The Calling
The water had looked flat as a looking glass.
The storm began as a whispering in the air. A flash of silver touched the sky. Then a winnowing wind spawned and sighed, rippling the surface of the dead-calm sea.
Dark clouds obscured the moon and churned grimly. They coughed out great gouts of water as the turbulent, undulating ocean was painted silver by thunderheads. It casted shivers of light with a ghostly glow on the pear wood structure of the oldest active—and still the most notorious—pirate vessel that operated around the Fire Country.
The Akatsuki.
Its signature black sails rippled violently against the gale-force winds. Although usually rigged for a large fore-and-aft mainsail, it could easily be altered for various sail combination. The huge bowsprit also added more canvas for maneuverability. The rain whipped down like crystal nails on the deck, and streaky lightning emblazoned the sky, highlighting the scarlet clouds scattered amongst the dark cloth.
The craft suddenly roiled. Deidara teetered, trying to catch his balance but landed with a thud on his backside.
Tenten had no opportunity to catch herself before she toppled into Hidan. The pistol she held flew from her hand to land beyond reach and because he was braced against the wall, he was as steady as a rock, his arms strong as they came around her.
She cursed the heavy boarding ax and pike that were hooked through the thick belt at her waist, and the brass-barreled flintlock that stuck out of those baggy, too-large pants she stole.
"It looks like you've been disarmed," he said, grinning arrogantly. His voice was low, husky and his breath slithered like snakes across her face. "There's nowhere to run girlie—" her eyebrows rose, then wrinkled in pain as Tenten found herself being held tighter. The shark's tooth that threaded on a fishing line which served as her necklace dug into her skin. "—unless you plan on throwing yourself overboard."
She swallowed hard. Disappearing into the inky depths of those waters was the last thing on her mind, it was still too traumatized and fresh with the memory of those wide coral hallways, the long, narrow tunnels between floors—they had seemed so endless the last time she swam through the palace. Perhaps it was because it had been filled with dazed and wounded courtiers, some with slit throats and amputated tails. Perhaps it was the horrible sight that had greeted her at the far end of the hall.
Her mother, lying on the floor by her throne, thrashing her tail wildly—her scales like the bright, winking copper of new pennies, gleamed in the underwater light. Her eyes had rolled back in her head and froth flecked her lips. Her usually flawless olive-hued complexion was wan with impending death. The white sea-silk robe she wore—embroidered with gold thread, capiz shells, and pearls had been stained with blood where a poisoned arrow had pierced her chest.
She clawed at the monster above her but it was to no avail. Her strength had been sapped.
"There's no way to run," the creature had screeched.
His black hair fell down his scrawny shoulders. He had a sallow face pocked by burns from her mother's flame-magic, nostrils but no nose, a mouthful of sharp teeth and an impossibly long purple tongue. His small, brutal amber eyes were as transparent as jellyfish. Tenten had seen the network of veins running through them, pulsing with brown blood. Hard, bony grey plates, like the chitin of a crab, covered his body. He carried a double-headed ax, its blades curved like crescent moons. He rose it above her mother's half-dead body and—
Tenten's stomach squeezed with apprehension. A small shiver went through her even now as she pushed the memory to the farthest corner of her mind. She had been warned by Hyuuga-sama that, any contact with the ocean would not only reverse the spell he casted to give her human limbs, but it could also put her at the risk of being discovered by her enemies.
Looking around, she realized that it may not have been a wise decision to stow aboard the first strange structure that docked on the coast of the small island she had been seeking refuge on. Her presence went undetected by its three occupants for five entire days until a dark haired klutz with an eye-patch—whose name she learned was Tobi—stumbled upon her stealing bread from the cabin which served as a makeshift kitchen. And from there, well, she wished the rest had been history.
"Unhand me," she did not raise her voice; she did not have to. Her fury was evident in every line of her rigid body—in the dangerous currents that glittered in her eyes.
"Or what?" his hands rose to grip her shoulders, holding her firm when she tried to shrug him off.
His eyes lasered into her. They were rose-coloured and yet oddly intimidating—overpowering. Her mind was reeling. Out of all the insane things to do at the moment all she could do was stare at him.
Stare at six foot of lean packed male, sheathed in his flowing white shirt that must've seen better days. His unscarred cheek was bruised from the slap she gave him. He wore a gold ring through his left earlobe. She'd never known a man to wear an earring. It made him seem all the more wicked. Made her heart hammer all the harder. White hair immaculately cut and slicked back, it was the only neat thing about him. And a face—Tenten's stomach clenched—a face that widened her eyes involuntarily.
