Y o H o

by T a C o C a T

When the pirates whisked her away, Lieutenant Uchiha Sasuke charged valiantly after his fiancee only to find himself defeated by and prisoner to Haruno Sakura. Now he must choose: Submit, obey, and join or W a l k T h e P l a n k. SASuSAKu NARuHiNA Au

3. Impasse

F i f t e e n M e n O n A D e a d M a n ' s C h e s t

There was a splash, the sound of the Captain's indignant shriek — and then nothing but a stunned silence. Not even the distressed cries of the Hyuuga heiress filled the air any longer, she had fainted the moment that his figure dropped out of sight and into the deathly waters below, and her limp body was now supported by the rigid arms of a dumbstruck Naruto. When the look of horror faded from her face, Sakura stood up a bit straighter, and resumed her normal prideful conduct, jutting out her lower jaw and letting out a belligerent 'hmph.'

It was Naruto who finally braved to break the silence, entrusting the inanimate girl in his arms to Ino and Tenten, who attempted to hoist her back to her feet and slapped her face a couple times gently in hopes of reawakening her. "Um... Capt'n? He actually jumped." He stated the imperatively obvious. There was a moment or two of restored muteness, and the Captain's face crumpled into a fierce scowl.

"Are you daft, man? Do you think I didn't actually notice him throwing himself to his own death?" She demanded vehemently. Like watching a candle blow out, she fumed for a little while longer before her face broke into a confident grin. "Don't worry lads, he'll come spluttering back up to the surface in no time, asking for our assistance. And what we'll we do then? We'll make him beg! Grovel! Get down on his knees and plead." She let out a breezy laugh, but the others remained silent, unconvinced.

Naruto wandered over to the edge of the boat, where none of the others dared venture near should what they fear be confirmed, and peered fretfully over the edge. "Bubbles means he's breathing at least, right, Capt'n?" He asked, biting down on his lower lip.

"That is correct." She replied delightedly. "See, men? There's nothing to worry about. He's absolutely--"

"Sorry to interrupt Capt'n." He muttered quietly, turning to face her with a grim expression. "But there be no bubbles."

C h a p t e r I I I

I woke up in a fit of coughs. Awful, incessant, painful coughs in which I could hardly take breaths in between. My throat was hoarse and it burned, my eyes itched and stung. My muscles ached from fighting desperately against crushing pounds of water. I was in a strange bed, wearing strange clothes, and my hair was still damp and clung to my head.

"Are you suicidal, Lieutenant?" An irate voice demanded. I looked up to meet the ferocious viridian eyes of an equally sopping Captain, looming over my bed. Behind her stood the ever faithful blond companion, dripping water onto the floor, wearing a similar expression. "First you barge onto my vessel, unaccompanied, threatening an entire company of pirates — and then you toss yourself into an unsettled sea when you clearly don't have the first idea how to swim. So as I see it, you are either suicidal, much too confident in yourself, an idiot, or more than likely all three."

I might have come up with something in my defense, if I had a moment of time to do so in between the unbearable spells of choking and hacking. I resisted the urge to vomit. It had been my first experience contacting salt water, and it was an unpleasant one. The Captain held no sympathy for me, it seemed, judging by her merciless glower. Eventually I gained control of the coughing, catching my breath in a relieved sigh. "Well, do you have anything to say for yourself? Your stubbornness nearly got the both of us killed."

"No, your stubbornness nearly got the both of us killed." I retorted. If she had only relented and called me back sooner, I wouldn't have been driven over the edge in desperation. I wouldn't lie and claim that Naruto's taunts had nothing to do with it, either. "We both know that you wouldn't have let me died, you failure as a pirate."

She took in a sharp, brisk inhale. "Don't you try to pin this on me, you careless military scum. Your indebted to me for saving your worthless life, at nearly the cost of my own--!"

"It's your own fault, Captain, that you tried to unsuccessfully convince me to join your band of criminals by threatening my life, and being unable to follow through with that very threat. I only did as I was told. Your own hypocrisy was what drove you into that situation, claiming you were able to kill me--,"

"We've unfortunately never encountered anyone thickheaded enough to actually jump!"

