Me: Hello minna! ^^ First of all, this will be yaoi, so if you don't like that, don't read this. It's also my first yaoi-fic ever, so maybe it's crappy as I-don't-know-what, but I don't care. Second, this is gonna be a RanTaku-
Kirino and Shindou: Say what now?!
Me: A RanTaku story. You know, Ranmaru... Takuto... Pairing...
Kirino and Shindou: *looks at each other, then back at me* EHH?
Tsurugi: Well, good luck you guys *snickers evilly*.
Me: And I'm planning for some KyouTen as well.
Tsurugi: Say what now?!
Me: Ugh, you guys should read more fanfictions about yourselves. This entire site is full of pairings like these.
Kirino, Tsurugi and Shindou: We know what it means... It's just *looks at each other, blushes*
Me: No more objections? Great. But before we start I want to say something else. Neru Vearin, the start of this fanfic was inspired by your (awesome) story 'Kirino's Tail' (seriously, if anyone hasn't read that one yet, go check it out. It's awesome). After reading that, this story came in my head and after lots of doubts, I decided to write it down. There may be some similar things in this story (like Kirino being a merman)-
Kirino: WHAT?!
Me: a merman. Now shush, I am talking. Anyways, I have tried to create as much differences between our stories as possible and I think it worked out pretty well. It's quite different from yours, especially further in the story. However, if you feel like I've been copying your story, please PM me about it or leave a review, then I'll rewrite this thing. Deal? Great! Okay now, Kirino-kun, please do the disclaimer.
Kirino: I can't believe you made me a mermaid.
Me: A merman. Now do the disclaimer or I'll come up with something even worse.
Kirino: *eyes widen* Att-chan doesn't own the Inazuma Eleven/Go/Chrono Stone/Galaxy series, nor it's characters. *mutters* But apparently, she does have the right to change their species and love interests. *grumbles*
Me: Enjoy minna! ^^
Kirino Ranmaru, prince of the merfolk in the Sea of Japan, grumbled silently. He was seated left from his father and the other seat was taken by his father's main adviser. The three of them were listening to the presentation of one of the councillors, who was trying his best to convince his superiors. Of course, there was no way that Kirino would get a moment rest.
Not. Ever.
He sighed for the tenth time this morning and tried to focus on the meeting. His father, the king, noticed his stance and sent him a stern look. Kirino knew what that look meant: Pay attention, boy, this is important. One day you'll be king and I want you to protect your subjects at all costs and blah blah blah... Kirino heard that speech thousands of times and he knew it by heart. He knew that he had to protect the merfolk in times of danger, he knew that he was gonna be a king one day... He just didn't see how discussing all morning whether the taxes should be raised by 0,03% or not could help the kingdom to get better.
Yes, it was a meeting about the taxes... Again. It was boring, time-consuming and - according to Kirino - absolutely pointless. While Kirino would much rather train with his sword or patrol along the borders, his father forced him to attend meetings like this one. Kirino admitted, training and patrolling were boring tasks too, but at least they served a goal.
He didn't like the old mermen in this room either. They always looked down on soldiers and Kirino knew that they only accepted him as their equal because he would be their ruler one day and when that day came, they wouldn't want to look bad for ignoring him in the past. It was the exact opposite for Kirino actually. He admired the soldiers and knights for their bravery and courage. After all, every time the kingdom got attacked or there was another catastrophe, the knights and soldiers would dive in to protect the people while the councillors would hide underneath their tables like the cowards they were.
The councillor had finished his presentation and the king bent over to his right to discuss with his advisor. Kirino just stared blankly ahead. The king wanted to hear Kirino's opinion as well, but he refrained from asking when he saw the distant look on his son's face. He sighed and turned to the councillor again, informing him that he would considder the proposed tax raise. The councillor bowed, thanked his lord adulatory and left the room.
"Ranmaru," the king sighed, and Kirino turned his gaze towards his father. "You should really pay more attention to meetings like these. It's important and one day you'll-"
"Yes, I know, father," Kirino sighed. Interrupting the king was considered a crime, but the king ignored it for today, as it was his own son that did the deed. "I know that I am to be king and that I have to protect the merfolk, but that's exactly why I wonder why I am here. How in the name of Poseidon can discussing about tax raises help me protect my kingdom, rather than practicing? Or patrolling? Or investigating?" The young merman let out a frustrated sigh as he sank deeper into his chair.
The king's eyes softened at the sight and he remembered how he was when he was younger. "You are really into your investigation, aren't you?" he laughed. A month or so ago, he had assigned Ranmaru with a test. The young prince had to learn more about the species that lived around them and the king thought that it would be a good idea to let the boy investigate on his own. Ranmaru was an eager merman when it came to new knowledge and he had happily agreed. He chose a subject - and a challenging one at that - and studied even in his spare time. "Well then, you are dismissed. Are you going to the surface again?"
"I am going to study the doubletailers again, yes indeed," Kirino replied as he swam towards the door.
"Remember, don't talk to them," the king smiled softly. "You know what they say, doubletailers hav-"
"Yes yes, I know, father," Kirino sighed, interrupting his father once more and thus commiting another crime without realising it. "I'm not a child anymore. "Doubletailers have silver tongues that lure you into their webs of lies." Don't worry, I won't talk to them. I won't even show myself, or else I might influence my investigation."
