Title: Appreciating Things of Beauty [Chapter Eight
Author: Endless-Kaoru
Pairing: None yet.
Rating: Overall: PG-13. This Chapter: PG-13

Warnings: A bit of cussing.
Disclaimer: I don't own Wallflower characters. None. Not even a single one.
Summary: A continuation of the beach vacation. The household finally reaches the beach, and meet up with a haunted cave.

Chapter Eight: Curse of Sairen!

"Okay, Yuki, now is the appropriate time for your beach chant." Aya laughed as they walked onto the beach. The blonde boy laughed.

Machiko and Noi lay out their beach towels and set up their umbrellas, and Aya haphazardly dropped the boom box nearby, kneeling to fiddle with the buttons while the boys ran for the water. Pausing briefly, the auburn-haired one glanced up at Sunako, covered in a large black cape.

"Ah, hey, Sunako-chan, just wait there until I get this set. I'm going up to the caves, too." She winked, "Can't have people wandering them alone… it's a liability."

Sunako looked out at the boys with a sigh, "And isn't having them out here a liability?"

"There are six people here, out in the open, and the stable is right there. Both Shin'ichi and Takashi are on orders to keep an eye on things. There, all done." Having tuned in a fairly popular station, Aya checked on the six in the water, tossed a walkie-talkie on Noi's blanket, and stripped down to her lavender swimsuit and a tank top.

As the two girls turned to walk away, Kyohei yelled from the water, "Hey, where are you two going? Come on, get in here!"

Aya grinned, "There's a walkie-talkie out here if you need me."

Yuki, the nearest one to the shore, came out, picked up the device, and spoke into it, "We need you in the water, here, Aya."

She giggled and faked a blush, "Oh, a three-way in the middle of the water? But Yuki-kun, wouldn't Machiko-chan be jealous?"

Yuki's face flamed red and Kyohei sputtered something. In their absence of words, Aya turned and left with Sunako at her heels.

Tailing Aya and Sunako through the cave, Takenaga and Noi were trying to quiet Yuki and Machiko.

"Why are they sneaking off to wander around in here?" Kyohei asked, sounding vaguely annoyed.

Ranmaru watched the flashlight beam ahead of them, "I don't like it. Aya's probably hiding something."

"I've never taken you for paranoid, Ran-chan. What changed?" Kyohei smirked at the dirty look the other boy shot him, "Ohh, I know. You think her and Sunako are going to swimming in here somewhere, and you wanna see them in bathing suits!"

Ranmaru opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by the sound of crumbling rock, a splash, and Aya was screaming, "Sunako-chan?!"

The flashlight ahead of them flailed wildly, spinning on the ground until it was pointing at them. There was another splash, and all six rushed forward in a panic.

"Aya?!"

"Sunako-chan?!"

"Oh my god, what happened?!"

The group gathered around the water's edge, looking down with gasps as Sunako's cape floated up to the surface.

"What do we do, what do we do?!" Noi cried.

"They're going to drown!" Yuki wailed.

"I-I'll dive down, see if they came out somewhere else." Takenaga picked up the abandoned flashlight, paused, then glanced up, "Kyohei, come with me."

Noi helped Machiko sit down by the cave wall, and Yuki attempted to compose himself in order to help his girlfriend. Ranmaru handed them the flashlight and crouched by the water, discussing the 'mission' with Takenaga and Kyohei.

Takenaga and Kyohei had disappeared below the surface, and for a moment, all was quiet save their breathing.

Suddenly, there was a splash, and Yuki swung the flashlight toward the noise just quick enough to spot something like a large fish disappear under the surface of the water, in a body of water separate from where the two boys had gone under.

"What was that?" Noi whispered.

"A fish." Ranmaru replied, brushing it off.

They sat in silence, and slowly, the small of rotting fish reached them, and Machiko gagged, "Wh-What's that smell?! It's horrible!"

A girl's voice drifted through the air, singing a hauntingly sweet song in a foreign language.

"Is someone there? Please help us!" Machiko cried out, crawling away from the wall to search the darkness. Yuki looked about with the flashlight, but found no one.

"What's going on?" Takenaga and Kyohei surfaced, and were startled by Machiko's cries.

"Did you find them?" Ranmaru asked urgently, and received a negative response.

"This cave must have no end… we couldn't find anywhere else to get out." Kyohei dragged himself up, coughing.

"Let's go back to the stable. I'm sure someone knows this cave system better." Takenaga offered.

"There's someone…!" Machiko persisted softly; the singing hadn't stopped.

Everyone quieted to listen, and suddenly the singing was cut off with a strangling noise. Sounds of a struggle reached them, and a muffled scream.

"Hello?! A-Are you okay?!"

Raspy breathing, and then dead silence.

"Y-You don't think…" Machiko clung to Yuki, looking terrified.

He had long since given up being strong and held her, whimpering, "A-Aya…? Sunako-chan…? Someone…?"

