Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Le Maree Della Guerra (The Tides of War) ❯ Hiroto ( Chapter 15 )

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Le Maree Della Guerra (The Tides of War)

By: Revamp

Movement 15: Hiroto

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“You got some gall giving me orders after you kicked me there,” Isatsu sat on the ground holding his groin. The orca glared up at his offender as he still felt pain from that harsh blow to the dick. It was a harsh reminder that he couldn't always get his way and it hurt more than jut his pride.

“I'll do it again, if you touch me,” Doku threatened him. He'd better not even put his hands near him again for that entire mission. That orca acted like he could get away with doing whatever he wanted for far too long.

“I'll violate you,” Isatsu's pink tongue ran across his lips hungrily. There was nothing more that he wanted to do than run his hands along that octopus' body and feel him squirm beneath him. What a sight that would be!

“I hate you more than I did before,” and here Doku wanted to at least be somewhat accepting of him. The orca had a hard life, and he was on the verge of giving him far more sympathy than he deserved. He was lucky that he hadn't.

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The snow fell heavily from the gray skies, and the chill wind blew over the ice-filled tundra. All around were massive chunks of slow and ice that took over the land like a virus. Some glaciers drifted by in the water, lazily. There was a small island with a large mountain of snow that seemed to stick out from the rest. It possessed a few large, snow-covered rocks and a modest-looking little igloo.

Sitting atop of one of the rocks that lined the edge of the island sat a small, male form. He was dressed in shades of gray- a light gray peasant shirt with long, ruffled sleeves and a draw string in the top of its neck hole adorned his torso, along with dark gray pants and black boots that came up to his knees. They were efficient for trudging around in the deep snow of the arctic. White hands with long, black claws clutched his fishing pole and eyes that held red sclera with tiny black pupils concentrated on the water. He had a tuft of black hair that was wild and slightly wavy, sticking out in several directions with a large curl that resembled a feather on the top of his head.

Smoke wafted from his cigarette and dissipated into the harsh arctic air as he reeled back and yanked a fish out of the water with his fishing pole.

“Got you!” the penguin cried in an animated voice as he happily bent down and removed the hook from his pray's mouth. His joy didn't last long as he picked up the slippery fish and it proved too elusive by squirming out of his hands.

“Damn it!” He cursed as he tried to catch the wayward fish but it flopped into the chilled water with a splash. That wasn't going to deter him, however. He simply dove into the water and swam around near the surface to keep sight of his pray but to no avail. No matter how much he scanned the premises it was long gone.

The penguin popped his head above the surface of the water as the cold air blasted him in the face. Annoyance crossed his visage and he sighed. “Shit. I'm going to go smoke.”

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It was nice to be home for the orca. However, the Coconut Octopus couldn't really say the same. Isatsu wore the same clothing that he had in Nautica, as if the harsh environment change did nothing for him. Doku was dressed in several more layers, with a long, mint green coat that was lined in fur of a lighter shade and had fur around the ends of the sleeves, around the neck and completely across the bottom. It didn't seem to matter how many layers he put on, he would always be cold. It was irritating to deal with, and he could only hope that they got out of this dreadful place as quickly as they could.

“Ah, the arctic,” Isatsu stretched and smiled, his breath fogging out into the air. “It's been a while.”

“My reproductive organs are frozen,” Doku complained and crossed his arms in an attempt to keep any more warmth from leaving his body. Since he was cold-blooded, that task proved futile.

“Hiroto should be around here somewhere,” the orca educated him as one of the many penguins who inhabited the iceberg waddled by them.

Unlike the two of them, the penguin used his animal form to get around. In fact, a lot of the inhabitants used their animal forms rather than their humanesque ones as a means to conserve magic. Unlike the underwater world, above ground didn't seem to see many wars and if it had it wasn't big enough to reach those who lived in the sea.

“Hey, do you know where Hiroto is?” Isatsu caught the bird's attention and leaned down over him, towering over him like a sky scraper.

The penguin stopped and looked up at him after realizing a huge shadow had fallen over him. “He's probably somewhere reading porn. A bunch of the guys are looking at them with him.”

