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A light breeze brushed against Eijun’s face as he bent over to retrieve the bait for his fishing rod. After securing it properly, he straightened his back and cast as far as he could into the ocean. He was standing on and among many rocks so he had to be careful that he wouldn’t lose his balance. This side of the shore was better. Not only was the wind blowing in a good direction, but he swore he could already see dark silhouettes moving under the water.

It was cloudy, too, so Eijun was confident he would be more successful in catching something. Even though this was his first time here, he was already comfortable with the location and the view. It hadn’t taken him much time to research excellent fishing spots, and the hour and a half train ride would definitely be worth it. He hadn’t even had to worry about a licence, he’d had one of those since a long time ago.

Even though fishing was just an occasional hobby, he genuinely enjoyed it ever since he was a kid when his grandpa had taken him out often on his boat. And another big perk was how gratifying it was to show off his catches to his teammates and friends. He’d show them all, especially Kanemaru, who never believed him when he said how good he was at fishing!

Eijun grinned into the breeze. The remainder of the afternoon humidity was starting to alleviate, giving way to the coolness of the early evening. The fish would undoubtedly be more likely to bite in this weather. Eijun was glad he waited those extra hours before getting on the train. When it was hot and sunny, the fish would likely be hiding far below the surface.

When it came to this, Eijun was patient. He had plenty to think about, plenty to admire to pass the time. The wide, expansive ocean, the outline of a nearby island, the way the clouds were starting to turn orange leading up to the approaching sunset. It was beautiful. Back in Nagano, he’d often fished in lakes, rather than going right up to the ocean shore. But since he’d moved to Tokyo for university, beautiful sights like this were closer to him, just a train ride away.

Yup, it really was worth coming all the way out here instead of just going to an urban fishing center!

Just as he continued marvelling at the view, there was a tug on his fishing rod.

“Yes!” Eijun cheered out loud. “Gotcha!”

The tug was quite strong, but not as strong as his will.

“What do I have here… could it be tuna? Bass? Mackerel?”

Eijun angled his rod correctly, holding it in place as the fish thrashed back and forth. Just as he was about to pull it up, there was a sudden jerking movement where it felt like the rod was about to be tugged right out of Eijun’s grip. And then… nothing. No more movement, and his rod once again felt light.

“Huh?”

After inspecting his rod and the hook, it looked fine. But the bait was gone and so was whatever fish attached to it.

Now Eijun had a fair amount of experience fishing, but this hadn’t happened to him since he’d been a kid learning how to fish. Alright… maybe a bit more often than that over the years. But Eijun had practically perfected his techniques, so this shouldn’t happen unless the fish was super large! The one he’d just hooked hadn’t felt that big. But oh well, flukes happened, and fish escaped. Perhaps the fish around here were just more agile than he was used to. He’d just have to try again!

So Eijun baited the hook and once again cast into the sea, farther away this time.

This was his first time fishing here, so of course he should lower his expectations. He was confident, but not unrealistic. Despite his experience, things could go wrong. And every fishing spot was different.

After a while longer, there was another tug. Eijun grinned. This time he’ll get it for sure!

But just as he was about to pull it up, the same thing happened. A light jerk, and then the line went empty.

Eijun stared down at the water. What on earth? Could the fish really escape from his hook that easily? They just take the bait and run? It shouldn’t be that easy for them! Maybe the fish here had different mouths, maybe he needed a different hook, or a different type of bait.

He took in a few deep, calming breaths. There was no reason to get frustrated. This was just a hobby, after all. It wasn’t like it was his livelihood. He was just a university student from Tokyo, and on a sports scholarship, no less. There was no reason fishing had to be stressful.

And with those thoughts, he loosened up and tried again.

But in the next two hours, the sun had completely gone down, and Eijun had not caught a single thing. Every time he thought he caught something, the fish would get away.

How could that even happen?

It had been a while since he had gone fishing. Perhaps he truly was rusty?

With a sigh, Eijun packed up and headed back up the rocks towards shore, his head held low and a heaviness in his limbs. He could still have kept going even in the dark, but the defeat of the day was already weighing him down.

All he could do for now was take a bus back to his city for the night. At least it was summer break, so he had nothing else to do, and there was no baseball practice in the morning.

He would not give up though, he’d try again for sure! It would just be after he was well rested and had time to figure out if he was doing anything wrong.

Yup, Eijun was no quitter after all!

Eijun came back out to the same spot a few days later. He’d spent most of the last few days practicing baseball on his own. Even though he wasn’t on the first string on his university’s team yet (he was just a first year), he still needed to prove himself in this competitive environment, especially with the fall league coming up after the break.

In those days he’d also gone to a community fishing centre to test his skills, to see if he really was rusty. But it turned out he did fine there, so maybe the fish in this sea were just more wild…

Well, whatever it was, this time Eijun was ready for it!

He found the same spot and carefully walked across the rocks with his fishing rod in one hand, tackle box in the other. He did briefly second guess whether it really was a suitable spot—after all, he hadn’t seen anyone else along the same shore last time or this time. But he held onto the hope that he’d stumbled upon a hidden gem when researching. Yes, this time he would catch fish for sure!

After he set up, Eijun cast into the sea. This time, he had a new sense of vigour, a renewed fighting spirit. If it didn’t work the first time, just try and try again!

If it really wasn’t a good spot for fishing, he would just have to find somewhere else along the coast and see if that worked any better.

This time, the weather was a bit different—the sky was clear, and although he’d still waited until later in the afternoon to come, it was still a bit humid. That was fine, Eijun didn’t mind the heat. The fish did, though, so it might be more tricky to catch some. But he still could get lucky this time! He’d tried to cast deeper, looking forward to what might happen.

As Eijun waited, he emptied his mind, focusing only on the sensation of the rod in his hand and the feeling of the air on his face. If… when something bit, he’d be ready this time.

An uncountable amount of time later, there was a tug. Eijun blinked into action. Don’t get too excited, he told himself. Focus.

But as he started reeling it in… there was a dip and a tug, and then nothing.

Question marks went off over Eijun’s head. What the hell? This literally shouldn’t be possible! It was true he didn’t know all the breeds of fish, he wasn’t all knowing about their habits, their strengths, but it felt strange. Something was weird with these fish.

Eijun sat down on the rocks, grumbling to himself. Yes, he was a patient person. Usually. But with a problem he couldn’t solve like this one, it left him frustrated. He ran a hand through his hair, staring out into the water. What kind of fish were below the surface, anyway? He still wasn’t going to give up—it was a challenge that he would definitely overcome. But so far, he just didn’t know how to.

Eijun stared out into the distance as the sun lowered, absentmindedly fixing his hook with another piece of bait. And this time, still sitting on the rock, he cast his rod again.

Maybe he just had to have lower expectations? Fishing right from the ocean was newer to him, after all. That’s right. Eijun had learned over the years of playing baseball that he couldn’t think too highly of himself from the start. He had to work for what he wanted. And that’s when his success would be all the more sweet.

His eyes were focused on the spot where his line went into the water. He was certain he saw fish swimming underneath the surface, dark silhouettes coming back and forth. He’d just have to wait until the right one took the bait, and didn’t escape.

Just as he had that thought, there was a visible splash in the water right near where his line was. It was a pretty big one, too, with water spraying up a fair distance into the air.

Eijun gaped. Don’t tell me… could it be a super large fish!? Take the bait, take the bait, take the bait, he prayed. All of this trouble resulting in a super amazing catch would be a story he’d brag about for years to come!

But nothing tugged on his line. Well, he supposed that would be the case. If it were large, it probably had better things to eat than his small amount of bait…

In front of him, about three or four meters away, there was another splash. This time, there was a more prominent black shape under the water. The shadow was much larger than any fish Eijun would have expected to see. He fumbled his grip on his rod slightly as he stared at the spot in the water, his eyebrows scrunching up. What was that? He lifted one arm and rubbed it over his eyes. Was the light of the setting sun making him see things or what?

When his eyes focused again, the shadow was gone. Maybe he really was just seeing things.

As he was about to focus on fishing again, however, the shadow appeared again, a bit closer to him. What was that? It was no fish! And there was no way a whale or dolphin would be this close to shore!

Should he get a bit closer? He risked falling into the water, but if he moved to the very edge of the rocks, maybe he could get a better look…

Just as he shifted in spot, about to stand up, something poked up from the water.

It wasn’t just something.

It was a human head!

Eijun screamed.

The head had pale skin, and dark hair, a piece of bang hanging in the middle of the head. Not that Eijun got too good of a look because the second he saw it he was screaming and scrambling away, the fishing rod falling from his grip into the ocean. Saving his own life from a potentially harmful ghost was so much more important than his rod. Because what else could it be but a ghost? Why, why was this happening to him?

He hadn’t expected this, not taking time to research ghost stories, because why the hell would he?! But maybe he should have, so he wouldn’t have been caught unawares! He, Sawamura Eijun, was usually way more thorough than this!

“I come in peace!” Eijun yelped as he scrambled up, almost tripping on the rocks. “I won’t disturb your resting place, so this humble one would like to ask you to please, please don’t hurt me!”

There was no sound, no response at all.

Eijun was further up the rocks, panting, heart racing, whole body trembling with more fear than he’d ever felt before, when he slowly turned around.

It’s still there!

