Chapter Text
Kyoka was fascinated with humans.
As a young child, scales still shiny and new, she would watch them play in the sand at the beach, chasing each other and laughing. Many of them, would play in the ocean laughing, as she swam further away as to not be noticed. It was at times like this she was most at peace, watching the children make sandcastles and the mothers fret over reddening skin.
Kyoka didn’t have a mother.
She of course, once had, but she had died long ago, leaving her alone in an empty world with a pod of mermaids that wasn’t the family she wanted- needed- and a box full of human treasures.
On some days, when the rain would fall heavy and relentless, Kyoka would retreat back to her grotto and push back the emptiness with the wonders of the human world. A different way to explore their lands when the beaches were empty and lifeless.
She would often find more treasures; human always abandoned them in the ocean so carelessly. It was a curious thing, how they could so easily abandon what was so interesting to the young mermaid. It was not long before Kyoka had to find another chest, and soon a third. Her collection began to clutter the corners of her grotto, hiding behind rocks and seashells. She would find a new treasure almost every day, but despite discoveries becoming commonplace for her, each one brought the same joy as the one before.
One day, Kyoka had a discovery like no other. She had been swimming closer to the docks; at the time of night were the moon and ocean reunited and the warm summer breeze kissed Kyoka’s damp cheeks when her face went to explore the outside of the ocean. She would let herself become loose- fall back half-submerged in the water- and watch the stars in the sky. They twinkled at her, giggling to one another. The night was usually devoid of humans, a time when Kyoka could allow her eyes to roam the great expanse of the village without keeping her guard up. She would sit back in the water and allow herself to float, eyes up to the sky.
She was about to fall asleep, her eyes slipping closed when she heard a gasp from up on the docks.
Her eyes shoot back open and oh shit she’s choking on water. Coughing, she swims upwards to meet the eyes of the silent attacker.
Oh.
Oh wow.
Staring at her, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape, is the most beautiful girl she had ever seen.
Kyoka had her fair share of crushes before. On both mermaids from her pod and humans she’d admired from afar, she’d seen many people that made her cheeks flush a bright pink and the metaphorical goldfish in her stomach start nibbling away like piranhas. But not like this.
Never like this.
She had dark skin and black hair cascading down her back in braids. She was dressed in thin clothes and didn’t wear shoes- as though she was supposed to be in a safe asleep in her grotto (did humans have grottos?) instead of out on the docks in the middle of the night. Kyoka’s thoughts were interrupted as the girl spoke once more.
“You’re a- you’re a mermaid!” The girl exclaimed, dropping down to kneel on the old wood of the docks, hands on her knees. Her voice was bright, like the sun after a cold winter’s day, arising from behind the cloud to wake Kyoka from an empty trance.
It was like she hadn’t been awake before she’d heard that voice.
“You’re a human!” Kyoka sputtered out in response, achingly aware of the burning red on her cheeks.
“You can speak Japanese? You can understand me? I can understand you?” The girl asked, wildly pointing her fingers between the both of them. She gasps again, brings a hand to her mouth.
“Ah! How rude of me! My name is Momo Yaoyorozu. And you?” She holds out her hand and Kyoka daintily takes it, not entirely sure what to do with it. The girl shakes their hands, still connected together, the removes hers from the hold.
Human hands are warm.
The girl, Momo (what was the other name for?) is still looking at her expectantly.
Ah, right.
A name.
Kyoka had one of those.
“I’m Kyoka.” She manages to push out. Momo smiles, eyebrows raising slightly.
“And your family name?” She queries.
“Ah... I don’t think I have one of those,” Kyoka says, sinking lower into the water.
“That’s alright,” Momo reassures the mermaid. “It would make sense that there are cultural differences. In that case, you can call me Momo!” She grins again, eyes warm.
Her eyes really were pretty.
“Momo’s a nice name,” Kyoka remarks. Momo seems startled at this, her dark skin reddening. Her mouth opens again, but before she can say anything, the sound of a dog barking interrupts her. Kyoka yelps and ducks under the dock, hiding from the prying eyes of the moon and the heavy footsteps marching towards the dock.
“Miss Yaoyorozu! Where have you been?” A masculine voice calls from further away, the creaks of the dock’s old wood indicating it was moving closer by the second.
“Ah, Iida! Hello there,” Momo calls out towards the voice, getting up from her kneeling position. “I was just visiting the sea; it’s such a peaceful night, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Wha- yes, I suppose so, but why so late? And in your pyjamas?” The one called Iida is clearly baffled by this, and rather loud. Kyoka falls further back into the water, shifting to allow herself to better hear the conversation.
“You aren’t even wearing shoes! You must come back at once Miss Yaoyorozu, it is far too late for you to be wandering off,” Iida exclaims.
