Currently, most of the guild members were on a ship, headed towards the Archipelago of the Scourged. These members included the following: Mirajane, Elfman, Erza, Natsu, Gray, Wendy, Lucy, Juvia, Gajeel, and Levy. Ryuga wanted to train the members that were already decently strong first; that way, he could assign them to train the others accordingly. Some of these members asked why they were taking a ship, instead of using some other sort of faster transportation. He simply stated that they would find out, and ended it there.

Once they were about 2 Kilometers away from the first island in the archipelago, the ship's captain slowed down the ship and demanded that they turn away.

Captain: "This is as far as we can take you. We refuse to go any closer to those islands."

Gray: "What!? What do you expect us to do? Swim there!?"

Needless to say, many of the other members were also perplexed. Ryuga, calmly, stood up off a crate that he was sitting on and pat Gray's shoulder.

Ryuga: "Yes. That is what I expect, and that is what you do."

Gray: "W-What? Really?"

Ryuga: "Yes. This is the first part of your training. Swim to the first large island of the archipelago." A few members had worried looks on their faces. "What? Scared of a little water? It should take you less than an hour to complete. Let's count it as a race, shall we? Whoever can get the first place will get a prize."

Captian: "Are you crazy!? Humans cannot swim in these waters! They are filled with sea monsters that can grow to the size of this very ship!"

Elfman: "Sounds manly! I'm going to get that first place!"

He quickly took off his shirt and jumped overboard, diving into the water. Some of the members, like Lucy and Wendy, were sitting there with their mouths agape. Others, like Natsu and Gajeel, were right behind him.

Natsu: "I'm gonna get that first place!"

Gajeel: "It will be me!"

They both jumped off the boat, splashing into the water. Soon, everybody except Lucy and Wendy had jumped off and started swimming. The two still on the ship looked frightened as if they were about to be eaten by a large monster or something. Well, that wasn't too far from the truth. They were leaning over the ship looking down at the water, sweating nervously.

Ryuga: "Good luck."

He tapped their backs lightly, and they fell off the ship, plunging into the water.

Ryuga: "Guess I should join them."

He jumped off the ship, and when he landed on the water, a small, footprint-sized layer of ice was formed under him. He continued to walk like that, watching over the members.

For the first few minutes, it seemed to be going well. Gray was swimming with large strokes, confident that he was one of the faster swimmers of the group. He soon yelped when something brushed across his foot. Childish laughter was heard, and Gray rolled his eyes.

Gray: "Natsu, seriously. You're trying to pick a fight now of all times?"

He looked behind him, only to see a couple of the other guild members lagging behind, and no Natsu to be found. He heard the childish giggle again and felt a shiver run up his spine. He quickly turned around once again in the water but could see no one close to him. Swallowing what little saliva he had, he decided to look down into the water.

When he looked down at the water, all he could see was a slightly bluish tint and his own reflection. He, once again, forced spit down his throat and decided to go under the water to try to look.

Gray broke the surface of the water and tried opening his eyes. The seawater burnt his eyes a little, but, when his vision cleared, he wished he hadn't looked. Not even three inches from his face, there was another face, staring right at him. It had pale-blue skin, with scales crawling across its head, towards its eyes. Speaking of the eyes, they were golden with patch-blick slits going through the middle of him. Stuck on this "thing's" face, was a huge smile.

Gray yelped, sucking in water, and frantically splashed around, terrified. The mysterious creature gave a bone-chilling chuckle and grabbed Gray's foot. A very quick sound was made, and Gray was powerless as he watched himself being dragged down by the creature.

Luckily, Juvia, having somehow sensed Gray in danger, quickly grabbed his arm and tried pulling him up. This was fruitless, however, as the creature's strength was simply, unfathomable. They both started getting dragged down under the water, not that it affected Juvia, though.

Both Lucy and Wendy saw this happened, and quickly leaped into action. Lucy pulled out a celestial key of the Water Bearer, Aquarius. Wendy quickly filled her lungs with air and tried pinpointing the location to release her breath.

