Shark Bait.

Chapter Two.

Itachi woke as the sun's soft rays ran over his face, calling him back to reality. Somehow the black nothingness had been penetrated by memories of times long gone, and suddenly he knew he had no time to waste anymore. He stretched his tail and swished it around a bit, trying to get rid of the tingly feeling sleeping always had on him before forcing himself to grow an appetite and eat breakfast. After that he sat contemplating for a while, how was he going to proceed from here? He had accepted the fact that he'd been shunned by his family but the throne was his! And if their race wanted to continue prosperous existence he had to fulfil his duty as king and save them from their own undoing. Maybe if he could get someone to listen to him, anyone, they would understand that their ways had to change, that he was right after all. And if they didn't… well… there was only one thing about the underwater city that he really wanted to save:

Sasuke.

There wasn't a moment he wasn't thinking about the kid, always been that way. His mother had warned him that it started to seem like an obsession of sorts. It didn't look like one to him, he definitely was obsessed already. The kid was just so… just so everything he would never be. Innocent, oblivious, naïve. And he would be damned if he would let his little treasure become like him, a bittered, suspicious profiteer. Alright, so he had to make a plan… one that involved getting into the castle, getting Sasuke and getting out again with him. Huh, well that seemed like a pretty good plan already, he'd think it through more when he got there.

He pushed himself over the edge of the hollowed out rock and into the open water, time for action.

X

King Fugaku was not happy. Not happy at all actually, his eldest son, his pride and successor, had dared commit the heinous crime of talking back to him, of claiming that the ways he ran his kingdom were wrong. Such an act could never be forgiven, and though it broke his heart, he had to exile the boy. Just a few months before he'd have made the boy the new king as well! He slammed his fist down on the wreckage wooden desk in front of him, startling the other mermen in his study. The vibrantly golden walls did nothing to lessen the thick tension that hung in the water around them as he took deep, shuddering breaths.

A few of the old, grey-haired royal advisors were trying to make themselves as tall as possible in front of their king, while the queen did the exact opposite. She knew what really happened, and she was scared. If anyone found out why her husband really exiled their son, the heir to the throne everyone loved, she might lose her life of luxury. That was something she didn't even want to think about affording. So it was important to act as hurt and upset as the king did about the 'attempted coup and murder', and even more important that they convinced their other son that it was true.

She hid in the corner of the room, shielding herself from her husband's wrath by keeping a vice-like grip on her youngest's shoulders. Sasuke wanted to tell her she was hurting him, but didn't dare attract his father's attention. Even after what Itachi'd done, he still wished his big brother was there to protect him. He was the only one that wasn't afraid of the king, and he'd hear him speak out against the man's judgement on multiple occasions. He felt pathetic now, always had he strived to be like his brother, his role model, and now he didn't even dare say a word without him.

But he had to stop thinking that way; Itachi wasn't what he'd always seemed to be. He couldn't believe it when they told him Itachi attempted to take over the throne, but when the man, who was pretty much an older version of him, didn't fight the charges and left voluntarily he didn't know what to believe anymore. Especially when Itachi shot him a knowing look and wink right before he left. He wanted to believe his parents, the thought of them lying to him and kicking Itachi out for something they found too embarrassing to admit was too painful to accept.

Even when they themselves hadn't been a very big part of his life, they knew how much his brother meant to him. He was the one who was there for him all his life while his mom was too busy doing nothing and being wealthy to take care of him, and his father he only ever saw when Itachi took him to see what ruling a kingdom looked like from behind the pillars in the throne room. So he couldn't believe they would do that to him, even when he was about a hundred percent sure Itachi could never do something like that, never even want to. He'd raised Sasuke to live the right way, to use his words and never force. So when he was sentenced for something that went against everything he lived by something just seemed off about it.

He sighed and suddenly his father noticed him. "Sasuke. Come here." Before he himself could even start moving his mother had already forcefully pushed him forward, causing him to bump into the desk and some documents to fall off. The already annoyed and stressed out king sent her a look that could kill and she hurried out the room. The three old men that were supposed to be the king's right hand and most trusted advisors nodded wisely, but every time Sasuke saw them the only thing he could think of were the things Itachi used to tell him about it. It was that way with everything since his brother was gone, he saw old men and he thought of the way Itachi explained how their tails reflected their age by greying just like their hair. He saw beautiful statuettes and he thought of how Itachi explained in great detail how they were made and so on.

