*Edited 05/28/2021 for consistency
No good place to split this one, so you get a fun, long chapter! Lots going on, friends.
Between the Devil and the Deep
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Chapter Three
Sabotage
The island had always had very few inhabitants. There was no port deep enough for heavy commerce, and the natural resources available were not easily accessed, or sufficient to support a large population. Madara had long ago left the island to its own devices, convinced that the seas were too rough for anyone to use the ports for military purposes.
He had been right in a sense; the seas were unpredictable, and most people passing through the main port of the old fishing town were on their way to or from their home on the island.
There were very few people who had any reason to brave a visit to Oileán Turtar.
Alerted by Aoba's raven, several villagers met Kakashi's ship as it docked, ready to take the rescued children into their care. Kakashi nodded to the nun standing calmly in front of a stout, older nurse and two strong, young men.
"Don't be afraid, children," she spoke to them gently. "My name is Mother Nonō, We will take care of you. Kabuto? Urushi? Please help Keiri bring our friends back to our home. Kanpu is waiting there with food and clean clothes for everyone."
Assured by her gentle smile, they did as asked. One of the younger ones paled, but the man with the glasses and white hair knelt down to speak with her. After a few moments, she nodded and allowed herself to be scooped into his arms, where she rested her head on his shoulder.
He winked at the Mother before nodding to the Captain, and following the others.
Kakashi watched the small parade wind away from the harbor and toward the orphanage.
"The medics are already there," she watched with him. "I will report back when they finish their examination. Any immediate concerns?"
"No," he shook his head. "Or at least, no more than usual."
"This lot seems calmer than the last."
"There might be a reason for that," he rubbed the back of his neck, and filled her in on the events of their journey and all that he observed on their voyage back to the island.
"That sounds like memory suppression magic, doesn't it?" she mused.
"I thought perhaps you might see what you can find out; you are knowledgeable in that sort of thing."
"I'll see what I can do."
Kakashi trusted that the kindly director of the orphanage – who in another life had been a highly skilled and deadly agent specializing in the gathering of intelligence – knew precisely what she was doing.
His only question was this: did the person kidnapping the children suppress their memories, or the person that saved them?
In first three hours of waking on the beach, the children lost any recollection of the person they initially swore had been there before they escaped. By the end of those three hours, they had no recollection of any of that, and only vague impressions of their time on the enemy ship.
"Maybe one of the Mind Walkers will find something out," he murmured, watching the last of the children take Mother Nonō's hand, and slip out of sight.
The children's health would all be checked, and their memories scanned in the hopes of reuniting families while gleaning something about the state of the world from which they had been stolen. Then the gentle memory that they were somewhere safe with family would be inserted, and the children would spare less than a second glance for their rescuers.
It would protect them from sharing any information about the Resistance, and keep them safe from torture – all things Madara had been known to employ.
Kakashi thought about the secret messages locked tightly away.
The time was coming for the Resistance to take a stand.
"You called for me, Uncle?"
He stood in his uncle's office – the older man stood with his hands clasped behind his back, staring out over the glistening harbor.
"I have news, Sasuke."
Madera's tone snapped his attention, and Sasuke stood fractionally straighter.
"Sir?"
"I have just received confirmation from our Intelligence Division," he glanced over his shoulder. "Just there."
Sasuke followed his gaze to the massive desk, where a scroll was open and facing him. Madara gave a small nod and turned back to look out of the bay of windows while Sasuke began to read.
It did not take long to find crux of the matter.
"Pirates. In the Northwaters."
"Thankfully west of where you sailed," Madara said gruffly – the closest either man would come to acknowledging that Sasuke might have had a close call.
"Two ships looted and destroyed – no trace of any survivors," Sasuke read aloud. "There were others?"
"This is not the first time a report of this nature has crossed my desk," Madara allowed. "But this is the first one confirmed by Intelligence."
Sasuke read the lines in the Madara's reflection, and in the miniscule tightening of the back of the King.
"There is more."
Madara's lips might have twitched ever so slightly into something rueful-proud at his nephew's unerring ability to see the unseen.
He turned from the window and crossed to his desk, retrieving a folded square of black fabric.
"Their calling card," he handed it to Sasuke. "They hoist this flag onto any ship they capture or leave to sink."
Sasuke unfolded the flag - a single red cloud bold against black fabric - tattered and charred at the edges.
"They call themselves Daybreak," Madara continued. "What little we know about them has been difficult to verify; they do not fly openly under their flag, and the only known survivors have been strategically left behind, always badly wounded and more likely to die from their injuries than not."
"A warning."
"A threat," Madara corrected, taking back the flag, and returning it to the drawer in his desk. "A threat to our people and our Kingdom. A threat we must face and eliminate."
"Agreed," Sasuke's eyes flickered fire. "What is our course?"
"For now?" Madara cocked one, smug eyebrow. "For now, it must be perceived that we have adopted a course of caution. This will not be openly discussed with the other admirals; only between you, the head of Intelligence, and myself."