Only, something was different—it wasn’t just a head. There were also a pair of arms coming out of the water… and… holding its own ears? Eijun swallowed thickly, his heart hammering in his chest. He didn’t want to look directly at it. But if it were a ghost… wouldn’t it look more… translucent? Not that Eijun knew much about ghosts, he avoided that topic as much as possible!

Just then, a pair of eyes shifted over and met Eijun’s.

Shit, was his first reaction. But after a moment of silence and stillness, nothing happened. Nothing jumped out of the water at him. The pair of eyes just stared at Eijun, no movement whatsoever coming from the spot where the head was above water.

Fright turned into confusion. If it wasn’t a ghost… was it a person who’d gone for a swim? Eijun blinked rapidly, trying to get a better look. He turned back around and walked back down the rocks, closer to the shore. That didn’t make any sense either. The beach side of the shore was a fair distance away. But it was possible if someone was a good enough swimmer to come this far.

“Hey there!” Eijun called out. “Do you need help? You’re not drowning, right?”

After he got closer, he saw that yeah, it was a real person. A head of dark, silky looking hair with a bang in the middle of his forehead and silver-grey eyes shining at him.

The person, a male, it looked like, looked side to side.

“You, I’m talking to you!” Eijun pointed right at him.

This swimming person appeared to be spooked. His eyes widened and he flinched, disappearing below the water.

Damn! Could it be that this guy really was drowning?

Eijun rushed to the very edge of the rocks, weighing whether he should jump in. It wasn’t like Eijun wasn’t a good swimmer, but there was so much to think about—he didn’t know how deep it was, or what kind of potentially creatures were under the surface. But then again, this was a person’s life at stake here!

“Hold on, pal, I’ll come save you!”

Eijun leapt into the water. He swam out to where the person had been and felt around under the water as he kicked to keep himself afloat.

Shit, a person shouldn’t sink that quickly, right? It was almost as if there had been nobody there at all!

But just as he was about to put his head under the water to look, there was a sudden splash, as a figure popped up right next to him, an arm wrapping around his waist.

Eijun screamed again, this time because the action startled him.

“What are you doing?” The voice was quiet, almost monotone. Eijun sucked in a breath and turned to face the one who he’d been looking at from the rocks not too long ago.

Up close, Eijun lost his words for a second, almost forgetting exactly what he had been doing. This guy was really handsome. His grey eyes had an intense, almost mesmerizing look in them. It wasn’t just that, but his smooth hair, his facial features… it was undeniable how striking he was.

“I… I was saving you!”

“From what?” was the response.

“Drowning! The sea!” Eijun said. “You’re far away from the beach there, pal!”

There was no response. But this guy did look like he was swimming just fine… he didn’t seem to be in any distress at all. He’d just easily slid up beside Eijun and put an arm around him… huh?

But before he could formulate another sentence, this guy was swimming, pulling Eijun along with him back to the rocky shore.

“I don’t need saving! I jumped in to save you!”

When they got back to the edge, Eijun pulled himself back up onto the rocks, staring down at the guy with the intense grey eyes who was still floating in the water.

“I don’t need saving from the sea,” the guy said, and if Eijun was right, there was a tad bit of irritation in his tone. “Just from your voice.”

“Huh? My voice? Isn’t that rude?! I was just trying to help you!”

“By screaming ‘kyaaa’?”

“Shut up!” Eijun winced as his face went hot. That had clearly been mockery. “I-I just didn’t expect to see anyone else there. I thought you were a ghost.”

“A ghost?” he peered at Eijun curiously. “There are no ghosts here.”

“How would I know that?” Eijun argued. “Anyway, how would you know that?”

“I live here,” was the response.

Eijun blinked and then looked behind him. Well, there were beach houses around.

“I guess that explains why you’re so good at swimming,” Eijun said with a small grin. “You live around here, so you must come to swim often, huh? Sorry if I interfered. This isn’t the normal swimming area, so I just thought you were in trouble or something.”

“No,” the guy said slowly, expression deadpan. “I wasn’t drowning.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll leave you to it then. But the sun is going down soon, it’s more dangerous to swim after dark. Be sure to get home, okay?”

There was a soft-sounding chuckle and then a reply. “Okay.”

And in a blink, the guy ducked below the water again, disappearing completely and leaving Eijun confused, wondering if he hadn’t just imagined that whole interaction. After all, it made no sense. How could someone be that good at swimming? How could he disappear below water like that, he wasn’t even wearing scuba gear…

Eijun, wet clothes and all, went back to the train right after that. But it was only when he got back to his apartment that he realized he’d left his fishing stuff behind, including his rod, which he’d forgotten had fallen into the sea.

Of course, Eijun came back the very next afternoon—if his rod was gone for good, he at least wanted to get his tackle box back. Thankfully it was there on the rocks where he had left it.

Eijun sat on a rock right by the edge of the sea, looking down. His rod might be long gone by now. He sighed dejectedly. They weren’t cheap. He was a university student with no job on a baseball scholarship, he wasn’t sure he could afford to get a new rod right now. He might have to give up on fishing for a while.

But it’d be a shame if he came all this way to get his stuff just to go back to the city right away. He might as well enjoy the good weather and view for a bit longer.

It was mid-August, hot and humid, but to Eijun that was the best kind of weather. He didn’t mind sitting there with the afternoon sun beating down on him, and a person appearing in the water just below him…

Wait what!

Eijun gasped, somehow not managing to scream this time. Before he could freak out, he saw that it was the same guy from last time. Placing a hand on his chest, Eijun took in a few calming breaths.

“Don’t sneak up on someone like that!” Eijun then cleared his throat. “Anyway… so you’re here again, huh? You must really like the water!”

The guy stared blankly at Eijun, his head tilted just a bit. “... Yeah.” The voice was quiet, with an underlying note of amusement that Eijun just barely picked up on.

No matter what though, it was definitely weird to be swimming over here. “You should stick to the beach area though,” Eijun said. “It might be dangerous over here.”

“It’s too crowded there,” the guy replied.

“I guess so…” Eijun said. Crowds didn’t bother him at all, but he understood that others were different from him. Especially this guy. He must be a weirdo. A very handsome weirdo, at that. Eijun shook his head slowly. It really was unfair how nice of a face he had. Even the way the water made his bangs frame his face made him look charming.

What was unusual, though, was how this guy kept on staring at him. It unnerved him so much that his face started to grow hotter than before, but he didn’t really feel like looking away. And now that he was staring at him more, he was starting to notice something even more peculiar. The guy’s neck was above water, but not his hands. Wouldn’t you usually need your hands to keep yourself afloat? And if he was kicking, there would normally be bubbles at the surface, but this guy wasn’t moving or putting in an effort to keep at the surface at all.

A chill went down Eijun’s spine.

“Are you…” he gulped. “Are you sure you’re not a ghost?”

“No,” was the reply.

“You’re not sure?!” Holy shit?

The guy sighed like he was irritated. “I’m not a ghost.”

“Listen here, nobody can swim that well. You’re not kicking or moving at all, like your head is just floating by itself!”

The guy sighed again. He moved closer to Eijun, causing Eijun’s skin to tingle with apprehension. A part of him worried that he was going to be drowned in the ocean right now.

But instead of pulling Eijun in, a pair of arms came out of the water, grabbing onto a rock. And then he slowly pulled himself up. Ah, okay then. So he was a normal person. With a head, neck, arms, bare chest, and…

Holy crap?!

A very long, shimmering tail!

“Y-you-” he choked out, blinking rapidly as his mouth gaped. Was he even seeing this right? How could that be possible?

Was it a costume? It had to be, right? He reached over by instinct, but then drew his hand back.

“Satoru,” the guy said.

“Huh?”

“My name.”

“O-oh.” Eijun’s heart was beating even faster. The guy, Satoru, had pulled himself up so he was sitting on the rock next to Eijun, his tail halfway into the water. His tail was a deep blue, more like the colour of the night sky than the colour of the sea, and then faded into a gradient of light purple the further down it went.

Eijun pinched himself on his cheek, hard. And then he did it again.

“Doesn’t that hurt?”

“S-shut up! Let me process things for a sec, would you?!”

There was no way this guy was a legitimate merman. Not that Eijun didn’t like to believe in stuff like that. He was a dreamer, he read about a lot of fantastic scenarios like that in his shoujo manga, and sometimes imagined a world in which it was true.

Satoru was really pale, and almost ethereal, so it was almost easy to believe it right away. Eijun’s eyes trailed down Satoru’s tail and up again, eyeing the spot where the tail faded into the skin of his abdomen, not seeing an obvious spot where a costume would begin.

“You can touch it if you want,” Satoru said.

Eijun’s eyes went wide as his face flushed, embarrassed at being too blatant in his staring. “Y-you! You can’t just say bold stuff like that!”

“Why?”

“I don’t know!”

It was seriously hard to process what was going on right now. Eijun peered back at Satoru’s face. His face was normal, just like a human’s. He looked like a human right until his waist, where the skin seamlessly faded into scales of the beautiful tail. He’d been so shocked at first he hadn’t taken a good enough look. But the colour was really beautiful. It reminded Eijun of when he’d run laps around his favourite field under the night sky back in Nagano.

“Is it really okay?” Eijun asked, his heart speeding up again.

Satoru nodded in confirmation.

Curiosity won over how nervous he was. Eijun reached out slowly, drawing his hand back once or twice more before finally gently placing it on his tail. A gasp escaped him. It was soft, but he could feel the rough, scaly texture underneath his fingertips. He didn’t want to be rude, so he removed his hand right away.

