Okay guys! Here's- in my opinion- the longest chapter I've written yet! GO ME! Any way! I have a few things to say about this chapter.
1) Since every chapter before this has been either unbetaed(-cough-chap1-cough-) or just really crappy writting period, this one is definitly to make up for all the crappy writing I force you all to read.
2) Things are going to start picking up in speed now since I've intorduced basically every character that I needed to. So, hold on!
3) I promise things get a lot better as well! my writing will improve and my chapters will hopefully be longer than the last few!
4) Things are also going to get a lot darker for the characters as I reveal things about them and more about the world they live in. So please, sit back and enjoy!
The average man will bristle if you say his father was dishonest, but he will brag a little if he discovers that his great-grandfather was a pirate.
Unknown
Even pirates, before they attack another ship, hoist a black flag.
Unknown
"Sir... we've been floating out here for hours..." I stated, looking boredly over at my Captain. Sasuke looked up from his book, the large circle and slash mark on the back giving away as to the perverted contents of the book. He blinked lazily at me before grinning.
"Well then... float some more!" he chirped happily. I twitched.
"Sir, it's pointless. The old hag was lying to us from the start." A loud scream of profanities from the back of the bridge alerted me to the woman's anger at: one- being tied up and two- being called an old hag. I snorted and sent her a small glare from over my shoulder. "I'm not taking it back." I replied bluntly.
"Damn you! The hell you aren't going to take it back! You little bastard! I'll kill you for callin' me old!" the list of the tirade went on.
"Sir, really, do you want to waste valuable supplies while we search around the Pluto's only moon? This search is-"
"You think if we shoot at it, they'll notice us?" A rather, how shall I say it, robust and teasing tone managed to crackle over our com. I blinked and glanced at Sasuke who merely shrugged.
"I don't think they would. I mean they've been out there for a few hoursss now. Why don't we try it?" Another, almost serpentine voice responded, also on the other end of the com.
"What are they-" Tsunade started, her eyes slightly wide as she looked, more of studied the immense span of space stretching out before the Isolde and her crew. She was cut off as the ship suddenly rocked to the side, nearly knocking out every member of the crew. Rolling from the pilot's chair, where I had perched myself earlier, I managed to dodge the chair Tsunade was on as it rolled by and somehow ran into Sasuke as he tripped, sprawling onto the floor in a tangle of limbs and curses.
Naruto squawked as he landed face first on the floor, his face coming into sharp contact with the metal tiling. He rolled across the floor, finally coming to a stop as he was slammed against the far wall on the side of the hull the ship was now sitting on. He yelped as a loose chair rolled into him, Tsunade's following and tipping over, causing her to fall and land on top of him, chair still tied to her back.
Shikamaru was an unknown victim to the rest of us seeing as he was in the engine room. By the sounds of it, he hadn't fared all that well. Sakura and Lee were also no where to be found. Ino had fallen from her chair and was now lying on the floor, gripping the bolted down legs of Sasuke's chair. Hinata was still curled up in her chair, curled into a ball and holding onto the arms of it as she waited for the ship to once again level out.
We were all given the relief of normal footing a few seconds later as the ship rocked back onto the bottom hull. I snorted softly as I noticed the awkward position I was in. I blinked and frowned, gently untangling my limbs with Sasuke's as he groaned, most likely in pain from the sounds of it. I stood up, dusting my clothes off as I looked over at the others.
Ino was the second one up, her blond hair falling out of its once immaculate ponytail in large strands. She glared at me with her blue eyes and growled. Yes, the prim-and-proper-civilized-queen-of-the-universe growled.
"What the hell was that!?" she finally snarled, demanding an answer from me as if I'd been the cause of it. I sighed and rolled my eyes, resisting the urge to twitch and most likely rant.
"That, dear, stupid Ino, was what is known as an attack from another pirate ship." I stated bluntly, not in the mood to sugar coat it or act as if I were talking to a child. No, that would have been too much effort.
She blinked and gawked at me as if I'd just slapped her, or worse, stolen her boyfriend. This, to me, was a very satisfying expression. It was one that would stay in my memory for years to come. It was a fond memory.
My eyes widened slightly as I caught a glimpse of another, familiar memory, one that was not so fond. My breath hitched and I took a step back, reaching out and grabbing a hold of a chair for balance and, most likely, support. I stumbled back another few steps, those eyes flashing across my vision over again, returning every few seconds.
I suddenly felt sick, almost as if I were going to throw up as my stomach turned and lurched into my throat. My chest felt almost tight, as if there were a large weight resting atop it and restricting my breathing. I coughed and tried to suck in a breath, my mind working to keep up with what I was seeing. Where the hell had this come from? Why now? Of all the times, why now!?
Oh... that was why... He'd said I couldn't go outside and play. He'd said I couldn't leave the house. He'd looked at me in the same belittling way I had just sneered at Ino. He had done the same thing to me. He had given me the ability to hate others and just then I had become Him.
"Gaara... Gaara..." I blinked, swaying slightly as I struggled to keep standing. Clutching a hand to my chest, I forced myself to keep breathing, to fight away the images flashing before me. Was that Sasuke's voice? Why did he sound so worried? Gasping for air, I snapped my eyes shut, keeping them closed and bringing the hand held to my chest up to tangle my fingers in my hair. Balling my hand into a fist, I felt the sting in my scalp as I pulled harshly at the red strands in my grasp. I gasped again, opening my eyes.
