Chapter Text
On a small island, just right off the mainland of Japan, the sun sleepily crawls over the landscape, glazing the rain-soaked earth in its warm golden glow. As the sun bathes everything in warm hues and tones, golden eyes survey the carnage last night’s storm had left behind. It wasn’t a bad storm, afterall, the winds had been kind, but the rain had fallen hard, leaving behind a spectacular mess of wet leaves and wood. To his great displeasure, Kuroo Tetsurou, 10 years old, was gifted with the chore of having to gather all the coconut husks and rotting driftwood left behind by the storm in his backyard. He was certain that the ocean would continue to wash up more dead foliage in the coming weeks, making his task even more difficult. He wished he didn’t have to do it, but his mother had insisted. So there he was, with a too tall broom and some gloves and trash bags, ready to brave the task at hand with as much enthusiasm as his heart could muster.
It’s only six in the morning and Kuroo has already filled two trash bags full of debris. He looks up to admire his handiwork, taking a moment to wipe the sweat off his brow with his arm. Unfortunately he’s not even close to finishing as he observes all the remaining piles of rubbish on the ground. So he equips himself with another garbage bag and walks over to a inconspicuous mound. As he stoops down to grab a jutting tree branch, he realizes the mound is moving. It's subtle movement, but it's movement nonetheless and his heart beat picks up as he slowly uses his broom to poke at whatever's underneath.
Gathering courage, he leans down to remove the bigger pieces of debris from the pile, hoping that what's underneath doesn't jump out and kill him. It doesn't take long for him to deconstruct the mound as it's mainly composed of coconut husks and branches. As he's removing another piece of debris, he abruptly stops; a gasp escaping his lips. There, in the center of what remains of the mound, is a mass of black hair and pale skin.
He throws the branch in his hands to the side and quickly falls to his knees, reaching out to the person he's just uncovered. “Hey! Are you alright?” He asks, worry edging his voice. “I thought you were some kind of dog or cat!”
He's met with no response, causing him to worry even more. He tries to turn the person over by the shoulder and finds that they're stuck in a homemade fishnet of his own design. “Shit!" his eyes widen as he promptly puts his hand over his mouth, he didn't mean to say that. "Don't tell my moms I cursed okay?" he pleads as he goes to untangle the person from his net. "Let me get my net off of you.”
All the person did was lie there, eyes closed, chest rising and falling in violent bursts. It was almost like they weren't getting enough air, like they couldn't breathe. Starting to panic, Kuroo starts pulling at the net, trying desperately to remove it. Finally, after seconds of frustration, he manages to remove most of the net and debris from the stranger’s body revealing a milky white fish tail.
Kuroo wasn’t sure if he was hallucinating, it looked too real to be a figment of his imagination. “A mermaid?” he gasps, “I caught a mermaid?!” he all but screams as the idea finally clicks in his head. The stranger flinches in his arms, the only other indication of life besides their ragged breathing. Kuroo shushes himself, suddenly realizing why the stranger’s breathing was so harsh. “Hold on, I’ll get you to water, don’t die okay?”
He turns the mermaid over and brushes their hair away from their face. “ A boy,” Kuroo realizes as he catches a glimpse of the mermaid’s face. He shakes off the surprise and instead slips his hand underneath the boy's tail and another behind his back and heaves upward. The mermaid was small, possibly younger than Kuroo, making him easy to carry across Kuroo's yard and into his house. He nudges the front door open and haphazardly takes off his shoes in the hallway before making a beeline for the bathroom. He pushes the bathroom door open and heads straight to the bathtub where he deposits the mermaid as gently as he can. He removes the net completely from the mermaid, and drops it on the floor.
“I hope this will help you breathe better,” he says to the mermaid as he turns the tap on to fill the tub with cold water. As the water rises, kuroo notices how splotches of black and orange become more apparent on the mermaid's pale tail. He lets out a relieved sigh as he realizes the mermaid is regaining his colors. It's as if the mermaid's blood is circulating in his veins again.
Before the water can overflow out of the bathtub, Kuroo shuts down the tap. He quickly gets onto his knees, hands gripping the edge of the tub so tight that his knuckles have turned white. He's anxious and excited, not exactly sure what to feel in this situation. He's never seen a real mermaid before, he didn't even know they were real! Now however, he just wants to make sure the mermaid lives, so he waits in anticipation until finally the mermaid twitches in the water. It starts slow, first a twitch of the tail and a twitch of a finger. The mermaid's face contorts into one of discomfort and Kuroo can feel himself panicking again, but he waits as patiently as he can. Finally to Kuroo's delight, the mermaid's eyes flutter open.
"Hey!" Kuroo all but shouts and that's enough for the mermaid’s eyes to snap open. He turns to face Kuroo, golden eyes meeting golden eyes and Kuroo could've sworn time stopped if it wasn't for the loud splash the mermaid created. Before he knew it, water hits Kuroo in the face, tossing him backwards, and splashes all over his bathroom floor as the mermaid tries to wriggle away. He soon realizes, however, that there is no way out and instead huddles into himself at the farthest corner of the tub, his eyes blown wide, watching Kuroo’s every move.
“Whoa! Hey! That was a big splash!” Kuroo rubs water out of his eyes and tries to wipe more off with his shirt before turning to face the mermaid in the bathtub again. His small body is shaking and it looks like he can’t decide between letting his hair fall onto his face or keep his eyes on Tetsurou. He wraps his arms around his tail, making himself look as small as possible.
“I didn’t mean to scare you.” Kuroo says gently. He holds out his palms, “I won’t hurt you.” He says as gets up and takes a step forward. The mermaid flinches and wraps himself tighter, the grip he has on his arms looks like he could pierce his skin if his nails weren’t short and blunt. “It’s okay, I won’t hurt you. I saw you were hurt and I wanted to help. See?” He picks up his net from the wooden bathroom floor to demonstrate. “You were caught in this a while ago but I got you out, don’t worry.” He sees the mermaids eyes flit from his face to the net then back again. Once he sees his muscles relax ever so slightly, he slowly lowers the net back on the floor then braves a few more steps.
With every step, Kuroo gains more confidence in not scaring the boy and stops just a mere step away from the tub, the mermaid never leaving his gaze.