"No, you've never encountered anyone brave enough!"

"For the love of all things holy, will you two please SHUT UP? Both of you stubborn mules nearly got ALL of us killed!" The blond bellowed, the sound of his voice drowning out our childish bickering and causing it to come to an abrupt halt. Her head snapped over her shoulder, and she gave him a warning look, reminding him instantly of his position and setting him back in his place. "Sorry, Capt'n." He mumbled, lowering his head.

"So," The Captain began again, settling her eyes back on me. "You can repay your debt by working it off as a part of my crew. Am I making myself clear, Lieutenant? This isn't optional any longer." She bent over nearer to me, so close I could smell the stale scent of salt coming from the damp clumps of rosette hair that dangled above my nose. "You will become my devoted servant even if death would be a preferable alternative to you. You owe me and I expect it to be paid in full."

"I owe you nothing!" I hissed, holding my ground as she slammed her fist against the nightstand table, causing the drawers to bump into each other and clatter. "I did not ask for you to follow in after me, and hold no obligation to you. You cannot force me into doing anything, as much as that might displease you, Captain."

She seethed, and I could hear the click of her teeth grinding against each other. "We'll see if you feel the same way after a week or so without food or water." She rose and span haughtily, tromping towards the door that stood ajar, Naruto waiting silently at it's side. She paused in the door frame, giving me a final glare. "And this time, I could honestly care less if you starved!" She hollered, and slammed the door behind her as she stormed out onto the deck. I could hear her increasingly distancing calls of frustration as she retreated to wherever she felt she must go. "Insufferable! Ingrate! And to think I put my mouth on that!"

Naruto remained behind even after she was gone, staring at me expressionlessly. "I'm impressed." He said at last, breaking the awkward silence. "I didn't honestly think you'd do it. Do you really hate us that much?"

"Yes." I replied unhesitatingly.

He approached the bedside, tucking the drawers which were spilling out the front of the nightstand table back into place, briefly wiping the dust off the top, and then using it as a seat. "I don't think I've ever seen the captain so unhappy to have saved someone's life before." He chuckled. "So, if it's of any consolation, I don't think she likes you much, either."

I rested my head back against the pillow, and sighed deeply. "It's not quite so bad after a while." He continued. I didn't understand why it was that he was making an effort to converse with me at all, seeing as I had made it quite clear that as a pirate, I loathed him, and wished for nothing to do with him. Maybe he just liked to hear himself talk. "Most of our crew started out like you. Forced to earn their keep with us because they had no other option. They all had a change of heart, though. Living amongst pirates, you'll fall in love with the life style eventually."

"I can assure you that it won't be the same with me." I replied in full confidence.

"Yeah, I thought so too." He scoffed, and I looked up at him, surprised. "Yeah, yeah. I was one of you self-righteous nutters once, too. Thought it would be fun. Wearing a fancy uniform, picking off the bad guys. Trust me, Lieutenant, military life is bleak in comparison to," he motioned around the room. "This."

"If you're trying to tell me your life story, or something, I regret to inform you that I'm completely uninterested." I lied. "Save your breath." He 'tsk'-ed in annoyance, and hopped off of the nightstand table, landing with a quiet 'thud' onto the floor. He finger combed through the tufts of sun-kissed hair, carefully avoiding the black bandanna that held them in order. I thought, hoped, that maybe he would leave me be to catch a few more hours of blissful sleep, but he instead extended a hand towards me.

"Alright then. Capt'n says I have to take you back to the brig, if you're still dead set on being our prisoner." I ignored his hand and sat upright on my own, pulling my aching body out of the bed with difficulty. I stumbled, my vision going blurry, and gripped onto the nightstand table for support. "Geez." He muttered. "That attitude of yours really is going to get you killed, one day."

When we stepped out of the well lit room that I assumed to be the Captain's quarters, judging by it's location, heads turned our direction. Obviously, the members of the crew were more interested in watching me walk slowly and sloppily behind Naruto towards the brig than in what they were supposed to be doing. I spotted the two girls that had been there to support her, but Hinata was no where in sight.

