story image by Pure-Poison89 on DeviantArt

The Cove

It had been a dark, raging night with a howling wind and an angry sea. The waves had crashed over the bow of the ship with every downward plunge only to pitch the massive vessel upwards on the next swell. They had reefed the sails twice, but the wind continued to make the rigging groan as the sea punished them for daring to venture into such dangerous waters.

Kakashi, the ship's Chief Navigator, had countless nautical miles under his belt and had directed all crew to take cover as the waited for the storm to pass, but their Captain, Naruto, had ordered for their immediate haste to port. Without question, the crew had sprung into action, trimming sails and storing cannons above and below deck in preparation for the rough seas ahead. Fortunately, they had been on their way to port and were merely a few hours' travel from their anchorage.

But even a medic like Sakura knew that the closer to shore, the rougher the seas became.

It was of no surprise to her when one of their many deckhands was swept across the deck by an unforgiving wave. His head made contact with the very cannon he had been securing and without pause, Sakura rushed to his side to drag him out of danger. She did her best to pull the unconscious male across the deck, but his greater weight slowed her and the ship pitched again before she could ensure his safety, and her own.

The wood beneath her feet groaned and she watched, unable to do anything more, as a crashing wave engulfed the deck, ripping cannons from their hold and sheets from their cleats. A cry of her name swirled in the wind before it was lost to the storm as she was tossed backwards against the railing. Her ribs bruised in protest, but she was unable to recover nor was she given time to brace herself before another relentless wave cascaded down upon her, sweeping her off her feet. It dragged her from the safety of her ship as the wave escaped back down below into the ocean, taking her along with it.

A moment of pure weightlessness encircled her, but then it was gone as the heavy sea wrapped its cool arms around her and pulled her beneath the swells. She fought against the current, but the tides were stronger than her lithe body and she lost the fight before it had even begun as the ocean god had his way with her.

Her last prayer was that none of her crew had suffered her same fate as darkness consumed her and the fight was pulled from her limbs.

##

Sakura stirred. She inhaled slowly through her nose only to push the air back out of her body as pain gripped her side. A soft groan sounded low in her throat, but she didn't have the strength to open her eyes. Somewhere overhead a bird cawed, but the sound was distant and echoing, as her head continued to swim. Her body felt so heavy, as if the strength of the sea was still baring down upon her and it wasn't long before she faded from awareness again.

It was unclear how much time passed before she awoke again, her limbs still weak and her senses groggy, but some of her strength had returned and she cracked her eyes open slowly as she absorbed her surroundings.

Above her a single palm tree blocked the high, afternoon sun as the grit of wet sand plastered to her skin and clothes. Without looking, she already knew the heavy, frock coat she had worn in the storm was gone, leaving her in her cotton blouse and lightweight pants. Somehow she had kept her boots on in the raging waves that had crashed over her and tossed her about, but they were now filled with water and sand. They had always been her favorite pair, but at the moment, Sakura didn't particularly care about their current condition as she furthered her awareness.

Nearby, waves gently crested against the shore as the calm sea softly lapped at her legs and pulled at her clothes as it retreated and returned once more. There was no breeze where she was, nor was there any sound of rigging or the rattle of anchor chains as large, wooden ships shifted with the wind. All was still and all was calm.

She didn't have the slightest idea as to where she was or how she had come to be there, but she took her time as she pushed herself up to get a better grasp of her surroundings. Her eyes scanned the beach as she took in the most breath-taking sight her well-traveled eyes had ever seen.

Sakura found herself on the shore within a somewhat small, natural bay that lay protected from the wind and waves. High, rounded rocks jutted from the sea, blocking the larger swells from entering, but the cracks between them allowed for water to flow in and out at a more languid pace. The sand was a pure white, causing the water to turn the most impossible shade of blue she had ever seen. The sight before her was truly stunning, but something felt off.

How did she come to rest here? It seemed impossible, no matter how big the waves or rough the storm. The large stones surrounding the cove were far too high and spaced much too close together.

After pulling her soiled boots from her feet, Sakura used the palm tree as support to stand. Her entire body ached with soreness and stiffness to her movements, but she stepped forward into the pool until the water broke around her knees. The sun beat warmly down onto her shoulders and arms, but she merely basked in its heat, its small pleasure chasing the tension from her form.

