᪥𝕜𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕓𝕒𝕜𝕦 𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕥𝕤᪥

Shark | Part One

Sorry if this is bad, I haven't been in much of a mood to write recently, considering the events going on in America right now. Since I live in Canada, I can't sign petitions or protest, but I've donated, and I encourage other people who are able to do the same. Please stay safe if you live in Minneapolis or plan on protesting. Expect part two on the 15th, and enjoy!

\(•-•)/
~Bakugo's POV~

"KAMINARI, GET OUT OF THE WATER!" Mina screamed as soon as that Dunce Face had gotten close to it.

"But whyyy... I haven't even touched it yet!" He whined back.

"We've been over this, you idiot," I chimed in, "You can't swim, and we're not saving you when you have a panic attack over some seaweed."

Kaminari laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head.

"Denki I'll make a sandcastle with you, come on," Sero said, waving him over towards the beach towel he sat on.

I rolled my eyes and swam away from the rest of the group.

Sero, Mina, Kaminari, and I had discovered this hidden length of the beach last summer, and today was the first day we'd come since last year.

We'd never seen anyone here but us. Not even fish swim over here. There aren't any fish or crabs on the beach either.

We almost thought of it as a joke, how barren it was, but it was highly unnatural.

I still found it peaceful though. I was enjoying that short period of silence as I swam towards the reef, hearing absolutely nothing but the distant sounds of Mina yelling something.

I wasn't paying enough attention to register what she was saying.

As I got closer to the reef, her screams became more frantic, and I heard Kaminari and Sero as well.

"Jesus Christ, WHAT IS IT?" I yelled back at them, treading the water and facing the shore.

"BAKUGO LOOK OUT!"

...

"Wh-"

I went completely silent as I felt something wrap around my ankle. I didn't have time to react before I was being dragged straight down into the water.

I did nothing but kick towards whatever had grabbed me and grab at the surface.

I don't think I'd ever felt fear in a purer form.

As soon as my whole body was under the surface, it let me go. I swam towards the shore as fast as I could but it caught me again.

I turned around to see my attacker for the first time and saw what I was fully convinced was a monster.

It looked almost human, but it couldn't be. It had red eyes and matching hair. It had razor-sharp teeth, and on its neck were... gills?

The only thing that truly convinced me that it was inhuman was its lower half. Dark gray fading into black... a shark tail.

God, I felt like I could pass out.

This was too impossible to be happening. I must be losing my mind or something. This can't be real.

Just as I looked back, it smiled with intentions that couldn't read.

"Why didn't you ever come back to see me? It's been so long..." I heard it say somberly.

Or maybe I imagined it. I don't know anymore.

Black dots pricked at the edge of my vision and the burning in my eyes from the salt subsided.

The only thing I could feel was this creature's hand wrapped around my arm.

I can't... breathe...

Just as the last bits of my vision faded away, I felt its lips on mine...

\(•-•)/

"I haven't seen a normal lionfish before, you know..." I heard a voice say as I woke up abruptly.

I opened my eyes and felt dread set in as I looked around me.

I was at the bottom of the reef.

I closed my mouth and slapped my hand over it, using my free arm to try to fight back up to the surface.

I can't feel my legs.

"Bakugo wait!" I heard the creature yell as it swam towards me. Of course, I hadn't made it very far, and it caught up to me easily.

I turned my head upon hearing my name and saw it—him—facing me with a sad expression on its face.

"W-where are you going? Do you really not want to see me? Is that why you never came back?"

He didn't grab me this time, but for some reason, I didn't feel the need to run away.

"You can breathe, remember? Like last time," he gently brushed his fingers on the hand that covered my mouth.

I slowly removed my hand and took a gentle breath in, finding that is just felt like air.

The shark-boy smiled at me, and I felt a strange familiarity when I saw it.

"Who are you? What are you?" I asked, trying to mask my own nerves.

The smile seemed to melt away and he frowned, "It's me, Kirishima! We met at the end of summer last year," he grabbed my hands in his, "We even spent the whole day together once... from dawn until nightfall... and you said you'd come back."

"How am I supposed to believe that? And how am I alive?"

"I mean... look at you. You're like me now, for a little while at least."

I looked down at myself and noticed that I was like him. I had a tail like an oversized fuckin fish.

It was orange and white and the fins were thin and flared, unlike 'Kirishima's', which looked stiff and solid. Unmistakably shark-like.

That explains his comment about lionfish...

"You didn't answer my first question, Kirishima," I spat suspiciously. I had no reason to believe that he was telling the truth.

After all, I had no recollection of ever meeting him. I can't trust some half-human creature who dragged me into the ocean and... kissed me...

"Tell me, why should I trust you?"

"Because I know you, Bakugo! I know that on the day we first met, you swam out to the reef alone. You found me and I got scared... but you were more scared, I guess. You hurt yourself trying to swim away, so I kissed you. J-just so you could breathe! Nothing weird..."

I scoffed and he continued.

"You used to come here with your friends a lot. You told me a lot about them. They seem nice... you wanted me to meet them but I couldn't. And then... when it started getting cold, I told you had to go somewhere warmer. And you said we'd see each other again. When I came back, I waited for months and watched out for you. When I saw you today, swimming towards the reef, I thought..."

My breath caught in my throat when I saw his expression.

He was upset. He was hurt... that I didn't remember him...

He was telling the truth.

\(•-•)/

Once again, this is only part 1! Also, since pride month begins tomorrow, I'd like to encourage everyone to be aware and safe of Pridefall threats, but not to be scared because this happens every year. The world seems kinda poopy right now, but hey, that's 2020 for ya. Be safe everyone, and I love you guys!

Word Count: 1,080