A strong blade of a nose, high cheekbones, steel-jaw and sculpted, sensual mouth. She gulped mentally. Then, with a jolt of effort, she dragged her mind away. Her tongue came out to lick her dry lips and she cleared her throat quietly before barking out, "Or I'll make you regret it—"
"Tough words, considering whose fucking ship you're on," he regarded her with an insolent grin. Those dark long-lashed eyes rested on her, and sucked hers into his pink gaze. For a blinding moment it felt intimate—shockingly, searingly intimate. As if there was no one else there at all. As if his eyes were branding her. "Pretty little things like yourself only serve one purpose on-board the Akatsuki."
Her breath caught audibly. Then her face contorted. She shuddered in horror, feeling her skin flush. "You filthy pirate scum!"
His mouth came down brutally to silence her. Tenten stood shocked into immobility. She could feel her chest was tight, her nerves taut. The hands gripping her shoulders pulled her close, crushing her breasts to his chest.
She felt suffocated. His mouth was bruising hers painfully and she hated it, hated the feel of his body pressed so close to hers. The fact that they were so similar in height brought something of his probing directly at the portal he sought, and she hated that most, for she was not ignorant of the ways between a human man and a woman. Her mother, had long ago explained all aspects of lovemaking to her, but this could not be called that, not when she felt only revulsion.
Of all creatures, humans were the most sickening.
She damned his brawny strength and broke his hold on her. Reaching down, she snatched the knife from inside her boot and had it at his throat before he realized. She took keen satisfaction in watching his smile dim.
Suddenly, a pistol was pressed against her temple. Deidara had apparently not only recovered from his spill but recovered the pistol as well. "Drop your weapon."
Fear rippled through her and she felt her heart crunch in her chest. When he switched the safety off his gun, Tenten's stomach hollowed. She had extensive enough knowledge on human weapons to know what that clicking sound meant. "Is this how you treat your guests?"
"You are not a guest," Hidan said, and there was something in his voice that crawled over her skin, "For all we know you could be a spy."
His eyes rested on her, and for a moment two spots of colour burned in her cheeks as her lips pressed together tightly.
The ship dipped again, and Tenten scurried forward. She heard the groaning as though the craft was protesting its treatment by the sea.
Hidan hissed.
To her horror, blood trailed down his throat. She'd accidentally cut him. "Oh God!"
"God can't save you now." Words seared from his mouth, twisted in fury, and his eyes darkened. "Throw the moocher overboard," The command grounded from him, enraged. "We haven't got enough rations to feed an extra mouth for the seven days that it'll take us to get to Konohagakure."
"What?" she blanched. Inwardly she was rummaging through files of memory to figure out why Konohagakure resonated so much with her. At long last she came to a recent log—a conversation with Hyuuga-sama. He said his nephew, Hyuuga Neji would be waiting for her there—said she'd be safe with him.
"What?" Hidan echoed sneeringly, his breath razored from him. "You fucking heard me. I don't know how you got onboard but I can tell you how you're getting off." He indicated with a long finger to the angry, dark tides.
Something quite different from shock at his callousness numbed her. Something that made her whole body—her whole being—quiveringly, shakingly aware of the tall, dark figure that dominated the deck—taking it over.
Her eyes were drawn helplessly, hopelessly, to his planed face, its features stark with fury. Even consumed with anger as he was, she could feel her senses leap at the sight of him. She didn't know why. Intrigue was not something she had ever felt towards a human being before.
"I'm sorry," she found herself apologizing.
"What the fuck are you sorry about?" Derision etched his face then he gave a harsh, vicious laugh. "Saying that won't change my mind," Contempt dripped from his voice, lacing the anger beneath with savagery. "Our captain won't take kindly to the presence of any foreign object on his ship that doesn't sparkle or shine either."
Tenten's face set. She shut her eyes. Negotiation was her best bet at staying alive. She knew from eavesdropping on previous conversations between him and his comrades that their voyage had not produced a single item of value. "If its gold you want, I can provide you with that."
He stilled. Then, as she watched him, feeling her heart pumping in her chest, another laugh broke from him. She could only stare. It was a harsh, mocking laugh.
His hands curved over her shoulders like talons of steel. "And where exactly are you hiding that gold?"
Her mouth thinned to a white line and she maintained a dignified silence. If she appeared too anxious to initiate a trade-off then he may call it a bluff.
