Mermay 2021: 14

 They ate what was left of some takeout in Elly's fridge and then it was time for bed.

She showed him how to brush his teeth when they were getting ready. Aizawa, of course, found it hilarious that humans utilized such rigorous dental hygiene with the dull set of teeth they sported. There was some panic when he had to use the toilet, but everything worked out in the end.

"Do humans sleep without clothes?" He watched curiously as she pulled her pants off and removed her bra from under her shirt.

Elly shrugged. "Some do. I personally like keeping a shirt on."

He tilted his head to one side, thinking. "I think I would like to get rid of it all."

She yawned, stretching her arms over her head. "Then do it, love. It's all about what makes you comfortable."

Aizawa hastily stripped, leaving only his shell necklace laying on a puff of dark chest hair. "Better," he sighed.

"Yeah."

They collapsed as one on the bed, their full bellies making them even sleepier. Aizawa got as close as he could, pulling her so they were facing each other. He seemed restless though he was tired, and after a few minutes he moved his legs, tangling them with hers so they were locked together. Only then did he relax, his bloodshot eyes taking on a glazed look.

"My feet hurt," he mumbled.

"Yeah," she said thoughtfully. "So, you never told me why you even <i>have</i> feet."

He scratched his chest. "I don't know. I dried out, I guess that's what happens."

"How did you dry out?" Her eyes grew wide thinking how terrifying that would be for a creature of the sea.

"I..." He shook his head, knowing how she would respond to his admission. "I beached myself. All I could think about was getting to you."

"Aizawa! You could've died!"

He winced but nodded. "I know. I know you said to hide. I wasn't thinking, I saw you bleeding, and I just - I acted in a very illogical manner." He chuckled wryly and touched the side of her face with sore fingertips. "You seem to have that effect on me."

"What if you stay like this?" She leaned into the touch, brow furrowed with worry. "The legs? What What if you can't go back to the water?"

Aizawa stared calmly back, his gray eyes enigmatic. "If I stay human," he said very slowly, testing the idea out, "I can be with you."

"You could be with me either way."

"Yes, but I wouldn't have been able to share your life like <i>this</i> without legs." He gestured at the bed. "I miss my tail, but I like being with you."

Elly wrung one hand tightly in the sheets, frowning. "But - but your whole world has been turned upside down."

"It might be different, but I have you." He repeated this while touching the necklace she was once again wearing. They had both removed their lower clothing, including shoes, but she'd taken time to put her Gift back on before bed.

"I love it, you know. I don't think I told you that yet, but it's beautiful."

"That's why it had to be yours." Aizawa laughed softly. "You don't usually wear it at night, though. Why now?"

"Well..." She hedged, wrinkling her nose and then smiled ruefully. "Tonight is special."

"It is. I thought I might lose you, and instead we're together in a way we never could have been." He cupped the back of her neck in his hand and brought her in for a kiss. She closed her eyes to better feel the contrast of the rough scratch of his stubble on her face and slick tongue against her own. It was longer than any they had shared before and had a sleepy, languorous quality that raised goosebumps on her arms.

Aizawa's lips lingered on hers long after the kiss ended. He lay with a smile on his face, his arms cuddling her close to his chest with a soft hum exhaling out his throat.

He was asleep. Elly kissed his cheek and wriggled in comfortably, tucking her arms in so her palms rested on his chest.

"G'night," she yawned.

Sleep was good, waking up to a rested and recharged body that had a hard workout the day before.

Elly heard the faint cries of seabirds outside her window as she stirred, muttering incoherently under her breath. Her light movement woke Aizawa, in turn, who tested the air like he always did. Her scent was strong in his nostrils and though he couldn't detect as many nuances from it, it was enough. He acted on instinct, nuzzling while he inhaled the sweet smell of her hair. Elly murmured and clutched him a little tighter. He bit her earlobe, nibbling as he grew aroused and growling deep in his throat.

The growl woke her and she opened her eyes to a large, warm body curled around her own, heat on her flesh and ticklish stroking everywhere. "'Zawa?"

"Mmn." His mouth trailed lower, his hands sliding up her shirt to caress her breasts and lightly rub the hardening nipples. He slowly but surely sucked a mark onto her neck while he explored below with his hands.

"You're getting me excited," she whispered. Her hands pet his chest hair, toying with the shell she'd given him and causing him to shiver.

"Lay back," he suggested in a low husk. "I'll take care of you."

She rubbed her sleep-encrusted eyes, blinking and trying to wake up. "M'not fully awake..." He succeeded in pulling her shirt up to expose her breasts, and wriggled down to wrap his lips around a nipple. "Oh!"

"It's okay."

"S'not that fair," she protested, squirming as he licked. "You deserve... attention. Awake attention -"

"Do you want me?"

"Well, yes, but - err, okay. Okay, you've also never had a human body before -"

"I'll always know how to love you."

Elly's breath caught and she allowed him to roll over on top of her while she fell back onto the pillows. She looked into his eyes and held her arms out, facilitating the removal of her shirt. He bent immediately down to resume his gentle suckling, smiling when she gasped and grabbed weakly at the back of his head.

He didn't ask about protection at first and she expected this; his kind probably didn't use any. But he surprised her by pausing in the act of rubbing himself on her thigh to address the issue. Aizawa paused the attention he was lavishing on her chest to kiss her on the mouth.

"This is for love only," he told her seriously. "There won't be any pups, so you don't have to worry."

"Wh - how do you..?"

"I caught your scent when I was still, uh. Had a tail." He shrugged. "You're past the time we could make any for now."

Elly was nearly speechless. "Wow." Her mind was still foggy with sleep and clouded even more from passion and the amazing information he'd given her. She did the only thing she could think of, sliding one hand down his side to grip his firm length.

He choked a little and bucked into the touch. "Ches!"

"You're so hard already." Her thumb rubbed his tip, spreading the natural lubricant around.

"Th - there's really only one, then?" His breathing puffed out in ragged gasps as she fondled him. "My body is ready?"

"Yes."

"It feels ready," he conceded. "And you - you're so wet." He dipped a finger inside her body, rubbing the folds apart. "I didn't imagine it would be like this." He massaged gently, uncovering the plump head of her sex.

"There," she moaned. "Please, 'Zawa, now. Now."

He whispered something in his language, a series of purrs that sounded exactly like the loving comment it was. Aizawa used his hand to guide himself and made certain to angle his thrust to rub the bundle of nerves that gave her pleasure.

"Oh," he gasped with a strange catch in his voice. "Oh, it's sweet. It's so <i>sweet</i>." His hips moved on instinct, repeatedly driving him inside her warmth.

"So..." Hearing him describe their lovemaking in such a way caused her body to twitch with eagerness. "So romantic," she breathed.

"It is," Aizawa sighed softly, his eyebrows pinched tightly together. "I don't know what's - my body feels strange..."

"Don't stop."

"I don't want to stop." He kissed her, delving into her mouth and moaning. "Mnnff... oh, shells, I love you. I <i>love</i> you."

"Oh, god, I - you... oh!" She arched her back, her speech dissolving into an affirmative chorus. "Yes! Yes, oh <i>yes, Aizawa</i>!"

He groaned loudly. Her body tightened around him during her orgasm and he felt the strange weight in his lower belly increase. Aizawa's steady movement faltered as the pressure reached its breaking point. He grasped her tightly, his arms enfolding her in an embrace while he let out a loud wheeze.

"My mate! Mine!"

She took his possessive cry in stride. She was, after all, proud to <i>be</i> "his". And he was hers now, too.

Mermay 2021: 13

 "Yes." Aizawa lifted one of his legs, staring at it critically. "They're not as attractive as my tail, but they walk better."

"Huh." She pushed open the front door. "I have a million questions, but let's shower and clean up first." She led him further into the house, Aizawa looking curiously around each time she flicked on a light switch. Her home was cozy and designed with a definite theme in mind: there were all manner of undersea statues, light fixtures, knickknacks and books. Most were shark related, he noticed with amusement.

"Here."

He pointed at the door she indicated. "The bathroom?"

"Uh huh." She shuffled wearily to the shower and turned on the water. "You read up on human habits on the tablet back at the aquarium, right?"

He nodded, then reached out to grab her before she fell. "You need help."

"Yeah." Elly sighed. "I know. You probably do, too." Then she smiled at him, a mischievous kind of smile that got his pulse racing. "We better get in together, then."

He didn't see her undress since he was only too happy to tear off the restrictive human clothing he was wearing. Aizawa pulled everything off until he got to his feet. The cloth wrapping was disgusting at this point and stuck in many places. He winced when he tried to unfasten it.

"Ugh."

"Leave it," Elly suggested. "When it gets wet it will come off easier. Pulling it might cause unnecessary bleeding."

