I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.

Part One

The boy closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the salty sea air. The scent invigorated him and he smiled as he opened his goldenrod eyes. He loved the beach and swimming in the ocean, but never too far out. He knew the water could be dangerous and he wasn't that strong a swimmer.

"Leo?"

Leo looked to see his friend, Dexter, getting to his feet as he left the water, an astonished expression on his face. "Hey, Dexter," he said, choosing to ignore his friend's look.

"How did you get back here so fast?" Dexter asked.

"Huh? I just got here."

"No way. I just saw you out there." He pointed at the ocean.

"Uh, Dexter? You know I don't swim too good. I never go far from the shore."

"But, it looked just like you, except the hair was in twin ponytails," he insisted before noting Leo's single ponytail.

"Looked just like me? As in a twin?"

"Yeah." Dexter laughed. "But we know you don't have a twin."

Leo laughed too. "Yeah, however, people say everyone has a twin somewhere in the world, so maybe it is my twin."

"I don't know if the world's big enough for two Leos."

Leo lightly punched Dexter's arm. "Very funny." His friend walked away and Leo gazed out at the water. There's someone out there who looks like me? Wow! I'd love to meet him! Leo grinned as he walked away, unaware that a pair of goldenrod eyes had been staring at him in wide-eyed shock.

He looks like me except he's got one ponytail, is a boy, and human. How can this be? How could a mermaid have a human twin? She ducked down from behind the rock she used to hide and swam off to her home village and to Akiza, shaman of the village and her guardian. The ruby red-tailed mermaid looked up from mediation at Luna's approach.

"Luna, I didn't expect to see you until later. You usually don't visit me at the temple."

Luna knelt on her pink tail. "Akiza, I think I saw my twin today. The thing is he's a boy and human."

"A human twin? My dear Luna, this is astonishing and rare. You must meet him. Legends say that when a mermaid or merman meets their human twin, it is a special and magical thing, especially when they're different genders."

"Magical? You mean like real magic?"

I don't know; the legend doesn't specify. But it's clear that the two of you are meant to meet each other."

Luna nodded. "I'll keep an eye out for him and introduce myself. Thanks, Akiza." Luna sped out of the temple and Akiza chuckled in amusement.

Leo cautiously entered the water in a cove only he knew about, one week later. He wanted to be able to swim better in hope of meeting his twin. He wasn't sure why this was so important, but instinctively knew this was necessary. Furthermore, he had looked all over town and hadn't seen anyone that looked like him so he figured the water might be the best place to see this mysterious twin. He waded further into the water and swam out a little further as he moved into slightly deeper water. His toes brushed the sandy bottom as the waters' depths beyond were deeper than his height. Fear at drowning gripped his heart and he scrambled back to dry land. He laid on his back, panting, and pounded a fist on the sand at failing. I can't do it. I don't want to drown.

"Are you okay?" came a girl's voice from the water.

Leo sat up and his mouth dropped. There was a girl in the water and she looked similar to him! She had the same eye color and hair color, but sported twin ponytails. She must be who Dexter saw last week. But he didn't say it was a girl.

Leo blinked before remembering that she had asked a question. "Uh, yeah. I'm okay. Oh, I'm Leo by the way."

"I'm Luna. I saw you last week and been wanting to meet you."

"Yeah? I've been wanting to meet you too. I'm…not a strong swimmer and want to be stronger so I could see you."

"I could teach you, but first can you keep a secret?"

"I can. Trust me, I won't tell."

"I trust you." Luna swam closer and into the shallows. Leo gasped at the tail below Luna's waist.

"Whoa. You're a…mermaid?"

Luna nodded shyly. "Our shaman told me that it's special and possibly magical if a mermaid or merman has a human twin especially if they're different genders."

"Special, huh?" Leo moved to the edge and sat down. "Well since I'm human and you're a mermaid that's special and magical enough to me. So, Luna. Tell me about yourself."

"Uh, well, obviously I'm eleven like you. My parents are dead and I live with a mermaid named Akiza who is the shaman."

"Shaman. That's a wise old person, right?"

"Wise and versed in ancient legends and tradition, but far from old. She's more like an older sister than a guardian."

"Any friends and what do you do for fun?"

"I have a few friends. I like to read, swim, and explore the sea. What about you, Leo? Tell me about yourself."

"I'm eleven too, obviously. My parents do a lot of traveling and I rarely see them. I have a nice man named Tanner to take care of me. I have some friends at school including my best friend, Dexter. I like to duel and watch TV but I like watching the ocean's waves."

"What's school?"

"It's a place where kids learn stuff. How do you learn?"

"Our parents or guardians. Leo, how did you know I existed? You said you wanted to be a stronger swimmer in order to meet me."

"Oh! Dexter saw you at least from the waist up and thought you were me. He told me when he came back to shore. We have a belief that everyone has a twin somewhere in the world. I just never thought mine would be a mermaid."

Luna giggled. "I never thought mine would be a human boy. I do plan to tell Akiza about you since she encouraged me to meet you."

"I will tell Dexter I met you, but not say you're a mermaid as I promised not to tell."

"I appreciate that because our peace and safety is important."

"Luna, could you meet me here tomorrow at noon? No one else knows about this place."

Luna smiled. "Yeah, I'd love to see you again. I could help you swim better."

"Great. See you tomorrow." Leo stood and left the cove while Luna returned to the water. Both were smiling, happy to have met his or her twin and looked forward to their next meeting.

"So, his name's Leo," Akiza said.

"Yeah and he's real nice. We agreed to meet in a secret cove tomorrow and I can help him be a stronger swimmer."

"How did he know you existed?"

"A friend of his saw my face and thought I was him and told him when he got back to land. He's promised not to tell anyone I'm a mermaid."

"You trust each other which is as it should be."

"Her name's Luna?" Dexter asked.

"Yeah and she's a strong swimmer and offered to help me get stronger."

"Can I meet her?"

"Afraid not. She's really shy. It took her a bit to agree to meet me tomorrow for lessons."

"Oh. Well, maybe another time."

"Maybe," Leo agreed but knew that no one would ever meet his twin as he promised to keep her true nature a secret.