Once upon a time, there lived a little mermaid princess deep under the sea. The little mermaid was dissatisfied with the life in the sea. She longed for a life in the surface—to walk side by side with human and fiddling with their unique inventions.

During her regular visits to the surface despite the warning from her father, she met and fell in love with a man. As fate would have it, that man was no ordinary human. He was a prince.

After saving the prince from the shipwreck, the little mermaid left just as he wakes—leaving him with only a beautiful song. Needing to see the prince once more, she headed into the darker waters where no mermaids or mermen dared to venture.

There, she met the banished witch who agreed to give her a pair of legs in exchange for her lovely voice. However, the gift came with a condition. Within three days, the mermaid princess must receive the "kiss of true love" or the transformation will be undone and her body will belong to the witch...

"HIYAAAAAAAAAAA!"

A blood curling scream echoed as clams slammed their shells shut and nearby moray eels retreated back into the safety of their den. Even a pod of killer whales could be seen fleeing as another scream swept through the dark water.

Some crabs peeked out from the curtain of seaweed, their eyes twitching at the cave lit in dim, greenish light. One tried to crawl forward for a closer look, but quickly darted back into its hiding place when a silhouette of a slender figure swam by the window, dragging along a lean pinkish tail with lavender stripes.

"Hmm~" The being weaves through the water, causing the long and soft looking fins growing from the side of his hips to flutter out like wings. If angels exist underwater, surely this being would be the embodiment of it.

Pale fingers poked at the countless bottles sitting on the shelves, tipping them over as mulberry coloured eyes skimmed through the label.

"Found it." The fingers gripping onto the bottle loosened, letting it sink towards the ground before long elegant fins slashed across the water. The current pushed the bottle through the water, across the cave and into the waiting hand of the angel's companion.

When the glowing green orbs—source of the lighting—rotated, some of the shadows were peeled away, revealing a lean blue tail with faint golden strip running down the side. Unlike the tail of the angel, this one was built strong with firm muscles visible through the thick layer of protective skin.

"Let see?" Turquoise eyes scanned over the label on the bottle as the blue and gold tail waved back and forth restlessly. "Looks like it. What do you think?"

The bottle was passed over into a tanner hand with black strips around the side of the wrist. When steel grey eyes finished examining the object, they flickered up to the purple ball on the ground.

"Don't have anything to do with it huh?" Turquoise eyes narrowed dangerously. That was the only warning before the long, blue and golden tail cracked down like a whip, slapping the figure hard as form of the ball was destroyed. Countless purple tentacles scattered apart, revealing the face of the merman for only half a second before the creature went SPLAT against the wall.

"You fucking liar!" The merman howled as he appeared on the other side of the cave in a blur. The gills on his external oblique were wide open, spitting out the water that he was practically gulping down in his rage. He wrapped his clawed hand around the octopus merman's throat and lifted the other with ease. "You turned him into a human!"

Sakaki Yugo

Age: 21

Specie: Shortfin Mako shark

Specialty: Speed

Description: Sakaki Yugo is known as the fastest fish in the history of seven seas, having the ability to reach 230 kilometer per hour—more than three times the speed that is considered norm for his specie. He is also the only creature in the world that has full immunity against poisoning. His stamina to this date remains a mystery.

"H-he was the one who asked me to do it!" The octopus shrieked as purple tentacles waved around blindly, trying to pry off the predator corning him. "This is just business!"

"Oh?" The angelic figure swam into the light, revealing a merman with orchid purple hair and rose pink hue on the underside. There were two dark purple gills adorning each side of his neck as it flush out the water calmly in contrast with the shark.

He smiled at the octopus—then, the transformation was immediate. His eyes flew wide, iris completely dilated with the smile he was carrying morphed into a sinister smirk. He snarled, revealing sharp tipped fangs as his nails extended into razor sharp claws. The harmless wings that were dangling by his hips opened up, revealing dozens of deadly spikes.

In half a second, the angel transformed into the devil.

"Then you should understand, as his brothers, this is our business."

