Wow, the idea of sharks in the water certainly lured quite a few people onboard.
Too tired to reply to everyone (well, more like lazy, but nvm), so I'll just go ahead and post the chapter you've all been waiting for.
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Chapter 11Meanwhile, as Yossi and Mari were walking back down the waterfront to get to their ship, the shorter pirate wondered out loud.
"I wonder if anything could be happening back there?"
Yossi looked thoughtful. "I don't think so, most of them are still sleeping. How much trouble can they possibly get into while asleep?"
Mari shrugged. "Just a feeling I have. Like we're missing something..." Changing the subject, she went on.
"Say, don't you think it's weird that those people we fought last night are so good? I don't think they're ordinary sailors, or pirates either."
Yossi frowned. "Well that's true...the style seems familiar somehow...I'm sure I've seen that fighting style somewhere before. Just not with the twin swords. That girl was pretty good..." Mari nodded emphatically. "So was the one I was fighting. I wonder who they are..."
Yossi scratched absently at the back of her neck. "Well, I'm sure we'll figure it out sooner or later..." Her attention diverted to two familiar forms slipping into a back alley somewhere off in front of them. "Are those the twins?" Mari turned to look, but saw nothing. "What?"
"Well, I don't know...maybe I was seeing things..." Mari laughed. "If it
is the twins though, they're probably up to something again. I wouldn't put it against them."
"This early?" The taller pirate blurted out, then corrected herself. "Oh wait, this
is the twins we are talking about."
Mari looked wistfully at the alley where Yossi had pointed out earlier. "Wonder if I could join them...?"
"You too? Oh please, the two of them are enough trouble on their own! You should be setting a good example, not encouraging them!" Yossi scolded her sometime-mentor. Mari simply stuck out her tongue out at the younger girl.
"Oh don't be boring,
Hitomi-chan~" Mari teased as they walked past another pair of girls who were walking towards where they came from. "You tall people don't understand how us shorties feel!" The pint-sized pirate added, slapping Yossi's forearm playfully. Yossi just rolled her eyes. "Whatev---"
"Yocchan?"
Yossi froze in her tracks.
What the...Only two people ever called her that, and one of them was dead this past ten years. But then, it simply couldn't be...she couldn't be here...
"Yocchan, is that you?" The voice was plaintive, sweet, and familiar. Mari poked the seemingly insensate pirate next to her. "Oy, Yossi, there's a really hot girl looking at you. You know her?"
Yossi forced herself to turn around, slowly and painfully...and met a familiar pair of eyes. Her knees felt a bit weak. The name she hadn't spoken of in a decade slipped out of her suddenly dry lips before she even realised it.
"Rika..."
~*~*~
"I hope Miki is fine.." Aibon mused aloud as she skipped out of the shop with Nono holding a package behind her. The older shrugged.
"She's impossible to kill. Besides, she'll feel all better after she sees these." Tsuji patted the package she was holding. "Great idea you came up with Aibon." Nono beamed at her counterpart, who simply turned to smile back just as brightly.
"You're the best Nono~" Following that was a quick tackle-hug on Tsuji by a slightly hyper Kago, before the younger of the twins slipped off (but not before giving her "twin" a quick peck on the cheek) and grabbed Nono by the wrist, completely missing the fact that Nono was blushing like crazy.
"Come on! Let's go see Miki and annoy her into getting better!"
~*~*~
Rika couldn't believe it. I mean, what were the odds of just bumping into the one person she was desperately wanting to see after 10 years? She thought she had gotten it wrong at first, but hearing that short girl call the other one "Hitomi-chan" had made her turn around for a second look after she had brushed past them for the first time.
They hadn't seen each other for 10 whole years, so she hadn't made the connection at first glance. But the second look made her notice the detail she had missed the first time round when she hadn't been looking as closely.
That sword. The pommel was covered by some kind of rough material to hide the carving on it, and some cloth was wrapped around the scabbard, but it was loose enough for her to see part of the ornate decorations lying just underneath. Her heart nearly stopped. She hadn't seen that weapon in years, but the memory of it remained fresh enough in her mind for her to recognise it almost instantly.
"Rika-chan! Look, Father gave me a sword for my birthday!" An exuberant young girl bounced up to her friend, who was sitting on a swing in her garden.
"It's a sabre Yocchan." The smaller girl corrected even as the 10 year old Yoshizawa Hitomi flopped down by her side, making the swing shake violently, causing Rika to nearly lose her balance and clutch onto a grinning Yossi's shoulder.
