The adrenaline rush of running into a blazing fire never gets old. Makoto had lost track of how many fires he had to brave since starting his job as a firefighter three years ago. His first house fire made his heart beat like mad - he was terrified, but managed to successfully rescue the five year old child that had gotten trapped inside and he instantly became the newbie hero.

Makoto enjoyed his job, but that feeling of terror when hit with a wall of hot air from towering flames was still enough to make his pulse skyrocket. He wasn't sure if this adrenaline rush was actually enjoyable, but at the end of the day he could at least say he'd done something good.

He quickly made friends with his co-workers at the fire station, he lived in a decent sized apartment and could afford to eat well and occasionally splurge on a new video game or a fancy electronic. Life was good - so why did it feel like something had always been missing? Makoto was happy, but at the end of the day he would go back to his apartment and feel like something about it was incomplete. Even if he bought material things, it still didn't seem quite right.

"You should try dating for once! You're handsome and popular, I'm so damn jealous! You know you've got plenty of ladies ogling you at rescue scenes sometimes - I'm not sure why you don't just go up and romance one of 'em," Makoto's co-worker gave him a hearty pat on the back and joked.

"Er, that's just not me, I guess?" Makoto laughed nervously. "When I'm out there doing rescues or putting out fires nothing else is on my mind really..."

"Psh, could it be you're just bad with handling women? Guess that's your weak point, huh? Finally, Mr. Perfect seems to fail in something!" His co-worker laughed and gave Makoto a playful jab in the arm.

"Come on, I'm not that perfect... And you know I hate that nickname," Makoto rubbed at his arm.

"Yeah, yeah - but you know we use it affectionately," He ruffled at Makoto's hair. "But seriously, you've been looking down a bit lately - how about you come fishing this weekend? The old lady is going out with her friends to some hot spring so I finally got some time for myself."

"Fishing, huh?" Makoto pondered. "I'm not really good with stuff like that, though, hooking the worms is kind of..."

His co-worker let out a booming laugh, "Don't worry! I'll hook all the worms you need, princess!"

"I hate that nickname even more!" Makoto whined. He knew his name was girly, but was the nickname 'princess' really necessary!?

His co-worker gave him another pat on the back, "You should know by now that I'm kidding. Seriously, all you gotta do is cast the rod and reel it in and I'll do the rest of the work. Whaddaya say?"

Makoto thought for a moment. Maybe doing something a little different than his norm would do good for the strange mood he had been in lately. He didn't want to mention that the ocean scared him a little... but as long as he didn't have to go in he figured he'd be fine.

"Fine, I'll go, it might be fun," Makoto smiled slightly.

"That's the spirit!" His co-worker gave him a wide grin.

Makoto gave a weak smile and wave as he watched his co-worker walk off.

A day out fishing was actually a lot more enjoyable than Makoto had imagined. He was a little nervous about getting on the boat but his friend eased him on with jokes and encouragement. And of course, like promised, Makoto really only had to cast and reel so he didn't have to worry about hooking the innocent worms...

They ended up catching a few decent sized fish and Makoto's troubles were forgotten during that time. Maybe he should go out and do these kinds of things more often.

"How about you come on over to my place and I'll cook up these fish we caught?" His friend said with a grin as he drove the boat back to shore.

"That sounds great!" Makoto shouted over the boat motor.

As the boat approached the shore, Makoto looked out over the ocean, the sunset reflecting off of the water was quite beautiful despite how the mass of water made him a bit uneasy.

The boat slowed as it neared the dock and Makoto's eyes scanned the surrounding beach. His eyes stopped as he saw a figure off in the far distance... it looked like a person. Behind a giant wall of rocks, it seemed like there was a head with black hair just poking out from behind. The person wasn't moving and it looked as if they may have washed up on shore. Makoto's heart dropped slightly as he thought of the worst and stood up suddenly in the boat.

"What's wrong, Makoto?" His friend asked.

Makoto turned his head, "Ah, I think there's something over there, I'm going to go check it out." He got out of the boat and climbed up onto the dock. He didn't want to get his friend worked up about a possible person being washed up if he ended up being wrong.

"Oh... Alright. Well, don't take too long," the man tried to see what Makoto had noticed but was more preoccupied with tying his boat to the dock.

