She fleeted to the deck in search of Kiba, the morning sun piercing her eyes as she sprinted out on to the surface. All the prisoners were hard at work scrubbing the deck and fiddling with the sails as the surrounding guards supervised. The guards and soldiers looked at her, and Sakura half expected that they'd grab a hold of her and force her to work also, but much to her surprise they didn't. There was a few sly nudges with the elbow and nods at her direction, but no one touched or even spoke to her. Had the Commodore warned them not to go near her? Or did they just think she was someone else? After all, she did look like a completely different person once she was cleaned and clothed properly. But then again there weren't many people on board, or any at all for that matter, who had a head of bright pink hair like she did.
When the soldiers went back to observing the prisoners instead of Sakura, she began to make her way across deck. Her heart sank at the stares she was receiving off the woman and children; their desperate faces pleading out for help and answers. But sadly Sakura couldn't offer any of that. She had no way of helping them, saving them, she didn't know how. She couldn't answer their questions because she didn't even know the answers to her own. All she could do was walk by and drop her eye contact, due to the immense guilt that was caving in her chest; guilt casted upon her by the commodores favouritism.
The male prisoner's stares were different. They were violent, they were nasty, they were ones of raw, blood thirsty jealousy. "Well if it isn't the commodores little pet," one man said as he carted crates of cargo to the side of the deck.
"How many time's did you have to fuck him to earn yourself a pretty little dress like that?" said another very familiar voice. Rakon leaned against the edge of a railing with his ever present posse gathered behind him. "Come on princess, how many times? Three, four?"
She dropped her head and quickened her pace, in hope that she would walk straight past him without any further hassle. Unfortunately that wasn't the case as she was stopped by a colossal grip grabbing her upper arm.
"Why walk so fast? Thought you'd take your time, y'know, get a kick out of watching us slave away while you stand around and look pretty."
"Let go of me Rakon, or else."
"Or else what? Your lover boy isn't here to defend you this time, is he?" Rakon's eyes widened in realisation, his calloused hands still gripped firmly around her skin. "Oh, wait… come to think of it, what does lover boy think of you fucking the Commodore?"
"There's nothing going on with either of them! Now let go of me, now."
Rakon's friends began tapping him on the shoulder, causing him to notice the soldiers on the side eyeing him off closely. He snarled and focussed his gaze back on Sakura before letting her go with a slight push. "Looks like you got everyone on this boat looking out for you, hey princess?" His voice deepened as he leaned closer. "You may have the Commodore, the guards, the soldiers and even that little Inuzuka punk carefully watching over you, but just remember princess, every one sleeps eventually. And when they do, you better watch that pretty little back of yours." He snarled before turning his back to her and walking away.
Sakura's gut turned as she watched Rakon and his gang leave and resume to their jobs. He wouldn't really try to hurt her would he? None of this was her fault, so why was he blaming her?
It was yet another unanswered question she attempted to push to the back of her mind. She could worry about that later, for now she needed to find Kiba. She continued to walk with her eyes scanning the deck for the dark haired teen. The persistent burn on her skin caused by the loathing glares surrounding her made her heart ache. They envied the fact Sakura was clean and getting fed properly, they envied that now she had proper bedding and warmth, but most of all they envied the fact that she was surviving.
I know you all might hate me now, but I'm going to do everything I can to help you. I promise.
Her emerald eyes lit up once they caught sight of Kiba stacking cargo. He wasn't wearing a shirt, probably due to the fact he had destroyed it to keep her warm, but he didn't need it on a day like this anyway. The sun was shining down upon the ship with an enormous amount of heat. It was the nights she was worried about. Those long, cold, aching nights down in the hull.
"Kiba!" she called, her long white dress flowing behind her as she ran to where he was standing. She tried her hardest to dodge the workers and prisoners standing in her way. His head shot up at the sound of her voice as he caught sight of her running quickly towards him.