She tried to recall how she had come to be in this state, but it merely caused her head to pulse as dehydration made her temporarily sway on her feet. As soon as the brief bout of sickness passed, her thoughts turned to Naruto and Kakashi. One of them had shouted her name just before she had been tossed from her ship and she wrapped an arm around her middle as the pain in her side returned upon recollection of her injury. If she were lucky, she had only cracked a rib or two.

It wasn't long before the Caribbean sun began to overheat her exposed body and carefully she waded further into the pool to cool herself only to still as her skin prickled uncomfortably. It felt as if she were being watched.

Ever so slowly, Sakura's gaze drifted to a nearby rock and she froze wide-eyed as she met a pair of dark eyes, their color that of the fathomless ocean. They belonged to a man appearing to be no more than a few years her senior as he remained half-concealed behind the smooth stone, lightly bobbing within deeper waters as he eyed her with a cool gaze. His hair was wet and plastered to his face and neck, the long strands dancing about the water that lapped at his bare chest. Even with the black locks nearly obscuring her view, she could see he was well-toned and muscular, his skin uncommonly pale and glimmering in the sunlight.

"Uhm, hi," Sakura said roughly. Her throat was coarse and rubbed raw by salt.

The man merely cocked his head to the side, as if waiting to see what she would do next.

She swallowed thickly and eyed her surroundings before returning her gaze back to him. "Did you…did you bring me here?" she asked almost reluctantly.

He continued to drift in the water, appearing to keep afloat effortlessly, as he blinked slowly at her. Eventually he nodded, his head causing him to dip lower in the water for a moment. The action felt proper, as if a king were answering one of his subjects.

Sakura took a small step to keep her balance as another small wave lapped through the bay, but her distraction kept her from seeing the slight dip in the sand before her and she stumbled lightly, causing her to hiss hard between clenched teeth as pain wrapped its mighty fingers around her side and squeezed.

"Take caution. You are injured."

As the shock of pain lessened, she opened her eyes to peer at him. In her discomfort, he had left the safety of the rock to better observe her, his keen eyes still focused intently upon her and she felt herself grow curious. He had a most unusual way of speaking with an unfamiliar accent that did not match those of the region – at least the region her ship had been approaching when she had been lost to the sea.

"Who are you?" she asked.

He did not answer immediately as he continued to roll in the gentle waves weightlessly. Eventually he spoke again, his voice strong but melodious all at once: "I have many names."

"Which do you prefer to be called?"

The mysterious man's brow lifted minutely. He seemed to have been surprised to have been asked such a question and after a brief pause, he answered: "'Itachi' was gifted to me by my mother."

Their conversation was slow, their words exchanged after pauses as they observantly regarded one another. They both seemed wary of the stranger across from them. He seemed kind enough, but there was something about this man that made her vigilant. He seemed unwilling to come closer, unwilling to approach the shallows, which in turn made her reluctant to venture further into the water, unsure what those depths held for her.

"Why do you hide in deeper waters?"

His expression remained passive, but his gaze seemed to pierce through her. "My kin learned many moons ago not to brave the shallows."

"Your kin?" she repeated.

It was then that she saw the silhouette of something darker in the water sweep below him. It seemed to move in time to his rise and fall within the calm waters and her wide gaze met his unwavering stare as wonder and impossible disbelief momentarily silenced the pain in her chest. She knew its name, but she didn't dare speak it just yet.

"What are you?"

"We are called many names," he answered, his voice calm and smooth like waves caressing the shore. "Kelpie, Sea Ghouls, Devilfish." His expression darkened as he spat out the last name like an insult, but it cleared as quickly as it had come as he regarded her once more. "But there is one you might better recognize."

"Mermaids," she whispered. Her voice was nearly lost in the breeze, but the small lift in the corner of his mouth showed he had heard. "That's not possible."

"Did you believe the stories to only be stories." He seemed to be laughing at her.

However, Sakura did not share his mirth. Instead, she took an unconscious step back. "Mermen are known to kill sailors. Why bring me here?"

Itachi rolled his eyes as he scoffed lightly. "Not all mermen are as dark as our tales. We fight only to defend our freedom; we know of the evils of humans."

He spoke as if he had witnessed the malevolence of her kind firsthand, but she stayed in the shallows, still wary of this new creature before her. And he still hadn't answered her question. "Then why not let me drown?"

The darkness shadowing his face slowly lifted as he regarded her. He drifted closer to her but yet kept his distance; still cautious, still curious. "Your hands."

"My hands?" she repeated incredulously.

He nodded, his entire form dipping in the water with the motion. "Yes. They do not possess the scars of war. They are unmarred by memory of gunpowder and cutlass."

