Half-Fish

by redoctoberrose

There have always been two things Haruka was certain of about himself: one is that he was a half-fish, and the other is that he was adopted. Now, at the age of twenty-two, his exceptional swimming abilities had granted him almost everything he could want- the one thing his money couldn't buy was the truth about his heritage.

1. Half-Fish

There have always been two things Haruka was certain of about himself: one is that he was a half-fish, and the other is that he was adopted. It was never kept secret from him; he had always known his parents had adopted him. And it only took one trip to the ocean to learn the other thing. He was only a toddler, holding his mother's hands as he took his first steps into the shallow waves, when his legs gave way and he found himself holding tightly to his mother to keep from falling in, a bright blue tail splashing beneath him where his legs were supposed to be. As quickly as it happened, she pulled him up out of the water, and his legs were back.

At five years old he began to wonder if it had been a dream. It didn't happen in the bath, or at the pool, or in that one really deep puddle by the road. He hadn't been allowed to swim in the ocean again ever since, but the memory was vivid- as vivid as the blue of his tail- and it was the smell of salted fish that gave him the idea- what if it only happens in salt water? And at five years old, Haruka poured salt into his bath and watched his dream become reality once more.

Now, at the age of twenty-two, his exceptional swimming abilities had granted him almost everything he could want. He didn't care about the medals or being on a box of cereal, but the money he earned allowed him to buy a house by the beach, with an indoor pool that he could maintain with salt water. He could rent boats to take him out over the ocean whenever he wanted (or whenever Makoto wanted to go fishing), and he could rent equipment to take his friends scuba-diving with him, while he swam in his half-fish form. Only his four closest friends knew, of course: Makoto, Nagisa, Rei, and Rin. He thought Gou might have noticed, too, but he wasn't sure and didn't really mind either way.

The one thing his money couldn't buy was the truth about his heritage, and the one bane of his fame was the paparazzi. Despite his home being on a private beach where only his neighbors should be able to see him, he had yet to be able to go swimming there, partway due to his busy schedule, but mostly due to the boats that cruised around with tourists and cameramen onboard. He trusted his friends with his secret, but he didn't trust the world.

Turning off the wave machine in his pool, Haruka swam to the shallow end, where there was a slope leading out of the pool. He used his arms to pull himself up it until he was out and waited for his legs to come back. When he could walk, he made his way to one of the nearby poolside lounge chairs and dried himself with a towel, then wrapped it around his waist. His phone beeped and vibrated against the arm of the chair.

Haruka-senpai,

It took me all weekend, but my research has found an answer to that question you asked me. If you go to the attached coordinates, I'm certain you'll find what you're looking for!

Best of luck,

Rei

Haruka's eyes sparkled as he gathered his things and went into the main house. Sitting at his computer, he plugged in the coordinates from Rei. It really paid off to have a friend in school for marine biology.

Thanks, Rei. He emailed back.

When the coordinates came up, he was not surprised by what he found. Off the shore of Iwatobi, but farther out than the fishing boats went. It made perfect sense considering he was found in Iwatobi as a baby. That was where he would find his people. That was where the half-fish were. His heart pounded in his chest with a deep longing.

"Haru!"

Haruka flicked his computer over to the home monitoring system, though he already knew who it was. He watched Makoto come inside, take off his shoes, and proceed towards the pool. In just a moment, he would round the corner, and-

"Haru!" Makoto whined. "You're going to catch a cold if you sit around in a wet towel all the time!"

"I just got coordinates from Rei," Haruka told him, ignoring his well-intentioned scolding. "Makoto, will you help me?"

"Huh? Wait, really? You know where they are?"

Haruka nodded.

A smile spread across Makoto's face, though tears formed in his eyes. "Of course I'll help!" he promised. "Just make sure you come back, alright?"

"Actually," Haruka said, clicking his monitoring system to the outdoor cameras. "I don't plan on going in the water." He pointed to the beach view, where two boats were bobbing in the waves.

"You really think they'd follow you out there?" Makoto asked.

