The Sea Prince

Chapter 10

Alo, sorry for the wait...

I really wanted to get into alot of stuff which I didn't get into... it's really sad. so instead I'll have to do all those things in the next chapter... -hides behind something- please don't hurt me TT-TT. Again I'm sooooooooooo sorry for the wait. I don't know why I keep doing this to everyone. and I'd still like votes if you can look at me profile some time. It'd be much appreciated. Thanks to all those who already voted.

And on with the story... hmm... I must remember to do a bonus chapter one day that's all about Hiei to make up for his lack of screen time so far... Ok, thank u for reading my story -bows-

It had been 2 weeks since Hiei and Kurama had first exchanged their letters. During that time 2 other notes had been exchanged, but neither had seen each other's face since the incident. So Hiei purposed a game; he wanted to see if he could guess Kurama's species before he appeared before him. Kurama accepted thinking it would be fun, and left special hints in each letter he sent.

Unfortunately, that is not where the story is starting…

A small mallet hit the side of the wall, gaining everyone's attention in the bathroom. In other words; the 5 older Sea Princes, besides Jin who was missing at the moment. Shura put the mallet down on the ground beside his stool. He then proceeded to start washing his scaled again with a small towel.

"Attention everyone, I have called forth this meeting to see if anyone else has noticed the huge difference in our youngest half brother." Shura started, many green bubbles were sticking to his scales as he wiped them.

"Yep," Sasuka responded.

"Of course," Touya said while putting some pearl colored slime in his hair.

"Who hasn't?" Risho replied in a bored tone while cleaning his nail with some sea weed.

"The you mean the shrimp?" Shishiwakumaru said annoyed as he brushed his teeth; foam almost fell out of his mouth.

"Excellent, now does anyone have any idea what the hell has happened?" Shura asked, he now grabbed a small stone and used it to scrape off the bubbles.

"No, but I have a question." Shishiwakumaru said annoyed. "Why should we care, and why are we talking about it in the royal bathroom?" If he knew that they were going to discuss his youngest sibling, then he would have bathed alone.

"Shut up Shishi, you have no opinion today!" Shura yelled and Touya and Sasuka both rolled their eyes at the childish behavior, while Risho didn't care. After all, Shura was the youngest next to Shuichi, and was only 22. An age which merpeople considered themself children. (around 12 in human ages)

Shishiwakumaru huffed and turned away, spitting out all the foam into a small bucket while he did so.

"Back onto the topic, does anyone have any ideas why our dear half brother has suddenly changed?" Shura continued.

Touya raised his hand and Shura nodded. "I believe that person is an alien!" Touya said dead seriously and Risho fell of his chair (anime fall, yay!) "Our brother wouldn't have let me fix his hair willingly, and ask for tips to keep it in good shape. This has to be someone else!" Touya almost yelled. He still couldn't believe it. Only 3 days ago, Kurama did just that; very shyly and through gritted teeth, but still, he had asked.

"Touya, don't exaggerate!" Risho order and Touya flinched at the harsh tone and looked away. "Though that was unusual, that person is our half brother. You saw him practicing his water power, that's more then enough proof!" He reminded and Touya sighed and slowly nodded.

"Actually…" Sasuka started off and Risho sighed. His brothers were all idiots. "Kurama has been acting very strangely as of late… Though I believe that he still is our brother, maybe his mind is being controlled." Everyone stayed silent giving Sasuka encouragement to continue.

"After all, Youko even said that those who mastered reading minds can also control them. Maybe he's controlling our brother right now!"

"...Don't insult Youko!" Everyone stared at Shishiwakumaru who was just brushing his hair with a comb, it was orange with pearls embedded in it, with the word 'vanity' carved into it in the merpeople's written way. Strangely enough, even though Humans and merpeople spoke in the same language, they wrote differently. The Merpeople probably changed how to write it so they would be separate from humans even more. "He knows the little bastard so well that he would never make a mistake. If Kuramais under someone's control it's not by that thief. Though as I said, the little half breed means nothing to me at all, for all I care, the thing could just"-

SLAM!!

Everyone looked wide eye in shock at the newly appeared red head.

"Wha' ah ya all discussin in a bat' room ya bunch o' dorks?" Jin said grinning. Shishi was knocked out though. Having someone slam a bucket made of yellow gorgonian coral over your head so hard that you broke though it, really hurt. To put it simply, Shishi was watching the fishes.

"W-we were j-just talking about K-Kurama's strange behavior, Onni-sama!" Shura stuttered. Jin was said to be the strongest of all the sea princes, yet he hardly ever showed his violent side. He was usually just overly cheerful, and overly enthusiastic. However, get into a fight with the bubble headed prince, and you were in for a good ass kicking.

