Chapter 23
"You can't leave now, it's too dangerous for you to be on the roads. We don't know if you would get ambushed again on the way to the capital." Mai protested when Ayumi informed her that their group would be setting off to the capital to investigate the case and to search for the Admiral.
"Yeah it's only been a week since then, and don't you think Murata-san needs more rest before she goes on a journey?" Miuna chipped in. Asami nodded vigorously as well. "You guys are in no condition to fight."
Megumi hobbled over with the aid of Masae, trailed by Hitomi. "We can't delay much longer. We need to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible."
"And risk getting killed? Who will claim justice for the Matsuura household if you perish?" Asami said bluntly. The four guards fell silent, torn between their anxiety to fulfill their duty and good common sense not to die needlessly.
"But we can't sit around in the village forever." Hitomi protested. Mai was tapping her chin thoughtfully. "You said you need to go to the capital?"
"Yes, we have a few friends there that we need to ask for help from." Masae confirmed. Mai looked at Asami.
"Hey, the harvest is coming in right?" When the shorter woman nodded, Mai beamed. "That means we're sending the wagons to market yes?"
Asami frowned in confusion. "I don't see how...OH. That's a good idea." The rest looked baffled, so Mai explained.
"Well, we bring our farm produce to market after harvest time. And it just so happens that our main market is the capital city so..." The quartet grinned suddenly at where the line of thought was heading.
"We can hide you amongst the caravans. No one will suspect anything, and it's a great deal safer for the four of you." Asami assured them. "The wagons won't move very quickly though, but I suppose the lost time is worth the greater safety."
"When do the wagons move then? And how long will the journey take?" Megumi asked.
"They're setting off the day after, and it takes about 5 or 6 days to get to town. Wagons don't move very fast, I'm afraid, even on the Imperial highway. But it's the best we can do." Mai answered with a shrug.
"We can't thank you enough for this." Hitomi said gratefully. The 3 village girls waved the gratitude off casually.
"It's only right to help people in need, especially when you are our friends." Miuna opined. The other two nodded. Mai then scratched at the back of her head.
"I guess I'll go talk to the elders about bringing them along with the wagons." Asami nodded. "I'll come along with."
"Me too!" Miuna jumped in as well, making Mai roll her eyes and cuff the excitable young woman around the neck. Asami sighed and separated the two even as they marched off to the village elder's hut.
The four guards looked on at the retreating backs of the three women, then at each other, slightly bemused expressions on their faces.
"Guess we're staying for a couple more days eh?"
~*~*~
"I'm bored...so bored....boooooooooored." Koharu chanted as she lay on her belly in her bed. Miyabi, who was sitting on the couch by the window, looked up irritably from her book. "Will you please shut up already?"
"But I'm bored!" Koharu protested, propping her chin up on her hands, her elbows sinking slightly into the soft downy material of the bed.
Myabi rolled her eyes. "So am I. If you hadn't decided to run out that way the other time, you wouldn't be grounded, and I wouldn't have to sit here and face you all day!"
"You're mean." Koharu stuck her tongue out at the older girl, who grunted and pointedly went back to reading, deliberately ignoring her charge.
The tense stalemate between mistress and servant was disrupted by the opening of the gilded wooden doors. Miyabi tensed instinctively, her hand wandering to where her weapon was concealed, but relaxed when she saw it was only Saki. Her best friend was escorting someone else, a very familiar face.
"Sayu~" Koharu beamed, bouncing off the bed and running over to greet her visitor, who was dressed in a simple peasant dress but still managed to look extremely cute and pretty, as usual. Miyabi raised an eyebrow at them.
"So do I get a break now?" The sometimes-evil girl yawned as she stood, stretching lazily as Saki laughed.
"Yeah Miya, you can go relax a bit now, I'll take over here. By the way, Maa-chan's looking for some entertainment over in our usual place. You better go look for her before she starts felling trees again." Miyabi's eyes grew bright with anticipation, rubbing her hands together and cracking her knuckles. "Sounds like fun. Thanks Captain!"
"What was that about?" Sayumi asked with a raised eyebrow as Miyabi practically bounded out of the room almost cheerfully. Koharu also looked perplexed. Saki coughed diffidently.
"Just a game we play in our free time. Call it a kind of bonding for our friendship." The small captain explained carefully, closing the door quietly and moving to stand in a corner unobtrusively as she did so. The two nobles in front of her didn't need to know what Miyabi and Maasa were doing in their spare time. No one needed to know that those two would probably be sparring in the little forest glade hidden behind the mansion. It kept their skills sharp to practice like that.
Come to think of it, when was the last time she got to go all out on someone...anyone, really? Saki sighed to herself quietly. If only her fighting style didn't tend to cause an almost unreasonably high number of fatalities as it did...
"So what brings you here today?" Koharu asked cheerfully as she guided her guest over to sit on the long couch which Miyabi had so recently vacated. Saki followed quietly and poured tea for the two of them, before retreating to stand quietly by the side.
"Well I heard that you were grounded, so I came over to visit you since you can't come and look for me. Besides, I wanted to get out of the house." Sayumi explained with just as bright a smile back. Koharu sighed ruefully at that.
"I'm dying of boredom in here...my uncle's mad at me because I ran out without telling anyone where I was going...I still don't know how you managed to find me so quickly, Saki-chan." The young girl shot a reproachful look at the little captain, who cleared her throat and looked around innocently. "Just plain luck, I suppose."
