The Proposal
They trudged through the sand, with clothes heavy and clingy, eyes irritated, wet and utterly shipwrecked somewhere in the Caribbeans, on an unknown island while in the middle of fucking nowhere, surrounded by only water.
To be honest, Sasuke growled, it was pure luck that they, at least, were close enough to shore. Well, close enough to get there before anyone drowned—which idiot thought to be a sailor without knowing how to swim? Yes, one of them was named Naruto. And there were other five in his crew, who forgot to inform him about that tiny bit of inability of theirs.
At least, all of his crew survived.
Now, the long-collected chests, full of ransom money, gold, jewels, expensive fabrics and endless bottle of rum, were a different deal entirely.
They had lost them all.
It laid now at the bottom of the sea, within the deep, deep belly of his beloved ship, the Revenge, never to be seen again by human eyes.
Just. Great.
At least the others hadn't yet realized it, Sasuke groused, while taking down his worn, leather boots, enjoying the feeling of his toes sinking in the warm sand.
He hastily threw his wet, weighty cloak down as well, hating the feeling of his clothes clinging to his skin. Were he alone, he would have got naked without a second thought.
"Thank god we survived," slurred the slightly still sloshed Kiba, who had been drunk the past few days and now laid on the sand, much like in the manners of a satisfied star-fish, breathing heavily from the forced swimming lesson as he couldn't get on their only remaining boat. There was something good at the disaster they just survived, as their misfortunate did what Sasuke was unable to do for days on: it sobered Kiba up. "Shoulda' get a Bible after this."
Sasuke just rolled his eyes. It was a well-known fact that his crew-mate couldn't even read.
"Captain?" Came the agitated, therefore slightly off-putting voice of Naruto from his left. He was animatedly gesturing towards the sea, sharing something utterly ridiculous and preposterous with his men, no doubt. "Watch this!"
His eyes flickered to the surface of the water as it peacefully swayed their only boat, calm and peaceful. There was nothing there, the blue, blue waves only glimmered in the sunlight.
"What?" he questioned tiredly. This day was getting entirely too long, and according to the exquisite pocket watch he had stolen from his father before leaving for the sea, it wasn't even midday.
"Mermaid," Naruto said slowly, his eyes comically widening. He looked more like a maniac than a rough pirate with the grime of bloody raids and his heavy cloak removed.
"You have swallowed too much water," he dismissed easily and turned around to walk away. He needed to check on the others that were still unconscious from the shock of a near-death experience, but—
"You are quite headstrong, aren't you, Captain?" Asked a gentle, cheeky voice with chuckles just as light as the ocean breeze itself and Sasuke whipped back, coming face to face with a mermaid proudly perched on a nearby rock, full of sweet promises and derailed enchantment.
She was an ethereal beauty, with coral-colored hair braided intricately, shaped as a crown on the top of her head, with many, many pearls adorning it. The other half of her locks hanged down well to her navel. Then—as the greedy pirate he was—he noticed the jewels on her, several earrings, maybe eight pairs in her ears, necklaces that piled on her body, acting also as a bodice, shielding her skin from the eyes of his hungry men, and there were armbands. Oh, the armbands! They were running from her wrist to nearly her shoulders, and all the rings she had! Several of them gold maybe with gemstones, perhaps three or more on each of her dainty, little fingers.
It was clear she wore her riches on her body.
The seductress even had long chains of pearls curled around her waist, earrings pierced in between her luminous, turquoise scales, taunting him with their impossibly high prices. And then, Sasuke realized how enormous her tail truly was, the end of it twirling into two fins, that were in itself reaching the width of their single, remaining boat.
Then, the mysterious creature curled her vast lips into a wanton smile like she had just snatched the last bottle of rum.
Still, Sasuke wasn't convinced; he was sure her presence was nothing but a bad omen to the fate of his crew. So, he raised his voice, clear and crisp, "What do you want?"
He conveniently ignored the fact that he had never seen a mermaid before, he always questioned the tales his crew oftentimes gossiped about. Even now, Sasuke was more concerned about Revenge being lost with all their treasures piled inside it than he ever could be about a mermaid flaunting herself to his crew.
That woman didn't know what she got herself into for sure—his boys hadn't been to a brothel for three months.
"You," she answered swiftly with a greedy smile of her own, her emerald eyes never wavering from his.
Sasuke—ignoring the howls of laughters from his still wet and exhausted crew—just narrowed his eyes at her, measuring up the danger she could possess.
The mermaid was close enough to their boat, and he was sure that one flick of that enormous tail could potentially damage it enough that they were unable to continue their journey back to Jamaica for sure.
And she seemed intelligent—he wondered if she were clever enough to also know that she held their lives in her dainty, little hands.
Studying that wicked smile of hers, Sasuke was sure the woman knew it. And she also knew that he knew it, too. He needed to thread carefully, be especially mindful of her, more than he ever would be in the presence of any other woman.
