Me: Like I said, this chapter will also be a long but here it is.

Masahiro: I bet this one will be even longer than the last chapter you wrote.

Me: Yeah. Anyway, I would like to thank you guys for all the reviews and likes. Thank you for also being patient. Oh and Steven Club, here's the answer to the second question in this chapter.

Masahiro: As usual, Zahir890 does not own Mermaid Melody. Just the OCs.

Me: And now Let Chapter 6 begin!

Masahiro: Say, do I look hot without glasses?

Me: -_- .

Chapter 6: Events leading to Azumi's suicide and Hippo's reasoning.

"Here he is." Luchia said as she pushed Hippo in front of Naoki.

Hippo shooked in fear. Ever since Yukito had revealed the law to them, he had been sweating and gulping and even tried to block Hanon from going out with Nagisa but failed.

But Hippo never knew that Naoki was determined to find him and make him confess about his betrayal to Azumi by ruining her life which led her to commit suicide.

When he heard that the words 'Bring the Penguin.', this is where he tried to hide somewhere only to get dragged back by Luchia who found him hiding under the table.

Now he is preparing for the worst to come.

"Are you...Naoki...?" Hippo said nervously.

"Yes I am." Naoki said

"It's...fortune...to meet...you...former mermaid princess of North Atlantic Ocean." Hippo said and bowed nervously.

"Well Hippo. It seems that you have a lot of explaining to do. Not only your actions broke Azumi's heart but also it lead her to commit suicide!"

Hippo was shocked when he heard that word 'suicide'. He never knew about Azumi's fate untill now. He then realized his biggest mistake he had ever committed in his life: not telling Azumi about the law in which she can reveal her true form to her loved one if his mom is an ordinary mermaid or a mermaid princess. He realized he totally broke Azumi's heart at that time.

"I don't believe it! Azumi committed suicide due to my actions. What have I done?" Hippo thought sadly with a tear from his eye which no one noticed.

Everyone was shocked about what Naoki was saying to Hippo.

"Are you blaming Hippo for Azumi's suicide?" Nikora said in shock.

"Yes I am." Naoki said.

"But why?! Why blame him? Sure he has done some wrong talks but he has saved us countless times." Luchia cried.

"We suspected him at first." Kaito said.

"Kaito? You too?"

"Yeah Luchia. Me and Rina first suspected him when he tried to block Hanon from going out with Nagisa."

"Me too." Rina said.

"Me three." Madame Taki proclaimed.

"Taki?" Luchia said.

"When we all met Yukito, Hippo was not there. I even saw Hippo mopping around ever since Yukito revealed the law that we did not know at that time. Now we all met Naoki and Hippo is not even there. So clearly Hippo is clearly responsible."

"If you guys think Hippo is responsible for her suicide, then I am convinced as well. How could you Hippo?" Hanon said and she stared angrily at Hippo.

"I am confused." Nikora said as her mind is split into two about whether she should join the ones who believe Hippo is guilty or not.

But Luchia remain firm.

"I am not convinced that Hippo is guilty! Unless you guys can give me strong proof, I will remain firm with Hippo!" Luchia said as she stood beside Hippo.

"I have the evidence. Luchia. Please listen carefully." Naoki said as she began to speak.

"When the book of Mermaid Laws, in which Yukito showed you, was first written, it is mandatory that we should all learn these laws if we become mermaid princess. First it was sent to the South Atlantic Ocean in which Yukito learned it. Then to North Atlantic Ocean, in which I learned it. But then when it came to the North Pacific Ocean, this thing happened which I will tell you later."

"After a few years spending on the sea, we went to the human world hoping to find love and educate ourselves and hope that we are lucky to find out someone whose mom is an ordinary mermaid or a former mermaid princess in which he can become a prince. At school, Azumi found someone who secretly showed her that his mom was a mermaid. She was extremely happy and she told us about it. We thought we might be the ones to struggle to find love but instead a twist happened."

Naoki's every truthful words make Hippo shiver in fear.

"The first one to find love was Yukito who had fallen heels on a handsome man name Taoki Shirai..." Naoki was saying but was interrupted by Hanon.