“So… so you really are… a merman…” Eijun whispered the words out loud. “It’s not a costume or anything.”

“Yeah,” Satoru said.

“Damn!” Eijun exclaimed. “What kind of manga is this?!”

Part of him still wasn’t completely sure that he was awake, but Satoru’s tail under his fingertips certainly felt real. And when he looked down Satoru’s arm, towards his hands, something else stood out to him—his fingers were webbed, at least one third up his fingers. Wow. This was really real.

Just then, Satoru slipped off the rock and back into the water effortlessly and covered his ears.

“Huh? What are you doing?” Eijun asked, heart still thumping so loud he could hear it. He’d somehow processed this new information but it was still a lot to take in.

“You’re too noisy.” Satoru said it matter-of-factly and Eijun sputtered.

“Oi! Merman or not, you’re a rude guy to say that kind of thing!”

Satoru turned his head slightly.

“Don’t ignore me!”

Without responding, Satoru disappeared underneath the water. This time though, he made a show of it—his whole tail, fins and all, came out of the water before splashing, some spray hitting Eijun.

Eijun gaped and then he narrowed his eyes. “Now that guy is just showing off!”

Not that he could blame him. Damn. If Eijun had a tail like that, he’d show it off too.

Part of Eijun wondered if he should really accept this so easily, but he’d already seen the proof. No human could swim or dive like that, he saw the tail, his hands, the way he disappeared beneath the water more than once…

Satoru seemed a bit rude with how he’d made fun of him more than once now, but Eijun was intrigued by him all the same. How could he not be? To think mermaids were real! It was straight out of a fantasy manga!

The water had stilled by now, but Eijun didn’t take his eyes off the spot where Satoru had disappeared. His home… must be deep below, right? It was a bit dizzying, almost unfathomable to imagine. So there wasn’t just Satoru, there must be a whole city of mermaids down there, right? Holy shit. So many questions spun through Eijun’s head. Would Satoru come back? Would he answer his questions? Or was the mermaid society… like some kind of secret?

“Oh man,” Eijun mumbled to himself. He kind of wanted to go tell his friends what he’d found out, but at the same time, he knew they’d want to come see for themselves, and it might scare Satoru away. For all he knew Satoru wouldn’t even come back to begin with.

Just then, Satoru did happen to appear from the sea right in front of him again.

“Oh! You’re back!” he exclaimed.

Satoru swam up to him, and held something up to him. It took a moment for Eijun to process what was happening, until his eyes landed on what was in Satoru’s hands.

“My fishing rod!”

Eijun took it with a grin. He eyed it and ran his hands over it. It was all in one piece.

“You found it? Thanks, Satoru!”

Satoru nodded. “It hadn’t floated that far away.”

“Still, thanks! You’re a nice guy after all, huh!”

Maybe he’d misjudged Satoru as someone rude too easily.

Satoru was staring at him, and Eijun stared right back until he couldn’t help but laugh. “Why do you look surprised?”

“Nobody has ever said that about me before.”

“Huh?”

Satoru averted his gaze, staring off into the distance. “Nothing.”

Eijun peered down at him. They’d just met and he didn’t know Satoru at all, only that he was unfairly pretty, a bit quiet, blunt, liked to show off, and… actually might be nice. What kind of life did this guy lead under the sea?

He didn’t want to pry because he didn’t want Satoru to disappear on him again so soon, so he changed the subject. Looking at his rod in his hands reminded Eijun of a very pressing matter anyway.

“So, Satoru, you must know this area well. Tell me something. What’s up with the fish around here?”

Satoru met Eijun’s eyes again, his head tilting slightly. “What do you mean?”

“The fish! You know! Are they like… super strong or something? Super agile?”

“No, they’re normal.”

“How can that be?” Eijun exclaimed loudly. It wasn’t like he was unaware of his own volume, but he couldn’t help it. He glowered as Satoru put his hands over his ears again. “Oi, listen to me, you! I was trying to go fishing a couple of times now, and each time the fish ended up escaping! I’m usually better than that, so it must be that the fish are super stro-”

“Oh, that,” Satoru said, lowering his hands. “I let them go.”

“What?” Eijun immediately processed those words. “What the heck?”

And the hands went back up. Satoru averted his gaze again.

Eijun’s head drew back quickly, almost causing himself whiplash as his mouth fell open. “What?! What do you mean you let them go?”

“I let them go.” Satoru’s mouth flattened into a thin line. “I couldn’t watch them struggling to just get killed…”

Any argument Eijun could throw out was extinguished in an instant. He shut his own mouth. Damn. In the point of view of someone like Satoru, fishing would be…

Eijun cleared his throat. “Well… well, I can certainly understand your point of view. But at the same time, we humans eat fish, y’know? Fishing is a very common pastime, and one I enjoy a lot…”

Satoru stared at him, unspeaking. There was something in his eyes, though, that made Eijun say what he said next.

“... But I guess I can just go fishing elsewhere, and not in this area anymore!”

The cloudy expression in Satoru’s eyes went away. He nodded, looking pleased. “Okay. Thank you.”

The sincere gratitude made something in Eijun’s chest flutter. He grinned back. “Alright, then that’s settled!” He’d just have to find somewhere else to fish if he wanted to. Eijun put his rod beside his tackle box and focused his attention on Satoru again—he wasn’t ready to leave just yet.

“Hey, Satoru, I have a question if you don’t mind!”

Actually, he had several, but this one seemed to be the most important.

“Okay.” Satoru gazed at him curiously.

“Is it okay for you to be here? I mean, aren’t you supposed to be a secret or something? Is it dangerous?”

“It’s okay,” Satoru said. “There are no rules that say we can’t go to the surface.”

“Oh, really?”

“It’s discouraged. But we’re just warned to be careful, there are no punishments for it.”

“Right, right,” Eijun said like he understood. “So why did you come up then?”

“I was exploring,” Satoru said, “and I happened to see the fish being hooked.”

“Aha…” Eijun laughed nervously. “I see, I see! I’m sorry to make you see something so unpleasant for you! Anyway, let’s not talk about it anymore.”

Satoru’s gaze bore into Eijun so much that it caused a flush to creep up the back of his neck. “Wha-what?”

“Nothing.” Satoru’s lips curled up slightly into a small smile. “You’re nicer than I thought too.”

“Huh?” Eijun blurted. The flush on his neck grew hotter with the praise and seeing Satoru’s smile, which looked too damn attractive on his strikingly beautiful face.

“For a human that’s so loud that is.”

“Hey! I take it back, you’re definitely a jerk!”

Satoru chuckled. “What’s your name?”

Eijun coughed, struggling to regain his composure. “Ah, ah, that’s right, I haven’t introduced myself to you yet! I’m Sawamura! The great ace, Sawamura Eijun!”

Well, it wasn’t a lie—he had been an ace in high school. University, not yet, but he would get there with enough hard work and dedication to fight with the best of them!

“Eijun…” Satoru repeated.

His name sounded so nice in Satoru’s soft tone. Ugh, it was so unfair. And Eijun didn’t know why he started to feel warmer and warmer, like something unreachable within him was ticklish upon hearing it.

“Y-yeah,” he murmured, somehow embarrassed for some reason.

“I’ll see you later, Eijun.”

Satoru disappeared again, going deep into the sea to where, Eijun assumed, his home was.

Eijun hunched over, rubbing his eyes. Maybe this really had all been a dream after all. Or he had a huge case of heat exhaustion and was hallucinating.

Whatever it was, something warm, almost burning, formed in Eijun’s stomach. Some kind of anticipation, maybe.

Well, Eijun didn’t know if he really would see Satoru again, but he did know this was a day he’d never forget.

A couple of days later, Eijun came back to the same spot at the same time of day. He told himself that it wasn’t just to see Satoru, but now that he’d promised to not fish there he didn’t have any other excuses. It was true, though—he did want to see Satoru. He couldn’t help being curious about him. Not just because of him being a merman, though that was a big part of it, but because his personality was a bit mysterious (if not slightly agitating) and it naturally made Eijun want to know more about him.

Eijun stared down at the water, waiting. And then he laughed to himself. If mermen just had phones, then… what a ridiculous thought.

He readjusted his position on the rocks so he was more comfortable and looked up into the sky. The sun was still a ways off from setting, but it was close enough that there was a glow to the sky and the reflection on the water.

“Eijun.”

Eijun shrieked, his whole body jerking forward. But before he could slip off the rock, a pair of hands steadied him. He blinked down at Satoru, his heart swooping up into his throat.

“Y-you! You sure like to sneak up and startle people, huh?”

Satoru removed his hands from Eijun’s legs and slunk back further into the water.

“How should I approach you then?”

His voice was serious, but there was an amused twinkle in his eye. Ugh, that guy really had fun seeing him embarrass himself, didn’t he?

“Normally! I… I don’t know, make a splash first or something!”

“Hmm. Okay.”

Eijun didn’t believe in Satoru’s agreement at all.

“Is it because you’re scared of ghosts?” Satoru questioned.

“Dammit! Don’t bring that up again!”

It was so embarrassing! To think that was Satoru’s first impression of him! And that he kept bringing it up to make fun of him!

