The following afternoon, back in Tokyo, Mai was sat in a park with a sketchbook. Her hand was gripping a pencil and attempting to portray exactly what the merman had looked like. She thought she managed the look in his eyes, but what was really causing her trouble was the tail.

There was no way she could use a mere pencil to capture the shimmering quality of the tail.

"Really Mai?" a familiar voice said behind her.

"What?"

Yasuhara sat down beside her and peered over her shoulder.

"Is that what he looked like?" he asked sceptically.

"You don't believe me, do you?"

"So you almost drowned," Yasuhara began. "Then this merman," he pointed to the sketchpad, "saved you and brought you to shore."

"Yeah, and he spoke straight into my mind!" Mai added earnestly. "Why would I lie about this?"

"I don't know Mai," he replied. "Mermaids-"

"Merpeople," Mai corrected.

"Merpeople," Yasuhara nodded. "They don't exist. They were just made up by drunken sailors that saw seals or manatees or something."

"But…" Mai looked away to hide her disappointment. She had been so sure he would believe her.

"You probably just drank a bit of sea water and were a bit delirious," Yasuhara continued sympathetically.

"Yasuhara," Mai said suddenly. She jumped to her feet and shoved her sketchbook into her bag.

"What?"

"That's…" she mumbled, but then she was already sprinting away from him.

"Mai!" Yasuhara ran after her. "Mai, where are you going?!"

But Mai was pelting after someone.

"Wait!" she yelled. She ignored the concerned stares from other people in the park. But her quarry did not stop. "Naru!"

She stopped dead and slapped her hand over her mouth. She hadn't meant to speak her private nickname for the merman out loud, let alone shout it in a crowded park.

What shocked her more, was the person she was attempting to catch up with stopped and turned around.

It was him. It was the merman.

But he had legs?

She watched as the man started towards her with a frown.

"What did you call me?" he asked. His voice was raspy, as if he'd barely used it.

"Uh," Mai stumbled.

"Did you call me 'Naru'?"

Mai nodded mutely as Yasuhara caught up with her.

"Mai, he looks just like your drawing," Yasuhara said in disbelief.

As if to confirm this, Yasuhara dug into Mai's back and pulled out the sketchbook. He held the drawing up and compared it to the man standing in front of them.

"You know, I see one big difference Mai," Yasuhara commented. "The distinct lack of a tail…"

The man took the drawing and looked at it.

"Where did you see him?" The man was glaring down at Mai with a scary intensity.

"He saved me," Mai replied. "I was drowning, and he saved me."

Yasuhara looked between the two and then shook his head in disbelief.

"You're both crazy," he muttered.

"Noll saved a human?" the man said under his breath.

"Noll?"

"My twin brother, I thought you said his name before and well, we've pretended to be each other enough…"

"But you have legs?" Mai asked happily; she wasn't going mad. "Can you do the mind talk thing?"

Of course I can, he replied and this time, Yasuhara heard it.

"I'm crazy," he whispered, shrinking to the floor and putting his head between his knees.

"The sea witch gave me legs," the man continued out loud, as he sensed Yasuhara's discomfort at his other method of communication.

"Yasuhara! I told you! I told you it was real," Mai turned to face her friend, then looked down to find him rocking backwards and forwards with his arms over his head. "What are you doing?"

"He spoke into my head," he whimpered.

"Well I told you the merman could!" She turned back to the man. "What's your name?"

"Gene," he said in his low coarse voice.

"I'm Mai; it's nice to meet you."

"Maybe this is all a dream," Yasuhara said weakly. "Maybe if I just lie down, I'll wake up in bed and none of this will have happened."

"Yasuhara, stand up and stop being pathetic." Mai rolled her eyes. "You are such a drama queen."

Grudgingly, Yasuhara obeyed and Gene laughed.

"So, you're a merman?" Yasuhara asked, he was squinting a bit, as if scared of the answer.

"Normally, yes," Gene replied. "Look." He pointed to his neck, where three scars lay on either side.

"Were those your gills?" Mai asked, she reached up a hand and gently touched one of the scars.

"Yes."

"Where are you staying?"

"Huh?"

"Do you have anywhere to live right now?" Mai asked.

"I've been sleeping under benches," Gene replied shamefacedly.

"How long have you been out of the water?" Yasuhara asked. He seemed to have decided just to go with it.

"About a week?"

"But why are you on land?" Mai questioned. So many things to ask...

"I'm…" He paused awkwardly. "I'm helping a friend."

Yasuhara opened up his own bag, pulled out a water bottle and took off the lid. He then squirted Gene's legs with water.

