a/n:

well, I knew not many reviews would be coming in... but at least the hit numbers are good. That means someone is reading it.

Thanks to those who did take the time to click on that button! And here is your next chapter!

Walking back into his house, he slowly opened the bathroom door to find her on the floor. She must have attempted to get out and slipped. He was about to kneel down and help her up when her eyes looked up at him.

Hayami Tetsu was frozen in place. The red eyes of the girl were haunting to say the least. She was so different from any creature he had ever encountered.

Her next action confused him a bit and he was left to wonder what she was thinking, but the Mutio gave him a weak smile and what sounded like a happy or relieved chirp.

"Ha-ya-mi." She said in a quite voice, but he heard it. His eyes went wide as he heard his name escape from the hybrid's lips.

"Mutio? It is you." He replied not knowing what else to say.

Her hand, still moist from the bath, reached out towards him, and he found himself moving towards her without even thinking about it.

Grabbing her and pulling her body into his arms, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the contact. He had wanted this... it was beyond physical, it had to be... he had embraced many women before, but none made him feel like this.

"Ha-ya-mi." She kept whispering over and over. She squirmed in his grasp for but a moment, and then allowed him to hold her for a time. It wasn't till he applied a bit too much pressure to a sore spot that she gave off a cry of pain.

Letting go, he released her enough to look at her face. Moving a hand to touch her cheek, and see the bruise that was healing near her eye, he got another chirp from the creature.

"You should be resting." Hayami said with a smile looking at her. Slowly and carefully he picked her up and put her back into the tub. He was surprised when she did not fight back.

He had to smile as she tried to swim around a bit in the tub before her head surfaced above the water line. She looked at him and smiled again.

"Hayami!" She said again, getting him to shake his head at how strange the situation was.

"So you know my name. What is yours? Or is it really Mutio?" He asked.

The creature before him gave him a slightly confused look and then smiled. "Hayami."

"I am Hayami." He said motioning to his chest. "You are Mutio?" He asking pointing to her.

She nodded and stuck out her hands to touch his chest, just like he had. "Hayami." Giving off a few more chirps, he could tell she wanted to communicate.

"You don't talk much do you?" He asked realizing that her kind might not use words, and trying to not blush at her touch.

Instead of replying she gave off a little chirp and he was reminded of his time with her, listening to her song, and her giving off similar chirps and other noises as a way to communicate.

With a nod, he stood up and patted her head. "You enjoy your bath. I am going to make some breakfast."

He didn't get too far when he heard her thrashing in the water and giving off a frantic sounding gurgle.

The comforting embrace was warm... and she liked it. She did not know exactly what he was doing, but when his arms encircled her, she enjoyed it. He really was something different from the stories Verg had told to the others. At least this one was.

It was a little bit frustrating that he did not understand her. Because she could understand him clearly. Her kind used sounds more than words to communicate, and the others of Zorndyke's creatures seemed to understand her kind's language. But humans seemed to have a problem.

But that did not matter; all that mattered was that Hayami was here... she had found him. That in itself made her happy and relieved. That is why when he stood up and patted her head, she thought he was leaving for good.

Leaving... usually meant that she would once again be left alone. She hated being alone. And she panicked. Grabbing his pants, she held on to him, not wanting to let him go.

His smile and voice tone calmed her a bit, especially when he said he was coming right back. She believed him. She trusted Hayami.

The next few days were strange, but enjoyable. Hayami could not remember the last time in his life that he laughed so much... or smiled for that matter.

He had always been a serious person. After such traumatic situations like he had faced in his teen years, he always carried around an attitude that was sad and usually self serving.

That had changed when Mutio came back. He found himself sitting in his bathroom on the floor helping the weakened girl back to health. Her bruises were disappearing, but her lovely ear would not be the same.

That was the scar that she carried. He had tried to ask her about it, but when he brought up the subject, Mutio just got really quiet. Not even chirping or making her cute little sounds as normal.

It was on the third day of her return that she tried to get out of the tub again. He had been repairing nets for a few hours when he returned to the house to find the tub empty.

His eyes went wide and his heart began to beat faster thinking she had left. Before he was able to think further he heard a sound coming from another room. Following the sound to his bed room, he found Mutio curled up in a pile of his clothes, his trench coat covering her partially.

