"This doesn't concern you or the Port Mafia," Dazai said as he pulled Chūya closer to him.

"It concerns the Navy, and we do work for them, remember?" Akutagawa said with a frown. "But what is this thing supposed to be?"

Dazai felt Chūya's smaller body tremble a little under his hands. "His name is Chūya, and he's a new crewmember of the Ada," Dazai tried to sound strong as he spoke. He couldn't show Akutagawa how rattled his appearance had made him.

"Why should I believe that line? He's obviously something other than human. That hat does nothing to disguise his abnormal features. What is he?" Akutagawa stood with his arms crossed over his chest, staring at them. There was no one around other than him.

"You came here alone, so this is to satisfy your own curiosity," Kunikida said as he pushed his glasses up his nose.

"Perhaps." Akutagawa turned and coughed into his hand for a moment. He then looked back at them. "Perhaps this is the first of many people to come."

Dazai shook his head. "I don't think so. I don't think you trust the Navy either and that's why you're here. You want to know what they're hiding just as much as we did." Dazai didn't know how to convince Akutagawa that this was something that he should leave alone.

"What do you plan to do with him?" Akutagawa asked, shifting where he stood.

"I plan to let him do what he wants rather than being kept in a giant fish tank," Dazai said with a sigh. There was no reason to lie to Akutagawa. He was, if nothing else, not a liar. At least about this.

"Please. You, doing something that magnanimous without getting something out of it?" Akutagawa snarled at him, resting a hand on the saber at his side.

Dazai smiled at him. "You've never once beat me one on one, it won't change now. So, pull your saber if you wish, just know I won't go easy on you like I usually do."

Akutagawa snorted and shook his head. "Why waste my time on such a trivial matter," he moved his hand away from the saber. "Take your thing and get on your ship with it."

Dazai didn't waste time, he moved past him toward the gangplank, shuffling Chūya along with him. Kunikida walked watching behind them, still wary of Akutagawa and wondering if he had been alone. Once all three were on board, they went to the captain's quarters to introduce him to their new friend and hopefully crewman.

"Enter," Fukuzawa yelled out when Dazai knocked on the door.

"I've brought him to the boat," Dazai told him as he pulled Chūya into the room. He looked up at Fukuzawa from under the brim of the hat he wore.

"I see that. What is it that we are going to do with him?" the captain wondered out loud as he stared at him.

"Well, we can't take off in the middle of the night; that would be suspect to the Navy," Dazai observed. "So, we should set off in the morning like we planned."

"Wouldn't it be easier to let him swim off from here now?" Kunikida pointed out.

Dazai tightened his grip on Chūya's shoulder. "But he's decided to be a crew member, haven't you?"

Chūya looked up at him with those gray eyes and he felt his heart do a little bit of a flip in his chest. "I want to stay with Dazai," he said, a light blush rising to his cheeks.

The captain sighed and shook his head. "Always making things difficult for me, Dazai. Tell me, what can you offer the crew?" he asked.

Chūya looked up at him and swallowed nervously. "I can help find good fishing spots and can also help when you need to explore under the water. I am fast and capable. I am learning how to use my legs, and I think I can do a lot to help the ship."

Fukuzawa sighed again. "Alright. We'll just have to be more careful when we put in to port from now on. When here, he stays on the ship or out in the deep water, that way the Navy won't get wind of him being anywhere near where they were looking. The disguise is good, though. With the hat, from a distance, he looks human enough. Up close, though, he's easy to pick out as different."

"We just have to keep Navy away from him," Dazai pointed out as he squeezed Chūya's shoulders again.

"Very well, take him down below for tonight. You can share your room with him, can't you, Dazai?" the captain inquired as he looked at the pair.

"Of course!" Dazai said as he smiled at him.

Dazai then led him down below deck and to him room. He was lucky and had one to himself. He smiled at him as soon as the got into the room and closed the door.

"That was exciting," Dazai said and turned him enough that he could slam Chūya's back into the door, leaning forward and kissing him deeply.

"Yes," Chūya huffed. "What are you doing, dumb human?" he muttered.

"I told you, that was exciting," Dazai said again, sliding a hand down and squeezing the front of Chūya's pants. "And you seem to be excited too."

"Here?" Chūya asked, eyes widening a little.

"Hmm, here," he said as he leaned forward and began licking at the gills on his neck.

"St-stupid human Dazai!" Chūya said with a growl, but he was already melting to the touches he was receiving.

Dazai puled off the hat first and ran his hand over Chūya's red hair. He hummed as he laid kisses on his collarbone, pausing to leave a mark on him. He would claim him for everyone to see as well. There was only one person to which Chūya belonged to now, and that was him. He carefully leaned back and began unbuttoning the white shirt he was wearing. Chūya's gray eyes were blown wide, and he was starting to pant. It seemed that Dazai had turned his merman into a little bit of a fiend. He untied the pants string and pushed the linen material off his hips.