The brig was damp and smelled of mold, just as I had remembered it. Naruto directed me towards the wall, where unoccupied shackles and chains lay waiting for me. When he was satisfied that I was going nowhere, he turned to make his exit, waiting briefly before climbing up the steps. "When you're ready to give up, just shout. If you can." The sound of his laughter followed him out the door.

And I was left alone to rot.

--

The first few hours went by quickly. I dozed occasionally when I could, and plotted murder when I could not. There was little else I could do for temporary relief from my upset stomach, and the starts of an inevitably excruciating migraine. It had been a long time since I had felt so sick. It was not just the sea sickness now, but the after effects of swallowing too much salt water, sleep deprivation, the beginning of hunger, and whatever other contributors there might have been. I tried my best to ignore it.

There was no way of telling time in the dark brig, so I could do nothing besides guess. It was more than likely the start of the afternoon, if not a little longer, when the door creaked open and I heard giggling and thumping on the stairs as two people tripped over each other. I looked up to watch the two girls I had seen earlier clamber down the stairs, simpering with their hands over their mouths and their faces flushed. One was blond, her hair pulled back — and the other brunette, her hair tied in two knots on either side of her head. They wore tattered dresses with dirty bodices, but didn't seem to mind much. "Shh!" The blond whispered to the other. "The captain will have our heads if she hears us."

I turned my head away, pretending that I hadn't seen them come in. I was accustomed to this kind of behavior around me coming from women, who would flirt and wave their handkerchiefs, 'yoohoo'-ing whenever I walked around town. I could see their skirts dance across the floor out of the corner of my eye. "So this is the Captain's pet up close, huh?" The brunette said. "He looks even more handsome. You know Ino, I would love to snatch myself a man in uniform. I'll have to wait for the next one to come along, though." She sighed. "It would break poor dear Hinata's little heart."

"Are you kidding?" The one she had called Ino laughed. "Have you seen the way Hinata makes eyes at Naruto? She follows him around like a devotedly love-stricken puppy. Naruto, of course, is oblivious. You might have to wait for the next one to come along anyway, just because I think I've taken a liking to this one. I've always been fond of the brooding types."

I figured they must have either thought me to be asleep or deaf, because they rambled on as if I weren't there. But this was confirmed as false when the blond leaned over, locks of hair swaying over her shoulder, and smiled sweetly at me. "Are you enjoying your stay on the ship, solider? Are they accommodating you well?" I ignored her.

"Ino, don't tease him!" The brunette called without conviction, the amusement evident in her voice.

Ino's eyes lingered on my face, but not enough to make me feel self conscious. "Not going to answer, hm? That's quite alright. I like the silent types, too." Her fingers brushed my bangs, and I recoiled. "Oh?" Her voice raised a pitch. "Or is it that you fancy the Captain? You didn't seem to mind quite so much when she touched you."

I was about to respond that I'd love nothing more than to see her hang, but someone else stole the opportunity to speak. "You two!" Came the Captain's enraged call from the top of the stairs. "If you feel like joining the prisoner, that can be arranged. Otherwise, get up here and back to work before I eliminate your rations!" The two girls giggled, and scurried upwards, their heads lowered like guilty dogs.

"You know, Captain." Ino said as she reached the top step, pausing next to the pink-haired women. "If you're really so worried about his debt to you, you can always force him to repay it with his body. Your first rule never mentioned anything about violating defenseless men!" Then came shrieks of laughter as they fled, and a horrified gasp from the Captain.

"Begone, you skanks!" She cried furiously, and the door slammed shut.

As the day wore on, I could begin to feel the full effects of illness sinking in. My vision flickered in and out of focus. I found myself for the most part absent minded, frequently forgetting where I was and why, and it started to take me longer and longer to remember again. I would sit for twenty minutes, and then forty, and then hours — frantically trying to recall the events that had happened earlier that had lead to me chained and sick in a unfamiliar brig. There was pain. I knew what it felt like to feel weak and hopeless.

