Winter Night
Chapter 7
The captain didn't like being ordered around on his own ship. But he'd already seen first hand that he didn't have any choice but to obey- at least for now. So, Captain Whitehall stomped up the stairs to the ship's kitchen.
As far as Hashirama was concerned there could be no sympathy for the idiot. These bastards had planned to take him and Madara prisoner and they failed. There were penalties for that kind of stupidity- getting booted back down to a cabin boy on his own ship was going to be just one of them.
On the other hand it would be a hassle if Lucky, the First Mate or one of the other crewmen decided to stage a mutiny because of the Captain's perceived weakness. He sighed, he would have to decide with Madara what was the best way to maintain control over the ship with the least effort.
But that wasn't why he sent the captain away. "So, Kiran, what is your island like? Who is in charge there right now?"
"There are three warlords. The Baroness, the Earl and the Marquis. My father and his men stormed the palace and managed to kill their leader. Everyone called him ArchDuke. The ArchDuke had a power that the other three call magic- true magic. They call chakra control a weak form of his power. The other three say we are harnessing only a little of what we are capable of in comparison to his abilities. He did not need hand signs. But his magic often required spoken words and small objects."
"Small objects? Like what?"
"I saw him summon a massive castle by holding a miniature copy of it in his hand. The tiny copy turned to dust as the large one formed but even now the strange castle is still there."
"Even though he is dead?"
"Yes. And the ArchDuke carried a wooden staff with a large, unknown jewel at the top. The weapon was broken when he died, and the jewel remains- my father has it. But none of my people can agree on what it is. It glows with its own inner light, like the Eye of Eternity, but it doesn't change colors or float and anyone can touch it. The other three warlord's weapons also have a piece of this crystal in them too."
"So, where did these strangers come from?"
"They called their homeland Aetheria. No one had ever heard of it on our island either. It sounds impossible, but I was there. It was just the four of them who came to our lands. They were on a small row boat that slipped out of an unusually heavy fog bank which had settled in one of the gardens of the Daimyo's palace. They said they had been lost in the Rift Islands. A place that their people say holds gateways to other worlds. They were very friendly at first and curious about everything."
"Then when they figured out that your people don't share their powers they attacked?"
"Yes," Kiran said sadly. "They waited until my father and his warriors were away, deep in the jungle. Father was looking for an assassin that the ArchDuke secretly hired and then they attacked our lord for real. The surprise attack worked; our Daimyo, his wife and all of his children except the youngest were killed too. The ArchDuke declared himself king of the islands and the palace guards were unable to stop him. He took over the palace using more men that they had hired in secret from off of the island and even now they are still searching for our Princess."
"So who rescued her?"
"I did. Princess Cissnei is my best friend. We were playing together when the palace was overrun. I did as my father had always taught me. We left the palace and ran to the Shalua's ancestral shrine. There we just waited until my father came back. I wish we could have saved her mother and siblings too. But we were deep in the garden when the screaming began. We got scared and Asha said we should go. That the smell of blood was already overwhelming."
"Then the princess is about your age?"
"Yes. I'm three days older than she is."
"And how old are you?" Hashirama grinned.
"We're going to be eleven in a few weeks."
"Your people will follow a ten year old if we can restore her to the throne?"
Kiran rolled his eyes. "She'll have advisors to help her. People who have touched the Eye of Eternity can be trusted. She, like everyone in her family, has touched the Eye of Eternity. She is part of the land's destiny."
"So, what is this Eye of Eternity?"
"It's a luminous diamond, probably the largest in the world. It's ancient and it is the lock that bars the way to the Crystal Throne and its treasures. The throne was sealed the instant that our Lord died. The bastards can't claim it."
"Sealed how?"
"An energy barrier appeared as our king died and now it guards that part of the throne room. It will stay there until Princess Cissnei touches the Eye to claim the throne that is rightfully hers."
"Hasn't anyone ever tried to steal it- this giant diamond?"
"No," Kiran laughed. "Only those who respect it and our ways can touch the Eye. It is usually incorporeal. Only in the presence of someone worthy, the Eye will manifest completely. To anyone who would try to steal it or damage it, the Eye remains as a mirage. Ten people can reach for it at once and it can tell them apart- an unworthy hand will never touch it."
"How does it do that?"
