Hello all! Time for Sasuke's next chapter! (Sorry, I know Sausage sucks dick, but this is an important development chapter for him so it needs to be written!)
Sasuke's Ch 3
Reclaiming their ship hadn't been easy. After all it had been taken over by pirates. A little bribery and some money got them to give it up, and they were on their way after the Avatar. Or they would have been, if the trail hadn't abruptly disappeared while they were haggling over the ship.
So they spent the next couple of days looking for clues and getting back out to sea.
One morning Sasuke came up to the deck and Iroh and Zuko were arguing.
"You're out of your mind, Uncle. There's not a cloud in sight!"
"The storm is approaching from the North, I suggest we alter our course and head southwest."
"We know the Avatar is heading north, so we will do the same!"
"Prince Zuko, consider the safety of the crew."
"The safety of the crew doesn't matter."
Sasuke's eyebrows shot up at that statement, and he was fairly certain everyone on board had heard the fuming prince. His crew wouldn't stay loyal long if he kept this up. Zuko's eyes met his own and he quirked an eyebrow as if to challenge him. Zuko stomped up to him and put a finger to his chest.
Sasuke could feel Zuko's hot breath in his face, "Finding the Avatar is far more important than any individual's safety."
Zuko took the ladder below deck and shut the hatch after him. Sasuke wasn't mad at Zuko, if it were Itachi they had a lead on, he probably wouldn't have cared much about anyone else either. Iroh looked disheartened and sighed, placing a hand on Sasuke's shoulder.
"He doesn't mean that. He's just… all worked up."
"I don't hold it against him. To him, the Avatar is the only thing stopping him from going home to a normal life. If it were me and we had finally found word on Itachi? I don't know if I would have acted much differently."
Sasuke looked at the old man, his eyes were filled with sorrow. Just what was he thinking about?
Iroh trudged up to the command deck, presumably to play pai sho. However, if he was correct that a storm was coming, Sasuke thought now would be the time to practice if he was going to get any in today. He stretched through several stances to loosen up his muscles. Nothing too heavy, he didn't even break a sweat. The moves were so routine to him he didn't even notice the weight of his sword on his waist anymore. Sasuke drew the blade and practiced several exercises. The weapon was a part of him just his arms or legs may be; an extension of his form. He was tempted to close his eyes, the liquid movements were like a second nature to him.
...
As Sasuke sheathed his sword he looked out over the horizon. There were dark storm clouds starting to form. HA. Iroh was right. A noise to his right pulled his attention. Zuko was climbing up the ladder and had opened the hatch. He pulled himself up and if Sasuke had been paying slightly closer attention he would have seen Zuko's determination slip for a split second to something closer to frustration and depression. It was only for a fraction of a second, however, so his facade was back in place almost immediately.
Iroh followed Zuko up onto the deck and you could tell the two had been arguing the entire time they had been below. Sasuke couldn't help but want to pick on the younger boy.
"Huh! So it looks like your Uncle was correct about the storm after all!"
Iroh shrugged next to him, "Lucky guess."
Zuko was not so quick to shrug it off, "You better learn some respect, Sasuke, or I'll teach it to you."
"Hmph. And what do you know of it, Zuko? What, with the way you treat your crew and above all your esteemed Uncle? You don't care about anyone but yourself. Then again, why should I expect any more from you?" Sasuke saw Iroh in the background making a gesture across his neck, trying to signal him to stop the conversation.
His traveling companion had no response to his statement, just a twitching eyebrow and a look of rage in his eyes as he turned away. Zuko turned back to him, ready in a firebending stance. Sasuke was fired up. If he needed to be the one to teach Zuko a lesson, then so be it.
Iroh stepped up to the two of them, his hands lowering in a calm down gesture.
"Easy now."
Sasuke and Zuko both drew their weapons and prepared to fight. Just as their weapons were about to meet, Iroh broke in between them,
"Enough! We are all a bit tired from being at sea so long. I'm sure after a bowl of noodles everyone will feel much better."
They both sheathed their weapons and Zuko walked away,
"I don't need your help keeping order on my ship!"
Iroh placed a hand on his shoulder, but Zuko threw him off. He walked up to the railing and leaned against it. In the distance the storm was growing, and they were headed right for it.
...
Below deck, Sasuke was drinking around a table with the rest of the crew. Zuko was off pouting somewhere and they were all staying out of the rain as much as possible.
Lieutenant Jee was unhappy with the Prince's behavior.
"I'm sick of taking his orders, and I'm tired of chasing his Avatar!" He took a swill from his tankard and it made a hard thud on the table as he brought it down. His gestures were large to try and emphasize his point. It was obvious he was at least slightly intoxicated.
