With Lungs Like Gills (Merman!Brothers x Reader)

Chapter 24 - Choromatsu's Ending

A name made itself known in my head, reminding me of the one I chose.

"With that in mind, I choose--"

Taking a breath mid sentence, I looked towards Choromatsu. I opened my mouth to say his name when a sharp laughter cut me off.

"There's no way that you're choosing him!"

I turned to glare at Todomatsu, his hand hitting the water as if I just told the funniest joke he'd ever heard. His laughter continued until the palm of my hand struck across his face, my lips twisted into a frown. I didn't register what I had done until the sound silenced the area. His face was full of shock as he turned back towards me, his eyes conflicted with emotions.

"I choose Choromatsu," I bit out each word, angry at the pink merman that had tried to kill me twice in my sleep. My fists clenched and I planted my feet into the sand, the water lapping at my calves as I looked him in the eye unafraid, "I choose Choromatsu."

"You think...that you can make a promise with me, and break it not hours later...?" The growl in Todomatsu's voice grew as his black irises narrowed within his pink eyes, "We made a deal, (y/n)."

"No, we didn't. I only agreed to that deal if I choose you," I didn't back away, fully understanding the peril I was in. I needed to make a point, "...and I didn't say your name."

"You conniving--!" Todomatsu lashed out with his left hand, his sharp talons ripping through my shorts and shirt, cutting into my abdomen. I staggered back with a grunt, wrapping both arms around my midriff but maintaining my glare.

"Totty!" I heard Choromatsu bark out, the water frothing in the space between us before Todomatsu was dragged away from me, a screech of displeasure emanating from the pink merman, "(Y/n), are you okay?"

"I'm well enough..." I lied as I felt an icy chill begin to spread from my stomach, overriding the heat of my anger.

"You're a lying bitch!" Todomatsu screamed as he twisted against the pulling current, "No one gets away with lying to me!"

"Totty, that's enough..." Osomatsu lazily called out from the other side of the shoreline, "You weren't picked, just like the rest of us."

I watched quietly as Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu sank out of sight, their colored fins vanishing in the dark waters beyond the beach. Osomatsu disappeared under the water before Todomatsu was pulled underneath, still shouting and yelling at me. When the din quieted, I released my arms from my abs, watching large globs of blood fall onto the beach.

"Oops..." I forced out a laugh before looking towards Choromatsu, "Knew that was gonna happen at some point..."

"(Y/n)!" I watched as Choromatsu dug into the sand in front of me, the shallow water making it hard for him to come close. His hand reached out and lightly pulled the shirt up enough to expose the claw marks, the wounds not deep enough to cause significant damage to the muscle, but could leave a nasty scar if untreated, "Karamatsu, could you?"

"Of course, brother!" Karamatsu briskly walked over, rolling up one of his sleeves and pulling something from his breast pocket. I shuddered as I was forced to lay down on the warm sand, the sunlight cascading down.

I felt strangely cold, no longer feeling any pain in my abdomen. Something warm splashed onto my skin, the feeling jolting me from whatever fog was in my head as I looked down to see a small trickling of blood drip from Karamatsu's inner arm onto the scratches. The chill lingered as Karamatsu wiped his blood off of my skin, his face loosening in relief as the wounds had sealed themselves up.

"I think...I was poisoned..." I tightened my hand into a fist, dragging some sand with it as I covered my naked midriff with my other arm.

"Do you feel cold?" Choromatsu reached out to touch my clenched fist, his skin warm against mine. With a grunted effort, he put his other hand on my cheek only to pull back in shock, "You're burning up!"