Down Where It's Wetter (Part 1: Meeting a Mermaid)

“KRAKEN ON THE PORT BOW!”

“HIT THE DECK!”

“THE BUBBLE IS SHRINKING!”

“WHERE’S LUFFY GONE?!”

“WATCH OUT! SEA KINGS!”

“WE’VE HIT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA!”

"WHO IS THAT?!"

"I KNEW TRAVELLING WITH YOU WAS A MISTAKE!

“GET US TO FISHMAN ISLAND!”

“COUUUP DE BUUUUURSST!”

“AAAAAHHHH!”

I bolted upright, waking up in a cold sweat. Panting and blinking awake after such a crazy dream. I’d gotten a strange earring, met the Straw Hats, and we’d travelled together to-

“AAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

A green haired girl was screaming in my face. My heart was practically leaping out my chest at the strange way her mouth contorted and her eyes bulged. I fell backwards, tumbling out of whatever bed I was in and crashed on the floor in a Natsuo shaped lump.

“Hahahaha! You’re a funny guy Natty!” I could hear Luffy laugh.

My focus was more on… well, viewing my first ever mermaid. She was also looking incredibly shocked, though she fell into Sanji’s arms who had practically teleported behind her. With a light green scrappy hairdo, wearing a black tanktop that contained a nice chest… and only the tanktop. Well, there’s probably a bra under there, but she wasn’t really wearing anything below it is my point. A long tail adorned with pink scales and two fins at the end. Obviously I’ve seen fishmen before in the revolutionaires, but mermaids were different. They often stayed on Fishman Island, and Dragon’s few mermaid agents weren’t exactly rushing around the base and needing me to clean their plates. It was just really strange to see in person, the lower half of a girl being completely different.

“U-um, S-Sanji? Who is this and why is he grabbing my fins?”

My eyes went wide as I suddenly realised what I was doing: fondling the fish girl’s tail and admiring their texture with my hands. I let go instantly, jumping back while babbling nonsense, “SORRY! SO SORRY!” I yelped, shielding myself from Sanji’s **** glare as I scurried along the floor away from the mermaid. She didn’t actually seem that upset, just a bit confused as she held her returned fins.

The chef kept his deepest frown on me for an extra beat before changing his face to that of eternal lusts to the mermaid, “That’s just Natsuo, my dearest Camie-chan. A simple brained masseuse that we’ve somehow adopted.”

“...because Robin’s dating him.” Usopp pointed out from the table he was sitting at. Totally ignoring Sanji’s enraged hiss.

The mermaid, who I guess is named Camie, was a little more interested in me than the interaction behind her. Waggling her pink fins a bit with a strange look on her face, “A masseuse? Is that why my tail felt good?”

“Uhh, maybe?” I admitted. That ‘mermaid massage’ book I apparently read seemed to know it’s stuff. “Sorry. I have a bad habit of touching things that interest me… and I’ve never seen a mermaid tail before.”

Chopper, who was also sitting at the table with Usopp, pointed at me, “Oh! Is that why you became a masseuse?”

“Actually-”

…

I blinked at the reindeer.

Was it? I had really wanted to touch Robin when I was travelling with her… and at the time I thought the massage angle was just the easiest cover. Was I actually just subconsciously looking for a reason to touch things?

“Uhh, yeah. It certainly helps.” I admitted truthfully while scratching my neck.

Wait, where the fuck am I is a better question.

I stood up and finally had a look around the room. It was a small apartment, not meant to be hosting the six of us all at once probably, but the cosy nature of it was nice. Fairly girly with the lace curtains and outfit stands. A little green kitchen, yellow painted walls, and most of the furniture in this one room with two doors for a bedroom and bathroom on one side of the apartment. Though the big water base underneath was certainly the biggest difference. I was standing on wood fixed just above the water line, and as Camie splashed into the water it was obvious the architecture was specially crafted for the mermaid herself. Thankfully not being too cold with how the basin clearly leads into the ocean itself.

