Mermaids were real.
It took a while for humans to find it out. They didn't often interact with humans. Some sort of stupid professor and his crew found a couple and took some photos of them. The whole world was shaken, they finally had real proof.
After a long discussion, they decided to let the mermaids be, to respect their environment and leave them alone. But, among humans, they were extremely looked down on. People hated them for having something they didn't. Mermaids couldn't come on land, they would be beaten to death. Many corpses had been found on shore, but no one seemed to do something about it.
You had known they exist your whole life. In fact,
You were one.
Well, not exactly. You were half one. Your father was human and your mother was a mermaid. This meant you could change the way you looked at will.
When you were a toddler you barely realized it, you changed your legs or tail constantly. Your father had to keep a blanket on your legs cause otherwise, people would see you changing.
By the time you were eight, you had it somewhat under control. You had been taught how bad it was, and that you should never show anyone. Slowly you understood more and more about how different you were to other kids, and you didn't like how you had to keep this huge secret.
At thirteen, you and your father moved to Iwatobi. You hadn't seen your mother in forever and since the ocean was so nearby, you could visit from time to time.
Then, a lot happened at once. Your father passed away after a sickness that came and took over way too fast. There was nothing you or any doctors could do, but you always felt the childish guilt, thinking there was something you could have done to prevent it.
It was a lot for a teenager, you didn't have a lot of friends at the new school and you were in grief of your father's death. Living alone was a lot of work too.
You hadn't really met your neighbors. They came by when you first moved in and they had come over with flowers when they heard of your father death. You knew their last name was Tachibana, there was a boy who seemed about your age and two adorable little twins who were about seven or eight.
It wasn't until there was a knock on your door one day and the green-eyed boy asked you for a favor.
He smiled kindly and put his hand on his neck, instantly apologizing for what he was about to ask: "I'm really sorry (y/n), I know it's late but can you do something for us?"
You felt a small pang of guilt knowing you forgot his name, but he didn't forget yours. You nodded slowly, allowing him to continue.
His cheeks wrinkled up in a quilty smile: "We have no one to watch the twins, Ran and Ren. Our parents are at work and I have to go to swim training. I know it's a lot to ask, but can you watch them for an hour or so?"
Your eyes slightly lit up at the word swim training. You had been in a swim team for a while when you were a child, but your father made you quit because he was afraid of "accidents", that was probably one of your biggest regrets since you really liked swimming with a team.
You sighed softly and thought for a couple of seconds before nodding. "Fine. I'll watch them for a while."
His smile widened and he sighed, sounding relieved. "Thank god, I don't know who else we could have asked. I would have done it but we've been really busy with finding another member. You go to the same school as us right?"
You wondered why he used "us" but didn't put much thought in it. Maybe he meant someone else on his swim team.
Although the answer was pretty obvious, since you had seen each other walking in the building, you nodded nonetheless. "Yeah, I'm a class below you."
He smiled the exact same way as before again. "Why don't we walk to school together then? I don't think I've ever seen you walk the same route as us."
You silently noted that he used "us" again. You slightly shrugged. You always swam in the ocean early in the morning. You always felt a big urge to swim while using your tail, especially if you hadn't let it out in a while. You didn't want to risk anything, so you swam when no one was awake yet.
Before you could answer the boy looked at his watch and gasped. "Crap! I gotta get Haruka or we're gonna be late!" He looked up to you and took a few steps back. "You got everything you need? We gotta go."
You checked your phone in your back pocket before following him. He shoved a piece of paper in your hands and jogged up to his house. "That's my phone number. Call if you need anything, alright?"
You followed a bit slower behind him. In a swift motion, he opened the front door and shoved you inside. "I'll see you later. Take care!"
With a soft thud, the door closed in your face. You sighed in slight irritation before whirling around and meeting with four brightly shining little eyes.
The girl with Beryl eyes jumped forward and grabbed your hand. "Are you our new babysitter?!" She asked, her voice squeaking with excitement.
You smiled slightly and nodded. "Hi, I'm (y/n). I'll be watching over you for a while." It sounded a bit too formal for a couple of kids, but you didn't know what else to say.
The children gasped of joy and pulled on your arms, dragging you to the living room.
***
Everything had been pretty chill for a while. You had learned that their older brother was named Makoto. Ran and Ren had silently been watching cartoons on the TV and you had grabbed a magazine from the shelf, reading it silently and sometimes looking over it to see if one of the two hadn't choked to death.
That was until Ren had shifted closer to you, looking up to you with big curious eyes.
"What's wrong?" You asked, putting down your magazine, not caring that you didn't remember what the page number was.
"I'm bored. Can you play a game with us?" He asked, catching Ran's attention as well, who looked just as eager as Ren.
