SASUINO: MERMAID/PIRATE AU
I.
Sasuke is 7 when he learns that it's stupid that he never learned how to swim. He's the brother of the greatest pirate to ever live, and yet he's drowning. Itachi would be so disappointed.
He saw something swimming towards him before death took him.
The first thing that came to mind when he awoke was that he was dead, but he even doubted his eyes when he saw a familiar palace in the distance. For heaven couldn't allow the royals inside heaven when they're very sinful, right?
That's what his father told him.
"I'm alive?" He looks around. "How- how am I?
He sees a small girl behind a huge rock and an epiphany hits him.
"Did you save me?"
II.
Her name is Ino.
Ino is definitely a girl, but she's not human. Her purple tail, her claws, and her ethereal disposition confirmed this.
And he knows she's not human because he has seen people like her before. After all, they hunt something like her for a living and present their heads to the throne.
He swallows, wondering if Ino knew what they were doing in the ocean when she rescued him.
But Ino surprises him by apologizing. He doesn't know what she's apologizing for, but he thinks she looks like she belongs to the sky more than the sea. Her long golden hair reminds him of the sun. Her eyes are the color of the sky instead of the sea.
And she saved him.
But she couldn't save Itachi.
III.
The King takes care of him in his brother's stead and the palace became his home except...
He rushes towards the beach, dodging the huge rocks until he comes face-to-face with his savior, his friend, his home.
Ino was already waiting for him. She leans her head onto the rock as she combs her hair out of her face.
"Took you long enough." is what she says when she spots him.
He rolls his eyes, sitting right next to her as they look at the overlooking ocean.
"I should go. My friend is waiting for me." She motions towards the sea. He finds a pink-haired mermaid waiting for her.
She was about to dive when he stopped her, halting her movement.
"What?" She's annoyed, but he's scared.
"You'll come back, right?"
"What? Sasuke, my friend is waitin-"
"Promise me you'll come back." he insisted. "Promise me."
Her eyes softened. She squeezed his hand. "I promise."
IV.
They meet every day.
He talks about his brother Itachi, and how he wishes his brother had never died in the shipwreck. She talks about her dad and how he doesn't want her to associate with humans.
Why?
Because he says you're scary and dangerous.
Scary?
She gives him her duh look. Because you hunt us, silly.
But I'm not scary or dangerous.
She stops to think before smiling. Yeah, you're not. I'm glad you're not.
His heart skips a beat at her smile.
V.
Home is almost taken from him when Kabuto, one of the King's servants, follows him to the beach.
He remembers the screams, the guards, and the arms dragging him away as he struggled with the much older man.
He remembers Ino managing to slash the guard's face with her claw. He remembers her pained look when she looked back at him one last time before diving and swimming away.
VI.
At the young age of 16, Sasuke left the palace and land in search of his home.
Eventually, he became more of a pirate than a prince.
He searches day and night to find her, following rumors and tales about a golden-haired mermaid all throughout the ocean.
He knows that his crew mates think of him as crazy.
His first mate, Naruto, who left the palace with him, said as much.
They feared for him and feared him.
For this insatiable obsession, this unwavering devotion to someone whom he met as a young child. Whom he spent brief encounters with.
They certainly don't know what they're talking about.
And even if it was only a brief encounter, it was enough for him to sail across the vast ocean in search of her.
He's reminded of the shipwreck that orphaned him when their ship was caught in a terrible storm. The heavy rain and the waves threatened to drown his ship.
Sasuke scowls when he sees his newest recruit making a fool of himself tying the rope, and he sees the moment when the recruit almost fell into the ocean.
Being the captain and closest to him, Sasuke rescued his stupid recruit and fell into the ocean in the process.
He hears the shouts and Naruto takes charge as they manoeuvre the ship and attempt to rescue him.
He cursed when he felt his feet stuck on something and tried to fight against the current, but the waves were too strong for him.
And then he's drowning, drowning, drowning...
When he opened his eyes, he saw the familiar blue eyes looking at him in shock and wonder.
Ino swims him back to the surface. He tries to get as much air into his lungs as he's able. He heard shouts in the distance and noted dimly that his ship was not far away.
Her hair is longer now and he still thinks she looks like she belongs more to the sky than the sea.
No, Ino belongs to him more than she belongs to the sea.
"Sasuke? Sasuke?!" Her hands touched his face as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. "It's really you."
Her voice broke, and if it weren't for the rain, he would've thought she was crying.
He catches her hand, kissing it and placing it gently against his cheek. "Ino."
He finally came back home.
VII.
It was like he was a child again. He waits for her to return to him every night; he waits for her to complete his day; he waits.
But he's growing increasingly impatient with how little of her time he gets, and Naruto has already warned him twice to keep his attitude in check.
You don't want to scare her, don't you?
He doesn't.
Ino is an important figure in their world, which he learns quickly enough. She's bathing in the moonlight as she shares that they're dwindling in numbers because humans-pirates are hunting them. He says nothing, but in retaliation for making her cry, he hunts those he knew were hunting her species.
The kiss Ino gave his cheek in thanks still makes him smile.
One night, he finally asked the question.
"Why did you break your promise?"
Ino tells him that she was forbidden from returning. It was dangerous.
"I'm sorry." she apologizes, her golden hair swaying with the waves.
"They don't even know I'm here." She says, her eyes looking around. He wants to tell her she doesn't have to worry about that because his mates are patrolling the area with their canoe. "They would be so disappointed in me if they found out. They might even kick me out." she laughed dryly.
"Why not go with me then?"
She laughs and looks at him. "And where would we go?"
He knew she thought he was kidding, so he grasped her hand and caught her eye.
"Away." Every place is better than being without her.
She must have seen something in his eyes because the smile left her face.
Ino swallows, squeezing his hand lightly before letting go. "I'm sorry, Sasuke, I can't go with you."
"Why not?"
"Because my family is here and I have a duty."
But I should be your family. The words stopped on his lips.
Her rejection hurts more than anything he's ever felt before.
He just finally came home.
She raised her head heavenward and let the first drop of rain kiss her face. "I'll need to leave soon."
She can't just leave him again now that he's home.
He clenches his fist.
He won't let her leave. Ino's not leaving him. She won't. She can't,
He won't let her go.
Even when she repeatedly called out to him as they bound her.
Even when she trashed against the tank.
"Captain!" Jugo calls to him. He leaves the captain's chamber when Jugo tells him of the urgent news and sees the chaos happening on deck, sees the swarm of men cornering his Ino.
Even when she's scared of him.
"Why is she out of the tank?" he hisses, not expecting an answer. He pushes his way through the crowd.
"Don't let go of her!" he screams as Ino fights her oppressors. She slashes Suigetsu's arms and Kakashi's eye. She crawls immediately to the edge of the ship, poised to jump. "Ino! Don't you dare!"
It was too late.
Ino looks back at him. She looks scared yet determined before jumping into the sea.
He scowls at the sea, the waves mocking him for his failure.
She shouldn't have left him. She shouldn't have broken her promise. Now he needs to show her how scary humans can be. How terrifying he can be.
He gathers his mates and hunts.