A/N: At first I thought about putting Naruto as the merperson, but then I just really like Hinata as the mermaid in these aus so sorry. And this turned out longer cuz I've always wanted to write a prompt like this for naruhina so yeh. Also this is my first story that I'm posting on so bear with me here. Sooooo long ugh *AND IM CURRENTLY OBSESSED WITH TWO FAIRY TAIL OPENING SONGS SO I JUST HAD TO GET ONE OF THE SONGS LYRICS IN THIS OK SO YEA

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He strived for this. Strived to be in the open ocean, with the smell of salt water lingering around his nose, and the constant rocky ship. Yes he strived for this, he wanted this.

But this didn't mean that he wanted to be a fisherman, even though the description fit that too. He was striving to be captain of the most famous pirate group. Their ship was called "Konoha." But alas, he was stuck with being a poor fisherman at the time. He completely despised the job, but for the time being, it was the only thing he could do.

But one day, he started looking forward to coming to his job.

The day had started with a terrible start. He was supposed to be at the dock at 7 AM sharp. He woke up late and got a huge lecture from the boss. Of course he only half listened to it, since most of it was the usual threats that the man threw out, that he would fire him and what not.

After the lecture, he heard the usual teasing from the crew, as they were getting ready to leave the dock. They would tease him about his dream of being the captain of Konoha. He would then defend himself and grumble under his breath as he went to help somewhere else.

He was hauling a few crates when he overheard a conversation between two of his crew-mates. He crouched down and hid behind a barrel as he was suddenly interested when he heard the word "Konoha" being thrown around in their conversation.

"Did you hear that rumor about the pirates of Konoha?"

"Yea, but I don't believe it. Why would anyone take in and help merpeople? They're not human."

"Well, I wouldn't put it past them. They've done some weird stuff in the past. They're just too soft; I still don't understand how they're one of the strongest."

The other man agreed and they both started talking about something else that didn't interest Naruto. His nails were now digging into the skin of his palm as he clenched his fists, their words striking a cord in him. He wouldn't take anyone saying anything against Konoha or merpeople.

So that's how he had ended up with bruises. He picked a fight with the men and he smirked at how he had definitely left a few bruises on them too.

He was very defensive when it came to both.

He heard about Konoha when he was a kid. They were kind, and yet strong, which was something that many people lacked. So he had decided at a young age to try to join them.

Merpeople weren't monsters. He knew because one saved his life in his childhood. He was about eight years old when they saved him. Or should he say she.

Flashback

He was starving. No one would give him food, or even money. He was just walking around the streets, in only his scraps of clothing, when he went to the port. He thought he might as well catch his own food. He didn't know how to swim yet, but he figured it should be easy enough for him to figure out.

He turned out to be wrong. The water was filling into his lungs and his consciousness was slipping. He tried to scream for help, but even more water crept into his mouth. He was flailing his arms around, trying to stay afloat but to no avail. He started sinking into the water lower, lower, and lower… Before he lost consciousness he felt small arms wrap around him.

When he finally regained consciousness, he could hear a small voice whispering something in his ear, and the smell of something that was cooking, or already was cooked.

Its okay, I'll shout a thousand times
I believe that your tomorrow will shine
All people who fulfill their dreams
Has only one thing in common
"Never give up" just that, so don't lose!

At times when you feel like being crushed in the forward wind
Grip this hand, try to take a chance
you're not alone anymore

Go on, go on, go forth, go forth
Don't give up the dreams you lived!
Yes, don't cry! Move on, my way,
Right now, the light's shining on you*

Correction: singing in an angelic voice into his ear. It almost lulled him to sleep, but he wanted to know who this person was. His eyes slowly fluttered open, and he heard a small gasp and a Splash! of water. He was lying down on the cold ground, very close to the edge of the dock.

He looked towards the edge of the dock, where he found a half of a little girl's face peeking at him, and the other half hidden behind the edge. Her small and, seemingly, soft hands were holding onto the edge. Curious, fearful, and gentle lavender pupil-less eyes looked back at him. She had shiny and sleek midnight hair that shined lavender in the moonlight, and was cut short with front bangs. He could see a little of the lavender top she was wearing.

"Why… Why are you in the water?" He rasped. He was curious and he wasn't really smart enough to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

"U-um… I'm a mermaid…" She shyly spoke as her tail flicked up, to show him. He saw a glance of it, but that glance was enough for him to see the lavender and blue scales.

He immediately got up and got close to her, looking at her with an awestruck face, his eyes shining. "Wow! Really?! That's so cool -ttebayo!"

She blushed and shyly looked at him and cast her gaze downward for a while, and then looked back at him through her eyelashes. "You-you're not scared?"

