【ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴍᴇʀᴍᴀɪᴅ ❴ᴘᴀʀᴛ ᴛᴡᴏ❵】

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"Now come, our princess! Forsake all, and become part of our world!" The pufferfish said as Yashiro Nene was dragged into the water.

"No!" Yashiro said as she soon transformed. 'I turned into a fish!'

The pufferfish, who was now larger than her, raised her up using his fin to his eye level. "Don't you understand? You are thoughtless, My lady. Your legs are fat. You have no taste in males.

You are truly an overwhelming failure in the matter of love!"

This struck Yashiro hard on the chest. "N-no, I am not..." Yashiro denied, but she knows deep inside, the pufferfish was right.'Hatsume-chan, She's gorgeous, she has slender legs... The boys would love her more if she was alive...' The white fish trembled. The pufferfish noticed this.

"You poor thing. Surely you were aware of this, somewhere deep down? You knew at this rate you were going.... You would never have a boyfriend." Yashiro yelped at the thought. The pufferfish then brought the vile containing the mermaid's blood.

"There, There. It's nothing to troubled over, now. You were merly born into the wrong world, the dried-up world of the near shore, and those ghastly legs. If you were to throw them all away..." The pufferfish and his companion show her the aquatic world, behind them. "And do us the honor of coming into our world...

You would reign as Queen! In a word, You'll be popular!"

Yashiro's fish eyes widened. She could already imagine the life of a fish celebrity. She could be on top of the popularity chart of all the fishes in water.

"I'd be popular?" Yashiro's eyes sparkled.

"Yes! Now, please take the Great Mermaid's lifeblood.." The mustached pufferfish opened the fish shape bottle. As the blood inside began to pour out.

Yashiro was about to drink it when she then heard, both of Hanako and Hatsume's voices. "Don't.."

All of sudden, a fish net caught her and pulled her out of the water, Yashiro screamed as she fell down, reverting back into a human. Before she could hit the ground, someone caught her bridal style.

"Your world maybe kind to her..." A monotone feminine voice started. Yashiro looked up to see a emotionless Hatsume, she was the one who was carrying her. Despite the human girl being taller and her smaller figure, She was actually strong. One of the benefits of being a supernatural.

"This one maybe cruel... But it doesn't matter." She heard Hanako's footsteps nearing, looking at the other seventh mystery, she saw the net he was holding. So he was the one who took her out of the water.

"Because, Yashiro likes us..." The Ghostly duo said in unison, both of their faces were blank.

Yashiro couldn't even believe at what she heard. 'They actually do care...' She thought making her tear up abit.

"Hanako-kun.... Hatsume-chan...." The said supernaturals look down towards her, as she was still carried bridal style by Hatsume. They smiled at the daikon legged girl, brightly, replacing the frown they had earlier.

"School Mysteries! Let my lady, Go!" The pufferfish said angrily, the rest of the fishes with him agreed.

"Oh, come on... We can't have this behavior..." Hanako teased. "Didn't your master teached you not to take things that don't belong to you?"

"Nene-chan isn't a thing, Hanako..." Hatsume frowned, as she put Yashiro back on her feet. Her expression became dark as she then looked at the fish.

"If you get too full of yourselves..." She gave them a menacing glare making Yashiro and Hanako flinched. She suddenly brought a certain knife and held it like a killer would. Hanako felt his pockets, his knife was missing.

"I'll turn you into sashimi, Got it? Maybe pufferfish sushi sounds good too..." The rest of the fish all screamed in horror as they retread.

"How vexing! Confound you, school mysteries! We will never give up!" The pufferfish said vengeful as he soon left. "My lady! Until we meet again!"

"Bye!" Hanako waved cheerfully, as if nothing happened. Yashiro did the same but in a confused way. Hatsume remained silent.

"Hatsume-chan....Hanako-kun..." Yashiro started, a bit nervous. "Um...I wasn't going to go with them..."

"You did think that a harem would be kinda nice though, didn't ya?" Hanako asked with a weird glint in his eyes.

"I-I'm sorry!"