Makoto jogged along the shore, and as he got closer it seemed his fears were confirmed - it definitely was a person lying there, unmoving. Stricken with panic, he picked up the pace. There was always a possibility that this person could still be alive.

Makoto reached the body, taking short, erratic breaths as he gently knelt down next to the unmoving man. The man lay with his head turned to the side on top of a small rock, his arms draped over the rock and most of his body was still in the water. Cautiously, Makoto moved a hand over his mouth - it was subtle but he was still breathing. He gave a sigh of relief before giving the man a gentle nudge on the shoulder.

"Sir, are you alright?" He said, but the man did not stir. He was probably unconscious - maybe he had struck his head on a rock while swimming?

Makoto did not see any injuries, but then again he couldn't tell with the man barely hanging on to the rock. Makoto made sure that the man wasn't awake before placing his hands underneath the man's arms to hoist him up out of the water. The man was surprisingly light as Makoto made sure not to scrape his body against the rocks. Makoto's eyes wandered down the man's body as he pulled - and that's when he noticed a nasty injury, something that seemed like a shark bite. Although not too severe, it was bad enough to make Makoto quickly pull him up onto the shore.

Makoto nearly dropped the man after what he had seen next. As the man's body came out of the water, it seemed like the swim trunks he was wearing were a little off. They were skin tight and it looked like... scales. It didn't take Makoto much longer to realize that they weren't some fancy new brand of swimmers - they seemed like they were a part of the man's body. Makoto's breath hitched in his throat as he stifled a scream of surprise. With shaking limbs, he sat the man down gently as he looked down in shock at what was right before him. Where the man's feet should've been was a large, split fin. His legs - one long section of beautifully colored blue scales that faded into human flesh at the waist.

Was it a costume? Was Makoto even awake right now? Maybe he had actually hit his head on the boat and he was dreaming right now. Yeah, that was it...

"Hey! Makoto! What're you doing over there!?" Makoto's head whipped around in the direction of the yelling. He had completely forgotten that his co-worker was still there.

Should he show him what he just found? Would that even be a good idea? He did need to do something about the man's injury... But this wasn't a typical human being.

"U-Um, do you mind if you go on without me? I want to stay out on the beach a little longer. I'll meet you at your house!" Makoto made up the only excuse he could think of. He was glad that the rock wall was probably blocking the man he pulled out of the water.

His friend shrugged, "Sure, if you really want."

"Thanks!" Makoto waved and hoped to himself that his friend would be leaving soon.

Makoto turned his attention back to the man lying motionless on the beach. He slowly knelt back down beside the man who was taking slow, shallow breaths. His skin was fair and smooth, but he didn't look weak. He was muscular, like a swimmer, but his face looked soft and delicate in his slumber. His hair was short and pitch-black - he had everything that indicated he was a normal human sans the large fin he had instead of legs. Cautiously, Makoto reached out a hand towards the man's waist. He was nervous to touch it, but he had to know. He had to know if this was all real.

He gingerly touched the scales with a finger, running his finger slightly up to the part that met flesh. It felt just like a fish's scales, the smooth kind that didn't prickle up if you touched them, and the skin definitely felt like human flesh.

Makoto sat down beside the man, still in utter shock. What now? Should he call for help? He is badly injured, after all. But what if this ends up being all over the news? What if this turns out to be something big? What if this man gets turned into some sort of attraction? Or even worse - some sort of lab pet.

Makoto felt a slight pain in his chest as he looked down at the man and thought of what terrible things could happen to him just because he got himself hurt. But he couldn't just leave him here. Makoto attempted again to shake the man awake, but to no avail, it wasn't working.

Looking at the wound was painful enough, but Makoto had nothing on him at the moment in the ways of first aid. He looked around the beach and saw some kelp washed up on the shore - better than nothing. He quickly got up to fetch the kelp, kneeling back down beside the man to wrap his wound as to not get any more sand in it.

Makoto lifted his body slightly so he could wrap the kelp around the man's torso. As he set him back down, the man let out a quiet, short, mumble.

"H-Hey! Are you awake?" Makoto asked and looked down at the man's face.

He didn't make any more noise, and Makoto had noticed that he stopped breathing.

