You smelled the ocean, and the sound of waves.

What was that? You wondered. A girl walked by like a shadow, or a memory of a long time ago. You blinked, turning your head to look at her, but she wasn't there anymore.

You wanted to yell after her, but found yourself unable to do so. Instead, your feet brought you to follow the strange apparition-like girl, and in the end you stopped on a path right next to the ocean.

You turned around, not knowing what to do anymore. Why had you followed after that girl? Ah, that's right, you'd seen her before. Just this morning, in fact. Her eyes were blue, and so translucent, as translucent as the ocean itself. She'd pulled you back as you leaned forward on a bridge, looking at the ocean with a strange feeling of nostalgia.

"That's dangerous! Maybe you shouldn't lean so close to the water. You might drown after all." she'd said. You had felt a bit off-put by the overly sweet smile she had even while telling you such a thing.

You shook your head softly, finally deciding against looking for the girl. You looked down at your shoes and shuffled awkwardly. You were still wearing the school's indoor shoes. Maybe you should go back...

But before you had a chance of turning away and walking from the bridge, something appeared from the waters. A humanoid creature with a twisted expression, its mouth smiling widely from ear to ear with dozens of tiny sharp shark-like teeth adorning the creepy grin. It had ridiculously long black hair, and looked like a terrifying imitation of a horrible-looking woman. It laughed as its hair moved as if with a conscience, wrapping around your ankle and pulling.

What's going on? You stared at your leg for a second before being pulled down. You tried to grasp at the floor, but there was nothing to hold onto.

"Finally, I've got you!" The creature said, its voice distorted and shrill, hurting your ears. "I was hindered this morning, but now... You're finally mine." It said, laughing eerily as it pulled a struggling you towards the ocean.

Ah. Something like this. Were you going to die? You had no time to dwell on it, when in a flash you were pushed back. You blinked in shock as someone stood in front of you almost protectively.

The girl with eyes as translucent as the ocean looked back at you with a gentle expression. "I told you before, didn't I?" she said, tilting her head slightly in a friendly manner. "It's dangerous. You shouldn't lean so close."

You couldn't find the words. You flinched when the creature on the water let out a shrill scream-like noise, making you wince.

"Damn you..." it said, voice trembling. "Why is a mermaid in a place like this...?! That's my prey!" It exclaimed fiercely, though it looked cowed somehow, as if scared of this tiny girl in front of you.

The girl did not address the monstrous creature, instead she gave a close-eyed smile at you. "Just stay behind me, okay?" she said reassuringly, and even though it was strange, you believed her and listened as the nonsensical conversation carried on.

"Listen, you lowly beach woman," the girl said flatly, walking closer to shore. You inexplicably did not feel dread at seeing her get so close to the monster. As if the girl was the most terrifying of the two. "You sure like to talk big despite being such a mundane, weak monster. That girl..." the girl said, and though you could only see her back, you felt like she was smiling. "belongs to me."

In a flash, a gruesome scene displayed right in front of your wide eyes. You couldn't even move a finger. Should you leave? Yet you couldn't. The girl had inexplicably grown claw-like fingers instead of normal, human nails. Parts of her face had scales, as did her hands.

You blinked as the girl approached you, leaning forward with her hands on her knees and watching you on the floor with a smile. "Are you okay?" she asked. Sensing your question, she smiled even wider. "Hehe, surprised? Of course I know your name. After all, I've been looking for you for a while now." Her kind and gentle expression looked so out of place when her white dress was splattered with dark red blood. There were no more scales or claws, but she still looked scary, her face, hair and clothes stained.

She leaned forward, grabbing hold of your hands in between hers. "My name is Shiori." She said, smiling sweetly. "And I came here to eat you."