A/N: Thanks to FanofBellaandEdward for reviewing this!
V
Just over a week and a half later Rin had to admit that he'd managed to get himself into a routine.
May had broken through into his life and he had a little trouble adjusting to the new warmth and the constant assurance of a bright blue sky.
He had managed to keep everything on-point since the bathroom incident with 'Bubbles', however, it did mean that he had to re-route himself at least once a week on his mornings runs and make a detour down to the fish-market. Despite having eaten all of the fish bits Rin had cooked, it turned out that Mackerel seemed to be the favourite of the merman.
The fact that Rin still had no idea was to call the creature other than 'Bubbles' was becoming increasingly strange as well, especially when talking to himself.
Things were getting a little awkward with his inability to have his friends over, like he would have done as soon as Gou and his mother had left for their travels. So far none of them had commented on it, just yet, but he knew that it was only a matter of time before Nagisa squealed it out in the middle of the cafeteria at school.
He couldn't keep blaming the 'poor plumbing system'.
By the time he climbed out of the swimming pool after team practice that evening, his brain was water-logged and his eyes stung from where the chlorine had leaked a little through his goggles. They were rather dated; he needed to invest in a new pair before the championships started next month. He hoisted himself up onto the side and drew in long, calming breaths before climbing out completely and heading over to the stands, water running off of his body in streams.
He swiped his towel from the iron rungs by the pool, and quickly rubbed himself down as well as ruffling his hair as he lazily strolled around to the changing room entrance. Sousuke clapped him on the back as they wondered into the changing room and grabbed shampoo from their lockers. Ordinarily, Rin didn't like using the public showers, however in order to keep up the pretence of still having 'plumbing issues' he needed to keep showering at the pools for a little while longer.
"I think my shoulder's playing up again," Sousuke grumbled as he ducked his head out from the spray and lathered his hair.
"I keep telling you to go to the doctors about that. Or get therapy," Rin stated as he closed his eyes and tipped his head back into the spray to rinse himself down.
"The effort and money that would take would distract me from training. Besides, everyone says that swimming is the best course of therapy."
"Yes, but I doubt that's applicable when you're injury was caused by swimming," Rin bit out.
"Sousuke, just go to the doctors at least," Makoto cut in from a shower a little way down the line. "It won't do you any harm, plus they might be able to suggest a salve for the strained muscles. That's what they did when my little brother strained his muscles playing football at school."
"If you two don't shut up, I'll get you both for harassment."
Rin scowled in disapproval whilst Makoto merely laughed good-naturedly before turning his shower off and wrapping a towel around his waist. He was one of the few who ever risked stripping down in the shower cubicles and washed all his junk openly. Rin hadn't even liked showering at the pools, let alone stripping down. He had to make sure to be focusing on his own cleaning rather than witnessing just how impressive Makoto's endowment was.
The guy was far too modest.
"Who wants dinner?" Nagisa piped up as they all filed out of the pool house and into the warm evening air. Everyone had damp hair, but thankfully it wouldn't be an issue for any of them.
"Nagisa do you think of anything other than your stomach?" Rei asked dryly as they walked along the pavement and into the town centre.
"Yes, I think of eating and swimming!" he grinned cheekily up at his bespectacled friend. Rei groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Awe come on Rei-chan! It's been ages since we all had something to eat! I don't know about you but that practice worked up my appetite!"
"Nagisa, breathing works up your appetite," Rin deadpanned, causing Sousuke to chuckle and Makoto to laugh out loud.
Rei sighed with a smile, "Okay let's go and eat. There's a restaurant not too far from here. We can go there. It's pretty good and affordable. Plus, students get free dessert."
"Oh that sounds great!" Nagisa chirruped.
"What if students don't want dessert?" Rin asked, glancing sideways at Rei.
The bespectacled boy shrugged, "Then I guess Nagisa gets too desserts."
