SasoDei – One Gold Doubloon
Chapter Ten
A Memory
Deidara and Sasori had spoken little since the red head had set the rules as the blonde's punishment. The only time they even saw the other was when the blonde was asked by Yamato to bring the red head his food, though an equal amount of time he asked Konan to take it to Sasori. It had been two weeks since that had happened; since then, Deidara had become much better in his movements around the ship – although he was still a long way off from being as fleet-footed as Konan was, but that was understandable.
He was earning his sea legs on board the ever-moving vessel, and the blonde was determined to still get better. His shy-boy façade was lessening each day around the entire ship, and many of the crew members were growing to be fond of this new outgoing blonde.
As two people had prophesised not too long before, they were entering the sea's season of storms. However, they had been lucky enough to have not met with any ravenous storms as of yet, but the tides would soon change.
Deidara had just finished swabbing the deck, when he noticed that amongst the usual bustling that went about onboard, he could see Naruto standing alone at the very front of the Lightning Queen, looking out at the vast ocean ahead. Storm clouds were gathering in the far off distance, and the co-captain was steadily watching them with a disheartened face. Deidara blinked at him before moving to investigate, casually striding to Naruto's side. He leaned against the railing, following the blond's gaze before judging by the distant look in his eyes that the male wasn't actually watching the ocean.
"You alright, Ruto?" Most of the crew generally called Naruto by this nickname, and he never seemed to mind. There was a flicker of a response in the male's eyes as he came back to reality, turning partly to look at the blonde.
"Oh, hey Deidara." He managed to a friendly smile, before looking back at the ocean, the grin fading, "I don't like storms – a few years ago there was a storm so bad that it destroyed much of the base of the boat. It was lucky that we were so close to a port, or we would have all drowned. Nevertheless, it took a few months to repair…" He gave a frown, "In fact, it was at that same port that we found Sasori and hired him…" The blonde guessed then that the storm hadn't been a coincidence. Naruto was silent in thought, and Deidara saw him mentally daze off again.
"So then…" The blonde couldn't help but smirk, "how long have you and Sasuke been together, un?"
The blond abruptly flushed and quickly turned to the blonde, "Huh? Me and Sasuke, Dattebayo?" He frowned and looked around, as if worried by something, "Look…" Naruto had lowered his voice so that he was sure only Deidara could hear him, "If anyone finds out, we could be forced to walk the plank…And that is only if we're lucky! We could both be left stranded on a sandbar with nothing but a knife or a pistol with a single bullet between us, Dattebayo…We could be tied to a rope that loops the hull of the ship and have our bodies scraped against the base of the boat until we either break of drown. Or we could be covered with blistering hot tar and feathers, tied to the main mast and left to starve to death in humility…"
Deidara blinked at him slowly, having never known that the consequences could be so severe, "Really?"
"Of course!" Naruto's face was pale as he thought about the possible punishments which could befall him and his lover, "…So please…I don't know how you found out, but I beg of you to not tell anyone…"
Deidara gave a frown, and he suddenly realised that Sasuke wasn't as hostile as he had originally thought. Sasori had been the one who had blackmailed him in the first place, and Sasuke was just trying to protect his own love from harm.
The blonde frowned and looked out at the gathering storm clouds, knowing that it would be the most ferocious storm they had encountered thus far, "Don't worry; your secret is safe with me, un."
"…Thank you, Deidara." Naruto managed to give him a soft sad smile before straightening up, "I better get the crew prepared for the approaching storm. You should go tell Konan that a storm is coming and that he will have to go below deck as soon as it hits. Yamato should already be down there, and I doubt that Sasori will leave his cabin…He might be a bit irked off if he hasn't packed away all his scrolls – some of them are quite frail and will rip if they are left out due to the violence of the storm. He usually has a good sense for weather, but best to go check up on him after you warn Konan."
