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You can’t find a treasure if you don’t know what you’re looking for.
Those words were the bane of Bakugou’s existence. A pirate is supposed to find treasure and build their own fortune. Which he had done, more than three times over. He was the most dreaded pirate around, becoming a living legend, but something was missing.
He had decided to focus on hunting down a myth rather than jewels or gold. He had enough of those to last him more than a lifetime. He needed something that would make sure he went down in history and no one would doubt how great a pirate he was.
Which is how he ended up looking for the Red Shark. He wasn’t sure what it was; he got a lot of contradicting statements. Some said it was a weapon to be used at sea, others a thing of beauty, and of course, most claimed it didn’t exist. Then, there was a handful who said it was a living creator of horror that lurked in the deepest parts of the ocean, awaiting prey. Whatever it was, Bakugou was going to find it.
Now, Bakugou sailed in a smaller boat alone, finding his way to the edges of the known ocean. He had lost his crew a long time ago, all of them done with a chase they saw no end to. The errand of a mad man, they had called it, but he would show them all how wrong they were to doubt him. He could feel it; he was close to something .
That’s when the storm hit.
One of those storms that gives little warning and comes full force in a second. It would have been easy to navigate through it… if it wasn’t for the size of the boat, which was quickly engulfed by the waves. Suddenly, the great pirate was being pulled down into the ocean as the waves crashed against what remained of the boat.
***
Red.
He saw red.
That’s the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes. Then, he started coughing, water spilling out of his lungs as the salt water scratched his throat. He couldn’t even open his eyes enough to figure out if the red he had seen had been his own blood or something else. The next thing he felt was the sand against his skin. He was on land. Good.
But how had he gotten there? He had been too far from shore to wash up unless he had gotten incredibly lucky. He slowly opened his eyes once the coughing had stopped and he was able to take a good, deep breath. He let himself lie on the beach looking up at a sunset and red hair.
Red hair and… red scales and red eyes… so much red.
His eyes went wide, but he watched as the… creature, for lack of a better name, looked at him with curiosity. Tilting its head from side to side as if trying to figure out what Bakugou was as well. Suddenly, the name of what he was looking at crept into his head. “Mermaid,” he got the word out, his voice hoarse from the salt water.
It didn’t matter because the creature seemed to recognize the word and smiled at him. A smile full of shark-like teeth. It should have made Bakugou shiver. It should have scared him, but all he could do was return the smile. How else was he supposed to react to the coolest thing he had ever seen? Or should he say, person?
“P-pretty,” the creature said as it lifted a hand and touched Bakugou with one of its fingers, and the touch was soft and warm. Not at all the cold, slimy feel he had been expecting.
“Thank you?” Bakugou replied, because what else was he supposed to say to that?
“Lost?” the creature asked.
“Kinda,” Bakugou answered before clearing his throat. He needed to talk more than a couple of words at a time. “Wait, who are you?”
The merman, because he was definitely male now that Bakugou could see more of him.
“I… Kirishima,” the merman said, touching a hand to his chest.
“I’m Bakguou.”
The merman smiled and got closer to Bakugou’s face as if trying to get him to talk more. “Wait the fuck up, you fish,” Bakugou told him as he leaned away.
Kirishima pouted slightly, which almost made Bakugou regret his words.
“I need to get going,” he explained. “I can’t stay here forever. Did you see my boat?”
Kirishima nodded. “Boat in ocean,” he pointed proudly towards the water.
That was not good. Bakugou groaned as he ran a hand through his hair in desperation. He could make another one. Looking around, there were a lot of trees and other things he could use to make a boat. Then he could continue looking for the Red Shark. That’s when he had an idea.
“Have you heard about the Red Shark?” Bakugou asked the merman who seemed to have a fascination with him.
Kirishima nodded, excited at the words. Then, he placed a hand over his chest like he had done when he introduced himself. “Red Shark.”
Bakugou blinked. The pieces falling into place. The Red Shark was a merman with red scales and sharp teeth. It all made sense now. He had finally found it… him. He would have celebrated if he weren’t trapped on an island.
***
The Pirate Bakugou disappeared for almost a year. They lost track of him after he had ventured off to find the Red Shark. He was assumed dead by most, and others assumed the madness of his search had taken over. People tried to find his treasure, but no one was able to. It was almost exactly at the year mark that no one had heard of him that he was spotted.
He arrived at shore at a pirate port in a self-made boat. He didn’t speak much to anyone. He grabbed the supplies he needed and took off without an explanation of where he had been. Later, it was rumored he had bought an island in the middle of nowhere. He had paid good money for someone to build him a strong house that stood on the ocean. High tide made it seem like the house was on the water, while low tide allowed access to the beach.
Everyone was puzzled by this idea, and it was widely believed that the pirate had finally gone mad.
Bakugou didn’t care what anyone said about him. Simply because the man he loved could share their home if it was over water. They never had to worry about someone hurting their husband when the island was deserted, except for the two of them.
No one needed to know that the pirate who was once feared by all now lay on a beach with his lover at his side. A hand cupping a face covered in red scales as he whispered “My Treasure” to him before kissing him softly. The sun setting slowly on the horizon at the end of another day in paradise.