Title: Secrets

Couple: Rina/Masahiro

Enjoy the story.

Rina stared at the crumpled sheet of parchment she held in her hand, reading the letter again for the fourteenth time since she had received it. Her grey eyes anxiously scanned the letter, muttering the contents over and over to herself as she waited for Masahiro to arrive at their designated meeting point. Fifteen minutes past their agreed meeting time, and he was still nowhere in sight. Sighing heavily, she looked down at the message she had received again.

Your Highness Princess Rina,

The kingdom's reparations have finally been completed, and your presence is vital to the smooth workings of the system. We implore you to return as soon as is possible to prevent a vacuum of power.

The North Atlantic High Council

The green princess sighed, folding up the letter again along the familiar creases in it and roughly shoving it into the pocket of her washed-out grey jeans. "Where is he?" the mermaid wondered, sounding appropriately frustrated as she picked at the hem of her white and green T-shirt. Her line of sight scanned the area around the cliff as she searched for Masahiro's motorcycle in the distance, making a sound of vexation.

"Where is he?" the green-haired princess repeated with a scowl to herself, tapping her foot on the ground impatiently. Her brow knit together in frustration and worry. What was keeping him? He was late! Rina chewed on her lower lip as she ran a hand through her long hair, starting to pace the area when finally, the sound of Masahiro's motorcycle was heard in the distance.

Her head snapped up and Rina breathed a sigh of relief as the green-haired teen slowed down his motorcycle near her, parking it and getting off.

Masahiro took off his helmet, adjusting his thin wire-framed spectacles, running a hand through his hair and offering the princess a smile. "Sorry for being late, Rina-chan," he said apologetically, walking over to her. "I had a bit of trouble along the way here regarding a conflict in my schedule. They wouldn't let me go until the matter was resolved. Again, sorry." He smiled sheepishly.

The Green Pearl Princess blurted out what she had to say before she could stop and think. "Masahiro, we need to break up." She regretted the words immediately, but it was already too late to take them back.

The young boxer's expression was overcome with shock at the probably unexpected words from her. With no warning in sight, it was clear Rina's statement had thrown him cleanly off guard. "I-I'm sorry," he stammered, "Rina-chan, can you repeat that, please?" His words were slow, and his tone betrayed the hurt that the princess had expected to follow, though it didn't seem like he was expressing it outwardly.

"I... We need to break up, Masahiro," Rina finally repeated, hanging her head. "Please, it's not you, I promise," she practically begged, stepping forward to put a hand on his shoulder, trying to convince him. "I just found out that I need to move back home, and... and that I likely won't be coming back to Japan ever again."

The teen averted his eyes and lowered his head. "You're going home... huh, Rina-chan?" Masahiro mumbled to her, and she could feel him slightly shaking under her hand.

Rina nodded mutely, forgetting for a second that he couldn't see her, then saying quietly. "I am."

"Back to the North Atlantic?" Masahiro looked up at her, brow furrowed.

The princess nodded before she caught herself, grey eyes widening in shock and surprise. "I... how.. how did you know?" she spluttered, this time being the one caught off guard by the sudden reveal. The mermaid reached for her necklace just in case her human boyfriend had been replaced by a new enemy, but Masahiro's hand reached out to gently clasp around her wrist.

"Rina-chan, wait!" he exclaimed, gently pulling on her wrist in order to keep her where she was. "I can explain, really, so just wait and listen, please!"

The green-haired mermaid finally nodded warily. "Okay, so... how?" she asked in disbelief.

Masahiro drew out a shell locket necklace and pressed it into the palm of her hands, closing her fingers around the locket. "This is an old heirloom," he explained with a soft voice. "Passed down for years in my family. You know what it means, Princess."

Rina's brow knit together in confusion as she glanced down, seeing a pale green shell locket in her hand — a locket that had obviously belonged to a mermaid a long, long time ago, judging by the wear. "You... you're a..." she whispered, grey eyes widening.

The human nodded. "That's right. My ancestor was a mermaid that had fallen in love with a human. She didn't return to the kingdom, and passed down the story in the family," he explained. "Princess Rina of the North Atlantic Kingdom... you're going to go home, aren't you?"

The princess sighed. "Yes. I'm going home and... and I don't know when, or even if, I'm coming back or not." Rina made a move to pass the worn locket back to Masahiro, but he pressed it back into her hand firmly.

"Don't," the bespectacled teen said. "Rina-chan, keep this. Remember me when you go back, and promise me that you'll come back. If you can't, I'll find a way to come to you, I promise."

"Masahiro..." Rina whispered softly. "I... I promise, Masahiro. I'll come back when I can. I will!"

Masahiro smiled, leaning in and brushing her hair away from her face, cupping her face and then kissing her lovingly. "Thank you, Rina-chan."

Rina smiled softly as she returned the affectionate kiss. "No. Thank you, Masahiro."

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