"Taoki? That's Nagisa's dad." Hanon said.

"How did you know?"

"I met him with Yukito when I was shopping with Nagisa."

"I see. Anyway, Taoki's mom wasn't a mermaid. However, Yukito was very lucky not to turn into bubbles because it was Taoki who found her in the sea as a mermaid form. The law said that she will turn into bubbles if she reveals to him which she didn't do so."

"I was next to be able to find love. You saw him on the photo I showed you just now. That's Shizuro Hamasaki. Like Yukito, I was also lucky not to turn into bubbles because Shizuro showed me that law which I told you right now that I won't turn into bubbles if his last name was Hamasaki, although his mom was also not a mermaid."

"While we were happy, we were a bit surprised about Azumi. We thought that Azumi might be happy as well. Instead, she was struggling with her boyfriend because she refused to tell him the secret about she being a mermaid princess. We were surprised because if his mom was a mermaid, then why she could not reveal her true form. We talked about that to her but we were shocked that she told us that she never heard of that law in which she can reveal her true form if his mom was a ordinary mermaid or a former mermaid princess."

"I asked her who showed you the book. We were further shocked that she told us that we had never seen that book. She did told us, however, that a guardian name Hippo who is a penguin in a sailor's suit told her Almost all the laws but not this one. She said she believed Hippo and will always believe him."

Everybody gave a loud gasp.

"And then one day, a tragedy struck. While we were chatting, we all saw that, to our shocks, that her boyfriend is now with another girl! Azumi went to talk to him about this but he said he is giving up on her because she refuses to tell him the secret she is keeping. After school, me and Yukito went to talk to Azumi but she was in tears. She told us that she will be back. Unfortunately..."

A tear came out of Naoki's eyes. She wiped it with the handkerchief Shizuro gave her. Hippo shivered in fear. He knew that every word, every sentence she is telling is totally true

"Naoki has such a good memory. She is telling everything that had happened. I am so dead!" Hippo thought frightfully.

"Unfortunately that's the last time we ever saw her." Naoki continued, "The next day, we heard in the news that Azumi had committed suicide by hanging herself! Her body was found at her home. I and Yukito couldn't believe it! Our school was in grief but we were hit the hardest since she was our best friends. Yukito was in a mental breakdown and cried for two whole days..."

"Poor Yukito. You guys must had a terrible time." Hanon said sadly.

"Anyway, we had to move on. After graduating, we got married. We knew that when we get married, we will no longer be a mermaid princess although we can be in the next few months. Our husbands were also sad since they knew that Azumi was our best friend."

"After a few months, we went to our respective kingdoms to give our pearls so that the pearl will be handed over to the next mermaid princess which is you guys. We get to keep our shell locket and we are welcomed any time."

"After that, Yukito went to the police station and I went to the North Pacific Kingdom to know why the book had never came to their kingdom. It was Azumi's death anniversary at that time. One mermaid, who was Azumi's helper, told me about what happened which first led me to suspect Hippo."

All were curious to hear what Naoki had to say. Nikora, at first, gave Naoki two glasses of water because she had been non-stop talking about events that led to Azumi's suicide and afterwards. Hippo is almost in white now. He look like a penguin in his dreams (or on the moon! HaHaHa)

After a few minutes rest, Naoki continued:

"She said to me that when the book came to the kingdom, she was very excited. However, all of a sudden, Hippo snatched the book from her. He then read the whole book and then suddenly when he read that law which Yukito showed you guys, he immediately closed the book and threw it away which shocked her. Hippo then told he will tell Azumi everything but never ever that law. She even told me that Hippo even spoke harshly to her."

"At first I didn't believe her because I thought that they were some water demons that might have torn the book. When I returned to the land, Yukito showed me the suicide note which Azumi wrote. It was then I realized that Hippo was the reason for Azumi's suicide."

"When I read the suicide note and thought of what that mermaid said, I immediately realized what had happened after Azumi had left school. She must have swam deep down the ocean while crying and then suddenly she saw that book. She then opened the book and suddenly saw that law. Shocked that Hippo had betrayed her by not telling her about that and had already lost her boyfriend, she must had gone to her home, written down that suicide note and then hanged herself."