"Ah, ya mean 'is new 'appy-go-lucky attitude as o late!" Jin said smiling again and sat on the stool where Shishi use to sit. "Ya, tha's new, it's been a loooong time since I saw 'im li'e this! Though I 'ave to admit, ah never thought that 'ee would act li'e tha again!"

Touya looked confused, "again?" He asked. He then grabbed an oyster shell and removed the slime from his hair. He merely clapped the shells together on some of his hair, and slid it off, bringing the slime with it.

"Ya don' remember toy?" Jin said shocked. Everyone in the room slowly shook their heads (except for Shishi who was still out of it). Jin burst out laughing "Ya really are a bunch o dorks!"

Risho and Sasuka glared while Touya looked confused, Shura was slightly glaring but wouldn't correct his brother.

"Would you kindly explain what we have missed dear brother!" Sasuka said gruffly and Risho nodded his head as he glared.

'Ain' i' obvious? Kura-kun's in love!" Jin calmly stated while brushing his scales with a stone. Many things happened at that comment. Shura fell of his chair, making his newly cleaned scales dirty again; Touya broke the oyster shell in his hand in shock, causing slime to squirt all over his hand. Sasuka's nail cleaner fell to the ground while his eyes popped open, and Risho choked on some seaweed which he was flossing his teeth with.

"WHAT!!" They yelled at Jin who laughed.

"Ya're all a bunch o klutzes taday (I meant to spell that wrong, it's for his accent)!" Jin said laughing.

"That's not the point; just explain to us how you know this!" Shura yelled, and Jin just blinked twice.

"Ee as that nice tide aroun' im again, thas all…" Jin said dreamily. The others just raised a brow and Jin laughed again at their faces. "Okay, ah'll spill! It's 'is songs, they're different from before, avn't ya noticed?"

Touya opened his eyes in realization. Jin was right! Before Kurama would only rarely get caught humming one of his old sad lullabies, but now one could catch him singing a more cheerful tune and more often. Not to mention he was also starting to show up to their singing practices on time (Youko was especially happy about this since he was the teacher.)

"So ya see, ee's also been more relaxed, more 'appy, theirs a certain push in 'is fin which wasn't there before. I's almos' li'e ee's tryin ta impress someone. And tha' new look in 'is eyes… ah remember when I looked tha way at the person ah admire..." Jin sighed for a moment before looking at his brothers again. "Ee's still our brother, ee's just in love, don' worry abou' im too much."

The sea siblings were looking at their brother in a new light. They had never seen Jin so mature before.

"WAIT A MOMENT; How can you realize that when you don't even understand what flirting is?" Shishi yelled. He had just woken up in time o here what was going on with Kurama. Now that the brothers thought about it, he was right…

Jin just smirked, and gave them this evil look. "You never know!" Jin merely said and finished cleaning his scales.

'Is he just acting like an oblivious fool?' All the sea princes thought at once.

"Know what?" They all jumped at the new voice that suddenly appeared behind them. Turning around, they saw the one person they were just discussing.

"K-Kurama, how are you little brother?" Sasuka said with a hand on his chest. The said brother had almost given him a heart attack. 'Stealthy little jerk!'

"Can't complain, so what are you all here for? It's quite common for some of you to bathe together, but for all of you to bathe at once is unusual… are you having one of your 'secret' meetings again?" Kurama said raising a brow. When his brother's eyes shifted nervously to one another's, he laughed and sat down on a stool. "Whatever, I'm just here for a quick shower anyway."

With that, he grabbed a cloth and started wiping himself. As he wiped, foam bubbles started to cover him with every stroke of the towel. He laughed slightly and covered his arms, chest and fin, trying to get every inch of himself.

"'Ere Kura, I'll get your back for ya!" Jin said and Kurama thanked his brother and turned around so Jin could scrub his back for him. It was the only spot he couldn't reach himself so he was grateful to his brother.

"Thanks Jin!" He said when Jin finished. Kurama looked like a foam monster as he swam over to a stall and closed a curtain behind him. Calmly, Kurama saw a handle and turned it to the right until it wouldn't go any further. There was a faint rumbling before a tide came down upon him.

Kurama gritted his teeth as the pouring water slammed onto his head; a shower in the merpeople's kingdom was not very enjoyable, but it got you clean easily. After a minute or so, Kurama Turned off the shower, and started to lather his hair with the same slimy substance Touya had used, only instead of picking it out, he turned on the shower again and let the tide wash it out of his hair for him.

After 3 minutes, Kurama exited the shower, very happy it was finally over. Though now he had trouble swimming strait.

"I'm…done now... continue on with your meeting…" Kurama said slowly. He was kind of dizzy so couldn't talk normally as well. Jin sighed and swam over to him. And put Kurama's arm over his shoulder.

"C'mon mate, your tired a' the moment so lemme 'elp ya navigate until you stop seein' 2 o' everythin'!" Jin announced cheerfully and Kurama just nodded.

