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Sakuma was just a child when he first saw him.
What looked like a kid his age, tangled in a net on the sand and struggling to get out.
Then, a few steps closer and Sakuma finally realized it- this wasn’t a kid. Not a human one at least. The distinct shark-like tail was enough of a clue.
Never in his life he would’ve expected to see a merfolk, let alone find out that they were real.
He only snapped out of his shock and surprise when he heard the low growl and pained whine. The merfolk was still struggling and trying to get out of the net, only getting more and more tangled in it. As much as he would’ve liked to let himself get caught up in the awe of seeing someone like him, Sakuma quickly realized that was not the right time- he needed help and soon.
Only a few more steps and the merfolk finally noticed him standing there- and immediately tensed up. Even with just one free arm, he was hissing and lashing out as much as he could. Sakuma was now very aware of the sharp claws on his fingers.
“Hey- i-it’s okay-! I just want to help you…” He wasn’t really surprised when that didn’t really calm down the merfolk, still tense and glaring at him, ready to claw at him once he was close enough. “I mean it- you can’t get out of there by yourself, can you? Come on- just let me help before someone else sees you!” A bit more of frustration seeped into his increasingly frantic whispers, glancing around as if that was enough to make someone suddenly show up.
“… Why?”
Sakuma blinked, his eyes wide as he looked at him. He wasn’t sure what to expect… but the merfolk trying to talk to him certainly wasn’t it.
“Because… because I want to, isn’t that enough?” Honestly, he didn’t sound too sure himself- hard to blame him when part of him was still busy wrapping his mind around the fact that apparently not only merfolk are real, but he’s also actively trying to save one of them from who knows what kind of fate. “Come on- don’t be so stubborn, I don’t know when someone else will show up and see you like this!” He could see how that was enough to make him tense up even more, glancing away, his brow furrowing. At least he seemed to be thinking about it. “Can I help you, then?”
Slowly, far too hesitantly, the merfolk nodded.
As careful as he could be, Sakuma looked around for the edges of the net, mindful of what was tangled around what, pulling and tugging to slowly get the damned thing off him. It was much harder than expected without something to just cut it, but they didn’t exactly have the luxury of time. At least he managed, as stressful as it was.
As soon as the net was off, the merfolk didn’t hesitate to crawl away from it, still wincing a bit and hesitantly rubbing some sore spots. Sakuma hated to wonder how long he had been trapped in that thing for it to be this painfully tight.
“Are you okay…?”
He quickly nodded. Sakuma didn’t quite believe him.
“… Thank you. Really…”
That got a tiny smile out of Sakuma.
“You’re welcome- I’m just glad that you’re alright.”
The merfolk returned his smile with one of his own, a bit more awkward and filled with sharp teeth.
The circumstances were less than ideal, but Sakuma couldn’t have been any more grateful for having met Koujirou.
"Do you want to know a secret?"
Sakuma blinked, looking at his friend. Koujirou had stopped idly swimming in circles, instead resting his crossed arms on top of the closest rock, a mischievous smile tugging at his lips and tail gently moving behind him in the water.
He knew by now when Koujirou wanted his attention, had learned it very quickly in the year they had known each other.
“I… guess? What is it?”
Smile not fading, Koujirou took his hand, gently tugging on it.
“Come with me- I’ll show you!”
Maybe Sakuma should’ve refused, already knowing what going with Koujirou entailed. He just looked down at his clothes and shrugged, letting Koujirou pull him into the water.
It had taken a while and a few attempts in awkward positions, but Sakuma grew used to just clinging to Koujirou and letting him swim and lead them wherever he wanted. It had started with just short swimming sessions, clinging to Koujirou's shoulders or fins, until they had gotten used to more. Koujirou was so much stronger than he looked like, carrying Sakuma like he weighted nothing. Even with the water aiding him, the ease with which he could swim and move while carrying him still amazed him.