"L-Let's go." Kyohei's voice hardly shook as he tried to group them together and herd them back the way they came. They neither saw nor heard anything.

When they reached the entrance of the caves, they were greeted by Aya and Sunako… and Aya didn't look in the least bit happy.

"What the shit were you kids thinking, going in there without telling anyone?! Takashi-kun nearly called out a search and rescue squad, and here you are playing around in the caves! You could have gotten lost, or caught in a cave in, or…!" she raged, only to be cut off.

"Thank god you're okay!" Yuki cried, glomping her and kissing her cheek before attempting to do the same to Sunako. Sunako fended him off and he returned to cling to Aya.

"W-We thought you drowned, and then Sunako's cape… and then… screaming! Someone was screaming!" Machiko whimpered, and Aya calmed slightly, absently stroking Yuki's head.

"We dove under—Well, Sunako-chan slipped." She indicated the bandage on Sunako's shin, "We swam out. Were you following us?"

"Ranmaru thought you were up to something." Kyohei frowned at said male, who only shrugged.

"Sunako wanted to see the caves." Aya sighed, "Well… at least you're all right. Let's get back to the beach, and no more wandering off without telling someone, got it?"

There was general agreement, and Noi cautiously spoke up, "But… the screaming…"

"Yes, it was horrible! We should call the police!" Yuki added.

"Screaming…" Aya tilted her head, "Did you smell rotting fish, and, perhaps, hear some singing?"

"Y-Yeah…"

"Oh, it's nothing to worry about. We're not missing any guys, so I guess Sairen wasn't hungry tonight. Huh… it's been awhile. I suggest you guys keep a good distance between yourself and these caves, or you'll find yourself one hell of a knockout girlfriend…" she giggled to herself, "Knockout, drag down, smother you with passion girlfriend. Anyway, don't worry about it. Sairen won't leave her cave."

"Y-You mean… are you saying there's some kind of woman-rapist is hiding out in these caves and you're not reporting it?!" Kyohei sputtered.

Aya looked unconcerned, "Murderer, actually… and not so much a woman as… a siren."

"A… siren?" Takenaga was racking his brain for reference to the word, "Like in Greek mythology?"

"Yeah. She lures them into the water pools back there, drowns them. Ahhh, let's go back to the beach. I'll tell you the story there."

The boys were dubious, but followed her.

Back on the beach, they assembled in a vague circle as Aya began the tale.

"The story says that a private ship crashed out at sea, containing a family. The only survivor was the oldest daughter, a beautiful girl with long blonde hair and pale skin, who'd clung to a piece of driftwood. She was rescued by a fisherman and his son, but by then, she couldn't remember anything… except a song from her childhood. The fisherman named her Kaiyou and took her in to live on these shores with him. A few years later, his son married Kaiyou, and shortly after that, they went out to sea, leaving her behind." Aya paused, glancing out at the waves, "When they returned… she was gone. They sent out a search crew, but didn't find her. Several months later, some boys were playing in those caves, and they came out screaming about a 'dead mermaid.' People went to look and found Kaiyou. Her legs had been sewn together and covered in fish skin; her feet were smashed, the bones and skin forming a fish tail. She was hung up on the wall like some sacrifice, and she did look like a mermaid." Again, Aya paused, peering at each of her audience members in turn, "Legend has it that every second week of every month, Kaiyou – called 'Sairen' by some – reappears in the caves, luring in males with her singing and killing them in hopes of getting revenge on her murderer; Every night she herself is killed all over again."

There was silence in the group.

"You don't seriously believe in ghost tales like that, do you?!" Kyohei snapped, "Dead… fish-people don't just come to life!"

Aya only shrugged, "Okay, you explain what you heard in them caves." Leaning toward him until she was mere centimeters from his face, "Even you can't deny… you felt a certain… pull when you heard the singing?" A hand deftly reached out to stroke the inside of his thigh.

"Hey! Hands off!" he shouted, red-faced and shoving her away. Aya sat back and laughed.

"She did sound… rather alluring." Ranmaru mused thoughtfully.

"Of course she did. That's the point. Now, go swim or something. The sun'll go down before you know it. Sunako-chan, you don't look so hot. It's the sun, isn't it? Let's get you up the stable…"

Sunako turned down Aya's assistance and scampered up to the building on her own. The rest of them returned to swimming and tanning, chattering about 'Sairen.'

Soon enough, the sun began to dip below the horizon and the beach-goers pulled themselves out of the water. The two couples cuddled up to watch the sunset with the others scattered about. Aya took a four-wheeler up to the stables, returning with a wagonload of lumber and cardboard, a propane lighter, a meal, and Sunako.

Sunako and Aya set up the campfire while Kyohei collected rocks to contain it. Noi and Machiko handed out roasting sticks and eventually, everyone was settled around the fire, roasting hot dogs.