"Sakura, you're okay!" he replied as he embraced her, sighing in relief. "Where have you been, what did they do to you? Shit I have so many questions-
"Kiba," she said, cutting him off. "I'm fine. They just fixed me up, that's all. They're not hurting me or anything,"
"They were humane enough to do that?" he grunted. He folded his arms as he thought back to the way the guards and soldiers were treating everyone.
"Yeah, believe it or not…"
There was a bit of a silence as the two trapped themselves in thought, but it was broken when he looked at her with a questioning look, one eyebrow raised as he eyed her up and down. "What are you wearing?"
"Oh, this? I don't know, it's some dress he gave me. I woke up with it on."
"You look funny."
"Well gee, thanks a lot."
Kiba laughed and leant against the side of the boat. "I'm sorry, it's just… you look like a girl."
"Maybe because I am a girl!" she said as she lightly punched him in the arm.
"Sorry, it's just you act like you're the strongest person in the world. I thought that somewhere amidst that badass attitude of yours was a little boy,"
"Kiba!" she went to punch him again, but this time he dodged it and laughed. She couldn't help but giggle herself, but she knew that deep down, this wasn't the time to be acting like little children. "Seriously though, I have some stuff to tell you."
His mischievous smirk faded into a serious, solemn expression. He knew also that this wasn't the time or place to be carrying on like flirting twelve year olds. "Tell me everything you know."
"I don't know much, because the Commodore is pretty firm with the information he gives. I tried to ask him about the project, to try and get some answers, but he wouldn't budge. He just kept saying something about only the strong people surviving, or something like that. All the other stuff he said was pretty useless."
Kiba raised an eyebrow. "What other stuff did he say? Any information is good information Sakura."
"Uhh, well…" she shifted awkwardly, focussing her gaze out to sea. "He said that I reminded him of his wife."
"His wife?" Kiba said as he tried to hold back his laugh. "Looks like the Commodore might have a little crush on you Sakura."
"Looks a bit that way." Sakura leaned against the side of the boat, resting her head in her hands as she sighed. She glanced down at the long drop between the boat and the water as she thought strongly about her situation. How was she going to get herself out of this? Or better yet, did she even want to get out of this?
Kiba stood beside her, and like Sakura, thought hard. "Well while you were discussing your future with the Commodore, I've gathered up a bit of info too."
"Hey, we didn't discuss anything about the 'future.' Don't go saying stupid stuff like that, nothing's going on."
"Relax Sakura, I was joking. Loosen up a little. Anyway, as I was saying, I overheard the guards saying some stuff."
"What kind of stuff?" she said as she looked up at him.
"Well wherever we're going, we're not going to straight away. They said we needed to make a few stops first to pick up more prisoners." Kiba ran his hands through his hair, sighing in frustration. "More people is the last thing we need. It's crowded and cramped enough already down in the hull. Not to mention there's barely enough food rations to support the prisoners we already have."
"You're right… at this rate, we're all going to slowly die before we even get to this place."
Kiba sighed again. "It's not looking good Sakura."
"What makes you say that?"
"One of the children died this morning. A little boy. From what I heard it was starvation, but it could have been a lot of other things, other things caused by these stupid fucking soldiers and guards." Sakura noticed the frustration and anger in his voice, the raw resentment and confusion almost visible as it itched away at his skin. "And what made it worse, is that they just tossed the body overboard. Like it was an animal. There was no burial, no ceremony, hell I don't even know if the parents even got to say goodbye. How could they do that? How could they bring themselves to do something so fucking cruel and cold-hearted? It doesn't make any fucking sense... it's not people we're dealing with here, Sakura. It's animals."
She rested her hand upon his shoulder in an attempt to calm him down. The more he spoke, the more worked up he was getting, and Sakura figured that being angry was the last thing he needed. It wasn't really a good idea when he was on board with fifty other soldiers and guards, and a group of large men who were out to get him.
