Sasuke's POV

I walked out of my cabin and stretched while I yawned. We arrived at one of Suna's most populous ports last night, but I made my crew stay on the ship so as to not encourage them to partake in less than appealing behaviors while in the heavily strict country of Suna.

Shikamaru came up to me as he usually would to brief me on the news of the day. Yet today he is going into the city with me, to not only search for the prince, but also to secure the provisions that were promised to us. He looked me over once and shook his head shamefully. I looked down at my clothes and shrugged not seeing anything wrong with my outfit.

I am wearing my tight, black breeches, they used to be so loose on me, yet now they were tight on me…I should toss them out. I had on a loose, white shirt, which revealed my upper chest. I also wore my long, black cloak and boots. Anyone could tell my garb is less fitting to be meeting with royalty, yet I found it less appealing to make him believe me to be concerned with such trivial matters.

"Everyone come together." I shouted. I waited while my crewmembers came out from their hiding places and crowded around each other on deck. When they were gathered up on the main deck, I raised my hands, "Listen, you all know we are about to go on big and very pricey journey." I started speaking and lowered my hands. The men began shouting in disapproval. I expected as much from them considering their already opposing attitude towards me prior to arriving at Sakura's brothel.

"Hold your tongues! We are being paid to carry out our mission and survive this journey. So we must keep our silence about such arrangement from anyone who is not already on this vessel. So keep your mouths shut around our temporary crew member." I shouted above their rabbles. "What is the meaning of this? Why do we have to do this anyway?" Shikamaru asked and the other men rallied behind him.

"For one, we will have our records cleaned. Two, he is the prince of the Sand and he is on good terms with the mermaids. So if anything we can also try to pursue the existence of the golden-tailed mermaid. He is also providing funds to our venture, so we need to treat him with a bit of respect while he is on our ship." I told them and a few of them were content with what I said, but more seemed dissatisfied.

"How can we afford to provide him with provisions as well as us?" One of them asked. I put my hands on my hips, "Do you not think I can provide for my own crew? Do not question me at every turn I have made sure that we will have adequate supplies at ports that we will be stopping! Does that satisfy your nagging?" I shouted at him. I recognized him as Kiba, one of my most difficult crewmembers.

Kiba and his mangy guardian dog, Akamaru, were always in persistent opposition to me. Kiba possessed a heightened sense of smell and his guardian did as well, both of which were extremely useful on land. Kiba fiercely glared at me, but slowly backed down. In a way, he acted like a dog, which typically when people have guardian they often gain attributes common to them.

Guardians were animals that either would choose or be given to certain people. The most common were dogs and birds. Many of the other species were killed off or died. These animals exceeded their kin in every skill and their lifespan exceeded even the lifespan of many humans. My guardian is a raven…where is that bird anyway…. I remembered I left him somewhere, but I cannot remember where.

I disregarded the thought, assured the bird would be okay, wherever he was. "We need to go meet up with the prince." I said and stretched slightly. Shikamaru nodded, "Okay get ready to change vessels so that we may be ready to set sail before nightfall." I told them. Shikamaru and I left the ship and walked through the marketplace.

As we walked through the marketplace I could hear several people calling out to me, yet I ignored them. I was certain they only wanted to discuss matters as to, whether or not I would be staying in this port. I could be wrong, but all too often I was right. I cannot allow my focus to diverge. I need focus is on getting to the prince before people saw us together for too long. Those of royalty found it troublesome to be seen in public with the likes of me.

Orochimaru told me to meet him outside the courthouse, a particular place I would like to avoid. He told me that the prince would be alone, absent of his guards and anyone who would be able to protect him should a shady character, like me, approach him. He emphasized the necessity to reach the prince at a rushed pace, so to someone from noticing him, which I found to be a strange request.

All the people of Suna were of similar appearances. The women were robust, and less feminine than other women around the world were. However, they are the best lovers, at least based on Sasuke's experience. Though the men were lacking in such regards, they made up with it with their military abilities. Despite having the royal treatment I am certain the prince would not be any different than the public.