A few feet away, just out of sight, there was a humanesque penguin that was standing in a group of penguins who were all huddled around. They were all very interested in something, their sights fixated on whatever the rock hopper penguin in human form was holding in his hands and staring at with a perverse grin on his face.

“Oh man, look at the ass on her,” the rock hopper's grin widened even more as he pulled the book close to his face.

“She's hot,” another male voice intoned from the crowd.

“Her too.”

“Look at her ass.”

“I'd mate with her any day.”

“Not if I get her first!” After that, the group all laughed in merriment, enjoying the porn in their hands as Doku and Isatsu approached them. No one turned their heads, as they were all far too interested in their activities to notice they had been snuck up on.

Suddenly, one of the penguins is punched square in the face. The force of the blow was so strong that it knocked him off of his feet and propelled his body into the air. The rest of the group turned, but it was far too late. “Perverts,” the raging octopus' cold tone cut through their confusion and before they could scuttle away to safety, they were met with a tentacle to the face. “Stop reading that disgusting material,” he continued to degrade them as he swung his tentacles around and bulldozed most of the penguins, including the humanesque one to the ground. The porn magazine flew up along with a cigarette. “Nasty,” the wayward tentacle grabbed the book and began to beat the human-looking penguin over and over.

“Hey, calm down there kalamari…What are you even doing here?” The humanesque penguin tried to shield himself from the assault of the porno magazine.

“Disgusting,” Doku's words were cold and his stare disapproving as he held the crumpled up magazine tightly in his extra appendage.

“I hate you. I hate you loads,” the penguin glared down the orca, who stood a little to Doku's right with an amused expression.

“I'm here to wreck the day,” Isatsu held out his hand, gesturing to the sky, as if he were some important hero to save him.

“You mean release the kraken?” He sat up, rubbing his head. That octopus has a forceful strike.

“I came to invite you to a little party,” his friend began to tell him about what he had in store. His tone was as charismatic as ever.

“Party?” The penguin perked up at the idea. A wide grin crossed his face and his long, yellow eyebrows quirked. “Hell yeah! Are there going to be any hot women?”

“Maybe?” Isatsu shrugged. “It's more like an initiation.” He tried to ease his friend more into the subject, rather than just raining it down on him.

The penguin's gaze turned into a look of skepticism. “This is a fun party, right? So none of your Sea King shit, right?” He really didn't think this party was all it was cracked out to be. It sounded like he was trying to bait him into it more than invite him because it was fun.

“Just bring your fine penguin women,” Isatsu offered his friend a playful wink. If he had a little fun escape, then he'd forget that the real atmosphere of the party was anything but fun. After all, what good was a party if there was nothing else involved but a wild time with hot women?

“The hot chicks are mine,” the perverted penguin sneered and picked up his discarded cigarette, relighting it and sticking it back in his mouth.

“What happens happens,” Isatsu shrugged again. That was the motto he lived by. Things that happened at parties usually stayed there.

“Is PMS Master Oro going to be there?” Hiroto stomped his feet around on the thick ice and twisted his expression into one of stone-cold anger. His voice took on a strange, faux Spanish accent and he moved around with perturbed mannerisms. “I hate you. I hate this place and I hate the oceans. I hate me. Yes, I hate myself. Let's face it, everyone pisses me off!”

“Yeah, he's going to be there,” Isatsu knew that wouldn't particularly make him happy, but all of the Sea Kings were required to come to the initiation parties. There was nothing that he could do about that. Hiroto was just going to have to deal with it.

“I would advise to cease your imitations. You'll make it worse,” Doku decided to speak up and give the pervert a little good advice.

“Who are you?” Hiroto turned towards the bundled up sea creature. “Also trying? Who has to try? Just run into him on accident and he'll try to take you out!” For crying out loud! This man was literally a serial killer, not to mention he looked intimidating. One swift strike and someone could easily be taken out. That Tope Shark's arms were as big as his head.

“My name is Doku. Just do not cause accidents to happen and do not speak his name,” the octopus thought it would be best to evade the subject all together. He really didn't want any more incidents to happen. They didn't need any deaths in this war.

“Well, there goes my social life,” Hiroto folded his arms over his chest and sighed. Smoke billowed from his lips in a dark cloud.

