Chapter Text
It was Friday, which meant karaoke bar with the group chat. Ever since that first time they drunkenly stumbled into a karaoke bar after getting kicked out of the one next door, they’ve made it a goal to go every other Friday.
Tengen Uzui: Iguro, Kanroji, ‘yal good for rides?
Mitsuri Kanroji: Yes! Kocho offered to take us since she gets off work early today
Tengen Uzui: perfect, Kocho will be the dd then. ;)
Shinobu Kocho: You’re lucky I work tomorrow. Can’t afford a hangover.
Tengen Uzui: Kyojuro and I were gonna walk there since we’ll be in the neighborhood. Shinazugawa? You got a ride?
Sanemi’s phone was relentlessly buzzing in his right pocket. He knew it was the group chat planning for the outing tonight. Of course he looked forward to a night out with his friends, but not with this recent workload he’s taken on.
This semester, Sanemi was hired as a Calculus 2 lab tutor, and he’s had a busy schedule back to back with late night tutoring sessions.
It was 2:15, roughly 15 minutes left in the lecture. Sanemi fiddled with his heavily shortened pencil from weeks of consistent sharpening, his chin resting on his hand. With a sigh he pulls his phone out of his pocket to read the notifications.
Obanai Iguro: You’d better not bail on us again man.
Mitsuri Kanroji: Are you tutoring tonight, Shinazugawa?
Tengen Uzui: On a Friday!? So unflashy 👎 .
Truth is, Sanemi did have a lot of work to do. Juggling full time university and being a tutor was overwhelmingly challenging. The thought of taking a night off and risking a hangover the next day made Sanemi’s stomach churn. However, he did cancel on the last karaoke bar hang out for the same exact reason.
It had been a while since he’d been with the group all together. He sees Obanai regularly since they’re roommates, and he sees Shinobu in his physics class. He often runs into Tengen and Kyojuro at the gym where they’ll pester him to join their workouts.
He did miss his friends. He knew he needed a break.
Sanemi Shinazugawa: I’ll be there. I’ll probably walk, too.
Tengen Uzui: ayyyyye the man lives.
Sanemi stares at the screen. He glances at the time as he does so.
2:26.
This is his last class of the day before he has to tutor a group of students in a building across the campus.
Sanemi Shinazugawa: I may run a bit late. I have a tutoring session in a bit and then I’ll have to go home and change.
Tengen Uzui: Where your school clothes, buff brotha. Maybe then the chicks will flock to you.
Obanai Iguro: omg yes and wear your dorky glasses too so they can see how much of a nerd you are. chicks love nerds.
Shinobu Kocho: Is that why Kanroji settled for you Iguro
Tengen Uzui: you gonna take that Iguro
Sanemi silenced his phone and shoved it back into his pocket. He’s definitely not going out in his school clothes. And he’s definitely not looking to mingle tonight.
The professor lets the class out, and Sanemi lazily packs his things into his bag before taking off.
—
Sanemi enters his apartment around 5:45. The bar hangout had commenced fifteen minutes ago.
Kanroji Mitsuri: We’re here guys and we got a good table!
Kyojuro Rengoku: Uzui and I are almost there 🔥🔥🔥
Throwing his nice black button up over his head, Sanemi glances at his face in the mirror. His eyes are housing dark circles threatening to become annoyingly obvious.
He adjusts the sleeves of his shirt to be rolled up to his elbows, and unbuttons the collar so his upper chest is showing.
He splashes some cool water on his face and ruffles his white hair with his wet hands.
Feeling slightly refreshed, Sanemi heads out the door. The bar is about a 10 minute walk from his place, that’s the perk about living in an on campus apartment.
He steps outside to be greeted with a cool breeze across his still damp face. The sun is in that annoying position where it blinds you no matter which direction you face, and the smell of the sea is wafting its way up the road.