Hanako fixed his hat, as he then became serious. "I'm just joking, I should be the one who's sorry..."

"What?" Yashiro asked confused.

"You, Hatsume and that kid, made me those donuts... I'm sorry I ruined it." Hanako apologised. "Will you forgive me?"

"Yes!" Yashiro beamed making Hanako smiled sadly.

"Thank you, But I don't even think if Hatsume would forgive me.."

"She's angry...with you?" Yashiro asked worriedly. "It's not like her to not forgive you..."

"Your important to her...To us.." Hanako started, patting Yashiro on her head. "I forgot to say it before, but besides Hatsume, I've never had a girl tell me that she considered me as her friend before. It made me happy."

"Yeah..." Yashiro muttered, flattered.

"Don't you think so too, Hatsu-chan?" Hanako asked happily but frowned when he saw that Hatsume wasn't there with them, she already left.

"Did something happened between the two of you?" The daikon legged girl asked. She never seen Hanako heartbroken like this before. It was worse than the event on The Misaki Stairs.

"Like I said, I don't think she will forgive me..." Hanako sighed. "I ruined my chances with her already..."

"You...Like her?" Yashiro asked a bit excited. She was already fangirling on the inside. Hanako nodded shyly, making her squeal. But she composed herself.

"I think it's better if you appologies to her, You won't know if you don't try.." She encouraged, remembering Hatsume's words the first time she summoned them. Hanako nodded. "Alright, I will."

He walked pass her. "You know, I....Have a younger brother...." He said making Yashiro's ruby red eyes widened. She look back at him to see that he was doing the same. Hanako continued.

"But I killed him..."

So that boy back at the rooftop, was his brother. She finally learned the crime Hanako committed.

"Don't tell, Hatsume that I told you about this..." Hanako trailed off, Yashiro waited for him to continue...

"Because He was the one who murdered Hatsume..."

The human girl stared at him in disbelief. That boy was the one who killed Hatsume? No wonder she's afraid of him, everytime she would see him. He would only remind her of her own death.

"So Yashiro, Do you really wanna get to know us?" Hanako asked. "If you do... Then someday, Hatsume and I'll tell you everything."

He then smiled and brought his pinky out. "Be our assistant until then, okay?" Yashiro brought her out and connected it with his.

"Okay..." But then she pushed him forward.

"Now, go find your girl!" She grinned. Hanako nodded cheerfully. And dashed off to find Hatsume.

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《Inside the broadcast room》

".....Was that really a good idea?" The brunnet, Yashiro ran into before asked as he sat backwards on a chair. "Letting the runt go off and do what ever he wants."

"It's fine. If I'd tried to stop him, he wouldn't have listened anyway. " The green haired girl replied, reading a book.

"But if they find out, We're the ones changing the rumors.... The four of them, might come after us, right?" The brunnet asked leaning on the chair. The girl closed the book and look up towards him.

"When that happens, You'll protect me, won't you? Natsuhiko?" She asked. Natsuhiko looked lovestrucked as he then held her hand like a knight would.

"Ofcourse, My la-" She hit him hard with the book she was holding. "-dy!"

"Don't touch me." The girl turned away from him as he groaned in pain from the door.

"Y-yes, Ma'am..."

Footsteps soon echoed through the hallway towards the room they were. "Honey... I'm..."

The boy back the rooftop jumped on the girl's back and hugged her. Making Natsuhiko stared in disbelief. "-HOME!"

"That's an unusual outfit." She commented as the boy got off of her.

"Well, yeah... I mean, I was seeing Amane for the first time in ages..." The boy changed his replica of Hanako's clothes into his, Which was a black yukata.

"So you specifically wore that to match your big brother?"

The boy floated and smiled. "Yup!"

"He look so happy to see me!" He cheered. "And she was also there with him! So it's a bonus!"

"Really? I'm happy for you."

"But I can't still move around that well yet. They chase me off. And guess what! There were fish!" His expression turns dark as he smiled sadistically. "Fish... I wonder what talking fish are like on the inside. Doesn't that make you curious? I'm super curious."

