Standard Disclaimer Applies
| [A Million Pieces of Eight] |
Chapter III: Pirate Tongue
By Miasmic
"You look lovely today, Love."
Sakura grinned at Crow, cheeks rosy with glee. She really did look lovely. It was her mood, he presumed; it changed her appearance- the glow of her ivory skin and the brightness of her green eyes illuminated her face, contrasting with the sickly pallor she had the day they met. Crow even noted a pep in her step— something he rarely saw on a pirate ship full of old, dirty men— and was pleased to see Sakura in such high spirits. The previous night he remembered falling asleep to the dead silence of her still, crying body, the glisten of her tears visible in the moonlight. Although accustomed to quiet, having spent years up in the nest with only the lulling sound of the ocean, this was the kind of silence that Crow hated most. The silence of Davy Jones' Locker.
The source of her happiness, Crow realized, was the reclaimed ring around her neck.
"Thank you," Sakura chirped continuing to swab the deck. The smile remained on her face as thoughts of that morning replayed in her head for the umpteenth time: she had woken up before dawn, lying stiffly in her burlap hammock, weightless. How could the Captain just take her father's ring as if he owned every damned thing in the world? The question had plagued her mind all night, yet she surprisingly thought it with no anger. She was too drained to be angry. When the wake up bell rang at sunrise, Sakura had forced herself up. The red sun of daybreak cast jagged shadows into the quarters, and just as she was about to head toward the ladder a glint caught the corner of her eye. At the bottom of her hammock was a golden band— her ring— looking more beautiful than it had the day she found it in the cellar.
She knew then that it would be a great day.
Although, she couldn't help but wonder why the Captain gave it back. Perhaps he felt bad…
Like the fate of men given no quarter, the thought quickly drowned.
"Freddie!"
Sakura looked up from her work, spotting the blonde boy from before— Naruto. Her face fell. If there was one thing that could dampen her mood, it was that name.
"I'm a woman," she deadpanned.
"Not on this ship you're not." He chuckled to himself, walking over to pat her playfully on her shoulder. Sakura shrugged it off, not amused.
"Listen, Freddie, I need your help."
Sakura's annoyed façade quickly twisted into one of bewilderment, "You need my help? For what?"
"I dropped the key to the rum closet among some storage casks. My muscular arms are too massive and defined to fit through the crevices," He explained, playfully gazing at his biceps and flexing, "I figured you can reach it. You know, with your scrawny arms and whatnot."
Sakura rolled her eyes and sighed, a silent agreement— not like she could have said no to the First Mate anyways. Naruto ushered her downstairs to the storage room, pointing at a cluster of barrels against the east wall, "It's somewhere in there. I didn't quite see since it is a bit dark, though I'm nearly positive it's near the wall."
Sakura knelt down, beginning to search the spaces with her petite arm, pressing the side of her face against the casks in order to lengthen her reach.
"Why are you getting into the rum closet?" She questioned, curious.
"Sasuke is going to splice the mainbrace tonight before we dock to resupply tomorrow. He wants to get rid of our last bits of grog," He answered, leaning against a cask with crossed arms.
"How much is left?" Sakura asked, ignoring his casual reference to the Captain.
"Just a few casks. Enough to go by quickly," He mused, "With Sasuke not participating and all we may be able to slip you a few goblets if you're up for it. Don't tell him I said that though. "
Sakura's hand faltered in its search, her emerald eyes trailing up to Naruto's face "… He's not going to partake? Why? He doesn't like rum?"
"No, he doesn't like drink."
"You're joking," Sakura gaped.
Sakura was sure it was impossible for a pirate not to drink; utterly, positively, impossible. Drinking was a part of the pirate culture, practically a part of its definition. It was not simply a fact Sakura read in her books, it was common knowledge.
"No. Of course, he does drink sometimes. Only when he has to."
"Only when he has to?"
Naruto paused for a moment, feeling odd, as though he were revealing private information about his Captain, "I supposed… that means he only drinks in public areas, like the tavern."
