The Golden-tailed Mermaid

by Darkriter7689

AU: Sasuke the Raven pirate is known as a scavenger of rare treasures. His reputation is infamous not only for his pirate ways, but also for his promiscuous nature. When King Orochimaru arranges with him to find the rare golden-tailed mermaid in exchange for his record to been cleaned, how can he refuse? What will he do when he also has to watch over a prince?SasuXGaa some GaaXSasu

7. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Hey, the past few weeks have been insane, but I'm alive ( _ _ )_b. My friend was going to edit, then got busy, my laptop decided to freeze after being turned on for 5 minutes, got another person to edit and they got sick, but they were able to edit it and I had to go through and correct changes, though I only got them to edit Sasuke's POV. Life just crazy. But anyway here's another long chapter! lol I hope you all enjoy, please review!

Gaara's POV

I carefully pushed open the shutters to the window. I had not spoken to anyone since we came back from the hill. It would not have mattered if I had wanted to. I could not form any words. None of the languages I had learned could convey the pain I felt.

I stared out the window and saw the lights near the port…near my destination. It hurt to leave like this, but I could not let anyone prevent me from doing what I seek to do. I made a mistake by trusting Orochimaru and…Sasuke. I felt a sharp pain in my chest as memories attempted to flood into my head, but I pushed them out. I should have simply done what Kankuro and Temari did. I should have left the country alone without telling anyone.

I slowly climbed out on the window seal and held on tightly to the building. I looked to my left and saw Shukaku's enlarged tail where I had told him to have it. I reached out to it grabbing it and pulling it closer to me.

I quickly wrapped my arms around it. I felt it lower to my added weight. Shukaku quickly lifted me up onto the rooftop. He set me down and shrunk to his smaller size. I sighed and adjusted my knapsack. Inside was a gourd of water and loaf of bread, along with a letter to give to Naruto, and the rest of my coins.

Shukaku climbed up my body and gripped the back of my cloak as he did when we would travel across Suna. I quietly ran to the edge of the building. I looked over the edge and saw a long ladder going down it. I noticed it when I stepped out of the building the other day. I climbed over the edge of the building and slid down the ladder. When I came to the ground, I looked around for any sign that someone had seen me or were walking around. I slowly walked out from the alley into the street.

The remains of a celebration were scattered in the street. Amongst the trash in the street, there were several small groups of homely men sleeping against one another. Further down the street there still seemed to be people having a merry time.

I pulled my hood over my head as I rushed to join the moving crowd. I avoided the sleeping men and my heart beating at the excitement I felt to be getting away. I am not going to go back to Suna. I finally have the chance to be free from the crown and I intend on taking the chance. My life is no longer of great value to the people of Suna since Kankuro is taking the throne.

My first journey is to find the golden-tailed mermaid. Even if the chances of that happening are slim to none…I want to take that risk. I will spend the rest of my life living the life I have been desiring since I was a child, with the exception of a certain pirate.

I came into a more lively side of the city. There were drunks stumbling in and out of bars. Women were dressed in revealing clothing and their arms were locked around either male or female mates. I bit my lip as the further towards the port the more debauchery I witnessed. I felt my cheeks flush with heat.

I stopped as my erratic glances found something that sparked my interest. There was a man cutting another man's hair with a small blade. He handled the man's head roughly and badly butchered his hair.

I slowly walked over to them. I gripped my cloak tightly as I approached the man. This may become something I will regret, yet...I am going to do this.

The man cutting the hair finished with the butchered-haired man. He smiled with pride at the sloppy haircut. He glanced at me and patted the man's shoulder. The man got up, thanked him, and left staggering as he walked.

The hair cutter turned to me, "What ye wantin'?" He asked pointing his blade at me. I removed my hood, his eyes widened, "Fair lass, what are ye doin' out and bout o'er here?" He asked taken aback. He looked around almost as if he did not wish to be caught near me.

"I ain't a lass. Shall I pull up me robes and reveal to ye me cock? Cut this damn hair." I spoke in the deepest voice I could manage. The man made a puzzled look then reached out his hand, "It will be some coin." He muttered. I got some coins from my knapsack and gave them to him.

"There! Now cut these damn locks short!" I exclaimed climbing into the chair. I winced as he grabbed my head roughly. I gripped my cloak tightly and heard Shu whimper. I moved up in the chair so to give him room and closed my eyes.

