Chapter 21The rain had slowed a little, but didn't stop. Outside the safety of the harbor, the sea was churning, foaming white like the spittle of a giant monster, ready to consume any foolhardy sailor who dared to challenge it.
Most sane sailors wouldn't dare to leave port under such conditions, but Yuko was far from being sane. Of course, she did have the skill to back up her apparent disregard for the elements, but it was never wise to challenge the forces of nature and expect to win all the time.
They were busy at work to ready for departure. Fortunately, most of the annoying little details had already been taken care of by Kaori the night before, and Mari had overseen the repairs to the hull earlier in the morning. Makoto had also taken inventory for the supplies, and all they had to do was to load up the barrels of fresh water before they were more or less ready to leave.
Makoto had been thrilled to learn that Ai would be joining them, but was slightly less enthused by the new person that was attached to her friend. She found it a little shocking that things had progressed so rapidly while she had been away from the tavern, which was a perfectly normal reaction, since it was certainly unusual for such a thing to happen so quickly. Ai promised to give her more details after the ship had set sail, seeing that Makoto was busy with her own chores at that point.
Yuko had assigned the new additions to work immediately, alongside the rest of her original crew. Yossi was given the slightly unenviable task of having to play referee to Maki and Miki, who were having their own private little war via verbal and non-verbal jibes. Maki didn't like Miki, and Miki knew that Maki didn't like her, and it appears that the knife throwing pirate enjoyed taunting and baiting the taller woman, even as Maki subtly got revenge in between each barrel they were lifting. It didn't pay to be short at this point, as Miki discovered when Maki "accidentally" bashed her over the head with an elbow...repeatedly.
An amused Mari was working with the twins on another part of the ship, with Risa helping them, even as they watched Yossi trying to separate the two under her charge by standing in between them. Other spectators were Rika and Kei, who didn't really have anything to do, and were standing under cover from the rain even as everyone else got drenched outside. Reina had been sent below decks to fetch some supplies for Makoto, and was still down there seeing that she hasn't emerged yet.
"Will you two 5 year olds quit playing and get down to work?!" Yossi asked in exasperation, throwing up her hands in the air even as Miki stepped on Maki's foot deliberately, earning an elbow in the side from Maki in return. They seemed to be completely oblivious to Yossi's demands that they stop their childishness, and the boyish pirate gave up at that point. If those two wanted to leave bruises on each other, that was perfectly fine with her as long as they continued moving those barrels onto the ship. Surprisingly, despite all the underhanded scuffling between Maki and Miki, they still managed to do their job quite satisfactorily.
Even as the last of the barrels was being moved on board, Yossi paused a little and pushed aside her wet hair from her face. Glancing around, she met Rika's smiling eyes, and she found herself smiling back unconsciously before looking away self-consciously due to the fact that Kei was smirking from behind Rika. As she faced away, she noticed something...strange out of the corner of her eye. Blinking the water out of her eyes, she rubbed at her eyes again and stared.
Was that a......hand? A hand twitching spasmodically. A twitching hand reaching out helplessly from the hatch leading down to the lower deck. Yossi blinked again even as the hand swiftly disappeared from view, as if the arm it was attached to had been yanked down in an instant.
"Did you two see that?" She asked Miki and Maki, who were currently carrying a barrel together and trying to drop it onto the other's feet. Since they were rather distracted by their "games", they could hardly be aware of the phenomenon that Yossi had just witnessed, so the answer was a "What?" in unison. Speaking of which, the simultaneous reply got them both glaring at each other...again.
Yossi frowned. A hand? A ghost? That wasn't plausible, right? Maybe she was just seeing things. The rain, probably the rain. Yeah, that was it.
Behind her, Miki got a grope in on Maki's chest, causing a ferocious growl to emerge from the latter.
Miki ended up with the barrel rolled squarely on top on her stomach, with Maki standing triumphantly over her. Yossi rolled her eyes and went over to try and rescue Miki, who was currently gasping out "my back!!" while flailing about wildly with her arms.
And round one of the Maki versus Miki wars goes to...Maki.
