Chapter 24Risa had been understandably shocked when she saw what happened to Eri and that harpoon-toting girl...Reina, was that her name? Anyway, she had been rightfully stunned to see that something had happened between them yet again, and that it had resulted in violence towards Reina's person (much less severe than previously, but to say that Reina escaped completely unscathed would be a lie).
Risa didn't get it. While she couldn't claim to know Eri all that well, they were sort of friends and all, and the Eri that Risa knew wasn't at all a violent person. Eri had seemed more like the type to avoid conflict, not seek it...or create it, in this case. In any case, Risa was certain that it was most likely Reina's fault for causing the friction between them. Still, to see that poor girl get roughed up repeatedly made Risa feel just a tad more sympathy towards her. No one should suffer like that really.
"What are you thinking about?" A soft voice called from behind her, making Risa jump and drop the coil of rope she had been putting back in place.
"Ehhhhhh!!!!" Risa half turned around to see Ai standing behind her. "Ai-chan! You startled me." Saying that, the younger girl stooped down and picked up the fallen rope, putting it back in place before straightening up to face her...wife. Darn, it was still so hard to think of her that way, Risa groused inwardly.
"Are you tired? You didn't sleep long after you got in this morning..." Ai looked concerned, and almost as if the mere mention of it had evoked the response, Risa yawned on reflex, the action making her slap her hands over her mouth to stifle it as she looked sheepishly at the older girl.
"Um, well, I can get by. I'm not that tired, really!" Risa waved her hands around in the air, trying to convince her skeptical partner that she was perfectly fine.
"But you look pale. Are you sure you're fine?" Risa quickly moved her hands to her face. "Pale? What? No? I, uh..." A rosy blush somehow managed to surface on her cheeks as she got flustered, before she suddenly shivered and sneezed. Ai suddenly looked worried as she stepped closer.
"Did you catch a cold? Didn't you use that blanket I gave you last night?" She fussed over the younger girl, who blushed harder and tried to ignore the stuffy sensation in her nose.
Trying to reassure her concerned wife, Risa started. "Really Ai-chan, I'm fine, and I did use that blanket you gave me and...ATCHOO!" Another violent sneeze and shiver. "But uh, it was freezing last night..." She finished lamely, and sniffed loudly, trying her best to rid herself of that horrible blocked feeling in her nasal passages.
"And you haven't been getting enough sleep, that's why!" Kei suddenly materialised out from nowhere to appear next to them, startling the couple. The doctor looked critically at the pale-faced Risa, poking and prodding a little during her examination, before concluding with "It's not too bad yet, but you should get some rest and warm yourself up first. And no more night watch until you get better!" She ended with a stern look that cowed Risa, who mindlessly and instinctively replied submissively with...
"Yes Baba-chan..." Ai blinked at her, clearly remembering during one of their 'getting to know each other' talks that Risa addressed her grandmother that way. At that memory, the young woman quickly pressed a hand to her mouth, trying to hold back her laughter.
Kei twitched once. Twice. Three times. And four. Mari, who had happened to be passing nearby and had witnessed the tag end of the situation, immediately clued in on the imminent danger to Risa, so she moved quickly. The tiny pirate quickly caught hold of Kei's arms from behind with one hand at first, while using the other hand to shove Risa into Ai while mouthing "run away!" to the pair, before trying to awkwardly haul a slightly catatonic Kei away to a safer area.
The young couple managed to stumble away to the stern of the ship, Ai openly giggling now, and Risa joining in even as she realised what she had just called Kei earlier. The pair were laughing so hard that they barely noticed that they were holding each other in an effort to stay upright.
"I can't believe...you called her...an obaasan..." Ai spluttered in between fits of giggles, her hands resting on Risa's shoulders as she tried to steady herself from going off balance from too much laughing. Risa burst out in more laughter at the statement, also not quite believing that she really did call Kei that by accident. A thought struck the younger girl, and she gave voice to it with a thoughtful tone.
"But she does look and act like one..." At that, both Ai and Risa very nearly doubled over laughing, practically leaning on each other now as they tried to regain their breath, only to lose it again with yet another fit of chuckles. Ai's arms were looped loosely around the back of Risa's neck by now, an unconscious move as she had tried to steady herself, while Risa's arms quite naturally encircled Ai's waist in response. Both of them didn't even realise the kind of position they were in until they had finally managed to cool down with their amusement of the situation.
The tip of Risa's ears turned slightly pink when she finally realised how closely she was pressed against a suddenly quiet Ai, who apparently had also realised the kind of position they were in. The older girl had her head bowed, so Risa couldn't see her expression, but whatever she was thinking about, she wasn't letting go either, and so Risa, against her better judgment, simply clung on to Ai (
well she's my wife, I have ever right to hug her! a part of Risa protested, not without justification). Neither of them made a move, or a sound either. Risa was too nervous to do or say anything, and who knew what Ai was thinking?
"Ne Mame-chan..." Risa had accidentally let slip that childhood nickname during their conversations, and Ai had liked it so much that she often slipped back to using it as her own personal pet name for Risa. Risa would never admit it, but she kind of liked the way her Ai-chan said it. Anyway, Ai was continuing to speak, so Risa quickly tuned back in attentively.
