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Jotaro had recently graduated with his Ph.D. in marine biology and was conducting research far out into the ocean, in the Pacific near a collection of atolls and minuscule islands. He had his own boat stocked with equipment, given to him for research by the institute of marine biology at his university. He was studying the chemical composition of water surrounding the various reefs in the area and how they corresponded to the coral’s health.
He enjoyed his work. He enjoyed the silence and solitude. His supervisors expressed their reservations about letting go alone, but he assured them he had handled lots more dangerous than a solo study assignment, leaving them to wonder just what on earth he had meant. To him, there was no comparable feeling to being out in the open ocean. He felt like the most mysterious and unexplored place on earth was the only place he felt understood. Listening to the bubble and whisper of the waves, he bottled samples of ocean water in test tubes, tagging them and placing them in the tube rack. He looked out at the expanse of vast blue water, heart leaping at the thought that just under the boat, there were hundreds of feet of unexplored ocean. The golden-orange hue of the sun bathed the twinkling ocean surface, the waves dancing with each other. Breaking out of his sudden meditation, Jotaro realized he had to suit up and take those coral samples before darkness fell.
He made sure his work was secure before heading in to change. The water sample was already being analyzed by the liquid chromatography chamber and should be complete when he came back. He checked the oxygen level on his tank and secured it on his shoulders, fitting his lips over his mouthpiece. With that, he dove into the crystal-clear waters. His eyes adjusted to the change, taking in the picturesque view of the coral reef before him. It was like a tapestry of every color imaginable, and fish of every size darted between the structures. It was a whole other world beneath the waves, one that Jotaro found himself becoming utterly lost in. He wished he could stay in the water forever. It was serene, peaceful, wonderful, powerful, and full to the brim with life, yet not even five percent of it has been discovered yet.
As he was assessing the coral structures, he could have sworn he felt like he was being watched. He turned his head in every direction, breathing through his mouthpiece. The only thing of interest he saw was a couple of small reef sharks. As amusing as he found the idea, he doubted that reef sharks all the way out here could be stand users. He finished up taking pictures and analyzing data and started swimming to a different, deeper area of the reef. His sensor indicated he had 30 minutes of air left, so he needed to finish up quickly. Diving deeper, he made note of the species he saw and an approximate number of each. A small turtle swam close to him, a rare sight considering their endangered status. He noticed a piece of fishing net tangled tightly around its fin as it brushed up against his hand like it was asking for his help. He retrieved a small pair of scissors from his belt as the turtled hovered close to him. He quickly worked at snipping the pieces of the fishing line away, rubbing the turtle’s scarred fin. The small creature nuzzled Jotaro’s hand appreciatively, and he pet its shell fondly before it swam away. He felt that eerie feeling again. In all his years, Jotaro learned not to just ignore his instincts. Something was up, and he needed to be careful. The reef was huge, the size of a cliffside, with tunnels large enough to swim through. It had to sustain hundreds, if not thousands, of species. The warm rays of the setting sun danced across the reef’s features and made the scales of the fish glitter in the water.
Jotaro settled on an area of study. The water was tranquil here, and there wasn’t a lot of fish. Because the water was so still, when Jotaro saw the end of a large tail on the edges of his periphery, it certainly stopped him in his tracks. He looked in the direction it headed, but it was gone. It was too big to be a dolphin, but way too small for a whale, even an adolescent one. And no fish that size has a horizontal fin… He decided to not put that much thought into it and get back to his goal before he ran out of oxygen. Perhaps his mind was just playing tricks and he just needed a break and get some actual air.
He was exhausted by the time he got back to his boat, throwing his equipment on board before he climbed up. He stripped off his diving gear, hanging it up to dry before heading towards the boat’s tiny shower area. After all, it was a research boat, not a yacht. Under the warm water, he scrubbed the salt off his skin and washed the stickiness out of his jet-black hair. He massaged his aching muscles under the warm stream of water. He turned the squeaking handle, turning off the water. He dried off with a towel before changing into a comfortable set of clothes. The water had finished being analyzed, and he sat down to transcribe his data and write a brief description of his observations. When he first started university, he would find himself smoking while doing work. He had long since given up the bad habit he had picked up as a delinquent in high school.
