Note: Well, things sure are warming up in this chapter. Hope you enjoy, also, I hope I'm not getting rusty at this.

Umi's POV:

I silently waited for the sun to set. Once everything was covered in a blanket of darkness, I feigned sleeping until my mother came to check on me.

She swam towards me thinking I was asleep.

"Good night, Umi," she whispered as she softly kissed my cheeks so as to not "wake" me up.

Once she had left, I waited a few more minutes until I was sure that everyone was asleep before swimming out of my room.

I silently swam out of the palace, avoiding all the guards. It took a while, but I finally made it out, avoiding all those Kingdra wasn't easy.

Once I was outside our tribe's territory, I swam with all the speed I had, I didn't need to worry about attracting attention now that I was outside the Milotic Tribe's territory.

I decided to pick up the pace, I didn't want to keep Arashi waiting. I made sure that the stunning piece of coral was still dangling cutely from my right antenna; it would horrify me if I forgot to put it on. After all, I wanted to impress Arashi, didn't I?

I finally reached Sunset Reef. A pity that I didn't plan meeting him while the sun was setting. The clear waters and colourful corals made the sunset more beautiful in this part of the ocean. If only I would be able to watch such a view with him, it would be the most... romantic thing. I sighed at the illusion of watching a beautiful sunset with Arashi by my side. I snapped myself out of this thought, I found it embarrassing, I mean, I barely knew Arashi, yet I felt like I knew him all my life.

I swam about, admiring the moonlit waters. I then noticed a figure sitting in a clearing which had a good view of the beautiful full moon. I silently swam up beside him, it was Arashi. He looked stunning under the moonlight; he was busy admiring the beautiful view.

"it's beautiful, isn't it?" I said, breaking the silence.

Arashi turned his head and saw me. He looked shocked for a second but silently muttered, "Wow, Umi. Y-you're... Beautiful!"

Arashi shut his mouth after realizing what he said.

"I-I'm sorry," he started, "I didn't mean to-"

I found this flattering and blushed, secretly enjoying the whole moment.

"Don't be," I said, "That's the nicest thing anyone has ever told me."

Arashi blushed and chuckled nervously.

I thought about how much kinder he is than Armik. But the moment Armik entered my mind, I sighed in disappointment.

Arashi seemed to notice and he asked with a concerned look on his face, "What's the matter, Umi?"

I sighed and poured out how I found Armik distasteful and told him my complete story, about how dad wants Armik and I to be... urk!

Arashi listened and finally understood, but I also wanted to know more about his problem...

"Well," Arashi began, "my dad's also doing the same thing, like I told you the first time we met. Dad wants me to get a partner soon or he's gonna make Ikari my partner. But Ikari, she's cold, scary, mercenary and I doubt that she'd love me for it not my rank of prince."

I listened to his story patiently.

"Aww... Don't worry," I told him, "Hopefully your special someone'll come to you on time."

Arashi muttered, "Actually..."

He blushed and didn't finish his sentence.

I found this cute and giggled at his actions.

"So," he asked, "do you like roses?"

"I do like them, but I've never seen a real one," I struggled, trying to keep up the conversation.

We talked about many more things and I found out that I enjoyed his presence. He was kind, compassionate, patient, shy, and many more. He was the exact opposite of Armik.

We talked some more until sleepiness got the better of us. I don't know how long I was asleep but I know that I woke up at dawn.

The sun's light blinded me and woke me up, I yawned and stretched upwards not seeing Arashi still asleep at a higher rock directly above mine. He was facing me in his sleep.

As I stretched upwards, yawning, my lips accidentally met his and that woke him up immediately.

"I-I'm sorry!" I stammered, "I-it was a-an accident. I-I w-was just s-stretching then-" I struggled to finish the sentence to no avail.

My face was a shade of deep red, I couldn't say Arashi's was any redder though.

"N-no problem, Umi. I-it was just a-an a-accident," Arashi uneasily said.

We both looked away from each other to hide our blushing faces.

