Sojiro Sakura likes to think he knows what he's doing when it comes to women.
He's handsome, he can cook, and most importantly, he's mastered the art of smooth-talking. He has no problem talking to whoever he wants, no matter who she is. He never has.
But he's going to give himself a little bit of leeway here since this woman happens to be a mermaid.
He'd been sitting precariously on a rock near the water, mulling over the work he needed to do the next day (even though that's exactly what he'd told his boss he wouldn't be doing- she'd told him he needed to take a day off to clear his head) when the mermaid reached up and pulled his boot right off his foot before disappearing in the water.
He stared at the surface of the water, heart pounding, but he couldn't find her. If it wasn't for the fact that his foot was now bare, he'd have thought he was imagining things. But no. Something that sure as hell looked like a mermaid had just stolen his boot from him.
Is he really that stressed? So much so that he's seeing things now?
He's only able to ponder it for a moment longer before she pops up out of the water again and scares the daylights out of him once more. She looks troubled as she holds up the boot.
"What is this?" The mermaid asks. Sojiro stares stupidly at her, and she continues, "can you understand me?"
"U- um. It's a boot," he replies, trying not to let his eyes wander. This is a woman with a tail and gills and scales and… God, he can't do this. "Walking around without your feet covered can get uncomfortable."
The mermaid doesn't seem to like this answer. Her violet eyes narrow at him slightly. "Uncomfortable how?"
Sojiro clears his throat. "W- well, they can get dirty or cold or just achy if they're not supported right." He nods to his boot. "Can I have that back?"
The mermaid's eyes widen and she nods, holding it out to him. As he reaches for it, he doesn't miss the webbed fingers and razor-sharp nails that are dangerously close to his skin. It's clear she could rip through a vein without even trying. She doesn't seem to notice just how terrified Sojiro is, just hands him the boot and retreats back into the water before pulling herself up onto a nearby rock.
"So what's 'cold'?" She asks next, folding her arms. With her sitting like this, Sojiro can now see her entire body; her brilliant red scales, the long black hair that reaches her waist, the gills on her neck and sides, and the necklace and top fashioned with some shells and what looks like old rope. She taps her nails against the rock, impatiently waiting for his answer.
"Cold is how the water feels. Warm is how the sun and fire and bodies feel." Shit. She won't know what fire is. Sojiro's making himself look like an idiot in front of this extremely beautiful fish woman, and he's not sure how to save himself.
Luckily, she doesn't press him on it any further, and instead lies back and basks in the sun. She closes her eyes and flicks her fluke upward, splashing some water up onto her tail.
"You have a name?"
"Sojiro Sakura."
"Hm," is all she says, like she's unimpressed. "Wakaba. I'm trying to learn more about humans. You're fascinating."
Sojiro doesn't know how to respond to that. He decides the easiest thing to do is not to look at Wakaba, so he stares at his bootless foot. "Well," he begins. "Most of them don't take kindly to having their boots taken from them."
"I would think not. Sorry, I couldn't help myself." Wakaba rolls onto her side, resting her elbow on the rock and her chin on her hand. "Feet and legs are so fascinating to me. I've watched humans use them from a distance, but they're still so hard for me to understand."
"Y- yeah?"
"Yeah. They're so… lanky. How do you keep your balance?"
"It takes practice."
"How much practice?"
"Uhh…" Sojiro furrows his brow. When do kids usually take their first steps? "Like… a couple months?"
Wakaba frowns, and Sojiro wonders if she knows what a month is. "How inconvenient."
"Yeah," Sojiro agrees, staring at his feet. This is something that would only happen to him. Only he would take a vacation, visit the beach, and run into a crazy…. merperson.
"Would you do me a favor? Now that we're friends," Wakaba asks. She doesn't let him question this statement before saying, "Can I have some of your hair?"
"Some of my hair?" He asks. Is she going to do some weird spell on him?
"Some of your hair," she echoes. "I'd like to run some tests on it, if I may."
"I, uh-" Sojiro sputters. "I suppose that's fi- OUCH!"
Wakaba launches herself at him and yanks a couple of hairs out of his leg before he even knows what's happening, and he reaches down to rub at the spot. He's about to tell her off when he hears a splash, and her tail hits the surface of the water before she disappears.
He hadn't… just imagined all that, right?
His leg is bleeding. His boot is wet. But surely, surely that didn't just happen. Surely he wasn't just talking to a mermaid.
She emerges from the water again, scaring him out of his skin. "Meet me here at the same time tomorrow," she says. "I want to run more tests." Then, she disappears for real this time.
Yup. Definitely real.
Sojiro calls in sick from work the next day.
He hasn't called in sick in seven years, so it comes as a surprise to his boss, but they let him off the hook. He does as Wakaba says, returning to the same spot at the same time. He's not sure what exactly to expect- if she'll be there eagerly waiting to talk to him, or if she's going to eat him. Either way, his nerves are high.
When he arrives, Wakaba isn't there yet. He takes his same spot by the water, glad that it's cold enough out that no one is around. He doesn't know exactly how he'd explain Wakaba's existence to any passerby.
Will she know he's here? Did she have any way of telling time? ...Should he stick his face in the water and call to her?
He's about to try, then stops himself when he has the mental image of her laughing in his face. Why does the opinion of this creature matter so much to him?
Because she has half the body of a pretty woman, that's why. Lord, he's lonely.
As per usual, she startles him when she pops out of the water, and he nearly falls into the ocean. Wakaba raises an eyebrow at him, then shrugs and pulls herself up onto the rock and stares hard at him for a moment.
"What's on your face?" She says by way of greeting.
"What?"
Wakaba pulls his glasses right off his face and holds them up to her eyes backward, frowning as she looks through them. "These make things look fuzzy. Why do you have them?"
"My eyes don't work, so they make it so I can see. If they're fuzzy to you, you don't need them," Sojiro explains. He carefully takes them from her and flips them around, then slides them onto her face. She blinks.
"Huh," Wakaba says. She pulls them up, puts them back, and repeats that a few more times, examining Sojiro with and without them over her eyes. "We don't have anything to fix our eyes if they go bad."
"You need a machine to make them, so…" he trails off. "Er, sorry. Guess you don't know what that means."
Wakaba scoffs. "Of course I know what a machine is. What do you think I am, a jellyfish?"
"Uh…" Jellyfish have no brains, is that what she means? "No, sorry, I just-"
Wakaba cackles at that, catching him off guard. "I'm teasing you. You're not the first human I've ever met. So I know a little bit."
Sojiro nods. "Am I the first you've stolen hair from?"
"Actually, yes. You should feel special."
"I do," Sojiro replies. He relaxes a little bit as Wakaba puts the glasses back on his face. "Is that why you can speak Japanese?"
