it was nearing the end of the day; the sun was setting, the birds were quieting down, and the sunset was absolutely gorgeous.

the beaches were a wonder to see during these hours, and it was something someone would never want to miss.

eva tsunaka, the ultimate mathlete, was that someone. she always came to the beach front to clear her mind. her therapist recommended having a couple hours to herself outside, so she thought this was the smartest choice.

witness the sunset while taking a walk, go back to the academy, sleep, repeat.

the ravenette was too absorbed in thinking about her schedule that she almost missed a voice calling out to her from the sea.

"wh-" she stopped in her tracks. this was different.. in the specific route she always walked, she never came across anyone.

so what changed?

scanning the area, the mathlete eventually landed on something that seemed straight out of a fairytale. a human on the shore with... a tail for legs? that wasn't normal, and eva knew that.

she took a second to blink hard a couple times. maybe she was imagining things? obviously, the figure looked like a mermaid, but those didn't exist, did they?

eva stayed quiet until the voice called for her again. her breath hitched and her face locked with anxiety. the alleged mermaid couldn't be talking to anyone else after rescanning the area.

'damn it..'

with a sigh, eva took off her shoes and socks, placing them where she could see them on the boardwalk before making her way down to the shore. after getting a closer look, eva confirmed her theories.

there was a mermaid on the beach front... and mermaids were real. she then spotted another problem. the mermaid had a net tangled tightly onto their tail. that wasn't good or safe.

however, she didn't know what to say or how to properly talk to a species she'd never seen before. "i—uh.. hello? do you need help?" she asked gently as she looked at the mermaid with concern.