Enemies

Summary: RE: World of Mermaid Melody Challenges. Mutual attraction can happen in the strangest places, through the strangest talks. But some loves are never meant to be. Mild NoelxMikeru.

Genre: Romance/Angst

Rating: T

Disclaimer: In the American alphabet, the letter 'M' is right next the letter 'N.' Just thought I'd toss that out there.

T.A.R.N.S.: This wasn't my idea, so don't shoot. This pairing was Big Sister Kitty-sama's. Once again, this was a challenge from the forum, and though I'd kicked the idea around for awhile, I didn't have any ideas for it. Until now. Apparently New Year's Eve + MichelxNoel Forum Challenge + A music video of Tsubasa wo Daite = This story. (And I wasn't even drinking. O.O)

"The rainbow wind, blows at a far off coast. Before dawn there was a melody I heard. It's a very nostalgic song. The birds that fly, towards the eastern sky, now escape to the treasure island through this shortcut." Noel paused in her singing and looked around. The whole town was quiet in the early morning. Besides her, there was nothing around except the morning mist.

Or so she thought.

The next minute, someone had dropped out of nowhere and was holding a silver dagger at her neck.

"Don't move." He warned her. It was a moot point, as Noel was too shocked to move.

"I'll take that pearl now." He continued, looking at Noel with pale blue, apparently pupil-less eyes.

"What pearl?" Noel asked.

"The pearl in the shell locket around your neck." He said.

There was a long, momentary pause, then Noel snapped. "No!" At the same time she swung back and landed a punch square on his chin.

Her attacker stumbled back, dropping his dagger, and Noel, for her part, was too shocked to move. She'd never hit anyone before.

"What the heck, woman?" He asked as he wiped the spittle off his chin.

"I'm sorry!" Noel cried. "I was just going to shove you away and then run," And transform to Blue Pearl Voice and stop him, but she didn't add that part. "And besides, I think that was for Gaito." She said, then put her fist by own chin.

For another moment, they both stood there, contemplating the absurdity of the situation, and Noel was able to get a better view of her attacker. He had long hair, pulled back in a ponytail, colored white despite the fact that he looked young. He was wearing a white shirt and blue pants, and both of his ears were pierced with gold hoop earrings.

Then she realized she'd seen him somewhere before. "You look familiar."

He gave her a strange look, then in a flash of light, he changed. He grew taller, his hair grew longer, and four pairs of wings burst out of his back, leaving a shower of white feathers all over the ground.

Noel gasped. "You're Michel!"

"You didn't have to work very hard to figure that out, did you?" He asked as he aimed a hand at the silver dagger. It started to glow, the transformed into silver energy, which Michel re-absorbed.

"What are you doing here?!" She demanded.

"Well, I was trying to steal a pearl." He replied.

Noel giggled, and he growled at her. The blue princess yawned and then did something that surprised her. "Would you like some coffee?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"No, I mean it. I want to talk to you. And it's so early no one else is up yet, and I'm tired and I really need some coffee."

"Like this?" He asked, indicating his angelic form.

"No. You made yourself human before, you can do it again, right?"

He sniffed derisively. "Disguising myself as a filthy human?"

"You did it once before."

A few miles away, a café/doughnut shop was getting ready for the early morning rush. The place was fairly deserted, only one middle-aged waitress was on duty, and the only other occupants of the shop were a few men, on their way to a fishing trip, enjoying a cup of coffee.

Everyone looked up as the door opened, and watched as the blue haired girl and white haired man headed over to a booth near a window. The waitress quickly brought them their order, as there was really no one else around to wait on, then she headed off to talk to the fishermen.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Michel asked as he glanced at the brown liquid swirling around in his cup.

"Why are trying to take over the world?" Noel asked, point-blank.

"You don't waste time, do you?" Michel asked. "I'm doing it because that's what I was told to do."

"Told? By whom?"

"My advisors." He answered. "Both of whom would probably die if they knew what I was doing right now." That's a good idea. I should make sure to tell them. But he knew he wouldn't.

"Alright. So, do you want to take over the world?" Noel asked.

That one threw him for a loop. "What?"

"Do you want to take over the world?" Noel repeated the question.

He frowned at her. "I will do what it takes to bring my people back." Then his expression changed. Grimacing, he braced one arm on the table, and grabbed at his chest with the other, waiting for the pain to pass.

"Michel?" The blue mermaid asked, confused.

He shook his head but didn't bother to look up at her, at least not until the pain had eased a few moments later.

"Are you alright?" The blue mermaid asked.

Michel nodded. Then he said, "We shouldn't be doing this. Next time we meet, we'll be enemies."

"So? Why can't we just be civil now?" Noel asked. Michel didn't reply, and Noel continued. "What were you doing around here, anyway?"

"Well, I was trying to steal a pearl," He replied. Noel started to laugh, and didn't stop until he glared at her. Then she asked, "Why were you trying to steal a pearl?"

"Full of questions, aren't you?" Michel asked. "My minions have been failing. A lot. I thought I'd give it a try. Perhaps it would have gone better if I hadn't decided to try for an element of surprise."

"I wondered where you came from." Noel replied. "There was no one around, and then all of a sudden, you were there. It was just like you-"

"Dropped from the sky?" He finished for her. "I did. When I was close enough to you I put my wings away and dropped to the ground. What's your name?"

"Huh?" Noel tried to follow the sudden change in subject.

"Your name. What is it?"

