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The salty smell of the oceans water was always a familiar one with the brunette haired pirate, although sometimes suffocating with its denseness above the water, it was still a smell like home, a smell that Chiaki could rely on. It was one of Chiaki’s favorite things about voyaging the water, travelling from place to place, no known destination but the places that they happen to wash up on.
Another perk of the lifestyle was the new faces he got to meet- not only the people from distant lands that he got to befriend, but also the oceans creatures who said hello to him during his travels, like the dolphins that jumped from the water alongside his moving ship, or the unexpected water that blew from the surface from the distance from a whales blowhole.The ocean was truly an incredible place, and yet still so underexplored. Not knowing the depths isnt something that scared Chiaki- it encouraged him. Made him want to travel further, perhaps even discover one of these mysteries from the sea.
“Captain Morisawa! The sea’s all calm now, and the winds are low, de gozaru! We’re going to put the sail away for the night, is that okay?” a young, short boy beamed up at him. His hair was a dark purple with yellow streaks that covered one of his eyes, the other a bright gold. His outfit was similar to Chiaki’s- similar to all of the crew members on the Ryuseitai ship- a navy blue sailors shirt with a white collar, ties different colors depending on the person (Shinobu’s was yellow for example, while Chiaki’s was red).
“Sounds all good to me, mate yellow! You three can say your goodnights, i’ll stay out here for a while!” Chiaki smiled down at the other. There were only 4 people on the ship, Chiaki, Shinobu, Midori and Tetora, but even with their small crew, they didnt particularly care about the hardships that came with that. They were content with it, and much rather stay with the small family they had created on the ship rather than a large and bustling crew. Shinobu nodded enthusiastically, glancing up at the dark glittering sky before he turned to help the two other ship mates bring the sail up for that night.
After the sail had been put away for the night, the three youngers made their retreats to the cabin, leaving Chiaki alone on the calm sea. The water was serene, peaceful as it carried the ship slowly to whatever destination they were heading towards next. The winds were soft against his face, crisp and full of the smell of saltwater as Chiaki took full breaths. He smiled to himself- he didnt mind it when he was here alone in the nights, it was a nice moment of relaxation that, even though he was always exerting with energy, he felt like he needed from time to time. And anyways, the captain needs to keep watch of the ship even in the late hours! He was willing to have that responsibility, though. You cant be a captain that everyone can look up too without being good at what you do, after all.
The water was quiet- mostly. Soft sounds of small waves hit against the slow moving ship, and occasionally a splash could be made out from the distance, too far away to see what the cause of it was. Maybe a dolphin, jumping up from the waters surface? Chiaki had met many dolphins- he remembers one that used to swim alongside the ship as they sailed, as if guiding them somewhere.
Another splash-like sound caught Chiaki’s ears, and he finally opened his eyes too look around. It was dark- of course it was, it was nighttime. But even in the dark, Chiaki couldnt seem to locate the source of the sound. It sounded a little close.. Is their dolphin friend back to say hello, maybe?
One more, closer again. Usually Chiaki wouldnt give it a second thought, but his heart began to beat faster, unconscious anxiety beginning to fill him. Oh god.. What if it was a ghost..?! Can ghosts even appear out here? A water ghost?!?!
“Eek-! If there are any ghosts out there, please leave me alooone!!” Chiaki said in a loud whisper, as if asking a ghost to politely leave him alone would work..
And it seemed like it did. He didnt hear any other sounds- no splashing water anymore, nothing.
That was until, just in front of the ship, Chiaki spotted something. A pair or iridescent, green eyes staring up at him with curiosity. They looked as if they were really shining, the water that was just below them reflecting the bright irises. Wet turquoise hair floated on the water's surface, like a messy wet mop on a person's head, with one long strand sticking up and defying the logic of the other wet strands.
“Fufu~ i am not a ‘ghost’.. I ‘think’..~” it spoke, words coming out with small bubbles under the water. Although its words told Chiaki that it was nothing supernatural, Chiaki still freaked out when the thing spoke, a squeak of surprise making its way out of the boys throat. The creature in the water made a disappointed face, almost like it was pouting with the reaction that it got, a gentle splash behind him- thats when Chiaki realized what the cause of the splash was, a large, blue fish tail behind the creature.
“I just ‘told’ you.. I am not a ‘ghost’.. Why are you still ‘scared’? I will not ‘hurt’ you~” it said again. Chiaki wasnt sure if he should be taking its words to heart- but going in circles with a conversation like this was getting no where, so for now he stayed weary.
Chiaki made sure to stand a little bit away from the railing surrounding the ships edge, but still enough to see the.. Person?
“Uhm… alright, i’ll trust you for now! But uh, hey, why are you in the water..? If youre not a ghost, then arent you cold in there?!” he asked, his voice loud and enthusiastic, even for the late hour of the night that it was, at the risk of waking up his crew members.
The blue haired person tilted their head in confusion, another small splash behind them. “It is not, ‘cold’. If i am not ‘puka puka’ing in the ‘water’, then i would ‘die’, just like my ‘friends’ who were ‘taken’~” it said, tone always calm and airy despite the morbid words that it said. Chiaki went a little wide eyes, whatever expression he had on before now dropping.
“D-die..? Your friends?! That sounds terrible..!” Chiaki said, finding it in himself to take a step closer to the edge and view the other better. “Uhm.. im so sorry to hear about that! I didnt mean to bring up any bad memories, thats not what a hero does at all!” he shook his head, upset expression painting his face.