"Mou...Yocchan!" Rika pouted cutely at her best friend, who only grinned back irreverently, her large eyes bright.
"Isn't it beautiful? Father had it specially made just for me!" The birthday girl proudly showed it off to Rika, who carefully ran her fingers up the length of the scabbard, admiring the designs worked into it. The Yoshizawa crest was embedded in a jewel carving on the pommel, and Hitomi happily drew the blade for further inspection, before sheathing it once again in a quick, skillful move.
Rika smiled at her friend's simple joy at the magnificent weapon she had received as a present. Placing a small hand on Hitomi's arm, she spoke softly.
"Ne, Yocchan, I haven't given your present yet..." Yossi paused in her elation, turning to her best friend with a puzzled expression. "But I thought you did, earlier when you came with your family to the party."
"That's the one my mother picked out for all of us to give." Rika confessed, before adding shyly. "I have something else for you..."
Turning her full attention to her best friend, the younger girl waited eagerly. Rika hesitated, before handing over a folded square of cloth. Hitomi blinked.
"A...handkerchief?"
Rika was nervously looking at her hands in her lap. "Umm...open it up..."
Doing as she was told, the cloth fell open, revealing the delicate embroidery neatly stitched on the fine silk, making Hitomi gasp in surprise. The design was that of the Yoshizawa family crest...cleverly integrated with the Ishikawa crest. Their names were also interlaced with each other in the corner. The needlework was exquisite, and Yossi looked in astonishment back at her best friend. "This is..."
"Uh...well...I made it...since you keep forgetting to bring a handkerchief around with you all the time. It's not right for a lady not to...eep!" Rika was suddenly embraced by the taller girl.
"Thank you!"
"You like it then?" Rika beamed adorably at her friend. "I was afraid that you would think it was ugly..."
Hitomi grinned as she drew back from the hug. "It's perfect, really. How did you come up with this?"
Rika blushed lightly, although it couldn't be seen in the dim light. "Well, we are best friends, and I wanted a way to show that, so..." She left it hanging, and was startled when Hitomi impulsively took her hands, making her wince slightly in pain. The younger girl frowned, turning Rika's hand over and checking it.
"It's nothing really Yocchan..." Rika murmured as Hitomi inspected the small hands, noticing the small pinprick-like wounds on the fingers. She frowned. "You hurt yourself while making this?" Seeing that she couldn't quite deny the fact, Rika nodded slowly. "It's my first time trying a design like that, so it was difficult..." She admitted.
"Baka...you should be more careful..." Hitomi cradled Rika's hands gently in her own. "I don't like seeing you get hurt..."
"It's alright..." Rika soothed, smiling at her friend's concern. "It's your birthday, cheer up!"
Hitomi made some effort to smile for her friend's sake. "This is the best birthday present I've ever gotten...I'll always keep it with me!"
Rika beamed again. "Even better than the sabre your father gave you?" She teased lightly, tapping at the sheathed weapon on her friend's lap.
She hesitated. "Um...uh...do I have to choose?" Rika laughed at Hitomi's torn expression.
"Silly Yocchan, of course you don't have to..."The memory made Rika smile unconsciously. It was one of the many happy moments that they had shared as children, practically growing up together...until that time. She refused to think about it now though. The most important thing was that she had found her Yocchan, and judging from how the other girl had frozen in place when she had called out that familiar nickname, she was doubly sure that she had finally found the person she had been waiting for, and looking for, all this time.
Then she had turned around, and Rika found herself studying the grown up version of her best friend. It was...different. The angles of her face were sharper, having lost most of the baby fat, and she had gotten taller and thinner. There was a wary and guarded expression on that face, something that hadn't been there when they were children. It made her sad, somehow, seeing that. What had happened during all this time to do that to her? Rika had a feeling it had to be nothing good.
But then again, everything had gone to hell that time. It had been a shock when she had heard that the entire Yoshizawa clan was to be executed for treason. To this day, she had not been certain what exactly were the crimes that that family had committed to warrant such a harsh fate from the Emperor. Despite being only a child then, she had stubbornly gone to the execution grounds against her parents' wishes, determined to, at the very least, see Yocchan for the last time. Or try to save her, no matter how difficult or impossible it seemed.
