FINAL CHAPTER. REVIEW AND ENJOY. :D As usual, the hard work paid off.

Little warning, maybe never needed: lemon at the end as well as graphic details of intercourse. Long awaited.

Chapter Seventeen

Mermaid Prince

The waters still didn't subside when the Sea Beast fell onto the craft and crushed it, taking it down into the depths, but not before every person - herself, her dad, Jiraiya and his men - was all off safely. Naru was used to carrying the weight that was the gas tank on her back, and she was a great swimmer. Except she was getting tired now.

Itachi...please come and see me again.

It wasn't long before the raging storm began to calm down, the tsunami never reaching Konoha any further than it already had. In the devastating waves, some structures and shops had already been flooded, but how far had it gotten? Were her mom, Hinata and the others okay?

"Grab onto me, Naru," her father grunted, paddling her way, and she hoisted herself onto him. He surged them both forward to the KPD vessel coming their way to rescue any survivors of the storm. Jiraiya was still holding on. There was also five or six people - and yes, that bitch Konan was there, thankfully - coming behind them. A couple men didn't make it, maybe.

"Jiraiya-san, what the hell was that?!"

"Whatever the hell," Jiraiya replied harshly, accepting a large blanket around himself, and Naru and her father the same, relieving the daughter, "it was, we got it. But it's best we don't scare anyone by not telling what really happened."

Naru looked up at him. She felt a myriad of emotions within. Half of her was happy, because the press would be all over them in no time, asking questions and speculating. This was NOT something to be glamorized on TV or in papers. It was easy to think that it would hit the world with happiness that something of legend truly did exist - but the other half knew otherwise. She loved Itachi despite him keeping his true self and his life from her and the others she loved - but they also cared about him, too, or did they still?

If this gets out, it's over for him and his people. It's no wonder very little is recorded, and why the story of catching a ningyo includes the warning. Look what happened tonight.

And of course, a certain someone wasted no time jumping at first chance to be here for the rescue. "Naru! Minato!"

"Mom!" Just like Kushina to flip and run their way, pulling them both down by the necks into a smothering hug. "Ow, Mom!"

She released them and pulled both hands back, but she and her dad were both prepared, thinking the same thing, and ducking just as the strikes were coming down. Her mother - always quick to jump to violence. "Kushina!" Minato yelled, catching both her hands and holding her in place. His eyes and face were all hard. "For once, can you not use your fists to express your feelings?! Your daughter and I put our lives on the line for everyone out there! Itachi is fine now, but what's going to happen now?" He released her so she looked up at him with disbelief at stopping her.

"He's...a merman," she said softly. "He did what? He bargained with a monster to be with our little girl, and look what happened. I really thought something was special." There was a bit of contempt that made Naru snapped.

"Oh, Mom, how dare you say such things!" she snapped, making the redhead whirl on her. "I thought you had more understanding than this. Itachi did this because he loved me, and that was more than enough for me. But now..." Her body wracked. "Now I might never see him again after tonight. He's back home, and I don't even know what to feel anymore." Is there even going to BE another like him?!

She saw the question reflect in their eyes, but her mother seemed more hard pressed. The biting of Kushina's bottom lip was proof she was trying not to say something worse.

Finally, Kushina spoke. "...I'm sorry." She was sorry, that was it. That was all she could say.

"Ladies, sorry to break up the melodrama," Jiraiya said, coming between them. "We got better things to worry about. Kushina, you know what you have to do about these waters now." That meant make sure no pollution in the future, overfishing and the likes, but how easy could that be now? If Naru said those words aloud, someone would know the sarcasm.

If only Itachi was here. If only they'd given him that offer he pleaded for when they had the chance. She could understand the secondary reason besides her sake: he loved the waters so much because it was his home. A tear fell down her cheek. She turned her back to the people behind her, oblivious and staring blankly out at the waters ahead, wondering how Itachi was doing now that he had returned. He must be mourning the loss of his brother. But the rest of his people? If they were as harsh as he'd told her, she cringed at the punishments he must be getting.

"Naru?" Her father was trying to see if she was fine, but she didn't want to see anyone, or even speak. She had no will. She was so tired, but her cries and the agony of her broken heart was going to prevent her from sleeping tonight.

"Leave me alone, Dad." She hadn't said this to him or her mother since she was a teenager. He said nothing, just sighed and left her alone. Naru hadn't been like this as long as she could remember. She was so scared she would lose everything she was now that the first real man she loved was gone. It's merman...no, it doesn't matter what he is. He's still just Itachi to me.

