Chapter 7

"How are we going to approach this kind of situation when we don't have any weapons with us? They were all stolen when those barbarians, no offense Kiba, stole them all!"

"The only thing we need to do is focus on rescuing the men form them. I was talking to Kiba an hour ago and he said they normally don't do anything until just a little after dawn. That's in twelve hours, so we have plenty of time to do what we can to prepare for it." Suddenly, hands were slammed onto the table the crew were at as two of them got up and started arguing over the fact that they were suppose to rescue the remaining crew who had been captured by the blood-thirsty natives. They were now at the other native's camp, the one's that had agreed to help them get their crewmates back. At the moment, Nagato and Naruto were in a heated discussion about what to do when it came to defending themselves if they were caught in the action.

"And by prepare do you mean wait it out until there is no time left? You have no authority over the rest of this crew, only the captain does! Since there is no first mate according to the previous votes several years ago! The only reason you have jurisdiction over that role is because Sasuke thinks you are more responsible out of the entire crew! Stop screwing around and act the 'responsible' man Sasuke thinks you are!"

"What about you? I can see the reason why you weren't chosen as first mate because you are the LEAST responsible of this crew! You don't know when to shut up or when to stop at something when someone tells you once to stop! You're just a little kid who's so lonely he thinks he needs to be the center of attention when he knows he isn't wanted!" That did it for Naruto. He growled and sprang at Nagato, his hands curled into claws. They went down with a bang as the table flipped over and their chairs went flying. They landed on the floor, fists going at each other in a blur of punches. The rest of the crew sprang up and tried to get the two off each other but avoiding the fists that were flying everywhere.

Suddenly, there was a deafening bang that filled the tent they were all in. The fighting stopped and they turned to the entryway. Sasuke stood there, his pistol smoking and an angry scowl on his face. Sakura and Sakaku were with him as well as Kiba, who only shook his head at the mess they had made. Who could blame them; they were pirates after all. Sakaku made a beeline for Nagato who was sporting a bruised cheek and possibly a fractured wrist along with split knuckles. Sakura narrowed her eyes in disappointment at their behavior, but she was thinking the same thing as Kiba.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Sasuke yelled. He just wanted to get some peace and quiet after that long day, but NO, he had to be fated with this unmannered bunch of kids! "I thought you were all going to have a discussion about what we are going to do in the morning? I didn't expect to find a wrestling match instead of a mature debate between ADULTS." It was silent expect for the small, almost inaudible tapping of blood on the ground that was coming from Naruto's and Nagato's open wounds. Sasuke sighed and turned to Kiba. "Do you have a doctor to patch these two idiots up?"

Kiba shook his head. "No. We lost the one we had in the last battle between the other natives. It was a heavy loss because we lost half our men in that battle. None of the women in the village will be the new doctor."

Sasuke sighed tiredly and looked over at Sakura. His eyes grew wide when he saw her healing them with some kind of plant. Then, an idea came into his head that made him smile.

"Sakura, how long have you been using healing methods?" he asked, that smile still on his face. Sakura stopped what she was doing and looked up at him. "About three years, why?" They stared at each other for a few minutes, onyx into green. Suddenly, her eyes grew really wide and she shook her head fast when she realized what his intentions were. "NO! I am NOT going to be some village's healer. We have a job to do tomorrow and I am NOT wasting my energy because I have to stay here and tend to these people! Are you saying I can't come with you guys?" She looked around the room, but everyone avoided her look and she started to get a little angry and she stood up, dropping everything she was holding. Walking over to Sasuke whose smirk had disappeared when she started walking over to him, she stopped when she was right in front of him. Then, she took the slightest breath before she tackled him.

They both fell to the ground just as Naruto and Nagato had those several minutes ago. Just as before, there was a delayed reaction in the crew that was just standing there. Nagato and Naruto were the first ones to reach the struggling pair and tried to pry them off each other. Sakura sat on top of Sasuke and was punching him in the face with her right hand while the other one was holding him in place by his shirt.

"Why *punch* don't you *punch* ever *punch* trust me in something as serious as this *punch*?" Sakura punctured every few words with a punch and she could feel something break every time she punched him. But, as she punched him and kept breaking a different bone, she started to notice that he wasn't fighting back. And that just made her even angrier because she got the idea that he was going soft on her. Tears of frustration filled her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.

