Author: Angelic Warrior
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
-
Hinata sat on a dirty sea sponge. Once again she finds herself in the same cell. From the looks of all the sludge and putrid scent clinging around the area, this cell doesn't look like it has been occupied for a long time. The glowing moss provided a sickly green weak light. The very walls were made bars that are from a special sea rock that prevents the ability of the usage of any blood limits. Ice crystals daggered above her. Dangerous whirlpools outside of her cell swirl menacingly to anyone who dares to escape. Not even the best mer-people can swim through it and survive.
Hinata sighed silently. She shivered.
The ANBU that escorted her to the cell quietly disperse themselves by their commander's orders. They are such efficient soldiers. They leave no trace that they ever came. They do their jobs fast. No one can escape them. No one can go after them because their identities are hidden behind their masks.
The ANBU platoon commander stood there for a second then started to walk towards her. When he reached her cell, he gave a quick bow. Hinata readied herself for the interrogation.
"Hinata-sama, why did you activate your royal bloodline again? On a human as well."
Hinata turned to the dog-masked ANBU. The ANBU lifted his mask to reveal another mask covering half of his features. His visible eye was clouded with worry. Hinata glided towards the bars on the door and smiled gently.
"Father must have sent you after me to watch my every move, Kakashi-san" Hinata looked at him sadly. "Sorry to be a nuisance."
"Oh no no no…not at all…" Kakashi chuckled.
"Does Father know of my meeting with the humans?"
"No. Only I do. However he knows about the activation of your Byakugan."
"I know. All Hyuugas have a tracker on them." Hinata closed her eyes in exhaustion. "Except the main chosen ones." Hinata added after a moment later.
"You know that you will be punished for this right?" Kakashi solemnly whispered. "You also know that I might be forced to say that you met with humans, right?"
"Yes, it wouldn't be the first time though." Hinata stared out at the azure whirlpools. Their roar doesn't seem to be as frightening as before. They seem gentle…in a way.
"I just hope…Sakura-san wouldn't be caught. She is very important to me. Kakashi-san, until I complete my punishment, please watch over her. Don't let her be alone. Also don't let anyone find out about her…you know what."
"All right. Be careful, Hinata-sama, Hiashi-sama is coming." Kakashi bowed and disappeared.
The group started to investigate their surroundings. It was a long walk and so far they have found nothing.
"This is boring…" Naruto whined playing with Akamaru's ears.
"Stop whining. Bear with it." Sasuke coldly replied.
"Stupid irresponsible, cold, idiotic, emotionless…" Naruto muttered this time yanking Akamaru's ears.
"Have you no end?" Sasuke yelled exasperated to a teary-faced Naruto trying to soothe the inflammation of his bitten hand.
Shikamaru sighed regretting that he ever signed up to go on this journey. The group walked into a dense jungle surrounded by trees or what they think are trees. The "tree" has a wooden trunk but instead of leaves there are bubbles lining the branches. All manner of forest creatures that are in the jungle somehow resemble sea creatures. Snakes are scaly eels, mice seemed to be fish with stubbly legs, and large animals such as tigers or deers are large fish like sharks that are finless, striped, and legged. The jungle's earth was wet sand and crustations skittered freely upon it.
"Amazing! The power of my youth enables me to see such wonders!" Lee scanned the area.
"Freaky…are they fish or animals…or both?" Kiba crinkled his brows.
"It smells pleasant for some reason…not fishy but a calming scent." Chouji pointed out. "Like ramen chips…"
"I smell medicine, shoji wood…no ramen chips." Shikamaru said.
"My turn! I smell lots of ramen! Miso, cha-siu, shrimp, and beef…all available flavors from Ichiraku ramen back at Konoha. For some reason I also smell…blood."
"Blood?" Akamaru and I don't smell any though…"
"Yeah…I smell blood as well…" Sasuke said.
They stopped walking. Their surroundings suddenly evaporated from the sea jungle to the ocean. Small waves lapped the beachside. Waves crashed against the rocks spraying water in the sky. The sun had just set. The sky and ocean meld as one crimson blaze. It was red…like blood. A bloody sunset.
"Wow…it's beautiful…" Lee said captivated by the surroundings.
Everyone agreed by nodding his head and for a while no one spoke anything. Everyone was marveling the sea. It was as if an illusion binds them to the same spot.
