My Snippets: Part 2

Death Song: Part 1

"D-do you hear that, Captain."

Obsidian eyes narrowed into slits as he scanned the dark horizon; the only light given (apart from their candles) was the soft glow from millions of stars above and the full moon to which they sailed. "Aye."

"W-what is it, sir?"

"... the death song."

"C-Captain?"

"Bloody sirens."

Pirate Sasuke & Siren Sakura AU snippet. (Part 1 is told in Sasuke's POV. Part 2 will be told in Sakura's.)

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Monstrous waves repeatedly crashed against their vessel; the hardened ship sailing true as its master commanded at the helm, while his crew rushed about the deck; feelings of unrest more prominent than usual tonight.

"Captain," one brave soul tread cautiously forward, ringing his hands together in quick succession as he looked every but his captain's eyes; which narrowed on the deckhand in contempt. He had ill feelings towards this one in particular, for he had apparently threatened to assemble a mutiny of sorts against him on multiple occasions... or so the rumors say. Sasuke had decided to keep a close eye on him ever since.

"Aye?"

"Where we be headed, Captain?" He supposed it was an honest response to his secretiveness, but he still felt anger boil up inside of him as his crew seemed to be questioning his every decision... at every turn. This of course not being the first time this particular sailor had been so openly and blatantly disrespectful towards him as his captain. Sasuke, in his anger, jerked the wheel sharply to the right...causing the deckhand to stumble on his feet and grasp hold of the railing; rather he tumble face first into the cool, dark waters of the ocean below.

His eyes widened then as he finally met the harsh gaze of his superior, and his legs began to shake as he attempted to regain his balance and stand steadily on his feet again. "C-Captain?"

Sasuke clamped his teeth shut as he tried to fight back his rage, and after it managed to dissipate slightly, he opened his mouth to give an explanation for the sudden movement but something on the horizon caught his eye... a splash in the water ahead... and he paused—

Watching.

Listening.

Closely.

A cold sweat began to break out across his exposed flesh, and it had nothing to do with the midnight breeze as a soft sound (almost like a melody) began to reach his ears. The young Captain knew that sound... having been a pirate his whole life... and a crippling fear began to fester in his gut, before his anger took hold again. More and more splashes arose... giving way to the nightmare that these waters held hidden beneath its surface as tail fins (much too large for a normal fish) began to appear.

Sasuke tried to hide his emotions the best that he could by masking his reaction behind a face of stoic nonchalance... but he had also concluded that it was really only a matter of time before his crewmen began to perceive what he had already discovered. His thoughts were validated when he heard a sharp gasp from below and soft murmuring began to reach his ears above the roar of the ocean. His grip only tightened when he began to discern a little of their hushed conversations.

"... did you hear that?"

"... hear it? Did you bloody see it!?!"

"What the hell is it?"

"A fish?"

"Blimey. That's no fish... it's too big."

"Sharks perhaps?"

"When have you ever seen a shark jump out of the water like that, you scabrous dog!"

He tried to tune them out, but the sightings ahead became more consistent and it was evident that whatever it was... was headed in their direction. His crew had stopped their work and were fixated on the commotion ahead; the sound of song growing louder as they approached the mysterious creatures. Mysterious to some, but not to him. No...he had dealt with these creatures in the past, having lost his entire family to their treacherous ways, and felt it was about time to exact his revenge.

Sasuke's jaw felt painful as he clamped his teeth so tightly that he felt he was mere seconds away from breaking his teeth, and his knuckles had turned a ghostly-white where he held onto the wheel so firmly.

He was determined to see his plan through... by whatever means necessary. The same brave soul from before... or dumb... whichever way you looked at it came forward for a second time, his eyes wide with fright and he licked his lips nervously, while clinging to the side of the ship as if his life depending on it.

It just might.

"D-do you hear t-that, Captain." The melody grew louder and more intense as rain began to pelt their skin; a storm was brewing. A war of sorts.

Obsidian eyes narrowed into slits as he scanned the dark horizon; the only light given (apart from their candles) was the soft glow from millions of stars above and the full moon to which they sailed. "Aye."

"W-what is it, sir?"

There was a long, drawn-out pause in which Sasuke made eye contact with one of the creatures ahead and the sharp vibrant color of its eyes startled him where they contrasted so harshly off of the darkness which surrounded it. He also noticed the intensity of its damp hair... a color of which he had never seen on anything else before.

"It's ... the death song", he breathed when the being sank below the surface and out of view. He shook his head in a brief attempt to regather his thoughts and his composure, before his eyes narrowed again; mind finally refocused.

"C-Captain? What—"

"Bloody sirens."

"S-s-sirens!?! I thought they be only legends, Captain!" He could tell the man was scared; fearful that all of the tales of which previous pirates had told, that he once thought were mere stories, would hold some form of truth. He hasn't the heart to tell him the legends were true, at least... not right now, and decided to refocus his attention ahead.

"Ahoy! Prepare the cannons and douse the lights."

"Aye, Captain," a choir of voices sounded, and the noise of feet shuffling as men scrambled about to do their captain's biding followed. Sasuke knew that most of them would die, but even still, he couldn't find it in himself to care. His only focus was to exact his revenge on the very creatures who had taken those most precious to him. His family.

To slaughter every last one of them until their blood coated the seas as far as the eye could see. When the sounds of song had finally vanished, Sasuke commanded his crew to drop their ship's anchor and with one final deep breath, he pulled his beloved Kusanagi from its sheath; ready for the battle ahead.