"And why won't you fight back? If you're going soft on me, Uchiha, I swear to God Himself I will kill you!" Her voice started to crack and her punches got weaker. Sasuke just lay there on the ground taking everything she was giving him. There was blood pooling from his mouth and on the ground from a split lip and his eye was starting to swell up a bit. When the punches to his face started to subside to nothing, he took this chance to sit up a little and ever so slowly. Now Sakura was sitting between his legs weeping her eyes out, the tears running down her cheeks in rivers.

His cheekbones were broken in several places and his nose was broken; he was going to have a black eye and would have to have a couple stitches on his forehead, but none of this compared to what he could see happening in Sakura's heart. He had been the one to break it into millions of pieces and there was nothing he could do about it.

The girl in front of him that had broken down in tears didn't notice him sit up slowly and just sit there staring at her thinking about how he had ruined her once perfect life. She also didn't notice that he was putting an arm around her shaking shoulders until he had put her head on his shoulder. Sakura's eyes widened then narrowed as she started crying again. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight when she felt someone to their right put a hand out to get her off. Sasuke just shook his head and stood up carefully; wincing in pain at the wounds she had conflicted on him. Sakura still held on tight when he picked her up the same way he had done two nights ago and walked towards the opening of the tent.

"I'm going to put her in her tent and when I come back, I had better hear a plan about tomorrow, do you all understand?" Heads nodded and he whisked out of the tent and into the one a few ways down. The light was on inside and he pushed the flap back to enter. He walked over to the mat that was on the ground and set Sakura down on it and stared at her as the tears rolled down her cheeks. His eyes narrowed in sorrow and he stood back up to leave and find SOME kind of medical attention about his throbbing face.

"Sasuke?" he heard her whisper from behind him. He stopped and inclined his head back to her, an eyebrow raised. "Yes?" He saw her shift uncomfortably before she lifted her eyes to his. "Do you want me to heal you? There isn't much I can do about the breaks but I can relieve the pain and stitch up the scratch on your forehead." Sasuke stared at her, but he turned to her without a reply and sat back down. He sat up straight as she got some medical equipment from her bag that some of the village women had given to her when they arrived. She had gone out and gotten some medical herbs that she knew would become useful in the near future when the men would, hopefully, come back. If she couldn't fight with them, then she had to become useful in some way.

"Sasuke, hold still if you want me to stitch it properly. Do you want an ugly scar on your face?" Sakura questioned as she started stitching the deep scratch on his forehead. Sasuke had started fidgeting when she had started on his forehead, the pain giving him a piercing headache in the process.

"Sorry, God." A sharp slap to his bruised arm silenced him and he hissed as the pain radiated through his head and body. Sakura sniffed at his immature nature and broke the thread that she had used to stitch his head with. "There, all good."

"Thanks," Sasuke murmured and sat up straighter than he had been for the past hour and a half. Sakura rolled her eyes and looked around the messed up tent. There were bandages lying in random areas where she had torn them off from the original strip (and they had gotten into an argument where they threw pieces at each other). Dirty bowls in which she had used to crush the plants and herbs in where placed around her in a sort of semi-circle and there were bloody pieces of cloth from when she had accidentally done something wrong.

Sasuke popped his back and stood up to leave. "Thanks again."

"Wait, I have a question," Sakura said quickly. Sasuke sighed and looked back. "Yes?" Sakura twiddled with a piece of hair. "Why are you always saying 'Thank you' and 'Sorry' a lot? You never used to do that until a few days ago." The dark-haired teen raised his eyebrows and looked up, thinking. Sakura actually thought this pose was pretty funny and giggled, but Sasuke didn't notice her silent laughter; he was thinking about why he kept saying things he hadn't said in his life to HER of all people! Finding no possible explanation, he looked back down at her and noticed she was shaking with laughter. He frowned slightly and bent his knees to her level.

"What do you find so amusing about me, Sakura Haruno?" he asked. Sakura stopped abruptly at his attitude and turned away from him, a smirk on her face.

"Nothing," she stated sarcastically. Sasuke rolled his eyes and leaned in closer.

"You know you want to tell me. What do you REALLY think of me? Do you really hate me or is that just a cover for your true feelings? Admit it; every girl that I have met in my lifetime as a pirate has found me 'devilishly handsome.'" Sakura's face twisted in disgust and she leaned away.

