When Yuki, Haru and Urara got home, Yuki rushed upstairs to show Kate the picture of the marlin he caught. Haru hung around downstairs - he had a feeling Urara was mad at him. Well, not a feeling, he knew it for a fact. He could taste it like a magnetism in the air.
"I'm your elder," Urara said calmly. "You do not tell me what I can and cannot do."
This was true: the older you were, the more respect you deserved, and Urara was twice as old as Haru. He was very old, very powerful and as huffy as an eight year old.
"Yessssss, but I've had more 'talking to humans' practice!" Haru explained. "And you said you wouldn't use your powers!"
"Yes." Urara frowned. "On humans, because it upsets them. But fish don't feel, fish are stupid." Said the fish ailen from the planet of the fish.
"Just don't!" Haru snapped. "Don't you want to fit in?"
"If I don't use my powers, they'll wane," warned Urara.
"Great! Then we'll be able to talk again!"
"We talk..." muttered Urara.
Haru was peeved, and he didn't want to continue this conversation anymore. He yawned in an over-exaggerated manner. "Yes. Okay," he said. "I'm sleepy! I'm going to sleep now ... goodnight!"
He clicked his heels together and marched off. Urara watched him go.
Haru was exhausted. He was starting to regret this whole thing. Urara was a lot of trouble. He changed into his pyjamas, technically Yuki's old ones, and sunk into his alien bed with a sigh. It was shaped more like a recliner than a bed, with a basin of water to dip his toes in. He was so drained he fell asleep almost instantly.
Urara sat on the couch downstairs flipping through TV channels. Nothing interesting was on, but then nothing was ever interesting these days. He wasn't even watching anyway, he was waiting for Haru to fall asleep. No guessing involved; he waited until the little blip on the edge of his radar dimmed.
Haru had been keeping things from Urara. Even when Urara was in Haru's mind he could feel Haru keeping him at bay, hiding thoughts from him. It irked him. There was a time when they had been so close they kept nothing from eath other. When he was sure that Haru was sleeping deeply enough, he got demurely up and made his way upstairs. Haru couldn't keep things from him if he was asleep.
He found Haru sleeping in his recliner. He looked so peaceful. Good, he definitely wouldn't wake up.
Urara reached down into the basin at Haru's feet. A little water would help focus his powers. He gently brushed the hair out of Haru's face, his fingers leaving a trail of wetness on the younger alien's forehead. Haru stirred a bit but didn't awaken. Water wasn't going to bother him anyway.
Urara smiled, and as carefully as he could, touched foreheads with Haru.
It felt good not having to fight Haru every step of the way. His mind was a lighthearted place Urara loved to be in. Haru was dreaming of boats sailing in space. It was so ridiculous and blissful, but this was why he needed Haru back in his life so completely and utterly. He left Haru's dreams to search for something unfamiliar. Something Haru had been hiding. He found it in the back of Haru's mind.
Doubts.
Doubts about Urara.
Urara pulled back and stood up. He was feeling something. The feeling must've been too much for his human disguise, because he found himself unable to portray the emotion on his face. Expressionless, he snuck out of the room as quietly as he had come in, making slithering noises under his breath the whole time.
Haru woke up the next day with a splitting headache. He moaned theatrically and clutched at his head. He shuffled downstairs, wondering if he should tell Kate about this, but Koko had warned him never to take human medication. She'd said it would make his eye sockets melt out of his nose.
It was still early and no one was downstairs. Except Urara.
Haru froze. Urara was sitting in front of the TV, looking uninterested. He saw Haru and his face lightened up. "Haru! I was thinking about you!"
"Urara? Did you sleep?" Haru asked, as Urara came up to him and held both his hands. His only reply was a shrug.
"I know how to fix everything." Urara told him.
"Fix...? Eh? Fix what?" Haru smiled blankly.
"You... us. I know how you really feel about me. I looked."
It took Haru a while to process this. His head still ached, and Urara wouldn't stop talking.
"You don't have to fear my power. We can be powerful together! I'll - I'll show you how!"
"You looked?" Haru finally replied. That was why his head hurt so much! "In my mind? While I was sleeping?!"
Urara's smile faded a bit.
"Urara, that's wrong!" There were some things you just did NOT do. Ever.
"I had to, you were keeping things from me." Urara's eyebrows furrowed. It really looked like he couldn't figure out what he had done wrong.
"It's my head! I keep things... in it!" Haru's limited vocabulary failed him. "It's mine."
Urara pulled him close, suddenly intense. "No. We used to share it!"
"Who wants breakfast? - Um." This was Yuki, who'd woken up in a really good mood and had no idea what he had just walked in on.
Taking his chance, Haru pulled himself out of Urara's grip and kicked the brain intruder between the legs, a place he'd found out was sensitive in humans when he'd been playing on the jungle gym and tripped. Haru ran out of the house as Urara doubled over in pain as gracefully as a dying swan.
Akira had just woken up and taken a shower. He didn't expect, when he stepped out of the bathroom, to find an alien in his hotel room petting his ducks.
You did not pet another man's duck without his consent.
