NOTE: This fic is pretty much discontinued - it's pretty unlikely that I'll pick it up again. I just wasn't sure enough where I was going and it wasn't my favourite piece of writing. That said, some people seemed to like it, so I'll upload the 4 chapters I have!
Although there were Japanese pirates in the 15-17th century, this is a generic age-of-sail Western AU because I'm more knowledgeable writing in that territory. Really it's all just for funsies.
Midnight. The stars were out, but Mondo couldn't see them. Any dots of light in the sky were obscured by the thick and furious stormclouds that raged above the Crazy Diamond, testing her resilience against the worst the elements could throw at Daiya's crew.
"Mondo, take the helm!" his brother instructed, and he felt a surge of pride even in the current danger, throwing himself into the task of guiding the Diamond steady through the lashing rain and turbulent waves, despite hardly being able to see a thing - any torches they tried to light quickly burnt out.
"I need all able-bodied sailors on deck!" Daiya bellowed. "That includes you, Hanamura!"
Even Hanamura was getting called away from his kitchen duties to steer them through the storm... Shit must really be getting serious. Mondo wasn't captain material, but he knew they had to dock somewhere soon or they'd just get dashed up against the looming cliffs. But give away their identity and they'd be hanged if they showed up in any peaceful town, and they weren't ready for a raid... They'd have to hope they wouldn't be recognised. Unfortunately, although it was usually a source of pride, their crew had gained quite a bit of notoreity.
The boatswain, Kuzuryuu, gripped Mondo's shoulder for support as he ran to the bow and tugged on a rope to bring in the flying jib before it sustained any more damage. The guy might be short, but his eyepatch and scarred head were testimony to the number of fights he'd survived. His girl, Peko, was the only wench the ship allowed, as they seemed to be a package deal - although all the crew knew better than to try anything with her lest they lose a few more fingers, as she was actually one of their deadliest assets in a battle. Now, however, he knew she'd be down in her quarters - his brother was traditional when it came to chivalry.
"Hard a-starboard! There's a port we can try for!" Daiya was breathlessly instructing.
"It's midnight! She'll be locked, right?" protested Hagakure, the gunner.
"Raise the distress flag! And Mondo, good job, now-"
Daiya never finished his sentence. A howling gust of wind hammered against the mainsail and sent the main boom askew. It swung around wildly and Daiya Oowada, the captain of the Crazy Diamond, stood proudly on its quarter deck, made a textbook mistake - he didn't duck.
Mondo yelled. It wasn't manly, he couldn't keep his cool. But Daiya was on the ground out cold, with a thick pool of blood coming out of his head. "Grab the helm!" he spat at Kuzuryuu, dropping the wheel to rush to his brother's side all the way across the main deck. He dropped to the floor and supported Daiya's head, but the guy was already flat unconscious.
"Fucking hell! Do something!" he yelled desperately. Oh shit, he was first mate. That meant... he had to give the orders now.
It must have been some sort of panic reaction, because at once even with the storm raging and his brother bleeding out into his hands, things became crystal clear to Mondo. "Hanamura! Still raise that distress flag! Someone'll open the gate for us! Souda, do somethin' about Dai-the captain! Kuzu, hold her steady until we can guide her into the port! We'll just have to find a surgeon who's up late! And for fuck's sake be sure to take down the skull and crossbones!"
Kuzuryuu was no natural-born helmsman, but someone must have taken pity on their ship in the storm because the gate to this sleepy little port in a town they didn't recognise finally opened and Kuzu edged them in, slightly grazing the hull, but otherwise keeping her intact.
Inside the bay, the water and sky were calmer. His heart beating wildly, Mondo couldn't mentally urge the rudder to move them forward fast enough until eventually they were close enough to land to get in the jollyboats.
"Load up the captain into the jollyboat!" Mondo yelled.
"C-cap, there's no way he can get in one, his skull's too badly hit! We can't move him..." Souda protested, examining the wound. Mondo's fingers tightened in his brother's hair. They were calling him captain now. This couldn't be happening...
"All right. I'll go." He decided. "I'm gonna find a surgeon. You take care of him." He didn't dare say anything more final as he parted from Daiya - that would be acknowledging the worst. He ran to the hatch, opened it and yelled "CHIHIRO, GET SOME DAMN TOWELS UP HERE, FAST!", the words echoing through the dingy hold.
Not pausing to look, knowing the timid galley slave would do just as he was told, Mondo leapt over the ship's edge into the awaiting boat being prepared by Nidai, the mate. The guy's strong arms came in handy as they rowed rapidly into land, praying for a miracle.
Kiyotaka regretted everything. Letting his friends take him out to this pub had been a huge mistake. It was raucous, full of drunken idiots, and giving him a slow but insistent headache. He perched on a barstool sipping at a root beer and had just made up his mind to slip out the door amidst the drunken choruses, when said door slammed open and two enormous guys - one who had fresh bloodstains up to his forearms - marched in like they'd just seen the eighth circle of hell.
