This is the edited(almost rewriten) (beta hits fluffy) version of chapter 2 thanks to my beta. My beta hit me. TT

Sakura is a Mermaid!

♣At the ball♣

Sakura hated to admit it, but she loved these fancy balls. It was an excuse to make herself look nice, to take time and pick out exactly what she was going to wear, and to pamper herself. Tonight she wore a lovely light red dress, snug around her ribs, but loose around her tail to allow easy movement and to flow prettily in the water. She'd taken extra time to carefully dye her scales a pretty light pink, matching both her hair and her dress nicely, and she hoped that she hadn't overdone it on the one colour.

She also wore a small tiara to show her (adopted) royal status, and of course she was seated by her (adopted) father; the King and birthday-boy Kakashi. Her father was embarrassing her again, having worn a cheap ninja costume along with an orange jester's hat. He was currently making small chat with the kappa that'd won the Underwater Beekeeping competition, and had decided to stay for the party.

As if that wasn't enough, on her other side was the Prince of the Reef, Uzumaki Naruto. The blonde, surprisingly well-tanned, royal pain-in-the-bottom was yelling and trying to get her attention, being as loud and noticeable as he possibly could, and only ended up annoying Sakura half to death. She only just kept Inner Sakura from hitting him on the head and sending him into a coma.

"Uchiha Sauske and Hyuuga Hinata." Their gardener announced, having a very commanding voice which easily got people's attention, and he was willing to do the job for a bonus of only half of his regular pay. As the dark-haired pair entered into the vast ballroom, Sakura nearly popped all the blood vessels in her body, and Naruto cringed away from the killing intent coming from her.

'WHAT!' Inner Sakura screamed, and for once, Outer Sakura was in total agreement. 'How could Hinata be going with the man I love? And she knows how I feel! That… that… TRAITOR!' Sakura slowly got up and swam towards them, putting on a relaxed face even though she was thinking about tearing her once-best friend limb from limb.

"Good evening Sasuke-kun, I'm glad you could come. Oh Hinata, may I speak with you privately for a moment?" Sakura asked in a pleasant voice as she swam up to them. Sasuke grunted, watching her warily and privately grateful that the deadly killing intent was focused on his date rather than him.

"A-alright." Hinata said just above whisper, thinking about what Sakura would do to her for coming with Sasuke.

♣In Sakura's room♣

"Why are you with Sasuke? You know I like him, so why? How could you do this to me!" Sakura shouted angrily, thrashing her tail and rising up above Hinata to glare down at the poor girl. "I thought you were my friend!"

"I-I was forced… to come with him…" Hinata tried to explain, staring down at her index fingers poking together.

"Yeah right! Who would force you to go with my Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted once more, righteous anger building up to a boiling point.

"Well, y-you see… Sasuke-s-san and I are… t-to be wed… in a f-few months…" Sakura froze in shock and Hinata started babbling out of fear. "I didn't tell you b-because I th-thought you would g-get m-mad at me." Hinata explained, hunching her shoulders and drawing into herself like an anemone.

"Why are you getting married?" Sakura asked softly, staring off into space over Hinata's shoulder.

"To h-have… children with b-both the Uchiha… and H-Hyuuga abilities." Hinata explained haltingly, afraid of the idea herself. "We c-came to the b-ball together… s-so that people w-would see us t-together." Hinata added quietly.

"But… why must they have your abilities and Sasuke-kun's? Why are they treating you like animals? Who is doing this to you?" Sakura asked helplessly, finally looking at Hinata's white eyes again. "Who is it who is trying to take Sasuke-kun away from me, after everything that I've gone through to try and make him see me?" Inner Sakura whispered.

"They want s-strong children, and you know th-that the Hyuuga and U-Uchiha clans have high ch-chakra levels. With Sasuke's Sharingan abilities and my B-Byakugan…." Hinata trailed off, not really knowing much more about the situation than what she'd guessed and heard from rumors.

"Fine. Take Sasuke away. Betray me. Just don't expect me to go to your wedding." Sakura said as she fled out of her room and back to the ball

"Sakura!" Hinata said as she swam after her, failing to catch up to her faster friend.

♣Back at the ball♣

"Oi, Sakura-chan, what's wrong?" Naruto asked as Sakura came and sat down.

"Nothing's wrong." Sakura said in a forced voice while giving Naruto her deadliest death glare. "Everything's peachy."

"O-o-okay" Naruto said trying not to shudder under Sakura's glare.

"Sounds like something's wrong." Kakashi said, leaning towards her. "What's up?" He asked with a deceptively bored look on his face. Sakura looked up at him uncertainly, but she knew that when her adoptive father looked like that, he was at his most alert and attentive.

"H-Hinata is getting married to Sasuke-kun." Kakashi stared out into the crowd, removing some of the emotional pressure by not forcing her to meet his eyes. "I didn't even know. She only just told me now." "After I forced her to tell me." Inner Sakura threw out, guilt starting to creep up on her now that she realized how badly she'd treated her friend.

"Yeah, I knew about that." Kakashi said with a yawn, stretching his arms above his head, twisting a little to make his spine pop back into proper place. Prince Naruto winced at the sound, and Sakura suddenly remembered that Naruto was close enough to overhear what they were saying.

"I have the marriage license on my desk." The King idly commented. He remained limp and relaxed even as Sakura grabbed the front of his ninja costume and shook him soundly.

"What! You signed the marriage contract, even knowing that I… I, uh…" Sakura's screeching and shaking slowed and finally stopped as she realized that the entire ballroom was staring at her like she was possessed. She giggled nervously and let go of him, allowing her adoptive father sit back properly in his seat and adjust the jester's hat upon his head.

Suddenly, there was a huge crashing noise, and a servant rushed into the ballroom, bleeding from various cuts and assorted wounds.

"The Lady Hyuuga, she's been kidnapped!" The poor woman screamed, and then fainted.