Disclaimer: I don’t own Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s.
Part One
The boy closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the salty sea air. The scent invigorated him and he smiled as he opened his goldenrod eyes. He loved the beach and swimming in the ocean, but never too far out. He knew the water could be dangerous and he wasn’t that strong a swimmer.
“Leo?”
Leo looked to see his friend, Dexter, getting to his feet as he left the water, an astonished expression on his face. “Hey, Dexter,” he said, choosing to ignore his friend’s look.
“How did you get back here so fast?” Dexter asked.
“Huh? I just got here.”
“No way. I just saw you out there.” He pointed at the ocean.
“Uh, Dexter? You know I don’t swim good. I never go far from the shore.”
“But, it looked just like you, except the hair was in twin ponytails,” he insisted before noting Leo’s single ponytail.
“Looked just like me? As in a twin?”
“Yeah.” Dexter laughed. “But we know you don’t have a twin.”
Leo laughed too. “Yeah, however, people say everyone has a twin somewhere in the world, so maybe it is my twin.”
“I don’t know if the world’s big enough for two Leos.”
Leo lightly punched Dexter’s arm. “Very funny.” His friend walked away and Leo gazed out at the water. There’s someone out there who looks like me? Wow! I’d love to meet him! Leo grinned as he walked away, unaware that a pair of goldenrod eyes had been staring at him in wide-eyed shock.
He looks like me except he’s got one ponytail, is a boy, and human. How can this be? How could a mermaid have a human twin? She ducked down from behind the rock she used to hide and swam off to her home village and to Akiza, shaman of the village and her guardian. The ruby red-tailed mermaid looked up from mediation at Luna’s approach.
“Luna, I didn’t expect to see you until later. You usually don’t visit me at the temple.”
Luna knelt on her pink tail. “Akiza, I think I saw my twin today. The thing is he’s a boy and human.”
“A human twin? My dear Luna, this is astonishing and rare. You must meet him. Legends say that when a mermaid or merman meets their human twin, it is a special and magical thing, especially when they’re different genders.”
“Magical? You mean like real magic?”
I don’t know; the legend doesn’t specify. But it’s clear that the two of you are meant to meet each other.”
Luna nodded. “I’ll keep an eye out for him and introduce myself. Thanks, Akiza.” Luna sped out of the temple and Akiza chuckled in amusement.
&&&&
Leo cautiously entered the water in a cove only he knew about, one week later. He wanted to be able to swim better in hope of meeting his twin. He wasn’t sure why this was so important, but instinctively knew this was necessary. Furthermore, he had looked all over town and hadn’t seen anyone that looked like him so he figured the water might be the best place to see this mysterious twin. He waded further into the water and swam out a little further as he moved into slightly deeper water. His toes brushed the sandy bottom as the waters’ depths beyond were deeper than his height. Fear at drowning gripped his heart and he scrambled back to dry land. He laid on his back, panting, and pounded a fist on the sand at failing. I can’t do it. I don’t want to drown.
“Are you okay?” came a girl’s voice from the water.
Leo sat up and his mouth dropped. There was a girl in the water and she looked similar to him! She had the same eye color and hair color, but sported twin ponytails. She must be who Dexter saw last week. But he didn’t say it was girl.
Leo blinked before remembering that she had asked a question. “Uh, yeah. I’m okay. Oh, I’m Leo by the way.”
“I’m Luna. I saw you last week and been wanting to meet you.”
“Yeah? I’ve been wanting to meet you too. I’m…not a strong swimmer and want to be stronger so I could see you.”
“I could teach you, but first can you keep a secret?”
“I can. Trust me, I won’t tell.”
“I trust you.” Luna swam closer and into the shallows. Leo gasped at the tail below Luna’s waist.
“Whoa. You’re a…mermaid?”
Luna nodded shyly. “Our shaman told me that it’s special and possibly magical if a mermaid or merman has a human twin especially if they’re different genders.”
“Special, huh?” Leo moved to the edge and sat down. “Well since I’m human and you’re a mermaid that’s special and magical enough to me. So, Luna. Tell me about yourself.”
“Uh, well, obviously I’m eleven like you. My parents are dead and I live with a mermaid named Akiza who is the shaman.”
