Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club and make no money from these writings. The original idea for this story belongs to Bishonen'sFoxyMiko.

Fish and Freedom

Chapter Four

Kagome knocked three times in quick succession on a closed office door and waited until she heard the call to enter before she reached for the door knob. "Morning, Hiroshi," she greeted with a sunny smile.

The man, who was very much not a morning person, looked up at her from his computer screen and furrowed his brow. Looking back down at the time displayed on the monitor, he turned his attention back to his employee. "Kagome," he greeted with a questioning hesitance. "I know you like to come in early, but this is a bit much even for you, isn't it? We don't open for another two hours."

"You're right, it is a little early," she agreed as she leaned her shoulder against his office's door frame. "But I brought someone with me that I want you to meet."

"Not a man is it?" Hiroshi replied with a teasing smirk. "You're not running off on me and getting married, are you?" He laughed when Kagome leveled him with a flat look. He'd been hesitant to hire her when she'd first come to the aquarium looking for a job, but he'd decided to give her a chance even though she had no real previous work experience. In the end he'd been pleasantly surprised by her hard work and had started taking an interest in her. Not in a weird or creepy way; he was more than fifteen years older than she was. But he learned that she had moved out to Iwatobi on her own and had no friends or family in the area. After that, he'd taken it upon himself to look out for the girl. He felt almost like an older brother. And he knew that he wasn't the only one at the aquarium that felt that way. Kagome had gained a rather large and protective surrogate family.

"Ha ha, very funny," Kagome said with a roll of her eyes. "I'll go ahead and do HR the favor of reminding you that comments like that could count as harassment."

Hiroshi gave her a completely unapologetic smile as he leaned back in his chair. "You know I'm just teasing," he told her. "And we both know that you wouldn't report me for some little comment, anyway."

"You just wait until I'm having a bad day," she threatened but it lost some of its heat when she cracked the smile that she couldn't fight anymore. "But, since you brought it up, he actually is a man."

"Who?" Hiroshi asked having forgotten why Kagome had originally stopped by his office.

"The guy I brought by for you to meet," Kagome sighed. She really did love her boss, but sometimes he made her want to beat her head against a wall. "I want to add him to the mermaid program."

"Woah now," he said as he held up a hand to halt her. "When you wanted to start this thing, I thought it was just going to be other pretty girls."

Kagome frowned. "Seriously, Hiroshi. HR. Go pick up a pamphlet or something about what you can and can't say," she told him before continuing. "And I know what you thought it would be. I didn't expect any guys to be interested, either. But Haru really wants to be part of this, and he's the only interested person I've met so far who's a strong enough swimmer to do it."

"Fine," Hiroshi sighed after a moment as he rubbed a hand over his short hair. "Bring him in."

Kagome beamed at her boss before running back down the hallway to the small waiting room where she'd left Haru and her trusty dufflebag. She soon returned, Haru in tow, and ushered the young man into the office before following him inside. Depositing her bag in the corner of the room, she turned back to make the introductions. Deciding to be a little more formal, she said, "Haru, meet Mr. Arai. He's the head manager here at the aquarium. Mr. Arai, this is Haruka Nanase."

Hiroshi gave the young man a small nod before he said, "So is it Haruka or Haru?"

"Haru," the man at Kagome's side replied.

"Well then, Haru, have a seat," Hiroshi told the younger man as he gestured at the two chairs positioned in front of his desk. He watched as Kagome and Haru sat down before he leveled his gaze on the young man. "Kagome tells me you want to be a mermaid," he spoke.

"Merman," Haru corrected in a way that was becoming second nature. "And yes."

"Why do you want to be part of our program?" Hiroshi questioned.

"I want to swim," Haru answered honestly.

Hiroshi's brow scrunched as he asked, "Is that all?"

"Yes," Haru told him. He saw no need to lie to the man about the reason he was interested in the job.

"You know you'll be doing other things like Kagome does, right?" Hiroshi continued as he watched Haru nod once. "Cleaning, feeding, assisting section managers and such; you're okay with doing that work too?"

"I am," Haru answered.

From her seat, Kagome gaped at Haru. Had he never been in a job interview before? Part of the process was trying to sell yourself, not answer in as few words as possible.

Hiroshi tilted his head as he considered the young man before him. "You don't talk much, do you?"

"Not really," Haru shrugged.

"I like employees that know when to keep their mouths shut," Hiroshi smiled. He knew that he was being incredibly informal for an interview, but in his mind the kid hadn't formally applied for a job. "Kagome says you're a strong swimmer. How much experience do you have?"

"I swam competitively through elementary school, part of middle school, and most of high school. I also worked as a part-time swim instructor at the Iwatobi Swim Club for the last two years," Haru explained.

