With Lungs Like Gills (Merman!Brothers x Reader)

Chapter 9

Karamatsu sat on the rocky barrier that separated Totoko's property from the rest of the government beach property, watching the calm waters lick the shoreline as Choromatsu hummed gently on the beach. He tilted his face towards the waning moon that began to make its path through the night sky, unsure of what to make of the uneasy feeling in his gut. He had seen (l/n) off safely to the bus, but the feeling hadn't diminished ever since he saw the red tail lights vanish from his sight.

"You're bothered by something," Choromatsu looked towards his older brother sitting on the rocks.

"Yeah, but I don't know what it is," Karamatsu lightly sighed before burying his head in his arms, "There hasn't been any kind of sighting or communication I should be worried about, right?"

"Not that I know of, but I'm left out of the loop a lot," The green merman cast a sidelong glance at the merman in human form, "I know it's been a while, but am I able to ask you a few questions?"

"You can, but whether I answer them or not is up to me," Karamatsu turned to face the merman, positioning himself on the rocks so he'd be more comfortable.

"Fair enough."

----

"Oww! Dammit, that hurts!" I tried to pull my right arm away from the red merman that was currently licking the gouged bite marks deep in my forearm. He had said that his saliva contained some healing properties, but he never promised it wouldn't be painful.

"'Pain is weakness leaving the body', right?" Osomatsu smirked while keeping my forearm tight in his grip, forcing me to stay still on the end of a small wooden dock that was abandoned, "I told you it would work."

"That's only for exercise--!" I bit back a yell as I felt his long tongue run against the bite wound again, the tip slowly exploring each puncture and tear in the skin. The feeling was similar to whenever I licked my hand clean of messy food, but the aftereffect was ten times worse than pouring hydroperoxide on an open cut. After a few licks, Osomatsu spit something out before going back for another pass.

"Well, then apply whatever saying you deem appropriate to the situation," He finally released my right arm with a smile, waiting for me to examine whatever he had done.

The bite mark on my right arm had mostly vanished, the skin healed up but leaving a pale scar where each tooth was. The job wasn't as perfect and clean as when Karamatsu had healed my leg after Ichimatsu attacked, but the wound was sealed up. I noticed Osomatsu lift himself out of the water, using his arms to crawl next to me before reaching out to begin tearing off my pants left leg.

"Hey...!"

"How else am I going to get to your wound here? I'm not gonna rip off your pants completely," He chuckled, as if he was joking about a small prank instead of partially disrobing a woman. Osomatsu's eyes locked onto mine, and the smugness in them made me shudder. I knew I wouldn't be able to fight him off if he tried something. I was weaponless and the fight earlier clearly showed that he was a capable fighter.

"Do anything funny, and I'll rip off your fins," I narrowed my eyes and glared at Osomatsu.

"Okay, okay..." He trailed off as he sliced off the remaining shredded pants leg, using his nails to cut around my thigh. Tossing the ruined fabric onto the wooden dock, he licked his lips before lowering his head towards the highest wound, his tongue making contact with my skin. I threw my head back in a silent scream as I bit down a yell. Somehow, this one was much worse than my arm was, and I started to worry about the deep bite marks on my side.

I'd probably pass out from those.

Torn between focusing on something else than the pain and making sure that Osomatsu didn't do any kind of funny business, I lay completely flat against the wooden planks and tried some breathing techniques to help myself calm down from the pain. I felt Osomatsu move my leg around, but didn't hear him move from where he had settled.

----

Osomatsu carefully removed the salt crystals that had formed within (y/n)'s wound, knowing that she'd be in more pain if he left them in. He wanted her to swim again, more and more, in his ocean. Lowering his head back to her left calf, he continued to lick the claw marks as he felt her muscles and skin respond to the stimulation, speeding up their recovery and starting to close. It wasn't as pretty as Karamatsu used to do, but it was good enough for the current situation.

What he despised, though, was one of his rogue brothers had even dared to touch his property, especially when his claim was very much active.

Sure, he'd let his calm brothers mess with her a bit...but ultimately, (y/n) was his. The red coral on her neck proved it. How she got it was anyone's guess, as it was gifted to Totoko decades ago, but now it was around (y/n) and that's all that mattered.

He was surprised to hear its call three days ago, as Osomatsu didn't think Totoko could swim anymore in her frail age. To arrive near the coral edge to see Ichimatsu dragging a young woman down was quite entertaining to watch, and he didn't want to lose the new claim so easily.

"Are you done?" (Y/n)'s voice was pained, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Almost. You're quite impatient for a diver," Osomatsu smirked and gave the calf another lick to ensure that it fully closed.

"...! You're the one who has to heal me in a really embarrassing way," She draped an arm over her eyes, the other hand clenched into a tight fist.

"No one's here to see," He lowered her leg to take a look at the claw marks lining her outer thigh, "These shouldn't be as bad."

"Just do it quickly...I want to go home."

Moving over just a few more inches allowed Osomatsu to be in a better position, and he once again lowered his head as he lost himself in his thoughts. To be this close to his red coral again was comforting, but maddening at the same time. His property -- his claim -- that he couldn't keep with him underwater. It was like being gifted a toy that he couldn't use.

As his tongue licked against (y/n)'s skin, he heard her whimper that wasn't timed with what he was doing.

"What's wrong?" He stopped and pushed himself up to look at her, his eyes taking in the tears pouring down her cheeks and sides of her face.

"I didn't want this...I just wanted to live a normal life by the ocean," Her voice came out choked by her tears, holding back the small hiccups she was starting to form. Her hands rubbed against her eyes, pushing out tears before they could fall, "Can't I just have my normal life back? Where I don't have to worry about dying every time I want to swim, or where I can go somewhere without being targeted by someone?"

Osomatsu pushed himself up further and leaned over to look at her face, moving his left hand to caress her face. She stilled at his touch, looking up at the merman that blocked the night sky from her view, her warm tears running along his cold skin.

"What if I said that I'd be able to make all of your problems go away?" His voice was low and soft.