[Replies]
@Llyloo: LOL, I'm sorry to keep you waiting then. This fiction takes quite a while to think up a plot. Yuko's past will be explained in the future, so you'll have to be patient.
@arrow27: Thanks for the compliment! Hmm~ We'll see about what exactly Minami did that caused Yuko to lose her trust to Minami in the near future. And more complicated relationships that becomes even more complicated.
@Haruko: You'll find more about Yuko later on in the future chapters.
@cisda83: These mysteries should hopefully be answered as the story progresses onward.
@mo-chan: Mayu's and Yuki's past (and quite possibly Sae's) will be in this chapter along with the next couple chapters.
Here's another update on this fiction! I had to think really long and hard on how to type up this chapter. It's pretty hard in my opinion, but hopefully the next couple chapters should be easy to type up. Sometimes writer's block comes up a little too frequently, especially when you have like two other long fiction going on.
Enjoy it and hopefully it isn't suckish like I thought it was.
[Chapter 7]
Kashiwagi Yuki was humming a tune to herself as she trended down the corridor. After visiting the injured Minegishi Minami in the clinic room, she had just bumped into Captain Minami. The shorter girl requested that both she and Mayu come to her captain's head quarter when they're ready. As long as they stop by before nightfall, that is. While the older girl walked through the hallway, she almost accidentally crashed into Sae. Their shoulders barely bumping into each other. Yuki ceased walking. "Ah, gomen Sae-chan," she apologized with a bow of her head. 'I've been bumping into quite a lot of people today...'
The other girl stopped in her track and scratched the back of her head. "Sorry about that, Yukirin," she cheaply smiled. "I must be a little tired today..." A small yawn came out of Sae's mouth. Yuki widen her eyes slightly and covered her mouth with one of her hands. "You should rest, Sae. It's not good to be pushing yourself too much."
"That's what I'm planning to do right now," Sae chuckled and removed her hand from behind, waving it in the air. Then without reason, she hugged Yuki in front of her. "I'll see you later, neh?" She was surprised at such sudden action from Sae, but returned the same treatment. The two separated and after waving to each other farewell, Yuki decided to return back to her and Mayu's room. Other members haven't seen her around lately, so it's a possibility that she's hiding in their room.
Now approaching up to the door of their room, Yuki's hand came up and knocked on the wooden brown surface. "Mayuyu? Are you in there?" No answer. Raising one of her eyebrows, she knocked again. "Mayuyu, hello?" Again, she was met with silence. She decided to push forth the door, opening it. (There is no such thing as locks in doors for this ship) She was now able to view inside of the room and saw a familiar figure sitting on the edge of the bottom bunk bed. It was none other than Mayu. Smiling, she took a step inside.
"Mayu, Captain Takahashi wants us to meet up with her-... Are you okay?" That question came out of her mouth when she saw the other girl. She looked as though she was staring into space, not heeding any attention to the older girl. In a few seconds, Mayu snapped out of her trance and saw Yuki from the corner of her eyes, quickly turning to look at her right. Making an attempt to hide her bruised spot on her right cheek. "Yeah, I'm okay."
That wasn't enough to convince Yuki though. After seeing Mayu acting unusually different, she knew something was up. Coming over till she was now kneeling on her knees in front of the younger girl. Mayu flicked her eyes briefly over to her. "I... told you I'm fine." Still not convinced, the older girl frowned. Before Mayu knew it, Yuki had forced her head to face at her direction. Two hands were cupping both sides of her lower jaw. She heard a wince from the younger girl. A gasp left her now-open mouth from what she was seeing. The sight of the bruise on Mayu's face was red and painful to look at. Shades of purple barely visible to the naked eyes. Just seeing the injury on the person that cared so much too hurt her.
"Mayu... Who did this to you?" The tone of Yuki's voice became dangerous as her so-called 'Black' aura was felt. Her aura being shown. When someone, especially Mayu here, is hurt from anyone or anything, she becomes very angry and overprotective. So overprotective that she could possibly make the situation worse than its original state without meaning to. There was hesitation in Mayu. A short hesitation. Then she answered, "I accidentally... bumped into... the corner of the desk... when I got up from the ground." Mayu wished she could speak a bit more smoother, but every movement she makes with her mouth hurts. It hurts to talk, put in simply.
