Chapter Text
Large as the Pirate King's throne hall is, it is barely able to contain the raucous revelry of a dozen ships' worth of pirates. The air itself reverberates with the din of a couple hundred sea raiders packed tightly together within the caves that form the castle of the Pirate King. Everywhere there is chaos, pirates freely mingling, eating, drinking, singing, dancing, hollering and howling and wrestling. It is always a celebration unlike any other, that last night on land before the fleet of pirate vessels set sail again for many wanings of the moon.
The dais overlooking the drunken carousing holds a giant chiseled stone throne, covered in seal pelts and otter furs. And on this ancient throne lounges Bakugou Katsuki, Captain of the Howitzer Impact and the Dread Pirate King himself. He takes measured sips of strong ale from a tankard, overseeing the debauchery with careless but keen eyes, presiding without partaking. On Katsuki's either side, his first mate Kirishima Eijirou and his quartermaster Midoriya "Deku" Izuku stand, seemingly relaxed but equally alert. They know just as much as Katsuki that any peace in a gathering such as this is tenuous at best.
Pirates, by nature, are a lawless bunch after all.
Besides, there is even more need for precaution tonight, because the foreigners are on the island. The decorative filigreed ships of the foreign sailors - merchants from a distant land hoping to strike a profitable trade with the Pirates of Yuuei - had docked in the secluded cove leading into the Dread Pirate's Isle earlier today.
Previous Pirate Kings would not have allowed this. Previous Pirate Kings would have seen only an opportunity to raid some well-appointed rich lordling's ships for their treasures. But Katsuki won the throne three summers ago not just for his brute strength, but also his cleverness. In an ever-expanding world, political maneuvering must be wielded with as much skill as sword fighting.
As though summoned by his thoughts, the blaring peal of a trumpet sounds from the mouth of the labyrinthine caves that form the Pirate King's castle.
The pale foreigners seem unable to go anywhere without bleating an announcement of their approach, Katsuki thinks, rolling his eyes. He grits his teeth to deal with the idiotic pomp and ceremony that's no doubt about to unfold in the next few minutes.
The delegation from the foreign lords march along the winding paths that lead to the base of the throne, pirates parting like a jeering sea to allow them passage. Katsuki sits up from his slouch, slowly putting the tankard of ale to the side, muscles tensing and poised to strike.
Some sixth sense, some keenly-honed long-learned instinct, has come awake, telling him that something is different this time.
Perhaps it's the way the taunting mob of pirates trail off into uneasy muttering when the foreigners' contingent passes them by. Perhaps it's the way Katsuki can see more than a few malicious calculative eyes turn to follow something that is being dragged forward by the foreigners, some prize that the particularly unscrupulous among them are assessing with covetous greedy eyes. On either side of Katsuki, Deku and Kirishima also tense up, hands falling to their swords. The fragile balance has shifted. If Katsuki doesn't properly handle whatever ill-thought treasure the idiot foreigners have decided to flaunt in front of a den of thieves, there will be hell to pay -
And then he sees him.
Bare pale skin of a lithely muscled human torso, smoothly transitioning into a powerful tail of iridescent pearl white and ruby red fish scales. Sharp angular eyes, the right as gray as the stormy winter sea and the left a bright turquoise like sunny summer waters. The blue of the left eye is brought out all the more starkly by the red scaly skin that surrounds it, a striking scar or birth mark. Long silky hair tumbles down the merman's back, bicolored like the rest of him, right half pure white and left half a burnished copper red. Translucent scales adorn his sharp cheekbones, the curve of his shoulders and the slope of his waist, making him glow like he was dipped in moon dust.
Katsuki can understand why there are so many legends of humans being lead to ruin by following a mer's siren call.
The merman before him squares up tall and proud despite only being held upright because of two foreign foot soldiers supporting him. He seems to be similar in age to Katsuki and his crew, somewhere between 18 and 20 summers, though who can even tell the age of a mythical ocean creature? Katsuki allows himself three more seconds to be dazed by the impossibly pretty merman before him, then he forces himself to focus. There is havoc brewing at hand. He's going to have to play this carefully or it's not going to end well.
The leader of the foreign delegation comes to a stop at the foot of the dais. Katsuki grits his teeth, hand tightening on his rapier.