Aizawa grunted in affirmation and stood up, staring down as she was dropping her clothes into a bin. "I'm not sure I like the fact that <i>this</i> -" He gestured at himself in distaste, "is how you first see me. This body isn't natural." He made a face. "I look ridiculous."

"Really? I think you look just as handsome." She laid a hand on his shoulder and he finally saw her.

If he had been in his mer body his ear flaps would have shot straight up. In this one, however...

Elly glanced down at his stiff member and smiled. She kissed him on the cheek and stepped into the shower.

<i>Another stupid thing about this body</i>, he thought wryly, fighting back a blush.

"You coming?"

"Yes."

Aizawa had some reservations about being under a steady deluge of fresh water, but his human body was capable of withstanding it. It felt strange to be in the presence of so much all around him yet breathe air instead. He followed her actions and used the soap to lather his body. The strips binding his feet loosened and, once revealed, the sores stung as water swirled around them.

Elly was the one to speak up, however. "Ow. Damn it."

"What's wrong?"

"This stupid bruise," she grumbled, touching the side of her face gingerly. "That bastard sucker punched me and it still hurts."

"That won't do. Let me see." Aizawa carefully washed her face and hair, checking for any more wounds. "No more blood. But the bruise is going to get more colorful before it dissappears."

"I know." She wrinkled her nose. "It feels much better clean, though. When we get out I'll take some painkillers."

"You know," he murmured, "Showering is a pretty pleasant experience."

"I'm glad you like it." Elly smiled up at him. "And, if you'll turn around for me I can wash your back."

"Hmm." He pushed his wet hair out of the way and nodded. Her hands rubbed him gently clean, mindful of the sunburn but enough to relax sore muscles and bring relief. When it was her turn he tried to be as thorough, and laughed a little when she let out a loud sigh. He was surprised to find he was actually upset when they had to get out. They dried off with fluffy towels and Elly opened the medicine cabinet to fish out a bottle of ibuprofen.

She shook the bottle and glanced over at him in the mirror. "You want a couple?"

"Yes." He took them from her and leaned across the counter to get a drink. His hair got in the way and he blew it back in irritation. When he was in the water all the time it detangled itself but currently the length was nothing but knots! Swearing faintly under his breath he tried to run his hands through it.

"Relax."

He blew out a huge gust of air and slumped onto the toilet lid. "How? This is uncomfortable!"

"I'll fix it for you." She squirted something out of a bottle and rubbed it through his long, black locks. After a few minutes she drew a comb out and gently worked it through the mass of hair. It was soothing, and he rested against her warmth while she combed, dried and tied it back in a loose ponytail.

"Thanks." His ears were stained a light pink from all her attention, and she wasn't finished yet.

"You look very handsome with your hair tied back." She sighed and began digging through the cabinets again. "Your feet are a mess, though. They're clean, but I need ointment ...petroleum jelly will work, let's see, and gauze pads. Lots of sterile pads."

He watched her fuss over him with only one complaint. After she was done and sat back on the edge of the bathtub, he reached out to touch her cheek.

"This? It's okay now, what -"

"You need to be taken care of, too," he told her with a big, toothy smile.

"Oh?" Her breathing quickened as he tugged her close. His gray eyes were sleepy but filled with amusement. "What's so funny?"

"I don't have sharp teeth now." Aizawa pressed his mouth to hers, flicking his tongue at her lips and inside when she parted them. He groaned as their tongues met and intertwined, loving the closeness of the human kiss. After awhile he dropped his hands lower, squeezing and rubbing her body, and was pleased when she let out a little moan as well.

"'Zawa..."

"Cute," he laughed softly.

"You are." She paused. "But there's something bothering you."

"We need to send a message to my friends."

"Oh!" Her eyes widened and she stood, tugging on his hand. "We better get dressed, then! They're probably worried sick!"

She insisted he put on fresh clothes but it was next to impossible to find anything he could wear. In the end he tugged the stolen jeans back on. After digging in her dresser for a long time they also found an oversized nightshirt she had worn so much it was stretched out. It fit, however poorly, and then they started looking for shoes. This was the biggest problem since Aizawa couldn't wear the old ones. They were ripped and stained with blood and worse, falling apart at the seams. Elly eventually settled on giving him a pair of socks with the biggest pair of sandals she owned to protect his blisters.

"Your backyard is the beach," he commented softly when they reached the kitchen. A sliding glass door led right out onto a small wooden deck with a few chairs. Elly flicked on the outside lights but also paused to gather a flashlight from a kitchen drawer for the rest of their way.

"It is. So, how are you going to tell them you're okay?"

"I'll send a message. They're close by." He stepped off the deck onto the sand, frowning as the sandals slid awkwardly around. "These are difficult to walk in."

"Yeah, I thought they might be. Sorry, but it's the best I can do for now."

She helped him cross down to the water's edge. It was low tide and not very choppy, so he simply knelt and stuck his head underwater for a few seconds. When he came back up some of his hair had come free of the ponytail and fell in wet strands along his stubbled cheeks. He brushed them back, grinning.

"So?"

"They're safe. And happy we're okay, too."

"Oh, thank god." Elly sagged with relief, plopping down with a thud on the wet sand. "The base told me they'd sent divers out and I was panicking the entire time."

He sat with her, throwing an arm around her shoulders. She cuddled close without thinking and his grin grew wider. They sat there watching the moonlight play on the ripples of water until it grew too cold.

"We should head back in. I've got some leftovers we can heat up for dinner, and I'm exhausted. "

"Is there a place for me to sleep?" Aizawa asked curiously. "I know humans sleep on beds but I only saw you only had one."

"You can sleep with me. I'm your mate, right?" She giggled faintly at the startled look he gave her. "What? You called me that."

"But -" He arched one eyebrow as high as it would go. "We haven't, ah, actually mated yet. If we share the same sleeping area it might be awkward..? I don't understand how this is funny," he grumbled when she laughed harder. He pushed with his arms, shoving as hard as he could to get back on his feet.

"It's not. I'm sorry, Aizawa." She choked back the rest of her laughter, pressing a hand to her mouth for a moment. "You're just so considerate. We're both too tired for, well, <i>that</i> right now, is all."

He stared at his wobbly legs in resignation and then shrugged and offered her a hand. "True. Food and sleep sounds more appetizing at the moment."

"Food and sleep it is."

Mermay 2021: 12

 Pavement, Aizawa decided, was one of his all-time least favorite things humans had invented. He'd been walking for what seemed like hours on a surface that tore up his new sneakers like a pack of piranhas and multiplied the heat of the sun a hundredfold. His sunburn stung and his eyes felt like they were cooking in their sockets. It was nothing, however, compared to the cramps in his lower body. These legs were rather new, after all. And though his body seemed to have encorporated the muscular mass of his tail into them, he wasn't used to getting around this way. Blisters formed and broke, and he was aware that his feet were bleeding around the same time he began throwing up from heat exhaustion.

Cars drove past him, causing him to flinch and swear under his breath. He could barely stand all the noise, heat and exertion, but then noticed a building coming up on his right. Although he wasn't sure what it was, he recognized the structure as a shop of sorts, someplace to get in out of the sun. And as he grew closer, he remembered something Elly had told him: humans used places called <i>bathrooms</i> to void their waste. Such areas would have water to wash up in, and he desperately needed hydration.

"Excuse me," he asked the cashier behind the counter. "Where is your bathroom?"

The young man looked like he may have wanted to deny him access, but then thought better of it and pointed. "Around the corner by the milk case, sir."

Aizawa nodded. "Thank you." He limped inside and took stock of the situation. There was a sink along one wall and he headed there at once, fiddling with the tap until he learned how to work it. Once he did, he washed his face and hands, cupping them under the tap and drank. He then tore off the bottom part of his shirt to both wash and bandage his feet with, giving them an extra layer of protection inside the worn shoes. He gave the toilet a suspicious side-eye before leaving, thankful that he had no desire to use it because he wasn't too sure about his new body yet. Refreshed, he stepped back out into the store. There was a plump lady talking to the cashier and he heard her mention that she and her son had been at the aquarium this morning.

"Yeah." She took a small bag handed her across the counter. "They evacuated us out of the building. It was scary."

"The aquarium? Did you see where the cars went?" Aizawa hurried over, his gray eyes filled with worry.

The woman nodded, looking him over curiously and giving him a wide berth. "Um... yes. I guess they went back to the base. It's right up the road, you can't miss it."

Aizawa sighed with relief, rubbing the back of his neck shakily. "Good. They took my ma -" <i>Humans don't say mate, idiot</i>! <i>What was the word she used</i>? "- my fiancée. I only had my beach clothes on and I've been walking all day to get there."