“Shaman. That’s a wise old person, right?”
“Wise and versed in ancient legends and tradition, but far from old. She’s more like an older sister than a guardian.”
“Any friends and what do you do for fun?”
“I have a few friends. I like to read, swim, and explore the sea. What about you, Leo? Tell me about yourself.”
“I’m eleven too, obviously. My parents do a lot of traveling and I rarely see them. I have a nice man named Tanner to take care of me. I have some friends at school including my best friend, Dexter. I like to duel and watch TV but I like watching the ocean’s waves.”
“What’s school?”
“It’s a place where kids learn stuff. How do you learn?”
“Our parents or guardians. Leo, how did you know I existed? You said you wanted to be a stronger swimmer in order to meet me.”
“Oh! Dexter saw you at least from the waist up and thought you were me. He told me when he came back to shore. We have a belief that everyone has a twin somewhere in the world. I just never thought mine would be a mermaid.”
Luna giggled. “I never thought mine would be a human boy. I do plan to tell Akiza about you since she encouraged me to meet you.”
“I will Dexter I met you, but not say you’re a mermaid as I promised not to tell.”
“I appreciate that because our peace and safety is important.”
“Luna, could you meet me here tomorrow at noon? No one else knows about this place.”
Luna smiled. “Yeah, I’d love to see you again. I could help you swim better.”
“Great. See you tomorrow.” Leo stood and left the cove while Luna returned to the water. Both were smiling, happy to have met his or her twin and looked forward to their next meeting.
“So, his name’s Leo,” Akiza said.
“Yeah and he’s real nice. We agreed to meet in a secret cove tomorrow and I can help him be a stronger swimmer.”
“How did he know you existed?”
“A friend of his saw my face and thought I was him and told him when he got back to land. He’s promised not to tell anyone I’m a mermaid.”
“You trust each other which is as it should be.”
“Her name’s Luna?” Dexter asked.
“Yeah and she’s a strong swimmer and offered to help me get stronger.”
“Can I meet her?”
“Afraid not. She’s really shy. It took her a bit to agree to meet me tomorrow for lessons.”
“Oh. Well, maybe another time.”
“Maybe,” Leo agreed but knew that no one would ever meet his twin as he promised to keep her true nature a secret.
Part Two
Luna left her home the next day, a pouch with pearls, shells, and seaweed with her. She was going to be early for her meeting with Leo and decided she’d make some jewelry while she waited. She had a knack for making beautiful pieces and Akiza sold them at her temple. It brought a tidy sum of money but Luna simply loved to weave the items into hair clips, necklaces, bracelets, and belts. She surfaced and pulled up to the shallows before lifting up her pouch and opening it to continue with a clip she had started the day before meeting Leo. She soon became deeply immersed in her work, her delicate fingers weaving shells and pearls in between strands of seaweed. She paused in her work and looked up at hearing rapid footsteps. Leo appeared around a bend and his grin made Luna smile as she put her work away. “Hi, Leo.”
“Hey, Luna. What were you doing?”
“Making a hair clip. I have a knack for making different kinds of jewelry and belts and then Akiza sells them at her temple.” She pulled out the partially done clip.
“Wow, it’s pretty.” Luna put it away as Leo stripped to his swim trunks. He entered the water as Luna glided backwards to deeper water.
She watched her twin demonstrate that he knew how to swim but only as long as he could put his feet on the bottom. “Why can’t you move further out?” she asked.
“I…don’t want to drown,” he answered as if ashamed.
“Oh, I understand. Humans can’t breathe underwater.”
“Yeah. I’d like to come further out so I could play with my friends and you too, Luna.”
“I remember when I was learning to swim with my tail. I was told to kick real hard in order to strengthen the muscles and move faster. So, maybe if you kick your legs harder, you’ll be able to stay afloat.”
Leo grinned. “Kick harder, huh?” Leo did as suggested as he stroked toward the mermaid who smiled at his approach. “Great, Leo. Maybe I can help you tread in place. Just keep kicking and move your arms across the surface.” She demonstrated the motion.
Leo mimicked the motion but felt his legs starting to weaken and though he kept kicking, he felt himself starting to sink. He took a breath as he went under.