"Captain Sasuke, it is getting late." Shino suddenly said scaring everybody. Everybody stopped placing their hands over their heart to calm themselves.
"You can talk!" Naruto jumped pointing his finger at Shino. Everyone sweatdropped. Shino punched Naruto in the head in annoyance.
Sasuke ignored Naruto's remark or his throbbing lump and turn to Shino. "Let's make camp here."
"I have to save Hinata-sama! But how?" Sakura punched the ground cracking it.
The fish nearby swam away in anxiety. The crack hissed and magma oozed from it. Sakura crossed her arms and growled. A blond head poke behind the rocks. It silently swam behind the furious pink-haired mermaid and without warning it jumped on her.
"WAHHHhhh…oh, it's just you Ino." Sakura said surprised. She felt her face flushed up in embarrassment
"You are scaring the fish, brute." Ino smirked and began to toy with her blond hair.
"Ino…" Sakura twisted her face in annoyance.
"All right! Chill!" Ino raised her palms to declare peace.
Ino was a beautiful mermaid. Her family may not be royalty, but it has connections. In other words, her family is of a noble status. Ino is the heiress of their clan. Ino with her blue eyes that reflect the purity of the ocean has many guys chasing after her. She is smart, graceful, talented, sort of self-conceited, prideful, likes to make people seem lower than her, and likes to pick on Sakura. One moment, she could be nice to her and next the moment, she can be mean. Overall, she was an okay mermaid, considering not many dared to be near her.
"What do you want?" Sakura coldly asked.
"I just came to hang out. You know…to get away from all the boys…"
Must you remind me of all the attention you always get? Sakura thought.
"I thought that you might like to listen to my latest attempt to break some pathetic mer-man's heart." Ino pridefully said.
"Go away then." Sakura rejected. Ino frowned and turned serious.
"I also came to tell you that your master…" Sakura snapped straight up. Her sea-green eyes widen in fear. Sakura rushed to Ino, gripped her shoulders and shook her anxiously. Ino felt Sakura's claws dig in her skin.
"What happened? Is Hiashi-sama torturing her? Is she being punished? Is she all right? Can I go see her?" Sakura gazed into Ino's eyes, her brows knitted.
"You're hurting me." Ino pushed out of Sakura's lock. Sakura blinked.
"Sorry…" she hastily said. Ino inspected her shoulders before looking back at the worried mermaid. Ino hated being the bearer of bad news but knowing how close Sakura and Hinata are it wouldn't be fair to hide it from her.
"You are asking her too much questions…I don't know which one to answer first?" Ino weakly giggled, trying to gently change the mood.
"How about, "Is she okay?" Sakura eagerly asked.
Swell, no how am I supposed to make this easy to hear.
Ino felt her whole body seep in pity. Sakura, no, no one would have liked to hear it.
"Sakura," Ino's voice began to crack, "Hinata-sama was punished."
If they were on the Above, a gust of wind would have blown.
"Punished? What was her punishment?" Sakura asked while at the same time she was calculating the worse.
"Uh…she…" Ino changed her mind, "Why should I tell you?" she squeaked.
Yeah, good going! Ino thought. Knowing how I am, Sakura most likely would be annoyed and swim away in frustration. Man I really did messed up. Why did I come here in the first place? I definitely have better things to do than play with this…mermaid…
"Because, you are a true friend." Sakura said without hesitation.
Ino stared shocked. FRIEND! Since when has she been demoted to that level? She stared at the determined Sakura in front of her. Ino felt her heart wrenched. Sakura…sees me as a friend? Weirdo. Has she forgotten all times I humiliated her?
"Please don't hide the facts from me. I really want to know. I know it's hard for you but please." Sakura pleaded.
Ino felt like a jerk. She did come here originally to tell Sakura about Hinata. But at the last moment, she had cold feet. Cold fins actually. She gripped her hands and felt distraught.
"I…I…ya…okay." Ino hesitated and finally gave in. Sakura eyes sparkle for a second in gratitude. "Don't kill me later."
"I won't."
"Hinata-sama is sentenced to the Above where she will live for seven years as a mortal."
"That's not that bad right? At least she wasn't hurt." Sakura said relieved. "Wait, there's more right." Sakura saw Ino's uncomfortable look.
