Author's note: I'm using Len's personality from WORDPLAY here. Haha! Read WORDPLAY yet? If not, go read it; it's just a short oneshot and I'd like to try using that personality here. c:

Disclaimer: I don't own Vocaloid. Seriously.

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Pearls on the Seashore

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Chapter one:

Melody of the Sea

"All my life, my heart has yearned for a thing I cannot name."

—Andre Breton

"Could I play with all of you?"

That might have seemed like a simple question, but to the blonde, it was actually a freaking chore to ask that question. It actually took her a lot of courage to be able to ask the children that question, and all she wanted was to be accepted by them because the way they had played on the seashore looked so… so fun and so attractive, especially when they giggled and laughed like madmen. She wanted to be a part of them; that was all that she would have ever asked for.

She was tired of hiding behind the palm tree every single day, pretending as if she couldn't see them when she clearly could. It felt agonizing; she couldn't take it anymore because she was growing to be a little more impatient each day… and today was the day she'd figured that this feeling had to stop. She could be part of them; she didn't have to stand by the sidelines at all.

And that was why the blonde was standing in front of said children, eyeing nervously at the inflated ball in one of the boy's hands.

They watched her closely with their brown eye orbs, and although it looked as though they were just curious about her, she could spot the fear hidden beneath those pupils. She stood still as they examined her from top to toe, shifting uncomfortably under their intent gaze.

She didn't like the way they were staring at her. It seemed as though they were regarding her as… as a—

"—M-monster!" One of them pointed out, after staring at her for a few minutes. The rest of the kids gasped in shock as they looked at her feet.

… Or rather, what seemed to be her 'feet'.

You see, the blonde has no feet. Unlike the other humans, she didn't possess a pair of long, slender legs that she could walk comfortably with. Instead, she possessed something that a fish would have—a fish's tail. The tail even looked like it had been pulled out forcibly from a giant fish; there were real scales embedded on it… and it was no wonder the children would be shocked when they saw the giant animal appendage there.

Yes. The blonde was what known as a mermaid. She was half-human and half-fish… and mermaids didn't have names. She was addressed as such because of her distinctive honey blonde hair… actually, there were others that were pretty much like her, with blonde hair and stuff, but she would just respond when they'd call her that.

She didn't understand why she was always referred to as a 'monster'. She had long, silky strands of honey blonde hair, and flawless and smooth pale skin that resembled any human's. Her eyes were blue and it reminded her of the oceans, but that wasn't supposed to be a surprise to the humans because she had seen multiple humans with the same shimmering blue eyes before… perhaps they weren't as deep and as intense as hers, but they were, nevertheless, quite similar.

Why then, had they called her a 'monster'? Was it her unique 'legs'? It hadn't been just this once… children and adults alike had shunned her the moment she had made an effort to approach them in the past, and she didn't like that one bit.

"I am not a monster." She pouted, turning away from the frightened children. "Don't call me that! I'm just… special, that's all."

"Liar. You are a monster!"

"I'm not a monster! Don't call me a monster! I'm not a monster!" She repeated, and the children seemed to be a little intimidated by her sudden change of tone.

"Monsters don't call themselves monsters! I know you're a monster!"

"I'm not a monster—look, I can prove it to you." She spread her hands invitingly and forced a smile on her face. "My hands are real. I'm breathing."

To demonstrate and prove this fact, she ran her hands down her cheeks and her neck, then pulled her eye lids upwards as if she was trying to make some sort of a funny face to entertain little children in the circus. Unfortunately for her, though, the children were not in the least bit amused by her actions.

The only reaction that she had gotten, though, was the sound of the ball hitting the golden sands.

She breathed out calmly. "See? I'm alive. I'm not a monster."

She watched their expressions, hoping that they'd take the initiative to go near her, but they didn't. Their lack of reactions implied that they didn't really believe her… and it annoyed her greatly. What else could she do to prove that she was no monster, but a harmless girl who was just interested in their activities?

"I can touch. I can feel. I can smell. I am not a monster." She announced proudly, hoping to convince the children. "And if you don't believe me, you can touch my hands."

The children backed away from her as she tried to move closer to them. She could see their legs wobbling from her position under the sunlight, and she had hoped that they would at least let her come a tad closer, but they denied her that chance; before she could touch them, they had fled, leaving nothing but screams and footsteps behind.

The blonde frowned, looking at the ball that the little kid had dropped. She kicked the ball gently and watched as it rolled into the distance. She just wanted to play with little humans. Was that wrong?

