Yuu rolls out of the bathtub and quickly dries herself.
"Malleus, I'm fine! You don't have to worry about me!" Yuu says, holding her towel up and trying to keep the door handle frozen.
"I heard a big thud! When human bodies make thuds like that, it doesn't mean anything good! Lilia told me so!" Malleus yells back.
"Ugghh! Can't you give me five minutes and let me get dressed at the very least?!" Yuu screams, pushing her back against the door.
"Fine, but please be out in a couple of minutes. I get worried about you," Malleus agrees, walking away from the door.
Finally, a moment alone.
Yuu puts on her silk lace pajamas and wraps Grim in a towel. She walks out and sees Malleus nervously pacing the hallway.
"Oh, there you are, Yuu! You're not hurt, are you?" Malleus asks, hugging Yuu. "I thought the sea monster's servant had gotten you."
"I'm sorry, what?" Yuu says, shocked at Malleus's wild assumption. "Nevermind, I'm heading to bed. I'll see you in the morning."
Yuu walks to her chambers and locks the door behind her.
"Mm, mm, mm. Great Seven have mercy today drained me," Yuu sighs, tucking herself and Grim into bed.
Yuu goes to sleep and wakes up at 12 am to the feeling of being watched. She turns over and sees Malleus staring at her.
"Malleus, why are you in my room?" Yuu drowsily asks, rubbing her eyes.
"I was reading All About Humans, and it said humans can die in their sleep. I was only watching to make sure you're still breathing," Malleus explains, still staring at Yuu.
"Malleus, I'm not old and don't have a health issue. I won't die in my sleep anytime soon," Yuu groans, getting up and taking Grim into her arms. "I'm going for a walk."
"Bye," Malleus softly says.
Yuu exits Diasomnia and goes to the port, where she jumps into the sea. She wraps Grim in seaweed and puts him on the warm sand. The mergirl goes underwater and ventures through the dark waters. In the darkness, an orange glimmer is in front of her, and she swims to meet the light.
Other mermaids just like me! Cool!
Yuu swims to the mergirls and waves hi, surprising them. They got to the surface and motioned for Yuu to follow.
"Another mermaid, and where did you come from?" A girl with reddish blonde hair and white skin asks.
"I'm Yuu, the only girl who goes to NRC," Yuu answers, moving wet hair out of her face.
"Nice to meet you! I'm Emmeline! The girl who asked who you are is Riri, and the girl with chocolate brown hair is Cleora." Emmeline says, hugging Yuu. "So tell us how you became a mermaid."
"I snuck out into the woods near NRC and fell into the moonpool. What about you?" Yuu answers, happy to see other mermaids.
"Oh, my Great Seven! The same thing happened to us! We were at NRC for Halloween and snuck into the woods to see the cottage. We fell into the moonpool, and bam! We have tails the next morning!" Cleora says, excited. "What power do you have?"
"Um, I can control, freeze, and heat water. What about you?" Yuu asks, creating and freezing a ball of water, then melting it.
"Cleora can control water, I can heat water, and Emmeline can freeze water," Riri explains, heating the water around them.
"Why didn't we get all three powers?" Cleora questions, sort of sulking.
"I'm guessing it got split evenly between the three of us since we were all in the moonpool. Besides, do you know how much of a disaster it would be if we had all three powers?" Emmeline states, forgetting Yuu is there. "No offense, by the way."
"It's ok. The kids at NRC still don't know it's me causing all the strange stuff. Luckily, I got help from a few of my friends there." Yuu replies, remembering the events from the past few days.
"It's not those idiots Ace and Deuce, is it?" Riri asks, becoming concerned for Yuu. "If they ever find out you're a mermaid, they'd ask you to do stupid stuff with your powers, like flooding the classroom so they can have a free day."
She has a point.
"No, even though those are my closest friends, I got help from Azul, Jade, Floyd, Idia, and Ortho. Thankfully, I know merpeople at school," Yuu responds, smirking at Riri's concern.
"Oh, thank God. Anyway, wanna join us for a swim?" Cleora asks, making Yuu feel butterflies.
"Sure!" Yuu agrees, diving under the water with Emmeline.
The four mergirls torpedo through the water and go far from the Isle of Sages into the deep blue sea. They collected seashells from the seafloor and wove starfish into their hair. They raced each other, swimming through obstacle course-shaped rocks and gathered oysters that might contain pearls. The early morning sun rises, turning the water into a sunset orange.
"What a view. The sea matches our tails," Riri says, putting her tail fin up.
"Oh my God! I have to get back to NRC before the others wake up!" Yuu exclaims, remembering Grim wrapped in a seaweed blanket.
"Go! Before you get caught!" Emmeline yells, pointing in the direction of the Isle of Sage's port. "Speaking of making it back, we've got to go too. Shop's about to open up."
The mergirls go underwater and leave a rapid trail of bubbles as they make their way back to the isle. They enter the canal waterways and go deeper into the water to avoid detection as they go to their desired locations in town.
Yuu swims into the lake and jumps out, using her powers to dry herself. She runs up the hill and enters the NRC campus gates.
It's 6'o clock. I've got two more hours of sleep before school begins.
Yuu runs into the Hall of Mirrors and goes into Diasomnia. She sneaks inside and tip-toes inside her room.
I feel like I forgot something. Oh shit, I left Grim at the beach!
A paw slams onto Yuu's shoulder, and the girl turns around to see a wet and angry Grim.
"MMRRREEEEOOOWWW!" Grim hisses, floating in front of Yuu.
Oh shit, he's so angry that he's hissing at me like a normal cat.
"Cuddles. Now." Grim calmly says, scaring Yuu a bit.
Yuu quickly gets into bed and cuddles Grim in a towel until he dries off, drifting to sleep and beginning a dream that will only make sense in the future.
Yuu POV
The air chills my skin as I sit on the balcony railing on Ramshackle. The stars shine bright, but the full moon shines brighter. I sneak a glance at the moon, and its beauty envelops me. I stare at it, and a faint blue light illuminates my face. I want to go into the sea. I want to be home.
I follow the moonlight and walk to the beach. I step into the sea and don't stop until my body is completely submerged. I swim to the moonpool and look at the moon as its light covers the cave. I feel my body become totally relaxed, and I let the sensation of the water touching my skin dominate me.
I am home...
I go onto my back and let the bubbling water become my blanket. I feel my eyes close as the moonlight becomes the last thing I see. I jolt awake, and I'm still at Diasomnia. The sun is shining, and everyone is waking up for school.
"Yuu, time to wake up," Lilia says, knocking on the door.
"I'm up," I say, getting out of bed. "I call dibs on the shower first."
YOU ARE READING
A Twisted H2O
FanfictionYuu sneaks out into the woods and finds herself in an underground cave. Unfortunately, the consequences of sneaking out had more fishy effects. Also known as Part of That World on Ao3 on the account Notthisg1rlagain.
