Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.

the delta sun burns bright and violet
by. Poisoned Scarlett

They spotted some mermaid peering at them cautiously from afar over the next few days. They hadn't sang their songs yet although Kilik swore he heard one from the distance one night. Sid had advised to keep their ears plugged and their hearts locked at all times. Soul had no problem with the earplug bit: he often plugged his ears with his own music even though it got him smacked on the head because it made him deafer than Black Star when he was on a spiel of his mightiness. The heart bit was a little harder, not because he was a man easily swayed by the often capricious woman specie but because the thought of killing something with a human face was a hard pill to swallow.

Soul saw that mermaid from the stormy night a few times over the days. He knew it was her because he'd seen a flash of green that night and she was the only one with eyes greener than the leaves at the height of summer and with hair as dark as bronzed gold, always parted to fall down her creamy shoulders like low-tied pigtails. She often watched him and it unnerved him although no one else seemed to notice her. She always disappeared whenever someone was nearby so he'd taken to hanging out with the guys a lot more—because, really, the last thing he needed was to be on some mermaids hit list. That would just be the fucking icing on the cake.

What he didn't like was how sometimes, when his thoughts were hazy from the hot day and his muscles ached with exhaustion from so many days at sea, how he'd always look to the sea and look for her. He actively looked for her, which should have told him something was horribly wrong already, and when she popped her head out of the water, he felt more at ease. It should have the opposite effect. Her appearance should induce horror or disgust but instead it eased him and, when she didn't appear, it always had him on edge about her whereabouts.

It was stupid and made no sense.

He was stupid and made no sense.

And, well, fuck, that wasn't anything new.

"My brother was killed by a mermaid," Harvar offhandedly said that afternoon, breaking Soul's moody thoughts. Harvar had shifted his hand into the tip of the spear and the unbearably hot sun glinted off the gold surface. "He was always a dreamer and he thought he had found his soul mate with a mermaid." His hand became human again and Soul wiped sweat off his brow, shoving the mop into the bucket as Harvar continued to keep look out. "He was a fool."

"It's in their nature," Soul shrugged. "Sid said if any of us fell for it, we'd turn the boat around immediately."

"What help would that be?" Harvar asked, more to himself than Soul. He stared out at sea, his eyes hidden behind a pair of aviator shades. Soul could not read his expression, much less his flat voice. "Once you hear the song, you're done for."

"Being on land helps weaken the spell," Soul said. "And Sid said something about drinking a special brew that'll help break it altogether."

"Brew? Do you actually believe that?"

"Fuck no," Soul snorted. "Being on land should be enough to come to your senses. It's not like you'll actually go back if you know she's going to drown you."

"That's where the irony lies, Soul," Harvar told him, darkly. "Despite knowing what awaits you, you still return."

Soul gave him a measured look before he went back to mopping the floor, as it was his duty today. "You have some sort of vendetta against mermaids?"

"Only one," Harvar replied, casually. "I don't have much care for them, though. I'm more interested in the sea serpents we were sent to hunt."

"I'd rather hunt down a mermaid than a serpent," Soul deadpanned.

Harvar quirked a smile at that. "My ambitions are high."

Or you're fucking crazy, Soul thought but said nothing. He continued with his tasks for the day in silence and, when he was done, he stretched and checked his arms for any signs of a sunburn. Nothing except he didn't think he could get any darker than he already was. He'd been pale-skinned and a skinny pathetic thing when he first came into the care of Sid but now his skin had a healthy golden glow and he'd packed on somemuscle. His skinny ass older brother could suck it: Soul could punch a hole in the wall without any trouble and he was sure his brother would break a knuckle and not even make a dent.

Sid worked him to the bone and hunting the many creatures of the sea took a lot of effort and strength; plus, it helped to train with Black Star, the buffest one in their crew. But Soul focused more on his skills as a scythe than brute strength. It was more than learning how to morph blades out of your body, there was a technique to be learned and Soul had done his best to learn by watching others—especially Clay, since he was a sword type. Soul could now say he had his own technique down, after months of being the bitter loser during the first year, although full-weapon morphing was still out of his reach. He was probably doing something wrong, if it hurt that much to try and draw his scythe out from his body, but the other Weapons were pretty useless with giving him advice. They were about as articulate as a blushing schoolboy confessing to his crush and Harvar always made him feel like a fucking retard when he asked.