"Forgive me, Sire, but the Admirals must be made aware so as to better protect our crews and our people."
"They will be aware, Admiral," Madara assured him. "All possible precautions shall be put in place. Daybreak has not yet made themselves an open threat; they rely on fear and subversion. They do not sail openly under their own flag, nor have they yet formally declared themselves as our enemy. No. To give Daybreak open acknowledgment would give the few known rumors validity, and empower them. For now, we must counter them without openly acknowledging them as an enemy or a threat."
"As you say, Sire…" he trailed off.
"Admiral?"
"We offer rewards for any information on Waterfolk," he began slowly. "But there have been rumors of bounties – and not from the King. They are too sizeable to come from a curious sailor with deep pockets. Could they be coming from Daybreak?"
"Possible," Madara said, tasting the novelty of the suggestion. "The disappearance of all breeds of Water Children has long been a great loss and puzzlement to us; we instituted the reward in the hopes of finding any survivors. The extinction of the kelpies and selkies is regrettable, but the loss of the Merfolk," he shook his head. "That is as sad and great loss. Our clan has a long history of collaboration with the Merfolk, and we guarded our kingdoms together."
"The Sight," Sasuke mused. "I vaguely remember hearing about it as a child."
"Yes. The gift of the Merfolk from the Goddess; an ability to sight and identify enemies long before they entered their waters. That is something that would be of a benefit to us now."
"Or a detriment," Sasuke pointed out. "Should it be used against us."
"If there are any that remain with the Sight," Madara met Sasuke's eyes, "then they are under a threat as well. If there are any to be found –"
"Then we must find them first."
Madara gave a small, sharp nod. "As you say, Nephew. And I believe if there are any to be found, then you shall be the one to find them."
"Oh?"
"You are a Son of the Sea," Madara explained. "If the Goddess is to reveal how we might protect her Children, it will be to you."
Sasuke gave a slow nod. "I confess, I do not know how to begin such an endeavor."
"Nor, I," Madara gave a small chuckle. "Which is why it is ancillary to our defense at best, but critical in its own right. I am afraid, Nephew, that this must be your own mission, and no one else's."
Sasuke nodded again.
"As you say, Sire."
"Come," Madara motioned to the wall with the large map of the Kingdom surrounded by smaller, more detailed maps of critical ports and cities. "Let us review what we do know, and put it to good use. Perhaps your eyes shall see something that mine have not."
Sasuke nodded, and attended his King, allowing his pulse to regulate to something steadier, slowing from the quick dance it did at hearing "Merfolk."
"They aren't all gone," he thought, eyeing the maps, even as he catalogued every detail of his conversation with his Uncle. "I know it."
The tavern was everything a tavern in a busy port should be after dark: lively, full of merry company, and an excellent place to conduct business that was not strictly above board. Music poured out of the doors as did the occasional drunken patron, still whirling in time to the jigs and reels echoing in the raucous night air. Izumo and Kotetsu were enjoying the company of a beautiful tavern wench with mirth in her smile and promise in her eyes. The drinks and laughter flowed freely between them all, and it was so crowded, Kotetsu lost Izumo and the girl in the sea of cheery patrons. There were plenty of girls though, and he'd not realized how long they'd been gone.
"Tch, you're half drunk," Izumo said, frowning.
"And where have you been?" Kotetsu asked, eyes bleary. "Did'ja lose the girl."
"No," he flushed. "C'mon. Let's get you back to the barracks before the higher-ups see you."
Kotetsu had a wonderful time singing, much to Izumo's apparent embarrassment.
"Izumo? Kotetsu?" the night guard called down. "That you?"
"It's us!" Kotetsu waved merrily. "Is that you Iwashi?"
The man grimaced at them.
"Get inside where you won't disgrace the unit."
"Aye-aye, sir!" Kotetsu saluted, and stumbled.
Izumo gave a quick nod of thanks and hurried them off to their room.
Kotetsu paused, looking at the opposite bunk.
"Hey, Izumo there's someone in your bed… and he looks just like you."
"That's the drink talking," Izumo scoffed.
"Is it?" Kotetsu blinked. "Are you su…?"
He didn't finish his sentence before passing out in his bed.
"Quite sure," the other Izumo grinned. "But that doesn't mean it isn't true!"
The sun was setting just as Sakura arrived at the Féileacán.
"Sorry," she slid into a seat next to Ino. "That took longer than I thought it would."
"No harm done," Chōji offered a friendly smile. "Just brought out more rolls," he pushed the basket of warm bread toward her. "I'll just go get your dinner." He excused himself as Ino poured water into a glass from the battered pitcher on the table.
"Drink," she instructed.
Sakura took the cup gratefully, and the group settled into nominal conversation until Chōji returned to put a large bowl of hearty stew in front of Sakura.