Everyone laughed as Nagisa practically bounced with excitement. Rin smiled despite himself. It was nice being 'part of the group' again. He'd been unwillingly feeling as though he was becoming an outside despite already going to separate schools. They'd always hung out together outside of training sessions and classes, however since the merman had washed-up into his life he couldn't deny feeling somewhat more alienated that normal.
Sousuke's hand came down heavily on his shoulder, pulling him to a stop. Rin was about to snap at him for being too rough, when he noticed everyone else already walking into a small restaurant he'd almost completely bypassed. He'd been too engrossed in the knowledge of the merman being restricted and bored in his downstairs bathroom.
As they were shown to a table, sliding onto the benches and handed the glossy menus, Rin couldn't deny that he was really relieved for the chance to be outside with people he liked spending time with, and enjoying their company. He felt like a normal young adult again. He hadn't realised how confined he'd been in the last month until that moment.
He was determined to make the best of it while it lasted.
"Anyone fancy splitting some dumplings?" Rei asked as his eyes scanned over the menu. There were a few murmurs of agreement from the others as Makoto quickly placed their drink order.
Rei sighed as the waiter took their menus from them. He rubbed his temples before frowning, "I still think that our team is lacking," he commented, more to Makoto than anyone else. "We don't have anyone who is able to swim free-style. That's the one thing we're lacking in."
Rin frowned but couldn't help but agree, "Is Otori not good enough, then?"
"Otori is fine for the most part, but clearly not fast enough, especially if his opponent is you," Rei said.
Makoto nodded, "Unfortunately, no one else seems to put up any kind of challenge. We can just hope to up our own times to make up for Otori's pace."
"That's a lot of effort, isn't it? You three pushing yourselves even faster?" Sousuke cocked a dark eyebrow.
Makoto smiled softly, "Yes it is, but what else can we do? We can hold more try-outs but somehow I don't think many will come forward. Otori was one of the fastest."
"He was one of your fastest?" Rin asked, spluttering a little. "How slow were the other ones? Did they drown half way through?"
Makoto laughed good-naturedly. "They weren't that bad, it just so happened that Otori was a little faster, that's all."
"Would it be worth holding another set of try-outs?" Sousuke asked.
Makoto shrugged, "I honestly don't know. Championships aren't until July. We'll have to see how things go this month before registering everything. Maybe we'll hold try-outs next month just for a substitute or something."
"It's definitely worth considering, especially if you want to place this year," Rin cut in just as the waiter came up to their table with large, rounded bowls filled with an assortment of noodles, rice, chicken, sweet and sour pork, dumplings and prawns.
"Thank God! I thought my stomach was going to eat itself!" Nagisa grinned as he started to load food onto his plate in a huge mountain. Rin wondered where the little blonde boy put half the stuff he ate. He was as thin as a rake!
They started to eat in a companionable silence, chatting here and there about classes, homework assignments and plans for the summer holidays now that the weather was improving. No one dared to talk about what they might be considering doing after they graduated and had to move on. Rin didn't like thinking about those sorts of things. He still wasn't entirely sure; if he was able to qualify for championships he could always return to Australia. Sometimes he really missed it there.
By the time they had finished eating and Nagisa had stuffed his face with three different desserts –Makoto and Rin had declined the offer –they paid their share of the combined meal and left. Rei and Nagisa caught the train downtown and they all waited for Makoto's bus to take him uptown. Rin and Sousuke were left to walk along the beach closely towards where Rin lived. Sousuke didn't live too far from him. He was still staying in the school dorms but since Rin's mother's house was relatively close, there was no point in him paying board when he could simply stay at home.
"I'll see you tomorrow morning," Sousuke finally said through the quiet night air, clapping Rin on the back.
Rin nodded his head, "Sounds good. Don't sleep on your stomach or you'll get ill."
Sousuke rolled his eyes before smirking and continuing on his way down the road. Rin was left to walk up the stone pathway alone.