~*~*~
When the preparations were finally complete after much work, they were ready to set sail. Miki had retired to her bunk bed, whining about how she probably sprained her back. Maki was silently gloating about the other pirate's misery the whole time. Really, rivalry was one thing, but causing severe bodily harm was quite another case altogether, Yossi mused. Things might get out of hand without some kind of restraining influence on one or both combatants.
Speaking of restraining influences, one of those was currently rushing up towards the about-to-depart ship. The twins, who were in charge of pulling in the mooring ropes on one side, suddenly exclaimed out loud as they both recognised the running figure in the rain. The outcry from them got the attention of Maki and Yossi who were on the other end of the ship, and both trotted over to take a look.
To say that Maki was surprised was an understatement. Stunned, shocked, flabbergasted, whatever. Just knowing that Nacchi didn't really ditch her in favor of duty was comfort enough. Even better when the small woman clambered up the rope that had been left hanging on one side and practically tripped and fell right over on her. Maki staggered back, slipping all over the wet deck, but managing to retain her balance, her arms automatically reaching around to hold on to Nacchi's back, pinning the older woman close to her.
"You came? I thought..." Maki started, still slightly disbelieving of the situation. Natsumi beamed up at her, before adding teasingly.
"If I didn't come along, who would take care of you?" Maki looked embarrassed for a moment, and Nacchi laughed, tweaking the taller girl's nose.
"Besides, you wouldn't know how to start looking for Aya in the first place." That was true, Maki hadn't really thought about how she was going to go after the other ship, given that she had never seen it, and didn't know who was in charge. Natsumi, however, did know the people in question, and would recognise their vessel on sight. The older woman had thought of that of course, which was part of the reason why she knew she had to come along despite everything.
"And Yuuki?" Maki asked.
"I left him and old man Kinjou in charge. They'll bring the others back home first." Maki nodded in understanding, putting Nacchi back down.
Yossi coughed. "Ahem." Maki turned to look sheepishly at the other pirates.
"Um, you have room for one more, don't you?" Yossi spread her hands and shrugged. "Gotta ask the captain about that."
"One more is fine." Yuko interrupted abruptly, appearing behind the group without warning. "Just do your share of the work and you'll be alright."
"Of course. Thank you." Natsumi inclined her head in acknowledgment. Yuko then clapped her hands together.
"Come on everyone, get to work! We got a ship to chase down!" She paused, looking at the two ex-navy girls. "You two, come with me, we have to figure out where your friend went with that ship." She raised her voice again. "No slacking off! Get to work!" The rest dispersed to their stations at the command, while Yuko led her new crew members back to her cabin to discuss their route.
"Where's Tanaka?" Yossi asked as she helped Mari with the ropes, even as Risa clambered up easily (with Ai watching a little anxiously) to unfurl the sails. The Second Mate had been looking around for quite a while and had yet to see her wonky eyed shipmate appear on board to help with the preparations. The girl was usually more enthusiastic about putting out to sea. The First Mate tied on another rope absently as she answered.
"Um, Mako-chan sent her below decks to move some supplies up, but I haven't seen her since." The tiny pirate tugged at the ropes, making sure they were secure.
"Below, you say?" Yossi recalled briefly the twitching hand she had seen. Was there any connection to that? Making a mental note to go check it out later, Yossi slipped back over to where Rika was standing in the shelter.
"Hi." The pirate greeted her friend, noting how she was dripping water all over as she stepped out of the rain. Rika reached out to brush her dripping forelock out of her face, making Yossi blush slightly. "You're all wet." The noblewoman scolded gently. Yossi shrugged nonchalantly. "Rain does that."
"You should take better care of yourself. " She chided softly. Behind them, Kei backed further away to give the two more space, but not before giving Yossi a "go for it" glance that made the younger pirate flush. Deciding that it was just too complicated to deal with now, Yossi purposefully ignored the pleading look in Rika's eyes for her to stay and accompany her, instead excusing herself to deal with other matters. She did have to check on Tanaka after all. It was a responsibility of sorts.
Nodding briefly at Kaori, who had taken the helm and was steering them out of the harbor, Yossi hunched a little, pulling her outer coat further up her neck and trying to ignore the chilly feeling from being wet. She would have to change clothes later, but it didn't make sense to do it until after the rainstorm had passed, unless she was planning to hide in her bunk and stay nice and dry.
