Chapter Text
It was a dark and stormy night…
That's how these things usually start, don't they?
Except 'dark and stormy' would be a gross understatement. They should have known better, truthfully.
Should have known better than to trust the crystal clear sky and still blue waters. But heading to land meant going days out of their way and they were so close, so close they could taste it.
Living off the sea isn't easy, and living off the sea as fugitives isn't any easier. Every dime they make is either stolen or won. They only ever dock on land to slouch in the dark edges of taverns, where gossip runs thick. Rewards, bounties, lost treasures — drunken men are often the first to spill, encouraged by their idiotic idea of luck.
One man's loss is another man's treasure, as the saying goes.
And for pirates, one man's treasure is another man's prize — if he's fast enough.
And boy, are they fast.
The UA ship has a legendary reputation: a crew of pirates who can steal a block of gold right under the emperor's nose with nimble fingers — in and out before anyone's the wiser.
If one was to believe the rumors, they were ruthless. Had killed men while they slept. Only cared about treasure, and would steal any and everything.
The emperor's royal navel fleet had express orders to kill on sight if they were to ever see the red flag with it's raised fist emblem.
But the truth… the truth is a little different.
Their captain, the honorable All Might, hadn't always been a pirate.
No, he actually started out as captain of the entire navel fleet and right hand to the emperor himself.
And despite being tossed aside like trash the moment his heart had started to act up and his body had begun to wither away, Captain All Might just couldn't get rid of his sense of morale.
His ragtag crew is no better.
A group of orphans and cast-outs looking for some place to fit in and do more.
Because of this, the UA ship's crew never actually stole anything — despite the rumors. They hunt down treasures and bounties like no other and make a healthy living off of that. They kill only when they need too, which, to be fair, in this profession… is a lot.
Which is how they ended up out here, in the middle of the ocean during a ship-sinking storm.
They'd been too close to their latest treasure to turn back.
Clearly, they're all stupid.
"Reduce the sails!" Izuku Midoriya calls out, his voice muffled by the rain that battered against him. He can barely see past the few feet in front of him, where his crew-mate Shoto Todoroki is aiding in tying up the sails so as to keep them from either ripping free or breaking the masts completely.
The sound of churning water, crashing against their hull, the hard rain beating against the wood, and the thunder and lightning that cracked — the only source of illumination in the dark gray — surrounds them.
Somewhere in the distance, Izuku thinks he can hear his crew mates screaming at each other, trying to get the ship in order before a majority of them are tucked away in the more secure sleeping nook below deck.
Instinctively, Izuku knows where everyone is, routine and months at sea together has assured that. Shoto is here, besides him, where they secure the sails and the masts together. Momo Yaoyorozu and Mina Ashido should be doing the same further down the deck.
Eijiro Kirishima is near the stern, securing barrels and cannons to ensure none are lost to the turning water — or worse, injure someone as the ship rocks violently with each passing wave. Tenya Iida is in the hull, with Ochaco Uraraka, securing their supplies down below.
Having already rigged storm lines across the deck — a system made so that each member of their crew could secure themselves in the case of a wave crashing up and over their ship — Fumikage Tokoyami would now be in the hull, specifically their sleeping quarters, with the rest of the crew, staying safe.
And finally, of course their Captain is at the quarterdeck, steering the ship toward the waves, to move with the current and keep their entire ship from tumbling into the sea.
It took an incredible amount of skill, and Izuku is so grateful to have a captain as capable as All Might.
But all of this is in his mind's eye, because through the sheets of rain and the roar of both sea and sky, Izuku can barely make out the red-white blur of Shoto's hair just a few feet away from him. Instead, his focus is entirely on the wet clothes on his skin, the cold that wracks up and down his body, and his sore hands, which rhythmically pull and tug on soaked, worn rope.
It's hard to believe that just a short while ago, the sun was blue, the waters still, and the crew lazily attending to their duties across the ship, joking about how they could almost taste the gold of their next bounty.
"We've been sailing foreverrr, are you sure were getting close?" Mina groaned, draped over the mop she'd been using to clean the deck.
"Seriously, we haven't had a real meal in weeks. I'm tired of Tenya's porridge," Eijiro added from where he was laying on the deck, not bothering to move even as Mina bumped at his legs with the wet mop.
"I'll have you know, porridge is a very healthy and nourishing meal. It's filling and can keep you going for hours!" Tenya shouted from where he was pouring over the map alongside the Captain and Momo.