"You know...you don't have to avoid sleeping in the same bed as me...I don't really mind all that much..." Ai's voice progressively dwindled down to something just barely above a mumble, and her face had turned quite a nice shade of red even as she tried not to look directly at Risa's face, clearly embarrassed by what she had just said.
As for Risa, her brain had just imploded upon processing just exactly what the older girl had meant in that statement. Was Ai-chan really, really ok with the whole, uh, thing that happens whenever they share a bed? Risa still couldn't figure out how, or just why, she usually ended up pulling a Fujimoto on Ai-chan in her sleep whenever they were in the same bed together. She wasn't that perverted, was she?! Her brain melted down even more at that possibility. Ugggh.
Ai had flushed deeply down to the very roots of her hair at her own bold move. Whatever had possessed her to say that? She had agreed with Risa before that they should take it slow and get to know each other first before anything else happened, and that had been what they were doing, getting to know each other better, and just hanging around like a pair of normal friends and chatting about anything and everything. Actually, apart from Makoto, Ai couldn't think of any other person whom she could just chatter away like that as she did with Risa. That fact alone made her feel a bit closer to the younger girl, and she could almost forget about the whole being married part by focusing solely on the budding friendship, but it became impossible to ignore after the first night they spent in the same bed.
Ai was still rather mystified over Makoto's insistence that Risa get into bed with her actually. Even more suspiciously, Risa seemed uncharacteristically jittery around Makoto, being more nervous than necessary really. Did something happen between them that she missed?
Regardless, waking up with Risa's hands in interesting positions for the first few mornings, while partly amusing due to Risa's utter panic and mortification, it was mostly still strangely...arousing to have the younger girl that intimately close to her. Not that she could get up the guts to admit that openly, but she had accidentally alluded to it anyway with her little semi-confession earlier. She couldn't help but wonder if it was a little premature to drop hints like that, but it was a little too late to take back those words now in any case.
Risa had a glazed look on her face, Ai noted, and she briefly worried if she had knocked the girl senseless with the inadvertent insinuation. She was just about to pinch Risa's cheeks to check for signs of life when the younger girl suddenly returned back to reality, her eyes clearing and focusing with a strangely intense expression on a slightly startled Ai.
"Do you...really mean that?" Risa whispered almost timidly, her cheeks reddening even as her brain, already turned to mush from the overload, started acting on autopilot. Unconsciously, her arms tightened ever so slightly around Ai's waist, pulling them still closer. Their faces were about an inch apart from each other, and both of them suddenly felt very warm despite the breeze.
"Um, I..." Ai was about to reply when out of the blue something, or rather,
someone interrupted them.
"What do we have here?" Kaori said a tad too cheerfully even as Risa glared ferociously at her for the untimely interruption. The old saw that there wasn't any privacy on board ship was true after all. Terribly inconvenient, but true. Definitely unfortunate for couples seeking privacy.
"None of your business!" Both girls snapped on reflex, making Kaori blink in surprise. "Oho, I'm not welcome?" Then the tall pirate shrugged. "Ah, whatever, I'm not interested in intruding anyway. Just swung by to let you know that Kei said that you," she looked at Risa, "shouldn't spread your cold around while you have it."
Risa waved the warning off with one hand. "Ok ok I get it, now will you please go away?"
Kaori grinned suddenly. "I don't think you understand." At the perplexed expressions on the faces of the younger girls before her, she smilingly explained.
"That means that you shouldn't be going around kissing your wife while you're in this state~" Kaori looked rather evilly gleeful at her nonchalant pronouncement. Risa paled before turning a very vivid shade of red, and Ai looked away, her face equally crimson, if not more.
"I wasn't going to do that!" Risa protested in a squeaky voice, then sniffled again. The air pressure felt weird somehow, and it was getting colder for some reason. Well, actually, the reason was pretty much obvious if one were to look out into the horizon. The sky was darkening in the middle of the day, and that could only mean that there was a storm coming. The imminent change in weather wasn't making Risa feel any better physically either.
"If you say so." Kaori was smiling in a knowing sort of way, making the youngsters squirm on the spot. Deciding not to torment them further, she looked out over the rail, taking gauge of the weather. "Hmm, it looks like bad weather's coming. I think we might need to find a safe spot to anchor in soon, otherwise we better drop the sea anchors, batter down the hatches, and go below. I'll go talk to the captain, you two lovebirds try to control yourself until the brat gets better, ok?" She concluded that with a sly little wink, making Risa splutter incoherently in response.
"I'm not a brat!" Risa complained loudly as Kaori cheerfully sauntered off. The younger girl sighed deeply as she disengaged herself from Ai.
"You better go below first. I'm sure the captain will have lots of work for us to do with that storm on our tail." Risa mumbled glumly. Ai nodded, the fierce blush on her cheeks finally subsiding to a normal, healthy shade of pink.
"I'll see you later then. Take care of yourself!" Ai stepped forward and quickly planted a soft kiss on Risa's cheek, before turning away faster than anyone could blink and running off, leaving a very stunned Risa standing stock still on the spot. It was several minutes before she regained control of her senses again, and that was only because Mari chucked something at her head while passing by, scolding her for skiving on her shift.
