Summary: Sinbad and his crew find a boy adrift in the ocean and pull him aboard to discover he had been tortured. Treating the boy, Sinbad learns when he awakens that the boy has lost his memory. Now with a new crew member, who seems to be a natural on his ship along with the mind of a genius, he must help him find out who he is and maybe get the kid home. What will happen when they discover who this Jim really is? And what will Sinbad do when he realizes he is falling for the younger male.
-Now to the Story-
Sinbad watched his crew silently from where he stood behind the wheel of his ship. They had no destination in mind so the crew was quite thankful for the reprieve. All of them were enjoying the peace and semi quiet when Rat swung down from the crows nest.
"Captain there's something in the waters ahead." Rat informed as he hung upside down beside Sinbad.
"What is it Rat?" Sinbad inquired, letting Kale take the wheel.
"It appears to be somebody a drift Captain." Rat replied. Curious Sinbad joined his men, who had taken to leaning over the side to see what Rat was talking about.
There was indeed something, or someone, drifting in the water clinging to a piece of drift wood, and as the ship was passing it he reached down with Li and both of the hauled the person on board.
"Is he breathing?" Luca inquired. Sinbad was knelt down beside the boy they'd pulled aboard. He couldn't have been more then nineteen with dark brown hair that was soaked and slightly tan skin. His clothes were tattered and it appeared to be some sort of uniform. As Sinbad checked for a pulse they were all surprised when the boy suddenly jerked and began coughing violently.
Sinbad rolled him on his side and hit his back slightly making the boy cough up more of the sea water from his lungs before he collapsed completely. It was then that Sinbad noticed the red stain spreading over the boys soaking wet shirt and quickly looked him over to find a shallow fazer wound that had grazed his left side.
"Jed get me some bandages and bring them to my cabin." Sinbad ordered, lifting the boy up and heading for his room. He'd quickly went to do just that while Sinbad disappeared inside his cabin.
Once inside he set about getting the boy out of the soaking wet clothes. It wasn't exactly summer where they were and he had no idea how long he'd been in the water. While normally he and his men could careless about anyone but each other, they didn't just leave kids to die out in the ocean and it was clear this kid had been through some sort of hell. The kid was shivering as he removed the shirt from him, but started to struggle a bit even in his unconscious state when he felt hands on his bare skin.
The boy really had been through hell, if the sudden sight of large bruises and several long scars with a few healing cuts was any indication. It was a wonder the boy hadn't been eaten while he was drifting with open wounds he had. Ignoring the meager struggles, Sinbad striped the boy the rest of the way and quickly gave him a pair of pants from his own wardrobe. It was just as he was settling the kid on the bed that Jed came in with bandages.
"Jeez what happened to him?" Jed inquired as he handed the medical supplies to his captain.
"Torture from the look of it, he must have gotten out and off whatever vessel was carrying him." Sinbad replied, running his hands over the boy's bruises. When his hand went over his ribs the boy flinched away and Sinbad quickly checked for any broken ribs. Luckily his ribs only appeared to be cracked. With help from Jed, Sinbad quickly wrapped the boys torso in bandages and then covered him with a couple blankets to start bringing his body temperature back up. The kid was still shivering, but Sinbad was pretty sure he'd be alright, he'd just have to keep a close eye on him.
Sinbad let Jed leave before he gave his full attention to the unconscious boy on his bed once more. The boy had obviously been tortured and then some how managed to escape only to almost die from hypothermia in the water. Or perhaps he didn't escape but was thrown over board by the ones who did it and left for dead. Either way the kid was in some serious trouble. Sighing, Sinbad ran a hand over his face before moving towards the door. The kid wouldn't be waking for a while, he'd most likely be asleep for a day or so, so there was no point staying close when there was better things to be done on the ship.
Jim sighed as he snuggled into the warmth wrapped around him. He didn't know why, nor did he care much at the moment, but he had no desire to leave this warmth. The only thing that was keeping him from enjoying it was the fact his mind was slowly dragging him from the wonderful darkness that had been his sanctuary. However, the feeling of something cold being set against his head had him being pulled fully to consciousness, making him groan in pain. He became fully aware that his entire body was sore and just laying on the bed he currently occupied seemed to make the pain worse.
It wasn't until he heard soft muttering off to the side of him that he became aware that he wasn't alone. On instinct alone, Jim shot up into a sitting position, eyes shooting open, only to cry out in pain as his back and ribs protested angrily.
"Wow take it easy." A deep baritone voice said, making Jim scramble back on instinct. He had no idea where he was or how he got there, but he sure wasn't going to be trusting anyone around him. In fact now that Jim actually thought about it, he had no idea what had happened to him. He could only remember his own name and that only made him scramble back in more panic until his back hit a wall. His back screamed in protest and made him freeze up in pain as it collided with the wall, while his ribs became almost a dull ache in comparison.
"Stop it, you'll tear open your injuries." Another voice commanded.
Jim glanced up to see a man of about twenty-five with short brown hair and dressed in a black and red outfit. There was another darker skinned man just behind the first, both of them held their hands up in a calming manor as if they were approaching a frightened animal. Jim supposed they weren't far off since he most likely appeared to be acting like one. This didn't mean he was gonna trust them though, for all he knew they were the reason he was in the state that he was.
"Stay away from me." Jim panted out through the pain, making both men pause.
