@cisda82: Of course, Takamina did think that she is too forgiving herself also. So will it backfire on her?
@Haruka: LOL, patience my friend. It'll come soon enough~
@fffff: Really? I only thought Tomochin would fit well as an inspector job of a ship because... I view her as some sort of perfectionist. Oh well.
@K-popJ-popAWESOMENESS: I wonder if I should be thankful for not killing Takamina in that chapter, LOL.
Thanks for the comments everyone and it seems you all are interested with the relationship between Yuko and Takahashi, haha. Complicated relationships are complicated~ It'll be explained more later on (not in this chapter at the very least). Anyway, look forward to this chapter (and might want to turn on some Pirates of the Caribbean ship battle music or whatever, haha)
[Chapter 5]
A couple of days had already passed since Yamamoto Sayaka had come aboard the ship and became a part of it. It flowed naturally with everyone and they all treated her like she was normal. Open with warm arms towards the girl. Well, with an exception of Kuramochi Asuka and Takahashi Minami.
Asuka has a tendency to be suspicious of others, so it’s no surprise she seems somewhat distrustful with the new girl. And as for Minami, she tried her best to be as natural around the girl. She did let the girl become a part of the crew. But only because of everyone’s persuasion that bought her into letting her in. Truth be told, Minami still has a very small part of her mind that regretted the decision and foresee a bad event to come. She felt as though she was a little too... forgiving. But she ignored the warning signs though and soon adjusted toward the situation. Besides, Atsuko, Yuko and Haruna seem to find her tolerable and someone that they can trust. It bugs Minami that they can trust the girl in such a short amount of time, but she lets it slide.
However, the tension between both the captain and crew member Oshima Yuko did not lighten up. Minami is aware that Yuko is a rebellious girl. So whenever they get into an argument, she wouldn’t let it get personal. To Yuko though, she had a reason for opposing the captain’s decisions and distrusting her despite being a part of the crew members for a full year. Their relationship wasn’t terrible. No, not at all. It wasn’t straining to the point that the both hated each other guts. Simply put that Yuko doesn’t trust Minami enough. Or rather, lost it.
"Yuko? I need to talk to you."
The words that uttered out of Atsuko's mouth froze Yuko in her track. Yuko was on her way to get her lunch when Atsuko stopped her from achieving her goal for the afternoon. With a sigh at the interruption, she turned around and smiled at the co-captain. "Sure, if you're fast enough. I’m hungry!"
Instead of replying back with the same treatment, the taller girl kept her serious expression on her face. Her arms crossed on her chest, she then asked, "Why are you so rebellious against Takahashi Minami?"
Yuko blinked. Then frowned. "What do you mean by that? I'm always like that to everyone." Yuko knew this had something to do with her past, but she didn't want to talk about it. The only person that knows it is none other that Minami. A scoff was heard from Atsuko's direction. "Really? Maybe this might just be me, but despite the two of you being close, I feel that your relationship with Minami is... somewhat 'special' if you get what I mean."
Yuko raised her eyebrow. "And you're trying to say....?"
"You don't seem to trust in Minami let alone is the only member of this ship that acts rashly against her orders." Atsuko scrunched her eyebrows. "It's strange how after all this time when you joined us a while back, you've trusted everyone but her. Why?"
A bitter chuckle left Yuko's lips as she turned away from her. "You probably won't understand. This is only between me and her."
She then left the other girl behind without another word spoken. And Atsuko this time didn't follow her. Yuko felt that it wasn't right to tell her or anyone about her past. Not yet at least. Right now doesn't seem like a good time to tell a single person about it.
It just took her a couple of steps for her to reach to the entrance of the kitchen. As usual, Kasai was busy brewing up some stew for the members. “Ah, you’re finally here,” Kasai said to Yuko when she saw the shorter girl come up from the side of her vision. A chuckle was heard from her direction as she approached up to the other girl. “Of course I am, Tomo~mi-“
“EVERYONE! REDCOATS' SHIPS SIGHTED!”
The voice of Sashihara Rino cut off Yuko’s sentence. Yuko stopped in her spot. Not stepping out of the kitchen, the sound of the other members that were eating on the table just outside of the kitchen could be heard getting up from their seats. Metallic sound rang into the air when the utensils were dropped on top of the plates. The sound of feet pounding against the wooden board of the ship was heard as they ran out of the dining room. Then a long sigh from none other than Yuko herself.
