Chapter Text
***
It was a rare phenomenon, but never debunked as merely a myth that parents told to lull their little mermaids to sleep at night.
"Did you know, Tetsuya?" a soft, melodious voice echoed through the deep waters of what he realized was a far off memory. "There are some of us who have the ability to grant wishes."
"Can Mama do it?" his own voice responded.
"I can't… Or maybe, I don't know yet. Isn't that kind of fun to think about?"
The dark depths of the sea bubbled as he felt a warm touch on his shoulder. "Honey, are you talking about that again?"
"Doesn't it make you excited? If I had the power, I wonder what kind of wish I would ask for. Walking on land, maybe? Or flying freely like a bird!"
"Silly, even if you could grant wishes, they're not meant to be used for yourself."
"I know that. I was just kidding." The small bells on her golden neckband jingled as she turned her head petulantly. "But if you asked me for one, I wouldn't grant it, you dummy hubby. Blegh!"
He let out a sigh. "Then, how about Tetsuya? It's still a rare occurrence, but it's a fact that wishes have been granted in the past with both positive and negative outcomes."
The gentle wind caressing his face was a different sensation from the underwater currents that he flowed with. A golden veil glistened over his slick skin as he raised his hand upwards to feel more of that warmth.
"Think carefully about it; whose happiness would you live for?"
When he opened his eyes, the answer was already in front of him, clear and bright as the morning sun.
***
"Just… a little more," he murmured with a small voice to provide the last bit of strength to tear through the constricting net. He was fortunate that it was only made of nylon instead of tougher material like flax rope. Not so fortunate that he landed himself into this situation, however. It would be upsetting to tell his parents what happened, but as long as he escaped from the net's captivity scar-free and before anyone found him, he would be spared from the worrying tale.
It wasn't that he did anything wrong. He only wanted to show the pesky shark with weird tadpole-shaped eyebrows that bullying a young merman was a lowly thing to do. So he sent an Ignite Punch to his tummy, but he deserved it. What he didn't expect was his gang of friends from the Kirisaki shiver kidnapping him and trapping him in a net that was attached to a sunken boulder. It was rather far and secluded from the coral reefs, so calling for help was futile. Luckily for him, there was a tiny cut in the net that probably came from when the sharks yanked it away from a fisherman at the surface.
A school of black-striped butterflyfish that were passing by appeared to be concerned for him as they wriggled through the net, hovering around him in silent support. Despite having tiny teeth, some were trying to gnaw away at the thread, but to no avail. He thanked their effort with a whisper and took ahold of the mesh. Translucent azure fins fluttered as he forced open a hole big enough for half his head—quite a feat for a small merman such as himself. But it still wasn't enough for the rest of his body, and fatigue was slowly settling in his biceps.
He looked at it cautiously, wondering if there was anything he could use to cut it wider. There were shells below his tail, but none of them were sharp-edged or of an efficient size. Shallow cuts were already starting to form on his palms. Drifting backwards, he leaned against the cold, hard rock that threatened to scratch his delicate skin.
Kuroko Tetsuya was feeling utterly hopeless when he first met Aomine Daiki.
There was humming in the distance, getting closer and growing louder until he was able to hear the words clearly.
"Unstoppable, formless me," a voice sung as Kuroko laid his eyes on vibrant blue scales that danced gracefully before him. The singing stopped, and so did the flickering of his tail when he reciprocated Kuroko's gaze with curious blue eyes.
"Hey, are you alright?" he asked, sounding panicked and eyes widening as he laced his fingers through the net. The pale merman was dumbstruck that he had been noticed without calling for help, and didn't know what to say besides pointing obviously at the green barrier.
"Who did this to you!? I'll get you out right now!" he exclaimed, grasping the part that Kuroko had previously ripped, unintentionally scaring the fishes away. His eyes squeezed shut as he exerted all his strength to tear it, grunting loudly as he did so. With great effort, soon the hole was large enough for Kuroko to swim through. It happened quickly, but it did not escape his scrutiny when the netting had cut into the tanned merman's hands, creating thin red lines where blood started to seep out.
