Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Two worlds meet during a storm

Our story takes place in two different worlds; the one of below the surface and the one above the surface, sitting on the waves… I wonder how each world is handling the storm that has just settled upon them…
Why don’t we take a look?

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The ship rocked, the wind howled. Everyone knew that in this kind of harsh weather the worst of the sea came out to play. Some called them monsters, others called them angels. But if you asked Dazai Osamu, the captain of the NLH ( No Longer Human ; one of the fastest pirate ships on the seven seas) he would tell you that it wasn't the sea trying to kill you when you reached that one, unmarked section of the oceans map. It wasn’t the sharks that crashed into your ship and made it rock that kept people out either. 

The wind howled around them as they scampered to obey their captains orders, stumbling and sprawling over the soaking, rocking ship. Some stomachs turned and others ended up on the outside of their bodies while the howling wind flushed away the scent of puke and whisky. “Lower the nets! Don't get too close to the sides!” A harsh voice echoed off the waves and the walls of the ship. “Be careful! We need this fish or we won't have food for the next month.”

Each wave and shark that slammed into the ship sent it rocking from left to right, crew members stumbled about the wooden deck. “Captain, I don’t think we can fish in this weather! The net will get tangled under the boat!” The person yelled back, face blurred in the crowd of pirates and waves. Names were forgotten in situations like this, the crew's faces and names blurred together as the waves crashed against the wood of the ship, the goods from their latest raid on a royal fleet ship being tossed about below the deck.

“I don't care! We’re getting this fish!” Dazais voice boomed over the sound of the boat being smashed against wave after wave, the loot below deck smacking into the wooden walls and some cries of the crew. “We need this catch!”

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While the surface is in utter chaos, nets being tossed into deadly waters and members of the NLH crew being tossed overboard during the storm, our other character, a man who belongs to the world beneath the surface of the ocean, is having a different problem. While humans have the problem of the sea and the weather the one who perks below is being chased around in circles.

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The silence which leaked below the waves was deafening; echoing off the sand and the rocks. The water bubbled, a flash of black speeding through the water being followed close behind by a large, grey beast which had rows of sharp teeth on display, snapping at the very end of the shadow coloured fin. The creature with the black tail dove in between two rocks, hiding as the shark swam by.

The black, scaled tail was wrapped around under the body of a man, the pale skin which one could compare to a pearl, the black scales scattering across the man's waist, going up his hips and onto his stomach. The head on the male was dressed with beautiful, ginger locks, one blue and one brown blue, pale pink lips and a scar on his cheek, an old one which had gone a deathly white with time. 

A sigh left his lips as he ran a hand over his neck, feeling his gills still intact, then he ran his hands over the rest of his body, making sure nothing was missing or injured. He shook his head and looked out between the two rocks, making sure the coast was clear. He didn’t want to get tangled with another shark; that was too much effort considering he was alone and without a pod at the moment.

Nakahara Chuuya, a lone siren who was thrown out due to the colour of his tail, a siren who learned how to live alone in the ocean, who learned who and what he could attack and eat alone; he learned everything the hard way yet here he was still alive so it was fine. He pulled himself out of the gap between the two rocks and started to swim back the way he had come, his tail swishing in the water, propelling himself forwards. 

“Stupid sharks...” He grumbled under his breath, anger twisting his face. The feeling of hatred in his gut caused it to twist; Chuuya hated sharks, they always got in the way of his hunts, it was annoying and caused too many problems throughout the day, like now. He was lost. Chuuya had no idea where he was and it was causing him to get turned around again. “Oh for fucks sakes!” The siren yelled, letting himself sink to the sandy ground, grabbing a fistfull and throwing it through the water. 

The sand didn’t go that far due to the pressure but it helped Chuuya let out his frustration so he just continued throwing sand. “Those stupid, stupid sharks! Why cant they leave me the fuck alone!?” He yelled into the blue sea, hands moving up to tug on his hair, trying to rip it out of his head. 

“I hate these fucking sharks!” After a moment of silence the sound of Chuuyas rage echoing through his mind, he shook his head and gave up, he knew damn well that the sharks wont leave him alone simply because he wanted them too, that was just an unethical thought. Sharks were like him, hunters looking for their next meal which ever so happened to be him half the time since he was the first thing they saw when they were out hunting.

Chuuya pushed himself off the ocean floor, propelling himself with his tail, fin fluttering behind him like a majestic black cape. Chuuya sighed, swimming in a random direction; a breath leaving his throat as he looked round the rocks and coral, the weeds and other things which littered the ocean floor. He was searching for something to eat, fish, clams or maybe a dead shark if he was lucky. “Where the fuck is all the fish!?”

He swam for a few hours, searching for anything to eat; unfortunately he didn’t find anything. With the amount of sharks that seemed to be on his trail he ended up getting mixed around in circles while he tried to hunt during the commotion. During one particular chase with a shark Chuuya came across a school of jackass Morwong or a school of Nemadactylus macropterus.

Chuuya propelled himself towards it, hoping to get a feed as well as hoping to get the shark off his trail. His body collided with a cold, metal net. The feeling of being crushed every so slightly becomes more real as he is risen out of the water, slowly making his way up and out of the ocean. As they rose in the clear blue liquid the water started to get rougher, more violent as if the sea was screaming. Chuuya felt the now warm metal start to dig into his tail., the pain sending pulses up his tail and into his chest. 