“Who said we were having a party?” Doku glared in the orca's direction. He didn't remember anyone mentioning festivities to him.

“I'll throw him a coronation bash,” Isatsu waved in dismissal. Doku didn't need to worry about the details. He was going to throw his friend a party whether anyone else wanted to or not. He was a king; he could do what he wished.

“It's been a while. I sorta miss having you around,” Hiroto's tone slowly descended into something a little more melancholy.

“I missed smelling the tar on your breath,” the orca replied with a smile on his face. It had been quite a while since the two of them had seen each other. Everything about the penguin was comforting to him- the raspy sound of his voice, his over exaggerated speech, the smell of tar and tobacco that clung to his form…it was all such a nice thing to experience again.

“Oh yay! I get to deal with you again!” Hiroto threw his arms out and yelled in cinematic fashion before he stuck his hands in his pockets and grumbled to himself, “fucking aye, god damn it.”

“Do you look older, or are those bags under your eyes worse? You look different,” Isatsu put a gloved hand under his chin, looking the short male up and down as if examining him.

“It's been a year,” Hiroto's voice deadpanned.

“It has. How have you been?” The orca decided to make some small talk in order to smooth things over. It didn't hurt to talk about things other than business, right?

“Shitty,” Hiroto took the cigarette from his mouth. “I've been going downhill the past year.” If Isatsu would have cared to stay in his life during that time, then maybe he would have known that. The rock hopper penguin wasn't going to let him get away with his idle talk after all of this time.

“You should get out more, enjoy life,” Isatsu thought that his friend keeping himself trapped on that little island wasn't going to do him any good. Hiroto really needed to socialize more. That would surely help him from being so depressed.

“I bet if you fought me right now, you'd kick my ass. It's terrible,” the penguin continued as he took a puff from his cigarette. What exactly had he become in the course of a year? Even he didn't know at this rate.

“You're falling apart,” Isatsu rested his hands at his sides and bent one knee slightly. It seemed some things never changed. It wasn't as if he thought Hiroto would kick his ass regardless, but it was sad to see him decline like that.

“I don't care about being arrogant or having pride. It's all bullshit,” Hiroto rested up against a nearby rock and gazed at the fast-moving clouds above them. The snow was still falling at a heavy rate and the wind occasionally blew past. His penguin friends were long gone now, scared away by Doku's malicious streak.

It was just the three of them and the harsh conditions of nature.

“You need to learn. You'll need it where you're going,” his friend didn't really like the sound of that tone. It seemed like Hiroto was giving up on himself and his life. That wasn't going to do him any good if he planned on being a Sea King…Well, more like Isatsu was going to force him into that position for the sake of Nautica.

“Shut up, you don't know a damned thing about me,” the last thing Hiroto was going to do was take any shit from that stupid orca. Isatsu didn't know what he needed in life. Hell, he didn't even really visit him until a year later, and now he wanted to come to the arctic and try to be his guidance counselor? He could go fuck himself with that logic.

“I care about your health, old friend,” Isatsu wasn't trying to be malicious for once. He was trying to look out for him.

“I just got a lotta things on my mind. What's so hard about that?” Hiroto was irritated. Couldn't that orca just let him breathe for five minutes?

“Let me help you,” since he was there, Isatsu wanted to offer any assistance he could.

“Oh, like the last time you helped me? With help like yours, I may as well commit suicide,” Hiroto knew that his friend had a special way of being more harm than good in situations. If he was even going to consider getting help for the shit in his head, it definitely wasn't going to be from this man.

“That's harsh,” Isatsu sighed. “Last time I helped you, I gave you your identity back. I mean, yeah I screwed it up to you, then you act like this.” Honestly, how ungrateful could someone be? Sure, his helps wasn't the best but he did help.

“Try visiting me, you bastard. Besides, you tell everyone to fuck off faster than bacteria multiply,” the penguin was really unsure of why his friend even cared at this rate. Isatsu clearly had other goals in mind.

“Hey, that's hitting below the belt. I'm sorry I haven't visited you,” the orca looked a little disappointed in himself. He knew that he could have made time in that year to go and see Hiroto. In reality, he didn't have much of an excuse not to do it, which made the situation even that much more hard to accept.