"Of course not! Why would I be?" He looked at her, as if she just said something ridiculous, which to him, she did.

She was about to respond when she heard his stomach growl. She giggled as he blushed in embarrassment.

Then out of nowhere, she offered him a thoroughly cooked fish.

"I cooked it for you, since I know that you don't eat it raw." She murmured and smiled gently.

His breath hitched at seeing her smile and he didn't know why but his heart was warming up. What he smelled when he woke up was the fish she cooked. He took it out of her offered hand, thanked her, and hungrily ate the fish. She looked on, surprised that someone can eat at such a fast rate.

"You have more by any chance?" He sheepishly said to her.

She smiled brightly at him and took more out. He could only look in awe, and then thanked her again.

"By the way," he started, in between mouthfuls, "how did you know I was hungry beforehand?"

She blushed, embarrassed that she was caught. She thought that he wouldn't notice. "Ah well, I was um watching you when you came here. I didn't understand why you jumped in, but I saw that you were drowning so I saved you. And I heard your stomach grumble while you were still unconscious."

He stopped eating and looked at her in shock. "You saved me?"

"Yes, but really it's no bi-" she was cut off when he had suddenly embraced her. "Thank you," he mumbled into her ear. She squeaked out a 'you're welcome' as her whole face turned red. He finally let go of her, much to her disappointment, and continued eating. The girl rested her head on her crossed arms, as she watched him closely, with a smile gracing her lips.

After he finished eating she said that she had to leave because her father would scold her if he finds out she's out here late at night.

Before she left she said to him, "Remember those words I spoke in your ear whenever you feel down, whenever life is troubling you, just keep on going, and never give up." Her face as she said those words, her smile, was forever engraved in his memories.

And then she left, leaving him stunned after hearing her words. He couldn't help but notice that her tail was changing colors, as she swam away. The cerulean scales were now changing into orange for some reason. He didn't think much of it though.

Flashback End

After that, he took her lyrics to heart, always believing in them.

"Naruto!"

He heard his boss call his name, probably for another lecture, and got up and went to where he heard the voice come from.

"We're about to throw in the fish net, so go help them like you're supposed to do!"

"Yes sir!"

When he got to his destination, they were already reeling in the fish net. As the fish started to appear, he noticed something out of the ordinary. There was an unconscious mermaid caught in the fish net. He heard a collective gasp coming from the other men as they reeled her in. She had long midnight hair that was up to her waist and shined lavender in the sunlight. Her tail was a beautiful combination of orange and purple scales. She seemed to have a gash, that was bleeding, that started underneath her breast and went down to her hip.

"What should we do?" one of them asked the boss.

"Just kill her," he responded, in disgust. "Uzumaki, you deal with it, or else you're fired."

His eyes widened at what he said. "You can't just kill her! She hasn't done anything to harm you!" he retorted.

"I don't care. Just deal with it."

He clenched his fists and closed his eyes to think through his plan. He opened his eyes again after a while and went up to his boss.

And punched him.

He ran to the fish net, and cut it open to get to the mermaid. And before anyone could react he took her in his arms and jumped into the ocean. He swam as fast as he could with her still in tow, hearing their distant screams for him to "come back or else!"

After a while he saw a ship come up. A bit too close for comfort.

No, wait, it was coming towards them.

He was stuck there frozen, not knowing what to do next. As the ship came closer, he read the name that was embroidered in fancy cursive letters.

Konoha.

"Hey, what did you do to Hinata?"

The ship was right in front of him now, and he was facing the side of it. A brunette with curly hair and maroon eyes was standing on the edge and pointing a gun at him.

"Who?"

"Don't make me pull this trigger boy. Of course I'm talking about the mermaid that you're carrying."

"Oh! That's her name," he mumbled under his breath. But then he remembered what the woman said and his eyes widened. "I didn't do anything, I swear! I worked as a fisherman and she ended up in the net. My boss told me to kill her, but I punched him and ran away with her. Or should I say swam…Either way, I didn't do it, we found her wounded."

"I see then… Thank you for saving her from those monsters that wanted to kill her. Hey help me reel 'em in!" She yelled to the people around her on the ship. She looked back at Naruto and smiled at him as she said, "By the way, I'm Kurenai Yuhi." He could only sweat drop and smile back.

Apparently the rumors were true. Konoha associates with merpeople and helps them. Kurenai was like a mother to Hinata, so she was very overprotective with her. Well, it seemed like everyone that he saw was overprotective with her.

Kurenai treated her wounds with ease, but she was called by the captain, Tsunade, to get some medicine. So she left her in his care, and now he was watching her.

