A series of one shots centered around Sasusaku. Updated when inspiration hits. R & R?
Summary : What possesed him to join this idiot's crew was beyond him, and what possesed him to save the annoyingly loud girl with pink hair another mystery of the universe.
Rating : K+
Characters : Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Gaara.
Warning : Pirate!Naruto & FirstMate! Sasuke
Go Go Go
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Captain Uzumaki steered the large, wooden vessel upon the open shores of Konahagakure with a large grin on his face. The waters were rough and the boat rocked from harsh waves, but that was irrelevant to him. All that mattered was the couple thousand feet of open, blue-green water between him and the Fire Country. He reveled in the thrill of the ocean and the salty sea air, pleased with himself for adopting this new life at sea. The bright sun sat low in the sky, signaling the end of another day was coming soon. He sighed softly, letting himself rest against the twelve inch wooden wheel. "You know, teme," he yelled, talking to his only crewmate, the infamous Sasuke Uchiha, "this may have been the smartest idea I've ever had."
"I could name a million other things that you've done that were smarter than this, dobe," he called back from the crow's nest. The pale man sat at his post, searching for land. His jet-black bangs clung to his face desperately, slick with sea water. The back of his hair stood on end, much like a chicken's back end. One onyx eye was shut sightly, the other peering through a golden telescope. His line was set in a straight line, his bottom lip pouting ever so slightly. "We'll hit land in about an hour," he said, coming down from the tall tower. "We should dock there and stay a night," he suggested to the self appointed captian, who nodded, seeming most pleased.
"Sasuke, this is definitely the best thing we've ever done," the blond said, his whiskers becoming longer and longer by the second. Sasuke scoffed at him and latched his telescope onto his purple belt.
"You mean abandoning the only people we knew? Yeah, that was incredibly smart. Genius, even. Dobe," he said sarcastically. He sighed softly, lean on the helm of the large boat.
"What people, teme? Your folks are dead, and mine abandoned me when I was born. All we really have is each other, yknow," the blond said, with a roll of his blue eyes. His orange and black coat blew wildly in the wind, and he smiled brightly. His blue eyes were filled with nothing but hope. "Teme," he started again, putting his arm around the taller man's shoulders, "I think we're gonna find what we're lookin' for out here."
"Do you even know what you're looking for, Naruto?" Sasuke asked with a heavy voice. When the blond suggested - forced - him to come along this adventure at sea, he didn't hesitate. The idiot had already won the boat off some unlucky fellow who he cheated at a game of cards, and he had no reason to stay. Like Naruto already said, his parents were dead. His brother went missing immediaately after. He didn't know much about them, but he knew enough where he wanted to find whoever killed them and exact some kind of venegance. He had no ties to the place, and no one there really mattered to him a great deal - save for Naruto.
The blond idiot lost his parents before he got a chance to remember what they looked like. He couldn't stand the nonchalant way he carried himself, all carefree and whatnot. His parents were gone, no trace of foul play found with him. Shouldn't he more depressed? Shouldn't he feel more alone, more lost?
More like him?
Then it dawned on him. He couldn't feel what he felt. It would've been impossible for the young boy to imagine what it was like to lose your brother and your parents, to lose everyone you cared about. Naruto never had anyone to care about them, so he didn't know how to feel when they left them. He accepted it with a brave grin, it was another fact of life. One that, no matter how hard he wished, would never change.
Ever since that small, unimportant realization, he's stuck to Naruto like glue. Sure, he thought the boy was utterly hopeless in every adventure he'd been in, but he was with him nonetheless.
Naruto became the brother he lost.
So instead of letting the brave loser travel the world alone, he opted to go with him.
Setting his coal eyes on the large mass of waters ahead, he knew that he wouldn't be regretting this decision.
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The pink haired girl moved along with a bunch of other girls, their hands bound behind their backs with thick rope. Their costumes were designed to expose more than enough skin, but hers was undeniably the skimpiest. She wore a bright green top, with enough jewels to blind a bat, that only covered her breast. Her shoulders were left bare and her mid section was left unclothed. Her long, pale legs were mostly exposed from a pair of small black shorts that clung tightly to her figure. On her feet were clear slippers, her dainty toes showing. She had bright green eyes, the color of seafoam. Before she'd gotten herself into this mess, she'd been told that eyes like that would only get her into trouble.