She looked far more sympathetic after she was told this and since he wasn't asking for a handout it only upped his credibility. He thanked her and was almost out the door when she dug around in her bag and handed him the sandwich she'd bought and a bottle of iced tea. "You look like you need this more than me," she said as she pressed them into his startled hands.

"Thank you."

"I'd give you a ride, but you're almost there and I'm late for work." She hurried out with a friendly wave.

He smiled as he watched her go.

Outside the day had succumbed to night and now all the cars had their headlights on. It was a good thing he was fortified by the drink and food from the kind lady, because his trip took a frightening turn. The dark combined with the lights turned the cars into giant creatures with glowing eyes zipping far too close to him for comfort. It hadn't been too long ago he'd ventured only a little way into the abyss and almost gotten killed, after all. It never occurred to him to try and stop one of the vehicles for a lift, though truthfully it wouldn't have worked. No one paused at the sight of a bedraggled, unshaven man with unkempt hair staggering painfully around, especially as it grew darker. Aizawa grit his teeth and kept going. At least it was cooler at night without the sun blaring down on him.

<i>The woman told me I was close. I'm almost there and I can't stop now</i>, he told himself with conviction.

At the base the aquarium staff were separated and a military official carefully interviewed each one. In Elly's case the brutish Enji interrogated her. He appeared to regret his decision to strike her, but the remorse could have been because the act had fueled her distrust of the man.

Elly's story went like this.

She had been uploading images on secret blogs and Twitter accounts for weeks, all about "mer people" in the region. There were around twenty blurry and semi-hidden photos of Aizawa scattered throughout these. She had pulled them all into the official aquarium social media accounts right before they were taken in, announcing a new "attraction" that featured - you guessed it -- mers.

Even though some of the security footage the military got access to had Aizawa in it, this effectively explained everything. Enji, however, was stubborn, and even after several hours he was not satisfied she was telling the truth. She was starting to lose her temper due to discomfort and worry for Aizawa, yet she held fast. Even if her team had been doing something wrong they deserved better treatment than they had been subjected to.

"I've told you everything I know several times over. Nothing has changed, and I know for a fact my staff has done the same because we're not lying. You need to release us."

Furious, the Chief Mate stormed into his superior's office to see if anything could be done to wrench "the truth" out of the civilians.

He was in for a shock.

The Master was an older man with a touch of gray peppering his short hairstyle and beard. He looked up as his first in command walked in and then stared blankly at his computer screen. There, in real time at the front gate, stood the supposed merman on <i>two legs</i> demanding to see Elly. The phone on his desk rang, and he picked it up with a heavy sigh.

"Yes? Yes." A long pause. "Tell him we're almost finished here and she will be released shortly. We'll give them a ride home." He slowly lowered the phone and rubbed his hand across his face as hard as he could, enough to pull the skin down as he went. "Son of a <i>bitch</i>!" He swore, furious. "Are you <i>trying</i> trying to get rid of me, Todoroki?! One more slip-up and the brass'll demote me so hard I'll be <i>lucky</i> to get a post cleaning the shitters on the lowest vessel out there."

"But -" The big man blinked, startled. "Permission to speak freely?"

"Fine. Granted."

"You're not letting her go, are you?!" Enji waved a hand at the computer and the bag containing the necklace. "We have proof that they're up to something. If nothing else, they must be hiding the wreck and the rest of the items."

"I very much doubt that," the older man grunted sourly. He pointed at the bag. "She willingly reported this. Why?"

"Why not?"

"Let's assume you're right. If she's hiding a large amount of treasure, she could have hid the necklace with the rest of it and we'd never have known. Instead she <i>reported</i> it. Does she come across as stupid to you?"

"No, but she's a woman -"

"Don't start with that again," he snapped. "I've been trying to change that sexist bullshit attitude since I enlisted. Probably another reason why they demoted me," he muttered under his breath. "That's enough," he began again in a much louder voice. "We're letting them go and <i>those are my orders</i>."

"Sir?" The guard at the door peeked in, alarmed at the shouting.

"Release everyone the first mate brought in, and send the head of the staff - who's, uh... Elly Sketchit, to me."

"Sir?!"

"Just do it." He glared at Enji, who at least had the grace to look uncomfortable. "Get down to the barracks until I have time to deal with you!"

"Yes, sir!" He gnashed his teeth but could not complain.

Elly was ushered promptly into his office by a neutral party, where the Master held a comfortable chair out for her himself.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," he began in a tired voice. "I know what you're thinking. You know what I used to be like, but I've been talking with the community shrink here and -" He sighed. "Psychiatrist," he corrected. "I know we screwed up. How can we make it up to you?"

Elly looked over at her Gift resting on his desk. "I think we can work things out."

<i>Besides, it's better the devil you know</i>. And she thought he did seem different, somehow. Perhaps he really had been trying to better himself and see past his obsession.

After coming to an agreement where she was allowed to keep the necklace and, in return, would not embarrass them, Elly was led out the front where a more congenial jeep than the one she'd been tossed in before was waiting. She almost lost her composure when she saw Aizawa seated in the back. He flung his arms around her and she hugged him back, startled for more than one reason.

"I found you," he murmured into her hair.

She nodded silently instead of asking the myriad of questions that flew into her mind. The trip to her house - located on the beach -- was a quiet yet mercifully quick one, and they were soon waving to the driver as he pulled back out of her driveway.

The two stood at the entrance for a minute as she dug around in her pocket to retrieve her keys.

"So." Elly finally broke the silence as she opened the door. "You've got <i>legs</i> now."

Mermay 2021: 11

 Aizawa stung all over. His hands were crusted with blood and he was the hottest he'd been in his life.

But he appeared to be alive.

<i>I never hurt so much in a dream</i>, he thought wearily as he fought to regain consciousness. <i>Also, I doubt The Great Abyss is dry</i>.

Sweat trickled down off his neck and back as he gave a great effort and pushed up with his arms, shoving himself into a kneeling position.

Wait.

Wait...

<i>How am I upright</i>?

He squinted down at his waist and his vision swam crazily for a moment.

"This can't be happening."

When he was unconscious the diving teams had searched the waters near the aquarium and found nothing. It helped that the staff at the base were pragmatic folk, so no one believed the top officer. They swam around the perimeters and did due diligence, but since they "knew" this was a hoax they didn't take it as seriously as they would an underwater rescue or retrieval. Even Enji as Chief Mate thought his Master was a bit off. But he took Elly in hard because of the way she had scared him, making him look like a fool. No matter what happened, she should be frightened into compliance and learn to treat him with respect. A bonus of this ridiculous "merman" conspiracy would be the Master of the base getting demoted so they never had to put up with his theories again.

That was the plan, but the mers didn't know that. They called a hasty meeting at the reef once the humans had cleared out.

"We have to get him." Kayama looked out into the distance. "He's definitely gone by now - there's no way he didn't dry out in the sun that whole time. But we can't let anyone find him."

Hizashi wailed. "He was my best friend!"

"Maybe he's okay." Yagi tried to be hopeful.

"Wait." The shrimp merman's eyes widened all at once. His mustache antennae twitched.

"We can't wait, we have to -"

He snapped his claw angrily, firing off a bubble bullet that hushed them all. "No, quiet! I <i>hear</i> him!"

"What?!"

They followed the red and white blur as he zipped crazily through the water, exclaiming as fish and seaweed were whipped back into their faces. He led them to a lonely cove still on protected property near the aquarium.

"Well? Where is he?"

"Hizashi! I know you can hear me, damn it!"

Hizashi pointed up. "On the beach?"

They popped their heads out of the water, and, sure enough, there was their friend.

They stared at him.

He stared tiredly back.

Yagi coughed, slowly deflating from his massive form back to his normal one.

"Aizawa," Kayama began in a deadly quiet voice.

"Yeah."

"Where is your <i>tail</i>?!"

There was another uncomfortable silence, and then he sighed. "I don't know."

"Ew."

"Thank you, Hizashi," Aizawa told him with real irritation. "That's helping."

"All right, okay." Hizashi paced back and forth on the wet sand. The ten shrimp legs along his tail allowed him to walk unlike most mer, but he rarely risked staying out of the water for long. He circled his friend, looking him up and down, before returning to the safety of the surf. "I can't believe they're real, but they are."

"Helpful," he repeated sourly, kicking at a small crab scuttling by and almost losing his balance in return. "They're obviously real."

"Yeah, but I still think I'm dreaming." Kayama rubbed her eyes. "Damn. The walkers just have everything out in the open, don't they?"

"It looks ...untidy," Yagi murmured, covering his eyes.

Aizawa glared at them. "Next issue: I need clothes so I can go after Ches. Not just to keep everything tucked away," he stared at Kayama again, "but because of this." He turned, and they all cringed at the bright red color on his back.