"Wait, your hand—" Kuroko reached out to touch him, but the other boy flashed a grin despite the stinging pain he should be feeling.
"This is nothing, it'll heal soon. Anyway, let's get you out of there!" A hand extended out to him. "It's kinda bloody, but hope you don't mind?"
Overwhelmed with guilt but also relief, Kuroko took the other merman's hand, slipping out of the net and leaving it to sway emptily in the sand. A part of him worried that the Kirisaki sharks would come back to check on him—not out of concern, of course, just to make sure he was still their little plaything—but for now he had to express his gratitude.
"Um, thank you very much, for saving me…" Kuroko whispered and put his hands together for a gracious bow. Receiving such a polite gesture caused the dark blue merman to laugh.
"Don't worry about it," he said while rubbing his nose with an index finger. "I'm glad I was passing by; who knows what could have happened if you were alone?"
It was true: Kuroko had a weak presence, and it was rare for someone to notice him until he announces that he was there all along. It took him by surprise that this boy was the first to call out, and he wouldn't have known what to do if he hadn't freed him.
"How'd you end up here, anyway? You don't really look like the adventurous type…" he trailed off realizing his tactlessness but quickly added, "I don't mean it in a bad way! Just that it's really far from the crowd, not to mention it can get pretty dangerous in this area. Were you looking for something?"
Kuroko stiffened. "Hanamiya-kun was bullying another merboy, so I wanted to teach him a lesson…"
"That great white shark? I've heard of him. That's awesome, you're braver than you look," he said, actually sounding impressed.
"But he called his friends, and trapped me in this net as payback," he explained. He kept his gaze low, eyes gradually noticing the span of his savior's caudal fins. His developing upper body was much bigger than Kuroko's, and the length of his tail and his fins showed him to be an excellent swimmer. Their eyes met again.
"What were you doing out here?" Kuroko asked.
"Me?" The young merman with royal blue hair puffed up his chest. "I'm looking for treasure!"
And what a deep voice, Kuroko thought, but pressed him on the subject. "What kind of treasure are you looking for?"
He folded his arms together and furrowed his brows. "Hmm, I don't have a clue, but it's supposed to be really important!"
Kuroko's lips parted slightly, only to fall deeper into confusion when the other continued.
"Do you know about diamonds that can grant wishes?"
"Diamonds?" His light blue hair swayed in the water as he shook his head. "No… but legend says that merfolk…"
"That's the thing!" he chimed in. "There's gotta be a way for the merpeople to grant wishes though, right? Like a magic crystal that gives them powers? That's what I'm searching for."
It was hard for Kuroko to say if he really believed in this power. He had heard the stories countless times, but there was no evidence left behind to confirm the legend for himself. Besides, it wasn't even certain that it was a gemstone that bestowed merfolk that ability. He felt intrusive for asking so many questions, but curiosity needed to be satiated. "Do you have a wish you want to be fulfilled?"
"Yeah! Lots of 'em," he replied.
"Such as?"
He pumped his fist with resolve. "I want a teriyaki burger!"
"Teriyaki…?"
His excitement waned a little as he asked, "What, you don't know about burgers?"
Kuroko shook his head. "Is that something you wear?"
There was a moment of silence when the tanned merman stared at him, dumbfounded. Perhaps he thought Kuroko was joking, but his confused expression told him otherwise. "You…"
He rested his hand on his belly, and suddenly, laughter erupted from the small boy. "You're really serious! That's kinda cute."
"Please don't call me cute," Kuroko whispered as he felt his cheeks warming up. Yes, he was very unfamiliar with the world above the water, but something like a teriyaki burger shouldn't be common knowledge, right? He started to feel insecure.
"Sorry, sorry," he stopped laughing. "A burger is something you can eat. It's really good! Not that I've had it before, but it's what I hear."
