"This is the most suck-ish thing to ever have sucked," Naruto groaned, leaning his bedroom window.
"Well, it's your own fault, Naruto," Iruka, Naruto's tutor and keeper, apparently, clucked behind the blonde.
"Was not! We were very careful. We weren't even seen, like at all," Naruto whined, allowing his head to rest on the window sill.
Iruka looked at him disbelievingly," You know even going the shore is forbidden. You're lucky you're related to Tsunade or you would be in so much more trouble."
"More trouble? How could I be in more trouble? I'm confined to the castle for the next two weeks!" Naruto said, staring at his sensei incredulously.
"You could be in jail or dead or sent to spend the week with Gai and Lee" Iruka answered, finished making Naruto's bed.
Naruto shivered. No…just, no.
"Okay, so it could be worse, but this still sucks," Naruto groused.
"Well, look at it this way; you have more time to focus on your schoolwork!" Iruka offered cheerfully.
"Ugh, this so completely sucks."
-
Two days later, Naruto was wandering the castle. He had earlier ditched Iruka. Really, how much classic literature was one teenage merman expected take? So, he had snuck away as while Iruka was writing something on the small chalkboard in the tutoring room. Then, Naruto had gotten some ramen from the kitchens. The cooking staff was really nice. When he took over the throne, he was so raising their salary.
But now, he was out of ramen and he had to keep to the less used halls lest he be found by an angry Iruka. Maybe he could that perverted bodyguard, Kakashi, to distract Iruka next time. The last time Kiba had come to the castle, he had said the two mermen definitely had something going on.
Naruto came to an empty hall that wasn't familiar at all, which was strange, because, sure, this place was huge and all but he had lived for his entire life and there wasn't much of the castle he hadn't seen. Except for Baa-chan's sleeping quarters. No one ever wants to go there. Ew.
So, in this unfamiliar hallway, Naruto noticed, there were no doors. Then he turned a corner because, hey, there was a door. Well, he might as well open the door. After all, if he was going to take the throne, he should know the entire castle, right?
Right.
So he opened the door and was immediately shoved over the threshold by forces unknown. And the current in that room was very strong. The current was strong enough to pull Naruto downwards until he realized this wasn't really a room (it lacked a floor) but more of a tunnel or a slide.
"Woo, slide! Hey wait, I don't know even where this damn thing goes," Naruto mumbled, trying to turn around a swim back out. But yeah, strong current, remember?
And then he was thrown on to sand covered stone. And ouch, his tail hurt and his elbows were bruised. And oh, his head was all spinning and then everything went dark.
-
Naruto woke up to the sound of pencil on paper. Aw, man, he was so very sore. He turned over and saw an older merman. The merman had long white hair and perverted grin on his face as he wrote on a piece of paper.
"Hey, where am I? Who the hell are you?" Naruto grunted, rolling off the bed he had been placed on mysteriously.
"Oh, uh," the old guy said shuffling the paper into a desk drawer," I'm Jiraiya. And you fell into my house."
"I- I what? Fell into your house?" Naruto shouted," How did I fall into your house?"
"Beats me but I can help you, y'know." Jiraiya smirked at the blonde.
"Help me? With what?" Naruto asked, sitting back down on the bed.
Jiraiya leered at the younger merman," I heard you in your sleep. Groaning and mumbling about Sasuke. 'Sasuke, you're so hot. Sasuke take me; bend me over your bed.'"
Naruto flushed hotly," I don't talk in my sleep."
"Yeah, you do. So, you've fallen for Prince Uchiha, huh? A human?" Jiraiya said knowingly, leaning back in his chair, his own tail swaying in front on him.
"I have not. But so what? It's not like I could ever meet him or talk to him," Naruto said.
"Well, you're wrong about one of those things. I told you I could help you, remember?" Jiraiya asked.
"Really? How are you gonna help me? Throw me on shore and yell 'merman oversea'?" Naruto snorted.
Jiraiya smiled," Now, now, I'll keep that idea for Plan B. Not that you're really a merman, are you?"
"Hey! You old pervert, shut up!" Naruto shouted.
"Do you want my help or not kid? I need to get back to my writing," Jiraiya said, opening the desk drawer again.
"Fine, how do I meet Sasuke?" Naruto relented.
Jiraiya slammed the drawer closed," There's a good boy! Now where did I put it?"
"Put what? What are you getting? Hey, tell me how you're gonna help me!" Naruto yelled as the white haired pervert continued to search through his many piles and cupboards of junk, all the while ignoring the shouting, red-faced blonde.
Finally, Jiraiya emerged from the third closet he had checked victorious. In his hand he held a necklace.
"Now, Naruto, do you know what this is?" Jiraiya asked the blue-eyed boy.
"Um…no? A necklace?" Naruto said.
Jiraiya smacked Naruto's head," Don't be a smart ass. Yes, it's a necklace, but do you know what it does?"
"God, you hit almost as hard as Baa-chan," Naruto grumbled, rubbing at his head," No, what kind of awesome powers this wonderful necklace hold?"
"Well, brat, this necklace allows a merperson to become human as long as they wear it," Jiraiya explained," But if you're going to belittle it's powers, I'll just save the necklace for someone who can appreciate it."
"Are you serious? This will let me be human?" Naruto asked reaching for the necklace.
Jiraiya smacked the tan hand," Yes, but at a price; while you wear the necklace, you won't be able to speak."
"Seriously? But I can meet Sasuke right?" Naruto asked. Jiraiya nodded.
"But it will only work for thirty days. If you don't receive a kiss in that time, the necklace's powers will become null and void and you will be banished back to the sea forever." Jiraiya said.
"But, I can meet Sasuke right? And al I have to do is kiss him?" Naruto received another swat to the head.
"Did you not hear a word I just said? You have to receive a kiss in thirty days. Meaning you have to get Sasuke to kiss you, brat," Jiraiya sighed.
"Oh, well, I can do that. Now, can I have to necklace?" Naruto asked.
"I suppose so. Just don't screw this up kid," Jiraiya said handing Naruto the necklace which Naruto proceeded to put on." Wait kid, don't put that on down hear! Humans can't breathe-"
Naruto, with his new legs under him, then began to choke on water. Jiraiya wrenched the necklace off his neck before he lost consciousness.
"You are an idiot! Humans can't underwater." Jiraiya shouted, shoving the necklace back into Naruto's hand.
"Oh," Naruto said, still panting.
"Yeah, now get out of my house and don't try anything idiotic before you meet Sasuke. And especially not after you meet the Uchiha." Jiraiya said, leading the panting blonde to the door of his house.
"Okay, okay, bye you old pervert. And thanks." Naruto said, his fist tightening around the necklace clutched in his hand. Then he swam off and away from the hermit's house, heading back to the village in order to prepare for his departure. Not that anyone else would know about it until after he was long gone (and hopefully with Sasuke).