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When summer finally comes around and the cold months have passed, Shuichi enjoys the rays of the sun dippping into the ocean, warming his scales.
Far away from ships and tourism, the merfolk have found a place where humans rarely visit. After many years hidden away in the depths of the dark ocean, life slowly adjusts to living closer to the surface. A place where the sun reaches.
The current is pleasant today. The gentle drag carries Shuichi with it for a while, his dark blue scales shimmering in the light.
Like every day, his eyes catch on the same merman from a different pack that lives close by. He's a little bigger than Shuichi, muscular and has keen light green eyes that match his hair.
His tail is compact and strong, Shuichi thinks their kind is adapted for hunting while Shuichi is more of a forager. His own tail has a large silky tip that's more pretty than useful. Shuichi isn't much of a hunter or a fighter for that matter, not like that other mer.
He's usually crowded by five smaller mermaids that look just like him. They play around him while he keeps a watchful eye on them, and Shuichi sighs reverently. He's already got a family, but Shuichi can't help the way his heart has picked him. Why couldn't he have fallen for someone from his own pack?
They've never talked, but he usually greets Shuichi with a friendly smile and a wave. He does so today too, and Shuichi waves back.
And that would be about it for their meetings, never exchanging a word, but not this time.
A shadow blacks out the sunlight and Shuichi's ears twitch in alert. He hasn't heard anything approach, and besides a subtle disturbance in the water, he still can't hear anything out of the ordinary.
"Humans!", the green mer calls out and Shuichi freezes. It's been years since the merfolk had encounters with fishers or divers. They kept hidden here like this for so long by now that perhaps they'd grown too secure in their habitat.
"We need to go! You, come on!"
He's got a beautiful voice, Shuichi dimly thinks while he watches something being thrown into the water.
"Hey! Are you listening?"
A hand wraps around Shuichi's wrist and when he turns, he looks back into those gorgeous bright eyes that stun him every time.
"I-"
"We need to hide. I need to get my sisters away from it."
"Your sisters...?"
Something inside Shuichi's dazed mind clicks. The little girls are crowding behind him, five almost identical little mermaids with green hair and eyes. Maybe they are quintuplets. Rare, but not impossible.
Oh, they're just his siblings.
"Right! Okay..."
Shuichi shakes himself out of his daze and turns, following the other mer while he ushers his little siblings into the nearby reef. The corals have formed a cave in there and they quickly disappear into the tight space.
Shuichi can feel the other mer's body tightly pressed against his own, his heartbeat pounding against Shuichi's chest, his arms layered around his little sisters.
If the situation wasn't so dire Shuichi would think he was dreaming, being huddled so close against his little daydream.
"I'm Rantaro", the green mer says, "We've never had the chance to introduce ourselves, huh?"
"Not the best setting", Shuichi huffs, "I'm Shuichi."
"Shuichi, huh..."
Shuichi ducks his head. It sounds like a purr coming out of Rantaro's throat and it's really not the time to be lovestruck.
"Oh no...", Rantaro gasps with parted lips.
Shuichi blinks. Rantaro is staring right ahead and Shuichi follows his gaze only to see one of his siblings has escaped the cave, in pursuit of a yellow moray eel.
"I need to get her back", Rantaro hisses and straightens, pushing his remaining siblings back deeper into their hiding spot.
"No, Rantaro! Look!", Shuichi calls out.
Rantaro turns his head. A large net is sweeping the ocean floor.
"They are going to catch you!", Shuichi pleads.
Rantaro's eyes burn on him when he grabs Shuichi's shoulders.
"If that happens, I need you to get the girls back to my home", he instructs, "Don't worry about me. Keep watch."
"Wait!"
But he doesn't wait. The little mermaids cry out after their brother when he darts out of the cave straight towards the approaching net.
Shuichi hesitates. He's slower and less experienced than Rantaro, but he can't just stay here and watch him being taken. Fighter or not, Shuichi is always too afraid. Maybe now is the time to grow a thicker layer of scales and use those damn claws on his fingers.
"I need you to be good and stay here, alright?", he sternly says to the girls. They squeak and nod in unison, huddling deeper into the cave.
Shuichi has never been a good hunter. He's timid and clumsy and slower than most mermen his age. But he's the only one here. He's the only one who can make a change right now.
He directs his attention back towards Rantaro, who has finally managed to grab his little sister. But the net has drawn close and to Shuichi's horror, it has frightened a shark straight towards the mers.
It has no interest in prey, but the massive body crashes into Rantaro and causes him to swirl around himself, leaving him there to hover motionless. The little mermaid tries to tug her big brother, her eyes darting from the net to him and back, before she swings her head around to look right at Shuichi.
He can't wait any longer. He can't be slow and timid today.
His claws dig into the edge of the cave, launching himself out into the open water. He presses his arms tightly against his body and puts all his strength into his tail, his eyes fixed on the little mer. His chest burns under the pressure while he relentlessly refuses to slow down, the net coming closer and closer, threatening to catch them all and expose them to the humans above.
Shuichi thinks they may not be here for the merfolk. The area has rare species of fish and squids, caused by the absence of fisher interference. He had thought humans never came here. Maybe they aren't supposed to hunt here.
"There you are."
Wheezing, Shuichi finally reaches the two of them and grabs Rantaro's little sister firmly. She struggles and tries to escape his grasp, but she's way too small to escape his hold.
"My brother!", she whines.
Shuichi offers her a reassuring smile. "Leave it to me. I won't let them take him, I promise. But first I need to get you to safety."
