Morg: Heyo! Exciting things happening here! Are you ready? I'm ready!

Ikuto: Do we want to know?
Amu: Probably not.

Morg: I'm talking about the story and stuff.

Ikuto: Oh. By exciting, do you mean-

Amu: She definitely does not mean anything by it.

Morg: Maybe.

Ikuto: Ah yeah!

Amu: You don't own us! You can't make me do anything!

Morg: I write what I write!

Ikuto: Boomshakalaka!

~At the Water's Edge~

The island was there just as Amu had said it would be. Rima and Nagihiko were extremely pleased once they could allow their friend to rest upon the warm sand. The waves kept their tails wet as Amu lay where they placed her.

Looking out at the ocean, Rima fiddled with her hands for a bit before Nagihiko held them still. "Amu, how long do you think you need to rest?"

Shaking her head weakly, Amu didn't want to rest. Resting for a lengthy period of time would make them fall behind Utau and Tadase more than they already were. "Just give me a few minutes."

Frowning, Nagihiko continued to rub soothing circles on the back of his lover's hands. The circles kept him calm as well as Rima. "You need more than a few minutes, Amu. You just defeated a sea monster. They aren't easy to battle when you're completely rested. We've got time to let you recuperate, not to mention Rima needs to rest as well."

"We don't have time for that. Utau and Tadase have Kairi-"

Cutting Amu off, Nagi nodded his head to show that he really did understand. "Yes, I know. They took Kairi and they're heading for the Tear, but almost killing yourself just to catch up to them isn't going to prevent them from going any further. You have to rest."

Amu wanted to argue. She truly did, but the sand was warm beneath her and the ocean kept her moist while she rest on the beach. Her body ached. She'd never really had to use her powers for such a large task before. Usually, if she used them at all, Amu used them on mundane things. The exhaustion she felt now was new to her. Sleep would be the best way to counter the effect her powers had on her body. If only there was time for that. "We still can't take longer than we need to. Let me sleep for a few hours and we'll go."

Knowing that they wouldn't be able to get a better deal out of their friend, the other two merpeople only nodded as Amu went to sleep.

XXX

The ship they were trying to get close to was supposed to be just up ahead. Ikuto continued to remind himself that finding the ship was a good idea. His stepfather couldn't track his boat anymore, but that didn't mean that the people on the other ship couldn't alert the man to where they were. However, they needed one of the mermen that were guarding said ship, so it had to be a good idea to get closer. Ikuto had no idea how they were going to speak to said merman once they got to where they were going, or what they were going to do to convince him to take them to the Tear. All he knew was that they were going to the ship. Anything beyond that would just have to work itself out.

Playing with Daichi, Kukai noticed Ikuto's growing anxiety. "Dude, everything will work out. We'll just get this merman guy that Yaya knows and split. So they'll know we're in the area, by tomorrow we could be anywhere. They won't be able to do anything to catch us."

As stupid as his friend could be sometimes, Ikuto knew that Kukai was rather smart. That and the boy had been his friend long enough that they had the uncanny ability to just understand what the other was thinking or feeling. "That's only part of it though. How do we get the merman to talk to us? Yaya doesn't actually know him, remember? We could end up following the boat for days before there is even a chance to speak to any of them. That could be our downfall."

"There's a kink in our plans, sure, but that doesn't mean we have to give up. If we don't try-"

"We can't succeed. I know."

Sighing, Kukai glanced at the radar in the hopes of finding something to cheer his captain up with. "There is an island not too far from here. Why don't we stop there quick, see if there's anything we can take to replenish our food supplies, think a bit and then press on?"

Ikuto didn't really feel like stopping at some random island, but Kukai's grin and upbeat personality made him want to get off the yacht and away from the others for at least a little while. Yaya's dog was rather annoying. The little thing liked to bark a lot. "Sure, let's stop there."

Cheering, Kukai hit a few buttons to take the large boat off its autopilot and took over the steering himself. With Daichi perched on his shoulder, the brown haired boy grinned into the distance towards where he could just make out the form of the island they were now going to explore. "This is going to be fun, Daichi. You'll have a chance to really stretch your wings! Want to go scope it out? You can wait until we get closer if you want."

Rolling his eyes, Ikuto wanted to point out that the bird wasn't really that smart. There was no way that Daichi had the mental capability to fly ahead as a scout and alert them to anything that might be on the island. It just wasn't possible.

This was why Ikuto was stunned when they got closer and Daichi actually flew off towards the island and circled around a few times before giving out a call.

"That means that someone is on the island. Best if we be careful."

Ikuto just kept his mouth shut. There was no way he was willing to be wrong twice in one day.

XXX

"Oh, look at the bird, Nagi. He's pretty."

The two that were snuggled up on the sand just beside their friend had been playing with their companions and Amu's to pass the time. They didn't really spend much time on land, no merpeople did, but this was an exception since they needed a safe place from the sea monster for Amu to rest. They knew the beast wasn't dead.

