Chapter Text
Peering over blue waters, Ichimatsu lifted himself up to peer at the blue that instead filled the sky. He blinked several times, looking over to watch the small furry creatures that walked on all fours on the concrete streets, listening to them let out purrs in satisfaction.
Being a merman, he had the whole world of the sea under his fingertips, but nothing quite captured his attention like these so called “cats”. He always came up every so often to observe them, often learning something new every day. He reached out to attempt to pet one that was walking nearby, but as his wet fingers touched its soft fur, it jumped back and hissed. Well, he learned something new today too: cats don’t like water.
He sighed and retracted his arms, grumbling in disappointment before resting them on the dock. He crossed them and rested his head, looking up at the sky now changing color that turned once blue to a mix of deep purple and orange. The natural light dimmed all around him as his fin swayed in the water and his muscles relaxed--he always enjoyed seeing the sky change all around him. It made him wonder what he deserved to live in the same world as wonderful sights as these.
As he was about to dip his head back in the water and return home, he heard footsteps from the house nearby. Human footsteps. Panicking, he lowered his head, looking up with a shaking grip on the dock as he saw the human walk on top of their house and sit down. ‘What the hell is he doing?’ Ichimatsu frowned in confusion as he watched the human pull out some sort of brown object, absolutely puzzled with what he would do with it. Wait--what the hell was he wearing?
The man wore a black leather jacket that fit tightly around his body as well as bright blue pants with sequins all over them. It nearly blinded Ichimatsu, why did they have to be so damn shiny?! He was too painful to look at, he stood out way too much for his own good. On his face also rested black sharp sunglasses, which were rather mundane in the darkening sky. How painful indeed.
Ichimatsu felt his head throbbing out of irritation and looked away; this guy was a pain in the ass. ‘LEAVE ALREADY…!’ Ichimatsu grumbled to himself and prepared to dip himself back in the water, before he heard music play.
He looked back to see the man strumming the brown object creating a rather soothing melodic tune to Ichimatsu’s ears. ‘Ah...so it was an instrument.’ He slowly raised himself back up and continued listening. Then, the man opened his mouth and began to sing. Ichimatsu prepared himself to cover his ears, expecting his voice to be just as obnoxious as his clothes.
“I listened with my eyes closed, to the repeating sound of the waves
Today is quietly flowing by”
Ichimatsu stiffened at the sound of his voice--it was the exact opposite of what he had expected it to be. It was deep, rich, and smooth, it nearly made Ichimatsu want to melt. He had expected this quality of singing to come from the sirens he saw down below--NOT some painful looking human. He couldn’t help but continue to listen to his song, reluctantly admiring how the man sung every word.
It was sickening and cheesy, how the lyrics he sung somehow matched the very scenery that was just in front of him. The waves slowly flowed on by, as if going by the tune of his song, and wind blew gently, as if to further add to the calming atmosphere. It was almost too perfect, and Ichimatsu was sick of it. It was just so corny. He couldn’t stop listening--he wondered, what the hell was wrong with him?
“Can you wait for me? I want to become a better person
Love is still a distant mystery filled with passion”
How embarrassing. Ichimatsu silently kept his eyes and an intent ear on him as he took in the romantic subtext of the song. He was probably practicing to sing it to some girl and try to sweep her off of her feet. Tough luck for him, it probably wouldn’t work. Probably. The human’s voice had a vibrato to it, almost like he had been practicing it for years, that grabbed Ichimatsu’s attention ever so tightly--he really wasn’t all that bad.
It was in no time before the human had finished singing. Ichimatsu blinked as he squinted, attempting to inspect the human’s face. The human took off his sunglasses, revealing a twinkle in his dark eyes as he smirked.
“Heh. Good work today, me. This song will surely be able to capture the heart of all who hear it.” he stood up, dusting his instrument off as he let out a hearty laugh, looking around with desperate eyes for any signs of life.
‘Ughh, cocky. Definitely don’t wanna deal with this guy finding me.’ Ichimatsu ducked his head lower with a drop of sweat running down the side of his head as he avoided the human’s gaze. Looking back up, he saw the human sigh before he turned back and returned home. That’s a sign he should probably return home too.
“ICHIMATSU..! Whatcha doing?” a familiar voice called out behind him. Feeling his breath hitch, Ichimatsu turned around to see his childhood friend, Jyushimatsu, a huge grin on his face as usual as he held an empty soda can in his hands. It was a huge relief to see the half-manatee. If it were anyone else, like a fisherman, he would be dead.
“....nothing, really. Just looking at cats,” he replied. “More importantly, why do you have that?”
“It’s a treasure! Humans use this to get SUUUUUUUUUUPER hyper! Ha ha ha! Hustle hustle, muscle muscle!” Jyushimatsu laughed as he sped around him, splashing him in the face with some water with his tail before slowly coming to a stop.
“We should probably head home now, huh…!” he turned himself to face Ichimatsu, still tightly holding the soda can.
“...yeah..” Ichimatsu went back down with him, swimming their way together back to their abode in the deep blue sea.
Maybe he can come by again tomorrow to hear more of that guy’s music. After all, his clothes and personality may have been crap, but his singing wasn’t.