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echantedtoon · 1 day

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Ocean Deep Ch5 Problems And Life

(WARNINGS: Someone's barn does get semi burnt down but no one gets hurt or killed, Mentioning of a wound on Y/ns hand. Mentioning of death.

Will have a small time skips in a few places.)

The night was quiet tonight. Nothing but the crickets chirping and the frogs croaking to the woods surrounding the small town asleep to her actions. The only source of light being the stars above and the bobbing lantern in a pair of old grizzled hands.

The old woman shuffled about looking over her shoulders constantly with squinting eyes scanning the darkness for any wondering eyes. Of course none were to be seen this late at night as everyone else was already fast asleep and anyone still awake was sensible enough to stay inside out of the darkness. Grizzled hands hands turned back to the lock on the chains that were so tightly wound around the double doors. A rusted old key was placed inside the lock and with a click it fell to the ground at her feet. A series of clanks followed by the rope of chains following it to the ground. Silence resumed once again as eyes gave one last look around before the door creaks open and in she went.

"Alright you disgusting fish bait," her voice echoed in the darkness as the lantern light illuminated the surrounding areas. "Here's your food. Keep up the good behavior and maybe I'll consider giving you one feeding a day."

No one answered her. However a sight unusual as the creatures she cared for was spotted by the light. A strange crunching sensation under her feet that wasn't there the last time she was here. The light illuminated..straw?? Confusion turned to horror and panic as she followed trail and saw a massive pile of hay disturbed. The top completely slumped over and a hole dug right in the middle revealing the floor underneath. Thud went the lantern as it shattered to the ground, and thus went the fish as it tumbled to the floor.

"...No. No. No no no no no no no!" Hay and straw flew through the air as old hands dug into the pile as her body lunged into it. "NO! NO! NO!"

BOX! BOX! WHERE WAS THE BOX?!...There was NO box! That didn't make any sense! Why was there no box?! Where was the box?! It was supposed to be here! Why wasn't it here!? No one has the key! The doors were locked! The chains were undesturbed! No one else has been here! NO ONE SHOULD KNOW....about...the..She paused. Dropping the hay in her hands before slowly turning to the curtain of old tarps and fishnets. ...No. no. NO!! Her feet shuffled as quickly as they could in her old age to the curtains. Practically ripping the things from their hinges as she tore past them temporarily getting tangled in their grip before wretching her hand free and stop in front of the filthy tank. Absolutely nothing moved within it's murky waters. No signs of any life within it's foul depths.

"NO NO NO NO!! You must be in there! You must!" Weak fists balled up and hit the dirty glass not even putting a crack in it. "ANSWER ME!!"

No answer came back. Panicked old legs hurried back to where the lights were sparking out from between the cracks of broken glass. Why?! How?! Who could have done this?! Where did they go?! This made no sense! No sense at all! Someone was behind this! Who?! A burning smell filled the air as she turned to it's source, and screamed as flamed danced across the hay strewn floors-

"Good morning everyone! I hope you're hungry because I made you a few pies!"

You smiled at the three women gazing at you from the tub as you carried in the tray with three massive fruit pies on it. You'd gotten up bright and early in the morning to rummage around your pantry in search for anything to make these three. You wanted make sure they were actually well fed before you released them at the end of next month, this wasn't meat but it WAS filling especially if they were big pies filled with nutritious fruit and was sweetened with honey instead of sugar, which honey was also healthier for you. As long as the food was filling and good for them, then that's all that mattered. But you'd still be sure to try to get them more meats too. It was times like this that you were glad to live in a fishing community. There was always fish laying around or dropped from passing carts you nabbed or the venders selling cheap fish a few days old that wasn't shipped off in their bigger hauls to other bigger towns. You were sure you could nab some more somewhere.

"HHHHHHAAAA!! THAT SMELLS SO YUMMY!!," Suma shouted in awe at the tray and lightly drooling at the sight.