"Mhm. It only took me a few weeks to learn it."
Sojiro's eyes widen at that. "A few weeks?!"
"Uh, yeah?" Wakaba replies, clearly confused.
"Is that normal? It takes humans years to learn languages."
"Really?" Wakaba asks, frowning. He cries out as she reaches up to grab at his hair. "How small are your brains?"
"Ow- Wakaba, please," he says, and she immediately drops her hands back to her sides.
"Sorry. Got excited," she replies without a hint of remorse. "How small are your brains?"
Sojiro balls his hands into fists and presses them together before holding them out to her. "About this big?" He guesses.
And Wakaba cackles. "You're joking!" She cries. "Human brains are that small? There's just no way."
Sojiro isn't sure whether or not he's supposed to be offended by that, so he chooses to ignore it. "Yes," he deadpans. "Why? What's going on in that pretty head of yours?"
"Our brains are a little bigger than a dolphin's," she explains. She's either oblivious to the flirting or is too unimpressed to comment on it. Sojiro isn't sure why he tried.
"So bigger than a human brain, then," he muses. "Guess it makes sense that you learn so quickly. What do you know about humans?"
"Some." Wakaba flicks her fluke idly, creating small splashes in the water. "I know you say strange things like 'see you later' even when you won't see that person again the same day, and ask people 'what's up' when you're asking how they're doing, and not even about anything happening above them. I know you stare at little boxes called phones and you lie to each other about little things because you get upset easily, and you can't handle large amounts of salt. You can't get any oxygen from water, your reproductive organs are on the outside, and you collectively choose corrupt people to run your society time and time again. You're obsessed with 'money', you hide your feelings, and you are extremely afraid of the emptiness of the ocean." She leans closer to him, a very serious look on her face. "So tell me, Sojiro Sakura, what are you going to teach me?"
Extremely afraid of the emptiness of the ocean? Is that a threat?
"U- uh," he stammers. "Do you know how to read?"
Wakaba shrugs. "A little," she says, and then, "give me your phone."
"Don't get it wet."
"I won't get it wet," she replies, wiping her hands on his shirt as he pulls his phone from his pocket and flips it open. The contact makes him shiver, and her nail lightly scratches his hand as she takes the phone from him.
"June 15, 2009. 1 pm. Zero new…" She pauses, frowning. "M- messages. Contacts, photos- hey, what's a photo?"
"Let me see," Sojiro says, taking the phone back from her. He pulls up the camera and holds the phone up so Wakaba is in the viewfinder. "Smile."
"No," Wakaba replies, frowning. He takes the picture, then turns the phone around to show her. Her eyes widen. "That's me."
"Yeah."
"How?"
He points to the camera lens. "This is a camera. It takes in light and captures the image. Most phones have them. But some are better than others."
"I see," Wakaba murmurs. "Do it again. Take another picture of me."
Sojiro shrugs, holding his phone back up and pointing it at Wakaba. She stares into the camera with an intense look on her face, and Sojiro can't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation.
"Sorry, sorry," he says when she gives him a confused look. "Usually people smile for pictures."
"Oh," Wakaba replies. "That's why you asked."
"Uh huh."
Wakaba grins for the camera, displaying a mouth full of mostly human-looking teeth, with canines just a bit too sharp. Sojiro takes a second picture and hands the phone back to her to see, and she gets excited this time. "That's fascinating! It looks like I'm in there!" She says eagerly. "Do you have pictures of other things you can show me? I want to see where you sleep."
Kinda weird, but Sojiro decides to just go with it. "I probably have a couple pictures of things I've cooked and the neighborhood cats, but nothing else."
"Cooked? Cats?"
Sojiro hums. "Guess I've got a lot to teach you."
"So when are you gonna start telling me about your world?" Sojiro asks, turning to the woman beside him.
They're lying in the sand on their backs, looking up at the clouds. Wakaba was delighted at the idea of looking for shapes in the clouds, something merpeople apparently don't do, and started rambling off sea creatures and objects he'd never heard of, pointing all over the sky. Before he could ask what one thing was, she'd moved on to the next, and he can't think of another time he'd seen her so excited.
She turns to look at him. "My world?" She asks. "What do you want to know?"
"Anything," he says. "I've been teaching you about humans for two weeks. Tell me about merpeople."
Wakaba looks back up at the clouds. "Well," she begins. "What have I already told you?"
"I know you learn fast, you avoid humans as best you can, and you don't eat dolphins." Wakaba's nose wrinkles at that last part. "I know, I know. I'm sorry I asked."
"Even the thought is horrifying," she murmurs. "But- yes, that's all true. Let me see… I haven't told you how we communicate, right? It's the same way dolphins do."
"Huh," Sojiro replies. "Suppose that makes sense. Can't use your voice underwater."
Wakaba grins. "Not exactly, no," she says. "We don't use our voices at all except to sing, and most pods don't really do the whole 'luring sailors to their deaths' thing anymore. Sometimes we'll mess with them, but it's too risky trying to eat humans nowadays."
Sojiro has to keep his jaw from dropping. "Too… okay," he murmurs, suddenly just as scared of Wakaba as he was when he met her two weeks ago. She must see the fear on his face, because she laughs and shoves his shoulder like nothing is wrong.
"I'm messing with you!" She says. "You should have seen your face. You went as white as sand!"
Sojiro doesn't find this very funny, but decides not to say anything. From what he's gathered, Wakaba's sense of humor is… odd. Or maybe it's just merpeople humor, he's not sure.
"Here," she says, flipping over onto her stomach and settling on her elbows. "Give me something to say."
"Um…" He frowns. "Nice to meet you?"
Wakaba lets out a series of clicks, sounding much like a dolphin. "Huh," he says. "So can you talk to any other creatures besides merpeople and dolphins? Like… fish or urchins or something?"
Wakaba laughs again. "You're adorable," she says. "Fish are for eating and urchins are for gardens. What, are you gonna ask if I talk to seaweed next, too?"
"Uhh…" Sojiro isn't sure what to say. "Wait, adorable?"
Wakaba doesn't respond, just starts shimmying back into the water. "Be right back," she says.
And then Sojiro is left alone to mull over the situation. That had been a joke, right? The thing about eating humans? He's honestly not sure if Wakaba would eat him. He's fairly certain they're friends, but… mermaids in stories were often deceptive. Was she waiting to kill him? Did she have him under some weird spell right now? Would she laugh at him if he asked her if magic was real?
A head of dark hair emerges from the water, and she quite literally throws a fish at him. Sojiro stumbles backward and watches as it flops on the sand, struggling to breathe.
"What the hell was that?!" He asks her.
"Eat it," she says. "They're delicious."
Sojiro glances down at the fish, still covered in sand and scales. He shakes his head. "Don't have much of an appetite," he replies.
