pokemon-champion-brendan requested: could you write an AU where the escorts work at an aquarium?
Admin Notes: Ah! This AU is so cute! I love aquariums! Must… resist… turning them into mermaids… (It's also kind of long. I'm putting some of it in the undercut!) -Admin Hirahara
The Gokuto Aquarium, although not a large place, was the most extravagant aquarium in the area, having exotic under sea creatures that not many had ever seen. For any visitor, it was a sight to behold, with many thing guests could do. Shows, exhibits, even hands on activities, it was needless to say that the aquarium was a fun place for all. And not just the visitors; for the employees had as much fun with the sea life as any.
Which made applying for a job there so hard. The employees of the Marine Facilities had to meet special requirements, from their personality of the resume, and their experiences were often scrutinized closely. However, after being welcomed aboard the crew and a long time of vigorous training, Kirishima had finally made it to his first day on the job. And it wasn't an easy feat either. He had no previous training around any of the sea creatures, and really, had decided to work there on the whim. Still, he was one of the few people who still found the ocean and it's life fascinating, and being a newly graduated marine biologist, he just met all the requirements.
"So Kirishima, welcome to our aquarium." A tall, older man greeted. Rokkaku, the manager of the entire center, had made it a personal effort to come and meet every new employee so that they would feel welcomed. "I'm glad you completed your training, and I certainly hope you find working here enjoyable and worthwhile."
Kirishima did a very formal salute, which Rokkaku pointed out was not really needed, and started giving him the grand tour. There were multiple rooms, all of which the azure eyed man could be working during his shift. Each had different creatures on exhibit, and each had different schedules. He wouldn't have to memorize them all, but eventually, it would become second nature. He'd get his actual work schedule later that week as well, so it was important to familiarize himself with the sea life that they all had.
"Since you'll be working the day shifts, I should let you get acquainted with our other employees. If you ever need any help, you can ask them anything, or you can come to me." Rokkaku left Kirishima alone after that to explore the place at his own pace. Kirishima, again, saluted Rokkaku, before finally relaxing a little. He held his employee badge in his hand, one recently made for him, and let on a little smile.
"I'm finally here…" He muttered to himself, clipping his ID onto his uniform. With some worry that guests would start asking him to do things, he decided to keep out of very crowded areas and stay near the employees only doors. He hadn't exactly memorized the layout of the huge aquarium, so he found some relief in the employee hallways. They were narrow, with few rooms, and all the doors were labeled so he knew exactly which lead where. He'd start, he decided, with the administration desk.
Having entered the place from the employees entrance off to the side, Kirishima would have never expected so many people waiting in line to be admitted. What was even more surprising, really, was that there was only one person working there; a tall man with emerald eyes, who greeted guests with a welcoming smile. He worked rather diligently, and had a very charismatic aura. When Kirishima approached the desk, the other man turned to give him a smile.
"Oh, hey! New employee!" He called, waving Kirishima over. "I heard you were coming today!" With that, he turned back to the visitors coming in, still keeping up with the conversation. "I'm a little busy right now, if you want to give me a hand with this." Kirishima didn't see why not. He opened and closed the door leading to the small counter and started collecting tickets. With the two working together, the job was done much faster, and the crowd of people soon became zero. With the well needed break, the taller man sighed and leaned back in his chair.
"Phew… That's what the morning rush is like." He explained. "It's like this on weekends all day, plus around the afternoon on weekdays." Kirishima leaned back in his chair as well, breathing deeply. He'd never had to deal with so many people before. He wondered if he did alright. "Oh, I'm Kinoshita, by the way," the other finally introduced.
"Kirishima," the shorter man said, shaking hands with Kinoshita. "I'm working the day shifts."
"Oh, huh, your hands are pretty rough," Kinoshita pointed out once they broke the shake. Kirishima explained that, despite being a marine biologist, he used to practice kendo and his hands had probably gotten callus from holding a sword. "Hm… maybe you and Tanizaki would get along…" Kinoshita muttered, before shaking the idea. "Well, it's great to have you here! I work here in admissions, but also at the gift shop in the afternoon. You can always feel free to stop by and say hello."
"I will," Kirishima nodded, and with that, he took his leave, ready to get acquainted with somewhere else. Kinoshita called behind him that some time after work, they should grab a drink together, which Kirishima kindly pretended he didn't hear. He soon found himself traveling with some guests over to the larger mammals area. There, manatees, dolphins, and seals could be found. It must have been feeding time, because a large group of people and flocked over to the dolphins, each wanting to get a closer look from behind the glass. Kirishima decided to use the employees only door to get into the exhibit to see if there was anything he could help with.
