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Every sailor knew the story of the Kraken. It was the reason for prayers and held breaths for every voyage over the open sea. Its presence haunted the nightmares of every soldier, merchant, and pirate. The amounts of ships that had fallen to its strong tentacles and vicious nature were numerous and the wealth that had sunk to the sea floor had to be immeasurable at this point. But no one was brave enough to try and retrieve the sunken treasures the Kraken had amassed in the depths. And even if they had wanted to, the darkness was too deep, too impenetrable for any human.
Some whispered the Kraken served a dark and powerful master, a sea deity that resided on the ocean floor and demanded tribute from every sailor and the Kraken was its way to collect if it hadn’t been paid. Because of that, many sailors would sacrifice a part of their wealth at the start of each journey, hoping to be shown mercy by the mightiest of sea creatures.
Everyone but Izuku, because he knew better. He knew that the Kraken served no master, for it itself was the sea deity that everyone was whispering about and that it couldn’t care less about the supposed riches that were sacrificed to it.
There was nothing the Kraken wanted that a mere sailor could give it.
Izuku had always been fascinated by the sea. When he was still a child his mother told him that her mother had been a mermaid who had fallen in love with a human. Because of that the sea favored their family. Izuku had never understood what his mother meant by that, not until he had grown up and discovered his gift.
Whenever he sang, the sea listened. Waves seemed to grow smaller, storms turned away from their coast and swarms of sea creatures found their way to him. He feared that he would be turned away from most jobs as a sailor if his gift was discovered. The superstition on boats was bad and he didn’t fancy being thrown overboard to ward off a curse. But to his surprise, his gift was welcomed with open arms.
It also helped that he was willing to put in the work required of a sailor and didn’t complain a lot. For a few years, he jumped from ship to ship, working different routes and captains just so he could see what the world had to offer. But in the end, there was nothing that he loved more than being out on the open ocean.
When he was asked if he ever thought about finding a wife or settling down somewhere permanent he always replied that the ocean was his one true love and he couldn’t bear to be parted from it for too long. But that wasn’t quite the truth. Because while he loved the ocean it was not for the freedom it gave him but for the fact that it was the home of his one true love.
It had happened on one of his first voyages on the sea. His talents had been discovered and his duties had quickly been shuffled to the night shift. While he was patrolling the deck he sang, to keep the waves calm and ensure an unbothered night for the rest of the crew.
His singing was interrupted by the sound of something heavy and wet hitting the deck. Izuku hurried to investigate but found nothing but a few wet planks. Had a fish jumped on board, lured by Izuku’s singing, and fallen off again? It wouldn’t have been the first time in his life that he had been hit by a fin in the middle of his song, just because the sea life around him had gotten a little bit too excited.
He merely shrugged and returned to his post, but a voice stopped him in his tracks.
“Now, what the fuck are you?”
At the same time, something he couldn’t identify shot out of the shadows and hit the lanterns that were closest to Izuku, knocking them down into the sea and plunging a part of the deck in darkness. The thing continued to move and wrapped around Izuku’s hands and feet and in that moment he recognized it for what it was.
Tentacles.
As his eyes tried to adjust to the darkness, he could make out a faint shimmer coming from the tentacles and from a figure that emerged from behind a stack of barrels. Izuku had never seen anything like it. The upper torso was that of a beautiful man, more gorgeous than anyone Izuku had ever seen. His hair was almost white with how light it was and his eyes were red and glowing in the dark. Small dots ran down his pale torso and seemed to glow blue in the darkness. But where a pair of legs should’ve been Izuku could only see a writhing mass of tentacles.
“Please don’t kill me,” Izuku pleaded, his eyes wide. His heart quickened, but to his horror, it wasn’t just fear that coursed through his veins.
“That depends on your answer,” the man said and slithered closer to where he was keeping Izuku captive. “The only reason why I haven’t pulled this miserable hunk of junk down to the bottom of the ocean is the fact that I heard the lure singing of a mermaid. Imagine my surprise when instead of a captured merperson I find you singing.”
“I can explain!” Izuku said, his breath stuttering out of him as the man slithered even closer and was now only inches away from him. “My grandmother was a mermaid and I inherited her gift of song. I didn’t mean to offend anyone, especially not you. Please believe me.”
