Chapter 4

"Alright, crew! Get those sails hoisted until I can see them flying high. . . .and take that flag down!" Naruto added hastily when he saw their flag being put up on the mast. It was the symbol of their pirate crew, the Sharingan. The surrounding area of the flag was red with a dot in the center with what looked like three commas rotating around it. Sakura had seen it before in the newspaper warning all ships about the infamous Sharingan ship sailed by Sasuke Uchiha, the Devil of the Sea. It didn't work very well because all the ships that had come into contact with the Sharingan were now at the bottom of the ocean along with its crew.

Sakura sighed and shifted her butt onto another part of the box she was sitting on. She was getting extremely uncomfortable since she wasn't allowed to walk or run around on the ship with her injury. Every time she would get up, Nagato, Sakaku, Naruto, or even Sasuke would order her to sit down again. Her stomach whined in protest at not having any food since they had left earlier this morning, and that was hardly anything. As soon as she had crossed the door into the kitchen, she was grabbed and pulled out of the house by Naruto. The rest of the crew, including Sasuke, had already gone ahead to the ship and Naruto had been forced to wait for her. It was even under captain's orders that nobody should disturb her until she woke up.

A figure appeared in front of her and she looked up to find herself looking in a pair of brown eyes. The man had a high pigtail that was spiky, and he was very tall. His eyes showed sheer boredom, but underneath that she could see intelligence and spunk. But that was deep, deep, deep down though.

"May I help you with something?" she asked, a little irritated that he was staring at her so intently. He shrugged.

"Just wanted to get a better look at you. The last time I saw you was when you attacked Uchiha." He wiped his hand on his pants and stuck out his hand. "Name's Shikamaru Nara. Nice to meet you again." Sakura giggled and shook his hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Nara."

"Call me Shikamaru. It's too troublesome being formal if you ask me." Sakura smiled up at him and he looked over his shoulder. "Well, I gotta scat. Here comes his Royal Pain in the Ass." Sakura looked around him and saw Sasuke walking around the deck, surveying everyone's work. Only once had he have to stop and tell someone to do something correctly. He saw Shikamaru talking to Sakura and walked over to them.

"Nara, what are you doing?" he growled. Shikamaru turned to face him.

"Just introducin' myself to the lady of the crew. She seemed lonely so I decided to brighten her day by showing her the light of Shikamaru Nara." Sakura giggled behind Shikamaru's back. Sasuke scowled at the man's attitude. He sighed and rubbed his aching head. The headache he had had since earlier this morning was still there and he didn't need a lazy ass like Shikamaru to make it worse.

"Shikamaru, just go back to work. I don't care if you just sit on the deck and fall asleep like you always do, but just stay away from her while she's healing." Shikamaru and Sakura raised their eyebrows at his statement.

"Aye, aye, Captain," Shikamaru said sarcastically. He turned on his heel and walked away from them, muttering how much of an ass Sasuke was. Sasuke groaned and put his hand to his aching head. Sakura's attention turned to him immediately and she got up.

"Sakura, sit back down," Sasuke murmured.

"No," Sakura retorted. Sasuke turned his head to her slightly, his eyes narrowed. Sakura was staring up at him with sympathetic eyes. Sasuke looked away from her and focused on the passing ocean and the seagulls that were flying over their ship. He heard Sakura sigh and sit back down on the box. He looked back down at her and watched as her eyes began to dim as she started to think about things. He had seen her a couple times where she would do the same thing while staring out at the ocean.

"What are you thinking about?" he suddenly asked before he could contain it. Sakura didn't move from her position, but muttered,

"Stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

"How my family is doing, what they're doing, if my brother-" She stopped and turned her head away from her original place. She didn't say another word, so Sasuke spoke up.

"Why don't you go in your room? You could use a nap." Sakura's head snapped to him.

"Why are you being so nice to me all of the sudden? Wasn't your plan to kill me because your original plan wasn't going as smoothly as you wanted it to?" Sakura snapped at him. Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"Well, aren't we being Miss Bitchy today?"

"What was that!" Sakura screamed. Sasuke smirked.

"You heard me. You shouldn't be speaking to me like that. Might just change my mind and kill you right now." Sakura shut up and looked away. He saw her mutter something and his lips turned into a snarl.

"What was that, bitch?" Sasuke growled. Sakura lifted her head and there was an exact copy of Sasuke's snarl. Her teeth were practically bared and her eyes were narrowed to where you could only see small slits of her green eyes. The deck had gone completely silent since their fight had started, and they were all awaiting her statement she was about to make.

"I hate you. I hate you, I hate you, I hate you! Since the whole time I've been on this goddamned ship, you've been treating me like a fucking dog! What have I ever done to deserve this treatment? Just because I'm the only one that has enough valors to stand up to you doesn't mean that fucking huge ego of yours has to explode. Learn how to treat people with as much respect as you show yourself!"

