Chapter 20
"Well, excuse me, but I don't see why I should be risking me and my crew to interfere in something that is none of our business." Yuko, despite having built up a nice tower of empty rum bottles on the table in front of her, sounded complete sober and clearheaded when she replied. With a small burp, the pirate captain carefully added another newly emptied bottle to her masterpiece, making it wobble a little, but the delicate glass structure appeared to be holding steady.
Maki gritted her teeth in frustration, having been persuaded by Ayaka earlier to take a seat and dry off before trying to explain her situation. The former naval lieutenant had a definite sense of urgency around her, not that you could blame her. After all, her best friend had just been hauled off on myriad charges (that don't even apply!) and Maki had a very bad feeling about the whole thing. Time was of the essence here, and those people already had too much of a lead on her already.
Yuko hadn't been very interested in, or particularly impressed by what Maki had to say. For one thing, Yuko didn't like to get involved in such internal matters of the Royal Navy. A wise pirate knew better than to associate with the authorities if they were to live to sail for another day. Besides, it just didn't seem worth the trouble...nor was it interesting enough to hold her notoriously fickle attention.
Seeing that she was not making any headway with the pirate captain, Maki was about ready to dash out again and find someone else willing to help her, when Rika pointedly caught her eye and gave her a look. A look that said "calm down!". After all, running around like a headless chicken wasn't going to solve any problems.
"Umm, Lieutenant..." Risa tried, having been very concerned by the news that Aya had been taken away. The former navy sailor, despite having shed her own connection to the Royal Navy earlier, still retained a certain amount of loyalty for her former crew. Not to mention the fact that it had been Captain Matsuura who had appreciated her ability enough to pick her for this voyage. If not for that, she would never have met Ai, and never felt so strongly about someone that she had felt compelled to stay behind for her sake. Human emotion was a peculiar thing. Risa had been sure that it had begun as an obligation of sorts, but quickly found that she was rather fond of her Ai-chan, and boy, her wife was really good with her...
...nevertheless! Risa shook her head to clear it. Her mind was displaying a disturbing tendency to wander down dangerous paths ever since she met Ai, it seemed. She didn't know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. But back to the matter at hand.
"What? Why are you here?" Maki asked, giving Risa an evil glare, making the younger girl swallow nervously.
"I left the crew to stay with Ai-chan..." It was barely above a murmur, but Ayaka was looking approvingly at Risa for the confession. Ai herself was beaming (and blushing slightly), squeezing Risa's hand in encouragement. The twins took only a moment to comprehend the information before their eyes lit up.
"Congratulations~" Kago waved at the pair, while Tsuji was grinning and giving the now horribly flushed Takahashi a thumbs up. The older twin paused, tilting her head to one side as she remembered something fairly important.
"Did anyone tell Mako-chan about this?" She pointed out thoughtfully. Everyone else save for Maki (who was seething about being ignored), Rika (who didn't know who this "Mako-chan" was) and Risa (who was still blissfully clueless about most things) paused, before shaking their heads in unison. The barmaid clapped a hand to her mouth.
"I forgot!" Tsuji shook her head disapprovingly. "Tsk, you two are friends aren't you? How could you forget to tell her that you now have someone else in your life?" She clucked her tongue in disappointment, while Ai hung her head, ashamed.
"Well it only happened this morning!" Risa defended the lapse, one arm snaking around her wife's waist and pulling the older woman closer to her unconsciously.
"Not to be self centered but...can we please get back to MY problem?" Maki interrupted abruptly. Yuko waved a hand dismissively in her direction.
"I thought I said no already." Maki made an impolite noise, her mind running quickly through her options as she pushed the worst of her anxiety aside to focus on the matter at hand. She was quite literally grasping at straws, when her mind hit on something she could possibly work on.
"You." Miki raised an eyebrow when directly addressed. "Yes?" The devil's eyes ran astray for a moment. "...nice boobs you have there, by the way."
"Whatever, they're not yours anyway." Maki brushed the compliment(?) aside without a second thought. "You are interested in Aya, aren't you?"
The eyebrow raised higher, and Miki sounded amused when she replied. "Only on physical terms. She sure is feisty though... so much fun." A smirk was on Miki's face as she remembered the assorted reactions she had garnered from Aya earlier, as well as Aya's rather clever attempts at shutting her out. Miki always did like a challenge.