The house was dark as the front door swung inwards. A shiver ran through him as he switched the lights on as he walked through. He cranked the heating up for the living room and then ventured into the kitchen after kicking his shoes off in the hallway. He was glad he didn't have to cook for himself tonight. Raking a hand through his hair he decided to check in on the merman before heading to bed for an early night. He didn't really have the energy to stay up too much later, not after that practice.
He couldn't deny that he was a little on edge about going in to see the merman. The long patch of raw flesh where the scales had rotted away and fallen off was growing wider, the skin a mix of pale flesh colour mixed with the raw redness from where the most recent scales had fallen off. The amount of times that Rin had needed to drain the bath and scrub the scum that had formed around the brim of the bathtub, was coming up to at least once every other day now. The water bill was going to be through the roof and he had no idea what to do about it.
He had been away all day, so the merman hadn't eaten yet. He felt a little better about the prawns he'd brought home from the restaurant; they wouldn't be that filling but hopefully they would help until he could go to the market in the morning.
Rin knocked on the door of the bathroom. Naturally there was no response so he merely called out, "I'm coming in!"
Thankfully when he went into the bathroom this time, there was no water on the floor. It was a small relief. However, as soon as he looked into the tub itself he felt sick to his stomach. The water was practically grey with the rotten skin that had pulled away from under the scales, he could only guess how many scales were cluttered at the bottom of the tub before turning his attention to the merman sitting in the mess.
"Holy shit!" he exclaimed, his eyes going wide. He knelt down next to the tub so hard he felt his bones knock together. He plunged his hand into the slimy mess and tugged the plug out. The water start to gurgle as the drain gulped it down. A grey ring of scum still clung to the tub and Rin groaned, feeling a migraine starting up. He would need to take time out of his weekend to scrub the shit from the tub. As the water drained away, Rin turned to the merman had touched his shoulder, "Hey, hey are you okay?"
The merman opened his bleary eyes. Thankfully they didn't seem gummed together like they had been in previous weeks. He'd just been asleep that was all. Rin breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed a little against the rim of tub. The merman croaked weakly as he shifted his head, the gills at his neck had practically gummed over completely. They were practically nothing more than just dark pink ridges in his throat. Rin frowned as the merman's dark blue eyes drifted closed again. He looked a little peaky.
Pressing the back of his hand to the merman's forehead and grimaced at how hot the creature's skin was. "You're burning up," he observed before grabbing the removable showerhead, turned the taps on until the water ran warm, and started to house the merman down from neck to fins and back again. Grey gunge sluiced off and struggled to sift down the drain. "I didn't think fish could get fevers," he murmured as he reluctantly used his hands to help pull off long filmy strips of grey skin from the tail where the scales had chipped off.
Wetting a flannel with tepid water, he pressed it against the merman's forehead and hoped it would balance whilst he cleared out the clumps of skin and dead scales that hadn't washed down the drain. Using his hand, he scooped them up and over the brim and into the small bin he was holding on the other side. As soon as the tub was empty of skin and scales, he grabbed another flannel, rinsed it, and tried his hardest to scrub roughly at the ring of grime around the top of the bathtub, to make his task on the weekend easier.
It took about twenty minutes for the hot flush to finally ebb away, by which time Rin had refilled the tub with warm water that would quickly cool, and went out to the turn the under-floor heating down a little just in-case the fever spiked up again. "Are you hungry?" he asked as he sat cross-legged on the floor, resting his head on the end of the bath as he looked up at the submerged creature. "I have some prawns I can give you. It's not a lot but I'll go to the fish market first thing in the morning, okay?" he kept his voice soft and low, not wanting his headache or the one the merman no doubt had to grow any worse.
The merman tilted his head a little so that he was able to nod. His chest was heaving as he breathed shakily. Rin offered a small, reassuring smile before inclining his head and stood up, "Alright let me go and get it."