Black irises met blue as I opened my eyes. Worry swam within the dark depths of the other set of eyes, causing me to pause and blink in slight confusion before I realized it was worry directed at me. The air around the room was deathly still and the only noise audible was the dull hum and tick of the com crackling in and out of our receiver. I sucked in another breath and found it suddenly easy to breathe.
"Gaara?" Sasuke's voice sounded, hesitant and almost frightened. I flinched. The last time I'd had a flash back I'd nearly killed him. And the fact that when I'd first met the man, I'd shot him wasn't helping me much either.
"Y-yeah?" I finally managed to croak out. Sasuke sighed, relaxing visibly as he pulled me into a rather tight hug.
"Are you all right? You just kind of..." Naruto asked, walking over, eyes wide.
"Passed out?" Tsunade added helpfully. Looking around flatly, her brow quirking in slight amusement. Naruto shot her a worried look before nodding.
"Yeah, that." he replied, his gaze returning to me. I blinked and quirked an invisible brow.
"I... what?" I finally asked, my mind still trying to catch up with me. Naruto looked at me in slight shock and I glanced to Sasuke. His brow furrowed as he looked down at me, keeping his hold around me. Suddenly I wanted nothing more than to be as far away from him as possible. I, in fact, allowed myself to act upon this impulse and forcefully shoved back from Sasuke. I managed to put around three inches between us before Sasuke's grip kept me from moving any further.
"I... passed out?" Sasuke blinked and nodded.
"Yeah, for a good few minutes, too. Had us all worried there for a bit, Gaara." He said softly, gently pulling me back. I struggled and shook my head.
"No! Don't touch m-"
"I told you they wouldn't notice us! And we even grazed them!" the first voice sounded over the com. I twitched, the man's voice grating on my nerves and rubbing them raw with every word he spoke. Sasuke seemed to have the same idea, his grip loosening until it was completely gone. He turned and strode over to the main control panel, punching in the code for full force shields. I blinked once I felt his gaze return to me.
"Gaara, I know you need to release some tension, so would you do me a favor and kindly return fire?" He asked, grinning cheekily. I blinked and nodded dumbly as I made my way over to the controls, my body feeling almost numb. Tsunade gaped and worked her jaw almost like a fish out of water before she forced Sasuke out of the way and managed to turn on the com. How she got out of the ropes we'd tied her up in, I'll never know.
"Jiraiya, you half-assed-self-centered-lazy-son-of-a-bitch!" she screamed into the com. "The hell are you doing shooting at the ship I'm in! And Orochimaru! If I get on board that ship and find that Jeffery has been roasted you're a dead man!" A squee sounded in response and Tsunade's eyes widened in rage. "THEY DID WHAT!?"
I blinked and looked over to Sasuke. He was sprawled on the floor, eyes wide in shock from the hit he'd taken to the chest. He looked slightly winded still and I bit back a slight chuckle. He sent me a half hearted glare before trying to struggle up into a sitting position.
"Gaara, send them a greeting they won't be forgetting..." he grumbled, still rubbing the sore and now bruising spot on his chest. I nodded and quickly brought the main turret up and into alignment with my target. Pressing the trigger was the fun part. There was a three second delay before a rather loud crack sounded, our ship being forced back a few meters from the force of the ammunition leaving the muzzle of the turret. I smirked and Tsunade looked at me in sheer horror.
"HOW COULD YOU!?" She cried, reaching over and grabbing me by the front of the shirt. I glanced down at her grip, smirking as I noticed the gourd of sand I wore on a chain around my neck had somehow magically escaped her death grip.
"Easily... I just aimed and pressed fire." I replied, face perfectly calm and innocent. I waited, watching her face for that reaction that I knew was coming. She twitched, letting go of my shirt and withdrew her hand to let it fall to her side once again. Her face went completely blank as rage took full hold of her actions and I found myself thinking she resembled a rather confused and perplexed lioness... or was it a rat?
"THE FUCK!? TSUNADE!! CALL OFF YER DAWGS!!" The rough voice I had now come to loathe called over the com. I cringed and turned to glare at the offending object, ducking just in time to avoid the woman's lethal fist. I could feel the wind from her swinging appendage passing through my hair and touching the top of my scalp. I gulped silently, amazed that I had managed to dodge that one. I looked over to her and side stepped, having seen the kick coming before I could even blink. This 'dance' of ours continued for a good few minutes before I finally got bored of it and landed a surprise kick to the center of her chest, knocking her into a chair.
"Sit down before I tie you down." I growled in warning before turning back to the com. She pouted, glaring slightly, but I ignored her.
"Nukpana, disarm or I will be forced to fire upon you again. And believe me, I will hit something vital." I snarled softly into the com, holding down the speaker button before letting it go and waiting for a response. It was silent for a few seconds before a reply came.
"O-okay... we're disssarming..." The serpentine voice replied, his tone hiding something from me. I glanced at the screen showing the scanner locked on them and my frown deepened.
"No... you aren't."
"No! Really! We are!"
"I'm sorry, you've just run out of time." I replied coldly before letting go and stopping all communications for the time before aiming the turret once more and firing. I hit their oxygen converter head on.
Tsunade squeaked, her voice cracking as it reached an unusually high note of shock. I looked over my shoulder at her, expression calm, cold, controlled. It was the perfectly schooled expression I'd taught myself to wear around others. It was the mask I hid behind, my only real form of armor other than my harsh tongue.
"You-you're gonna kill them!" she squawked. I rolled my eyes and turned back to the com, returning communication between the Isolde and the Nukpana.