She also conveniently ignored the fact that with additional passengers, they would have to either figure out a way for everyone to sleep properly, or make some people take the floor instead. Despite the fact that were empty bunks, given that the ship was indeed undermanned as Reina had mentioned, it wouldn't be quite enough for everyone to get a bunk of their own. Yossi was pretty resigned to give up her own bunk bed to Rika, seeing that the latter would be more used to having a better sleeping arrangement than the floor. She could only hope that there wouldn't be any rats, or else she would sleep on the top deck, rain or not.
Pushing up the half-open hatch, Yossi climbed down the ladder, ignoring the first level where some of their bunks were located, and went down to the lowest level in the belly of the ship, where most of the supplies were kept. Even as she descended, she noticed a piece of torn fabric caught on a protruding nail in the ladder. That was odd. The crew all knew about that nail, and most wouldn't be careless enough to catch their clothes on it. Feeling faintly suspicious for some reason she couldn't quite pin down, the Second Mate shuffled downwards, but not before snagging a flickering lamp to light her way below.
The first thing she heard, other than the creak of timbers and the crashing of the waves against the planks outside, was a soft moaning sound. The pirate froze immediately, the small circle of light that illuminated a short distance around her not giving her enough to figure out just what exactly was causing the sound. However, what the light did show was disturbing enough.
Blood. At least, what looked like it. Dark red spots, splattered in uncertain patterns across the worn timbers. Yossi cast her glance around, noting that there was a bloody handprint at the very base of the ladder she had just climbed down from, and it looked as if its owner had tried desperately to clutch onto it before being torn away violently. Yossi shuddered and reached instinctively for her saber with her free hand, drawing it slowly for fear of alerting whatever monster that must have taken residence in this place.
A few more cautious steps forward revealed Reina's ever-present harpoon lying at an angle on the deck. There were reddish stains on the bladed end, but not that much. Frowning, Yossi tightened her grip on her saber. Reina never let go of her favorite harpoon unless she absolutely had to. Apparently it was a memento from her late father, so the wonky eyed girl treasured it greatly. She even went to sleep clutching it, so nothing short of violence or absolute necessity would separate her from it. Clearly, something was going on here.
Apprehensive, Yossi moved forward again, fearing what she might find. What she saw shocked her.
Reina was flat on her back, with more bruises than Yossi had ever seen her with at one time, and sporting a black eye like a panda to boot. Her already wonky eyes looked even wonkier than usual, and her dazed expression clearly explained why her eyes looked more off-center than usual. The front of her shirt was slightly ripped, and there were bloodstains splattered on it, as well as on her hands. To put it bluntly, she looked like crap that had been beaten the hell out of.
But all that wasn't the main reason why Yossi gasped at the sight. That was reserved for the person on top of Reina, pinning the wonky pirate down.
Eri was panting heavily, her hands still gripping Reina's shirt collar firmly. She too, sported a few bruises, but nowhere near the level of Reina's injuries. The worst of her wounds appeared to be a gash near her forehead, over her left eye, and it was bleeding freely. The blood left crimson trails down one half of her face, lending her an almost demonic visage as a result. The small cut on her lip clearly indicated the time when Reina had managed to get in a shot during their scuffle earlier.
"What the hell?!" Yossi blurted reflexively, her saber pointed at Eri even as the turtle girl half turned her head, revealing her bloody face. There was an odd glimmer in her eyes, but fortunately the glow wasn't as intense as it had been earlier during the brawl. All that pent up frustration had mostly worked itself out through beating the shit out of poor Reina, and now Eri had mostly calmed down. Mostly.
Let's briefly recap what happened during that time.
~*~*~
Eri was pissed. Call it a long term buildup of frustration over her circumstances and the subsequent craziness of her life ever since coming on this voyage. And now this crazy harpoon girl had yanked her out of her comfort zone, her safety net, her happy place. Eri was not one given to anger easily, but something about being pulled out of her comfort zone by a crazy harpoon-waving girl finally made her snap. Badly.