A silly grin edged its way onto Risa's face, and the girl smiled foolishly to herself again, heedless of the fact that Yossi, who was nearby, was giving her odd looks. Her hand went to caress the cheek that Ai had kissed earlier, and she giggled cutely again at the memory. She didn't even notice that Maki was walking straight in her direction, but she was made painfully aware of that fact when Maki picked her up by the scruff of her neck and shook her roughly.
"Oy brat, quit daydreaming about your pretty wife and get back to work!" Risa squeaked pitifully and whimpered in response, even as her mind couldn't help but wonder
'how did she know I was thinking about Ai-chan?'Not wanting to tempt Maki's wrath, Risa quickly scrambled off to get down to work with the rest of the sailors, even as the first rolls of thunder boomed in the distance, heralding the impending arrival of the thunderstorm. It looked to be a nasty one too.
However, even the prospect of being rained on couldn't dull the euphoria welling up in Risa's heart. That foolish grin remained on her face the entire time she was at work, prompting snide remarks from certain people (namely Miki). She couldn't care less though. She was too happy to care.
Funny how simple gestures like that could put a person on cloud nine.
~*~*~
Kill the enemy.A familiar dream. The same one she had lived with most of her life. That they all lived with.
Leave no survivors.She couldn't remember what came before she was brought into camp along with the others.
Obey orders. Do not question.The past did not matter, they were taught. Only the present did, serving whomever was their master. There was no past for them, nor any future.
You are weapons for our master.That's what they were. Tools. Dispensable. Living weapons forged in the dark, doomed to live and die in the shadows.
Life is cheap.How could it not be, when they were taught the myriad ways to quench that fragile flame of human life? It was too easy, far too easy to kill. But it applied to them too. Life, especially their lives, were cheap as well. No one would mourn their passing, for they did not exist in the eyes of the general public. There wouldn't even be a grave for them when they died.
We were born in death, and forged in blood.Plucked off the streets, starving orphans that wouldn't have made it past winter. As good as dead, and given a second chance at life. A life soaked in blood and death, the blood of innocents---no, the enemy, on their hands. It was far easier to think of them as nameless foes with menacing intent. Not that they were human, with real lives and real emotions.
Hell awaits us, sinners beyond redemption.That terrifying conclusion, of the burning flames of Hell licking at her skin, the ghastly specters of those she had slaughtered in cold blood coming back to haunt her, their ghostly hands clawing at her feet, hauling her into the eternal damnation she so richly deserved. Their groans of pain, their twisted faces, their blood covering where her blades ate into their yielding flesh......those faces, demanding retribution. The worst were the children. That child. That accusing look on that stonily innocent face.
Give me my life back. Give us our lives back. Unearthly wails. That overwhelming guilt...too much to take... Their voices swamped her.
She screamed, as she always did in that final scene...
...and woke up, shaking and sweating, in her own bed. The dorm was dark and silent, and no one else stirred in their sleep. She was grateful that no one else had heard her scream. She couldn't deal with their sympathy now, not when they were all suffering the same guilt as they carried out their deadly work in the shadows, day after day, until the time came when they either died on a mission or outlived their usefulness, whichever came first. She didn't want to seem weak in front of her comrades.
"Miya-chan?" A small voice whispered by her side, and Miyabi blinked when she realised that Risako had somehow crawled under the covers next to her before she had woken up due to that horrid nightmare.
"Rii-chan? Can't sleep?" Miyabi forced the shakiness and sheer terror of that nightmare out of her voice, not wanting to upset the younger girl curled up right next to her.
"You were doing it again." Risako whispered, edging closer and wrapping her arms around Miyabi, who stiffened at that knowing tone in the younger's voice. Risako knew that she had terrible nightmares at times, and would slip over under the covers with her whenever that happened, offering a kind of moral support by staying close. Miyabi appreciated the comfort, although for the sake of her reputation they had let it be known that Risako was the one who couldn't sleep and was seeking Miyabi's company, when the opposite was true in reality.
Sometimes Miyabi wondered if the others knew about their little flimflammery. Given their training, they couldn't have not known about her jerking awake in a frenzy after one of those particularly violent nightmares, but if they did notice, they gave no sign of it. Perhaps they were being considerate, and Miyabi was grateful for that. She wanted to reserve that tiny bit of dignity left for herself.
"Was it bad? It's about the latest one again, isn't it?" Risako murmured sympathetically, leaning her head on Miyabi's chest even as the older girl stroked her hair.
"Yeah..." Miyabi didn't need to say more, trying to calm herself down while pushing away those dreams of blood and guilt. She didn't want to deal with all those issues. She couldn't afford to. It would paralyze her if she tried, and it would get her killed if she hesitated on the field again. The first and last time she had tried reconciling her internal conflict, she had very nearly gotten herself killed when she couldn't bring herself to deal the finishing blow. Had Captain not stepped in at the crucial moment and done it for her, she wouldn't be here at all today.
"Just sleep now Rii-chan." Miyabi muttered to Risako abruptly, although her tone was gentle. Risako made a small sound of acknowledgment and snuggled close, never letting go of the older girl. Miyabi smiled faintly in the dark at that. Risako was lucky. She had not yet had to make any upclose kills the way most of them had, and thus was spared the real horror of seeing a human life slowly fading away after that fatal strike. They were all protecting her, Miyabi realised with a wry smile. Captain always found a way not to let Risako into the fray somehow, and often, her, Maasa and Momoko would take turns to spontaneously volunteer to go assassinate whatever person was the latest target before their handler could even think of nominating Risako for the job. Even Yurina and Chinami often kept Risako safe with them on the sidelines as backup whenever they had any large missions that mobilised all of them. Hell, when Maiha was still around, she too watched over Risako like a hawk in between teasing the poor girl mercilessly. They all wanted the youngest member of their team safe, one way or another.
