Disclaimer: Naruto and all its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
Summary: Sasuke had never cared much about his soulmate. He hadn't expected to find them, be in a relationship with them, or like them even. One thing he'd expected, however, was for them to be human. Or: Sasuke finds his soulmate.
Warnings: Narusasu/Sasunaru, boy's love, fantasy tropes, merpeople.
Notes: So this is my first time participating in the WTSMTM Server's weekly prompt challenge! The prompt for this week is "He found something peculiar on the beach that night".
This one-shot was inspired by my other mermaid related story called "Conch shell", so you might notice some similarities, but these are two completely different universes. There's no relation between the two stories.
I'm dedicating this one to lilypheria just because I really admire your consistency to write a different story for most of the prompts (or has it been for every single one of them? lol). So I wanna be more like you and finally force myself to write more fanfiction in English.
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Aquamarine
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Since they moved here, Sasuke had grown accustomed to falling asleep to the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks. At first, he had been so used to hearing the noises of the city that this quietness unnerved him, but that was no more. Now he had learned to appreciate the calmness of a less frantic life.
It all happened because of his father. There wasn't a man stricter and prouder than Sasuke's father. Leading one of the most important companies in all the country couldn't be done by just anyone, alright? But even someone as tough as him could crack, and all the long working hours, the sleepless nights, and the pressure had taken a toll on him. Uchiha Fugaku had ended up in the hospital after being burnt out. The doctor had told him to take it easy, that he couldn't keep this up unless he wanted to exhaust himself to death. So Fugaku had taken those words by heart.
He bought a house near the sea, one that actually included a good chunk of private beach, and he delegated his work to other capable people. He still worked, but mostly at home from his computer, and no more than six or seven hours a day, which was less than half the hours he used to work before.
So Sasuke went from going to an elite high school to a regular private one near their new home, which honestly he really didn't mind. He had more free time to do other stuff, not only schoolwork and extracurricular activities, so that was definitely a win.
Another thing he liked was having the freedom to roam around the beach whenever he felt like it. Eventually it became a routine. Sasuke started to frequent the beach more and more often. He usually brought a book with him, because he never really felt like getting into the water, but he enjoyed the calmness the ocean transmitted to him.
He could spend hours sitting there, reading and listening to the sounds of nature, just like now. Cradling a book to his chest, he walked over his usual spot, squatting down next to a rock to use it as support. Hours passed, and he only realized the sun had set because of the lack of light, making it impossible to keep reading.
He closed the book, shutting his eyes when a gust of wind threatened to smack some sand in his face. And then he felt it. A foreign heat bubbled underneath his skin, just where his soulmark was.
Sasuke had never paid too much attention to it before, no one in his family did, actually. Soulmates weren't a big deal for them. His parents were not fated and they still loved each other, and his brother didn't seem to care about finding his soulmate either, so Sasuke figured it wasn't that important. But it had never reacted like that.
Involuntarily, he stood on his feet and looked around, finding nothing. Reaching for the flashlight in his pocket, he shone it across the shore, but there was nobody there. It made sense, since nobody could trespass to this point. But the gentle warmth in his arm kept pulsating, the sensation drumming under the flesh.
So Sasuke started to move around, looking for something, for someone.
"Is there someone there?" he asked loudly, but got no answer. Only a vague splash in the distance, just the waves crashing again.
Finding his quest fruitless, he gave up. He touched his mark, which was tattooed on his lower arm, in full display for everyone to see, and felt the warmth emanating from it.
It made no sense. There was no logical explanation to this. He was alone on that beach, as every single time he came here.
When he went back home, he had the feeling he was forgetting something important.
His book.
He had forgotten his book on the beach like a careless idiot.
He went back to look for it the next day, but found nothing where he had left it.
Was it possible that the tide had swished it away?
Well, yeah. Duh.
He smacked his own forehead, grunting something unintelligible. These kinds of things were the reason Itachi still called him his foolish little brother.
Defeated, he turned on his heels, ready to leave, when the weird sensation in his arm from last night came back.
Sasuke raised his arm to look at it. The pretty orange whirlpool imprinted on his skin didn't look anymore different than usual, but the warmth coming from it was palpable. Again, Sasuke glanced around, intently checking every spot in the distance, but one more time, he found nothing.
