07/27/13
A reader asked what "slash" is. I found myself wondering how to describe it. Slash, the way I understand it, is the American/Western(?) way of describing a homosexual relationship in fanart/fanfiction. Sort of like how Japan uses Yaoi and Yuri. It could also mean this "/" when talking about a pairing such as Kotetsu/Barnaby. I hope that answers the question and I apologize for not answering you directly, I just though it might be useful to other people to post it here.
Another reader asked "A bit question, if Kotetsu toss fresh sushi roll and tasty living fish, which one will bunny go after? or is he going straight Kotetsu's swimming trunks? heheheh". If anything involving Kotetsu is an option Bunny will always choose that one first. :3 After that is sushi because he can have a tasty living fish whenever he wants. XD
Enjoy the new chapter, and, as always, I enjoy reading your thoughts and questions!
Edited 08/30/13 Took out all the places I accidentally put down Barnaby.
Chapter 11
When Kotetsu woke up it was to the sound of a machine. At first he thought there was construction going on outside his mother's house but then he remembered where he was. He sprang up in bed in looked out into the tank.
Even from his room Kotetsu could see there was some sort of machine moving around at the top of the tank, though he couldn't tell what it was for. He looked back into the tank, searching for the merman.
Eventually Kotetsu spotted Bunny in his corner, sitting up and holding his fin to his chest like a human did their knees. He was staring up at the machine, seeming to be trying to make himself as small as possible the more the machine moved.
Frowning, Kotetsu moved to get out of bed only discover that he was naked. Though his sheets were already on top on them, Kotetsu grabbed them and wrapped them around his waist for they still haven't gotten him curtains for the tank window and the last thing he needed was for someone to look in and see him naked. He slid out of the bed and grabbed his swim trunks quickly slipping them on and running up the ladder to the surface of the pool room.
"What's going on here?" Kotetsu demanded from the worker operating the machine. "You're freaking Bunny out."
"I'm afraid we're going to be doing more of that shortly," said Mr. Lloyds, whom had been standing with Dr. Saito slightly behind the machine.
As if on cue the machine dropped something into the water, a something Kotetsu quickly recognized as a net.
"Stop it," Kotetsu yelled at the machine operator but when he was ignored he turned to Lloyds. "What are you doing?"
"We're moving him to a smaller tank so we can do some construction," Mr. Lloyds didn't react to Kotetsu yelling other than answering his question. "We're going to put in that island you requested and make some improvements to the bottom of the tank but to do that the merman needs to be removed and the water drained."
"I appreciate that you want to improve things for Bunny but right now all you're doing is scaring him," Kotetsu's eyes kept darting between Lloyds and the machine, it having lifted the net empty and put it back into the water to try again. "Let me try to get him to the surface and I'll carry him to the new tank."
The offer made Lloyds look surprised, than amused. "Mr. Kaburagi, while I have no doubt you could carry the merman I can't risk allowing you to do that with your shoulder." He suggested to the smaller tank which was on wheels and slightly behind the machine that Kotetsu hadn't noticed before. "And even if I allowed you to carry him you wouldn't be able to put him into the tank without hurting one or both of you. This might scare him but it's safer all around for everyone."
Though Kotetsu felt the need to protest he couldn't think of what to say. Instead he kept his eyes on the machine as it lifted the net again, this time with Bunny inside.
Thrashing and struggling with all his might, Bunny still wasn't making a sound. Though from his expression, Kotetsu could imagine him screaming.
Kotetsu rushed over, holding onto the net as soon as he could, trying to each for the merman inside.
"It's okay Bunny, I'm here, and everything is going to be okay."
To the sound of his voice, Bunny stopped trashing and turned to him. He reached out to try to hold Kotetsu's hand but the net was pulled away, forcing the Japanese man to pull his arm out or else be lifted with the net as well.
The operator of the machine eased Bunny into the smaller tank and removed the netting.
Once free of the net Bunny swam around, barely able to do a 180 inside of it. He kept going to each panel of glass and hitting against it with his hands as if trying to expand it or break out of it.
Kotetsu went over to the tank and put his hand to the glass, waiting for Bunny to come back to his side of the tank. He tried to smile reassuringly when their eyes met but he wasn't sure how much it would help.
Bunny turned to Kotetsu, lifting his hand to it mirrored Kotetsu's on the other side of the glass. He was making the same expression he had last night when he had been crying but Kotetsu couldn't tell if he was while he was in the water.