"Ready to talk?" I asked, tone lightly laced with wry amusement while the rest of it remained cold and warning. There was a crackle from the other end as I waited. I didn't have to wait long.
"YES!" Was the response, both voices crying out simultaneously in fear. I cracked a small smirk and allowed a dark chuckle. "Then put on your outside lights and we'll be there to pick you up... you are, after all, sending out a distress signal... or... more like you were." I stated, punching in the code to cut off the their communications with any other crew than ours. Their distress call was cut short by one of our very own, home made disrupters.
"JIRAIYA!! GRAB MY PHOTO AND MY SLUG!!" Tsunade managed to scream before I cut off communications between our two ships. I turned to look over at Sasuke, waiting for his command. He just sighed and nodded.
"Naruto..." he croaked out, his breath finally coming back to him. The blond blinked and looked over to him.
"Aye, Sir?"
"Bring us closer and let them board..." Not able to ignore the Captain's ruling, Naruto gulped and nodded before inching his way over to the controls and taking his seat. I watched him carefully before I let my gaze drift back to the endless space before us. Lights flickered on and I soon found myself looking at the Nukpana, mere yards before us. I blinked. Had they really been that close the entire time?
It was in meeting the rest of the Council of Three that things began making sense. The first, annoyingly loud voice, of which reminded me of Naruto, was Jiraiya. The man was tall, to say the least, with a mane of bushy white hair. He walked with an air of confidence rarely seen in a man as strange as he. And now, having met the man and watching him speak, I was able to see just how much he implied with everything he said. The first thing that came to mind were those books Sasuke, Naruto, and even Shikamaru seemed to be reading constantly.
The second was Orochimaru. The man was frail, almost sickly looking. He moved around the ship fluidly as if he were the human equivalent of a snake. His tongue was forked from what I had seen, the unusually long muscle flicking in and out of his mouth much like a snake's would. I subconsciously took a step back from him when he followed the first on board the ship. The man was just... unsettling. His gold eyes were slitted and he looked around at us like we were some kind of oddity to him: lower than he himself. With his too high cheek bones and his overly sharp jaw, his face looked slightly skeletal, like his eyes and cheeks were sunken in from illness. The long, feminine black hair didn't help any either as I found myself deeply disturbed by this man's presence.
Jiraiya walked over to Tsunade and handed her a small photo, smiling softly as the woman snatched it from his hands and looked the worn and aging photo over. At the moment I was shocked to see a more... vulnerable side of the brash woman we'd met back on Saturn. A soft smile suddenly adorned her features and she looked up at the man from beneath her bangs.
"Thank you..." she almost whispered. "Now where's Jeffry!" she snapped, mood changing in seconds. Jiraiya grinned and held up a finger before searching his pockets. This man had a lot of pockets in one pair of pants. When his search turned up fruitless, he frowned and, much to the crew's horror, began searching his pants. He nearly stripped down to his skivvies to do so, but thankfully Sasuke stopped him.
Clearing his throat, Sasuke offered the man the all famous Uchiha-ass-hole-stare-of-doom. I knew this because I had seen it many a time having met both his parents and his brother as well. The Uchiha family was famous for their tenancy to be arrogant pricks. It was a skill most feared and wished for all the same. Personally, I believed it was a trait passed down in the blood line of the Uchiha family. Sasuke animatedly denied this, however, but I knew better. I had met enough Uchihas to support my theory, and I was sticking to it.
Jiraiya snapped his mouth shut and sent Tsunade a wide eyed look of shock. "You didn't tell me this was an Uchiha ship!" he hissed softly. Sasuke crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. Tsunade snorted.
"It's not him you should be worried about. Compared to his eyebrow-less first mate, he's a claw-less kitten." She retorted coldly, looking over at me as Jiraiya's gaze shifted in my direction as well. I kept calm, face stoic as they looked me over, one accusing and the other guarded curiosity.
"Ssssso... thissssss issss the Issssssolde..." Orochimaru hissed, looking around the ship in restrained boredom. "It'sss a piec-e of crap..." he hissed, literally dragging out his S's with every word he spoke.
"WHAT!?" The voice that we knew belonged to Shikamaru echoed through the entire ship, coming from the vent we shared with the engine room in which he resided at present. I smirked as I heard heavy, angry footsteps approaching the bridge. Oh this creep was in for it.
"SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!" I flinched, the high pitched noise sounding right beside my ear and causing me to wonder if my ear was bleeding or if my eardrums had somehow miraculously made it through the assault of sound.
"JEFFRY!! MOMMY'S HERE!!" Tsunade suddenly sobbed, rushing over to where I was standing and lifting a... I blinked. Was that a slug!? She lifted the blue and white creature up to her cheek and nuzzled it slightly. All the while the room had gone deathly silent, save for the sound of Shikamaru's fast approaching foot steps.
"Who called this ship a piece of crap!" Shikamaru demanded, stomping into the room and casting an icy glare around at every single person within eye shot. All eyes locked on Orochimaru as the serpentine man let his scrutinizing gaze fall from the walls of the ship to our mechanic in disgust.
"I did..." he hissed softly. "Got a problem with that?" He arched a finely groomed eye brow in question, his gaze steady and challenging as Shikamaru allowed anger to fully set in.
The weaponist twitched, his brown eyes narrowing dangerously as he slowly made his way over to Orochimaru. His intent was hidden within his movements: graceful and elegant, each muscle moved with purpose as he made his way over to the older male. I glanced over to Sasuke, who was still pouting, before I looked back in time to see Shikamaru's fist connect with Orochimaru's face. The crack that issued from the hit echoed through the room as Orochimaru fell to the floor, kissing the metal tiling in pain.
