Disclaimer: Not mine. Or is it…
The night passed without incident (meaning they were far from sharks and Sai didn't molest anyone that night), and Shino walked out of his room with an invisible smirk on his face. Ohohoho, did he have some news. He walked over to where Shikamaru was napping on the rail and poked him. The sleeper shook himself awake to see Shino looking like a cat that caught a canary. Or that's what it looked like from what he could see.
"Wake up the others. Our guest is fine and waking soon. Their story or what I heard of it at least, is something of value to us." Shino said and walked back to his room.
Shikamaru woke the others and after a few minutes or so, everyone was crowded around the surgeon's door. Shino opened it and ushered them in quietly, Sasuke leading the rest. The shipmates gazed down at the awaking figure. The first thing that caught their eye was the bright golden hair, that stuck up haphazardly around the head, though it looked like the new style some cabin boys were wearing these days, but this was definitely bed hair. Then there was the golden tan skin. The next thing they noticed was the three thin scars on each tan cheek, placed so symmetrical they looked natural and not at all out of place. Out of all these things, the main thing they noticed was the unfocused clear, deep, blue eyes. They were such an odd, yet beatific color. When one looks at them, they look deep, intense blue, bluer than the sea at high noon. If one was to get much much closer, they would see miniscule speckles of a darker blue in the orbs. Sasuke noticed this, but it wasn't because he was so close to the person. No, not at all, so he decided to take a step back from the person. 'I really have good eyesight.' Sasuke thought and glanced at Neji. Neji just stared and stared. Silence engulfed the company of people and no one was inclined to talk. Sasuke was about to say something when…
"Shino…why do I have a whole bunch of perverts staring at me?"
This shattered the silence.
"PERVERT??!!! Why you little…mmph!" Kiba was silenced by Lee's hand.
"Sorry my youthful friend, Kiba was just expressing his excitement!"
"No I wasn't." Kiba dodged Lee's hand again.
The person just raised an eyebrow. "Fine. Your not perverts. Well at least not all of you." Sai was constantly moving closer to the guest, who slapped Sai's wandering hand.
"Ah, Sorry Naruto." Shino apologized as he pushed through his friends to get to Naruto.
"So you are a boy." Sai leered and once again, tried to move closer.
Silence. Everyone watched in horror as they saw the tan skin turn to a red, and a vein protruded from Naruto's forehead. He took in a deep breath and then…
"YES I AM A BOY YOU FUCKING PERVERT!! WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU THINK OTHERWISE? IS IT BECAUSE I'M SHORT? TOO THIN??? BIG EYES???? WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU CARE ABOUT MY GENDER!!!!!!" While yelling this, Naruto was simultaneously choking Sai by the neck.
"Naruto calm down." Shino said, though it wasn't a convincing order.
Naruto gradually slowed down and shoved Sai away from him. He sat back on the edge of his bed and took deep breaths in.
"Okay. I'm calm. For now. Someone please answer my questions. Shino only told me I am on a ship, Sasuke is captain, and I was found drifting a day ago." Naruto stated in a cool voice.
Sasuke stepped up and addressed himself. "I am captain of this ship, the Katon."
"Okay. Now will you answer my questions?"
"Hn." Naruto blanched at the raven. 'Does he always grunt as an answer?'
"Good. First, how far away from we from where you found me?"
Sasuke cocked his head to the side "About 20 leagues."
Naruto nodded. "Who are these people?" He threw a nasty look at Sai.
Sasuke allowed each of the crew members to address themselves.
"Chouji, cook."
"Neji, boatswain."
"Shikamaru, gunner."
"LEE!!! GUNNER!!!!!" Naruto rubbed his ears after that introduction.
"Kakashi, First mate."
"Iruka, Quarter Master."
"Kiba, pirate."
"Sai, pirate."
"You know me." Shino nodded.
"Sasuke, captain."
"Nice to meet you all. Now can I ask you all another question?" Sasuke nodded. "Were there any survivors other than me?" Sasuke inclined his head ever so slightly.
"No." he answered.
Naruto was silent for a minute, taking the information in. His head was bowed a little bit, and a single tear was seen trailing its way down his chin.
"I am sorry for your loss?" Sasuke tried to empathize, but he wasn't that type of person. The empathetic statement sounded more like a question with a dash of sarcasm than comforting.
Naruto raised his head and everyone was shocked. Instead of red eyes, puffy nose, and a frown, and bright full smile was on his face. "My loss? Yes, I am sorry I loss the chance to see all of their deaths. I wonder how they all died. Drown? Shot? Murdered? Fire? Stabbed? All I remember an explosion, men coming on the ship, then I am here." Naruto grinned impishly. They all looked at the boy as if he was insane.
"You ain't sad about your crew?" Kiba asked.
