See? Up really quickly! Even though I'm supposed to be studying…but oh well. I had fun writing this, and I hope you enjoy reading it!

Wait while I rejoice for not being responsible for owning Vocaloid. BUT I WILL OWN THE RIN/LEN AND LUKA ONES SOMEDAY XD

Rin: Mermaid

I opened my eyes. Everything was really fuzzy, so it took a while for me to actually be able to see anything. I waved my hand in front of my face-good. It was there. I laboriously sat up and took in my surroundings. I was in a cave. Past the opening was an endless expanse of blue. I was sitting on a small rock shelf which hung precariously over the clear life-giving water below me.

No. Wait.

I was dangling right over the very waters which took my life away from me. They...took me away from Len, and the wonderful life we were going to have together. I leaned my head back to rest on the side of the cave to collect what I knew. My name is Rin. I just turned fourteen, on the same day as my best friend and one and only-Len Kagamine. That was also the day that we got betrothed. We were on a boat to celebrate. And then...the storm. It came out of nowhere, it seemed. The boat was broken into two. I was separated from Len, and somehow, I had ended up here in this cave. I felt something roll down my cheek. I raised my hand to my cheek and brought it away, the tips of my fingers glistening. Tears. I was crying. Crying...over nothing. It was all over. I would never get away from this nightmare. I curled up into a little ball on my shelf to wallow in my self-pity.

I was jolted awake by an unfamiliar, rather clammy hand. I rolled over from my fetal sleeping position facing the rock to see exactly who-or what-had woken me up from the wonderful dream I was having about this nightmare never happening. A girl-no, her face was childish, but she was a woman-a woman with giant reddish pink drills on both sides of her head. After another blink and a closer look, I figured out that it was...hair. Who woulda guessed? Not me, anyway. Anyway, she was the idiot who had made me wake up. She spoke up in a perky voice, one that grated on my ears. "Oh, so you're awake! Wonderful!" I grimaced as she continued on relentlessly. "I'm Teto! Now, missie. You need to decide what you want to do now. There were some...unfortunate choices that I had to make to keep you alive. Oh well, too bad. At least you're alive! And I bet there's some boy up top that's..." Noticing the tears welling up in my eyes, she finally shut up.

"Oh, I'm so sorry...whatever. So, are you ready to hear your choices?" I nodded emphatically. "Good. So. First, here's your situation. I found you on the bottom of the ocean, dead, but not quite. None of my potions or magic over there," she gestured to a rock shelf that housed a lot of colorful bottles...and it was underwater. "None of them would help. Except for this little darling here. Oh, wait. I don't have it anymore. You do." She smirked. "Now then, what that little orange pill did was keep you alive. There are three side effects, but my magic can only staunch one. One, you lose your voice. Two, you lose your memories. Three..." She trailed off and stared at the now murky water. I followed her gaze while doing my best not to show that I was currently scared out of my wits. Teto refused to meet my eyes, even after I poked her.

"Three...you become like us."

I tilted my head to the side with an expression that I hoped meant that I was confused. Apparently it worked, because Teto took one look at me and sighed. "So you really didn't see, did you?" She paused and stared at the water which rose to her midriff. Wait a second. The shelf was low enough for even a little kid to be able to get up on it from the water. So why didn't she? Maybe...yeah right. There are no such things as magical mermaids or anything like that!

The childish...no clue what to call her now...the childish person slowly lifted herself out of the (inky?) water and set herself down on the rock shelf. I tried not to ogle, while she continued to avoid my face.

She had no legs.

She was half octopus.

I was wrong. Oh, was I wrong. There ARE such things as mermaids...I'm not admitting to the magical part...unless, of course, Teto hadn't already admitted to having magic.

Like an idiot, I said the first thing that came to my mind. "Sitting like that looks uncomfortable." Apparently, that medicine hadn't kicked in yet, because I could still talk. The sea witch flushed a bright pink and suddenly became very interested in a small chip in the rock. "So...what is your choice? Voice, memories, or humanity?" Now that she put it that way...I opened my mouth to tell her, but only a whisper came out. Drat! NOW it started! Teto looked back up at me, grinning idiotically until she saw my...um...situation. "Hurry! Tell me! What is it?" I leaned in and whispered my answer into her ear. She slipped back into the water and her idiotic grin grew bigger.

"Well," she stated in her extremely annoying voice, "I suppose I'll see you later!" After she disappeared into the murky water, it cleared up and started glowing. I decided to continue being idiotic, and forgetting I couldn't swim, I took a deep breath, held my nose, and jumped to my doom in the water.

When I opened my eyes again, I had the random cliché feeling that something was wrong. It took a while for me to sit up, but then I yawned and swiveled around to get off of...wait a second. This was a different place than I woke up in last ti-oh. Idiot. That octopus person, Teto, had done something to me, and I knew exactly what it was. I looked down at my legs. Or, rather, where they used to be.

I had a tail.

I.

Was.

A.

Mermaid.

