5
Chapter Two
When the sun rose the next morning, it was of course Mitsurigi who woke up when the fist rays of its light pierced the dark sky. He smiled at Phoenix who curled up tightly against him, then slid his arm from under her and got out of the bed silently. The English morning was frigid and his head was pounding from a hangover, so he shivered as he set to making a fire and finding tea to make. When his demonic flame was crackling in the hearth, he began to raid her cupboards for some tea; he could not find any, but found a pleasant smelling powder in a tea canister. Once he had some of it brewing, he slid on his kimono and helped himself to a loaf of bread and some of the leftover dried meat.
When the kettle began to whistle, it roused Phoenix from her sleep, bringing her from her room in a disheveled mess. She stared at her guest, and said in a groggy and slurred voice, "Good, you made coffee." Using a whale bone comb to untangle her bedridden hair, she sat down on a large armchair and held out her hands like a pouting child, "Cup."
After he had poured two mugs, he handed her one and said slowly, "So this is coffee, hm?" She nodded, already drinking hers as he sipped his, letting the hot and slightly bitter liquid wash down his throat. His glazed eyes opened as his tongue instantly lost the fuzzy feeling that a night of drinking left, and he downed the rest of the drink in a few quick drafts. Wiping his lips on the back of his hand, he poured himself another cup and said quickly, "I wish we had this in Japan! It is far better than tea." He drank this cup slowly, savoring the taste as his headache abated greatly. His dulled eyes were now vibrant and awake, both colors sparkling with alertness.
Over the course of an hour, they went through another two pots of the elixir, and their headaches were dull and barely noticeable. Mitsurigi eventually glanced at the clock and hurriedly stood up, setting his cup aside, "Damn, I have to meet Silver soon!" He grabbed his swords from the corner and tucked them into the sash on his waist as Phoenix jumped up and ran to get ready without speaking. Using the comb and a black ribbon, Mitsurigi straightened his hair and put it in the usual ponytail that hung to his waist. When he straightened his kimono to look presentable, he turned to see her. She had replaced her silk pants and bra with a pair of brown pants, brown boots, and a blue captain's coat she had won from a naval officer in a game of dice. As Mitsurigi ran some shimmering oil over his purple hair. She pulled her own into a ponytail and capped it with a tricorn sailing hat, then tucked a short katana and pistol into her belt. "You look so different," said Mitsurigi as he eyed the Europe themed demoness with a smile.
She blushed and smiled gently and looked at her reflection in the mirror, turning to admire herself from every angle, "Well, I have been here for nearly three years, so I have had to adjust. I can hardly imagine going back to wearing kimonos and sandals, or no shoes at all for that matter." Along with the pride at being able to blend into her new home, there was hint of sadness that Mitsurigi recognized as homesickness. He gave her a reassuring smile and lightly punched her shoulder. She laughed a little as the punch knocked her back onto her chair, then followed him out the door, "Hey old man, what are you runnin-" She was cut off from speaking as she saw what was going on outside.
There were a group of men in ragged clothing standing outside with cutlasses out, facing Mitsurigi who coldly stared them down, his hand resting lightly on one of his katanas. The shortest of the pirates, a boy of about eighteen, stepped forward and said in a surprisingly regal voice, "If you will follow us, Wolf, we will lead you to Captain Silver." He regarded Phoenix with a look of uncertainty then nodded for the other pirates to put up their weapons and fall in behind him. Mitsurigi sighed and began to follow the group, making sure his female companion was at his side.
Silver must be a very cautious man, sending a group to fetch us... Wait, how did he know where I was? He realized that Silver must have sent a scout to make sure that he successfully killed Lurick. Either cautious or paranoid one. He kept his eyes on the pirates ahead of him, and tried not to think about it too much. He felt Phoenix gently tug on the sleeve of his kimono and he looked back at her; she nodded to the water next to them with a curious expression. When Mitsurigi looked, he narrowed his eyes slightly in surprise; there was a large black shadow traveling alongside them, at least thirty feet long and moving like a serpent.
"Admiring one of the captain's pets, Wolf?' That was the young man who had spoken earlier, seeing that the two demons were watching the giant shadow. When Mitsurigi turned his head to face the boy, the youth laughed a little, "Aye, one of his pets. The smaller of the two, that is Kap. We have not seen the big guy in a while." He eyed the open sea with a mix of curiosity and fear, which made both demons feel a little uneasy. The rest of the trip was quiet, and they walked along the dock for about an hour until they came to a grate that allowed water drained from the street's culverts to enter the sea. The group of pirates had to all pull together to open the heavy object, and then went through.
Mitsurigi crouched and ducked through the opening, then shut it after Phoenix joined them. "So, he hides under the city?" He spun and drew his sword, blocking one of the men's cutlasses. He held the man back easily, even though the pirate was big and kept pressing.
