The sea echoed above against the top of a rock that protruded from the sunken cavern, light spilling down onto Rin and illuminating the siren on top of his legs. They were alone, together-hidden underneath the water.

'You mentioned a curse-'

'Shhh.'

A finger rested against Rin's lips.

'Quiet. Or find you.'

'You know I want to be found-'

'No...' the siren shook it's head. 'No.'

The siren put one of its hands on Rin's chest and spread its fingers into a starfish position, its other hand on the rocks holding itself up. Rin started to say something but it whispered 'ssshhh' again, raising the hand on Rin's chest and running it through Rin's hair. The siren seemed to be trying to calm Rin down and Rin's throat felt tight at the realisation that it was working. Inwardly, Rin felt frustrated but was too scared and overcome by desire to express it... he was completely at the sirens mercy, waiting for it to do something but what, what? His heart was pounding in his chest, threatening to burst out of his ears, pulse fluttering in his throat at all of the tantalising sensations, at having something so inhumanly beautiful so close to his body-

'Listen,' Rin said, thickly. 'I'm new to sailing so I really need to know-'

'Shhh.'

'Stop telling me to 'sssh!' You're going to eat me, right?'

The siren looked down.

'Rin Matsuoka. I must... sacrifice you to the water.'

'Why?' Rin asked-so confused, aroused and distraught: he didn't know what he should be feeling... this was too much for his first trip as a sailor. 'What did I do?'

'Curse.'

'What curse?'

'Demon.'

'I'm not a demon!' Rin yelled at it, desperately. 'You sirens are the demons! You drag sailors underwater, crash their boats and rip apart dolphins and whales... you and your sisters are the ones who don't belong! Look...' Rin was panicking. 'I don't understand. You say you're going to kill me, and then you start touching me and I... what do you want?'

Silence. Fear and panic swallowed Rin up whole. The siren had been following the boat, so Rin wasn't surprised that it had picked up Rin's name, but this proved a theory he had about this male siren being different.

All of the other sailors had talked about sirens as if they were malicious, reckless creatures, but this one didn't appear aggressive on the surface: Rin could tell by the look in its blue eyes that it watched silently, took everything in, heard and understood everything around it... it had even learned to speak. It was intelligent, and that frightened Rin.

Still... this siren kind of wanted Rin, right? For it to crawl right up to him and sit on top of his legs then stay there after feeling Rin's arousal... to touch him gently all over, to run its hands through Rin's hair and suck on his fingers.. if it wanted to kill Rin, then wouldn't he be dead by now? Rin closed his eyes and waited for the male siren to make a move, not sure if it would kiss him or bite off his head... but instead, the siren slid away, dropping back into the water with a splash.

'Follow,' it said. 'I will tell you.'

'Can't you just-'

The siren swam away to the back of the cavern. It didn't wait for Rin to follow, because it knew Rin would come... there was an opportunity now for Rin to swim away out of the cave, back onto the rocks and get back to the ship, but he didn't take it... instead, he dropped down into the water and swam after the siren, down a small underwater channel. There was a hidden labyrinth of caves and Rin followed, twisting around corners and popping up wherever there was a shelf of air, eventually reaching a second cavern and sucking in a breath.

This one was deep underwater and also contained a floating surface, but everything around Rin glittered: the walls around him were covered in diamonds, little blue and white lights studding the rock like stars in the sky. Pools of water reflected the diamonds and everything shone... Rin turned back to the siren.

'What is this?' Rin asked, thickly. 'What are you?'

'Haruka.'

'Haruka...' Rin tested the word. 'Is that your name?'

A confident nod.

'That's... a nice name, but it's not what I meant... are you a siren?'

'Haru,' it said.

'What?'

'Haru. Have to call me-'

'What does it matter?' Rin yelled. 'Unless you want me screaming your name while you eat me... but you don't want to eat me. You want to 'sacrifice' me, but you haven't: I don't understand! Are you storing me?'

No reply. Rin dropped himself down on the rock.

'Either you want to kill me or you don't. If you don't, then I'm swimming back to my ship-'

'Stay,' Haru said. The word danced on his tongue, falling lovingly from his lips, seeming to reach out to Rin like a hand, an invitation... Rin swallowed.

Fight it!

'I have to get back to my ship. They'll be worried-'

'Coming to kill you.'