"But is that safe to eat? It's a foreign food, so wouldn't it be dangerous for your digestive system if it happens to be toxic for us?"
He grinned. "You know some pretty big words, huh? I'll worry about it after I get my burger. Anyway, I'm gonna get going and keep looking for that diamond. Get back home safely, alright?" he said before his tail swished against the clear water and propelled him forward. His movements were powerful for someone so small, but smooth and undeniably beautiful. Before long, he swam into the distance and out of Kuroko's sight.
What was he singing earlier? Kuroko tried to recall, "Unstoppable… formless me," he murmured with a hand reaching up to his throbbing chest. It was his first time meeting someone the same age who swam so naturally. He wished he had the chance to talk to him more—he asked so many questions, but he became crestfallen at the realization of forgetting the most important one.
He didn't ask for his name.
They were both part of the same ocean—surely they would meet again. But at the same time the sea was vast, so he could only hope that the tides were in his favor.
***
Echoes of giggles from beautiful and lush mermaids of vivid colors swirled in the ocean as they enjoyed their lovely day under the sea. Long, voluminous hair that draped over their shoulders in wavy curls shone with a glint of silver in the light that was only seen in the deep blue. Their golden bangles and armlets representing adulthood clinked elegantly, and without noticing the blue merman below them, the mermaids continued to chased each other through the coral reefs.
Kuroko hasn't seen the dark blue merman for several days, maybe a week. He couldn't quite tell the passing of time underwater, save for the morning greetings from his parents. Otherwise, he engaged himself in collecting small seashells and trinkets that were buried in the sand—but perhaps he had an ulterior motive for becoming more fascinated in collecting things than he did previously. Being a merman without many friends was lonesome, and activities were limited when you were still prepubescent. He had company from some fishes that would stop by to say hello, but most would swim by without acknowledging his presence. Neither of those substituted having a good merman friend to talk to. He sighed as he tossed a dull-looking shell back into the pile.
How do you even tell if something had magical powers?
Succumbing to boredom and restlessness, Kuroko swam out to the open for some fresh air. He swam slowly though, remembering his movements and flicking his tail likewise in attempt to mimic his fluidity. It wasn't easy, and neither was he successful in swimming as smoothly and powerful as the merman he admired. Letting a heavy breath escape from his lips, he returned to his normal routine, slipping through the small groups of merchildren that were holding swimming contests despite the lack of adult supervision.
Kuroko wasn't exceptionally good at anything, mediocre at best. His swimming was plain, physical strength was lacking, and singing was too soft and did not nearly have as much impact as his mother's. He had inherited his invisibility from her, but she had an angelic voice that enchanted the choruses of merpeople; truly one of the best singers in the tribe. He contemplated for a moment—he might not be a graceful swimmer, but if he had honed his singing, maybe the merman would notice him again. Those were just fleeting fantasies however, when he opened his mouth to incant a simple hymn and couldn't find satisfaction in his vocals.
"Who are you looking at, punk?"
"It's you, isn't it! You're the one who's bullying the other kids!"
Ah—Kuroko's breath hitched when a familiar, deep voice rang in the distance. He stayed frozen in place as he looked around for him, and made a little noise of surprise before quickly hiding behind the closest large object he could find—he's looking at me…
He peeked out from behind the stone column, keeping a clenched fist over his chest and shushing the fishes that stared curiously at him. He's been wanting to see him again, but this kind of coincidence was not what he expected.
My heart is beating so fast… How did he know I was here?
Shifting his gaze slightly over, he realized whom the other voice was coming from. Hanamiya the great white again—and it appears that the tanned merman's smirk was infuriating him.
"You're in the way. I don't have time for shrimps," Hanamiya retorted as he tried swimming past the merman, but the other jabbed a finger into the shark's nose, causing him to bare his sharp teeth in anger. Kuroko was so frightened for him, but the blue merman showed no signs of fear.
