W h a t D o Y o u D o W i t h A D r u n k e n S a i l o r

"It's a pity I didn't get the chance to observe it. Was his style to your taste, Sakura? I'm sure he would have made for a challenging opponent."

"Pfft." The cotton-candy haired Captain replied, blowing the feather that hung in between her eyes off to the side as to better look at the man standing before her. "He wasn't much different than any other officers that I've dueled before. Stuffy. Pompous. Over-confident. I was unimpressed," there never was much hope in attempting to lie around him, as he always could see through her childish untruths, but for the sake of her bruised ego and battered pride she denied the difficulty that she had truthfully found in defeating the talented Lieutenant. In fact, it wouldn't be going overboard to say that he was indeed the most challenging enemy that she had faced yet. "And that's Captain Sakura to you."

He laughed softly, taking a polite bow for show as he swept an imaginary hat of his own off of his head. "My apologies, Captain Sakura." He corrected, straightening himself out and looking down on the woman fondly. "May I ask what you intend to do with the 'unimpressive' Lieutenant Uchiha and his bride to be?"

"What I did with the rest of them, of course." She replied with a grin, but it faded slowly as her concern became evident. "Are you sure you're going to be alright here? How long will it take for someone to find you?"

"A couple days, at most." He replied. "I have enough food until then. An ally vessel is supposed to take this route home, and they'll likely have enough room for all of them, myself included. And besides," He added, patting a rectangular bulge in his pocket. "I have some reading to catch up on. I'll keep myself entertained."

She shook her head but could not fight the way that her lips curled in amusement at his predictability. He, at least, had stayed the same after all these years. "As long as you're sure you'll be all right. You know you're always welcome aboard my ship." She said, rising to her feet and beginning to make her way back across the wreckage that had once been the new pride and joy of the military, but paused to look over her shoulder and call back one last time. "And Kakashi, thanks again for the tip-off. They're always so helpful."

C h a p t e r I I

The Black Spot

I was quite unsure how long I remained shackled below the deck of the Pirate ship, which rocked and swayed with the rolling waves, feeling sick to my stomach and wishing desperately that I had remained in my bed this morning. The dizzying movements of the boat were not the only contributor to my nausea, for it worsened ever time a thought of Hinata crossed my mind. She was small and defenseless, and knowing the nature of pirates, easy access to dirty pleasure.

I wasn't sure whether to be grateful or resentful that I had skipped breakfast that morning, because if I had anything more to upset, I surely would have vomited. But my stomach also growled in discontent at being empty, and scraped at itself, begging for a necessary meal. I ignored it for the most part, but the poor conditions of my being were only growing increasingly frustrating, and at times I felt rather miserable.

Each time I came up with an estimate time wise, it either seemed much too short or much too long a period to be reasonable. My head lolled limply in between my shoulders, moving in unison with the boat, as I lacked both the strength and willpower to hold it upright. I was ashamed. Humiliated. I had been easily defeated in one of the fields I took the most pride in, and by a woman, no less. I could hardly call myself a man after such an incident.

There was a creak of weight on the stairs, but I didn't bother to look up. I could care less if it were that thing they called a Captain or one of her faithful underlings, come to finish me off or bring me news of my decided upon release. Footsteps approached, and I could soon feel a presence looming over me. "Oi." A familiar male voice called. I immediately recognized it as that of the irritating blond's. "Are you alive?"

I didn't reply. What more could they do to me besides strip me of my pride and reduce my status to nothing more than a prisoner to some of the most vile, despicable creatures on the planet? Their prisoner. Defeated and destroyed. He squatted down to eye level, craning his neck and trying to get a glimpse at my lowered face. I stared uninterestedly into the cerulean eyes that met mine, before directing them elsewhere. "So you are alive." He said. "In that case, I brought you some dinner."

"Not hungry." I grumbled.

"The Captain thought you'd say that, you ungrateful scum." He scoffed, waving a plate of food under my nose. The scent caught me off guard, and I was consumed by my insatiable hunger. I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat, trying to ignore the desperate call of starvation. My eyes followed the food was being withdrawn back towards him, the bread and meat and chuck of cheese that although far from gourmet, couldn't have seemed more appetizing. "She told me to tell you that your Fiancée doesn't get fed until after you've eaten every thing off of this plate."

Although he had already convinced me with the display of edible food, it would make for a good excuse as to why I had so willingly been coerced into eating, despite my stubborn nature. "What have you done with Hinata?" I demanded anyway, decided to milk what I had for all it was worth. "I'll eat if you tell me what you've done with her."