“The only thing offending here is how tone-deaf you are,” the man grumbled but Izuku could feel the tentacles around his arms and legs loosen. “I’ve decided to spare you, but only because of how pathetic you are. Next time you won’t be as lucky.”
And then, before he could even blink, the glowing tentacles retreated and the man threw himself overboard and was gone.
As it turned out, the next time they met, Izuku was lucky again. He was part of a different crew then, a different ship. It wasn’t a good one and the sailors were not good people. Izuku joined the ship out of necessity. The port where he had stayed had been overrun by shady people and he had jumped on the first opportunity that presented itself to get out of there. Of course, it was just his luck that the people that hired him were also not the most trustworthy.
Thankfully, he had kept his gift hidden from them. He still volunteered for the night shift, but he didn’t sing to calm the ocean. He liked it better that way. He didn’t feel comfortable around the crew and he preferred the solitude the graveyard shift provided him and he didn’t want to risk being sold as a curiosity the next time they made port.
It had been months since his encounter with the Kraken and even though Izuku still thought about him often, he didn’t think he would ever see him again. Or if he did, it would be the last thing he saw before he was drowned in the icy depths of the ocean. What he hadn’t expected was for the Kraken to suddenly appear on the railing beside him, his arms casually crossed over the wood.
“No screeching tonight? Or did someone do us all a favor and finally ripped out your vocal cords?”
Izuku managed to stop the scream from bursting out of his mouth, but he wasn’t able to hide the giant jump he did at being startled. The Kraken snickered, a mean grin on his pale face. His tentacles and the markings on his body were shimmering with blue light in the darkness.
“It’s you!” Izuku said, not daring to move for fear of getting trapped again. The Kraken gave him a look that let Izuku know just how dumb the sea creature thought him to be.
“So you can still speak,” he said and used his tentacles to push himself higher so he was towering a bit above Izuku’s form. “But not sing?”
“Uhm, I don’t want to. Not here,” Izuku tried to explain.
“Why not? This is just a wooden monstrosity like all the others. What’s the difference?”
“The people. They’re not exactly… nice. I don’t think they would be kind to me after learning about my gift, so I’ve been keeping quiet.”
The Kraken lifted one eyebrow.
“Why are you here then?”
Izuku shrugged.
“I had no choice. I had to leave the last port I was in and this boat was the only one that was hiring. I’m getting off at the next harbor. I don’t want to get mixed up in their business more than I have to.”
“Hm.” The Kraken seemed to accept his explanation and the two of them fell silent. Izuku shifted nervously from one foot to the other, unsure what to do now.
“No one’s here now,” the Kraken said after a while and Izuku gave him a confused look.
“Uhm, no?”
“So, sing.”
“You want me to sing? I thought you didn’t like my voice.”
If Izuku’s eyes weren’t betraying him he was sure that he could spot a blush rising on the mythical creature's face.
“Tsk,” the Kraken answered and looked away. “I do. It’s the ocean who likes your singing and the water always feels wrong when you’re on a ship and not singing, that’s all.”
“Oh,” Izuku said, and now it was his turn to blush. He threw one nervous look over his shoulder toward the crew’s quarters before he opened his mouth and started to sing quietly. The sound of the ocean seemed to soften around him and Izuku lost himself to his song. When he opened his eyes again the first thing he saw was the almost soft and fond look on the Kraken’s face.
“You still sound grating,” he said before he slowly lowered himself back down into the water and disappeared.
When the ship arrived at the next port, Izuku hurried to leave the crew behind. He stayed a few days longer than necessary in the port city, trying to order his thoughts and decide where to go next. One day after his old ship and crew had left the harbor a rumor drifted through the taverns that the boat had been taken by the Kraken. It had been dragged into the depths and every man on board was dead.
Izuku swallowed heavily as he heard others talking about it and telling him how lucky he was that he had left the ship when he had.
By now Izuku had a feeling that he would see the Kraken again. He wasn’t sure why, but he was sure of it. So when a few months later he was once again taking care of the graveyard shift on the newest ship he had joined, it didn't surprise him when a figure appeared next to him at the side of the ship. It still startled him, though.
