A/N: This is a continuation of another story of mine, "Quite a Catch." This won't really make sense without having read it, but if you're not into smut and don't want to read it, let me give you a rundown—Mitsutada is a mermaid who fell in love with Ookurikara, who is a lazy fisherman. Due to various events, Mitsutada ended up living in Ookurikara's bathtub, which is the current state of affairs at the beginning of this fic.
Also, since you can't write a MitsuKuri without referencing Date Masamune at least once, I decided to just go ahead and make this a Touken Ranbu and Sengoku BASARA crossover. Of course the focus is still on Mitsutada and Ookurikara and readers don't need knowledge of BASARA to follow along. That being said, for those who don't know BASARA, I wanted to point out that Masamune has a habit of using random (and often incorrect) bits of English in his sentences. Those are indicated using forward slash marks.
Regrets, Mermaid Tails, and Whale Magic
"It's not like you to call me out for drinks, Ookurikara. /Something happen?/"
At first glance, Date Masamune bore a striking resemblance to Mitsutada. They both had eyepatches and a similar lop-sided haircut for one thing, but they also both seemed to breathe /cool/ in and out, and had something of a crooked smirk. However, while Mitsutada very obviously put up a front, Masamune actually had a deep reserve of confidence and pride that bled into all his actions; be fully believed everything he said. Further, his hair was a dark brown, and a bit longer and more wild than Mitsutada's dark blue locks. For Ookurikara, their differences far outweighed their similarities, and while he (non-admittedly) enjoyed the presence of his mermaid, Masamune meddled a bit too much and definitely annoyed him at times (not that Mitsutada didn't annoy him too). This being said, he had realized that he actually required outside help at the moment, and Masamune was the only one he knew could do that.
Which is what brought them here, to this small tavern on the edge of East Bay City. Masamune, the so called "One-Eyed-Dragon," loved his liquor and his parties, and Ookurikara figured a beer or two was an even trade for the favor he was about to ask.
"I need a big tank," he answered curtly, figuring it would be easier to get to the point.
"Oh?! Did you catch a shark again?" The way Masamune grinned looked very much like the creature he was talking about.
"It doesn't matter. I just need a big tank."
"Hmm? Something still living?"
"I never said that." He turned so fast with a glare so sharp that his companion couldn't help but chuckle aloud. His frown only deepened as the "dragon" he had known for years took a deep drink from his beer. The bartender with strange green markings on his face didn't even raise his eyebrows at the noise, though Ookurikara knew from experience that the moment things got rowdy, he wouldn't hesitate to throw people out of the bar. Masamune had been thrown out on his ass several times after all.
"So you need a big tank for some fish fritter that you want to keep alive. When I told you to get more /friend/ this wasn't what I meant. /Strange Hobby./" Masamune had to dodge the fist that followed.
"A tank," the frustrated fisherman repeated.
"/Cool it./ You remember Ieyasu right? The guy with the muscles and the dumb smile? Too nice to hurt anyone? Really into GUNDAMs?" When Ookurikara's facial expression didn't change, Masamune tried: "Has short brown hair with a big point in the front?" He sighed at the stone faced fisherman. "Anyway, he's pretty big over at the aquarium, so I am sure he could rig something up in the back for you and your fishy friend."
"When?" Ookurikara wasn't about to waste his own breath with a longer response.
"Hmm, well I'll need to call Ieyasu and then borrow Kojuro's truck. I would say Saturday, but he has his dumb gardening club on that day, so how about Sunday? You don't have work, do you?"
In response to the question about his chill part time job at a karaoke place, Ookurikara shook his head.
"/Marvelous./ I'll be seeing you then." And with that, he stood up and downed the rest of his beer before turning on his heel and leaving. The bartender's eyes fixed on Ookurikara silently, and he opened his wallet in response.
Sunday came around and he still hadn't told Mitsutada yet. The bathtub was never supposed to be a permanent solution, but the Keibishi were still roaming about the bay, so Ookurikara couldn't just take the mermaid back to his own death. But things couldn't stay like this. It was better for Mitsutada to go somewhere he could be safe and swim freely.