Reina had barely enough time to think "oh shit" when Eri's eyes began to take on a strange cast, and instead of her gripping the turtle girl by the front of her clothes, Eri was now returning the favor and clutching just as tightly onto her collar. Now who's the one who's caught? Her mind mocked. Reina reacted instinctively, swinging her harpoon-wielding hand forward and unintentionally clipping Eri over her left eye with the sharp end.
That pushed Eri over the edge. The stinging pain from the gash barely got to her in the least as she pounced, slamming Reina backwards and down onto the deck. Repeated slams of Reina's harpoon-wielding hand against the floor by a berserk Eri finally separated the weapon from Reina's grip, the bloodied harpoon sent rolling across the deck a few feet away, out of reach.
Of course, Reina didn't give up so easily. She gave it as good as she got, even as the two of them battered at each other, rolling around and wrestling like a pair of maniacs. Eri had the upper hand mostly due to her berserker rage, since it practically made her mostly indifferent to the pain from the blows Reina managed to land on her, while fuelling her strength. Very soon, Reina was bruised around her arms and torso, and she was about half certain that the mostly healed gash on her thigh must have ripped itself open again due to the intensity of their brawl.
Reina was not all that foolhardy, and the crazy glint in Eri's eye must have clued her in on the fact that, well, Eri was nuts. And it just didn't make sense to fight with a crazy person intent on ripping her limbs off. After another lurch of the ship rocking on the sea managed to dislodge Eri from on top of Reina, the wonky eyed pirate nailed Eri with a hard punch across the other's lower jaw, sending Eri's head snapping to one side and smashing her face into a crate. The splinters cut into the turtle girl's lip and scratched her cheek, while widening the already open gash on her forehead, making it bleed more profusely.
Meanwhile, Reina took the opportunity and ran, well, half-limped and half-ran, across to the ladder leading upwards, keen on summoning help. She was sure the others couldn't hear her over the sound of the rain outside, and so she had to resort to more direct means. Barely pausing in her stride to pick up her harpoon, she didn't quite notice that she had picked it up by the sharpened end, and the blade cut into her palm, causing her to drop the weapon with a quick hiss. She didn't slow down to pick it up again though, reasoning that speed was of the essence before that crazy turtle girl could catch her again.
Climbing up was a little difficult, since her injuries slowed her progress, and she couldn't really make use of her injured right hand. One-armed climbing was definitely a challenge. Even as she made her way up slowly and painfully, Eri was recovering from the strike, and the berserker rage only served to fuel her drive to catch and clobber a certain wonky eyed pirate.
Reina had almost just made it to the hatch leading upwards, her bloodied right hand reaching up to push at the hatch, managing to crack it open just a little. Rainwater filtered in through the gap, washing part of her bloodstained hand clean even as she reached up to pull herself out.
A grip of iron encircled one ankle, and Reina panicked when she looked down, seeing those creepily glowing eyes again as Eri yanked at her ankle once more. The rain seeping in made her grip on the rung slippery and difficult to hold, especially since her left arm was already mightily sore from the beating it had taken just now. Despite the pain, she clung on stubbornly with her left hand to the rung, the other leg kicking at Eri, trying to dislodge the other girl, who simply refused to let go even while being kicked in the head.
Not giving up, Eri tightened her grip on Reina's ankle, even as the wonky eyed pirate reached upwards helplessly to try and signal to someone to rescue her from the monster that had latched onto her. It was all for naught though, since when Eri mustered her strength and pulled hard, Reina's poor, abused left arm finally gave up the ghost and sent her crashing down on top of Eri, the two of them sliding down the shaft. During the fall, part of Reina's shirt caught onto the protruding nail, the fabric ripping slightly and leaving a patch of cloth behind even as they tumbled into a tangle of arms and legs at the bottom of the ladder.
Since Eri was on the bottom, she had gotten the worst of the fall, and Reina landing on her stomach caused her to exhale reflexively. The bump to the back of her head had her seeing stars for a few seconds, and Reina, also dazed from the fall, tried to scramble back upwards, only to have Eri cling on to her and haul her back. The bloody handprint which Yossi sees later on the bottom of the ladder came from that struggle, where Reina was clinging to the ladder for dear life while Eri was trying to drag her back to beat her up some more.
