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Chapter Two - Loquacious
"Ready to meet the crew, Sasuke?" Naruto asked excitedly, quickly throwing some loose clothing into an old trunk before slamming the lid.
He groaned. The blond was giving him a headache. All afternoon he had been jumping around the room, giving Sasuke tips on what to wear, as Gaara had supplied him with a wardrobe worth of clothing. He had failed in allowing even a minute to go by in silence. He told Sasuke all about the different members of the crew, about all the best food that was served on board, and the whole while he was throwing in short comments about Sasuke's hair, eyes, skin, hell, even his teeth. And he never went away.
Apparently the blond had been put in charge of keeping an eye out on him. Why it couldn't have been someone, anyone, but this… talkative dobe was beyond him.
"Fine," he said through clenched teeth. He felt the need to throw up again. His stomach had been swirling sporadically since that morning.
"Great!" Sasuke followed Naruto out the door, finished changing and now garbed in a newly chosen outfit. He had thrown on a loose white shirt, a tan vest and a pair of matching tan trousers, as well as calve-high black boots and a black belt. He had also been given a brown hat, but chose not to wear it. He noticed that he hadn't gotten any rings or necklaces like what Naruto was sporting, but reasoned that he probably wouldn't have worn them anyway.
Sasuke had to blink his eyes several times to adjust to the sunlight he hadn't seen in what felt like months. He also raised his arm above his eyes for extra protection as Naruto led him across the brightly-lit deck of the ship. He hadn't really thought about how big the ship would be, but he saw now that it was quite large, though much smaller than most others that he had seen.
All hopes for escape were lost when he saw that they were surrounded by nothing but deep blue; not a single bit of land in sight. Where are we? They must have been sailing since they picked him up. He sighed and looked up.
The first thing that Sasuke's eyes were drawn to was the huge flag, fastened securely to the main mast. It was making a loud flapping sound against the breeze. The flag itself was a dark red and on it was what looked like a weird, black star with four sharp points and a hole in the middle.
Up some stairs, just above the room they had come out of, was the wheel of ship. "The quarterdeck," Naruto said once they reached the top, stretching his arms out on either side of himself for emphasis. Behind the wheel was a tall brunet man. "The pilot." He was wearing a large, brown hat to keep the late-day sun out of his eyes and a purple substance, possibly the same as what Gaara had around his eyes, was smeared in lines across his face. Naruto introduced him as Kankuro, Gaara's older brother. He smiled and nodded, but said that he needed to focus. Temari was with him, examining a compass and scroll, occasionally glancing up at them but saying nothing.
On the main deck were four more men. Neji was standing at the rail with a man who was wearing dark glasses, a large coat and a cloth over his mouth. They were conversing about ropes, or shrouds, or something. Sasuke didn't really understand. The other man's name was Shino and he spoke calmly and quietly for someone who looked so daunting.
Standing by the hatch to the lower levels was another brunet, shorter than Kankuro, but also sporting weird facial substance, though in the form of two small orange triangles. A huge white dog sat beside him, wagging his tail. Naruto introduced them as Kiba and Akamaru, the two that found him in the storm. Sasuke quickly thanked them, not wanting to stick around too long; the dog had teeth that were quite large and frightening, and the man seemed to have fang-like teeth himself, not to mention he was just as loud as Naruto and even more obnoxious.
The final man on deck was noticeably older than the rest. He was sitting in the corner with his nose stuck in a book. When Naruto and Sasuke approached he glanced up momentarily before looking back at the page without saying a word. He had a shock of white hair atop of a one-eyed face. His left eye was covered by a large, navy eye-patch, and his mouth and nose were also covered up with navy cloth, Sasuke assumed to hide old battle scars.
"Kakashi, this is Sasuke. Sasuke, Kakashi," Naruto said, already seemingly annoyed with the older man.
The man, Kakashi, closed his book and stared blank-faced at Sasuke for a few agonizingly tense moments before smirking (as far as Sasuke could tell) and holding out a hand. "Pleased to meet you, Uchiha Sasuke." There was a strange emphasis put on his name, and Sasuke frowned before taking the hand.