Sakaki Yuri

Age: 21

Specie: Lionfish

Specialty: Poison

Description: Sakaki Yuri is a rare type of lion fish born with an unnatural concentration of venom. The smallest scratch from the merman can lead to instant paralysation. If not treated within twelve hours, the poison will invade the organs, stopping them from functioning and thus leading to a painful death. The antidote to his venom is his saliva—a closely guarded secret only known by his brothers. Due to the fact that Sakaki Yugo gets stung by him on a daily basis, the shark became the only known creature to have developed full immunity against his venom.

"Yuri, if you paralyze him, we won't be able to get any more information." The last merman spoke, proven to be the calmness of them all he slowly swam up from the rock he was perching on.

His raven and amethyst coloured hair waved in the water as he swam towards them. Unlike the other two mermen, this one's tail was unusually long—almost like that of a snake's. His skin shone like well-polished onyx with silvery-purple splattered over the underside.

Sakaki Yuto

Age: 21

Specie: Electric eel

Specialty: Electricity

Description: Sakaki Yuto is able to produce a voltage up to 10,000 and a current of 0.25 amps. He can adjust his cells to change his electrical current so the salt water won't be able to conduct it. He can also counter paralysation by charging his own body up, tripling his speed and reflexes. However, that by no means equal to him being immune to a certain merman's poison. His tail length measures up to nearly ten foot long. Despite the name, he is not part of the eel family—he is a knifefish.

"Where is it?" Yuto asked his tail slowly began to coil around the other creature. Despite the obvious fear, the octopus still tried to put up a tough front by scowling at the brothers. That gotten him negative responses from Yugo and Yuri who were already beyond irritated. Yuto lifted the creature up and grabbed his chin roughly, forcing him to meet the knifefish's eyes.

"I asked you a question."

The octopus spat at him, but the ravens merely waved the tip of his tail, using the water to push it off course.

"You son of a—!" Yugo growled, but before he could make a move, the octopus screamed as purple electricity flowed through his body.

When the sparks from the electricity vanished, the octopus was left convulsing but still fully capable of communicating. Yuto made sure of that.

"There is always a price to your deal." The raven narrowed his eyes before holding up the bottle of potion. "Where is the thing you stole from our brother, Roger?"

Jean Michel Roger

Age: Who cares?

Specie: Giant Octopus

Specialty: Omitted

Description: Not important

The mermaid, with her new pairs of legs, walked along the seaside. There, she met the prince, who was taking a stroll along the shore with his beloved dog. When the prince met the mermaid, he brought her back to his palace, charmed by her beauty but not knowing that she is the girl he has been seeking…

The girl wobbled unevenly as she grasped onto the edge of the table. Ruby eyes stared down, still amazed at the pair of alien limbs currently supporting her weight.

She took a step…then another. On the third step, her legs suddenly gave up. Her mouth opened, but there was no sound escaping her throat as she tumbled onto the ground, pulling the table along with her.

"Miss?!" The maids who had heard the commotion from outside the bedroom screamed when they ran in to find the poor girl squirming under the weight of the table. After many panicking and chaos, the table was removed and the girl was placed on the large, king sized bed given to her the day she arrived in the palace.

"My princess!" A voice cried, making the girl jump in surprise as a young man rushed into the luxurious bedroom with his three (lackeys) knights.

"His highness, prince Sawatari has arrived!" The knights announced, fluttering their hands in the air as the prince struck a pose.

Sawatari Shingo

Age: 20

Specie: Human

Specialty: Pulling out roses from the middle of nowhere.

Description: The entitled crown prince of the eastern kingdom.

"Oh, my fair princess! Are you alright?!" The prince asked, getting down onto his knee and presenting the girl with a crimson rose.

"…" The girl said nothing. She just eyed the rose, then to the prince. Her eyes kept darting between the two before she reached out with clear hesitation. The girl stretched out her hand slowly and carefully, as though afraid the rose would unexpectedly come to life and chew her hand off. When the rose was a mere centimeter away, she wrapped her fingers around the stem and brought it close to her immature chest.

Bright eyes stared down at the rose with a look of awe and wonder. Forgetting the audience, the girl dipped her head, taking a whiff of the enchanting scent. When a smile blossom over her face, the prince stumbled back, falling into his knights' waiting hands as blood gushed from his nose.

