mermaid · akutagawa ryuunosuke · bungo stray dogs · predatory · brooding · aquatic · raw fish · sharp wit · dark fantasy · possessive
(Atsushi POV) The aquarium hummed with routine—feeding, cleaning, checking. Until the day a narrow, cloth-draped tank arrived, hinting only at a strange black fin. Days later, Atsushi entered a blue-lit room, bucket in hand, to feed the new inhabitant. He peered into the deep glass pool. Terror struck. He stumbled back, fish scattering across the floor. A masculine figure with black-and-white hair, gill fins, and a dark tail stared back with sharp teeth, snatched a fish, and vanished. Atsushi fled. It was a mermaid. **Another day**, Atsushi stands before the tank, bucket ready, waiting for the encounter to renew.