They had broken me. I could think of nothing else but how direly I needed food and drink, a warm soft bed, and some tea to soothe my itchy throat. I had no idea what time it was. How many hours, maybe days, even — that I had been subjected to such isolated torture. But just as I was about to call out, relenting reluctantly to preserve my sanity, everything went blank.

As I came back into my senses, I was more terrified than the other times to find myself in the conditions that I found myself in. I wanted to call for help, but my throat was dry. I couldn't breath other than in desperate pants and wheezes. I honestly could have sworn that I was about to die. Then the door cracked open, and the blurry outline of a dark-haired woman appeared, walking uncertainly towards me.

Who? I squinted. "Mom?" I managed to force from my throat. She knelt beside me and I could see her more clearly, enough so to determine that she was definitely not my mother.

"No..." She muttered quietly. "It's me. Oh, S-Sasuke... You look terrible. I brought you s-some food..." A shaking hand held a plate of food out towards me. My stomach churned. Food suddenly seemed less appealing.

"Who are you?" I demanded. My voice cracked. "I don't know you."

"It's H-Hinata..." She stuttered, her voice quivering. The hand held the food towards me again, but I rejected it, turning my head. "Are you alright?" A hand touched my forehead, and I shied away, unnerved by a foreign touch. The hand withdrew, followed by a startled inhale. "You're burning up..." Her voice dimmed, and then faded away. I could hear nothing but her lips were moving quickly, trying to call out to me, saying something that I didn't understand.

She grabbed my by the shoulders and shook gently, snapping me into a state of better awareness. "You have to stay awake..." She pleaded, her pearl-like eyes wide with concern. "Oh no..."

I wanted to go to sleep. I just wanted to go to... A door burst open, followed by loud cries of protest as two more strangers stormed below the deck of the boat. I studied them briefly, one male one female, one blond and the other with peculiar pink hair. The woman, dressed in men's clothing, dragged the man about by the ear, hissing angry things at him as they went. The girl who called herself Hinata went pale and stiff, letting out a quiet squeak of surprise.

"I put you on guard. I told you that she would try to sneak him food, and under no circumstances were you to allow her to pass — so you better explain to me why she is down here, Naruto, with food, trying to feed him!" The strange woman hollered. The blond shrunk backwards, raising an arm defensively in front of his face as if anticipating an attack.

"Sorry, Capt'n! But how could I refuse such a face?" Captain, he called her? How ridiculous. Pink-haired women didn't pilot pirate ships, not in this world. I must be dreaming, I concluded. My head nodded limply in between my shoulders, and my eyelids drifted shut. Sleep. I just wanted to sleep, even if I were already sleeping and this were all naught but a terrible dream.

"P-please don't be angry with me, Captain..." Hinata stammered in a timidly quiet plea, looking up apologetically to the pink-haired Captain who loomed over us threateningly. "He's very sick... And delusional. He doesn't even recognize m-me."

Why would I recognize her? I had never seen that woman before in my life! I had never seen any of them! I had no idea who they were, or what they wanted with me. "Of course I'm not angry with you, Hinata." She replied with genuine honesty, reaching forwards to give her a tender, forgiving pat on the head. "You poor sweet girl. Now let's see what's the matter with him." She squatted, rocking backwards on the heel of her boots and looking me in the eye.

"Get away from me." I snapped. "What do you want? Let me go! Why am I here? Who are you?"

"Lieutenant, calm down." She replied, her expression hardening. I ignored her, firing off more demanding questions. "Lieutenant Uchiha!"

"Lieutenant Uchiha is my father! I have no idea what you're talkin bou..." I started, but the words died in my throat as I was struck by a dizzy spell, and could force out nothing comprehensible any longer, only frightened grumbles and grunts. The room span, the colors mixing together, green and pink running into each other... I waited for my head to still before attempting to speak again. "What have you done to me?" I gasped.