"Greetings, Dread Pirate King," the foreign lordling says pompously, voice raised so it projects to the far reaches of the cavern. "I am Baron Drusus, here as an envoy for Duke Hostilius and Count Valerius, as a gesture of good faith to reaffirm terms of the treaty between our-"
"I'll think about accepting your shitty gesture," Katsuki growls, interrupting rudely. "Once you explain to me why you have captured someone from the lineage of the royal Todoroki mer-clan." He leans forward to glare right down at the witless fool, who is paused mid-word, mouth gaping. "We had only 11 rules on our treaty agreement and one of it was to not mess with the gods and legends that rule our oceans. You lot were not even permitted to sail near the Mystic Sea where the merfolk reside." Katsuki's voice lilts dangerously. "Breaking any part of the agreement is grounds for your total annihilation."
Katsuki takes vicious pleasure in how the idiot swallows back his words and blanches in alarm.
"W-we weren't sailing anywhere near there!" the fool squeaks, no longer pompous. There's sweat beading on his forehead, dripping down his temples. Good, he should be terrified. "We were just sailing on our way here when we spotted this beast-" the man cuts off with a tremble when Kirishima bares his teeth, twirling a knife in his hand. "I- I mean! We spotted this merman swimming beside our ship. He was not even in Nihon waters, we did not break the treaty in any way!"
The man trails off, gulping and looking up apprehensively at Katsuki. Katsuki glowers at him for a few more moments, then turns pointedly to the merman. It's a little hard to look directly at him while also trying to think, he's too mesmerizing a sight. Katsuki blinks hard, then summons up a scowl to direct at the pretty half-and-half bastard for good measure.
"Is everything that man said true?" he demands to the merman. The two foreign soldiers holding up the merman lower him in front of the dais, moving away like they're near a ticking time bomb that can set off at the slightest provocation. The merman, in contrast, is a serene presence, coiling his tail elegantly beneath him and pushing himself to sit up, straight-backed and poised. He just blinks up at Katsuki, face passive and not saying a word.
"Oi, did you hear me, asshole?" Katsuki fidgets in his seat in annoyance, rapier glinting as he partly unsheathes it. "Answer me!"
The merman lets out a little sigh. He turns his heavy gaze from Katsuki to look at one of the foreign foot soldiers standing at the back. He points at the suddenly-pale man, then briefly motions to his own forehead, neck, arms, and wrists, then points at his mouth. He turns back to Katsuki then and looks up at him, expectant, two-toned eyes luminous in the flickering fire light.
"The fuck?" Katsuki asks, bewildered.
The half-and-half bastard has the audacity to huff out a sigh.
"Keep up that attitude and I'm roasting you for tomorrow's dinner," Katsuki snarls.
However, the rage that cowes entire legions of soldiers and pirates seems to have no effect on the stupid pretty fish. With another put-upon sigh, the merman gestures, exaggeratedly, first to his mouth, then to parts of his body, before pointing insistently at the now-trembling foot soldier at the back.
"Oh," Deku says from Katsuki's side, averting an imminent explosive disaster. "Kacchan, I think the box that soldier's carrying has the merman's spirit jewels."
Katsuki freezes, then turns to look with towering fury at the leader of the group. The now-profusely sweating man looks two seconds away from pissing himself.
Most non-magical races don't understand what a grave misstep it is to take away a magic wielder's spirit jewels. In fact, the Yuuei pirates only know of the importance of spirit jewels due to millennia of coexistence with mythical creatures in these waters, and their own lore and legends that warn against ever touching the magic folk's spirit jewels without permission or a fair victory. Spirit jewels are the conduit that strengthens innate magic for races like merfolk, kinnara, and ocean sprites. They are the medium through which their understanding of nature and power to manipulate the fabric of the world is channeled. To wrest them away from magic folk without challenging them to a duel and fairly winning is the utmost insult. It's a wonder the placid merman watching the proceedings with curious eyes has not already attacked everyone in sight.
The trembling foot soldier from the back swiftly comes forward to drop the small jewelry box beside the merman, stumbling on his own feet in his haste to back away after.
The merman lets out a deep trill, looking pleased and relieved. He works open the clasp of the small box and unearths a handful of glittering jewelry, which he rapidly proceeds to put on. First a thin silver chain with an intricate pendant, then dangling earrings to match, all sparkling with pearls and precious gems. Twin bracelets are clasped onto the merman's slender wrists, hammered-silver cuffs which are also embedded with precious gems. Finally, a delicate forehead chain set with large aquamarine gemstones is tied around his forehead, striking against his pale skin and the red-white of his dual-colored hair.
Katsuki is so distracted by the beauty before him that he almost fails to register when the merman finally starts to speak.
