Gaara was sitting on the bow that evening. A strong wind was blowing, making even the Evening Star creak under the strain of it. They would be there soon, Naruto gave it five days. He wasn't just staring off out over the water, he was wondering about what Naruto said. It was true that he knew a lot about what would make a woman's heart fly but... He looked at the MP3 player. Would it really work?

Gaara shrugged, no sense in worrying about it if he wasn't going to try. 'Let's see, how to get her attention?' 'Isn't it cute, you actually think she will be interested in you.' "...It has been a while since I took the Crow's Nest. And it is a bit still right now." 'NO! I swear I'll shut up! Just don't go up there!' Gaara just hummed to himself as he walked up the mast and flipped up over the railing. "I'll take watch, Hinata."

"Thank you, Gaara. Be careful. The rocking was starting to make me a little sea sick."

"Thank you for the warning." He just went back to humming while he leaned against the mast, making sure to feel each and every toss and turn. Shukaku didn't last a minute.

Down below him, Naruto saw Gaara move up there, still carrying him MP3. "Hakari, I believe Hinata has been up there long enough. Change out the watch."

"Aye, aye sir. Gaara! Where he go, damn it. ...Talon, go to the top of the mast and take watch!" Talon looked at her wide eyed. "Yes, you! Listen, you have been getting it easy on this ship for far too long! Now hop to it before I throw you up there!" Talon ran to the rope and started climbing up it. "And don't you dare come down until I tell you! That all captain," Hakari asked.

"That was perfect, thank you." Hakari arched an eyebrow at his choice in words but shrugged. "Anko, you have been doing this for months now and you still can't do that without being watched!?" She went over to her.

"Bite me, guppy!"

"Shut up and do it right before I have you swab the deck!" Naruto laughed, everyone was in a good mood today. He looked up to watch his handiwork.

Talon pulled herself up and said, "Hinata, Naruto said it is time to relieve you of your post."

"Well," Gaara replied, "I already did that. Maybe he can find you something else to do." She nodded and started to climb back down.

"Talon! I told you not to come down until I said so! Get you ass up there!" She was over the railing in a heartbeat.

Gaara looked at Talon then down at the deck, not showing his face. "Don't feel back, Hakari scares us all." He looked back at her and found her pressing herself against the railing. "Still don't feel comfortable with me?" She slowly shook her head no. "...I would go then but I actually need to be up here right now." But he did move over as far as he could.

"...Why?"

"You don't know yet, I forgot. Myself, Yugito, and Naruto have demons sealed away in our bodies. At times, mine acts up. But he hates the rocking of the ocean. So he hasn't been any trouble since I came out here. But we have been on land a few days now and it was pretty still down there so he got complacent."

"Oh... Does he bother you a lot?"

"Not anymore. That is actually why I like it here on the ocean over dry land. Now, get it to move around and I would be perfectly happy."

Talon giggled a little. "Uoi'nota whol uss shlu'ta tlu zeklet'tau whol jalbyr." At his bewildered expression, she smiled and said, "Hell for one can be heaven for another."

"You really said only that? Sounded like you threatened me or something."

"Oh no, I would never do that," she said starting to panic.

"I know, I just meant that sounded really dangerous is all. I like it." When he got her to smile, he mentally notched one point for himself. "Uhm... Do you like music, Talon? By the way, what is your name again?"

"Maelthra Vress'lvel. And yes, I do."

"Vress...level?"

"Vress' l-vel. Vress'lvel. It means Talon, Dragon Talon."

"Vress'lvel. Well, Vress'lvel, I happen to have something here from my homeland that plays music. Would you like to listen to it with me?"

"I would, thank you." Gaara set the speakers down on the ground and tapped the forward button to track thirteen. She was really shocked when it actually started playing. And so was Gaara when she started singing along the parts she understood.

"Nobody knows who I really am. I never felt this empty before. And if I ever need someone to come along, who's gonna comfort me and keep me strong? We are all rowing the boat of fate. The waves keep on comin' and we can't escape. But if we ever get lost on our way, the waves would guide you through another day.

"Tooku de iki wo shiteru toumei ni nattamitai. Kurayami ni omoe takedo mekaku shisareteta dake. Inori wo sasagete atarashii hi wo matsu, azayaka ni hikaru umi sono hate made.

