Yay! My new fanfiction as promised.

Inspired by Aquamarine and Olivia Lufkin

This one has a much more interesting storyline, so enjoy.

Read and Review, please!

She must have seen the light.

Yes… a brilliant light that filtered through the shadows of the deep,

its alluring glow drawing her closer and closer to the surface.

Time is up, my dear…

She heard someone murmur.

The waves soon became unmoving, their fury tranquilized along with the roaring vibrations of the world below, like incensed lions put to rest by an unknown entity.

The winds, serene and pleasing, lifted the girl up, whispering soft words of comfort as

They parted the ocean with their gentle hands.

Remember your promise…

Her tail, brimming with azure, crystalline scales, drove her upward and into the sun.

And so she came, from below the murky waters: princess of the sea.

For hours, it seemed that the sky had been bellowing. Dark storm clouds heaped over the trees and swirled around with frenzy, rushing and racing against the callous gusts of air.

A girl scampered down the crowded streets in haste, her bag flapping beside her, cherry pink hair fluttering, and emerald eyes shifting nervously.

She glanced up at the gloomy sky as the sun's rays vanished beyond the billows of gray.

"Damn rain," she mumbled under her breath.

That was Sakura Haruno:

A senior attending Nomizu High School, and quite possibly the smartest girl to ever have dyed her hair bright pink.

And, of course, being a reputed genius (and voted most likely to succeed), she noticed changes in the weather better than anyone else.

Actually, she detected many things better than her fellow students.

Cheating boyfriends, pop quizzes, fresh rumors and gossip, you name it, she'll spot it.

But this was different.

It had been raining violently for the past three weeks now, so Sakura knew something was wrong.

Living on the dry coast, a light shower now and then was nothing to worry about. But if a giant shark wound up on shore from multiple ferocious storms, then that gave people reason to uneasiness.

The girl dashed across the garden of her grandmother's minshuku and slid open the door, soddenand numb from the heavy shower.

"Obaasan! I'm home!"

Sakura dropped her bag on a near table and kicked off her shoes, soaking up the warmth of the room.

A silver-haired lady appeared from the kitchen and handed a tray of food to her grand daughter.

"Obaasan, I have important news. There's some---"

"Not now, Sakura. Hurry and take this to room 14."

"But, grandmother---"

"Go!"

The girl rolled her eyes and walked up the stairs, stomping her wet feet on the wood.

No one cares, she sighed. No one gives a damn about this problem.

She stopped by a door with the number '14' nailed to it.

Knock

Knock

"Room service. Did you order Onigiri?"

No answer.

"Hello? Sir, or, uh…ma'am, did you order the riceballs?"

There was a hoarse, sullen voice behind the wall.

"No, please leave."

Eh? Could it be…?

"I'm sorry, can you repeat that?"

"I didn't order anything."

Yep, it's him.

Sakura twisted the knob and pushed open the door to a young man sitting near the bed.

He turned around, unfazed by the sudden intrusion, and glared at her with his jade eyes.

"Sa-Sabaku-san!"

Meet Sabaku Gaara:

A notorious, redheaded senior attending Nomizu and shares most of his classes with Sakura, which automatically made him a genius as well.

He was the former president of the debate team and won ever speech competition due to his sturdy and assertive nature and is quite the lady-killer.

"That was very rude of you, Sakura." He said, eyes glistening.

She invited herself over by him, and took a seat on the mats.

"Gaara-kun, I didn't know you came here after school."

"I just need some time away from home. Temari's been…bossy."

Sakura inched nearer and close enough to smell his cologne.

Lilacs…

"Nee, Gaara-kun, you smell nice today," she said with a merry giggle.

"Is this a habit of yours? Sniffing people?"

"I'm trying to be nice."

"You can be nice by leaving me alone to think."

"But…that's no fun at all. C'mon, you need some happy people in your life."

"Happy, eh?"

"Yeah. I classify myself as happy!"

"Oh, I thought you were one of those creepy people who stick around random strangers like flies to fruit."

"Gaara-kun, you're no stranger to me! We've been in the same classes for almost three years."

"Some of the classes…"he corrected her.

"Pfft…yeah, well, my point is that we've been classmates for a long time and you shouldn't treat me with such hostility."

Gaara glanced over at the girl, 'sheer annoyance' written all over her face.

He sighed and crossed his arms, drowning in her silly words and philosophies about life.

