Chapter Text
It was a sunny day the first time Suguru saw him, the human pup.
The human pup looked to be around the same age as him, but he was the complete opposite of Suguru. While Suguru had long hair and eyes the color of ink, the human pup had short white hair and eyes blue like crystals. The biggest difference between them though, was that the human pup was human, and Suguru was a siren.
From the safety of a cave, Suguru watched the human pup sail by his home, a small island of rocks with underwater caves. The boy was looking over the side of the ship, grinning as he passed by, unaware of Suguru’s eyes on him. That was the first time.
The second time was in less than a moon cycle, but just like before, the human pup was looking over the side of the ship, grinning as he sailed by. The third time it happened, with the same timeframe of less than a moon cycle, Suguru became suspicious that this would become a regular occurrence.
The fourth time, he was caught watching the human pup by Shoko, another pup from his pack. They were expressly forbidden from going to the surface while humans were nearby. Humans were dangerous, so surface-dwelling near humans was for fully grown sirens. That didn’t stop Suguru, or apparently Shoko, who became his surface buddy after catching him.
They would swim to their designated “Human Watching” cave every time the ship with the human pup would sail by. It became their routine.
Until today.
“Shoko, come on! The ship’s going to sail past soon!” Suguru exclaims, grabbing the other pup by her arm.
“It’s not like we need to rush, we’re just going to see the same thing we always do, “Shoko huffs out, “the human pup you obviously want to give a shell to.”
Even in the cold of the water, Suguru feels his face heat with a blush, “that’s not even true. I just think the human has weird, cloud-looking hair.”
“Sure,” she giggles, “just like you don’t keep track of the moon cycle so you know exactly when the ship is coming so you can see him.”
“If anything, I want to lure him, like a grown siren,” Suguru nods confidently, letting her go to cross his arms, trying to convince himself and his friend of his words, “though, I do wonder why the elder sirens let that ship pass, unlike others,” he finishes, trying to move away from his odd curiosity with the human pup.
“I think about that sometimes too,” Shoko hums tilting her head, “but I still think you want to give the human pup a shell,” she snorts a laugh before bursting past him as she swims away toward their “Human Watching” cave.
Suguru chases after her, tail swishing back and forth quickly, easily catching up to her within seconds.
“You’ve gotten a lot faster,” he hears her point out, and it brings a smirk to his face.
“My carrier said I have a tail shaped like when the moon is less. Says it’ll only make me faster as I grow,” he replies proudly.
“Now you can get to the cave faster to watch the human pup,” she adds.
Suguru scrunches his face like he’s disgusted by the thought, “would you ever give a human a shell?”
“Probably not,” Shoko shrugs, “there’s a reason we’re not supposed to be near the surface when humans pass. They’re dangerous.”
“Then why do you come with me to watch?” Suguru asks, confused.
“Because I’m still curious,” she says, “we know barely anything about humans besides them being a danger, but there has to be more than just danger, right?”
Suguru thinks about it. Is there more to humans than just them being dangerous? The human pup didn’t seem dangerous. Suguru is quite fascinated by him, but he’d never admit that to Shoko even though he knows she knows. The human pup seems to like the ocean, and maybe he’d like what’s in it too? Maybe they could be friends?
Once they make it to their cave, they settle, waiting for the ship, and like always it comes.
Suguru waits, eyes searching, until they land on the familiar face. There he is, the human pup, leaned over the ship, grinning. It makes Suguru’s heart flutter, and a small dopey smile slips onto his face, unrealized by him.
“I wonder what they do. Why do they keep passing through here?” Shoko questions aloud.
Suguru hums softly, “the elder sirens probably know.”
“And they don’t tell us anything because we’re pups,” Shoko groans, and when Suguru looks at her he sees her with her arms folded on a rock, head resting on them as she watches the ship.
When he looks back to the ship his eyes land on the human pup again, only to be met with crystal blue staring back at him. The grin has fallen from the human pup’s face, replaced by shock, and Suguru freezes. There’s no way the human pup is looking at them, at him.
“Hey, Suguru,” Shoko calls.
“Yes,” he whispers faintly, eyes still locked with crystal blue.
“Is the human staring at us?” She asks.
“Yes,” he answers.
“We should leave,” she voices back, “we need to leave.”
But Suguru’s not listening, instead he swims towards the edge of the cave, only being stopped by a hand on his wrist.
“Suguru, if he tells the grown humans, we could be in serious trouble. We need to leave!” Shoko urges, and it snaps Suguru back to the reality of the situation.
They just got caught by the human pup.
But…
He’s not doing anything. He’s not calling for anyone. He’s just staring, and Suguru watches as shock turns into curiosity on the human pup’s face.
“Suguru,” Shoko pushes, “come on.”