After much tugging, beating, and more rolling around trying to either get away (Reina) or land another punch (Eri), they finally came to a halt with Eri pinning Reina down in the position that Yossi found them, the worst of her berserk rage having drained off by her exertions. Reina was left bloodied, dazed, and badly bruised from the assault, all because of that one fatal mistake of dragging Eri out of her comfort zone while the latter was PMSing.
Lesson of the day: Do not drag a turtle out of her happy place. Especially not when said turtle is experiencing hormonal imbalance, and is a close combat specialist with the occasional tendency towards berserker rages.
A very painful and definitive object lesson for one Tanaka Reina indeed.
~*~*~
Maki and Nacchi were roughing out the probable route of their quarry, with Rika and Kei sitting in a corner quietly chatting, when Yossi burst in with a strange expression on her face. The occupants of the cabin looked up with a curious expression, wondering what was going on.
"Kei, Tanaka's badly injured." Yossi breathed out quickly, even as Kei got to her feet, eyes wide. "What? How?"
"Stowaway on board, Tanaka fought the person and had the shit beaten out of her in the process." Yossi explained, then turned to glance at Rika. "By the way, that stowaway is that girl that was following you around when I first met you."
"Eri?" Rika blinked. Maki and Natsumi also blinked at the same time. "Kamei? What's she doing?"
"Kicking Tanaka's ass before I found them. But she passed out not long after." Yossi said drily, then gestured to Kei to come quickly. Maki nodded to Nacchi before adding. "I'll come along with." And followed the other two out. Natsumi and Rika shared a mutual, worried glance, while Yuko coughed.
"So tell me why a member of your crew was beating up one of mine." Yuko's voice was icy. Nacchi winced.
"Well you see...Kamei's usually quite quiet and docile..."
"But?" Yuko interjected. Nacchi winced.
"Just that...when she does snap, she goes pretty much berserk. It's useful sometimes, but we usually don't provoke her into that state anyway, so she's usually quite normal and safe to be around. Actually, she rarely if ever gets truly worked up, at least never under my watch." Natsumi sighed in resignation, rubbing at her temples wearily. Yuko sighed as well.
"Tanaka must have mouthed off again...or done something stupid in that case. That girl is almost as bad as Fujimoto when it comes to not watching what she says." The pirate captain then stood up. "Go tell Kaorin about our heading, I'll go below to check on them."
"Of course." Nacchi nodded, also getting up and heading to the exit.
Rika was left alone to wonder just what the heck was going on.
And so ends the first hour on board the Red Dawn, with blood and general mayhem all around.
~*~*~
Three days out at sea. The first day's progress had been significantly slowed by the stormy weather, although that cleared up slightly on the second day. They had set a more or less straight course to the capital, reasoning that if the Navy were to bring Aya back for trial and/or execution, that would be the place to go.
They made much better time when the day dawned bright and cheery on the morning of the third day, the Red Dawn cutting through the waves with a good following wind behind them. It took a couple of hours of nonstop travel before Risa, who had somehow landed with lookout duty again, noticed a ship on the horizon, calling out an alert to the crew below.
Yuko was standing at the bow of the ship, lifting her spyglass for a better look of the vessel. Mari was by her side, while Nacchi and Maki were off to one side together, also squinting at the spot on the horizon. Yossi and Rika were off together at the stern of the ship, with Tsuji and Kago spying on them and giggling, while Kaori was once again at the helm. Makoto and Ai were hanging out together, with Ai helping Makoto with some of the more menial chores. Kei was still hovering over Reina, the wonky eyed pirate having sustained a mild concussion and a cracked rib in addition to all the cuts and bruises she received, not to mention that the healing gash on her thigh had also reopened. Eri's injuries were comparatively less severe, but sore muscles kept her from moving around too much either. The turtle girl was absolutely horrified by her handiwork after regaining her senses when she came round, and was currently lurking in a corner keeping a worried eye on Reina, while moving as little as possible on Kei's advice.
"Not a naval vessel." Yuko lowered the spyglass. Nacchi walked over. "Can I have a look please?" Yuko handed the spyglass over.
