With a bag partially filled with two take-out containers of different flavored monaka in hand, I walked back to where the tide pool was and watched in silence as the sun finally dipped beneath the horizon, casting a brilliant orange and red glow in the sky. Yamano wasn't around, but he had warned me that he would be finished quickly if I came back to no one here.
Sitting near the water's edge, I crossed my legs underneath and took out a chestnut paste monaka from one of the containers, eating it as I watched the darkening water for Yamano. I was expecting him to be swimming actual laps, but with no one on the surface, I guessed that he had meant something else entirely.
I had just finished my treat before I saw him break the surface nearby, his hair covering most of his face before he pushed most of it back with a hand.
"Yamano! I got you some monaka, but only in the standard flavors as I forgot to ask what flavor of ice cream you wanted," I lifted the bag towards him before putting it in my lap, digging out the plastic container with his two snacks, "There's red bean and vanilla. If you don't want either of those, I have a strawberry one as well."
"Oh, thanks. I'm good with whatever you got me," He did a few breaststrokes towards the tide pool rock barrier before disappearing under the water. The next thing I knew, he rocketed out of the ocean and plopped down next to me on my left, splashing water all over me and the container. Thankfully, I hadn't opened his container yet.
"Geez...why'd you do that?" I handed him his container before looking at my own to see the remaining strawberry monaka ruined by salt water. A slight frown crossed my lips before I closed my own container and shoved it back into the bag with a silent huff.
"Sorry, it's really the only way I can get up on land without looking weird or dumb," Yamano grinned as he took a large bite out of the vanilla monaka. I glanced down towards his legs and was greeted with prominent red scales that were occasionally broken up by white stripes.
Scales?
Without thinking, I reached towards the scales covering his right thigh and lightly brushed my fingertips across them. They felt smooth, and weren't as rubbery as I thought silicone would feel. I went to touch the lionfish-like fins laying flat near Yamano's knees, but he grabbed my hand before I could reach them. I barely missed the wide-eyed emotionless stare Yamano had as he gripped my hand tightly, the pain causing me to wince.
"Ah, sorry! I should've asked first," I pulled my hand away with an embarrassed smile across my face, cursing myself for getting carried away by the realistic details in the silicone tail. If I owned a tail as elaborate as that one, I'd want someone to ask first; but here I was, touching without asking just like a hypocrite.
"It's no problem. That fin can be pretty finicky," Yamano responded after a small pause, grinning at me, "I didn't show you this earlier because I didn't want you screaming in your delirium."
"Well, it looks really well-crafted! I've always wanted to swim with a silicone mermaid tail, but they've always been so expensive. I just make do with my free-diving fins," I looked back down at the silicone tail, admiring the handiwork, "It really does make you look like a lionfish merman!"
Yamano stayed silent for a few seconds before smirking widely, "I know, right? I've been swimming with this for pretty much my whole life, so I've gotten used to how cool it looks on me."
The lights on the street far from the water turned on, and I briefly looked towards the right to see the beach patrol begin to make its way up and down the shoreline, "It's that time already?"
"What d'ya mean?" Yamano stuffed the last of his treat into his mouth, crunching the shell as he spoke.
"The beach here closes at sunset. I've got work in the morning, so I usually head home when the beach patrol comes out at night," I offered the open bag towards him so he could throw his empty container in as trash.
"Aww, that sucks. I live right on the coast, so I don't bother to walk here," He tossed it in and I stood up, rubbing the loose bits of rock off my legs and stretched.
"Are you going to be okay swimming in the dark waters?" I raised an eyebrow at his comment.
"I do it all the time. It's no big deal," Yamano gave me a thumbs up before looking at me with a quizzical glance in his eyes, "What are your plans for tomorrow? Do you come here often?"
"Yeah, I try to come here every day after work if I'm not scheduled for a dive tour."
"Great! Maybe we can swim together? I can save you from drowning again," He threw a small flirtatious look at me, and I couldn't help but scoff a little.
"The only reason why I almost died today was because I wasn't prepared for something yanking me down into the depths. I'm a capable swimmer on my own, thank you very much."
"You never know. There could be sea monsters out there, looking to drag a beautiful young woman such as yourself into their lairs," Yamano laughed a little, "I would if I was one."
