Last bit of chapter 9:
'Jiraiya,' Kakashi leant forward, 'he's the one you've been looking for for all these years.'
The old man's countenance changed in barely a second. His eyes swung into focus, hard. 'You're certain?'
The captain's visible eyebrow rose. 'Look at my ship.'
Chapter 10: Shopping! New pirates!
- (Warning: may have spoilers of Shippudden) -
Two hammocks (1) swung with the gentle rocking of the ship. Against the small, cracked pane of glass in the portal, mist swirled in the wind.
Every so often, a metallic clink could be heard – sometimes simply with the movement of the hammocks, at other times when the arm hanging over the cloth edge of the top bed twitched or was tugged down.
Eventually, with a muffled curse, Sasuke sat up and scowled. He pushed down a wave of pain that hit his wrist.
Shit.
How was he supposed to sleep?
The stupid dobe seemed to spend every night rolling over in one direction – while snoring and drooling – so that the chain got shorter by the hour.
After a moment in which he decided that an Uchiha always knows what to do Sasuke smirked, gripped the chain with his other hand and yanked it up mercilessly.
The smirk vanished as he heard a punctuating snort and felt an even stronger tug against the chain.
Stupid.
Stupid bloody dobe.
Sasuke jumped over the side and was on the verge of kicking Naruto's hammock until it overturned yet again – but then he saw the bandages. And his face softened. His expression collapsed. Even though it was healed now, Naruto's arm had been burnt from shoulder to hand. Sasuke couldn't get the image of needles out of his head.
He sighed.
Bloody dobe.
He looked around, feeling a bit of a twit, and Naruto opened his eyes. The blond boy smiled and stretched like a cat.
'G'morning,' he said sleepily, his arms above his head.
Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. Sometimes he didn't know what to make of this . . . blond. 'Come on, I'm going to speak to Kakashi.'
Still stretching, still distracting the hell out of the young Uchiha, Naruto frowned, 'Why do I have to come?'
Sasuke looked at him. He continued to look at him. Naruto raised his eyebrows in question. Sasuke frowned. And waited.
How stupid could one person get?
Sasuke watched realization dawn on Naruto's face. It was a peculiar experience.
'Ah, right, let's go then, teme!' Naruto jumped out the hammock in rumpled clothes which were still ripped and charred from the fight. The blond boy, however, was full of energy – running ahead through the door thoughtlessly and getting pulled back.
'I've got to put my boots on first,' Sasuke said peevishly.
Naruto stilled, his eyes shooting back to Sasuke and then to the boots, saying, 'ok,' in unusually rapid agreement.
Sasuke cocked an eyebrow. The morning was looking better.
xXx
'Remove the chain.'
Naruto was sure that Kakashi was grinning under that mask.
Sasuke shook his fist again. 'Remove the chain!'
Kakashi waved his hand in front of his face. 'Good morning to you, too.'
Sasuke's back straightened dangerously. 'We completed your disastrous training, have won passage to Kinsgora yet again, and now you will remove this chain.'
The captain chuckled.
Naruto's stomach growled. He needed breakfast. Noodles . . .
'Sasuke-kun, why do you think your training is finished?'
Sasuke's face closed off. 'It is. According to me.'
The captain continued as if he hadn't spoken. 'Well . . . I am the captain, and you two may still have to learn to live together. Each member of my crew is partnered and the two are accountable for each other's lives. You still have to prove to me that you're capable of doing that without being chained together. I think you could work soo well together, and,' he grinned, running his fingers down his masked jaw, 'it's convenient.'
One of Sasuke's slender eyebrows rose. It twitched. Sasuke looked about to retort, but closed his mouth very uncharacteristically.
Maybe Sasuke was angry. Naruto was just hungry. Maybe Sasuke was hungry. Hope flared in Naruto.
'Now, today you two must go into port and buy new clothes for yourselves,' Kakashi said.
Naruto pulled on the chain, unwilling to let go of his happy idea, 'Come on Sasuke, breakfast!' he said enthusiastically.
Sasuke stood very still, looked down and pinched the bridge of his nose.
Kakashi continued merrily, 'I can't have members of my crew dressed like that and you don't have any other clothes . . .'
Naruto's nostrils flared. 'It smells like sweet and sour noodles this morning, Sasuke.' Happiness danced in his blue eyes.
Leaning against the wall, Kiba grinned very widely and very toothily. 'Yeah, Sasu-kun. You came asking for your freedom and you get pretty clothes and yummy noodles. Off you go, you happy camper, you.'
Sasuke stalked out, Naruto in tow with his arms stretched above his head, shouting, 'Bansai! Yummy noodles!'
xXx
Well-tailored yellow cloth slid upwards to reveal a tanned abdomen, a defined chest, and slender, muscled arms. The blond boy's face was tense in concentration as he worked more knots loose and finally removed the garment all together with slow movements made by long fingers . . .
Sasuke leant back.
