Four months ago, Mori was on a fishing trip - something that wasn't unusual, considering that's what he does for work. This fishing trip, however, was far from usual. He had caught a mer in his net. And it was a young mer, at that, looking around four years old.

Now, mers weren't exactly uncommon, but they weren't common either due to how few of them swim close enough to the surface to get caught. That's also why, when mers do get caught, its usually a little one - the babies always curious and not understanding the better fish are lower.

Either way, Mori had been trained for this moment. There's a very successful program set up for domesticating young mers. If young enough, they can be raised like humans. So, Mori helped calm the distressed mer down, finding that the mer almost immediately got attached to him, and took the mer home. Within days, he had the little boy - who he's named Osamu - integrated into the program.

It was quickly decided that he and his husband would adopt the mer, getting that finalized within weeks of getting him situated. So, over the months, he had been taught how to care for a mer and what to expect while Osamu was taught how to speak and correcting any big behavioral problems. Mers are fast learners, so the boy picked up everything he needed to learn quickly - now a little above level from your average four year old human.

Bonding with the mer was crucial, so there were days set up through the program when Mori and / or Yukichi would spend the day with Osamu in his room at the center or take him out wherever. Today was one of those days. Mori checked into the center, filled out the proper paperwork, and was escorted to Osamu's room.

He entered to find his four year old baby sat at a child's play kitchen, examining the various plastic toys. "Hey, baby. What're you doing?" He asks, getting the boy's attention.