“You best get going, Yuko,” Kasai reminded her as she cut off all heat within the kitchen. An irritated groan came out of Yuko’s mouth. “Great. Right when I was going to eat… Damn! I’m starving!”
She continued to grumble until Kasai spoke up. “If you’re really that hungry, then at least grab this.” Yuko looked to her right and saw the other girl handing to her a fresh loaf of bread. Extending it out toward the shorter girl, she urged her to quickly take it. There was a smile on Yuko's face when she saw the piece of food. “Thanks Tomo~mi!” she grabbed the bread. Soon she ran out of the kitchen with the piece of bread in her mouth. Running past the dining room, she came upon a wide hallway that divided the region between the dining room and the many supplies that this ship holds.
“Yuko! Be careful up there!” she saw Haruna from the bottom of the stairs that lead up to the upper deck. She was helping other members like Itano Tomomi and Kimoto Kanon come down for safety. To those that either couldn't participate in the battle or for repair would stay down below the deck. Just because cannonballs are exchanged from up above doesn't mean that they won't be affecting the ship down below. Cannons and smoke can somewhat be heard and seen from above where Yuko stood. Looking at Haruna, she bobbed her head and flashed her a dimpled smile. “Don’t worry Nyan Nyan! This squirrel here won’t be defeated that easily!”
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Minami was literally STRESSED OUT with the situation at hand. Multiple ships about equal their size or bigger were seen from both the right and left. Cannons were heard being shot from their ships and were only able to knock off the enemy’s railings at the most. Some of the members were seen blown back upon the force of their firing. Up on the quarter deck, Minami's grip on the wheel tightened till her knuckles turned white.
“Fire again!” Atsuko by her side hollered out and raised her opened hand up into the air. Through her command, the cannons on both sides of their ship fired. At the same time, the other ships fired. More smoke clouded the ship, making it difficult for the members to see their surroundings.
“Reload!” Minegishi announced from the main deck as she and the other members hurried left and right with either a black 24 pound cannonball at hand or rolled a barrel of gunpowder. "Make sure the gunpowder doesn't get wet! If you get it wet, the captain is not going to be happy!" Of course, if gunpowder is wet, then there's no use for it anymore. It's a useful piece of object that's a major part of any firing equipments. However, it's a useless piece of item on the ship once moisture comes into contact with it.
From above the sails that were lowered was Sae, Kumi, Sayaka and Asuka, who were hanging up on the shrouds and holding onto for dear life. The four were up for the sails in case they needed to be lowered or raised. Their yells and hollers could be heard when cannonballs whizzed past the figures by just a thin hair at most.
“How many ships are there in total, Acchan?” Minami asked Atsuko as she quickly turned the wheel counterclockwise with a flick of her wrists. The ship stirred to its left, making it tilt to the right side just barely. Members on the upper decks were forced to grab ahold of a grounded object to stable their balance. There was a brief pause before she answered back to the captain. “To the right of the ship at the moment, there is four ships and to the left, three. Total of seven if there aren't any more incoming ships.”
A frown crossed Minami’s face. “It’s too risky to just go head-on with those ships… Not yet at least. There’s far too many of them around us.”
Cannons were heard firing from the opposing ships after she said her sentence and flew at their directions in a dangerously rapid rate. Minami screamed out for everyone to duck. Without a single hesitation from the members, they all obeyed her command and went down. Just as they all ducked, they heard the sound of air being cut with the heavy black metal balls flying over their head. A couple of the balls managed to crash into the heart of the ship, the cracking sound of the wooden boards being crushed. Screams and barking of orders from down below the deck could also be heard. Then quickly without wasting any time, those up above the deck jumped back up to their feet and resumed reloading the cannons.
“Don’t forget that even if we were to stay at a distant and fire at them, they too would have the same advantage as us,” Atsuko added as she stood up with the help of her hand on a nearby wooden railings.
Irritation came upon the captain as she scratched the side of her head. She kept on thinking, her thoughts going nowhere. What was she to do exactly in this situation? Seven huge ships that rival against her ship is highly predicted to end fairly on a unhealthy note.