"Uh, yeah."
"Yeah." Naruto was scowling and glaring at Kakashi. "Let's go now, Sasuke. Still people to meet before the day's done."
Next they went through a trap door, near what Naruto called the "forecastle deck" at the front of the ship. The door opened up into a staircase, or "companionway." They descended into a long hallway, along which were several doors. Lamps were hanging in each of the corners to light the windowless passage, casting eerie shadows across the dirty wooden walls. "These are the men's cabins," Naruto explained. "We're lucky; most vessels are in worse condition than this one." Sasuke nodded, failing to mention that it was much nicer than the conditions he was used to.
After walking about half way down the short hall, Naruto paused in front of a door and entered without knocking. "Lee," he acknowledged to whoever was inside before waltzing in and settling down. Sasuke followed him.
The room was cozy, with two small beds, a small table with a minute kerosene lamp on top, and strewn about clothing, books and other items on the floor. There were drawers built into the bottom of the beds and a small trunk at the foot of each for extra storage as well.
"Sasuke, this is Lee. He's our head boatswain. Err, he tells us what to do to keep the ship running properly. And some other stuff." He laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head. "Anyway, Lee, this is Sasuke. Our, err, guest."
"How's it going?" Lee asked, smiling widely and holding up his thumb. Sasuke was nearly blinded from a bright shininess, and as if those odd teeth weren't enough, Lee was wearing nothing but green clothing, tight-fitting in areas that made him turn away, uncomfortable. The man's hair was black and glossy, in a bowl-cut style, and his eyes were large, round, topped by a fat brow and framed with thick lashes.
"Okay," he answered, although it wasn't completely true. His raging stomach was making him feel more discomforted by the minute. "How many people sleep in these rooms?" he asked, more to distract his stomach than anything else, since he already knew the answer from the number of bunks.
"Two people per cabin," Lee answered anyway. "I know it doesn't seem like much space, but both are rarely in the room at the same time. There's lots of work to do, after all."
"Hmm."
"I share a room with Neji, the doctor," Lee said. "I heard you met him."
"Hn." He felt his face flush as he remembered their encounter.
Naruto looked around for a few silent moments before getting bored. "Okay, let's go." He jumped up and grabbed Sasuke's wrist, pulling him from the room. "See ya later, Fuzzy."
They crossed the hall and immediately entered another room, where Naruto introduced him to another shipmate.
He had short black hair and skin even paler than Sasuke's, and when they entered, he was hunched over on the floor, working on a painting. When Naruto introduced them, Sai's face transformed into an eerie smirk and he extended a hand upwards for Sasuke to take. "Our new Cabin Boy?" he asked. Sasuke didn't know what he meant, but Naruto frowned, kicked Sai and stormed out without a word, pulling Sasuke behind him before he could finish the handshake.
At the very end of the hall was one last door, wider and more ornate than the others. It led to a large room with a long, rectangular table in the centre and tall windows around the perimeter showing off the endless ocean beyond.
Along the lengths of the table were long wooden benches, and at the head was a wooden chair. Sasuke counted thirteen plates around the table, and one on the floor. Along the top width of the room was a smaller, partially-detached room, surrounded by a cupboard about bust high, but otherwise visible. From its contents, Sasuke guessed it was a kitchen.
"Looks like Chouji is getting ready for supper," Naruto grinned, patting his belly.
"Chouji?" Sasuke inquired.
"That's me! Hey, hey, you're awake!" A large, burly man with a wild mess of orange hair had just come into view from a more closed off part of the kitchen. He then walked through the low swinging door near the head of the table, wearing an apron and carrying a sizeable pot, which he set down in the middle of the table. He wiped his hands on his apron and shook Sasuke's. "Pleased to see you're alright. Tough time you've had, eh?"
"Yeah, thanks," the brunet replied softly.
Naruto plopped into the nearest seat and looked into the pot, licking his lips. "So, when're we eating? I'm starved."
"Soon, I would say. But not near soon enough to be waiting 'round here." Naruto nodded in understanding and stood. "See ya later, Sasuke," Chouji said before disappearing into the kitchen once again. Sasuke nodded before following Naruto out the door and back up to the deck.
