Chapter Text
The creature– who told Komaeda they could call him ‘Izuru’– spoke very eloquently, to their surprise. His sharp, oversized teeth gave him a heavy lisp however, and she couldn’t help herself but find that more than a little endearing. He still seemed somewhat suspicious of Komaeda, but that didn’t surprise him, given that the other was so vulnerable at the moment and seemed unused to prolonged contact with others. Although even in this weakened state, from the looks of his powerful body and lethal claws and teeth, Komaeda suspected Izuru could still easily overpower them in a physical altercation. Not that they were thinking about that. Not at all.
Once he’d gotten over his initial shock that Izuru could speak, Komaeda went to work looking over the merman’s injuries to see if he could try and patch him up. He’d confirmed their suspicions– it had been a propeller strike, but thankfully with some help Izuru would likely recover just fine.
“You’re lucky I found you, you know. If you were all alone I doubt you could get the proper rest you needed to recover and take care of yourself. Are merpeople solitary? That doesn’t seem like it makes much sense… humans certainly aren't, and though I can't say I know much about you we do seem to be on the same level of cognizance.” She chatters as she inspects his wounds, gently poking around to get a better look.
“Mmh,” Izuru grunts in response, wincing as Komaeda touches something sore. “Careful. And I don’t need to tell you anything.”
“Ah– o-of course not! I was just curious… but I understand why you wouldn’t want to tell me.” Holding his hands up apologetically, Komaeda smiles. “I’m… sure there’s a reason us humans aren’t aware of your kind, haha…” Izuru paws at the sand, pointedly choosing to ignore her statement. Though Komaeda was desperately curious about the merman, he tried to be polite and keep himself in check. No doubt the poor thing was very overwhelmed. The bleeding had mostly stopped, but the sand and dried blood stuck to Izuru's skin made the gashes difficult to get a good look at. Cupping some seawater in their hands, Komaeda attempts to rinse away some of the gunk and lightly brush it off, making the merman hiss and flinch. “S-sorry! Sorry…”
Izuru scowls at him again, but begrudgingly allows him to continue. Unzipping her backpack and rooting through it for a moment, Komaeda pulls out a first-aid kit. They carried one with them frequently, as they were admittedly quite accident prone, but luckily this meant they were better equipped to help their new acquaintance. Figuring medical care for him would likely be similar to standard veterinary care for fish, she does a quick google search to ensure she wasn't about to accidentally make the merman sick or worse before popping open the kit and taking out a small spray bottle of hydrogen peroxide.
“This might sting a bit, but I promise it'll help.” He warns, giving the bottle a couple habitual shakes before spritzing the gashes. “It works as a disinfectant— it will kill bacteria and help you heal fas—”
WHAM!
Komaeda topples over into the sand, something heavy and slimy slamming into them. Dazed, he lays on the ground for a moment before sitting up to spit the sand out of his mouth. It takes a moment for her to figure out what had just happened, but they slowly realize as they look over to a mortified Izuru…
He'd tail-slapped them.
“...I apologize,” The merman mumbles. “That was simply a reflex. I didn't mean to harm you.” He's looking away in embarrassment, but Komaeda can feel a laugh bubbling up in their chest. Leaning back on her palms, she laughs, harder than she has in a long time, shaking her head to get the sand out of her hair. “...What? Don't laugh at me.”
“N-no, no! I'm not laughing at you, Izuru…” Komaeda reassures, still giggling a bit. “I just… I'm sure this situation is as surreal to you as it is to me, isn't it? I wasn't expecting to meet a merman and get smacked with his giant eel tail when I woke up this morning. Eheh, stay still now, would you please? I fear if you do that every time I spray your wounds I'll get a concussion…”
Grumbling in response, the merman settles back down on the sand, resting his chin on crossed arms. He mostly does as he's told, save for the occasional flinch or mumbled expletive. Once each gash had been properly disinfected, Komaeda sits back to observe his work with a hum. Ideally, Izuru would need stitches. They didn't have the materials for that in their first aid kit, and they'd never tried to do those by themselves. It would probably take a little over an hour to get to the closest pharmacy and back. Komaeda only hoped Izuru would be okay while she was gone. They also hoped he wouldn't wallop them with his tail again if they tried giving him stitches. The merman in question grumbles again and shifts around, wincing in discomfort from his wounds.
“Ah— are you alright?” Komaeda asks, reaching over to gently touch his shoulder. This makes him startle and flinch, and so he quickly draws his hand away with a quiet apology.
“...Hungry,” Izuru huffs reluctantly. “Didn't manage to catch anything to eat before I was hit. I can't hunt like this…” The end of his tail flips in annoyance, almost like a cat's. Chewing their lip, Komaeda tries not to think about what would have happened to the merman if they hadn’t found him. His injuries may not have been fatal, but starvation from waiting to recover enough to feed himself might nearly have been. Standoffish and cranky as Izuru might be, she was still happy to prevent such a grim fate for him.
Brightening, Komaeda recalls there’s a fish market in town nearby, as is standard for any coastal settlement. The pharmacy was in the same area as well. “Oh, I could get you something to eat! I'd have to go back into town, though. Would you be alright on your own for a little while? What sort of food do you like?”
“I'll be fine. Do you fuss this much over everyone you meet?” He scoffs, glaring down at the sand.
“Only when I find them bleeding out on the sand.” Komaeda responds casually, shrugging. Izuru goes silent. Touché.
“... I'm not particularly picky,” The merman mumbles eventually, still pointedly refusing to meet Komaeda's eyes. “Shellfish. Crab. Mackerel, salmon, squid…” He grimaces. “I don't like flounder.”
Komaeda smiles softly. “No flounder. Got it.” Standing and stretching, he digs out his wallet from his backpack, opting to trust Izuru with keeping track of the rest of his belongings. It wasn’t like there was really anywhere for them to go, and they would much prefer not to haul all of their beach gear back and forth more than necessary. They did still need to do their assignments somehow, new merman acquaintance notwithstanding. “I’ll be back as quickly as I can, alright? Try not to move around a lot, you’ll end up agitating those injuries again.”
With a heavy sigh, Izuru lays down on the sand to watch her go. “You don’t need to worry so much. I can take care of myself.” His tone seemed more melancholy than annoyed now. It pulled a little at Komaeda’s heartstrings, and as they turned back to look at him one more time they thought again how odd it seemed for him to be left fending for himself all alone. Part of him wondered if they might become friends as he helped Izuru heal, and then neither of them would have to feel so lonely anymore. They could only hope so.