"Are you sure?" Chūya breathed out as Dazai reached down to grip him.

"Are you sure, you're already like this…" Dazai murmured against his neck.

"But won't they hear?" Chūya gasped, wriggling under Dazai's touches.

"Be quiet, if you can," Dazai told him as he began to stroke him firmly for a moment.

Dazai's hands reached up and gripped Chūya's face and pressed his lips to him. Chūya breathed out and felt his hands slide down his back and grip him on the ass. Dazai reached down and grabbed one of his legs and pulled it up. He then slid his hand underneath, finding his way to his entrance and pressed two fingers into him at once. Chūya arched a little and gasped out.

"You're already used to it," Dazai whispered against his skin.

He whimpered as he ground down on Dazai's hand. He pressed his fingers deeper until he heard Chūya make a choked sound. He was impatient though. Running into Akutagawa had flared up his protective streak he didn't realize he had and now he intended to claim his merman. He sucked at his throat, finding that he, like humans, had an Adam's apple. He pulled his fingers out and dropped his leg back down to the floor. Chūya stared at him, eyes unfocused as he struggled to stay on his feet. Dazai was going to try something different this time…

He picked Chūya up suddenly, pulling his legs around his waist and freeing himself from his own pants. He pressed his back into the door and positioned him to drop down on him in one move. Chūya slid down and gasped out against his shoulder. Dazai felt his teeth scrape against his cloth covered skin. He was whimpering in a little discomfort, but that would soon fade, Dazai knew. He let gravity help pull him down while he thrust up into him.

Chūya's head fell back against the wall and he gasped out as their bodies rubbed together, his own harness trapped between them. Dazai could feel the wetness soaking into his shirt from him leaking so profusely.

"Ah, you seemed to have decided you like this part," Dazai muttered, slamming upward into him, causing him to release a choked cry. "You better be quiet, or everyone is going to know what you're doing right now."

Chūya's hands clutched spasmodically at Dazai's shoulders as he pressed backward into the door. He bit down on his bottom lip and whined low in his throat. Dazai nearly was set of by that alone as he growled and kept up with the pace that had Chūya releasing such luscious little sounds in his attempt to keep quiet.

The strain of the position was starting to get to him, Dazai knew. He couldn't hold him like this forever, so he needed to finish this or drop to the floor. Honestly, he didn't want to lay down on the floor, so he angled himself until he struck upward into Chūya's sweet spot hard and made him nearly come on the spot. He couldn't move his arms where they were locked holding him up under his ass, so he leaned forward to cause more friction against Chūya's leaking arousal. He gasped out and pulled Dazai closer to him, wrapping both arms around his neck and whining into his shoulder again. Dazai felt him clench as he came, and he gasped himself because he was close enough that it was just a second before he felt himself going over the edge as well.

Panting, Dazai moved and dropped Chūya's legs down to the floor. Chūya's legs wouldn't hold him, so he just crumpled into a heap right there where he'd been pinned to the wall. Dazai leaned close and captured Chūya's lips in another kiss, taking his time and exploring the merman's mouth fully. He leaned back, leaving Chūya panting and staring at him.

"I don't want you to leave me," Dazai said with a suddenly sad expression. "I want you to stay on the boat with me. We'll manage it, somehow. We'll figure out ways to keep you safe. I don't want to let you go."

Chūya searched his face as though looking for any sign of falsehood. He seemed to find none, or none that he would have understood. "You are my mate, now. I cannot leave you."

Dazai smiled, cupping his face gently. "That's good, because I want to spend more time with you more and more."

Blushing, Chūya turned into Dazai's touch and hummed. "I wonder if the world will be okay with me in it."

"The world is better with you in it," Dazai confirmed, leaning in and kissing him again, this time a soft, chaste thing. "I'm better with you in my world."

"But the Navy, they'll always be after me, won't that put your ship in danger?" Chūya asked with a frown lining his face.

"Don't worry, we'll figure ways around that, and you can always swim in the ocean if you need to get away from the boat for a while. Swim out deeper than they can go, and you would be able to elude them. You only got caught because you came to the shallows, right?" Dazai tucked stray hair out of his face behind his ear.

"Yeah, I was curious about the humans and the Dry World. But after I was caught I don't think I want to be a part of the Dry World again," he said with a shake of his head. "Too many bad things there to cause me problems."