“My name is Kuroo Tetsurou.” He says, bringing his palm pointedly to his heart, “what’s yours? Do you have a name?”
He doesn’t get a reply, as the mermaid continues to stare. “Do you understand Japanese?” he still gets no answer, not even a nod or a shake of the head. At a loss of what to do, he rubs the back of his neck out of habit and tries to think of a way to coax the mermaid into communicating with him. His eyes light up when he gets his idea.
“Oh! Do you like games?” he pretends to cup a handheld in the air and twiddles his thumbs, hoping he would find it familiar. To his delight, he sees the mermaid relax more and when the boy blinks he takes it as sign to keep going, “I can bring you some! Stay here,” he moves to leave the bathroom but he stops by the door, “Not like you can get out, but yeah, stay.”
He runs to his room, slamming his door open in his hurry. He grabs every action figure within his reach and the console he had sitting on top of his desk. Ultimately, he brings back what his short arms could carry to the bathroom. He’s probably dropped a few small toys along the way based on the noises he heard but he couldn’t care less at the very moment. He lays his toys on the floor beside the bathtub and brings up the most familiar one.
“This is Ultraman!” he says, holding the toy in one hand and moving its limbs with his other. “He fights giant monsters who threaten to destroy the world! He’s really cool.” He sets it down on the edge of the tub for the mermaid to look at while he picks up another one. “This is Pikachu, he’s a Pokémon. He’s really cool, he’s helping Ash become a Pokémon master.” He sets him down beside the previous one on the tub and picks up another toy. “This is a slinky.” He flips the rainbow-colored plastic spring between his hands, stretching and reforming it back together. “That’s all it really does.” He picks up a Rubik’s cube and shows it to the mermaid. “This is a Rubik’s cube,” he rotates and flips the cubes. “I don’t know how to solve it yet but I’m sure I’ll learn some day.”
He goes on about his other toys, sometimes going back to Ultraman and mentions other shows he’s watched and he doesn’t notice that the mermaid has unfurled from the ball he had made himself into and has started inspecting the toys he left on the tub. He picks up the slinky and flips it like Kuroo did before and watches the colours move around before he accidentally drops it into the water. It makes a plop before it sinks to the bottom. He then picks up the Rubik’s cube and flips it around.
Kuroo has been flipping the kendama over and over before the ball finally lands into the spike and turns to the mermaid excited “I did it, hey! Whoa.” In the mermaid’s hands sits his Rubik’s cube with all the colours put together correctly. “How’d you do that?” He bends down to pluck the cube off his hands and inspects all of its faces. “That’s so cool! Have you tried a PSP before? I mean, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t have any in the ocean but I have mine right here.” He puts the cube aside and picks up his game console.
“My moms got me a new game for my good grades.” He says as he presses down the power button. The noises it makes instantly piques the mermaid’s interest. Kuroo moves down so the mermaid can get a view of the screen. A panel of white comes on revealing a red and yellow logo with the words “Bandai Namco” fades in before it fades right back to black and a beat starts playing out of it. The mermaid has lifted himself up with his elbows on the tub and cranes his neck to get an even better view of the screen. The music and the visuals get more intense before an old man rises up from the ground, pans up to the sky and the words “Tekken, Dark Resurrection” flashes across the screen.
Kuroo’s grin spreads from ear to ear when he sees that the mermaid almost has his whole torso out of the water.
“Game?” he asks in a voice so soft that if they weren’t in the echoes of a bathroom, Kuroo would have never heard it.
“Oh, we haven’t started playing yet! Wait ‘til I show you.” When he pushes start, the game says “Welcome to the Iron fist tournament” and brings him to a screen full of cubes with different portraits of characters he could use. Every time he moves the select box, a bigger image of each character shows up behind the cubes. When he eventually picks one, the cubes disappear and the console generates his opponent revealing a flaming “VS” between them.
The characters introduce their spiel and an invisible referee says “Round 1, Fight!!” Kuroo starts pushing multiple buttons. The mermaid watches how Kuroo controls his character, dodging everything the opponent throws at him. He backs up, dodges, crouches and defends, blocking each punch and kick, and he almost looks like he’s dancing circles around him. Kuroo waits for that one second when the opponent pauses between each attack to strike back. And soon enough, the enemy is paralyzed by the amount of recoils caused by Kuroo’s relentless attacks until finally it drops to the ground one last time, earning him the “You win” screen. His character is doing a funny victory dance in the background. When he looks over and sees the mermaid’s eyes blown wide with amazement, he feels an even bigger sense of victory.
When the mermaid tries to grab at the console, Kuroo retracts it away from him. “Nuh-uh, I’ll let you have it… if you give me your name.”
The mermaid sinks back into the tub and pouts at him, his eyes never leaving the console in Kuroo’s hand.
“Do you have a name?” Kuroo asks, and the mermaid finally gives him a nod. “What is it?”
The mermaid looks down at his hands on the tub and mutters inaudibly.
“What?” Kuroo says, straining his ears and bending down to get the mermaid to look at him.
“… Kozume… Kenma.” he says before finally meeting Kuroo’s gaze.
“Kozume Kenma, huh? Pretty name.” this earns him a blush from the mermaid, who tucks his chin and lets his hair fall to his face. “Can I call you Kenma?”
Kenma nods, his movement shakes drops of water off his hair. For being submerged in water a while ago, his hair looks fairly dry.
“Okay, Kenma. You want to play, right?” Kenma peeks out from the curtain he’s made of his hair and nods. “Here you go.”
Kenma hesitates when Kuroo hands him the PSP before he clasps it between his hands. He strokes the surface carefully with his hands then looks at Kuroo expectantly. The human boy realizes what Kenma is trying to tell him.
“Here, you just press start, pick a character with the arrow keys and press the circle then you wait for the fight to start.” Kuroo says and Kenma does just that.
He loses. Kenma’s face scrunches up.
“It’s okay, you can try again. It’s best to attack before being attacked. They say offense is the best defense!” And Kenma does. He stutters at the beginning but slowly as his concentration sharpens, his movements become less erratic, his button-pressing are more sure and controlled. Kenma loses in the first round but claims victory in the second and third. Kuroo feels pride spread through his chest. “See? Isn’t it more fun to have an enemy you can’t seem to beat?”
