"I believe in everything until it's disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it's in your mind. Who's to say that dreams and nightmares aren't as real as the here and now?"
—John Lennon
Naruto blinked once, twice, thrice and the image never changed. His mind had to be playing tricks on him no way was this real.
Yet it...she looked so real. Her glittering lavender tail flipping up and down, her light lavender colored shelled bra, her long midnight blue hair, flushed cheeks, pouty pink lips, eyes that looked like pearls and yet he swore they were swirling with lavender and bits of purple.
Naruto did the only thing he could think of doing. He screamed but his screams were muffled and sounded more like he was gurgling. He didn't understand why or how he was alive. He panicked even more. Trying to swim away only to have everything turn black again.
"Ino!" Hinata looked at her blonde friend who had in her hand what looked like a rusted pan.
"What!? He saw you Hinata! I had to do something."
Hinata shook her head the blonde was now floating his long spiked hair was now covering his face. Hinata dragged him back to the table and laid him back down.
"Okay we have to get him back to land."
"Hinata how are we suppose to do that!? We have a lot of sea to cover to get to land. I mean how are we going to get him to land without anyone seeing him?"
Hinata started to chew on her bottom lip a nervous habit of hers. She knew this was gonna be hard but they couldn't just leave him here. It would be too dangerous for him, if other mermaids saw him they would have no choice but to kill him or else risk being hunted and if he wasn't found the capsule would be wearing off real soon and he would drown.
"I don't know but we can't just leave him here."
"Ugh! We shouldn't even brought him here in the first place... if your dad finds out we are so dead and so is he!"
"I know Ino but it's not right to just let him die here!"
Before Ino and Hinata could argue even more they turned to see the blue eyed fishermen stirring and finally propping himself on the table. Again he blinked rapidly and soon he was trying to scream and swim away again.
Hinata tried to calm him down to tell him that they were going to help him before he could comprehend what Hinata was saying Ino once again hit him on the head with that same rusted pan.
"Ino!"
"Well unless you have a plan I'm gonna keep using this." Ino said with a slight shrug
Hinata groaned in annoyance, "Ino we are trying to help him not give him brain damage."
Before Ino could retort they heard a very familiar voice that made them both freeze into place.
"Hinata-sama? Hinata-sama are you in here?"
"Neji-nii-san" Hinata mouthed to Ino her lavender tinted pearl eyes widened in panic
"Do something!" Ino hissed at Hinata. Ino quickly tried to carry the fisherman further inside the ship.
Hinata quickly shook her head and quickly made her way to the front entrance of the boat swimming so quickly that she swam right into Neji.
"N-Neji-nii-san what a surprise what are you doing here?" Hinata gave him a small nervous smile, putting her hands behind her back and letting her tail swish back and forth to give the essence of innocence.
Neji raised an eyebrow at his cousins weird behavior, "I could ask you the same think Hinata-sama."
"Oh me? Nothing. Nothing at all. Nope not me."
Neji's suspicions heightened sure his cousin was weird but this was weird even for her standards.
"Uh-huh... well your father has been looking for you. He was worried that perhaps you had gotten into some kind of trouble or that perhaps the storm had caught you."
"Oh. No I'm fine."
"If you're fine than why are you way out here?"
"Huh? Oh you mean the ship. Why am I here in the ship." Hinata laughed nervously now her cheeks flushing.
Neji waited but she didn't seem to elaborate, "Yes why are you here in this ship?" Neji crossed his arms over his chest he was not amused with his cousins ramblings and nervousness.
"Um... I'm um... trinket digging." Hinata snapped her fingers together as if she had just said the most brilliant thing in the world, "That's what I'm doing here I'm trinket digging."
"Trinket digging? Hinata-sama you know that trinket digging is looked down upon especially for a princess."
Hinata faked a look of guilt, "I'm sorry nii-san I just hoped I could have found something nice like a necklace or something. I won't do it again."
Neji sighed and shook his, "Okay well come on. We have to go."
"Go? Go back home? Um... I can't." Hinata needed to think of something and she needed to think of something fast.
"Hinata-sama I don't know- what the hell!" Before Neji could finish his sentence he watched as a human swam out of a hole from the ship followed by an irate Ino with a pan in her hand.
Neji looked back at Hinata glaring at her. Hinata laughed nervously," Uh ha... um right."
Neji shook his head and quickly swam after the human finally catching up to him and Ino after a struggle between Naruto and Neji, Ino finally hit Naruto over the head knocking him out again.