Dazai grinned at him. "You can be free on the sea with us," he told him, then leaned forward and embraced him in a tight hug. "Here, let's get you dressed again, and I need a clean shirt…"

A few minutes later, both of them stood dressed. It was time for sleep, though, so Dazai strung another hammock for Chūya to sleep in and then climbed into his own. Chūya managed after a little struggle to get into the moving bed and was asleep before Dazai. Dazai laid there and stared at the ceiling and wondered just what they were getting into with this. He was likely going to be pursued no matter where he went. There was just no two ways about that. It was inevitable. At least if he were on the Ada, then he could be safe some of the time. And Dazai really didn't want to give him up.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Chūya groaned when he felt the world sway around him. He liked the hammock thing that Dazai put up for him to sleep in. It seemed to be good and moved with the ship when it was tossed with the waves. It reminded him of sleeping under water. He blinked his gray eyes and came awake fully. He glanced over at the next hammock and saw Dazai was still sleeping.

Was this really okay? Finding a mate that was not from the sea?

He knew that there was a way to do things that was right and a way that was wrong, but he had to wonder if he was doing things the right way. How it would play out was something that he didn't know, and he didn't know what to make of what Dazai had said. Stay on the ship? How could he do that?

He rolled and tried to get out of the hammock, only to find that getting out of the thing wasn't as easy as getting in. He grunted as he flipped the stupid thing and fell to the floor with a thump.

"You okay?" he heard as he sat down under the hammock. He looked up to see Dazai looking at him.

"I'm fine, stupid human," he growled and rubbed his back where he'd fallen onto the floor.

"We should go talk to the captain about setting out to sea with you," Dazai said as he effortlessly climbed out of the hammock.

Chūya glared at him and wondered how long it would take for him to be able to do that. "I would like to do that."

Dazai extended a hand toward him and helped him to stand up. He felt a rush of heat to his cheeks and ducked his head to hide it from Dazai. He started when he felt Dazai take his hand and tug him toward the door. He followed, going up on the deck and into the bright sunshine of the day.

"Well, about time you got up," Kunikida said as he stood looking at his book. "The morning is half gone and we've already set out for the deeps."

"It was an exhausting day yesterday," Dazai said with a grin, but he hadn't let go of Chūya's hand. "I've gotta talk to the captain," he said and pulled Chūya to the cabin.

"Enter," came the response when Dazai knocked upon the door.

Dazai opened the door and went into the captain's cabin and nodded to him. "I've brought Chūya up for his tasks today."

Fukuzawa looked at him. "What are the things you can offer us?"

"He can be useful by telling us where fish are and aiding us in finding sunken treasure and more on the ocean floor." Dazai smirked and pulled him forward more.

"Well, we can certainly use that kind of help," Captain Fukuzawa said and nodded.

"You can stay with Dazai, I assume?" he asked, staring at Dazai this time.

"My room is big enough for both of us," he explained.

"Very well, tell the others that he's going to be staying on board, so they know." He went back to looking over the charts in front of him.

Dazai bowed slightly and then pulled Chūya behind him as he left the cabin. He clapped loudly, getting everyone's attention on the ship.

"Attention! I'd like to announce that Chūya here is our new crewman!"

Chūya felt his cheeks heat at everyone turning to stare at him now. He pushed the hat on his head a little tighter. He swallowed a ball of nervousness and tried to look around at all the people on the ship he did and didn't know yet. He saw the one with the silver hair from before. He forgot his name. He wasn't sure what he thought about everyone, but he would try to get along, since his mate desired it.

"Welcome aboard, Chūya," Kunikida said with a sigh. "Now, will you be able to work or be lazy like Dazai is the question?"

"He'll pull his weight," Dazai confirmed, looking at Kunikida with a glare under his hooded eyes.

"I can help with fishing," Chūya blurted, feeling like he needed to say something to them. "And with finding things on the ocean floor."

Kunikida nodded. "Yes, that would be helpful, I suppose," he muttered and turned back to flipping pages in his book.

"We're not far from the shore yet, so it isn't safe for you to go out into the sea just yet," Dazai said as he looked toward the port they were sailing away from.

Chūya leaned against the side of the Ada and looked out into the ocean.

"I never thought I'd leave the sea," he said with a long look at the waves below him.

"Well, it wasn't like you left it on purpose," Dazai told him, leaning beside him.

"But what was there for me in the sea? I was alone, but there are more like me out there somewhere…" he whispered and sighed deeply.

Dazai put an arm around him and squeezed. "We can look for more people like you."

Chūya nodded. What would happen when he met more people like him? Would they want him to leave his mate? He couldn't imagine leaving Dazai already. They were mated now and there was nothing that could break that bond. He had no idea how he knew this, but it was somehow ingrained into his very being. Somehow, he was sure that the fact they had been together was going to lead to something unexpected. He supposed that he should know more about himself, but he'd never been around anyone of his own kind to know more than those soul deep knowledges.

