Here we go! The deadline wasn’t as scary as I thought! Thank you so much for including me in this collab! It was a blast!
Pairings: Merman! Kageyama x Reader
WARNINGS: Yandere themes, human zoo, swearing
Summary: Even if you believed in mermaids, you would believe those movies that say these poor creatures would be put in an aquarium. You couldn’t have expected it to be the other way around.
And you really couldn’t have expected the employee tasked with caring for you to fall deeply in love with you.
Collab: Aquatic August with @terushimooo and several others
captivity
/noun/
the condition of being imprisoned or confined.
You loved to swim, so a beach trip for your 19th birthday party was no surprise to anyone.
You briefly wondered if it was a bad idea to swim so far from shore, to go that close to the coral reef that beckoned you towards it with its pretty colors and the shimmering scales of fish flitting by.
When the fingers wrapped around your ankle and sharply tugged you under, you no longer had to wonder if it was a lapse of judgement. You now knew it was.
Darkness closed in on you much too soon to be from drowning. You felt the water disappear, replaced with air, and yet, you couldn’t see. The water was completely gone, but your world was so dark.
You didn’t realize until much later that you had been put in an air-filled bag, of sorts. One meant to capture land animals that come too far into a domain not meant for them.
“Look, Mom, it’s a human!”
“Wow, I’ve never seen one up close before!”
“How did they manage to capture one of those?”
“She’s so pretty!”
“Cool!”
You cowered, hyperventilating in the corner of your cage. Helplessly watching the flash of seashell-shaped phones snapping pictures of your swimsuit-clad form. As beautiful and mystical as these mermaids that gawked at you were, with their shimmering tails in all sorts of colors, all you could think about was your hopeless situation.
The cage you were in must have been enchanted by some sort of mermaid-magic or whatever sorcery these creatures possessed. Bars far enough apart to squeeze your arm through, but close enough together that you couldn’t hope to fit any other part of you through. Oxygen filled the cage like a square bubble, unpoppable and only contained in your cage.
Sticking your arm through the bars soaked you to the bone and left you shivering on the cold floor of your cage, dissuading you from trying to get out that way.
Even if you could escape, you were probably deep under the sea. If you had to guess, the ocean’s floor. You’d never make it to the surface in time. Your lifeless body would probably sink back down to the creatures that brought you there in the first place.
And that was assuming you could even escape.
The crowds thinned and eventually disappeared completely as the water darkened. You could only assume that this was closing time for whatever type of twisted zoo you were in. A part of you wondered if this was ironically their form of an aquarium.
With the mass of mermaids no longer obstructing your view, you could see your partners-in-captivity. Most were normal sea animals, which you couldn’t help but compare yourself to, such as dolphins, sharks, and a variety of fish. However, there were a couple dogs that shared your prison. An old golden retriever and a large mixed breed, both locked in separate cages, looking depressed, yet used to their new home.
If I ever get out of here, tears filled your eyes, I will be the biggest animal rights activist ever. I will free every animal from every zoo, aquarium, wherever.
This was easily the worst birthday you’d ever had.
Your moping was brought to an end with the sound of a door opening. You belatedly realized that everything here sounded and worked just like above the water in many ways.
The door that opened was no more than a slab of wood lodged into a sand archway, yet it still pushed out the water in a way that resembled a creaking door from the surface.
You couldn’t help but blush when your eyes landed on the pale expanse of a man’s muscular chest. You quickly looked away, trying to will away the rising heat from your cheeks. Once you had recovered, you studied the newcomer with curious eyes.
He was a tall merman, a muscular, lean form with a long, dark blue tail that reflected the light in short bursts. His fins were noticeably sharklike and his cold eyes reminded you of the deadly creature too.
The man swam over to the dogs and began barking excitedly. The dark-haired man tossed bits of fishy-smelling flesh to the canines, a wane smile playing across his lips as he did so.
When he turned to you, you couldn’t help but be blown away by his looks. He was even more handsome than you had thought: dark water-swept hair, chiseled yet pretty features, deep eyes, and muscle laid on a graceful figure under soft pale skin.
Maybe it was the unearthly glow of the light beaming through the darkened water or maybe it was the fact that a mythical creature you had dreamed about as a child now stood- or swam- in front of you.
The male approached you, holding some of the same chum he’d fed the dogs. Despite not having used your voice in hours, it was still clear as ever when you spoke to him.
“I want to go home.”
He stopped in his tracks, blinking in surprise at your “outburst”. He tilted his head, looking thoroughly confused. “You can talk?”
“Of course I can!” You spluttered, concerned by how little these creatures knew about humans. This would either be very good or very bad for an escape attempt or your survival in general…
“Oh.” The merman didn’t seem to be a man of many words. You bit your lip in frustration.
“I’m (Y/n), what’s your name?”
“Kageyama.”
His name wasn’t the first thing you’d learn about him, but it wasn’t the most important.
The most important was that he didn’t seem to be the brightest bulb. The sharpest knife in the drawer.
And you were pretty sure you could use that to escape.
As your time in this “zoo” went on, so did your time with Kageyama. Despite not being very talkative, the merman often encouraged you to tell him stories of your time on land. His eyes shone with curiosity and wonder when you talked about the simplest things.
He was an employee: one that specialized in the care of land creatures. They hadn’t had a human in years, but, apparently, a nearby mermaid colony kept them supplied with information now that they had you.
You felt bad for the humans lived in that nearby zoo, but the fact that they had apparently been there for over 10 years terrified you.
When Kageyama next came to visit you, you tried to appeal to him again.
“I’m scared of what those visitors might do to me. I’ve seen the way some of them look at me. I can’t stay here, Kageyama…”
You felt like you’d tried everything. Claiming you were allergic to the dogs when you couldn’t actually get close enough for the allergens to bother you. Claiming your cage was too small. Claiming that humans could breathe fire.
Nothing worked.
Your friendship with Kageyama grew at least. You desperately hoped that you’d get close enough to convince him to release you, but you were losing hope the closer you got. He’d become possessive and even more sure that you should stay safe in captivity.
“They were looking at you?” That seemed to catch Kageyama’s attention. You bit back a sarcastic response. Of course they watch me, I’m put on display in a zoo.
“Yes. It scares me…” You used a trick you’d learned in an acting class- swallowing yawns to make your eyes water and tears spill down your cheeks. “I’m afraid of what they might do to me. I’m not safe, Kageyama…”
His steely eyes darkened and he studied you for a moment, his expression impossible to read.
“I’ll get you out of here, (Y/n), I promise.”
You could barely contain your excitement when the zoo closed the next night. You were going home! Finally!
Kageyama looked more serious than usual, if that was even possible, when he approached your cage. He lifted his hands and the same darkness that brought you here enveloped you.
This time, you welcomed it, an ecstatic warmth filling you as you pictured the relieved faces of your family and friends when you ran into your house. You wondered what they thought happened to you. Did they think you drowned? Did they think someone kidnapped you or that you got lost at sea? How much did they all miss you?
When you were finally able to see again, you realized that you’d never be lucky enough to find out.
A house made of sand. A larger cage, yet a cage all the same. A bed next to yours occupied by a familiar man.
When you demanded an answer, cried real tears, begged him to let you go for real, he simply gave you a small smile and explained his reasoning. Words that sent a chill down your spine.
“Now I’m the only man who can look at you.”
