Third person pov

UA, surprisingly enough, did not own a boat. As rich as the school was and as much as it had to its name, there had never been a reason for a watercraft of any kind. It's not like they were terribly close to the ocean or any large lakes. This proved to be an issue. Boat rentals weren't a thing in Japan, really. If you were a fisherman, you just had one. If you wanted to go on one, you took a scenic ferry or hired a captain to take you out. None of this one-time business. That meant Nezu had to make more than a few calls-- some of which didn't bring forth much profit. One call, however, did result in... something.

"Gang Orca has agreed to take us out on his private boat alone." Nezu announced chirpily, still holding a full cup of steaming hot tea. Atlantis had been staring at it for the past five minutes, wondering how it wasn't running out when the mouse-man was clearly drinking it. Atlantis supposed that just had to be a land-dweller thing. He wasn't going to look too far into it. Especially since Shota didn't seem all that concerned with it. "I know this might not be what you want, but Gang Orca is a trusted ally of UA who's helped the school and upcoming heroes in many ways over the years. I'm sure he's trustworthy and will be happy to help."

Aizawa pressed his lips together, glancing over at Atlantis. The man didn't seem to know what to do other than nod. Hitoshi nodded too, his arms wrapped around a basket of shells he must've spent years looking for. Some were big and would probably fetch a fair price, whilst others were the smaller kind that were more common to see lying half-buried in the sand. He must've really trekked around to find some of these. Aizawa hadn't the slightest clue why he had them, but he supposed it was probably important. 

"I've worked with him before. I think it should be fine as well, so long as Atlantis and Aizawa are alright with it." Toshinori had slowly inched away from the pair, eyeing them every so often. He couldn't deny how weird this situation was. His doubt that this would work was immense. Whatever 'this' even was. He genuinely had no idea! Not a clue! Recovery Girl looked just as concerned as he was! Or... well, maybe she didn't. She was wearing a pair of sunglasses far too large for her face, so it was kind of hard to tell. Nezu didn't seem to care and was just going with it, but that wasn't the slightest bit weird. It was just... him.

"I-If you trust him, I'm sure it'll be fine." Atlantis didn't want more people to know the secret, but they needed the boat. It's not like there was another way to get Toshinori to the middle of the sea. Well... not the exact middle, but land had to be out of sight at the very least. This was going to be hard. Hitoshi seemed fairly unconcerned, but Atlantis couldn't stop teeming with nervous energy! Not even Shota's hand on his shoulder could calm him at this point! 

"You'll like Gang Orca." Hitoshi reassured Atlantis with a glance and a small smile. "He's not going to tell anyone, either. That's for sure." 

"I agree. I've worked alongside him as well, and he's a good... man." Aizawa supposed he was a man, right? Two arms, too legs, a Killer Whale head... it was hard to tell these days. Shota patted Atlantis softly on the back a few times. "Let's get going. I'm sure you two will get along great." 

Atlantis gave a jerky nod, tightening his grip on the jars of paint Hitoshi had previously provided. With his confirmation that they seemed ready, they set out. Toshinori was currently in the process of wondering if this was a good idea. What were they going to do? Throw him in the ocean and hope it healed him? He was pretty sure he'd just drown. With no meat on his bones, he was going to sink faster than a sack of rocks. Maybe Gang Orca would have some sort of floaty on his ship that Toshinori could grapple to for dear life. Or he could turn into his All Might form... not that he had much time left.

Shota locked hands with Atlantis as they went, his worry for his husband growing as he felt Atlantis' nerves get stronger and stronger. He felt a strong amount of concern pertaining to the situation ahead of them. It was clearly quite a big deal. Hitoshi seemed chill, but it seemed more for his cousin's sake that he put on that face. Aizawa could see that his eyes were steely in preparation for whatever was going to happen. Shota wasn't sure what they'd do, but he was insanely curious. Even being married to Atlantis, he couldn't help the awe that wanted to creep in. How could he possibly help it? This was a whole new world, and it was all based on magic. Literal magic!

