Chapter 4.
"We weren't supposed to run out of our budget this early." Ino meekly muttered, directing her words provokingly at Chouji, who paid none attention to her blatant hostility.
"I didn't make you the crew head just cause your the sanest out of those inane bastards. I made that decision because you proved yourself capable for the role. And now what? You spat at it as if you're mocking me? Mocking what I chose for you?! I gave you the command to rule over my men and instead of teaching them self restraint, you kept a blind eye to their beloved horde of liquor." Sakura harshly dug her nails on the sheet of paper, hastily pulling it up for all bystanders to lay their sights on. The room bellowed in silence, a few brave coughs managed to surface here and there along with the impatient cluttering of the Captain's boots against the worn out steel legs of the table, which showed signs of regular beat ups.
"Now you tell me. Do these bigots still want their stomachs filled with booze along with visible bullet marks?" The captain practically hissed out the words.
"My liege, I never meant to defame you. I deeply reflect on what you said."
"Cut the reflect crap. Next time, go by the paper."
"My men said that they aren't obligated to mere wood chunks."
"They should be. Even the most senile and superficially useless object could be your ticket to join the friendly neighborhood of the dead." Sakura messily shuffles her hand around the pile of papers scattered on the desk and singles out a piece of paper, which seemed nothing out of the ordinary. She undid her collar button revealing her pale neck, a light gasp left her mouth as she brought the edge of the paper dangerously close towards her neck. And in a split second, blood cascaded down her neck and plummeted further down as blotches of crimson stained her white satin shirt. The reckless cut mark was now visible on her bare skin, a few drops of dried blood enveloped around her collar bones. She didn't flinch, nor found it necessary to tremble in pain.
Pain is fleeting, however, it leeches onto you for a mere second or two and through that, time stops for you, and for you only, weakening your defenses, gaining control all over if you let your guard down. And those passing seconds could endanger your life.
That's what Sakura kept reminding herself during the battlefield.
You won't have a chance to make up for the time you lost, others will thrive because of your shortcomings since time is still sufficiently running for them, a pitiful reality.
The captain pressed her thumb against the fresh wound, clearing away the last speck of blood which left behind a trail of crimson that slid down her thumb and slowly towards her arm. She extended her thumb till her lips, licking away the remnants.
"Why are you morons gaping at? Get your asses back to work." The captain proclaimed, snapping the pirates out of her trance. One after one, retreated from the room, as dazed as they possibly could be. The crew head didn't leave his position since the riot started, he had his head low. "You're still here? Do us a favour by not slacking off from now on." Chouji now looked up, and their eyes met. The captain's words were as piercing as her gaze, it could easily drain whatever confidence you had gathered before confronting her. No one dared to look straight into her emerald eyes, as they knew, they'll be broken.
Ino coughed a bit before walking towards the wooden door, the sound of her heels knocking against the ground broke the suffocating silence. She gestured towards the door, "You may now leave." Ino's words were just as dry, it would explain why she and the captain got along.
"You may fuck off, basically." Sakura said, her words carried a storm. Chouji bowed and bitterly made his way out of the hellish room, he felt as if the air around him sped past his body, his muscles tightened as if they were pricked mercilessly.
Ino then proceeded to close the door, leaning back against the creaky frame, closing it completely. She sighed, looking annoyingly at the captain.
"You should stop doing that."
"Doing what?"
"That. I almost had a scar."
"The words struck him not you though. And besides, I don't mess up my target."
"Don't play coy, Sakura."
"So now we're going by the first name basis?" The captain mused, pulling herself back on the chair, she had her eyes shut before crossing her legs on the table. A sign of letting her guard down for the time being. Ino smiled a bit.
"It's just us here."
The voices inside were inaudible from the outside. Beside the Captain's door stood Chouji, stone hard on the ground, clenching a blood soaked piece of paper. His hand went up to his cheek. Blood.
He realised why the air around him trembled when he was about to leave the room. It happened so fast, and he barely noticed till he felt something wet dripping down his cheek and then came the wave of pain.
She wasn't called the bitch of the sea for nothing.
How minutes had passed?
1...
Agh. My head hurts.
2...
Wait, everything does.
3...
I want to go back to sleep.
4...
I miss...
5...
Mom.
I squirmed a bit before shifting positions, still uncomfortable, it was no use trying since my body, in any position, would just hurt even more. But I couldn't help it, I had to find a way to make the pain fade away.
It became a reflex.
From my childhood and until now.
Looking back, I was always the frail one, my weak body couldn't handle any perpetual changes. I think I spent more than half of my younger days on the bed rather than walking like every normal child around me.
I did, however, get better over time. Although, it doesn't mean I'm completely immune. I still catch colds more than the average person living in our village.
I wouldn't call that an achievement but for me who prepossess nothing worthwhile, I do.
My constant state was basically me lying on my stomach, eyes filled with tears and using what little strength I had to take out tissues from the umpteenth box that month. The only sign of relief was my mother, she would hold me for hours, her hands gently caressing my burning forehead. I would whimper and clutch on to her with my entire life. Her soothing words would sway along with the ticks of the century old clock as I drowsed into sleep. She was still there when I'd wake up, and she'd still have her arms wrapped around my small frame protectively.
I miss the bakery, I never thought I would say that. People get relatively annoyed of seeing the same place over again. Not to mention, the everyday continuous aroma of fresh cakes could make you throw up.
But, it was my home, a place where someone would welcome me back with a warm embrace.
But she wasn't here.
Nor my solace.
I was alone.
I dreaded every bit of it.
Before I could sink deeper in my position, I felt something brush against my forehead, a rather gentle gesture than the usual ass whooping happening today. I think my brain had stopped functioning normally in just a day, the trauma was too much for my feeble self.
I grew accustomed to the suffering in just 24 hours. A few days more, if I'm lucky enough to make it through, the next stop could be the asylum.
I realised it was someone's hand, their fingers were exceptionally delicate. A few strands of my hair was pulled back and for a brief moment, I felt as if I had melted into the sea.
The short lived moment soon faded, I let out a harsh breath, like someone had pulled me out to the surface, away from the serenading tides that befell me.
My eyes frantically opened, I looked around, still gasping for air, my head jolted into all directions. But, nothing. No one was in sight. I fell back on to the ground with my arm on top of my forehead, I moved it slightly to give my fingers a chance to touch the part where the person's fingers once lingered.
I looked up at the ceiling, completely out of my senses.
I should've drowned a little more.
11...
Their hand was cold.
...
...
...
A/N:
Thank you for waiting patiently for this chapter!
I wrote everything when we had a major power outage, I had fun. You can see a slight difference in the writing style since it's been an year since the last update (笑) I matured a bit? idk?
I realised how much I love writing this so expect this journey to not end soon!
Keep looking at my profile for updates on chapter 5. (i havent wrote shit) (i wonder fucking why)
Reviews will be much appreciated and it kinda boosts me to write faster (i wont take an year again promise) (even a 'nice' comment would be nice)
I'm sorry I'm kinda out of it as it's 4 am.
Good bye for now.
Sweets and Poison,
Ena.