Hell and High Water

“Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates.” -Mark Twain, US Author (1835-1910)

Chapter Two

Sasuke was fairly certain it was the throbbing in his head that woke him. The pain was surprisingly acute and as he rolled onto his side, he was forced to swallow back a wave of nausea. Once he was confident he wasn’t about to throw up, he tossed his legs over the side of his bed and sat up, frowning at the way the air seemed to stick to his skin – an indication that he hadn’t bathed the night before. The unfamiliar odors that assaulted him supported the theory.

Deciding it was far too early and that he was feeling far too sick to be concerned with matters like personal hygiene, Sasuke flopped back in his bed only to have the back of his head slam into a wall instead. Crying out in pain, he curled forward and clutched his skull, wincing at the bright lights that flashed before his eyes. Dizziness flooded his senses and the world gave a sudden lurch, pushing his nausea past the point of control.

Dropping to the floor, Sasuke’s hand knocked over what sounded like a bucket. Thanking Fortune for the smallest of graces, Sasuke blindly scrambled for the pail, uprighting it just in time as his stomach lurched, forcing out as much of its contents as it could.

When he was done, Sasuke remained hovering the bucket, struggling to recover. His head was pounding in time with his heartbeat, but at least the queasiness was mostly gone.

A soft whine from several feet away alerted Sasuke to the fact that he wasn’t alone. He groggily forced himself to look up, freezing almost immediately at what he saw.

There was a dog. A white, gigantic dog that was easily twice the size of any wolf Sasuke had ever seen. It stood up once it realized it had Sasuke’s attention, tail wagging as if it were glad the Uchiha hadn’t keeled over and died after puking his guts out.

Sasuke didn’t dare move, and as the staring contest continued, the tail stopped moving. It took the dog several more seconds to realize nothing exciting was going to happen anytime soon before it decided to sit back down with a huff.

It was only then that Sasuke realized he was safe – the dog was behind bars in a metal cage. But as he looked up to try and see the dimensions of the cage, Sasuke realized something was wrong. The dog wasn’t the one in the cage. He was.

Or more accurately, I’m the one in prison, Sasuke mentally termed as he took the time to observe his confines in the dim lighting of predawn.

Feeling momentarily panicked, Sasuke did his best to recall just what he did to wind up in such a place. As the memories of what had happened probably only a few hours previous began to trickle forward, dread washed over him. He had been attacked! And captured! Where was he? And just who were his assailants?

Shoving the bucket away, Sasuke straightened out on all fours, frowning at the wooden floor as he struggled to fight discombobulation so he could figure out just what was going on.

It was the rhythmic creaking of the floorboards and the way the ground refused to stop swaying that caused the hopelessness to wash over him before his brain informed him why.

He was on a ship. A ship with a built-in prison, monstrous guard dog, and conveniently placed puke bucket. And judging from the smell of the air and cold humidity, the ship was probably out at sea as well.

Sasuke had never been to the ocean before. He had traveled as far as the beach, but had been too afraid at that age to actually venture out into the water.

He had heard of a few Uchihas who traveled the world on international cases every now and then, but they always returned home to the mainland looking worse for wear, their crimes often still unsolved.

“The mainland is where an Uchiha belongs,” Sasuke could distinctly remember his father saying. “Never chase your visions out to sea, boys. The Sharingan may be powerful, but the world is far larger still for such power to make any conceivable difference.”

Sasuke had never understood those words as well as he did now.

Hysteria began to bubble within him and he erupted in uncontrollable laughter. All his life he had wanted nothing more than to be a part of his family. To prove himself worthy of his father’s time and attention. To show that he was just as good as all the other Uchihas even without the use of his Sharingan. And now here he was, kidnapped and out at sea, with no hopes of rescue and no one to rely on but himself.

If wishes grew on trees…

Laughter dying down, Sasuke felt far more clearheaded than before. Picking himself up, he dusted off his knees and sat down on the bench. Once settled, he leaned forward to rest his elbows on his thighs and glared almost challengingly at the canine watching over him.

“Well?” he demanded.

The spoken question caused the dog – who had remained silent through the prisoner’s momentary breakdown – to jump back up and begin barking furiously.