The pink-haired Captain frowned. "Naruto, fetch someone to get me some tea, honey, and my bag. The come back and help me carry him back to my quarters. He needs a proper bed." The blond she had addressed nodded, before turning away and hurrying back up to wherever it was he had come from. "Geez, Sasuke." She spoke. "I'm getting really sick and tired of sparing and saving your life."

I would remember nothing else until I woke up again.

--

I had been cured, it seemed, of even my sea-sickness induced nausea. Whatever she had done to me, I would admit only to myself, had been of magical proportions. When I opened my eyes I felt as if a terrible weight had been lifted off of my chest, and I could breathe much easier. I lay staring at the ceiling for a while, thinking back and feeling embarrassed for uttering such insane things earlier on that night. The Captain sat at the foot of what was more than likely her bed, the upper half of her body sprawled across the blankets as she dozed.

She looked peaceful, but exhausted. There was a fading, but still noticeable dark underline beneath her closed eyes. The tresses of delicately shaded roseate hair spilled every direction over her her head and face, a splash of color splayed across the dull brown woolen blanket. Her chest rose up and down evenly as she breathed, and I couldn't help but turn breathless and awed at the sight before me. It astounded me that the ill-tempered, sadistic pirate lord could look so... angelic.

Don't get me wrong, I still hated her.

She stirred, her eyelids fluttering before snapping open and revealing the olive pools that had been concealed beneath them, and looked up at me. She seemed bewildered for a while, before the recollection flashed through her eyes and she gave me a smug smile. "So, Sasuke--," The sound of my first name on her voice was both strange but surprisingly welcome, causing some hidden creature in my chest to purr in appeasement. "You better live a very long life, in order to pay off the two you now owe me."

I opened my mouth to retort, but she put a finger to her lips to shush me. "Enough." She said. "Quarreling can come later. Right now, we negotiate. Because I tire of you refusing my offers and nearly dying shortly afterwards. As much as I hate to admit it, I'd rather not have your blood on my hands, thank you very much." She picked herself up off the floor slowly, stretching as she went, and sat herself on the bed. "Now, you start with what you want and we'll go from there."

"Return my Fiancée and I to our land and turn yourselves in to the authorities." I replied. Her nostrils flared, and I sensed the start of an eruption, but instead she breathed in sharply and kept her temper maintained and under control.

"It was pointless to even suggest that we would turn ourselves in, and you had better save your breath next time. I am trying to be civil here, and come to a solution that is satisfactory to the both of us, and you would do yourself well not to test my patience." She warned. "As for taking you and Hinata back to land, that too, is impossible."

"Why?" I demanded, clenching the sheets in my fingers. "What harm can we do to you off of the boat? Of course, I can make no guarantee that should would cross paths again I would not do everything in my power to bring you the justice you deserve," I emphasized. "But how would that differ to the situation you were in before we met?"

"I do not let people who I would not trust with my own life off of this boat once they are on it." She replied. "You have been exposed to too many of our secrets. I let you waltz away freely, and you can easily give my enemies every little detail of information that I'd rather not have them know. The only way to gain my trust is to join the crew, and even then, it's still something that you have to earn by working vigorously for it. I would not even let a fraction of my crew off of this boat. Besides, what makes you so sure that Hinata wants to leave, anyway?"

I, for once, was at a loss for words. Because what she said was the bitter truth. Hinata, not once since our unfortunate encounter with the pirates, had shown any displeasure with the circumstances besides to that of mine own defiance towards them. "She's your captive!" I exclaimed. "She's just too terrified and well mannered to misbehave!"

The captain quirked a brow. "How can you be so certain?" She asked. I had no answers for her. "Well, why don't we ask her ourselves, shall we?" She turned her head over her shoulder and directed her voice outside of her quarters to whoever might have been waiting outside. "Send her in!" I watched as a quivering Hinata slipped inside the room, her eyes glued to the floor and face flushed. "Well, Sasuke. Ask her."

"Don't be ridiculous!" I spat. "Of course you want to go back home, right Hinata?"

She continued to avoid my gaze. She opened her mouth and muttered something under her breath that I couldn't make out. She seemed to realize that her statement was inaudible, because she attempted again. "They're not bad people..." She muttered, shuffling uncomfortably. "If you'd only give them a chance. Get to know t-them a little. They're all very nice."