His apartment has a stunning view of the beach, in fact he and Obanai often like to study at one of the many picnic tables located around the complex perimeters. The sea provides a soothing ambiance.
Sanemi Shinazugawa: omw
The walk is calm. There are seagulls still active at this time of evening, and there are people surfing the waves a small distance out to sea. Tengen has been begging Sanemi to come surfing with them, but Sanemi’s busy schedule has made joining them near impossible.
Sanemi needs this night out. He knows he’s been overworking himself. Get a little tipsy, sing some corny duet with Obanai, laugh the night away.
He rounds the corner and spots the karaoke bar entrance. The breeze blows once more, sending a chill up Sanemi’s spine.
It’s late April, so the spring breeze is still faint. Summer heat waves have been blowing in which attract many more students out to the beaches. It’s nice because the weather is perfect for studying, but the more people on the beaches take away from the peacefulness of the ocean shore.
Sanemi hasn’t told Obanai this yet, but he found a very nice spot amidst some rocks a few minutes down the beach from his apartment. The waves crash aggressively along the large rocks emitting a soothing ocean song.
He was looking for a quieter place to study, and found this secluded area where no one seems to go. So far, he’s only sat atop the rocks and relaxed to the noise of the waves. With no tables in that area, it might be difficult to study there.
Sanemi finds himself going there when he needs to decompress.
He enters the bar and scans the packed crowd of college students for his friends. He spots them in a corner booth near the back, and he begins heading their way.
“There he is! You’re not wearing your nerd glasses!” Tengen points Sanemi’s way and everyone turns to meet him.
“Glad you could make it, Shinzugawa!” Mitsuri smiles warmly at him. She’s seated close next to Obanai with Shinobu on her other side. They’ve all clearly already ordered drinks, Tengen even having an empty glass in front of him.
“We’ve already got Uzui and Rengoku in the queue to sing a duet. Have you thought about what you’re singing tonight, Shinazugawa?” Shinobu asks Sanemi’s way as she sips her virgin margarita.
The place is buzzing with college kids, typical for a Friday night.
“I haven’t thought about it. Anyone up for a duet?” Sanemi takes a seat next to Obanai and glances around at the table for any takers.
“I’ll duet with you, but I’m picking the song,” Obanai says with a shit eating grin.
Yup. This always happens.
A waitress approaches the table and starts taking another round of drink orders. Sanemi just orders a beer to start, while Tengen places an order for a large nacho platter and another drink.
“Do I know this song you have in mind?” Sanemi scowls at his friend.
Obanai does this every time they duet. He picks a ridiculous duet and doesn’t tell Sanemi what it is until they’re up there and singing.
“Of course, it’s a classic,” Obanai puts his chin into one hand and reaches for his drink with the other.
“Am I gonna be the girl again?” Sanemi shoves his friend
“Depends, how are your vocals tonight?” Obanai responds with another shove.
“You’re a menace,” Sanemi smirks. The waitress returns with his drink and Tengen's nachos, which he instantly smothers in hot sauce.
“I sure hope you were planning to share, Uzui,” Shinobu comments, glancing at Tengen’s attempt to wipe a small spill of hot sauce from his shirt. He just glares at her.
“Try me,”
The music picks up volume and Sanemi forces a look at the stage. It’s a group of 3 girls singing ‘Wannabe’ by Spice Girls, clearly drunk out of their minds.
How can people get so drunk before the sun even sets?
“How was tutoring, Shinazugawa?” Kyojuro directs towards Sanemi.
“Fine,” Sanemi responds. “I think these kids are starting to get it although I’m starting to lose brain cells.”
“What brain cells?” Uzui interrupts, earning a scowl from Sanemi. His 2nd drink is already completely gone while Sanemi delicately savors his beer. He doesn’t want to get too drunk tonight, not when there’s plenty of work to do tomorrow.
The waitress returns with more drinks and places them along the table. She glares at Sanemi a little longer than he would have liked. Tengen obviously notices.
