I'm starting a new fic (obviously.)
Unfortunately, just when I thought that this idea had even the slightest bit of originality, I found several other Naruto pirate fan fictions. But it's fun to write about pirates, and Naruto! -So why not put them together?
Read it, and let me know what you think!
Pairings are... well, you'll just have to read it and find out, won't you? (Aka I haven't completely determined them just yet)
Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own Naruto or any of it's characters. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
Chapter 1: With The Keys To The Cage...
"Captain, we're nearing the shore now." A female pirate called down, clinging to a rope just underneath the crow's nest before climbing up the whole way.
The Captain of the Fifth Iris smirked as the beach came into his vision.
"You're sure you want to do this?"
His eyes held a determined, thoughtful look. "Positive." He made a gesture with his hand at the crew.
"All hands, prepare to go ashore! Remember mates, we're lookin' fer a pretty little blonde lady!"
The twenty-one year old female ran as fast as her thin legs could take her, but nearly in vain; she heard the shouting voices getting closer and closer with each passing second. She moved forward as quickly as she could through the brush of trees deep in the forest, and inhaled sharply when she tripped, falling face first in the dirt. Her tear-stained ivory cheeks glistened in the moonlight's rays that sneaked its way through the tall trees.
The sound of gunshots in the distance reached her ears and she gasped, struggling to push herself up, but paused when she heard what sounded like a sword being unsheathed behind her. She closed her eyes in misery and a single tear rolled down her face.
When she turned, she saw two men, one with white eyes, and the other with strange red tattoos on his face. Their rugged and unfashionable clothing told her that they were most definitely pirates. The one with the tattoos had his sword pointed down at her at an uncomfortably short distance from her face. He smiled deviously, revealing naturally fang-like teeth – not always unusual for a person – and spoke in a bold voice,
"Well, hello. What do we have here?" He took a step closer and she grimaced, crawling backward as far as she could until the trunk of a tree blocked her escape route.
"Looks like another 'Miss-Priss.' Get it over with, these high-ranking and top-notch snobs make me sick." The other one sneered. She couldn't give up just yet – she was in a life or death situation here! The white-eyed man turned away, "What are you waiting for? Dispose of her." He walked back into the brush and to where the raid had been occurring.
"Why are you here?" She spat out in frustration at the remaining man.
"Well for the glory and gold, of course, love." He approached her, kneeling down in front of her, "Pirates, Blondie. It's what we do. We plunge and raid until the world is ours." He said in an awed manner. "At least, that's what I'm supposed to tell you." His lips curved into a crooked smile as he spoke.
"Well what are you waiting for? Kill me, like your 'friend' demanded!" She kicked him in the chest, causing him to fall backward and onto the ground. He lifted himself to a sitting position and stared back at her with an expression unreadable to her. She simply glared back at him, knowing all too well that after that night, she would detest pirates for all eternity.
One minute she was sleeping peacefully in her family's mansion – her father was a well renowned nobleman and ship trader – and then the next, a crew of bastards were destroying, stealing and killing everything in sight. It was awful to experience such a thing. She wondered if her family was safe, only praying that it would be so.
For a moment, the pirate hesitated. She could tell that he was deciding between his options on what to do with her. He smirked, "Oh no, I don't think I'll be wanting to do that just yet." He pushed himself up off of the ground and dusted himself off as she cautiously stood as well. "Do you have a name, gorgeous?" He winked at her while sheathing his sword.
She didn't answer, but took this as an opportunity to attack. She screamed defiantly as she ran toward him, attempting to tackle him to the ground, but ending up in a rather uncomfortable position, with him having her pinned against a tree, one face only two inches from the other. "Do not take my mercy so lightly. There are a few among my crew who would have you killed on sight." He furrowed his eyebrows, looking slightly uneasy. She could feel his breath on her face, and she held her own until he released her, turning away and anxiously moving a hand through his messy brown hair.
