AnimeCrasherz: It's really really really really long for me! Well, maybe not for you... but for me! YAY!
And anyway, enjoy!
Aventure 3, Life
Who knew that the life of a pilgrim could be so bad?
So many ailments existed just on this ship! It seemed now that everyone was sick, or hated each other.
I sat in a the quiet little unused janitors' closet that I had found to be alone with my thoughts and be able to have a quiet place to enjoy my time away from the hell below.
When I stepped out of the closet onto the deck with the sky above me, I noticed the dark clouds rolling in. Instantly my heart began to hammer in my chest. Even if I was just an English village girl, I knew that dark clouds couldn't be good.
I walked out to the edge of the ship and looked out. The threatening, angry clouds seemed to have no end. They stretched vastly over one-half of the sky, while the other, light, happy peaceful blue side was being eaten up.
My hands trembled as they gripped the railing so hard my knuckles turned bone-white. I was sure my face didn't look any better.
"Storm's coming." Sasuke observed, coming up to stand next to me.
"Is… i-i-is that b… bad?" Would we die before reaching land? Would our ship and bodies be swallowed by the angry sea, never to be found, just to be remembered as the pilgrims who didn't make it?
"Well... only time can tell." He said stoically. Then, reffering to the ship, "I hope she can take it..."
Suddenly, there was a thunderclap and the rain started splattering down. The clouds seemed to rip open and dump out all of the water they were carrying.
The fear must have shone in my eyes, and Sasuke shouted for me to go back below. He ran off to help the other sailors, while I ran down to cower with my family.
I shuddered and huddled with Father and sister in the rom below, listening to the muffled pounding of footsteps abovedeck. The rain fell in sheets, tormenting the poor ship and being swallowed up by the furious waves.
I groped around madly for something to ho.d on to, but everything was loose. It was like this was no longer a ship, but a little toy boat being tossed around aththe mercy of the churning sea.
Nobody was making a sound. The absence of their voices and movements was replaced by the crashing waves and howling wind.
But, just as I had begun to lose hope of escaping God's wrath, the storm began to quiet down. After many hours, the violent lurching of the ship had slowed to a steady rocking, whose familiarity I welcomed. For once I cherised it.
After the assurance of the captain that all was safe, most people drifted off to sleep. I heard some people speaking about being 'blown off course', but their voices became nothing but a troubled garble as exhaustion gripped my mind and body and pulled me under the surface of unconsciousness.
When I came to, the air was heavy with the sweet lingering smell of vomit. Surprisingly, I was one of the first ones up, and I seized the opportunity to be alone out of the room. The stuffiness made me gag, so I was filled with relief at the crisp morning.
My relief was short lived though, when I realized how cold it was outside. The sky was still a smooth morning grey-periwinkle color, glowing softly. It glowed brighter in the east, a teal blue mixed in with the yellow of the rising sun. There was a cold, biting breeze blowing.
I tried to tuck my hair behind my ear, with no avail. It had grown longer during my time on the ship, from only to my ears all the way down to my shou.lders. My bangs still weren't long enough to tuck behind my ears though, and it annoyed me. Very much. I'd have to cut them soon.
Suddenly, I heard footsteps. Who else could be up so early?
It was a dark-haired sailor. No, not that one. A different one. This one had strange red markings on his cheeks, and his black eyes were somehow not as piercing as Sasuke's.
"Morning!" he greeted. "I didn't know anybody else liked getting up at 4 in the mroning!"
"Ah! I-I don't." I stammered. This boy reminded me much of Naruto.
"What was that?" he cocked his head to the side, and the little dog on his head had to hold on for dear life. The whole image was adorable.
"Uh, g-good morning." I mumbled louder.
"That was a wicked storm last night." he said. His little dog barked as if in agreement.
"It... It was very fr-frightening." I recalled the violent shaking of the ship.
"Been through worse, eh Akamaru?" the little dog barked, then gave a quiet whine. "Yep. I remember this one time there ws this huge storm -boat almost frickin' flipped over- and then suddenly we heard this sick thud. I was the first one to check out what happened, though I wish I hadn't been, and you know what I found?" he barely paused, and answered his own question before I got a chance to. "Someone had fallen from aloft! His arm was broken, and his neck was twisted at this ugly angle. There was blood everywhere. Some folks say his spirit haunts the boat now, some folks say the boat was haunted to begin with. Lucky I don't work there anymore, I heard this one story-"
He noticed the pallid color of my blood-drained face, and quickly apologized.
"Aw, geez, I'm sorry! I didn't realize it bothered you so much. Guess I got carried away..." he grinned sheepishly.
"It's okay! I just get scared easily, is all." I nervously assured him.
"Name's Kiba. And this here's Akamaru." he held out his hand, and his little dog barked.