"Ha, keep dreaming, lover boy. You will never, let me repeat, NEVER get me to fall in love with you," Sakura said turning her body away from him. Sasuke rolled his eyes and got up to leave again. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sakura's shoulders slump and her eyes were downcast, almost uncertain. Her fingers began to knot themselves together in a nervous way, kind of the way someone would be deciding something that they couldn't make their mind up on. Sasuke's eye's narrowed when he felt something in his chest that he couldn't explain. The only other time he had felt this was when he had felt guilty about stealing something for the first time, but that was years ago when he was a small boy. Is it guilt? He thought when he turned all the way to face her. Why should he feel guilty at a time like this?

Sakura heard him pause at the tent door but didn't look up at him. Different emotions were racing through her head at the moment it was confusing her to no end. Did she have feelings for this pirate that had ruined her life just a week before all this had happened? No, of course not! How in the world that happen; this was a ruthless killer who cared about no one but himself. How could she, the daughter of a wealthy landowner, fall for someone as cruel and heartless as Sasuke Uchiha?

Suddenly, Sakura heard Sasuke walk closer to her slowly and drop to his knees in front of her.

"Sakura, if I told you something would you keep it a secret?" he whispered in her ear. She felt dizzy all of a sudden but nodded. "If I told you I'm more than a human, would you believe me? Would you trust me enough to stay with the crew and I?" The question stunned her for a second and she backed away from his form slightly. Something other than a human? She thought. Instead of doing what her mind was telling her to say, she did what her heart told her to do; she nodded. Sasuke adverted his eyes for a second, closing his eyes tightly. He couldn't believe he was doing this; he has never shown this to anyone unless that person had a death wish, but his mind was telling him that she was an exception.

His eyes were starting to sting telling him that what he was going to show her was there. Slowly, he opened his eyes and watched as the world became clearer and he heard Sakura gasp. Sasuke stared at her, disappointment and sadness in his newly transformed eyes.

Sakura gasped when Sasuke turned to look at her with what he wanted to show her. What she saw shocked her beyond anything before; Sasuke's eyes had changed. They were now like the flag that was on the topmast flowing dangerously to let all ships know who they were. Instead of the dark ones she was used to, she had received a blood red, rotating pair that showed death and mayhem. Indeed the commas that were on his red irises were rotating in a circle around the black pupil, and without even realizing it she had become entranced in them. She snapped out of her dreamlike state when she saw what looked like sadness and disappointment in his eyes from her reaction. Guilt set in her stomach and she looked him straight in the eyes. Then, she smiled.

Sasuke looked at her in confusion; wasn't she scared like he thought she was. Guessing his thoughts, she shook her head and said:

"I'm not scared, Sasuke. Why should I be?"

"Because the only people that have seen my eyes are the ones that are at the bottom of the sea or seven feet under," Sasuke murmured and his eyes faded back to their onyx. His eyes met her green ones, the kind that sparkled in the light and made butterflies fly in his stomach. He looked away from them with hesitation at the ground, but was forced to look at her again when she put a hand on each of his cheeks to make him face her.

"Sasuke, that is nothing to be ashamed about-"

"Don't say that! I have every right to be ashamed! These eyes have killed thousands of people and I am not proud of it! Do you think I am?" he yelled. He really doesn't like what he has in life, Sakura thought. Sasuke looked away again and put his cheek on his shoulder. How can anyone not be ashamed of something as hideous as his eyes? Sakura stared at him for a second before scooting closer to him and leaning in closer to his face. He looked at Sakura from the corner of his eye when he saw her get close to him. Why is it when I'm with her I feel safe and secure? He thought. His forehead met her shoulder when he felt exhaustion take control of his body.

Sakura felt Sasuke put his head on her shoulder and his body sagged slightly. When she looked down at him, she saw he had fallen asleep on her shoulder. His eyebrows were furrowed and she guessed he wasn't very comfortable in that position, so she grabbed his shoulders and maneuvered him to where he was lying on his back on the mat that was suppose to be hers. She sighed simultaneously with him as he sighed in contentment of the soft pallet she was given. Again, she guessed that this was the first time he has had a good night's sleep in a while. Now, the question was: Where was she going to sleep?

The outside had gone silent a while ago so that was out of the question to go sleep with one of the other guys. She didn't want to go sleep with the natives because she was still scared they would do something to her in her sleep. Sakura stared down at the sleeping boy and sighed, but she sat down beside him and scooted close to him for warmth since there was no blanket; but hell, who needed one in the freakin' tropics? When Sakura was close to him without touching him but still in reach of him if something happened, she closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep, but couldn't. Opening her eyes again, she turned on her side facing Sasuke. She smiled when she saw the peaceful look on his face; his mouth was slightly open but his eyes had softened. She reached up and touched his cheek, stroking it delicately. How can anyone this peaceful looking be such a killer?

