Disclaimer; I Do Not Own Naruto
Chapter One
Reach
The baby hummed in his sleep from where he lay nestled safely in his brother's arms. Innocent and completely unaware of the furious New England storm that raged on as he slept peacefully in a mess of blankets. His tiny fist came out to knead at the small boy's chest as the child stood staring at the man pulling out an old wooden rowboat down towards the angry waters.
The boy watched in silent dismay with wide, bright eyes as his father finally settled the old boat as best as he could in the water. Even in the shallows the water was rough. The waves slapped against the tired wood with repetitive smacks so hard that he had to hold the boat steady with one leg as he reached over to grab the second oar and tuck it nicely into the remaining oarlock.
The child's bottom lip quivered. He had not yet seen six winters, but just because he was young did not mean that he was stupid. The chances of making it to the mainland in dangerous weather such as this were little to none. He opened his mouth to protest again, taking a small step forward. But a large hand came from behind him to clasp his small shoulder and hold him still. He looked up at the other man looming over him in anguish. The coarse and hardened hand of his uncle gave him no comfort.
The man smiled reassuringly from where he stood by the boat, "Don't you worry now son, I'll be back by the morning with medicine for your mother."
The child nodded weakly, but in his eyes all hope diminished, and tears fought to be let out. He struggled back the lump in his throat, clutching his baby brother tighter to him as one would clutch to a lifeline. His uncle's huge hand squeezed slightly on his shoulder.
The man pushed off the rocky granite of the small island, jumped into the boat and began to row away. The waves crashed against the small vessel, he had to pull hard just to keep the boat on course.
Terror filled the boy's eyes, he tore away from his uncle and ran closer toward the water to his departing father.
"Papa! Don't go! Please don't go!"
The man's mouth became a grim line as he continued to row. Trying his best to ignore his distressed son.
"Pa!" The boy shouted after him. "Papa, don't go!" He cried. "Papa!"
His protests were cut short by his uncle grabbing him roughly by the shoulders and pulling him away from the unsafe waters. The baby in his arms started to cry as he woke from his distraught brother's shouts. But over the water the departing man could no longer hear any of them through the storm.
The boy stared wordlessly out the window at the endless storm. His mother's shallow breathing echoed loudly in his ears even though she was far in the next room. The baby was asleep once again in his arms, though he didn't notice.
His face was wretched from crying, but he waited nonetheless for his father's return even as his feet grew numb from standing and his eyes grew heavy from hours of anticipation.
He barely even registered that he still had his younger sibling in his arms until he looked down again to see the small bundle was awake. He smiled weakly at the baby, a pale hand came to caress the fluff of baby fuzz on his brother's head. The infant cooed happily, reaching with grasping hands to bring the older boy's fingers into his mouth.
The kid's weak smile grew a little more.
"Looks like it's going to be just you and me now to take care of Mom....
Suigetsu's head shot up at the loud blast of a fog-cannon and cracked sharply against the wooden frame of the upper bunk bed. The teenager cursed loudly, rubbing a hand over the sore spot on his head and rubbing his eyes with the other. Moisture from the light shining directly onto his face burned as he intentionally rolled off the bottom bunk and searched for the trousers he had discarded somewhere on the floor the previous night.
"You up yet?" The deep voice of his uncle yelled from all the way across the house. "You better get your ass in gear boy, those goddamn birds ain't going to clean themselves!"
The sixteen year old growled low in his throat. He had been having a good sleep too. What was that dream again? He couldn't quite remember, but he'd been having that same damn dream ever since Mangetsu had left the house. Though every time he woke up it slipped away like water slipping through his cupped hands.
A sudden ripping sound coming from the fabric in his hands brought him back to earth and he swore viciously as he realized that he had just torn a decent sized gash through his trousers.
"Oh, fucking great." He grumbled, inspecting the worn gray material further to see if they were still wearable. It was only in the upper thigh portion, still suitable, but not something to be worn in front of company. He scoffed, when was the last time they had ever had company? If someone stopped by today while he was wearing these he'd eat his own hat.
Suigetsu blinked. Did he even have a hat that was his own? He'd been born on this island, everything he'd ever worn was used or hand-me down. Thus, probably why his damn pants had ripped just now. He inwardly snarled at the thought that, from where he was now Mangetsu was probably getting new clothes, but he'd still through a tantrum of epic proportions if he found out Suigetsu ever used any of his stuff. The jerk.