Here we go.
“That waitress wants to bang,” Uzui laughs as the waitress walks away from the group. He turns his entire body to face Sanemi, arm resting on the head of his chair with his hand occupied by his empty glass.
“Get your head out of your dick, jackass. Your turn to karaoke is almost up,” Sanemi remarks. Uzui checks the screen with the queue of names and quickly places his drink down before ushering Kyojuro to get up.
“Come on, my friend! Let's knock their socks off.”
The 2 men scurry off towards the line up of people getting ready to sing on stage. Sanemi watches as they disappear into the crowds, Tengen still clutching his empty glass of whatever alcohol he was drinking.
“You’re so stiff, Shinazugawa,” Shinobu remarks, startling Sanemi ever so slightly.
“It’s just been a busy week,” Sanemi lets out a breathy sigh and swirls his beer bottle. It really had been a busy week.
An exam in Physics and a major project due in Advance Calculus, not to mention the after school tutoring every other day. Sanemi knows he shouldn’t be working this hard, but it’s his last semester of his 3rd year of university. He’s going to start applying to Masters programs soon and he can’t afford to slack off.
“He’s always like this. Especially when exams are around the corner,” Obanai teases. Sanemi doesn’t say anything. He feels guilty in a way. College is stressful, but he doesn’t want to be that one friend who doesn’t know how to let loose. Which is why he decided to come out tonight.
The bar erupts in chaotic screeching causing everyone at the table to jolt their attention to the stage.
Tengen and Kyojuro are up there screaming some ridiculous duet. The tables near the stage are cheering loudly, clearly egging on whatever tomfoolery Tengen and Kyojuro are up to.
“I hope you can relax tonight, Shinazugawa. Just have some fun. You’re always working so hard.” Mitsuri gives Sanemi a truly empathetic look. Sanemi is already tired of this conversation.
He knows he’s a workaholic.
“I'll be relaxed, don’t worry,” Sanemi sets his bottle down and averts his attention from Mitsuri back to the mess happening on stage. Tengen and Kyojuro have assembled a crowd of people at the foot of the stage going absolutely wild for their abysmal singing.
—
The night continues. Sanemi is 2 beers in and barely feeling a buzz at all. He decides he’ll probably stop here to avoid risking ending up like Tengen and Kyojuro, who are both down to their 7th glass of whatever brew they’ve settled on for the night. Shinobu is completely sober and Mitsuri is giggling relentlessly, a clear sign she’s had some alcohol.
Obanai had picked No Air by Jordan Sparks and Chris Brown for their duet, unfortunately forcing Sanemi to be the girl. It was a mess, but the crowd got a kick out of it. Sanemi is pretty sure Tengen recorded the whole thing.
The sun had set and the doors to the bar were propped wide open. The salty smell of the sea is gently blowing in followed by the cool air of the night.
“Can I get you guys any more drinks?” The waitress from before stops by their table.
“Helllll yeah!” Tengen shouts as he places his 8th drink order. Kyorjuro follows his lead and orders another round as well.
“You should get another drink, Shinazugawa,” Tengen urges.
“Nah, I’m okay,”
“C’mon man! It’s Friday night!” Kyojuro adds on.
“Yeah man, what’ve you got to lose?” Tengen chuckles as he tries to down the non-existent last drop in his empty glass
“He’s not big on getting wasted on Fridays,” Obanai includes. Sanemi looks at his two empty beer bottles.
One more couldn’t hurt, and it’ll prove to his friends that he’s not some shut-in scholarly student who can’t have fun every once in a while.
Just stop at 3. No more than 3.
“Fine. I’ll get one more,” Sanemi turns to the waitress
—
Sanemi is 6 beers in and the bar is closing in 20 minutes. Everyone is laughing.
Tengen is wearing his pants backwards for some reason. Sanemi unbuttoned another button on his shirt letting the cool outside air brush against his skin.
