AN- Ok so a few people have been asking about Rin's bleeding in the last chapter (even though it's explained in a footnote..) so I'll try and explain it again. The way I see mermaids, they have a few teeth that are sharper than others to be able to cut and chew through the fish they eat. Kind of like how wild cats have sharp front teeth and then regular molars to help them scrap meat off the bones....And so when Rin went through her transformation, those teeth had to fall out (and become essence) and be replaced with human teeth. Which would cause her gums irritation and bleeding.

Also when her tail turns into legs there's got to be some major organ moving there. Her insides are getting all screwed up. Muscles splitting, reproductive organs developing and shifting positions and then her gill systems vanishing completely. That'll cause some bleeding which will be coughed up through the mouth.

Hopefully it's clear now.

Len POV

I found out quickly that Rin didn't quite know what to do with a lot of things. She was very curious. Picking things up, studying them for a moment and then moving on to something else. For a long while she was simply fascinated with a roll of paper towels. That is until I had to take it away from her before she pulled out every sheet. Neru had said she wasn't a puppy. That may be true but Rin definitely acted like a puppy. I had to scold her a little for getting into things she shouldn't. Like when she went into the guest room and dug around Neru's suitcase.

Needless to say that when we found her, clothes were scattered everywhere. Neru wasn't very happy about Mikuo's various comments about her underwear....

But after that, Rin seemed content with her explorations. Instead she stuck close to me. Which I really didn't mind. Actually I kind of felt a little special that she didn't like anyone else. Well....it was more like she was afraid of the others. Strange little thing...

We tried to see if we could get her to give us a last name...or maybe the name of where she lived, but had no such luck. She had no idea of anything we requested, even after Mikuo's little game of charades...It was amazing to think that a person could be as intelligent as I figured she was but then still wonder how to use the simplest items, or how to speak.

Mikuo suggested she was an alien.

...Idiot. It was more likely she was suffering from some odd case of amnesia....Or something. I'm not a doctor, you know? But I highly doubt that she came from another planet...As awesome as that would be it's very unlikely.

"Hey, be careful with that!"

"AH!"

"What the-?"

"Now see what you've done..."

I rose from my spot on the sofa, stumbling a little in my rush, and walked quickly into the kitchen. Mikuo was messing around with a pot of boiling water on the stove, while Rin stood next to him, holding onto her hand and nursing one of her fingers in her mouth.

"What happened?" I asked, looking between the two.

"I told her to be careful...but does she listen? Nooooo. She just goes ahead and touches a pot filled with boiling water.." Mikuo mumbled, putting the lid back on the pot. He (rather amusingly) put his hands on his hips and sent a look of annoyance towards Rin.

"She burnt herself?"

"Yeah..." He sighed.

"Let me see, Rin." She looked at me with a pained expression, tears welling up in her eyes. I gently took her hand, rolling up the sleeve of her shirt to look at the reddened marks on her palm and fingers. She winced.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" I asked rhetorically. She sniffed in response, biting down on her lip. "Yeah, that will probably blister a bit..."

A few minutes later I had a plastic bag full of ice pressed to Rin's hand, while she squirmed from both the cold and the pain. Every few seconds she would sniff.

"How did she manage to do this, anyway?" I asked, giving Mikuo a look. He was adding rice into the offending pot now, stirring it a little before replacing the lid.

"I dunno. I turned around to put a plate in the sink and when I looked back she had her hand all over the pot...You should have been watching her anyway..."

"Me? What am I, her keeper?"

"Might as well be...."

"What's that supposed to-?"

"Len?" I looked back at Rin, who was frowning at her palm. I sighed and pressed the ice a little harder against her skin.

"You have to learn to be careful with things, Rin..." I said, as she swiveled a little in her stool.

"Careful?" She repeated, tilting her head to the side. Her hair had dried by now and it moved swiftly over her shoulder as she moved.

"Yes, careful," I nodded, "When your careful...things like this don't happen."

"No?"

"No. They don't."

"Careful...No....No....," She struggled, trying to find the word, "No 'ow?'" She said, finally.

"Right...No 'ow's' when your careful." She huffed and frowned at her palm again.

"She sounds like a caveman..." Mikuo mumbled.

"You look like a caveman." I replied, throwing him a smirk. He responded with a glare, then went back to his rice. "What are you doing anyway?"

"Making onigiri..."

"For what?"

"Dinner....Akita said no negi so I'm making some onigiri."

"...Just onigiri?" I asked, raising a brow. He nodded.

"Yup."

"You're not a very good cook are you?"

"....S-shutup..."

Ah, Mikuo. Mikuo was...special in his own way. He wasn't really the idiot his actions made him look to be, he just liked to be the fun guy. In fact I had first met him at a party one of the girls at school had been throwing. I'd been invited by some unknown chance since I didn't even know the girl. But Mikuo had been the one to come by and ask me if I wanted some of the soda that was being served. It was obviously spiked with something so I had declined, but Mikuo....Ah boy...He'd had about five cups before he'd gotten up on a table and started dancing. That was fun to watch. Especially when he had fallen off. Long story short I had to take his drunk ass home. And just like with Neru, awkward events lead to friendship.

