Part 4 of Arabia.


Prompt # 43

Music


"What a fabulous situation." Sakura glared at Sasuke who rolled his eyes.

"Believe it or not, I did not plan this."

"Really?" You mean being buried alive under sand was not your goal for today." She gasped, voice heavy with sarcasm.

"Shut up and help me look for a way out."

"I'm pretty sure the point of a trap is that we don't get out."

"Doesn't mean there isn't a way."

Sakura looked up at the ceiling where grains of sand were trickling in to the room like falling gold. The room was filling up with sand a startling speed – they had only been trapped for a few minutes and it was already approaching her knees. Tugging her legs out of the sand, Sakura climbed on top and slipped her way to the opposite side of the room to where Sasuke was searching. Her eyes scanned the walls, but the tiles and gold fixtures appeared innocuous.

"Perhaps we should shout for Naruto?" She suggested mildly.

"He'll be at the other end of the temple by now." Sasuke muttered, pressing his palms against the door with no luck. Sighing he turned and faced Sakura. "Maybe you're right, there is no way out."

Though she had said those words herself mere moments ago, hearing Sasuke admit them made her stomach twist in her stomach. "Let's hope I was wrong."

"We should see if we can figure out a way to stop the sand first and worry about getting out afterwards. " Sasuke mused.

Honestly, when Sasuke had received a new directive from Orochimaru, she had been less than impressed. Abandoned temple, no guards to speak of and crumbling walls – it had sounded quite tame compared to what he had achieved at Gaara's palace. As such, when Sasuke had asked if she wanted to accompany him and Naruto on the retrieval, she had jumped at the chance. It would be a walk in the park.

Unfortunately, she had not taken in to account the ancient traps that were in perfect working condition. They had split up from Naruto to scour the temple for their prize and she and Sasuke had soon stumbled upon the room they were looking for.

The room itself had been completely innocuous. In fact, had it not been for the door slamming behind them when Sasuke picked up a shining object from an alcove, Sakura might not have even realised this was the room containing their treasure. What had made their situation even more lovely had been the grates on the ceiling opening up and depositing a deluge of never-ending sand on them.

Sakura was having to keep shifting to stay on top of the loose grains, the door they had entered through now not visible at all. She pressed her head against the wall and frowned. "Hear that? Gears." She looked over her shoulder to Sasuke. "Do you think it's what's causing the sand to pour in? If we can find a way to get to them, maybe we can stop them."

Sasuke crawled across the sand towards her and reached in to the pouch on his hip. "Here." He pulled out a small black ball and Sakura stared at it for a moment before she noticed the fuse.

"You've had that all along? Why didn't you use it on the door when we first got stuck in here?"

"I was distracted by the sand pouring on us. Besides, it's not powerful enough to take out that slab of a door. Shikamaru creates this as more of a distraction than anything."

Sakura glanced at the wall and shrugged. "Worth a shot I suppose."

Sasuke withdrew a piece of flint from another pouch on his belt and struck it against the wall. It took a few tried but eventually a wayward spark hit the fuse which promptly started burning. Sasuke hastily nestled the bomb next to the tiled wall and dragged Sakura through the sand to the opposite side of the room.

Covering her smaller body with his much larger one, Sasuke braced for the explosion. For such a small thing it packed quite a punch, and Sasuke felt the ripple of air roll across his back. Straightening up he saw that some of the stone of the wall had been blown away, exposing a turning network of cogs and gears beneath.

He got up and scrambled to the wall, withdrawing his long sword and jamming it in the grinding wood. There was a horrible splintering noise, and for a moment, Sasuke thought that his blade would have been snapped in two, but one of the smaller gears could not stand the force and sprung free from the wall. The machinery embedded in to the walls soon ground to a halt and so too did the sand pouring through the ceiling.

"Well that's one problem down." Sakura mused.

Sasuke glanced over at her and couldn't deny she had a point. While the sand was no longer filling the room, it was not draining out either. Sakura was on her knees, her hair just brushing the ceiling, while Sasuke was hunched over at the shoulders.

"I guess we can wait for the idiot to find us." Sasuke said, shifting back to the middle of the room. Sakura joined him, laughing to herself. "What's so funny?"