"Uh, p-pleased to meet you." I shook his hand. "M-My name's Hinata." we shook hands for a moment. "Uh, Kiba?" I asked. "How long do you suppose it'll be before we reach land?"
"About... two weeks or so, I'd say. We're really close." he paused in contemplation. "Yep. Well, I've gots to get going, everybody'll be getting up soon."
"O-Okay." I said." I-I guess I have to be going back down, anyways..."
"Nice meeting you!" he waved, walking off.
I smiled faintly, and waved back.
Making friends was funner -and easier- than I thought.
Later that day, I stood at the railing looking out at the sea with my sister. We were talking about random things, mostly life on the ship.
"There is much talk about you, sister." she smiled mischievously up at me.
"Wh-what? Me?"
"A young lady, nearing womanhood, who keeps to herself. She has no friends, except for the sailors she spends all her time with. And to top it all off, she has the strangest eyes..."
"Hanabi! You and Father share my eyes!" I turned away, trying to hide my strange, pupiless orbs. "Besides, I do NOT spend all my time with the sailors!"
"No?" she giggled "Have you forgotten that time you beat them at poker?"
I smiled at the memory. That was the day I had met somebody else in my supposedly unused janitors' closet...
I'd been sneaking around the corners of the ship, careful to keep unseen, so that nobody knew or followed me.
But when I had creaked open the door, I was faced with three men playing poker.
"Ah! E-Excuse me!" I stuttered loudly, and began to shut the door.
One of the sailor men grabbed it, the one that, once I saw him, I recognized as Naruto.
"Come play with us!" he said.
"I-I shouldn't!"
"We could really use another player..." he pouted, and this time I couldn't say no.
"Oh... fine..." I said, plopping down on the ground and smoothing my skirts. Should I really be here? "So, uh, what game is this?" I asked.
"Poker!" Naruto said, then noticing the confused look on my face, "What, you don't know how to play poker?"
I shook my head sadly.
"Here, let Shikamaru explain to you." he pointed to a slouching, tired-looking sailor with a ponytail. "By the way, that's Shikamaru."
I waved just a little, and Shikamaru explained the rules to me.
"You get it?" he asked, handing me some cards.
"Uh, I-I think so.." I said, slowly.
"Can we play now?" Naruto asked, getting impatient. Sasuke nodded in agreement.
The game went on and ended sort of like this: Naruto lost -badly-, then Sasuke, then me and Shikamaru were tied in our winnings, much to everyone's shock.
They didn't invite me to play poker with them after that...
I frowned when I remembered what happened after that.
When I walked out of the closet with behind Shikamaru, Naruto, and Sasuke with five whole dollars in my hand, Sakura and Ino had been out looking for Sasuke. They would have spread and ugly rumor about me being a whore, had Hanabi not threatened to bash their faces in and rip out their pretty little throats with her bare hands.
"I am not a whore and you know it, Hanabi!" I said, horribly faking anger, ruining my tone with a smile.
"I know, sister, but you MUSt make more friends and stop being seen with sailors, lest tongues wag even more."
"Okay." I said. I loved my little sister, she was smart and strong for her age. She resembled father more than I, and I was sure she was his favorite, but I loved them both dearly.
I felt a presence behind me. It was Sasuke.
"Hello!" I smiled. I was used to him by now.
"Well, I must go now." Hanabi said. "Remember what I told you." she walked away.
"Is that your sister?" Sasuke asked, walking up beside me.
"Yes, my cute little sister." I smiled at her back. Then I remembered, "You know," I said, "There have been rumors."
"Rumors?"
"Yes. People say that I have been spending too much time with the sailors, i-if you know what they mean." What did they mean? Surely not that serious...
"It's thse jealous wenches, I bet." he smiled. His smile made his constantly frowning face brighten up, and I wish he smiled more often.
"Yes. I will be glad when we arrive in America and we will probably never see them again." I laughed. "Will you be glad."
"No."
"No? Why not?"
"I am hardly ever glad." he said simply.
"Hm..." I knew not to question him further, he was rarely the talkative type when it came to certain things.
"Ah, one thing I've been wondering. What will you do when we all get to America?" Would he and the other men be staying on teh ship, continuing life as traveling, trading sailors? I couldn't imagine not ever talking to him, or Naruto, or even Kiba or Shikamaru again.
"Actually, there's an uncle and aunt in America I'm going to live with." he said.
"Oh. What happened to your other family?" I asked.
"I'd rather not talk about it." he said.
So I left it at that. I waved goodbye to him, then waved goobye to Naruto, Kiba, and Shikamaru as they passed me by.
I didn't know that was the last time I'd see Sasuke until our arrival at America, or the last time I'd see Naruto, Kiba, or Shikamaru ever again.
AnimeCrasherz: I know, I know, they don't talk like Old English people or sailors, they talk like stupid teenagers. Please, bear with me, I'm not that good at writing accents...
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