And before Suguru leaves with her, he raises his hand to offer a wave to the human pup then turns and leaves, not staying to see if he waved back.
“You’re an idiot,” Shoko tells him when they’re back in the safety of the underwater caves, “you were about to go out into the open like a big, dumb idiot.”
Suguru trills quietly as a bout of shame washes over him. He hadn’t only been putting himself at risk by doing that, but Shoko as well, “I’m sorry,” he whispers.
“If you really want to meet this human pup, we’d have to follow the ship wherever it goes, which means sneaking out and leaving the island,” Shoko huffs, “but that’s risky, and your human pup isn’t worth the risk.”
Suguru shrinks in on himself, “I don’t want to meet him,” but his words don’t sound convincing, even to his own ears.
Shoko doesn’t respond to that, but she does side eye him.
The rest of their swim is quiet, and it’s not long till they separate to swim back to their own pod caves. Suguru waits and watches until Shoko is no longer in his sight, but instead of swimming back to his pod’s cave, he swims back to the “Human Watching” cave. When he gets there he hoists himself up to sit on a rock with part of his tail still in the water, gently swishing back and forth. He looks out to the open water, eyes traveling the path the ship takes.
He thinks about the human pup, the look on his face. How there wasn’t fear but shock and curiosity. He looked at them in awe as if they were a wonder. It made Suguru crack a soft smile as he thought about it. The human pup was cute, not that Suguru would ever say that aloud, and maybe, from time to time, he thought about giving the human pup a shell. Would he accept it? Would he like it? The more Suguru thought about it, the more he wanted to try. Maybe the human pup wasn’t like other humans. Maybe he wasn’t dangerous like the rest. Maybe Suguru would follow the ship next time, with or without Shoko. The humans on the ship couldn’t be that dangerous if the elder sirens let them pass freely, right?
Suguru thinks on it as he begins to sing quietly, his voice echoing lightly through the cave and carried by the current into the open. He’s been practicing his song, the one he’ll use on humans to lure them in when he’s a grown siren. He hasn’t let anyone hear it yet, not even Shoko or his carrier, but maybe he’d try it out for the first time on the human pup, to lure him so they can meet. He doesn’t know if his voice is even strong enough yet to lure, but he could try.
He knows it’s a silly idea, to follow the ship and try to lure the human pup to meet. He could be caught while following, his song could fail, his voice could be weak, and the human pup could be just as dangerous as the grown humans. Shoko was right about it being risky, but to Suguru, she was wrong about its worth. He thinks it’ll be worth the risk to finally satisfy his own curiosity and meet the human pup that’s taken up space in his head.
He continues to think about the human pup for a while, eventually laying on the rock as his mind becomes engrossed in thought. He lies there until his eyes begin to droop, and he takes one last look out into the open water, where night begins to fall, and the moon begins to shine, casting a gentle glow on the surface. He stares out, eyes slowly beginning to close, and the last thing he thinks he sees before rest consumes him, is a silhouette of something in the distance.
The first thing Suguru notices when he wakes, is the early morning sun that’s beginning to rise. It’s a beautiful sight he rarely gets to see, and it takes a second to realize that he’s not in his pod cave and still at the “Human Watching” cave. His sire and carrier were going to kill him.
Snapping up, he quickly dives into the water, swimming back to his cave in a hurry, only slowing down as he gets close, so as not to alert his guardians. When he reaches the entrance of his pod’s cave, he quietly enters, trying to sneak to his personal cave, and he was almost there when-
“And where were you Suguru?” He hears his carrier ask behind him.
Suguru freezes for a second before slowly turning to face his carrier, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you worry, I was just out…in a cave” he apologizes, hoping to not be questioned further on his whereabouts.
His carrier shakes her head with a smile and sighs, “I’m just glad you’re safe, but you can’t stay out all night like that, especially in caves at the surface.”
Suguru’s eyes widen, “how did you-“
“I know you enjoy the surface,” his carrier cuts in with a soft laugh, “I don’t know which cave you chose, but I do know that’s where you’re going, and it worries me because you never know when a ship will come through, and humans are very dangerous, so no more sleeping in caves at the surface. Understood?”
Suguru gives a small nod, “yes, carrier. I’m sorry again for worrying you.”
His carrier drifts over to him and kisses his forehead before placing a hand on Suguru’s cheek, “you will always be my little songbird, no matter how big you get, so I’ll always worry about you,” she says with a small smile, “even when you’re a grown siren, you’ll still be my little songbird.”
Suguru’s lips tilt up slightly as he speaks, “I’m not a guppy or a songbird anymore, carrier. I’m a pup and almost a full grown siren.”
His carrier snorts at that, “you’ve still got a few years before you’re fully grown, but as I said, even when you are, you’ll still be my little songbird.”