"Why would you spare me? After all of those people you killed, why me?" She demanded, clenching her fists and taking a daring step toward him. "One life untouched does not reckon equal to the lives lost because of you on this night as an act of good will."
He turned quickly, a look of frustration crossing her features as he came face to face with her once more, grabbing her arm forcefully, "Do not assume me to be a mindless killing machine, miss. You ran as soon as we barged into your home, you don't know the whole story."
Her bright blue eyes glared straight into his dark brown ones, and soon enough, she found herself head-butting the man with all of her strength.
"Ow! Damnit!" He fell slightly backward and held his forehead as she ran hazily in pursuit of safety, only to run straight into a grinning man with a large, feathered hat. "Good evening, miss!" He yelled enthusiastically, tipping his hat in a greeting. A woman with pink tresses stood beside him, arms crossed and a small smile practically painted onto her face, on account of her expression never changed, not even when she turned the girl around and tied her arms with rope. "No need to fret, we won't hurt you on purpose." She whispered as she tightened the ropes. The prisoner grimaced, her wrists chafing against the ropes. Not on purpose, eh... She mused.
"Kiba! Retrieve the others. We're done here." The man in the hat commanded and walked away.
"Aye, Captain!" The man with the markings stole a glance toward the girl once more before he turned and ran in the opposite direction.
"Would you please just tell me where you're taking me?" She demanded as they dragged her down to the nearby beach.
"Oh, you'll see." The pink-haired girl chuckled as they exited the mass of trees and stepped onto sand.
The captive gasped when she saw a massive ship. It wasn't anything like the military's ships. Not to mention it was far more filthy. She'd never seen a real pirate ship before.
"It's the Fifth Iris, as Captain Naruto here so honorably dedicated to his predecessor before she died and left the ship and crew to him, who was her First Mate." The pirate woman spoke thoughtfully.
"Honor." The captive scoffed, "What honor is there in piracy?"
The woman with the pink tresses didn't reply, but instead pushed her into the long boat on the beach.
As soon as they arrived at the ship, they threw the girl onto the deck.
"What do you want with me?" She shouted to the Captain.
"We want nothing from you specifically, Yamanaka Ino." A voice spoke from behind. She turned to see a man with remarkably red hair and a Japanese symbol tattooed to his forehead.
"How do you know my name?" The girl demanded, straightening.
"We all do. You're the reason we're here." The pink haired girl cut in.
"Who are you, and why are you here for me?" She pleaded.
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto," Stated the Captain proudly, "and I'm here to settle a debt."
"Wait!" Ino cried as two men, one with his hair in a spiky black pony-tail, the other with spectacles, each grabbed one of her arms.
"Tch... Troublesome..." One of them said while Ino struggled to free herself from their grasp.
"Put her in the brig. Don't let her out until we're at open sea!" The pink haired woman shouted.
"What debt?" Ino continued to yell, "And why-" Her voice was muffled and could hardly be heard as the latch to the brig closed.
"This just doesn't seem right, Naruto."
"I know what I'm doing, Sakura. I'm doing it for Sasuke."
Ino screamed in frustration and stomped her feet in fury when they put her in a locked cell.
She hated feeling trapped. She'd basically been trapped all of her life, and now, being in a cell, it was much more uneasy for her.
She sat down with a rather depressing "Hmph" and wrapped her arms around her knees as she leaned against the wall of the filthy cell. She wrinkled her nose, smelling something unsavory of sorts. "Ugh, this whole room has an awful stench!" She hit her fists against the ground.
"M-Miss?" Ino heard a stammering voice, and glanced toward the cell next to her.
"Hinata!" She exclaimed and stood, moving closer until the bars stopped her. "Why did they take you?"
Hyuuga Hinata was Ino's maid, and long time best friend.
"W-Well..." The black-haired girl began, but stopped when they heard footsteps walk into the room.
The man, the one with the white eyes who wanted Ino killed, stepped in and took steady strides straight toward Hinata's cell.
"Well, cousin. Long time no see..."