She hadn't even been able to get near the grounds, but she was able to find a place where she could look. She
would be there for her best friend, even if she couldn't be right by her side. No matter how terrible, how gruesome the whole proceedings would be, she would stay.
And she did. She never took her eyes away, determined to face this situation. Each beheading shook her deeply, made her want to throw up, want to look away. She was biting her lip so hard that it bled, but she never turned away for one instant. She
knew all those people, the servants even, from the many visits she had made to the Yoshizawa house. She wept when Kouta, Yocchan's younger brother, died under that swift, unrelenting blade.
But where was Hitomi? She scrutinised the whole proceedings closely, but she hadn't seen her best friend. When the last one was finally executed, the idea finally sank in.
She's not dead... The girl had managed to escape the carnage somehow, saved from the awful fate that had befallen her entire family. There was hope, however minor, lurking in the heart of that 12 year old Ishikawa Rika.
Yocchan's not dead...she must be alive...somewhere...That had been the sole belief in her heart, all this time. 10 years. She had waited 10 years, hoping that her best friend would find a way somehow to contact her. But there had been no news, despite all her own subtle efforts to scout for news as she had gotten older. On one level, she had understood why. Yocchan had had to drop out of sight, since technically she was a fugitive, convicted of high treason. But the lack of any contact had hurt. Not even a single word, a line, just to assure Rika that the other girl had been safe.
And now, here they were. They were not all that far apart physically now, barely 10 feet from each other. But yet, she could sense the invisible chasm of 10 whole years separating them, like a huge valley to be bridged. Rika didn't even know if it were possible for that to happen. Both of them had gone through too much, seen too much, changed too much. Would they be able to return to the time of their innocent childhood? Could they?
Rika was afraid of the answer. The one person she had yearned to see all this time, and now all she wanted to do was run away. She could see the same uncertainty in Yossi's eyes as the other girl faced her.
And then she had spoken her name.
"Rika..."
The broken, disbelieving tone, awkward and...relieved? Yes, relief. That emotion...
It gave Rika hope. Maybe, just maybe...they had a chance to start over again.
It would be a start. Not much, but it was a start.
Rika smiled as she closed the distance between them.
~*~*~
The twins bounded up the stairs, having entered through the backdoor as per their usual habit.
The door to the room furthest from the stairs were open, and Kaori was standing just outside the doorframe, so they naturally gravitated towards her.
"What's happening?" Aibon piped up curiously after she had pounced on the unsuspecting Kaori from behind, nearly sending them both crashing to the ground, which would have happened had Kaori not quickly grabbed onto the doorframe to brace herself. Kaori didn't have to say a thing, she just pointed, a small grin on her face.
Tsuji wondered what her partner was snickering about, so she had to edge past both Kaori and Kei, who were blocking her view. What she saw made her laugh out loud.
"Ne, Aibon, looks like we didn't need to get Miki a get-well present." Nono was grinning evilly at her "twin", who had the exact same expression on her face.
"She certainly looks cheerful enough." Aibon agreed with a beatific smile, still riding on Kaori's back.
"Energetic too." Kei and Kaori snickered again at the twins' commentary of the situation.
A few minutes later, with Natsumi still trying to hold a completely livid Maki down, Nono scratched her head as she wondered out loud.
"Don't they need to come up for air?" Aibon shrugged as she finally decided to slide off Kaori's back.
"Dunno." She paused, then suggested brightly. "Why don't we try and see how long we can hold it for?"
Nono immediately turned away to face a different direction, blushing a fiery red. "Ah...umm..." The older twin stuttered, her voice shaking.
Aibon giggled as she clung on to her partner from behind. "Just kidding~!" Nono's shoulders sagged, mostly from relief, but there was just a slightest twinge of disappointment in her. She tensed again, however, when Aibon whispered into her ear. "I don't really mind if we try though...Nono's my best friend after all~"
Desperate for a change in topic, since she didn't know how she would react if the teasing(?) continued, Nono tried her best to think of something to say. While she was fretting over that, Maki had finally gotten loose from underneath Natsumi, and was about to climb up and rip Miki into shreds, when she suddenly fell over, unconscious, to the ground. Natsumi had an apologetic look as she caught the knocked out Maki. She had had to hit her in the back of the head to prevent the younger girl from doing anything rash in the hear of the moment.