“Leo!” Luna exclaimed as she dove under and toward her twin, hand outstretched. She reached for him and grabbed his hand. Suddenly, there was a white flash that made both close their eyes. Luna opened her eyes after the flash, looked at Leo, gasped, and dropped his hand. “Whoa, Leo!”
Leo opened his eyes to see an astonished Luna looking down. He looked down and reflexively gasped. His legs were gone and a blue tail was in their place. “I’m-I’m a merman!” he gasped and his eyes went wide at realizing he was breathing and talking underwater. “How? How did this happen?”
“I don’t know,” Luna said. “But, please calm down.” Leo was breathing fast and hard, his fins twitching in agitation. “We can go see Akiza. She may know how this happened.” Taking his hand again, she pulled him along, teaching him to use his tail to swim.
Leo kicked his new tail as Luna pulled him along. He was having trouble accepting what had happened. One moment he was holding his breath and grabbing Luna’s hand, and the next moment he was breathing and had a tail instead of legs. He was confused and a little scared. Why did this happen and was he stuck as a merman? He didn’t notice any of his surroundings as he was lost in thought. I can’t stay like this! My parents would worry as would Tanner and my friends.
The temple came into view and Luna called, “Akiza!” The shaman came out in response to her call and a curious expression came to her face upon seeing Leo before it became a look of understanding as the twins reached her. The understanding look gave Leo comfort and hope that she did know what to do. “Akiza, somehow Leo became a merman,” Luna said.
“I can see that.” Akiza noticed the distraught look on the boy’s face and deduced the reason why. She smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry, Leo. It’s not permanent. You’ll be human again when you reach land.”
Leo perked up. “I will?”
“Yes. I did some digging on twins when Luna told me about you and discovered a very old scroll on about the legend. It states that if the twins hold hand in the water, both become merpeople and if they’re hold hands on land, they’ll be human. The one who changed returns to normal when he or she touches land or water.”
Luna’s eyes went wide. “I could be human?”
“You could.”
Leo grinned, his worry gone. He wasn’t stuck as a merman. He would only remain one until he touched land. “Well, in that case, how about showing me around?”
“Okay. You do still need swimming lessons, though.”
“Hey, I am learning. I’ve got a tail I need to know how to use.”
Luna giggled. “True, but after that, you need practice with legs.”
“I could use the pool at the community center for that.”
“A pool?”
“It’s a rectangular container of water with different depths of water. I can grab the edges and kick my legs so when I tire, I won’t sink. Honestly, I should have thought about that earlier.”
“That does make sense. Well, come on Leo. Let me show you the village and my home.” She took his hand again and led him out of the temple grounds and toward the nearby village.
Leo was in awe at the village. There were merpeople everywhere and they noticed that Leo looked similar to Luna and asked if they were twins. “Not by blood, but yes,” he would reply before adding that he lived elsewhere which was obvious as they had never seen him before.
“Wow, everyone was so nice,” Leo commented as they surfaced and headed for shore.
“We’re a gentle race,” Luna admitted. “We can get mad and be mean when threatened, but that’s rare.”
Leo pulled himself out of the water and the moment his fins left the water, the limb spilt into legs. He got to his feet, glad to be human again. He looked at Luna. “Luna, would you like to visit me next weekend? I’ll meet you here in a week.”
Luna smiled. “I’d love to. I’d like to be human for a little bit.”
“Great. I know Dexter would like to meet you.”
“And I’d like to meet him.” She dived down as Leo got dressed and headed home. He started thinking of his favorite places he could show Luna as well as a couple of places she might like. He smiled slightly. I’ve got a date with a mermaid.
Luna giggled and twirled. “Leo asked me to visit him next week!” she said to Akiza that night.
She smiled at the young mermaid. “I envy you a little. You’ll see a world very few merpeople will ever see.”
“I promise to tell you everything.” She paused as questions came to her mind. “Uh, Akiza? Will Leo need to bring me clothes and will any kind of water change me back?”
“Good questions, Luna and the scroll had the answers. Now, when you hold hands, you’ll have the female version of the clothes he’s wearing. I’m afraid any water will change you back but as long as Leo’s with you and neither of you are in water, his hand will change you back to human.”