Makio was right next to her looking bored again and raising a brow as Hinatsuru only smiled as usual. "Pie? What's a pie?"

"It's essentially a desert but it's on the healthier side of deserts," you explained placing the warm baked goods in front of them, "It's just fruits cut or smashed up and mixed up with sugar and wrapped in bread dough before you bake it. I just happened to use honey instead since that seemed like a better option for you. You can make pot pies with meats and vegetables too but unfortunately I had no meat for any pot pie recipes. Sorry." You didn't bring utensils this time already figuring out that mermaids preferred to eat with their hands instead.

"These will be fine. Thank you."

Suma immediately grabbed the first one which was a mix of cherries and other fruit and honey before just taking a huge chop off the top of it. You blinked as red berry juice smeared her lower face as she hummed in delight.

"Its so good!!," she gushed between chews.

Makio yelled something about manners as Hinatsuru sighed, but you couldn't help but blink. Before giggling at the sight. Suma's bubbly and energetic attitude sure was something. She was a lot emotionally but to be fair she had a good reason to be so fair away from home. But she looked so cute and ridiculous pouting with full cheeks as Makio scolded her you couldn't help but smile. Makio was pretty in her own right too. Compared to the others, Makio was the most serious and ready to jump into situations but she meant well and her protective nature was sweet despite her constant bickering. Hinatsuru was the one who had the brains to keep level head and seemed to be the leader as both Makio and Suma followed her lead. Did mermaids even have heirchy systems?? Hmm. Maybe you should research them a bit more, just enough to make their stay more comfortable.

Your giggling had the three stopping to look at you. Their eyes widening. For the first time in the four days they've been there, this was the first time they've seen the human girl smiling at them. It made the three almost stars in awe as she smiled and giggled at their antics before speaking again.

"Thank you. I'm glad you like it. I'll grab you a few towels and enough food to tide you over until I can come back from work but I'll try to grab a few fish on the way back."

Makio nudged the tray aside and reached out to make grabbing reaches at your still injured palm. By now you've figured out that it seemed in mermaid nature to care for one another. You've walked in on Suma and Hinatsuru helping to pull loose gold scales from Makio's tail and to the three fixing up each other's hair with the comb you've leant them. So you allowed them(usually Makio) to 'treat' your wounds even though you've already taken cared of it. MaYou had gathered all the gold scales along with what was left of the torn box and just burnt everything in your fireplace. It would've looked suspicious just burying it and throwing it away might've lead someone to spot you, so you figured burning up all the evidence was the best solution. Makio gave your bare palm a look over and the wound that wasn't really deep and was already scabbed over. The mermaid just stared at it closely before making you lower more and dip your hand into the water where she proceeded to scrub at it with her knuckles. You suspected she opted for her knuckles instead because of the sharp nails these three had. Didn't want to cut you further. It stung a bit, but the way Makio did it wasn't hard enough to really hurt.

If you really had to compare them to something, it'd be a small trio of wolves. Hinatsuru was the leader while the other two followed her lead and the trio helped one another with things.

"Thank you. But haven't you already been to work? How many times must you go?"

"I work Mondays to Fridays. Today's Friday so I'll have the next two days off until next Monday."

"You humans stress yourselves too much." Makio frowned at your hand lifting it from the water before you knew it there was another ripping sound. Another long wet strip of fabric was soon being wrapped around your hand. You'd just let them keep the destroyed dress. It wasn't worth starting a fight over. "There. Much better. I don't know why you keep taking it off!"

Because people would get suspicious and ask questions. It was easier to hide your wound if there wasn't a bandage on your hand. All you had to do was keep your palm facing down and hide your hand enough until it scars over or completely heals up. And if anyone asks, you'll just give the excuse of cutting your hand on a pair of gardening sheers.