"No one knows. Because it is all that remains from the time of the ancients when our land was one large island and not three little ones. It is said that the Eye sees into your heart and weighs everything it finds there. It can turn many colors. But only a handful of outsiders have ever proven worthy to touch it at all. I am curious to see what will happen when you and your friend touch it."
"Have you touched it?"
"It is mainly used by the Royal Family and those wanting to work in the palace. But yes, as a member of the Shalua Clan, I was expected to touch it. It turned blue as it does for most of my family. We were already best friends, so I became Princess Cissnei's formal bodyguard."
"Then why aren't you with her now?"
"Princess Cissnei said that my father's letter had to reach your village but my sister was already injured delivering the first letter. We were afraid that the second wouldn't make it if we sent her alone again. My sister disagreed."
"That's what you meant when you said you followed your sister?"
"Yes. I'm ashamed that she died protecting me instead of completing her mission..."
"You're just a boy. I'm sure she thought you were very brave trying to help."
"Are shinobi ever truly allowed to be children? I was five when I touched the Eye."
"They will be. Once my friend and I finish building our village." Hashirama said. "How many people are in your clan?"
"There were more than sixty who could fight when the ArchDuke showed up. Father says it is about twenty five now. The bandits and fighting these warlords has taken its toll. At least 11 are being held prisoner but most are dead."
"Tell me about your father."
"He is the king's right hand. They were raised together like Cissnei and I. He can command the generals if the king falls in battle or gets sick. He is now in charge of restoring Princess Cissnei to her throne."
"But how did he find out about our village?"
"The Land of Crystal and the Fire Country are allies- or at least they were until ArchDuke arrived. The daimyo of the Land of Fire didn't trust you and Uchiha Madara trying to work together. But our daimyo encouraged yours to see what would happen. He spoke of the arrangement at length with our Lord. And my father was fascinated. Two legendary ninja clans working together instead of against each other? What might have happened if my clan had joined forces with the Khanjin instead of fighting them? The tigers were much stronger than we were individually. But we had numbers and the daimyo on our side. There would be more than ten times as many Shalua fighting the ArchDuke and his men right now if we had tried even once to make peace with our rivals…"
Hashirama smiled sadly. "It's not an easy thing to do- putting aside old wounds and the memories of those we lost in order to make peace. My brother, Tobirama, simply cannot find it in his heart to trust Madara and the rest of his clan. Even though he's known him for over a decade, he's determined to hate him… It's setting our village up to fail but I don't know what else to say to my brother. I've tried everything…"
"Don't give up now! You've got to believe it will work. When I was there it seemed like a wonderful place to me."
Hashirama nodded. "Thank you, Kiran. But in his heart my brother blames Madara for things his brain knows he was not even involved in! Yes, Tobi and I lost two of our brothers to the war between our clans. But Madara lost all four of his brothers and he's still trying to make peace… Nevermind, I shouldn't be complaining to a ten year old when there are still so many people to help in the cage. Why don't you bring someone else out. But come back over here. We still need to come up with more information about your island before we get there."
"Okay!" Kiran said. He helped Thomas settle back down into a nap and then led the rest of the children out first, one at a time. There were ten of them all together. There were only five women in there and all of them seemed frightened of him. They were reluctant to approach him, much less have their wounds tended. The last one to come out was a young woman. She was heavily pregnant but much too thin to have a healthy baby.
Hashirama sighed. "This woman is very frail. She might not live long enough to have her baby. That she was being kept here is disgusting. Go to the kitchen and fetch some broth for her to drink. She needs the liquid and the calories. Try not to get caught out there. But if something happens, find Madara."
Kiran nodded. "Okay! I'll be right back."
As the boy left, Hashirama set about examining the woman. She seemed to be uninjured, but she still winced, shying away from his hand just like all of the other girls. He sighed, shaking his head sadly. Noting that all of them wore clothes that had been torn up. They had been clumsily stitched back together but it was clear that they had all been raped…
Kiran came back surprisingly quickly. He was holding a tray of broth and rice. "Tater is bringing down the rest of the bread and rice himself. He's not happy about it though."
"Of course not. Ninety percent of the food on the ship was meant for the pirates. But these people need it."
"Thank you," Kiran said shyly. "For saving us."
"Well, we're not out of the woods yet," Hashirama said. "But, thank you for delivering the letter. We both got something we needed."
Kiran looked curious. "What did you get?"
