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Shoto swam back and forth, his hands pressing against the glass of his enclosure, he had been plucked from the ocean five days before. The fishing boat had been surprised to find the gorgeous mer in their nets, and they knew he would sell for plenty.
His tears were swept away by the water that felt stagnant and empty. His ocean had been gorgeous, fish of all kinds would swim around him and the ocean floor had been spotted in colorful sea anemones and coral. This tank was empty, he was the only thing within it, and the tank alone was only tall enough to let him swim halfway extended.
He slammed his fist on the glass but it didn’t budge. He sank to the floor of his tank and pulled his tail close to him. He tried to hide his face using his fluke. A large hand slammed onto the tank, Shoto jumped in surprise. He slowly slid his fluke down so his blue eye was visible, a large man stared looking down at him.
“Don’t worry little thing, you have a buyer already.”
Shoto cocked his head, uncertain what he was going on about. Buyer?
Shoto let out a surprised yelp as the tank began to move, he slammed his fist on the glass trying to stop the man from moving him. He laughed as he watched the mer swimming back and forth in panic.
“Aren’t you cute, your new buyer is going to love you.”
Shoto whined as the tank continued to move, the tank was moved into the back of a truck. Shoto’s eyes were wide in panic as the truck doors began to close, any light was snuffed out. He let out a panicked cry as the truck started up and began to move, the water that was around him began to swirl and sway as the truck pulled out.
Each turn the truck made caused the mer to go swirling or ram into the glass. Tears mixed with the water that surrounded him, the truck stopped abruptly causing him to hit the side of the tank with a crash. His head was spinning as he expected the truck to start back up again, he attempted to brace himself but the back of the truck opened up. Shoto smiled as light filled the back of the truck and warmed his skin, he banged his hand on the glass when a young man wearing black and red entered.
He lifted his wrist to his lips. “I found one, it seems this one was being transported.” Shoto slammed his hand on the glass again and the young man began to walk towards the tank slowly. “Hey, my name is Kirishima, can you understand me?” Shoto slowly nodded at him, he cocked his head as he watched the man place his hand on the glass. Shoto mirrored his hand and flicked his tail. He wanted out of this stupid tank. “Good alright, we are going to drive you somewhere safe okay? So you will be in here for a little longer but you won’t be for long. I promise.”
The merman furrowed his brow but nodded, suddenly a girl wearing different shades of pink appeared beside Kirishima. “We are going to see if we can find where this truck came from. Are you good to drive this? Katsuki is going to go with you.”
“Yes, I can drive.”
Shoto’s tail flicked back and forth, he wanted out of this damned tank.
The girl nodded and rushed off before Kirishima began to do the same. “Wait…” Shoto called.
Kirishima froze, turning with surprise that the mer had spoken. “What is it?”
“I don’t like the dark…. Please…”
Kirishima realized when the door closed there wasn’t a single light in the back. “Just a second I will get you something bright, okay?”
Shoto nodded softly, Kirishima brought his wrist back up to his lips. “Momo, will you come to the back of the truck real quick before we split?”
Shoto narrowed his eyes, did humans speak to each other through their wrists? That was interesting information to say the least. Suddenly a girl appeared, she had long black hair and bright onyx eyes. “What is it?”
“This sweet mer is afraid of the dark, could you make a light I could either put on the ceiling or give to him to hold?”
Her smile faltered for a moment before she nodded. “Of course… Oh, aren’t you precious.” Shoto’s eyes were wide as he watched her chest begin to sparkle like a pearl in the morning rays of light. A ball of light was suddenly in her hands. “This is water proof, he can hold onto it.”
Kirishima walked to the tank, opened the lid and placed the light in with him. Shoto swam towards it, bringing it close to his bare chest. “Thank you.” He whispered meekly. Kiri and Momo smiled at him.
“How sweet….”
“He looks so scared…” Kirishima whispered as they began to walk out of the truck. He slowly closed the back and smiled softy. “We need to get him to the marine lab for a check up before we can send him home. Do you think he knows where he was taken from?”
“Possibly…” Momo remarked. “He was able to speak to us, which isn’t always common… He may know.”
Shoto moved back and forth within the tank, holding the ball of light close to his chest. Those humans seemed kind and helpful, he only hoped he would get to go home quickly. Shoto could feel the vibrations of the truck, he let out soft whine as the car took a turn and then came to another stop. Shoto flicked his tail back and forth as he waited for the light to return. He expected the handsome red head but instead a handsome blond was the one who opened the door and walked towards his tank.
“Well hello, they said you were pretty” the blond smiled, “I’m Katsuki…. Alright we are going to get you inside and check you out okay, make sure they didn’t hurt you and then we are going to get you home.”
Shoto smiled softly and nodded, he watched as Kirishia appeared and helped Katsuki move the tank. Shoto held his hand to the tank to try and stabilize himself in the tank. “You alright in there?”