Once Chōji reclaimed his seat, Ino brushed her fingers over the intricate design carved into the underside of the wood. Although they looked like nothing more than friends gathering to share an evening meal, their purpose was far greater.
They were the faces of the Resistance.
Ino. Shikamaru. Chōji. Sakura. Naruto. Kiba. Shino. And even Neji who could adopt a human form when needed – they were at the forefront of the war against Madara.
Sakura pressed the rough of the cloth napkin to her lips and met Neji's eyes.
"The children were largely unharmed," she answered his unasked question. "Some lingering dehydration and malnutrition, but they hadn't been long from their village. We were lucky to find them so early."
"Were you able to determine what village they came from?"
"Yes," Ino and Sakura exchanged glances. "But that information won't do us much good. It isn't there anymore."
"Another village wiped out?" Chōji's kind face crinkled in worry. "Any survivors?"
"No way of really knowing," Ino rubbed her temples. "I can only scan the children for what they've seen or heard, and I have to be careful about it. They tend to be separated from the adults early, to be sent to the mines or sold – which means they don't see what happens to the others."
"If we knew what Madara was trying to do, we could figure that out." Shino intoned. "Why, you ask? That is because…"
"Okay – but what about Hinata," Kiba asked, cutting off his friend mid speech. "Any word about her? Any sign?"
"No," Neji kept his voice neutral, even as he felt a clenching in his gut. "There has been no sign of her, nor any reports of sightings."
"And on the other end of it," Sakura interjected, "we all know where Sasuke is, but we can't communicate with him. Madara has him brainwashed, and he has no memory of his time before the shipwreck."
"This is just stupid," Naruto finally erupted. "It's been twelve years since the mainland fell under Madara's control. We know that entire villages are being destroyed, children are being captured and sold, and no one can find the village survivors. How much longer are we going to wait? Why not just go after Madara in a direct attack and get Sasuke and Hinata back?"
"Back from where?" Shikamaru folded his hands on the table. "We don't know where Hinata is, but we know that Madara is looking for Merfolk, so that means he doesn't know either. If we aren't careful, we could be giving Madara exactly what he wants, either by alerting him to Hinata's presence, or -."
"Or to mine," Neji finished for him. "You won't find her without one of us, because none of you can look where we can."
"There has to be a way to get a message to them," Chōji interjected hopefully. "Ino, you can do that, can't you?"
"We've tried," she folded her arms. "Dad has made multiple attempts from the main island, but there is interference. Madara knows about our clan techniques; any attempts have to be made with the utmost precaution."
"He works with the other sensor types with my Old Man in the headquarters," Shikamaru mused. "That is the same place Kushina helps charge the barrier, isn't it?
"Yes," she watched her old friend carefully. "The closer to the heart of the barrier the better the protection. It's probably the only way we've managed to go undetected so far."
"Still," Shikamaru put his hands in his pockets, "part of that interference might be our own barriers, right? Reaching out to Sasuke is more dangerous because Madara protects him. But he doesn't know where Hinata is. We need to find a way to lure Hinata somewhere safe – somewhere that provides its own kind of interference, but somewhere she'd be more receptive to our message."
"Oh, is that all," Kiba snorted. "Good, because for a minute there I thought it was impossible. Besides, if we could communicate with Hinata to tell her to go somewhere we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place."
"It's less that we can't communicate and more that both Hinata and Sasuke are affected by Madara's spell," Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck. "We know Sasuke doesn't remember anything, and if Hinata did remember, she would've come for help by now."
"I…I think," Ino furrowed her brows. "I think Hinata might look after Sasuke. I can't be sure," she hurried to clarify, "but I've scanned several of the men that have sailed under Sasuke, since they are easier to get to. They don't know what they are seeing, so looking at their memories through their eyes isn't clear, but I think Hinata follows his ship."
"I believe it," Naruto sighed, dejected. "We asked her to watch after him, didn't we?"
They all remembered that terrible night of the final battle that changed their world – that night when Minato and Kushina had to resort to creating the barrier to make the island disappear, wiping Evergreen from the map.
Hinata and Sasuke were on the other side of that barrier when Madara cast his spell, and had been lost to their friends and family ever since.
"Well, now, that's something, isn't it?" Shikamaru rubbed his chin. "We can't get directly to Sasuke, but we can get to people that can get to him."
Naruto brightened.
"Can we have him look for Hinata? I mean, if anyone could find her, it would be Sasuke. And we already know we can mostly track his movements."
"No…," Shikamaru shook his head. "He's too close to Madara to risk having him look directly for Hinata. We think she follows him; we need something to lure Sasuke away – somewhere secure and far away from Madara – and hope that in intercepting him, we find Hinata as well."
"Can we bring him to the island?"
"Too risky. We already have survivors here, and we are the central outpost for the Resistance. No," he sighed. "It's troublesome, but we're going to have to go to them."