"Natsuyo, stay still! It isn't your turn yet!" A deeper voice came from the surface. "There are people here to see you; don't you want to show them a trick or two?" Kirishima popped his head in just in time to get splashed by a somersaulting dolphin, showing off both in excitement, and anticipation. There were two other dolphins in the tank, and with just one look Kirishima concluded that one was male and one was female. The one that just splashed him was also female. Whoever was feeding them finished up after each dolphin did some sort of jump and gave each one an enthusiastic stroke on the back.
"They seem happy here," Kirishima spoke up. The man who was feeding the dolphins jumped, surprised to see someone else there. He had violet eyes, and a shaved head.
"When did you get here?" He asked, standing up from his kneeling position. He was also very tall. "Oh, looks like they splashed you. Make sure you keep your distance. Sometimes this one-" he gestured to the male dolphin "-likes to spit water at employees and then laugh."
"I'm Kirishima. I just started here today." He said, before turning to the pool where the dolphins lived. "I'm surprised. I didn't expect them to be enjoying life here." He'd learned in school that dolphins were happier in much larger pods, out in the ocean. Still, these three looked rather healthy.
"They're rescues," The violet eyed man said. "We don't usually keep rescues unless they have some sort of problem preventing them from returning to the wild." The larger of the two female dolphins jumped out, all of a sudden, causing a huge wave that splashed the two employees. "That's Akiko. She was hit with a commercial ship and had damage to her dorsal fin. The smaller one is Natsuyo. She got beached when she was younger and they sent her over here." Finally, the man gestured to the male. "And that's Toki. He got separated from his pod and caught in a fisherman's net." All three couldn't have been very old, and Kirishima felt a little heart broken for each of them. "And just so you know, my name is Tanizaki. I feed the animals here, and I'm the head of the rescue group whenever there's a problem near the coast involving sea creatures."
After Kirishima fussed over the dolphins some more ("I'm a marine biologist! Seeing these mammals off a computer screen is a whole other experience!") and Tanizaki nearly pushed him into the tank, he said his farewells. With that area of the aquarium explored, he thought it was time to head for the more deep sea creatures. At the entrance of that hallway, there was a station where people could pet sting rays. Handling the exhibit was a light haired man with light blue eyes, who was explaining the biology of the stingray.
"…and since the spike hidden in their tail is poisonous, we've safely removed them so that they can be petted." The man concluded. "So yeah, go ahead and touch them!" Having finished his explanation, the icy eyed man looked over and spotted Kirishima, giving him a polite smile and wave. "Is this your first day?"
"Yeah, it is." He said, introducing himself with a handshake. The other smiled and introduced himself as Saeki, the one in charge of many of the hands on stations. Today, he explained, the stingrays got their turn with attention from the guests. "Hm… even though these stingrays are friendly and active, I bet they could still camouflage from predictors if we let them out into the wild…" Kirishima mumbled as he inspected the tank.
"You're probably right," The light haired man smiled. "You certainly know a lot about stingrays. That must have been why you were selected to work here."
"I graduated as a marine biologist," Kirishima said, stroking the stingray on the back cautiously. It felt slimy and he whipped his hand out. The other man let out a very amused laugh.
"Everyone does that the first time they touch one. It's not what you were expecting, was it?" Saeki asked. Kirishima shook his head, air drying his hand. "Have you met everyone yet?" Kirishima looked down and shook his head, saying he'd only met Kinoshita and Tanizaki earlier. "Hm, well, I think Tagami's wandering around near the jellyfish exhibit. See if you can find him." Kirishima thanked the other man and headed in for the deep sea area. "Oh! And don't be alarmed if you find stray blankets and pillows there!" Saeki added before Kirishima was out of earshot.
Not sure of what exactly that meant, Kirishima decided to be on the lookout for said employee. The deep sea area was all dark, for the sake of the sea life. Since they weren't used to the bright lights of the ocean's surface, everything was kept to their liking, from the terrain in their tanks to the temperature they enjoyed. At the end of the room was the jellyfish exhibit, where glass tubes were erected, each with a different species of jellyfish. Near the back wall was a large thank with two huge orange jellyfish with a curtain of tentacles. "Lion's mane jellyfish…!" Kirishima exclaimed, taking a few steps closer to get a better look. In doing so, he kicked something on the floor with his foot, that resisted the force.
"Hm…?" It muttered, shifting. Kirishima jumped back and put a hand to his side where his nonexistent blade would be, reflex kicking in. Instead, the lump turned out to be a person, curled up under a blanket. He opened his eyes, revealing amber irises, and got up, looking to find who woke him. "Oh… someone's here." He said, picking himself off the ground to get on eye level with Kirishima. "…need something?"
