A/N: Thank you all for such lovely reviews! I'm g;ad to hear that I have you all intrigued.

As for whether Naruto is a mermaid or not, that is exactly what Gaara is going to be kicking himself over for quite a while.

I am also going to mention that this is in no way intended to be a dark or depressing story. It is more along romantic comedy/drama.

Read on.

I've stated before that it was on rare occasions that I slept though it was no secret that when I did manage to, I was always plagued with the strangest dreams.

When the day had come to a close and darkness swallowed the docks up, I let my eyes drift shut. The sound of Kankuro's snores faded and somewhere in the back of my mind I dug up an image. Some would have found it grotesque, others, a fascinating sign of fixations to come.

I looked out upon a vast ocean in which there was a mermaid.

She had crudely cut blue hair just past her ears, from behind the messy locks glowed two black marble eyes. The woman although looking towards me, appeared to see right through me as she sang in a horrible, pained moaned.

This was probably because her lower jaw had been torn clean off, leaving behind a bloody mess of stretched flesh and a long pink tongue lolling out and convulsing with each note she struck.

I'd never know what she had been saying to me.

Not that I really cared past waking the next morning

How could I when I found that yellow-haired boy standing at Temari's sale booth, face in awe as he examined her countless selection of fresh fish. "Oh! Good morning, you slept so much last night I wasn't sure if you'd ever be getting up." My sister teased, probably just as shocked as I was at my extended amount of sleep.

I was something more of a cat-napper you see, one or two hours at night, two or so more towards the afternoon…

I would have replied with something, anything to show my sister I still have a special level of respect for her, shame I was too busy being floored by those blue eyes.

I've probably mentioned it plenty of times but they really were the absolute epitome of blue.

"Hmn."

He didn't buy anything, just gave my sister a much appreciated compliment on her wares before stalking away. I did not miss his hesitant footing or the way he glanced back at me with the eyes of a shy girl… Maybe that's why I went after him without sparing my sister a second glance.

"Hello." I managed, swallowing down a lump in my throat. His smile was splitting and I can't say I'd ever seen one quite like it ever before. Then again of course I hadn't, surely I'd remember it. "Isn't that a bit professional?" The boy teased, letting his endlessly deep gaze openly travel over me.

It gave me shudders.

"Is it?" And he laughed; a sound similar to waves crashing against a rocky shore. Everything about the young man spoke of a lifestyle led on a warm and welcoming beach, from his amber tan to his charm. Although small in stature there was not a thing fragile about his countenance; and so I surprised even myself.

"Would you like to join me at the pub?"

By the look in his eyes I can assume he had not at all been expecting me to extend the invite. "I… I'm not a fan of the sailor type." He admitted bashfully, scratching at his cheek with a nervous finger. "They have… big mouths." That was something I could wholly agree with, but something was off. "You aren't exactly the quiet type yourself."

This had him laughing again, I could get used to the sound but I already enjoyed the color rushing to his face. "True, but their big mouthed in a sort of… different, way." I was confused I admit, the way his sandals scraped at the sandy dock.

"Alright then."

Was that disappointment I just felt? Something like a twisting in my gut, I wasn't even sure why I had asked him in the first place let alone why I would feel scorned at his refusal. I started to walk away, contemplating what had just occurred when…

"Gaara, wait…"

Glancing back I saw the boy rush to me, the way my name sounded from his scratchy throat running up my spine.

"I'll go. It'll be fun, right?"

If I had to describe my encounters at the bar the word I would use would not be something similar to 'fun'. I didn't have the heart to correct him though once I saw the excitement in his eyes. It was like looking at a child on Christmas morning; one of those lovely ones where both parents are relatively sane and yet in the mind of the child, insane because they insist on making coffee before letting anyone open any of the delicately wrapped gifts beneath the overly-adorned tree.

But he was not a child, even if he couldn't possibly be a day over eighteen.

"Perhaps I'm a bit late in asking, but what is your name?"

I sounded foolish at that point, realizing I probably should have asked before inviting him to spend time together. The blonde had my thoughts backwards and upside down, unable to pinpoint how I was feeling.

"Naruto Uzumaki, at your service."

He saluted, his expression implying he probably hardly took anything seriously in his life.

"And you already know mine somehow." It wasn't a question of how but Naruto took it as one.

