The Hyoutei Adventurers

(A/N; I just had a bad day; I've done this whole chap then something happened and I can't save it! There goes my work…cry baby cry!!! By the way, looks like I have to end the story fast since I have like a pile of homeworks and plans to do! Support me, onegai-shimasu!!!)

New Characters;

Mermaid; Marui

Leviathan; Akaya

Chapter 4; The Leviathan and The Mermaid.

'We are the sailors

Slicing through the sea

Not afraid of anything

Just call us and we'll set you free'

'Will you just shut up for a while?' asked a certain annoyed someone.

'A sailor got to be strong

For he is never wrong

And to win battles, fighting enemies,

You can always count on me'

Off went a certain left boot from a certain annoyed someone.

'WILL YOU JUTS SHUT UP?'

'We go through the storm

We only want victory

Even as hard it'll become

We will claim vic…

OUCH!!!'

'Serves you right,' muttered Hiyoshi.

'ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME WITH YOUR STINKING BOOT?!!!'

'ARE YOU TRYING TO TAKE MY JOB AS THE ENTERTAINER?'

'WHY DID YOU THROW THAT ROTTEN THING TO ME?!!!'

'WHY DO YOU KEEP ON SINGING SOME RANDOM SONG YOU MADE UP YOURSELF?!!!'

'ARE YOU JEALOUS OF MY GREAT VOICE?!!!'

'Looks like Shishido and Hiyoshi are engaged in a verbose fight, again,' said Lord Oshitari.

'What is it about, this time, ahhh?' asked Prince Atobe.

'Shishido's singing again,' replied Lord Oshitari.

'WHAT?!!!' yelled Prince Atobe in shock, accidentally spilling his specially brewed Lapsang Souchon by Ootori.

'That explains the weather then,' he added in a sotto voce. Yes, the weather is all the way too cloudy since the fight with the pirates which they manage to win because of Captain Jirou's awesome talent in battleship and they even manage to smuggle Ootori out too. Speaking of which…

'Where's my brother?'

Lord Oshitari gestured Kabaji to bring something covered with expensive looking ruby velvet. He then unveils the cover only to reveal the monkey-version of Prince Gakuto in a golden cage, pouting as if that act would get him out in there.

'Ootori!' called Prince Atobe. Ootori the Royal Cook then hurriedly emerged from the cabin holding a small pot with some bubbling thingy inside.

'Is the remedy ready?' asked Prince Atobe.

'Yes, Prince Atobe. This is it,' he said as he showed them the midnight-coloured liquid. Prince Atobe then gestured Kabaji to holds the monkey Prince Gakuto firmly. As the sight of the belladonna coloured bubbling thingy enters his eyes, Prince Gakuto made some gestures and sounds which all of them translate as 'What?!!! You're going to make me drink that?!! NO!!! It looks like…like…a monkey poison!!!

'Do you want to stay in the monkey form, forever, Gakuto?' asked Prince Atobe. Prince Gakuto shook his head vigorously. He sighed (can monkey sigh?) and took a good look of the bubbling liquid. 'This better works…'

As magical as it could be, there was a spark of lightning same and it goes round and round and round Prince Gakuto body, before it becomes a thick layer of smoked sparkles and then before they could even recover from the dizziness resulted from the circling thing, there stood before them a young, handsome (cute) prince Gakuto, smartly barged in what Royal prince should be in.

'Wow, this thing really works! And it tastes tasty, too! What is it that you've put into, Ootori?' asked the now-a-human prince.

'Prince Atobe gave me the Herbs of Healing and I've learnt this recipe to rebound spells from Captain Takashi once. Apart from the Herbs of Healing, I've put some cats' claws, rats' tail, spiders' legs, dried lizards' tongue, ravens' blood…'

Before our Royal Cook got to finish his elaboration, both our Princes (yes, Prince Gakuto and Prince Atobe) had gone finding any buckets to barf. Hiyoshi and Shishido were smarter as they just monitor them from a really, really high place; the apex of the prime mast. Kabaji is being emotionless as always while Lord Oshitari politely excused himself.