The other girl seems suspicious of such reasoning coming from the cyborg girl. Her eyes were squinted, staring at Mayu with curiosity. "Oh really?"
"Yes, really... okaa-san." Yuki truly wanted to keep pushing on, wanting to demand Mayu for a better explanation to this 'accident' she had that resulted in her injury. But she didn't push it. Instead, she stood back up straight and walked over to a nearby cabinet within the room. Hanging just a couple inches on the wall away from the desk, Yuki came to it and cracked it open. Couple of first-aid kits and common medicines and remedies were within the box. (Each room contained a medicine cabinet thanks to Rena's ability to create the remedies and medicine) She grabbed the kit and a cream bottle before shutting it. Returning back to Mayu's side, she sat to the right.
The equipments and objects that were needed are next to her as she commanded the younger girl to face straight ahead while she treats the injury. Not objecting to her 'mother,' Mayu did as she was told. Obedient she is. Silence was in the air between the two figures as Yuki dabbed the cream on the targeted cheek. To Mayu's luck, her mouth from the inside wasn't hurt but on the exterior surface on her cheek, it was painful. Just touching it alone made her wince in pain. "Itai! Careful!" Mayu yelped and immediately retracted her face away from the person treating her. "Gomen. I'll try to be more careful."
While she treated Mayu, her mind unconsciously wandered back to the past of meeting her for the first time...
"Kashiwagi Yuki, you have a new roommate," Minami announced as she privately talked to the taller girl one-on-one. Standing just outside of her room, Minami had a younger girl standing behind her back. No. Hiding more like it. She had her hands gripping on the edge of Minami's white uniform. Minami glanced over her shoulder and chuckled nervously at the sight. "Watanabe-san, it's okay. Yuki here isn't going to hurt you."
Yuki remembered seeing this girl earlier. The girl that was on the verge of death only to be saved by Minami. She was still only a member for barely two months and still trying to adjust to the new changes. She remembered seeing the poor girl just a week ago carried by the captain and straight into the clinic room. Nightfall has already descended onto the members and ship. One can wonder what had exactly happened that caused the captain and one of the members to return back with a stranger. Before she came inside of the room though, she screamed and hollered at the members to start sailing away from the port. "Bounty hunters are coming after us! Take us away, Atsuko!" her voice echoed throughout the ship, causing huge wave of chaos to occur. They didn't have a doctor that time, but luckily Minami and Mariko were known to treat the wounded at such emergency. No one knows exactly why she was brought to the ship from China where they stopped by to restock.
"....really?" her small, high-pitched voice squeaked like a terrified mouse. A nod. Though she wouldn't leave Minami's side, she did stop clinging to the other girl from behind and slowly walked up to stand by her side. She was cute, wearing the uniform that Minami had each member required to equip on no matter what. But something was off. Her eyes. The smaller girl gulped, avoiding eye contact with Yuki's. Yuki could easily tell that this girl is... fragile. Was she naturally this shy around people? Or was there something more that caused her to become like this? Either way, Yuki extended her hand out to the younger girl. "I'm Kashiwagi Yuki as you can already tell. What's your name?" she said with a smile.
The other girl hugged Minami's arms, shaking in fear. "W-W-Watanabe... M-Mayu..." Her quivering voice is enough to make one want to be gentle toward such girl. She didn't in return extend her hand out to shake with Yuki. Rather she stared at her hand as though it was some sort of weapon threatening to cut her down.
Yuki couldn't help but sigh mentally as she retracted her hand. "Well, you're going to be my roommate so I welcome you here."
After getting Mayu inside of the room, Yuki clicked the door shut behind her. When she turned around to face the girl, she saw her sitting on the bottom bunk. Her knees were brought close to her chest and stared downward at the mattress. Confused but worried, she came up to the younger girl.
"Watanabe-san is your name, huh?" Yuki tried to start up a conversation between the two. No response from the other girl. She just sat in her spot, shaking and not saying a single word. Yuki then tried again. This time, she climbed up on the bed and closed the distance between the two. The girl didn't react but rather made sure her eyes didn't go anywhere near Yuki's face.
