Icewater
Chapter 6: My ten toes
Disclaimer: See chapter 5. Lol.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Sakura woke because someone put her down. She knew it had to be Naruto; he was the only one around. She was no longer freezing, and for that, she was grateful. It had probably been a bad idea to fall asleep in the Ice Ridges, but at the moment, she didn't really care. She curled up on the surface of mosses Naruto must have built for her and once again returned to her dreamless sleeping.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Naruto woke up at late afternoon; he knew because his stomach grumbled, and the sun was shining through the water too brightly for it to be morning still. He sat up, turning to see Sakura curled up on the moss. Her green eyes opened to peer at him with mild interest.
"Good morning," he said to her. "Er... Afternoon."
Sakura giggled and closed her eyes; for some reason, she was giving off some weird vibes... Naruto thought hard before placing them.
She's sad, he realized. His blue eyes narrowed slightly. But why?
He had no answer.
He stretched, yawning, and floated upwards, his tail swishing about, waking up along with the rest of him.
"Ne, ne, Sakura," he said. She did not open her eyes, but the slight tilt of her head towards him was all he needed to be reassured that she was listening. "Where's the basket of seaweeberries?"
Sakura shrugged.
"I left it in the Ridges," she said. Something in her tone suggested there was more to the story, more to what she had left there, but he waved it away.
Maybe she's just really tired. Honestly, the only reason he had bothered to get up at all was because he was starving; but his body was still sore from the work it had taken to pull a bunch of seafaring men on a piece of wood. They had definitely traveled a lot of sand-lots, a staggering number which Naruto was not sure he could count to. Naruto had lost count at about thirteen, giving up and focusing on just continuing forward. He wouldn't be surprised if Sakura was still really exhausted from it all.
He knew he was.
"Well, I'll go get them." He grinned to her. "I'll pick some more, too." He swam away.
Sakura's eyes snapped open.
"Naruto," she called; he could barely hear her. "The purple ones are poisonous, just get the red ones!"
Naruto waved to signify he had heard her.
Red, he thought. Okay. I can do that.
He swam until he felt the water turn icy; he had been here last night to carry Sakura back to their - he smiled at the thought - ship. He looked down, carefully following the trail of berries from the day before until he reached where they stopped.
There lay the basket, berries spread out around it. He hurriedly grabbed the basket and put them all back. He followed the trail back, not bothering to pick those ones up, and swam out of the Ridges and towards a seaweeberry bush he had seen the day before while waiting for evening to come around. He scrutinized the berries, mindful of getting only reds, when a thought seized him for some inexplicable reason:
I should check on Sakura.
He had no idea why he thought that; he simply did. Not being so mindful, Naruto grabbed a handful of berries of the bush (he could apologize to Sakura later if a purple one had found its way in) and stuffed them in the seaweed basket. Then he turned around and raced back to the ship, the worry building.
I hope she's okay, he thought.
He returned to the ship.
He dropped the basket.
She wasn't there.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
If he dies from a purple seaweeberry, it's not my fault, Sakura told herself half-convincingly. She swam South of the Ridges, towards colder waters but more expansive, empty sea floors. She swam quickly; she did not know how long Naruto was going to take, and she did not want to risk him following her.
This is a job I have to do alone, she thought.
Hours passed. Slowly, Sakura ascertained where she was.
It's exactly where Mother said it would be, she thought, South of the Ice Ridges and North of Arcticia's ruins.
"How was the Princess able to follow the Prince, Mother?" little Sakura asked. The Queen smiled down lovingly at her daughter, patting her on the head. The two were swimming in the garden of the castle, harvesting anemones and (naturally) seaweeberries. Her Mother was currently multi-tasking, weaving a seaweed basket for Sakura to use while plucking ripe anemones from the ground and placing them in her own well-used basket.
"She must have asked the sea witch to give her legs," her Mother replied. She lifted a strand of an anemone, looking it over before shaking her head and letting the strand fall down. She swam to the next one, observing it as well.
Sakura gasped, dropping the red seaweeberry she had been planning on eating.
"Sea Witch?" she asked. Her Mother laughed at her daughter's somewhat fearful expression.
"The Sea Witch of Arcticia was very intelligent, but the Princess was smarter. I suppose she must have bested her somehow, bargained her legs."
Sakura looked to her Mother.
"What did she trade?" she asked.
Her Mother looked down at her. Her eyes looked troubled.