Naruto's eyes sparked with hopeful fire. "Finally!" he clapped his hands together. "So! How do we get that bastard's attention? Oh! I know!" His form shimmered into that of a buxom lass, hand to head in standard damsel-in-distress fashion. "Help! My father's ship was stolen by pirates! Only you can save them, Sasuke!" he clutched his hands to his heart and blinked widely, earning a series of grins and groans from his friends.
"No good?" he asked cheekily, dispelling the illusion.
"Terrible," Shikamaru said flatly. "But pirates… that might not be a terrible idea."
"I couldn't agree more."
They looked up to see Kakashi leaning lazily against one wall, with Jiraiya standing next to him.
"Looks like you've been practicing," the sage chuckled. "But you are going to need more than cunning and fox magic to pull something like this off."
"Sorry, Naruto," Kiba mock toasted with his tankard. "Your man-crush is going to have to wait."
Naruto shrugged off the jibe, speaking directly to the senior members of the Resistance. "My magic is the only one we can count on to counter Sasuke's. Your only other sure-fire option is Neji's, and we can't do that if we don't want to give Madara the heads up that he or Hinata are around."
"He's right," Neji frowned, surprise tinging his tone. "It would be even more helpful if we confronted Sasuke on land – that would give Naruto an advantage. I am not certain that advantage would hold on the open water."
"It has to," Naruto shrugged. "No guarantee we will get him to land."
Jiraiya looked at his former student with carefully masked pride.
"You are going to need more connections than you currently have to make this work. That is where Kakashi and I come in. Let's not forget that there really are pirates in the waters. We suspect that some are actually working for Madara, but we can't be certain."
"Why would Madara attack his own ships?" Chōji frowned.
"We have several theories," Kakashi said lightly. "None of which are pleasant. Jiraiya and I need to discuss a few things with headquarters and Shikaku. Neji, I'd appreciate if you came with us; we need you to alert your Uncle."
"Wow, that was close," Kiba snorted, emptying his fourth tankard. "We were almost in danger of actually doing something for a change. Go on," he waved Neji away. "Go discuss."
Neji got up stiffly; it had been a while since he had to take on a human form, and it was taxing. He rubbed his forehead carefully, trying to breathe over the building ache behind his eyes.
"Here," Sakura said gently, standing to cross over to him and holding a glowing hand to his forehead. "Better?"
"Yes," he blinked several times. "I thank you."
She gave him a friendly smile as he disappeared with the others to a back room of the Féileacán.
"We all miss them, you know," she said quietly, standing behind Kiba. "And we're all frustrated that we can't find our friends. But remember – that is Neji's family. He went through an ancient sealing process so that if he does get captured, the Byakugan won't fall into Madara's hands. A process we aren't sure we can reverse, or how it will affect him later."
She put a friendly hand on his shoulder. "Just something to think about."
"Oh yeah?" he stood, batting away her hand to tower over her, menacingly. "Here's something else to think about, girl-whose-entire-family-is-intact-and-safe-in-Evergreen," he jabbed a finger at the air above her chest. "The original group sent to poke around Madera's kingdom included my sister, and fuck-all's been heard about them since. The longer we sit around and "discuss" the smaller our chances are of ever seeing any of them again gets. If there is even a chance of it left. How's that for 'something to think about.'"
He turned on his heel and stormed out of the pub, leaving Sakura to stare after him, to mortified to call him back. Akamaru butted his large head under her hand with a whine, pressing into her leg while Shino sighed.
"It's four years ago this week since they heard anything from the original team. Five since they left."
Sakura blinked.
"I…I didn't know… I'm sorry that I forgot about Hana."
Shino shrugged.
"We've all lost people. That is why it is important that we succeed. Akamaru. Let's go. Why? That is because, we need to find Kiba before he does something stupid. Again."
Akamaru gave Sakura one last reassuring nudge before striding off after Shino.
Sakura might have stood there all night, had Ino not put an arm around her shoulders.
"It's okay," she murmured. "We're all under a lot of stress."
"I shouldn't have forgotten," she shook her head. "I didn't really – I just…"
"I know," Ino held her at arm's length. "We all know, Sakura."
"C'mon," Naruto stepped up and gathered her things. "It's getting late, and you've got an early morning. I'll walk you back." He met Ino's eyes, letting her know he would take care of things.
Sakura nodded mutely, and gave a small wave goodbye, and they all pretended tears weren't slipping down her cheeks.
"I'm mixing something in her tea tonight," Ino muttered. "She has been working nonstop stockpiling remedies, and healing people, and ugh!" she shook her head. "She's the most troublesome roommate."
Chōji and Shikamaru exchanged semi-amused glances, correctly interpreting Ino's frustration as worry for her best friend.
"Neji!"
The three of them turned to find Hanabi racing toward them, pale and disheveled.
"Where is Neji?" she asked, her eyes growing even wider when she caught sight of Ino. "C'mon," she lunged and grabbed her wrist. "I see where he is, we have to hurry."