The youth, seemingly in charge, yelled in French and the large pirate put up his sword and grumbled under his breath. The youth rolled his eyes and then forced a smile at Mitsurigi, "Pardon my brutish comrade, his attack was misguided. See, our captain hides nowhere, it is simply convenient to make base right under the feet of the citizens of this city." He motioned to the tunnel behind him, "This opens into a large grotto in a while, and we have made it into our own little city. It is quite marvelous." He had to admit that the prospect was interesting, so Mitsurigi slowly put up his sword and nodded to continue.
They kept walking for even longer, and Mitsurigi began to wonder if he and Phoenix had been tricked, but all of a sudden, they came to a dead end, meeting a brick wall with moss and slime covering it. "Okay you bastards, you think this is funny?" He once more placed his hand on his sword, but hesitated as the pirates laughed and stuck their hands into the walls on either side of the corridor. There was a clicking sound, then gears grinding as the dead end slowly shifted, then slid aside. Gritting his teeth, Mitsurigi cursed himself as he let go of his weapon and stepped through the opening. He shielded his eyes as they were assaulted by the light of many lanterns and fires.
He heard Phoenix gasp and saw why when he opened his eyes; they were really in a huge cavern under the city with many houses, shops, and even a tavern built down here. He was actually in silent awe for the first time in a long while, and the pirates chuckled and all left except the young one. He let the two newcomers look around a little before he motioned for them to follow him, "Just a little further now." They nodded in return, letting the pirate guide them through the subterranean city. There were not just pirates, but all manner of people down here, entire families with men, women, and children. As they watched a few families buy things from stores or just walk around, the young man explained, "The rejects of society. Silver promises a safe life for them all. Killers and thieves mostly, all allowed to live here for free as long as they swear loyalty to Silver and his army. It can be a dangerous place, but one of freedom."
He kept speaking, actually holding the pair's interest until they came to a stop in front of a large body of water, lit up by the sun. There was a huge hole in the side of the cavern, which must be the cliff on the rear of the island. Through this hole came the sea water, providing a large lagoon within the grotto. It was upon this lagoon that a large black ship with even darker sails bobbed slowly. They had both seen and ridden ships, but something about the vessel here made the pair of demons shiver a little as they were led up the gang-plank and onto the pirate ship. The deck of the ship was very clean, though weather –worn thought he sails overhead seemed almost unable to move the ship, so tattered and covered in poorly patched tears.
Is this really the ship of a famous pirate, he wondered as they crossed the deck full of pirates who were doing various chores, cleaning or just adjusting the cannons and rigging. As they walked below deck, the mixed smells of rum, tobacco smoke, and gunpowder made Mitsurigi's eyes water a little. Though this was definitely the craft of a pirate, he still had trouble believing this ancient tub was that of a powerful or wealthy one. However, these doubts melted away as they entered the captain's quarters. The room was hazy with cigar smoke, but the lanterns next to the door still made the gold in each corner, piled to the roof, glimmer and shine enough to hurt their unadjusted eyes. On the far side of the room was a mahogany desk with a proud, tall figure sitting behind it, obscured by their own cigar smoke.
"Ah, the lad of the hour!" The heavy voice of Silver boomed as he leaned forward and smiled with a mouthful of stark white teeth, some capped gold and silver. Licking his lips with anticipation, the captain closed his left eye, the right one having a solid gold ball in its socket after a naval musket took the real one. "So I been told tale says you killed that dog Lurick and his men all, in a minute, Wolf." He opens his eye and fixes his gaze on Mitsurigi who slowly nods. The captain grins once more and says with a slight chuckle, "So I says to m'self that all is good. But to you I say, I needs to hold proof. So, m'boy, did you get the proof I asked for?" He extended his bony hand, and uncurls his fingers with his palm up, waiting patiently.
At first Mitsurigi had a hard time understanding the way the Englishman spoke, but caught on that he wanted the necklace he had taken from Lurick's corpse. He took the short necklace out and walked towards the pirate. As he was about to hand it over, Phoenix screamed in surprise, causing him to turn, baring his fangs and claws. He faltered as Silver laughed, "That is just my pet. C'mere Nagita." Mitsurigi narrowed his eyes as a long black cobra unwound from Phoenix's shoulders and slid across the room to rest in its owners lap. "Now, the proof, boy," said Silver as he stroked the snake with his free hand. Mitsurigi relaxed and slapped the jewelry into the pirate's eager hand.
Upon doing so, he backed away to watch curiously as Silver inspected the oddly shaped pendant on the end. He is surprised when Silver brushes an army of gold and charts off the desk, revealing its surface; it was covered by a mural of the sea, and what looked like a puzzle made of words instead of images was in the center. In different areas, there were three missing pieces, which Silver ran his fingers over before motioning for the young pirate who led them to come over. The young man nodded, and walked over, pulling out a brooch and a broken sword hilt as he did. His captain quickly broke oddly shaped decorations from both, then waved off the youth who took his place next to the pair of demons. "A lifetime of searchin' And at long last…" He shakes the pieces in his hand with excitement, "I can touch it!" Laughing, Silver slowly pushed the pieces into the missing slots of the puzzle.
