Sailing in open waters was a little bit better, although Chikusa still didn't appear every night as he did before. That was fine. It wasn't like Yamamoto went searching every night either, himself. Instead, their paths crossed casually, naturally, during the nighttime. In exchange, Chikusa seemed more interested to tolerate longer stretches of conversation to the point that sometimes Yamamoto himself had to leave before the mer felt bothered to. That too was somewhat comforting.
"You'll find a small island in the next day or two, if you follow your course," the mer said one night, when Yamamoto had brought out his rope ladder again for a closer talk.
Pausing where he was, Yamamoto made sure his hand was wrapped firmly in rope before he rolled his head back to look at where Chikusa was floating in the dark waters. It was good that the mer was so pale, or else he'd have a much harder time spotting him through the waves. "An island?" he echoed, thoughtful. "Is there something special about it?"
"I don't know," Chikusa said in the bored tone of someone who didn't actually care enough to look into something. "It has something that humans seem to like..."
"Ha ha, oh yeah? What is it?" No answer. Chikusa only leveled a flat and blank stare at him, and Yamamoto laughed again. "Oh yeah, I guess there's no real guarantee that you would know, even if you saw them." For all he knew, Chikusa was just passing along something he had heard. He might not have seemed like a very social person, but what did Yamamoto know? He only saw Chikusa sometimes, at night, in conversations that had nothing to do with other people. At least, not specific people, and definitely not themselves. "Well, I guess I'll just hope it's something interesting, then!"
"Who knows..." Chikusa floated in place for a brief moment, gaze sliding from side to side. Yamamoto recognized the attempt at fake casualness almost immediately. Certainly, it helped that Chikusa didn't appear to be particularly good at it. "The water is clear there..."
Yamamoto's grin creeped a little wider across his face. "Oh yeah? I thought all water was clear just because it was water?"
Whatever anyone might say about Chikusa's conversation skills- if anyone said anything at all, Yamamoto guessed- there couldn't be any denying that he was at least attentive. Yamamoto's teasing was clear as day, and he glowered a little from underneath his eyelashes. "More clear than water," he said with some reluctance, as if it was a nuisance to go along with the joke. "Similar to glass."
"Wow!" He used the exact tone of oblivious cheer that made Gokudera threaten to shove him overboard. "That sounds really impressive! I wonder if I can convince Tsuna and everyone else to drop by it for a while! It sure would be a shame not to see somewhere that sounds that nice, huh?"
Chikusa didn't deign to give him an answer. Instead, in a manner that definitely couldn't notwas an island that they could almost have passed by and, true to a mer's word, the water there was unbelievably clear. That much wasn't as clear when they were a good distance away from it but, the closer they got at Yamamoto's quiet but insistent nudging, the more that it couldn't be denied. It wasn't the biggest island in the world, with no signs of people that could be seen at a distance... but it didn't need to be big for its brilliant green forests to shine like a jewel in the seemingly never-ending expanse of the ocean as the vegetation creeped up a decently sized mountain in the thick of it all. That wasn't the only thing which shone, either. Once they dropped anchor a decent distance away from the island and began to take careful scouting boats nearby, even more beautiful things became apparent. Most of all was a sprawling reef that took up a good chunk of the island's shore on one side, myriads of glittering and colorful fish dipping in and out of their home. A quick glance over the island with him and Ryohei revealed that, not only was it beautiful, but the trees past the shoreline were thick with rare fruits that Gokudera was able to quickly identify. Rare, delicious, and expensive.
Pirates doing legitimate business was something of a laugh, honestly... but why look a gift fish in the mouth?
Unlike ships, or warehouses, or anywhere else they'd plunder before, there wasn't any need to rush off with the goods immediately. Thanks to both cautious planning from Tsuna after quite a few bad experiences and Lambo's own indulgences, they had a decent stock. Enough to take at least one day, or two, to soak in the view. Besides, Yamamoto had to adjust their maps to take into consideration this island, and it would be a waste to just forget about it, right? That and a lot more were the excuses they all tried to force onto a reluctant and huffing Gokudera. It wasn't exactly a surprise that he was outnumbered, with even the girls excited for a stop like this. Eventually, grudgingly, he gave in.