"It is a high price to trade half of one's body." Sakura peered up at her Mother, cocking her head to the side. She wanted an answer; she was sure her Mother knew it. The Queen sighed, turning to look away from her daughter.
"... She might have traded her first-born's..." Tsunade's voice cracked and she trailed off. She placed the finished little seaweed basket in Sakura's hands.
"Mother has to go now," she told her pink-haired child. "Will you finish up?"
Sakura nodded.
"Wait, Mommy!" she called before her Mother could swim too far away. "Where did she go to see the sea witch at?"
Her Mother pointed.
"Beyond Oceanica, there are the Ice Ridges," explained her Mother tiredly. "I've heard that South of those, near the land of my ancestors, there lives a sea witch by the name of Chiyo." With that, her Mother swam away, leaving a perplexed daughter behind her to finish gathering the berries and anemones.
Sakura roused herself from her thoughts of the past.
She traded something of mine for legs here, Sakura thought. I was involved in the Prophecy from the start.
She repeated to herself what she had since the night her Mother had passed on: I will avenge my Mother. I will avenge her for her loss. Then, Sakura added a new part. I will avenge her for her heartbreak. And then Sakura amended another part she usually included: I will fulfill my duty as Princess of Oceanica... once I have done these things.
Sakura swam over a large rock and examined the scenery before her. Moss crawled across the rocky expanse of caverns, and a thin layer of ice separated the sky from the sea. No schools of fish swam freely here; in fact, aside from the moss, the only signs of life were the occasional seaweed bush; and in these cold waters, they would be hard-pressed to bear fruit. Sakura set her jaw once more.
I must find the sea witch, she thought. I must find Chiyo.
Guilt swept over her once more for abandoning Naruto, but once again she pushed it back. He would have found this fun, but this is something I must do alone.
Sakura made her way to the nearest cave. The entrance was poorly hidden by hanging moss. Sakura lifted the green stuff, swimming into the cavern. As expected, the cave was empty. It would bee too simple, too obvious to dwell in the most poorly-concealed part of Arcticia's cavernous borders. Sakura swam out of it, scrutinizing the caves now. She looked for one that she might easily miss, one that would be well-hidden and still somewhat readily-accessible.
She found none that would fit the description. She frowned.
Maybe another angle, she thought. She swam up until she was right below the ice layer. She looked down.
It still looks small, Naruto, she thought, smiling softly. Her eyes raked across the stony roofs; nothing. She swam down, deeper into the cavernous ridge. She tried looking upward this time. Her eyes found a mossy circle.
It was almost unnoticeable, as surrounded by moss as it was; but unlike the other moss, which was older and thicker, this circle of hanging moss was thinner and fresher. Sakura's eyes immediately narrowed.
Just as she suspected, after pushing the strands of new moss aside, she found the entrance to a large cave. It was pitch-black inside, but that didn't bother Sakura; if the sea witch lived here - as she believed Chiyo did - then light would be deeper within the hidden living space.
So Sakura entered.
The moss swung back into place behind her, and immediately darkness engulfed her. Blindly, Sakura reached out, and she touched the slimy walls. She tried her best not to cringe and slid her hands along it as she traveled further inside. After a few minutes of moving along the wall in this manner, Sakura noticed the blackness was becoming gray. She grinned as she realized this meant light was ahead, and soon enough she was able to see again.
She squinted at the source of the light. It was coming from above her, filtering down through a narrow passageway. Sakura swam up towards it.
And suddenly she burst out of the water. She coughed in surprise; she hadn't expected for there to be a secret vacuum of air stuck in the rocky caverns. She looked around her. The cave expanded out around her, the opening she peered out of being a hole in the otherwise rocky floor; and her breath caught when she saw the glowing objects on the wall. They were-
"Name yourself," said a rasping old voice. Sakura let out the air of a screech of surprise, wheeling around wide-eyed.
A woman with the lower body of an octopus stood on her eight legs, watching Sakura. She raised an eyebrow, old eyes crinkling as they filled with recognition.
"Tsunade's child," she said. "Well, well, this is certainly a surprise." She chuckled. "So the price included your voice, hmm?" She motioned with her arm. "Follow me."
The old sea witch turned and began walking down a short corridor of the cave lit by the glowing lights. Sakura pulled herself out and dragged herself on the floor, following as best she could.
The corridor turned into another cave, and this one surprised Sakura even more than the lights on the walls.
Something was churning, boiling inside of a large bowl of sorts. Sakura eyed it warily, glancing at the sea witch, who was rummaging around in a corner. After some clinking and chinking, the old witch produced two bowls and a ladle. She scooped what was boiling into each and handed one to Sakura. Then the old woman searched around some more while Sakura did her best to hold the scalding bowl. It smells delicious, Sakura confided to herself. She glanced back at the lights on the walls.
"You can make fire." The breath of her statement huffed out of her.
The sea witch returned, an amused smile gracing her face; she must have understood what Sakura had tried to ask.
"Well, you can't cook without it," she replied, handing Sakura a bowl-connected-to-a-spoon abject (upon seeing Sakura's quizzical glance, Chiyo identified it as a spoon).
Sakura observed the sea with eat, scooping with the spoon and balancing the soup to deliver it to her mouth. Carefully, she copied the woman's movements. The soup was warm, and Sakura realized she was starving. She ate, enjoying the food and the glow the fire cast about as it flickered and crackled.
When she was finished, the sea witch took the bowl.
"Now, to business," she declared, snapping her fingers. Immediately, the dishes vanished. Sakura blinked in surprise as the old witch walked back to the corners of the room, retrieving a powder of some sort. "What have you come here for?" she replied. "Your voice?" She tossed some powder into the cauldron; the flames turned purple and red. "Speak, then; as long as these flames burn violet, you will be able to produce sound."
"I have a voice," replied Sakura, a bit startled that her voice sounded slightly different above water than below; the tone was clearer, slightly less garbled, and also a tad more screechy. "I speak below water; but a voice above it is not what I require."
The old woman's eyebrows raised.
"Tell me," she said. "What do you wish for?"
Sakura did not bat an eyelash before replying.
"I seek legs."
The old woman laughed, a cackle that echoed eerily throughout the ancient caverns.
"Just as your mother did before you," she chuckled. "And what will you trade me?"
Sakura opened her arms. "Anything you believe flatters me," she replied. "Take my youth, my eye color, anything."
The old woman scanned Sakura's mermaid body.
"Your hair is a pretty color," she remarked. "It certainly makes you unique."
Sakura grabbed some in her fist, looking at it.
"Take it, then," she said. "It's yours."
The older woman looked at Sakura carefully.
"Your reasons are different from your Mother's," she said, "And you're not as reckless, not as careless in your trade... You've learned from her mistakes, haven't you?"
Sakura nodded. The flames flickered, dying down.
"She never told me exactly," said the pinkette. "But I l-"
The flames died, and Sakura's words rushed out as puffs of air. She sighed, looking back up with her green eyes at the old witch.
Chiyo nodded.
"You're a different woman from her. I don't have to test you to know you're smart enough to survive above-land. Your eyes already show your intelligence." She reached back into her bag, flinging powder back into the flames. This time, they glowed as green as Sakura's fin.
"Your hair will change color," warned Chiyo. "Whoever you seek, he will not recognize you. If you intend to seduce him - and don't deny it, because I know this is your goal - then you must begin anew. Unless he matches your eyes with those of the mermaid he saw, he will not love you completely. Your intention of revenge cannot be complete without his realization of that." The sea witch hesitated. "And I must warn you," she continued, "that this may be a wild goose chase. It IS a futile thing." Her eyes met Sakura's stubborn ones. "But you don't care." Her grin widened. "Very well, then. As soon as I throw the powder on you, you will have exactly one hour before the change takes place. Be as near to his residence as possible by that point." With that, the sea witch grabbed a handful more of powder. She motioned, and Sakura and she exited the room, retreating down the short corridor and back to the narrow passageway of water Sakura had come from.
Chiyo patted Sakura's head.
"For the record, it was not your voice your mother traded for legs; it was her first-born's claim to the throne of Arcticia. By that point, Arcticia had agreed to join itself to Atlantica, so she didn't believe it would have the effect it did." Sakura's eyes widened, her mouth opening in an "o" of surprised horror.
Because of her trade, Arcticia was destroyed by Orochimaru, Sakura realized.
"Good luck, Sakura Haruno, Princess of Oceanica." Chiyo's words snapped Sakura back to her senses. She felt the powder being sprinkled on her fin; from the corridor behind her, the cauldron's light flashed a blinding green. "Fulfill you duty as Princess. Go!"
Sakura dove down into the chilly waters. She swam and swam, blindly swimming into the walls obscured by darkness. She pushed past the mossy opening, tearing it out of her way in her haste.
I have one hour, she thought desperately. It took me at leas two or three to get here! I have to hurry!
She barely registered that the sun was setting. Sakura knew that by the time it did, she would be human, and if she was not out of the water by then, she would drown.
The mossy skeleton flashed in her mind.
She increased her speed, finding a water current heading towards the Ice Ridges and essentially leaping into it. Soon enough - but not FAST enough - the Ridges came into sight. The current took her beyond them, and Sakura leaped out, practically flying through the water in the direction she and Naruto had taken the driftwood the day before.
The beach had barely become visible when Sakura felt a sickening plunging. She screamed as a whirlpool formed around her fin, sinking her. Sakura held her breath, trying her best not to cry out as she felt her scales ripped from her skin. And then all that was left were two legs, the same color as her skin, kicking desperately as the whirlpool moved on to Sakura's hair. She felt it slice through her hair, suppressed a scream as blonde, short tresses unlike her own began whipping around her head as the whirlpool receded.
And then Sakura felt a sudden, overpowering urge to BREATHE. She held what was left of her breath and swam up, kicking and mostly using her arms to swim upwards.
She broke through to the surface and gasped. She wildly looked around her, sanity slowly returning.
The beach, she thought, paddling her way to it. She soaked up some sea water and spluttered, coughing. Her feet came into contact with sand, and she gasped. It felt strange, sticky and itchy. She stumbled her way up to shore, nearly tripping whenever waves surged forward onto the sands of the beach. She shivered, her lower body freezing as the wind coursed past it.
The last ray of sunshine vanished over the horizon.
Sakura looked down at her feet, experimentally wiggling her toes.
One, two, three... She counted them. Five per foot, ten total, connected to stick-like pieces of flesh called legs. Her lower body was bare. Sakura didn't care; she was human.
The air of her laugh escaped into the wind whipping past her. She spread her arms and ran, playing and splashing in the waves.
I have legs, she thought excitedly, euphorically. Legs, legs, legs! I HAVE LEGS!
A startled yell from behind her made her freeze. She turned on her heels, whipping around.
Her heart stopped, then sped up.
Sasuke was looking away, face flushed, arms crossed.
"What the hell are you doing? You're NUDE!"
He glanced back at her, intending to glare and yell some more.
Black eyes met green ones.
He blinked, startled. He noticed the strange sea-shell top covering her upper body. His eyes widened. He immediately thought of Sakura.
She's Sakura, he thought.
But then her blonde hair temporarily obscured her eyes as a gust of wind picked up.
No, he thought, It's not her. He noticed the girl had legs, and he was convinced. It can't be.
But still, her green eyes would haunt him if he left her out here. He let out a sigh of frustration and resignation, taking off his cloak and tossing it to her. It floated in the wind, and she ran forward to grab it, pulling it on. He motioned, somehow realizing she would not be able to talk.
"How did you get here?" he asked. Sakura hesitated, the gears of her mind turning quickly. She looked to her left and saw a piece of driftwood. She pointed to it, and used her hands to make the flowing motion of water. His eyes narrowed before realizing what she was trying to say.
"The mermaid rescued you," he said. She shook her head. "The merman, then?" She nodded. He pointed to her chest. "Did he give you those shells?" She nodded. He sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"Can you talk?" He knew the answer, but he felt obliged to ask anyway.
Sakura shook her head. He sighed again, taking her hand; Sakura felt a jolt of something at the contact.
"Come with me," he said. She nodded, feeling the warm fabric rub her skin as she shuffled along behind him. Sand gathered between her toes and around the edges of her feet as she walked. The wind blew his scent back to her; or maybe his smell was just stuck on the cloak he had given to her. Sakura tried not to close her eyes; His smell isn't that good, she reasoned with herself. Don't be attracted; you must destroy him, not like him!
Her green eyes looked up at the fast-approaching stone walls of the castle.
She knew from the tales of her childhood that she had three days to make him fall for her. After that, the sun would set on the third day, and the scales ripped from her skin would plaster themselves back on. She would not receive the hair that had been chopped off back, but the color would return.
She had three days.
For Mother, she thought as the large, towering gates of the castle were opened for Sasuke and her by soldiers dressed in shining metal. I will succeed.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
AN: See? Pretty long chapter, I think. Sorry for the delay; I wanted to get this chapter just right. Please not that it will be awhile before the next update; schoolwork must be finished, and once school resumes, updates will become sporadic and few and far between. Hopefully, though, this story will be finished by the end of summer! 'Til next time, you guys!
