Me: Here I am again, minna! Okay, I won't keep you waiting, just read on and enjoy (which I higly doubt you will... there's a character-death in this chapter, so beware!)

Akane: Att-chan doesn't own Inazuma Eleven *takes photo of you while you're reading this* Enjoy!

"You're okay," Shindou smiled as he stepped closer. However, Kirino backed away as much as he could. The look on his face wasn't one of hatred, like Shindou had expected, but one of fear. Kirino was actually scared of him.

"I'll let the two of you alone," Akane muttered as she slowly walked past him. Shindou smiled absent-mindedly at her, put his arm around her and kissed her on the forehead. She smiled at him, took the bowl Kirino finished and left the room. Kirino and Shindou both kept silent, staring at each other.

Shindou figured he should say something, but he didn't really know what. "So, how are you feeling?"

Kirino didn't answer at all, he just kept staring at him. Shindou felt very uncomfortable and eventually walked towards the tub, sitting down on the floor next to it. Kirino followed every movement with his eyes and backed away when Shindou came closer.

The latter sighed. "I'm so sorry," he said. "I'm sorry for what I have put you through and I'm sorry for not getting you out of there earlier." He looked at the ground, too afraid to look the other one in the eye. He realized that he couldn't bear the thought of Kirino hating him. It was just like the times when he and Akane argued about something. Afterwards, he always felt a dull pain in his heart that only went away when he saw her smile again. But now that he felt the same thing for Kirino, he wasn't so sure if that ache would ever lighten. After all, Kirino had every right and reason to hate him.

"If you really are so sorry," Kirino started, "then why did you do it in the first place?"

Shindou sighed. "I was scared."

"Then why did you break me out?"

"I guess I was even more scared that you would die."

The silence that followed was broken by Kirino's laughter. "God, you're really a scaredycat, aren't you?" It was a weird response, given the situation, but Shindou couldn't help but laugh along after a few seconds.

"You're not angry?" he asked carefully.

"I was at first of course, but you tried to make up for it. That's why I believe you deserve a second chance." Kirino looked at the ground when he said that, but suddenly pierced his gaze into Shindou's eyes. "You better don't waste it, though," he threatened and Shindou nodded.

"I won't, believe me."

"Say, how long has it been since... You know?" the merman asked after a little while.

"Well, after we arrived at the camp, you've been in that tank for roughly two weeks, I guess. And it was approximately ten days ago that we decided to free you, so..."

"It's been almost a month?!" Kirino exclaimed with widened eyes. He looked at his tail in worry when Shindou nodded.

"Is something wrong?"

"Can I get back to the sea?"

It pained Shindou to tell the other boy that it wasn't safe right now. The journey to sea would take at least two days and the chance of encountering some of the Leader's men was great. Shindou didn't want to risk their lifes. Even though ten days had already passed since they deserted the Army, nothing had happened so far. Shindou started to think that the Leader had forgotten about them, but he was still cautious.

By now, Kirino was showing signs of fatigue and Shindou left with a soft smile. "You should rest," he said before he closed the door behind him.

When he came downstairs, he saw that his juniors had returned. The boys helped out with the chores in the gristmill and had left a little earlier to chop some wood for the cooking fire. Shindou's gaze shifted from his juniors to his wife. She looked tired, but she smiled nonetheless. He hugged her from behind and kissed her crown. "Thank you, for everything," he whispered in her hair. She teasingly pushed him away and smiled at him. It remembered him of how much he cared for her.

Two days passed like this. Kirino regained more of his power with every day that passed and he talked a lot with Shindou and Akane. They explained everything the curious merman would ask them and Akane brought him his food every day. He quite liked this kind, sweet and pretty girl, but he noticed after a few days that he constantly tried to find her flaws. The fact that he could barely find any wasn't good for his mood, but the girl never seemed affected by his cranky replies. After some time, he learned to get over it, but his strange behaviour still confused him.

The only reason for it that he could think of was absolutely ridiculous. After all, why in Neptune's name would he be jealous of Akane?

So he just shook his thoughts away and focussed on his surroundings. It irritated him that he couldn't get out of that stupid tub and see more of the world, but he realized that there was no helping it.

Until...

.