The cry that the bird let out made Nagi cringe. "Looks pretty but doesn't sound the same."

The comment had Rima giggling.

The cry, unfortunately, woke Amu up. "How long have I been sleeping?"

Judging from the position of the sun, Nagihiko gave the pinkette a shrug. "I'd say no more than two hours. We were going to let you sleep for one more and then wake you."

Nodding while she yawned, Amu rolled into a more comfortable position. "Then I'll rest just a bit longer. Please make certain it isn't too long."

Rima was about to reply with a scoff and a roll of her eyes when they widened at the sight of a rather nice boat coming around the point of the island. "A-Amu! We have to hide!"

Popping her eyes open at the frantic sound of her friend's voice, Amu sat up to look around for what could possibly have frightened Rima. The yacht was what she found. "Oh no!"

The two mermaids and merman tried to move quickly, but the sound of a voice made Amu stop.

"AMU-CHI! YAYA FINALLYS GETS TO MEET YOU!~"

Eyes wide to show her shock, Amu looked over at the heads just sticking out of the water. "How do they know me?"

Hissing, Rima jerked her head for her friend to join them. "Who cares?! Come on!"

Something held Amu back. With her body halfway covered in water, the mermaid waited for the boat to get closer. "Who are you?"

Being that the boat was between her and the sun, all Amu could make out at first were the silhouettes of two people standing at the railing. Then the flash of dark blue registered in her eyes.

"You don't know me?"

"Ikuto."

Pleased that his name didn't sound to be a question from the pink haired mermaid that he rather adored, Ikuto smirked. "The one and only. Fancy meeting you here, Amu-koi."

Scowling at the endearment, Amu flicked her tail back and forth a few times in the water. It wouldn't take much to send her to meet Nagi and Rima where she knew they were waiting just beneath the waves. "I don't have time to chat with you today, Ikuto."

Leaning against the railing of his boat, Ikuto still couldn't believe his eyes. They didn't even have to get close to the other ship now that they had Amu. All he had to do was convince her to come with them. "Funny, neither do I. See, this crazy mermaid princess decided that we're getting married and is going after some magical rock to make it happen. Being that my interests lie elsewhere, I don't really want her to succeed."

"You're going after Utau?"

Nodding, Ikuto knew that he could trust the mermaid before them. Amu would never betray them to his stepfather or the royal family. She had no reason to. "If I can get this thing first, she can't use it. That's all I'm trying to do."

"Get it, but not use it."

"Right."

Thinking things through, Amu would rather rest for a bit longer on the beach before continuing on that do what she was about to suggest, but the temptation of the speed that Ikuto's boat could give them was too great. "Could you give me a second?"

Frowning, Ikuto straightened up before the mermaid could disappear under the waves. "If you try to swim off, I'll just jump in."

Not really understanding how that could be a threat, Amu nodded. "I'll be right back."

Ikuto couldn't do anything else as she vanished under the surface of the ocean.

"Yaya likes Amu-chi."

"Me too, Yaya. Me too."

Finding Nagihiko and Rima waiting not far from where she was, Amu filled her gills with water before trying to convince them to like a plan that she didn't particularly like herself. "Guys, that's Ikuto. He's got a couple of people on board with him that I don't know, but he's trying to stop Utau from getting the Tear because he doesn't want to marry her."

Rima thought that that was nice and all, but couldn't see how it related to them more than now they had another group of idiots that they had to beat or stop. "So…?"

Sighing, Amu tried to look more confident than she felt. "So if we use their help and their speed, we can catch up a lot faster. I still need to rest, I can feel how tired I am, and they are giving me the chance to do that without falling further behind. We'll ride on their boat and jump in the water when needed. We'll cover so much distance in a faster time without wearing ourselves out. We can trust Ikuto."

"Why?" Nagihiko wasn't certain where the hostility he felt towards the humans above him was coming from, but it was there all the same. "Why should we trust them?"

If there was an answer to his question, Amu didn't have it. "If you can trust me then there shouldn't be a problem trusting him."

Amu didn't give them a chance to respond to her statement as she returned to the surface like she promised.

"Miss me?"

"I told you that I'd be back. Why don't you come ashore and we'll work out a deal?"

Back to leaning on the railing with a smirk on his face, Ikuto couldn't help but feel as though some things were meant to be. He and Amu were one of them. "What sort of deal? Did you want the Tear so you could become human? I'd gladly take you, Amu-koi."

"Actually," Rima rose from the water beside her friend. "We're after the two royal brats that took our friend with them to find it. The Tear isn't what's important."

The confusion of introducing everyone should have followed next if Yaya hadn't realized that Rima could only be talking about Kairi. "Kairi-koi is in trouble! Yaya has to help! Yaya cannot stop!"

.

Morg: And they're meeting up.

Ikuto: About time.

Amu: This was so cheesy.

Morg: In a good way.

Ikuto: I agree.

Amu: No, not at all. Delete it all.

Morg: I'll just let my readers decide that.