Lavi awoke to something poking his cheek. The red head, not wanting to escape sleep's warm embrace and going out into the cold, unforgiving world, tried to move away from the thing poking at his face and snuggled his head deeper into the fluffy feather filled pillow under it. The poking stopped, but that was soon was replaced by the warmth that was next to him slowly wriggling away.

So Lavi cracked his eye open to see Allen on the side of the bed, before falling forwards and landing with a thump. A sound of annoyance was followed shortly by the sound of Allen's rumbling stomach. Lavi moved closer to the side to see Allen face down on his floor, the fingers on his right hand tapped at the floor in annoyance. The Meralise then propped himself up with his arms and adjusted himself, with a bit of difficulty, to lead on the side of the bed.

"Hungry?" Lavi asked, head held up by his hand.

Startled, Allen looked up at the red head peering down at him. It took him a moment to realize that the human had asked him a question. He gave a delayed nod.

Lavi sat up and stretched, hearing his back pop back into place, and swung his legs over the side of the bed, careful to not hit the young Meralise.

"Well let's get you something to eat then." The red head spoke as he picked Allen up off the floor.

As the pair walked to the kitchen Lavi looked at the stitches along Allen's tail. They were closing abnormally quickly, as if they had been healing for days.

It would be best to keep the stitches in for a few more days though…

Lavi thought as he sat Allen in a chair before going to the fridge.

He opened the frigid container and held back a groan as he saw the few possible things to make a breakfast out of it-

Allen's stomach growled like a lion that had missed dinner for a weak.

-and a big one if possible.

Lavi moved a few things around in the fridge and came across two egg cartons. He opened them up and they were full of eggs, a dozen each.

Does Allen eat eggs?

Lavi turned around and asked the Meralise.

Allen's only response was his eyebrows going up his forehead and a look of surprise on his face.

What's with the face? I only asked if he ate eggs… Think Lavi, what do eggs mean to things that live underwater? Well they certainly don't have sea chickens down there so what else lays eggs down there…..Well he said Meralise had eggs so, he must think I mean-…Oh.

Lavi took a egg out of the carton and showed the silver finned boy.

"This is a chicken egg Allen. People up here eat them, there is nothing living inside these things, ok?" The red head tried to explain.

Allen tilted his head ever so slightly looking at the egg.

"How do you get them from these chic-kens?"

Lavi was silent for a moment, ransacking his brain for the answer.

I think I heard how a while ago, what was it again?

After a few moments it was like a light bulb went off in his head. But then went out again because he had to explain it to Allen, who was as naïve as a six year old. But most six year olds weren't ocean dwelling half human fish now were they?

"You know how babies are made in your species right Allen?" He asked. Allen explained how they were born but Lavi was unsure if Mana had given Allen the Meralise version of "The birds and the bees".

Allen shifted in his seat uncomfortably as crimson made its way across the bridge of his nose and cheeks.

"Yes…"

"Well it's when, that, doesn't work, the chicken still lays the egg and well, yeah."

Well that just spoiled my appetite for these things…

There was a long silence after that as Lavi practically threw the eggs back into the fridge and looked for something else that would fill Allen's monstrous appetite.

Slightly peeved that there was nothing in the fridge, and making a mental note to go grocery shopping, Lavi made his way the pantry. He searched around in there before his eyes settled on two large boxes of Cheerios. Grabbing the oversized yellow boxes h made his way back to the table, but not before nabbing two bowls, spoons and the gallon of milk.

Allen simply stared at the food being poured into the bowl before the white liquid was poured over the small circles. He took the spoon Lavi offered him and watched Lavi take the metal object, picked up some of the strange mix, and shove it in his mouth before chewing.

The white haired boy attempted to recreate the movements, spilling some of the milk and Cheerios back into the bowl, and chewed it slowly. It didn't really taste like much, the liquid was cold and the circles tasted like hardened bread, but he wasn't going to refuse eating it while his stomach was practically roaring for any type of food.

They ate in silence, Lavi re-filled Allen's bowl about six times, until they were both full.

Lavi broke the returning silence by stating,

"I remembered when I was little and I brought you pastries to your little cave last night."

He played with the few Cheerios in the pool of milk with his spoon.

Allen smiled slightly, his tail ever so slightly brushed against the floor.

"Memories coming back is a good thing, right?"

Lavi shrugged a little.

"Actually I didn't know that they were lost. It was just a part of my life I deemed too early for me to remember."

Allen made a small "o" with his mouth.

Trying to avoid hurting the Meralises feelings Lavi searched his mind for something to say to him.

"How did you get those wounds on your tail anyway Allen? They don't really look like anything a shark would make, they are too long."