But he could wrangle himself a serpent if it came down to it.

Mermaids should be a piece of cake.

He thought about that mermaid with the green eyes and smirked. If she wanted him dead, the bitch had another thing coming.

"EATER! GET THOSE DAMN THINGS OUTTA' YOUR EARS AND GET DOWN HERE!" Sid roared from somewhere on the other end of the boat.

"I WASN'T LISTENING TO MUSIC!"

"EATER, DAMMIT!"

"Tch," Soul grumbled.

"You better start walking," Harvar smirked, mildly amused.

"In a second!" Soul snapped, yawning widely and taking his sweet time. He gave the sky one last sleepy look before he headed over to see what Sid wanted, aware that Harvar had yet to remove his eyes from the sea and he was scratching the paint on the boat with the tip of his spear-head hand. He hadn't made it five steps when Harvar suddenly stood up, leaping off the roof and landing on the freshly mopped floor solidly.

"Soul, wait."

"What? Sid's gonna' rip me a new one if I don't get down there in the next five seconds," Soul reminded, a touch annoyed.

"Mermaids, over there!"

Soul followed his sight and stared at the numerous heads the bobbed out of the water in shock. Sure, they'd come up for air once in awhile but never this many and never at the same time. He thought he saw one part her lips to sing but he was already running to Sid.

"SID!" Soul slid to a stop and the dark-skinned man looked up, about to threaten to break that piece of shit MP3 player of his when he saw the earplugs dangling around his neck. "Something's wrong. There's at least fifteen mermaids out front!"

"What? If this is another one of you and Black Star's pranks..." Sid dangerously warned.

"I'm not that much of a shit," Soul deadpanned and Sid snorted but stood up, wiping his brow with the back of his hand.

"That's unusual..." Sid set his jaw and ordered his ass back to where Harvar was, reminding him to plug his ears before he did. Soul obeyed but not before casting a troubled look at Sid, who had his lips pressed together grimly and his brows set with worry. He knew mermaids were a major concern at sea but, hell, Sid hadn't been this worried about the sea serpents and they were said to be more vicious than mermaids! Was there something Soul was missing or did everyone on the damn boat have drama with mermaids?

"Don't let your guard down," Harvar told him when he returned, shifting his forearm into that of a spear. "We're finally going to hunt a mermaid."

Soul turned up the volume full-blast on his iPod and flicked out his wrist, summoning his scythe. "About time, it was starting to get boring."

"WHERE ARE THE MERMAIDS? THEY MUST FEAST THEIR SIGHTS UPON MY GODLY FORM!" Black Star boomed as he arrived, always flashy and never quiet. "No fighting, please, there's enough of me to go around!" He laughed outright, grinning like an idiot and oblivious to the tension that swelled the hot sea air.

"Black Star, shut up and get over here!" Kilik shouted, shaking his head but not without a grin at the guy. "You heard Sid, better get those plugs in your ears before you go jumping in the water!"

"HA! As if some woman's gonna' enchant the great ME!" He boasted, thumbing at himself. "More like I'll be the one enchanting HER! HAHA!"

"Moron," Harvar scoffed.

"Soul, what is the situation?" Kidd asked in his usual controlled voice, coming to stand beside him and not dictating a single word to the others. It was simply how he was: efficient, remote, to the point with little tolerance of small-talk of any sort. He was the second in command and more often than naught gave out the orders while Sid got his hands dirty. He mingled with the guys at times, when he grew bored of watching the seas and steering the boat, but more often he could be found in the captains quarters planning for months ahead.

Soul lowered the volume on his iPod. "What?"

Kidd huffed out a small chuckle at his blank look. "Ah, listening to music again. I'll excuse you today because we have mermaids on our hands. I asked of the situation."

Soul nodded at the various mermaids who bobbed in the sea. "That's our problem. They came out of nowhere and they haven't sung yet. They're just floating there."