Her eyes flick from Rantaro back to Shuichi, and then she nods. Shuichi turns and races back to the cave. His heart aches, because he knows he's not going to make it. There's no way he's reaching Rantaro in time, but he promised. He promised he'd keep his sisters safe.
"Stay here", he hisses as he releases the little mermaid into the cave. She disappears into the pile of her sisters, and Shuichi loses no time to turn around again.
This is more exercise than he's ever had in his life.
The net has collected the unconcious Rantaro now, along with several other sea creatures that were surprised. Shuichi spots an octopus and a couple dolphins, but he can't save them all. He can only pray the humans aren't interested in them, but they will be interested in a merman freshly caught.
His muscles feel ready to tear but he keeps up the speed all the way back, his eyes never leaving Rantaro, too afraid once he loses sight of him he'll be gone for good.
"Rantaro!" Shuichi digs his claws into the net and shakes it. It feels solid under his webs, too hard to tear. "Rantaro!"
Rantaro groans and his eyes flutter. They snap open just a heartbeat later, and then they close half way again. Why does he look so content? Panic crashes over Shuichi like the erratic waves of the tides.
"You rescued her", Rantaro says softly and reaches his hand through the net, resting it against the side of Shuichi's face, "I always knew you were the one."
"Don't say it like I'll never see you again!", Shuichi argues and pulls on the net harder. It doesn't give in, not even a little.
"It's pointless", Rantaro says, "Save yourself. Tell them to flee. I'll hold them off for as long as I can."
"No!"
He tilts his head up to the surface where the boat is hovering. Now that the net is being reeled in, Shuichi also hears the motor of the engine. It's so much quieter than what he heard in stories. They must've advanced since merfolk last made contact.
"I'll get you out there, no matter what", Shuichi promises and darts up towards the boat. He doesn't look back but he can feel those bright green eyes lingering on him.
Nearing the boat, he can make out the propeller disturbing the water. It spins so fast it creates waves on the surface, a split in the water like a path freed by the boat.
"That's it..."
Shuichi closes his eyes for just a moment. Getting anywhere near a boat is dangerous and he knows that thing can kill sea creatures with ease. But that means it can also tear the net - Shuichi only has one try at this.
He swims up and sticks his fingers into the net, starting to pull it towards the spinning propeller. The fabric cuts into his palms but he keeps pulling, his tail slamming against the water for purchase.
"Come on... Come on!"
The net is dangerously close to being reeled into the boat. Shuichi's silky tail is not made for hard work like this. His body threatens to give out from exhaustion and his teeth grind, but he stubbornly fights against the weight.
He finally got to know his name. Rantaro. He wants to say it again. He wants to get to know him and his sisters and watch the way the sun shimmers in his eyes.
Groaning, Shuichi takes his last strength and rips at the net and finally, the entire thing sways. The swirl pulls him in and he barely manages to dodge the blades when it pulls the net in, tearing and tangling into the lines.
Shuichi grabs a torn piece and pulls, which causes more and more getting pulled into the propeller. It opens a gap in the net that Shuichi tears open, and it seems one of the big lines tears, until it falls apart. The caught animals escape and Shuichi's eyes keep holding out for a glimpse of green.
"Shuichi!"
As one of the last ones, Rantaro pushes himself out of the net. He must've helped them escape. Shuichi bites his lip and swims down to meet him.
Like they've never done anything else, their hands meet and their fingers interlace, gazing into each other's eyes.
He's beautiful. He always has been since the moment Shuichi first laid eyes on him.
"You came back for me", Rantaro whispers.
"Of course I did", Shuichi presses out, "We should-"
He gets cut off when Rantaro's lips close his mouth, his eyes fluttering shut with a low whine. The boat is forgotten for just two heartbeats before the kiss breaks and Rantaro blinks back at him with huge sparkling eyes.
"Hah, sorry... It's just... Saving someone's life, it means... You're bonded forever, in my pack."
Shuichi stares. His body is littered by scars, telling tales of rough fights. Muscles play beneath his skin and his claws are long and sharp. Next to him, Shuichi is untouched by violence, smooth scales and spotless skin.
"I'm just good for looking pretty", he argues. Rantaro was always like a treasure to be admired from afar. That's why Shuichi never approached him. He doesn't deserve him.
Rantaro tilts his head. "You just saved my life, if I recall correctly."
A thud jerks both of their heads up. The net has caused the motor of the boat to die down.
"Let's grab the girls and get away from here", Rantaro says, not leaving Shuichi another moment to argue.
He keeps holding one of Shuichi's hands and holds on tight, pulling him along back down to the cave. The inside lays dark and seemingly deserted when Rantaro stops in the opening. Frowning, he pokes his head inside.
"You can come out now, girls. We're going home."
A beat of silence passes before the little mermaids spill out to hug their big brother.
"You're back!", one of them squeaks, "Are we getting new playmates soon?"
Shuichi furrows his eyebrows. Rantaro's face turns a dark shade of red and he quickly plays over it with a smile, playfully poking his sister. "Let's stop talking for a while, yeah?"
And when Shuichi thinks that's his signal to leave, Rantaro turns to him and reaches out his hand.
"I meant what I said", he says, and Shuichi thinks his heart is going to burst, "I want you to be my mate."
Shuichi knew it was only ever going to be him, but he never thought he stood a chance. He's not a fighter and not hardened like Rantaro.
But today, he won his biggest fight yet, and he thinks he can be proud of that. If Rantaro picked him, he'll graciously accept.