Mermaid Melody Harmony!

1

Upper World

All had been peaceful since evil was thwarted years ago and the seven mermaid kingdoms had been saved along with the human world. Well in some cases it still is a bit hectic…

Lucia, Pink Pearl Mermaid and North Pacific Ocean ruler, stood unhappily in front of a younger red haired mermaid who didn't look all too thrilled to be there either. "Akiko, what you did was very mean!" She cried, obviously upset about something.

The girl referred to as 'Akiko' huffed and darted her eyes away from the other, arms crossed defensively over her chest. "What was it again? Remind me?" She responded in a rather rude tone.

Lucia frowned. "Don't play coy! You played a mean trick on Hippo!" She jutted out her hand, gesturing to a purple tinted Hippo with a blowfish on his backside. The small penguin laid on the ground in pain.

Akiko shifted her arms to behind her head casually, "Oh yeah, well I was bored." A grin etched itself on her face. "Come on you have to admit that was funny!" She laughed, sincerely amused by Hippo's misfortune but Lucia didn't find it so and neither did Hippo who was having trouble pulling the fish from his side.

The blonde sighed, calming herself; Lucia knew getting upset wouldn't solve anything and she couldn't stay mad at her forever. "If you need something to do why don't you help me around the castle? Besides, it'll be your responsibility when you get older soon." Her kind hearted smile found its way on her lips. Akiko returned it with a sour frown.

Her crimson smacked the ground in retaliation. "No! I had something I enjoyed but you took that away from me!" Pain in her voice, Akiko turned her back and swam off, leaving the palace in a rage.

The pink pearl could only look on as the younger mermaid stormed out on her. Feeling just as pained as the emotion in Akiko's voice, Lucia lowered her gaze to the floor and bit her lip. A hand then rested itself on her shoulder. She looked up to find Kaito smiling at her. It was a comforting smile that immediately made her feel better, but not completely. She forced a wry smile and looked back to the doors "I'm a terrible mother." She sighed, feeling drained at that moment.

Kaito shook his head "Of course you aren't, she just doesn't understand it yet. But I promise she will." His words soothed her and she believed him. He wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed her forehead. "You just have to give her some time. You were pretty hardheaded around her age as well." Lucia hit his back with an open palm in response, receiving a laugh from him.

Getting a far enough distance from the palace that it was barely visible anymore, Akiko slowed her speed. "They always do this." She muttered to herself. Now at a standstill she watched a school of fish swim past. Akiko glanced around before dashing to a small cave. "Hey, you here buddy?" She examined every inch of the cave but found nothing but the plant life and smaller creatures taking refugee there.

Bummed, she slid down the cave wall. After a short moment something came and licked her face. Startled she got up from her seat and looked outside. A purple bottle nose dolphin stared at her, happily making a clicking sound when she spotted him. "Pucha!" Akiko exclaimed. She hugged the dolphin while stroking his snout affectionately. She rubbed her cheek against his and began to hum a tune, making Pucha happy.

Akiko and Pucha swam excitedly through the waters, twisting and turning around each other like two old friends who haven't seen each other in ages. But soon Akiko slowed her pace and came to a stop. Pucha noticed this nudged his friend out of concern. Akiko flashed him a forced a smile. "I wish I didn't have to go back home." Petting his head, she looked up to above the water as if an answer to her problems would come to her.

At that moment, a shell floated down from the surface and landed in her outstretched hand. "Hm?" Examining the fragment her eyes lit up as a stroke of brilliance came about her. Wasting little time, the crimson mermaid swam upwards as fast as she could to where the shell had fallen from.

Akiko pushed her head above water, breaking the surface and quickly hid behind a rock. The sky was dark and no sign of life but there was still a chance of someone being outside. Luckily there wasn't a soul on the beach. As if that was enough confirmation for her, she nodded and dunked back under water to meet her mammal friend. She looked at him with a mixture of sadness and joy in her eyes. "Pucha, this has to be farewell for a while." She spoke abruptly and it was clear to see the confusion on his face but he understood her words.

"I've decided I'm going to go live up on the surface. I'll have freedom up there and I could interact with humans." She grabbed his head in her hands and nuzzled his nose with her own. "Don't worry; I'll come visit you as often as I can. So you know when it's me you'll hear this." She demonstrated by humming the same tune from before. Hearing the song made him happy. Understanding this was what her heart was set on he gave her one more nudge before they hugged out their goodbyes. Even though she said it wouldn't be long till they saw each other again, she still had a heavy heart.

