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Cold air combed through dark, and curly locks of hair. The deep steely blue and pink sky indicated that the sun was soon to rise, but it was highly likely that the clouds would conceal it from view. Blue hour is what most call it. None other than Kujo Jotaro observed this, lounging near Tokyo’s harbor. It was extremely quiet, not in an eerie way. It was more comforting, hearing the waves crash against the beige sand. He’s recently gained an interest in marine biology. He’d brought a small notebook to the beach, just about 50 pages. Picked it up at a dingy 24/7 shop on his walk here. But, the 20 minutes he’d been sitting on the damp wood of the dock, he hasn’t seen a sign of life in the murky waters. Maybe he was too early? He’d been hoping to see some Mahi-mahi, if he was lucky.
Jotaro was… disappointed. It didn’t show, but only those with keen eyes would notice that his usually rigid posture sagged a bit. Just as he was about to get up and leave, something bright green sparkled in the water. Emerald, even. It was just for a split second, but Jotaro always trusted his strong perceptiveness. His eyes— almost as blue as the ocean— fixated back onto the water as a flash of red gleamed as well. His first thought was that the creature had gotten hurt, but after a moment of observation, this green-tailed being was fine.
And it seemed to be approaching at a quick pace.
He began writing down what he observed. His handwriting was… fairly neat. But at the speed of his hands in his moment, a majority of the letters were unreadable to anyone but him.
Long, green tail with red accents
Very quick, seemingly friendly.
As it neared the docks, the animal slowed down a bit, and Jotaro was able to get a better look. The upper half had a more… human-like look. Broad shoulders, and it seemed to have… fur? Hair? Fish don’t usually tend to have that… maybe it was an aquatic mammal, like the blue whale. These possibilities flowed through Jotaro’s mind, as he bowed his head while jotting down more features of this unknown creature. He looked up ever so often to check its status, until it was practically in front of him. Only the tall oak beams of the dock stopped his long legs from being in arms reach of the.. thing. He didn’t know what to call it. This didn’t matter now, though.
Two amethyst eyes peeked above the surface of the water. Long, magenta hair floated along the surface as well, but it appeared to be.. dry? Which was strange, because this unnamed being was fully submerged just seconds ago. It was one of the rare moments where Jotaro showed genuine confusion on his sharp features, eyebrows furrowed. This had to be some diver playing a stupid trick on him. But, as he examined closer, green scales decorated the forehead and cheeks of this creature. A diver with really good waterproof makeup skills…? He was reaching.
Did Kujo Jotaro just discover a new species?
The creature began to raise, slowly revealing its lips and triangular jaw. It was uncannily human-like. It, no, He had a sort of cautious but curious look on his face. These scales also lined his neck, and laid beside what seemed like gills? It was kind of freaky watching them open and close above water, but the creature was breathing just fine. Would it be appropriate for Jotaro to refer to it as a creature anymore? It looked a lot like a human. Either way, the man found himself staring in awe. He began to scribble on the miniature notepad again.
Humanoid. Has gills, but breathing air without struggle. Why does it have a nose then? Masculine. Are there feminine ones?
“Hello?”
A deep but tender voice chimed, abruptly stopping Jotaro’s train of thoughts. A quick look around his environment told him that there were no humans around. None that he could see, at least. But, judging the loudness of the voice, the person had to be in close proximity of him. So… there was only one possibility.
“Hello? Are you okay?”
Genuine surprise painted Jotaro’s face. He couldn’t even deny it. His jaw had gone slack and his eyes went wide.. Did it just talk?! With perfect pronunciation and grammar as well?
Perfect Japanese. Definitely not human. New species?
“Sir, are you okay?” The creature asked again. In all honesty, Jotaro was sort of scared to reply. But how was he going to learn more about it if he didn’t talk?
“Hello.” He near-whispered. The creature stared at him in what seemed like confusion, as it swam closer.
“Did you say someth-“
“I said hello.”
Jotaro’s attitude seemed to stun the creature for a moment. Maybe he shouldn’t be so mean if he wanted information? He couldn’t think of what else to say, as they awkwardly stared at each other. The sun had risen a bit, pale yellow light seeping through the holes of the clouds. He went back to writing once again.
Most likely has vocal cards. Great cognitive skill. Coherent speech. Typical east-asian features. Scales.
“You’re so… different.”
What was that even supposed to mean? Was Jotaro supposed to be upset or something? Offended? Was it an insult? The way this unnamed creature said it didn’t seem like an insult, more like an observation. And realistically, Jotaro was… strange.
“How so?”
“You don’t seem hostile like the others of your kind. They often try to capture or injure me.” It was then the animal ascended even more, exposing its shoulders and chest. This area seems to be decorated with reddish rust-colored scales instead, though a green tone surrounded these scale-covered areas. But the man’s skin tone was also humane, maybe a few shades lighter than Jotaro. Though the creature had seemed to somewhat get comfortable, he still seemed cautious approaching the dock.
“I won’t hurt you unless necessary. But that doesn’t matter right now, what are you?”
“I’m a merman.”
“What? Are you a diver fucking with me right now? Those things aren’t real.”
“Diver? What’s that?”
Either this diver was a really good actor, or Jotaro had come in contact with an actual merman. He was in some sort of… shock. The merman cocked his head at the sudden silence Jotaro had given him.
Merman.
“Meet me here, same time, tomorrow.”
Jotaro mumbled before rising to leave. He’d already turned his back, heavy feet pounding on the creaky wood of the dock.
“Wait!“
He quickly looked back. “What?”
“What is your name?”
“Jotaro.”