“Captain Takahashi! Can I propose my idea for one moment?” Minami looked over to her left and saw Mayu with her head turned at her direction. Mayu began to speak once the captain nodded in approval. “I’m making an assumption that there might be a head captain of these seven ships. If we take down or at least hold the redcoat's head captain hostage, they should be able to let us go.” The younger girl then pointed at the ship on their left. From where she was pointing, out of the three ships, one stood out from the others. It held a massive red English flag to clearly represent that they were from England compared to the other ships.
Minami quickly got Mayu's idea and it clicked into her brain. "Looks like we'll have to get physical then if we want to at least take them down."
"I know for a fact that for these Englishmen, if we take down the head then the rest will have to be forced to surrender or retreat."
"Excellent idea Mayuyu." Then with a chuckle, she threw a glance over at Atsuko beside her. Atsuko was busy barking out orders to the other members for a bit before she noticed that the captain was staring at her. She turned her attention to the shorter girl and raised an eyebrow. "You figured out a plan, Takamina?"
A grin formed on the captain's face. Atsuko immediately got the message that this person is planning a risky move against the opposing force. The color on her face drained just slightly with a nervous smile. Whenever Minami grins like an idiot, something always tells her that she's plotting something dangerous. "Don't tell me you're going to-"
"Yes I am, Acchan! Just watch me!" Before the co-captain could even utter another word to the girl, Minami then hollered at the other members. "Girls! Those who can fight with swords and guns, prepare yourself! We're going to be taking down the big guy!"
Mutters and loud exclaims of disbelief was heard. The members all wonder what was going through the captain's head. But either way, they obeyed her command and readied themselves. Guns and swords that were sheathed by their side were soon pulled out. A couple members though were still at the cannons, firing away at the enemy ships.
Without wasting any moment for each and every passing second only increases their chances of their deaths, Minami turned the wheel at hand as fast as possible. Using all of her strength, she managed to steer the ship to the left. "Full sail!" Minami proclaimed as the main sails were dropped from above.
The white huge sails caught a hold of the wind and pushed the wooden vehicle forward. Every now and then, both Minami and Atsuko would command the members to lay low.
"Why can't this go any faster?!" Haruka's panicked voice could be heard when the 7th cannonball managed to make contact with their ship. The railings and huge chunks of the edges on the right side of the ship blew off once the metal ball came into contact. Pieces of broken, wet woods flew into the air; some spinning at rapid movement. One cannon managed to flip up into the air and was blown backward at the members. Screams could be heard from below and the sound of members' footsteps slamming against the surface of the deck.
"Takamina! Minegishi's hurt!" Yuko's words reached towards Minami's ears. Shocked at what she had just heard, she almost wanted to ditch the steering wheel and run over to the other Minami when Atsuko beside her grabbed her right wrist. "I know what you're going to be doing," Atsuko calmly spoke. "Yuko will take care of her. You need to focus on the head captain's ship. The stake is too high to even worry about another member as captain."
As much as Minami wanted to argue against her partner, she was right. She had to focus on getting rid of the enemy. If she didn't, it would be a catastrophe. More victims on their side and less on the enemies. Growling in anger, she cursed under her breath as they got closer toward the targeted ship. The sound of cannon balls flying over the seas and splashing into the water. The screams and loud angry cries of the members. Orders being barked out by both her and the co-captain. One against seven. It was a brutal crossfire.
Before they all knew it, they have reached their destination. Right beside the targeted ship, Minami yelled out for the sails to be all pulled up. And just as though the other ship has been foreseeing this event, they too have stopped. All other ships ceased firing and the sea became quiet once more. Well, with the cannons being silence that is. It seems they have accepted the challenge.
Boards from the other ship came laying on top of theirs and the redcoats came out of their ship. With their muskets at hand, they were prepared to take their lives. Minami, now away from the wheel, slowly got out one of her many her pistols. A flintlock pistol to be specific. Weighing about four pounds and six inches long, it's only purpose was to fire at close range. Carrying about four of them within her jacket, she also unsheathed her special broadsword. The four pounded, forty inches long straight silver blade glimmered from the sun's ray. From her view, she saw many of the members pull out their own flintlock pistols and their smallswords at hand.