Hiroto stuck his hands in his pockets and turned away from him. His voice lowered and his tone was sorrowful. “It's…been hard…”

“Live your life to the fullest and you won't have to go through it again,” Isatsu was trying to give him some kind of positivity. He really wanted his friend to stop isolating himself to that tiny island and get out and enjoy life, maybe get laid by one of those hot penguin ladies he looked at in his magazines. Anything was better than rotting away.

That sentence just made Hiroto boil with anger. He clenched his fists in his pockets and whirled around with a scowl plastered on his face. “Shut up, okay? Just shut the fuck up! I don't want your fucking commentary. I'm pissed at you!”

The last person he wanted talking to him at all was that damned orca. Hell, at this point his kind words merely felt like mockery and the cheerful tone of his voice was literally just hammering everything into him even harder, like a sickly nail into his already bleeding heart.

“Right now, you're so much more important than you know,” Doku decided to talk some sense into the penguin after a while of merely observing. He knew that Isatsu was bad at talking to people anyway.

“Nothing I do is right,” Hiroto's head tilted down and he sighed in defeat. He really just wished people would leave him alone at this rate. It's why he isolated himself to begin with.

“You must be patient. I don't know what happened to make your life so bad, but there are things ahead of you now,” the octopus tried to be understanding of whatever situation that Hiroto was going through. He wanted the penguin to see his worth. There would be no use for a Sea King with such a low self-esteem.

“…Thanks…” It was far more of a genuine compliment than the orca could give, so Hiroto was going to take it at face value.

Suddenly, two arms clad in blue grabbed Hiroto around the waist and pulled him into a bear hug. The grip was strong and nearly bone crunching. Waves of pain were sent through his body as he felt his feet lifted off of the ground. He wanted to squirm away and get out of the grasp of the hugger, but his arms were pinned down to his sides. Hiroto kicked into the air but his actions only proved futile as he was brought close to his friend.

The smell of expensive, strong cologne wafted into his senses as he gritted his teeth. His spine undulated under the happy orca's grip.

“It's so good to see you again, you old bag of ashes,” Isatsu's deep, endearing tone reached the pointy ears of the penguin.

“Let go of me you goofy bastard!” Hiroto protested as he continued to struggle against his grip.

“I should kiss you,” the orca teased.

“That's a ten on the barf-o-meter. I'll turn your ass into chum,” the rock hopper continued to make threats to his much taller captor.

“If you try, I'll shove a fishing hook into your hand again,” Isatsu's tone was too happy on wishing to carry out that deed. His bear hug on his much smaller friend only tightened with his threat.

“You fucker!” He shouted as he shut one eye. “I've been fighting slayers, merchants and poachers for years. I can take your blubber ass.”

“You said you'd lose,” Isatsu remembered the context of their prior conversation. If Hiroto was pitying himself about losing, there was no way that he could possibly even think of defeating him if he were to get serious. Not that the little penguin won any of their prior fights.

Hiroto was more bark than bite.

“Shut up before I punch you in your…big…little…skinny head!” Hiroto continued to squirm and shout, not really concentrating on the context of his insults, or whether or not they made any genuine sense.

“How is your head big, little, and skinny?” Doku questioned from the side lines. He didn't really wish to even be in the arctic, much less involved in…whatever was transpiring before him.

Honestly, that orca was embarrassing.

The penguin's broken body was finally given some release as he was sat down on the ice again. Hiroto was happy just to have his feet touching the ground…and to be far away from the smell of that orca. He moved his arms from side to side, trying to rid himself of the tingling sensation that ran through them. Isatsu never could gauge his strength properly.

Hiroto swore that the orca was a like a huge child that never knew how strong he was and accidentally broke his toys. Then again, given the orca's sadistic personality who even knew if he broke anything intentionally or not.

“Shut up and look gorgeous. That's your job, octo-woman!” Hiroto pointed dramatically to the dark red octopode, who gave him a look of irritation.