"Oh, that's no secret." He replied, setting the plate of food down on the dusty wooden floor, where it was now in constant eyesight. I started salivating. "She and the Captain have been chatting for hours, now. They're already great friends." Momentarily, my attention was drawn away from the food.

"Don't joke with me." I said. I did not find his sarcasm amusing, only portraying him as even more obtuse. He had seen firsthand what I could do with a sword, and should have known better than to test my patience. "Where are you keeping her?"

He rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue immaturely. "I don't see why you won't believe me." He said. The boat tipped and the plate skidded an inch or so off center, the bread and cheese tumbling over each other. "I'm telling you the truth."

Despite the fact that there was little indication of falsehood in his tone or mannerisms, I still had difficulty believing him. Well, could I honestly be expected to accept the ridiculous notion that Hinata was walking around freely on board, making friends with the cut throat pirates? "I don't know." I hissed callously, narrowing my eyes in a glare that before, had seemed so much more effective at intimidating others. "Maybe it had something to do with the way you expressed your excitement and gaining a 'whore' during our previous battle. And you say I should have no reason to fear for her wellbeing."

He laughed. As if what I said were absolutely preposterous, and I were the one making myself out to be a fool and not he. "Oh, I just said that to distract you." He replied, slapping his knee and treating the situation as nothing but a silly misunderstanding. Was it? "If I hadn't, you'd have run me through! Can you blame me? Rule number one, don't take anything a pirate says to heart. They're frequent liars."

"I'll keep that in mind." But, in reality, there was nothing more confusing and frustrating to think about then when someone claimed to be a liar. If that was the case, how could I assume anything he said to be true? How could I even be sure that he was telling the truth about being a liar? "I still don't believe you, and I still don't trust you. But hear me this, for every tear you make that girl cry, I'll make you cry ten."

He let out an exasperated exhale, flopping onto his backside and settling in for what I assumed would be a conversation. I just wanted him to leave me in peace so I could eat, and possibly catch a few hours of precious sleep before falling into whatever the Captain and her crew had in store for me. "All you people are the same." He began in a monotonous whine. "Everyone is so quick to assume that pirates do nothing but rape, plunder and pillage. Plunder and pillage, sure, why not? We have to make a living too."

"A dishonest living is worse than none at all." I cut in. He pouted, clearly displeased by interruptions, and gave me a look as if to tell me to keep quiet before continuing.

"No one makes an honest living," He said. "Let's get that straight. If you're not stepping on people to climb to the top of the social or ranking ladder, you're supporting someone who does, whether you know it or not. Thieves make just an honest living as anyone else — they take from others to satisfy their needs. Everybody does it. Humans do it." For the first time since I had the misfortune of meeting him, I was speechless. Even if I was not quite ready to accept or agree with it, he did to some extent have a point.

"Even we pirates have rules and morales." He said proudly, sticking a sun burnt nose upwards. "We do not violate defenseless women. We do not take from those who cannot afford to be taken from. And we do not kill unnecessarily." And just before I almost felt something akin to admiration towards the man before me, he grinned sheepishly. "Those are the Captain's three rules." For a moment, I almost believed he had thought that up all by himself. "Now are you going to eat?"

"I can't." I replied truthfully, yanking on the shackles that bound me to the wall. "What do you expect me to eat with, my feet?"

He blinked a few times, seemingly puzzled, before reaching for a ring of keys that hung from his waist. "The Captain didn't say anything about that." He said, inserting a small rusted key into the keyhole and releasing one arm, then the other. I massaged my sore wrists. "But she did make it pretty clear that you were to eat, and I suppose you're right."

Imbecile. The use of fists were not my preferred method of fighting, but they were the only weapons I currently were in possession of. I drove one into his face, and while he fell over backwards in a daze, took the opportunity to dart towards the stairs and agape door that could lead to both my Fiancée and my freedom. I reached the top step, and cool night air hit my face, and I felt the sharp sting of metal at my neck. I went immobile, and looked up to meet the unamused eyes of a waiting Captain.

She stepped forwards, and I had no options other than to take one the opposite direction or be impaled. She drove me backwards until I was well back into the room that had held me as its prisoner, and within arms length of a furious blond pirate, who threw me to the ground and reattached the shackles, grumbling incoherent things to himself. "Naruto, please don't tell me you were honestly stupid enough to fall for such a thoughtless trick?" She inquired, directing her voice at her subordinate, who rose to face her abashedly. "I'll take it from here, lest you kill us all."