Maybe it was just to stop Ryohei from following him around yelling out arguments he was just repeating from the rest of the crew.
For all that Yamamoto kept an eye out, he didn't just abandon his friends, either. The island was too beautiful to share with only one person. So he shared it with everyone who wanted to: carefully exploring from atop the reef with Tsuna, watching to make sure Lambo didn't get bit by an eel, swimming lessons against Kyoko, exploring the forest alongside Haru's excited chattering. Even Gokudera was having fun, he could tell. Not that he had to look hard, when he blushed so furiously as to give an apple a run for its money whenever Tsuna and Haru took him along on their fun.
...But he had to admit that something warm twisted in his chest when he looked out towards the ocean on their second and last day to see something shimmering along the surface of the ocean.
The reef didn't take up every bit of the shores along the island... just, you know, the vast majority of it. This wasn't a bad thing, as far as Yamamoto could tell. They acted as a sort of barrier between the island and the rest of the ocean, keeping the water from forming immense or particularly annoying waves. It kept the water directly around the island calm and clear, he was fairly sure. The main problem for his particular goal of the day was that, near to the shore, they were either too close together for a humanoid figure to go to or they were too shallow for something as long as a mer to get through comfortably. If it was only him, on his own, Yamamoto had no doubt that it would take him a good long while to find the perfect spot for the two of them to meet up. Fortunately, Chikusa seemed to have taken this into consideration a long time ago. Maybe even when he had first advised him of the island's existence. All Yamamoto had to do was follow that shimmering path of reflective light... up until it disappeared down into the water.
Nothing else needed to be done or said, besides Yamamoto flicking off his sandals abandoned into the sand. There was still a bit of reef that extended out to where he had seen Chikusa's bell disappear, although it didn't reach all the way. That was enough for Yamamoto to make his way along, until he could lean over an edge and see a humanoid figure with a long rippling lower half. A top down view didn't really give him the best look, however.... So, smiling wide, he jumped right in, feet first.
At first, he couldn't see a single thing. Not past all the bubbles which burst up all around him at his actions, nor the half dozen or more fish which scattered from the sudden impact into the water. Hell, not even past his ability to see clearly in unfamiliar territory, not for a quick moment. But once he blinked his eyes a few times, the bubbles disappearing from around him... Maybe it was a good thing that, as a human, he was forced to hold his breath under water. All this time, he had only seen Chikusa at night, mostly submerged, taking in moonlight and lit up from something deep inside of himself.
In the sunlight, in clear water...? Not much else could really compare. It wasn't only the moonlight which had made him seem so silvery and shimmering. From the waist up, he could almost have been forgiven for being a pale human, if someone were drunk (not naming any names) and squinted a whole lot. Yet the eyes were still that familiar dark color, focused right on him from beneath hair that had always looked black at night. In the sunlight, it seemed to shift colors, mostly pale greens and blues with the occasional flicker of purple. The mimicry wasn't as perfectly complete in comparison to other mermaids. Eyes whose pupils weren't quite as defined, hair that seemed to move of its own accord more than in accordance with the tides, and skin that didn't seem to have quite the same depth to it as human skin... especially as it went down past where a human's pelvis would be, fading in and out with deeper shades of color lifted from his 'hair'. Where most mer had 'tails' instead of legs, Chikusa... Well. His lower half was a set of rippling frills, so long that it drifted far behind him and even past the reach of his bell. Directly underneath the sunlight and the waves, he was...
Well. Yamamoto wasn't educated enough to have the exact right word for how Chikusa looked. Just that it was sure something.
