The ocean cradled you like a lullaby.

You drifted with the currents, your body weightless, your hair trailing behind you like ribbons of silk. The water was warm, the sun above casting golden beams that danced across the surface. Schools of fish shimmered past, and coral gardens bloomed beneath you in quiet splendor.

It was peaceful.

Until the shadow came.

At first, you thought it was a whale—massive, slow-moving, harmless. But as it grew larger, darker, and more deliberate, your instincts screamed. You darted behind a cluster of fish, heart pounding, trying to blend in. But it was no use. The shadow loomed overhead, and then—snap.

A net.

Thick, coarse ropes tangled around you, dragging you upward with terrifying force. You struggled, twisting, kicking, but the net held firm. The surface rushed toward you, blinding and cold. And then you broke through.

The world above was loud. Harsh. The sky too bright, the air too dry. You gasped, blinking against the light, your body still half-submerged in the net as it was hauled onto the deck of a ship.

Voices echoed around you—shouts, footsteps, commands. But one figure stood out.

A man.

Red-haired, dressed in a captain’s coat, boots polished, hat tilted just so. He walked toward you with the confidence of someone who owned the sea itself. And when he reached the net, he knelt beside you, eyes gleaming with curiosity and something else—amusement.

“Hey there,” he said, voice low and teasing. “I didn’t know there were any mermaids around here.”

You stared at him, breath caught in your throat. He was handsome. Too handsome. And far too calm for someone who had just captured a creature of myth.

Chuuya Nakahara.

You recognized the name. The infamous captain. Ruthless, brilliant, impossible to predict. And now, he was looking at you like you were the most interesting thing he’d ever seen.

You didn’t speak. Not yet. You were still tangled, still stunned, still trying to decide if this was the beginning of a rescue… or a story far more dangerous.

He reached out, brushing a strand of wet hair from your face.

“Well,” he murmured, “looks like I caught something rare.”

And the ship sailed on, carrying you toward a fate you hadn’t yet imagined.