"Little blonde girlie!" A shout in the distance caught her attention, and the blonde turned to look at the fellow redheaded mermaid who had just called her. "So there you are!"

The hybrid swam towards her, and made an attempt to move briskly towards her. Since they didn't have legs, moving was considered to be quite an arduous task for them.

The blonde pretended not to hear the mermaid. She knew the mermaid anywhere because she could recognize that weird hairstyle anywhere she went—she was the only one with two short curly pigtails as her hairstyle. There was nobody else with such a queer hairstyle.

"Hey! Don't pretend not to hear me!" She cried out with a huff, waving desperately at her. "We were all looking for you—what on earth are you doing here again?"

"I'm not doing anything."

The mermaid shot her a doubtful look. After a few minutes, she finally managed to close up the distance between them both. "Not doing anything? Come on, we've heard that plenty of times and we all know that you're coming here to mingle with those humans again!"

"It's not wrong!" The blonde cried out, defending herself. She almost sounded as if she was furious. "Why can't I mix around with humans? Why do we have to hide beneath the oceans like cowards? We're living creatures too! We are just like them! If anything, we have the rights to mix around with those people and to know more about them!"

"You want to know more about them," The redhead echoed after her, twirling and playing with her curly strands of hair. "… But would they want to know more about you?"

The petite blonde mermaid grimaced and stared at her. She was completely rendered speechless. She couldn't win. Not against her. Her points were strong, and as much as she didn't like to admit it, they were the truth. She had always taken the initiative to approach them with the intention of making new friends, but she knew that every time she had done that, they would cower in fear and flee a few minutes later.

Why wouldn't anyone play with her?

It was because of her legs. It was all because of the stupid fish's tail she had. It looked disgusting. Appalling. And humans didn't like it one bit.

It was all the truth.

… And the truth would always hurt.

"You know that if you leave the water for an extended period of time, you'd die." The redhead chided, tugging her arms gently. "We can't stay out of the water for a long time… why would you want to mix around with the humans when you know that they have no interest in us at all? You're risking your life. It's not going to be worth it."

"I'm… I'm just…" The blonde muttered, thinking of words to say and excuses to use, but there was nothing she could think of. Her mind was blank.

"You're just deluded. Those humans do not like us. It's the truth that you have to accept. We're in two different worlds—the ground and the sea can never merge as one, and this logic applies to our relationship with the humans, too."

"That's…" The blonde trailed off. She still couldn't think of what she could say at this moment.

Everything made sense to her. Everything the redhead had calmly stated was the truth. For years now, the humans and the mermaids had lived separately, with the mermaids striving to leave humans out of their worlds. They would not get involved in human affairs, and they had been quietly living in their own worlds… and this had succeeded, because few humans knew about their existence. If anything, the humans who had encountered their species were hardly taken seriously due to the lack of evidence they had.

"That's the truth. Come." The redhead said, leading her towards the oceans. "It's time for us to leave."

Her grip tightened on the blonde as she leapt into the cool and deep seawater, diving deep into the murky depths of the bottomless sea. The blonde did not say anything, but merely trailed quietly behind her. She could feel her whole body relaxing under the confines of the chilling water; it had been difficult for her to breathe when she had been on the ground. This was way better. She felt like she was free.

But the thought of mixing around with the humans never left her mind for a single moment.

Kagamine Len glanced around the broad, air-conditioned room, and scanned the bookshelves for something interesting to read. Since there were an apparent lack of eye-catching books in the library, it was hard to find a good read nowadays. The freshmen or the sophomores of the school had already loaned most of the good books, and… well, Len had actually already read majority of the books in this library in his free spare time.

Len liked reading. Contrary to people's beliefs, reading didn't destroy his eyesight. Not for him, anyway. It actually felt as if his eyes were getting better as days passed by.

He ran his finger through the huge amount of books arranged orderly on the second rack, hoping to at least see something interesting, but when he didn't, he just casually picked a thick book out of the shelf and sauntered back into his seat with the book tucked securely under his arm.

As soon as he sat down, and before he could even have a chance to start enjoying the book that he'd picked, a loud squeal met his ears and he was greeted warmly by two of his classmates from behind.

One of them patted his shoulders, albeit a little too violently for his liking. He winced inwardly and sincerely hoped that it wasn't who he thought it would be.

"Oh, why, if it isn't Len!"

The blond suppressed the urge to slam his face straight on the table. That familiar high-pitched tone and the girl's tendencies for violence already told Len all he needed to know about his assailant. There was only one girl in the whole school who would always come here after biology lessons had ended, and claim it to be some sort of a 'coincidence' when it had clearly been planned right from the start.

