I was walking on the shoreline, thinking about my brother. I was furious at the clan. Why had they made him kill our family?

I saw the flapping of a tail in a net submerged in the water a few yards away. Some poor creature was suffering. And it was big, too, not like a fish. I waded over and pulled out a kunai. I wanted to set it free.

When I saw it, though, I knew I was seeing things. It was a girl…with a tail.

A fish tail.

A mermaid tail.

And she looked familiar. She was flailing around, trying to get free, her pink hair tangling in the net.

"Sakura?" I asked, bewildered. Her green eyes widened. "Sasuke!"

She dove underwater, then came back up. "Sakura, what the hell?"

"Get me out and I'll tell you," she said fussily. I cut her out of the net and she sat up.

"I'm weak. I can't change back. We'll either have to stay here or go home and put me in a bathtub," she said.

I picked her up when I heard thunder.

"We're going to my house and you're explaining what the hell that is."

She wrapped her arms around my neck and I felt that her bra was hard. I looked down, trying to be discreet, and she said, "They're shells."

I nodded, and if I wasn't Uchiha Sasuke, I would have blushed.

I carried her to my home and filled the bathtub. "Warm, please," she said, shivering.

I made sure it was warm and placed her in it. She submerged herself and came back up a moment later, the only part above water being her head.

"Okay. What's going on?" I asked.

She closed her eyes. I saw that she was wearing thick black eyeliner and black mascara, and that her eyelids were heavily coated with mint green glitter.

Her bellybutton had a pattern around it in a circle in that same shade of mint green, and her tail was the emerald of her eyes. Her shell-bra was a mother-of-pearl pink, and I was doing all I could not to stare.

Her pink hair was shining in a way I had never seen it shine before, and to put it lightly: she was beautiful.

"Sasuke, I'm a mermaid," she said bluntly.

I rolled my eyes. "I can see that. How did you become a mermaid?"

"I was born this way, stupid."

"How come I know you as a girl with legs, then?"

"Because I choose to be that girl. There are no mer-cities for miles. I was stranded here as a baby and grew up with humans. I love humans. I'll stay with humans. There's no point in going back to the land of the mermaids. Your beach just so happens to be the only one in Konoha, so I come here a lot of the time."

"How come I've never seen you?"

"Because you're unobservant?" she tried.

"Ha, ha," I said sarcastically.

Lightning flashed outside. "I'm going to bed," I said.

"No!" she exclaimed. Her big green eyes pleaded with me. "Please stay with me."

"Why?"

"I'm afraid of the storm…and I can't get out of the bathtub."

I hesitated, then said, "Alright, I'll stay."

She grinned. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun."

"I'm going to go get some stuff. But I'll be right back."

She nodded and completely submerged herself in the water. I went around and got some pillows, blankets, a flashlight, and some kunai. I was back and she popped back up.

"So, tell me more. Why are you wearing so much makeup?"

She smiled. "I'm not wearing any."

"But—"

"I'm a siren, Sasuke-kun. I was meant to be beautiful. Why do you think I'm so good at seduction missions? Here, feel. It's not makeup."

She took my hand and made me run my fingers gently over her eyelids and bellybutton.

"Sasuke-kun…how do you feel about me? Really?" she asked as I ran my hands over her soft skin.

"I…Sakura, I've loved you since we were seven," I blurted out.

She smiled. "I love you, too."

That was when I kissed her for the first time. She pulled away after a moment.

"You made me say that, didn't you?" I asked.

She hesitated. "Not directly, no. You were so entranced by what I look like as a mermaid that you fell under my siren song."

"I didn't hear you sing."

"It's an expression, Sasuke. I didn't really sing to you. I'd never do that. Not with you. I love you too much."

"You love me too much to sing to me?"

"Yes. I know it doesn't make much sense, but it'll take a lot of explaining."

I nodded. "Go ahead."

"Tonight? You're sure?"

"Yeah," I responded. I mean, I wasn't going to leave her after I had just confessed that I loved her. I didn't necessarily mean to confess…but I had, and there was no changing the past.

She said, "Well…if I were to sing to you in this form, you'd be under my power, forced to succumb to my every wish. It won't work in human form, though. But I'd never do that to you. What I meant was that you were in awe of the situation, and it surprised you into telling the truth about how you feel about me. I had nothing to do with it."

I nodded. "Well, I'm glad I did…I guess…" I said.

She reached out to hold my hand and I took it.

"So…how come you're too weak to transform?"

"I spent all my energy trying to get out of that net. Thank God you came along when you did. I'd be dead by now if you hadn't seen me."

"I'm glad I found you, then. I don't want you to die."

She smiled and flipped her tail a little bit, swishing it around in the water. I think she saw me staring at it, because she said, "Do you want to touch it?"

I looked up at her. "Do you mind?"

"Just…stay below here," she said, motioning to a part that would be about mid-thigh on a human.

I moved my hand down to touch the shiny scales and she smiled when I put some pressure on where her calves would be, massaging the knots out of the tail.

"That feels good," she commented.

"I just can't believe it's real…"

"I'm glad you're being accepting, Sasuke-kun. I was afraid you'd just leave me on the beach in that net."

"Of course not. I'm not cruel, Sakura."

She suddenly shivered and spasmed. "Ow," she said, putting a hand to her tail.

"What?" I asked, concerned.

"Cramp…I've been still too long. I think I have enough energy to transform. Can you get me out of here, please?" she asked.

I nodded and scooped her up in my arms, then put her down on the ground atop a blanket. She was shivering, so I put another one on top of her.

She jerked around, making strange noises, and she glowed silver. I saw her hair straighten, as it had been long and wavy before, and her eyes grow normal, not so made-up looking, and I saw the edge of the fin at the bottom of the blanket disappear. She stopped struggling a minute later and said, "Er…Sasuke-kun, you wouldn't happen to have any clothes I could borrow, would you?"

I nodded and said, "I'll be right back."

I brought her one of my big shirts and some underwear she had left the last time there was a storm and she had to change at my house. I had found them crumpled in the bathroom floor but had been too embarrassed to give them back.

I brought the clothes to her and got out of the bathroom, and a moment later, she let me back in. I picked her up, gathering the pillows and blankets along with her, and carried her to my bed. I laid her down gently.

"Sakura…don't worry…I'm not going to leave you…" I said, stroking her hair back. She smiled and kissed me. I held her in my arms and we fell asleep.

I'm just going to be posting like crazy…but you should check out my stuff, yo.

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