Morg: Heyo! So does everyone understand that several groups of characters are all heading for the same location?

Ikuto: Are you asking if we're stupid readers?

Amu: Uh duh. How could we not know that?

Morg: I'm just saying, some people might not have understood.

Ikuto: If Amu gets it then everyone should get it.

Amu: Yeah! …Hey!

Morg: She did agree to that.

Ikuto: I knew she would.

Amu: If you did own us, I'd steal the rights from you just for that.

Morg: If I owned you, you wouldn't be able to do so since you'd be busy.

Ikuto: Ah yeah!

Amu: Nope!

~At the Water's Edge~

Four days at sea. Four days at sea and everyone was still alive. The dog, the bird, Kukai, Yaya, everyone. Ikuto wasn't entirely certain how it was possible considering the crap he'd had to put up with the last few days, but everyone was still breathing. Granted, he had only tried to kill Kukai twice, and Yaya had rescued her dog, Pepe, before anything too bad could happen to it. That and Ikuto constantly reminded himself that he was doing all of this for himself and Amu. There would be no point in killing himself since Amu needed him. At least, he liked to think that Amu needed him.

With that thought in mind, the captain of the small boat tried to remain calm as he sat at the bolted down table with Yaya. The girl was pouring over several books. Being that their voyage began rather abruptly, Ikuto and Kukai hadn't really had time to think about where they were going or where they could find the Tear. Being that Yaya came along as their 'expert', the captain decided to ask the lady for her help, which was what they were currently doing. Yaya was going to figure out which way they could go in order to find what they were searching for.

Closing her books, Yaya leaned back in her chair before rubbing her face with her hands. Scouring the books hadn't been easy. She'd look for any possible detail and come to a conclusion. "Yaya has no idea."

"What!?"

"Yaya looked through everything and there is no mention of a direction. Yaya doesn't know where to go."

Throwing his hands up in the air, Ikuto tried not to take his anger out on the girl before him. She'd put a lot of effort into look so he knew that she hadn't been just slacking off. The girl truly didn't know. "Did anything mention any sort of landmarks?"

Shaking her head, Yaya felt her pigtails bounce off her cheeks as she let the captain down. "No, all that Yaya found was that Ikuto-shi must take Yaya and Kukai-san through all of the elements."

Dropping his head against the rather hard table, Ikuto let that just sink in. "The four elements. You mean like, earth, water, air and fire? How do we pass through elements? This is so confusing. We need a better plan."

Thinking hard for a few minutes, Yaya sighed. "Yaya thinks we should head north."

"Why north?"

"Because the last boat that Ikuto-shi's stepfather sent out was heading north."

Lifting his head from the table, Ikuto had several reasons to disagree with that plan. "That means we should go the opposite way. I'm certain he's sent information to them already, alerting them to the fact that I'm on the run and they should capture me if seen."

"Yaya knows that, but Yaya also knows that one of Yaya's merman friends is guarding Ikuto-shi's stepfather's ship."

Catching on to what the girl was suggesting, Ikuto saw some hope at last. "Yaya, you are brilliant! We can avoid getting captured, and if we find your merman friend then we can find the right way to go about getting to the Tear!"

Happy that the boy was excited with her plan, Yaya nodded her head vigorously. "Yaya knows the plan will work, even if Yaya has never met the merman!"

Ikuto's hope was quickly fading away. "What!?"

XXX

Rima was tired. Complaining wasn't an option. They were going to find Nagihiko and then go after the stupid royals and Kairi. Being tired was something she couldn't afford, especially when Amu didn't seem fazed at all by the fast paced swimming and distance they were traveling. The blonde mermaid just kept her discomfort to herself and pushed her limits. Maybe she should have worked out more often.

Amu wasn't stupid. Maybe a little dense when it came to her feelings or sometimes how people felt about her, but she wasn't blind. Obviously, Rima needed a break. There really wasn't a question there. Amu had four companions to help give her strength while Rima only had one. The odds had been against her friend from the beginning. If their quest wasn't so important, Amu wouldn't have been pushing them like she was. "Rima, let's rest for a bit."