"I mean who does Zuko think he is?"
Iroh's voice came from the hallway.
"Do you really want to know?"
Sasuke and the crew stand in respect to Iroh,
"General Iroh! We were just-"
Iroh walked into the room, his hand raised in acceptance, "It's ok. May I join you?"
"Of course, sir!"
He sat down on a barrel next to Sasuke and stroked his beard.
"Try to understand, my nephew is a complicated young man. He has been through much. I remember when he was younger, he always wanted to attend war meetings with me. Guards would always block his path and he would respond 'Let me in!' This time I asked him, 'Prince Zuko, what's wrong?' He said, 'I want to go into the war chamber, but the guard won't let me pass!' He was quite young then, and his voice still cracked. Hilarious. I led him away from the guards a short ways to try and talk to him. 'You're not missing anything, trust me. These meetings are dreadfully boring.' And they were, of course, but Zuko did not listen, he wanted to know what his father was like, and well, even then, his father was constantly busy and had no time for him. He said, 'If I'm gonna rule this nation one day, don't you think I need to start learning as much as I can?' I relented and let him in. To this very day, I regret that decision.
'Very well. But you must promise not to speak. These old folks are a bit sensitive, you know.' He didn't hear even hear a word I said, just thanked me and we walked inside. We were discussing a strategy dealing with the Earth Kingdom. We were discussing pitting new recruits against them as bait while we would come at them with a rear attack while they were distracted. I don't particularly like sacrificing troops, but I kept my mouth shut. Zuko on the other hand was not so inclined. He shouted out, 'You can't sacrifice an entire division like that! Those soldiers love and defend our nation! How can you betray them!'" At this point in Iroh's speech the crewmen were all silent and the mood of the room had calmed.
"Zuko was right, you see, but it was not his place to speak out, and there were... dire consequences. After Zuko's outburst in the meeting, the Fire Lord became very angry with him. He said that Prince Zuko's challenge of the general was an act of complete disrespect, and there was only one way to resolve it."
Across the table from Sasuke, Lieutenant Jee was horrified.
"Agni kai. A fire duel."
"That's right. Zuko looked upon the old general he had insulted and declared that he was not afraid. But Zuko misunderstood. When he turned to face his opponent, he was surprised to see it was not the General. Zuko had spoken out against a general's plan, but by doing so in the Fire Lord's war room, it was the Fire Lord whom he had disrespected, Zuko would have to duel his own father. The agni kai was painful to watch. When they turned to face each other, Zuko recognized his opponent as his own father and froze in horror. He begged for mercy. 'Please, father. I only had the fire nation's best interest at heart! I'm sorry I spoke out of turn!' His father is not the merciful type. 'You will fight for your honor.' Zuko bowed at his feet, attempting anything he could think of. 'I meant you no disrespect. I am your loyal son.' His actions only angered his father. 'Rise and fight, Prince Zuko!' 'I won't fight you.' With his father, that was the last straw. 'You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher.' In the end, I looked away."
The lieutenant awkwardly replied, "I always thought that Prince Zuko was in a training accident..."
"It was no accident. After the duel, the Fire Lord said that by refusing to fight, Zuko had shown shameful weakness. As punishment he was banished and sent to capture the Avatar. Only then could he return with his honor."
"So that's why he's so obsessed. Capturing the Avatar is the only chance he has of things returning to normal."
Iroh sighed, "Things will never return to normal. But the important thing is, the Avatar gives Zuko hope."
Lightning struck and the ship rocked, they had been hit.
...
Sasuke left the room and climbed up to the main deck. The ship was rocking violently, making it difficult to stay upright in the storm. Water was coming down in torrents.
"Where were we hit?" Zuko called out.
"I don't know!"
Iroh shouted behind them, "Look!" He pointed up to the bridge tower, a crewman was dangling off the rigging.
Zuko ran towards the ladder going up to the tower, "The helmsman!"
Sasuke climbed the ladder after him, as they climbed, he looked down just as Iroh was bending lightning away from them.
Holy shit.
The helmsman above them let go, unable to keep up his grip on the metal rigging. He fell for a moment, but Zuko and Sasuke grabbed onto him. In the clouds Sasuke saw the Avatar's bison, just flying there, right in front of them.
"The Avatar!" Zuko had seen them too.
"What do you want to do, Zuko?" Sasuke asked.
Zuko paused, clearly undecided. "Let him go. We need to get this ship to safety."
Sasuke smiled.
Iroh commented from the deck, "Then we must head directly into the eye of the storm."
They finished climbing down with the helmsman.