"Remember the last time we went fishing?" Haruka reminded him. When they got to the docks with their equipment, a crowd had already gathered in waiting. Once word that an Olympic swimmer regularly went anywhere, there were always fans and press to be found. If he had to answer the question of whether he was ready for the next competition one more time, he was going to lose it.

"But we've never gone from here before." Makoto pulled up a map on his phone and pointed to a dock just outside of Iwatobi. It was the one Makoto used when he got his boating license.

"I'm also…" Haruka's voice trailed off. "What if they don't let me leave?"

"The other half-fish?"

"Yeah."

"That's…" Makoto's face grew anguished. "No way! If they found out you'd told humans, what if they came after us to keep us quiet?!"

"It's a possibility," Haruka replied, though he doubted his friends were in any real danger. What concerned him most was if they were hostile and attacked him. Or if they refused to let him live as a human anymore.

"So, what are you planning?" Makoto asked.

Haruka pulled up a picture of small luxury boat on his computer. It was definitely used, but it had a small hot tub on the deck. "This, an underwater camera, and a net."

"You want to catch one?!" Makoto exclaimed.

"If I can just talk to one of them and get a feeling for how they feel about me, I can decide if I should go myself." Haruka closed out of his computer and stood up. "If I can bring another half-fish onboard the boat and talk to them, I can finally start the process of reconnecting with my own kind."

"Haru…"

"I'm getting dressed and going into town to find a good camera," Haruka told him. He started for the staircase at the end of the hall. "Are you coming with me?"

With a sigh, Makoto took a seat in the computer chair. "Fine. I'll wait here until you're ready."

Acquiring a good underwater camera setup was not as difficult as Haruka had previously thought it might be, though it was more expensive. Getting a couple of nets, then, was even easier. Getting it all to the dock where his boat was, however, was… an effort. An effort made significantly easier with a call to be picked up by a taxi.

"You already bought it?" Makoto asked, looking down the dock at the little boat.

"Last week," Haruka told him. "I knew Rei would come through."

"Are you sure this little thing is going to make it that far out to sea..?" Makoto's doubts were well-founded. It was very, very small, made to look even smaller as he stepped onto it and set the net he was carrying down.

"If anything happens to the boat I'll make sure you're alright," Haruka promised. He stepped onboard as well, opening a hatch in the deck and placing the equipment inside.

"R-right," Makoto agreed hesitantly. "So, when are you planning to go out?"

"Tomorrow," Haruka said firmly. "I've waited my whole life for this. I can't put it off any longer."

"Let's head out early, so that it's less likely you'll be followed," Makoto suggested.

Haruka nodded. "For now, let's move this thing out of Iwatobi, to that other dock."

"I'll give them a call to make sure there's a spot open." Makoto pulled out his phone.

The ride from one dock to the other was relatively smooth, considering Makoto had never driven a boat quite like this one before. Haruka decided to make the most of his time and start cleaning up the inside of the hot tub while they went; a regrettable decision when he ended up getting soaked in the dirty soap-water. Fortunately, when they got there and the boat stopped moving, Makoto was able to help and the rest of the clean-up went by quickly.

Haruka met Makoto at the dock before the sun was up. His friend was already donning a life-jacket before they got onboard. "I brought lunch and some snacks," Haruka said, holding up a cooler.

"So did I." Makoto chuckled, doing the same.

Before they set off, Haruka tested the water in the not-so-hot tub to make sure it was well-balanced and adequately salty for marine life. With a nod of satisfaction at the results of the test strips, he put the cover over it and gave Makoto the O-K to start the boat.

The ride out was fairly smooth. The ocean was calm and the sky was clear, and other boaters waved as they passed. There were some curious looks from the fishermen, but once they cleared the fishing waters, there were no other boats around to bother them. When they reached the coordinates Rei had given them, Makoto turned off the boat and let out a sigh of relief, while Haruka dropped anchor.

"Well, we're here," Makoto said, looking out over the water. It looked unremarkable on the surface, but the thought of what might be swimming down below them was exciting.

