Icewater

Chapter 1: The Prophecy

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto does. Also, this is loosely based off of The Little Mermaid, so that's not mine, either. Enjoy!

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The sunlight streamed through the water, shimmering above and illuminating the sea floor below. A clam lay, relaxing, covered in moss.

It was that poor little clam's misfortune to be within the range of a flipping tail.

A pink and green blur zoomed past, and the clam was knocked over by the mermaid's tail. Sakura turned, not stopping, and watched the shell settle back down on the sand.

"Oops," she mumbled sheepishly, and then called out so it would hear her retreating form, "Sorry about that!" And then Haruno Sakura flipped back towards the front, swimming speedily along.

What am I even doing? she wondered. I've got no reason, really, to be away from the castle.

You're out and about because you wanna be, said a different voice in her head. That should be reason enough!

Sakura sighed, mentally rolling her eyes. Her alter ego, whom she had long ago dubbed 'Inner Sakura,' was yet again being a stuck-up fool. She had duties she needed to attend to at the castle. She was the Princess, after all.

So? countered Inner Sakura. That place is stuffy and boring. Being out here, free, it's worth any punishment we may get.

Sakura reluctantly had to agree. The water outside the castle was much warmer, and the open space - as opposed to the enclosing coral walls - gave her a rush of euphoria that she never experienced anywhere else. She put her pale arms out in a stretch, feeling her hair floating behind her. Her green flipper reflected the bright sunshine, creating a bit of a rainbow effect on her pearl-pink shell-top. Being free - albeit only temporarily - was one of the best feelings.

Why don't we just never go back?

WHAT?

Where had that treacherous thought come from? No, thought Sakura, brushing her Inner's suggestion away, My place is here. I'm needed.

She well remembered when her Mother would brush her hair, calmly combing the pink tangled birds nests out of the little girl's head.

"Sakura," her mother would say, "Would you like to hear a legend?"

"Yes," little Sakura would squeak. "Please."

Her Mother's words carried a small smile with them.

"Very well," she would say. "Once upon a time, a little Princess was born. She grew up to be the most beautiful mermaid in all the world. But an evil sorcerer planned to overthrow Oceanica, the mermaid's kingdom, and kill the Princess. So she swam away. She fled until she saw brightly-colored sunlight that drew her above the water."

"Why would she go up to the surface, Mother?" Sakura would interrupt. Her Mother hushed her quietly, and continued.

"She saw a Prince, and she fell in love with him. He took her in to his castle, but since she was above water, the Princess could not speak."

"See what I mean?" Sakura would say. "Stupid."

"...The Prince became engaged to another woman, and, her heart broken, the Princess threw herself back to the ocean, deciding to fight for her underwater nation or die trying. The Prince saw her transform back into a mermaid though, and, mystified, he followed her in his ship. As the sorcerer prepared to kill her, the Prince shot a harpoon, impaling the evildoer. Oceanica was saved, and the Princess eventually married someone who would love her, and ruled her water kingdom with wisdom, as the Prince did his on land. The two worlds were finally at peace with one another."

"Why didn't the Prince marry the Princess?" Sakura would always ask. Her mother would put the brush down and cup her daughter's cheek with her palm.

"I don't know," the Queen would say, the sadness in her eyes contrasting with the smile gracing her face, "I don't know."

It was not until the Queen had died that her daughter had realized the Princess in the story was herself.

Earth to Sakura!

Sakura snapped back to reality.

Look out!

Sakura saw a rocky wall blocking her path. She yelped and sped to a stop so she wouldn't slam into it.

Nice save, she thought. Thanks, Inner.

No problem, replied her alter ego. You know ya love me!

Sakura peered at the rocks in front of her with mild interest. The borders of Oceanica and the Outwaters, the unclaimed territories of the seas, were supposedly blocked by stone walls. Gates were stationed to regulate and monitor the flow of traffic going in and out o her kingdom, but obviously, no gate was by this particular wall.

It struck Sakura that she must have been swimming for a long time to have reached a border. Of course, it was certainly plausible, when taking water currents into consideration, but that just made matters worse.

"Agh!" she yelled, turning around and assessing the situation.

"Okay, Sakura," she told herself, "First, let's see where we are."

She swam up, closer to the surface water. It was warmer still up here, but she did not have time to relish the sensation. She had to squint to make out the castle. It was a long way off, at least four or five sand-lots.

She hesitantly turned her face up to the surface waters.

The sunlight was a lot brighter up here. She once again squinted, finally deciding that, based on where the sun was and the angle at which the sunlight was shining, it was late afternoon.

She would be late for dinner if she didn't manage to catch a water current back home. And it'd have to be a fast one. She realized now she must have been out for at least a few hours; if she wasn't back soon (which she wouldn't be, she begrudgingly admitted) her fin-maidens would begin to worry. And if her Father found out...

She pushed the thought aside.

Not the time for worrying, said Inner Sakura. Let's just get there as soon as possible. And for once, Sakura agreed with her.

She hurriedly swam away from the border, searching for a current to swim back home on.

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"You're late."

It was more of a question than a statement.

"Yes, Father," said Sakura, sliding into her chair. She pretended not to have heard the tone in his voice that asked, "Why?"

There was a pregnant pause before Jiraiya spoke again.

"Sakura," he said reproachfully. Sakura hastily put a handful of seaweeberries in her mouth so she would be unable to answer him. Jiraiya's eyes narrowed.

"We will discuss the matter at a later time," he said, "But today, our cousins from the West are here."

Sakura turned and met blue, sprightly eyes.

"Naruto!" she said before thinking. Inner Sakura mentally facepalmed, letting out a groan.

"Sakura." Jiraiya's voice could cut stone with how cold it was. "Please refrain from rude outbursts."

"It's okay, Jiraiya," said another commanding voice. King Minato grinned. "We're all friends here, and they're just children."

Jiraiya sent a glare at his daughter before smiling back.

"Yes, she is still a child yet."

Oooookay. For some reason, I don't think he means the same thing King Minato did, thought Sakura. Inner Sakura agreed; she stuck her tongue out at the King of Oceanica.

"Hey, Dad," came an obnoxiously loud male whisper. "Why'd he call us cousins? We're not co-"

Minato coughed loudly and Naruto let out an "oof."

Jiraiya laughed then, spreading his arms.

"Let's continue eating," said Jiraiya.

Sakura tossed Naruto an elated glance; he returned it with a mischievous gleam in his eyes and a wide grin.

It's been a while, said Inner Sakura. Whoo, boy, look at those musc-

Shut. Up.

Sheesh, Pinky, what's wrong with using our eyes?

I said shut up! Sakura said to her Inner. Then Sakura looked at her plate and grimaced.

Seaweed sandwiches.

Of course. It figured.

She hated seaweed.

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"So," said Naruto, flipping over so he was upside down facing her, "he meant cousins by species, not by birth?"

Sakura nodded, grateful the boy had finally caught on. It was night now; the moon reflected her beams in the water, and the ocean was a deep, rich hue of silvery-blue now that stars twinkled above her. Sakura and Naruto were - naturally - breaking curfew to hang out on the roof. It didn't take much. A pearl or two were prefect bribes, and the guards were always more lax in their duty within the castle itself anyways. Sakura herself was resting on the roof, but Naruto was too hyper to settle down for long.

"Okay, I get it then!" The blonde merman grinned his signature smile, and Sakura returned it.

Naruto flipped back upright and swam up; his sudden movement made Sakura tilt her head quizzically at him.

"What are you doing?" she called. He turned and faced her.

"Everything's much bigger up here," he called back. "C'mere, Sakura!"

Sakura got out of her resting position and swam to his side. He excitedly - like always, he was happy about everything - took her shoulders and turned her until he deemed she was in the right position to see from.

She looked down.

"What're you talking about, idiot?" she said. "Everything's so much smaller."

Naruto shook his head.

"No, no, look at everything," he said. He swept his hand out and gestured at the homes and sand surrounding the castle. "Up close, the castle seems so.. normal," he said, "and it's like that's all there is of your kingdom. But from up here, suddenly Oceanica is a lot bigger, huh?"

Sakura shook her head.

"No," she said, "it's not. Look, see?" She pointed. "The castle is about as tall as the birder stones. And look at the houses -" her finger moved -" they're only a little taller than long seaweed plants!"

Naruto shrugged.

"Well, then we see the world differently from afar," he remarked. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"What's the big deal?" she asked. Naruto shrugged back, grinning.

"Oh, there isn't one," he said. "I just wanted to know if it was just me who felt so small compared to the kingdoms."

Sakura grinned at him.

"Well, you are, then," she said teasingly. They floated there in the water, admiring Oceanica from above. Sakura saw a flash of orange and smiled softly to herself. Naruto, from Atlantica, had a slightly different fin than she; unlike hers, his had decorative tissue (the useless kind only meant for show) around the edges. Life in Atlantica was more relaxed and overall sportier; Oceanica was a no-nonsense, tense kingdom. The fins had developed over centuries, and the subtle differences could tell you a lot about where a certain merman or mermaid came from: what temperatures they were accustomed to, what predators roamed the waters of their homeland, the amount of sunshine that reached their domain, and much more. Colors varied, but Sakura knew vibrant colors like Naruto's orange and Minato's yellow were generally reserved for more coastal, equator-dwelling merfolk; her own somewhat bright green came from the fact that her mother had been a noblewoman from Atlantica. Their kingdoms were friendly towards each other for a number of reasons (that being only one).

Sakura wistfully looked at Naruto's handsome features and couldn't help but wonder what their future might have been had she not been involved in the prophecy.

No, Sakura, she scolded herself, There's no time for what if's. I must face my future for the people of Oceanica.

A daydream or two never hurt anyone, though, did they? asked her Inner hopefully. Sakura shushed her other self and focused on preserving every detail of this night carefully; after all, they might not get another chance lime this for a long time.

She had no way of knowing Naruto had a similar war raging in his head; she would never know, because unbeknownst to either merperson, the wheels of the prophecy had already begun.

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AN: Thanks for reading! Please review!