I blinked, biting back a laugh as the taller man fell to the floor. Shikamaru was seething, anger almost palpable in the air around him. It was amusing to see the lazy weaponist this livid. For once he was moving at a fast pace compared to his normal nonchalant saunter.
"All right! Break it up, you two." Sasuke finally stepped in. Shaking my head, I went over and helped the fallen Orochimaru up from the floor.
"Next time I'd think before I spoke if I were you." I warned light heartedly. The man just glared at me before slinking over to Jiraiya. "So this is the Council of Three?" I muttered dryly, walking over to Sasuke and Shikamaru, a look of wry amusement in place.
"Sadly, yes..." Sasuke muttered before straightening his jacket and sucking in a breath of air. "Well then! Seeing as you're on my ship, I might as well lay down the ground rules." Jiraiya only laughed as the words left Sasuke's mouth.
"You can't boss us around, kid. We're the Council of Three. And now that you mention it, we're taking over this ship." he barked out with another round of laughter. Sasuke sighed and looked at me. I smirked.
-0-0-0-0-
"HOW DARE YOU!! UNHAND US THIS INSTANT!!" Jiraiya bellowed from where he was bound in the far back of the cargo hold. I snorted and looked over my shoulder from the task I'd been working on, that being tying Tsunade and that damned slug of hers together.
"Give it a rest, Jiraiya... the kid's not gonna listen to ya. And don't even try cutting through the ropes. He binds them tight enough to cut off your circulation." she grumbled, obviously remembering the last time I'd tied her to a chair. In the door way, Naruto stood laughing as he observed the three ((semi four)) undignified beings that I had bound away from doing any harm to the ship.
"NEVER! THIS SPINELESS COWARD SHOULD FEAR US!" I merely snorted in reply and stood to look at him.
"You seriously call yourselves pirates? Where's you weapon of choice? I didn't find anything on any of you save for a dagger and some useless francs... you really think I'm going to take you seriously?" I muttered dryly. This was getting old. With that said, I pivoted on my heel and left the room, dragging Naruto with me. The doors were locked behind me and I caught the fleeting hiss of Orochimaru chiding Jiraiya as I continued down the hall.
Upon reaching the bridge, I walked over to where Sasuke was seated, star charts out across his lap. I chuckled softly and leaned up against the back of his chair, letting my chin rest on his shoulder as I looked over the charts as well. From the looks of it, he was planning our next move.
"Remind me next time we have a run in like this... to just let them die..." I muttered, turning my head ever so slightly to lightly nuzzle Sasuke's neck. The Uchiha raised a brow and tilted his head ever so slightly to look at me out of the corner of his eye.
"Really? And why's that, might I ask?" he replied, the smirk obvious in his tone. I shrugged.
"It's not worth the cost of rope..."
"Oh, ouch... that was cold." Sasuke chuckled. Again I shrugged. I noticed, suddenly, that Sasuke's shoulders had slumped slightly and he'd fallen silent, almost as if he were studying me. I lifted my head off his shoulder and looked at him slightly confused. The look he was giving me was a slightly concerned, almost fond look. "When's the last time you really slept, Gaara?" he asked softly, lightly brushing his knuckles below my left eye. I blinked, his words sinking in and finally his expression made sense.
"Three days ago, why?" I asked, leaning into the touch. Sasuke just shook his head.
"You just looked tired... I was worried for a moment there." Again he fell silent as he studied me. I remained still, curious to see what he'd do next. Out of the six years I'd known Sasuke, the man still managed to surprise me. "Why don't you go and get some rest, hm?" He asked softly, tilting his head to the side in thought. I sighed and shook my head.
"I'll be fine..." I muttered. He frowned, clearly worried. He must have been thinking of my blacking out just an hour before.
"Gaara..."
"I'm fine, Sasuke. Really. I promise I won't over work myself. If I feel tired I'll go and rest... okay?" I tried, hoping he'd bite and just take the deal this time. I waited, keeping my eyes locked on his as he studied me once more. With a sigh, he leaned forward rested his forehead against mine.
"Promise me?" He asked, raising a brow. I smiled softly and nodded.
"I promise..." I replied. Sasuke chuckled and pulled back with a grin.
"Good, 'cause I don't think I could handle dealing with all the fi-ACK!" for the second time that day, the ship rocked to one side, cutting Sasuke off mid sentence and throwing me into him. A sharp pain ran up my leg and hip, shooting through my entire right side and into my shoulder as my hip connected sharply with the arm of the chair. Sasuke's back connected with the other arm of the chair and he winced as I landed on his chest.
At this, both of us were thrown to the ground as the ship not only tipped farther, but went completely upside down for a few seconds as it spun around completely. Finally landing back on the bottom hull, I noted that I was bleeding from a cut on my head, my shoulder was screaming in pain, and I'd somehow managed to get away without a broken leg as I looked at one of the navigation systems on its side mere inches from my leg. Sasuke lay a foot away, his eyes were closed, bangs falling into his face. From what I could see, he'd cracked his head on the floor as we toppled over and had been knocked out. He wasn't bleeding, at least not anywhere on his head.
Groaning, I picked myself up from the floor in time to see Naruto and Ino both running into the bridge room. The blond pilot looked around and surveyed the damage while Ino looked frantic at the sight of Sasuke. She paled and hurried over, helping me up before she knelt beside the Captain.
