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The concept of love was something that the people of the ocean were unfamiliar with. The ocean itself was cruel, cold, and unforgiving so it made sense for its inhabitants to share the same traits. At least the merfolk. The dolphins were definitely an exception.

Hinata was a stranger to love until Sasuke introduced her to it. Literally introduced her to what the word Love meant. It was a human word, different from their mermish language.

"It's like," he slid further up onto the shore, his legs dangling into the tide pool Hinata was still in. "When you just want to cherish something or someone so much you would do anything for it or them. For example, I love you."

Hinata wrinkled her nose. "You love me?" The raven hair boy nodded but let her think it out. "So... you want to... kiss me?"

"No," Sasuke laughed. "There are different kind of loves. Romantically or platonic, the love you feel to family. For you, I love you like my closest confidant and my best friend."

Hinata thought about it for a long moment. "Okay, so you love me like you love... Itachi?"

He let out a bit of laughter, something that Hinata found strange about her friend. "In a way, yes. I love him because he is my brother."

"So then I love you like I love... um... Hanabi or Neji?"

"Well do you love them? Or me for that matter?" Sasuke asked back. "Our kind, Hinata, are not familiar with many human emotions. I've read and researched about them for years now. Just because I say that I love you doesn't mean you have to reciprocate."

The bluenette pulled her hair over her shoulder revealing her chest (which is normal) and slumped her head onto the sand next to Sasuke's thigh. "But isn't love meant to be reciprocated, according to humans?"

"Again, yes, but just because it is meant to doesn't guarantee that it will be."

"Humans are much too complicated." She mused out in frustration of failing to grasp yet another human concept. "I am glad that our kind don't often feel such complicated emotions."

Sasuke was going to argue that they did feel human emotion constantly but they were taught to repress it at a young age. For merfolk life was easier this way. Be born and have an easy childhood to an awkward stage of growing your tail out in your teen years and then to being dutiful citizens of the ocean. You find someone that you feel connections to and may or may not start a family with them, simple. 

However, Sasuke was one of the few merfolk that didn't wish to live that way. He wanted love and heartbreak, confusion and excitement. He wanted to feel.

"Hinata," Sasuke mumbled as he slipped back into the water, navy tail replacing his legs. "I think I want to live on the island for awhile."

She blinked at him. "But, our kind that leave the ocean never come back. You will be killed."

Again, another misconception. Those who left found happiness and chose to stay rather than to come back to the cold sea. Sasuke didn't know what would happen if he chose to stay. He had many responsibilities in the ocean. He was the son of a respectable man in their colony and was expected to have a family with another respectable family. 

"I'll come back, I promise. And we will be what everyone wants us to be."

Hinata frowned at that. A family. Everyone wanted the handsome young son of Fugaku Uchiha and the beautiful eldest daughter of Hiashi Hyuga to be together so that they would one day be one of the head families in the Pacific Ocean. They were friends but Hinata felt a bit off about being wed to him, would prefer someone that she hadn't known since birth.

"We're only 16, Sasuke. We do not need to be wed until I am fully mature at 21 years." She said as they began to swim back to their home. A merfolk's twenty-first birthday is when they would be able to fully use their magic and be able to conceive children.

The water began to get cooler and their eyes began to glow and skin get slimy with protective coating. "When do you wish to leave?"

"Probably not anytime soon," he flicked her lavender tail with his own navy one. "You would miss me too much."

"I would miss you from time to time but that is only because there is barely anyone else our age in the village. You are my best friend." Hinata said before glancing at him from the side of her eye. 

Sasuke was the only other merperson who understood her struggle of being in the limelight. Both of them never understood the whole 'respected family' thing. It wasn't like Poseidon himself would come and congratulate the two on being respected.  

"Sasuke, for whatever it means, I do love you."

"I know," he replied cooly, Hinata rolling her eyes at him. He turned his gaze back down and bit his lip. And that's why I'm sorry for leaving you.

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The following month, Sasuke went missing in the middle of the night. Hinata wasn't too shocked to learn that he left. He had been talking more frequently about different places on the two islands they lived in between, in Korea and Japan (I know Korea is a peninsula but you know what I mean). He never said which he had a preference for. He talked about many places in Asia since that is the region they lived in and talked about places where the water was always hot. 

Sasuke purposely confused her so she would be unable to pinpoint where he was to his father.

"Hinata, you have to tell me where he is." Fugaku pleaded with her. Itachi stood at the side with his arms crossed over his chest and his mother, Mikoto swam nervously around the living area.

The bluenette sighed and rubbed her temples. "I have told you multiple times that I honestly do not know where he has gone. I wish that I did so I could be of more help."

