The limo pulled around the fountain, parking behind a row of two sports cars, and Seto's eyelid twitched when he saw two familiar men climb out of the driver's seat hooting and howling.

"Ah, it's Joey and Tristan," Atem said happily, reaching over to give Seto a squeeze on the arm before he pushed the limo door open and rushed out to greet them.

Deciding to stay out of it, Seto sat quietly in the seat, observing.

"THE KING!" Tristan crowed, staggering over to Atem to drape an arm around his shoulders, leaning on him heavily while the scent of alcohol clung to his entire being.

"DA' KINNNNNG!" Joey echoed playfully appeared by Atem's other side to also drape his arm heavily around his shoulders, trapping the spiky-haired king between them. "Whaat's uppppppp, fancy ride, fancy ride, where'd you guys go?"

"A parent-meeting for Adina," Atem answered truthfully, and both men yawned loudly, dragging him up the steps while regaling him with their tales from last night.

"Bah-Boaarinnnng," Joey sang as he swayed on his feet on his way through the doors of the large house, and Seto watched them disappear inside, relieved to have avoided an interaction with them.

He climbed out of the limo just in time to see another figure stumbling out of the passenger seat of the sports car, and he instantly recognized Kalim's jet-black bob-cut hair, shining in the bright morning sun while he bent over the edge of the fountain, gasping for breath and trying to compose himself while his shoulders trembled visibly.

"Aw, rough night?" Seto asked with a smirk, thinking the priest looked worse for wear than when they'd last talked a few hours ago.

"Oh! Goodness… Warrior Sleepy…" Kalim mumbled, pressing a hand to his chest as he eased into a sitting position on the edge of the blue fountain, his stomach churning with illness from the drink consumption. He had to remember to thank this man, because Anzu received the chocolates so well, it had healed an argument they'd gotten into…and she'd been right about going out with Warriors Tristan and Jounouchi.

His lifespan had shortened in the few hours he'd gone out with them last night.

"Hang your head between your legs. It'll help," Seto said as he sat gracefully down beside the priest and demonstrated quickly before sitting up straight to cross his legs. "You look ill. Need to head back down?"

"Yes, I just want to go home now," the priest muttered as he planted his knees apart and bowed his head down between them, feeling his heart rate slowing and returning to normal while his ears steadily stopped ringing, and the churning in his stomach subsided.

Thank…Gods.

This blond warrior's aura was completely different…

Anytime this man talked with him, he felt better.

Helpful warrior tips were imparted too.

This man might just be a great friend for life if he weren't deployed right now, Kalim thought glumly to himself, after a long moment, managed to raise his head to thank the warrior.

"Your chocolates were a success," he said deeply. "Miss Anzu's anger towards me last night melted, and she will be pleased to hear that she was right, and yet, I went out anyway. The 'sights' were indeed not worth my missed hours of restful sleep."

"Sights?" Seto asked delicately, glancing up to see Atem waving at him from a balcony above, and he raised his hand wave back, catching a kind smile that made his heart skip a beat, and Atem disappeared back into the house after Anzu appeared at his side.

"Warrior sights, they said every man must experience on land. I'm quite…sick," Kalim replied as he clasped his hands together and trembled. "We attended an exclusive stripping club? Drank so much I had to empty my stomach, then we went to another one with dancing music, then another one with all-you-can-eat meat."

Seto clenched his jaw.

D-Disgusting.

Classic Joey and Tristan.

"Indeed! You agree?!" Kalim cried, his bob haircut grazing his cheeks as he jerked his head up to gaze into the blond merman's handsome face. "Miss Anzu insisted I shouldn't participate, but the men argued with her until she swam off—I mean, walked away, and I had to appease her with chocolates before I left for the night. I told her I wouldn't touch any woman in a…lapping dance."

The priest's nose wrinkled at the memory and Seto's blood ran cold with sympathy.

Gross.

"I'm ready to go home," the priest lamented, looking green in the face again as he hung his head between his knees again, regretting leaving that position because his head pounded. "My two weeks here have been a stressful endeavor. I did the pampering session with both maidens. I merely fell asleep, and they were irritated with me. I drove one of the cars and miraculously didn't perish. I ate every possible dried and fried thing and had many fizzy drinks. I need an escort back to the Chrysalis. I need to pray for my sanity."

