𝒲𝒾𝓃𝓉ℯ𝓇 𝒲ℴ𝓃𝒹ℯ𝓇𝓁𝒶𝓃𝒹： 𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓌 ℴ𝒻 𝓉𝒽ℯ ℱ𝓇ℴ𝓏ℯ𝓃 ℋℯ𝒶𝓇𝓉

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑒𝑟𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ𝑠： 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 61

*
"Come on, they're not all that impressed with conversation. True gentlemen avoid it when they can."

**
Mirror Chamber

The group staggered back into the Mirror Chamber, collapsing onto the floor as air filled their lungs again. Their chests heaved as they adjusted from the suffocating weight of the sea to the dryness of land.

Vanitas coughed harshly, his breath rattling. His body leaned heavily against Y/n, arms clinging around her waist like she might vanish if he let go. "Ugh..." he rasped, throat raw and torn from both the potion's sabotage and his earlier fury.

"Vanitas..." Noé's voice was sharp, his lavender eyes narrowed as he crouched beside them. His anger simmered—not at Y/n, never at her—but at Vanitas, for nearly killing Floyd without hesitation. He wanted to scold him, but one look at Vanitas's trembling grip on her and the words tangled unsaid.

"*Huff, huff* You guys okay?"  Deuce wheezed, barely managing to stay upright on hands and knees.

"I think so..." Ace groaned, sweat dripping as he flopped onto his back.

Jack shook the water from his hair, exhaling heavily. "I wasn't expecting them to actually be mermen..."

"It was almost a feedin' frenzy there—with us as the chum!" Grim shrieked, fur bristling. "Swimmin' that fast ain't fair!" he huffed in annoyance.

"Well, yeah." Ace muttered, raising a brow.  "Merfolk are literally in their element underwater."

"I suppose that makes sense..." Noé admitted, though his tone was distant. His gaze kept flicking toward Vanitas, who had yet to loosen his hold on Y/n.

"But we gotta get that photo fast, or they're gonna confiscate Ramshackle Dorm..." Grim panicked, pawing at his head.

"Guess we gotta rethink our strategy," Deuce said grimly.

"..." Y/n's eyes lowered, her mind drifting. Jade's words echoed faintly. A breach of contract. A condition she had missed? No... she had read every line. She couldn't have forgotten something so crucial. And yet... doubt gnawed at her.

Beside her, Vanitas's mismatched eyes darted anxiously. His throat burned with every sound, but he still forced a hoarse whisper. "Chère..." The word broke from him in a frantic rasp, his hand clutching hers tight, almost painfully so.

"Yeah." Ace piped up, oblivious to the tension, and nodded. "Cater likes to say he's got his finger on the pulse of the community, so why don't we get some input from him?"

Jack straightened, brushing damp hair from his face. "It'd also be a good idea to go back to Savanaclaw and see what Ruggie and the others have to share."

Noé's hand came down firmly on Vanitas's shoulder, his expression tense. "Then let's move. Now, Vanitas."

Vanitas flinched at the grip, glaring up through the wet strands clinging to his face. His voice was hoarse, cracked from Azul's potion, yet his words dripped venom. "...Why treat me like the villain here? I'm the one still choking from that damn poison." His free hand clutched Y/n's tightly, fingers entwining possessively.

Deuce fidgeted, beads of sweat trailing down his temple. "I-I mean... didn't you literally try to kill Floyd back there?"

"Yeah!" Grim snapped, tail lashing. "You nearly skewered him! Of course he dodged—you'd have to be crazy not to! Who wouldn't run from someone trying to cut them down?!"