Kidd observed them clinically. "They're either preparing to capsize the boat or they are warning us against something. And, considering they have not yet capsized the boat nor sung, I presume it is the latter."

"Mermaids wouldn't help us," Harvar sneered.

Kidd looked at him mildly. "Mermaids are known to be helpful from time to time. They would not consider our boat a hunters boat, however. It's smaller than most so they probably assume we're unlucky fishermen. If so, I intend to keep it that way," Kidd's eyes sharpened. "At least until I can be sure we can win."

"Can we?"

"Not with this many, they'd capsize the boat. But don't worry too much, Sid and I have been in these types of situations before. There is something out there they do not want us to come across, be it for our safety or theirs, so it's best to heed their warning for now."

"We should just hunt them," Harvar suggested bluntly. "Get rid of them before they realize who we really are."

Kidd spared him a look. "Patience. Keep a look out and do not provoke them. I need a few words with Sid." He was gone again and Soul returned his sights to the seas, searching for a familiar pair of verdant eyes.

"Hey, we should probably not show them we're weapons," Soul muttered and shifted his scythe back into his skin. Harvar did the same seconds later.

"If they are warning us against something, what could it be?" Harvar slit his eyes when the mermaids began to cut a path for them. The two men could hear the others gather behind them, ready to fight if need be, but the mermaid's watched with cool detachment as they crossed. Soul had to admit, they were all gorgeous and with a pull unlike any he'd ever felt before, but he didn't let his eyes linger on any single one for too long. He was already on one mermaids hit list, being on another's would be only more uncool.

"Hey, are they topless?" Kilik grinned widely. "Sid, you never told us they were naked!"

"They live in the sea, what'd'ya' expect?" he shouted back, more focused on the map spread before him than the men's shallow excitement.

"Topless, what?" Clay gaped. "Lemme' see!"

"Naw, man, you're still too young for this!" Kilik laughed and pushed Clay back when he tried to get past him. However the man managed to make it to the edge and his eyes became as wide as saucers when they latched onto the generous bosom of one and then two and then three.

"Boobies," he sighed, dreamily.

"Head outta' the gutter, you dipshit!" Sid snapped and grabbed him by the back of his shirt and tossed him on the floor next to Soul. "Any closer and she'd grab and drown you!"

"I don't mind being drowned," Clay said as he rubbed his sore head, grinning goofily. "As long as it's between those tits!"

Soul snickered when Sid kicked his foot into Clay's back and told him to shut up before he got mopping duty again.

The mermaids kept their treacherous song to themselves, much to the crews curiosity, and they made it past them without any other trouble. Soul looked back and saw them disappear beneath the waves, going back to wherever mermaids went for comfort. He wondered if that green-eyed mermaid was one of the ones in the group and, if not, why the hell she wasn't. He looked around again, frowning when he didn't see her anywhere. That was weird, she'd always popped up to watch him before and now when she had the perfect opportunity to, she was not there. Some timing she had, Soul chuckled to himself.

"HA! THEY SAW ME AND THOUGHT TWICE ABOUT BOTHERING US!" Black Star boasted, smugly.

"More like they saw you and took pity!" Ox smirked and burst out laughing with the others when Black Star steamed.

"Alright guys!" Sid hollered, and they quieted to hear what he had to say. "Mission starts now. We're heading into serpent waters, that's what the mermaids were trying to warn us about. Keep a look out for them and don't let your guard down—serpents like pulling men overboard," Sid grinned at the nausea on Clay's face. "Catch three and we can head back home!"

"How much you wanna' bet I can catch three in a week?" Black Star whispered to Soul as Sid continued to talk.

"A week? Yeah, right."

"What? You scared you'll lose?" he taunted.

"Fine, let's bet on it: fifty bucks says you can't," Soul smirked and the man grinned viciously, both shaking on it before Sid snapped at them to pay attention.

The boat continued onto stiller waters for another hour, the mermaids long gone by now and the others having taken refuge inside for lunch and some TV. Soul lingered outside for the time being, leaning on the rail, while Harvar continued his lookout up on the roof of the cabin. Soul stifled a yawn in his hand and his sleepy eyes caught waving from afar. Sleep was quickly forgotten when he saw who it was: that green-eyed mermaid. She was back and... looking panicked He furrowed his brows at her frantic waving and then his eyes dropped to the water, freezing when he saw a great mass breach the sea surface and curl beneath the hull.