He snapped out of his thoughts when his father rounded the table and pressed one hand on his shoulder. "Sasuke. Now that Itachi is gone you will become my successor. You are a bit behind but I'm sure that with the help of my advisors you will be up to date in no time at all." He nodded. Sasuke couldn't remember the last time he actually spoke to his father, he always just nodded. "Good. Then we'll start your training now."

X

Itachi was lost, and he had no idea how it'd happened. He didn't recognise these waters at all, and started to fear that he wouldn't be able to find his way back to the hideout. Darkness surrounded him and there wasn't a trace of the usual glow that surrounded the castle which was visible from miles and miles away. He'd have to go up to the surface to try and see how far he was from the coast. He had to swim up slowly because of the changes in water pressure and by the time he reached the surface it was already late in the afternoon. He was hungry too and the fire that had been driving him was exhausted, he needed dinner and sleep since his tail and arm were nowhere near healed yet. That didn't happen overnight.

When he broke through the surface a scary sight greeted him… there was no land in sight, none at all in any direction. "Oh good god." He was lost, completely and utterly lost, and now he had no way to find his way back. He could feel his strength dwindling, he needed to eat. But it seems the gods were at least a bit in his favour; he could see the vague shapes of ships on the horizon. If they were fishermen he might grab a bite there, so he ducked back under the surface and headed out in that direction.

When he approached the ships something seemed different about them, different from the fishing boats he'd seen so far. They were bigger, much much bigger. And there was something underneath each boat that seemed like a wall underwater, a wall with holes in it. When he swam closer he could see that it was made of rope and that several fish were stuck in it, a net he thought it was called. Yes! Free meal! But when he reached out to grab one the ship suddenly sped up, making the net press against him. He tried pushing himself off it but he couldn't! His tail wasn't strong enough and his arm got caught in one of the holes! Then the bottom corners were being pulled up, making the net form a cocoon around him.

Itachi tried moving himself to the edge of the net, but it was too far and he was too slow. Then the sides connected and he was trapped. "NO! Let me out!" fish were wiggling for their freedom all around him and some managed to squeeze through the holes. His hand was still stuck, and while he tried with all his might to free himself some of the stiches ripped. He grit his teeth against the pain, but then the water started turning red around his hand, now he was trapped and attracting predators. And just when he thought it couldn't get any worse, the net was slowly getting pulled up and out of the water next to the ship.

His hand was caught somewhere at the top of the net, and there was a lot of space left beneath him as it surfaced, with as result that all his weight was hanging on his already injured hand. He grabbed a part of the rope close to it and tried to shift his weight, with little result. And when the net was being swung over the edge of the boat and onto the deck in a sudden motion he couldn't hold it anymore and let out a pained scream as he landed on his face. Immediately all the shouting of the fishermen stopped and after a moment they ran towards the net, worried that someone had been accidentally trapped. This was a common diving area after all.

But what they really found made their breath get stuck in the rugged men's throats when they saw what could probably be the most beautiful thing they'd ever seen. "'tsa mermaid…" one whispered, while they took in the long and strong black scaled tail and fins which were connected to the most flawless ivory skin. Itachi then managed to twist himself to his side inside the net and looked up hopelessly at his captors. "Please… my hand." The closest sailor took one look at where the apparent merman was gesturing and cursed when he saw the blood-soaked bandages and ropes. He took out his knife and carefully cut open the net, after which Itachi quickly brought his hand to his chest before throwing the rest of the ropes off him and sitting up. There were humans. Too many humans for him to escape, he had to think of a plan. "Thank you, I was attacked by some predator not long ago and when my hand got caught in your net I thought I was going to die for sure." The men didn't answer; they just stood awe-stricken.

Old fishermen always told lores about catching beautiful mermaids that would fall in love with them and how the sea kept them apart, no one ever believed those tales. And now they caught one! Sadly it wasn't a lady but this young man's beauty could not be equalled by any woman on land. A door slammed open behind the crowding group of fishermen and a loud voice resounded over the wooden deck. "What the hell is going on here?" the other men stepped aside as the owner of that voice made his way towards the source of commotion. "A merman, captain! He got caught in our net." One explained, causing the captain to laugh while he kept walking. "Really now? And you're sure none of you had their way with the ale this earl-holy mother of god! That's a merman!"

