The Spanish Main: A new Beginning...
By: Daferge...
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What happens when the descendants of those who once sailed the wild "Spanish Main" find their quiet, comfortable lives upset by modern day 'Pyrates'?...
Do the 'want-a-be' pirates stand a chance?...
Read on and find out...
( Author Note: - Oh, this is an alternate world, so don't go to Jamaica and hope to get in on the fun... )
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"Tenchi Muyo!" and characters were created by Hiroki Hayashi and Masaki Kajishima, and is the property of AIC/Nippon Television, Geneon Entertainment and FUNimation Entertainment.
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Chapter 01... The stranger...
( Kingston, Jamaica... )
Inside the Captain Henry Morgan tavern, things were quiet...
The red headed Washu Hakubi Masaki was enjoying a cup of tea, after her birthday party the night before...
Her two sisters were sitting at the table with her, also enjoying their cups of tea...
Last night had been the 'partying time', where they tried to drink each other and any one else in the tavern under the table...
The losers were asleep in beds upstairs, including Washu's oldest daughter, Ryoko, who thought she could out do her mom and aunts...
The sister with light blueish hair was Tsunami Hakubi Masaki, taking time off from being the assistant to the Archbishop of Jamaica...
Family birthdays were usually more quiet, only on hers and her sister's birthdays did she get to 'let her hair down', kick back and truly relax...
The dark haired female, with the neck tattoos was their younger sister Tokimi Hakubi Masaki a famed Historian and Nobel writer...
It wasn't often she got out of the backrooms of world famous libraries, including the Vatican's where the Archbishop had gotten her access to papers over 300 year old for her research...
In fact she had just returned from 'haunting' the General Archives of the Indies, in Seville Spain...
She and several assistants had spent weeks looking at and scanning tens of thousands of pages in countless delegate 300 year old books, hand written in Spanish...
It would be many more weeks before the translated copies of those documents would be ready for her to study in detail...
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In her spare time, what little she had, she was doing research on the history of the Masaki family...
Besides the many number of local members who bore the Masaki sur-name, there were several branches around the world...
Including the Americas ( both North and South ), Europe, some parts of Africa as well as in Asia and Japan...
But so far, all leads she'd found seem to point back here to Jamaica and the early 1700s...
She knew that if she could get her older sister Washu to allow her access to the 'MASAKI' papers it would all be clear...
But for some reason that was one source she hadn't been able to gain access to, at least not yet...
Washu had promised her that one day she would be allowed to read it and then she would understand...
Like Tsunami, Tokimi trusted and believed in Washu, as did the rest of the family...
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( Across the room... )
At the bar a young male was enjoying his drink...
It had been a while since he'd had any thing that didn't have some touch of sea salt taste to it...
It had also taken quite a while for him to get his 'land legs' back too...
He must have looked a sight stumbling down the street, looking slightly drunk...
But most of the local people had just smile and said nothing...
However, there had been the old man at the docks, fixing his fishing nets...
" Just come ashore?... "
He'd smiled and nodded his head...
" Must have been a long cruise... "
He'd nodded again...
" Best sit for a while... Best place will be the Capt. Morgan's... Two blocks down that way, turn right, you can't miss it... "
And so, here he was...
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Out of the corner of his eye he saw the red headed female stand and walk over to the bar...
" Another pot of tea Mary... "
He noted that she saw him reacted when she mentioned tea, at a bar and her smiling...
" Birthday party... Spent most of the night drinking the others under the table... "
He had to smile too...
Finishing his drink he caught Mary's eye..
" How much?... "
After she quoted him the price, he dropped a coin on the bar and she picked it up...
After examining it, she passed it to the red head, who smiled as she looked closely at it...
Putting it on the back of her hand, she made it walk back and forth across her fingers, before handing it back to him, still smiling...
" Don't see too many piece-of-eights in such good conditions these days... Drink is on the house... I'm the owner, Washu... "
Smiling, he bowed slightly before taking his leave...