I heard the sound of the blade slicing through the strands echo in my ears, drowning out the sounds of the people around me. With this I will put all my previous memories behind me, beginning from when I was living in Suna. All the days I spent pursuing a life I did not wish for and a love that was not recognized. And all the foolish attempts to push my desires down and avoid having them control me.

I smiled. Now do I realize they were controlling me, driving my intentions towards a sure thing…or what I had been assumed a sure thing. Despite knowing, I would not have been content with one night of pleasure, but to have come so far and gotten so close…I feel leaving now would be a coward's decision. If I were to go back now…he would not listen to my reason, because he sees me as some figure for Suna…I want someone to see me as someone for more than the title of prince of Suna.

I felt the rough handling of my head stop. I slowly opened my eyes and looked down. My eyes widened at the sight of the long red strands on the ground around me. I took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. Finally, I felt all the tension from the past decade leave me.

I bit my lip as I stared down at the strands of hair. My father would be happy to see all that hair gone. My eyes caught sight of several long strands coming from my head. I reached for them, but the man pushed my hand from them.

"I saw several lads with a similar style. Let me try somethin'." He said and took the strands in his hands. I watch as he began working with strands. "Since ye paid quite a sum, Imma try'n do somethin' a lil' special." He said and snapped his fingers. A small boy came running out of the small building we were in front of, with him he had a small tray of beads and small ties.

I gently brushed a few strands from my chest. I smirked as I recalled finding a silver strand of hair in my father's study amongst several of hidden letters. Letters from someone who seemed to have passionate regards to my father…someone who I believe may know where I came from. The letters had told me a story of love and scandal and several times my name appeared in them, but only as if I were in my father's care as some adopted child from the mermaids.

When I found them and the strand of hair, I knew immediately that the golden-tailed mermaid must exist. Despite my occasional doubts, I still believed in her existence. I only told Kankuro and Temari what I had found and they strongly encouraged me to find the owner of the hair, especially if it could lead to me finding my first family.

In doing so, I took their encouragement as my chance to escape from Suna. If the golden-tailed mermaid had such fond feelings for my father then maybe she is…my mother. The idea is farfetched, but I do not know of any reasons why it could not be possible. Well, other than the fact that my father was far too engrossed to have any time to carry on such a relationship.

In fact, last letter ended on a bittersweet note, speaking of her finding another lover and not wishing to prevent my father from his responsibilities; as if such a thing would happen. She never spoke of having given birth to a child, but instead spoke about me in a cold manner. For such a highly revered creature, her attitude towards children was hateful. However, she may know something about my past. If not her, then the other mermaids may know something.

He grunted. I raised my head and looked at him holding a long braid of my hair. I smiled and stood up. He let go of the braid. I touched it gently and then ran my fingers through the mess of uneven hair lengths, but they were all short. I looked at him, "Gratitude." I spoke smiling.

I quickly rushed to the port ignoring any curiosity with the people in the street. I needed to find a ship for me to board. Whether I would become a stowaway or pay for my company on a vessel. I wanted to find a place to rest and hide from sight.

I looked around and saw a rather large man directing men on a ship with a skinnier man beside him writing things down. I quickly walked over to him. The closer I came to him he became less intimidating. He quickly walked to the opposite side of the ship and shouted precautions to the men. Men ran down the ramp going up to the ship and into a building.

"What's yer' business here lad?" I heard a raspy voice ask. I looked at the skinny man staring at me. The bigger man came back over and joined him and staring at me.

I felt my head become light as embarrassment filled my mind. I clenched my fists, "Sire, are you the captain of this vessel?" I asked feeling intimidated, but after years of learning how to handle intimidation, I steeled myself to it. "What of it?" He grunted looking me over.

"What is your business?" I asked glancing at his ship, then looked back at him. He is not much taller than I am, yet his girth is rather large. He crossed his arms, "I am to set sail within the hour with a shipment to be taken to the border city, Tunra of Iwaga." He said and looked back at his ship. "That is if these limey bastards would get thar hind quarters to working and get the cargo in the ship!" He boomed.