"Seriously, what is it with you and hitting on me?" I rolled my eyes, "I doubt you've been with many girls, seeing that kind of attitude from you."
Yamano remained silent, the tense atmosphere from before returning, and I slightly flinched, "Sorry--"
"You don't know much about me," He sighed and slid off the rock face, slipping silently into the water, "But that doesn't mean I won't stop trying to get to know you. I'll try to swing by tomorrow, and maybe we can just explore the nearby reef."
"Sure, that sounds like a much better idea than a kiss to me," I waved behind me as I walked away from the tide pool, jumping over the now exposed terrain as the tide pulled away from the shore. I tossed the wet bag of trash into a garbage can before making my way back to my cramped apartment, almost half a kilometer away. It wasn't a long walk, and I unlocked the door with the key in my wallet.
Locking the door behind me, I quickly grabbed my mesh swimming bag and threw in my swim goggles, nose plug, and my favorite swim shirt with a matching bikini bottom before laying my long freediving fins on top of the bag. I smiled as I put the gear by the front door, before laying down on the bed and rapidly falling asleep from the exhaustion I didn't know I had.
----
Yamano sank beneath the calm surface after the young woman left to get something at a 'creamery shop' and brushed his hand over where she had touched his scales, partially surprised that she didn't ask any questions as to why he had a tail. He shuddered at the lingering sensation and took a deep breath to calm down, flexing the pectoral and pelvic fins along the tail to feel out the slow current before swimming swiftly down towards the steep drop where he had found (y/n) drifting unconscious. He peeked over the edge to see a figure swimming in slow circles, almost five meters down.
"Still furious about me stealing it?" Yamano called out clearly, propping his chin up with one arm while the other lay flat on the edge as his tail moved to counteract the undercurrent rolling in.
"It was mine -- fair and square!" The figure called out, their gruff voice cutting through the water like it was air. They swam closer towards Yamano, the purple-colored elongated guppy tail was accentuated by the purple bioluminescent shoulders and chest markings making it easier to see the male figure in the dark waters, the glow tinting the purple irises' against the black scleras in their eyes.
"Ichimatsu, I don't think you know the meaning of 'fair' while in this...mood of yours," Yamano rolled to the side as the merman tried to reach for his throat, swimming out towards open water while watching the attacking figure with an emotionless stare, "Just because it was in your territory at the perfect time doesn't mean that it was the right time to grab it. You have to wait until your prey is weakened."
"You've dragged many humans to their death, you shitty older brother! What do you care about 'perfect timing'?!" Ichimatsu snarled, swimming after him, "Go back to your territory, Osomatsu! Leave me alone and let me do what I want!"
"Leave you alone?" 'Osomatsu' turned towards the pursuing Ichimatsu, flaring out all of his fins and glaring at his younger brother, "I'm the eldest, and I was born to rule this little family. I'm the one that has to ensure that all of us survive for the next century -- and into the millennia after that! You all have lived this long because of my decisions -- my choices -- that have saved us countless times from those barbaric humans! If you want to ruin that, then fine: become a specimen in a lab somewhere, where humans will experiment on you, prick you over and over, cut you open, and ignore everything you say," Osomatsu lowered his voice from a yell to a softer tone, "Have you forgotten what they did to Karamatsu? Have you forgotten what I had to do to get him back?"
Ichimatsu flinched back at the fierce display and looked away at the mention of Karamatsu's name. Osomatsu could see the vibrant bioluminescence begin to fade, relaxing his fins and swimming closer to try and put a hand on Ichimatsu's shoulder, but the younger brother recoiled away from his touch.
"Ichi..."
"I don't care what you want to do, Osomatsu, but don't you dare bring up his name to get me to calm down again," Biting down in anger on his last word, Ichimatsu lost all glow in his skin and eyes, letting the markings fade into his pale skin color. The sclera in his eyes faded from black to white, maintaining eye contact with Osomatsu. The older brother sighed and looked from Ichimatsu towards the shore.
"Sure, I won't do it again, and I'll make it up to you by having you take my place tomorrow. The dumb human won't even notice the difference between us," A smirk crept onto Osomatsu's lips, "You can even kill her, if you want."