Siren of the Sea
Chapter 7: Sky and Sea
Happy anniversary! Yup, a year ago I was lying in bed, unfinished with the first chapter of Siren but deciding to post it anyways just so it can say it was published on Natsuki's birthday (I posted it at like 11:58pmish, 8/15/2009). Anyways, thanks for sticking around for a year! I can't believe I was only able to get out 7 chapters in a year's worth of time, but whatever. Anyways. Thanks again for keeping Siren alive. Oh, and of course, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our lovely Natsuki Kuga! May she always be awesome, sexy, and a total rebel badass.
Well let's get this thing going then.
Enjoy.
My spell is passion and an art
My song can bind a human heart
And if you chance to know my face
My hold shall be your last embrace
Natsuki stood on the bow of the ship, completely bored. She had nothing to do, not to mention Captain Viola ditched her. Not like she cared or anything… in fact she should be glad the murderess was leaving her alone for once! Yeah. Definitely.
The sort-of-but-not-really prisoner let out a groan and buried her face in her hands.
Mom… dad... how are you guys? I miss you. I'm doing okay… you know, for being on a pirate ship and all. The Siren isn't as bad as they say. Well, she is… but not all the time for some reason.
"Kuga…" Nao said as she came up from behind her friend. Natsuki spun around and blinked in surprise.
"Nao! Hey…" Natsuki clawed some hair out of her face and then took a step closer to the boatswain. "I'm alive," she offered with a goofy grin.
Nao chuckled. "I know. I would've, you know, said something last night when I saw you but I didn't want to piss Shizuru off or anything."
"Shizuru?" Natsuki repeated with some surprise. "You usually call her Viola."
"And she used to just call me Yuuki… but now I feel like I know her again, so we're back to being on a first name basis," the redhead explained.
"Oh…" Natsuki said lamely, not sure what else to say.
The two stood there, awkwardly in silence.
"Weeeeell," Nao drawled as she moved passed Natsuki, their shoulders brushing slightly, "I guess I'll see you around then."
Natsuki quickly turned and caught the redhead's arm. Nao turned her head over her shoulder to offer Natsuki a raised brow that asked 'yes?'
Natsuki opened her mouth to say something and then closed it. Crap. She really had no reason to stop Nao from leaving. To tell the truth she had really no idea what to do now that Shizuru had granted her a bit of freedom (and wasn't taking advantage of it, much to Natsuki's surprise). Nao was really the only source of entertainment Natsuki knew, and now that she wasn't locked in her cage she had no idea what to do with herself.
What does a bird do when it's finally let out of its cage? Would it enjoy its newly given freedom because the cage is the only thing it's known, or would it be frightened by this new privilege and be forced back into the comfort of its chains?
Natsuki hesitantly released Nao. "Nothing, I guess…" she muttered.
The redhead turned and faced her once again. "Go find something to do, Kuga. You're finally out of the brig, so make yourself useful."
"Where is… where did Viola go?" Natsuki asked.
Both eyebrows lifted before lowering, a knowing smile appearing on Nao's face. "What's wrong? Miss your… what did you call her? Slave master?"
Natsuki made a face. "Shut up, forget it! I'll go… find something to do."
"Good," Nao said simply as she offered Natsuki another infuriating wink before spinning on her boot heel and stalking off.
Alone again. Damn.
If you don't have people around, Natsuki realized, then being 'out' of her cage was the same as being stuck in it. What was the point?
So, what to do?
"Oi! Kuga!" Someone called. Natsuki turned only to find Chie, the Kiyohime's navigator approaching and waving.
"Uh, hey," Natsuki replied, her eyes flickering to all the weird devices in Chie's hands.
"I hear our lovely Captain granted you quarter?" A pause. "Well, for real this time?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah, I guess you could say that… she's giving me some kind of… trial period. I'm supposed to prove myself before she tells me I can really join the crew."
Both dark eyebrows lifted as the spectacled pirate appeared impressed. "To be honest, I'm kind of surprised she's even giving you a trial." A pause. "Or that she hasn't killed you yet." Another pause. "Or at least slept with you. Wait, has she slept with you yet?"
The semi-prisoner blinked, coughed into her fist, and then averted her gaze from Chie's interested one. "N-No," she barked. Green flickered back to Chie's gaze and then away again. She could feel her cheeks burning. "She hasn't done anything yet. And she won't."
Much to Natsuki's chagrin, the navigator chuckled. "She's the infamous Captain Viola, Kuga. If she hasn't tried anything yet it's only a matter of time."
Natsuki's nostrils flared as she fought off thinking about that night. No thanks. "If she does I'll kill her," Natsuki replied with a small shrug. She said that with as much confidence as she could muster, though it was very unconvincing.
Chie gave Natsuki a searching look before turning and then waving for Natsuki to follow her. "Come on with me a sec. I can make you useful… get you some 'sea farin' experience' if you know what I mean."
Natsuki watched Chie walk off before following after her. Finally, something to do.
Shizuru yawned. She had had her pirates set up a spot for her on deck, right where she felt the sun was hottest. When there was nothing to do but wait for a very unlucky ship to sail by, Shizuru found herself needing things to do to pass the time. She often gave Tomoe command of the ship and did whatever she wanted, which most of the time included sex of some type. Today, however, she just wanted to lie on the deck and do nothing.
Half-naked.
She was lying on her stomach, her top half completely bare while she still had on her tight drawers and leather boots. She considered taking off her boots too, but something about walking around barefoot made her feel like she was one of her lowly pirates. Quality boots were hard to come by so many of her pirates did in fact go barefoot most of the time… unless of course they looted a pair off a corpse.
Yukino knelt beside Shizuru, rubbing the smooth skin on her back with all kinds of oils and lotions she had picked up while in town. Haruka didn't really approve of Yukino being used in such a way but she never said anything about it and Yukino never brought it up. Hell, maybe she even liked it. Shizuru thought so, since most of her pirates, when walking by, would cast envious glares in Yukino's direction.
Then again, perhaps it was because Shizuru knew of Yukino's crush on Haruka. Shizuru knew best of all that if anyone could be entrusted with such a task without somehow falling in love with her, or trying to move their hands to interesting places, it was Yukino. The girl was, firstly, much too shy and nervous to do anything naughty. The first time Shizuru asked Yukino to give her a massage had transformed the usually composed and mousy girl into a stuttering, completely flustered mess.
By now Yukino was used to it, and so with only the slight hint of a blush the girl continued smoothing the lotion across Shizuru's flawless skin. Her hand slid slowly across the planes of Shizuru's back, over the slope of a shoulder blade, along the sides of her body.
"My, you get better every time," Shizuru purred, her cheek resting on the thin blanket Yukino had laid out across the deck. It was just long enough and wide enough for Shizuru's entire body. Shizuru let out a small, satisfied moan when Yukino lowered her hands to her lower back, forming small circles with her knuckles into Shizuru's skin.
"I-It's my pleasure, Captain," Yukino replied, mostly just to have something to say so that the moments after Shizuru's sexy sound were not awkward… which they usually were, at least for Yukino. Shizuru never seemed to notice.
"How is Haruka doing down there? She was rather excited about the ship in the distance and I worry that she's getting the cannons ready for a confrontation that will—"
"Never happen," Yukino finished for Shizuru, a fond smile appearing on her lips as she thought of her fearless gunner. "Haruka is getting the cannons ready… but I think it's best we're always prepared, don't you think?"
Shizuru let out a small hum of agreement. "I suppose you are correct…."
There was a brief moment of silence, where Yukino happily continued massaging Shizuru's back and where Shizuru lay content.
Another thought struck the pirate queen, and she soon asked, "Did you and Tomoe finish handing out civilian clothing to the crew?"
Yukino's hands stopped just on the small of Shizuru's back. She only did this because she knew it would make Shizuru nervous, and when Shizuru was nervous she would grow tense, and when Shizuru grew tense Yukino could feel the muscles beneath her smooth skin stiffen. It was a guilty pleasure Yukino took and so when she felt the familiar feeling of Shizuru's impatience and discomfort, she replied with, "I think so. Tomoe said she handled it, Captain."
Instantly the muscles Yukino felt tighten under her fingers, just below the surface, released their tension again.
"Good," came the curt response. Shizuru often grew agitated, not understanding why Yukino would sometimes hold off from giving her the answer she so desired.
Natsuki stood on the poop deck with Chie and Midori.
"Hold it like this!" Midori explained, placing Natsuki's hands on either side of the ship's steering wheel.
Natsuki had to admit; holding onto this thing was kind of cool. She felt powerful with the wind in her hair, her hands controlling the direction of the giant vessel, and nothing but vast sea in front of her.
"This is cool," Natsuki said, trying to mask the excitement she truly felt.
Chie and Midori exchanged big grins before Chie gently tapped Natsuki's shoulder, signaling that Natsuki should step back. The girl did, and Midori took over once more.
Chie pulled out a spyglass and held it out to Natsuki, who eagerly accepted it. After admiring it for a split second, the thing was already up to her face, with Natsuki's hands circled around it. She turned this way and that, trying to see through the spyglass.
"You can see so far with this thing!" Natsuki exclaimed, turning it back to get a close up on Chie's nose.
"It's especially good for checking out the asses of the pirates below!" The navigator chuckled as she gently pointed the spyglass away from her nose and towards the front of the ship. "See anything in the distance, Kuga?"
Natsuki's eyes narrowed as she tried to focus. A small, absolutely adorable gasp was heard as a ship came into view. "It's a ship!"
Midori took a sip of ale and then nodded enthusiastically when the spyglass was lowered, revealing a shocked Natsuki. "That it is! Can you tell us anything about the ship?"
Natsuki peered through the spyglass again, determined to figure something out about the ship. Hm. It looked like the kind of ship Ito had. A trader's fluyt? The flag flying above its mast was the national flag of Zipang. It certainly wasn't a navy ship, which was probably a good thing.
The deck of the ship was still too far away to see, so she couldn't make out who the passengers were either. Finally she said, "I think it's a passenger ship… the people on board must be travelling somewhere."
Midori rubbed at her imaginary beard and then stole the spyglass back, bringing it to her face so she too could make this conclusion. "You seem about right… the middle of the ship seems to have an awful lot of cabin space. Poor scallywags…"
Natsuki glanced at Midori, her brow furrowing cutely. "Poor scallywags? Why?"
Chie, swinging her arm around Natsuki's shoulders and pulling her close, pointed up to the flag flying above their tallest mast. Natsuki blinked up at Viola's pirate flag. The sword with the snake coiled around it in an 'S' shape. Right, they were on a pirate ship, and a passenger ship only meant one thing to pirates. Murder and pillaging.
Her expression significantly darkened and she stepped away from Chie's hold.
"Oh," she uttered, no longer having fun.
Seeing the crestfallen Natsuki Kuga, Chie and Midori exchanged upset looks. Natsuki was a lot cuter when she was smiling, excited over something like a child.
"Maybe you can talk to our glorious captain about it," Midori suggested weakly.
"You do know this is how we make a living right?" Chie asked. Unlike Midori, she didn't want to give false hope. She wanted to make Natsuki understand their perspective a little better. "If we don't make a certain amount of gold, not only does the Siren's reputation weaken, but so does her crew's morale. The last thing we want is a mutiny."
Natsuki scowled and headed for the ladder leading down to the main deck. "You know there's an honest way to make a living," she grumbled as she began lowering herself down. "I'm going to go talk to Shizuru."
And with that, the girl was gone.