I nodded and reached into my sack and pulled out a handful of coins. "Could this buy me a spot on your vessel for the journey?" I asked reaching the coins out to him. He looked at me, "Am I gonna have to feed ya?" He asked narrowing his eyes.

I shook my head, "No, I have a big loaf of bread and a jug of water, so that I may not take from the portions of food. I may also give…certain favors while on your vessel." I spoke suggestively. I knew I would jump from the ship before I gave any of the men any type of favor, yet if this vessel would be setting sail before dawn then I needed to be on it.

He chuckled, "You tempt a man who only dreams of the bosom of a woman." He patted my shoulder roughly, "I will show you to where you must stay. I expect ya to swab the deck and cook for me men while ye are on my ship, understand?" He spoke. I nodded, "Yes captain…?" I spoke implying my need to know his name.

He stared at me for a moment, then grinned, "Ah I am Choji, what be your name lad?" He asked and turned his attention to the ship. I bit my lip, "Its Gaara." I muttered and frowned at my uncreativeness. "Uh huh, climb aboard the ship, before I change my mind." He spoke not believing me. But he did not seem to care either way and went back to shouting at the men. I smiled and quickly ran to the ramp going up onto his ship.

I stopped and looked back at the city. I could not see Kakashi's bar, but it does not matter. I will get to Ningyo Island by my own means, even if I have to go on a row boat. I turned and looked up at the men who were running around and listening to Choji's orders. I sighed and ran up the ramp and onto the ship.

I quickly moved to where I would not be in their way. I looked up at the vast night sky. May the gods watch over Sasuke. I slipped down to the floor and put my head down on my knees. May the gods watch over him like my heart yearns for him. I pushed thoughts of regrets out of my mind. It is too late to go back now.

Suddenly I stood up as I remembered something. I reached into my knapsack and pulled out the letter I wanted to give to Naruto. I quickly ran back to Choji. Despite my desire to not let anyone know where I am, Naruto must know so that he does not try to harm Sasuke.

Sasuke's POV

I sighed as I sat on the edge of the bed. I rested my head in my hands as I battled the churning pain in my stomach. Since last night I had been feeling this sickness––it woke me before the break of dawn, from my rare moment of sleep. I felt Ino's hands begin to massage my shoulders.

"Could it have been something you ate?" She asked, her voice irritating me. I shook my head, so as not to cause her to get angry at me.

I had not eaten anything since coming back from the hill. I knew my body could not bear any more weight. I had not seen Gaara since he shut himself up in his room and locked the door.

Kakashi had told me about him coming down to get his dinner. A whole loaf of bread and a gourd of water, as if he were going to refuse to leave that room. It fucking worried me. What could I do? He has to go back to Suna and become the king he has been training his entire life to be. He may have some ridiculous dream to set sail on the sea with me, but his life is worth far more than that.

My stomach churned again, causing me to grab it and lean against the wall. My entire body seemed to be revolting against me. I groaned and winced at the pain. I grabbed a cup of water and chugged it down, despite my best interest. I wiped my mouth and stared out the window at the lively streets. The people walking around the city appeared to be unaffected by the late hour celebration.

"Are you this distressed to have him leaving your side?" Ino inquired. I rolled my eyes, "Of course not…I am sure I am feeling this way because-"

"You do not want him to leave. Ever since you two came back from the hill you have been completely withdrawn––even unable to get it up," she pointed out. I glared at her. I had thoroughly satisfied her, yet all she cares about is the fact that I could not fuck her. I had too much on my mind to think about fucking.

"What happened up there?" She asked, drawing me out of my heated thoughts. In that one question, so many memories filled my vision. The most prominent one being Gaara's hurt and angered eyes glaring at me. I gripped the cup as the memory of him turning his back to me replayed. The regret I felt for having not grabbed him and held him.

Well…perhaps not held him, but I should have explained his obligation to his family more instead of bombarding him with harsh words. I knew they were far too harsh. Nevertheless, his glorified image of me needed to be destroyed. He needs to return to Suna and continue his life in peaceful endeavors, as opposed to being with me on treacherous waters.

His words of passion towards me were misplaced– –maybe even a lie, considering he would have let some other man claim his virginity as a replacement for me. I cannot imagine a man who would turn him down. With his features I know he would be irresistible. Damn…if we had not stopped here, I would have taken him within a few more days on the ship.