She waited a couple of seconds that felt like long minutes. Still no response or reaction from the younger girl. Sighing, she sat in front of the girl and crossed her arms. She wasn't angry at all. No. Yuki was never the type to get angry unless her friends and shipmates were threatened or hurt. But just when she was about to speak, she heard a couple words from the other girl.
"She died."
"Eh?" This took Yuki by surprise. Her eyes widen when she heard the words escape out of her mouth. Mayu then slowly lifted her eyes till they were equal level with Yuki's. Her eyes. They finally met with Yuki's. Emptiness was seen in them. Not a single emotion other than sadness and regret.
"She died. My sister died... And it's all my fault."
Her body was shaking and tears soon streamed down upon her face uncontrollably. Soft hiccups were heard from her as she buried her face on her knees. Pain hit upon Yuki's heart when she saw such scene. In one movement, she hugged the girl tightly in her embrace. "I'm so sorry to hear that," Yuki whispered to Mayu as she had one of her hand hold the back of her head. She rested her chin on top of her shoulder, letting the girl cry into her shoulder. "I know how you feel. I lost my parents so very long ago when I was young... Losing a relative is painful." Tears soon formed in the corner of her eyes too. She could feel them soon sliding down her cheeks. Closing her eyes, she kept hold on the younger girl, not wanting to let her go. She knew the pain of losing someone. She was not even six-years old when her parents got into an accident and died back in Canada. How she joined Minami's crew was just a coincidence. They stopped by her country and she asked to join them due to the fact that she has no family or friends.
"Though I cannot heal you directly, the least I can do is stand by your side and support you..." "ITAI! Watch it!" Hearing Mayu's loud voice snapped Yuki back into the present time. She blinked a couple of times, staring in a dazed state. She looked over at the other girl. Mayu was squinting her eyes, trying to bite back words that express her stinging pain. "Are... we done yet?"
"Gomen gomen, Mayuyu. We're almost done." Shaking off thoughts that lingered about their past, she continued to treat Mayu. As time passed by, she was thankful that Mayu slowly opened up as opposed to her fearful and timid self long ago. Maybe a little too much. She can be serious and mature but at the same time can be sometimes a kid and random. But what bothered her the most though was Mayu's past. Despite being together for a long period of time, she still didn't understand it. What exactly had happened? Who caused her that much pain? Who or what killed her sister? Older or younger? So many questions yet none answered. Every single time she brought up Mayu's past, the other girl would tense up and cease speaking anymore. So there wasn't much of a choice wanting to speak about it.
Though it took them a while to get it treated due to Mayu jerking away every now and then, she was now patched up. Getting up from the edge of the bed, Yuki took the now-closed medical box. "You should be more careful then, Mayu," she warned while walking over to the cabinet to return the objects. Mayu just bobbed her head. "Okay."
"Are you feeling better right now...?"
"The pain went away thanks to you, 'mother.'" Mayu was able to flash a small smile at Yuki's direction. True. The pain did go away. But not because of the medicine. No. It was thanks to the girl that she loves. Upon seeing the smile, Yuki felt her heart skip a beat. 'S-So cute...' Then coughing into her hand, she looked at the closed bedroom's door. "We should get going to the captain's head quarter right now. Better to get it over with and rest for the evening."
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The two girls were standing inside of the captain's quarter. Across from them was Takahashi Minami and none other than her partner, Atsuko. She was seated, her hands intertwining each other with her elbows resting on top of the table. A small frown was on her face when she saw Mayu's patched cheek. "I don't remember you getting hurt in that way during the fight," she commented with curiosity. The captain here cares about everyone equally, so it wasn't surprising for her to be concerned about each members' health. "Did someone hurt you?"
Mayu quickly shook her head. "Iie. I just recklessly bumped my cheek on the corner of my desk." This raised a question to Minami's head. Surely Mayu's injury there couldn't have resulted with just bumping into the corner of a table. Not at all. It seems suspicious enough already. But she didn't push forth and decided to go on to the topic she wanted to speak about.
"Since we're close to the country of Spain, I want you both to stop by and buy us some stocks to refill on." Minami then leaned back slightly. Her hand grabbed a hold one of the many drawers and pulled them open. She then took out a small list written out on a brown paper scroll, placing them on top of the table. "These are the items that I wish for you both to buy. I know it's a lot, but we're going to be staying in the port for a full week or two."
