A sasusaku AU snippet. Merman Sasuke; cop Sakura.
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'I'm floating.'
—On the surface—
The water was cold against her pasty flesh; her naked skin shimmering where the sunlight broke its surface to penetrate low enough to cast her form, in both light and shadow.
Sakura's emerald eyes remained open while she sank lower, slowly narrowing with exhaustion; her arms and legs hanging loosely at her sides. She was looking up, as a curtain of pastel pink surrounded her diminishing field of vision; (from the left and from the right) though, she could still detect a bare hint of her ruby-red blood that was staining her nearby surroundings; an indicator that she indeed... had been shot and was currently bleeding out where the men had dropped her into the river. Damn mafia, and fucking sting operation gone to crap. How was Sakura to know that her partner, of 5 plus years, was in such deep and dark shit.
'I'm drowning.'
—In the thermocline—
Sakura had fought to stay afloat (after falling prey to such dangerous criminals) but, the pressure inside of her sternum had twisted and weaved so tightly into the very marrow of her bones and blood vessels that it was all she could do to survive for this long.
Her lungs ached terribly, begging her to take a much needed breath of oxygen, but she would not yield to its demands; she would NOT cave. Sakura didn't want to die, she simply wasn't ready; not yet. She still had so much life left to live. What about her parents... what about her friends... what about—
'I'm dying.'
—Into the deep zone—
So... cold. Sakura was completely numb to anything else; the frigid water taking away all of the excruciating pain from her gaping wound, while a stream of bubbles left her parting lips. Her frame went completely lax and her eyes had begun to close, vision gone blurry due to lack of oxygen and blood running through her slowly deflating veins. Help; she needed help. But who would be able to save her now... when the shadows had long since taken away the sun's precious light, leaving her dark, cold, and alone. Soon, she would perish and—
Before the pinkette fully succumbed to her fatigue, she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her torso, pulling her close to a hard body that moved through the water at a quickened pace. But who, or what, was it that had come to her rescue?
'I'm...'
—On the edges of consciousness—
Sakura remembers very little, only small parts from her memory that seemed more like a dream than any true version of reality. A scaly, "fish-like" tail here, a rather handsome-looking stranger (with strong and masculine features) watching over her (concern evident in his red and black irises) there, was what she remembers the most. But there was more—
She remembers him calling out to her, begging for her to live; begging her to breathe again, while inspecting her large wound and then placing something cold and slimy onto it.
Sakura remembered watching the contours of his face twisting with worry while he loomed over her then he turned to talk to someone beside them; but the woman was too tired (too physically weakened) to even try to move or see who it could possibly be. Their voices never fully reached her eardrums; the sound muffled and seemed to be miles away while she slipped in and out of consciousness.
She remembers so much, and yet... so little of the whole experience. And then—
She was startled awake when a set of hands pushed against her breastbone; then, soft lips pressed against her mouth. Her eyes opened wide and her lips parted on a shocked gasp. The first thing that she saw (after forcing the water from her own lungs) was... his eyes.
'I'm... alive.'
—In the sand—
"W-who...," Sakura couldn't find the words to speak; so lost in this man's dark eyes was she, that the woman completely missed the subtle movement to her right, until a new figure came into view, effectively blocking her off from the other, and breaking the hold he had on her.
His smile was bright and welcoming, his eyes as blue as the ocean around them, and his body; it was—
Her eyes widened and she leaned back slightly, while the shock of it all began to sink in. The other creature, the one that had mesmerized her so easily, shoved his male companion to the side and continued to gaze at her with a concerned expression. He tilted his head to the right (his jet-black bangs sliding in front of his eyes slightly to shield them) as he examined her; from head to toe.
"Y-you... w-what... I-I.."
"Are you alright," he asked her gently; dragging himself a little closer by his large palms. His timbre was deep, soothing even, and Sakura felt much more at ease in his presence; though, she couldn't understand why at the time. "Do you feel any discomfort, miss?"
"I'm... alive."
"Yes."
"But... but h-how? I was—"
Sakura's hand moved to her midriff, where the bullet had entered through her lower torso, emerald-green eyes lowering as well and what she saw was, nothing. Absolutely nothing was there. The pinkette searched and searched, lifting her sopping wet shirt, to gaze at her unblemished flesh in wonder; missing the fact that both men exchanged an amused glance, before the dark-haired ones went back to slight worry.
When she met his eyes again, he spoke. "I saved you."
"Y-you saved me?"
He nodded but the blonde shouldered his way forward. "Hey, I helped him out, you know. You are really pretty by the way, for a human that is. What's your name?"
"H-human? I'm a... and y-you...," she looked between them and at their—
"Yes," the dark-haired one spoke up; eyes holding hers and expression completely serious. "Your assumption is the correct one. We are not from... your world. I am Sasuke. This, id..."
"I'm Naruto! It's nice to meet you."
With them both looking at her expectantly, Sakura took a deep breath (hand still resting on her "wound") and spoke, though almost shyly. "I'm Sakura. I'm Sakura Haruno."
Sasuke held his hand out to her and she took it gently; the warmth of his palm a stark contrast to the cool water droplets clinging to his pale skin. His lips pulled up slightly at the corners and he let her hand go slowly. "Hello Sakura, and welcome to the Land of Waves."
It was only then that her eyes averted from Sasuke's and she began to take in her actual surroundings. With mild shock still racing through her veins, Sakura briefly wondered if she were to pinch herself, if she would somehow wake up in her bed, alone... having lived this whole scenario in a dream due to some unknown, but powerful, stress plaguing her unconscious brain or—
But no. This dream was NOT her reality. This was real; he was real; they were real. She had to come to terms with the fact that she had been fatally wounded, by her OWN partner, and if it wasn't for this merman finding and then rescuing her, she would have likely perished.
Yeah, that was definitely a very hard pill for the young cop to swallow.
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Author's Notes:
If any of these sound like your own writing or another you have read I apologize but I didn't copy anyone's work. This is entirely my own writing.