"Ino! Stop that! He's going to have brain damage and won't be able to remember his name!" Hinata chastised
"That's the least of your worries a Hinata-sama. What is this human even doing here?"
Hinata proceed to explain to Neji the recent turn of events. The storm, boat being toppled over by the waves, the fisherman being dragged down by the waves, and their rescue of the young man.
"Do you know how much trouble you and Ino could be in? If your father gets wind of this it will be all three of our heads." Neji ran his hand through his long hair in frustration.
After a few moments of silence Neji had an idea, "Okay the capsule is going to run out soon. Once he wakes up we will take him up for air. We will try to get him back to land the quickest and easiest way. The only way to do that is to take him around the village. If any mermaid or merman gets word of this we are all dead. We will wait until it's pitch black."
Hinata nodded until she remembered why Neji was out here in the first place, "Neji what about father?"
"We will tell him that the storm currents dragged you out further into the sea. That you hit your head on a rock and that I thought it would be best to make you swim back in the morning."
"Okay."
"Look alive you two he's waking up again." Ino pointed to the blonde in Neji's grasp his beautiful features now marred with a large bump on his head no doubt from Ino's pan.
Neji didn't give Naruto time to adjust and quickly swam to the surface before his lungs were filled with water.
Once Naruto's head hit the surface he sucked in a huge amount of air, coughing on the air he had so greedily taken in. Naruto felt his head pounded he had the worst headache in his life.
He tried to kick his legs and move his arms only to realize that someone was holding on to him. Before he could scream and struggle a deep voice warned him other wise.
The grip around his chest tightened making it harder to breathe or struggle.
"Listen to me very carefully. I'm going to let you go right now but if you swim away I'll catch you and I won't let you go after that understood."
Naruto nodded
Slowly the grip around him loosened Naruto slowly put some much needed space between him and the person.
Slowly Naruto turned around to see three people. Two women and a man.
"Hey! You! You're that... that mermaid." Naruto pointed at Hinata before groaning his own loud voice giving him a bigger headache. He brought his hand up to his head to feel a large bump.
"Ow... must have hit my head on some debris when the storm toppled the boat." Naruto grumbled rubbing the sore bump.
Hinata shot Ino an accusing glare to which Ino just smirked and shrugged.
"Listen whatever you are about to see must never be spoken of. If you dare speak of it we will find you drag you down and kill you." Neji warned
Naruto nodded looking at the three people in front of him wearily before he caught a glimpse of Neji's black tail.
"So...so you guys are really mermaids."
The three nodded their heads. Hinata looked down and let a blush grace her face, Ino let a proud smile grace her lips and Neji well Neji just stared at Naruto assessing the situation.
"This can't be. Mermaids aren't real." Naruto shook his head letting the headache increase tenfold with that small movement.
"Good, keep telling yourself that. We are going to try and take you back to land. We will leave when its pitch black it will be easier that way." As Neji was explaining his plan he noticed Naruto's blue lips and chattering teeth. His body seemed to be shivering,
Neji cursed he forgot humans could catch hypothermia. The ocean was already cold and the longer he stayed in it the more danger it poised. Neji sighed it soon occurred to him that land was a good 8 hours away by swimming for humans.
His plan was already falling apart. First he had to deal with the hypothermia situation.
"Okay new plan." Neji turned to Hinata and Ino urging them to come closer to him to explain the new plan.
Naruto strained to hear them but he caught nothing he was to busy rubbing his hands on his arms it was getting colder and the sun was setting making the already cold water freezing.
"So what do we do nii-san?" Hinata asked, worry laced her soft voice.
"We could give him another capsule and just let him stay in the ship until the mervillage is asleep. The effect of the capsule should help fend off the hypothermia a little longer."
Hinata and Ino nodded, quickly Ino pulled out another capsule, "I only have two more left is that enough?"
"It's plenty." Neji nodded to her taking the capsule from her hand.
Neji swam over to Naruto, "Here take this." Neji commended.
Naruto shook his head, "No way, I'm not taking anything unless I know what it's for." Naruto demanded through chattering teeth.
Neji sighed in frustration, "This will help you breathe under water it will also give you a little warmth. In a few hours we will swim to land."
Naruto nodded hesitantly taking the pill from Neji's hand and swallowing it. He could feel it get stuck in his dry throat. He gulped air until finally the capsule was pushed down.
"How well can you swim?" Neji asked
"Well enough. How far out are we from land?"
