The fluff pirates:

Hey guys – woot! An update!

My god – we know it's been a while, but stuff and things have been a bitch

But little pirate has finished exams and big pirate has to – and she has no more work – godly holidays :)

And little pirate has branched out into the realms of the zee 'arry potter fanfic land of wunder – take a look at her fic – oh the drama, oh the intrigue, oh the yaoi!

Hope you like this chapter : D

xXx

Last bit of chapter 10:

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.

Chapter 11: Naruto meets an old friend – Kakashi makes a new friend !

Naruto was dreaming. He had to be dreaming, he reasoned, because he lay in a gigantic, a colossal, oh-so-comfy bed. When he stretched his hands and arms out as far as possible, he couldn't touch the top, bottom or the sides of it. And it was soft. And it was warm. And it smelt wonderful for some unknown reason.

Yeah, he knew he was actually in a hammock, but this was nice for the moment.

Hovering between consciousness and unconsciousness – in that wonderful in between place where you know you're dreaming – he was glad he wasn't having the usual dream of being on an uncomfortable bed roll at the bottom of a very small ship rocking nauseously in the wind. He wondered what the difference was.

The blond boy finally woke up and opened his eyes. Sasuke wasn't in the hammock above – it hung loosely. Naruto frowned.

He felt . . . warm. And peculiarly comfortable . . .

Two seconds later, still frowning, he realised someone lay next to him.

How odd.

He didn't move for about ten minutes. It was nice. He had to admit that. And he knew who it had to be.

He frowned again.

Slowly, he dared to move his head to look.

Sasuke's face was very . . . close. The other boy's features were relaxed. His usually perfect hair was messy. Without the disdainful scowl he looked a lot younger than he usually did. A small smile appeared on his face and Sasuke made a sort of sleepy, contented 'hmph' noise.

Naruto's cheeks turned bright scarlet. He looked again. Sasuke was so cute.

Sasuke's grip around Naruto's chest tightened momentarily. Naruto decided he didn't have anywhere he needed to go for the moment. He sighed – quietly – and his face broke into a huge grin as he snuggled closer to the dark-haired boy.(1)

Naruto wasn't sure of the time that passed, but it was . . . later . . . when he noticed Sasuke's breathing changing.

Is he waking up? Shit! What to do?

xXx

Sasuke snuggled closer to the warmth and breathed it in. It was in his arms and it was wonderful. His entire body was calm and sinking in – sleep was sooo good.

He frowned and opened his eyes blearily.

Sasuke opened his eyes blearily and just saw blond hair. He was suddenly very glad that that Naruto was still asleep. All the bravery he'd felt the night before seemed to have evaporated somewhere between his eyes being closed and his eyes being opened.

Thanking every minute of stealth training he'd ever experienced, the Uchiha crept out of the hammock. It was odd for him to sleep late. Why hadn't he woken earlier?

He looked down.

Oh, right, that's why.

Naruto rolled over to where Sasuke had been lying, curling up into the warmth that still had to be there.

The Uchiha stared. His dark eyes stayed on the sleeping blond as Sasuke scratched the back of his head, wondering what to do. He half turned, wanting to go, and he wished that he had nothing to do with anything royal whatsoever, certainly not his family, but he knew that a) he was still the bloody heir to the bloody empire and b) he couldn't even leave the room without a certain boy. He sat down on a crate. (2)

'Not kicking me awake this morning?' Naruto asked casually. No, he asked it insolently. Then he turned over and grinned. 'Good morning.'

'Smart ass. Get up.'

xXx

Around lunch time, Sasuke shifted in his seat, trying to ensure that as little as possible of his new clothing and god forbid his skin, touched the seat. Smells of something anciently greasy and possibly rancid wafted into his delicately creased nose.

Hinata gave a hearty laugh. 'Sasuke? Could you be sulking?'

The heir to the Uchiren Empire scowled. He was not sulking. He was merely dwelling on the conversation of more than half an hour ago.

When Naruto was really interested in what he was talking about, his face became alive. The shape of his mouth, his wide grin, changed from second to second, from word to word. Not to mention his eyes, which were always particularly animated.

Sasuke stared, this boy was mesmerizing.

Naruto's eyes became round, the light blue they turned when he was expectant, and the blond boy looked at him in question.