"Hey!"

Makoto, slightly panicked, put his ear up against the man's chest. His heart was still beating, but his pulse sounded like it had slowed. Makoto took no time readying for CPR - he was a firefighter, after all, this was something he had learned and had to do on several occasions.

Pressing against the man's chest, with a few, quick pumps, Makoto leaned in to press his mouth against the man's and breathed out. He continued the process a few more times until he heard a sign of relief. The man began to cough and took in long, labored breaths.

His eyes fluttered open to reveal a deep blue. Makoto gasped slightly as the man looked up at him in surprise, which quickly turned into horror.

"Ah...!" The man sat up and attempted to distance himself from Makoto.

"Don't move! You're injured!" Makoto said frantically as the man nearly flipped over in order to get away from him.

"A-Ow!" The man flopped down, grabbing at his side in pain.

"See? I told you!"

Makoto got up to run over to the man's side. He was met with a strong blow to his legs, sending him to fall backwards.

"S-Stay away..." The man said in a shaking voice, his fin was up and poised to strike again if need be.

Makoto sat up on his hands, speechless. Why was he so cautious of him?

"I'm only trying to help... I saw you unconscious and noticed your injury... You stopped breathing and I gave you CPR-"

"Human's are dangerous!" The man scowled at him, holding onto his side.

Makoto's face fell a bit. How could he have been so naive? He had absolutely no idea who or what the man was in front of him - he was probably as shocked and confused as he was.

Makoto stood up cautiously, "Are you... a mermaid?"

"That's what you people call us..." The man said hesitantly, his eyes darted between the water and Makoto.

Makoto's jaw dropped slightly, "I-I don't want to hurt you! I'm serious! We need to do something about your injury or it could become worse," he took a step forward and the mermaid scooted back on one hand.

"I'm fine, this is nothing," he said, still giving Makoto a cold stare.

"That's not what it looks like to me. You were in pain a moment ago," Makoto tried giving the man a smile.

The mermaid remained silent.

"My name is... Makoto Tachibana - you can call me Makoto," he took another step forward.

"I don't need to know your name..." The mermaid said quietly. "Please just let me go."

"But I'm not preventing you from leaving... Although, I'd prefer it if you didn't - I'd worry about you swimming out there with your injury," Makoto said in a kind voice.

"Like a human would worry about me!" The mermaid's face reddened slightly.

Makoto frowned, "Do... you not have a good relationship with humans?"

"Humans are terrible. They pollute the ocean, kill our fish, destroy our homes with their buildings and docks - a few have even tried to hunt us." The mermaid slid a little closer to the water, "You humans are terrible. I hate that we look so similar."

Makoto's shoulder sunk as he looked down at the mermaid who seemed like he would rather be anywhere other than in front of him.

The mermaid groaned in pain again as he inched closer to the ocean. His body went limp and his breathing was heavy.

"If you're going to kill me - do it now. You're right, I can't go anywhere with this injury. My body is weak and I probably won't survive the night out there." The man leaned up against the rock, his head facing towards the ocean.

Makoto took a few steps towards the man. The mermaid closed his eyes and braced himself for the worst. He knew there wasn't a human that could be trusted...

He felt hands against his skin and something wrapping around his waist tightly. The mermaid open his eyes and looked down to see Makoto wrapping the kelp that had been on him into a tight knot around his body where his wound was.

"It was falling off," Makoto looked up and smiled.

The mermaid looked at him in slight shock as he secured the kelp around him.

"Why are you doing this...?" The mermaid asked quietly.

"I said I wanted to help you - didn't I?" Makoto said, standing up. "The only problem is getting you that help... I have some first aid at my house, but I'm not sure if that's going to do it... Plus I don't even know how I'm going to get you to my house!" Makoto grumbled in thought.

The mermaid let out a sigh, eying Makoto who seemed to be talking to himself at this point.

"Haruka..."

"Huh? Did you say something?" Makoto snapped out of his monologue and glanced over at the mermaid.

The mermaid clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Haruka. My name." He said curtly.

Makoto's face lit up as he smiled, "Haruka... That's such a cute name! Haru-chan!"

Haru blushed, "Don't say my name like that!" He lifted his fin in annoyance, swatting at Makoto.

