As Deep As The Ocean || •Mermaid AU• || KiriBaku

6

Kirishima continued his journey back to the grotto where Bakugou was, quietly humming to himself when the underwater entrance to the cave came into view. He grinned and ducked under the small archway, the stones he passed under were smoothed over due to weathering, barely brushing against his back as his chest made contact with the sandy floor beneath them. He caressed the back of his hand over some of the coral lining the sea floor, feeling the gentle strokes of the sea anemone over the back of his scales, though it was difficult to do so without letting the fish he still held in his hands go. 

The light shone on the surface of the water, heating the water just slightly, warming him up all over and sending a pleasant shiver down the entirety of his body. The shark smiled as he revelled in the peace of the moment, before his head broke through the surface of the water, causing it to ripple out around him as he shook his hair back and forth. He opened his mouth to greet the blonde sitting on the ledge before him, but he was cut off. 

"Where the fuck were you?" The blonde yelled, not giving the shark any moment to gather himself as his rough voice echoed along all the walls of the chamber. The shark's smile fell as he caught sight of the angry expression on his friend's face, and he raised his arms to show off the fish he caught, since he had no clue what to do.

"I was out hunting dinner for you! I don't know what your favourite type is, so I just got you some Mullets." A webbed hand reached out to the space before Bakugou, placing two identical fish down where they flopped around for a few minutes. His smile was blindingly bright, and continued to shine even after seeing Bakugou's penetrative glare. "I also don't know how you like to eat them, so I just kept them alive for you." Bakugou’s angry expression momentarily faltered, his eyebrows raising in shock at the sincerity of the other boy. 

"Oh, fucking took you a long time! I'm starving." His tone was snappy, but Kirishima didn't mind. He just kept smiling. Bakugou was grateful for the fish he caught! Awesome! 

"Oi, idiot, stop smiling like that, especially when it's aimed at me. It's creepy as shit. And next time, maybe think twice about leaving a stranger alone in a cave with no way out." Kirishima went to reply, but stopped when he noticed Bakugou searching around desperately, his hands flung out and patting the ground beneath them. Kirishima's brows furrowed as he continued to watch the boy search confusedly. 

"What are you looking for?" he asked, cocking his head to the side. Bakugou's head flung up and his eyes made contact with Kirishima's. 

"Something to cut this with. A knife…O-or something sharp or… I don't know! Something!" he yelled, continuing to pat down the ground around him, then himself, eventually crawling along the ledge, and the red-head just stared at him wide eyed. 

"All you had to do was ask! Give me a second." He said, before ducking back under the water, reaching the sandy floor of the ocean and digging around a bit. His scaled hands brushed over something smooth, and he pulled it out of its furrowing in the sand, brushing it off and smiling. Perfect!

His head broke through the surface again, and he smiled, handing the rock to the blonde. It was smooth, with a curved side, and the other side sharpened to a blade-like tip. The blonde looked at it, before snatching it up and muttering something about how 'he could do it himself' and 'stupid fucking shark boy needs to back the fuck off'. The shark stifled a giggle at the blonde's childish antics, smiling softly as he watched the former make his way over to the fish again, plopping down right in front of them. 

Bakugou picked up one of the fish in his hands, slicing open the creature and preparing it for cooking, separating the parts and placing them into a designated area, and repeating it with the second fish. Kirishima stared in horror as his new friend essentially mutilated his food. The poor fish!

"Stop fucking staring, dumbass. What are you eating?" The explosive boy said, though his voice was calm and momentarily threw Kirishima for a loop; he wasn’t used to that tone of voice from the other. He had grown used to the gruffness and anger that always accompanied him. The red-head sat there for a while, his arms hanging onto the ledge as his body remained submerged underwater, thinking about what he was going to eat for dinner. 

"Uhm, I don't know. I could really go for a stingray, actually. They're really yummy this time of the year." He closed his eyes and thought about the fish, salivating slightly at the memory  of the meat in his mouth. The blonde just stared at him with disgust, before continuing to prepare his food, attempting to erase the thought of eating stingray as a treat from his mind. The red head spoke up again. "Actually, yeah. I'm going to have a stingray tonight. I'm gonna go hunt for it, be right back dude!" 

"Can you grab me some sticks or washed up pieces of wood or something? I need to start a fire." A large smile washed over the shark's face, and he nodded eagerly before dropping into the water with a small splash and swimming away, his red fins moving through the water being the last thing Katsuki saw as the red-head left the grotto. 

***

Kirishima swam back and forth along the shore, still deep enough to not be found out by any humans but shallow enough to find the creatures he was preying on for food. Within 30 minutes, the shark had found several large pieces of floating wood, sticks, and other leaves or things, and when he came to the dilemma of not having enough hands to hold everything, he fastened himself a small bag out of seaweed; it was more like seaweed he wrapped around the sticks tightly, using the remaining length to tie around his waist so nothing got lost as he swam. He was fully expecting Bakugou’s judgemental looks and comments when he found his way back to the grotto, but he didn't really care. Honestly, he was really proud of his creation, and no one can take this from him.

Now, he was laying, bare chest flush against the sand as he waited for a stingray to swim past so he could grab it. This was the least fun part of the hunt, to him. Just waiting and waiting. He could be doing so much else! Usually, he would be able to pounce on whatever meal he was having for the day, just grab it as quick as he could, but unfortunately, the natural behaviour of most rays made that hunting method too risky.  

A slight vibration in the water warned him of his oncoming prey, and he looked up, his red eyes scanning the slightly murky water before him, and spotting the tell-tale grey and white of a stingray floating just above the surface of the ground. He will admit though, he nearly missed it, with both the constant evolution of his prey, but also the thoughts running through his head acting as a distraction. Damn, these things are getting good at camouflaging. 

He pounced on the unsuspecting fish, grabbing its wing and squeezing. The stingray wiggled and fought his grip, before submitting, relaxing in his grip as Kirishima smiled and started swimming back to the grotto, but a sudden stabbing pain in his lower arm distracted him. He stopped swimming, looked down, seeing the stingray he had caught had its barb hanging out from his arm, having completely severed the thin, delicate fin that lined his right arm, the ray’s winged body moving around in attempts to flee. Kirishima pouted, pulling the stingray's tail out from his wound and holding it upside down, letting it float in the water.  

"Dude, that wasn't very nice." He said, shaking his head as he continued to the grotto, ignoring the pain coming from his right arm as he swam, the only thought on his mind his  eagerness to get the wood back to his best friend.