Chuuya raised a hand and placed it on his chest, squeezing his eyes shut as his breathing got shaky, the scent of blood filled the water, likely leading more sharks towards his location. Chuuya struggled; trying to fight his way out of the now warm, metal next making the pain shoot through his muscles and throw his bones. 

The metal dug in under his scales and into the soft flesh under the black scales, the pain filled his body and mind, his chest tightening as he was pressed against the metal, forcing it further into his tail as the mass of fish on top of him got heavier and heavier. It felt like he was being crushed by bricks as his body was slammed into the metal. He hated this, he wanted to get out; he slashed, trying to use his claw-like nails to get out of the cage. 

As they continued to rise in the water Chuuya could feel the water change, the water was filled with a sudden lift of oxygen content it caused Chuuya to gasp, his eyes widening as they got closer and closer to the surface. He could feel the weight of the fish on top of him increasing every second. “Fuck!” he yelled as his body left the warmth of the water he had known as his home and into the freezing cold air of the stormy night.

The feeling of the metal coming undone, causing a pained echoing screech leaving his throat; metal smashed against wood and his body, blood splattered on the ground and a load of fish was dropped on top of him as well. The air was knocked out of him and he was covered, he couldn't see anything other than the silvery fish scales of the school of morwong which surrounded him. 

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The crew which were standing around the mess of fish, watching as they jumped and moved about while on the wood, squiggling and jumping around. Slowly the large, black fin was revealed. One of the crew members stumbled as the waves crashed against the ship, his voice echoing around in the vibrating air. “We got a big one!” The sound summoned the captain as the crew dug through the mess of fish, revealing the shaft of the scale smothered tail, the black scales a silent warning of what lay beneath the dying fish.

“Don’t touch it!” Dazai’s voice echoed as he bellowed, however  it was too late, as one of his men got closer to the end of the tail, finding absurdly pale human skin instead of more scales claws sliced through his gut, blood and organs being spilled all over the deck and the rest of the fish pile. Slowly, sitting up, the black tail on display, pale skin with faint scales moving up his body ginger hair which wasn’t the normal type you saw upon land. Dazai’s face paled. “Everyone get away from it!”

The creature whipped its head around to meet eyes with Dazai, one beautiful sapphire blue and the other reminding Dazaj of chocolate. The captain shook the thought out of his head, shaking away the thought of this creature being the most treasured item or person that has ever boarded the ship. “We won't hurt you…” He said, raising his hands and trying to make himself as non-threatening as possible. “Please just dont kill anymore of my men…”

A hiss came from its mouth, then some unknown language left the human mouth on this creature which only belonged in myths. “Βγάλτε με αμέσως από αυτό το πλοίο!”

Dazai raised a brow, he had no idea what he was saying. He had forgotten that merfolk had their own language. His mouth went dry as he watched the siren lean down and licked up the blood which was spilled on the wood and all over the fish, after a few moments he raised his head. “Get.. me off this ship now!”

Dazai’s eyes locked with the sirens and he took a breath. So they gained human speech by drinking blood, which was both interesting and… unsettling. “We won't hurt you if you don’t hurt us.” Dazai explained slowly, trying to make sure the siren who had just gained the ability to speak in human tongue could understand him.

“Get me off this god damned boat!” The siren screamed as a flash of lightning hit the water behind the boat, a carcass of a shark slowly rising to the surface as it sizzled and popped. 

Well, fuck. He can control the weather. I’m screwed. Was the only thoughts running through the pirate captain's head as he watched the siren back away, the uplifted scales on his black tail, the blood spilling over them as he moved. A red tail would have made him look even prettier. Was the next thought that filled his head but he shook it off.

Chapter Text

Communication and a doctor

Dazai Osamu, the feared captain of the known ship across the seven seas had absolutely no idea how to handle a siren in general, let alone this kind of violent, bloodthirsty creature that could control lightning– so he gave the siren something to eat. They had fished the shark out of the water and cooked it, now he was offering this man killing creature some of it since it had helped them catch it. “It's food.” Dazai tried to explain as the siren threw the cooked shark back at him.

"No, it's ruined.” The siren hissed, still refusing to let anyone get close to him, Dazai just wanted to check the wound and make sure it wasn’t infected but no the siren had to be a little shit and refuse treatment. “You don’t put it over heat that ruins it.”

Dazai raised a brow. “You know what heat is?”

Chuuya’s eyes twitched. “Do you not know what underwater volcanoes are?” He cooed, mocking the pirate captain's knowledge. “We call them Συμφράσεις,” the siren grinned as he watched the other man's face twist with confusion. “I know what humans call things, we all learn it in our pods.”

“Okay, where is your pod then, smart ass?” Dazai asked, eyes watching the water with a hint of fear; this was either a merman or a siren. The latter would cause the ship to skin if the pod found out they had one of theirs on the ship. Dazai’s hands trembled lightly at the thought, a fear of the awaiting, slow and agonising death seeped into his bones as he glanced around the now dark and calm waves.

“I was thrown out of my pod when I was old enough to take care of myself.” The siren said calmly, shrugging. Dazai’s unease drifted away, only for it to return as the merman continued. “My father was a siren, my mother was a mermaid. I was thrown out of my pod by my mother because my tail is black.”

Dazai looked towards Chuuya’s tail and raised a brow, humming softly he slowly picked up the lantern sat besides him and held it in the air above the black scales, the flame light dancing alone the groves and dips in the scales, the sight was beautiful, mesmerising even. “Why would they kick you out of your tail colour?”