A shriek woke him up from his slumber. He felt the warm sunrays on his face and realized that it was already morning. When he looked around, he saw Akane standing by the door. The girl was staring at him with wide eyes, her mouth slightly open in shock.

"Akane-san?" Kirino asked. "What's wrong."

She didn't say a word, but pointed at his lower body. Kirino followed her gaze and looked at his tai-... Tails?! What the-?

It was true, his single tail was split in two. Halfway each tail was a strange infliction point, like humans had as well. He believed that Shindou once called it a knee. All in all, these two tails greatly resembled a pair of legs, the only difference was that his tails were still covered in scales. But how... How was that even possible? He remembered that he started to molt yesterday evening before he fell asleep, and now...

Shindou, Kariya, Shinsuke, Tenma and Hikaru entered the room, startled from the noise. "What's wrong?" Tenma asked, but he gasped when he caught sight of Kirino's split tail. "Kirino-san? What happened?"

"Gah, I should have known," Kirino said with his eyes closed. Yes, he read about this phenomenon before, and the elders in town told him about it as well. He sighed. "The sea contains certain minerals that help us to retain our health. I've been away for too long, so my tail... it's..." He couldn't get the words out, so he continued with his explanation. "We call it double-quick evolution, an irreversible process that changes our bodies. It basically means that my body is quickly adjusting to a new environment and that I have now two tails... Apparently, it's so I can live on land, but..."

"Ir... Irreversible?" Shinsuke asked in shock. "No... But that means you'll..." Kirino looked down, his face a mixture from shock and sadness.

Shindou broke the silence after giving the merman a few moments for himself. "Kirino, I understand this is quite a shock for you... but I need you to listen to me. I already told you that we deserted the army, right? I think that the Leader will come for us sooner or later, so we'll have to travel further. We didn't think we could, since you had your tail and all, but now with this development... Well, let me ask you something." He walked closer to Kirino and extended his hand, smiling slightly. "Can you walk?"

They spent the rest of the day and the entire next day teaching the merman how to walk properly. They took Kirino to a clearing in the woods. There, where no one could see them or interrupt them, they supported the boy while he tried to get used to his newfound lower body.

Akane stayed at home, doing the regular chores in the gristmill and the household chores as well. Shindou apologized many times to her, but she waved it off. After all, she was happy that Kirino could go out more and understood that her husband needed to help him with it. Besides, she got used to this amount of work during the three months that Shindou had been in the Army, so she didn't see it as a problem.

.

So the six men left while she stayed at home. It would've been better if she had joined Shindou, but none of them knew that. And when they realized it, it was already too late...

The man took a sip from his water bottle and looked up to the blazing sun. Not for the first time during his trip, he cursed he ball of fire in the sky. His clothes were dirty, since he and his three subordinates had traveled non-stop for almost five days. But it were the Leader's orders, so he didn't dare to disobey.

Five men had left the Army without the Leader's permission. Five people were nothing when compared to the thousands of soldiers that were still in the Army, but these men had managed to raise the Leader's irritation to a whole new level. When the news reached him, the Leader had been so angry that he beat up the people near him in his moment of rage.

Unfortunately, this man had been there too and he took on quite a few blows. Of course, no one dared to stop the fuming man, seen as how he was their superior and all. After a while, when the Leader had calmed down a little, the people who were badly injured were taken to the infirmary.

The man remembered how the Leader, still fuming with rage, ordered him to saddle his horses and follow the deserters. The Leader's words still echoed through his mind. "You have two weeks to find them and punish them for what they did. If you find the chance for it, take the merman back with you. Oh, that little sculpture they stole as well. I don't care what you do to the men, but make sure they'll suffer. Most importantly, make sure to be back here in exactly two weeks, or you'll face the consequences of your slacking off!"

That was twelve days ago, which meant that he and his subordinates had to make their way back to the camp today. If he estimated correctly, they were about two days of traveling away from the camp. He longed for his simple tent and his simple bed, he longed for a full night of sleep again. Needless to say, he didn't get much sleep ever since his journey started. On the other hand, he didn't want to return to the camp without at least punishing the deserters. Knowing the Leader, the man would not be pleased when he heard that his orders weren't executed.