"They're pirates!" I yelled. "Thieves! And they've deceived you into believing that--!"

"Don't you dare raise your voice to her!" The Captain cut me off in a furious reprimand, glaring at me before redirecting a soft, reassuring smile at Hinata. "Don't mind him, dear. You can go now, thank you so much." She nodded and made a hasty retreat, backing out of the room without giving a second glance my direction. I sat in a stunned silence, my mouth hanging agape. I was speechless.

Even my own Fiancée had turned her back on me now. Was I the only one on the entire ship that found their practices morally questionable? "It seems that you have come to an impasse, Sasuke." The Captain continued. "You really do have no choice but to join the crew, seeing as I will no longer allow you to remain as my prisoner or die. If you would please not make this more difficult than it already has been. I'm not asking for much."

"I will never!" I seethed in reply, glaring at her with as much hatred as I could manage to muster. "I will never support you disgusting leeches. I will never become one of you, never lower myself to your level. There is nothing you can say or do to change that fact. No threats you can make, nothing you can possibly say or offer to convince me to join. I refuse."

"I'm not asking for much." She said, and I could hear the edge of desperation in her voice. "Please, just for a moment, put your hatred and discrimination of us behind you and look at this logically. I'm not asking you to join in our raids, or accept our way of living, though I do surmise that eventually, you will. I am merely offering a fair trade, labor in exchange for a bed to sleep and food to eat. Is that really so difficult? Think no longer of us as pirates, but as patrons. Business partners."

"I can't." I said stubbornly. "I won't. But," it killed my pride to do this. "I will earn my keep as one of the crew."

Her face split into the first genuine smile I had seen yet. My heart did flip flops in my chest. "I will not, however, swear to give up on escape. In fact, I can assure you that I will seize every opportunity I am given to get myself and my Fiancée off of this vessel and out of your care. Relentlessly, Captain."

She pursed her lips, consideration evident on her face. "Agreed." She said at last, extending her hand. I gave her mine, and she clasped it firmly, giving it a good shake. "And I can assure you, Lieutenant, that I will do everything in my power to stop you." She grinned in challenge. "From now on, we will be enemies coinciding."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." I replied truthfully.

"I'll be putting you where I can keep an eye on you." She warned. "You'll be sleeping with me, in my quarters from now on." I instantly had objections with sharing a room with a woman, as there were few things more scandalous and taboo that doing so with one you were not married to. But even the implication of anything romantic between us was enough to cause me to keep my mouth sealed shut. "Come on then, let's go out and introduce you to the crew."

She was flustered and eager like an excited child as she pulled me out of the bed by the hand and dragged me out onto the deck, pushing me out in front of her to display me to the onlooking crew members. "Gents!" She yelled, "And ladies," she added with a laugh when the woman I had met earlier on under awkward circumstances whose name was Ino called out in offense. "I'd like you to meet the newest member of our crew, Lieutenant Uchiha Sasuke!"

There was a loud chorus of cheers.

The next little while was spent dragging me around to each person and making personal introductions to each member of the company. I didn't bother to remember most of them, only grumbling my name reluctantly as they gave an enthusiastic greeting, as I had already decided I loathed them as a collective. But there were still a few that stood out. She took me around again to meet the two woman who had sneaked into the brig while I was imprisoned there. "This is Yamanaka Ino. She's the watch out. Spends most of her time up in the crows nest with her eye pressed against a scope." The blond gave me a bold wink and a suggestive smile.

"Hey, solider." She said.

The next was the brunette with the odd hairstyle. "And this young lady is Tenten, our blacksmith." The Captain said, and Tenten gave me a shy simper. "She makes sure all the weapons are still in mint condition, and makes repairs and the like. She's skilled with just about anything, it's actually quite impressive." Next she pointed to someone who had climbed up one of the masts and was sprawled along a board that jutted off of it, fast asleep and snoring.

