Stormy Seas

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I do apologize that this one took me so long to update. The seas of real life were stormy for awhile and I got sidetracked by some of my other stories. Anyway, I do hope that you'll find this chapter was worth the wait. Happy reading.

Chapter 4

Several hours later, Kakashi was immensely frustrated. He couldn't believe that the they hadn't been able to raid that ship yet. It seemed that Lady Uma was a passenger on it though because she had come aboard it more than once.

"It's never not manned." Gai looks at his friend with a frown. "If we want the goods, we'd have to fight for them."

Normally, Kakashi wouldn't be opposed to such things. This wasn't normally though. They were all still docked in a port and that meant the authorities would be alerted, if a battle were to happen.

It was such a shame though. That ship was loaded with precious treasures, including one beautiful lass with a mouth that could make any sailor blush. Rarely, had he encountered a woman who spoke with such vulgarity. It was almost as disconcerting as it was refreshing.

All he could do was shrug. "Well we'll just find easier targets." Kakashi wouldn't mind having a go at it on the open sea, but in a port doing so would be nothing short of suicidal.

The Chidori's greatest asset was its speed. That meant very little, if there wasn't room to maneuver and there was also the fact that the other ship looked as though it might be better armed.

Not that such a thing had ever stopped him before. "Aye." It wasn't how many weapons and what kind you had necessarily that mattered in battle, it was more how you used them. "Say Captain, have you seen our favorite little rascals running around?" Wait. That didn't sound good.

Gai hadn't seen Itachi and Sasuke? "Now, that you mention it…I haven't. " That fact was beginning to fill him with a sense of dread. Had they lost them?!

Where were the princes? Kakashi had made sure to take them to their cabins upon their return and yet, he hadn't heard from them since. That wasn't like them. They were being very quiet. Too quiet, really.

Boys that age were never that quiet for such a long time. It violated some sort of fundamental law of nature. Kakashi was sure of it.

"I'll have to go and check on them." He sighs as he strides towards the cabin. "Gai, try to make sure that the ship doesn't blow up in the meantime." He was only half joking.

The Chidori had always had a fairly wild crew. Of course, they were far less wild than some other pirates, but still. It was the type of environment where one minute everything could be perfectly find and the next minute someone might decide that lighting a barrel of whiskey on fire was just a dandy idea.

That had actually happened once. Kakashi made sure that it never happened again. What kind of bloody idiot played with fire when you were on a ship in the middle of the ocean?!

"Itachi." Nevermind that. "Sasuke." He was getting distracted, Kakahsi thinks to himself as he knocks on the doors of the princes' cabins.

Upon hearing no response, he frowns and picks the locks. The boys were extremely foolish, if they actually thought that something as simple as a lock was going to keep him out of their room.

When he opens the door, Kakashi realizes something. "They're not here." The Uchiha Princes were gone!

Kaguya sighs as she enjoys some Irish Whiskey with one of her 'Ladies in Waiting.' In reality, Anko was anything, but a lady. Though everyone pretended otherwise for fear of earning the Queen's ire.

"What's troubling, My Queen?" Though that was precisely what the lavender eyed woman liked best about her.

Prim and proper ladies bored her to utter tears. Something that Danzo had figured out early on and to his credit, he had allowed her to choose suitable companions. She didn't care for the man at all, but at the very least he understood how things were supposed to work.

This was not a marriage. This was a partnership. She gave him a beautiful wife with an impressive pedigree to show off and he gave her power and freedom. It had worked out beautifully for the most part, even if his days were numbered.

Kaguya sighs as she takes another gulp of her whiskey. It was far from a proper drink for a woman, but that just made it taste all the better in her mind. There was nothing sweeter than the Forbidden Fruit. (Well forbidden whiskey in this case, but she digressed).

"I had another dream last night." A terrible dream.

She didn't know what she was going to do about them. Danzo's paranoia was rubbing off on her, Kaguya supposed. The occasional nightmare was to be expected. That was just part of life, but these nightmares felt so real.

Crying. Why did she hear crying and why was it coming from her throne room? Curious and a little alarmed, Kaguya had made her way there.

"It's alright, My Sweet Prince." A woman was trying to soothe her child.

A beautiful woman with long hair that was black as night and skin that shined like moonlight. She was also wearing a crown. Her crown!

Enraged, Kaguya rushed towards her. "Get off of my throne!" How dare this woman sit on her throne?! Who did she think she was?!

That's when she feels herself smacked against the wall by a powerful hand. She goes flying straight into a wall. Bruised and battered, she got up and spat out the blood that had pooled in her mouth.

When she saw her attacker's face, she screamed. "We all know that isn't really your throne." It couldn't be! It just couldn't be!