Wakaba shrugs. "More for me," she says, pulling herself out of the water and picking up the fish, before quite literally ripping into it with her teeth. Sojiro tries not to flinch as blood runs down her chin.
Maybe he should be a little more careful around this woman.
Another few weeks pass and Sojiro decides that, if his new mermaid friend wanted to kill him, she probably would have done it by now. Especially now that she's taken him in the water with her and hasn't drowned him yet.
They're quite far out, much more so than Sojiro has ever been on his own, sitting on a rock staring out at the shore. He'd brought a snorkel and she'd helped him swim all the way out, at one point stopping and holding him up so he could rest. He'd tried to tell her that he didn't have as much strength as he used to, and she didn't understand, claiming merpeople don't get much weaker with age.
Wakaba is beautiful when she swims. The way her tail moves, the way her dark hair flows behind her in the water, the way her crimson scales glitter in the sunlight. He'd stared at her almost the entire time they'd been swimming, and he's staring now, just silently watching her as she stares longingly at the shore.
"There's so much I don't know," she says at one point. "There's so much I'll never get to know."
Sojiro tilts his head. "About humans?" He asks.
Wakaba nods solemnly. He's never seen her look sad before, and it's a little jarring. He places a hand on her shoulder.
"I'll bring you an encyclopedia next time we see each other. Big book, full of all kinds of information. And I'll help you read it," he says.
Her eyes light up. "Would you really?" She asks, and then, "can you come tomorrow?"
"You know I've got to work tomorrow," he says. "Five days, and then I've got some vacation time. You can hold out until then."
"I don't know that I can," Wakaba replies, pouting. He snorts.
"Well, I'm not coming out here after sunset when the waves are crazy. I'd rather not get pulled under."
The corners of Wakaba's mouth turn upward slightly. "You really think I'd let you drown?"
"You made a joke about eating me once. How do I know I can trust you?"
Wakaba laughs. "You're too funny to eat. Where else am I gonna get my entertainment if you die?"
"Is that all I am to you? Entertainment?"
"And my curry supplier. I'm not sure what I'd do without your curry," she adds. "When are you gonna quit your stupid job and open that restaurant like you mentioned?"
"Within the year, I hope," he says. "Although I'll probably be running it on my own, which means less time to come see you."
Wakaba's face falls. "Oh," she says. "You're not gonna forget about me, right?"
"You kidding?" Sojiro chuckles. "How could anyone forget you?"
She laughs, too. "If you did, then maybe I would have to drown you."
He shoves her shoulder. "Quit makin' jokes like that. It freaks me out," Sojiro replies, unable to keep the smile from his face. "Five days. Can you do that?"
"I'll probably die of boredom, but I can sure as hell try," Wakaba declares. "Now I should probably take you back up there before the tide gets crazy."
"Probably," Sojiro agrees. He's not eager to leave, but he's not going to complain about swimming with Wakaba again. She drops herself off the rock and into the water, then reaches out her hand for him, and he quickly puts on his snorkel before taking it and slowly lowering himself down into the water with her.
The sun is starting to set, casting a golden glow over the surface of the water and Wakaba. Her eyes shine a brilliant purple in the light and her skin seems to glitter, like it's covered in millions of tiny scales. She grins and tugs on his hand, and it's like the wind gets knocked out of him before they start to swim.
She's doing most of the work, flicking her tail and dragging him along by the hand. He's doing his best to keep up, but he's just not as strong as she is; not that she seems to mind. She's content to just swim, and he's content to just watch her. Sojiro would be lying if he said Wakaba isn't the most beautiful thing he's ever seen, and the sunset has nothing on her.
They swim back to their meeting spot and Sojiro towels himself off, starting to get cold as the wind picks up. He'd gotten used to the water while swimming with Wakaba, so he'd been warm enough, but now the wind is icy.
"How am I gonna survive five days without talking to you?" Wakaba whines. Sojiro can't help but grin.
"You've gone longer without me," he reassures her. "Come on. Five days and then I'm yours for a week."
"Don't bore yourself to death without me," Wakaba warns.
"I'll do my best," he replies. Wakaba disappears into the water.
He groans. He's going to bore himself to death without her.
As Sojiro showers the sand off of himself that night, he can't get Wakaba out of his head.
He sighs and turns the water temperature up a little more. The walk back to his car had been cold, cold like Wakaba's hands on his skin. Like the small shoves of his shoulder when he says something stupid, her fingers wrapped around his when he pulls her out of the water and onto their sitting rock, her arm brushing against his when she sits too close-
Suddenly, he's turning the water back to cold. Maybe he misses the cold a little bit. That's not weird or anything.
Good Lord, he's falling for this woman fast. This creature. A literal thing of fairy tales.
But she's more than that. She's… well, she's odd. She's fun, and he likes her sense of humor, even though it sometimes scares him. She's curious. She listens to what he has to say. She's beautiful.
Sojiro turns the water off. Five days. He has to make it through five days.
And he's never been so distracted at work as he is over the next five days. Zoning out during meetings, thinking of Wakaba gliding through the water. Seeing her in every woman with long, dark hair who passes through the building. Even thinking about her when he picks up some salt packets for his lunch, as stupid as that is. Something is seriously wrong with him.
And that something is that he has a crush. A stupid, grade school crush on a woman he met under the most bizarre circumstances possible. On a mermaid.
He thought his life was weird enough, traveling to laboratories and communicating information to other government officials about scientific processes he doesn't even understand. And now, science has been thrown out the window, the contents of a children's book having taken its place.
"Something on your mind, Sakura-senpai?" A colleague of his asks as he zones out. Right. He's supposed to be doing something. What is he supposed to be doing?
"Uh- no, don't worry about it," he tells the younger man. He's at his desk. There are papers in front of him. He should be reading these. What is Suzuki doing in his doorway?
"Hashimoto says you didn't answer his email. Sent me over to see what was up," Suzuki says, folding his arms. "You'd better get back to him."
"Right. Thanks."
"You sure you're not thinkin' about anything specific? You were zoning out with a weird look on your face."
Sojiro huffs. "Don't you have work to do too, Suzuki? Last I heard you almost lost your job for poking your nose in other people's business. If you're gonna stand here and bother me, you may as well make yourself useful and make me a coffee or something."
The man's face falls, and Sojiro has to stop himself from smirking. "Sorry, Sakura-senpai. I'll be taking my leave now."
"Good. Scram."
Five days. Good God, five days.
He reaches for his pen and gets to work.
The week he spends with Wakaba is worth the wait.
He's spent entire days with her before- every Sunday, unless something came up on her end. But never an entire week. She leaves a little before sunset every time, claiming she has business to attend to, and refuses to explain any further. Still, the time they do spend together is a blast.
