[ Well, that would be bad, wouldn't it? It's open-ended, but he probably doesn't need specifics. Yu is right, they're warned to stay away.
Yosuke straightens himself again and lowers his bottom half back into the water. ]
...Honestly, we don't talk about humans much. Just we're told to stay away and that you'll eat us if you can. I never really thought much about it before, but...I mean, you're the first human I've met and you let me go.
[ Truthfully, Yu thinks the outside world might do more than just look for Yosuke and his kind. But it would start with looking, and only escalate. Even if Yosuke were a terrible person, he wouldn't deserve that, and the other mermaids - wherever they are - wouldn't either. ]
Well, like I said, you're a person. [ His expression softens a touch. ] That's all that matters to me. I'm sure there are plenty who would feel the same way I do, but it's still a good idea to be cautious about the ones who might not.
[ Be cautious...so it sounds like there is a legitimate reason to worry, huh? He's not exactly surprised, nor would he really have believed Yu if Yu had said everyone would just be friendly and welcoming, but that doesn't mean it isn't a pleasant notion otherwise. ]
I don't think it'd be so bad if they were like you.
[ ... that's sort of an odd answer to give. Yu lets it slide for now. He's curious about Yosuke's world, very much so, but trying to avoid asking about it directly. If Yosuke decides to open up on his own, that will be enough. ]
It's called Home Gardening. [ Yu holds it up. ] I like to garden with my little cousin, Nanako. Reading has taught me a lot about it.
[ When Yu holds it up, Yosuke swims a little bit closer, once again reaching out to hold onto the edge of the dock. He'd been keen on keeping some distance between them when they first met, but he's quickly growing more comfortable with the proximity. Maybe too quickly. ]
Oh yeah?
[ He tilts his head to the side. ]
Can you show me?
[ Are there pictures? Or is Yu going to read to him? ]
[ He is most definitely curious--he's finding he's interested in learning more about human things, or at least human things that seem to be worth Yu's attention. If Yu is watching the water at all, he might see Yosuke's tail wave back and forth slowly underneath the water's surface. ]
Growing melons?
[ He's got no idea what melons are. But--!
As he looks around the drawings and diagrams, there are things the recognizes. ]
[ Ah, that's cute. The way he's moving his tail like that... it's sort of puppyish. ... no, he shouldn't think like that--
... but it's still sort of cute. ]
"Kind of"?
[ A head tilt. ]
Well, we both speak Japanese, so it makes sense our written language would be similar. Actually, I'm surprised you have a written language. [ Given the water. What do they use as ink? As paper? ]
[ Unabashed, Yosuke pulls himself up a little bit, bringing his entire torso out of the water as he reaches forward. He points out the kanji in various sentences. ]
These ones--the style's kinda different, but they're recognizable.
[ A pause before her uns his finger along some of the unfamiliar hiragana. ]
Not sure what this is...I've never seen it before.
[ Yu tilts his head, looking down to follow Yosuke's fingers. The other boy is ... well, wet, and he's getting the pages damp. Not too much, though, given that he's had his hands out of the water for a space of time. He can always dry the pages, later. ]
Seen... soil? [ That's what he was pointing to in the hiragana; a piece of a sentence about soil. ] ... do you mean the characters? [ Said after a moment, slowly. It doesn't make sense that Yosuke wouldn't know what soil is, given that there's plenty of that on riverbeds; so the alternative is... ]
[ He's never worried about getting things wet before--wet is kind of how he does everything. Sorry about your book, Yu.
He's surprised by the translation, though. ]
Is that what it means?
[ How curious. ]
Yeah, we write it like...
[ He draws invisible lines along the wood of the dock, but Yu will probably recognize the strokes of a rather archaic rendition of "soil". If he's familiar at all with the Manyoshu, he might be able to place the usage of that specific reading type to be almost 1500 years old. ]
It takes him a few moments of staring, and he has to ask Yosuke to repeat the motion, but after a moment, it hits him, and wins a visible and audible expression of surprise. ]
That's... wow. That has to be hundreds of years old.
[ He knows more specifically how old it is, but doesn't want to freak Yosuke out. This ... this really raises more questions than it answers, but Yu is suddenly alight in a way he wasn't quite before. His interest is now readily apparent. ]
Those characters you pointed out are called hiragana. They're one of two simplified alphabets that we use, aside from kanji. You must not have seen them. But you know kanji...
[ How? Why? Were Yosuke's ancestors taught, or did mermaids and humans once have a much closer relationship? What's the history here? This is fascinating in ways Yu can't quite help.