Wendy: "Sky Dragon's Breath!!"

A gust of wind swished over the water, and the duo being dragged down into the depths were caught up in a heavy wave. The unexpected jolt caused the creature to release his grip.

Lucy: "Aquarius! Help us here!"

Aquarius, the Water Bearer of the Zodiac, a Celestial Key, appeared next to Lucy. She had ocean light-blue hair and looked to be an oversized mermaid. She quickly scoffed and turned away.

Aquarius: "And? What reason would I have to do that? You put yourself in this situation, and now you want me to help you? Tsk, didn't I tell you not to summon me for such trivial matters?"

Lucy: "Hey!" Her anger soon turned to fright as she saw something speeding towards Wendy. "Wendy! Look out!"

The sea child, creature, thing, was angered by having his playtime interrupted. His innocent face warped into one of malice and swam at incredible speeds towards Wendy. He outstretched his hand, with poison needles where his nails should have been, and was about to pierce Wendy's skin, when someone quickly grabbed his hand.

The child looked up and to his left, only to find two eyes staring back at him. Usually, he was the one to scare his playmates by staring at them unexpectedly, but when someone did the same to him, his heart dropped. The creature could do nothing but tremble under the man's violet eyes. The newcomer had hair as white as the snow on the mountain tops, and eyes so vivid they seemed to be glowing. No, perhaps they were glowing.

Ryuga: "I suggest you swim home, kid."

The child's eyes started tearing up, which was interesting, considering he lived under the water. Ryuga let go of his grip, and the child backed away, slowly. Once the little creature was a couple of meters away, he opened his mouth wide and let out a, truly, ear-piercing scream.

Child:

Everyone present, with the exception of Ryuga, clutched their ears. Even Aquarius, who was staring with interest at Ryuga, had to break her gaze and clutch her... ears. A great ripple shook the water. Ryuga sighed and put a hand to his forehead.

Ryuga: "Why must you make this difficult?"

Suddenly, something massive broke through the surface of the water. Although in truth, the being was not much larger than an adult male, the waves it caused upon breaking the film of water were tremendous.

His hair looked to be water itself, as it gently waved wildly, and his build was incredible. Visible muscles bulged from between his scaly skin and fins. One look at this creature, and it would easily be described as "fish man".

Fish Man: "What do you think you're doing to my son?"

His golden eyes glared daggers at Ryuga, as he held, in his left hand, a massive spear. The fish man shielded his son, behind his back. The child's eyes stopped trembling when he gripped onto his father's back as if he were completely filled with confidence.

Ryuga: "I meant no harm. I was just s-"

Another splash was heard, this time, right behind Ryuga. A female version of the fish man appeared from out of the water, in the blink of an eye. Before anyone there could realize what had happened, her poisonous nails were against Ryuga's throat. Not long after the water settled, everyone soon realized what had happened. The fish-man with the spear was just a distraction, and this fish woman was to assassinate Ryuga when his guard was down.

It was a perfect strategy, performed up to perfection also. There was only one, slight problem with the plan. The man, who this strategy was being used against, was not a man who was easily ambushed.

Everyone's eyes, including the fish creature's, opened further than the normal amount. The reason the nails had stopped on Ryuga's throat was not for intimidation. No, it was simply because they could not move further. Ryuga's hand had a grip on the creature's arm, incapacitating the entire woman's movement.

Without looking back, Ryuga spoke to this woman.

Ryuga: "I'd prefer if you attacked me after hearing what I was going to say. However, if you wish to rudely interrupt my conversation,

He gently squeezed the woman's arm. Well, gently for him was quite a grip for her. The woman squealed and took a deep breath from the pain.

Fish Woman: "Yeee! Please, stop!"

Ryuga:

His voice was laced with poison even more dangerous than her nails. He lightly tightened his grip again, and the female winced.

Fish Man: "Stop! That's enough!"

The fish man looked at his pained wife and had no choice but to lower his head.