"I'll get the camera set up," Haruka grunted, lifting the hatch. "Can you get started on the nets?"

The entire set-up took nearly an hour of trial-and-error, but when the nets and camera were all in place, Haruka's excitement levels rose. With luck, he'd finally be able to meet another of his own kind, and put to rest some of the fears in his heart.

Even during lunch Haruka's eyes remained glued to the camera's monitor. It was placed close enough to the surface that the sunlight could still penetrate, though he didn't see much activity other than a few small fish. Still, he maintained his watch, while Makoto took a nap.

At about one o'clock, a dark shape shifted beneath the camera. "Makoto!" Haruka whispered harshly, jolting his friend awake. "There's something." His heart was thudding in his ears. He stared unblinking, aware that his friend was now watching over his shoulder, when there was another glimpse. It was large and quick, glistening red in front of the camera. "There!"

"I saw it!"

"Could you make it out?"

"Only that it was red," Makoto breathed.

"Whatever it is, it's right below us." Haruka gulped as he waited for it to make another appearance. "When we see it again, we make our move."

"Right."

A drop of sweat ran down the back of Haruka's neck. For it to be something that large and red, it had to be… He wondered if it was under them right now, checking out their boat. He wondered if it swam away, knowing what they were. But a moment later, there was another glimpse- another red, glistening flash before the camera.

"Now!"

Both running to the sides of the boat, each man took a net and started to pull. The small boat shifted under the changing weights on either side of it, rocking side to side as they pulled more net onboard. "Haru!" Makoto yelled.

Turning around, Haruka saw red fins peeking over Makoto's side of the boat. Abandoning his net, Haruka hurried over and started to pull with Makoto. What they brought onboard made both gasping men stare, though only for a moment before Haruka ran to uncover the hot tub.

"Help me get him in!" he called, and Makoto helped Haruka pull the net to the edge of the tub. It was strange, he thought, that his legs returned almost instantaneously upon leaving the water, but this creature remained the same.

The being that they dumped out of the net was dazed, falling into the water without struggle. As Haruka looked down through the shallow pool of water, he could make out the bright red tail and muscled human torso of a male half-fish, approximately his own age. He had dark hair that covered part of his face, and his eyes were closed.

"We did it," Haruka choked. He jumped when the half-fish's eyes opened and his head whipped around, taking in his small, enclosed surroundings.

"He looks pissed," Makoto observed nervously, stepping back.

"Wouldn't you be?" Haruka asked, drawing closer. When the half-fish looked up and saw him, his eyes narrowed and he scowled at Haruka. "Can you hear me?" Haruka called. "Can you speak?"

"Be careful!" Makoto urged.

The half-fish stared with fiery red eyes back at Haruka, not acknowledging his attempts at communication, nor attempting any of his own. After a few moments, he raised himself into a sitting position, his head only just below the surface of the water.

"This is incredible," Makoto breathed. "But, what do we do now?"

"We wait," Haruka replied. He sat at the edge of the hot tub with his legs curled under him. "Eventually he'll either talk to us or try to get out."

"Should we be worried?" Makoto asked nervously.

"I don't think so," Haruka replied. His voice was calm but his pulse was furious. "I think I'd know by now if half-fish had fangs or claws or something." As he watched the other half-fish watching him, he couldn't help but smile. He finally did it. He finally confirmed that there were more of his own kind, and he had one, here, in front of him. The anticipation of the moment when the red-tailed half-fish finally spoke to him made his skin prickle with excitement.

Hours passed with Haruka sitting by the edge of the tub, watching the red-tailed half-fish. The only movement either of them made was to readjust themselves more comfortably, though their eyes remained on each other. The sun beat down on Haruka's back as he waited.

"Haru," Makoto said from the small shade offered by the wheelhouse. "Look over there."

Haruka broke his gaze with the other half-fish to see what Makoto was pointing to. In the distance, past the blue skies over their heads, were dark clouds. "A storm?"

"Looks like it. You feel that breeze?"

Haruka nodded.

"It's not safe to be out this far at sea on a boat like this with a storm coming."

