DawnFlame here. This is my first fanfiction here, be gentle. It's Shonen-ai meaning BoyXBoy. So if you don't like that... Tough, don't flame for it.

Salt Water

I never really liked the water. I'm afraid of it actually. You'd think its crazy coming from someone who lives on an island… The waves crashing down on the beach, a small bubbling in the surf; it was terrifying. I never in all my life would've gone into that death trap. Never would I have dove into that salty blue abyss that surrounded my home. Never… until I met him.

It had been hurricane season, and torrential rains soaked our island to its core. The palm trees bent with the howling winds. Tropical flowers drowned in their sandy soil. Marine life would become stranded on the land and die. I usually stayed indoors when I could manage it. School was out during hurricane season, as the school flooded during this time periodically.

I don't believe I even introduced myself yet. My name is Riku, age seventeen, and I am afraid of water. Not your little cup of pure fresh water, I could handle that… It was the large bodies of water. I hated rivers, ponds, and lakes; however I was petrified of the ocean. The ocean is alive, with animals, plants, and its raging surfs. It claimed boats, people and land to its awesome might.

Hurricane Ventus was approaching. It was pushing its self out of category five into its own level. It was fast strong and headed straight for us. My fellow islanders and I worked in haste trying to prepare for the storm. Our Island is just a small fishing community, about 200 people tops. Not a lot of people thankfully, and we had an underground shelter.

Fortunately for this hurricane, we had enough warning to get to the safe house. It's like an underground concrete building. It's pretty old but it's large and sturdy. There's a place to sleep, a place to eat and other facilities. There's storage for precious family items and heirlooms. All of the islanders were able to fit comfortably.

We weathered out the storm for three and a half days. My best friend, Kairi worried the entire time about animals and birds. I've known her for years, and many a person predicted we would end up together. In truth, we weren't attracted to each other; we just shared common interests and hobbies.

Anyway, the storm lasted for a few days. When the all clear to leave the safe house was given, the outside was in complete ruins. Trees were uprooted and scattered about. Broken glass, shingles, chunks of concrete, and debris littered the sandy terrain. Dead fish and other marine life lay amongst the rubble, picked up and dropped by the ferocity of the hurricane. Kairi made it her mission to rescue as many animals as possible.

I, (along with some other unlucky souls), were recruited to help the cleanup effort and rescue operation. Did we have a choice? Nope, Kai somehow has blackmail on all of us. I'll never know how she did it either.

Kairi and I worked our way around the island gathering up wounded/stranded water creatures and returning them to the ocean. I tried my best to stay as far away from the water that I could. Kairi knew my fear of the sea, and tried her damned hardest to get me in the salty abyss. Not on my life if it could be helped.

"There! Riku there!" Kairi was standing on the remains of a roof torn from the house it once sat on. She shouted to me and pointed to something on the other side of the roof.

"Kai! Get down! You'll hurt yourself!" I shouted at her.

"Will not!" she called back and as if on cue, she slipped and got a nice deep gash on her left leg. Kairi didn't cry but her eyes DID well up with tears of pain.

"Told you so." I said bluntly with a slight smirk. She glared at me and stood up.

"There's a dolphin over there. I think its head is trapped under so rubble. I need to go get this cleaned up. Riku, Please help it." She followed up with the infamous puppy dog pout. I hated the puppy dog pout.

I sighed in defeat, "I'll go see if I can help it…" I said with slight exasperation, "But I'm NOT putting it back in the water." I added as she walked towards the medical clinic.

I eased my way around the roof and saw the dolphin in question. The tail was blue and its head (just above the dorsal fin) was covered with rubble. It's probably dead. I thought solemnly, as I began to shift the rubble.

I was astonished to say the least when I discovered what lay beneath the rubble. It was no dolphin. The soft blue dolphin tail curved and became golden tan skin; just above the dorsal fin on his back, was the torso of a boy about my age. It was a mermaid- err merboy, since he's a boy… I think…

I backed away almost immediately upon this discovery. I watched the slight rise and fall of his side, Oh great it's alive… I picked my way back over to him. I gently rolled him over so his face wasn't in the dirt. He had soft features, and brunette hair. There was a tribal tattoo on his upper right arm. It was a pretty complex and detailed pattern all done in black.

As I observed him, I was unaware as he woke from his unconscious state. He made a small noise and frightened me. I jumped back and he jerked away as well. My aqua eyes glared at his dark gray eyes. We stared each other down for a while; that is until he began to pale. Color drained from his face quickly and I realized the intense exposure to the sun was killing him.

I knelt beside the merboy, who swatted at me and snarled a bit. His eyes changed to a softer gray. "If you want to live, I'd behave if I were you." I said with a slight bit of annoyance in my voice. He growled but visibly relaxed. He watched my every move judging me.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I want to help" I said softly, trying to calm the hesitant creature. He glared at me and lunged. He grabbed my hand and bit down. Hard. I cried out and pulled my hand away.

"It seems we both are afraid, though we don't show it…"

I stared at the creature, "did you just-"

"Talk? No. I have no voice in which to speak, but my kind can communicate with others telepathically through sonar."

I was in shock. He could communicate, and he seemed very intelligent. "Why did you bite me?" I asked without much thought. I realized how rude that sounded once it was said.

"Simple. We aren't in water, so I can't use my sonar. Human blood has water in it. I bit you so you could hear me."

I nodded slowly. Then I heard people shouting my name. "I need to hide you. Other people are coming." I told him hastily. I didn't know what to do with him, let alone where to hide him from the concerned islanders.

"Allow me." He said weakly. A slivery white mist surrounded his body and changed it. His tail was replaced by legs with tattered pants. A white equally tattered shirt appeared on him as well.

"How did you do that?" I asked purely amazed. He smirked and tried to sit up. He swayed dangerously. I managed to catch him in my arms.

"By the way, my name's Riku."

"Sora." He said before he passed out.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Review and I'll get back to you!