Sea Bunny Shores - HayaRyuu (Discontinued for now)

ninth.

CONTENT WARNING: GORE & BLOOD (I GUESS)

Ryuuichi watches, terrified, as Hayato stumbles backward.

"What- what the hell." Hayato blurts.

"Wa-wait." Ryuuichi begins, hoisting himself up, raising a hand to Hayato. "I-" he tries to look for the words to explain himself, but nothing comes to mind.

The moment reminds him of the fish his family has hunted. Utterly hopeless, with no escape.

Hayato lunges forward, pulling a dagger out of his sleeve. He throws Ryuuichi to the ground, and the boy feels his head going fuzzy. The pirate places the blade up to his neck, a foot on Ryuuichi's arm. "What the hell?!" he repeats, louder this time.

Ryuuichi feels tears prickle at his eyes. An uncomfortable sensation arises at his webbed fingers as he watches scales cover them. His gills feel like they're disintegrating. The boy continues to cry. The pangs of pain and sorrow are too much for his heart.

"Hey, boss! We're about to arrive!" someone yells. Hayato doesn't dare tear his eyes away from Ryuuichi. He doesn't respond to the crew member. Instead, he grabs Ryuu by the shoulders. He shoves Kashima into one of the private rooms, quickly closing and locking the door. "Hayato!" Ryuuichi calls out, despite his knowing that the other won't return.

He feels his throat tighten, with a sense he's never felt before. It feels like parts are spitting off. He brings his hand to his neck and rolls onto his stomach. Blood begins to cough out of his mouth, the blue substance splattering on the ground. Ryuu hears muffled voices outside the door. The boy desperately crawls toward the wall, digging his nails into the floor. As he reaches his arms forward, he notices his scales begin to peel off his skin. They come off in small chunks. Thankfully, the wounds aren't deep. However, he stays above water for too long; who knows.

Kashima manages to pull himself up to rest against the wall as blood clots leave his body. He looks up and notices the window. He attempts to reach up to it, latching onto the windowsill. He feels the painful wind brush against his fingers. It's no longer light and ticklish but a scalding sensation that sends a rush of pain down his spine.

He pulls away, feeling his eyes begin to close. His head feels like it's about to burst. The strength in his arms dissipated as he lay limp against the cold wall.

☁ ~ ☁ ~ ☁

"What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck."

Hayato sat on a firkin, his leg bouncing uncontrollably. Someone else was driving the ship to shore, so no one had to see him in this state of utter confusion.

He had walked downstairs, wondering about where Ryuuichi wandered off. Then, he heard him talking about blood and saw his injury. He knew that Ryuuichi had lied about aspects of himself, but he certainly didn't expect a tail to emerge from where his legs should have been.

Hayato gulps, memorizing the sight of Ryuuichi on the floor, gasping for help. He knows he should check on him, but he's scared.

"Uh, you aight?" a man asked Hayato. The pirate jumped up in his seat and looked the other in the eye. "Fine," he grumbled out, although it was more a whisper. "Well uh-" the man coughed. "We're about to approach the dock."

Hayato looked forward. They were about to anchor out. "Ok," he responded. The man blinked rapidly, "Do we still get paid?"

Kamitani didn't have the energy to rebuttal, so he stood and left. He realized his legs were leading him downstairs, in front of the door where Ryuuichi is trapped.

Hayato took a deep breath. "He never tried to hurt me. Surely he doesn't have bad intentions?" Hayato drew his dagger and cautiously unlocked the door. There he saw Ryuuichi slumped against the floor, scales covering his skin and blue liquid on the ground. "Is this blood?" he mumbles. "But when I checked Ryuuichi's before, it was red." He shakes his head. He can't worry about that now.

Slowly, he approaches the boy and sees the blue blood leak out from his lips, with small pieces of scales scattered around his body. Hayato crouches to eye level. Ryuuichi is breathing, but barely. "I guess he can't stay up here for too long."

Watching Kashima in a fragile state brings a pang to his heart. The boy had been kind and considerate. He'd been a positive influence on Hayato. "Why am I doing this?" Hayato speaks. "I should be helping you."

He raises a hand and cups Ryuuichi's cheek. It's freezing. Suddenly, Ryuu's head moves towards the warmth emitting from Hayato's hand.

That was the last straw. Hayato knew that Ryuuichi wouldn't hurt him. So, Hayato would save Ryuuichi.

He scooped Ryuuichi into his arms. The slimy feeling of his tail made it difficult. He can't just throw him out the window. Hayato still has questions.

The pirate quietly walked out of the room and crossed the hallway. There was a room where they kept water barrels in case of an emergency. He laid Ryuuichi on the ground and pried one of the barrels open.

Thankfully, it's big enough to hold Ryuuichi. Hayato picked the other up again. It was challenging because of the tail, but eventually, Hayato managed to place Ryuuichi in the barrel. He watched as the scales that previously covered his skin faded and his wounds healed.

"Captain!" he heard someone call. "We're docking!"

Hayato left the room, quickly locking it behind him. He rushed to the deck to help the crew. Everyone let down the bridge and began packing their things.

The crew stood at the boardwalk, looking at Hayato, who stood on the ship.

"Well," a lady said. "are you going to pay us?"

Hayato impatiently tapped his foot, wishing to rid himself of the situation to get back to Ryuuichi.

"No." he declared, stern and cold.

The crew immediately burst into anger, yelling swears and curses at Hayato for squandering their time. "We didn't gain a single fish this afternoon," Hayato reminds. "What's there to pay you for?"

Hayato turned to walk away, preparing to lift the bridge back up. Suddenly, he felt a hand grab his collar and shove him to the floor. He looked up and saw the man he spoke to earlier. "Listen here, you're going to tell us where you keep-" Before the man could finish, Hayato plunged the handle of his dagger into the man's side, making him stagger back.

Kamitani stood up and pushed the man down the ramp. Hayato said nothing, letting his stare do the work. The crowd mumbled and helped the man up before leaving quietly.

The pirate received the ramp and ran down the stairs. After unlocking the door, Hayato walked inside looking into the barrel. Ryuuichi was floating peacefully.

"Do I wait until he wakes up?" Hayato pondered. He slumped onto the ground, his face in his hands.

He sighs, looking at the cask. "I guess today wasn't a total waste."

☁ ~ ☁ ~ ☁

wassup people

winks

question time:

what stuffie/toy have you had the longest and why?

have a good morning, afternoon or night!

-fai