"Ouch. Ya got cooked, buddy." Hizashi rubbed what he could reach of his own back as if to reassure himself.

"Yes. It's painful. Can any of you help?"

Kayama pursed her lips thoughtfully. "I think I can grab some for you."

"I'll come too," Hizashi offered.

They were back in a half an hour with bundles held over their heads to keep the fabric dry. After dumping the loads on the beach Aizawa immediately started digging through looking for anything suitable.

"Where did you find human clothing in such abundance?" Yagi watched as the newly-formed human struggled to put on pants.

"There's a strange beach a few over where all the walk - er, humans shed their clothes before swimming."

Hizashi shuddered. "It's gross, yo. I'm never going back there."

"I hate to point this out," Yagi murmured, "but, aside from Kayama's shell top, we're all technically nude."

"And I only wear this because it looks good." She posed briefly.

"Yeah, but our - stuff -- isn't dangling around like bait. How do they avoid getting bit?"

When he finished picking through the clothing Aizawa had a dark purple t-shirt with a local band logo and jeans that were ripped on one knee. The only problem were his feet. Aizawa found out of all the items he put on, he <i>hated</i> shoes. They bound him in some odd way that caused him to panic, but he recognized the need to protect his fragile human skin there most of all. In the end he reluctantly chose some worn tennis shoes.

"This will do."

"You're going after her, right?" Hizashi sounded worried.

"I'm not coming back without Ches."

"Be careful."

"Good luck."

Yagi squinted up the coast. "We'll follow along as far as we can," he promised. "From what we saw, she's at the maritime base up the road from the aquarium. If you follow it straight for several miles you'll get there." He scratched his pointed chin, deep in thought. "It looks very intimidating. There are a lot of fences, and I don't know how you're supposed to get in."

"I'll figure it out." Aizawa's jaw clenched so hard a muscle rippled in his neck. "I'll figure it out and get my mate back."

Mermay 2021: 10

 "Shit, Aizawa, he <i>saw</i> you."

"That's the reason he's not hurting you now." He was still growling, his tail snapping madly about.

"Yeah." Elly watched the security cameras as the military jeep sped out of the parking lot. "I have to admit, though, that was <i>impressive</i>. I didn't think that idiot had enough brains to be afraid of anything!"

"Humans are almost always afraid of sharks."

"I have to hit the panic button here." She pulled up the aquarium blog on her phone and a few social media sites. Once she finished setting quite a few things up online, she put her phone in her pocket and called her team in.

"You saw the military guy run out of here, right?" She faced them and took a deep breath. "It's time."

"Crap," Kan muttered.

"Remember: <i>stick to the simple story</i>. Don't embellish. Don't offer up anything. One of their best tactics is to let you hang yourself by creating uncomfortable silences." She faced Aizawa with a trembling smile. "You need to hide. Not here - in the best place you can find in the ocean. Don't come out, don't come back until I come into the water again near the reef."

"But -"

"No. Please. There's this fucking insane man in charge at that military base who is obsessed with X-Files type crap. He's going to be all over this -" She paused when she saw he had no idea what that meant. "Trust me. He got demoted to this area because he was trying to prove beings like you existed. He'll storm the hell out of here and put you in - he'll... no. <i>No</i>." She ran a hand over her face, rubbing her eyes.

"What do you need me to do?"

"The plan is to get you away from here and never let the military see you."

"What if they take you?!"

"You <i>have</i> to <i>hide</i>. You and all your friends." She knelt down and kissed him, a tear slipping down one cheek. "For me. Please."

"Don't..." Aizawa brushed her tear away. "Don't cry. I'll warn everyone and we'll hide."

"Okay." She bit her lip, not wanting to let him go but clearly forcing herself to back away. "Please be careful."

"I'll be back," he called out. "No one can keep us apart."

Unfortunately, he had never experienced the might of the military. As soon as the Chief Mate gathered a number of armed forces they were immediately dispatched to the aquarium. The troops closed the building, escorted the public out and detained every member of the staff for questioning. First, all they wanted to know was who had access to that back room. Once they figured out the group, they gathered Elly and her team together to face the fiery-haired leader.

"Chief M -"

"Don't start." He held up a hand. "You're all coming with me down the road to our base."

"Okay." She stood and started to follow him, but as she walked near he casually drew back and punched her in the side of her face. She dropped instantly to the ground, limp and bleeding.

"What the hell!" Kan made as if to move but a couple of men grabbed him.

"Hey!"

"Elly!"

"I don't like being made fun of, and I don't like liars," Enji grunted. "Listen up. I want you all to think really hard about the ramifications of lying to us on the ride back to base." He bent and slung the dazed woman over his shoulder like a sack. Elly groaned and he shook her briefly. "Shut up. Let's go!"

They left the building at the same time Aizawa was pulling himself up along the docks, struggling to see what was going on. He didn't trust those humans, and though he'd promised to stay away he couldn't without knowing what was happening to Elly.

What he saw both panicked and completely enraged him.

"<i>Ches</i>!" He was extremely lucky that his scream wasn't heard between the orders being shouted and cars driving off. Aizawa dipped back down and swam out ten feet or so.

"What?"

"They've got her!"

"Aizawa, what are you - oh, shells!"

He sped through the water, his jaw clenched as he pushed his body to its limits, forcing as much speed as he could get. Angling up at the last minute, he shot out of the water onto the sand.

Hizashi tried to call out to him but he was held back by the others. "He's <i>beached</i> himself! Let me go! We have to help!" The raw terror in his voice was felt by them all. Mers were told from an early age to never, ever let themselves dry out. It was drilled into them that it would only lead to a horrible, dry death and thus it was everyone's ultimate nightmare.

"He chose this." Yagi was solemn as he stared out at the scene before them.

"Bullshit! We have to do something!" Kayama reached out but there was no way they could get to him safely.

Aizawa dug his fingers in the sand and pulled himself forward. He could think of nothing else but her face, pale and bleeding, in the grip of that hulking brute. His claws broke off, and his fingers started to bleed, but he kept going. He continued dragging his heavy body down the sand to the wooden boardwalk and made it almost to the pavement alongside the building - the employee parking lot -- before he collapsed. The sun beat harshly down on his back and tail. People the next beach over were swimming and enjoying the extraordinary good weather, with, of course, no rain in sight. He was hidden along the back of the building where only the staff were allowed to be, and all had been evacuated or taken into the base.

No one was there, nor would anyone be coming back soon.

Underwater his friends floated helplessly in a sad huddle. He was too far out of reach to get him or even splash water on in the hopes of keeping him wet.

"What can we <i>do</i>?" Hizashi whined.

"We can't do anything now," Kayama gasped, pointing. "Walker divers are coming! Quick!"

They scattered to deeper waters, panicking and at a loss as to what they could do. Aizawa lay baking out in the hot sun, and he would almost certainly be dry by now. Elly had been taken by treacherous humans, and they couldn't get her back.

Mermay 2021: 9

 The man the base sent was the biggest she'd seen in her life, so bulked up that his blue military uniform barely fit him. He had stern, sea-green eyes that coldly stared into people and fiery red hair.

Kan let him into the back of the aquarium with the convalescent pool with a warning look to his boss. Before he left he mouthed the words, "<i>don't fuck with this one</i>".

Elly took a deep breath and walked over to him.

"Chief Mate from the installation down the road." He jerked one meaty hand out with a surly grunt. "Enji Todoroki."

"Elly. Elly Sketchit." She gingerly shook his hand and then gestured towards the computer panels. "It's over here, Chief." As she unlocked a drawer he stood behind her in an intimidating manner, looming over her shoulder.

"I understand you've been wearing the item in question."

Elly sighed as she pulled out a bag containing the necklace. This is where it got tricky, and she'd been hoping it wouldn't come up. "I did several times at the bequest of my fiance, since he thought it was his to give. At first I didn't know, but when I realized it wasn't a replica, I reported it as soon as I could." She pointedly gestured at the waterproof bag as she handed it over. "I've since taken action to store it safely."

His eyebrows raised and he "hmph'd" under his breath as he stared at the shining jewelry.

"Didn't report this to the local police..."

"It's an artifact from a wreck, not to be confused by lost modern jewelry. There was no need to contact the police - which is why I contacted your offices as soon as I knew what it was."

"And your ah, fiance, he would be the salvor. Is there a reason <i>he</i> did not contact us?" He looked a little smug as he asked the question.

<i>I can't contact other humans</i>, Aizawa thought. <i>She can't say that, of course. I understand he might be suspicious, but what's with that face</i>?! He stayed where he was, his tail enabling him to blend perfectly in the seaweed around the small cave built for refuse at the deep end of the pool.

