#it's giving rinmaki energy

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y'all rockin w/ ralger? 🔥🔥

@jack-merridoomed

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How It Is

RinMaki/NozoEli pirate/mermaid AU because i couldnt pass up the opportunity and im always thirsty for rinmaki

Summary:   Not wanting to stray out of her comfort zone, Maki had never been interested in humans before. However, a fateful encounter with two of them might be enough to change her way of thinking.

Maki has never been that interested in humans.

Why should she? They live their lives on land, and she lives hers in water. There's no reason to interact with them, so she doesn't. It's as simple as that. Besides, she's fine with her life as it is, and befriending humans would only make it complicated.

Not to mention that she isn't exactly the best at talking. She'd probably accidentally scare off a human if they ever approached her. She leaves the talking to Nozomi, her friend in this underwater kingdom, and a kind motherly figure.

Maki sometimes lets herself get roped into Nozomi's plans, because she doesn't seem any harm in them, and she's usually bored, anyway. Today is no exception.

Nozomi tells her that she discovered a small island not too far off from the kingdom, and that she'd like to go and have a look properly.

"What's the point? We won't even be able to go on the island," Maki replies, rolling her eyes.

"I know that, but there might be people there we can make friends with! You'd love that, wouldn't you?" Nozomi grins slyly.

"Huh? Why would I-?"

But Nozomi is already gripping her wrist, dragging her in the direction of the island. So much for a peaceful life. What Maki doesn't know, is that this will be the start of an entirely new chapter.

Nozomi is right; the island isn't very far away. It's a wonder how they didn't know it existed already. The water begins to get shallower as they gradually approach the shore, and their tails brush against the sand beneath them. They can't go much further than this, otherwise their tails would dry out, and that won't be a very pleasant experience.

As their heads rise above the water, they receive a surprise. There's a shipwreck, barely a few metres in front of them. The ship is turned on its side, water trickling out, and one quick look at the wood tells them that it hasn't been there for very long. Perhaps a day or two, at most.

"Did you know about this?" Maki asks, turning to Nozomi. She shakes her head, looking perplexed.

"No. I came here about four days ago, and forgot about it until now. The ship wasn't there before."

"So it has only crashed recently..."

Out of the corner of her eye, Maki spots a couple of figures approaching them. Humans. She narrows her eyes, taking in their appearances.

The taller of the two has blond hair tied back into a ponytail, and icy blue eyes. She seems stern, somebody that Maki wouldn't want to mess with. Turning her attention to the other girl, the shorter one, she sees that she has short ginger hair and warm chartreuse eyes. She's walking with a slight limp.

Both of their clothes are torn and dirty, and there are red patches as though they've been bleeding. Maki scrunches her nose up at the thought, not much liking the direction this is heading in.

Before she can duck beneath the water and swim away, Nozomi clasps her shoulder, preventing her from doing so.

"These people seem hurt. We should help them!"

"I-" Too late. The humans are now standing in front of them, looking down at them in surprise.

"Uh, who are you?" Maki blurts out before either of them start speaking.

The blonde one is taken aback for a moment, as though she hadn't expected her to talk, then she wades deeper into the water to get closer, not caring about getting wet. Her companion closely follows.

"I'm Eli Ayase. A pirate," she says simply, eyeing the mermaids up. "Are you humans?"

"Does it look like it?" Nozomi replies with a laugh, raising her tail above the water slightly.

"So mermaids do exist..." Eli replies, watching the tail carefully. Maki wonders why she hasn't freaked out yet. Surely she'd be at least a little shocked that they aren't humans?

"I'm Rin Hoshizora!" The ginger exclaims, holding a hand out to Maki and Nozomi for them to shake. "Pleasure to meet you!"

Taking her hand tentatively, Maki says, "Why aren't you more surprised about us? I mean, we're mermaids, and you're..." She trails off, not wanting to offend them.

"We spotted what looked like a mermaid not too long ago, and anyway, there had been plenty of rumours about them. It was just a matter of time before we run into them, we thought," Eli informs them.

"I see..."

"What are your names?" Rin interrupts.

"I'm Nozomi, and that's Maki. She's kinda shy around strangers."

"No, I'm not!"

This sets the pirates off into giggles. "It's nice that we've found other... forms of life... to talk to. Especially after the ship crashed and there's no phone signal on this island," Eli says with a sigh.

Nozomi tilts her head curiously. "Oh, what do you mean?"

So the mermaids are told the story of how they ended up here. There was a storm a few days ago, and the waves were so rough that they hurtled the ship off course and onto an island. Eli regretfully says that she and Rin are the only survivors, to which Maki doesn't know how to respond.

When it seems like they're getting close to tears, Nozomi drives the subject away from it. "Do you wanna come down to our kingdom? We've got some drinks with us that'll let you breathe underwater. There, we'll be able to treat your injuries and give you a place to stay."