"Why is that captain?"
"The ship needs to have some... major repair..." Minami rubbed the back of her head nervously. No need for her to say more. The members all knew how much damage the ship has received. When the captain had gotten the report on the ship from Itano, she was close to just wanting to buy a new ship. It was cheaper that way anyway. However, this ship was her prize possession. The ship she alone has built with her own hands. "So I'm sure it'll be a while till we sail off."
She paused for a moment. Then continued speaking. "Since you both will be going into town to refill out stocks, I give you both permission to stay within the closest town you can find."
Yuki raised her eyebrow at such statements. "Why are you granting us both such permission, captain?" It was strange. Usually Minami would forbid members from even staying in town rather than the ship due to the danger of the Redcoats and bounty hunters. Especially if it's a long period of time. A small chuckle was heard from Minami's direction. "Don't be asking too much questions. In Spain, the land is vast and the location that where we are going to park our boat is far away from any nearby town. So I wish for you both to hurry, but at the same time, take your time with bringing the equipment back to us."
A small sigh left Minami's lips as she leaned forward just a bit. "I trust in you both that you'll come back safely to us." Then with a small wave, she ushered the two girls out of the room.
Once they left the room, the captain then slumped forward from her seat, stretching her arms out on the desk. "Ahhh~ We're going to be in debt if I don't find a way to earn more money..." Atsuko beside her placed her finger below her chin. Pondering for a couple of minutes, she finally spoke up. "Takamina, we can have a couple of members find some part-time jobs and work until we are ready to leave the country."
"Are you sure that's a good idea though?" Minami closed her eyes, feeling somewhat tired. "I mean, I don't mind but the more members we send in, the more danger our members is suspected to."
"What other way is there to earn some golds then? I mean, you yourself and I are already busy with the paperwork and ship alone."
"... Doesn't look like we have a choice, do we?" She sighed once more out loud. "Fine. How about you gather two members and discuss with them about this little job. I'm busy at the moment now as you can already tell. Got these damn paper works to fill out..." Her eyes reopened and then trailed to the corner of the room. There the two saw a massive stack of paper piling on top of each other. It was a couple inches above the ground, making one flinch just at the amount of work. "Acchan~ Get me those papers... I want to finish them as soon as possible."
While the two partners were working inside of the room, both Yuki and Mayu came out and decided to eat an early dinner. Though they sensed that Kasai hasn't cooked anything yet, they were planning to ask her if she was able to cook a small meal just for the two. Walking through the ship, they entered upon the dining room. Yuki then poked her head inside of the kitchen, looking left and right. No sight of Kasai, their one and only chef. "Hm... Tomo~mi isn't here at all..." Yuki muttered as they came inside.
Pots and pans were still hanging from nearby hooks; already dried and ready to be used. The stove hasn't been turned on since this afternoon and many of the equipments were tucked in safe places. Yuki's eyes scanning around the small kitchen, a small smile formed on her lips. "How about this, Mayuyu?" Turning her body around so she was facing the younger girl, she threw out her idea. "I'll cook for you while you wait outside for me."
Mayu eyes widen slightly at the idea. She's never seen Yuki cook let alone even tasted the kind of food she made. Maybe the foods that Yuki would brew be delicious or even more than Kasai's? Little did she know that Yuki is a terrible cooker. No matter how much training one can force upon her, she will never be able to properly cook even with a professional instructor by her side.
"But what about you, Yukirin? Aren't you going to eat too?"
"I'll eat later if you don't mind. I'm not really that hungry right now actually. Going on a diet, you know."
Then she shooed her out of the kitchen. Mayu could only roll her eyes at such action. She walked over and sat in a nearby table, patiently waiting. While she waited, a couple of members were seen passing by. "Oh, Mayuyu! What happened to you?" Yuko's voice was heard from the left side of Mayu. Flicking her eyes to that direction, she raised her eyebrows when she saw Yuko's concerned expression. "Did somebody hurt my Shiriri-chan?"