"Thank you," the merman says, his voice soft and monotone. It'd be a remarkably bland voice for a mythical creature if not for the faint strums of an unknown accent adding alien intonations to his speech. "They took away my spirit jewels so I couldn't use magic to escape. But it also took away my ability to talk with you humans, I need magic to speak in your language. Apart from that... yes, everything else he said was true. I was swimming outside of Nihon waters and was far away from the Mystic Sea when they suddenly captured me."
The merman looks around at the sea of humans surrounding him on all sides. The sight of him sitting there, prim and proper on the rough cave floor of Katsuki's throne hall, is comically incongruous. He is iridescent and ethereal, clearly something other, a literal fish out of water. Katsuki knows it's only a matter of time before the rabble of pirates shake off whatever fascinated trance they've fallen into, to try claiming some part of this unique new treasure.
And then they'll all really be in trouble.
"You see!" the envoy dares to speak. "We did not break any of the rules of the treaty. In fact, we brought him here to today to honor the code of displaying our spoils before the Pirate King before taking it back to our land!"
Katsuki's fingers twitch. He cannot allow a mer - and a Todoroki at that - to be taken away by these foreigners to do who knows what with. He will have to trick his way into keeping the merman.
"Tell me, Baron Dufus," Katsuki sneers, getting to his feet and slowly climbing down the stairs of his throne dais, menacing. "Did you also read the part of the treaty code that says the Pirate King is entitled to his pick of treasures from anyone's spoils?"
The envoy takes an unthinking step back before stumbling to a stop, face set in distress. It seems he's instantly understood what Katsuki's getting at. Maybe he's not entirely an imbecile.
"You cannot possibly be suggesting -" he protests feebly, wringing his hands. "The mer creature is the property of the Duke, and must be transported to His Grace's personal menagerie forthwith! The creature was rightfully hunted by us in open waters-!"
"And I'm telling you he's now the property of me, rightfully taken as my due tithe for allowing your ships to sail in my waters," Katsuki steps right up to the shaking man's face and grins, baring all his teeth. "Tell your lord I send my thanks."
With that, Katsuki swiftly bends to pick up the merman at his feet and cradles him firmly to his chest.
"Now if you'll excuse me," he quips back over a shoulder for the benefit of the gawking masses around them. "I'm going to go enjoy my new prize." He turns towards the passageways that lead to his private chambers, strutting like a pirate who has just raided an entire fleet.
He hears hundreds of pirates roar in raucous approval at their king outwitting the foreign nobles, the celebrations back in full swing and even rowdier than before.
Kirishima and Deku scramble after Katsuki, leaving behind the noisy ruckus for the darkness of the labyrinthine inner caves.
"Kacchan, I'm not sure -"
"Save it, nerd," Katsuki growls, walking away steadily despite the couple hundred pounds of densely-muscled non-human cargo in his arms. "You two go make yourselves useful instead of bothering me."
"Bakugou, man, we should -"
"Gather up Howitzer's crew," Katsuki says in a commanding voice. "Have them mingle with the rabble. Keep the drunk idiots only thinking about how their Pirate King won against the foreigners, not how they can demand a piece of the spoils too."
When Kirishima and Deku continue to follow him, looking worried, Katsuki stops in his tracks.
"Get the fuck back out there!" he yells, annoyed now.
Kirishima looks between Katsuki, Deku, and the merman, who has been perfectly calm and placid so far about being carried around in Katsuki's arms like a roll of bedcovers. Kirishima sighs. "Alright, I'm heading back. Izuku -?"
"I'll join you in a minute, Ei, you go ahead," Deku says, biting his lower lip while Kirishima walks away. "Kacchan, to taunt the foreigners like this could prove to be really dangerous-"
"You know I couldn't have handled it any better in there!" Katsuki blusters, angrily jostling the merman in his arms toward his quartermaster. "Look at him, he's clearly a Todoroki! We can't let them have him."
Deku's eyes flit over the merman anxiously for a few more seconds before he nods, defeated. "Yes," he mutters, turning to head back towards the party. "This is as good as it could've been. Just... be careful, Kacchan."
"Tch," Katsuki grumbles under his breath, heading deeper into the caves. As if he is ever not careful.
He walks steadily, moving further and further away from the main areas of the caves, his route increasingly twisted and complicated. Even the lit sconces of fire that illuminate the caverns are now set farther and farther apart. This is on purpose. The passageways to reach the Pirate King's personal chambers are known to less than a half-dozen people. The last quarter of the route is practically unlit and must be navigated on familiarity alone. They say the bones of assassins who tried to find the Pirate King still lie in the many winding turns that branch off in the complex earthen maze, forever lost in the dim underground gloom.