"Nobody knows who I really am, maybe they just don't give a damn. But if I ever need someone to come along, I know you would follow me, and keep me strong.

"Hito no kokoro wa utsuri yuku nukedashita kunaru. Tsuki wa mata atarashii shuuki de fune wo tsureteku.

"And every time I see your face, the oceans heave up to my heart. You make me wanna strain at the oars, and soon I can see the shore. Oh, I can see the shore. When will I... can see the shore? I want you to know who I really am. I never thought I'd feel this way towards you. And if you ever need someone to come along, I will follow you, and keep you strong.

"Tabi wa mada tsudzuiteku odayakana hi mo. Tsuki wa mata atarashii shuuki de fune wo terashidasu. Inori wo sasagete atarashii hi wo matsu. Azayaka ni hikaru umi sono hate made.

"And every time I see your face, the oceans heave up to my heart. You make me wanna strain at the oars, and soon I can see the shore.

"Unmei no fune wo kogi, nami wa tsugi kara tsugi e to. Watashitachi wo osou kedo. Sore mo suteki na tabi ne. Dore mo suteki na tabi ne."

Naruto heard the song he suggested and grinned. "Smooth, Gaara, real smooth." Nothing like the subtle message that said she could count on you when she needs to. In his opinion, that is what Talon really needed, just to know that if she was in trouble, her knight in sand armor will come and save her like before. He chuckled when he remembered that comment Chopper made about the Thousand Sunny turning into the Love Boat.

"You have a nice singing voice," Gaara told her, making her blush.

"No, I don't. That person singing is so much better than me."

"Honest, you sounded beautiful," Gaara insisted. "I can't lie, I wouldn't know how."

That blush deepened to the point she covered her face. "Dos ph'ichl valyrin lu'ssinjin. Usstan ssiggrin Naruto zhahuz jallil nesst." She cracked her fingers, revealing one of her serpentine eyes. "Ph'dos galla ulu morfeth uns'aa rei wun ssinssrig xuil dos?"

Gaara looked really confused at that. He sighed before brightening. "Can you teach me that?"

"Drow? You want to learn Drow?"

"Yes. Can you teach me to speak that?"

"...Alright. We'll start with numbers. Uss. Draa. Llar. Quen. Huela. Rraun. Blyn. Lael. Thal. Szith."

"Uss... That sounds like Usstan. Why?"

"Uss is one. Usstan is I. One, I."

"Oh. What about emotions?"

"Uh... Happy is...loff'ta. Mad is vigh. Numl is sad. Kor is anger. Love is ssinssrigg. And hate is phlith."

"...And you said ssinssrigg earlier as well." Making Talon blush anew.

"You misheard me," she insisted. "Uh... Noun. You already know I. To say me, you say uns'aa. You is dos. Us is udossa. Them is mina. They is nind. We is udos. Him is ukta."

"Uns'aa, dos, udossa, mina nind...U..."

"Udos."

"Udos and ukta," Gaara repeated. "...Oh, I never told you what this tattoo means." He tapped the kanji on his forehead. "Ssinssrigg."

She traced it without thinking before jumping back. "Love?"

He nodded. "Let me try something. Us..stan... Usstan ss... ssinssrigg dos? Yeah. Usstan ssinssrigg dos.

"Uh... You said that right, Gaara. Very good..."

Gaara took her hand in his. "Usstan ssinssrigg dos. I mean it."

Talon was quiet for several second before she took her hand back and jumped over the side of the railing. She landed on the deck, startling everyone there. "Talon!? I told you not to come down..." She had already ran below deck. Hakari looked after her and then up at Gaara looking over the railing. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO!?"

"I..." He couldn't say it. "I messed up."

"Oi," Naruto muttered. "Hakari, go make sure that Talon is okay. I'll punish Gaara."

"You should make him walk the plank," she growled before going down.

"Anko, can you hold the wheel a moment." When she took it, he walked to the mast and up it. "Not the highlight of our lives, is it," he said as he sat down next to him. He offered Gaara one of his incense sticks and took one for himself.

"What is my punishment, sir," Gaara asked.

"Right now, nothing. I saw you up here so I sent her up. I thought it would do her good." He shook his head. "Man, what did you say to her?"