Chie blinked after her and then glanced at Midori. "Shizuru?"
The other woman shrugged.
It didn't take long for Natsuki to find Shizuru. She wasn't too far away from her Captain's cabin. It was, however, surprising to find the ruthless captain in such a vulnerable position. After all, certainly anyone could walk up to the lazing Captain and stab her.
Hell, Natsuki could even do it.
And one day I will, she silently reminded herself as she approached.
Yukino looked up when Natsuki stood a few feet away. Her hands' ministrations paused and she stammered, "C-Captain Viola… you have a guest."
Shizuru groaned and refused to get up to see who it was.
Natsuki had to admit, she hadn't noticed Shizuru was half-naked until she was a few feet away. She was now standing absolutely still, her body turned to stone as if she had stared straight into the eyes of Medusa.
Green eyes were glued to the smooth skin—lathered in some type of oil or lotion—and the wonderful curves and flawlessness of Shizuru's back. It was as if God, when creating Shizuru Viola, had taken his time in designing her. He (or she) had carefully carved this woman out of marble, chipping away at her until she was perfect.
Natsuki thought, that when He was finished, He must've sat back, admired his handiwork, and said, "Finally, the perfect woman has been created."
And then He must've been so taken by his creation's outer beauty that he had completely forgotten to take just as much time with what was on the inside.
It was clearly the only logical explanation for how such a beautiful creature could turn out so rotten, at least Natsuki thought so and she was never really religious in the first place.
When Natsuki found that her vocal cords were in rebellion, she tried to clear her throat. Shizuru took this as one of her pirate's impatience for her attention and let out an annoyed sigh before making a show of slowly lifting up her body from the blanket beneath, and then turning onto her back.
This show rendered Natsuki into a puddle. The Cardair woman's arms as they held up the rest of her bodyweight were toned, feminine but clearly strong. Shizuru's chestnut hair, tousled and wavy, had hung down in front of her face, revealing her lovely slender neck. She had then turned onto her back, which gave Natsuki something resembling a heart attack.
Shizuru's front was just as perfect as her back. Her breasts, not too large and not nearly close to small looked soft and ample. Like Goldilocks and the three bears… Shizuru's seemed just right. Natsuki cringed at her thought, thinking that her thought process must be messed up. Who connected breasts with a childhood fairy tale?
Shizuru's stomach was smooth and toned. There were small scars Natsuki had never noticed before, but that was because she had never really focused on Shizuru's front as much as she did at that moment. Why oh why were Shizuru's drawers so low on her hips? Any lower and Natsuki would be able to see—
Two crimson eyes peered at Natsuki through a few locks of tawny hair. Lush lips curved into a wickedly lovely smile and formed the name, "Natsuki."
At the sound of her name, Natsuki snapped her attention to the cardinal eyes watching her. What had she come over here to say? Why was Shizuru still half-naked? Why did she not care that her breasts were out in the open for everyone to see?
And see they did, Natsuki noted. Nearly every pirate that walked by took in an eyeful as they passed. Did Shizuru even notice that some weren't even working, just constantly walking by to catch a glimpse of their captain's ever-perfect chest? Then again, Shizuru probably did notice, and she probably didn't mind at all.
No wonder everyone on this ship seemed to be gay.
"I…" Natsuki blinked. Think mind! Why have you abandoned me? What was I here to talk about again…? Crap!
Eyes the color of the finest red wine swirled with dark amusement. "Natsuki," those lips repeated, caressing the name with that accent, "to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"
Natsuki quickly averted her gaze when Shizuru made to stand up. She stared at the ocean the entire while it took for Shizuru to stand up and have Yukino put on her top.
"I um, need to talk to you," Natsuki said after a minute, her voice as husky as ever. Shizuru noted Natsuki's tenseness, not understanding what had the girl so panicked. It could be her nakedness, though she found the thought hilarious and not so surprising.
"About?" Shizuru asked as she buttoned up her blouse, leaving the first four open of course. She drew closer to Natsuki, feeling absolute glee when this caused the semi-prisoner to go further rigid. An arm stretched out and slender fingers wrapped around Natsuki's shoulder. "Are you quite alright, my captive?"
My captive. Natsuki's gaze flickered back to the captain's and she let out a sigh of relief when she noticed the older woman was fully clothed this time. "I thought I wasn't your captive anymore."
Shizuru simply smiled, her piercing gaze relentless. "You thought wrong. You will always be my captive whether you join the crew or not." The hand on Natsuki's shoulder lifted up slightly so that two fingers could capture a lock of dark hair. "You belong to me." She had said it matter-of-factly; as if it was a known fact that Natsuki was Shizuru's property.
"I do not," Natsuki nearly growled as she slipped away from Shizuru's playful hand, not liking that it felt good when the captain weaved her fingers into her long hair. She exhaled slowly and finally said, "The ship in the distance… it's a passenger ship. People are traveling on board it and they're likely poor… there is no point in taking it over."
Natsuki knew she said the wrong thing when Shizuru's nostrils flared slightly and the woman's hand searched for her scabbard at her side. Unfortunately, Shizuru was not wearing her scabbard, and had unattached it when she had taken off her top so that she could comfortably lie on her stomach.
"You do not tell me what I can and cannot take, Miss Kuga," Shizuru said, her smooth Cardair accent sounding harsh.
"It's who, not what," Natsuki replied, her tone flippant as she folded her arms over her chest. "I told you I'd help you, I'd join your crew, but I don't see the point in wasting your time taking out small ships when you can go for the big ones."
"I am going for the big ones… the big one." Shizuru's jaw tightened. The nerve of this girl, telling her what she should do! Who was the pirate queen around here, again? Clearly Miss Kuga had forgotten.
"Then why are you wasting time—?"
"You wish to save those people, do you not?" Shizuru whispered, though it didn't make her words any less harsh, her eyes any less intimidating.
Natsuki felt her pulse quicken when Shizuru leaned forwards. "I… no, I just—"
"Do not lie to me," Shizuru said, louder this time. She saw Natsuki break and begin to turn away from her, so she gripped the girl's chin and forced the green to meet her own red. "What are you so afraid of?" Shizuru asked this time, amusement pouring back into her eyes, into her smile.
Natsuki swallowed hard and stared deeply into those dark red pools. She felt like she was drowning in them. Good question, Natsuki thought as she made to get away from Shizuru, whose grip on her chin only tightened, painfully so. Natsuki stopped squirming and let a low growl escape from her throat when she felt Shizuru's other hand wrap around her upper-arm.
"Get off of me," she snarled though she knew better than to fight Captain Viola.
Shizuru, much to Natsuki's horror, leaned even closer, her eyelids lowering halfway and her smile still in place as her lips neared Natsuki's. It was only when Shizuru could feel Natsuki stop breathing that she halted her lips from moving any further. Shizuru's lips twitched into an odd smile, forming a cross between pity and smug. Natsuki was frozen to the spot, having stopped struggling.
"Do you want me to kiss you?" Shizuru breathed, her tone sultry and doing bad things to Natsuki's insides… or good things depending on who was being asked.
"N-No," Natsuki tried to growl but it only came out in a whimper, her body weakening under the Siren's crushing spell.
"Then stop defying me," Shizuru finished as she flung Natsuki backwards, away from her. The girl nearly fell onto her ass but she caught herself just in time, steadying herself and then holding onto the side of the boat for support.
Green eyes lifted to glare at the captain, who suddenly looked very annoyed.
"It simply makes me want you more," the captain finished, peering down at Natsuki as if she were an insolent commoner. After Shizuru was certain she had given Natsuki the most condescending look she could muster she spun on her heel and stalked off.
Natsuki rubbed at her chin and pretended that her entire body didn't feel boneless. She watched Shizuru walk off and then let out a groan of frustration when she realized she had probably just doomed the people on the approaching passenger ship to a crueler fate than whatever Viola had originally planned.
With Viola it seemed as though she was always taking one step forward and two steps back. It was absolutely frustrating and confusing. Was Viola going to be nice today or was she going to fly into an angry rage? Even Yukino seemed confused, and with one apologetic glance at Natsuki, she gathered all the lotions and oils and speed-walked after the captain.
"Gotta admit," Nao said as she slapped her hand to Natsuki's back and chuckled when the girl shot her a glare, "that was kinda hot."
Natsuki was in a sour mood and she huffed before propping her elbows on the sides of the ship and cradling her head on her interlaced fingers. Green eyes peered across a sapphire blue ocean. And then a thought struck.
She turned to Nao. "How come you're still alive?"
Surprise flickered across Nao's face but was quickly hidden behind an expression of amusement. "You thought she'd kill me?" The silent yes was in Natsuki's blank stare, and so Nao let out a chuckle before turning her gaze to the sea. "I've known Shizuru longer than you've been alive."
Natsuki said nothing, having nothing to say.
Nao continued, "We grew up together." A nonchalant shrug. "She needs me, I need her."
Natsuki's eyes widened a fraction and she straightened at that. It sounded rather like… like Nao and Shizuru were much closer than Natsuki originally thought. "You need each other?"
Nao blew air out of her nose and then gave another shrug. "I guess. We are the only ones who remember… who we were before…" she gestured all around, "before this happened. Without each other we'd get lost, we'd forget." Nao's lips formed a smug smile and she gave a playful wink. "Why? You jealous?"
Natsuki's eyes narrowed and she folded her arms over her chest. "Sooo jealous. But no, I'm really just… surprised. You said yourself a few days ago that she would kill you for helping me."
The redhead nodded and then held up a finger and said, "Exactly! A few days ago she very well may have. We were disconnected for quite some time. That doesn't mean I don't care about her… and now we're more connected than we ever were before…" And I think I owe it all to you, Kuga, though I don't know why exactly. "She's someone I can love again."
Natsuki blinked and an unpleasant feeling moved through her. "Love…?" She uttered, as if she were afraid to say the word aloud. "You love her?" And what do you mean 'again?'
"So you are jealous? Jealous over which one of us?"
"Be serious!" Natsuki barked.
The pirate chuckled and then slowly shook her head. "Relax. I love her like a friend and I know she loves me in that way too… at least she remembered very recently that she does." Nao idly examined her nails and then pulled out a dagger, which she then used to scrape out dirt. Or was that blood? Either was likely. "So did you hear about the ship in the distance?"
Natsuki wasn't too happy to change the subject but nodded. "Yeah. Chie and Midori showed it to me… it looks like a harmless passenger ship." There was a pause as she tried to decide what else a pirate might say. She quickly added, "It's probably lightly armed."
Lime green eyes lifted up to meet with dark viridian. "And are you gonna help us take her down, or were you just hoping that Shizuru wouldn't see through your 'can I join the crew' thing?"
Natsuki's lips parted with surprise before she composed herself and nervously asked, "W-What do you mean?"
The vixen rolled her eyes and waved her dagger in the air, "You know. Obviously you don't really want to join the crew… you are just sick of being down in the brig."
Natsuki let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, well, kind of. I want to see if I'm pirate material."
"No, you want to go home," Nao stated seriously as she sheathed her dagger and then stretched her arms, her eyes on Natsuki the entire time. "You never told me what happened last night with Kanzaki either. Was he good in bed?"
Natsuki rolled her eyes and explained what had happened, well, what she was pretending had happened with Reito. She wasn't going to tell Nao the truth, especially now that she knew for certain Nao would always be more loyal to the pirate queen. Natsuki didn't fault her for it. After all, Natsuki hadn't known Nao long, at least not nearly as long as Nao had been a pirate on this ship with… with Shizuru.