"He's alive..." she muttered. "Just out cold." she looked up at me and frowned. "Please tell me we wern't being shot at." I just looked at her and shook my head before limping over to the main controls.
"I don't know.." I answered truthfully. "It was too large of a disturbance to be an enemy attack." I typed in a few codes and switched one of the many dials on and brought up a screen of the world outside. I slumped. "Damn it! The hell is BLOOD doing still following after us?!" I growled. "Their pilot flies like an Uchiha."
"WHAT WAS THAT!?" I heard Sasuke snarl. I sighed, guessing he'd finally regained consciousness in time to hear my comment.
"You heard me!" I snapped. Sasuke huffed and picked himself off the ground before almost toddling over to where I was. He looked at the screen and frowned.
"Go check on the three captives..." he muttered, taking over. I nodded and limped out of the bridge and down the hall to the cargo hold.
On the way, I passed Shikamaru, the man leaving the engine room and looking around for possible damage. I looked over to him and nodded.
"Shika! Do me a favor and check on Sakura and Lee. I've gotta make sure these idiots aren't dead yet." I called over. He looked at me and frowned slightly before nodding and walking off in the direction of Lee's room. I continued to the cargo hold before opening the door.
"THE HELL WAS THAT!? AN UCHIHA PILOT!?" Jiraiya shrieked. I flinched and poked my head out of the room to look down the hall. Good, Sasuke hadn't heard that. With a small sigh, I turned back to the room and frowned.
"No one's dead in here, right?" I asked, slightly annoyed.
"Yeah, we're all f-..." Tsunade stopped mid sentence as her gaze came to rest on the small trickle of blood from my brow. I blinked and tilted my head slightly. Had she just frozen up?
"Tsunade?" I asked, taking a step froward. Jiraiya let his gaze sweep over me before he looked over to Orochimaru.
"You're bleeding..." the black haired man hissed, frowning. I blinked and looked at him.
"Your point?" I growled softly, still not liking either one of these two.
"Tsunade's hemophobic..." Jiraiya stated, stepping in to the conversation. I glanced at him and then back to Tsunade, the word suddenly clicking. I frowned and nodded.
"Look... I'm going to let you wander freely, but please... don't try anything stupid." I stated, walking over and beginning to cut Tsunade free first, the slug scolding me as I did so.
"Yeah... I guess.." Jiraiya muttered and Orochimaru reluctantly nodded as well. I smirked and finished cutting them loose before leaving the room, the door still opened for them to leave if they so wished. Making my way back to the bridge, I didn't see much in the way of the destruction I'd left. Sasuke was helping Naruto upturn another of the tracking devices as I entered and Ino was checking everything over for scratches, Shikamaru helping her in the daunting task. Sakura and Lee were also trying to pick up equipment from around the room, making sure nothing looked broken. Stepping into the room now, I felt the unease of everyone as I picked my way over to where Sasuke was.
"Sir..." I started, announcing my presence. The Uchiha looked up and in my direction before straightening up completely and nodding for me to continue. Naruto even tilted his head, waiting to hear what I had to say.
"What is it, Gaara?" Sasuke asked, leaning on the control panel nearby.
"I regret to report that not one of the three are dead. Also, what are we going to do about the sudden appearance of BLOOD?" I asked, glancing at the still functioning screen. Sasuke followed my gaze and frowned.
"I don't know..." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, a sign that he was stressed.
"You think we could just sneak out of here with out them noticing?" Naruto suggested, looking between the two of us. I glanced at him and blinked.
"That might actually work..." I muttered softly. Sasuke nodded. The com suddenly sprung to life and an image came over our screen, the image being one of Tobi. I looked up at it and frowned. What could he possibly want? Last time I checked, BLOOD didn't give warnings before they opened fire.
"Is this thing on? It is? Oh! Oh! Oh! Well hello there! Sasuke! My darling relative! How are you! Like Tobi's driving?" the voice of Tobi cooed over the com. I looked over at Sasuke, expression flat as he looked at me sheepishly.
"You're related to freaks... not just any freaks... but egotistical freaks..." I stated flatly. Sasuke flinched slightly.
"Well I'm guessing you're wondering why your dearest Tobi is calling you, ne? Why? Because Tobi felt like Tobi should give you a fair warning. Seeing as Tobi and you are family and all. So, any last words before Tobi completely blows your ship to smithereens?" the man was over confident... definitely an Uchiha. Sasuke snorted.
"How about, au revoir?" he stated before nodding to Naruto. The blond grinned and put us in hyperspace, the connection between our coms being lost as we left the vicinity of Pluto far behind us.
"So what's our destination?" I asked, pulling up a few charted maps on the screens floating above our control panel.
"We're headed towards the man made planets orbiting Arcturus..." I blinked.
"You mean... we're going to the future sight of a ring nebula?" I asked, quirking a brow. Sasuke shrugged.
"Hey, it isn't the Lyra ring nebula yet." He pointed out. I snorted.
"Yeah, just the future sight." I muttered. Looking around the room I began to feel light headed and soon I found myself falling to my knees and trying to stay awake. Sasuke was at my side in seconds, a look of worry darting across his features. He reached out and lightly brushed my bangs back, causing me to wince.
"He's bleeding pretty bad... Get him to the medi-bay." he stated, looking up at some one. I felt myself being lifted into a pair of arms but I didn't get the chance to see who it was as passed out. All I remember was a quick flash of green.
I woke up about an hour later, finding myself in the small medi-bay of our ship. I flinched, my gaze landing on the bright lights of the room first thing before they were blocked out by me raising a hand up to shield my eyes.