I laughed to myself. Guess you don't get to say that every day...wow. It's real. It really happened. I poked the fishy yellowy-orange bottom half of my body, and it twitched just like legs would have. Leaning back, I examined it closer. It looked to be about as long as I was tall when I stood on my legs. Which I didn't have anymore. Teto suddenly swam out of a crevice. She carried a platter of a greyish green stringy thing, which she presented to me. I guess we were under the water, because when she talked, little bubbles floated up from her mouth. "Oh, you're awake again! That's good, that's very good...and you have your tail! Wonderful!" She rushed over to me and began to stroke it tenderly. "Streamlined, you're going to be a really fast swimmer, not many scales that you can see...that'll score you points with the fishies!" I raised an eyebrow warily until I halfway figured out that 'fishies' was some sort of underwater slang term for 'boys.' The, ahem, corkscrewed idiot continued to ramble on. "The color! Oh, the colors! They match your hair perfectly!" I did my best to ignore her as she went on and on about my physical features. Was she some sort of matchmaker? Sorry, ma'am, but I'm already betrothed.

"I forgot!" Teto facepalmed and pointed at the platter of...stuff...on my scaly lap. "That's seaweed! We merpeople eat it a lot down here; it's like meat is for the Upwalkers. So, try it!" She sat down next to me, sitting on top of her hands. I picked up a flimsy strand and dangled it over my mouth, then took a bite.

Have you ever had the last piece of salted pork from the barrel? With all of the extra salt that it picked up from the bottom?

I thought so.

Now imagine that nasty, extra-salty strip of meat, multiply it by ten, and then turn it into leather. Soggy leather. And THAT is what I ate. I gagged, but with a forced smile on my face so I didn't insult the easily disturbed Teto. She grinned, obviously fooled by my act, and then pulled me off of the rock by my arm. "Come on! I need to take you to where you will stay! Oh, wait...do you have any preferences on living arrangements?" I opened my mouth to reply. I did, I know that I did. But I guess I didn't, because Teto stared at my face with a mixture of horror and amusement. "Remember? You can't talk! That was the deal!" I widened my eyes. Oh God...I didn't really think my choice through...

It seems like I'm repeating myself, and I know I am, but I am such an idiot.

I miss Len. He would understand. He would want me back.

Teto asked me about where I wanted to live. Smirking a bit, I think, I pointed my index finger at the surface. Corkscrewed idiot frowned. "You know that's not possible. You and that boy you were talking about before I woke you up that first time are two totally different species now. Mermaids and humans Don't Mix. I know, you love him and will until you die, but you have to get over him. So hurry up and tell me where you want to live."

I wanted to cry. I really did. But...how do you cry if you're underwater? You don't. Those stories about mermaids crying pearls and jewels and stuff like that, they're totally false. Instead of sharp pointy gems and giant orbs popping out of my sockets, what I thought was blue dye formed a translucent watery cloud around my head. Teto grinned and ignored the blue tears that were quite literally staining my face and my short shirt. She put a waxy block and a coral stylus in my hands. "Here. Use this and write what you want to say. Now, tell me what you want." I picked up the coral, pressed the tip into the wax, and began to write.

I want to go to the surface. I don't care how long it will take or what I have to give up. I want to go to the surface and see Len.

I broke down sobbing again, and Teto did her best to console me. "Rin, I'm sorry, but I can't do that. All I can do is use potions and pills and a tiny smidge of magic. It took all I had just to keep you from losing your memory, not to mention keeping you alive." I stabbed the sharp coral into my tail and bit my lip from the pain as crimson smoke wafted from the wound.

I hate this. I hate it.

I'm glad I lived.

But right now, I wish I hadn't.

Listen to me, babble on and on like a lovesick fool. But then, I suppose that's what I really am.

I allowed Teto to guide me from her cave out into a bustling city about half a mile away. Merfolk rushing around, talking, living just like humans. Lots turned to stare at me. I guess everyone knew everyone here, because I stood out like a sore thumb. Maybe it was the tail. Or the blue streaking down my face. Or my short hair. No one had short hair down here. The girls, anyway. A group of mermaids rushed to surround me and immediately started introducing themselves and asking questions. Hesitantly, I smiled. I got more attention down here than I ever did up top, excepting when I was with Len. Then, he focused on me and making sure I fit in and was happy. I'm still glad he knew his limits. I grinned like Teto and pulled out the wax slab, which I had held on to. I smudged out what I had written earlier and began to answer their questions after I introduced myself.

Life just got a whole lot better.

But not by much.

"For everything you desire, you have to pay an equal price in return. You can't get more nor give more. Can't give more or less. Must be in balance. Or else, there'll be "mishaps." "

-Yuuko Ichihara, xxxHoLic

Thanks for reading my ramble. And since you got this far, my story too. Thanks a lot! However, it will probably be a while before I can update again. Maybe. It really depends on when I have time alone in my room with the computer and a finished chapter…I might be updating in the middle of the night for all I know. I've done it before!

It would be nice if you reviewed. It would warm this little girl's heart…