Reluctantly Sakura dropped her gaze to her hands. She studied the skin of her palms and fingers, noting that he was right. Her hands were absent of blemishes, with the exception of a small but straight scar down her index finger from the time many years ago when she had wielded a scalpel for the first time. There was power in her fingers but no history of violence.

But he was wrong.

"I cannot harm; I'm a healer," she finally murmured, her voice somber. "But I do know war."

Without waiting for his response, she pulled the collar of her tunic aside to reveal the long, white scar above her collarbone. It was seasons old, but the memory still remained of a cold blade, pain and horror. She would never forget the night she witnessed the murder of her family in a pirate raid and the certainty of death she felt as she laid on the floor, wet and sticky as she waited for darkness to fall behind her eyes.

"You are not the only one who has witnessed the horrors of the world."

Itachi's gaze was piercing as he studied the single, white line that marked her as a survivor. Her skin prickled under his hypnotizing stare and eventually she pulled the white material back over her shoulder as the scrutiny became too much.

He blinked slowly as he raised his gaze. "You are different."

His eyes traveled over her, quietly studying and observing as if he was seeing her in a new light, one not shadowed by his pre-existing judgements against her kind. He drifted closer and in the shallower water, she was finally able to see the long tail that trailed behind him, his crimson scales sparkling under the surface like the finest gems of rubies and red diamonds. The skin of his shoulders and chest shimmered in the sun in ways that had nothing to do with the water that dripped off his chin and wetted his dark hair.

"What do you prefer to be called?" he asked.

She paused as she realized she had yet to give her name. "Sakura."

"Sakura," he repeated. He rolled her name around in his mouth like he was tasting a piece of the sweetest fruit. "It does you well."

She heard it again, that drawl in his words that gave her the feeling he was speaking to her from many years past. He seemed less of a monster as the stories foretold and more a relic, lost in time; she was drawn to him, wanting nothing more than to discover the secrets he held.

Blinking hard, Sakura pulled her gaze away from his fathomless stare. Sailors were familiar with the old stories of the songs of sirens but she couldn't help but wonder if it was more than mere myth. Her wariness returned and she took a quick step back, suddenly concerned she was too deep in the waist-high waters.

Sharp pain pulsed through her temples again at the abrupt movement and she swayed as vertigo tipped her world on its side. Her knees buckled and she would have collapsed into the sea and sand below if not for the strong arm that wrapped around her middle, keeping her upright as she was slowly lowered into the cooler water.

A low groan pressed between her lips and the arm around her center readjusted until the pressure on her ribs lessened into a dull ache.

"Breathe."

She hadn't realized how stiffly she had been holding the air in her chest until she heard the soft command. Slowly she released it, her teeth grinding together as it escaped in a painful exhale, before she blinked her eyes open once more.

She found her gaze level with the merman's collarbone. Under her tense fingers, she could feel his hidden power and strength, and she slowly raised her gaze to meet Itachi's as he studied her silently. He seemed to be measuring the extent of her pain and she gradually loosened her tight grip on his shoulders.

"Did I not tell you to take caution?"

His words were soothing and she felt herself relax under his touch as he carefully swam her back towards shore until he could carefully deposit her on the ocean floor with the water lapping at her middle. She winced as he withdrew his support, her fingers trailing over his smooth skin and down his arms until he was out of reach.

Her fear was no more than a memory as she watched him closely. He was still studying her, still looking for any further signs of pain from her, but she merely wrapped her arm around her middle to support her aching side as she waited for his next move. His concern surprised her, and she once again found herself unsure of how she felt about the creature before her.

Silence elapsed as they studied the other. His expression was hard to read, making it impossible for her to know what was passing through his mind, and she was content to sit as she wondered about the man before her. She didn't know why he hadn't already vanished back into the ocean. Because of him, she was safe and out of danger; he need not stay. And yet, he seemed reluctant to leave.

His dark eyes never wavered from her even as he glided through the crystal water like a beautiful but deadly predator until he came to rest in the shallows some feet from her, his upper body supported by his elbows. His long tail swept across the ocean floor, twisting and curling around her until the end nearly touched her toes and she watched mesmerized as the scales shimmered and shifted through various shades of red under the light of the high sun. He seemed reluctant to touch her again, yet desiring to feel the caress of another, and it suddenly struck her that this feared merman was lonely.

"Are there others?" she finally asked.

Shadows passed behind his eyes again and he nodded. "Yes. We are few in number but I am not alone."