Cousin?! Well their eyes are awfully similar...
More footsteps were heard and a growl emitted from the other side of the room.
"What the hell, Neji?!" The one called Kiba pointed an accusing finger at the other man, who simply raised a questioning brow in response.
"You nearly had me kill the very thing we came here for!" He yelled, his arm moved quickly, and was pointing now at Ino, "That would have ruined everything!"
"Ch," Neji crossed his arms, "How were we supposed to know she was the one? And besides, he began, stepping in front of Ino's cell, "She's alive, isn't she? So there's no need to shout, Inuzuka."
He then turned to Hinata, "As for you," a scowl appeared on his face, "I'll speak with you later. When there aren't any individuals listening in," he shot warning glance to Ino and soon enough, was out of the room.
Kiba stood there, still angry and taken aback at how much Neji really didn't mind the situation.
"Bastard." He muttered before exiting in a disappointed huff.
"Hinata, what the hell is going on?" Ino spoke as soon as it was just the two of them again, mentally noting that the crew of this ship did not maintain a high level of secrecy on their plans.
"I'm not sure, Miss."
"Hinata, don't call me Miss. We're friends. It's Ino. We're not at home, so right now, you're not my maid. And don't feed me that 'I know nothing' nonsense. That man is your cousin!"
"W-Well, yes... He is. His family died long ago, and he came to live with me, my father and my younger sister. He didn't like the way my father treated him, and so he ran away. This is the first time I've seen him, since." Hinata stared at the ground.
"Well I don't see why anyone would pick this as their career choice." Ino crossed her arms, disgusted. "Piracy is distasteful."
Her friend did not reply, but only sank to the ground and held her knees, unsure of what else to do at that point.
They both lifted their heads when Sakura appeared, unlocking their cells, "You can go up on deck now."
Ino and Hinata both raised their eyebrows in question, "Why?" The blond asked.
"We're at open sea. Even if you did steal the long boat and escape, there's no way you'll find your way back home. "
When they followed Sakura on deck, Ino grabbed Hinata's hand protectively, noticing the fearful expression on the Hyuuga girl's face. All of the crew stopped working abruptly, their gazes cast upon the two unfamiliar women.
"Ladies," Captain Naruto, who now had his hat off (much to Ino's relief. It was a rather overwhelming accessory.) took a bow. "Miss. Yamanaka. And... I never caught your name," He hesitated when he locked gazes with Hinata, who blushed at seeing his handsome features and cerulean eyes.
"H-Hyuuga, Hinata."
At the sound of her last name, Naruto raised a curious brow and stole a glance toward Neji, "No doubt in relation to our own, Hyuuga Neji?" He asked politely, trying not to frighten the already neurotic girl any further.
She nodded timidly, and he stood straight and smiled at Neji, "Well that could be interesting! She'll stay on the ship with us, then!"
"As opposed to what; throwing her overboard?" Sakura cut in sarcastically, knowing that Naruto would never have thought of such a thing. For a pirate Captain, he was far too lenient toward people in general.
Ignoring her comment, Naruto took it upon himself to introduce both Ino and Hinata to the crew.
"I assume you've already met your captor, Sakura? She's my first mate, and right hand man." Naruto grinned sheepishly when Sakura raised a fist in anger, shouting threats at him for referring to her as a 'man.'
"Shikamaru and Shino over there are our gunners, being sure the cannons are cleaned, ready and armed for combat." He pointed to two the two men who had originally taken Ino to her cell. One with a spiky black pony tail, dark eyes, an "anti" symbol tattooed to his arm and a pipe in his mouth. He didn't greet them, but simply grumbled an inaudible reply and stared off into space. The other had spectacles, and a jacket with such a high collar that it covered half of his face. A large tarantula rested on his shoulder as he lifted his hand, "Yo."
"We also have an absent crew member, Sai, who isn't with us right now because he's gathering as much information as possible for our...quest."
