Curse of the Sea Horse

Chapter IV.

"Psst, Gure-san!"

Shigure looked up from the book he was poring over and turned to the snake across him on the table. They were in the Sohma family's library, which was overseen by a very strict librarian. To talk loudly was a grave sin for her and deals with the offender mercilessly, as everyone who had been there knew, so Shigure was mildly surprised for Ayame to risk being caught.

The snake was hiding behind a thick book and was gesturing for him to lean closer. The dog did so, whispering, "What is it, Aaya? Did you find anything?"

Ayame shook his head. "But I just thought of something."

"What about?"

"How do you think Tori-san and Kana-san did it?" asked the snake, his yellow eyes twinkling with mischief.

Shigure smirked. "I tried asking him about it after you've gone, but I got smacked in the head… it seems that Haa-san wouldn't want to share his secret with us..." then he slid his arms on the table and rest his chin on them, before pouting. "Haa-san beat us into getting laid by someone we actually care for. Such a shame… it sure beats getting laid by a random high school girl, no mater how plenty they are."

"Now, Gure-san, I won't tolerate cheating… You know I'll always be here for you."

"Forgive me Aaya. Of course you're the only one for me."

They both grinned and with thumbs up, they both chimed, "YES!"

The librarian swooped over them, and almost immediately, both the dog and the snake were back on their books, innocently glancing up to the old librarian.

"Why, Misamuri-san! How nice of you to visit us here," greeted Shigure.

She eyed them both suspiciously, waving her bamboo switch in their faces. "I heard loud voices in this section."

"Oh, did you, Muri-chan?" asked Ayame, sounding surprised, as the aged librarian scowled at the name the snake called her. "I would swear we heard no noise here. Perhaps your hearing is deceiving you, hm?"

The librarian glared at them and held up a threatening finger. "If I hear another noise coming in from here, I'll throw you both in the deepest pit of hell and let you rot in there!"

"Of course, Muri-chan!" cried Ayame, standing up with fist raised. "I swear to you, no noise shall be heard again in your library! I shall inflict pain to the one who utters the slightest sound and give him the most exquisitely painful punishment that my glorious body could—"

"ENOUGH!" shrieked the librarian, swatting Ayame's head with her switch. "I don't want to hear any more noise, is that clear?" then, having the snake lying unconsciously on the table with many bumps, she strode away, muttering angrily about noisy people disturbing the quiet of her library.

Shigure peeked from his book and nudged the snake. "Aaya, if you want to be the death of her, you should do it in a quick way. Poor woman must suffer from stroke every time we visit here… Even I pity Mitchan at times…"

The snake leapt up, bandages in place of his bumps and looked cheerful despite his injuries. "Don't worry Gure-san, Muri-chan loves me so much that she simply can't resist on flirting with me whenever I come here," replied Ayame, dusting his flamboyant lime green outfit that matched his yellow eyes. He glanced at the book in Shigure's hands. "Have you found it, Gure-san?"

"Yep," answered Shgure, turning a few pages back and slapping his hand on a certain page. "Here it is."

Ayame rounded the table and sat beside the dog, peering at the book. "Terrific! This certainly answers our question."

Shigure nodded. "So male sea horses have pouches beneath their chest while the females don't, much like a woman's womb. Female sea horses produces the eggs and transfers them to the male for him to fertilize for about three to six weeks…" he paused and slid a finger through the page, his brown eyes scanning the words swiftly. "Ah, here it is. When the baby sea horses, ponies actually, are developed inside, the father's pouch erupts and the ponies come swimming free."

"So, does that mean Tori-san has a pouch?" asked Ayame thoughtfully. "That's just strange. We've seen Tori-san naked many times before (though I'm sure he didn't know it and would probably kill us if he finds out), and we got the chance to caress him as we snuggled to him when he got too drunk during high school, but I couldn't remember feeling a pouch anywhere. And I did my... explorations very well too."