"Why me?" He inquired in a measured voice, cautious of his actions, only taking a single step toward her, his toes caressed by the waves of the sea. Pulling their single boat to the side, he subtly signed to his boys to remove it from the mermaid's vicinity.
As the boys took even a single step, the mermaid laughed freely, with head thrown back and several of her jewels jingling.
She laid her enormous tail in their only remaining boat, making it impossible for his men to move it away from her and her threatening presence. Now, even the others started to realize that the fish-tailed seductress had depth to herself. She wasn't only there for their entertainment.
She knew what he was trying to do. That clever sea demon.
"Why not you? You seem interesting enough, intelligent enough compared to other men, Captain," she assessed and flicked a bit of water on him with the help of her dainty, little hands. Thanks to that single move, Sasuke noticed the sharpened claws on it, and he kept that detail about her just as sharp in his mind.
It was obvious she was just playing with them, dragging the honeyed bait in front of their eyes, manipulating them into thinking that she was innocent, unassuming and the sweetest of all women.
"Even now, you know exactly what I am doing. And that's rare," and with that, she tittered and right out grinned at him, the sight of fangs in her mouth did nothing to leave Sasuke's mind at peace either.
"What. Do. You. Want?" He seethed once more, from between his teeth pressed so tightly together that his jaw hurt from the pressure.
She casually waved her jewel-laden hand at him, the glinting of gold taunting him
"Only a good talk with a respectable man," she sighed wistfully and then, simply rolled into their boat, his men jumping out of the way as the boat gently rocked from the added weight of the mermaid. She crawled at the top of it, getting closer to Sasuke, her hypnotizing, emerald eyes never leaving his. "That could last for an eternity."
She leaned well into his personal space, but Sasuke didn't even flinch away as he willed himself not to. He was too busy with playing pretend, keeping a straight face and being fearless—like the pirate Captain he was said to be—and with that, effectively grounding his distraught crew.
"I urge you to keep looking for your respectable man elsewhere," he quietly informed her and as an answer, she only leaned in closer, her eyelashes lazily fluttering up at his stoic face. "There's none on this shore"
Her small, delicate but strong hand found their way to his belt and she easily pulled him closer to her, her lips nearly touching his ear. Sasuke was cruelly reminded of the existence of her fangs as she playfully nipped on his earlobe, gentle as to not tear a bite from it, but forceful enough to make it sting.
"And I would urge you to tell your mean to lower their guns. I don't appreciate surprises. And neither do my sisters," and she pointedly looked towards the vast sea, with the promise of several more menacing sea monsters and a misfortunate fate of his crew.
He turned around, aware of her nimble fingers still clutching on his belt and within reach of his preferred sword and pistol.
"Leave it," he told his men, and their shoulders immediately slumped a bit, but they still remained terribly tense. It was not everyday they saw their Captain being held hostage. Especially not by a woman that seemed to initially not possess a thread of danger. She was charming, playful and innocent at first sight.
Then, the mysterious creature sighed in his ear and continued on with her dictatorship, "Give me your shirt." Then, her claws continued their assault with stroking the outlines of his abdomen muscles, making them twitch cruelly from her errant, cautious touches.
"Why?" Was the only thing he asked, feeling the edge of the boat push against his back-bone, trying to get away from her her sweet strokes.
"When I completely dry, I will turn to human," she muttered and Sasuke wondered why she was sharing this peculiar information with him. It was obvious, that they could take advantage of her weakness. If he delayed the creature long enough… "I have no doubts about what dangerous waters your thoughts are threading through, Captain, but remember, my sisters are at sea, and they are hungry. Even if you manage to kill me, you will die of starvation in this very wasteland… or as the victims of several of my sisters. As the Captain of Revenge, I suspect you are familiar with the feelings they would have, were my death to happen by your hands."
Then, he felt the sting of claws in his back, her fingers playing with the waistband of his ragged trousers, and Sasuke's back prickled with fear of the creature, mysterious and motivated, sharing secrets while telling of nothing specific at the same time.
"I'll give my shirt up," was what he said in the end.
But a mermaid didn't let him go. With her unoccupied hand, she helped him get out of the ragged and dirty piece of clothing and then, made him help her dress. His hands brushed against the jewels she wore as clothing and he realized he probably never ever seen that vast collection of accessories, even counting what his mother possessed.
During all this, his men watched attentively, looking for a sign of ill-intent from the mermaid or for signs from their Captain to determine the action route they would need to take to stage their escape. Sasuke held eye-contact with his first mate, Shikamaru. Now, even the lazy genius was attentive and agitated beyond beliefs.
Then, out of the blue, she started humming.
He was not deaf to the legends, the tales circulating on waters. Ever hear an alluring lullaby at sea? Get away!—was the rule that every men learned when constantly surrounded by a raging graveyard of both ships and men.
His hands shook as he waited in the devastating silence to pass, to something to happen. It was only the sea demon's charming voice humming in his ear and Sasuke swore he couldn't even hear the crashing waves nearby, neither did he his own heart-race that made his body tremble with nerves.