"That's…" She paused, thinking of the right word, "Dry. Don't most people prefer the opposite? Why would he only drink in public?"
Naruto shrugged, "He's a pirate."
Sakura thought for a minute about what he meant. Why would Sasuke need to drink in public? Suddenly an image of Sasuke standing in a crowd of pirates popped into her head. He was out of place, foreign to the scene. Clean, pressed, and folded, compared to the grimy disarray around him. Maybe he was just overcompensating.
"If I had spotted you and him down in the marketplace I would never have suspected you'd be pirates," She confessed. Both of them were too clean. You wouldn't be able to tell them apart from some schoolboys, or the nice boy down the street that Mother so desperately tried to get Sakura courted by.
"I am much too dashing to be a pirate, aren't I? I knew it!" He said in an obnoxiously snobby voice.
Sakura giggled, wondering aloud, "How did you get into piracy anyhow?"
Naruto pressed his lips to the side of his mouth for a moment, his mind traveling back in time, "I worked in the Navy until I was about fourteen years of age before I went on account with Sasuke. We grew up together, did everything together, so when he asked me if I wanted to go on this adventure with him, naturally I said yes."
His romanticism annoyed Sakura. He spoke as if leaving home, everything you knew and was comfortable with, was easy; as if life itself was as carefree as ocean waves: omnipresent fluidity. Sakura grew cold at the thought of her mother, "How did your parents fair?"
"I'm an orphan. As far as my memory can recall, I was raised in the Navy, by soldiers. I know as much about my parents as you know about your father," Naruto stated, his sapphire gaze drilling into Sakura's. Deep within the darkness of his pupils, she saw something; a mixture of sympathy and gravity. At that moment she felt something shift inside of her. They were connected in an unspeakable, intangible way. Something about this boy made her want to know more, to find out about his past.
"They didn't tell you anything? Not even how they died?"She inquired, barely above a whisper.
Naruto shook his head. Whenever he had asked, the only thing soldiers would tell him was that the Admiral found him on the streets, orphaned, and took him in out of the kindness of heart. But Naruto knew there was more to the story than the goodness of a stranger. In this way, he related to Sakura. Her goal, searching for a man she knew nothing about, and her determination, was admirable. Naruto wished he was offered the chance to search for his parents, like Sakura.
But, of course, his parents were dead.
Sakura grunted slightly as the tiny silver key, hidden in the shadows of the cask crevices, touched the tips of her fingers and she called out, "Got it!"
Naruto looked down at her triumphant expression, a sad smile easing his lips. He knew his arm would always be too big to reach for that key, so he never tried.
The sun shone low in the sky, clearing mist and morning dew as early risers flowed into the streets of Port Haven. A normal looking bloke— black hair and creamy-white skin— was among them, his boots tapping against the uneven cobblestone path of the market rhythmically, purposefully, as he pushed passed idle vendors and bustling shoppers. It was one of the things Sasuke was grateful for about his appearance; his ability to blend, unnoticed in a crowd. It made things much easier. He and his crew had just arrived at the booming town only minutes prior in order to restock on rations and rum. As soon as the anchor was thrown Sasuke immediately scurried off, leaving Naruto in charge. There was something he needed to do, and he couldn't risk his crew— most of which did not possess the same aesthetic stealth as he—bringing attention to him. As Sasuke reached a familiar junction in the street, he turned the corner into a dark alley, obsidian eyes alert. At the end of the alley, hidden behind a few crates and debris, was a stone staircase leading to a cellar. Sasuke quickly descended, a lone lantern illuminating the landing in a sphere of yellow light. There was a wooden door, the space between its planks previewing the sights and sounds within. Sasuke pushed it open, walking into the heat of the underground pub, the stench of sweat, smoke, and alcohol hitting his face unpleasantly. The scene was as expected. The lighting the same as any pub he has been— dim and candlelit—low chandeliers and wall sconces. In the center of the room men and women danced to the music of the tiny band, and old salts were passed out against pillars or conversing at the bar. It was a pirate saloon. Every port had one, though this was by far the tiniest he'd been in.