"Sorry! I won't do it again," Makoto giggled, trying to avoid getting hit. "Anyway, I have an idea, but I'm going to have to trust that you'll wait for me, okay?"

"Wh-What are you going to do with me?" Haru's defenses still weren't down just quite yet.

"Um, I'm thinking that you could stay in my bathtub for now. I have a friend whose a scientist so maybe he could help fixing up your wound... maybe..." Makoto scratched at his chin.

"No!" Haru shouted, shocking Makoto out of his thoughts. "You're going to make me into some sort of experiment! I'd rather just die in the ocean." Haru looked as if he was about to bolt.

"No, no! That's not it at all!" Makoto held his hands out. "My friend would never do that! But we have to take care of your wounds and I only know first aid..." He gave Haru a pleading look.

Haru hesitated for a moment, giving another look back at the sea, letting out a brief sigh.

"Do you promise?" Haru mumbled softly.

"Of course! I would never want to see something like that happen..." Makoto reassured.

Haru turned his head to look up at Makoto, "What is a 'bathtub'?"

Makoto smiled in relief. "Its large tub that we fill up with water to clean off our bodies."

"Huh..." Haru thought for a moment. "Can you swim in it?"

"No, not quite. Its just big enough for your body to fit in."

Haru let out a soft grumble of dislike.

"I'm sorry... that's the only thing I have. Once you're all healed up you can go back to the ocean and swim - I promise," Makoto said with a smile.

Haru remained silent for a moment before speaking up again. "How am I going to get to your home?"

"Yeah, that's the thing... The only thing I can think of is if I go and get my car, but you'll have to wait here. Do you think you can do that?" Makoto asked.

"...Car? Those hideous things you humans get inside of that go really fast?"

"Ah, yes..." Makoto nodded. "So... Can you wait here for me? Will you promise you won't try swimming away with that injury of yours?"

Haru looked up at Makoto's face, still trying to see if this man was as kind as he was letting on. He seemed sincere, but looks could be deceiving. But Haru could feel himself getting weaker by the moment. There was no way he'd last much longer if he tried swimming back to his village on his own. He cursed himself for swimming so far away from it and getting himself attacked so carelessly like he did.

So the human standing above him right now was pretty much his only option. If he were to deceive him, he could only hope that he'd be put out of his misery instead of suffering in agony...

"I'll wait." Haru said curtly.

Makoto smiled. "Great! It shouldn't take me too long - maybe twenty minutes. Can you promise to stay safe until I get back?"

Haru simply nodded and held a hand up to his wound that started aching a bit more.

"Ah! I should hurry before your wound gets any worse!" Makoto waved and took off across the beach.

Makoto figured he could stop by the fire station and grab a couple of portable fire hoses. They were pretty much for emergencies in situations were fire hydrants weren't easily accessible, but hopefully just borrowing it for the day would be alright. He wasn't sure if Haru would be alright in fresh water so he figured he'd pump out some salt water from the ocean.

"Ah..." Makoto remembered that the whole reason he was out there in the first place was because he had went fishing with his friend that day. Maybe it'd be good to call him and let him know that something kind of... came up...

Makoto hurried back as quickly as he could. His car was pretty small, but he could think of no other way to get the mermaid back to his apartment... And the whole way back he couldn't help but worry over multiple things: is Haru okay? Will he be able to get into the car? How is he going to get him up to the second floor of the apartment building? Makoto groaned as he drove as quickly as he could back to the ocean. He didn't even know if the mermaid would still be there when he got back - he definitely didn't trust Makoto much at all in the first place.

Finally arriving at the beach, Makoto got out of his car in a hurry and ran down to the rocks where he left the mermaid, the portable fire hydrants in hand

"Haru?" Makoto shouted as he approached. He got a shock when he didn't see his figure by the rocks and nearly panicked until he saw a head of black hair bobbing up and down in the water.

"H-Haru! Are you alright?" Makoto rushed over to his side and quickly knelt down, setting the hydrants aside.

Haru was still alive, but his breathing had become shallow. He seemed like he was barely hanging on to his consciousness and his eyes were closed as he held the side of his body where his wound was.

Makoto panicked as he placed his hand against Haru's forehead - it was still warm but he could tell his body temperature had dropped. He quickly filled the hydrants and carried them to the car.