The image of his body writhing in pleasure underneath mine plagues my mind. I want to feel his soft, succulent lips against mine. With a touch from my hand, his lips would separate, and he would gasp from the pleasure I could give him. His eyes would close tightly at the rush of pleasure, then slowly open with a passionate gaze.

"Sasuke…do you love him?" I heard Ino ask. Immediately I pushed those erotic thoughts from my head. "Seriously? There is no way I could love someone like him." I replied, but did not turn to face her. My heart seemed to swell as her question bounced around my mind. His words of love came to mind.

I felt pain at the thought of him loving someone like me. Numerous times people have said such words to me, yet his words broke something inside of me. I know I am not deserving of his love…if anything I deserve to mire in the shit of my wasted life. I have no crew anymore. I am a wanted man everywhere and I am sure the only place I belong is with Orochimaru and his fucking castle. I would become an empty shell of a man there.

I felt my body become cold and hollow, a feeling I had not felt since I had been cast into banishment. I spent every day hunting predators far larger and dangerous than I. A few hours each day I spent staring out at the vast ocean, until the day I ran out to it and swam in it. I remember the feeling of the water freezing my body and killing me as I consumed large quantities of it. The sound of the waves crashing against the shore and the darkness of the sky were all I could remember before I blacked out.

Suddenly the door slammed open. I jumped and looked at the doorway. Kakashi came in carrying a tray with a jug of rum and some pieces of bread. "Here are the remains of breakfast," he said, sighing. I chuckled. "You did not come to see if we would want breakfast?" I asked. The dark thoughts faded to the back of my mind.

He shook his head. "To be honest, I thought everyone was dead. Shikamaru and Kiba were not around. I assumed you and Ino would be too tired from fucking," he remarked. Ino groaned. "There was no fucking last night," she said blatantly. I glared at her. When her eyes met mine she shrugged and rolled her eyes.

"Ah, I should have known when the echo of a bed creaking did not sound," he said and chuckled. I rolled my eyes at his comment. I walked up to him, grabbing the jug of rum, and began to pour some in the cup.

"Ah and Gaara did not answer when I called for him, which given his mood last night I am not surprised." I felt my hand slip, causing some of the rum to pour out on the floor. I muttered under my breath and continued to pour the rum in my cup.

I stopped and looked up to see Kakashi looking at Ino. I glanced at her and saw her shrug. I shook my head and put the jug back on the tray. Walking back over to the window, I ignored them.

I went to drink the rum, but before I could touch the cup to my lips, Kakashi cleared his throat. I groaned. "What?" I asked and put the cup down. I turned to face him and put my hands on my hips.

He glanced at Ino then back at me, "Sasuke, why are you behaving so strangely?" He asked. I smiled and shrugged. "Behaving strangely? Please explain how I am behaving any different than usual?" I asked, feeling my anger growing.

"You are not yourself. You seem to be upset." He spoke calmly. I laughed, "Yeah I am fucking upset. I pissed off Gaara. I did not get to fuck, because my body decided to withdraw normal functions! I am pissed off that I could not sleep long, and I cannot hear that fucking redhead's name without spilling my drink!" I shouted. I knew shouting at them would not make anything better, but damn it, it made me feel pretty fucking good.

"He is not here anymore," a voice spoke from behind Kakashi. Immediately turning around, Kakashi moved away, revealing Kiba standing in the doorway. Kiba stared in at us and shrugged. "I heard you shouting about Gaara and just thought I would tell you that he is not here." He said.

I felt the blood drain from my face. "What? How do you know?" I asked, and started walking towards him. "I forgot what room you were in and I climbed into the wrong window," he said. "I realized it was Gaara's room and there is not anything in there. It is as if he was never there."

I pushed past Kiba and ran down the hall. When I got to the end, I stopped in front of the opened room. The entire room looked bare. I slowly walked into the room. Kiba was right…it looked as if no one had ever stayed there.

I stared at the furniture, which showed no trace of having been moved. My eyes rose to the window. I walked over to it, looking out upon the city and port. I felt my chest tighten as the thought came into my mind. I shook my head. He would not have done that––at least I do not believe him to be so bold. Yet, given his mood from last night…the possibilities are endless.