It’s almost 1 am, and the bar is starting to die down. People are leaving, especially after some goon threw up all over the stage while singing. They’ve shut the bar down and Sanemi lazily sips on his drink, the bitter beer feeling numb against his tongue.
“And then I told him…hic-.. that his shoes looked like that of a clown…” Tengen is slurring over his words and flamboyantly acting out a story to the group. Everyone is pretty far gone at this point, even Sanemi. He wouldn’t say he was wasted, but definitely tipsy.
“Dude, YOU look like a clown!” Sanemi fires at Tengen.
“Ohmygod he does!” Misturi is clutching her stomach laughing. Shinobu hides her face behind her hands, clearly shielding a laugh.
Everyone was laughing. Everyone was having fun.
Everything felt peaceful. Like the ten gallons of homework burning in Sanemi’s backpack didn’t matter.
But it was really late– and everyone was a mess. Well– except Shinobu.
“Okay you guys, I think it’s time I drove the lot of you home.” Shinobu interrupts as if on que. “The bar is closing soon, and you all look a mess.”
"..hic-"
Sanemi glances at the time on his phone and realizes he stayed out way later than he intended to. For the past few hours, his homework really didn’t matter. But Sanemi was sober enough to recognize that by the time the sun rises and the new day begins, those assignments will more than matter.
“Yeah, holy shit. I’ve got to get home,” Sanemi quickly stands up. “This was fun, guys.”
“My car can fit everyone. You want a ride, Shinazugawa?” Shinobu suggests. Tengen is passed out on the table and Kyojuro is laughing so hard Sanemi thinks he’s on the verge of shitting his pants.
“That’s alright. My place isn’t far,” Sanemi bows his head to Shinobu to thank her for the offer. “But I can help you carry him to the car if you need,” He gestures towards Tengen who is slumped over the table.
“We’ve got him, dude. Go home and be safe.” Kyojuro wipes tears from his eyes and Obanai gets up to help his prop Tengen up in his chair.
“Yeah, we’re good. I’ll see you later, man. I’m gonna spend the night at Mitsuri’s.”
“Well, if you say so,"
And just like that, the relaxing, homework-free night was over.
See you guys then. Goodnight,” Sanemi treks off, waving over his shoulder to the group who are desperately trying to hoist Tengen up onto Kyojuro’s shoulders.
The warmth radiating in Sanemi’s cheeks is enough to remind him that he accidentally broke his own promise tonight. Fortunately for him, his ability to handle his alcohol is superb compared to when he was a Freshman in college.
The cool night air hits his warm face as he steps out the open bar door. The town is still lively with people walking around. The street lights are illuminating the road and cars are whipping by too fast for 1 am on a Friday night.
The shoreline is calm and the smell of the ocean is faint. Salty. Serene.
He’s not sure why, but Sanemi starts in the opposite direction of his apartment complex. The night air feels good on his face, and he’s not quite ready to go home yet. Maybe because it was the first time he’s really let loose in weeks since Spring break ended.
He wanted to enjoy the night before he went back to his dark apartment where he knows he’ll be cooped up for the rest of the weekend.
He walks along the side of the road until he reaches the end of the busy town square. Less people are walking by and few cars are on the road. The beach is as calm as ever and the moon shines brightly down creating a whimsical ambiance on the shoreline.
Realizing he’s near that peaceful rocky spot on the beach, Sanemi decides to make his way down to the sand.
Still walking, a slight burn in his cheeks, he continues down the beach until he approaches a large rocky area. The breeze of the night is very subtle, but brisk enough to send chills down his spine. The waves are calm and gently crashing along the rocks.
He takes the scene in and basks in the peace. There are no people here, no busy roads, just beaches and the peaceful sound of the sleeping ocean.
Sanemi stops in the sand and turns to face the sea. He breathes deeply and inhales the salty scent of the crashing waves. There are no noises aside from the calming tune of the water reaching the rocks, Sanemi swears he can hear faint music coming from the sea.