“It means I was born a siren; I was raised as a mermen though.” The ginger didn’t seem to care about spilling his life story to strangers, maybe it's because he planned to slaughter them all at the earliest convenience or maybe it's because this human with greasy brown hair and shit coloured eyes seemed easy to talk to? “Human, what are you called?”

Dazai paused, not sure of the formalities of the world below the surface of the waves, the thought of giving out his first name was strange to him but he had a feeling that it would mean something to the siren so he did it. “My name is Osamu, what’s yours?”

“Chuuya.” The siren replied. “It's what my father named me when he found out my mother was pregnant; then he went to get clams and never came back.” The male shrugged at the thought of being abandoned by his father, as if it happened to everyone. Dazai nodded in agreement, he understood the father abandoning him, however he had been abandoned in a different way to the siren.

“It's a pleasure to meet you, Chuuya.” The man said with a smile; holding out a hand for the siren who seemed confused; he shoved his face into the human's hand, earning a laugh from Dazai. “No, you put your hand in mine and we shake.”

Chuuya’s face twisted with a frown; what he understood from Dazai was they mated by putting their hands together. Chuuya might have known most of the human language but having grown up with incompetent merfolk he came to know the word shake as mate.”I do not wish to shake with you.” The siren said, backing away from the human, a hand still holding on top of his wound to try and keep at least some of the scales attached to himself so he doesn't bleed out.

“Shake with me?” Dazai repeated over and over again, trying to understand what the sea-creature was trying to say. “What do you mean by ‘shake with you’?”

The merman raised a brow, tilting his head. “I don't wish to shake with you.” He repeated.

“What do you mean by shake?” Dazai asked again, confusion slowly turning to frustration as he struggled to comprehend what the siren was trying to get across.

“Shake!”

“I don’t know what you mean by shake!” Dazai yelled back at the siren.

Chuuya frowned even more, his claws like nails digging into the wood beneath him. “Sex!”

Dazai blinked, pausing as he tried to process what the male was saying. “Sex…?” He repeated what the ginger had said. “Shake… sex…” he was trying to put two and two together. “You mean mate?”

Chuuya huffed. “γάμα σε.”

Dazai laughed, ignoring the tone which the siren was using, indicating whatever was said in the merfolk language was an insult or some kind of cuss. “Chuuya, shaking hands isn’t mating, it's just a human gesture of greeting and friendship. It's also a way to convey trust, respect, balance, and equality.” He explained, hoping the siren would feel better about shaking hands with him now.

Chuuya just looked away, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “I knew that.”

Dazai shook his head but didn’t say anything; the human stood and walked over to the ship's kitchen, hoping to find some raw shark left over for the siren to eat. “Do we have any shark left?” he asked without looking at the chef; he didn’t bother getting to know his name, Dazai knew he’d end up dead soon enough.

The chef, a man who blended in with the crowd with his black hair and eyes, pale skin and bright smile nodded. “Aye, captain.” He said, hoping today would be the day Dazai recognised his face and called him by his name instead of ‘you’ or ‘that one’ or ‘cook’. “Want me to cook it up for you captain?”

“Give it to me raw.” He said coldly.

The chef's heart sank.
Was his cooking really that horrid?

Dazai walked out of the kitchen carrying a plate of raw shark flesh, he walked out to the deck, finding Chuuya attempting to patch his wound with a rope to hold the scales in place. “Now, now Chuuya~” Dazai cooed, drawing out tha ‘ya’ sound on the end of the half-human man's name. “I can get our doctor Yosano to look at you.” He said as he handed the plate of shark over to the ginger. 

The merman’s glare softened at the sight of the raw meat; and before Dazai could even get close enough to remove the rope the siren had snatched the plate and started to eat. Dazai didn’t even know that you could eat shark scales; however it might just be a siren thing. Slowly the human moved closer and unwrapped the rope from the siren's tail, making sure to keep his movements slow and non-threatening. Once the rope was pulled away Dazai moved back and stretched his arms out, glad the creature hadn’t attacked him out of the blue for that.

The brown eyed-man glanced at the wound in the candle light, a hand covering his mouth as he tried not to vomit. The scales were hanging onto a thin flap of skin, under was the red, bloody muscle which moved each time the siren adjusted himself. Even though hours had passed the injury still hadn't collotted and somehow the siren was still alive; maybe it’s just a merfolk thing.

Dazai turned away and quickly ducked into the doctor's cabin. “Yosano!” He called; knowing the woman would either be studying up on sirens and merfolk or making some new medical elixir just in case someone else got attacked by the creature upon the deck. Dazai closed the door behind him and looked around the dark room which was only lit up by two or three candles. 

Yosano was the only person Dazai had memorised the name of  as she had been on this ship when the previous owner had taken Dazai in. They were almost like brother and sister however Dazai kept pushing her away out of fear of hurting her like their ‘father’ had. If you could even call the previous captain a father to begin with.

“Osamu?” A voice called back and Yosano peaked out from behind her pile of books. “What are you doing here?”

“Do you know how to treat the wounds of a fish?” Dazai asked, with hopeful eyes, making his way over to the woman known across the oceans as ‘the angel of death’ for her poisonous gases she makes and puts into cannon balls. The two wing tattoos on either one of her shoulder blades have brought the word ‘angel’ into her alias. The confusion written on the woman's face was all Dazai needed to know as he swore under his breath. “Fuck.”