"Yeah, there's a lot more. Hinata-sama was tortured as well."
"What…" Sakura breathed. "Tortured? By just activating the Byakugan?"
"Err…no…Byakugan is one thing but Hanabi-sama told Hiashi-sama that Hinata-sama came in contact with humans."
"That brat!" Sakura said. "What did Hinata-sama ever do to her!"
"Shhh!" Ino clamped her clawed hand hard across Sakura's mouth. "You don't know who might hear," Ino whispered.
"Wait…hold on…How did Hanabi-sama find out about this?" Sakura whispered. She was really confused. She felt her brain twisted in a knot.
"It seems…that Hanabi somehow invaded the ANBU commander Kakashi's mind."
Sakura wrinkled her face. "Isn't taking over someone's mind your specialty?"
"I didn't say take over…I said invaded." Ino said.
"Isn't that…"
"Yeah…invasion of privacy. That's how it goes down here. Everyone only has one thing they can hide and it seems Kakashi-san has his filled up."
"How was Hinata-sama tortured?" Sakura slowly said keeping her voice smooth.
"From what I heard, it was mostly mentally and one physical wound." Ino softly said.
"Wounded…Hinata-sama…I'm sorry…" Sakura whimpered.
"Also her curse will be painful for her to bear. Since we are mermaids, we don't have legs but in her curse form, she will. It will be very painful to 'walk' especially when your weight is on it." Ino winced from the imaginary pain.
Not for me… Sakura thought silently to herself.
"I feel sorry for her. Poor Hinata-sama…in pain and alone in a barbaric Above."
Sakura paled. Hinata-sama will be, for seven years, walking painfully and wounded on the Above. Sakura felt the jumble of emotions raging in her. She wanted to save her. She wanted to be with her. She wanted to take away her pain. It was her fault in the first place. She could have let the humans drown and let someone else discover the bodies. She could have just killed the humans when they woke up. She could have kept her anger under control so Hinata-sama didn't have to clean up after her. She could have…
She should have never got involved with Hinata. Now she was suffering because of her.
"Ino!" Sakura growled.
Ino jumped. Sakura was sad in one moment and now she was angry. A green aura enveloped her figure. For a second, she thought she saw Sakura's fins disappear. When she blinked again, the aura died.
"Tell me where is Hinata-sama at right now!"
"This "lizard-fish" is actually quite good. I'm glad I snagged some before we reached to this beach." Kiba said then snarf down the barbequed food-thing.
The campfire, lit by the courtesy of Sasuke, was crackling merrily in the evening. Along the rim of the fire, "food" was being barbequed. They caught fish from the ocean along with some other weird organisms and apparently Kiba somehow got a hold of some "lizard-fish" thingie. Rock Lee supplied firewood and rocks. Shikamaru just lay on the sand waiting for time to pass. Chouji found edible seaweed. Shino went to scout and gather information about their surroundings. Sasuke made preparation utensils for cooking and lit the fire. Naruto had to make the tent and prepare everyone's bed.
"Why do I get the worst job?" Naruto complained tears streaming comically down his face. "It's boring."
"Shut up, dobe. You wanted to draw straws and we did. You lost so live with it." Sasuke said carving out skewers for the fish. "It's not like any of us got any better."
"Shikamaru isn't doing anything!" Naruto yelled and pointed to Shikamaru who was currently yawning at the moment.
"That's because he had already finished. Back to work!" Sasuke said.
"What did he do?"
"Weather gazing."
"What kind a job is THAT!"
"An important one. Have you forgotten the storm already?" Sasuke yelled.
Naruto opened his mouth in protest but nothing came out. Sasuke had a point, not that he was ever going to admit that. Naruto frowned and continued putting up the tents. Sasuke smirked. These chopsticks and skewers were truly a work of art.
-
After their dinner, they sat around the fire staring at its scarlet whips. The wood hissed as the fire sucked the moisture from it. Black smoke left a vertical trail in the air. The stars were out, twinkling mischievously. Shikamaru attempted to find some familiar constellations but to his surprise he couldn't find a single one. It was as if Elysium was a different world.
"Say…" Kiba started, "Lee, why did you wanted to come with us in the first place?"
Lee took that question with surprise. "I have personal reasons. Why did you come?"