"I already tested him, Hiroshi," Kagome piped up. "He tried out my training gear and did really well. A little practice and he'll be perfect."

Hiroshi nodded slowly a few times as he looked between the two young adults before he frowned again. "You two related somehow?" He asked curiously.

Kagome and Haru looked at each other before looking back to the aquarium's manager and shaking their heads

"Then you two look creepily similar," Hiroshi commented and he smiled when he heard Kagome sigh. He would never admit it to the girl, but messing with her was one of his small joys in life. Leaning back and lacing his fingers behind his head, he shrugged and said, "Well you have my approval, whatever that's worth. I told Kagome when she proposed starting this thing that she'd be in charge of it. The show's actually generating some buzz and bringing people in, so I don't mind bringing on another person or two and seeing how it goes." He turned his attention to Kagome before he continued, "Whether or not he meets the requirements is your call. I'm assuming you brought him in this early to get a jump on his paperwork?"

"You know me so well," Kagome smiled with a nod. "The sooner he starts, the better. It'll take a while to get him trained for everything, and I want to get him into the show as soon as possible. Do you think his paperwork can be pushed through so he can get on the clock today?"

"Maybe," Hiroshi said with a shrug. "I'll call HR and see what I can do. You two head that way and pick up the paperwork so you can get started."

Haru stood up and looked down at Kagome when she didn't move from her seat. Kagome gave her boss an expectant look as he picked up his desk phone.

Noticing Kagome's stare, Hiroshi paused as he put the phone to his ear. "What?"

"Can I get the company card for Haru's tail?" Kagome asked sweetly.

"What? You have to be joking," Hiroshi said as he looked at Kagome as though she'd lost her mind. "Those things cost a small fortune and I don't even know that he'll stick around through the training. I'm not going to throw money down the drain if he can't hack it here."

"Please, Hiroshi," Kagome whined as she slid forward to rest her chin on the edge of the older man's desk. She would like to think that she was above begging, but she was well aware of the man's soft spot for her. If a little eye fluttering got results, she didn't mind stooping every now and then. "Those tails can take a few months to make and get here. If we ordered one right now, it might get here by October. That'll be plenty of time to train him. I know he'll do a great job and stay on. Please."

"It's too much money for me to chance, Kagome," Hiroshi told her in a firm voice that didn't let on just how close he was to caving.

Kagome looked over her shoulder at where Haru stood. She chewed on her lip for a moment as she considered an idea. Sure, she'd just met the guy, but he seemed so serious about doing this. He didn't seem like the type to bail on something he really wanted just because things might get a little hard. Hoping that she wouldn't regret it later, Kagome turned back to Hiroshi and said, "What if I pay for it if he bails on the program?"

Hiroshi arched a brow at her and she continued, "Yeah, just hear it out. You let me order Haru's tail with the company card. If he stays, great. He'll pay it off on his own. I'm going to put my faith in him. But if he quits, I'll cover the loss to the aquarium. I'm the one recommending him, after all."

"Are you sure?" Hiroshi asked her seriously. "You're that serious about him working here?"

Glancing back at Haru one more time, Kagome turned back to her boss and friend as she nodded, "Yeah, I am."

"Fine," Hiroshi finally conceded as he unlocked his top desk drawer and withdrew a plastic card. He reached across the the desk to hand it over, but drew it back at the last second as he said, "Just know that he's your responsibility now."

"He's not a dog, Hiroshi," Kagome rolled her eyes as she took the card from him. "And you'll see, he's going to do great."

Kagome watched as Hiroshi finally dialed the extension number for Human Resources, and waved before she picked up her bag and followed Haru out into the hall before shutting the door behind them. "Sorry we talked about you like you weren't there," Kagome apologized. "He just needs a little convincing sometimes."

"It's fine," Haru told her as he followed Kagome when she started walking again.

"Let's head over to HR so that we can get a jump on your paperwork," she said as she smiled at him brightly. "After that, today will be sort of like a shadow day. Since we'll be doing the same jobs, you can just spend the day getting familiar with the place and seeing what I do when I'm not doing shows."

Haru nodded and watched as Kagome shifted her dufflebag and adjusted the strap on her shoulder. He briefly wondered exactly what was in the bag as it looked heavy, but he didn't think it was his business and therefore didn't ask.

Kagome, however, noticed him eyeing the bag and patted it with her hand. "This is what I've dubbed my "show bag,"" she explained. "My tail is pretty flexible, so it I can fold it up small enough to fit inside with whatever makeup and accessories I need that day. I also usually keep a change of clothes and a pair of shoes inside, just in case." They walked a little farther, turned down another hall, and were soon outside a door labeled Human Resources.

Walking inside, Kagome smiled at the only person in the office at the hour. "Morning Hana," Kagome greeted the older woman. "Did you already talk to Hiroshi?"