The whole squad was tainted with blood and death, but Risako, the youngest of them all, was the least steeped in sin compared to the rest of them. And Miyabi intended to keep it that way. In a way, Risako was still innocent, somehow, despite their line of work, and that alone was rare enough. Miyabi wanted, needed to protect that. It kept her sane somehow. All of them felt that way, probably.
If we all had to go to hell, we want to save you first and spare you our fate. That was what they all thought. That maybe, keeping one soul pure would absolve a little of their own personal guilt and torment. Miyabi's reason was a lot more simple though.
Because I don't want to see you hurt and cry, Rii-chan. I'll protect you, no matter what.Yes, even against Hell itself. This was one soul it would not claim, if Miyabi had anything to do with it.
Let all the sin fall on me so you can remain pure forever.~*~*~
Reina, despite her earlier humiliation and pain suffered below decks, was currently hard at work with the rest of the crew as the storm howled in with a particular ferocity. A ferocity that matched her inner fury. A fury that had everything to do with a certain turtle who was busy hauling in on the ropes connected to the sails.
What was turtle girl's problem anyway?! Reina growled to herself as she lifted one of the heavy sea anchors with Mari's help, preparing to lower it to anchor the ship in the middle of the sea so that they could ride out the storm safely. Her muscles ached with the effort, and she winced painfully as they hefted the anchor over the rail and into the sea. Damn injuries, and damn Kamei for being a walking calamity for her. The wonky eyed girl had been studiously maintaining at least a 5 feet distance from the jittery turtle, who kept shooting nervous glances in her direction.
It pissed her off that Kamei was always so...hostile with her. She had learned after that first beating that trying to fight the girl probably wouldn't be a good idea, so she had grudgingly dropped the issue of trying to get even with her with more physical means. Given that they were shipmates now, Reina figured that she should try to clear up the bad blood between them, since she knew that it wasn't a good idea to hold grudges with people you were going to be living and working with for weeks, even months on end. It wasn't very productive for team spirit that way.
So she had tried to seek Kamei out, try to talk to her and clear things up. Emphasis on try. For some reason that Reina had yet to figure out, that insufferable turtle never appeared to be listening to her, and her attempts to get her attention (raising her voice, gesticulating wildly) only ended with said turtle disappearing on her in a flash. How was she going to talk to someone who refused to stay still and pay attention to her? It was extremely frustrating for the wonky eyed pirate.
But she didn't give up easily. Reina was not so easily beaten. She could be patient. She learned a lot of patience in fishing. She could deal with one recalcitrant turtle, never mind that this turtle was probably the most violent one she had ever encountered. She wiped angrily at her face with her sleeve, wincing slightly as the fabric brushed over the sore spot that had been newly inflicted there. Great, just when the first bruise on her face was beginning to fade, that damn turtle had to go and add a new one to match.
And the rain wasn't helping. Reina glared upwards at the threatening sky, even as another crack of thunder split that stormy face above. The torrential downpour came in an instant, solid curtains of water slamming down from the heavens above. The wind screeched in an unearthly wail as the stormy sea beneath them rolled and pitched around, heaving up like a woman in labour, sending those on the deck scrambling around trying to keep their footing on the slippery surface.
Reina caught hold of the rail, trying to steady herself even as the rain practically blinded her in its ferocity. Blinking the water rapidly out of her eyes, she could just dimly make out the tiny figure of Mari teetering away and clinging on to one of the ropes to avoid being blown off the ship by the wind. Several of the others were also holding on to something solid and trying to stay upright even as the ship was tossed around on the waves, the anchors only doing a minimal job of keeping them in the same place.
"Everyone go below now!" Someone was bellowing over the howling wind. A sensible suggestion, since it didn't make much sense to stay out here and get soaked needlessly. Some of them were already inching their way towards the hatch leading down, eager to escape the unrelenting rain. The sea continue to froth and foam as great waves licked over the sides of the Red Dawn, splashing salty brine all over Reina as a result, making her splutter and choke as she cursed loudly.
Reina hated storms. They reminded her too much of that fateful day when her entire family, extended family and all, had perished in a violent thunderstorm, the gale-force winds throwing their vessel around like a child's toy on the raging sea, dashing it helplessly against submerged reefs, the hull ripping open with a sickening crack. The worried face of her mother, who told her not to be afraid, to be brave, to be strong and survive. Her father had carried her, big man that he was, his cherished harpoon strapped to his back as he leaped overboard with her in his arms, trying to make it out into the sea far enough to avoid getting pulled under with the wreck.
The surface of the sea was raging, but below the waves all was serene. She was small, forced under the waves after that first jump into the sea, but she feared not.
Father was with her, held her in his arms. The sea was home for her, never mind that it was busy throwing a temper tantrum at this time. There was nothing to fear, they would get over this. Father was strong. The sea, unforgiving and merciless as it may seem now, would eventually return to its normal, soothing self. She was not afraid.