And Suguru hugs her, arms holding his carrier tightly. She’s always been soft and lenient with him, even when his sire is ready to restrict him to his personal cave for eternity.
“So, we’re surface-dwelling at night now as a pup?” He hears his sire’s voice come from behind him, “do you want cave restrictions because I’ll stand guard and make sure you don’t worry your carrier anymore.”
“Don’t listen to him, he was just worried like I was,” his carrier whispers to him with a quiet laugh, making Suguru giggle quietly. He loved his guardians, his pod.
Truthfully, Suguru thought he’d be in more trouble, but his guardians don’t know that he goes to the surface when a particular ship passes, and he’s sure they’d be more furious if they ever find out.
Another cycle of the moon is almost complete, which means Suguru will see the human pup again. Will this time be different after the last time? He doesn’t know, but something inside him is telling him it will be.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea. We were spotted last time,” Shoko whispers to him as they swim in a large pool cave with other pups swimming and playing around them.
“You don’t have to come with me, but I’m still going,” Suguru whispers back, “and besides, if the human pup wanted to tell the grown humans he would’ve, but he didn’t.”
“You don’t know that,” Shoko hisses with annoyance, “what if he said something after they passed by? Then what? You’re just going to get yourself killed, and as fun as watching the humans has been, I’m not risking my life to see them if they’ve spotted us once, and neither should you. They could even try to come hunt us.”
And Suguru knows she’s right. He doesn’t know if the human pup said anything after they left, but he wants to know, “then don’t come,” he says, “just cover for me.”
Shoko gives him the look she always gives him, like she’s tired of his sharkshit, “I hate you, you know that?”
But Suguru just grins as he scoops her up to twirl her around, “you’re the best, you know that?”
And Shoko scoffs, pushing at his arms to get out of his hold, but there’s a tilt to her lips, “yeah, I know,” but then she looks at him seriously, “just be careful, okay? I actually care about you, you big dummy.”
Suguru chuckles, flicking her in the forehead, “you could still come with me,” he offers, “I may need your protection.”
Shoko lifts an eyebrow at that, rubbing the spot he flicked, “protection? Nuh uh, I’ll just watch you get taken.”
“Wow, Shoko. I can feel the love,” he snorts.
“Glad you can feel it,” she snickers before adding, “and it’s already past midday, your ship is going to be coming soon, so if you want to go, you should probably go now.”
Suguru nods, excitement stirring in his belly at the thought of possibly interacting with the human pup, “I’ll see you later then,” he says with a wave before making his way out of the pool cave.
“And you better come back, or else,” is the last thing he hears her say before he’s out and swimming to the “Human Watching” cave.
Suguru waits with only half his head out of the water, eyes scanning the vast expanse of ocean. He waits as he sees a set of sails come into view. He waits and watches the ship as it begins to pass. He waits until he spots a familiar head of white hair, and he emerges out of the cave slowly. He’s never been in the open water before, and his heart races as he ventures out.
The human pup is leaned over the side of the ship again, but he’s looking in Suguru’s direction, eyes searching for something.
With a deep breath, Suguru rises from the water, his head and shoulders completely out, and when crystal blue locks onto him, he freezes. He waits.
He watches as the human pup’s eyes widen, mouth hanging open, and Suguru decides to wave at him. It makes his stomach feel light, and when the human pup returns his wave he cautiously swims closer. He watches as the human pup looks behind him and then back to Suguru, motioning for him to come closer.
It’s as if the human pup is the siren and Suguru the human, the way he wants to listen. And he does. He creeps closer until the waves from the ship’s movement roll over him.
He holds eye contact with the human pup, smiling up at him before twirling in the water as he swims alongside the ship. The human pup smiles at him, eyes bright with wonder, and the light feeling in his stomach returns tenfold as heat creeps to his face.
The human pup motions for him to continue to follow, but Suguru realizes he’s already farther out than he’s ever been or should be. He looks behind him to see how far away the “Human Watching” cave is, and it’s further than he thought. His mind tells him he should go back, but his curiosity and want to know more about the human pup, begs him to follow, and that makes him turn back.
With a deep breath Suguru follows the ship, entertaining and engaging with the human pup silently as he swims beside it. At one point, the human pup motions for him to go down, and Suguru hides in the water as he swims, seeing the blurs of grown humans through the water, and when they disappear he rises again.
It continues like this for a while until an island, bigger than Suguru’s ever seen, appears in the distance. The ship sails towards it, stopping right before it would crash, and Suguru hides under the weird brown cave it sits beside. He hears humans on it, many humans, and when the sound dies down, the sun is already hanging low with the sky colored yellow and pink.
Suguru carefully peeks out from under the weird cave, looking at the island. He sees humans, more than he’d ever thought there could be. A nervousness brews at the sight, and he begins to feel like maybe this wasn’t a good idea.