"Sorry, Capt'n." He muttered, before excusing himself and returning to the upper level which I had almost been within reach of escaping to. I glowered at her as she approached, bent down and swooped the displaced plate of food off of the floor, and held it in an outstretched hand towards me. I took in the scent, and my stomach growled.

"And did you honestly think that you could escape? With no sword and no guns? Just what did you intend to do after reaching the deck, pray tell?" I didn't reply, seeing as her question was more or less rhetorical, and she didn't appear to be expecting an answer. "All this trouble over a little bit of food." She sat down vis-a-vis me, cross legged, and began to break the bread into bite sized pieces. For a moment I thought, horrified, that she was going to eat it in front of me, but instead she held a chunk between her thumb and forefinger near my mouth, implying that I should take it from her. "Open."

I pursed my lips and turned my head away in distaste. "First you eat, and then we can discuss what is to be done with you, Lieutenant Give-me-back-the-girl-and-you-live-to-see-another-day, if that is the only name you will give me." I did not relent, and refused to meet her insistent green eyes, which would no doubt only persuade me to oblige her further. She frowned scornfully, frustrated by my defiance. If I would not submit to her willingly, it seemed, she would force me to comply to her will. She grabbed my chin with a surprisingly strong grip for fingers that had seemed so slender and dainty, and wrenched my jaw apart, popping the morsel into my mouth. Her finger hesitated on my lip. "Chew."

It was not necessary for her to order me to do so, for the moment the food had hit my tongue I was no longer in control of whether I did or not. I was so eager to get it down and into my stomach that I nearly swallowed it whole. When she was satisfied that my mouth was empty, she gave me the next piece, and then the next, until we had made a decent sized dent in the plate. "There." She said contentedly. "Not so difficult, eh?"

"Where's Hinata?" I asked with a full mouth. The Captain set the empty plate aside and leaned back, giving me an unreadable stare as I chewed furiously. I swallowed the remainder of the food in a large gulp, and waited for her reply. She drummed her fingers along the floor, making fingerprints in the dust.

"She is free to do what she pleases on my vessel so long as she does not oppose us, and will be accommodated if she earns her keep." She replied, and this time, I actually believed it was true. "I hold no quarrel with her. She's a very nice girl. You, on the other hand," she grinned. "Are clearly a different matter. Shall I give you your options, Lieutenant?"

I finally noticed that her head lacked the hat she had seemed so proud of only hours earlier. It made me wonder if it was only for show, a mask to keep her true identity from enemies in hopes of creating a more intimidating facade. Pastel pink tresses of hair cascaded to her shoulders, uncommonly short in this day and age, knotted and clearly poorly cared for. She was still sporting dirtied male clothing, the bloodstained white blouse that we had battled in, faded black pants, and shiny black boots. And despite her ragged appearance and unladylike behavior — she was still astonishingly beautiful.

She was going to give me my options whether I asked for them or not, so I sat back and waited for her to continue. "We're not going to feed dead weight." She said, brushing her hair over her shoulder. "You will be given regular meals if you agree to do your share of the work, just like everyone else on this ship. You will abide by our rules. You will make no further attempts to escape or harm the crew. In other words, you can join us."

"I would never--!" I began, selecting a few choice words to describe what exactly I would never join, but she interrupted me before I had the chance to call her and her people crude names.

"Or," she continued, ignoring my outburst. "You can starve here if you refuse. That could have been your last meal, if you choose it to be so. Your third option, if you prefer a shorter, painless means of death — is to walk the plank."

I'd join them or I'd die.

She knew the what the obvious choice would be, and began to elaborate into that. "I think they could use some help down in the kitchen. Ever washed dishes before, Lieutenant? Or we could use some muscle up on the deck, hoisting anchors and such. The crew is getting fa-,"

"I'll walk the plank."

Her face went blank, her words came to a halt. She stared at me in disbelief, or as if she wasn't quite sure if she had heard what I had said correctly. Of course, to join them would be the obvious choice — but I had never been much of an obvious person. I would rather die than cooperate with them, join them. I would never become the thing which I had devoted my life and career into stopping. I would not be swallowed by the filthy, disgusting, thieves of pirates.

Besides, even if that wasn't my absolute resolution, they wouldn't kill me. Rule number one: Never take anything a pirate says to heart. The Captain's third rule: We don't kill unnecessarily. She was doing nothing more than trying to make me believe that I had no other option besides joining them then to die.