It was Fugaku. The dead King. The King that she had removed from the throne by starting those rumors about the Plague and he was angry. Very angry. So was the young prince standing by his side and he had a knife.

"Prince Itachi?" She eyed the small child with horror. "King Fugaku, but it can't be you?"

Fugaku smiled coldly at her. "Because we're dead." He shook his head. "Unfortunately for you, the dead do not always stay buried." He glanced down at his son. "Now, Itachi why don't you gut her like a fish as the Nobles did to us all those years ago?"

Kaguya ran towards the exit, but she was stopped by the Queen. The Queen who was still carrying her youngest son. "Where are you going?" She smiled cruelly at her. Her pearly white teeth now displayed as menacingly as a shark's jaws. "I thought you wanted your throne back? Your crown?" That's when Kaguya saw her face.

Her face was still beautiful, despite being covered in the Plague. No! She couldn't let the Queen touch her or else she would fall victim to the disease as well!

"You can keep it!" She needed to run! "Just spare me!"

Mikoto's eyes were glowing red. "Oh no, I think that you still want it." Like a demon's. "After all, you were willing to kill for it. It was worth my life, my husband's life, and even our children's." She thrust the newborn into her hands as she placed the crown upon her head. "You didn't even care if a babe was killed. Just as long as you got to wear the crown and sit upon the throne."

Those words were true, but Kaguya panicked. She panicked and dropped the young prince while running for her life.

Just then a bell rang. "You can run for now, Kaguya." It was the King's voice. "Just remember, the bell tolls for thee. You can't escape your Judgment for long."

Anko shakes her head. "My Queen, perhaps you should speak with a physician about these dreams of yours." No! She would not! "They are becoming a rather common affliction for you." If she did that, they would think that she had gone mad. Kaguya would lose her crown!

"No." She shakes her head. "I'm sure that they're merely the result of an undercooked meal or something of that nature."

Anko looks less than convinced, but she nods her head in agreement. This was a wise decision on her part because Kaguya would not have tolerated any other reaction. A Lady In Waiting who didn't know when to shut their mouth, didn't last very long in Kaguya's Court.

Kaguya's Court. Not Mikoto's. Hers!

"We need to head back." Itachi looks at Sasuke. "Kakashi will likely be wondering where we are soon enough."

Sasuke couldn't help, but nod his head in agreement. They had done what needed to be done. The letter had been delivered. Now, all they could do was wait for Operation Mermaid to take off.

He smiles at his older brother. "Are you sure that she'll like it?" Who knew what sort of stuff girls liked in love letters?

"Oh I'm quite certain she'll adore it." Apparently, Itachi did.

That was just who his older brother was though. The man had been born seeming to know about every topic under the stars. There was almost nothing in Sasuke's mind, that his older brother couldn't handle.

It was as amazing as it was intimidating. He could only hope, that one day he'd grow up to be just as strong and smart as his big brother.

Sasuke grins at that. "Great. Did you leave a list of the port locations we will likely be heading too as well?" There was no point in leaving the love letter, if Lady Uma didn't know where to find it.

Uma. Hmm. It was such a strange name. She probably wasn't a native Frenchwoman, Sasuke decides.

"Yes, I did." Itachi assures him with a smile as the two of them quickly depart towards the Chidori. "Don't worry, I'm not an amateur."

Sasuke nods at that. "Like First Mate Gai." Why that man thought that he was God's gift to women was a mystery to Sasuke. He had rarely seen anyone wearing a skirt warm to him.

Itachi shakes his head as they bob and weave through the crowded streets. "Yes, like Gai." There were so many people around, that it was almost a given they were bound to run into someone.

The man they ran into was very tall with ashen skin and eyes that reminded Sasuke far too much of a snake. He instantly didn't like him, even though the gentleman was wearing a fine purple suit and matching hat with a dramatic feather attached to it.

"Careful now." He looks down at them. "You never know who is out wandering these streets and might not take kindly to being bumped into or worse, who might run off with two sweet boys such as yourself."

This man gave him the creeps. "Yes, we'll be careful." Itachi's eyes narrow as he holds onto Sasuke's hand tightly.

"Good." He tilts his head. "Hmm. You two look rather familiar for some reason." That's when Itachi's eyes widen in horror and he borrows Sasuke's wooden sword.

The very same wooden sword that he was forever carrying around with him. Sasuke never wanted to miss a chance to practice and apparently, neither did Itachi because he smacked the other man in the knees with it and they took off running.

"Itachi, who was that man?!" Sasuke looks at his brother in confusion as they race towards the ship.

His older brother shakes his head. "I don't know, but I pray that we'll never find out." With that being said, they finally approach the ship.