Everyone was shocked. They could not believe it! Kaito made a angry stare at Hippo. He never thought Hippo would act like this before. He never knew Hippo would do such a thing.

"You low-life penguin scum! You really did that?! You are unforgivable! You are even worse than my brother." Kaito muttered angrily. Hippo heard it and is scared. He is so scared that he didn't have the courage to resist.

"And so the book was never found which means you were never told about those laws. It was only that when Yukito found the book a few weeks back that you guys knew these laws now." Naoki continued.

"And so ladies and Kaito, that's the events. I have the suicide note. Please read it." Naoki then handed the suicide note to them.

(The suicide note was written in Chapter 3: Meet Masahiro's Parents.)

After they read the suicide note, they all stared at Hippo. They are angry, shocked and disappointed in one go. Luchia was in verge of a mental breakdown. Naoki's narration of events and the suicide note was enough to convince her that Hippo is indeed guilty. Hippo, her guardian, the penguin who had saved her and others many times, was actually a really despicable penguin who had tried to block mermaids or mermaid princess from falling in love with humans. He literally succeeded and it cost Azumi's life, the former mermaid princess whom Luchia succeeded.

"Hippo?" Luchia cried as many tears were falling fron her eyes, "How could you? Why?"

For sometime Hippo could not speak. His intention has been revealed. He could only say, "Luchia. I..." before he got a big, Big, BIG slap from Luchia. Her eyes were almost red. She was crying and angry at the same time.

"YOU BAKA! YOU BAKA! YOU BAKA! YOU ARE THE WORST OF ALL!" Luchia shouted at the top of her lungs before running back to her room still in tears.

"Luchia! Wait!" Kaito called as he chased Luchia.

While Kaito was running after Luchia, Hanon and others stared angrily at Hippo.

"I never thought that you had acted so low to your own former princess!" Taki said angrily.

"Honestly, you should be ashamed of yourself!" Nikora said.

"Just you wait till we tell Coco, Noel and Karen about this. We thought you are preventing love just for fun but you really did that seriously!" Hanon said angrily.

Rina was also angry. So angry that she gave three hard kicks to Hippo:

"First kick was for your selfishness. Second kick was for your betrayal to Azumi who committed suicide! Third was that you broke Luchia's heart!" Rina growled.

Hippo felt the pain of Rina's hard kicks but he deserved it. But he said.

"I would never had done such a thing."

"Oh really?" Naoki said, "Then tell me? Why did you throw that book away? Why you never showed Azumi that book? What about them, the current mermaid princesses? And Luchia?"

Hippo was again taken aback by Naoki's words.

"Naoki." Nikora said, "I think he must have done it so that he can enjoy us suffer!"

Hippo was shocked. How can Nikora say such a thing? He was just only trying to protect the welfare of the mermaid princess.

"I agree with you." Taki said angrily, "He surely had enjoyed Azumi suffering which led her to commit suicide."

Hippo gave a slight shook on his head which no one noticed. He never ever does not want to see anyone suffer.

"We were actually allowed to find love for the whole time." Hanon said, "But because of your stupid actions that we were always living in fear of getting turn into bubbles if we reveal to our love ones, whether their mom is a mermaid princess or an ordinary mermaid. Not only you are directly responsible for Azumi's suicide, you even threw the book in such a way that the book would have never been found and this book was never shown to us."

"Thankfully Yukito found the book and met you by chance, Hanon." Rina said, "Otherwise we would never had known the laws we never knew before Yukito showed us. I bet Hippo would have enjoyed us suffering about you leaving Nagisa and me leaving Masahiro."

Hippo was in the verge of tears.

"Aqua-Regina would be very disappointed with you, Hippo." Naoki said.

"Girls!" Taki called, "Let's give this penguin a beating of his life. He should be punished for betraying his former guardian who was the former mermaid princess of the North Pacific Ocean and also hiding the book which had lead to her suicide. FOR AZUMI!"

"FOR AZUMI!" All the other girls shouted.

Hippo watched in fear as the girls grabbed their sticks as they are ready to beat Hippo. What could he do now?

