Chapter 9: Mermaid
Sora, the bravest, kindest, noblest of heroes in all the land, poked his head out of the bushes. He'd followed the footprints of the pirates that invaded his island and located the part of the beach where they were holding their prisoner. "This is it, Captain Riku!" he whispered, "We found the mermaid! Let's go save her!"
"Be careful, Sora!" hissed his leader. "They're probably hiding somewhere! We have to be quiet!"
Sora nodded. Together, they crept up to the cage of the beautiful mermaid. She appeared to be fairly calm, given her dreadful situation. "Don't worry!" whispered Sora, "We've come to save you!"
"That's what YOU think!" hollered a terrible voice. Three pirates came leaping out from behind a wooden shack.
"It's the evil Captain Tidus and his crew!" shouted Sora.
"Oh yeah? You guys are going down!" said Riku, brandishing his sword.
"That's what YOU think!" hollered Tidus.
"You just said that," said Riku, "Say something cooler!"
"Okay, fine…um…uh…" The pirate scratched his head. "Uh…oh, yeah! You'll never save the mermaid! We're gonna sell her and make lots and lots of money 'cause we're the first ones to ever catch a real mermaid! That's how we're gonna get rich! And you can't stop us!"
"Wait! Stop the game!"
The story came to a halt, and everyone lowered their toy weapons. Sora turned to the mermaid. She'd spent the entire time drawing pictures in her sketchbook without saying a word or looking at them. "Naminé!" whined Sora, "You're s'posed to act scared!"
"Uh-huh," she replied, still not looking up.
"Sora's right. It's not as fun when you're just sitting there," Wakka agreed.
"Uh-huh."
"You gotta say something like, 'Ahhh! Save me!' added Tidus.
"Uh-huh."
"And then 'cause you're a mermaid, you give Sora and Riku magical hugs, and that turns you into a real girl, and you guys get to be friends and live happily ever after!" finished Selphie, as she bounced up and down.
"Uh-huh."
"Forget it. Let's just go back to the game," said Riku with a sigh. The other kids shrugged and followed his lead. Naminé continued to draw, completely oblivious to the epic battle that broke out right next to her. The kids screamed war cries as they attacked each other with fake swords and a jump rope, and Wakka's blitzball almost hit her more than once.
When the dust cleared, Tidus, Selphie and Wakka lay in a heap. Sora and Riku rushed to the mermaid's side. "We saved you!" announced Sora proudly.
Naminé put down her crayons and held up her sketchbook. "Look! I drew a ship!" she squealed.
"You're supposed to say, 'hooray' and 'thank you for saving me,'" said Riku.
"Okay. But do you like my ship?"
The boys stared at each other and finally shrugged. "…yeah, it's good."