Maki bit her lip. This was proving rather difficult to say. Had it been simply asking Yuko for the favor, it would have been comparatively easier. But this was Miki. This was the person who had shamelessly laid claim on her best friend, along with groping and kissing said best friend with or without permission. Maki didn't really approve of Miki. She thought that the other girl was a bad influence. Heck, she herself might be a bit of a casanova on some days, but at least she never really went quite as far as to hit on Aya this blatantly. But desperate times called for desperate measures, and even if Maki had to beg for help from someone she personally despised, she would do it.
"Aya owes you a favor because you saved her life, isn't that right?" Miki nodded, looking at Maki with a curious expression, wondering what the other could be up to. Maki exhaled slowly as she thought very quickly.
"You really want to collect that favor in ah, more, physical terms, don't you?" Maki was really struggling with her hastily put together argument, even if her outward demeanour didn't betray that much. Miki smirked at the reference to her assumed dishonorable intentions towards Aya's person...not that she cared to deny that fact. It was after all, the whole truth. "Of course." There was no attempt to even mask her response. The other pirates snickered in the background.
Maki hid a smile even as part of her more protective side wanted to just go rip the smirk off Miki's face, but she regained inner control fairly quickly. This was turning out rather in her favor. "Then, it seems, you do have to assist me in that case." Miki frowned in confusion. "What?"
A shrewd look crossed Maki's eyes. "Aya's been taken away, with secret orders for termination. In this case, that means she won't be able to return the favor. And so, under the circumstances, if you want to get it back from her, you have to save her...again." Maki then hit on something else as she laid out her case. "Oh, and if you do help to save her again, that means she owes you twice. That gives you more leverage over her, doesn't it?" Even as she said that, Maki wanted to smack herself for even suggesting it to the knife-throwing pirate. Sorry Aya, but I have to save you somehow...
Miki narrowed her eyes, clearly considering the argument that Maki had placed in front of her. On one hand, the busty woman was right. But on second thoughts, why did she have to go to such lengths in order to claim that favor from some girl anyway? Granted, Aya was really hot and everything, with an attitude to boot, but was it really worth the trouble?
Even as she pondered that, Yuko put in her own two cents.
"There are more fish out in the sea Fujimoto. No need to go chasing after someone on death row." Maki glared at the older woman, who simply shrugged it off, completely unbothered. It took more than a death glare from a young puppy to scare THE Nakazawa Yuko, after all.
Ironically, Yuko's statement had the opposite effect than intended on Miki. The girl did like to be contrary after all. And besides, Miki thought to herself, she really wanted to see the look on Aya's face when the other girl discovered that she owed her life to Miki...again. The thought of being able to harass Aya once more cheered Miki up considerably.
"Should be fun to do." Miki remarked to a visibly triumphant Maki, before turning to face Yuko. "Oy captain, let's go after them. Didn't you say it was boring earlier? We could use a little excitement right now."
"Not this kind of excitement, we don't." Yuko rejected the proposal flatly. Miki's forehead creased in thought, searching for a good way to get around that. Her eyes met with those of the twins, and subtle nods exchanged between them. Yossi hid a grin at the hidden byplay. This should be interesting to watch.
"Why, is our great captain afraid of the big bad Royal Navy?" Miki drawled impudently, clearly resorting to underhanded means in order to win the argument. Frankly, with Kago and Tsuji on her side, it was only a matter of time before those three found a way to persuade Yuko (or simply outmaneuver her).
"Don't try to bait me, you insolent little pup." Yuko waved a bottle at a grinning Miki, who glanced at the twins meaningfully.
The two adolescents quickly hopped over to their grumpy captain's side, one on the left and one on the right, and started the double-team effort, otherwise known as the Twins Effect. Yossi stifled a guffaw as Yuko was suddenly jumped on by two hyperactive girls, whining and pleading and going all puppy-eyed to appeal to the little known softer side of the pirate captain. Yuko might seem like a gruff, surly drunkard who rode roughshod over everyone in her way, but she was actually quite nice and protective towards the younger members of her own crew. Yossi speculated that it was some kind of maternal instinct working its way out, but declined to comment further on the matter...at least not in public.
Maki watched in interest as Yuko's resolve slowly seemed to wear down. Miki sauntered over to the taller woman's side, leaning familiarly in to whisper.
"You might want to offer some incentive to help it along. I've done my part." With that, Miki winked and patted Maki's butt, before slithering away slippery as an eel. Maki settled for an evil look in the pirate's direction for the invasion of her personal space (only a very limited number of people can touch her), then frowned as she tried to think what Miki could be suggesting. Her eyes strayed to the large number of empty rum bottles on the table, an idea popping to mind.