“While there aren’t ghosts here,” Satoru said, “I heard stories about further along the coast. There had been multiple humans who drowned, and then…”

Eijun covered his ears. “Shut up, shut up! I don’t want to hear it!”

Satoru looked so amused, that bastard.

Before Eijun could scold him, Satoru shifted positions so he was floating on his back, his tail visible at the surface of the water, his fins splashing slightly as he floated closer to where Eijun was sitting.

“You didn’t come yesterday,” Satoru said, suddenly.

Eijun blinked back to reality after momentarily being mesmerized by Satoru’s tail and how it practically sparkled under the sun, almost like stars. He lowered his hands from his ears.

“Hm?” Eijun said. “Yesterday I was busy doing some extra baseball practice.”

“Baseball?” Satoru’s eyebrows were raised with confusion.

“Huh, so you don’t know it? It’s a game… no, it’s much more than a game, it’s a sport, a way of life! Do you have anything like that down there?”

“A game… sport…” Satoru repeated. “Yeah. There are some.”

“Oh, oh, oh, like what?” Eijun couldn’t help sounding eager, leaning his elbow on his knee as he stared at Satoru.

“Racing…” Satoru said. “From one place to another.”

“Ooh, awesome,” Eijun said. “We do that too, whether it’s running, or bicycling…”

Satoru’s eyebrows furrowed.

Ah, of course, he wouldn’t know what a bicycle is! Eijun cleared his throat. “Anyway, continue!”

“There’s also hide and seek. Kick the seashell into a goal…”

“Oh, like soccer!”

Satoru’s blank stare made Eijun laugh this time.

Satoru finished speaking “Also, some liked to play a game of throwing sea urchins…”

“Eh, isn’t that dangerous?”

“Yeah,” Satoru said. “Most kinds are poisonous.”

“Humans like to do things that are dangerous too,” Eijun said. He was regrettably a reckless youth as well, climbing on walls he shouldn’t and stuff. “So, so, those games you mentioned, are you any good at them?”

“Maybe,” Satoru said. “I don’t know. I didn’t play too much.”

“Why’s that?” Eijun leaned forward more out of interest, careful to keep his balance.

“Nobody wanted to play with me.”

“Huh?” Eijun’s eyes widened. “Why not?”

Satoru didn’t answer. His lips were turned down into a slight frown. It was unclear whether he didn’t want to answer, or didn’t know how to.

“... My mom says that I have trouble expressing myself, so others my age thought I was stuck up, scary, and didn’t want to play with me.”

It was Eijun’s turn to frown.

“How can that be? You seem interesting enough.”

Satoru’s eyes widened a fraction, making Eijun’s neck flush. “I-I mean… yeah, you have quite the poker face, and you’re a show-off, and made fun of me more than once… but I can tell you’re not a bad guy…”

“Thanks.” Satoru then smiled at him, causing Eijun’s heart to do something funny. He tried to will the flush away from his face as he nodded frantically.

“Y-yeah, well! What did you do for fun then, if not playing games with others?”

Satoru moved his arm, stretching it up towards the sky. “I sometimes played kick the shell… but they said I took it too seriously, and called me a monster and swam away from me.”

“Huh? It’s a sport, you’re supposed to take it seriously!” Eijun argued.

Satoru tilted his head so he was looking back into Eijun’s eyes. For some reason, just this almost wistful look was firing up something within Eijun’s chest.

“I mostly liked exploring and being with other sea creatures and animals,” Satoru ended up saying.

“Oh.” Knowing that about Satoru felt good. It somehow made him happy to be learning these things, not just about mermaid society deep below, but about who Satoru was. It was interesting. “So what are your favourite animals then?”

“Seal.”

“Seals? They’re cute,” Eijun agreed with a grin. “What about sharks? Do you see them often? Are they dangerous to you?”

“No,” Satoru said. “Sharks… merpeople and them, leave each other alone.”

“That’s good, that’s good,” Eijun said, sounding excited. He leaned forward even more, putting his hand down on the rock to steady himself. “Damn, I really want to see where you live! I bet it’s awesome down there. Do you go wherever, or do you live in houses—ouch!”

A pinprick of pain exploded on his right palm where a sharp edge of the rock had pressed into. He lifted his hand, looked at it, and inwardly swore. Fuck! Good thing it was his right hand, not his pitching one. He should have been more careful.

“You’re bleeding,” Satoru said.

“Yeah,” Eijun grumbled. “It’s not too bad th-”

Before he could finish, Satoru suddenly disappeared.

… Huh?

Eijun stared at the water. Could it be that Satoru was queasy at the sight of blood or something? It made him snort out a laugh. Satoru had no right to make fun of him for being scared of ghosts now. And now he’d actually have something to tease him about for revenge.

Well, the cut really wasn’t much. The skin in the middle of his palm broke and drew blood, but it wasn’t anything too bad.

He was about to just rub it on his pants and forget about it, but suddenly there was a splash, and Satoru reappeared, grabbing his hand.

“Huh? Satoru, what the heck are you doing?” Eijun blurted out, his heart jerking with surprise.

Satoru held Eijun’s right hand in his while his other hand pressed some sort of soft, green mush onto the cut. He winced, but it only stung a bit.

“Oi, what is this?” he pressed when Satoru ignored him.

“To help,” Satoru said.

“That doesn’t explain it at all!”

“... Plant types like this can help heal wounds. It’s a type of algae.”

“Huh. Seriously?”

Eijun averted his gaze, his ears starting to burn. So Satoru hadn’t been scared of blood, he’d gone to get something to help him. He considered the thought that maybe what worked for merpeople wouldn’t work for him, but he didn’t say anything. It was the thought that counted. He’d just disinfect the cut again himself when he got back to his apartment later.

Satoru continued to massage the algae stuff into Eijun’s hand, and for some reason a tingling sensation spread throughout his whole body, very unexplainable.

“Well… thanks!” Eijun ended up saying, because it was only polite.

Satoru made a sound of acknowledgement and went to move his hands away. But for some reason, Eijun reached out to grab Satoru’s hand back. Satoru’s right with his uninjured left one.

It was some sort of impulse even Eijun didn’t understand. He held Satoru’s hand in his, unable to look away from it. It was different from a human’s hand, with the webbing and all, but it was… pretty, especially on hands like Satoru’s. They weren’t small hands, they were slightly larger than his own, but… they were nice. And it felt pleasant, too. Wet of course, but also a bit cool to the touch. Before Eijun could think about what he was doing, he was threading his hand through Satoru’s the best that he could.

Of course, it wasn’t perfect, their fingers couldn’t fit perfectly together, but…

“Eijun?”

Eijun yelped and tore his hand away, flames bursting into life on his face. “Ahaha, sorry, sorry! I was just… curious, y’know?”

Satoru was looking at him with curiosity—not displeasure, at least. But that didn’t stop Eijun from being embarrassed. What the heck had he been thinking, doing that all of a sudden?

“It’s okay,” Satoru said. “I liked it too. But…”

Eijun’s face only got hotter from there. He liked it? That’s… why did him saying that make Eijun’s heart speed up so fast?

“But what?”

“You’re really hot.”

Letting out a bout of startled laughter, Eijun grinned, shaking himself out of whatever had come over him. “Well, it’s summer. It’s a bit warm up here.”

“Summer…” Satoru grimaced. “I hate summer. It’s warmer in the sea, too.”

“Really? Huh! So you hate it when it’s hot?”

“Yeah.”

“So you must hate it up here at the surface,” Eijun said, his eyebrows furrowing. It wasn’t like he asked Satoru to keep meeting him, but for some reason a sense of guilt welled up inside him. He scratched his face sheepishly.

“It’s okay sometimes,” Satoru said, staring at Eijun. The intense look in Satoru’s eyes made Eijun almost want to turn away, something about that expression was making something else, an unnameable something, bubble up inside him. It wasn’t exactly uncomfortable… but a bit nerve-wracking.

“Okay,” Eijun ended up saying, wondering if his voice was as high-pitched to Satoru as it sounded in his own ears. “A-anyway! Before, we were talking about animals, right?”

The intense look in Satoru’s eyes turned into an eager one, and he nodded. “Yes.”

An idea came to Eijun, and he took his cellphone out of his pants pocket. “You must be curious about the types of animals on land, huh, Satoru?”

“I know of some,” Satoru agreed. “But there are so many, I’d like to see.”

For a brief moment, Eijun wished he had a pet he could take over to show Satoru, but his apartment didn’t allow them.

So his phone would have to do.

After a moment, Eijun showed his phone screen to Satoru. “Careful, this thing will break if it drops into the water.”

Satoru angled his neck closer, his tail slapping the water as he looked toward the phone screen.

And the way his eyes lit up made Eijun’s chest puff up with pride. He was awesome to have this idea, it really made it worth showing this to Satoru!

On the page he’d had up a few photos of some dogs.

“They look soft,” Satoru said, the slight difference of tone in his voice even more noticeable. How could Satoru’s peers under the sea think he was bad at expressing himself? Eijun could already tell what he was feeling just from the minute changes in his expression and tone, and they hadn’t even known each other that long.

Rather than letting himself get angry on Satoru’s behalf, he focused on the current moment.

“They are! Those are dogs, we keep them as pets. Is there anything you guys have as pets?”

“Pets?” Satoru shook his head. “Nothing like that… most other creatures are to be watched from afar, not approached too closely.”