Luchia is still crying inside her room. She had to accept the fact that Hippo was the reason for all Azumi's suffering and eventually her death. How could Hippo do this to her?

"You Baka, Hippo! I thought you were preventing us for fun but you really meant it! Now I will never see Azumi again. Why I am always so unlucky?" Luchia thought sadly. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"Go Away, Hippo! I never want to see your face again!" Luchia shouted tearfully.

"Luchia. It's me Kaito. Please open the door." Kaito said.

"Oh sorry."

Luchia then opened the door. When it was really Kaito, Luchia started crying on Kaito's shirt.

"Kaito! What can I do? I will never get to see Azumi again. Why would Hippo do this?" Luchia started crying.

"It's okay, Luchia." Kaito said, "I had a feeling that Hippo was behind all this. His displeasure of love between mermaid and human is very well known to me."

"But we thought that he was just doing that for fun. But he really meant it!"

"Luchia..."

"You know what Kaito? I think I lost all my confidence on Hippo because of that. I guess I will just have to dismiss him as my guardian."

"Luchia. I agree with you."

Just when they were about to leave the room, they heard banging and shouting. Then they heard a voice of Hippo:

"Please don't beat me anymore! I am telling you my reasons for my actions!"

"Is he really gonna tell?" Luchia asked.

"He might but you have to be ready for your decision if his reasoning his evil."

"Hai."

Hippo was already beaten in a bloody pulp. The girls were very furious about what Hippo did to Azumi.

"Now let's throw Hippo out of the hotel. He will no longer be welcomed here!" Nikora proclaimed.

"Wait! Let Luchia first dismiss him as the guardian for his betrayal action then we will throw him out." Hanon said.

"Untill then, let's give Hippo some more punishment." Rina said.

"I agree." Taki said.

The girls were getting ready to beat him some more when suddenly Hippo shouted:

"Please don't beat me anymore! I am telling you my reasons for my actions!"

Luckily, Naoki heard it and said, "Stop girls! Hippo wants to tell something."

All girls then stopped and were desperate to know what Hippo has to say. Luchia and Kaito soon came.

"Luchia..." Hanon said before she was interrupted by Luchia.

"I know but first let's hear why Hippo did this." Luchia said.

They all waited to hear Hippo's reason for his actions. Hippo was struggling to get up due to the beating he received from the girls. After a few breaths, Hippo said to Naoki:

"First of all I want to say how sorry am I that you have lost your best friend but I didn't know Azumi's fate untill now."

Naoki was surprised about what Hippo said.

"You didn't know Azumi's fate untill now?! What do you mean?"

"It all began when there was a former mermaid princess in our kingdom at that time before Azumi took over." Hippo said.

"What's her name?"

"I don't know, Naoki-san. I was little at that. Only my mom knew it. It was rather a long name but I guess it was Miyu."

"Miyu, eh?"

"That's right, Naoki-san. It all began when she first fell in love with a man name Daiyou Takashi."

"DAIYOU TAKASHI?!" Naoki gasped and almost jumped up. The girls were surprised by this.

"You know him?" Rina asked.

"Yeah. Shizuro told me that his mom would rather stay indoors as long as he was around. He was the most dangerous criminal not only in Japan but in the whole world. He's a..." Naoki gulped before saying, "A lady-killer, a cannibaliser, a murderer who flirts with ladies, whether they are foreigner or not with 50+ victims to his name."

Everyone was shocked about what they heard about Daiyou. They could not believe that he was such a blood-sucking beast who only kills ladies.

"Wait so that means..." Rina gulped.

"It can't be..." Hanon said frightfully.

"He killed her?" Luchia was a bit scared when she heard it.

Hippo nodded slightly before saying this:

"One day, she did not come. We thought that she might be very sick and Daiyou was taking care of her. So me and my mom decided to check on her. Normally, she visits our kingdom regularly."

"When we went to Daiyou's house, he opened the door. When my mom asked where was Miyu, he smiled and lead us to the dining room. He then opened the refrigerator when to our shock, there was a body of Miyu, being torn into pieces with part of her flesh begin eaten..."

All of the girls gasped. Naoki was a bit perplexed.