Akita Neru.

"Yo, Kagamine Len." A smooth, low-pitched and monotonous voice reverberated through the silent and enclosed room. Len did not even need to turn to guess whom the owner of said voice was. It had obviously been Shion Akaito, the only redhead who was said to have problems showing his emotions through his voice or actions.

The two visitors occupied the empty seats opposite of Kagamine Len, and behaved as though they had been welcomed and warmly invited to read with him. Neru observed him with a gleeful expression while pretending to flip through the book that she had chosen to read. She was not focusing on the book at all; her eyes were all on him.

"Yo, Kagamine Len," the redhead repeated across him, and a frown caressed Len's face.

"Didn't you just say that earlier?"

Akaito looked up at him. "Did I?"

"Yes. You did."

"I didn't. Nope, I'm sure of it…"

"You just did. I'm certain of it."

"I didn't… did I?"

"Yes you didn't—wait, I mean you did." Len shook his head. "Ugh, Akaito, you're getting my memories jumbled up as well… I'm starting to have a headache."

"Really? Sorry. I must've been day-dreaming."

Neru grinned mischievously, bent on teasing him with his memory flaw. "Was it about that girl you'd been spying on since the start of school? You know, that girl with the, uh, emerald cropped hair? Gumi… was it?"

"Gumi? Did I spy on her?"

Neru nodded her head, her fingers toying with the pages of the book. "Yes you did."

Akaito outright denied it. "No, I didn't."

"But you did!" Neru whined.

"Did I?"

"Please," Len interrupted, rubbing his temples in an attempt to soothe his mind. His mind was starting to hurt and he had even barely started to read. Those two were blasting his mind mercilessly and if it continued, he would most likely find himself rid of a sane mind. In other words, he'd end up like them. "We're not going to start that thing again."

"Alright, fine. Fine." Neru leaned in closer to Len and then snatched his book from his grasp before he could even have a chance to retaliate. She flipped through the book, gazing at one of the pages as if it was some ancient artifact. The pages had yellowed and the book was quite old; some of the texts had already faded or became smudged. The illustrations in the book, however, were kept properly intact, much to Neru's disbelief.

"Why do you always read this kind of stuff?" Neru inquired curiously, shutting the book. "First, it was… uh, something about Jacky the Stripper—"

"—Jack the Ripper," Len corrected her. He was actually quite surprised that Neru had never ever heard of this renowned serial killer before. Although it was years ago that he had targeted his victims, Jack the Ripper was actually quite well known because of his brutal murdering tactics and his meticulous plans. "He was a serial killer… shouldn't you know about him?"

"Oh, whatever. I don't!" Neru exclaimed with a grin. "But you haven't answered my question, Len… why are you interested in all these stuff? First it was Jack the Ripper, next it was something about psychology and body language, and… now, you resort to reading about mermaids? Like, seriously, why can't you pick up something like 'Twilight', 'Mockingbird', and… y'know… stuff."

"I don't like fictions," Len openly declared, taking the book back from Neru's grasp. He opened it and started reading the first chapter, pretending to be oblivious to his surroundings.

"Oh Len, you're such a nerd." Neru sighed, leaning back against her chair. Her weight made the chair creak uncomfortably behind her.

Len ignored her and proceeded to read. The first chapter was all about how mermaids thrived, and where they could possibly be found… and this claim was supported by a personal recount of one of the witnesses who had managed to spot the hybrid amongst cargo ships in the Pacific Ocean. It even had a full-body illustration of said creature beside the context.

He traced the outlines of the creature on the page of the book. They looked like fishes, except that their upper torsos were that of a human's. They looked delicate, fragile… and perhaps, just as humane as him.

In an instant, he shut the book and pushed it away from his sight.

"Book's not that nice, is it?" Akaito asked blankly, looking up at him with an expression devoid of any emotions.

"Mm… it isn't that. Well, not really."

Neru giggled. "I told you it was boring! You should have just picked up a nice, romantic story and not some lame old book."

"I… don't believe in mermaids," he calmly replied, taking the book and standing up from his position. "I don't really like reading what I don't believe in, unless it is backed up by a valid claim. In this case, it isn't really that valid."

He strode to where he had first found the book, and pushed the old book back into its initial position. Len had an outstanding memory; he could remember where and when an event or an item was. All he had to do was to read or see it. They called it the 'photographical memory', but Len wouldn't claim himself to possess such a nifty skill.