"Alright then, take care," his father smiled, but Kirino was already gone. He went to his room and prepared himself for the journey. It would take just a few hours to get there, but it was worth it. Kirino found the doubletailers utmost interesting and liked to study them up close. At first, he had read every scroll about his subject in the local library (it once was only for royals, but his father's father had decided that the knowledge should be for every merman and -maid). However, there wasn't much known about the doubletailers that Kirino was investigating, so the young prince often went to the surface to study them up close. They looked a lot like merfolk, but they had two strange tails - hence the name that the merfolk gave to that species. The doubletailers didn't live in the water: they moved around on land while using both tails to support themselves. It was very interesting to see.
Kirino swam towards the surface and reached his destination within two hours. He hid behind a few rocks and prepared himself to raise his head above the water. That was the only thing Kirino hated about studying the doubletailers: he had to go above the water. It was not really a big problem, just an annoying detail. The thing was, merfolk could survive both underwater and on the surface, since they possessed two respiratory systems.
Since most of them never came to the surface, only one system was used: they breathed in water, which left their bodies via small openings in their necks, the gills. Though before it left their body, their respiratory system would take in the oxygen from the water. However, merfolk also had lungs that could assimilate large amounts of oxygen from the air. Merfolk that went up to the surface really often 'trained' their second respiratory system and had no trouble with switching between them. Kirino however had not often been there and his lungs weren't very experienced yet. Conclusion: every time he went to the surface, he felt like he was choking and often coughed until his throat was sore. But it was worth it.
Still hidden behind the rocks, Kirino raised himself and as expected, he started to cough immediately. He covered his mouth with his hands in order to muffle the sound. He had the feeling that it stopped sooner than usual, meaning that his lungs finally adjusted to breathing. When his breathing was normal again, he peeked around the rock to find doubletailers to study. But unfortunately, the beach he was looking at was deserted. His heart sunk a bit.
This couldn't be true, could it? Had he really swum for two hours to find a deserted beach? He checked it again, hoping that he was mistaken and would see one or two doubletailers. It was pointless: he was really the only living being around there. He sighed and turned around, about to return home again, when he saw something from the corner of his eye.
A movement. He stared at the place where he thought to see it, but he saw nothing. Then he remembered one of his lessons from the captain of the royal guard (all royal mermen had to take on at least two years of battle school before they were allowed to rule the kingdom). The captain of the guards was a true genius when it came to tactics for spotting hidden enemies. Don't stare at one point for too long, the merman had said, sometimes, the enemy wants you to look at one point so that he can surprise you. Scan your entire setting. That way, you have a greater chance of spotting movements.
Kirino nodded to himself and let his eyes float around the entire beach, the forest behind it, the cliff, the... Wait a minute! The cliff! If he squinted his eyes, he could see a careful movement. Something or someone was climbing down the cliff. It was clear that that someone didn't want to be spotted: he or she wore clothes in the same dark grey colour as the rock.
Kirino hesitated for a bit, but then he decided to discover what or who was climbing there. He sank into the water and swam towards the cliff as fast as possible, making sure that he swam deep enough so that whatever was up there wouldn't notice him. When he reached the foot of the cliff and looked up after hiding behind some rocks, he found that he couldn't see it anymore. Was it gone? Where did it go to?
His thoughts got interrupted when a second thing went down the cliff. At a certain height, this one disappeared as well. Kirino frowned. The creature seemed to become one with the cliff. And it was even harder to figure it out when they wore those clothes. He growled silently and swam backwards, his eyes not leaving the cliff for a second. There came a third creature climbing down. From this point, Kirino could see how small the thing was and that it used a rope do get down. Suddenly the creature stopped. Kirino saw that he was standing on a ledge before he disappeared.
His mind quickly figured out what it meant: it was a cave. The cliff was hollow - at least up to a certain point - and there was a cave inside. You could enter that through the small ledge. Now he was really curious, but there was no way that he would be able to get up there... He growled underwater. His curiosity was killing him.
Then he got an idea. Maybe, just maybe, there was an underwater passage to the cave in the cliff. The chances were slim and Kirino knew that, but he decided to take a look anyways. After all, there were no doubletailers around that he could study and if he returned home early, his father might drag him into another tax-related meeting. He shuddered at the thought and dived deeper, looking for a small opening in the rock.
And he found one, coincidentally. He had swum past it several times, but he only spotted it when he was about to give up. It was a shallow opening, but he managed to squeeze himself through it. After the first few feet, the tunnel he was swimming throug slowly got wider, until it was so wide that he was able to turn around. He smiled to himself. If this turns out to be a dead end, I can always turn around, he thought. But it wasn't a dead end.
The tunnel ended in a small but deep lake, maybe sixteen feet in diameter at the surface and over 150 feet deep. Kirino could clearly hear soft voices, but the sound was deformed by the water, so he couldn't understand the words. A movement above him drew his attention and when he looked at it, he got the shock of his life. A merman's eyes were adjusted to dark surroundings and Kirino had no problem with making out the silhouette that was visible from here. It was probably one of the creatures he saw before, but Kirino was shocked when he recognised what the creature was.
A doubletailer.
So yeah, that's the first chapter of The Final Battle. Please leave a review with what you thought about it. Please note, Kirino is a merman and has only been to the surface for a few times. There are some things from the human world that he doesn't know yet. Like that humans call themselves 'humans' and not 'doubletailers'. I think that that was quite obvious, but I still like to point it out.
Kirino and Shindou: Well, not much happened between us in here... thank goodness.
Me: Don't worry, I'll start with that as soon as possible. And further in the story, there will also be some KyouTen, although I mainly focus on RanTaku. Bye!