"But it's soooooo bland."
"What if we took a detour to a town, grabbed a bite, and maybe bought a few new pieces of clothing! I'm deeply overdue for a shopping trip." Mina smiled brightly, dropping the mop onto a still-reclined Eijiro before bouncing over to the map, ready to point out little villages they could stop in.
"I wouldn't mind taking a break too, I need to buy a salve for this sunburn," Ochako came up from below deck, her shoulders and arms a deep pink from her recent burn. For a pirate, Ochako's skin was not very happy with the long hours in the sun.
"I like porridge." Shoto said, opening the sail a little more to increase their speed.
"But we can't! We're so close," Momo's voice, as it typically was, held a soft, un-sure authority. As their dedicated map reader and wayfinder, she was their Captain's right hand. Her mind was incredible, able to think through elaborate plans and strategies. While she didn't often talk about her background and how she ended up on this crew, from Izuku's understanding, her parents weren't very supportive of her dream to enter the empire's one university and her chance meeting with the Captain had led to a different kind of freedom.
While the mid-afternoon was typically a time for them all to get their chores done and ensure everything was set for the night, half of their crew had seemingly abandoned their post to come and circle the two stacked freight boxes, which were currently acting as a table for the map. And while it was true that the captain's quarters had a proper (and very nice) table that was meant for pouring over maps like this one, Captain All Might insisted he liked to be out here with the crew when he could be, since they were a team after all.
Izuku couldn't resist joining the fray as he secured the rope in his hand and walked over to the loose circle of his crew mates. The map they looked at showed the entire empire, and he could make out the little dots that indicated the capital, Musutafu, as well as other major ports like Jaku City and Hosu City. A shiny brass compass lay in the middle of the map's ocean — which was indicated by a deeper shade of sand-gold than the rest of the parchment-colored paper. In the center of that ocean was the gentle sketching of a pen, outlining their ship's course. The harshly drawn 'X' was only and inch or two from where Momo's finger currently lay, marking their current position.
"Do you really think they're going to be there, Momo?" Izuku asked. It seemed incredible to think that after weeks — months — at sea, they were only an inch away (on the map anyway) from their goal. From the first moment Momo had slashed the wet ink of her pen across the map, Izuku had been suprised that the crux of their searching could be somewhere so entirely mundane.
The 'X' was simply a lonely point in the sea, not near any port or town. It seemed forgotten, entirely off the beaten path.
"If the myths are to be believed, mermaids like to reside where the cold ocean meets the warm sea. There are a few places where this happens, like," Momo's finger moved to point out five distinct points on the map: one to the north, near Jaku; two to the west, near Musutafu; one south-west; and the final one almost at the edge of the map, all the way to the south — and occupied by a thick 'X'.
"We know that, a hundred years ago, Musutafu was over-run with mermaids. The official texts state that you couldn't get too close to the water because mermaids often hunted by the ports."
"Supposedly," Izuku cut in, hands turning and moving with his words, his voice picking up as he thought back on what he'd read, "Mermaids moved around in pods, ten to thirty of them moving together, making it easy to take an entire ship of sailors down with their siren song!"
"Exactly," Momo pointed at Izuku, "People were almost entirely land-bound. Which is why, the emporer decided to take action, announcing a bounty for every mermaid captured and brought to him. After that, financial gain quickly overpowered any fear of mortality."
"Yeah, we showed you! We're kings of the sea!" Eijiro shouted out at the sea and Tenya grabbed him by the back of his collar to keep him from getting too enthusiastic and going overboard.
"Eh, more or less." Momo smiled awkwardly, "No mermaid has been seen, afterall, since the last one was captured near Jaku, 50 years ago."
"I wish I could have seen a mermaid, I wonder what they look like," Ochaka said.
"I heard they have sharp claws and huge shark-like teeth that they use to eat sailors!" Eijiro said, showcasing his teeth in a feral grin as if to demonstrate, his hands shaped like claws as he reached over and grabbed at Mina, making as if to bite her.
"Stop!" She shrieked, shoving Eijiro, "No way that's true! I heard they were really beautiful, like, made of gold."
"That would be highly unlikely as the gold would make it hard for them to hide in the water," Tenya's deep voice cut in, always the voice of reason.
"Aren't they just big fish?" Shoto made his way over to the table from where he'd been fiddling with the sail, his monotone voice cut through Eijiro and Mina's arguing.