"I'll think about it." You gently pulled your now wrapped hand away. "But I need to work in order to get money which I use to buy food, and now more than ever I need that money." You stood back up smiling at the three whilst Suma continued to practically shove her entire face into her pie. "I'm gonna go get some food to leave you guys. While I'm gone, remember to be quiet so you don't alert anyone. As far as everyone knows you three and I are the only ones who knows you're here."

Which meant Suma couldn't cry loudly and Makio couldn't just yell at her. There was no way you could explain why you had three mermaids decked out in gold and jewels in your tub, and worse there was no way you could explain you literally trespassed on someone's property twice and broke in to steal. You'd be punished severely for all the treachery. You were already taking a big risk deciding to keep them here until they were properly fed enough to combat the days of going hungry. You just wanted your normal life free from the stress of supernatural beings and just the way it was.

"Don't worry. We will."

That's how it started. It should've been a peaceful morning. You'd left them with enough food to last them the few hours until you were able to come back home, and left to go to work. However there was a problem. As you walked along the roads and normal buzz of people there seemed to be a certain.. tension in the air. It was hard to explain really. But it was like if you stepped into the middle of your parents arguing and they tried to pretend they weren't arguing. A few groups of people were in clusters in the street whispering and pointing at the end of the road which confused you because there was nothing there other than the normal houses and people out and about. That was really..strange. You only shook your head and continued walking until you stopped in front of the shop- And WHY was there a cluster of people around the shop doors? A small group of around eight or nine people were gathered in front of the doors and peering at them like a sideshow.

Alright. That was absolutely strange.

You brushed it off at first. Sometimes if there was a particularly beautiful display people would gather around to look at it, but the closer you got you noticed that the faces didn't look...Happy. your walking slowed considerably. They were all frowns. Uncertain of curious looks. Oh no. Instantly the worst case scenario crossed your mind as a possibility. Did someone else disappear?! Were they also carried away from town by a monster?! Was someone else here to pick out flower arrangements for a funeral or memorial service? Who was it this time? Was it someone you know?

You felt a hefty rock in your guts as you continued forward. A lump formed in your throat which you swallowed thickly. Wondering what your boss would say about the situation-

"I'LL ASK FOR THE FIFTH AND LAST TIME!! WHERE DID YOU PUT IT?!"

....Wait. Your boss wouldn't say that to a grieving family. That sounds so rude.

"I'm...sorry?? But I don't understand what you mean. Were the rose bushes not to your liking? I can give you a refund for everything but you'll need to return the plants first."

Ah. Now THAT sounded much more like Mrs. Satoshi. You blinked again as a frustrated yell came from the open front door...Hey. Wait a minute. That second voice wasn't your boss. It sounded much older, raspier, and a lot ruder. Something wasn't right. You approached the door but yelped as a smaller figure exited the front door and shoving people out of the way.

"THIS ISN'T OVER YOU THEIVING BASTARDS!!" a smaller older woman stopped just outside the crowd and raised a fist at the shop entrance shaking it in a fit of pure rage. "I KNOW YOU HAVE IT SOMEWHERE IN THERE AND WHEN I FIND IT, YOU'LL HANG BY YOUR THEIVING FINGERS!!" She then turned on her heel and stomped away- "MOVE!!" She shrieked at you as you jumped out of the way watching her go by.

...You blinked. And blinked again. Before shaking your head and looking at the shop again and making your way back towards the shop.

"Alright. There's nothing to see here people." Nico sternly shooed the crowd away from the door. "If you're not buying flowers then you need to leave. Go on. Shoo!"

You went straight through the mumbling crowd as they slowly dispersed and Nico looked surprised to see you, but you instead pushed past him and into the shop where you found Mrs. Satoshi holding an empty plant pot looking a mix of shocked and hurt but mostly confused. Very VERY confused. But she still smiled when you just walked in.

"Ah! Y/n dear. There you are. Right on time as usual."

"What happened?! What's going on?!" You looked around the shop. Nothing looked out of place and it looked the same as yesterday. "Did someone else disappear again?!"