Nao whistled when Natsuki had finished. "That sounds like one hell of a night. I'm kind of surprised it went so smoothly, to be honest… would've thought they'd have caught you or something."
Natsuki hummed in agreement. The plan was incredibly faulty and absolutely flawed. However, it had gone over pretty well. It was lucky that Natsuki had found Shizuru in the woods, with the aid of Duran. Next time, Natsuki thought, she will make sure Shizuru plans this stuff out with more details.
Not like there will BE a next time.
Nao yawned and then leaned against the side of the boat. "So what are you going to do now?"
"I'm going to see if I can talk to Shizuru…again," Natsuki said after a moment of thought. "I… I won't let her hurt the people on that ship."
"Well you better hurry," Nao said as she bent over the side of the ship to get a better view of how far the ship is in the distance. "It looks like it'll be here soon enough… I'm kind of surprised we haven't gotten our civilian clothing yet. Or the cloaks. I prefer the cloaks, it makes for a cooler entrance when we rip them off and display our pirate-ness, you know?"
Natsuki nodded, her hand on the hilt of her sword. "You should help me."
Nao let out a shrill laugh and then blinked when she saw Natsuki was serious. "You've got to be kidding, Kuga. I'm a pirate, I like doing what I do, why would I help you?" Before Natsuki could reply Nao added, "Besides, you can't convince Shizuru… this is what she does. She's the Siren."
Natsuki's grip tightened around her hilt. "We'll see," she growled under her breath as she headed towards the captain's cabin, ready for round two.
"How dare she?" Shizuru asked for what Tomoe thought was the 50th time. Shizuru was sitting on the edge of her bed, Tomoe sitting behind her. The quartermaster was holding Shizuru from behind, her head resting on the pirate queen's shoulder.
"How dare she what?" She asked while tightening her hold around Shizuru.
Shizuru didn't seem to notice, or mind, since she was used to this type of affection from Tomoe. The pirate queen stared stone-faced at her cabin door. "She asks me to join the crew and then she tries to convince me that I should not do what I always do. I am the pirate queen, am I not?" Shizuru asked as she turned her head to the left to look at the other woman leaning on her shoulder.
Tomoe nodded, leaned forward, and brushed her lips against Shizuru's before saying, "Yes you are."
Shizuru hesitated at the feeling of Tomoe's lips gently grazing hers and then she leaned forward and kissed Tomoe. It was brief and chaste and Shizuru didn't much care for it like she used to for some odd reason. She turned her head away afterwards and let out another dejected sigh.
Tomoe, cheeks slightly flushed, pouted a bit and then said, "She doesn't really want to join you, Shizuru. Obviously she's just saying that so that she's not treated like a prisoner anymore."
"This I know," Shizuru said quietly. "I am just so frustrated with her. Every time she says something to me I get confused… I feel different around her and I am afraid of… losing myself."
Tomoe coiled around Shizuru's body like a snake, moving her legs on either side of the sitting woman so that they wrapped around her torso. "I won't let you lose yourself, Captain Viola," she whispered into the captain's ear, liking the way Shizuru tensed as she tried to hold back a shiver.
The pirate queen continued staring straight ahead at her cabin door though she wasn't really looking at it—or anything—in particular. Why was she so angry all of a sudden? Surely she was overreacting? Should she not have expected Kuga to try and save the people on that ship?
She had known Natsuki long enough to know the girl had some odd noble hero-complex. Of course, Shizuru was making great progress in getting rid of it, though Natsuki still seemed to be clutching onto her ideals, as if she hadn't already gone against them. Had she not just killed a man the night before? Had she not let her fiancé die? Shizuru took Natsuki not seeming guilty as a good sign. Progress was being made. Goodbye heroism, and hello sadism. Or in other words, the wolf is thinking the lamb would make a good dinner, and Natsuki might not be able to hold it back much longer.
"I'll just have to show her how the pirate queen acts," Shizuru said after a moment. "She apparently does not remember the day I stole her, though it was not very long ago."
Tomoe moved her lips down Shizuru's neck and then kissed right where neck met shoulder. She hummed, loving the way Shizuru's skin tasted. "Shizuru we haven't…" she frowned, struggling for a way to word this. "We haven't… had fun for an entire week now… and I know you can find your fun elsewhere but you know I only like it when it's with you."
Shizuru glanced at Tomoe, her dark eyes calm and her expression serene. "Kannin na," she murmured quietly. "It has… been an interesting last few days…" I cannot stop thinking about her, and only her. I am also holding back for you, Tomoe. Would it be fair of me to bed you when I cannot give you my undivided attention?
Normally, Shizuru wouldn't care about undivided attention when sleeping around, but since this was Tomoe and one of her dearest friends she did.
Tomoe smiled and nodded before leaning forward to plant her lips against Shizuru's. Unfortunately, the pirate queen seemed to move her lips robotically, and Tomoe didn't like it. She pulled back and glared at the Siren. "It's her isn't it? Ever since she got here—"
Shizuru silenced Tomoe with a deep kiss, though this time it didn't seem fake. Tomoe was appeased, her eyes fluttering closed and a moan escaping her throat. She weaved her fingers into Shizuru's tawny mane and pulled the other woman's face closer to her own.
The door to the cabin opened.
Shizuru, startled, broke the kiss and, annoyed expression in place, turned to look at who had entered. "Miss Kuga…" Shizuru uttered with some surprise. She stayed where she was, Tomoe's legs and hands still wrapped around her.
Natsuki stood in the doorway, unsure if she should just leave or stay where she was and try and talk to the captain. The scene in front of her was not what she was expecting. In fact, the sight made her nauseous, like she had eaten something rotten. She didn't understand why exactly she felt this way. She figured it probably had to do with the fact that the pirate queen getting intimate with someone was just creepy. After all, the woman was a murderer! Tomoe herself was even creepier, Natsuki had decided, and that is probably why she felt speechless and seasick.
Shizuru's wine-red eyes watched Natsuki with the curiosity of a leopard that had never seen anything but the jungle. She gently removed herself from Tomoe's limbs and stood up. Tomoe, now royally pissed off, stood up as well, her arms folding over her chest as she eyed Natsuki with disdain. Her expression seemed to say, 'Great, now look what you did.'
"Was there something you wanted?" Shizuru finally asked when Natsuki still stood, staring at them as if she were torn over something.
Natsuki snapped out of it and, shoving the discomfort deep within her, took a step into the cabin. The door closed behind her with a small click and she lifted her chin as to show she was not intimidated. "We need to talk."
A small infuriating smile crept its way onto Shizuru's face, causing Natsuki's jaw to tighten. Shizuru finally glanced at Tomoe and gestured to her, "You may leave, Tomoe," she said.
The quartermaster let out a sigh but nodded before turning and walking passed Natsuki towards the door. She was sure to hit the other girl's shoulder on her way out. Natsuki frowned but said nothing, not until she heard the door close shut behind her and the only sound in the room was Shizuru's boots upon the creaky floorboards.
"I apologize for, uh, interrupting you and… Tomoe," Natsuki started, thinking the calmer she was the easier this would be. She truly was not sorry for interrupting them at such a moment though a part of her wished she didn't find it so disturbing.
Shizuru waved at her dismissively then sat down upon her bed again, one slender leg crossing over the other. "Do not worry about it," Shizuru told her, her hands holding onto the edge of the bed as she peered at Natsuki. "There is always time to finish those sorts of things."
Pink tinted the prisoner's cheeks and she averted her gaze for only a second before returning it. She had to play as Shizuru's equal, someone to be taken seriously. "Vio—Shizuru… about that ship in the distance…"
Shizuru's expression darkened, her grip tightening on her bedding. "This again, Natsuki? Come, will you sit by me?"
Natsuki shook her head. "No, I… I'll be quick."
Shizuru smirked at the refusal. "This conversation will not happen unless you sit next to me." She patted the area where Tomoe had just been sitting.
Natsuki hesitated before grumbling and stalking over, her fists at her sides. She slowly sat down next to Shizuru and realized why she had been asked to sit so close.
Shizuru was a very intimidating woman, much more so when their faces were less than a foot apart, their legs touching slightly. Natsuki peered defiantly into those cardinal pools though she could feel herself slipping. "I um…" Damn! I should've known better, Natsuki thought as she racked her mind for something to say. It had been all clear in her head, written out and scripted wonderfully… and now, being so near… her mind blanked.
It must be the trickery of a siren!
The lips of the pirate queen formed a wickedly beautiful smile, and a hand came up to gently brush some hair from Natsuki's face. The girl swallowed hard and tried to refocus herself the second Shizuru's hand finished running through her dark locks.
"Yes?"
Natsuki inhaled, exhaled, and then decided to just wing it. "The ship in the distance is carrying innocent people that probably have nothing of worth to you," Natsuki tried, her voice much too quiet for her liking. She cleared her throat and tried again. "I'm just saying you shouldn't waste your time... imagine how long it'll take you to kill all those people. Wouldn't it just be easier to sail on by?" Not to mention if you stop your ship for too long, Reito might end up accidently catching up to you and then I'm dead.
Shizuru held Natsuki with her steady gaze. She loved staring into those stormy eyes, loved how Natsuki seemed to be struggling and tripping with her words. "Yes, that is easier, though I suppose you don't really know how I do things do you? Do you think I'm just going to board the ship and have everyone on board slaughtered?"
Natsuki paused, thought about this, and then realized she really didn't know how the Siren worked. She had only experienced it once, and Nao had said that Shizuru liked to switch things up, be creative. The ship Natsuki was on had also been guarded by Takeda's royal guard… so maybe that changed the fate for the men on board as well.
Shizuru saw the wheels turning in Natsuki's head. She tilted her head slightly and continued, "How do you know I will sloppily murder all these people? How do you know I will even take anything from them?" She paused and then added in a whisper, "I do not just steal cargo."
Natsuki's brow furrowed cutely. "People? You'd steal people?"
Shizuru giggled at the adorable expression on Natsuki's face. "Darling, did I not steal you?"
Just then there was a knock on the door. Shizuru's 'back to business' face turned on and she turned to face the door. "Come in," she called.
In came Haruka and Yukino. They both looked a little surprised at Natsuki sitting next to Shizuru… on Shizuru's bed, but instantly seemed to move on.
Haruka was the first to speak. "The ship is nearing us, Captain. Most of the crew have been handed their civilian clothes or cloaks and are changing now. We're going with 'gorgeous women that survived a pirate attack' right?"
Shizuru nodded and stood up. She then glanced at Natsuki and said, "Should you not be getting dressed as well?"
"Hell no," Natsuki replied as she stood up as well and looked between Haruka, Shizuru, and Yukino. "I will not be a part of this."
"Then you will not be a part of my crew," Shizuru replied calmly, as if she didn't care at all. She then turned and began to walk towards the exit. "You can walk yourself back to the brig then, correct?"
Natsuki bit her lower lip and let out a growl, "N-No. Fine. I'm not putting on a dress though. Those things are damned uncomfortable and the only good thing to come out of pirate life is that I don't have to wear them."
Shizuru turned around, winked at Natsuki, and then said, "I knew you would come through for me, Natsuki," before leaving the cabin. Haruka and Yukino glanced at Natsuki one more time before following after their captain.
Natsuki let out a groan. How did she get into this mess, again? And how did she manage to lose round two?