"Your sister talks about you to her customers; she was mentioning to the fellow in front of me how in high school you intimidated opposing debaters into forgetting their entire arguments."

How many years ago had that been? I quit the debate team at the end of freshman year due to personal conflicting interests.

"I highly doubt I was the reason for their incompetence."

"No, I'm pretty sure you just proved her right."

I gave him a peculiar look, his footsteps never faltering as we marched on.

"Why is that?"

The look he gave me left me holding my breath.

"I feel very intimidated."

I couldn't believe him with that toothy grin crawling across his face.

I thought for sure that it wasn't him who was intimidated when he paused in front of the pub's door and watched me with expectant eyes. Like the fumbling fool I had been reduced to in his presence, I opened the door for the blonde and he graced me with another smile.

He handed them out like free samples in a supermarket.

"Gaara! Is this becoming a daily thing?" Shizune laughed, wiping down the bar. "Not that I mind a bit. I see you brought a friend." I nodded and sat down, Naruto taking a nervous seat beside me. "What for you… hon?" The brunette woman had her head tilted, eyeing my company with confusion.

"Good morning, not too early for a glass of wine I hope?"

"What kind?"

Naruto scrunched his face for a moment, his expressions always giving away exactly what he was thinking. "Something dark." Shizune nodded and slipped into the back room, leaving me to wonder why she hadn't carded the blonde.

There was no way he was twenty-one.

I didn't mention it because as usual, it was something that wasn't my business.

She brought him two wines, explaining he'd have to buy the whole bottle. The blonde fished for his wallet and picked the one he wanted, asking for two glasses.

Again the woman surprised me, setting both in front of him and not saying a word as Naruto filled one.

As he was pouring, he never took his eyes off her, almost daring the woman to object to him passing me the glass.

It was sweet on my lips.

The look Shizune gave was some sort of cross between 'don't do anything stupid' and 'I will be telling your sister about this'.

So why had she even served us?

"This is amazing." Naruto gushed, swirling the warm liquid in his cup. "Is this place always so quiet?" Looking around I realized he was right, the usual groups of men from ages young to old were missing, leaving only the occasional alcoholic to wallow alone in a dark corner.

"No, this is unusually quiet; I guess it just worked out. No bellowing sailors to grate the nerves."

I downed the last of my wine and without asking, Naruto filled it right back up.

My stomach was already warm but his encouraging stare kept me sipping.

"Is this how you'd imagined it when you asked me to come here?"

If the blonde was anything it was blunt, searching my expression for disappointment. I don't know what he found because even I couldn't convey how I was feeling, I wouldn't be able to recognize it myself. "I didn't imagine anything." I confessed, turning on my stool to directly face him. For a few moments our eyes were locked, mine unsure of what was happening and his simply refusing to back down; it wasn't until Shizune cleared her throat that the two of us broke away.

"Can I get you boys anythin' else?" She stammered; pink dusting across her cheeks.

"We're fine." I replied, letting Naruto give the contented expressions. When the brunette was gone again, the mysterious boy laughed heartily. "Why is she so anxious?" He cooed, finishing his own second glass. "Maybe it's my dashing good looks."

I let the corner of my mouth rise, catching the man off guard.

By off guard I mean he choked just a bit on his sip, taking a minute to calm his breathing.

"I didn't know you could do that." He teased, filling up both of our glasses once more. I had never had so much alcohol at one time in my life, the feeling not unwelcome but certainly unusual. "Smile I mean, or sort of smile. It was kind of a pitiful attempt."

"Well don't expect much more."

I also blame the poison for my jabbering, in fact, I can't recall ever contributing so much to a conversation before.

The blonde glanced back and forth a bit, gauging how alone we really were before speaking up again. "I'm not really from around here so I was nervous I would find a way to make an ass of myself or worse, surround myself by asses." Naruto gave me that sheepish grin again and I downed the last of my third cup.

I think it was safe to say by then that I was tipsy.

"I figured you couldn't be from around here." I added, resting an elbow on the bar. "Do I stand out that much?" He chuckled; staring at the last of the wine nestled in the bottle.

"Yes."

I didn't mean it in a negative way though I'm not even sure how he took it. It just seemed that amusement was never absent in those brilliant blue eyes.