That's when she remembered her incident with Rakon, and although she knew that she was safe for the time being, she worried for Kiba. If at this present time Rakon and his posse wanted to hurt Sakura in anyway, the closest way to do that would be through Kiba, the only person she had friended on the ship. "Kiba, you need to calm down. I don't want you getting angry and doing something stupid; I don't need or want you getting hurt."
"It's bound to happen sooner or later Sakura. I have enemies on this ship; every passing second is just a second closer to being confronted or jumped. If not by Rakon and his gang, then by a soldier or guard."
"But I don't want that happening!" she yelled at him, frowning at the fact he would say something like that. It came across as him giving in, becoming weak. "Listen, maybe I should tell the Commodore that I don't want to stay in the cabin. Maybe the whole thing is a bad idea, maybe I should be down in the hull with you-
"No!" Kiba faced her, his face serious. "No. You need to be there, you need to make sure your leg is fixed and find out more information. I don't want you worrying about me, I'll be fine. Now promise me you'll stay there with him, okay?"
"But I don't want you getting hurt…" she said as she turned her face away from him. The thought of her losing another person she was close too made her heart ache.
"I won't get hurt Sakura, I can look after myself. You of all people should know what it's like to be underestimated."
"But Rakon and his friends... There is about eight of them, if they all decide to attack you you'll have no chance-"
"Stop thinking like that." He placed two hands on her shoulders and made her look at him. "Just keep doing what you're doing. I promise that the next time you come to see me, I'll still be here."
"I'll come and visit you every morning, I promise I'll bring food and blankets and clean water and anything you need,"
"Sakura," he laughed, putting a hand over her mouth. "All you need to do is find out information about what the hell this voyage is about. I'll be fine, okay?"
She nodded, still not fully convinced, but convinced enough to let the conversation slide. After all, Kiba was quite capable of looking after himself. He had held his own against Rakon before, so there was no saying he couldn't do it again.
"Just remember, make sure you take note of where everything is; where he puts the keys, food, maps, plans of any kind- take a mental image. The more you remember, the easier it'll be to find out information when he's asleep." Sakura nodded. "Good. I know you can do this, Sakura. You're strong. Now you should probably go, the guards are getting suspicious."
Kiba nodded to where a group of guards had gathered, looking in the direction in which Kiba and Sakura stood. Their eyes carefully watched every move the two teens made, warily keeping an eye out for any suspicious movements or actions. "I'd give you a hug, but it's probably not the time with all those pigs watching over us."
"Aw, don't go getting all soft on me now Kiba," Sakura said with a wink. She smirked cheekily before turning away from him and walking back across deck, passing the crowded group of guards as she did so.
He smiled at the way she left on an insult, the familiar smug and self-confident side that she had when he first met her slowly returning. Although he had reassured her that everything would be alright he knew that what he said was a lie. His situation with Rakon was getting worse with each passing day, but he didn't want her worrying about his wellbeing. She had enough things troubling her without him adding on an extra burden. As long as she had a set task and knew what she had to do, he had no doubts that she would be fine. He meant every word when he said she was strong; she was one of the most determined girls he had ever met, but he just didn't like to tell her often because he liked to keep her wanting to prove her point.
"You can do this, Sakura."
"You're back," The violet eyed man said as Sakura entered quietly through the door. Her head was still swarmed with thoughts of Kiba and the things he wanted her to do that she failed to realise the Commodore was in the room.
"Um, yes, sorry that I took so long."
"Never mind Sakura," he was still seated at his desk, exactly the same way he was positioned when she had left the room. "Did you get what you needed to gather?"
For a split second she stood in confusion, wondering what he was talking about. It wasn't until she remembered that she had told him she was going to collect her 'stuff' that she realised what he was talking about. "Oh! Um, no, I didn't…"
"Why not? Isn't that the whole reason you left?" He sent a questioning glance in her direction. Although he didn't seem mad, Sakura new she had to think of something quick before he figured out that she was lying.