Seto let out a laugh and lifted his elbow to give the priest a light nudge, "you were shown the wrong sights. Let's wash up, take a nap, and I'll show you around until your escort arrives?"

"No clubs," the priest said instantly, his blue eyes sharpening, and Seto let out another laugh.

"Yeah, no. I'd sooner die," Seto replied, drawing a line across his throat with his thumb. "Let me call around and see what I can arrange. I need to get out of this…" he gestured at the formal shirt and pants he was wearing before he stood up and walked back into the house with a casual wave over his shoulder, "see you by the kitchen counter in a few hours. Take a nap and a shower. We'll head out afterwards."

V-Very well, I might as well… Since I'm leaving and never coming up again, Kalim thought regretfully as he stood unsteadily and slowly trudged up the steps into the house, seeing the blond warrior calling out to the human manservant, "KEMO! Headache tablets and antacid for the guest named Kalim, and have someone run him a salt bath."

Seto walked up the grand staircase and entered his room, unprepared to see Anzu, Mai, and Atem all sitting on the bed with grave looks on their faces while they gossiped.

All three immediately fell silent when he walked in, and Atem cracked a nervous smile.

"Hey Seto—"

"SETO?!" Anzi cried, staring at the handsome blond merman, her heart sticking to her throat while Mai gave her a funny look.

"Yeah babe, he's doing that undercover stuff again," she said with a hair toss, ignoring Seto pointedly. "Keep going. And then?!"

"Wait, he can help. They were just talking," Atem said loudly, holding his hand out to invite Seto into their talk-circle, but Seto grimaced and took a step back. Was he allowed to pass?

"No pass. Come here, prince," Mai said sweetly, patting the edge of the bed. "Oops, I mean, king."

"Whatever," Seto muttered under his breath as he took cautious steps to the edge of the large bed and leaned his thigh against the edge. What. He wasn't interested in being implicated—

"My boyfriend is being tainted," Anzu announced furiously, her cheeks pink as she couldn't look Seto in the eye. "You need to set harsher restrictions on Joey and Tristan's debauchery because they continue to blatantly disrespect human women! He's hated his entire stay on land, and I've done everything possible to make him like it here!"

"Oh yeah, I heard all about the lapping dances," Seto rolled his eyes, and both women reddened furiously while Atem's knuckles whitened over his knees. "I had Kemo run him a bath and give him some headache medicine. He'll be fine."

"I'm not fine!" Anzu cried, her cheeks still red as she glared accusingly at Seto's blond hair. "And I'm just now realizing I ate your 2AM love chocolates!"

Seto let out a bellow of laughter and had to lean a little harder on the edge of the bed to compose himself while Atem also cracked a smile and relaxed.

"I'm missing info! What love chocolates?" Mai sang, and Anzu was quick to fill her in.

"Adina went to bed a bit late last night, leaving the 'calm blond warrior' to cook love chocolates for her at 2AM," Anzu said as she quoted her boyfriend's description of Seto. "Joey is the 'wild blond warrior', and Seto is the calm one apparently. Goddess Ahti, save us."

"Anyone is calm next to him," Seto said ruthlessly, receiving a tired smile from Atem. "Can I leave now? I want to take a nap. Everyone get off my bed."

"This is Atem's bed," Mai said with a flutter of her eyelashes, reaching out to grab Atem by the arm to give him a squeeze. "And we all have permission to be on it. We're not done here until we reach a satisfying solution."

Seto let out a sigh and pinched his brow delicately with thumb and index finger. "I'll fix it. I was going to call around to find openings for tea rooms."

They all stared at him with glittering eyes of curiosity so Seto elaborated quickly, "How about this? I'll show him around the nearest palace garden, let him see some neatly groomed flower trees, then we can pray and sit for a tea ceremony."

Atem blinked in surprise and his heart warmed.

That sounded…incredibly relaxing and wholesome!