Scooting closer to where she was curled in his side, her eyes finally closed as Sasuke's body heat acted as her blanket and him as her comfort.


"Alright, mates!" Naruto yelled. "Get those weapons prepared and the supplies loaded up. We need to get there before dawn or we'll be too late!" It was the next morning and everyone was up and about getting the supplies and necessities they needed for the battle that was soon to commence in less than two hours. Sasuke walked around the lively camp where he ran into Shikamaru.

"What are the reports, Nara?" he ordered. Shikamaru shook his wet hair out of his face as he swept his gaze around. The rain had started less than hour ago and was making the getting around hard since the ground had become mud.

"Every thing is going great as long as this rain keeps raining. Kiba and I spoke a couple minutes ago and he said this weather was perfect for cover when we get there. As long as we don't light anything then we should be fine."

"Perfect. Thanks, Nara," Sasuke said as he looked around for the native leader. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. What did he just say to me? Sasuke caught his look and stared at him. "What?"

"Did you just thank me?" Sasuke flinched and looked away. Crap, this apologizing and thanking people shit has GOT to stop, he thought.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"You NEVER thank anyone, Uchiha. Has Sakura gotten to your head or something?" Sasuke opened his mouth to say something crude and ungentlemanly to him when he heard someone call his name. "I'll, uh, talk to you later, Nara. Gotta go." With that, he sped off from a very surprised Shikamaru. Sasuke ran up to Kiba who was preparing his warriors for combat if they needed help.

"All my men are prepared to fight with you, pirate—I mean Sasuke." Kiba stared at him and gave him that wolfish grin. "It's about time we showed our rival tribe a thing or two about what we can do, am I right?" Sasuke smirked and put his hands in his pockets. "It's about time we start heading out, right?" Kiba nodded and watched as his eyes wandered over to a certain pink haired girl who was walking around observing the work that was going on about them. There was a look of sorrow on her face; she desperately wanted to go with them because she thought it was mostly her fault that they had been taken. Sasuke narrowed his eyes in understanding and he patted Kiba's shoulder to tell him he was leaving, whom responded with a curt nod. Sasuke walked away swiftly towards the solemn girl. Once he was to her, he quickly grabbed her elbow and towed her to a reclusive area in the camp.

Sakura was surprised when she was suddenly grabbed by the elbow and tugged to another area other than the busy one. Sasuke stood her in front of him and put his hands on her shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes.

"Sakura, I want to give you something before we leave," he whispered. Sakura stared at him in confusion as he searched in his breast pocket and then in his pants pocket. He breathed out an "Aha" when he had found it and pulled out the item that he had been searching for. Sakura's eyes widened when she saw the gold-hilted knife he pulled out of his pocket. He took her hand and placed the knife in it and closed her fingers around the blade.

"Sasuke, what-?"

"Sakura, no matter what happens, don't come after us. You need to stay safe if you ever want to get back home," Sasuke said in his monotonous voice. Sakura stared at the knife as he walked off to join the remaining crew who were waiting impatiently for him. She smiled and looked up just in time to watch them as they disappeared into the trees to go free the captured crew.

Sasuke stood next to Kiba as they walked quickly through the soggy woods to the camp of the enemy tribe. Nagato caught up to him as they heard the war cries from what they presumed was the tribe to the natives.

"Do you think it was a good idea leaving Sakura behind with no one to watch after her?" he asked quietly. Sasuke nodded once and lowered his voice even more than Nagato did.

"Yeah. I told her to not follow us no matter what, even if we don't come back." Nagato sighed silently and turned his attention forward, but stopped when the entire group in front of them stopped. Sasuke nearly shoved his way through to the front until he came to a complete and utter stop when he saw the scene below that made his skin crawl and a shiver went up his spine. 'Since when did natives have guillotines?' The remaining crew thought in disbelief. It was tall, almost nine feet in height and maybe five in width; the string from which the blade would be released from swing in the breeze that added the goose-bumps that had already set themselves on their skin. And the blade –oh the blade— looked menacing as it gleamed in the firelight and the shadows of the dancing natives pranced around it in a circle. It was an awful sight to those who hadn't seen a guillotine before.