Jin waved at his brothers with a grin and mouthed 'I am right' and helped Kurama out the room. The rest of the brothers just stayed silent for a while as they all groomed themselves, until Shura spoke up again.

"Hey guys… do you think Jin is right about Kurama falling for someone?" He asked.

"…I think he is," Sasuka said and he put a brush down, which he was using for his hair. "Next to Youko, Jin knows the most about Kurama… I believe we should trust his judgment for the time being. Agreed?"

"Agreed," the rest of the Sea princes said at once. Even Shishiwakumaru mouthed it before glaring at the ground and looking away.

'Whatever…'

Kurama smiled as he swam down the hall. When he finally could swim straight he left Jin alone with Chu, which they had met on the way, to consider his next clue for Hiei. After 10 minutes of thinking in his room, he thought of one. In his own people's words, he wrote down one word on the water proof envelope 'Mermaid.' Kurama smiled at the convenience. Though Humans, demons and Merpeople spoke the exact same way, their literature was completely different.

'Though when Hiei see's this he'll only think it's a bunch of scribbles, that's what I also first thought when I opened my first human book…' Kurama shuddered at the memory. In the end, Kurama got so frustrated with the book (or more in the fact he couldn't read it) that he ripped it to shreds with a whip. Thinking a little Kurama got an idea and started writing in human literature.

Our languages are the same but our literature is completely different. If you can read this you'll figure out what I am…

Kurama wrote above his first word. 'Perfect!' He thought and he placed it inside his back pack. He usually carried around his bag so no one would suspect anything was in there. Looking up Kurama stopped swimming immediately and bowed deeply. For swimming towards him, was the sea queen.

The sea queen was beautiful, she had pale skin and purplish- pink eyes, her hair was somewhere between red and pink, it depended on the light really (I can't tell -.-U) and her crown was made of a very rare, violet coral, which was tilted on her head. She for cords around her waist and her breasts which were considered clothing underwater, yet they had a second use. The cords had tiny enchantments imprinted on them, so they could raise her water power abilities, with them she could make the most powerful shield the ocean ever saw. They also increased her attack strength and control.

Kurama had moved to the side of the hall to let her pass when he bowed, making sure to keep his head down to her. She absolutely hated it when he looked at her, and he understood. Not only was she upset that he was born as a bastard from a different woman with her own husband, but he had shown that he was stronger then some of her children, which were pure blooded royalty. To say she was disgusted by him was an understatement.

"Kurama Shuichi Minamino…" The queen said and she stopped when she was right in front of him. Shuichi was Youko's nick name for him but it was his middle name as well. Many people believed that's were Youko got it, she had also had used his mother's last name making him flinch. "What are you doing here? Did you not sense my presence? Or did you simply ignore it and swam closer to me so I could feel sick?" She said glaring. She was powerful, so much in fact that you could sense her from far away, and Kurama mentally slapped himself for not paying attention so he could avoid her.

"I'm sorry Lord Luka; I was preoccupied with my own thoughts and did not notice your energy. Please forgive my insolent behavior."

"…Why are you not wearing a shirt?" She said with an evil smile which Kurama didn't see.

"I feel more comfortable without it." Kurama replied monotonously

The queen glared at her eyes glowed slightly. Kurama felt something cut his chest and he cringed, it was definitely a form of water power (I really got to think of a better name for it, any suggestions?), at her level, she didn't need to use her hands to control it. "Appearance is more important then comfort; stupid child!" He felt her cutting more of him, on his shoulder, back, and arms. He made no sound during this and he was happy his bangs shielded his face from her view. She would only cut him worse if he showed pain.

She smirked as she watched the cuts bleed, 'that's enough for now…'

"Remember Kurama, you are unworthy of anything due to your heritage. If you fall for someone, you will be sorry. For no one can love something like you!" With that, she left him and the guards followed behind her in silence, they would never reveal what had happened between the queen and prince.

As she turned the corner, Kurama glared at her. 'Think what you will witch, I will listen to my mother's advice, not yours! You will not scare me anymore!' He thought venomously. She was the reason he was suicidal at a young age, but one day someone made him feel happier then he had in years and the depression ended… 'Now that I think back on it, I don't remember who that was or what he looked like… and wasn't that around the time I got interested human stuff? Oh well, I'll think about it later, after I treat these wounds.' With that, Kurama headed to his room, where he secretly had a first aid kit for such situations.

-Sigh- Its so short! oh well, the plot will be more awesome next chapter.

On the bright side you now know the sea queen. Yaaay- I hate her... oh well, that's not what matters at the moment... maybe! I like the brothers though, but they seem out of character don't they, except Jin? Sorry about that. I hope yellow gorgonian coral is actually hard, or else I might look like an idiot now ;.

So, I know this chapter isn't my best work, bu could u please review. thank u . I'll love u more if u do!