Sakura smiled at him. "You call Naruto an idiot, and yet we're the ones who nearly got suffocated by sand."

"You're right. Sasuke nodded, lying on his back. "You're the idiot."

Sakura rolled her eyes and lay next to him. "I told you not to touch anything and yet you still went and pulled that... whatever it was from the alcove."

Sasuke reached to his belt once more and his hand returned with a palm-sized brass jar. He held it up and the candles burning at the very corner of the ceiling glinted along the edge. "Well it wouldn't have looked good if we came all this way for nothing would it?"

"Do you even know what that thing is?"

"Nope, but Orochimaru wants it and he pays finely."

Sakura sighed. "I think you're making a mistake."

"What?"

"Things are hidden away for a reason. Kept away from grasping hands to protect the world."

"And you think this," he waved the jar around. "Is dangerous?"

Sakura shrugged. "What I think doesn't matter, but what I know does. And I know that Orochimaru is a man that I would not trust."

Sasuke was silent and tucked the jar away safely.

There was quiet for a long time before Sakura was (of course) the one to break it. "I know I've asked before but, how did you get in to all this?"

Sasuke frowned and glanced at her. "If I didn't answer before what makes you think I will now?"

"Because I'll just keep asking. You're such a contradiction, Sasuke. I want to know who you are."

"You know who I am." Sasuke muttered, looking away.

"Yes." Sakura conceded. "But I also know the past shapes who we are today. I wish you'd trust me enough to let me know what happened to lead you here."

The silence enveloped them once more, and Sasuke found his thoughts running a mile a minute. He did trust Sakura, but he didn't enjoy talking of his past… it wasn't the happiest out there. On reflection however, Sakura had followed him unquestioningly and had placed her life in Sasuke's hands. Perhaps he owed her the truth after all.

Drawing in a deep breath, Sasuke began speaking and, like opening a vein, the words began pouring out.

"My family were wealthy and well-known. I wanted for nothing as a child. My parents had two sons, and so while my older brother was trained to become the next leader of our family, I was free to do as I pleased.

"The attention my brother got from my father was a cause of jealousy from me while I was young, but as I grew up I realised being the second son had its advantages. I had all of the benefits that my wealth befitted me, and none of the rules brother had. I was quite the spoiled brat."

He glanced at Sakura here who rolled her eyes playfully. "Racing the finest horses, wearing the most expensive silks- there was nothing I wanted for. Sailing was a favourite pastime of mine. In the summer one of my uncles would take me to the peninsula and I would be taught how to command a vessel.

"We would be gone for weeks, sailing from port to port, spending money as we went." Sasuke frowned deeply. "It was after one of these trips, the first one I had undertaken by myself without my uncles guidance, that things changed. I returned to our estate to find everyone dead – my uncles, aunts, cousins. And in the main house my mother and father."

Sakura pressed a hand against her mouth. "Who would do such a thing?"

"My brother was not among the bodies."

"You think he-?"

"I do not wish to believe it, and it makes little sense but there must be a reason why he was not among the dead." Sasuke's eyes were fixed unwaveringly on the ceiling.

"So that explains your appreciation for finery, but how did you come to have command of this crew?" Sakura felt that the more Sasuke tried to explain, the more questions she had.

"That is where the Hyuuga family comes in. My family and the Hyuugas were always in competition. Their power over their city matched the power the Uchihas had over their own. I was surprised when, all alone and barely a man, I was summoned by Hiyashi. Though he and my father had been rivals, they had respected one another, and Hiyashi offered to take me in and help me. My family's wealth was held in trust for me by Hiyashi.

"Of course, he could not stop me from using my money as I wished but I put my faith in him and soon it proved me well – I could stop and settle in a fine house and never worry about money ever again."

"Then why don't you?" Sakura whispered, eyes studying his profile.

Sasuke remained pensive for a while before speaking again. "I found little joy in anything after what happened to my family. I walked around the Hyuuga estate like a ghost. He sighed and Sakura saw his lips twitched at the corners slightly. "One day Hiyashi took purchase of a new ship from a city down the coast. He needed someone to sail it back and I agreed to do it – anything seemed better than remaining in the unfamiliar town. When I was back on that ship I realised how much I had missed sailing. I felt lighter than I had in months.