“Osamu.” Yosano said as she stood up, walking towards the man and placing a hand on his shoulder. “Why are you asking me that?”

“Ch–” Dazai paused, he didn’t like that he was about to share the siren's name with her; he wanted that secret to himself. It might seem stupid but it was something he wanted and he always got what he wanted. “The chibi sirens’ wound isn’t clotting and I'm getting worried he’ll bleed out and die on my ship, I don’t want to wake up to my deck stained with fish blood.” The lie rolled off his tongue as if it was just another story he was telling Yosano and some village kid called Ranpo from when they were younger. 

The woman nodded. “First of all, you don't treat a wound on a merfolk, siren or not, like it's a wound on a fish.” She explained sternly. “You treat it like it's a mix of a wound between fish and human. So you’ll need something called an antibacterial treatment which I can whip up for you. I'll also have to look at the wound and determine if I need to cut anything– just bring him here; Why don't you? That will make it so much easier just to do it.”

Dazai hummed “I will try, if I fail, I fail.” he said calmly.

She rolled her eyes and nodded. “Go get your ‘chibi siren’ so we can release it back into the wild.” She said with a smile, shaking her head. Something told her that they won’t be able to release the siren for a good few days or a week and that they would need to get rid of the metal nets when they reach the next harbour.

“I’m the captain, don't boss me around.”

“And I’m the medical professional.” She shot back, a cruel grin on her pale pink lips. “Now go get me my patient.”

Chapter Text

treatment and a story

Chuuya fought him the whole time, scratching and biting his arms, thrashing and hissing like some kind of wild cat. Dazai winced in pain as the siren dug his claws into the human's shoulder. “Chuuya! Stop it!” Dazai hissed. “I just want to get you treated!!”

The siren hissed and bit Dazai’s wrist. “Δεν θέλω!”

Dazai hissed and frowned. “I don’t know what you're saying but I don’t really care.” He huffed, continuing to drag the fighting siren with him towards the doctors cabin. The human was bleeding. “Chuuya stop thrashing around!”

The siren was still slowly being moved across the wooden deck; the wood creaking under the siren's weight. “God damn it Chuuya, you’re heavy!” Dazai whined. “Stop fighting me!!”

The siren sighed and went limp, a pout on his blood red lip; slowly the siren ended up being moved along the wooden ground and towards the doctors cabin, once they were inside Dazai Osamu collapsed onto the floor with a sigh; exhausted. “Put him on the bed.” Yosano’s voice cut through the air and pulled a whine from Dazai’s throat.

Dazai stood and struggled to get Chuuya onto the bed, getting his top-half on the bed and struggling to lift up the weight of the man's tail. “Chibi!! Help meee!!” Chuuya rolled his eyes and lifted his tail to help the Dazai get him on the bed. Dazai once again collapsed. “Thank you Chibiiiii!!”

The siren sighed. “Don’t call me that σκατά κεφάλι.”

“What the hell did you say?” Dazai asked, looking up at Chuuya from his spot on the floor.

Yosano smiled and walked over with a tray of items. “He called you a shit head.” She said and sighed softly. “Hello ‘chibi siren’ I’m Yosano; I’ll be taking care of you today.” The woman explained, kicking Dazai out of the way. “Dazai will be leaving now.”

The brown haired man sighed and closed his eyes. “So mean.” He stood up and slowly walked out of the room, Chuuya wasn’t happy with this however he’d put up with it for now… or at least he hoped he could.

Yosano crouched down and smiled at the siren. “I will have to clean the wound first.” She said as she pulled out the small bowl of antibacterial treatment, slowly and carefully applying it to the wound, watching as she dapped with the cloth to clean up the blood, applying the treatment with her hand. Chuuya didn’t react or flinch, letting the woman work her ‘magic’.

As Yosano continued to treat the siren they talked; mainly about Dazai.

“What's with that guy?” Chuuya asked, his head laid against a soft, fluffy pillow.

“Which guy?” Yosano asked as she looked up from whatever medical thing she was doing. 

“Osamu.” Chuuya clarified.

“The captain? He's an idiot.”

The ginger raised a brow. “How so?”

This triggered Yosano telling the siren about the time when they were kids, learning how to fish. “Osamu ended up running towards a fin in the water, claiming it was a dolphin; our teacher, Mori yelled at him to get back to land since it was a shark, not a dolphin.” Yosano explained, giggling a little at the memory, her hands skillfully working away on the siren's tail. “Turns out it wasn’t just any shark; Mengla showed up.”

The siren flinched at the name of the shark. “Mengla!?” He echoed, panic and shock in his eyes, that shark had killed over four thousand sirens and merfolk within the past moon cycle. “How the hell did he survive!?”

“Ah, back then Osamu was suicidal so he asked the shark to kill him.” Yosano explained, not looking up from her work. “I think the shark was so freaked out that it just swam away. Now whenever we see it coming towards us while we are sailing, Osamu comes out and asked it ‘when are you going to kill me?’ and the thing just swims away.”

Chuuya thought back to the stories, legends he had heard about Mengla, the beast of the seas that even the gods could not tame. “Η Μένγκλα θα κυνηγήσει μόνο αυτούς που θέλουν να βλάψουν την αγαπημένη της θάλασσα, μην παίρνεις ποτέ περισσότερα από όσα χρειάζεσαι. Διαφορετικά θα έρθει και για σένα η Mengla.” He said, watching as Yosano looked up at him with a face of confusion she knew some words but couldnt put that together. The siren sighed, that's right; humans didn’t understand the tongue of the sea.

