You're Adopted
Author's Note: This is a YAOI story. That means there will be at least one male x male romantic pairing. This story is also about mermen and mermaids. If any those things bother you, you might want to turn back now. Reviews are appreciated and I hope you all enjoy the story.
Chapter Notation: Please do keep in mind that this is a fantasy story. Any biological/cultural traits that are referenced are not meant to be 100% scientifically accurate. I am "world building" by using ideas from my own imagination and from myths.
Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no profit off of any of my stories.
Chapter One
"Man, are you part dolphin or something?!" Naruto asks with a laugh as Sasuke comes swimming back to him.
"No, I'm not. Do I look like I have flippers to you? What'd I clock in at?" Sasuke asks.
Naruto looks at his watch. Damn. Sasuke might not have flippers, but he was wicked fast in the water. It was almost unbelievable that the dark haired man could swim that far in only sixty-eight seconds. That was like Olympian fast.
"A minute and eight seconds. That's a personal best. If your team doesn't win State, there is something seriously wrong." The blonde says.
Sasuke nods. That beat his old record by fifteen seconds. He was getting better. The Uchiha honestly didn't know what it was about water, but he felt more comfortable in it than out of it. So joining the swim team had just made perfect sense to him.
Back in high school, Fugaku had started to worry that Sasuke might be a little too antisocial to be healthy. He encouraged Sasuke to try out for a team or to join a club. He just wanted his son to do SOMETHING that involved socializing with someone other than just Naruto.
"Yeah. The Sound doesn't have a chance." Sasuke says with a smirk.
Sasuke was actually very athletic. Fugaku had hoped that he would try out for the football team, track, soccer, or something traditional. Sasuke just didn't have an interest in dealing with any of those sports. They were too touchy feely for him and he knew that the cheerleaders would end up getting on his nerves. So Sasuke had tried out for his high school swim team. The raven haired man had excelled at the sport and became the Captain of his high school swim team. Four years later, he received a full athletic scholarship to Konoha University.
Sasuke was naturally competitive and wanted to prove that he deserved that scholarship. He was going to do so by defeating Konoha University's main rival at State, Sound University. They were widely viewed as being unbeatable, but Sasuke had never been one to shy away from a challenge.
"You really are a cocky bastard. Though I guess in this case, you kinda have a right to be." Naruto observes.
"Come on. We should probably head back. It's getting late and I have a class at eight tomorrow." Sasuke says.
"Why the fuck would you sign up for a class at that hour?! It's nuts. You finally have the chance to choose when you take your classes and go with a morning class?" Naruto asks.
"I didn't have a choice. It's popular course. That was the only slot that had any seats open." Sasuke says with a shrug.
"Man that sucks. I'm lucky. I managed to get most of my classes in the afternoon or evening. The earliest class I have is at 11 in the morning." Naruto observes.
If Sasuke had his way, he wouldn't leave his bed before Noon. He was a night owl by nature. There was just something about the night that energized him. He didn't know what it was.
"Yeah. It does and you are such a lucky son of a bitch." The dark haired college student grumbles.
As he was musing about this, the hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stand up. He felt like he was being watched. Sasuke turns around and looks out into the water. For just a split second, he thought he saw a pair of violet eyes and a head of white hair peeking out from behind one of the larger rocks. Before he could determine if he had actually seen someone or if it was just a trick of the light, it was gone.
"You alright? You look like you've seen a ghost." Naruto asks.
"Yeah. I'm fine. I thought I saw someone, but I guess I must be just imagining things. Let's go back to our dorm. You can drive. I think I probably had one too many beers at the party or something." Sasuke says.
Naruto nods. He didn't mind playing the role of the designated driver. He was blessed with a high tolerance for alcohol. Sasuke wasn't. He was lucky if he could have more than two beers before he started really feeling it. The two of them head back to the car and drive off.
"Seriously, what would you do without me? You are such a lightweight." Naruto taunts him.
"I guess I would have to call a cab and my ears would bleed less. You have to be the loudest person that I've ever met. God help me, if you ever bring a girl back to our dorm." Sasuke mutters.
The Uchiha couldn't resist teasing the boisterous blonde. Naruto was his best friend, but it hadn't always been that way. When they were kids, they hated each other.
They fought like cats and dogs. They still did sometimes. But he knew that the blonde would always be there for him, when push came to shove. Sasuke would always return the favor. Naruto was like the brother he never had.
"You can be such a bastard sometimes." Naruto sulks.
"You're the one that likes to hang out with a bastard, so what does that make you?" Sasuke continues taunting him.
