The boat The Seventh Angel was getting loaded and ready for another voyage across the oceans. The group of pirates that commanded it went by the name Shadow Assassins. Their captain was a young male who was somewhat small compared to everyone on the boat, but held his own; he was one of seven pirate lords as well.
Right now two of the members, a young female and a male, were loading cargo into the ship. "Sorata-san can you give me a hand? This is the last of the cargo for the trip and it's too heavy for me."
"Sure thing Kotori-chan, are you ready for another trip?"
"Of course! I love going out to sea, you know that."
"Now wherever are those brothers of yours?"
"You know big brother and bigger brother, they're on deck."
"Doing what exactly? Besides not helping us of course?"
Above their heads was the familiar sound of steel meeting steel. "Same thing they do at the start of every journey."
After loading the last of the cargo, Kotori and Sorata found themselves on deck watching Kotori's brothers in a heated sword fight.
Kotori was the youngest of three siblings and the only girl. She had to beg and plead with her brothers to go on this journey. They both preferred her at home where they knew she'd be safe. Kotori finally removed her headband and tied a bandana around her head. "This feels weird abandoning my girlish look." Instead of her usual sundress she was dressed in pants and a striped tee-shirt.
The middle sibling, Fuuma, was the first mate on the ship and he was dressed in blue and white today, a silver earring hanging from his right ear. He had a look of pure determination on his face as his blade met his brother's.
The captain of the ship was the oldest in the family. He was dressed in red and black, a gold earring hanging from his left ear. Unlike Fuuma who looked determined, Seishirou merely looked bored. He held his sword with one hand and blocked his brother's strikes. "Dear me Fuuma, you'll never inherit The Seventh Angel that way."
Fuuma's swing came close to Seishirou's head causing the older, but smaller, male to duck in surprise.
"Well now, look at that, you've ruined my best hat." Seishirou put his emerald tipped sword back in its sheath and pulled a pair of white gloves over his hands. He looked at his brother, a smirk on his face as the black hair covered his remaining eye and the white and black eye patch the man wore over his right eye. With a speed that Fuuma nor anyone else on the ship could match, the captain was behind his younger brother with a gun in his back. "Now my dearest brother, for ruining my best hat, you get extra chores tonight. Understand?"
"Good heavens, whatever am I going to do with you two? Is it going to be like this the full fourteen months we're out?"
"Of course it will Kotori-chan, you know how ruthless and stubborn Seishir—OW!" A white glove smacked the middle sibling across the face.
"Don't you have extra chores to do? Hmm? Get going!"
"Sorata, is everything loaded?"
"Aye sir." Sorata shivered, the captain of the ship gave him the heebie jeebies.
"Then raise anchor and set sail then."
"Bigger brother?"
"Whatever is it Kotori?"
"Is it really okay for me to come out this time?"
"Yes, nothing's ever happened to me and Fuuma and you know what an idiot he is."
"Yes but…it feels like there's a storm coming..."
Her older brother turned his remaining eye to the sea and let the wind go through his dark tresses. "So there is, but never fear. We've faced storms before and this is the cool season so it's not a typhoon."
~#~
"The sea is rough enough today Kamui, so control your temper."
"What temper?! I'm just saying Subaru's fascination with that world has to stop, it just has to stop. They're barbarians!"
"I think humans are fascinating personally ohohohoho."
Subaru was the youngest of three triplets and loved the human world. His oldest sibling was Hokuto and she was currently the queen of this particular section of the ocean. The middle sibling was Kamui and after seeing his parents killed by pirates, he didn't take to well to any human. Hokuto didn't care because her parents had just tried to tell her how to live her life. As for Subaru, he believed that there was good in everybody.
"There's a storm coming."
Hokuto and Kamui looked over at Subaru. All three had powers, but Subaru's seemed to be the strongest and he could sense the storm coming, and as he saw the shadow of a ship he immediately swam off.
"SUBARU!"
"No let him go Kamui, I'll follow, you stay in the palace."
~#~
The ship was slowly drifting in the sea as music played on board. Doumeki, Watanuki was yelling something incoherent, and Kakyou watched on as Kotori clapped watching her brother and Sorata dance around to the music being played. Seishirou however rolled his remaining eye as he stitched his hat. "Some pirates they turned out to be."
"Oh bigger brother lighten up! It's a fabulous evening!" She paused as she caught a glimpse of two figures swimming in the ocean under the light of the fireworks going off. "Besides, the water's in a good mood and maybe we'll even see a mermaid."
"Mermaids don't exist Kotori-chan, that's just an old fisher's tale."
"Oh I don't know about that….maybe one day you'll see."
"Kotori-chan may I have this dance?"
"Of course you can Sorata-san!"
"You could do with some lightening up too you know?" The remaining amber eye looked up at the form of his brother.
"Well maybe I wouldn't be in such a sour mood if someone hadn't ruined my best hat, gee, I wonder who that was?"
Fuuma laughed nervously. "Well to be fair, in my defense it's your fault for wearing it."
A hand went to the emerald-tipped sword."Is that a challenge little brother?"
"Whoa I never said that, come on, it's a fine night for a party in honor of Kotori's birthday." When his brother remained silent Fuuma pouted.
"YOU'RE SO STUBBORN NII-SAN! YOU'RE STUBBORN AND SELF-CENTERED AND ARROGANT AND COCKY AND—"
"Shut up."
"Why? Can't handle the truth?"
"No, shut up and listen you idiot."
The wind was starting to pick up and in the distance lightning flashed and thunder roared.
"Sounds like a typhoon…"
"Seems that way." Throwing his half-patched hat down, Seishirou cupped both of his hands over his mouth. "PARTY IS OVER! EVERYONE BELOW DECK! WE HAVE A TYPHOON ON THE HORIZON! THAT'S AN ORDER, EVERYONE BELOW DECK! That means you too Fuuma."
"Like hell! You're not steering this ship alone!"
"Do not make me repeat myself or I'll make you walk the plank, get below deck, NOW. That's an order!"
"And as your first mate, I would follow that order, but as your brother I say no." Fuuma was already throwing a poncho on to follow his older brother to steer the ship.
As they fought the current and the waves, thunder roared and lightning flashed.
"You listen to me, if ANYTHING should happen to this ship, you worry about getting Kotori to safety understand?"
"Yeah of course, but what about you?"
"You let me worry about that."
Lightning struck the ship in the middle resulting in Sorata yelling about the water filling the ship and that the ship was going down.
"Listen to me Fuuma, go round up the crew and get yourselves and Kotori out."
"What about you?"
"I'll be right behind you, go!"
As Fuuma and everyone else piled into the life boats Fuuma looked frantically for his brother. He found him standing on top of The Seventh Angel.
"SEISHIROU WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU DOING?"
"Captain goes down with his ship, so this will be an end to the Pirate Lord of the Western Seas. Take care of Kotori, you hear me?"
Fuuma made an attempt to paddle over to the once magnificent ship as it slowly disappeared into the stormy deep.
End Prologue