Wild Uncharted Waters.

Chapter 6: Life On Deck.

While Leo was busy chasing after the boat, he had no idea what was really going on inside. He eventually caught up, hanging onto one corner. April followed up behind him, questioning his life decisions. "Shh. Look!" Leo instructed. April huffed furiously, "Leo, are you sure this is safe?!"

"Relax, I'm sure we're fine-"
Suddenly, his attention got immediately hooked on something. April tried to get his attention multiple times as he was slowly spacing out. "Leo! Leo!" She called.

It was the birthday of Prince Yuichi Usagi, who has just turned 16. The palace wanted to make it very special for him, decorating the ship from top to bottom, to preparing the most amazing food that you'll ever taste. The waters were rather calm at first, with not much going on.

The sky was clear with some clusters of clouds passing by, eventually on their ways of covering up the entire sky. Leo looked around, diverting his attention to the surroundings.
Sailors were dancing about happily as a group of people were playing instruments. The party was lively, and with the ship's lights bringing so much joy to what's happening.

Meanwhile, the moon was pale and bright as the people on deck continued to prepare for the celebration. It had been 15 minutes since they have left the palace, traveling from Kumamoto to Tottori. Not only is Usagi there for his birthday, but also on an important mission. To capture the famed Sazae-Oni to bring back to the shogun on his way there. A yokai that has been known to wreck havoc amongst ships, one night causing the shogun's boat to tip over due to carelessly aroused sailors. Which Usagi took into his own hands and accepted the shogun's challenge, though he himself still wondered why the shogun wanted him to capture a creature like this.

As they continued to sail, Usagi sat idly near the boat's railing, staring off into the distance, playing his shakuhachi, a bamboo flute. His pet tokage Spot meanwhile, tried to grab his attention by tugging relentlessly on his pants. He rolled his eyes and continue trying to play the flute. Leo began to lock his gaze on him. For he stood out above the rest. "Wow, I've never seen a person like him this close before." As Leo kept looking, he became all the more fascinated with him. "Hey. Don't go any closer to him, alright? He might hurt you if he found out you were here." April warned him. To which Leo ignored. The prince had soft, white fur, with his ears tied up into a topknot. His expression lit up the whole scene, with mahogany brown eyes, and a soft smile.

He wore apparel that Leo has never seen before, a dark blue haori over what seemed to be a white formal top. Usagi also wore a thick belt, tucking the top into his black hakama pants. He also styled some tengu-geta sandals along with white socks.
The way he played his flute fascinated Leo, drawing him in even more into the situation.

The flute's whistle called upon him, it's graceful sound flowing through the air. Leo began to even hum to himself, getting into it's melody. It was oddly soothing, like how something within it connected him somehow.

However, the more he looked at him, the more he started to synchronize with him. There was something about his energy that resonated with Leo. His lively attitude only made Leo even more convinced that not all of them are bad, and his smile couldn't get any more contagious. There was something about him that he liked, but Leo himself couldn't pinpoint why. Was it his eyes? Smile? From what he can tell, Usagi was a kind and compassionate person. Like nothing that he has ever seen before. He figured that they would get along well if they ever met, which made him even more intrigued. Leo really couldn't get over him.

Nonetheless, Usagi has been very fascinated with the sea, not oddly. There were lots of yokai to hunt by these waters. From the frightening Umibozu, to the angry water spirits called Funayurei.

But even with the freedom he gets for being a Yokai hunter, Usagi had grown up in a very strict family, trying to ensure that he's safe at all costs while doing this. Thing is, he's tired of them not being able to trust him with things on his own in most cases, for he would almost always mess up or trip over things, even if he didn't mean to. He tries ever so often to make it up to them, but his chances always end up failing. So they assigned his friend and his confidant Gen to take over for him or be with him all the time.