The King's Servant

Chapter 32

Hinata's POV

"Hi!"

"..."

"My name's Hinata, this is my boyfriend Kageyama!" I said with a smile, the merman just staring at me. I scooted closer to him and tilted my head.

"So. Were you gonna try and hit the ship, or, whatever???" I asked curiously. The merman looked away from me. Huh. I wonder if he can even talk.

"Um, if you want, I can try to talk to the captain so you can go?"

"Please take this net off me." The merman said calmly. I looked at him a little surprised before quickly getting up to take the net off him. It must be uncomfortable anyway, the net was heavy and was kinda rough.

"Hey, what're you doing?" Kageyama asked as he got up as well.

"C'mon, help me."

"What?"

"Please?? Come on, he's already on land, the least we can do is take this off of him!" I said with a pout. Kageyama sighed, looking around before helping me untangle the merman from the net. He rubbed his skin that already looked like he was drying out a bit.

"Your scales look kinda pale.. Lemme get you some water!" I said, rushing off and finding a bucket that already had water in it. It was intended for washing the deck, but, we could always get more. I dipped my hands into the bucket and cupped them. I poured some of the water onto the merman's tail  with a smile.

"Better?"

"Yes. Thank you."

"So, what's your name?"

"..Akaashi."

"Okay! What were you doing right up next to the ship Akaashi??"

"I don't know. Humans and their vessels have always interested me."

"Ohhhh, so, you came to just see the ship?"

"Mhm."

"Why didn't you say so! I bet that the captain would surely just let you go if you weren't trying to break the ship or whatever it is he said you guys do."

"Humans are not normally so reasonable." He said with a sigh. Kageyama and I glanced at each other before I said I was gonna go ask. I was kinda scared to ask Kuroo.. So! I was gonna go talk to Kenma first.

Akaashi's POV

"..So. You really just came over to see the ship?" Kageyama asked as he sat back down. I nodded, dipping my hands into the water again.

"Yes."

"Do others like you like to try and drown people??"

"What?"

"Some humans said that after you guys sink ships, you take whoever is in the water and drown them."

"There are always mer-folk who find fun in that. But most of us do not."

"Really?"

"Yes. I have brought a few humans with me in the water. But not to drown them."

"Um. You guys know we can't breathe under water like you right?"

"Yes."

"So. Didn't you kinda pull them down to drown them too?"

"No. None of the humans I brought with me have died. In fact they're still alive."

"...what." I sighed, explaining that it was easy to turn humans into mermaids or mermen. Kageyama looked at me wide-eyed. 

"Woah. Wait. You can turn people into mer-people??"

"Yes."

"But, what if they don't want to live underwater?"

"Then I can turn them back to normal."

"How do you change them??" Kageyama asked, the captain of the ship walking over and interrupting us.

"Because he's a little mermaid prince eh?" I looked up at the captain, Hinata returning with a small smile. The captain crouched down, grabbing the bucket of water and dumping it over my head. I don't know if he thought he was annoying me, but it felt quite nice.

"Okay fishy. You can go back in the water." He said with a grin. I was a bit surprised he was so easily letting me go. I was well aware of the strain between my people and his, but I was not going to complain. Hinata smiled happily at me.

"See? I knew he'd let you go!" He said. Hm. This young boy was certainly full of enthusiasm. I liked him.

"Thank you, Hinata."

"You're welcome!"

"May I give you a gift?" I asked, Hinata tilting his head. He walked over and sat down next to me. I grabbed a scale from my tail, ignoring the slight pain. Scales of a mermaid tail were of course meant for protection and sometimes got torn or sliced, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt if one came off. I placed it in Hinata's hand with a small smile.

"Keep this. If you ever wish to visit me. You may use this."

"Huh????"

"Ask your boyfriend. All you have to do is walk into the water with it and wish." I said, Hinata curiously looking at Kageyama. I took another scale and gave it to Kageyama as well. The two thanked me as the captain's crew-mates picked me up and let me dive back into the water. As soon as I entered the water, I took a deep breath and looked at the ship that was leaving.

Hinata's POV

"So. What does Akaashi mean??" I asked, sitting with Kageyama while holding the scale Akaashi had given me. Kageyama explained to me about what Akaashi had said, and I think I nearly passed out.

"Woahhh! That is so cool!" I said with a giggle, Kenma walking over to us both.

"Hi Kenma. Thanks, by the way, for talking to Kuroo!"

"You're welcome. I was quite surprised he even agreed." Kenma said with a small smile. I laughed as Kenma turned and left, looking back down at the scale. It was beautiful. Akaashi's tail was beautiful too, it was a really nice, deep blue color. 

"It was really nice of Akaashi to give these to us. But, I'm afraid I'll lose it.." I mumbled. Kageyama tilted his head before asking to see the scale. I handed it to him curiously and watched as he got up. Kageyama said he would be right back and walked off. I wondered what he was up to??