Maybe Zuko does have a shred of a heart worth salvaging. But that would have to wait until Itachi was dead.
...
Once inside the eye, the wind died down and the rain calmed to a drizzle.
The three of them stood on the deck.
"Uncle, I am sorry."
Iroh smiled, and put a hand on Zuko's shoulder, "Your apology is accepted."
A massive bubble of energy erupted from the sea in front of them in a giant blue orb, obviously containing the Avatar along with a few others in their party. Kakashi. The pink haired girl. For a split second, he swore he made eye contact with his old teacher.
...
After the storm, the ship needed some repairs so they made their way to the nearest port town.
...
One night Sasuke snoozed on the main deck. The air was warm outside and the stars shined bright in the night sky. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the hatch open that lead to the chambers below deck. A man wearing all black and a blue mask climbed out and slipped off the ship.
I wonder who that could be. Sasuke thought as he drifted off to sleep.
...
Zuko, Lieutenant Jee and Sasuke were standing on the command deck, looking at a world map.
"We haven't been able to pick up the Avatar's trail since the storm." the lieutenant pointed at their location on the map, "But, if we continue heading northeast-"
The lieutenant stopped mid-sentence as their light was cut off by a massive shadow.
Sasuke couldn't help but stare as a massive ship pulled alongside their own. It dwarfed the entirety of their vessel.
"What do you think they want?" Zuko asked.
Iroh shrugged, "perhaps a sporting game of Pai Sho?"
A herald from the Fire Nation boarded their ship. Sasuke was suspicious, but who knew, maybe it was good news?
No such luck.
The herald unrolled his message, to reveal a drawn figure of the Avatar and writing underneath it describing the Avatar's abilities. Sasuke looked across at Zuko, who was leaning towards the wanted poster and glaring at it with a sour expression.
"The hunt for the Avatar has been given prime importance." He lowered the scroll and rolled it up.
"All information regarding the Avatar must be reported directly to Admiral Zhao."
Iroh had returned to his Pai Sho table and was making a move, but spoke up then, "Zhao has been promoted? Well, good for him!"
He placed the tile he had been debating, and his opponent slapped himself in the face. Apparently the move had been bad for him.
Zuko sighed, "I've got nothing to report to Zhao. Now get off my ship and let us pass."
The herald didn't show any emotion to the comment.
"Admiral Zhao is not allowing ships in or out of this area."
That just angered the prince, "Get off my ship!"
The herald and his two guards left and Sasuke heard groans behind him. He turned and saw Iroh leaning forward and gathering the pot for the game.
"Excellent! I take the pot. But, you're all improving! I'm certain you will win if we play again."
Sasuke chuckled to himself. Not only had he never won a game against Iroh, but the winning record of the rest of the crew wasn't that great either. At least they're good sports about it.
A new game started and Sasuke declined their invitation to join. He left the command deck to find Zuko overlooking the waves beyond the ship.
They stayed silent.
There wasn't anything to talk about.
They finally made it to the next coastal town to make their repairs and restock on supplies. It would be a much needed break for everyone on board.
To distract him, Sasuke urged Zuko to practice his firebending, with himself as a sparring partner.
Their exercise was interrupted by Iroh, "Is everything okay? It's been almost an hour and you haven't given the men an order."
Zuko looked out over the sea, "I don't care what they do."
"Don't give up hope yet. You can still find the Avatar before Zhao."
When Zuko turned back, there was new emotion on his face, fear, desperation.
"How, Uncle? With Zhao's resources it's only a matter of time before he captures the Avatar," he turned back to the sea, "My honor, my throne, my country, I'm about to lose them all."
Sasuke put a hand on Zuko's shoulder.
"Hey. Don't give up hope yet. You can always sabotage Zhao, even if he does capture the Avatar before you."
Zuko pulled away, "It isn't your problem, just leave me alone."
He went below deck and Sasuke sighed. Iroh peeked out of the command deck and waved for him to come inside. Sasuke let Zuko go and moved to join his uncle.
"I just don't get him sometimes, Iroh."
"And you think I do? All we can do is hope. All anyone can do is hope. The best pot of tea is the one that has steeped properly. We will just have to wait until the timing is right to remove the leaves. Pai sho?"
"I suppose you're right," Sasuke took a seat at the table across from Iroh, and smirked, "And of course. Are you ready to be beaten?"
"If only you could! Losing would be a nice change of pace."
They laughed and the game was on.
"Sasuke what do you think of a music night tonight? To bring everyone's spirits up."
Sasuke moved a rose tile forward a space and waited for Iroh to make his move.
"I think that's an excellent idea. Does anyone actually play an instrument on board the ship?"