"What the hell are you doing?" Mai turned on him. Gene had only looked amused at Yasuhara's actions.

"In the movies, if a mermaid is on land and they get wet, then they turn back into a mermaid."

"So you thought you'd try it in the middle of a crowded park?" Mai asked incredulously. "Are you an idiot?" She turned back to Gene. "I'm sorry; he's usually more intelligent than that."

"I know," Gene replied with a warm smile.

"How?" Mai frowned.

"Oh," Gene looked worried. "Sorry, um, the mind talking thing. It, uh…"

"You can read our minds?" Yasuhara guessed.

Gene nodded awkwardly.

"That's how it works, but merpeople learn to control it and only project what they want others to hear. Obviously under the water we can't talk like humans do."

"Which is why your voice sounds so odd?"

"Before last week, I'd never used it before really," Gene said.

"Do you want to stay with me?" Mai asked quickly. "I live alone, so there would be no one else there."

"Mai!" Yasuhara scolded. "You can't just invite some random merman into your house! He could be a mass murderer for all you know!"

"Damn, you caught me," Gene said seriously. "Yeah, they kicked me out for killing the royal family and forced me into a human body."

"Really?" Mai asked, wide eyed.

Gene laughed so hard he clutched at his sides.

"I think he was pulling your leg, Mai," Yasuhara said. "I hope."

"Was your offer of somewhere to stay a genuine one?" Gene asked once he had regained control of himself.

"As long as you didn't really kill anyone, sure," Mai said. "Come on."

And so the trio began walking. Mai put her sketchbook back in her bag and led the way.

"Where did you get clothes from?" Yasuhara asked a minute later.

"I stole them," Gene admitted but at their shocked faces, he continued. "I had nothing to wear! I mean, I can return them if you'd rather I walked around naked but the human body is kind of weird and I don't like it…"

"What's wrong with humans?" Mai asked, offended.

"You have these weird dangly things between your legs!" Gene protested. "As if walking wasn't hard enough as it is!" Mai sniggered at his words.

"Only men have those," Yasuhara said.

"What are they for?" Gene asked, obviously genuinely interested. "I found out one is for dispelling some bodily waste but the other bits evade me."

"I'll explain when we are not in public," Yasuhara muttered quietly.

"Why?" Gene continued in a carrying voice.

"It's to do with reproduction," Mai explained. "It's not socially acceptable to talk about things in public places, especially where there are small children."

"Oh," Gene frowned. "You don't lay eggs do you?"

Mai shook her head.

"We'll explain at Mai's apartment."

"We'll?" Mai exclaimed. "I am not giving Sex Ed to a merman!"

"And you think I want to?" Yasuhara retorted.

"I'm sorry," Gene said quickly. "I don't want to cause you any trouble."

"It's not trouble," Mai said kindly. "It's just embarrassing."

"Embarrassing?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Is reproduction not embarrassing to your people?"

"What is there to be embarrassed about?" Gene asked. "You find a mermaid you want to spend your life with, she lays eggs, you fertilise them and then wait until they hatch." He shrugged like it was no big deal.

"We're going to have to talk more about this," Yasuhara said. "But not when we are about to get on a train."

They had just arrived at the train station.

"I'll buy you a ticket," Mai said. "Have you been on a train before?"

"The metal box contraptions?"

"Yeah?"

"No…" Gene replied slowly. "They look dangerous."

"How did you get to Tokyo then?"

"I walked." Gene shrugged again. "It didn't take as long as the swim to the British Isles."

"You swam to the UK?" Mai asked incredulously. Gene nodded.

"Yeah, it was quite nice there. Apart from those nutters in boats that kept trying to catch us," he told her. "There was a middle aged couple that were obsessed with us. I have no idea how they kept finding me and my brother, but I swear they would have kept us like pets if they had managed to catch us."

Mai bought him a ticket and together they boarded the train. Gene looked very nervous about the whole thing and was gripping to a pole with all his might.

"Are you sure this won't hurt us?" he whispered.

"Yes, here," Mai said, holding out her hand. Gene looked at it and tipped his head to the side slightly, frowning. Mai rolled her eyes, then pried one of his hands from the pole and took it in hers. "Squeeze when you get scared," she explained as the train began to move.

She almost immediately regretted his statement; Gene had an incredibly strong grip.

"Sorry," he said, noticing her wince.

"This is completely safe," Mai reassured him. "We'll be off in a minute." Then Mai noticed something. "Your brother had slightly webbed hands?"

"Mine changed when the sea witch turned me human," Gene clarified. "It's weird."

"What colour was your tail?"