"...Usstan ssinssrigg dos," Gaara told him. "I told her I love her in Drow."

Naruto was silent for a moment. "I don't know," he said, letting the smoke from his lungs. "Normally, I would call that one a good way to do it, real romantic with the sunset and the music." He took another drag and let it out while shaking his head. "Hell, it is what I would have done. I don't know... Here, take one."

"No..."

"Take one, they calm ya down. Not to mention it'll probably help keep your demon at bay for a bit." Reluctantly, Gaara took it and, lighting it on Naruto's, took a drag as well. He tried to hold it in but it made him green. The last thing he heard from Shukaku was him yelling how it suddenly got worst. "They won't kill you like cigarettes but that first hit is a dozy." He took another deep breath. "Gaara, I am ordering you to get hammered until you have a hangover from hell. Punishment enough for you?"

"Yes, sir." He took another drag from it, regaining the green he had lost.

"Until then, you are on watch." Naruto got up and walked back down.

—oo000oo—

Hakari headed below deck and was met by Hinata. "Did something happen up there," she asked.

"Gaara, the idiot, hurt Talon's feelings."

"...If he did, she has one odd way of showing it." Hinata led her down to where Talon was. She was sitting on her hammock, knees brought up to her chest, mumbling something. Though she was crying, she didn't look sad. "Do you understand what she is saying?"

Hakari shrugged and leaned in close to listen. "Uk telanthus uk 'che uns'aa! Uk telanthus uk 'che uns'aa! Lu'dos zhaun vel'bol? Usstan ssinssrigg ukta!" Hakari looked at Hinata, confused as hell.

"...Uh... Something about us, stand, and sin...something." She shrugged her shoulders.

Talon giggled and shook her head. "Usstan ssinssrigg ukta! Usstan telanthus usstan ssinssrigg Gaara!" Her tail shaking happily, she then started humming Life is like a Boat. Followed by jumping up and dancing around while singing, "Uk telanthus uk 'che uns'aa! Uk telanthus uk 'che uns'aa!"

The two stared at her and Hakari said what they both thought. "She lost her mind. It was finally too much." She turned back to the stairs. "I must find Gaara and kill him." She walked out onto the deck and grabbed her spear. "Gaara, get down here!"

Both him and Naruto went over to her. "What happened?"

"What!? She is down there, crying, going 'uk 'che uns'aa' and 'usstan ssinss-whatever Gaara'! He finally drove her over the edge!" As she was about to to stab the Suna nin, he grabbed her by the arms.

"Ssinssrigg!? Did she say 'Usstan ssinssrigg Gaara'!?"

"Yes, and you are going to die for it!" Oddly enough, Gaara started to smile.

"Captain, I shall accept my punishment for disobeying orders later!" He pushed her out of the way and ran down the stairs to the sleeping quarters.

"Get back here," Hakari yelled, following him.

"By the maiden," Naruto muttered, following to make sure she doesn't kill his friend. The two froze when they saw Talon turn on Gaara, jumped on him, and kiss him; their jaws hanging. "...Oto? I guess ssinssrigg is a good thing."

The two turned to each other. "Maybe we should leave," they asked each other before walking out.

—oo000oo—

"Who's idea was this again," Kankuro asked. It was that evening and someone suggested they should throw a party while they still had time. It quickly caught on so, they were ow throwing a party. Naruto had clones manning the stations while he was, of course, providing the music. Down below him, Sasuke was dancing with Hakari. Gaara with Talon. Zabuza with Anko, with the agreement nothing would come of it. Hinata and Yugito were dancing with a Naruto each. And Haku was dancing with Temari.

"Baby, lock the door and turn the lights down low. Put some music on that's soft and slow. Baby, we ain't got no place to go. I hope you understand. I've been thinking about this all day long. Never felt a feeling quite this strong. I can't believe how much it turns me on, just to be your man.

"There's no hurry. Don't you worry, we can take our time. Come a little closer, let's go over what I had in mind. Baby, lock the door and turn the lights down low. Put some music on that's soft and slow. Baby, we ain't got no place to go. I hope you understand. I've been thinking about this all day long. Never felt a feeling quite this strong. I can't believe how much it turns me on, just to be your man.