"Oh no. Nothing like that." You sighed in relief. Thank goodness. "It just seems that Mrs. Henya is in a little tizzy."

You froze. Eyes going wide again. "...What?"

Mrs. Satoshi nodded. "Yes. It was rather strange. Apparently there was an accident that occured last night. According to her neighbor she dropped her lantern by accident when she was checking on her barn. What she was doing wondering out there in the middle of the night I have no idea." She turned to place the pot next to a few others. "But she stormed in here ranting about how we stole something from her."

Your body felt frozen like ice as you stared. Mrs. Henya?! Stolen property?! Barn?! "I-..I-I see. What exactly...was it?"

Your boss shrugged. "I haven't the faintest idea. She kept yelling how she knows we stole 'it' because we were the only ones near her property, but she wouldn't tell me what 'it' was that I supposedly stole. I kept asking her what 'it' was but she refuses to tell me. Only demanded that I give 'it' back to her. I swear I think that woman is riled up by the accident and just looking for trouble!"

You chuckled nervously subconsciously pulling your bandaged hand further into your large sleeve. Thanking the gods it was out of sight. You'd have to get rid of the bandage before anyone asked questions. "Yeah. The stress is probably getting to her on top of the stress her family is dealing with with the funeral. I'm sure it's nothing."

Your boss agreed nodding with an annoyed huff. "It most certainly is! I absolutely did not, won't ever, and never before stolen anything."

"R-Right! Um...I'm gonna go organize and clean out the closet! A clean closet helps keep mice away!"

"That's a good idea. I wouldn't want mice chewing on my precious petals. That would ruin sales."

You smiled and turned away to start walking away towards the nearby closet where some of the extra stuff was kept. This was bad! This was really, really, REALLY bad!! Mrs. Henya knew that you broke into the barn and stole away the mermaids! She just didn't know that it was YOU who did it. She thinks your boss has something to do with it. Which was kinda good because she didn't know where to look for them so they were safe for now. But how long until she figured out that it wasn't really her!? Ok. Ok. Calm down, Y/n. There was no evidence pointing at you, and no one knew. You only were gonna host these three for another month and two weeks. Then you'd be rid of them.

You'd be rid of them. You wouldn't have anything to worry about. Your life would be completely back to normal. And no one would know and you could just pretend this never happened. All you had to do was act casual and not arose any suspicion. It was easy if you played your cards right. Everything would be fine. Everything would be ok. Nothing else was going to happen.

"......"

"Ok. So I know this looks...bad."

"....How did you manage to get my pie pan to stick to the ceiling using just soap?!" You stared at the ceiling just above the tub where your pie pans were somehow stuck on the ceiling. With a sticky stretchy sound one metal pan slowly peeled off the ceiling and all four of you watched it splash into the water. "...HOW did you even manage to reach up there?!"

"Well..We heard that humans wash their dishes using soap and put them up to dry!," Suma happily said as you just continued staring at the other two pie pans stuck to the ceiling dumbfounded. "And we wanted to help you after everything you did! And what higher up is there than the ceiling? They'll be dry in no time!"

SPLASH!! A second pie pan fell nearly missing Hinatsuru's shoulder and disappearing into the tub. ....Yep. This logic makes perfect sense to a mermaid. But now you had three pie pans to clean and soap to wipe off your ceiling. Sigh. This really was going to be a long stay wasn't it?

********

"Y/N'S HERE!! Y/N'S HERE!!"

Suma excited splashed about before waving a full arm at you bringing a mop and bucket behind you to start cleaning up the bathroom again. You learnt a few things during the past two weeks. Mermaids thrived better in a clean environment. It was better that you drain and rinse out the tub every two days before filling it back up. And they preferred meats over plants but they'll still eat the random fruits and vegetables you left them to eat. And apparently three mermaids ate A LOT. In just three weeks, your entire few months worth of stock in the pantry was almost entirely gone. You only maybe had enough to keep feeding them the giant portions and yourself for maybe a week tops. You weren't sure if all of the money you'd been saving up for the past few years would be enough to get you that many groceries for another whole month either.

