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Once upon a time, there was a simple village known as Shibuya. This village was known for folktales. Why folktales? Well because this village was located near the ocean, where talk of merfolk blossomed. Though no one was able to get a clear view of those merfolk, it was quite common for people to talk about them in passing, claiming they saw one for a brief second before they vanished into the ocean.
Of course, for a girl named Shiki Misaki, these folktales intrigued her. Growing up, she took up an interest in aquatic life, wanting to meet a merfolk in person. But alas, it seemed to be nothing more than a dream.
That is, until a seemingly ordinary visit to the local beach very early in the morning.
Upon hearing about a tsunami from the night before, Shiki decided to see what was washed ashore, hoping to find scattered sea creatures or maybe a new shell to add to her growing collection of aquatic items. She got dressed in her usual attire consisting of a green tank top, light denim capris shorts, and black flip flops, perfect for exploring by the ocean. She also kept her dark brown hair cut short and had wide hazel eyes behind a pair of half-circle glasses.
So during this usual outing, Shiki couldn't seem to find anything that would be perfect for her collection. But as she checked the sand, she could hear some slight groaning. Curious, she walked further on, coming across a large rock. Yet upon peering behind it, she gasped.
Laying on the sand was a boy. He was unconscious, laying on his stomach with his face mostly covered by long bright orange hair. But that wasn't why Shiki gasped. He had a purple fish-like scaly tail and black fins.
This boy...was a merman.
Although the initial panic faded, Shiki was still surprised. An actual merman was on the beach! At first she feared he wasn't breathing, but then she heard a slight groan from him as he stirred. She carefully approached him, not wanting to get him startled.
The merman groaned again as he slowly moved his arms, positioning them close to his chest as he pushed upward. He then moved his tangled hair away from his eyes, blinking slowly as he saw Shiki right next to him. She leaned in closer, noticing his eyes were bright blue. But that move proved to be a mistake.
"Gah!" the merman yelped, jumping backwards. "What the hell?!"
"It's okay," Shiki reassured. "I want to help." She reached her hand forward, but he smacked it away. "Hey! What's with you?"
"I don't need your help," the merman spat out. "What are you even doing here?"
"Wow, rude," Shiki remarked.
"So what?" the merman asked. "I just met you. I don't give a squid's ass if you think I'm rude." He attempted to flip back into the ocean, but he winced slightly.
Shiki could tell something was off, so she decided to check the merman's tail...much to his annoyance. Although there was no sigh of blood, she realized something was off when she her a slight groan as she touched his hips. She paused, then touched the same area again.
"Do you mind?" the merman spat out. "I said, I don't need help." He tried to get up again, but he yelped in pain.
"Yes, you do!" Shiki disagreed. "You're in pain!"
"So what?" the merman dismissed. "I got stuck here 'cause of some stupid tidal waves last night."
Shiki looked surprised. "You mean the tsunami," she corrected. Could he have hurt himself on some rocks?
"Whatever," the merman angrily muttered. "Now I just need to-" But before he finished his sentence, he was soon carried by a pair of arms. "The hell?! Put me down!"
"Not until we get home," Shiki insisted. "And don't worry about your tail. It's early, so everyone is still sleeping."
Realizing he didn't have a choice, the merman sighed in defeat. "Whatever..." he muttered. "Do what you must."
And so, Shiki carried the merman over to his house, placing him in a bathtub. She turned the water on and momentarily left to get some salt. As the water filled the tub, Shiki sprinkled in salt and stirred it in, making sure the merman was comfortable. She repeated the process until the tub was full of salt water.
"There," Shiki said. "That should be enough to keep your tail moist." She reached for his hips. "Now to see what's wrong with- URK!"
Shiki was unable to finish her sentence, for the merman had grabbed her throat with one hand. "Don't touch me there again," he warned, tightening his grasp slightly. "You got that?"
"Y-Yes!" Shiki gasped. She deeply exhaled once the merman let go. It took her a while to regain her voice. "Can you at least tell me your name?"
The merman sunk deeper into the tub. "I'll go first," Shiki decided. "My name's Shiki Misaki, but you can call me Shiki."
"Weirdo..." the merman muttered, averting his gaze. "I need you to stop annoying me." He pushed his hair back, exposing his bright blue eyes.
"Is that how you treat all humans?" Shiki asked, getting fed up with the half-fish emo boy.
"Yes," the merman bluntly answered.
Shiki sighed. "I'll come back here later today for food," she said, heading for the bathroom door. "Just stay put. You're in my private bathroom, so my parents won't walk in on you."
Once Shiki was back in her bedroom, she closed the bathroom door and let out a sigh. "Great..." she thought to herself. "My first merfolk encounter and he's a total jerk! How am I supposed to care for him if he won't let me check his injury?"
"Shiki, are you up yet? Please come downstairs for breakfast!"
"O-Oh, sure thing, mom!" Shiki replied. She looked back at the bathroom door. Whether she liked it or not, she was stuck caring for this emo merman.
For a while, nothing had changed. Shiki often checked in with the merman, giving him various food for him to eat. He wasn't really all that talkative, not even looking at her. He just stayed put, quietly eating his meals.
But on Day 4 of merman care, Shiki decided to do something different. Yet there was the issue of him not wanting to be touched. So on that day, she entered the bathroom with a thick blanket.
"What's that for?" the merman asked.
"To cover your tail," Shiki answered. "I want to take you out into town for sightseeing."
"Why?" the merman asked.
"Better than being stuck in here," Shiki pointed out. "Unless you actually like staying put."
The merman sunk deep into the bathtub. "...No," he grumbled under his breath. Was his tail twitching? "I need to get back to the ocean."
