Written for RinHaru Week 2014
Prompt: AU - Setting (Future Fish)

It was 5am and Rin Matsuoka hadn't had enough coffee in his system to deal with the man claiming there was a terrifying sea monster in his shop.

The redhead scowled to himself; of course, today was the one day Sousuke got sick and had to stay home, leaving Rin to patrol this one by himself. Signing up to be a police officer, he thought the job would be all, undercover busts and bulletproof vests, disappointed to find the most exciting part of his job was arresting bratty teenagers for vandalism. He'd never expected there to be so little crime- or so much paperwork.

The chief, a man named Mikoshiba Seijuurou, had comm-ed in, incredulous as he gave Rin the address to some seafood store by the beach and a wild story about some monster attacking the stock. Rin sighed; it was probably just some punks playing a trick on the old man who ran the shop. He turned the corner, hands firmly on the wheel as he drove to the address he had hastily scrawled down onto the back of an old receipt.

The seafood restaurant came into view, and Rin caught sight of a figure in an apron standing outside of it, brandishing what looked like- wait, was that a giant fish? He couldn't help but let out a low chuckle at the sight of the stout, balding man yelling profanities off the top of his head in front of the eatery. Rin pulled up, quickly parking the car and stepping out, pocketing the keys as he adjusted the police cap on his head.

"Sir?" The man stopped yelling for a second, giving Rin an unimpressed look up-and-down, "Were you the one who called in the… monster, was it?"

"It's in the stock room!" He shook the fish in is hand wildly and Rin had to step back in order to avoid it, "It's taken all my mackerel! How am I supposed to make mackerel fillets without mackerel?!"

"Uh huh," Rin cleared his throat, "Could you describe the assailant for me?"

"Well…" The man scratched the back of his head, "I can't really, per se,"

"Why not?" Rin asked, the man looking sheepish.

"I didn't exactly get a good look at it, actually," Rin wanted to slap a hand to his forehead as the chef continued, "But it was a monster! There were these sharp teeth, and this giant tail! At least, I think it was a tail…"

"A giant tail?" The officer repeated, shaking his head as he tried to make sense of the man's words, "And sharp teeth?"

The man bobbed his head fervently, "It's true! I can show you if you'd like,"

Rin nodded slowly, "Lead the way,"

He pulled out his notepad, jotting down the man's words as he followed the chef around the back of the restaurant, watching curiously as the man prepared his giant fish as if to attack. Rin had to say, he was at a loss; he had no idea what to expect when he got to the stock room. He ran around the endless possibilities in his head; pranks taken too far, the man's mind playing tricks on itself, maybe even halogenic mushrooms. There had to be some sort of rational explanation; after all, monsters didn't exist. Not at all.

The man in front of him came to an immediate halt beside a door and Rin had to stop himself from barging straight into him, "Here we are,"

He waited expectantly and Rin looked confused, "Here?"

"Just go through the door, and the stock room is the first door on your right," The man gestured at the door beside him, tapping his foot impatiently, "I'll be waiting here,"

"…Right,"

Rin pulled down the handle, the door swinging open with an ominous creeeeak, and it took one look down the poorly lit hallway for him to decide thatthe next major horror movie should be shot exactly there. Swallowing, the officer, stepped inside, casting a glance back at the man who was nodding encouragingly, his fish ready before closing the door shut. Rin blinked, scowling at the closed door; so much for that escape route. The redhead shook his head, squaring his shoulders.

Come on, Rin, He scolded himself mentally, Monsters don't exist. You're a grown man who doesn't believe in monsters.

Taking a deep breath, Rin touched the baton on his belt as he looked forward. The first door on his right, the man had said. It was slightly ajar, a faint blue light coming from the room and- it wasn't the sounds of something chewing he was hearing, was it? Slow, cautious steps brought him to the door, and Rin hesitated, his hand pausing just before he pushed it open. Straining his ears, he could tell, there was something in there, if the sounds of snapping and munching were any indication. With a wince, Rin steeled himself; he had a job to do.

All the coffee in the world couldn't have prepared Rin for the mermaid in the stock room.

Part 1 - Fin