Shigure leaned back on his seat, crossing his arms on his chest as he pouted, thinking deeply. "Such a pity I was too wasted that night to do my own explorations…" he sighed, glancing back at the book. "Well, I think it's just like what is said here, that it 'tapers gradually to the tail'. I think Haa-san has some kind of elastic pouch that was hidden from sight and touch, masquerading as skin unless it got filled from within…"

"I see," nodded Ayame, propping his elbow on the table and resting his chin on the palm of his hand. "And the female's eggs were the ones to fill it up and make it more pronounced, correct?"

"That's how it looks like."

Ayame nodded again absently, thinking deeply.

It has been a week and a half since the sea horse had told them he was keeping the baby, and ever since then, Ayame and Shigure has been asking Hatori questions that either earn them a hard smack on the head or three or four 'missed' shot of injection. The dog then suggested five days ago that they should look for their answers in the library. Only now had there been any progress of their research.

"I figured another question," said Shigure closing the book down and stacking it with the other volumes that they would be borrowing. "How exactly did Kana put her egg in Haa-san's pouch? She's not a sea horse to start of. And we know the normal process of human fertilization, of how the sperm travels in the woman's uterus to fertilize her egg… but how about in Haa-san's case? Would it be the same perhaps?"

Ayame sat up straighter, his yellow eyes widening. "Gure-san, that's a wonderful question! But how do we answer that?"

Shigure pouted again, placing his pen above his puckered lips, as he thought hard. After a while, he uncrossed his arms and imitated Ayame's previous position, frowning darkly. A minute later, he was slouched back on his seat. "I can't think of anything!" he wailed in despair, his pen clattering loudly on the table as it fell.

"All right, let's get organized," said Ayame briskly, tapping the table smartly. "What do we know about human fertilization?"

Shigure, surprised at his cousin's tone, answered slowly. "Well, as I've said, in human fertilization, the sperm travels in the woman's uterus to fertilize the egg within her…"

Nodding, Ayame said, "Yes, that's the case with humans. And in sea horses, it was Mommy that produces the egg and Daddy will fertilize it. The roles are in vice versa, correct? "

"Yes, that's right," confirmed Shigure.

"Well then, if in human fertilization it is the male who secretes bodily fluids and the female to receive them, perhaps it is the opposite in sea horse's case…"

Shigure's eyes grew wide. "Aaya… you're a genius!"

Ayame grinned brilliantly in response. "Of course I am, Gure-san! Such a glorious and wonderful genius I am!"

"Yes! That's it!" said Shigure excitedly, his eyes shining with glee. "So Kana produced the bodily fluid and—"

"Tori-san sucked it all in his pouch!" finished Ayame joyously. He then became teary-eyed and turned to his cousin who looked about to cry as well. "Gure-san, can you believe this? We've solved the mystery!"

"Aaya, I couldn't have done it with you," sobbed Shigure, sniffing dramatically on his sleeve. "Life would be so hopeless if you're not with me, Aaya!"

Ayame clutched at Shigure's shoulders and gazed deep into his eyes. "Fear not, Gure-san, for I will be by your side, here, now and forever!"

Shigure stifled another sniff. "Aaya…"

Then, their solemn faces broke into identical grins. "YES!"

As they both smiled at each other serenely, the silence in the library became more pronounced. The distant voice of the old librarian could be heard in the other end of the large room, reprimanding another noisy visitor.

"Ne, Aaya… How do you suppose Haa-san felt when he did the sucking?"

Ayame didn't answer and Shigure didn't ask again.

The peace in the library stretched. But within two perverted minds, well… it was a different story.

"Oh, my," said Ayame, a hand on his cheek, as he gazed unseeing on the shelf in front of their table.

"That's…" the dog's voice faded as he was also dazed.

Their eyes met briefly, and instinctively knew that they were both thinking of the same thing.

Why didn't I become the sea horse?

A/N:

Well, this chapter's devoted to my own logical thinking on how Hatori's pregnancy is remotely possible, and that if there's any person out there who turns into a sea horse, this would be my explanation…

And with Gure and Aaya trying to figure it all out was quite amusing for me… (-,-)

Edit:

Corrected/edited/added several lines and grammar…Nothing major, just a few tweaks here and there... (-,-)

Please tell me if I missed anything.. Thanks! (-,-)v