A suckerpunch to his lungs and heart wasn't enough to keep Yamamoto still forever. After only a second of recovering from this first proper look at Chikusa, he pushed himself forward through the water. Not too unlike that first night, perhaps it was a bit unwise to swim towards something like Chikusa. His bell was still as enormous as ever, perhaps even bigger underwater where gravity worked a little differently. The tentacles which were connected to it were about as long as Yamamoto had thought, trailing through the sea at almost the exact length of Chikusa's lower half. Even still, he didn't worry about it too much. Wasn't it only expected, when they twitched out of his way, allowing open passage past Chikusa's bell? Hold one's breath and smiling at the same time underwater was a little harder than some people thought, but Yamamoto did it anyway, drifting closer to Chikusa and anchoring himself gently with his hands around Chikusa's waist. He didn't do it too hard, too firmly. Most mer he had known throughout his life were made of sturdier stuff, their lower halves related to fish or sharks or whales that he could recognize. There was never any doubt about the... physical nature of their bodies. Whenever he'd run into jellyfish washed along the shore, however, before being ushered away by concerned adults? While their venomous nature couldn't be in doubt, they'd always seemed... particularly frail, sunk against the sands, helpless. Chikusa was certainly beautiful with the ghostly nature of his body, light shifting in easier than through any other mer or human. While he was called an idiot a lot, Yamamoto just didn't want to actually break him apart from his own lack of knowledge.
Apparently the worrying wasn't necessary. It didn't take long at all for Chikusa to pick up on how gentle Yamamoto's touch was, his brows drawing a fraction together before his hands settled over Yamamoto's. Insistently, he pressed down on the pirate's grasp. His hands were almost unbelievably soft, but they were insistent, and Yamamoto almost laughed at the silent pushiness at play here. Sure enough, Chikusa didn't break apart like wet paper. His body merely shifted strangely, rippled, before it settled underneath his fingertips as if nothing had happened. Well, if he was good enough to be held...
Pirates had to be quick and decisive when sailing the seas... A quality Yamamoto had always held, and which he put into his personal life. So, without even a little bit of hesitation, he leaned in and slotted his lips neatly against Chikusa's mouth.
Chikusa's skin was soft as it was, deceptively fragile in both its texture and how easily Yamamoto's fingers sunk against it, and his lips were even softer. He started a little at the sudden contact, eyes wide, but he didn't move away. He only stayed where he was, stiff as much as he could be, while Yamamoto patiently pressed against him. He didn't push, didn't rush, only stayed where he was with a couple of stray bubbles rising up from the corner of his mouth. Soon enough, he felt Chikusa relax, even if only a little, before he was the one who was making his way into Yamamoto's mouth more aggressively than he'd ever displayed before. Yet the two of them weren't the same. For all that he enjoyed the feel of Chikusa's slick tongue, well, he did kind of need to breathe, and in a more literal way than how some romantic types described passionate kisses. Pulling away, Yamamoto sealed his mouth shut again and jerked his chin up towards the surface. Instead of letting him go, Chikusa shrugged and gripped Yamamoto's own waist. From within the bell, he could see the way it pulsed, curling upwards before going directly the opposite way and propelling the two of them towards the surface. He'd never pegged Chikusa as fast, but he was at least quick enough for the two of them to breach the surface. At least he was correct in how thin the bell was, because it was certainly thin enough for him to almost immediately feel air on his face.
Promptly, he turned his head to the side and spat out some saltwater. "Ha, don't look at me like that," he said to the blurry figure that was only a few inches away from him. He didn't need to see perfectly to know that Chikusa's upper lip was curling slightly in that way it always did when he found something disgusting. "I got some of it in my mouth when I was kissing you!"
"...You didn't have to kiss me at all..."