We came close to the building when I felt someone grab my arm. I turned quickly expecting an annoying seller, but found someone far more irritating. I pulled my arm from his grip. "To what do I owe the displeasure, Admiral Naruto?" I asked moving a few steps away from the neatly dressed blonde man and closer to an opening of an alley way.

Naruto had a wide grin that caused me to shudder with distaste. He crossed his arms, "I simply saw you in passing, and I wished to exchange words with you prior to your final demise." He said as if he were some seer. I smirked putting my hands on my hips, "As if the gods would cater to your whims." I replied confidently.

As childish as it is to admit, Naruto is my age-old rival. We met on the sea, after I had pillaged four of his ships, since then we have been at odds with each other. He is at the highest rank of the naval forces in Kiriga, primarily thanks to his relationships with the dual rulers, Tsunade and Jiraiya. There have been numerous times when he has come close to capturing me, yet he would persist no further.

I felt Shikamaru nudge my arm with his elbow, "If you do not mind, I am in a hurry to meet someone of great importance." I told him not wanting to reveal whom it was that I am to meet. He nodded his head and rolled his eyes, "As if anyone would take pleasure in meeting you." He spoke raising his left eyebrow.

I stared at him irritated. I can admit he is a handsome man, hell I would fuck him. His body frame is more muscular as opposed to the average man, something common for naval officers of Kiriga. His tan skin denoted the amount of time he spent under the gracious sun. Yet his most notable feature are his piercing, sapphire eyes. They made even my heart tremble when under their intense gaze.

"Shikamaru, go ahead of me and look for him while I exchange words with the admiral." I told him. He sighed and walked between us. I watched him as he slowly walked into the crowd and I eventually lost sight of him. I looked at Naruto, his gaze on me as if analyzing me and trying to figure out why I was in this port. Typically, I did not frequent Suna, because of their strict government.

"Someone sees it necessary for me to be their escort." I told him. He chuckled, "You are a mere pirate that scrounges the earth for morsels, why would anyone see fit to ask you to become their escort?" He asked. I shrugged, "Perhaps they find me more capable than an admiral." I replied.

Naruto rolled his eyes, "You are more capable of fucking than you are sailing the sea." He replied narrowing his eyes. I smiled and leaned forward, "Would you like to find out?" I asked. His face turned red and he pushed me against a wall in the alley. He had his forearm pressed against my chest and pinned one of my arms over my head. I winced and glared at him, ignoring the strange sensation of having been pushed against the wall. I felt my cheeks flush with the heat of embarrassment and perhaps something else….

He smirked and leaned forward to my ear, "What a surprise…you actually look appealing like this." He spoke in a deep, seductive voice, one I am sure he forced. I punched him in his defenseless side, causing him to let go of me. He backed away from me rubbing his side, "However, you are not my type." He said smiling. I glared at him, "As if I would even let you fuck me." I replied.

Naruto shoved me as if we were friends, which caught me off guard. I stared at him suspiciously, "What is the reason for your jovial mood?" I asked him. He shrugged, "I do not know myself. Being in Suna brings back pleasurable memories and seeing you after a year of training men in the academy has brought back some memorable days of fighting you on the decks of our ships." He said smiling. I chuckled, "As if they are memorable, I have fought waves that posed more of a threat than the likes of you."

He shook his head and looked around at the crowd of people in front of us. I looked at his uniform and found it to be a bit over dressed for a simple stroll through the port.

"So who is your guest?" He asked. I groaned as I realized that I had let Shikamaru search for the prince alone for too long. I trust Shikamaru, but he has the tendency to become bored with a single task. Then again, he typically finished his work early, so perhaps he has already found the prince. If that is the case, I would not want Naruto to be nosing up in my business.