Fish Man: "Please, release her. I apologize on behalf of my son and wife. If you need to punish someone, punish me instead."

The fish woman's eyes swelled with tears, not from the pain, but from what her husband just said.

Fish Woman: "Darling..."

Fish Child: "Yahh..."

Ryuga's eyes widened in surprise. This scene made him remember something in his past that has been haunting him for hundreds of years. He slowly released the woman's arm, and she swam quickly to her husband's embrace.

Fish Man: "Please, forgive my son and wife. He is very young, as well as incapable of speaking yet. My wife too, she was only trying to protect him. I apol-" He was cut off by Ryuga.

Ryuga: "Ah, it's fine, whatever. No one got injured, just a little spooked on both sides." He then looked at some of the members still floating in the area. "Hmm? What are you all doing?! You're supposed to be swimming! Go! Go! Go! The last person to reach the island has to stay an extra week, alone!"

Lucy: "Eeeek! Sorry Wendy, but there's no way I'm staying a week here alone!"

She took off swimming, and Wendy started after her. Aquarius, after giving a slight "hmm" of satisfaction, disappeared, and it was just Ryuga and the fish people standing there. Ryuga turned back to face them and spoke to them, as well as himself.

Ryuga: "Flirien? Right?" The fish man answered him.

Demupersiev: "Y-Yes. That is our race. We are a sub-race of sirens. My name is Demupersiev. This here is my wife, Yuryinlo, and our son, Puktolau."

Yuryinlo: "We're deeply sorry."

Puktolau: "Yahhhh..." Ryuga sighed and brushed them off with his hand.

Ryuga: "Didn't I say it was fine already? You were just protecting your kid. That much, even I can understand. Oh, I'm Ryuga Shinsokai, by the way. Us humans usually have a first and second name, sometimes third."

Demupersiev: "We thank you very much for your understanding. Riyouga Sheensoky was it? Do you have a child of your own?"

Ryuga: "It's R-Well never mind. No, I don't have any children... Well, I guess that's not necessarily correct." He looked over his shoulder at Wendy and some of the other guild members. "I guess you could say I have a couple of children I've tasked myself with watching over."

Demupersiev, noticing where Ryuga's eyes lingered, breathed a sigh of relief.

Demupersiev: "I'm truly glad you understand then, we were only protecting our son."

Ryuga: "Mm."

There was a short silence, until the wife decided to speak, with a wavering voice.

Yuryinlo: "I-If I may ask... You said you were human, correct?"

Ryuga:

He tilted his head a little, feigning confusion. However, it was blatantly obvious by how much bloodlust he was oozing, that he had no intention of answering that question.

Yuryinlo: "I-I must be mistaken then. If you wouldn't mind, we'd like to get back to our home before it gets too late and some of the more unsavory creatures awaken." Ryuga visibly relaxed his posture.

Ryuga: "Yeah, sure. You can go."

Demupersiev: "We thank you... If there's ever a time you need the Flirien tribe's assistance, we will help you, in gratitude for saving my family's lives. This I can promise you, for as long as I am chief."

Ryuga: "Oh, you're chief huh? That explains that spear. Well yeah, that's fine. I'll ask if the time should arise then."

Demupersiev: "In that case, we will be on our way. Farewell, Riyouga Sheensoky."

Yuryinlo: "Goodbye, Riyouga Sheensoky. Until we meet again."

Puktolau: "Yaaeeh!"

Ryuga: "Mm, see you."

They quickly dived into the water, wanting to get away from this situation as soon as possible. Ryuga sighed, once more, and looked up at the sky, which was beginning to darken. An image of a certain adorable little girl and a happy mother appeared in his mind. Frowning as soon as he remembered them, he cast that image out of his mind quickly.

Ryuga: "Ugh, I wonder... What would of happen if I-No. I shouldn't think about that. It won't change anything. I must walk the path I've chosen, steady, and true..." His eyes darkened, and his face lost the remaining, little emotion he had.