Chapter 8: Hanabi Has Fun
Neji was glaring venomously at the deck. Or rather, a specific, terracotta stain on the deck near the stern of the ship, spanning his entire forearm in width and looking suspiciously like a streak of dried blood. He had spent the last quarter of an hour scrubbing away at it with seawater and the rag (now in shreds after violent abuse at the hands of said Hyuuga) and yet here it remained, stubbornly clinging to the weathered wood like a birthmark on the ship.
For Pete's sake. He didn't even know why he cared so much, only that Tenten had ordered him to scrub the deck clean and he owed her his life. And that he was Hyuuga Neji and by God, even if it was demeaning work, it was work assigned to him and he would do it brilliantly, damn it! (Actually, he was a little worried about the possible result of disobeying Tenten. But only a little.)
He sat back, roughly wiping away the sweat building up between his brows and tugging uncomfortably at his collar. The shirt had already been starched stiff before being drenched in seawater; now, dried and baking in the afternoon heat it was positively hard, scraping at his skin painfully like sandpaper and adding to his general discomfort. His hands were raw, the salty water stinging the thin cuts Tenten had opened up on his skin during their short fight. Sighing, he leaned down to give one more futile scrub at the stain.
It didn't work.
Neji growled in frustration, throwing the rag to the side in disgust. He needed something truly abrasive in order to scrape the damn thing off. Scowling, he shrugged out of his shirt, folding it into quarters and dunking it into the pail of water before proceeding to use it to attack the deck.
"That bad, huh?"
Neji paused mid-swipe, turning to see Naruto sitting cross legged a few feet behind him, tattered canvassing draped over his lap. The blonde was watching him with a bemused expression, a needle and thread pinched loosely between his fingers.
"Hn." Neji brushed stray strands of inky hair from his forehead and turned back to his work, not in the mood to begin idle chit chat. They were on the verge of a possible fight with Orochimaru and there was the deck to clean (because Tenten said so.) He was a busy man.
"Need help?" Naruto offered.
"No." Neji shook his head. The stain was finally beginning to come off, smearing dirty red onto his shirt.
"You sure?"
"Yes." A few quick, hard scrubs and it was gone (although it appeared that the top layer of the deck was gone as well). Neji breathed a small sigh of relief.
"I bet you're not used to doing dirty work like this, eh?" Naruto grinned cheekily at him. "How does it feel?"
"Hn." Neji shrugged, flinging the used shirt into the pail and standing up, planning to move on and finish the cleaning – he had only the quarter deck left to scrub, and then he would be done and might be able to check up on how Kiba was taking the news from Hanabi. To his surprise, Naruto also stood up and followed him as he strode across the length of the ship, trailing his half mended canvassing behind him as he went.
Neji stopped, pail swinging against his knee as he glared at the man. "Is there something you want?" he asked irritably. Naruto blinked at him.
"Huh? No, I just thought I'd work near you. Since uh, you know, we were talking." He looked at the Hyuuga strangely. "Is there a problem?"
Hmm...what about the fact that they had been fighting against each other less than a day ago? That they were now forced to be on the same side only through current circumstances and that they still were (and Neji rather hoped would continue to be) pretty much strangers to each other?
"...No," he muttered, sighing, when he saw Naruto's innocent expression. The man seemed to have discarded all ill will against him after waking up at the Ichiraku this morning and was currently being unnecessarily friendly, in his opinion. Still, he supposed that since they were now technically allies he might as well be civil.
"So," Naruto began cheerfully as soon as Neji set down his pail and began wringing his shirt dry. "It seems like you're part of our crew now, huh? You and Hinata and Sakura."
Neji was about to insist that Naruto refer to the ladies as "Misses" instead of so callously throwing their names about, but was overridden when a gruff voice suddenly issued from behind.
"And me, apparently."
Neji and Naruto turned to see Kiba stalking warily towards them from the main deck. Hanabi must have managed to get him a spare change of clothes; Neji noticed rather enviously that he now wore the same loose shirt and breeches as the rest of Tenten's crew, looking clean and refreshed.
"Inuzuka." Neji nodded at him when he reached them. Kiba eyed Naruto suspiciously before squatting down and bending closer to his former Captain.
"Are you sure about this, Neji?" he asked under his breath, brows furrowed in worry. "Can we trust them?"