He's a few paces away from the rocky spot he discovered, and decides to make his way there to relax before he heads back home.
He turns to start towards the rocks when he spots something atop one of the more flat, hidden rocks in the terrain.
…the hell?
Slightly blinded by the thick saltiness in the air, Sanemi slowly approaches the figure unsure of what it is he’s looking at. The figure is slightly covered by the other rocks nearby, and low enough to the ground to be met directly with the crashing waves.
A larger wave comes up to the rock the figure is perched on and splashes directly onto the rock spraying the figure in its wake, yet the stranger does not stir. Slowly, Sanemi walks towards the rocks assuming it’s just an oddly shaped rock.
However, upon closer view, Sanemi makes out the upper body of a person.
Pale skin attached to a lean, yet toned body. The face of the person was turned away from Sanemi’s view, yet he could make out the thick, long black hair– which gently faded to a pale blue at the tips– of the figure as it gently flowed in the sea breeze. Sanemi changes his course to access a better view of this mysterious person, slowly rounding the corners of the rocky terrain, careful not to alert the stranger of his presence.
He approaches it…
Slowly…
Until the entirety of the stranger is in his view.
Sanemi nearly faints at the sight before him.
Long, toned arms are stretched with adjacent blue, yet human-like hands flattened in the stranger's lap. The person’s fingers are long and dainty, although they appear somewhat claw shaped, and they are conjoined by a thin membrane giving the illusion of webbed fingering. Slightly curled around the rock it’s perched on, a long, mystical blue fish-like tail is extending from the stranger. Smaller, dark blue fins adjourn the length of the tail, 2 on opposite sides. The very end of the tail holds a larger, conjoined fin with a similar structure to the fins on the sides of the tail.
The stranger has not sensed Sanemi’s presence and still has its head turned away. Sanemi notices the upper half of the creature appears to be a human male, while the bottom half appears almost fish-like.
Sanemi brings his hand to his forehead and stares, completely stunned by what he’s looking at.
“Shit- I’ve had too much to drink,” Sanemi mumbles to himself. The creature snaps its head directly towards the noise.
Sanemi freezes as his gaze meets the creatures.
The entirety of the creature’s eyes are blue with lighter blue irises in the center. The pupils appear almost lizard-like with a harsh black slit down the center. Blue scales embellish the cheek bones and the side of the creature’s neck, while thin, light blue fins are sprouted from either side of the creature's head, slightly covered by its thick black and blue hair.
The creature squints its eyes while staring directly at Sanemi, as if to study the white-haired man’s unknown motivation . The two hold the gaze…
just for a short while…
before the creature returns its focus out towards the sea.
Completely confused, Sanemi slaps the side of his face. The creature is still perched on the rocks, hair blowing gently in the wind. It seems completely unbothered by Sanemi’s presence.
“I am… hallucinating,” Sanemi mutters. He slowly begins walking towards the creature before it quickly whips its head back towards Sanemi almost in an animalistic way. He halts in his tracks.
“What the fuck am I looking at..” Sanemi says out loud. Whether it was directed towards the creature or just out loud to himself, he’s not sure. The creature raises its eyebrows, clearly stunned by the sudden volume in Sanemi’s voice.
It blinks once, not removing its gaze from Sanemi’s.
“Are you… real? Or am I hallucinating?” Sanemi squints his eyes at the creature. He doesn’t dare take another step. He is close enough to the creature to make out its facial expressions, and see it make an almost annoyed face.
The creature opens its mouth to speak.
“You’re hallucinating,” it says. A male voice with a soft, almost sarcastic edge to it. The creature has sharp fangs on the top and bottom row of its teeth where his canines should reside, shimmering under soft, pink lips. It stares directly into Sanemi’s eyes and slowly blinks. Long, black eyelashes fluttering over deep, blue eyes.
