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Daichi knows that it is irresponsible of him to run off in the middle of the day, but he just can't resist the urge... The urge to take a break... To give himself a chance to breathe and feel lighter. The constant stress of being the Kingdom's only prince feels heavy to him. He can't help but feel as though it is slowly crushing him... Slowly breaking his bones and draining his energy.

He isn't the only one that is stressed, however. His father is extremely stressed because he must rule on his own... He has neither a King or Queen to help him. The only person... The only woman he ever loved died when Daichi was young. Or so Daichi was told. There was always something about the look in his father's eyes that made him feel suspicious. Perhaps his mother is missing, not dead. Perhaps she is alive somewhere in this great big kingdom. Even if she is truly dead, Daichi has a feeling that his father is holding onto the slim possibility of her coming back as a ghost.

Upon losing one of his guards, Sugawara Koushi, through the twists and turns of the hallway, Daichi emits a sigh of relief. Even though Suga is human, unlike his werewolf guard, Asahi, he is harder to get rid of. Even without the heightened senses, he has a talent for finding Daichi. A talent that both impresses him and pisses him off.

With a hand shaking in excitement, he pulls the hood of his cloak over his head before taking up a light job to exit the castle and enter the woods. Although Daichi would much rather go to the market, he knows that even with his disguise it would be nearly impossible for him to go unnoticed in the busy marketplace. The marketplace is full of clever humans and powerful, magical creatures.

Once his form is hidden from the castle by trees, he slows his pace to a walk. Although he rarely gets the opportunity to go into the woods, he enjoys it. Somehow the air within the woods seems sweeter and cleaner. After a deep breath, he strolls down the trail.

Much to Daichi's disappointment, the trail is otherwise empty with the exception of birds and the occasional fairy. Daichi was really hoping to meet new people and creatures. Even though he is friends with Suga, Asahi and two elves by the name of Hinata and Noya, he would like to have more friends. In the cases of Hinata and Noya, he would love to have friends that weren't so hyperactive and prone to give him headaches.

As his mind wanders so do his eyes. After a while, he is no longer watching where he is going. His failure to watch where he is going ends up being just the first of many mistakes he makes.

After accidentally wandering off the path, Daichi steps on an old dwarf's beard. Although immediately uttering a long string of apologizes, the dwarf grows angry. So angry that, despite his short legs, he chases Daichi at a high speed.

The running results in Daichi stepping in another unfortunate spot. Losing his footing on the loose soil, Daichi falls to the ground before rolling uncontrollably down the side of a hill. A hill, as time goes on, proves to be a cliff. A cliff that, sadly, is next to the sea.

Shouting a string of curses, Daichi desperately claws at the ground around him in an attempt to stop. He claws so hard that dirt gets under his fingernails and rocks leave a nearly uncountable number of scratches on his hands. As the ground continuously slips out of his grasp, Daichi can't help but feel terrified. Am I really going to die like THIS?

As it turns out he is not going to die like "this." Instead, he is going to be eaten by a dragon. A dragon, who picks him up by his right foot just before he falls off the edge of the cliff. The dragon, despite its small size his strong and carries him with ease. If the dragon's grip is this strong, Daichi doesn't even want to imagine how strong its mouth is. Shouting at the dragon to let him go, the dragon gives him a strange, almost skeptical look before doing as Daichi demands.

It isn't until he starts to fall when Daichi realizes why the dragon gave him a strange look. Right below him is the sea AND a pirate ship. At this rate, he is going to hit the hard planks, not the soft waters of the sea. "JUST KIDDING COME BACK," Daichi screams. To his surprise, the dragon comes back. The dragon is a bit more kind the second time around and flies under Daichi so Daichi can sit on it, instead of dangle from its grasp. Grabbing hold of one of the dragon's navy blue neck spikes, he lets the dragon carry him to wherever the dragon pleases.

Or, in this dragon's case, where a sharp whistle directs it.

The dragon lands in the water about a kilometer away from the skip and swims in the direction of the whistle. Whoever is whistling is quite annoying because they repeatedly whistle at a high pitch even though they clearly gained the dragon's attention long ago.

After a few more minutes of swimming, they near a cluster of rocks. A cluster of rocks that have two tailed figures. "I love you Tetsu, but you're really fucking annoying," the figure to the right practically shouts, earning a laugh from the figure on the left. Once the dragon and Daichi draw even closer, the two tailed creatures, whom Daichi assumes to be mermaids emit loud gasps.

"Nika got us a present, I'm so excited," the mermaid on the right shouts, upon seeing Daichi's face. "And a cute present at that. We should keep this one, Tetsu."

Rolling his eyes, Tetsu says, "We're not keeping him. He is a human and humans belong on land. They also deserve to be left alone. Nika, what did I say about playing with humans?" To Daichi's surprised, the dragon, Nika, emits a low whine that seems to serve as an apology. "Look, you got too carried away! He's bleeding!"

Despite feeling a bit confused about the whole situation, Daichi decides to stand up for the dragon that saved his life. "Nika didn't do this. I got chased by a dwarf. Then I fell down a hill... And then I almost fell into the sea... Or rather, I almost fell onto a pirate ship. Upon hearing Daichi's explanation, both mermaids burst into laughter.

"You're really," Tetsu wheezes, all the while slapping his blood red tail against the rock below him, "one unlucky guy."

"Yeah" the other mermaid adds, "maybe we shouldn't keep you after all. We have our own share of bad luck. I've been trying to get rid of those pirates for a week! Those stubborn fools refuse to leave even though the wax in their ears only keeps them safe from my singing for about an hour. Well, they do leave but they just come right back!"

Singing? Then he must be...

"Tooru's a siren but he won't kill you. Only the evil ones do that," Tetsu explains, upon seeing Daichi's wide eyed expression.

"I won't kill you, but I expect you to pay a fee," Tooru says, with a smirk. "This cove belongs to Tetsu, Nika and I. You have to pay a fee for entering it. And since you likely lost what little money you had after you fell down a hill, you'll have to work your debt off instead. And there is only one thing you can do for work..." Tooru pauses for dramatic effect, "and that is to get rid of those pirates! So let's get you healed up and ready to work!"

"How am I supposed to get rid of the pirates if YOU can't? I'm going to need help! Also, what makes this YOUR cove? I'm pretty sure this cove belongs to the Kingdom of Karasuno," Daichi replies. He earns himself an unexpected response.

Tooru slaps his teal tail against the rock below him as he laughs at Daichi. "The Kingdom of Karasuno includes land, rivers and lakes NOT the ocean! Maybe we shouldn't keep you, you seem pretty dumb."

"Tooru," Tetsu says, with a heavy sigh, "you're calling him stupid, yet you didn't find out until recently that the Kingdom of Karasuno doesn't include this cove. Don't act so high and mighty. As for your questions... Humans are clever, you'll figure out something. Tooru and I may be able to help you... As for Nika, it probably isn't a good idea. Even if the pirates didn't kill Nika, they may capture them and sell their scales on the blackmarket. The only way to get rid of a dragon's scales is to pluck them out one by one while they are STILL alive."

"Oh..." Daichi isn't sure how to respond. He could have never dreamed of this situation... He never could have dreamed that he would meet new people and potentially new friends in such a strange place. "I guess I have no choice but to help you, huh?"

"Damn right," Oikawa responds, with a smirk, "now let's get you healed up before you attract sharks with all that blood."