Her face hardened, her glare turning icy. "So be it." She spat. She picked herself up and gave me a heated stare before turning to storm above the deck. She was offended that I hat not accepted her offer, and made a conspicuous display of her displeasure, taking huffy stomps up each of the steps. When reaching the top, she cupped her hands around her mouth and called out for all to hear. "He walks the plank in the morning, mates!" To be met by excited whoops and cheers and a loud cry of dismay from my fiancée.

--

Needless to say, I did not get much sleep that night. If it were not the thoughts of an impending possible death, the churning in my stomach caused by the rocking boat kept me wide awake. I was surprised to find that there were only a few precious hours of night remaining until daybreak, and felt that the morning had come around much too fast. If I was wrong, and something went horribly awry in my plan, then the consequences would be severe, and I had not thought of a backup scheme if that were the case. The door to the brig cracked open, and a stream of light spilled into the room. I squinted, my eyes adjusting to the light, as a silhouette approached.

"So, do they teach you how to swim in the military?" The whisker-cheeked blond asked, sword raised, as he undid the locks on my shackles. "Maybe you can dog paddle for a while before you get eaten by a shark, eh?" He snorted in laughter, as if my death were a hilarious topic, and kept his sword at my neck as I rose, prepared for any attempts at attacking that I might take. "The Capt'n is ready for yah, now."

Clearly, my execution was not a solemn event among pirates. They laughed and jeered as the blond steered me out of the brig and aboard the deck, all but Hinata, who wailed loudly and dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief while two unknown women put tender hands on her shoulder, to console and hold her back if she tried to get to me. "J-just do what they ask, p-please!" She sobbed, and nothing else intelligible came out of her mouth.

The captain stood with a grin on the railing nearest to the helm, gripping a rope that dangled from the mast for support. "Top of the morning, Lieutenant!" She called buoyantly, giving an over exaggerated mock salute. The blond's sword dug into my back, urging me forwards as I walked with dignity onto the wooden plank that loomed over the dangerous waters below, steadying myself as it bounced under my weight. "Thank you kindly, Naruto. I'll take it from here." She swung from the rope down onto the deck below, unsheathing her sword as she went, and the pirate stepped backwards to make way.

She assumed his position, raising her sword to my back and pushing me out towards the end of the plank. The blond, Naruto, wandered over towards Hinata, and I watched as he swung a heavy arm over her shoulder. She cried shamelessly into his chest. Unable to look at her any longer, I tore my eyes away and directed them downwards into the water below. Waves crashed against each other mercilessly, waves that could so easily tear a fragile body apart, and covered the endless dark abyss of sea below.

No, they didn't teach me how to swim in the military.

"Got your affairs in order, Lieutenant? Any last requests?"

"Go kill yourself." I snapped. She snickered, and the pressure of the tip of her sword left my back. She stepped of the plank and put her hands on her hips, giving a sweep of her hand and gesturing at me to take the jump when I peered at her over my shoulder.

I snapped my head back forwards and looked out into the horizon. Any moment now she would call me back, defeated, and agree to take me back to land. My toes shifted over the edge of the plank. "Give me your name before you die, won't you, Lieutenant?" She implored. "I'd hate to let you die without knowing at least your name. The one besides Give-me-back-the-girl-and-you-live-to-see-another-day, of course." At the words 'die' Hinata wailed louder.

"Uchiha." I said. "Uchiha Sasuke."

There was a flicker of recognition in her eyes, a moment of unidentifiable expression on her face. Then it was gone. "Well, it wasn't much of a pleasure to know you, Lieutenant Uchiha Sasuke. May god rest your soul in peace."

She waited. I waited. It was an internal, mental battle now. We had no swords. She waited for me to turn back and beg her forgiveness, agreeing to her conditions, and I waited for her call me back and set me free.

"Such a pity to waste such a pretty face, though."She said, trying to delay and stall. A few of the crew members chuckled. "You know, if you change your mind... There is room for one more on my ship."

"I'll take my chances with the sharks, thanks."

"Please!" Hinata cried.

The loudmouthed blond patted her on the back, something that I guess was supposed to be a comforting gesture but looked more like he was tying to knock something she was chocking on out of her windpipe. "Don't worry, he's bluffing." He said, loud enough for me to hear, even though it was clearly intended as a gentle reassurance. "He doesn't have the guts to do it."

With that, I jumped into the icy depths waiting below.

E a r l y I n T h e M o r n i n g