In terms of who was in here, as I said Chopper and Usopp were sitting at the small round table, Sanji was helping Camie up, and Luffy was sitting on the clam-like bed in the middle of the room and playing with… oh, some extra small mermaid girls. Weird.

“Is Robin and everyone else okay?”

The reindeer slumped his tiny shoulders, “We dunno… everyone got separated when the Sunny entered the bubble.”

“They’re fine. Everyone’s all really tough.” Luffy smiled reassuringly, confident in his answer to the point it made me feel silly for asking. The tiny mermaids turned their attention to me.

They all looked at me and began floating towards my direction, making me flinch in fear. It was a weird sight to have them buzzing around me, inspecting my movements. The five of them had little cowboy hats on and were floating on some sort of bubble that let them almost fly around the room.

“Plain looking human.” “Maybe he’s actually cool?” “Yippee Kai-Yay!” “...ignore Yonka 2, she really gets into being a cowboy.” “You’re not friends with Camie, why’d you come here?”

Their speech was intense and all around me, which I could only somewhat pick up on with how much they spoke at once. “Girls! Leave him alone!” Camie scolded, the five of them swimming back to the mermaid as she looked at me apologetically, “My turn to apologise, you’re in my dorm room for the Mermaid Café, in Mermaid Cove.” She explained before jutting her hand out suddenly, “Also just to meet you properly: I’m Camie! Luffy and everyone once saved my life!”

“Hey,” I shook it politely looking at her beaming face, “I’m Natsuo. A masseuse and ex-revolutionary.”

“Is that why my hand feels so good?”

Instinctively, I retracted the shake quickly. “Sorry! Hehe, can’t seem to turn the darn thing off!” I awkwardly smiled, though she seemed rather disappointed with something.

“Yeah yeah, just remember to keep your hands to yourself. If a lady tells me you grabbed them without permission I will fillet them.” said Sanji walking up to me. I’d have called him a jerk, but I did change the world into a perverted pile of filth so maybe his instincts are on point. Besides, he was handing me something, “Here, your clothes are dry now.”

“Oh, thanks.” I said, taking off the towel poncho I was wearing after separating myself from the only lady in the room. “So what’s the plan?”

Usopp yawned, “We’re waiting for Marguerite to wake up, then Camie said we gotta explore the city.”

“And meet all her MERMAID FRIENDS~!!!!!!” A chef loudly exclaimed, singing his heart out.

“Yeah! I wanna go see everyone! I heard Fishman Island is really cool!” Luffy excitedly yelled looking out the window with particular interest.

I also finally noticed he was lingering right by the sleeping blonde, tucked away in a blanket as he had his hand on her shoulder. It looked weirdly protective for the overeager captain’s usual nature, but then again she was his… girlfriend? Subject? Friend with benefits? I just realised I had no idea. Oh well, to each their own.

“It does look pretty out there,” I commented, looking at a school of shark-toothed clownfish in the distance. “Do we need some sort of… breathing apparatus to explore out there? I guess I always imagined Fishman Island to be, like, completely underwater.”

Camie smiled, hopping up onto the wood again before placing her tail fin on my chest, “If it was, then all our stuff would get wet!” She beamed, though she also gasped when I lightly moved her fish tail off of me. “H-humans can still use bubble coral to get around our waterways…”

“Like Sabaody!” Chopper exclaimed happily.

The look the mermaid was giving me was making me nervous, was pushing her fin off of my chest an insult? She’d once more put her tail near me and I moved over to the couch.

“Um, I made everyone some food to warm up!” She announced, swimming over to a big pot and bringing over a tray of small cups. “Some nice cold seaweed soup! Get it while it’s fresh!”

“Cold?”

Her face contorted into a particularly shocked expression after Chopper pointed that out, “WAIT! YOU CAN’T WARM UP WITH COLD SOUP! I MADE A MISTAKE!” She exclaimed, almost dropping her tray before Sanji grabbed it from her.

“I’m sure it’s lovely, and no matter the temperature I’m sure it’s as wonderful a taste as your beauty.”