Haruka turned to look back at the other half-fish, whose eyes had followed his to the sky. "You see it too, huh?" The other half-fish turned back to Haruka, no less pissed than he was before. "Listen, I've been searching for years to find you, to find another of my kind, so I'm not letting you go until you talk to me!"

The red-tailed half-fish cocked a brow at him, then turned his back on him.

"Please, just talk to me!" Haruka pleaded. "If you'll just answer a few questions, I'll let you go."

The other half-fish sunk down deeper into the water, so that his tail was resting on the seat of the hot tub and his back and head were laying against the floor.

"Damn it!" Haruka spat.

"Haru, we have to go," Makoto urged. "The wind is already picking up and the water is starting to change."

"Fine," Haruka agreed, crossing his arms. "But we're taking him back with us."

"What?!" Makoto exclaimed. "Are you insane? What if someone sees him?"

"I'll put the tarp over the hot tub. No one will see him."

"And what will we do when we get back to the dock with him?"

Haruka pondered for a moment as he pulled up the camera and started packing up. "I'll call Nagisa. Have him rent a truck and put a kiddie pool in the back. We can get him to my place and put him in my pool."

"Are you nuts?!" Makoto panicked.

A harsh wind rocked the boat. "We don't have time to argue about it, just get us back to the dock and let me handle the rest!" Haruka barked. He pulled up anchor while Makoto prepared to leave.

"Haru, the other net!"

"Cut if off, we don't need it anymore."

As Makoto started the boat towards shore, Haruka looked down at the red-tailed half-fish. "I'm sorry."

The other half-fish crossed his arms and splashed Haruka with his tail.

"Please forgive me," he added, pulling the tarp over the hot tub and fastening it down at the corners. As Makoto handled the boat, Haruka sat near the hot tub, watching to make sure the other half-fish didn't try to escape out the open sides of the tarp.

When they were close to the dock, the waves had picked up significantly, and a strong wind was blowing. The storm clouds were close and thunder rumbled in the distance. Dialing his cell phone, Haruka prayed he maintained signal.

"Haru-chan!" Nagisa's voice greeted him cheerfully.

"Nagisa!" Haruka said quickly. "I need a favor, fast."

"Wah, what's the matter?" Nagisa sounded excited but concerned.

"You have your driver's license now, right?"

"Yeah?"

"I need you to rent a truck and come pick up Makoto, me, and a half-fish."

"A half- Haru-chan, what's going on?" Nagisa nearly choked on his words.

"Can you get a truck?"

"Yeah, I guess so, but-"

"I need you to put a kiddie pool in it."

"What?"

"A kiddie pool, for the other half-fish."

"Haru-chan, you're not making sense!"

"Can you do it?"

"Alright, alright, email me the location and I'll come."

"Be quick about it, please, there's a storm coming and we're stuck on this boat until you get here." Haruka hung up the phone and emailed him the location of the dock.

By the time they parked the boat and tied it off, the rain had started to fall and lightning flashed overhead. Loud crashes of thunder echoed around them and not a single boat could be seen left on the water. The dock was full of rocking boats tied to their posts, their owners having long since left for shelter.

"Haru, this is bad," Makoto said, huddled under the shelter of the open wheelhouse.

"I can't leave him," Haruka said, catching hold of the tarp as one of the corners began to lift off. He watched as hands poked out from underneath, lifting the edge, and saw the red-tailed half-fish peering out at the sky.

Thunder cracked overhead, and the other half-fish jumped, startled, and came around to the side of the tarp where Haruka was, lifting the edge to look at him. He looked as though he was about to speak, when another flash of lightning lit his widened eyes and he ducked back under the water.

"I'm sorry," Haruka called under the tarp. "I have a friend on the way to pick us up, just hold on a little longer!"

As he was saying this, a van pulled up to the edge of the dock and started blowing its horn. "Haru-chan, Mako-chan!" Nagisa shouted. "Over here!"

"Makoto," Haruka instructed, "take that side of the tarp. We'll wrap him in it to get him into the van."