"Hurry?" Ino shot a look over her shoulder, making sure that Shikamaru and Chōji were following as Hanabi dragged her toward the back room.
"To get Neji. And Kakashi. And whoever else we need to – something has happened, and that is why we need you, too."
Before Ino could ask anything more, Hanabi pushed their way into the room, (bypassing all the seals with an impatient flick of her hand) where Neji, Kakashi, Jiraiya, and a few others spoke in low voices.
"Hanabi?" Neji looked up, confused. "Is everything alright?"
"It's the Gardens," she hurried over to him, taking his hands without preamble. "They're blooming. Hinata's garden is blooming!"
Neji went still.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes," Hanabi's eyes glowed with unshed tears. "Either her magic is strong enough, or Madera's has weakened enough, but you have to see!"
Kakashi met Neji's eyes.
"I take it this is significant?"
Neji could only nod, but Hanabi became indignant.
"Of course it is!" she huffed. "Don't you Land Walkers know anything? Hinata's garden is-"
"It means we might be able to reach her," Neji interrupted his cousin's tirade. "Ino," he turned to her, "We are going to need your help."
"Anything," Ino nodded.
"Well, then," Jiraiya stood and stretched. "It seems like a moonlight stroll is in order. Neji? Hanabi? Care to lead the way?"
Chōji paled. "Wait. What way? Under the water kind of way?"
Hanabi rolled her eyes.
"Can you think of a better place for a mermaid's garden?"
"It's alright," Jiraiya put a solid hand on his shoulder. "It's easier than you think."
"Let's hurry," Hanabi pulled Neji impatiently. "Otherwise, Naruto will want to come, and he'll probably wreck everything, and-"
Whatever else Hanabi had to say, they did not catch, as she'd pulled Neji out of the room.
"After you," Jiraiya motioned for Ino to lead the way. With a subtle nod from Shikamaru, she squared her shoulders and followed after Neji and Hanabi.
"We're going to bring you both back home," she promised. "Just wait a little longer!"
It had been nearly a fortnight since the night Kotetsu had arrived back at the barracks singing loudly, and the teasing had almost died down.
Almost.
Kotetsu was soundly asleep when Izumo came rushing into their room while dawn was still young in the sky.
"Kotetsu!" he shook his bunkmate awake. "Get up!"
Kotetsu groaned and tried to shove him away, but Izumo was relentless.
"We don't have much time – wake up!"
"Fine, fine," Kotetsu groaned. "What has your braies in a bunch - and what do you mean we don't have time," he glanced at the window. "The sun is barely up!"
"I was coming off watch" - he looked over his shoulder, earning a puzzled look from Kotetsu, as they were quite alone – "And I overheard. An order just came down from the top; someone has been going around impersonating an officer – maybe several someones – and there is going to be a surprise spot check to see if any uniforms are missing. They already have people going through the laundry and taking stock, to see what adds up. Anyone with a missing uniform is going to have to explain how and where and why their uniforms went missing."
"Are you serious?" Kotetsu sat bolt upright, all traces of sleep vaporizing like the night leaching out of the morning sky.
"Completely. I told you we should've included that in our report."
"Oh, sure," the other snorted. "And have put up with a ribbing from everyone?"
"We'll have to do that and tell the higher-ups!"
"So what are we going to do?"
"First? Get out our uniforms and make sure they are perfect, so we don't call any attention to ourselves. Second, I snuck into the laundry facility and hid one bag of uniforms; it hasn't been logged yet. Once the inspection is done here, I'll sneak one each of our uniforms into the bag and hope it works."
"Genius!" Kotetsu dropped his fist into his open palm. "You sure it's going to work?"
"Got any better ideas?"
"Nope!"
They both retrieved their uniforms.
"I must have one of yours, Kotetsu frowned – I have four here."
Izumo turned around, confused.
"But I'm wearing one, and I have three: all with my name on them."
Kotetsu checked the names on his uniforms – they were all his.
"How?"
"There's more," Izumo swallowed. "The clothes from the old man. They're gone."
They stared at each other for a moment – there was no indication they'd ever lost a uniform, nor that they'd been given civilian clothes to make up for their loss.
"Do…do we say something?" Izumo asked.
"What, and get court-martialed?" Kotetsu snorted. "No thank you. We keep our mouths shut and try to figure this out on our own."
"Why?" Izumo mused.
"So that we don't get court-martialed?"
"No, I mean why borrow our uniforms?"
"You mean steal them?"
"They were returned – that makes it borrowing. But why? What purpose did it serve?"
"Maybe they were done impersonating an officer and were kind enough to not get us hanged?"
"There's more to it than that. You need more than a uniform to impersonate an officer."
Kotetsu froze.
"The other night - how did you get me home, and end up in bed at the same time?"
"What? What are you talking about?"
"You brought me back here… but I swore I saw you already in bed."
"I …I didn't bring you back here," Izumo blinked. "I left with… with the girl. She left to get more wine, and then you showed up, and we came home together."
