Chapter 3-The Deal

It had gotten quite late. About 9:00. Tenten and Hinata were about to call it a day, "Sakura, we'll meet you by the lagoon tomorrow. And we'll bring you different clothes."

"Why?"

"Well humans usually change their outfit everyday and you want to fit in."

"Ok, well you can have these back. I'm going for a swim."

"In the ocean?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Well if you go away from your home for a while, don't you miss it?"

"Yeah."

"Well I miss my home. Now turn around."

Sasuke's POV

Sasuke was sitting in his room, in their beach house right on the beach, staring out the window, watching the sun set. He glanced towards the beach and saw three girls talking. The one thing that caught his eye was the girl with the pink hair. Sakura. He watched her get up and walk to the water. She gazed into the water for a few seconds before removing the skirt around her waist. Sasuke could tell that she was about to remove other articles of clothing as well. Out of fear he turned away until he heard a splash. He couldn't spot Sakura's lovely pink hair anymore. The sun light just hit the perfect spot and Sasuke saw a flicker of the water. He thought he saw a long tail dive into the water. I must have druken too much soda. Besides, it was probably a dolphin. He watched Tenten and Hinata grab something from the ground and walk away, chatting.Sasuke shook his head and went back to watching TV.

Sakura's POV

Sakura's hair had turned brown again. She scanned the rows of housed and shops along the beach. No one was there. Sakura swam to her rock and looked again. She saw a light in one of the windows. Using one of her mermaid powers she picked up a puddle of water in her hands and looked. Merfolk have the power to control water at their will. They can look into a pool of water and see something happeneing somewhere else. As they grow in age they gain more control over this power and can start to decide where to look. Sakura, was a fast learner. She can already do what take some merfolk 100 years. She can control where she looks in the water. Sakura focuses on the light in the window.

She sees Sasuke. He is looking at some magical box that makes images. Sakura remembered Hinata calling it a TV. Sakura let the water splash out of her hands. She picked herself up and sat on the rock, "I wish that I could be with Sasuke but I can't risk missing midnight and having my father flood the beach. I wish that I could be totally human so I could spend more time with Sasuke." Sakura dropped her head.

"I think I can help," said a voice.

Sakura turned around and saw a merman behind her, "Who are you?"

"That's not important. What is important is that I can help you with your problems."

"How?"

"Follow me." The stranger sunk into the water and Sakura followed curiously. He led Sakura to a near by cave. There was an air pocket inside. They sat on a rock above the water. The top of the cave was about 20 feet up.

"So, how can you help me?" Sakura started a conversation.

"I can give you perminate legs."

"What?"

"Yup. Without your father finding out."

"Wait how'd you...nevermind. How?"

"With this." The merman moved a rock and took something out from underneath it. It looked like regular ocean water.

"It just looks like water."

"No, no, no. It's more then just water. This is a special potion."

Sakura listened intensly about what the stranger had to say.

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The next morning Tenten and Hinata found Sakura near the lagoon, already with her legs, "Sakura?"

"Hm?"

"We brought you some clothes." Tenten tossed the bad towards Sakura.

"Thanks." In a flash Sakura was changed. Today Tenten brought her a blue halter bikini top with matching bikini bottoms and a black skirt to go over it, with the same white flip flops, "Tenten, Hinata, I have to tell you something."

"What?" The girls asked in unison.

"I got perminate legs!"

"How?"

"Well I met this guy last night and he showed me a potion thing and he said that it would give me perminate legs for a week, without having to worry about my father finding out or getting a tail when I get wet."

"There's got to be a catch the that."

"Uh...there is. I have to find love before that deadline. He has to say 'I love you.' And apperently the guy is the gerk my father wants me to marry so if I don't meet his deadline then I have to marry him and never speak of the surface world, or go there again."

"What if you do meet his deadline?"

"Then I win the deal with my father and I can become human."

"Well there's a sticky situation," Tenten said.

"I know. You guys were there yesterday. Do you think Sasuke likes me?" Sakura asked casutiously.

"Well he did smile at you."

"So."

"So, Sasuke doesn't smile, he smirks." Hinata stated.

"I've only seen him smile like that once before..."Tenten exclaimed, "It was when we were all younger. It was the same smile he gave him mom. It was on that day."

"What day?"

