Mika awoke, the sound of birds twittering and the pain of sleeping in the small space of the bathtub acting as an alarm clock. Before he knew it, Yuichirou could be heard walking up the stairs, and he knocked softly on the door as he reached the top. Mika invited him in, the other boy entering as soon as he did so looking rather dishevelled and tired.
"Good morning!" He smiled, chipper despite looking as though he had been awake since the early hours of the day. "I've filled the pool up, so if you're ready, I can move you in! It must've been uncomfortable to sleep in the bath, but we usually don't have the pool filled when it's cold weather." The blonde glanced around momentarily as if to weigh up his options. However, his aching body sped up his decision, and he let out a reluctant sigh.
"Fine. I'll move to the pool now." Yuu smiled gently at the response, the merman struggling to decide whether it was genuine or not. Yuu seemed to have been honest so far, and if he was to try and make his fortune by selling or killing Mika, he would've done it by now. He wanted to trust him, but it was still proving quite difficult.
The dark haired boy leant forward, and Mika wrapped his hands around him before being lifted up into Yuichirou's arms. It was the first time he had been conscious while being carried through the boy's home, and what appeared to be the belongings of a female stood out to him.
"Is that your bra?" Mika asked, glancing up at Yuu despite knowing Yuu was too busy watching where he was going to look back. The boy seemed to become slightly flustered, before chuckling to himself.
"No, no," He uttered, still giggling. "I have a few roommates. They're on a trip with their university at the moment, so don't worry about them seeing you." His smile subsided, and a wave of sadness seemed to rush over him, a poor expression now on his face.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Yuu peered down at the blonde, managing a warm smirk. Soon, they were outside, and the previous conversation was almost forgotten. The air was still rather chilly, but that didn't stop the pale sun reflecting on the pool's clean water. Mika pushed away from Yuu, knocking him to his feet as he jumped into the liquid, before returning to the surface, gasping and whimpering.
"Arghh, I shouldn't have done that..." He squeaked, clasping the base of his tail in pain after forgetting about his injury. Yuu shuffled forward to the edge of the pool, giggling gently at the other's mistake. Mika drifted over to the side too, outstretching his arms and resting casually.
"Hopefully, you'll be able to recover faster with the extra space," Yuu hummed, glancing fondly at the back of the blonde's head. The other nodded, submerging his face and blowing a few bubbles in the liquid. "Give me a shout if you need anything, alright?" Yuu said, loud enough so that Mika would be able to hear him underwater. With that, he vanished into the house, wishing to give the merman some time alone.
The world's ambience was muffled by the water, leaving Mika to his thoughts with minimal distractions. Images flashed in his mind of his siblings, some of their bodies floating lifelessly on the ocean's surface, while others were carted away on fishing boats, hooks and ropes tearing at their tails, their small voices desperately calling out for their brother. Despite his efforts, the blonde could not escape these thoughts.
Yuichirou had settled into the dining chair, his own mind clouded with thoughts about other people, though these were disrupted by his house-guest's panicked calls of his name. Swiftly, he began walking in the direction of the pool.
As soon as the raven-haired boy was in sight, Mika lunged out of the water, his face slightly twitching as a result of the pain emitting from his injuries, but otherwise with a serious look.
"What's the matter-" Yuu started, quickly being cut off by Mika.
"I need to go find my family!"
"But you're hurt, you need to rest."
"No, I can't! Not while they're on their own!" Mika tightly grabbed Yuu's shoulders, desperation lining his words.
Sighing, Yuu removed Mika's hand from his body, instead holding it in his own hands. "I have a friend who owns a fishing boat. I can go look for them and make sure they're safe." He offered a sympathetic smile. "It can't be too difficult to find other merpeople."
"No," Mika shook his head, calming down slightly. "If they are alive, they won't go anywhere near a boat." He tightened his grip on the other's hands, enjoying their warmth as he continued to calm himself down.
"I could find a way to put you in the boat. You could call for them and let them know it's safe." Mika hesitated, before nodding at the compromise. Before long, Yuu had gone once again, this time with the goal of obtaining a boat.
~
This is oddly fast pace? Okay
I've got the motivation to write MikaYuu again! :D
I hope you liked this chapter
-TeenyWeenyCoconut