He's practically vibrating with the need to ask questions, but still refrains. It feels rude, and also invasive, but he so much wants to know more about Yosuke's world. ]
[ If Yu is surprised, Yosuke is even more. He blinks. ]
...Hundreds of years??
[ Well--wait, it...it makes sense, right? They've been writing since forever. The Watatsumi Mikoto learned it long ago and passed it down to their offspring--the same language that humans were taught, right? Or something like that. He vaguely remembers from his own studies, but Yosuke doesn't really commit much to memory if it doesn't interest him, and lessons never really did. ]
So...they gave you other characters to write with, or...you guys...made up your own alphabets?
You'll have to thank people smarter than me. This all happened a long time ago. For both of us, it seems.
[ Idly Yu lifts up the book and pads it with the hem of his shirt, gently drying the pages from Yosuke's wet fingerprints. ]
It seems we once used the same written language, but at some point, it diverged... we may have shared a history, at some point. [ Yu smiles more openly. ] I wonder what it was like.
[ Yosuke's tail swishes again with the thought--it's an unconscious motion. ]
To be honest, most I've heard about humans is from history. Fisherman and stuff, you know? Something changed...but I'm not sure what. I...didn't really pay much attention, heh.
You should study harder, [ he chides, though the spark of humor in his eye makes it clear he's not really being serious. ] You can learn some fascinating things about the world. [ A beat and, more musingly: ] Like that mermaids and humans once shared a common history.
[ Setting his book aside, Yu leans back on his hands, looking out over the water thoughtfully. ]
[ Yosuke groans at that, though the joke isn't lost on him, evident in his grin despite himself. ]
Yeah, yeah, tell me something I haven't heard before...
[ Here, have him dramatically resting his head on the edge of the deck, like this is some great burden. Knowledge. Bleh! Yu's question is a good one, though. It's enough to get Yosuke to look back up after a short pause. ]
I don't know. Everything, I guess? You guys don't look like the paintings we have, not anymore. And there're a lot more of you now than there were before, I know that much. And we used to be mostly out at sea, so...maybe it's just different for everyone.
Teasing? Teasing. That's what's happening, yes. And Yosuke is playing along. Yu finds his mouth has worked its way into a grin without his really thinking about it. ]
I could bring more of my books, [ he murmurs, testing, teasing some more.
Yosuke goes on, though, and Yu sits up again, tilting his head. ]
We looked different, huh? [ Over a thousand years ago... ] We wore different clothes, I bet. I'm sure the art style is pretty different, too...
[ A beat, and he finally can't contain himself: ] So, what do you use to write and paint?
[ Bring more books? Yosuke's not a big reader, but what he implies from the joking offer is that Yu is saying he'll come back. Specifically to talk to Yosuke. ]
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Yosuke straightens himself again and lowers his bottom half back into the water. ]
...Honestly, we don't talk about humans much. Just we're told to stay away and that you'll eat us if you can. I never really thought much about it before, but...I mean, you're the first human I've met and you let me go.
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Well, like I said, you're a person. [ His expression softens a touch. ] That's all that matters to me. I'm sure there are plenty who would feel the same way I do, but it's still a good idea to be cautious about the ones who might not.
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I don't think it'd be so bad if they were like you.
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I don't know about that.
[ He looks up again, expression warm. ]
People are good and bad, and everything in between. I'm sure it's the same for you.
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Something like that...
[ He turns, doing a lazy loop in the water by the dock. ]
What are you reading?
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It's called Home Gardening. [ Yu holds it up. ] I like to garden with my little cousin, Nanako. Reading has taught me a lot about it.
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Oh yeah?
[ He tilts his head to the side. ]
Can you show me?
[ Are there pictures? Or is Yu going to read to him? ]
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Yu holds the book in his lap so that it faces outwards, and he leans over it slightly so he can look at its pages upside-down. ]
I can show you a few things. There are diagrams, and drawings.
[ He flips to a recent page, which shows a picture of a pile of seeds, and an illustrated diagram of how to plant and care for them. ]
I've been reading about growing melons, lately.
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Growing melons?
[ He's got no idea what melons are. But--!
As he looks around the drawings and diagrams, there are things the recognizes. ]
...Oh, hey! You write kinda the same as we do.
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... but it's still sort of cute. ]
"Kind of"?
[ A head tilt. ]
Well, we both speak Japanese, so it makes sense our written language would be similar. Actually, I'm surprised you have a written language. [ Given the water. What do they use as ink? As paper? ]
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Yeah! I mean, you've got some characters I don't recognize, but I see ones I do.