"Well Sasuke's mother drowned that day. iIs father remarried and he got a stepmother and older stepbrother."

"Really, why wouldn't he be thrilled?"

"Well, his father never really appreciated him, or so I've heard. His stepbrother, Itachi, picked on him and his stepmother ignored him. Everyone knows that she only married his Sasuke's father for his money."

"Oh."

"That's why his father made him take this job. He thought it would help Sasuke mourn."

"He doesn't seem afriad of the water."

"Only when he's in deep water with nothing the keep him afloat."

"Oh."

Tenten checked her watch, "GEEZ! It's already 9:45. You have to go meet Sasuke."

"Well let's go." Tenten, Hinata, and sakura took the quickest route back to the beach. Since Sakura could get wet now they didn't worry too much about the water. Once they were all saftly on the beach, Tenten pushed Sakura towards the empty lifeguard stand, "Go on."

It took all of one minute to reach the lifeguard seat. Sakura sat down and leaned against the plastic(or wood, whatever it's made of). She watched the waves crash against the morning beach. She loved to watch it from a different perspective.

"So you came." Sakura looked behind her. She saw Sasuke looking down at her.

"You thought I wouldn't?"

"Well, I was hoping but I didn't want to get my hopes up."

"Why?" Sakura said, standing up.

"Well, I just met you and well, you know."

"No."

"You've never been stood up before?"

"I've never been on a date before."

"Why?"

"I told you yesterday. My father."

"Oh, the arranged marrage."

"Yeah."

"So, you've never been out with friends."

"I don't have any friends back home. They're all scared of my father."

"Oh."

"Tenten and Hinata are my two officail friends."

"Well, could I be your third?"

"If you want to."

"Great, I will. Sakura?"

"Hm?"

"Want to go for a swim?" Sasuke remembered what he saw last night.

"Sure." Sasuke watched lustfully as Sakura slipped off the black skirt she had, revealing the other part of her bathing suit. She started to walk towards the water but Sasuke just stood in awe. Sakura sighed, went back and grabbed Sasuke's wrist, snapping him out of his day dream, "Come on Sasuke." Sasuke allowed him self to be dragged by Sakura. Soon Sakura let go of Sasuke's hand as they reached the shoreline. She gasped to herself, My hair! Will my hair still turn brown? Only one way to find out. Before Sasuke noticed her hesitation, she splashed into the water after him, for he had gone ahead. Sakura was now waist deep. Sasuke was neck deep and his hair had gotten wet.

"Come on Sakura!"

"Uh..be right there!" Under her breath she muttered, "We here goes nothing." Sakura dove into the water head first. She opened her eyes to find that she hadn't lost her mermaid vision, or speed but if she was going to pull this human thing off she needed to swim at the speed of a human. She came up a few feet ahead of where she went in. She quickly looked at her shoulders. Sakura sighed in relief, her hair was still pink. She swam out to Sasuke.

"You finally made it. I thought you would never come."

"What, I'm not afriad of a little water. Why are you?"

"Uh..of...course not."

Sakura wasn't convinced, "Ok, prove it. I'll race you to that rock." She pointed to the rock she always sat on.

"You want to challenge a lifeguard to a swimming contest."

"No, I want to challenge a lifeguard to a speed contest." Sakura felt her thigh, her mermaid gills were still there. Perfect.

"Uh..well..."

"I thought you weren't scared."

"I'm not." Whatever fear I have about deep water, I have to put it aside. Sakura won't embarss me, not matter how beautiful she is.

"Ok. On you mark, get set. GO!" Sasuke dove into the water with Sakura right behind him. She let him get ahead of her so he wouldn't notice her speed, yet. When he was a good ten-fifteen feet ahead of her she took a breath and dove under water. From there, she let het gills take over. She took in a waft of water, god how she missed it. Using her speed, she propelled herself ahead of Sasuke. She came up right before the rock. She tapped it and sat where she normally did and waited for Sasuke. When he got there she mimiced him and said, "You finally made it. I thought you would never come."

"Funny."

"I know isn't it?"

"Hn. How'd you get her so fast?"

"I swam."

"But I didn't even see you."

"That's because I swam underneath you."

"How did you hold your breath for so long?"

"Let's just say, in other life, I was a free diver."

"Intresting. Come on." Sasuke pulled Sakura, "I've got something to show you."