"From then on, when Hiyashi needed things brought to him over the sea, I would captain the task. There was one particular task he sent me on, retrieving a particularly fine necklace, that almost resulted in me losing my life. I would have never thought I would be a man driven by such things but the rush it gave me – I was sold. I returned to Hiyashi and trained in swordplay and decided to break off on my own.

"Hiyashi did not stop me – he donated the ship I sail to my cause – and I left my fortunes in his hands once more. I applied for a crew and... well you've seen what I got. Some joined and left, others we picked up along the way, but we do okay. I return back to Hiyashi from time to time and run errands for him if he needs it. There are a few more regular clientele I have but other than that we sail where we choose and do as we wish."

Sakura remained silent for a long time after Sasuke finished speaking, the aand filled room deathly quiet. "I'm... I want to say I'm sorry but I don't want you to think I'm pitying you. It's good that you are doing what you enjoy... but still I'm sorry that you came to this point the way you did." She glanced over at him. "Have you heard nothing more of your brother?"

He shook his head. "No. I always keep an ear out wherever we end up. I would like to be able to say that I am not still living my life around that night... but I need to know what truly happened. Whether he had something to do with it, whether he actually did die that night... or if he was innocent then why did he run?"

"How long have you been looking?!"Sakura asked softly.

"Almost ten years."

Sakura was unsure how to respond, but was saved from having to when a glorious noise drifted to her ears. Footsteps.

"Do you hear that?"" Sasuke nodded at her and as one they sat up, mindful of their heads and shifted closer to the wall where the door should have been.

"-ME!? –AK-RA?"

"That's Naruto." Sakura said excitedly. "In here!" She shouted back.

She looked at Sasuke who rolled his eyes before joining in her shouts. They heard a muffled thumping on the door and waited with baited breath.

Whatever Naruto did seemed to be successful as they suddenly found the sand they were sat on become very unsteady indeed. Sakura grasped Sasuke's shirt and he in turn grabbed her arm as the sand rolled and slid down like a crashing wave through the now-open door. The layer of sand beneath them carried them smoothly out in to the hallway where they came, disorientated and dizzy, to a halt next to Naruto's feet.

The blonde blinked down at them before his face broke in to an unsure smile. "Hello?"


"I can't stop finding sand." Sakura complained, running a hand through her hair and sending a shower of golden grains trickling to the floor. "I need a bath desperately."

"Didn't you grow up travelling the desert?" Sasuke asked as they made their way out of the temple.

"Yes but believe it or not, I didn't go swimming in it."

"Well it will be dark by the time we get back to the port, and I don't want to ship out until it's light. Feel free to visit a bath house in town."

"It's your chance to sleep on solid ground again, Sakura." Naruto piped up. "As much as I love sailing, it's still nice to sleep in a bed that isn't moving from time to time."

Sasuke looked over at her. "Some of the men like to book a room at the inn in towns."

"I bet they do." Sakura snorted. "Is there a bar attached to the inn by any chance?"

"How did you guess?" Sasuke muttered.

"Well it sounds like a nice idea." Sakura agreed. "It would be nice to be clean for once." She looked pointedly at Naruto. "Although it would be easier to fit in with you men if I smelled like a pig."

Naruto raise his arm and sniffed. "I don't smell." He protested. "That's the fine aroma of a man."

"Or cattle but then what's the difference?" Sakura laughed, ducking out of the way to avoid Naruto's attempt to grab her.

They made their way to the horses tethered outside the temple and mounted them. Sasuke glanced over at his companions and nodded.

"Back to the port. Come on." With that he spurred his horse and the three figures disappeared rapidly in to the desert.


As Sasuke had predicted, night was falling by the time the three arrived back at the port. They returned the horses to the stables and headed back to the ship, informing the rest of the crew of their successful trip.

There had been cheers all round when Sasuke gave the entire crew leave for the night. Sakura had never seen the crew move so quickly and found herself being swept along with Naruto and the others in the direction of the biggest inn in town.