After a few moments of scrutiny, she lowered the spyglass. "That ship looks familiar." She muttered. Maki, who had strolled over in the meantime, looked at her questioningly. Nacchi trained the spyglass on the ship again even as she mumbled half to herself. "The mast and the rake of the sails...definitely looks like it..."
"Whose ship?" Maki asked in confusion. Nacchi lowered the spyglass again. "Elio Levant's."
"The explorer?" Mari blurted from behind them, having heard of the name before in her voyages. Yuko appeared to be aware of this person's reputation as well. "You know him?" The pirate captain asked. Natsumi smiled faintly.
"Know him? I sailed with his brother Elial before. Not the first time I've seen his ship, that's for sure." Natsumi handed the spyglass back over to Yuko. "The point here is though, we have to catch up with him."
"Why so?" Yuko pressed. Nacchi sighed. "That's because he and his brother were the ones who took Aya away, I saw them. We might be able to get a clue if I can get to talk to him. We'd better hurry. Elio's ship is reputed to be fairly fast."
This time it was Yuko's time to smile. "Not as fast as the Red Dawn, he isn't. No one beats us with a favoring wind on our side." Raising her voice, Yuko issued quick commands to the rest of the crew, who obeyed immediately, rushing to their posts.
The chase was on.
~*~*~
Aya was bored. No, boredom was the least of her worries. The main problem hassling her came in the form of one Tachibana Keita, who simply refused to leave her alone once she had been allowed out of bed on the second day (and only because she refused to stay idle).
She did not know one man who could be so singularly annoying without even trying. Granted, she knew she was probably being unfair to him, since by all rights and means Keita was in fact the perfect gentleman. Excellent manners, a rudimentary sense of humor, elegant and dignified. However, also absolutely dull and utterly boring. Aya found that she would have derived more entertainment in watching paint dry or grass grow than to engage in polite conversation with him.
That might have something to do with the fact that they simply had nothing in common with which to discuss. Aya discovered that one way to shut him up, however briefly, was to steer the conversation onto one Ishikawa Rika, Keita's runaway fiancee, and watch the young man squirm in embarrassment as he tried to mentally reconcile his urge to flirt with Aya with the fact that his journey had been to reclaim his bride. Aya was a bit sadist like that, especially when it came to someone like him who simply refused to go away.
She resorted to spending more time with her "uncle Elio", a title she had bestowed on him as a child despite the lack of blood relation. Any close friend of her father's tended to end up with the same moniker, although with the Levant brothers, the name had stuck even after she had grown up. He didn't seem to mind though, and proved to be fairly enjoyable company in comparison to that wallflower who had more to say about horses than the sea. Well, Keita was descended from one of the Highlander clans, so the tradition must have been imparted to him as a child. Aya had been a child of the sea in more than one manner, either by bloodline or upbringing. To say that they had little in common would be a complete understatement.
And here they were again. The ship was only so big, yes, but Aya was sure that it was entirely possible for two people to remain separate even in such a confined area. However, with Keita trailing along behind her like a lost puppy just about wherever she went, it was pretty much impossible to avoid him short of yelling at him to go away, which she was sorely tempted to do, but basic courtesy prevented her from doing so. She was also fairly sure that basic courtesy precluded her from pushing him overboard, much to her regret, but in any case she didn't want to deprive her uncle Elio from earning the reward for escorting this fine gentleman around.
Now, leaning against the rail and looking resolutely aft, Aya tried her best to maintain the minimal requirements of polite conversation with her monosyllabic replies, hoping against hope that Keita would get the hint and just leave her alone already. Unfortunately, that was not going to be the case, as Keita simply spun conversation after conversation by her side, on subjects that no doubt other girls would probably be interested in, but Aya was not exactly your typical lady here.
However, it seemed that a cure for her boredom was soon on its way. The speck of a ship on the horizon behind them piqued her interest mildly, and she squinted at it, this time pointedly ignoring Keita and not even bothering with monosyllabic replies.
The other ship was moving too quickly. A merchant ship didn't have that kind of speed, even when travelling light. Only two kinds of vessels moved that quickly, messenger ships...or pirates. Given the reputation of the area, pirates seemed like a good guess.