Neji fixed him with a steady gaze. "We have no other choice but to do just that, I'm afraid." Seeing the Inuzuka's unconvinced expression, he sighed and ripped his shirt in two, handing one half to the Inuzuka. "We'll be safe with them. For now, we clean."
Naruto had been leaning in unabashedly to catch the words exchanged between them and now grinned at Kiba in what he obviously thought was a reassuring manner, eyes creasing into curved slits as he bared his teeth proudly. "Eh, quit worryin' ya landlubber! Of course you'll be safe with us - we're one of the best crews working the entire Straits!"
Kiba growled softly in his throat. "Safe? Miss Hanabi said we're about to present ourselves as bait to Orochimaru. How safe can we be?"
"Safer than if we were back in Konoha," Neji replied sternly. "I presume she has also informed you about our –our-" Here he paused, finding the words stuck awkwardly in his throat. "- Betrayal - by the Hyuuga clan?"
"Yes, but – what I'm saying is- look at Miss Hinata and Miss Sakura now! And Miss Hanabi! They're waving bloody swords about!"
"What?" Neji's head shot up immediately. "Swords?"
Pale eyes widened when he caught sight of the three women each clutching various dangerously sharp objects, staring raptly as Ino demonstrated how to stab an imaginary foe through the chest and execute a swift kick to the groin area at the same time. Hanabi in particular looked positively gleeful as she ran a finger lightly along the edge of her hooked blade. Neji swallowed. Oh, Lord...
"You see? You see?" Kiba demanded, flustered.
"What are they doing?" Neji hissed, fingers tightening around what was left of his shirt and unconsciously wringing out all the remaining water onto the deck. "This is outrageous! Absolutely preposterous! They must be stopped immediately!"
"Oy." Naruto snapped his fingers in front of their indignant faces. "Stop overreacting, will you? Ino's going to make sure they're alright. Besides, they've got to learn sometime, right? Or do you think we'll be fighting Orochimaru by being civil and throwing a tea party?" he asked sarcastically.
"They will not fight!" Neji declared angrily, but his heart was sinking and he realized that Naruto was right. Even if he could keep the ladies out of the way most of the time, they would still need to be able to protect themselves in case the worst occurred and they were attacked. And yet... Neji winced when Hanabi sliced her scythe in a large, smooth curve through the air, the metal gleaming and catching the light.
"Are you sure that blonde woman knows what she's doing?" Kiba asked skeptically, watching Ino adjust Sakura's grip on her sword.
"Of course!" Naruto told them proudly. "Ino's a great fighter! Tenten's the best at using weapons, naturally, but Ino can definitely hold her own. She's a tough girl, that one. Spent most of her childhood on the streets before she met Tenten. Her parents drowned on a trading ship just off Sunagakure when she was only this tall." He splayed his palm horizontally up to his chest, shaking his head sympathetically.
"A street urchin turned pirate," Kiba sighed. "Wonderful. I suppose all of you are like her, then?"
"Nah." Naruto bit his thread in two, squinting as he continued on with his mending. "We're all different. Shino there – the strange fellow in the coat – he's blueblood. Aburame."
Neji frowned. "Aburame? How on earth did someone from their clan end up here?" He remembered meeting various members of the Aburame nobility a few times at the Hyuugan court. A highly influential family, they were second only to the Hyuuga in terms of wealth and ancestry. He turned to Kiba abruptly. "Aren't the Aburame and the Inuzuka...?"
"We are close allies, yes." Kiba nodded slowly. "We have strong ties to their clan...strong enough to match familial duty, almost. Though I had never heard of one of the Aburame sons becoming a pirate..."
Naruto shrugged. "He ran away. Wouldn't those big fancy clans try to keep these kind of things all hush hush anyway?"
"That's why he didn't kill me," Kiba exclaimed loudly, a look of dawning comprehension spreading across his face. "Back on our ship. He knows I'm Inuzuka...and I suppose he still has some sense of his clan obligations towards mine."
"Hn." Neji narrowed his eyes, watching Shino as he cleaned the cannons. "What about the others? More runaways?"