"And I think you know who Neji is, Miss. Hyuuga." Naruto motioned to her cousin and she nodded, adding the fact that she told Ino who he was as well. "Well let's skip him then, shall we?" He gave Neji a teasing grin, who grunted and looked away, eyes narrowed in atrabilious discontent.
"There's Tenten and Lee; our weapons masters. Their titles are self explanatory." Naruto waved them off and Tenten smirked, twirling a knife in her hand.
"Gaara and Kankuro are in charge of the fitting of the vessel that is my ship. And their sister, Temari, is the sailing master; in charge of navigation. She sits up in the Crow's Nest a lot of the time, reading maps and compasses, along with whatever else she has to do up there." He blocked the sun with an arm as he stared up at Temari, who ignored the introduction, focused intently on a wrinkled leather map.
"There's Konohomaru, our cabin boy."
"And then there's Chouji. The cook. We couldn't survive without him. He's down in the mess room."
"And Kiba... Well, I, uh, don't exactly remember what Kiba does anymore." He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck, tilting his head to the side as he stared at his friend. Kiba growled and Sakura sighed, stepping in front of, and correcting her Captain, "Kiba is the deck hand; he is in charge of repairs and metal crafting on the ship. If you can break it, he can fix it."
Kiba gave Ino a crooked smile and sauntered right up to her, "We've met." He took a bow, "Inuzuka Kiba at your service, Ma'am." He lifted his head and winked at her before rising. A large dog barked and sat beside Kiba. The blond girl jumped slightly, startled. The animal seemed to have come out of nowhere. "This is Akamaru." He said as he scratched the dog behind his ears.
The blonde woman exhaled in disgust and turned to Naruto, "I don't have time for introductions and friendly greetings."
A look of disappointment and slight annoyance crossed Kiba's features as he realized he was being ignored.
"You people act as though we're not prisoners on this ship! I demand to know why I'm here, and why you've robbed me of my home and family!" Ino tightened her fist, nails digging into her own flesh. She was about ready to go off on them but Hinata squeezed her hand, calming her vehement behavior.
Naruto sighed, turning, "If you want to know, come with me." He hesitated for a moment, "The both of you, of course." He nodded at Hinata in acknowledgment, causing the young woman to fidget uncomfortably. He was a remarkably handsome man, but he was a pirate!
He lead them to the side of the ship and leaned on the railing, staring out at the open sea.
Ino stood impatiently behind him, arms crossed and leaning to the side. She cleared her throat expectantly.
"Well... Okay, your father buys and sells merchant boats, right? And he owns several ship yards across the country?"
Ino nodded slowly and he continued, "Right, well, what you probably don't know is that your father isn't the man you think he is. He also buys and sells pirate ships, making deals with pirates and willing to get his hands on just about anything he can."
Ino, now absolutely offended, opened her mouth to speak, but Hinata grabbed her arm, shaking her head. With a short "Hmph," Ino allowed Naruto to finish speaking,
"Me and my best friend, Sasuke, worked for your father a few years back. And we looked up to him, in a way."
"Oh, get to the point." Ino snapped.
"Fine." Naruto's eyes narrowed briefly into a glare, "Your daddy traded my friend away to settle a debt that he had to repay some powerful beings."
"How dare you!" She shrieked, tightening her fists, "Father would never do such a thing!"
"Well believe it. Because he did. These pirates that Sasuke is now forced to serve, are the most powerful and intimidating pirates that sail the seas today. And your father has a whole lot more money now than he did back when I worked for him. So he could easily buy my friend back."
"And...?"
"And so," He sighed, wishing Ino would just get it, "That's where you come in. I need you, so that we will have something to exchange for Sasuke."
"I don't believe you." Ino shook her head in disbelief.
"Come on, Ino-"
"Miss Yamanaka." She corrected, having no respect for this man, nor his friends.