"I'm not a shrimp!" he exclaimed, sounding more offended about the name-calling than the potential danger of a shark's teeth. "I'm not leaving until you promise not to bully the mermen anymore."
"Nonsense. I'm not going to back off just because you gave me a lecture. Oh, I'm so sorry I had no idea you guys were so afraid of me, I was just trying to be friends!" Hanamiya scoffed, adding to the merman's irritation.
"Race me!" he suddenly said. "If I win, you have to stop being mean to us."
The shark's eyes narrowed at the outrageous proposition. "Ah? What are you, nine?"
"I am nine, you got a problem!?"
Hanamiya laughed derisively and leered down at him. "Fine, but on one condition. We'll play by my rules, got it?"
It bode a bad feeling for Kuroko, but the other merman accepted it without much thought. "Alright!"
"The finish line is Poseidon's statue. That should be no problem."
Poseidon's statue is really far from here, Kuroko thought.
The shark's tail flickered. "Then… go!"
Without prior notice, the shark swam meters ahead of the the blue merman, but he was fast to catch on and gave chase to Hanamiya. Kuroko came out of his hiding spot, eyes filled with concern for the latter. Should I go after them? But I don't want to become a hindrance—
Before Kuroko could decide what to do, four large fishes—no, four other sharks whizzed past him as if he was some kind of sea kelp, swimming in the same direction Hanamiya and the merman had headed. They looked familiar in a way, since it was rare for so many sharks to travel in a gam, but their movements were such a blur that Kuroko couldn't see them clearly. However, his instincts told him that they weren't just simple passersby, so he followed discreetly after them.
***
Shit, where did he go? Aomine continued to swim forward, but Hanamiya was nowhere in sight. Their race begun merely three minutes ago, but Hanamiya had taken a sharp turn along the way and hasn't been seen since. Aomine thought he might have taken a shortcut, but he had agreed to race by his rules, so he couldn't say anything. He needed to get to Poseidon's statue quickly. Don't think, don't think, focus!
The moment he decided to accelerate, a hammerhead shark rammed into him, sending him through the water. He didn't go far, but unbeknownst to him, another copper-colored sandbar shark was on standby to deliver a blow to Aomine's spine. Shit! His eyes widened in alert and managed to dodge the potentially fatal blow by quickly twisting his tail and changing the direction of his propagation. Nearby schools of fish have sensed the danger and have escaped for the time being. He stopped swimming to look clearly at his opponents. It wasn't unusual to see sharks in merfolk territory, but these four were recognizable everywhere.
"You guys are the Kirisaki shiver…" Aomine swore through gritted teeth. "What's wrong with you!?"
One peculiar shark with something like purple sea anemone attached to his head swam in a circle around him, and blew an air bubble into Aomine's face. He couldn't dodge it soon enough and had to bear with the after effects of his stinky breath. "This is how we show our affection," he said, looming too close into Aomine's personal space.
"No need to be chummy with him, Hara," the hammerhead with a single beauty mark on his forehead remarked as he approached him as well. "Have some fun with us, Aomine-kun."
Rash and abrasive as before, the second shark that ambushed him started sniffing the water. "Damn, looks like we didn't get any blood out of you."
The blue merman backed away, but bumped into one shark with almost lifeless eyes. "Watch where you're going. I'm not responsible if you lose a few scales."
Completely surrounded, Aomine felt his anger surging in the presence of this gam. "What the hell do you guys want? I'm in the middle of a race, you know."
"Yeah, and that's what we're here for," Hara stated with a grin. "We're the rules of this game."
"You're all friends with that Hanamiya bastard, huh? Well, I have a message for you guys, too! Stop getting involved with the mermen, especially the children," Aomine asserted as he sent them a fierce glare.
"Is that it? You're all talk but no bark." The second offender laughed mockingly.
"Yamazaki, that's not how the saying goes."
"Hop off," he was about to retort until he realized who it was, "Hanamiya!"
Aomine turned to the great white who abandoned the race, and pointed accusingly at his nose. "Hanamiya, you played dirty!"