It was no secret that Sakura was infatuated with Gaara. She had been for some time and once announced that Gaara was the hottest guy she'd ever met in the auditorium where hundreds of students, fish to seniors, were seated. She wanted the world to know her true feelings and believed that clandestine flirting was the 'road to sorrow and heartbreak.'

Sakura's love burned brightly, but Gaara didn't return her feelings, nor did he plan to.

The pink haired girl was simply not right for him and he had been trying to tell her that, but according to Sakura, Benten, the goddess of love, herself had plans for them in the near future and wanted the two to marry.

And the evidence of their destiny together?

They both had green eyes.

"That is the most brainless nonsense that ever fell out of your mouth, Haruno."

"Demo, it's true, though! Benten both granted us with this special eye color because we were destined to marry and become one."

"You wear contacts, don't you?"

"Well…yeah, but…I'm the only girl with green eye contacts at Nomizu."

"Haruno, you're not very sharp when it comes to dealing with people."

"I'm getting there. I just need some time."

Whoosh!

The two suddenly stopped talking and listened to the pounding rain above the ceiling.

Gaara pushed aside the curtains and looked outside.

The rain had created a rushing, liquid barrier from the sky and barely anything was visible. Thunder roared fiercely as the leaves caught by the winds danced and soared away.

It looked like pure hell.

The time was 6:07 and the tempest had finally ended.

Haruno's inn regained peace and quiet until a shrill banging was heard at the front door.

Sakura charged downstairs to answer it.

"Who's there?" she asked.

There was no answer but more frantic banging.

"I'm not opening this door until you tell me what you want. It's a minshuku and our guests are trying to rest---"

"Haruno-san, open the door! There's been an accident!"

Sakura stepped a few feet back, frightened, and called for her grandmother.

"Obaasan, what should I do?"

The old lady emerged from her room with panic in her eyes, and called to the other side.

"This is Haruno-san, what is it that you want?"

"W-we have someone with us…a…a child. She appears to be hurt."

"This isn't a hospital, sir. I'm afraid you'll have to---"

"Yes, but we have no time to lose. She might die here!"

Sakura's heart began thumping as the guests all came down to investigate.

Haruno-san gripped the handle hesitantly and pulled it open.

Two men in soaking wet clothes stood outside, one was holding an unconscious girl in his arms.

The customers gapsed and began murmuring.

They stepped in and Sakura ran upstairs to prepare a room. She lit the lamp, unfolded two wool blankets and fluffed a pillow.

"Obaasan," she called. "I've set up a room for the girl."

The two men carried a naked, frail body over to the bed and tucked her under the covers.

Sakura held a hand over her lips in shock, tears about to fall.

Oh my God…

Never in her life had she seen someone so bruised and wounded right in front of her.

That little girl looked no older than 16 and had short cobalt hair, milky skin, and a gaunt figure.

She appeared pale and smelled of seaweed, or some kind of raw fish.

"G-grandmother…who is she?"

"We found her out in the ocean." One of them replied.

"She was just floating out there after the rain. We thought it was a plank, or a large dead fish, but it wasn't…"

Haruno-san remained speechless and bit her bottom lip as she placed her wrist on the girl's forehead.

"This one doesn't seem to have a fever. Her skin is quite healthy, as well. A bit pale, but she's alright."

The men exhaled in relief and whispered a 'thank goodness.'

"So, Haruno-sama," one of them started. "If the girl rests here for the night, she'll wake up healthy tomorrow?"

"Yes. I won't charge you two. Thank you for bringing her to my attention."

"Ah, thank you, ma'am. But how will we inform her parents about this?

We don't even know her name."

"We'll have to wait until tomorrow."

After the guests returned to their rooms, Sakura carried a bucket of warm water over to the sleeping girl and set it down by her.

She pushed apart the curtains and noticed the orange sun still in the sky.

"Haruno." Sakura turned her head back towards Gaara at the threshold, whose eyes were wide with confusion.

"Who… is she?"

"Some poor girl lost at sea. She might be a tourist, or something, but I'm not very sure."

His eyes were riveted on the unconscious lass and he stepped closer to the bed.

"How unfortunate," Sakura sighed. "I hope her parents didn't abandon her."

"Don't start sputtering out nonsense. How would she have---"

"You never know, Gaara-kun. Let's just let her rest for now. W'll find out tomorrow."

Sakura sat on a nearby chair, exhausted, with her chin on a palm and watched the sun slowly climb down, its streams of light fading away again.