"W-What the hell?" Naruto stuttered upon seeing the cruel beast. Kiba sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Ever since last fall, these natives have caught and slaughtered so many innocent people who had been stranded on this island using this mechanism. I believe it's called a guillotine, correct?" Sasuke nodded slowly as memories from close encounters with the horrible death machine made him shudder. A hand made its way onto his shoulder and he looked back to see Naruto there with a frown on his face. Sasuke shook his head and turned toward the camp that was straight ahead.

"Uchiha, look." Shikamaru pointed to an area away from the dancing natives and heads turned to look.

"It's the remaining crew!" Sakaku exclaimed quietly. The men that had been captured were strapped to trees to hold them there until the time came. Sasuke looked Kiba in the eye and patted his bare shoulder.

"You find a way to distract them while we get over there and cut them down. We have an hour before dawn, so we have to act quickly. Do you think you can do that?" Kiba grinned and patted Akamaru on the head.

"Oh course! We would risk our lives if it meant getting back at these fools who dared destroying our good name." Sasuke smirked and they shook hands.

"When our time comes to attack, we'll give the signal, alright?" That made everyone turn their heads to look at them in confusion. 'What signal?' They all thought angrily. Sasuke waved his hands at them to forget it and focus on the mission ahead. Naruto strode up to him and whispered in his ear:

"You have a LOT of explaining to do later, Teme." Sasuke rolled his eyes and started trotting through the dense woods to where the crew was held. Naruto and Nagato went with him while Sai, Neji, and Shikamaru stayed for backup in case they needed it. When they were almost there, Sasuke stopped them.

"Alright, so here's the plan. We're going to untie them quickly and drag them back up to where Kiba and the others will be waiting. There's a good chance though that we'll be caught before we get the fifth down. By then it'll be too late to get the others down in time. Just by looking at the possibility of getting them all down is a thirty percent chance. Are you all willing to do that and risk your life for their cause?"

"Absolutely, Teme!"

"I'd rather die than lose half the crew." Sasuke smirked and faced the other way towards the unconscious crew. 'All right then; here we go' Sasuke thought as they walked closer. The closer they got to the crew made their heart beats incredibly fast and their stomachs made flip flops with each step. Sasuke stopped at the first tree and reached inside his pocket for a knife, but then stopped as a painful memory came to his mind.

"Fuck! I gave my knife to Sakura before we left!" he cursed. Naruto and Nagato spun to him with looks of dread on their faces.

"Are you fucking serious, Sasuke?" Nagato hissed. Suddenly, he shut up quickly and hid behind the tree he had been cutting the sailor down from. Naruto gave a yelp and thumped down quietly and Nagato covered his mouth. Sasuke took a glance at what they saw and his eyes widened; Kiba was walking around the camp, smiling smugly as he marched up to the chief of the natives. They caught each other's eyes and he winked almost invisibly to those around him. Sasuke understood and smirked, signaling the other two to continue cutting the ropes binding the men. 'You sly son of a bitch' he thought as he started searching his pockets for an extra knife. Then, a knife was dropped at his bent knees and he recognized it instantly; it was the knife he had given to Sakura! He heard a gasp come from beside him, but he didn't need to look up to know who was standing above him. Still, it had surprised him that Sakura hadn't obeyed him when he told her to stay.

"What the fuck are you doing here, Sakura?" he hissed, but when he looked up, she was nowhere to be seen.

"Sakura! No!" he heard Nagato exclaim. 'No! You're not doing what I think you're doing!' Sasuke thought as he looked up. But there she was, her short pink hair swaying behind her as she walked right into the camp. Kiba turned at the sound of footsteps coming towards them and his mouth opened to cuss the person out, but stopped when he saw whom it was. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped, revealing the sharp canines he was going to use on the leader if it was necessary. Sasuke's face twisted in pure horror when he saw her reach into her pocket and pull out a pistol; the one he had been searching for since last night. He had lost it on their run from the natives, but now he knew where it was: in Sakura's hands.

Sakura pointed the loaded pistol at the chief who recoiled in fear at the weapon. The girl's bangs shaded her eyes as she cocked it and put her finger on the trigger. Her frown turned into a smirk that curled evilly and her finger squeezed the trigger. Sasuke saw her lips move and barely, just barely, heard the words that came out of her mouth.

"Run." BANG!

