Hello everyone! I've been having this idea for awhile and I wanted to finally go through with it. It's different than a usual merman au, this is based on Tumblr user, and my art senpai, Fia (hubedihubbe)'s idea of Makoto being the size of an actual orca in this au. So that credit goes straight to her!

I do not own the characters of Free! Iwatobi Swim Club.

"Gou-chan!"

A girl with long red hair swept up in a ponytail turned around from the back of the van where her best friend called her. It was a blistering summer day and the girls were outside packing up for their one-day road trip to the beach with four other girls from school. Gou drew a frown when she saw her come closer. "Chigusa-chan, didn't I tell you my name is Kou! Kou!"

Her best friend, Chigusa, caught up to her, wiping sweat off her brow. "Gou-chan, I've known you since we were in diapers. You are going to be Gou to me no matter what." Chigusa playfully punched her shoulder while putting her backpack in the trunk.

"All right, girls. Ready to go?" Ayumi's mom questioned when the girls were all packed and ready to go. The girls from school cheered and climbed in the van. Gou sat in the very back with Chigusa and Minami; the middle seat consisted of Satomi and Yuka, and in the front were Ayumi and her mother. Gou sat near the window and gazed outside. Next to her, Chigusa and Minami were discussing about a TV drama Gou could care less about. Gou closed her eyes and rested her head against the window throughout the whole ride to the beach. She just wanted to hurry up and jump in the ocean. She felt, even though it sounds weird, free when she's in the seawater. Like she can do anything and everything. She turned back and at all the girls chatting together. Why did mom put me in an all-girls school? I don't really fit in with them. She got along most with Chigusa, but that was mainly because she practically grew up with her. All these other girls barely spoke to Gou. It was Chigusa who was invited to this beach day; Chigusa decided not to go without Gou. Reluctantly, Ayumi said it was okay for Gou to come. Chigusa practically dragged Gou to come with her, begging and bribing her because she gets to be in the ocean.

"Gou-chan, how old is your brother?" one of the girls, Satomi, interrupted Gou's thoughts.

She blinked at her. "Oh, Rin is a year older than me, so he's seventeen years old."

Next to Satomi, Yuka piped up. "And you said he's in Australia? Oh, how dashing." She gushed. They turned back around and started talking about celebrities from Australia that were absolutely "a-dorbs". Really, that's all they wanted to talk about? My older brother? I swear these girls… Gou rolled her eyes and looked back out the window. She didn't want to admit that she's boy-crazy as well, loving men with perfect abs and biceps. She would rather die than talk about boys with these self-absorbed girls. Gou's train of thought was put on hold once again when she noticed that the sea was in her line of view. Her eyes sparkled at not only the sea, but the shirtless men she could see from miles away. Okay, Gou. Keep it together. You wanted to swim, that's it. You can't go googley-eye in front of these girls. That's right; I'll just admire them in the ocean. The girls will be too busy tanning and flirting to see me anyways. Ugh, how lame.

The girls quickly climbed out the van when they arrived to the beach. After grabbing their towels and sunscreen, the girls looked for a noticeable spot on the beach. Chigusa stayed behind to check on Gou.

"Hey, are you alright?" she questioned Gou when she got out of the van.

Gou slowly took off her shorts and tank top, revealing her light blue one-piece swimsuit. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be? I'm gonna go jump in." She took two steps before looking back at Chigusa. She smiled and put her hand on Chigusa's shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry, I'm seriously fine. Go hang out with your friends, I'll be okay. Besides, you know you hate swimming in seawater."

Chigusa mouth twitched up in a grin. "Well, you are right about that. Okay, don't go too far out. You know I worry easily."

"Gee, I could barely tell." Gou patted her shoulder. "Go have fun! Maybe you could catch a few of the guys' eyes with that bikini you have on. You are just absolutely 'a-dorbs'!"

Chigusa playfully punched Gou's shoulder again. "Yeah, right! Make sure you put on enough sunscreen!" she jogged away towards the girls.

Gou rolled her eyes. It's like she's her second mom. She headed towards the shore, jumping with glee inside. Man! I should've brought my boogie-board. Nah, I'll just swim. Gou paddled her way through the waves and turned so she was floating on her back. The waves calmed down for some time while she was floating. She never felt so relaxed in all her life. Gou closed her eyes and bathed in the sun.