“I'm male, you ugly penguin,” Doku's cold tone only served to amplify his disapproval. Because of his androgynous appearance he was always confused for being female, but it had been happening more lately than he wanted it to. It seemed more insulting coming from this idiot.

“That's-“ Hiroto tried to make a rebuttal but it was only met by the violent shaking of the ground. It was so jarring that it caused him to lose his footing and he fell on the ice, hitting it hard. Anger amplified on his face as he propped himself up on his elbows. “Who the fuck is doing that? It's pissing me off!”

It happened infrequently. The loud boom accompanied by an earthquake drove him up the wall. He actually didn't understand why there had been so many lately. It was very disruptive and it also made him lose sleep at night. Whoever was causing them definitely needed their asses kicked.

“The sea is at war. It must be the Deep Sea Canons,” Doku had a feeling that they were the ones causing this. There would be a lot more noises and earthquakes as the war picked up. Things could only get worse from here.

“Where is Symphony?” Hiroto's face lit up as he pulled himself off of the ice. Why weren't they protecting her? As a matter of fact, why wasn't she with them? Why was it just the two of them? What was going on with his sister? Is that why they were there? Were they going to give him bad news? Was she hurt? His mind was racing at a thousand miles an hour as scenarios pounded at his psyche.

“Traitor,” Doku closed his eyes. That news was hard to give, but Hiroto needed to know.

“What?” Hiroto wasn't sure what Doku meant by that.

He wanted clarification.

“She rebelled against us and we don't have a commander for the Beast Army. We were wondering if we could have your alliance,” Doku didn't know how he was going to react to that information. He might not help them given the circumstances, but he hoped that Hiroto would be as understanding as someone could be given that situation.

“Why? What did you assholes do?” If Symphony rebelled against Nautica, then some shit must have gone down, or at least that's the way Hiroto saw it.

“She loves Accord. She's trying to kill us,” the octopus continued to expand on the situation. Surely, this information had to be hard for someone like Hiroto to learn like this. He almost felt sorry for the penguin.

“I hate that guy. I wish he'd get caught in a ship's propeller. He's a living joke,” the penguin didn't get how anyone could love him, much less his own sister. How did this happen? None of this even seemed real.

“It's cold,” Doku reminded everyone there that he wasn't exactly from the arctic. While the orca and penguin could sit around and talk, he didn't really have that option.

“Then put on some clothes. You might as well be running around in your underwear or whatever octopus wear if they wear anything at all.” Hiroto argued with his logic, then looked as if he immediately regretted his word choice and held out his hands. “Never mind! Don't tell me! I don't wanna know! I was making a point!”

“That's enough of your crap, mister,” Doku frowned heavily. Why must this penguin's mind always be on such perverted things? Whether or not he wore underwear was his own business.

Hiroto decided to grab a fish that he had caught earlier. If he was going to go down into the ocean, he wanted to at least eat something. He had been out fishing all day and hadn't had a chance to really eat anything. His sharp teeth tore into the flesh of the fish, ripping and shredding it as he ate.

“Are you going to help us?” The Coconut Octopus was a little tired of Hiroto acting as if he had all day to stay in the cold.

Hiroto took the fish away from his mouth and was about to speak before he felt the heel of a dress shoe in his back. The blow came with such force that he fell onto his stomach and was propelled across the ice, towards one of the ledges of the island.

With a splash he fell face first into the frigid waters below and surfaced to hear Isatsu tell him to stop being stubborn. Hiroto swam to the edge and pulled himself onto land again, clearly irritated with his friend.

“What was that about?” Seriously! Isatsu didn't have to shove him into the fucking water.

“Let's hear the answer,” Isatsu placed his hands on his hips and grinned at his friend.

Hiroto picked up his half-eaten fish and threw it at the orca. It hit Isatsu in the face and some of its inside fell out on his face. The orca merely continued to smile as the organs ran down his visage. “Delicious,” his deep voice held a playful tone before he spun, smacking Hiroto with his tail and knocking him onto the ground.

If Hiroto wanted to play, then he would definitely play with him. It had been a long time since he and his friend had a little fun, and there was nothing like reliving old times. There was nothing like a little competitive rivalry between friends that really got his adrenaline pumping.

“Childish,” Doku rolled his eyes.