"Did you not want me to?" Chikusa didn't immediately answer him. If anything, he actually began to slowly sink into the water, and Yamamoto pulled him back up with a laugh. "Hey, if you go too far down, your bell will hit me! Come on, come on~." Now that he'd had a few minutes to blink the water clear from his eyes, he could see Chikusa's sulking expression perfectly for all that it was as subtle as it was. "You have to be clear if you want to get something~."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
4
"You'll find a small island in the next day or two, if you follow your course," the mer said one night, when Yamamoto had brought out his rope ladder again for a closer talk.
Pausing where he was, Yamamoto made sure his hand was wrapped firmly in rope before he rolled his head back to look at where Chikusa was floating in the dark waters. It was good that the mer was so pale, or else he'd have a much harder time spotting him through the waves. "An island?" he echoed, thoughtful. "Is there something special about it?"
"I don't know," Chikusa said in the bored tone of someone who didn't actually care enough to look into something. "It has something that humans seem to like..."
"Ha ha, oh yeah? What is it?" No answer. Chikusa only leveled a flat and blank stare at him, and Yamamoto laughed again. "Oh yeah, I guess there's no real guarantee that you would know, even if you saw them." For all he knew, Chikusa was just passing along something he had heard. He might not have seemed like a very social person, but what did Yamamoto know? He only saw Chikusa sometimes, at night, in conversations that had nothing to do with other people. At least, not specific people, and definitely not themselves. "Well, I guess I'll just hope it's something interesting, then!"
"Who knows..." Chikusa floated in place for a brief moment, gaze sliding from side to side. Yamamoto recognized the attempt at fake casualness almost immediately. Certainly, it helped that Chikusa didn't appear to be particularly good at it. "The water is clear there..."
Yamamoto's grin creeped a little wider across his face. "Oh yeah? I thought all water was clear just because it was water?"
Whatever anyone might say about Chikusa's conversation skills- if anyone said anything at all, Yamamoto guessed- there couldn't be any denying that he was at least attentive. Yamamoto's teasing was clear as day, and he glowered a little from underneath his eyelashes. "More clear than water," he said with some reluctance, as if it was a nuisance to go along with the joke. "Similar to glass."
"Wow!" He used the exact tone of oblivious cheer that made Gokudera threaten to shove him overboard. "That sounds really impressive! I wonder if I can convince Tsuna and everyone else to drop by it for a while! It sure would be a shame not to see somewhere that sounds that nice, huh?"
Chikusa didn't deign to give him an answer. Instead, in a manner that definitely couldn't notwas an island that they could almost have passed by and, true to a mer's word, the water there was unbelievably clear. That much wasn't as clear when they were a good distance away from it but, the closer they got at Yamamoto's quiet but insistent nudging, the more that it couldn't be denied. It wasn't the biggest island in the world, with no signs of people that could be seen at a distance... but it didn't need to be big for its brilliant green forests to shine like a jewel in the seemingly never-ending expanse of the ocean as the vegetation creeped up a decently sized mountain in the thick of it all. That wasn't the only thing which shone, either. Once they dropped anchor a decent distance away from the island and began to take careful scouting boats nearby, even more beautiful things became apparent. Most of all was a sprawling reef that took up a good chunk of the island's shore on one side, myriads of glittering and colorful fish dipping in and out of their home. A quick glance over the island with him and Ryohei revealed that, not only was it beautiful, but the trees past the shoreline were thick with rare fruits that Gokudera was able to quickly identify. Rare, delicious, and expensive.
Pirates doing legitimate business was something of a laugh, honestly... but why look a gift fish in the mouth?
Unlike ships, or warehouses, or anywhere else they'd plunder before, there wasn't any need to rush off with the goods immediately. Thanks to both cautious planning from Tsuna after quite a few bad experiences and Lambo's own indulgences, they had a decent stock. Enough to take at least one day, or two, to soak in the view. Besides, Yamamoto had to adjust their maps to take into consideration this island, and it would be a waste to just forget about it, right? That and a lot more were the excuses they all tried to force onto a reluctant and huffing Gokudera. It wasn't exactly a surprise that he was outnumbered, with even the girls excited for a stop like this. Eventually, grudgingly, he gave in.