“My parents must have been so worried! My sincerest apologies, Iida. I hope didn’t cause you any worries; I simply wished to hop outside for a few moments and lost track of time.” Momo explains, voice full of concern.
“Don’t worry Miss Yaoyorozu, there is no harm done. I would recommend that you allow me to escort you back, however, I wouldn’t wish for you to catch a cold after all.” Iida says. The docks creak again- Momo is walking away. Kyoka cannot help but feel sad. This was her first actual interaction with a human; was it truly doomed to end so soon?
“I’ll be coming back again tomorrow though, Iida." Momo’s voice is far louder than it would have needed to be for Iida to hear, clear against the cold silence of the night.
“I suppose that’s alright Miss, as long as you come earlier and notify your fathers first.” Iida seems unsure, probably confused as to the volume of the girl. Kyoka feels a grin slip onto her face.
She’ll get to see Momo again.
She barely sleeps a wink that night.
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The next evening, just before the sky burns orange like fire across the horizon, Kyoka sets out to the docks, carrying a box of her favourite treasures.
This time, Momo sits on the beach, dressed in a rich red summer dress and sandals, a large hat discarded onto the sand behind her. She looks like a portrait, staring out at the ocean with a wistful look on her face. Kyoka swims towards her and places the chest on the sand next to her.
“Kyoka! It’s nice to see you again! I must admit, I was half-worried you were just a dream!” She laughs at the thought, waving her hand as though to brush it away.
“Don’t worry,” Kyoka grins, “I’m about as real as it gets.”
Momo blinks, a blush forming on her cheeks.
“And what’s this?” She asks, looking at the chest.
“I thought it would be fun to show you some human stuff I collected,” Kyoka explained. “You seemed interesting in the cultural differences yesterday, so I thought it would be nice to see how you see things differently, I guess.” She rubs the back of her hair awkwardly. Momo’s eyes light up at the suggestion, and she claps her hands together.
“That would be wonderful! You’re so smart to think of that Kyoka! And you collected all this yourself?” She queries. Kyoka nods furiously, blushing a deep red at the compliment.
“I have more in my grotto, but I wouldn’t have been able to carry it all up in one day.” Momo gasps again at this, holding a hand to her mouth.
“Really? You must be very dedicated to having such a large collection!” She exclaims. Kyoka nods again, before turning towards the chest and opening it.
“I like this one, I think,” Kyoka hands Momo her latest treasure, a thin black bracelet she’d found carelessly tossed into the ocean only days before. “ A turtle tried to eat it.” Momo’s face falls a bit, Kyoka’s stomach going with it. Was this… not good?
“This is fishing twine Kyoka. It’s not edible, the turtle could’ve choked on it. It’s a good thing you stopped it in time.” Momo holds it closer to her face to inspect it, eyebrows pushed downwards in worry. After a few more moments of staring at it, she hands it back to the mermaid.
“You can keep it though. If you can see beauty in it, and you can ensure nothing else will try to eat it, there’s nothing wrong with keeping it around.” Momo tries to give Kyoka another smile, but her forehead is creased and wrinkled.
“Why would humans put something in the ocean if it was dangerous?” Kyoka asks, her chest tightening at the thought.
“I suppose most don’t like to think about the effects they’re having on the environment,” Momo says, lips pulled into a frown. My father is very big on these kinds of things, so we do our best to help the environment, but not all humans think like that. Some just don’t care.”
She shrugs, shoulder’s heavy. “We do our best to help though. Recycling when we can, helping clean the beach as often as we can. But a few small actions won’t save the world.”
Kyoka scowls at this thought.
“But still,” she argues, grabbing Momo’s hand in her own. “Doing something is better than nothing, right? You said it yourself, that turtle could have died if not for my help!” Momo blinks again.
“I suppose you’re right. No matter how small, we’ve helped in some way.” She’s smiling again. That’s a relief. Her smile is so pretty.
The moment is once again interrupted, this time by a loud ringing. Momo jumps, torso twisting to reach a flattened brick around the size of her hands.
“That’s my alarm, I have to go back home now.” Her voice is quiet, almost sad? She stands, collecting her hat and pocketing the brick object.
“Tomorrow though, right?” Kyoka asks, reaching out to grab Momo’s hand once more. She’d noticed it last night, but she couldn’t help but notice again- human’s hands were so warm.
“Tomorrow, and the day after that.” Momo agrees, nodding. “And the next day, and the next. Tomorrow until we run out of tomorrows.”
Kyoka smiles, letting go of Momo’s hand.
“Until tomorrow,” She says, as Momo turns back towards the village. She already missed the feeling of Momo’s hand in her own.
Until tomorrow.