"He was more comfortable with me reporting it since I'm in contact with maritime authorities from time to time." She shrugged. "It's like lawyer-speak... some people just aren't good at it, and I know a lot of folks that work here due to my job."

"Look, we need the truth," the huge man told her with a sudden rush of anger. "There's no way that someone pulled a single piece of valuable jewelry from a wreck and ignored the rest. Tell me where it is. Now." He grasped her upper arm in one giant hand. Aizawa's anger began to boil when the stocky human male grabbed her, but she remained firm.

"I told you, he said he only found this."

"Could we perhaps get his information so that we can talk with him? And he <i>will</i> collaborate your story, correct?" He squeezed a little harder and she winced slightly at his grip.

The pain in her eyes was all Aizawa needed to see. The water churned in the pool and he launched himself up and out at the startled man, his own eyes blazing red and his teeth snapping in the air inches from his face.

He was so furious he could barely speak, and when he did it was a guttural, growling snarl only intelligible to Elly due to their association.

"<i>Get away from my mate</i>!"

Mermay 2021: 8

 Another day dawned, the sea birds crying loudly outside to the sound of the surf beating the sands.

Aizawa's wounds were scabbed over in a day but it took several weeks for his wounded eye to heal. Thankfully he kept his sight, but in addition to the scar from the moray and a few sucker marks, he now had a rough crescent underneath his eye. He was doubly lucky this didn't bother him, since he never worried about his physical appearance, only fitness.

He yawned and began a careful stretching routine, testing his body for any sign of pain or weakness. The exercises he'd been doing kept him relatively fit and most of the pain was gone, save for a twinge in his badly-scarred elbow that came and went.

Elly slept every night in the aquarium now and brought a small air mattress for that purpose with a pump she could store during the day. She joked with her colleagues that she was saving so much money on utilities at her house because she barely set foot in it anymore. He pulled himself up out of the water to watch her sleep, his tail dangling in the pool while his stomach lay on the cold concrete. She murmured under her breath and rolled over facing him, frowning as her hair got caught in her mouth.

Aizawa reached over and brushed it lightly back out of the way. Her eyes opened, and the soft smile on her lips caused his heart to beat faster.

"Good morning."

"It's super early," she yawned, glancing up at the display on one of the computer screens.

"Yes."

"Do you mind if I come for a swim with you?" She sat up and crossed her legs, stretching her arms over her head with a mild grimace. She slept every night in a pair of loose pants and shirt after showering at home, but she always brought a change of dry clothing. Everyone on her staff - including her --  also kept wetsuits and a couple singlets at work. He nodded and sat back to wait as she left to change.

Elly came out still yawning, but she dove cleanly into the pool from the far end and swam to Aizawa. When she surfaced he did too and he smiled without a show of teeth, beckoning to her. "Come sit with me."

Elly swam near but was unable to sit since he had no lap. She paused, uncertain, but then he reached out and grasped her legs, guiding them around his waist to curl while her rear rested on his belly-up tail. The spotted shark tail undulated through the water and keep their upper bodies above.

"Your tail is so strong," she marveled quietly. Aizawa caught his breath, and she realized a compliment like that was likely to be important to him. "And so handsome. The pattern is gorgeous." She was right; his breathing had definitely picked up.

"Thank you." His voice was rough with emotion, his eyes warm as his ears slowly fluttered up and down.

She sighed and touched his long, dark hair, stroking the wet locks and stopping when she got to the webbed flaps. He purred deep in his throat when she traced them with a careful fingertip.

"I absolutely love that," Elly smiled. "It's so <i>cute</i>, especially since you're so - so built and, I don't know how to say this..."

"Scruffy? Scarred and beaten-up looking?" He laughed softly without any rancor.

"I like how you look," she insisted, her hands wandering lower but skirting past the closed gills on his neck. "And when you make that sound, it's like a big, wild kitten and it's <i>adorable</i>."

"Do you want to touch here?" He held her wrist and guided her to his neck. "You skipped that part."

"I - well, isn't it dangerous?"

"And extremely sensitive," he agreed with a low, sensual hum. "<i>No one</i> touches a mer's gills without consent."

"I - I can move in a downward motion, right?"

He nodded. "Don't go against the ridges, and don't pick at them. But you can gently pet down."

Elly swallowed nervously and stroked as lightly as she could, once. "It's firm on the outside," she said as if this surprised her.

He shuddered and his grasp on her waist grew tighter at the forbidden touch. "<i>I want to kiss you</i>," he gasped all at once, snapping at the air in frustration. "I want to kiss you so <i>badly</i>, but I'll hurt you."

"By kissing me?" She sounded perplexed, so he demonstrated on his arm, feeling only a little foolish.

"That's <i>biting</i>!" Her eyes went wide.

"Do you - how do humans kiss, then?"

"Like this." She held his face in both hands and pressed her lips to his.

Aizawa remained very still throughout, his eyes wide at first in total shock. She was a shark specialist that <i>knew</i> how dangerous his teeth were, yet she got this close! The kiss was a different sensation than anything he'd experienced and he closed his eyes to better feel when she licked his mouth lightly.

And then it was over.

"It's a bit more than that," she panted, out of breath, "for us, but you have razor-sharp teeth. That's as far as we can take it."

"I - if I didn't? How far..?"

"Um." The pretty blush on her cheeks deepened. "We could open our mouths and touch tongues."

"Hmm." Aizawa rubbed at the back of his neck, pulling his tail down to hide the bulge forming underneath. She slipped her legs off from his waist and floated freely. <i>Human kissing like that sounds even more erotic</i>. "I like it." He pulled her closer, his hands sliding low on her back. "Can I try?"

She swallowed hard and nodded. He eagerly set his mouth on hers and resisted the urge to do anything other than stay still. It was better to be safe than sorry, though he was plenty sorry he couldn't deepen the kiss.

"I never told you, but your hair is beautiful. And it's even better underwater," he murmured. "Colorful and short, waving around like a pretty anemone. I knew I would fall in love with you the first time I saw you."

"Oh, Aizawa." Her voice broke and she sank further into his arms.

They heard an embarrassed cough a few feet away and turned to find the only other woman on her special staff standing there with her hands awkwardly held behind her back.

Elly got her feet under her and walked out of the pool while he swam around to meet them. "What's up?"

"Word got out about your necklace," she said timidly. "I'm afraid I posted some images. I only wanted to know what wreck it had come from!"

"Uh oh."

"We might get a visit from the government about it. I think the local maritime facility was interested."

"Oh, geez. Not <i>that</i> guy."

"I'm sorry, it's all my fault!" She wrung her hands together.

Elly shook her head. "I filed the paperwork for it like I was supposed to. It's not your fault."

"Yeah, but -"

"It's <i>not</i> your fault, Jolene. Honestly."

The woman sighed. "You'd better get the rest of the team solid on the story of how you found it."

"Oh, dear."

Aizawa interrupted. "Can't you say your - ahhh. I don't know the word, that I found it..."

"Boyfriend?" The woman smiled slyly at the odd couple.

"Is that right?" He looked over at Elly.

"To you, probably not. You'd mean more like -" It was her turn to stop, a bashful blush staining her cheeks. "Oh. Oh, dear."

"What? Ches? Are you okay?" Aizawa was immediately concerned.

"<i>Fiance</i>?" Jolene whispered, one eyebrow raised.

Elly nodded, her hands pressed to her now-flaming cheeks. "<i>That's it.</i>" Yagi had told her, but saying it herself drove it home.

Aizawa heard, of course. He recognized her distress, though, and didn't press further. He filed away the unknown word to ask Yagi or Hizashi the next time he saw them.

"I'm okay," she said when she came back to the pool. "I knew what it meant, I did, but this necklace means more to me than that. Now I'm kind of upset."

"Why?" He kept his tone as neutral as he could.

"We have to report any treasure found. I may have to give it up, and after you got so - so hurt, you got so ..." She shook her head and wiped at her eyes. "I don't wanna. It's mine."

He frowned. <i>What kind of monster would make someone give up their Gift</i>?

"But that's neither here nor there. If the government says I need to relinquish it, I have to."

<i>We'll see about that</i>, he thought with a frown.

Mermay 2021: 7

 Aizawa came to underwater.

He slowly recalled the events leading up to his new convalescence - the fight with the squid, the horrifying meeting with the lampreys in the deep wreckage of the ship. It was hard to remember anything past that, so for now he wrenched himself awake enough to identify more of his surroundings. The undersea chatter was lighter than usual; he recognized the sound of the pool at the aquarium right away. But he wasn't laying on the sand on the bottom, he was suspended in warmth and softness.