Sorry Gocchin...Meanwhile, Miki and Aya, as the twins had noted earlier, were still practically attached to each other by the lips (among other things). Miki had known that if she let Aya go, the other girl would probably really try to kill her for real. So she had stubbornly refused to let go, reasoning that as long as she kept the girl on top of her distracted this way, she could live for a while longer.
Not that she wasn't enjoying the current position she was in, of course.
Aya had been stunned when that insufferable woman under her had pulled her in for a kiss again, and had somehow taken advantage of her gasp of shock to slip her tongue in as well. As if the kiss down by the waterfront hadn't enough, now this?! Aya wanted to scream, and probably beat Miki to a pulp afterwards. Strangling would be too easy a death for her. Aya was fully inclined to cut her into little pieces and feed her to the sharks...
But then,
why was she fighting that intrusive tongue in her mouth with her own, when she could just bite down and make the other girl let go like she did before?
It was all too confusing. Aya felt her mind haze over, completely oblivious to the surroundings, only all too aware of the skilled tongue working its magic and her own, tentative attempts to respond. It felt sort of...nice. Different from the one at the waterfront. There was more fascination here than the lustful desperation that had driven the first, the exploration much more gentle, but firm at the same time. It didn't feel as threatening, which didn't alert her own natural defensive reaction.
Miki almost bit back a laugh when a soft moan rumbled in Aya's throat, barely audible, but she felt it more than heard it anyway. Feeling more confident in herself, the knife-loving pirate smirked into the kiss and attacked just a bit more fiercely, while absently letting one hand slide down and slip under the other girl's shirt...
She felt Aya abruptly stiffen, and realised her mistake when Aya bit down again savagely. With a pained yelp from the pirate, they came apart, both panting heavily, and Miki was whimpering slightly as blood pooled in her mouth.
"Did you have to bite in the same place twice?!" Miki complained, her words coming out a bit slurred, as Aya had gotten part of her tongue as well. The young captain, still straddling the pirate while rubbing vigorously at her swollen lips (from all that kissing), just glared murderously down.
"Oh, so
that's how you got that cut in your lip in the first place!" Kei clapped her hands together in realisation.
Miki sat up and spat out the excess blood on the floor next to her, before glaring at the smirking doctor. "Don't push it, damnit." Then, looking up at the fuming Aya who was still on her lap, Miki looked challengingly at her.
"What? You can't say you didn't enjoy that! I know you did..."
Aya wanted so very much to kill that smugly smiling girl facing her. But she couldn't deny that the other girl was right...she had enjoyed that just a little, before Miki had pushed her a little further than she was willing to go at this point. Words couldn't explain the depth of the anger and humiliation that was seething within the proud young captain prodigy, but she was going to try anyway.
"Screw you." Those two words were laden with enough venom to kill an entire legion. If Miki felt the hostility, she didn't let it show. The smirk on her face only widened.
"That can be arranged."
It took Aya about 2 seconds before she could process what Miki said. When it clicked though, she gave a howl of absolute fury and was about to literally murder the smug pirate that sat smirking in her face, but Miki caught her wrists, foiling her attempt.
The two struggled futilely for a few moments, much to the amusement of their audience which they had both effectively ignored throughout their exchange, before Aya suddenly went limp and fainted again, falling right into Miki's surprised arms. Miki took a questioning glance at Kei, who shrugged.
"She's not fully recovered yet, and then all that...excitement must have overloaded her body again. She needs rest." The last part was said quite pointedly at the younger pirate, who looked utterly remorseless despite everything.
Natsumi cleared her throat. "Maybe it's best that we take her back to our ship...I don't think she'll take kindly to seeing you again when she wakes up..."
Miki appeared to be considering that for a moment, before she replied. "No."
"No?" Natsumi echoed hollowly, confused.
Smirking again, Miki explained.
"She owes me her life. I'm not letting her go until she repays that debt somehow." She traced a finger down Aya's cheek. "Besides, I just can't wait to see her face when she finds out that I was the one who saved her life." Miki beamed widely at the rest, who were either gaping (Natsumi), smirking (Kei and Kaori), or outright laughing (the twins) at her pronouncement.
Looking down at the unconscious girl in her arms, Miki smirked evilly again as she whispered to a comatose Aya.
"You and me...we're going to have
so much fun together..."
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I had to move another part planned for this chapter to the next one, since it was getting too long already. Haha.
Well, will quit blabbing for now. I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter!
Topic: All Aboard! [Chapter 26! --sorry for the wait] (Read 100635 times)