“Y-yeh…” Shoto managed out.
Katuski and Kirishima locked eyes, they each smirked at one another before their eyes shifted back to the mer. They finally got the tank inside the marine lab, a few workers appeared surrounding the tank and working to get Shoto moved to a larger holding tank that would give him more space to swim and stretch out.
“Hey Deku.” Katsuki smiled softly as he stepped back, allowing them to take photos of Shoto before they moved him over.
Izuku turned as he wrote something in his journal. “Was he the only one?”
“So far, cheeks and smartypants are managing another team to check where we think these trucks came from.”
“I’ve been able to keep an eye on the ones we brought in earlier, thankfully this one looks far healthier and there doesn’t seem to be any current injuries.”
Shoto was placed into the holding tank with a splash, he took the opportunity to do a few circles in the tank. Kirishima laughed as he watched him do a few circles, his attention peaked as one of the workers dropped a few fish into the tank. He took off after them, his stomach growling in realization that he was hungry and hadn’t been fed since he was taken.
“Good news is he has an appetite.” Izuku muttered. “Better than the last mer.”
Katsuki watched the mer with big eyes, he was gorgeous. Shoto reached out and grabbed a mackerel with a triumphant smile. He swam towards the surface and popped his head out, taking a bite of the fish. “Thank you,” Shoto said happily as he pulled the fish away for a moment, before taking another bite.
“He can talk?”
“Yes, it seems so.” Katsuki smiled. “He asked Kirishima for a light earlier because he doesn’t like the dark.”
Izuku’s eyes lit up as he added more information to his journal. He had been the most excited that they were working to save and rehabilitate oceanic wildlife including mermaids and mermen. Within the last six years protective orders had been taken out when it was discovered plenty or mers were being trafficked and sold to the wealthy as pets as well as some being eaten or stuffed and mounted on walls. It wasn’t very common for mers to know or understand human speech, let alone them being able to speak it. There were so many languages out there, it was uncommon to find a mer who could speak the common tongue of the shores their oceans clung to.
Izuku rushed to the side of the tank, attempting to sketch the mer out. “Did you ask him any questions about himself?”
“No,” Kirishima responded. “We were trying to get him out of that tank, there wasn't much time.”
“Do you have a name?”
“Shoto.” He replied after taking another bite of his fish. His two toned eyes sparkled in the artificial light of the marine research center. His tail flicked back and forth in the warmth of the tank, this was far more suited to his liking. “Do you have any surgeons?” He asked softly. He didn’t want to sound ungrateful but at the same time he wanted something more suited to his liking.
“We can find you some,” Izuku replied, “hey do you think you could talk to another mer for us?”
Shoto cocked his head in question. “Maybe… Depends on their pod…”
Izuku wrote more information down, it was hard to learn about the mers because many didn’t speak or share anything with humans.
A woman with bright blue hair smiled and clapped her hands. “Let us check his vitals and make sure he isn’t going to get the other sick and then we can have them speak.”
Katsuki watched the mer as he was coaxed closer to the edge of the tank, he was curious which was helpful in taking his vital signs. His fluke was examined and his tail was checked over, every scale was perfect and intact. “I think this is the best looking one that we’ve rescued so far, the worst I think this little one went through was being plucked from the ocean.”
“Food.” Shoto retorted.
Everyone turned to look at him with question. “What?”
“They didn’t feed me,” he mumbled. “This is all I’ve had in four moons and one sunrise.”
“So you keep track of the days by the sun and the moon?” Izuku asked, writing down information in his journal.
“You do not?” Shoto asked as he laid back in the tank, the color was already coming back to his tail as he munched on a second mackerel. He flicked his fluke which caused a mini splash, soaking Kirishima and Katsuki. The two let out a surprised laugh as they attempted to shake the water off.
“We just call it days or nights.” Katsuki replied. “Easier.”
Shoto laid back on his chest so he could meet their eyes. “I would like to go home, can I go home?”
“How'd you learn Japanese?”
“My brother.”
“You have a brother?”
“Yes, he doesn’t listen to my father, likes to spend time with humans…. I have picked up on it..”
The boys smiled, Kirishima found him just precious, and Bakugo wasn’t sure why he felt this way about a merman but he sure didn’t mind. Izuku was smiling a bit as he wrote more information down. “How big is your family pod?”
“Well… My pod is broken, I left it after something happened between myself and my father.. It was myself, my sister, two brothers and my mother and father.. I travel alone now, visit my family sometimes but otherwise I am alone.”
Izuku was a bit surprised by that, mers were regularly in pods or packs, it wasn’t safe for them to be alone very often. “Oh, alright… Well can you help us talk to a mer then? Your vitals seem fine and we can get you back home.”
