With Lungs Like Gills (Merman!Brothers x Reader)

Chapter 10

I looked up at Osomatsu, stunned. His partially closed eyes held my own wide gaze as his left thumb rubbed against my cheek, as if trying to comfort me.

"Well, (y/n)?"

"I don't know."

Osomatsu pulled back a little bit, shock written all over his face, "What do you mean, 'you don't know'?"

"I mean that I actually don't know," I tried to move back a little bit but my side screamed in pain, still untouched by Osomatsu, "You're asking me a pretty serious question out of the blue without giving me any kind of detail. I don't know!"

He seemed to think about something before looking back down at me, "I guess you're right. I had meant that I could turn you into one of us, so that way you're not worried about being drowned whenever you swim. You'd be able to visit us whenever, of course, but you'd have to leave your land life behind."

Osomatsu sees you as a toy to play with, something to ease his boredom, Genki's words bubbled to the surface of my thoughts, along with the image of his striking green eyes narrowed in warning. There was no telling how the oldest brother would react if I turned down his offer. I was less than a meter from the water, and his arms were on either side of my waist. My heart began to race in fear once more, and I started to open my mouth when Mrs. Yowai's words echoed in my head.

I'd suggest you get rid of it as soon as you can. Throw it back into the ocean where it came from. It will bring you nothing but trouble...though, I'm sure that getting rid of it now will do you no good. I closed my mouth again and returned my focus to the merman propping himself over me.

"I need to think about it. That's a lot for me to sacrifice in order to have my aquatic problems go away," I took a breath, "Can you just finish what you started?"

Osomatsu paused before letting out a small chuckle that rolled into a loud laugh, eventually slowing down into a sigh.

"You entertain me more than I thought you would," He licked his lips before yanking up my shirt, quickly diving down to my side before I could yell out in protest. His left hand gripped the right side of my waist tightly as his right hand pulled the soaking wet office shirt tight above my left shoulder, the fabric caught under my left breast as the movement pinned me to the dock underneath him. I fought to keep the blush from spreading across my face, but the pain returned as I felt Osomatsu's tongue dip into one of the tooth marks, not being as gentle as he was with my leg wounds.

It was all I could do to keep myself quiet as it felt like fire was being poured into each bite wound, and I lost track of time as my consciousness began to fade from the pain.

----

I woke up staring at a familiar ceiling, my hands exploring the soft surface underneath me before I recognized the feeling of my bedsheets.

Who brought me home?

I sat up gently, expecting pain as I moved, but didn't feel anything wrong. I lifted up my night shirt to reveal scarring where the bites had been.

Night shirt?

"Oh, you're awa--!!" Someone cut themselves off verbally and I heard clattering sounds as I looked up towards my tiny kitchen, only to see a man leaning over the counter with his back towards me. The scarring along his bare arms was unmistakable.

"Genki! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!!" I quickly pulled down my night shirt and hid my face in my hands, turtling in the comforter.

"I...I'll be fine..." I heard his muffled voice through the comforter, hearing him take a deep breath and go back to whatever he had messed with in his haste to turn away from my stupid semi-nude self, "I found you passed out on the docks near work earlier this morning on my run, and when you didn't wake up an hour before work, I called us both off."

"...thanks..." I muttered quietly.

"I had made a small pot of coffee, but I can make more if you'd like some, too," His voice moved from the kitchen to where my loveseat was, by the large window facing the ocean a half-kilometer away.

"...did you undress me...?" I asked as I peeked out from underneath the comforter, seeing his back still to me as he raised something to his face, probably the cup of coffee he was talking about. I saw him flinch and start coughing.

"Ah...no...when I brought you home, you seemed to be on autopilot after I set you down. You went to the bathroom and came out dressed like that before falling onto the bed. I figured you were pretty tired from your morning swim," He didn't turn around, but his voice seemed to grow stern, "I thought that we agreed on the actions you'd take after last night..."

I flinched from his tone, the embarrassment dropping in an instant. Genki seemed to be waiting for an answer as he remained facing away from me.

"We still are, and I meant everything I said after you explained the situation to me," I swallowed the sudden accumulation of saliva in my mouth, "But my bus was involved in a freak accident last night, and I was forced into the sea."

"Are you all right?" Genki finally turned towards me, his worried green eyes meeting mine, "Is that why you were on the docks?"

"Yes...and no..." I lowered the comforter from my body after ensuring my night shirt was covering everything, "The bus was swept off the cliff near the ocean, and I was attacked by Jyushimatsu...I think. He had yellow markings all over his chest, and hurt me really bad before this...coral possibly summoned Osomatsu," I raised the vial still around my neck, "They fought and I was able to get away for a bit...but then Osomatsu carried me to a place close to my home and tried to heal me."

I hadn't heard Genki move before I felt his hands on my cheeks, lifting my face towards his as he knelt beside me. His emerald hues seemed to be swirling with some kind of emotion before he brought me close for a hug, his left arm encompassing my shoulders as his right hand slowly rubbed circles on my back. I returned the hug as much as I could before I started to cry. He didn't move as I buried my face into his left shoulder, my fists balling up the back of his shirt as I just let loose, knowing that someone seemed truly worried for me about what I was going through...despite his family being the ones tormenting me.