The two of them were nearly out of breath, but they managed to board it before the Feather Man could grab them. Had Itachi known that the man was actually the Duke of England and one of the nobles responsible for their parents' death, he wouldn't have just hit him in the knees. He would have killed him, but of course neither brother knew that.

"There you two are." Kakashi runs over to them. "Where the Bloody Hell did you two run off to?"

There was no time for that. "Kakashi, we're being chased by a bad Feather Man!" They had to get out of here.

Sasuke's every instinct was screaming at him that they needed to go. So he had to make sure that his other big brother knew that much too. Kakashi might not be related to them by blood, but he was almost like a brother to Sasuke. That and the closest thing that he had to a father. He'd keep them safe.

Sasuke didn't understand why, really. He knew that much though. The little boy had absolute faith in the perverted silver haired man. That was why he and Itachi were working so hard on Operation Mermaid, after all. The man deserved a good wife!

"I'll tell Gai that we need to leave immediately then." Kakashi gesture sfor them to follow him as he leads them towards his First Mate. "Gai, set sail for the next port. We need to leave a stalker behind."

Sasuke wasn't really sure what a stalker was, but it sounded bad. "It's alright, Sasuke." Itachi smiles at him. "We're safe now. There is no way he can catch us once we're in the water." Yeah. That was true.

The Sea meant safety. It was land that usually got them into trouble. At this point, Sasuke was far more used to being on as hip than not and that was for good reason. It was a pirate's life for him.

Speaking of a pirate's life, Otoko raises an eyebrow. "Did any of ye see that?" She could have sworn that she saw two children running away from her ship.

"I didn't see anything." Hidan shakes his head at her. "You're just seeing things, Captain." Well at least he had learned not to call her Captain Wench anymore.

One way or another, she'd teach Hidan to respect his superiors. If washing his mouth out with soap and forcing him to walk the plank didn't' do it, well she'd just be sure to think of something that would.

Nagato shakes his head as he shuffles the cards. "I didn't see anything either." The crew was playing cards while they waited for the next tide to carry them out. It was a good way to pass the time and besides, she enjoyed kicking all of their arses at the game.

Right. Maybe, she was just imagining things. That had to be it. "So what were you saying about the two scallywags?" Konan looks at her with concern.

Right. The scallywags. Honestly, Otoko couldn't believe men sometimes, even when they were trying to be helpful…they wound up being irritating more than half the time. Though the silver haired one did have a great arse. It might actually be better than Sasori's.

"I was just minding my won business when this scabby sea bass of a pervert grabbed me arse." It was awful. "He even had the nerve to lie about doing so." That only made it worse.

Deidara laughs at that as he takes his cards. "Well that happens sometimes." The blonde rarely stopped smiling, especially when he was sitting that close to Sasori. "Aye?"

Aye. That was true. Unfortunately, that was very true. Why couldn't it ever be someone that she would want to knock boots with that grabbed her arse? Why did it always have to be some pox faced menace?

"Hope ye at least managed to rob him blind." Kakuzu smiles at her.

She rolls her eyes at that thought. Honestly, that was all the man ever thought about. Money.

Otoko loved money as much as the next pirate, but the man was obsessed. Though that wasn't the thought time she had thought that, the Captain also knew it wouldn't be the last.

"I didn't rob him blind." She rolls her eyes once more. "Two men tried to play heroes for me. They thought I was some damsel in distress." Which had only pissed her off more.

Sasori shakes his head at that. "They obviously didn't know yet." He looks at his cards. "Pay them no mind."

That was wise advice. Otoko honestly didn't know why she was dwelling on the matter. Probably because silver hair in a man that young was rare and those damn eyebrows of his friend were likely going to haunt her until her dying day. They looked like dead caterpillars.

"Well I'm sure you put them in their place." Kisame smirks at her as Zetsu nods in agreement.

Damn right she did. "Obviously." She smirks at her crew. "Just like I'm about to do to all of you now." The Uchiha woman shows her winning hand. "So how much loot did I win this time?"

"Ten bags of gold." Kakuzu looks as though he wants to cry at that realization. "Damn ye." Which only makes Otoko giggle with glee.

Orochimaru couldn't believe it. Had that really been Prince Itachi and Sasuke? Logically, he knew that had to be impossible and yet, the boys had looked so much like the fallen princes.

"Is something troubling you, My Lord?" Kabuto looks at him.

Kabuto was his Royal Physical and rarely left his side. He'd had the boy saved from an orphanage when it became apparent he had a talent for medicine and the man hadn't left his side since.