The boy who appeared from nowhere, tangled in a fishing net and calling out to me like life had settled into place in that moment…

I was beginning to think I'd gone insane.

He was like a mermaid, climbing out of the ocean and hunting me, luring me right in.

Then I knew I was drunk because suddenly the thought of the waif being a sea fairy wasn't so foreign to me.

Hell, the way that stare made time stand still, that must have been what everyone had meant in their (failed) attempts to describe the beasts.

"Where're you staying?" I was trying to keep the conversation going, anything to avoid just silently staring at each other and taking our finals sips of the wine.

I think ultimately I just sounded creepy…

If anything ever affected Naruto, he sure didn't show it, and from my short experience with the boy, he certainly wore his emotions on his sleeve. This had led me to conclude that nothing affected him, ever.

"Just past the north end of Konoha; over the huge rocks." He answered seamlessly, pouting with a horridly pained expression at the now empty wine bottle.

The more I thought about it, I just couldn't recall having ever seen any houses, hotels, or apartments beyond those rocks. Then again after all these years I never quite took the time to climb over them and look.

Somehow in my barely inebriated state my gaze found him again, openly staring at his swim trunks and logo-splattered tourist shirt. Clothes you could buy in the gift shop not two doors down from where we were.

My gaze traveled up to his face, acknowledging his soft jaw line and the three thin scars that lined each side of his face.

They looked like whiskers; I wondered how I hadn't noticed before but soon realized that I was the closest I'd been to him since we'd met.

"Are you drunk, Gaara?" He teased, reaching out and poking a finger into my cheek. I retracted at the touch, turning to look anywhere but at him.

"No, just a tad woozy." The boy stood, stretching his arms and letting out a final string of snickers.

"It looks like we're done here then."

I nodded dumbly and stood, fishing through my pockets for change to tip my old acquaintance.

She didn't even offer her usual farewell, just watched silently as we walked out of the pub.

"It was fun, maybe we should do something again sometime." Naruto bleated, turning to head north through the docks.

"Bye Gaara."

"Hmn."

I watched him walk away for the second time, unable to shake the cold chill from my spine or the spike of loneliness that seemed to overwhelm me.

In a buzzed state, I slowly made my way to 'Tackle and Things', trying to shake the unwelcome feeling.

I made a mental note never to drink again, even if was just wine.

Now, let me explain that I have never been fond of any situation in which a person raises their voice in an uncouth manor. Now, let me explain that the dismay I felt for such situations had multiplied through the roof while under the influence of alcohol. So you could only imagine how I felt upon walking into 'Tackle and Things' to hear Tsunade's ear splitting griping.

"All these damn sailors having their britches in a bunch with this damn talk of sirens roaming about!" With her complaints came the sound of various items being slammed to the ground in small and bursting fits of rage. I think I may have been more startled if I weren't so… relaxed.

"Aren't you a firm believer in mermaids?"

She looked at me like I'd grown a second head, can't say I blame her either, I was acting entirely out of character.

I hiccupped and grabbed a handful of black licorice to toss on the counter.

"Of course I believe in them brat but I don't need any of that talk frightening my customers away." She rang up my licorice and cussed beneath her breath, whoever had just been in before me really managed to rile the woman up.

I had a hunch it had been Jiraiya himself.

"So kiddo, you considering picking up that saddle yet? I'll drop the price to thirty-two bucks. That's a steal you know." I twitched my lips and stared up at the obtrusive object. Nobody around here needed a horse saddle, that's why that old tawny thing had been collecting dust for the past several years.

All along the edge were little bedazzled plastic diamonds; the saddle had belonged to someone eccentric at one point, now it just glittered under the stores florescent lighting.

"I'll have to decline."

I'm fairly certain I've said that to her every time I'd been in the shop since I was old enough to have my own wallet full of my own cash.

She knew it too, her bartering attempts had begun the first time she'd seen me draw out the now old and tattered thing.

Clever woman.

"Well then get out of my store, red."

I took my licorice and stumbled out, one hand on a rail and knees rickety.

I am not sure how I got to the living room but the couch was soft and didn't lie beyond the horror that was a staircase.

I didn't fall asleep, after the extended rest the night before it was no surprise.

So I just laid there with my eyelids heavy, thinking about mermaids and Naruto…

Whom I'd found naked in the ocean.

I repeat; I had every intention at that moment to never drink again.