"We have to move." Deidara makes a sound of distress.
"I can't just leave him!" She gently turns Deidara, pressing their foreheads together.
"Love. He is lost." Deidara pulls away a little bit, shaking his head.
"No. No, he can't be. He can't!" Jex makes a soft wounded noise, starting a low, mournful keen for Kakashi while their mother starts steering Deidara away.
"Come, my little fish." Deidara swims out of her grip.
"No. I'm not leaving him."
"Deidara-" Their pod takes up Jex's noise, a few of the men peeking over the side of the boat at the noise. Deidara snaps at Jex to shut up.
"He's not gone!" Jex falters for a moment before continuing. His mother gently tugs at him.
"Deidara." Deidara is on the verge of tears.
"He's not!" His mother pulls him into a hug, holding him tight. Dei squirms out of her grip, shaking his head. "He's- He's going to be okay."
"The humans took him. He is not young. They have no need for him."
"He's a human turned mermaid. He was a human trainer. They want him."
"The hunters won't know." Deidara shakes his head.
"I have to help him. They'll take him to the land at least. I'm not just leaving him!" She gives him a pitying look.
"They're just hunters. They probably don't even know that he needs his gills to breath so they wouldn't have-"
"I'm still here. He's going to be okay. Even if I'm the only one who'll stay with him." Deidara turns to swim over to the boat. Jex joins him, peeking up at the humans. Deidara swims around to the other side, trying to climb his way up it while they are distracted by the other mermaids. He catches a glimpse of Kakashi, looking pale and boneless on the deck. Quite a few of the humans are huddled over him, one of them looking rather devastated. Deidara tugs himself up the last bit, trying to sneak his way across becoming difficult with a tail that forces him to inch along. He freezes when one of the men turn around, recognizing Kakashi's father. Deidara's expression is at first hurt and shocked, then furious. "He was your son."
The other men turn around, faces Deidara recognizes from Kakashi's photos that hang around the house. And for all Kakashi's tales of them, he never thought he'd see them all so brought to their knees by emotion. One speaks up, black spiky hair and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. "We didn't- We didn't know…" Deidara bares his teeth, noting how that one's hands are bandaged.
"You're idiots!" There's one still by Kashi, a stocky one with bright orange goggles pushed up to his hair so he can sob on the mermaid. Deidara looks between them and Kakashi's father. "If you let him back in the water he still has a chance. We have healers."
Sakumo shakes his head, blinking back tears. "He'll die an honorable death. I won't let your kind mutilate him trying to revive him."
"We could save him you asshole! Don't just let him die!" The other occupants of the boat shift uncomfortably, not used to dealing with mermaids. It's the crying one who looks up, half of his face horribly scarred.
"Sakumo. You owe it to him to try. He always tried anything for you." Deidara gives him a thankful look, nodding quickly.
"Listen to the human." Sakumo pauses before shaking his head.
"No. And that's final. Obito- dry up. Move him inside." Deidara hesitates for just a moment before lunging at Sakumo's feet. The large man goes down on the deck, the other crew members swarming Deidara to get him off. Dei catches a glimpse of the man, Obito, picking Kakashi up carefully and walking to the edge of the boat to drop him in. Once Kakashi is safely in the water and Dei hears a familiar "the plan worked!" whistle from Jex, Dei loses all of his fight and lets himself be pulled off. They throw him back in the water, Dei hearing the choas that erupts once he's over. Deidara swims as fast as he can to where Kakashi and Jex are. Jex, with Deidara's help, swims Kakashi to their healers. Deidara gently helps him into the cave and lays him down on the mossy ground. The healers set to work, shooing them out of the cave.
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Three days later, Kakashi wakes up. His gills ache and he's fairly bruised and battered, but there's a gentle pressure on his hand. His mate is by his side, cuts from the net scabbed over, and lightly dozing. Kashi whimpers softly, rolling over to be closer to him. Deidara wakes up when Kakashi does, looking worried before schooling his expression to be more neutral and to make it look like he totally wasn't worried enough to have to switch to his gruff personality, no way.
"Um- good morning, un." Kashi pulls him close, hugging him tightly.
"Are the babies okay?" Deidara hugs him, nuzzling his head.
"Everyone got out okay, yeah." Kashi breaths a soft sigh of relief, kissing his nose.
"How bad are you hurting right now?"
"I'm okay, yeah. Does anything hurt? Should I go get the healer?" Kakashi shakes his head, pulling him closer. Deidara nods, hugging him back. Kashi hides against his neck.
"I thought I was going to die up there." Deidara gives him a gentle squeeze.
"Never." Kashi mumbles a soft "really?" into his skin. Deidara nods, kissing his head. "Never ever."
Kakashi nuzzles closer to him, tail wrapping around Deidara's. Deidara's rough scales feel familiar on his carefully shined ones. Kashi presses a kiss to his shoulder, humming softly. Deidara holds him close, nuzzling at him and just laying with him. Jex eventually peeks in, squealing and glomping them. They lay in a happy pile of family and scales, and everything is right in the world.