"Oh I just use you. You are a chick magnet. Which is funny, since you prefer dicks." The blonde replies.
Sasuke just rolls his eyes. He was used to the blonde's jokes. As much as he was loathed to admit it, that was a classic. Naruto deserved a point for that one.
He had realized early on that he had no romantic interest in women. During middle school, most of his friends had gotten their first crushes. Sasuke never did. They would be fawning over the "cutest girls" or "the hottest celebrities." The studious swimmer just couldn't understand the appeal.
"I know. I'm cursed. You have no idea how annoying it is to get stalked by a herd of giggling harpies, everywhere you go." Sasuke mutters.
This had continued on through high school. Eventually, Naruto realized something was up. Sasuke was one of the most popular guys in their class, but he never had a girlfriend. The blonde started badgering the Uchiha about what type of girl he liked and trying to set him up on dates. Finally, Sasuke had just cracked and told him the truth.
Sasuke Uchiha, Captain of the swim team and one of the most popular guys in their school, was gay. He had no interest in girls. That had shocked Naruto. The lovable jock just couldn't fathom not liking girls, but eventually Naruto processed it. Now the blonde thought was extremely supportive (though often clueless) about Sasuke's sexuality.
"So speaking of sucking, any hotties on your swim team?" Naruto asks with a grin.
"Most of the guys on the team are straight. There's one who is bisexual and two other who are like me. The bisexual one is not my type. The other two are dating each other." Sasuke says.
"Wow. That bites. You really have the worst luck. Well I'm sure you'll meet someone. This is college after all. Plenty of fish in the sea!" Naruto says cheerfully.
Sasuke nods. He knew that his best friend meant well. But honestly, he didn't think it was going to happen for him. He knew that some people found their soul mate in high school or college, but he considered that to be fairly rare. Still they said there was someone out there for everyone. Eventually, he'd find the right person.
Unbeknownst to them, they had just left behind a very excited merman. Suigetsu watches as they leave. Izuna was going to be thrilled.
"He looks like he's of age now. He should be turning back soon." Suigetsu muses.
Suigetsu was a merman and belonged to the Sharingan Pod. A pod was what a large group of mermaids and mermen was called. Izuna Uchiha was the leader of the Sharingan Pod and apparently was the hot two legger's father.
It wasn't completely unheard of for mermen or mermaids to Mate with humans. Certainly, it was rare. But it had happened before. When that happened, the hatchling would age and develop just like any normal human until they "Came of Age."
That's when they would begin to hear the Ocean's Call and start to change back into their true form. It was a fairly gradual process, it didn't happen overnight. While they were changing back, a guide would be assigned to them. In this case, Suigetsu was going to be "Sasuke's" guide. He just didn't know it yet.
"He really does take after his old man." Suigetsu observes.
The resemblance was striking. If it were not for the generational gap, they could have been identical twins. They both had raven black hair that was spiked in a feral fashion, moonlight pale skin, aristocratic features, and a sleek muscular builds. The main difference other than age, was that Sasuke hadn't activated his Sharingan yet. So his eyes were still obsidian black, whereas his father's were ruby red.
Now that was going to be one gorgeous merman. Suigetsu couldn't help but wonder what color tail he'd get. Red would look really sexy. A darker blue would be really alluring as well.
Hmm there were lots of good options. He really hoped it wasn't a bright color though. That would just clash horribly with his dark hair and fair skin.
"Wonder if he likes green." The merman asks himself as he looks down at his own light green tail.
Suigetsu had been watching Sasuke from afar for a couple years. It was important that guides get to know their charges beforehand. It was a bad idea to know nothing about a person, before you sprang the fact that they weren't really human on them.
He wasn't sure when it happened exactly, but he had fallen in love with his charge. At first, he had thought it was just lust. That was only natural. Sasuke was fucking gorgeous, no matter what species you were.
Overtime it had either developed into more or Suigetsu had just stopped living in denial. He wasn't sure which. He didn't care. The important thing was that he was in love with Izuna's long lost son.
"Has he started transforming yet?" Suigetsu hears a familiar voice ask.
It was Kisame. Kisame was another merman. Well sorta. He was from a subspecies known as the Akatsuki. The Akatsuki were mermen and women who had shark features.
In Kisame's case, his features resembled that of a Hammerhead Shark. He had light blue skin, shark teeth, and gills on his face. He was also much larger than most mermen. His hair and tail were both navy blue and his eyes were silver.
"I don't think so. He must be getting close though. He's getting much faster now." Suigetsu says.
"That's impressive. He was pretty speedy for a human to begin with." The Akatsuki muses.