He's expression return back to normal as he hugged the green haired girl tightly. "So are you? Come on, Tell me! You're curious aren't you?

Tell me,

Tell me,

Tell me,

Tell me!"

"I don't care..."

"Let go of her!" Natsuhiko said jealously as he tried to took him off of her, which me manage to do. "Come on, Let's just get those rumors going.."

"Alright, Alright." She look away from them, annoyed.

"Okay, Sakura. What rumors should we spread?" Hanako's brother asked excitedly, as he took a nearby radio.

"Let me think..." Sakura took the headphone and began talking on the microphone.

"We've found him!" The pufferfish exclaimed as he and his companion appeared behind the three. "The specter on the roof the other day!! The two school mysteries seems wary of this one. If we get him to join our side, maybe we could cross swords with the knave and counterfeit! All for, My lady!" He and his companion cheered.

"Still, Why is he's face similar to that accursed male school mystery? And why is he doing here? He said something about spreading the rumors?

Our master told us the rumors of the near-shore supernaturals have been in dissaray of late. Could it be that they are-"

"Hey..." Natsuhiko noticed them and approached, making the fish panicked as he pick him up. "Who are you?"

"Unhand me! I am of the high and noble water people!"

"And it's talking.." The brunnet turn to Sakura and the boy. "My lady, I think we've been spotted. By this fishy thing...

"Fish!" The boy grinned at this. He then took a nearby pen from the pencil holder.

"It's not really a problem, let it go." Sakura demanded.

"As you wish.." Natsuhiko said but the boy swiped the fish from his grasp.

"C-cease and desist! Do not treat me so violently." The pufferfish pleaded as the boy poke him in excitement.

"It's talking!" He laughed and placed the fish on the desk. "...A talking fish..."

"What do you think it's like on the inside?" He asked the two human, grinning sadistically. The pufferfish trembled in fear.

"Don't kill it." Sakura said, as she and the brunnet sweated a bit, already know what was going to happen next.

"Don't worry..." He pat the fish gently, placing him again on the desk, twirling and then raising the pen upward. "I'm just gonna take a little peak!"

The pufferfish and his companion stared at him in horror.

The two humans look away from the awful sight.

"I told you not to do that..." Sakura rubbed her temples in frustration.

The pen was now on the table, covered in slimy blood.

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Hanako took a deep breathe and tried to calm down his beating non existing heart. He then opened the door to their boundary, where he then saw her.

Hatsume stood infront of the window, look deeply on the outside world. The sunlight illuminated her small figure and a breeze of wind pass by into the room making her long (h/c) hair flew a bit out of her face

'Is it me, or it suddenly became hot in here..' Hanako thought as he sweated a bit, his face was heating up.

"H-Ha-Hatsume-chan..." He stuttered. The said girl turn towards him, questioning. She didn't say anything, which made the male seventh mystery nervous.

"I...I'm sorry..." Hanako said as he look away from her. "I already apologised to Yashiro...She had forgiven me already... So...I... Want to know if you did to?"

Hatsume didn't say anything, this made Hanako's non existing heart dropped. But he decided to continue, anyways.

"I regret deeply for making you cry that time, I didn't mean to say those things. I was just.... stressed out... With my brother coming back, I thought that he will be added to the problem, the seven mysteries are facing. I didn't want that, I also didn't want him to bring back the memory of how he killed you... I just wanted to make things easier for you..." Hanako explained.

Hatsume sighed, and floated towards her other half. Hanako feared for the worst, so he closed his eyes and waited for her harsh words.

But all that came to him was something soft on his cheek. His eyes widened opened as he stared at the female, who was smiling brightly at him.

"I already forgiven you, on the time you took Yashiro out of the water." She giggled. But then she was shocked when the male supernatural hugged her tightly.

"I'm glad...." Hanako muttered as he buried his face on her hair. "...That your not upset with me..."

"I could never be upset... especially to you... Amane..." Hatsume returned his hug tighter. "I...just.... don't have the heart to do that..."