-3rd POV-
"Nothing beats a good breakfast after workin' up a sweat! Grim craves protein—bring on the meat!" Grim exclaimed happily.
Leona looked at the girl, "So, like, what were you thinking, cuttin' a deal with that cephalo-punk? How stupid can you get?" He glared at her, "Now you're crampin' my style as a result."
(Y/n) stared at him as she slurped her soba, which made him have a tick mark on his forehead.
"Answer!"
"The idiots got sea anemones on their heads..."
The male let out a small chuckle, "You made a deal to free all the chumps who contracted with him o get ahead in their finals?" He laughed, "That's right. I shudder to imagine being that dumb."
"Rumor has it that Azul's study guide is the real deal, though. I kinda get why people would wanna get their hands on that." Ruggie said.
"So you guys steered clear of Azul's scheme, huh? I figured you'd go for the easiest out of you could get, Leona-senpai..." Jack said, before averting his eyes, "Ah, no offense, of course."
"Are you kidding? Who in their right mind would voluntarily keep making deals with that swindler? I've made a few deals and paid the piper for 'em. There's always a steep catch." The lion male said.
"Yeah, he ain't the kinda guy you want to turn to as your first resort." The hyena male said, sighing, "He's definitely a capable magician, though. He can grant some real tall orders just like that."
"The guy who wants something outta a deal is always the one at a disadvantage. That's Negotiating 101. When dimwitted herbivores sign contract on a whim, they always end up getting suckered somehow."
The girl sighed and pouted slightly, making the male's blush slightly, "Can I really win...?"
Leona crossed his arms, "Y'know what? Let's hear it. What were your terms, exactly?"
"Oh..." She said, before beginning to explain to him.
The male nodded, "Before the sun sets on the third day after signing..."
"You have to sneak into the Atlantica Memorial Museum, steal a photo, and bring it back?" Ruggie said, before the stood sat quietly, "Boy...Stinks to be you."
"Hey, we ain't even gotten started yet! Don't go jinxin' us!" The feline said.
"Isn't the Atlantica Memorial Museum underwater? How are you gonna get there, brainiac?"
"They gave us a water-breathin' potions."
"No idea how well they work, though." The wolf male said.
"Huh. If Azul gave 'em to you, they probably work just fine. He's got his pride. I doubt he'd ever give someone a wonky potion." The hyena male said.
"Hm..." The lion male hummed, before smirking, "I'd get the ball rollin' now, if I were you. Time is money, as they say."
"Myah! Good idea!" Grim exclaimed, nodding, before jumping on the girl's head, "Hey, (Y/n), let's hit up the Atlantica Memorial Museum right now!"
"Good call. With only three days, we don't have any leeway here." Jack said, getting up.
"I'm bringin' Ace and Deuce along, too. Let's mosey!"
(Y/n) sighed softly, "Don't tug on my hair." She mumbled, as she got up, and the three left.
"Aaand they're gone. I gotta say, Leona-san—you're a real piece of work." Ruggie said, looking at the male.
"Hah. I've got no idea what you're talkin' about."
-----
"Will Azul's potions really let us breathe underwater?" Deuce said, as he looked at the potion bottle.
"Only one way to find out. We'll have to chug 'em and see for ourselves." Jack said.
"Okay, on three. One, two...three!" Ace said, before drinking the potion, the others following.
The blue haired male's eyes widen, "That was..."
"Nasty! It tastes like someone mixed together dried frog and rotten mushrooms!" Grim said.
"How would you know what that tastes like?" The wolf male said, before coughing, "It's a powerful flavor, all right..."
"What genius decided that potions have to taste like crud, anyway? Someone oughta fix that." The orange haired male said, before burping.
(Y/n) nodded, before her eyes widen, "G-Guys..." She said, gasping for air.
"(Y/n)!" They all said, before they soon started to gasp for air.
"Are our lungs adapting to breathing underwater?" Jack said, as he held the girl.
Ace gasped, "Aw geez, this is gettin' bad. Let's get in the water, quick!"
"Mirror of Darkness! Guide us to the Coral Sea!"
-----
"It just dumped us in the water! I'm gonna drown!" The feline gurgled under the water.
"Wait. I'm breathing just fine." Deuce said.
"Huh? Oh, hey, you're right."