They all made their way to one of UA's vehicles. Nezu was going to be driving, which was highly suspicious when you considered his feet couldn't possibly be touching the pedals. Atlantis didn't ask questions. He had no idea what this contraption was. Another box on wheels, he guessed. Didn't recovery girl call it a bus? This one didn't look like that, though. It wasn't nearly as long. Big, but not as big as the one they'd taken to the hospital. Did that make it a... a car? It looked bigger than one of those, too. He didn't know. Perhaps asking questions wasn't the move right now.

The drive was quiet. Awkwardly so, in fact. Recovery Girl took the front seat next to Nezu despite the fact that she was too short to see out the windows. Nobody complained. Toshinori sat in one of the two middle seats, and Atlantis, Shota, and Hitoshi all squeezed in the back. Atlantis took the middle, content with being crushed between his cousin and husband. He could feel how suspicious Shota was. Was that the right way to put it? Suspicious? Atlantis couldn't truly tell. There were simply too many emotions floating around in Shota right now. The most prominent one, he noted, was fear. He was scared. And honestly, Atlantis was too.

This Toshinori fellow was very, very hurt. Atlantis had no idea where his injury had come from, but it was severe and would without a doubt kill him sometime in the upcoming moon cycles. Or however humans dictated time. Shota had mentioned months once, he supposed. Atlantis had heard of those too, but using the moon and stars had always been easiest for the mer. What other way was there for them? 

But back to Toshinori... this was going to be hard. Atlantis was a healer, and an admittedly powerful one. The ocean and his previous pod had taught him lots. He just wasn't sure that was enough. Even with Hitoshi to back him up, this sort of ritual really needed closer to five or six merfolk. Not two. He could only hope the ocean was willing to lend a helping hand. It had yet to dissuade him from this. It liked Toshinori. It wanted to help! This was a good thing, and hopefully what would push this ritual out to the end without a hitch.

"Aha, we're here!" Nezu's sudden burst drew Atlantis jerkily from his thoughts. How long had they been going? He hadn't even realized how close they'd gotten to the sea. Hitoshi shifted, staring out the window as the waves crashed up against the side of the concrete wall that kept water off the road. Atlantis leaned forward, his eyes wide with curiosity. He'd never seen a dock up close before. Only from a great, great distance. The boats were just as big as he recalled, and just as terrifying. He wished there was another way, but if they all wanted to tag along, then they'd have to take this form of transport. There simply wasn't another choice. Not unless he could get them to agree to letting sharks and dolphins take them...

"You're sure this is a good idea, Nezu?" Aizawa questioned, noting Atlantis' shock of nerves. Hitoshi looked uneasy too, his eyes trained on the boats and his lips pressed together tightly. They probably hadn't been up close to one very often, if at all. Atlantis had thought Shota would harpoon him when they first met. It made sense for them to be weary of boats. He wished his husband wouldn't do this. He didn't care who the ocean did and didn't like. He was putting himself in danger for someone he didn't even know. 

"Why, of course! And there's Gang Orca's port now. There's no time to waste! He's expecting us!" Nezu whipped the vehicle sharply into a parking spot, causing Atlantis to nearly tumble into Shota's lap, and Hitoshi into his. Atlantis let out a small laugh, shoving Hitoshi off of him playfully. Hitoshi elbowed his cousin back with a scoff, tightening his grip on the basket of shells Nezu had nearly sent flying. Aizawa simply shook his head in amusement and shot a glare at Toshinori when he saw the blond man looking back.

The docks these boats sat at were large, but Atlantis was too distracted by the smell of the sea to mind. He inhaled long and deep, smiling widely as the wind called to him welcomingly. Aizawa also shifted, a sort of warm filling his and Atlantis' bond and solidifying it. The ocean truly was something else. The way its presence invaded was relaxing. It made Aizawa feel safe. He wasn't sure how or why, but it did. He let Atlantis take his hand and smiled a small smile.

