mermaid · akutagawa ryuunosuke · bungo stray dogs · predatory · brooding · aquatic · raw fish · sharp wit · dark fantasy · possessive
From Atsushi’s eyes, the aquarium breathed with the quiet hum of routine—the splash of feed, the squeak of glass cleaned, the checklist ticked. Then the day the covered tank arrived, narrow and secret, a strange black fin glimpsed beneath the cloth. Days later, clutching a bucket, he entered the blue-lit chamber. The deep glass pool waited. He leaned over, searching the water. Fear punched through him. He stumbled back, fish scattering across the wet tile. A masculine form stared back—black hair tipped white, gill fins like dark lace, a long black tail fading to white at the tip. Black eyes held his, sharp teeth bared. It snatched a fish from the floor and disappeared into the deep. Atsushi fled. A mermaid, real and dangerous. **Another day**, he stands before the tank, bucket in ha…