He can tell he’s lost Kenma to the game when doesn’t acknowledge him and plays a new match instead, picking a different character this time.
“Don’t drop it in the water, ok? If you do it’ll stop working and you won’t be able to play anymore.” Kenma looks up at this with a concerned look on his face.
“Okay.” He says before getting back to it right away.
“Okay.” Kuroo beams. “How did you get stuck on shore anyway?”
“Storm.” Kenma says, his eyes not leaving the game this time. “Waves were strong, I’m not, so I got washed away.” Based on how fast he’s pressing the buttons, Kuroo can tell he’s about to win.
“Hmm… do you live near here at least?”
“Mm.” he confirms.
“Do you have family?”
“Mmm… I have my mother, we stay with our group. My group is also like my family, I guess.”
“Well, wouldn’t they be looking for you?” to this, Kenma shrugs. “Okay because, I still want to spend time with you. I’ve never been friends with a mermaid before.” Kenma says nothing to this. He gathers the neglected toys around him, considering Kenma has chosen a favourite.
“I’m going to return these to my room and prepare some lunch for us. Are you hungry?”
Kenma only tears his eyes away for a second to nod at Kuroo before returning to the screen.
“What do mermaids eat?” he asks.
“Fish. Seaweed.” Kenma replies.
“Oho ho ho, you’re in luck because my mom says I make the best grilled mackerel on the island. I can make some rice balls too, they go best with it.” He stands up to leave, “You can stay here for as long as you want, okay? I will be back.” Kenma nods but Kuroo doesn’t see it, he’s left the room.
He comes back a few hours later with a tray of food.
They eat noisily in Kuroo’s bathroom, devouring each tuna-filled rice ball and grilled mackerel Kuroo made. Kuroo continues to teach him more tips and finishing moves in the game, and he watches Kenma learn them quickly. By the time the sun has set, they’ve tried most of the characters on the roster. Outside, the sun starts to dip behind the horizon, painting the scene with warm yellows and oranges. Their gaming is interrupted when they both here an “I’m home” ring across the hall outside.
“Welcome home!” Kuroo yells back. “It’s my mom. I’ll go see her for a bit, okay?”
Kuroo runs outside to greet his mother at the doorway, she’s removing her shoes by the time he gets there.
“Hello sweetie, did you have a good day?” she says as she arranges her shoes to the side.
“Heck yes, I did!” he says raising his fists in the air
“Hey, no foul language until you’re 16.” She says waving a finger pointedly at him.
“Oh, sorry. Yes, I had a good day.” He corrects himself, standing straighter. “How was work mama? Would you like some tea?” he steps aside to let his mom into the house.
“Yes, I would love that, sweetie. It was exhausting but I think I’m finally getting my client to sign a contract with us.” She says, walking past their living area and straight to their dining table. It’s small but just enough for four people. She sets her purse down on the empty chair beside her and runs her fingers through her dishevelled hair with one hand and hangs her free arm over the backrest.
Kuroo grabs a kettle from their cupboards, fills it with water and sets it on the stove to heat up. “Has Mr. Nakamura been stubborn again?”
“Oh, he was. But once we gave him a taste of our Bluefin, you could practically see his face age down by five years.” She laughs.
“I don’t think that’s scientifically possible.” Kuroo notes.
To this, his mother laughs harder. “You’re right, sweetheart.” She pulls off her hair tie with her fingers and runs through her hair to readjust her ponytail into a bun. “What did you do today, Tetsurou?”
“I played with my friend!” he says, reaching up a high cupboard to grab her mother’s teacup.
“Oh? Did Koutarou and Keiji come over?” she watches Kuroo prepare the filter for a separate kettle, and takes out the tea leaves from a shelf.
“No, I made a new friend. His name is Kenma.” He turns to his mother, “he’s a mermaid!”
“Eh? A mermaid?” she cups her face with one hand and watches Kuroo endearingly. ‘ What a wild imagination. ’ She thinks. Before the kettle could start whistling, Kuroo turns the flame off.
“Yes, the storm from last night washed him up in the backyard. He was caught in my net too so I rescued him and we played Tekken in the bathroom.” with a potholder he pours a bit of water into a kettle he prepared, swirls it around to heat the ceramic up and pours it out the sink. He then sets the filter on the rim, dumps in three teaspoons of tea leaves and pours more of the water in the kettle.
“Hmm… That’s nice sweetie.” She yawns, stretches her arms over her head and stands up. “I’m going to go change, tell me more about Kenma in a while, okay?”
“Okay.” Kuroo says as his mom leaves. Kuroo takes this time to run back to the bathroom, Kenma flinches when the door slams open but relaxes once again when he sees who it is.
“Hey Kenma, my mom is here and I think she wants to meet you!” Kuroo beams but the mermaid shakes his head. “What? You don’t want to meet my mom?”
“I want to go home.” He says, carefully reaching over the tub to set the console on the floor.
“Hmm… I really wanted to show you to my mom though.” Kuroo pouts.
“It’s late. My mom might be looking for me.” Kuroo realizes that he was right. There’s barely any traces of the sun in the sky outside anymore.
“Okay, I understand.” Although disappointed, he brings his arms out in front of Kenma. “Here, I’ll carry you outside.”
Kenma seems to hesitate.
“It’s okay, I won’t drop you. Just put your arms around me.” Kuroo guides Kenma’s arms on his shoulders while he tucks his arm under his tail and another beneath his shoulder blades. “Hup.” He says, raising Kenma out of the water.
Just like before, he nudges doors open with his foot, water dripping on the floor. He trudges carefully out the back door, blindly slipping on flip-flops. He crosses the sand, climbs down the rock formation that separate his yard from the sea and walks until the water reaches his calves.
“Here we are!” he declares as he sets Kenma down.
The mermaid feels around the gravel beneath him, the sea water giving him a sense of calm. He looks up at Kuroo one last time and says, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome! Can I see you again tomorrow?” he asks, suddenly worried that he wouldn’t be seeing his friend again.
“Maybe.” Kenma contemplates.