Finally, Koujirou led him into what looked like a cave hidden between the water and rocks, perfectly concealed. Without hesitation, he made his way in, letting Sakuma take a good look at their new surroundings. The cave was bigger than its entry would make anyone believe, they both could comfortably swim inside without shoving each other into a wall, until eventually, Sakuma could feel the slippery floor under his feet. Finally feeling comfortable enough to be able to let go of Koujirou, he started cautiously moving on his own, until they finally reached the end of the cave, the water barely touching the little makeshift room carved into the stone.
Despite how cold and slippery it felt, Sakuma didn’t mind sitting on the floor of the cave, taking a look around in awe. As odd as it may have sounded, the best way he could find to describe the cave was… a room. It felt like any other teenager’s bedroom, despite the obvious differences, with all sort of odd little shells and decorations in the corners and a pile of rags and fabric fashioned into a sort of nest near a wall.
“This… is this where you live?”
Koujirou was busy dragging himself out of the water and across the floor, finally reaching his nest and happily curling up inside it.
“Yup- did you think we just stay in the sea like fishes?”
“W-well, no- I just had no idea what you did-” truth to be told, he never even thought about it, not once it had crossed his mind just how similar merfolk might be to humans.
To his surprise, Koujirou just chuckled as he got more comfortable.
“It’s fine, don’t worry. I just wanted to show you.”
And that got a relieved sigh out of Sakuma, the fear of having offended his friend already forgotten. Then, he blinked, turning to him.
“Wait- why did you take me here? Isn’t this supposed to be a secret?”
He had no idea how the life in the sea could be… but it didn’t sound too safe. He had seen the faint scars littering Koujirou's body, glaringly obvious along his tail. Every time they met he could count at least a new one.
“Yes… but I trust you. You’re my friend, after all.” He said it so casually, like it wasn’t his hideout and safe space from all the dangers lurking outside, Sakuma almost struggled to believe it.
Regardless, Sakuma smiled at him.
“I’ll keep the secret, don’t worry- I promise.”
Sakuma didn’t really consider himself the best swimmer by far, but he could at least say that he was half decent at it. At least enough that he wouldn’t drown if he fell into the water.
Unfortunately, with a merfolk as his best friend, half decent wasn’t really enough anymore.
How that had led to him clinging to his friend’s fins in the middle of the sea, Sakuma was still trying to figure it out. Maybe he should’ve thought about it before blindly agreeing to going for a big swim together.
“Jirou? Are you sure you’re fine?”
Koujirou had been concerned over him for a while now- and rightfully so, feeling just how tightly Sakuma was clinging to his fins.
“Y-yes, don’t worry- just taking some time getting used to this, that’s all.” Well, it wasn’t really a lie.
“If you say so…” Koujirou didn’t sound too convinced. “Just let me know if something’s wrong, alright?”
Sakuma just nodded in answer, trying to get as comfortable as possible without getting in the way of his tail. He didn’t really feel like figuring out just how much strength a shark-like tail could pack.
And finally, Koujirou started swimming, slowly but surely, Sakuma not even needing to do anything other than keeping his grip on him. They were threading through the water with so much more ease than what Sakuma expected, his nerves slowly melting away in it and just looking around, occasionally taking a deep breath to take a look under the surface, suddenly much happier over remembering to bring the swimming googles with him. Koujirou could feel him more at ease as they kept going, a smile making its way on his face as he decided to push it a little bit further and going just a bit faster.
Sakuma just had no words to describe it. Nothing he had ever experienced in the water could really compare to this… but perhaps that was because of who he was with now.
Koujirou's smile was one of the brightest ones Sakuma had ever seen in his life. He wasn’t just in his element, he was completely at home in the water, openly laughing as they scared away some fishes or ran into the occasional bird near the surface.
When Koujirou finally slowed down and came to a halt to check on him, the smile was still there, maybe even a little brighter now that Sakuma could take a good look at it. He kept telling himself that the heat in his face was all because of the sun, even when Koujirou's hand brushed his own.
Sakuma quickly realized that he wanted to keep seeing that smile, no matter what.
Leaning against a rock by the beach, Koujirou kept glancing at the land, a frown on his face, brow furrowed and tail never managing to stay still.