"Miss Yamanaka," He repeated her words slowly. "Put yourself in my position for a moment. I'm not even sure whether Sasuke is safe - or even alive, for that matter - but if we have you, and if your father at least leaks the slightest bit of information on his whereabouts, we can find him. And you can go free."
Ino was silent, knowing that if anyone ever traded Hinata as a slave, she would probably do the same thing as Naruto. She turned away and leaned against the railing beside him, her eyes stuck to the horizon. She didn't know what to believe.
She heard Naruto sigh, and his boots hitting the wooden deck told her that he had walked away.
Hinata touched Ino's arm in consolation. "Mis-...Ino." She said softly, "I'm sorry."
"I don't believe him - I can't!" She shook her head and closed her eyes, tears welling up. "It's not true." She sniffed.
"Oh, dear," Hinata muttered, pulling a handkerchief from the pocket of her dress and handing it to Ino, who took it gratefully and dried the tears from her eyes.
"I don't know what's true or false anymore, Hina. But I'm glad to be here with you." Ino smiled, nearly giving the piece of cloth back, but stopping herself, recalling that it was covered in tears and mucus.
Hinata noticed this and giggled slightly. Ino joined in, letting out a short, quiet laugh.
Afternoon came fast, and the sun was high up in the air, it's rays blazing like an inferno down onto the ship.
Ino stood, leaning back against the wooden rails of the ship, facing the crew and watching them with curiosity as they worked and Hinata sat on the deck beside her, legs crossed and laying in front of her as to not put her dress in a compromising position, and leaning against the short wall beneath the railing.
Ino would never admit it, but in just the hours that she'd been a 'hostage' on that ship, she'd experienced more relieving freedom and relaxation than she had in her entire life of being the daughter of a nobleman.
She chuckled as she remembered her father taking her on a trading ship with him once - just once, though. It was so much fun, sailing out to sea. She was only a small child then, and was awed as she stared at the ocean. Her father had laughed at her expression and gently lifted her small body into the air, resting her on his shoulders.
She just couldn't imagine her father, Yamanaka Inoichi, being a cruel man, selling people into slavery. He must have had good reason for it. Right?
Her thoughts were interrupted when her vision was blocked by a tan and purple haze. When she moved her hair out of the way, she saw the one that the captain introduced as Kankuro, eying her closely. She backed her head away as far as she could and scrunched her nose. Phew. His breath smelled of dung and garlic. "What are you doing!? Get away from me!" She pushed him away and slapped at him a couple of times to be sure he stayed a good distance away.
"That's a pretty dress." He ignored her and looked her over, and she couldn't tell whether he was just commenting on the attire or how she looked inside of it.
"It'd be prettier if it was a bit more clean." Another voice added with a chuckle, and Ino's eyes narrowed into a glare and landed on Kiba, who was holding a rope, adjusting a sail when he overheard the conversation. "Maybe you should do your job - which I just did, by the way - instead of flirting with the lovely lady, ey Kankuro? It's not my chore to cover for you."
She felt her cheeks warm slightly at his indication of her being a "lovely lady."
The man with the purple tattoos on his face gave Kiba a strange look when he patted him on the back, handing him the rope.
Ino scrutinized him as he sat down about five feet away from her. He was too busy sitting atop a barrel to notice her stare, trying to amend a rifle that had evidently been in two pieces. He didn't have a terrible appearance. In fact, if she ignored the tattered clothing and rugged, unwashed look about him, he was quite the looker.
"See anything you like?"
Ino jumped, startled and looked over to see Sakura with a smug smile gracing her features.
"N-No!" She shook her head, feeling her cheeks flush once more, "Not at all," her arms crossed and she tilted her head upwards slightly, "I would never consider an attraction to pirates."
Sakura released an irritated sigh, "Look, I've just about had it up to here with your superior personality." She measured the height up to her neck with her hand, "Just because you have money, and a noble title doesn't make you any more of a better person than us."
Ino's eyes widened at her remark. How dare she speak to her like that!
"In fact, I'd say say that solely depending on the fact that you've been judging us this entire time could potentially make you worse," she crossed her arms.