"We really can breathe underwater." Jack said.
"Dude! Get a load of this coral reef! If Cater-senpai was here, he'd be hastaggin pics of it faster than you could say the word "Magicam"!" Ace exclaimed.
(Y/n) looked around with shining eyes, "Now, I'm jealous of the heroes, who go out into the sea." She said, before a small little squid came up to her and latched on to her left hand, which made her smile, "Hello, little one." She pat its head, "Swim along. I'm unfortunately busy, but hopefully I can come and see you soon." She smiled.
The small squid seem to understand and unlatched themselves, then kept swimming.
"We don't have time to gawk at the scenery. We'd better get a move on and head to our target." The wolf male said.
The feline tried to swim his best, "So hard to move! Mrrragh! I feel like a fish outta water here. Or whatever the opposite of that is!"
-----
"Hey, check it out!" The blue haired male exclaimed.
"That's it, yeah? The Atlantica Memorial Museum?" Ace said.
Grim looked around it and saw mermen, "Myah! Look at all these guys with fish tails instead of legs!"
"Are those...mermen? Wow. There really are people out there who live underwater." Jack said.
Suddenly, arms wrapped around the girl, making her tense.
"Eeeyyy! There you are, Little Koi-chan and co.!" A familiar voice said.
"Good day, everyone. How are you liking it here under the sea?" Another familiar voice said.
"Those voices...It's the lookalike brothers!" The tanuki said.
"Got it in one!" Floyd said, as he let go of the girl and was by his brother.
Everyone were shocked, seeing their different appearance.
"Why d'you look like that?!" The wolf male exclaimed.
"Whaddaya mean? This is how we normally look." Floyd said, before swimming up closer to them, "After all, we're mermen."
(Y/n) was having a crisis, "But you have legs at school..." She mumbled as she stared at their tails, instead of their legs, 'I think this...this just broke me...' She thought.
"We use potions to change our forms when we're on land. After all, we can hardly walk on solid grounds with these tailfins." Jade said.
"Dude, they're long! How tall—uh. I mean, how long are you?" The orange haired male exclaimed.
"Are you some kind of sea serpent?" Deuce said.
"Solid guess, but nope. We're morays." Floyd smiled.
"Who cares what they are? I wanna know why they're here!" Grim said.
The male laughed, "That's easy. We're here to get in your way."
"I shoulda known." The orange haired male said, frowning.
"It wouldn't do for you to complete your challenge too easily." Jade said.
The girl's eyes widen, 'I can only use ice and not fire...Dammit.' She thought, glaring at them.
-----
(Y/n) used her ice, but then her eyes widen, 'It was deflected?' She thought, then her eyes narrowed, 'Is it a spell of his?'
"Might wanna try upping the ante there, Little Koi-chan." Floyd said, smiling at the girl.
Ace tried sending his own magic towards Jade, but it also got deflected before it even touched him.
The male's twin seemed to chuckle, "Come, now. Put in some effort." He said.
"No way. How could I miss that..."
"Tch. Step aside, I'll handle this!" Jack said, pointing his pen at them, but his magic got deflected too, "What?! My spell swerved before hitting them! I see what's goin' on..."
"At least Sea Urchin and Little Koi-chan knows about to pay attention." Floyd said.
"I shouldn't be surprised that a land beast and a hero-in-training have a keen eye." Jade said.
"Since I'm a nice guy, I'll do you a solid and explain why none of your spells or power are hitting us. I've got this signature spell, Bind the Heart, see? It's a handy little number that interferes with your magic to ensure it fails! Ain't that just neato?"
"That ain't "neato" at all! It's cheatin', is what it is!" Grim exclaimed, angrily.
The male's twin sighed, "Floyd, do you really have to spell out your entire signature spell gimmick to them?"
"What's the big deal? Knowing isn't gonna help 'em any." He frowned.
"Fair enough. At least your magic is in good form today. If only you could be more consistent about it. When you're not in the mood, it never works at all. That's rather hard to plan around, you know." He smirked.
"Better run, kiddos! If I catch you, my tailfin's gonna wring you out like a dirty dishrag!" He grinned at them, "Now, who should I squeeze first...?"
"This is nothin' more than a game to them. If we don't get outta here, they're gonna hang us out to dry!" The wolf male said.
