Day 2 - Supernatural/Mythical Creatures AU
"No," Neji told her. "It's your turn to come closer."
He could see the pinch of her expression in the clear water. It wasn't too shallow, but her tail agitatedly swayed when she swam closer. She lifted herself up by the arms and stared at him with the same hopeful expression ever since they met.
Men before him likely succumbed to it. If her face didn't convince them, her large breasts did. Not that Neji's eyes wandered down often. There was only a small sash wrapped around her waist and nothing else. In theory, it would be easy to capture her if he handed her a dress and while she struggled to understand how to fit into somehow – with its many buttons that even bewildered Neji – he could heft her out of the water.
Neji focused on her eyes, an unusual white like his. So her kind tends to mimic the appearance of their prey. She mistook it, giving him a shy smile that faltered when he frowned. She never did open her mouth wide. When she attempted human speech, she was careful to conceal her teeth. Those impossibly red lips almost distracted him from thinking too much about it.
He didn't even notice a slim hand around his ankle until it almost knocked him off balance. "Stop that," he said sternly. She looked stricken but her hand stubbornly remained there. He shifted to keep his footing.
"Neji," her voice sang. Her lips moved to voice something he couldn't hear.
It might work if he was underwater, just as she vaguely gestured him to sometimes but he only saw it as a trick. He needed rope if he was going into the water. Maybe metal. Even if he did fall, she was harmless in this depth. "I don't understand."
"Neji," she repeated. It was the only word she knew so far.
"Yes." He pointed at her. "Tell me your name."
She frowned.
If it was going to be a repeat of last time then Neji had no intention of staying. Standing on the rocks where the sea lapped at his clothes annoyed him. There was a limit to his patience.
She struggled up to the rock, her tail futilely trying to get leverage. Neji watched. The last time he fell for that she nearly pulled him in. It was to his advantage now but it was impossible to capture her now and they both knew it; she had glanced at the beach for any equipment, a cage, rope, even a towel.
He let her think her safety relied on those tools.
…
It was a hot day.
The mermaid looked exhausted. She only lifted her head out once he appeared, but was quick to submerge. "If you won't come out, I won't stay any longer," Neji said. The heat irritated him too.
She circled around the rock before reluctantly ascending. "Neji," she muttered.
"I know." The sun blazed strongly. She tiredly laid her head down near his feet. Her foolish trust to continue staying by his side eased some of the irritation. If being out of the water in this weather weakened her then Neji would be prepared next time.
She mumbled his name again. "Neji," he repeated. She looked up. "I am Neji." It felt ridiculous but he was determined. "Do you understand that?" She nodded. He knelt to her level and swore she shivered. "Tell me your name."
She licked her lips. "Hinata."
Hinata.
It was the name of the very persistent – and beautiful – mermaid who wanted to drown him. He stood up. "Finally you tell me." It seemed to animate her, Neji noted, when her tail moved faster. "Hinata –"
"Captain!" his lieutenant called. Her pointy ear twitched. "We have a meeting!" Tenten shouted impatiently.
Something pricked his leg. Neji looked down. Her claws were out, protectively circled around his ankle. "Hey." But she didn't listen, her narrowed eyes focused on the shore.
"Neji!"
He ignored her. "That hurts."
Hinata pulled away, leaving a long cut in its wake. She looked too innocent for it to be an accident but Neji let it be. He was wondering where to leave a similar mark. Her wrist? Too close to her claws. Maybe her neck but she could pull him down…
"Neji!"
He lifted a hand. From behind Tenten walked away. But Hinata kept watching, her eyes glowing. It settled back to white when he forcefully grabbed her chin. "I'll see you later, Hinata." She pointed to the sky. "Tonight," he confirmed. Mermaids were nocturnal creatures. The easier to lure their prey, Neji thought.
Her nails shortened and she bent to sweetly kiss his foot.
…
It wasn't hard tracking her. Her eyes were luminescent and her fins shone beneath the moon. Neji waited completely in the dark.
She found him easily without a wrong turn. "Neji," she greeted.
"Good evening, Hinata." She nodded eagerly. "I have all night," he said and ignored the way her eyes darted to the beach. "But if you hurt me again, I will do the same." She made no attempt to back away. Instead she came closer, the glow of her eyes nearly drawing him in. "Hinata," he warned.
Her gaze shifted over his shoulder. There was no one there, Neji knew. Unless... "Tenten isn't here." Her attention snapped back to him. "I only see her at work," he continued. She bit her lip. "And I see you whenever I have the time."
Her claws stopped inching closer. "Alright," she uttered quietly.
"You can speak." She looked startled. He crouched. It was risky; it was late, the tide was strong and he didn't know her strength at night. "You could have done it earlier," Neji said sharply. Her head bowed guilty but he grabbed her face. His fingers squeezed and her mouth parted. There were rows of teeth, some very sharp.
