Hello! Just started school, so updates won't be regular :( but I will try to update at least one story per week, most likely more. I appreciate reviews/advice/suggestions because I'm pretty new to ff (writing, not reading xD)

This is a mermaid...merman...merboy? AU... not sure what to call it. You get the idea :P

Akihiko adjusted his tie, inhaling the cool sea breeze. As usual, he wore his formal attire; and again, as usual, it was a completely inappropriate situation for him to be doing so.

He couldn't care less. After he had complained for a while about his lack of inspiration, his editor had finally gotten fed up and sent him on this trip. He didn't mind too much since it meant he didn't have to work, but it was already his second day there and he felt no more or less inspired than before.

Why a fishing trip? The ocean always inspired him, he told others. That was why he always visited the different shores. His editor knew this well and had chosen this spot accordingly.

But little did they all know, there was one driving, ulterior motive behind his visits.

When he was a child, he'd always been averse to large bodies of water. They were dirty, murky, and suffocating. How anything could live in them was beyond his understanding. Yet despite his protests his parents insisted on taking the trip to the beach to celebrate his father Fuyuhiko's ascendance to the head of his company. His older brother Haruhiko, who constantly looked at Akihiko with envious eyes, was privy to this aversion and made good use of it when the parents went off a good distance during tidepooling. He pushed Akihiko off his perch on a slippery, seaweed-covered rock and he fell with a splash into the deep waters below. They had wandered off a good distance from shore by hopping on the angular stones that jutted out of the water, so help was a long time in coming - too long. By the time his parents had heard his gurgling cries, Haruhiko was back on the shore, not realizing his brother was slowly drowning.

Akihiko knew he couldn't swim. So he paddled frantically in the water, trying to grip the slime-covered rocks. But the undertow of the current proved to be too strong for him and he found himself slowly being dragged under. He was barely managing to stay afloat, his head bobbing above and below the waves as he gasped for breath. The undulating waves were too powerful and with all of his inefficient flailing he was quickly growing tired as water filled his mouth. Am I going to die? he thought. How sad...

And yet, as his exhausted, stinging eyes were closing a flash of green darted before them and a small wrist grabbed his hand. Shocked, he opened his eyes and saw a face, contorted in concentration and effort. Then his vision grew black and he remembered nothing more. Since then, his aversion to water had turned into a burning determination to find out what secrets it held... but most of all, the owner of those green eyes. He had searched for anyone fitting the description of who he had seen, but to no avail. From then on he had braved that which he initially feared in his search, hoping that the person with the green eyes he had become enraptured with would somehow return to that beach or any other, but his efforts remained fruitless.

Returning to the present, he cast out the net in his small, solo fishing boat and waited for a catch or any sign of movement. When it became clear that there was nothing eventful to happen for a while, he pulled out a cigarette and lit it, taking a drag.

The clouds were starting to darken and he looked up as the air became more damp. Guess I'll have to return empty-handed today, he thought with a sigh.

Suddenly, the boat shifted and he noticed a frantic movement in the net. He quickly tried to pull it up, but whatever was in there quickly jerked away and Akihiko nearly lost his grip. He slackened his grip and the force moving the net relaxed slightly. Taking advantage of this he hoisted his catch up with all of his might and with a loud thump the load landed on the deck of his ship.

His violet eyes widened drastically at the sight laid out before him.

He watched in disbelief as a young boy scrambled up before him, clumsily attempting to right himself and untangle himself from the net. But even more unreal was the reason the boy had simply flopped back down onto the deck in defeat, watching Akihiko with fearful eyes.

The entire bottom half of his body was covered in fish scales while his upper body was naked, and where there should have been legs there were fins. Akihiko stared blankly at the creature. What's that called? A mermaid? No, a merman, merboy...

After getting over his initial surprise, Akihiko noticed that the poor thing was trembling. "Easy," he tried to reassure it, "I'm not going to hurt you." He took a step towards it, intending to help escape from the net, but it seemed to panic and raised its arms in self defense.

Akihiko gasped. There were three long gashes that looked like claw marks down the merboy's (as he had decided to call it temporarily) left arm.

He backed away slowly with his arms in the air to show that he meant no harm. "Hey, are you okay?" He asked cautiously. When there was no answer, he sighed. "Can you even understand me?"

The merboy looked up slowly, showing a pair of glowing green eyes that had previously been obscured by his mop of brown hair. Akihiko was stunned. Are those his eyes...? If so, they were even deeper and richer than he remembered. The boy nodded after a moment.

"Can you talk?" Akihiko asked.

"U-uhh, yessir," a timid voice replied so softly Akihiko almost missed it.

Akihiko smiled slightly to try and reassure the stiff figure. "Here, let me help." He moved forward, avoiding making any sudden movements, and the boy shifted nervously as he approached. Akihiko gently untangled him from the net and stepped back. The boy shifted again and Akihiko realized that the other was about to jump overboard and return to the water. But he couldn't let him go, not yet after seeing those beautiful green eyes. He stopped him with a quick, "Wait!" as he gripped the thin wrist. The merboy looked at him in fear and surprise, yanking his hand away.

"I... can treat your wounds, you know," Akihiko said.

The brunette eyed him suspiciously, his eyes narrowing. Akihiko sighed.

"If you really don't trust me, you can go. But I promise you that I mean no harm. Besides, whatever hurt you might still be down there."

The green eyes looked to the sky, then down at the water, thinking.

"I am willing to help, if you take my offer."

"O-okay," the merboy said quietly. "U-umm, thank you."

"My pleasure."

"But... I have one condition."

Condition? Akihiko wondered. Is he in a position to be setting any? "What is it?"

"You have to return me to these waters before three days are up."

"Why?"

"..." The brown-haired boy looked down and refused to answer.

Akihiko sighed. "All right then, that's fine. What's your name?"

"Misaki Takahashi," the boy answered tentatively, his tail curling and uncurling. "W-what's yours?"

"Akihiko Usami," he answered with a slight smile. "Say, where you come from, do all boys have such cute names?"

"C-cute?" A slight flush appeared on otherwise pale cheeks and Akihiko found himself strangely drawn to it. "I... I don't know..."

"I like it. Can I call you Misaki?"

"O-okay, Usami-san." Akihiko didn't like the sound of that on the merboy's lips and frowned.

"No, don't call me that. It sounds too formal."

"But it is only proper since you are helping-"

"No. I am helping you as a friend, not a stranger, Misaki." Misaki's eyes widened a bit as he heard his name roll off Akihiko's tongue for the first time, and Akihiko swore he saw the starry sky within those gems.

"T-thank you, Akihiko-san."

"You can just drop the san."

"But that wouldn't be right! It's already too familiar!"

"Then come up with something else."

Misaki's eyes widened again, to Akihiko's enjoyment. "Eh?! Umm..." he thought for a bit then blushed. "Can I call you... Usagi...san, maybe?" he asked hopefully.

Akihiko looked at him in surprise. "Why rabbit?"

Misaki looked away, embarrassed. "I don't know many animals out of the water... and for some reason you remind me of one..."

Akihiko laughed in genuine amusement. "That will do, then."

Thanks for reading... I have already written a lot of the story whilst procrastinating on homework, so I will probably update this soon.

Also, if anyone follows the partner series to Junjou Romantica (Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi), I subbed a BL CD for the Domestica couple a while ago. It is available for your listening pleasure on YouTube here ;) /watch?v=eAsFb0JJYj0

Thankiesssss :)