That, and the mermaid was getting to be a bit much. Normally they spent full days together without a hitch, but Mitsutada was quite literally living in his bathtub. It didn't really bother him that he had to shower in front of the merman's watching eye, but rather that the Mitsutada was physically incapable of going anywhere else. He was restless obviously, cramped in such a small place and unable to leave the off-white room. The only thing he could do was wait for Ookurikara to return home after work and fishing. He couldn't even make his own meals. And for someone like Mitsutada, who was incredibly social, to suddenly have only one person to talk with, conversation became more of a need than a joy. And the last thing that Ookurikara could handle was neediness.
The situation needed to change.
The fisherman hadn't necessarily been looking forward to Sunday, but he hadn't been dreading it either. And that told him everything he needed to know. Living with Mitsutada? Being his mate? None of that was possible.
He didn't bother to wave as Masamune drove up to his little sea side house. Perhaps there had been flowers in front of the peeling white paint of the picket fence once. It was impossible to imagine the drive way without cracks though, and think that there was green grass around the perimeter of the modest house instead of dirt patches. Kojuro's pickup truck, which was impeccably clean and shone like it was fresh from the car wash, felt incredibly out of place. It was too sparkly, just like Mitsutada.
After shutting off the engine, Masamune hopped from the truck with a movement that was more flourish than anything, brandishing a quick "Yo," as a greeting. He was followed by a quite muscular brunette who Ookurikara vaguely remembered meeting sometime in the past, but disliked for no apparent reason.
"Hello there!" Between the cheerful wave, the bright smile, and the yellow tank top, everything about him was blinding. Suddenly Ookurikara understood why he disliked the other man, adding his visage to a quickly growing list titled "Sparkly and Annoying Things."
"I don't know if you remember me, but I'm Tokugawa Ieyasu! I am delighted to see what you caught recently-I am sure that no matter how big it is, I can give it a good home at the aquarium." He held out a hand for Ookurikara to shake, smiling all the while. The fisherman slid his own dark colored hands into his pockets in response. Ieyasu's lips tightened a bit, but he kept up the smile and continued talking. "I brought a large privacy tank to transport your fish. The sides are blacked out so the whole transportation won't frighten it." He gestured to a large tank in the back of the truck that Ookurikara hadn't noticed before. He wordlessly walked over to inspect it.
"How's it look?" Masamune called with a grin.
"He'll fit," was the gruff reply.
The "Dragon" laughed in response and they all headed inside.
"Welcome home~!" A cheerful voice called from the bathroom, and Ookurikara gave a short reply. Masamune didn't have time to make a crack about the fisherman finally getting a boyfriend before the bathroom door was pulled open. Everything he had intended to say dried up in his very open mouth.
"Ookurikara, are these your friends? It's nice to meet you, my name is Mitsutada!"
A very enthusiastic merman was waving from his spot in the bathtub. From the long black (though Masamune swore it looked blue) tail to the webbed ears, the creature in front of him was very much like the creature described in stories. His skin was quite pale, and had an odd luminescent sheen to it, making the otherwise ordinary color something alien. His hair, however, was immaculately styled, holding perfect shape despite the humidity of the bathroom. All of the ogling stooped when Masamune noticed the eyepatch though. Both of their single eyes met, and in that moment there was complete understanding between the two men. Neither would need to ask to understand the mutual pain behind that leather, and at the same time, a sort of mutual respect was born.
A hand was held out, and it firmly shook a soggy gloved one. "Date Masamune." They both smiled, and Ookurikara swore something of a sparkle shown between them. "So," Masamune leaned in closer, a predatory grin on his face. "How long have you been fucking Ookurikara?"
There was no time to answer because only a split second later a very angry fisherman kicked the back of Masamune's exposed calves. He didn't go down though, only grinning harder through the pain. He figured he deserved that one at least. The question was rephrased: "How long have you been seeing Ookurikara?"
Mitsutada perked up at a question he understood. "We only became mates recently, but we have been seeing each other for about a year now!" Pink definitely dusted his cheeks, but the shimmer in his eye exposed how proud he was of all this, and that told Masamune everything he needed to know.