"Actually, the texts say that mermaids are only half fish, and the other half a monstrous version of humanity. But most accounts are hearsay or from sailors who only caught a glimpse of something in the dark." The actual truth was that nearly every painting and book on mermaids had been confiscated by the emperor years ago, stating that people's curiosity could get them killed. Every painting but one that is.
Izuku thought back on the one time he'd been in the emporer's palace, back when he was 16. He'd been visiting the capital with his mother. While his mother had been off selling the quilts she'd knitted, Izuku had gotten lost. She'd told him to wait for her by the tavern, but he'd seen someone rob a little old woman and couldn't help the need to chase after him. It was a blur of walls and doors and people, a crack in the wall, and then he was in a garden. The smell of fresh butter and bread wafting to his nose. His stomach rumbling, reminding him he hadn't eaten yet today. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to roam through that empty door, or the empty hallways. Too much of that trip was a blur. All he remembered was the huge painting.
On the canvas, in vicious strokes of red, black, and gold was something akin to a serpent, but with a human-like body and long fingers that split off into claws. It's body was grotesque, and it was eating a man. A sailor whose body had been exaggeratedly split in half. Blood spewing everywhere in big bursts.
But none of that was what captured Izuku's attention. No. It was the eyes. He couldn't look past the red eyes. Despite it being a painting, nothing more than pigment on a canvas, he swore it could see right into his very being. Freezing him in place. It looked… sad.
Izuku didn't know how long he stood there, how long he could have stayed there, had a guard not grabbed him by the gruff of his neck and tossed him out on the street, threatening to turn him into the emporer if he didn't scram.
Safe to say he ran.
That was ten years ago.
He turned toward Captain All Might, who, better than any of them, knew about the inner workings of the empire, "Captain, you worked for the emporer for thirty years, did you never hear anything about the mermaids?" He wasn't stupid enough to ask if the captain had seen a mermaid, no one had in years, but somewhere deep inside he wanted to hear that he hadn't imagined that painting all those years ago.
The Captain, who had simply been smiling softly at them all as they argued, his frail figure hidden under his black jacket, and his blond hair tied into a low ponytail, ran a hand over Izuku's hair. "Sadly not, my boy. I was a deckhand at first, then First Mate, then Captain of the emperor's Northern Fleet. But Emporer All For One only trusted those in his inner circle, those in the Eastern Fleet. The same fleet who had long been tasked with capturing mermaids and bringing them into the capital." His expression turned thoughtful, "I heard that in the beginning they'd kept the mermaids under the palace to try and understand why they wanted to kill humans, but apparently that didn't last very long. By the time I joined, mermaids were nearly extinct and no one was allowed to talk about it much outside of that." He paused, contemplative, not even aware that his words had the entire crew on the edge of their seats. "Just like all of you, the last I heard about mermaids was when the emporer surprised everyone by announcing the new bounty."
Which was true. To people like Izuku and his crew mates who had lived their whole lives treating mermaids like myths, long since extinct, never to be seen again, the sudden bounty had been bizarre.
"I still think it may just be a distraction from the rumors that the Emporer is sick," Tenya rubbed at his chin in thought.
"Puh-lease, the emporer can't get sick, he's been around forever." In which 'forever' to Mina, meant their entire lives.
But Tenya may have a point, if the way the entire crew looked pointedly toward the Captain was any indication. Not that he said anything. But he didn't need to, the entire thing was simply too convenient.
A year ago, a rumor spreads throughout the empire claiming that the emporer is bedridden. Within a month, every major city and port is covered in fliers announcing a bounty so rich anyone who won it would be able to buy a small kingdom. Suddenly the seas were packed and no one was talking about the emperor. You couldn't sail for more than a day or two before you ran into another ship.
The ploy was so obvious that, at first, their ship hadn't been planning to partake. No one had seen a mermaid in over fifty years, not in rumors or even drunken daydreams. So, as every ship in good enough condition to sail ran to one of the four "hot spots" known for being the home of mermaid creatures, Momo and the Captain had come to the conclusion that it wasn't worth the effort to chase down a fairytale.
That was, until two months ago.
After spending the night in a sleepy port town, Momo had come running and screaming out of a shop, a piece of parchment clutched in hand as she shepherded all of them back onto their ship and into their sleeping quarters, dramatically checking behind each barrel and post as if someone could be eavesdropping. Once she'd felt secure, she'd turned to them all and announced they needed to go south, farther south than they'd ever gone, because she was going to find them a mermaid.