It had already been days since the last time he had seen Sakuma, too many to keep track.
Saying it was worrying him was an understatement.
With no news on his friend after so long, he finally gathered enough courage to get closer to the beach, even with the many dangers it represented. And so he kept watch, night and day, whenever he could, just waiting -hoping- that Sakuma would come back. Even when that little voice at the back of his mind was telling him otherwise, telling him that he should give up.
He was starting to fear the worst when something finally changed.
Once he saw the figure walking closer, he hid under the water on instinct, holding back the urge to swim away and back to safety before it was too late. Sakuma would have chided him for it… but he needed to know. He needed to see him again, one way or another.
Carefully, he peeked at the beach, head barely poking out. The figure was finally getting close enough to recognize, his eyes widening at the sight.
Completely disregarding whoever else might see him there, Koujirou rushed to the shore, as fast as his body would allow him to, wanting nothing more than to talk to him, to hold his hand and just see him again.
“Sakuma!”
Startled by the voice suddenly shouting his name, Sakuma looked up, a hand raised to his face on instinct. Koujirou didn’t pay it any attention, chalking it up to the scare he’d have to apologize for, unable to stop himself from grinning.
“Koujirou, I-”
“Sakuma! I’m so glad to see you! I was…” his words trailed off as soon as he took a good look at his friend. Sakuma was refusing to look at him, trying to hide from him, that hand still on his face and trying to keep it away from him like his very life depended on it. He was ashamed. Afraid. “Sakuma…?”
Something was very wrong.
“I- I’m sorry, I-”
“What is it?”
He tensed up at the question. Koujirou refused to look away from him.
After a few moments that felt like years, Sakuma sighed. Even as he sat down on the sand and brought his knees up to his chest, he looked ready to run, to hide and never come back, that hand still firm on his face. Koujirou finally realized that it was hiding his eye.
He finally dared to put his hand down, his eye shut tightly and his shoulders tense- and a white patch held up by strings of fabric covering his right eye.
Koujirou had never seen something like that before, even with his growing knowledge of humans and their customs. He didn’t need to know to already have an idea of what its use was, something heavy and uncomfortable twisting in his guts.
Some part of him wanted to ask what happened, who had done this to him- why it happened at all when he was so kind and caring that he didn’t deserve any of it. Another part of him wanted to be angry, to bite and claw at whoever was responsible- because this couldn’t have been something normal, this had to have been someone or something hurting his friend and he refused to let it happen again or just let it go like it was nothing-
All he did was drag himself closer, silently wrapping his arms around his friend, feeling how badly he was shaking, holding him a little bit tighter. He didn’t need to see to know there were tears in the remaining eye.
“Are you sure you’re alright?”
“Yes- I’m fine, I’m not made of glass. You don’t need to worry so much.”
“If you’re so sure… but you’ll let me know if something’s wrong, right?”
“Yeeees…”
Sakuma couldn’t really blame him for his worries after all that’s been going on these few past weeks, not after disappearing so suddenly and coming back just as suddenly- and with one less eye. It had taken a few more weeks just getting used to his new eyesight and to how different everything felt like that. More time spent with doctors and far away from Koujirou. Neither of them had been too fond of it.
Not quite sure just yet, Koujirou settled for lying down at his side, tail draped over Sakuma's legs. His not so subtle way of showing –and asking for- affection. Not like Sakuma minded, already resting a hand over his tail, tracing scars and fins alike. He couldn’t help his slight frown as his fingers traced a scar he didn’t remember.
Koujirou noticed as soon as his fingers stopped moving.
“Don’t worry about it.”
It was hard not to. Having to see a new scratch or scar whenever he saw him wasn’t getting any easier, much less when he was almost collecting them.
“I can’t not worry about you…”
Despite all of Sakuma's fears and worries, that sentence alone brought a smile to Koujirou's face, as bright and warm as the sun itself- and Sakuma was blaming the heat rising to his face on the weather.
“I’m glad you care, but it’s alright, really- just a few fights with wild animals, nothing I don’t know how to handle.”