He was starting to get frustrated, so he walked around the beach, looking for someone that apparently wasn't there. He must've strolled for at least a good twenty minutes, the thrumming under his skin a reminder of why he was doing this, but didn't see anything, didn't hear anything, and most certainly didn't come across anyone.
Maybe he'd have to ask what the strange heat in his arm meant, because this had to have a meaning. Or maybe there was something wrong with his mark. Not that he cared that much about it, but there was something deep inside him that made him restless.
So, determined, he marched back home, his mark only calming down when he finally left the beach.
His parents were of no help. None of them had ever met their soulmate, so they didn't know what one was supposed to feel when it happened. As a result, Sasuke had resorted to the internet.
According to his research, yes, the mark had some kind of reaction when it sensed its owner's other half nearby, although the nature of the reaction varied from person to person. Some people felt their mark itch, while others observed a mild glow. So, in Sasuke's case, he felt a thrumming heat where his mark was located, and his soulmate was supposed to feel the same.
Finding his soulmate was not something he'd planned or looked forward to. However, he found himself returning to the beach every day after school with a different purpose than before. And everytime he came here, he felt the mark react. Yet, as always, there was nobody there.
He was starting to think his mind was playing tricks on him, until he found something peculiar on the beach that night.
It was a shell, but it wasn't just any kind of shell. It was an old sea snail shell, so black that he wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't almost tripped with it. He picked it up to examine it, noticing how it shined blue and purple under the moonlight. Not only that, this shell was huge. It fit in both his hands, and it was slightly heavy.
Where did it come from? It wasn't uncommon to find shells on the shore when the tide got too high, especially behind the rocks, but this beach wasn't famous for its shells. The shells Sasuke himself had found were oysters shells. They were pretty, but often small and broken. Never had he encountered one like this before, and it made him wonder how it had gotten here in the first place.
Surely sea snails this huge weren't common near the shore. Not that Sasuke knew anything about marine biology, really. But finding this here, in the middle of the beach, and in such a good state, was certainly odd.
He continued checking the shell with curious eyes when his ears caught a weird noise in the distance. It sounded like something akin to squealing, but he wasn't sure.
Furrowing his eyebrows, he took out the flashlight and pointed to the direction he thought he had heard the noise, and actually took a step back, accidentally dropping the shell in his hand, when he caught a glimpse of something that definitely shouldn't be there. He thought he saw a mix of yellow and blue, but it disappeared so quick he didn't get the chance to-
A whistle.
Kind of similar to the sounds dolphins made.
Sasuke pointed the light in the direction of the sound, and this he found someone looking straight at him, peeking from behind a rock. He couldn't catch any details at this distance, only the bright blond hair and a pair of curious eyes watching him intently.
His lower arm burned with heat, almost in a hurtful way, and Sasuke knew he was probably looking at the eyes of his soulmate.
Sasuke came back to the beach the next day, as always, but this time he got here hours before the sunset.
The guy, his soulmate,—and Sasuke only thought it was a guy because of the short hair, even though he locally knew that didn't mean anything— had vanished after Sasuke had tried to call for him.
He had searched for him. Swimming around on a beach during the night was dangerous, you could barely see anything. Nevermind the fact that this was supposed to be a private beach and trespassing was not allowed. And yet, somehow, this guy had managed to fool security everyday, because there was no other explanation why Sasuke's mark reacted every time he came here.
And it was no different this time. As soon as he approached the shore, his arm tingled. His eyes searched the water instead of the land, trying to find any clues of…
There was a loud splash to his left, and when he turned his head, two cautious eyes were looking at him, from the same rock as yesterday.
"Hey! What are you doing there?" Sasuke inquired, but received no answer. Instead, he saw the guy plunging back into the water. "Oi!" he called out again, but when seconds passed he didn't see him getting out to breathe, his heart started to race against his ribs.
Soulmate or not, Sasuke wasn't going to let anyone drown if he could help it. So, he took off his shoes and ran to the water, starting to panic when time kept passing by and there was no sign of the other guy.
As soon as his feet made contact with the water, something latched onto his heel. Sasuke didn't even have time to react when he was pulled down and into the water. His first instinct was trying to grab onto something, but his hands only caught water.
He was being dragged deeper and deeper, until the force pulling him down was gone, leaving him suspended midwater. His lungs burned for the water he'd swallowed, making him want to cough, but that would only end up doing further damage. His heart was loud in his ears, pounding agitatedly. He tried to wave his arms, swim to the surface, but two hands grabbing him by the wrists halted him.