Sasuke walked to the bar, uninterestedly ordering a goblet of rum out of habit, not quite having the intention to drink it. As he waited for the bartender to prepare his beverage Sasuke scanned the room, spotting tables filled with grungy, despicable pirates— experienced seamen. Just what Sasuke was looking for.
Leaving a few shillings on the counter Sasuke approached the group, stopping in front of their goblet clustered table. The men gazed up, the laughter caught abruptly in their throats.
"What do you men know about the Captain of the Seventeen Sails?" Sasuke interrogated, skipping the petty introductions.
One bearded man grinned, revealing a row of rotten, missing teeth.
"'nother eunuch lookin' for some glory," He chuckled, Sasuke's eyes narrowing at the belittling undertone, "Wha's it to you, bub?"
"No business of yours," Sasuke deadpanned, causing the man's face to drop like an anchor, "Have you seen him or not?"
"We've heard of him," One man answered haughtily.
"Aye, so have I and half this country," Sasuke snapped, "But have you seen him?"
"An' what if we 'ave?" Another challenged.
"Then you'll tell me what I need to know," Sasuke demanded. He retrieved a sack of doubloons from his pocket, watching the old salts eyes shine with desire, "Tell me about the emblem of his ship. Describe it."
"We don't know anythin' 'bout the emblem of 'is ship," one orange-haired, scruffy pirate scoffed, "No man 'as lived to tell it, don'cha know that, bloke?"
"So, you haven't seen him," Sasuke stated, putting returning the doubloons to his trousers. These sea-scums were wasting his time, toying with him for jest. He was young but he was fierce, and Sasuke couldn't stand to be belittled as such.
"Never said we 'aven't seen 'im," the orange one teased.
"What color is his hair?"
They all burst into laughter at the absurd question, the biggest of them— a gruff, black-bearded man with an enormous gut—saying, "How the bloody hell should we know? We ain't his garlfriend!" An ungodly noise sounded from the group as they tried to contain their laughter once more, droplets of alcohol-infused saliva flying from their lips. Sasuke's façade remained as stoic as ever.
"I don't have time for your jokes," He muttered.
"You were never quite one for jokes, were you."
Sasuke's ears perked. The feminine voice from which it originated did not match the faces nor slang of the filthy pirates in front of him. Sasuke gyrated on his heel slowly, eyes locking on the tall blonde woman standing directly behind him. Her hair was slicked back into a high ponytail, the silky ends brushing the middle of her back and exposing her studded ears. Bangles of all kinds clattered on both wrists as she moved to cross her arms. Her cropped shirt was half the length it was meant to be, while her black boots were double, reaching the base of her knee. Though what Sasuke noticed first was the grey-blue of her eyes— the color the sky was on a semi-cloudy day. Like the day he first met her.
Ino Yamanaka.
"I haven't seen you since we took away on Ol' Hatake's ship four years ago, Sasuke Uchiha," Ino said, letting his name roll off her tongue. It had an exotic twinge; like the juice of a poisonous fruit. Sasuke grimaced. The pirates behind him seemed to have lost interest in jesting Sasuke any further and returned to their own gaieties.
"Captain," He corrected.
"My apologies," Ino mocked, bowing her head slightly, "Captain."
"What do you want?
"I just wanted to slip in to say ahoy to an old friend. I also happened to overhear your conversation," She replied with a mocking grin, though it quickly melted into a flat line, "Why are you suddenly so curious about the Seventeen Sails?"
"What do you know about him?"
"More than you, that's evident," Ino scoffed, "My crew has actually seen him."
"Your crew," Sasuke scrutinized, disbelief marring his words. His mind reeled back to the short, twig-like thirteen-year-old he met so long ago. Time had turned her into a very good looking and bodacious woman, no doubt. But she would never have the strength to be a Captain. Even if it had been four years since he last saw her, he knew that about her. Some people, regardless of how much time and training you invest in them, were not meant to be or do certain things. That was how life worked, at least in Sasuke's opinion.