It was silent as the bang from the gun rang out for miles, signaling that she had shot the leader. The native's head rolled back with a hole in the middle where the bullet had made contact. The next thing they all knew, the whole place went into utter chaos and Sasuke lost sight of Sakura for a split second until he saw her being carried away by Kiba and he saw her struggling against his arms.

"Sasuke! Cut them free! They're awake!" he heard a voice shout in his ear and he started furiously cutting the ropes with the knife Sakura had given him. The gun blasting must have woken the pirates up and they struggling against the ropes holding them. Once they were all free, they made a straight beeline for the woods. A battle had broken out in the camp meanwhile between the natives and pirates. Sasuke made sure the men were safe before looking for the source of the problem. He sought her out when he heard a gun go off and he ran for the spot he had heard it.


Sakura didn't know why she did it, but as soon as they had disappeared, she took a break for the tent she and Sasuke had shared the night before. Just the thought of them falling asleep in each other's arms made her blush before she entered it. Once inside, she started gathering the necessary items for what she thought was going to be a raid type of thing, the ones they do all the time before she met the crew. As soon as she thought she had everything she needed, including the knife Sasuke had given to her moments before they had left, she started searching for the item she had stolen from him the previous night. Digging into the jacket she had been given, she pulled out a pistol she had stolen from Sasuke before they were chased into the forest. She smiled and tucked it away in her breast pocket before turning away and walking out of the tent.

Sneaking away would give a bad name to her, so she merely strode right out of the camp and off into the darkness. After a good ten miles or so, she saw a bit of light coming from a part of the woods and she ran silently towards it, coming to a stop when she saw the sight. There was an enormous guillotine in the middle of a large crowd of the natives that had attacked them the night before. When she spotted the captured crew members, she sighed quietly in relief and started walking to that area. She watched as Kiba walked out to whom looked like the leader and started talking to him in their language, resulting in what she could only comprehend was the plan. Kiba would distract the natives while Sasuke and some other men would set the captured crew free and run for the ship.

Sakura could barely see the outline of three figures sitting behind the trees the men were tied to, but she could see a chicken-shaped head and smirked. 'Of course Sasuke would be the one to free them,' Sakura thought as she came up behind them. Nagato and Naruto were furiously cutting at the ropes, but Sasuke was searching in his pockets for what she knew was the knife he had given her. Smiling at him, she started walking up to them, pulling the knife out of her pocket. She saw out of the corner of her eye Nagato and Naruto look up at her and gasp as she dropped the knife at Sasuke's bent knees, who froze at the sudden action.

"What the fuck are you doing here, Sakura?" she heard Sasuke hiss urgently, but she was already walking past him and towards Kiba and the chief.

"Sakura! No!" Nagato exclaimed silently, but she ignored him and kept walking. She saw Kiba look over at him and open his mouth to say something, but he froze when he saw it was she. 'Sorry guys,' she thought as she pulled out the pistol. 'But I'm going to have to change your plans a little.' Sakura cocked the pistol and put her finger on the trigger with an evil smirk. Somehow, she relished the look on the native's face as he cowered in fear at the weapon. She knew Sasuke was looking at her and inclined her head ever so slightly in his direction.

"Run," Sakura muttered because things were going to get a little nasty. Her finger squeezed the trigger and her hand jerked back on the recoil of the gun. It was silent for what seemed like an eternity; then all hell broke loose. There were cries of fury as the chief's head rolled back with a hole in his head, his eyes lifeless staring ahead. Everyone started running around and fights broke out between natives and pirates and blood was shed. Someone grabbed Sakura around her middle and started running away from the fight and she started to struggle because she had come here for a reason and that was to help Sasuke and the crew. Kiba's grip on her slipped when a native attacked them and she thumped to the ground. There was a wild cry in front of her and she looked up to see a native with a spear raised to impale her. She brought the hand that held the pistol and squeezed the trigger once more and there was another deafening bang as she shot the native in the chest. Blood squirted from the wound and this time she was the one that recoiled from the sight of the red liquid.

Suddenly, Sakura felt arms come under her arms and she was lifted up. She started struggling to get free, but stopped completely when she heard the voice.

"What the FUCK are you doing here, Sakura?" Sasuke yelled in her ear over the yells and war cries. He let her go as a native came up behind him and he stabbed him with the knife he had in his hand. The man went down and Sasuke turned to Sakura again as she straightened up from avoiding a blow to the head. "Didn't I tell you to stay at the camp?"