"Uh…hey, Harvar?"

"Yeah?"

"Y'know how you said you wanted to kill a serpent?"

"Yes?"

"Here's your chance," Soul gulped and backed away from the boats edge as the creature rose from the water with disturbing silence and opened its jaws in a head-jarring screech, tilting the boat to one side dangerously. Harvar's eyes bulged before determination slid back into place and he held out his hand, drawing out his spear weapon from his body in a flash of light.

The serpent was lighter than the ones Soul had seen in photos, something caught between gray and white, and it was not as big as it could be. But it was still a sizeable beast, could probably wrap itself in their deck twice if they managed to haul it in—dead, thank you very much—but nothing a Weapon couldn't kill.

The screech had attracted the attention of the others and soon everyone was outside, Sid in the background barking out orders and Kilik very calmly saying he'd in the kitchen experimenting with different sauces because he was getting too old to deal with crap like this. Soul could spot Kidd by the wheel, slowing the boat, his face set coolly, and then Clay was sliding a blade out of his body to the hilt—until he could grip it in his hand, a flash of light that made the serpent hiss and rock their boat.

Clay, along with Harvar, had already mastered full-weapon transformation. Soul was still unable to completely draw out his scythe from his body—it hurt him and the times he nearly detached the scythe from himself, the pain became too unbearable and the blade would ricochet back inside of him hard enough to bring him to his knees. He would have to make do with partial transformation, which didn't settle well with him at all.

"Hey, Harvar, you ready man?" Clay grinned violently.

"You lure it closer, I'll bring it down! Soul, back up!" Harvar told him from over his shoulder.

"Got it," Soul nodded.

"WHOOHOOO!" Black Star grinned wickedly, twirling his steel chain scythe with a vigor usually reserved for drunken nights. He had an arsenal of weapons kept in a chest in his room but it seemed that for a serpent, Black Star preferred to go with his usual chain scythes. "AS IF SOME OVERSIZED SNAKE'S GONNA' BEAT THE MIGHTY ME!"

Soul kept to the sides, not about to try his luck. He said he could take one on but that didn't mean he was about to test that theory. He was nowhere near suicidal even if Clay liked to tease him about being broody. Shit, he just got ahold of his scythe technique and he was not going to muck things up by getting himself killed before he could master full-transformation. Weapons died everyday, especially on sea, although most causalities laid on land with the Kishin, the most vicious of supernatural creatures yet. Soul figured he'd have better luck slaying these things on land, at least there he knew he couldn't fall overboard. The serpent had an advantage here, an advantage Soul didn't want to give it the satisfaction of.

Things had gone well, for the most part. They worked well as a team and Soul had even been able to make himself useful and slice part of the serpent as a distraction while the others tried to bring it in for a strangle. Its skin and its teeth were of particular value so Sid hollered for them to pay specific attention to the head as they wrangled with the beast. This would be the first of three of the things they were being paid to capture before they could head back to the moor and go their separate ways.

"Two more and you owe me fifty, Soul!" Black Star shouted as he twirled his chain scythes.

"Chill out, Star, it's only one!"

"Another one and you're screwed!"

"Heh," Soul grinned as Harvar twirled his spear and stabbed it into the head, making sure to cut through until the tip of his spear hit the smooth surface of the deck. "We agreed on three. I'll start shitting it when you reach three."

Things went wrong when Black Star sliced off its head but the things twitching tail managed to wrap around Harvar's arm, bringing him overboard. At least he would have, had Soul not darted forward and grabbed his wrist before he could. But now he was halfway out of the boat and Harvar was being dragged down by the weight of the rest of the serpent.

"C'mon, climb up," Soul hissed.

"I can't," he grunted back. "My shoulder," he gnashed his teeth and let out a pained grunt. Harvar's shades were still on his face, miraculously, and Soul wished he would just climb the fuck up because he was slipping and he sure was hell wasn't going to dive into serpent infested waters for this son of a bitch.