She slipped out of his hold. "I – I didn't want to scare you."
Her voice was softer than Neji realized. "Will you bite me?" She vehemently denied that. "Then you have nothing to hide." In more places than one, Neji thought. Her wet hair was a tangled mess but also a saving grace.
"But you..." she trailed. "You aren't afraid?"
She already tried dragging him down several times. And he tried too. The sea made it difficult to carry her to the shore. "No." She dove under than came back up again. Water splashed him. "Stop that."
"I can't speak too long," she rasped. Talking outside the water parched her throat, Neji realized. He looked at the water. He wasn't going in to just hear her. "Can you... tell me about yourself?"
Neji did.
The cases from years ago were beginning to make sense. A violent storm toppled a ship, losing two of its sailors. A night guard went missing. A seasoned captain was lost to the sea after going overboard. It made Neji wonder. He didn't know if she ate humans.
"Neji?"
Then again she never saw him eat either. If she considered fish her brethren then it would make them even less compatible.
He stumbled. Rocks scraped his palm and Neji scowled down at her. A mermaid knew when to strike, Neji thought. Her fingers were still latched onto his ankle. "I was thinking," he said.
She frowned.
He locked onto her mouth. He knew her teeth were sharp; it had to be a primitive way of hunting.
Later, there was a celebration.
The ship rocked gently. There were few men by the rails; some alone, some surrounded by a group. A quick look at the water had him moving away. He'd seen more than one shadow in the sea. He ignored a yelp and quiet splash of water.
When asked where a certain crewman disappeared to, Neji denied knowing.
…
It was the farthest he'd been away from land.
Which explained why Hinata was circling him. She was fully submerged, her stare eerily focused. He ignored the chill that went through him. It was a whisper that demanded he get into the water. "Enough of that," he ordered sternly. She frowned and tentatively lifted her head back out.
It didn't worry him too much; she could try to drag him down to the deepest floor of the ocean but it was going to be a struggle with her thin arms. The nervous bite of her lip told him she knew it too. On cue she experimentally tugged his leg. He was unmovable. It was she who had to fear him; her body was likely weightless compared to the weapons he carried in battle. He took a look at her swaying tail. It was going to be a problem if it kept smacking him once she was out of the water.
Neji knelt. He pulled her wrist away and examined her webbed hands. His fingers curled and felt the thinness of it. It was slippery. She noted that too when she failed to pull him down. Neji stood to his full height. She gave him a nervous smile. "You're persistent today," he said.
She made a humming noise that shot straight down on his spine. Her voice was an aphrodisiac in itself when she spoke, Neji learned. It would be better if her mouth was wrapped around him but her fangs made him stay away. Her eyes drifted back the beach. At this angle she couldn't see anyone. Neither could the soldiers, Neji thought. It was exactly why he kept away. "Is something wrong?" she asked.
There was. The disappearance of the king caused a rift in court. The uproar divided the noble clans and Neji, groomed as the clan head for the Hyuuga, was at its center. It kept him away from her longer than he would have liked. "It's nothing." He wondered if mermaids had problems. After all Hinata was free to come and go whenever he was there. "You're always here," he began.
She turned red until Neji realized it wasn't because of the sun. "Because you –" She stopped. "I... I don't see you often."
A weak lie that Neji didn't question. "I'm busy." She came to him during the day and night, time that he could have spent for rest. A look out the castle windows always showed him a glimpse of her tail and it forced him to go out. "Did anyone else see you?" She shook her head. "Make sure no one else does." Because a fisherman, a bored villager or travelling merchant could capture her instead. She'd be on display or killed. At least he'll keep her in a large tank where no one else can find her.
There were resources he needed for that. But the issues at the castle made it difficult when everything was strictly monitored at the event of an assassination. The heir didn't take any chances. He was going to have to resort to other methods.
His mind drifted.
A drip of water alerted him. Her arms came up around his neck and Neji braced his balance, but it was a gentle touch and it took all her strength to lift herself. She kissed his cheek, then again by the corner of his lips. "It'll be alright," she assured him. To comfort him?
Her grip weakened and he grabbed her before she sank back. "Thank you." She beamed. Then it faltered when he wouldn't let go.
It resulted in an uneasy tug of war. He put a bit of strength to let her know she couldn't subdue him. Panic flared her eyes. She yanked and he let go. She was slippery, the shorter fins beside her hips making it hard to get a solid grip.
He was going to bring rope to subdue her flailing hands next time.
…
"You still couldn't get him?" Ino asked.
"I… I didn't want him to drown."
"You should have."
It had been three months ever since she had glimpsed Neji on the shore. The sun was setting. No one was around when Hinata came up to peek at Sakura's groom-to-be. She squinted. There was someone on the beach. It was a man with long dark hair and white eyes that easily found hers across the water. Humans would normally rush in assuming she was drowning. It was a tactic some of her kind used. But this man continued to watch her. When she came closer so did he. He looked at her tail but said nothing.