"Ain't nobody ever loved nobody, the way that I love you. We're alone now, you don't know how long I wanted to...lock the door and turn the lights down low. Put some music on that's soft and slow. Baby, we ain't got no place to go. I hope you understand. I've been thinking about this all day long. Never felt a feeling quite this strong. I can't believe how much it turns me on, just to be your man. I can't believe how much it turns me on, just to be your man." Naruto got a drink of water thinking about what song to play next.

"Man, why are we over here while all the girls are over there," Kankuro asked. "Even my little brother has someone to dance with."

Itachi took a drink of his wine. "I don't know. But I am about to change that. Yugito is close to my age." He stood up and walked over. "Naruto, mind if I cut in?"

He was about to protest but was silenced by a kiss from Yugito. "Let him," she said before hitting him on the head and dispelling him.

Naruto saw this and the next song hit him. "Hinata, get up here. Naruto, bring her up here." Everyone looked at her, wondering what he wanted. But Hinata realized it, a duet. She resisted a moment before the clone swept her up and carried her over. "Follow my lead Hinata-chan. Don't worry."

He started playing, "From underneath the trees, we watch the sky. Confusing stars, with satellites. I'd never dream that you'd be mine. But here we are, we're here tonight. Singing amen I, I'm alive. I'm alive. Singing amen I, I'm alive.

"Sing with me," he whispered. "If everyone cared and nobody cried. If everyone loved and nobody lied. If everyone shared and swallowed their pride. Then we'll see the day that nobody died. I'm singing amen I, amen I, I'm alive. Amen I, amen I, amen I, I'm alive." "Your turn," he told her, making her swallow in fear.

"And in the air, the fireflies, our only light in paradise. We'll show the world they were wrong and teach them to sing along. Singing amen I, I'm alive. I'm alive. Singing amen I, I'm alive.

"If everyone cared and nobody cried. If everyone loved and nobody lied. If everyone shared and swallowed their pride. Then we'll see the day that nobody died. I'm singing amen I, amen I, I'm alive. Amen I, amen I, amen I, I'm alive. If everyone cared and nobody cried. If everyone loved and nobody lied. If everyone shared and swallowed their pride. Then we'll see the day that nobody died." "My turn again."

"And as we lie beneath the stars, we realize how small we are. If they can love, like you and me, imagine what the world could be.

"If everyone cared and nobody cried. If everyone loved and nobody lied. If everyone shared and swallowed their pride. Then we'll see the day that nobody died. I'm singing amen I, amen I, I'm alive. Amen I, amen I, amen I, I'm alive."If everyone cared and nobody cried. If everyone loved and nobody lied. If everyone shared and swallowed their pride. Then we'll see the day that nobody died."

Hinata finished, stressed out but having fun. Seeing his chance as she walked down, Kankuro dispelled the clones she was dancing with. "Mind if I?"

She laughed, "Sure."

Jiriaya grumbled, "that just leaves us old people. Don't know why."

"When I was a young boy, my father took me into the city, to see the marching band," Naruto sang, already moving into his next song.

—oo000oo—

"Land ho!" Naruto looked to the right to the Evening Star. She had the taller mast so it made since that she saw it first.

"Gaara, do you see it," he said, tossing the telescope up to him.

"Yeah. Mediterranean climate. Forest and field covered."

"Fiddler's Green," Naruto stated. "Hakari, have a few go ashore, check it out."

"Aye, aye, sir. Kisame, Itachi, Zabuza, get your gear and go! I want to know how close we can pull the Morning Song and the other ships! And don't forget to make sure it is safe enough to land at all!"

Kisame shook his head, "Thinks she can order me around." Zabuza smiled, this was going to be funny.

"YES, I DO! I am the first mate of this ship so you better do as I say!" She grabbed him by the back of his shirt and threw him over the side of the ship. Samehada followed him. "Anyone else going to question me?"

"No ma'am," Itachi replied before going over the edge with Zabuza.. Behind him, Sasuke was laughing his ass off.

"Something funny, Uchiha?" Sasuke snapped to attention when Hakari turned to him. She maybe his girlfriend but right now, she was the first mate of the ship.

"No, ma'am!"

"Oh, that is good... Because you are going with them."

He dropped his head. "Damn." He walked over to the railing and flipped over it as well.