But boring if he could be really honest…

Praying, tea drinking and then tree viewing?!

His idea had been a movie with the arcade that Adina and Noah loved so much.

"Wow, 'neatly groomed flower trees', I'm instantly soothed," Anzu said with a nervous flush, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear while she held the tops of Atem's hand. "Your movie idea can be second, since he's seen movies already, and screens with games don't really interest him. I'd love to take Seto's suggestion first, since it includes praying…"

Oh, they don't know that about me, Seto thought blithely as he crossed his arms and was once again treated to long stares from all three merpeople on the bed. W-WHAT?!

"You enjoy praying? I thought you did it out of…obligation," Atem said with a stiff smile, and Seto smiled prettily in return, making his heart skip a beat.

"I threw myself into building various intricate shrines when I was a kid," Seto said with a smug smirk, seeing Anzu and Mai both gape at him. "Some were even placed illegally on land. I really needed that connection at the time, and God even warned me about warships dropping into our hemisphere. Don't get me started because I won't shut up."

Atem nodded weakly, his admiration for Seto coming forth in a rush.

"Then your boyfriend is in good hands," he said with a comforting pat to Anzu's shoulder. "Have Seto take him out and keep him away from Joey and Tristan for the rest of the week."

Anzu's cheeks turned pink again and she bobbed her head in a thankful bow, "t-thanks for your help, Seto. And here I thought you were a merman trying to make a sexual conquest with the king on land."

"Wow, harsh," Mai commented, splaying the ends of her hair out between her fingers to check for split ends. "You're lucky he likes us. Say that to any other royal's face and get thrown into a crevice again—ow, menace!" She dodged the playful punch Anzu threw at her and climbed off the bed to stretch.

"Okay, meeting adjourned," She announced, brushing past Seto close enough to bump him into the bed. "Have your nap space back, prince. Mani-pedi time! Adina gets out of school soon so we only have a few more hours of silence! Coming, Zuzu? What about you, Atem? Growing fins soon? You'll wanna have pretty toes to look at while you change back?"

"Oh, yes!" Atem hopped off the bed to follow the women out the door but was caught around the arm as Seto dipped down to press a tight kiss to his cheek, and his heart fluttered when blond hair tickled his forehead.

Pulling away with a soft smile, Seto reached up to pinch a strand of Atem's spiky blond bangs and leaned in to whisper in his ear, "since you're heading down first and I'll be staying up here to take care of Noah's issue, want to meet me on the beach in a few days? I'll keep my legs and you'll swim up to see me? I'll wait for you atop that rock…so we can fuck each other senseless."

Atem flushed dark red and opened his mouth to reply, but his lips were captured in another kiss that took his breath away, and he threw his arms around Seto's neck to pull him in closer, drinking him in and melting into the soft, swirling tongue that glided over the roof of his mouth, giving him sweet, pleasurable curls of joy.

Meeting on the beach with fins and legs, just like old times?

He was now aroused at the mere memory.

"'TEMMMMMMMMU!" Came the singsong voice of Anzu, so Atem pulled away regrettably and gave the top of Seto's blond hair loving sifts with his fingers.

"Meet me while looking like this…stranger," Atem winked and hurried to the door while feeling cold fingers graze his asscheek, and he shivered with joy, throwing one last look over his shoulder at Seto to add, "please act like I don't know you—"

"Got it! Get out of my room, intruder," Seto grinned handsomely and enjoyed the dark red flush on Atem's cheeks before he hurried down the hall to join the girls, his heart leaping with happiness.

Seto was the most versatile and sweet partner. He always felt like he had it all whenever Seto wanted to spice up their already warm connection.

Pleased with himself for having made Atem smile, Seto closed the door and walked over to the bed to fall into it with a tired groan, catching a whiff of the light scented peach lotion from the girls that blended into the woody musk that was uniquely Atem's.

Sleep. Thank fuck.

Kalim sat nervously on the kitchen counter stool, half-watching what the girls were playing on the screen while the spiky-haired king sat between them, reading a magazine with a plate of fruit on the glass table in front of him.

