It came from the place where fishes go,
From twenty thousand leagues below,
It came to the place where the skies are grey,
It came to take a poor sailor away,
-Yours truly~
Ikkaku sighed. He was getting near to that point that he would rather shoot himself through the head than be bored any longer.
Fucking fish duty, again.
Another day of a completely blue horizon, not an island in sight. They'd probably be pillaging some ships later on in the day, maybe having another drinking contest, and then there would be gambling. Shouting captain, bubbly pink-haired first mate jumping on people's heads, and lots and lots of aggressive, sweaty men. Day in, day out.
This was getting boring as hell. What did he really have going for him, anyways? He didn't have a family, no real job, no lover. He couldn't spend any of his treasure because they were hardly ever inland. This sucked.
All in all, a pirate's life might not be for him.
The sun was beating down on his head, and he took a swig from his sake bottle, trying to convince himself that walking the plank was a bad idea even if it would provide him with a refreshing swim.
He heard a strange noise suddenly, but dismissed it, pinning it on his boredom making things up to be interested in. He began to wind up the pulley attached to the fish net, and was surprised when he had to strain against it. Usually he didn't have much of a problem, even though the fish were really heavy. This was some insane weight though, and the rope kept jerking, tugging him backwards a few turns on the handle.
When the noise continued - sounding like something was slicing through the water - he looked absently over the edge of the boat, and startled suddenly.
Ikkaku couldn't believe what he was seeing.
He tried to contain his excitement and terror as he held the pulley's winder still with his leg and leaned over the edge of the ship. Ikkaku gasped; They were still there, deep down in the water, circling around the fish net he was trying to reel in.
Three humongous sharks. That, however, was not what was scaring Ikkaku out of his wits. It was the slender pale arm that was sticking out of the net, trying to reach for the vicious fish.
Had someone fallen overboard? Had he missed it when he had left earlier for booze? Surely there would have been a splash?
Or maybe the net had tangled up with some dead body... Nope, it was definitely moving. Ikkaku's heart jolted up into his throat.
The arm began to claw against the ropes, clenching and grabbing for the sharks more desperately, and Ikkaku gasped as the pulley strained against his weight, jerking with the movements of whatever was thrashing around inside the net. Whatever it was had some crazy strength.
He started to reel it up, peeking down one more time to see if the sharks were still there, and he froze.
The hand was closer now, and it was webbed.
He almost released the pulley in shock, gasping aloud. Dare he believe it? A mermaid?
No, no, he was seeing things. Surely, he was seeing things. Too much salt water, too many idiot pirates on this ship and too many days surrounded by ocean.
But there was one thing he could not deny. A human had no business in his fish net, and verily, that was not a human arm.
He reeled up the net faster than ever, straining against the weight of the fish. He locked the pulley in place and took a look at the hanging net.
The sharks began to circle the surface frantically, poking their noses out of the water, butting against the side of the ship.
The ropes were full of fish, and of course, there was no mermaid. He was fucking delusional like always. Drunk and bored and sick from heatstroke. He needed to eat a frickin' orange and get some sleep.
He turned the hanging sack around, trying to get at the release, and fell back in shock. The pale arm was there, stuck through the gaps in the rope, clawing at the surface of the net. There was a humanoid creature inside, buried underneath fish, and thrashing around, crying out in some strange language.
Ikkaku stood there and blinked at it, coming towards it slowly, trying to verify what he was seeing. It glared at him, and he laughed a little bit, one of those laughs that you do when you're terrified and shocked and trying to relieve tension.
"What are you doing?" he asked it dumbly, perhaps with some sort of blind hope that it was human and that he was just seeing things. It ignored him and writhed harder, making strange sounds in its throat.
There was... There was a tail where legs should be... Ikkaku swallowed nervously.
He took another step closer. He was a brave pirate after all, not some pansy-ass coward who ran from something as amazing as a mermaid without a good long look.