Sound was muted underwater, and everything seemed very far away. That didn't remain so for long, when Father brought her and himself up to the surface for a breath. Lightning shot across the fearsome skies above, thunder roaring in their wake. The sound of heavy raindrops meeting its salty cousin was deafening to her, a noisy staccato that drowned out all other sound, apart from the crashing thunder that boomed overhead.
The current was strong, pulling them into that vortex that their sinking ship generated as it lurched downwards, collapsing in on itself. Father fought against the current. He was strong. Reina wasn't weak either, trying to stay afloat on her own strength and not burden her father too much. But where was Mother?
Father must have had the same thought, since he kept looking backwards towards the wreck. Some people were being sucked under with it, but several others were also swimming desperately away to escape. They were marginally safe from being pulled under now, being far enough away from that deadly whirlpool. But surely Mother must have made it too?
"Stay here Reina, I'll look for your mother." Father had told her loudly over the noise, making her cling onto a loose wooden board that must have been ripped off their now sinking ship. Her nervous expression even as she bravely clung on to the board, trying to stay afloat, must have softened her old man up a little, since he embraced her again, before shrugging off his harpoon and pressed it into his daughter's hands.
"Pretend that's your old father for a while, I won't be long." Reina gripped the familiar tool firmly, nodding bravely and making a determined face. Her father turned and dived under, swimming with powerful strokes back towards the sinking ship. Reina hung onto the board, occasionally kicking out to ensure she stayed in approximately the same area where her father had left her, so that he would know where to find her when he returned with Mother.
He never came back.Gritting her teeth, Reina shoved those painful memories back into the very back of her mind and shut the door over it. It wasn't time to be thinking of her tragic past in the middle of a thunderstorm. Her head lowered, the wonky eyed pirate was just about to start off towards the hatch when yet another mighty wave rocked the ship, sending her sprawling backwards and hitting the rail painfully. But at the very least, she managed to stay on her feet, and more importantly, on the ship.
Eri wasn't so lucky. The turtle girl had been a few feet away from her, having let go of the rail in order to head towards the relative safety of the hatch leading below decks. She had just about lost her footing, sliding backwards on the slippery planks, when that wave had hit, making her trip even more and almost flinging her over the rail and into the sea, an arm's length from where Reina was holding on to the rail.
Reina didn't even think. She crossed that short distance in an instant, her free hand reaching out to grab for Eri, managing to snag the turtle girl's left arm. The weight and force of the fall nearly pulled her over too, but Reina gritted her teeth together and reached blindly for her harpoon, plunging the sharp end into the weathered wood under her feet in order to keep her ground even as she kept a firm grip on Eri's wrist.
"Hang on!" The wonky eyed girl yelled at Eri, pulling back with all her might. Her grip was slippng with every second, given that the rain was making everything too slick and slippery to hold on to. She had just about lost her hold on Eri's wrist when the turtle's other hand swung upwards to grip at the rail. Reina fell backwards and landed on her butt, even as Eri slowly hauled herself back over and onto the safety of the ship, collapsing in a soggy heap next to Reina.
"Thanks..." Eri breathed out gratefully, panting heavily as she faced Reina. The wonky eyed girl snorted derisively, replying with a grouchy "whatever", before crawling onto her knees and retrieving her harpoon, then grabbing hold of Eri's arm once again and dragging her towards the waiting hatch.
A storm had changed Reina's life once before. Another storm might have just changed it again.
Truly a child of the sea, Tanaka Reina was.
~*~*~
Far away in the capital city, the sun was shining down with a particularly pleasant warmth, not too hot nor too cold. The weather was fine, and the streets were bustling with life and energy.
Konno Asami walked down the streets, cheerfully greeting the vendors she was familiar with as she passed, and they called out greetings in return, pleased by the acknowledgment. They weren't so fond of the rather obtrusive chaperones trailing behind the young inventor though, but kept their expressions neutral when they passed. Konkon didn't like the fact that the Imperials found it necessary to send guards around with her even when she was only out for a short trip either, but had to put up with it. That was her life now, she had to accept it and move on.
Her destination today was the smithy, since she needed to speak with the blacksmith there and pick up her order of specially designed parts for her work. Normally, someone would fetch the goods for her, but today she chose to come out on her own since she found it necessary to consult with someone who had a better knowledge of working with metals than she did.
There was only so much one could learn from books after all. Sometimes it was better to go straight to the source and ask the people who dealt with those matters every single day of their lives. It was always rather rewarding to listen to the common tradesmen skilled in their specific crafts, since it gave her a better insight into how things worked. The aristocracy and scholarly elite might turn up snobbish noses at the notion of communicating with common folk, but Konkon had never had any qualms about humbly asking peasants and craftsmen about their work and daily experiences in order to learn more about how the world worked.
There was more wisdom out among the peasants than the nobility realised. Sure, they might be superstitious and backward-thinking, but the people as a whole had knowledge passed down from ages past, and often possessed more useful information than one would think. If only one would listen, one could learn many things. That was the real secret behind Konkon's success as an inventor.
The inventor stopped in front of the smithy, already feeling the heat of the forges burning merrily away from outside. A red-faced man looked up and smiled at his long-time customer. "Good day Konno-san! I'll get those parts for you right away." The portly blacksmith put down his tools, leaving his apprentice to practice banging away on the heated iron with a perplexed expression on that young face.