Now, they all stood around that very same piece of parchment. "The map I found shows a shift in the current, indicating a new, previously unknown, hot spot where the cold and warm currents may meet. I'm sure that if there are any mermaids left, they'd be here." Momo tapped her finger on the 'X'. Her brows furrowed as she added, "The only problem is knowing what we're looking for. Myths offer a few variations: monstrous half-humanoid creatures; beautiful women with golden tails; and even large fish with the ability to speak with human voices…"
"My votes on the beautiful women!" Mina raised her hand with an enthusiastic smile.
"I've always wanted to be able to talk to a fish," Shoto added with his own wistful smile.
There was a pause as everyone imagined what they could be looking for.
"And what if you're wrong?" Eijiro asked, not in any malicious way, but more so with the understanding that they were weeks away from any major or minor port.
"Then we can find a nice beach to relax on, and call it a vacation before heading to our next bounty." Captain All Might gave them all a dazzlingly big smile before shooing them away to finish their chores so that they could call it a night — although none of them would be able to sleep, their bodies buzzing with excitement from the proximity of their future wealth.
Well, turns out they wouldn't be sleeping for an entirely different reason. Now, with the sea angry and hissing salt water into their eyes and onto their cheeks, each member of the crew fights to hold onto the ship as it rocks with every wave. The crash of water against the hull is a monstrous thing that causes Izuku's stomach to drop each time the ship rises before breaking through the waves and dropping back down. His fingers are surely bloody — despite their callouses — with the force in which Izuku holds onto the rope. His toes curl in their shoes as if that will give him a better grip.
If he squints, he can just make out Eijiro's bright red hair as he crosses the deck from where he had undoubtedly just finished tying the supplies, now making his way over to the port-quarter, near the Captain, to tie up the last of the barrels. Everyone else should be safe and below deck by now, save for Izuku, Shoto, and the Captain.
"Hold on!" A voice shouts over the storm, a deep timber that nearly matches the crack of thunder. A shiver trails down Izuku's back, something in him instinctively knowing it to be the voice of his captain, indicating trouble. He looks up to see Shoto already grasping at the storm lines — pieces of rope placed across the deck for sailors to hold on to in case of a sudden wave.
Eijiro must be somewhere behind him, but before Izuku can look, he feels his center of gravity shift.
The ship's beak tilts up right, at a 20, 30, then 45 degree angle as a large wave begins to crest below them. Desperately, Izuku's already sore fingers grasp at the rope of the mast he's yet to fully secure, and holds on for dear life.
This will end one of two ways: either their Captain keeps them aligned with the wave and they ride over it; or a slip of his hand and their ship will be angled too far left or right and they'll be crushed, flipped, taken into the blue heart of the sea.
Izuku fights the urge to close his eyes. A shout may escape his lips, but in the roar of the storm and of his racing heart, it is lost entirely.
You'd think he'd be used to this by now.
His legs are weak, stiff where they hold him up, and his stomach churns as he watches the nearly black water on either side of their ship rise up. Everything is dark, and only the occasional flash of lightning gives him any indication of what their scenery looks like. What the deck looks like.
One flash and he can see a rushing wall of water in front of them.
A second flash, Shoto's eyes capture his, wide and exposing their rust and blue color. It'll be nice, at least, to be near his closest friend if all hell breaks loose. He briefly convinces himself that he'd be a strong enough swimmer to save them both.
In the darkness, Izuku is blind once again. Unable to see anything, his senses stripped to the rope in his hands, the creaking yet solid wood beneath his boots, the sound of an angry sea, and finally that indescribable feeling in your chest when you're sure you're about to die.
Then, a gruff voice shouts once more, "Here we go!" And the Izuku feels the ship falling before he sees it.
A third flash, and the ocean is coming up to meet them. Their ship landing amongst the waves.
Still floating. For now.
The sudden relief nearly has Izuku collapsing. His bowels threatening to drop right then and there with the amount of adrenaline racing through his body.
It feels amazing. To survive. To live. When seconds ago you'd been so sure of the alternative.
On the next flash, Izuku goes to smile at his friend, at their luck. But Shoto is not looking at him.
Shoto is looking past him.
It's dark and then Shoto is illuminated once more, hair soaked, water dripping down his face, his lips forming around a word — terrified. A crack of thunder steals the word away, and Izuku has never been good at reading lips. But then it comes again.