Atsuko right beside her pulled out her smallsword and glanced over at Minami. She gave a nod in confirmation that she was ready. Raising her sword up into the air, Minami commanded, "Members! Take out those redcoats!"
In a matter of mere seconds, swords and bullets were exchanged with each other.
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"Yukirin! Watch out!" Sae quickly delivered a fatal blow with a stab of her sword toward one of the redcoat's chest before he got the chance to fire his gun at Yuki's direction. From a short distance between the two girls, Yuki turned her head toward Sae and widen her eyes. "Ehhhhh! Thanks Sae! If it wasn't for you, I probably would've been killed already!"
"Baka Yuki," she heard Mayu nearby shoot her pistol at another redcoat. An agonizing scream followed after it. The younger girl threw a glare at Yuki. "I wouldn't let anyone touch my Yuki."
" 'My Yuki'? Pfft. If it weren't for me, she would've been dead in less than five seconds," Sae rolled her eyes and managed to walk up in front of Mayu without having to attack anyone yet. "Unlike you, who isn't able to properly protect her, I have the responsibility to be her shield." Both girls then stared at each other. One might be able to see sparks fly between the two as they stared deeply with hatred.
"Um... You both... It would be a little nice if you can help me..." The two figures momentarily halted their stare down contest and turned their attention to Yuki from behind. They saw that she was cornered by two of the men with their smallswords conflicting with hers. She tried to parry their attacks and defend herself.
Both Sae and Mayu threw once last dirty look at each other before the two rushed over to her side. "I'm going to protect her!" Sae exclaimed.
"No you idiot, I'm going to!" Mayu shot a reply back to her. And as though they were in a competition of some sort to win their love with Yuki, they both viciously took down the enemies that threatened to harm Yuki.
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Yuko, once she gave the injured Minegishi to the one and only doctor of the ship, Matsui Rena, she quickly ran back up to the upper deck. With her double pistols at hand, she was ready to be killing the redcoats for she was loaded with mainly guns in her possession. She was known to be using guns at the most, but she carried a sword with her by her side for back-up. "I'm going to blast all of these fools outta my path!" she grinned and aimed at two random men. Not thinking twice, she pulled the trigger. Smoke came out of the exit of the pistols and the two men that she targeted were now down on the ground, still.
Everywhere she saw in her surrounding was only fighting. Some members were fighting on their own ship while others were on the other ship. Metallic sound rang loud and clear as they made contact with each other. Clanging and grinding the metal surface against each other. Bullets heard firing and cries of pain heard out loud.
She frowned when she saw on the other ship both Atsuko and Minami going against the big man. The three figures were fighting alone on top of the quarter deck. Things weren't looking so good when Atsuko was knocked aside by the head redcoat and fell over the railing and into the main deck. Now the situation turned the conflict to only be between the two captains.
"I have to help her." As much as she doesn't trust Minami and rebel against her, she still retains the need to protect her captain. But before she was able to go forth, she saw Sayanee up on board. Her eyes nearly bulged out of its socket when she saw how much of a trouble Sayanee was placed in. Groaning angrily, she quickly tossed her two pistols back into her jacket and took out two new one. Soon the one redcoat that Sayanee was facing was now down.
"O-Oshima-san!" she exclaimed as she saw the shorter girl come up to her.
"Sayanee! Why are you up here? Isn't it too dangerous for you let alone risky!?"
"I can take care of my own Oshima-san..." Yuko sighed loudly when the stubborn girl wouldn't move from her spot with her decision.
"Doesn't look like you'll budge from your choice... Just don't get yourself killed."
Hearing a satisfied response from the other girl, Yuko did not waste any time to getting over to her captain's side. But while she made her way through the crowd, she nearly got her head blasted by a bullet. Eyes twitching, she knew it's going to take a while to reach over to Minami as she raised her guns up into the air.
"Say good-night, Yuko," she muttered to herself before pulling the triggers.
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Rino quickly rolled away in fear when she saw a sword being swung at her direction. "EEK!" she shrieked when she nearly got her head chopped off. Scrambling up to her feet, she held the sword in her trembling hand. She was never good in fighting let alone even able to properly fire cannons. So how could she take down these guys who were after her life?