"Definitely not what happened."
They stared at each other, and Izumo's mouth fell open.
"He had your face – I'd swear to it!"
"Same here," Kotetsu grimaced. "Maybe this person used out uniforms to get in and took the civilian clothes to get out."
"But if this person could fool us – "
"Then they must be very good at what they are doing." He paused a moment before standing. "Well. The good news is that you can now return the stolen laundry – we are going to pass inspection, and whatever happened can't be traced back to us."
Izumo looked uncomfortable.
"We should still probably come clean," he rubbed the back of his neck. "What if that person uses whatever they found out against us?"
"How about we just keep an ear out for anything else happening? Isn't that a good compromise?"
Izumo wavered, but the next yell down their hall curdled their blood and cemented his cooperation.
"Rise and shine, bastards – let's see who's missing their laundry!"
"Anko," he whispered.
Kotetsu held out his hand, and Izumo shook it, silently.
Neither would say a word.
"Well, that was pointless."
Water crashed up onto the deck of the Natrix and took human form – if humans could be said to have glinting eyes and pointed teeth.
"Jugo, the tub ready?"
"Just there."
"Great," he grinned, and he melted into the water with a sigh. "This salt water is hell on a person."
"Since when do you count as a person," a woman sniffed disdainfully from her place at the helm of the small ship.
"Person might be stretching it," he reformed and shrugged, stepping out of the tub and accepting the tankard from Jugo's outstretched hand.
The quiet, large man raised his eyebrows. "Nothing?"
"Less than nothing," he grimaced. "Why're we even looking here? I thought the last word of a sighting came from the Northwaters?"
"Because that ship didn't return."
"Another one?" he blinked. "Karin, we hear anything from the higher-ups about this?"
"No," she grimaced. "And no change in our orders either."
"I admit, that I'm all for just doing the work and getting paid," he drummed his fingers on his tankard, "but this is starting to sound a little strange to me. If there are pirates sinking ships, how're we gonna avoid that? And what about the bounty on Merfolk? What's to keep them from tracking my sweet ass?"
"So many things wrong with that statement," Karin grumbled. "For one thing, Suigetsu, no one is going to track your ass, because if they did, they'd risk finding it, and I can tell you no one actually wants it. For a second thing, if these idiots could track Merfolk, we wouldn't have a job, and for a third thing, our vessel isn't big enough to catch the attention of pirates."
"Still don't like it," he eyed her over the rim of his glass. "Something isn't adding up."
"Since when are you so sensitive," she adjusted her glasses. "Didn't your people pretty much live off of hunting selkies?"
"We hunted them, sure," he shrugged. "But they started disappearing a few years back. Something else was taking them down. There weren't many of us to begin with, but there are fewer now."
"Do your people use magic?"
Suigetsu turned to Jugo, who was quietly cradling a cat in his lap.
"I mean, sure, but not as much as most of the others. We can track it, though."
"In the water," Karin added. "You're all but useless on land."
"So that's why we got you and Jugo," he shrugged carelessly. "Not that you're doing much. I thought you said you sensed a signature out here."
"I did," she frowned. "I do. It just won't stand still."
"Because targets should do that," he rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I'm getting hungry. Let's go back to shore."
"To shore?" Karin arched an eyebrow. "We are literally on a floating buffet for you."
"And you want me to bring you a plate?"
"Ugh, fine," she muttered, setting the course. They docked at the nearly – empty village. Many of the residents were far offshore, fishing the deeper waters for days at a time.
"Ah, so you came back!"
Karin felt her stomach turn. "Oh, no."
"Well, hey there, Old Woman!" Suigetsu clapped his hands together greedily. "Smells like you've got the good stuff."
"Always do," she cackled. "Saved you the best of the guts – even managed to leave one of the buckets out in the sun today, just in case you stopped by."
"Man, if you weren't so old and ugly, I'd kiss you."
"And if you weren't a toothy shark I'd let you," she retorted. "Go on – it's just in my shack. How about you, two?" she turned over her shoulder to where Jugo and Karin stood upwind.
"N…no thanks," Karin waved her hands in front of her face. "We…uh… just ate."
"Mm-hm, of course you did," she eyed them. "Then I guess you won't bother heading into town – shame though. I heard that Widow was serving up a right fine meal at her hotel tonight."
"Perhaps we should go see," Jugo urged Karin gently.
"Um, yeah. Sure," she began to back away.
"She'll be glad to see you again, Jugo," the crone grinned toothlessly. "Since her boys are always out on the boats, there isn't anyone to help her out. And her neighbor loves when you visit the farm."
"Go on, go on," Suigesu shooed them, rounding the corner with a particularly vile and smelly bucket of dead fish. "I'll watch the boat tonight – you two stay on land."
"You stay off of the boat," Karin pointed at him menacingly. "It took two weeks to get the smell out last time."