Minutes pass by before she noticed a raindrop splash on her cheek. Gou opened her eyes, shocked to see rainclouds covering the sky. It was just sunny a second ago! How long was I out here? She looked around frantically for the other girls. She couldn't believe that she was already far out in the ocean; how could she be so careless? The girls were miles away onshore. Rain started picking up and she began swimming back to the shore. After paddling through the water, she felt like she was swimming farther away from the shore. She wiped her eyes the best that she could to see her way. Waves started crashing around her, pulling her deeper in the water. Gou was desperately swimming through the waves until one giant wave sent her underwater. She was too tired to fight anymore. Too tired to live. I just want to be free. That was her last thought before blacking out with the amount of water in her lungs.

"Nagisa! This isn't right! You know we shouldn't get close to the humans." Makoto whined. The young merman was gliding through the water, trying to catch up to his crazy friend.

"Mako-chan, don't you want to see what they look like? Come on, don't be a chicken." The blond turned back to look at Makoto. "Besides, it's not like I'm going to touch them. I just want to see them!"

Makoto sighed, still chasing after Nagisa. "Not only would they be weirded out by our 'tails' but they will be terrified that we are gigantic to them."

This is true to a degree. Makoto is part of the orca mermen race, so he's the biggest of all his friends. He's about 22 feet in size and still growing. Compared to an average human, Makoto can completely tower over them. Nagisa and Makoto's other friends, Haru and Rei, are from the normal race of mermen, but they are still bigger than an average human. Adult mermen grow up to be about 11 to 14 feet in size. Haru and Rei are both 10 feet as of right now and Nagisa is the smallest, coming to about 8 feet.

"Mako-chan! Pleaseeeeeee! It will only be a couple of minutes, I swear!" Nagisa begged. "It's not like I'm going to show myself."

Even if you did, you would probably fit right in. Oh my, he would finally be bigger than someone else. Makoto started chuckling to himself. "Fine, Nagisa. You have five minutes."

Nagisa's eyes sparkled. "Thanks, Mako-chan!" When they were near enough, they poked their heads out of the water. They could vaguely see the shoreline, with piles of tourists tanning in the sun. "Wow, look at all the humans! Their fins look very funny."

Makoto rolled his eyes. "Nagisa, those are called legs. They have those to walk around and such."

"Ohhhh, I see. How come they aren't in the water?"

"Hmm, I don't know. They just look like they're playing around. What's the point?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Nagisa could see a figure from the distance. "Except for that human; looks like she's enjoying the water."

Makoto turned his head to where Nagisa was looking at. He couldn't help but gasp at what he saw. It was a human girl, floating on her back with her eyes closed. She looked so calm and relaxed being in the water. But that didn't make him gasp; it was how beautiful she was to him. Her dark, red hair was glowing in the ocean water, sprawled out around her head. She almost looked heavenly to him, especially in her petite frame.

He was startled from his thoughts when he felt a raindrop on his cheek. Makoto looked up, surprised at how fast a storm brewed.

"Mako-chan, let's get out of here!" Nagisa said. He dived back in the water before the waves started crashing around.

Before Makoto could dive in the water, he looked back at where that girl was floating. He started panicking when he saw her struggling to stay afloat. He then saw a giant wave bring her underwater. Makoto wiped away the panic and became determined. He was determined to save this girl no matter what.

Makoto dived in the water and glided to where the girl was sinking. Once he reached her, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to his chest. The girl was so tiny compared to him. He could practically carry her like a young merchild.

He carried her while he swam near the shore, far away from where the humans were. Makoto placed her on the sand, bringing his head near her chest. He was listening for her heartbeat; but was very faint. He then brought his face up to hers. Makoto was very large compared to her face, but he did the only thing he could do. He lowered his giant lips on hers and began breathing air into her lungs. After a few minutes of pumping air into the girl, she began coughing up seawater. Makoto drew back and stared at her face. It would be considered an understatement when he breathed a sigh of relief. He smiled gently at her before turning around to dive back in the water. He didn't want the girl to see how much of a monster he looked like to her.

"Wait! Don't leave me, please."

He froze in place when he heard the girl's voice. Makoto turned to see the girl's face; it was filled with hope.

"Please don't leave me."