"Sad? Crew? I was a slave on that ship. And now they are all dead. And that means I am free." Naruto cried and was bouncing up and down on his bed. Everyone's eyes widened at the knowledge of him being a slave. After a few minutes of seeing Naruto bounce, Sasuke wanted to know some answers.
"What was the part you skipped over?" Sasuke inquired.
Naruto stopped his celebration and eyed Sasuke. "What part did I skip?"
"You don't remember anything else? Like what happened after the men came on the ship?" Sasuke glared hard at Naruto.
"That was whatever happened between the men coming on the ship and me blacking out. I don't remember." Naruto said, hoping he looked believable.
Sasuke was about to push farther when he saw the look in Naruto's eyes. Desperation. So he decided to put that matter aside.
"Fine. I'll leave it at that for now."
Naruto squinted at Sasuke and crossed his arms. "Next question."
"What was the name of the ship you were on?"
"The Kyuubi." Gasps filled the room. The Kyuubi was a notorious ship, known for it's murderous pillaging around the ports, and their harsh…abuse…of their captives. Especially the dainty, feminine ones. Naruto bowed his head. "Look, I wasn't there voluntarily obviously if I was a slave. I never hurt anyone nor had the desire to. I did what was needed so don't judge me."
Sasuke shook his head. "Do you know the name of the ship that attacked you?"
"…"
"Do you know or not?"
"The name will come to me." Naruto replied and narrowed his eyes, tilting his head up. He grinned at Sasuke. It was the type of grin that said 'I know something you don't know.'
'He has a lot to hide doesn't he? And what's with the grin? Idiot.' Sasuke thought.
"Now, what are you going to do with me? You can drop me off at the nearest port, and I will be out of you chicken butt hair forever." Naruto grinned. Everyone in the room stifled a laugh. Sasuke's mask of indifference remained on his face but inside he was seething. 'How dare HE? He looks like a fucking girl, and he comments on my HAIR?'
"Well, we won't reach another port until next week. Suna. Until then, for payment for your lodging and the use of our supplies and surgeon, you will be the cabin boy." Sasuke smirked.
Naruto's face fell. "You mean like swab the deck, chuck off barnacles, and clean up cabin boy?"
"Any other type?" Sasuke coolly replied. The look in Naruto's eyes told him otherwise. 'I really need to talk to this boy later.'
"Fine. But at the end of the week, I want out." Naruto said.
"You'll be fine with us dropping you off in Suna?" Shino asked.
Naruto nodded. "I have some good friends there. I'm sure they will welcome me."
"WELCOME ABOARD MY YOUNG FRIEND!" Lee cried, embracing Naruto tightly.
"Uh cun breed." Naruto chocked out.
"He can't breathe." Iruka said. Lee let go of Naruto and grinned sheepishly.
"Okay. Now that I have been welcomed will you all GET THE HELL OUT SO I CAN CHANGE?" Naruto yelled. All of the crew finally noticed the lack of clothing. The whole time Naruto wore an oversized shirt that looked like it belonged to Chouji.
"Why Naruto? Your shoulders look delicious." Sai cooed. Naruto lunged for the throat but the crowd pushed Sai out the room. 'Damn. I will get him.' Naruto turned to Sasuke who was still in the room. "Clothes should be in that sack over there." He pointed to a corner of the room. "I expect answers later. If not, you're not getting off this ship." Sasuke smirked then exited the room.
After a few seconds of staring at the closed door, Naruto's eye twitched. "BASTARD!!!"
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The week was eventful, and the crew was pleased with their new friend. Naruto was certainly a character. Though he often complained about the duties assigned to him, he completed each task with such enthusiasm that even Sasuke's eyes couldn't find a speck of dust on the ship anywhere. There was however many arguments between the captain and the new cabin boy.
"Bastard, I don't cook!"
"Well Chouji is sick and we don't all need to catch it."
"Have someone else do it."
Sasuke glared at the boy.
"I DON'T COOK!" Naruto yelled, furious at Sasuke.
"I expect a meal by twilight. Get to work." Sasuke turned and left.
Everyone counted down from three…two…one…"BASTARD!" However their meal for the night consisted of roasted potatoes, stir fry scallops, and roasted pineapple. The next argument was much more violent.
A dagger was seen thrown in the direction of their captain. It was well aimed; it sliced a single hair off of Sasuke's duck butt hair style.
"I am NOT doing that!" Naruto screamed, still in pose after throwing the small dagger.
Sasuke turned around with fire in his eyes!!
"What you just did was mutiny."
"And what you want me to do is degrading!!!"