The truth of the matter was that Saki had narrowed down the possible places Koharu could possibly have gone to, and split her team to check on each of the limited number of possible destinations. The city might be big, but for someone like Koharu who had so little experience with it, there weren't many places she could possibly go to, so it wasn't all that difficult to find her if you knew her habits well enough. Of course, Saki wasn't about to explain all that to people who had no need to know that she was capable of something like this.
Meanwhile, Koharu was still talking. "And that's not the worst thing! When I came back, I got into this huge argument with my uncle. I didn't understand why he keeps sending people to keep an eye on me, so I sort of screamed at him about that..." The young lady broke off with a shudder at the memory.
"What happened?" Sayumi asked curiously, her eyes wide. The concept that someone could find the guts to yell at the Prime Minister was pretty much an eye-opener. Most people would probably get sent to the dungeons for less than that. Even if Koharu was indeed his niece, it was amazing she only got off the hook by being grounded.
Koharu mumbled something under her breath, clearly the very memory of whatever happened must have horrified her until now. Sayumi prodded the younger girl in the side, but garnered little response. She then turned her gaze to look at Saki, who was gazing rather sympathetically at her charge.
"Do you know what got to her?" Saki had a peculiar expression on her face as she replied. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. I was there."
"Mind telling me?" Sayumi pressed. Saki sighed. "Well, his Lordship said that the reason why our little lady here needs to be protected is because he was planning on arranging a marriage for her with the Crown Prince, and so..."
The very word of 'marriage' induced a pitiful whine from Koharu, who buried her face in her hands. "I'm too young to think about marriage!"
"Actually, the royal house marries early." Sayumi informed her matter-of-factly, then sighed. "If my background weren't as disgraced, I'd be betrothed to someone by now too..."
"But I don't want to get married to the Crown Prince." Koharu complained, kicking her feet angrily in the air. Sayumi looked at her as if she had grown another head.
"I thought everyone wants to marry into the royal family...and the Crown Prince...that means you get to become Empress after he ascends the throne, you know!" Sayumi tried to make it sound more attractive an idea to the reluctant Koharu, who pouted in response.
"If you want that so much, why don't you marry him?"
Sayumi giggled at that. "He's my cousin, silly. I'm not interested in marrying someone related to me, distantly or not."
"Oh right, I forgot, you're related to him aren't you?" Koharu was giving her a peculiar look, as if she had seen the devil itself. Probably the girl was channelling her resentment for her future husband towards his kinswoman, who was sitting right next to her. Sayumi sweatdropped at the deadly vibes coming from Koharu.
"Kusumi-chan, I'm not him...you don't have to glare at me like that..."
The air grew cold around them, and Sayumi tried desperately again. "Well, if the Crown Prince is at all related to me, that means he can't possibly look all that ugly can he? If he's anything like me, he'll be gorgeous too, so you won't have to worry about marrying an ugly husband!"
In the background, Saki snickered silently.
"That's not the point!" Koharu wailed suddenly, breaking off the eerie eye contact she was giving to Sayumi only moments earlier. "I don't want to get married to some guy I've never met before! I don't even know him!"
"But I'm sure they won't arrange the marriage until you're at least a bit older." Sayumi soothed placatingly. Koharu sighed deeply, slumping backwards onto the cushions with a morose expression.
"Yeah...only until I turn 16. Uncle showed me the royal decree already, and that's what it says. That's still too soon in my opinion..." Koharu looked like she was about to start crying. Sayumi patted the younger girl's shoulder comfortingly.
"There there...cheer up, it can't be so bad..." This time, Koharu even sniffled a little.
Saki looked on the whole situation with a bemused expression. Whoever said watching over Koharu was boring? Miyabi had no idea what she was missing.
It paid to be easily amused after all.
~*~*~
Five days. Five days at sea. Five days at sea sailing in relatively miserable weather. Five days at sea sailing in relatively miserable weather with a bunch of pirates.
Life has just gotten so much weirder, Eri mused as she huddled inside a large empty barrel in the ship's hold. She had just finished her shift, having been cleared fit for light duty by the resident ship's doctor Kei a few days ago. Now that she had some free time of her own, she naturally gravitated to the nearest small space in order to think about things on her own...and to watch others from her vantage point.
It was amazing what one could observe if one stayed still and quiet in a corner. Eri was the master of staying quiet in a corner, and a combination of luck (whether good or bad is entirely up to your point of view) and timing usually landed her front-row seats for most of the more interesting going ons of the ship whenever she was on break.
Eri had no idea why, or whether it was sheer coincidence or not, that she kept stumbling on private moments...or that the private moments kept stumbling onto her, considering the fact that she never actively went searching for them, and was instead staying put in whatever corner she had picked for the time. As a result, she had the distinct misfortune of witnessing some really disgustingly mushy moments that she really didn't need or want to know about.
The first, of course, had been of the newly wedded couple. Now, Risa was Eri's friend. That means that they could sustain a reasonable conversation and hang out together at times. Eri enjoyed Risa's company, but there were some things that the turtle girl found that she didn't need to know about, such as her friend's domestic affairs. By domestic affairs. naturally that meant private things. Like Risa's exact relationship with Ai. Or all those gushy conversations those two tend to have away from other people, but as it turned out, the "away from other people" ended up right next to the spot where Eri had just chosen to hide in during that time.
Yes, the ship was only so big. Yes, it was hard to find a decent space and time for a moment of privacy in such a confined area. But couldn't they pick somewhere else where she wasn't hiding nearby for once? It was like a curse really, since wherever Eri tried to lay hidden in a corner, inevitably Risa and Ai would somehow wander to a spot nearby and provide her with an excellent coverage of their conversation.