The attacking redcoat didn't stop from where he last left off with her. He swung his blade once more. A sword flew out of Rinoi's grasp from his strike against her attempt to block it. Her hand stung slightly from the sudden blow and rubbed it with her other hand. A sweat drop slid down the side of her face when she saw the man getting closer and closer to her. She gulped when he managed to corner her. With a mischievous grin, he pointed the tip of his blade against her throat, barely touching the surface of her skin.
"Say your prayers, missy," he chuckled.
His head then snapped to the side. It was tilted to the left at such an angle that Rino wondered if it was natural. Then the figure soon fell down to his knees and slumped to his side. The cause was none other than Akimoto Sayaka with her fist up in the air, noting that she had given him a punch of his lifetime. "Are you okay, Sasshi?" she asked as she twirled the pistol from her other hand. She gave a nod in reply.
"Y-Yeah... I'm okay..."
"Be more careful. These men want our heads as much as the captain's." The gun at hand stopped twirling midway. Sayaka then looked to the side and saw Sae fighting with Mayu and Yuki. She sighed loudly when she saw how vicious Sae was going against the enemy. "She's so ruthless sometimes..."
"Oi! Sayaka! Do you mind to help me and Jurina for a bit!" Mariko's voice could be heard from within the background. Immediately Sayaka and Rino turned their attention to the two figures and saw them in a pinch.
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Minami quickly jumped back just in the nick of time before the blade of the head redcoat reached her neck. Sweat ran down the side of her face as she stood back up straight. She stared right at the other captain, who smirked and toyed with the edges of his sword's blade. "Not bad for a criminal," he smirked and charged at her again.
"You don't plan to give me a single moment to catch my breath, eh?" Minami breathlessly spoke as she parried his attack. Her sword struck forth only to be blocked by his sword. Metals clanged against each other in a heated battle. It looked as though both sides weren't going to give up.
But Minami faltered just slightly in her movement and soon had her sword fly up into the air. The metal weapon was heard landing behind the shorter girl, stabbing the wooden surface. Her eyes widen when she saw the blade swinging at her. Quickly ducking to avoid the blow, she instantly pulled out a bullet to reload her gun. All of her pistols at the moment were out of bullets and needed to be reloaded. But reloading with their kind of guns required gunpowder and a bullet that needs to be snuggily fitted in order to shoot. And that takes a while.
She cursed herself and backed away while reloading her gun. Dodging left and right, she hastily reloaded the one pistol. Once it was reloaded, she was about to aim when the blade struck down upon her.
Or almost at least.
Another blade managed to cross over and interrupt the blades movement from going any further. It barely touched the top of the captain's head. From the corner of her eyes, she saw that it was Yuko who managed to protect her from the incoming blow. In one movement, she threw back the redcoat's sword back at him. Looking at Minami, she frowned. "You need to seriously take care of yourself more often, captain," she commented as she quickly walked over to Minami's sword.
"Shut up your squirrel," Minami dryly joked as Yuko threw the pulled out sword of Minami's. The shorter girl out of the two caught the weapon with one hand and pointed it at the opposing figure. "Let's end it once and for all."
The two shorter girls came together and attacked the other figure. It looked as though the head redcoat was losing. But as they fought, he managed to inflict an injury upon the captain due to her little slip. She felt a sting of pain on her left arm and nearly dropped her sword. And what good timing. Atsuko was running up to their area to only see Minami hurt.
Anger instantly flashed within her eyes. "Don't you dare hurt Minami!" she snarled at the man. The next moment, Atsuko was repeatedly clashing against the head redcoat without giving him time to strike or even counterattack. Swing after swing, he could only protect himself for Atsuko was furious.
"Atsuko! Duck!" Hearing Minami's order, she quickly heeded to her advice and heard a gunshot ring into the air. The man in front of her then slumped down in one motion. There was a hole on the center of his forehead, blood running down from the one area. His eyes were wide from shock and rolled up as death overcame his senses. Standing back up, she looked behind to see Minami with smoke rising from her raised gun.
She lowered it to her side. The fighting from within both ships soon ceased within minutes once the redcoats immediately found out that their head captain is dead.
"It's over now."
More will come soon~
Topic: Wandering Ship [wMatsui Arc] - Chapter 17 [Announcement for all series] (Read 44828 times)