I kinda wished the "kiss" was longer even if it was just an accident, I giggled silently to myself. Arashi just seemed too embarrassed to say a word.

"Oh, no!" I suddenly panicked, "It's dawn! I have to go home soon before my parents find out I'm gone!"

A horrified expression struck Arashi's face.

"So do I!" he panicked, "Wait! Same time tomorrow?"

I quickly answered, "Of course!"

We both bid each other goodbye and swam away to our respective tribes as fast as we could. I didn't want mom and dad to start getting suspicious.

I made it to the tribe by the time the morning sun was finally in the sky. Not good, mom and dad would wake up any time soon... Almost there... Phew!

I made it in time! I got to my room without anyone noticing. I lay down and pretended to be asleep. A few minutes later, my dad came to check up on me.

I pretended to be sleepy as I "woke" up, I was very much awake from the events of the past night.

"Umi, good morning. Someone's come here to see you," dad told me enthusiastically.

I swam up excitedly, maybe it was Ai! I wanted to tell her that Arashi was such a nice guy and all...

I excitedly swam out while saying, "Ai! Ai! I gotta tell you some-"

I stopped in mid-sentence when I discovered what dad meant by "someone". It was Armik.

"Good morning Princess. Sleep well?" he asked, his mouth dripping with the arrogance I hated.

"Yes, until you came!" I shot back.

Armik pretended to smile.

"What is it, do you wish of me, my beautiful Princess?" he asked while tickling my chin with his tail.

"Your? YOUR? I am not YOURS!" I yelled angrily as I slapped him with my tail.

He shot me a murderous look, but left angrily muttering to himself. I smiled triumphantly as he left, finally, some privacy. I swam to my room but dad was still there.

"My dear Umi, how did you find Armik? He came all the way just to greet you," he insisted.

"Dad, I don't like Armik," I redundantly replied.

Dad sighed.

"But why? He's so responsible and smart, he'd make for a good ruler, why not give him a chance, " dad persisted.

"I'll... think about it," I disdainfully replied.

Dad just sighed and took his leave.

I just collapsed to my bed, thinking why Milotic and Gyarados weren't on good terms. If only they weren't enemies, maybe I'd already have found a perfect partner.

I silently giggled as I felt a small current of water, similar to a breeze, touch my lips, remembering the spot I accidentally "kissed" him.

I lay down back in bed, Arashi was such a nice fellow... I fell asleep, contentedly dreaming of Arashi.

Arashi's POV:

The sun slowly started to set. I patiently waited for dusk to follow. After the moon came up, I decided to leave, Sunset Reef wasn't exactly near Kip's place, though I'm sure I got a head start cause I didn't need to worry about anyone seeing me since Kip lived at the outskirts of the Milotic Tribe.

I freely swam through the moonlit waters after bidding Kip goodbye. I enjoyed the sights of the moonlit ocean. I've personally never been to Sunset Reef before, so I hope my ignorance won't let me lost. I didn't want to keep Umi waiting.

I finally reached my destination after several minutes. I didn't find her anywhere so I must have arrived first, can't blame her though... I didn't have to escape from my palace because I was hiding over at Kip's house, but maybe Umi had to.

I hope she didn't get caught, I wouldn't want her to be punished because of me.

I swam deeper towards a clearing. I found the view breathtaking, the full moon made the waters glow silver and the corals were coated with a silver glow. I wished Umi would watch the magnificent view beside me.

Ah..., I thought, Won't that be just the most romantic thing.

I silently grinned to myself, but I quickly shook off the thought. I wasn't sure how I felt about Umi yet, but more importantly, I wasn't sure about how she felt about me yet.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" a soft, familiar, soothing voice whispered beside me.

I turned around and found Umi beside me.

Bathed in moonlight, she looked stunningly attractive. Her blue and red scales glistened in the silver moonlight. Her eyes looked beautiful with moonlight reflecting off it and the rose-like, blue-colored coral piece on her antenna sharply contrasted with her beautiful red hair.

