"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
"I—I want to go through the deadliest sea and be the first to come back alive to tell the tale. It is said that only in the Sea of Elysium, mermaids live. I want to meet one and save this inevitable fate of this village."
"Will you do what it takes? Are you willing to risk your life?"
"What do you take me for? An Uchiha wouldn't back away from challenges." The young Uchiha jumped up to his feet clenching his fists in excitement. His onyx eyes burned with determination. "After all, this village is my homeland. The Village of Leaves."
Leaves for Elysium
Author: Angelic Warrior
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters at all.
"S-Sakura-san! Help me!"
"Hmm?" Sakura turned around and saw her dark haired companion swimming towards her so fast that she left millions of bubbles behind her like a Jacuzzi that jets out water furiously. "Hinata-sama, what the matter?"
"B-bodies…a…a shipwreck!" Hinata blubbered out hysterically. "I think there might have been a storm in the Above."
"This is bad. Stay back Hinata-sama, if they are still alive, then they might find us. I'll go and remove them from here." Sakura was about to dash off when Hinata grabbed her arms.
"P-please let me go too. I-I want to help." Hinata stuttered but her pale eyes brimmed with command.
"If they find your eyes…" Sakura began. Hinata cut her off.
"Not just my eyes, yours and everyone included." Hinata frowned. "I-I believe that won't be a problem. The bodies that were sinking are already unconscious."
"So the Above creatures are dying, huh? In our territory as well…THAT IS NOT GOOD!" Sakura shouted. Hinata jumped. "We've got to go, now…though Hinata-sama, you should stay…"
"I'm helping out as well." Hinata said firmly. Sakura sighed then nodded.
"Finally. The day has come."
The once young Uchiha has grown up to be a fine person at the age of eighteen. The years of training to prepare to sail the treacherous seas shaped his body structure to be a sturdy man. He closed his eyes and smirked. This time it is an adventure unlike previous ones. This time he might die or might come back as a hero.
"Sasuke you idiot! Stop daydreaming and get on the ship!" A hyper-energetic blond boy threw a hard biscuit at Sasuke's head.
"That hurt you dobe!" Sasuke glared at the blond boy who laughed hysterically chanting repeatedly "Got him" to apparently no one. At the word "dobe" the blond's blue eyes turned into dangerous slits.
"I'm not dead last! I made it on this ship didn't I? My grades my not be nearly as good as yours but I'm 100 times better than you are at anything else! You better not underestimate me because I—," the blond was cut off by another boy who grabbed his flailing arms.
"Naruto, shut up, you are too noisy. We haven't even left yet." The boy said in a monotone.
"You shut up!" Naruto stomped on the deck and made a hole.
Suddenly, all was silent.
Shikamaru, Sasuke, who was going on deck, and everyone else on board glared at Naruto who stood there frozen in time facing the whole crew with eyes like a deer looking at headlights.
"H-heh…heh…it's just a little crack…" Naruto scratched his head grinning weakly and felt beads of sweat dripping down his face as he faced the people who are cracking their knuckles. "Uh-oh…"
"Now we can depart." Sasuke ordered.
"Yes sir!" His crew replied.
At the dock, crowds of people cheered and the girls all cried saying that they will wait forever for their beloved Sasuke to come back. Sasuke ignored their drama.
This is it. My whole life I have been waiting for this. This is my destiny, to restore our once prosperous village. Itachi, watch me catch up to you.
"Oy Naruto, haven't you finish fixing the deck, yet?" Shikamaru asked. "I can't sleep with all the racket."
"Stupid people…it's just a little crack that takes a long time to fix… How am I suppose to fix a deck with all the beating they gave me…" Naruto muttered and rubbed one of the numerous lumps that decorated his head and face. "Go sleep elsewhere."
"This place has the best air, sunlight and view of the clouds." Shikamaru explained.
"Bite me." Naruto growled. Sasuke snickered at the sight.
On the nest of the ship, Kiba sat down and stared at the sky.
"You know Akamaru, I heard that the Sea of Elysium has the best seafood in the world." Kiba said licking his fangs. Akamaru whined. Kiba laughed. "I know you are not a cat."
Meanwhile in the food storage room lies Chouji eating.
"You know, you shouldn't eat that much yet. We do only have about twenty-five years worth of food and most of you here eat like hogs." Shino said in an undertone.
"I never knew that sea biscuits are so good…better than Korean Barbeque." Chouji said stuffing his cheeks. Shino walked away.
Mermaids…creatures of the devil…yet they can save us all. If only we can get their eyes. Sasuke put his hands of the railings and stares out at the sea. Mermaids, cold selfish creatures, why were they bestowed with such powers?
"Sakura-san, this is the place."
"It must have been quite a storm above." Sakura stared at the rainbow reflections of the sun's light on water cast on to the ruins of the ship. "Pretty."
"U-um…there's a body." Hinata pointed to a raven-haired person sinking heads down.
"There's another one!" Sakura exclaimed. "It's raining humans and ships!"
"W-we should save them. N-not all humans deserved to die and d-definitely not in our sea." Hinata fiddled with her fingers.
"Fine, lift that blond-haired human and I will take that black-haired human." Sakura said. "Is that okay with you Hinata-sama?"
"It's fine."
With barely any effort, the two mermaids brought the two trespassing, drowning humans to the Above which none of them ever been up there before. Tossing the bodies on the scorching beach, the mermaids were about to leave when they heard a voice behind them.
"M-mermaids?" he sputtered out seawater and passed out.
It's been two weeks since we have arrived at the infamous Sea of Elysium. Luckily for us, we haven't encountered much trouble besides a pirate raid, which was nothing to us. Still no signs of any mermaids and strangely, this sea isn't as dangerous as I would have thought. In fact, it's easier to navigate through this than my previous experiences. The crew…they are fine. No one died or got sick which is very strange but I am thankful. The Sea of Elysium seems too easy to navigate, too easy to even arrive here. Suspicious…
"Done." Sasuke closed his travel log. Outside of his cabin's window, he sees his crew doing nothing. It's too boring for them. "Maybe I should catch some sun rays before dusk. Everyone did say I was too pale but I just don't seem to tan, much."
Sasuke walked out and lied on the warm deck. So tranquil here…two hours only…
Plip. Plip. Drip.
Sasuke groaned.
Plip. Pat. Plip.
"Someone get that water away from me." Sasuke said and opened his eyes. Pitch-black clouds blocked his view. For a second he thought he turned blind. "RAIN!"
When Sasuke sat up, he noticed that everyone was either sleeping or running around in circles panicking.
"What's wrong, wake everybody! We need all the help we can get before a storm arrives." Sasuke ordered.
"But we can't, some wouldn't wake up! You were one at first too!" a crewmember replied tearfully.
"No tears in my ship!" Sasuke shouted and the crewmember gulped in fear. "Now, you go get the boats ready." The crewmember nodded and scurried off. Sasuke looked at the sky. "This is bad. We might really have to evacuate."
Within minutes, the worst storm ever approached. Waves of water crashed on the deck destroying Naruto's handiwork and the railings. Lightning struck the sails and the ship rocked back and forth, sideways as well caused by the monstrous wind. In a few more minutes, everyone had to abandon the ship because the docking equipment was all washed into sea. By boatloads, the remaining crew headed for the shore. Naruto and Sasuke were ushering everyone into the boats as fast as they could. When they were about to leave, lightning struck the water shocking them both. The ship tipped and Sasuke was heading overboard but Naruto caught him in the nick of time only to be knocked out by the boat, which they had planned to leave the ship on, riding a tsunami on deck. Both fell into the deep black-blue abyss below.
To be continued.