Katsuki can find his way to his rooms blindfolded and roaring drunk. In fact, it was his first test as a Pirate King.
He sets a quick pace, muscles starting to burn from the prolonged carrying of a gigantic human-sized half-fish. The merman is surprisingly quiet the entire way, content to be lugged around. Katsuki will figure out what his deal is once they're in the privacy of his own chambers.
They make it to the familiar thick-hewn wooden door leading to his private caves a few minutes later. Katsuki edges it open, grunting and cursing, the stupid fish in his arms absolutely no use. Finally, after a resounding kick, the door slams open, and Katsuki steps past the threshold with the merman secure in his arms.
The Pirate King's chambers are lush and expansive, covered in expensive silks and luxurious furniture. It speaks to the prowess of the Pirate Kings who have lead these bands of thieves. One end of the large cave opens out to fresh air and nature, with a large sculpted pool for bathing built by the opening, right up to the edge. The cavern's opening is obscured by a rushing waterfall which keeps the pool continuously supplied with cold freshwater. The water is constantly heated by magic-infused firestones that line the base of the pool, a gift from a fire dragon to a Pirate King from eons ago. The waterfall drains into a secluded freshwater lake far below. The lake is inaccessible from land, surrounded as it is by steep cliffs, rushing waterfalls, and treacherous marshes.
It is an exquisite place fit for a god.
The stupid fish lets out a happy trill again as he takes in the sight around him, and what's with this dumbass, can't he just speak like a normal person? Katsuki scowls, crossing the cave in rapid strides and unceremoniously dumping the merman in the pool at the far end. The pool is deep enough that the merman can actually dive down for a few paces, before swimming back up again.
The iridescent scales on his cheekbones glimmer even more hypnotically, wet with water and reflecting the light of the gravid moon.
Katsuki moves around the room, lighting lamps and stoking the embers of wood in the fireplace. Soon, the cave is illuminated with flickering firelight.
"Alright," Katsuki says, finally settling on a plush armchair near the pool and crossing his arms. "Speak."
"Speak what?" the merman tilts his head, blinking.
Katsuki feels his simmering annoyance rise to the surface again. "About who you are! About why the fuck you were in foreign waters all alone and ripe to be plucked by greedy foreigners, you dumbass fish!"
"Oh," the merman says, nodding. "Right. Well, I am from the Todoroki mer-clan, as you already rightly surmised. My name is Todoroki Shouto. I am the youngest son of King Todoroki Enji, known in human lore by his title 'Lord Endeavor'."
Holy fuck. Not just a royal Todoroki, but a god of the mer-clan. Son of the God of Oceanic Volcanoes himself. Fuck, if Katsuki had not gotten him back from the clueless foreigners, the entire world would have been in trouble.
"What the fuck are you playing at, being so far away from safety?!" Katsuki yells at the stupid blank-faced fish. "Your father probably would have erupted a few of the dormant volcanoes in anger if you'd been smuggled away by the foreign humans!"
"I do not wish to marry Prince Hawks," Shouto says, earnestly.
"Prince Hawks... of the Takami kinnara clans? Son of the God of Ocean Winds?" Katsuki holds the bridge of his nose, fighting back a rising headache. What the fuck kind of mess has this half-and-half fish brought him into?
"Yes," Shouto confirms, water sloshing a bit as his tail flaps in agitation. "My father - Lord Endeavor," Shouto says it like a curse. "He is ambitious. He wishes to tie the many races of the ocean together in unbreakable treaties, to strengthen our powers by fusing the most powerful magics together. He forced my mother, an ocean sprite and daughter of the Goddess of Polar Ice, to marry him using political pressure, to fuse the magic of sprites with the mer clans. And now that he has me - a son blessed with control over both fire and ice magic - he wishes to tie me to the kinnara clans to gain access to wind magic also."
Katsuki listens grimly. That's kind of messed up, he can't even fault the mer prince for fleeing under these circumstances. But still -
He has brought his troubles now to Katsuki's waters.
"Listen, I know that's shitty," Katsuki says. "But you're gonna cause a lot of mayhem in the world if you keep away from your shitty old man and he decides to throw a tantrum. Is this Hawks guy that bad? Can't you just marry him?"