He was there when she returned the next time. "So this is where I'll find you again," he had said.
It didn't take long for her to fall in love.
"But he won't trust me," Hinata mumbled.
Mermaids were predominantly female. It forced them to turn to human males as their partners. The olden times made it easier for someone to disappear but humans eventually became more advanced. It forced her kind to practices that were now considered unlawful. Awful rumors spread because of it. It was no wonder Neji looked at her so distrustfully. But he always returned to entice her to dry land...
Sometimes he left gifts for her; a comb, a strange instrument that she heard humans often played on ships. She had to surface to get them and all were tied to a shallow bedrock – another trick of his. Sometimes Neji would just look at her with those cold eyes and it made her stay away. His strength was unrivaled.
"Where is Sakura?" she asked. She would know what to do; her husband willingly came to the water after just a week.
"Don't disturb her. She's still teaching her husband our ways."
Hinata bit her lip. "Then –"
"Just do it the way humans would." Ino gave her a look. "Sex."
"But –"
Ino plucked the coral coverings off her chest before she could protest. "Go and bring him back."
…
There was another woman with him.
Hinata ducked behind a rock. They were speaking to each other, something she was still struggling to learn. It was easier if Neji went into the water but it was getting harder after multiple attempts of trying to pull him under. It wasn't as if she wanted to drown him all the time. She sometimes just wanted to talk, tell him about her secrets.
And maybe he would let her kiss him.
After a closer look, Hinata noticed it was the same woman who called for him before. Her fingers were touching his arm and Neji didn't seem to mind.
Her claws extended.
…
Neji waited.
There was no glow beneath the water that caught his eyes. It had been two weeks.
He wondered if recent war vessels scared her away. Many other clans were beginning to gather to celebrate the crowning of the next king. It was harder to meet her without anyone seeing. The beach was crowded and the cliff side was heavily guarded.
Another week went by without a sighting of her.
When she finally appeared, Neji had forgotten how dangerous she could be.
She sprung up from the ocean, face flushed and eyes a little dazed. She was panting. He imagined it was how she looked like during sex. Neji glanced at her tail. That was still going to be a problem. Mermaids obviously procreated but the pesky problem of being dragged down and capturing her made a very frustrating impasse.
"You were gone for too long." Her ears twitched. Good, let her pick up the intonations of his voice, the displeasure hidden beneath.
She swam closer, her tail slow and stiff. "Neji?"
It didn't register that musical voice came from her until she uttered it again. It had been too long since he heard her voice. "You disappeared." The urge to capture her made his fingers curl. He didn't bring the chains and gag. If she vanished again without saying a word, he was going to use a hook. "I didn't know if you were coming back."
"But I did," she said.
"No, you didn't."
She had to submerge before continuing on. "There were many humans," she said nervously. "I didn't want them to see me."
But she definitely saw him. Her eyesight was much superior. She could have gauged how long he waited and it left him to a disadvantage. "I never saw you at all."
"Because you weren't looking," she mumbled. He gave her glance that made her smile uneasily. "I – I waited until they were all gone."
He sat, aware of her sudden focus, and dipped one leg into the water. So she still had the intention of dragging him down. If she managed to, he'd shackle them together first. At least in death, his corpse would still bind her. Let her try to escape him then. Her hand reached out. He intercepted it, squeezing the delicate bone. "And what would you have done if I stopped looking for you?"
"I'd still wait," she said stubbornly. Her gaze shifted to his hand and she swam closer. Her lack of awareness was going to be her downfall, Neji swore. Her mouth opened and he glimpsed two sharp teeth. "Do you...have a wife?"
She had to repeat it. "No."
She smiled. He drew away and Neji could see the desperation in her when she tried to sit up on the rock. "Neji," she keened. The heat made her pant. Unthinkingly he moved to her side, the coldness of her skin making him linger. But it was her very long hair that caught his attention. It was held back by some coral ornament and it completely exposed her chest.
"Sex?" she asked hopefully.
He took a long moment to reply. First, he was very interested. And the fact she wanted it too relieved his small doubt of being eaten by her but – "Hinata, do you know what that is?" He skeptically looked at her lower half. Maybe it was hidden beneath her sash which she shyly adjusted under his scrutiny. "That's… you're not human." He scowled. "It won't work." Unless she let him try…
"Sex," she said very invitingly.
He grunted. "Soon," he said. She brightened. She rose, doing that strange mimic of a kiss with her fingers. Neji took her hand away and leaned down without a thought.
As soon he kissed her, a vice grip around his neck dragged him down and he lost balance.
…
His lungs burned.