"8 hours."
"8 hours! I can't swim 8 hours straight that's impossible."
Neji nodded he was afraid of this but he would think of plan when the time came.
Soon the group of four were heading back to the shipwreck. Naruto couldn't help but look at the lavender mermaid. She was exotic and mystical. I mean all three of them were but she had something else. She's exactly what the myths and tales told of.
Beautiful creatures with half the body of a woman and the other half of a fish. Their long hair, soft and enticing features that lured you into your death.
If death came in the form of her Naruto didn't mind that much. He watched as her tail seemed to glitter and shine. Her stomach was toned, her breasts full, her neck long. Naruto shook his head now he knew why fishermen use to run their ships into jagged rocks just to get a better look at these creatures. They were stunning, beautiful, intoxicatingly unbelievable.
Hinata could feel the fisherman's gaze upon her and she tried her hardest to not look his way for fear that she may faint if she did. She saw Neji shoot him a death glare silently thanking him. If he kept staring she really would faint.
Finally they reached the shipwreck. Going deeper into the ship this time until they came upon what looked like a bar.
"Okay the capsule I gave you only lasts an hour. Ino has two more that means we have three hours. It's eight right now that means we will leave at 11. Perfect the mervillage will be asleep by the time we pass above them."
"Hinata I'm going to tell your father what happened before he gets suspicious and sends someone else out. You stay here with Ino." Hinata nodded her head remembering the story Neji said they would tell her father.
Neji went back to Naruto giving him a bubble? Naruto looked at Neji as if he had gone insane. Neji rolled his eyes. "This is an air bubble if you want something speak into it." Naruto nodded confirming to Neji that he understood
The three sat in relative silence while Neji was gone. Until finally Naruto swam a little closer to Hinata he saw her and her friend's bodies stiffen.
Naruto brought the bubble close to his mouth and spoke, "Um so I guess you're the one who saved me." Naruto gave a sheepish grin scratching the back of his head.
"H-hai." Hinata squeaked out her blush growing as she started to chew on her bottom lip.
"Well thanks. I guess I would be swimming with the fishes if you know what I mean." Naruto laughed at his lame joke.
Hinata just tilted her head and gave him a quizzical look. She didn't understand what was so funny about "swimming with the fishes" she always swam with the fishes.
Ino rolled her eyes, "Its a saying Hinata it means that if he died he would be floating with the fishes that's what he means."
Hinata gave a small oh and Naruto just scratched his head even more, feeling like a loser in front of such a beautiful creature.
"So um is it true that mermaids lure fishermen into their deaths with their beautiful looks? Not that I'm accusing you of doing that. Not that I don't think your beautiful enough to do it. I mean I would be honored to be lured to my death by you." Naruto realized he was rambling and gave another nervous laugh.
Hinata let out a soft giggle at his ramblings, "No we don't do that." Hinata answered.
"So what do you guys do."
Before Hinata could answer Ino swam in between the two giving Naruto a glare that could freeze hell
"What mermaids do is none of your business."
Naruto swam back a little realizing that he probably stepped over a line as he watched the blonde mermaid whisper something into Hinata's ear watching as the lavender mermaid chewed on her bottom lip and nod.
"Sorry didn't mean to upset you. Its just that this is so cool. So are other myths about different creatures real too?"
When neither one answered he realized that this question was also off limits.
In the end they descended back into silence. After an hour Naruto felt his chest constrict, he gripped his throat as he felt water come into his nose
He tried to swim to the surface only to have Hinata swim in front of him and tell him to calm down and open his mouth.
He nodded but he was panicking he felt like he was drowning he felt Ino put a capsule into his hand which he greedily swallowed. He suddenly felt his lungs fill with air and gasped.
"Thanks" Naruto breathed out into the air bubble. The two mermaids just nodded. Hinata took his hand and lead him to a stool letting him take a seat.
"Calm down. When you panic water fills your lungs faster than if you stay calm." Naruto nodded.
He looked into her eyes he realized that the purple tint in her eyes only seemed to come out when she was worried and he couldn't help but find them even more enticing.
Hinata blushed at the way the man was looking at her. They both jumped when they heard someone clear their throat looking to their right they saw Neji swim towards them.
"Neji-nii-san! D-did you talk to father."
Neji looked at the two young adults not liking the looks they were giving to each other only minutes ago. The sooner he got this human back to land the better.
"Hai I did. He was worried and wanted to bring some merman to come help me carry you back to the mervillage but I convinced him that you just needed a day to rest."