The sounds of splashing broke him from his concentration. It had startled him only because he was so absorbed in his work, but he thought it might be an opportunity to see a pod of dolphins, his favorite sea creature. He stood from his seat, stretching and popping his back, totally not thinking about how old he is as he walked out beneath the star-speckled sky and looking out over the open ocean. He scanned the ocean’s surface, looking for the source of the splashes or any disturbances in the water. His eyes landed on a large rock not far from his boat.
But he was not looking at the rock, but rather… what was sitting on it.
It was a woman, but beneath her waist was a scaly fish tail, the fin resting beneath the water. Her back was to him, her hair was (h/c) and (h/l), wet with seawater and decorated with small shells. Her (s/c) glowed under the pale light of the moon. Her tail was a rich, deep blue, the same color as the deep ocean, the scales reflecting the moonlight and glittering against the backdrop of the dark rock. Jotaro blinked. He could not believe his eyes. He had to be dreaming, this couldn’t be real. Mermaids weren’t real. Then again, he thought, Dio was a vampire, and the general public dismisses vampires as myth as well…
The finned female’s head turned, and large, piercing (e/c) eyes met Jotaro’s. They were filled with a mysterious intensity, like the sea itself- powerful, and unpredictable. When she spotted him, her face contorted as she hissed fiercely and started toward the ocean’s depths.
“Hey, hey wait! Don’t- I’m not gonna-“ he stammered, but it was already too late. She slipped beneath the still, dark blanket of the sea. It was far too dark for him to see beneath the surface, which made him uneasy. There were many variations of mermaid myths. Some were benevolent sea maidens that saved sailors from shipwrecks and drownings, others were spun into the image of evil temptresses that lured sailors to their demise, consuming their flesh like ravenous predators. He kept looking for any sign of her- bubbles, the flash of her tail, anything. The black depths of the sea were all Jotaro saw, and he realized it was futile. The ocean was vast and immeasurable, she was probably a mile away by now, deep into the dark abyss of the night ocean. Still, he probably wouldn’t sleep great tonight now that he knew that a mermaid was out there, possibly hungry for his flesh. Even worse, nobody would ever believe him if he said he saw a half-woman half-fish, he would lose all the credibility he spent years building.
He turned, ready to finally get some shut-eye. He would finish his work in the morning, he decided. But, off the other side of the boat, there in the black water, she was there. Their eyes met a second time, but this time she was unwavering. Her chilling eyes were locked on him, studying his every move. Everything below her eyes was shrouded in the murky depths.
“I don’t know what you are, but I don’t want to hurt you,” he called across the water. She didn’t move. She looked intrigued, yet skittish.
“Can you understand me?” he asked. He put his hands up, displaying his innocence. “See? I won’t hurt you. I’m- I, uh…” he stuttered, tried to find simpler words. “I… study. I look,” he said pointing to his eyes and writing in an imaginary notepad. “I look, at life… underwater,” he stated with a swimming motion. Yare yare, he thought, I must look ridiculous.
Her head disappeared under the water once more, leaving only ripples in her wake. Great, I made a fool out of myself for nothing, in front of a mythical sea creature no less, he thought letting out a defeated huff and running a hand through his hair. He was about to call it quits for good before she appeared again, mere feet away from the stern of the boat. This time, her full face was visible above the edge of the water. She had soft features, water trickling from her hair onto her face. Her eyes were large, probably adapted to let in more light under the cover of night.
“Hurt,” she repeated to Jotaro. It was more of a statement than a question. Her voice was soft but commanding.
Jotaro still stood a safe distance from the water, unsure of her motivations. “Yeah, hurt. Some people, they… hurt what they don’t understand.”
Silence fell between the both of them as the mermaid studied Jotaro’s face. Her inquisitive eyes dug into his. He was still coming to terms with the reality that he was talking to a mermaid. This was way more interesting than coral reefs.
“People,” she said in the same halting manner.
“Hm…” he pondered. He pointed at himself. “Me, people.” He pointed to his feet, emphasizing what separated their species. “Human.”
Her eyes darted to his feet before returning to his face, her brow furrowed.
“Human. Hurt,” she said intensely.
Jotaro crossed his arms, letting them rest on each other. “Yes… and no. Not all of us. Some hurt, others help. Some of us even die to protect others,” he said quietly. “Not all people are bad.”
“No,” she said frustratedly, almost yelling. She dove headfirst into the water, her blue tail breaching the water, staying suspended in the air like she wanted to show Jotaro something. Looking closer, he saw that there was a fresh, deep cut on the mermaid’s fin. Out of the water, it was trickling blood. The fin disappeared, replaced by her head once more. Her (e/c) orbs pierced Jotaro’s heart. She was in pain. “Human. Hurt.”
