When Kaito wakes up, he can't see anything, but at least his head doesn't hurt from the hit that knocked him unconscious in the first place.
Great.
Kaito sighs as he attempts to slip his hands out of the handcuffs, but to no avail.
He's blindfolded, and he can only assume that he's locked up in a cell because he can't feel the wind. Given that everything around him seems to be moving, he's on a ship though.
A pirate ship.
Damn Thomas, leaving me behind like this. Chris should put him on a leash.
So much for reliable Navy comrades.
Kaito tries to find a sharp object to open his cuffs and the blindfold with, but he can't seem to find anything.
Footsteps.
He freezes within his action, moving forward and only stopping when his face makes unpleasant contact with metal bars. He scoots back a little, waiting.
"Finally, I have a new prisoner," he hears someone sneer. It's a male voice, the same voice he's heard before he got captured in the first place.
I wonder how far from Heartland we are.
"What are your demands?" Kaito tries to keep a stoic face.
The situation should be easy to solve.
He's part of the Navy, he looks like he's part of the Navy, and since his captors are pirates, they'll let him live if he provides information.
His loyalties lie with Haruto — and therefore, by extension, with his own life — and definitely not with the Navy.
"What makes you think we'll negotiate?" From the sounds, Kaito assumes that the owner of the voice has just sat down.
"You're pirates. I'm part of the Navy."
"Well, yeah, but I could just torture you for information and then kill you, you know?" The man— boy?— chuckles and Kaito feels unfamiliar hands on his head. "Let me see your expression..." Kaito's blindfold is lifted.
Then he sees.
Orange hair, violet eyes, a smirk and a look of anticipation.
Kaito feels that he should be recognizing the boy; that somewhere he has seen the boy. Given his amount of encounters with pirates, it wouldn't surprise him if that was the case.
How did he even manage to ambush me?
"You could do that, but isn't it much better to me as leverage? You know, Commodore Arclight would give a lot to obtain my freedom." Kaito is not used to referring to Chris by his title, anymore, but he can't let on that they are friends, or else that'll give the pirates an advantage.
"But wasn't it Lieutenant Arclight who left you behind in the first place?" The boy laughs and proceeds to search for something in his pockets.
Kaito shifts uncomfortably in his handcuffs, still trying to find a way to free himself. "The Commodore isn't as much of an idiot as his younger brother."
And that's not even a lie. Thomas would be better off as a pirate.
"Yeah, but really, I don't think we need anything from the Commodore or the Navy, so I guess you'll be my prisoner until I'm bored." The boy grins and takes out a knife. "Oh, found it."
This is bad. I can't die here.
Kaito mentally readies himself for a fight, and he figures that if he knocks out the boy with pure physical strength, he can find the key to those cuffs.
"You're not thinking of esc—"
Suddenly, there are loud thumps— footsteps.
"VECTOR!"
"Oh, damn it," the boy— Vector— curses and stands up. "Yeah, what is it, Nasch?"
"That's Captain Nasch, for you," Nasch hisses as he walks toward Vector, his hand on the hilt of his cutlass. "What is the meaning of this?" He gives Kaito a short look, then focuses on Vector again.
So I'm on the Silent Honor's Ark? That might save me.
Vector rubs his neck and smiles; Kaito feels nauseous seeing that. "Well, little Kaito was abandoned by his fellow Navy members. And well, I haven't had a plaything— I mean, prisoner— in a while."
"Then what is that knife for?"
"A means of interrogation. What's wrong with it, Nasch? Or is there something your crew should know? Between you and... Commander Tenjou, was it?"
Kaito notices the irony Vector's words drip with, and he's certain that Vector only uses his title so he can spite Nasch by not using his.
"Hell, no. I'll be the one to interrogate him, you go up and listen to Merag's orders." Nasch scowls, clenching his fist. He looks like he wants to say something else, but then he lets it go.
"Sure, Nasch. But don't get too sensual with him," Vector says as he walks, but Kaito can see his slight scowl. "Didn't you sleep over at his place the other day?"
"Shut up," Nasch hisses, and he waits until Vector is gone before unlocking the cell's door. "Come with me. To the captain's cabin."
Kaito gets up. "Sure, Ryouga."
Nasch raises an eyebrow. "Not here. You can use that name when the crew isn't around." He walks with an air of majesty to him, probably helped by his red cape that doesn't seem to be practical in any way.
"Your hat still looks stupid."
Kaito thinks he can see Nasch scowl from the corner of his eye.
"Shut up."
"So basically you were abandoned by Thomas and then somehow captured by Vector?" Nasch unlocks Kaito's handcuffs and motions for him to sit down.
"I was careless. Thomas wanted my position, I should've known this would happen."
"I'm not surprised, you've been getting lots of promotions lately, haven't you?" Nasch leans back. "Thomas isn't good with tactics, and you're the better swordsman, too. You really fucked up by turning your back to him."
You don't need to tell me, I'm well aware of that.
"You know him?" Kaito raises an eyebrow.