"I can't marry Hawks, he is like a brother to me! Besides, my eldest brother Touya is in love with Prince Hawks. But father won't consider the match since Touya, like my other siblings, is only blessed with fire magic, not fire and ice together. Performing the bonding ceremony with him and Hawks might not ensure the binding of all three races and magics too."
"So what, your plan is to just run away from your family indefinitely till your father just gives up and chooses your brother?" Katsuki asks in bafflement.
"No," Shouto says. "The bonding ceremony is scheduled for the Summer Solstice, a fortnight from now. The most powerful members of the mer and kinnara clans have been preparing for three summers now to bind the magic between our races. They will need a Todoroki and a Takami to be bound together before the solstice ends to complete the ceremony, or all the preparations will be for nothing and the upper gods will be displeased. If I just stay missing until then, my father will have no choice but to let Touya and Hawks marry and perform the ceremony together."
Shouto finishes his tale and blinks up at Katsuki, like his insane plan to thwart an ocean god while being part-fish is perfectly reasonable. But with a sinking feeling, Katsuki realizes he actually is starting to think it's reasonable too.
Fuck it.
"Fine, I'll help you evade your shitty old man for two weeks till you're off the hook," Katsuki says. "But if you endanger me and my crew by doing anything dumb, I'll chop you up for stew!"
"You keep threatening to cook me, but I'll have you know, mer don't taste like actual fish," Shouto says blandly.
"Shut up," Katsuki says.
About a half hour later, Katsuki fishes (hah!) the merman out of the pool when he realizes what he initially thought to be a patchwork of red pigmentation is actually blood, leaking sluggishly from shallow wounds at various points of the merman's tail.
"Hooks," Shouto explains when Katsuki dips a piece of clean cotton cloth into the pool then gently cleans the wound, taking care to remove the dry crusted blood between the scales. "Those pale humans had some sort of hooked net they threw over me, it's how I got captured."
Katsuki feels rage boil in his veins at the thought. It's a good thing the foreigners have likely been ousted from the island by now, or Katsuki would go poke some holes in them himself to teach them a lesson.
"These are minor wounds," Shouto reassures, seeing Katsuki's murderous expression. "I'll only need to dip in water for a little bit to be fully healed."
Katsuki looks pointedly at the merman's still-damp hair, then the pool where he's been floating till now.
"Salt water," Shouto corrects. "Ocean water."
"Works for me," Katsuki says, finishing with cleaning the wounds. "I will just roll you overboard when we set sail tomorrow."
"You can't," Shouto says morosely. "The charm I traded with a water witch for to hide me from my father will have expired by now. I was supposed to be on the other side of the planet by now so it'll be too far to reach me. This close to the Mystic Sea, the minute I get into the ocean, my father will know."
Katsuki huffs, then reaches for the enchanted seashells that let the Pirate King communicate with select members of his guard through a paired shell. He contacts Kiri and directs him to have Pinky or Dunce Face fetch a pail of ocean water to his chambers. He will need it to soak and heal the halfie's wounds.
While they wait, Katsuki turns the matter over in his mind and reaches a conclusion. "Fine, if you can't get into the ocean, you can stay here for a fortnight," Katsuki says. "Me and my crew will set sail at dawn, but it's only to the mainland, to sell some of our loot. We should be back within two weeks. The other pirates on the island will also be gone by noon tomorrow, so you will be safe."
Katsuki hasn't even finished speaking before Shouto starts to protest. "You can't leave me behind," the merman insists, jaw set in mulish displeasure. "The only water I can reach here is freshwater from the waterfall. The ocean is too far off from these chambers. I will weaken every day you are gone, and if some misfortune were to befall you and you don't return, I will not be strong enough to find the ocean by myself again."
"So what do you suggest, that I lug around a giant fish on my ship?!" Katsuki throws his hands in the air in exasperation.
Turns out, that's exactly what Shouto is suggesting.
"This is fucking stupid," Katsuki fumes the next morning, arms crossed as he stands at the edge of the gangplank. The three members of his crew who drew the short stick are slowly carrying the stupid fish to the ship. Kaminari's sweating profusely despite the chill of the pre-dawn air, and Mina grunts out curses with every step. Shinsou isn't even visible behind the bulk of Shouto's curled tail. Shouto's contribution to the efforts is to hold as limp and placid as possible, allowing himself to be slowly heaved forward.
"Man, you carried him by yourself yesterday like he was nothing," Kirishima marvels from Katsuki's side, watching as Shinsou's face briefly comes into view, flushed as purple as his hair from the physical effort.