"Prince Sawatari!" The knights cried, but the prince raised a hand to silence them.

"That smile!" The prince declared as he jumped onto his feet with the back of his hand on his forehead. "I know that smile anywhere! It's the smile of love! You!"

He snapped his fingers before pointing to the green haired knight who immediately bowed.

"I've decided! Our wedding will be pushed to tomorrow! Resend all those invitations and tell them to finish the preparation by tomorrow noon! Our wedding will be on papa's new ship!"

As the group of men celebrated, girl just continued to admire the flower, oblivious to everything else around her. She caressed the firm stem and stroked the fluffy petal, enjoying the smooth texture until her hand was abruptly grabbed.

With a soundless cry of surprise, she looked up to the prince who placed a kiss on the back of her hand.

"My princess, I swear that I will make you happy. What ring would you like me to put on your finger? Diamond or gold?"

At the bright, happy smile and the shake of the girl's head at the first suggestion, the prince snapped his finger again as one of his knights brought out a tiny case. When it popped open, it revealed a golden supporting a large diamond at the center.

"Diamond for you, my darling." The prince smirked. However, the smugness on his face didn't last long as he suddenly realized a horrible fact he had overlooked. "That's right! I've never gotten your name, my princess! We need to engrave it onto the ring—and the vows! We need your name to make the vows!"

The girl tried to speak, but again, nothing came out. She reached over to the nightstand, grabbing the pen and notebook sitting there. She scribbled something on the page, but the moment she turned it over, the prince and his knight could only blink.

Instead of words on the piece of paper…it was a music score. Or at least, the musical notes often seen in a music score.

"Prince…I think the lady wants music…?" One of the knights whispered loudly, only to receive a hard smack over the head.

"Of course I know that!" Sawatari hissed before turning his charming smile back on and snapped his fingers. "Music!"

From out of nowhere, music began playing, startling the girl as she jumped back and frantically looked around, trying to find the source.

"So my lady, your name…" The prince trailed off, hoping to get some response when the paper was shoved in front of his face again. "Umm…can you give me some sort of hint?"

The nameless girl only looked at him, then to the rose in her hand before she began waving it.

"Rose?" Sawatari guessed, but was quickly shot down by a shake of the girl's head. The group exchanged confused looks as the girl kept waving the flower around.

"Leaf?"

"Stem!"

"Pollen?"

"Red!"

"I got it! It's Petal!"

The guessing game lasted a full hour—to the point where the girl had long given up, lying face down on the bed with the flower dangling from her limp fingers. The prince and his knights had exhausted every flower terms they could think off. They tried calling the word "rose" in various other languages and even dived into flower language through the help of an encyclopaedia, trying to get just the slightest hint of the girl's name.

In the end, the only clue they managed to get as the word "you".

It happened when the prince barked at his knights for being so useless in helping him find the name of his true love. The girl had crawled up right then, throwing around her arms until the prince repeated that word over and over.

"You…Is there even a name like that?" The brown haired knight muttered as his green haired companion shrugged.

"Maybe it's Yuu?"

"Hey, I've been thinking about this, but could it be that the rose meant…the garden?"

"Hah? Garden?" The crowned prince shorted. "What kind of name is—Wah!"

Sawatari fell back when the girl had unexpectedly shot up, looking at them with hope reigniting in her crimson eyes.

"Garden?" Sawatari blinked at the nod he was receiving. "Your name is Garden?"

Shake.

"Your highness, I think she wants to go to the garden!" The ponytailed knight whispered as the prince clapped his hand loudly.

"The garden!" Sawatari exclaimed. "I see, so you want to go to the garden!"

Blood rushed to the prince's cheeks warmed at the gorgeous smile directed at him. That face alone was more than enough answer as the prince extended a hand towards the beauty.

"Take my hand, my fair princess. I shall lead you to this world's most beautiful garden!"

The girl tilted her head in confusion, strands of forest green and pomegranate hair falling over to frame her heart-shaped face. That caused the prince to let out another wave of nosebleed at the impossibly cute and divine gesture.