A bit shocked by the reaction he had received, Sasuke watched as the animal took off running down the corridor and off to some distant part of the ship, still barking up a storm. It wasn’t until he could hear the thudding of boots approaching his cell did Sasuke wonder if maybe it had been a bad idea to intimidate the dog.

The animal reappeared before the owner of the shoes did, still yapping away as if the person wasn’t approaching fast enough. Sasuke decided then and there that unless the dog possessed some ridiculously amazing talent other than being big, it was far more annoying than whatever it was worth.

“Quiet, Akamaru!”

The dog fell silent with an audible snap of its jaws and sat by the far wall.

The dim glow in the distance brightened and a lantern appeared, being carried by what Sasuke could tell to be a well-muscled arm despite it being covered by an oversized long-sleeved shirt. The torso that followed fit the arm to a ‘T’ and Sasuke easily guessed that this man was the muscle of the operation.

The lantern was held up against the bars and the man’s head moved forward, giving Sasuke a better view of his face. Brown hair, brown eyes, there wasn’t anything remarkable about him except for the two inverted red triangles tattooed down his cheeks.

For a moment they both simply stared, as if assessing one another. Finding nothing impressive about his captor, Sasuke grew bored and scowled at the man, wondering why the hell he was being peered at so intently. If the man wanted to watch him, why didn’t he just do so when Sasuke had been unconscious?

“Kiba, you idiot, you forgot to grab his food.” The gruff voice startled Sasuke, but Kiba’s eyes remained glued.

“What, is he dead?” A large, hairy man appeared in the circle of light and Sasuke immediately noticed that his bulk and size was nearly twice that of Kiba. The theory of Kiba being the muscle of the group fell flat.

Kiba snorted. “Does he look dead to you?”

The buff man barely spared Sasuke a glance.

“No.” He unhooked the keys from Kiba’s belt to unlock the prison door. “He looks pale, scrawny, and calculating enough to try to undermine my size and your distraction for speed in a pathetic attempt at escaping.”

A meal tray was placed on the floor and kicked over, stopping just short of Sasuke’s foot. Liquid sloshed over the sides of a small metal tankard that was on the tray, soaking the food around it. Sasuke barely noticed. He was too busy discarding the idea of the buff man having muscles to make up for any lack of brain.

Kiba held his hand out for his keys, finally looking over at his companion. “Hey, did you see his eyes?”

Thick eyebrows went up in question. “What about them?”

Kiba went back to his staring. “Can you tell if they’re red at all?”

Sasuke’s own eyebrows very nearly rose as well.

A large hand rose and hit Kiba in the back of the head hard enough to make his face slam into the bars.

“Ow! What the hell was that for?” Kiba demanded, clutching his forehead as he whirled around to glare at his assailant.

“Do you stare into the eyes of a basilisk?” the other man demanded.

“No…”

“Then why would you look into his?”

A glance was cast in Sasuke’s direction. “Because he’s not a basilisk.”

Sasuke snorted, causing Kiba to momentarily scowl at him. But the animosity was short-lived as Kiba returned his attention to the other man. Since his back was to the prison, Sasuke could only imagine the look the larger man was sporting. Whatever it was, it had Kiba deflating faster than an emptying sack of rice.

“Fine, whatever,” Kiba sullenly relented. He stepped away from the bars and went to hang the lantern on the opposite wall.

The other man began to walk away. “Have I told you you’re an idiot yet today?” he called over his shoulder.

Kiba followed. “Jesus, Asuma. It’s still another three hours until dawn. Can’t you hold off insulting me until then?”

Listening to the gruff laughter as it faded, Sasuke looked down at his meal of bread and fruit. Whoever these men were, they knew of the Sharingan. Angrily, Sasuke kicked an apple hard enough to send it skittering across the floor, coming to a stop at the dog’s paw on the other side of the bars. Unfazed, the dog eagerly ate the treat.

Jumping to his feet, the Uchiha teetered a bit until he grew used to his sea legs before he began to pace back and forth.

He was such an idiot for falling into such a trap! Anyone with brains would have been suspicious from the second Neji hit the ground. No rogue thief or vagabond carried around long swords as weapons. Now Neji was dead – again – and Sasuke had been captured.