"That slacker up there is Nara Shikamaru. He doesn't really have any definite job, seeing as he doesn't do much of anything besides nap and look at clouds. But we keep him because he's secretly brilliant, and comes in handy when I need advice with battle strategy." She said, pointing out more people as she went along. "We have Kiba, who maintains the canons." He gave a broad wave and a shout. "And Shino, who receives and delivers messages back and forth with our allies." And the man wearing a great deal of clothing and dark spectacles gave a brisk nod.

She lead me down the door parallel to the one that lead into the brig, tugging me along without a second of rest in between hasty acquaintance-making. Hidden behind the door was a kitchen, bustling with activity. The first person to catch my eye was a man with an awful head of greasy black hair, and vibrant green and orange sashes and vests. He was chopping furiously. "Lee!" The Captain called, and he span at the sound her her voice, beaming. His face fell as soon as he laid his buggy little eyes on me. "I'd like you to meet the newest member of our crew." She said, slapping me on the back. "Lee, Sasuke. Sasuke, Lee."

He narrowed his eyes in a comical glower before returning his attention to the Captain. "I'll make sure he works hard for you, Captain!" He cried gleefully, waving a knife dripping with tomato juice in the air dramatically. "We'll have to put that youth to good use!" The Captain gave a quiet laugh and an amused shake of the head before directing me back upstairs.

"And last but not least," she said with a relieved sigh. "You've already met my first mate, Uzumaki Naruto."

The blond grinned wickedly and snickered. "So you finally managed to convert him, eh, Capt'n?" I remained stoic as he continued to joke with her, pretending that I wasn't drinking in every word of their conversation, and like I couldn't care less. "He took even longer to convince than I did. And I thought that I was a tough egg to crack."

"Maybe if you weren't quite so thickheaded, it would have been easier." She laughed. "Anyways, please tend to Sasuke for a while. I do have a ship to run, after all, and I fell decently behind in my duties because I had to spend all day at his" she jabbed a finger in my direction "bedside, making sure he didn't die."

"Alright, Capt'n." Naruto agreed, and with that she scurried off towards the helm. I let out a long sigh, glad to be finished with all the exhausting introductions. The blond leaned his hip against the rail, smirking. "So, what do you feel like doing first, now that you're one of us?"

"Sleep." I replied. I was still quite tired and recovering from the near fatal sickness that I had been suffering through only a few hours earlier. He looked disappointed, but shrugged, saying that he guessed we could go scrounge up a cot to set up in the Captain's quarters for me to use on a more permanent basis.

In reality, I had no intention of sleeping. In fact, the first thing I wanted to do as soon as Naruto left me by my lonesome was to plan my escape, using my newfound freedom as an asset. But there would be no chance of getting anything accomplished without my sword, which had been stripped from me upon my arrival and defeat by the captain. First, I would have to locate it, and I had a decent idea of where it might be hidden. The Captain would have wanted to keep it close to her, just in case I did eventually decide to search for it.

Finding and setting up the cot was a simple and quick ordeal. "Well, sleep tight." Naruto said, pausing in the doorway. "Although... I should warn you, seeing as you're going to be staying with the Captain from now on. When I first arrived here, I slept in her quarters, too. Just be careful. The Captain likes a bit of a drink before she goes to bed."

"Yeah, so?" I asked. I was eager to have him gone so I could begin my search for the sword I inteded to make my daring escape with, and the faster he spat it out the better.

"She doesn't hold her alcohol very well." He said.

"I've dealt with drunks before." I replied.

"None quite like the Captain." He said. And then he was gone.

I made quick work of my expedition, in case the Captain should come back unexpectedly and discover what I was up to. But the Captain's room was large, with a thousand nooks and crannies to hide something the size of my sword. I started with under her four-poster bed, but there were nothing but old faded maps and a thick screen of dust. I checked the window sills, behind the curtains, in each of the drawers and under her many desks and tables. For a woman, she was very disorderly.

She kept a great deal of chests, many of which were locked. Picking locks was a skill I had picked up after years of dealing with too many pirates to count, but it was still a delicate procedure that had to be done carefully to avoid and detection of being broken into. I made my way through each of them, rifling through the contents, checking for hidden compartments.

