Fai didn't go back to the theatre, but back to Maecenas's stone home. He knew that they, the merpeople, didn't need him anymore, and Kurogane would come back soon enough.
He decided to get some sleep, and went into his room and shrugged off the robe, collapsing onto the bed as the sun began to rise.
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Kurogane rushed back to the home when he had finally gotten away from the theatre. Moving quickly, he burst into Fai's room and shook him awake.
"Get up!" He barked. Fai was immediately alert.
"What is it, Kuro-doggy?" He rubbed sleep out of his eye and sat up.
"The fish are going mad. They must have had the shit scared out of them from us; as soon as they finished moving the dead to the cliff, they began attacking."
Fai gaped at him. "Why?"
"You 'cursed' them, by killing Ashura-"
"But, isn't that what they wanted? To have her gone?"
"No, just to strip her of her power."
"They made it sound like they wanted her dead!" Fai sputtered. "What about all of the 'battle plans'? The weapons? They said they were planning on attacking her!"
Kurogane looked out the window and back to Fai.
"It's too late for that now. The entire polis is out, looking for us. There's too many to take at once; we need to leave."
Fai stared at him. Kurogane, running away?
"Did you hit your head or something?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "I can't believe you're suggesting running away."
Kurogane frowned. "We could just stay here and wait for them, but fighting in a small space like this seems stupid."
Fai flopped back on the pillows. "Oh." He muttered. "Let's go, then." He slid out of his bed, quickly following Kurogane out of the house.
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Kurogane handed the mirror back to Fai before they got too far out in the open. The spear was still lodged in Ashura's chest.
They stayed out of the public places, silently creeping along to get to a safer location. Kurogane had his sword out, ready to kill anyone on the spot.
"Mister?" A small voice asked softly. Fai swung his hand out to grab the ninja's before he could attack. They both turned to see a small child.
"Mister, what's going on? Everything is dark and scary." Her eyes welled up with tears, and she floated there, crying. Kurogane looked startled and truly sad; Fai went over and scooped her up into a hug. Her cries died away at the comfort.
"Excuse me!" A sharp voice called. Fai and Kurogane looked up to see a woman swimming towards them, the mother. She gently took her child back, who had fallen soundly asleep. The woman sighed.
"I'm sorry. My daughter usually doesn't go around like that-"
"It's no trouble." Fai said softly.
I'm sorry too.
The woman looked up at him sadly, studying his face. Her eyes filled with terror, and she looked over to Kurogane. She quickly backed away, and fled. As she rounded a large stone, they heard her call to others.
"They are here! The humans!"
At once, a mob of citizens appeared from what seemed to be everywhere. Fai gaped, and Kurogane took a few swings at those who got too close. A man yelled at them.
"We trusted you to save us, not kill us!" He picked up a rock and threw it at Fai. The blond dodged it, and another began to shout. Everyone seemed to be shouting, throwing things.
"I knew we could never trust humans!"
"We didn't know of the curse!" Fai cried out. The throwing stopped, and silence followed.
Fai shifted his hand, and the mirror reflected light off its surface. The item seemed to frighten the people, and Kurogane quickly became aware of this.
"Let us through, or else." He growled, pointing to the weapon. Everyone quickly backed away, fear in their eyes. Kurogane sighed angrily.
"Come on, mage." He said quietly, swimming up to the surface. Fai nodded, and followed.
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Kurogane broke the surface of the water, looking up into the glowing orb in the sky. Fai appeared next to him, looking to the shore.
"Let's get back to land."
"You going to use magic to change us back?"
"…"
Fai looked over to the side at a boat. It was only about ten feet away. A man was on the port side, about to throw a net out to catch fish. He was gaping at the mermen in the water with an expression that made him look like a fish. Fai waved to him, and the man stiffly beckoned him over, blinking his eyes to check if was seeing things.
"Are the two of ye from below?" He called down to them as Fai came a few feet closer.