"Eijiro!"
Izuku turns, fighting the wind and shift of the boat beneath his heels to try and see what had caught Shoto's attention. His eyes squint against rain and darkness in hunt of bright red hair.
Another flash and there he is.
Pressed against a wall by two loose barrels — eyes closed, face bloody.
Izuku doesn't think before he lets go of his post and runs over, his movements zigzagged by the waves that crash against the hull. When he reaches his friend, crashing against the wall and using all his strength to try and move the barrels, a flash of red and white is next to him, helping him move them — Shoto.
Once the final barrel is tossed aside, Eijiro slumps to the floor, their hold softening his fall.
"What happened?" Izuku shouts over the roar of the storm, feeling the effort the words took, scrapping his throat raw. He feels for a pulse, but his own is thundering too loudly, it's hard to tell. He's about to ask Shoto to check when Eijiro's lips part around what must be a groan, brows scrunching in pain.
Alive.
"I was — the barrels — came loose," The words are half lost to the wind, but Izuku understands them nonetheless.
A quick additional prodding proves that nothing is broken, which is a relief as there is unlikely to be any medicinal midwife anywhere near here.
Izuku wastes no time gathering the lanky limbs of their friend into his arms before passing him off to Shoto. When the other man doesn't move, Izuku points toward the hatch and shouts as loud as he can, "Take him down to the others! It's safer there!"
"What about you?" Shoto doesn't move — stubborn as ever. The two of them sway, shifting their steps to keep from falling. It makes for a terrible face off.
"Someone has to secure the barrels and stay here with the Captain. You go, I'll be okay!" He tries to offer a smile of reassurance.
Clearly, Shoto doesn't believe him.
"I'll be back after I bring Eijiro down," He shouts while somehow maintaining his even tone. When Izuku offers a short nod of agreement — knowing Shoto wouldn't leave otherwise — he watches the two of them awkwardly and unevenly walk further down the deck where Shoto stomps on the hatch until someone opens it up and helps him down.
With not a moment to spare, Izuku grabs a rope and starts tying up the barrels, cautious to ensure none break free or roll onto him before he has a chance to tie them up. He's just getting to the last one, which had rolled from the left to the right side of the deck, bending down to lift it up and carry it back over when he hears Captain All Might shout, "Hold on, kid!"
Instinctively his fingers curl around the storm line tied to the banister, holding tight as his eyes try to take in the wave coming their way, the wave their Captain was warning him about. He looks out at the sea and can't make out one wave from the other, and then—
"Izuku!" His name ricochets off the ship, far too loud and clear for how muffled everything sounds. Somehow, his body knows where to look.
Shoto is standing half-out of the hatch, a leg braced on the deck as if he planned to run. Izuku can't imagine why at first, the barrels have been almost completely tied up and he's holding on to the storm line.
But then it becomes clear what Shoto was so worried about.
The world seems to slow for a moment in those next few seconds.
Shoto is shouting his name again, lightning illuminates their surroundings, and out of the corner of his eye, Izuku sees a flash of white racing toward him.
The sail.
The sail he was supposed to secure, the sail whose rope he had dropped in his rush to get to Eijiro before tying the final knot. That sail, comes barreling toward him.
He feels more than sees it hit him, a crashing pain in his gut. Then in his head as he falls back and hits the banister. Instinct demand he not leg go of the storm line, but the piercing agony in his shoulder as it cracks over the edge of the ship, loosens his grip against his will.
And then he's falling.
He must be, but the pain makes it hard to tell. He's barely conscious when he hits the water, the cold quickly enveloping his body and the currents tugging him deeper.
It's dark, and quiet. But he's not sure if it's the water's embrace or just that he's quickly losing consciousness.
Distantly, he's aware that he's going to die. No one can jump in to save him, not in these conditions.
He kicks his feet — or tries to — but the strength of the current ensures he's not going anywhere it doesn't want him to. His body is numb with pain and cold, and his eyes are already losing the fight with consciousness. His lungs ache with the lack of oxygen but he's too weak to even pull a breath.
Izuku has skirted death many times, as is the life of a pirate, but he's never been this close. So he really can't say if the fast and golden thing rushing toward him is real or simply a hallucination.
His last conscious thought is that if this is a hallucination, he can understand why some people believe in angels.
He fights to keep his eyes open, to try and get one blurry bleary look at the golden creature, but his vision fades to black and Izuku Midoriya is lost to the world.