So Chuuya repeated himself in the human tongue. “Mengla will only hunt those who want to harm her beloved sea, never take more than you need. Otherwise Mengla will come for you too.” It wasn’t an exact replica of what he had said but it was close enough. “It's a legend that's been passed down through word of mouth in the ocean. I think the reason she avoids Osamu is because he has no intentions of harming my world. She has killed her own kind as they tried to wipe out an entire siren and merfolk pod before…”

Yosano’s eyes sparkled as she listened. “So she only attacks those who wish to harm the sea? That explains why Mori was… taken out by her.” 

“Mori?” Chuuya has heard that name twice now.

“Osamu and my old teacher, he's not dead, he's just no longer able to sail.” Yosano explained with a shrug. “People call him our ‘father’ due to him training us from a young age, it's kind of stupid.” Chuuya nodded, trying to keep up with how fast the woman was talking, however he couldn’t, so he just nodded along. “Anyways, I’m finished with your treatment.” Yosano said as she stood up and looked at him. “Get better soon so we can have you off this ship quickly.” Her voice was cold and harsh. Chuuya’s gut churned. Even humans hated him for being half siren and half merman. That hurt.

Chapter Text

The sea that calls me

Chuuya sat on Dazais bed, his tail having been rubbed with water, or sprayed with water every five to ten minutes, of course the humans took care not to touch the wound on his tail… mainly because he killed one of them after they did the first time. The siren was looking out the large stained glass window, feeling the pull back to the sea; a pull which tugged at his soul so hard that he moved closer to the window, reaching out to open it. It was an emotional pull, one that hugged at his heart and forced him to accept the fact that if he fell from this window he very well might have died if he hit another part of the boat before falling into the sea.

The sea that called to him would also be the thing to kill him. The sea that he sang to, the sea that he had grown up in, the sea that he loved. It would kill him at some point and he didn’t know when it would be which scared him– though he would never admit it. As Chuuya’s fingers brushed against the cold metal handle of the window he was snapped from his trance, eyes widening. The sea couldn’t sing. Never once had the sea sung back to him. Danger was here. The siren frowned at his tail and then looked out the window, pushing the window open and the echo of a siren's song rang through. Chuuya rolled his eyes and started to sing, his black tail glittering with red, the stray scale patches he had burning a beautiful vibrant red which his tail copied.

His tail was black normally, however due to him being a half mermaid his tail changed when he used his siren abilities or his mermaid abilities. The half-siren-half-mermaid sung a contracting melody to the other sirens, knocking anyone out of a trance who was in one, he could hear yelling and fighting, something about a harpoon maybe a rod, he wasn’t sure. But he kept his song on repeat until the other melody was cut off in a shriek. Chuuya’s breath was coming in short gasps, eyes wide and his throat sore, his tail back to being black once again. A siren attack was common for humans but not common for other sirens.

The door to the room bursted open just as Chuuya closed the window. “Chuuya!! Are you alright!?” Dazai Osamu’s voice echoed around the cabin as he rushed to the merfolks side. Chuuya just gave him a small smile before rolling her eyes and speaking in a gruff, hoarse voice.

“Of course I am. Siren songs don’t affect other sirens.” He lied, the sound of it coming out of his mouth made him want to slap himself. Siren’s songs can affect anyone with desires, like Chuuya having a desire for a family. Depending on how strong that person's free will and mental state is; including the strength of the desire, depends on if they can get out of a siren's control. This is why Chuuya could break free, his desire for family had grown weak of the years, his mentality had strengthened due to living alone and he had all the free will any sea-folk could have, Chuuya could easily snap out a siren's song.

However… Humans are weak in all of those aspects other than their desires, those are strong.

“I’m glad then.” Dazai said with a smile. “Do you know where that other melody came from?”

Chuuya shrugged, knowing he shouldn’t reveal it was him. “No idea, you must have a god on your side or something.” The man said, hoping not to give himself away. “I can’t use a siren's song. It's too much for a half-breed like me to be able to do.”

Dazai didn’t question it, just nodding along. “Alright Chibi~”

“If I could stand on my tail I would be taller than you so shut your γαμημένος mouth.” Chuuya snapped, he hated that nickname that the human had given him, though he had no fucking idea what it meant. Chuuya was praying he wouldn’t have to see that Yosano lady again, he wanted to get out of here in a few days and go to the other side of the ocean where the ‘sea goddess’ lived. That sounded better than hanging around with these humans for the rest of his life.

Chapter Text

The starts of a pod

The siren sighed as he looked around the room he was stuck in for the millionth time. He hated this. It had been three weeks since he had first boarded this ship against his will, three weeks of having people touch him and water him like some kind of plant. He wanted to leave, he wanted out, he needed to get out. This was driving him insane; he needed the open sea, the cool water running along his spine as he swam, the cool water sinking into his skin with a pleasurable warmth following it. He missed it; he loved it. 

Now he was just stuck on this ship in the captain's cabin, listening though the wall as Yosano; the doctor and the pirate captain, Osamu argued about him.

“That thing almost killed us!” The woman yelled. “It’s probably the reason that siren attacked us in the first place! We have to get rid of it!!”

Chuuya nodded in agreement, get rid of him, put him back where he belonged. Dazai’s voice followed after Yosanos in an attempt to counter argue. Chuuya sighed, shaking his head.

