chapter 3: little mishap(s)
(((-)))
Katsunan shifted uncomfortably in the chair, closing his eyes against the dank darkness. The yelling around him seemed to fade out and crescendo in the course of a split second, but both were deafening.
The boys, who looked to be a couple of years older than him, stumbled into the cave carelessly, leaning on each other and slurring about some girl one had met at a bazaar. They didn't seem the type he should associate with, let alone aggravate. Katsunan waited for them to notice him as he huddled in the shadow of a jagged column of wood jutting out of the sand. They wouldn't, of course, what with their drunken staggering and his pickily chosen hiding place. Water droplets sprayed by the waterfall about two feet away from him snapped against his skin, the cool rush of air generated by the falling water floated by his face. A strip of sand was highlighted by the little sunlight let in by the waterfall. The thin, acrid scent of mold wafted around. Annoying. He wanted to get out of here already, but he knew he'd be overwhelmed by the drunkards.
Closing his eyes, he debated between slipping out unseen and waiting through the entire debacle. They were yelling rowdily when he'd He'd almost drifted into a heat-induced nap when there was a sharp tug around his neck-his shirt collar. He peered into the face of the leering boy who jerked him backwards, "What the-" he yelled.
Katsunan could barely understand what they were saying. They were talking so much faster than his tutors did, and their thick, ragged voices were hard to discern. He was being dragged around, the faces and images blurring and flashing. The stitch of sand against his skin burned as he struggled against his assaulter's hold. Trying to recall the lessons of basic self-defense, his expression twisted and the air seemed to be harder to take in then before. The breathing he managed was deep but panicked.
"Fuckers." he muttered. They observed him drunkenly, not reacting to his words with anything but confusion.
Calm down and think, young Master. His tutor, Shinto. Analyze the situation. A crowd of boys-all stronger than him-were jeering and shoving him around. The whip blur of motion made it hard to see anything clearly, but there were at least ten boys, stuffed into the cave. There was barely any place to move around. His head was turning circles and spinning. Act accordingly. On shaky legs, Katsunan dashed towards a source of light. Or, he thought he was. The dizziness made it hard to recognize anything. There was a sudden yell, which he barely recognized through the haze. It was a phrase often used by the foreign cook when he ran away from the kitchen with one of the smaller slabs of meat. "Get back here!"
He ducked around before the world turned and he fell, face crushing into the sand. It was all he could do to make sure he didn't breathe in any of the gritty grains as they closed in, irritated and amused all at once. A pair of boots stepped into view before one of the shoes, and subsequently a weight settled onto his neck threateningly, but Katsunan gritted his teeth, gathering courage. What was the phrase again? Stop, stop, stop...Katsunan struggled to get a grip on the elusive knowledge. When he finally grasped it, he yelled it as loudly as he could, which was barely above a whisper at this point. The boot crushed further into his throat before it was lifted suddenly. As soon as he could, Katsunan squirmed away from the crowd, the haze of his vision clearing. Through the legs of some of the boys, he saw a short silhouette, dark against the bright sunlight at the entrance, creeping towards him. As it came closer, the members of the crowd followed his diverted attention.
The silhouette-a boy who looked his age-approached him, laying a small hand on his equally small shoulder. His savior exchanged a brief conversation, some of which he followed.
They began to close in again and fear consumed Katsunan. Glancing back, he saw the telltale twinkle of something-not fright, but helplessness-in his eyes. Hesitation. The other's face tightened minisculely before his hand reached out in what seemed a conditioned reaction. It seemed somewhat familiar to Katsunan, but he couldn't quite place its significance at the moment. The obscure faces of the delinquents neared them still, and a thrill of fear shot up his spine. His hands were shaking as the other stood in front of him protectively.
Then there were more silhouettes against the light-a group of about five boys, who were looking around curiously. The chattering of the language he barely followed commenced, and one of the boys-the leader, by the looks of it-approached, barking out conversation with his savior before sticking out a hand to pull him up.
Katsunan greatfully took the hand, startled when the other started pumping it violently. His wide-eyed expression must've made the others take pity on him, because they subtly separated the two.