He would have appreciated her boldness and the softness of her lips if not for the ice cold water engulfing him. It throbbed, like something was crawling out of his lungs and into his skin. Bubbles erupted from his mouth. His legs kicked. She couldn't find an angle to deepen the kiss in his instinct to breathe air. Well, she didn't want him angry when they were married…
Hinata swam up, using the strength of her tail.
Neji coughed. She brought him to land and tried asking if he was alright. Nothing came out. "You," he snarled. Hinata worriedly helped him up. The kiss that nearly converted him stole her voice. They needed to be underwater. She touched her lips, pressed her fingers to his lips and patted the surface of the water. "I don't think so," he said, voice clipped. Her face fell. She gestured helplessly but he shook his head. Tears welled up in her eyes.
"No more kisses."
She touched her throat and opened her mouth.
"You're going to pull me in again."
In response she held out her left hand.
"No."
She swallowed, looked at him with those treacherously wide eyes and disappeared.
...
Neji was securing a rope to a metal post.
It made her stop. He was on the beach. The rocks were hard to navigate and the water was shallow.
Was he still angry...
Hinata carefully hid behind a rock. The rope was tied around his waist. To lift her out of the water? She'd get away before he could do it.
Neji moved closer.
He unfastened his tunic, nonplussed by her curious stare. From the waist up human males looked the same with no fins. His hands went for his belt and her eyes followed. What did he look like below – Oh. All muscle just like the rest of him. He wore another garment beneath his pants which he kept on after a wary glance. She tried to look disinterested. A flicker of annoyance passed his face and Hinata blinked, wondering what the human custom was. He submerged himself.
Instinct raced through her. She dove under, the muscles of her fin propelling her faster. Humans were slow in water and by the time she reached him, his vision was still adjusting. She took hold of his shoulders. "Neji," she breathed. "I – I can't talk unless you –"
He swam back up. She kept the tears at bay when she ascended.
"Come here," he ordered. She shook her head. "I'll go into the water after." A quick glance showed the rope was still secured around him. "I heard you," he said gruffly. "Is it because of what happened last time?"
She nodded timidly. Neji had kissed her first. To her kind it meant offering marriage. So she had assumed...
"You won't drown me if I kiss you again." She blinked. Neji wanted to do it again even after nearly drowning? But it meant they were finally going to be together. She needed to tell him so. "Answer me, Hinata."
She hummed. He leaned down. When they parted, she rushed to explain before her throat dried. "...and I'm sorry," she mumbled.
"I see."
The silence made her squirm. If Neji no longer wanted to be her husband –
He swept her hair over a shoulder, exposing a breast. "Sex?" he asked.
...
It didn't take long for it to go wrong.
Neji wasn't fond of the cold water. Hinata didn't look comfortable on the rocks. His desire cooled and Neji sat up. Hinata crawled until she fell back in the water.
They had to be either human or mermaid.
Neji wasn't sure if she could even become human. Trouble brewed at the castle and in the clan, but it didn't mean he was willing to give up being clan Head. Hanabi was still young. It was too large of a responsibility for her to handle. Hinata may have to wait longer. That is if he was still alive by the time Hanabi was ready.
"We'll figure it out," he told her.
He was nowhere to be found.
Hinata lifted herself to a rock where she was sure humans deemed too far. The clouds hid the bright sun and she brought her tail up to slap the water. The castle looked so far away. There was smoke coming out of it and if she listened very carefully, the metal clang of weapons and shouts rang out. She let the crashing waves drown it out.
She drifted to sleep.
Sometime later she was alerted by the unusual splash of water.
It was Neji. He was barely holding onto the rock and his handsome face looked irritated. The water reached his shoulders and there was a wild look in his eyes. His clothes were stained red. "Hinata," he gritted. "Stay away from here."
She slipped down to the water. The sounds from before were louder. Fire burned at the shore.
"Neji, what's going on?"
"A war," he snarled.
Someone had wounded him. Hinata swam closer, her eyes darting behind him. There were people shouting at the beach. Their corpses would litter the ocean floor if they got any closer, Hinata promised. He flinched when she touched his chest. "You're hurt," she said worriedly.
"I won't live long."
Her heart raced. "Then would you..." His mouth curved. "I don't want to force you–"
Neji let go. A quiet instinct took hold. Her hands snatched out and he didn't fight her hold. Water engulfed them. She kissed him, her fangs nipping his lips and pushed air into his mouth. They descended deeper. And when he breathed his last human breath, Hinata rejoiced.
She carried him all the way down.
FIN
I'M LATE. I have a oneshot for NejiHinaWeek2016 (go to the tag at tumblr) Day 1 Marriage but my work schedule left me no time to finish it T^T I'll upload it definitely before the week is over so please look over the fics and fanarts of everyone participating! I'll try to finish my other fic in time for the theme of the day.