"No, we can't afford to stop."

Sighing, Amu pulled her friend to a stop and shook her head. "We can. Nagi isn't more than a day away and once we get there, we're going to need our strength in order to get him away from the others. I don't think they'll just let one of their guards go so easily. Let's rest and plan."

Rima couldn't with that, so instead she settled on some of the rocks along the ocean ridge they were near. Kusu rested beside her. The little fish was just as tired and so very far from their home. "Okay, so what are you thinking?"

Considering that their sudden journey was entirely unplanned, Amu hadn't actually thought that far ahead. Getting to where Nagi was, was the most important thing in her mind. What they were going to do when they go there was sort of still in question. "Uh, I suppose that depends on when we approach them. I suggest we sort of hang back and observe before we make our move. If we get the chance to sort of just snag him then that's what we'll aim for."

Nodding along to what Amu was suggesting, Rima couldn't help but be slightly put out that Amu wasn't more prepared. Then again, rescuing people wasn't exactly Amu's forte. Unless you counted that one human. "Kusu can help out as well. Daichi will recognize her instantly and he'll alert Nagi without anyone else being the wiser."

"Good, then we'll have her help as well. Are you feeling a bit rested? We don't have to travel as quickly now since we're already so close and we don't want to alert them to our presence. Do you think you can continue?"

Reminding herself that this was to see Nagihiko, Rima nodded her head. "I can definitely handle this."

Amu just smiled as she directed them in the direction that Nagihiko was currently in. The ship that the merpeople guarded wasn't exactly moving fast, though Amu could feel the discomfort in the water. It wasn't the ship so much, as it was what lurked beneath the waves. There was a reason for merpeople to guard the ships that sailed these waters.

The pinkette wasn't certain whether or not Rima could sense the same foreboding she could. Granted, Amu was gifted in ways that most merpeople were not, which was why she wasn't certain if Rima was aware of the warning in the water. The blonde certainly didn't show that she felt anything was off. Amu didn't really want to bring it up if Rima wasn't aware of it. Partly because the mermaid was already working hard to just make it to her husband, and partly because Amu was hoping that she was reading too much into the water currents.

The closer they moved to the ship, however, the thicker the water seemed to get. Amu didn't understand. The ocean wasn't becoming deeper than it usually was. The currents that they swam along weren't different than the ones they usually swam along, and yet the atmosphere screamed for her to be on guard. Thus, Amu was overly observant with all of her senses, even her companion fish were on guard.

Unable to stand the tension any longer, Amu turned to her traveling companion. "Rima, do you feel anything?"

Exhausted, Rima shook her head as she continued to move her tail. There wasn't much she was concentrating on besides moving forwards. "No, do you?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Amu couldn't explain it. "Sort of."

Intrigued, Rima welcomed the distraction from her own tired thoughts. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know. I just-"

Whatever had been about to say was cut off when shouts were heard in the water.

"Stay together! Don't allow for it to touch the ship! This is what we're paid for!"

Eyes widening, Amu finally understood what it was that she felt. A predator was lurking ahead. The monster was going to attack the ship that the mermen guarded. The ship that Nagi guarded. "Rima, Nagi has to fight it!"

Mouth opening when the realization struck home, Rima felt a sudden burst of energy as she propelled herself forwards towards the fight.

"Wait! Rima! Wait!"

The small blonde ignored her friend and continued on. The only thing she could think about was Nagihiko being in some sort of danger.

Acting quickly, Amu motioned for Su and Miki to stop the blonde while she continued on with Ran and Dia. This was the deal made. The merpeople protected the cargo ships from the sea monsters. They were trained for these sorts of fights, and yet Amu knew that she was going to be needed for this one. The presence of the creature in the water was beyond daunting.

The blurry objects ahead of her became clearer the closer Amu got. She could hear Rima struggling behind her with Su and Miki, but the octopus and rainbow fish were more than capable of keeping the mermaid out of trouble.

Long tentacles rose up from the deep towards the slow moving ship. Amu watched as some of the mermen rammed spears deep into the thick skin of the monster. Shrieks of agony and anger sounded from the deep.