"A vacation." Hashirama grinned. He gave the woman a few sips of the broth and by that time she was able to hold the cup and drink on her own. He was relieved to see her perk up, even if it was just a little.
A moment later a pair of pirates made their way into the room. One carried a basket of rolls and a pot of rice while the other man carried a stack of small plates and bowls.
"Here," the cook growled and hurried back up the stairs. "I need to get back to the galley before my other pot boils over."
Hashrama didn't want to let him leave without taste testing his handiwork. But if he was making more food they couldn't let it burn, not in the amounts that he had to be producing for such a large vessel.
"Well, Kiran, do you want to help me pass this out?"
The boy nodded, lighting up with a smile. "Yes, sir."
"Alright then, start with the children in that corner. We'll work our way across." Hashirama started filling bowls with rice and a roll and Kiran hurried to deliver one to everyone.
"Hey! Gimmie two!" Someone shouted, grabbing Kiran's hand as he passed out the small bowls. "This aint enough food!"
"Finish what I gave you and we will see about getting more passed out." Hashirama snapped. "I know you're hungry. But some of these people have been here longer than you have. Their stomachs can't handle any more than this yet. So, everyone gets the same amount to begin with. It's called rationing."
"I don't like it," The man grumbled, as Kiran handed him a bowl and then carried the next one to someone else.
"Don't listen to him. He bullies the others," Kiran said in a low voice as he returned to pick up more bowls. "He passes out the food when the bastards feed us and he frightens the new arrivals into letting him and his two friends keep starving people he doesn't like."
Hashirama nodded. "We'll deal with them later. Did everyone get a bowl?"
"That's everyone," Kiran said finally.
"Well then, here's yours and mine."
"Thanks," Kiran said, sitting down beside him with a smile. "It's pretty good bread today. And the rice is still warm. They must've really made it after you ordered it."
"When do they usually feed you here?"
"Thomas told me its always late at night. They bring it down here as everyone else on the ship is getting ready to bed down. We get whatever they don't eat during the day."
"Well, we're putting a stop to that right now." Hashirama said. Kiran's kitten was peeking sleepily out of his pocket. "Here, little one. I know it's not going to taste very good to you, but you should have a little rice too."
"Yeah. We need to get you strong again, try some, Asha," Kiran said and put her on the floor by the bowl. There wasn't much in it, but the cat was clearly hungry because she started eating.
Once he was done eating, Hashirama called out to the people in the cell. "Is there anyone who is done eating and needs to be healed now?
An old man who looked pale and was coughing a lot came toward them slowly. But he looked Hashirama dead in the eye. "Who are you? Why are you doing this?"
"I am Senju Hashirama. And I want to help you because everyone deserves a chance to live free." As he said it he sighed, realizing that Madara was right about the boy pirate who had died on deck though.
Live free? It was almost funny to hear himself say that after his little argument with Madara earlier on deck…
He was being a hypocrite. That boy pirate…
The Hyuga clan wouldn't fit in with Hashirama's vision of Konoha if the Hyuga elders wanted to continue enslaving the children of the "lesser branch of the family" in order to remain in control of them. Madara was right- if they truly wanted to join their village, they had to agree that there could be no more sealing of their brethren's chakra ever again.
Yes, it was important that such powerful dojutsu not fall into the hands of their enemies, but taking away their own family's freedom in all things could not be the best way to do that! Madara's clan was just as dependent on their eyes as the Hyuga and yet they didn't seal their clan's men's eyes!
Freedom was too important to the Uchiha, but Madara especially. Hashirama sighed, wishing he hadn't snapped at him…
"Come," Hashirama told the old man. "Let's get you and the others healed up."
Madara was already tired of waiting for something to happen that would give him something to do. He strolled the deck casually but inside he was annoyed as he focused on detecting chakra being drawn.
Apparently the pirates slept in shifts. As many of them had gone to bed about hours ago. The remaining pirates were quietly going about their duties on ship and Captain Whitehall claimed he was supervising the kitchen.
But right now there was nothing happening so he was still thinking about the dead Hyuga. The pirates had already tossed his body overboard unceremoniously. How could Hashirama look at the people in that cage with such sympathy and not see that the teenager didn't deserve to be tattooed and sealed in an effort to control him either?
Imagine having part of your chakra permanently sealed away and then being marked for life because of it? It was needlessly cruel and utterly ridiculous that Hashirama was willing to let such a tradition continue in their village!