But why?

Running his hands through his hair, Sasuke took a deep breath and did his best to calm down.

It didn’t work. He still felt the urge to punch something.

Frowning, he moved to the center of his cell and, ignoring the curious stare of the damn dog, started his usual morning routine of martial art techniques. With any luck, the physical exertion would help clear his mind enough to think straight.

As he worked his way from the Hunting Tiger to Dancing Dragons, his thought process settled enough to turn over the problem at hand.

These people obviously knew who Sasuke was on a level deeper than just his clan’s name. Why else would they have gone through Hinata to get to him? Cursing his stupidity for a second time, Sasuke could only pray he had been the main target and that Hinata had been spared. If not…

His fist connected against the wall over the bench with a loud crack. Pain flared in his knuckles, but Sasuke was far too livid to care. If these men were merely mercenaries, they very well may have killed Hinata just to get her out of the way. Her death was now on Sasuke’s hands and he would do all he could to avenge her.

As he resumed his training, a thought occurred to Sasuke in the midst of daydreams about hunting down and extracting revenge on everyone who was involved in this elaborate scheme. Who would have enough money to not only hire mercenaries, but have them ship him across the ocean?

He tried to think of anyone he may have pissed off over the years with the wealth to pull off such a plan, but aside from his own family and the Hyuugas, no one came to mind.

Sasuke spent some time entertaining the idea of the Hyuugas hating him enough to get rid of him. While the thought was nice in the sense that it meant Hinata was most likely still alive, he was forced to dismiss it in the end. Too many factors didn’t add up, such as the Hyuugas caring enough about his existence to actually risk trying to get rid of him.

But who else would have known to use the connection between him and Hinata to get him alone? Unless Neji had been captured beforehand and tortured for information. But that still left Sasuke with the question of Why me? He still had yet to inherit the Sharingan (he refused to be honest with himself that at this age, he may never get it), and while he made up for this handicap by increasing his powers of deductive logic and observational skills, he still had no outstanding talents that would make him worth anything to anyone outside of his family. Ransom, perhaps?

A low wolf whistle broke through Sasuke’s concentration, startling him enough to carry through with a roundhouse kick, whirling around and stopping his foot inches away from Kiba’s face.

As he lowered his leg, Sasuke wasn’t sure what pissed him off more. The fact that there were no bars between himself and the other man; meaning Kiba had entered the cell unnoticed, or that he hadn’t flinched when a boot to the head would normally seem almost inevitable.

“Good to see you’re not completely defenseless,” Kiba commented lightly. “That just means instead of keeping a pistol aimed at you, I get to tie you up instead.”

The dog suddenly appeared beside Kiba, a pair of shackles hanging from its mouth.

“Thanks, boy.”

Sasuke made no effort to resist as he was cuffed. He was still answerless after several hours of thinking and figured his best bet was to just go with the flow until the right opportunity arose for escape.

Hand on his arm with Akamaru following them, Kiba led Sasuke down the corridor and through what looked like the sleeping quarters.

“The captain doesn’t want everyone trying to crowd the brig to get a look at you, so you get to visit everyone on deck instead.” They stopped at the foot of a low stairway, where Kiba made Sasuke face him before leaning in and squinting in the dim lighting.

Quickly catching on, Sasuke frowned. “They’re not red,” he snapped, turning away to climb the steps himself. He refused to admit that while Kiba’s strange curiosity was foolish, it was still embarrassing to have absolutely nothing to show for it.

From behind him, Kiba snorted. “Well there goes my ten shillings.”

Sasuke was forced to stop at the top of the stairs as Kiba grabbed the back of his collar before reaching around him to open the door. For a moment, Sasuke was blinded by the early morning sun and he lowered his line of vision down to the deck where he could see a number of legs appearing around him as he was led through the crowd. Whistles and jeers began to sound.

“That’s an Uchiha?”

“How much would you say just his shirt is worth?”

“I was expecting something more…”

“But he’s only a human.”

“Does the captain know?”

“I wager the boots will fetch a nice amount.”