At least that's what he told himself when he ran his eyes over the vicious thing. This was no fair-skinned, well endowed womanly creature like the stories talked about. It was otherworldly, with long slender limbs and pointed ears. Sharp fangs and wicked looking spikes. Sort of scary, actually.
The mermaid hissed at him, as if warning him to stay back. Ikkaku looked at it closely in fascination, taking another step. It was real! Right in front of him! A real mermaid!
The creature was frail and sickly looking, but its human parts looked human enough. It was so slender and boney that Ikkaku wondered if it had a hard time catching food. But oh, how beautiful it was, with fine glistening scales and alabaster skin, long pointed ears and dangerous spines.
Its hair was long and dark and silky, tangled up on its neck and arms, and its skin was a pale white, with a slightly green tinge. There were strange markings over its upper arms and back, and its spine had pearls set next to each vertebrae, lining the elegant ribs of its dorsal fin. The iridescent scales were so finely layered that its tail looked smoother than a snakes back, more impenetrable than chain mail, and so colorful too, a thousand darks shades of navy blue and glittering silver.
"Wow..." Ikkaku said softly, smiling at the creature's beautiful but dangerous face, fangs and all.
It stopped hissing at him for a moment and looked at him curiously. Ikkaku reached out to touch its hand with a huge grin on his face, pausing only when it swiped at him halfheartedly.
"What are you," he asked, more to himself than anything. The thing looked at him for a short time, tail thrashing around anxiously amongst the fish. It withdrew its arm back into the net with some effort.
It continued looking at him silently, and suddenly Ikkaku understood why sirens were supposed to be so enchanting and irresistible. He felt a sharp tug in his gut as he met its gaze.
It was a deep yearning that countless seamen had felt before, just as the beautiful creatures dragged them to their doom at the bottom of the ocean.
Its eyes were green, bright glowing lime green, and they were absolutely enchanting. The mermaid looked at him strangely, and said something in a language that Ikkaku assumed was mermish. It was mostly vowels, but with lots of 'k' sounds, and lots of clicking.
Ikkaku smiled and approached, and the mermaid stuck out its hand again. He took it hesitantly and the mermaid smiled, letting him pick at his spines and feel his cool, smooth arm.
"You're beautiful," Ikkaku said slowly, entranced, reaching through the net to touch the mermaid's face. He gasped as his wrist was grabbed with frightening strength. Oh no, he was caught now - Once a mermaid fixes its grip, nothing can break it but the mermaid's own will. He was surely a goner now!
The mermaid's tail thrashed and it began to cry out in a sorrowful voice, and for some reason, Ikkaku got the impression that the mermaid was imploring him to release it.
When he realized that his demise was not as imminent as he had thought, he laughed nervously, realizing that this was the most excitement he'd gotten in months. Sorta' fun, actually.
Ikkaku twisted his wrist nervously, and the mermaid let go of him. He made a shushing motion with his hand and the mermaid nodded tiredly, settling down amongst the crushing weight of the flopping fish. Ikkaku grinned. It was quite a smart creature, aside from getting stuck in the net.
Ikkaku took out his knife and the creature eyed him distrustfully as he began hacking at the ropes.
Fish spilled onto the deck out of the hole in the net, and the mermaid fell from where it clung to the ropes, flopping down onto the deck with a loud thump.
It gave a short wail of pain, or perhaps offense, before eyeing Ikkaku in surprise. It covered its mouth meekly, as if it remembered that it needed to be quiet.
'A very smart creature.'
Ikkaku grinned at the mermaid and it giggled a little, rolling over onto its side, spreading its fins in the sun. He got the feeling that it liked to be admired. Ikkaku approached, nudging fish out of the way, twisting this way and that. Being mindful of any fins on the ground where he was stepping, he awkwardly tried to find a way to lift the creature into his arms.
The mermaid held out its arms for him, eyes shining, mouth stretched in a wide, sharp-toothed grin. Its tail lashed against the deck, long and slender and glittering.
