Mermay week 2: Selkie Uzushiogakure

Kakashi was shaking, fingers bloodied and slipping. Was it his blood? He wasn't sure. Rain was pouring around them, soaking him and making his hair hang in his eyes. There was a loud rumble, it might have been thunder or something else.

"Kakashi focus!"

His eyes snapped open, his dark ceiling feeling ominous above him as he tried to control his breathing. He felt the wet press of tongue against his hand, and he looked down at Pakkun, the other dogs were watching too.

"I know," he rasped, scratching behind his ears. "I need some air," he told the pack, pushing off the blankets, damp with sweat, and slipped on the boots that he kept near the bed.

The breeze outside was comforting, waking him up fully and cooling the sweat on his forehead. Kakashi walked down the rocky shore, watching the waves roll in, illuminated every few seconds by the light from the lighthouse. He had bought the old property nearly a year ago when he had been looking for an escape and something to help him forget.

"You're crazy." Rin had laughed at him over the phone when had told her.

"Maybe." But when he stood on the beach looking out over the dark waves he felt something, something that he couldn't quite place. The woman he had purchased the house from had told him that he must have heard the call from Uzushio, the old fairy tale that the people of this small town took very seriously. He closed his eyes against the memory of a humid night and warm beer, tents pitched in the trees and loud laughter.

"They say the people of Uzushio still roam beneath the waves." Dark eyes flashed in the firelight; arm slung casually around Rin's shoulder. "Taking whatever shape they please and occasionally enacting their vengeance on the land folk who didn't help them in their time of need."

Kakashi opened his eyes again, the stars flickering down at him as they had then, he was too old to believe in fairy tales. The real story was that the island had been lost to the ocean and whirlpools that surrounded it one hundred years ago in a brutal storm.

"You were always an idiot Obito," he snorted, letting his finger trail against the scar over his eye where it met his cheekbone. His attention returned to the water at the soft splash, the lighthouse beam illuminating the blonde creature and catching on its deep amber eyes for a second. "Maa, speaking of fairy tales," he said softly as the strange seal stared at him. "What are you doing out this late?" Kakashi asked, tipping his head toward the animal. The seal had made its first appearance on the day that Kakashi had purchased the place, popping up into the rough lagoon and staring at him like he was now.

"Are you one of them, the Uzushio?" He had called out jokingly then, expecting to never see the seal again but its appearance soon became a constant and it was always alone. Just like he was. His father had always said that he had a habit of collecting strays.

"Can't sleep either Uzumaki?" Kakashi asked as the seal scooted closer. The name had belonged to the prominent clan that had resided in Uzushio, and he thought it fit the unusual animal. Uzumaki let out a soft bark and cocked its head, dark whiskers a sharp contrast against his blonde pelt even in the moonlight. Kakashi held out his hand as the animal moved closer, nostrils flaring and Kakashi kept still. He probably looked crazy, talking to and befriending this seal, he certainly felt it as he felt the barest brush of Uzumaki's nose against his fingertips. Kakashi smiled as it suddenly ducked to the side, letting out a playful bark.

"You're strange, you know that?" Uzumaki let out an indignant huff, splashing some water toward him with a flipper. "All right, all right," he chuckled, leaning back on his hands while Uzumaki swam, occasionally shooting him a glance with his orange eyes. "My friend would have liked you," he sighed. "Obito would have thought that you really were one of them." Obito would have liked here, at the lighthouse and swimming in the ocean whenever he felt like… but he was dead and Kakashi was here. There was a soft whine, and he opened his eyes again, not realizing he had closed them. Uzumaki had moved back in, head cocked again and eyes burning with something that looked almost like sadness as if he could understand. You really have lost it. He watched as lightning flashed under distant clouds.

"Storm's rolling in," he lurched to his feet. "Go sleep, or whatever it is that you do," he held out his hand again, the seal craning his neck to brush against his palm. "Good night," he said softly, and the seal seemed to nod before disappearing back in the inky waves. Kakashi turned back to his house, watching the lantern rotate once, twice before going back inside, his pack dutifully waiting for him at the door. He laid in his bed, listening to the storm approaching outside and the sound of his dogs' snoring. He couldn't go back to sleep, Obito's voice still in his ear.

"Oi Kakashi!"

"Asuma." He nodded hello to the man as he approached him in the shop, he could see his wife and young daughter trailing behind. He had met him a few months after he had moved when Rin's voice was in his head was telling him to get out of the house and the power had been out. The man was amicable enough and didn't pry into Kakashi's past like some of the other townsfolk. He knew his appearance here a year ago had created a stir and he hadn't been looking for friends at the time, but he appreciated Asuma's laid-back nature.

"How's it going up in that lighthouse of yours?" He grinned, hanging back while Kurenai continued shopping. "Is it still standing after all this rain?" The storm that he had watched come in two weeks ago seemed to be determined not to go anywhere.

"A few new leaks but still standing," he replied and Asuma chuckled.

"I'd offer a hand, but I know where I'm not welcome." It was a joke, but Kakashi still repressed a flinch. Asuma had offered to help him fix up the place on numerous occasions, but Kakashi didn't want or really need the help. The physical labor helped to clear his mind and be free from his thoughts for a few hours.

"You can bring Mirai over to play with the dogs," he offered instead, still feeling the niggle of guilt at rejecting the man's hospitality.

"Don't let her hear you say that," Asuma groaned, running a hand over his bearded chin. "She didn't want to leave last time." It was Kakashi's turn to grin under his mask.

"They could use the exercise," he shrugged. He wasn't used to kids but the pack had surprisingly taken to the rambunctious five-year-old. Letting her chase them up and down the beach until they were all worn and tired.

"Maybe when this damned rain stops," he sighed. "Hey, I gotta ask," his tone suddenly went low and serious. "Have you seen anything strange out there?"

"Strange?" Kakashi paused in the store, his mind going to Uzumaki. "Like what, shapeshifters coming out of the ocean?" He joked but Asuma's expression stayed the same.

"No, nothing like the Uzushio even though that's been thrown around. Just something off, something that didn't belong."

"Like what Asuma?" He asked carefully.

"There's," he paused, looking down the aisle as if to see if someone was listening in. "There's been talk at the pub, dead animals washing up on shore with odd injuries, things like that."

"Could it be hunters?" he frowned, mind still on his seal.

"It's a possibility," he shrugged, "It's just been causing a stir, especially with the more… superstitious members of the community." Kakashi nodded, local lore was that severe storms were a product of the wrath of the Uzushio because no one came to help them during the storm that took them. "It's a been a century but people still take the old tale so seriously, it's a drag." His fingers twitched at his side, probably wishing he was sneaking a smoke instead of standing in the middle of the grocers and Kakashi couldn't blame him.

"I'm a bit old for fairy tales, but no I haven't seen anything," he answered as they rejoined Kurenai and Mirai at the checkout.

"I can always count on you," the seriousness dissipated as he scooped up his daughter, securing her rain hat over her head. "But if you do."

"I'll let you know," Kakashi finished and the family waved as they went their separate ways.

His mind was uneasy as he drove home, thinking about dead animals and the possibility of something out there causing them harm. What if something happens to Uzumaki? Was there anything he could even do about it? The seal was a wild animal, it didn't belong to him and nature would eventually take its course someday. He shouldn't be so attached…

"Some things are out of your control son." He shook his head, not wanting to think of his father's words even though they were right and he painfully knew it. Still, he found himself worried about the animal that had essentially become one of his pack.

"There's nothing that you can do."

"Get it together," he muttered under his breath, he was overthinking it, he knew that, but he wanted to get home and check for himself that everything was all right. He calmed slightly at the sight of the tower, the lantern still spinning dutifully, and his house tucked underneath. His pack greeted him at the door, sniffing at the damp bags as he put them away. Everything is fine, he told himself as cringing as the storm picked back up outside and he could almost feel the surge from the wind. It'd be too dangerous to get to the beach now, and he was sure that Uzumaki would be hunkering down somewhere safe anyway.

"They'll be fine," he told himself and the pack, one of them let out a plaintive whine behind him. "We'll check tomorrow." Kakashi tried to distract himself, making himself food and emptying the buckets for the few leaks in the ceiling. "What would Dad say huh?" He asked the pack, "I'm worried about a seal that can take care of itself," he chuckled to himself, running a hand through his hair as he caught himself looking out the window toward the beach. The storm showed no sign of letting up anytime soon. He forced himself away from the window and trudged up the stairs to bed.

His dreams always started the same.

It was raining, his hands were shaking, dark blood dripping between his fingers but he wasn't sure who it belonged to.

"Kakashi focus!"

He blinked, looking up, something had changed. He was on the beach. His beach. The blood was gone but the rain still coming down around him. He turned, eyes landing on his lighthouse, the beam cutting through the dark clouds. There was a splash and a soft bark and he turned back towards the ocean. A person was crouched in the water, back towards him and hand outstretched toward a seal. A seal that he recognized.

"Hey," he called out, stepping forward, not wanting Uzumaki or the stranger to get hurt. The figure turned, the beam illuminating his blonde hair and catching on golden eyes.

Kakashi gasped awake, the gray morning light pouring into his bedroom. He lurched up into a seated position, disturbing Akino where he slept next to him and ran a hand over his warm face. He had been thinking too much about the Uzushio and now the damn fairy tale was infiltrating his dreams. Maybe he needed to spend more time with people instead of his dogs and a lone seal. Speaking of… a glance out the window told him that the storm had subsided some. He slipped on his boots and grabbed a sweater, settling the high collar over his nose like always as he breathed in the bracing sea air. His dogs running ahead to sniff at anything that might have washed ashore.

The rain had stopped but the clouds still hung low and heavy overhead, the beam piercing through their bellies like in his dream. Kakashi shook his head, not wanting to think of that and instead focusing on picking his way through the rocks and not getting his boots stuck in the sucking sand. He didn't even know if Uzumaki would even be here, maybe they had gone somewhere else to avoid the storm or eat. But still, he waited, clearing his mind with the sound of the waves.

"There you are," he breathed as the blonde head finally surfaced a few feet away, his eyes just over the water. Kakashi moved closer, boots squelching in the sand and water as it lapped over his feet. I am crazy, he chuckled to himself, crouching and sticking his hand out and the seal let out a questioning huff. "You should be careful Uzumaki," he warned as Uzumaki's nose brushed his fingers, its breath warm against the chill air. His orange eyes were shining with something like understanding. "Can you believe it Obito? I'm talking to a seal and telling it to be careful." He shook his head and dropped his hand and Uzumaki let out something like a whine. "Just watch your back okay?" Uzumaki let out another soft whine, blinking slowly before sinking back beneath the waves. "Be safe."

There aren't going to be many chapters to this and I'll try to get it all posted quickly once I get my stuff for the next 2 prompts done.