With Lungs Like Gills (Merman!Brothers x Reader)

Chapter 14

I tapped an index finger gently against my chin, partially twirling a pen in my writing hand as my mind raced with questions to ask the brothers, the writing pad in front of me remaining empty. It had been a few hours since I was in the bathroom, helping Ichimatsu back into the tub and refilling it with warmer water. He had exhausted himself crying and didn't stir when I moved him. I closed my eyes and thought back to the marks on his skin, scars that had healed over with fresher wounds crossing over them.

Giving up on looking to the internet for any kind of help, I kept thinking about how I was going to get to know each brother and grabbed a pad of paper just in case I thought of something good, but it remained empty. Clicking the pen for the umpteenth time, I finally put the tip on paper and began to write down what I did know about the brothers from what Karamatsu had told me.

Writing down each brother's name, I scribbled what I remembered of their abilities. I could only guess that they all kept to national waters due to Mrs. Yowai still living here, but I couldn't help but think that there was another reason.

I just didn't know what it was yet.

I yawned widely before looking over at the clock, the digital numbers reading '04:39' with a small 'AM' next to them. Thankful for calling the office a little earlier to let my boss know I wouldn't be in for the day, I dropped the pad and pen next to my bed, pulling the covers over me as I settled my head onto my pillow.

----

"I didn't expect to find you near him," A cheerful male voice called out, making me blink out of my sleep. I opened my eyes to see a handsome man leaning in front of me, some kind of pink coral keeping his bangs out of his eyes. He moved towards me, his hands propping himself up as he 'walked' along the sand.

Sand?

I looked around and saw the bright surface of the ocean moving in waves above me, glistening in the light of the afternoon sun. I gasped instinctively before putting my hand over my mouth, expecting bubbles to escape before I didn't feel the usual pressure of water around me. Taking a tentative gasp, there was barely any feeling of rushing liquid down my throat, prompting another breath before taking a full one, confusion rising in my system a little.

I could somehow breathe under the water.

I glanced back at the man to see a large billowing tail behind him, his gigantic pectoral, dorsal, and anal fins equally as magnificent as his tail, mimicking a betta fish. Bright pinks faded into white as they trailed along the whole tail, ending in a pure white border on each fin. The merman moved his head to hold my gaze, his hands now moving towards my legs as he slowly inched closer.

"My brothers aren't being very fair to me..." His voice whined, a childish pout pulling the corners of his lips down, "After all, you're such a cutie, and they want to keep you away from me."

"You're...Todomatsu," I whispered, guessing the name.

"Ding, ding, ding! You're correct!" A sly smile spread across his face as his pupils narrowed, "I've been wanting to meet you for so long, but haven't had the chance. You must be something special if you've got us fighting each other."

"You're wrong. I want nothing to do with whatever your family has dragged me into...!" My voice is cut off by a hand suddenly squeezing my throat.

"Then you won't mind if I force you out of the equation."

This is a dream...I gotta wake up...! I gritted my teeth together and tried to expand my throat, but the crushing strength of his hand was too strong for the muscles to fight against. I blinked a few times and watched as Todomatsu began changing rapidly; black flooded his eyes to leave the irises glowing pink, matching the spiralling markings that began to creep onto his shoulders and chest. I tried to pry his hand away from my throat to get a small breath in.

"...(y/n)...!" I heard a voice echo in my ears, and Todomatsu's pleased expression shifted into a sour look.

"Damn...out of time already?" He clicked his tongue before releasing his grip on me, harshly slamming his tail onto the sand underneath and spurring up a sand cloud. I covered my face with my arms against the onslaught, losing sight of Todomatsu and opening my eyes to see a frantic Ichimatsu above me. I felt his grip on my shoulders as he shook me back and forth, his eyes wide with worry.

I opened my mouth to speak, but coughed up water instead.

"Ah...shit, what do I do...?" Ichimatsu quickly rolled me onto my side in a rushed recovery position. I felt a tiled floor underneath me as my body fought to learn how to breathe again.

"Ichimatsu...what the hell just happened?" I managed between sputtering coughs, my hands tightening into fists as pain and panic flooded my nerves.

"Huh? You were trying to drown yourself, crazy woman," He scoffed, "You just stumbled in and just dunked your head under the water. When the bubbles stopped, I realized that you still needed to bring me back to the ocean, and I didn't want to be discovered with your dead body."

I paused, a few choice words popping into my head before I looked back up at Ichimatsu. He was propping himself out of the tub, looking away from me as he removed his left hand from my shoulder before moving back a little.

"Did you hear me say something, or see anything strange when I walked in?"

"You're awfully calm about this," He raised an eyebrow as he looked back at me, moving his head away a little in confusion.

"Please just answer!" I almost yelled out, my voice threatening to break.

"Yeah, I did. There was a weird humming sound, but I thought that it was coming from you."

"It wasn't," I sat up and pushed my sopping wet hair out of my face, "How well do you know Todomatsu?"

"Totty? It's been a while since I've seen him, but I don't see why he's--"

"Ichimatsu, he's a siren," I cut him off, "He's a siren and he just tried to kill me!"

Ichimatsu just looked at me for a moment before scoffing, raising an eyebrow as if to mock me.

"Yeah, right. You're just being crazy and blaming my brother for something you just failed to do."

"I may be crazy, but I would never entertain the idea of offing myself to get out of any situation," I faced him fully, "You may joke about it, but I don't."

Standing up took some effort, but I was out of the bathroom before Ichimatsu could stop me. I shoved a pair of shoes onto my feet and left the apartment, frustration building in my head. I wanted to get out of the situation Ichimatsu had literally dragged me into, and when I finally had a plan of what I was going to do, another brother tried to kill me. Couldn't they understand that I was trying to help in the only way I could? Why couldn't they just leave me alone?

Why me? Why (l/n) (y/n)?

I stopped mid-stride and mid-thought.

Why not me? I'd rather it happen to me than to another person who's weaker-willed.

I glanced over towards the black abyss of ocean spread along the horizon, knowing that there were four brothers out there. I didn't have any friends that I could run to about this problem, nor any family that lived close by. Everyone that I really knew was back on the mainland of Japan. I moved here for work purposes and to find experience for my college's program.

A shudder rippled through my body as a brisk breeze swept by, my damp head not doing me any favors.

I knew that I had a time limit on this decision, but I didn't realize it was this short.

I took a deep breath in and turned around to head back to my apartment. Closing the door behind me, I swiftly moved towards the bathroom. Seeing Ichimatsu barely lift his head to look at me, I lowered myself into a grovelling position with my forehead pressed to the floor.

"What--"

"Please, Ichimatsu. I need your help," I cut him off, "I need to know more information about your family, and there's only two people I can think of that may be willing to help. I need you to take me to Choromatsu and Mrs. Yowai."