Chapter Text
On a sunny day on the coast of Japan, two boys were happily playing in the foaming waves that lapped the beach.
—Walk faster, Lev!—Kuroo shouted, watching as his friend, who was a little taller than him, trailed behind him.
—I'm trying!—the boy replied, forcing his feet to walk faster.
Kuroo didn't bother waiting for him, but kept running until he reached the rock that rose above the waves. Lev struggled to keep up, but climbed with him as well.
They were allowed to climb there because the waves broke well before the rock, so it wasn't hit hard by the water.
They both sat down, careful not to fall, to admire the sea.
—I wish I were a dolphin so I could swim forever!—Lev said enthusiastically, keeping his gaze fixed on the sea.
—I wish I were a shark!— Kuroo's eyes shone with excitement as he imagined the animal he considered majestic.
—But sharks are scary!— Lev complained, a small shiver running down his spine.
—They're not scary! They're amazing!— Kuroo argued determinedly.
—They're terrifying!— Lev countered as he moved further and further away from the shore.
The children continued arguing about whether sharks were scary or not until the sound of something or someone diving into the water caught their attention.
The sea creatures didn't come that close to that part of the beach, so they were somewhat puzzled.
They decided not to get distracted again and focused their gaze on the water. Kuroo was the first to notice.
A boy, who looked no older than him, was swimming in an area of the sea his parents wouldn't let him enter because he was still too young. He had shoulder-length black hair and shining golden eyes.
He seemed to have seen him too, as his eyes were completely fixed on him, but before he could approach them to say hello or say anything, a boy appeared near him, pulling him underwater.
Although he saw him briefly, Lev saw that the boy had brown hair and the most beautiful ochre-colored eyes he had ever seen in his short life.
The boys sank into the water and disappeared among the waves, but as they submerged, they revealed two red tails that looked like fish tails.
After the boys disappeared, there was a silence between the two Earth children, who had the same question in mind.
"Where did they go?"
—Did you see that, Lev?!—Kuroo seemed to vibrate with excitement. —Yes, I did!— Lev replied, amazed. —What were those children Kuroo?—
The older boy didn't know what to say; he had no idea what those children could be, but he was curious; he wanted to know more about them.
It seemed like something had clicked in Kuroo's head. He was the first to run home. Lev followed him, stopping occasionally to breathe, and then running back after the older boy.
—Dadaaaaaa!— Tetsurō shouted as he hurried into the house, his heart beating fast from running the whole way.
—What's wrong?— his father replied, slightly alarmed by the fact that his son had come screaming and Haiba was struggling to breathe.
—What did you say people with fish tails were called?— he asked curiously.
His father remained silent. People with fish tails? What the hell was he talking about? After pondering for a few seconds, he seemed to have found the answer.
—Are you talking about mermaids?— His father risked, seeing the boys nodding their heads so quickly they were bound to hurt their necks.
—Exactly! Mermaids!— Kuroo shouted excitedly.
—We just saw two of them! Two boys!— Lev added, almost jumping up and down with excitement.
His father tensed; he had been a sailor for most of his life and knew all the stories about mermaids. He knew they could be dangerous if they wanted to be.
—Are you sure you saw mermaids?— he asked in a calm voice.
—Yes!— the boys answered in unison.
He let out a sigh; after all, he was a sailor. If anyone knew about mermaids, it was him, so why not share that information with the boys?
People say that drunks and children never lie, so he decided to believe them.
—Do you think we'll ever see them again?—Kuroo asked hopefully, looking at Lev, whose eyes were wide with curiosity.
His father didn't respond; he simply ruffled their hair with his hand and continued with his story.
★
—Kenma! We almost got caught!— Yaku scolded the boy for surfacing and staring at a land-based child.
The younger boy apologized as he was scolded. He hadn't meant for them to be seen, but he'd been entranced by the sight of the children playing on the shore.
The walk home wasn't very long, but for Kenma, it felt like an eternity having to listen to the boy scold him. He knew he'd been careless, but it wasn't the end of the world; it wasn't as if the children were going to follow them forever.
As they passed near the coral reefs, a strong current surrounded them, causing them to stop.
Yaku could see a light blue tail with white scales and recognized who it was.
—Tōru, this isn't funny!—The named one stopped and stood in front of the boys.
—Morisuke, don't be so grumpy— he said, crossing his arms and smiling with a giant grin. —Why are you so upset?—
Yaku didn't hesitate for a second and pointed at the person responsible for his anger.
—Kenma almost got some kids to discover us!
Oikawa's face went from a mocking smile to a terrified expression.
Everyone knew they couldn't get too close to the shore or the surface because they ran the risk of being captured or getting caught in fishing nets.
—What, Kenma, did what?!—The kids jumped when they heard a voice coming from behind a rock.
A boy with red hair and a bright orange tail emerged from behind the rocks, waving his hands wildly.
—How long have you been there, Shoyo?— Kenma asked, wide-eyed. —Not to much. I felt you coming and wanted to surprise you—the redhead shrugged.
—But it turns that I’m the one who got surprised—
Yaku doesn’t have enough patience at this moment to deal with a terrified Oikawa, a surprised Hinata, and an indifferent Kenma, but there was someone who does.
He signaled the boys to follow him, and they swam to where he knew he would be.
—Keiji!— Yaku called as they reached the starfish area.
A black-haired boy was sitting on a rock playing with a clownfish, its black tail with yellow scales resting at its side. He turned around when he heard his name being called.
When he saw his group of friends swimming quickly toward him, he frowned. What had these weirdos done now?
—Now what did you do?— he asked, crossing his arms.
Oikawa and Hinata started talking at the same time, but nothing was clear. Yaku hit them both on the head to shut them up.
When he explained the situation to Akaashi, it was clear the boy was also surprised. His friends were very close to being seen, but he had already decided what to do.
—Okay, breathe— he told the boys as he got up from the rock and approached them so they could hear him better.
—If Nekomata finds out about this, they'll most likely punish you for swimming close to the shore.—The red-scaled ones shrugged. While Yaku had prevented Kenma from getting any closer to the shore, he had also swum there, so he would receive the same punishment.
—So none of us will say anything about this, especially you—Hinata was offended at being pointed out.
—Hey! Oikawa's also a gossip, so why don't you tell him anything?—
—We all know you're the biggest gossip of all, Shoyo— Kenma told him, to which the boy slouched.
—Okay, I promise not to say anything— the redhead reluctantly agreed.
The boys agreed to the plan of never telling anyone what had happened and letting the matter be forgotten for the rest of their lives.
Or well, that's what they would have liked to have happened.