“Gods!” he muttered, his hand pressed against his racing heart. The Kraken snickered. “How are you so quiet?”
“Not my fault you turn blind and deaf once you start abusing your vocal cords,” the Kraken replied with a nonchalant shrug.
“Did you drown those men?” Izuku asked, trying not to appear as nervous as he actually was. He knew questioning powerful and ancient creatures could lead to one's doom, but he was just so curious. He had to know. “The ship I worked on last?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes.” He wasn’t sure why it mattered, but he could feel that it did.
“I did. They were fucking bad people and they deserved it. I had my eye on that ship for a while. It had nothing to do with you.” The more the Kraken said, the more he tried to get Izuku to believe him, the less he did.
“Well?” the Kraken said, still a bit flustered at Izuku’s silence and smile. “Are you going to sing or not?”
“I already did. You interrupted me!”
“So what? Are you too good to sing more than one song for the fucking ocean? Maybe I should drown this ship too, just to teach you a lesson!”
“Alright, alright,” Izuku said with a laugh and took a seat on the barrel next to the railing. “I wouldn’t want to offend the ocean after all.”
“Damn right you wouldn’t,” the Kraken grumbled and pointedly rested his head on his crossed arms. The blue markings on his body seemed to shift the longer Izuku looked at him and he found himself mesmerized. He started singing again, his eyes never leaving the beautiful and ethereal vision in front of him. They spend the rest of the night like this, Izuku singing and starring, the Kraken listening.
The ocean around them was calm and Izuku was happy.
When they met the next time, Izuku was convinced it was for the last time.
The ship that had hired him this time was a trading vessel, built for long travels between ports that were far apart. Those trading vessels were not easy targets because of their fast sails and strong hulls, but the routes they were taking were well-known, and with enough planning and preparations even a strong defense could be broken.
And that was exactly what this group of pirates had done.
Their ship was fast and had been able to keep pace with the trading vessel Izuku was stationed on. It didn’t take long for the first canon balls to fly and hit their marks. Once one of their masts had been hit, Izuku knew it was only a matter of time until the pirates caught up to them and took over their ship. The rest of the crew armed themselves and he decided to do the same.
More and more projectiles hit their ship, ripping holes in the hull and slowing down their escape. It felt like only seconds had passed before the pirate ship was adjacent to them and the first people tried to cross over. Bullets ripped through the air and Izuku could hear the first clash of swords around him.
But then, suddenly, the screaming around him changed in pitch. He looked around wildly and let out a gasp when he spotted gigantic tentacles emerging from the ocean waves between the two ships. All at once the pirates gave up on their conquest and tried to get back to their ship. But Izuku could see that it was already far too late. The tentacles had wrapped around parts of the pirate ship and were crushing the hull and masts underneath their strength.
Even through all the chaos, Izuku’s eyes were drawn to the familiar shimmering blue markings on the tentacles.
Wood was splintering left and right, the air was filled with more bullets and screaming and suddenly Izuku’s world went black as something heavy collided with his head. The next thing he knew was the ice-cold embrace of the ocean as he fell overboard and hit the water.
And then there was nothing.
When Izuku woke up he was mostly surprised that he had woken up at all.
He was still completely drenched, but his back was laying on the warm sand of a beach. The sky above him was blue and cloudless and the sun was shining in his eyes. He lifted a hand to block out the sun and tried to push himself up into a sitting position. He looked around to try and find out where he was but there were no landmarks he recognized. Just a few palm trees dotted along the long stretch of white beach.
But he was alive and that was the only thing that mattered at the moment.
“You’re awake.”
Izuku looked up and saw the torso of the Kraken emerging from the water, his tentacles pushing him up and out of the water.
“I thought you had croaked.”
“Did… did you save me?” Izuku asked, his memories still foggy. He remembered the familiar tentacles emerging from the water, only that they had been twenty times bigger than usual. He remembered the chaos and the water and then there was nothing.
“No!” the Kraken blustered and looked away. “I just found you floating in the water like some idiot and I pushed you out of my way! I don’t know how you ended up here!”