"Haru?" he asked, holding on as tightly as he could to the towel around his waist. You never knew which aliens would end up being the probing kind. "Wait - how did you find out where I was staying? I didn't tell anybody!"
Haru giggled. " I found you 'cause you were here!" he said, like tracking a man down was the easiest thing in the world. "Silly." he added, clearly to add insult to injury.
Whatever. Akira wasn't going to have a conversation with an alien in nothing but a towel. He ignored Haru, grabbed some clothes and retreated back into the bathroom, locking the door behind him just in case.
Haru was still there when he came out, but Akira knew why. He was finally ready to admit whatever secret he was keeping. Silently, he sat down next to Haru and waited.
Haru sighed, his happy demeanor fading, and let go of Tapioca. "I don't think Urara wants to make friends at all."
You don't think. Ever, thought Akira.
Haru looked up at him with a plea in his eyes.
"Just tell me everything," Akira said.
And so Haru tried. There was a lot to say, and he only had the vocabulary of a six-year-old to say it with. What Akira understood was this: Haru, Koko and Urara had gone back to their planet and encountered a problem. Urara did not fit in anymore. He was too powerful, and couldn't communicate with anyone without giving them a headache or taking them over completely. Everyone agreed Urara should stay out of the water for a while until his power waned, but very little of Haru's planet was out of the water - just a few rocks stivking out here and there. It was on one of those rocks that Urara was forced to stay, at least until Haru had offered to take him back to Earth where he could stay out of the water and chat with the Earthlings.
Akira nodded. He could smell a rat. "You mean take him back to Earth where you could mess around with Yuki."
Haru squirmed. "I missed Yuki... I missed all my friends."
"They just let anyone on your planet have a spaceship, don't they?"
"Um... eh?"
"Just tell me the real problem." Akira leaned in close. "What's Urara done?"
There was a sharp intake of breath from Haru that really alarmed Akira. "He's not a bad person!" Haru wailed. "He's just…"
Akira waited for Haru to continue.
"Not the same..."
Haru made a small hurt noise and picked up Pudding, holding him close to his chest. " He used to be diffrent … we used to be…" Haru's voice was a low whisper, and Akira could hardly make out what he was saying. "The ocean made him change … he did a bad thing to me…"
Akira nearly stood up. Nearly, because he stumbled and fell back down again. He grabbed Haru's shoulders and turned the little alien towards him. "A bad thing? What bad thing? What did he do?"
Haru didn't reply - instead he did something Akira felt was just plain mean. He started to cry.
Akira panicked. He wasn't trained for this! What was this?! What were you supposed to do to stop people crying? Yell at them?
He tried to dam the two rivers that were Haru's tears with his hands. "Look, no. Haru, stop it. Stop." Haru didn't stop.
Akira hugged Haru. He wasn't sure why, he just felt like he'd rather suffocate the alien against his chest than bear to look at his crying face any longer. Haru decided, now that he'd had enough experience in the matter, that crying was NOT fun. His throat hurt, he felt like he couldn't breathe properly, the tears and snot streaming out of his face left a bad taste in his mouth, and worst of all he couldn't stop.
He couldn't stop, and he could hear Akira's heart hammering in his chest. He was worrying Akira over something that wasn't that important and that only made him feel worse and start to cry more.
When his tears eventually subsided, Akira asked him again. "What did he do, Haru?"
Haru closed his eyes, face still pressed against Akira's chest. He could try to tell Akira, but Akira wouldn't understand; Akira wasn't an alien. He sniffed. "My head hurts..."
Akira said nothing. Dammit. He wanted a real answer.
"I think Urara's been going to the ocean..." Haru muttered. "He's been getting more powerful."
Akira finally snapped a little. "Okay. Fine, ocean, more powerful, got it. Just tell me what he did to you!"
Haru smiled that dumb mindless smile that Akira hated. "It's not that bad, Akira, don't worry!"
"I ... what?!"
"It's just a silly thing." Haru told him.
"MY SHIRT'S ALL WET!"
"Sorry, sorry!"
"I'M COVERED IN ALIEN SNOT! Which - by the way, wouldn't happen to be poisonous, would it? Am I going to die!?"
Haru laughed. "I don't know!"
"YOU WERE CRYING."
"Haru's not very smart. Haru shouldn't cry about stupid things."
"Is that so?" sighed Akira, defeated. He felt exhausted and he was pretty sure Haru was lying. That settled it - he was just going have to assume the worst and shoot Urara in the head next time he saw him.
- Shit. He didn't have his gun.
Yuki had been infuriatingly inquisitive after Haru left. He really wanted to know why they were fighting. Urara didn't want to tell him, so he covered his face with his hands and pretended to be invisible until Yuki gave up.
It worked, Urara thought as Yuki finally left exasperated. Urara smiled smugly to himself. Humans weren't very smart, were they?
Now that Yuki had left him alone he could finally think. Haru. Why was Haru so stubborn? He thought Urara had changed, but he was wrong; misguided because of his youth, Haru was the one whom had changed. He'd spent too much time around humans, picking up their odd behavior and their messy thought patterns. He'd been tainted. Everything was clear now.
If he was going to live on this planet with Haru, he was going to have to fix him first.