Nasch chuckles. "He thinks he's my rival or something like that, but he's no challenge. He's good to get rid of the boredom every now and then though."
"I noticed that when I trained with him." Kaito clears his throat. "So, how far are we from Heartland?"
Nasch takes a sip from his bottle of rum and hands it to Kaito. "About a day."
"I assume you won't go out of your way to drop me off?" Kaito drinks, too, and the fact that he shouldn't be drinking alcohol when he's on a pirate ship crosses his mind. But then again, the rum doesn't seem to have a good quality— it likely won't do much to him, anyway.
Nasch shrugs. "We'll drop you off, but you'll have to sail with us for a while before we return to Heartland. Approximately a week." He stands up and walks to the cupboard, taking out a map before sitting down next to Kaito again.
"So, what's in it for you?" Kaito eyes the map as Nasch unfolds it, and is surprised to see... nothing.
A blank paper.
Maybe it isn't a map?
"You're good at sword fighting, that'll be helpful. Besides, you can help sail the ship." Nasch puts his Barian crest on the paper and mutters a few words Kaito can't understand, then the red stone on the crest lights up, and the unfilled space turns into a perfectly detailed map.
"What was that?" Kaito asks, and he looks at the crest that has stopped glowing.
Nasch smirks. "One of the advantages of being part of this crew."
Damn, he can be so convinced of himself. I wonder why he trusts me, though.
Sure, they had quite a few encounters of the non-lethal and friendly kind— as friendly as sword fights and angry drunken sex can be—, but Nasch is a pirate and Kaito is a member of the Navy, it's foolish of Nasch to trust Kaito.
But well, I suppose I trust him, too. At least a little.
Since Kaito doesn't say anything and just scowls, Nasch goes on, pointing at small red isle on the map, titled 'Baria'. "This is where we're headed. We'll stop by in some towns to resupply—"
"—you mean, plunder—"
"—and then we'll head straight for Baria. From there, we'll go back to Heartland and drop you off so you can go do whatever you have to do so you can help your brother."
Kaito freezes and looks at Nasch. Nasch just nods, still having that smirk.
He knows about Haruto?
"How do you know about Haruto?"
"I slept over at your house, you know."
Oh, the painting of me and Haruto.
That painting is one of the easier ways for Kaito to see Haruto ever since his illness began.
"You also slept with me," Kaito reminds him, and Nasch scowls.
Not smirking anymore, are you?
Now it's Kaito's turn to smirk. "So, how does your crew take your random disappearances?"
"They're used to it," Nasch admits, and he folds the map back together while muttering a few words, which makes the ink disappear again. "One time I was stuck in Heartland for three days because of Yuuma."
Oh, so he knows Yuuma, too?
"Yeah, Yuuma tends to keep people busy."
From Nasch's expression, Kaito can tell he isn't the only one who's surprised.
There's a short pause in which Nasch takes the bottle again and drinks.
Then he gives Kaito a serious look. "We gotta make sure he never finds out we know each other."
"Otherwise he'll never leave us alone," Kaito shudders at the thought. "Well, he's got that Shark guy to bother, so I guess we're fine. He's been talking all the time about him. What is Shark for a name, anyway?"
Nasch suddenly appears nervous, avoiding eye contact. "Yeah, totally. That name's... stupid."
Now that's interesting. Guess I'll talk to Yuuma when I'm back.
"So, do we have a deal?" Nasch changes the topic, holding his hand out. "We'll drop you off in around a week and until then you're temporarily a part of this crew."
Not like I have another choice anyway, do I?
"As long as being part of the crew doesn't include being obligated to fuck you, it's a deal" Kaito smirks and takes Nasch's hand.
"You aren't obligated," Nasch leans over, dangerously close. "But you can anyway."
"You suck at flirting, Ryouga." Kaito pulls Nasch in, tangling his hands in his hair, and kisses him roughly. There's never been a place for tenderness in their interactions, and Kaito appreciates it.
He isn't one for sweet words and cute gestures.
Kisses with Nasch are a lot like the rest of their relationship: challenging. It's all about who's better, but in the end they never reach a conclusion.
But that's the thrill of it.
He feels Nasch bite at his lower lip— one of the things characteristic to Nasch's kissing— and he's about to return the gesture—
—suddenly, there's shouting and knocking at the door.
Nasch breaks the kiss reluctantly, fixing his shirt since Kaito had opened it slightly, and then responds to the increasingly loud knocking at the door. "Get in, Alit!"
Alit bursts in and points outside. "We're being attacked!" He looks at Nasch's flushed face and then at Kaito's no longer cuffed wrists. "So, uh, are you part of the crew now, or...?"
"Temporarily," Kaito says, and he gets up.
"Alright, all hands on deck!" Nasch shouts, and Alit walks out to repeat the shout.
Now I know why he's always so damn loud. Must be a habit.
"Kaito, you just go where Mizael is and let him instruct you. He's the blonde guy. And stay away from Vector!" Nasch walks to the door.
Kaito follows, smirking. "Aye, aye, Captain Shark."
"Asshole."