piratejournal | [voice -- private to Murderess]

You don't know me very well yet, do you?

I don't expect your priorities to be the same as mine.

[His snaps it, voice betraying exhaustion nonetheless: these past days, Itachi imprisoned like a common criminal, the marks of his attacks -- and those on him -- still fresh on the ship, have left Sasuke defensive, the habitual cornered-creature universal distrust that has surrounded his feelings about his brother for so long.]

Heh.

You'd be surprised.

He's not my brother, but he's my crew. So are you. A captain takes care of his crew, no matter what.

Not to mention everyone else out there who's being hit by this crap.

I'll take a walk barefoot through hell to stop this, if I've gotta.

I don't need to be taken care of. [He's definitely snapping at Marvelous now, frustration too close to the surface --] My only concern is taking out the piece of shit who thinks they can control Itachi.

Are you prepared to die in this fight? Because I will end this, and I will not wait for anyone to keep up with me.

Sorry, that's what any good Captain does. Unless you want one who doesn't give a crap.

But yeah, you and me, we've got the same concern. She's dead.

As both pirate and Super Sentai, she's crossed every line I need to want her head on a platter, and then some.

Any Captain should be prepared to die for their crew. You don't have to worry about me keeping up, but you're gonna need a boat to get there.

Thing is, dying isn't really in my plans. For any of us. Not knowing what we're dealing with, now.

I don't care if you give a crap -- [Instinct and habit, voice impatient and tone harsh, but for all that the Itachi that is locked up in a storeroom right now brings out the impatient child in Sasuke -- for all that, he's not a child.

And, unexpectedly, Marvelous' little speech helps: gives him the time to exhale, find somewhere an unimpressed scowl for the insistence on what good Captains do, and relax in the awareness that the ship is headed where he needs to go: that this, at least, is not a fight for the moment.

When he speaks again his voice is calmer, tension reined in somewhat.]

What's your plan, then? You trust Dog?

[He just quietly grins to himself at the first part, and then continues on after the second.]

"Trust" is a strong word. But I believe we're not gonna get into this fortress any other way.

That's just how this sorta thing tends to work.

So, we search.

Then we find this bitch.

And we demolish everything in our path until she's dead.

Edited 2014-01-14 06:31 (UTC)

[He makes a noise of irritation at that, acknowledging it without any good grace; it's true he's seen no evidence of any other entrance. He's still tempted to blast it when they arrive, Dog be damned, but in the meantime --]

Demolishing everything in my path is a specialty.

This coral stuff isn't. [There's a sizable pile of it on board anyway, the collection of something that at least isn't sitting and stewing on deck.] Have you seen it before?

Yeah, that's kinda what I'm counting on.

That said, the coral... Nope. Dunno what's so special about it, but I've run into that sorta thing before, too. If it's a barrier that big, though, I expect something flashy when we throw this stuff against it or whatever.

A good fireworks show beforehand is always a good way to get pumped for taking down an asshole like this.

You've run into barriers that are taken down by throwing rocks at it before? [There's blatant disbelief in his tone, an eyebrow raising. He'd expected them to be some kind of disruption, but something that would work at wherever the anchor points of the barrier are -- damaging whatever is holding down the corners.]

Keys, actually.

And less throwing, more pointing at it, but... I'm just kinda wanting to throw something, really.

Also in general I just sorta mean - I've done the whole "look for something special to unlock something not really knowing what's gonna happen" thing before.

[Let's not mention that didn't turn out so hot.]

[Sasuke's expression makes it abundantly clear what his opinion of that strategy is, mixed with a healthy dose of a look that is starting to become familiar when it comes to Marvelous's world and its technology.]

Keys like what you use with your weapons?

Barriers in my world are anchored, usually by people. Take them out and the barrier weakens or collapses. [And, occasionally, attack with enough strength and the barrier can be shattered.]

The same.

Barriers can really be all sorts of things where I come from. Gotta learn to adapt, and all that.

Either way, it's all we've got to go on.

Do they also talk? [Definitely the weirdest part of all the weirdness.]

It's enough to take action.

[His eyes went from one side to the other a few times, thinking. He didn't want to rule it out but-] Not... usually. The treasure sometimes does, though.

But yeah, action's what we need. So, work on what we can, and then just ready ourselves for a hell of a show.

What kind of treasure was that? [Why do so many things in Marvelous's world seem to talk?] I thought you were talking about gold or something.

[Speaking of collecting things, though.] Gathering this coral would go faster if we could rig nets.

The "Greatest treasure in the universe." Or so it was called. Sometimes, things aren't all they're cracked up to be.

[Ah good, topic change, he didn't want to talk about that damned thing.] Can't argue with that. We'll get that together.

[Most things haven't been what they're cracked up to be, from teamwork to friendship to power to vengeance, but Sasuke has to reserve his judgment on whether a treasure that talked could ever be a 'greatest' treasure.]

... have you ever made a net before? [He casts a look over the ship, then over its side. They could trail something behind them, right?]

Not much use for that in space.

Only one way to fix that, eh?

[That said, he was already taking off his jacket, and rolling up his sleeves. Sasuke may or may not yet realize this, but this show of enthusiasm for manual labor is quite the unusual sight.]