He managed to say that so casually, it almost convinced Sakuma that it really was just a minor inconvenience. He had to wonder just what was going on in the sea for him to treat that sort of thing like nothing more than an annoyance.
“Well, it’s hard not to worry…”
Then, he felt a hand resting over his own. Koujirou's smile was soft, much softer than what Sakuma was used to.
“I know… but it’ll be alright. I promise- I’m being as careful as I can be.”
They both knew that he didn’t have it easy out there on his own.
Sakuma hated knowing just how little he could truly do to help him, to make his life at least a little bit easier.
He let out a soft sigh, gently squeezing his hand as he kept carefully tracing his scars.
“Alright… I trust you… but please- try to stay out of trouble if you can…”
“I’ll try my best.”
It wasn’t much, but Sakuma wanted to trust his word.
Sakuma couldn’t quite stay still, pacing back and forth on the beach, glancing at the water and growling in frustration when nothing seemed to change.
Koujirou had promised he would be there. That was supposed to be yesterday.
He might’ve been able to brush it off as him just forgetting –not too surprising, he had forgotten many things over the few years of friendship they shared, just grinning and brushing it off-, but after what happened to him, to his eye and after seeing how scared Koujirou was after that, Sakuma wasn’t willing to brush it off as no big deal so easily.
If only they had thought of finding a way to communicate. Not like it would be all that easy with one of them being half fish and living in the water, but still.
Starting to run out of patience, it suddenly came back to him- maybe he still had a way to find Koujirou, to make sure he was alright.
Hesitantly, Sakuma looked at the water. The weather was nice and the sea was calm… but still. That wouldn’t be easy.
Regardless, he would try. It was the least he could do for Koujirou.
At least getting a tiny boat for most of the trip was easy enough. There were enough rocks nearby that with enough rope he could secure the boat- he hoped it would work, at least.
Then, he took a deep breath and jumped into the water.
After managing to shake off the sudden cold, Sakuma focused on the cave in front of him, slowly and carefully swimming inside, trying to remember the path Koujirou showed him.
At least it did work, he got to the end and the makeshift room Koujirou had shown him.
And he found Koujirou- and his breath hitched at the sight.
“K-Koujirou-?! What-”
Koujirou finally noticed his presence, turning to look at him- and wincing in pain as he did so, curling up on himself a bit more. The blood was painfully clear now.
“S-Sakuma…? W-why are you here?”
Sakuma didn’t hesitate to get closer and take a look at his injury. There were deep gashes on his side and tail, still fresh, the bleeding only slowed down enough to keep him alive.
“Never mind that- what happened?! Wait- we can talk about that later, I need to take care of this right now-” easier said than done with nothing to treat his injuries. It wasn’t really surprising to find out that he didn’t have any sort of first aid in his cave- would’ve been hard to find anyways. It didn’t make the situation any better, though. “W-wait here, alright? I’ll just- I’ll find something to help you and I’ll be back.” Not like he had much of a choice, anyways.
“A-alright…” he almost hissed in his pain. It made Sakuma's heart ache even more than the sight did.
“I promise I’ll hurry up- please, hold on…”
It was much more stressful than Sakuma expected, the reminder of those wounds making it hard to focus. All the way back he kept telling himself that it would be alright, that he could still help Koujirou. He needed to believe it.
He didn’t even care about just how soaked he was, even when it could get him sick. That wasn’t important.
Somehow, he managed to keep himself together just enough to actually gather the essentials. He shoved some food into his bag- he wasn’t even sure what made him think of that, but some part of him felt like it would be needed. Going through the kitchen to gather anything he deemed remotely useful, he found a roll of plastic wrap, almost tossing it aside before it hit him- Koujirou needed water, but he wouldn’t be able to get wet with bandages. Unless he made sure they were water proof.
He didn’t have much more time to think about whether or not this would work, though- and so he zipped the bag shut and shoved it into the first plastic bag he could find, tying that closed as tightly as he could manage and hoping that it would be enough to keep it safe from the water.
The way back was much faster than he expected, yet it still felt like hours of wasted time. Sakuma hated it, hated not having been there in the first place to prevent this from happening at all. No time to drown in his own regrets, though- Koujirou needed him now, that was what mattered.