His mark burned.
Sasuke opened his eyes.
He heard a whistle, something resembling a giggle, and met the bluest eyes he had ever seen.
The creature —because Sasuke was now sure this couldn't be a human, not with that long appendix occupying the space his legs should be— was inspecting him closely. His eyes roamed over Sasuke's face, his neck, his chest, his arms… And stopped at his soulmark.
Sasuke was panicking. He could feel his lungs running out of air, his ears were ringing, his eyes itched for being in contact with sea water, but he could do nothing but stare at the inhuman being holding him. The scales creeping up his neck, the weird scars on his cheeks, the long, fish-looking tale attached to his upper body.
The last thing he was able to register was the tip of a fang peeking from smiling lips.
Catching his breath hurt like a bitch.
He coughed the water out of his lungs and tried to inhale as much oxygen as possible, panting heavily and grabbing onto the sand under his hands.
He was soaked, still shocked after nearly dying just a couple of minutes ago. But now he was back at the beach, waves occasionally crashing into him, and some sort of mercreature toying with his feet, unknowingly tickling him.
"Hey- Hey, stop!" he barely managed to croak out, coughing once again. "The hell you think you're doing?"
The creature —merboy? merman? what should he even call him?— halted in his inspection and looked up at him, grinning happily at seeing him awake.
He heard that squealing sound again, and realized it came from this guy. He had attached himself to Sasuke's waist, snaking his arms under his body and resting his chin on his chest, looking at him with dreamy eyes, tail swishing from side to side.
And that was enough to make Sasuke snap.
"Get off me!" he grunted, trying to sit up.
The other one jumped slightly, giving him space to sit back up, eyes slightly sad at his tone.
Sasuke sighed, looking down at his body. He was a mess, but there was nothing he could really do about it, so worrying about his appearance was a moot point. He would not hear the end of this, though, when his parents found out.
Hearing a low whistling sound reminiscent of a dolphin, he looked up into peculiar blue eyes. Or maybe weird would be the most suitable word. They were blue, yes, azure blue, but didn't have any pupils.
Wait- There were pupils, but they were just a shade darker than the iris, so it was easy to miss them.
Sasuke found himself curious, inspecting the merman's appearance.
He was blond, wet golden locks smeared on his forehead. His skin was tanned, and one would think that made no sense unless he spent lots of time under the sunlight. He had three line scars on each cheek, making him resemble a cat or some other kind of animal. He had pointy ears too, and Sasuke spotted what looked like grills on the sides of his neck.
His tail looked strong, fins delicate, and the scales were colored in a variety of blue tones. From cobalt to aquamarine, and even some golden drops here and there. It shined beautifully under the light. The scales covered part of his upper body too, from his sides to his arms.
His arms.
Eyes widening comically, Sasuke took the mer's arm into his hands, thoroughly inspecting it. And there it was. His family's crest, engraved on the skin of this… this… What was him again, exactly?
The blond grew visibly excited when he saw Sasuke looking at his mark. He eagerly pointed at Sasuke's mark, then at himself, then at the Uchiha crest on his own arm, and finally at Sasuke. He was clearly aware of their status as soulmates, and seemed way too delighted, to Sasuke's opinion.
Then, the mer grabbed his hand and intertwined their finger —were those claws?!— bringing it up to his face to rub it against his cheek affectionately.
"I'm dead, aren't I?" Sasuke asked himself, too stunned to react.
A sharp finger poked Sasuke's chest.
"Dead?" the merman said, his voice slightly raspy.
"Wait, you can talk?" Sasuke asked, confused.
The claw poked him again.
"Dead!" the blond smiled.
"Dead?" if he felt confused before, then now he was convinced they were not really communicating.
"Dead," the guy repeated, pointing at Sasuke, and then he pointed at himself. "Na-ru-to."
"... Naruto?"
The blond nodded eagerly, clearly delighted at hearing him say that word.
"Dead, Naruto," he said one more time, pointing at Sasuke first and then at himself.
"Hold on a sec, is that your name?"
"Dead!"
"Wait- you think my name is Dead?!" Now this situation was beyond ridiculous. This wasn't Disney's Tarzan, for God's sake.
Sasuke sighed.