Shizuru pulled on her blood red cloak, the one she had worn the day she took Captain Ito's ship, the same day she ripped Natsuki from one world and placed her into the next. Standing on the bow was always Shizuru's job. She was, after all, the fairest of them all, and so she was always to be placed right where the target ship's crewmembers would see her.
A beautiful young woman wearing a red cloak and a distressed look on her divine face. Surely someone would feel a strong urge to save her.
They say most of the captains that see her know by now the warnings of the red-cloaked Siren, the one that looks like a beautiful, helpless damsel in distress but really turns into a deadly killer the second you let her onto your ship in an act of kindness. They say that even knowing of this woman, once they lay their eyes on her they come up with every excuse in the book, every justification they can make, to go and save her. Surely the chances of her being the Siren are low! Surely it's a coincidence that this beautiful woman is wearing a blood red cloak, just as the Siren is said to do. Surely that helpless woman would never harm a thing, she is much too beautiful to have an ounce of evil in her!
And these are the thoughts that got men killed, their ships looted, and their ships torched.
Shizuru stood right where the other ship could see her. Surely if they were using a spyglass they could make out her face, which was truly the only thing they needed to see to be under her spell. When the ship drew nearer, unable to resist her pull, she waved her arms calmly above her head, signaling that she needed help. Midori had slowed the Kiyohime in order to make it easier for the other ship to run alongside it. It would make boarding the ship that much easier.
Shizuru had been tempted to raise her crimson sails, though there was always the chance someone had heard she sailed under them and warn the captain of the possible danger of helping the 'drifting' ship.
Shizuru inwardly smiled when the ship a ways in the distance clearly changed its course, turning even more in the direction of Shizuru's ship.
Perfect, Shizuru thought.
Tomoe, clad in a teal cloak, appeared at her side. "Chie informed me that the other ship has changed its course. They're coming this way." She smiled and then added, "The victim ship is called the Valentine."
"Have Midori anchor the ship," Shizuru ordered. She then looked at the rest of her pirates. They were also clad like housewives, young maidens, innocent victims. Many wore cloaks to hide their pirate-clothing underneath, as well as their weapons. "Make sure Haruka is ready, just in case as usual. Tell her I want her with me when she is done setting the cannons up." A pause. "Where is Natsuki?"
Tomoe blinked and then looked around. She really had no idea. She had forgotten about the prisoner once she had left Shizuru's cabin. "I have no idea… should I find her?" And if so, why should I find her? She has nothing to do with this. She'll just get in the way!
Shizuru shook her head. "No… I suppose she will show up eventually." Shizuru then turned her predatory gaze upon the Valentine in the near distance. "Now help me signal our saviors."
Natsuki, sporting her hunting bow and back quiver full of arrows, paced back and forth along the side of the ship, her hands clasped behind her back and her eyes on the planks beneath her feet. Nao and Mai sat nearby, their backs resting against one of the cabin walls. Their eyes would move back and forth, following Natsuki's form.
Eventually Mai turned to Nao. "Is she always like this?"
Nao, not taking her eyes off Natsuki, drawled out a, "Yuuuuup."
Natsuki glanced at them and came to an abrupt stop. "What should I do?" She asked them.
Nao quirked a brow and Mai simply gave her a blank stare.
"Well that's not helpful," the captive muttered under her breath. She let out a dejected sigh and then said, "I feel like I can't do anything. I can't help the people on that ship and I refuse to help you pirates… I should just go back into the brig where I belong." She determined the last part with a dejected sigh.
Mai giggled a bit at Natsuki's crestfallen expression. When the dark-haired girl shot her a curious look the busty redhead just shook her head, an apologetic smile on her face. "I'm sorry, you're just so cute."
A frustrated growl was her response.
Nao rolled her eyes. "Why do you care? You don't even know those people."
"So? They have families, lives, places to go, lives to live… like me before I got stuck on this—"
"Right, because you would've loooved marrying Masashi, right? Settle down as the Princess of Zipang, have little baby Masashi's, living a looong life in a castle? Sounds fancy," Nao said, her face emotionless except for a tiny tinge of annoyance in her eyes.
Natsuki stared hard at Nao before she realized the redhead had a point. Maybe this life was better than the one she was going to. Sure, she was constantly being terrorized by pirates and missed her family dearly but at least she wasn't playing 'baby-maker' right now and she had never really been much into the whole 'baby' thing to begin with. Or the penis thing.
A small smile appeared on Nao's lips, making her look like the cat that ate the canary. "See? I'm totally right. Life may not be that great here but at least it's not boring."
Natsuki sighed and flicked her hair over her shoulder. "Yeah but I still have morals, unlike everyone else on this ship."
"Hardly," Nao muttered.
Before Natsuki could snap back the other redhead chimed in with, "It's hard the first few times. I know how you feel… but sometimes you have to look out for yourself and not think about other people."
"Aren't you here because of your sick brother? Is that not thinking of other people?"
Mai's expression darkened and she looked away. She barely knew this girl, how did she know already about Takumi?
Nao stood up and stretched her arms. "Well, whatever. Just accept that you can't do anything to help those people, Natsuki, just like how you couldn't save the people on the ship you were taken off of… or your fiancé. The sooner you realize this, the better." Nao then gave Natsuki a curt nod and headed off in the direction of the bow.
Natsuki felt ill when she thought off all those people she had failed. Shizuru had promised not to harm anyone if Natsuki agreed to go with her… so Natsuki agreed. Shizuru killed the men on board anyways.
Wait, Natsuki thought, maybe Shizuru will accept some kind of bargain! Hell, maybe she won't need to do anything at all if the other ship surrenders and gives everything to Shizuru. No harm done!
Natsuki wondered how she could care about people she never met when she had let her fiancé die. Maybe she was only a good person when it suited her. The thought made Natsuki depressed and she gave Mai a small, apologetic smile before turning and heading off to find Shizuru. Here goes round three.
Natsuki ended up pushing through the crowd of pirates. They'd all turn to look at her, annoyed expressions clear on their faces and then surprise when they realized who it was, not to mention what she was wearing. Natsuki was the only one not dressed in the civilian clothes or covered in a cloak (since many of the pirates had a hard time fighting in their dresses).
She ignored them and plowed through until she finally reached the last string of pirates, who she practically fell through in her push to the other side.
Finally she was at the end, the pirates behind her. She could see Shizuru wearing the same cloak she wore the day she captured Natsuki and Takeda, except that time she had been hunched over, pretending to be an old woman. This time she looked gorgeous with the long red hanging over her body. The hood was down, revealing her long flowing tresses and her dangerously beautiful face.
So Natsuki wasn't really all that surprised when she noticed the other ship trying to stop alongside the Kiyohime, sailors and civilian men looking over the side of the ship to catch a glimpse of the beautiful maiden (among many) that they were about to rescue.
Shizuru flashed the people on the other ship a dazzling smile and then waved. Natsuki watched in awe. She felt like she was having a flashback when a wooden platform, meant to serve as a bridge between the two ships, was lowered. She could see Captain Ito's face as he helped Shizuru—a woman he thought needed help—over that gangplank and then the surprise in his eyes as he was stabbed, murdered in cold blood. He had fallen into the sea, never to return home again because of Viola's greed.
Natsuki stayed still, fists forming at her sides as she watched a man walk across the wooden bridge and shake Shizuru's hand. Shizuru smiled at him, dazzled him, as her hand reached into her cloak for her sword. Every fiber in Natsuki's body told her to move! Do something to save this poor fool from his untimely death at the hands of the Siren!
Instead she stood stock still, chewing on her lower lip as she considered stopping Shizuru.
Then again, if she interfered she could get Shizuru killed.
But wait, isn't that the plan anyways? Holy crap I am confused and I have no idea—
"Ara, ara, what a lovely ship you have," Shizuru was heard saying to the captain of the other ship. Her smile turned deadly as she drew out her cutlass. "Which is exactly why I shall be taking it."
With one swift motion the captain of the other ship had Shizuru's cutlass straight through his stomach, just as she had done to Captain Ito. It all happened so fast. The second Shizuru flung his body over the gangplank, her pirates had charged past her and onto the Valentine.
"Line them up!" Shizuru yelled over the roar of her pirates 'war cries.' "Do not kill anyone," she added. It amazed Natsuki how she was able to sound demanding and powerful without sounding like she was screaming bloody murder. Everyone could hear her. Everyone would obey her.
Do not kill anyone? Natsuki wondered. Shizuru stood calmly on the bridge, in between both ships, as her pirates started rounding up the passengers on board the other ship. She sheathed her sword and glanced behind her, seeing Natsuki. Shizuru stared, her expression blank, at her captive. After a moment of silence Shizuru simply turned and walked onto the Valentine.
Natsuki realized it was probably just her and a few other pirates still on the Kiyohime, so she quickly followed after, not daring to look down when she crossed over the wooden bridge.
The Valentine was in utter chaos. Pirates were dragging women and children to one area on the main deck while other pirates were fighting with sailors and the other travelers that put up fights. Most of the people had surrendered the second they saw the blood red of Shizuru's eyes, but there were apparently those less knowledgeable on the Siren and chose to fight instead.
Shizuru stood amidst it all, looking as calm as ever. Her hands were clasped behind her back, her sword had been sheathed, and her head was tilted back so that she could look at the blue sky whilst innocents panicked and screamed around her.
Natsuki stood nearby, transfixed by Captain Viola's stoic demeanor. How unperturbed, how statuesque, how incredibly bored Shizuru appeared. It was rather odd and gave Natsuki a strange, unpleasant feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Nearby someone shrieked, and Shizuru's attention automatically shifted to where the sound came from. Natsuki watched as the Siren's face grew tense and she yelled, "I said do not harm any of them! If they put up a fight and refuse to surrender then you may throw them overboard. If they are resisting but unarmed I expect them to be kept alive."
Natsuki couldn't believe all this was happening again. Yet again she was absolutely helpless. It was sick, that some tiny part of her was entertained by all this, but most of all she was angry and felt pathetic.
"Viola!" Natsuki yelled, wishing her voice were as honey-sweet and smooth as Shizuru's when the woman raised her voice. Instead it was husky and demanding.
Shizuru simply turned around, a sleek brow lifting. "Yes?"
Natsuki approached the captain and grabbed her collar, which looked a tad odd since Shizuru had a few inches on Natsuki, especially with her boots on. Shizuru remained calm, seemingly not even noticing that Natsuki was trying to intimidate her.
"What is this?" Natsuki demanded to know. "You're going to let them live? Is that why you're having them rounded up like cattle?"
Shizuru lifted her hand, wrapped it around the one gripped around her collar, and gently tugged it off. Natsuki let her hand fall though she never let her piercing gaze leave Shizuru's.
"Perhaps. Why are you so impatient?" And why are you wearing your bow? Did I not return to you your sword earlier this morning? Natsuki had her rapier sheathed at her side too, but Shizuru still didn't understand why she was wearing her bow. Wasn't that for hunting?
"Why are you so cruel?" Natsuki countered, though she just sounded exhausted and obviously did not want an answer.
Shizuru's lips twitched into a smirk. "Because it's fun," she answered, her tone suddenly cheery.
Natsuki sighed and followed after the pirate queen when she took off yet again. It was annoying having to try and keep up with her. Natsuki stopped just beside Shizuru and then turned to stare at the progress. All the passengers of the Valentine were all lined up in a row. They were shivering, trembling, and either too afraid to make eye contact or too afraid to look anywhere but at the pirates who held their lives in their blood-stained hands.