The cabin was filled with a faint humming that grew louder as the pieces fused, making a solid tablet. To most it would be meaningless as it was neither English nor Japanese writing. But Silver seemed ecstatic, running his hands shakily over the tablet as he began to read, "God of The Seas' final will: I seal my power in this form, leaving my final testament to my loyal disciples. You, my followers, must shatter my final will and spread it amongst man in a multitude, so it may never be whole. In this way I can finally be done with my eternal life, and my lovely sea many forever be free without dominion by any living being." The room filled with the humming as he read the last line with authority, "The waves are my mistress who none shall hold, so long as the map remains unwhole."
Suddenly, the noise stopped at once and it grew silent, nothing happening that they could see. Then, very slowly, the words began to move as if coming to life. The moved and writhed, like a mass of snakes as they connected. To the awe of everyone there, they finally stopped moving and left a complete map of the entire world. As the two pirates and two demons peered closer, two spots appeared to glow on the map. One was a shining white spot, while another was black. The white seemed to be at the lower end of the Americas while the black one was just off the coast of England. The young pirate stammered, "That black spot is us! So the white must be…"
"The temple!" As Silver finished the statement, the tablet flattened into a scroll and rolled up. When the map did this, the captain picked it up and tucked it into his coat. He sighed deeply, pushing back a few of his long silver braids that had come loose in his frenzy, "Tell you what, Wolf." He looked up, meeting Mitsurigi's eyes, "Fill your pockets with gold." He nodded to Phoenix and added, "You too, demoness. I know I said one thousand, but I feel generous and indebted. Fill your pockets and then meet me on deck." He lit a cigar and then stood, leaving the room with surprising speed for someone with a peg-leg. The young pirate followed behind his captain, leaving the two demons behind.
"Can you believe this, Mit?!" Phoenix laughed happily, stuffing the many pockets on her coat with gold and jewels from the piles that Silver kept in his quarters.
Mitsurigi nodded and filled his kunai pouch seeing as he had no pockets on his kimono. It did not take long, and even after filling up on gold, they had still not done much to lessen the fortune the captain had in just this one room. "It is hard to believe, but I am not going to argue with it. He seemed excited to have gotten that tablet completed. It probably leads to some treasure hoard that makes this look like nothing." She nodded in agreement and followed him through the belly of the ship and finally onto the deck. Mitsurigi was assaulted by sunlight and he growled, "What the hell?" The ship was floating along, a few miles from the coast now.
He turned to ask Phoenix what she thought but was cut off by the voice of the young pirate, "What do you mean, cap'n Silver?!" The boy sounded shocked and more than a little scared, so they briskly followed the cry to find the young pirate standing opposite the captain and the rest of the crew. The young man turned to see the two demons coming up behind him, and his face was twisted with fear, looking quite pale and sick. As Mitsurigi and his companion came beside the fearful man, the rest of the crew aimed pistols and rifles at them. They came to a stop and Mitsurigi narrowed his eyes and looked to Silver in annoyance. Silver only smiled, sitting on a large oak throne made onto the deck.
"Wolf, I am sorry about this, boy." Silver sighed, waving for the men to lower their weapons as he continued, "But you are those other two can't be allowed to leave this ship alive, and it is plenty crowded. See, you three saw me map, and I can't have you being a risk to my lifelong goal, now can I?" As he spoke, he petted his cobra Nagita, chewing on the end of his cigar as he smoked. He laughed at the end of his little speech and nodded to the three convicted people, "It is a shame and all, after you just helped me so much. But oh well, life is a cruel bitch, isn't she? You have to die now Wolf, Ben, and you young demoness."
While Phoenix was actually shocked by the words of the sea captain, and the young man was still in shock, Mitsurigi had been sort of expecting this and spoke with a calming voice, "Come now John Silver, let us go back to the mainland. I have my gold I earned, and we have no intent to take what your map promises." As the captain rolled his eyes and motioned for the crew to take aim, Mitsurigi continued, "Let us each have the life we earned helping you. There is no need for…"
Silver slowly reached down and pressed the red of his cigar onto a cannon's flash pan, making the large gun fire. The cannon ball whizzed out and smashed into Mitsurigi's abdomen, covering the deck in his blood and ripping the pouch of gold he carried. The sound of gold hitting the wooden floor was mixed with Phoenix yelling in terror and sorrow and the young pirate shouting for her to follow him.
She grabbed the badly injured Mitsurigi and followed the pirate as Silver's men began firing at them. In a panic, she muttered a quick spell which made their blood expand, killing a few of them as their veins exploded, but most simply gritted through her unfocused spell and kept firing, landing a few shots on her and her injured partner as she jumped over the railing just as the young man did, preparing to swim. Instead her and Mitsurigi landed in a lifeboat, their falling weight added to the weight of the man making the ropes snap and the boat fall into the water. She began casting spells back at the men who fired from the deck, including Silver who used a large blunderbuss with a cycling tube of preloaded paper shells. As a few of them fell, she pushed the man to the bottom of the small boat and shouted some spell that made the boat lurch forward faster than a team of rowers could make it. Come on old man… don't die on me… Please…