"Well as refreshing as it is to exchange words with my rival I must be going." I told Naruto without looking at him. I started to leave, but felt his grip on my left wrist. I turned around to him standing close to me. I started to move away, "Naruto, as I said I must leaving." I told him. "I understand you, but I wish to continue speaking with you…especially in regards to Orochimaru." He replied.

I snatched my hand from him, "I have no reason to discuss him, nor would I want a reason." I told him. The less I say to him the less he will know. I have to keep my profile low. I quickly turned to leave before he could object and ran into a person causing both of us to fall.

I groaned as I lay on the other person. I started to get up, but I felt an arm come around my waist causing me to freeze in my position. I am lifted up and put on my feet, I looked behind me and Naruto smiled at my confused face. I could feel my cheeks grow with a fever from embarrassment to have him lift me up.

Naruto looked down at the person I fell on and immediately the color drained from his face. I looked at the person thinking I might have injured some grand official, which would be the end of me keeping a low profile. Instantly, I felt the air escape my lungs. A beautiful woman lied on the ground quite disoriented as to what had just happened.

Her straight, blood red hair is messy from the fall. I noticed her pale skin and realized she is of nobility. She shook her head and brushed her fingers through her in an attempt to calm it. I looked up at us and smiled brightly as if she had not just been knocked down. A smile I immediately began engraving in my memory.

"Apologies, I forget myself." A rather masculine voice came from her lips. I made a confused face. Well…her looks are far from typical Suna women, so perhaps she shares the same voice tone? I reasoned. "My apologies your majesty, if you were not in such drab garbs I would have stopped him from tackling you to the ground." Naruto spoke his voice becoming deeper and more refined. He leaned over and helped her to her feet.

Did he say "your majesty"? I straightened up and looked at the woman a second time and this time I noticed the less feminine qualities this person had, which convinced me that 'she' was in fact a 'he.' He had a completely flat chest. How strange for me to have not noticed, especially considering I felt on top of him.

"My apologies Captain Sasuke, I should have been paying more attention" He said reaching his hand out to me. I snapped out of my thoughts of comparing his features to a woman's features. I took his hand gently and bowed slightly. "I am the one due for an apology; you see I am quite unpresentable to such perfect individual, you have a presence that demands the attention of every person in the world. I am a fool for having not noticed you." I spoke and touched his hand to my forehead.

I learned how to treat those of grand wealth from living in Orochimaru's castle. He would have me and the others experienced in how to please the officials that would come to his castle, for business…or pleasure. For the first six months I was a part of the ones used to please Orochimaru's 'friends.' Such things the others told me, were a stroll on a clear day, at least compared to what only a select few experienced when they went against Orochimaru.

I straightened up and pushed those thoughts from my mind. I smiled at the sight of prince's pale cheeks becoming a light shade of pink and the same smile appeared on his face. "You truly live up to your stories, as a charmer of every nationality and gender." He said confidently.

The change of gender had no change over impact that his smile made upon me. It became something I sought to be the cause for its appearance on his pale, porcelain face. There were a few strange things about his face. He had dark rims around his eyes, which could fool one into thinking it were make-up, yet the color seemed to resemble the same color of tattoos. I also noticed the strange marking on his forehead. Its color the same as his hair, I could not figure out where I had seen it.

"I would hope they were not too graphic." I remarked smiling. He shook his head, "No they were not. Oh, my apologies, I am prince Gaara of the Sand." He said quietly and glanced at Naruto then back at me. I nodded, "I am Captain Sasuke, and I truly find great pleasure in embarking on this journey with you and not only that, but being your escort." I told him. I looked at Naruto and smirked. His face once again lost its color and his eyes expressed pure fury.

Gaara nodded, "Yes I hope that I will be of great assistance in making this a fairly short journey." He said. It seemed everything around us seemed to disappear, even Naruto. I smiled, "I would not see it end so soon. I would not have you, a rare and precious jewel, so soon removed from the drab setting of my ship. I would much rather have someone so enchanting to see every day."