He opened his eye - there was a shock, he either damaged it badly or lost one -- and saw that Elly was half in the water with him, holding his upper body in her arms. She wore a wetsuit and her eyes were closed, her chest rising and falling softly as she slept.

His Gift lay shining brightly around her neck.

Aizawa purred, pleased, though he felt a pang when he knew she'd only probably taken it as a token of friendship.

"I told her about our practice of Gifting."

He jerked his head around, causing pain to flare up but ignoring it. Yagi swam up, his sunken features grave as he regarded his friend.

"You told her?"

"Yes." He gestured at the woman, her eyes heavily bruised again from her worry over his injuries. "She chose to wear your offering knowing what it meant."

Aizawa's gills fluttered rapidly. "She ...accepted?"

"Erghh, my <i>everything</i>." Elly groaned.

Yagi motioned above water where she was waking up. "Do you want me to translate again, or should I leave?"

"I think we need to be alone for this." He blew out a stream of bubbles. "Besides, I'm getting the hang of it."

When Elly woke she opened her eyes and looked down into the dark charcoal pupils of the leopard shark merman. He was floating in front of her with his nose just under the water and his dark hair tied back for once. The long, black ponytail trailed out behind him as he waited patiently.

She reached out for him without a second thought. "Please don't get hurt for me again," she pleaded, setting her forehead on his when he rose up to her level. "<i>Please</i>."

"I'm sorry." He somehow knew exactly what she was saying. It was clear from her body language and how tightly she held him, though she was careful not to squeeze too much. "I won't," he promised. "But you deserved the best Gift I could find."

"Damn it, Aizawa..."

He chuckled, his ear flaps wiggling - the left, anyway. The right had been torn and glued back together again, and it hurt too much to move. "Okay, okay."

"You're getting better at English." Most of his speech had been in her language, though he'd reverted to a few of his words.

"Yagi's been teaching me, too."

"Whoa!" Kan was suddenly standing over them. "You two have sure gotten friendly." Elly jumped, startled, but Aizawa glared silently at the big man, his good eye narrowing. He sighed and knelt down. "Look. I know I was aggressive the first few times we met, but see it from my side. If one of us was thrown into your circle, what would you guys do?"

Aizawa thought about it for a moment. "Hnf. I guess at least some of us would act the same."

Kan shrugged as if to say <i>well, there you go</i>. "Your English took a leap, by the way. It's better when we can all understand each other."

After he left, Elly demanded to check Aizawa's injuries before anything else. He bore her gentle ministrations patiently as ever, and she was soon finished.

"Seriously, though," she commented as she got out of the pool, "you're <i>really</i> better at English. Suspiciously so. It takes people up to six months to get fluent and this is only a few weeks." She rummaged around in her bag and got out new clothing, setting the pile aside.

"Maybe our kind has speech adaptability. Come to think of it, we learn how other species talk on the go as we meet them. Sea creatures are limited in that regard. I never thought about anything higher up."

"I got enough of that to know you just said you don't know." She laughed. "We can always look into it later."

"I didn't ask, but -" He pointed at his bandaged eye.

Elly's lips thinned. "It's probably going to be okay. I had to do reconstructive surgery, and I've never done that on a person before."

He uttered a soft sound of regret. "I frightened you."

"I said it before, but yes, damn it! You came in here looking like you... wait. Yagi said you actually fought a kraken?!"

"Big squid?"

Nod.

"Could go up against a whale?"

Nod, nod.

"Yes."

"See, <i>that's</i> scary as hell!" Her legs gave out and she collapsed in her chair at the desk. "My god, you could have died. I don't - I couldn't... how could I go on after losing you? You're more special to me than anyone I've ever known!"

Aizawa choked on a lungful of air. His ear flaps settled all the way down and he instinctively began to purr in an attempt to calm her down. "I'll be more careful."

"Okay. That's all I can ask." Elly grabbed her clothing and headed towards the door. "I'm going back home to change and puck up dinner."

"Can I make a request this time?"

"Sure." She faced him, curiousity in her purple eyes. "What would you like?"

"A friend of mine is always talking about peet? Peet zah? I think?"

"Pizza! Your friend has good taste." She grinned. "We'll get a couple with different toppings."

Aizawa would have asked what "toppings" were, but she was already out the door. Oh, well. He would find out.

"Hey." There was a knock at the gate, and he wandered over to look. The shrimp mer was pushing his face up close, grinning maniacally with his mustache tendrils trembling with mirth.

"Hizashi, why are you here?"

"Ha, your Intended chewed you out." Hizashi snickered, snapping his claw in tiny clicks to accompany his laughter.

"Intended," Aizawa sighed. He opened the gate and let him in.

"You look like chewed up meat, buddy. Gonna be awhile before you can consummate your partnership. Yer not mates yet!" Hizashi whistled, looking around. "Nice digs, yo."

"I haven't heard that term in ages."

"We haven't used it in awhile." Hizashi thrust a large tentacle out at his friend. "Kayama got you this. You'd better eat if you're gonna heal fast."

"It might not be the best time for tentacles," he said wryly. "Besides, Ches is getting food."

"I heard." Hizashi curled his tail, the smaller legs along it wiggling with excitement. "Pizza! Can I stay? I promise I'll be good!"

"I suppose... especially since you're the one that won't shut up babbling about it."

"Woohoo!" He tossed the tentacle to the larger feeder fish and they attacked it ravenously.

Elly cracked the door open later without paying much attention. She'd showered and changed into a tank top and jeans with sandals and was being very careful with the stack of large, thin boxes in her arms as she walked over.

"Hey, Aizawa, I picked some up but I don't know if you like anchovies..? Is that racist or something?" She stopped short as Hizashi flashed her a huge grin. "Oh! You brought a friend over again!"

"Hi hi!" He waved wildly. "I'm Hizashi! Aizawa's best friend - ouch! Quit that!" He snapped as the other man elbowed him.

"My name is Elly, but you can call me Ches if you like." She set down the boxes and pulled a small wad of napkins from a pocket. "Here, eat, if you want. There's plenty."

Hizashi gleefully tore into a slice. Aizawa was more cautious, but his eye lit up when he bit into the one with anchovies.

Elly munched on pepperoni, her favorite. "You're a... pistol shrimp? Is that right?"

Hizashi nodded, his mouth full of cheesy goodness. "Mnhhm. You know yer fish, don't'cha? I saw you a few times around the reef myself."

"I study all kinds of sea creatures. In this aquarium, I try to introduce my kind to your world so that they respect it."

He swallowed mightily, then tilted his head at her, his spiraled eyes swirling in a mesmerizing way. "But it's still like a prison. Right?"

Elly shook her head. "Not this one! We take in the sick and heal them to release. The larger ones in the tanks are mostly injured creatures that would have trouble in the wild."

"I told you, she's a good person." Aizawa sniffed at the current piece he held in his hand. "What <i>is</i> this? It's - it makes my mouth burn!"

"Oops. That one has hot cherry peppers - sorry! I should've warned you. Here's a drink, quick." She popped the top of a can of soda and handed it to him.

"Is that why you rescued this guy? Twice?"

"Ha! I know what you're getting at, but he can come and go as he pleases here. The gate's easily unlocked and our beach is private." She stroked Aizawa's dark hair away from his face to better see his visible eye. "That better?"

"Yes. Thank you."

Hizashi's ears flapped so fast he got elbowed again.

They spent several hours talking until the shrimp mer decided he had to leave. "I hafta get back to my home before those stupid eels try and move in again," he explained. "This was great, though! It was awesome meeting you!"

"You, too!" Elly waved at him from where she was neatly stacking the empty boxes for recycling tomorrow.

"Yeah, yeah," Aizawa grunted, shoving him out the gate. "Now leave us alone."

"OoooOOOoooh."

"Hizashi!"

His laughter floated into the room in the fragrant breeze off the ocean.

"You need more rest," she told him as he swam back. "Let me get my bag and we'll go to bed a little early."

"Ches?"

"Mmn?" Her bag was spread close to the water and she fluffed it out carefully.

"Nothing. Good night."

"Good night." She stared off into the distance, a blush forming on her cheeks.

"You okay?"

"Oh! Yeah. Yes." She cleared her throat and unzipped the sleeping bag, climbing in quickly. There was no need to tell him that she had gotten an almost uncontrollable urge to kiss him. She didn't even know if mers did that! And besides, he was still badly injured.

"Sleep well." Aizawa watched her for awhile, then sank underwater to curl up for the night.

Mermay 2021: 6

 "You know what would've happened if I hadn't followed you?" To say Hizashi was angry didn't do the emotion justice. He swore violently as he struggled to carry his motionless friend up into the safety of the shallows. "And you're freshin' heavy," he complained in a lower tone.

