The Myth

Rated: T

Ever since the car accident that practically crushed her left shoulder, Sakura had been going to physical therapy at least twice a week for the past two months. She wants to say she's been improving her range of motion during that time but she also felt as if nothing had been changing. She still sometimes felt a shock that would run from her shoulder down to her finger tips whenever she would try to carry something heavy or do something strenuous.

Her nerves were really messed up and she felt as if it would never go away. That she would never be able to do the things she enjoyed.

She missed going to the coast and swimming in the lagoon, with its clear blue waters, floating atop the waves and feeling the suns warm rays on her skin.

Sakura had known it was a bad idea from the very beginning, but the moment she felt the water lapping at her toes on the sand she had made up her mind. Soon she was waist deep feeling the smallest of waves at her hips until she finally started to swim out further and further taking small breaks in between to enjoy the weightless feeling. It had all started out well, she hadn't felt any discomfort in her shoulder so she kept going, still keeping the coast in sight.

Sakura had probably been a little over a hundred meters from shore when she started feeling those little pin pricks from her injured shoulder. Panicking was something she didn't want to do so she slowly started to make her way back to shore. Her shoulder in pain the entire time until she stopped altogether. She had only swum a third of the way back and wouldn't be able to go any further with the way it was hurting.

This was a bad idea.

Swimming was something Sakura had done her whole life, learning from a very young age. Going to various swim meets as she got older and winning various medals. She had been going home from one of those competitions when she got in the car accident that crushed her left shoulder. She had been lucky that that had been the worst of her injuries, but after extensive surgery, she was able to control and move her arm again. At least that was what physical therapy had been for, improving her range and motion and being able to do things comfortably again. Tenten, her physical therapist, would not like the damage she caused her nerves and muscle swimming like she had been.

Now being in the middle of the water and having been swimming for so long, holding herself above water without anything to lean on or help her was becoming a struggle. The sun was starting to go down which meant it would soon get dark and then she wouldn't be able to see.

"You're supposed to be the smart one Sakura," she mumbles to herself. "You shouldn't have swum so far out."

You shouldn't have been swimming at all.

But she had missed the freedom of it all, missed doing the one thing that she loved more than anything.

Taking a deep breath she steels herself to try and swim a little more but the pain is just too intense and she's only made it a couple feet when she finally has enough and stops. No one really comes out here so she knows there won't be anyone coming along to help her. It was her own little secret place, somewhere only she knew about but now she kind of wished other people knew about it too.

She can no longer feel the warmth of the sun on her skin, the water feels as if it's gone cold and she just wants to be on land again feeling the sand in between her toes. Her leg starts to cramp up and she goes under for a second before she comes back up gasping for air. She kicks her legs out and tries to stay afloat with the help of only one arm but it proves to be difficult, especially with the new pain in her leg.

This was getting worse and worse by the second. She's too tired to keep herself up, she hasn't swum in months, but she had always been stubborn when it came to swimming and nobody could stop her from doing what she wanted. The muscle in her calf spasms again and she goes under water a second time and then a third until she doesn't come back up anymore.

The water that enters her nose burns and she feels water fill up her lungs, she kicks her legs out trying to reach the surface again only to struggle before she finally lets the water take her.

You swim your entire life…only to die by drowning.

He had been hunting nearby when he heard the sounds of something struggling in the water. Whatever it was had to be at least half a mile away but he could hear it as clear as if the animal was right next to him. He lets go of the fish he had been feasting on and cautiously swims towards what was making the noise. Though it was dark, seeing underwater had never been a problem for him but it also helps that the glowing traits of his tail help light the way if only a little.

Sasuke spots the creature going under clearly struggling to stay afloat until finally it stops moving and starts sinking instead. He swims around it studying it before getting closer and he sees that it's a human woman, what she was doing so far from shore he has no clue. He has half a mind to let the human drown but instead, he finds himself wrapping one arm behind her shoulders and the other under her knees before she's able to go any deeper and quickly heads for the surface.

Once he breeches the water's surface he shakes the water out of his hair and locates the shore before making his way towards it, careful not to jostle the unconscious human so much. As the water starts to shallow out his indigo colored tail starts to recede until all that's left are two legs with small patches of silvery scales, hardly noticeable unless you looked closely. Walking up the shore he drops to his knees to put down the woman before putting his ear to her chest, he doesn't hear a heartbeat so he starts CPR, something he learned many years ago when he was exploring the land pretending he was only human until he had to fulfill the duties he was born with.

He does this for several minutes alternating between compressions and breathing air into her lungs thinking that it was all for nothing until the woman finally coughs up the water that was in her lungs gasping for air. He sits back running his fingers through his hair and lets out the breath he didn't even know he was holding, watching as the human reorients herself clearly confused as to the events that just happened.

The last thing she remembers is the irony of it all and then nothing but then here she is with the sand underneath her and a stinging in her throat. She doesn't know how she got here but she's glad that she is.

