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When Makoto first met Haruka near the river’s edge, he’d squeaked, his face pink as his hands flew up to cover his eyes, since the beautiful ‘girl’ he saw was topless, clad in only a pair of flowing white pants and a white sun hat. Odd, since it was already dark.
Makoto’d gotten an earful about it later, when the boy realized he’d thought he was a girl.
After their first awkward meeting, the two became fast friends. They swam together, ate together – fresh fish that Haru would catch – and talked about their dreams. But always by the river.
And always at night.
No matter how many times he’d invited him, Haru would never agree to visit Makoto’s home. It got to the point where his parents began to believe his friend Haru was a figment of his imagination.
It didn’t help that the one time he brought them to the river to prove Haru was real, the boy didn’t show up. In fact, he didn’t show up for a week after that either. And, when he finally returned, he made Makoto vow that he would never bring another person to their secret spot.
Happy to have his best friend back, Makoto hastily agreed.
One day, when they were both of age, Makoto planned on asking Haru if they could become more than friends. Every night since meeting the beautiful, blue-eyed boy all those years ago, he’d dreamt about him. Some dreams were pleasant, the two of them talking and lounging by the river bank. Others were frightening, Haru suddenly gripping him by the arm and dragging him beneath the water’s surface, never letting him see the light of day again. And some were…
Makoto’s cheeks flushed.
“Makoto, you’re not eating.” Haru’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
“Oh, right. Sorry.” He scooped up some of the fish, along with the rice he’d brought, and stuffed it into his mouth.
Seemingly satisfied, Haru continued to eat his own dinner, the warm glow of the fire tinting his pale skin gold.
It was late, nearly midnight, and Makoto had to stifle a yawn.
“You should get going,” Haru said, wiping his mouth on a napkin from Makoto’s picnic basket.
That was how it always ended. Makoto knew it was because Haru didn’t want his parents worrying about him. But he didn’t want to leave. Not yet.
“Haru,” he began, feeling unbelievably nervous. “I was wondering, um, do you think the two of us could-”
“BOTO!!” someone shouted and they both turned to face the intruder. “Filthy monster! Get away from him!!”
Makoto shielded his eyes as someone shined a lamp on them. When he got closer, Makoto recognized the young man from school. A recent transfer. Matsuoka something…
“Rin?” He blinked in surprise.
“Stand back, Tachibana,” he ordered. “Don’t let it touch you.”
Makoto furrowed his brow. What was Rin going on about? Couldn’t he see that Haru wasn’t someone to be afraid of?
“Rin, calm down. He's my fri-”
Suddenly, there was a huge splash and, when Makoto turned back toward the river, Haru was gone.
“Haru!” he called, but the other man didn’t answer. “Rin, why did you-”
“I thought I could smell his kind on you,” Rin growled. “Damn monster.” He clicked his tongue.
“M-Monster?” Makoto’s eyes went wide.
“A shapeshifter,” Rin explained. “Taking the form of a human at night to seduce women and lure sailors to their deaths.”
“S-Seduce?! Deaths?!” Makoto’s mind was reeling. What was Rin going on about?
“I should know,” the other man continued darkly. “One took my father.” He rolled up his sleeve, revealing a long, jagged scar on his arm. “And it tried to take me.”
Makoto couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Haru? A monster? There was no way.
“Stay away from him, Tachibana,” Rin warned and Makoto could only nod.
The next day, Makoto read through every book he could find on the boto – the name Rin had shouted at Haru the night before.
“Once the sun goes down, they morph into handsome young men dressed in all white,” he read aloud. “They come ashore strictly for the purpose of seducing the young girls of local villages so they can…i-impregnate them…?” Makoto swallowed.
Rin had been right about that part. But that didn’t seem like Haru at all.
“Before the sun comes up, these shapeshifters turn back into dolphins.” He closed the book and set it down, scrubbing his face with his hands.
There was no way.
That night, Makoto returned to their meeting place, hoping Haru would show up, despite Rin having frightened him away the night before.
‘And into the water,’ a voice in his head reminded him.
Haru wasn’t a monster. But it was odd that he’d retreated into the water, of all places.
He could overlook the other boy not attending classes or ever meeting outside their secret spot. That was just how it had always been. Haru was…shy.
But something else stuck out to Makoto. Rin said they lured sailors to their deaths. That his father had fallen prey to one of them. But the book he read said something different.
‘One could be whisked away by a shapeshifting dolphin to a magical underwater city called Encante, where they’ll live out the rest of their lives, never to return to land again.’
That sounded terrifying, but also…intriguing.
Makoto was so distracted by his thoughts, he didn’t hear anyone approaching until he felt a hand on his shoulder.
He screamed.
“Shh, Makoto. It’s me.” Haru frowned slightly. “Are you,” blue eyes shifted from side to side, “Alone?”
“Yes,” Makoto answered, putting a hand over his heart. “Haru, I’m sorry about what Rin said yester-”
“He was right,” Haru interrupted. “I am what he said.”
No. That couldn’t be. Haru wasn’t a…a monster.
“But not all of us are like that.” He sat down beside him and took Makoto’s hands in his. “Come with me and I’ll show you.”
The words from the book echoed in the back of his mind.
Whisked away to an underwater city…never to return to land again…
“H-Haru, I…”
“Come with me,” the other begged, eyes pleading.
Makoto found himself unable to say ‘no.’
Haru smiled and pulled him toward the river. He could have sworn he heard Rin's voice shouting for him, but then he was under the water. His lungs burned with the need to breathe, but Haru pulled him deeper…deeper…glancing back to smile softly once more.
Darkness closed in and Makoto’s last thought was of how beautiful Haru’s smile was and how he wished he’d seen more of it.