Komaru yawned as she ascended down in the elevator to her assigned floor. Today was her first day, and finally, she would be able to interact with a creature that could possibly interact, all of her previous floors she was mostly there to take care of the rare and magical plants that they were able to find, but now a creature, and a beautiful one at that.

She was a caretaker, and her job was to make sure that her assigned specimens are well taken care of, well she only has experience with plants and she knew this would be different, but she was up to the task! She could do this!

The elevator door then opened revealing the lab with only a couple of scientists, it was early so not many were here, and the ones that were here are here just to make sure that the mermaid's vitals were doing okay. She walked out of the elevator and looked down at her new instruction list, there was more to it than her last charges, but she knew that going in.

She looked up and saw the mermaid on the bottom of the tank, but she was awake, as her grey eyes were narrowed, and glared at the scientists who were near the tank. That was when she realized that the tank was just so...empty, as in she was the only thing in there, she must have felt so out of place with no coral or underwater caves, or other life, she would bring this up with the director when given the chance.

She continued forward only to see Hiroko, by the water pressure tank, "Dr. Hagakure, you're here early."

The pink-haired woman turned to see the young woman, "Hey Koko."

The brunet has to stop, "Koko?"

"Yeah, just a little nickname, so ready for your first actual day?"

She nodded, "Mhm!"

"Alright, so since your new, to creatures, I'll help you out a bit."

"O-oh, I don't want to be a pain!"

"Nonsense, besides, I ain't got anything going on today, follow me."

"U-uh, sure."

The older woman leads her around the lab, finally giving her a tour and showing her where the food was kept, where she had to insert daily reports, check the tank's conditions, the supply closet that also held the gear she may need, and so on. Finally being shown where things were made Komaru feel better as she didn't want to be seen as a fool for not knowing where things were and were caught wandering around the place.

Komaru checked the time, "Oh it's time to feed her."

Hiroko hummed and looked over at the paper the younger was looking at, "So it is, so you know where the gloves and food are, all you have to do is climb up there and drop it in," she pointed over to the platform that was the same level with the top of the tank, and there was a latter that led up to it.

"Right."

So she gathered the gloves and got out a frozen fish, she almost gagged at the smell but pushed through as wrapped the fish in a bag and placed it in her satchel so she can have her hands to climb. She climbed one rung at a time, thankful she started to wear pants than a skirt, so no one would even think about looking up. She had to deal with her are of creeps in the past.

She let out a sigh as she made it to the top of the platform, she dug the fish out of her bag and removed it from the bag she kept it in, she was told to just drop the siren's food for now, as who knows if she would react violently and try and rip off someone's arm if given the chance, so Komaru kneeled by the tank's opening and dropped it in. She watched the purple-haired mermaid as she seemed to jolt at the sudden water movement, her head darting all over until it landed o the fish that the brunet had just dropped in.

Komaru watched the siren through the mostly still clear water, her clipboard now in hand to write down what was about to transpire, as the purple-haired mermaid watched at the cold raw fish floated lifelessly in the water, she made no move to grab it, but Komaru watched her wrap her arms around her midsection, they must have similar anatomy to that of humans. The siren looked at the fish and hesitantly grabbed it once it floated close to her. Even from their distance, Komaru could see the gills on the siren's neck react, is that how they smell? And the look of disgust morphed onto her face as she held the fish away from her.

The woman frowned but continued to watch the siren, who eventually brought the fish close to her face and took a bite out of it. She paused for a moment and proceeded to chew the bite, and slowly she finished the fish, but Komaru could see that she looked rather disappointed, maybe she didn't like that particular fish. The brunet wrote down her observations on the clipboard and went back to looking at the siren, she settled to sit on the platform to watch and make the area feel less tense, even though she didn't know for sure if the mermaid knew she was watching her,

Hours passed and there really was not much to report on as the siren has not moved since she ate the fish, the woman frowned, sea creatures should be moving all the time right? Like sharks or fish right? It probably was not healthy for her. She sighed, but she couldn't interfere right now, right now she just had to make sure that she was taken care of and document her behavior, but perhaps in a few days, she could try something with the siren if she did not show any progress. "Hey, kiddo."

Komaru jumped and looked over at the latter and saw Hiroko's head peeking over the edge, "Oh, Hiroko, what can I do for you."

"I brought ya lunch," the pink-haired woman replied as she held up a wrapped-up bento box, "Oh already?"

"Yeah," the older woman climbed up the rest of the way and walked over to the other sitting the bento box next to the brunet, "So anything to report?"

She shook her head, "No, she hasn't really moved since I fed her."

Hiroko frowned as she looked into the water at the submerged creature huddled on the bottom of the tank, "Well she's scared that's for sure." She then looked around, as if she was seeing if anyone would hear what she had to say next, then squatted down by the other and said, "Try interactin' with her tonight, I know what policy says, but maybe doin' so will help ya know?"

Komaru frowned, "Won't I get into trouble?"

"There ain't really cameras up here and not like they can see well in the tank, and I got your back if they say anything."

The brunets eyes slid back over to the water, "I don't know."

"You want to help her and understand right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, the sooner they get what they want, the more info you'll have, and the sooner they should release her right? I mean she doesn't seem too happy in there as is."

She sighed, yeah the mermaid looked absolutely miserable in the tank, and she knows that with life creates they tend to release them once they were done, and even if she were to bring it up with the director about possible adding items into the tank, it would be in vain since they don't see a point when they tend to not have them for more then a couple of months. "Okay, I'll give it a shot."

"Alright," the older woman then patted her head and stood, "Don't forget to eat."

"Thanks, Hiroko."

Hours later, Komaru sat on the platform alone in the lab, the last scientist had just left, and she still had another hour before night security would make its rounds and she had to leave, being caretaker meant a lot of long hours. The mermaid had yet to move and did not even try to eat the fish that she dropped in the water for dinner, she was worried, as only one fish could not have been enough. She ran a hand through her hair and thought back to what Hiroko said, maybe talking would help, even if she had no idea what she was saying.

Taking a deep breath, she reached her hand into the water and made a small splash, disturbing the mostly calm water, startling the mermaid to look up, she waved and watched as the mermaid seemed to glare at her, but after some time staring, the siren moved, she got off the floor and seemed to swim up, startling the brunet a bit as she took a few steps back as the mermaid's head breached the surface, her grey eyes glaring at her.

Komaru swallowed and gave a slightly shaky smile, she had no idea that would even work, well she is in this far, might as well, "H-hi, I'm Komaru, I'm your caretaker while you are here."

The siren continued to glare, "I-I know you must be scared, but I promise you, we will put you back in the ocean once we learn all that we can about you."

The mermaid's eyebrows quirked in confusion, could she understand her? "Wait do you know what I'm saying?"

Grey eyes looked away, so she did, "No way! That's incredible!"

The siren shrank back at the sudden loud voice, Komaru saw this and quickly apologized, "S-sorry, I'm just really used to working with plants so I'm used to silence, but if you know what I'm saying we can get so much more research done, and if so, then the faster we can take you back home. How does that sound?"

The purple-haired creature frowned and her eyes darted away, she was fumbling with her hands under the water, but eventually, she looked up and gave a nod, Komaru gave an internal squeal, she was talking with a mermaid who could understand her, she might not be able to talk but as long as she can ask yes and no questions, she should get a lot of what she needs. Komaru smiled and sat closer to the edge, the mermaid shank back a bit more, "Don't worry, I won't hurt you, I just wanna be comfortable. So care if I ask you some questions if you can answer them that is?"

The siren gave another nod, "Great let's get started."