Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto
La giustizia me vedrà attraverso
Small wisps of smoke and debris are the only remnants of the Intrepid. All of the crew from the gone ship met their doom at the bottom of the ocean and only their hats floating ominously are the only indication of the sheer numbers who met their doom that day.
The pink haired vixen was amidst her crew while they surrounded her, cheering each other on a job well done while in each of their hands was a pint of rum. Sakura, herself, had one in her grip and watched with mirthful eyes as her men began singing in their inebriated states.
Shaking her head in mock disappointment, she went to relieve Sai from steering,
"Why are you not celebrating?"
He gave her a sideways look with his hands turning the wheel slightly to the left, "And make a fool of myself? No I'd rather watch."
"You're not doing much watching while steering" she quipped with a mirthful expression, "I know you like to draw, why don't you do that while I take over for a bit?"
"Why are you not celebrating?" Sai smirked as he threw her previous comment back at her.
"Because I could get drunk off their breath alone. Also, I wish to be alone."
"Aa." Without further protest, he stepped aside and made his way down the stairs. He paused at the bottom and looked up with a sad expression. Her face expressed the loneliness she usually kept well-hidden. She hardly smiled a true smile towards anyone other than him…he just wished so much for her to be happy but ever since that day, she hasn't been the same.
I wonder if she'll ever truly move on. He snorted at the stupidity of that thought and answered it himself, not until she gets the just revenge and until then she will be that way.
He entered the captain's quarters they both shared and plopped onto his hammock. The slow rocking lulled him into a state of peace. His black eyes gazed at the polished wood above him and allowed his mind to wonder while his sketch pad and pencils lay contently on his chest.
Ten years had been a long time, he mused with a frown. Ten years of running, of avenging the dead sailors who knew naught of their crimes, crimes which they didn't commit. His eyes slammed shut as the heart-rendering screams pierced his mind…
"Daddy?" A young girl clutched Sai's hand. They were both ten years old and were awakened in the middle of the night by hurried footfalls and the scrapes of metal on metal.
The pink haired girl met up with Sai as she climbed the stairs and together they reached the deck only to see a horrible sight before them.
The King's ship, The Crimson Maiden, was under attack by the King's Naval Guard. The little girl couldn't comprehend what was going on and neither could her friend beside her.
She clutched his hand, "We have to go Sai."
"Go where?"
"To get Neji! He might be in trouble!"
Sai nodded his head and together they went back down only to scream in terror as a blood-stained sword came upon them…
Sai awoke gasping for air with beads of sweat rolling down his head in plentiful amounts. He wiped away the strands of hair sticking to his face and clenched his hands to rid his body of its shaking.
Once his body was under control, Sai pushed up his right tunic sleeve and gingerly traced the scar from his shoulder to elbow. Dark ink outlined the scar and formed it into a sword. On the blade were the bloodied words: Dimenticare la promessa, dimenticare la vita, which stated: To forget the promise, is to forget life. Sakura had a similar tattoo on her back with her family's sword except her words were more of a statement than his, La giustizia me vedrà attraverso, which meant that justice will see her through. Drops of blood dripped from her tattooed sword and with each drop was every person who hurt her and who she sought to right the wrongs they did upon her.
Sai stood up and clutched his sketchpad and pencils. He realized that Sakura was not in her bed and decided to go for a night stroll on deck, perhaps to draw the moon and the glow it cast on the sea? Anything, he thought, was better than dwelling on the past.
Neji sat in his captain's quarters with his closest friends gathered around a beaten table.
"I trust all of you read the mission statement."
A loud blonde nodded his head, "Yeah but from these accounts the ship will be hard to surprise."
"And if your hypothesis is correct Neji then we'll have to sacrifice the ship we're guarding if we want to board the pirate's."
Neji looked up at TenTen and folded his hands under his chin. "I don't want to ruin that ship."
"We may have no other choice" Naruto stated, "Besides, why would you not want to send that ship down?"
Lee cast a glance towards his friend and felt that cold loneliness he exuded, "Yosh, the spring time of youth is upon us and we're in a cabin while a beautiful day is harkening for us to enjoy it! Let's not pursue such trivial matters until later!" Without further words, everyone filed out save for Neji and Lee.
"You can't blame yourself forever my friend."
Neji raked his hands through his long, brown hair and sighed, "But why?"
Lee cast him a curious expression, waiting for the man to elaborate on his vague question.
"Why do I care so much if the ship was to meet Davy? As far as I can recall, there will be no remnants of the crew from so long ago."
"Or that girl."
Neji shot a glare, "What are you talking about?" His voice was cold and guarded, a supreme change from the confusion laced one of before.
"You call out her name in your sleep" Lee's voice was soft, "and then you attempt to reach for someone and call out a boys name in a mix of anger and confusion."
"Who?"
"Sakura, I believe and the boy was Sai…were those your friends?" Lee didn't need a form of confirmation and decided to stand there waiting. If Neji wanted to speak, then he'll listen, if not then Neji will know he always had Lee to talk with.
"They were my friends" his voice came in a pained whisper, "She was unconscious while Sai held her. He refused to come with us as the ship started to sink. I was so angry" he clenched his shaking fists, "why would he do such a foolish thing?!"
"Perhaps he was scared?"
"No he wasn't. He was as angry as I was, but I did nothing to wrong him!"
"So a ship came and helped the crew?"
"I was the only one to survive. Apparently we were attacked by pirates but I was sleeping while all this went on. The only thing I remember is being carried onto a ship and seeing those two covered in blood. Ever since then, I blamed myself for their deaths."
Lee sat next to his friend and patted his shoulder, "You cannot blame yourself for events that could not be controlled. I'm sure your friends wouldn't want you to live a life of remorse."
Neji shook his head in reaction towards Lee's words. He didn't understand the pain and the horrible loneliness of it all. The promise the three of them made, he broke because of his cowardice. He was supposed to die with them that night and now he'll have to live with that mistake.
"What were they like?"
Neji looked over towards his friend and sighed, "I'm afraid I cannot answer you with words Lee, for their actions cannot be described by mere syllables but witnessed."
"I wish I could've met them."
Neji nodded as his mind wandered, "Perhaps, someday…"
"On the other side" Lee finished with a small smile, "Until then we must continue living for those who are unable to." Standing up, Lee gave a final squeeze on his friend's shoulder and quietly shut the door behind him.
Neji clutched his silver chain, "Why do I feel as though you're still here?"
Poor Neji! He blames himself for that awful night, but how will he react when his inevitable encounter with the pink haired captain and artistic first mate happens?
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