After a moment, she finally took the offered hand. With a pull, the prince brought the girl right up against his chest with his arms wrapped around the other's slender frame. He took a moment to breath in the refreshing scent of the sea and marvelled the softness under his hand. Strangely, the girl's lack of figure excited him more than any busty women he had ever seen. Hooking an arm under the girl's knees, he pulled flipped her around. The girl's light yellow sundress fluttered, sliding up her smooth legs as the prince carried her in bridal style.

"My prince!" The maid that had been standing by the other side of the bed gapped. "You shouldn't—"

"The lady can't walk." Sawatari shook his bang out of his face as sparkles flashed around him. His knights let out whistled and catcalls in the background. "As a gentleman, it is my duty to aid her."

The maid stood there, looking absolutely flabbergasted as the group walked away. The moment they stepped into the hallway and the door closed behind them, the girl felt something wet dripping onto her bare shoulder.

She looked down at the droplet rolling down her milk white skin—then glide her eyes up to discover sweats pouring down the prince's face like waterfall. Sawatari's cool gray eyes were unfocused; his teeth constantly grinding together with his limbs shaking horribly with each half-step he takes.

It took forty minutes for them to finally arrived at the garden.

By the time they arrived, the maid from the girl's room was already waiting for them with tea and dessert long readied. The prince slumped into the chair, completely out of breath with his knights surrounded him, one holding an umbrella over his head, another fanning him and the third handing over a cool glass of lemonade.

The girl (source of the prince's pain) was sitting in the flowerbed, smiling dazzlingly with a batch of lilies gathered in her arms. Some of the lilies' pollens smeared against her skin and dress, but the girl didn't even seem to notice as she embraced the flowers lovingly.

"You like those?" The prince asked, walking up to the girl as he flipped his hair all while trying to hide the small trembles his legs were still giving.

The girl looks up at older boy before nodding happily.

She was truly beautiful. Drawn to that blinding beauty, the prince didn't even realize that he was leaning closer and closer. At some point, he had closed his eyes, not seeing the way those ruby eyes widened as he puckered his lips. His heart pounded heavily before he pushed forward.

Instead of meeting those soft, tantalizing lips he dreamt of every night after the shipwreck he was met with a face full of lilies.

"Puawh!" He spat, dusting away some of the pollens before looking down at the maiden looking at him weirdly.

Then, something finally clicked in his mind.

The pronunciation of you (yu)—the garden—lilies…the clues finally pieced themselves together. This was what his love had been trying to tell him all this time!

"Yuri…"

Crimson eyes snapped up in surprise at the name that slipped from the boy's mouth.

"Those flowers…they're called yuri."

When he saw the way the girl's face warmed, he knew he was right.

Yuri—it was truly a name fitting for such gorgeous being.

oOo

"Achoo!"

The purple haired male sneezed while his other two companions shivered at the sudden chill crawling down their spines.

"Damn, why is it so cold?!" Yugo's teeth clattered as he rubbed at his wet skin until they gradually turned red.

"Human are more sensitive to temperature change." The raven responded when a crack of a branch alarmed the three naked males. In a blink of an eye, they were gone, hidden from view as a noise in the distance gradually grew closer and closer. Soon, a crowd of teenage thugs could be seen, walking down the beach in black leathers and heavy chains jingling with each step.

"Serve him right!" The one with Mohawk laughed as he slapped his friend over the back. "Did you guys see the look on his face?!"

"Man, to think a wimp like that thought he could steal the boss's woman!"

"I should have thrown in a couple more punches!"

The group laughed as they walked around a large rock, unaware of the eyes watching them from the shadow.

"Speaking of woman, you guys heard?" The shortest member of the gang grunted. "Seems like that spoiled brat of a prince has moved the wedding to tomorrow. The massagers are putting notices all around the town."

"Heard? Those bastards nailed a poster of it to my fucking door!" Another shouted as he pulled out the said poster from his pocket and waved it at his friends. "Can you believe that?!"

"Is it about that stupid goddess who fell out of the sky again?"