With all the nonsensical talk going on around him, Sasuke finally looked up, hoping his glare hit whomever had talked about selling his clothes. What assaulted his sight was an array of men, all of them dressed in decent clothing that looked worse for wear. Despite the state of dress, no one held the haunted look of someone who had seen better days. In fact, they all seemed in tip-top shape beneath their less than clean cut appearances. As Sasuke took in the diversity of the mismatched bodies around him, it struck him with sparkling clarity that he was on a pirate ship.

Kiba’s earlier words about him not being completely defenseless echoed in Sasuke’s memory, causing a theory to form. Had he been sold off to a band of pirates?

Mind reeling at the idea, Sasuke could feel himself starting to panic. Desperately looking around for a way off the ship, a flash of golden blond hair caught his attention and he found himself looking into the same blue eyes from the night before.

“YOU!”

Blood rushing in his ears, panic transformed into rage, causing Sasuke to lunge towards the man who murdered Neji. The grip on his shirt slowed him only for a moment before Kiba let go with a cry of shock, clearly not expecting the sudden act of defiance. Various strong hands brought the attempted attack to an immediate halt, but Sasuke continued to struggle, determined to finish what had been started last night.

“Hey, Naruto! I think he likes you!”

The laughter that the statement caused only served to incite Sasuke further. The only thought in his head was to wrap his hands around that man’s throat until his eyes rolled back from lack of oxygen. Gouging out vocal chords with his bare hands would be next.

The sharp push was completely unexpected and sent Sasuke toppling into the mast. Head ringing as it met with unyielding wood, Sasuke found himself in a momentary daze as he was forced to the ground. His arms were grabbed and the chain of his shackles locked into a hook above his head. He struggled for a moment, testing the strength of these new bonds before giving up when his legs were kicked out from under him when he tried pulling himself free with as much of his body weight as possible.

Panting for breath, he snarled as the blond – Naruto - dropped to one knee before him. A hand was braced against the mast next to Sasuke’s head as Naruto leaned forward to get a good look at the captive.

A roguish grin broke out across his face. “Who knew an Uchiha could be so pretty?”

Sasuke spit in his face.

“Ugh! My eye!” the blond cried out, falling back while covering half his face.

Laughter went up around them and didn’t stop even as a dagger appeared from Naruto’s boot. Sasuke refused to flinch, ready to meet the threat head on only to watch Naruto get knocked aside in mirth.

Far more in favor of degrading their own crew member than gawking at a prisoner, Sasuke found himself to no longer be the center of attention. Using this to his advantage, he did his best to gather whatever information he could about his surroundings.

Judging from the things loudly being said about Naruto, he held about as much respect as Kiba, which couldn’t be much. As for the ship, it seemed to be in decent shape, considering the glimpses Sasuke was about to catch of it between bodies. He was unsure of whether this was a positive or negative observation. On the one hand, it meant these pirates were well-off, meaning Sasuke wasn’t about to be sold off (potentially again) as a slave in some foreign country as a means for quick cash. On the other hand, it meant these pirates were probably damn good at what they did, making it in Sasuke’s best interest to cooperate.

No one in the crew seemed scraggly or scrawny enough to go down easily in a one-on-one fight. Except maybe for the young man perched above one of the lower sails, seemingly content on watching everyone from afar. But then he was probably a long distance fighter and could take Sasuke out before too much damage was caused in any escape attempts.

Sulking at this assessment, the Uchiha went back to glaring at Naruto, only to have a splash of familiar black hair catch his eye. But before he could get a better look, a tall figure stepped forward, causing an immediate hush to fall over the deck.

Sasuke was a firm believer in showing no fear, but that morale shriveled away along with his glare as he took in the scars that marred the newcomer’s features. Claw-like marks were raked across his face and it looked as if holes had once been drilled into his head. Considering the fact he was still alive probably meant he wasn’t a man to be trifled with.

A bandana was pulled from his pocket and slipped on to protect his bald scalp from the sun, but Sasuke knew what he had just seen wasn’t something he was likely to forget.

“When did he wake?”

“Before dawn.” Kiba’s voice dutifully rose from somewhere in the crowd. “I’m pretty sure he hasn’t rested since.”

The interrogator nodded, processing the information as his eyes remained locked on Sasuke.

“Just how far into the past can you see, boy?”