"Hey, hey, you were the one who abided to my rules. Naturally, that includes accepting foul play," the Kirisaki captain said as a matter of fact. Aomine grimaced at his tone that showed no remorse for planning the ambush.
His royal blue tail flickered. "You had no intention of racing me in the first place."
"What made you think I was serious? You really are an idiot."
"Let me attack him again," Hara said giddily while constantly blowing air bubbles, which was quite annoying to even his friends around him.
"Yeah, go ahead. I led him out here for that reason, anyway." Hanamiya's head jerked slightly, giving the signal to the rest of the shiver. "Beat him up, tear him apart, I don't care."
The group of sharks did not hesitate when they opened their mouths wide to bite at the merman. His dexterity and natural speed allowed him to dodge the first few attacks, but was not so lucky when the silent Furuhashi grazed the side of his tail with his sharp teeth. He winced as blood started to seep out of the wound.
Hanamiya stayed by the sidelines and chuckled sinisterly, clearly enjoying the show in front of him. "Too bad for you, we could have avoided this situation if you kept your nose out of our business."
Aomine kept his hand over the incision to suppress blood loss, now that he was unable to swim at full strength. But he didn't lose spirit. "You guys are absolute scum for harming innocent mermen, even trapping one in a net! I won't let you get away with it."
"You know about that too? Man, you're a real pain in the ass," Yamazaki spat with a dirty smirk spreading across his face. "Let's just kill him. I wonder what merman meat tastes like."
Aomine recoiled from that statement. He had never thought about dying; he's way too young for that and becoming shark food was not even a path he would opt for. But with his current condition and inability to counter attack physically, his only choice was to use spellsong to instill fear in them and escape. When he opened his mouth to let out a siren, a sudden tuff of light blue hair occupied his vision.
***
Kuroko's arms were outstretched in front of Aomine as he courageously faced the Kirisaki sharks. "Please stop," he said calmly, but inside was a turmoil of doubt, however he did not let it show in his expression.
"You…!" Aomine called from behind, "Why did you follow us!?"
So he really did notice me, Kuroko thought while lowering his head. "Because… I didn't want you to be in danger…" His voice was so small, he felt so pathetic.
"They're not nice sharks, so just leave it to me!" Aomine exclaimed as he placed his hand on Kuroko's shoulder, but the smaller merman refused to move. He saved me from them once, so I have to protect him…!
"Hey, you're the kid from last time," Hara noticed, swimming around the two mermen in a circle. "Oh, I get it. That tanned shrimp is the one that got you out of there. I knew that blood smelled familiar."
"Good, get rid of the both of them," Hanamiya said without batting an eye.
"Alright, my turn!" Yamazaki hollered enthusiastically as Kuroko turned and wrapped his arms around Aomine to shield him from the oncoming assault. The shark forcefully rammed into Kuroko's back, but he held back any noises of pain, eyes clenched shut. In the end, he became exactly what he didn't want to be: a hindrance.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" Kuroko whispered repeatedly with tears threatening to spill, and Aomine's eyes widened in shock.
"Don't cry…" Aomine instinctively embraced the pale merman and pressed Kuroko's head to his chest as he glared menacingly at the sharks that were preparing to launch their next attack. The other merman was trembling in his arms. "I'll get us out of here, okay? Cover your ears."
After hearing Aomine's words, Kuroko reached up to cover his delicate, wing-like ears. He felt Aomine's chest rise as he sucked in a big breath, and released it in a loud, reverberating siren. Kuroko only heard the muffled voice, but to the sharks it was anything but pleasant. The immensely shrill spellsong severely affected them to the point where they were forced to retreat upon Hanamiya's orders. The vibrations seemed to calm Kuroko's racing heart, cleansing him of fear and the song stopped soon after.
Aomine let out a few breaths of relief. "They're gone… Are you alright?" he asked, still holding Kuroko close.