She leans up on her elbow before she sits up to rub her eyes and she hears someone clear their throat causing her to stop and quickly turn her head in the direction of the noise.

Next to her she sees a male that is practically radiating like he's got his own glow to him. His hair is currently pushed back stopping just past his shoulders, it's black and he's got several intricately placed braids with are those pearls woven into them? They contrast spectacularly with the color of his hair. She moves on to look at his face and she's met with finely shaped brows and the darkest colored eyes she's ever seen. She's never seen someone with eyes so black and his lips are set into a frown. His face is all sharp angles and luminescent skin, there's a chain around his neck adorned with several long pointed shark teeth each individually wrapped in wire. Her eyes roam further down but quickly shoot back up when she notices he's practically naked. She doesn't notice the scales.

A blush tints the bridge of her nose and spreads to her cheeks and she clears her throat, "Uh did you save me?"

"You shouldn't have been swimming so far out from shore." His voice is deep and radiates authority sending chills running down her spine.

To say he was surprised would be an understatement, he had noticed her pink hair when he first laid her down but quickly pushed the thought of it away to focus on bringing her back. But then he saw her eyes and he was shocked at the vividness of them, a green so bright they almost sparkled. If he didn't know any better, with her coloring, he would have thought she was one of his people.

He moves to stand on his feet and holds a hand out to help her up. Tentatively she reaches out for it and when her hand is finally in his he feels the softness of it. When she is finally standing he also notices how tiny she is, were humans always this tiny? Or is it just her?

"I'll have you know that I'm an excellent swimmer." The woman huffs crossing her arms over her chest.

Sasuke can't help but snort "You could have fooled me."

He sees her brows furrowing and her eyes narrow, clearly she's growing upset. "Who-"

He cuts her off before she's able to speak, "Will you be alright now?"

A look of surprise crosses her face before it's quickly gone, "Y-yes, I think so. Thank you."

He nods his head and turns to head back to the water, he wasn't finished hunting and dealing with this human had already taken up enough time.

"W-wait!" he feels her hand wrap around his wrist and stops in place turning and raises a curious brow at her. "Where are you going?"

"Home." Is all he says as she lets go of his wrist and he misses the warmth of it. "You said you would be fine." He adds as an afterthought.

"Well yes, but I don't even know your name." she tucks a strand of her pink hair behind her ear and he follows the movement before his eyes move back to hers. "I'm Sakura, Haruno Sakura."

He raises an eyebrow in amusement and he can't quite stop the smirk, of course that's her name.

"Sasuke."

"Sasuke," she whispers to herself "like the warrior."

"I supposed."

She looks out to the water before she turns in the direction of her car and then turns back to him "Um, if you want I think I have some extra shorts in my car for you?" there's another blush forming across the bridge of her nose, she hadn't forgotten that he was naked, she's just been avoiding looking down. "You know since you're uh naked…" she lets out and awkward cough.

And this time Sasuke doesn't stop the laughter from bubbling up. "I'm not naked. Not really. I can make them recede further but I didn't think it was going to be necessary."

Shocked she looks down without thinking but now that the sun isn't really in the sky anymore she doesn't really see much until she sees something sparkling on his legs. She finally notices how his legs are covered in tiny scales from the waist down hardly even noticeable if it weren't for the light of the moon shinning on them "Wha-" she looks back up eyes wide "What are you?" she asks unconsciously taking a step back.

"A myth, a legend." He shrugs nonchalantly. He starts to step back until his feet touch the water and Sakura just watches him go, not stopping him. Still too in shock at this revelation.

The deeper he goes the darker the scales start to become going from silver to an indigo that's almost black all the way up to his waist just under his navel.

He's still walking backward watching her until finally, Sakura comes back to her senses, "Wait, don't leave!" she yells running into the water but stops when she sees him hold up a hand.

"The last time you were in the water you almost drowned." He states in amusement.

"But you can't leave, not yet!" she yells desperately trying to stop him. There are so many questions she wants to ask him.

"As much as I would love to stay and talk to a human as beautiful as you, I have to."

Her breath hitches, he called her beautiful, and no one ever called her beautiful. They always just said she was pretty or hot, having someone call you beautiful felt completely different. Like they actually meant it.

"Will I ever see you again?" she asks in a last ditch effort.

He shrugs again "I'm counting on it." He smirks, eyes roaming over her face taking her in one last time before he turns around and dives under the water.

His tail is the last thing she sees of him as it breaks the surface before going back under.

"That did not just happen, I must be dead. Yeah." She says, trying to run a hand through her tangled hair.

A/N: I've always wanted a story where Sasuke was the merman instead of Sakura. Also, I kind of imagined his hair to be like Lokis, he's got nice hair. Hopefully, this was an okay story. Oh! also if there's any confusion about what his legs looked like just think of Meras outfit in justice league except obviously not a full bodysuit and not green and a bit more transparent.

Anyway much love to those that have been leaving reviews, your thoughts are always appreciated! until next time. xx