“Huh,” Eijun said. He took his phone back and switched it back, showing Satoru a few more types of animals, grinning at how pleased and excited Satoru looked with every single one.

“Can you see them whenever you want?” Satoru asked.

“Not quite,” Eijun said. “Oh, but there are zoos! That’s a place where animals are kept and you can go visit them!”

“Kept?”

“Ah… in enclosures? Like cages but not quite…”

The look on Satoru’s face changed instantly. He froze, his eyes widening as his lips turned downward—it was a pure look of horror.

“It-it’s okay though, don’t give me that look! The animals are well taken care of, and they have more than enough space for themselves.”

Satoru still looked visibly perturbed, but his shoulders relaxed, as did his expression. “Okay.”

Hm. Satoru really must like animals a lot, as he then asked, “can you show me the polar bear again?”

“Oh-oh, of course!”

Another week went by, and Eijun had come to visit Satoru almost every day. He found that he enjoyed getting to talk to Satoru more and more, and learning more things about merpeople. For example, he’d learned that most mermaids ate fish and meat as well as vegetation. But Satoru himself didn’t like to eat fish, he was more of a vegetarian, eating stuff like kelp, sea grapes, sea cucumber, and different types of plants. But, he’d (guiltily, it seemed) admitted he also enjoyed crabs and oysters.

Apparently merpeople did live in houses, too, typically ones carved out of stone, and it was mostly a place for them to spend time with their families and sleep, and to store their treasures.

It was so interesting and Eijun still hadn’t run out of questions. And Satoru hadn’t looked annoyed at all to answer them—he seemed pleased that Eijun was so interested, if anything.

And he was. He enjoyed learning everything he could, even if Satoru teased him quite often.

Eijun was sitting on the rocks, the same spot as usual, when Satoru appeared.

“Eijun.”

“Heya, Satoru!” Eijun said with a grin. “How are you feeling? It’s kinda hot out today!”

Satoru squinted into the sky, where the sun was beaming down on them. “It’s really hot.”

Eijun laughed. “I wonder if there’s another spot along the shore we can meet that’s more shaded?”

Satoru stared at Eijun. “So you do come to only meet me?”

He sounded so pleased, but Eijun’s first reaction was to flush, a different kind of warm than the warmth of the sun. Satoru really was bold with his words so often, Eijun didn’t know how to deal with it sometimes.

“It’s-it’s not like I only come to see you! The view is also really pretty here!”

After Eijun agreed to not fish in this spot, he had spent some days fishing in urban centres. It wasn’t the same, but it was still fun, and he still got extra meals from them. So technically… he did come here just to talk to Satoru.

And well, if the so-called pretty view included Satoru, there was no way that Eijun was going to admit that out loud—it was way too embarrassing.

But seriously, it had been almost two weeks now since Eijun had seen Satoru for the first time, and he still couldn’t help marvelling over how unfairly pretty he was—his face, and especially his tail.

Even now, Satoru was floating on his back, his tail visible at the surface of the water, as if he knew that Eijun liked looking at it without Eijun having said so explicitly. Sometimes Eijun would have a strong urge to reach out and feel his tail under his fingertips again, but that too, was just too embarrassing of a thought for him to voice aloud. Maybe he’d work up his nerve to ask again sometime soon.

“I see,” Satoru said. “But I’m happy anyway.”

A lump formed in Eijun’s throat as his stomach twisted and turned, a tickling feeling travelling throughout his chest. How could Satoru say that so normally? Why was Eijun’s chest going to explode upon hearing it?

“O-oh really?” he stuttered out in a very uncool way, his cheeks growing hotter yet. He cleared his throat. “Well… well you’ll be extra happy when I show you what I brought today!”

At least, he hoped so.

“What is it?” Satoru asked, flipping over and swimming closer to the shore. “More animal photos?”

“Not quite!” Eijun said. He reached into the book bag he’d brought with him, and pulled out a baseball. “I thought you’d like to see a baseball!”

“Oh.” Satoru’s eyes sparkled, and he held out his hands.

Eijun smiled as heat radiated through his chest—he’d hoped Satoru would enjoy it. Eijun handed the ball over.

“This is my way of life,” Eijun announced as he straightened his back. “Even before I came to meet you, I was practicing my pitching. The fall league is coming up soon, and I need to be the best I can be.”

Even with a pitiful showing of the teams he was on from middle school to high school, he’d become the ace and got his name out there and had a scout recruit him into the university team. Even though it was only the summer of his first year, and the team was very competitive, he had to prove that they hadn’t made the wrong choice to scout him. He was super close to making it to the first string, he knew it. And he’d have to use every opportunity to show the coaching staff that he had what it took.

Satoru held the ball in his hands, turning it over, running his fingers over the seams. “Pitching? Like… throwing?”

“Yeah!” Eijun grinned. “So basically, I throw the ball to the other team, and they have to try to hit it with the bat, if they can hit it, they score. So it’s my job to make sure they don’t hit it! Of course there’s a lot more to it, and the other positions are just as important, but that’s the basics.”

“Wow,” Satoru said. He tossed the ball up into the air, and caught it again. “Cool.”

Eijun raised his head, his chest puffing up. “Yeah, it is, right?”

“And the league is…”

“That one’s harder to explain, but basically different schools face each other to determine the winning team. Actually, you never mentioned, do you have school down there?”

“Sort of,” Satoru said, not taking his eyes off the ball. “There isn’t anything formal. But an adult will take children in small groups and teach them things about the ocean they don’t know, mostly about other animals, and how to be safe. There are also trips to see sights that they don’t usually see.”

“Huh, awesome!” Eijun said. “You know, that reminds me of something else… I never asked you this either, but you look pretty young! How old are you?”

“I’m nineteen, “Satoru said, and Eijun almost fell off his rock again in shock.

“What?” he shrieked. Satoru flinched very visibly. “What are the odds of that?”

Satoru looked like if he wasn’t holding the baseball, he would have disappeared or covered his ears. But Eijun wasn’t too concerned with that, he was way too shocked by this turn of events!

“... You’re too loud,” Satoru complained again.

“We’re the same age!” Eijun announced.

Satoru’s annoyed expression slipped away. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Eijun leaned forward. “How cool is that? So what about your birthdate? Do you have one?”

He really wanted to know who was older between the two of them for some reason, even if it was just a month’s difference.

“Birthday?” Satoru’s eyebrows furrowed. “I don’t know. I was born in the summer.”

“So you don’t keep track of months down there—oh wait, that means I’m older! Ha!”

“Ha?” Satoru repeated, a frown forming on his face. “Is it a competition?”

“Yes, wahaha!” Eijun cackled.

Satoru tossed the ball back to Eijun. “I’m definitely faster than you at swimming.”

Eijun caught the ball. “Oi, that’s not even a fair contest.”

And as he caught the ball, an idea lit up within him. “Hey, do you want to keep playing catch? It’s fun, right?”

Satoru looked over at him and smiled. “Okay.”

If the smile made Eijun’s grip on the ball slip, it really wasn’t his fault. But luckily Satoru swam forward and caught the ball. But even if Satoru missed the ball, with how fast he apparently was, he could definitely catch it underwater really fast.

Satoru swam back a little, so there was more of a distance between them, before he threw the ball back.

And like that, they began to toss the ball back and forth casually. Satoru started off throwing underhanded, but then he saw how Eijun was doing it, tossing it overhanded, and began to mimic the same way. Satoru had good aim, throwing it right towards where Eijun was sitting each time.

“So you never actually had any friends to play games with?” Eijun called out, since Satoru was a bit further away. He might have been too blunt there, but he remembered what Satoru had told him before about others his age being wary of him (for completely stupid reasons if you were to ask Eijun).

Satoru shook his head. “No. Nobody would play with me, and I never tried to talk to anyone either because it was hard. At least until recently…”

“Ah?” Eijun caught the ball, almost dropping it this time. Hopefully Satoru was too distracted to notice. “Recently?”

“Yeah,” Satoru caught the ball again. “There are two… they’re friendly and maybe we’re friends now.”

“Oh, that’s great!” Eijun beamed. “I’m happy for you, Satoru!”

Honestly, he wondered if Satoru could get his friends to come up to the surface, he was so curious about meeting new people… well, new merpeople.

“Haruichi is shy, so he probably won’t come,” Satoru said, as if reading Eijun’s mind. Damn.

“Oh, oh, that’s fine! I won’t ask anyone to do anything they’re not comfortable with! I’m just glad you made friends! You must have been really lonely in childhood!”

“Maybe a little,” Satoru admitted. “What about you?”

“Me?”

“You seem like someone who has lots of friends, Eijun.”

Eijun guessed that was a compliment. He grinned. “Yeah, I guess it’s true! I have a lot of friends back in my hometown, and then new friends I made here in Tokyo on my baseball team… like, there’s this guy, Kuramochi, he likes to tease me, but he’s a good guy.”

He was enjoying himself currently, but a pang of nostalgia, of yearning smashed into him out of nowhere. He was often too busy to think about being homesick, but now that Satoru brought it up, he was reminded of how much he really did miss his friends and family back home.

“What’s wrong?”

Satoru’s voice snapped him out of it. “Ah, nothing! Sometimes I just miss my family, y’know… I moved here to Tokyo for school, so I only get to see my parents and grandpa during holidays, or if they manage to come out and see a game.”

This whole time, they kept up the steady rhythm of catch, neither of them missing even one ball.