"I-I'm okay," he stammered, stiffening when he glanced at the wound on Aomine's tail. "Does your tail hurt?"
"No problem, it'll heal soon," he replied and Kuroko sensed a feeling of déjà vu. He slipped out of Aomine's arms, held his hands together and bowed solemnly.
"I'm really sorry for following you… and being a burden."
"Hey, it's fine," Aomine said with a sheepish grin. "It's my bad for getting involved with them anyway. How's your back? You were attacked by them too, right?"
"Ah… I'm fine," Kuroko managed to say. His pain has been subsiding since hearing Aomine's song, he forgot he had been hurt.
"That's good. But you know, I've been searching for you all week, so this is probably a good thing."
What? Kuroko raised his head and gazed at him in surprise.
Despite his injury, he was still able to give a stupidly wide grin. "I think I might've found the diamond, so I wanted to show you!"
Kuroko's eyes widened. "Really?"
"Yeah, it's huge and looks like it can grant a hundred wishes! That's a lot of burgers! Ah, by the way," Aomine tilted his head. "I was too excited last time and forgot to ask for your name. What should I call you?"
Kuroko held his trembling hands together. "Um," he started, eyes shifting nervously. "My name is Kuroko Tetsuya."
"I'm Aomine Daiki. Nice to meet you, Tetsu!" he smiled, holding out his fist.
Tetsu? Kuroko blinked. And why the fist? He was quite confused—did he want to play a game? So Kuroko held out his hand in a paper sign.
Aomine was silent for a few seconds but laughed heartily afterwards. "Not like that! You're really oblivious, Tetsu. Give me your fist."
Mine? The smaller merman obliged and curled his fingers into a fist, holding it out as Aomine did and realized the meaning of the gesture when their fists met. "It's kind of like a handshake."
"I see," Kuroko said in bewilderment. "Aomine-kun is one of the cool types."
Aomine scratched his cheek. "I wouldn't say I'm cool or anything, but glad you think that way."
While watching the motions of Aomine's hand, Kuroko suddenly reached out to him and spread open his fingers to look at his palm. The previous cuts from the net had closed, but have not completely faded.
"Does it still hurt?" he asked softly.
"Nah. It did a little when I was digging in the sand, but it should be gone in a few more days."
Kuroko stared despondently at Aomine's hand—it was my fault for getting him into these situations. He dipped his head slightly, pressing his lips against Aomine's palm.
"W-What are you doing?" Aomine stammered with a reddened face, but didn't pull his hand away.
"My mother would kiss me whenever I got hurt… She said it's a charm that would make it heal faster," Kuroko replied, planting another kiss near his fingertips.
"W-Wait, don't do that!" Aomine got fidgety and covered Kuroko's mouth with his free hand. "It… makes my chest feel weird."
"What?" Kuroko murmured as he gazed into Aomine's eyes in confusion. He didn't feel that way whenever his mother kissed him. Did he do it incorrectly?
"D-Don't look at me with those eyes either!" Aomine turned away and seemed to be chanting something to himself in an attempt to calm himself down.
Weird…
Kuroko wouldn't understand his reaction until years later, but they were still innocent children with many more bright days ahead of them. Plus it turned out that the diamond was only part of a broken chandelier, so there was still much to be accomplished. For now, though, Kuroko stared at Aomine's back with a small smile, tapping his shoulders and performing a small flip overhead to meet him face to face.
"T-Tetsu!"
"Let's go see the diamond, Aomine-kun," he said, holding out his hand. "Your tail is still injured, so I'll become your support."
Aomine's blinked his big blue eyes before accepting the hand. "Thanks!"
Amidst the shimmering swirls of fishes making their way through the placid sea, the two of them swam slowly like that while talking to each other, learning about each other's lives, what they liked and disliked, and what kind of dreams they wanted to fulfill. After a series of discussions, Kuroko noticed that they didn't have a lot of things in common, but he didn't mind.
After all, it won't be so lonely anymore.