The speed boat he had heard came to mind again, was Allen hit by it?

Allen sighed and leaned back gently in the chair so he would not aggravate the stitches on his back.

" After I left you and Fou at rocks, I went back to swimming around life water, then I saw a large black thing that was half in life water, half out. It was a boat, I do not like them because….bad things happen when they are around."

Lavi took into account the pause in Allen's voice, but did not inquire about it.

"So swam away, but then when Moon rise a smaller one found me. I tried to swim away from it but it stayed close to me, tried to get me by non-life water place, attacked with sharp barbs. Got away but got dizzy. Lucky I get found by Lavi, yes?"

Lavi nodded while his inner self was in turmoil with rational thought whether or not he should make some sort to comfort Allen.

Inner self won out.

Lavi moved from his seat across from Allen to bending forward slightly and wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"I'm sorry."

Lavi didn't know why or what he was apologizing, but it seemed like the thing to say.

But of course their little moment had to end at the vengeful wrath of a whack job old panda man.

Bookman seemed to fly as he kicked Lavi in the head, making it meet the table in a rather, uncomfortable manner.

"You are not allowed to show raw emotions as a Bookman, idiot!" Bookman scolded Lavi as the old man landed on his feet.

The exact opposite of how Lavi landed.

The Bookman Jr. slammed the palms of his hands on the table and wiped around to face the makeup wearing old man with a bruised nose that was bleeding and an even worse wounded ego, and for the first few sentences cursed off the older man in several different languages that Allen did not understand.

"Why must non-ocean dwellers use such different languages?"

Allen simple watched the yelling between the other two males like a crowd would watch a ping-pong match. And as of right now the old man was obviously winning.

"But why did you have to kick me into the damn table!"

"Well you wouldn't have hit the damn table if you weren't bending over like a hunchback!"

"That doesn't explain the reason for you kickin-"

Bookman walked away from the fuming red head and inspected Allen's tail.

"Oi! The hell! I wasn't done with you!"

"But I am with that conversation, so get your ass over here and you might learn something."

Lavi grumbled and gritted his teeth slightly to stop another sting of insults towards his mentor. He walked over to where the old man was next to Allen.

"What do you think you made these wounds?" The elder of the three in the room inquired.

Lavi shrugged, unable to think of anything on a speedboat that would cause these wounds.

"A propeller?"

"Wrong."

Smack

"Ow! You old coot -!" Lavi started holding the back of his head.

"Propeller wounds would be in the same direction, these are at random angles, and they are not as gapping as an actual propeller wound is. By the protection this mermaid has on its tail it would have chopped good chucks out of it." Bookman explained gesturing to the still healing wounds.

Both Lavi and Allen turned slightly white at the idea that Allen would have been turned to sushi if he was hit by a propeller.

"These are harpoon wounds, ones with long spears but not very serrated. Which is why they are mainly clean cuts, now why do you think this mermaid has harpoon marks around it?"

When did treating Allen turn into a lesson in aquatic fish wounds?

"Someone wanted to catch h-it?" Lavi bit his lip at calling Allen an "it".

"Maybe but there are other explanations to be considered, but that is the most likely one. Now get this back to the ocean."

Lavi bit harder on his lip to not show his surprise.

"Why? It would take more time for the wounds to heal fully."

Bookman ever so slightly glared at his apprentice.

"Yes, but it does not need to take the time in doing so in my house. Plus you have no idea when it needs to go back into the water, for all you know in a couple seconds it could be gasping for breath. So go deposit of it and get back here. There is work you need to be doing."

And with that he left.

Lavi's fingernails of his right hand bit into his palm as he clenched his fist.

"I go now, right Lavi?"

Lavi looked down and met eye to eye with Allen, who wore a strained smile like a sumo wrestler wears pantyhose.

Ew, bad mental picture. Very, very bad mental picture.

Lavi looked over to the digital clock of the microwave which read 7:12am. There would be next to no one out at this time in June. All the teenagers would be sleeping in, same for the younger children, the adults would be going to work and the dock was only a few feet from the front of the house.

Lavi picked up the Meralise carefully and walked to the door. He cracked it open slightly and peered outside. The street was empty; the shades of all the nearby houses' windows were all drawn.

He sprinted out the door to the dock and dipped Allen tail first slowly into the water. Allen made a small wince as his wounds hit the salty water but reassured Lavi with a smile and pushed him out of himself out of the red head's arms into the cold liquid.

He stayed under for a couple of seconds before his head broke the surface, ear fins sticking out of wet silver white hair.

His silver eyes looked into Lavi's single emerald, before speaking to Lavi.