"Alright," Makoto agreed, taking hold of his side.

Haruka released the ties on the corners of the tarp, ignoring the panicked half-fish that was circling the small hot tub underneath. Once Makoto had the tarp laid flat, Haruka reached into the water and grabbed the red-tailed half-fish, catching him under his arms, and pulled him up. He struggled against the other's flailing, practically falling on top of him to get him on the tarp, then helped Makoto wrap the tarp around him. The two each took an end, hefting him up and out of the boat, and carried him up to the van.

"Sorry it's not a truck," Nagisa apologized, opening the rear door. "But I got the pool!"

"Thanks, Nagisa," Haruka huffed, climbing into the back of the van and pulling the struggling roll of half-fish inside. "I owe you one."

"Can you handle things back here?" Makoto asked, helping Haruka pull all of the tarp inside.

"Yeah. You ride up front with Nagisa and get us to my place," Haruka panted. Once the van's rear doors were closed, Haruka unrolled the other half-fish and helped him into the tiny pool, half of the water splashing out in the process. "Sorry about all of this."

If the other half-fish hadn't been so focused on keeping his head under the shallow water, he looked as though he could've lunged out at him to attack.

When they finally reached Haruka's place, Haruka laid the tarp over the kiddie pool, and all three men carried it around to the side door of the house, which was closer to the indoor pool. Once Haruka had the door open, knowing that the pool would never fit through without dumping, he grabbed the red-tailed half-fish through the tarp and carried him inside, through the house, to his pool, where he dropped him into the deep end.

"Did he make it..?" Makoto asked nervously.

"He's scared, but he's alright," Haruka panted.

"Whoa!" Nagisa gasped. "Haru-chan, is that really another half-fish?"

"Yeah," Haruka replied. He watched the red-tailed half-fish slowly begin to explore the bottom of the pool. "So far I haven't gotten him to talk to me, though."

"He's pretty," Nagisa commented, looking over the edge of the pool.

"He's also pissed," Haruka cautioned, pulling Nagisa back by the collar of his shirt. "It might be best if you and Makoto left for now."

"Are you sure we should leave you alone with him?" Makoto asked doubtfully.

"I'll be fine," Haruka said. "I think the best way to talk to him now would be half-fish to half-fish. Having others around might make him more nervous."

"If you're sure…" Makoto sighed. "I'll come by in the morning to check up on you. Be safe."

"I'll have class in the morning, but send me updates, okay?" Nagisa added.

Nodding, Haruka watched them leave. When he was sure that they were gone, he sat cross-legged at the edge of the pool, watching the other half-fish explore his new surroundings. Rain still pattered hard against the glass roof, and occasionally lightning reflected in, lighting up the room, but the thick glass had withstood much worse in the past and Haruka was not concerned.

When it seemed that the red-tailed half-fish was done looking around and had taken to sitting at the bottom of the pool to stare up at Haruka, Haruka made his move. Walking around closer to the shallow end, putting some space between him and the other half-fish, Haruka began taking off his still-wet clothes. He could see the other half-fish watching him curiously from a safe distance, though when he removed his boxers, that safe distance became the exact farthest point from him as possible.

Sitting on the edge of the pool, Haruka let himself fall in, his legs turning into a bright blue tail as he went. In the water, he could see the other half-fish was cowering in a corner, his shoulders shaking and his head hidden in his arms. Swimming closer to him, Haruka could feel the fear wafting off of the red-tailed half-fish, and he stopped a few feet away.

"I'm sorry I had to put you through all of this," he said, hoping the other could understand him. "I don't want to hurt you. I just want to talk!"

Slowly, the red-tailed half-fish opened his eyes and peered at him through his dark hair. Suddenly, with eyes wide, the red-tailed half-fish uncurled himself and took a proper look at Haruka, his mouth falling open. "Th-the missing prince…" he whispered. Tucking his arms into his chest, he bowed. "Your highness, if I had known it was you, I never- I'm so, so sorry for the way I behaved, I- I will do anything you wish!"