The sun was streaming merrily in from the garden outside, casting solid rectangles of light across the shiny floors, almost blinding him, and he lightly sipped the glass of salt water he'd been nursing since he'd woken up from his nap, thinking that the headache medicine, the bath, the hot room, and the head-between-knees tactic revitalized him. He owed that blond warrior a great thanks and he still didn't know his proper name.

He could try asking?
Anzu had spoken harsh words about that man making 'conquests' with the king, but they all seemed to be on good terms right now. It appeared safe to ask.

Swallowing his fear, he stood up and courageously approached the back of the couch while he gently rested his hand onto Anzu's shoulder and felt her hand coming up to rest atop of his, her skin pale against his own, much darker hand.

"What's up, love?" Anzu asked while keeping her eyes nailed to the movie. "Want to know what's going on?"

Kalim glanced briefly at the movie then shook his head. "No…love, I had a question about the blond merman. I am waiting for him to meet me, and I realize I don't know his name."

"You don't?" Mai cried as she turned to give him an alarmed glance, while the king also turned to give him a curious look that made his heart clench. W-Well he knew it was a high-ranking man, but he didn't know all their names…! After all, he'd only just learned about the Hunter Dartz, Prince Noah, and all the other royal family members mere days ago.

"Atem...?" Anzu tilted her head questioningly. "You wanna tell him?"

"He can tell you his name when he comes down," Atem replied with a casual turn of the page. "We're strangers, remember?"

There was an odd silence as Mai snickered and Anzu let out a huff, her cheeks pink.

"You guys are cute," Mai declared.

"I mean, whatever keeps the romance alive," Anzu said seriously, turning to give her boyfriend a nod. "Ask him his name. We don't know it."

"No one knows his name?" Kalim cried, thinking the king had just mated with him and…didn't know his name?! Was it a common land tradition not to know the name of the person they were mating with? Joey and Tristan had said something about that…

Atem heard this thought and angled his head to glance behind him, taking in the merman's strong features, his dark hair cut into a sleek bob and the golden circlet he wore indicating his priestly status, and his heart warmed again before he turned back around to face the screen just as Seto came striding into the room, dressed in casual, flowing robes that made his heart clench, and he gripped the magazine harder, glad it was covering the center of his legs where his arousal might show.

Seto looked so handsome wearing the layered robes…!

"Here he is…?" Anzu said with a squeak, mustering all her willpower to keep her mind silent.

W-Wow the shapeshifting ability was incredible.

"King. Maidens." Seto said with a formal head nod, catching a fiery smirk from Atem that set his skin on fire. "May I steal that merman from you?" and he folded his arms into his sleeves to nod at Kalim. "Let's get dressed."

"Tell us your naaaame. We were just talking about you." Mai said casually, waving her hand, "And move your big head. It's blocking the screen."

Kalim winced at the maiden's language, but to his surprise, the blond merman obliged with a kind smile and even apologized.

W-Who was this refined warrior?!

He envied the grace with which he moved!

And those garments looked comfortable!

"You don't know my name? Are you three being serious right now?" Seto's eye twitched in annoyance, and he received a quick private thought from Anzu.

Atem told us about your sexy stranger meeting later on, so we're all pretending you're a stranger for his enjoyment of you later. You're gross and you're welcome.

I see, Seto let out a huff and bowed stiffly at the priest, understanding that Atem wanted to keep the stranger act starting now…for maximum sexual pleasure.

He could deal with that. Happily. Easily.

He loved that Atem wanted to foreplay early.

"I'd tell you my name but no one will believe me, so whatever," Seto said with a careless shrug. "Come on, Priest—"

"Please tell me your name so that I can remember it. I owe you a great thanks," Kalim mumbled respectfully, bowing his head in an attempt to mimic the earlier grace he'd seen. "Nice to meet you formally, Warrior…?"

"It's Kaiba. Unfortunately," Seto said with an easy smile, seeing all three heads jerk up to stare at him with fearful eyes. "See? Look at these reactions. Fear. Disgust, fear…anger…"

Kalim's heart shattered briefly as he struggled to compose himself, and he whispered, "you're a kin of the infamous monster, Kaiba?"

