Work Text:
"Shouta!!"
Hizashi's desperate scream was the last thing Shouta heard as he was washed overboard and plunged into the dark, turbulent sea. For a moment he floundered, not knowing which way was up or down, before his head breached the surface with a desperate gasp for air. He coughed, spitting salt water from his mouth as he worked his limbs to keep his head above water. With the storm winds pushing the waters into an angry churn, it was proving difficult.
Shouta looked around him, but all he could see was a world of black and gray, turned blinding white with the occasional flash of lightning. Rain fell in heavy sheets, making his already poor visibility poorer still.
The pirate ship, The Yuuei, of which he was the first mate, was nowhere to be seen. It was just him, alone, in the middle of a vast unforgiving ocean.
Well, shit.
Shouta was a rational man, a realist. There was no way he could swim back to a ship he couldn't even see. There was no way for the crew to turn the ship around to find him. There was just no way.
He was as good as dead.
The waves continued to batter him about, his body bobbing uselessly in the endless sea. Over and over he was plunged under the waves. Over and over he had to fight his way to the surface for even the most pitiful gasp of air before going under yet again.
'It's no use…'
His strength was fading fast.
Shouta went under again, his limbs weak as he desperately clawed for the surface that got further and further away.
He was sinking.
He was dying.
His thoughts drifted to his crew. His scheming captain, Nedzu. The equally scheming navigator, Nemuri. All the young greenhorns they'd taken in recently, half of them still finding themselves getting sick over the side, still struggling to find their sea legs.
Hizashi.
Shouta's hand reached to his chest, where a necklace carrying a gaudy cat pendant lay.
"I swiped it for ya during our last raid! Don't you think it suits you, Shou?"
Maybe there was an afterlife they could reunite in, someday…
Just as his vision began to fade for the final time, something bright entered Shouta's line of sight.
Two glowing orbs of light.
Suddenly, he was ascending, and strangely enough he felt hands hooked under his arms.
Perhaps this was an angel, taking him up to Heaven.
Hah. As if Heaven awaited a man like him…
Shouta breached the surface and what met him wasn't Heaven, but Hell. Nothing but agony as he coughed and retched up the sea water that had entered his lungs. He was totally weak from near drowning and from his earlier efforts to stay above water. He would have sunk beneath the waves yet again if not for the person keeping him afloat.
Wait…
The person?
Shouta finally gained enough senses to find alarm in the arms encircling him, the two glowing orbs right in front of his face. Not orbs, but eyes. Glowing violet eyes piercing the darkness of the storm.
He took in the details of the face before him, the opalescent pale skin, the glittering scales along the cheekbones and forehead, and those eyes- glowing, with irises as silver as the moon.
A siren.
Shouta tensed. Sirens were rare creatures of the deep, known for their hypnotic songs that could drag the most hardened sailor to a watery grave. They were thought to be born of innocent souls who died violently at sea, twisted and made monstrous by their need for revenge. He wasn't sure if he believed all of that, but he knew they were strong and unforgiving, and he was definitely at a disadvantage.
As if reading his mind (and he wasn't sure if it couldn't) the siren spoke up, "I won't hurt you if you don't hurt me," the young sounding, feminine voice sounded clearer to him than it should have given the storm, something otherworldly pushing her words through the surrounding noise.
"…you saved me," Shouta said, his voice rough from coughing up half of the ocean. He was half in awe and half very confused.
It was hard to make out the siren's expression, or much detail about her at all beyond her face, but he thought she must have shrugged. Then, she took his hands by the wrists and wrapped them around her shoulders as she turned from him, prompting him to hold on to her.
As she turned, she exposed the triangle-shaped dorsal fin that protruded from between her shoulder blades.
'Interesting…'
It seemed that this siren intended to help him, but Shouta couldn't figure out why. He'd never heard of a siren helping humans before, and given all that humans had done to sirens- hunting them for sport, putting them on display, using and abusing them then dumping what remained into the sea- he didn't blame them. Perhaps this siren was misleading him, and actually did mean him harm.
But it didn't seem like it.
And besides, it was either trust this unlikely ally, or drown.
Shouta held on as best as he could, and the siren swam, and she swam fast.
He could feel the drag of the ocean around them, feel the power of her slighter upper body trailing into a tail of unknown length as she jetted through the water. More than that, he could see the distance they were traveling as she took him out from the storm and into a calmer sea. The clouds before them began to break, he could finally make out his surroundings.
And up ahead, he could see it.
The Yuuei.
"That's…" he couldn't believe it. He really thought he'd never see the ship, the crew, Hizashi, again. He wasn't one to believe in miracles but damn it all…
The siren surged forward, swimming up to the ship, and Shouta could hear the astounded voice of the young lookout, Tenya, announce their approach and the resounding chaos from the crew. So many faces appeared at the gunwale closest to him that he was surprised those fools didn't didn't tip the vessel right over in their haste.