[That's ... probably true. There's not much use for them for a ninja, either, unless somewhere out in Mist there are shinobi with techniques based on fishing equipment (maybe there are; there's something to ask Suigetsu if he ever sees him again).

Marvelous's eagerness to start is a good sign, even if neither of them have experience. Still ...]

There's plenty of rope on board. The coral I've been finding has been around -- [He holds his hands apart, estimating the average.] -- this big in size.

I assume we just ... make knots.

[He grins, and claps his hands together.]

Then let's get too it. Worst that can happen is that it doesn't work.

[The only one Itachi will respond to, or at least won't attempt to strike out at, is Sasuke.

Eyes covered and limbs securely bound, the ninja nevertheless spends every waking moment trying to feel for a way to set himself loose, wearing his skin raw where the ropes hold him.]

[Sasuke has been the one bringing him food as a consequence, taking the time to re-tie the ropes to prevent the worst of the chafing.

He's here now, setting down the plate with a frown. His voice is tense when he speaks, filled with suppressed anger -- not at Itachi, but simmering.]

You'll chafe your wrists raw this way.

[Itachi raises his head at the sound of his brother's voice. He's weary, from the original fighting and from all the struggling he's done, some in favor of sleep. He doesn't struggle now, merely listens to the other's movements.

His damaged throat, healing slowly, causes his own voice to come out rougher than usual, quieter.]

Then release me. Let me finish my task.

[It's quick work, mindless, unknotting and then reknotting one section of rope while keeping another tight, moving on to the next one. He pulls out a roll of bandages for the areas already raw, shifting behind Itachi to work.

It is an added bonus not to have to look at his brother's covered eyes.]

What task is that?

Killing everyone here.

[He says it casually, coughing afterward as too much talking irritates his throat.]

Perhaps everyone but you. Nostalgic, isn't it?

[Not much makes Sasuke's hands falter these days, but those words -- they stop, fingers tense on a stretch of bandage. He should have forgiven his brother, needs to, for making the decisions he did with what he had on hand.

But those decisions meant the hands he wraps in bandages now made both of them kinslayers, Uchiha blood spilled everywhere.

The silence drags on, but when he finally speaks his voice is steady.]

For what purpose, brother?

So that everything will be righted.

[It's what she promised, after all. The only thing she could offer him, and even then he'd turned her away until he couldn't anymore.

At Sasuke's hesitation, the hand he's bandaging twists sharply, searching for a way free of its bonds.]

Is that what she said? The witch? You heard her? [If it's as he suspects, after what Marvelous told him and what the boy Link had said --

He catches that hand almost on instinct more than decision, pinning it flat to the ground with a sharp grab. Beneath his own Itachi's is smaller, the weird incongruity of their ages and their memories physically represented, and when he moves to finish bandaging it, his voice is fierce.]

Whatever lies she told you, whatever promises she made -- it's not worth this.

[At that, Itachi falls silent. That's not a question he will answer, or is allowed to answer.

He turns his head toward the hand Sasuke has pinned down as though he can see it through the blindfold.

The ninja would agree with his brother if his mind remained his to do so. As it is, such words fall on deaf ears. He can't be pulled free of this possession in such a simple manner.]

[Silence. It could be the witch's doing, or ... just Itachi, withholding information as always, trying to take things on his own. How much of his behaviour is his own right now and how much is whatever possesses him? Sasuke's face sets in grim lines as he finishes bandaging and retying Itachi's hands.

He shifts to a kneel in front of Itachi again.]

I brought you food and water. Which do you want first?

[He lifts his head again, remaining silent for another few moments more.]

[Finally:] You could let me go hungry, you know. Weaken me.

I could.

[He picks up the glass of water; since Itachi hasn't made a choice, he'll make it for him, and it's easy to guess that dehydration is the greater risk right now.]

I don't want to. Drink.

[Itachi pulls away at first, then relents, allowing his brother to bring the cup to his lips.

It's a relief, honestly. Especially for his throat. He has to be alive if he's to continue his attempts to kill the others, anyway.]

[He waits, patient as he's never had to be before: when Itachi drinks it's a grim satisfaction. How long does this mind control last -- how permanent are its effects? The assumption is to cut off the source is to end the magic, or whatever it may be, but ...

But Sasuke doesn't often deal in buts. He lets Itachi drink until he seems satisfied, then sets the cup aside to pick up the plate.

The last time he did anything even close to this was in Konoha, before he'd been accepted to a genin team. That's a weird thought to have, here, and his expression loses its blank-faced determination for a complicated second before he spears a few vegetables with a fork and holds them up.]

[The scent of food causes Itachi to frown, nose scrunching up slightly. He doesn't like being fed this way, but Sasuke clearly isn't going to untie his hands and he'd only use the chance to try and escape again anyway.

So he opens his mouth to be fed, since he can't see to bite at the fork himself.]

[The level of weird here is about bypassing the level of weird that was the cold, trying not to wake up at every movement Itachi made and waking up anyway (and wondering if either of them was even actually asleep or if it was all a slightly ridiculous polite farce). But it's less innocuous than some cold. There is something in his brother's mind, using him.

And feeding him while his hands are tied isn't because they're working together. Sasuke works methodically, occasionally holding up the glass again, and the cabin-turned-cell is quiet except for the sound of waves and the meal.]

[voice -- private to Murderess]

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permavoice and permaprivate

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[action] ohoho

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