Summary: A regular day at the beach.

Set after season five. Assumes Rai isn't hibernating after the events of season five. Or set way after season five.

A sort of amalgamation of plotbunnies I've had for the last couple months.

Craaaaaack.

Found

By Dark Ice Dragon

M-21 sighed as he watched Tao playing with the waves, whooping all the while. The entire household had gone to Frankenstein's island for a break, and…it was nice. The sun was warm, not too hot, and Frankenstein was in the middle of cooking a barbeque spread that looked like it would feed three times the number of people there.

The sound of Takeo protesting reached M-21's ears before he felt Tao's hand clasp around his, tugging him towards-

"Tao, no."

Tao merely looked over his shoulder at him and continued pulling him towards the sea. "Why not?"

"We're in our suits!" The amount of sand they'd be pouring out of them afterwards-!

Tao's response to that was a roll of his eyes and a huff. "Then you should have worn the swimsuits I packed you."

M-21 should have been glad Tao had only added those things and hadn't decided to also throw out what else they'd packed. "They were not-"

"Eh?" Tao blinked at something behind M-21's shoulder and grinned. Oh no, what had he seen? M-21 didn't have enough time to turn around when Tao said, "See? Even he wants to join in on the fun!"

Except M-21 wasn't paying attention to what Tao was saying because there was something happening in the sea, a circular mass pushing at the surface. It looked like it was bigger than the size of the school, and that was only what M-21 could see.

The monster broke the surface with an explosion of water, and M-21 could see slick, mottled green and grey skin, eyes that were bigger than they were tall, but the rest of it, he couldn't make sense of. Apart from the two gigantic tentacles hovering in the air, the ends of them flatter, almost shaped like a spoon. What was that?

"A kraken," he murmured next to M-21, and M-21's eyes widened when he saw his hand raised towards the monster, palm facing it. No. He couldn't be – dammit-!

But nothing happened. There was no gathering of blood, no aura – maybe he didn't have enough-

M-21 heard water splashing and then Tao yelped as a tentacle thicker than they were reached over him, drenching Tao with sea water, and brushed his palm, a deep croon echoing in the air.

…It…wasn't going to attack them?

"Ah, Master," Frankenstein said, and when M-21 looked over his shoulder, he saw Frankenstein coming over, his eyebrows at a concerned slant, "you can't bring her home."

…What.

The corners of his lips curled up. "I know."

After shaking his head, flicking water everywhere, Tao whistled, studying the kraken's limbs. "I wonder how many there are of her out there, if no-one's seen them before." He hummed, tapping the side of his mouth with a finger.

"She's the last of her kind," he told them.

…Ah. That didn't sound familiar.

"She heard our arrival and was curious," he continued, stroking her limb. "This area doesn't have many visitors."

How come they didn't see her when they had been coming over to train earlier, or was it because he was here now?

"Sooo," Tao drew out, his lips quirking up into a grin, "does this mean this island has an underwater protector?"

He didn't say anything for a few seconds. "So long as we visit often."

Frankenstein's expression eased into a smile, and he chuckled. "That can be arranged."

The noise the kraken made as she waved her other tentacle in the air was higher than the last sound she made, but M-21 had the distinct feeling it was a pleased sound, the way he smiled at her.

So, yeah, they visit her every day, when the kids don't come over. :3

Alternate summary: 'The household gains a new pet. This one, they can't keep at home.'

Yes, Tao's in a speedo.

See, this is what happens when you give me a nice domestic prompt like 'Imagine your OTP looking for creatures in tidal pools near the beach.' Yeah. This is where my brain goes.