'There's a mermaid ahead! I repeat, mermaid ahead!!!' called Shishido from the observation deck. The sleepy Captain Jirou suddenly spring to live.

'Mermaid you say? Where's my monoscope…Ah! There you are monoscope-darling! Let me see…' said Captain Jirou as he adjust his monoscope a bit…

'You're right, there's a mermaid ahead! I can see her beautiful pink hair! Put off the sails! We're stopping!' he ordered.

So, hey came to a stop near these huge piles of rocks.

'Where's the mermaid?' asked Captain Jirou eagerly.

'I'm here, you blind,' said the mermaid, perfectly perched on the top of the rock (for she was the only one there).

'Wow, she's really a mermaid…' said almost everyone, excluding Kabaji because he's too reluctant to speak but we do know his heart says that, no? And by everyone, it does includes Prince Atobe only that he said this in a very low voice that no one can possibly hears that except if you have some supersonic hearing.

'Miss mermaid, what are you doing here?' asked Hiyoshi. The cheerful mermaid suddenly turns sad.

'Oh, it's my fate,' she said and began to cry.

'NO!!! Don't cry, Miss Mermaid! Tell us what happened,' said Captain Jirou.

'OK, if I tell you my story, would you all help me?' she asked with an irresistible pout and innocent, complete with the puppy-eyed thingy and all.

So, she began to tell the adventurers how she came from a very close-knitted family. Then, one day a bald man claimed that he's a Egyptian merchant (sounds familiar…) and he seeks for help. The mermaid felt pity on him so she agreed to follow him and help him. But then, in the middle of their journey, the mermaid accidentally heard that the Egyptian merchant wants to sell her to a circus in exchange of a Scarab! (Now, he's the Egyptian merchant, isn't he? So I figured out that he must be interested in something Egypt-like). And so, she decided to run away when she have the chance to escape and ended up here.

'That's my story,' she finished, blowing off her nose with some handkerchief that god knows from where suddenly decided to make appearance.

'So…sad!' exclaimed Ootori and he too, dabbed his eyes with his apron.

'Say, Miss Mermaid, where do you originally come from?' asked Hiyoshi.

'I came from the Island of Riqua,' she answered. Captain Jirou checked his TeniMap.

'Hey, the island is not that far from here!'

'If that's so then Miss Mermaid, why can't you just swim back to the island?' asked Lord Oshitari.

'Because, my over-the-top clever gentlemen, I can't swim'

'WHAT?!!!'

'But…you're a mermaid, so you must know how to swim!' said Shishido.

'Uhuh, I used to swim, but now, I just can't,' she answered.

'Ore-sama demands to know why the mermaid can't swim. Explain yourself,' said Prince Atobe.

'When I agreed to help the Egyptian merchant, he forbid me to swim in the sea and to restrain me from doing so, he casts a spell on me so that I can't swim.'

'But how do you manage to run away?' asked the confused Prince Gakuto.

'I managed to sneak some Riqua seaweed with me; it enables me to breathe in water. I also managed to take a piece of log. It helps me to float and eventually, I ended up here,' she explained.

'Oh, you're so brave!' said Captain Jirou but we know he means 'Oh, you're such a brave young girl! You're my heroine!'

'So, would you help me and brings me back to Island of Riqua?' she asked, again with those puppy-eyes thingy.

Before any of them could discuss or say anything a loud 'Of Course!' came from Captain Jirou' mouth. And so, they all just have to agree, it's too late to say 'NO' anyways, right?

'I can't believe it! I was stuck on the island with nothing to eat for 2 whole weeks!' the mermaid said as she sat at the farthest end of the deck, enjoying the sea breeze.

'Two whole weeks? Wow! You've must be really hungry!' said Prince Gakuto, with his mouth full because they were eating lunch.

'Well, she doesn't have a stomach that works like a black hole,' sneered Prince Atobe.