"The crew I am a part of, I should say. Our Cap'n is a mate of his," She corrected.
"Where's your Captain?"
Ino uncrossed her arms and place them on her hips, "Not 'ere."
Sasuke reached into his pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper with a wax seal on it, "Have you seen this before?"
Ino took the parchment in her hands, looking over the embossment: the skull and cutlasses, the placement and design. Her thumb and index fingers tightened around the edges of the paper, eyes hardening. She glanced up at Sasuke, "Aye, that's the emblem of the Seventeen Sails."
A smirk crawled its way onto his lips, and without a word he stalked off, leaving the piece of paper in Ino's grip.
"'ey! Where're you going?!" She yelled, but he was gone out the pub door. Blue eyes trailed over the seal once more, her mind reeling. How and where in the world did Sasuke get this? It was too authentic. Ino tucked the evidence into the pouch slung over her shoulder, pressing her lips into a thin line.
She would make sure to show this to her Captain later.
Jun bobbed from shop to shop, searching for supplies and rations, Sakura following close behind. For an old man he was extremely brisk, Sakura noted, even she had trouble keeping up. Occasionally he would glance over his shoulder to make sure she was still there, shooting her a stern, ardent look. Sakura would roll her eyes, suppressing a scowl at his guardedness. She knew he was in charge of her, and that it was his job to keep her out of trouble, but she couldn't help resist his suppressive chains. She wasn't used to being so closely watched— even her mother gave her some freedom. They didn't need to worry about her getting in trouble; she was in a bloody market square! What could possibly go wrong?
Sakura exhaled, letting her anger dissipate into the air. She would need to get used to it if…
Before Sakura could scurry toward Jun's energetic figure once more, something from behind snatched her elbow and was ushering her forward. Sakura's green eyes snapped to her left, spotting Naruto's golden spikes adorned with his signature orange bandana. She shot him a confused frown, but he just stared ahead, leading them toward Jun.
"'ey Salty," Naruto acknowledged once they reached the scruffy looking man. Jun glanced curiously over his shoulder at the couple before turning around, abandoning the rags he had been looking at under a nearby hut, "Mind if I steal the lil' missy?"
Jun's expression hardened, calculating eyes vertically panning Naruto, drilling for an ulterior motive. Surprisingly, he found none. Usually, he always found an ulterior motive in the boy. A pang of doubt cultivated within him, suspicion subsiding. He quickly pushed the feeling away. More often than not Naruto was up to something, no need to be doubtful or feel remorseful at the assumption. It's just that, throughout the years, Naruto's gotten better at hiding it.
"What do you need her for, boy?" Jun grumbled, the toothpick between his lips stiff with his clenched jaw.
"Just figured I'd take her off your hands," Naruto explained, linking his fingers behind his head nonchalantly, "The Bastard's off doing business, so I'm in charge. I need her for something."
Jun glanced at the two younguns sternly, stubbornly, trying to figure out a way to fight Naruto's verdict without going against the Captains. After a few moments, he simply grunted, turning around to resume his business.
"That's Jun for 'get the hell outta here'," Naruto whispered, nudging Sakura down the main road. As they walked Sakura expected Naruto to tell her why he bailed her out, or his hidden plan, but he didn't say a word. He simply remained silently in step beside her.
The marketplace was abnormally busy for early morning. Usually, trading was light during the day, reaching its peak at noon before dying down again. But this market was alive and active— probably all trying to snag the newest imports. Many different kinds of people were out and about
Sakura was too busy people watching that she barely noticed her accidental bump against a middle-aged woman ambling by.
"Pardon me," she immediately apologized, though to no avail. The lady, who seemed older in the face than in stature, just shot her a wide-eyed, mad look and scurried off.
As a third-party observer, Naruto dissected the exchange with narrowed eyes. There was something innately wrong about Sakura— girl turned boy turned pirate— apologizing to an ordinary pedestrian. The scene was too innocent.