“I’m close to my grandpa too,” Satoru said.

“Awesome,” Eijun replied, the momentary homesickness fading away into something more eager. “Is he a pretty cool guy?”

“Yeah.” Satoru agreed firmly. “He’s the coolest. I feel bad letting him down, though.”

“Aww, there’s no way that’s true,” Eijun argued.

“He encouraged me to make friends and go out of my comfort zone. I found it scary, so it was hard to do.”

“That’s alright. You’re making friends now! Including me!”

“We’re friends?”

Eijun’s first instinct was to get offended, but seeing the earnest expression on Satoru, it was clear that he was asking, not because he didn’t think they were, but because he had been unsure if it was true.

“Of course!” Eijun agreed with a grin and a thumbs up.

Satoru held the ball in his hands now, and smiled down at it. “Okay.”

Eijun almost wished he could take out his phone and take a photo of Satoru like that so he could permanently have a memory of this moment, and of what Satoru looked like when he smiled like that. It made another lump form in Eijun’s throat.

“Eijun…” Satoru said, suddenly, looking up at him.

His stomach flipped. “Yeah?”

“Can I try pitching? Just once?”

Out of all possibilities, he hadn’t expected Satoru to ask that. “Yeah, go ahead if you think you can do it!”

Satoru gripped onto the ball the best he could in his right hand, lifted it above his head, and threw it.

The ball whizzed by Eijun with such a speed and loudness that he couldn’t even comprehend the fact that it was happening.

Eijun blinked, his eyes wide, his breathing quickening. Huh?!

“Oops,” Satoru said.

“Oops my ass!” Eijun yelled, his shock boiling over into an indescribable feeling.

He stood up on the rocks and looked back. The ball was nowhere to be found. It must have disappeared into the wooded area past the sand.

“You…” Eijun had trouble finding the words. “You, how the hell did you throw it like that! How much power did you put into that throw!?”

It was ridiculous, he knew, to be worked up like this, when obviously Satoru wasn’t a baseball player… it wasn’t like he was any direct competition to Eijun, but inexplicably, something like flames flared up under his skin.

“I don’t know. I just threw it.”

Eijun inhaled sharply. “Well, damn.” He suddenly felt an incredible urge to pitch, himself.

A current of energy was running through him and he definitely needed a bit of an outlet to get it out of his system.

“Hey, Satoru. I’m just going to go over there to look for the ball for a moment. I’ll be back, alright?”

Satoru nodded, laying back into the water into a back float. “Okay. Sorry.”

“No, no, you didn’t do anything wrong,” Eijun said. “Who would have thought you’d throw it so hard!”

Satoru’s look of regret turned into a smaller, more subtle look of pride. It wasn’t a bad look on him, it would have made Eijun laugh if he weren’t feeling so weird.

He turned around and walked over the rocks, over the stretch of sand, and then into the trees to look away from the water.

Damn, damn, damn! Part of Eijun burned with an instinctive envy, and the other part of him was just inspired. Satoru wasn’t even a human, he couldn’t play baseball, ever. Maybe it was that thought—knowing that, which was frustrating him. Satoru had an amazing arm, but he wouldn’t be able to play baseball with him. Even though they were friends, Satoru wouldn’t be able to come see him play, either.

It was just how it was, he knew that… but now, it was dawning on him at a quickened pace. Did Satoru have those thoughts, too? How Eijun wouldn’t be able to enjoy things Satoru liked doing, down in his home, too? He tried to imagine himself as a merman, living under the water with Satoru. He can’t imagine they wouldn’t have gotten along, he would have befriended Satoru immediately. They’d probably have had a lot of races, competing over whatever there was to compete over down there.

Eijun tried to shake off the pang of wistfulness. There was no use thinking about that. He was enjoying his time with Satoru as it was. He was enjoying getting to know him, he was enjoying their conversations and how eager Satoru was to learn things about the land. He also enjoyed Satoru’s expressions—miniscule, but noticeable. He wasn’t as much of an open book, but when Eijun really looked closely, it was easy to tell.

There was also how it felt like such an achievement when he somehow got Satoru to smile. When he was happy, it was clear in his micro expressions, his aura… but an actual smile on him… it was breathtaking.

Eijun crawled into a bush, mentally chiding himself for his thoughts sounding so weird. What the heck was he thinking about anyway? He liked hanging out with Satoru because it was fun, what did his damn prettiness and smile have to do with it?! Satoru, even though he could have frustrating mannerisms, was a good guy. That was the important thing.

“Aha!” he cheered when he saw the familiar baseball on the ground against a tree. He picked it up and jogged back over to the water, being careful when he climbed back on the rocks. “Found it!”

Satoru was indeed still there, waiting for him. Eijun thankfully hadn’t been gone that long.

Seeing Eijun, Satoru flipped over and swam closer. “Let’s keep playing.” Satoru, too, seemed to have his own fire behind his words, in his eyes.

Eijun definitely did want to, but. “Next time. I have an early practice tomorrow, so I better get going.”

“Oh,” Satoru said. “Okay.” He did look a bit disappointed, which was endearing on him.

Eijun leaned forward and impulsively handed Satoru the baseball. “Here, you can keep this one! It’s one of many spares anyway.”

Satoru took the ball, looking down at it and then back up at Eijun. There was a faint aura of shock radiating from him. “Really?”

“Yup, really! Don’t look so touched, Satoru!” he grinned. “We’ll play again next time!”

Somehow, the smile he earned after that dug deeper into him than might be normal.

It turned out, next time would have to wait. A couple of days later, a storm hit the coast of Japan. It wasn’t a typhoon, not quite a tropical storm, either, but a bad enough storm that Eijun wouldn’t even think about heading out there to try and see Satoru. There’s no way that Satoru would have come to the surface, anyway.

As for baseball practices they had an indoor practice centre reserved, so the wind and rain that covered the city wouldn’t affect the team in any way.

Even as Eijun ran laps, even as he did his squats and stretches and batting practice, even as he pitched, his mind wandered.

It was pretty silly of him to be worried about Satoru, right?

He didn’t know what the storm looked like over the water a whole hour and a half away, but it must be pretty terrifying.

“Oi, Sawamura,” a voice called out to him.

Eijun blankly looked over at Kanemaru, who was staring at him weirdly. “Kanemaru, can I ask you something?”

Kanemaru shared a look with Kuramochi, who had also approached. “Sure…”

“Fish won’t be affected by the storm, right?” Eijun asked. “They must be pretty safe down below the surface…”

“Hah?”

“Yeah,” Eijun answered for himself. “It must be like that. It’s not like it’s a typhoon after all. But if it was a typhoon, would they be safe?”

“What on earth is that guy talking about…” Kanemaru muttered.

“Hell if I know,” Kuramochi said.

It was a week later when Eijun managed to head back to the same spot. He probably should get used to missing Satoru. Once summer break was over, which was really soon, he’d be busy not only with baseball, but classes. He had to keep his grades up for the baseball team, which was an entirely different problem.

Usually when he came to visit Satoru, it was at the same time of day, making it easier for them to meet. If they came randomly, they may just miss each other, since there was no other way for them to communicate.

He waited a while, unsure. He hadn’t seen Satoru since before that storm. If something had happened to him, would he even know? Eijun gnawed at his lip, his eyes peeled on the water as his feet tapped a rhythm on the rock underneath him.

It felt like he’d been waiting hours, but when Satoru finally showed up, Eijun was so relieved that he almost went so relaxed that he lost his balance.

“Satoru!” Eijun exclaimed. “You’re here!”

“Eijun.” Satoru nodded, his eyebrows furrowing, looking bewildered by Eijun’s enthusiasm.

“Come here, come here, let me take a good look at you.”

“Why?” But Satoru obliged, coming closer.

Eijun put his hands on Satoru’s shoulders, patting them and his neck, inspecting his face. “Okay, turn around.”

Satoru did as requested, even though he let out a light complaint. “So troublesome.”

When Eijun laid eyes on Satoru’s back he gasped. “Satoru, what on earth is this?!”

On the top of Satoru’s back, there was a large pink scar. Eijun immediately put his finger to it, running it down the expanse of the scar. It didn’t look that new, but who knew the rate of healing for merpeople?

“You got injured after all…” he murmured. “Does it hurt?”

“Injured?” Satoru twisted his head back to look at Eijun. “What do you mean?”

“The storm,” Eijun said. “It wasn’t a typhoon, but it must have made an impact.”

“Oh.” Satoru moved out of Eijun’s grip, and turned around to face him again. “Storms like that… it’s nothing. We just have to stay away from the surface.”

“Huh?” Eijun blinked. “Really?”

“Yeah. Were you worried?”

Satoru looked happy, and Eijun’s face started to burn. “M-maybe! So what if I was, huh? Then what’s with that scar on your back?”

“I got stung by a jellyfish when I was younger.”

A laugh burst out of Eijun. “Oh! So that’s what it was, wahaha!”

“It’s funny?”

“Maybe a little,” Eijun agreed, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. “It must have hurt, though.”

“Yeah. It was my fault, though. I was curious and got too close to it.”

“Aha, I see! I can just imagine a cute younger Satoru, exploring and not paying attention to the potential dangers…”

Satoru narrowed his eyes. “I’m not like that anymore.”

Eijun chuckled again. “Don’t get offended!”

Satoru sighed. “I’ll let it go because you were worried about me.”