He walked out of the bathroom and went into the kitchen where he'd dumped the small take-out carton of prawns. For some reason no one had wanted the side order of prawns, despite ordering a large tray of them. Oh well, more for the merman. He came back into the bathroom, carton in hand along with a pair of chopsticks, and stopped in the doorway of the bathroom. He hadn't noticed the tail-fins earlier when he'd been draining the bathtub, however now that he had the vantage point of being upright over the tub, he was able to see that the tail-fins had shrunk drastically compared to the previous month.
How could he not have noticed that?
Before they had been at least the length of his arm and now they were narrower and rather stubby in comparison, they looked to be no longer than fourteen inches. The fins seemed to be now the same length of the tail itself, and no longer needed to flop over the end of the tub.
Was there anything he could do about it? How could he do anything if he didn't know what to do? It was hardly like there were any merman medical journals online.
Settling down on the floor beside the tub he couldn't help but smile a little as he held up a prawn and held it out in between them so that the merman could crane his neck a little and draw the piece in with his teeth. He chewed and grimaced a little as though in pain, before he swallowed stiffly and promptly opened his mouth for another piece. Rin chuckled quietly as he dipped the chopsticks back into the carton and pluck up another piece. "I wasn't sure if you would like these," he said as the merman chewed on another prawn, "I went out for dinner and no one wanted the prawns. I'm just glad they're not making you sick. I always worry about feeding you."
The merman tilted his head in a strange expression as he swallowed and opened his mouth to croak a little.
Rin smiled sadly and shook his head. "I really wish you could talk," he sighed softly, "I think it would make this whole 'taking care of you' thing a lot easier."
As soon as the entire carton of prawns had been eaten, Rin set the chopsticks and carton aside before leaning over and pressing his hand to the merman's forehead. "You're definitely a lot cooler now. Hopefully you don't get another fever otherwise I'm doing to have to give you some medicine and … I'm not sure if you'll keep them down."
Rin glanced at his watch and groaned, "Okay I need to head to bed. Are you going to be alright tonight?"
The merman gave a stiff little nod as Rin stood up from the toilet seat. Just as he was leaving the bathroom, his heart jumped in his chest when the merman's hand lurched up and grabbed onto his forearm. Rin was surprised at just how strong the creature was, all things considered. He would have stepped away but he was too stunned to do anything as the merman started to heave heavily, making rough, rasping 'hah-hah-hah' sounds, like a cat trying to hack up a fur-ball.
Rin grimaced and had to look away for a brief second just in case the creature did throw up the prawns.
"Hah-Hah-Hah!" the creature's grip on his arm tightened as he shifted awkwardly in the tub, his eyes getting misty as though he was struggling not to cry.
"Jesus, you're hurting me!" Rin groaned. He tried to take a step back but the merman held fast.
"Hah-hah-hah-HARU!" he finally croaked out, his voice breaking as he fell sideways onto the brim of the tub, his nails digging sharply into Rin's flesh.
Rin frowned, not believing his ears as he stared down at the sweaty creature in his bathroom. "W-what did you just say?" he breathed.
"Haru …" the creature rasped out, his grip on Rin's arm finally loosening before his hand dropped away completely, "My … Name … Haru …"
Rin could only shift backwards until his back collided with the door. He felt as though in a trance as he groped behind him uselessly before he found the doorknob, twisted it and promptly dropped out into the hallway, slamming the door closed behind him. Staring down the dark hallway without really seeing it, he tried to focus on getting his hammering heart and breathing so slow down back to their normal pace. A shiver ran through him and he huddled over, hugging his torso as he turned the lights off without truly realising what he was doing.
Wiping a hand down his face as he finished brushing his teeth, he leaned his forehead against the mirror and felt his stomach knot as goosepimples prickled over his skin. The creature had spoken; for some reason he hadn't anticipated it ever being able to speak after so long. He smiled as looked up at his reflection and rubbed at his arm, "Haru …"
It was a nice name; it had definitely left its mark on his arm … as well as his dreams.
A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating! I LOST my notes but have found them! Let me know what you think! X