The middle-aged man came out bearing a crate, putting it down carefully next to the girl, who gestured to her chaperones to take charge of it even as she paid the blacksmith in gold for his work. "How is your wife, Okada-san?" She asked politely, remembering from her last visit that the woman had been in worse health as of late.
The man pulled a glum face. "Not well, I'm afraid. The doctor came by the other day, but he can't do anything more than to make sure it doesn't get even worse. Old illness, I'm afraid. Yui has to take care of her mother most of the time too."
"Ah, I'm sorry about that. I hope your wife gets well soon then." Konno replied sincerely, and the man smiled faintly in thanks, before getting serious again as he barked at his hapless apprentice for hammering at the hunk of metal wrongly. He then turned back to his visitor.
"So, why did you come out here today? I assume you have more business with me?" The girl nodded seriously.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I would like to ask..." The young inventor launched into her subject matter with a great deal of enthusiasm, and soon the oddly mismatched pair was discussing matters pertaining to metalwork, although the blacksmith broke off often to chide his struggling apprentice and offer advice to help the poor young man along with his work, much to Konkon's amusement.
"Daddy! I'm going to Auntie's place now!" A youthful, almost bubbly voice called out, interrupting their conversation. The blacksmith turned to smile at his daughter, a beautiful, busty young girl with long curly hair. "How is your mother?" The girl's face fell a little.
"She just fell asleep, but there's not much change." The man nodded.
"Take care of yourself and help your aunt!" He said sternly, and his daughter giggled, rushing up to hug her father and kiss him on the cheek.
"Bye daddy! And good day to you too Konno-san!" Konkon smiled back at her.
"You too Yui-chan!" The young inventor watched as Yui bounced off, many other eyes (mostly male) also following her progress. Her lips twitched in amusement. Yui was one of her more normal acquaintances outside of her current job, not quite friends yet maybe, but they were as close as they could possibly be with Konkon's only occasional visits and such. The inventor liked the girl though. Yui's sometimes warped sense of humor amused her. Clearly the girl was not quite as brainless as some men might want to believe, and Konkon tried to gently guide Yui onto the path of learning whenever she could. The inventor's love for knowledge extended to spreading it as well.
Shrugging slightly, she paid her farewells to the blacksmith, preparing to head off home.
It looked to be another busy day ahead.
~*~*~
The storm had blown over finally, but it had also blown them off course. Not to mention the damage it caused to the ship. Or the drama below decks while they were waiting out the storm.
Those who had been out when the storm hit were all drenched and soaked to the skin, naturally. One pair had been Aya and Miki, the latter quite unashamedly staring at Aya with undivided attention because the younger's shirt was clinging to her like a second skin, prompting several slaps from when the groping demon had tried to gleefully peel off Aya's clothes on the pretext that they needed changing. Several punches, kicks, and a waved threat by gunblade later, Aya blindfolded Miki and shoved the older woman to one side, prompting a cheeky remark from Miki. "Oooo so you like it like that?" Which had promptly earned her another foot to her stomach, leaving her gasping for breath while Aya speedily stripped and dried off, before changing into dry clothing.
Frankly, Miki just didn't know when to stop, since when it was her turn to change, she had tried to get Aya's attention by performing an inpromptu striptease in front of her, much to Aya's profound consternation. The younger had tried to close her eyes and turn away, but it was a bit difficult when Miki had very neatly cornered her on the bed, already half naked and practically sitting on Aya's lap, all while taunting her with "what, you shy or something?". That had forced Aya's pride to come to the fore, and she stared with a peculiar ferocity at Miki's face, refusing to back down or show any embarrassment in front of a smirking Miki.
"Like what you see?" Miki had drawled quite flirtatiously, backing Aya even further up until there wasn't any space left to retreat. Aya glared at Miki then.
"You're getting the sheets wet, you fool." To which Miki had flippantly replied "Oh, I'll get you
wet alright." She finished with a sexy wink, pressing closer until she was nose to nose with a still defiant Aya, who was now blushing faintly despite her best attempts to control it. Miki smirked and tried to close the distance for a kiss, only to pause when she found that Aya's hands were on her as well.
"Finally getting with the game eh, sweetheart?" Miki grinned devilishly at Aya, who smiled back coldly. "Oh yes."
Miki suddenly become very aware that something sharp was pressing against her abdomen. She looked down curiously, only to see that Aya had stolen one of her hidden knives and was currently resting the pointy end against the smooth skin of her stomach. As if to emphasise that she really was serious, Aya pressed the blade in just a tiny bit more, not quite piercing the skin, but definitely putting pressure on it. Miki swallowed nervously, giving vent to an ironic chuckle as she belatedly remembered Yossi's warning to her some time ago. "Don't push it with that girl so much, or she'll stab you with your own knives!" It seems that Yossi had been right on that score. Miki would make sure to pay more attention to her friend next time.
"No need to get violent honey." Miki murmured placatingly, withdrawing just a little to give Aya some breathing space. "I was just trying to be friendly."