Suigetsu nods. He knew the real reason that Kisame was here. He was really only interested in Sasuke because Sasuke had a half-brother. Itachi. Itachi had somehow found out about Sasuke, despite Izuna's wishes.
The white haired merman wasn't exactly sure why Izuna wanted to keep the half-siblings apart, but he did. Maybe he just wanted Sasuke to transform first and have time to adjust. Maybe he was worried Itachi would be jealous of Sasuke or resent Sasuke for having a human mother. Who knew?
"Have you told Itachi that Sasuke is about to transform yet?" The violet eyed man inquires.
"No. Not yet. I want him to actually transform, before I tell him anything. Not much point in telling Itachi, if Sasuke is human." Came the surprisingly honest reply.
Suigetsu mentally sighs in relief. Itachi's intentions towards his half-brother were a mystery to everyone, but Itachi. The green tailed merman wanted Sasuke to transform and get used to being a merman, before he found out about his elder sibling. It looked like Kisame was going to indulge him, at least partially in this desire.
"You really love him. I've never known an Akatsuki to venture this close to the shore before." Suigetsu says.
Kisame was good at hiding his feelings, but Suigetsu could tell. He knew what it was like to watch someone from afar. To be able to look, but never to touch. He had gotten good at hiding his own fascination with his hybrid.
He had to. Suigetsu was worried that if Izuna found out about his desires for Sasuke, he'd assign another guardian to him. He couldn't let that happen. So he kept his feelings a secret.
"As much as you love your hybrid." Kisame admits.
"If you or Itachi try to hurt him, I will kill you. Just so we are clear." Suigetsu says with a far too cheerful smile.
"If you or Sasuke hurt Itachi, I will kill you. Just so we are clear. I suppose it's a good thing that we are laying all our coral on the table." The blue skinned merman says with a smirk and Suigetus nods in agreement.
The next morning, Naruto woke up to his normally quiet roommate screaming his head off. His eyes widen and he races towards the source of the panicked cries for help. The blonde blinks when he saw Sasuke was in the tub.
"Sasuke, what the Hell is wrong? Why are you screaming bloody murder?" Naruto asks.
"It's my legs! Naruto, look at my fucking legs!" Sasuke says in an utterly terrified tone.
The blue eyed college student glances down at his best friend's legs. He gasps at what he saw. There were scales scattered along them. SCALES! There weren't a lot of them, just a handful. But it was more than enough to freak them both out.
"Sasuke, what the Hell?! I was kidding about the dolphin thing! Sheesh. How long have you had those?!" Naruto asks.
"I just noticed them when I got in the tub. Damn it! Should I go to the hospital? Maybe it's just a rash? Maybe something was in the water and I had an allergic reaction?" Sasuke asks desperately.
Naruto looks at Sasuke's scales again. Yeah, those weren't caused by a rash. He gestures for Sasuke to get out of the tub and turns his back to give his friend some privacy. He hears Sasuke throw on a bathrobe and turns around.
"Can I touch them?" The other college student asks.
"I don't know if that's a good idea. If I was exposed to some sort of toxins, you might get whatever I have." Sasuke replies.
"Yeah. Good point. Hang on." Naruto says and he darts off.
A few minutes later, he returns wearing a pair of gloves. Sasuke gives Naruto a look like, "Really?" The blonde shrugs and gingerly touches one of the scales.
"You have better dispose of those very carefully. I don't want you getting sick too." Sasuke warns him.
"I will. It's definitely not a rash. Those are scales Sasuke. You have like fucking fish or snake scales on you. I've never seen anything like it. Holy shit. We should probably get you to the hospital or something. Do they hurt?" Naruto asks.
Sasuke frowns as he considers the question. Well no. They didn't hurt, but that wasn't very comforting. He should NOT have scales on his legs.
"No. They don't hurt. I can't go to the hospital. What if they try to dissect me or something?!" Sasuke demands.
"I don't think they'd dissect you. Hey, look they are shrinking." Naruto says.
The Uchiha blinks. He looks down. Sure enough, the scales were shrinking. It was a slow process, but it was definitely noticeable. He frowns and scoops up a handful of water. He splashes it on his legs and the scales start to grow back slightly.
"It's the water. I think we should get the water tested. It might happen to me too." Naruto says.
"Yeah. We definitely need to get the water tested." Sasuke agrees and sighs in relief when after a few minutes, his legs no longer have scales on them.
Sasuke glances at the clock and mentally curses. If he was going to actually get to class on time, he would have to dress and scram. He bites his lower lip anxiously at that thought. Sasuke wasn't entirely certain if he should go to class or not.