Luna sighed. “I guess swimming lessons are out of the question. But there’s bound to be a lot of things we can do.”
“I’m sure there is.” Akiza wondered what Luna would see experience when she became human for the first time.
Part Three
Leo bounded toward the cove a week later, excited. Luna had shown him the wonders of her world and now it was his turn to be the guide. He had dreamed of showing her around and told Dexter that he convinced her to visit.
“Great,” he had said. “I look forward to really meeting her. Does she live far?”
“Not terribly far,” Leo had said which was partially true. He had never really thought of it, but the ocean was quite large and those that swim in it could travel quite far.
A flash of colors caught his attention and he focused on them to see Luna enter the shallows. He rushed over, taking care to stay out of the water, took her hand, and helped pull her out. Like Leo, the moment her fins were clear, her tail became legs and she wore a version of Leo’s clothes, just as Akiza had said.
“Wow, your clothes are like mine, only for a girl.”
“Akiza said that would happen. She also warned me that any kind of water that touches me will change me back into a mermaid, but as long as we touch hands, I’ll be human again.”
“That’s good to know.” Leo took her other hand to pull her to her feet. He released her and watched her sway as she tried to stabilize. At last, she stood still and she looked at her legs and feet.
“I have a feeling that it’s going to be hard using them.”
“I guess so. I can’t exactly pull you along like you did with me.”
Luna laughed before holding out her hands. “Actually, you could support me while I learn.”
Leo smiled as he took her hands and stepped back when Luna moved forward. Step by step, they left the cove, went past the beach, and to a bus stop at which Luna was comfortable on her feet. She sat on the bus stop bench and stared at her surroundings, wide-eyed. The city seemed to tower around her and she felt small and insignificant in this setting. She far preferred her home where she could swim to the top of the buildings. Here, she could not reach the top. “It’s so big here,” she said softly. “And so scary.”
“Scary?” Leo repeated. “No way. This place is awesome. I got a lot of places to show you. Uh, hungry Luna?” A growl answered his question and Luna blushed. “Oh, good. I want to treat you to my favorite restaurant and Dexter will be there.”
Luna perked up at this as the bus pulled up. She so wanted to meet the boy who led Leo to her. She wondered what he was like.
“Hey, Leo!” Dexter called as his friend entered the shop. He blinked at the nearly identically dressed girl beside him. Whoa, he wasn’t kidding when he said how close I was in mistaking her for him. He smiled as they came over and sat. “Hi, Luna. I’m Dexter. Leo told me a little about you.” He held out a hand.
She took it. “Hi. I’ve been wanting to meet you. After all, you helped bring Leo and me together.”
“That’s correct,” he said. “I still can’t believe how much you look alike, as if you were separated at birth.”
“Almost, but not quite,” Leo said before standing. “I’ll go get our food, Luna.” He walked away, figuring Luna may like what he did and interested in trying human food.
&&&&
Luna sipped her soda as she followed Leo and Dexter down the sidewalk. Her lunch had been wonderful and once Leo had gotten the conversation really going, she found she liked Dexter quite a bit. She did speak of home, being careful not to use merpeople terms.
“So, this Akiza studies the past?” Dexter asked. “Is she a professor or archaeologist?”
Archae-what? Luna wondered, but Leo jumped in. “No, she’s a college student who’s studying to be an archaeologist, right Luna?”
“Uh, yeah. She sometimes told me myths and legends as bedtime stories when I was little,” Luna answered, the latter part being true. The trio walked into a game shop and as Dexter wandered off to his favorite area, Luna whispered, “What’s an archaeologist?”
“Oh, someone who studies ancient ruins or digs up fossils to understand the past. People go to college to learn to be teachers, doctors, whatever they want.”
“Is it hard?”
“Hard work actually and expensive from what I hear. I don’t have to think about that for several years.”
“What are you going to learn?”
“Oh, I’m going to be a professional duelist.”
“What’s that?”
“A duelist is what one calls someone who plays this card game called Duel Monsters.”
“People can earn a living playing a game?”
“Yeah. I play it at school with other people at a dueling school, but we do learning spelling, math, and other subjects too.”