"Same as my brothers," Gene replied.

"Does everyone have the same colour tail?" Mai asked. "Or are they different?"

"Different," Gene said. "Lin's was green; Madoka's was pink like her hair…"

"Pink?" Yasuhara sounded confused.

"Yes, pink."

Yasuhara only shook his head.

They disembarked from the train a few minutes later and walked to Mai's apartment in near silence.

"Home sweet home!"

Mai's apartment was small but cosy. Yasuhara quickly made himself at home on the sofa after kicking off his shoes.

"Shoes off Gene," Mai instructed. "You can leave them there." She pointed to the pile of shoes by the door.

"Oh good, these things pinch!" Gene remarked.

"What size are you wearing?"

"There are different sizes?"

Mai pressed her hand to her forehead.

"We'll take you shoe shopping at some point, would you like a drink?"

"Please," Gene said and then he joined Yasuhara on the sofa. "Will you teach me now?"

"Mai? Can I borrow your laptop?" Yasuhara requested wearily.

"Sure."

"Can you read?" he asked as he opened up Mai's laptop and typed in the password.

"Of course I can read," Gene scoffed.

"Excellent," Yasuhara said. "Then I'll let you read all about it." He found an article and passed the laptop to Gene, who held it gingerly. "It won't bite, just read and when you get to the bottom, press this key–" Yasuhara pointed to the down key "-and it will move what is shown down."

"Okay," Gene began reading. Mai appeared a moment later with drinks for everyone.

"Mai, can I speak to you for a moment?" Yasuhara requested. Mai agreed and he led her from the living room and into her bedroom. "Look, assuming this isn't a dream and I am still holding out on that one, I don't like you staying here alone with him."

"Why?" Mai demanded.

"Because he could be anyone! Even if he is a merman or whatever, it doesn't automatically make him a good person."

"Gene is harmless!" Mai insisted. "And he can read your thoughts, so stop being mean to him!"

"Mai!" Yasuhara pleaded. "I just don't want you getting hurt!"

"Then stay here too!" Mai suggested. "Then you can watch over me and him and it'll all be okay!"

"As if my parents would allow that," Yasuhara remarked. He glanced at the door. "Do you think he can read our minds from here?"

I can, Gene's voice replied. You really need to guard your thoughts more.

"That's seriously creepy," Mai whispered.

You don't want to know the perverted things Yasuhara was thinking when we were discussing reproduction earlier. I mean seriously? Do humans actually do that?

Mai raised an eyebrow at Yasuhara, who growled.

I'm just teasing!

"We may as well go back in," she said. Yasuhara followed reluctantly. "What were you thinking about?"

"Nothing!" he retorted.

"Aww come on! You can tell me!"

But Yasuhara had gone uncharacteristically red.

"I'll ask Gene to tell me what you're thinking," Mai teased.

"That would be a violating the sanctity of my thoughts."

"Do humans really experience that?" Gene asked Yasuhara. "What you were thinking about?"

"Yeah," Yasuhara replied awkwardly. "Do you not…?"

"No," Gene said.

"I'm going to make some dinner," Mai said in an attempt to clear the air. She had a sneaking suspicious she could guess what they were both thinking about, but she really didn't want to discuss it.

"Can you show me how to work this contraption?"

"Can't you just read it out of my mind?" Yasuhara asked.

"Well I could, but I've been trying to assimilate to humans…" Gene replied. "I mean, merpeople are so used to guarding what they don't want shared, you never hear anything that shouldn't be heard. It's hard trying not to listen…"

"Do you eat anything in particular?" Mai asked. "Or not eat anything?"

"I've been trying human food," Gene told her. "Do you really eat fish?"

"Um, yeah? Do you not?"

"Fish are friends, not food." He had a serious expression on his face.

"No fish then," Mai said.

As Mai began cutting up vegetables, she glanced at the two young men on her sofa. She had the weirdest feeling in the bottom of her stomach that her life was about to be turned upside down. And if the truth was told, she wasn't sure she was ready for it.

Author's note: So I wrote some fluff (Playing the Part) and its gone to my head. I've gone soft! Look! GENE IS ALIVE! Just to clarify, Noll does think Gene has been taken and doesn't know what's going on! Oh wait, neither do you lot really... Hee hee hee!

So I have found myself writing three stories at once - something I said I would never do - and argh! I want to write all three and once but alas I only have one set of hands...

Someone reviewed saying they wanted to draw fan art for this, if any of you do this, please message me and send me a link to your work! I would love to see it! Also, if Mai was a mermaid, what colour tail do you think she would have?

Please review :)