He cowered, and the activity in the bar drew to a halt. The smaller of the two newcomers (though by no means small) raised his voice and yelled "IS THERE A GODDAMN SURGEON IN HERE?"
Ishimaru, shamefully, for a moment found himself in two minds about telling the truth. If he really agreed to help these scary-looking guys, he might get mixed up in something bad... but if he lied, what kind of person would that make him?
He hoped someone else would speak up, but when nobody did, he tentatively stood up and said "I am a medical student, I could try-"
"You're comin' with us!" the bigger guy roared and practically hoisted a faintly protesting Ishimaru over his shoulder. Kiyotaka watched fuzzily as his friends stared at him with alarm, but was unable to escape the iron grip of these two giants. Oh god, what had he got himself wrapped up in...?
They shoved the little guy into the longboat and powered away without a word. Mondo wasn't confident about this shivering little drip, who after all was not even an actual surgeon, but it was the best they had.
"Um, where are we going?" the guy eventually managed to enquire.
"Our ship. Captain's hurt bad. You're gonna save him." Mondo didn't have time for pleasantries.
"W-well, I can't work miracles!"
"You're gonna save him."
They scaled the barnacled bulkhead back onto deck, the new guy looking astonished, as if he'd never been on a boat in his life. Daiya looked grim, face washed of colour, as Chihiro pressed towels anxiously against his head wound, but at least he was still breathing. Mondo ran to his brother's side, and the new guy hastily followed.
"We need alcohol!" he instructed.
"Got plenty!" Leon crowed, swinging down into the hold to bring up a crate of beer.
"I really meant more rubbing alcohol, but this will do..." The medic fussed over Daiya's head, gently placing his brother into a more natural lying position, cracking open the barrel of beer - huh, this little weed must be stronger'n he looked - and pouring the contents onto one of Chihiro's less blood-soaked towels, pressing it hard against the wound at the back of Daiya's head.
Mondo could practically feel the sting himself, so it was a delight when the pain of the sudden pressure caused Daiya to jerk up, take a wild swing at the new guy, who neatly dodged, and then fall back down again.
"H-he's alive!" Mondo tried to restrain how anxious he sounded. He took a swig of the beer himself - couldn't hurt.
"For now, but I'm afraid that was probably a reflexive action. He's not conscious yet. But I'll bandage the wound, and that'll hopefully stop up the blood loss enough to let him recover... I don't know how deep the hit was yet."
"Who even is this guy, captain?" Souda had to ask.
Mondo bit his lip. Captain, that was him for now. "Some medic I picked up in a pub. Best we've got."
"Don't you have a qualified surgeon aboard?" The new guy enquired breathlessly as he tore off strips of material from his shirt and wrapped them around Daiya's head. "I though all naval ships had to be equipped with-"
They all saw him realise it. "You're... not with the navy, are you?"
"Fraid not." Mondo shrugged. There was little point denying it.
The surgeon went wide-eyed. "I - I - criminals -"
A shout came from outside on the water, and Mondo rushed over to see a government-looking guy standing in a rowboat, shouting up at them. "This vessel is unidentified, and will remain in the custody of Her Majesty from now until further notice, as will all crew! Please do not resist, or we will open fire!"
"Open fire?" Leon yelled boldly over the edge. "How's this for open fire?"
He cackled and blocked his ears as one of their cannons burst off with an earthshattering boom; likely the work of Hagakure below deck. Those two were insane, but kind of brilliant, Mondo marvelled.
Except, shit, they'd hit a building. Which was now on fire. And the people in the bay were starting to look very angry.
"Let's fuckin' move it!" he yelled, and Kuzuryuu, stil at the helm, didn't need to be told twice. Naegi pulled up the mainsail to catch a breeze that would power them out of the port, and they began to hastily retreat.
The surgeon yelped. "W-wait! What the heck? What am I supposed to do?"
"You can fuckin' save my brother like I told you to" Mondo growled, watching the angry citizens attempt to return fire from the quarter deck.
The guy stared, and Mondo realised this was the first time he'd slipped up and referred to Daiya as his brother, not the captain.
"Well uh... He's stable now, you'd better put him in his quarters or something... But... I can't stay here! I can't! What about my work? What about thelaw?"
"In case you hadn't worked it out, we're pirates, matey," Souda grinned with his shark mouth. "We make our own laws."
"You can't do this!" the guy yelled and lashed out at Mondo, managing to catch him off guard and actually bruise his cheek with a well-aimed punch. Mondo grabbed the surgeon by the shoulders. Guy had more balls than he'd thought.
"Right now, I'm the captain of the Crazy Diamond, and I'll do what I want." he hissed. Not looking away from the frightened surgeon's red eyes, he snapped "Take the captain down to his bed for the night. Carefully."
"What about him, cap'n?" Souda enquired, indicating the surgeon.
"Him you can tie to the mainmast." Mondo said coldly, dropping him. "I'm going to my quarters."