"For as much as you claim to be a pirate you sure don't act the part. You need the tongue of a pirate, Frederick, not just the garb," Naruto scolded.
"But you don't talk like a pirate," Sakura shot back.
"I'm the First Mate. You're a cabin boy. You've got a whole lot more people to impress than I do. And for starters, you've got to impress me."
"You? Why you?"
"Because I'm the most impressionable member of the crew," He admitted, crossing his arms, "And I'm not impressed."
Sakura frowned at the cobblestone, trying to recall all of the pirate-esque information she had studied and practiced beforehand. It all seemed to be washed away by the sea.
"What do you suppose I do, then, to prove myself?" she snapped, looking at Naruto from under her eyelashes.
"How about you," Naruto began, trailing off for a minute as he scanned the area for an idea. The darting of his irises came to a halt, falling on a group of seamen along the docks of the harbor. They were loading buckets of grain onto their vessel; their shoulders broad and chiseled, figures somewhat stout. They weren't old nor young.
"Talk to them," Naruto finished, pointing his finger in their direction, "In your best pirate tongue."
"You can't be serious."
"I am."
"I can't. What if I'm horrible?"
"Oh, I know you'll be horrible, which is precisely why you need practice."
"What do I talk about?"
"I dunno, the weather? Act natural! Pirates are humans too you know," Naruto said, roughly shoving Sakura toward the Harbor. Sakura straightened her spine and pulled back her shoulders, strolling up to the men with what could be mistaken for as confidence. Naruto stepped back to watch, shaking his head at her mock attempt at acting natural, "Geez, what a landlubber."
He could hear her first words from where he was standing, and they made him want to facepalm.
"Ahoy, maties! Fair winds we be havin'."
The working men all turned confused, irritated eyes to Sakura and she suddenly felt small and insignificant; like she was stranded in the middle of the ocean with nothing but a plank of driftwood.
Damn Naruto to hell for this.
" Err… ," She stuttered, scratching her elbow nervously as she struggled to find the right words— Naruto's faint snickers in the background only made focusing that much more difficult. Once she found them she took time to translate them into pirate-tongue, allowing a heavy silence to permeate and pull at the continuously waning patience of the men, "I've got but a wee question, 'n' then I'll be outta yer hair, me promise. Ye all seem like able, well-knowing men, and so I desire to pester ye only for a minute to ask if ya know anything about… err, the Million Pieces of Eight treasure, and any clues on how to find it?"
Naruto's snickers caught in his nose like a suppressed sneeze, eyes widening as he stumbled over to Sakura, stepping in between her and the men— who, he must admit, were a lot larger up close— "Uh ahoy, g-gents, uh, sorry about this laddie, uh, he's a new sailor to my crew and um, he gets a lil too eager—," Naruto growled, shooting Sakura a pointed look, "—sometimes, and—"
"Aye… we've heard of them," the scrawniest— yet still massive— man answered, standing with his legs shoulder length apart on the creaky wood of the dock. He was a natural tower with an intimidating voice. Sakura was pleasantly surprised to see that even while standing next to him, Naruto, a noticeably shorter and less built man, held his own. He seemed completely unaffected by the physical difference, possessing an air of domineering, male headship— almost exactly like that of Sasuke, though with less obscurity.
"Come again?" Sakura blurted.
"We don't know whatever it is and aren't bloody interested, but we heard rumors a few days past about something in the next port over. Don't say ye heard it from us though."
Naruto narrowed his eyes. They mustn't be pirates— pirates didn't just tell other pirates where Keys were. Though, as he looked from face to face, neither one seemed to be lying, and all were noticeably disinterested in the subject. One of the seamen, the tallest, sought to clear up the evident suspicion.
"We 'eard some others talking about it," He said, "It was an older lady I believe. With a massive crew too, all women."
Golden eyebrows drew together at the mention of the name. Naruto felt like he had remembered a Captain like that… but he couldn't put a name or face on it.
"Thanks, gents," Naruto saluted, dusting off the thought for another time. The answer would eventually come to him.