Natsuki looked from one terrified face to another to another. "They're afraid," she decided to point out, incase Shizuru wasn't as observant.
Shizuru was, and merely cast her captive a sidelong glance. "And you? Are you afraid?"
Natsuki hesitated before bringing her gaze to meet with Shizuru's red. "I wish I was."
Shizuru smiled and then faced the line of innocents once again. "Hello passengers of the ship Valentine." They all focused their terrified eyes on her. Some were trying to hide their shaking hands by clasping them together or hiding them behind their backs. Shizuru simply offered them all a warm smile, disarming them with her beauty. "Do you know who I am?" She asked, as if she were asking what the weather was like where they're from.
The passengers of the Valentine all looked confused, before one girl spoke up. "You… you're the Siren," she had said, her hands clasped at her chest and her face laced with worry and fear.
She had light brown hair that was down to her shoulders and bright blue eyes. She looked to be around Natsuki's age, maybe even younger. Natsuki also noticed that Shizuru was fixated on the girl that had spoken. Natsuki took a better look.
Oh. The girl was actually gorgeous.
She had fine features, smooth-looking skin, full, pink lips, and though it was under a cute dress Natsuki could tell she had a slim figure.
Figures, Natsuki mentally grumbled when Shizuru's eyes still hadn't moved from the girl in the line-up.
Shizuru looked like a lioness then, proud, strong, and like she was about to rip into her prey at any second. She ran her tongue over her lower lip—slowly—before offering the girl that had spoken a mischievous smile. "Yes. I am she." She glided forward, as if she were walking on air, and gently tilted the girl's face up with a finger to the chin. Her eyelids lowered, giving her a seductive look, and she eased the girl with her smile as she asked, "And who may you be?"
The girl's eyes widened when Shizuru's face was an inch from her own. Natsuki fidgeted a bit on her feet and then looked away… and then looked back again… and then looked away… and then again her eyes were upon Shizuru and the other girl.
The girl suddenly looked defiant, her eyes narrowing and her lips pursing into a thin line. "Why should I tell you my name?" She asked, and Natsuki nearly tripped over air… despite not even moving.
Hey! Natsuki barked in her head. That's my line!
Shizuru's eyes flickered with surprise and then amusement, and then desire. Natsuki had half-expected Shizuru to cast her at least a glance, but she hadn't. Shizuru's lips formed a devilish smirk and she cupped the girl's face with her palm. "If you don't tell me your name… then this girl will die," Shizuru then snapped her fingers and pointed to Natsuki.
Natsuki blinked. "Hey! What?" Tomoe stepped out of the crowd of pirates and aimed her pistol straight at Natsuki.
Natsuki blinked and then looked at Shizuru with shock but noticed that Shizuru didn't even glance in her direction.
Natsuki had no idea why she felt so betrayed. What had she expected from the Siren? Hadn't she been warned about this, the pirate queen and her many pets, how she gets bored with one and moves onto another? Reito had told her, Nao had told her, hell she could've guessed it herself with the way Shizuru behaves!
Still, it made Natsuki feel like an old toy, the one that used to be the favorite until a newer, cooler toy came along. For a second she didn't even care that Tomoe was pointing a gun at her. She sent the girl a look that said, 'Do whatever, I don't really care.'
The girl's bright blue eyes flickered from Shizuru to Natsuki. She furrowed her brow and said, "Isn't she with you?" After all, this girl the Siren was threatening to kill had not been a passenger on the Valentine and was certainly dressed like a pirate, although the hunting bow on her back was an interesting accessory.
"And why does that matter? Is her life worth less than, say, the woman's standing next to you?" Shizuru asked, and she didn't need to snap her fingers for Tomoe to move her aim from Natsuki to the woman beside this girl. Natsuki felt relieved, but still glared at Shizuru.
The woman trembled and gave the girl a desperate look. "Please just tell her your name!" Surely the woman would've told the Siren the girl's name, but she wasn't stupid. If SHE told what the name was, the Siren would be displeased since she had specifically asked it from the girl herself.
"My name is Aoi, Aoi Senoh." Aoi delivered the line slowly, with dignity. She lifted her chin high and eyed Shizuru dead on.
Heh, Natsuki thought, I lasted longer than THAT.
"You are quite lovely," Shizuru said after a moment, her eyes looking Aoi up and down. "You shall warm my bed tonight."
Natsuki had heard those words before, the 'warm my bed' part. Of course, that had never happened… not really. Natsuki instantly felt bad for this girl, and shot glares all around when the pirates chuckled. The only pirates not laughing were Haruka and Tomoe. Haruka looked bored and Tomoe looked annoyed.
Natsuki finally strode forward and, to the shock and awe of everyone on board the ship, gripped Shizuru's forearm and pulled her away from the girl named Aoi.
Shizuru's red eyes flashed dangerously as she pierced into Natsuki's eyes. "What is it?" She asked, her jaw tight.
Natsuki's emeralds were just as intense as she replied, "You can take whatever loot they have but I will not let you take another captive."
Shizuru smirked. "Jealous?"
A huff. "Yeah right, you wish."
Shizuru gave Natsuki a searching look before saying, "We will see."
Natsuki hated it when Shizuru said that. She knew by now that 'we will see' meant 'you're not getting what you want, but hopefully you will shut up long enough for me to get what I want.'
Shizuru offered Natsuki some type of smile that Natsuki figured was supposed to be reassuring before she spun and headed back towards Aoi. Natsuki's lips pursed into a thin line and she turned away from Shizuru talking up Aoi to instead examine the surrounding area.
Nothing much had changed. Shizuru's pirates were all around, surrounding the passengers that were all lined up like dominos. The pirates' weapons were drawn and their expressions were warning signs.
Try and run for it and we'll kill you, there's nowhere to go where we won't catch you, except overboard of course.
Haruka on the other hand appeared to be more nonchalant. Her arms were folded over her chest and she didn't seem to be very into what was going on. In fact she looked like she was dying to tap her foot impatiently in order to get Shizuru's attention away from Aoi and back to the task at hand.
Natsuki had to agree with Haruka. She worried what would happen if Shizuru kept the Kiyohime anchored for too long. Would Reito's ship catch up or does he only try and catch up during the nighttime? Natsuki's mood significantly darkened as she remembered Reito and she reminded herself that she had no other choice. She had to agree to what he said! It was that or die. She was merely picking the lesser of the two evils, there was no good choice!
Nao was nearby as well, though she was busy holding her sword to a sailor's throat. Chie and Midori were probably back on the Kiyohime, since they couldn't really leave the helm for long.
Natsuki hesitated before bringing her gaze back to Shizuru and Aoi. The Siren had her hand on Aoi's cheek and was peering deeply into her eyes. Natsuki made a face at the display. She knew the look in Aoi's doe-like eyes. She was absolutely taken with the Siren. Natsuki couldn't blame her. She remembered being just as mesmerized by Shizuru, even when she was sure the woman was going to kill her.
Poor girl doesn't stand a chance, Natsuki thought when Aoi's lips parted slightly in what was probably a small gasp. Natsuki wondered what Shizuru had done to get such a reaction from the girl. It probably wasn't polite, though Aoi clearly didn't seem to mind since she was now blushing furiously and weakly attempting to break eye contact with the Siren.
Shizuru's lips drew nearer to Aoi's, and Natsuki was only able to tear her eyes away when the pirates nearby chuckled, just like they had done the first day Shizuru had toyed with her on Captain Ito's ship.
Aoi was completely dazed, and Natsuki could tell she was wound tightly in the Siren's spell. Shizuru hadn't kissed Aoi but she had gotten very close and was moving her lips, likely speaking sweet nothings. Sweet every things. Natsuki couldn't hear what Shizuru was whispering to the girl but she knew it was probably what was making Aoi look so flustered.
And then Natsuki noticed two interesting things. The first thing, not as interesting as the second but still noteworthy, was Chie's sudden appearance. She was standing near Nao and, like the rest of the pirates, was focused on their captain's actions. Instead of looking amused like the rest of the crew she seemed confused about something. Confused and then disappointed.
The second interesting thing was the man standing next to Aoi on her other side. Natsuki had noticed his face getting redder the longer Shizuru toyed with Aoi next to him. He could likely hear everything the Siren was whispering. His fists clenched at his sides and his nostrils flared. Natsuki then noticed his hand reaching towards his lower back. The dark-haired girl suddenly wondered what he had snuck under his belt.
Natsuki stepped closer to Shizuru, and then closer again. She kept her eyes on the suspicious man, not liking how he appeared to be restraining himself from doing something not so intelligent.
Shizuru suddenly turned and told her pirates, "Take this girl to my room." Two pirates moved forward to grab Aoi and Shizuru met Natsuki's gaze before correcting herself, "I meant the brig. Take her to the brig."
Aoi quickly sent the man beside her a panicky look as the pirates approached to take her away.
With a yell, the man pulled out a dagger from behind his back and charged towards Shizuru. "YOU WON'T TAKE HER!" He yelled. Shizuru quickly turned around but she had her weapons sheathed and wasn't expecting an attack from behind. When she was facing the man she was surprised to see that he had stopped approaching. The dagger fell from the man's hand and instead he fell forward towards her, gripped onto Shizuru's arms, stared at her with eyes full of anguish and rage, and then dropped to the ground, dead.
It took Shizuru a good thirty seconds before realizing the man had an arrow sticking out of his side, right through the left side of his ribcage where it must have pierced his heart and killed him within seconds. Shizuru stared, stunned at the body at her feet. Aoi let out a cry and dropped to her knees before lying across his corpse and weeping.
"No!" Aoi sobbed, her pretty blue eyes quickly filling with tears.
Shizuru slowly turned her head to stare at Natsuki, who was breathing heavily and fixated on the scene at Shizuru's feet. Shizuru stepped in front of Natsuki's view, blocking the girl from seeing Aoi's suffering over the man Natsuki had just killed in order to save Shizuru's life.
Crimson willed green to meet her yet those eyes just stared at the ground beneath Shizuru's feet. "Natsuki," Shizuru cooed after a moment, her tone and eyes as soft as she could make them.
The girl didn't even acknowledge that her name had been called. She just continued staring. The bow was still in her hand, clutched so tightly her knuckles were turning white.
"That was a nice shot," Tomoe said when it become clear that no one was saying anything. She was also getting sick of hearing Aoi wailing, not to mention the other Valentine passengers whimpering in fear now that one of their own had been killed right in front of them.
Shizuru licked her lips. "Indeed."
Aoi stood up from behind Shizuru and shot dagger eyes at Natsuki. "You killed him! You killed him!" She yelled angrily, her hands balling into fists at her sides. At this Natsuki seemed to react, and her eyes flickered to meet with Aoi's blue. Aoi continued, now pointing an accusing finger in Natsuki's direction. "You shot him! He was a father! My uncle! A great, loving man! You murdered him!"
Natsuki flinched at everything Aoi was saying.
Shizuru saw this, turned, grabbed Aoi's collar (silencing her up real nice) and snarled, "If I wanted you to talk I would have told you to do so." She then flung Aoi into the arms of Chie. Crimson met Chie's confused brown and said, "Take her to the brig. Gag her if you must, but I want her quiet. Is that understood?"
Chie nodded hastily and gently helped Aoi into a standing position before pulling her towards the Kiyohime.
Shizuru looked at all her pirates and said, "Steal the cargo. Leave them their food and anything else they may need for a few day long journey." She glanced at Natsuki, who was still as frozen as a statue. Shizuru frowned a bit before adding, "And let everyone on board live."