“I’ll show you more video games! I really like spending time with you.” this earns him a blush from Kenma. “Really, you play so much better than Bokuto and Akaashi. I’m not surprised, they’re also just really bad at it.” He laughs.
“Okay.” Kenma says with his head down, his hair covering his face.
“Really?!” Kuroo exclaims, “That’s great! I’ll see you tomorrow then?”
Kenma nods.
“Okay.” Kuroo’s grin spreads from ear to ear. “See you tomorrow!”
Kuroo walks back towards his house, and when he turns around, he sees the blackness of the night sky, only lit up by the moon and the stars, Kenma’s figure crawls farther into the sea before finally diving and disappearing in the water.
“Tomorrow.” He tells himself.
He still has a smile on his face when he heads back inside.
“Hey, why are you drenched?” his mom kneels in front of him, gawking at his wet clothes.
“Oh, Kenma wanted to go home. I wanted you to meet him but I guess he needed to leave. I’m sorry.” He apologizes.
His mom brushes his bangs off his face but the action is futile when his bangs slide right back over his right eye, so she cups his face between her hands. “It’s alright, sweetie. I can meet your friend another time.”
She smiles at him and plants a kiss on his forehead, earning her a giggle from the boy.
“You should take a bath. Don’t get sick from playing by yourself in the ocean, okay?” he brushes her thumbs across his cheeks.
“I wasn’t alone, I was with Kenma.” He says with a determined look on his face.
“Okay, sweetie. Just, don’t stay out too long.”
“Okay, mama.” At this she releases him and watches him run to his room.
She sighs, heads back to the kitchen and pours herself a cup of tea.
“Mermaids, huh? He’s truly Ayame’s son” she says shrugging it off and taking a sip of her tea. She’s too tired to mull it over.
The next day, Kuroo Tetsurou rose before the sun and after seeing his mom leave for work, he runs outside to check if his mermaid friend had returned. In his heart he holds the promise of Kenma’s return so he sits on the sand and waits. An hour later, he sees a splash and a sparkle from the corner of his vision then he spots Kenma swimming towards the shallows with only his head peeking out of the water.
He bolts up from where he sits and sends sand and water flying as he runs to his friend.
“Kenma!” he yells, and comes to a stop when he meets him. “I’m glad you came back.” He beams.
His smile is blinding , Kenma thinks and tries his best to smile back. “I’m back.”
“I have something to show you today, let’s go.” He smiles, bending down with arms stretched out.
Kenma easily circles his arms around Kuroo’s shoulders this time as the boy carries him out of the water and brings him inside his house. Instead of the bathroom, however, Kuroo makes a beeline for the living room where he has his television on, flashing a “Need for Speed II” logo. On the floor he has a small aluminium tub filled with water, and lined with a towel on the bottom. Kuroo carefully sets Kenma down, the water rising just below the rim.
“Did you know Archimedes figured out how to measure the volume of objects by submerging them in water and measure the amount of liquid it displaced?” he beams at Kenma who looks confused.
“Who?” he says, finding himself comfortable in the small tub.
“Archimedes! He was a Greek mathematician and engineer. We learned about him in school last month.” Kenma blinks at him, looking even more confused.
“Oops, do mermaids have math?” he asks, tilting his head to the side.
“What is math?” Kenma asks.
Kuroo squawks and raises his hand to his chest in offense. “That is the saddest thing I have ever heard.” This only confuses Kenma more.
“Game.” He says with a pout.
“Oh, sorry. Here, let me show you this one.” He crosses Kenma’s tub, pulls a pillow down to sit on the floor beside him and grabs a controller. “This is a different game, in this one you play by picking a car and you win by being the first car to finish all the laps required for a specific course.”
Kenma scrunches up his face at Kuroo, “Demonstrate.” He says.
Kuroo runs his hand through his hair once and sighs, “Sure.” He picks ‘single race’, rotates the roster of cars until he chooses a red Ferrari. The game makes him pick a scenery and he chooses an arctic course. The room fills with cars starting and the humming of engines. The cars are lined up side by side behind a checkered line, and the screen flashes “3, 2, 1, GO respectively.” Kuroo slams his thumb on one of the buttons, Kenma could have whiplash from how fast he checked what button Kuroo was pressing then back at the screen.
Kuroo sticks his tongue out and mimics his car turning right from left with his shoulders and elbows raised in the air. He’s in 5 th place but slowly he overtakes a car or two, beating them to sharp turns. He’s using the slippery ice to his advantage and accelerates at the right moment, one car even falls off a cliff and another wildly spins to the side. Kuroo has stopped swinging his arms but is on his knees when he’s on the last lap and one car left to overtake. Kenma has done something similar, his eyes are glued to the screen and he’s grasping the edges of the tub, a bit of water spilling onto the towels on the floor. With the finish line in sight, Kuroo presses on his button harder and finally his number 2 on the upper left changes to 1 and he wins the race. He pumps his fist in the air with his controller on one hand and yells in excitement.
“Your turn.” He grins, passing Kenma the controller.
Kenma loses gracelessly on the first try, his opponents have long crossed the finish line by the time he catches up. He’s bumped into the landscape multiple times, swerved off a cliff, accidentally drove the opposite way and glitched into the background. He flicks his tail in frustration.
“It’s alright, you can try again.” Kuroo says, smiling at him patiently. Kenma huffs and plays another round. It takes him 3 more plays to not finish last, and by the time he gets the hang of it, Kuroo has already prepared lunch for both of them.
Over the course of their games, Kuroo gives him tips and tricks and even shows him how to laugh at the glitches in the game. When Kuroo thinks he has the hang of it, he chooses multiplayer to play beside him. The screen splits with Kenma’s point of view on the left and Kuroo’s on the right. Kuroo obliterates him, however. He flashes the mermaid a mischievous grin every time he passes his car. The latter tries to cheat by splashing water at him the next time he’s about to pass Kenma.
“Hey! That’s cheating!” He laughs, but he wins anyway.
And when the sky has turned orange, Kenma asks Kuroo to take him back to the ocean, promising once again to return the next day.