As he watched her sleep in the kiddie pool, with water filled in it of course, he couldn't help but feel as if he had seen her before.

His eyes flickered to her tail and his eyes widened at what he saw. He didn't pay much attention before because of the adrenaline pumping through his veins, but now he remembered. Her tail, the color, it looked like the same one of the girl that saved him when he was younger. Well, when it started changing colors as she left. It was lavender and orange. But that could be any mermaid with the same colors, right?

He casted his gaze on her hair and he couldn't help but compare it to the other mermaid he had met. It was the same color that the girl had… And she even had the front bangs like her… He sighed, if only he could see her eyes but she was still unconscious. He decided to put his theory at rest for now, or at least until she's conscious so he can see her eyes.

"Hey you pervert, stop ogling her already."

He looked up and saw a pink haired girl walked in. Her hair was cut up to her shoulders and her emerald eyes were ablaze with rage.

"I'm not! I swear I wasn't looking at her like that…! Although, yea she is pretty and curvy but I swear I wasn't looking at her like that, I was just ummm… Observing her!" He explained, trying to get the right word and not make his situation worse.

"Observing? Pretty and curvy? That's it, I've heard enough. There won't be any perverts on this ship on my watch, even if you saved Hinata!" She cracked her knuckles, ready to pummel him. Naruto could only shield his face as she came in closer, her fist readied to hit him.

"Sakura, please don't hurt him," a soft voice called out to the pink haired girl.

Naruto peeked out from his arms that were shielding his face, and saw that the mysterious mermaid that he had saved had woken up.

His breath hitched as he saw her eyes, and his heartbeat sped up. They were lavender and with no pupils… Just like the girl that he met when he was younger. They held so many emotions that time, and they still did.

"Hmph, well it's not really my fault Hinata. He was looking at you like a pervert would, and you know how I can't stand perverts at all," she defended herself.

"Sakura… It's him…" she breathed out.

Sakura first gave her a confused look but then realization dawned at her and she gave Naruto a skeptical look. "Are you sure, Hinata…? Man I can't believe your soulmate is a pervert then…"

"Hey, for the last time, I'm not a pervert! And what do you mean when you said that I'm her soulmate huh?!"

"Yea, yea, whatever… Well Hinata, I hate to leave you with him, but I think you can be the only one explaining this to him. Just scream if he gets too close for comfort. I'll be there to kick his ass," the last part was said for him and he could only gulp as she cracked her knuckles, gave him a threating glare, and then left.

"Umm… Well… Where do I start…?" Hinata started. She closed her eyes and took in a huge breath of air. She opened her eyes again and started again, "A mermaid has a soulmate. When they meet their soulmate, the color of their tail, changes into the primary colors of the two. Mine is lavender. Before I met you, it was lavender and blue. But when I met you, when we were younger, the blue was replaced with orange scales. So, I don't really want to freak you out, but… You are my soulmate…"

Naruto was silent. Many things were racing around his head, but one thing was certain. Her tail had changed colors because she had met him, her soulmate. But it didn't make any sense, he wasn't a mermaid.

"So you remember us meeting huh… But, how is that possible? I'm not… We're not the same…"

"That's what I kept on thinking, in denial, when I found out but in the end I did feel as if I felt something for you when I first saw you. My heart kept on racing when we met, and whenever I thought of you. I learned to accept it… But if I were honest… I would've fallen in love with you even if you weren't my soulmate, which I did. It may sound cliché, but I couldn't really stop my heart from beating so fast and warming up when we first met and I did not even know that you were my soulmate at that time. I know this might be too much for you to take in, so it's ok. I just want to try this out for now," she finished with a gentle smile on her face and his heart started racing.

"Wait, so you wanna… start out slow? Like actual, ya know… Falling in love?" he asked.

Hinata giggled and she nodded her head.

"Well… I'm okay with that. But not because of this soulmate thing, but because I want to try this out with you. I want to fall in love with you. I already feel something for you, but I don't really believe in love at first sight, so I want to get to know more about you and fall in love."

Naruto noticed that Hinata was now in tears. He panicked and said, "Hey, uh wait, did I say something wrong? If I did, then I'm so sorry, I swear to God, I didn't mean to!"

Hinata wiped her tears away and looked at him. There was something in her eyes, an emotion that he couldn't quite name, that made him weak in the knees.

"No, it's tears of joy, silly."

"Oh."

"Thank you, thank you so much, Naruto."

"Don't thank me. Even if I didn't know about this soulmates thing, I would've still wanted to be with you." He had a feeling that it really wouldn't take him that long to fall in love with this girl.

And they both hopelessly smiled at the other.

.

.

Yep, Naruto definitely looked forward to coming to his job at Konoha now.