"I'm not sure." He tilts his head. "Kabuto, you're closer to the Common Man than I am." There was no point in beating around the bush about such things. "Have you heard anything about the Uchiha Princes of late?" It was simply the truth. No peasant would dare to speak of such things in front of the Duke.

Kabuto pauses as he considers the question. "Well there are the usual whispers." The whispers never truly died. "Why do you ask?" The Peasant Class loved a good ghost story as much as the Noble Class did.

He wasn't sure how to answer that question. There was a good chance that his physician might think that he had taken leave of his senses. Still, if he couldn't trust Kabuto, who could he trust?

"I think I saw them." He shakes his head. "I probably imagined it, but do you think it could be true?" Orochimaru pauses and adds. "That there were survivors?"

Kabuto frowns at the thought. "I suppose it's possible, but the odds of two small children staying hidden for that long are almost nonexistent." That was true. "Unless they had someone looking after them. By now, they'd probably be nearly unrecognizable, especially Prince Sasuke." Yes, he had only been an infant at the time of the revolt.

The peasants must never find out about it or they would all be doomed. The Uchihas had been beloved, but Orochimaru had made out quite nicely in the chaos that followed. Certainly, Queen Kaguyra appreciated his talents and he'd become tenfold richer since the death of the Ruling Family because of it.

"Yes, I suppose you're right." Or was he?

Later that night, Otoko was enjoying a nice glass of wine with Konan, when she notices something on her bed. "Hmm. What's this?" She picks up the letter and begins to read.

It didn't take long for a blush to adorn her face. Who on Earth could have possibly wrote this? It was…well sinful enough that most 'decent' folks would have had to go Confession after writing such things.

My Dearest Lady,

I hope ye do not find me too forward, but I simply had to let ye know of my feelings before you disappeared. Forgive me, for sneaking onto your ship like a thief in the night. Though I assure you that I am after nothing more than your heart. All the treasures in the world could never measure up to that particular prize in my eyes.

You're beautiful. Anyone can see that. Your hair is black as night and as wild as the sea itself. Your eyes shine even more than the moon itself and you walk with a self assured gait that I have never seen another woman move with to date.

Though that isn't what drew me to you. What drew me to you was your fire. Your passion and desire. Your desire to prove that you could stand on your own two feet.

I am afraid that in my eagerness to get into your good graces, I may have committed a blunder. I should have left you to your own devices. I do hope that you will consider having mercy on a poor wretch such as myself. My name is Kakashi and if you should desire it, I would very much like to see you again. With that in mind, I have enclosed a list of locations that my crew and I will be sailing over the next few months.

I will understand, if you never want to see me again. The first impression that I made was unfavorable to say the least, but perhaps you wouldn't mind having mercy on me. It has hard to keep one's head above water, when they are drowning in the sea of beauty that is your eyes.

Eternally Yours, Kakashi.

"What's it say?" Konan smiles at her.

Otoko couldn't believe it, but for a moment she actually hesitated to tell her best friend. She had never kept a secret from Konan. The woman was her new Rin.

Rin was her dearest friend growing up in the palace. Sadly, Otoko had no idea what became of her. She couldn't exactly make inquiries about her to the palace guards or write the woman, after all.

That would be nothing short of suicidal. She was quite possibly the last Uchiha. The second she set foot in that place or they even suspected she might be alive, that would be the end of her. It really was that simple.

"It says many things." She blushes. "If I show you this, you have to sear on your parents' grave that you will tell no one what you saw?" Otoko knew that Konan took such vows seriously and if she made a vow like that, the woman would keep it.

The bluenette blinks in surprise. "Yes, I swear it." Good. Once that was settled, the Captain hands her the letter.

It took a moment or two for her dearest friend to read it, but once she did…Konan actually giggles. "Sounds like you've found yourself quite the charmer there." A slight frown mars her face a few seconds later though. "But how did he get onto the ship?" That was a very good question.

Otoko had been so bedazzled by the letter that she had missed the most important point. Somehow, the man had gotten onto her ship and into her cabin without her noticing. That was very dangerous.

"I don't know." She runs her fingers through her hair. "But I promise ye this much, I will find out!" Of that Otoko had little doubts.

She was the Captain of the Akatsuki. That meant that she had unlocked several of the countless mysterious of the Seven Seas. This was just another mystery to unlock really and that meant, she would find a way to solve this puzzle.

Konan nods at that. "I don't doubt that for a moment." She smiles at her slyly. "My Lady." To which Otoko gives her a dirty look and throws a pillow at the other lass. She was anything, but a Lady. She was a pirate!

"Save your titles for someone who deserves em." Otoko shakes her head. "I left that life behind me long ago." She grins at the other woman. "It's a pirate's life for me now!"