'Oni-san!'

And so, begin the battle of the Royal brothers; of food that is, don't worry. Lord Oshitari just sat there, enjoying his sappy novel while Hiyoshi played his harmonica to create some beautiful scenery. It was beautiful enough until Shishido scream kills them all.

'Leviathan! Leviathan ahead! Everyone, save yourselves!!!' he screamed on top of his lungs. Everyone was suddenly on their feet. True enough, the sea waves suddenly becomes rough. The ship was bobbling left and right. Everyone grabs hold at something, except Marui the Mermaid. Lord Oshitari grabs the barrel, Prince Gakuto clings to Prince Atobe while Prince Atobe clings to Kabaji as if Kabaji was his life-line. And Kabaji…he holds his treasured illuminating sword. Ootori was hugging his pots, lost in prayers. Only Hiyoshi and Shishido are sane enough to grab something more logical; the mast. Captain Jirou? He disappeared awhile ago into his cabin.

Slowly, the said leviathan emerged from water. On its head was a mess of seaweed forest, it had scaly green skin, the shape of a sea-dragon, with glowing red eyes, imitating the devils' eyes, enticing danger. It was way too huge, the size of…of…well, (what do leviathan sizes anyway?) Ok, let's just say, it's HUGE. Get what I mean?

Now, the seaweed-headed Leviathan opens his mouth and roared as loud as he could. It was too loud that our adventurers have risk of losing their hearing. While everyone else was drenched in fear, Marui the Mermaid stepped forward bravely. (How does she manage to step forward WITH FINS? JUST IMAGINE IT, Ok, people? I know you have good imagination here).

Marui the Mermaid held out her hands and surprisingly, the leviathan bowed before her. Everyone else was of course, shocked. Prince Atobe tried to regain his composure by asking, 'Ore-sama is a bit confused about this. Explain yourself'

But the Mermaid just shrugged his question off, because she does not hear him. She seems to be talking to the leviathan. Everyone watch in interest.

'Oh, you poor, poor thing! How many times do I have to tell you? Do not play in the Seaweed Bubblegum reef! Now look at what had happened to your hair!' she said.

'…leviathan has hair, Hiyoshi? I never knew that…' whispered Shishido to Hiyoshi.

'…me either…' came the reply.

'Ano…Miss Mermaid, its that…yours?' Ootori asked in a careful tone.

'Oh, I forgot to tell you! Everyone, meet my pet; Akaya! He's shy with new friends!'

'…that thing…is her pet?...' said Prince Gakuto.

'…since when do we become friend with her pet, anyways?'

'Ore-sama doesn't know, Ootori.'

'Everyone, I'm so grateful! Thank you for helping me! Now, Akaya-kun shall bring me back to my island!' she said in a very cheerful way. Before she leaves, she handles Captain Jirou a package wrapped in a purple wrapping which appeared from god knows where.

'I thought he was sleeping in the cabin!' said Hiyoshi.

After bidding her friends farewell, Marui the Mermaid got on top of Akaya the Seaweed-headed Leviathan seaweed bed head and they both went into the fog that was suddenly formed. When the fogs cleared up, they were nowhere to be seen.

'What an adventure we had today, eh?' said Shishido.

'For Princess Yukimura, ore-sama is willing to do anything. He is even willing to swim across the firing sea if he must!'

'…yeah, right…' said everyone.

'By the way, now that we've got Ootori, and Prince Gakuto is back to normal again, shouldn't we head back to Cavireletto?' asked Hiyoshi, finally making sense.

'Now that you've said it…' said Shishido.

'Alright, back to Princess Yukimura! Ore-sama demands us all go back to Cavireletto!'

'There's one problem…' said captain Jirou suddenly.

'What?' asked the crew.

'We're lost'

(A/N; I'm so sorry if this thing is boring you to death! Please forgive me! The next chapter is the last chapter. Please look forward for it. (0.0)…I'm turning into a leviathan myself..)