"This place is massive." Hitoshi noted, holding onto his basket with a look of distaste dawning on his face. As a mer, they'd been taught to avoid boats like the plague if they wanted to live. Too many of their kind had been killed by curious and greedy fisherman wanting to get their grubby hands on them. He'd never truly gotten over his fear of them. Seeing them so close made them more intimidating. Atlantis seemed happy to reunite with the sea, but his darting eyes told Hitoshi he too wasn't too happy about having to get on one.

"There are hundreds of boats docked here, some personal and some commercial." Shota noted, squeezing Atlantis' hand. "Gang Orca's will be large, but not as large as the cargo ones you can see further down. And we can always get off if you decide you don't like it."

Atlantis shook his head immediately, but smiled. He knew Shota hated this and didn't like how nervous it was making both him and Hitoshi, but he had to do this. He wasn't sure why he felt so sure and strong about it, but he did and he was going to listen to that. His gut was seldom ever wrong. It wasn't wrong when it told him Shota wouldn't hurt him, and it wasn't wrong when it told him it was okay to go on land. Things would be fine. But just because they would be didn't mean he couldn't be a bit nervous in the moments leading up to it. 

"I'm sure it'll be alright! Hitoshi will be good support in the ritual." Atlantis smiled as he said it. Toshinori and Recovery Girl both looked back him in a startled manner. Had he just said ritual? He'd just said ritual. They hadn't imagined that. What in god's name was going on? Had they gotten themselves wrapped up in some sort of cult activity? Did it actually matter so long as it worked in the end? Toshinori gulped. He wasn't so sure about this. What did he have to lose, though? If Nezu was going along with it, how horrible could it go? Maybe that was a dumb question.

They turned the corner onto Gang Orca's small dock. It was long and stretched out all the way to his boat, which was bobbing at the end. The pro-hero himself was standing in front of it waiting, looking over a clipboard  whilst he waited. Before Nezu could call out a cheerful greeting, Gang Orca's head was already snapping up and to attention. Beside him, Atlantis let out a huge gasp. It was the happy kind people usually gave when they saw a puppy. A shot of cheerful adrenaline shot through their bond, causing Aizawa to jump slightly in surprise. Hitoshi burst out laughing.

Everyone watched Atlantis take a few steps forward, looking completely blown away. Could they blame him? It was an Orca! He was literally an Orca, but with arms and legs! It was amazing! He was so cute, and looked so polite in his little suit and tie! What a nice looking fellow! Did he like to eat the same things real orcas did? He looked so... so nice! Atlantis just wanted to pet his little head! It was so small compared to a real Orca's! Not even as big as a baby! 

Gang Orca approached, his gaze trained on Atlantis, who gazed up with sparkling eyes. Aizawa's eye twitched as Gang Orca smiled a wide, rather terrifying smile down at his husband. Toshinori and Recovery Girl were absolutely speechless. There were just... no words. None. Not a single one. Even Nezu was frozen in place, stiff. Hitoshi was trying so hard not to laugh, his hand clapped over his mouth. Even Nezu couldn't have accounted for this. 

"...Hi." Atlantis breathed in an airy, happy voice. He sat down both of his paint jars swiftly, standing back up straight and staring up at him. He was insanely tall, and insanely cute. Atlantis just wanted to put a little hat on him! 

"Hello." Gang Orca leaned down. Atlantis reached out and patted his head without even thinking about it. Aizawa inhaled sharply, but Gang Orca only smiled wider. "I like you." 

"I like you too!" Atlantis gasped, putting a hand on each side of Gang Orca's face. "Can you show me your boat?" 

"Absolutely." Gang Orca preened like a proud cat. Hitoshi snorted again, holding his hand tighter over his mouth and closing his eyes. Gang Orca stood up, beaming down at Atlantis. If he had a tail, it would surely be wagging. Aizawa was close to gawking. Toshinori and Recovery Girl already were. Gang Orca didn't even seem to notice they were there, gazing at Atlantis. "Please rub my stomach."

"What a good boy!" Atlantis gasped, as though talking to a dog. Gang Orca puffed up, looking even prouder than before. Atlantis turned around, beaming at them all. "Come on! He's going to show us his boat! And get belly rubs!" 

Hitoshi burst out laughing. Aizawa was beginning to dread this trip even more than before.