"No, nobody did," she lied. "I only accidentally made a dumb mistake to bumping against the corner of my desk." Mayu was praying that Yuko would go away and leave her alone. But she didn't and rather, sat right next to the younger girl. Her right arm could be felt resting on top of her shoulders and neck. "Mayu Mayu Mayu, you should be more careful," Yuko warned the other girl. To add a more dramatic/lame effect, she closed her eyes and waved her finger in the air as though she's a mother. "You're not a klutz like Nyan Nyan and Sasshi... How bad did you crash into the table?"
"Pretty hard."
There was the expression of empathy on Yuko's face as she opened her eyes. Her eyebrows were slanted downward in a diagonal position. "Ouch... That has to hurt, especially if you need a patch like that."
Mayu simply shrugged her shoulders and laid her chin on top of her crossed arms. "Yeah..." Then looking back at Yuko, she hoped to change the topic of the conversation. "So what are you up to right now?" She wished she hadn't asked that question. Yuko's face turned into one of her infamous perverted face. Eyes squinted and a creepy grin that only old uncles would have, she raised two of her hands into the air. Hands making a motion that wanted to grab boobs and butts. "I'm going to go grab my Nyan Nyan's oshiri once I see her! But please don't let her know, okay?"
'Why is she saying it out loud then?' A sweat drop rolled down the side of Mayu's face. Yuko then put her hands side-by-side together, forming an 'oshiri' sign. "Oshiri!" she joked.
That made the younger girl giggle and too copied after her. "Oshiri Sisters we are," she commented, making Yuko laugh happily. "That's my younger sis'!" Soon the conversation that was about Mayu's injury suddenly turned into a conversation about rating member's butts.
"Okay okay, from one to ten; one being the worse and ten being irresistible, what is Mocchi's butt rate?" Yuko excitedly asked, her dimpled smile shown. Mayu looked up, thinking. "I'm guessing... a seven?"
Yuko nodded with her eyes closed. "Hmmhmm... I can agree with you on that... How about your Yukirin?"
If Mayu was drinking anything at the moment, she would've sprayed it all out of both her nose and mouth from surprise. Nearly falling out of her seat backward, she adjusted back into her calm composure and coughed lightly into her hand. "I-It'll be... a-a... t-ten..."
"A what? I couldn't hear you." Mayu was unsure if her fellow oshiri sister is trying to troll her or if she really couldn't hear. But with hesitation, she repeated what she had just said. "I said a ten..."
The grin on Yuko's face widen with mischief when she heard the rating from Mayu. Her eyebrows wiggled. Then a laugh then came out of her mouth. "Ohohoho! I see now! It's no surprise that my oshiri sister here would rate the person that she loves so very very very high!" Her right hand came up to her forehead, still laughing. "I would rate my Nyan Nyan just like that too!"
"Er... What are you two talking about?" That voice that suddenly boomed from behind. It was none other than Yuki's. Startling the two sitting figures, they quickly turned their attention to her; Mayu waving her hands wildly in the air.
"N-Nothing Yukirin! We're just talking about stuff!"
"Mayu rating your butt the highest on the chart."
The two oshiri sisters were speaking at the same time. Not to mention they spoke at different pacing, thus causing their sentences to be hard to follow and comprehend. This doesn't seem to help Yuki since the only words she picked out was 'Yukirin' and 'butt.' Flashing a smile, she brushed aside whatever they were speaking and reminded them about the dinner she holds at hand.
Or so it looks like dinner. At her hand held two plates of, well, black... purple-ish substance that can't be recognized as a food object or even a thing upon sight. Steam came rising out of the object on the white plate. There wasn't any smell coming from it, so both Mayu and Yuko predicted that maybe it won't taste as bad as it looks. As they say with that saying, 'can't judge a book by its cover.' Placing the plate on the table in front of Mayu and Yuko, Yuki smiled nervously. "I hope it's good. It's actually been a while since I last prepared someone food."