“I hate you!” Hiroto fumed and flipped him off.

“I hate you too,” Isatsu laughed and hardly took his actions as serious.

“What do you want me to do?” The penguin really didn't understand why they came here to tell him this stuff. Yeah, he was happy that he had the intel, but he was hardly Sea King material.

“Become the new Beast King,” Doku said that sentence more as a command than anything and that made Hiroto nervous.

“If I do that, then I'll have to kill Symphony. I'll be a murderer,” Hiroto didn't think they quite understood what they were asking him to do. Did they not realize that they were asking him to kill his own sister? Did they really think someone like him in general could be capable of it? That was his family, and he was hardly the accomplished alchemist that she was.

“Maybe you can sway her,” the octopus knew there were other answers than going straight to murder. Anything would be a help to Nautica at this rate.

“I can't believe she's been hiding this from me,” the stressed man placed a hand to his forehead. “Why? Who would…” he paused as if something hit him, and his voice took on a whole new level of malice. “Accord, that sniveling bastard…I'll make shark fin soup outta that son of a bitch. I'm going to make this right.”

Isatsu bent down, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. “I'm sorry old friend, I don't know if I can mend this.”

He didn't know if anyone could. Symphony had already tried to kill Angla. It seemed she was pretty dead set on serving the Deep Sea.

“All of the cigarettes in the world can't mend this. After my father died, things went downhill.” It seemed like they never stopped for him. It was one severe blow after another for the rock hopper penguin. Everyone in his family had died on him in some way, and now he was just told that he was going to have to kill his own sister. Was there anything worse than knowing that?

“I don't think Symphony hates you,” Isatsu wanted to believe she didn't. His family might have all been after each other's blood, but it wasn't typical.

“She will by the time this is over. At this rate I'll kill my whole family and be the only one left. I need to mate with something to ensure my bloodline,” Hiroto sighed shakily as he felt another wave of anxiety and stress wash over him and plunge him down farther. None of this seemed real.

He hoped it was all just some bad dream that he'd wake up to. Just some freak occurrence that was the manifestation of his inner woes, but he wasn't opening his eyes yet. Hiroto wasn't waking up even when he wanted to the most.

This was reality.

“Don't say it like that. If you win, I'll let you beat your sister's ass,” Isatsu didn't want his friend to be sad about all of this. The orca couldn't really relate to him or feel much sympathy considering he was made to fight his family during his childhood and knew well of his consequences. However, he did want to help in any way he could.

“What do I have to do?” Hiroto closed his eyes and clenched his hands. He knew that he couldn't necessarily avoid this and turning down their offer would only breed the guilt inside of him. “I'll become the new Beast King, but I want to save her. None of you better kill her, got it?”

“Well-“ Isatsu's amused tone was cut off.

“Not you, son of a bitch,” red eyes glared him down. He's better not even think about it.

“First one to her gets to rip her apart,” Isatsu wasn't going to make him an exception. Symphony was his sister, but she was their enemy first and foremost.

“I said no. I will rip your dick off,” Hiroto growled.

“Come over here and play with me then,” the orca continued to taunt him. Hiroto couldn't just start the game and then leave him high and dry. That wasn't how this kind of thing worked.

“No,” the penguin protested, “I will not play with you. If I do that then I'll smell like sweat and no one wants a guy who smells like sweat.”

“Oh, come on, Hiro,” Isatsu continued to pick at him. He wasn't going to be satisfied until Hiroto caved into his demands.

“My name is Hiroto,” the penguin corrected. He didn't like being called pet names, especially by Isatsu.

“Hiro,” the orca pressed, letting the name slide through his lips like velvet.

“I beg your pardon?” Hiroto arched one of his long, yellow eyebrows and leaned towards him. His posture screamed that he was holding back everything in him not to punch that smart ass right in the jaw.

“Nothing,” Isatsu dismissed the subject with a small smile before he gestured to Doku. “Do you like my new boyfriend?”

“What? You're into guys? I mean, I always knew you were a little fruity but-“ Hiroto stared at the octopus in disbelief.

“No,” Doku retorted.