"Take it easy kid, we aren't gonna hurt you." The brown haired man said, taking a slow step forward.
Jim instantly pressed back harder against the wall, hissing in pain as it irritated his injuries. Instantly the other man leapt forward and grabbed him, wrestling him back to the bed and holding him down as he struggled.
"Alright knock it off, I didn't go to all the trouble of taking care of your injuries just to have you reopen them and bleed all over my bed." The man said, easily pinning Jim underneath him. "Like hell, you bastards could've done this to me!" Jim spat back trying to struggle free.
"What the hell are you talking about, we pulled your ungrateful ass from the ocean." The man spat back, "Don't go blaming us for whatever trouble you got yourself into."
"Sinbad." The dark skinned man called, making the other turn his attention to him.
"What?" Sinbad snapped angrily, still irritated.
"I believe the boy might be having issues with his memory." The man replied.
Sinbad seemed to pause above Jim, giving the boy a chance to wriggle a hand free and try shoving the man off him. He wasn't able to though, too weak from his injuries if he had to guess. Sinbad paid his attempt no mind and simply stared at the darker skinned man, before glancing down at the boy under him.
"Kid what's the last thing you remember?" Sinbad asked sternly, making Jim pause in his attempts to get free. He was surprised by the question and started putting some thought into it. What was the last thing he remember before waking up? The more he thought about it, the higher his panic grew. He couldn't remember anything, but his name. He had no idea who he was besides that he was Jim. Couldn't remember where he was from, who his parents were and he certainly couldn't remember how he'd ended up in such a state.
"I-I don't know! I can't- I can't remember any-anything!" Jim replied, his panic rising. His breathing quickened and he began struggling in earnest again.
"Okay, alright calm down! You're gonna be okay, do you remember your name?" Sinbad demanded, making Jim stop his struggles again.
The boy tried to get his breathing under control so he could even respond, but was finding it difficult.
"Deep breaths." Sinbad instructed, Jim instantly following it. After a moment he'd calmed himself enough that he wasn't about to pass out.
"Now what's your name kid?" Sinbad asked again. "Jim." He replied, getting a nod from the older man.
"Any last name, or is that all you can remember?"
"Th-That's it."
Sinbad nodded before looking over at the darker skinned man who stood silently off to the side.
"Kale, go grab some fresh bandages, his injuries need to be checked and cleaned." Sinbad instructed. The dark skinned man, Kale, nodded and left the room.
"Now as for you, are you going to sit still so I don't have to keep holding you down?" Sinbad inquired, looking down at Jim. Jim simply nodded in response and was relieved when the other man slowly released him. The older man moved to sit on the edge of the bed, while Jim slowly pushed himself to sit up hissing as his back and ribs protested again. He jumped slightly as a hand touched his back and carefully helped him up.
"Whoever did this, really did a number on you." Sinbad stated simply, as he helped settle Jim.
Jim didn't respond, not really sure what to say to the man anyway. He still couldn't be sure these men weren't the reason he was injured, but logically he also knew that they wouldn't be treating his injuries if they were the ones to harm him. Though it didn't really matter, with the state he was in he was at their mercy and the best thing right now was to play nice and not look for trouble from them. He was pulled from his thoughts as Kale returned carrying white bandages in his hands as well as what appeared to be some medicine in a bottle. Jim was instantly suspicious of the bottle and slowly scooted away from Sinbad as he was handed it.
"Easy kid, I wouldn't have wasted my time pulling you onto my ship and patching you up if I had the intention to poison you." Sinbad instructed noting Jim's suspicious gaze.
While he didn't trust the men, Jim did see the logic in the older man's words and relaxed slightly. He sat silently as Kale and Sinbad set about removing the bandages that completely wrapped his chest and arms. He cursed softly as Sinbad applied the medicine to his back, making him silently wonder what had been done to his back to make it hurt that badly. He wanted to ask, but found he'd rather remain silent while the older men worked on his injuries. Once the medicine was applied, Jim obediently raised his arms so Sinbad could wrap the new bandages around his torso and then his arms.
"There, now try not to throw another fit, kid. We're still a few days from the nearest port and I can't afford to use more medical supplies then necessary." Sinbad instructed, receiving a nod from Jim.
Seeming to notice Jim's silence, Sinbad set his hand on his shoulder.
"Relax kid, no one on this ship is going to hurt you. We're pirates, but we don't torture kids." Sinbad said, making Jim look at him.
"Pirates?" Jim asked curiously.
"Yep, welcome aboard the Chimera kid." Sinbad replied with a smirk throwing his arms out in pride at the Captains courters they were in. Looking around Jim realized that while small, the room was decorated with many unique items and treasures that seemed to just fit together to show that the one who had collected them was quite proud of them. Jim hummed in thought as he looked at all the amazing items in the room.
"You'll meet the rest of the crew once you're all better, till then just stay in here and rest." Sinbad said, bringing Jim's attention back to him.
The younger nodded at Sinbad's instructions and watched as the older man moved to leave. Jim had no doubt he would have to pay the Pirate Captain and his crew back for helping him, but he supposed there was a worse Pirate to be indebted to at the time being. For now, Jim would focus on healing and trying to remember who he was while he had the time. He'd worry about the Pirates he was currently indebted to once he had to actually pay them back. Leaning back into the pillows behind him, Jim let his mind wander as the rocking and creaking of the ship on the waves slowly lulled him into a deep sleep.