Luna felt like her head was going to spin. Human life seemed more complicated than her life under the sea. I’m lucky I was born a mermaid. I don’t think I’d survive here.
Dexter noticed Luna and Leo talking a lot and he strained his ears to hear Leo talking about his future plans and thought it curious that Luna had never heard of Duel Monsters. What kid on Earth had never heard of the game? It’s been around practically forever. Something’s different about her and I’m going to find out what.
He kept an eye on Luna as they left the game shop and went to an electronics shop. He drifted off to one section before doubling back to spy on the twins. At first, neither one spoke, but then Luna picked up a camera, looked it over from several angles before saying, “What’s this?”
Dexter couldn’t believe his ears. Luna had seemed smart, polite, and friendly at lunch; now she came across as clueless. She acts like she’s never seen a camera before.
“It’s a camera,” Leo answered softly. “It takes pictures of people, places, and anything a person wants to take a picture of.”
“Why?”
“A picture is a remainder of a memory. Like if I took a picture of you, the image would keep my memory of you alive and I would never forget you or this day.”
“Oh, wow.”
Dexter shook his head as the two moved off. There was definitely something funny about her. Why was she asking questions about things like she never heard of them and why was Leo answering as if her questions were normal?
They left the electronics shop and Luna expressed interest in a pet store so they entered it. Dexter again drifted off and doubled back. The aqua-colored haired girl was by a fish tank, hands on the glass. He saw her lips move but faintly heard strange sounds come out of her mouth. The fish gathered before her and looked as if they were speaking to her. She continued to speak in that strange language with Leo staring flabbergasted at her. Luna eventually left the tank and Leo followed after her.
I knew she was different and she’s strange, too. She can actually talk to fish! How did she learn to do that? I need to tail her and find out how and why she acts so weird since I feel she won’t tell me the truth.
&&&&
“Luna, were you speaking fish talk?” Leo asked in a whisper.
“Yes. All merpeople can talk to water creatures,” Luna whispered back.
“Even sea stars?”
“Yup. Anything that lives in water, I can speak to.”
“Would I be able to if I became a merman?”
“I don’t know. We could find out before you go home.”
“Let’s find out now. I’d like to have a tail again.”
Luna giggled. “Well, let’s tell Dexter that I’m going home and that you’ll see me onto the bus before going home yourself.”
“Okay.” Leo and Luna went in search of their friend to say goodbye.
Part Four
“You’re heading home already?”
Luna nodded. “I kind of need to go home. I can visit another time.”
“I hope so. I’d like to see you again.” Dexter waved to the twins and once they were out of sight, he hurried to a bus stop that came before the one they were waiting at. He knew all the bus routes and would be certain that all three of them would be on the same bus. He made it to the stop and took a seat in the back of the bus so he could see where Leo and Luna got off.
He saw them get on and softly talk as the bus drove down the road. The bus stopped a few more times and when it pulled up to the one near the beach, the twins got off and he followed. He kept his distance as he followed their path. Soon, he would know what Luna was hiding. He could feel it.
Luna kept glancing back, but saw nothing unusual. Leo noticed her actions and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I feel like we’re being watched, but I don’t see anything strange or anyone looking at us.”
Leo glanced back too. “You’re right. No one there. Maybe you’re just nervous or something as this was your first time being human and this will be the first time changing back to mermaid.”
Luna smiled. “Yeah, maybe. I do plan to visit again. Perhaps in a couple of weeks?”
“I’ll be right here to help.” Leo led Luna into the cove.
“Of course. I can’t be human without you.” Luna headed for the water’s edge and sat down. As soon as the tide touched her feet, they became fins and her legs formed a tail, her clothes vanishing. She smiled at seeing her tail again.
Leo was also happy to see it as it meant that once he was in the water with Luna and took her hand, he would be a merman until he returned to land.
“You’re a…mermaid!?” gasped a voice that made both freeze and whip their heads around to see a dumbfounded Dexter, his mouth hanging open.
Luna’s tail swished slightly while Leo said, “Dexter!”
“I thought Luna was different,” he said, easing into the cove. “I just never thought she was a mermaid.”