"Er..." Naruto scrunched his nose in concentration. "Well, Sasuke-bastard is an Uchiha, I think you know, yeah? The others...Chouji was born on Leaf Island. His parents are the local bakers – Akimichi pastry is the best this side of the world, trust me - they wanted him to carry on the family business but he decided to join Tenten's crew instead. Shikamaru and his pa used to be with Asuma's crew –- but then his pa was killed during a raid near the Bay of Sound and he switched to join ours. Said he preferred a younger pack, but well..." Naruto trailed off, gaze resting briefly on the spiky haired man slumped against the steering wheel at the other end of the ship before turning back to Kiba and Neji. "And Tenten...her parents came from the Han Kingdom east of the Konohan Empire - refugees from a civil war, I think...they were picked up by Genma's crew. Tenten was born and bred into this life – a true pirate lass. She was the one who brought us all together, gave us a family to call our own."
"Why isn't she with her parents?" Neji asked curiously.
Naruto's expression darkened. "Captured and executed years ago. She was taken care of by Shizune – Genma's girl – and Tsunade, until she managed to buy her own ship and took us all in."
"...I see."
"And you?" Kiba directed his gaze back from the Aburame to Naruto, a wry smile on his lips. "What's your tragic past?"
Naruto blinked, looking unexpectedly hesitant and on guard. "Ah, well, s'nothing special," he mumbled, shrugging, before letting out a forced chuckle. "Eh, it doesn't matter anyway. The important thing is that I'm here now with my crew. This is my family."
Neji narrowed his eyes at the way the blonde had quickly slipped past the subject but didn't press the issue, figuring it wouldn't be terribly important anyway. He turned to Kiba, a serious expression settling into the clean lines of his face. "Shikamaru said that that we would merely be leading Orochimaru away from Leaf Island – technically, there shouldn't be any fighting. However...if the worst comes to the worst...I want you to take the ladies below deck and lock them in the most inconspicuous cabin you can find. Understand?"
"Yes sir." Kiba nodded curtly, unconsciously slipping back to old formalities. "And us? Do we fight?"
"Naturally." Neji squared his shoulders and gazed out into the mist, managing to look uncommonly dashing and noble despite the fact that he was still holding a dirtied wet shirt in one hand. "We'll show Orochimaru not to underestimate trained men of war."
"I understand." Kiba smirked.
"And for now-"
"We clean. Yes, I've noticed."
"You're enjoying yourself, aren't you?"
Tenten started, tearing her gaze away from the shirtless Hyuuga currently swabbing her decks. "Shikamaru?"
"You made him clean the decks deliberately. In this weather. Admit it."
"He...he didn't have anything else to do." Tenten flushed.
"Oh? So why have you spent the last quarter of an hour watching him?"
"Supervision. Being a former Captain, I didn't expect him to be terribly good at cleaning."
"Heh. And is he good, then?"
"Very."
"How troublesome."
"Shut up, Shikamaru."
A pause.
"And stop smirking at me like that."
"Fine, fine." Shikamaru rolled his eyes and titled his head back lazily, squinting. "By the way...it's rather troublesome...but I think Sasuke's spotted something."
"What? Has he found the Akatsuki?" Tenten started, neck snapping back immediately to follow his gaze. Sasuke had been scanning the area around the Kyuubi on the lookout perch since they left port, directing them in wide circles around the island in order to find Orochimaru's ship. Now they were currently gliding West of Leaf, heading in a gentle arc in the general direction of Sunagakure. The mist here formed a nearly impenetrable barrier, thick and humid, before suddenly subsiding into the clearer waters that was under Suna control.
Sasuke was currently swathed in thin veils of vapour that clung to the sails but they could still make out his hands as they swiftly came together in a series of familiar signals, wrists and fingers twisting deftly to form various symbols.
Snake...Near...Port side...Turn...Immediately.
"Port side?" Tenten bit her lip, fingers clenching around the looking glass slung around her neck. "Shikamaru, gather the others. I'll steer."
Shikamaru took off across the deck grimly and Tenten pressed the glass to her eyes, scanning the area to the ship's left. For a few, tense seconds she saw nothing but grey and the brief gleams of light that reflected off the sea and she cursed softly, squinting, one hand reaching up to rest lightly on the steering wheel.
And then it appeared: a blurred shadow in the distance, the hulking mass lurking upon the water half concealed in the dense mist. She could make out the curved outlines of gigantic, black sails and the bowsprit protruding from the head of the ship, aimed directly at the Kyuubi.