Itachi, who had used the distraction to try and drag himself to the edge with his one good hand froze and turned to face the crew, who were all staring at him. "Yes, I sure am, now if you'll excuse me…" he tried to crawl away again, but in two big steps the captain was next to him and pulled him up into the air by his arm. "You're a pretty little thing, aren't you? It'd be a shame if those sharks got a hold of you…" he nodded towards the water and Itachi saw that his blood had indeed attracted unwanted attention in the form of numerous hungry sharks.

"So how about you come to port with us, eh?" "But captain, what would there be at shore for him? He needs water right?" With an annoyed sigh the captain turned back towards his crew, dragging his captured prize with him, who whimpered when his still sensitive tailwound dragged over the rough wood. "You idiot, do you have any idea how much this pretty thing is worth? If we sell him to the zoo we'll be rich! We'll never have to work again! Now, you, you and you; fill that old bathtub in the hold with seawater and put him in it. Be careful that tail don't get damaged more than it already is and we'll set sail for land!" and so it happened. And no matter how much Itachi struggled to free himself he was no match for the men, and within minutes of organized work he was dumped in the tub and left there.

After a short period in which he caught his breath Itachi decided he was furious, no, livid. How dare these humans treat him this way! As if he was some sort of animal they could just do with what they wanted! He needed to find a way to escape, to get out of there and into the water again. He had no idea what this 'zoo' thing was they talked about, and he was not in the mood to find out, all he knew was that he had to find a weapon of sorts. He looked around for a bit, the space the put him in had no windows, had only a cheap flickering lamp to light it, and was filled to the top and corners with large wooden boxes and barrels that stank of fish. He might as well try to eat some, he didn't know what time it was, but he was starving and he'd need his strength to escape.

Just as he was trying to climb out of the tub the door opened, and he let himself fall back into the water. A young man entered the room, with an iron bucked in his hands. He closed the door behind him and shyly approached the tub and its occupant. Even with the bad lighting Itachi could see that he had vibrantly golden hair, almost the same colour as the castle. And when the young man reached him and looked up he saw the two most stunning blue eyes he'd ever seen, they were darker than the sky but lighter than the water, and seemed very insecure. After only one quick glance the blonde held out the bucked towards him and Itachi twisted around in the tub so he was now lying on his stomach, before peeking inside the metal container.

Fish. Freshly caught fish that were wiggling on top of each other and were perfectly bite-size. "F-for you, captain said you needed food so please don't bite me sir!" the young man, who was really just a boy, looked everywhere but at him. Itachi chuckled and took the bucket from him. "Now why would I bite you? I'd much rather eat these fishies, thank you." He took one out and started nibbling on it. The blonde sent him a questioning glance before speaking, "But the captain said I should be careful around you…" "And has your captain ever come into contact with any merpeople before?" the young man shook his head. "Not that I know of sir." "Well then you shouldn't listen to what everyone says while they themselves have no idea what they're talking about. I'm just like you, except I have a fish's tail. How old are you boy?" the boy swallowed thickly before answering. "I'm twelve sir… my brother works on this boat and he got me a job here 'cause our mom kicked us out." Hmm, this boy was the same age as Sasuke.

Lucky for him he knew just how to deal with those little shits. "I have a little brother that is your age, his name is Sasuke, and I'm Itachi. What's yours?" the blonde eyed him suspiciously, "Why do you want to know?" So I can make you believe we're on the same level and I can help you with your problems but really trick you into getting me out of here. "I just figured there was no reason for us not to be friends? You brought me food and I'm grateful for that." The boy showed him a crooked grin at that; he's never had many friends before, and certainly none this cool! "I'm Naruto! My brother's called Kyuubi and he's a real pain in the ass, but we're related and I have nowhere else to go so I guess I gotta stick around here. I don't really like fishing, I think it's cruel, but right now I don't really have a choice…"

He knew what the kid meant alright. When he handed the bucket back to him the blonde turned towards the light for a moment to put it away and Itachi could discern three long scars on both his cheeks. He decided not to say anything but to address more pressing matters instead. "Hey, Naruto, what's a zoo?"