"Nasty scar you've got on your left eye, kid... where'd you get it?" the soft, almost gentle voice came floating to my ears from just across the room. I frowned and searched, finding it painful to move my head too much. I didn't have to wait long as Tsunade came into view, her brown eyes concerned and understanding. Her words finally registered and I blinked before coughing.
"W-what?" I croaked out, trying to process what she was asking. Why did my body feel like dead weight? And why was my mind working so sluggishly?
"The scar on the left side of your head... just around your temple and occipital bone... that's no accident." she muttered softly, messing with something on the left side of my face before I realized she was changing the bandaging.
"It was nothi-"
"Don't lie to me, Gaara. I know abuse when I see it." she looked me in the eye once more, her own gaze softening. "Believe me, I know. I've been there once myself..." I slumped, well as much as one could do when lying flat on a hospital bed.
"I got it when I was nine... took a beer bottle to the side of the head. I haven't been able to see out of this eye since." I muttered, looking down slightly. Why was I telling her this? She sighed and nodded.
"I thought it looked jagged..." she said softly. A small smile crossed her face and she chuckled slightly.
"I'm sure Jiraiya told you about my fear of blood..." she spoke quietly. I blinked and nodded.
"Yeah, he did. Which is why I'm wondering-"
"Why I'm in here instead of someone else? Because... when it comes down to it, if some one really needs help, I can forget my fear long enough to do my job of patching up their wounds. Dan once asked me the same thing..." she paused only briefly as a sad smile crossed her face before she regained herself and continued her task of checking the stitches I now sported running along my temple.
"Who's Dan?" I asked, not able to stop myself before the words left my mouth. I flinched and offered an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-"
"Dan was my fiancé... He was hung for collaboration of piracy about six years back..." she muttered softly, offering what looked like an attempt at a happy smile but only made her look even sadder. I flinched once more.
"You didn't need to tell me if you didn't want to..." I muttered, now feeling like shit. She just waved off the apology and shrugged.
"Dan was the one that got me into pirating..." She added, resuming her task once more. "I told you because, in a strange way, all of you remind me a little of him... especially Naruto... Dan was always smiling..." she trailed off as she finished her work, nimble fingers barely touching the stitches. She pulled back and offered a real, however small it was, smile. "There. All done. You can leave the medi-bay, but I want you to get some sleep... possibly something to eat before hand. Okay?" she more of ordered instead of asked. I nodded and slowly sat up, my head spinning slightly from the sudden shift.
"Good to see you up..." Sasuke's voice cut through the silent room and I looked up quickly, regretting it for a few seconds while my vision spun. Tsunade looked over to where Sasuke was and smiled.
"He'll live to see another day. Sasuke, do me a favor and help him back to his room. I don't think he'll be all that steady on his feet." she said, beckoning the man over.
I sighed as Sasuke helped me stand and held an arm out for me to hold onto. With a snort of indignation, I took his arm and sent him a warning glare. If this got out, he was a dead man. He smirked and led me from the room. I waited until we were a good distance before I spoke up.
"Sasuke... what was Tsunade doing in there?" He glanced at me and chuckled.
"Turns out our lead Council member is also a medic. She found out we didn't have one and took over." I nodded, my mind only half hearing his response. My thoughts were else where and I was trying to think of how to bring it up. Oh well, the blunt way had yet to fail me.
"Sasuke... when I woke up... Tsunade was talking about some one named Dan..." I said slowly, each word I spoke coming out after having been completely analyzed in every way possible. Sasuke glanced at me.
"Really?" he asked, brow furrowing slightly. I nodded.
"She was engaged to him until he was hung... six years ago." I stated, emphasizing the last part. Sasuke fell silent for a bit before sighing and shaking his head.
"Probably a coincidence..." he said softly as we reached my room. He helped me to the bed and gave me a small smile. "Don't think about it too much... 'kay?" He whispered before leaning down to press a small kiss to my forehead. I sighed and nodded. "Good... now get some sleep."
I watched him leave, falling back against the pillows of my bed and then turning to stare at the ceiling. I wasn't tired. Far from it actually. There was just no way I could fall asleep, and definitely not in the state I was currently in.
My head hurt as thoughts continued to race through my mind as I let my eyelids slip shut, cutting me off- visually- from the world around me. I couldn't get those eyes from my head. They kept coming back. Snapping my eyes open, I sat up- ignoring Tsunade's orders- and dug around in my room, finally finding the desired object.
The box was small, only large enough to hold a book, and from the looks of it, it did. I lifted the dust covered lid off the box and coughed, more dust greeting me. Blowing it away, I sneezed and wiped at my eyes. Of all the places for dust to be, you'd expect it to be absent from a space ship. No, it was worse out here.
I waved a hand around my face, watching the dust swirl away in the dim light filtering through my windows. My gaze drifted after it and to the universe just beyond the thick sheet of glass. It was calming on normal days, but today I found it hard to find any solace within those distant galaxies. The arrival of Tsunade on board the ship had brought up issues I thought I had locked away for good. I guess the fact that I'd even thought of this book was proof enough that I was wrong.
The first photo that I was greeted with was the one I despised the most and yet cherished with all my heart. The man known as Dan was grinning at the camera, his arms on either of my shoulders and his fingers drawing the corner of my lips up in an attempt to make me smile.
I looked back at my seventeen year old self and sighed. I was stony faced and the only real expression there was the stoic glare I had always seemed to wear. And then there was Dan... the twenty-seven year old that was always smiling.