"Too close," Tenten hissed, flinging down the looking glass and pulling down on steering wheel, hard. The ship groaned and creaked as it swung abruptly to the right. How had they missed it? How? "Shino! Are the cannons ready? Ino, get all the sails down, now!"
She gave one last tug at the steering wheel, setting the ship swerving away from the fast approaching Akatsuki before darting as fast as she could towards her crew, a hand pressed hard against her wound. Sasuke came sliding down the mainmast just as she reached Ino, the two women hurriedly undoing the rope tied around iron posts on the deck in order to let down the extra sails.
"They know I'm onboard," Sasuke told her under his breath. "I made sure their crew could see me." He showed her the burnt splints in his palm before hurrying away to help Shino drag the cannons to the back of the ship. Neji and Kiba were there already, the four of them alternatively ramming the cannons on their rickety iron wheels and rolling the heavy cannonballs across the deck.
"Don't you hold the guns below deck like normal ships?" Neji hissed at Shino, kneeling to prop the length of the canon over his shoulder so as to heave the barrel over the side of the ship. The metal was hot against the bare skin of his back, the dried tar that coated the joints rubbing roughly against his hip. "What happened to using the gun ports?"
"It's much easier to aim this way," Shino told him coolly, already beginning to load the first cannonballs into the barrel.
"Yes, but the backfire will break your ribs if you're not careful." Honestly, what was with pirates and not using weapons in a safe and orderly manner?
"I'm always careful."
"Hn." He snorted.
"They're too close! We have to get moving quickly!"
All heads shot up at Tenten's urgent tone. The woman was standing sternly in the middle of the sparring deck, looking over the activities of her crew with a looking glass in one hand and a cutlass in the other. "Crew, remember that our aim is to lead them away from Leaf Island! Even if we engage in combat - which unfortunately seems to be much too likely at the moment - I want at least one member to be steering and manning the sails, you hear me?"
"Aye!" The entire crew minus its newest members all roared back immediately (Naruto being the most enthusiastic of all) and resumed working with increased fervor. Kiba blinked, seeing Hanabi come scampering over to the group with what seemed to be an entire armoury clutched between her scrawny arms.
"Neji! Inuzuka!" She let half the weapons fall to the ground with a resounding clatter when she reached them. "Chouji told me to give these to you."
The two men each picked up a variety of blades, inserting a dagger in their belt here, a cutlass and scabbard around their waist there. Neji narrowed his eyes at his cousin, eyeing the many weapons she still clasped eagerly to her side.
"And the rest?"
"Mine!" she told them happily, dashing away again to find Sakura and Hinata. The women were helping Naruto spread open the sails that he had mended, Sakura taking one corner and cautiously pulling herself up the mizen-mast. The Kyuubi was now speeding swiftly across the water but the Akatsuki was faster, the distance between the two ships closing up at an alarming rate; the mist was getting thicker by the minute as they reached the final barrier that protected Leaf from detection. Under Tenten's direction Shikamaru had resumed his post at the steering wheel so that she could lend a hand to the men at the stern still struggling with the heavy cannons.
"The cannonballs have to be put in like this." She nudged Kiba out of the way and pulled a cannonball from Neji's grasp. "These guns are old, probably different from your standard army issue ones. If you don't close this clasp it will slide out before-"
"Tenten! Move!"
"Huh?" Tenten looked up across the sea at Ino's shouted warning, expression tightening when she saw three familiarly clawed hooks flying towards them, ropes undulating snake- like through the air. "Damn it!"
She ducked, rolling to the side and wincing as the hooks embedded themselves into the backboard of the stern, ropes pulling taut. The ship bucked forward before slowing down, salty spray crashing over the deck and drenching half the crew. The Akatsuki was now barely twenty feet behind them; Kiba snarled, rushing forwards with his cutlass to severe the ropes but was forced back when a sudden volley of small, hooked blades sliced through the air, forcing Tenten and the men to throw themselves back onto the deck.
Neji waited for the barrage of weapons to cease before crawling forwards on his hands and knees; catching Shino's eye, the two grasped a cannon and aimed it roughly in the direction of the Akatsuki, the two of them still hidden behind the backboard of the ship. Shino flicked a splinter from his pocket and struck it across the wooden deck, preparing to light the fuse.