Normally those private conversations weren't so bad, taken individually, of course. Thankfully, those two were a tad on the innocent side, so there was never a replicate of the kind of dirty conversations Eri had accidentally eavesdropped on previously. That was only a small comfort in itself though, since the combined effect of all that sugary sweetness of that couple was about to drive poor Eri insane.
Logically speaking, she couldn't even blame them. It wasn't their fault. Just because they were so innocently happy together doesn't give her the right to feel like retching whenever they started acting all shy and cute around each other. After all, they were married, so they had all the right in the world to start getting warm and cuddly with each other, among other things that she was glad to NOT have seen thus far.
If only they didn't keep unintentionally rubbing that fact into her face.
There was an amusing moment during her unintended observations of the budding relationship between Risa and Ai though. Ai's friend, that cleaver-wielding girl...Makoto, was it? Yes, it was Makoto. Eri had been curled up in between the potato sacks when Makoto had hauled Risa down to the storage area for a good talk. Well, there was talking involved, but it was very one-sided, and somehow involved a lot of cleaver waving and a sense of general antagonism in the air. Eri had never felt more sympathy for the poor, sweating Risa than at that moment. Not enough to step out to rescue her friend mind you, but enough to feel some measure of sympathy for the poor girl.
It appeared that Risa had a lot of incentive to continue treating Ai like the absolute center of her existence (not that she really needed any more encouragement with that though), and for that reason alone, Eri found it somewhat slightly easier to stomach all that sugary sweetness whenever she was in close proximity to all those private conversations between the couple. She still didn't have to like it all that much, but at the very least it was marginally tolerable......for now.
If only Risa and Ai were the only ones whose private lives Eri kept stumbling upon by accident. By some twist of fate, Eri literally got a sneak peek into just about every single person's solitary moments, save for a rare few who had somehow avoided coming into her general vicinity while she was concealed. Some were fascinating, many were amusing, and there was the occasional moment that confused the heck out of her, but she always did file those away for future reference. Never knew when it could come in handy some time.
Maki and Miki amused our resident turtle girl. Actually, they amused the whole crew with their not-very-private rivalry. Eri didn't even have to be hidden to bear witness to most of their antics. Be it on her shift or off it, whenever one of them was within the orbit of the other, something was bound to happen. Even if they weren't in direct contact with each other, somehow things still manage to happen.
Be it the time when Maki had ended up halfway stuffed into a barrel (how, Eri still didn't know to this day, but she suspected the terrible twins were involved somehow), or when Miki had woken up with her hair braided into a fishing net tied to a pole, the effects and results of said competition between the two to outdo each other prank by prank was truly a marvel of the known world, not to mention utterly hilarious to boot. Eri laughed until she almost fell overboard (saved by Kaori, thankfully) at the time when Maki, in an attempt to get Miki caught dangling halfway up in the air in the ropes attached to the sails, had ended up falling into her own trap and wound up hanging upside down with one foot caught in the ropes, blood rushing to her head until Risa managed to get her down later.
Of course, Miki had nearly died laughing at Maki's predicament, but she didn't laugh quite so much when Maki, after having had her leg freed, had wound up falling the rest of the way...right onto a gleefully gloating Miki at the bottom. The resulting collision and tangle of limbs was not only comical, but painful, especially for Miki, who had ended up hurting her back for the umpteenth time ever since their subterranean war started. Eri was beginning to wonder if Maki was also deliberately targeting Miki's back as a potential point of weakness for her attacks. The turtle girl couldn't quite put it past her former superior officer not to do that...but who knows, really?
After that disastrous interlude in the Maki versus Miki wars, things quietened down...relatively speaking. There was still always the terrible duo, of course. Those two were the original masters of havoc on board this ship after all, according to Kaori whom she had asked after seeing Risa nearly get shocked out of her skin and reduced to a gibbering wreck after the latest series of pranks by the resident troublemakers, which had also notably claimed Natsumi, Maki and Aya as victims as well, probably as a welcome-to-the-crew surprise.
Eri found it amusing that her former captain ended up joined to her tormentor (aka Miki) by their hands with iron chains that the twins must have procured while they were in port earlier. Eri's vocabulary of swear words had increased exponentially upon Aya's discovery of that fact that day. Miki didn't seem too averse to the idea though, and took every opportunity to feel Aya up whenever possible, much to the younger girl's utter chagrin and frustration.
It had taken some persuasion, well, a lot of persuasion, from Nacchi before the twins deigned to unlock Aya from Miki. Somehow, Nacchi had managed to hit it off the the younger duo after the initial prank they had pulled on her, which had involved rope, fishing hook, and a lot of creativity on the pranksters' part. About the only good thing, if it could be considered a good thing that is, was that Maki was the one who rescued Nacchi and carried her back to bed. Such twisted logic there, Eri reasoned. But she supposed it was all for a good cause, and the turtle girl had a sneaking suspicion that Natsumi had staged the whole thing with the twins themselves, although she didn't have any hard evidence about that. The terrible two seemed to like the older woman, and that was always a good thing. If nothing else, them liking you meant that they went easier on you with the pranking. They wouldn't stop entirely of course, but the pranks wouldn't be as hazardous or life-threatening.
Thank god for small mercies, Eri supposed. She was simply glad that the twins haven't yet targeted her for whatever reason, and she was glad to keep it that way.