“You won’t tell, will you?” Luna begged. “Humans shouldn’t know we exist.”
“If so, why reveal yourself to Leo?”
“Because he’s my twin and since he’s human, our relationship is special, very special.”
“Special, how?”
“If we show you, will you keep it a secret?” Leo asked.
Dexter looked at Luna’s pleading face before looking at Leo. “All right. I swear I won’t tell another soul.”
Luna pushed herself further into the water and Leo followed until the water lapped around his calves. Luna held out her hands and Leo took them. This time there was no flash, but Leo fell back as his legs became a tail again. He shifted around to see his friend’s mouth hanging open again.
“How did you become a…merman, Leo?”
“That’s what makes our relationship special. If we’re both in the water and we hold hands, I become a merman until I return to land and if we’re on land and Luna takes my hand, she becomes human until any kind of water touches her.”
“Any kind?”
“That’s right,” Luna said. “We wanted to see if Leo can speak to water creatures like I can if he became a merman. That’s why we left when we did.”
“Sounds like fun,” Dexter said wistfully. “Let me know what happened.”
“Promise,” Leo said as he kicked his tail and followed Luna under the water as Dexter left the cove. He looked around as he swam. He had been so upset at becoming a merman at first that he had taken no noticed of the life around him. Now, he saw lots of sea creatures around him and wondered which one to try to talk to first.
“Leo, I see a pod of dolphins,” Luna said, pointing. “Focus on them and say, hi.”
Leo focused his gaze on the pod and called, “Hi!” Leo’s eyes went wide when he heard clicks come out of his mouth instead of the word. “Oh, wow! I can speak dolphin!” he said, his words coming out as squeaks and clicks.
Luna giggled at Leo talking dolphin. “Look away and blink several times to stop speaking dolphin,” she instructed.
Leo followed her instructions and exhaled. “Whoa. That was so cool. I can talk to water creatures. So, you have to focus in order to speak their language?”
“Only the first time and looking away and blinking breaks the steady stream of the language. Now when you see dolphins while you’re a merman, you’ll automatically speak dolphin to them but words to me. That goes for any language.”
Leo’s eyes lit up. “Luna, can we find a whale? I’d love to speak whale.”
It didn’t take long to find a whale and soon Leo was speaking whale and did so for several minutes before breaking it. Luna enjoyed watching Leo speak many languages as they swam for the cove. Some of them were accidental acquisitions while others were intentional. When they reached the shallows, Leo could speak dolphin, whale, turtle, shark, fish, and jellyfish.
“I had no intention to speak jellyfish,” Leo said as they surfaced.
Luna laughed. “Leo, I speak all languages. It’s part of being a merperson.”
“Yeah, well. I won’t understand them while I’m human.” He crawled onto dry land and became human. He stood and said, “Can I visit next weekend?”
“Sure. See you then.” Luna headed to deeper water and dived while Leo left to head for the bus stop.
&&&&
“You can talk to sea creatures?” Dexter asked over the phone.
“Only when I’m a merman. I tried to talk to a turtle on the beach, but I spoke normal words.”
“You learned turtle?”
“Uh-huh. I also learned dolphin, whale, shark, fish, and jellyfish.”
“Wow, six languages. Impressive. So, when will Luna visit again?”
“In two weeks. I’m going to visit her next weekend.”
“Okay. Well, good night.”
“Night.” Leo went to bed and smiled as he fell asleep, dreaming of Luna and he swimming in the sea, talking to sea life, and playing as only mer-children can.
&&&&
Akiza laughed. “He spoke jellyfish, did he? That is a rough-sounding language to speak, as we well know.”
“He picked it up by accident. He almost swam into one and ended up focusing on it when he chose to talk to it.”
“Well, he was going to learn it anyway. So, he’s coming next weekend?”
“Uh-huh and I can’t wait. I’ll be visiting him and Dexter the weekend after that.”
“Be very careful, Luna. You got lucky this Dexter is trustworthy, but don’t draw attention to yourself like that again.”
“I promise, Akiza.” She hugged her guardian and then swam off to bed. She had found her twin and had been human herself. She had enjoyed her day and looked forward to the next time she would walk on land.