"Well, excuse me, but aren't you the ones who kidnapped me in the first place?" Ino's words were icy cold as they escaped her breath.
"Hey, hey!" Another voice called, "Will you two stop it?"
"Yeah, you're being loud and annoying. Troublesome women..." Another muttered.
"Miss Yamanaka," Naruto walked over to them politely, "Why don't you and Hinata follow Shikamaru into the crew's quarters. It's where you'll be staying for the remainder of our journey."
Ino's jaw dropped, "C-Crew's quarters!" A look appeared on her face as though she'd sniffed a terrible stench, "disgusting!"
"I-Ino, perhaps it's best to just do as they say." Hinata cut in. Kiba's attention was drawn away from the gun he was repairing to the scene that had been occurring.
"Hinata. You don't understand. I want to give these... these people as hard a time as I possibly can, regardless of their reasons for kidnapping us to find their precious Sasuke--"
"That is, IT." Sakura shouted and clenched her fists, marching right up to Ino and pulling her arm back above her own shoulder, having every intention to punch the Yamanaka girl square in the jaw, but not before someone grabbed her arm just before she would thrust it forward.
"N-Neji!" Sakura said in surprise.
"Violence won't fix this damaged girl's way of living," He let go of Sakura and glared at Ino, who looked down at the ground in shame. A crowd had formed, and people were staring at her.
"I want to go home, Hinata-chan..." She choked, tears forming in her eyes. Hinata stood and grabbed Ino's wrist, "It'll be okay, Ino..." Hinata gained the courage and took the opportunity to narrow her eyes at Sakura and Neji in disappointment. "You are the ones who kidnapped us." she sided with Ino, of course.
"It's true," Shikamaru stated, "if you were smart, you wouldn't expect her to be so nice to us." He stuck his hands in his pockets and turned to leave, motioning for Ino and Hinata to follow him into the crew quarters. They did so, and were soon down underneath the deck.
"Yeah, I mean, come on. We did kidnap her, and are holding her against her will on our ship. I'd be a bitch too, if you'd done it to me," Temari joined in.
"And you'd probably fight back, heh," Kankuro added and Temari chuckled, nodding her head in agreement.
"As much as I'd like to defend you, Sakura-chan," Naruto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "I agree. She doesn't understand our reasons, and we shouldn't expect her to. I want Sasuke back as much as you do. But I'm sure she's scared."
Sakura sighed, "You're right. I still don't understand her kind, though. Looking down on anyone without the same title as them."
Neji simply clicked his tongue and walked away.
Ino sat on a crate, slumped over with her elbows on her knees and her chin resting in her hands. Her blue eyes were fixated on the ground when someone waved a hand in front of her face.
How could her father do such a thing as to trade a living person away? She wouldn't believe it. She couldn't!
Her mind drifted to a day when she was little. She chuckled. The thought of pirates had been most exciting to her at the time...
Flashback
"Daddy look!" the petite girl of no more than eleven years called over her shoulder, staring into a small cave that rested just above the beach, wonder filling her big blue eyes. "Do you think there's pirate treasure?" She looked up at her father who stepped beside her.
"Can't be sure until you find out for yourself, can you?" He spoke in a mischievous tone, holding out his hand for her to take.
She furrowed her brow, determination crossing her features as she reached up and firmly took his hand, pulling her father along with her as she stepped inside of the moist cave. She stopped abruptly, "Maybe we could come when I'm a little bit older." She spoke quietly, "After all, I wouldn't know what to do with all of that money at this age!" She would never admit that she was scared.
He chuckled, nodding before turning back, "What's this?" His gaze fell to the floor and he crouched down to pick up a golden coin from the sand. "Pirate treasure, perhaps?"
Ino gasped in excitement before snatching the coin from his hands, "It must be!" Her expression was one of utmost glee. "Wouldn't it be fantastic to meet one, father? A pirate, I mean." She turned her head to the left to stare at him with wide eyes.