Honestly things lately have been stressful to say the least. Mrs. Henya had become a borderline stalker to your boss! She'd be across the street for hours just standing there glaring for hours on end shouting things whenever Mrs. Satoshi left or came to the shop. Shouting slurs and curses and demands to her calling her a thief. You also had a suspicion that if it wasn't for Nico and Mr. Satoshi (who were both strong, big, and very intimidating looking) she'd be harassing them too and following her home. You felt really guilty for your extremely concerned and annoyed boss, but you were also glad it wasn't you. You didn't have anyone to help scars her away if she tried anything. Luckily it seemed no one really suspected you being too angry at the current harassment so as long as you kept your head down and played it cool then you should be home free.

It was the last weekend before the next month of May arrived and you were busy spring cleaning the house again after a morning shower. So far this room was the only one left to get done and Suma seemed rather excited to see you. And you were ready to go another round of taking care of them.

"Ok you three. Bath time again! I already brought you some clean clothes to change into."

"DID YOU GET IT?!" Your answer was to smile and use your foot to push in a large basket filled to the brim with fish. So full that some of them were threatening to fall off the tall pile they were in. "KYYYAAAA!! SO YUMMY!!" She practically drooled at the sight as the other two looked on in awe.

"This should last you three the entire day. Saves me one day of pantry food at least. You three go ahead and get that soap while I clean the floor. Then I can clean out the tub again." You smiled at how cute the three looked so in awe at just some tuna and catfish.

"There's so many fish." Hinatsuru blinked. "Where'd you get all of this?"

"A friend of mine works at the butcher shop down the road. He was going to just toss these out since they need to get rid of all the fish before it goes bad, so I just offered to take it off his hands. They're not bad but they're not fresh either. I hope that's ok." You continued to nudge it closer to them until it was in arm's reach of them.

"That's fine with us. It won't cause us any harm." Hinatsuru tilted her head at you in interesting as you just continued to start mopping the floors. "This.. friend of yours. Is he courting you?"

"Oh no. He's just an old friend from school. Besides he's already in a relationship with a very nice man who works in the trading post just outside of town." You waved her off as her interested face..grew in interest watching as you dunked the mop into the bucket.

"I see." Hinatsuru exchanged a similar look with the other two before they just descended on the large basket in front of them. "What about your family? This home is rather large but you seem to be the only human living here."

You paused for a second. "....I don't really have any family. So I'm really the only one living here."

Her brows rose in interest. "Really? No one?"

You shook your head a sad frown falling over your face. "My .. parents passed away when I was really little. I have a few cousins around town, but we aren't close at all and they're busy with their own lives. So it's just always kinda been just me around here..."

A sob got you to look over your shoulder and found the familiar sight of Suma tearing up in sobs again holding a catfish she already ate the head of of. "AAAAHHH!! THAT'S SO SAD BEING ALL ALONE FOR SO LOOOOONG!!"

You smiled as Makio rolled her eyes but didn't comment on it. "I know but sometimes life is like that, and it's not all bad. I have friends around town I see a lot, and most everyone around here is really friendly." You began pushing the mop across the cold tile floor.

"Oh...No husband though?"

You shook your head ignoring the interested looks and Suma's sobs. "Not yet. But who knows? Mr. Right might be around someday."

The cleaning up was easy. Waiting for them to crawl on out to lounge on towels that you'd clean later so you could drain and rinse the soapy water from the tub was also easy. By now you were used to the routine and treated it as just a part of the temporary new routine you were doing. Every once and a while you had them use your soap to clean up and temporarily gave them a few dresses while their own was washed and then given back to them. Due to the terrible state they were in, and their messy eating habits, you'd rather have them stay clean....Sigh. At this rate you'd run out of soap and shampoo too.