Izuku couldn’t help himself. The whole situation was just so bizarre, he couldn’t stop the laughter tumbling out of his mouth. And once he started he couldn’t stop. He laughed until his belly hurt and he cried and the whole time the Kraken stood at the edge of the water and glared at him.
Izuku collapsed backward and laid back on the sand, some errant chuckles still escaping his lips. Suddenly, there was a shadow falling over him as the Kraken leaned over his face. For a few seconds, they simply stared at each other, both fascinated by the creature in front of them.
“My name is Izuku,” Izuku said after a while. “I never introduced myself. What’s your name?”
“Why would I tell a puny human like you?” the Kraken answered, but his face was relaxed and devoid of his usual frown. Izuku smiled and shrugged.
“I don’t know. Because it would make it easier to talk to each other? I could finally stop calling you the Kraken in my mind when I think about you.”
“Think about me, huh?” the Kraken said and a sly smirk appeared on his face. Izuku felt his face flush and looked away.
“Shut up,” he mumbled and now it was the Kraken's turn to laugh.
“My name is Katsuki,” he said and lowered himself down until he was hovering only inches from Izuku’s face. “And I think about you too.”
“You do?”
“Sometimes.”
Izuku lifted a hesitant hand until it rested against the Kraken’s pale cheek. His skin felt a bit strange against his hand, cold and too smooth to be normal, but it wasn’t unpleasant.
“Thank you for saving me,” he whispered and closed the space between them. Katsuki was still, obviously unused to the human custom of kissing, but after a few tries on Izuku’s side he seemed to get the hang of it and eagerly returned Izuku’s affections.
“Katsuki,” Izuku said when the two of them had stopped kissing and had taken to cuddling on the sand instead. Their foreheads were pressed together and Katsuki had wrapped all available limbs and tentacles around Izuku.
“Hmm?”
“Do you really think my singing is terrible?”
Katsuki sighed and kissed him again. Izuku smiled. That was enough for him.
There was a splashing sound on the deck behind him and Izuku turned around eagerly.
“Kacchan!” he said in greeting as the imposing form of his partner slithered onto the ship. “You’re early tonight.”
Katsuki wrapped his tentacles around Izuku and pulled him closer so he could kiss him in greeting.
“You need to be careful or someone might see you,” Izuku chided and Katsuki rolled his eyes.
“No one is going to see me. I’m not coming here if I know you’re not alone.”
“Still. I don’t want you to be in danger.”
“The only one in danger here is you, stupid Izuku.” Katsuki kissed him again but when he pulled back there was a frown on his face. “I don’t understand why you insist on working on these boats. Just get your own one already.”
Now it was Izuku’s turn to roll his eyes.
“Kacchan, I make barely enough money to feed myself most days, I can’t afford a boat all for myself.” He had explained the concept of money and wealth to Katsuki a few times already, but the Kraken didn’t get it or chose not to get it.
“If you need money so badly, just ask me,” Katsuki grumbled and pulled Izuku tighter to him. Other people had already started to ask concerned questions about the weird suction marks all over Izuku’s body, but he wasn’t sure how to explain them without looking like an idiot.
‘The Kraken is my lover and he likes to get his tentacles all over me.’
Yeah, right.
“Why would I ask you for money? You don’t even understand the concept!”
He got an extra tight squeeze for his sass.
“Watch it, puny human,” Katsuki growled and Izuku giggled. His fight-or-flight instinct had seriously been messed up by this relationship. He pressed a quick kiss against Katsuki’s cheek and relished in the mollified expression the Kraken wore. “And to your information, I might be one of the richest creatures on this planet.”
“Oh? How come?”
Katsuki raised an eyebrow at him.
“What do you think happens to all the treasure on the ships I destroy?”
“It sinks…?” It took Izuku a while to understand what Katsuki was saying. “Wait, you kept all of that?”
“At least the shiny parts,” Katsuki said with a shrug and Izuku felt his jaw drop when one of Katsuki’s tentacles rose out of the water. It was wrapped around a wooden chest and Izuku could hear coins clinking inside of it.
Katsuki grinned at Izuku’s stunned expression.
“Make sure you get a boat that you can sail on your own. I don’t plan to share you once you’re out on the ocean with me.”