Sayaka was so tired. Reaching out an arm to steady herself, she pulled herself up enough so as to lay her head down on the soft grass. How long had she been swimming for? She couldn't remember. But she had finally reached here, wherever here was. Surely this place had to be better than Mitakihara.

It was nice here. And quiet. Although since it was night time that was to be expected. But at the same time, no humans seemed to be around fishing or sailing unlike Mitakihara where humans were always on the alert. Sayaka let out a soft murmur of contentment, her eyes drifting shut, the worry from the past few days lessening.

Kamijou-kun…

So it ended in another day by herself. Kyoko didn't mind of course she liked being alone. Well fucking used to it, she thought as she stormed down the stairs, glaring at any staff members who tried to stop her or even look at her.

"Sakura-san," a maid reached out a hand to her, grabbing hold of her arm when she paused by the kitchen, long enough to grab some snacks. "You should really apologise to Toma-san for punching him, I'm sure he didn't mean to tease you-"

Kyoko roughly shook the maid off, ignoring the cry of surprise as she was slammed into the wall, or the mutterings about her as another maid ran to help her. Taking an apple, she hurried out before anyone else came.

It wasn't her fault in the first place. The stupid boy had been asking for it, making some smartass remark about how lonely she must be, having spent months at the orphanage alone, without even friends ever since the incident. Kyoko's free hand instinctively curled up into a fist. She'll make sure he couldn't walk if she heard him talking trash again.

…If she hurried, she could probably make it there before sunset.

Finally reaching her destination-a side door that would lead outside, Kyoko had just placed her hand on the door knob when she heard a timid sounding voice call out her name.

"K-Kyoko-chan..!" Kyoko paused, not looking at who she knew was behind her. Madoka shuffled her feet, unsure of what to say. "Kaname-san." Homura placed a hand on Madoka's shoulder, from where she had approached behind Madoka. "There's no point in trying to stop her."

Kyoko opened the door and ran off before she could hear anything else. Didn't Homura have anything better to do than watch over Madoka like a hawk? Even when Mami had been here, she was always clinging to Madoka. Reducing her pace, Kyoko walked on, ripping off a packet of Pocky with her teeth before biting the stick. The orphanage where she lived was suited next to the sea, although a small forest blocked the view from the orphanage. Nevertheless, there were tracks around the forest which led to the ocean. In the summer, tourists travelled down from Kasamino-which was actually only a twenty-minute drive from the orphanage and was where Kyoko had originally lived, and Mitakihara to sightsee as the area was a famous spot to view the ocean.

But Kyoko wasn't going to one of the well-known areas to view the sea. No, she was going to a spot that she was sure that only she knew of the location. There was no track here, but it didn't matter. Kyoko swatted aside some branches who were swatting her and walked on. She would be there in two or three minutes. Hopefully, she could stay there well into the evening, possibly into the night. After all, the matron who was in charge of the orphanage had over a hundred orphanages to take care of. There was no way she would waste time searching for one missing orphan. So long Kyoko was back before dawn, there wouldn't be much trouble.

A flash of brilliant blue caught Kyoko's eyes through the trees and she slowed down, placing her feet on to the leaves carefully and gently as though she was entering a sacred place. Which in a way it was. Kyoko let out a sigh as she collapsed against a sun-warmed rock, fishing out another snack to munch on as her eyes took in the sun's rays as it slowly began sinking down towards the ocean. This spot wasn't connected directly to the sea but rather above a small cove. Last time, Kyoko liked to climb down and walk bare-footed on the sand, feeling the crushed seashells beneath her feet and breathing in the salty air (but never going too close to the ocean).

But she hadn't done that since Mami had gone.

Kyoko yawned, a small trickle of drool falling down her chin. She felt peaceful here, her earlier angry mood calming down somewhat. It was hard not to close her eyes and simply rest for a bit. She could tough out not sleeping in a bed tonight. And she had plenty of snacks. The only problem was it was autumn, and whenever the wind blew it carried a chill. Kyoko was only dressed in her normal jacket covering her shirt and shorts. Kyoko let out another yawn, scrunching up the wrapper and tossing it down. She would probably have to go back sooner than later. But in the meantime-

…What's that?

Where she had tossed the sweet wrapper there was a glint of a pale blue something partially hidden behind a large rock covered in rotting seaweed. A plastic bag? Scrambling down from her spot to get a closer look, Kyoko realised that it was not a 'what', but a 'who' as she could now see a slim pale arm poking out.

A dead body was Kyoko's first thought as she stopped in her tracks. Foul play had most likely happened here. Or maybe the girl-from the arm Kyoko was pretty sure it was too small to be a guy's- who had committed suicide after her boyfriend had dumped her. Or leading back to her foul play idea, maybe it was the child of a merchant or even a hunter from Mitakihara who had drowned. A nagging almost far-fetched suspicion rose up in Kyoko's mind but she pushed it down. Whoever it was, Kyoko had to get a better look. No thought of running back to the orphanage crossed her mind. What would they do anyway? All the adults in the orphanage were useless.

Kyoko moved closer, her muscles tensing ready to run just in case. Even though the rock was still blocking her view, she could now get a clearer glance. No doubt about it-it was a girl lying there, her lower body lying in the water. Kyoko could see an 'ff' shaped hairclip in her short blue hair. In fact, only her head and arms were resting on the sparse grass. She seemed to be unconscious, but there was no sign of blood indicating she had been bashed on the head or anything. Abandoning all caution, Kyoko stepped out from behind the rock only to let a strange sound escape from the back of her throat as she now had a full unobstructed view of the girl.

From the girl's lower body down, there were no legs. There was a white tail instead, with what seemed like a fin prodding out.

It was impossible. There was no way this girl-creature- could be a mermaid. Although in the past there had been sightings of mermaids swimming here, hadn't they all been hunted down? Hunted down and sold to people who were rich and wanted them as a precious oddity. F or catching them was extremely difficult: Kyoko heard that they lived far out in the ocean in the deep waters, and rarely came near the shore. Not only that, they were as intelligent as humans, and were known to eat people. Furthermore, Kyoko had heard that once caught with no way to fight back, the mermaids-were there guy mermaids? Mermans?- would often waste away and die. It didn't stop anyone from hunting them down though, as their scales were thought to cure terminal diseases and for their beauty too.

And yet-

Kyoko dropped to her knees, barely consciously of her legs getting covered in sand. She was now so close to the mermaid she could reach out a hand and touch that soft-looking hair. The mermaid didn't look harmful. She seemed to be fast asleep. Hardly aware of her actions, Kyoko inched even closer until she was right beside the mermaid. How come she's wearing a jacket? Kyoko hazily thought. Mermaids didn't wear clothes right? On impulse, Kyoko reached out and brushed aside some hair that had fallen across the mermaid's face. Now she could see dark eye bags under the mermaid's eyes. Hadn't she slept for a while?

That was Kyoko's last thought before she froze as the mermaid's eyes flickered open, blue eyes meeting Kyoko's red ones.

AN: The rating may go up in later chapters, but so far I hope you enjoyed the first chapter~ I've wanted so long to write a Kyoko/Sayaka fic (with Madohomu too) so I'm glad I finally got around to doing one~