"Then come on," Shiki insisted. She placed the blanket on the floor, then proceeded to lift the merman out of the tub. "A little fresh air never hurt anyone."
A short while later, Shiki was able to place the merman in a wheelchair, using the blanket to cover his tail. She brought him into 10-4, the village square. Luckily there was a small festival going on, with activities going on and booths selling handmade merchandise. Shiki was more amazed with the booths, even purchasing a lovely shell necklace.
In the heart of 10-4 was a small band playing music. In a burst of excitement, Shiki wheeled the merman onto the dance floor. Moving to face him, she held his hands and moved along to the fast beat. Granted being restricted to a wheelchair meant fewer movement, but she was having fun.
That evening, after spending the day at the village square, Shiki finished things off with a boat ride at a nearby lake. For a while, all seemed relatively peaceful. The merman was laying on his stomach, looking at the scenery as Shiki rowed. He seemed rather bored...at least, until something caught his eye in the water.
"Is that the moon?" the merman asked.
"Hm?" Shiki muttered.
"Right there," the merman explained, pointing at the lake. "How did it end up in the water?"
Shiki glanced at the lake. "Oh, that's-"
SPLASH!
Before Shiki could even explain, the merman had jumped off the boat and into the lake despite groaning in pain from his injury. He swam over to where the moon's reflection was and stuck his head out from the surface. He looked around, genuinely confused.
"What the hell?" the merman asked, glancing upwards. "How did it move so fast?"
Instead of answering properly, Shiki couldn't help but laugh. Seeing his reaction to the moon's reflection was kind of adorable. As she laughed, the merman turned to face her. It looked like he was about to say something, but no words came out. She noticed he staring at her.
"Is something wrong?" Shiki asked.
The merman dove back into the lake. Curious with what he was doing, Shiki set the rows down and leaned close to the boat's edge. She saw some bubbles surface and-
smooch
The merman leapt up and pressed his lips against Shiki's. It was brief before he parted, yet the blush on his face indicated he did that on purpose. Shiki blushed as well, surprised with the merman's gesture. It was her first kiss, after all. Even if it was rather spontaneous.
"...Neku," the merman said.
"Huh?" Shiki muttered.
"Neku Sakuraba," the merman continued. "That's my name."
"Neku, huh?" Shiki asked. "Cute name."
The blush on Neku's face was brighter. "Shut up..." he muttered, pushing his wet hair back.
Ever since that day, things had become a bit better. Neku had become kinder to Shiki, even letting her touch his hips so she could care for his injury. That sped up the process, eventually allowing him to return to the ocean by the end of the week.
But after Neku left, Shiki's life felt a bit dull. The whole reason why she was interested in aquatic life was based on her childhood dream to meet a merfolk. Now that she has, what now? Could she even turn her hobby into an actual job?
A few days had passed since the two parted ways. Shiki had returned to the shore, hoping to come across some new things for her collection. But just as she picked up a spiral shell that caught her eye, she noticed a familiar face had washed ashore. It was Neku, although he no longer had his long bright orange hair covering his face. It had been cut short with slightly long bangs.
"Neku!" Shiki cried out. She ran over to him, only to stop so suddenly upon realizing he had a knife. Why was he armed?!
"It's okay, Shiki," Neku reassured. "I got this knife from a warlock who lives in a dark grotto deep within the sea. It cost me most of my hair, but it was worth the price. Now please lay down."
"What are you going to do with that?" Shiki asked, taking a step backwards out of fear.
"Calm down!" Neku shouted. "I won't use this on you." He raised his blade above his arm. "So can you cooperate so I can get this over with?"
Feeling a bit unsure, Shiki reluctantly sat next to Neku. After telling her to stretch out her legs, he proceeded to use the knife to slash his arm, letting his blood drip onto her feet. The cut was quickly sealed up as the blood on Shiki's feet were seemingly absorbed into her skin.
"What was that for?" Shiki asked.
"I transferred my blood to your body," Neku explained. "From now on, you can turn into a mermaid."
"Wow, no way!" Shiki gushed. Then she realized what that meant. "But...I can't just abandon my human life."
"That's what I told the warlock," Neku said. "So he did something extra for me."
Suddenly, a bright glow came from Neku's tail. When the glow died down, the purple scales had transformed into human legs and he was now wearing purple pants. He attempted to stand up, but he struggled slightly. Luckily Shiki got back on her feet to help him out.
"Is this part of the knife thing?" Shiki asked.
"Not quite," Neku explained. "He gave me a potion that allows merfolk to turn into humans. Apparently it was so I could 'open up my world', as he worded it. Now I can stay on the surface world with you."
"So we can both switch between merfolk and human?" Shiki checked. She took off her flip flops to test out her newfound powers. Sure enough, after a flash of light, her denim capris had vanished and her legs transformed into a scaly light blue tail with dark green fins. She fell to the ground almost instantly, but Neku caught her just in time.
The orange-haired teen chuckled. "Little eager, huh?" he joked.
Shiki blushed in response. "I studied aquatic life ever since I was young," she explained. "Now I kinda want to see it for myself."
"All right," Neku agreed. His pants vanished as he legs transformed into a tail once more. "Where would you like to go first?"
"I'll let you choose," Shiki decided.
"Very well," Neku replied.
With that, Neku dove back into the ocean while also holding onto Shiki's hand, all while she smiled wide in excitement. She knew her life was never going to be the same again, but she didn't mind. Neku said he knew someone who encouraged him to open up his world, but now the same was true for her. With her newfound fish tail, she was looking forward to opening up her own world and discover new things deep within the ocean.
And you know what? She couldn't be any happier.