"Yeah!" Rin says enthusiastically. Eli nods in agreement.

---

It's hard for the young pirates to get used to being this deep underwater at first. Maki bandages their wounds, and Nozomi hands them clothes that she had saved in case they ever got human company. She's always prepared for the weirdest situations.

Nozomi seems particularly interested in Eli, and she tells Maki one evening that she found out Eli is part Russian. In the meantime, Rin explores the kingdom, fascinated by how it all works. There's something about her that Maki can't help but feel drawn to, and Nozomi encourages her to speak to her.

"Go on! I'm sure you two will become great friends!"

So maki does. Almost a week after their meeting, she enters Rin's bedroom, and finds her lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. She's smiling, just like always, but there's something wistful and sad about it.

Maki sits beside her, still keeping a bit of a distance between them. "Hey, are you alright?"

Not exactly the best way to start a conversation, but what else can she say?

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about home."

"Your home? What's it like?" Maki can only imagine what a human home must look like, having never been on land before.

"It's only a small place. I was never there much because I was always travelling on the ship. Did you know Eli-chan invited me to join her when she started, because she's afraid of the dark and she didn't want to be alone?" Rin replies, a grin spreading across her face.

"Really? She's so mature, I never would have thought..."

"And,' Rin pulls herself up into a sitting position, throwing an arm around Maki's shoulders, "She told me that she thinks Nozomi-chan is cute. Like, a crush."

"Huh?"

Rin takes one look at Maki's dumbfounded expression before bursting into laughter. She leaps up, and heads to the door. "Don't tell Nozomi-chan I said that! It'll be fun to see if they get together!"

She leaves Maki behind, who stares at the now empty doorway in shock. A human being in love with a mermaid? It's unheard of.

---

The pirates go back home a few days later when they find out there's a rescue party searching for them. Maki feels a pang of sadness, but she doesn't try to stop them. They thank her, and are then on their way.

"Do you wish they were still here?" Maki asks Nozomi quietly as they watch them swim up to the surface.

"Yeah, but I've got a plan. I already told Elicchi."

It's quite a long way to the mainland, but Nozomi decides it's worth it if it means they can see them often. Most nights, they go near the beach, waiting for the pirates to arrive. Then, they'll spend time with them until dawn. It's a routine that they slowly get into, and Maki feels herself getting even closer to Rin.

It's a couple of weeks later when Rin tells Maki that Nozomi and Eli had met in secret a couple of times, and are now a couple.

"What?!"

"Yep, Eli-chan couldn't keep it a secret from me! She's super happy! Apparently, they shared an underwater kiss and everything!"

Thinking about Nozomi's flirtatious personality, Maki should have known something like this was coming. It's confirmed the day after when Nozomi herself brings it up casually.

This only gets Maki closer to Rin. She's an endless supply of energy, not being afraid to lightly tease Maki and get reactions out of her. Maki is bombarded with questions about what it's like to be a mermaid, and she answers each of them, no matter how crazy they are, though it is a little exasperating at times. Not that she'd ever admit it. Not that she'd ever admit she's attached to Rin, either.

Nozomi senses something is up, and she uses this to hook them up at every opportunity, much to Maki's annoyance.

Then, it's the day of the funeral for the pirates that had died in the shipwreck. Of course, Maki and Nozomi couldn't go themselves, but Maki notices the slump in Rin's shoulders, her head hanging a bit lower that night.

"Are you okay?" she asks, and Rin replies with a forced smile.

"Yep! I just, well, you know..."

Her voice cracks at the end, and Maki brings her in to a hug without even thinking. Rin sobs into her shoulder, the tears being lost in the vast body of water they're in. Losing so many crew members must be hard, especially if they worked together a lot. Maki runs a hand through her hair, stroking it. She stays silent whilst the pirate clings onto her.

Rin really doesn't like to dwell on things. She's always looking forward to the future, and this is no different. When they finally part, she laughs in an attempt to lighten the mood, though her eyes are still red.

"You're a pretty good hugger, Maki-chan!" she states with a slight sniffle. She hastily wipes at her eyes again, her familiar smile beginning to make its way onto her face again.

"A what?"

"A good hugger! Maybe it's a thing for mermaids, because Eli-chan told me that Nozomi-chan is good at hugging, too! Or- Wait, you're turning red, Maki-chan! Are you embarrassed?"

She's got that stupid grin again, the one that Maki finds so annoying yet endearing at the same time. "I... I'm not!"

"Liar!"

Rin leaps on top of her, twirling them around in the water a couple of times. Her laughter is so infectious that Maki soon finds herself joining in. Her red tail follows her like a ballgown, and just for now, she thinks of herself as the luckiest mermaid in the world.

Maki doesn't fail to catch Rin whisper in her ear, "Thanks for helping to cheer me up."

Honestly, Maki has to admit to herself that not all humans are meant to be kept away from. She likes Rin. It's as simple as that.