I shook my head slightly and flipped the page, allowing my gaze to scan over the moments frozen in time. I stopped as I reached the last one, my mind having completely forgotten the incident I was now remembering. I swallowed and dragged my fingers over the image gently.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
"HE SHOT ME!?" Sasuke yelped, his eyes wide in shock as he fought away the elder man. "DAN! THIS ISN'T FUNNY!! THE MAN YOU'VE PICKED FOR MY FIRST MATE JUST SHOT ME!!"
I rolled my eyes, listening to the argument with a bored amusement as I robotically cleaned the hand gun disassembled in front of me.
"Oh quit your whining, Uchiha! Suck it up!" Dan laughed, lightly hitting the raven-haired Sasuke over the back of the head. The Uchiha shot him a rather dirty glare, most likely telling the man to go fuck himself. I snorted and turned my gaze back to what I was doing, setting down the empty and clean clip before picking up the barrel's cover.
"AND YOU! WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU SHOOT ME!?" Sasuke cried, turning to point at me with an accusing finger. I tutted slightly and smacked his hand away from my face, watching it fall to his side as he grimaced in pain.
"You're annoying, Uchiha. That's why I shot you." I stated in that smart assed tone I'd had back then.
"WHAT!? All right, punk! You're dead!" Sasuke snarled, standing and knocking Dan over. I just looked up at him, my glare meeting his intensified gaze. I never flinched, just waited. Eventually I saw Sasuke's resolve slipping, but it wasn't in fear like I'd been hoping or expecting. No, his mask slipped and a look of concern flashed across his features.
"Gaara..?" he asked hesitantly, reaching out with a shaking hand. I blinked, frowning slightly. What was with his sudden mood swing? "Are you... are you afraid I was going to hurt you?" he asked, taking his hand back and looking for all the world as if his parents had just died. I flinched, blinking as I rapidly tried to think of something.
"The hell are you on, Uchiha?" I snarled, even my voice not all that convincing to myself. Sasuke's frown deepened and he took another step towards me, his hand out once more as if to offer his support or comfort.
Dan looked between the two of us, his gaze calculating. He saw the imminent danger this action had and sprung into action... literally. Flying from his spot on the floor, the older man tackled both Sasuke and I to the ground, grinning from ear to ear as he did so.
"AWWW!! SO CUTE! YOU'RE FINALLY BONDING!" he sing-song-ed. I flinched and glared at him as Sasuke yelped in pain, squirming as he tried to escape the pressure being put on his wounded shoulder. Dan's grin slipped into a smile and let go of us, snatching Sasuke up once more and dropping him carelessly into a chair. "But! I have to end this happy moment because..." he paused dramatically, a hand over his eyes, "Sasuke will bleed to death if I don't attend to his wound!"
I went back to my seat and snorted, continuing my previous task. "Let him..."
-0-0-0-0-0-0-
I smiled and chuckled softly. How could I have forgotten about that? The picture holding the memory was of Dan bandaging a rather reluctant and stubborn Sasuke's shoulder. If I remember right, it had been Shikamaru that had taken that one.
"You know... that really did hurt. My ego more than anything, but the physical pain was enough to make me wary of you for a good year." Sasuke's voice sounded, suddenly close to my ear. I jumped slightly and looked at him, shock still written on my face before I managed a small smirk.
"Wary of my temper, you mean..." I corrected. Sasuke shrugged and flopped down onto the floor slightly behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, his chin resting on my shoulder.
"Same thing..." His smile softened from its teasing to slight concern as he studied the album from over my shoulder. "So what's with the sudden walk down memory lane? I thought you were supposed to be in bed..." he asked softly. I tilted my head, studying another picture and shrugged.
"I couldn't sleep." I whispered, flipping the page and stopping as I found one of the pictures I was looking for. It was one of the few I was smiling in. It was of just Sasuke, Dan and I, before Shikamaru had joined the crew if I recalled correctly. A hand reached out from behind me and lightly touched the edge of the photo affectionately, causing me to blink and smile.
"You never really did smile back then... did you?" Sasuke asked softly in my ear. My smile disappeared and I sighed.
"I didn't have much to smile about..." I replied softly. My voice must have given away my mood shift because Sasuke sighed and pulled me closer to his chest, nuzzling my neck ever so slightly.
"Again, I ask... what's the real reason for pulling out the pictures that, if I recall correctly, you said you'd burned years ago." I froze, my body stiffening as he called my lie. With a sigh, I looked to the side slightly, trying to avoid him seeing me.
"Just an urge..." I tried, begging that he'd believe me and drop it.
"Liar." I flinched, knowing he wouldn't bite.
"Tsunade was talking about a man named Dan..." I started, finally meeting Sasuke's gaze. "I just wanted to see if she was... talking about the Dan we knew..." My voice was suddenly soft. Sasuke blinked, understanding taking over.
"So you're looking for that picture?" I nodded.
"Yes... I'm looking for that picture..." I replied, flipping through a few more pages before finding the desired picture.
It was a simple photo of Sasuke and I, both of us leaning over a table of maps and star charts, glaring at one another. To most it would seem insignificant, but to the trained eye, one would notice a third person in the background.
The woman's golden eyes were cast down as she continued to read the book in her hands. Her blond hair was pulled back into two loose pigtails at the nape of her neck, and she was walking by in the hall, most likely on her way back to hers and Dan's room. I stilled, my breath hitching in my throat.
"There's no way that's Tsunade..." Sasuke breathed in shock. I blinked and shook my head.