"That's 'cause I a'int a fucking weakling!" Katsuki says, the last of his patience slipping away. He jumps onto the gangplank, striding towards the struggling trio on nimble feet. "Oh fucking - give him here."
Katsuki wrests the merman from Kaminari's arms, slinging him over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes. The merman lets out a soft oof but otherwise keeps quiet, letting himself be manhandled. "I'll carry him the rest of the way, just go finish preparations so we can set sail before high tide is gone!"
The point where soft skin turns to scales on the merman's torso rests against the side of Katsuki's neck. His flesh prickles into goosebumps with every brush of skin on scales. The powerful muscles of Shouto's tail flex under Katsuki's hand with every step, iridescent scales somehow both hard and malleable. The merman's long silky hair swings down Katsuki's back, brushing against the back of his thighs with every stride.
It feels so...weird, Katsuki thinks, feeling inexplicably flushed. So weird.
Once onboard, he comes to a stop in front of Deku, his quartermaster. "Oi, where are we putting the fish?"
"I am not a fish," Shouto says from behind, voice muffled slightly by the fabric of Katsuki's shirt. The flush rises to Katsuki's ears.
Deku is looking between the hanging merman and Katsuki, eyebrows raised in a way that sends alarm bells ringing in Katsuki's brain. "Hmm?"
"The fish!" Katsuki yells, patience snapping. And no, it has nothing to do with the fact that the merman has just reached down to touch the hem of Katsuki's shirt at his back, curiously rubbing the fabric between his fingers. "Where am I putting him?!" As an aside, to Shouto- "And you, quit that!"
"Hmm," Deku says again, and Katsuki is about ready to toss the merman off the ship and send his quartermaster down with him. "I think your cabins, Kacchan. Yours have a private deck attached to the rooms. We could get a tub set there to fill with water from the ocean. That way, Shouto can be in sea water without getting into the sea."
And that's how daybreak finds Katsuki standing on the deck adjoining his cabin on the Howitzer Impact, staring as three members of his crew rush to draw up pails of seawater to fill a large tub holding one lazily floating mythical creature.
What is my life, Katsuki rues, watching the way Shouto cranes his neck and blinks at all the activity onboard, like a curious kitten.
"Bakugou," Kirishima jumps over a railing to land heavily beside Katsuki, panting. He points to the three who are still grunting and huffing as they draw up pail after pail of water to pour into the merman's tub. "Dude, we need Satou, Koda, and Jirou to go back to their stations if you still want us to make it out of the cove before the tide changes. The preparations are complete and we are ready to set sail."
Katsuki grunts in acknowledgement, gesturing for the three to head back. Shouto has more than enough water for now. He turns and heads to the prow of the ship, where Deku has control of the helm. Katsuki plants his feet and stands proud and tall beside him, taking a deep breath.
"Pirates," he bellows, and his loyal crew of two dozen on the Howitzer all turn to look back at him, briefly pausing in their duties. Katsuki looks around at his crew, feeling the thrill in his veins that always comes with heading back to sail the high seas. It is where Katsuki belongs, it is where every member of this ship belongs. Out of the corner of his eye, he spies the merman, tail fins glittering in the light of the rising sun, a look of anticipation in his eyes.
Some belong in the ocean even more than anyone else.
"Raise the anchors!" Kirishima yells, and the ship shifts forward in the high tide, untethered.
"Oars ready!" Deku calls, and a distant drumbeat begins, setting time for the crew to begin rowing.
Katsuki feels the wind buffet back his hair as the Howitzer moves ponderously towards the open waters. The first rays of dawn makes the ocean sparkle like diamonds before them, inviting.
"Raise the sails," Katsuki commands.
For a moment, the Howitzer floats at the edge of the cove, buffeted back and forth by conflicting currents. Then the sails fill with a strong gust of wind, and like a shot, they are out at sea, soaring forward at terrific speeds, prow pointed firmly towards the distant horizon.
Movement at the corner of his eye captures Katsuki's attention again. He turns, and sees Shouto half-out of his tub, leaning against the railing of the deck, face tilted to catch the ocean spray as the ship surges on.
"Do you get this feeling, Kacchan?" Deku asks, coming up on his side and also staring at the delighted merman. "That we're setting out today for an adventure unlike any other?"
Katsuki drinks in how Shouto's hair streams behind him, a riotous mass of red and white. The mer prince's face is calm as ever, but there's something about the way he holds himself in this moment that broadcasts utter joy.
"Yes," Katsuki says, unable to look away. "Yes, I get that feeling."