Someone had injured her, maybe even tried to capture her. “Is that why you were on that rock? It hurts to move, doesn’t it?”
She lowered her gaze and nodded. She isn’t evil, she’s asking for help, he realized.
“You. Help… the…” her brow creased, and she hissed in frustration, looking around for anything to help her communicate. However, Jotaro got the idea.
“The turtle. You were the one watching me. You saw me help the turtle with its fin,” he answered.
She nodded. “You help… turtle,” she said slowly, “you help… me?”
Jotaro chuckled slightly, nodding. “Yes, I guess it wouldn’t hurt.” He stepped forward, making the mermaid back away instinct and hiss at him, eyes filled with fear. Jotaro held up his hands again, crouching so that he was more level with the mermaid, his expression softened. “Hey, hey now… you can trust me, I’m going to help. But I can’t help unless I get you up here,” he said as she swam closer to him again. “My name is Jotaro, by the way.”
“Jo…” she whispered, her brow creased in concentration. “Jo-taro?” she said, pointing at him.
“Yes,” he affirmed, stretching out his hands. She leaned forward and sniffed one hand, making Jotaro struggle to maintain his stoic exterior. “You’re supposed to take them so I can help you up here,” he explained, stifling laughter. She reluctantly touched her fingertips to his, like testing the waters to make sure it was safe. Then she wrapped her slender fingers around his, looking at him expectedly with those pleading eyes. If she wanted to drag him into the sea and drown him, now was her chance.
“I’m gonna pull you up on 3, ready? One, two,” he summoned Star Platinum for extra strength, he didn’t want her to hurt her fin any further, “three!” She was pulled out of the water, landing gracelessly on the floor of the boat, making it teeter back and forth. She let go of Jotaro’s hands as she turned over, flipping her large blue tail. It was a myriad of blue hues and gradients. She wore a few shells on the crown of her head. Her skin glistened with beads of seawater, like miniature constellations, or pearls dotting her surface. She was ethereal, stunning, and fascinating.
Jotaro’s cheeks flushed slightly as he realized the sight before him. Being half-woman, the mermaid’s chest was exposed. He supposed life underwater had no use for clothing. “You okay?” he asked, respectfully averting his gaze and awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.
“Face red,” she stated.
“Yare yare, I’ll be right back,” he said as he disappeared into the boat.
When Jotaro returned with his supplies, he was shocked at what he saw. The mermaid was standing, her blue tail and fin replaced by a pair of two strong, slender legs. Strands of her (h/c) hair clung to her face, her (e/c) emanating that same intense, curious glare as she followed his movements. Instead of her fin, it was her ankle that bore the deep gash. It would definitely need a few stitches. Blood was slowly seeped from its edges and pooled around her foot. “Hurt,” she said again, softly.
“I know. Here, put this on,” he said, throwing her a bathrobe. She stared at it, feeling the fabric between her fingertips and smelling it.
Jotaro sighed. “Let me help. Stick out your arms, like this,” he demonstrated, and she mimicked him with a confused look. He slipped the first arm through its sleeve, then the other. He brushed her hair out from under the robe as she stared at him. He looked everywhere but her chest as he brought the robe together and tied it in front. It was like dressing an overgrown child. “There. Do you need help walking?”
She looked down at her feet. She took a tentative step forward, but a surge of pain made her leg give out. Jotaro reached out and caught her before she fell, enveloping her in his arms. Her eyes were wide in panic and filling with tears. “Hurt bad,” she whimpered, looking down at her ankle.
“It’s okay… I’ve got you. We’ll walk together.” He wrapped her arm around his broad shoulders, helping her hobble to the nearest chair. She turned and sat down on the chair Jotaro normally used while doing work. She was silent, but a few tears made their way down her sunkissed face. Jotaro gently used the pad of his thumb to smudge the tears away. She looked up at him, and her eyes tugged on his heart. “You’re gonna be okay, I promise.”
“Promise…” she whispered.
He removed his hand from her cheek, disappearing once more to find a first aid kit. He returned, setting out the supplies on the table next to her. Antiseptic, cotton swabs, gauze, bandages, and suture materials. Jotaro noticed she looked toward the materials warily.