—oo000oo—

"Everything here shows fire scaring," Itachi said. The whole island was covered in new growth. But it wasn't even. Some was years old, others months or even weeks. The trees' lower branches were all burned free of leaves and were withering, while the trunk showed sign of the bark changing to charcoal.

"Of course," Kisame said. "This is Fiddler's Green. There is an animal here that is a fire spirit of sorts. They raise the plant life only to help it regrow anew. I'm surprise we haven't already seen a few. They are very curious little ermines." The tall grass across from them shook a little. "Ah, as if on cue. There is one now, a ho-kitsu."

"A ho-kitsu?" Sasuke walked over and slowly parted the grass. "A fox?" He reached down.

"DON'T!" Too late, fire shot from the mouth of the fox for a moment, covering Sasuke. When the fox stopped, the kit turned around and ran away while Sasuke fell to the ground, wisp of smoke coming off him. "They don't like being touched," Kisame finished.

Itachi smirked at his poor brother while Zabuza outright laughed. "...How do you know," Itachi asked after a moment.

"I've been here before. In the calm waters, there is a tribe of fishmen that made my Samehada." He looked around some more. "Anyway, those ho-kitsu live around a hundred years each, growing a new tail every decade. Since your brother just called it a fox, I am going to say it was a fox kit."

"Anything else dangerous here," Zabuza asked, poking a twitching Sasuke with a stick.

"None that naturally live here. Spread out and be back in about ten minutes. Itachi, stay with your brother to make sure he doesn't do anything else stupid." The two swordsmen walked off in separate directions. Itachi looked at his brother and smiled. A quick search of him allowed him to get another of his books. He reached into his own pocket and pulled out a marker.

—oo000oo—

"AHAHAHAHA!" Naruto could barely stand, Sasuke looked funnier than the Hokage statues did that time he painted them. "I...I... AHAHAHA!"

"Shut up!" He growled while he continued before tackling him to the ground. "SHUT UP!" The two bickered back and forth a few minutes, while the adults around them sighed. There was no stopping them. Naruto rolled and pushed him off.

"Alright, enough, time to find the bell."

"What bell," Jiriaya asked. "You're talking about that song again, aren't you?"

Naruto nodded, "You remember it, right Yugito-chan?"

"Bell... Hoist the Colors? You mean that song you sung back then is the secret to reach Morose?"

"What is going on," Jiriaya asked.

"There is a legend that once, a long, long time again, the Goddess of the Sea was sealed inside a mortal shell. It was on an island that later became the strong hold of the men that did it. It was said to be an island that can not be sailed to except by those that knew where it was. 'The King and his men stole the Queen from her bed and bound her in her bones. The sea be ours and by the power, we sail where we would roam. Some has died, some has survived. Others sail on the sea. With the keys to the cage. The devil to pay, we make for Fiddler's Green.' Sound familiar?" Everyone gaped at him.

"But another part of the legend was that there was a way to find the island by others supposedly. 'The bell has been raised from its watery grave. Do you hear it's sepulchral tone? We call to all, pay heed the squall. And turn your sails to home.' Now, does anyone want to bet that somewhere in the water around the island of Fiddler's Green, there is a bell? A bell that, when rung, will lead the ringers to the island that no man can find unless he has been there before."

Anko nodded, "Hakari, Kisame, Haku, Zabuza, start searching the water. We will start searching the land in case someone brought it ashore."

Zabuza nodded and the four of them turned to the water. "Oh, and watch out for these multi-tailed foxes. They are fire spirits and don't like being touched. Just ask Sasuke."

—oo000oo—

Talon and Gaara walked along, looking high and low for anything metal. "Gaara," she called to him from a top the trees, "can I ask you about the figure head on the Morning Song?"

"What about the Maiden?"

"Why do you have 'her' instead of someone else? I would hardly expect to see Zeklet'tau on any human ship."

Gaara stopped and looked up at her. "Who?"

"Zeklet'tau, the first queen of the Heron. She was the only one of her kind, I guess you could say. While all other heron before and since have been as peaceful as they are pale, she was colored of coal, knew the skill of the sword, and had the will to use it against any that would threaten her people. My mother used to tell me about her when I was a nestling. She once fought against this giant shark turtle creature with three tails and won, though it is said that it refused to die even from it's lethal wounds."