Then, Sasuke asked, loud and clear, hoping that he could stop trouble before it escalated, "Why are you doing this?" He hoped she would answer just as loud.
The mermaid chuckled, finally halting with the melody that promised death and continued to whisper in his ear, aware of his cunning battle tactics and artfully rebuffing it, "I didn't lie when I said I wanted you, you know," she tittered at that, her lips touching his neck, leaving there soft and wet, salty kisses. "Mermaids have partners in life, as it is. But the only ones we can have are the ones who have given their souls to the Oceans. And mother has given you as my rightful husband, Captain of Revenge, son of the noble house from the East, Uchiha Sasuke."
She wasn't only dangerous, she was also insane, Sasuke thought, resisting firmly to her charms. To her soft lips, nimble hands adorned with claws that ran around his naked chest and her jewel-covered chest that pushed against his shoulders.
"Would you accept me?" She inquired softly, her tongue running up from his collar-bone to his ears, leaving a wet trail behind. His skin prickled at the sensation.
"My men will leave," he bargained with thoughts as clear as he could manage, speaking once again as loud as he could. He watched several eyes widen at the same moment and Sasuke resisted a tired sigh. "Unharmed," was what he added to his condition.
"That's all?" The deranged creature asked calmly, for the first time, without the honeyed menace that always seemed to hide in her cheeky voice.
"That is my only wish," he nodded firmly and promptly and the mermaid let go.
"Turn around," was what she added with a shrug and the ever so stubborn Captain obliged.
He saw three more of the sea demons, pushing forward one more of their boats, saved and piled with the treasures of Revenge, money, gold, luxuries and several bottles of rum. His eyes widened.
"What are you doing?" He hissed, leaning in towards her, his nose nearly touching hers and his anger escalating from the firm grip he had thought he had over it. He feared for another little game of hers, maybe a trap, this time.
"It's an exchange, only, fear not. I'm buying you from them," she determined, and she waved her hand animatedly towards the new boat that no one dared to approach yet, even with the other three mermaids' absence. "After all, we are playing fair. I gave them a chance at escape and riches, to continue their shady business and leading that terrible life without your guidance, Captain."
Then, she turned towards his men, "Leave, gentlemen," she commanded much like in the manner of the queen herself, urging his men to abandon their Captain, remaining hostage to a sea monster. Even if pirates, his men still had loyalty in their bones to their Captain, and they were reluctant to accept the offer of freedom from the mouth of someone as cryptic as the tailed beast.
"Or would you prefer to be eaten by my sisters?" She inquired politely, the dangerous edge coming back to her sweet, sweet voice. It was a clear sign that she wanted them gone, fast.
"Captain?" Shikamaru asked cautiously and he could see the dubious faces of the others. Naruto seemed shaken, were it not for the threatening figure of the mermaid looming behind him, he would have attacked him with a hug by now, no doubt.
Sasuke nodded firmly.
The mermaid promptly commanded him to lower her on the ground so that his men can use the boat to escape, and he obliged easily. Though, she didn't let go of him, even when he lowered her to the sand, she hugged one of his legs to her chest, her hands curling around his form, lest he ran with his men.
He was no idiot. He didn't.
And then, his men started clambering into their boats, turning around and watching him with sad eyes, unable to do anything as the mermaid continued her tyranny. Naruto was the last one who stayed ashore, his eyes angrily narrowed at the cryptic creature innocently sitting by Sasuke's legs.
"Tell me your name," he commanded and Sasuke stood, helpless to prevent the conversation and the animosity between the two. He didn't even know if he truly wanted to prevent it, that mangled his mind was with his own fate. "So that I know who to search the seas for."
"It's Sakura," she chirped, her hand running up to his belt, fingering with the gun there, in case the man was to attack. Naruto also noticed the cautious motion. "And I would advice you to go to Boston. Even if you don't find us again, my friend, Hinata would be surely very excited to finally meet you," she suggested and smiled at the flabbergasted face his friend wore after hearing this.
Then, Naruto nodded to her, clueless and confused, unable to rationalize the actions of the veiled seductress, but before climbing into a boat, he turned toward his life-long friend, "Don't you dare die," was the last thing he said before his crew left, leaving their Captain back as the promised partner of a derailed monster.
But their freedom worth it, Sasuke determined.
"Buy a better vessel than the Revenge. It wasn't sturdy enough," was the last thing the mermaid—Sakura—shouted to his men, that made Shikamaru turn back and measure up the woman with a calculating glance.
Then, he looked at Sasuke with those same, glazed over eyes and as if the last piece of puzzle had snapped in its rightful place in Sasuke's mind, he narrowed his eyes at mermaid still clutching his leg, his anger barely restrained as he hissed to the mad woman, "Did you sink my ship? Did you do all of this insanity for…" he was reluctant to continue as he was afraid to hear her answer. "For having me?"
Just like that, her smile turned carnivorous.
"Aye, Captain."
And that was how Sakura managed what the British never came even close to: she captured the fearless Captain of the Revenge, and she never-ever intended to let him go.