The dual haired girl nodded, "We'd better work out a new plan." She said.
Floyd laughed, "Come back as many times as you want. It won't make a lick of difference! With those sorry legs of yours, you'll never outswim mermen."
"We'll be waiting for your next visit." Jade said.
"Rgh, this stinks! I'll remember this, okay?!" The feline exclaimed.
-----
All of them landed on the ground. Well, the girl had more of a graceful fall, and Jack being a gentleman had instead taken the fall so the girl landed on his chest.
Deuce panted, "You guys okay?" He said.
"I think so..." Ace said.
"Are you all right, (Y/n)?" The wolf male said, looking at the girl, before blushing.
(Y/n) nodded and got up, "I had many more ungraceful landings at school..." She mumbled, before leaning towards the male and patting his head, "Thank you for catching me though. I would've been fine." She said, smiling softly at him, which made him avert his eyes.
The male nodded and sighed, "I wasn't expecting them to actually be mermen..."
"it was almost a feedin' frenzy there—with us as the chum! Swimmin' that fast ain't fair!" Grim said.
"Well, yeah. Merfolk are literally in their element underwater." The orange haired male said.
"But we gotta get that photo fast, or they're gonna confiscate Ramshackle Dorm..."
"We need to rework our plan here." The blue haired male said.
"Yeah. Cater-senpai likes to say he's got a finger on the pulse of the community, so why don't we get some input from him?" Ace said.
"It'd also be a good idea to got back to Savanaclaw and see what Ruggie-senpai and the others have to share." Jack said.
-----
"What? You guys actually went to the Coral Sea?" Ruggie said.
"Hah! How stupid can you get?" Leona said.
"Mrah?! But you're the guy who said to "get the ball rolling" right now!" Grim exclaimed.
"Hmph. I never said anything about diving headlong into the sea. Your time's limited. What I was suggestin' was that you use your head and find a worthwhile use of your time. Challenging merfolk head-on in the water is a losing proposition no matter how you slice it. It's like walking into a carnivore's mouth."
"Wait. Did you guys know the twins were actually mermen this whole time?" The wolf male said.
"Maybe."
"I saw Floyd in his natural form at a joint swimming class last summer, and boy, let me tell you..." The hyena male trailed off, then sighed, "If that guy came after me in the water, I'd be done for. End of story."
(Y/n) tugged on Leona's lion ears, making him glare at her, "It would of been nice to know about that." She bluntly said, as she kept tugging.
"Oi! Let go of my ears!" He said, before growling.
"No. You deserve it."
Ruggie gently took the girl's hands, "Okay, that's enough." He said, before putting them on his head and the girl began to run her fingers through his hair, making him sigh.
The lion male grumbled then looked back at them, "Last I checked, you were the guys who ran off half-cocked without bothering to gather any intel. I would've been happy to share it all in detail if you'd asked." He smirked.
"Yeah! You gotta cover your bases before you start pickin' fights, y'know?" He laughed, then smirked, "Back at the Savanna, you gotta tread carefully if you don't wanna end up as someone's dinner."
The feline groaned, "You're the same couple of scheming jerks as always!"
"Does that mean Azul was planning on interfering from the start when he made the offer?" Jack said.
"Uh, duh? Obviously?" Leona said.
"The Leech brothers are Azul's top men. They're known for collecting all collateral and compensation from his contractors. And rumor has it they run interference to make sure the contract terms can't be met." Ruggie said.
"What a bunch of low-down, dirty cheaters!" Grim said, before crying, "If (Y/n) loses, am I gonna be stuck workin' day and night for Azul forever?"
The said girl looked at him, taking her hands off the male's head, making his slightly pout, "I'm sure we'll manage something..." She softly smiled at him, "A hero always finds a way to defeat the villain."
That seemed to cheer up the feline, since his eyes sparkled brightly at the girl.
The lion male stared at the girl, which made the hyena male took notice.
"Leona-san?"
"Azul's signature spell is a golden contract scroll called, It's a Deal. It enables the caster to take one power from a target if that target signs the scroll. In addition, in the event of a contract breach, the breacher is compelled to obey Azul's every command to a T." He explained.
"They say spells with tricky activation requirements are especially potent, by man...Isn't that messed up?"