Unfortunately, this got no response from Natsuki, but Shizuru's pirates murmured amongst themselves. Shizuru was going to let these people live? That was so rare! Just like how she let those women and children go on that ship they had stolen the Kuga girl from. What was going on?
The pirates split themselves into two groups, the guards and the pillagers. The guards group was relatively small. It didn't take many armed women to keep a bunch of unarmed people in line. The rest moved through the Valentine, stealing whatever looked to be of value but leaving anything that might be a necessity for the people on board.
Shizuru grabbed Natsuki's sleeve and began tugging the girl back towards the Kiyohime.
Two minutes later and Natsuki was lying down on Shizuru's bed, unmoving and unresponsive. Shizuru paced back and forth in her cabin, shooting Natsuki glances every few seconds, not sure what to say. Natsuki seemed to be completely out of it. She stared up at Shizuru's ceiling, her hands folded behind her head and her legs hanging over the edge of the bed.
"I killed him," Natsuki finally uttered. It was so quiet Shizuru almost hadn't heard it, but she had, and she came to an abrupt halt mid-pace.
"You saved my life," she corrected, gliding towards Natsuki and sitting down beside the girl. She leaned nearer and gently stroked Natsuki's hair. "I do not understand why," and a part of me thinks you shouldn't have, "but you saved me." Again.
Natsuki's eyes fluttered closed, not caring that she was enjoying the feeling of Shizuru's slender fingers running through her dark hair. "I… I don't know what I was thinking," Natsuki said quietly, her brow furrowing as if she were seeing something confusing in her mind. "I saw you turn around and he pulled out this dagger and I just… my hands just grabbed my bow and an arrow and the next thing I know he's on the ground, dead."
Shizuru listened, feeling somewhat sick that Natsuki's wolf had been unleashed but also somewhat relieved. Maybe she'd be easier to deal with now that they had more in common.
"You did not do a bad thing," Shizuru lied, her voice soft and as soothing as her hands.
Natsuki shivered and felt tears sting her eyes. What was happening to her? First she lets Takeda die, then she agrees to kill Shizuru for Reito and now she's killing the people she's been trying so hard to save?
What's wrong with me?
"I'm turning into a monster," Natsuki concluded somberly, the tears finally finding release and beginning to spill down her cheeks. Her voice was surprisingly unwavering and Shizuru found herself transfixed by the tears rolling over the curve of a porcelain cheek.
"Kannin na," Shizuru whispered, her fingers wiping away a tear and then leaning closer, hoping Natsuki would open her eyes. "I never wanted you to feel this way," she said quietly. "I know what it is like, and it is not pleasant." Shizuru knew Natsuki had killed before, but she also knew this time was different. Natsuki had killed pirates, her asshole of a fiancé (indirectly) and a bastard pirate Reito. Now she had killed some child's father, Aoi's uncle, a man trying to save his niece from being taken away by an evil pirate queen.
Something with that last picture was just so wrong compared to the others, it was backwards.
Shizuru remembered her own first kill well. Anh had forced it, of course. Shizuru had wanted nothing to do with it. The first victim was a boy the same age as Shizuru at the time. Shizuru had been newly turned 18, Natsuki's age. They had just taken over a ship and Anh had ordered all the men killed. This boy, clearly misinterpreting the situation when Anh began making her way towards Shizuru, jumped in front of Shizuru in her defense. He brandished a dagger and waved it in front of him, warding Anh away from Shizuru.
Anh had looked passed the boy, giving Shizuru a lazy look that said, 'End him while he still thinks he's being heroic.'
Shizuru had hesitated… but she had eventually come up behind her would-be savior and slit his throat.
She would never forget his eyes, the way his words were drowned out by blood gurgling up his throat, the way Anh tilted her head back and laughed before patting Shizuru on the back and leading the silent princess to her new home once more. Shizuru had prematurely ended this boy's life, despite him coming to her defense, not knowing she was part of the pirate crew.
After all, someone that beautiful couldn't be so twisted on the inside, right?
At least, Shizuru thought, Natsuki's kill had somewhat more nobility than mine. She saved me from being killed… whereas I killed a boy that Anh could have easily taken care of herself. I killed him because she told me to, not because she needed me to.
In a way Natsuki had also saved the rest of the passengers. Shizuru was certain she was going to sink the ship—with everyone on it—besides Aoi who she had wanted to take as a prisoner. When she saw what Natsuki had done and how torn up the girl was about it she quickly decided to let everyone on board live. Maybe she could start doing that regularly from now on. It was less work if she didn't have to torch every ship she intercepted.
Natsuki turned to glance at Shizuru. The Siren was watching her silently, as if searching for something.
Shizuru was happy to see the tears had stopped flowing, at least for the most part. Natsuki's cheeks were still wet and her eyes were a bit red and puffy. The Siren lay down next to Natsuki, sideways so that she could peer down at Natsuki, who was lying on her back still.
"Shizuru, why do you do what you do? Who are you? Where are you from?"
Shizuru's mind went fuzzy at those types of questions. She averted her eyes from Natsuki's steady gaze and replied with, "It is who I am."
Natsuki looked displeased by this answer and she frowned, clearly wanting Shizuru to dish out details. She obviously needed a distraction. "I don't believe that," she said after a moment. "No one is born this way. They're created, molded."
Shizuru quite enjoyed the intense look Natsuki was giving her. It made her feel a flash of desire, like someone was fanning the flame inside her. "I suppose that is true." Shizuru paused before adding, "I grew up in Cardair."
"I know," Natsuki mumbled. "The accent."
Shizuru smirked but nodded. "Yes. And I was of, um, I suppose noble blood one could say."
Natsuki's eyes widened. "Like you were related to the royal family of Cardair or… just some other noble bloodline?"
"The latter," Shizuru lied. She shifted into a position mimicking Natsuki's, on her back and staring upwards. Their shoulders were touching and Shizuru felt quite content despite knowing she left her entire pirate crew to their own devices while plundering a ship.
"Oh." She couldn't remember any Cardair nobility named Viola, though she couldn't even remember the royal family's last name either. F-something? Natsuki mostly knew the Zipang and Artai royal families and nobility. Cardair had always been a more private nation, and so Natsuki never really found information about it so important. "And how did you know Nao?"
"Nao was my… good friend… she lived nearby. A servant girl, I suppose."
Natsuki turned her head again and admired Shizuru's profile. "A servant girl? Nao?" Despite the shitty day Natsuki was having, she found the image of Nao in a servant girl outfit hilarious. It even made her forget she had just murdered a relatively innocent man.
Shizuru smiled fondly at the memories. "Yes her mother was my mother's head servant, and so Nao became mine. She was more like my friend, refusing to do what I told her to. She'd call me bossy when I demanded we play games my way." Shizuru chuckled. "No one ever used to call me bossy." They didn't dare.
Natsuki smiled when she noticed the genuine one on Shizuru's face. She looked so human, so normal then. Beautifully content, happily fond. That's how she looked. It warmed Natsuki up on the inside. It was surprising how a talk with a bloodthirsty murderer could cheer Natsuki up, but then again nothing really surprised her much these days.
"I figured you were from a nice family," Natsuki said, still trying to discreetly examine Shizuru's face from the corner of her eye. "You can read, you can write… not to mention you walk around like you're some type of princess."
At that Shizuru turned to face Natsuki, and caught her peeking despite the girl's quick attempt to avert her gaze. Deciding to be nice, Shizuru didn't comment on it, and instead said, "I walk around like a princess?"
Pink had spread across Natsuki's cheeks, though the girl was staring straight upwards by this point. "Yeah," Natsuki replied lamely. "Like you own the place."
"I do own the place."
Now Natsuki turned her head, giving Shizuru a good clear view of her 'Yeah, yeah you know what I mean' face.
A wry smile appeared on Shizuru's lips and she shifted a bit, making it so that their arms were now more than just touching, and were instead pressing together as they lay side-by-side. Suddenly her face became very serious. "Natsuki I would like to thank you for saving me earlier. Ookini. Without you I would surely be dead, or at least injured."
Natsuki stared into rubies as if trying to decipher something. The way Shizuru was being now was so… easy. Fun. Sweet, one could say. Natsuki was suddenly overcome with guilt again and her expression significantly darkened. She averted her gaze once more from Shizuru's and peered blankly up at the ceiling.
The Siren continued watching Natsuki with interest, wondering if the girl would start crying again. When Natsuki didn't say anything, Shizuru said quietly, "I know what it feels like… what you are feeling now. It is unpleasant." Natsuki merely huffed, as if to say Shizuru had no idea what she felt like. This only made Shizuru angry, as she had suffered what Natsuki was going through now but ten times worse and probably more frequently, though it had been a while since she allowed herself to feel such a way.
"Come," Shizuru said as she sat up. Natsuki glanced at her, a questioning look in her beautiful eyes. Shizuru smiled fondly at her and then signaled to Natsuki to follow her with a beckoning finger. "I will take your mind off of it."
Natsuki sincerely doubted that was going to happen. She knew for a fact that no matter what Shizuru had in mind that she'd still see that man's face in her mind and still hear the lament of his niece as she lay strewn across his body and trembling with sorrow.
Shizuru sighed when Natsuki didn't make a move to get up and so she grabbed Natsuki's arm and tugged. Natsuki let out a grunt but allowed herself to be tugged up. She peered at Shizuru through narrowed eyes before sighing and standing up off the bed. Shizuru followed suit and then wrapped her hand around Natsuki's.
Natsuki grumbled something inaudible and took her hand back from Shizuru's, but agreed to follow the Captain out of the room.
Shizuru had led them to a free space on board the Kiyohime. The pirates had finished taking what they needed on the Valentine and reported that there wasn't much to find. However, they had found a very expensive looking statue of a lion, and so they told Shizuru it was down in the cargo hold. When Shizuru inquired about the prisoner the pirates reported that the girl was in the brig, in Natsuki's cell.
Shizuru had smiled, glanced at Natsuki, and purred, "I suppose you will have to spend the night with me again."
Her response was a panicked, "No!" which only made her giggle into her hand before Shizuru drew her cutlass.
Natsuki took a step back and then met Shizuru's gaze. "What are you doing?" She asked, her tone laced with nervousness though her own hand was twitching to draw her rapier.
The Siren simply glanced down at her cutlass, frowned at it, and then stopped one of her pirates walking by. They exchanged a few words before they switched weapons. Shizuru took the pirate's rapier and gave her cutlass in exchange. Natsuki could tell Shizuru would ask for her cutlass back later, since it was clearly a beautifully designed and superior weapon.
Shizuru then turned to face Natsuki again, her new rapier in her hands. She lifted a sleek brow and then offered Natsuki a slow smile. "Will you teach me how to use this sword?" She requested, her voice smooth and rich.
Natsuki felt a strange feeling in her stomach. It was both pleasant and unpleasant and she did not know where it came from. It could be her instincts telling her to run from Shizuru's predatory gaze or it could be the look the older woman was giving her. Natsuki wasn't quite sure.
"I could…" Natsuki said after a moment, realizing she could strike some sort of bargain with Shizuru. "But only if I get my room in the brig back."
Shizuru appeared crestfallen and a tiny pout appeared on her lips. "You do not wish to spend the nights with me?" She paused then added, "You seemed to enjoy my bed last night…"
A few wandering pirates nearby snickered, causing Natsuki to turn bright red and then stammer that it 'wasn't what it sounded like!'
