Kurama felt very confused. He didn't understand what was happening. He'd been moved from that small tank to a much larger one. This one was stocked with water plants and small fish. Since he'd been moved, there had been no more experiments performed on him. Kurama was finally free to rest and heal from his injuries.

Some of the scales would never grow back. The wounds had been too deep. The pain was constant and terrible.

Familiar figures passed in front of the tank, staring in at him. That dark-haired man he didn't know, another shorter man with grey hair who scowled at him. Others, too, recognisable only because of the frequency with which he saw them. And Karasu.

Kurama hated him. He hated him more than he hated anyone else. If only he were stronger. If only he knew how Karasu had achieved his transformation. Kurama wanted to wring the life out of him with his bare hands.

—

"An exhibition?" Karasu asked warily.

Sekyo shifted around the papers on his desk, looking for one in particular.

"Yes," he said. "We can charge for admission. The merman won't be the only attraction, of course. We'll turn it into a sort of carnival. I'll need you to make some arrangements."

"But are you sure that you want the world to know you have a merman yet?" Karasu asked sceptically.

Sekyo laughed. "Most people will think that he's fake," he said. "The other attractions will help encourage that perception."

"Like the freak shows," Karasu said in understanding. He was pleased with Sekyo's plan. That could work.

Sekyo slid a flyer across the desk at him. Printed on it was a cartoonish picture of Kurama.

"Should be good for tourism," Karasu said.

"And it should provide us with some compensation for having to halt the experiments," Sekyo agreed.

Karasu swiped the flyer off the desk and tucked it into his coat. He had every intention of attending the carnival. What would Kurama make of it? Of being put on display for the enjoyment of the oblivious humans?

—

Hiei glared at the flyer as he yanked it down from the board in Yusuke's bar.

"Hey," Yusuke said defensively, grabbing it out of Hiei's hands. "Leave those alone."

"It's him," Hiei hissed viciously between clenched teeth. "Those fucking bastards."

"Okay, yeah, so what are you going to do about it?" Yusuke snapped. He stepped back and appraised Hiei with a thoughtful gaze. "Why do you even care anyway? It's not like you."

"I don't care." Hiei turned away, suddenly uncomfortable with the conversation. It was getting too personal.

If he were being honest with himself, it was because he felt responsible for the merman's situation. Maybe if he hadn't caught him that night, the merman might never have come back to that spot. Those men might never have heard Hiei's story and gone looking for him.

"At least you know he's still alive," Yusuke said from behind him.

Hiei shrugged in response. That was cold comfort. How long could the merman survive in captivity? Were they feeding him properly?

"They're making the day of the carnival a public holiday," Yusuke said. "So that everyone can go."

"Good for them," Hiei muttered.

"You're going, right?" Yusuke asked uncertainly.

Hiei shrugged again, still with his back to Yusuke. Keiko and Yukina cleaned tables, chatting as they did so. Keiko moved slowly and awkwardly between the tables, leaving most of the lifting to Hiei's diminutive sister. The two of them seemed to be having a fun time. They were both all smiles.

"I don't understand you," Yusuke said. "You're all twisted up about this merman and now you have the opportunity to go see him but you don't want to? That's weird."

"He's always weird," Kuwabara Kazuma put in, interrupting their conversation.

Hiei scowled at his orange-haired brother-in-law. "Mind your own business," he snapped.

"Boys, boys, have a drink," Yusuke said, sliding two cans onto the bar. Kuwabara grabbed one. After a beat, Hiei took the other one.

"How's business?" Yusuke asked Kuwabara.

"Okay, I guess," the big man said with a shrug. "The usual, y'know."

Kuwabara ran a business that did maintenance on the fishing vessels. Touya swore that he would never let anyone else near his boats. But the bigger companies had their own people for that and didn't need Kuwabara, meaning that he only made a moderate living. Kuwabara seemed satisfied with that, though.

"Good enough to take a day off next week?" Yusuke asked him. He waved the flyer at Kuwabara, who snatched it to get a better look.

"A merman?" he snickered. "They could have at least made it a mermaid if they were going to stage this."

Hiei glared at him. "Shut up," he said.

"What's his problem?" Kuwabara asked Yusuke with a raised eyebrow. Hiei's red eyes smouldered with anger.

"He's sensitive about the merman," Yusuke said. "I think he's in love with him or something."

"What?" Kuwabara asked in confusion.

"Fucking idiots." Hiei left, taking his can with him.