I-Impossible! This man was sweet, and…kind.

"May I also remind you that Mokuba's last name is also K—" Seto was interrupted by Mai who resolutely stood up for him, much to his surprise.

"Not all fruit that fall from that tree are rotten," the mermaid said with a determined nod. "You're obviously a good one. Mokuba too." Then she turned to give Anzu's boyfriend a sweet smile. "Enjoy your day out of the house, boys. Get out of our sights please. We have…important things to discuss with the king."

And she turned around to lean her curly blond head onto Atem's shoulder and Atem reached a tanned hand to pat her head while turning another page of the magazine, completely unfazed.

"See you later, Kaiba," Atem said calmly, and Seto's smirk widened as his heart leaped. Cute. This roleplaying was worth it.
It was just like old times.

"We'll be back," Seto replied as he walked forward to grab the stunned priest by the arm to lead him up the grand staircase, taking him into a giant walk-in closet in one of the rooms, and Kalim had to hold his breath, wondering if every exhale was going to cost him money.

Racks and racks of beautiful clothes were hung in rows, ready to be browsed, and the blond merman named Kaiba perched himself on one of the rounded cushions by the mirror and nodded at the clothes.

"We're going to visit a temple on palace grounds, so we need to look presentable," he said, knowing these words would have an effect, and he had to keep his smile from widening when he heard the priest celebrate in his mind.

A human temple?! In a palace? Wow, how exciting! I want to see what that looks like!

Kalim stayed standing in the middle of all the clothing racks, slightly overwhelmed and unsure where to start first.

Seto felt his phone buzz, so he dug it out of his pocket and scanned the message.

KEMO_phone1: Master. I have bought a copy of the book but I see you are in the dressing room. Where should I leave it for you?

Seto clicked his phone off and called out in his mind, "you can come in!" And Kalim tried not to wince at the sudden volume while the hairs on the backs of his arm raised. This man's thought projection was clearer than Warrior Mahad's. Scary.

"Go ahead. Don't let me stop you," Seto said earnestly, rising to his feet to gesture at the racks and then striding to the doorway to greet Kemo, who bowed and held out a small paper bag.

"The two books, sir," he said stiffly, and Seto swiped them from his hands with a brash smile.

"Thanks. And get those private investigators on that author. I want answers by tonight, soon as possible," Seto said smoothly, reaching across his chest to slide the doors shut in Kemo's face and then walking back to the plush chair to sit.

He glanced into the bag to pull out the first book and bit back a resigned sigh.

Time to read a 'historical fantasy of King Solomon the VII'.

He'd bought them in both languages just in case, and started with the English one, growling to himself while he opened to the first page. If nothing was 'fictional' in this book, and it was imperative they find who the author was.

Kalim edged nervously over to a beautiful green robe with a dark striped pattern and ran his hands through the soft silk, marveling at the subtle golden leaf pattern. This was it.

And he chanced a glance up at the blond warrior, his heart skipped a beat when he noticed the man was deep into a book. How…nice? It made him not want to disturb…

"I'll help," Seto clapped the book shut and set it on his seat, getting up to help ease the kimono off the hanger. "Get undressed. We'll be late if we don't hurry."

Flushing with anxiety, Kalim nodded and hastily turned away to search for a private place to disrobe, but the merman hissed at him and gave him sigh. "It's nothing I haven't seen before. We're both men."

Kalim's knuckles whitened over the collar of his shirt as the words dropped from his mouth before he could stop himself, "…but…y-you like men…"

"No. I like Atem," Seto clarified with a wicked gleam in his blue eyes. "Everyone else is a shadow in comparison. I'm serious. Hurry up."

Swallowing his embarrassment, Kalim shed his clothes and tried to keep his thoughts silent as he slipped on the robed underwear, allowed the thin sash to be tied for him, then was forcefully turned around as another set of robes was draped over him, his collar pinched forward with precision, and then another, thicker sash was tied around his waist again with deft, slender fingers.

