In reference to the first chapter, I'd like to repeat that Jou and Joey are NOT the same person. Jou is Jou. Joey's dead, period. And now, on with the story.

Chapter Two- Conversation

Early the next morning, Seto slipped out of the palace and headed for the meeting spot. Along the way, he thought back to his encounter with Mai last night:

FLASHBACK

"Princess?"

"Yes, Seto?"

"I've heard that you might be breaking up with Duke."

"It's nasty rumor. I assure you Duke and I will be getting married as planned."

"I wish you luck then. Good night."

END FLASHBACK

Mai still had Duke, disappointing Gozaburo to no end. Seto, on the other hand, was elated. He had another someone on his mind.

Breaking surface, he hid behind a rock and watched for a sign of his human. The sun rose higher and higher and still no sign. Where was he? Maybe, he had the day wrong or maybe the blond decided to swim another day.

A gold flash caught his attention. Looking at the beach, the object of his mission was there, running across the sand, discarding his shirt, and hitting the water. Seto stayed put and watched the blond swim about for awhile. He swam so well, Seto was sure he had been a merman before. He had the grace of a dolphin and the beads of water that rolled off his body made him look all the more handsome.

Diving underwater, the young merman considered his options. What was the best way to approach the blond? He could swim on the surface backwards and bump into him. A classic situation, but it never failed to work.

A tug on his fins jolted him out of his planning. Looking back, he saw the grinning face of the blond. Startled, Seto headed up and broke surface. The human followed soon after. Panic seized Seto. He hadn't planned on revealing his tail in the first meeting, but the point was now moot. He had been caught.

Jou couldn't believe his luck. Last night, Yami revealed to him that he was a merman prince until a wish on his puzzle made by Yugi changed that. Jou sensed that merfolk existance was supposed to be a secret and that Yami trusted him to keep it. And keepi it he would for he'd never break a promise to a friend. Since then, however, Jou hoped that he too would meet a merperson. He had even dreamed of meeting a gorgeous blond mermaid with a shimmering green tail.

That dream dissloved when he spotted a brown-haired boy peering at him from behind a nearby rock. Jou couldn't believe the handsomeness of his face. He nearly drowned out of shock. He wondered why this boy was watching him, so he kept a close eye on him, unbeknownst to the brunette.

When the brunette dived underwater, Jou caught sight of a white tail surfacing before it vanished beneath the waves. Jou gasped. It was a merboy that had been watching him!

'Is he still here? I want to meet him.' Diving down, Jou, to his relief, saw the boy below him. His back was to him and he appeared to be in deep thought. Jou grinned. The merboy stayed. Here was his chance. Acting quickly, he reached down and tugged on the billowing fins. The merboy looked back and a startled look came to his face befored heading up. Jou followed suite. On the surface, the blond took a moment to regain his breath before saying, "Hi, the name's Jou. Nice to meet ya."

The merboy appeared stunned for a moment before answering, "I'm Seto. Nice to meet you as well."

"So, any reason for watching me?"

"You looked like a friend of mine that died when I was a child. I thought that he might have survived and that you were him. Apparently, I was wrong."

"I see. Well, I'm glad you were watching me. As you can guess, I spotted you earlier. Yami told me that he used to be a merman and I hoped to meet one of your kiind."

"You were?"

"Yup. And it looks like I got my wish."

Seto was still shell-shocked by this turn of events. While he imagined having a similiar conversation, he still experienced some disappointment. For one, the name. It was Jou, not Joey. Two, the subject of merpeople was brought up. He didn't plan to mention it until Jou got suspicious of ocean-only meetings.

"So, Seto, um can you become human, too?"

The question surprised him. Nevertheless, he said, "No. I can't. Yami told you it was his puzzle that changed him, correct?"

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, he did."

"Did he mention that he was engaged before he knew Yugi?"

"No, he didn't. Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering." So, Yami didn't tell everything about his ocean life. Makes sense. He no longer wanted to have anything to do with the life he had led under the waves, despite the bond he had with the sea via his emotions. Seto, on the other hand, immensely loved his life in the sea, yet he found himself curious about life on land. Perhaps Jou could tell him about his life on land and he could form an opinion from that.

"Jou, perhaps you can tell me how you humans live. I would very much like to hear that." Seto's voice contained a note of interest.

"I don't think it's very different from your life."

"Just tell me. Please."

"Well, in my town, we have a royal family that rules over us to make sure that we feel safe. There's a market, where we buy various things, like food. That's social life. Private life varies. Mine's not so good."

"Is it really?"

Jou nodded. "My parents are in the process of splitting up and it looks like my little sister and I are going to be living apart from each other."

"That's too bad. Where will you be living?" Seto prayed Jou would be staying in his village.

To his relief, Jou says, "Here with my dad, who doesn't give a care about what happens to me."

"So, if you were to become one of my kind, he wouldn't notice you were gone?" The moment those words were out, made Seto realize that he was falling for the blond. He was falling for a human.

Jou shrugged. "Probably. I'm lucky I've got Yugi and Honda as friends. They've helped me through a lot."

"You were right. Your life's not too different from mine. There's also a royal family and a market. However, I'm an only child and I live with my father. And he's been pushing for me to find a mate and marry by the time I'm sixteen."

"When's that?"

"Next week."

"Anyone you want to marry?" Secretly, Jou hoped it was him.

'You,' Seto thought, but he simply shook his head, slightly disappointing the blond.

"That's rough. I wish I could help you."

"I'll manange. I've got to go. It was nice meeting you, Jou."

"Likewise, Seto. See ya later."

Nodding, Seto slipped down and headed for the palace, where he would stay for hours in his room, savoring their first conversation and wondering when the next one would be.

Well, what do you think? Good? Bad? Let me know!