Mayu had this strange look on her face as she stared at the plate before her eyes. By her side, Yuko had a disbelief expression. "I don't want to eat, Yuki. I'm just here talking with Mayu-"
"Huh? You don't want to try out my food?" Her words were cut off when the younger girl sitting close jabbed her elbow against Yuko's ribcage. A little 'oof' came out of her mouth. Before she could say another word, Mayu glared at her with such dangerous eyes. "Don't. Say. Anything," she mouthed. As much as Yuko don't want to eat, she couldn't be mean and walk away from such nice offer. Even if the food itself isn't as... nice as it should be. Not to mention Mayu right next to her is giving her a reminder that she should just deal with it. Gulping, Yuko flashed a forceful grin at Mayu with eyes closed. She didn't like it at all.
Yuki then gave them both spoons to begin eating their food. "I'm sorry if it's not as good as you wanted it to be," she muttered and looked away, scared of what their reaction might be. Both of the oshiri sisters exchanged their glances at each other, mentally crying at such fate they have. "I-Itadakimasu..." They both stuttered. Using their metal spoon to pick up a small chunk of... whatever that stuff is on the plate, they brought it close to their mouth.
Still no smell coming from the food. There was only one way to find out whether it was tasty or not. It was to try it. 'Heaven O Mighty Lord, give me strength,' they both prayed while sticking the spoon into their mouth.
One second. No reaction. None moving their jaw in attempt to chew or bite it.
Two seconds. No reaction. Beginning to chew the food.
Three seconds. No reaction. Their chewing slowed down, tasting the food.
Four seconds. No reaction. They soon stopped moving their jaw and tasted the flavor.
Five seconds. Reaction.
The two girls almost wanted to spit out the disgusting foreign object. Clean their tongue. Clean their teeth. Clean the inside of their entire mouth. It taste so bad that it can't even be described. It was horrendous simply put. Something that could kill them. It may taste terrible, but they were afraid of hurting Yuki's feelings. She did put a lot of effort into the preparation. So swallowing with great difficulty, they tried to resist the temptation to puke out what just went down to their poor stomach. Their poor digestive system is going to have a lot of problems tonight.
"I-I-IT TASTED..... GOOD," Yuko struggled to make a positive feedback. She was biting back all sorts of negative comments. Not only she but Mayu also, who could only nod in agreement to her words. Upon hearing their words, Yuki looked back at them and somewhat was radiating an almost Buddha-like light. "R-Really? Great! Then if you both said that it taste good, maybe I should tell Tomo~mi that she doesn't need to cook for tonight's dinner! Just for tonight!" Standing proudly as though she had won some sort of medallion award, she pointed her index finger at the two sitting girls. "When I come back, you both better finish up those plates!" Before Mayu or Yuko could stop her, she dashed away from the dining room in search of Kasai.
"...........I hope a lot of the members are skipping dinner tonight."
"Yeah. Me too."
The two girls looked at their plate once more and sighed.
"I pray to the heavens that we won't die from being poisoned with this."
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"Sayaka, I-I don't really know what to do..."
Sae was sitting on the stool next to the injured Sayaka, burying her face into her two hands. After that event between her and Mayu, she decided to stop by the clinic and check out Sayaka. She was laying in her bed, resting. Rena had just given news that Sayaka is fast at recovering, so it wouldn't be shocking if she is back up and running in less than a week. Her close friend is very happy and glad to hear of this news. But as much as she wanted to celebrate hearing such good news, her mind could only wander back to both Yuki's and Mayu's relationship.
The girl laying on the bed was facing her head towards Sae's direction. A frown crossed on her face. "Sae... I'm sure you'll get a chance to be with her..."
"But Sayaka!" she exclaimed, lifting her head up. "The two of them really do love each other! And as much as I want to erase my feelings for Yuki, I still love her no matter what!"
A sigh. "Sae... Just... confess your feelings towards Yuki... I'm sure it's better than keeping quiet about it-"
"You don't understand, Sayaka." Standing up from her seat, Sae now stared directly at the laying figure. Determination was in her eyes. Not wanting to be defeated. Does she really like Yuki to the point that she'll do anything just to get her back? As Sayaka gaped at the scene in front of her, the co-captain of the ship came into the medic room.
"A-Acchan!" they both exclaimed when they saw her approaching. Looking bored and unconcerned as usual, she stood opposite of Sae. "As requested by the captain, I want you, Sae, to help us out with a job once we stop by Spain."
Topic: Wandering Ship [wMatsui Arc] - Chapter 17 [Announcement for all series] (Read 38401 times)