To his relief, when he got back Koujirou was still there, still in pain and trying to nurse his wounds, but awake and aware. That was more than what Sakuma could’ve asked for in his panic.
“K-Koujirou- I’m back-!” He didn’t hesitate to climb onto the slippery floor, losing his footing and nearly falling back into the water more than once, sitting right next to him and unpacking his bag. Some water had found its way in, but not enough to damage or make anything inside unusable. That was a small relief. “How are you feeling…?”
“I-I’m fine-” a lie. Sakuma wasn’t buying it.
“Just… just let me see- I’ll take care of it.”
Knowing what to expect didn’t make it any easier. Sakuma just took a deep breath, steeled himself and got to work.
As careful as he tried to be, sometimes Koujirou still flinched on occasions, be it because of his touch, the disinfectants or just from the pain. All Sakuma could do was murmur soft apologies as he kept working, promising that it would be over soon.
“I think it’s taken care of now… how do you feel?”
Koujirou glanced at his now wrapped up tail, tentatively moving it, then inspecting his side.
“I-it still hurts… but it’s better now. Thank you…”
Sakuma couldn’t hold back his relieved sigh hearing that, nearly slumping against the wall.
“Good… I’m glad to hear that…” Glad was an understatement. “What happened, anyways?”
Koujirou frowned, glancing away, not quite sure yet about speaking up. Then, right as Sakuma was ready to apologize and tell him to forget it, he sighed.
“I… ran into humans… I think they only caught a glimpse of my tail and thought I was a shark…” Oh. Well, that explained it. And didn’t make it any less scary. “I got away before they could realize… but…” He didn’t really need to finish his sentence.
Sakuma just nodded, reaching out to gently take his hand.
“I understand… I’m just glad you’re safe now…”
That was enough to get Koujirou to smile, already so much more at ease than hours ago.
For a moment, they just enjoyed the silence, Koujirou just lying there, arms crossed as an improvised pillow and letting the pain fade, Sakuma watching him carefully in search of any sign of distress or any injury he might have missed.
Then, there was a growl. More silence. They exchanged a glance, Koujirou's face suddenly turning redder.
“Was… was that your…?”
Koujirou was silent. Slowly, hesitantly and definitely ashamed, he finally nodded, his cheeks still red.
“I… I didn’t get to eat… since…” He just trailed off, looking anywhere but at Sakuma. He didn’t need to explain much more anyways. All Sakuma did was nod, already going through his bag, suddenly very thankful for having remembered to bring something more.
“Here- it’s not much, but it should help, right?”
Koujirou blinked, staring at the sandwich Sakuma was unwrapping and offering to him. Hesitantly, he took it, sniffing it like it was something foreign- and didn’t think twice before biting it once his stomach made itself known again.
Just one bite was all it took to make his eyes sparkle, not hesitating to take big bites off the rest, the meal gone within seconds. Had he not been trying to keep his tail as still as possible, Sakuma was positive that it would be wagging like an overly excited puppy by now.
“I guess you liked it, then?”
Koujirou happily nodded as he kept munching.
“It’s great! It doesn’t taste anything like fish, but it’s still good!”
Well, at least that sounded good. Sakuma could feel a bit more at ease knowing that feeding him wouldn’t be much of an issue.
“Are you still hungry? I have a few more here if you’d like- they’re still cold and not the best, but… I guess it’s better than nothing.”
Not like he had to ask twice when Koujirou was already watching him with expectant eyes and open hands.
The following few days were spent in the same, new routine. Sakuma would pack up food and supplies, sneak out and into the hidden cave, then take care of Koujirou's injuries first and of feeding him next. Koujirou always perked up as soon as he caught so much as a glimpse of him, always struggling to stay still just enough to keep himself from making his injuries worse or ruining Sakuma's hard work.
Not like either of them minded having an excuse to spend more time together, even if the reason was quite unfortunate.