"You know, if you help me find Aya, I can get you some of the finest Balvarian wine." Yuko froze in her attempts to ward off the twins, turning woodenly to face Maki. "Are you serious?" Rika stifled a chuckle at the undisguised longing on the older woman's face. Balvarian wine was native to the northern steppes where the nomadic horse clans roamed, and it was notoriously difficult to gain part of their limited produce for trade. The chill climate produced a rather unique sort of alcohol that most people with weaker stomachs would not be able handle. It was a fiery liquid, but those who could manage to drink it without being knocked out immediately knew the merits of the liquor. Yuko had had one sip of it many years ago, and she never really forgot the taste as it burned down her throat with the intensity of a holy fire.
"You can?" Maki smirked. Hook, line and sinker. "My father has trade contacts with a few of the clans up there. I'm sure I have some bottles of it in my cellar."
Yuko was caught and she knew it. Heck, everyone with eyes and two brain cells to rub together knew it. Reina sighed in her corner. "I guess we set sail again..." The teen muttered under her breath. Yossi cast a glance in her direction. "Aw, it's not so bad. At least it's not typhoon season."
"Yet." Reina added grumpily. "In a few months, it will be." Yossi laughed openly and got up to where Reina was sitting, ruffling the girl's hair affectionately. "Lighten up Grumpy, you'll feel better once you're at sea." Reina mumbled incoherently and hugged her oversized harpoon to herself.
"Time to set off again then!" Yuko sounded inordinately motivated to start on a quest she didn't even want to take up in the first place. Ayaka nodded in acknowledgment.
"Um..." Risa sounded a little torn, glancing rapidly in between Ai and Maki. "Uh..." She looked like she was about to start hyperventilating again as she wavered inwardly between staying behind and joining Maki to help get Aya back. Ai gave her an understanding look, having heard earlier from Risa about how much the girl had owed to Aya for picking her for the voyage. "You can go along if you want." The barmaid said softly, touching Risa's arm gently. The younger girl had a grateful expression on her face at the blessing.
"Well~ Why restrict it to just the brat? You can come along to Ai-chan, I'm sure Makoto will be thrilled to have you on board too..." Miki had somehow materialised next to the couple, and was leaning in too close to Ai for her comfort. Ayaka clucked her tongue disapprovingly. "Quit trying to steal all my employees!" Although her eyes were amused more than actually upset. If it was with Yuko and her crew, Ayaka could trust them to take care of Ai.
"Can I...really?" Ai blinked. She had never really considered leaving the port town before, but now the prospect didn't seem too frightening. To tell the truth, she always did want to see what the world was like outside sleepy little Klashnik, beyond the rowdy pirates that came in for drinks. Yuko grinned at the deerlike expression on a startled Ai's face. "Of course you can, we have plenty of room."
"Actually, we're undermanned as it is." Reina grumbled. "Another set of hands around would make it easier." Yossi prodded her in the side. "Ow, hey! What's that for?" The taller pirate smiled devilishly. "If you don't lighten up soon, I'll set the twins on you." At the mention of their names, aforementioned twins turned around with gleaming eyes. Reina gulped and shot to her feet, a patently false smile plastered on her face. "Wonderful to have you on board Takahashi!"
"Well if at least two real sailors are joining us, does that mean our shifts get shorter too?" Miki asked hopefully. Yossi snorted. "Always looking for a way to slack off, eh Miki?" Miki winked back. "Of course!"
Yuko clapped her hands together briskly, standing up. "Well, enough babbling, let's get ready to go. We need to track them down quickly."
Miki stared at her captain. "It's still raining, you know." Yuko shrugged. "A little rain won't kill you Fujimoto. You survived being clobbered in the head, remember?"
"That's different! And I don't feel like getting wet!" Miki whined. Maki, however, having heard enough of the pirate's complaints, marched over to where Miki stood and grabbed the shorter girl by the scruff of her neck, hauling her away from the counter she was leaning against. "Come on you little slacker, let's move."
"Yossi! Help!" Miki gagged as she flailed around from the death grip Maki had on her neck (and throat...Maki wasn't above taking a little revenge at the same time). The boyish pirate scratched at her chin thoughtfully, before going over with a wide grin on her face. The twins, already doubled over in guffaws from the way Maki was manhandling Miki, exploded in laughter when Yossi, instead of helping Miki, chose to lend a hand to Maki, restraining and marching the protesting girl out into the rain.
"Well now that that's settled, Takahashi, you can join us in a while after you finish packing. We won't be leaving that quickly, but don't take your own sweet time coming. We do have a ship to chase down." Yuko calmly informed the barmaid, before gathering the youngsters around herself and herding them out of the front door.
The three remaining in the now empty tavern stared at their retreating backs. Risa was the first to speak, scratching at the back of her head with a confused expression.