'Wh-what is?'

'Sirens.'

'Sirens?'

Ripples of cold flooded Rin with the word. Haru was half-dipped in water, his dark hair wet with drops, blue eyes staring back at Rin seriously. Rin shook his head.

It's trying to trick me...

'No,' he practically shouted. 'I spoke to the other sailors... sirens don't leave their territory!'

'Tonight. For you.'

'Why?'

'A curse.'

'You're repeating yourself,' Rin said, angrily. 'And that's impossible. Sirens never leave their grounds, but now you're telling me a colony of them have been following the boat and will attack tonight just to kill me? I haven't done anything! Why?'

'Curse-' Haru repeated and Rin growled.

Is he playing with me? Messing around?

Rin didn't know what to think. He watched Haru sceptically from where he was in the water, Haru's blue eyes inquiring.

'Rin.'

'What?'

'Rin.'

'Yeah, what do you-'

'Rin.'

'Stop saying my name!' Rin pulled his legs up to his chest, uncomfortable at how aroused his own name made him when Haru was the one who said it... with the way it made his body spark and his cheeks tinge with blush... he buried his nose in his knee.

'Rin,' Haru repeated and Rin ignored him.

'Rin...'

'Rin-!'

'What the hell is your problem?'

Haru laughed. It was a cute, sweet sound, even cuter with the image of Haru's eyelids scrunching... he was beautiful. Fascination gripped Rin as Haru's eyes opened and he stared: he was enthralled by Haru, in love with the little light points that swum in Haru's eyes when he smiled. Before Rin knew it Haru had swum closer, popping up in the water close to Rin so that they were a few inches apart, looking up at Rin over the side of the rock.

'Nonono.' Rin snapped at it. 'Go away. Back over there-'

I'm helpless whenever you're near me...

'Why?' Haru asked. 'When we both... want?'

'I have to get back to the ship,' Rin whispered. 'If we're going to be attacked by sirens then I have to warn the rest of the crew. They'll die-'

'Doesn't matter,' Haru said quietly, with a shake of his head. One of his cool, slippery hands settled on Rin's thigh... Rin took in a shaky breath. He could feel himself being pulled into desire, getting sucked in like a whirlpool-

'It does matter,' Rin pleaded. 'They're my friends. The ship is stopped for repairs and they'll all get eaten... if you say there are more sirens and they're after me, it'll all be my fault-'

'Rin.'

'Stop it. You know what you're doing to me, Haru, just stop it-'

'Rin.'

'STOP IT! Haru, please... they'll die...'

'Rin.'

The last one was whispered. A brief smile touched Haru's lips, as if Rin's name pleased him-arousal curled in the bottom of Rin's stomach, painful infatuation drowning out everything else as he climbed into the water, putting his arms around Haru's neck and kissing him hard on the lips.

Haru's mouth was warm and wet, folding softly around Rin's own, Rin kissing him once, pressing his tongue against the roof of Haru's mouth. Haru had such an allure that it disoriented Rin's sense of balance... he was so irresistible, and Rin wanted him...

He wanted Haru so badly...

Haru placed both of his hands on Rin's shoulders, Rin leaning in to bite the inside of Haru's cheek, splashing as he came closer to Haru in the water. Haru was rough-wild... his fingers went through Rin's hair, Rin kissing behind Haru's ears as Haru nipped the soft skin on his neck. Haru's tongue swirled around the inside of Rin's mouth when their lips met fiercely again, over and over, taking swipes at Rin's lips, licking around the line of his jaw. Rin's crotch pressed up against his scales as he felt so many textures all at once: the water-smooth and slippery-the sirens skin-firm and yet soft-Haru's lips-all of it driving Rin crazy... he took Haru and laid him back against the rock, climbing on top of him, his knees either side of the join in Haru's hips where skin faded into scales. Rin was about to do something when he stopped, chest heaving up and down, not knowing what happens next or how far to go... his impulses had completely taken over. Haru looked up from beneath Rin on the rock.

One of Haru's hands touched the muscle on Rin's arm, and the faint brush of Haru's palm sent sparks through Rin's body. The puddles of water on the rocks that Haru was laying against reflected the diamonds all around them and made it look as if he were resting in a pool of glistening stars... when Haru looked up at Rin through his fringe, he smiled softly and said the words:

'You will belong to me, soon.'