And wearing clothes from Kisame would probably only get him killed somehow. The giant fish-man's clothes barely fit him, but if Suigetsu ever wore them he'd be lost in a-- pardon the pun, ocean of cloth material and probably end up in a loose-end related accident. Thanks-a-million.
"Pfff, stupid-ass expression..." The boy grumbled, finding with better luck an off-white shirt with both sleeves ripped off and buttoning it quickly up to the collar.
...
"You look swell." His uncle remarked dryly as he walked heavily into the stale kitchen.
"Shut up." He grunted, shifting past the huge man to pour himself a cup of some of the banal tasting coffee, grimacing as he did so. Tanner the seagull chirped a morning greeting from his perch on one of the top kitchen shelves.
As he turned to sit at the worn-down wooden table he had to choke back an abrupt fit of laughter as he suddenly noticed that the older man was dressed in a pale apron with a rusted spatula in hand. The sight was made even more comical at the fact that, not only did the apron not fit on him (It was being held on by a spare peace of yarn) But it was covered in what looked like it had once been eggs.
Kisame gave him a dark look. "Don't think I didn't hear that boy."
He snickered notably this time. Ignoring Tanner as he hopped down from his perch and demanded attention. "What did you fail at cooking again?"
Well his uncle still earned some brownie points from his side for at least trying to cook something for them.
The man ignored him. "You just wait, you ungratefully little twerp. I already sent another request. When we finally get a hired lady to work here I'll go back to lobsterin' and kicking your ass on a daily basis."
Suigetsu snorted "Yeah right, old man. What kind of woman would ever want to live here anyway?"
He was right too. Mangetsu had been the only one who knew how to cook, now that he was gone the already greasy house had only become filthier. Neither of them ever dared to touch any of the household supplies that Suigetsu's mother used. It was taboo just to think about going through her old things. Like defacing a sacred monument.
Kisame noticed his sore expression, but didn't say anything. Instead he gibed the boy right back when he noticed the ample rip in his leg.
"Nice pants." He chuckled with a shark-like grin.
"Shove off, old man." Suigetsu muttered, taking another sip of coffee.
"Here" The man grunted, handing the teenager a large metal pail that seemed to have just appeared out of nowhere. "And after this you'll have real work to do today."
Oh, right. That's just how he wanted to spend his Sunday morning, shoveling dead birds off of a seventy-fucking-two-foot fucking tower. Tanner cawed and hopped back onto his perch. Had he been able to hold human expressions Suigetsu suspected he would be glaring at him at that moment.
Suigetsu didn't bother stalling this time, he dumped the rest of the unpleasant coffee into the basin that they called a sink, and strode out of the house as if going into battle.
....
One hundred and eighty-nine steps. One hundred and eighty-nine step up a seventy-fucking-two foot fucking tower that just so happened to be the place where both Suigetsu and his remaining family guardian spent their days working. And sure enough, one hundred and eighty-nine steps later, a group of dead birds lay in scattered in grotesque piles of bone and feathers at the very top of the tower.
The morning had been foggy at first, thus explaining his unpleasant wake-up call, which meant that the night must have been foggy too. Seagulls were, by nature, attracted to shiny things like a magnet. Foggy nights mixed with the bright flare from the lighthouse were a recipe for dead birds.
With a grunt, Suigetsu sat down and picked up the nearest bird, which was probably only a year or two old. After inspecting it for a moment, he decided it was way too skinny and threw it easily over the edge. The second however, was a bit larger, and defiantly had more meat on it. That one he scooped into the pail. The limp thing hadn't gone into rigor mortis yet. It would probably have enough meat on it for supper if Kisame wasn't too hungry today...
The boy snorted, and to think, not even five years ago it was extremely off limits just to climb up the lighthouse. Now he was up here picking through which dead birds were big enough to be eaten later.
Suigetsu smiled fondly at just how sacrilegious it had been for he and his brother when they were children to play up in the lighthouse without permission. No, they might put a fingerprint on the lens or something. Can't do that.
He recalled one of times they had climbed the lighthouse without telling Kisame and had both caught, earning themselves the longest bellowed lecture of the century.