"I wanted to gather… some, er, photo's that I brought with me. The ones of my family. But it doesn't matter now; they're ruined from the water. You know, you should probably have those leaks in the hull fixed."
"We have been informed of that concern, but you must understand we are busy people Sakura. Once we have the priority jobs finished, we will work on smaller issues like that."
Well, it was a start. As long as she mentioned matters like that, she knew she was slowly helping the rest of the prisoners that weren't getting the attention that she was. But did she say it to early? Maybe she should have said it a bit more subtly and not have been so forward, or maybe after she got to know the Commodore a bit more? "Yes, I understand Commodore."
"Please," the man said, standing up and walking over to her. He wore a warm smile across his lips. "Call me Neji."
First names. If her mother and father had taught her anything about social etiquette, it was that when a superior allowed her to call him or her by their first name, it was a sign of trust. And trust was the one thing she needed in this little plan of her and Kiba's.
"Uh, sure… Neji. Are you sure you're alright with that? I mean, I feel rude, we don't really know each other all that well..."
"Well, shall we get to know each other then?" He directed her to the small wooden dining table to the left of the room. She did so while returning the warm smile, seating at the table with her fingers nervously fiddling at the seams of her dress.
"So, you're Sakura Haruno. You were a prisoner at the Konoha Prisoner Base, been imprisoned for almost three months. Cause of imprisonment: Food Thievery, no history of mental or physical illness, only injury fault is a bullet wound to the left leg, caused at time of sentence. No record of marriage, no kids and no record of previous employment. You'd be surprised Sakura, I know a lot more than you think."
Her eyes widened at the bunch of information Neji seemed to have on her. He, or one of his workers, had actually gone to the effort to dig up as much dirt on her as possible. It's funny that at that very moment, Sakura's mind had gone into overdrive to remember every bad mistake, action or bad move she had made in her past that might affect her chances of being trusted. Thankfully, Sakura had never had a criminal record previous to the one she had now, and she couldn't recall any extremely bad situations which would put her future reputation with the Commodore at risk.
"How do you know all that?" she said after a brief moment of silence.
"I have files on each and every person on this ship. It's these files which helped me distinguish the strong prisoners from the weak, but your case was different. Your position in the shift movement was purely based off luck as I had not received any files on you prior to my visit to Konoha."
"So why did you choose me? I was in a cell with four other larger, stronger men, yet you picked me out of all of them to join you.''
"Because they appeared lazy and languid. That wasn't the attitude I wanted for this project. And you, well you had this look of determination in your eye, a look very similar to the one my wife once had."
There he goes again, bringing up his wife. By now Sakura was starting to get the impression that maybe the reason this man was taking her under his wing was not because she was strong, or determined, but simply because she was filling in the void his wife once filled. Hell, where was this girl anyway? What happened to her? Why wasn't she on the ship with him? Even though this guy was treating Sakura correctly, there was still something not quite right about him. Everyone had a past and Sakura was definitely going to get to the bottom of his. Maybe not tonight, but eventually.
"Why do you want strong people, I mean, what's so good about them?" She questioned him in a hope to get some answers.
With a self-satisfying smirk, Neji folded his arms. "Because if everyone on this ship is strong, my project will be successful. I know you're confused now Sakura, but once everything is explained everyone will be thanking me." He stood up now, walking to the cabin window with his hands behind his back. "Everyone will realise that what I'm doing is good. Actually it's not just good, it's genius. We'll be a nation of our own."
A nation of our own? As soon as Sakura was beginning to get answers there was a loud bang at the door. She snapped out of her thoughts to find a guard short of breath and standing impatiently in the doorframe.
"Commodore, you must come quick, a fight has broken out upon deck!"
The Commodore turned around calmly. "Well do something about it."
"Sir, its Rakon and his gang causing trouble again. You need to come quick,"
It was at that moment Sakura's stomach dropped. Oh no, Kiba!