Kuroo is at the gate, waving his mother goodbye when he sees two familiar figures running at him at full speed. Said two happen to be his favourite friends on the whole island, Bokuto Koutarou and Akaashi Keiji. He sees them stop and bow to his mom before they run back to him.
“Kuroo, good morning! Let’s play volleyball today!” Bokuto yells with Akaashi right behind him, looking more dishevelled than the former.
Kuroo visibly lights up when he hears the word volleyball, their favourite sport to play together. “Good morning, Bokuto, Akaashi. We should totally play volleyball! Ah…” Kuroo crosses his arms over his chest and contemplates.
“What’s up?” Bokuto asks, concerned.
"I wanted to play with Kenma today," Kuroo says, rubbing his chin in deep thought, "I don't think mermaids can play volleyball. He wouldn't be able to move plus if he sets the ball, it'll be really low."
"Kuroo-san, what are you mumbling about?" Akaashi says, interrupting his train of thought.
"Kenma."
"Who's Kenma?" Bokuto and Akaashi say in unison.
"My new friend!" Kuroo says perking up "I should introduce you guys, he's really good at video games. So much better than you, Bokuto." he grins.
Bokuto squawks in offense and Akaashi laughs. "Hey, hey, hey! Who is this Kenma? I need to speak to him." Bokuto says.
“Great idea! I should introduce you guys, come to the back, I think we’ll see him soon.” Kuroo says, turning to his house.
“Why are we going to your backyard if we’re waiting for your friend?” Akaashi asks.
“You’ll see.” is all Kuroo says as he leads his friends inside, past the living room then to the shoreline behind his house.
Bokuto and Akaashi follows his footsteps down the craggy rock formation and dips into the sea. The tide is high in the day but the water is only up to their ankles when they’re this close to land. Bokuto and Akaashi exchange confused looks, the former shrugging at the latter before both turns back to watch their friend scanning the water.
“What are we waiting for, Kuroo?” Bokuto asks.
“We’re waiting for Kenma! He’s a mermaid, you see.” Kuroo says.
“A mermaid?!” Bokuto and Akaashi exclaim in unison.
“Are you messing with us, Kuroo?” Akaashi asks.
“No! Why would I?” Kuroo turns around to face them.
“Well, you made Bokuto-san believe that a yokai ate his ice cream once, even though it was obviously you who took it.” Akaashi says and Bokuto squawks loudly.
Kuroo just flashes him a smile and says, “Sorry, bro.”
“I thought we were friends.” Bokuto pouts, crossing his arms in front of his chest and gives Kuroo his best disappointed look.
“We are. You’re my best friend, bro.”
“Hmmm… we’ll see.” Bokuto says.
“Oh, come on.” Kuroo says.
“So, where’s your friend?” Akaashi asks before the others could derail the conversation further.
“Yeah, where’s your friend?” Bokuto repeats.
“I don’t know, he’s usually here by now.” Kuroo says, turning and looking around. He rubs the back of his neck when he sees no sign of the mermaid. The waves lick at their feet and splashes droplets on their clothes.
“Are you sure you saw a mermaid, Kuroo-san?” Akaashi asks, his voice growing impatient.
“Yes, I’m sure!” Kuroo says, no longer able to hold back the betrayal in his voice. “He had a fish tail instead of human legs! We played games and he said mermaids didn’t have math!”
“Tragic.” Akaashi deadpans.
“Math sucks.” Bokuto says.
Kuroo squawks, clutching at his heart. “I thought we were friends. You only say that because you don’t study. Have you even done your summer homework?”
Bokuto pales. Kuroo and Akaashi turn to him.
“I did. Did you, Bokuto-san?” Akaashi says.
“I…” Bokuto scratches at the back of his head. “I forgot.”
“Bokuto-san…” Akaashi starts.
“What?! You know my focus isn’t good. ‘Kaashi, help me!” Bokuto pleads, clutching onto Akaashi’s nearest arm and shaking him.
Akaashi sighs in defeat, “Okay, Bokuto-san.”
“You’re the best, ‘Kaashi.” Akaashi blushes and when he turns to Kuroo, he’s given this shit-eating grin that the boy has mastered and the unspoken teasing makes him blush even more. He glances at Bokuto and to his luck, he looks oblivious.
Kuroo scans the sea again but Kenma is nowhere in sight. He deflates, feeling disappointing. Not only did he look like a liar in front of his two best friends, he believed that Kenma would keep his promise and visit again. He could feel the waves at their feet drenching the edges of their shorts.
“Maybe he had something to do today.” Kuroo says.
“Maybe you just imagined him, bro. You eat too much fish.” Bokuto says.
“For someone who lacks docosahexaenoic acid, you need to eat more fish.” Kuroo says.
“What does that even mean?” Bokuto says.
“Do you want to play volleyball, or not? Azumane-san and Sawamura-san are already waiting for us.” Akaashi says.
“I’ll play. Sheesh, lighten up.” Kuroo replies.
“Pain-in-the-ass-Kuroo.” Akaashi mutters loud enough for both of them to hear. Bokuto laughs at him and Kuroo feels betrayed but he follows them up the rocks anyway.
He gives the ocean one last look before leaving the house with Bokuto and Akaashi to play at the island’s only volleyball court.
The sun hangs low in the sky when Kuroo comes back home with a ball tucked under his arm. He runs his free hand through his hair and despite all the sweating he did, his hair has refused to go down. He toes his shoes off at the door and washes his ball in the sink. When he turns the tap off, he hears a distant peculiar splashing.
He walks out the back door and sees Kenma splashing in the water, eyes brightening when he sees Kuroo.
“Kenma?” he slides into his flip-flops, runs toward the shoreline and hops down the rocks. “How come I didn’t see you today?” Kenma’s eyebrows furrow and looks down at the water, not meeting Kuroo’s gaze. “Did I do something wrong?”
“No!” Kenma says, shaking his head. A few droplets falling out of his hair strands. Once again, his hair is supposed to be drenched but looks surprisingly dry. “I…”
“Did Akaashi and Bokuto being there scare you off?” Kenma’s figure jolts up and nods, remorseful.
“Yes.” He whispers, barely loud enough for Kuroo to hear.