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( Kingston Docks... )
Officer Kiriko M. Masaki of the Kingston Constabulary ( police ) sighed as she put down her field glasses, she and several other officers had been staking out the warehouse across the street for several days on a 'tip'...
So far she hadn't seen any thing that might even suggest any criminal activity...
The 'Chief' would be checking with her in a while and he'd have to decide if they continued or went back to the dozen or so other reported crimes that needed their attention...
She almost wish her sometime partner and friend, officer Mihoshi Kuramitsu Masaki were here...
The attractive blonde tended to get things to happen around her, whether she wanted it to or not...
But she'd been assigned as the Royal Governor's aide during her visit to London...
Governor Misaki Jurai Masaki had gotten a email from Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, to be sure Mihoshi was with her, as she wanted to introduce her to a number of member of her court...
Kiriko wondered if it had any thing to do with what happen when Her Majesty had visited Jamaica and the evening reception...
While waiting in the reception line to be introduced to the Queen, Mihoshi had bumped into the male before her, who bumped the lady ahead of him, sending a wave
down the short line to the Russian ambassador at the head, who was knocked to the floor, on his knees before the Queen...
Rumor had it the Queen had considered it the high point of her world tour...
Kiriko just hoped London was still there after Mihoshi returned...
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One of the other officers motioned towards the street, getting her attention...
Turning, she observed the quiet street, at first seeing nothing...
Then she noted the small boy looking around and behind the boxes against the warehouse across the street...
He seem to be looking for something and as Kiriko recognized him, she had an idea what it was, she shut her eyes...
Perhaps they'll go away...
One of the officers whisper...
" That's not who I think it is, is it?... "
Opening her eyes, she saw pleading in his eyes...
" I'm afraid so... Seina Yamada Masaki in the flesh... "
All but one officer recognized the name, heads dropping...
The rookie saw the depressed looked on every one's faces and had to ask...
" Seina Yamada Masaki?... "
She saw the others look at her, smile and back away...
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" You're new, aren't you, O'Brian?... "
He nodded, worry beginning to show as Kiriko smiled...
" You were there at the recent reception for the Queen?... "
Again he nodded his head, the entire force had been there to provide security...
" Then you've seen our favorite officer Mihoshi in action!... "
She didn't have to expand on that, as he nodded his head once again...
" Now imagine a 15 year old male version of her and you have Seina Yamada Masaki... "
The wide eyed officer turned to look out the window...
" By the way... Officer Mihoshi has more commendations and awards than the rest of the force put together... And as odd as it might seem, a good number of those are from foreign agencies... Including the American CIA, Russia's KGB and Great Britain's MI5... Don't ask, you do not want to know... "
A worried voice behind her spoke up...
" Kiriko... I hate to say it but the boy just went into the warehouse... "
Closing her eyes, Kiriko's head dropped...
Why me?... Why me?...
That was when the sound of gun shots split the air...
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( London, England... )
Mihoshi and 'Auntie' Masiki ( Mihoshi wasn't use to the whole Governor thing, yet... ) were walking down the hallway of some place called Buckingham Palace...
She'd been told not to touch any thing, no matter how much she liked it...
She hoped there weren't going to be any more medals, she'd been stuck 3 times while the male presenters tried to find a safe place to pin the medals on her...
The English Prime Minister seem to have the most trouble...
The Russian President just smiled and took his time...
The head of the CIA, in his office, had just handed her an open box with the medal in it, the details still considered secret...
And all because she'd fallen asleep on her surfboard, drifted out to sea, bumped into an old anchored freighter...
Going aboard, wearing her bikini, she'd wandered around trying to find some one without luck, the guard had heard the call of nature and was on the other side of the ship, at the railing...
The captain and crew were below, showing off their large selection of weapons and munitions they had for sale...
Every thing from hand guns to large artillery pieces with 155mm shells...
It was the RPGs (rocket-propelled grenade) and the tons of various high explosives which were their undoing...
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Hearing voices, she'd gone below, only to find that the crew had gone on deck to finish the deal...
Noticing the RPG on a table, Mihoshi had picked it up and was examining it when a member of the crew startled her...