He stared her. There was nothing in his eyes. Then, as if every word were costing him, he spoke. "Do I look like a fucking pushover to you—?" His voice broke off. A deep, ragged breath was inhaled. His eyes went down to the length of her body. "Exactly what kind of gold are you offering?" he intoned again, his voice stranger than ever.
Her throat closed over and all she managed was a feeble, "You swine!"
The ship lurched again and Tenten grabbed the table to steady herself and prevent her fall. It was bolted to the floor, unlike the chairs and barrels of gunpowder that scattered across the planked flooring. She watched in horror as huge swells crashed over the sides of the ship, knocking Tobi off his feet—well, his foot, considering that one leg was wooden. Deidara scrabbled to latch onto anything that would keep him anchored.
Tenten bolted inside, to higher ground, fearful of the water. She heard Hidan shouting the order to batten down and watched as Tobi began hammering closed hatches—as Deidara climbed the rigging, to secure the sails.
The ship heaved and tossed in the rising swell of the sea, the brine hissed and sissed, lashing in their faces, bringing fever in their eyes.
"Tobi thinks a storm is coming!"
"No fucking shit Sherlock!" Hidan growled sarcastically, rushing to grip the spinning-out-of-control tiller with his naked fingers. Lacerating rain stung his bare arms like ice burn and the sea throbbed grey with woe.
"Deidara-sempai, should we still throw the woman overboard?" Tobi asked loudly, above the rumble of thunder. His eyes flashed like dark lightning, in fact he sounded a little too thrill over the prospect. "Tobi thinks if we feed her to the sea, it won't eat the ship."
"Shut the fuck up and concentrate!" Hidan scowled. "Or I'll be feeding you to the sea!"
They could barely make out the path ahead, it was constantly being cloaked with each mountainous rise of waves that cause the timber planks of the Akatsuki to buckle and bulge; creak and shudder.
"I don't know what Captain was thinking, sending us out to sea in this piece of old junk." He rasped, tightening his grip on the horizontal bar fitted to the boat's rudder post—steering because their lives depended on it.
Twenty feet long with a top speed of over 10 knots, the Akatsuki could easily launch lightning-swift attacks, avoiding broadsides, and outrun pursuits but it couldn't weather a little bad weather. It was ridiculous, he found himself thinking as the boat bobbed like a cork upon the sea.
"Where's that fucking woman?" Hidan bit out, his salt-stung eyes were hard as they scanned the area. "If we're lucky she may have already been swept away—"
A wall of water suddenly reared up before the ship, it sent a pole crashing down onto the flooded deck.
"Fuck!"
The wind howled out their doom and Tenten couldn't help but think the lapping waves were really searching for her—like they had somehow sensed her presence and wanted to lure her to their master. The dark whispered to her. She felt it creeping closer, sliding along the surface of the sea in a fog. It hungered, licking along her skin. Cold, tempting kisses. Her death would feed it—could save three lives.
She took a heavy breath and unawaringly stepped down and out into the open. As if compelled, her arms lifted and her hair snapped out of the confines of its buns, flying wildly in the darkness that called upon her. She was immediately caught by the strong gale and smashed against the railing, the breath knocked out of her. She fell to her knees.
The water glowed where it surrounded her legs and the sea howled in response, the boat shuddered beneath her.
"What the fuck are you doing? Get back inside!" Hidan barked at her, snapping her out of her trance.
Struggling for breath, she glanced up and saw that he was still at the helm. The lightning flashed, outlining the concentration on his face. She looked in the direction he was gazing, and her stomach roiled as forcefully as the ocean.
Before he could even react to the morphing of her limps back into its beautiful copper tail with its soft coral pink and green glinted fins, the Akatsuki rose with the swell, inclining upwards to its destruction. It propelled up onto the lip and hovered there as if suspended in time.
A whirlpool gaped under the vessel with dire-white jaws. It roiled and spun, inviting them in. Then they plummeted down into its milky depth, swallowed whole in a final, terrible, squeak of timber.
The thunder seemed to rumble her name in triumph.
A/N: I know. I know. Why the fuck am I posting new garbage when I've yet to update all my other shit? I honestly can't even answer that. My muse is currently in a coma and the bitch refuses to wake up. Ugh! I've lost a considerable amount of interest in the Naruto fandom. Tenten is the only thing keeping my account alive.
Why the fuck am I writing supernatural shit? I am testing new waters...and drowning, because this was an epic fail. If at all you find this worthy of an update, leave me a review or follow :) The title is subjected to change because its sounds fucked (-_-)