Sasuke almost smiled. Then he realized the face had stopped moving and the look had become a small frown. He shook his head, 'Sorry, what?'

'So? We're going?'

'Going where?'

'Teme! I've just told you!'

'Where, baka?'

'The Pig's Tail Ramen Shoppe!'

Sasuke stiffened. They'd passed it the day before. He shuddered. 'Ah. That place.'

Naruto jingled the chain, saying, 'Let's go!'

'No.'

Naruto turned and stared at Sasuke, 'We are going.'

A dark eyebrow rose, 'I don't want to.'

The blond walked up to him, fists clenched. 'Do you me to sling you over my shoulder and carry you all the way there?'

Sasuke paused – considering this, but decided against such a course of action. 'No. No, I don't.' His dignity had won out in the end.

So there he found himself glaring at the blond-haired boy – whose head was half buried in his third ramen bowl. The boy could eat fast.

The girl chuckled. 'You are sulking.'

'Yeah, he is,' said Kiba, his mouth full, his lop-sided grin still present.

As the girl turned back to her food, Sasuke noticed one of the few things he still recognised in her. She sat elegantly, her posture perfect and her eating, if not as polished as it was before, still impeccable. So some of her did remain. Other than that, he did not recognise the girl next to him.

The Hinata he knew stuttered and sighed quietly more than she spoke and retreated in silence more than she did anything at all. Her talking back was unimaginable, let alone her passing snarky comments about him.

His eyebrow twitched. He was glad for her, but did she have to take it quite that far? The slap on the arse, certainly, was too far. Dignity should not be abandoned that easily.

Someone ordered ramen in the shop and Naruto's attention was actually drawn away from his food. In fact, he whipped his head round at lightning speed.

'Iruka!'

The brown-haired stranger with a scar across his nose and cheeks turned in confusion. 'Naruto?'

Sasuke bristled. This man knew Naruto.

The blond boy jumped up and ran over to Iruka, almost knocking him over in a tackle, oh no, a hug. Sasuke, distracted for a second, was pulled off his bar stool by the chain.

'Dobe!' The Uchiha got up and hastily checked his clothing. 'Watch where you're going!'

Naruto shrugged sheepishly and then brightened. 'Sasuke! It's Iruka! I found him!'

'You found noodles. This man found you.' Sasuke inclined his head stiffly and Iruka gave a hesitant smile, which faded quickly in the face of Sasuke's glare.

Naruto, blissfully unaware of all of this, carried on loudly, 'Come sit with us! Haven't seen you in years! Where have you been? What've you been doing?!'

Iruka chuckled and ruffled Naruto's hair affectionately. 'Hello to you too, Naruto-kun. Who would have thought I'd find you in a noodle place?'

Sasuke snorted.

Iruka sat down and even before he ordered food, or could answer the questions, Naruto was off again, 'I'm a pirate now! On a ship and everything! It's called-' Sasuke kicked him violently.

'Baka! You're not supposed to shout that out. Baka!'

Iruka chuckled. 'You still haven't learned, Naruto, nor changed for that matter.'

'First,' Naruto carried on slightly more quietly, 'I was on an Imperial navy vessel, called the Goat's Feather – I was a cabin-boy, but then-' Sasuke kicked him again, and Iruka laughed.

'And then,' the blond carried on in a whisper, his eyes alive, 'I got onto a pirate ship and now,' his face froze in realisation, 'I'm . . . still a cabin boy.'

Sasuke hid a smile.

Iruka kept his face neutral. The Uchiha had to admire him for that.

'A pirate ship, well done,' Iruka managed.

And Naruto was back to normal. 'Yeah! Pirates everywhere!' And the blond was kicked again – his voice had jumped up to the usual level too. 'It's really famous, the ship's called Icha Icha-' Iruka's face froze '- Paradise,' Naruto finished.

Iruka's face deadpanned. 'That ship? Captain Hatake's ship?'

Naruto nodded enthusiastically.

Sasuke almost laughed at the motherly protectiveness practically oozing out of the brunette.

'What is this Captain like, Naruto?'

'Really really friendly. He always says I need to relax, in the sauna, with him. But Sasuke always says it's a bad plan.'

Iruka's head whipped round to the Uchiha, 'You're Sasuke, right?' There was a clink and the man's eyes found the chain with frightening rapidity. 'What's . . . that, pray tell?'

Sasuke was on the dangerous end of motherliness. 'It's a chain,' he said with a straight face.

Iruka stared.

'Bits of metal,' Sasuke continued, 'linked together.' Sasuke demonstrated with his fingers. People should get over it already.

Iruka glared.

Sasuke glared with equal intensity.

The brunette turned to the blond, 'Will you take me to this ship, Naru-kun. I must talk to this captain.'

'Sure!' Naruto exclaimed. 'I'll show the whole thing, Iruka-sensei! It's sooo cool! Yosh!'

Sasuke realised that the blond boy must live in a shiny, happy place.

xXx

'So what have you been doing?'

As they walked down the bustling street, Naruto managed to speak above all of the noise, as usual. Iruka replied with his gaze swinging between Naruto and the chain.

'I've been a quartermaster, but my ship was attacked two weeks ago, leaving us here in the harbour for repairs-'

But the blond boy cut him off, saying, 'One minute! Noodles!' and stuck his head into a suspicious-smelling stall.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and Iruka murmured, 'I swear the boy thinks of nothing else . . .' Sasuke noticed him look over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow. 'Have you felt someone following us?'

Sasuke nodded. 'Since the shop.'

'Yo!' Kakashi appeared out of nowhere and looked Iruka up and down. 'I need a quartermaster,' he said lazily, 'do you know where I could find one?'

Sasuke almost groaned.

Iruka's cheeks turned slightly pink just before Naruto swung round and said, 'Kakashi!'

Iruka's eyes narrowed to slits. 'You're Captain Hatake?'

'Kakashi to you.' Then he winked. Or blinked. No one was really sure.

The browned-haired man shot another protective glance at Naruto and said, 'I need to discuss something with you. In private.'

'Come by cabin any time.'

Sasuke shook his head and covered his eyes.

xXx

They left for the next port with Iruka still on board. Naruto was confused, but very happy. Who would have thought that the man he looked up to, the man who had instilled in him his dream of becoming a pirate, would be flying a ship with him. Oh happy days.

And he got on so well with the Captain.

Three days into the journey, they were all on deck. Naruto was peeling potatoes, as was Sasuke. The blond boy was upset that this was the only thing so far that he was better at than the stow-away. Kakashi was reading, and Iruka was checking supply lists.

Mookie, inside the kitchen, turned the radio up.

The sounds of static came onto the deck through the sliding door, and then a voice began:

'Grand Prince Uchiha Sasuke, recently declared the Heir to the Empire, has vanished without a trace. Any help regarding information which leads to his Royal Majesty's discovery or capture or capture of his Royal Majesty's capturer's will be handsomely rewarded.' (3)

For some reason, Sasuke and Kakashi shared a glance. And Kakashi had started paying attention when he heard about the reward.

Sasuke turned the page of a newspaper – hey wasn't he supposed to be peeling potatoes too? – and said dryly, 'Not that handsomely, trust me.'

Naruto hoped the Captain wouldn't start looking for the royal prat, as Sasuke needed to get to Kinsgora as quickly as possible, for some reason.

'He has been seen going south,' the voice over the radio continued, 'possibly towards Kinsgora.'

Hey, they were going that way, maybe he and Sasuke could find him!

'The Grand Prince and Heir of our great Uchiren Empire has black hair and dark eyes, as befits his status and pure blood.' Kakashi chuckled. 'He is tall and slender and is sixteen years old. All information is to be taken to the nearest Imperial Guard House.'

Naruto looked around at the people on deck. No one fit that description. He looked at Sasuke. Dark eyes . . . Dark eyes and hair . . . ? That strange accent . . . ? A nice accent.

Naruto cocked his head to the side. Could Sasuke be a minor lord?

xXx

(1) Thing's were a lot simpler when one of them was unconscious.

(2) we hereby dub this crate Fred. He is a handy crate. And he's had an Uchiha arse sit on him. Therefore he is a happy crate. He will no doubt appear in the story again when arses need to rest. If any crates have appeared so far, they were also, no doubt, Fred.

(3) say this three time fast – Little Pirate grins maniacally.

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