I couldn't really blame him for his cooking. There really wasn't much left in the pantry...or the fridge. I needed to go to the store and get some things. But what lacked in variety was definitely made up in quantity. The guy must have used up every bit of rice we had. Neru wasn't pleased with dinner but she at least ate it. Rin of course was highly eager to swallow every bit of the food given to her. It's like the girl had never had rice before....then again maybe she hadn't.

I couldn't help but wonder where she came from. Who her parents or guardians were, and where? Did they intentionally leave her on the beach? If so why was she naked? And...so helpless? Not being able to speak Japanese is one thing, but it seemed she knew nothing about modern technology, or anything else really. That was definitely strange.

Neru had said something about people who treat their children like they were just something to feed. Chained them up in their rooms and let them sit there for years without letting them out and barely taking care of them. If that's what Rin's been through I don't want to find her guardians. But without her being able to communicate properly, it could be anything. For now I was sticking to my amnesia theory.

After dinner Neru, complaining about her early awakening this morning, announced that she was going to bed. Baby. I get up early everyday and I don't complain nearly as much. Then again she usually stayed up half the night, texting her friends. Her cell phone bills must be off the charts.

Mikuo and I stayed awake a little while, watching the television and talking about our new house guest. He was now set on the idea that Rin was from some local insane institution, from which she'd escaped. When I'd asked where her clothes had gone he tried to sell me the idea that she'd escaped during bath time. Even Rin, who didn't understand anything of what we were saying, gave him a narrowed eyed look. After awhile though, it got to be very quiet in the room. When I turned away from the TV to Mikuo, I found he'd fallen asleep.

I turned off the TV and the light before heading into my room. Rin tagged along behind me, as I thought she would, holding that small jewelry box of hers in her hands. I hadn't really thought about sleeping arrangements until this very moment. I wondered how this was going to work. The polite thing to do would be to let Rin have my bed while I made a place on the floor for myself. With my sleepwear of a white t-shirt with a pair of yellow boxers it wouldn't be too cold there. Or I could go wake up Neru and wait no. Waking up Neru in the middle of the night was a very bad idea. I remember the one time Mikuo woke her up, making too much noise in the kitchen. She'd been so angry she'd said nothing but kicked him right in the...well...the place no man should ever be kicked.

While I thought of my sleeping options, Rin was looking around my bedroom, stopping to gaze at the pictures on my dresser, or eying my computer on the desk in the corner. She approached my bookshelf and spent a few seconds in front of it before pulling out a few books onto the floor. I watched, curiously, as she placed her small jewelry box onto the shelf where the books had been and then put the books back onto a higher shelf instead. She looked at me, and seeing that I was paying attention she put her hand onto the box.

"No." She said, firmly.

"No?" I echoed. She picked up the box and acted like she was moving it to a different location, but then placed it back onto the shelf.

"No." She repeated.

"Oh..No, you don't want that to be moved?"

"No." She said again as I went to stand next to her. I looked at her and pointed to the box.

"You want this to stay here?" I asked, for clarification.

"This. Here. No." She said, giving me a hard look. Obviously she didn't want anyone touching or moving this box, or what was inside of it.

"Ok," I said with a nod, "No moving of the box will be attempted."

"..No..." She mumbled, looking at the box again. I watched her, silently, as her eyes began to scan my bedroom once more. The blue orbs weren't as wide and energetic as they had been earlier. She must be tired. I didn't blame her. I was exhausted, and I hadn't even done a lot today...Pft...Just found a random girl on the beach.

Rin suddenly reached up to the top shelf of the bookcase, something catching her eye. She had to stand on her toes to be able to reach the item, which turned out to be an old stuffed animal of mine. It was a plush animal of a clown fish, the white stripes having become slightly dirty over the years, and the black, glass eyes were scratched from play when I was younger. Rin looked it over, running her fingers over the soft fluff of the toy, and the eyes.

"This?" She asked, holding it up. She really was learning words fast.

"It's just a toy clown fish...." I mumbled. Her brows furrowed, not understanding me. I grabbed her hand and placed her palm onto the toy.

"Clown fish." I repeated. "A toy clown fish."

"Clown fish?" She echoed. I nodded.

"I'll let you play with it. But be careful. It was a gift from my mother when I was a baby..."

"Careful. This." She said, firmly with a nod. Then she yawned, giving a small squeak as she exhaled. Her eyelids were heavy, threatening to close.

"Are you tired?" I asked, knowing she wouldn't answer me. She stared, sleepily at me. "You can sleep in my bed if you want...?" I said, gesturing to the queen sized bed in the far corner of the room. Rin looked between it and me for a moment before nodding as if she understood. She walked past me and climbed onto my bed, holding the stuffed clown fish to her chest. She chose the spot closest to the wall and fell onto her side, facing me. She snuggled against the pillow beneath her head and cuddled the toy against her.

