight, and so gorgeous I'd never get tired of them!
Aishiya: Your Highness, that's a little difficult. Your tail is rather short...
Little Mermaid: I'll throw in my voice, too!
Aishiya: Your Highness, I only take tails...
Little Mermaid: [Glares]
Aishiya: [Gives in] ...
The Little Mermaid happily went ashore and lived happily ever after with the prince.
Along the way, she also happened to flirt with a young man named Andersen.
Later, that heartbroken young man wrote a fairy tale with a story called The Little Mermaid.
Aishiya: [Reading the copy the princess specially sent her] Why does this guy have such a strong accent???? How did I turn into Ursula?????
Once this precedent was set, things got out of hand. Even tailless sea creatures started showing up.
Squid: Two tentacles. No haggling!
Starfish: I'll give you one arm, and it can even grow into a new starfish!
Clam: These are the pearls I just harvested this year...
Aishiya: ...????!!!!
And so, for breaking the rules, she was kicked out of the Sea Witch Association.
Several centuries later, after various adventures, including joining her aunt in starting a land-based business and graduating with honors from Hogwarts, Aishiya ends up in the United States by chance to attend an ordinary university for graduate school. All she wants is to live a normal life. She keeps a low profile, except that ever since she arrived, all the stray cats on campus have become tailless and found good homes.
The day she happens to step in to help a visiting high school student from New York, Peter Parker, is the last day of her peaceful life.
Theme: A story about a witch and Spider-Man.