"I'm… a new employee, Kirishima." He said, blinking a few times. "Saeki said… you're Tagami?" The other man yawned while nodding, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Yeah, I'm Tagami. I usually just wander around the exhibits answering questions and informing guests. I also work some night shifts in the marine labs after hours." Kirishima was rather impressed. Tagami really didn't look like someone who took the job seriously, so it was nice to have a clarification as to why he was here.
"So you do research?" Kirishima asked. "It must be tiring to work two shifts all the time."
"That's why I come back here to sleep sometimes. It's dark and quiet and it's a good place to nap since no one has a lot of questions about jellyfish." Tagami informed, kicking away his blanket towards the large tank. "Plus, these jellyfish are pretty calming, so it's easy to fall asleep." Kirishima nodded in some understanding, before looking closer at the lion's mane jellyfish.
"I would have never thought to see one of these here," he said, "I thought they traveled alone." Tagami let out an 'ugh!' before explaining to Kirishima that some traveled together, but due to their one year life span, it was hard keeping this tank occupied. "Well, it was nice meeting you, but I still have a few more places to check out." Kirishima said, waving goodbye and leaving Tagami to debate going back to sleep or not.
Finally back at the center of the aquarium, Kirishima decided to take a quick break. There was still one area he hadn't visited, so he made sure to check it out eventually. Someone suddenly tapped him on the shoulder, turning Kirishima around to see who it was. Tagami had followed him out (without a sound, apparently,) and was looking at him with lazy eyes. "It's only your first day, right?" He asked. Kirishima nodded. "Then you haven't seen the performance yet. You should go; one starts in ten minutes." With that the amber eyed man lazily walked over to an employees door, disappearing behind it.
"A performance?" Kirishima asked himself. It couldn't hurt to see what they did there. He decided to follow the crowd of people, moving towards the shark exhibits. There was a room to the right that was decorated to look like an underwater theater, which is where Kirishima assumed the show would start. He quietly made his way to the back of the room, where he was sure no one would bother him but he could still see the tank.
The whole thing started when Kirishima head the splash in the tank, and noticed that there was a person in there with the sharks. There was some cheering from the crowd, but mostly there was a lot of gasps. The person, though, seemed fine, and waved to the audience. He had gave some hand signals to some of the sharks swimming around him, and Kirishima watched with a slight pang of fear as the person began to make the sharks do certain things, like swim around him or follow after him. It had even gotten to the point where one of the hammerheads got close enough for the person to mount, and Kirishima was thoroughly impressed.
At the end of the show, he walked towards the entrance to the tanks, wanting to congratulate the person on his outstanding performance. Just as he entered the room, said man lifted himself from the tank, taking off his goggles and breathing equipment. "Phe~w! Another good show, guys!" The man praised, heading for a bucket hung in the back of the room. "I bet we really impressed some people out there to~day!" Inside the bucket were pieces of raw meat, which he threw to each of the sharks.
"I can say I was," Kirishima spoke up, making the person turn quickly on his heel. The man had yellow eyes, and a big smile on his face.
"Wah! You must be the new employee Kinoshita told me about!" He said, throwing the last piece of meat into the water before putting the bucket down to introduce himself. "I'm Hirahara! I train the sea creatures here like the dolphins and sharks! I also work with Tanizaki on the rescue team!" He happily flung his arm out to meet Kirishima's. "Nice to meet you!"
"Nice to… meet you too." Kirishima said, shaking his hand and then regretting it. It was covered in meat juices and salt water. "I'm Kirishima." He eyed the sharks before letting go of Hirahara's hand. "These guys seem to like you."
"Oh, yeah! I take very good care of them!" Hirahara boasted, putting his hands on his hips. "Not to brag, but Ryota there and I are really close!" He whistled loudly as a grey reef shark came near the surface. "Way back when, he drifted too close to shallow waters and couldn't get back in the ocean. By the time we got there, his lungs had been pretty damaged, so we take care of him in here now!"
After a little more conversation and Hirahara's failed attempt to get Kirishima to join him in the performance, the azure eyed man finally returned to Rokkaku's office. "So, how was your first day?" The manager asked, already knowing the answer. Kirishima described it as the best day he'd ever had at any job. "That's good to hear. I hope everyone treated you well today."
"Indeed, all the employees here are very helpful." Kirishima said. He really couldn't wait to come back and start working again tomorrow. The Gokuto Aquarium really was something extraordinary, not just in exhibitions, but in people as well.