She watched as Pucha swam off, likely back to his home, until he was out of sight. Akiko gripped the seashell necklace that hung around her neck and stared out in the distance, the direction of the palace, her heart growing a little heavy. She drew in a long, deep breath and looked to the surface. "Here I go." A grin formed on her lips just as she swam back up and broke through the surface.

Two week later…

Akiko POV

After wandering the streets for hours that night, I had come across an old couple. They asked me why I was out by myself so late at night. I had told them I came here on my own but someone had stolen all of my things except for the clothes on my back (which had been hard to come by with no money). They felt sympathy for me and offered to let me stay with them till I got back on my feet. Even though my story was a lie, it was had some truth to it. The stories my parents told me about the surface world told me the people were kind, I didn't think it was true. Their kindness warmed my heart, I hoped everyone else was this nice.

At present time, I had finished packing my things. Since it was so little I had I only needed one bag, which had saved a lot of time. I looked around the small, now empty room I had lived in for the past weeks. This whole time I had been searching for someplace to live, knowing I couldn't burden these two for much longer. I drew in a quick breath and headed downstairs.

Coming before the elderly couple I bowed my head in gratitude. "Thank you so much for looking after me." I picked up my head and smiled "You've helped me a lot; I'll never forget your generosity."

They smiled and Mrs. Lee waved her hand, "We couldn't let a young girl like you stay out on the streets. It was our pleasure, you've helped us a lot while you stayed my dear."

Mr. Lee laughed, "Be sure to visit us when you can!" I nodded and headed out the front door after giving one last bow as goodbye.

Before I decided to move out, I had found myself an apartment in the city nearby. The apartment head said she would let me pay a lower price till I found a steady part time job and since I would be going to school. After I had set up my things I would go out and look for a part-time job.

Coming down the hallway, I looked up from the paper in my hand to a door. "2-C" I read aloud off the plate above the door. I nodded and used the key in the envelope had given me into the opened the door. The landlord said it had been a while since anyone had stayed in this apartment, so I expected it to be unkempt; but what I saw wasn't what I had in mind.

There were cobwebs hanging from the ceiling and a thick layer of dust on the walls, floors and well just about everywhere. Shoulders slumped, I let out an already tired sigh. "This is gonna take a while." Before I could even think about getting comfortable in this place I would have to clean house. But first I should officially move in and unpack the little bit of stuff I had.

Once I got down to it, it wasn't so bad after all. After about three hours of cleaning, the place wasn't a dull gray color anymore and the real vibrant colors could pop out at you. I wiped the bead of sweat from my forehead after getting the last spot of grime on the bathroom tiles. "Finally…done." I breathed, taking a seat in the tub for a quick break. I looked around at my hard work; it didn't sparkle but it was definitely better than before.

Deciding my break was over, I pushed myself onto my feet. "Alright! Now for a walk around town!" Removing all the cleaning gear and tossing them to the ground, I went to get a change of close before heading out the apartment.

With no clear destination in mind, I wandered the town looking for any spot that had an open position. I had noticed since it was daytime it was more lively around town than when I first arrived. There was a noticeable amount of couples hanging about as well.

Eventually my travels brought me to a café in a semi-busy section of town. There was a sign in the window that read 'Help Wanted: Waitress' I peered inside through the window and it looked like a nice enough place if I could get the job.

"Can I help you miss?" I jumped at the sudden sound of someone else next to me. I blushed; I probably looked weird looking through the window like that. I looked up from the ground to see a woman, fairly young, with honey blonde hair and green eyes standing in the door way with a smile.

I blinked myself out of a daze "Um, about the sign…" I responded softly, gesturing to the poster.

She grinned, "Ah, so you want the position?" I nodded in response

The lady introduced herself as Ms. Ano and gave me a quick tour of the place. She quickly filled me in on what I would have to do. "It's real simple, just take the customer's order and bring it to them. And make sure you do it with a smile; they like to be greeted cheerfully. You got that… uh, what was it again?"

I had been fondling with my new uniform while she spoke, honestly only half listening; it was so cute "Hm? Oh, Akiko, Akiko Domoto." I answered using my father's last name; I wondered if that was best since this was the town he grew up in according to what mother told me, people might recognize it.

"Right, Domoto. So, your shift starts soon." Ms. Ano beckoned another young waitress over to us. "This is Mai; she's the same age as you. She knows her way around so you stick to her." The older glanced at the watch on her wrist "Well I have other matters to tend to, I'll be back before closing." She left the two of us to ourselves.