Naruto stood in front of him in only his undergarments. He slipped on an open white shirt. Or tried to, as it was still knotted, and stuck over his head. After much effort and after almost overbalancing, he pulled it down and straightened it after a fashion, then turned to the Uchiha for approval.
'Ok, should I buy this one, then?'
Sasuke put on a considering face. He scrutinised the new clothes. He ran his eyes up and down Naruto. 'Um . . . no. Try another,' he said.
'Sasuke! We've been doing this for three hours!'
'I know.' He crossed his arms. 'I'm not sure I think very highly of the clothes made here.' His face was deadpan.
'And we haven't even started on the pants yet.'
Sasuke stilled, looking thoughtful, 'Yes, this may take quite a while.'
'And you haven't tried anything!'
'I know.' Sasuke looked around for something to distract the boy. 'Try the orange one next.'
Naruto saw the violently orange, flowing shirt. 'Bansai!' he yelled, his eyes shining.
xXx
Two hours later, Sasuke announced that he'd get clothes for himself as well and Naruto thought that shopping was much more difficult than he'd imagined – it took a lot of thought and decision on Sasuke's part. And it annoyed him that Sasuke seemed far better at it than he was, as Sasuke was finished much quicker.
The last thing on Sasuke's list was boots. When he heard this, Naruto stood still. 'What? You mean want two pairs, teme?'
Sasuke smirked, arching an eyebrow and only replying after a moment. 'Yes, you always need more than one pair of boots.'
Naruto breathed a sigh of relief and they carried on walking. Was he imagining it, or was Sasuke smirking even more? How was it possible? Was the teme thinking of stealing his noodles?
xXx
'Let's go show the clothes to the dog-boy,' Naruto said as the chained cabin boys walked across onto the repaired deck. 'Kiba! Where are you! KIBA!'
The brown-haired pirate didn't respond, but they heard fast footfalls on the gangplank behind them and turned sharply. A slender young woman, (2) dressed in tight-fitting pants, heeled boots and a skin-tight leather corset, ran up to them almost breathlessly.
'You.' She flicked her glossy, short blue-black hair out of her eyes and impaled Naruto with a pupil-less stare. 'Where's Kiba?'
'Why?' Naruto asked, backing away somewhat from the intense lavender gaze and noticing a large, very sharp-looking dagger tucked into her belt.
'Quickly. This is of vital importance. Where is Kiba?' The girl gave a start when she glanced at Sasuke, as if not quite believing it. Her eyes followed the chain back to Naruto and her face broke into a hearty grin. But then she shook her head again.
'Why do you want to know?' Naruto asked – it looked as if the girl was hunting.
In seconds she had Naruto pinned against the wall, asking earnestly – 'Just tell me. Is he on this ship?'
Naruto nodded silently.
She grimaced. 'Shit! Now, for the last time, boy, where?' he noted that she was fingering her dagger.
Naruto glanced at Sasuke, who said, 'Probably in Kakashi's cabin.'
Her face fell. 'Oh no.' Her eyes widened.
Behind her, a tall woman with long wispy black hair and a skin-tight striped jacket which made her look as if she had bandages wrapped around her arms and upper body swept past.
Hearing the familiar click of heeled boots, the girl's face fell even further. She fell into step behind the woman, an, 'oh shit,' escaping her lips.
Naruto and Sasuke followed without even checking with each other first.
By the time they got into the room, Kakashi was sitting up in his bed and pulling on a shirt. He didn't appear to be in any hurry.
'Yo,' he said, leaning back in a mass of pillows and . . . messy brown hair?
Kiba sat up next to him, the blanket barely covering his stomach. He grinned insolently, saying, 'Kurenai!' His eyes then widened at the protruding stomach of the woman. 'Wow. You're even more pregnant.'
Kurenai took a deep breath and her swirling red eyes struck the boy. Naruto knew he would be scared if that were him. 'Charming,' she said with barely controlled civility. 'And tactful.' Her nostrils flared.
Behind the woman's back, the girl was making frantic 'be calm, be calming, she's heavily pregnant, you idiot!' gestures to Kiba. He was either blissfully unaware of them or just didn't understand.
'No, like really pregnant,' Kiba replied, then asked, 'How can you walk?' He pointed, as if that would be helpful.
The girl sighed and hung her head, again holding the hilt of her dagger.
'And where the hell have you been for so long? Stupid dog brat!' the woman seemed about to strike out.
'Whoa. What's gotten into you?' Kiba obviously thought grinning would be helpful. It wasn't.
The black-haired girl rolled her eyes and made pregnant stomach gestures on herself.
'What's gotten into me? So I'm the unreasonable one!? Everyone's inconsiderate! Bloody inconsiderate!' She folded her arms above her stomach, her hands clenched. 'I have not had a single drink in eight – eight – months and in a dangerous port' – her voice became deceptively calm now, and Kiba actually began to wince – 'a very dangerous port. A port in which I could have done with more help getting out of, you decided that it was the perfect time for you to get as drunk as a bloody rat-bird in a brewery without windows, fall off my ship and land, not in a gambling pit, but within drunken wandering distance of one, and then decide to start gambling with money you didn't have and end up arrested, escape the town guard and land up hundreds of miles away from me.' She stepped closer. 'So. Not only have I had to operate a fleet of ships while pregnant, but also without a drop of alcohol, AND without my bloody first mate!' she glared pointedly at Kiba. 'Hey?! You fool! You drunkard!' She looked from him to Kakashi. 'You promiscuous idiot!' She had been gripping her sword hilt for some time, and now she drew out the weapon, pointed it at Kiba for a dangerous, and then stabbed it into the wall.