He brings an entire backpack of things for her that week. An encyclopedia, a dictionary, a flip phone he'd gotten for 2,500 yen, and a waterproof box. Sojiro has half a mind to bring her roses, but realizes they'd just wilt in the saltwater, so he settles for salted caramel chocolates instead, realizing he's never brought her anything sweet to eat before. He also brings her a pretty hairbrush he'd seen at the store, a box of buttons (since she'd been so fascinated by the ones on his shirt for whatever reason), and a lighter, just because he wants to see her first reaction to fire.
She's already waiting for him on their sitting rock when he arrives Monday morning, combing through her hair with her fingers. Good. He's glad to know the brush was a good buy.
"Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long," he calls as he trudges through the sand. Wakaba looks up at Sojiro and waves him over, and he carefully climbs up onto the rock with her. "How'd you manage to pull yourself up here?"
"It was difficult," she admits. "And I'm disappointed in you. What kind of gentleman makes a lady wait for ten whole minutes?"
"What kind of lady makes jokes about eating her gentleman friends?" He shoots back, sitting down next to her and taking off his backpack. "I brought you gifts, so you can get off my case."
"Ooh, gifts?" She asks, reaching for the zipper.
"Stop that. Some of it can't get wet," he explains, pulling out a towel and handing it to her. "Come on, you know the drill."
She looks at Sojiro and lets out the most drawn out, overdramatic groan he's ever heard from anyone in his life, and he has to laugh at her. Once her hands are dry and the towel is in her lap, he starts pulling things out. She stops him at the hairbrush.
"What the hell is that thing?" She asks, looking at it like she doesn't even want to touch it.
"It's for your hair. It'll get the tangles out better than your fingers will. Here."
Sojiro reaches up to take a lock of her hair, and she doesn't even flinch, her trust in him wholly apparent. He runs the brush through her hair, starting at the bottom and working his way up until it's smooth.
"Wow," Wakaba says in awe, marveling at Sojiro's work. "That looks way better than when I do it with a shell."
"Yup. You know how to braid?"
"Do I who the what now?"
"Turn around."
Wakaba does as he says, turning so he can reach the rest of her hair, which he pulls over her shoulders and begins to brush. It doesn't take much time to detangle it- she'd done most of the work already. Sectioning it is the hard part. He hasn't done a French braid in years.
"What are you doing to my head?" Wakaba asks, squirming. "It feels fantastic."
"Quit moving. The more you move, the longer it'll take."
"Well, maybe I don't want you to stop."
"You'll like the end result better, trust me."
Wakaba quiets down and stops moving as he works, humming whenever his nails brush her scalp. He works quickly, muscle memory taking over, and soon enough, Wakaba's hair is in a braid that looks a lot better than he'd thought it would.
"All done. Now let me take a picture so you can see," he says, pulling out his phone. He flips it open and takes a quick picture, and Wakaba turns around to look as soon as she hears the shutter.
She carefully wipes her hands on the towel again and takes the phone from him, looking at the tiny screen. Her eyes go wide and she reaches up to touch the back of her head in disbelief. "Woah," she breathes. "That's beautiful. You don't have hair, why do you know how to do that?"
"I used to have a younger sister. She'd ask me to braid her hair every night when we were younger," Sojiro explains. "So I got pretty good at it. It'll come out as soon as you get back in the water, unfortunately, but tomorrow I can do it again and bring something to tie it off."
Wakaba doesn't miss that he says used to and nods solemnly, her entire demeanor suddenly changing. "What happened to her?" She asks gently, studying Sojiro's expression. "If you don't mind me asking."
Sojiro lets out a long sigh. "She got really sick," he explains. "It was years and years ago. Yuuko was only 23 when she died."
"I'm so sorry, Sojiro," Wakaba says softly.
He shrugs. "No use dwelling on it now. It's not what she would have wanted me to do, anyway."
"That's a good way to think about it," Wakaba replies. "What was she like?"
"Yuuko was the best person you'd ever meet. You would have loved her," Sojiro begins. "Extremely bubbly and intelligent. Liked to pick on me, even though I was older. Something tells me the two of you together would be a nightmare for me."
Wakaba smirks at that. "She sounds like someone I would have liked to meet," she says. "Do you have any other family?"
"Some cousins I don't talk to, and an uncle who's been on his deathbed for years now," he explains. "Parents are dead. Sister's dead. So it's just me."
"I understand that," she says. "I've only got two people in my life. One of which is you."
"Who's the other person? Somebody I should be jealous of?"
Wakaba presses her finger to his lips, her nail poking into his nose. "In time," she says. "I've only known you for a month. Can't spill all my secrets to you yet."
"Fair enough," he replies. "You wanna see the rest of what I brought you?"
"I sure do."
He takes out the phone next and shows her how to turn it on and send him messages. She can read and write the days of the week as well as short sentences, so it's perfect for planning what days they'll meet up. He'll have to take it home and charge it once a week or so, but it'll do the job, and will be safe in the waterproof box tucked into a crevice in the rocks.
The dictionary she's excited for, but the encyclopedia thrills her. So much to read, and just as many pictures. Wakaba tells him she's learned more about humans in the three hours he's there than she has in the past eight years. It prompts him to ask what happened eight years ago, which she unsurprisingly refuses to tell him.
They spend a few hours reading and snacking on the chocolate (which Wakaba adores; she's never had anything sweet in her life), then he breaks out the containers of curry, hers with no spice and way too much salt, just the way she likes it. They eat in silence for a while, then Wakaba slips away for a few minutes to let some water into her gills, leaving Sojiro alone to think.
If he's being honest, he hasn't thought about Yuuko in a while. Normally, she'd pop into his head once or twice every few days, and whenever he saw the framed pictures of the two of them he had in his house. Yuuko was the only family member Sojiro still had pictures of after everything that happened with his parents, something that used to sadden him. He doesn't care much for his parents anymore, though.
Guess when you start hanging out with creatures from fairy tales, you kinda forget about normal life.
Grunting, he reaches into his bag and pulls out his lighter and a pack of cigarettes. He's always been careful not to smoke around Wakaba, worried that the smoke would bother her- breathing air for long periods was already uncomfortable enough, she'd told him.
He's through the cigarette by the time she pokes her head up out of the water again. The nicotine is making his head spin just a bit, but he's been used to that for years. What really makes his head spin is the smile Wakaba gives him as she emerges from the water.
"Guess you've gotta braid my hair again," she says triumphantly. Sojiro laughs.
"Guess I do."
Five years, one rejection, and several plastic containers of curry pass before Sojiro learns who Wakaba's other Person is.