While Sasuke passed over a sizeable pile of coin to rent rooms for all the crew, the other men honed in on the tavern next door like moths to a flame. Sakura watched them go, a wry smile of amusement on her face. Her attention was drawn back to Sasuke who pressed a key in to her hand.

"Here, your room." He then pointed at a large archway to their right. "The owner also tells me there are baths just through there."

Sakura's face split in to a wide smile. "Perfect. I'll meet you in the tavern?"

Sasuke was surprised. "Really? I would have thought you would have given it a miss."

"I'm a part of the crew right?" Sakura shrugged. "Might as well see what all the fuss is about."

"Wait," Sasuke called, stopping her before she could disappear beyond the arch. "You've never tried alcohol before?"

"Nope." Sakura smiled and ducked from the room.

Sasuke watched her go and groaned, a rough hand coming up to drag down his face. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"


When Sakura found the crew in the bar, they were already well on their way to complete intoxication.

"Sakura!" Naruto yelled happily when he spotted her. "You're all clean and girly smelling again!"

This prompted a cheer from the rest of the gang and Sakura's eyebrows shot in to her hairline. She took a seat between Sasuke and Kakashi who were apparently the only ones not ten sheets to the wind.

Sasuke glanced over at her and had to admit that Sakura looked very nice in her fresh dress and with shining hair not covered in a layer of sand… not that he'd admit it out loud of course.

"They're having fun." Sakura noted, nodding towards the other side of the table where Kiba and Naruto had started up an arm-wrestling competition.

"They'll regret it in the morning when we're shipping out at dawn." Sasuke snorted, taking a draught of his own drink.

Sakura eyed the mass of glasses in the middle of the table, all filled with a cloudy white liquid. She pulled one towards her and sniffed at it cautiously. The smell tickled at her nose and she looked over at Sasuke who was watching her.

"What is it?"

"Arak. It's a liquor mixed with water."

"You water it down?"

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow. "I don't think you'd want to try it straight. I'd be careful with it as it is. You are a beginner after all."

Sakura bristled at his words and the mocking tone he spoke them in. Keeping her gaze locked on his, she drank the glass back in one and immediately started coughing. She heard Kakashi chuckling as he patted her back.

The warm sensation of the alcohol spread through her chest and, once the coughing subsided, Sakura found the taste left behind on her tongue to be quite pleasant.

"Hey, not bad!" She reached forward for another glass when Sasuke's hand closed around her wrist. She glared at him but the man was unmoved.

"Pace yourself."

"Aw let the girl have some fun, Sasuke." Naruto piped up from his seat, reaching forward to push a glass in to Sakura's hand.

Seeing he was not going to win this argument, Sasuke sighed and released Sakura's arm, looking on as she sipped this one more reservedly than the first. Sasuke nodded to himself, glad that she was at least more sensible than the men.

At least, that's what he thought.

When the crew struck upon the bright idea of a drinking competition, Sakura agreed to join in. Sasuke was slightly impressed at how well she kept up, seeing off Chouji, Naruto and Shikamaru before she conceded defeat. Sasuke eyed her form, slightly swaying as it was, after the little competition drew to a close and felt that things hadn't gone as bad as they could have done.

Of course, he should have known that he could always rely on Naruto to drive him insane. The blonde ordered another round of drinks and disappeared out in to the street. He returned minutes later with a group of musicians that Sasuke had spotted busking near the port when they had docked.

Naruto threw some coins at the men and demanded that they "play something lively".

Things escalated from there.

Sasuke knew Sakura was an excellent dancer, unfortunately he had not realised that she had an almost pathological compulsion to dance… although admittedly, that could have been a result of the alcohol she had consumed.

The musicians struck up a particularly lively number and Naruto and Kiba were soon on their feet doing an ungainly, wobbling attempt at a dance. The other patrons of the bar laughed and clapped along with the music, cheering the two drunkards on.

Sakura apparently found this all to be great fun and, before Sasuke realised she had moved, was stood next to Naruto and Kiba and dancing along. While the men had been clumsy in their movements, Sakura retained her natural grace even in a state of inebriation. The laughs of the others in the bar turned to catcalls and Sasuke's fists clenched. He was halfway out of his seat when Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder, forcing him back down.