"What's it to you?" Kurogane shot back. Fai smiled.
"You could say that, I guess." He replied to the man.
The man blinked again. His eyes shifted between the two creatures below him. One was currently glaring back at him with red eyes, and had a sword. The other seemed to be more relaxed. The glaring one ducked back under the water for a moment to catch his breath, and then reappeared.
Suddenly, the man flung his net out. Only one of the mermen was close enough to get tangled up, the light-haired one. It would be easier though that way, the other one looked too difficult to catch and he himself remain unscathed. He quickly yanked the net back out of the water with the help of a pulley system. The other took a few slashes at the net, but not enough to free the other before he was taken out of reach.
"Dammit!" Kurogane yelled before putting his sword back in its sheath and struggling up the side of the ship.
"You two don't know how much you're worth!" The man cried out. "If I sell just one of you, I'll become rich! I'll be able to feed my family!"
Fai struggled in the net. His hands were tightly trapped in the small square holes of the net, and the mirror fell into his lap, useless. He was having difficulty breathing. Kurogane appeared over the side suddenly, crawling with his arms. He grabbed a clay pot full of sand, and threw it at the man, who was tying the end of the net up. It was now hanging a few feet over the wooden deck, next to the mast. The pot shattered against the back of his head, and the man crumbled to the ground.
"Can you get out?" Kurogane shouted at Fai.
"No! My hands are stuck in the rope."
Kurogane cursed, hitting his fist against the deck. They were both running out time. Furiously, and a little weakly, he began to pull himself towards the spot where the end of the net was. With a single swing of the blade, Kurogane cut it down and Fai, still in the net, crashed to the ground why a cry of surprise.
"What in blazes is going on out here?" A voice roared. The owner of the voice kicked a door open, stepping out onto the deck. He eyed the man slumped over.
"This is why I never pay you in full!" He yelled. "You're always drunk!"
He walked over to wake him up, and came across Kurogane, weakly trying to cut the net away from Fai without cutting him. The ninja was seeing spots, and his vision was blurry, making the task almost impossible. Fai was already out cold, having been out of the water for a few more seconds than Kurogane. With a cry of shock, the new man seized a large bucket of water and emptied it over the two.
"How did the two of you get here?" Hans asked, bending down and freeing Fai from the net. Kurogane shook his head to clear it before answering.
"Ask that bastard." He growled, pointing to the now awake captor. Hans turned to him.
"Mr. Slate?" Hans barked
"Yes, sir?" He replied meekly, getting to his feet and turning around.
"You're fired."
"Fired?!"
"Yes. Fired."
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"This is unfair." Fai grumbled to himself. Hans looked over to him as he walked by with a smile of sympathy. "All the bad luck lately has been falling on me."
"You may just be one that attracts that kind of luck, mister." A crewmember said, passing Hans. He then puffed out his chest. "But, me… I never get bad luck!" He beamed a goofy smile, unaware that he was annoying them, and walked away, tripping on a stray boot and falling on his face.
Kurogane laughed. He and Fai were currently stretched out in the shade with buckets of water next to them. Whenever they needed to, they would just splash their gills with some water. Kurogane was leaning against a wall. Earlier, he and Fai had to be almost carried over to the location. His pride was crushed. Fai was lightly dozing, lying on his stomach, until he woke up and began complaining. The cabin boy was sitting next to him, staring with wide eyes at their tails. Kurogane grumbled to the boy, asking how much longer they had to stay on the "god damn boat". The poor child's eye's widened in fright; he was afraid of this scary man.
"A-a few more hours, at the most, sir!" He squeaked. Fai glanced at Kurogane and back to the boy, whom he patted on the head.
"You don't need to worry about Kuro-grumpy!" He smiled. The boy smiled back, and scampered back to work. Fai chuckled. "You like scaring kids now?"
Kurogane scowled. "He needs to learn more respect, instead of staring at people like some idiot."
Fai sighed, looking away with a lost smile.