You smiled and nodded. "Sure, what do you want to play?"
They seemed to think for a second before Ran jumped up. "Can we play Ocean?"
You raised an eyebrow. "Well, how do you play?"
"Well, you act as if you were a mermaid-" Ran was cut off by her twin brother.
"Or we'll play as if a human found a mermaid on the beach!" He said excitedly. Ran gasped and looked at you. "Yes! Can we do that? I wanna play the mermaid!"
Ren nodded. "I wanna play human! Who are you gonna be (y/n)?"
You shrugged. "I guess I'll play human too." You slightly snickered at the fact that they seemed so fascinated by mermaids, while they had no idea there was one sitting next to them.
The twins bounced with energy. Ran untied her hair and put the elastic band around her ankles, laying down sideways on the couch. Ren grabbed your hand and dragged you to the back of the couch. "Okay! Me and (y/n) are gonna come out after you start!"
Ran nodded before putting on a serious face. "Oh dear me. Being a mermaid is so lonely, I wish someone would find me so I wouldn't be so lonely anymore!"
You grinned at the toddler's acting. Ren also put on a serious face and stood up straight, pointing to Ran. "Look, comrade! My eye spots a mermaid laying on the rocks!"
You put on a serious face as well. "Well, we should go check it out, shouldn't we?"
The toddler nodded and moved closer to Ran, you followed closely behind. Ran looked up and her face lit up. "Oh, joy! My wish came true! Now I am not lonesome anymore!"
Ren's face turned to anger. "What are you doing here?! You should be in the ocean where you belong!"
You raised an eyebrow at Ren's mean behavior but figured it was probably just acting. You spoke up: "Why are you here all alone?"
Ran smiled and sat upright, ignoring Ren. "I was left behind by my mermaid friends."
Ren raised his voice and balled his fists. "Don't ignore me! Monsters like you don't belong on land!"
"Hey now." You started, feeling a bit offended. "Mermaids aren't monsters."
Ran nodded. "Mermaids are beautiful! I don't wanna be friends with you if you think I'm a monster. I wanna be friends with (y/n)!"
Ren shot up. "Big brother said they were! He says you should be afraid of them because they are really bad!"
Your breath got caught in your throat. A picture of the kind smiling Makoto went through your head. You would never guess he would hate mermaids so much. To be honest you kind of thought he would respect them at least...
"Well then I want to stay with (y/n) so I won't be alone anymore." She turned to you, smiling brightly. "Will you marry me (y/n)?"
You pushed your thoughts away and forced a smile. "Of course! I'd love to!"
Ran giggled and hugged your arm. Ren hugged your arm too. "I wanna marry (y/n)!" He yelled, looking at Ran jealously.
You giggled. "Don't fight, you two! I'll marry you both."
Their faces lit up and they cheered loudly in glee. Your grin disappeared as they continued bickering and you leaned back in the chair, thinking about all the things they had said about mermaids.
***
Both of the twins had fallen asleep. Ren had a bit of drool on the corners of his mouth while Ran was leaning on you, her head on your legs. It looked quite adorable and you couldn't help but smile.
You turned your head when you heard a door opening. Makoto walked in, a raven-haired boy following closely behind.
"Hey (y/n)! Did everything go well? No problems?" He asked, with the kind of worry only a big brother can have.
You nodded and pointed at the two toddlers. "They fell asleep a little while ago." You said, standing up but making sure not to wake one of the two.
Makoto giggled slightly and looked at them. "Yeah, I expected that. They have been bouncing up and down the whole day." He looked at you now. "Thanks a bunch! Is there anything we can do in return?"
You shook your head. "It's fine. I'm happy to help." You looked up to the other guy, who you didn't know yet. His eyes were a striking deep blue and he had a careless expression on his face.
Makoto jumped in. "You guys haven't met you, have you? Haru, this is (y/n), my neighbor. They go to the same school as us. (y/n), this is Haru, he lives here closeby."
His expression didn't change, he kept his monotone sneer. It was quite amusing. You smiled slightly and put out your hand for him to shake. "Nice to meet you."
He responded slower than needed, taking his time with shaking your hand. "Nice to meet you too."
It was silent for a few seconds. Looking into each other eyes you felt like your skin turned into clear glass, his stare being able to see right through you. Uncovering all of your various secrets and feelings. You did not like it, It intimidated you.
Makoto broke the silence. "Well, we'll go get the twins upstairs. Thanks again for all the help."
You ripped away from his intense eyes, noticing he kept them unashamedly at you. "It's no big deal. I'll see you guys at school." You said, walking to the front door.
"See you later!" Makoto responded, waving at you. Haru didn't say anything. You waved back at them.
As you were walking to your house you thought about Haru. There was something mysterious about that guy, you just couldn't quite place it.