A blush crossed over the mermaid’s face (did that corny line actually work?) and she looked like she wanted to say something, “Um, Sanji… would you like to…? N-nevermind!” Her face looked sad before swimming away in a bluster.

“Uh, sure. Who wants food?”

The rubber boy clapped his hands, “I do! Gimme a bowl, Sanji!”

With a sigh, Camie swam over and sat next to me, letting the chef handle the distribution of food to the other three dudes in the room. I got a bowl and ate a few spoonfuls, surprised how hungry I was after the underwater crash we’d experienced. I couldn’t even tell how long I’d been underwater for, I hope Robin is okay. Everyone seems pretty chill right now, so it couldn’t have been that bad, right?

After my fourth spoon of cold soup, Camie pushed her tail onto me. Just lightly onto my lap while giving me a side-eye. I pushed it off of me as politely as I could… but then she placed it on my lap again.

Another push, another place, this time higher up.

I got the feeling she was either salty about me groping her earlier or this was a cultural difference I’d never heard of before.

So instead, I went to stand up and move away from the couch, but I was stopped by a hand on my wrist. Camie suddenly looked very interested in something, “Um, Mr. Masseuse. Do you mind… touch-”

“You’re awake!” Luffy yelled suddenly, distracting Camie from her question. He was gripping the Marguerite's shoulders and dragging her to her feet as she blinked awake, “Now we can go exploring!”

The rubber boy stretched his arms out to encompass everyone in the room, ready to push them out in a mad tumble before Sanji flicked his nose. “Oi! Let Chopper check his patient first! She just woke up!” He growled, and Luffy’s arms snapped back to his torso while he pouted in disappointment.

“N-no, I’m alright.” The other blonde said, standing on shaky legs after being so rudely awoken, bowing towards Luffy before anything else, “I’m sorry, My King… I should have protected you from the terrors of the deep.”

“Dunno what any of us could have done down there…” I said, remembering the crazy events on the boat. Luffy just smiled instead.

“No worries! If you’re feeling alright, then let’s go~!”

He once more started giddily guiding us towards the door, she wasn’t as happy though, “But… I should have stayed awake! I promised Hebihime-sama that I’d protect you, and at least take care of all your morning wood…”

“Oi, care about your own life before blowjobs.” Usopp pointed out. And they all headed for the exit. Though as they did, their busty mermaid friend was looking worriedly towards me. And I hadn't the foggiest idea why...

POV Shift: Camie.

I really want that guy to stroke my tail.

It felt so good... like I was having years of stress melt away from him touching me. My fins are aching for him to squeeze me again...

...but what if it leads onto something sexual?

Everyone was talking about blowjobs, and morning wood, and as soon as Sanji woke up he told me he'd lost his virginity (whatever THAT meant). They've really changed a lot since the last time I saw them.

...and I kinda wish I could join in on that fun... just to try it... I almost fell to Sanji's seduction, I had to catch myself before I offered to suck his penis...

But I have to remember: I can't.

Nothing can happen, not for any reason.

They don't need to know why, they'll be on a bigger adventure soon, away from here. Hatchan didn't want them getting involved with our problems, and Pappag told me to stay strong. I just need to remember what Ishilly said yesterday...

"Man, I can't wait for all my friends to get here next month!" I said, finishing up my shift. "This'll be great! I can't wait to show them around and thank them properly for saving me two years ago!" I'd taken off my apron, and was thinking about... well, you know. My blush couldn't exactly hide what I was thinking. Not to mention the lack of bra I had on had made it so a lot of residents were giving me BIG tips today.

And Ishilly knew it too.

"..." Her tone darkened, quickly grabbing my hand and dragging me off to a secluded part of the café that no one goes to. "Your friends are humans, right?"

"Uh, most of them."

"Then be careful." She warned, pressing a finger to my chest, "Just remember the laws around here. We aren't allowed to share fluids with humans, or else you'll be on Hody's hitlist." She poked in the chest, and I gulped at the insinuation, "No blood transfusions, no trading spit, and absolutely NO cum to be shared on Fishman Island."