“He saved us from that siren, I know it!”

“How do you know! He said he didn’t know where the second melody came from.” The woman said coldly, crossing her arms over her chest. She was mad that they were keeping the siren for so long. It needed to go back to its home, its pod. “It's going to die if we keep it out of the water any longer.”

“I’ll go swim with him.” Dazai said with a pout. Chuuya’s eye twitched, a turning in his stomach. Something told him that the brown haired, stupid human couldn’t swim. His gut was right as Yosano started to lecture him for such an idea.

Chuuya sighed and blocked it out, reaching down and slowly unwrapping the bandages around his tail so he could see the wound. It was healing, slowly. Even with his fast recovery time it was a murderously slow healing frame. It was getting annoying for the siren; it was taking much too long for him to heal. If he had a pod he wouldn't have to worry about going back to the ocean with an injured tail.

Chuuya could feel the rage building in his chest, it getting more intense as it got stronger in his chest, he hated this oh so so much. He hated every little part of this, of how he ended up like this. He hated that net, he hated this ship, he hated that shark. He hated it all. As the siren was caught up in his hate the sound of a yell sounded from the deck. Right they had run out of fish again. They had used that net again.

Chuuya rewrapped his tail and moved his body slowly onto the floor, using the base of his fin to push himself backwards towards the door so he could see what was happening on deck. Two merfolk pups were curled up in the mountain of fish, neither one injured. Chuuya reached up and carefully opened the door, laying on his front and clawing his way out of the room and into sight so he could get a better look at the pups.

One was male with black hair and white in the tips, black eyes which matched his tail. “Ryuu.” The nickname had fallen from his lips. He could feel the dug in his chest which was coming from some kind of bond; he knew this child, it's like he had grown up with the kid however the kid was much too young to be someone he grew up with. He was only a pup, just past the guppy stage. The other was a female who was in the middle of shedding her first set of scales; entering the pup stage. “Gin.” Her black hair and light grey eyes sent a wave of confusion through him. They were siblings and so young. Where the fuck was their parents and their pod!?

Chuuya continued to drag himself out, over to the pile of fish, when a crew member got in his way he snapped at them with his teeth. The siren ended up on top of the pile of fish, gently offering his hands to the children. “Γεια μωρό μου, είμαι ο Chuuya... πού είναι ο λοβός σου;” He asked softly.

The children looked up at him with wide eyes; surprised to see another of their kind on this ship. 

Yosano and Osamu came storming out to see what the fuss was about but froze upon seeing Chuuya interacting with two smaller fish-people. “We caught more?” Yosano grumbled under her breath, looking at Dazai who was trying to figure out what Chuuya had said. She sighed. “He's asking where their pod is.” She told her captain.

“Oh.” 

“Χωρίς λοβό, διώχθηκε. Χαμένος και φοβισμένος, δεν ξέρω πού να πάω τώρα.” The child, ‘Ryuu’ as Chuuya had called him said, struggling to put words together. 

“κυνηγητό καρχαρία;” Chuuya asked gently, watching the children slowly take his hands. 

Dazai looked towards Yosano with pleading eyes, hoping the woman would translate. “The kids were kicked out of their pod and have nowhere to go.” She shortened it with a sigh, she couldn't understand half of it but that's what she got from what she's hearing.

The little girl nodded. “Ήταν τρομακτικό…”

Yosano raised a brow. “Something about a shark chasing them and it being scary?” Dazai nodded. Of course a shark chasing a child would be scary, hell even Dazai would have shit himself.

“Ασφαλής εδώ, ασφαλής μαζί μου. όχι άλλοι καρχαρίες. ασφαλές τώρα.” Chuuya said, gently touching the child's heads, ruffling their wet hair.

“What’s he saying?” Dazai asked before Yosano could hear all of it.

“He's telling them that they’re safe.” She said coldly; sighing softly. “Looks like we have two more fish-people on the ship.

“Is his tail meant to turn red? Why are the kids' tails glowing red??” Dazai was so confused. He watched as the kids were pulled onto Chuuyas lap, how the siren's tail went a beautiful vibrant red along with the stray scales on his body and how the children’s tails were outlined with the same red glow.

Yosano looked over her shoulder and her eyes widened. “They’re forming a pod.” She breathed, eyes wide with wonder. “This is the kind of thing you can never dream about seeing!”

Dazai sighed and just shoved the doctor back into her room. “Enough out of you.” He closed the door and looked over at the siren and the kids, the tails having gone back to normal when he looked back. “Chibi~ Did you just adopt more Chibis~?” He cooed as he walked over to the siren and the merfolk kids on his lap.

“I need to kill one of your crew members.” Chuuya shrugged. “They need blood so they can speak the human tongue.”

Dazai went pale. He forgot about this; they need human blood to learn and understand the language. Oh god; Dazai hated this. Maybe they shouldn’t fish anymore… “Alright, I’ll go pick someone out…” Dazai turned and started to walk away. Yep, no more fishing unless it's a last resort and they will have to get to that port as soon as possible. For his men's sake.

Chapter Text

The difference between adopting and kidnapping

The siren was given a man and the man was cut down and his blood pooled into two cups. Dazai Osamu looked at the two children with disgust as they drank the blood, his stomach churned and he could feel vomit rising in his throat. The feeling of blood oozing down their throats was strange, it was different to the type they had known, this was more…. They didn’t know how to describe it.

“Call me Chuuya.” Chuuya said softly, ruffling the kids' hair. 