Hinata nodded silently thanking Poseidon that her cousin was a much better liar than she was.
"Alright I'm assuming you took another capsule?"
Naruto nodded his head in conformation. Finally really taking in Neji's appearance he was also stunning. He had darker colors than the two mermaids. His long dark brown hair came down to his back and was tied into a loose ponytail. His eyes were also a pearl color except they seemed to swim with grays giving them a look of smoke. He was pale just like his cousin but his tail was black it also shimmered in the water but it looked more powerful than Hinata's feminine tail.
"Alright I wanted to wait another hour but if we leave now the currents will help us get there faster."
Soon the four were swimming on the surface. Neji, Ino and Hinata had to pull back to stay with Naruto their tails gave them much more power than simply two legs could ever. They realized after two hours that Naruto was getting tired though Neji was surprised he thought that the human would have gotten tired half an hour into the swim.
Soon Naruto couldn't swim anymore his legs started to crap making Hinata and Neji quickly come to his side before he drowned.
"Fuck my legs I can barely feel them."
"Ino come get his legs pull them out of the water." Neji ordered.
This was bad at this rate they would never reach their destination in time.
"Neji-nii-san! I have an idea I don't know why we didn't think about this sooner!" Hinata looked at her cousin in excitement.
"Here hold him I'll be right back."
Hinata handed Neji the remaining weight of Naruto. It was only a brief minute before Hinata resurfaced.
"Reinforcements are coming. Neji do you think you can carry him on your back just for half an hour?"
Neji nodded throwing Naruto on his back, "You know you smell like rotting fish?" Neji commented to Naruto who in turn blushed and glared at the merman.
"How do you guys smell so nice when you live in the ocean?" Naruto questioned. All three mermaids had their own scent. Neji smelled like sand and ocean a simple and not so surprising scent yet invigorating. That Ino girl smelt like wild flowers and coral and Hinata she had the most intoxicating scent, lilac and the natural smell of the ocean seemed to surround her and when she would surface the scent of the rare moonlight flower seemed to surface with her.
Neji shrugged, "Mermaid genetics I suppose."
Soon the four heard the sound of a dolphin looking back they saw a dolphin coming right for them.
Neji wanted to smack himself how could he forget to call upon the sea creatures for help
"Hinata you are brilliant." Ino exclaimed with a large smile.
Naruto watched as Hinata conversed with the dolphin. His mouth was agape as he watched the dolphin reply to Hinata. It didn't speak, well at least not that Naruto could tell the dolphin just made dolphin noises but Hinata nodded as if she understood clearly what the dolphin had said.
"Okay...um... you know I never got your n-name." Hinata blushed
"My name is Naruto." He gave her a smile.
Hinata nodded giving him a smile in return, "Okay Naruto this is Chibi she's gonna put you on her back."
Naruto nodded the dolphin soon pulled up next to him and Neji. Slowly Naruto grabbed on to the dolphins top fin and threw his left leg onto one side of the dolphin.
"Hang on." Neji warned
Hold on he did. He held on for dear life it seemed like the dolphin and the mermaids were going faster than any boat he ever saw. Water splashed on his face and clothes and Naruto couldn't help but smile as the wind blew his hair back. This was the most unreal and liberating feeling he had ever experienced
After three and half hours the group finally arrived soon the water became less and land was only a few steps away.
"Can you walk the rest of the way to land?" Hinata asked concern evident in her voice
Naruto gave her a brilliant smile, "You bet!"
As soon as Naruto touched land he turned his back to give the mermaids his deepest thanks but when he turned around they weren't there anymore.
Absentmindedly Naruto walked to Sasuke's house. You would think he was tired and just wanted to sleep but his feet seemed to walk on their own.
He knocked on the weak wooden door and there stood his best friend. Black eyes wide in shock.
"Naruto? Get the hell in here."
Sasuke grabbed Naruto pulling the blonde into the shack. He was shocked to say the least when he had swam back to land everyone had told him that his best friend was good as dead. He had planned on going back out into the ocean to look for him in the morning.
"How did you get back to land? What happened to you?" Sasuke fired question after question but soon he realized his friend wasn't answering.
His usually loud mouthed talkative friend was silent and had a small smile on his face
"Hey dobe do you hear me? Did you hit your head on something?" Finally noticing the large bump on his head.
"Fairy tales are real Sasuke. Oh so real."
See any mistakes? Tell me.