As Deep As The Ocean || •Mermaid AU• || KiriBaku

18

It had taken Kirishima far too long to adjust to the feeling of walking on legs. The veil didn't actually change his tail into legs, rather made it look and feel like the redhead had legs. Mina couldn’t explain to him how it both felt and looked like he had replaced his tail, without actually having replaced it, nor could she explain how he could walk like a human. Instead, she had brushed off his curiosity, rushing him towards the bank of the shore and reminding him of the time crunch they were under. He knew the urgency of their task, their inability to mess around and discover new things about his “legs” and his human form in general...

That didn’t mean he didn’t want to though. 

The cool, evening air felt unnatural on the bare skin of his knees. He had veiled with clothing on, thank god, he wasn't sure how he would go with trying to find clothes and all of Bakugou’s things within a time crunch, but against the familiar warmth and pressure of the ocean encasing his body, he felt naked and vulnerable. The wind brushing against his bare skin chilled him to the bone, and he was fighting every instinct in his body to not run back to the water and stay there. He suddenly knew why Bakugou’s every muscle was tense when he took off his shirt back at the grotto. 

But he was doing this for Bakugou, for his friend, so he would grin and bear it for a few minutes, taking the ceiling wind in stride as he forced his way against the cold, determined to prove his worth to the blonde back at their cave. 

As he left the water, the sand crunching beneath his feet and sticking to his legs where water still remained, he admired the small little town that Denki had spotted, a variety of shops set up just off the beach, all wooden and quaint, but their items ranged anywhere from fish, to gems and jewels. Little candles flickered from the stores, sprinkled here and there to look like stars from afar, and ribbons and banners hung from any available surface, varying colours and giving the whole street some more colour. He had heard stories of towns like this from stories, heard the way village elders expressed their delight at the chance they had to walk on land, among the stalls and buying and selling whatever caught their attention…

Yet nothing compared to the real thing. 

Kirishima walked up the sand, momentarily hoping no one saw a random guy emerging from the depths of the water, but he quickly brushed over that thought at the sight of the empty beach. Sand changed into gravel as he travelled further up towards the town, the rougher texture feeling unpleasant against the bottom of his feet as they poked into him, the lights growing brighter and a mumbled chatter filled the air, bright conversations and soft laughter echoing around. The area radiated happiness and comfort, a place Kirishima wished he could stay eternally, maybe with Bakugou, settled into a small little hut on the beach, able to swim whenever and collect any and all treasures that somehow made their way onto the midday sand. Warmth filled his body at the idea, a large smile planted on his face as he made his way further into the village, passing by storefronts and smiling customers. He momentarily worried that he looked funny, with a dopey smile covering his face and his dimples on full display, but he decided he didn’t really care. 

At one point, he passed by a thick piece of glass, its shiny exterior catching his eye and pausing his motions. Denki had mentioned him having dark hair, but Kirishima had thought he was joking. But he clearly wasn't, because there, staring back at him, was his reflection, with dark hair. Gone was the telltale red that he spent ages perfecting every morning, the dark strands now falling limply around his chin and shoulders, pin straight and in no way what he had always known. The scales that lined his cheeks and shoulders were also gone, replaced by smooth skin and a loose shirt.

He was left with plain, dark hair and smooth, unbroken skin. It threw the shark for a loop, and he spent much longer than truly necessary just staring at the familiar yet so foreign face staring back at him. Even his eyes seemed to have changed colour, staying red, but a darker, more dulled down, seeming nearly brown in the dark night. The scar running over his right eyebrow was still there, though it was now less of a bright red and more of a slightly pinker version than the rest of his skin, and even his teeth, while still being slightly sharper than Bakugou’s, were dull and came to more of a subtle point. He spent minutes just prodding at his face, dimpling the skin with his fingers and moving the skin of his face around in circular movements, watching his dimples disappear and reappear as he spent minutes adjusting his facial expression in the mirror-like glass.