"...well that was weird." Ayaka and Ai agreed wordlessly.
This was going to be one interesting voyage.
~*~*~
She felt...dislocated.
That was her first thought upon swimming her way to land of the conscious with painful strokes. Her body felt like it was dismembered into several pieces and chucked all over the place, despite her consciousness being partly aware that this would be impossible to accomplish given the fact that she was still alive. Well, she assumed she was still alive, considering she was capable of thought at the moment. Unless of course, she was already dead and/or having a really weird out-of-body experience.
"Unngh..." The sound emitted from her throat, giving her the indication that yes, she was still in her body and hopefully mostly still alive. Her shoulder was on fire, and her head felt like someone just stepped all over it and then beat it senseless with a shovel. Her eyes were gummed shut, her body itching and feeling sore all at the same time.
In other words, Aya felt like crap dug out from the 18th circle of Hell, but somehow she was still alive. Barely.
"...good...awake..." Someone's voice filtered through to her ears distantly, seeming both very far and very near at the same time. Disorientation and headaches weren't helping her in her sense perception, it appeared. Now, if only she didn't go on feeling like she was having a really bizarre case of out-of-body experience...
"Mmfrgh..." Her lips weren't really moving properly along to her command. Something cool was pressed to her lips, and she would have sighed in satisfaction if she were able, as water from a bowl of some sort was tipped carefully into her mouth. The cool liquid eased the pricking pain in her throat, and Aya grudgingly tried to force her eyelids open, blurry images meeting her vision as she did so. It took her awhile before the image cleared up and sharpened back into the proper focus.
Two people. Two people she really didn't expect to see. One of them she didn't mind so much, and was strangely unsurprised by his presence. The other one, however, she could rather do without seeing for the rest of her life. He was just about the last person she wanted to see right now.
"...urgggh...Tachibana...?" Her voice croaked out, even as she blinked to make sure she wasn't seeing things. "What the fuck are you doing out here?"
Tachibana Keita winced at the use of coarse language by a girl he had been admiring from afar ever since he saw her. Granted, Aya was ill, weak, bedraggled and about half-drowned, but that was no excuse to resort to the coarse tongues of the common folk. She was still a lady to him, no matter how high a rank to which she climbed to in the Royal Navy, and he didn't very much like this lack of refinement in her. Nevertheless, they do say that love is blind, so he could overlook it just this once.
The other man behind Keita coughed discreetly to shift the attention back to himself. Aya knew him as well, had known him ever since she was little. A friend of her father's, older brother to the man who had let her go earlier when she had been captured...wait, what was going on here? Why did one brother let her go only for another to pick her up? Was it pre-arranged or something? Her head hurt. Nearly drowning while still suffering from the ill effects of a poisoning did that to someone.
"I understand you have many questions." The man said gravely. His voice was deeper than his younger brother's, and was rather soothing. "I will explain to you in due time, but now you must rest first."
Aya grunted dismissively as she forced herself to a sitting position despite her dizziness. "I'll be fine." She slurred slightly, wiping at her slack lips with the back of her hand and rubbing at her eyes. "Ugh."
The man couldn't help but smile. "Stubborn as usual, I see." Aya, despite her less than ideal condition, managed to smirk at him.
"It's in the blood." The former navy captain pulled herself together with some effort, straightening up and looking the man in the eye. "Now I would like to know why an explorer like yourself is helping someone like me." Aya sounded rather ironic as she said "explorer", and a small smile twitched at the older man's lips. Despite the fact that his younger brother was serving in the Royal Navy, he himself was not officially employed in the naval forces, preferring to sail the seas in search of entertainment. Or at least, not many people knew that he was one of the unofficial private contractees to the Empire's military arm, a kind of a civilian collaborator in a sense, not fully obligated to the Navy, but being paid per assignment while roaming freely around the rest of the time.
Aya knew of his status of course, since she had found out by accident when she eavesdropped on her father as a child. To her credit, she didn't spread it around, having had some modicum of good sense even as a little girl. Knowing that his daughter would keep it quiet, her father didn't punish her too severely for being sneaky and eavesdropping on them either.
"There are reasons, but firstly, how could I not rescue someone lost at sea? Basic seafaring etiquette." The man quipped, drawing a choked chuckle from Aya, even as his gaze flicked briefly to Keita. Aya caught the look and understood that he was unwilling to share too much with that pretty boy in the room. She sighed.
"Ah of course, of course." She coughed delicately, glancing at Keita. "Will you please leave me for the moment? I think I need to rest."