Midori appeared just in time to save Natsuki. She gave Shizuru a mock salute and declared, "Ship is ready to set sail again, Captain!"
Shizuru appeared stoic again, though pleased. "Thank you, Midori," she said. "Please continue our journey." Midori nodded, turned, and walked towards the helm again.
Natsuki exhaled slowly and then said, "So you let everyone on that ship live, huh?"
Shizuru, seemingly gaining color and some type of liveliness that disappeared when she spoke to her pirates, shot Natsuki a sidelong glance and nodded. "I thought it would be best."
The captive's lips molded into a smirk. "Oh really? You thought it would be best?"
Shizuru turned her body to face Natsuki's again and she tilted her head slightly to the side, enjoying how playful Natsuki seemed despite being upset moments ago. "Yes," she said, her own lips mimicking Natsuki's of their own free will, "I suppose there was this bit of nagging that played a part in it." Shizuru fought back a chuckle when Natsuki made a face.
"Are you calling me a nag?"
"Perhaps," Shizuru couldn't hold back her mirth much longer and she began giggling into her hand. "My, my, Natsuki's expressions are so colorful…"
Natsuki fought back a pout and huffed instead, folding her arms over her chest and appearing indignant. "Whatever."
Shizuru only laughed harder at the display. Natsuki was like a child pretending to be ten years older than she actually was, or at least, this is how it appeared.
"H-Hey," Natsuki whined, her arms falling to her sides as she gave up her act. "Stop laughing. What's so funny?"
Shizuru came down from her mirth though her dark eyes twinkled with the remnants of her amusement. "Yes, yes. Kannin na. You were going to teach me how to use this, correct?"
"I only said if you let me sleep in the brig."
Shizuru sighed and ran her hand through her tawny tresses. She appeared exhausted then. "Miss Senoh is staying in the brig," she stated calmly, seemingly more like the Siren once again. Natsuki thought it had to do with the way she said 'miss' and how calm and nonchalant she always seemed. "Unless you want to stay with the rest of the crew, all cramped and smelly down in the crew's quarters…"
Natsuki frowned, her eyes narrowing. "I know for a fact that there are two cells down in the brig. Remember? My fiancé was in one and I was in the other?"
Natsuki smiled when Shizuru quickly hid her disappointment behind a blank stare. She knew she had the pirate queen there.
Shizuru finally let out a sigh. "I suppose if you want to sleep next to the woman whose uncle you killed…"
Natsuki visibly paled, and Shizuru felt a stab of regret at such a low blow. The girl seemed to shrink back into herself, and she averted her gaze from Shizuru's to the planks below their feet. Shizuru inwardly frowned and then stepped forward. "Kannin na—"
"Stop apologizing," Natsuki growled, cutting her off and lifting her now piercing gaze to meet Shizuru. "You've apologized so many times today and its… well it freaks me out a bit! Once is enough. I get it."
Shizuru closed her mouth and peered at Natsuki with curiosity. Had she been apologizing often? She found the thought both frightening and somewhat joyous. The Siren does not and should not apologize for anything. Ever. Unless it is in jest, like kannin na for slaughtering your entire family.
So it was a completely interesting fact to Shizuru, who hadn't even noticed she'd been doing it. When was the last time Shizuru had apologized for anything? And meant it? She was sure this would have enraged her a few weeks ago. She held true to the belief that the Siren shouldn't apologize ever, just as Anh had taught her. Now she was slightly… proud of herself.
What is wrong with me? Shizuru wondered, though she remained ever serene on the surface.
"I suppose we will talk about this later," Shizuru said after a moment. She lifted her rapier and pointed it at Natsuki. "Will Natsuki get along with the lesson?"
They both felt the ship lurch beneath them, and soon the Kiyohime was moving yet again. Natsuki was relieved though she wouldn't show it on the surface. It was as if a huge stone had been lifted off her chest. Every second the Kiyohime had been anchored she feared Reito's ship would come into view. It hadn't, and so she was safe. The Valentine and the still alive passengers on board were continuing their journey once more, though they were still obviously depressed about losing two passengers and having their valuables stolen.
Natsuki sheathed her rapier and then walked towards Shizuru. The Cardair woman felt her desire flare up again in her chest at the way Natsuki moved, like a wild animal proudly striding through the jungle. Those eyes were absolutely feral as well, and they always had been though Shizuru thought they looked even more untamed since they first met.
"Your footing is all wrong," Natsuki said, looking down at Shizuru's legs. "You should turn your body sideways and spread your feet apart more. Your dominant foot should be in front and your other should be more in the back so you can easily slide forwards and backwards. Whichever hand you're holding your sword with, you should put that foot forward."
Shizuru blinked and then tried to get into the position Natsuki described. This failed miserably, of course, and Natsuki hesitated before putting her hands on Shizuru's hips and gently turning her body in the right direction. Shizuru hid a smile and said nothing as she allowed Natsuki's hands to move her around like a toy.
The pirates walking around the ship either stopped to watch or would look over in interest before continuing whatever task they were doing before.
Natsuki smiled, satisfied with Shizuru's new stance. With her hands on her hips, Natsuki walked around Shizuru, examining her form. "Not bad. You should move your other hand up behind you; it'll help balance you out. Can you memorize that?"
Shizuru gave Natsuki a look that said, 'Of course.'
Natsuki resisted the urge to roll her eyes and then said, "Now lift up the rapier. Rapiers are thrusting weapons and are good for quick kills rather than messy slashing like your cutlass."
Shizuru frowned at that. "I quite like my cutlass."
"Yeah, yeah, it's pretty and a classic 'pirate' weapon but you'd look great with a rapier. It fits the whole elegance thing you have going on."
Shizuru's eyes widened a fraction and she felt her cheeks heat, much to her horror. She cleared her throat, hoping that would stop the forming blush on her face. It didn't work. She could tell because Natsuki was giving her a quizzical look, as if asking why she was blushing.
Natsuki liked it when she got Shizuru to blush. It was like seeing a lioness look shy, so odd but… kind of cute. Shizuru looked almost like Toru then, and Natsuki's mind fuzzed.
"Natsuki?" Shizuru questioned when the girl continued staring at her, dazed. Shizuru came out of the stance and continued watching Natsuki with some concern. "Are you alright?"
Natsuki was seeing silver hair in her mind, long and wavy and beautiful. She could see those smoldering amber eyes, deep and as dark as they were light. Then those lips, full and forming a small smirk whenever they were near, just before they pressed themselves against Natsuki's. She could still taste them, spicy and hot.
Shizuru said nothing now, absolutely confused as to why Natsuki's eyes were now closed and she appeared to be asleep while standing. Normally Shizuru would find something like this amusing but for some reason it made her uncomfortable.
Finally a sliver of green appeared as Natsuki peered at Shizuru. Shizuru stared back, her brow furrowing only slightly when Natsuki didn't say a thing.
Natsuki slowly snapped out of it, and the face of a smirking Toru suddenly morphed back to Shizuru's face, which was staring at her with confusion. Natsuki's eyes widened and she blushed before grumbling, "Sorry I… I don't know what just happened. I got dizzy."
Shizuru stepped forward and gripped Natsuki's shoulder, as if to keep her steady. "Are you alright? Do you want to lie down?" She asked quietly, trying desperately to keep the concern from her voice in case a nearby pirate heard.
Natsuki stared into Shizuru's eyes, wondering why Shizuru reminded her of Toru. After all, they did not have much in common. Or did they? It was somewhat upsetting, since Natsuki liked to pretend she disliked Shizuru. Or at least the Siren, since Shizuru seemed to be completely different than the way she appeared to the rest of her crew. Natsuki was only just beginning to realize this, and it confused her to no end.
It could be the long hair? Or the beautiful eyes…? Or maybe it was their lips, or the way both women seemed to walk around like everyone was below them. They both seemed to have the attitude down, not to mention the great figure. Natsuki pondered this some more, wondering if she found those things attractive. That would be a problem, she realized with an uncomfortable feeling growing in the pit of her stomach, because Shizuru fit the description to a T and she wasn't stupid, she noticed that she sought Shizuru out several times that day despite claiming to not like the captain. Natsuki began to wonder, with some fear, if she had even cared about the passengers on the Valentine at all or if she had simply wanted Shizuru's attention.
Oh dear god, Natsuki thought with an inward cringe. Please, please, please tell me I'm not beginning to like this woman…
Shizuru's cardinal eyes peered deeply into Natsuki's green, making Natsuki's knees feel weak.
Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no.
"Is everything alright?" She asked, her Cardair accent making Natsuki's head spin.
"I need to… I have to go," Natsuki said quickly, and she turned to make her quick escape.
A hand on her forearm stopped her and spun her around again. Shizuru was now watching her through narrowed eyes, as if searching Natsuki's soul. "What is the rush?" Shizuru asked, her tone soft and caressing.
Natsuki tugged her arm away rather violently and took a step back, staring at Shizuru through angry eyes though she felt no anger, had nothing to be angry about. "Don't touch me," she said with no hostility though it still caused Shizuru to straighten and look deflated. "I… we can continue this later, right? I have to go feed Duran…" Lame, lame, lame.
Shizuru gave her a small nod, the rest of her expression made of stone. "Go feed your bird, then," she replied quietly before turning and stalking off, her rapier being sheathed.
Natsuki let out a breath. Her heart was racing and she had no idea what had just happened. Why had she just panicked like that? Because of her weird Toru flashback?
Natsuki was certain she had angered Shizuru, or had at least confused the captain immensely. She sheathed her sword and stood where she was for a few seconds, watching as Tomoe intercepted Shizuru a few yards away. Tomoe interlocked her arm with Shizuru and led the older woman towards the captain's quarters. Natsuki's lips twitched before she turned and headed towards the hatch near the middle of the ship that led down into the hull.
Mai handed Natsuki a jug full of ale and then leaned over the counter, propped on her elbows. "So… Artai huh? I never heard of Aries."
Natsuki took a sip of the ale and looked around. "I'm not surprised. Aries is a small fishing town… there's really not much going on except fishing and a few small town activities. We hardly had any protection, just a small militia that we never needed."
Mai nodded, interested in Natsuki's old life but also curious about how she was adjusting. "So how are you liking pirate life so far? I guess you succeeded in saving those passengers on the Valentine."
Natsuki brought her gaze back to the redhead and frowned a bit before finally staring down into her cup, as if she were ashamed of something. "Pirate life is okay. I didn't save their lives… Shizuru did."
Mai made no comment on Natsuki already being on a first-name basis with the captain. Instead she refilled Natsuki's jug and then looked around the near-empty galley. Usually this area was full of pirates wanting to get drunk. Shiho helped Mai out often, acting as some kind of waitress. Right now, however, the galley was nearly empty save for Natsuki and a few pirates sitting at one of the wooden tables in the back. Mai figured it had to do with tonight being a party night, like most nights. After a successful "pirate-outing" the pirates all liked to get drunk and play music all night. She figured they must be saving their energy for tonight.
"I heard you saved Captain Viola though," Mai pointed out. Her eyes sparkled and she looked absolutely impressed. "How'd that happen?"
"I… well I had my bow on and I saw this guy…" Natsuki fumbled a bit with her mug, switching it between her hands before lifting her eyes to meet with Mai's excited amethysts. "It was more like reflexes than me wanting to save her or anything," she explained. "I saw him attack and I fired without thinking."
Mai pouted a bit at that. "So you didn't mean to kill him?"