“Hi there!”
Suguru startles at the voice, whipping his head up to see the human pup staring down at him, smiling brightly.
He hesitates before shyly saying, “hello.”
“I didn’t know mermaids really existed,” the human pup says, “I thought it was just something sailors made up.”
And Suguru’s face scrunches at that. Mermaid? How dare he think he was a mermaid!
“I am not a mermaid! I’m a siren!” He clarifies loudly, instantly regretting it as he remembers he’s in human territory and by himself.
The human pup looks away to the side for a moment before looking back to Suguru, “follow me,” and then the human pup is running to the rocks lining the island, carefully making his way down to the sand and running away.
Confusion fills Suguru, but he follows, swimming alongside the human pup. When he stops, Suguru stops, waiting in the water.
“Come closer!” He hears the human pup yell, and Suguru swims closer until his tail lays uncomfortably in the sand from the shallow water. The human pup shucks his boots off and walks into the water, right up to Suguru.
It makes Suguru’s heart pound when he looks up and sees the human pup staring down at him. He’s never been this close to a human, he’s never even been close to a human, yet here he is within arms reach of one.
The human pup sits in the water in front of him, his human legs bent with his arms behind him, “you were too loud back there. Do you want to get caught?”
And Suguru clicks at him in annoyance, “no, but I’m not a mermaid. I’m a siren. I lure humans,” he huffs, crossing his arms, knowing he’s never lured a human yet, but the human pup doesn’t have to know that, “so, are you trying to get caught? Do you want me to lure you and become my food?”
The human pup tilts his head, staring at him, “you can try.”
Suguru’s eyes widen slightly in shock before narrowing, “okay, fine,” and he begins to sing.
At first, it seems like it’s working. The human pup’s eyes bore into him like he’s mesmerized, but then the human pup gives him a lopsided smile.
“Your voice is really pretty. I like it.”
Suguru stops, mouth open, face on fire, “you’re supposed to get in the water!”
And the human pup’s brows draw together, “but I am in the water?”
“That’s not what I mean!” And Suguru tries again, singing his song to try and lure the human pup.
Again, it seems as if it’s working, but then the human pup reaches a hand up and taps him on the nose, “are you sure you don’t just want to sing?” He says with a small smirk gracing his lips.
Suguru blinks, staring at the human pup. He just touched him. The human pup touched him, and his hand comes up to touch his nose, “why did you do that?”
“Because you’re cute,” the human pup laughs, “and I like you. We should be friends.”
Suguru doesn’t know how to react, so he reaches out and taps the human pup’s nose in return. He touched a human, “okay. We can be friends, but one day my lure will work!”
The human pup laughs again, eyes crinkled, smiling brightly, “I can’t wait!”
It makes Suguru’s stomach twist and turn, his heart flutters, and if he wasn’t sure about wanting to give the human pup a shell before, he was now.
“So, what’s your name?” The human pup asks, “mine’s Satoru.”
“Satoru,” he repeats back slowly, finally having a name for the human pup he’s watched every moon cycle, “mine’s Suguru.”
“Well, siren Suguru,” Satoru begins, “I think you’re very cool, and I’m glad we can be friends because I’m also very cool,” he nods, tapping Suguru on the nose again.
And heat rises to Suguru’s face. He just became friends with a human.
“Suguru, you cannot just leave the island!” His carrier says with worry and anger, the feather-like fins on her arms flaring out, “do you know how dangerous that is?”
Suguru feels his heart break at his carrier’s tone, “I just wanted to explore,” he responds quietly.
His carrier clicks at him, arm fins lowering as she calms, “I know you’re growing and want to explore, but not telling me or your sire and going alone is not how you do it.”
This makes Suguru pause for a moment, “so,” he begins, “if I- if I tell you when I’m going to explore and bring another pup with me can I still leave the island?”
His carrier sighs and looks to his sire, “what do you think?”
His sire looks from his carrier to Suguru then back to his carrier, “I don’t think we can stop him,” he says, “but,” he adds, “we do need to lay down some rules.”
His carrier nods and looks back at Suguru, “if you can abide by the rules we give, you can explore.”
Suguru trills happily, doing a flip of excitement.
“And you always have to have another pup with you.”
“I’ll bring Shoko with me, as long as her guardians are okay with it!” Suguru says excitedly, “thank you sire! Thank you carrier!” And he hugs them tightly, “I’m sorry for always worrying you.”
“Mhm,” his carrier hums, squeezing him back just as tightly, “my little songbird is really growing up.”
And Suguru knows that if his guardians find out what he’s really exploring, they’ll never let him leave the island again, but it’s worth it.
He made a new friend, and not just a new friend, but a human friend.
Satoru.
Satoru, his human friend.