"I'm pretty sure it was a princess washed onto the beach."

"Pfft…I got friend who work as a guard and he says she's just a cripple. Can't walk or talk, but she does have a cute face."

"No voice and can't move her legs huh?" The largest male and leader of the group chuckled darkly and licked his lips. "I can dig that."

"Wooh! You go, Gen-san! You're the man!"

Ankokuji Gen

Age: 25

Specie: Human

Specialty: Strength

Description: Leader of the fearsome Barbarian gang and the disciple of the underground boss, Strong Ishijima. He prides himself in his strength and shows absolutely no mercy be it children, women or elderly. Will be beaten an inch to his life after description ends.

"Y-you…" Ankokuji glared at the men standing over him, but swelling over his face made it hard for his face to be seen let alone eyes. "Do…do you know w-who I am?!"

"This is too big, pass that one for me would ya?"

"Take their money as well. We will need their currency."

"Hey, wash them in the water first. Who knows what kind of germs these moron carries."

"I…" Ankokuji continued despite his attackers obviously not paying any attention to him. "I am the disciple of…S-Stro—…Ishikima! H-he won't forgive—URK!!"

A booted foot stomped down onto his face. With a twist of the heel, the shattering sounds of bones matched with a blood curling cry, Ankokuji fainted. The leader of the once fearsome, undefeated gang lay there motionlessly like the rest of his friends with the white of his eyes bathing in the sunlight and blood gushing from his deformed mouth.

"I need a new one." Yuri said offhandedly, kicking off the blood stained boot as Yuto handed him over another pair he just finished cleaning with the sea water.

"Damn it! It broke again!" Yugo snarled as he threw away the ripped pants. "Why do human even bother with these?"

"Stop complaining and put them on." Yuto said as he tossed over another pair of pants. "We don't have time."

Growls rumbled from the triplet's throats as they glared at the wrinkled poster announcing the marriage of the crown prince.

oOo

The second day on the surface ended with the mermaid princess and prince narrowly missing the kiss. Angered by how close her plan was going to be ruined, the witch decided to take matters into her own hand. She disguised herself into a beautiful maiden and with the voice of the mermaid princess, she appeared before the prince and bewitched him into believing that she was the girl he fell in love with.

"Hmm…wait for me…my princess…!" The prince giggled as drools leaked out from his open mouth. "My love…wait…!"

He hugged his pillow tightly, rolling around his bed before fell off the edge, hitting his head painfully on the cold stone tile as he jerked awake.

"Princess?" He looked around the darkness before letting out a frustrated grunt upon finding out that it was all but a dream.

"Princess huh?" A deep voice jeered, making the prince jump into the air with a (manly) shriek.

He held out his pillow like a shield as he stared at the three silhouettes standing by the open window.

"W-who are you?! Intruder! Intruder!" He screamed like a parrot, frantically looking around for any sigh of his knights coming to his rescue.

"Don't bother. Your lapdogs are napping away."

Crawling until his back hit his bed, he watched in horror as the intruders began advancing towards him.

"I-I don't know who you are, but my papa has money! I-if you don't hurt me, he'll give you as much as you want!"

"How pathetic." The figure to the right hissed. "To think someone like you dare even think about laying hands on our Yuya…"

"W-what are you talking about?" The prince stuttered as the moon slowly peeked out from behind the clouds. When silver strands of light shone through the window, Sawatari's jaw fell at the three handsome men standing before him in skin-tight leather.

"Princess…?" He whispered, staring at the faces identical to his fiancée. It was a dream—it has to be. This must be the continuation of the dream he had running through the flower field with the lovely maiden.

"Yuri, my darling!" He shouted, throwing away the pillow as he pounced, arms spread wide open as tears of happiness (and snots) flew from his face. With his vision blurred by the tears of joy, he did not see the way two of the intruders' faces twisted in a mixture of dismay, revulsion and utter disbelief.

The last one morphed into something less human. Shadows fell over the mulberry purple irises that were dilated with the promise of death. They narrowed into sharp glares the man's lips stretched out into a sneer.

