Title: Love Between Land and Sea

Rating: T – Language (yeah, that is about it)

Pairings: Sakura/Sasuke, Ino/Sasuke

Summary: (AU) Sakura, a mermaid, falls in love with Sasuke, a human. Sacrificing everything she knew to be with him was one thing, but getting him to accept her was another.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. And I do not own the story of the Little Mermaid. Thank-you.

Chapter II: Sneaking to the Surface

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"My, my, my… and just where have you been, Sakura?" a voice sounded from behind the pink-haired mermaid.

Sakura quickly whipped her body around and came face to face with her eldest sister, Anko. This was when Sakura knew she was in trouble.

"I was just…well…you know…in my garden!" she blurted out before she realized it. She smiled on the inside at her quick recovery. "Yes, I was in my garden. Seems I fell asleep there for a bit, just woke up, you know."

Anko narrowed her brown eyes. "Cut the bullshit, Sakura. Your story would be all well and fine if Hinata didn't search all through your garden for you," Anko hissed through clenched teeth.

Sakura's inside smile then faltered. 'Shit,' she thought. 'Now how am I gonna get out of this?' She was now panicking and she hoped Anko did not notice it. "Y-yeah…? Maybe she didn't look… hard enough?" she was not even trying to cover up anymore. Anko knew and she was in trouble; that was the bottom line.

Anko laughed bitterly. "Obviously the youngest. Sometimes I wonder when you'll grow up, Sakura," the eldest snapped, practically in anger.

"You shouldn't be so hard on her, Anko," another voice interjected. This time the voice came from one of the beds near the back of the large room.

Sakura, under normal circumstances, would have cringed at the voice, but to her, the voice was her savior. It was the second oldest sister of the family, Temari.

Like Sakura and Anko's relationship, Sakura and Temari's relationship was also strained. The blonde-haired mermaid and the pink-haired one rarely agreed on anything and often found themselves in verbal fights. While Anko would call Sakura immature, Temari would tell Sakura that she would never receive her Coming of Age, and often criticized her love for two-leggers and their "junk", in Temari's words.

"Why are you backing her, Temari? You know what she did, and it deserves punishment! She's lucky we haven't told father."

Sakura's eyes widened and her heart leaped. 'They didn't tell otou-san?' she said mentally and breathed out a sign of relief.

All that was seen was a blanket thrown in the air and before anyone of the two could blink, Temari was standing in between Anko and Sakura.

Sakura felt herself become rigid. Temari was famous for her temper, and right now, Sakura could feel the rage pulsating off her older sister. The petal-haired mermaid wished nothing more to disappear right about now, before sparks started to fly.

"I am not backing her up, onee-san. I am just treating her fairly," the blonde replied darkly. "Remember when you used to sneak out past dark and see that lover of yours? Hatake, I believe?" Temari smirked. "We all covered for you and never told otou-sama. You should at least have some honor and do the same for Sakura," Temari spat. She then grunted and returned to her bed.

Anko gave one last glare to Sakura before she too swam to her bed.

Sakura was not only surprised but also relieved to figure out she had gotten away with her mischief without any trouble. 'Alright… maybe slight trouble. But at least otou-san and obaasan don't know,' she thought. And just as Sakura was about to travel to her bed, a quiet rapping was heard on the door. 'Oh great...what now?' Sakura inwardly groaned.

She opened the door slightly to see one of the servants. "Tsunade-sama requests your presence immediately Sakura-hime," the servant told her meekly before hurrying off.

Sakura could hear Anko's triumphant laugh behind her. "I win," was all that she heard before the young mermaid left the room.

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Nervously, Sakura gently knocked on her grandmother's door. 'I think I'm gonna throw-up…' Her nervousness was now affecting her stomach, and that created a not too pleasant feeling.

"Come in," came the muted reply from beyond the closed door.

Sakura obeyed and opened the door hesitantly. Much to her surprise, Tsunade was wide awake and looked slightly irritated. Though Sakura's obaa-san, Tsunade, was pushing the age of two-hundred and fifty, she retained a youthful appearance. There were so many rumors made about how she managed it, one more unlikely than the last. Tsunade was also revered throughout the entire ocean for her wisdom and was especially proud of her high birth. But despite the arrogance of that, she was still viewed highly by many creatures throughout the ocean.

"You… um… wanted to see me, obaasan?" Sakura asked timidly. 'Great…I just basically gave myself away!'

Tsunade was quiet for a few moments. "Yes."

More silence.

The atmosphere in the room was beginning to get awkward.

"What did you want to see me about?" Sakura asked carefully, making sure she did not sound too demanding or rude.

It was quiet for a few more moments.

"I know your Coming of Age is closing in, and I know you're restless… but take it easy, alright?"

'That's it?' She practically gaped at her grandmother.

"You must be tired. I'll let you go, good night, my little Cherry Blossom."

"Wait… Obaasan, what's a 'cherry blossom?'" Sakura was confused.

Tsunade chuckled to herself. "It's your namesake; your mother picked it out for you. A cherry blossom is a flower that grows on trees on the surface. One day, I'm sure you'll see one."

