Chapter Text
♫There is nothing can console me♫
♫But my jolly sailor bold♫
Ryoma carefully stepped down the creaky wood, the waves of the ocean sloshing against the ship’s lower deck. Darkness engulfed the room. Night had fallen and most of the crew left for bed. Barely an hour ago Ryoma and the other sailors captured the waters’ feared mermaid. This mermaid was the reason fish were hard to get by, making the town go hungry, dissatisfaction and fear growing amongst the people. With the vicious beast finally captured, that would be fixed.
He could still remember the being’s splashing and screeching once the men caught it in a net. Everyone cheered, grateful to have captured the figure of doom after all these years. Yet, fear quickly washed over them. Fish were not the only thing to have disappeared by the mermaid’s hands.
Now it had been safely put away in a water tank, but Ryoma remained mesmerized by the mere concept of its existence. He knew of the dangers, he had heard the stories, of course. But he would be lying if he said it didn’t mess with him that it in ways looked human.
Even now, as he approached the see-through coffin filled with the silhouette of a half-fish, half-human frankenstein, he felt drawn in. And that song… That beautiful song.
He climbed the stairs set by the tank and pushed the cover aside to look inside. It did not take long for the mermaid to notice him, staring back with shining eyes, before arising slightly from the water.
♫My heart is pierced by Cupid♫
♫I disdain all glittering gold♫
Ryoma tilted his head a bit, taking in the dark shadows on the face that produced the beautiful melody. He could make out short ashy blonde hair, some of it covering the left eye. Features any pretty woman who he would surely approach on a night out had.
♫There is nothing can console me♫
As if pulled by a string, he leaned further over the edge, craving to experience the myths of a mermaid’s lips. To feel the magic of such a creature’s flesh against his very own. Something he would never forget and forever cherish.
♫But my jolly sailor bold♫
The mermaid retreated, sinking its face into the water again before Ryoma was able to meet. The man moved along, following face down till it hid underwater as well. He opened his eyes to see if he was still on track for their lips to meet, and sure enough they were. The deep predator eyes stared at him with an unknowing look, when suddenly…
“AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!”
Shuichi stepped outside his home, taking in a deep breath to absorb the afternoon’s ocean air. The house he resided in - inherited from his uncle - stood just out of town, more uphill near the light tower to have a beautiful view over the endless salt water. The seagulls cawed, flying down town and guiding his eyes to the harbor. Just as he suspected from the letter he received, the sailors had returned from their journey and thus with it his best friend Kaito. In a somewhat strange request Shuichi had been asked to come to the town’s aquarium. He had no clue what for, but suspected Kaito caught some crazy fish that they decided to add to the collection. Although that would still be kind of strange considering the low amount of seafood available.
As he strolled through town, he walked his way past the old town’s square. Many restaurants decorated with anchors, old-fashioned marine steering wheels and wooden engravings of sea life riddled the area. An old bronze statue of a proud fisherman holding a large salmon by its gills welcomed you to the special boat inspired houses. The boats were integrated in the architecture, literally. The front decks had been built into the wall, extending as part of the roof, with flags hanging out from each tip.
In front of these old buildings the daily market gathered. At this market any range of products could be bought. Bakery, meat, clothes, dairy, fruit and vegetables; all drawing in large queu lines. The only stands without such promising numbers of customers were the ones that sold fish. Or, well, that's what they were supposed to be selling.
The past few years less and less fish returned with the fishermen. At first it appeared to be a seasonal issue, but later it became a year-round problem. There were other things to eat, but fish food had been the town’s staple for centuries. Their entire identity was defined by sailing and taming the wild waters. Without seafood, that would all disappear. It spread a lot of worry as a result. Everyone had different explanations in regards to the matter’s exact cause, but one stood out from the crowd.
“Yahoo, Shuichi~!” Angie called to him, waving excitedly from behind her empty stand.
He put his hand up towards her and walked over, quickly looking over her catalog. “That’s a pretty empty lot…”
“Jep! I only had a few fish, and those were already gone early in the morning. You should come by earlier if you want any.”
“Ah, yeah, I overslept hugely… Just a few fish… Did you sell them with a large profit? I haven’t seen you this cheerful in a good while.”
“Nyahaha, that is because, dear Shuichi, my prayers have been answered. The fish have returned!”
He blinked rapidly at the announcement, looking back down at the empty stand. “Um… I fail to see that.”
“Oh, not yet, silly. But they will very soon. The problem has been fixed.”
“The… problem? How do you know that?”
Angie wiggled her finger into his face. “Why do you think I always keep standing here till the end of day despite having nothing to sell anymore? Only then you get to hear all the stories… In fact, I predict that you are going up to the aquarium for the same reason our suffering will end!”
He swallowed a bit, taken aback by Angie knowing where he was headed. Not that he should be surprised, she did always know about everyone and everything because of her favorable routine. It didn’t take away how creepy it could be at times, though.