"Hah?"

oOo

When the little mermaid found out her prince will be married to the disguised witch, she cries silently and could only watch from her room as the wedding barge departs…

He was going to cry.

He hadn't thought the plan through when he signed the contract in exchange for a pair of legs.

Sakaki Yuya sighed as he flopped onto the bed, wondering what to do now.

Sakaki Yuya

Age: 18

Specie: ?

Specialty: ?

Description: Very much male

He didn't think the loss of his voice would have made that much difference. Even if he couldn't speak, he thought he could write. Although Roger had granted him the ability to understand human speech, he apparently didn't give him the knowledge that allows him to write their language. Yuya also didn't take into consideration that walking would be so hard. His body felt extremely heavy…there was no way these stick-like limbs could carry his weight like that!

Now, he was stuck with no way out and no way to convey to the human what he wants.

Then again, even if he can speak, he doubted they could communicate. If there was one thing Yuya learnt, it was that human are weird. They were like nothing he learnt in school! Half of the time he has no idea what they are doing…and when he does, they were sprouting nonsenses…

Like calling him maiden, lady and princess…he couldn't understand. Never mind being a princess, he wasn't even a prince! Royalties doesn't exist in the sea. The merpeople had long abolished the monarchy. The fact that human still allow royalties to control the country was a mystery itself.

So really, he had no idea why the prince thought of him as a princess. And if the human gender terms are opposite than the merpeople's, why are the maids women and the prince a guy? And what exactly is the prince? The moment they met on the shore after Yuya took the transformation potion, nothing he said ever makes any sense. He even started calling him Yuri for the latter half of the day despite how hard Yuya tried to get him to stop. It made Goose bumps crawl over his skin just thinking about it.

He wanted to go home.

Even though Roger said his legs will turn back at the contact with the sea water, when will he get that kind of chance? Without the ability to properly use these legs or any ways to communicate, how would he get back into the ocean?

He didn't think it would take this long. He thought it would be quick and wanted it to be a surprise, so he left without saying anything to his brothers. He wondered how they are right now…they must be worried sick…angry even. He had never left their side this long before. He missed them so much that it hurts.

The only comfort he has was the fact that he got the diamond—or will be getting it. Once he brings the diamond to Roger, the price for the legs will be paid and he'll be able to get his voice back…but again, who knows when that will be.

Yuya mouthed the names of his loved ones as the tears finally gotten too heavy and rolled down his cheeks. He clutched onto the bouquet of flowers he had picked this morning, inhaling their calming scent before he decided to get some sleep. Perhaps he'll be able to figure out what to do later…

"URAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

A scream suddenly shook the entire palace, causing Yuya to jump in surprise as his flowers scattered into the air. The boy crawled up, looking around before hearing noises on the other side of the door. He could hear the shouts of men and women…along with countless footsteps no doubt rushing towards the source of that cry.

It took a moment before Yuya figured out why that voice sounded so familiar. It was the human prince. Something had happened to him. The boy wanted to go too, concerned for his host, but he doubted he could even reach the door.

"Looks like the little princess can't sleep." A honeyed voice drawled, causing Yuya to freeze up. Unlike with Sawatari, he recognized this voice immediately. He turned, eyes wide in surprise to find three males standing behind him.

He stared…then blinked a couple of times to make sure he wasn't seeing things. He pinched himself for good measure.

"Need big brothers to help you?" Yuri smirked, arms crossed over his chest as he looked down at the boy.

"Yuya!" Yugo wailed. Large droplet of tears rolled down his face as he constantly used the back of his hands to wipe off.

"Are you alright, Yuya?" Yuto asked smoothly with a warm smile.

That was all it took as Yuya used all his strength to throw himself up, wrapping his arms around all three of him as he cried.

His lips kept moving to form words, but without a voice, all that left was sniffles and coughs. He didn't know how long they stayed like that, but the reunion was ruined when one of his brothers noticed a very fine detail on him…

"Yuya, what are you wearing?"

Yuya pulled away and startled at the murderous expressions on all three of his brothers. He followed their line of sight and found himself looking at the clothe he was given to wear.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Yugo exploded as his hands rolled into fists. "That perverted imp! I'll go and—!"