Sakura nodded and bowed in respect to her grandmother. And just as she turned to leave, her grandmother spoke once more.

"And Sakura…next time, try to be more discreet when you're sneaking into the palace after-hours."

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Sakura returned to the room she shared with her sisters with her face the shade of a red star fish. She swam silently to her bed and lay down, pulling the translucent purple blanket over her frame.

"You… didn't get into any trouble, did you, Sakura-neechan?" came a hesitant voice from the bed adjacent to hers. Sakura turned over to face the voice and her emerald eyes met pearly ones.

"No, no, Hinata-neesan. Tsunade-obaasan just wanted to talk to me about my Coming of Age."

"O-oh! I almost forgot about that… forgive me," Hinata replied, berating herself.

Sakura smiled. "Don't worry about it, I almost forgot about it, too." 'Lie,' she told herself mentally. She could not help it, Hinata was the closest sister she had in age and emotional range, so she had to try and cheer her up. Hinata was just one year older than her. All the six daughters of the Sea King's were each separated by one year in age. The eldest being Anko, then Temari, followed by Ten Ten, Kin, Hinata, and then the youngest being Sakura.

Hinata smiled shyly. "Good night, Sakura-neechan," she uttered silently.

"'Night, Hinata-neesan."

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Sakura giggled as Naruto directed her while he had his hands over his eyes.

"Just tell me what it is already, Naruto-kun!" she squealed excitedly.

"Uh-uh! It's a surprise, Sakura-chan, and I don't want to ruin it," he stated obviously. "But I will guarantee you'll like it, I just know it!"

She wished he had not said that. She could feel minnows in her stomach, making her giggle even more.

She felt the change in water temperature around her; she could tell they were outside of the palace now.

She then felt him release his hands off her eyes. She opened her green eyes eagerly and was met with the most spectacular sight she could ever dream of. 'Sasuke…'

Naruto had brought the statue of the young man from the sunken ship to her; to her garden.

"So do you like it?" he said hesitantly after moments of silence. Sakura could tell that he was not sure if she liked it or not. But she was about to fix his doubts.

She lunged at him and tackled him with a giant hug; one that he often gave her after not seeing her for awhile.

After recovering from shock, he returned the hug and nearly crushed her.

"Naruto-kun, thank-you so-o-o-o much! You have no clue how much this means to me!" there was that feeling again, rising within her chest. 'It can't be… can it? It can't be…love?'

Naruto chuckled. "I knew you'd like it. But I gotta admit, you had me going there for a second. Alright, now for payment for this gift…" he started evilly.

"W-what? 'Payment?'" Sakura sputtered out.

Naruto nodded. "I was thinking you could set me up with your sister, Hinata," he replied thoughtfully while rubbing his chin.

All he received was a power-induced punch to his arm from Sakura.

"Ouch! Why do you have to hit so hard?" he asked while he faked a sob and rubbed his now red arm.

"Because sometimes you're an ass," she replied.

"An ass that's gonna take you up to the surface tonight," he shot back at her.

Sakura almost thought she did not hear the blonde correctly. "What?"

Naruto forgot about the pain in his arm. "You know my uncle, Jiraiya, right? And how he's a retired captain from your father's guard? Well… I blackmailed him into sneaking us to the surface tonight!" Naruto explained animatedly.

Sakura was almost in a state of shock. "How did you manage that?"

Naruto snickered. "Easy; I caught him flittering with Anko. And I'm sure your father wouldn't be very happy to hear that, so I offered him a deal for my silence, and he accepted."

Now Sakura was even more shocked. "Ew! Your pervert of an uncle was flirting with my sister. Your uncle's ancient!" Sakura yelled.

"Shhh, Sakura-chan! If someone hears you and relays the message to your father, our deal is broken. So keep quiet about this, ne?"

Sakura only nodded in reply.

"Good. Now I'll be back after nightfall. Meet me here in the garden, okay?" With that said, Naruto left her alone in the garden with the marble statue.

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It was beyond nightfall and Sakura was getting pissed. She had been waiting for Naruto since the twilight began raining through the water. Now she could barely see two feet in front of her.

"Dammit Naruto… where are you?" she questioned to herself.

This time, though, she was prepared for being discovered. This time, she let Hinata in on it. Though negative at first, Hinata agreed to cover for her absence with whatever excuse she could pop out of her head.

It was then that she heard noises around her. 'Shit… did Hinata crack?' the thought popped into her head before she could stop it, but then she pushed it aside. 'No, Hinata would not cave, I trust her.'

"Pst, Sakura-chan! Over here!" a voice guided her out of her garden and past the castle gates.

"Naruto-kun, what took you so long?" Sakura questioned, huffed up a bit.

Naruto growled slightly in reply. "My perverted uncle wasn't prepared when I got him, he still had to find a way to sneak us past all the checkpoints to the surface," he replied, pointing behind his back to the vague form behind him.

"No matter what I do for you, you still don't show me respect, Naruto," the form said as it came into sight.

While coming into sight, Sakura took note to his features; unruly white hair, wart on the left side of his nose, and the distinct markings on his face.