"Then Daiyou grabbed me and my mother. He threw me out of my house saying I am no use. I was left to watch in horror that my mom was cut into pieces by that no good beast."

"I was so scared that I ran away to the sea. I couldn't sleep for months. I cried many times. I never knew that a human could do such a thing to our princess."

"I was so afraid about the safety of our princesses as long as he was around. So I had to hide the book. If I show her the book, Azumi might suffer the same fate as Miyu. She might fall in love with that killer only to get cut into pieces."

The girls were shock to hear that Hippo had witnessed such a murder of Miyu and Hippo's mom.

"For your information, Daiyou Takashi was dead." Naoki said.

"How did he die?" Rina said.

"He was executed by the order of the judge. The judge said that his actions are inhuman and represents barbarism and a threat to women all around the world. And that happened when we were teens."

The girls gave a sigh of relief but Hippo started crying all off a sudden.

"Why are you crying Hippo?" Luchia asked.

"Darn it! I never knew about his execution. If I had known, I would have been very happy to give Azumi a chance of finding love but I was so stupid! I was always afraid that he might come looking for me."

"Wait so you didn't know Daiyou Takashi's death at that time?" Naoki said.

"No I didn't know so I had to hide the book but I didn't know Azumi's fate at that time untill you told me that she commited suicide."

"You didn't even know Azumi's death either? You thought she must have run away?"

Hippo nodded and suddenly shouted:

"PLEASE AZUMI! FORGIVE ME! I NEVER THOUGHT THAT YOU WOULD BE SO HEARTBROKEN. IF ONLY I KNEW TAKASHI'S DEATH AT THAT TIME!"

And Hippo started to cry a lot. Seeing Hippo crying like this made the girls feel ashamed for themselves. They never knew that Hippo would have witnessed such a brutal murder of his mom and the mermaid princess whom Azumi succedded.

"I am sorry, Hippo. I never knew you had witness such a terrible thing." Luchia said.

"We never knew that you were not aware of Takashi and Azumi's death." Hanon said sadly.

"Yeah. Sorry for kicking you so hard." Rina said.

"I will take back what I said. No doubt you might had suffered Traumatic experiences after that murder." Kaito said.

"Don't cry, Hippo. Let me treat your wounds." Taki said.

Nikora turned to Naoki and said:

"Can you please forgive him at least? He was never aware of that no good Takashi's death. He was also not aware of Azumi's death as well."

Naoki thought very hard about this.

"Poor Hippo. I never knew that this could have happened to him. But I can't leave Azumi's death on vain." Naoki thought sadly when suddenly she had a idea.

"Hippo. Based on all the information you and I have told, I declear that you are..." Naoki said. Hippo then gulped, getting ready to face the punishment.

"Half guilty-Half not guilty." Naoki proclaimed.

"Eh?" Everyone said and sweat dropped.

"You are still guilty Hippo because of your betrayal actions to Azumi but at the same time you are not guilty because I feel very bad about what happened to your mother and her guardian."

"You are not mad at me?" Hippo said.

"No Hippo. I feel very sad for you. You were so young at that time when you witnessed the deaths of your mom and her guardian. No doubt you were suffering Traumatic experiences based on that. I also believe that you were not aware of Takashi and Azumi's death."

"Thank you, Naoki-san."

"But you still are gonna face some punishment but a light one."

"What punishment, Naoki?" Luchia asked.

Naoki smiled and said, "Well..."

As a punishment, Hippo was forced to make pancakes all by himself without anyone's help. It was very difficult to do it in his penguin form but suddenly he had an idea. He changed into his human form and was able to quickly able to do it. Afterwards, he revert back to his penguin form and delivered it to Naoki.

"What are you thinking, Naoki?" Luchia said.

"There is a poem in which mermaids and other sea creatures can use it to bring their precious person back to life." Naoki said.

Everyone was surprised.

"You mean there is a chance that we can bring Azumi back to life?" Luchia said excitingly.

"Yes we can but unfortunately I forgot the poem." Naoki said and everyone did an anime-style fall after hearing that.

"Is there a chance to bring Yuri-san?" Hippo asked.