Ever the gentleman, Keita immediately got the hint and moved out of the room, leaving the room to the other two. The older man looked amused.
"You got him wrapped around your little finger, haven't you?" He noted astutely. Aya sighed, this time ruefully. "I wish I could unwrap him and throw him out to the sharks."
He snickered. "That bad, I see?" Then he got serious.
"And yes, if you're wondering, my brother and I did plan this. He lets you go, I rescue you with no one else the wiser. My crew's loyal to me, so no one will let it slip that you were seen onboard here. I'll get you somewhere safe in the meantime. Can't let you die without a trial at least. Least we can do for your father." He walked a little closer to the low cot that Aya was resting on. "We don't know who ordered that secret termination or why, but we do know that whoever did it was probably well connected." He looked seriously at Aya. "You're in a great deal of trouble, you know that?"
A dry laugh escaped her lips. "Yes, yes I am. I can't thank you enough for this you know, both you and your brother." Frowning slightly, Aya continued. "About my father, does he know about this?"
A sharp hiss of breath escaped his lips, and he looked grim. "I'm afraid that's part of the problem. We haven't heard from Admiral Matsuura in a while now. No news at all. I don't know what happened exactly, but it's as if he just vanished off the face of the earth." Aya paled significantly, and she began to tremble a little. The man laid a large hand on her arm, attempting to comfort her, but Aya shrugged it off, pulling herself together with a deep breath.
"I have to find my father." Aya's voice was firm, then her forehead creased in thought again as she thought of something else. "About my crew, will they really be spared?"
"Eiji said that he will do his best to block any inquiries in that direction. He's heading back to the capital at full speed now." The man shrugged. "In any case, we have a backup plan in case we can't stop charges being pressed." He smiled at the worried girl in front of him. "You'd be surprised at the number of other admirals and higher officials in the navy ready to help intervene the moment they heard the name 'Matsuura'. Your father is a good man, and the rest of us will do our best to help. So don't worry too much."
Aya smiled faintly. "That's good, I guess." The man suddenly chuckled at something, making Aya look at him questioningly. The man simply shook his head ruefully.
"You end up worrying about everyone else other than yourself. Aren't you keen on clearing your own name?" He looked amused. "You're just like your father."
Aya smiled and was about to ask more questions, but the man shushed her. "Oh no, enough for now. You really do have to rest and get better. I'll come by later to check on you, and no, I won't let that pretty boy in to disturb you, don't worry."
"One last question," she pressed again. He raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Why is Tachibana on your ship anyway?"
The man sighed dramatically. "Duke Tachibana asked me to take his son along to search for the boy's missing fiancee. I'm getting rather well paid for playing escort, but I've been wondering if bringing a landlubber like him on a voyage is a good idea. Damn boy threw up constantly during his first week out at sea. Luckily the pay was sizable, otherwise I would have thrown him overboard, Duke's son or not." Aya snorted at the account, clearly unsympathetic to the story of Keita's suffering.
"Well, rest well then. We'll talk later." Aya nodded a little reluctantly, easing back onto the cot, her thoughts already racing far from where she was currently, deep in worry for the fate of her family and friends.
I hope everyone else is safe...
~*~*~
"Are you serious about this?" Yuuki asked. Natsumi sighed.
"Yes I am. That stubborn mule you have for a sister will probably get herself into a whole lot of trouble without someone watching her back. Aya would have my head if I let her best friend jump headfirst into trouble with her eyes shut." They were interrupted by the sound of someone entering the room.
"Ah there you are. We need to talk." Natsumi said briskly to the grizzled old sailor that limped in. The veteran grunted. "Whaddya want, rookie?" He was the only one who got away with talking like that to his superiors, at least on board this ship he did. Aya, Maki, and Natsumi all viewed him with a great deal of respect, and so let him get away with mouthing off like that. The combined sailing experience of the three officers probably didn't even add up to what this old sailor had, so in the old man's opinion, he had all the right in the world to call them rookies.
Natsumi smiled. "I suppose you know what I'm going to do already, don't you?" The veteran grunted and limped forward, squinting at the small woman standing before him.
"Pshaw, you're going after that young hothead eh? Don't know what you see in her." He cleared his throat and spat derisively. Natsumi sighed. "I have my reasons."
"So you do." He agreed. "And yer want me to bring this old tub back home and take care of them younglings for you, eh?" Natsumi nodded. "You're the only one really qualified to take control if the rest of us aren't here." The old sailor snorted.