"F-Finished?" Kalim asked hopefully as his mouth went dry as Kaiba walked backwards down the line of silky clothes and pulled out another outer robe in a dark green, and held it out for him to sink his arms into. A thin braided sash hooked the opening of the robe together, and Kalim finally let his breath out in relief. N-Now?

"Any belongings?" Seto asked conversationally as he bent down to pick a pair of dark socks for the merman and tossed them at his chest, seeing him catch it clumsily with both hands.

"N-No, I didn't bring anything, not even a prayer staff," Kalim whispered guiltily, and Seto shrugged.

"Whatever. You're my height, so you're my size. Shoes, here." A pair of woven sandals thudded onto the soft carpet before him, and Kalim hastily sat down to slip the odd socks on his feet and then managed to stick the shoes into the slot between his toes without incident.

This was…oddly exhausting, almost as ritualistic as selecting the correct colored gems for a ceremony.

"It's exactly like that," his mind was read eerily by the blond merman, and Seto slipped the books and his two phones into a bag and looped it around his wrist. "Ready?"

Yes, Kalim replied as he tried to follow Kaiba out the door and nearly tripped on his own two feet.

The shoes felt like they were about to fall off any moment if he walked badly, and the robes actually restricted his movements when he'd thought it was a relaxed garment.

H-Help… He muttered as he took another unsteady step forward, his resentment for the clothes rising.

Seto tilted his head with a smirk and patted his arm to his thigh. "The robe split is on the left, so it helps to lead with your left foot, and never…" he raised his arms to flash his elbows, "…show your entire arm. It's considered rude, and always stand up straight or you'll offend anyone who looks in your direction—yes when wearing these robes, you can offend someone on sight when you're acting incorrectly. See you downstairs at the car."

And he disappeared with a graceful swish, leaving the priest leaning against the watch case in the middle of the room, weak in the knees with fear.

Letting his breath out in a huff, Kalim squared his shoulders back and took a few steps forward, left foot first as he'd been advised, feeling the fabric catch around his ankles, so he took a smaller step, slightly grateful that the warrior had left him alone to deal with this in private.

After a few hesitant steps, he got the hang of it…but then was met with stairs. He inched his way down, feeling slightly ridiculous, but the way the cloth swished behind him when he fell into a rhythm helped boost his confidence, and he finally made his way out the door where a couple of human guards instantly bowed respectfully, making his heart swell with joy.

Oh good, he had mastered this…sort of.

The door to the car was open and waiting for him, and Kalim bit the inside of his cheek.

Another obstacle.

"Coordinate lifting the hem and ducking your head," came the quiet instruction from the merman already sitting in the car, and Kalim nodded, dutifully inching the hem up and managing to step gracefully inside. Quite pleased with this, he leaned back into the seat and instantly had to sit up again when his sash rode up and pressed uncomfortably back into him. O-Oh…

"Can you speak Japanese?" Seto asked instantly, scanning the merman from head to toe, preparing himself to be entertained watching him copy Japanese mannerisms.

"N-No…only a little," Kalim replied awkwardly, and his ears burned with shame. He knew he should learn the closest shore language but was never moved to since he never anticipated rising to shore ever, and yet…here he was.

"Start learning. I'll translate for you in our minds, but if there is a next time, I won't be so nice," Seto said with a handsome smirk as the car rolled out the black gates, down the private drive and then out onto the main road. "A few more rules when wearing this garment. Your state of mind must be dignified, with a focus on being refined."

Nodding and nodding again, Kalim folded his hands in his lap and set his feet together formally, doing his best to mimic Kaiba's way of sitting, and felt himself sweat. This was…fun? He much preferred it to the lapping dances and the loud music.

This was about his core being, and mastery of walking in the human form.

It was fascinating.

He chanced a glance at Kaiba and noticed he'd opened the book again and was reading, while perfectly poised in his seat, making him want to sit up straighter, secretly appreciating this outing because he'd never felt so conscious about his own movements before.

The car ride was longer than he was used to, because they drove on a main road as opposed to the narrow city streets he was accustomed to seeing, and just when he thought to ask if they were there yet, the car pulled into parking lot and the warrior closed his book with a smart snap! and stuck it back into the bag he was carrying.