"I actually just wanted to check out the territory of Elysium. Also some of its seafood." Kiba grinned. "Sorry I don't have a better reason."
"What about you guys?" Lee asked.
"I was bored. I wanted to see new clouds." Shikamaru said staring at the starry night sky. "Looks like I didn't get my wish."
"Err…I came because Shikamaru came." Chouji took out a bag of chips from his invisible secret stash and started to munch on them.
"I heard of unique bugs that only exist here, untouched by humankind. I want to see those." Shino said quietly.
"I am seeking new ramen flavors!" Naruto yelled. "The great Uzumaki, Naruto will create the best ramen restaurant when we come back to Konoha. I will learn of its secrets and use them deliciously."
Everyone froze and stared at Naruto who was grinning in his imaginary world and blabbering on about his success. How on earth or Elysium was he going to attain those secrets for ramen flavors, nobody knew.
"I…am on a mission..." Sasuke said slowly resting his chin on his interlocked fingers, "to seek mermaids for their powers to save an unavoidable fate."
"Fate? What's unavoidable?" Chouji asked.
"You should know already. It's Taboo to speak of it."
"Right…" everyone murmured.
Though it's Taboo to speak of it, every inhabitant in Konoha knows of its tragic fate. The peaceful Konoha was always drawn into wars with foreign countries even though the war has nothing to do with them. Every fifty years, a disaster would strike upon the village killing hundreds of people mercilessly. Calamities often follow such as months of famine and more bloodshed. Even though the Hokage of Konoha tried to prevent this fate recycling, it was useless. Wars that had nothing to do with them still came, disasters still stuck and calamities still occur. This continuation caused many people to desert Konoha, the Village of Leaves. Leaves as in plenty of trees and 'leaves' as in going, abandoned.
The reason for all of this misfortune could be traced back to a long time ago. According to ancient history scrolls, a curse was placed upon the whole village. Anyone who knew who, how, why the curse was placed, still lived. The villagers only knew only one thing. It was connected to the Ancient War. Unfortunately, information about the Ancient War was rare. People who knew about Shikamaru's amount were considered "educated" in the Ancient War.
That's why young Uchiha, Sasuke was out traveling in the Sea of Elysium in search of mermaids. He felt that it was his duty to save his homeland. He heard that mermaids have the power to grant two wishes by the power of their eyes. That was why when he met the dark-haired and pink-haired mermaids, his hopes of attaining his wish approached even nearer. Sasuke also knew Naruto had another reason to search for mermaids even though tonight Naruto 'claimed' that he was here searching for ramen flavors. Even though they were an unlikely pair of best friends, Naruto never told Sasuke why he truly needed to meet up with a mermaid nor Sasuke ever pressured him to spill it out. Well, once but that was it. Secrecy was valued in Konoha. Secrets were kept to his or herself and no one can force someone to say his or her's unless they were willing to. That was why everyone could nearly trust another since they knew they wouldn't be betrayed.
"Okay. Enough talk. Let's assign guard duty and go to sleep." Sasuke said standing up.
"What? I haven't finish telling my tale of success yet." Naruto whined.
"You have not succeeded yet, Naruto." Shikamaru said monotonously. Everyone sort of chuckled.
"Hmph." Naruto sat down crossed-legged.
"Do we draw straws again?" Chouji asked Sasuke.
"Why not?" Sasuke prepared the straws and everyone pulled one of them. "Brown has the first shift."
Shikamaru saw that his straw was brown and sighed while stretching his limbs.
"Black has second shift."
Shino nodded.
"Green has third shift."
Rock Lee clenched his fists in anticipation.
"Blue has the fourth shift.
Chouji grabbed another potato chip from his bag.
"White has fifth shift."
"We'll do the best job! Right Akamaru?" Kiba said. Akamaru barked in agreement.
"Orange has the sixth shift."
"Right!" Naruto said excitedly forgetting his previous mood.
"I, Red have the last shift." Sasuke said. All eyes were on Sasuke.
"Why do you have the best shift?" everyone asked in unison.
"Because I am Captain." Sasuke said. "These are my orders. You came upon my ship knowing that already, I presumed. Besides, we drew straws so it's fair. Now, let's go to sleep."
Everyone shrugged and headed to their respective tents while Shikamaru remained by the campfire.
"This is going to be a long night." Shikamaru yawned.
To be continued.