“It is ‘okay’. Our ‘scales’ are apparently very ‘valuable’ to ‘your kind’...” he said vaguely, about to make Chiaki question what he meant before it shifted around in the water, a large, shining blue tail suddenly in front of it. There was no denying it now- that tail was definitely attached to it.. Chiaki stared down at the brilliantly colored tail, the blue scales sparkling in the moons light, giving them a soft white sheen. Wait.. this was..?
“You.. y-youre a mermaid?!” Chiaki finally got out of his state of trance, registering what he had seen and having his second momentary freak out of the day. Thats what the other meant by saying ‘your kind’, didnt he.. He meant humans. Chiaki frowned a little at the thought that it described to him earlier.
It frowned up at him, confused again. “Actually, my name is ‘Kanata’, not ‘mermaid’~” it explained, obviously not understanding- why would it know what ‘mermaid’ meant in the human definition? Just cause humans called them that, doesnt mean thats what *they* called themselves here under water!
“Oh.. oh! I never introduced myself! Ahaha! My bad..” Chiaki scratched the back of his head a little in embarrassment, smiling awkwardly. “My name is Chaiaki Morisawa, captain of this ship and aspiring hero for all people, at your service!” he said, striking some sort of pose with his fist over his heart and legs in a strong stance. Its almost as if he’d practiced that introduction..
The serene smile returned to Kanata’s face, the both of them seeming to calm down a little since the beginning of the conversation.
“You are much ‘nicer’ than the other ‘humans’ i have met.. You have not tried to ‘throw’ a ‘net’ at me yet..” Kanata said, once again saying something morbid with an expression and tone that didnt match it at all.
“Of course i wouldnt do that..! I told you, im an aspiring hero for all people! That includes both on land.. And sea! Ahaha!” he laughed again proudly. Kanata seemed to smile a little bit at this, and Chiaki could only infer that the other trusted his words- at least he hoped. What a bizarre situation.. Chiaki didnt like thinking about the supernatural, or cryptids and creatures, it scared him. Even something as harmless sounding like a mermaid made him a little scared- but Kanata seemed to be kind.. As a matter of fact, Chiaki would say that the other should probably be more scared of him than he is of it.
Chiaki yawned a little bit, covering his mouth with his hand as he blinked up at the sky filled with starts. Ah, right.. It had slipped his mind that it was so late, and he needed rest.
“Are you ‘sleepy’? Fufu~ but then who will drive the ‘ship’?” Kanata said airily, Chiaki shrugging in response. “Well.. its not very responsible or hero-like of me… but i usually just let it drift along, usually on calmer nights like these!” he explained, gesturing to the calm, open waters to prove him point. It made Kanata giggle again.
“I will ‘watch’ your ship for you, while you ‘sleep’... you are going ‘this way’, right?” Kanata asked, bringing an arm out of the water and pointing into the direction the ship was facing. Chiaki noticed that speckled along the others human-like skin were also shiny blue scales. Kanata’s hands were webbed- skin between his fingers, similar to a ducks feet. Chiaki realized just how much of the ocean- no, the world- that he had yet to actually discover.
“Yup! But are you sure about that..? Dont you need some sleep, too? Everything needs sleep!” Chiaki insisted, but Kanata only smiled. “I am ‘sure’.. You are ‘nice’. I want to be ‘around’ people that are ‘nice’.” it explained, swimming a little closer to the ship, which drifted at a slow enough pace for Kanata to keep up with, and put a palm on the wood of it.
Chiaki smiled at the sight, and wished he could capture it forever- it was a calming, serene image, but also one he wanted to take in picture to make sure this whole situation wasnt a strange dream. Well, even if it was a dream, at least its a happy one.
“Do you want to join us on our journey, Kanata?” Chiaki asked, and Kanata looked back up at him.
“‘Us’?” was all it said in a confused voice, making Chiaki make a surprised sound. “R-right, slipped my mind again, ahaha! I have three other crew members asleep- but i promise they wont do any harm! Theyre good kids, promise!” he insisted. Kanata seemed to think about it a little, before nodding his head slowly.
“That sounds ‘fun’... i have been ‘cooped up’ in the same place for ‘a while’.. My ‘family’ is very ‘big’ and ‘overbearing’” Kanata said vaguely, but Chiaki could still understand what he meant.
“Then come with us! I’ll keep you safe, Kanata! Thats was a good hero does! You can swim beside the ship as we sail, right?”
Kanata nodded yet again, playfully splashing water up to Chiaki with another soft giggle that made bubbles rise within the water with every laugh. It made Chiaki happy to hear such a carefree and genuine happy laugh from Kanata, who had probably feared him just up until a while ago.
“Well.. its settled, then! Welcome aboard, mate Kanata! Or, err.. Welcome offboard!” Chiaki laughed at his own bad joke, Kanata only seemed to pout, humming a soft ‘booooo~’ from beneath him.
“I think your ‘exhaustion’ is getting to you, Chiaki~ go ‘rest’ before i need to ‘hear’ another bad ‘joke’, fufu~” Kanata said, and in another circumstance Chiaki probably would have argued how great that joke was and how offended he was that the other didnt laugh- but another yawn bubbled up inside of him. Kanata was probably right, exhaustion was getting to him.
“Goodnight, Kanata.. Im really glad! Glad that i not only made a new friend today, but also a new person to join us!” Chiaki said once more. Kanata nodded, saying a simple “me ‘too’~” before Chiaki could finally find it in himself to retreat to the cabin and find comfort in his own bed.
Chiaki was excited for the morning. He was excited to greet his fishy friend and share his experience with the other crew- he could practically see their bewildered faces already.
With a bright smiling face, Chiaki could fall asleep easy that night to the feeling of gentle rocking by the waves of the boat, awaiting what uncertainty might happen tomorrow.