“Then you know more than I do,” he smiled awkwardly, growing somewhat afraid of the real reason he had been called upon.
“Don’t be like that, Shuichi. I think you will enjoy it very much! And soon we will all be feasting, nyahaha!”
He continued his way to the back of town, to the large aquarium building. Emptiness and silence dressed the construction; the common vibe since the place officially closed for visitors. With the dissatisfaction at a lack of fish to eat, people weren’t exactly thrilled about the idea of watching them swim around. In fact, not that long ago, Shuichi cracked a case where a bunch of rare fish mysteriously disappeared. As it turned out, one of the employees came in to steal them so they could be eaten for the coming holiday. Committing a crime just for that confused Shuichi. Fish weren’t that tasty from his point of view.
As he approached the entrance, Kaito awaited him. Shuichi immediately smiled, glad to see him having returned whole from his journey at sea. Kaito was just as happy to meet again after all the time spent apart, their hands instantly coming together to shake.
“It’s good to see you again, Kaito. How was it at sea? Did you find a new spot with fish?”
“Likewise! Ah, no… We got something much better! Come on in.”
He pushed the doors open, the both of them moving through the halls illuminated by the tanks’ reflections. Shuichi looked around curiously at the fish, which had become so used to having no people around that they immediately swam away into hiding. Kaito kept walking, entering the hallways meant for staff only and making his way to what Shuichi had during his investigation come to learn to be the research area. The area went unused due to being reserved for marine biology students. Shuichi had thought about following that profession after dropping his childhood dream of becoming a sailor, but he became a detective instead. People said it suited him better.
In front of the large doors of the main room, Kaito twirled in his step to turn towards his friend, a childlike wonder plastering his face. “So I’ve got some really exciting news.”
“Okay…”
“You won’t believe your eyes!”
“Right…”
“It’s actually so insane-”
“Are you going to get to it? I’m growing far too curious.”
“Okay, okay… Check this… We were determined to find the monster that’s been eating all our fish… And guess what? We caught a mermaid…!”
Shuichi nearly choked on his own saliva. “A-a mermaid…?! Are you serious…?!”
“Very serious!” he smiled brightly.
“That’s… Wow…” He stared into the ground. He didn’t know why, but the subject had always enthralled him. Almost even more so than the town’s own folklore specialist. To see a mermaid would be a dream come true. Maybe he would get to meet her? But then again, if she had been caught by the sailors…
“I know what you’re thinking,” Kaito interrupted. “You’re worried we will eat her. Which is indeed the plan.”
He looked up to him again, eyes widening, “What?! You shouldn’t eat her, don’t you know about the myth that if you eat a mermaid you will live for 800 years…?”
“That's just some freaky myth. Like ghosts! Brr… Ghosts…”
Shuichi furrowed his brow.
“... But… I also knew you wouldn't be happy about that.” He scratched his neck a bit. “Listen, we can’t just throw it back in the ocean. Becoming food would be a great way to start the Midsummer Fest this Friday and celebrate the eventual return of the fish. But maybe you can find another purpose for it.”
His brow only furrowed more. He didn't like where this was going.
“We could always put it up for show and make a bunch of money that way, or maybe it can help us in the hunt by chasing fish towards us rather than eating them… Either way, it's a wild beast. In those cases it needs to listen to us, and currently that won’t happen.”
“... So what you’re saying is, if I don’t want you to be cursed, I’m going to have to convince her to become a circus or hunting pet.”
“Something like that.”
He sighed. “Why are you asking me…?”
“First off, you’re a detective.”
“This has nothing to do with being a detective.”
“And you’ve always been crazy about mermaids. Going off all about them… Maybe you can crack the code. At least you are a friendly face compared to that Kiyo guy… And if you don’t, no worries, then we’ll just eat it!”
This truly hit the point of utter ridiculousness. You can’t just turn a mermaid into your personal pet to follow whatever your desire is! But Shuichi supposed landing on someone’s plate was a much more cruel fate. In reality it shouldn’t matter to him what would happen to this being - she was just another fish in the sea after all. However, he couldn’t bear the thought knowing that a half-human would end up on his and the others’ plates, possibly cursing them to live for many centuries.
“... Okay, I’ll do it. You say you plan to eat her for the Midsummer Fest so… I suppose I have a timespan of 5 days to ‘tame’ her?”
“Great! And yeah, 5 days until the feast starts. Sorry, I couldn’t stretch any more time than that.”
“It’ll have to do… Is she here? I better get to it quickly,” Shuichi took his step forward, only to be stopped by his friend.
“Wait. Before you go, I should warn you… I’m not overreacting when I say it's an animal.”
“Well, yes, she would technically be an animal.”
“No, I mean that… It is very dangerous…”
Shuichi fully turned to look at him.
“... It sang its siren song, and got Ryoma that way.”
His eyes widened. “... Is… Is he…?”