"Y/n." You paused in the middle of filling up the large tub to look at Makio. She was lying on her side as Hinatsuru was running her hands alongside her tail probably looking for more loose scales as Suma ran a hand along Hina's long ponytail plucking at it with her sharpened nails in place of a comb. Makio looked confused string at you head in her hand before her other hand pointed at her head. "Why are you wearing a towel on your head?"

"Huh? Oh this?" You pointed at your head to which she nodded at. "Had a shower before coming in here. I don't know about mermaids but humans prefer to stay dry."

"Oh. I forgot about that."

You didn't have time to walk past them after finishing up but that was stopped when you were once again grabbed and yanked down by Makio making you yelp out and landing with your back harmlessly falling onto Hinatsuru's tail. Man these three were really strong. Must be because they weren't human you guessed.

"Hey. Y'know you could accidentally hurt someone by doing that!"

You grumbled but only sighed as Suma instantly hugged you tightly smooshing her cheek into your arm and in a fluid motion the towel was yanked off your head. A moment later there was a curious noise and two hands were on your head and in your hair grabbing strands of hair and pulling them gently apart. You guessed that was Makio because Hinatsuru was the one who nudged Suma off of you to grab your hand to look at your nails..and then proceeded to grab a nearby nail file (one of the few objects they asked for). You'd seen them do this behavior to each other before so it must've been some kind of familiar behavior for them you supposed. ...Eh. They weren't hurting you so you'd let them be. It's not like you had work or anything to worry about today anywa-

"HERE!!"

You jumped. Blinked. And then leaned back as the eyes of an obviously dead catfish stared at you. Held up and thrusted at you by Suma.

"You look hungry. EAT!," She happily chirped with a huge happy smile on her face nudging the raw fish closer to you.

"Oh..I uh-... I mean thanks but IIIIIII already ate! Yeah!" You nodded making Makio stubbornly grab your shoulder in warning to hold still. "I had a HUGE breakfast before I began cleaning and I'm still full-" you quickly made an excuse smiling awkwardly. "-so polite pass."

"Aaaawwww....OK! Then you can take it for lunch!"

"Oh, I really-"

"HERE!!" With a flopping motion and a huge happy smile from Suma, the fish was plopped right into your lap. You stared at it as Suma smiled widely in adoration. "See?! We can take care of you too!"

...The fish flopped onto it's side as you just stared at it. So much for the clean dress. You looked back to Suma who looked proud of herself for 'feeding' you. "..Thanks, Suma. It..looks like a really juicy fish." You'd sneak it back into their food basket later.

She happily smiled before just turning to predictably dig through the the basket again and pulled out a particularly big bass making a few fish tumble out- CLINK!! Suma paused as something that wasn't a fish tumbled out from the basket and landed just onto the floor in front of her. The hard stones making a few sounds against the tiles floor as they stopped. She froze. Blue eyes going wide at the strand of silver shiny stones staring up at her- THUD!! You once against jumped as the large fish was dropped from her hand and flopped back onto the basket. You expected Suma to cry again for dropping the fish or maybe dog around in the basket more seeing a fish she liked better..but were surprised seeing her face. It looked like she'd seen a ghost from the frozen, side eyed stars she gave.

"Suma?," you questioned as she stared at the floor. "Suma, are you alright?"

She didn't answer. Didn't react. Didn't speak. That got Hinatsuru's attention as she also confusedly looked up from your hand followed by Makio who peeled over your shoulder. Suma still didn't react...Until her bottom lip trembled. The trembling slowly spread to the rest of her body as her arms reached out ever so slowly. Blue eyes welding up with tears like you've seen her do so many times before but this time it seemed more... serious. Stones gently cracked against one another as trembling hands took them in their embrace .

"..Suma? What is it?"

"T-T-....Te-Tengen.."

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