At which time she pulled the trigger, sending the armed grenade sailing through an open hatch and into the next cargo hold, packed with the high explosives...
The crew man had made for the deck as soon as he saw where the grenade was headed...
Trying to get his attention, Mihoshi had followed, loud noises starting behind her (explosions)...
On deck, she found that for some reason ( the shout of the crewman and sound of explosions below ), there was no one there...
At the railing she saw them all trying to swim away...
Heading back to her surfboard, she found a really cute pistol on the deck...
Not having any where to put it, she's put on the nearby gun-belt and secured the gun in the holster...
Back on her board, she paddled after the swimmers...
It was about then that the ship exploding behind her...
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Later, U.S. coast guard helicopter arrived, with a cutter close behind...
They had been in the area on a tip about drug smugglers, the explosion and smoke attracted them...
Thus, they were able to recover a large number of waterlogged gun runners and smugglers, along with a very attractive (armed) female police officer...
Needless to say who got credit for the largest arms arrest in years..
As the arms and dealers were Russian, the buyers were known to the US as wanted terrorist and the deal accured in Jamaican waters, all three countries became involved...
The exact details were never disclosed and it was reported as a joint effort of the three countries...
For some reason, the buyers and dealers had refused to comment...
Mihoshi was allowed to keep the gun and holster, it as now her official service firearm...
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( Kingston Warehouse... )
Kiriko and the others had rushed into the warehouse expecting the worse...
It was, but not in the way they thought it would be...
In the middle of the crate filled warehouse, they found the young boy, but now he wasn't alone or hurt...
He was sitting in a chair, his eyes closed, two very attractive females, wearing small 2-piece swim suits cuddling up to him on both sides...
A young girl stood to the side, petting a small monkey on her shoulder and smiling...
On the floor were two very rough looking males, pinned under a broken case of spilled, unopened DVDs...
Their firearms were laying at the boys feet, untouched...
Kiriko closed her eyes and counted to ten, then she did it again...
After five times she gave up...
By now the two males had been dragged from under the box and cuffed...
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One of the other officers handed her a number of the DVDs, all pirated movies, suggesting smuggling...
She noted the three chairs in the corner that had ropes laying around them...
Kiriko sighed, then looked at the females, kidnapping and probable 'white slavery'...
They couldn't have been here long, those kind of traffickers seldom stayed in one place too long...
From their appearances they had only been taken in the past 12-24 hours, no missing reports yet...
The young girl petting Seina's pet monkey Fuku didn't fit in, too young, probably just in the wrong place at the wrong time...
Kiriko didn't want to think what might have happen if Seina hadn't come along and they'd been pulled from this 'tip'...
It was then that she heard some one behind her...
Turning, her eyes widened and her hand went for her gun...
The other officer reacted also...
Stand a short distance away was a tall, thin male with light hair and dark eyes, smiling at her...
Tarant Shanks...
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( Buckingham Palace... )
At long last they were shown into a study where the Queen was sitting, drinking some tea...
Seated they were both given glasses of iced tea...
Masiki had a questioned look in her eyes...
" I was informed that it might not be wise to offer her something hot... "
Masiki smiled, back home most did it to see if something did happen, usually not...
They both watched as Mihoshi sipped her drink slowly and carefully...
I was then that the Queen made a gesture and the few servants in the room left...
It seem that her Majesty wanted to talk to them in private...
This got Masiki's attention...
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Seeing the others looking at her, Mihoshi took another sip and set her glass down on the small table before her...
" I have heard quite a bit about you before my visit to Jamaica recently, Constable Mihoshi... In fact, it was on the off chance of meeting you that I had it included... "
While Mihoshi just continued to smile, Masiki's eyebrow went up, she'd heard rumors about the last-minute addition, but no one could confirm it or why...
Perhaps she would be getting some answers...
" We can speak freely in this room, it's swept daily and it walls are insulated to prevent any signals escaping... "
Masiki pulled out a small device she rarely used and set it on the table, touching a button...
