Chapter 2

Sitting up on the yard where crow's nest should have been, Taeyong leaned against the top of the mast and gazed across the surrounding waters. It turns out the small boat the three of them were on was actually their current pirate ship, and Taeyong was the third crew member recruited out of three - second if you didn't count the captain. It was reassuring to know, however, that her immediate feeling of regret happened to Zoro as well, who she learned was also unaware of their captain's situation when he had signed up just a few days ago. Thinking back, it was also strange to learn that Zoro wasn't the first mate.

It would have made sense as he was the first person besides the captain to join, but when Taeyong had asked about her position as a crewmember her captain had merely said first mate as if it were as natural as the sky. Afraid for a moment that she had taken the other boy's position from him and that he would be angry about it, she had pointed out that he should probably be the vice-captain since he had been recruited before her. It had been a shock when both boys stopped to stare at her.

"But Zoro's the swordsman."

The other boy, Zoro, smirked and leaned forward, preparing to draw one of his swords as he spoke. "Unless you want to trade responsibilities. You'd have to fight me for it, though."

"Can you use swords?" her captain had asked, looking as though he had just found a new piece of treasure.

Keeping her eyes on Zoro, she answered, "I can to some extent, but I'm no swordsman. My strength lies with firebending."

Zoro clicked his sword back into place again, sighing almost as if he was disappointed there wouldn't be a sparring match. And with his withdraw, the matter was settled.

Thinking over the swordsman's actions, Taeyong found herself looking down at her new crewmates now sleeping on the boat's floor. The captain was dead to the world as he laid sprawled across the boards, but the other sat as he slept, almost as if he kept a vigil. A small part of her noted the swordsman below was rather cute in a tough, teddy bear kind of way. If his personality and mindset matched or were better than his looks, he could easily become troublesome. She sighed as he hugged his swords closer in his sleep. Yes Zoro was most likely going to be very troublesome.

"Who's troublesome, exactly?"

Stiffening where she sat, Taeyong realized she must have said the last part out loud. Still, she could hardly go back now. She turned her head away quickly, focusing on a wave in the distance as she answered, "Probably you."

The swordsman shuffled a bit as he leaned back and huffed slightly. "There's no 'probably' about it. Either I am or I'm not, so which is it?"

"I'm not sure yet."

"Quit being so wishy-washy about it and make a decision already. It's not complicated."

"Well it's not simple, either."

"Tch."

Looking down, Taeyong found Zoro staring out at the sea, his face collected despite the tone in his voice. "You're not offended? Most would be in your position."

"Nah. People can call me what they like. It's not like what they call me changes who I am."

"I suppose you have a point there."

Zoro looked up at the firebender. "I can take over the watch from here; the sun'll be up in a few hours anyway."

With a grateful smile to the swordsman, Taeyong leaned her head back against the mast, and with a soft, "I'll leave it to you, then," she fell asleep.

A faint voice saying gum gum woke her sometime later, and Taeyong opened her eyes to see what she believed to be her captain's hand grabbing the yard in front of her before the voice that woke her yelled, "Rocket!" and a force knocked her off the yard and onto the boat floor below. Landing with a loud thud, she sat up confused but fully awake.

"What in the world was that?" She asked. It was Zoro that answered.

"The captain just shot himself off the boat to hunt a bird. He's planning to bring it back so we can eat it."

"Oh. I am getting a little hungry. He shouldn't take too long, right?" Taeyong looked up in the direction she assumed her captain had flown off in before her eyes hardened and her mouth frowned. Ignoring whatever reply Zoro was making, she walked straight to the back of the boat, hooking her leg over the stern and securing herself on the rail.

Answering Zoro's confused sputtering, Taeyong said, "Look up. I don't think our captain will be returning anytime soon." There was a pause as Zoro followed her advice.

"What is he doing?!"

"Let me know if the bird changes direction. I won't be able to see where to steer from back here."

Zoro looked back in curiosity. "Are you planning to make the boat fly?"

"No, I can't do that. But I can speed us up a bit if the boat is as small as this one."

Taeyong focused on keeping her hands even with each other as she breathed deep before firebending twin flames. If her hands weren't even, even by the slightest bit, the boat would go off course. It took a moment before the fire's force took effect but then the boat pushed off after the bird, skimming straight over the waves.

"Keep going straight. We're catching up."

"Alright."

"Hey, Mister! Let us on!"

"What was that?"

"Some people swimming in the water." Zoro shouted out to them, "We can't stop - you'll have to climb on yourself!"

There was a sudden bump in the waves before three people began clinging to the sides and back of the ship. As they were climbing in, the one closest to Taeyong grabbed her arm, forcing her to stop bending before the ship capsized. Unfortunately this meant that the boat stopped as well, and suddenly enough to throw her face-first into the water. Resurfacing and emptying her mouth of seawater, Taeyong swam back to the boat before beginning to climb up the back again. Just as she had popped her head over the side, she heard the three men ending a threat to take over their ship, their backs turned to her. Swinging herself fully over the side, she felt her voice turn flat and low as she glared daggers into the imbeciles who had forced her into the water. "Excuse me?"

Zoro seemed to be of the same opinion because before Taeyong had a chance to act, he was already in motion, and with a few well-placed hits the men were all on the floor. Taeyong walked to stand beside Zoro, grabbing some oars on the way, and turned to face the others, now sporting lumps and bruises of all sizes. She had to admit the swordsman was quite good, much better than she had expected anyway, and was definitely someone she could rely on. The small part of her that was still debating his troublesomeness added a point to troublesome, but she kept her mind focused as she held out the two oars and stated an order, pouring all the annoyance she felt into the word, "Row."

With a single look at Taeyong's and Zoro's faces, the men didn't hesitate to take the oars and row as quickly as possible to the shoreline. The only man who wasn't rowing seemed to recognize Zoro from somewhere and began spouting apologies to the swordsman. Taeyong didn't listen to most of it as she concentrated on drying off without lighting anything on fire. When she was finished, the topic of conversation had changed and Zoro was now asking the men some questions, specifically details about their captain. Before any of the men could answer she jumped in.

"Buggy, or Buggy the Clown, is a captain whose specialty I believe is throwing knives. I've never met him or heard much but he does have a decent bounty, so there's a good chance he's not all talk."

"Buggy the Clown?" Zoro asked, not sure if the nickname was all that fearsome.

"Apparently he has a large, red nose and wears clown makeup. Beyond that I don't know anything about his personality." Too busy explaining to Zoro, Taeyong didn't notice Buggy's crew members wince when she described their captain's nose. Zoro missed it as well, not caring what they were doing so long as they kept rowing. The crewmen, though, exchanged looks before rowing faster - things would not turn out well for them if their captain overheard what these two were saying behind his back.

Zoro leaned his head back before smirking and motioning to Taeyong. "Hey, look at this. We've reached land."