Ikkaku felt a breath leave his chest as he looked at the creature. So very beautiful.
It was sort of androgynous looking, but Ikkaku supposed it was a male as he admired its dangerous looking spines and spikes. It didn't have bosoms after all, but that didn't make it any less beautiful, just less female. Gleaming scales and long soft hair and glowing eyes: Ikkaku couldn't get enough of the sight.
"You're beautiful," he said again, "You are really beautiful." He leaned down and let the mermaid wrap its arms around his neck. Sliding an arm under its shoulders and where he assumed its hips would be, he lifted it up, leaving its long tail to twist and trail behind them.
The mermaid smiled at him and began to stroke his face curiously, playing with his fish-hook earring, running webbed, clawed fingers down the scar over his eye. It chattered aimlessly to him in mermish, picking at his bandanna and petting his head and neck.
Ikkaku just grinned, watching it, completely enchanted by its beautiful face. He didn't care if this was the mermaid's trance that the legends spoke of. He didn't care about that, he just wanted to focus on this smitten feeling forever, even if it was just a spell. For the first time in nigh a year, he felt alive.
He heard that mermaids had special powers, one such being that their kisses could protect you from drowning, another that they could grant wishes. The most common legend, however, was that mermaids had the power to bring one human in their lifetime down to where the mermish lived. The human would survive and live forever with the mermaid, happily ever after or something.
Mostly though, mermaids just sang enchanting melodies before drowning and eating sailors, keeping their special power for innocent children who fell overboard or other such things.
Ikkaku stroked the creature's hair gently, gazing at its face. Right now, he didn't care about being drowned if it was in the arms of this beautiful being. That was probably the spell talking, but he didn't care.
His mermaid began to repeat a word over and over, touching its own chest, resting its head on Ikkaku's shoulder.
"Yumi… chika?" Ikkaku repeated. "Your name is Yumichika?"
"Yumichika," it whispered in its strange accent, beginning to struggle for breath a little. It then trailed its finger around Ikkaku's own chest, looking into his eyes for an unnerving length of time.
"Ikkaku," he said, dead-serious, looking back at it. It blinked, and then began to giggle hysterically, wrapping its arms tighter around his neck, looking at him with adoration. Perhaps it thought his name was funny.
"Ikkhakuu," it laughed, saying it over and over as the young pirate carried him to the edge of ship.
"Goodbye," Ikkaku whispered, heart filled with regret and pain, sad to see such an exotic beauty go. The smile faded from the mermaid's face as he set it down on its rear on the railing of the ship, ready to heft it into the water. It was such a clever thing; it had probably known right from the start that Ikkaku was going to let it go, which was why it hadn't fought or harmed him.
It stroked his face one last time, grasping him around the neck with a strength that such thin arms shouldn't possess, gently coaxing him with it over the edge of the boat, and suddenly his captain was ripping the creature onto the deck, shoving Ikkaku away.
"Didn't know the mermish were still 'round," Ikkaku watched in horror as his captain grabbed the creature by the hair and dragged it away from the edge of the deck. Of course Ikkaku realized that Kenpachi had just saved him from being dragged to his death, but still he didn't have to be so rough on the poor thing. It was probably scared to death!
It shrieked so loudly that many of the crew members doubled over in pain, gripping their ears. It was a voice that would cut through water like a whale's, melodic but deadly.
Yumichika began to claw his way over the wooden planks of the deck, dragging his long, serpentine tail behind him.
Ikkaku suddenly realized what a feat of strength this was, considering its stick thin arms, and the fact that gravity made it much heavier on land; he was beginning to think that he had seriously underestimated how dangerous it was.
The only thing keeping him and his crew safe was its disadvantage of being 'beached' on their ship. In the water they wouldn't stand a chance.