Eventually, Sakuma felt like he could finally breathe again, the worst of the wounds on Koujirou's tail no longer at risk of reopening. The skin around them was still tender and needed some more time, the scars that would be left behind would not be pretty, but at least they didn’t require as much care as before by now.
“Good news- you’ll be able to go back to normal soon enough.”
That was all Koujirou needed to hear, perking up almost immediately at his words, wide and bright smile right on his face.
“Really?!”
His enthusiasm was contagious. As much as he tried to fight back, Sakuma couldn’t hold back a tiny smile and a nod at the sight. And that answer was all Koujirou needed, nearly throwing himself at him, arms wrapped around his neck and- and lips suddenly pressed against Sakuma's cheek.
It was all it took for Sakuma's mind to go blank and for his face to turn an interesting shade of red.
Finally, Koujirou seemed to notice that something wasn’t quite right, pulling away with a furrowed brow.
“Jirou? Are you okay?”
Sakuma blinked. Once, twice.
“Y-you… you just- y-you just kissed me-”
Koujirou stared at him, completely lost.
“… Isn’t that a thing humans do?”
“W-well- y-yes, but not with anyone-!” Well, this was going to be awkward to explain, to say the least. He just cut himself off before devolving into even more rambling, taking a deep breath and a few moments to collect himself under Koujirou's increasingly concerned stare. “W-we… we only do that with people w-we’re very close to… s-sometimes even closer than friends.”
And for a moment, Koujirou was silent. Sakuma could already feel the dread festering and growing in his stomach, weakly hoping that a mere miscommunication hadn’t just ruined years of friendship.
“… Aren’t we that close, then?”
Whatever Sakuma was expecting to hear now, it definitely wasn’t this.
“… What?”
Koujirou just nodded, as if it all suddenly made perfect sense. Sakuma could only feel his face heat up even more than before.
“Yeah- like those humans I’ve seen walking on the beach together sometimes!”
And that was when realization finally hit Sakuma like a sack of wet bricks.
Koujirou was talking about couples. And through his limited understanding of how humans functioned, he thought they had the same kind of relationship.
Worst(?) of all, Sakuma would be lying if he said that he would’ve never wanted something like that.
“Um… I-I don’t think it’s the same thing…” This was just getting harder and harder to explain. “T-they… uh… they’re not just friends- they’re partners. Like… romantically.”
He was just weakly hoping that there was anything remotely similar to that among merfolk, if anything to save him any further explanation.
And for a moment, Koujirou was once again quiet as he stared at him. Then, he smiled, almost sheepish. Almost forced.
“So… we’re not that close…?”
Now it just got more confusing.
“… Koujirou… do you… want us to be closer than friends…?”
It felt like such a silly question. They weren’t even from the same kind- there was no way that was what Koujirou was implying, right?
Except… now Koujirou was looking away. Sakuma could swear that his cheeks were tinted pink.
“… You cared about me more than anyone else has…” His sudden laugh was almost bitter. “Have you never wondered why a big scary shark is all alone?”
Sakuma's eye widened. Now it was all starting to make sense… and he didn’t like what Koujirou was implying. Koujirou wasn’t looking at him now, his smile so fake and sad, Sakuma didn’t want to see it again like that.
“… Koujirou…”
It was an impulsive decision.
When Koujirou looked up, Sakuma pulled him closer, hugging him as well as he could in their somewhat awkward position and with the tail and fins in the way.
Taking a deep breath, Sakuma steeled himself. All that resolve pretty much vanished the moment his lips touched Koujirou's cheek, so soft and shy it almost wasn’t even there.
Koujirou pulled back just enough to look at him, eyes wide and his face much redder than before. Sakuma managed a tiny smile, even more awkward than the whole situation. His hand found Koujirou's, their fingers carefully intertwining, mindful of not accidentally damaging the webs between them.
Despite the less than ideal start to this, things felt right now. There was still much to deal with and talk about… but they could think about that later. For now, this soft, shy affection was enough for them.
Sakuma's love life might have just become ten times weirder than he ever expected, but seeing Koujirou's gentle and warm smile, he quickly realized that it didn’t really matter.