"Friendly my ass. Get off me already." Aya said flatly, the knife in her hands being all the emphasis she needed. Reluctantly Miki slid off Aya, still barely dressed while eyeing the younger with a peculiar expression bordering on respect, given that Aya had managed to turn the tables on her once again by stealing one of her hidden blades. No one had ever done that to her before. Regrouping almost instantly now that her life wasn't in immediate danger, Miki suddenly grinned again.
"Are you sure you don't like what you see?" Aya rolled her eyes ceilingward, playing with the dagger in her hands.
"I would be a little more impressed if your chest weren't as flat." Aya spat back insultingly, deliberately looking quite boldly at Miki's face, watching for the older's reaction.
To her credit, Miki didn't so much as wince at that insult towards her figure. Instead, she just grinned roguishly back at Aya. "In that case, why don't you show me yours to tell the difference?" Aya's grip on the dagger hilt tightened even as she briefly contemplated stabbing Miki repeatedly. She had just managed to rein in her homicidal instincts just as Maki, who was on the other side of the room (partitioned by a curtain), called out in response to Miki, having easily overheard the conversation between the two.
"Anyone with eyes knows that Aya's better endowed anyway!" The twins, who had been listening in next door, loudly agreed with Maki. Yossi would have agreed too, being in the same room as the twins, had she not noticed Rika's distinctly steely expression, which persuaded her to keep her mouth shut. Better not to tempt fate. The boyish pirate sighed and obediently allowed Rika to dry her off, while avidly listening in on Aya and Miki's conversation in the next room. Entertainment at its best there.
But back to where the action was. Miki snorted at Maki's interruption, snapping back with, "Oh and how would you know that, you oblivious fool?!" Clearly sniping at Maki's lack of acknowledgment to her relationship, or lack thereof in this case, with Nacchi. The response to that came swiftly, if a little unthinkingly.
"Of course I know! I've seen Aya naked bef--oops." Maki cut herself off when she realised what she just said. Nacchi was looking at Maki with a strange expression. "You never told me about that." The older woman murmured, while Maki hung her head sheepishly, trying to find the right words to explain. "Um..."
Aya, meanwhile, was seething over on the other side of the curtain.
"GOTO MAKI YOU IDIOT!" With that, Aya chucked the dagger she was holding in Maki's general direction, not caring if she hurt her friend or not. Maki yelped when the dagger thunked into the wood next to her head.
"Sorry Aya, I promise I'll never speak of it again!" Aya growled.
"Keep talking and there won't
be a next time." Maki accordingly fell silent and huddled close to Nacchi, fearing for her life.
Miki had a conflicted expression on her face even as she grabbed a towel to dry herself off, before pulling on fresh clothes absently, momentarily forgetting that she had been trying to taunt Aya.
"Hey, how come she got to see you naked, but I don't?" Miki asked, sitting down next to Aya on the bed, now fully clothed. Aya turned away, folding her arms with a frown.
"I don't want to talk about it." Miki raised her hands placatingly, before shuffling a little closer to rest her chin on Aya's shoulder.
"So, who else has seen you naked?" Aya growled again. "I told you I don't want to talk about it!" Miki ignored her.
"One? A few? Many? Come on, just tell me~" Miki fake-pleaded, putting on best whine and pouting childishly. Aya glowered out of the corner of her eye at Miki, but that had barely any effect, as usual. It took a lot to shake Miki off when she was feeling persistent like that.
"No others, ok?" Aya spat out the answer under her breath, trying to push Miki away. The groping demon had one eyebrow raised at the answer.
"None? You're what, 20 years old? Have you even dated or even had a fling with anyone?" Miki sounded incredulous, as if she couldn't believe her ears.
Aya sounded irritated when she replied. "It just never seemed very important before, ok?"
But Miki was already moving on. "So, if you never had any relationships or casual stuff before, does that mean that I stole your first kiss that time back then?" Miki was grinning impishly by now, having gotten off the bed and was now kneeling in front of where Aya was sitting and resting her head and arms in Aya's lap. Aya had pretty much about half-given up on trying to dislodge Miki when she was like that, giving just a little leeway for other forms of contact for when Miki wasn't actively trying to grope her. It had been sort of necessary to adopt that stance after being forced to bunk with Miki.
"Of course not." Aya shot back. A curious expression came onto Miki's face. "Then who did?"
"Um..." Aya shifted uncomfortably, glancing nervously at the curtain separating them from Maki and Nacchi on the other side. Miki caught on to the gesture quickly, putting two and two together. Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Don't tell me it's her..." Miki's tone was halfway between dangerous and jealous. Aya squeezed her eyes shut, which pretty much confirmed Miki's suspicions. The groping demon growled just a little, which drew Aya's attention to her.
"Why do you look so upset by that?" Aya sounded slightly amused by Miki's apparent agitation.
"I'm not upset...just, gah, I can't believe
she, of all people, beat me to it!" Miki pouted like a child whose favorite toy had been snatched from her.
Aya twitched. "You know, I don't understand you at all..."
"Anyway," Miki continued, "I'm going to make sure I get into your pants first."
Aya shifted even more uncomfortably at that, her gaze once more riveted on the curtain. "Actually..." Miki's eyes widened almost comically again.
"WHAT?! Are you telling me she beat me to it TWICE?!" Miki swore long and loud at that, having bounced to her feet at the realisation.
"Beat you to what?" Tsuji's voice floated in from next door. Miki and Aya had been speaking in hushed tones, so they hadn't been able to pick up on the conversation clearly. Talk about unashamed eavesdropping.