"But you travel alone," she guessed.

"Yes."

He seemed unwilling to offer any more information on the subject and she subtly shifted their conversation. "Where did you learn my language?"

His shoulder rose in an easy shrug. "I know many languages, all learned from a time long past."

"So you are old then."

"Age is a matter of perception. To the sea and the sky, I am merely a glimpse in time. But to you, I would be considered a living myth; long forgotten but in song and story."

A smile graced her lips as she let out a breathy laugh. The action caused her chest to ache and she flinched lightly but continued to grin at him as he cocked his head curiously at her. "You have an unusual way of speaking."

"Does my language displease you?"

She shook her head. "No. It's…calming."

His brow arched curiously and it took her a moment to realize that he didn't fully understand her. She would have laughed again, but she did not want to offend him and instead she smiled softly at him: "Thank you. For bringing me to shore, Itachi."

It was the first time she had spoken his name aloud, and she quickly found that she liked it. It was an old name, a kind name – it suited him well.

A slight smile crept upon his face, softening his hard features. It was then that she noticed the glint of fangs between his lips and she stared mesmerized as he spoke: "A nymph like yourself does not deserve to rest at the bottom of the ocean."

"A nymph?" she repeated.

His smile widened. "With hair the color of coral and eyes like sea glass, what else could you possibly be?"

Warmth spread across her cheeks and she ducked her head, hoping he would think the red dusting across her cheeks was due to the heat of the sun. "You have seen much of the world. You would know better than I."

Itachi chuckled, the sound coming from low in his chest and rumbling out between his lips. She peered up at him to watch the amusement dance across his face, but her gaze returned to his tail as she felt his fins sweep against her toes.

Curiosity tugged on her and she chewed her lower lip shyly as she peered at him through her lashes. "May I?"

Itachi studied her silently, but eventually he nodded and shifted in the sand as his tail glided through the water until it came to rest in the water before her. Under his closely observant gaze, Sakura released her injury to trail her fingers lightly over the brightly colored scales. Near his hips, they were smooth under her touch and she bit back her smile as the end of his tail slowly swept back and forth across the sand, much like a content cat would twitch its tail.

However, as her fingers continued to explore, she began to feel small dips and depressions where some scales had been damaged or broken off and her hands stilled as she felt something unusual under her fingertips. With a closer look, her eyes widened as she recognized a fish hook embedded under the scales.

"You're hurt."

Itachi remained indifferent. "It is an old wound."

The concern on Sakura's face did not fade and Itachi watched in quiet interest as she continued to inspect the wound, her fingers gentle and tender. "You should let me remove it. It could become infected or it could catch and worsen the wound."

Her kindness warmed him, but he also knew it was about time their company drew to an end. Gently he withdrew his tail from her gasp and met her gaze as she turned to him in confusion. "I appreciate your concerns," he murmured. There was a soft smile upon his face but it soon faded. "There is a town some distance from here down the coast. Your ship made port there in the early hours before dawn. I am sure they will be searching for you."

Her eyes widened with the information and she opened her mouth but her voice failed her. He could nearly see her mind churning over, like a rough ocean on a stormy night, but eventually her expression cleared as she reached her decision. "I will go to town," she said. "I will get medical supplies and help you. And then I will look for my crew."

Surprise rippled through him and he watched as Sakura carefully pushed herself to her feet, her arm wrapped around her sore center as the water cascaded off her and caused her clothes to stick to her slender form. However, she didn't immediately retreat back to shore. "I'll be back soon. Please don't go."

Itachi regarded her silently, his gaze absorbing the gentle hope in her jade eyes and he found himself eventually nodding against his better judgement. "I will wait for your return."

Her smile seemed to brighten her features and he watched as she slowly made her way back to shore to collect her boots. Once she was ready, she gave him a small wave before she turned and disappeared out of the cove.

The moment she was out of sight, Itachi slunk back into the deeper waters in the back of the protected area. He knew he should leave, disappear back into the sea and remain forgotten to the world above the water, but something about Sakura made him stay.

In all his years, he had never come across anyone like her. She was kind and curious where many used the unknown to fuel their fear and violence. It was a much desired change from his normally isolated life and though he doubted she could help with the injury he had obtained many seasons ago, if it meant keeping her within his company for some time longer, he would allow her to try.

What a peculiar human.

a/n: I've been trying to write this for awhile now and I'm happy with the outcome! I'll probably write a second part at some point.

The Cove is inspired by The Baths in the BVIs.