“You liked my touch and kiss,” the orca went from teasing the penguin to teasing Doku. One of them was going to give him what he wanted, and he knew that he could always get the reactions that he desired from the octopus.

“No.”

“You blushed.”

“What?” Hiroto was very confused. Did they love each other or didn't they? Someone needed to give him a proper answer.

“He loved it,” Isatsu continued to brag, “especially the way my hands felt his every crevice.” A sly smile crossed his face at the thought. Even though he was merely teasing him to get a reaction, it was something that Isatsu took notice of. He remembered those curves and indentations and he longed to touch them more. In fact, he'd like to do a lot of things with that octopus' body.

“Ugh,” Hiroto sighed in disgust. “I didn't need to know that. Just…leave your clothes on for this trip.”

He wasn't in the mood to see anyone get naked. In fact, he didn't want to see either one of them naked for numerous reasons. No one wanted a pile of men all over each other. Hell, he didn't know how to feel about even visualizing that scenario…and he didn't know why he was getting mental images about it anyway. He really did read far too much porn for his own good.

“What?” Doku was clearly tired of all of this idiocy. He was cold, it was getting late, they were wasting time and he had to deal with both of those idiots.

“I hate you,” Hiroto glared him down and folded his arms over his chest.

“I didn't do anything,” Doku sighed. This wasn't turning out in anyone's best interest.

“They all say that,” the penguin pressed.

“No they don't,” Isatsu argued playfully.

“I've been traumatized enough for today. I'm going to go to Nautica,” the penguin walked into his igloo. The two followed him and watched as Hiroto looked for a few items that meant a lot to him and he found valuable. The penguin them stuffed them all into a suitcase and began to ready himself for departure. He also packed some clothing.

He turned around to retrieve money but was grabbed by the playful orca yet again. Hiroto frowned deeply and looked tired of the orca's shit. “I loathe you. Keep me out of your gay fantasies.”

That kind of stuff made him feel uncomfortable, and he didn't like feeling uncomfortable around anyone, much less someone that he regarded as a friend like that. If Isatsu was gay, then that was fine but he didn't want to be pulled into whatever stuff Isatsu was trying to pull him into.

“If you like men, you could always kiss the penguin,” Doku offered and Hiroto could feel that familiar uncomfortable feeling creep up his spine and viciously take hold of him. He didn't like this at all.

“No, no! Oh god, no!” Why would Doku do this to him? God damn it! Why must people constantly use him as a distraction away from their own issues with this orca fuck?

“I'm certainly not kissing him,” Doku wanted to keep any distance he could from that pervert orca. He was molested enough by him. He certainly didn't need any more help.

“Good,” Hiroto didn't want to see it anyway.

“I would never lower myself like that,” the Coconut Octopus wasn't into making out with the enemy. Last time that orca tried something like that he got a boot to the balls, and he wasn't afraid to give it to him again if he persisted.

“Hey!” The penguin felt offended by that.

“You're insulted by that? You must want to be kissed,” those cold words pierced the penguin like an arrow. Fuck! Why did he have to say what he did? God damn it! Why was he so stupid?

“No! Don't put your lips near me!” Hiroto held out his hands and waved them around frantically. He could feel his heart slamming against his sternum at the very mention of having another man kiss him. He wasn't gay! He wasn't! He liked women!

“This is all kind of funny. I really don't think Doku is that way,” Isatsu placed a finger to his lips and glanced over to the sage. When he thought about it, Doku really couldn't be a sexual person given what he had been told. It was sad for how good he looked.

“Would it be bad if I said I didn't know?” For a moment, even if he was opening up his weaknesses to someone disgusting, Doku was going to be serious. He didn't know what gender he was attracted to. He had never thought about such things, and even if he did he would find it pointless to carry out romantic interest with them until he was going to die. That's the way things worked for the octopus and his species in general.

Hiroto didn't say anything. He just stood there looking dumbfounded. He really didn't think anyone would just bring out some heavy shit about their sexuality like that.

“You know, I am bisexual, so would it be strange if I did?” Isatsu had always found himself attracted to both sexes. It was a part of his species and a part of who he was. Male or female, it didn't really matter. If he felt strong feelings towards them, then he would gravitate to their direction.