Turned out he spoke too soon.

They both slipped over the edge and hit the water hard. Soul surfaced seconds after, coughing and cursing, but Harvar didn't and he knew why. And fuck, he did not want to go back down for the guy but the crew was family so that meant Harvar was family and although Soul hated his own family that didn't mean he was against starting anew. And he was not going to screw up with this new family, either.

So he dived back down, swimming deeper and deeper until his ears popped. And he grabbed Harvar by his shirt and pulled him up, exhaling precious air as he did, and then his lungs began to burn urgently. He cursed, panicking, struggling to pull Harvar up but the snakes grip on him was tight and its dead weight like an anchor. That urgency nearly won, made his head start to feel fuzzy and eyes start to see black, but then there were other hands on him—soft, small, and Soul turned sharply to find bright green eyes.

He screamed, a blow of bubbles and his last breath. She grabbed him from under his arms and pulled up, urgently, and when she saw what he was holding onto, she swam down and hurriedly tugged the serpents trail off the mans arm with some difficulty. With that weight gone, and Soul slowly starting to go as well, she pulled both men up as quickly as she could. Within seconds, Soul was breaching the surface, coughing and hacking and gulping in deep breaths greedily while she stayed under water.

"Harvar," Soul wheezed, shaking out his hair so it didn't get in his eyes. "Harvar!" Soul shoved Harvar up, cursing when he didn't respond and only sank back down. "Shit…HE'S NOT BREATHING!" Soul shouted hoarsely and soon after Black Star and the others threw a lifebuoy down at them. He hefted Harvar onto it and shook him again, barely getting a response. "Bring him up first!" Soul shouted and he helped them lead the man up over the top. Once he had been pulled over the edge did Soul sigh in relief but he quickly tensed when he felt the water swish by his legs. Then he felt someone rise uncomfortably close behind him, close enough that he felt their skin rub against his back.

He turned, coming face to face with the green-eyed mermaid. She was beautiful, he couldn't deny that, and it almost took him by surprise just how much. Her skin was porcelain and perfect and her eyes were as deep as he thought them to be; a dark sea green, glowing bright with the rays of the sun. Her hair was lighter under the sun and long, strands of it spreading over the waters surface like a blooming flower. She had soft pink lips, an elegant swans neck that led down to…his eyes quickly shot up because holy shit she wasn't wearing anything to cover her tiny tits. But they were nice tits, perky and pink and round—and he swam the hell away before he could let himself be swayed and practically shouted for those idiots to save him because a fucking mermaid was about to drown him!

"I'm not going to drown you, you twit!" She glared.

Her voice was pretty, too, a high tinkling sound that roused the inner musician in him. But he refused to be swayed—like a stupid mermaid was going to make him go gaga, even if his hands already burned to touch those perky tits of hers.

"Yeah, and the suns blue!" Soul sneered.

The mermaid pursed her lips in reply. "If I wanted to drown you, I would have done it already! I would have let you sink with that man!"

"Why didn't you? What do you want, huh, I've seen you around a lot," he growled, raising a hand to reveal a scythe.

She startled at that, jerking back in surprise and apprehension. "You're a weapon?" She asked, a lot less confident now.

Good, he thought with wicked glee, perhaps he'd have his first mermaid sooner than he thought. But he found himself hesitating when she gave him that startled doe-like look again—the one that was so human, so scared, that dammit he wanted her to do something. React, attack, hell, give him a dirty look so he had a reason to arc his blade across her neck. But she only stared at him, swallowing as his scythe grew longer and sharper. She didn't even try to swim away, the idiot, she just floated there and stared at his scythe and then back at him with that same wide-eyed look of curiosity and fear. Looking so cute, so completely harmless.

Aw, fuck me, Soul thought with an inward groan. Stop looking at me like that.

As if she could read his mind, her head bowed a bit more and she looked up at him from her lashes.

Shit. Damn cute mermaid. I'm onto you, he scowled at her as if she had wrong him someway, which she certainly had in his opinion, and she cocked her head and he gave up trying to intimidate her altogether.

"SOUL! You alright down there? Harvar's good, just wait a couple more seconds and we'll get you out, too!"