He wasn't that good.

"Are you coming with us for lunch?" Neru whispered, hope in her voice.

"I'm sorry. I have to decline," he answered, "I have tons of work to catch up on. There's this research I have to work on and it is due next week."

Little did he know of the things that would happen when he reached home.

The little mermaid looked so lost and so forlorn, like she had been an abnormality that had been forsaken by the rest of the world. She sat on the rock with her eyebrows furrowed and her lips curled downwards, seemingly on the process of contemplating something serious. Her messy strands of blonde hair shadowed the contours of her face and were flying all over her face, but she made no attempt to push them back.

The older mermaid grinned. Her dark chocolate strands of shoulder-length hair shadowed her expression and hid it from sight. She heard that the young mermaid had been down in spirits because of her recent encounter and rejection from the humans.

It was perfect.

This was a good chance to allow the younger mermaid to slip out of the underwater world and to mingle with the humans so that she could get what she wanted.

She could use her. Yes, she would use her. It was simple. All she needed to do was to trick her with her sugarcoated words, and she would agree… and once she agreed, there would be no turning back.

She approached the younger mermaid, swaying her hips as she walked towards her, and when she reached her target, she trailed her fingers down from the blonde's shoulders to her wrists. She grabbed the blonde's hands in a loving manner, almost like one that was affectionate, and leaned in such that she was sure that the blonde would feel her breath trickling onto her skin.

"Why are you sad, young one?" She probed, faking an expression of concern and worry. "Would you care to share your experiences with me, my dear?"

"I've never seen you around before," the blonde stated as she popped her head upwards to analyze the newcomer with suspicion. "Who are you?"

"Ah, I predicted that you would ask me that question when we met." The brunette let go of her arms and bowed towards her with a charming smile on her face. "I am a mermaid with a proper name. My name is Sakine Meiko. It's a pleasure to be meeting you here."

"A mermaid with a name?" The blonde asked, puzzled with this fact. "What's a name?"

"Oh, you poor little deprived child." Meiko slid an arm across the blonde's shoulders, and occupied the space beside her. "Why, a name is something that somebody addresses you with, my sweetheart! Mermaids normally do not have a name, but I am no ordinary mermaid, and thus I have been exempted from this rule."

"Exempted from this rule? Then what's my name?"

"You do not have a name." The brunette gazed downwards, hiding the eerie smirk on her face as she heard the blonde sigh beside her. "As much as I would not want to say it, you are an ordinary mermaid and thus you have no name."

"Do humans have names?" She asked, feeling her curiosity getting the better of her. Meiko widened her smirk. It had been going exactly as she had planned.

"Yes. Humans do have names. They have names to address each other with, and they have birthdays to celebrate one's birth. Mermaids, however, do not have such a privilege, as you and I know."

"But why?" The blonde asked again, and the brunette could sense from the tone of her voice that she was a little agitated and depressed. "Why can't we behave like a human? Why can't we have names and birthdays too? We're living creatures too, aren't we?"

"Unfortunately there is no such thing as 'equality' in the world, silly," the brunette uttered, taking the blonde's hand into hers. "… But I have a way to make you human. Would you like that?"

The younger mermaid gasped in shock. "You can make me human?"

"I can make you human… but it comes with a little sacrifice," Meiko cooed, leaning closer to the innocent and unknowing little blonde. "In return for these sacrifices, however, you will be granted legs to walk with… just like a human's. Wouldn't you like that?"

The blonde's eyes glinted with eagerness. "Yes, yes! Please! I want to become a human! What are the sacrifices, though?"

"It's simple; because you have a nature of a mermaid's, you will not be able to stay out of the water for long, even if you have legs. Therefore, the maximum time you can be out of the water is about three days. If you exceed this limit, you may die from dehydration. This is a risk, of course, but what better than to be able to walk like a human and to be accepted into their race?"

"Really?" The blonde asked, waiting for an affirmation from the brunette.

"Yes… but hear me out—there is more." Here, Meiko paused and inhaled deeply. "You must not kiss a mortal, because if you kiss a mortal, the spell will be broken and you will instantly be transformed back into a mermaid… and that is not the best scenario to be in, darling."

"What's a 'kiss'?"

"Silly, a kiss is something that happens when somebody has his or her lips on yours," Meiko explained briefly, "there's the last one, which you might not be delighted to hear. You must never ever fall in love with a mortal. This one has its serious consequences, honey; if you fall in love, you will be rejected by both the nature of the mermaids and the humans, and you will slowly die an excruciating death."