"Hey boys."
The two men immediately pushed themselves away, startled, when a head of red head appeared above them. A dark, cat-eyed woman grinned down at them before swinging herself up and over the edge, landing gracefully before the shocked band of pirates. "Say hello to Tayuya," she sang teasingly, the toothy grin widening before she darted forwards with two short swords brandished in the air, eyes locking onto Shino.
Neji stepped up to help but froze when he saw the scene playing out before him between the two ships. More men were pulling themselves across the gap, hanging from the ropes with their blades clenched between their teeth.
"They're coming, right?" Tenten pushed him out of the way, scowling as she assessed the situation. Sasuke was already leaping forwards to exchange blows with the incoming wave of attackers; they swarmed around him, jeering as he twisted and flew at the enemy with angry precision. Tenten paled.
"Sasuke! Get back here! You of all people should be staying behind, idiot! You're exactly what they want and you're giving yourself to – oh, hell!" Cursing loudly, she drew her own weapons and flung herself into the disarray, Neji following close at her heels and flinging a meaningful look back at Kiba.
"Inuzuka! The ladies!"
Kiba appeared momentarily torn, looking rather longingly at the fight. A quick glance behind, however, immediately convinced him to retreat and lead the women away. Hinata was visibly terrified, eyes huge with fear as she grasped her sword tightly in her fists. More worrying, however, was the sight of Naruto struggling to hold back a squirming Hanabi – the young woman was brandishing her scythe in the air, naively eager to rush forwards and join the fight. Hell no. Kiba ran towards them, grabbing Hanabi from a relieved Naruto's hold and tugging the rest of the ladies towards the stairway.
"Get off me! I want to fight! I want to-"
Kiba did his best to ignore the furious demands issuing from the crook of his arms and pressed on down, pausing momentarily only to make sure Sakura and Hinata were following. He needed to find a safe cabin, now.
Back on deck, the situation was becoming increasingly desperate. The Akatsuki's head had come within jumping distance of the Kyuubi. Even with Ino, Chouji and Naruto joining the fray, the seemingly endless flow of Akatsuki members kept pouring onto the ship. Tenten was weakening quickly, the bandages at her hip beginning to stain a dark red; Neji found himself watching her back, worried that she might slip and become overwhelmed by the Akatsuki men.
"We're out!" Shikamaru's hoarse shout resounded across the deck.
Out? Neji frowned while stabbing a pirate through the chest. What did he mean by out? Out of the fight? Out of -
Abruptly, the mist disappeared.
Neji blinked as the ship slid slowly out of the final traces of vapour, unaccustomed to the harsh, blinding light that suddenly beat down upon them. He recognized the acrid heat that burned at their skin, the air dry as dust even over water. The Kyuubi had managed to tow the Akatsuki straight out of the mist and into the Sunagakurean waters. Leaf Island must be situated around half way between Konoha and Sunagakure, then.
"Sasuke-bastard!"
Neji was snapped out of his musing by Naruto's enraged cry. Swiping at a new enemy, he swept his gaze towards the stern and tensed immediately, growling. Sasuke's sword had been ripped from his grasp; the man was now swarmed by four Akatsuki members, backed up towards the edge of the ship. Naruto broke through his opponents and rushed towards his comrade but it was too late – one of the men swiped out at Sasuke, forcing him to take a step back. Sasuke found himself fumbling to find a grip as he teetered on the backboard, failed, and began the long descent towards the water; his opponents surged forwards, grabbing his torso and leaping back onto their ship, dragging the struggling Uchiha with them.
Then the side of the Akatsuki exploded, throwing up a mass of splintered wood and twisted iron into the air.
Both crews froze momentarily, astounded. When the dust cleared they found a gaping hole near the forecastle of the ship, the walls having been ripped cleanly through.
Shikamaru leaned against the steering wheel as he stared at the wrecked front of the Akatsuki, lips slowly quirking up at the corners into a lazy smirk. He turned his gaze out to sea, the smirk widening into a fully fledged grin when he found what he was looking for.
In the distance, a small galleon with visibly smoking cannons was speeding towards them, a yellow flag rippling above the billowing sails. Squinting, he could make out a small figure standing proudly at the head of the ship, one leg resting on the bowsprit, dirty blonde hair tousled in the wind.
"Temari..."