"Isonade," Gaara stated, "the Demon Shark. So the Maiden is really Zeklet'tau of the Heron Kiowa?"

"She is."

"Hmm. She was put there when Naruto took the ship, him having destroyed the old figure head. Only the men that put her there know why though."

—oo000oo—

"Hey," Kisame called behind him to Hakari. "There is a tribe of fishmen near here, maybe they may know about the bell."

"That is good to know... You know, I can't help shake the feeling that I know these waters."

"Don't see how, unless of course, you are from here. Then it is reasonable. By the way, why are you even with Naruto's crew? What he do to rope you as well?"

"I am from somewhere on the Grand Line. I was swimming too far from home and was caught by the current. I was carried so far North that I lost my way home. Naruto said he would take me back to it."

"Oh... Well, I know where most tribes on the Grand Line stay at. Tell me their name."

"...It was..." She sighed, "It was so long ago that I am having trouble remembering. The...Star... The Star Child tribe."

"Really? Now that is a coincidence, that is the tribe up ahead. The Star Child tribe made me my Samehada back when I lived on the Line myself."

"REALLY!?" She pulled ahead and down to the sea floor. She searched for a marker to point the way to the village. When she found it, she started racing after it. Faster than even Kisame could follow. "I'M HOME, I'M HOME, I'M HOME!"

"Hey, wait up!" Kisame already knew the way to the village so he headed straight for it instead of following the markers. He came to it and was greeted by several people, some of which still recognized him. "Arc, long time," he said to the shark blacksmith.

"Kisame, it has been a long time. I trust you have been taking care of my sword?"

"I have. Trained with some of the best swordsman on earth to learn to wield him properly."

"I expected nothing less. What brings you back this way?"

"Sailing by, looking for a man that is stirring the waters with fake Devil Fruit."

"Ah, him," Arc replied, not surprised. "Make sure to give him one for me. That bastard caught one of us some years ago for some reason. Can't find him though."

Kisame nodded. "You seen a girl come this way? Kelp like hair, sea green scales, looks a lot like you."

"You finally get a daughter?"

"No, she is also part of the crew. Came with, looking for home. Almost fifteen now, carries a spear."

Arc was quiet for a moment. "No, haven't seen her. What is the child's name?"

"Ha..."

"Mom, dad!?" Hakari shouted when she came to the village. "Kisame? How did you get here so quickly?"

"I know where it is."

She looked sheepish before turning to Arc. "Excuse me sir, do you know where a family that has lost their daughter is?"

"...Hakari?"

"You know me!? Please, tell me where my parents are! Are they still here!? Alive!?"

He held up his hands. "They still live here and are still alive. My brother and his wife have given up hope in finding you. Come with me." He turned around and started swimming to a giant conical shell. "Ray, Clair, you need to come out here a moment."

A woman that had the dorsal fin and skin of a dolphin and kelp like hair walked out, holding a bowl filled with underwater fruit. "What is..." She dropped the bowl, letting it shatter, as she looked at Hakari. "My...baby? Hakari?" She whispered it, afraid that getting louder would make her leave again.

"Mama!" Hakari jumped into her arms and hugged her with all her strength. Clair hugged her back.

"My little girl is back," she cried, unable to shed her tears because the water. "My baby girl is back..." Behind the two, Stingray, her father, had froze at the door. He was holding a child a few years old and beside him was a little five year old boy.

"Father, why is mama hugging her," the boy asked.

Stingray swallowed and said, "Because that is your older sister." He walked over and hugged Hakari as well. "Thank Umberlee that you have returned," he said to her.

Hakari kept on crying. "I'm home, mama, I'm finally home."

—oo000oo—

Author's notes. Now, some of you may be saying about Talon that she lost her fear awful fast. Wrong. Don't forget that not only is she having sessions with Itachi daily, it isn't a stone toss from one island to another. Some take weeks to sail. So I am going to say she has been with the crew for over a month now. Again, the site to find the drow translator is www. eilistraee. com/ chosen/ language.php (won't show up if I put it as a one word. So take out the spaces and you got).

Someone once asked the significance of the Maiden. In truth, she is what the drow look like, though without the wings. I was wondering if anyone made the connection with the heron and her?

(Sniff) Hakari is finally home. Touching moment, if I so say so myself.