Sasuke’s eyes narrowed. How the hell did these people know of the Sharingan? Having already sized up the man and not looking forward to any physical abuse for prideful silence, Sasuke chose to play dumb instead.

“It depends on how ancient the book I’m reading is,” he sardonically replied.

Rather than grow angry at such a smart-aleck answer, the man simply nodded again, seemingly pleased.

Sasuke felt like kicking himself as he realized how his answer had been interpreted. The Uchiha library held an entire section of books and scrolls that were so old the Sharingan was required if one wanted to make any sense of the ink that had long since faded from the pages.

“What do you know of a man once known as Tobi?” The interrogator asked, obviously feeling like he was getting somewhere.

The idea of playing dumb vanished from Sasuke’s mind as true confusion showed on his face. He had never heard of the name Tobi before, even in his extensive memorization of his family’s library contents.

“No?” the man questioned. “What about Madara Uchiha?”

Recognition slowly dawned on Sasuke. Madara was the founding father of the entire Uchiha lineage; not that he was about to tell this pirate such a thing. Very little was actually known about Madara other than he was the first to posses the Sharingan and pass it along to his children. But why a band of pirates would want him just for a family history lesson was completely beyond Sasuke.

“Nothing is known about Madara Uchiha, even to his own family. Sasuke would have no idea about Tobi – Madara made sure to keep his secrets his own.” To the left, the wall of men parted to reveal Neji Hyuuga, alive and well, his lack of shirt showing off a heavily bandaged torso. “And you grabbed the wrong Uchiha.”

Sasuke’s jaw fell open.

“What do you mean ‘the wrong Uchiha’?” Naruto demanded, stepping forward from his place amongst the rest of the crew. “He was the only one there!”

“There’s a whole clan of them,” someone else pointed out. “What’s wrong with this one?”

“This better not be another attempt at making me look bad,” Naruto growled. “Because I’m starting to get pretty damn sick of it.”

Neji merely rolled his eyes. “I don’t ‘attempt’ anything. You show off your shortcomings all on your own. As for him,” a gesture was made towards Sasuke, “we should –”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Naruto bristled. “Unlike you, I was raised as a pirate –”

“That has nothing to do with –”

“– and I followed my orders exactly as they were given! If it had been anyone else who stabbed you, you’d be dead right now!”

“If it weren’t for Yamato, I’d be dead. You –”

“He was the only Uchiha there to give chase!” Naruto argued. “The same one Shikamaru watched read the note from Hinata! So don’t you even try to pin this on me!”

“I wasn’t trying to-! Will you let me speak?!” Neji snapped as Naruto’s mouth opened to continue.

Voices were raised as Naruto and Neji stood inches apart, both trying to argue their side of the story over one another, their bodies tense as they continually gestured toward Sasuke and the assumed direction of Konoha.

Quickly catching on to what was happening, Sasuke had to consciously force himself not to go into shock as betrayal washed over him. He was in this mess because of Neji! Neji! Someone who, through Hinata, he had come to trust more than several of his own family members. Despite the fact that he was supposed to have been dead, Hinata’s reverence for him had lived on.

He knew it was a trap! He knew it! Damn it!

Never before had Sasuke hated the presence of his company as he did now. He sincerely hoped the fight would become physical and they killed each other.

Before such a wish could come true, a man whose jacket obviously labeled him as captain appeared by Sasuke’s side, arms crossed as he assessed the situation with a raised brow. The crew, who had been passively watching the exchange, gave him their undivided attention. Even Naruto and Neji grudgingly quieted down, although they continued to give one another the evil eye.

“I thought,” the captain began in a scolding tone, “we agreed that the captive was to be off limits and that no one was to call dibs just to antagonize others.”

The muffled snickers that rippled through the air clued Sasuke in that the man was most likely serious.

“I wasn’t calling dibs!” Naruto insisted, his temper refusing to back down even the slightest. An accusatory finger flew up. “He said I lured in the wrong Uchiha!”

The captain stepped forward, putting himself more in Sasuke’s field of vision. Despite only being able to see his profile, Sasuke was instantly able to recognize the similarities between father and son. Same spiked blond hair, same cheek bones, same mouth…

“What difference does it make?” the captain asked Neji. “You implied that the basics for all Sharingan users are the same.”

Neji immediately straightened, visibly put out at having been caught in a screaming match when he was usually calm and collected. “They are the same – if you have the Sharingan.”

The captain looked over and studied Sasuke for a moment, as if wondering what could possibly be wrong with him to make him such an anomaly of the Uchiha race.

“He is of age, sir,” Neji stated before the question could be asked; a creepy habit all Hyuugas had – even Hinata. “He just never gained the Sight.”

“I see.” The captain nodded. “Which is why he’s ‘the wrong one.’”

Sasuke shifted in his chains, silently willing Neji to shut up. The specifics of the Sharingan were considered a family secret. A secret that had been shared out of necessity with the Hyuugas. To know that such a trust had been breached would be enough to start a war between the two families, even if it was the fault of an already dead man.

“Why couldn’t you have warned us he was the wrong one ahead of time?” the captain asked.

“He looks just like Itachi did when I last saw him.” Neji glared at Sasuke as if their similarities were his fault. “I didn’t think he was foolish enough not to ask for his brother’s help in something that reeked so obviously of a trap.”

Pride wounded at the verbal knife, Sasuke gritted his teeth. He wished he had the legendary Mangekyou Sharingan with its rumored ability to trap people within their own pasts, forcing them to relive their worst moments until justice saw it fit to end. He wondered what kind of hells a man like Neji had hidden.

“So he’s not only useless to us, but stupid as well.”

He also wondered what kind of hells the captain had.

“So…what?” Naruto spoke up, his rage gone in favor of puzzlement. “Should we put him back?”

“That would be suicide,” Neji countered.

“Why?”

Sasuke’s attention flew to the source of the new voice; a silver-haired man with an eye patch leaning against a barrel near the railing. Up until now he had been silently watching over the proceedings. It seemed he was another figure of authority with the way everyone stopped to listen when he talked.

Picking himself up off the barrel, the man strolled forward, physically putting himself in the conversation. “If he really doesn’t have the Sharingan at this age, I doubt they’d give much chase.”

“True.” Neji nodded in agreement. “But he’s part of the main branch and the younger brother of the strongest Sharingan user in the whole clan. I don’t need the Byakugan to know Itachi would defect from his family if it were the only way to hunt Sasuke down.”

While Sasuke knew his brother cared for him, he was pretty sure that was giving Itachi too much credit.

“He’s still only one man,” said the large male who had accompanied Kiba earlier to the brig. If Sasuke remembered correctly, his name was Asuma. “I say we kill this one and let the other Uchiha come to us and use him instead.”

Cheers of agreement rose, but Neji shook his head.

“We didn’t exactly cover our tracks, making us easy targets. With that to give them confidence, they’ve probably organized a sizeable force to come after us.”

Against his better nature, hope began to form within Sasuke. Not only did this mean his family could be looking for him, but they would have hired men to counter the individual strengths of the pirates based on observing their pasts while in Konoha.

“A maelstrom will hit us head on early tomorrow morning if we sail there.” Neji pointed a finger towards the northeast. “If we plow through it, we should be able to lose them. Even if they were to wait it out, the torrents of rain and large waves would make it next to impossible to follow us using the Sharingan.”

Just as quickly as it had formed, hope died within Sasuke. Unless they had enlisted the help of a Hyuuga, which was unlikely, Itachi would never see the storm coming. And if it was as bad as Neji was saying, chances for his brother’s survival were slim. Hell, chances for this ship’s survival were slim!

“That’s suicide!” Sasuke blurted, refusing to believe the captain would follow such insane advice just to avoid battle.

To his surprise, the captain burst out laughing. “You would certainly think so, wouldn’t you?” He turned to the crew and raised his voice. “Alright men, you heard him. Set the course – northeast! We’ve got a date with Death we don’t want to miss!”

As the men scrambled to follow orders, Naruto remained where he was, fists pumped in the air. “Woohoo! We’re keeping him!”


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TRUFAX: Listening to Bollywood soundtracks got me through this chapter.

A/N: Congratulations! You’ve made it through to the end of the second chapter! From here on out, I promise things will be much more exciting and action packed…like a real pirate story is supposed to be.