Shoto smiled at the idea of getting to be home, the water here was fine but ocean water felt so much better on his scales and skin. Shoto agreed and soon enough a large mer with blueish white hair and an injured tail was placed into his tank. Shoto’s eyes were wide as he looked him over.
Bakugo, Izuku, and Kirishima watched as they spoke. The mer language was a mix of clicks and to them gibberish.
“What's your name?”
“Tenko…”
“My name is Shoto, are you alright what happened?”
“I was injured by a motor.” Tenko could feel Shoto’s hands on his tail, he was trying to be careful and soft but it still hurt. “You can speak to humans?”
“Yes,” he smiled softly as he examined the wraps that had been placed over it. “They worry for you.”
“I want them to release me…”
Shoto looked towards the boys who had rescued him. “They’re trying to help you.”
“I would be fine on my own.”
“You know as well as I do, an injured mer is easy pickings… Something bigger than you will eat you, or your tail will become dinner for something bigger… They’re trying to help, but they say you won’t take your medicine. It's supposed to make this heal faster so that way you can go home quicker.”
Tenko lowered his eyes, his lips turned into a frown. “What if they’re trying to poison me?”
Shoto’s look softened. “They’re not, they’re helping. These are the kind of people that save and rescue mers, not displace them. They just want you to know they’re to make you better.”
“I like eel, not mackerel.”
“I’ll tell them.”
“Good, if I get eel and..and clams, I’ll take whatever this medicine is.”
Shoto smiled brightly, he liked helping mers and humans communicate. He knew his father would be furious if he knew but it wasn’t his fault he was picked up by a net.
Shoto turned towards the heroes, and the aquatic vets and smiled. “Tenko says he likes eel and clam, he will take his meds after he gets those.”
“I see,” Izuku wrote down more in his journal, “eels and clams…. Was it a motor that tore up his tail? We can only assume.”
“Yes.” Shoto said softly. “We can be suspicious of humans, Tenko thought you were trying to poison him, not help him.”
The boys felt their hearts sink, the thought of hurting a mer or anyone else for that matter made them feel terrible. It did make sense with his reactions towards them anytime anyone got close to his tank or tried to put anything into it. He was even suspicious of the mackerel, but ate it because he could chase it down and knew if they poisoned the fish it wouldn’t be swimming. Shoto examined his tail closer, it wasn’t too terrible in the sense of damage and it could be far worse. Shoto had seen terrible things happen to mers by the hands of humans and fellow aquatic species.
Tenko’s scales lightened as Shoto ran a hand over his wound, there was a clear bandage wrap over it to protect the wound but also allow the vets to keep an eye on and examine the wounds without causing more panic or harm to the mer. Izuku was wide eyed as he watched his scales change, he didn’t know that could happen.
“How long does he have to be here for?”
“As long as he takes his medication for the next little while no longer than a week or two.”
Shoto cocked his head, a bit confused by the time. “Ah sorry… That would be seven to fourteen moons.”
Shoto turned to Tenko, and the clicks and words they couldn’t make out continued. Tenko’s expression changed a few times from disgust to delight. He had already been here for a few months and he wanted to go back to the sea.
Shoto thought for a moment, he wanted to return to the ocean but it was actually very nice talking to humans and getting to meet other mers that he wouldn’t have met otherwise. His oldest brother was more regular with people than with their own kind and Shoto didn’t hate that idea either. “C-Could I stay here and help you with the other mers?”
Izuku’s eyes widened. “You want to stay?”
“I- I would like to help, I can talk to them and help you here.. I mean I would like to go back to the ocean of course but I like helping…. I also don’t really have anywhere to go when I return…”
“We can actually arrange something,” one of the marine specialists said with a smile, “we have been working on something, we want to have an open ocean exhibit, where fish can come in and out. We can open it up for you, so you can come in and out and be here when you want and be out there however and whenever you feel like it. We could use someone who can help us communicate.”
Shoto’s eyes widened in excitement. “Really?”
“I think we can arrange that.”
“That means we can see each other some more,” Katsuki grinned. He didn’t know why he said it outloud, but no one seemed to question him.
Kirishima grinned. “I knew you were something special when I first laid eyes on you.”
“I think an open ocean exhibit is cool anyway, that way they can come in and out without feeling trapped.”
Shoto smiled, he liked that idea, he wanted to be helpful and get to know these humans some more and he wanted to stay long enough to know how Tenko recovered. “So I can stay?”
“If you wish to return and help us you’re always welcome in and out, but you are also welcome to just be at home in the ocean, we won’t force you to do either. We would appreciate the help here though, if you could help us understand the mers and help them without scaring them we would be grateful.”
Shoto smiled, he wasn’t happy he had been captured but he was happy to have met a good group of humans that made him realize what he wanted with his life. He looked towards the human heroes who had saved him and smiled, he wanted to be able to help save mers too even if it was in his own small way.