The couple walked off to the red cobblestone of the main road once again, and when she was sure they were deep enough into the crowd Sakura turned to Naruto, a displeased look knotting her round, feminine face.
"I could have handled it. And I thought I was pretty convincing. Why'd you interrupt?"
"Because you don't just ask a pirate, or anyone really, about the Keys! That's daft and impulsive, begging for the hangman's noose! Don't you think before you act?!" Naruto nearly exploded, drawing curious glances from bystanders.
"I didn't ask about the Keys, I asked about the treasure!"
"It's implied!"
"How else do we find out where they bloody are?!" Sakura hissed back. It's wasn't like she had a compass built into her that pointed to where they were, as she had hoped her father's ring would do. There was no other way to find them unless they asked.
"We look for them on our own. If it was as easy as asking for them then you bet your arse we'd already have the treasure. The Keys are black market business, not open market, Frederick! GUH!"
"Then why do you think they told us, huh?"
"They said they aren't looking for the treasure. If that's true, then they don't care whether we know or not." Naruto looked back at the men, skeptical. They didn't look like much— aside from their brawniness— just simple fishermen at a glance, "Low ranked ships never search for as great a treasure as this, fearing the competition. They may be telling the truth, though I can't be sure. It could be intentionally misleading intel."
Before Sakura could open her mouth to defend her actions, an explosion sounded off in the distance, shaking the ground ever so slightly. All heads in the marketplace snapped in its direction, black smoke visibly rising above the brick buildings no more than a few blocks down.
"Time to go."
"Bastard," Naruto panted as he and Sakura jumped onto the ship within seconds of departure, "I have some... good… and bad… news."
All hands on deck darted their eyes and bent curious ears to the newcomers, still working on setting sail. Sasuke, who had been standing in the middle of the deck barking commands to the laboring crew members, turned on his heel leisurely, raising a brow.
"Well?"
"There may be, possibly, a Key at the next port."
"How do you know?" Sasuke questioned calmly.
"You see that was the good news, the bad news is—"
"I found it out," Sakura butted in, grinning like a kid in a candy shop, "I asked a few pirates down the Harbor about any intel they had on the treasure."
Unlike any other human on the face of the earth, Sasuke possessed an uncanny talent at hiding his emotions. Like an actor with a dispassionate mask, the only way to discern his feelings is by studying his actions and words. And even in this area, he was a difficult map to read. It took a truly skilled person to see past the mask; someone who had the privilege of seeing Sasuke's true façade. Naruto had been the only person to experience this phenomenon, and he could safely say he knew very well what Sasuke was thinking when others didn't. While he wasn't an incredibly observant person, he was subconsciously attuned to the smallest changes in Sasuke's demeanor.
For example, the way Sasuke's eyes widened less than a millimeter, the quick dilation of his irises, and the twitch of his fingers on both hands as if he was restraining the urge to ball them into fists. Or the way he unconsciously slid his feet to widen his stance, and slightly lifted his chin. These changes in body language were subtle, infinitesimal, and they were crucial in understanding Sasuke.
And at the moment, no one but Naruto knew just how pissed Sasuke was.
Shit.
"It seemed completely mad at first— okay, well, it was mad," Naruto explained, hoping to extinguish the fire in his best friend's soul, "Truthfully it was my fault. We were having a gag and she just happened to ask some blokes if they knew anything about the treasure, that's all. They shared what they knew and didn't seem to be lying. It was a stupid move, but harmless."
Sasuke approached the cocky, grinning Sakura, staring down into her shiny eyes.
"Don't do it again," he ordered.
Naruto sweatdropped.
"Why not?"
"Because by doing that you put the entire crew in danger."
"Well, how else am I supposed to help find the Keys?"
"You shouldn't be worrying about finding the Keys."
"Why the hell shouldn't I be?" Sakura exploded, using the tips of her toes as a futile attempt to gain some inches on Sasuke, "The closer we get to completing this map the closer I get to my father, right? I have good reason to worry."