“Ah.. okay.” Sanemi accepts. Although deep down he knows he’s not hallucinating. He’s not that drunk. He reverts his gaze from the creature and glances over his shoulder behind him.
“Is this a prank?” He questions out loud.
There are no people around whatsoever. It’s a little past 1 am and the beach is completely dead. He turns back to look at the creature, and he swears he sees the creature give a quick smirk before returning to its dead pan glare.
“Yes, you are being pranked,” The creature responds.
The waves crash onto the rocks once more, slightly spraying the creature, to which it does not even falter. Still gazing into Sanemi’s eyes, the creature lifts its hand to gently wipe off a splash of sea water from its cheek.
Sanemi can now clearly make out the webbed membrane along the fingers of the stranger as well as sharp claws at the end of each digit.
“Dude,” Sanemi bluntly blurts. “What the hell are you doing on those rocks this late at night, ‘ya weirdo?” Sanemi starts walking towards the creature. Gullibly, Sanemi believes that this is indeed a prank. The creature's pupils dilate and its fin-like ears fold against its head at Sanemi’s sudden movement.
Sanemi stops at its reaction.
“...Hello?” Sanemi questions. He’s mostly trying to figure out who this person is, and why they’re cosplaying as a mermaid.
And better yet, why are they out here late at night.
“I’m messing with you,” The creature finally says. Pupils retract to their normal size and the creature straightens its posture.
“...What?” Sanemi questions.
The creature begins again, “I am messing with you-”
“What do you mean? What the fuck?!” Sanemi cuts off. The creature subtly flaps the end of its tail against the rock before straightening it out to slightly breach the water.
Sanemi begins approaching the creature again, and this time, the creature doesn’t move. Its gaze remains on Sanemi as it watches him inch closer… and closer. Eventually Sanemi is at the base of the rock looking at the creature who remains calmly glaring at the other man from its perch.
“What… are you?” Sanemi stutters out. He’s heard urban legends of sea people before, but that was obvious when he was a child. He doesn’t believe in mermaids just like he doesn’t believe in unicorns or fairies. But what he’s looking at right now definitely appears to resemble that of a mermaid of some sort.
“Frightened?” The creature smirks under its breath.
“No?! The fuck?” Sanemi takes a short step back, not out of fear, but out of offense. The creature returns its gaze to the sea.
There’s a pause.
“Use your imagination,” It finally responds, abruptly looking away from Sanemi as if to inform him that it's finished with the conversation.
“Imagination my ass!” Sanemi scoffs, “If this is some sick prank, it’s really fucking weird!”
Another wave crashes along the rocks, getting Sanemi’s shoes wet. The creature is unphased by Sanemi’s outburst and continues to look out to sea.
“You’re right. It is a prank. Goodbye now.” The creature does not look at Sanemi. Its face remains as blank as it was at the beginning of the conversation, clearly not at all threatened by Sanemi's presence.
“For some reason I’m not convinced,” Sanemi scoffs again.
The creature remains unmoving and it doesn’t say a word.
Like it’s waiting for Sanemi to run…
Like it’s waiting for him to be scared.
Sanemi hesitates before slowly approaching the rock the creature is perched on. The creature side eyes Sanemi making him aware that it does not approve of the sudden closeness.
“Why aren’t you scared of me?” Sanemi questions. The creature lets out an audible laugh before slowly reverting its gaze to meet Sanemi’s.
“I don’t fear humans. I do prefer to avoid them though.”
“Humans?” Sanemi questions, slightly ticked off.
“Is that not what you are?” The creature cocks its head, black hair falling loosely over its toned shoulders, the light blue tips softening against pale skin.
“It is… but.. why do you say it like that?”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re not…” Sanemi pauses, “Like you’re… what the fuck are you?”
“I told you. Use your imagination.”
“Okay so what!? You’re a mermaid?” Sanemi sneers sarcastically. He doesn’t know why he’s still engaging in this conversation.
