𝑩𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑-Tododeku(Mermaid AU)

ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 1

Recruitments
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It was early in the morning as the group gathered in the barracks, the sky a colorful dance of oranges and purples. The kingdom was just beginning to awaken to life, with faint smoke being spotted from chimneys and the many clatters of merchants and workers heading to work. One of these many early-birds, was the prince himself as he tiredly got out of bed.

It was a week after the message was sent to all major cities across Yueii, of King Enji offering gold for whoever will take up the dangerous task. The talk of mermaids was more of folktales and bedtime stories, commonly told to scare children is not going far from home. In the Westerlands the elves barely even believed in them, simply disregarding them as from a sailor's hallucination.

With this, the group was quite shocked to notice an abundant amount of candidates for the task. Aizawa simply pointing out how the gold reward was enough to persuade them, the rest nodding in agreement.

Shoto stared at the lineup of different types of people, he was a bit tired to have wakened up early but at least it was a decent crowd. Yawning softly as he made his way down the steps, accompanied by the other advisors and knights.

Aizawa wrote their names down and went through some series to test their skills, primarily just him and Iida sparring with them. Even testing their archery skills with the infamous Edgeshot, just to see where they stand. Shoto sat back and eyed his future crew members, taking notes of which one failed or succeeded in the challenges.

Shoto was quite taken aback as he noticed just how different each one was from the rest, wondering where they must've come from. There was a tall-broad man with multiple arms, another with what seemed to be a bird for a head, two others with one being mute, and a small boy with purple hair who just so happens to be quick enough to qualify. A diverse group, but that's what they were looking for after all.

The new team decided to rest after such a challenging morning, servants coming around to offer small treats or drinks to the others. As he rested on the ground, Iida came up to him. "So, what do you think about our future acquaintances?"

"They're alright, I'm sure they'll be beneficial during the actual mission," Shoto replied, earning a nod of agreement from the blue-haired elf.

Just as Aizawa was about to state their second course of action, a rather boisterous roar rang throughout the sky, the men shaking from the sheer volume of it. Guards hastily went on alert, swords at the readied, as they stared above to pot the culprit.

Mingling amongst the clouds, against the rays of the beaming sun, they spotted a shadowy figure flying through the clouds. What made them more nervous was when it began to get bigger and bigger, eyes widening as the image became more clearer. The calm atmosphere changing as the spotted the crimson scales.

Shoto looked fascinated, it is his first time to see a dragon so close before he was promptly swarmed by guards and others blocking his view. Though it didn't take long to notice it as it crashed onto the ground, they were caught by surprise again when the large dragon in front of them, proceeded to turn into a human.

"Oi Shitty Head! Who told you to shift back!? I didn't even make my entrance yet!" A spiky-blonde head said, who Shoto instantly recognized as the prince of the Drache people, he met him once and could never forget such a loud guest. Bakugo was his name, he recalls.

It was rather uncommon to meet a Drache Royal far from home, especially in Endea of all places. In the past, the two groups were constantly feeding until just recently a treaty was signed, thus how he even came across the angry blonde. Though what they weren't expecting was him to also participate in the journey too.