"Yugo." Yuto grabbed the blunet by the shoulder before he could storm off.

"Let go! That guy—he—Yuya!"

"I know, Yugo, but right now isn't the time." Yuto said firmly despite the tightness in his own jaw as he clenched his teeth.

Yuri didn't say anything, but his silence was frightening enough as the man stared at his brother's dress before his eyes narrowed with a light hum slipping through his lips.

During their argument, Yuya noticed a very different detail as he stared at his brothers with rounded eyes.

His brothers are here.

His merman brothers are here—on dry land.

The boy hastily looked down. Just like he thought, his brothers all had legs instead of tails—legs that they are somehow able to utilize perfectly. They aren't even shaking unlike Yuya's whenever he tried to shift his weight on them.

"We went to Roger." Yuto explained at the confusion on the youngest's face.

Yuya looked up at them in surprise before his eyes roamed. They made a deal with Roger…then they had to lose something! Obviously they still maintained their voice…their eyes are fine and Yuya doubt they're death.

Then, what did Roger take?

"That bastard didn't take anything." Yugo said. At Yuya's stunned look, the blunet scowled. "What? Did you think we wouldn't understand you, Yuya?"

Yuya blushed and shook his head. He had gotten so used to people not understanding him these past days that he had forgotten these men are his brothers—his family that loved and nurtured him. Ruby eyes slowly drifted back to their legs. If Roger didn't take anything, then how they did get their legs?

"So, Yuya." Yuri spoke as Yuya turned to see the purple haired male picking out dirt from under his nail—no…not dirt…is that dried blood? "We heard some very interesting news—that a certain little brother of ours fell in love with a human and went to the surface to marry him…"

Yuya choked on his saliva. His mouth felt open and close like a fish out of water as he noticed the hard looks passing over each of their eyes. He mouthed a loud 'what?'

"Did you know that this entire town is celebrating for tomorrow's wedding to you and prince…" Yugo trailed off as he turned to his siblings. "What's his name again?"

"Hell I know." Yuri growled, looking strangely murderous for a second there.

"Sawatari." Yuto sighed before looking down at the flabbergasted look on their youngest brother. "Yuya, explain?"

The boy shook his head in panic, and reached out to grasp Yuto's hands; desperately trying to tell them that there was no way he'd fall in love with anyone else.

"I know, Yuya." Yuto leaned down and squeezed back his hand reassuringly. "You wouldn't love anyone else. But we need to know why you made a deal with Roger and come to the surface?"

"Yeah, you know what a sleazebag he is!" Yugo snarled at the mere thought of the octopus.

"Even though we warned you countless times to stay away from him…" Yuri hummed, as the boy flinched. Those words apparently struck him the hardest.

Yuya hesitated before he let go of Yuto's hands. He gathered some of the flowers on his bed before holding them up to the triplets.

The brothers exchanged swift glances to one another before they each took a batch.

"Land flowers?" Yugo's eyes flickered from the flower to their youngest.

"You came to the surface to get these for us?" Yuto asked as he slowly placed a hand to his brother's soft cheek that was still moist from tears. Yuya leaned into the touch and nodded into the hand.

"Land flowers are human's way to express love." Yuri spoke as he plucked off a petal. "That ship that sank a couple weeks back was holding a royal wedding and was decorated with surface flowers. You saw it and wanted to give them to us."

It wasn't a question. It was a statement—a statement that brought a blush to the boy's cheek as he looked down shyly.

"Yuya…" Yugo's eyes shone before he tackled the other onto the bed in a firm hug. "I love you too, Yuya!"

Yuto chuckled at the sight. He looked down at the flowers in his hand before back to meet those gorgeous red eyes. "Thank you, Yuya. I love you."

Yuya blushed when Yuto leaned over them and kissed him right on the forehead. When the raven pulled back, Yuya could see Yuri, looking down at them impassively.

A silence hung in the air as they all waited for Yuri to speak. However, the purple haired male just twirled the stem of a pink rose between his fingers, paying no attention to the rest of them.

"Hey, Yuri." Yugo untangled himself from the boy and shot the other merman a warning glare.