Feeling the change in the water that Amu knew that none of the others would be able to feel, she tried to warn them. "Stop! Get out of the way!"

Some of the mermen looked towards her in confusion. Others continued on with their task of protecting the ship. Only one seemed to realize who she actually was. "Amu?"

"Nagi, it's coming up! The beast is rising! Get out of here!"

The commander wasn't too impressed with the sudden appearance of some girl. "Why should we listen to you?"

Realizing that the man didn't know who she was, Nagihiko moved quickly. "Sir, this is Amu-chan."

Several seconds later, the man looked frightened. "Get away from us!"

Scowling, Amu sent a wave of water with her hand to push all the soldiers away from the creature. The wave so powerful that it caused some of the tentacles to sway with it. "I told you to move! I suggest you listen!"

Trying to regroup his men, the commander wasn't about to let some witch ruin their mission. "We have to protect the ship!"

"And I will, if you allow for Nagihiko to leave with me after I save your asses."

"Are you trying to make a deal with me?"

"I'm waiting."

The creature was definitely coming. The outline of exactly how massive it was came into view. The sounds of its angry calls were clearer in the water.

Realizing all of this, the commander relented. "Fine. Do what you want!"

Collecting her strength and allowing for her mind to slip further into its connection with the elements, Amu focused on the task at hand. The ship needed to continue moving along or it'd be taken. The monster hadn't gotten a hold of it yet, but that didn't mean that it couldn't. Pulling her hands to her hips, Amu thrust them forwards in front of her chest. The water moved automatically as she willed it. A wave moved the ship along faster, causing the current attempts the creature was making fail.

Once more and then again, Amu sent waves to push the ship out of danger. "Guard it now!"

The commander nodded before motioning for his men to regroup under the ship that was much further along than it should have been.

Lifting her hand into the water above her head, Amu twirled her fingers. Though it didn't look as though she was doing anything, the sky above the water was swirling in time with her fingers. Amu could feel the air gathering. Her wrist began moving to add speed to the wind above the waves. Just as the creature's face came into view, Amu brought her hand down in one swift motion.

A spear of wind cut through the surface of the water and straight into the beast's face. A loud angry shriek laced with pain sounded beneath the waves. The pinkette was unrelenting as she brought another powerful wind spear down onto the creature. When she knew that the beast was far enough in the deep, the pinkette brought her hands together in front of her chest. The action wasn't viewable by anyone around them, but Amu knew that giant rocks were crushing down onto different parts of the huge creature's body. There wasn't enough harm being done to actually kill it, though Amu made certain that they'd all have plenty of time to get away safely before the creature could dig itself out.

Exhausted, the pinkette slumped forwards. Lucky for her, Rima and Nagi were both there to catch her. Like the good friends that they were, they wrapped her arms around their shoulders to keep her up. Lifting her head to look at the commander, Amu struggled to remain conscious. Her powers didn't usually take so much out of her, but the long swim before using them had already put her in an exhausted state. "Our deal."

Nodding his head, albeit reluctantly, the commander conceded for Nagihiko to go. "Our thanks to you."

Nodding her head in return, Amu whispered for them to leave. "I need to rest. Let's find a shore since the water is too deep here. Head east for a bit and you'll find an island."

Not questioning their friend, Nagihiko and Rima did as instructed with their familiars behind them.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what are the two of you doing here anyways?"

Sighing, Rima almost forgot about their original quest. "Utau and Tadase kidnapped Kairi in search of the Tear. Amu and I came to get you so we could go and stop them from getting hurt."

Not really knowing what to say to that, Nagihiko couldn't help but feel no surprise because of the royal children's actions. The two weren't the brightest. "Well shit."

.

Morg: Amu is awesome.

Ikuto: I agree!

Amu: Yes I am!

Morg: I hope you saw what I did there! Please look forward to some happenings in the next chapter!

Ikuto: As long as those happenings are a bit citrusy, I'm always looking forward to them.

Amu: Pervert! Not happening!

Morg: I am the writing this, you just remember that!