Speaking of her former captain, Eri snickered lightly as she shifted her position inside the barrel. Aya appeared to have acquired a second shadow these few days in the form of one Fujimoto Miki, who delighted in flirting shamelessly and trying to sneak gropes in on the younger girl. Eri had heard from Mari that this new obsession of Miki's was apparently a good thing for them, since it meant that Miki was a lot less likely to start harassing the rest of the crew. However, that meant that Aya, like it or not, had to bear the sole burden of having Miki's attention focused fully on her.
Strangely or not, Eri felt very little sympathy for Aya, possibly because the whole thing was just too darn funny with Miki's constant advances and Aya's equally constant rebuffs that ranged from straightforward to downright ingenious. Eri couldn't be entirely sure about it, but she suspected that the groping demon collected more injuries via Aya's repeated rejections than during her private war with Maki. Aya had probably smacked Miki around more often than not, even drawing her gunblade on her when Miki simply went too far for her liking.
Despite all that though, Miki persevered, and her first and most significant triumph was probably to make sure that Aya ended up sleeping on the same bed as her. There was a distinct shortage of space on board the ship in terms of sleeping arrangements, and even with some tweaking of the duty rosters, some of them had to wind up sharing beds. Some were easy, like the twins, who had no qualms about snuggling together in one bunk; or Maki and Natsumi, who seemed perfectly comfortable with sharing a bed. Miki had immediately laid claim to Aya, with Yuko's blessing, much to Aya's chagrin, but since no one else would share with Miki and there wasn't any other person Aya could actually bunk with, she very reluctantly gave in.
It wasn't as bad as Aya had feared though, probably. Yes, before Miki fell asleep, she would attempt to grope Aya and then proceed to trap and pin her prey down to make sure the younger girl didn't try to escape her. But after the groping devil had nodded off, it turned out that her sleeping habits weren't too awful after all. At least she didn't snore for one thing, and she didn't kick too much. What did amaze the rest of the pirates, however, was that ever since Aya started sleeping with in the same bed with Miki, waking Miki was no longer a life-threatening business. Where in previous times when Yossi had to be drafted in to brave a potentially deadly volley of knives from a sleepy Miki, nowadays the job of waking the tiger up had fallen to Aya. The thing that had really stunned the regular pirate crew was that Miki never once menaced Aya with her knives when the younger girl woke her up. Eri wasn't entirely certain about how Aya woke Miki up, but whatever it was, it resulted in a lot of giggling on Miki's part, followed subsequently by the standard morning squabble as the groping devil started trying to fulfill her quota for the day.
On the topic of reluctant bed partners, Risa and Ai were humorously one of them. Eri couldn't fathom what the problem was really. After all, those two were married. If anyone had the right to share beds, it was them. The logic was clear and simple enough in her opinion. However, Risa had been terribly shy about the whole thing, and had even gallantly offered to take the floor, until Makoto, who had given up her own bunk to the wedded pair, had gotten irritated by the hemming and hawing between those two and threatened to hack Risa into tiny pieces if she didn't join Ai on the bed. There were no more arguments after that little display.
It was still rather entertaining to see Risa desperately trying to keep her hands to herself though, with little result as it turned out, since by the time they did wake up in the morning, they would end up being all wrapped around each other anyway. Talk about futile efforts. After the first couple of nights, Risa had been so embarrassed by how she kept waking up in all sorts of interestingly compromising positions with Ai that the poor girl ended up volunteering for night watch permanently, just so she could get out of sharing a bed with her wife.
If Ai was disappointed, she didn't show it. She did seem rather shyly amused at the beginning though, regularly waking up to find that Risa had somehow ended up nuzzling her chest or had her hands up her blouse or something equally embarrassing like that. Her amusement was probably primarily derived from the fact that Risa would totally freak out whenever she woke up to find herself in yet another awkward position with her blushing wife. It was like an alarm clock for the rest of them for the first few days, with Risa's incoherently stammered apologies being loud enough to wake the rest of the still slumbering crew.
Another milder case of reluctant bed buddies came in the form of Rika and Yossi, the latter of which had initially insisted that Rika take the bed while she herself slept on the floor or something. Rika, just as naturally, had insisted that she wouldn't allow her Yocchan to sleep on the floor and was adamant on sharing. After a few admittedly very weak arguments from the Second Mate, Rika had just cut off all further discussion by pulling Yossi down on the bunk with her and happily rolling on top of of the blushing pirate, almost instantly falling asleep not long after. Yossi had tried to wriggle her way out from underneath later, but to no avail, as Rika wouldn't budge, being a sound sleeper with a patented death grip. Ever since that first night, Yossi had pretty much resigned herself to her fate and just went along with the flow. It was easier than resisting anyway. And really, it wasn't all that bad snuggling with someone at night, Yossi discovered. It felt a bit odd at first, but it was sort of...nice. If anything else, nowadays she woke up grinning goofily more often than not...much to the amusement of the twins who took every opportunity to tease her about it.
It had been a rather eventful time these last 5 days, Eri pondered from her hiding place inside the barrel. Sure, most of the really eventful things happened to other people, but since she was there to see it, she supposed she was indirectly experiencing it for herself too. Not that she really needed the additional excitement, mind you, since she had her own set of encounters to deal with. Namely, one very persistent former victim of hers whose continued harpoon-waving antics never ceased to unnerve her.