"I did," Hana said as she pulled a few forms out of a folder before placing the folder back into a filing cabinet drawer and sliding it shut. "Is this the young man he mentioned?"

"Yes," Kagome answered as she introduced quickly, "Hana, Haru. Haru, Hana."

"You'll need to fill these out," Hana told him as she walked around the desk and handed Haru the stack of papers along with a pen. "When you're finished, just give them back to me and we'll get you set up. At Hiroshi's pushy insistence, you'll start receiving pay for today's work, but you'll be getting a paper paycheck until we can set up your direct deposit."

Nodding, Haru took the papers from the woman and sat at a nearby table to fill out his information. Nearby, he could hear Kagome and Hana talking.

"Is Hiroshi behaving?" Hana asked dryly. She knew that the man was harmless enough, but he was a Human Resource Officer's nightmare if he said the wrong thing to the wrong person.

Kagome scrunched her nose and teetered one hand back and forth to imply a so-so answer. "He's his usual self."

Hana smirked a little as she said, "That's not exactly a comforting thought." When the phone rang, she excused herself to return to her desk and take the call.

Taking a seat beside Haru, Kagome watched him write and silently thought that he had very neat handwriting for a man. Her brother's penmanship was atrocious; barely legible chick-scratch is what she tended to call it. But Haru's writing was neat and tidy. She was mildly impressed.

It took a few minutes for Haru to finish up the paperwork, but he eventually stood to return the papers and pen to Hana who sat at her desk going over some other documents that he had no clue about. "Okay," she told him as she took the papers from Haru and gave each one a quick once over. "Everything looks good. I'll get started on this. Payday is every other Friday. I'll let Kagome explain anything else, but feel free to come back here if you have other questions or concerns."

"Thanks, Hana!" Kagome called out as she grabbed Haru by the elbow and tugged him along out of the office. Once they were out in the hallway, she released him and motioned for him to follow her. "We need to get you a shirt," she told him as they took another hallway that ended with a plain, unmarked door. Kagome pushed through the door and went down the flight of stairs that were on the other side. One more door and they were in a cement hallway. The floor was smooth concrete while the walls were beige-painted cinderblock. Pipes of different diameters and colors ran along the ceiling along with florescent lights placed at measured intervals. "This way," Kagome motioned again as she started walking.

The pair walked in silence for a few minutes before Kagome spoke again, "So how long have you lived in Iwatobi?"

"Since I was born," he answered simply.

"Your friends seemed nice," she commented.

Haru hummed but didn't respond otherwise.

Looking at him out of the corner of her eye, Kagome said, "It wasn't just with Hiroshi, was it? You really don't say much?"

"Not really," he told her. He turned his head to see her watching him. He almost drew back a little with the intensity of her stare. She seemed very…focused.

Finally, Kagome shrugged with a small shrug. "Okay," she said with a small smile. "I can work with that. I'm pretty good at reading untalkative men." She saw that he gave her a questioning look and elaborated, "You and I are going to be working together a lot every day that we're here. We should get to know each other, be friends, all that good stuff. So let's see…how about siblings? Any brothers or sisters?"

Haru blinked and Kagome watched him closely. In the time she'd spent trying to get a read on Inuyasha or trying to see the truth behind Miroku's jokes and false smiles, she really had gotten pretty good at reading people. "That's a no," she said slowly. "An only child, huh? I have brother," she volunteered. "His name is Souta, he lives on our family shrine in Tokyo with our mother and grandfather, and he's thirteen." She watched as Haru nodded a couple of times, and she pressed her lips into a thin line as she tried to come up with a good question to ask him. Before she could come up with anything, the hallway opened up into a large room with locker-lined walls and a few tables and chairs.

Sighing at not being able to think of anything, Kagome began their tour with their first stop of the day. "This is our break-slash-prep-slash-locker room," she explained as she waved an arm out in gesture to the room. Kagome dropped her bag before walking over to a narrow door and opening it to step inside what appeared to be a small storage closet. "What size polo do you wear?" She called from where she was rummaging through some boxes on a set of wire shelves.

"Medium," Haru answered as he stepped closer to the door.

Kagome hummed as she checked a couple of boxes before emerging with a triumphant "Ah ha!" She tossed two shirts to Haru as she said, "One of those and a pair of khaki's will be your uniform for just walking around the aquarium. It's what you'll wear when you're anywhere visitors can see you, so mostly for feedings and stuff like that." Glancing down at the khaki pants that she'd instructed him to wear that day, she instructed, "Go ahead and slip one over the shirt you're wearing. You'll want to get a pair of non-slip shoes, too."