Most of his assaulters had left by this point, wandering off to who-knows-where to pass out from cheap alcohol drunkenness, but a few remained.
Even still, they avoided conflict and ran away.
It would've damaged his pride if he'd cared.
(*)
When the bear of a man finished speaking with his savior, he sighed and walked towards Katsunan as the boy left the room. As soon as the he was out, the man turned and, in a fluent but accented tongue, asked "What is your name?"
Katsunan was startled. The man, who looked to be some sort of ruffian, knew how to speak his native language. It'd been nearly three days since he'd last spoken to anyone.
"Katsunan," he answered simply. The man rubbed his stubbly chin contemplatively.
"By the looks of it, you're a monk student," Ulysses commented.
"Yeah." he said, nose twitching as he observed the room, still keeping hostile but cautious eyes on the other.
"Ah, one of those," the man said, smiling a bit. "My name is Ulysses Spinnaker. You've probably heard of me," he continued. Katsunan scowled at the man. Of course he knew who Ulysses Spinnaker was. "And the boys who brought you here were my sons and their friends. The one who just left is Isaac."
"Tch." he finally grunted, turning his head away from the man.
"Well, as fun as this's been, I must be off. My crew needs me. Isaac should be back in a couple of minutes, so just wait right there."
The door shut with a soft click, leaving the room quiet and empty save for the jumping flame of a candle on a table under the window. There were three hammocks-two on one side, and another at the opposite wall. Katsunan's shoes were neatly set by the door, waiting for his retrieval. The floorboards were rough beneath his bare feet.
He sat with his legs folded beneath him. What should he do in a strange house with the host gone? Explore?
It didn't even have two rooms. There wasn't any place to go from here. Restlessness settled in his stomach, and Katsunan had to struggle not to start poking around the desk.
The noontime sun was obscured by a single white wisp of cloud. Outside the window, he saw a cave exuding suspicious green fumes. Strange, dangerous-looking plants grew between the cracks of the rocks around it.
The door creaked open, snapping Katsunan back to attention. Stepping into the room was his savior, long dark hair obscuring his face as he stepped inside without taking off his shoes. He didn't say anything upon returning, simply setting down a small wicker basket and lifting the cloth covering its contents. Inside were sandwiches, mostly filled with meat and some red fruit.
The other began to eat, slowly and carefully, while Katsunan clapped his hands together and gave thanks. There were about twelve sandwiches in the basket, four of which he ate greatfully. He didn't know when his next meal was, after all.
After he'd been rescued by the louder brother, he'd been interrogated in a language he'd only begun learning a year ago. His hand still slightly ached from the tight grip of the boy's hand and his shoulder was sore from the violent shake. Of course, they'd let him off eventually when they realized his confusion.
Everyone that he'd seen was older than him and Isaac; the brother and his friends looked a couple years older. The floorboards dug into his legs as they both continued to sit and eat their food in silence.
Isaac stood suddenly, startling Katsunan. His eyes followed the other as he walked over to the desk and picked up one of two books. This one was thicker, bound in leather and trimmed with dull golden western designs. It crackled as he opened to a place marked with a thin red ribbon glued in the spine.
Standing, he stretched, trying to conceal his consciousness of the eyes that occasionally glanced up at him. He was sore from the fight, muscles twitching and prickling with sharp pain every time he moved them wrong. Before long, the other stood up and grabbed his arm, guiding him to one of the hammocks. He pointed at it, and Katsunan complied, laying wearily in it. He was uneasy as it swayed at each little shift in position he made. What if he fell out while he was asleep?
((*))
"What's he like, Isaac?" Damien asked, sucking powder sugar from a funnel cake sold at Aquila off his finger. Dried honey stuck to the corners of his mouth stubbornly as he looked down at his little brother.
"Excitable," Isaac replied. "I think you will like him once the language barrier is crossed." he said, remembering the wide grin that crossed the boy's face when he brought food.
"I don't see why he doesn't just speak our language. After all, he is on our island."
Isaac was silent at this.