She'd texted him the night before to come to their meeting spot early the next morning before he had to open LeBlanc, which meant early. The sun is barely up yet, and Sojiro kicks himself for not bringing a flashlight for the walk to their meeting spot. It's light enough that he can see Wakaba break the surface of the water, though, a radiant smile on her face.
"Sojiro!" She calls from across the water. "Sojiro, there's someone I want you to meet!"
He mirrors her grin, folding his arms. "Yeah?" He asks. Had she brought another merperson with her?
Another head of dark hair pokes up out of the water beside her. He can only see her eyes, but he can immediately tell the two are related. The girl looks young, maybe about 13 if humans and merpeople age the same. Does Wakaba have a daughter? One that she hadn't mentioned for five whole years?
He motions the two of them over, and they fall beneath the surface of the water. He watches as they approach, and notes that the girl has a different tail than Wakaba- hers is a brilliant emerald green, but she has the same fluke shape as the other woman. Maybe not related, then? He's not sure how mermaid genetics work.
He sits down as the two emerge, and Wakaba lets Sojiro pull her up onto the rock, while the young girl stays in the water. She looks… nervous, to say the least.
"This is my daughter, Futaba," Wakaba explains.
Sojiro grins. "I can tell. You guys are identical," he says. It's true. Same exact face shape, same eyes, same long dark hair. "It's nice to meet you, Futaba."
"It's- uh, nice to meet you too!" Futaba says, her face burning a bright red. "I've heard a lot about you. Mom talks about you a lot."
"Does she, now?" Sojiro asks, turning to look at Wakaba. She rolls her eyes. "Good things, I hope?"
"Eh, whatever fluffs your ego the most," Wakaba says. "You can come sit with us, Futaba. I don't know what they're telling you in school, but I promise, humans don't bite."
Sojiro almost laughs at that, the idea of young merchildren being afraid of humans. It's something he wouldn't expect, but he supposes it makes sense. Futaba is wary of joining them, but trusts her mother, and climbs up to sit on the other side of her and away from Sojiro.
Once she's out of the water, Sojiro can get a better look at what she's wearing. She quite literally has fashioned a Junes bag into a top, and has a sash and belt with multiple bags around her waist. Hanging off of it are all kinds of trinkets; an action figure, a screwdriver, and even what looks like a slap bracelet, all tied on with old rope and seaweed.
She detaches the action figure from her belt and hesitates, then holds it out to him. He recognizes it almost immediately as a Phoenix Ranger Featherman R figure.
"Excuse me, do you know what this is?" She asks shyly.
"It's called an action figure," he says, looking it over. It's dirty, the joints are rusted, and the figure is missing a hand. "For kids to play with. Sometimes people will collect them, too. The story this is from is called Featherman."
"Feather? Like what birds have?" She asks. He nods.
"Yup. Its a story about a bunch of heroes named after birds who fight monsters, and-"
"Tell me the story!"
Wakaba laughs. "Let him speak, Futaba," she says, as if she hasn't cut Sojiro off mid-sentence herself a million times.
"I don't know the story. It's… long," he explains. He's not going to bother explaining what a TV show is to her. "But I can try to learn some of it for you."
"Please! I'd love to know!" Futaba says, bouncing eagerly. "I've always wondered what these guys were for. I mean, I figured they were toys, but I didn't know it was a character. And they're named after birds? Do they fly? Are they humans, or are they just shaped like them?"
Sojiro grins as she asks her questions. This girl is just like a mini Wakaba, only more eager. He supposes he'll have to pick a few things up for her tonight.
"Again, I don't know all the details," he explains. "But I'll pick up some reading for you, how's that sound?"
"Sounds great!" She cheers. She reaches for something else on her belt, which she then holds out for him. "And what's this?"
He frowns at the piece of plastic. "Uh- looks like part of a wiffle ball. Another toy, this one you hit back and forth with a big stick."
The girl nods, mouthing wiffle ball to herself. She then hands him a small pouch, which contains something rectangular and heavy inside. "And this?"
He takes the pouch and opens it, and inside is quite literally one of the game systems he always sees in the store with the two screens. He cringes. Some kid must have lost it.
"This is… have you seen your mom's phone? It's kind of like that."
Futaba turns to her mother with a frown, looking confused. "What's a phone?" She asks.
"I'll show you, but you can't get it wet, okay?" Wakaba explains. Sojiro reaches behind him for the waterproof box and pulls it out of where it's been wedged between the rocks, grunting with the effort. Once it's out, he retrieves the phone and powers it on, then hands it to Wakaba.
"I use this to talk to Sojiro when he's not here," she explains. He also uses it to show me parts of the human world- look."
She navigates to their messages and finds a picture he'd taken of LeBlanc when it had first opened, and watches Futaba's jaw drop. "How did you make it change like that?!" She asks. "And- is that a real place?"
"It's done with little tiny lights of different colors. You know how the sun is a big light? It's kind of like that," she explains. "This is where Sojiro spends most of his day. It's called a cafe. He makes people food and they give him money."
She frowns. "What's money again?" She asks.
"What humans use for trading. Everything is worth a different amount of money, remember?"
Futaba quickly nods. "Right, right," she says, and Sojiro wonders just how much this girl knows about humans. Being Wakaba's daughter, probably more than most merpeople. He can't help but wonder if she'd met the other human Wakaba had supposedly known all those years ago. He doesn't know any details about that person other than they haven't been in contact in years.
"I'll bring some of my food for you next time I see you, how's that sound, kid?" Sojiro offers. "Your mom really likes it."
Futaba lights up at that. "I've had some human food before!" She boasts. "Mom saved me some chocolate you brought her once!"
"What'd you think of it?"
"Oh, it was amazinggggggg," Futaba replies. "But what I really want to try is curry. Mom always tells me about your curry, and that she's never tasted anything like it before."
"You'd like it. I never knew there were so many more flavors than fish and salt," Wakaba says.
"I want to try it now! Sojiro, bring us curry!"
He has to laugh at that. She's a demanding girl, apparently. "Next time, kid."
Futaba whines. "Mooom, tell him to bring us curry! Doesn't he do whatever you say because he thinks you're pretty, anyway?"
"Stop talking, Futaba," Wakaba cuts her off, and Sojiro barks out a laugh. Futaba, it seems, has him figured out already.
"Why don't you tell me a bit about what you like to do, Futaba?" He offers. It seems to be the right move, because her eyes light up once more.
"Oh, um, I like making things!" She says. "Humans leave a lot of stuff in the ocean, and I collect things I think are cool and make them into other things."
"You should see her back scratcher," Wakaba cuts in. Futaba shoves her arm.
"Mom, I make way cooler stuff than that now! Shut up!"
Watching these two interact is hilarious, and Sojiro finds himself wishing Wakaba had introduced Futaba to him sooner. It doesn't seem like this will be the last time he sees her, though.