The boy, Ryuu nodded. “C-huu-ya.” He repeated, struggling with the pronunciation, his sister copied and got it right on the first try. Chuuya teared up a little, these pups were just so goddamn cute that the adult siren just couldn’t help himself and scooped them into a tight hug. 

Dazai just silently stood off to the side, letting the male and the kids bond; though it was extremely weird to see someone taking someone else's kids and claiming them as their own because fishtails glowed. Not that Dazai was judging another culture… okay maybe he was; he was also judging the needing human blood to speak human tongue stuff, couldnt they just like kiss instead of killing off his whole fucking crew!?

“So, did you like adopt them?” Dazai asked with a smile.

Chuuya glanced at the human, having forgotten Dazai was just standing there and had been for the past hour. “Adopt?”

Osamu Dazai sighed and held the bridge of his nose, it was going to be a long day. “Adopting is when you take someone else's kid as your kid with permission.”

Chuuya thought; well there was no permission given by their parents but the kids parents were probably dead anyways so it didn't matter. “Yes?”

Dazai was unamused, watching as the children clung to the siren, seeing how they hugged him and pressed against his chest. Dazai wanted to do that; though he would never admit it. “Liar, You kidnapped them.”

Chuuya gasped, offended, however he had no idea what it meant; it just sounded offensive. “I did not!”

“You took the kids without their parental permission; that's kidnapping.” Dazai said and rubbed his temples.

“Then you kidnapped all three of us.” Chuuya countered, the children's faces turned into shocked, fake worried looks as they clung to Chuuya as if seeking protection from the big, bad scary man with a silly hat. 

Dazai frowned, technically that was true and Chuuya was holding it against him, like he should be. “But that was by accident!!” He tried to defend only for Yosano to laugh at him. Why was everyone on his ship so mean to him?

“That doesn't change the fact that we did kidnap them.” Yosano said simply. “That's like exploding a castle and then saying ‘sorry we had a little too much rum’.”

Dazai turned around to look at her. “That was one time!!”

The small group of sirens just slipped away into the captain's cabin so the two humans could converse. Chuuya got up on the bed, pulling the pups with him as he laid down, the kids using his chest as a pillow. “Mix?” He asked just getting two small nods in return. “Nice.” Chuuya nodded and closed his eyes, arms wrapping around the kids.

“Rest some, you need it.” He explained and slowly the children's eyes started to close, their bodies adjusting to the new tingles in their throats and the way they could process new words. It was strange but it was comforting to know someone had accepted them and would keep them safe from now on. Or, at least they hoped.

Chapter Text

Legs?

Nakahara Chuuya had been using the two sea pups to torment Dazai for the past few hours, having them hide in the most vexing spots and make the most aggravating sounds known to man; babies crying. The siren spent the whole time laughing as the human tried to find the sea pups; in Chuuyas mind it was hilarious. Dazai and the rest of the ship found it a lot less hilarious and more irritating than anything. Everyone couldn't do their jobs properly. 

“Chibi, can you please make your children shut up?” Dazai asked, his eyes twitching from annoyance. His hands were trembling and he looked like he was about to combust.

Chuuya sighed. “Μπορείτε να σταματήσετε τώρα.” He huffed and glanced Dazai over. “What's wrong with you, human?”

“We’re going into the eastern countries' ports for supplies. We have nowhere to hide you or the kids.” He said softly, feeling his brain throb as he tried to think of places to hide the sirens. “And it's not like you guys have legs.”

Chuuya paused, thinking back to when he was still part of a pod, back to the stories of a song. “I might be able to?” He said, looking Dazai in the eyes. “Το τραγούδι των ποδιών is a song which has been passed down by mermaids for centuries. I’m pretty sure I can give myself legs.”

Dazai sighed “we’d have to ask Yosano if it's even safe considering your injury.”The human sat down on the bed, pulling Chuuya into a hug. “Plus, if you sing it will it work on the kids?”

Chuuya nodded “All they need to do is mimic the melody so yea.” He shrugged, “Wanna go get that doctor of yours?”

Dazai sighed again and pulled away, walking off to go get Yosano.

Chapter Text

Learning how to walk.

The male siren had been sitting on Dazai Osamu’s bed for the past half an hour getting his injury checked up on, however by the doctors words ‘it would be easier to treat it if he had a human leg’ so here the siren was, singing a song with his kids. The single in his tail slowly subsided and his lower half felt much lighter. When Chuuya looked down he saw that he had legs, and so did the children. 

“DAZAI!” The word ripped itself from Chuuyas throat, immediately summoning the pirate caption forth.

“Chuuya!? Are you and the kids okay!? What's happening!?” Dazai was panicking.

“Teach me to swim on land.”

Dazai had to take a moment to process one; Chuuya and the kids had legs. The song had worked. Second; what the fuck did Chuuya say? Swim on land? Did he mean walk? “Fine.” Dazai sighed, gently grabbing Chuuyas wrists and pulling him up so the now human siren could get used to standing. The ginger struggled, using Dazai for support.

Dazai had to hold back from laughing since Chuuya was much shorter than he had expected him to be in this form. Hours passed by slowly, in Dazais eyes it was torture. But Chuuya could now stand and take like five steps before collapsing. Dazai was proud of himself since he had taught Chuuya how to do something. However the kids picked up on it a lot faster since well… they’re children. And now they’re following him.

The sea pups were falling on their faces but they were not leaving Dazai alone at all.