"It would, darling. It certainly would."
End Of Flashback
"Oi, are you okay?" A somewhat raspy voice broke into her thoughts. The person knelt down in front of her, smiling broadly. "Ino-chan, right?" He spoke. He had tattooes of swirls on his face. Why these people had a fetish for unusual tattoos was beyond her knowledge.
"I'm Chouji! The best cook on the ship!" He said proudly and stood up straight, pointing to himself.
Ino sighed, tilting her head slightly to the left, nodding.
"You don't look so good." he said, standing straight and crossing his arms. His face lit up as an idea came to him, "I know just the thing to lift your spirits!" with that, he exited the room quickly.
She laughed quietly as she watched the chubby man leave. Her gaze fell to Hinata, who was being taught to play a board game called "Shogi" by Shikamaru, who looked absolutely bored. Ino could have sworn she'd seen him from somewhere.
Then it hit her.
"Hey, don't I know you?" She sat upright, pointing to Shikamaru, "You're that one lazy child. The son of my father's old business partner."
His eyes never moved from the game board as he nodded, "That's right."
"So you recognized me, too?"
A second nod was the only response she received from him this time.
"Why didn't you say anything? We used to be friends, you know."
Another Flashback
"Want to play a game?"
"Nah, too troublesome..."
"Oh...well then can I join you?"
"Whatever. I don't own the grass."
The little girl sat atop the grassy hill next to the young boy who lay on his back, arms beneath his head as he stared up at the clouds. She tilted her head back, staring at the big blue sky.
"Do you always do this?"
"Pretty much."
She fidgeted.
"Well it's boring. We should play a game." She grabbed his arm and forced him up. He sighed and reluctantly cooperated with her, agreeing to play just one game. She grabbed his hand tight, dragging him down the hill toward the woods, where just past that, was the beach. He felt his cheeks warm slightly at the cute girl's touch, but he remained silent.
"We're going to play pirates."
End Of Another Flashback
"Too troublesome..." He replied, moving a piece on the Shogi board. Ino's eye twitched in frustration.
Hinata's expression was that of confusion as she stared at the board, "What does that mean?"
"It means I've won." He stood, leaving a defeated Hyuuga girl and stretching his arms out before yawning. He walked over to Ino and sat down next to her on the large, rectangular crate.
"I didn't want to say anything because piracy isn't exactly held in high regard where we're from, Ino." He looked bored. "My old man thinks I'm dead."
Ino looked surprised and she raised an eyebrow, "How did that happen?"
"I found these guys docked at a port in some dead-beat town while my father was there on business. I asked to join their crew, and I payed someone to tell him I was killed by pirates." He stated plainly.
Her jaw nearly dropped, "Why would you do that? Why would you want to be a part of piracy?" Her tone was sharp.
"I was kept on too tight a leash. My family was a drag, and my schedule was too busy all of the time."
Her eyes narrowed with curiosity as her gaze fell to the floor, "I see..." She, too, wanted to have that freedom at some point. But as the years went by, she began to detest pirates. Well, after she found out that her mother was killed by them, at least. That was only three years ago. And up until then, she always wanted to taste the adventure and excitement that came with being a pirate. But that was only a child's dream. And the reality was that pirates were scum. With the exception of Shikamaru, she thought. He didn't seem so bad.
Suddenly, everyone jumped with a start when Chouji burst the door open, holding a dish in his hand. "This will make you feel happy!" He shoved it into Ino's hands. She stared at the soup blankly. "What's in it?"
"That's a secret. Now try it!"
She hesitantly took a bite. The sensation in her taste buds was almost heavenly. "This is delicious, Chouji!" She said, smiling up at him.
"I knew you would like it!" He grinned proudly.
She giggled. She supposed Chouji wasn't so bad, either.
Sooooooooo ya'll like it so far?
Rate and Review, please!
Although it was quite entertaining to write, I need to determine whether I should continue this or not.