I sighed suddenly feeling the events of the day falling upon my ability to stay awake. I switched off my desk lamp, leaving the room dark with only the sound of waves coming in from the open window. The floor would be my sleeping place for the evening. Perhaps tomorrow I could persuade Rin to sleep in Neru's room. I opened the door to my bedroom, set on getting to the hall closet and grabbing a few blankets. But as soon as I had opened it I heard the ruffling of sheets from the other side of the room.

"Len?"

"Don't worry, Rin. I'll be right back." I said gently, gesturing towards the living room outside of my door.

"No." She said shaking her head.

"But-"

"Here." She interrupted me. I raised a brow, wondering what she meant. "Here." She patted the spot beside her on the bed.

"Oh...No, Rin. We can't share." I said, shaking my head. She huffed and hugged the plushie tighter to herself.

"Here." She asked again.

"No." I argued.

"Rin, here. Len, here." She said, pointing to the spot again. Her eyes held all the pleading she was doing, sending the emotion at me in silent shots. Finally I sighed and shut my door once again.

"If I sleep next to you, will you go to sleep?" I asked. As if to answer my question she rested against the pillow once more. I sighed again and got onto my side of the bed. Usually I would have argued more against this sort of thing. I was a gentleman after all, and I still didn't think I should be in the same bed. But at that time I was too tired to argue with her. Better to let her have her way and both of us get sleep than spending the night arguing.

"You're really bossy, you know that?" I asked as I pulled the comforter over me and looked over at Rin beside me. I think she was already asleep, her eyes were closed and she was breathing deeply and smoothly. I then let myself drop into the pillow, closing my eyes. I was asleep in less than a minute.

I dreamt I was in the ocean. Some unfamiliar part I had yet to explore. There was thick plants around me, and I think I was tangled in them. My air was running out as I tried to pull the weeds off of me. I reached up toward the waters surface with no avail to getting any closer to it. Someone was calling my name. The plants were tightening on my limbs, shaking me.

I opened my mouth to scream, but I was jolted awake before I could by a hand to the back of my head. I stirred with a grumble, lifting my face from the pillow.

"What?" I hissed. Neru stood next to the bed, hands on her hips. She was already dressed for the day, in a white T-shirt and blue jeans. Her hair was pulled into the usual ponytail on the left side of her head.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" She asked.

"Um....Sleeping?" I guessed. "I do it rather often, actually."

"Alright," she replied, "But why are you sleeping with Rin in your bed?" I turned my head to look at said bed mate. She was still asleep, her body facing me and the comforter pulled down to her hips. Her hair was strewn in every direction, making it seem like she had tossed in her sleep. Her blouse was riding up a bit; I could see her stomach (Were those scars on her sides?). My plushie was still held safely in her arms. I looked back at Neru with a raised brow.

"She wouldn't go to sleep unless I slept next to her." I explained. Neru only glared at me, and crossed her arms over her chest. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh yeah, Neru, because we totally did it last night...." I said sarcastically. She sighed and shook her head.

"Anyway...wake Rin up and come out..Breakfast is ready." She mumbled, exiting my room. Once the door to my room was closed I turned over and sat up on the bed. The room was filled with light from my window and the smell of eggs from the kitchen. I got up from the sleeping space and grabbed a pair of black shorts and a sleeveless orange shirt before entering the bathroom. I changed and went trough the normal morning routine before going to get Rin up.

At this point the girl had subconsciously realized that she had the whole bed to herself. She was stretched across, her head now on the pillow that I had previously laid on. The comforter was now down to her knees, completely rejected. In her sleep she muttered something in a different language, or it was complete gibberish. Maybe it was her natural language, or something? It sounded odd...Lots of clicks tied in with the words.

I stepped beside the bed and leaned over to shake her shoulder a little bit.

"Hey," I called gently, "Time to get up." She stirred immediately, fluttering her eyes open. She groaned sleepily, slowly sitting up with the plush still held in her hands.

"Well good morning, sleepy head." I laughed as she gazed, eyes half-lidded, at me. It seemed she began to register as soon as I spoke. Her eyes opened in an awake fashion and she smiled.

"Len!" She cried, dropping the toy in her hands and raising onto her knees to wrap her arms around my neck. I instantly blushed, feeling her nuzzling against my neck.

"R-Rin?" I stuttered, surprised by this action. She did nothing in response, but continued to hug me for a few seconds longer. She was so close to me...I could smell Neru's scent on her clothes mixed with the ocean. That was probably Rin herself. Her hair smelled like salt water. It was nice actually. Finally she loosened her hold on me, pulling to smile at me. I smiled back.

"Glad to see you're happy this morning..." I muttered. She giggled in response. "Hey, Rin?" She opened her eyes at the sound of her name.

"Do you want to go swimming after breakfast?"

AN- Yeah I suppose this chapter is a bit of a filler....But then with stories like these there are a lot of those...At least that I've seen. Besides fillers aren't that bad.

Reviews make the world go round people. Remember than :3

Next chapter: A trip to the beach leads to some arguments.