Sasuke's onyx eyes narrowed darkly at her words. So she wanted to find her father, eh? He didn't know that was her true intention. Sakura, oblivious to her slip up, continued, "I can't just sit around and wait for you to find them, Captain. Give the rest of your crew a chance to have some glory."
Sasuke's fists clenched fully, and for a second Sakura— and Naruto— thought that he would hit her.
"I do give my crew a chance— plenty of chances— cabin boy. But you, I'm afraid, are not a part of my crew," he spat.
Sakura frowned, the center of her aching like the sting of a wasp. Not… a part of the crew?
She watched Sasuke spin around and walking away, her original retort long lost in the back of her throat.
"Well then, I'm glad. I don't have to call you Captain!" She finally called, but it was too late, for before she could even finish he had vanished behind the door of his quarters. How dare he? Sakura inwardly seethed. Not a part of the crew? She had signed the damned Articles— a clear and legal indication that she was a part of the crew! And he made her sign the Articles as an agreement to keeping her on board; he made her a part of his crew. He was so infuriating it made her insides boil.
Sakura calmed herself quickly.
Sasuke was an ass. She could learn to accept that and move on or be miserable for her entire journey.
Suddenly in high spirits, she turned to the crew, exclaiming with all the triumphant her soul could muster, "What did I tell you blokes?"
The crew burst into laughter and applause, and Sakura couldn't help but feel like the true Captain of the crew.
After the noise died down Jun spoke up, a hint of a smile crinkling around his toothpick, "Ye said ye would find it. Ye 'aven't done that yet."
"Our journey is still young, fellers, and I promise you I'll be the one to find it," Sakura declared self-righteously.
"Your arrogance reminds me of someone," Naruto laughed, and despite being directly compared to her sole enemy and oppressor, the epitome of egotistical Yetis, Sakura laughed too.
"Wonderful work, Love," Crow said, swinging an arm around Sakura's shoulder, fanning his palm dramatically over the rising sun, still low in the sky, "You're one step closer to your goal. Beyond that unforgiving horizon lies the Key to your success. We shall celebrate this major step in the Odyssey of Lady Sakura Haruno by splicing the mainbrace tonight! Pass Nelson's folly and rejoice, my fellow gents!"
Jun removed Crow's arm from Sakura and smacked the boy on the back of the head. From how often he got hit there, Sakura was surprised he didn't suffer permanent brain damage— or maybe he did, it was hard to tell. He ought to be numb to the pain by now.
"W'o gives ye the authority to plunder our cellar, in search of rum? Back to the crow's nest where ye belong!" Jun grumbled, shaking his finger disapprovingly at Crow.
Crow looked at Naruto for approval.
The First Mate and second in command shrugged, a smirk in place, "It's not like we're short."
It was true: they had just restocked their rum.
Hearing the loud and joyous uproar from outside, Sasuke peaked between the blinds of his window.
"Tch."
Nothing like rum as motivation to get your work done, right?
Sooo I know I haven't been able to update in a while, and I'm sorry. I've been super busy ALL the time, and finally, my life is starting to slow down. I'm finished with college stuff (almost… still waiting to hear back from a few), and I am almost positive I know where I am going. WOOP WOOP.
So yeah. HOORAY FOR UPDATES BEFORE THIS STORY'S ANNIVERSARY! I'm quite ashamed at how long I have been unable to write, and again I apologize.
BUT WOW. The number of reviews I got the last chapter was FREAKING AWESOME. Seriously. I felt really good afterward and it's why I've been laboring away to get this and the next chapter out very soon!
Can we do that again? Maybe make it to 50+? It would make my life and honestly cheer me up (I've received too many college denies for one person to handle… Product of applying to 12/13, I guess) But yeah, reviews make me happy :)
PS: So sorry for spelling/grammar mistakes. I really wanted to get this out to you guys. Also, I apologize for the lack of a cliff hanger. The next chapter WILL have one. NO DOUBT.
*I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, ect.*
See y'all soon!