The storm clouds overhead began to clear, leaving the veil of stars in place.

She could have sworn she heard a splash, as well as seen the familiar flash of silver and red amidst black. It was something magical before her eyes, but like a beautiful fantasy as well as the rare real life moments of true happiness, it was gone, leaving her hollow and empty.

~o~

Itachi would have been killed by his father's own weapon - held by the abomination itself, no longer just one man and one creature - had Naru, her father and their friends hadn't come in.

The beast fell into the sea. The boat Naru was in had struck it near the heart, mortally wounding and allowing it to fall into the raging waves. When the monster died, instead of separating into the two separate beings, it dissolved into hundreds of different little pieces and green sparkles of light - all of which hit the bottom of the ocean and grew, forming human-like shapes...culminating in forms of merpeople like him, his father and Shisui.

By the gods...they've returned to their real forms. These creatures were freed from the curse Orochimaru placed on them, now that he was gone. Itachi's heart stopped before it began to thump rapidly again. That meant...

"SASUKE!" The name tore from his throat, and he was off with lightning speed, desperately searching for his brother, praying -

"ITACHI!"

It was as if the world had begun to spin back on course when his arm circled around his precious otouto, who in return shared his weeps. Masculinity dropped in favor of their reunion. All was well...except the ache in the elder brother's heart. The most glorious week he had had been so close to being so much more, an eternity, but now he was stuck down here with only a distant memory. When he got back to the palace compound, he would face public punishment worse than ten or even twenty lashes. Exile would be it, but he would gladly accept it more than being around his own kind and reminded of his "mistakes" - it would never be a mistake as long as he lived.

His father - Fugaku might have witnessed enough to traumatize him, but did it really make him change his mind about everything? Itachi chose not to take chances of any kind. Which meant one option left.

"Aniki, it was terrible," Sasuke murmured into his shoulder, holding onto him tight. "I don't wish to remember. Let's go home now..."

Itachi quickly pulled away. "I can't." When he did, he held Sasuke at arm's length, seeing what had remained on him since he transformed back: his ring and his bracelet. All of them for courage, duty and honor...a bond that will never break.

Coming up were their father, Shisui and Kisame. "Those three I finished off," the shark announced with a leer. "Now that this has been settled, I owe you my life a second time, Itachi. You saved my skin, now I helped save yours." He left them then and there to return back to where he belonged. Itachi nodded, not wounded by anything else that wasn't added.

Shisui moved to slap him on his back playfully. "Glad you're back, cousin. That means with all this over, we head home now." What he couldn't say in front of Fugaku was that he was in deep regret nothing worked out for him as they'd hoped. Sasuke might be thinking the same thing.

"Yes, the sooner we head home, the better," Fugaku said, hiding his emotions and turning to take lead. Now was Itachi's chance.

His actions would be hurting his mother once again, but once more, he was being selfish. He was finished being confided in those walls. If the surface wasn't going to be his life anymore, he would roam freely and find his own place. If he wasn't welcomed in certain places, anywhere was better than nowhere.

It would hurt his heart, but he planned to slip up to the surface to sit on that rock which overlooked the very same beach spot he rescued Naru in what felt so long ago, helped save from hired hands of a greedy businessman, and so many other good memories. Besides the hurt, it would give him a sense of peace.

Shisui and Sasuke watched him go without a word, in the opposite direction, and by the time Fugaku turned around, he shouted for him to come back. Itachi didn't turn back, didn't stop until he was far away as possible.

~o~

Konoha didn't suffer any destroyed homes, besides flooding in the streets which was being cleared out by everyone's help at the start of the next day. This meant he wouldn't be able to go back out with the ship for a few days or even weeks. The town needed cleaning up from the unexpected storm.

Minato had long stopped believing in fairytales, but maybe anything could happen. He just didn't want to be a fool and listen based on someone else. As for his daughter, she was far from happy since they went back home, then this morning when they were all ready to head out and pitch in with cleaning the flooded ocean water from their streets. The Aburame Brigade was in charge, Kushina being the one to boss everyone around. He knew this was because she was struggling with dealing with everything that transpired, what she'd seen and heard...

He thought about bringing Naru with him when he did go back out on the water, since the strain between her and Kushina was obvious now. Minato, for the life of him, couldn't remember the last time this happened - if ever. They were always so close, but now that they knew Itachi was a merman, it was as if a rift had broken between them.

Naru didn't eat anything that morning. In fact, she never came out of her room except when it was time to go. Kurama sensed the tense atmosphere and whimpered, keeping close to his mistress and friend, then going to Minato who was unsure of what to do. He tried talking to his daughter, but she didn't want to talk to anyone. He was worried for her; would she not talk to Hinata after this? He didn't want her to shut away her friends and everyone else because of a broken heart.

Minato loved Kushina no matter what, but right now, with her being very...distant after Itachi, he didn't know how to comfort her either. There was only one he was sure who could mend this damage, but he was back with his own kind. They might prevent him from trying again to come back here. If they're that strict on protecting themselves more than ever, then they might keep him for good.

He shook his head and just went about the day, when it was all far from being fine. At least Pain was dead, his accomplice Konan behind bars and being interrogated in between, and they could all live in peace without worrying about trouble for the time being. It hurt to lose someone who was once a friend, but when he turned on you and almost hurt your family, there was no way to forgive them entirely.

Kakashi came to him in the midst of the sweeping of the waters and any broken debris floating. "Is everything all right, Minato?"

"...I wish I could say yes," was all Minato could get out, sadly. His younger friend nodded without the need for words.

~o~

He was sure it had been three days that passed since everything happened. He watched it all from afar, behind rocks, and the area where it happened - and where he and Naru enjoyed their evening before it was devastated - as boating lines were drawn to prevent people from getting into the water until further notice, and the land sections had yellow tape squaring off. Civilians had come to watch, and they were held back.

He saw Jiraiya, but he did not see Naru or her family anywhere. Closing his eyes, Itachi bowed his head and then lowered himself back into the water. Why should I expect it? In three days, there is no sign of them.

He now found himself on the rock which was where he pulled her to safety, and where she found him with his legs. Where it all began for them. On that third day, everything changed. He saw her coming onto the beach, alone, and that made him happy, because he wanted so much to talk to her...

...but seeing the tired, blank sadness on her face made him hold back. She was wounded as much as he was.

Itachi held onto the rock, sinking down into it so his tailfin dipped completely into the water. It flipped back and forth, splashing small waves out of habit. Why was he holding back? He felt the tears fall from his eyes and hit the rock. If I go to her, she'll be even more wounded than she is now, and so will I. I could cause her more pain by even appearing before her, when it's clear we can't be together again...

"You really love her, don't you, Itachi?"

He nearly jumped out of his skin at the source of the voice. "Father!" he said angrily. "What are you doing here?" Fugaku only looked at him, not out of anger but sadness, which he never saw before. Then more heads jumped out on either side of him.

Mother. Sasuke. Shisui. Sakura. And - "Tsunade-sama, I never thought I would see you up here!" The well-endowed mermaid laughed heartily and waved it off.

"It's nice to be back here after the mess - but I also got a good reason." She waved a familiar bottle in her hand, which he recognized as none other than the red formula. He gasped in horror. They'd been to Orochimaru's old hideout, hadn't they?

"Itachi," his father said, unable to look at him, "I've failed you and Sasuke as a father in more ways than one. I thought I was doing the right thing, but at the end of the day, change must come. The law still stands that our kind has to be safe from the humans, so I'm allowing you to walk your own path as long as you make sure we are all protected."

Itachi's body wracked, the tears coming in stronger. He looked up when a soft hand was placed on his back, seeing his mother's sweet but sorrowful smile. "I...I will keep my promise," he croaked, then looked down at Sasuke who came up to be on his other side. The younger laid his head on the rock.

"I'm going to miss you, big brother, but I'll do my best to take care of our people and the kingdom." So Father realized how badly he wronged you, after all.

Sakura flipped her palette tail playfully as she joined her betrothed. "I'll miss you, too, brother-in-law. But I'll damned well take good care of your brother for you."

"And you know you'll miss me most of all, best friend!" Shisui crowed, jumping before them all, making all laugh - and that was the first time Fugaku managed a little one of his own. "Admit it, you will! The one who showed you everything -"

"Yes, Shisui," Itachi interrupted, slapping his hand on the back of the other's head. "I certainly will. All of you." Every morning and every sunset. My lifespan will be shorter than yours from now on. Thank you all for loving me, and for me loving you. It's more important than anything in the universe.

Tsunade slipped right behind him, uncorking the bottle then. "Step aside then. Let the healer do her work for the patient."

Itachi turned his gaze ahead to watch, biting his lip when he felt the painful split of his flesh and bones. He feared his blood would attract the attention of sharks, but knowing his family, they would handle the predators. He tried to distract himself from the pain by assuming that this would be the first and only time they would use the forbidden formula on him, but would there be a chance someday they would change their life and join land?

The pain was over in no time, and his legs were back, as well as the certain masculine organs which started to throb a little in a non-painful way. "Don't worry about a deadline, Itachi," Tsunade assured him. "She's waiting for you. This is your second and last chance."

He slid off the rock, falling into the water laughing, ignoring the blood that still lingered, and started to paddle towards the shore where his beloved was waiting for him.

The yelling of her name made her head snap up. She had been sitting upright, knees drawn to her chest, when she heard the call. Seeing him standing - he thought he was going to fall forward like the first time, but he was happy he didn't - in the water, wet and naked, she bolted to her feet as if she'd been shocked by lightning. "Naru!"

"Oh, God, Itachi!" she cried, throwing her arms around him when he came to her on the foamy shore. "I thought you weren't coming back!"

He held onto her, breathing in her scent. "I thought the same," he admitted, "but my family let me be with you...if you will still have me, and if your family and friends will accept me again." Hearing that, she stiffened, worrying him.

"You'll have to convince my mom that," Naru told him, looking up. Her eyes were a little red in the white areas.

So, Kushina hates me. And I have to work to earn her forgiveness. He just laughed, even though it did hurt a little, because he remembered the times she turned red at the sight of him and played a part in setting them together; it wasn't completely him alone. "If I didn't know any better, I would say she just doesn't know how to process a real merman being in her life."

"It's more than that. You lied to us all. I never cared that you did, because I understand why." Her arms remained around his shoulders. "Dad, Pervy Sage and Hinata understand as well. But everyone else doesn't know. The official story is a freak tsunami that caught us all off-guard. Nobody knows about the sea monster and your people." A small smile appeared in the left corner of her mouth. "Everyone really celebrated that Pain is dead, and Konan is behind bars."

"Wonderful to know." Who else would even believe the story, correct? "But I wish to hear it from your parents and the others. I want to come back."

Naru giggled. "But first you need something to cover you up, and I am NOT going to say you were lost at sea again - or maybe you can think of something on your own." She winked at him, slipping off the orange wrap around her waist, tying it around his hips to cover up his manly business. This time, she didn't blush when she deliberately looked down there.

Oh, right...but I know just what to say.

~o~

When Itachi came back, her world was complete again. Nothing else mattered but him.

For three days, she walked about like a zombie, hardly eating or feeling like doing anything but listlessly helping clean up the streets which were flooded from the storm. Little real damage had been done, but it was a hell of a mess. And on the third day, she went away from everyone to be at the beach...the beach spot that held all those memories that were so blissful and painful at the same time when reality would crash down on her.

When she numbly told Hinata, her best friend's eyes only widened with surprise before they softened with understanding. "I'm so sorry it was never meant to be," was all the Hyuuga could say before she took her weeping friend into her arms.

She couldn't tell any of her other friends what happened, because no one was allowed to know except the small circle of herself, Hinata, her parents and Pervy Sage. Though they did ask her where Itachi was, and she had no answer other than he had not been found yet.

She and her mother barely spoke since their outburst that night, and her dad stood by, not knowing what to do anymore. Nothing in the Namikaze-Uzumaki household was the same ever since Itachi disappeared during the attack on the ocean.

Naru found it in her on the third day to finally leave everyone and sit on this spot alone. She pulled her knees to her chest, hiding her face and crying...until a familiar voice shouted to her beyond. She thought she had literally jumped out of her skin when she saw Itachi coming her way, standing up in the lapping waves, naked as he had been the first day they met. This time she knew why he had been like that. But if he didn't make a deal with the devil this time, how...?

It didn't matter now. He was back with her, and she was whole again. The lovers stood that way for a long time in the embrace, with her orange sarong around his hips rather than her best friend's.

He had explaining to do, and this time could not be "lost at sea". That was why she told him he had to give the explanation himself when she brought him to Hinata's car so they could get him back to the house while her parents were away. She'd kept his few clothes in the closet, not ready to throw away the last thing she had of him.

It stunned her to know he still wore that chain around his neck, the ring and unbreakable bracelet - a bond that can't be broken. Who'd ever thought that meaning really applied to them after all?

When Minato and Kushina got back, they were both in for a hell of a shock at the sight of him back in their home after his deliberate disappearance and all those secrets he kept from them. But Minato was more than happy to see him and took him into a ginormous hug that lifted poor Itachi off the ground.

Now, as expected, Mama Kushina wasn't so easy, because Itachi had so much more to do in order to earn her forgiveness after keeping something like what he really was from her, although the best part was she wasn't afraid of him - and she swore she'd help him protect his family and everyone else in that certain part of the ocean, full-time that job was.

She finally offered him that spot on her team with her and Naru. He had more training to take if he wanted to be an environmentalist, but he accepted without a wait. Naru couldn't be happier than he was.

They made a hell of a team, if you asked her, and Itachi might as well be in lead one day. She and Itachi went in together as a pair, to serve as diversion, and she almost knocked him herself when he suggested - just to tease her - that he strip down like the Zabuza incident. To think that had been his innocence in the ways of the human when he did that.

He also learned how to drive, because she personally gave him lessons, and it had been scary as hell, too, since she was a little afraid he would crash them both. The driver's manual, then seeing a personal instructor with a payment plan - it was all worth it, and he got his license in a month's time. He continued to amaze her.

You'd think he'd need help with interacting with the other humans now that there was even more ease than ever before, but Itachi settled in without a fuss. They had all the time in the world, but when a year went by, it didn't even feel like it.

By that year passing, Naru finished college and went to work full-time, and Itachi with her. Because of their hectic schedules - her part-time with him and her mom as well as her studies, and him full-time working - they didn't have much free time anymore like when they first met, but as long as they shared the same home and room at the end of the day, that was enough.

Careers for them both? Checked off.

Her parents accepting their relationship? Also check.

Now that left one more which was on this day: they decided to get married.

You'd ask Naru Uzumaki of all people if she was rushing to marry her first boyfriend, a former merman at that, at age twenty-one, but if her parents could do that, why couldn't she? It took place on the very same spot on the beach near the dock where she and Itachi first met. It was private, intimate and very special. A torii arch had been handmade with helping hands, draped now with looping white and turquoise blue gossamer, and that same fabric draped over the backs of the guests' chairs. The aisle itself was lined up with scattered seashells and strewn red rose petals. It was all simple but wonderful.

Tenten and Hinata were her bridesmaids in misty blue flowery dresses; Itachi had only Neji and Shikamaru beside him. And half the town - all those close - were invited. Choji's family even baked the cake, which had four tiers and an ombre dye from bottom to top, with blue to white, covered all over with shimmering seashells.

And Dad as well as Pervy Sage walking me down to him.

Naru's wedding dress was nothing you would expect, as it was laidback and elegant at the same time, in sultry satin with a draping neck, a long train resembling a calla lily, and thin straps to bare her arms. Her waist was curved nicely with a belt fitted to the middle of her hips, going around with brilliant glass beads in blossom shapes. "Got to show off that waist," Tenten gushed when she closed the belt in the back. It wasn't tight to cut off her oxygen at all.

Her hair was elegantly bunned and accented with three fresh white roses, attached to a single simple veil that fell to the length of her arm; Hinata knew how to do this much better than Tenten, no offense.

This morning when her mom helped her get ready with the girls, Kushina gave her the earrings that survived unlike her old wedding dress: fan-shaped drops, the beads and crystals in warm sandy hues. Naru had to take her mother into her stronghold when that was done.

And finally, the most important piece of all. Around her neck was the locket Itachi gave her, now having his photograph to cherish forever.

When he saw her coming his way, holding fresh white roses in front of her, his eyes shone bright. Twinkling like the crystalline waters of the backdrop. "You're beautiful," he breathed when she came to stand in front of him, right after she kissed both her dad and Jiraiya each on the cheek, and then Pervy Sage stepped in front of her and her groom to be the officiant himself.

"Well, my friends," he said to the others watching, nervously laughing, "second time around I got to walk someone down the aisle and then officiate this wonderful day." Now this earned laughter from the witnesses, including bride and groom. Talking about Mom and Dad. "Now, to be serious again, we gather today to see the union of this wonderful little lady I see as my own granddaughter - and the handsome man she chose very well." Naru felt her smile tighten, swallowing her laughter as Itachi did the same. Her cheeks burned, but his appeared to be darker than hers.

When there were no objections, the vows were exchanged, and they were married - with three more steps to go. First had come drinking from a cup of sake that rested on a small table right behind Jiraiya, first her turn and then Itachi. Her heart picked up apace when he then picked up none other than the golden clam that had once carried the locket around her neck - and inside were the rings, both customized with their own stories.

"With this ring, I thee wed," Naru said softly, sliding the simple but powerful band of antique, ridged rose-gold, snug on his finger perfect. He looked down at it with sheer amazement, and then he picked up hers to repeat the words and ritual. Hers was also rose-gold and set with a pattern of opal to aquamarine, to convey a mermaid's underwater treasure.

Oh, God, I'm married. I'm so happy, so excited! When husband and wife were allowed to kiss now, Naru wanted to jump off the ground herself and bring them to the clouds while their friends and loved ones - because what was hers was also his now - cheered for them. Kurama even jumped on them both and licked them like he was going to lose them forever. The ocean waves behind them lapped wildly with the joy.

Was Itachi's family watching them now, but safely hidden from view?

~o~

A year was more than he could have asked for, more than a week or a month at the very least. In all that time, his life took a turn for the better when he learned to drive and get around without help - though it scared his beloved, only he was willing to learn it to make her happy. He could understand why it would be so frightening, because people could get in crashes if they didn't pay attention to the road. It came with all kinds of consequences for irresponsibility. Accidents did happen, but it didn't excuse.

Little prices to pay, but being human comes with them.

Itachi Uchiha missed his family in the sea, but he also gained a new one on land. Everyone missed him. He had to fight for mostly Kushina's side, and it seemed all it took was her finally letting him be part of her team which was a dream come true. She was keeping an eye on him to see if he really was worth all the trouble that happened. He was desperate to prove himself to her as he begged her numerous times before, and in a few months that went by, with training, he showed it.

His name became known when came the critical endangerment of a species of whale in the ocean, another regarding overfishing - which would help Minato's ship and his competitors.

Once, fishermen were considered dangers, but humans needed to survive as much as merpeople.

When Naru went back to school in fall a few months after his return, he found that he missed her while he worked beside her mother. The pay was decent enough, and sometimes stressful - for some - but it was worth every trouble. "Well, I guess," Kushina told him one day when it was just them both, "because you and I are similar with knowing wildlife so well, I can keep you." She winked at him. She lived in the forest once outside the town, so she knows what she is talking about.

She surprised him by giving him a big kiss on the cheeks. "I can't wait until you and my girl get married. That way you won't ever leave the house - or better yet, we'd have to move someday and get a much bigger place for grandkids!" Some things won't change. Itachi chuckled nervously and said nothing.

When he heard about the word marriage, he also learned that humans should never "jump the gun", although in earlier times, it was for eternity, even if things could change. But in his people, marriage was indeed forever, and feelings never changed even if the merman or mermaid did. After a year, it was more than enough time for him.

The town was very excited when the news got out about their engagement.

He and Naru could have moved out if they wanted to, but they were both comfortable with her parents - although little did they know they would someday realize that they needed another place to live in town. Housing was limited these days on the market. "An apartment in one of the bigger parts will be better," Naru suggested. "Just you and me."

Saving up on a home was something he was learning to contend, but resources weren't something he was not a stranger to. He would gladly do it all for her and their future. And another serious matter he researched and had to ask Minato's help on - no longer any secrets between them.

What he had seen of the man and his wife that one time was only the beginning, but there was so much more than just moving for each other's pleasure. He already knew human males were more advanced in showing the extent of their masculinity on the outside of their bodies as well as inside. Females had the "slit and pearl", and like men, that part was covered with a patch of hair that connected to the tops of the thighs and vanished deeper into the nether regions. They grew this when they started to reach adolescence, or teen years.

There were three categories of intercourse: anal sex, which was when the man stuck his sexual organ into his partner's rear end. Oral sex - mouth usage on the intimate parts. The third form was what Minato and Kushina did, also known as vaginal sex; the term was a label for the man entering the woman.

Itachi could never get over these terms and phrases that made him burn hotter than the sun, but he doubted Minato fared any better. At least this tradition was in that men discussed this amongst themselves while women kept to each other.

The risks to come could be unplanned pregnancy as well as sexually transmitted diseases, which was the warning across the globe these days. Safe sex was practiced with things like condoms and contraceptive pills, otherwise known as birth control which women and girls took to avoid conceiving at an unplanned time. But despite that, transmission of the viruses could still happen via oral pleasure. This information worried Itachi greatly, but he knew he could trust Naru as she was a virgin, telling him she had a hymen, which was a small piece of flesh that was broken by first contact at any time in life.

There were also certain restrictions on acts like incest, premarital and extramarital, and just as disgusting were activities with young children, rape and prostitution, sex with animals - zoophilia - and sodomy which was anal or oral on animals or perhaps two people with rough means. Itachi felt like he'd wanted to throw up when he read this in certain books from the local library. Adultery was the most outlawed, and that was cheating on your husband or wife. It was also sacred within the merpeople to keep to your mate. To even think about being with another meant punishment by death. He swore he would NEVER do that to his Naru.

With all this knowledge, Itachi couldn't wait until their wedding night, which was when they would do it.

What better to marry her than on the beach with everyone watching? Also per tradition, the bride and her family planned the majority; well, both her family and HIS, except in Itachi Uchiha's case, he was the only one to know nothing. But when she said she wanted it on the beach where they first met, he burst into joy that it had to be a place of significance. He didn't know what the final decorated spot would look like until the day came.

He didn't think a human bride would be as beautiful as she looked when she came towards him, her father on one side and Jiraiya on the other. They were married that day by him, with joyful loved ones and friends watching...but were his family watching somehow?

The party to follow that day took place at Akimichi's Bar and Grill, falling well into nightfall, and then he and Naru went to their motel room for the next few days. This was based on points - and on the business itself - rather than just money. Itachi was excited to have this room all to himself and Naru. A bamboo curtain was over the window which was right above the bathtub in the corner, and the single bed was covered with a scenic quilt. Warm, inviting, and intimate.

"First time I'm away from Mom and Dad like this," Naru noted as she was the first to walk in. She sat on the foot of the bed and watched him, unsure of what to do. Itachi couldn't help but feel a little worried now. This area of copulation was more than what his kind would do. When he told her the tricks of the trade, it didn't seem to affect her as much, strangely.

"How...do you want to start this?" he asked, unbuttoning his white shirt until it was all the way down.

Naru stood up, facing him as she was taking off her jewelry, then walked around to set them on one of the bedside tables. Then the belt that accented her petite waist was removed. Her veil had been taken off just before the celebration with their guests had begun. She was nervous as he was, afraid of messing their first time up. But then she walked over to stand in front of him, leaning up to kiss him on the lips. "Let me."

Itachi stiffened when she pushed off the shirt and let it land on the floor. He continued to watch, the shivers exciting him now more than frightening him. His new bride continued to kiss him, now her way down his body. She took both of his nipples into her teeth, making him gasp at the gentle bites and the pleasure she was giving him. He felt the strange, burning feeling in between his legs. He was aroused. Both partners had to feel the same; otherwise, it wouldn't end well on one or either part. Itachi bit on his bottom lip when her tongue played with his belly button, and then stopped when she reached the line of his khaki shorts. Air washed over his sensitive arousal when she pulled his underwear down along with the rest of the fabric, leaving him naked.

Suddenly, he felt self-conscious about himself. He quickly put his hands over his exposed manhood, making her giggle and look at the spot where he hid himself. He didn't know why he did it, but maybe because after all this time, they would finally see each other like husband and wife would. Love had nothing to do with just body parts, and while the merpeople were naturally naked, the humans had more religious beliefs regarding nudity and intimacy. He understood it all now, although today, things were slowly changing in the privacy of the bedroom.

He didn't realize Naru's hands pulled his away to show all of him. His length was dark red and tipped with a white liquid pearl. The fine dark curls crowning its base had a name as well - pubic hair. He didn't think to look and see where the term came from since he'd felt he'd gotten to know enough of what he needed to mate eternally with his beloved. He gasped at the feel of a moist appendage over the tip of his sex. Naru had licked him.

"Do you like it?" she asked, looking up at him, releasing him from her mouth to his disappointment. He nodded. The tightening felt like it was going to unravel, but he wanted it to be someplace other than out in the open, making a mess.

"Want to go to bed?"

She stood up then and reached for the straps of her dress, and it slid off her body, showing a strapless two-piece of white which was eventually gone, showing her beauty to him. Itachi held his breath for a moment before he let it out as he took in what she looked like for the first time. He knew her curves well because of those swimsuits she wore when they hit the beach, but now to see her breasts and her womanhood covered by a small dark blonde triangle of pubic hair - she was impeccable. She brought both his hands to her chest, so he could take a feel of her breasts. They were so soft, easy to knead, with a firmer core. Her nipples were larger than his, made for suckling. The dark pink buds were just as sensitive, though.

"Naru." He leaned down and kissed her, his arms pulling her close and burying his face into where her neck and shoulder were. He was overcome with a wave of burning passion he couldn't describe with words bigger than his own body was.

Naru reached behind her and took out the flowers from her hair, letting the silky curls fall down her back for him to run through. "Oh, Itachi. Yeah, let's hit the bed now." Her hands ran themselves over his back, gently scratching and kneading the muscles. It stirred his blood into a boil.

"I hope that I won't hurt you, my love," Itachi whispered when they found themselves in the bed, one light turned out so one remained, and on low point to make the mood more personal. "I heard it could..."

She shushed him gently with a finger on his bottom lip. "I know, but it won't last that long," she reminded him tenderly. With a nod, Itachi did as the manual said and aligned his hips with hers, slowly finding where her entrance was beneath the curls, brushing against the sensitive bud of skin which made her moan, and then he found the sweet, slick cavern. It felt so good against him, and he made sure to look at her face to see if she was really enjoying it as much as he was. She looked like she was.

"Hurry," she begged. She can't wait anymore. With that, he thrust his hips forward once and felt the little bit of skin that represented her purity, and she was all his. He tried not to sound or feel too possessive, but it was meant to be from the beginning. Naru did cry out once, but it was a moan in no time when they made love slowly and sweetly, before it became too much for them to hold back.

Itachi didn't know what was going on other than the fact he was connected to his new wife, thrilled in the fact he was a husband - a human one - and his greatest dreams come true. He fought for this to happen, and he would continue to fight to keep it all until his very last breath.

When it was all over, he found himself on his back, right beside her, and she the same, before she turned and curled into him. It was...mind-blowing and magnificent. He wanted to go again, but their bodies needed to rest first. While they did, his mind found itself unwittingly going back to the place that was what happened at the end of sex: the man's seed, or sperm, would take root within the woman and eventually impregnate her. Did Naru already begin to do so after just this first time?

He pushed the question aside for now. He just wanted to enjoy tonight and the next few days with his beloved.

"I wish we could meet your family," Naru spoke after a moment, sadly, resting her head against his heart.

Something inside Itachi cracked when she brought up his family. If they were to do that, then it would be extremely difficult, because the truce was agreed that they would be protected at all costs...however, Shisui did have his habit of sneaking out as he wanted to, and late at night meet his cousin by the boat dock like they used to.

He wasn't going to tell Naru yet, but he had an idea.

~o~

It felt wonderful to be married. Itachi was a god. No girl she knew was ever lucky to have someone like him. And on their wedding night - he had been so gentle with her, asking her if he was making her feel as good as he was now. Who ever got to be like her every day?!

Today was the third and final day of the honeymoon. The weekend was a dream that she didn't want to end, but she doubted it ever would. She and Itachi didn't have many hard times, but when they would come, they would brave them together.

That morning, she and Itachi sat at the dock of the beach where the wedding took place, dipping their feet into the waters. She was in a sleeveless denim shirt and capris - no jewelry except her locket and wedding ring - and he in a navy blue t-shirt and matching shorts. He said that he wanted to be out here for awhile, just looking out at the ocean and enjoying the sights with her. He never even asked for so much, and she never asked so much from him either. There was no such thing as perfect, but he was.

He's perfect AND imperfect in one. He was a merman, but look at him now. I saw him in both forms, and he's everything a girl could ask for.

"Naru, there is one thing you asked of me that I'll be more than happy to give you," he told her, looking down at her as she leaned into him. "You asked if you wanted to meet my family." She gasped and looked up at him. He...he was saying...!

On cue, there was a collective splash before them both, at their feet a distance or two away. She gawked at the sight of the people with the black fishtails with silver flaps, each with their own color in the scales, as well as the striking blonde woman with the green-and-purple tail as well as the girl who looked to be Naru's age. I've never seen someone with hair pink as the tail - or pink hair anytime. And her eyes are an amazing shade of green.

Itachi's family was right there, pleased to see her and to give their blessing. "Everyone, this is my wife Naru," he told them, then started introducing her to them. "Naru, my father Fugaku, my mother Mikoto, little brother Sasuke. You already know Shisui." She nodded and giggled when the guy in question waved his hand at the same time as his tail. "These ladies are Tsunade, our healer from an allied clan, and Sakura who has just married my brother..."

They spent much of the morning in these shallow waters greeting and getting to know each other. Naru Uzumaki - no, Naru Uchiha - didn't think her new husband's family would love her as much as they did. Reality could screw itself with some things being too good to be true. She looked up at him as he leaned down and kissed her in front of them all, before they were both playfully splashed by the collective tails of the Uchiha family as well as the healer who had revealed she'd helped Itachi have his permanent place beside her.

You're so lucky to have a family like this, even if you sacrificed your tail for me...my mermaid prince.