When he got back, he placed an arm underneath Haru's neck and one under his fin and hoisted his limp body up.

"Nn..." Haru groaned in pain as he was lifted up.

"Hang in there, I'll get you home soon!" Makoto said in an exasperated voice as he carried Haru as quickly as he could back to his car.

Makoto somehow managed to open up the passenger side of his car and lift Haru into the seat. The rest of the drive home was a blur of trying to make sure if Haru would make it back to the apartment alright or not. He didn't even know how he managed to haul the mermaid up the stairs without anyone seeing him. He guessed all his years working as a firefighter made it a little easier for him to carry people.

Haru was still taking shallow breaths by the time Makoto had set him in the tub but by now he seemed to have lost consciousness at that point. Makoto rushed down the stairs to grab the water from his car and bring it back up to his apartment, quickly dumping it into the tub.

Makoto slumped down onto the bathroom floor after he had brought up all of the water. He had placed Haru so that he was sitting up, he wasn't sure if he could breathe in water or not... He didn't know anything about mermaids - how was he going to take care of him? Was this a mistake?

No, there was no way he could've just left Haru there to die on his own. But now what? His injury seemed to be getting the best of him and it wasn't like he could call a doctor. He figured his only option was to call his friend after all. He was a scientist, an inventor and creator of sorts, not a doctor, but he probably knew more than Makoto did. Could he trust his friend? He really had no other options.

"Rei?" Makoto said as he heard the other person on the line pick up the phone.

"Oh, Makoto-senpai, is there something you need?" Despite having graduated years ago, Rei had never lost the habit of calling Makoto 'senpai'.

"Well, this is kind of an odd request..." Makoto tried to think of how to explain the situation to his friend. "I figured you might know a good deal of how to treat injuries, maybe? I know you have a lot of doctor friends and took a few medical classes and whatnot..."

"If its simple, I could probably assist somewhat. What happened - Makoto-senpai, are you hurt!?" Rei asked in a worried voice.

"N-No, its not me but... a friend. He's hurt pretty badly, the wound is pretty deep and he's losing consciousness-"

"Then you have to take him to the hospital quickly!" Rei interrupted.

"Th-That's the thing, Rei, I can't... my friend, he's... different. I can't take him to the hospital," Makoto tried to explain.

"How can that be!?"

"Its just... I'll explain later, but that's why I'm calling you, you're my only option, Rei. Please, you have to be the one to help my friend!" Makoto asked desperately.

"I-I'll be on my way!" Rei said with resolve. Makoto knew Rei would pull through for him, he just wondered if Rei would help him keep this secret.

"Thanks, Rei. I really owe you," Makoto hung up and rushed back to the bathroom to check up on Haru.

Thankfully Haru was still breathing but he seemed quite pale. Makoto knelt down and placed a hand on Haru's forehead, pushing away his messy hair out of his face.

"Please hang in there, Haru," Makoto whispered.

Makoto grabbed a hold of Haru's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. It seemed like seconds went by slowly waiting for Rei to come. But finally the knock on the door came and Makoto stood up quickly and ran to his door.

"Where is he?" Rei asked, walking into the apartment, a bag in his hand which was most likely full of medical supplies.

"He's in the bathroom, but first-" Makoto was cut off as Rei quickly walked off.

"W-Wait, Rei!" Makoto chased after him, but it seemed like he was too late as he found Rei frozen at the doorway. "Don't freak out..." Makoto said nervously.

Rei's mouth hung open as his eyes didn't leave the mermaid that lay in the bathtub, his fin hanging over the edge of the tub. It took him a moment to snap back and straighten up his stance.

"Is he still conscious?" He asked quietly, kneeling down beside the tub. He began digging out some tools from his bag.

"I-I don't think so, he isn't responding to anything I say," Makoto walked over cautiously.

"I'll assume you'll explain this to me later, but for now we have to get him stitched up ASAP," Rei continued, slipping on some gloves. "I'll need you to help me lift him up so I can disinfect his wound."