"Just stay here," the old woman shrugged, lighting a clay pipe. "I'll go back to my little boat, and you can have the shack to yourself while keeping your craft in sight."
"Fine. Perfect. Wonderful," Karin retreated. "We'll see you in the morning."
"See you!" Suigetsu waved cheerily.
He ate until he was full to bursting, and began to snore soundly. The old woman poked him with a stick, making sure the Night Root had done its job before stealing aboard the ship and searching it. She left no trace of herself, and no scent of person or fish. She read and returned the documents to where she found them, and altered the ship's plotted course by the slightest bit.
"Don't want you to miss your meeting," she grinned, and slipped off the boat, the sound of Suigetsu's snores bouncing off the water and reverberating down the shore.
"I can't believe it," Anko complained, throwing thin knives into a pattern on the wall. "Not a single uniform missing. And here I thought I might get some fun today."
"Sorry, Anko," Ranka shrugged. "Better luck next time."
"Whatever," she muttered. "Oi – back from watch already?"
"Izumo and Kotetsu are on watch. I just stopped by to get the other two for a perimeter check. Boys. With me."
Two large dogs stood, stretched, and trotted over to her side.
"I was sure one of these guys would rat someone out," Anko motioned to the three large dogs. "Did you see Izumo and Kotetsu – they looked like they might be sick."
"Are you surprised?" Ranka scoffed. "Last time they did something stupid you were on their ass for a month."
"That was a good month," she sighed wistfully. "You sure there's nothing on those two, Hana? Seems to me they're about due to do something dumb."
"Sorry," the other woman shrugged, patting the head of the dog nearest to her. "All of their uniforms were in place."
"Oh, well," Anko shrugged. "I'll think of something to torment them."
"I'm heading toward the docks after I do a loop of the barracks. Maybe the boys can pick up something there."
Anko waved her off, and Hana slipped away.
Unnoticed, she slipped into Izumo and Kotetsu's room, and pulled out their uniforms.
"Whoever did it was smart," she murmured. "Put the uniform back through the barrack laundry. Same soap. But these two are different." She held them out to the dogs. "Is this what you smelled?"
One nuzzled her side. "Me, too," she eyed the uniform critically. "It wasn't them, though."
Another of the triplets began to snuff at the garment in her hands, with low whine.
"Where?" She turned the waistband of the trousers inside out and inspected the fabric. "You're right," she breathed, running a finger over the hidden line of stitching, and finding an identical one on an inseam of the shirt. She held the garments out to the dogs. "Memorize this."
Hana quickly and neatly replaced the garments before resuming the perimeter check. When they got in sight of the docks, she tucked something into the eldest brother's collar. "You know where to go. Everyone keep a nose out for our latest find."
Hana had a feeling they weren't going to turn up anything, but as the eldest of the triplets slipped away, following a scent in the wind, she decided it didn't matter.
Something familiar and feral curled her lips.
"I love a good hunt."
"I didn't expect to see you tonight."
Sasuke glanced at the shimmering figure gliding through the water.
"I had to come," she came to sit beside him, leaving her fin to swish and make ripples. "I have news."
He arched an eyebrow at her, and she extended her hand over the water, stilling the ripples into images. "Look," she breathed. "That is the Garden."
"It's grown," he offered, not quite sure what he should be seeing.
"Your offerings are always made with pure intent," she smiled. But these," she plucked two shimmering reflections from the image, "are not yours."
He took the stems from her, unsure of their significance.
"Has someone else made an offering?" he guessed.
"Look at them, Sasuke."
He furrowed his brows.
"Never cared much about flowers…although these look like the ones Ino used to love, don't they?"
"Cosmos," Hinata smiled. "And that," she pointed to the other stem with the tight cluster of bright orange flowers, "is a fox orchid."
"How can that be," he lifted a single, jet brow. "I've only ever seen those on Evergreen."
"They only grow on Evergreen," Hinata's eyes brimmed with excitement he still could not fathom. "They are tied to the magic of the Guardian Fox."
"Then how did they grow at the shrine?"
"They were planted in another of the Sacred Gardens."
Realization crashed over him.
"Ino planted these – she planted them in a garden inside the barrier!"
"I see Hanabi's hand in this," Hinata agreed, plucking one more image. "This third new flower is a common daffodil, but it was her favorite as a small child. She is the only one that would've thought to try and tend my garden while I was away."
Hope died on Sasuke's heart just as soon as it had flared.
"But our memories aren't intact. What does this all mean to your Wakeself?"
"Very little, I'm afraid," she sighed. "But our friends are clever – they will find a way to reach us."
"You know this is ridiculous, right?" he scoffed. "Why are our memories only contained here? On this plane?"
"I don't know," Hinata admitted. "I suppose because it was the power of the Goddess that protected us. Madara has ways of reading the hearts of others. If our true hearts are only in our dreams, perhaps we are safe."