Maybe he should go to a hospital? He dismisses that thought. What was he going to say? "I need to see a doctor because when my legs get wet, I temporarily get scales." That would probably get him sent to the psych ward and he was not crazy! Naruto had seen the scales too!
"I'll call someone to come look at the water. Sasuke, maybe you should skip today. I know you don't usually play hooky, but today you probably should. What if the scales come back? What if they come back somewhere more noticeable, like on your face or something?" His best friend asks.
"Naruto, make the call. I'm going to have one of the school nurses look me over. I'm not going to mention anything about the scales, but I'll feel better if I get a clean bill of health." Sasuke says.
"Yeah. Probably a good idea. Don't worry. I'll take care of this. We'll figure this out!" Naruto says with a bright sunny smile.
Sasuke shakes his head. Idly, he wonders if Naruto would ever outgrow his eternal optimism. The Uchiha sometimes wondered if there wasn't something in Naruto's beloved ramen that made him so perky.
"Alright. I'll be back soon." Sasuke says as he darts off towards the closest nurse's office.
"Is anyone there?" Sasuke asks as he knocks on the door.
"Yeah! Come in." He hears a feminine voice reply and soon the door is opened to reveal Sakura.
Sasuke mentally curses his luck. Damn it. Sakura was a med student. She was job shadowing Tsunade. The pink haired woman had made no secret of the fact she would love to "Play Doctor," with Sasuke.
It wasn't that Sasuke didn't like Sakura. He just didn't like her in that way. Quite honestly, she just didn't entice him because she was the wrong gender. Naruto knew he was gay, but Sakura didn't.
"Oh hey, Sasuke. What's wrong? Not many people come in this early in the morning." The jade eyed woman asks.
"I was out swimming with Naruto last night. I was practicing for State. When I got back to our dorm, I felt itchy. I think there might have been something in the water." Sasuke explains.
Sakura purses her lips. Well it wasn't impossible. Oil spills and pollution did spread sometimes, even if the effects weren't always visible. She suddenly felt worried for her crush.
"Where did you feel itchy exactly?" She asks.
"My legs." The swimmer replies and Sakura nods, gesturing for him to roll up his pants.
Sasuke does so without compliant. Thankfully, Sakura was now in professional mode. She might like him, but she could shove aside her attraction to focus on providing him actual medical care. He knew that she wouldn't use the opportunity to try to feel him up. (Unlike some other female health care providers that he had the misfortune of seeing in the past.)
"Well they look normal. I don't see any rash or any cuts. Let me check your temperature and pulse just to be on the safe side." Sakura says.
"Alright. Sure." Sasuke says and allows her to place the thermometer in his mouth.
"Hmm this has to be broken. It says that temperature is 70 degrees Fahrenheit or about 21 degrees Celsius. Hang on, I'll get another one." She says with a smile and quickly grabs a different thermometer.
Sakura goes through about five before she looks at Sasuke in horror. There was no possible way that all five could be wrong. Sasuke gulps at her expression.
"I don't understand. At this temperature, you should be in a coma and your body should be shutting down. You should be dead or dying, but you look perfectly fine." Sakura says.
"Here let me see them. I think they really are just defective." Sasuke says and reaches for the thermometer.
Sakura lets him have it. Clearly she shaken up. Sasuke takes them and while she was distracted, he crushes the ends in his hand, giving them back to her. He points out that they were broken.
"How did I not notice that? No wonder that they were wrong. Sorry about that. Um I'll just check your heart rate." She says.
Sasuke nods. After about at minute, he realizes something was really wrong. Sakura looked really worried. Uh oh.
"Sasuke, the average heart rate for an adult is between 60-80 beats per minute. It can go higher, if you are exercising of course. It can get as high as up to 300, but that's really dangerous. Yours is at 124. Have you been running a marathon or something this morning?" She asks.
"Oh um I was practicing laps. Like I said, my legs got itchy. I must have overdone it. Thanks, Sakura. I'll just head off. I feel much better now." Sasuke says and he awkwardly darts off.
First, scales. Then his body temperature should have been fatal. Now his heart rate was going too fast. This was not normal. Yet, he felt fine. He should be in a coma or dead according to what he knew about the human body.
He runs back to his room, feeling terrified. Sasuke happens to see that his marine biology book was open. It was open to a page about sharks. Sharks have a heart rate of 124 beats per minute. Oh God. What was happening to him?! He quickly calls his parents.
"Mom, dad! Please pick up." He practically screams into the phone.
"I'm here, Sasuke. What's wrong? You sound terrified." Mikoto asks her son.