"Wow, Umi. Y-you're... Beautiful!" I unconsciously spoke my mind.

Suddenly, an unearthly feeling filled me. I bit my tongue to prevent me from saying more. I didn't mean to tell her that.

"I-I'm sorry," I panicked, "I didn't mean to-"

I stopped. I couldn't finish the sentence. I hope she wouldn't notice that I was falling for her. But she was... blushing?

"Don't be," she told me, still blushing, "That's the nicest thing anyone has ever told me."

I felt the blood on my face boil, I chuckled nervously to hide my embarrassment.

I found myself looking into her clear eyes; I noticed her sighing as if she had some heavy problem. Then, I remembered what she told me when we first met. I didn't want to see her sad, concerned, I decided to ask her about it.

"What's the matter, Umi?" I asked.

She sighed and told me her whole story. According to her, some arrogant Milotic named Armik was after her. Her father believed that he would be the perfect partner for Umi, but I knew she found Armik distasteful. Armik must have been the guy she's been avoiding when we first met.

I tried to relate with her by showing her my similar problem too.

I shyly told her, "Well, my dad's also doing the same thing, like I told you the first time we met. Dad wants me to get a partner soon or he's gonna make Ikari my partner. But Ikari, she's cold, scary, mercenary and I doubt that she'd love me for it not my rank of prince."

She listened to me and I could see that she had concern on her face.

"Aww... Don't worry," she reassured, "Hopefully your special someone'll come to you on time."

Actually, I thought, she's right in front of me.

"Actually..." I absentmindedly spoke my mind, then realized what I was about to say and didn't finish my sentence. I began to blush thinking about what I was about to say. She giggled at me after seeing my face grow red, and that only served to make my face grow redder.

I decided to use this moment to learn more about her, her interests and likes.

I saw how beautiful, err... attractive, no umm... you get the point, how... beautiful she looked with the rose-lookalike on her and got an idea.

I began to ask, "So, do you like roses?"

It felt weird to ask her the question and my stomach was feeling more giddy by the second, but I stuck firm on trying to discover her likes and all.

"I do like them," she said, "but I've never seen a real one."

I made a mental note on my mind to get her anything rose-like in appearance.

Then, I thought, I'll confess to her how I really feel. Huh, what? Why have I been thinking weird ever since I met her?

I shook the thought off. We then talked about a lot of things like life, likes, hobbies, etc.

I really enjoyed her company, I just wonder if it's the same for her. She was really kind, she disliked fighting too and cares deeply for her loved ones.

We talked some more until Umi slowly fell asleep. I couldn't help but smile when I saw her sleeping cutely with small warm puffs of breath escaping her mouth.

I decided to sleep on a rock directly in front of hers albeit higher so that if danger approached, I could easily protect her.

I soon fell asleep. As soon as I had fallen asleep, I apparently began dreaming.

I dreamt that Umi and I were having fun in the coral bed. We were happily chasing each other, laughing and all as no one interrupted our enjoyment.

Suddenly, she stopped and I accidentally crashed into her. We both fell to the ground and this soon became an embrace. She looked up at me and I looked into her eyes, we stayed like that for some time until she closed her eyes and slowly started jerking her head towards mine. I closed my eyes too and slowly returned the kiss.

I woke up. I saw that my lips had met hers. My face immediately became a deep shade of red.

"I-I'm sorry," she stammered, "I-it was a-an accident. I-I w-was just s-stretching then-"

She didn't finish her sentence and blushed harder, not that I wasn't blushing. I tried to get her to calm down.

"N-no problem, Umi. I-it was just a-an a-accident," I stuttered, I was still blushing for the "kiss" we got.

We both turned away from each other to hide our embarrassment. I just stayed like that for a while, thinking about my dream.

I silently grinned to myself, knowing that part of my dream had come true.

I-is this, I thought, love? N-no, it can't be. I've known her for such a short time.

"Oh, no!" Umi panicked, which snapped me out of my thoughts.

"It's dawn! I have to go home soon before my parents find out I'm gone!" she worried.