They were right.
The girl sighed heavily, her captors had been trying to sell her off for weeks on end. She was becoming too much of a burden in their large troupe, they'd told her. While she was certainly the best dancer their was, the other girls weren't ranking in as much monet as they could with her around. And with her adament refusal to - ahem - sell her body, she was becoming more and more of deadweight. Instead of letting her go, like they'd promised so many times before, they bound her wrists and kept her shackled to other girls, forcing her to person every night, like them.
Really, all she wanted was to go back to her homeland. She didn't have much there, and she'd have nothing when she'd return, but at least she was respected there. Here, they did all they could to strip her of her identity. She was grouped together with a bunch of dancers who could perform almost as good as her, and they tattooed a number on her ankle, 1886. The only thing they didn't take from her was her name, which they thought was fitting for a girl with ridculously pink hair.
Sakura.
She was Sakura, and she was a captive dancer, currently on her way to perform for the king of Sunagakure.
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The two men sat at an nearly empty bar close to the shore. The whole place was incredibly quiet, but the older of the two gentlemen wasn't complaining.
The younger was.
"Why hasn't anyone stopped in?" he asked the old man standing behind the counter. The portly looked at the two boys, his beady brown eyes glaring softly. Sasuke, being easily aggravated, glared back at the man, but added a snarl. The old man huffed at them and turned his back, drying another glass.
In a flash, Sasuke had his sword drawn to the man's neck. "I believe my friend asked you a question, old man," he said dangerously. The portly man promptly dropped the glass he was polishing and turned around, only to stare in the face of the man who held his life. Sasuke smirked at the old man, and Naruto laughed slightly.
"There's a show going on in the heart of the town," he answered fearfully, seeing the malicious glint in the young man's dark eyes. The edge of the blade pressed closer onto the man's neck, nearly breaking the skin. "That's all I know, foreigner! Leave my place at once!" the man yelled, nearly fainting from the sword's closeness.
"Wanna go see the show, first mate?" the blond question, standing up from his spot on the bar. His coat flapped behind him, bearing a large swirl on his back. A side smile toyed of his face as he prepared to walk out of the small bar.
Re-shealthing his sword, the raven haired boy followed him. "Gladly, Cap'n," he said, the word rolling off of his tongue. While he would never admit to Naruto that he accepted him as the captain of the S.S. Rasengan, he'd gladly show it off as a means to strike fear into the hearts of those who dared to challenge him.
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She had to admit, Sunagakura was dazzling at night. The makeshift stage they were performing on was made of solid marble, desgined to bring out the best in their appearances. There was a large black curtain in front of them, hiding them until they were set to perform. Candy green eyes moved around to study how dark the sky became, not a single cloud in sight. Dozens of stars shined overhead, silently greeting them.
If tonight was truly her last performance, she was glad they had a beautiful backdrop.
Her long, pink hair hung down her back in gentle curls, framing her entire body in a blanket of pink. The outfit that revealed so much of her seemed to shimmer in the night sky, giving her an unearthly sense of beauty. It was obvoius that she was the center of attention, the lead in the dance. Her clear slippers seemed to be invisible to her, giving the appearance of bare-footedness.
Her wrist were unbound by the ropes, but the red marks wereetched into her skin for what could be weeks. Her ankles fared no better. She sighed, rubbing them slightly. She could see her breath turn white, then disappear into nothingness. "Hey, Sak," one of the girls said to her. She turned her green eyes away from her wounds and towards the voice. "Break a leg out there tonight," the girl said, stretching herself out.
"Thanks," she said back, softly.
"I was being serious."
"Oh," was all she said.
She could hear the music starting, signaling them to get into place. She stood up and gracefully walked to her place in the center of the stage, anxiously waiting for the curtain to rise. This is it, she told herself, you're free after this one. A cold hand clamped down on her shoulder, slightly startling her. She was used to people touching her, but she still hated when she couldn't see them first. She narrowed her green eyes, but forced a smile on her face. "Yes, sir?" she said as quietly as possible.
"Do good tonight," he said, his voice harsh and demanding. It wasn't a sign of good luck, it was an order. She nodded at him silently.