Maybe it was just to stop Ryohei from following him around yelling out arguments he was just repeating from the rest of the crew.
For all that Yamamoto kept an eye out, he didn't just abandon his friends, either. The island was too beautiful to share with only one person. So he shared it with everyone who wanted to: carefully exploring from atop the reef with Tsuna, watching to make sure Lambo didn't get bit by an eel, swimming lessons against Kyoko, exploring the forest alongside Haru's excited chattering. Even Gokudera was having fun, he could tell. Not that he had to look hard, when he blushed so furiously as to give an apple a run for its money whenever Tsuna and Haru took him along on their fun.
...But he had to admit that something warm twisted in his chest when he looked out towards the ocean on their second and last day to see something shimmering along the surface of the ocean.
The reef didn't take up every bit of the shores along the island... just, you know, the vast majority of it. This wasn't a bad thing, as far as Yamamoto could tell. They acted as a sort of barrier between the island and the rest of the ocean, keeping the water from forming immense or particularly annoying waves. It kept the water directly around the island calm and clear, he was fairly sure. The main problem for his particular goal of the day was that, near to the shore, they were either too close together for a humanoid figure to go to or they were too shallow for something as long as a mer to get through comfortably. If it was only him, on his own, Yamamoto had no doubt that it would take him a good long while to find the perfect spot for the two of them to meet up. Fortunately, Chikusa seemed to have taken this into consideration a long time ago. Maybe even when he had first advised him of the island's existence. All Yamamoto had to do was follow that shimmering path of reflective light... up until it disappeared down into the water.
Nothing else needed to be done or said, besides Yamamoto flicking off his sandals abandoned into the sand. There was still a bit of reef that extended out to where he had seen Chikusa's bell disappear, although it didn't reach all the way. That was enough for Yamamoto to make his way along, until he could lean over an edge and see a humanoid figure with a long rippling lower half. A top down view didn't really give him the best look, however.... So, smiling wide, he jumped right in, feet first.
At first, he couldn't see a single thing. Not past all the bubbles which burst up all around him at his actions, nor the half dozen or more fish which scattered from the sudden impact into the water. Hell, not even past his ability to see clearly in unfamiliar territory, not for a quick moment. But once he blinked his eyes a few times, the bubbles disappearing from around him... Maybe it was a good thing that, as a human, he was forced to hold his breath under water. All this time, he had only seen Chikusa at night, mostly submerged, taking in moonlight and lit up from something deep inside of himself.
In the sunlight, in clear water...? Not much else could really compare. It wasn't only the moonlight which had made him seem so silvery and shimmering. From the waist up, he could almost have been forgiven for being a pale human, if someone were drunk (not naming any names) and squinted a whole lot. Yet the eyes were still that familiar dark color, focused right on him from beneath hair that had always looked black at night. In the sunlight, it seemed to shift colors, mostly pale greens and blues with the occasional flicker of purple. The mimicry wasn't as perfectly complete in comparison to other mermaids. Eyes whose pupils weren't quite as defined, hair that seemed to move of its own accord more than in accordance with the tides, and skin that didn't seem to have quite the same depth to it as human skin... especially as it went down past where a human's pelvis would be, fading in and out with deeper shades of color lifted from his 'hair'. Where most mer had 'tails' instead of legs, Chikusa... Well. His lower half was a set of rippling frills, so long that it drifted far behind him and even past the reach of his bell. Directly underneath the sunlight and the waves, he was...
Well. Yamamoto wasn't educated enough to have the exact right word for how Chikusa looked. Just that it was sure something.