"He can Dream Walk," Sasuke grimaced. "I've sensed him trying to read my thoughts many times. It is different than this," he motioned between them, "but he is trying to read our minds. He is trying to find you. He wants me to find you. He wants the Sight."
"You can't let that happen," she shook her head. "You have to promise me – if Madara got hold of the Sight, he could be unstoppable."
"I won't let him get the Sight…but I wouldn't mind finding you," he bumped his shoulder against hers.
"I'd like you to as well," she gave him a small smile, "but we still don't know Madara's true motivations. As long as we don't interact in the Waking World, our secret should be safe; we can continue to warn each other."
"Hinata…" he ventured cautiously. "It…it might be time." He hurried on before she could object. "He's already commissioning me to find you; that means he is out of options. If we did find each other in the Waking World, we could use the Sight together. We could see what Madara is planning – we might even be able to see beyond the barrier to the others."
She worried her lip, and he continued.
"The disappearances in the Northlands, the pirates in our waters, his orders to me to find you – they are all connected, Hinata; I'm sure of it. Whatever Madera is planning, it is coming soon."
Hinata looked up at the night sky, her eyes luminous in their reflected light. "His power waxes and wanes with the moon – moreso than most magics. If we are going to attempt anything, it has to be when the moon hangs dark in the sky."
"Then…you agree?"
"I don't know if I agree," she gave a small laugh, "but I can't fault your logic. And I trust you, Sasuke."
Something passed over his eyes.
"I never meant for you to be alone, Hinata," he dug his fingers into the pebbled grain of the shore. "You've lost so much."
"No," she put a gentle hand over his. "Nothing is lost. Not yet, Sasuke."
He wound his fingers between her pale, beautifully tapered ones, bringing the back of her hand to his lips.
"I am sorry," he murmured against her skin. "I wasn't strong enough back then."
"We were children," she leaned her head on his shoulder. "We both did the best that we could."
"I will remember, Hinata," he studied her hand in his. "I will find a way to stop Madara. I will make this right."
"We will, Sasuke," she looked up at him then, her pale eyes – gentle as a moonbeam – studying his own. "We've made it this long, haven't we?"
"Maybe it's just because it took you that long to get over that blond idiot," the corners of his mouth tipped up ever so slightly.
"Ah, so Neji was right," she nudged his shoulder. "You were jealous after all."
"I can't believe that cold-fish of a cousin of yours would know anything about something as warm-blooded as jealousy," Sasuke snorted. "Does he even have emotions?"
"You'd be surprised," Hinata smiled.
"Hn," he palmed a flat stone in his free hand and skipped it across the waters, scattering he reflection of stars. "When I wake, I will begin searching for you."
"I'm quite good at hiding," she teased. "But I'm never far from your side. You'll find me."
She chanced a glance at the night sky of the dreamscape - the same one they'd been meeting under since they were children – and shivered.
"It will end soon."
He draped something warm around her and pulled her into his side.
"We'll stay as long as we can," he murmured into her temple, letting her nestle against him. "Remember," he tucked her hair behind her ear, letting his fingers trail along her cheek and under her chin to tip her face toward his. Even in their dreams, her eyes took his breath away – much as they had when they were children, and he tried to pretend he wasn't annoyed by her attentions to Naruto. "Remember," he repeated softly, "if Madara is asking me to look for you, he's asked others to do the same. Promise me you won't let them find you."
"I don't have to," her eyes glistened with moonlight, and she marveled at the depths hidden in the night skies of his gaze as the distance between them dwindled to something infinitesimal. "We will find each other," her breath ghosted against his lips. "I believe in you."
"In us," he corrected.
"In us."
The space for words disappeared between them, leaving them to cling to each other in the promise of silence, until the dream faded to black.
* In keeping with the feel of this AU, I am using English renderings of the Japanese names: Akatsuki is Daybreak. Instead of calling Jugo/Karin/Suigetsu's ship 'Hebi' which translates as 'snake or serpent,' I named it Natrix: it means 'water snake,' and the Natrix natrix is the genus/species name for the Grass Snake – one of three native to England (the adder and smooth snake are the other two) – a strong swimmer that lives near water. Also, it appealed to me, since the Oto gang pretended to be from the land of Grass… that kind of tie in amuses me. I was going to name the ship the Black Adder…. Because who doesn't love Rowan Atkinson?! But I resisted….
* Although this is not truly set in the UK, I couldn't resist allowing the language to parallel the story. Evergreen is obviously based on Ireland, and the members of the Resistance are on an island outside of the barrier separating Evergreen from Madara's Kingdom. That island was inspired by the Isle of Man, and images of Port St. Mary. Choji's pub is the Féileacán: Gaelic for 'butterfly.' The fox orchid is my own creation, but Ireland does have several endemic species, including the Irish marsh orchid. (and daffodils happen to be one of my very favorites; that is as close to self-insert as I get. That and people being snarky.)
* Thank you for your patience and kindness, friends! Lots more to come!