Naruto

It's been eleven years since I've seen my friend. I'm eighteen now. I have no idea how old he is. I guess he's eighteen as well, we did look to be about the same age the last time I saw him but I could be wrong.

I miss him. I never learned his name or anything about him but that's not stopping me from missing him. I miss him a lot. I was only a kid when we first met and we had only spent a day together but I missed his company a lot.

I don't know what's wrong with me. I know it sounds weird but I can't help how I feel. I also can't talk to my siblings about it either. I don't want to bother Deidara with any of this and Ino's just going to make fun of me for it like she always does.

If I had to guess I think it's because I don't want him to be alone anymore. When I had asked him to be my friend he looked at me shocked. I don't know if he has any friends or not but the look in his eyes told me he wasn't expecting me to ask him that.

I didn't like it. That look didn't suit him at all. I want his eyes to be filled with nothing but happiness and joy. I also want to tell him my secret. I thought to myself as I combed my tails to get rid of the knots in them from sleeping last night.

Would you still want to be my friend if you knew what I really was or would you hate me?

My phone rang and I picked it up recognizing the ringtone I had for him.

Naru: Hey Garra, what's up?

Gaara: Nothing much. Just calling to see if you wanna hang out.

Naru: Sure thing, just give me a second to get dressed.

Gaara: Alright. I'll meet you at the water fountain

Naru: Sounds good

I hung up and started to get ready. I made my way to my closet and made my tails shrink a little so they would fit into the pair of shorts I put on. I grabbed a white short-sleeve that went along with it and finished the look off by tying a red flannel shirt around my waist.

Besides the black-haired boy, Gaara was the only friend I had. We tell each other everything but he doesn't know about my secret. I have to be careful who I tell my secret to. It's not because I don't trust Gaara, I trust him a lot and love him like a brother but I have to be careful because me telling my secret could put Deidara and Ino at risk.

I would hate for that to happen.

The two of us meet at the water fountain that was located in the center of town. His dark red hair looked a shade lighter as the warm sun shined down on him. He put his phone away the second he realized I was walking over to him and came giving me a big hug. I hugged him back right away.

"Hey Naruto". "Hey Gaara". We smiled at each other then took off walking next to each other. He walked with his hands in his pockets while I walked with my hands free. "What's up"? I said as we walked along the side walk.

I didn't like there to be to much silence when i was with someone. I couldn't tell if they just didn't have anything to say or was getting tired with my company. I know that's silly since we just started to hang out but still.

"What do you think about mermaids"? "That's a random ass topic don't you think"? I asked with a raised eyebrow. "Not really. You like mythical creatures so I thought I'd bring it up". He said smiling.

"I see. Well I think their absolutely beautiful creatures. Their tails are beautiful and they have amazing singing voices". "Don't they use that singing ability to lure people over to them so they can kill them"?

"Your confusing them with sirens. Both have the ability to sing but the sirens are the ones who would lure fishermen to their deaths, the mermaids and mermen don't". "How can you tell the difference"? "You can't. Sirens have sharp teeth but they are extremely good at hiding them so it's hard to tell the difference. Not all sirens are evil though".

"You talk about them as if you know them personally". I laughed. "There's a possibility they might actually be real you know".

Of course they are. I'm a kitsune after all

"Really? What makes you think that"? "Singing can be heard coming from the ocean at night. The song the person is a singing is always sad never happy". "Sad"? "Yeah, it's like he or she is mourning someone close to them or missing someone".

"Has anyone seen what they look like"? "Noone has seen their face but they have black hair that's always wet like they had been swimming in the ocean for a while and just came back above shore". "I see. What do you think about them"?

"Their pretty but I can't understand how their intimate with each other or how they give birth". "Does your mind ever stay out of the gutter"? I asked annoyed. "It's a genuine question". I rolled my eyes.

Gaara and I had spent the whole day together talking and hanging out. I usually headed straight home after our hangout but I didn't this time. Instead I continued to walk by myself. It was nighttime now. Stars were decorating the sky as the street lights light up the sidewalks.

It was quiet out. Most if not everyone was inside. Their were a few people walking about but not many. I didn't mind walking alone at night. It gave me the opportunity to think about whatever I needed to.
I thought back to the conversation I had with Gaara and chuckled.

If only you knew my friend.

I continued to walk aimlessly until I realized I was approaching the beach. I took out my phone and saw that it was getting close to midnight. I put it back in my pocket and started my walk home when I heard someone singing.

It was coming from the shore but thanks to my ears I was able to hear them. It was a male voice and from the sound out it I could tell he felt alone. I turned back around and headed for the beach.

I walked slowly making sure he didn't hear me, took off my sanddles and started walking barefoot in the sand. I could feel the tiny grains of sand getting between my toes with each step I took.

His back was turned to me but i immediately recognized his hair. It was longer now stopping at his shoulders. The moonlight shined down on him making his skin glow and his hair shine brighter.
I smiled as I listened to him sing and couldn't help but feel comfort in it.

Is it because you missed me as much as I missed you?

As much as I enjoyed his voice I couldn't stand it any longer. I had to see what he looked like now.

"Is it really you"?

His body jerked a little from being startled but he didn't run thankfully. Instead he turned around and looked at me. Just as I thought his face and eyes looked beautiful in the moonlight. His eyes shined along with the stars and he seemed content somehow. I noticed he was holding a black ring in his hand but didn't pay it any mind right now.

"I'm guessing you can talk afterall". I said smiling as I sat down in the sand next to him. He turned around facing me but still kept his lower half in the ocean.

"Can you please tell me your name now"?

"Sasuke Uchiha".

"Sasuke". I said trying his name out for the first time. After all these years I still felt that pull towards him.

"A little late for a swim don't you think"? I asked smiling. "Eh, I'm used to it". He said smiling. Because it's your home, isn't". He continued to smile and lifted his tail out of the water. The moonlight shined down on it revealing it's dark blue color but the water that was still on it made the whole thing sparkle.

"I'm starting to understand why you didn't talk to me the first time we met". He let out a soft chuckle, folded his arms together on the sand, placed his chin on them and looked at me. "Depends on how much you know about merpeople".

I sat cross legged infront of him and gave him the same explanation I gave Gaara a few hours ago. "You sure know a lot about us". "I dabble". I said smiling but soon dropped it.

"What happened Sasuke"? He looked at me sadly then pulled himself up a little to sit on the sand.

"I had gotten sick after eating the chili cheese dog you bought me. I had never had human food before that day so normally it didn't agree with my stomach and made me sick. I had to stay in bed a whole week".

"After that"? "I did come back to the surface but I made sure you didn't see me". He said looking down. "Why's that's"? "I was afraid". "Of what"? "Don't act like you don't feel it".

"I do but I don't see how's that a problem". "Your a human, I'm not". "I'm not human actually". I pulled my shorts down a little to let my tails out and made my fox ears reappear on the top of my head.

"A kitsune huh". He said smiling. "Problem fixed"? "No but we'll worry about that later". He took me by the hand, pulled me closer to him and slid the ring he was holding onto my finger.

"Sasuke".

"I thought about you as soon as I saw it. Please, I want you to have it". "I'll never take it off". I smiled at him, pecked his lips and placed my head on his shoulder. He placed his arm around me and we listened to the sound of the ocean together.

Word Count. 1736