"Kids don't need to know about that!" Yossi's voice rang clearly from the other room, the pirate having had a gut feeling about what exactly those two were discussing. Tsuji pouted even as Kago protested. "But we're not that much younger anymore!"
"Oh hush! We can't hear anything else if you keep talking!" Surprisingly, that was Rika's voice. Apparently she was quite interested in the conversation next door too.
Aya and Miki ignored those blatant eavesdroppers. There wasn't much they could do about them anyway. The best they could do was to speak in lowered voices.
"Ugh, can we not talk about this anymore?" Aya muttered irritably, shifting on the bed and partway lying down to rest. Miki crawled in next to her, her expression studiously neutral. Aya shot her the regular "no groping" look, but otherwise did not protest too much at Miki being on the same bed as her. All that bed-sharing the other nights pretty much got her over that little hurdle. Even more shockingly though, Miki complied for once, not even trying to grope Aya, settling instead for snuggling close. Maybe the shock of knowing that she wasn't going to be the one to claim Aya's firsts had unsettled her more than she was revealing.
After a moment of blessed silence that Aya took to savor, it was broken once more by Miki, who had a strangely intent look as she stared at Aya.
"So, how was it?" Aya blinked, not quite comprehending what Miki was referring to at first, until her brain clicked together. A fierce blush fought its way onto her cheeks even as she replied a tad defensively. "Why are you asking something like that?!"
Miki shrugged nonchalantly. "Figured I would find out how the competition did so I can top it."
Aya was aghast, to put it mildly. "And who says I'll be sleeping with you?" She hissed under her breath. Miki smirked at the irate expression on Aya's face.
"You're on the same bed as me now, aren't you?" Miki had a point, but Aya would sooner die than admit that.
"You
know that's not what I meant." Aya said through gritted teeth. Miki looked bored as she replied flippantly.
"Oh, it's only a matter of time." Aya seethed inwardly at the sheer confidence radiating from Miki's tone. How cocky could she get?!
"Shut up." Aya said flatly for lack of anything to say, rolling over so that she wouldn't have to see Miki's smirking face. The nerve of that woman! Aya still couldn't believe how utterly and shamelessly forward Miki could get at times. Sometimes Miki would almost behave normally (if you discount the groping attempts) around her, and was almost likable with her childishly endearing ways. Aya kicked herself mentally for even thinking that. There was no way that Miki could be anything but an annoyance to her.
What Aya didn't realise was that she had begun to think of Miki by her given name, and not just as 'that infuriating pirate' in her mind anymore. It appears that Miki might just be making some sort of progress after all.
Given all that drama going on below between Aya and Miki during the course of the storm, everyone had been immensely entertained by eavesdropping on them. Kei was noticeably absent from the crew's quarters though, and Kaori surmised that the doctor was probably hanging out with Yuko in the captain's cabin, probably drinking again.
However, nobody even noticed where Eri and Reina went as a result as well, after those two had been the last to come below. One thing was for sure, neither of the two were in any of the rooms. Which could only mean that they were in the hold. No one even gave any thought to it until Risa had wondered aloud to Ai (who was fussing over her because she had gotten wet and cold from the rain earlier) about Eri's disappearance much later. That had gotten Mari's attention, since she had noticed that Reina had entered with Eri earlier. There was some brief panic from the tiny pirate as she hoped that Reina hadn't managed to get slaughtered by the berserk turtle in the meantime.
Surprisingly enough, Reina managed to avoid serious injury (well, except for when she had tripped over something Eri had left on the floor and ended up with yet another bruise on her forehead). Eri's gratitude over the rescue had made her less likely to bolt from Reina, and it helped that when they had sat down side by side in the makeshift sleeping area Eri had made for herself in a corner of the hold, Reina had placed her harpoon down by her side, so Eri's main form of aggravation from Reina had been out of her line of sight. That contributed significantly to the beginning of a thawing of relations between those two, and they were just beginning to realise that hey, maybe the other girl wasn't really all that bad and crazy after all. Communication was the key in such matters.
Anyway, even as the storm finally died down, the crew emerged none the worse for wear to inspect their surroundings. The ship had suffered quite a buffeting from the storm, and they had been blown way out of the position they started in. They would need to haul in for repairs as soon as possible, since Eri and Reina had discovered a slight leak in the hull while they had been hanging out below.
The only problem was that they were days from any port, and with no land in convenient sight. At least that's what they thought. Reina had other ideas though. The sea looked awfully familiar to her around here. Especially that coral formation that they had ended up beached against after the storm.
It was that indicator, as well as the pink dolphins frolicking in the area, that led Reina to the conclusion that they were close to the island where her family's ship used to dock in during the winter seasons because the weather was too rough out in the oceans during that time. If she was right though, nobody but her knew how to get there by now, as she was the last of that seafaring tribe.
Follow the dolphins. Even someone as directionally challenged as Reina could do that.
With that in mind, the Red Dawn limped off after the pink dolphins, in search of land. What else could they do?
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Yay for fun filler. Still setting up for more plot development later.
Too tired to add more. Everyone comment, or I'll set giant squids on you!
Topic: All Aboard! [Chapter 26! --sorry for the wait] (Read 137861 times)