"Damn," Soul cursed. He grabbed her and pulled her against the boat before anyone could see her, surprised she let herself so easily. That surprise was erased when she grabbed his wrist hard enough to bruise and gave him a furious look. "Chill out!" He spat out water when a wave hit him. "If they see you, they'll kill you!"

"Weren't you about to do that just now?" She accused.

"Soul?" Black Star shouted again, more alarmed.

"I'M FINE!" He snapped back and then sneered at her, "You're not worth killing," and figured that wasn't the right to say when her mouth slacked in outrage. There was no need to sign his death warrant so soon so he amended: "I mean, you just saved my life! It wouldn't be fair to kill you like this. So, next time," he added with a quirk of his lips. Her outrage slowly subsided and she watched in wonder as the man with the stark white hair and strange red eyes grinned dangerously at her, revealing jagged teeth that shouldn't have interested her as much as they did—that shouldn't have roused something inside of her, drawing her closer to him although all logic told her to back away from the man with the wicked grin and cloudy red eyes. "Next time you won't be so lucky."

"I can take care of myself," she defended, close enough that Soul could feel the bat of her tail against his foot. It didn't startle him like before.

"Yeah, that's why you just floated there like an idiot when I threatened to kill you," Soul sarcastically shot back and she pinked and he was so onto her—she was doing this on purpose, being all cute and shit. He would not fall for it. He was better than that. At least he hoped so.

"I could have defended myself if you had attacked me!" She insisted and he smirked, totally not believing her and not bothering to hide it.

She puffed her cheeks out. "I could have!"

"Sure."

"I really could have!"

"Yeah."

She slit her eyes, green eyes flashing with annoyance. "You should be more afraid of me," she suddenly said and then she was so close their noses touched and Soul made a sound between a gargle and a choke and jerked back with surprise. "I could drown you right now if I wanted to but I won't because you're right," She smiled slowly, a sensuous and predatory smile that shouldn't have turned him on as much as it did. Her eyes twinkled. Her skin was soft and wet and her lips were pink, pink and pouty. Pink. He knew he was staring and he didn't really care.

"Next time," she agreed and then he looked up to find her eyes bright and hot—her smile just dark enough to make him think she would drown him if he misjudged his next step. "You'll be mine," she hissed and he set his teeth, not liking just how much he liked the sound of that.

"Tch, yeah, right," he forced out. "In your dreams," and made sure to keep a distance from her even though her tail kept sliding up his leg suggestively.

"Mermaids do not dream," she told him matter-of-factly.

"That's rough. I'd say more but I really don't care," Soul drawled and she pressed her lips together, clearly irked by his resistance.

"I hear dreams are not always pleasant—I've heard sailors awaken screaming sometimes," she told him and she pressed herself up against the boat, back arched so her breasts seemed almost offered up to him—perky and wet and he knew with an unnerving amount of certainty that they would fill his hands just right and Jesus Christ, he found himself thinking with nausea, was she really doing what he thought she was doing? If she was, he had no idea what he was going to do about it except he hoped the guys didn't notice his boner. "I do hope you don't awaken screaming," she smiled sickly sweet and he knew she was just fucking with him.

Getting seduced by one of the things he needed to kill was not part of the plan. He was onto her, though, she was already working her funky mermaid charm on him and screwing with him—trying to unbalance him, make him succumb to her. And she had another thing coming even though she was halfway to her goal.

So, steeling himself and hardening his eyes, trying to pick up the pieces of his broken pride and slowly cracking self-control, he told her, glad his voice came out strong:

"Good dreams or not, I'm not kidding. If I see you again, I'll kill you," and then the lifebuoy was back and he was clutching onto it, glad to say that at least he got the last word in this battle of wits.

The mermaid made sure to keep against the boat, watching him with that same intensity that had unnerved him up on deck. Now it stirred something else inside of him, something he knew was troublesome and dangerous, and then she sunk back into the waters and disappeared altogether.

He didn't breathe a word of her when the others asked if he was fine as his face was flushed and his shoulders were rigid and back stiff.

He was just glad they let him go to the bathroom and didn't ask any questions when he came back out looking a lot more relaxed.