“Yes, and nasty!” Hiroto knew what he was trying to insinuate and he wanted no part of it. The last thing he wanted to be was Isatsu's sex slave or his play thing.

“What's wrong with it?” Isatsu never got Hiroto's straight agenda. There was nothing wrong with loving someone of the same sex or doing sexual things with them.

“Oh god!”

“Love is love,” the orca continued. Honestly, it was disturbing and gross.

“Then go be gay with the octopus!” Hiroto shouted in a flurry. He wanted out of his conversation really badly, and like hell he wanted to be kissed by him. The penguin then turned around, but felt his shoulders being gripped. Long claws poked his skin as he was turned around to see the orca in his face, their lips only a few inches apart. “What are you doing?”

This was close. It was too close. He could smell that familiar smell of cologne again. Red eyes with black pupils stared into ghostly blue as a moment of silence passed between them. The penguin tensed up and that familiar sound of his heart beating rapidly filled his senses.

“I'm going to punch you in the dick.” It was the only rebuttal he had to whatever Isatsu had planned in his head. Something was going to happen, but he didn't know what and he hated the anticipation that came along with it.

“Why do you think it's so wrong?” Isatsu was half-way curious. While he didn't know why people thought the way they did about this kind of thing - this was his friend that he was talking to. Why did Hiroto think that his loves towards both genders was so wrong?

“Did you not hear me earlier? I will rip your dick off. O-F-F! OFF!” Hiroto wasn't playing around. He really was uncomfortable now, and he wanted away from this situation as quickly as possible.

“This is how my friendships work.” If the penguin couldn't handle how close they were, then what was the point? Orcas were social animals and desired the touch of another.

“Don't kiss my beautiful face with your ugly lips,” he shouldn't have said that.

Isatsu leaned in, and for a moment Hiroto thought the inevitable was coming. He knew that telling Isatsu not to do something only made him want to even more out of rebellion. His small body tensed up more than it was before, causing his muscles to hurt. The penguin screwed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. He was going to get that kiss no matter how disgusted he would feel by it.

He hated this. He prayed that someone would help him, but it wasn't as if that octopus was going to willingly jump in like some kind of hero. Doku even admitted that he didn't know how he felt about being involved with someone of the same gender as him.

Lips contacted the penguin's forehead which caused him to untense. His body ached from being tight with anticipation, but he was relieved that it was only a forehead kiss. How dare Isatsu make him think he was going to kiss him on the lips!

That anger merely built up again as Hiroto drew his fist back and punched him in the face. His fist landed on the orcas cheek, only causing him to be drawn away at the contact.

“Let's go. You'd better nope I can fix this,” Hiroto gritted his teeth and put a considerable distance between he and his friend. The farther Isatsu was away, the better.

“Don't turn out being a traitor,” Isatsu teased.

“Do you want my help or not?” Hiroto whirled around. How dare he even insinuate that he'd just turn on him after all they had been through together. What the fuck was that? “I wouldn't betray you.”

“We'll trust you…for now…” Doku admitted that he was skeptical about all of this. As much as Hiroto was one of Isatsu's friends…probably his only friend, he was Symphony's brother and that was cause for concern considering how much faith everyone was putting into him.

“Get offa my ass, kalamari. I said I won't, so I won't.” Didn't anyone take him for his word? Doku might not have known him, but Isatsu did enough to know that he wasn't going to lie, nor did he plan on stabbing them in the back.

Doku looked to the orca for some kind of affirmation on the subject.

“We can trust him,” Isatsu placed a hand on Doku's shoulder. He knew that the octopus had trust issues, but Hiroto wasn't like his sister at all.

“I can't believe that I'm relying on your opinion.” Even though he felt he shouldn't, Doku knew that it was the only thing he had to go by besides Hiroto's word.

“Let's get shaking! Move your asses!” Hiroto shouted from the doorway and Isatsu nodded in return.

“Right.”

With that, the three walked outside into the heavily falling snow, on their way to return to the kingdom beneath the sea. With Hiroto with them, the two sea creatures hoped that this could be just the upper hand that they needed to stand a chance in the Deep Sea War.

…To Be Continued