Makoto nodded and did as he was told. He sat on the edge of the tub and lifted Haru's fin out of the tub as Rei grabbed him under the arms. Makoto held Haru up as he watched Rei unwrap the kelp on Haru's body and meticulously work on the wound. They didn't say much to each other the whole time as Makoto watched Rei make the last stitch on his wound. Rei cleaned up a bit more before they settled Haru back into the water.

Makoto sighed as he stood up from the tub. "Thank you, Rei. I don't know what I could've done without you."

Rei packed up his things and stood up, adjusting his glasses. "I assume you're going to explain this to me now."

Makoto nodded and walked towards the doorway of the bathroom as to not disturb Haru who seemed to have fallen asleep, his breathing had now become normal.

"I know this is crazy... but he's a mermaid," Makoto began.

"I wouldn't believe that if I hadn't seen him with my own eyes," Rei commented.

Makoto went on to explain how he had found Haru and how he didn't feel right just leaving him there on the beach without helping him.

Rei sighed with a smile, "That definitely sounds like you, Makoto-senpai. There's no way you'd leave someone who needed help."

"So you understand," Makoto was relieved. "And you understand that... you can't tell anyone about this... right?"

"Well, this is truly a huge discovery, it'd be a shame to let this slip by the eyes of science..."

Makoto's heart clenched hearing his friend say something like that. Should he have not told Rei about this? But if he didn't, Haru could've...

"But, us scientists are also bound to a code of ethics," Rei glanced over at the sleeping mermaid. "I know there are many of my colleagues who would think otherwise, but I wouldn't be able to hand him over to some lab."

Makoto let out a breath of relief. Rei laughed.

"Makoto-senpai seems to already be attached to him too. But I can't believe it - mermaids actually exist!? I'm sure I kept my composure while stitching up his wound but I definitely had to keep my hands from shaking in excitement from knowing that I was working on a specimen so rare! Ahh, if only I could just have one of his scales..." Rei rambled on as his face glowed.

"W-Well, maybe when he wakes up I can ask if something like that is possible," Makoto smiled as he watched his friend.

"That'd be amazing!" Rei gleamed, looking up at Makoto. "Ah!" He looked down at his watch that started to beep. "I have to get back to work!" He quickly walked towards the entrance of the apartment.

"Oh! I'm sorry, you were at work? I should've known," Makoto walked Rei to the door.

"It's fine! I can pretty much take as many breaks as I want. Plus I had an old friend asking for a favor," Rei straightened up as he walked out the door.

"Thanks again, Rei. I'll definitely make it up to you," Makoto leaned against the doorway as he waved goodbye to his friend.

Makoto made his way back into his apartment and checked inside the bathroom. Haru was still asleep but Makoto felt better knowing that his wound was treated. Yet he couldn't take himself away from the doorway. There was still a bit of worry about Haru's health. Makoto went to his kitchen to grab a chair and grabbed a pillow off his bed and headed back into the bathroom.

Haru stirred from his sleep, his vision was blurry. He rubbed his eyes to wipe away the sleep. As his eyes adjusted to his surroundings, he realized he was in an unfamiliar place - a really unfamiliar place. He instinctively made a sharp movement that caused him to feel the pain on his side. Grabbing at his wound he noticed the stitching on it - someone had closed it up. Even more confusing things seemed to have kept accumulating by the moment. He had also realized he was not in the ocean nor at the rocks, but in a strange pool of water. It also didn't take long for him to realize that another figure was by him - Makoto.

The strange human that had helped him was asleep in a sitting position next to him. Haru still didn't know why this human was so nice to him or why he even bothered to help him. There must be some sort of alternative motive going on. Could he really fully trust him?

But... this did seem like that 'bathtub' thing he was talking about. And his wound... it looked like it was fixed. Maybe... he really was a good human?

Haru looked back at the sleeping man. He thought he looked silly with his head lulling about and the strange noises he kept making in his sleep. Haru scoffed a bit as he settled back in the tub. He still felt a bit sleepy, so he figured taking another nap in this 'bathtub' wouldn't be so bad.

End of Chapter.

I really hope this AU isn't overdone to death, but hopefully I can still make this a worthwhile story. I have a lot planned for it and I'm really excited to have my first multi-chapter MakoHaru story! Please let me know what you think~ Feel free to follow my twitter for updates (SquattaWrites) and thank you so much for reading! See you next time.