The woman then took a very deep breath and began to rub her temples. The sword – embedded at least a foot in the wood – still quivered.
Kakashi glanced from her to the boy in bed with him and said, 'So, Kurenai, haven't seen you in a while. Who's the father?'
The girl put one hand on the wall, still hanging her head. Naruto could hear her taking deep, calming breaths.
Kurenai's face became serious and her lips pursed before she answered, 'I'm almost certain' – Naruto noticed that the brunette in the captain's bed tensed – 'it's Asuma. Yes, that man. I will kill Asuma when I find him. And I want strawberries.'
Kiba opened his mouth and began, 'But it's not strawberry seas-' At last he noticed the black-haired girl's very clear death signals – fingers slashed across her throat while frantically shaking her head. He closed his mouth.
A second later, Kakashi put his arm behind the pillows and brought out a punnet of fresh strawberries, thus earning the respect of everyone in the room and of Kurenai's entire crew for years to follow.
The woman stared at them, dumbfounded for a second. She stepped closer, eyeing out the juicy red berries. Then her face fell again. 'I want mint, too!' she said almost plaintively.
Kakashi reached his arm above his head. Everyone in the cabin followed its movement in rapt fascination. The captain pulled on a bell above the bed, 'Mookie, mint please.'
A second later, Kakashi reached under his bed and brought out a little basket of just-picked mint. The basket had a bow, saying 'Welcome Captain Kurenai' on the side.
That was how Kakashi earned the awe of the members of Kurenai's ship for decades to follow.
xXx
A few minutes later things were a little calmer. Kurenai had eaten her strawberries, and was nibbling on a mint leaf with a satisfied expression on her face. Kiba was fully dressed. The captain was fully dressed. Naruto and Sasuke, still holding their shopping bags, decided to leave.
The Uchiha turned and looked at the girl, asking, 'Speak to you later, Hinata?'
She gave the barest of nods before turning back to her hushed conversation with Captain Hatake. 'How much? How much, Kakashi, for you just to live on the ship? Just for a month. Please?'
xXx
Sasuke listened to the dobe's breathing become regular. As quietly as he could, he slipped out of his hammock and landed on the wooden floor, and slipped out of the door.
Hinata stood leaning against a wall with her arms and her ankles crossed. 'Where can we talk?' she asked.
Sasuke looked at the chain and closed the door to his cabin, saying 'here.'
Hinata's face spoke into a sudden grin. 'Is that some kinky new royal thing?'
The heir to the Uchiren empire scowled. 'I have no control over this matter. Ask the captain for a full explanation.' He flicked his hair out of his face and looked at the girl warily. 'I barely recognised you, cousin.'
'I barely recognise myself. I thank Kurenai and Kiba for that.'
'Your father has been looking for you for almost a year.'
She snorted derisively, 'Probably not too hard, Sasuke, you know that.' She came up to him, talking more softly. 'You, on the other hand, will be looked for in earnest.'
He inclined his head. 'With respect, there are circumstances of which you are currently unaware. I have compelling reasons for not remaining there. I ask you not to expose my position.'
Hinata looked sidelong at him for a moment. One of her eye-brows arched. 'Formal language, Sasu-chan?' She grinned and slapped him on the arse. 'Chill,' she said through a laugh. 'Geez. We're not in the palace here, haven't you noticed?' Her grin widened – 'It's great when you figure that one out. Definitely do before you go back, Sasuke.'
He looked at her retreating back, at her unfamiliarly confident strides, she lifted a hand, not looking back, 'I won't open my mouth, and I trust you'll do the same. Have a good night.'
xXx
Sasuke opened his door again. He looked at Naruto and considered the prospect of another sleepless night. He stood still for a moment, and then moved very slowly – crawling into the blond boy's hammock, settling next to him with as little disturbance as he could manage, looking at Naruto's profile.
After a moment his body relaxed and fit comfortably against the sleeping warmth. Naruto was shifting in his sleep as usual, and Sasuke brought an arm over, stilling the blond boy's movements. He closed his eyes, rubbed his face gently in the blond hair, and was aware of nothing else until late the next morning.
xXx
(1) both alike in dignity, in fair hathyr, where we (ye olde fluffe pirates) lay our scene . . .
(2) see wlkwos, we do have female characters – ten chapters in! the men don't retreat into corners and bud !
Sorry! We've been too busy to include all zee foot notes (though one or two of you would apparently be pleased at this fact )
There's a lot on our plates at moment, and we'd rather get the chapters out . . .
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