Chapter 4 is now complete and so far it's the longest of them all!
'Chapter 4 - A Kindred Soul'
The smell of sweat and alcohol penetrated my nostrils as I lay sprawled across a mildly comfortable surface. A pallet, most likely. As much as I wanted to lift my head and get up on my feet, I couldn't. My limbs felt like they were filled with lead. Never before had I been this tired. Not to mention, everything hurt. I guess I just wasn't used to sleeping on anything but a soft bed.
Gingerly, I cracked open my eyelids and squinted at my surroundings.
The room I was lying in was dim and filthy. The only light piercing the darkness came from underneath the door which was directly across from where I was lying.
"Hinata-hime, are you awake?"
Tenten's familiar voice resonated from somewhere beside me. With a lot of effort, I twisted my head to the left, cringing as my muscles screamed in protest. Tenten lay there on a similar pallet. She had propped herself up on her elbows and was looking at me with concern.
"Y-yes, I think so." I muttered. That wasn't all true as sleep still clung to me like a wet towel.
"I managed to untie myself and I did the same for you when you were still asleep." Tenten said, pointing towards a pile of rope not too far from her.
"How d-did you manage to d-do that?" I asked her. Things were looking a little brighter now. I knew that I could always count on Tenten to come through in the end.
"I had a small knife tucked away in my shoe. The pirates were too lazy to search us." She laughed mischievously. "They probably thought that a maid would be harmless and cause them no trouble."
I couldn't help but smile. Luck was finally shining down on me, if only a little bit.
"W-what about S-Sasuke-ouji?" I suddenly asked, the smile sliding off my face.
"I haven't seen him since they threw us in here. I think they've been keeping him under close guard." Tenten replied. With a grunt, she pushed herself into a sitting position. "Come on, Hinata-hime, we should probably go up on the deck or we'll starve to death."
I nodded my head and forced myself up into a semi-crouch. I must have slept in a very strange position for my body to be in so much pain. That or the pirates threw me into this room like a sack of potatoes.
"Here, Hinata-hime, let me help you." Tenten offered kindly as she took a hold of my arm.
With a tug, Tenten had me up on my feet. I swayed a little from side to side and soon regained my balance. A few seconds later I nearly toppled over. The floor was rocking from side to side. Great, my first experience aboard a ship and it turns out to be a nasty one.
"Careful, Hinata-hime. Take small steps or the boat will throw you off balance and me as well." Tenten said with fake cheer, doing her best to brighten my already dull day.
Stumbling towards the door, Tenten reached out for the handle and gave it a good twist. It was locked. She furrowed her eyebrows and rattled at the knob a few more times just to check if she may have been turning it the wrong way. It was still locked.
"Hinata-hime, I'm going to try to open the door with my knife." Tenten looked over at me decisively. "Would you be able to keep your balance on your own for a bit, I don't want the knife to slip and cut you if the boat rocks too much."
I nodded my head and slipped away from Tenten's side. The boat shifted under my feet in a most unpleasant way just as I took a step, which sent me tumbling against the nearest wall.
"I-I'm okay!" I squeaked, not wanting to interrupt Tenten's concentration as she crouched in front of the door.
She had her small knife out and was poking and prodding at the knob from each and every side. From what I could see the door didn't have a key opening from the inside. Maybe those pirates weren't that idiotic after all…
"I technically could saw the lock out of the door…but that would be near impossible with the way the ship is moving." Tenten said as she tucked her knife away and got back up on her feet. "And we can't break it down either. Our only hope is yelling really loud and hoping that one of the pirates will open the door for us."
With that said, Tenten began to pound on the door and scream indeterminate words at the top of her lungs. Never before had I seen her thrash around like that, much less scream. I knew it would be rude to just stand there and not help her, so I decided to pitch in as well.
I held unto the wall to retain my balance as I shuffled towards the door. This was it, the first time in my life that I would punch something and yell. Taking in a deep breath, I drew back my fist and let it fly against the wooden door. With a thud and a stab of pain, my fist collided with the wood. I could feel my knuckles scraping and I let out a gasp. I had never thought that punching something would feel so good, despite the pain of my bruised knuckles. I drew back my other fist and hurtled it towards the door. My other fist soon followed suit, and then the other and so on.
Soon I was pounding the door with as much spirit as Tenten, letting out all my anger and frustration into the blows. I was getting so into this that I failed to stop punching even when the door was opened by one of the pirates.
With a distinct smack, my fist collided with his stomach. He cringed.
Before I could withdraw my fist, he had grabbed my arm tightly. Trembling, I raised my head to look at him. He was the very same pirate who had tried to get Sasuke with a cutlass back when we were all on land. What did Itachi call him? Daisuke? Deisame? Deinara? I had no idea.
He had long blonde hair, part of which was tied up in a ponytail atop his head. His eyes were as blue as Naruto's and appeared to be outlined in black charcoal.
"Aren't you the fighter? That was quite a punch, un." He grinned impishly and dragged me out onto the deck. "Now, tell me, how did you manage to untie yourselves, hmm?"
"Let go of Hinata-hime, you filthy dog." Tenten snapped in a most un-Tenten-like way.
"Another fighter, un? How damn lovely." He rolled his eyes.
Tenten sent a punch towards his face but he easily caught her hand in his.
"I'm not stupid, girl. I could see that one coming, un." The blonde retorted. I could sense that anger was brewing within him and feared that he would take it out on either Tenten or me.
"Deidara, let them go. Captain said that they were my charge, not yours." The voice came from the blue-haired woman who had previously knocked Sasuke out. She had a calm demeanor to her and she showed not the slightest bit of irritation or concern at what Deidara was doing. Deidara, that's what his name was. Well, I was close.
Deidara heaved an aggravated sigh and let go of us.
"It's not like I was doing anything, Konan. Plus, she punched me first, un." He gestured at me with his hand. "One of them most likely has a knife, too."
The female pirate, Konan, rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a child, Deidara. Go do something useful instead. I'll take care of the prisoners."
Deidara trudged away, muttering profanities under his breath.
Konan looked over us with a steady eye. She seemed to be a relatively level-headed woman and to my happiness, she was clean. I had imagined that all pirates would be grimy and smelly, but this woman proved me wrong. Her clothes were freshly washed and her hair was neatly pined up in a bun with a white flower tastefully tucked beside it. Not a single speck of dirt could be found anywhere along her body.
"When you stop staring at me, I will show you around the ship and introduce you to the crew." She said coolly. This threw me off-guard. I blushed and looked away from her. I had forgotten that staring was rude.
"M-may I a-ask a question f-first?" I stuttered in fright and wrapped my arms around my torso, subconsciously protecting myself.
"You just did, but go on and ask another." Konan shrugged her shoulders indifferently.
I nibbled on my lip and forced myself to lift my head and look her in the eye. "Where's Sasuke-ouji?" I asked, tightening my hold on myself.
Konan gave me a minor smile. "He's under the guard of Kakuzu, below deck." She said as she turned around and began walking away. "Come on, follow me and I'll show you around the place. And about that knife, you'll need it."
Maybe, just maybe, Tenten and I had found a kindred soul.
Like sheep trudging after a shepherd, we followed her.
If I'm lucky, I'll put Chapter 5 up either today or tomorrow.