Oh course, he still wasn't technically allowed to go anywhere near the lens. He was sixteen, by society's standards not yet a man, and children were strictly prohibited by the lighthouse officials. But he was still probably better off dealing with the machine than Kisame on most days. If he was caught though, there was a very good chance that they both could lose their job and their house.
Losing the job wouldn't mean the end of the world for the two males. Across the reach there was a booming young town filled with good jobs. Some even paid better than the one they had now. No, the real loss would be the house that they lived in, which, was the only real thing of significant value for any of them. Both boys had been born and raised together in the house. Their mother had died in the house. The six bedroom family home had only been a small shack when the family had first arrived. Kisame and his brother and law, Suigetsu and Mangetsu's father, had put their hearts and souls into building it for their family.
Yes, losing the house would be the worst and most bitter loss for any of them.
Recently the pay for working at the lighthouse had been cut in half. Shortly after that, taxes to rent the land that they lived on had started up. The savings the family had made to send the boys to school was drained away. Leaving the three distraught at the fact that if they didn't find an alternative means of income they would be forced to leave the land their house was built on.
Six months ago the elder brother, Mangetsu, had taken a well-paying job deep-sea fishing. It would take him very far away from the island where they lived, into the dangerous and frigid waters of the North Atlantic. Suigetsu had protested bitterly against it.
But soon after he left and the pay he earned started coming in, slowly but surely the family savings began to build up again. Mangetsu did all he could to leave his family financially secure and give his younger brother a chance to go to a proper school. Nonetheless, Suigetsu was extremely angry and resentful about the fact that Mangetsu had been forced to leave. And would like nothing more than to wring the neck of the man who had forced the taxes upon them.
Hiring a maid of any sort was not something that they could really afford. But Kisame and Suigetsu had enough to worry about with the long tiring hours they spend outside and on the ocean. Day-to-day tasks such as cooking and cleaning didn't fit in with their already packed schedule.
There were only three more birds after the large second one, he kept the two that looked the largest and chucked the last over the edge as well. Sitting up and booting left over feathers and whatnot over the edge as last-minute clean-up.
Suigetsu's eyes narrowed as he suddenly spotted something in the distance. It was what looked faintly like a merchant ship, which was odd, because they weren't due for a new delivery of fuel for another nine months. And if there was another such delivery surely Kisame would have told him.
It was faint but even from that distance his sharp eyes could still spot the tiny rowboat heading towards their island.
Well, he scowled, it looked like he'd have to find a hat to eat.
The island was just a speck of land in her line of sight from where she stood against the rail of the small ship. But as it came closer into view, Sakura felt a pit of dread fill her heart.
She inhaled the sea-salt air and frowned. Her pink hair obscured her sad face as she gazed down at the dark slate gray waves of the ocean. There was no way she'd ever get used to this place. She didn't even know how to swim.
A severe epidemic had broken out in her home state of Philadelphia. Spreading like wildfire in dry wood, killing thousands, including her parents, without any sign of letting up soon. The stress of becoming an orphan combined with leaving everything that she knew and loved behind her to live with her only remaining family was only made worse when her desperate grandmother Tsunade sent her alone to the northern state of Massachusetts.
Apparently there was a man working at a lighthouse who was in great need of housekeeper. Or at least, that was what the job description had said.
Prior to her sudden departure Sakura had worked as a chambermaid for about half a dozen or so different residencies. Helping her parents by working for different people had been something she had grown up into. Housekeeping had become like a second nature. Despite that fact, Sakura was not looking forward to it. Not one bit. But the idea of some extra money she might be able to send back home to help support funding for vaccinations and extra money to help her friends and neighbors was a much better option than living in an orphanage.
She wordlessly returned to the lower quarters to pick up her belongings-- only two suitcases full of her belongings. Clothes in one case, keepsakes and other basic necessities in the other. Everything else had gone into donation-- and traveled up to the deck to where a man was preparing a small rowboat two take her across the reach to the island.
The island was almost two miles away. But the captain did not dare get any closer.
That was okay though. From here she could easy dip her fingers into the cold water, while she had only been able to look down at it from on the ship. She shivered lightly at first at how freezing it was, but was unable to hold back a small smile as her fingers glided smoothly through the water due to the moving boat. Maybe, maybe there was the slightest chance that she could get used to this place after all...
