I didn't understand.
My human had shed his outer layer and got into a big bowl. From my spot on the floor, I could barely see that a layer of pink clouds were floating up. It must not have been a bad thing, because my human got right into the bowl and sat down. He said we both had to get clean… was this how it was done? I stared for a minute, and then my human sat up and leaned over the top of the bowl. He was dripping with more rain water, or maybe just water. Was that what was under the pink cloud thingies? Just water? Like I said, I didn't understand. He had just been in the rain, and rain is water, so why did he get back into water to get clean?
"Stupid runt… Are you just going to sit there?"
Slowly, my human reached out for me, with his arm dripping. I tried to scoot away, but he caught me, and held me under my belly as he pulled me over the bowl. There was water under there, and I recalled something. My last experience with water (the rain) wasn't all that enjoyable, and I tried to squirm. But still, he held me tight. He didn't care if he got scratched. He lifted one of his knees out of the water, just above the level of bubbles and put me there. I didn't have to go into the water, and for that, I was grateful.
"There… it's not so bad, is it? This is called a bath…"
I looked around. I couldn't see my human; accept for his head and the knee I was lying on, he was submerged. It was kind of fun. My human blew some pink bubbles at me, and I swatted at them, but I fell into the water. The water was very warm, but I couldn't swim back up. I moved my paws around, hoping I would get somewhere. I looked up, and I saw a worried expression upon my human's face. He was using his hands to try and find me, and when he did, he pulled me back up, quickly. I was gasping a little when he held me up in front of him. I was dripping wet, but since it was warm water I was in, it wasn't so bad.
"Are you okay…!"
He set me back on his knee and started to look me over. I didn't realize he was doing it to ensure I wasn't hurt. I thought he was just being playful, and I tried to snuggle his moving hand.
"Well, if you're playing, you should be fine…"
He sighed and leaned back against the tub, letting his head fall back, almost over the edge. There, he stayed quiet and still for a long time. His hand was lying next to me, but it wasn't moving. The sad look in my human's eyes was making me sad now. He was worried about me? Okay, maybe that was making me happy! But then, my human looked at me again in a strange way. He looked distant. For some reason, he exhaled and sunk his head under the water. I tilted my head, unable to see him through the bubbles.
"Mew?"
Why wasn't he coming back up? He has been under there for a while. I'm starting t worry. I notice that he is all shaky, and it scares me. His air bubbles have almost stopped. What was going on? What was my human trying to do? Is he trying to leave me? In an attempt to get him back up, I nuzzle his hand. When that doesn't work, I bite down on one of his slender fingers. My human finally reacts and jolts. His head comes back up and he gasps for air. His face is flushed, but after a minute, he returns to his normal color and stares at me.
"…You stopped me… I was almost gone."
I tilted my head and mewed at him. He sighed and patted my head.
"Whatever. I think I know what to call you now."
What? 'Stupid runt' wasn't my name?
"I'll call you Tsuzuki. It means continuation. It suits you, considering you are a continual annoyance."