The way Satoru said it so easily, almost like he was the one teasing Eijun now, startled him so much that he shut his mouth. He didn’t even have a right to get mad, because it wasn’t like he was wrong. Although his face unwittingly got warmer when Satoru was looking at him like that, half teasing, half genuinely pleased. It shook Eijun somewhere deep inside him.

“Let’s… change the subject then, shall we?” Eijun raised his voice and laughed awkwardly. “I brought something else you might be interested in…”

Whether Satoru wanted to or not, he was going to learn all about shoujo manga today.

“Satoru!”

When Eijun got there, Satoru was already floating on the surface, his whole body (especially his tail) almost shimmering under the hot afternoon sun, which mesmerized Eijun for a moment. Satoru visibly flinched at Eijun’s booming voice.

“Why are you so noisy?” Satoru complained.

Eijun laughed, sitting down. “You always say I’m too noisy, but you still come up here to meet me all the time, don’t ya?”

Satoru closed his eyes and didn’t answer.

“Don’t ignore me! And don’t deny it, either!”

“I don’t know why I came today. It’s too hot.”

The way his voice sounded grumpy was pretty cute, if someone were to ask Eijun’s opinion on the matter.

“Well, I’m not going to make you stay,” Eijun said with a laugh. “If it’s too hot, you can go back for today.”

Even though this might be the last time in a while he would have free time to come see Satoru, he really didn’t want Satoru to be too uncomfortable. He didn’t know how mermaid bodies were different. Hell, even human bodies handled different temperatures differently from each other.

“Just for a while,” Satoru said. “You came all this way to see me, too, so…”

“Putting it like that, it’s a bit embarrassing…” Eijun’s cheeks burned, as he scratched at his face. A while back, he’d outright denied it, but well, knowing Satoru was going out of his way to meet with him too, he felt like he had to admit it. “But well, it’s true. We have a lot of fun together, right?”

“Yeah,” Satoru said with a smile.

Eijun nodded again, trying not to look directly at Satoru’s face. For some reason his smile made him all antsy inside.

“It’s funny, I don’t even mind anymore that you ended up sabotaging my fishing! It was because of that we met.”

Even though Satoru had scared him a lot at first (by accident, but still), he didn’t regret anything. He was glad he and Satoru had met. More than he could put into words.

“It was a coincidence, too.”

Eijun met Satoru’s eyes again only to see he’d changed position. In the last moment, Satoru had swum up closer to Eijun, his arms folded on the rocks right next to him. He was so close now that a new kind of burning sensation lit up Eijun’s stomach.

“Huh… really?” Eijun joked, “you mean you don’t go around just to rescue fish from people’s fishing rods?”

Satoru chuckled. “No. That was the first time. I was exploring, then happened to see the fishing rod by chance…”

“And then thought you had to save them,” Eijun added.

“Yeah. And then I saw you.”

Eijun’s breath stuttered a bit at the softer tone in Satoru’s voice.

“You’re not saying this to tease me about our first meeting again, are you?” Eijun grumbled, mostly out of embarrassment and to hide how awkward and flustered he was.

“No. I was just going to say that I kept coming because I was curious about you. And then because I liked spending time with you.”

“Same… same here,” Eijun admitted.

“You’re too loud sometimes…” Satoru said, his voice a low murmur.

“Hey-”

“But you’re dazzling, Eijun.”

Satoru might have kept talking after that, but Eijun had completely tuned out, not that he had a choice with the roaring in his ears. He gaped at Satoru, his whole head burning hotter and hotter, almost like the sun had come down just to make him spontaneously combust.

Not only did he not expect to hear something like that from Satoru, but he was also thinking ‘you’re one to talk’!

He also had never seen anyone as dazzling as Satoru. With or without the tail.

“Satoru-” Eijun choked out, so many words on the tip of his tongue, but none of them coming out, because they were unformed, unrealized.

Satoru suddenly reached up, lifted himself out of the water slightly to put his hand to Eijun’s face.

His fingers were warm and soft, droplets fell from Satoru’s hand and dripped down Eijun’s cheek. His eyes travelled down to Satoru’s arm and then back up to his face. Satoru’s eyes glowed with intensity, the grey almost turning blue, but maybe that was just Eijun’s eyes playing tricks on him. He swallowed, the feeling of something burning up inside him growing more pronounced by the second, to the point where he was unsure if he was able to handle it anymore.

Eijun wanted to ask what Satoru was doing, what he was looking for by staring at him like that, but his throat was constricted. Eijun’s eyes had nothing else to do but stare back, moving over Satoru’s face, his eyes, his nose, his lips…

Before he knew it, Eijun moved a bit closer, his eyes drawn to Satoru’s lips.

Satoru’s finger shifted then, moving down to Eijun’s chin, and the current situation crashed down on Eijun all at once. He jerked his head back, his mouth slamming shut, his teeth catching on his tongue, causing a burst of pain.

Inwardly swearing, Eijun willed his hands to stop trembling. What the hell had he been thinking about just now? Why, why did he, for that one moment, think that it would have been a good idea to lean down and kiss Satoru?

Satoru had slipped back down fully into the water. “Eijun, you’re really red.”

“S-shut up, it’s your fault!” Eijun blurted out impulsively, his heart racing.

What the heck?! It wasn’t like he really wanted to kiss Satoru, was it? It wasn’t like he had a crush on him or something.

No, I do not have a crush on him!

There was no way that he, Sawamura Eijun, would develop a crush on a merman! He wouldn’t do something so manga like! No, no, no. Not that Satoru wasn’t crush worthy. He definitely was. He was handsome, had a low-key sense of humour, was caring, and it was fun to talk to him-

No, that wasn’t the point! It didn’t matter if Satoru was a merman or not (even if it started as just curiosity because of it), Eijun was interested in who he was. But no, not interested in that way! There was no way that was even possible!

“Does your stomach hurt?” Satoru asked.

“No, no! I’m fine!” Eijun answered. He cleared his throat. “Anyway—I brought the next manga volume if you’re interested.”

Since Satoru couldn’t read Japanese characters, Eijun had read the text out loud to him while Satoru looked at the pictures. He’d been more interested than Eijun had assumed he would be.

“Yeah, show me,” Satoru said. He pulled himself up onto the rocks right beside Eijun, leaning over his shoulder. A few droplets from his hair landed on the book, but Eijun couldn’t bring himself to care that much.

“You know, I was wondering…”

There were many things Eijun was wondering, most of all, about his own feelings. But that wasn’t even the point!

“Hm?”

“Down there… do you have anyone? You know… a girlfriend, or someone you like, or something?”

Was dating the same between merpeople as it was for humans? Of course, they had to procreate somehow—no, no, no, erase those thoughts! Eijun didn’t want his sanity to disappear even more than it already had!

“No,” Satoru said slowly. “I don’t have anyone I like back home.”

Eijun suddenly slouched, feeling a whole lot lighter after hearing that. Damn it, not helping your case, Sawamura Eijun!

“I… I see! Anyway, back to the book, then! It left off as Rika got trapped in the closet with the love interest-”

As they read, or rather, Eijun read, he became calmer as he focused on the story. He didn’t even get too embarrassed at himself for changing his voice for reading each character’s dialogue. Satoru seemed to like it, anyway.

The sun went down a considerable amount, and when Eijun closed the book, it was almost too dark to see anymore.

Satoru leaned against Eijun’s body. “Thank you, Eijun. I had fun.”

Eijun almost choked on his own saliva at the sudden contact that he didn’t mind at all. “Y-yeah…”

Now that it was almost dark, the reality of the situation was weighing down on Eijun anew.

Even though Satoru was cool, cooler than him at least, the contact was searing. Despite all his conflicted, confused feelings about it, he knew this to be true—he liked the proximity. It made his and Satoru’s connection, whatever it was, feel more palpable.

“Satoru, you know…” Eijun breathed out a sigh. “I might not be able to come as often anymore.”

He couldn’t believe it had already been over a month since he’d come here for the first time.

“Why?”

“Well, my classes at university are starting up again, summer break is over. And training for the upcoming fall tournament is going to intensify too, so basically I’ll be really busy!”

“Oh…” Satoru’s tone was forlorn, but he just nodded against Eijun’s shoulder. “Good luck.”

“Thanks, that means a lot! I’ll do my best!” As a second string member, he might not necessarily get to play a lot, but he had to be there and support his team—and who knew what might happen to let him have a chance to be subbed in.

“But anyway, it’s not like it's goodbye. I’ll still come back when I’m able,” Eijun said.

“Promise?”

“Yeah, I promise!”

Just like that, it settled into a peaceful quiet between them as they gazed over at the ocean. It must look different for Satoru like this, since he usually saw the views from down below, not up here. He wondered, not for the first time, what Satoru was thinking about.

As for Eijun… he didn’t want to leave yet, so he stayed like that with Satoru a while longer, watching as the sky darkened and the moon rose in the sky, reflecting over the water.

The next few weeks were full of baseball and classes. Eijun didn’t have a chance where he was free enough to get away, not that it meant he didn’t think about Satoru all the time, because he did.

He wondered how Satoru was doing, if he thought about him as much as Eijun thought about him. And then he got embarrassed at his own thoughts and tried to wipe them out of his mind.

But the way Satoru kept creeping up into his mind helped him realize that he’d been so quick to deny his feelings… but really, so what if he had a tiny, tiny crush on Satoru?