“It will hurt, but it will help you heal,” he explained. The mermaid looked suspiciously between Jotaro and the medical supplies. “Do you trust me?”
Her piercing eyes analyzed Jotaro’s face. “Yes. You help. I trust.”
Jotaro nodded, putting on the sterile gloves. He tipped the antiseptic onto a piece of gauze. “This will hurt, but it will clean your wound and prevent it from getting infected.” He bent down, taking her injured ankle in one hand, “Ready?”
She nodded tensely. Jotaro touched the wound cautiously with the antiseptic, and she hissed angrily, drawing her ankle back and baring her teeth at him. “I’m sorry, I told you it would hurt. I need to do this,” he told her, rubbing his thumb on her skin comfortingly like trying to soothe a scared, injured animal. She hissed quietly but offered him her ankle once more. He slowly washed the wound with the antiseptic as she growled at the burning sensation. “Talk to me, it will help you through the pain,” he said, looking up at her with his deep blue eyes.
She huffed through her nose, searching his face as he switched from gauze to the cotton swabs. “You are… like ocean,” she said in a low voice. He didn’t quite understand, so he remained silent hoping she would elaborate.
“Your eyes… like ocean,” she continued, trying to distract herself from the pain. “You are strong, like ocean,” she hissed sharply as he swabbed the wound clean.
“Sorry,” he said as he patted the wound dry. “I’m going to have to give you a few stitches.” She stared at him with a puzzled expression. “It will help the wound heal quicker, but it will hurt.”
“Hurt. Everything hurt,” she said with a wounded expression. New tears threatened to spill again from her beautiful, eerie eyes. Jotaro sighed and rubbed his neck again. They don’t teach you how to handle an injured mermaid in graduate school. He wasn’t even good at comforting regular people.
Jotaro took one of her hands in his, rubbing comforting circles on her soft skin. “I know it hurts. I know how you feel, but you’re strong. People hurt you, but you were brave enough to ask for help. You’re brave enough to trust me.” The mermaid studied the map of Jotaro’s face. His features were harsher and deeper than they used to be, weathered by the seasons of life. He had lines where there weren't any before, his cheekbones sharper, his eyes more deep-set. He felt vulnerable under her intense gaze like he was an open book and she saw all he had been through in his bizarre life. Yet, it was not an uncomfortable feeling. It’s like she knew and understood him, like they understood each other even though they were worlds apart. She looked down at her ankle.
“Heal.”
Jotaro prepared the needle, and kneeled again, taking her foot and placing it to rest on his knee. “You have to stay still, okay?”
She nodded, looking away and studying her surroundings. She hissed at the first puncture of the needle but kept still. She looked down at Jotaro, at his large but nimble fingers closing up the wound, his intense blue eyes and creased brow, his mouth set in a frown of concentration. Slowly, she reached out and felt his black hair under her fingertips. Jotaro glanced up at her for a moment, seeing those otherworldly eyes distracted by his hair and her lips parted slightly. He smiled to himself before returning his attention to her injury. He quietly savored the feeling of her gentle fingers carding through his black hair and toying with his locks. No one had ever played with his hair before, it felt different, but welcome. He tied the last suture and wrapped her ankle in bandages, taking off his gloves and tossing them in the trash along with the other trash.
“All done. You did really well,” he stated warmly. The feeling of soft fingertips on his cheek made his eyes snap up to meet hers. Her thumb gently caressed his cheek like he had done when she cried. Jotaro's surprised glare softened as she looked at him knowingly. He had only just met this mysterious being, yet when he was with her, it felt like much longer than that. Jotaro melted under her soft eyes and the feeling of her fingers ghosting over his cheekbones and down his jaw. She leaned forward, her eyes searching his for any signs of resistance, but there was none. She closed her eyes and ghosted her lips over his. Soft and supple lips met chapped, yet gentle ones. Jotaro was still at first, but slowly returned the favor, his resolve disappearing with each gentle, soothing caress of her lips. He hummed against her, his large, calloused hand snaking behind her neck, pulling her closer, his thumb tenderly stroking her cheek. She was the ocean, and he wanted to get lost in her embrace.
Jotaro parted the kiss with a shuddering breath. He rested his hands on her knees. The mermaid looked at him inquisitively, holding his face in her warm hands. She planted a delicate kiss on his forehead, and he closed his eyes as warmth bloomed in his chest.
She placed a small hand on his muscular chest, over his heart. “Not all humans are bad,” she whispered.