Sakura was breathing hard and each breath she took hurt like hell, but she didn't care. Dying was better than being with this son of a bitch. Sasuke's eyes were wide with surprise more than anything, but slowly narrowed. She had a right to hate him he knew, but to call him names was no excuse to vent her bitchy attitude on him. His fingers instinctively reached for his swords that were strapped to his belt, the ones he had inherited from his brother. The twin samurai swords were from one blade, making them thin and nimble to the touch, but strong and not to mention sharp nonetheless. Sakura glanced down at the blades and retraced her thoughts. Her eyes widened, making Naruto and Nagato step forward.

"Sasuke, take your hands off those swords before I have to tackle you," Naruto hissed. He had dropped the nickname in favor of the situation, not wanting to endanger his life as well. He slowly stepped in front of the teenager, putting a hand on the hilt of one of the protruding swords Sasuke had successfully started to pull out. Nagato and Sakaku stepped up to Sakura's side and put a hand on her waist, steadying her as she started to teeter. Her body is still weak, Nagato thought as he fully supported her. Her body was shaking a little and her knees began to buckle. Suddenly, she collapsed but Nagato caught her just in time as she fell to the deck. Her eyes had rolled to the back of her head, but she seemed unconscious. Nagato picked her up and ran to the nearest room: Sasuke's cabin.

Sasuke watched them go but did nothing to stop them, his anger making him unable to move. He slowly calmed down and turned to where the retreating group was. He saw Sakura's short pink hair swaying and it seemed to be mixing with something that was red. Then, Sakura's head rolled to the side and he got a clear look at her face. Blood was seeping from her mouth and into her hair, where it was mixing in with the light pink. His eyes widened as the door slammed close.

It seemed like an eternity until Nagato came out of Sasuke's cabin. It was past midnight by the time life had started rolling again. Naruto was sitting outside with Sasuke who had his head in his hands. Thoughts were running through his head, making his head hurt even more than it had been hours ago. The rest of the crew had gone to bed hours ago. He looked up at his mate and just stared at him through hooded eyes. Nagato didn't even take a glance at him and turned his eyes to Naruto.

"She's stable now. I couldn't really do anything since I don't know what was wrong with her. Kakashi knows, but since he isn't here he can't tell us what's wrong with her. When I took a look at her stomach, it looked like there had been a previous scar there but it was hard to see it through all the blood. It looks like it reopened the last time and the internal wounds also opened up, making her almost drown in her own blood. But, as I said, she's going to be fine."

Sakaku came out with a bunch of bloody sheets in his hand, never making eye contact with Sasuke as well. He walked past them and into the lower decks where the laundry was always placed. The deck was silent again until Sasuke broke it by standing up slowly.

"Where are you going, Teme?" Naruto asked quietly but threateningly. Sasuke turned his head to the side.

"To see if she's okay."

Naruto's eyes widened with Nagato's to match. He wanted to go see if she was okay? Had he gone bipolar or something? Naruto stood up quickly and started towards his retreating friend. If he was going to do what he thought he was, then he would have to—

Someone putting his arm in front of him suddenly interrupted his thoughts. He glanced at Nagato, confusion lighting up his face. Nagato simply shook his head while putting his arm down. Naruto's eyes were narrowed as he stared at Sasuke's back, which disappeared through the doorway. You had better not do anything Sasuke, or I swear to God I will kill you where you stand.

Sasuke closed the door behind him and just stood there. His cabin was a mess from all the running around trying to keep the girl that was now in his bed sleeping from dying. His eyes wondered from his surroundings to the figure in the bed. Her arms were over the covers while her entire body was under the sheets making it look like she was wearing a white dress. They had stripped her of her shirt in order to get to the wound that had reopened and was slowly killing her. He didn't know what to do honestly. He knew it was his fault this had happened and he actually felt guilty about it, but for the first time in his entire life he had no idea what to do.

There was a low groan from the other side of the room and his attention snapped back to Sakura. The girl turned on her side and curled the sheets into her fists from the throbbing pain that must have been radiating through her system. Sasuke walked over to her slowly and sat down on the edge of the bed. It was silent for a few more minutes before he uttered those words he had given her the previous night:

"I'm sorry."

Suddenly, Sakura's eyes fluttered open and Sasuke jerked back, the motion causing him to fall off the bed. Sakura didn't notice this as she sat up slowly, gripping her upper body in pain as she used the muscles in her stomach. Sasuke looked up at her from his sitting position on the floor and sighed, his breath he had just exhaled shaky. Getting up, he pulled a chair up and sat down beside her. Sakura stared at him from the corner of her eye; a little wary of what he would do since he was sitting next to her. Sasuke was a little uncomfortable sitting next to her so casually. He looked at her from hooded, tired eyes, their eyes gazing into each other's with hidden emotions they dare not show anyone else. Then, Sasuke sighed and rubbed his face.