"Yes sir," Deidara gave a nod to the co-captain before he went off to find Konan. When he found the girl, he was faintly surprised to see that she was talking to the captain of the Lightning Queen. Sakura Haruno.
"Yes it does get so boring!" The pinkette gave a melodramatic huff, the two long feathers on her hat drooping finely, "I mean, when I signed up for this I thought 'Oh! The only girl aboard a ship full of men! How will I ever survive?' But the only ones who ever pay attention to me are always the common street rats, like that boy Rock Lee." She gave a heavy sigh and Konan gave a sophisticated nod.
"I know what you mean." The bluenette gave a shrug, "When I took this job in the first place, I thought it would be the whole adventure stereotype – become temporarily marooned on a tropical paradise, find a chest of buried treasure and then spend the rest of my days snoozing on a beach." She gave a dreamy expression and Sakura gave a content sigh at the description.
"Yes, I think that that goes through everyone's head when they first decide to sail the seas as a pirate. I remember as a little girl at the orphanage how I used to dream of a life full of riches and gold, with Sasuke at my side." She gave distant look, "I'm the one who named this ship. Do you know why I named it the Lightning Queen?"
"Can't say that I do," Konan gave a shrug, "it just seems like a nice name."
"Well, when we were young, I lived at an orphanage with both Sasuke and Naruto. Sasuke's entire family had been killed by his older brother, Itachi. There was one day when he gave such a speech about avenging his family that a burst of lightning sparked in the sky and struck the roof of the house next door to the orphanage. The kids then grew scared of him, and they often called him the Lightning Rod, thinking that he had been the reason for the misfortune. I still loved him, and I thought that I would marry him for so long…So when they asked me what I wanted to name our new ship, I decided to call it the Lightning Queen, hoping that soon I myself would be able to take on the name as well. But that was four years ago, and the title is now but a legacy of a long lost love." She slowly shook her head and Konan nodded in dismay, before Deidara decided to interrupt.
He walked up to the two females, giving a frown, "Captain…"
Sakura shot him a daggered glare, her hand threateningly moving to the handle of her pistol, "You better have a damned good reason for being in my presence, street scum, or else I'll shoot you right between the eyes!"
Deidara felt a flare of anger inside of him but he kept it down, knowing that to yell at the captain would surely lead to his demise, "Sorry to bother you, but Naruto has told me to warn Konan of the approaching storm, and that he is to go down below deck when it hits, un."
Sakura continued to glare at him for a few seconds before relaxing, letting her hand drop from the pistol. The weapon would have its chance later. "Very well; I won't kill you." She turned to Konan, giving a friendly smile, "It's always nice chatting to you, boy."
Konan removed her hat in respect while giving a nod, "It's always a pleasure, Captain Ma'am." Sakura turned and marched off, starting to bark orders at other crew members about the approaching storm. The bluenette chuckled before turning to the blonde, "She utterly loathes you!"
Deidara gave her a bitter look, "And she loves you. Why would you get close to her, un?"
Konan gave a shrug, still smirking widely before she put her hat back on, "It is a smart idea to make allies in high places – like you and Naruto. There is no harm in earning their trust. Besides, she doesn't know my gender. That girl just likes having someone to talk to, and who am I to deny that?"
"I guess," Deidara gave a frown and nodded, "Sasori doesn't seem to like that tactic though…He tends to make an enemy out of everyone he meets." The blonde glowered bitterly in another direction, and Konan gave a giggle.
"Sasori isn't the type to get close to people – he had bad experiences when he was young. He accidentally killed a few close friends and family due to his skin condition." She gave a concerned frown, "It has affected him greatly…I took away the memory of him killing his best childhood friend, Karura, though. A memory of terror…I believe that the removal of that burden from his mind is the only reason he isn't completely insane." She shrugged, "But none the less, he still has trouble getting close to people. Sasori is a logical man."