What was up with that girl anyway? Eri just couldn't figure Reina out at all. After the injured girl had woken up, Eri did apologise very briefly while Reina was still weaving in and out of consciousness, so she considered her part to be done. After all, she couldn't control her berserk side, and it was the fault of whomever who decided to invoke its wrath that she ended up causing harm to others. As it was, Reina probably deserved what she got for doing what nobody had managed to do for a couple of years, that is, to irritate her to the point of losing control. For whatever reason, Reina managed to get under her skin with disturbing ease somehow, with very little thought about it apparently from the harpoon girl herself in question.
Maybe it was some kind of inborn skill or something. It took very little effort on Reina's part to unsettle Eri, even if the former never realised it herself just quite yet. The girl was tough too, since after the initial period of unconsciousness, Reina had bounced back quite strongly, and was walking around a day after regaining consciousness, much to Kei's profound irritation.
The doctor kept on muttering about how she gets no respect from the kids, to which Reina had very boredly and impudently replied that she didn't need to listen to a naggy old hag about the state of her body. It was a comment which had very nearly resulted in her getting shot by a highly irate Kei, proving once again that along with Miki, Reina probably had very little sense of self-preservation when it came to speaking too bluntly. It had taken Mari and Yossi, the two very wise ship's officers, to haul Reina out of harm's way and with the help of the rest of the crew, to work on keeping both parties on either side of the ship to prevent any more unexpected incidents that might add to the state of Reina's injuries.
Reina, however, couldn't seem to understand what the big fuss was, and went about with the lighter chores assigned to her as per normal, interspersed with her hobby of fishing during her breaks as if nothing had happened. Some people had no sense whatsoever.
The worst thing was that Reina continued to seek her out, the turtle girl thought with a certain amount of dismay. Eri gathered that Reina was simply curious, if the questions that she kept spouting were any indication, but Eri found it very difficult to stay focused on whatever the other girl was saying when that accursed harpoon kept being waved around in her peripheral vision. It was hypnotising, almost. Unfortunately, it was also an action that raised her danger instincts to a fine edge, making poor Eri feel like she was treading a very thin line in between freaking out and staying calm. Was hanging out too much with Risa rubbing off on her? Because Eri felt a very strong urge to start scream-babbling whenever Reina approached her speaking in that oddly accented voice of hers while brandishing that enormous harpoon in an unconsciously threatening manner.
Which was why Eri tended to find excuses to slip away and disappear in an almost ninja-like fashion, leaving a very confused Reina behind to wonder just what the heck was going on. Given the current state of affairs, and if it were allowed to continue, Eri didn't know how long it would be before she snapped again and tried to finish up her previously botched job of attempting to murder that annoying harpoon girl in a berserker rage. Personally, she hoped it didn't come to that. As unnervingly unsettling Reina could be to her, no one really deserved to be killed just because of that. Now, if only she could somehow make certain that Reina would just stay away and avoid aggravating her. If only. It would probably be easier to singlehandedly wrestle a hungry shark into submission than to convince one Tanaka Reina that her continued presence in front of Eri would eventually drive the other insane.
Voices. Eri's attention was drawn back to the reality around her by the sounds of someone, no, two people speaking quietly to each other. A sick feeling of something akin to dread began to coalesce within the pits of her stomach as the turtle girl prayed that she wouldn't have to be subjected to another session of sickeningly sweet conversations between Risa and Ai.
Surprisingly enough, her prayers were answered. The voices of the two people drew nearer, and whoever they were, they were most definitely not that disgustingly adorable couple. Eri had heard their voices enough to tell the difference at any rate. Who was it then? It didn't really make much sense for anyone to come down to the very bottom of the ship at this time of the day, so whoever was coming down here was probably seeking some privacy for a chat..or for other purposes. Now Eri started praying even harder that it was only for a chat. If whatever divinity out there had answered her first prayer, surely it could answer this one as well?
Miraculously, she was saved once more. Maybe she could consider getting religious again. There might be some merit to the idea of a god after all. The voices were now close enough for her to identify who the speakers were. The conversation, if nothing else, was distinct enough that she could immediately figure out who they were. And knowing those two, it was highly unlikely that they could be down here for any other purposes than chatting. Or for trying to kill each other, but even that option was still better than the worst case scenario she had envisioned earlier.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" The voice sounded bored, with just the faintest hint of a sneer. Eri kept her ears pricked to listen, while staying very silent in her barrel. She didn't want to be caught and accused of eavesdropping, which was exactly what she was doing now, of course, but that doesn't mean she should be caught anyway. Eri was practical like that. One of her life's principles was that you could do anything you wanted, no matter how wrong or illegal, as long as you didn't get caught. That was the most important rule right after "save yourself first". Who cared about little things like morality and ethics?
"Look, I don't want to talk to you either, but Nacchi made me." The other voice, now identified as Maki grumbled. The first voice actually snorted out loud. "You're so whipped."
"I am not, and we're not like that anyway. Take that back or I'll hit you." Maki's voice was raised threateningly, but Miki only laughed.
"What happened to talking? Although frankly, I prefer other means of...communication."
Maki made a noise of pure disgust, and Eri could practically feel her roll her eyes. "Yes I've noticed that. You and your very physical means of communication. Speaking of that, will you please stop groping what's mine?"
"I'm not groping you right now...although I could remedy that immediately if you want." Eri bit on her lip to keep from laughing out loud as she mentally imagined the look on both their faces. There was a slap of flesh meeting flesh, clearly the sound of the Maki batting the groping devil's hand away, given the exasperated sigh coupled with the "aww come on" from said groping devil, who was undoubtedly one Fujimoto Miki.
