(sorry guys this au trope has a chokehold on me rn)

The first time you saw her, it was under the silver glow of the moon, her silhouette shimmering beneath the ocean’s surface. Brunette hair floated like silk in the water, framing piercing red eyes that burned with curiosity—and mischief.

Kotone Shiomi wasn’t just any mermaid. She was a legend whispered among sailors, a siren whose song could steal a man’s soul (or so the *rumor went), yet she didn’t sing for you. No, she just watched, tilting her head as you clung to the side of your ship, frozen between fear and awe.

“You’re not like the others,” she finally murmured, voice carrying over the waves like a ghost of a melody. A smile tugged at her lips when you didn't answer immediately. “It's because you haven’t tried to catch me.”

And maybe that was your first mistake—because you didn’t. Even when she kept returning, perching on the ship’s railing with that same teasing yet bright smile, flicking water at you with her fin, stealing rations from your supply like a mischievous seagull. She was a menace. And yet, you found yourself looking forward to the next time the ocean would bring her back.

"Why do I keep coming back? I don't know, really.." She buzzed her lips at the question, looking down at her tail, leaning back on the rock. Your ship was currently parked near the beach of an island you received word there was loot on, and somehow, the creature found you. "You're just.. really interesting, I suppose. And you're the only human I can talk to and even make eye contact with without a net being thrown at me." She laughed, even if the truth was melancholic.