Natsuki had. She had meant to kill him in order to protect Shizuru. "I don't know," she said after a moment. "It just happened. One second he's alive and the next he's… not. Can we talk about something else?"
"Sure!" Mai leaned closer to Natsuki and whispered, "I heard Shizuru's got a new prisoner down in the brig. You're kind of lucky," she drew back and pulled a rag out from behind the counter. She began rigorously scrubbing the wooden countertop. "I can't believe you actually made it to pirate status."
"I'm not pirate status, I'm in trial mode," Natsuki clarified. She sighed a bit before adding, "And I feel bad for that girl, Aoi I think is her name. Aoi Senoh."
"Last name doesn't seem familiar. I doubt she's another bride-to-be like you were," Mai said before she quickly covered her mouth with her hands, the rag falling to the counter top. "Oh I'm so sorry, Natsuki! I didn't think when I said that!" She hadn't meant to bring up Takeda. Maybe Natsuki wasn't over it yet! Mai wouldn't know, since she didn't really know Natsuki all that well.
Natsuki frowned a bit, reminded of yet another man she had killed. She knew what had happened earlier that day would come back in full force to drive her mad with guilt, so she took a large gulp of ale and wiped at her mouth with the back of her sleeve.
Mai looked displeased with this, and handed Natsuki a napkin. "You're going to ruin your white shirt!"
She received a sheepish grin and a mumbled 'thanks' in return.
"I am grateful for the drink but do you have any extra meat lying around? I have to feed my bird."
Mai placed a finger to her chin and looked towards the ceiling, as if she'd find the answer there. She then brought her finger down and gave Natsuki a happy nod. "Mm-hm! Hold on, one second. I have to go into the back."
Mai disappeared behind a door for a minute and then returned holding a tiny pouch. "I put some scraps in here. Is that alright?"
Natsuki stood up off the stool and nodded, taking the small pouch from the busty girl and hooking it to her belt. She offered Mai a small smile and a nod. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it. Come on by whenever you feel like it, I get bored down here."
Natsuki chuckled and said she would. She quite enjoyed Mai's company… she seemed less violent and psychotic as everyone else on board.
Natsuki eventually found herself in front of the door leading down into the dark and gross brig. Damn it. She forgot Aoi was down there with Duran. Natsuki reached for the handle and then paused, her hand an inch away. She couldn't do it. She couldn't go down there and face that girl, not after what she had done…
And the worst part of this was that Natsuki should've been this girl's ally. After all, they were both captives on the Siren's ship, they could relate!
"What's the hold up there, Kuga?" Haruka asked as she came to a stop beside Natsuki. She glanced at the dark-haired girl and then the brig's door-handle. "You going down into the brig?"
Natsuki blinked and then glanced at the blonde woman. Haruka interested Natsuki quite a bit. She seemed loud and over-excitable but she also seemed to be one of the few pirates on board that didn't take the captain's orders lying down. Shizuru too seemed to enjoy Haruka's company, and seemed to find the blonde amusing.
"I uh, well no. I need my bird but he's down there and so is—"
"That new young thing Shizuru picked up today, huh?" Haruka rolled her eyes. "That crazy Cardair woman. I swear it's like each time she picks up a new playmate they get younger by two years. Then again, girls get married off at 14 these days don't they?"
Natsuki frowned at that. If that were true, then that'd make Aoi around 16. She didn't look 16. She looked to be around Natsuki's age, maybe a year younger… which would make her 17, Natsuki realized with an inward groan. Geez, Shizuru. Way to cradle rob. How old was Shizuru anyways? Natsuki figured she must be twenty-something. If she had previously been told, she had already forgotten the exact number.
Before Natsuki could even say anything, the door to the brig opened, revealing… Chie?
The three women stared at each other for some time. Haruka and Chie both looked surprised and Natsuki just appeared confused.
"Chie…?" Natsuki finally said. "What were you doing down in the brig?"
Chie suddenly looked nervous and pulled at her collar. She looked all around the ship but at Natsuki and Haruka. "Weeeell," she drawled, "I was just, you know, handling some business for the captain."
Haruka's brow furrowed. "Viola? What would Viola need you to do? You're the navigator, she has a ton of pirate henchmen to do her stupid tasks."
Chie shrugged and, a surefire way to change the topic, turned to Natsuki and asked, "So what were you doing in the brig?"
"I'm not in the brig. I'm outside the brig."
"Okay but you're standing right outside the door, so what did you need?" Chie asked. She then paused and said quickly, "Oh! The bird?"
Natsuki nodded slowly.
"You probably don't want to go down there, that new prisoner girl is a mess, worse than you when you were down there."
Not to mention I killed her uncle, so no, I don't want to go down there anyways.
"I'll go get the damn bird," Haruka grumbled as she shoved Chie aside, opened the door to the brig, and stomped down the steps.
Natsuki and Chie watched her go until the brig's wooden door slowly swung shut behind her.
"So… what did Shizuru want you to do down there?" Natsuki asked, giving Chie a sidelong glance.
Chie looked nervous but she shrugged nonchalantly and replied, "Question the girl about where she's from and all that. Viola wanted me to mark the location on the map in case we ever want to take her back."
"Shizuru would take her home?" Natsuki asked, feeling her blood heat up in her veins. Chie couldn't be serious. Shizuru wanted to know where this girl—Aoi—was from just in case she wanted to take her back? How unfair was that! Then again, Shizuru already knew where Natsuki was from and so maybe Shizuru did plan on one day taking her back… but for some reason Natsuki seriously doubted it.
Maybe it's the 'you will always be mine' and the 'you belong to me's but something tells me she is going to keep me here for as long as she can.
Chie was watching Natsuki closely, surprised at how tense the girl looked. Her jaw had tightened, her eyes had narrowed, her hands had formed fists at her side, and she looked absolutely rigid, like her spine was carved from stone.
"What's wrong?" Chie asked dumbly, turning to face the younger girl who looked positively furious about something.
Natsuki was about to growl out some angry words when the door to the brig swung open again, and a very angry Haruka stepped out with an angry bird hanging by the feet in her hand.
Haruka released the birds feet and he just barely was able to maneuver out of falling onto his head. Duran sat on the planks below and then leapt and glided onto Natsuki's shoulder. Natsuki winced a bit at the talons but the shirt she was wearing today wasn't very thin and so no damage was done.
"You don't have to hold him like that, you know," Natsuki muttered as she gently patted his head. Soon, Natsuki thought, Duran might get too big for her shoulder. That would be a pity, since she really did like having him around without having to sacrifice one of her hands.
Haruka rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. "Well maybe if the stupid bird didn't peck at me I wouldn't have had to hold him like that!" She folded her arms over her chest and held her chin up, looking like a spoiled brat. "Besides," she added, "you didn't have to send me down there to get him!"
Natsuki frowned at Haruka, realizing that the blonde had a point. She said nothing, just glowered, and then returned to patting Duran's head and then gently running her hands down the feathers on his back. "Good, bird," Natsuki cooed, "Good boy, Duran."
"Why are you praising that thing for pecking me?"
"I'm just praising him for being a bird, is all," Natsuki defended as she shot Haruka an annoyed glance. "Thanks for getting him for me," she said quietly.
Haruka blinked at the gratitude, not expecting such manners on a pirate ship unless it was from Shizuru herself, and looked blank before muttering, "You're welcome," and stalking off.
Chie finally chirped in with, "She's interesting isn't she?"
Natsuki nodded after the blonde gunner. "Yeah… I think a gunner fits her personality perfectly."
"Yeah, too bad Shizuru never wants to use the cannons."
"It is a last resort," Natsuki said, agreeing with Shizuru's decision to never whip out the big toys. "If we pull out our cannons, then the other ship will have to pull out their cannons, and then there's major damage done to the ship and we could sink."
Chie nodded. "Not to mention we'd be sinking our target ships… which would mean no booty." She glanced at Natsuki and winked. "Although I guess we still have your booty…"
Natsuki rolled her eyes, slapped her palm into Chie's forehead, and began walking towards the bow. Chie watched Natsuki go, checked the girl's ass out as she walked, and then whistled. "She sure does look great in those pants."
"Chie," someone called, "do you have a death wish? That's Viola's girl."
Chie turned and looked at the approaching pirate. It was Irina Woods. Chie blinked, not used to seeing the spectacled girl off duty. She was almost always positioned just outside the door to Shizuru's captain's quarters, guarding the room from any other pirates and serving as a servant girl whenever Shizuru was nearby.
"Wow, you're moving about!" Chie exclaimed, a goofy grin on her face. "I thought you had sprouted roots and were stuck just outside Viola's cabin."
Irina smiled and rolled her eyes. "You wish."
Chie returned the smile and then turned to watch Natsuki disappear around a corner. "Aw, look, you cost me some ass-ogling time," Chie moaned, her sorrow-filled eyes turning accusingly on Irina.
Irina chuckled and patted Chie's back. "It's okay, I saved you from a slow, agonizing death. From what I've heard just outside Viola's doors… I think she'd kill someone just for looking at the prisoner the wrong way."
"Hmmm…" Chie hummed, tilting her head up to look at the blue sky and blinking in surprise when she noticed a cloud marring the otherwise clear sky. "Just like the others before her then," Chie murmured. "I wonder when Viola will get sick of Natsuki and discard her." The thought made Chie sad, she really quite liked Natsuki… at least more than the other prisoners Shizuru had become infatuated with. There was something different about her.
Irina shrugged and followed Chie's gaze. "I kind of hope never," she murmured quietly, causing Chie to bring her gaze down and look at her with interest. Irina shrugged and explained, "Viola's different lately… not by much, subtle differences… and because I'm around her I kind of notice them more than other pirates I think." Irina frowned a bit, as if she wasn't sure how to word what she was saying. "I just like her more… but a part of me worries."
"'Bout what?"
"If we lose the Siren… we all lose."
Chie felt a pit of discomfort in her stomach at those ominous words. "And pirates don't like losing," Chie added, her tone quiet.
Irina merely nodded slowly. "Exactly."
Natsuki chuckled each time Duran would turn a beady little black eye on her, as if asking where the rest of his food was.
"You know," Natsuki murmured, "I'm sure you could probably catch fish…" She glanced down at his feet, wrapped around her outstretched hand, and noticed that his feet appeared webbed just a bit. She blinked, wondering why she hadn't noticed this before.
She let Duran go, thrusting her hand forward and yelling, "Ya!"
Duran soared higher and higher and higher. Soon he appeared to be so high, he disappeared behind a cloud. Natsuki looked upwards in wonderment. Duran was one cool bird.
She knew Duran wouldn't fly off. After all, Natsuki was on the Kiyohime and he was in the middle of the ocean. Sure he could definitely fly for hours on end and probably reach land before the Kiyohime did, but Natsuki knew he wouldn't. He wouldn't go anywhere unless Natsuki was there.
Suddenly the bird dived down, and Natsuki felt a wave of fondness for her bird. Sure, when they had met he had been falling out of the sky and now he was diving down purposefully, but it still brought back the memory and Natsuki was overcome with joy. She had always wanted a bird. Toru always seemed so close to her hawk, Artemis. That bird of course, was much bigger than Duran, but Natsuki thought Duran's size suited her just fine.
She watched while Duran grazed the surface of the water, gliding low and just above the dark blue waves. He looked much happier, flying free and not confined to his cage in the brig. Natsuki felt wistful, and she wished she were a bird, free like him, riding the air.
Duran soon let his feet dip into the water, and when he lifted them out again he had a medium-sized fish wiggling between his talons. