Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me.

Sharks and Mermaids

Chapter One

"K-Kisame-senpai?"

"What!"

"W-where sh-should-"

"Quit your stuttering, kid! Towels go on the metal rack!"

The poor, unfortunate soul paled before clamboring away from the intimidating senior and captain of the Konoha swim team. Kisame inwardly groused about incompetent, snotnosed freshmen whose sole purpose of trying out for the swim team and therefore wasting his precious time was to ogle each other. Half the little shits didn't even know how to fucking swim!

"Again!" his baritone thundered, ordering this year's fresh meat to do another lap from one end of the pool to the other. Fucking pathetic. He shook his head, watching as half of the tryouts flailed and flapped in the water, barely able to keep themselves above water.

"You! Number twelve! Do I need to get you a fucking floaty? Move your arms and legs!" Kisame shouted.

"I think he might actually be drowning," came a soft, slightly amused feminine voice.

"Number twelve! Move!" he yelled before glancing over his shoulder to look at the owner of said voice. He snorted and turned back towards the pool. "Botany is three doors down in the greenhouse."

"And apparently Assholeville is right here."

Kisame raised a brow at the unexpected snarky reply and promptly gave her his full attention. "I don't suffer foolish, doe-eyed fangirls lightly, so if you're here to drool over your little shirtless crushes, then I advise you find another club."

"If you're done making assumptions about me because of my pink hair and beautiful green eyes, I'm Sakura Haruno, third year transfer student from Okinawa."

"You, number ten!" Kisame shouted, curious eyes never leaving her.

"Y-yes, Kisame-senpai?"

"Help out number twelve! He's drowning!"

"Y-yes, Senpai!"

She swallowed a laugh after quickly glancing at the floundering pair. "I know I'm a little late for tryouts, but considering I'm new here, cut me some slack? Promise, I can swim."

Kisame regarded her with a critical, if not slightly amused, eye. Pink hair. Bright green eyes. Flawless, slightly sun-kissed skin. A lithe body from the looks of it and a smart mouth. He sighed. She couldn't possibly suck as bad as some of these dopes. At least he hoped anyway.

"Suit up, Haruno, and show me what you got."

Twenty minutes later, Kisame was fucking in love.

"Who's the hot bitch?"

"You're late."

Hidan smirked. "Bite me. Can't help that the ladies love this," he said, motioning to his rather impressive physique.

But Kisame wasn't paying attention. He was focused on the pink haired fucking mermaid - because that was the only way to describe her at the moment - cutting through the water with such ease and killer precision, it almost made him want to cry. Damn, it was like she belonged there.

Hidan grinned, wide and showing entirely too much teeth as he stood with Kisame and observed her final lap. "We're keeping her."

Kisame nodded, pleased that swim tryouts weren't a complete bust. "Sakura Haruno. A third year transfer from Okinawa. You'll like her."

"I already do, Kisa-kun. Do you see that fucking perfectly perky ass?"

Kisame rolled his eyes. Hidan was just one big walking erection, ready and willing to do it with just about anyone. Hell, he wouldn't be surprised if the manwhore had already tapped half, if not all, the school's female population.

"Alright! Line up!"

Sakura hauled herself from the pool, wondering if all the tall senior with the shock of dark blue hair ever did was shout. He certainly did cut an impressive figure though. Well over six feet, broad shoulders and from what she could tell, cut like steel and powerful. He was likely a shark in water as his build was similar to another human fish she knew. Zabuza could probably give him a run for his money if they ever met.

Toweling off, she made her way over, noticing another who hadn't been there earlier. Seriously? What is up with this place and ridiculously good looking guys? Konoha Academy seemed to have them in droves. Letting loose her bun, she finger-combed her long wet pink hair and quietly waited for more shouting.

"For those who don't know me, I'm Kisame Hoshigaki, co-captain of the swim team. This guy next to me is Hidan, your drill master for the year. Numbers I call out, stay. Numbers I don't, well, too bad. There's always mid-year tryouts."

Brutally honest and a bit cantankerous he might be, but Sakura couldn't help but like this Kisame for all the thirty minutes she had known him. Looking around at the others as he began shouting numbers, she realized there were quite a few hopeful recruits. A lot actually...females and males in about equal quantities. She wondered where the current members were, if any, and how many of them would actually make it. Aside from number twelve and a few others, she hadn't seen her other competition. She being here was more on a whim than anything, to test her luck and perhaps courage. She'd overheard about swim tryouts from a group of twittering girls yesterday.

"Haruno!"

Sakura blinked, tucking a stray strand of pink behind an ear as she turned her attention towards the swim captain and drill master. "Yeah?"

"Welcome to the team."

She wasn't sure how to feel about the grins on both their faces though. It was almost creepy and most definitely troublesome with a big fucking capital T.

…

Sakura Haruno was of the mind that if life gave you lemons, then make lemonade. With this latest arrangement, she really didn't have a choice but to do just that. Her dad had decided to pick up and move back to the northeastern Konoha prefecture of Japan, citing what a wonderful change it would be for his little girl, who wasn't quite that little anymore, and how great it would be for dear Otou-san to finally show her his roots. Konoha was home for him after all. It wasn't for her, but she didn't have the heart to tell him.

She loved him too much to smack down his idealistic notions and so, had grudgingly agreed and prepared to say goodbye to old friends and perhaps one of the most beautiful scenic views of the ocean. Their small seaside village would be sorely missed. Admittedly, her dad had had to peel her fingers from the walls and doors of their old home and bear witness to her and her dearest friends' pitiful, wailing cries and the fattest tears this side of Okinawa had to offer. Suffice to say, it had been a most painful parting.

And now here she was, walking through the open door of their rather quaint apartment ten blocks from the academy. No father in sight. Or ocean for that matter. And with conflicting feelings about what she'd just gotten herself into. Sakura didn't know much about Konoha Academy, just that it was pretty prestigious and boasted quite an elite, or maybe rich was a better term, population of students. She wasn't dumb. She was quite intelligent actually, despite her girlish and flowery coloring. She'd earned her right to attend, but still, it was always tough starting all over again.

She dropped her bag on the tatami mat of their small living room and heaved a sigh. She should start dinner for them. No doubt he'd want to hear all about his blossom's first day of school. She was still debating though whether she should tell him about the swim team. Maybe that could wait a few days. Then again, the possibility of scantily clad boys ogling his little girl...he did have a mighty hyperactive imagination so maybe Sakura would just keep it to herself for now.

…

Shit! She was late and Tsunade was going to skewer her! Flying past the heavy iron gates of Konoha Academy, she nearly crashed head first into someone, but swerved around him just in time. Her shoulder hit his however, and she watched in dismay as he was thrown a bit off balance. But she was really late and couldn't spare the time to stop and check if he was all right.

"I'm sorry!" Sakura apologized, half turning mid run and tossing him an apologetic smile. Noticing who was standing next to the guy she had almost bulldozed, she quickly shouted a 'G'morning, Kisame-taichou!' before continuing her sprint towards the administration office.

…

"Kisame?"

"Yeah?"

"Care to explain?"

It took a second for the blue-haired senior to understand what he meant as they continued their walk to class. Sharkish grin curving Kisame's lips, he threw up his arms and laced his fingers behind his head. "You just met a fucking mermaid."

Itachi Uchiha slanted a look his way that clearly said he was not amused.

Kisame laughed, throwing an arm around the Uchiha's shoulders. "Sakura Haruno, third year transfer from Okinawa and new member of the swim team. Since you couldn't be there yesterday, you'll see what I mean later."

"Hn." Itachi wouldn't deny that his interest was piqued. Long strands of soft pink. Deep green eyes. A full, cupid bows mouth. Skin kissed by the sun. No doubt telling of time spent on the beach. He hadn't gotten a good enough look at her, but he knew beautiful when he saw it, however quick it had been.

"U-Uchiha-senpai?"

He paused and turned to look over his shoulder, Kisame doing the same only to smirk when he saw the tell-tale sign of a lovestruck fangirl. In Itachi's case, much of the young female population of Konoha Academy. Though he would bet the younger Uchiha brother could give him a run for his money. Sasuke had the mysterious, aloof bad boy schtick down pat.

The cute brunette reddened, stuttered, and then pushed a neatly folded piece of paper into Itachi's hands before bowing and scampering away like a nervous doe. Itachi sighed amid Kisame's snickers.

"What is that? The tenth one this morning?"

Itachi stuffed the love letter, along with all the others, into a pocket of his bag. It was nothing new, these love confessions. But Itachi honestly wondered why these girls wasted their time on him. He would never return their affections. Aside from being polite and mostly nonchalant about such things, nothing would ever come of it.

"Fucking Uchiha! Would it kill you not to look so serious? My eyes fucking hurt just looking at you," Hidan groused, slinking his way towards them.

"Hidan…" Itachi greeted, ignoring the barb.

"Fuck, did you do yesterday's assignment?"

Kisame groaned, he'd completely forgotten about it too.

"Yo, Uchi-"

"Tough shit," Itachi cut in, walking away with little remorse. "And I hear the next volume of Icha Icha's been delayed too. Poor Hatake-sensei..."

Kisame and Hidan both cursed. That meant cleaning duty. Shit.

…

"I joined the swim team."

Tsunade almost choked on her morning coffee. "You did what?"

"I joined the swim-"

"I heard you," the buxom headmistress of Konoha Academy interrupted, concern almost marring her brow.

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "Promise you won't interfere. Otou-san's enough."

Tsunade's lips thinned before she sighed in resignation. "I know you can take care of yourself, Sakura, but…"

"It's a little scary here and I don't really know anyone, but I'll be fine. I'm not five anymore."

"But you're still my niece."

Sakura gave her a reassuring smile. "And you're Tsunade-sama, hardass headmistress of the great and wonderful Konoha Academy."

"Sakura…"

She flashed a cheeky smile and winked. "But you'll always be Aunty Tsutsu to me. Don't worry, okay?"

Tsunade shook her head, taking another sip from her half full coffee mug. "Promise you'll let me know if you need anything?"

"Promise."

"And watch out for those swim boys. They may look harmless..."

Sakura snorted. "They're far from harmless, Aunty Tsutsu. I'm pretty sure they're downright manic."

"You always were a good judge of character," Tsunade said approvingly.

Getting up to leave, Sakura paused and glanced over her shoulder. "I jumped into a pool of sharks, didn't I?"

Tsunade smirked. "Maybe. But they don't bite...much."

…to be continued…

Always wanted to do a highschool AU with members of the Akatsuki. Consider this baby slice of life? I dunno. Mostly light-hearted stuff. Inspired by my binge re-watching of Ouran High School = LOVE.

-dm