"What would I say to them? Others like me?" Chūya asked, looking wistfully across the waves.

"You would say whatever you wanted. You are free to do as you want with your life now. It is your own and you can do what you want. Staying, going, whatever it is you decide to do." Dazai still had his arm around Chūya and stared out into the sea with him.

Chūya tilted his head toward Dazai and sighed. "I don't care if I ever see another creature like me. I have you, don't I?" he asked, looking up at Dazai with damp eyes.

Dazai smiled, a genuine smile, and nodded to him. "You have me."

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

After a couple weeks at sea, they deemed it safe enough for Chūya to swim again. He stood excitedly on the deck, waiting impatiently for Dazai. He wanted to show him the sea, or at least a little of it. Dazai came out of the captain's quarters and smiled at him.

"We have the go ahead. As long as we stay near the boat," Dazai said as he stripped off his shirt.

Chūya stripped down without a second thought, tossing his clothes on the deck in a hurried mess. Dazai sighed and shook his head as everyone else averted their eyes from the now naked humanoid form. Chūya climbed up on the side and threw himself off into the water. Dazai held his breath for a second, just a second, until Chūya propelled himself up out of the water, his tail having immediately returned once he hit the water.

"Come on!" he yelled and motioned Dazai over the side. Dazai sighed, shaking his head as he climbed up and dropped down into the water. Chūya swam up to him and grabbed him in a hug.

"Are you feeling better in the water?" Dazai inquired. The last three days, Chūya had been lackluster and tired. Now, his face was lit up and he was excitedly swimming circles around him.

"Yes, I feel amazing!" Chūya told him as he dove down under where Dazai was treading water.

"I'm glad." Dazai wasn't going to admit to it, but he'd been quite worried about his merman.

"I felt like I was never going to swim again!" he exclaimed, diving down and splashing Dazai with his tail.

Dazai was caught by how beautiful he was in the water. In the tank, he had seen him, but now was different. This was his natural world, and the natural state for him. It was a sight to behold. Dazai treaded water as long as he could while Chūya swam near him. Finally, he was beginning to tire.

"Chūya, I need to go back to the ship, I grow weary," Dazai called when he came back up to look around.

"Okay!" Chūya swam back toward Dazai and helped him on the lift to take him up out of the water. He then followed him next, having no difficulty on the lift when it was dunked under the waterline. He rolled off the side into the boat with a loud thump. His tail was longer than his body normally was, making him bigger than most the humans on the ship lengthwise. He sat up, pulling his tail up around him to wait until he dried off again.

Dazai lay on the deck panting. "That was exhausting. Are you not weary?"

"No, I feel wonderful!" Chūya said happily.

"So, it would seem that he has to be in the water every week or so, otherwise he gets sickly. That is good information to have," Kunikida nodded as he made a note in his book.

Dazai sighed and sat up. "I'll get something to dry you off faster," he told him.

He came back with a towel and wrapped his tail in it. Chūya was definitely better now that he had been. He seemed to have gotten back his energy and was feeling well again. Dazai smiled fondly at him. He was glad that he seemed to be better. After about an hour, his legs had fully returned. It had been an interesting thing to watch as his fins receded, and his tail slowly split in two. Kunikida was fascinated by it, and so was Yosano. Atsushi watched from away from him, still a bit awkward around Chūya.

Once he had his legs back, he got back into his clothes, putting his hat back on his head and smiled at Dazai. Dazai felt his heart thump in his chest and knew he didn't want to let go of him for a moment.

"Say, we've got a boat on the horizon!" Tanizaki yelled out from the helm.

"Can you tell who it is and are they coming our way?" Fukuzawa asked as he stepped out of his cabin with his hands tucked into his sleeves.

"It's the Port Mafia, and it's heading straight for us…" he called, turning back from the spyglass.

"This could be problematic," the captain muttered as he looked over at Chūya.

"Are they after me?" Chūya asked, wide-eyed.

"I don't know," Dazai said. "They may just pass us by."

"They're altering course to come right in line with us," Tanizaki said, staring through the spyglass again.

Fukuzawa sighed. "Let's keep our heading and see if we can't put some distance between us."

For a tense two hours, they tried to outrun the Port Mafia, but it seemed their ship was a bit faster and was catching up to them. Before long, they were even with the Ada, canons trained on the other ship. Captain Mori stood on the helm and yelled across.

"If you give me the creature, I'll leave you be."

Chūya clutched Dazai hard. "I don't want to go with them."

"You haven't got a choice. Hand him over or we fire," Mori said with surety.