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 VI: No Turning Back
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"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled as he finally caught up with her. "What the fuck do you think you're doing!"
Sakura chose to keep ignoring him until he calmed down, which she knew would not be until probably after she saw Orochimaru.
"Sakura-chan… please, why are you going to see—that? The Sakura I know would never even mention that name let alone go to see him; so who are you and what have you done with Sakura-chan?" Naruto exclaimed as he stopped right in front of her and shot and accusing finger at her.
She did not acknowledge him, just merely swam around him. 'Not even you can stop me, Naruto-kun,' she thought sadly.
"Sakura-chan… what is this really about," he asked still tailing her, "you said something about love, but—wait… is it about that two-legger; Uchiha?" he finished, bewildered.
Naruto took her silence as affirmative. "Sakura-chan, you should give up right now, he's a two-legger and you're a mermaid; it'll never work!"
"Naruto-kun," Sakura said, stopping, "that is why I'm going to see Orochimaru-sama. He can make me into a Human… he can make me acceptable in Sasuke-kun's eyes."
Naruto frowned. "But Sakura-chan—"
Sakura turned to look at him. "You said you would do anything for the one you loved! And that's just what I am going to do! I don't care what you think, Naruto, this is my decision!" she yelled at him before turning and swimming as fast as she could away from him.
Naruto felt a pang in his heart. The drop of "kun" from his name did not go unnoticed. "Sakura-chan…" he whispered sadly before following slowly after her.
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Sakura finally came to the border of Orochimaru's property. Even though it was as well lit as any other part of the ocean, it seemed so dark to her. On the sandy ground were hundreds of flat water snakes which seemed to guard the entire estate.
Sakura unconsciously shivered as she inhaled deeply and continued to swim deeper into the clutches of one of the ocean's most fearsome creatures.
To her surprise, the snakes did not even seem to notice her presence; they just continued to lay on the ground. She was thankful though when she saw the palace ahead.
It was made entirely from bones of Humans and other sea creatures. To say she was disgusted would be an understatement. She realized she had stared at the mansion for too long when Naruto finally caught up with her.
She was about to release a comment but he spoke first.
"I may not approve of what you're doing, but I can at least be supportive, right?"
"Naruto-kun…" she smiled and nodded before they both swam up to the palace.
Unlike her palace, Orochimaru's had no defenses like walls or gates, it was open and an easy target. But Sakura knew that no one would dare tread on Orochimaru's estate looking for a fight; it was the reason Orochimaru was able to do what he wanted, to an extent, without getting in trouble for it.
She finally arrived at the bone door and hesitated. 'If I do this… there will be no turning back,' she thought as she raised her fist to knock. 'No regrets.' She then knocked confidently on the door and waited.
The door opened to a small crack, but large enough for her to get through. "Come in," came the dark and slow reply from within.
"Wait out here, Naruto-kun. I'm sure he will only want to see me alone," Sakura said as she slipped through the slit and the door closed once again.
"Orochimaru! You better not hurt Sakura-chan, or else I'll come in there and demonstrate exactly what I think of you!" he yelled as he banged on the door.
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Sakura heard his comment from outside and let out an exasperated sigh. 'What an idiot,' she thought as she shook her head. But her calm attitude was disrupted by the other presence in the room.
"Lively, isn't he?"
Sakura turned toward the voice and for the first time saw the Sea Witch with her own eyes. She always had this mental image of a hideous, illiterate monster; he was really the opposite.
He had the longest and darkest hair she had ever seen, and his eyes looked like those of his faithful snakes guarding his palace. He, too, was a merman, but his tail greatly resembled that of a snake in its texture, color, and design.
"I know why you're here, young princess…and I have to say, you are quite the foolish one," he explained, moving closer to as if to analyze her. "But I will help you nonetheless."
Sakura was relieved, but she knew she was not out of the thicket yet. She had her stories of the great prices creatures paid for Orochimaru to grant their wishes… she just wondered what he would want from her.
"I am not crooked, young princess, so listen closely to the effects of the draught I will prepare," he said as he led her into another room with a cauldron. From that cauldron, a blue flame emitted.
"Now, Sakura-hime, this draught will turn your tail in to two Human legs, but you must drink it above on the surface before the third sunrise from now. After drinking it, your tail will change into legs, but the pain you will feel will be excruciating. Almost like—how should I explain—like a sword is being shoved through your body at an exceptionally slow rate," the snake-like man explained, almost hauntingly.
Sakura felt her heart well up in slight fear. 'That can't be the only price…'
"The price for it all, Sakura-hime, is your voice."
Sakura was confused by his request. "My voice, Orochimaru-sama?" she asked, almost uncertain she had even heard him correctly.
