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What will Kenshin do now that he knows about Van?

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Kenshin watched Van as the strong young man worked with other members of the crew. He was at the helm, so he wouldn't be deterred from the course only he knew. He knew that in these waters was the mermaid that he sought. He only needed to draw her in and catch her, and she, along with riches beyond comprehension, would be his and his alone. He knew she preyed on men that were alone on ships, like a phantom, she would be there one moment, take the man under, and be gone the next, only for the body of the unfortunate soul to float up, heartless.

But Van, or should he say, King Van, seemed to have encountered her already. He might've been lucky to have met her, or unlucky enough to have caught her attention, because not many survived once she targeted them. Kenshin himself was one of the lucky ones.

The redheaded captain took out a glass pendant hanging on a gold chain. Inside laid a gold scale, something he'd been able to pluck from her tail. More valuable than any chest of treasure, it would give him good luck for as long as he had it. So who needed to take any chances? All bets would be in his favor. His crew had learned that the hard way.

The demon mermaid had given up on him once he'd taken one of her scales, since he would be lucky enough to escape her, should she try to take him like her other victims. He grinned and knew that it was only a matter of time before he would take her and capture her heart. It made him feel elated, to feel love again and be the most powerful pirate, be the king of pirates with the trove he would take years and years to empty.

"Misao-dono, take the helm. I want to have a word with Fanel-san," he ordered, letting go of the wheel and not even looking back to see if the girl had, since he knew she was fiercely loyal to him.

He approached the dark-haired youth and spoke. "Fanel-san."

Van looked up and acknowledged, "Kenshin-taisho?"

"Come with me into my cabin. There is something I wish to discuss with you."

Van blinked and followed, closing the door behind him. "What is it, Taisho? I wasn't quite done with my task yet."

"Fanel Van, one of my crew overheard a conversation between you and Schezar-san, something about you and your reasons for being here."

Van's eyes widened as he realized that he should've known it wasn't safe on this ship to talk freely about himself or anything, for that matter. "Yes, Taisho."

"You're not an angel, and you're the king of a country. You encountered a beautiful woman the night we were at port, and you lied to me, your captain, about it."

"I'm sorry sir, I would've thought you would've laughed at me for saying so, sir. And it was rather personal."

"I happen to know who you met that night."

"Who, Taisho? The ghost of a girl?"

"No, it was the mermaid that you've probably heard about by now from the rest of the crew. You should be wary around her, because she was probably after your heart."

Van held a hand to his left breast, flushing darkly. "My…heart?"

Kenshin snorted. "Yes, to rip it from your chest and eat it."

Just like that, the Draconian boy's face went from crimson to ashen as he realized that she would've killed him, had they been alone for long enough. But she hadn't seemed dangerous to him…but that was probably her intention, to lure him into a false sense of security before she struck.

"How do you know she would've killed me?"

"Well, I've met her myself, yet I escaped because I was smart enough not to fall for her charms. I was very lucky to have been able to keep my wits about me. She usually targets lonely men, they're easier to take down, because they're longing for companionship."

"Do you think she'll come after me again?"

"Who knows? But if she's hungry enough, she will chase you to the ends of the earth, which will be good for me, because I want to capture her and have her fall in love with me."

"I'll be the bait and you'll snare her?"

"Precisely Fanel-san, because of you, I now have a chance again to catch her off guard."

"Why won't she go after you?"

"She won't because I have something that won't let me have the misfortune of falling under her spell. She knows that much, and has given up on trying to get me close enough to tear my heart out."

Van blinked and considered what he should do. Should he not tell anyone about any more meetings with the mermaid and try to snare her himself? But he didn't know enough not to fall under her spell. Well, he knew enough to be wary of her, but what else did he have to use against her?

His fingers closed around the pendant Hitomi had given him. That was it! He could wish that something other than being eaten by her would happen and it would fall under his control! Kenshin didn't know the powers of the pendant, so he wouldn't know what happened when the mermaid was caught without ropes or bindings of any kind.

So what will prevail? Fate or luck? Only the next chapter will tell!

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