His smile shrank as his head lowered. The small pink color had become dark red. I had not met such an innocent person whose cheeks flushed with such a tired line. Every line I have said has been said before and yet no other has reacted in such an innocent manner. They would either giggle or raise a hand against me. Yet his expression gave me cause to continue to tease him and see how far I could tread before he would react in one of those two ways.

"Captin' we need to get back to the ship." I heard Shikamaru say. Damn it all. I turned to him, "We will meet you at the ship you go on ahead." I spoke. Shikamaru sighed and began walking in the direction of the ship.

I turned back and noticed the odd atmosphere between the redhead and the blonde. They were just standing a distance from each other, not acknowledging the others existence. I came between them facing Gaara. "I would like to escort you to my ship, unless you wish to speak with Naruto." I spoke.

Gaara looked around me at Naruto and smiled, "As always, it is a pleasure getting to see you again." He said. Again? I lifted my arm and he took it. Naruto glanced down at our arms, then back at Gaara. I found it odd that he didn't speak in any smartass remark. He nodded his head and glanced at me, "Sasuke…take care of him. You need to ensure his safety, if not…I will hold you completely responsible." He spoke sternly.

I nodded as if I were some excited lackey aiming to please. I looked at Gaara and smiled at the short redhead. We walked past Naruto and I heard him mutter something. I looked back at him as he turned and watched us leaving. I looked down at Gaara, he rolled his eyes and shook his head, showing an annoyed expression, something that did not look favorably. He must have heard it as well. I wonder what it was…

After casually walking together in silence, I finally spoke. "So your majesty, what makes you have a desire to join us on this journey?" I asked keeping my eyes observant as we walked through the crowd. Gaara shrugged slightly, "Well if I may be so bold to say, I have always had the desire to leave my home country." He said sighing. Oh, quite a rebellious prince.

"I spent my entire life in this country. I studied at different cities for different arts and skills. My father wanted me to be the son to take the crown as opposed to my stepbrother or stepsister." He said. His stepbrother or stepsister? "Are you not of the royal bloodline?' I asked curiously.

He chuckled, "No…my father found me on the shores of Suna when I was four years young." He said. I looked at him and stopped walking, "What is your age now?" I asked. He stopped with me, "I am twenty years young." He replied. I nodded, "You are four years younger than I." Gaara smiled, "You are twenty-four years young? Ha, you are becoming quite old."

"I cannot tell that I am, rather I feel as if I am only beginning to live." I replied smiling and began walking again with him still holding my arm. "Why is it that the esteemed prince of Suna would seek to aid in a wild goose chase? I am sure, your desire to escape the mundane castle life, would not serve to convince the council of Suna." I inquired in attempt to find out his motives. "Our agreement with Orochimaru guarantees that he will not plan any attacks against my people." He said.

"What if we are not able to capture the mermaid?" I asked him. Your confidence in Orochimaru is without any regards to his sinister nature. He shrugged, "Then I suppose we must be cautious of him. Yet I am sure he will not do anything with so few allies." He replied calmly. Oh so you do have some caution?

"I do not doubt that he would break his promise to you, yet I would not be so careless to trust a man with a snake as a guardian." I told him. Gaara chuckled, "It is less of a promise and more of his own way to try to gain an ally." He replied.

I supposed that is reason enough…now what could be his relationship with Naruto? I know it is none of my business, but I am curious to know what that dobe would have in common with the prince of Suna. Well it isn't impossible that they would know each other, yet their awkwardness denoted a little more than just a friendship.

We walked further without speaking, until my curiosity gave way, "What is your relationship with Naruto?" I asked. Honestly, I am a victim to my curiosity. Gaara sighed as if he is dreading having to answer.

"We would play together as children, when his adoptive parents would bring him with them to discuss matters with my father." He explained and sighed once again. "Well as we grew up together we began to…do more private things together…we were just young and we wanted to I suppose gain experience." He explained regretfully.