"Hn." Sasuke pulled out the dagger from the wood it lodged itself into (it was stuck in pretty deep) and walked into his room. The crew once again started the countdown from three…tw…"BASTARD!!" 'Whoa. He didn't even make it to one.' Kiba thought. That night Naruto washed all of the crew's undergarments. Needless to say that when they wore them again, they were soft and smelled fresh. Except for Sasuke. His felt a little on the stiff side. And he had an unbearable itch. He would later be seen inconspicuously scratching his bottom while he was at the helm. Naruto would snicker every now and then while he was doing his chores chanting 'He's got crabs' over and over.
Arguments continued until the end of the week, whether they were about Naruto scraping the grease off the pots and pans without any aid of a tool, or how much of a bastard Sasuke was. The night before the ship was scheduled to reach the port of Suna, Sasuke decided that it was time for Naruto to answer his questions, or he wouldn't be getting off the boat. So Sasuke called Naruto into his quarters.
"What do you want now?" Naruto grumbled as he sank into a plush chair in Sasuke's room. Though he loathed admitting it, Naruto thought that Sasuke's room was awesome. He had three circular windows around the room, which allowed Naruto to see straight into the ocean. There was a mahogany desk in the center, with a comfy hammock handing from the side. There were two chairs, one behind the desk and the other if front of it, which was what Naruto was now occupying. Sasuke's eye twitched at Naruto's question, but his face remained stone. 'No respect.' Sasuke wanted to avoid confrontation, so he would leave insulting the idiot until after he got what he wanted.
"I want answers." was his reply. Naruto stiffened, his eyes hardened and his face became blank. "What do you want to know?" Sasuke thought about this for a while. "I want to know your story, which includes why you are a slave, who attacked you, and then other questions that may pop up into my head."
Naruto sighed. "Is it really that important?"
"I could be keeping a criminal. Despite our generosities, we are still pirates, and if your head holds a few shillings it would be worth something to us."
Naruto glared. 'Bastard.' "Fine. My name is Naruto. My mom died when I was born, and I was informed that my father was killed in a raid when I was 6 month's old. I am now 17."
"Hn."
"What?"
"Your so young." Sasuke smirked.
"And you're what? 18?"
Sasuke's smirk faltered oh so slightly. A normal human being wouldn't have seen it. But then again, Naruto is definitely doesn't fit into the category of a 'normal human being'.
"Ha. You have no right to talk about age. Ha. But I will give you credit for being captain of a ship at this age. And having crew members older than you. Impressive." Naruto gave a cheeky grin.
"Hn."
"I've noticed that you vocabulary holds a lot of grunts."
"Hn." Naruto was getting a little annoyed, and was about to express his feelings when Sasuke stopped him. "Your story."
'Damn. Still curious.' "Well, I was brought up by this old man named Sarutobi. He kept me until I was 5, when his house was raided." Naruto's eyes glazed over. "He was killed, and I was taken. The pirates that took me were from the ship Akatsuki."
"WHAT?" Sasuke gripped his seat. Why was the boy only telling him this now? Did he not know of his history? Of his angst? Of his god forsaken emo-ness?
"Yep, their leader was Itachi. And if I remember correctly, your brother?" Naruto said slyly.
Sasuke struggled to maintain his composure. "Why are you just telling me this now?"
"It had no value to you. All Itachi did half the time was rant and rave about power and money and stuff. He talked about being the best and how his little brother won't ever defeat him. Pretty crazy."
Sasuke doubted his brother ranted and raved, but when he thought about having someone like Naruto as company, even someone with s much patience and composure as Itachi would rant and rave. So he took a deep breath in and nodded for Naruto's continuation. "Anyway, so I was kept on that ship until I was 14. I was a slave for them."
'I wonder what they could have wanted him to do?' Sasuke then remembered that his brother used to be a little loose when they lived together. There was no doubt in his mind on what Itachi might have wanted Naruto to do. Sasuke felt sympathy for the boy. Almost.
"I don't want your 'almost' pity. I am fine now and free. Anyway, Itachi and his crew were a lot nicer than Kyuubi. One day while we were resting at a port, I got Kisame, Itachi's first Mate drunk, so that was when I snuck off the boat. But I ran into some trouble. A fight broke out in one of the pubs I was passing and I ended up being captured by Kyuubi. I was with them until a few days ago. The ship that attacked us was the Akatsuki. Rich right?" Naruto gave a dry smile. Sasuke remained still. "So they tried to get me back, along with the loot, but the ship suddenly caught fire. I escaped and now I am here." Naruto sighed at the end of his tale. Sasuke took a moment to digest this information. Now that he knew Naruto's history, he knew why the boy was hesitant to tell it, and why he reacted some ways to certain things.
"Fine. I am satisfied with your story."
"Good. Now am I able to leave tomorrow?" Naruto asked getting up and turning towards the door.
"Hn." Naruto grinned and walked out the door. Tomorrow, he would truly be free.
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