'Yep, that's Jiraiya, alright,' Sakura concluded. She hated being around this man; she was glad she rarely saw him. 'That'll probably change when my Coming of Age comes around.' She grimaced; she did not want to be around this old pervert longer than she had to. He was her grandmother's age!

Putting her anger aside for the time being, she turned to Naruto. "So how exactly are we getting up to the surface?"

Naruto opened his mouth but Jiraiya spoke first.

"Why, my little dear, using my intellect I devised the perfect plan to sneak you two up within the mouth of a whale. And if any of the guards stop me, I'll tell them I had orders from Her Excellency to check on them; to make sure they're doing their jobs. Tsunade and I go way back, and I know she would cover for me (at least I hope) if we were caught," Jiraiya clarified to the young princess.

Sakura nodded, but there was still one problem. "But what about the whale, won't it look suspicious of you to be traveling with a whale?"

This time, Naruto beat Jiraiya to the punch. "Jiraiya-ojisan has had this whale ever since he was young. The guards won't even dare to question him about it. The only reason they would have to question about the whale would be if it wasn't with him," Naruto replied happily.

Even though she did not want to, Sakura had to applaud Jiraiya's plan. She smirked. "I adore your plan, Jiraiya-san."

Jiraiya smiled back at her. "Good, then you can return my favor to you by never ever telling your father of my…mischief with your sister," he offered embarrassingly.

Sakura nodded her head.

"Alright, now that everything's settled…Kujira, open your mouth," Jiraiya yelled behind himself. Though no one could see, just by the shift in the water, the whale had indeed obeyed Jiraiya. "Alrighty, both you two, get in," Jiraiya told them.

Naruto and Sakura looked at each other hesitantly before they swam into the whale's giant mouth.

"Keep quiet and don't make a sound," Jiraiya warned as they felt the whale begin to swim.

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Like they were told, Naruto and Sakura kept quiet.

Sakura was nervous, even though she practically knew they would not be caught. Still, a voice raged within her mind saying otherwise.

She was beginning to become impatient. 'Does it really take this long to reach the surface?' she inwardly yelled. Then she remembered. 'The checkpoints…' If Jiraiya had done it easy and just guided the whale vertically to the surface, they would have been spotted and obviously searched. Even with Jiraiya's rank he would have gotten searched. Anyone who had served on the King's guard would know that there would be no easy way to the surface without passing through the checkpoints unless they would want to be arrested.

Now she was glad that it was Jiraiya leading them to the surface and not someone else. Jiraiya knew the rules, and he knew how to get past them and bend them to his favor. That was the only thing she really liked about him.

The whale all of a sudden stopped.

"Alright, kiddies, out, out, out! Kujira let them out."

Naruto and Sakura were relieved when they were allowed to leave the whale's mouth. It was not exactly the cleanest or most flattering smelling place.

"Thanks again, Jiraiya-san," Sakura bowed slightly to him.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, good work, you pervert."

"Thank-you, Sakura-hime. And you," he said while pointing at Naruto, "will learn to respect me one of these days."

Naruto just stuck his tongue at his uncle.

"Just go straight up from here," the elder man explained. "And just so you know, I have nothing to do with this from here on in. As far as you two are concerned; you haven't seen me at all tonight, alright?" And with nothing else to be said, Jiraiya and his whale, Kujira, descended deeper into the water, until they were no longer visible.

"I'll race you to the surface, Naruto-kun!" Sakura giggled and took off vertically without giving Naruto a chance to respond.

"H-hey!" he yelled up to her as he followed her until they both broke through the water, into the slightly cold air.

Sakura's eyes widened as she looked around her. "It's so…nice up here," she said softly as she floated on her back looking up into the never-ending sky. What caught her eyes most was the moon. It was shinning a pearly white and was perfectly rounded. "It looks like the pearls on the pins my sisters have," she said quietly.

Naruto silently agreed.

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Songstress of Victory: Thanks for your words of encouragement!

Mfpeach: lol what's strange is that I was actually thinking of inserting a little ItaSaku into the mix of things. It's one of my particularly favorite couples.

Babykitty2270: I try not to have cliff-hangers, cause I hate them when I read fanfics, too. I just wanted to stop it there so I could catch some attention.

Tikkall: I'll try not to disappoint you. I don't like it either when people write fanfics that are basically just ripped off, I like them to have at least a little originality to them.

Marshmellow Bunny: Oh no, that's fine! The idea's not mine to keep. I'm glad you found inspiration in my fanfic, though. Yeah, I'm trying my best to keep them in character, even though it's AU.

Neon kun­: Oh believe me, I will try to avoid any SasukexIno moments. She's not my favorite character, but I had to use her to fill the part. There will probably be implied stuff between them, if that at all. (Sorry people whom like Ino, I just don't like her.)

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Author's Note: phew I made it as long as I could, I just didn't want to go any further, 'cause if I did, it would result in a horrible cliff-hanger.

I'm sorry if my Japanese suffixes are off, but I'm not too good in that area. I just wanted to use them so I can at least try and keep it at least semi-authentic to Japanese culture.

Anyways, as you are reading this, I am already starting on chapter 3. Reviews are loved. Hope you guys liked this chapter.