Chapter 1
Hiro’s good at what he does, and he knows it. He comes from a long line of proud fishermen; he began running the family fishery off by the dock since his parents passed when he was fourteen. He’s quite proud to say that his business is booming largely due to his knack for creating efficient machinery, from dredges that can sort by mussel type to mass nettings that have a predilection for scoping out some of the most ridiculously large specimen of fish (his late parents had decided to keep one once; by the time they finished it, they were just about ready to pack up and move to the city to avoid having to see another fish ever again). He’s constantly inventing, innovating to stay one step ahead of the competition.
But top-of-the-line technology or not, he sure as hell was not expecting to catch a mythical creature.
When he saw what appeared to be an unconscious human being that was entangled in his newest creation, his immediate thought was, ‘what the actual fuck.’ When he belatedly noticed the attached set of rather fishy fins, his following thoughts were comprised of, ‘is that a fish tail?’, ‘that’s a fish tail’, ‘that’s an actual fish tail’, and finally, ‘what the actual fuck.’
Now, Hiro had nothing against learning new things every now and then, but this was taking it to a whole new level.
The teen inched closer to this – thing (is it a merman?), eyeing the prone figure warily. It – he? The thing definitely looked male, by human standards – seemed human enough from the waist up, albeit with some minor oddities; in fact, up close, the half-human creature was definitely easier on the eyes than the average human. With thick inky hair that clung to his forehead, water still dripping slowly down the soft strands, a strong jawline, and endearingly large ears, Hiro would say that this merman would definitely be able to pass for one of those casually and infuriatingly handsome strangers on the streets who turn heads for a living.
If it weren’t for that fish tail.
“Is this real life,” Hiro muttered to himself, as he squatted by the wire links, watching the broad, slightly muscled bare chest – control yourself, Hamada, he’s a goddamn fish – rise and fall slowly. Reaching out, he cautiously prodded the merman once, twice, in the cheek. “Hey, buddy, you okay there?”
No reaction.
“Alright, what do I do now?” While Hiro was no amateur with fishes, this was way out of his depth. He was not even sure he’d quite come to terms with the fact that there was a freaking half-human half-fish morph sitting in his net, but for the time being, shock had numbed him somewhat. As far as desensitization goes, he’ll take what he can get. “Alright, maybe I can just, unsnare this thing, let him go, and I can forget this ever happened.” Hiro paused. Would the other male drown if Hiro let him back into the ocean unconscious?
“Don’t be ridiculous, he’s half-fish for Pete’s sake.” Still muttering to himself, Hiro tried his best not to wonder whether he was taking a spiralling swan dive into the deep end as he reached for the lever. Not only was he seeing mermen, he was also beginning to talk to himself, which never boded well for anyone.
Focus, Hamada! First step, first step … Opening up the trap seemed like a good course of action. Satisfied with his plan, Hiro pushed down on the lever with a great heaving grunt - Oof! This was proving a lot more difficult than expected - groaning disgruntledly as he went. At least, until red, glinting liquid began dripping steadily down the mesh of the trap.
He stopped.
Quickly pooling underneath the mass of slimy, shimmering fish was rivulets of dark, congealing blood. Now, Hiro had been in this trade for a while, but any average Joe could probably tell something was horribly wrong, because no fish should be bleeding out so copiously. Feeling dread seeping down into his stomach and tying itself into tight, queasy knots, Hiro hesitantly pushed aside the mass of fish.
Sure enough, a wide ugly gash ran down the merman's side, stopping just short of the faded beginnings of his tail. Hiro felt his breath catch in his throat as he took in the damage - the laceration split open in jagged, clumsy rips, the inside slick and shining with red, blood still seeping steadily out the wound. A quick scan determined the culprit: one of the jagged teeth that helped the mechanism scrounge for fish gleamed proudly with the merman's blood. Hiro could only guess that the merman inched just a tad too close to his mech - though why on earth he would ever do that, Hiro had no idea - and snap! It would've been too easy.
"Well, that's one design function I'm going to have to change." Hiro's laugh came out tinged with slight hysteria as panic bubbled cheerily up his windpipe. "How did I not notice this earlier? Ah shit shit shit -"
Finger fumbling - oh my god get a grip, this is not the time - Hiro scrabbled at the lever once again, tugging forcefully - faster, you idiot machine - until the gate let out a shrill whine and finally opened, sending shellfish and giant seabasses skidding across the boat deck. Hiro fell forward in his haste to catch the suddenly free merman, small frame almost full knocked backwards under the weight of a much larger creature. Not to waste any time (because that wound does not look pleasant by any stretch of the imagination), Hiro tugged himself out from behind the merman, setting the other gently down on one of the now few empty spots on the before sprinting to his cabin for a first aid kit.
Sometimes, getting injured all the time can come in handy, at least, he thought wryly as he swiped the well-worn kit out from a drawer. Being a genius doesn’t quite exempt you from being incredibly reckless, apparently.
Dashing back to the prone creature, Hiro scrambled to tug his tools out. While he’s not a medic by any means, he’s gotten enough experience over years of accidentally stabbing himself with quite potentially dangerous machines to have a decent grasp of first aid, enough to ensure that the other would be more or less intact by the end of the ordeal (probably). It’s not like he can exactly take the merman to the local hospital, frankly, so the burden lay on him.
Cleansing the wound comes first then, probably. Stitches, too, for a wound this size - Hiro winced in sympathy - and then dressing, maybe? Couldn’t hurt, in any case.
Concrete plan in place and a few deep breaths in and out later, the teen relaxed minutely, feeling the panic ebb out a tidbit. Letting himself fall into the task, Hiro couldn’t help but sigh at the ordeal that lay in front of him. He can’t just toss the merman back into the sea after he’s done - that can’t be good on the stitches - so short of just leaving the man to dry out on his boat, his only real option would be take him back home and at least take care of the wound until it healed up sufficiently.
Looks like the upstairs bathtub is going to be occupied for some time.
Hiro tried his best not to think about having to lug a near six-foot-long equivalent of a fish up the steps to his house.