"Well, Dad knows all sorts of languages anyways. He can teach him how to talk like us."
"Yes, but I get the feeling he won't want to learn from him."
"Why?"
"Do you not know what your Father did in Mooshu?" Isaac asked incredulously.
"If it was important, he'd tell me." Damien responded diffidently, scratching the back of his hand. Isaac shook his head at him, but didn't say anything. Maybe he was better off not knowing his father's exploits. "Where is Dad, anyway?"
"He returned to Jonah town soon after he talked with Katsunan."
"So his name's Katsunan?"
"Allegedly," Isaac murmured. The sun was setting, the darkness and stars beating down the orangey hues of twilight. "Did you finish your mission?" he asked. The subject change didn't go unnoticed by Damien, who blinked at him owlishly before answering.
"No. Joshua got sick of us and took off in the middle of it," his brother grinned. "I wouldn't be surprised if he had a dartboard with our pictures on it," A brief silence built before Damien asked, "So where's this Katsunan guy? It's the first time I get to meet one of your friends, you know."
"Believe me, I know," Isaac grumbled, casting a glance to Damien's cheery face. "I left Katsunan with Vadima since he was so curious about her lair."
"Oh. I feel bad for the guy. You should've just left him with LaFitte; she's much more fun."
"Perhaps," Isaac said. "Or we could just leave him there for the night," he said, voice dry and remorseless. "I have a feeling he will be noisy if we bring him back." Damien chuckled at his brother's coldness.
"Don't joke around like that, Isaac. Someone might take it seriously." Damien said. I am serious, Isaac thought to himself, but he let the older continue towards the cave.
"You come back here with that, you skinny goat!" yelled a woman from within. Loud, vengeful yelling and the sound of glass shattering followed. "Gahh! I got that all the way from Mooshu! Get out of my cave! Even if it's a favor from Isaac, you're never allowed to come in here again. As they looked inside, they spotted none other than Katsunan scowling back at Vadima as she chased him away from her shelves with a broom. That is, before she tripped over one of the overabundant floor cushions. Katsunan let out a victorious smile. She faceplanted into the rug, laying still for a second before rising, dark purple fog beginning to gather around her. Katsunan's smug smirk vanished, replaced by an uncertain, focused scowl. He reached into his robes and produced two short knives.
"What's going on?" Damien interrupted carelessly. Through all the chaos, his smile remained static and unconcerned.
"Damien, Isaac, come restrain this hooligan! And Isaac, you owe me two favors now."
"Ah." Isaac replied, observing the room. Glass glittered against the mossy stone bricks, and ingredients were scattered everywhere. A pink powder lingered in the air near the far wall where the witch doctor usually stood, Vadima's crystal ball lay dull near a table, and Vadima herself was sprinkled with gops of some thick, green liquid.
When he saw Isaac, Katsunan grinned, eyes sparkling. He began chattering in his own language proudly, providing a sweeping tour of everything he did as he darted around and pointed out little details of his ministrations, That is, until he saw Isaac's expression.
The boy was petrified, face stuck in one mood even as Damien shook his shoulders violently as Katsunan yelled hostilely, trying to separate the two. Katsunan was now rapid-firing questions at the younger, who looked straight ahead despite the concern he garnered.
The sun was far below the horizon when Ulysses arrived only to find an exhausted Vadima watching over the lounging forms of Damien and Katsunan. Isaac was still standing, stock still, staring at all the misdeeds of his overly loyal 'friend.'
He tossed the two fast-asleep boys over his shoulder while one hand dragged his plank-like son behind him. Happy mutters of 'oh, youth,' 'i wonder what happened this time,' and 'it's good to make new friends,' escaped his mouth.
(And undoubtedly, it had happened before. It had to, with a brother like Damien.)
((*))
When Isaac finally recovered in the afternoon of the next day, he awoke to the sounds of studious muttering.
"Glass." murmured his father.
"Garasu. G-L-A-S-S." Who was it again?
"Jars."
"Jasu. J-A-R-S." Katsunan repeated.
"Glass jars."