The next time they meet, Futaba is with Wakaba again, and he's brought her gifts. Three Featherman comic books and another figure, this time of the pink character. It's cheap, but he doesn't think she'll even know, nor would she mind. She seems like the type of kid to just get excited over whatever trinkets he would bring her.
"I brought you something, kid," he says, pulling the figure and the books out, as well as a towel. "Wipe your hands off on this. These are books. If you get them wet, you'll ruin them."
"I've never seen a book in such good condition before!" Futaba says as she wipes off her hands. Wakaba takes the towel and wipes hers off, too, then snatches one of the comics away from Futaba. The two look at them with matching expressions of wonder, and Wakaba turns a page, Futaba oooing at the art.
"It's so colorful," she says, running her finger along the page. She points to a speech bubble. "What does this mean?"
Oh. She can't read.
"I suppose I could read it to you, if you'd like," Sojiro offers. Both her and Wakaba nod eagerly, so he retrieves his glasses from his bag.
He reads the comic, and the girls stare in fascination at the pages as they listen. Not all the jokes land, and he has to stop and explain things to them a lot, but neither of them seem to mind.
Because of their many questions and Sojiro's lengthy explanations, the sun is setting by the time they finish the second book. Sojiro's hungry, and his arms ache from staying in the same position for so long, but Wakaba and Futaba are no worse for wear.
"I should be going. I won't be able to see my way back when the sun sets," he explains. Futaba lets out a sad whine.
"Aww, do you have to? It was just getting good! Just stay a little longer, please?" She begs.
"Sojiro has responsibilities, too," Wakaba explains. "And besides, you need to be getting to sleep soon. The three of us can all talk another day."
"Aww," Futaba says. She then turns to Sojiro and gives him the biggest puppy dog eyes he's ever seen. "Please tell her I can stay up?"
"No can do, kiddo. You listen to your mom," he says, standing up. Oh, his joints ache. "I'll see you ladies again soon."
"Text me?" Wakaba asks, squeezing his hand. Well, that's new.
"Sure."
Watching Futaba learn and grow is surreal. One day, she's an awkward, curious child, and the next she's stealing his paperbacks and asking him how to talk to the girls in her pod. He never had kids, but he knows humans don't learn this quickly.
At some point, he begins looking forward to seeing Futaba just as much as he does seeing Wakaba. He very much thinks of her like a daughter, and her jokingly calling him dad one day only cements that. Regardless of what his and Wakaba's relationship is, the three of them are now a weird little family.
She comes along to almost every meeting now, and while Sojiro misses having the alone time with Wakaba… maybe that's for the best. She'd told him straight out that she doesn't feel the same way about him, and he knows that isn't going to change. Wakaba isn't romantic. He's not sure of the situation that led to her having a daughter, but… there has to be a reason she's never brought up Futaba's father.
That's why he's disappointed when one Saturday, Futaba doesn't come with Wakaba. She explains that Futaba had somehow gotten sick, and she's been mostly asleep for the past day, but waves away his concern. She'd be better in a few hours. Mermaids apparently healed fast.
"So what kinds of sicknesses do merpeople get?" Sojiro asks, fishing a box of cigarettes out of his bag and tapping it against his hand. By now, Wakaba has gotten used to the smell, but he still won't let her try one no matter how much she begs. That doesn't stop her from trying to swipe them from his hands between puffs, though
"She's got gill ick," Wakaba explains. "Makes it hard to breathe. It should go away pretty soon, though. She's never been sick for more than two days, and that was a rare case."
"Gill ick, huh?" He asks, then pulls a cigarette from the box and holds it up. "That's what this will give you. Stop trying to take one from me."
"They smell familiar, though," she says. "I want to try one. I bet they'd taste good."
"They smell familiar?"
"Yeah. Like you."
While Sojiro isn't pleased to hear he smells like cigarettes, the comment makes his face flush. Before he can decide against it, he brings it to his lips and lights it, using one hand to shield it from the wind. He takes a drag, then holds it up to her lips.
"Breathe the smoke into your mouth, then take it out and breathe in a little more air," he explains. "Then breathe it out. It's going to hurt."
Wakaba puts on a brave face and inhales, frowning at the taste. As soon as she removes the cigarette from her mouth and takes in some air, she coughs it right back out, and Sojiro immediately reaches up to put a hand between her shoulder blades.
"Oh, no, that's fucking terrible," she chokes, thrusting the cigarette back at him. "Why do you do that to yourself? Why?"
"The first time is always the hardest," he explains, taking another drag. "You get used to it. I don't want you to get used to it."
"I don't want to get used to it, either. This is worse than gill ick," she replies, then starts coughing again. He rubs her back gently, letting her get everything out, and feeling immensely guilty for what he'd just done.
"I'm sorry," he says. "I shouldn't have offered."
Wakaba just shrugs. "Gotta learn somehow, don't I?" She says. "I would never have stopped begging you if you hadn't. Now you never have to hear that from me again."
"I suppose you're right," he agrees. "You know I'll listen to you talk forever, though."
"Even when I'm so annoying it makes you want to rip your ears out?"
"That's never happened. What's gotten into you?" Sojiro asks. Wakaba grins at him, completely ignoring his concern.
"Absolutely nothing," she says. "Nothing at all."
It's impossible to know what Wakaba is feeling on any given day, and right now is no exception. Is she worried about Futaba? It's entirely possible, but she'd been so adamant about Futaba being fine earlier. If her daughter is sick, though, why isn't Wakaba with her?
"Are you sure you shouldn't be with Futaba right now?" He asks. Wakaba shakes her head.
"Nah. She needs sleep. I can't imagine she'll wake up anytime soon, either," she explains. "Futaba sleeps for hours when she's sick. And when it gets cold, you can't even wake her."
"Alright then," Sojiro says with a sigh. "I gotta admit, I miss the kid."
"You know, I'm not blind. I saw how you reacted when she called you dad," she says. "I'm glad she's got you. And that you don't mind."
"Of course I don't mind," he says. "You know I love the kid. If she needs a father figure, I'm happy to be that for her."
Wakaba hums. "We're both lucky," she says.
And then she drops her head on his shoulder.
Sojiro freezes. Wakaba has never put her head on his shoulder before. The only physical contact they share is what's necessary, one of them pulling the other up or him holding onto her while they swam. That's how it was for five years. She never touched him like this.
He doesn't even have time to question it before she asks, "what would you do if I died?"
That's like a second blow to the chest in the span of a few seconds. "What are you talking about?" Sojiro asks, turning to look at her. Wakaba lifts her head.
"What would you do if I died," she says again, and this time it's less of a question and more of a demand.
"Why are you asking me that?" Sojiro asks, raising his voice. "What's going on?"
"Answer my question, Sojiro."
"No," he snaps. "You're acting weird. I want to know what's going on."
And then Wakaba starts laughing. She's clutching her sides, she's laughing so hard. She laughs for a solid minute, and Sojiro just stares at her, stunned. Finally, she reaches up to put her hands on either side of his face.
"White as sand, like I always say," she says, grinning. "Calm down. I'm messing with you."
Sojiro lets out an awkward laugh, too, rubbing the back of his neck. It's been a long time since Wakaba has said something like that, but it's not the first time she's joked about death.
She puts her head on his shoulder again, and to her, it's like nothing even happened. But Sojiro is uncomfortable. He wants to just shake it off, but every fiber of his being is screaming at him that this is fucking weird. That this isn't the Wakaba he's known for 5 years. But he decides to say nothing.
He doesn't see Futaba at their next meeting, either.
"She's with a friend today," Wakaba explains. "She's with that little Kana girl she always talks about. I guess she kissed Futaba's cheek the last time they saw each other."
Sojiro lets out a low whistle. "Hoo boy," he says. "So she's got a little girlfriend, then."
"Seems like it," Wakaba replies. "I told her she's not allowed to date until she's 18, but I like Kana, so I'm letting it slide. I think Futaba's also thrilled that she's got a girl crushing on her for once instead of one of the boys in the pod."
A protective instinct that Sojiro didn't know he had suddenly takes over, and he asks, "you're keeping her away from those boys, right? I don't know how it is with merpeople, but human teenage boys are the spawn of Satan."
"That seems to be true across species," Wakaba deadpans. "Little shits. I don't want them anywhere near her."
"Me neither," Sojiro agrees. "So you think this Kana girl is good for her?"
"I do."
"Good. Good," Sojiro says. "Glad to hear it."
They're quiet for a moment, presumably both thinking about Futaba, until Wakaba reaches over to unzip his backpack. "Did you bring anything fun for me to eat today?" She asks, rummaging through the bag. He slides it off his shoulders.
"Just potato chips," he says. Her eyes light up.
"Ooh, you know how much I love potato chips," Wakaba replies. "The only thing other than french fries I don't have to add any extra salt to."
"You would if I'd let you, don't deny it," Sojiro teases, pulling out the bag and handing it to Wakaba. He smirks as she tears it open too fast to read the text on the bag or even smell it, then pops a chip into her mouth. Her expression is identical to the time she'd tried a cigarette, and she spits it out.
"What the hell?!" She asks, wiping her tongue on her hand. "What is that? That's not a potato chip!"
"Salt and vinegar chips," he explains. "I got you good."
"Salt and- what? What's vin- aughhhh!" Wakaba spits into the water, and Sojiro laughs. "You know I can't do strong flavors! Do you hate me?"
"Absolutely not," Sojiro replies. "This was payback for that joke the other day."
"Oh, I'll show you payback!"
Before he knows what's happening, Wakaba is pulling him into the water. He lets out a rather embarrassing scream as she pulls him under and holds him there, just long enough for him to think oh my God, she's actually going to drown me this time but not long enough that he'll run out of breath. She drags him to the surface soon enough and he gasps for air, then splashes her right in the face.
"You'd never drown me," Sojiro challenges.
"Oh yeah? Try me," Wakaba replies, throwing her arms around his neck. "I'll drag you to the bottom of the ocean if you pull that shit again."
Once again, he freezes at the sudden contact, then decides fuck it, he's having too much fun to care. He wraps his arms around her waist.
"Have you ever heard the legend about kissing a mermaid?" He asks her. "Apparently, you can breathe underwater."
"I'm pretty sure that's only if the mermaid kisses you, and you're not getting any action from me, boy," she shoots back. Before Sojiro can reply with something stupid, she dunks him back under, and he gets a mouthful of water that he spits in her face when she lets him back up.
"Disgusting," she says.
"Stop trying to drown me."
"That's what mermaids do. We find men who think we're pretty, we drown them, and we eat them. You're just my next victim."
"Who's gonna teach you about the human world then, huh?" He asks. "And bring you curry?"
"You're not the first human I've won over, you know that."
"Am I the handsomest?"
This time, Wakaba doesn't pull him under the water, just pulls herself back up onto their sitting rock and leaves him there. His eyes go wide. "Hey now, you know I can't tread water for very long," he says.
Wakaba reaches for the bag of salt and vinegar chips and pops one in her mouth, completely expressionless. "I know," she replies innocently.
"Wakaba, get me out of here, I'm serious. I'm old. I can't swim like you can."
Thankfully, Wakaba doesn't let the joke go on any longer and helps him back up onto their sitting rock. He catches his breath and pulls his shirt off over his head, then starts wringing the water out of it as best he can.
"Sorry for trying to kill you," Wakaba says.
"Just don't do it again?"
"No problem."
Futaba's not at the next meeting. Or the next. Or the next.
There's a different excuse every time. She's in school. She's feeling unwell. She's with Kana. Every time Sojiro expresses any concern, Wakaba reassures him that it's fine. She's a teenage girl, she's busy. There's a reason she hadn't come along with her for five whole years, anyhow.
With every meeting, Wakaba gets bolder. For someone who supposedly didn't return his feelings… she did initiate physical contact quite a lot. She rejected him years ago, so maybe her feelings had changed? Sojiro's not sure if he's just lovesick, but he thinks maybe they have.
She's got her arms draped around his shoulders as they silently read a book together. It's a horror novel, a genre Wakaba had come to love, and they're both extremely absorbed in it. They have very similar reading speeds, Wakaba only finishing the pages a few seconds before he does every time, so he's free to turn the pages at his own pace.
The page they're on right now depicts an extremely gory murder, the killer having just kidnapped a victim, and Sojiro can't help but cringe. "Christ," he murmurs as the killer starts removing the girl's face. "I didn't think this would get so dark."
"It's horrible," Wakaba agrees. "I'm intrigued."
"You finish the scene, then," Sojiro says, handing her the paperback. "Let me know when it's over."
"Aww, you scared?" She teases him.
Sojiro shakes his head. "I'm just not good with blood."
"Neither am I," she replies. "Blood means death in the ocean. Blood doesn't stop in the ocean."
Sojiro cringes again. "I know," he replies. "I don't wanna think about it."
Wakaba is quiet as she finishes up the scene, turning the pages at an alarming speed. He's suddenly embarrassed- maybe they don't have the same reading speed after all.
Despite the content, she seems happy enough, curling against him as she reads. It's so… foreign, but he doesn't mind it at all. He'd been so worried at first, thinking maybe something was going on with Wakaba that she wasn't telling him about, but she seems sincerely happy right now.
Suddenly, she's slamming the book closed. "Welp," she says. "That got much worse after you stopped reading."