"Yuri?" Naoki asked.

Hippo realized that he made a mistake by saying to Naoki that he likes one of the Dark Lovers. He thought Naoki can be angry but instead Naoki said:

"Yuri? Is she the youngest Dark Lovers that plays the piano who has light green hair?"

Hippo gave a slight nod.

"Well as long as you are not enemies with her, it's fine. Oh and thanks for the pancakes, Hippo." Naoki said.

"Your welcome." Hippo said. Naoki then looked at the clock and she freaked out.

"OMG! IT'S 12:30 AM ALREADY?! I AM SO LATE!"

Everybody jumped when Naoki freaked out.

"What time did she come?" Luchia asked.

"She came at 10:30 PM, Luchia." Kaito asked.

"Kyah! You stayed here for sooo long. Almost 2 hours!" Hanon exclaimed.

"But it's a good thing that we met you and learned so much about your family, Masahiro's ancestors and his locket." Nikora smiled.

"I can't wait to see his locket powers." Kaito said

"Thanks for everything." Taki said.

"Your welcome. Also if I can remember that poem, I will let you know guys. Untill then, take care." Naoki said and she left

"Wait Naoki! You forgot the suicide note." Luchia said but Naoki disappeared.

"I will give it to her." Rina said and snatched the suicide note from Luchia before running to meet Naoki.

Naoki was walking very fast. She is already very late.

"Oh man! My husband, my son and my butler will be very worried about me." Naoki thought.

"Naoki! Wait!" Rina shouted as she ran towards Naoki, gasping for breathe.

"Rina? What brings you here this time?" Naoki said.

Rina breathed for a few seconds before starting to say:

"First of all I want to thank you for telling me everything about your son. His locket, His ancestors, everything but..."

"Rina? Are you okay?" Naoki was a bit concerned.

"...he could have told me everything about this but I kept my mouth shut about me being the mermaid princess. When you said about the law in which any mermaid can reveal their form if their last name is Hamasaki without getting turned into bubbles, I realized that I wasted all my precious time I could have been with your son. ALL MY FAULT!"

Rina then started crying a bit. Naoki was a sad and put her hand on Rina's head.

"Don't be upset, Rina." Naoki said, "I don't blame you for it. You knew very little about my son when you first met him."

"Naoki..." Rina said.

"But I am sure both of you are wonderful together."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"Then.." Rina said before saying this out:

"I LOVE YOUR SON WITH ALL MY HEART. CAN I MARRY HIM?"

Naoki then jumped all of a sudden.

"What in the world did you say that for?"

"Oh Sorry. I was a bit excited." Rina said.

"Aren't you in a age where marriage is illegal? My son is only 16."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. It's because I am happy to let you marry him once you guys reach the wedding age."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Rina smiled after hearing that.

"Don't worry Rina. His locket has other powers other than blinding the enemies." Naoki said

"Really?" Rina asked.

"Yeah. It creates a shield protect you guys from falling objects or faced with bullets or other stuffs."

"Wow."

"All you need is a blessing in the Awami Shrine to work in the human world."

"I see."

"But if you want to be his wife, you gotta take some responsibilities as well."

"Don't worry Naoki. If anyone harms my Masahiro, they will surely get their butts kicked by me."

Both of them laughed.

"How about giving a surprise to my son?" Naoki said.

"Can tomorrow night be okay?" Rina asked.

"Tomorrow night? Okay."

"Thanks for everything, Naoki. Oh and here's the suicide note."

"Oh, thank you Rina. I have got to go now. Remember, tomorrow."

"I will. Bye, Naoki."

And so Naoki left. Rina was very happy. She and Masahiro can finally be together.

"Fate has really given me a chance to fall in love with Masahiro. I should really thank him for seeing me crying. We can finally be together, with the protection of his locket." Rina thought happily.

Baka means stupid or idiot in English.

Me: Phew! What a long chapter it is. Endless Narration of events.

Masahiro: It sure is. You don't have school at that time but you were extremely tired after all the activities you did outside so I don't blame you.

Me: Thanks. Chapter 7 is coming up.

Masahiro: And don't forget to review and like please.