"That wasn't exactly what I meant, although I would appreciate it if you stopped trying to grope me too." Eri wondered if that person was rolling her eyes or glaring right now, and was sorely tempted to stick her head out of the barrel to check, but decided not to risk it and just stay put where she was.
"Oh, then what do you mean? Stop going around in circles and just tell me." Again with the bored tone. Maki sighed in frustration.
"Quit touching Aya...and Nacchi too, while you're at it. I saw you do it again yesterday!"
"Firstly, since when is Aya yours? Secondly, aren't you contradicting your 'we're not like that' claim? Oh and thirdly, that was an entirely friendly touch of greeting since she was in my way, I didn't even touch anywhere too sensitive!" Miki sounded infuriatingly smug as she completed her defense. The sound of Maki grinding her teeth together sounded very loud even to Eri, who had to stifle another urge to start laughing.
"Aya is my friend, and I am obliged to look out for her interests. As for the second thing, it's COMPLICATED, so don't ask. And lastly, friendly touch or not, I will hamstring you and tie you to the prow if you do it again."
"And how do you propose to do that?" Miki's voice was challenging, even defiant. "And I would also like to note that your friend Aya is doing a very good job of looking out for her interests without your help. I still haven't managed to get further than feeling her up a little, and she won't even let me anywhere near her lips anymore." There was a slightly regretful sigh at that, before her voice turned serious again. "Besides, aren't you getting a little off the point? I thought we were here to talk, not threaten each other. If you don't have anything else worth saying, I hope you'll excuse me. You're keeping me away from making more attempts to wear my target down."
"Fine, ok, just...fine, wait." Maki sounded like she was struggling to find the right words to say. There was a brief pause, an almost expectant silence, before Miki sighed exaggeratedly and started to walk away very ostentatiously, the sound of her footsteps echoing rather loudly against the planks.
"No! Wait, fine. Alright." Maki appeared to be trying to convince herself with her own words. The footsteps stopped.
"Well?" Another sigh from Maki. Miki sounded extremely gleeful when she continued, "If not, I'll be leaving~"
"Alright alright, I want us to call a truce." Maki's voice was sullen, as if reluctant to say those words. There was a brief sound of surprise from Miki.
"Oh? I thought you liked hating me?"
"I do! If I had my way, I would fight you until the end of the world comes, and then some." Maki sighed heavily again. "But Nacchi's right, if we continue fighting again now that our injuries just healed, we'd both end up beaten black and blue. Your back probably won't survive being nearly broken a few more times, you know."
Miki grunted at that. "Gah, now you remind me. Why do you keep targeting my back anyway?"
"Because you've hurt it before, and it only makes sense to target a known weakness."
"True. Unscrupulous, but true." She paused thoughtfully. "Do you really hate me that much?"
"No, I just moderately despise you."
"Good enough for me." Her voice became curious. "What do you do to those people you really hate then?"
"You don't want to know." Maki deadpanned. "Generally though, they would prefer to be dead."
"You know, I think I kind of like you a little better for saying that."
"Thank you, I think." Maki paused. "So, are you amenable to a truce?"
"Only if there aren't any hidden conditions. If there are, put them on the table right now and we can discuss it further."
"Well, asking you to stop groping is obviously out of the question, isn't that right?"
"Glad you know that." There was a definite smirk behind her tone.
A thoughtful silence. "I know you won't listen if I tell you to stop harrassing Aya, but will you please leave Nacchi alone?"
"Hmm, I can consider that. Are you sure you two aren't...?"
"No, we are not. It's a long story."
"Someday you will have to sit down and tell me about it."
"Let me get this out straight in the open first. Yes, this is a truce. However, we are in no way friends of any kind. Shipmates at most, due to the current circumstances. I will watch your back in a fight and promise not to backstab you, but otherwise I am not your friend. Are we clear on that?"
"Fine by me." Eri could almost see the shrug in her mind's eye, even though she couldn't actually see, given that she was still stuck inside the barrel. Speaking of that, the prolonged session of not moving for fear of making any sound that would alert the two others in the area to her presence meant that she was starting to develop a cramp in her leg from being cooped up in the same awkward position for too long. Trying her best not to make a sound, Eri relaxed her muscles as best as she could and tried twitching it in order to get the circulation back on track. It just wouldn't do to get caught now.
"Good, I'm glad we are in understanding."
"Yeah yeah. So, truce?"
"Well, if you have nothing else to confirm first..." Maki was then abruptly interrupted as Miki called out. "Wait."
"Yes?" Questioningly, undoubtedly with an accompanying raised eyebrow. Eri didn't even have to see it to imagine how it looked like.
"If we're going to stop fighting because of the truce, what am I going to entertain myself with other than trying to grope your best friend? Not that that isn't fun of course, but a little variety is always nice. It gets boring on board ship out on these long voyages when there's no one to fight."
"You find our attempts to cause each other severe bodily harm fun?"
"Well, don't you?"
"Ah, well, actually, I do. Hmm, that's a good point. What am I going to do with myself if I'm not trying to find a way to get to you?"
Both of them fell silent, clearly considering the issue quite seriously. If Eri didn't find the whole discussion weird before, she would have by now. The temptation to laugh grew still stronger, but thankfully she was distracted by the fact that she was getting pins and needles in her leg. Not a good thing at all.
"Oh, I know." Maki piped up suddenly. There was a questioning silence from Miki as she awaited the bright idea.