“Oh…” Kuroo says, kneeling down to meet his eyes. “I’m sorry. I should have warned you ahead but I didn’t expect them to come.”
Kenma looks at him this time, eyes searching his face.
“I wish you met them though. You would have beat Bokuto’s ass at games.” Kuroo grins. “I’m sorry I couldn’t hang out with you today, will you come back tomorrow?”
Kenma hesitates but nods. In his movement, Kuroo reaches out for the blackness of Kenma’s hair and feels it in his hands. The gesture surprises the mermaid and makes him flinch.
“Whoa, your hair! It feels dry, do mermaids have magic hair?” Kuroo asks in awe, brushing his hand along Kenma’s scalp.
“No?” Kenma says, “Not all of us have magic. We were just born with this kind of hair, does human hair not do the same?”
“No? Well… my friends say my hair defies gravity but, I can’t help it.” Kuroo says, conscious of his own locks. “Your hair feels smooth like water lilies.”
Kenma finds himself closing his eyes and leaning into the boy’s touch, relaxed by the softness in his strokes. When he opens his eyes again, Kuroo’s face might have turned redder than the sunset’s heat provides. The latter covers it up by withdrawing his hand and rubs the back of his neck, the mermaid learning instantly that this is what he does when he is anxious.
“Will you come back, tomorrow?” Kuroo asks bashfully. Warmth floods Kenma’s chest.
“I will.” He says.
And with that, Kuroo watches Kenma’s figure disappear into the ocean again, his mom’s greeting rings right on cue.
“Today, we’re going to play Pokemon.”
“Pikachu?” Kenma asks softly.
“Pikachu.” Kuroo confirms.
They’re in the bathroom again, Kenma peeking his head out curiously from the bathtub as Kuroo approaches him with a gameboy in his hands. “I reset the game so we can start over from the beginning,” he says as he sits down next to bathtub where Kenma could see. “This is a gameboy,” he shows Kenma the console, “It’s different from a PSP, but you play it the same. It’s older though.” and it shows. The side has a bunch of tiny scratches and dents, the power and volume buttons look a little worn out.
Kuroo turns on the game where the name of the console lights up the screen. Kuroo glances at Kenma as the tinny music continues to play and he notices how utterly entranced Kenma is. He can't help but smile at that. He turns back to the game where two pokemon are shown fighting on the screen before the logo screen appears where in grey letters it reads "Pokemon: red version." He presses start and then "new game" and Professor Oak appears on the screen and tells Kenma as such.
Kuroo reads the words on the screen to Kenma. He's unsure if the mermaid can read, but he's not about to ask just yet. "Okay, we should pick a name for our character, how about Red?" Kenma just nods and Kuroo goes back to the screen where they now have to pick their rival's name. "Let's call him Green" Kuroo says already selecting that option.
They continue playing, Kuroo moving the character around in the game and narrating to Kenma what is happening. Finally they get to the part where they have to choose a starter pokemon. "I say we choose charmander, he's really cool!"
"No," Kenma says, "the turtle instead."
"You mean squirtle?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, we'll choose squirtle!" Kuroo happily agrees. They finally get to battle Green and Kuroo shows Kenma what to do in battles. After they defeat Green, they continue going through the motions of the game, until Kuroo turns toward Kenma and asks, "Ready to give it a try?" Kenma only nods and extends his hands. Kuroo places his gameboy in the outstretched hands and sits back down where he's able to see what Kenma's doing. They sit in silence, Kuroo watching Kenma fail at catching and defeating pokemon until he gets it.
"You did it!" Kuroo says as Kenma finally catches a pidgey.
Kenma gives Kuroo a tiny smile, "I did it."
So they continue to play, Kuroo getting curious about Kenma and asking questions.
"So what's it like being a mermaid?"
"I don't know, what's it like being human?"
"Oh, right, sorry." That question didn't go so well, Kuroo thinks, so he tries again with a different question. "Okay, what's it like living in the ocean all the time?"
Kenma scrunches his face while still dutifully concentrated on the game,"Smelly."
"Oh, that's weird, but fish do smell I guess so it makes sense."
"Mm" Kenma agrees.
"Hey, Kenma."
"Yeah?" Kenma replies.
"Do you have any mermaid friends?"
Kenma looks up from his game briefly to look at Kuroo, "Shouyou is my friend."
"Who's shouyou?"
"My friend in the ocean." Kenma responds
"What's he like?" Kuroo asks, excited to know that Kenma has mermaid friends.
"Loud" Kenma finally says, "But he's fun."
"I'm glad." There's a long pause before Kuroo speaks up again, "Am I fun?"
Kenma nods his head, "I like playing games with you," he finally says, still completely immersed in the game.
Kuroo can't help but blush at the comment, "I like playing games with you too." They remain silent for a while, him watching Kenma’s face intently, checking for even the subtlest hint of a change in emotion. He sprinkles in a few comments about the game and he realizes he enjoys watching Kenma as much, if not more, than playing games alone. Before long the gameboy needs to be recharged, so Kuroo takes it back to his room and comes back with his PSP in hand.
"We can play this, while we wait for the gameboy to charge," Kuroo offers the console to Kenma, who immediately turns it on and starts playing. "You really like games, don't you?" Kuroo teases.
"Yeah." Kenma responds, with nothing else.
"And you're really good at them too!"
Kenma turns his head so that his hair can cover his face, "I'm not," he says quietly.
"You totally are! You caught on real quick." Kuroo counters.
"Am not." Kenma huffs.
"Are too."
"Am not."
Kuroo leans on the bathtub, and takes Kenma's chin in his hand, effectively turning his head toward Kuroo, their eyes meeting "Are too," he says with a grin.
"Okay," Kenma says softly, unsure of what else to say. Kuroo releases him and they continue playing the game, sometimes taking turns, other times Kuroo just watching Kenma. Then Kuroo makes them food and brings back the gameboy.
They remain in the bathroom for the rest of the day before Kenma has to go home. Kuroo carries him back into the shore and they wave their goodbyes, Kenma promising he'd be back another day to play.
They continue this routine. Kenma coming to visit in the early morning and them playing video games until sunset. They talked about everything they could, Kuroo learning more about the mermaid world and in exchange, Kuroo would tell Kenma about the surface world. He told him about his mothers and his friends and everyone else he could think of. Kenma told him more about Shouyou and his own mother and how they lived nearby as a small group. Kuroo appreciated every detail Kenma gave him, listening intently to what the mermaid had to say. At the end of each day, Kuroo would feel warmth in his chest as he remembered everything he and Kenma had done and talked about.
One day, Kuroo was particularly excited. "My mommy's coming back home tonight!"
That night, when Kuroo Fumino comes through the door with Kuroo Ayame, their son comes bounding across the living room before his feet push him off the final step and launches him into Ayame’s arms.
“Mommy!” he yells into his mother’s neck.
“Tetsu, honey, be careful.” She wraps her arms around Tetsurou to keep him from falling.
Tetsurou giggles, “Welcome home, mommy.”
“What? No hugs for me?” Fumino chimes in.
“But I hug you every day.”
“It’s okay, you go hug your mom.” Ayame carefully hands him over to Fumino.
“Welcome home to you too, mama.” he gives her a peck on the cheek.
“Thanks, Tetsurou, it’s always worth it, coming home to you.” she showers Tetsurou in kisses all over his face until he complains and squirms out of her grasp.
“I brought sushi!” Ayame says as she observes the scene before her with a smile on her face.
“Hooray! I’ll set the table.” and as he leaves, Fumino yawns.
“Are you okay, love?” Ayame asks in a hushed tone.
“Yeah, I’m just tired.”
“You should go get changed, I’ll help Tetsu in the kitchen.” she gives her a kiss on the cheek before sending her away. Kuroo Tetsurou is already putting chopsticks down in their usual seats by the time she gets to the kitchen. “What did you do today, honey? Did you play with your friends?”
“Yeah! I played with Kenma.” he turns to her after the final set of chopsticks.
“Kenma?” she hasn’t heard of that name before. “a new friend of yours?”
“Yeah! He’s a mermaid!” he beams. “He likes my video games.”
Ayame opens her mouth to speak but they hear a questionably loud splash from the nearest bathroom. Kuroo runs off at this. While Ayame is genuinely confused, she peaks out of the kitchen, watches him disappear into the bathroom and leave a few minutes after with what is undeniably a boy with a mermaid tail in his arms.
When Kuroo Tetsurou comes back moments later with Fumino still in their room, she kneels down to get to eye-level with Tetsurou.
“What’s up, mommy?” he asks.
“Tetsu, I need to tell you something very serious.” she could feel Tetsurou’s emotions go from relaxed to confused and she hopes she relays what she’s about to say next properly, “Is Kenma a good friend to you?” he nods. “Okay, that’s good. Can you keep your mermaid friend a secret?”
“What do you mean?” Ayame feels like she’s walking on thin ice.
“See, Tetsu, humans are very curious, and sometimes it makes them do things we wouldn’t like.” she feels her chest tighten when she holds her breath, the intensity of Tetsurou’s gazes pierces through her heart. “humans haven’t learned about mermaids yet.”
“Oh.” Tetsurou says. “Do you mean–”
“They might take Kenma.”
“No! I wouldn’t want that!” Kuroo says, taking a step back. Ayame feels her heart clench. She scooches forward out of instinct.
“I know, I’m sorry.” Ayame says. When Tetsurou meets her eyes again, she sees understanding in them. And for a second she feels a whole other fear, that someday Tetsurou isn’t going to be just a baby boy anymore. “Can you promise me to keep your friend a secret?”
Tetsurou nods. Ayame is hit by a wave of fondness, she cups his face in her hands and plants a kiss on his forehead.
“You’re such a smart kid, the smartest boy I know.”
“I sure hope so, I made him myself.” Fumino walks in at that moment.
“Hey, what took you so long?” Ayame says, standing up.
“Oh you know, the usual.” she winks but Ayame isn’t having it. “Alright, I fell asleep for like five minutes in the closet, I wasn’t out that long, was I?”
“Just enough, come on, time to eat.”
One morning, Kuroo is jolted awake by the sound of explosions. He's unsure of what's happening, as the floor moves beneath him, but he has the urge to run, so he does. He runs out of his room, his pulse pounding in his ears, and into the living room where his mothers are.
"Mommy, mama!" he screams. "What's that sound? Why is it so loud?"
Fumino takes Tetsurou into her arms, "Oh my sweet boy, they're explosions."
"But where?" he asks, he's never experienced this before, he's experienced earthquakes and storms but never explosions. He feels a sense of urgency like he needs to do something about it.
"The ocean," Ayame states, "It's okay, we've called the police. They're — "
"Kenma." Kuroo finally realizes. Kenma's out there, he thinks, worry seeping into his stomach. What if he's hurt. "Mama, mommy, I need to get Kenma!" he says as he runs out the back door, because he needs to make sure Kenma is okay.
"Tetsurou," Fumino shouts, "It's dangerous, come back inside!" Kuroo ignores her, and he's sure he'll get a scolding later, but now, all he can think about is Kenma.
As he runs to the beach, he notices there's smoke in the horizon. His eyes sting with tears at the thought of Kenma being hurt, of Kenma dying. He falls to his knees on the sand, unsure of what to do. Kenma is out there and he can't do anything about it. Tears fall messily down his face, and he cries, cries because he can't do anything to stop the hurting in his chest, cries because Kenma is out there hurt and he can't reach out and help.
He hears footsteps behind him and then he's engulfed in a hug from both sides, both of his mothers enveloping him in their warmth. Somehow that only makes him cry harder, he cries as he clings to his moms, unable to stop,"Honey, don't run away like that, you'll get hurt" Ayame says after a while.
"But Kenma," he hiccups, "He might be hurt."
"Oh sweetie," Fumino says wrapping him tighter in her arms.
They stay together for a while longer until Kuroo stops crying. They watch the smoke in the distance and they witness boats approach the area. "That must be the police," Ayame states, "Everything is going to be okay, Tetsu," she pecks Tetsurou on the cheek. "I promise."
After a while, both of his mothers leave to get ready for work, leaving Kuroo behind to observe the ocean. He promised them he'd go inside soon, but he stays out, just in case Kenma shows up. He stays out even as the sun pierces the skies overheard. It's hot and he's tired, but he doesn't go inside because he wants to see Kenma.