"When the power gets taken, it's sealed inside the contract and made available for Azul to use as it suits him."
"Wait, so all those times Azul busted out different sortsa high-difficulty spells like it was nothing..." Jack said, shocked.
"I'd bet you anything that those were powers he swiped from contractors as collateral." Ruggie said.
"That's nuts! That means he's cheating at everything!"
"Technically, no. As far as signature spells go, his is crazy high-level. Guy's gotta have some chops to pull something like that off."
"I've never put my power up for collateral, so I've got no idea how it works, myself." The lion male said.
"Wait, then what did you put up for collateral?" The silver haired male said.
He growled and turned his head, "What's it matter? It's all in the past anyway." He said, then looked at them, "Anyway. Contracts with him'll last as long as that special scroll is around. Which is why Azul makes very carefully worded offers."
"And then gets suckers to sign on with terms they can't possible meet." The hyena male said.
"The only way to win against Azul is to not make a contract at all." He chuckled.
Grim cried, "What are we supposed to do?!"
(Y/n) looked at them, "Please share more information with us, senpais." She said, but gently got hit on the head which made her blink.
"Don't turn to other people right off the bat, dimwit. Come on. I know you're not that dense." Leona smirked at her, "How do you win against someone stronger than you?" He pointed at her head, "You use your noggin."
'I head-butt them...?' She thought, thinking of Tanjiro head-butting Inosuke.
"But, hm...If I were in your shoes...I'd start by brainstorming a way to shred the contract document itself."
'Oh...So, no head-butt? I wanted to see how hard is my head...'
"But it's invulnerable!" The feline said.
The lion male sighed, "You guys are seriously peabrained."
"You're like a scammer's dream come true." Ruggie said.
"Mrah?!"
"Let's start with the basics. Why would you take Azul at his word when he said his contract was "completely unbreakable"?" He smirked.
"What? I mean, none of our attacks did a thing to it..." Jack said.
"Have you considered the possibility that was an on-the-spot demonstration put on as a bluff?" He said, which made the male's eyes widen.
"All magic's got a loophole. Remember that pampered little redhead Riddle's signature spell and how it sealed magic? It seemed unbeatable at first, but it still had a weakness. Even the best magicians can't sling spells willy-nilly. So the idea that Azul's golden contract from It's a Deal is indefinitely unbreakable..." Leona said, then crossed his arms, "...is preposterous. Flat-out."
"So there's a way to beat it after all." The silver haired male said, "Challenging the Leech brothers underwater is a losin' proposition, no matter how you slice it. We'd be beeter off trying to find a chip in the contract scroll's proverbial armor on land instead. I see what you're gettin' at." He then shook his head, "I dunno, though. That sounds an awful lot like playing dirty."
"Come on, Jack...Your principles are great and all, but you guys already took a fair shot against Azul and his boys on land. Remind me again how that went?" The hyena male said, glaring at him slightly, which made the male avert his eyes.
"Let's be clear here: these guys are scoundrels that swindle doe-eyes herbivores and take them for everything they've got. Why should you play fair when they don't?" The lion male said, before smiling, "So what if it's underhanded? So what if it's taking the fight off the playing field? As long as the contract is annulled, you win. End of story."
"Oooh, that's out Leona-san! The duke of dirty plays; the tyrant of technical fouls!" The male cheered.
The dual haired girl deadpanned, "Was that supposed to be a compliment?" She mumbled.
"Hey, it's like I said before. I do whatever it takes to win." Leona said, getting close to the girl, which only made her blink at him, 'Wonder what would make her flustered...' He thought, amused.
"Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, huh?" Jack said, before nodding, "Fine. Let's spend the next two days staking Azul out and looking for our chance to shred that contract scroll!"
The girl nodded.
"Well, good luck with that, froshes." The brown haired male said.
"Whaaa?! After all that talk, you're not gonna help us?" The feline said.
"Why should I? I practically wrote the answer for you in crayon already. You guys can figure the rest out yourselves. Later." He said, walking off.
"On that note, I'm out too. Good luck, guys!" Ruggie said, following after the male.
"Th-That's just heartless!" The tanuki cried out.
-----
"Wow, Leona-san. It's not every day I see you offering such useful advice." The hyena male said.
The said male looked at him, "Oh yeah?"