Then, he pointed a finger at the merman. "Naruto," he said, and the blond nodded enthusiastically. Okay, so that was really his name. He proceeded to point at himself. "Sasuke."
"Suke?" Naruto tilted his head to the right.
"Sasuke."
"Sa-ske."
Well, that was good enough.
"Sasuke," the raven repeated one more time. "Naruto, Sasuke," he kept pointing between them back and forth until the blond finally got the hang of it.
"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted excited, squeezing his hand again.
"What did I ever do to deserve this?" Sasuke mumbled to himself.
Blue eyes blinked at him, head cocked to the side, and it was evident to Sasuke that this guy couldn't understand a word he was saying. Which was a problem, given the fact the blond was seemingly infatuated with him, and Sasuke was not planning on playing house with a merman. How would that work, anyway?
How come his soulmate wasn't human, to begin with?
That made no sense! Never had he ever heard of soulmates between species, and even less if said species were supposed to be metaphorical. And how was that having a human for a soulmate made this guy so… delighted?
The blond seemed to notice Sasuke's conflicted expression as he let go of his hand and gestured to him to wait there. Not that Sasuke was actually planning on leaving, since he didn't think his legs would be strong enough to support the weight of his body after all that had happened just yet. So he saw him submerging under the surface again and just about a minute late, resurface, this time carrying what seemed to be a bag with him.
Crawling a little on the sand, Naruto shuffled until he was next to Sasuke and began searching for something in his bag. Then, he took it out and offered it to Sasuke.
The raven blinked, bemused. That was the same shell he'd found the day before.
The merman put it confidently into Sasuke's hands and motioned for him to hold it to his chest. Nodding approvingly, he took out another object, one that Sasuke instantly recognized.
"Hey, that's my-" but he was suddenly left speechless when he saw Naruto cradle the book firmly to his chest. "Nevermind, you keep it," it's not like he would be able to read it again, it was ruined.
Turning his gaze to the shell, Sasuke inspected it again. It looked even better under the daylight. Its surface reflected many beautiful colors, which made him wonder if this shell was a rare one, or if there were many more like this in the depths of the ocean.
Then realization came crashing on him.
Naruto was the one who left the shell here for him to find, and he seemed to think the book was now his, by the way he held it with such genuine affection. Had he thought Sasuke had left the book for him, like a gift? Was he trying to give him this shell in exchange for it?
"Whoa!" Sasuke suddenly yelped, startled, when Naruto's tail encircled him and drew him closer to the blond until they were flush against each other. Then, a head rested on his shoulder, and the blond sighed contently, completely unaware of Sasuke's inner turmoil.
Does this guy know nothing about personal space? But he kept still and didn't push him away. Yet.
At least his mark wasn't burning anymore. It just tingled mildly, and the sensation was kinda nice. Was this how being with your soulmate was supposed to feel like?
Sasuke shook his head, not letting those treacherous thoughts distract him. Instead of letting his mind wander, he struggled in the embrace until the creature finally let go of him with a distressed whine.
"You should leave," Sasuke told him, standing up and almost tripping over his own feet due to the sudden dizziness caused by such abrupt movement.
Sasuke started to walk away, determined to return home and ignoring the disgusting feeling of wet sand drying on his skin. He halted on his steps at hearing a painful keen, and turned around to find the blond making puppy eyes at him, clearly not wanting Sasuke to go.
It shouldn't have affected him. Really, it shouldn't. But something in those blue eyes made him hesitate. And this… this was his soulmate. Could he really just turn around and pretend all this hadn't happened?
"Sasuke," he heard Naruto calling out to him, begging him to stay.
"I have to go home," the raven tried to explain, even though he knew Naruto wouldn't understand. "I'll come back tomorrow, alright?"
When he left the beach that day, Naruto was still there.
His parents did scold him for getting back with ruined clothes on, but Sasuke refused to give any explanation and just locked himself in his room.
The shell he had given him had earned a place on his bedside table.
Sasuke did come back to the beach the next day, and the day after that, as his usual routine.
Naruto was there waiting for him every time.
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A/N: So, just after I chose a name for this story I discovered there's a mermaid related movie with the same name lol I swear this has nothing to do with that movie, I didn't even know about its existence prior to this hehehe
This took me the whole week to finish, and I don't think there'll be a second part, but one can never know.
I hope you guys enjoyed it and see you in my future stories :)