He couldn't find it in him to be anything but relieved, especially at one familiar face in particular.
"Shouta!? Is- is that you!? Is it really you!?" the cracking of Hizashi's desperate voice had Shouta's throat growing tight.
"Oh my god, it's really him!"
"It's Aizawa!"
"He's alive!"
"Who's with him?"
"Tell the captain!"
"Is that a-"
"Quick, throw the scramble net down!"
The rest of the crew scrambled to get what they needed to pull Shouta out of the water, but he only had eyes for Hizashi. He cracked a tired smile as the loveable fool dove off the side of the ship and swam out to him, boots and all.
The siren keeping him afloat disengaged from him and shied away at the newcomer. He only just started to paddle in place when Hizashi finally reached him. He suddenly found his arms full of loud blonde, salty kisses pressed to his salty face.
"I thought I lost you, I thought I'd never see you again, shit, Shouta, I was so-"
"Zashi-" their heads went under briefly, and then they resurfaced, "-you're drowning us." He wanted nothing more than to embrace his lover right back, but they couldn't do that and stay afloat at the same time.
"Right, sorry," Hizashi chuckled, and Shouta took in the sight of him. He looked so exhausted and yet so relieved, it was a feeling he could relate to greatly.
As the crew dropped down a scramble net to them, Shouta and Hizashi grabbed hold, and Shouta was grateful he no longer had to work to keep himself from sinking. He turned to look at the siren. He hadn't forgotten about his rescuer, and finally, beneath a clear sky, he could get a good look at her.
She was surprisingly young, no older than their new cabin mates, with long purple hair that clung to her scalp and spread out like seaweed into the water. Her face was angular, marked by purple scales that matched her hair, and her ears were pointed. Seeing a siren up close for the first time, Shouta was struck by how human and yet… not, she looked. So close to familiar, and nonetheless kind.
"A siren…" Hizashi gaped in awe. He glanced between her and Shouta, "you saved him?"
She definitely looked bashful at that, shrugging her shoulders. It was quite endearing, Shouta had to admit, and honestly surreal.
"I owe you my life," Shouta said, "I don't know why you did it, but I'm grateful."
Maybe it was rude to question her, but he was honestly curious. Sirens didn't usually go out of their way to help humans.
She considered him for a moment, and then she moved, working her arms more to keep her steady. The tip of her tail rose from the water, the definitive shape of a shark's tail on full display. More interesting, though, was what was on her tail.
A length of fine fishing net had been wrapped around the tail right before her caudal fin began. Attached to that net was a splendid array of glittering trinkets at various stages of decay from being submerged in the water for so long. It was likely these decorations had been retrieved from various shipwrecks, and they all centered on a single theme.
Cats.
They were all shaped like cats.
Shouta's hand found the pendant hanging from his neck. "I take it you like cats?"
"Cats…" she repeated, looking from her collection to Shouta's own treasure. It wouldn't be a bad bet to assume she'd never heard the word before. Not many felines out here for a siren to encounter in the open ocean. She lowered her tail back into the water. "Yeah…I like 'cats,'" she tilted her head, "…and you like cats, too?"
Shouta nodded, "yes, I like cats."
"More like he loves 'em!" Hizashi piped in with a fond smile, "they always get the best of his catches if he sees them around."
The siren's lips twitched in an almost smile. She looked back at Shouta, "well, you like cats. And so do I."
And it was as simple as that.
Shouta found himself giving the young siren a small smile, "thanks, kid. I won't forget this."
"My name isn't 'kid,'" she corrected, looking a little put off, "it's Hitomi."
"Hitomi," he nodded. "I'm Shouta. Thank you again."
She shrugged her shoulders again, looking unsure of what to do in the face of his gratitude.
"Is there anything we can do for ya?" asked Hizashi. "You really helped us out after all! We'd invite you aboard for a drink, but, uh- well…" he gestured to her with a sheepish grin. Probably not a good idea to drag a creature of the ocean onto a dry ship.
Hitomi shook her head, leaning back and beginning to drift away. "I should go, try to stay dry from now on," she said, and Shouta nodded in understanding.
He and the crew waved her off, the more enthuastic of the crew shouting their thanks as the siren swam further out from the ship, her dorsal cutting cleanly through the water.
Shouta finally got himself back on deck, where he was bombarded with more affection than he would normally allow, but for now he welcomed it. Someone let out an exclamation of surprise and he looked out to the sea again.
Out in the distance, he spotted Hitomi, now joined by two more figures in the water, each sporting a head of blond hair. Her pod, he assumed. They must have followed along to ensure her safety.
Shouta smiled softly, glad to know the one who saved him wasn’t alone in this great, big ocean. A kind soul deserved good company, after all.