Turning abruptly on her heel, Aya moved to raise the alarm, leaving a bewildered Keita in her wake. The other sailors, on Captain Elio's command, quickly crowded on more sail in an attempt to outrun the incoming pirate ship, but the slim vessel that was on their tail was practically flying across the waves, the design of the hull uniquely suited for speed.
Cursing, Elio called his men to ready their arms. Aya was about to draw her gunblade in response when Keita, in an attempt to win some creditability for himself, moved in front of her and raised his own sabre protectively before him. Behind him, Aya rolled her eyes at this display of male chauvinism.
The pirate ship neared...and then pulled in to coast side by side with their ship. Elio's eyes widened when he saw two familiar faces waving to and hailing him. A wry smile crossed his face as he ordered his men to stand down, and the pirate ship with the name Red Dawn emblazoned on one side pulled in closer.
Aya's view was blocked by Keita's taller form, but seeing Elio's response to the other ship, clearly they weren't an enemy, so she didn't bother to push past Keita to check on who it was. Shrugging, she tried to slip away while Keita's back was turned, and in doing so, she finally noted just who had decided to hop over onto their ship from the other vessel.
"Gocchin? And Nacchi? What are you two doing here?" Aya's eyes were wide with shock, and her tone was pleased, being rather to glad to see them. Her two friends grinned back, mostly with relief and genuine joy to see that Aya was safe and alive.
Then Aya's eyes narrowed. "Aren't you two supposed to be elsewhere?"
Maki grinned sheepishly, and Nacchi looked equally woolly next to her. "Ah, um. We were worried about you." Maki tried, and Nacchi quickly explained the arrangements for the rest of their crew to prevent any scolding.
"Nice reunion." Keita observed brightly from the side, moving closer. "Glad to meet you two ladies again." He inclined his head politely to the two women. Natsumi looked amused (since she didn't even have a title and thus had no real right to being called "lady"), while Maki simply disdained the term (she thought it was too wussy).
"Why is Tofu Boy here?" Maki asked rudely, using one of her many varied nicknames for him. They had come up with "Tofu Boy" on account of the fact that he was bland, tasteless, and soft (weak). Aya stifled a snort, even as Keita looked grossly affronted.
"Looking for his fiancee, apparently." Maki grinned. "Ishikawa? Right over there, actually." She jabbed a thumb over shoulder back at the pirate ship, where Rika was standing at the rail with Yossi by her side. Rika's face was slightly pale when her eyes came into contact with her betrothed. Keita followed the gaze and seemed no less pale when he saw his intended bride. For one thing, he had never even wanted to marry her in the first place, and thus he hardly wanted to find her at all.
"Congratulations, my Lord Tachibana, you found your bride." Aya's voice was sarcastic, and Keita misinterpreted it as jealousy. Struggling to explain himself (while simultaneously feeling a surge of hope), he defended himself.
"But I do not wish to marry her in the first place!" He protested, looking directly at an indifferent Aya. "You know that you are the only one for me!"
Maki was snickering, and Nacchi was no better. Elio had his poker face on, so no one really knew what he was thinking, although his eyes twinkled with mirth. Aya was about to deliver a suitably scathing response when out of the blue, someone else replied for her.
"Yours? Hardly, I think." Miki, having followed the other two over and had been standing behind Maki the whole time (and was thus unseen by Aya), breezed into the conversation easily, noting with satisfaction the customary twitch of a facial muscle as Aya ground her teeth together on seeing her. Miki smirked confidently, moving in boldly close to her target. With a haughty glance at the confused Keita, Miki decided to drop the bomb on the unsuspecting nobleman.
"That's because, Tofu Boy, she's
mine."
Before Aya, or anyone else for that matter, could react, Miki pulled Aya close, and with an outrageous wink at the younger girl, moved in and sealed her lips against Aya's, right in front of a shocked Keita, whose sudden freeze in all motion turned him into a fine imitation of a stone statue, his jaw going slack with horror.
A stunned hush fell over the whole ship at that point.
==========================================================
Seems like a good place to end.
Reina: How come you let Eri beat me up? T_T
Eri: That was...strangely entertaining, actually.
Reina: o_O
Me: XDDDDD
Topic: All Aboard! [Chapter 26! --sorry for the wait] (Read 100173 times)