"I get to go home after this one, right?" she asked, looking him in the eyes. She gave him a fierce look, but he laughed it off. He put a large hand on her face and smiled at her, revealing stained teeth.
"Do good tinight, and you'll go wherever you want, Sakura," he said, walking off stage. She sighed softly, and kept her place. Her starting position would be on the ground, hidden in thck mist. Candy apple eyes closed gently, feeling the music move through her.
Here we go.
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The boys found a group of girls performing on a large, white stage and deemed that was the show. While there were more than a handful of dancers fluttering on stage, they lost their focus when a beautiful girl appeared from, what seemed to be, mist. She rose above the others like a pheonix, surpassing them all in grace and skill. She was a blur of green and pink, seemingly floating across the stage with the kind of poise you only see once in a lifetime.
For Sasuke, this would be his one and only time. He's completely immersed himself in the enchanting pink-haired woman swaying across the stage, capturing his attention and running with it. She spins slowly, and the music abruply stops. The dancers back away from her, and a spotlight is cast upon her.
He could've sworn he's never seen anything more beautiful. She seemed to glow as she fluttered to the edge of the stage. The way she moved, she was hypnotic. The music began to start again, and she slowed herself down.
he felt something pang inside him when her green eyes met stopped in the middle of the dance, and stared at him. Onyx eyes locked with pastel green ones, and they held their place. It was a simple gesture, a stare.
Then, she collasped to her knees and the music picked back up.
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After the dance, Sakura was approached by the king. Her captors stood by her, but she had no idea what was going on. Slowly, the king gripped her hand and bought it to his lips, placing a charming kiss there. She smiled at him politely, but snatched her hand back as fast as she could. "You were very...enchanting out there, young lady," he spoke, his voice cool and even. She blushed at him slightly, remebering that this was her last show.
"That's an honor, my lord," she replied, with a small bow of her head.
"I'd love to have you stay with me a little longer," he said, not directly towards her. His eyes were cast towards the three men surrounding her, looking at them for some sort of inclination.
She opened her mouth to speak, but she was silenced easily. "She's worth thirty pieces of gold," one of the men said, holding her hand behind her 's green eyes widened, desperately looking around.
"I'm not for sale, Daisuke," she said angriliy, glaring at the king. Quickly, she whipped her head around to glare at the men behind her. "You lied to me," she said, her voice trembling with anger. She struggled against the stronger man's grip on her arm. "You said I could go home, Jiro! What happened to me leaving?!" She violently thrashed around, trying to free herself from her captors.
"She's fiesty," Gaara observed, looking at her with mild amusement. "How cute."
"You can go to hell," she spat, looking the king in the eye.
With that, she stomped on one of her captors foot and ran.
I'd rather die than go back to them, she thought, using all her strenth to outrun them.
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Our favorite pirates were shocked to see a pink blur run past them. The two were going back to the ship, as they had enough of the small county for one night. All the two wanted to do was drift down the ocean, letting the waves decide their next decision. The blur stopped in front of them, and spoke hurridly, "You two were at the recital, right?" She constantly glanced over their shoulders to make sure that the men haven't found her yet.
"You're the pretty dancer!" Naruto said loudly, his face breaking out in a characteristic grin. Sasuke, on the other hand, said nothing and kept his eyes on her. She was smaller than he'd expected, and he noticed the lacerations on her wrists. She seemed timid and frightened, and she was almost out of breath.
"Can you get me away from this place?" she asked desperately, her eyes wide. Upon hearing heavy footsteps, she pulled the two men with her as she ran. "If you guys wanna live, we have to go," she said, hastily turning a corner that landed them in the middle of a busy street. She looked behind her, checking to see if she was still close to her pursuers.
"What are you running from?" Sasuke asked, stopping them in the middle of the fast moving group.
"It's a long story, and I don't have time to tell the details," she started, looking at the two. "Very bad men want to sell me off to the king. I need to get as far away from them as possible," she said consisely. Seeing the two men stare at her in contemplation, she sighed, "I can read maps...and shorthand. I've been traveling on the seas since I was eleven, so I can usually find out where we need to be. Please, don't make me stay here."
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"Welcome to the S.S Rasengan, Navigator Sakura," the Uchiha said, grabbing her hands and pulling her towards the ship.