"Garasu jasu." Katsunan repeated, stumbling over the muted syllables. "Grasu jars. Grass jars. Glass jars." He repeated, until the 'R' became a muted 'L.'
Ulysses began speaking in the other language, and Isaac only caught snatches of familiar phrases. They continued speaking for some time as Isaac lay listening before the boy finalized, putting phrases together. He doubted the other really comprehended the full meaning, but at least he knew enough to put them together.
"Good morning. I am sorry for breaking your grasu jars."
They started talking again before the creak of the floorboards under one set of heavy footsteps alerting him to the man's exit. He turned over.
He didn't expect that there would be a face waiting fervently for him.
"Good morning! I'm sorry for breaking your gurasu jars!" Katsunan yelled, kneeling and slamming his head into the ground. Damien started out from his sleep, falling from the hammock nearby with a gasp.
"Oh," he started. "Those weren't mine. Those were Madame Vadima's-you should apologize to her," At Katsunan's helpless look, he said "Say sorry to the woman, not me."
"But...I do not want to." the other said slowly. Damien unmirthfully grumbled before curling up on the floor and trying to go back to sleep.
"That would be rude."
"Rude?" the other repeated.
"Impolite. Not nice."
"...because you told me, so I will say…" the other mumbled, embarrassed.
((*))
"This child will not be in my class, regardless of his or your wishes," Vadima said disdainfully. "The troublemaker would be better off with Miss LaFitte." she ignored the burning glare she was receiving from said child. Isaac was standing off to the side, inventorying the shelves and making sure everything was back in place.
"Woman, let me join Sir Isaac's class." After learning the term 'sir' the week before, he'd taken to calling Isaac as such.
"Did you think a two-day-late apology and fifteen minutes of doing nothing but bothering me would be enough to convince me of your angelic ways?"
"Vadima, my friend, you can't still be mad about that little mishap of ours, can you?" he asked, turning a pleading face to the woman. I thought she would be over it by now! He imploringly grabbed her hand and the boy's, clapping them together and shaking them. "See? A handshake is all it needs. Now please enroll him in this class before he decides that my presence is completely useless."
"It is completely useless," she said immediately. Ulysses sobbed into his withdrawn hands, frame shaking as he walked to a corner and sat there pathetically, peeking every second or so to see if she pitied him yet. "Now both of you get out of my cave before you destroy it." When neither budged, she grabbed the back of Ulysses' collar and dragged him to the entrance. But before she could grab hold of Katsunan, his hand darted into his robe, lifted something up, and smashed it down. Smoke puffed around him, filling the cave almost as soon as it exploded. Vadima screamed in frustration as she ran around like a headless chicken, trying to find the boy. When she bumped into a body, she grabbed it.
"Madame, is that you?" Isaac asked as he felt arms crush around his shoulders. However, before she could respond, her momentum made her lose her equilibrium, leaning heavily on the shorter boy. The bumped into the shelves,
Glass shattered. The shelf tipped dangerously. Glass rained.
(*)
"Sir Isaac, I'm sorry! It won't happen again!" Katsunan yelled, ignoring the irritated stare of one Miracle Mitch, who was standing as far away as possible and brewing something that perfumed the room with the scent of rotten eggs.
Isaac just stared at the familiar ceiling as he lay on the uncomfortable surface. He didn't even acknowledge the other boy's presence as he continued to execute perfect bows.
"You should apologize to me." Vadima said as she stood in the doorway. Instead of the usual scarf, white bandages were wrapped around her head. Her usual tight corset was replaced with a baggy white shirt. Though her injuries were worse than Isaac's when they were brought in, she had a quicker recovery rate.
"Tch, you don't deserve it," Katsunan scoffed. And then, under his breath, "Thank you for helping Sir Isaac."
"Bullying my new student, Vadima?" asked a high, swinging voice as a short woman stepped in behind the other teacher.
"Miss LaFitte, always a pleasure," Vadima said, a small smile lighting her face.
"I've told you to call me Morgan," she said playfully, swatting Vadima's shoulder before frowning apologetically when the other winced. "Well, as you may have heard, I am Morgan LaFitte, the mentor for young swashbucklers."
