A middle-aged man lifted an iron pot out of an enormous, black stone oven. He carried it over to a large wood table. The table legs shook some and he didn't let go of the pot until he was sure that it would not cause the table to break under the pot's weight. He sighed and looked around the room for something. The room itself had shelves of various cooking pots and pans, as well as utensils, which hung from small hooks in the walls.
Suddenly the door slammed open. The man immediately looked and saw a familiar fluff of red hair and pale forehead run along the other side of the table. He smiled, his deeply tanned face wrinkling and his eyes twinkling.
"Finis'd wit yer studies aye?" He asked as the bright redheaded child came around the corner of the table to him. "Aye! Aye! Aye!" He exclaimed as he wrapped his small arms around the legs of the man. "Dunt' be squeezing me guts out of me skin!" He said overemphasizing the small boy's strength.
The boy laughed throwing his head back. He let go of the man. "Let me get my chair and you get yours!" He said habitually. The man chuckled and put his hand on his stomach, "Now ye dunt' be getting' ahead of yerself' else ye sisder' will breathe fire down me neck, like me wife." He said The boy paid his words no mind as he searched around for a chair.
He found one and pushed it up to the large table. He climbed on top of it and smiled brightly at the older man. The man shook his head grinning, "What story do ye want to hear this time?" He asked. The boy looked around as if the answer would pop out from somewhere.
"Oh! Tell me about the war!" He said. This shocked the older man. The smile faded from his face. As he began to question how the boy would know about the war. He started to open his mouth to reply, but the door opened once again.
Both of them looked to see a young blonde girl standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips. "Gaara, get out of here, we have to get ready to go." She said angry. The man looked at the boy. He frowned, "I want to hear stories!" He exclaimed upset.
The blonde girl stomped over to him and lifted him up from the chair. She had him over her right shoulder. She turned to leave and stopped. She cut her eyes at the man, "Next time, hide the chair better. You know he does not belong here." She said. Yet the man could only reminisce on the growth of the girl standing in front of him. He had been hired a few days before she had been born.
He came and went based on the seasons. She had been such a timid child in her youth, yet she grew into a motherly role when her father adopted Gaara. Both her and her brother seemed to change immediately when that child came into the castle.
The girl stormed out of the kitchen, leaving the man to his thoughts. He went back to taking care of the pot of stew he prepared for their journey. Their father, the king of Suna, took them to the different locations, but never too far from their home. But it was frequent…far too frequent than any other king prior to him.
It began with the new reign of his majesty Orochimaru, one I had once served under prior to his rise into power. The world prior seemed to be at peace with only the threat of pirates who reigned over the seas. The man stirred the pot and tasted some of the stew. He smiled in approval.
He knew he could tell the boy so many different stories, when he returned. Young Temari could never stop such a tenacious child. He could tell by the dark red hair of the child that he would be the most defiant child this city would know.
The door swung open once again and Temari stormed back into the room holding Gaara's little hand. She stopped in front of the pot. "Tell him about the pirates." She ordered letting go of the boy's hand and storming out of the kitchen. The man chuckled and walked around the table to the small boy.
His face is a deep shade of red. His eyes were a light shade of pink showing how much he had cried before she surrendered. The man got on his knees and then sat down crossing his legs. He reached his arms to the boy. He slowly walked to the man. The man reached forward and patted the floor in front of him.
Once the boy sat down the man clapped his hands together, "So ye wantin' to know about yonder pirates?" He asked. The boy nodded his head slowly sniffling. The man nodded his head. He could not think of any living pirates. All the ones he knew of or had met were Uchihas…then it struck him.
"A lon' time ago, there were a couple. They were Uchiha and they came upon the rarest of beauties." He begun and lifted finger to capture the boy's attention. "A mermaid with a tail made of gold!" He exclaimed grinning. The boy wiped his eyes and smiled as intrigued began to show.
"Her hair is the color of silver, somethin' that caught their attention as the walked along the beach. Now when they found her she was washed up and near death." He spoke. "They offered to help her in exchange for a gift. Because ye see, the mermaid had powers like a shaman." He told the child.
His eyes widen in shock, "What did the mermaid say?" He asked. The man sighed, "Well, ye know, the mermaid said yes. They helped her back to the ocean and she asked them what they wanted. They told her they wanted to be like her, they wanted to be a part of the sea." He said and leaned forward to the boy. "And she granted them their wish." He said.
The boy smiled, "Pirates!" He shouted. The man chuckled, "No, they did not become pirates overnight. In fac' it took years 'fore they became the pirates who struck fear into the very hearts of mighty kings!" He said excited as he felt his chest swell with excitement at the topic. T
he most infamous of the pirates, he remembered were the Uchiha family. They were a family bred on the violent waves and instilled fear to those on land. Orochimaru planned and decreed a massive search for the entire family, something the country Iwaga strongly opposed.
One the members came forth and revealed the location of his entire family. The entire Uchiha family was killed, except for that one that came forth. Oh and that kid who had been exiled a few months before Orochimaru's rise to power.
The details can wait until he's older. The boy nodded smiling. "Now they are all gone…all of them except for Sasuke." He said lifting one finger. The boy's smile faded as the atmosphere became more intense. "Sasuke is the only Uchiha pirate left in all of Jakuu. Sasuke is only a youn' child, just a few years older than ye." He said raising his eyebrows. The boy stared at the man as if in a trance.
"Sasuke commands the seas as his family once did, even though he is a simple kid. His entire crew respects their captain as if he were a king and them the subjects." He said. The boy slowly began to smile, "Like father does!" He said grinning ear to ear. The man nodded smiling, "Aye yer right, just like the king." He said a smiled.
He knew the child is probably dead, having been exiled a year ago there is no way a child at the young age of eight could survive that island. Not even grown men could master such a feat. Yet he found no harm in telling such a small lie to the boy.