"Bah, I know the seas, but those ranking men won't listen to me, on account of the fact that I'm untitled trash to them. You know that well enough, don't you?" Natsumi nodded in understanding. She had encountered the same problem before since she herself was also a commoner. If not for the Admiral's support, she would have had even more problems though.
"That's why I'm placing the boy here in command...for appearances of course." The First Mate nodded in Yuuki's direction. The boy blinked. "Me?"
"Yes you." Yuuki frowned. "I thought I would be coming along with you."
Natsumi shook her head. "I'm sorry, but your sister did tell you to stay behind, and I need someone I can trust to take the helm." She turned to the veteran sailor. "I trust you can take care of things behind the scenes, right?" The older man shot her a dirty look, as if insulted that she even had to ask in the first place. She chuckled.
"Then that's settled. Can you please inform the rest of the crew about the changes?" The old sailor nodded gruffly and limped out. Before he was completely out of the door though, he turned back to look at her.
"Take care of yerself out there, ya hear? Yer a good kid." He glared at Yuuki, who cringed back. "I hope that muleheaded sister of yours learns to appreciate what she has." Natsumi grinned at him. "Sentimentality, old man?" He snorted derisively. "Not while I have breath, you little rookie." With that, he left the room.
"I can't believe you're going to just leave me with him." Yuuki complained. Natsumi smiled and walked over to him, patting his shoulder. "There there, you'll live. Treat it as a learning experience." Yuuki sighed. "Take care of my sister when you find her, will you?"
"Of course." Natsumi promised. Yuuki got a serious look in his eye then.
"You know, about my sister..." He started hesitantly. She looked at him questioningly. "You know she's really dense and everything, but don't give up on her. She just needs a good smack upside the head to get the point sometimes." He paused. "Don't tell her I said that." Nacchi smiled and nodded, but Yuuki wasn't done yet.
"I know you like my sister a lot." His expression told Natsumi that he did know what he was talking about, and she bit her lip. "You don't mind...?" Yuuki grinned sheepishly and rubbed at the back of his head. "Eh, it's not like sis is really discreet about her preferences, and if I had to pick someone to be my sister-in-law..." He looked shyly at Natsumi. "...I rather it be you anyway."
Natsumi smiled, a strangely sadder one than her usual one. "You would make a great little brother too, but, you know..." Yuuki sighed.
"Big sis really doesn't know what she has right by her side sometimes. Just, you know, don't give up on her yet. I'm sure she'll come round some day..." He sounded a little unconvinced himself, but forced a kind of optimism into his voice just for Nacchi's sake. She smiled a little sadly at his efforts.
"Don't worry, I'll get them back all safely." She patted him on the shoulder again. "Take care of yourself, alright?"
He enveloped her in a sudden hug. "Be careful out there." He muttered, before releasing the smaller woman.
"I will." With that, Natsumi headed out. Yuuki stared after her, sighing lightly.
"I hope my stupid sister knows how lucky she is..."
~*~*~
Maki sneezed, halfway to the pirate ship, Yossi leading the way with Miki sulking in between them.
"Cold?" Yossi hollered over the sound of the rain. Maki shook her head.
"It's nothing!" Miki scoffed at that, only to wince painfully when Maki deliberately dug her fingers into the recalcitrant pirate's arm. The two of them glared at each other.
"Play nice kids!" Yossi sighed. Why did she have a feeling that it was going to be a long journey?
~*~*~
Eri was lurking. There was no other word for it. Technically, she was being a stowaway, hiding aboard some ship she had selected at random, figuring that she could score a quick ride to some other port before signing up with another crew officially. She had had just about enough of being part of the Royal Navy, though she wasn't quite ready to give up the life of a sailor.
It was a dangerous move, she knew, but she figured the worst they could do to her was throw her overboard. But she knew she could stay hidden well enough, with her love for tiny spaces, and she knew how to remain unobserved when necessary. Sneaking around was sort of a forte of hers by now.
With a little sigh of resignation, she huddled in between some barrels and sacks in the lower deck, making herself sort of comfortable but remaining quiet as a mouse. She hoped that she didn't have to wait too long before the ship set off. And she definitely hoped that no one would discover her.
Voices. She couldn't hear it clearly, since the rain outside muffled the sound. There was what sounded like a yelp, then the sound of someone falling over quite loudly onto the lower deck. Eri quickly retreated further back into her makeshift hiding spot, making sure that no random body part could be conveniently seen at a distance.
There was some light cursing, and the dripping sound of water hitting the planks. Clearly, whoever it was had been out in the rain. Light footsteps clicked across the deck, causing a wave of apprehension to rise within Eri, even as she rolled into a tinier ball within her hiding place, hoping not to be discovered.