As he neared the reef Yagi met him. He exclaimed in shock upon seeing the dark-haired, limp body covered in round, gaping wounds.

"Oh no!"

"I'm taking him to the human," Hizashi grunted, shifting his weight around. "She treated him before."

"Let me," Yagi offered. "Your English is good, but you learned it from watching television shows. It's a bit... colorful for the situation. Plus, she knows me."

"Fine. I'll carry the mola head to the stream thing. You shove him the rest of the way."

"Agreed."

Aizawa woke up enough to tell them about his encounter with the sea monster guarding the wreck and was about to tell them about the mer girl, but his consciousness was spotty and he was out again by the time they reached their gateway to the human's world. Hizashi handed him over to Yagi at that point, who had to puff up to push the shark mer past the gate.

Elly was seated at the desk tapping on a computer keyboard when they arrived.

"Aizawa!" She rushed into the pool with her clothing on and splashing wildly towards them. "Yagi, what <i>happened</i>?!"

"From what I heard, he got into a fight -"

Elly was checking him all over, her hands gentle but urgent as she spun him about. The enormous sucker marks and holes all over his body were still bleeding, though not as much as before. "With what, a kraken?!"

Yagi coughed uncomfortably. "Um. Yes, actually."

"Hold him, hold him... I've got to get some supplies." She splashed up the steps and ran over to the door, calling out before it was even open. "Medical emergency! I need my A team in here, quick!"

The next room over was the medical bay, in fact, so most of the team that had been with her the first day were working. Team "A" were the only ones that knew about Aizawa, so they weren't fazed by his existence but rather his injuries as they strode quickly in with various medical kits.

Yagi hid in the tall seaweed while they rushed in.

It took longer than expected due to a shattered orbital socket, but his wounds were finally stitched, glued, bandaged and otherwise taken care of. When she could finally relax she noticed the shiny object still clutched in his fist. That arm and hand had been the one part of him uninjured. "What the hell..?"

Aizawa coughed weakly, coming around. "I got this for you." He opened his hand and the pearl and amethyst necklace sank into her outstretched palm.

She stared at it, mystified, then back to him as he lay in his friend's arms, barely able to move with one eye swollen shut and stitches underneath from her hasty surgery. She placed the jewelry on the edge of the pool and shakily embraced him.

"Huh." He tried to wrap an arm around her but was too weak.

"I didn't need that," she told him in a trembling voice. "Don't <i>ever</i> put yourself in danger for something so -"

Yagi interrupted quickly, having resurfaced when the others left. "If I may, I think you need to know why he went to such trouble to get that bauble."

"I'm not done scolding him yet!" Elly ran a hand through her soaking wet hair, pulling it back.

"He's asleep. Or passed out again."

"Damn it." She crossed her arms after compulsively checking to make sure he was okay. "All right, let him rest. He needs it."

Yagi nodded and set Aizawa's beaten body gently down on the sand under the water. He popped back up again to find Elly sitting on the edge with a towel, her eyes hard. "Now tell me why he risked a fight with a giant <i>freaking</i> squid to get this." She pointed at the glittering jewelry and started to dry her hair.

"It wasn't <i>my</i> idea!" He hastily raised his hands up to placate her.

She let the towel drop over her face in exasperation. "I know. You seem like you'd be one to warn him not to do such a thing. So. Why <i>did</i> he do it?"

He sighed and folded his long arms on the concrete. "Our kind exchanges what we call Gifts to prospective mates." The emphasis on the word was not lost on her and she slowly dropped the towel to stare at the blowfish mer. "Yes," he murmured uncomfortably. "Similar to your engagement rings. Each of the mers involved finds the most unique item they can to be displayed prominently in some fashion - either on their body, or in front of the couple's home if they accept the offering."

She blinked, remembering the shell necklace. "I didn't mean it that way when we first met."

"From what I hear, he'd already been interested in you for some time. He knows you didn't mean it that way but wanted to give you something special." Yagi paused, then went on softly, "I believe he's going to sacrifice his chance at a mate to stay with you. He's made up his mind by giving you this."

Elly's fingers brushed the necklace. Her brow was creased in a frown as she picked it up. "That's why he risked his life to get it?"

Yagi shrugged, then nodded.

"And if I wear it..?"

"To us, it means you're - how you say -- engaged. We're a simple people, and after that your first, ah, mating, signifies your ..." He stopped, searching for the right word. "Wedding."

She swallowed hard and eyed the jewelry as if it might bite her. "Oh my god."

"I've given you a lot to think about. I'll, uh, just stay here and help watch him if it's okay."

She nodded, not really listening to anything but focused on the incredible piece of sunken artifact she held.

Mermay 2021: 5

 Aizawa had a problem.

He knew humans didn't give each other Gifts exactly the way they did. He asked Yagi and Hizashi, the two that knew the most about them from his circle of friends, about their culture. He learned they many used rings to signify marriage -  that meant they were mated -- but jewelry was given as gifts in general from interested parties. Gifts were given to friends, too, however, and he knew the pretty human had only meant to bridge the gap between them when she gave him the shell.

Still...

Aizawa wanted to get her a true Gift. That meant it had to be rare and flashy (like the shell). The harder to get and the shinier an item was declared exactly how you felt, and he needed to top her present. That would be difficult as the shell she'd given him was from a rare species that was all but gone from the ocean.

He sighed.

"Foolishness," he muttered to himself as he tossed away a shimmering pebble from the ocean floor. There was a heap of such items behind him after hours of searching.

<i>Nothing is good enough</i>.

He wandered over to the edge of the sea floor and glanced down into the trench that cut deep into the abyss. The jagged mast of a ship stuck up from the depths, a shipwreck from the humans that had dared try to cross the ocean a long time ago.

That's when he remembered an old tale passed around his kind for generations. Mating Gifts of exquisite beauty could be found in these, but they were almost always guarded by sea monsters and villainous mers. Many were said to never return from such a trip, so nowadays mers eschewed them in favor of easier - and less life-threatening -- items.

Aizawa waited a minute, then plunged down into the twilight sea.

His eyes began to glow red as he dipped lower, enabling him to see better in the much darker waters. The shipwreck was a dark shadow stuck I the side of the trench, so he angled himself to cautiously approach.

Within five feet the shadows swirled, coalescing into a myriad of large arms and dinner-plate eyes that eerily resembled his. He barked in alarm and jerked backwards, watching in dismay as a giant squid unfurled itself from the wreckage to face him.

"I'm not here to hunt. I need to get into that ship," he called out.

The creature chattered angrily with an enormous beak at him.

Aizawa bared his teeth at the giant cephalopod but kept his distance. "I need to pass," he hissed once more.

No.

A huge tentacle whipped out and he quickly dodged it with a low grunt. There was absolutely no way he could fight something this big, so he didn't try - instead, he caught up a nearby fish and hurled it at the gaping maw. The squid snapped it in two without a thought and more tentacles flew at him, some catching on his chest and tail.

Gnashing his teeth in pain, he bent and tore a chunk off those holding him captive. The suckers on giant squid have rows of razor-like teeth, and these neatly dug flesh out of him everywhere they gripped. Blood swirled in the water and he gathered his strength and bit again, twisting, struggling to make himself a liability the creature wouldn't want to risk.

The tip of one struck him across the eye and his vision blurred. Desperate, he concentrated on one tentacle, chewing and ripping until he separated it from the body. The squid squealed unhappily and jerked back, eyeing him in thought for a moment. And then it pulsed away into the deep, fleeing to nurse its lost arm.

Aizawa spat the wretched thing out with a grimace. He was injured and bleeding trails through the water as he swam, which was very dangerous. More disturbing was the large deposit of bones he soon came upon, all picked clean and white, on the cracked deck. He gave it a wide berth and continued until he reached the cabin area.

"Where..?" He grasped drawers on cabinets and rummaged through rotten chunks of wood and debris with all the haste he could muster. The squid might be gone for now, but there were other dangers that lurked in the deep.

<i>That</i>!

A strand of pearls lay gleaming in as many colors as the shell he wore around his neck. In the center of the necklace was a purple gem, the exact color of her hair!

"It's perfect." He picked it up and checked it for damage. It really was perfect.

"What have we here?"

Aizawa spun around warily, the necklace clenched tightly in one fist.

A female mer was swimming up to confront him. She seemed young, a teenager most likely, with platinum blond hair twisted up in strange knots and glittery red eyes.

"I love it here," she gushed happily. "Only the strongest mers get past my cute little friend. Always men, always looking for the most special Gift. So romantic! Is she pretty?" Her mouth had a distressing circular shape, filled with row upon row of teeth. Aizawa recoiled.

<i>Lamprey</i>!

"I'd better get going."