“His face was like, sucked off and crushed to drowning…” Kaito’s face immediately turned pale explaining how one of his fellow sailors had come to find his gruesome end. “I-I’m getting sick just thinking about it… Dammit… He's too young to hold a funeral for...”
Shuichi swallowed at that warning. Ryoma was a small guy, but he didn’t take bullshit. Nothing scared him, and he would never be stupid enough to approach a mermaid in a way that guaranteed a painful death. That siren song strayed him from all logic and self-control.
“We put it in a much safer tank now, but if it's gonna start singing again… I want you to have this.” From his pocket, Kaito grabbed a small box, shortly opening it to reveal earplugs, and put it in Shuichi’s pocket. “Put those in when it starts singing. It should protect you from being hypnotized.”
“... How do I know she will start singing?”
“The air changes… I can’t describe it. You can just, feel yourself detaching from reality… You’ll know when it happens.” The man’s serious expression turned into a happy smile again, “Well, best of luck!” and then left.
The box immediately weighed down like a brick at the fear of hearing her song. Shuichi grabbed it tightly, making sure to engrave where it was hidden.
“... I already regret accepting… No, I’ll be fine. I’ve got the earplugs, and he did say she is in a safe tank now, right? So then it should be fine… And if I don’t want to risk everyone living for far longer than they could mentally take, I won’t have much choice.”
He entered the sterile research room filled with old bookshelves and desks covered by dust. In the middle of it all stood a tall tube with in there a strange silhouette. Kaito didn’t lie when he said the new tank was well secured. If there had been two of them, they would have been fully pressed against the glass. For now, the housing proved to be just large enough for the mermaid to be ‘standing’, unable to do much else.
As he approached further, the being’s actual features became clear. Her long tail immediately stood out to him, colored in a shining black along with a dorsal fin that ran from her upper back nearly all the way down. Shuichi's eyes wandered further upwards, where the black scales slowly faded around the chest area. Instead they mixed into skin as pale as the moon. It looked like human skin, but would definitely feel anything like it upon touch. Her webbed hands held on to the glass, sharp claws lightly scratching the surface. He swallowed at the idea that Ryoma had come to feel those tearing his skin apart. As his eyes trailed back up, they shakily landed on the mermaid’s face.
She was staring at him.
A normal human girl, one his own age, met him. Her eyes, nose, lips and short hair didn’t give any indication of being a sea creature. If it wasn’t for everything below her collarbone, he would’ve thought a regular woman had been imprisoned instead.
The mermaid got a bit closer to the glass, her emerald eyes staring intensely into Shuichi’s own amber ones.
“... H-hi…” Shuichi closed in as well, but cautiously so. Even with the glass between them, no one could predict what she was going to do.
Her haunting eyes followed his every movement. She didn’t seem dangerous. If anything, the way the light reflected from her porcelain skin and onyx tail made her look mesmerizing. It reminded Shuichi of a black pearl.
“... I imagine you had quite the shock getting here.”
She simply glared at him.
“... You don’t trust me, do you?”
“... Why would I?” she finally said in a strict yet serene voice. “I am kidnapped and treated like a toy.” Her tail waved, highlighting several different wounds. Some had faded with age, while other bruises showed incredibly recency. Just above her caudal fin, for example, an even circle had damaged her scales. Kaito and the others must have tied a rope there to lift her into the tube.
“Fair point… But I’m here to help you.”
Her face darkened. She clearly didn’t believe him. Rightfully so.
“The people who caught you, this town, they want to eat you.”
The angry expression on her face faded for a moment, twisting into fear and shock, only to quickly change to repulsion.
Shuich’s face matched hers thinking of the act. “I know, I don’t get the idea either… It’d be like eating a human if you ask me. Which is… gross.”
His opinion seemed to be pleasing as the girl’s stiff shoulders loosened a bit, her eyes squinting at him.
“I might be able to stop that fate by-”
“Will you take me back to the ocean?” She clamped herself to the glass, her eyes holding a glimmer of hope.
“... I can’t do that…”
The mermaid scoffed and turned her back towards him, staring at the room’s high windows instead. Clearly she was only willing to converse about escape, and now she had decided to achieve that goal by herself.
She checkmated his pawn. Shuichi’s experience as a detective told him today would not be the right time to earn her trust.
“She was caught and put in what might as well be a cage…” He lingered over the narrow tube, eventually finding their way back to the fresh wound the rope had left. “Imagine getting beaten by someone and then they dare to talk all friendly to you… Even if she started it with Ryoma, this just doesn’t work psychologically… I should try again tomorrow. Hopefully she will then be more willing to talk.”
“... I won’t bother you much longer. Erm… But, I want you to know my name. It’s Shuichi. It’s nice to meet you.”
The mermaid didn’t react to it.
“... What’s yours?”
“... What?”
“What’s your name?”
She turned slightly towards him, her head tilted. It’s like she had to think for a bit. “... Kirumi. My name is Kirumi.”