I froze.

I stayed at Kip's house yesterday, my parents must probably be worried as I never came home the whole night. Maybe I could slip home, pretend to be asleep and say that I came home later while everyone was asleep.

"So do I!" I replied.

A thought suddenly struck me.

"Wait! Same time tomorrow?" I questioned.

"Of course!" she replied.

I blushed after hearing her answer. We bid each other goodbye.

I swam as fast as I could; I wanted to get home before the sun entirely rises.

I got to the tribe in a matter of minutes and snuck in the still dark palace. I snuck in my room; a crevice on my room's ceiling told me that the sun was almost up. I lay down on my stone, or bed, and immediately feigned sleeping.

An hour or so, dad burst into my room and was shocked to find me "sleeping" soundly.

"Arashi! Arashi!" he half-yelled while nudging me trying to wake me up. I pretended to yawn.

"What, dad?" I asked.

"Where were you son? We were all lookin' for ya!" he questioned urgently.

"My sparring partner, a Mudkip, tried to teach me Hydro Pump," I said, thinking of no better lie. This would cover up why I had been so secretive for dad didn't let me speak to outsiders much, even if I had done so with Kip many times.

"Oh, son. Can ya do it? Show me son! And here I was worryin' that you were gone!" he told me.

"Um... Dad? I haven't perfected it yet, so I can't show it to you yet," I lied.

Dad seemed disappointed.

"Well, don' keep disappearin'. Ikari was pretty worried 'bout ya," dad said.

Ikari? Worried about me? She must really like to rule the land this badly. She never loved me, it was evident enough as she constantly talks to me about ruling alongside me. I sighed.

"Well, find Ikari appealin' yet, son?" dad asked.

"No," I quickly answered.

"Hurry up an' find a partner son," dad impatiently said,"you need someone to back up decisions in ruling an' someone to care for you."

"I'll see, dad," I said.

He left me to myself, much to my relief. I just lay down on my bed, thinking about Umi. I didn't know it, but that day, something bloomed inside me. Little did I know that it would grow into something more.

Note: Well, that's all for today, I'm still working on Chapter 6 even if I have a Biology quiz coming soon, still, this fanfic's my top priority.

Daily Interview: Arashi

Interviewer: Good evening, would you please do spare some of your time to answer some of our questions?
Arashi: Sure! It's an honor to be interviewed.

Interviewer: What is your favorite hobby?
Arashi: Oh, I love reading poems in my pasttime a LOT! But I do love playing with Kip. I also like to make sculptures and stuff of the sort. Sometimes, I practice fighting though, but I'm not too fond of that.

Interviewer: Would you mind telling us why were you named Arashi?
Arashi: Oh, dad wanted me to rule our tribe one day so he wanted me to be strong. When I was still a young Magikarp, he gave me the name Arashi, which meant storm in Japanese. Although my name depicts me as a violent warrior, I don't really enjoy fighting.

Interviewer: What is it like to be Prince of the Gyarados tribe?
Arashi: At first I thought it would be fun and great but dad wants me to get stronger to rule, sometimes I don't know if being ruler means being conqueror of other lands. But worst of all, I have to get a "partner" within a certain amount of time for, according to dad, I need to have someone who could give me heirs to the throne... I wish I could find a partner who truly knows the meaning of the word "love".

Interviewer: Speaking of love, what's your ideal girl?
Arashi: I want someone who loves me for the sake of love, not rank. Someone who sees me for who I am, I wish that she would also be kind and all.

Interviewer: Has anyone caught your eye lately?
Arashi: Umm... Ahh... Well... There's this girl... Well, she's really sweet and kind... I kind of care for her and I sort of feel pleasant whenever I'm near her... But... I don't know if she feels the same way about me.

Interviewer: Umm... What is her name?
Arashi: Uhh... May I please keep that detail to myself... It's sort of private.

Interviewer: Thank you for taking your time to answer these questions.
Arashi: No, thank you for interviewing me.

And that's all we have for today...