It quickly became apparent that security work was pretty boring. Sasuki took to passing the time with her katas, and after a few sets of basic exercises, he had little to do but watch her. Watch her sweaty, chiseled body, flushed faintly red against the brisk autumn air as she struck and swung and grunted.
For hours.
So you might give the young man some slack for not noticing the danger until a tree hammered against the earth. It hadn't hit the boat, which was nice, but with such a narrow stretch of water turning around seemed challenging, and with one end of the massive oak on either side of the river bank their path was soundly blocked.
"Look alive folks!" Anko chirped, whipping her cutlass out with nary a noise.
Then she stepped out of the forestry.
Ten feet tall at least, bigger and wider than any human could dream of being. Massive muscles largely uncovered by the animal skins she wore on her torso. Then of course there was the cudgel in her hand that looked like it could destroy the boat with a few good overhead swings. Her braided, bright pink hair made quite the contrast to it all, though none dared look away from her weapon long.
It was shocking when she spoke so simply and clearly.
"Alright, make this easy, all the food you got onboard and I'll move the tree," she offered calmly, stepping onto the boat with a determined look in those big green eyes. The deal didn't sound too bad to Naruto, what was two and a half days without food compared to being a crushed bloody pulp for the rest of your life?
"Counteroffer, how about you move the tree right now and I don't cut you up like a holiday roast?" the captain jeered back, even as a panicked look over his shoulder confirmed the smile was still on her face. Well, maybe she really could kill a giant but that giant now had her attention firmly on her!
He groaned because he knew what was right. What he had to do. After all, if anyone on this floating coffin could actually survive a hit from her it was him.
"YAGH!" he cried, charging the woman nearly twice his size and pulling his sword back with both hands. Her face turned to his direction, so the idea was at least a partial success. Though the next thing he was distinctly conscious of was soaring into the air to nearly her height.
Two lengthy seconds passed as the woman sneered at him while he wiggled and tried fruitlessly to move his arms, both clenched firmly in the giant's balled fist. Craning his neck he could see his sword poking out from the top of this iron grip. Then both the sword and he began falling rapidly away from that hand.
He realized what happened when he hit the chilly river water with a splash.
Thankfully he had the wherewithal to keep a grip on his weapon, no guessing how long it'd take to find it if it slipped out of his hands in this murky ass water. Far longer than it'd take this beast to kill them he'd wager. Though that concern was silenced before he even managed to pull himself out onto the riverbed.
Anko wasted no time after his little charge it seemed, and the giant was already shifting her stance to create distance from the woman, even lifting the massive club overhead!
A flash of black caught his eyes, brought them back down from the cudgel to the deck. Naruto got a good enough view to see Sasuki slip between the two trunk-like legs,with not a sound, at least not one he could hear. The legs suddenly buckled! As if in slow motion the giant toppled to the ground with a thunderous crash!
As she fell Sasuki slipped back through the legs, and even made a third long cut down her foe's calf.
That pained scream must have carried a mile.
"Hot damn kid, you really do know how to use that thing!" Anko called, walking to the side of the boat and not seeming overly concerned with the giant she was turning her back on. "You can get back on board yourself right blondy?" she called over the side, gesturing to the ladder half submerged.
Well, he was already soaking wet.
By the time he doggy-paddled over and crested the side of the ship Sasuki was waiting for him. Or maybe she was just waiting to use the ladder herself because holy shit that was a lot of blood on her. Half her cloak and no small part of her face were soaked crimson. She was standing up straight but Naruto still double-checked.
"You're not hurt, are you?"
"She didn't lay a finger on me. You are lucky she didn't shatter both your forearms!" his friend barked angrily.
He spared a glance at the 'she' in question. Their attacker was sitting upright against the railing, not saying anything as she clenched both hands over her leg, doing her best to hold the wound closed. Judging by the rapidly growing puddle around her, this was having limited success.
Was she going to die if he didn't do anything?
Sasuki seemed to think so. She walked right up to her, stopping just outside the reach of the giant's arms. The dagger in her hand dripped as she honed in, but it wasn't until she pulled it back to throw, straight at her jugular if he had to guess, that the helpless target spoke again.
"Spare me," the giant said, voice not exactly full of fear, hell almost commanding.
"Why the hell should I?" Sasuki spat back, keeping her throwing arm braced.
"….Because I am very powerful? Very useful," she goaded, words slow, like the woman who'd carved up her legs was some kind of simpleton. "You are clearly a warrior, can you really not think of any use you'd have for me?"
"Oh please, like you wouldn't just run off at the first opportunity, probably after crushing my skull in my sleep,"
"I am prepared to offer an oath of service,"
"Oh wow, an oath," Sasuki retorted, only now lowering her arm a bit, and only a bit. Fortunately, Anko took that moment to speak up.
"Oh no, hill giants care a lot about honor and oaths and all that crap. You know, in general, this one might not give a shit,"
"What a ringing endorsement,"
"Hey, I'll take her if you don't!" the captain insisted.
"I- fuck I need to think," she said, finally turning her gaze away from the brute. Turning it right on Naruto, as a matter of fact. "You. What the hell did you expect to happen there? You're lucky you weren't crushed into paste what were you thinking?!"
"That I would distract her for a few seconds?" he retorted weakly. "Hey it worked!"
"Sure did! Great work kiddo," Anko said, throwing an arm around his neck and yanking him in close. "Oh ew, right, you're sopping wet," she laughed. "Come on, my cabins got a nice stove where you can hang out your shit to dry. Knife girl you probably want to dive in and do the same, get that blood cleaned up, you can chill in my room until that's done. Oh! That gives me a great idea!"
Her grin growing even more manic as the two tired youngsters stewed in their worry.
"We should have a threesome!"
"What?" Naruto asked, unsure if he heard correctly.
"WHAT!?" Sasuki asked with… a bit more emotion.
"Oh come on, the little dumbass tried to sacrifice his life for us! What else could we possibly reward him with that would stack up?" she teased. Sasuki just glared. Her brow steeled and her teeth clenched as she sucked in a breath to speak, only to be cut off. "Besides there's nothing like it," she whispered, bringing her face an inch away, whispering. "A fuck after a fight? All the adrenaline and fear and relief combined with all the good feelings of a hot lay? Your missing out-" she sang out the last bit, grabbing Naruto's hand and strolling back to her cabin.
"Are you seriously going with her?!" Sasuki spat out, glaring at her companion who had taken exactly two steps along with the older woman
"I mean…. At least to get dry," he defended.
"AT LEAST?!" she roared back.
Thankfully Anko's boisterous laugh captured her attention and relieved him of her death glare.
"Don't be too hard on the boy, I may have made this a condition of your free boarding," she said coyly, lied coyly. Unless she meant that she was adding it as a condition right this second. Before he was done pondering these questions he was once more in motion, being all but dragged back to that bedroom with the feather bed.
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Will Sasuki join them or not? Find out next time on Perks of being Kidnapped!
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