I left the room and went back to Ino's room. I quickly began getting dressed. I am sure Naruto is in the port, I think to myself. "Where are you going?" Kakashi and Ino asked in unison. I pulled on my boots. "I am going to see if perhaps he left before me and is already with Naruto." I spoke. I felt sick at the thought of him with Naruto, yet Naruto would be able to take him back to his country without any risk of Gaara being harmed. Still, the idea did not give me any comfort.

"Why would he have gone without you?" He asked. I stood up. "Like I said, I pissed him off." I muttered, and rushed past them, down the stairs. The sound of following footsteps echoed after mine.

"I cannot imagine you pissing off someone who was so enamored with you. How did you do such a thing?" Kakashi asked. His words stung at my already wounded heart. "Well, I did. He did not want to go with Naruto, and I told him he had no choice," I replied, reaching the bottom of the stairs. I was heading for the door when I felt Kakashi grab my wrist.

"Then why are you going to go to the port to look for him?" Kakashi asked. I stopped and snatched my wrist from his hand. I glared back at him. "I need to start somewhere…besides I am sure he is with Naruto," I told him, and ran to his front doors. I opened them and the bright sunlight caused me to cover my eyes for a moment. I did not want to entertain the thought that he could be anywhere else.

I started running down the street. If I can just make sure he is safely with Naruto, then I will be relieved, I assured myself. "I can go back to Kakashi's and drown myself in…" I stopped abruptly. My eyes caught a glimpse of a familiar color of hair. I slowly walked closer to it. Piles of it lay in the street mixed with other hair. Yet this hair retained its gloss and shine and clearly stood out from the other meshes of hair.

"Aye, and would ya believe he was a lad!" I heard a boisterous laugh follow the words, which caught my attention. I looked over to my right and saw three men talking. One of them had a blade out and tapped the tip on his chin.

"He paid me a mighty good sum to cut his hair," he announced, nodding his head. The other men shook their heads as if they did not believe him. I walked up to him. "What did he look like?" I asked. He looked at me and put one hand on his hip, with the other still holding the blade. "Well, ya see, I cut his head. He had long red hair, like the color of blood." I felt my chest tighten. "He looked like a lass. I thought he was one," he laughed. I felt irritated at his words, but I pushed those feelings from my mind. "After I cut his head, he looked like a man. Ah, he had a mark on his head," he said and pointed to one side of his forehead.

"When did you see him?" I asked. The man shrugged. "I dun' know the exact hour, but I know the moon had been in the sky for a few hours." He replied. I felt my heart sink. "Gratitude," I replied and went back on my way to the port. "Why would he be out here that late?" I asked myself. "Why would he cut his…?"

The memory of him shouting that he would not go to Naruto flashed before me. I started running faster towards the port. I stopped as I got closer. I saw Naruto's ship and at the end of the port, and ran down to it.

There were men unloading it. I stopped one of them. "Where is your captain?" "Sasuke, what a surprise it is to see you here!" I heard the familiar annoying voice. I turned and saw Naruto walking towards me. He looked me over. "I see you are still not able to find more suitable clothes to be in the presence of royalty," he remarked and smirked. I glared at him. "I am not in the presence of royalty," I replied.

"Well then, where is Gaara?" He asked, tilting his head and looking around. I swallowed hard, but did not say anything while he seemed to be looking around for the missing prince.

"He is still sleeping," I replied calmly. Naruto stopped looking around and directed his eyes towards me. "Still sleeping? That is very unlike him, to be sleeping at such a late hour." He remarked, looking up at the sky. "As if you would know," I thought. He better not fucking know.

"Ah, well I suppose it would be fine," he said, staring up at the sky. "What?" I asked. He looked at me and smiled. "I can go and wake him," he replied. "After all, you did request that he join me for my voyage."

I shook my head. "No…he changed his mind," I muttered. Naruto stared at me blankly. I held his gaze. He smiled. "I know," he said, reaching into his dark red long coat. He pulled out an opened envelope and handed it to me smiling. I took out a small piece of paper and it read:

Naruto,

Our relationship is on understandingly difficult ground. Nonetheless, I ask that you do not let Sasuke know of my whereabouts, as he has made very clear that he wants nothing to do with me. As you know, I would die before I stayed in such close proximities with you. It is not that I have truly hateful feelings towards you, yet you know why I have continued to avoid you and I wish to continue to do so.