"The symbol on the side of the boat were A-K-U-M-A-0576. It had two of Lavi's species on it. They had black marks on their heads. That's all I saw."

Lavi looked at Allen in surprise but nodded.

Allen looked at Lavi with some sort of longing in his eyes.

Lavi felt a small tug in his heart.

"Will you come see me when the Moon comes back and the Sun goes away?"

Lavi was quiet for a moment before nodding with a smile.

"Of course, just don't run into any more boats, I don't need to see more blood this week than I have to!" he joked a bit darkly.

Allen gave a small smile before diving back under, silver flashes visible for a moment before Allen jumped out of the water, not unlike a dolphin, and dived back under, not coming up again. But a small splash of water a ways away signaled that he was swimming towards the ocean.

Lavi watched the water flow for a little bit before standing up and heading to the nearby dock.

AKUMA-0576 huh? Well let's just see if they are in port…

It took Lavi a few minutes to walk to the dock; the dock itself wasn't anything special. It was made of wood, worn and losing color. Squeaking every now and then, small fish hooks scattered here and there, couple pieces of old fishing net too, just your average dock.

There were several boats roped to the post, most were white, but others were more vibrant colors. But near the end of the dock Lavi came across the one he was looking for.

Akuma 0576, who the heck names their speedboat that, seriously they couldn't think up of a cooler name?

Lavi looked into the windows of the cabin door, it was empty, save a table with papers scattered across it, a ugly green couch, the controls, and a phone on a small wooden table that seemed to match the one with the papers scattered across it. The door had a simple lock on it, easily pick-able.

Lavi fished around his pocket and pulled out a Swiss Army Knife, he always carried it around with him, but had accidentally left it in his pocket when he fell asleep last night.

He fiddled with the lock with one of the metal bobby pins attached to the knife contraption, why his had a bobby pin accessory, he didn't know, but he did know it got him out of a lot of sticky situations. With a click the door swung inwards with a creek, allowing Lavi in. Taking a hesitant step Lavi looked around his surrounding, almost waiting for someone to pop out and catch him, but no one appeared.

Wlaking in the cabin he closed and locked the door behind him so he wouldn't raise any suspension by a passing stranger.

He walked around a bit until he tripped over a rug that had been hidden by the couch facing door. But it wasn't the rug that caught his attention, it was the square crack in the floor that did. There was a small brass handle on the top of the square wooden floorboard. He pulled it and it came off with a "pop". Inside there were several sharp looking harpoons, a few hand guns, two or three knives, and two radios.

Lavi then placed the top back onto the hidden compartment and walked over to the tabled, the papers that were scattered had coordinates from over the past six months, maps of Italy, Florida, Africa, Japan, all had red "X"'s all over certain points in the ocean and on land. Each "X" had a red arrow pointing to and from it. But before Lavi could investigate further, two gruff sounding voices sounded from near the door. Slightly panicked Lavi ran over to being the couch and lifted up the skirt of the couch, the legs held the cushions about eight and a half inches off the floor, enough for Lavi to slide under and hide.

He got his feet under just as the door opened. Two pairs of boot clad footsteps echoed in the otherwise silent cabin. One pair seemed to go to the table while the other stopped next to where Lavi was hiding. Lavi could of sworn that the people in the room could hear his pulse as well as he could as it thumped in his ears.

"We have to find that damned Meralise before Lord Mikk gets here. Do you have any idea how well he and the rest of the Noah family will pay us if we catch one? We won't have to work a day for the rest of our lives!" A gruff but young voice echoed in the room.

And older and even gruffer voice then echoed.

"Yeah, but alive is a bit harder to get them as then dead with a couple of holes in them! Ha, ha! We could just sell it to some weirdo and get twice as much!"

"No, I don't think going up against the Noah family's wishes is good though, I heard the last person who tried to do that was tortured to insanity then their youngest, and the daughter of the Earl killed him!"

"No way, that would have never happened."

"How do you know?"

"Do you think the Noah family would have let something like that get out?"

Silence followed.

"Exactly. Now let's find this damn fish, it escaped us yesterday and Lord Mikk will be here in a week! We need to show him something other than more spots where people said they saw it! Or we will be out of a job!"

Lavi heard keys jingle and an engine roar to life.

Crap.

o0o

I'm late, I'm late, I'm late for a very important date! Well here in the U.S. it is 10:34pm. So I technically DID make my deadline :'3 yeah…..short but the plot moved a bit more D: I'm sorry I really am guys, I have been so busy lately thought it's not even funny. D: Please review, make a comment, or yell at me on how this is a horrible excuse for a chapter, rip out my heart and stomp on it, whatever makes you happy.

Ja Ne~!