"Did you really expect me to stay there when you were all risking your lives? Nuh uh, I'm going to fight with you! Since I'm part of this crew until further notice, I need to learn how to survive!"

"You already did when you stood up to me the day we met!" Sasuke retorted. Sakura's eyes widened at the comment and all time seemed to stop for them. Everything became a blur around them as they stared at each; Sakura opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when she finally saw his eyes. They were the same ones as the night before and they were spiraling rapidly, probably from the adrenaline rush he was feeling at the moment. All of a sudden, something thumped in front of them and they looked down to see a dead native, it's eyes rolled into the back of it's head. Sakura gasped and glared at the person who killed it: Naruto.

"Quit standing there and making googly eyes at each other! We have to go now!" They both turned to notice the crew was running in the direction of the beaches, which was barely visible through the trees. They took one last glance at each other before sprinting after the crew. Sakura's breath caught in her throat when she caught sight of the ship with everything still intact and it almost looked as if it was welcoming them since its sails were flowing in the breeze. The horizon was just breaking, the sun peeking over the edge of the water. Sakura laughed and urged her legs to go faster so that she passed Sasuke. He saw her as she passed him and he smirked, making his legs go faster as well so that he passed her as well. Sakura saw this and frowned angrily, baring her teeth slightly as she went faster until she felt like she was almost flying. It had practically become a race for them as they sprinted for the ship with the angry natives running after them.

"RUN YOU GUYS!" Naruto screamed as the last of the crew got on and started preparing to set sail quickly. With the last bit of strength they had, Sasuke and Sakura took a leap so high it looked like they were soaring across the sky. The crew watched almost in slow motion as they hurtled onto the deck, both doing somersaults and coming to a complete stop as they hit the topmast. The ship started going fast and they were soon more than mile away from the shore, the natives jumping around on the shore shouting at them angrily. The entire crew blew out the breath they had been holding and looked towards the two that had barely managed to get on the ship on time. The two were laughing hard to where their faces were beet red; the crew assumed it was because they had just raced each other and barely made it out of there alive.

Sakura was holding her stomach as she laughed loudly and Sasuke was just laughing, something that was a really rare thing to see. There was blood running from cuts they had gotten from the battle and when they had hit their heads on the wood. Finally, Naruto just burst out laughing at the sight of them, causing the crew to start laughing. They all laughed as they headed out to sea, grateful that the horrifying journey they had endured for the past three days was over and done with.


'Finally,' Sakura thought as she stood on the deck before the lights went out. 'Finally we can just relax and wait until the next port to come in view.' There was a bandage around her head from when she hit the wood and had patches on some cuts that would heal in a matter of days. Sasuke came up next to her and sighed.

"I'm kind of glad all that is over," he said as they watched the waves roll off the ship. The moon shone overhead, basking them in light.

"Me too," Sakura murmured. "How long until the next port?"

"Not long. We're going to the Sand country next." Sakura pondered this and then turned to him with a question.

"How come we're going from port to port?"

"Well, it's easy if you think about it: We need more supplies from the encounter with the natives. I have a friend there that can set us up."

"Can you tell me who it is?"

"Nope. It's a secret," Sasuke smirked knowingly. Sakura pouted and murmured something that sounded like "Fuck you". Sasuke started and looked down at her and he saw a scowl on her face. He smirked and murmured.

"Bitch."

"Low-life."

"Annoying."

"Man-whore."

". . . .Shorty."

"Emo-Boy." Sasuke shook his head and turned to her. Then, he put a hand on her head. He chuckled when he saw that she had a small pout on her face.

"Good night, Sakura." The girl smiled lightly and turned to face him so that she was pressed against his chest because he had gotten closer to her. Sakura blushed as he leaned down to her level, his hair shading his face as their faces got within inches of each other. Sakura closed her eyes as their noses brushed, and then—

"GUYS! Lights out!" a voice called from a cabin. The two jumped apart and blushed, their faces a bright red. Naruto stared at them from bleary and sleep-filled eyes before growling irritably and retreating back into his cabin. They sighed and stared at each other and another blush filled Sakura's face.

"W-Well, uh, good night Sasuke," she said. She started walking to her cabin quickly and as soon as she was inside, Sasuke leaned against the railing keeping him from falling into the ocean. He wiped his face with his hand in exhaustion and confusion. What the HELL has she done to him?