Title: The Tale of a Ninja Mermaid.

Chapter One: A Snake Hidden in the Leaves and a Captured Cherry Blossom

SAKURA, SAKURA, SAKURA, SAKURA, SAKURA, SAKURA, SAKURA, SAKURA,

I was not happy at all. I had just finished my second shift at the hospital and was finally walking home. This normally would have been okay, except for the fact that I had gotten soaked by a busted pipeline in the hospital. I was also drained of chakra from an extensive surgery on an ANBU team that had just come in from a rigorous mission in the hidden grass village. They had been poisoned and the antidote had to be administered five times before it finally started to work; all together it took twenty five vials for all four patients. And on top of that they suffered massive internal injuries to almost every internal organ so both Shizune and Tsunade had to be called in as well as myself.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" I was broken from my line of thoughts as Naruto came bounding into my line of view. I smiled a tired smile and accepted his hug.

"What's up Naruto?" I asked. He stepped back and smiled.

"Just wanted to see if you'd come to Ichiraku's with me?" I sighed and thought about what I had at home. Nothing, nothing at all. At that point, right as I was about to decline my stomach piped up and growled. I quickly shut my mouth and blushed furiously. Naruto's smile grew a little and his eyes warmed as he took my hand and led my towards his favorite ramen shop.

"I'll pay this time Sakura-chan." His voice was serious and I almost couldn't believe it.

"Thank you Naruto." I leaned a little more on his shoulder.

"Lean any closer and People will think I'm cheating on Hinata with you." He chuckled. I rolled my eyes and couldn't help the small smile that came to my lips.

"Please, like that could ever happen, little Akira wouldn't like auntie Sakura to have grown up play time with daddy!" I said laughing. Naruto's face went scarlet and I smiled even more. Akira was Hinata and Naruto's daughter and she had accidentally walked in on Naruto and Hinata having 'Grown up play time' he had been royally embarrassed and I couldn't blame him, anyone would have been embarrassed.

"Shut up.." His blush was slowly dying as we walked into Ichiraku's. We sat down at the front bar and placed a double order of beef ramen.

"So how is little Akira?" I asked. He sobered up quickly.

"She's a little sick but she'll be okay." My smile dropped.

"Do you want me to come by and look at her?" I asked.

"Actually that's what Hinata sent me to find you for." He said looking rather sheepish. I smiled and we finished out ramen in silence.

"Listen I'm exhausted, is she in serious condition or can she wait till early tomorrow morning?" I asked his face sank a little.

"She's running a 102 fever." He said and my eyes bugged.

"YOU BAKA! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT TO BEGIN WITH?!" I shouted, with that I grabbed him by the ear and started dragging him towards the Uzumaki compound. I was exhausted and drained but Akira was well worth my time and energy. I'd do just about anything for her.

. 2 hours later .

I drug myself home, fully exhausted and fully drained and just on the edge of collapsing. I had next to no chakra, and I was planning to just go home and collapse in bed, I knew I didn't have work tomorrow and it was a damn good thing because I would need at least one full day to recover one half of my reserves. I could just see the edge of the roof of my house when a shadow fell over me. 'Oh hell, what now?!' I thought.

"Look, I don't know who you are and I really don't care, but if you mess with me both Tsunade and I will beat your ass!" I called the threat of myself was intimidating but the Threat of Tsunade was worse! Whoever it was started to chuckle. 'Okay so someone obviously isn't very bright.'

"Tsunade-hime won't be much of a threat once the treated alcohol hits her system. As for you, you have next to no chakra and on the edge of collapsing." The sharp hissing s's made Orochimaru an obvious man, and true to form Kabuto was found right beside his master ever more pushing his glasses up and into place.

"Resistance would not be wise Haruno-san." Ever formal, Kabuto always knew how to state the obvious. I smirked and focused a small amount of chakra into my fist. I knew it was a waist of an effort and chakra, but it still beat being caught by those two. Kabuto ran at me I jumped past him and ran straight for Orochimaru, if he was injured hopefully whatever they were planning wouldn't be carried through with. I managed to land a punch square to his jaw and smirked until that is his fist connected with my stomach and Kabuto hit a pressure point in my neck. I fought it as hard as I could but the black dots grew into a solid black abyss as Kabuto injected me with some sort of serum.

"Good job, now let's get her back to the lab for experiments." Orochimaru's voice was the last thing I heard as I finally succumbed to sleep.