"Nacchi only told me to stop trying to get into fights with you because she didn't want to see me get injured anymore. If we stopped trying to kill each other physically..."
Miki caught on to the idea quickly enough. "Ah I see, we can keep on sniping at each other verbally. Hmm, I guess it'll do. Better something than nothing. There's no one else as fun as you on board who is willing to argue with me anyway. Yossi's fun to hang around with, but she doesn't have the same kind of grudge against me that makes you so fun to argue with."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"Do. You managed to survive me and the twins, that's an achievement in itself. But don't get too cocky, cause I'm so going to kick your ass. Figuratively speaking of course, now that we're not going to attempt physical harm on each other anymore."
"I wouldn't expect anything less, and you've got it wrong, since I'm the one going to kick your ass. Prepare to lose, Fujimoto."
"Bring it on anytime, I'm always ready to win. So, truce eh?"
"Yeah, truce, you sorry little brat."
"I believe I'm older than you, you know."
"Only by a few months I believe, and what's that got to do with anything? Aya calls you that and she's younger than me too."
"She's an exception, and this is coming from someone who's sleeping with an old woman."
"Nacchi's not old, you cradle robber!"
"Aha, so you admit that you're sleeping with her! And what do you mean cradle robber?"
"I've never denied that I was sleeping with her anyway! And you're a cradle robber because Aya's more than a year younger than you. Couldn't you find someone your own age?"
"You mean someone like you? If you really want to, I don't mind you know."
"...and here I was thinking that your persistence with Aya was sort of admirable in a very twisted way. Have you no sense of honor whatsoever?" Maki almost sounded indignant here.
"Hello, pirate here? Have you somehow forgotten?" Miki sneered right back. "And you have no right to speak of honor anyway, seeing how you claim not to have a relationship with someone you're already sleeping with. Hypocritical much?"
"I told you it was a complicated situation!"
"Someday you really need to explain that one to me."
There was an explosive silence, before both of them suddenly burst out laughing. In between fits of chuckles, Maki gasped out.
"That...was fun." Miki agreed, also trying to regain her breath.
"Not bad for a trial run. I'd say we're set and good to go for the truce proper now."
"You know, in case you misunderstand, the amusement I derive from this activity does not in any way diminish my contempt of you."
"Don't worry, I understand perfectly. Now that we both can breathe, let's go back up. I can continue groping Aya and you get to grope your non-girlfriend."
"She's not my---eh whatever. And you're a lecher, you know that?"
"Yes, and proud to be one. I thought we were over that part already."
"Yeah it's pretty much an established fact by now...and why am I agreeing with you?"
"Because I'm always right, and you're going to lose this new war big time."
"No, you're not, I won't, and you're still a brat."
"Do come up with more original insults, you with the overinflated chest."
"What is it with you and my chest? And don't even try touching there anymore, you pervert."
"I'm just a connoisseur of the female form, m'dear. And don't worry, there is no try. I just do it." There were some sounds of a quick scuffle, before Maki finally managed to knock Miki's wandering hand away from its intended destination. It helped that she was taller and therefore able to keep Miki at arm's length, theoretically speaking. Knowing Miki though, she would probably devise a way to get around that eventually.
"Some connoisseur of the female form you are," Maki sniffed haughtily. "I think it's more a case of body envy since you're so obviously flat chested yourself."
Oh that is such a low blow, Eri thought to herself, while biting down on her tongue to keep from announcing her position with her imminent guffaws. Her leg was numb by now, but she didn't care. This whole exchange between Miki and Maki was just too entertaining. The initial regret stemming from the fact that those two were going to call a truce and thus deprive her of seeing more hilarious antics in their repeated attempts to hurt each other without actually brawling openly was pretty much alleviated by this sneak preview of this new game between these two. Such a wonderful source of entertainment.
The voices of the squabbling pair faded as they departed upwards for the main deck. Eri waited for a few moments to make sure that they had really left before cautiously poking her head out from the top of the barrel, peering around warily. She attempted to push herself up and out of the barrel, but her numb leg refused to budge properly, and crumpled back down when she tried to put her weight on it.
"Gah." Eri massaged her numb leg, attempting to force the circulation back into the limb. So focused she was in her endeavor that she didn't notice that someone else had limped down with a minimal amount of noise, and was currently edging over to the shaking barrel she was in (shaking because she was moving around inside of it).
Just when she had regained some sort of sensation in her leg, someone's shadow loomed over her in the dim light, peering into the barrel.
"What the fuck are you doing in a barrel Kamei?"
Eri glanced up to see a pair of wonky eyes squinting down at her. How did Reina manage to find her again?! Eri panicked, and naturally, lashed out instinctively.
Reina fell to the floor clutching her other eye, the as yet unbruised one. Unfortunately, it was not to stay as it was, and would soon be joining its twin in attaining a kind of uniformed duality on the wonky eyed girl's face. Equally unfortunately for her, that wasn't quite the end of it either, since her fall had ended in upending the barrel which Eri was in, the tipped over barrel crashing down on her foot (ow!) as a result. More importantly however, the barrel's current cargo spilled out as well. That's right, Eri fell out when the barrel toppled over...right onto Reina. With a very loud thump.
Assorted moans and groans of pain from both parties were heard. Eri had scraped her elbow and shins when she slid out of the barrel the way she did, but at least her fall had been partially broken by falling onto Reina. Speaking of Reina, her bruised rib was crying foul and burning like crazy from where Eri had impacted face first right onto her chest. And that's not to mention the cricked neck, which the fall did no favors to, or the newly acquired black eye, among various other still-healing injuries.