That's why this man tried his best to find the cullprits and make sure that the Leader's commands were executed. He smiled tiredly when a gristmill came into sight. He was told that this was where the captain of the deserters lived. He was kind of nervous, for this gristmill was his last chance. If they weren't here, he would have to aboard the mission and return empty-handed.

Swallowing his nerves, he raised his hands and loudly banged the door. After a few moments, a slender young woman with a friendly face opened it carefully. She had chestnut coloured hair and kind lavender eyes. "Yes?" she asked in a soft voice.

"Mrs. Shindou?" he asked and when she nodded, he continued. "There is an important matter that I need to discuss with you. May I come in?" Like she had a choice. He was a commander of the Army, she was merely a craftsman. Moreover, she was a woman, which meant she was clearly not in any position to refuse him. It seemed like she realized this too, because she opened the door further and took a step back, allowing him to enter.

As soon as they got in, his subordinates went looking through the rooms for signs of the deserters and the merman. The woman seemed slightly panicked about this. "W-wait, you can't do that," she exclaimed, but he stopped her with a movement of his hand.

"On the contrary, miss. Your husband deserted the Army with his juniors. He deserted, which is a capital crime. We have orders to find them and bring them back, which gives us the right to look here."

"What? N-no, you must be mistaken. Takuto would never do such a thing!" the woman exclaimed. He smiled at her, but there was no warmth in his eyes.

"Then there's nothing to worry about, is there?" The woman didn't reply and after a few minutes, the man's subordinates returned.

"No sign of them, sir," one of them called out and the man scowled.

"Nothing at all?"

"Well, we did find this," another said, revealing a helmet. It was conical and made out of various small metal plates that covered each other like scales. The man recognized it immediately, for this was the kind of helmet that was handed to every soldier in the Army. The symbols on the back taught him that it belonged to someone who had a leadership role, which meant that this had to belong to Shindou Takuto himself. And if the helmet was here, that meant that Shindou was here too. Or at least, he had been here.

The man turned to the pale young woman in front of him, smiling rather devilishly. "Takuto would never do such a thing, eh?" he mimicked her words and an angry scowl formed on his face. "Speak up, woman! Where are they?!"

She bit her lips and shook her head, signalling that she wasn't going to tell him. Enraged with her little act of rebellion, he swung his arm at her. She tried to back away, but she was too late and he hit her in the head, successfully knocking her out. Her body went limb and she collapsed on the ground in front of him.

He exited the gristmill with a frown, followed by his subordinates. "Sir? What are your orders?" The man didn't look at them. Instead, he looked to the sun, calculating how much time they still had left.

"We'll return to the Army. Who knows how far away those thuggs are and we need to be back in time." He mentally cursed himself for knocking that woman out. She could have told him where her husband and his little friend were.

"What about the mill, sir?"

He turned to send them a glance before he turned again and walked to his horse. "Burn it down," he said over his shoulder.

Fifteen minutes later, the four of them were riding on their horses, their backs turned towards the burning building. The walls were made of stone and would probably survive the fire, but a lot of things wouldn't. The wooden floors and the support beams for instance. The man slightly smiled to himself, content with the way he executed the Leader's commands.

Even though he didn't bring back the merman or the figurine, he had still punished the deserters. After all, he thought to himself, sometimes it's far more painful to live on while someone who is dear to you doesn't. He figured that someone like Shindou would be devastated by the loss of his wife and his home.

Black smoke rose from the buring gristmill, slowly darkening the light blue sky. The raging fire that produced the smoke feasted on everything flammable inside.

Me: ... Oh. My. Flippin'. God... I killed Akane... /.\

IE-cast: WHAT DID YOU DO?!

Me: I'm so sorry, minna, but I really needed to do this. I don't want Shindou to cheat on his wife, so... yeah. I'm really sorry to all ShindouxAkane fans out there *bows*.

Akane: Uhm... Please leave a review?

Me: AKANE! You're alive?!

Akane: Of course, it was only a story, Att-chan.

Me: Pfew, well, that's a relieve. Well minna, please leave a review to scold me for brutely killing Akane-chan here. Oh yeah, and the man in the end? He's not so important, so I didn't give him a name ;) (I suck at names anyways). Also, if you think that the changes to Kirino are confusing, please leave a review with it and I'll PM you about it (seriously, I don't mind if you PM me now or when I already completed this story... I'm just glad to help you out).

Bye!