"For all your talk, you've got a soft spot for those underclassmen, especially (Y/n), don't you?" He smirked.
"Hah. Don't make me laugh." He smirked, "If I play my cards right, I can use those chumps to learn that cephalo-punk's weakness without lifting so much as my pinky finger. Not that I'm holdin' my breath or anything."
"Ahhh, I getcha. That's real slick, Leona-san."
-----
"What? (Y/n) met with Leona-san?" Azul said, as he looked at the twins.
Jade nodded, "Yes, sir. The contractor appears to have taken up temporary residence at Savanaclaw."
"Ah, I see. That's...somewhat unexpected." He said, before keeping quiet.
"What's our play here? Do I give him the squeeze?" Floyd said.
"No. We can let the Leona-san matter go."
"Wouldn't it be better to nip this in the bud swiftly? He would be a troublesome man to have as an enemy." Jade smirked.
"He's a lazy lion at heart. He doesn't believe in sticking his neck out for others or seeking trouble. I concur with your view that he would be troublesome to have as an enemy, but rivalry is a two-way street. He wouldn't dream of making an enemy out of me by choice."
"So you would prefer to let sleeping lions lie for the time being. All right. Understood."
Floyd frowned, "Aw, man...I really wanted to wipe that smug grin off his face, too."
"Just keep up your surveillance for now, thanks." The gray haired male said.
"Yes, sir./ Will do!" The both said.
Time till Azul's contract expires: Two days
-----
The five met up in the hallway instead of going to the cafeteria. And the three spoke to the Heartslabyul students, on what Leona and Ruggie talked to them.
"Finding a way to tear up an unbreakable contract? Sweet! It's def underhanded, but hey." Ace said.
"That approach does seem like it would have a far better prospect of working. I have to agree with Ace here, though." Deuce said.
"Aw, shuddup! If we stick to our morals, we'll be stuck with morays!" Grim said.
"That, and Azul's group cast the first stone. They told us to get a photo under the sea, fully intending to thwart us at every turn. Leona-senpai may play dirty, but he's a brilliant playmaker. I think his idea's worth a shot." Jack said.
"Can we maybe not say the same thing over and over?" The blue haired male said.
"Just remembering those twins chasin' us around in the water gives me the shivers!" The feline said.
"If only blastcycles worked underwater. Then they would've been eating my dust!"
"Uh-huh. Suuure, Loosey-Deucey. So...Mermen, huh." The orange haired male said, getting back to the topic, "The Leech brothers are morays; I get that part. Is Azul like them when he's under the sea?"
"I remember Leona-senpai referring to him as a "cephalo-punk," for what that's worth." The wolf male said.
"As in, cephalopod? So is he, like, an octo-merman?" Deuce said, slightly startled by the revelation.
"Myah! If he got a bunch of legs in the water, he's be even more dangerous than the morays!" The feline exclaimed.
(Y/n)'s eyes shined, 'I love octopi! They're so cute.' She thought, before remembering her oceanic friend, 'I miss my little octo buddy...'
"No kiddin'. Which is why we're trying to brainstorm an approach that doesn't involve fighting them on their own turf." Jack said.
She looked at them, "First, we need to locate the contract scrolls."
"That vault in the VIP room did stand out like a sore thumb..."
"Great! There's our angle. Let's sneak into Octavinelle right now!" The tanuki said.
"Nobody should be there on lunch break before the lounge opens. Let's go." The blue haired male said.
-----
Grim peeked in and looked around the room, "The coast is clear. Okay, boys, follow me!" He said, walking in to the VIP room, with the rest following.
The girl deadpanned, 'Did he just overlooked me?' She thought.
"Looks like you were right. There's not a soul in sight." Jack said.
Deuce looked at the vault, "The vault's double-locked. It needs a passcode and a key."
The male then jumped, startled, "Shoot! Someone's coming!" He said, as he heard footsteps come closer.
"Ah, crud. Quick, hide!" Ace said.
Then all five of them hid...under the desk.
"So...cramped...Jack, why you gotta be so big?!" He whispered-yelled
"Wanna say that again?"
"Stop moving." The girl said, as she was squished between the desk and Jack's left side, her chest pressed up against his arms, which made him blush severely.
The door opened and the person walked in.
"Now, then..." Azul's voice was heard.