"Well, I know Lieutenant Jee can sing, Zuko can play horn and there a few others I just can't remember all of them right now. What about you?" Iroh moved another tile on the board, "Can you play?"
Sasuke thought over Iroh's move, "I used to play a woodwind of some sort but I can't remember much of it right now. I like to listen more than play anyway."
"I see."
...
Iroh made the announcement for music night on the ship, and several of the crew were actually more than willing to join. Zuko was less willing, he didn't even open his door, just kind of mumbled a 'not interested' when Sasuke knocked on his door.
When everyone had gathered for the special night, Sasuke had hoped Zuko would show up anyway, to brighten his spirits, but alas he didn't show.
They played song after song, some were even his brother's favorites.
Sasuke was saddened by his memory.
Before Itachi had killed their clan, he had been an idol to Sasuke. He was an extremely talented musician, and would play for hours while Sasuke would watch in wonder. At one point Sasuke had tried to learn an instrument to be like Itachi, but he was forced to quit when he got so angry at himself that he set a fiddle on fire. Itachi had been disappointed in him that day, and Sasuke felt horrible for letting his older brother down. After that he had settled for listening, and found he liked it better that way.
He decided to try and convince Zuko again, that maybe they could just listen together even. Sasuke opened the hatch to their chambers and walked down the hall to Zuko's room, but when he opened the door, no one was there. He frowned and shut the door, going back up to the main deck.
I wonder why he left? What could he possibly be doing?
He returned to the crew and listened for the rest of the night, but he found he couldn't concentrate as much as he would have liked to. Sasuke couldn't stop thinking about what Zuko might be up to. Why am I worried about him?
...
The next day, Iroh convinced Sasuke to come up on deck and practice the Tsungi horn with him. Sasuke found he didn't have much talent with it, and they settled for Sasuke just listening and Iroh practicing.
About an hour in, Zuko returned to the ship.
"Where have you been, Prince Zuko? You missed music night! Lieutenant Jee sang a stirring love song."
Zuko walked right past them, "I'm going to bed. No disturbances."
Iroh shrugged and went back to playing. The tune was depressing and Sasuke decided to try and get Zuko to talk to him.
Below deck, Sasuke walked down the hall to Zuko's chambers. He knocked on the door.
"Zuko."
"Go away. I said no disturbances."
"Where did you go last night?"
"None of your business."
"Did you go after the Avatar?"
"..."
"If you did, I wouldn't blame you. Though why didn't you have me come with you?"
The door to the chamber opened abruptly and Sasuke stumbled back a step in surprise.
"Why does it matter to you!? How do you know I wasn't just out?"
Sasuke just raised an eyebrow at him.
"Spill it."
"I've decided to give up on capturing the Avatar."
"Yeah, and my hair is green. Listen, if you give up on the Avatar, I give up on finding my brother."
"What!?"
Zuko pushed him down the hallway, "How could you give up on him like that? You haven't even heard anything!"
"Exactly." Zuko's hands fell.
"Don't give up on the Avatar yet, Zuko. I know you can find a way to make it work. I just wish I had even half the trail you had for the Avatar on my brother. At this rate, I'll never find him." Sasuke started walking away. He made it to the bottom of the ladder leading to the main deck before Zuko turned around and shouted, "Then you shouldn't give up finding Itachi!"
"And why do you say that? What hope do I possibly have in finding him? You know what? Save it, I know you don't care."
"That's not true!" Zuko walked toward him.
"Really? When was the last time we made a decision on our course of action based on Itachi, and not the Avatar?"
Zuko looked away from him. There was nothing he could say. It was the truth after all.
"Hmph. There's your answer. We've never made a move to try and find him. Never. I should just go off on my own. Maybe I'd have better luck."
Sasuke moved to climb the ladder, but Zuko put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.
"Get off me."
"No."
"Zuko."
"You can't give up yet, Sasuke."
Zuko took his hand that wasn't on the ladder and pressed something into it.
"I hope this changes your mind. I found it while I was out last night."
Sasuke dropped down off the ladder and looked at what Zuko had given him. It was a small pendant attached to a leather band. The centerpiece was the symbol of his clan, a white and red fan. The strap appeared to have been repaired several times, though it looked to have been neglected in recent years, parts of the strap looked as if they were about worn through, and that was probably how it fell off. Sasuke clearly remembered this symbol, it was supposed to remind the owner to come home to his family.
He hadn't seen it in many years.
Since the day he gave it to his brother.
A/N
Thanks so much for reading you guys!
Oooo drama builds!
What will Sasuke do?
The next chapter we will be back to lovely Kakashi and Sakura times!
See you!