Ikkaku began to sweat. It had almost gotten him. It would've pulled him over the side of the boat and eaten him alive with those sharks. He had let his guard down, too preoccupied with its beauty and charm to realize its sinister nature!
For some reason that made Ikkaku's heart twist. He really wanted to think that the creature liked him and was grateful that he had tried to free it.
"Is that a…"
"A merman!"
"They say there's only one merman for every hundred 'maids-"
Its eyes grew wild and threatened as the ugly humans closed in on it from all sides. The creature began hissing and swiping at them with his claws, backing towards Ikkaku's legs. Suddenly Ikkaku was extremely glad that the peppy first mate was sick in bed with scurvy; She would've had an absolute field day over a real live mermaid on their ship.
Yumichika gripped Ikkaku's pant legs, trying to climb him, but only succeeding in dragging Ikkaku down onto the slippery floor.
"What's it doing? It's not biting him,"
"Aw, look, Ikkaku, it likes you,"
"Why'd it swim into the net? Is it stupid?"
Kenpachi growled at them then, "You idiots." He crossed his arms and pointed at the frantic sharks circling the ship. Ikkaku could suddenly remember some story about the mermish always having companions, like dolphins. Really though? The sharks were Yumichika's companions? Maybe it was because he was a deep-water mermaid, and not one from the tide pools or the coral reefs. He briefly wondered if arctic mermaids had whales or seals with them, and supposed that the selkies must live there too.
"One of his sharks got caught in the net," Zaraki gestured to the small shark lying amongst the trapped fish. "Don't underestimate that thing. Even the dumbest mermaid is smarter than the best of us. They're clever to a fault. Ever heard of Atlantis?"
Of course. Who hadn't? A sea-man's legend. The sunken civilization, so advanced compared to the rest of the world that the 'gods' had decided to sink it out of jealousy. The Atlantians, according to the legend, had adapted to the water, and lived as merpeople now.
"Ikh…" it hissed, digging its long claws into the splintery wood. "Ikhhha-khu," it said throatily, with a thick accent, teeth bared towards the other pirates. Ikkaku scrambled out of its reach, getting up and backing away, but it continued to claw its way after him on its belly.
It must have realized that he was the one that might show compassion or mercy towards it, and it changed tactics quickly. It started to sing in mermish to him, eyes locking with his; a haunting, minor tune that seemed fit only for the depths of the ocean.
Ikkaku's knees weakened and suddenly all that mattered was that he pick up the beautiful, beautiful creature and jump into the water with it.
Kenpachi kicked it heavily in the side, breaking the spell, knocking the wind out of the creature's lungs. It shrieked and bared its teeth, turning on him.
Yumichika must have been ferociously angry and frightened at that point because all of the spines rose on his body and he let out a deep fearsome screech.
He was out for blood now, lunging at the pirate captain, but one of the crewmates was quick enough to stab their sword through the fan of his tail.
Ikkaku winced, remembering hearing something about mermaid tails, and that the delicate paper-thin skin of the tail was their weakness: Even a small wound would prevent the creature from swimming because of the terrible agony it put them through. Although it had been about to attack his captain, it seemed unnecessarily cruel to pin it to the deck that way.
It gasped in pain, and its body began writhing and twisting most horribly, as it grabbed at its wounded tail, crying out.
"Leave it now, it can't swim with a wounded fin. You," Kenpachi pointed at Ikkaku, "Clean up this mess." He gestured to the fish flopping all over the place.
A few of the men gasped in shock as the creature began to wail, tugging harshly on its tail, cutting its own delicate flesh in a desperate attempt for freedom. "It's… it's cutting itself loose,"
"Maybe I was wrong about it being stupid," Kenpachi mumbled. "Ikkaku, you useless fucker, get movin', I said. Get those fish outta' here. And that too," He pointed at the wailing creature. "Toss him in the tank 'till we decide what ta' do with 'im."
Ikkaku nodded, grateful when the captain ordered everyone to disperse and get back to work.
