The Fine Thread

2

"God damnit Tsukki! Why'd you have to drop the coins!" Noya shouts, slightly freaking out.

"Calm down Noya, it's just 3 bronze coins, our dads expect us to lose them." Daichi resures, walking over to the storage hatch of the boat.

"Those were the only coins I had Tsukishima!" Noya complains, huffing and looking over the edge of the boat.

"Look sorry, I have 1 bronze coin you can have and I'll pay you the rest later." Tsukishima says, pulling the 1 coin from his pocket and placing it next to Noya. The short boy snatches the coin, putting it in the small bag he was carrying with him.

"Hey you guys!" Daichi calls, on the complete other side of the boat. "Come over here!" Tsukishima and Noya walk over to Daichi, looking out at the slowly retreating blanket of mist that was covering the lagoon. Tsukishima adjusts his sports glasses, making sure they wouldn't fall off his face while looking in the water.

"Woah.. Maybe we can catch those Sirens my pops is always talking about!" Noya exclaims, looking out at the clearing mist.

"Maybe.." Tsukishima mumbles in amazement, never seeing something like this happen.

"Why don't we jump in and see what's going on?" Daichi suggests, preemptively taking off his shirt.

"Hell yea!" Noya shouts, also taking off his shirt.

"I dunno.. I don't think that's a good idea." Tsukishima says, still watching the mist grow thinner.

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad." Noya says, trying to convince Tsukishima into jumping in the water.

"Fine, fine I'll do it." Tsukishima says, sliding off his socks and shoes before his T-shirt. All 3 boys jump in, just as the 3 mermen approche the boat. All 3 mermen, scared that the boys who've just jumped into the water were going to drown, quickly swim up and look at them. Daichi opens his eyes underwater, just to see a person with fluffy grey hair floating around him. Daichi yelps underwater, swimming back up to the boat before Suga can do anything. Tsukishima and Noya also open their eyes, hearing the oldest of their group yelp through the water. Noya, sees a concerned looking Asahi, his braided hair floating behind him like a whip, Noya's eyes widen as he quickly swims back up, trying to avoid the strange creature that has just approached him. Tsukishima does the same thing, being approached by tufts of orange hair. Tsukishima covers his mouth, swimming back to his boat and scrambling on board.

"What the hell was that?!" Tsukishima asks, coughing and out of breath.

"I have no idea!" Daichi shouts back, also trying to catch his breath.

The 3 mermen below the boat stare at each other confused, wondering about the strange reaction the other boys had.

"Is that normal for humans?" Hinata asks, swimming over to peek into the boat.

"I have no idea." Suga responds, following to peek into the boat. Asahi follows behind, staying behind the 2 smaller mermen as they look into the boat. The mermens heads peak just above the water, their fin-like gills staying below the water's surface. They look at the boys strangely, who are now soaking wet and panting.

"Are they Siren hunters?" Hinata whispers, not catching the human boy's attention.

"They might be.. Or one's in training.." Asahi whispers back, peeking his head up more just to see a few sharp, spear-like objects.

"Should we tip their boat?" Suga whispers, cautiously swimming back down. Hinata and Asahi also swim back down, conversing with each other on what to do.

"They seem around our age.. I don't want them to die." Hinata says.

"I agree. They're far too young for us to harm." Suga says.

"Maybe.. Maybe we can just rock their boat to scare them? I mean it's not like we kill any of the men who try to hunt us anyways.." Asahi says.

"I think that'd be a good idea. Just scare them so they leave us alone?" Suga suggests. Hinata nods and the 3 of them swim down, getting a bit of a head start.

"1.. 2.. 3!" Asahi counts, all 3 grab hands and swim up, body slamming the bottom of the boat, just to scare the 3 human boys.

"AAAAAHHH! What the hell?!" Noya shouts, falling over from the impact.

"I think it's those Sirens!" Tsukishima shouts.

"Should we sail away?" Daichi asks, holding on tightly to the boat's sail.

"We should make our pops proud and at least hurt one a little bit." Noya says, getting a determined look on his face while he grabs a small harpoon.

"I agree with the shrimpy for once. Maybe we can get rid of them and then that stupid legend will stop spinning." Tsukishima says, also grabbing onto a harpoon. Daichi nods, grabbing onto a harpoon as well.

After the first initial hit on the boat, the 3 mermen didn't want to actually cause damage, so they swam away.

"I hope they leave soon." Hinata says, swimming backwards.

"It takes a minute for them to catch their bearings and leave. Just be patient, Hinata." Suga instructs.

"Alright. I believe you Suga." Hinata responds, turning away from the boat.

"What should we do now? All chores are done." Asahi asks.

"Maybe we can explore a bit?" Suga suggests.

"I mean we haven't looked past the rock line in a long time. Maybe there's some treasures we haven't found." Hinata says.

"That sounds like fun." Asahi says, going over to the small cave where they keep the important treasures they've found, which to most would seem like garbage. In the cave are chests and old wardrobes that humans lost on shipwrecks. Inside was a bunch of things, like spoons, plates and other utensils as well as some truly valuable things like instruments and treasures from their old homes, like golden coins and cups. Silver statues and precious gems that would make the cave a treasure hunter's dream. Asahi came into the cave for 1 thing, the trident that they always took for a sort of protection and scavenging item. While the prongs were dull, Asahi was powerful enough to hurt someone or something if he felt threatened, usually scaring off any dangerous fish that wandered near. Other than that, it was a useful tool, Asahi would poke around in rocks and sand to see if he could find anything of value or to inspect something that could be dangerous.

"Alright, let's go!" Asahi says, gripping the trident tightly. Suga and Hinata nod, swimming off in the direction of the rocky edge. Past the rocky edge is where the whole village thinks the mermaids live, but they are just met with strong currents and lost boats. The last time the 3 of them went past the rock line was 3 years ago, and they were met with a violent storm that almost gravely hurt Hinata. Since then, they all promised to get stronger, not just physically but with their bonds before they went back to search. The 3 mermen cross the rockline, being met with a temperature drop in the water, and a slightly stronger current. They all grasp hands, starting to swim together so as to not get lost. Asahi on the right, trident in his dominant hand, Hinata on the left, a satchel bag held in his left hand and Suga in the middle, being the slowest swimmer of the 2.

"Hey guys! I think I see a ship over there!" Hinata says, gesturing with his tail to a large shadow at the bottom of the sea.

"Let's go see it!" Suga says, swimming towards it, hands still clasped onto Hinata and Asahi. All 3 approche the small shipwreck, swimming around it before letting each other's hands go to explore.

"Remember guys, don't leave the ship's perimeter." Asahi instructs, swimming towards the captain's quarters.

"Got it Asahi!" Hinata shouts, looking for a way to get into the bottom of the ship, wanting to see what the old crew had in storage. Suga swims around the top, breaking into old crates that line the ship floor.