"Katsunan glanced at her uninterestedly, face falling to a default scowl before going back to his apologies.
"Oh, how cute!" Morgan exclaimed with twinkling eyes, not noticing the differential treatment she was getting. "My new favorite student!" Her purple scarf and gray coat swayed as she fluttered around Katsunan, He still ignored her, apologizing even louder as Isaac's eyes twitched in annoyance.
"You change your favorite student on a weekly basis, Miss LaFitte," Vadima said, smirking.
"Oh, you. It's only cause they're all so precious," she replied as she unwrapped herself from the boy. "Well, now that I've seen him, I have to go, as much as I loathe leaving."
"Goodbye, Miss LaFitte," Vadima called as the compact woman walked out.
"Call me Morgan!"
Vadima'd had enough of the loud apologies, so she returned to her cave.
Only for Damien and Ulysses to sweep past her. Isaac closed his eyes against the chaos that was about to ensue. The door shut quietly, and both new occupants were surprisingly subdued as they moved towards Isaac's side. Isaac saw that both seemed exhausted, though in different ways. The lingering smell of dried sweat was clear on Damien, while his father looked somewhat drained.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Long missions," Damien said simply before sitting near his feet. "Let's go home, yeah?"
"I'll carry you home, Sir Isaac!" Katsunan said unreasonably. He was at least three inches shorter and nowhere near as bulky as Damien, not to mention the father. But before he could move to pick Isaac up, a large hand hoisted him back and gingerly picked the injured up.
"Let's go home." the man said gruffly. Without waiting for a response, he was already at the door. Katsunan, displeased, trailed after but had half a mind to protest the man. Damien dragged in the back.
(*)
"Hey kid, wanna play a game?" A thin, spindly hand emerged from the alleyway, snagging at him and tugging on his arm. A skeletonesque man emerged from the shadows between two shops. "First round comes with a free trinket," Katsunan glared at the man, shaking off his hand. He was walking with an important person and had no time to spare for strange men. The tallow skin stretched over his long face tightened in a grimace. "C'mon kid, I gotta make a living." Isaac, who'd gone a few paces ahead, glanced back with an unreadable expression.
He doubled back, shoving a hand into his pocket. The man scrutinized him. "How 'bout you, sonny?" he asked, leering. "Your foreign friend doesn't seem to understand me. Perhaps you could translate after you've played."
"I know what you said, vendor. I don't want to play." Katsunan said, proud of himself for not stumbling over the words. He'd made sure to learn as much of the language as possible so that communication was easier between him and the brothers. He didn't see the need to talk to much anyone else (except Ulysses, but he didn't count).
"I'll play." Isaac said, giving the spindly man an expectant stare. The other broke into a toothy smile that emphasized the angularity of his face. His sharp blue eyes seemed too round, too silly-they bulged outwards, giving him an almost cartoonish look in his feeble state. He rubbed his scraggly, tangled beard, beginning down they way and waiting for them to follow him.
The man mumbled conversations raspily to himself, looking nervous and excited as he continued into the alley. His tilted amble led them into the narrow way, lined by random scraps and the occasional pile of trash lining the path. Isaac stepped over neatly stacked tincans as the scent of rotting fish and overripe fruit invaded their noses. They scrunched their noses as they continued to evade the trash the skeletal man stepped around deftly.
A window abovehead slammed open, making both boys jump. Neither even had room to blink when they were rained with slimy, rotten, disgusting trash. Fishbones got caught in Isaac's long hair, and he closed his eyes against what seemed like old milk slopping down his face. Thankfully, the few tin cans and tinted yum bottles missed his still-recovering head, dropping by his feet. When he finally felt that his eyes were trash-safe, he opened them to see that Katsunan was in much the same state.
He stared straight ahead, disappointed in his luck and the world in general.
I won't stop smelling like trash for the rest of the month, probably, he thought. Of course, the old man probably has it worse. The heat bore down on them and the window slammed shut without so much as an apology or acknowledgment of their presence. Katsunan was shaking with rage, head crowned with falling orange peels and glops of solid milk.