I will find a ship to take me where I desire to go, or I will go upon a raft. Take that as my serious dedication towards this matter, and also as my request for you not to intervene. Sasuke has displayed plenty of disdain towards this endeavor, but I will pursue it without him.

I hope that I will see you again, because then I know I will have lived through this ordeal. I ask that you do not harm Sasuke, as he is not the reason for my disappearance. If you do so, there will be serious consequences, as my family knows of my intentions.

I wish you many safe journeys. Please send my regards to Lady Tsunade and Sire Jiraiya.

I stared down at the letter, feeling confused at his words. Naruto snatched the letter from me. "You need to go after him now," he said, folding the letter. I looked at him. "Why must I do so?" I demanded, not wanting to be told something like that by him. He sighed, and put the letter back in the envelope.

"Even though Gaara is free to explore, I would prefer that he would not do so with such disregard, without any consideration to his place in this world." I shook my head in disbelief at his words––words that diminished Gaara's purpose to only being…back in Suna. "Damn it, I am a fucking idiot," I mentally scold myself. Naruto shrugged, "Well I suppose since this is what he wants, it will be okay," he muttered.

"Wait, you're not going to go after him?" I asked, stopping myself from drifting further into my self-loathing. He chuckled. "To what purpose? Gaara clearly does not want to be found; else, he would have said where he was going. If his family knows of his disappearance then I am not truly worried," he muttered.

"I thought you held feelings for him," I stated. He smirked bitterly. "At some point I did. I desired him so deeply. I came to find out that a lot of people did. He certainly has a strong sex appeal. There were so many men among royal officials and of the council who wanted to claim his body." He sighed lowering his eyes.

"When he made an offer to me, I could not refuse. But before anything could occur, he ended it," he explained and looked away from me, irritated. "Honestly, that drove me to exact a small sort of revenge, which thinking back…it was quite sinister," he said and shook his head.

"What did you do to him?" I asked, getting angry before he gave a reason. He crossed his arms and stared past me. "Well, all he would talk about was you. It was extremely annoying to me," he began, uncrossing his arms. He pushed his left hand through his hair, groaning.

"Damn, thinking about it now it was fucking twisted," he said, shaking his head. I grabbed the collar of his uniform angrily. "What did you do?" I shouted.

"I convinced him to let someone fuck him," he exclaimed and tried to shove me away, but I did not budge. I stared in his eyes. "Who?" I asked. He sighed and looked away. "Come on, Sasuke…do you really have to know?" He asked, looking back at me and smiling his goofy smile.

I glared at him. "Who?" I asked leaning into him. He stared at me. "It was a member of the Iwaga council…. One of their members shares some similarities with you if you catch my drift," he explained. "I told Gaara I found someone who looked just like you and he agreed to have sex with him," he muttered.

I felt my chest tighten as it slowly began to register in my mind who he was talking about…Itachi. "When Gaara met him, he knew who he was and told me he could not do it…he felt like it would be betraying his love for you," he explained, looking away from the burning glare I was giving him.

"I threatened him, saying that if he did not do it, I would tell the people of Suna everything we had done, as well as a few other things. The main one being his passionate desire to be on the receiving end of the infamous Uchiha's love," he said and sighed. I let go of his uniform, my anger still brimming.

Gaara's first time was not only forced, but it was with him. I thought. I could handle it being Naruto or some old geezer wanting a youthful partner…but no it was Itachi. I am not surprised that he would do something so vile. However, for Naruto to stoop so low…it surprised me, I did not know his feelings of jealousy could reap such startling vengeance.

"You betrayed him," I said firmly, scowling at him. He looked down, his face filled with regret. "Why the fuck would you do that to him?" I shouted, ignoring the stares from other people. Naruto looked at me, shocked, and glanced around at the people gathering around us. He raised his hands. "Sasuke, yelling at me will not change what I did," he whispered, flashing an apologetic smile to the people around us. They went about their own business muttering under their breath.

I narrowed my eyes and shook my head. "You are disgusting," I hissed. He scoffed. "Look who is talking. Yeah, I may have betrayed him once, but you have betrayed countless people! Not only that, but from what I read in his letter, you also rejected him. Oh, I can only imagine how harsh you probably were to him," he remarked.

I clenched my fists and tried to suppress the urge to punch him. He sneered. "What I did to him did not mean anything to him; he sees it as a worthless memory. However, what you did clearly broke his heart. Now he's gone, and it is your fault." I looked down, struggling to calm myself down.

His words stung, despite some truth to them. Yet what began to sting even more was the realization as to why Gaara did not want to be around Naruto. I squatted down, putting my head in my hands and closing my eyes. I was going to force him to be around him, no wonder he left like that…and probably hates me now. His face appeared with a smile formed by his soft lips.

I chuckled as my anger slowly faded into an unfamiliar feeling. I want to embrace him…no not that. My thoughts began to wander. This desire to be able to have him in my arms would be all I need. That way I could protect him. He is stronger than he appears, but I want to hold him…protect him from anyone who would try to harm him.

My thoughts continued. Even if he went back to being the heir to the crown, his life would be put in more danger. If I became his guard…I could protect him from any and everything that tried to harm him.

However, what can I do now? How can I protect him now? I thought to myself. I do not know where he went. I do not know where to even fucking start. I gripped my hair feeling overwhelmed.

"Fuck!" I exclaimed, and pushed myself to stand up. I could not let this deter me. I looked back at Naruto, who had turned his back to me. I grabbed his shoulder roughly. He turned without me having to force him to. First off, I need a ship.

I leaned to him. "I am going to take your ship," I told him and tilted my head towards it. He narrowed his eyes. "What makes you so sure of that?" he asked and raised his head as if to look down on me.

I smirked. "A foolish question to ask, but I will humor it. I know that you forced the prince of Suna into being raped by blackmailing him, because he refused to have sex with you," I revealed and took my hand from his shoulder. "I am sure Temari and Kankuro would love to know about their brother being treated so terribly by a trusted friend and ally to their country."

He stared at me, his hard expression beginning to wither. It was clear that the threat I made was starting to sink in. "Gaara would not want you to-" he started, but I began to laugh. "Funny thing. Gaara is not here, so whatever he has to say about it, he can say it when I find him," I told him and crossed my arms.

He sighed, putting his hands on his hips. "Do you really intend to go after him, just to forcibly drag him back here?" He asked and crossed his arms. I shrugged. "I intend on finding him. He may be the prince of Suna but out there, he is just another person. I want to protect him from anyone who would dare lay their hands on him," I said.

Naruto moved closer to me and leaned down intimately. I stared up at him, not budging. He stared into my eyes and I felt chills creep down my back. "To protect him? Sasuke…if he managed to leave your side, without being discovered, until the noon hour of the following day, then does he truly need to be protected?" He asked, and I saw his hand rise to my shoulder.

I grabbed his arm and lowered my head. I spoke calmly. "Naruto, I am going to spend the rest of my life protecting him…that is, if he will allow me to." Naruto chuckled taking his arm from me. "I believe you are taking Gaara's feelings far too lightly," he said leaning back. I rolled my eyes. "What would you know about something like that?"

He looked back at me and smiled bitterly. "Gaara has been in love with you since he was young. Those feelings never faltered despite the various offers made by so many men. Not only that, but…your brother Itachi seemed to have grown a fondness for Gaara. He even attempted to marry him, but Gaara refused to settle for anything less than his true love. If his feelings could not reach you, I cannot imagine mine will." He said and smiled sadly.

"You can take my ship. I think you already know your feelings towards him. You are just too afraid to admit that you love someone so much you would leave the sea just to spend your life 'protecting' him," he muttered, turning around.

I watched him as he walked to a group of his crewmembers and began talking to them. His last word impacting my mind the hardest. I had not given any thought towards being apart from the sea. I turned my head, my gaze towards the bay, then going further out to the vast sea.

Is this love? I know I have never had such a desire to protect someone I barely knew. I never had such a strong need to hold someone and to keep them from being harmed. I know it is not realistic…but still…. I lifted my hands up slightly and stared down at them. The memory of his body in my arms returned to me.

I want to imprint his body in my arms. I thought. Even if it means I can never set my eyes on the view of the ocean, I will do whatever it takes to have him back in my arms. "Sasuke!" I jolted from my thoughts and turned to see Kakashi walking up to me. I will find Gaara.