"/Good to hear/. That's something I can support. Glad that this grumpy bastard finally found someone who can put up with him." Masamune received another kick in the shin for his efforts.
Ieyasu was introduced after, but the two eyepatch wearing men were much focused on talking together to pay him much heed. That did bring the conversation to why the two were here though, and Masamune explained that Ookurikara had gone out of his way to get their help so that Mitsutada could have a better place to swim. The grumpier of the four didn't appreciate the patronizing attitude, but the look Mitsutada gave him after had his stomach doing flip flops, though he did his best to not let any of it show on his face. The conversation switched to Kojuro's truck and how they were planning on moving Mitsutada. Ieyasu suggested that they wheel the privacy tank into the house when Ookurikara interrupted.
"I'll carry him."
All Ieyasu could do was watch on in amazement while the mermaid mouthed "too cool" and the "dragon" gave a thumb's up. These three were crazy, but all cut from the same cloth. It seemed strange that this was the first time they had all interacted as a group since they acted like a matching set. "The Dragon and Eyepatch Trio!" Ieyasu proclaimed in his head, and couldn't help but laugh aloud after. It didn't matter though, because no one paid him any mind.
Ookurikara opted to sit in the back of the truck next to the tank, or rather had simply sat down next to it after placing Mitsutada in and refused to move. Ieyasu seemed worried about traffic regulations but Masamune had turned the engine on before he was able to complain much. While the grouchy fisherman told himself that he hadn't wanted to sit in the small cramped seat between the other two men, the look that Mitsutada had given him when he peeked out of the top of the tank seemed to suggest otherwise. He wanted to be closer to the other, even if he didn't want to admit it. This was the last time after all.
Every bump in the road tied the knot in his stomach a little tighter. He didn't want to say goodbye, that much was obvious, but they couldn't keep living like this. It was for the best. Still, his normal frown was a deep scowl by the time they finally arrived at the aquarium's back parking lot. Even Masamune knew better than to tease him about it.
The transfer from the black tank to the aquarium tank turned out to be quite easy and before he knew it, Mitsutada was happily swimming about a large clear tank in one of the backrooms. As soon as Ookurikara had set him down, the mermaid dove into the depths of the tank, performing a few turns and spins all breathtakingly fast. The fisherman knew the mermaid to be showing off, but still couldn't help but watch spellbound with the other two. He had seen his lover swim time and time again, but after all the time in the bathtub, he felt like he had forgotten what Mitsutada could actually do.
"What happened to his eye?" Ieyasu's sudden curiosity caught him off guard and he jerked his head around, clearly startled.
"Why should I know?" Averting his eyes, Ookurikara spat the words out. His hands squirmed deeper into his pockets.
"What about his hands then? It seems strange that he would wear human made items. Did something happen to him?"
The words seemed to fall like stones from the sky. Ookurikara could only stare wordlessly at the mermaid he had been seeing for over a year now as each sentence weighed him down. He had never even considered the possibility that something was wrong with Mitsutada's hands. In fact, he had never realized that the other never took his gloves off. It had always just been one part of the many things that Ookurikara accepted about the other. Come to think of it, hadn't he gotten those gloves from his other human friend, "Sada-Chan"? The fisherman's fists tightened. Someone knew more than he did about Mitsutada. In fact, it seemed like he didn't know anything about his supposed "mate" at all.
Mitsutada took that exact moment to pop out of the tank with a splash. He threw his hair back in a way that very much mimicked a shampoo commercial and Ookurikara hated how incredibly hot he always managed to look. "The tank is wonderful! Thank you so much, Ieyasu-San!" He was particularly sparkling and Ookurikara was a bit bothered by how goddamn happy he looked. It was definitely better if they didn't live together. "Kuri-Chan, thank you for bringing me here!"
The focus was on him now and he faltered.
"Yeah, whatever." He couldn't meet the other's eye.
A hand beckoned him closer and he was pulled into a tight hug. Mitsutada was smiling too much. "I'll see you soon, okay?"
"Goodbye, Mitsutada" The words came out as he pulled out of the hug and turned away. He couldn't look back, unable to stomach the fact that this was the last time he would see the mermaid.
TBC