I stared at him as a grimace plagued his statuesque face. His pale lips formed into a pout. His turquoise eyes had darkened with some sort of angry expression. "It is something that makes you angry?" I asked. He looked up at me and this time he is the one that stopped walking. I stopped with him and faced him.

He glanced around, then looked up at me, "I will only say this and do not speak a word of it to anyone, because it is something I wish never to remember and no one needs to know of it. It was mistake on both of our parts. He wanted something I could not give him and I wanted something he wasn't." He told me quietly as if someone would hear him over the people shouting orders to the vendors. His eyes stared up at me and searched my eyes for my response.

I leaned over and kissed his forehead. I leaned back and smiled, "Your secret is safe with me." I told him. His face went blank with a light pink color covering his cheeks. "Well I suppose since I know a secret about you, I should give you a secret about me." I told him. He snapped out of whatever trance he was in, "What is that?" He asked.

I leaned down and brushed his hair from his ear. I whispered my secret in his ear. I leaned back and watched him smile up at me. "It is not true." He replied in disbelief. I nodded and placed my hand on his head, "You are the only one to know, so let's stop squabbling in the marketplace like old women." I said and took his hand and we continued walking to my ship.

Orochimaru's POV

"Your majesty, we have word that Sasuke arrived at this destination to meet with the prince of the sand." I turned to face Kabuto. He had knelt down in his typical manner. I held my precious snake, Manda, in my arms. "That is good news, is it not?" I asked. He nodded promptly, "It is, your plan is proceeding in perfect time." He said and stood up.

I smirked and waved my guards to leave the room. They quickly left the room and Kabuto went and locked the door behind them. He came back to where he previously stood and watched me. I walked up to him. "As soon as it has been confirmed that they have left the port we will begin to proceed with the next part of my plan." I told him.

I turned and took Manda back to his den. I put my arm over the opening and he slithered down my arm and into the opening. I glanced up at the black velvet curtain. I glanced at the thick rope and immediately Kabuto ran to it pulled the rope causing the curtain pull to one side. Kabuto came to stand beside me as we beheld a most glorious and sickly sight.

The preserved remains of the golden-tailed mermaid stood before them in perfect condition. Her body is deathly pale and her bones inhumanly prominent pushing against the skin as if there is no muscle left in her body. Her face as if she were sleeping, seemingly unaffected by the death that the rest of her body succumbed to. Her tail is sparkling and her hair shimmering in the light that shone from my window. Those trademark features were unaffected by the kiss of death.

"To send both of them away in order to initiate your plan seems a bit suspicious." Kabuto muttered. I sneered, "I sent them to find a rare sight that is no longer in existence. It only serves as a way to keep the prince from his kingdom long enough for me to take over." I replied grinning up at the mermaid. It took years before I could finally find her. Now she is the trophy of one of my greatest triumphs.

"We could have used Sasuke's assistance to fight against them." Kabuto mumbled. I chuckled and turned to him, "You think I do not know that? I was the one who struck a deal with the pirate." I told him and walked over to my map table. He followed me to it. I placed my hand over the blue color indicating the vast sea.

"I have no use for them…the people of Suna are indeed skilled fighters, yet their naval forces are lacking to say the least. It will be a breeze for our navy to break down their sad attempt of a defense on the sea." I explained and tipped over my Suna ship replicas, pushing my ships forward.

"Sasuke is useless on land. But I will have him get rid of the precious prince, hopefully he will do more than just desert him on that wretched island." I muttered and looked at Kabuto. "Everyone assumes I have no comrades, yet they know nothing of my abilities." I spoke. He nodded, "Yes…well everyone but Sasuke." He replied and raised his eyebrows as if to suggest I did not know that.

"Kabuto, pirates are easy to control if you promise them things they desire." I told him turning back to the map. They want money, women, and something to do. Sasuke is the only one that wants freedom. His desire is far different from his counterparts. A fact that could destroy everything he's built…something I intend to use to force him back to my castle.