"I apologize for it being so small but we had to be able to roll it out of here while the work is being done," Lloyds did sound sincere but it was blocked by the sound of the big tank being drained. "And it will only be for a couple days, three at the most."
"Can't he be put into another tank?" Kotetsu asked, keeping his eyes on Bunny. "Like at the aquarium?"
"We'd have to shut down the entire zoo to keep him from being seen," Lloyds explained. "And we can't really risk putting him with the other fish because he may eat him and some of them are quite rare."
It made sense made it didn't stop Kotetsu from hating the situation.
"You ought to get going," Lloyds commented.
That made Kotetsu turn to Lloyds, "What?"
"Today is your day off," Lloyds explained.
"You can't be serious," Kotetsu all but groaned. "I'll stay."
"I believed you threatened to quit if I took so much as one of your days from you," Lloyds reminded him.
"You can't expect me to leave him when he's freaking out," Kotetsu protested.
"I don't have a problem with you staying but what about your daughter," Lloyds asked.
Kotetsu wished he could say that Kaede would understand but he saw his daughter so little already. This was made worse by the fact that Kaede didn't even know what he was really doing here.
"I'll be right back," Kotetsu told Bunny and ran back to his room for his cell phone. He called Kaede, telling her that work needed him to stay today.
As Kotetsu expected Kaede yelled at him that he didn't care whether or not he came and hung up on him. This meant if he ever wanted to be on speaking terms with his daughter again he had to get home as fast as he could.
He sighed and jumped into his shower, his mind finally able to think about what happened last night and this morning.
It was odd that he couldn't remember leaving the pool room and going to bed, let alone undressing himself. He couldn't remember the last time he had even went to bed naked since his wife died. Yet he had been in bed, naked, the clothes he had stripped out of in the pool room in his pile of dirty clothes in the corner and the box of things he had taken up to show Bunny was sitting next to his bench/couch. He had to have been the one to do it seeing as no other options came to mind.
Still, after sleeping Kotetsu might have been a little muddled on the details but the pain was gone. He held onto his right shoulder as he rotated it but, for the second time that day, he realized something; all his pain was gone. He rotated his shoulder more, watching in the mirror as nothing made him wince or swear.
In all honesty is shoulder wasn't a constant pain, it was more like an ache that grew when he neglected it or something hit against it. All of the swimming had done wonders to loosen the muscles but even light hits there had still caused him agony. He squeezed the shoulder and still nothing happened.
Kotetsu stared at his reflection a little longer before he started to laugh. It was all he could do to keep from crying.
If there wasn't Mr. Lloyds and a room full of scientists upstairs he'd probably jump into the tank and kiss Bunny himself about now.
The thought took him by surprise but he couldn't find that he minded the idea of kissing Bunny again. The merman was sweet when he wanted to be and being cute seemed to come rather naturally to him. It didn't matter that Bunny was a man, though he did wonder if the tail made this that thing when you liked an animal in the wrong way; "beast" something or other.
Kotetsu finished dressing and hopped up the ladder in his closet up to the pool room. He scanned the area for the small tank but it had already been moved to another room. He followed Karina's instructions to it so he could say good bye to Bunny before he left for the day.
When Bunny saw him dressed he frowned looking like he wanted to splash him but the size of the tank wouldn't allow for that. Instead he turned his back to Kotetsu and crossed his arms, clearly pouting.
Not wanting to just leave, Kotetsu went over to the tank, putting his hand on the glass again as he spoke.
"I'm sorry Bunny but I need to go see my daughter; she doesn't see her old man enough as it is and I miss her."
When Bunny didn't turn around Kotetsu sighed, leaning against the glass.
"I wish you could talk Bunny. There's so much I want to ask you and tell you about and talk to with."
He looked around making sure no one else was around to hear him.
"I like you and I guess you could say I would like to try dating you but I don't even know if you know what dating is. I have no idea how this would even work and it would help if I wasn't the one doing all the talking."
Kotetsu looked up, smiling to see that Bunny had half turned to him, seeming to be listening even though Kotetsu wasn't sure how that worked with the glass and water.
"I'll be back later tonight and I'll stick with you all day tomorrow so please forgive me for leaving today."
Very slowly Bunny turned around to face him, lifting his hand to mirror Kotetsu's again. He observed Kotetsu a moment before leaning toward the glass as if to kiss him.
Though he blushed, Kotetsu leaned in as well, pressing a kiss to the glass at the same time as Bunny.