The blonde mermaid seemed to be pondering about what the brunette had just stated to her. Her face was twisted in confusion, like a child, as if she didn't know what Meiko was truly talking about. Nonetheless, after a moment of hesitation from the clueless mermaid, she nodded her head firmly, determined to be granted the chance to become human.

That's what makes her an easy target, the older mermaid mused silently in her mind. She's so naïve and so clueless that she doesn't know what she has just gotten herself into. What a fool.

The brunette winked at the younger mermaid, and tugged her arms, leading her to the surface of the ocean. She was a fast swimmer; she was no normal mermaid like she had claimed, and hence she possessed unique abilities that no mermaid could have ever wished for. She pulled the blonde up ashore, and walked a few feet away from her.

"Stand still. I'm going to invoke the spell now. It might hurt though, so please bear with it, sweetie."

The younger mermaid obeyed. Meiko closed her eyes and whispered a few words that sounded like a lost language from an ancient civilization. The blonde mermaid started glowing, and she gasped when the bundle of nerves at the fish's tail starting feeling a little ticklish; it felt as though tiny little ants were chewing on her flesh. She struggled to stay still; it was difficult for her to do so because the feeling was overwhelming her and she really had the urge to jump or move about to rid herself of that funny feeling in her gut, but she willed herself to stay still.

Her eyes widened in amazement as the fish's tail started glowing brighter and brighter until she couldn't see them anymore. She squeezed her eyes shut, unwilling to watch any further. She could feel cool air hitting against her skin as seconds passed by, then a strange, warm sensation gradually began to envelope her lower body.

"Open your eyes, silly. There's no need to be afraid anymore."

The blonde mermaid did as told, and when she did, she almost tumbled over in fascination. The fish's tail had already disappeared, and a pair of legs was now in its place.

She leaned down, and used her fingers to touch the small little toes she had. She seemed to be mildly amused by the warmth of the new flesh there, and soon she began to run her hands all around the new pair of legs she now possessed.

"I have legs!" The blonde exclaimed proudly, jumping around with joy. "I have legs like a human's!"

Meiko grinned. "Yes. You have legs. You are free to roam in the human world, now, sweetie."

"Really? Thank you, Meiko! I'll be back soon, I promise! I'll come back after I've had my fun!"

"Sweetie, you—"

The blonde mermaid didn't finish listening to what the brunette had said. Halfway through the sentence, she had already taken off, evidently pleased with the transformation that had just taken place.

Meiko laughed sinisterly. That fool had actually been pleased with the transformation.

The young blonde made her way through the crowds in the city, roaming about aimlessly. Her legs were real. She could feel warmth spreading through them, and the strange icy cool sensation no longer lingered on her lower body like it did before. She could actually run when she felt like it, and she could actually walk in an amazingly high speed. She was pleased. Never had she been able to walk like this before. It felt good.

She wondered what the rest would be doing down there, under the sea. They would probably be swimming around, busy with their lives, and nobody would even notice her escape. Well, maybe that redhead would, but she doubt that she would able to locate her now that she had legs to run with.

Well, whatever. She would go back after she had her share of fun. Now... it was time for her to enjoy her new legs.

She sighed. Now that she had legs... there was another huge problem that had just sufficed.

How on earth was she going to know where to go to? This was such a huge place! There were so many unfamiliar people, and... and none of them knew her! She had nowhere to go, and that would mean that she would be lost amidst the crowd!

She stared at the bunch of busy people. There was a group of teenagers heading towards some weird confined room, and although the blonde mermaid couldn't read, she could make out the letters 'T, E and A". Obviously, the mermaid didn't know what it meant, so she decided to leave it as it was.

A blond loner from the corner of her eyes caught her attention. He had a book in his hand, and he was busy reading while he was crossing the road... it would be easy to follow him home; he would not notice a single thing.

She snickered, and followed swiftly behind him.

(to be continued)

Author's note: I swear I didn't want to publish a new fic! But this idea ravaged my mind and I was, like, "OMG I NEEDZ TO WRITEZ A FAIRYTALEZ" so here you have it. Okay, perhaps this fic isn't as good as I thought it'd be... so meh. Maybe I'll just leave it on my 'least priority' list and update it sparingly, say, when I have nothing better to do? Haha. I'll see...

Teaser!

"You're lost. You need to get to the police station! You can't stay here forever." Here, he sighed. "The road's not safe at night so I'll bring you there, I promise."

R e v i e w ? C:

It keeps me going!