Orochimaru smiled cunningly. "It is a small price to pay for the gift I'm to bestow upon you, is it not, Sakura-hime?"
Sakura nodded. "B-but how am I supposed to talk to him—I suppose I could write, correct?" she questioned, hearing desperation in her own voice.
The snake-like man shook his head. "A side-effect of the draught, my dear. Your hands will be dumb to any writing utensil picked up," he secretly smiled, "you do have your lovely eyes though, I'm sure you can learn to manipulate them to talk to him, ne? You will have your form and in no time you will have grace in your step, this can surely enchant a man's heart," Orochimaru reasoned.
Sakura would not let herself think anymore, if she did, she knew for sure she would turn back. "I agree to the conditions."
Orochimaru laughed darkly. "And you should also know this cannot be undone. You can never become a mermaid again. You will never swim in the water to see your sisters or your father's palace. And if you fail to win your lover's heart and he marries another… the morning after the wedding, your heart will break, and you will turn into the foam on the crest of waves the moment the sun's rays touch your skin," he replied as he began pulling ingredients off his stocked up shelves.
"I-I-I…I agree." She could feel her heart wretch more than it had ever done before.
He laughed once more. "Then let us begin, princess."
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Naruto listened in onto the conversation with his ear pressed against the door. "Sakura-chan…"
He heard no voices anymore, only silence. He pressed his ear harder against the door only to get smacked with it… hard.
He saw pink and realized Sakura was finally done mingling with the 'monster'. He noticed in her hands, held to her chest tightly, was a round, glass bottle of crimson liquid.
"Sakura-chan, I heard everything. Your voice, the draught… and the price of failure," he muttered looking at the ground.
Sakura looked over at him and gave him a reassuring smile. 'It's alright, Naruto-kun. I'll be happy,' she thought to him, almost hoping he could hear her somehow.
"I'll—we'll never hear your voice again, Sakura-chan! I'll never hear you laugh…yell at me…or even make fun of me. And what's worse is that I'll never see you again!" he cried with obvious depression in his voice. "I… I don't think I can give you up, Sakura-chan. And if you don't get that Uchiha-teme to fall in love with you… you'll die. And I don't think I could bear that!"
Sakura knit her eyebrows together and slightly frowned. 'You're making this much harder for me, Naruto-kun.'
"Sakura-chan, you don't even know where to find that bastard, and you only have two days, about!"
Sakura froze at the statement said. He was right; she had absolutely no clue as where to find Sasuke. She was positive that his residence was not where she had left him on shore because the Human females did not even know him.
She felt her fists unconsciously clench at the thought of the woman who he probably thought saved him. 'I saved you…why does another get my glory?'
Then she remembered the task at hand, she had no time to be… envious?
The pink-haired mermaid looked to Naruto, as if to tell him to help her think. She could not ask any of her family members, for they would find out about her plan and definitely stop her, not to mention the shame she would feel showing them she sold her voice just to be Human; the kind that killed her mother.
"Heh," she heard Naruto make. "I've got it, Sakura-chan. I'm sure my perverted uncle wouldn't mind doing one last favor for you. He knows almost everything there is to know about the geography of this region… below and above the water," he told her, smirking.
She looked at him oddly. Just before he told her he would not be able to let her go, now he was offering to help her.
Naruto smiled at her unasked question. "Sakura-chan…I don't want you to leave, and I know I would rather you stay in the ocean, even if it means you'll hate me for as long as we live. But you're my best and only friend aside from Hinata-chan. And if you're happy…I guess I am, too."
Sakura stared shocked at Naruto's smiling face. There was so much joy inside her that she giggled, but of course, it was not heard. 'You're a true friend, Naruto-kun… I will miss you so much!' she thought as she slowly brought him into an embrace.
"Hey, hey—!" he said in surprise while he turned slightly red. "I know it's hard, but try to resist me, Sakura-chan! I'm into your sister, not you, you know!" he yelled.
Sakura smiled and punched him in the arm. 'Thank-you, Naruto-kun.'
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Author's Notes: There we go, chapter 6 completed! And my finals are over too, so that means more writing from me if I don't get lazy.
Thanks for you're reviews everyone!
Black Robed One: Thanks for the complements! I don't know what it is about me, but I often just choose one girl out of a whole show, game, movie, book that I like the most. Like in Harry Potter, I like Narcissa Malfoy, no other female character; it's weird. But don't worry, there will be no Ino-bashing, or negative portrait; there is just no one else that can fill the spot I'm giving her. No, Orochimaru is still male, I would find him even creepier if I changed his sex. Since I am Wiccan, I decided to incorporate some of the titles we give ourselves, I suppose. A male "magic user" in Wiccan beliefs is still called a witch, no title alterations with gender. I suppose I should have cleared that up before. : )