"Oh, did it?"
"Yeah. Kinda don't want to think about it anymore. You wanna go for a swim with me?"
Sojiro shakes his head. "I didn't bring my snorkel."
"Well, if you get kissed by a mermaid, you can breathe underwater, right?" Wakaba asks. "Isn't that what you said to me?"
Sojiro immediately starts coughing, his face heating up. "What did you say?"
Wakaba laughs. "You heard me," she says. "It'll be your lucky day if you start coughing again in the water. Come on."
And then she's dropping into the water, splashing him and likely ruining the book. Oh well.
She emerges, her braid flowing behind her in the water, and reaches out a hand for him.
How can Sojiro say no?
Sojiro wakes when the waves finally reach his feet. He blinks his eyes open and is met with a myriad of reds and oranges, and the reflection of the sun on the water. Wakaba's scales shimmer just as brightly.
She's still sleeping peacefully, her head on his chest and her arm around his middle. Sojiro's breath hitches and he reaches up to smooth her hair with his fingers. She stirs, then turns her head to look up at him, opening her eyes blearily.
"Hi," she whispers.
"Hey," he replies, gently scritching her scalp with his fingernails. "I'll have to go soon."
Wakaba pouts. "You're leaving me all alone?" She asks, giving him the worst puppy dog eyes he's ever seen on her. He snorts.
"Yeah, well, if I drown, it's gonna happen either way." Wakaba lets out a quiet laugh, barely audible over the waves, and closes her eyes.
"Just a few more minutes," she says.
"The tide's rising."
"I won't let you drown."
"Wakaba," he says, pushing on her shoulder. She doesn't budge. "Wakaba, I have to open the cafe in the morning."
She stares up at him again, then rolls off of him and into the sand. Sojiro sits up and Wakaba does the same, and he leans into her side as they watch the sun set.
"Believe me, I wish I could stay," he whispers.
"I know."
"I wish I could stay with you forever," Sojiro admits
They'd gotten to a point over the past few weeks where he felt comfortable saying that. He's not sure what changed, why Wakaba is either only expressing or discovering her feelings now… but he knows those feelings are there.
She rests her head against his shoulder, and he wraps an arm around her waist, lightly tracing the scales at her sides. He can't stay much longer than a few minutes, but he doesn't want this moment to end. He wants to stay here with the woman he loves.
Love, huh? That's what he's going to call this?
"You'd better go before I pull you under the water and don't let you leave," Wakaba jokes.
"You'd never," he replies, smiling down at her. She rubs her nose against his and he touches her face, and God he wants to kiss her. He's been waiting for the right moment, and this could be it, but Wakaba pulls away before he can, shimmying into the water. Sojiro can't help but be a little disappointed.
"I'll text you," she says. Sojiro nods, standing up.
"Goodnight, Wakaba."
Need you here now please hurry
That text was enough to get Sojiro on his feet and racing out the door.
It's rare that Wakaba texts him; she's less than comfortable using the phone he'd given her for doing more than planning meetups and taking stupid pictures of the two of them. If his phone lights up with a message, it's usually Futaba, asking a question about computers or cooking or something of the like. Needless to say, this is worrying.
On my way.
The ride to Miura beach feels hours long and the walk to their meeting spot even longer. Sojiro's flashlight is flickering and he keeps stumbling in the sand, making the trip even harder.
He's never been a worrier, but now, his thoughts won't stop racing. Had another human found them? Was someone hurt? Was one of them sick? Futaba gets sick a lot, he knows that, but why would Wakaba need him if that were the case? Maybe she's just scared?
A million scenarios play through his head as he runs, each getting progressively worse. Damn, he and Wakaba need to stop reading those horror novels.
He probably wouldn't be able to stomach them after this, because the sight before him belongs in one.
The water around Futaba is red, and her skin is pale as the moon. Wakaba's cradling her head, tears streaming down her face, and she can't tear her eyes from the gash in Futaba's tail. Wakaba's arms and stomach are covered in her daughter's blood, and she's breathing so fast Sojiro thinks she might faint.
"Futaba!" he calls, stumbling into the water with the two of them. He reaches up and feels for a pulse, only slightly more relieved when he feels her heartbeat. "What happened to her?"
Wakaba doesn't answer. "You need to take her. Please," she begs, struggling to catch her breath. "I can't- she's- I'm-"
"Help me get her out of the water," Sojiro cuts her off before she can panic any more. Wakaba nods and helps push Futaba up onto the rock as Sojiro pulls her up by her armpits, murmuring an apology as she groans in pain. Dropping to his knees next to her, he shines his flashlight on the gash, feeling his head start to spin when he realizes it's deep.
Sojiro pulls a towel from his bag and wraps it tightly around her tail, wondering how much blood she's already lost. "Push on that. Hard."
Wakaba presses on the wound, causing Futaba to let out a scream that pierces the quiet. Wakaba hushes her and places a kiss on her forehead, and Sojiro takes her hand.
"We've got you, kid, stay with us," Sojiro reassures her, squeezing her hand. He looks to Wakaba. "I- I don't know what to do with her. I can't take her to a hospital. You don't know anyone who can help her?"
Wakaba takes in a shaky breath. "Just get her dry. Dry her off and take her away from here. They can't find her."
Sojiro's eyes widen at that. "Find her? Wakaba, who-"
"We don't have time. Please just trust me," she begs. "She'll heal fast. Get her dry. Keep her safe."
"How am I supposed to-"
They're cut off by Futaba moaning in pain again. Her grip on Sojiro's hand weakens and her head lolls backward.
"Shit-! Futaba!" Sojiro shakes her shoulders and gets no response.
"Oh my God," Wakaba sobs. "Oh my God."
Figuring he's running out of options, Sojiro decides to do as she says and scoops Futaba up into his arms. He's never lifted a mermaid before, and the tail certainly adds some weight- he's got a feeling he won't be able to carry her for very long.
"Get her dry," Wakaba repeats, and Sojiro nods. She wraps her arms around the two of them, burying her face in Futaba's hair, then presses a kiss to the crown of her head.
"I love you, Futaba. You'll be safe," she whispers. Futaba whines and reaches out for her.
"Mom?" She croaks. Wakaba gives her hand a squeeze.
"I know, baby. It's gonna be okay," she says with a watery smile. It hits Sojiro that this is a goodbye.
Before he knows what's happening, Wakaba's letting go of Futaba and pressing her forehead to his. She takes her shell necklace and lifts it off her shoulders before putting it around his neck, then reaches up to touch his face.
"I love you," Sojiro says. He wants to say so much more, but he knows there isn't time. He needs to get Futaba to safety.
Wakaba gives Futaba's hand one final squeeze before slipping back into the water. "Keep her safe," she says, and her head disappears below the surface.