"That was the saloon. The best room on the ship, if you ask me," Naruto said as they climbed back up through the hatch. "So, uh, you've met everyone, as far as- oh, wait; one more person. Wait here." He walked over to the ropes hanging from the main mast and began to climb up, and up, until he disappeared behind the sail and Sasuke couldn't see him anymore.
For several awkward minutes he stood there, alone in the middle of the deck, focused on keeping his stomach settled. Then Naruto landed beside him, making both him and his stomach jerk unpleasantly.
"Oh, sorry, Sasuke," he said, scratching his scarred cheek. "This is Shikamaru," he added as another boy jumped down and landed beside him.
Shikamaru had long, dark hair, tied in a single ponytail at the top of his head, giving him a pineapple-like appearance. His eyes were half closed and slightly red, whether from boredom, weariness, aggravation or something else, Sasuke didn't know, nor did he ask. There was a small cigar resting on his bottom lip, smoke rising steadily from the tip. He nodded in greeting, half-heartedly lifting a hand as well, but he dropped it quickly. "Hey, Uchiha," he muttered, before vanishing sluggishly up the shrouds again.
"That's Shikamaru, for you. He's our look-out, or he's supposed to be anyhow. He usually just sits up there watching the clouds or sleeping. But he's a genius, so Gaara likes to keep him around." Naruto laughed, but stopped when he noticed Sasuke hadn't joined in. "You're a really quiet person, aren't you?"
Sasuke shrugged and breathed a short, "Hn."
Naruto smirked and narrowed his eyes, tapping his finger critically against Sasuke's chest. "Yeah, yeah, you are. But no problem; I like doing the talking."
---
After meeting the crew Naruto brought Sasuke to the small room under the forecastle deck.
Windows, like those in the room he woke in that morning, lined the sides of the room. The curtains in here were of white lace, however, and didn't give him much of a view of anything due to the awkward angle they were at and the darkening of the sky around them.
The room itself contained not much besides an old ebony piano, a blank canvas, a small bookcase and a storage trunk. Naruto strolled right over to the piano and sat down on its matching ebony bench. He turned to look at Sasuke expectantly. The brunet took a quick once-over around the room, noticing an uncomfortable amount of cobwebs, before sitting down next to the blond.
Naruto began to play as soon as Sasuke sat down. His fingers moved ceaselessly over the glossy keys and Sasuke forgot for a moment how clumsy the man had been when on his feet; the motions of his digits were so utterly flawless. He hadn't seen someone play the piano like that since his family had been alive.
The tune went through several different movements, some happy, some more depressing, but all equally beautiful, before Naruto finally finished and looked over to Sasuke, face tinged lightly with red.
"That was amazing," Sasuke said quietly, full of awe and admiration, and Naruto smiled. "My brother used to play piano for hours and I would just sit there and listen, completely at ease with the music. He was amazing. You…you reminded me of those times. It was…nice."
Naruto continued smiling warmly for a moment, and then he asked, "He doesn't play anymore?"
"Not exactly," was all Sasuke said in response, and the conversation was over.
---
"So, Sasuke, how'd you like your first day on the open sea?" Naruto asked, dangling his legs over the side of the ship, his boots long since discarded. They were sitting against the rails of The Shuriken, settled near the front of the ship, watching the last rays of the day's sun disperse behind the horizon.
Sasuke took a moment to think about the question; he wasn't really sure. It was so unexpected to wake up out here, when the last thing he could remember was being cold, wet and out of tea. He found it especially hard to believe that these people had rescued him without wanting anything in return. It was almost like a dream.
"It was…" He paused. "I don't think my stomach can handle it much longer, to be honest."
Naruto nodded and grinned. "You'll get used to that."
It was quiet again for a few minutes when Temari came up and told them that food was on. Naruto nodded and told her that they'd be down in a bit.
When they were alone again, Sasuke asked, "So, when, uh… when do you think I'll be brought back home?"
Naruto didn't reply, but looked woefully out at the sunset.
TBC