"Hey hey hey, Kuroo!" Bokuto's loud voice interrupts the quiet. He comes with a volleyball in hand, Akaashi following close behind.
"Not today, Bokuto." Kuroo mutters, hiding behind his knees as best as he could. He doesn't want to play volleyball, he wants to make sure Kenma is okay.
"I haven't even said anything yet?" Bokuto tilts his head in confusion
"Is everything alright, Kuroo-san?" Akaashi asks, ignoring Bokuto's confusion.
"It's Kenma," Kuroo finally says, "the explosions, they might have hurt him."
"Kuroo, he'll be fine, let's play volleyball!" Bokuto says, changing the subject.
"No, I don't want to play today, go home," Kuroo says, obviously angry. He's angry that no one is listening to him when he tells them that Kenma might be hurt. He's angry at himself for not being able to do something about it.
"But Kuroo, we always play volleyball today." Bokuto says, unaware that Kuroo is angry.
"Bokuto-san, let's leave Kuroo-san be for today. He doesn't want to play," Akaashi cuts in, trying to save both boys from arguing.
"But 'Kaashi — "
"Let's go, Bokuto-san."
"Okay," Bokuto mumbles dejectedly as he turns to leave with Akaashi. "I hope you feel better bro," he says as they leave.
Kuroo stays seated, arms wrapped tighter around his knees. He knows it’s not Bokuto and Akaashi's fault for what happened, but he's still mad that they didn't understand what was going on, that they brushed off Kenma.
It's sunset when Kuroo finally decides to go back inside. The world is bathed in orange and the smoke has cleared up, it doesn't even look like an explosion had occurred. He would be at peace if the worry he was feeling hadn't ravaged his heart. He's about to leave, when he hears a peculiar splash near the rocks by the water. He turns toward the sound, hope filling his chest. He spots a black haired figure by the rocks and he rushes toward them as fast as his legs could carry him.
"KENMA!" he yells out, not caring that his clothes were getting wet.
Kenma looks at him from the rock he's leaning against, he looks tired and dishevelled. "Kuro" he says meekly as Kuroo engulfs him a hug.
"You're okay, you're okay!" Kuroo all but shouts, tears running down his face. "You're okay," he whispers as he hugs Kenma tighter.
Kenma hugs him back, "I'm okay." he repeats Kuroo's mantra, unsure of what else to say. They hold each other for what seems like an eternity, but Kuroo doesn't think it's long enough.
It's Kenma that gets uncomfortable first and pushes Kuroo back gently. "I have to go," he says with sadness in his tone.
"Will you be back tomorrow?" Kuroo asks, as he let's go of Kenma.
"No."
"No?"
Kenma shakes his head, no. Kuroo feels his heart sink to his stomach, “Why?”
“Kuroo, our nests were destroyed. The corals are dying, the fish are screaming in pain, our herd is still disoriented. Our leader thinks it’s best we migrate early.” Kenma explains, slowly. Kuroo feels his body go cold with every sentence, he’s mad at something but he doesn’t know at what. He knows what migration means, he’s watched multiple documentaries on migrating animals to know what it means and how long they take. This one is different however, animals usually migrate according to season, he hasn’t heard of anything migrating after having their habitats destroyed, not yet at least. He’s not anticipating the answer to what he’s about to ask.
“But… when will you come back?” he asks, careful not to choke up on his own words.
Kenma’s eyes widen for a split second, before looking down, unable to meet his eyes, “I don’t know.”
“No.” he starts, almost quiet, then repeats, his voice going higher every time. “I don’t want you to leave.”
“I have to. Tooru says we have nothing left. Our resources have depleted.”
“I can feed you here!” Kuroo almost yells, stomping his feet underwater.
“I can’t Kuroo, I have to help feed my herd.”
“Stay with me.” tears start tumbling down his cheeks. “...please.”
“Would you leave your family for me?”
“No?”
“I wouldn’t either.” Kuroo feels his mouth open, but his brain can’t supply another argument.
Kuroo feels defeated. He didn’t wake up today thinking he would lose his friend. He grits his teeth to keep himself from yelling, Kenma doesn’t deserve the brunt of his anger, he knows that. He can’t find it in himself to blame Kenma for what happened. Pressure rises up like bile from his throat and he’s sobbing, his knees fall into the shallows, soaking his pants entirely. He’s sobbing and his tears turn everything into a blur of oranges and yellows. He feels hands cup his cheeks and thumbs wipe at his eyes. Kenma’s face comes into view, he too, is crying. Now that he’s close he can finally hear Kenma whispering ‘I’m sorry’s. Kuroo pulls Kenma into a hug and he sobs into his shoulder. He tries to savor everything, the feeling of Kenma’s hair, his weight on him, and how the colors of the sunset makes his tail look extra pretty. He could count down until his heart explodes.
“I love you, Kenma.” he chokes out.
Kenma jerks immediately out of the hug to see his face.
“You do?” he asks, bringing one hand up to wipe away the tears still streaming down his face.
“I do.” he says, his throat hurting, “I love you.”
Kenma gasps, his eyes searching Kuroo’s face for any lies or joking around but he finds only sadness and desperation. “I love you too.”
He leans in and Kuroo realizes what he’s doing, he leans forward and their lips meet.
When they separate, some of Kuroo’s burden lifts. There’s a creeping blush on Kenma’s face and it looks like he’s trying to keep himself from smiling. Kuroo clears his throat and harshly wipes at his eyes as if he could physically stop the tears from manifesting. If he wasn’t going to see Kenma again, he wants a good look at him, he can’t let any tears stain his image.
“Will I ever see you again?” he says, hopeful.
“I don’t know.” Kenma frowns, “but I want to.”
“Kenma.”
“Kuro?”
“I won’t forget you.”
Kenma tenses before he smiles at him, “I won’t forget you either.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
Kuroo stays rooted to his spot until he doesn’t see a sign of Kenma’s tail in the horizon. He stays until his moms have to wrap a blanket around him and carry him into their home. Kuroo cries himself to sleep that night, wishing and hoping for Kenma to be in his arms again.