"I swear you have a look on your face that could kill. Do you hate me that much?" Sakura started slightly and looked down at her hands. Slowly, she shrugged and looked back at him.

"Yeah, I guess I really hate you with all my heart. You've done and said some cruel things to me, so yeah, I guess I hate you." Sasuke looked away, but Sakura wasn't done. "But, I believe there is some good in you, even if you have a huge ego that denies everything for you." Sasuke scowled at this, making Sakura giggle lightly.

"Sometimes, I can see that you are suffering greatly even when you don't know that you are showing it. That's why I don't think all pirates are all that bad. They must have some reason why they're so cold hearted, like their wife and child was killed and they want to get revenge against the certain person who did it. Maybe they want adventure in their lives but got this life instead. Who knows? I certainly don't, but I know for a fact that you do.

"Your brother was taken away from you when you were just a small boy, that much I know because I was there that day at the harbor. I believe you and your brother were very close, so when he was arrested, you decided that you would continue down the path of a pirate in order to get revenge. I'm right, aren't I?"

Sasuke just stared at her with wide eyes. Something pricked at them and he closed his eyes briefly, only to feel something slide down his cheeks. He looked down so she couldn't see him crying, something he hadn't done in over twelve years. A hand was placed on his shaking shoulder but he didn't look up. He didn't want THIS woman of all people to see his tears. Then, the hand that was on his shoulder was joined by another on his other shoulder and both hands slid over his shoulders and around his neck. His eyes widened again as Sakura hugged him, something he had NEVER expected from HER of all people. But, nevertheless, the tears continued to come although he willed them to stop for the sake of his pride above other things. His eyes narrowed as more tears spilled over unwanted and unchecked.

Sakura knew it. This ice-cube of a man did have feelings, even when he didn't mean to show them, like now. Sasuke was crying full out now, his body racking with the sobs that now came out of his throat. All Sakura did was sit there and held him close as he let all the pent up feelings he had been keeping in since he was five. What else was she suppose to do in her current state? She didn't understand why Sasuke, the most feared pirate in the entire world, was this delicate and fragile. In front of his crew, he was the same cold, monotone bastard she had grown to know the past few days, but the Sasuke she was comforting was the one who refused to be alone in a time like this, and it scared her a little to see this new Sasuke.

Sakura felt Sasuke shift until he was away from her, his hands on her upper arms almost as if he was using her as his support. He looked at her with bloodshot eyes, a sad frown on his lips. There were still stray tears on his cheeks, which he wiped off. Sakura smiled lightly.

"Are you done?" she asked. "I think you needed just needed to hear someone say what you were feeling so you didn't have to, right?" She smirked when he gave her a scowl. Sasuke sighed and pulled away from her clearing his throat.

"Well, it seems like you're doing better. But, according to Nagato, you still need your rest before we land somewhere else. I'll just go outside now that I know that you are okay." Sasuke stood up and turned away, only to feel something pulling him back. He looked over his shoulder with a confused look on his face. Sakura was looking up at him with a blush on her face and she looked really embarrassed to be doing what she was doing.

"C-Can you take me back to my room? I feel a little weird sleeping in your bed," she murmured. Sasuke raised an eyebrow and smirked. He walked over to her and pulled the covers off. She put a hand out for help getting up, but Sasuke grabbed her and cradled her in his arms. A look of surprise came over her face but she didn't dare move incase she would hurt herself or make him drop her. He put her down for just a second while he opened the door for them to get through. Poking his head out, he checked for the two that had previously been out there when he had left. Sighing with relief, he turned around and picked Sakura up again, making sure she was situated in his arms before hurrying into the room that was right next to his. The entire deck was empty save for the sleeping guard that was currently suppose to be on duty.

Sasuke put her on her bed with a soft thump before turning his back on her.

"We will be arriving at our destination tomorrow morning, so I suggest you get some sleep. All of us, including you, will be investigating an island that has not been put on the map yet. Good night."

"Sasuke?" Said boy turned back to the girl in the bed.

"Yeah?" Sakura looked up at him with her lips curled into a catlike smile and she was looking up at him from beneath his eyelashes.

"It's okay. You didn't have to apologize." Sasuke jerked as if he had been slapped. Had she heard him say he was sorry?

"U-Uh, yeah. Alright, g-good night." With that, he briskly walked out of the room and into his own. Once the door was closed, he leaned on it and breathed heavily. There was pink splattered on his cheeks and he rubbed his face with a shaky hand. 'That girl is going to be the death of me!'