"That's Tsunade, Sasuke... there's no mistaking it." I whispered. Looking over my shoulder at Sasuke, I frowned. "You think we should ask her about it?" my voice was quiet and small, almost like I hadn't spoken. Sasuke looked at me and sighed.
"Ask her later... when she's changing your bandage... and take the photo album with you." he stated before standing and picking up the photo album and setting it on the bed side table. "But for now... you should be getting some sleep." He added, helping me up and looking me in the eye, one bow raised in the slight manor of daring me to challenge his words. I sighed and nodded, knowing he was right.
"I really wasn't lying... I can't get to sleep." I muttered, looking down in slight shame. I hate the fact that I was a partial insomniac, but when one had dreams like me... it was understandable why some one wouldn't want to sleep. A heavy sigh escaped Sasuke before he pulled me towards the bed.
"Lay down..." he muttered. I blinked and did so only to feel him lie down beside me seconds later. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me close, sighing contentedly. "Think you can sleep now?" he asked. I could already feel my eye lids growing heavy and nodded. He smiled softly and chuckled. "Good."
It was the next morning after breakfast that I saw Tsunade again. It had been decided that the council was going to stay on our ship and help us in our fight against BLOOD. Apparently they each had their own wound to pick at with the pirating group we were now being tracked by. We still had yet to hear word from Itachi despite all the coded messages we'd sent him. Sasuke was getting restless and I could see that it was affecting the rest of the crew as well. With all of this in mind, I made my way into the medi-bay to get my bandages changed.
Tsunade was standing at one of the counters, already prepping the bandages to cover my stitches. I looked her over and noticed that she had cleaned up and her clothing was mended. I guessed she'd fixed it during the night using the supplies on the ship. At the sight of the woman working and humming to herself, I couldn't help but smile slightly.
A flash of my own mother danced across my eyes and I stopped inside the doorway. She'd been working at the counter in our kitchen, a pot already full of water and boiling noodles while she worked on the ingredients for the sauce. Her hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail as she worked, focused on her work. A cough sounded and she looked up, smiling as she laid eyes on, what I guessed, to be me.
"Gaara, love, what's wrong?" her soft voice cooed, echoing hollowly through my mind. "Did Kankuro push you down again? Hm? Oh, my poor boy. It's okay... come here and let me take a look at that knee. See? It wasn't that bad now was it?" she laughed, smiling sweetly. "It was just a small scrape. It'll be all better tomorrow morning. Look, it's already started to heal up. See?"
"Gaara?" I snapped out of my daze to find Tsunade frowning at me, looking slightly worried. She walked over and looked at my head, looking for any new bruising. "Doesn't look like I missed anything. And I doubt you hit your head that hard..." she murmured. I blink, it suddenly dawning on me what she was getting at.
"Oh, sorry, I was just... remembering something." I muttered. She looked me over before nodding and
looking to the small examination table.
"Take a seat and we'll get that bandage changed..." she stated. I nodded and did as told, my fingers lightly playing over the cover of the aged photo album. She walked over, bandages in hand and smiled. "So, how are we feeling today? Any dizziness? Nausea? Bleeding?" she asked, removing the old bandaging and gently looking over the stitches.
"Nope, nothing. I feel perfectly fine. A little tired, but that's nothing new." She nodded and pulled back, reaching for the bandages when she spotted the album in my hands. She quirked a brow and looked at me. "I wanted to ask you something once you were done..." I stated, replying to her silent question. She nodded and quickly placed the bandage in place before turning back to the album. I flipped it open and turned to the first really decent picture of Dan. I pointed to him and looked up at her. "Was this the Dan you knew?" I asked, studying her reaction.
Her eyes widened before she looked at me in shock. "How did you... Yes... that's my Dan..." she whispered, reaching out and gently lifting the album from my hands. I let her and smiled softly. "How did you..." she tried again.
"Dan is the one that helped Sasuke get this ship... he was also the one that recruited me for Sasuke's crew." I replied calmly, remembering the incident well. Tsunade smiled fondly as she flipped through the pictures, chuckling every now and then at ones she saw.
"He always smiled..." she said quietly.
"That he did... he even smiled through me shooting Sasuke in the shoulder. I don't think I can recall a time he ever frowned." she shook her head.
"You wouldn't... he never did." she said almost sadly. She stopped and closed the album before handing it back to me. "You'll have to let me look at those some time..." she said, almost begging. I smiled and nodded.
"Of course..." I replied, taking the album back as she handed it over. She smiled and chuckled softly.
"Thank you... I thought you looked familiar." she added. I nodded and my smile faultered. There was still one thing that was bugging me. I just had to know.
"Tsunade..." she looked at me from where she'd wandered to clean up. "You aren't... mad at us for causing Dan's death... are you?" I whispered, looking down and fidgeting. I hated dealing with this kind of shit. It always made me feel uncomfortable. It was silent for a bit causing me to become worried. I looked up only as a pair of arms wrapped around me and pulled me closer for a hug.
"No... it wasn't your fault. In fact, I think you and Sasuke gave Dan more joy than all his poor attempts at pirating... who would have guessed that in the end he'd die as a pirate anyway?" she whispered, sounding as if she were crying. I inwardly flinched, confused as to what I should do. I was never really good with this sort of emotional comforting bit. But I figured I had better try. So as awkward as I felt, I lifted my arms up enough to encircle her waist and returned the hug, now standing and allowing the woman to cry on my shoulder. The entire time I just looked straight ahead, expression blank as I tried to fight the guilt bubbling up inside.