Clearly things hadn't gone according to the Hyuga clan elder's plan since the boy was a pirate and a long way from home. But the kid would never have known true freedom even if Madara hadn't been forced to kill him.
The Hyuga's tattoos were a reminder that the rest of the family were less important and made them slaves in the main house and the rest of their village would know it. They were treated as being disposable from birth.
Of course, there was no turning back now; the kid was dead. He just wished that the attack would've come from one of the other pirates. The kid's aim had been perfect. It was just clear that he hadn't grown up around people with the reflexes of a trained ninja.
It was a shame to have lost such a bold spirit to such a careless mistake. Fortunately or not, Madara had to make an example of anyone else who would try to attack them as well. It made sense for him to be the one who was hated and feared the most. He needed to watch Hashirama's back because it allowed his lover to do what he was best at- making friends.
That and he was no medical ninja. Madara could handle a needle well enough to stitch himself up after a few rounds with Hashirama. But he didn't have a healing bone in his body. Hashirama, on the other hand, actually enjoyed using his powers to help people.
Sometimes Madara wondered if he should have asked him to heal Izuna… But, if his brother had survived, Izuna would hate him for stopping the war, wouldn't he? He didn't understand how dire their situation was getting in the war. Izuna didn't understand that once he was dead, without peace there was only one way the war could end for their people.
Looking back on it now, if he could do it over, Madara would have agreed to the truce sooner. Izuna would forgive him once he saw their village as it stands now… wouldn't he?
Well, as long as Tobirama hasn't destroyed it and the Uchiha clan already-
Madara was distracted by a flicker of movement in the doorway leading down to the ship's galley. Curious Madara came closer and saw that it was a boy. He was young, rather dark skinned and most interesting, there was a pair of intelligent green eyes looking at Madara from inside the boy's pocket…
The boy rushed into the kitchen and Madara followed him. The way the little one moved said clearly that he was a ninja. So the pirates had two ninjas aboard this ship? That was interesting considering that this one must've been in the cage while the untrained Hyuga was not.
"Hey! You little runt, go get back in the cage, you filthy animal!" The pirate captain growled.
The boy put his hands on his hips and stuck his tongue out. "You're too stupid to know that you're not the boss around here anymore, Captain."
"You little rat! Get over here, you can't say that to me!"
The boy stood his ground and the captain drew back his hand in order to slap him- but he missed.
The boy had already swept the captain's ankle out from under him. He then kicked him in the belly with an axe kick as the man crashed to the floor. "Haha. I warned you that you couldn't keep me in your dumb cage! Now give me some broth and a bowl of rice! Hashirama said the pregnant lady downstairs needs it!"
The cook turned to him and growled, "I'll get the food down there when it's ready, you little brat. Now get out of my galley!"
"What's going on here?" Madara growled as he prowled into the room. "Why isn't dinner ready yet?"
The captain was barely conscious and the cook blanched as he saw that he and the boy were no longer alone.
"I-I've almost got it! But I need to wait until it's all done, the captain's standing orders… Sir."
"Your captain is no longer in charge. Take what is done downstairs and come back to finish the rest. My orders."
"Y-Yes sir," The cook sputtered and hurried to begin gathering bowls and spoons. He shoved them into the arms of one of his assistants, but Madara couldn't remember if his name was Rusty or Hawkins. The two were identical twins.
"Wow," The boy said, looking up at Madara in awe. He noticed immediately that the luminous green of the boy's eyes matched the eyes of the tiny kitten in his pocket. "You're really him, aren't you? You're Uchiha Madara?"
"Yes, but who are you?"
"Sorry," The boy blushed and bowed respectfully. "I-I'm Kiran of the Shalua clan, Sir. It was my father's letter that brought you here. I carried it to your village."
"I see," Madara said, helping himself to a trio of dinner rolls from the cook's basket full of them on the counter. "Well, get what you came for and hurry back downstairs. If Hashirama needs anything else, come and find me. I must return to the deck and stand watch."
"Yes, sir!" Kiran said and hurried back down the stairs with the tray that the cook had just shoved into his hands.
The problem was, after the boy left Madara was tired and really bored, because it was nearly dawn.
Whatever was going on down in the cage had to be infinitely more interesting than watching a bunch of pirates talking about him as they pretended to go about taking care of the ship.