"So you can walk then?" He asked getting her attention. She sat up and gave him a smile. Crawling on her hands and knees to him, Hayami looking a little surprised.

"I guess it might be a bit hard for you to walk like a human. You are part fish after all."

"Hayami... fi-shu." Mutio smiled after repeating a word. Hayami thought it was rather amusing to see her try and mimic his words. In the few days she was there, he had tried to teach her some things. She had a long way to go. But she really was trying.

"Yeah, let's go get some fish. I am kind of hungry." He motioned for her to follow. She did so happily till they had walked a ways and she began to slow.

Hayami looked back at her with a confused expression.

"Mutio?"

"Wa-t-er" She said after chirping to him and not having him understand.

"How long have you been out of the tub?" He asked picking her up in his arms. Her body did seem a little bit dry. "Well, how about we go down to the ocean today?"

"Hayami!" She smiled and they both left the house.

Setting her down in the water, he was about to get up, when she hooked her hands around his neck and pulled him in after her.

The well tanned man came up for air sputtering and a little bit angry.

But the look on her face as she swam circles around him was worth it. His anger drained from his body and he smiled. Splashing some water at her with his hands she surfaced behind him and tapped him on the back.

Moving swiftly he turned and grabbed her. She blinked and looked up at him giving off a contented purring like sound.

She was enjoying the game they seemed to be playing in the water. The sounds of laughter that he was giving off made her even happier. Popping up behind him she tapped him on the back because he was still looking for her in the water front of him.

Before she knew what was happening, he was holding her once again. Relaxing into his embrace, she let off a sigh and a string of sounds signaling that she was happy.

His embrace shifted and soon she was looking straight into his eyes, their noses nearly touching. She smiled to him as was about to nuzzle into his neck when a hand came and touched her cheek.

Closing her eyes, she let out a happy chirp and then suddenly her lips felt a strange sensation... his lips were pressing up against hers. She had seen this happen before... Verg had done this with many of her sisters, and she had even witnessed humans doing this on occasion when they thought they were not being watched.

It confused her as to why he would do such an action with her, but it did not feel all bad... it was different from Verg's touch.

But it was a little too much. A little too soon... and totally unexpected.

Hayami was a little confused when Mutio pulled away a bit from his embrace. But he had to admit it was a bit sudden. He didn't even think things through on his part; he could only wonder what she had thought of it all.

"Sorry." He said letting her go. "Well, I am not sorry that I did it... but I am sorry I scared you." The look of confusion on her face was hard to read. He watched silently as she touched her lips with a slender dark colored hand and continued to look at him.

Turning quickly around he walked out of the water leaving a confused and silent Mutio still floating.

"I am going to get some food... I'll be back." He said without turning around to look at her. Inside his mind he was berating himself for being so stupid.

He did not hear her voice call his name, or if he did, he ignored it and went into his house.

It was a few minutes later that Hayami finally gained the courage to go back outside and face Mutio. He felt as if he was going crazy. How could he have these kinds of urges and feelings towards a creature that was so different...

And what must she think of him? Did her kind do the same thing? Could he even really have such strong feelings for the hybrid? Could she see him as more than just an oddity?

Hitting himself on the head, he got his thoughts straightened out, as much as he could and returned to the deck. He looked down on the ocean where they had been splashing around to find her gone.

Turning to look at the dock he heard a melodic song coming from the edge. There was Mutio sitting on the dock singing to the birds and fish in the area. The song relaxed him instantly. All his tension from minutes before melted away.

She continued her song, even when she felt his presence behind her.

For some reason, Hayami seemed tense... something about their contact and her reaction to it had confused him. She could sense his change in attitude, and did the only thing she could think of- sing.

It must have worked because he sat down next to her and said nothing till she turned and gave him a bright smile.

"That was... beautiful." He said quietly still a little hesitant to touch her. Mutio smiled and touched his cheek instead causing him to stop talking.

"Hayami." she smiled up at him. "Fish!" She said excitedly.

"Fish?" He looked a little perplexed. But then his eyes went down to his nets, which were full of fish.

"Well, that is one way of fishing." He chuckled as he stood up and picked her up as well. Mutio looked at him wondering what he was about to do, and then out of no where the man who held her jumped into the water.

a/n: Ah, they are getting into the swing of their new lives together. But how long will that happiness last?

You will have to wait and see!

Please let me know what you think and Review!