"Leave her be, Fugaku," Hiashi, Hinata's father, said. "She would never withhold the truth from us. Sasuke's whereabouts are truly unknown." 

"Then we have to contact the relatives that the Lee family has in China. They will help to find Sasuke."

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A year had passed and there was still no news. Two years passed and they knew he had moved around Japan during the first year of his disappearance. Three years, four years, and nothing. 

Hinata knew that Sasuke was somewhere living happily since he was 20 by now and she was about to turn 21. She had begun to talk to another boy, Toneri, so that she could still be wed by her twenty-first birthday. He was nice but her father strongly disapproved since his family had only moved to their colony in the past year. 

During Sasuke's time away she had stolen his many books and learned many different human languages. English and Japanese were the only languages that Sasuke had begin to teach her but she learned the rest on her own. 

She hoped that Sasuke would come back if only to let everyone know that he was okay.

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Sasuke's twenty-first birthday had just passed and their Chinese connection was finally able to pinpoint which city he was living in. Konohagakure.

"I'll go," Hinata said once Itachi and Neji began to argue over who would find Sasuke and track him down. "I can speak Japanese."

And honestly, that was the only way she was able to convince either Fugaku and Hiashi.

It took a couple of weeks to prepare but with some old magic and plain old faith they were able to locate a perfectly secluded area in a park where Hinata could open a portal to come back into the ocean when she pleased. Only merfolk would transport through the pool of water and humans would just feel the magic in it. Neji tested it first and confirmed that no one was around for there to be too much trouble when Hinata would use it.

The night before she was set to head out into the human world, her mother pulled her aside.

"Hinata, please be careful. Humans are dangerous and there are people who live to track down mythical being such as ourselves. You must be wary of them." Hyori brushed her hair with a comb as she talked. "I've heard stories of humans keeping mermaids in cages and forcing them to perform."

The lavender eyed girl sighed and turned to face her mother. "I may look strange to many humans but my main goal is to find Sasuke. I will avoid anyone who has ill intentions."

Hyori hesitated before moving into a corner of the bedroom. She pulled something from a box before turning back. "I once visited Korea, when I was just fifteen. A woman found me on the shore and knew I was a mermaid for she was one herself." Hinata gazed at her mother, full of curiosity. "I was thankful because she gave me this, taught me that humans wear clothes."

She showed Hinata the material in her hands that had been protected with her mother's special magic. "It will be odd if you walk around nude as we do."

"Humans are odd." Hinata took the dress and put it next to her satchel that she would be taking. "I don't even know how to find one that will help me."

"Just focus your magic on finding someone who's heart is pure. I consider them to be powerful being."

Hinata nodded. "Summon a powerful human creature, understood."

Hyori laughed and kissed Hinata's cheek. "Just don't be closed off to feeling emotions."

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The next morning Hiashi and Fugaku went over everything with Hinata again.

"You don't have to come and check in all the time but keep us updated and we will give you as much guidance as we can. And if you need Neji or Itachi-"

"I won't. I know. Do not treat me as a child."'

Hiashi sighed and looked at Fugaku next to him. The brunet nodded and they both turned back to face Hinata. 

"You have until your birthday, December 27th. Once you come of full mer-maturity you will be wed to either Sasuke or that boy Toneri." Hiashi said. "I can't allow you to go on unwed, it's not safe in the ocean or the human world."

The girl frowned at hearing this so harshly. "But what if-"

"Hinata," Fugaku interjected. "Your father is right. Women in the human world face many more problems that here in the Ocean are obsolete. We have agreed that if you are unable to find Sasuke by your birthday that he deserves to stay in the human world. He fully knows that you and him are to be wed but we can't risk you be unwed because of my irresponsible son."

Hinata didn't even have a response. She looked at them and nodded before opening the portal. 

"Be safe." Hiashi said as she looked up at it, seeing the green of the trees above her. 

Hinata let out a breath she didn't know she was holding before swimming up and vanishing into the portal. She continued to swim upwards until she hit the air and climbed onto the grass next to her. She looked around before feeling a chill and quickly putting on the dress her mother gave her.

This was it.

it's been 89 years... 👁👄👁
college makes me want to be ✨unalive✨ so ive decided to put a pin in uni lol

BUT this was so much fun to write omg. Hopefully this chapter cleared things up about Hinata and Sasuke and was able to open your views on them. And I told y'all susky would be a softie >:)

also i orginally planned for hina + susky to be aliens but decided on changing course to merfolk bc who doesnt luv mermaids. so if there is reference to 'earthings' or stuff like that in previous chapters just disregard it lol. 

thank you everyone!

Super Unedited btw.