"Miss, keep your hands 'n the boat please." The oarsman growled in a thick northern accent.
Sakura sighed, returning her hand back onto her lap.
Who was she kidding? She'd never get used to this place.
Suigetsu knew exactly what to expect as he climbed down the stairs to solid ground. And sure enough, Kisame stood there against the wall with a smug I-told-you-so grin on his older sharkish face.
Resisting the urge to deck his uncle in the head-- as that would no doubt get him into major trouble later.
Suigetsu turned his attention toward the east side of the island, where the boat was finally coming into full view. Conforming that indeed, there was a woman in there and not just a random visitor.
Suigetsu trotted behind Kisame to the 'beach' which actually was only about a foot of space between the ocean and shore, covered in sharp rocks, broken shells and bit of seaweed. the young woman who stepped onto the old dock, took one look at him and said something that defiantly took shitty first impressions to a whole new level.
"Nice pants."
He glared darkly. Oh no, there was no way he'd ever eat any type of hat over this rude little harlot.
"Welcome to Kiri Point, I take it that you're here to work following my request."
She nodded, at least the smile she gave looked genuine. But the polite demeanor and the pink hair weren't adding up in Suigetsu's opinion. She offered a small hand to shake out to his uncle. "Thank you, my name is Sakura Haruno."
Kisame accepted her handshake gladly. "My name is Kisame Hoshigaki. Keeper of the lighthouse on this island. This is Suigetsu Houzuki, my nephew."
The girl blinked for a moment, seemingly lost as she stared at them both. Kisame looked at her suspiciously. "There something wrong?"
Her eyes widened, hands coming up in a defensive gesture "No! No! It's just w-well you two look nothing alike."
Kisame threw his head back and gave a hearty laugh, sounding relieved much more than amused. "Yeah, we get that quite a lot from strangers."
"Mr. Hogashi" Suigetsu spoke to the retreating boatman. "Do you need a hand?"
The man turned and gave him what looked like it was supposed to be a grin, but appeared more like a very unnatural upturn of the lips. "That's alright son. I've spent twice as many years in a boat than you've spent on solid ground."
"You're sure?" He took a step forward in the man's direction. But the geezer shrugged him off.
"Don't worry now, leave me and my old bones a little pride. If I need help gettin' into the water at this age then I shouldn't even be livin'."
Suigetsu frowned, that was a bit harsh. But the old man did have a very inflated ego when it came to fishing. Every fisherman in this area did. So he didn't dare to push it.
"I'll tell my girl you said 'Hello' for yah." He shouted back once he finally pushed off. Suigetsu smiled broadly. "Thank you sir!"
It sounded distantly like the old man cackled at him, but then he was moving out of sight.
Suigetsu's smile faded a little. It had been so long since he had seen any of his friends on the mainland. Not that he really had many friends. The closest person to him had always been his brother...
He felt a pair of heavy eyes on him and turned back to look at his uncle. Kisame gave him a stern gaze, eyes shifting to the girl and back to him. Suigetsu smirked.
"Come on Miss." He grinned at her, picking her bags up in a gentlemanly fashion. "I'll give you the grand tour."
...
He couldn't help but smirk at her reaction to the condition of the room. It was covered completely in dust, not that it had been all that great years ago when the house was first built. No one bothered finding any real use for it.
"We get up at dawn. At this time of year that's usually five to five forty-five. We haven't had a decent meal since..." he paused, since Mangetsu left, he almost blurted. "Since neither of us know how to cook. But that's what we hired you for right?"
Sakura nodded. It was only noon. She could probably get started on cleaning up her new 'room', before inspecting the condition of the kitchen.
"Right well, I have work to get to." He gave a half-hearted wave and strolled out. Sakura scowled at the amount of humor left in his voice after her first reaction, and had to restrain herself from chucking something large at his head.
She sighed and turned her attention to the room.
"Here we go." She said.
And here we go. The beginning of my new story is finally out.
The name of the boatman was purely made up. But it might be a bit more significant later on.
Sorry to any of you waiting on an update on Discrepancy. I'm having a bit of trouble on that one, I know what I want to write but not how to write it. So updates might be a bit slower than this one. But to all you egg-head perves out there, don't worry, you'll get your lemons fair and square.