My eyes darted back to Mai; she had black hair and bright blue eyes. She seemed to be hesitant on speaking up first so I thought I would open up. "Um, it's nice to meet you Mai. I hope we get along well." I bowed. The sound of my voice must've surprised her because she looked up at me suddenly.

She became flustered and returned the bow. "Oh! You don't have to be so formal, we're the same age." There was an awkward tension in the air at first but she seemed to have gotten over it once we exchanged words. We both shared a laugh seeming to noticing that.

Since I had some time before my shift we talked to get to know each other better. I found out we both were going to Minato High and were in the same grade.

"So you came here by yourself? Your parents let you?" Mai questioned, standing by the wall.

I looked to the side. "No, I came here on my own terms. They don't know I'm here honestly." I looked down at my hands as my fingers fiddled with each other, then back to Mai who had started smiling.

"I guess we're both in the same boat here." At first I didn't get what she meant so I just stared at her. Did that mean she ran away too? "This place fascinated me, I wanted to come and see it for myself. But I knew my family would say no so I came here myself." Mai held her hand out "Ms. Ano let me stay with her and offered me a job here till I got the place I live in now."

After she shared her story with me, I felt a little closer to Mai, but it didn't feel like it was just because we both were runaways. I didn't know what actually.

Mai held her hand to her mouth "Oh! Look at the time, our shift starts soon. We should get going." We pulled on her aprons and headed out to the front just in time for the customers to start coming in.

After a few hours I definitely started getting the hang of things. I was moving a lot faster than at first and more efficient; plus there were fewer accidents.

I walked up to the podium at the entrance and smiled cheerfully, just as instructed. "Hello, welcome to Café Taro! How many today?" I looked up from my pad and saw a boy, not much older than I was, with dark blonde hair in the doorway.

"Just me." His voice was a little low but still clearly audible and he looked rather disinterested. I nodded and brought him to an empty table. He sat down, his expression unchanging, but at least he stopped staring.

After he got settled I pulled out my pad and took the pencil from behind my ear. "What would you like today, sir?" I questioned, the smile never fading.

He cracked a smiled, his eyes focused on a spot on the table. "Just a coffee."

I jotted it down while thinking that he's probably mature for his age, or just wants to appear so. "Yes, sir! Coming right up." I returned the pencil behind my ear and left for the kitchen to prepare the order.

As I set up the coffee machine I met up with Mai who was waiting for her order also. I leaned on the counter and let out a held in breath. "Whew, I'm sort of tired."

Mai giggled, "Yeah." She placed a ticket on the hook before sitting on an empty crate.

I looked out the server window at the boy; he was looking out the window by his table. "That kid sure is weird." I thought aloud and then Mai came over to look at what I was talking about.

"Him? That's Yosuke." She stated matter-of-factly

"Wait, you know him?" I asked her a little surprised.

Mai nodded, "Yep, he's a regular here and he's in my class."

I looked back outside at 'Yosuke' who was still looking out the window. "Is he always like that?"

Mai went over to pick up a slice of cake and tea, "Sort of, as long as I've known him. He can be a little more eccentric at times though. Well I'm off." She left out to her table and I picked up the coffee pot and an empty cup and headed out also.

I set the cup down on the table and poured the coffee out; the steam from the cup rose up and kind of irritated my eyes. "Here you go, sir, one cup of coffee. Would you like milk or sugar with that?"

Yosuke kept his eyes on the cup, "Two sugars." I dropped two sugar cubes in his cup; they slowly sank to the bottom.

"Is that all?"

He looked up to me but his eyes were different, they looked kinder than before; something about it made my cheeks burn a little. "Mind telling me your name? I haven't seen you around before."

I was a little surprised he asked something like that but I answered nonetheless "My names Akiko, I just moved here and started working today." I answered with a smile like Ano told me to do. He nodded and I left with a bow seeing as he needed nothing else.

Soon enough it was closing time and Ms. Ano had to run early so Mai and I closed up shop. "See you at school tomorrow!" She shouted and we waved goodbye to each other.

The day went by so fast. So far my time on the surface has been all but boring. And it was quite lucky for me that the café was in walking distance of the apartment.

The lively atmosphere of the town had died down along with the sunset coming in. The view was beautiful since the town was close to the beach; the way the light from the sun hit the water looked amazing.

Though the day was fun and I wanted to explore more, I was still tired by the end of it. I entered my semi-empty apartment; though it still kinda felt homey. I had gone grocery shopping before I got home and Ms. Ano gave me some leftovers to take home, so I put those away before I could get really relaxed.

Shortly after I had gotten settled in for the evening, a knock came to my door. I wondered who it could be for a brief moment, I figured it was the landlord coming to check up me. I didn't waste time and got up to open the door. "Yes?" I drew in a sharp breath seeing who was on the other side.