But that was not to be the end of their encounter, of course. Pain was one thing, but public humiliation was quite another altogether.
"Oy Tanaka, I didn't know you were into S&M. Tough love huh? And a bottom too...guess the wild ones are quiet in bed, and the quiet ones are real spitfires eh?" No prizes for guessing who said that. Reina wanted to die right there right now. As if being continually injured because of one psychotic turtle wasn't enough, now Fujimoto got to lord it over her with her crazy logic. If she were able to right now, she would be picking up her harpoon and leaving several holes in the smirking woman at the ladder.
Eri gave up and just fainted there and then. It was easier than having to deal with such pesky little things as consciousness or possibly going berserk. Reina wasn't as fortunate, and had to deal with the pain and humiliation alone while fully awake and all too aware of her circumstances. Damn Kamei, damn Fujimoto, damn it all.
Life was just hard like that.
~*~*~
It was evening, just as the last embers of the sun were in the process of fading below the horizon. The eerie twilight effect that came as a result cast peculiarly shaded shadows that played across the cobblestones leading up to the west gate of the capital city. The walls loomed high over the lone traveler on horseback, a proud grey steed that seemed at once fierce and restrained at the same time, as if the strength and wildness were only temporarily contained within, ready to be unleashed at a moment's notice.
The rider however, showed no signs of the same synergy of strength and purpose, at least not on the surface. The heavy travelling cloak, with the hood up, was so voluminous that it appeared to swallow up the slight form of the traveler, leaving no indication as to their gender or trade. Only the hands and boot-shod feet were exposed, and those hands were gloved, the leather straps reaching further up beyond the wrist and on to part of the forearm, crisscrossing in a strangely compelling pattern.
Whoever the traveler was, he or she rode easily, with the experienced grace and ease of one used to riding, barely even bothering to keep a tight grip on the reins, allowing the horse to move forward with just the barest of guidance in terms of direction. It bespoke of the trust and bond between steed and rider, not one that could be achieved all that quickly or easily.
The gate guards, lazing around idly as not many travelers usually passed by at this time, snapped to attention as the approaching hoofbeats grew louder. The traveler eased to a stop right before the guard tower, tugging in almost gently on the reins.
"Halt! Who goes there, and what is your business in the city?" One of the guards came out to stand before the traveler, his pike brandished menacingly in front of him as he squinted in the growing darkness to try and identify the unknown figure.
There was an almost pregnant pause as the guard waited expectantly, though the figure did not move at first. Then there was a shift within the cloak as one hand reached inside, as if to take hold of something. The guard tightened his grip on his pike even as his partner joined him by his side.
The traveler brandished no weapon however, much to their relief. Instead, what the hand brought out and balanced carefully in the palm was an intricately carved silver amulet.
"I come in peace, for my people." The voice was soft, and it betrayed the gender of the traveler. The older gate guard, who had joined his comrade later, sucked in a breath before letting it out explosively. His reply was carefully modulated.
"I greet a whirlwind upon the far plains, a chaser of the wind's shadow. May your travels be swift on the grasslands." The ritual greeting appeared to please the rider, who returned the greeting, and the veteran looked relieved as he asked respectfully.
"What brings a princess of the old clans down to the city?"
"Troubled times, good man. Will you allow me passage?" Her voice did not raise over her initial volume, and sounded almost pleasant as she tucked her amulet back for safekeeping.
There was a quick, uncertain glance in between the guards, before the reply came. "Of course. Please enter."
"Thank you. Good riding to you too." She nudged her horse forward, and it trotted forward into the city at a steady clip, leaving the gate behind after only a few moments.
The old veteran wiped away the sweat on his brow, even as his partner turned on him curiously.
"What was that all about?" The older guard shot a contemptuous look at the youngster for his ignorance.
"Haven't you heard of the roaming clans up north and west? The clansmen all carry woven amulets depicting their affiliation."
"One of the full-blooded Highlanders?" The younger guard had his eyes wide. "But why did you seem so nervous? And what's with the princess thing anyway?"
The older man gave him an irritated glance. "Don't you know anything at all? I sure as hell wouldn't want to offend someone from the old clans, they're a savage people. As for why I addressed her that way, well, each of the clans has its own chief, and those of a clan chief's family bear silver amulets, much like the one you just saw. They're the closest thing to a noble class amongst those people, and even the Empire recognises them as part of the aristocracy."
"Oh wow, I didn't know that." The younger man seemed awed, but the veteran just sighed, taking on a lecturing tone.
"Many things out there that you don't know, boy. Keep your eyes and ears open, it'll do you good."
Wise words indeed.
=========================================
Gah I'm so damn tired, I won't even add a funny corner at the end. GAH. -brain melted-
Reina: Damn you Estrea, you let Eri give me another black eye.
Me: Ugh, whatever. Too tired to argue with you.
Reina: And you let Miki rag on me!
Me: Whatever, you asked for it. -yawn-
Reina: -__-# -cracks knuckles-
Me: Aw, damn. -too exhausted to run away-
Eri: -watches Estrea being thrashed- Eh, right. Well, Essy says that she'll put up the next chapter after she recovers...eventually. Yeah, and she wishes that you guys found the chapter entertaining. It's over 9000 words long after all... hey Reina, don't kill Estrea, we sort of need her for later.
Topic: All Aboard! [Chapter 26! --sorry for the wait] (Read 101479 times)