"Illogical is more like it." He sneered but relaxed his countenance once he felt a drop of rain patter against his cheek, followed quickly by another. Deidara looked up at the sky, giving a thoughtful frown, "We're entering the storm, un."
Konan gave an ironic laugh, as if she knew something. "Well then, I guess it is time to go below deck." The ageless angel gave a sudden bitter expression. She in fact had more experience with sailing in storms than anyone aboard the ship. Konan had been a pirate for almost thirty years, after all. She'd been on the sea longer than anyone onboard had been alive. And yet she was always forced to go below deck.
It was quite annoying.
"I will join you soon." Deidara gave a shrug, the rain becoming gradually heavier, "Naruto told me to go warn Sasori that we were entering a storm." Konan nodded in understanding and casually moved to go below deck, disappearing down the stairs while wearing a disquieting smirk.
The blonde frowned and looked around the deck. The rest of the crew were already in position for the storm, shouting directions to one another. They were working in tangent, mighty stalwarts who were prepared for the danger of the storm.
Deidara knew he would have to go inform Sasori before he could go below deck with Konan. The blonde gave a sigh and began up the short flight of stairs which led to the second level of the deck. He begrudgingly walked to the fourth door, pulling his small jacket a bit more tightly over his soaking body. The rain continued to pour and Deidara felt the beginnings of the uneasy rocking of the Lightning Queen.
He shivered at the bitter winds mixing with the wetness of the rain, stubbornly knocking on the red head's door. A few seconds passed before Sasori opened up the door, blinking at the blonde apathetically, "Yes?"
"Naruto sent me to tell you that a storm is com- Woah!" The ship unexpectedly hit a wave, causing the blonde to lose his footing. He fell forward, tumbling against Sasori. The red head had managed to keep his place when the wave struck, having been aboard ships for fourteen years – excluding times when he was at the AkatsukiTemple – but he didn't expect the sudden weight of the blonde.
They tumbled to the ground with an oomph, the boat continuing to vigorously rock. Sasori gave the blonde an annoyed glare as he sat up, Deidara's hands pressing against his chest, "You did that on purpose."
The blonde flushed and shot the red head a dark glare, "Why the fuck would I do that on purpose, un?!" Deidara quickly got up, but stumbled back suddenly as the boat took another hit. He bumped into one of the shelves as the boat nose-dived. The door slammed shut at the new angle, and it took a few uneasy seconds for the ship to once again level itself. Deidara gave a sigh and straightened up, though left a hand on the shelf just in case the waves attacked once more.
"It's a bad storm today." Sasori got to his feet and walked calmly over to the window, without any hindrance from the uneasy rocking. He looked out the pane which was currently being pattered by rain, giving a soft hum, "It's going to last a while as well…" Sasori mumbled something to himself, giving a disturbed frown before looking back to Deidara. He watched the blonde for a few seconds, as if it was the first time he had ever laid eyes on the boy, "…You're soaking."
Deidara glowered at him unenthusiastically and spoke with a bitter monotone, "I noticed."
Sasori walked over to him, the blonde almost losing his footing again due to the crash of a wave, although the red head seem unaffected by it. He stopped in front of the blonde, bringing his hand up to gently brush his cold cheek, "You remind me of someone…" He watched his gloveless hand as he caressed the boy's countenance, "There was a girl back in Sunagakure…Her name was Karura, and I loved her…But-" The red head suddenly stilled, and a sudden haze covered his eyes for a few moments as he tried to remember an event which was no longer there. Recognition abruptly returned and he slowly blinked, "She left."
Sasori couldn't remember the fact that he had killed her. He had touched her, and she had died.
"You look like her…" Sasori leaned closer, as if to get a better look at the blonde's face, "You act like her…" Deidara stared into his muddy brown eyes, and found that he couldn't move.
The blonde was locked within a trance that was only broken when he felt soft lips press against his own…
Please Review? (There won't be another chapter this Friday due to school work; sorry)