The first time that Eijun had a couple of free days, he headed off to the sea. The same shore, the same place. He sat there from afternoon until sundown, reading manga and playing phone games. Satoru hadn’t shown up.

There was no guarantee that he would, anyway—it wasn’t like Eijun expected him to come at the same time every day on the off chance that it would be a day Eijun would be able to make it. It had already been weeks since he’d been able to come, anyway.

But still… he wished there was some way he could signal to Satoru, however far away down there he was, that he was here.

The next time he came, Eijun brought a snorkel. Wearing a bathing suit, he jumped into the water and attempted to look down below the surface. He was careful, so he didn’t go deep or anything, just enough so he could still breathe through the snorkel as he attempted to look.

He didn’t see much. There were fish, lots of floating things, but anything beyond a few meters was dark and blurry.

Even if he didn’t see anything, perhaps Satoru would see his legs in the water? How far up could Satoru see, anyway?

Maybe he couldn’t even see the surface from where he was at all, and this was for naught.

Well, it wasn’t like Eijun didn’t have fun, though.

Maybe in the end, Eijun wouldn’t be able to keep his promise. He’d promised Satoru he’d come back, but he’d taken too long, or they kept missing each other, and there was no way to let Satoru know he was still coming to look for him.

The thought of Satoru thinking he broke his promise is what ached in his heart the most. Even more than the ache of missing him, of wanting to see him again.

Eijun racked his brain, trying to come up with some kind of sign, signal, message he could leave, in the chance that Satoru came to the surface… something to show him that yes, he’d been there to see him. That he was still thinking of him.

It made his face burn just thinking about it, who did he think he was, a shoujo manga protagonist? Ugh, when had he become this embarrassing?

But regardless of his internal embarrassment, if his meaning came across, that’s what mattered right? It didn’t feel bad, all he had to do was imagine Satoru seeing it and smiling.

Thanks to Kanemaru, Eijun was able to keep his grades up (not that he was a bad student or anything, he just had trouble concentrating on studying). The team was doing well in the fall league, too, even if he didn’t get to play too much. It was frustrating, but he respected his seniors and teammates, so it mostly just inspired him to work harder.

The next time Eijun headed to the shore, he went right to the same spot, holding his breath as his eyes slowly moved over to what he’d left—two volumes of manga and his fishing rod. They were still there, but his gaze caught on something.

He sharply inhaled.

Right beside the manga was a baseball.

Eijun sat down beside them, picking the baseball up. It was the same one he’d given him that time. Same grass stains, same scuff marks.

A laugh of elation came out of Eijun. “Satoru, you bastard, you still come here after all!”

Even though Satoru hadn’t come this time too, a giant grin was on his face all the way back home.

The moon and stars were beautiful. Eijun looked up at them for a while, wishing he could lay down without being uncomfortable. He’d ended up coming later that evening, just in time to watch the sunset. It was funny, he hadn’t paid much attention to the sunset all the times he’d come here. He’d been too distracted. It’d be nice if Satoru had been able to watch the sunset with him.

But this view was pretty good, too. Eijun had always liked watching the night sky. It had come from all the times he’d trained or run extra laps after everyone else had gone to bed back in high school… even in middle school, back in Nagano with his childhood friends.

Nothing was better than this view, though—not just the starry sky, but the way the moon and stars were reflected in the sea.

Even if he came here for no reason, it was still a breathtaking view that Eijun was grateful to experience.

After a while longer, he ended up pulling out his cellphone. He held it up to the sea, the moon’s reflection centered in the shot, and took the shot. He grinned at it. Maybe it was good enough to be considered on the level of a pro, if he could say so himself.

Eijun shifted his camera over, wondering if he could get another angle, a better one.

As he moved his camera to the right, something, something large in the dark, caught his eye.

… A dark shape in the water.

Eijun’s heart automatically started thumping erratically. This is why he didn’t often do things after dark. It was the perfect time for ghosts to come out.

But anyway, it was probably nothing.

Eijun flipped on the flashlight of his phone and shone it towards the spot.

When a head and bright eyes came into view, Eijun screamed and accidentally threw his phone up in the air.

Ghost! Eijun’s body thrummed with the need to just get the hell out of there!

There was a chuckling sound. “Eijun.”

Eijun gasped. There was no way a ghost would know his name!

“Satoru!”

His eyes peeled onto the spot where the voice had come from to see that Satoru had caught his phone in one hand, and was looking with bafflement at the spot where the light was coming out. Eijun laughed giddily.

“Sorry, it’s a bit wet.” He handed it over.

Eijun took it, turned the flashlight off, and placed it on the rock beside him. “That’s not a big deal,” he said with a grin.

Satoru… Satoru was here in front of him again.

Eijun was so ecstatic he didn’t care about anything else. He tilted forward and fell into the water, kicking over so he was right in front of Satoru. It was dark, so he couldn’t see Satoru’s expression—but he didn’t need to in order to hug him.

Satoru let out a surprised sound. “Eijun?”

Oh, Eijun missed hearing Satoru say his name. He laughed some more. “Sorry, it’s just—I’m really happy to see you!”

It was a bit awkward, kicking to stay afloat, but even though he was floating, Satoru was really solid in his arms.

Satoru laughed, a quiet sound that was missed, as he hugged Eijun back. “Really? It seemed like you weren’t. You screamed really loudly.”

“Shut up, jerk,” he said playfully, though he did flush out of embarrassment. “You really have a habit of sneaking up out of nowhere!”

“It’s funny,” Satoru said. “Seeing your reactions. It’s cute.”

Eijun grumbled. “Making fun of me already, huh?”

“No,” Satoru said, sounding so sincere, that guy. “I’m happy to see you too, Eijun.”

So unfair, how words like that from Satoru made him feel like he was burning up inside like this, despite the cool water surrounding him. His clothes, at least from half of his shirt down, were soaking wet—he really hadn’t thought this through.

But well, if he caught a cold later on, it’d be worth it. Probably.

“So…” Eijun murmured, trying not to let his flustered state consume him lest he drown accidentally, “what have you been up to these past couple of months?”

Had it really been that long since he’d last seen him? Now, it didn’t feel like it’d really been like that long.

“... Nothing too much?” Satoru said.

“Is that a question? Come on, there must be something!”

“I was invited to join a kick the shell team.”

“Huh? Isn’t that amazing?”

“I guess so.” Despite his casual words, his voice sounded happy.

Eijun grinned. “Yup, it’s awesome. So how does it work, is it like… professional level?”

“Not really,” Satoru said. “My friends Haruichi and Hideaki invited me.”

“Oh, well, anyway, it’s still super cool. You’ll have to tell me more about it sometime!”

“I will,” Satoru agreed.

It was getting a bit more difficult for Eijun to keep floating, especially with his pants and shoes weighing him down, so his breath became more erratic. Satoru must have noticed, for he grabbed Eijun tighter, and brought him back over to the shore and helped him back up onto the rocks.

He sighed. “Thanks, Satoru! Not the best idea I had there, huh?”

Satoru’s expression was shrouded, the moonlight reflecting on the back of his head. “No… it was a good idea. I liked hugging you.”

The soft tone of his voice made Eijun’s insides squirm. Damn. He’d been so happy about seeing him, he forgot that he had a tiny crush on him. Now that Satoru was being all… like this, he was remembering the fact—remembering it very well.

“You…” Eijun said, his voice scratchy. “How can you just say stuff like that so easily?”

“Because it’s you,” Satoru said. “Because I like you.”

Eijun’s insides became mush in an instant, his heart stumbling over itself. “You-”

He hadn’t even expected anything like this from Satoru, he was taken so off guard that he became speechless for a moment. There was roaring in his ears, his whole body warm despite how he’d been drenched in cool water - Satoru’s words were a spark, thrown on him and igniting every inch of his body.

Satoru, ever since their first meeting, was like a spell, one he never wanted to get out of.

“Come here, Satoru,” Eijun said, his throat tightening with a mixture of happiness, nerves, and a boldness he didn’t know was in him.

Satoru swam over again, right to the edge of the rocks where Eijun was sitting.

Eijun got on his knees, leaned down, put his hands on Satoru’s shoulders and kissed him.

The position was awkward, but it worked well enough for Eijun’s purpose. Satoru didn’t stay frozen for long before he kissed back, placing his hands on Eijun’s knees. Eijun leaned in a bit closer, wanting more - Satoru’s taste was beyond addicting. It was somehow sweet and salty at the same time, and his lips were so soft. The flames in Eijun were being fuelled by this moment, the flames that were being kindled in him slowly, ever since they first met, exploding all at once from one kiss.

When Eijun leaned in more, the world toppled away from him.

Eijun fell off the rock back into the water, into Satoru, in less than the time it took to blink.

Satoru caught him easily, his hands landing on Eijun’s waist, righting him up so he didn’t dip head first into the water.

Eijun’s face turned hot, hotter than it’d ever been before. “Dammit!”

Satoru chuckled, brushing a bit of hair away from Eijun’s forehead. “I guess you want to stay in the water with me.”

Eijun was so startled by the tease that he laughed. “Yeah, yeah, I guess so, huh? Because I like you too!”

There was a lot to talk about—how this would work, how they’d make times when they’d be able to meet… there was a lot complicated about whatever was going on between them that’d they have to figure out.

But for now, he was just going to enjoy this moment, this beautiful spell of the sea.