"I'm Noel."

"All we've done is talk about me. Now, let's talk about you."

"Okay. I'm a mermaid, in case you haven't already guessed. I'm the princess of the Arctic Sea, and I have a twin sister, even though we're not identical." Noel said. Then she added, "I have another question for you."

"How surprising."

"Why are you after the mermaid's pearls?"

"I don't think I'll tell you."

"Why not?"

"I have reasons."

"I thought we were friends."

That one made him pause. "When we leave here today and go our separate ways, we'll be enemies again. Why should we be friends now?"

"Because…" Noel paused as she tried to think up a good answer.

…because I don't think you're as evil as you seem…

…because I think there's good inside you and it needs to come out…

…because I've never spent this much time alone with a guy before, and I think I'm starting to become attracted to you…

The last one made her blush; she could feel the heat rising in her face. Michel looked at her strangely but thankfully made no comment.

"I need the energy." He said, and it shocked her.

"You mean… you mean… you're stealing the power from the pearls?"

This annoyed him, she could tell. "No. I'm stealing the power from the shell lockets. What do you think?"

"Why?"

"I need the power to make me stronger and help revive my people." He said. And for a moment she saw something dark in him, and it scared her.

Before either of them could say anything, the waitress was back, holding the coffee pot. "Need a refill?" She asked.

Both of them paused to look at their now cold cups of coffee and shook their heads. The waitress walked off. Outside in the distance a church bell was tolling, Noel counted the chimes under her breath. "It's four a.m."

"So it is." Was Michel's only reply. He was clutching his chest again, Noel noticed. "Are you sure you're alright?" She asked.

"I'm fine." He said. "But I think it's time we leave."

Noel nodded. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out some money and tossed it on the table. "That ought to cover the bill," She said as she rose and followed him out the door.

He was nearly a block ahead of her before she caught up. The sun was just starting to rise over the horizon, sending pink streaks across the sky. "Michel, wait." She called.

He stopped walking but didn't turn around. "I told you, next time we meet, we'll be enemies." In a flash of light he transformed, returning to his true angelic form. "We shouldn't have done this."

"I think there's good inside you!" Noel blurted out, then clamped her mouth shut, as if realizing she'd done something wrong.

He smiled, both bitterly and sadly. "What is good?" He asked. "And what is bad? I must revive my people. You must do what you think is right."

"Maybe there's another way." Noel whispered.

"There is no other way." Michel replied. He stepped closer. "I know what you're thinking. And I know what you want. But it can't be." He finished, and then he kissed her. It was brief, but enough to leave her wanting more.

"You seem like the only person who could understand me." He said. "And maybe I could grow to love you. I think I could. I truly do. But I have to revive my people, and-"

He was cut off as Noel threw herself at him, planting a kiss firmly on his lips. After a moment of shock, he wrapped his arms around her and returned the gesture. A long moment later, they finally pulled apart.

"Is it possible to love someone you've just met?" Michel asked. Unspoken were the words, 'Someone you fight against?'

Noel looked up at him. "Sometimes love works like that."

But they both knew this love was never meant to be.

It was only another moment, but it felt like and eternity, then Michel turned away. "Remember what I said." He told her, and then he spread his wings and flew away.

Noel watched until he was no more then a glowing speck in the distant sky. And then she saw it. One lone, long white feather drifting back down towards her. She reached out a hand and caught it.

"When we meet again, we'll be enemies."

She remembered what he'd said later, when the six mermaids finally went to his castle. They didn't have a choice, the planet was falling into chaos and they had to get Seira back.

Noel was unusually quiet as the travelled up the DNA spiral that transported them to the castle, noting only after they had arrived that Michel was the one who'd brought them there.

But the tall pillars that supported what looked like a pyre on top were the only thing in the room, at least until he was there, in yet another flash of light.

They transformed…

Then they sang…

But it did nothing.

"A fossil has no ears to here your song." Michel told them, and Noel thought she detected a note of sadness in his voice. But it was gone a moment later when he started attacking them again.

It was after they had fallen…

After they struggled back up…

Then the chibi bird appeared and told Michel that now was the time to revive the Ancients.

"I will absorb the mermaid princesses, and restore the beautiful state of this planet!" And then his wings began to glow.

The next thing Noel knew, she was wrapped up in his wings, lying on the floor, screaming as Michel tried to absorb her.

"Don't you remember?" She screamed inside her mind. "Michel, don't you remember me? What we said, what we did?"

But she could see the answer written on his face, plain as day. It was what he'd told her all along.

"Next time we meet, we'll be enemies."

None of it mattered at all.

~ The last page of a fairytale has been re-written and changed into a tragedy. Even for one person's heart who believed in it, it's been lost. Love and dreams are nothing more than a sandcastle that's short-lived and breakable, even if you didn't wish it so… ~

Fin

T.A.R.N.S.: So…yeah. Here it is. Seven pages in MS Word. Wow. That was impressive. And Seira never showed up once. Just what the heck am I writing anyway?

So… Mikeru's human form… that came from my other MMPPP fic, Kyrie. The song Noel was singing, well, I'll let you guess what that one is. If you've watched the first few episodes of the anime, you should know it, right off the bat. The song at the very bottom is Sara's song, Return to the Sea.

Hopefully this was dramatic enough, I'm not a very good romance author, but I did what I could. I rather liked it. I hope everyone likes it, too, especially Big Sister Kitty. Please review!