"I really need to talk to you guys in person. I can be home in fifteen minutes. Are you free? It's really important!" Sasuke exclaims.
"Of course, we are free. We'll be here baby. Whatever it is, I'm sure that we can find a way to fix it." The dark beauty assures him.
Sasuke hangs up and looks at Naruto. He bit his lower lip. How as he supposed to explain this?
"My body temperature was only 70 degrees and my heart was going over 120 beats per minute. I should be dead or at least in a coma, Naruto. I'm going to talk to my parents." Sasuke says.
"Shit! That's crazy. Do you want me to drive you? I mean with those vitals, it might not be a good idea for you to be driving anywhere." Naruto offers.
Sasuke nods. That was actually a good point. He heads off with Naruto. The blonde drives him home and Sasuke races inside his house, with his best friend not far behind.
"Mom, dad! I know this is going to sound crazy. But I think I'm turning into a fish or something. I had scales earlier, but they went away! My body temperature is only 70 degrees and my heart rate is really fast. I don't know what's wrong with me!" He exclaims.
Fugaku and Mikoto look at each other. Instead of looking at Sasuke like he was crazy, they looked rather resigned. Hell, Sasuke would even say they looked guilty about something.
"Son, you are going to want to sit down. There's something that your mother and I need to tell you." Fugaku says.
Sasuke sits down. Naruto sits down next to him. The young Uchiha was suddenly really grateful that Naruto had come with him. He didn't want to face whatever this was alone.
"You know that we love you. We love you more than anything. That's why we were so happy when we found you." Mikoto says.
Sasuke blinks. FOUND HIM?! FOUND HIM?! What the fuck did that even mean?!
"You're adopted. We had been trying for years to have a child, but with no luck. I'm actually sterile. So when we found a baby washed up on a beach, we thought it was just fate. Naturally, we took you to the police station. Surely, someone would come looking for you. But no one came. After a few months, it was decided that your parents either abandoned you, were dead, or just weren't going to find you. Eventually, we were able to legally adopt you." Fugaku explains.
"Alright. So he's adopted! Lots of people are! That doesn't explain why he's turning into a fish or something!" Naruto exclaims.
"He's not turning into a fish. He's turning into a merman." Mikoto corrects him.
"WHAT?!" Sasuke sputters in disbelief.
Fugaku sighs. He knew this day would come. They probably should have told him sooner, but it had always seemed so far away. Time had just snuck up on them.
""I know it sounds difficult to believe, but your father wasn't…like us. When you were little, you used to love going to the beach we found you on. One day, you wandered away from us and into the water. Far too deep for any three year old to go. You should have drowned but someone saved you. That someone was not human. That was how we met Izuna." Fugaku continues.
Sasuke's heart was beating frantically in his chest. This couldn't be happening. He couldn't be turning into a fucking mermaid! Well merman, he mentally corrects himself. (As if somehow that was going to make a difference.)
"He was glorious, Sasuke. His eyes were red like rubies and skin was paler than the moon. When he got closer to us though, we noticed that he wasn't walking. He was swimming. He had a pitch black tail. Scaled like a fish. He swam like a dolphin. It was then that he explained everything to us." Mikoto continues.
If Sasuke didn't know his parents any better, he might say this was some sort of prank. As much as he wanted to believe it, something in his mother's words rang true. He could picture this mysterious being in his minds eye. It felt too vivid to be his imagination, like it was a memory.
"What did this Izuna say?" Sasuke demands.
"He said that he fell in love with a human woman. That you were a special baby. You would grow as any human child until you came of age. Once you were old enough, you would become like him. A guide would be sent to help you make the transition, when you were old enough. A merman or a mermaid. We should have told you earlier, but we always thought we had more time. That and we were worried you would think we were crazy." Mikoto whispers.
It sounded crazy. Sasuke would have thought his parents had lost it, if it wasn't for the fact he had seen evidence of this transition before his very eyes. Naruto looked just as shocked as he was.
"Did he say how I would know who my guide was?" Sasuke asks.
"Your guide will be wearing this symbol on a necklace." Fugaku says and he shows him a family crest that was white and red, a fan.
"Well that's something at least. At least I'll know him or her when I see them." Sasuke says with a sigh.
He couldn't believe this! Sasuke was adopted. As if that wasn't enough to process, he was also turning into some mythological creature! He bites his lower lip and wishes he could turn back time.
Two days ago his biggest concern had been getting into the marine biology class he wanted and whether or not he could win State. Now he knew he wasn't even human. Sasuke could only look at his parents helplessly as they hugged him and told him that it was all going to be okay. He wasn't sure if he believed them or not.