He approached the creature, hands outstretched, discouraged slightly when it hissed at him angrily, eyes glowing with fear and anxiety.
"Yumichika… it's okay..." he said in what he hoped was a soothing manner. It flopped to the deck pathetically, as if it understood that Ikkaku could no longer throw it overboard without risking punishment. It didn't struggle much anymore, beginning to pant and gasp, clutching weakly at its throat.
"You're in pain," Ikkaku said in surprise, approaching closer, stroking its side, which was more damp than wet now.
The mermaid strained for a moment and Ikkaku's hand recoiled; The creature gulped in air suddenly, skin now coated with cooling mucus and trickling trails of water.
"What the hell did you just do?" Ikkaku wondered aloud, and the creature answered him in mermish, keening in pain as it tugged weakly where it was still pinned to the deck.
"Hold still," he said, trying to explain with hand motions. The mermaid just lay there tiredly, breathing heavily, gill flaps opening up on its neck. As he approached, it laid down its spines and ridged fins, and Ikkaku made doubly sure to be careful that he was not stepping on any of creature's body parts.
He yanked the sword swiftly from its tail and it cried out loudly in pain, coiling itself up, leaving a small trail of blood on the deck. "Here, lemme' see how bad it is," Ikkaku mumbled, kneeling down near the distraught creature.
It watched him carefully as he took the end of its tail - Ikkaku suspected it was an act of immense trust, so he did not take it lightly. He spread apart the ribs of the fan and looked carefully at the stab wound; It had gone straight through, and was pretty clean, despite the rough tugging Yumichika had put it through trying to escape.
"I think you'll be okay," Ikkaku said, smiling a little bit, setting Yumichika's tail down gently. It panted weakly, and tried to lift its tattooed and finned arms to him, whining in pain softly as its tail moved around on the deck.
"So dramatic," Ikkaku sighed, lifting the exhausted, bleeding, slimy mermaid into his arms once again, carrying the limp, heavy thing over to the big pit in the center of the deck, in front of the mast. The captain liked to get the fish fresh out of the tank rather than having them caught continuously - and secretly, it was mostly because the first mate liked to play with them in there. Besides that, it was a good place to chuck sharks and prisoners.
Yumichika clung to him, reluctant to let go and be dropped into the water with all those fish. Ikkaku nudged his wounded tail in first, letting it down as gently as possible. The mermaid flopped into the water, after a six foot fall through the air.
Ikkaku sighed, sitting down on the edge of the tank, waiting for it to resurface and look at him.
It slapped away strings of algae in disgust. Suddenly it snarled and splashed him once before submerging. Ikkaku groaned, wiping scummy salt water from his eyes, before getting to work on chucking the rest of the fish into the tank.
He found the baby shark that Yumichika was trying to save, caught in the bottom of the net. It was obviously dead; When sharks are unable to swim, they can't breathe, and this little one had quickly died.
Yumichika began calling to him, splashing around and making keening noises; Ikkaku sauntered over just enough so that he could peek over the edge of the pit while he scrubbed the deck. Yumichika hissed at him and hurled a fish with deadly accuracy, cutting through the air twice as fast as it would through water. It flew like a bullet, hitting him square in the chest.
Ikkaku gaped, absolutely stunned. The fish fell from his chest and hit the ground with a wet smack, and Ikkaku stared at it for a moment. The merman grabbed another fish and bit the head off of it, wolfing it down greedily, not even leaving the bones. It tried to splash him again, but gave up when Ikkaku moved away, laughing a little.
It looked at him with wounded eyes and sunk down into the scummy water once again. Ikkaku halfheartedly scrubbed the rest of the deck, eager to get down to the pantry, which was where the glass tank lay under the deck.
Every once in awhile the creature would ram itself against the glass, thrashing its powerful tail, shrieking so loudly under the water that it caused fine ripples to spread over the surface.
It knew that it was trapped, and it was angry.