"Hello, I'm from across the hall and-" Yosuke's eyes widened just as mine had. We both stood there staring at each other, too stunned to say anything. Realizing we were at a stalement, Yosuke broke the silence first and spoke up. "Well, if it isn't Ms. Waitress. I didn't know you were the new neighbor." He grinned slightly with a laugh.

Neighbor? Yosuke was my neighbor? "Uh, yeah… I guess so." I looked down and noticed Yosuke had a cake in his hand. "Uh, would you like to come in?" I offered widening the door a little more, gesturing inside, he nodded and walked in.

I set down two cups; I added two sugars in his coffee first as I remembered from the café. "Sorry it's nothing special;" I admitted as I took a seat "I hadn't gotten a chance to decorate yet." I chuckled trying to make small talk.

Yosuke nodded, pulling the cup to him, looking around. "No need to apologize." He blew on the cup and took a sip then gestured to the small cake on the table. "My dad made this as a gift; he's a good guy so he likes to introduce himself to the new residents. He has work so today I'm in his place" He smiled and leaned forward over the table a little. "But I never would have thought our new neighbor was the same age as me." He took another look around "So, where are your parents?"

Not too surprised that question came up again. I looked down at my cup; it was a lighter shade than Yosuke's since I added cream. "They're not here with me."

Yosuke got quiet and he bit his lip, leaning back in his seat. "I'm sorry I shouldn't have brought it up."

I wondered why he responded like that and then I realized what he must've been thinking. I waved my hand dismissively "No, no! They're not dead, they're just not here living with me. I came by myself." Yosuke blinked at my explanation then sighed in relief, we both let out a light hearted laugh.

We had spent the next hour or so talking about each other, well what I could say about myself at least. It was a rule never to tell a human you're a mermaid and I didn't feel like turning into sea foam just yet. At least that was the superstition but I had no intention of testing the waters.

"Ah, it's already been two hours, time flies huh?" Yosuke looked up at the clock in the overhead with small smile. He was right though the clock read it was almost half past six. I nodded and silently picked up the plates and cups, placing them in the sink to soak. Then Yosuke came over and leaned on the wall near me. There was silence while scrubbed at the coffee stains in the cup, but then Yosuke spoke up again. "I still can't believe I have such a cute girl living across the hall from me." The words came oddly smug from his lips, something I didn't expect from him. The plate in my hand had slipped and fell into the dishwater.

My cheeks had started to burn out of embarrassment and without any warning his arms were around my waist. "Wh-What do you think you're doing!? Let go!" I shouted, half panicked and half irritated. Unsure of what to do in this kind of situation I grabbed his wrists in hopes that he'd let go.

"Why? Judging by your actions you seem to be enjoying this..." He whispered into my ear and my heart started to beat a lot faster than normal. It was a little scary as it all was happening and none of it was making any sense.

There was a fleeting moment of silence before I could hear him start to laugh. I didn't know what he found funny at all, quite frankly I found the whole thing maddening. "Ah~ You're pretty different than the other girls. You're more interesting." He let go of my waist and I quickly turned around feeling my new freedom.

I glared daggers into him. "Fun? If you think toying with a girl's feelings is fun, you're sick!" I retorted and not even a few seconds later his hand held my chin and brought our faces closer. His expression changed to a more serious one and not playful like before. My heart was still beating fast and the way he stared at me along with the decreased distance between us did not help. "Yo-Yosuke…?" I stuttered, finding it rather hard to speak in this state.

After we both grew quiet and silence filled the room, which was getting annoying by this point, he started to laugh. Another thing that was beyond irritating. "Cute!" He exclaimed, lifting my chin up a little.

He had a childish grin on his face which really pissed me off. How could he find any of this amusing? My fists balled up in anger and I growled. "Grrr, stop teasing me already!"

He responded by letting go of my chin and his expression had softened; not as smug as before. "But I'm not teasing, I really do think you're cute Akiko." I scowled and I could feel the heat rising to my head, my face burning from more than just embarrassment. Yosuke picked up the cake cover and winked "See you at school tomorrow, Ms. Waitress."

And with that he left me, flustered and angry but mostly confused. The swirl of emotions inside really made me dizzy. Going to bed would be the best option at this point, I did have school tomorrow just as he said. I shut everything thing off and trudged to bed, my mind went back to think about the day but mainly on Yosuke. As I crawled under the covers I thought to myself that the people up on the surface were so much different than back home. How I would get used to it all, I had no idea.