He’s obviously being trolled. Either that or he’s genuinely hallucinating.
“Believe what you wish.” The creature once again averts its gaze away from Sanemi.
“This guy-” Sanemi mutters under his breath. Whether or not this idiot is actually human, he’s sure got some attitude.
Sanemi just stands there. He genuinely does not know what to do. Realization is slowly starting to dawn on him that he likely is not talking to a human.
What should I do?
Should I just leave?
I clearly wasn’t supposed to be here..
Suddenly, the creature lifts its hand and slightly curls its fingers towards the sky. Sanemi, unsure of what it's doing, watches skeptically.
The ocean in front of them begins to gently stir as ripples in the water form into a small, defined ring.
A watermelon sized droplet of water emerges from the sea and floats like a bubble towards the creature, whose hand is still elevated, fingers curled upward. The bubble reaches the creature's fingers, and it slowly closes its eyes.
To Sanemi’s surprise, the creature's fingers start merging with the bubble followed by its arm, then eventually its torso. The bubble lowers to the base of the rock and spreads out like a pool of water, which the creature continues to merge into.
“What the-?!”
The creature's entire body turns to water and pools at the base of the rock before gently spilling down into the rocky terrain below where Sanemi is standing.
As if it was alive, the water navigates to a small patch a few feet from Sanemi, where it accumulates into a large puddle. The water slowly makes its way down from the rock until it’s all collected in the growling puddle near Sanemi’s feet.
The water suddenly stills.
Sanemi is positive he’s hallucinating now.
The large mass of water begins taking shape into a figure of some sort. It builds taller and taller until it's in the shape of a person.
It remains like that.
Flowing, seeping– Sanemi doesn’t know what to think.
And then,
The water drops abruptly leaving a soaking wet man where it once resided. It was the creature from before, but as a human. His hair is soaked and draped over his shoulder reaching just above his middle chest, the blue at the tips no longer visible as if they never existed to begin with.
His eyes now resemble a human's eyes with deep blue irises and circular pupils. The shimmering, blue scales on his cheekbones are gone and his hands were rid of the webbed membrane and claws. A dark blue hoodie and black sweatpants cling to his skin, dripping onto the sand below him.
The man stares at Sanemi before slowly turning away to face towards the main road. He extends his hand over his head and lets it hover for a minute before quickly swiping it down along the length of his body.
Simultaneously, his clothes and hair dry as steam is released off his body.
Sanemi doesn’t realize when his jaw started hanging open, but he quickly closes his mouth when he realizes how stupid he looks. The man turns to face Sanemi once again, hair and clothes now dry.
“What is your name?” The man asks, his fangs are no longer there.
“My… name” Sanemi stupidly repeats. He doesn’t know what he just witnessed, but he starts to question if someone laced his drink earlier.
My name… what is my name?
The thing that is really bugging him is how beautiful the stranger is. Dark black hair that perfectly frames his sharp facial features. Deep, sapphire eyes curtained by long, black eyelashes.
“My name…” Sanemi once again says. God he sounds like an idiot.
“Yes, don’t you have a name?” The stranger says, slightly tilting his head. Sanemi hesitates, whether it's out of fear or pure awe, he isn’t sure.
“Uh.. yeah. My name. Uh.. Sanemi,” Sanemi mumbles. He’s still kind of in shock.
“Sanemi?”
“Y-yeah,” Sanemi stutters out. He actually needs to slap himself for how ridiculous this is. A really pretty boy is talking to him after magically transforming from a mystical siren creature into a puddle of water and then into a human. And THEN proceeded to dry himself.
Sanemi realizes he’s been staring for too long not saying anything. The man is still holding his gaze, face calm as ever.
“Do.. do you have a name?” Sanemi finally speaks. The creature's eyes slightly widen before returning to their natural sharp state.