A suckerpunch to his lungs and heart wasn't enough to keep Yamamoto still forever. After only a second of recovering from this first proper look at Chikusa, he pushed himself forward through the water. Not too unlike that first night, perhaps it was a bit unwise to swim towards something like Chikusa. His bell was still as enormous as ever, perhaps even bigger underwater where gravity worked a little differently. The tentacles which were connected to it were about as long as Yamamoto had thought, trailing through the sea at almost the exact length of Chikusa's lower half. Even still, he didn't worry about it too much. Wasn't it only expected, when they twitched out of his way, allowing open passage past Chikusa's bell? Hold one's breath and smiling at the same time underwater was a little harder than some people thought, but Yamamoto did it anyway, drifting closer to Chikusa and anchoring himself gently with his hands around Chikusa's waist. He didn't do it too hard, too firmly. Most mer he had known throughout his life were made of sturdier stuff, their lower halves related to fish or sharks or whales that he could recognize. There was never any doubt about the... physical nature of their bodies. Whenever he'd run into jellyfish washed along the shore, however, before being ushered away by concerned adults? While their venomous nature couldn't be in doubt, they'd always seemed... particularly frail, sunk against the sands, helpless. Chikusa was certainly beautiful with the ghostly nature of his body, light shifting in easier than through any other mer or human. While he was called an idiot a lot, Yamamoto just didn't want to actually break him apart from his own lack of knowledge.
Apparently the worrying wasn't necessary. It didn't take long at all for Chikusa to pick up on how gentle Yamamoto's touch was, his brows drawing a fraction together before his hands settled over Yamamoto's. Insistently, he pressed down on the pirate's grasp. His hands were almost unbelievably soft, but they were insistent, and Yamamoto almost laughed at the silent pushiness at play here. Sure enough, Chikusa didn't break apart like wet paper. His body merely shifted strangely, rippled, before it settled underneath his fingertips as if nothing had happened. Well, if he was good enough to be held...
Pirates had to be quick and decisive when sailing the seas... A quality Yamamoto had always held, and which he put into his personal life. So, without even a little bit of hesitation, he leaned in and slotted his lips neatly against Chikusa's mouth.
Chikusa's skin was soft as it was, deceptively fragile in both its texture and how easily Yamamoto's fingers sunk against it, and his lips were even softer. He started a little at the sudden contact, eyes wide, but he didn't move away. He only stayed where he was, stiff as much as he could be, while Yamamoto patiently pressed against him. He didn't push, didn't rush, only stayed where he was with a couple of stray bubbles rising up from the corner of his mouth. Soon enough, he felt Chikusa relax, even if only a little, before he was the one who was making his way into Yamamoto's mouth more aggressively than he'd ever displayed before. Yet the two of them weren't the same. For all that he enjoyed the feel of Chikusa's slick tongue, well, he did kind of need to breathe, and in a more literal way than how some romantic types described passionate kisses. Pulling away, Yamamoto sealed his mouth shut again and jerked his chin up towards the surface. Instead of letting him go, Chikusa shrugged and gripped Yamamoto's own waist. From within the bell, he could see the way it pulsed, curling upwards before going directly the opposite way and propelling the two of them towards the surface. He'd never pegged Chikusa as fast, but he was at least quick enough for the two of them to breach the surface. At least he was correct in how thin the bell was, because it was certainly thin enough for him to almost immediately feel air on his face.
Promptly, he turned his head to the side and spat out some saltwater. "Ha, don't look at me like that," he said to the blurry figure that was only a few inches away from him. He didn't need to see perfectly to know that Chikusa's upper lip was curling slightly in that way it always did when he found something disgusting. "I got some of it in my mouth when I was kissing you!"
"...You didn't have to kiss me at all..."
"Did you not want me to?" Chikusa didn't immediately answer him. If anything, he actually began to slowly sink into the water, and Yamamoto pulled him back up with a laugh. "Hey, if you go too far down, your bell will hit me! Come on, come on~." Now that he'd had a few minutes to blink the water clear from his eyes, he could see Chikusa's sulking expression perfectly for all that it was as subtle as it was. "You have to be clear if you want to get something~."
"...You're a nuisance."
"Ha ha, so I've been told!"