FISH TALK

chapter three

I've met a real live mermaid, Sasuke thought for the fourth time that day. He was sitting in math class, but for once he wasn't trying to snooze. When he had awoken that morning the awesomeness of what he was experiencing suddenly hit him: he had talked to a living, breathing mermaid. This was probably something no one else in all Konoha City could ever hope of experiencing. Goodness knows the beach would be overflooded with people if others found out about Naru.

That's right, I have to keep this a secret, he thought. That would be easy for he didn't talk much to start with. He was more concerned about learning of Naru's kind and origins. What was life like under the water? Did mermaids-or better yet, merpeople-have cities? And if so, why didn't humans know of them? I'm sure something like that has to be difficult to miss. But, then again, water can get pretty deep and there's a lot we don't yet know about the oceans...

"Mr. Uchiha, would you please come back to earth." came his teacher's voice, bringing him out of his thoughts. He looked up and saw her frowning at him. "Since you're paying close attention, would you mind giving us the answer to this problem?"

He sighed and rolled his eyes. His classmates watched in anticipation as he stood, eyed the board, and gave the answer like he had had it memorized. A stunned silence filled the room and the teacher's mouth dropped at his quick readiness. "That's...right." she said slowly. His peers cheered and he sat back down, not caring in the least bit about answering the simple problem. He couldn't wait to visit the beach again...

-

It was evening and the sun was beginning its descent downwards. Naru sat at the shoreline, waiting for her spiky, raven haired friend. The low tides breaking in tickled her fins and she giggled. It had been quite some time since she was this happy, but still...

Her sapphire orbs gazed ahead. The sea stretched on before her, wide and blue. But it wasn't big enough; she longed for more.

"You're out today." she heard someone say. Turning her head, she smiled seeing Sasuke.

"Hey, Sasuke." she greeted him. "The sand is nice."

He took a seat beside her and said, "I can't stand sand. It always manages to get all inside your clothes."

Naru giggled. "You don't like much do you, Sasuke?"

"Hn?"

"Whenever I mention anything you scowl and give a reason to why you dislike it."

"There's just more to dislike than to like." he shrugged.

"I don't think so..."

He looked at her but she didn't elaborate. "So, Sasuke-" she started, but stopped when he raised a hand to her mouth.

"It's my turn to ask some questions." he smirked. She pouted but mumbled a reluctant, "Fine".

"First, is your home near here?"

"No, I live way out there. A whale friend helped me get here."

"Hm. What was it like where you lived?"

Her eyes travelled back to the water. "It was a large, silver city." she said. "There were lots of tall buildings, schools, and underground swimways."

"Swimways? Kind of like a highway?" he asked.

She gave him a quizzical look. "What's a highway?"

"Forget it. But why did you leave? It sounds like a decent place."

"I left because I wasn't happy there. I wasn't...I'm not happy as a mermaid." she admitted. Sasuke waited for her to continue and she did with a sigh. "Ever since I first heard about humans in stories I wanted to be like them. I thought they were amazing, but they were just stories. Then one day I learned that they were real and it made me so happy. But that was the day I also learned that interaction between humans and merpeople was strictly forbidden. Either I was to spend the rest of my life down there, miserable and alone, or I could leave and pursue my dream."

"Your dream?" Sasuke repeated.

"Yep, my dream to become a human!" she said and grinned.

He blinked dumbly. "And how will you go about making that happen?"

"Like you don't know. I'm going to fall in love with a boy of course!"

It went quiet. Sasuke stared at the mermaid. She's serious...he thought.

"Hn, well good luck with that. But I doubt many boys will fall for a fish." he said, returning to his typical, indifferent self.

"What do you mean? And I am not a fish!" she shouted. Sasuke smirked, but kept what she had spoken in mind. You're just like me, except I can't simply run away...

I hope you enjoyed the third installment of this blooming story! Thank you for the reviews and don't hesitate to give more!