“Chuuya, why are the kids following me?” Dazai asked eventually, helping Chuuya into Yosano's office to get the wound checked.

“They’ve been calling you μπαμπάς.” He said simply. “They think you’re their other parent.”

Dazai sighed. “God damn it. Why did this happen?”

“You caught me in a net.” Chuuya cooed.

“I’m starting to regret it.”

Chapter Text

 Our first

Dazai laid in his bed, Chuuya head on his bare chest and he thought back to earlier today, when he had said he regretted his actions. It was true, he regretted it but he didn't regret meeting this man, even though he was annoying and extremely beautiful. Dazai couldn't help but wonder what would happen if he placed his lips on the sirens, or if they went further than that. The thought of having the merman beneath him while echoing sounds of the siren's pleasure filled the captain's quarters was quite pleasing.

“Chibi..?” Dazai asked softly, a calm over the stormy silence. “Can you close your eyes for me?”

Chuuya, thinking this was just another normal human custom tilted his head to look up at Dazai, then he closed his eyes. The brunette had to take a shaky breath to calm himself since he had never seen the siren like this– so trusting and willing to do something. Dazai slowly leaned forward, his breath hitting the siren's lips. His heart was beating out of his chest as he slowly connected their lips, when Chuuya didn’t react Dazai didn't know what to do, so he pulled away.

The human looked away and flushed, covering his mouth with his hand. He had really kissed the siren, he had expected himself to back out last minute but he hadn't.

“What was that for?” Chuuya asked with a raised brow. “Is that a human thing?”

Dazai hummed, trying to think of something. “Yea, we do it to people we like the company of.”

Chuuya nodded and adjusted himself, now hovering over Dazai, the ginger was still getting use to his legs so his body was twisted in the most uncomfortable position known to man. The siren leant down and placed a kiss on Dazais lips like the human had done to him. The brunette’s eyes lit up and he flipped them, mainly to fix Chuuyas position so the now-human-siren didn't break his spine and because he wanted to be on top as the kiss continued.

Dazai gently led Chuuyas arms around his neck so the siren could hold onto him during the kiss, since the ginger clearly had no idea what was going on or where to put his hands. “Chibi…” Dazai panted, looking at Chuuya with eyes filled with emotions neither of them could name. “Your face is all red…”

“I couldn’t breathe and you put your tongue in my mouth!” Chuuya tried to defend, still trying to figure out how humans didn't need gills and why their lungs and body’s were so much heavier.

Dazai laughed. “Can the siren not handle a simple kiss?” Dazai cooed and placed a kiss on Chuuyas neck where the forest gills used to be. This caused a new sound to leave Chuuya since the skin there was sensitive since well it was new. Dazais breath hitched and he licked the skin only to get punched by a bright red Chuuya. 

“I’m going to sleep!!” THe siren yelled and burrowed his face into the pillow, pulling the blanket over his head and hiding. 

Dazai laughed softly and smiled. That was their first kiss and Chuuyas first experience in that kind of situation. An unholy throat filled Dazai’s mind however he pushed it aside and laid behind Chuuya, spooning him through the blanket. “Alright, Sleep well Chibi.”

“Καληνύχτα διεστραμμένη.”

Chapter Text

Port

Nakahara Chuuya watched from the window in the captain's quarters as they pulled into the port, a brow raised as he watched the humans on the land walk around converse. He had never seen so many humans in one place before and it made his stomach turn. The door opened and the siren looked up to see the human captain walk in. “Chibi~” He cooed as he walked over, offering his arm. “Come on, let's get you up and out onto the deck.”

The siren looked at the two children laying on the bed and gave the human a pointed, questioning look. “What about them?”

Dazai shrugged, “I’ll leave Kenji or someone with them.”

The siren took the offered hand and slowly stood. “If I come back and they’re hurt I will skin the person taking care of them and then you.” He said coldly, then paused. “Σκύλα”

Dazai still had no idea what the hell the mermish meant but he wouldn't question it– at least, not out loud. “I understand, Chibi.” The human captain said while wrapping his free hand around the siren's waist. He looked so small and delicate wearing his clothes. 

Chuuya was dressed in one of Dazai’s many white button up shirts with the ruffles on the sleeves, his hair was tied up in a ponytail (thanks to Yosano) and deep red, flowing pants which were held up by an incredibly tight belt. The mermans waist was just too small to hold the garments up otherwise. 

As they left the cabin, Chuuya was leaning on his, using Dazai for support as they walked to the edge of the ship, the anchor being thrown into the water. “This, Chibi, is a port.”

*****

Chuuya was sitting inside a tavern, on Dazais lap since the chairs had hurt him to sit on, so Chuuya had made the hard choice of sitting on the pirates lap. “Captain, why are you letting him sit there?” Yosano asked with a raised brow, watching as Chuuya tried and failed to use chopsticks, so Dazai was feeding him.

“Because the Chibi is mine?” Dazai shrugged, placing a piece of salmon on the siren's tongue. “Why can't I keep him close?”

Yosano's eye twitched. “Osamu, you are not allowed to keep him as a pet! We’re letting him go once he's healed!”

“What if he wants to stay?” Dazai asked with a pout.

“We’re not keeping him or those kids!!”

Dazai Pouted. “Chibi, can I keep you?”

Chuuya nodded before opening his mouth again for more salmon, which Dazai placed in his mouth happily. “See, I’m keeping him!”

Yosano sighed and rubbed her temples.