Some muttering from that unknown person, and Eri caught words like "potatoes", "stupid", "scary cleaver" and notably "I hate rain". The voice sounded feminine, so it had to be a woman. But man or woman, Eri simply didn't want to be found either way. Although, that voice sounded sort of familiar...
The footsteps were getting too close. Holding her breath, and hoping that the rapid thudding of her heart wouldn't give her position away, Eri waited.
When a rainsoaked figure passed by without noticing her at first, she breathed a sigh of relief. Wrong move. The figure halted and retraced her steps, before leaning down to peer into the little crevice that Eri had wedged herself in.
Eri didn't believe in ghosts. She never did. She never wanted to. She knew this person had to be human. But she shrieked anyway.
For that unidentified person, wet from the rain, had most of her hair hanging down like a curtain to cover her face, and the dripping wet effect made the person look like a faceless female ghost out to grab her and haul her back from whatever creepy well she came from.
Eri was brought back to her senses when an awfully familiar voice cut through her short scream.
"You again!" Eri looked up at the girl who had found her, even as said girl swept the hair out of her face. A fiercely glaring Reina looked down at the ashen-faced Eri.
Oh, the crazy harpoon girl... Was all Eri thought before said crazy harpoon girl grabbed her by the front of her shirt and pulled her out.
"Any last words?" Eri gulped.
This wasn't going to end well, was it?
~*~*~
Ayumi stepped out into the little village street, the only street that the place possessed, actually. Around her, some of the women who were around nodded to her familiarly, and she found herself returning the acknowledgment unconsciously. Most of the men were out in the fields, so there weren't many of them in the village now.
She was looking for a very specific person, but apparently Hitomi (aka their Boss) wasn't anywhere in sight.
Just when she was wondering where their leader could be, a familiar face came up to her.
"How is Murata-san?" Satoda Mai, one of the villagers here and sort of a close acquaintance, asked sympathetically.
"Well the doctor said that she should live, although she's still weak now." Ayumi replied truthfully. Then she asked. "Have you seen Boss anywhere?"
Mai shrugged. "Asami and Miuna were showing her the country lanes leading back to the Matsuura estate, and they haven't come back yet." Mai looked at Ayumi seriously. "You guys are really dedicated to the Matsuuras, aren't you?"
"Well, we do sort of owe our lives to the Admiral." Ayumi then changed the subject. "Do you know of anything that happened around the estate while we were away?"
"Hmm..." Mai scratched at her neck. "Well there was a really weird red glow around the hills the other night..." She was cut off when someone came running into the village.
It was Miuna, and she was gasping for breath as she skidded to a halt next to them. "...h....he...help..."
"What is it?" Ayumi asked, her chest suddenly seized with a kind of panic as her mind ran through all the worst case scenarios.
"Matsuura...estate....fire..." Miuna gasped out, still trying to catch her breath. Ayumi's eyes went wide and she grabbed Miuna by the shoulders. "WHAT?!"
Mai was a bit more level-headed and asked quickly before Shibata shook Miuna to death, while trying to pry an anxious Ayumi off her friend. "Any survivors?"
Finally regaining her breath, Miuna collected her senses quickly. "Asami and Saito-san are still looking. They've found a few bodies already..." She trailed off awkwardly before she continued. "I came back to get some help for burial detail...and some shovels..."
Ayumi looked like her world just feel apart on her, but pulled herself back together with a grim expression as she swallowed her tears. "Let me get Masae, and we'll go back together."
Mai placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "Are you ok? Do you need us to call anymore people to help?"
"No...no...I'm fine...and we'll take care of this ourselves. Don't call the other villagers." Ayumi shot a pained, grateful glance at them before heading quickly back inside to inform her team members. Mai bit her lip at the retreating figure, before turning to Miuna. "Go get some shovels." Miuna nodded, her cheeks reddened from her run back, but yet at the same time you could see the ghastly green cast on her face. The poor woman probably saw a few corpses earlier. Burning to death was never a pleasant way to die, and the charred remnants were often...macabre. Mai patted her on the back, sending her on her way while she herself waited for Ayumi to come back out.
They did come back out again, but Mai was surprised by the fact that Megumi was hobbling out with Masae and Ayumi helping her.
"Is she fit to come out now?" Mai asked tentatively. Megumi gave her a slightly irritated glance. Masae sighed. "We couldn't stop her even if we wanted to."
"We're a team, we'll do this together." Megumi said firmly, even if her voice sounded weak from her injury.
Miuna returned just about then, struggling with a bunch of shovels. Mai took the opportunity to slip over and relieve her of some of her load.