“I do have a name, yes,” The man responds. “I’m Giyuu.”
There’s a sort of robotic way to Giyuu’s dialect, almost like he isn’t used to speaking with humans and that all of his words feel oddly rehearsed.
“Shoot, well,” Sanemi begins, rubbing a hand behind his neck.
Giyuu is still aimlessly staring at him.
“What exactly was that just now? Like what was that ball of water?” The tension in the air is thick, but Sanemi decides to chalk it up to the salty, humid air caused by the ocean a few yards away from them.
“My clothes,” Giyuu replies
“Your.. what?” Sanemi isn’t sure he heard right. He analyzes Giyuu’s face for any sarcasm, but the mysterious man’s face is as dead-pan as before, like even the smallest emotion would give away his every thought.
“My clothes were in the ocean. I had to get them before I assumed this form, otherwise I would appear nude,” Giyuu says with a blank expression.
Sanemi feels the back of his neck heating up.
I did not need that visual.
“So your clothes were… that water. Gotcha,” Sanemi glances at Giyuu's outfit, noticing the now dry hoodie and sweat pants. He didn’t notice before, but Giyuu is also wearing sneakers, the laces undone and covered in sand.
“Yes. I turned my clothes into water so I could access them,” Giyuu replies bluntly.
Sanemi just blinks twice.
He’s so unbelievably lost within this conversation.
A strange fish man just appeared and is now a human and is having a conversation with him in which he has no context whatsoever. Sanemi knows that he just needs to go to bed and sleep off the alcohol.
“What were you doing out here late at night?” Giyuu breaks Sanemi’s train of thought.
“I could ask you the same,”
“I don’t sleep at night,” Giyuu vaguely responds, face calm as ever.
Okay.. odd.
Sanemi is looking for any trace of sarcasm in Giyuu’s voice, but there is quite frankly none. The man is being dead serious.
“I was walking home,” Sanemi answers his end of the question.
“It’s quite late,”
“Isn’t it?”
The moon was high in the sky and the calm, chill breeze along the shore alluded to the obvious lateness of the night.
“Which reminds me, I really ought to get home,” Sanemi awkwardly points his thumb in the complete opposite direction to which his apartment is located. Giyuu just responds by nodding his head and turning to avert his gaze to where Sanemi pointed.
“Hm. Well, safe travels,”
The breeze blew the hair out of his serious eyes revealing the subtle glimmer of curiosity behind them, and Sanemi can’t help but stare. He was struggling to come to terms with what he was experiencing. Should he be running away screaming? Should he be afraid of the strange man in front of him?
There was, quite literally, no way to tell.
“Well then.. Guess I’ll see ya around?” Sanemi turns quickly and starts walking in the direction he pointed.
Away from his apartment.
What just happened?
He doesn’t look back, he doesn’t want to see the stranger he was just talking to standing down by the rocks.
—
Sanemi reached his apartment around 2:55. He had to take the long way since his dumbass pointed in the opposite direction of where he actually needed to go.
He flops down onto his bed and pulls out his phone, and he hesitantly opens the search engine on his phone and punches in ‘mermaid sightings’ into the search bar.
He doesn’t know why he’s doing this. He obviously should just go to bed and deal with this in the morning. But Sanemi couldn’t get that face out of his mind. The dark blue eyes and soft, pale skin of the stranger he just met. The eerie fish-like features Giyuu sheathed from under his annoyingly attractive human form.
Multiple websites and videos pop up after Sanemi presses search. Mostly a bunch of BS, a lot of click bait videos trying to get your attention. Sanemi opened a random website and began scrolling, not very optimistic he’d find anything.
To his disappointment, the article was just a load of crap. This greatly puzzled Sanemi even more.
Why was he so calm when I spotted him?
If I saw him so easily, surely more people have too?
Why isn’t anyone saying anything?
Sanemi shuts off his phone and closes his eyes. He’s asleep within minutes.