[ Wait, what? Yosuke looks perplexed. ]
You are? Heh, I bet you we've been writing longer than you.
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Show me?
[ Quietly echoing Yosuke's on question back at him. ]
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These ones--the style's kinda different, but they're recognizable.
[ A pause before her uns his finger along some of the unfamiliar hiragana. ]
Not sure what this is...I've never seen it before.
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Seen... soil? [ That's what he was pointing to in the hiragana; a piece of a sentence about soil. ] ... do you mean the characters? [ Said after a moment, slowly. It doesn't make sense that Yosuke wouldn't know what soil is, given that there's plenty of that on riverbeds; so the alternative is... ]
no subject
He's surprised by the translation, though. ]
Is that what it means?
[ How curious. ]
Yeah, we write it like...
[ He draws invisible lines along the wood of the dock, but Yu will probably recognize the strokes of a rather archaic rendition of "soil". If he's familiar at all with the Manyoshu, he might be able to place the usage of that specific reading type to be almost 1500 years old. ]
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he is somewhat familiar with it.
It takes him a few moments of staring, and he has to ask Yosuke to repeat the motion, but after a moment, it hits him, and wins a visible and audible expression of surprise. ]
That's... wow. That has to be hundreds of years old.
[ He knows more specifically how old it is, but doesn't want to freak Yosuke out. This ... this really raises more questions than it answers, but Yu is suddenly alight in a way he wasn't quite before. His interest is now readily apparent. ]
Those characters you pointed out are called hiragana. They're one of two simplified alphabets that we use, aside from kanji. You must not have seen them. But you know kanji...
[ How? Why? Were Yosuke's ancestors taught, or did mermaids and humans once have a much closer relationship? What's the history here? This is fascinating in ways Yu can't quite help.
He's practically vibrating with the need to ask questions, but still refrains. It feels rude, and also invasive, but he so much wants to know more about Yosuke's world. ]
no subject
...Hundreds of years??
[ Well--wait, it...it makes sense, right? They've been writing since forever. The Watatsumi Mikoto learned it long ago and passed it down to their offspring--the same language that humans were taught, right? Or something like that. He vaguely remembers from his own studies, but Yosuke doesn't really commit much to memory if it doesn't interest him, and lessons never really did. ]
So...they gave you other characters to write with, or...you guys...made up your own alphabets?
[ He raises his brows. And then whistles. ]
That's...actually really impressive.
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You'll have to thank people smarter than me. This all happened a long time ago. For both of us, it seems.
[ Idly Yu lifts up the book and pads it with the hem of his shirt, gently drying the pages from Yosuke's wet fingerprints. ]
It seems we once used the same written language, but at some point, it diverged... we may have shared a history, at some point. [ Yu smiles more openly. ] I wonder what it was like.
no subject
[ Yosuke's tail swishes again with the thought--it's an unconscious motion. ]
To be honest, most I've heard about humans is from history. Fisherman and stuff, you know? Something changed...but I'm not sure what. I...didn't really pay much attention, heh.
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[ Setting his book aside, Yu leans back on his hands, looking out over the water thoughtfully. ]
What do you think changed?
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Yeah, yeah, tell me something I haven't heard before...
[ Here, have him dramatically resting his head on the edge of the deck, like this is some great burden. Knowledge. Bleh! Yu's question is a good one, though. It's enough to get Yosuke to look back up after a short pause. ]
I don't know. Everything, I guess? You guys don't look like the paintings we have, not anymore. And there're a lot more of you now than there were before, I know that much. And we used to be mostly out at sea, so...maybe it's just different for everyone.
no subject
Teasing? Teasing. That's what's happening, yes. And Yosuke is playing along. Yu finds his mouth has worked its way into a grin without his really thinking about it. ]
I could bring more of my books, [ he murmurs, testing, teasing some more.
Yosuke goes on, though, and Yu sits up again, tilting his head. ]
We looked different, huh? [ Over a thousand years ago... ] We wore different clothes, I bet. I'm sure the art style is pretty different, too...
[ A beat, and he finally can't contain himself: ] So, what do you use to write and paint?
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You should! --I mean, if that's cool.
[ Don't get too excited there, buddy. ]
Uh...ink. What do you use?
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Yu's brows lift beneath the fringe of his hair. ]
Ink, and paint. But... [ You're. In water. How... ]
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But what?
[ Besides, they don't actually write underwater, so that's kind of a cop-out. ]
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