Chapter Text
Shuuichi toddled through the tall dune grass, his uncle holding his small hand the entire way. The grass was almost as tall as him, tickling his nose and almost making him sneeze. A big, toothless grin was on his face as he started to pull on his uncle’s arm. Why? Well, today was officially Shuuichi’s sixth birthday, and his uncle had promised to let him visit the ocean. Their small house was by the shore, but it was rare for the pair to find time to visit the wonderful shoreline, so this was one of the few moments Shuuichi could feel the warm sand between his toes. Usually, he just stared through the window at the water, imagining what kind of magical beings lived in there.
“Uncle Seiji! Come on, you’re so… slow!” He declared, stumbling over himself in an attempt to find the correct word. Although he was considered extremely intelligent for his age, he still had trouble with saying the right things at times.
Seiji chuckled at his excitement, looking down at him, “Calm down Shuu, we’re almost there, and you can run ahead if you’d like.”
Shuuichi stared up at him with the sparkling hazel eyes his uncle had, “Really?! Thank you!” Immediately after that, he ran down the dune, the wind blowing his bangs over his eyes, but the boy didn’t pay any attention to this, his mind was focused on the beautiful beach in front of him. He dashed across the sand and splashed his tiny, bare feet in the foamy water, giggling every time the tide would reach his feet.
Eventually, his uncle caught up with the young boy, smiling at his actions. “Shuu, would you like to head to the dock and eat? Then you can play to your heart’s content..!” Shuuichi nodded and dashed over to his uncle, walking with him to the edge of the dock, sitting down at the edge with his uncle. The two quickly finished their small meal, Shuuichi being overjoyed that his uncle had packed ginger tea, one of his favorite drinks, and they were back to their fun on the beach. The smaller boy dashed into the water after his uncle put dark blue shark floaties around his arms after he took off his black cap of course. Joy shined across his face, as he chased after small Minnows, but in the corner of the eye, he found something that glimmered in the sunlight. Being the small child he was, Shuuichi immediately ran after it, making a grim face as it kept moving farther and farther away from him.
“Shuu, I heard the current was strong today, so please come closer to the shore please!” His uncle called to him from shore. Shuuichi looked back at the glimmering in the distance, but quickly followed his uncle’s wish and went completely to shore.
“Uncle Seiji, what kind of animals live in the ocean by us?” The little boy inquired. He hoped that there were penguins nearby; he always thought they were cute.
“Well a lot of them don’t come by the shore, but there are dolphins, sharks, seahorses, I can’t list all of them! There are endless possibilities of what could be in the wonderful water.” Seiji explained.
“What kind of animals come to shore… then?” He asked further; surely some animals had to come close to where Shuuichi could see.
“Smaller fish, turtles, and sometimes seals come by. Not many do because they’re scared of humans.” Shuuichi’s uncle replied.
“So… nothing with green tails?”
Seiji thought for a moment, “Maybe some kinds of fish, but that’s all I can think of.”
“Oh… okay. Fishies are still cool though! What about penguins?” The six-year-old boy questioned.
Seiji almost burst into laughter at this, “Sadly, penguins don’t come over here very often, but maybe we can see them at a zoo another time?”
Despite being saddened that he couldn’t see penguins in the wild, Shuuichi was still excited that his uncle offered such a thing, and he surely would take him up on that offer another time soon.
The rest of the afternoon was filled with small activities on shore. Shuuichi had collected small pieces of broken seashells. It was difficult to find complete shells due to the rough waves, but the two boys were happy enough to be able to at least find the remnants of some. After intense searching for seashells, the two built sandcastles together, making it into a small contest. Seiji's had ‘accidentally’ fallen down, resulting in Shuuichi’s ‘castle’ winning. That is if you count a blob of wet sand with a white feather on top. The entire day was filled with other fun activities to celebrate the Shuuichi’s birthday until the little boy was tired out from a day of excitement.
“Uncle Seiji… m’ ready to head home…” Shuuichi mumbled, rubbing his eyes as he yawned. He reached his arms up, hoping his uncle would be able to pick him up and hold him close until he could fall asleep.
“It’s been a long day. Besides, you can surely come here again!” Seiji reminded the young boy, reaching to pick him up and rest him against his chest; the black cap, that was just a bit too big for Shuuichi, poking him in the chest. The six-year-old peeked over his shoulder for a moment, and he almost swore he could see that sam glimmering green color in the water. It was like he could see someone over there… he swore he could. He wanted to chase after it, but it was probably just a pretty fish he would never be able to see up close. He had a hope that it could be some sort of magical sea creature, but the pink and orange hues of the sky blended with the teal water against his own will, and before he knew it, the landscape faded into darkness, dreaming about the wondrous creatures that filled the depths of the sea, waiting to one day be discovered.
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Humans were exponentially dangerous; it was something Rantarou had heard his entire life. They hunted in big monsters he couldn’t talk to, with sharp nets to encapture anything that swam its way. The nets were silent but deadly and were almost impossible to spot. He had heard stories from other merfolk that you would be left with terrible scars if you ever were captured if you managed to escape that was. Most merfolk were destined to be victims of the treacherous nets, struggling until they bled out in the depths of the oceans alone. Those who managed to escape had gashes in their scales that would never heal, patches of scars covering their tails. He knew humans were dangerous, but he was always drawn to having contact with them, instead of hearing the long lectures about swimming close to shore. Besides, it wasn’t like every human could be vicious, especially the smaller ones. Anyways, he loved swimming close to water’s end. He could run his hands through the warm sand and find wonderous seashells. He could swim in sunlight, unlike the dark water he usually lived in. Merfolk lived far away from the shore, deep underneath the waves It sent chills through his body and he yearned to be able to leave in the warmer and lighter parts of the ocean. Most merfolk attempted to avoid humans at all costs, but not Rantarou. He would wait in the warm waters, waiting for anyone else to show up, and this day had been different from any other. While searching for seashells buried in the sand, he heard the voices of two people. At first, he thought it was just two merfolk, but he soon discovered it was actually humans. Letting his curiosity get ahold of him, he stretched out his green tail and swam closer to the pair.
The green haired male watched the small family from a distance behind a large rock. The waves splashed against him. It wasn’t often for too many people to head out to this small beach, in fact, it had been months since he’d last seen anyone, so he was surprised to see two people come so suddenly. His tail flicked as he moved a bit closer to the family to get a better view. There seemed to be a young boy around his age and a fatherly figure. He smiled while watching their happy interactions, as they built sculptures from the sand and ate the weird food he’d never seen before on the wooden platform. He’d never tell any of the other merpeople, but he had gone increasingly close to the black haired boy who had grabbed his attention. It was funny to see him chase after his glimmery green tail in the water and miss it every time (even if he was secretly hoping he would at least touch it). The green haired male never wanted the pair to leave, as he never got to see humans up close before, especially one close to his own age. He wanted to reach out and talk to them, to be able to interact with somebody different from his own age; he wanted to be able to be friends with the boy with the stunning hazel eyes and the black object on his head, but it was foolish to think such things, and his small dreams died with every step the pair took as they made their way off the shore. He longed to be able to yell for them to be back; however, he could never do such thing. All he hoped was that he would one day be able to talk to the boy, but he knew that he could never get his hopes up over something so absurd. So, with green eyes that threatened to spill, he turned his head and dove back under the water.