Picking up her bag again and moving to a small table situated in a corner, Kagome finally settled her bag under the table and left it there. "Like it?" She asked with a smile as she motioned to her little corner. There was a small rectangular table with a mirror hung above it and two lamps, one mounted on either side of the mirror. It was a makeshift vanity table. "This is as close to a dressing room as I get," she laughed. "It's not much, but it's a good place to do hair and makeup. I guess this'll be your space soon, too." She moved away from the table and motioned again for him to follow her. They walked to a large whiteboard that was hung at the end of a row of lockers. "This is the duty board," she explained. "It tells you who's working that day, where you're assigned, and what your duties are."

Haru's eyes skimmed over the board and found Kagome's name. Following the row over a couple of columns to the appropriate day, he saw that it was marked "F: peng./aq. mam." and that was it.

Kagome saw what he was looking at and continued to explain, "Outside of shows, we'll usually have one of two types of jobs: cleaning or feeding. The "F" stands for feeding, and a "C" would stand for cleaning. You won't be on tank cleaning duties until you learn how to use scuba gear, but you might still get put in one of the enclosures that has a land habitat. As for the abbreviations, "peng." is for penguins and "aq. mam." is for aquatic mammals." She turned to fully face him and gave him an understanding smile, "I know I'm throwing a lot at you, and there's plenty more to come, but it really doesn't take that long to pick up on. If you need me to slow down or have any questions, just let me know, okay?"

Haru looked down at the shorter woman and nodded. "Okay," he told her. It looked like she was about to say something else when someone came into the room from the hallway they'd taken earlier. He was about Haru's height, maybe a little taller, with dark brown hair that bordered on red and hung down to graze his shoulders. Haru recognized him as the host from the water show the day before, but he couldn't recall his name.

"Hey, Kazuki," Kagome smiled as the man strolled up to them sipping on a cup of what could be assumed to be coffee.

"Morning," Kazuki greeted with a yawn before he stopped to look at the board they were standing in front of. "Hey, looks like you're in my area today!" He said with a smile as he bumped Kagome with his hip.

Kagome hip-checked him in return with a little more force before she introduced her future show partner. "Kazuki, this is Haru," she said as she gestured to the man beside her. "Haru, this is Kazuki. He's a trainer and show announcer here. He's also the manager for the aquatic mammal habitats."

Haru nodded while Kazuki threw up a lazy, one-handed greeting. "Nice to meet you," Kazuki finally said as he moved to sit at a nearby table. He pulled a to-go bag out of his backpack before digging out his breakfast. "You guys want any?" He offered as he unwrapped one of several bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits.

"I'm good," Kagome said as she wrinkled her nose. "I'd like to hold off on having a heart attack for a few more years."

When Haru also shook his head, Kazuki shrugged and took his first bite. "So," be began before swallowing. "What are you going to do here, Haru?"

"Mermaid program," Haru answered and almost arched a brow when Kazuki choked a little.

"Is that so?" Kazuki asked after getting his coughing under control. Looking to Kagome he said, "Well look at you, getting a new recruit already. Good job!"

Kagome smiled brightly. "I'm so excited to have Haru join the program," she enthused as she looked over to the blue-eyed man. "You should see him! He's already really good at using the training gear."

Kazuki looked back to Haru as he asked, "Did she tell you that she tried me out on that stuff?" When Haru shook his head and gave a slightly confused look, Kazuki continued, "Yeah, I just couldn't get the hip movement right. It's all good though. I like announcing the show more."

Watching her friend unwrap a second biscuit, she frowned a little and asked, "Don't you have prep to do in your area before we open? Should you really be eating breakfast right now?"

"I got up late," Kazuki defended. "No time for breakfast at home. Besides, I have underlings to take care of prep."

"Underlings?" Kagome questioned before realization hit her. "Do you mean your interns?"

"Underlings, interns; to-may-to, to-mah-to," he answered with a shrug.

"I'm one of your interns," Kagome ground out. She'd been assigned to Kazuki when she'd entered the internship program.

Kazuki smiled cheekily up at her as he cooed, "And you're one of my most special little tomatoes. You have your own little program and everything."

Kagome finally just rolled her eyes and opted to ignore the man. Walking over to her bag and reaching inside, she pulled out her own aquarium polo and pulled it on over her t-shirt. She was tucking it into her pants as she walked over to Haru and said, "Ready to get a start on things? We're due with the penguins for their breakfast." She smiled when Haru gave an affirmative answer and nodded. "Great! Let's go then.

"Oh, wait for me!" Kazuki called after them. He quickly pulled a marker from a pocket on his backpack, wrote "free to good homes" on his take-out bag, and arranged his remaining biscuits around the sign. Throwing the marker in his bag and his bag in his locker, he grabbed his coffee and half-eaten biscuit to follow after the younger man and woman. Watching Kagome try to feed the penguins was always good for a laugh.