The large cache of bones below now made sense. The squid most likely wasn't seeking mers for food - the mer herself was cannibalistic. Aizawa wrapped the chain more firmly around his wrist and tensed himself for a second fight as more squirming creatures rose up out of the darkness beneath her.

"You can't go now. First you tell me how <i>wonderful</i> your would-be mate is." A few of the lampreys had curled themselves around her arms as she faced him and she stroked them like they were her pets.

"And then?" He kept a careful watch in all directions, his stomach twisting in a knot. There were too many of them.

"<i>And then you die</i>."

"OH NO HE DOESN'T!" Hizashi's thunderous clicking erupted from above. He pulled his claw back, and a deafening jolt erupted, a water bullet of pure sound and speed. The lampreys recoiled, the little ones and their leader blown back into the abyss. "You moron!" He yelled at his friend even as he grabbed him and started swimming away as fast as he could.

Aizawa didn't answer; he had finally passed out.

Mermay 2021: 4

 When Elly got back from home with a change of clothes and a snack for them both she was surprised to see another merman in the pool. She almost dropped her bag and the takeout container she was carrying when he waved at her.

"Hello!" He called out in excellent English.

"Oh!" She stumbled, but managed to grab everything close so it didn't fall. A sleeve fell out from the bag and she ignored it, tossing the whole thing near her desk. The food container she took with her to place nearby her guests.

The new merman appeared frail, his face hollow with bones protruding as if he might have been recovering from an illness. His eyes were sunken but a beautiful, clear blue like the ocean, and he had blond hair that dangled past his cheeks in two long locks. His tail was yellow with white on the underbelly.

"Oops. Sorry!" His robust voice belied his sickly nature. "My name is Yagi. Aizawa thought it would help speed things up if I translated."

"Good idea," she grinned. "Nice to meet you, Yagi. Aizawa calls me by my nickname Ches because it's easier for him. My name is Elly, though. You can pick whichever you like."

"Thank you, Ms. Elly!" Yagi suddenly grew in size, his chest expanding until he was a hugely muscled specimen from the waist up. His tail shot up and out as well, and she smiled, seeing spikes now. It seemed mers could be different types of fish, and unlike Aizawa who was a shark, Yagi was a puffer fish.

"If it's okay, could I ask how you speak our language? Aizawa doesn't... at least, not a lot of it yet. He's only just learning."

Yagi coughed and deflated back to his smaller size. "Some of us know how from books your kind left behind. That's personally how I learned. One of the first ones I read as a child was made for water use, a child's book."

"Ohhh, like a bath toy!" Elly nodded. "Makes sense. A lot of humans don't think about the consequences of throwing things where they don't belong. In this case, however, it sounds kind of like a good thing." She opened the boxes of food and placed the lids underneath each. "You both want to try some? I've been bringing different food every day for Aizawa to taste. I picked up some sushi - that's raw fish that humans eat."

"Sushi?" Aizawa dutifully repeated the word. He sniffed at a piece and exclaimed, "This is octopus!"

"He likes octopus," Yagi supplied helpfully.

"Really? That's my favorite!" Elly pointed at a dish of raw slices without the rice. "Look, I always eat the tentacles first!"

"It's the best. Chewy." He paused. "Yagi, can you tell her -"

"You don't have to add that," Yagi murmured. "Just talk like you normally would if I weren't here."

"All right." Aizawa looked directly into her purple eyes. "I wanted to thank you for helping me. I heal fast, but what you did enabled me to cut my time in half. I'm much better now."

"I want to talk about that," she said cheerfully as she slowly moved her feet in the water. "The pool here is barren because it's meant for convalescent creatures, but, like you said, you're better. It's dismal, don't you think?"

Yagi nodded, adding something this time. "It's frighteningly quiet underwater." Then he dutifully translated for Aizawa.

"Yes. It's too empty." Aizawa thought carefully before responding. "What are you thinking?"

"I've got this list of creatures and undersea plants in the area." She held out her tablet which showed beautiful pictures of flora and fauna.

"Yes."

"Can you pick your favorites?" She demonstrated, tapping a checkmark at the end of one. "Good fish? The ones that you like to watch or eat? And plants? Pick anything that you like."

He poked at it to see how it worked, then nodded.

"Okay," he grinned up at her.

Yagi recoiled, then breathed a sigh of relief. "I didn't think you would accept their mannerisms like that, Aizawa. Human smiling? Really?"

"She likes it when I show my teeth."

"Yes, it's synonymous with our ear wiggling." His flaps moved as he spoke, clearly amused. "You'd better tell her that it's a sign of mating or aggression with mers, or there might be trouble later."

Aizawa set his jaw. "You tell her, then."

"Are you sure? Because  -"

"I have to do this." He was deliberately focused on the tablet, though he couldn't hide the blush creeping stealthily up his neck.

"Ahhhh." Yagi turned to hide his wiggling ears. "Um. Ms. Elly?"

"Mmn?"

"I need to tell you that mers don't typically smile with our mouths. We wiggle our ear flaps to convey happiness. A show of teeth is either aggression or, ah, passion."

"Really? I mean, I kind of thought Aizawa didn't smile much, but he - wait. Wait, he shows his teeth a lot for me. Is he smiling at me, then?"

Yagi's ears moved so noticeably that she relaxed. "Don't worry. He picked up your habits because it made you happy."

"Oh." She thought for a moment. "So, is it like a smile but the more active they are, it's a larger one? Happier?"

He nodded.

Elly thought of how often she saw the dark-haired merman wiggle his ears and couldn't help it - she smiled.

After Yagi's visit the mers left for a brief while to discuss things - as Aizawa put it -- "so Kayama won't wreck this place trying to save us".

It was a good thing, too, because the mako-tailed merwoman had brought reinforcements. Yagi and Aizawa swam out a ways to sea to meet up with her.

She seemed cheerful. "I brought Hizashi."

Aizawa groaned. "We don't need Hizashi!"

"Oh," the newcomer scoffed. "Nice." He was blond like Yagi, but with a beautiful red and white striped shrimp tail and red eyes to match. One arm was similar to a human, the other bore a huge snapping pincher from the elbow down. "I'll crack that place wide open the minute you give the okay -"

"Zashi!"

"Awww. No cracking?"

Aizawa glared at him. "Keep your claw out of this. I came out to let everyone know I'm okay. And look, I might not trust all the humans either, but I do Ches."

"Oh?" Hizashi's ear fins perked. "Is that the name of your mate?"

"Kayama, what did you <i>tell</i> him?"

"Okay, okay!" She threw up her hands in disgust. "<i>You</i> won't admit it, but you're definitely interested. Did you get her a Gift in return?"

"I'm not discussing this further." Aizawa spun around so fast he created a wave of bubbles. "I need to get back. We swam so far out it's going to take me awhile."

"Sorry," Hizashi chirped, sounding anything but. "We kinda wanted to check to see if you were okay. You made it out, though, so you must be doing better!"

Aizawa muttered a curse and kept going. Although he'd professed to be much better, he was still sore, and he took his time working out any kinks in his tail on the long way back to the aquarium. When he got back he slipped through the stream and eagerly opened the gate. He couldn't wait to be alone with Elly - it was nice to talk freely, but having Yagi around was somewhat embarrassing.

<i>What happened here</i>?

He froze, stunned at the transformation he saw, and when he recovered enough he flicked his tongue out to taste the difference.

It was magnificent.

His favorite, tasty fish swam around fake coral reefs along the sides of the pool. The bottom was soft now, with real plants that rose up from the sand. Shells lay scattered about in some areas and there were schools of small bait fish darting about to encourage the others to feed. The sounds were a happy cacophony, so unlike what it used to be that he shook his head, shocked.

Elly was submerged in the corner of the pool releasing the last of the fish. She turned around when she heard the gate and waved at him happily.

"You did this for me?"

She scrunched her nose up underneath the mask she wore, pointing at her ears and then up. He followed her to the surface.

"Boy, your language is really different sounding under the water," she gasped.

He licked his lips and nodded, speechless. Having her in the water with him was a deciding experience for him. More than anything he wanted to touch her, stroke her hair and see how soft her skin really felt under his hands. Her scent was intoxicating, and his teeth were itching for a taste.

Fortunately she stepped out of the pool before he could get too excited, with her mask and the container that had held the fish in one hand.

"For me?" He repeated his question from before in a much simpler fashion, still stunned.

"I know, it's a little too much, isn't it? I kind of went overboard but I couldn't help myself -"

"Ches."

She looked up to find him grinning at her. He placed a hand near her and said, "Good," in as warm a tone that he could manage.

<i>Except now there's</i> two <i>special things you've given me, and I've got nothing for you in return.</i>

Kayama was right.

He had to find her a Gift.