" Ah... A scrambler... I'd heard you used one when need be... "
The Queen then pulled out her own device and set it next to the other...
" Between the two of them we should be assured what is said here stays here... "
Both Masiki and Mihoshi nodded...
Smiling, the Queen looked Mihoshi in the eye...
" So... If you would, in your own words, would you tell us what really happen on that ship... "
Mihoshi looked down for a moment, took another sip of tea and sighed...
" Well... I was resting on my surf board and fell asleep... Then- "
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( Kingston Warehouse...)
It took every ounce of her will power to not pull her gun and try to shoot this 'person' ( and she used the word very loosely... )...
If there was a crime in Kingston, chances were he had his hand in it, some how...
Ex-KGB, he, like others, had moved West when the great Soviet State has broke up...
Rumor (which as about all there was about him) had him working for a major Russian crime boss known only as Kain...
Whether he was now working for himself or still working for his former boss was also unclear...
As it was, the chance to try to shoot him passed, as he held his empty hands out to his sides, in clear sight...
" Ok, Shanks... What are you doing here?... "
Smiling, which tended to rub Kiriko the wrong way (as he intended) he spoke slowly...
" I was checking some cargo that just arrived today, when I heard gun fire... Stepping into the street, I saw all of you rush into this building and decided to follow, to see what was going on... I see that you have every thing, under control... "
Kiriko sighed, so much for trying to get him for trespassing...
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She couldn't even prove he'd been in the warehouse before they'd entered...
Though the two prisoners weren't looking his way, no way were they going to talk...
More than one witness had ended up 'dead' before they could tell what they saw in a court of law...
It was now that she noticed Seina was standing and his eyes were open again...
Two of her officers had quite literally offered the two females the shirts off their backs, to cover themselves...
Chances were, even it they got that shirts back, they'd never wear them again...
But it did allow Seina to breath easier, even though he had a female holding each arm and the young girl leading him by the hand...
Something told her, this wasn't the last he'd see of these three...
What was it about Masaki Males?...
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( Buckingham Palace... )
" After every one was aboard the cutter and some wreckage from the ship was examined, every one was arrested... Having identified myself a a law officer, the ship's captain decided to give me credit for the arrest... He sited not only was I an officer, but that I was the only one armed at the time... And it took off from there... "
Mihoshi noted that the other two hadn't said a word...
It was a smiling Masiki who spoke...
" That's our Mihoshi... "
The Queen noticed that Mihoshi, her head down, had say something, softly...
" What as that, my dear?... "
Looking up, Mihoshi had a sad expression...
" Are you going to ask for the medal back?... "
The Queen smiled and took her hands...
" Of course not, my dear... This is just girl talk... As I said, nothing said here leaves this room... "
This got a big smile from both Mihoshi and Masiki...
Standing, the Queen indicated that the meeting had ended...
" Would the two of you care to join me for a light snack?... "
Noting the look in Masiki's eyes, she smiled as she continued...
" I was informed of the Constable's famous appetite, so please rest assured there's more than enough for ALL of us... "
She then led a smiling Masiki and very happy Mihoshi to the dining hall...
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( Kingston Constable Station.. )
Since returning to her now crowded office, Kiriko discovered a number of her assumptions had been correct...
Once again they had been unable to detain Shanks for longer that it took for him to have his statement taken...
Some day... Some day...
The two thugs had clammed up and were refusing to say any thing without a lawyer...
Try as she may, she hadn't been able to find any creditable link between Shanks and the two thugs...
Not that she would keep trying...
But as one of the females was Amane Kaunaq, a former model and daughter to a very wealthy Boston family, they did have them for kidnapping...
At-least they wouldn't be going any where for a while...
The other female was her good friend and bodyguard, Ryoko Balta, who had thought the late night swim a bad idea...
The young girl turned out to be Neju Na Melmas, sort of a child protege, being 'babysat' by her older cousin Amane...
Amane had promised to show her some excitement, but this was a little much...
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To calm herself down, she began to look thought the stack of papers now laying on her desk...