"Are you ready?" The two village girls glanced worriedly at the pale and exhausted trio, who looked like they had come back from a trip to hell, which wasn't all that far from the truth for Megumi, who had battled for her life throughout the night before even as she very nearly bled to death.
Swallowing the lump in her throats, they nodded grimly. Megumi croaked out softly.
"Lead the way."
~*~*~
They found Boss crouched over a limp little figure in her arms later, by the time they arrived at the scene.
The modest-sized Matsuura mansion had been completely razed to the ground, the blackened remains of the structure creaking and flapping in the stiff breeze coming in from the sea. The once proud house was no more, a sorry memory, an ugly burn mark on the ground.
Mai tugged Miuna away, even as they strayed over to where Asami was still combing the ruins futilely, leaving the four alone.
"We failed." Hitomi's voice was cracked. "We've failed them all."
Ayumi moved forward to grasp their leader's shoulder supportively, her own pain stinging at her eyes. She bit back a horrified little sob at the corpse Saito was holding.
It was little Aria, her small body cold and rigid, drained of all the life and energy they had last seen her with. It was almost unreal, surreal even, to be confronted with the deadly reality. There were grass stains on the little girl's face, and blackened blood stained her night dress. There was a similar dark crimson stain on the ground about two feet away.
"Who...who did this?!" Ayumi broke down, falling to her knees. Masae and Megumi had also come forward, and Megumi literally lost all will to stand as she collapsed to the ground, crawling towards the rigid little corpse. Beside her, Masae choked on her own tears. "How could anyone kill a little girl...?"
"She wasn't burned to death." Boss's voice was strangely numb, even as her hand reached up to brush the bits of grass away from that little face. "There's a wound on her back. Something sharp, a curved blade, judging from the entry." It was as if Hitomi was suppressing her own grief and shock to recite the facts.
"Where?" Megumi asked brokenly, pushing aside some of her private horror to focus on something she could work on.
"Middle of her back, the spine." Hitomi was trembling, even though her voice gave nothing of the sort away. Masae winced.
"That's not instantly fatal..." Ayumi closed her eyes even as her fists dug into the soft dirt underneath her hands.
"Aria...she must have been in so much pain..." A terrible shudder ran through the youngest's body, even as another choked sob slipped out. "She died all alone..."
"We must avenge her." Megumi's voice was resolute. "We can't let whoever did this get away."
The others grunted in assent, absorbed in their own pain as they fell silent. Finally Boss spoke up.
"We must...bury her first. Bury...everyone." The words seemed to cut deep into their souls. Guilt, grief, and a kind of unremitting sorrow engulfed them.
"Yes..." Silently, Hitomi picked up the depressingly light corpse with a heave, moving quietly over to the holes that Mai and Miuna had thoughtfully dug in advance while they had still been grieving. With all the solemnity of a proper funeral, they laid her to rest, putting the tiny corpse down gently, as if afraid of hurting her. But she was beyond hurt now. Beyond pain. Beyond life and this world. Gone forever.
This was only the beginning of their own private funeral, even as body after body was retrieved and committed to the ground. No matter how badly charred, they resolutely moved every single one into individual graves dug by the kind village girls, who didn't quite have the stomach to deal with touching the charred remains. Even though Megumi was still weak, she threw in her all, hobbling painfully and helping to cover up the graves with dirt. It was the least they could do now, after their grotesque failure in protecting the Matsuura household.
It was sunset by the time they were done, the burning red disk casting long shadows even as it lingered on the lower edge of the horizon. The small group gathered in front of the wide stretch where they had buried everyone, heads bowed in a silence to honor the dead. Any tears they had were long gone by now, dried along with their sweat as they toiled throughout the afternoon. There was now only an emptiness, an aching void that echoed hollowly.
"We will remember. We will not forget." Hitomi's voice at first dark with grief, turned to pure steel, empty of all emotion as she continued, echoed by the other three.
"We will avenge, as long as we still live." They fell silent, but not before a quiet line was almost lost on the wind, in the growing darkness.
"Rest in peace...we won't fail again...this we promise..."
====================================================
*cowers* I'm sorry...it had to be done...
Megumi: You made us bury people we cared about...
Ayumi: How could you?!
Masae: You're evil, you disgusting little creep!
Boss: Guys, no need to talk to her. Let's just start right now.
Melons: -start advancing on Estrea-
Me: Wait...guys...can't we talk about this? I mean....ack! -jumps up and starts running-
note: Will be back with next chapter...eventually.
Topic: All Aboard! [Chapter 26! --sorry for the wait] (Read 99750 times)