The largest chest with the most complex lock was at the foot of her bed, and it was quite clearly thief-proof. I probably spent a good half an hour trying to crack it open, before giving up and taking myself elsewhere. I took frequent breaks to clean up after myself, or climb into the cot whenever I hood footsteps passing by. From the sounds of it, the crew members outside were engaged in some sort of merriment or another, judging by the faints sounds of laughter and music. The night wore on, and I must have been seeking through the Captain's belongings for a good several hours. I sat on the cot in frustration, empty-handed.

My eyes darted back towards the chest. Seeing as it was quite obviously nowhere else, if my weapon was hidden in this room at all, it was quite certainly in that chest. With another burst of determination I returned to it, finally giving up at a discreet attempt at breaking it open. I had warned that Captain that we could not trust each other, after all. I grabbed a paperweight off of one of the desks, and smashed it against the lock. It took a couple of good bangs, and then the lock clicked open.

Excitedly, I lifted the lid of the chest.

I was perplexed and frozen by surprise as I discovered what was hidden inside of it. Expensive, exquisite gowns. Decorative fans. Jewelry. The type of things I found with the ladies of high society, whose husbands and families had money coming out of their ears.

What on earth was this sort of stuff doing in the personal chest of the Captain of a Pirate Ship?

I had noticed it beforehand, but it wasn't really of significance until now. Her speech always had been quite eloquent for that of a Pirate. For the first time, I realized that I had never been given her name.

Just who was the Captain, exactly?

"What are you doing?" Her voice shook me from my train of thought. My head snapped upwards, only to find the very woman I had been thinking about standing in the doorway. Her face was expressionless, but her cheeks were flushed, her legs stumbling, and her words slurred. Just as Naruto had warned me, the Captain was drunk. Without giving me a chance to think up an excuse, she lurched forwards, digging inside of the chest and pulling what I had spent so long looking for out of it's hiding place — wrapped up inside one of the skirts of her dresses. "Looking for this, are you? I'm not surprised."

I jumped to my feet, taking a few paces backwards, as she unsheathed my weapon, admiring it. "Maybe it was a mistake, coming to the agreement that we did. I don't like the idea of walking around, having to watch my back all the time. Maybe we should..." She stepped forwards, her eyes still attached to the blade of my sword. "Readjust our compromise." She advanced, and with each step she took I took one backwards, until I found myself with my back against the wall.

I had no idea what her intentions were now, but whatever they might be, I assumed that they were not good ones. Without warning, she drove my own sword forwards towards me in a carefully aimed lunge. It pierced through my shirt, and into the wood of the wall. I tugged at it, but much to my dismay and her satisfaction --

It was quite stuck, and so was I.

Her breathing became shallow as she drew nearer, so close now that our body heat was mingling. She kept her head low, eyes directed at my chest. My heart started beating faster, I tried to hold my breath. Her fingers clasped onto the material of my shirt, and she pressed herself against me. My mind went blank with fright, confusion and... pleasure?

Her head tilted upwards now, lips drawing dangerously near to my ear. She blew gently against it, and sent shivers rocketing down my spine. "Maybe I should take Ino's suggestion." She whispered in a low, seductive, velvety voice. "You could be my whore."

I now understood what Naruto meant when he had warned me about the Captain, but I wished he would have been a little clearer.

Her soft, wet lips pressed passionately against my neck. It was difficult to gather thoughts after that, but the ones I could managed screamed in protest. I hated her. I hated her. I tried to push her away, but my attempts were in vain. She turned aggressive, slamming her weight against me, pinning my arms at my sides with a surprisingly strong hold. If only that rotten sword were not holding me back, overpowering her would be simple. "Now now," she cooed. "None of that. I'll be gentle if you're obedient." A finger trailed down my chest. Her touch seemed to light me on fire.

"Don't." I said. "Stop."

"Don't stop?" She smiled. "Alright, if you insist."

Y o H o H o A n d A B o t t l e O f R u m