There seem to be quite a few since she got the tip, just before getting off yesterday...
But the chance to get Shanks was too tempting...
She noted that there were quite similar...
It seem that there were a number sighting of a strange old sailing ship just off shore, the sails torn and no crew to be seen...
She took a deep breath and sighed...
Since those Pirate movies started coming out, the number of flying Dutchman sighting had skyrocketed...
The tourist trade had also increased, ever since The Spanish Main Casino opened last year...
It had been the creation of one of the wealthiest females on the island, Seto Kamiki Masaki, the Governor's mother...
Her other daughter, Noike Kamiki Masaki, not only ran the Casino, but the adjacent Hotel and night clubs...
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She had to smile...
Shanks avoided all three like the plague...
If there was any one he was 'nervous' about, it was Seto Kamiki Masaki...
She knew he didn't care for the Archbishop of Jamaica, Katsuhito M. Masaki or his wife, Airi M. Masaki - the Royal Attorney Governor of Jamaica...
Another was the Governor's husband, Azusa Jurai Masaki...
Then there was the Chief Constable, Mashisu Kuramitsu Masaki - Mihoshi's Grandfather...
Both seem to have their own reason for wanting Shanks - Gone...
However, the one he avoided the most was her own partner, Mihoshi Kuramitsu Masaki...
Especially after she attended a party of his new yacht ( by accident - she got on the wrong boat ) and it sank...
He'd only had it a few days...
She smiled as she remembered fishing him out of the bay...
Chuckling, she decided to put the reports on Mihoshi's desk for when she got back...
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( A Jamaican beach... )
Two males stood on the sandy beach, both looking out to sea...
The younger one had a small piece of wood in his mouth, something called a toothpick...
A young lady out side a restaurant had handed it to him with a small bit of cooked pork on it, to sample...
It had tasted nice...
The older man was wearing an odd set of old clothes and a very large, old hat...
It was he who broke the silence...
" So, you're staying!... "
It wasn't a question...
" Thought I'd try it a while... "
A slight smile appeared under the old man's beard...
" Well, enjoy... We're going to miss you... Remember, your berth will be waiting... "
The young man smiled...
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A strange fog appeared and slowly approached the shore...
While the young man stood still, the other walked towards it, whispering a quiet comment...
" You can tell your friend they can come out now... "
As he walked into the fog, he dissolved into it and the fog began to drift off to sea...
When the fog as gone, the young male lifted his hand and gestured to the figure hidden among the trees...
He didn't have to turn around to tell who it was...
He'd always had a sharp eye and had noticed her following him from the tavern...
Some times he couldn't "see" her, but he knew that she as there...
Washu sighed as she came to stand by the young male's side...
" You let me follow you, didn't you!... "
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" Difficult to give you these if you're not here... "
He held up a what appeared to be a necklace made of silver and red stones...
RUBIES!...
" Happy birthday... "
Holding them in her hands, Washu's jaw just dropped...
Finally she tried to hand them back, but he just smiled at her...
" But I don't even know you... We just met... "
He tilted his head slightly before replying...
" But you do... As did your mother and your grandmother... "
For some reason all she could do was just stare at him...
" Don't tell me you've never read the Red Flame papers... "
He chuckled as he watched her reaction...
Washu gasped and her eyes widened...
Those were the oldest recorded papers about the Hakubi Masaki family and only a select few knew of them...
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Turning to face her, his eyes danced...
" Then let me introduce myself... "
She watched as he bowed and gestured with his hand...
" I'm a weary traveler, who has just return from a long sea voyage... "
He stood back up and stepped closer, using a finger to close her mouth...
" I've gone by may names and been called many more... "
She discovered she couldn't move as she gazed into his eyes...
" But the name I was born with was Tenchi Hakubi... "
It took Washu a while to recall where she'd heard that name before...
Then it came to her, it was written within the Red Flame papers...
" That's my oh so great, great grandfather's name!... "
He just continued to smile at her, but said nothing...
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To be continued...
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Please feel free to comment and review for any errors...
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