He glared at the older man who rolled his visible eye. "Give her a break. She isn't harming anyone."

Sasuke grunted but remained where he was, watching carefully as Sakura lost herself in the music. He had to admit that her face was full of glee as she swayed and twisted to the music, and he realised how important her dancing was to her.

He drew the line however, when she hooped up on to the table and her feet carried her in a dizzying series of spins. Sasuke ignored Kakashi's chiding words and made his way over to Sakura, just in time to catch her as she lost her balance and fell from the table.

Her bleary green eyes blinked up at him before her face broke in to a happy smile.

"Sssasuke! Comen dansh with me!"

Sasuke shook his head in exasperation and carried back over to where Kakashi was reading. "I'm going to go put her to bed."

Kakashi nodded. "Are we still shipping out at first light?"

"Yes."

Kakashi peered over the top of his book at Sasuke. "Are you going to tell the rest of the crew that?"

"I will." Sasuke smirked. "At first light."

Kakashi laughed lowly and went back to his book.

Sasuke carried Sakura from the tavern and the short distance to the inn next door. The proprietor of the inn was nowhere to be seen and Sasuke was glad that he was spared having to give any form of explanation for the girl in his arms.

He made his way towards the room Sakura was staying in, all the while trying to ignore the girl in his arms who was stroking his jaw like one would an affectionate pet.

"You're so pretty." She mumbled, her hand falling short of its destination and coming to rest against his collar bone.

Sasuke glanced down at her sleep face and had to bite his tongue – he was wondering if it would be considered cruel to bring her little speech up to her in the morning.

"Is that so?" He smirked.

"Mhmm." She yawned. "And you've got a nice pos-poste… you've got a nice bum too."

Sasuke's footsteps faltered at that glanced around, glad the hallways were empty at this time of night.

"Thank you." He said for want of any better reply.

He was relieved to come to Sakura's room at that moment, and after trying the door he found it unlocked – he'd have to have a word with Sakura about that when she was actually coherent.

Pushing the door open, he placed Sakura on the bed where she flung her arms and legs out like a starfish and sighed. "Ah 'm sleepy."

"I'd get as much sleep as I could if I were you. You're not going to be feeling great when you wake up."

"Am I sick?" Sakura peered up at him through half-closed eyes.

Sasuke laughed lowly. "You will be tomorrow."

Sakura looked at him for a long moment before rolling on to her side, facing his direction. "Sasuke?"

"Hn?"

"Thanks for bringing me with you." She smiled and closed her eyes. "You're much better than Gaara."

Sasuke watched as her breathing quickly evened out and she dropped in to a deep sleep.

He opened his mouth but words failed him and he shook his head instead. "Goodnight, Sakura."


The ship was full of miserable faces the next day.

True to his word, Sasuke had dragged the entire crew out of bed at the crack of dawn and they had shipped out soon after.

Sasuke had gone to wake Sakura himself and found her laying perfectly still on the cold stone floor. When he had asked her what she was doing there, Sakura had mumbled that the bed had been "swaying" and so the floor seemed like a better option.

Presently, Sakura was hanging over the side of the ship, taking deep breaths and cursing the day she had ever discovered alcohol.

"I hate to say 'I told you so'." Sasuke drawled, coming to stand next to her despondent form.

"Then don't." Sakura mumbled. The swaying of the ship made her retch again and Sasuke sighed.

"Go see Chouji and ask him to make you something simple to eat. You'll feel better for it."

"No thank you. I'm quite happy here."

"Suit yourself. Maybe you'll know better than to get in such a state again in the future."

Sakura laughed. "I was perfectly in control of myself thank you."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? You meant every word you said last night?"

"Well no," Sakura admitted. "I told a few lies." She lifted her head up and sent Sasuke a wicked look. "You're bum isn't really that great."

Sasuke blinked in surprise before he laughed quietly to himself. It seemed this girl would always find a way to surprise him.


I really do enjoy writing this series - the Arabia chapters come so easily. I've got so many chapters for it written but I'm going to try and space it out a little. No point in exhausting Sasuke and Sakura's adventures in the desert before due time right?

Thanks for all your lovely reviews.