Unsure if he should be unnerved by the silence between them, he eased out of the car, making sure to keep his robe sleeves neat, making an extreme effort to hold himself with the same composure.

Pointed roofs were visible beyond towering gray walls, and Kalim's heart skipped an excited beat. Palace grounds. And to his rising delight, there were other humans dressed in the same way, all walking neatly together in groups or pairs as they drifted towards the path leading inside, and he found himself falling into step beside Kaiba, whose silent presence put him at ease more than he originally thought.

The thought-hiding abilities this warrior had was enviable and incredible.

The silence was polite and comforting, and Kalim realized he'd been so accustomed to hearing other people's thoughts, other people's movements in the house, that moments of silence now were deeply refreshing.

Their footsteps matched.

Their robes swished with every step, catching the wind just right, and their pace matched all the other humans that were strolling through a magnificent garden that sprawled before them, the green slopes of grass taking his breath away for a moment.

People were sitting on benches, quietly chatting, reading, or had their eyes closed.

It was quiet, beautiful, and serene.

The trees that lined the path were planted intentionally apart, some of them flowering prettily with white blossoms, and they passed a low-hanging branch just enough for him to catch a whiff of the sweet scent. He dared to inhale a little deeper, wondering if it was safe to relax.

Other humans kept their distance, and when one stepped too close, they bobbed their heads politely and walked past with a stray thought in Japanese that he couldn't understand. But it was fine, because everything was…. perfect, he almost couldn't imagine a scene like this anywhere underwater.

The closest feeling of this quiet serenity he could achieve was in his mediation chamber, but he was alone there.

Here, there were even children dressed in the robes as they also walked quietly beside their parents, craning their heads to observe the white flowers, and his heart leapt strangely in his chest. It was so…adorable. And that thought scared him, since he never had a thought towards children at all other than the fact that they were noisy and whiny in his presence.

Let's sit here, I need to finish the book, Seto said as he led the priest over to an empty bench on the grass underneath the shade of a tree, and he sat down quickly to pull out the book, eager to get it over with.

Kalim folded his hands in his lap and perched on the bench, curiously watching the other humans walking and whispering, his heart warming. This was an amazing outing. He ought to thank the warrior.

"Thank you," he said calmly, and eyed the book, trying for a compliment. "You must love reading in beautiful places like this. Care to talk about the story?"

Seto spared the priest a glance and let out a huff of suppressed laughter. Yeah, no.

"You could say this is my assignment for now," Seto said, tapping his slender fingers on the cover near the author's name. "Waiting to hear back from my human guards so we can track this man down. He wrote a book about King Solomon—yes, Merking Solomon, and I'm concerned this might endanger us, so I'm going through every page to make absolutely sure it's all fictional."

Kalim's mouth dropped open in amazement and he struggled to put his feelings into words.

So this was what high-level warriors did! He thought it was a daring life full of action, violence, and traveling to find missing merpeople.

"Not every land mission is search and rescue," Seto mused as he smirked dryly. "Those are the worst-case scenarios. Most undercover work is boring, like this. Making sure small things don't turn into big disasters."

"U-Undercover? You're undercover…now?" Kalim whispered through numb lips, and he gripped his own hands, willing his heart to stop pounding so loudly. "Am I disturbing you?"

"No. You're fine," Seto said with a shrug. "I have the humans searching for this author. All I have to do is read the details, and I can do that anywhere, like you said. I'm having a good day, you should aim to as well."

Ah… Kalim nodded and fixed his gaze out across the beautiful grass, seeing a glint of river water in the distance, and he ached to see it closer. Could they…?

"I'll follow you." Seto said, closing the book again and tucking it under his arm. "It's your day after all. You said you were heading down after this. I'm aiming to show you a good time—my way, which aligns with your way. Go where you like. I'll follow."

Kalim blinked and his cheeks burned with gratitude as he mumbled, "very well…" and set off down the smooth path towards the water, thinking this day couldn't get any better.

He was already having a lot of fun, and this warrior's polite kindness along with his careful words was a refreshing interaction he didn't know he needed.

Author's note:

seto makes platonic friends :D growth?