"Oi, trash bitch! Watch where you're dumping your shit! You could've killed us!" Katsunan screamed angrily at the window, which remained closed and unmoved by his fury. In the distance some man yelled 'shut up, brat' before all was quiet.
Katsunan turned on the skeletal man resentfully.
"This is your fault, old man. You better pay for the damages you caused to Sir Isaac."
"S-sir Isaac?" the man laughed. "There are no royals here,"
"Sir Isaac is the most grandest, most refined man you'll ever meet!" The man's laughter died down and he stared at Katsunan amusedly.
"Right, right," he said. "Kids these days." he mumbled afterwards, a small smile making its way onto his face despite having a fleck of rotten milk on him too. Isaac wiped the remnants of the trash from his face and hair, wincing as his hand's slimy new coat dripped and slowly. Finally, he just wiped it on the wooden walls, ignoring the possibility of splinters and oh God was more dripping down his face.
He felt like he was about to be sick when the man approached a small dwelling. Actually, it was more like three layers of cloth covered in more filth draped and tied over four sticks dug into the ground.
"Alright, this is how you play," the man said, taking out a large wooden tankard, a small wooden cup, and a small unglazed planting pot. He pulled a small chunk of moldy cheese from his pocket before sitting down on the ground. "I will put this delectable morsel under one of the cups. Memorize which cup the cheese is under, and then I will mix everything up. If you get it right, you can have both the fresh cheese and your free trinket. If not, then you go home with one less gold and feelings of disappointment in yourself. Get it?" He smiled at his own joke as he set the three cups on the sand.
"There we go." he said, placing the cheese under the smaller wooden cup. All the cups are different! Isaac thought, clearing his expression. There's no way anyone would get it wrong!
It didn't end there. The man moved his hands so slowly-there was no magical moment where they were astonished and all the containers moved in a blur. The old man stopped, holding his hands out wide. "Alright. Which one is the cheese in?"
"This one," Isaac said, touching the top of the small wooden cup.
"Oh my, you have sharp eyes, young man." the man said, feigning excitement even as his expression dropped. "Now, your trinket…"
He dug around in the pile of alleged trash in the back of his little shelter. He extracted something white-a piece of bone?-and turned over isaac's hand, dropping it into his palm. The man's hand lingered on the wooden cup before lifting it and picking up the piece of cheese.
"As expected of Sir Isaac!" Katsunan beamed at the other. Anyone would have gotten it… Isaac thought to himself.
"Can I just take the trinket?" Isaac asked. Who would take food from a starving man?
"Ah...yes," the man said, smiling. "Thank you for playing, young man!" And with that, Isaac and Katsunan were gone.
"Sir Isaac, you deserved that cheese, no matter how rotten."
"I didn't want it. He'd be better with it than I would," Isaac said, staring at the clouds crossing the afternoon sun. "We should go home. Damien said he'd be back early today."
"Ah, okay."
(*)
As soon as he was sure everyone was asleep, Isaac pulled the piece of bone from his pocket. Tiptoeing to the desk, he held it under the light of the moon. The bone looked even starcher under the gentle illumination, almost glowing in his hands. He looked closer-the bone wasn't just picked up from scraps; it was carved into a gently curving fish, as if leaping. It was about as long as his thumb, and a hole was drilled behind the head, just where the first dorsal fin began.
He rubbed his thumb over the charm-the scales, each individually etched, were realistic to a point, detailed perfectly. He yawned before tucking the fish back into the pocket of his pants, ignoring the slightly damp feeling.
(((-)))
A/N 9/27/2014: okay woo that was late. Haha. Anyways, like I said, I'm going to go ahead and write the next few chapters so there might be a slightly longer break between chapters.
A/N 10/2/2014: I am so sorry! I don't know what happened with the chapter-I just checked it so I could see where I was for the next chapter, but I didn't know it would do that...thing. Anyways, here's the REAL third chapter with the actual mishaps. I'll start writing the fourth now.
~flockwound