"What?" Yuri snapped, the rose stilled in his hand as his eyes narrowed at the pair on the bed. Yuya instantly shifted behind Yugo's frame in poor attempt to hide.

"Yuri." Yuto sighed, but said no more. After all, they all knew what Yuri was thinking and the other has every right to be upset no matter what Yuya's reasons are.

"Making a trade with Roger…coming onto the surface." Yuri looked back down to the rose in his hand. "I don't think I need to tell you how stupid that is."

Yuya looked down, unable to argue with that. He didn't think—no…he hadn't thought at all.

"Come on Yuri." Yugo tried to speak for their youngest brother. "Yuya was just trying to—"

"Make us happy?" Yuri retorted. "From what I can see, he can't use those legs, can you Yuya?"

Yuya flinched before he sank further into the mattress.

"You're lucky that prince is a moron. Do you have any idea what kind of danger you could be in? No, you don't. You didn't think." Yuri sneered, not even giving the boy the chance to respond. "And Roger—he never intended to keep his deal—"

Yuri paused at the small motion Yuya made.

"Diamond?" He snorted. "That third-rate tentacle never expects you to get something like that. You don't even know what that is, do you? And even if you did, did he mention how big the diamond needed to be?"

The teen stilled at that, having never thought about it.

"He never intended to give you back your voice."

Yuya looked up in shock. Not giving him back his voice? But…why? What could Roger gain with his voice?

"Yuya." Yuto breathed as he sat down onto the bed and slowly pulled the boy onto his lap. The raven promptly ignored the way the boy's dress rolled up, revealing his milk white thighs. Apparently, he wasn't the only one to notice, but they all bit down their bloodlust. The moronic prince will come later. "You know that songs are everything to our kind."

Yuya nodded slowly, nuzzling into Yuto's neck and letting the raven rest his chin over his head.

"But not all of them are blessed with a good voice. Many have to do with genes, but there are some whose voices are born poorer than others and some even mute. Those creatures would do anything just to get a beautiful voice—especially a voice like yours."

Yyua's blood ran cold as he began to see where this was going.

"Roger was going to sell your voice in the underground market."

The underground market…Yuya shivered at the mere thought. It was the name that every child was taught to fear—a dark market located within the deep canyons where light doesn't exist. They sell everything from information, body parts to slaves. It was a famous illegal trading ring that Lancers—a special government organization created by the seven sea alliance—have been after. However, no matter how many times it had been shut down, but it just kept reviving. Even now, their market exist somewhere…and Roger was part of that.

I'm sorry—Yuya mouthed as tears began to spill from his eyes. He knew what it meant now…he had lost his voice permanently.

He couldn't believe how stupid he was. He should have listened to his brother to stay away from the octopus, but he was being naïve. He hadn't thought Roger was this bad. He had always thought the octopus was exiled because he had scammed people of their money—that was what the news had said. Now he knew the truth, but the cost was just too much.

"H-hey! D-don't cry Yuya!" Yugo gasped as he leaned over Yuto to rub his hands up and down his back. "Your voice is fine! We got it back from that bastard!"

The tears stopped as ruby eyes snapped to Yugo in shock.

"Yeah, we got it back—the contract?" Yugo read the question in that tearful gaze. "It's gone, Yuto zapped it into ashes. There's no contract anymore. Yuri have your—"

Yugo trailed off, his voice cracking as he snapped his head around to met Yuto's equally wide gaze.

Yuya swallowed hard, dread worse than when he thought Roger had sold his voice beginning to suffocate him. Very slowly, the three turned, looking over to Yuri who had adopted a dark smile as he sniffed the rose.

"Yeah, I have it."

If possible, that smiled turned even more sinister.

With the help of her animal and fish friends, the magic spell the witch has over the prince was broken. Realizing who the real mermaid princess is, the prince tried to kiss her, but was too late as the sun sets. The little mermaid transformed back into her true form and the witch kidnapped her, dragging her back into the sea…

Rest of the content are 18+ and therefore cut from the story.

To read the rest, please go to my tumblr written on my profile.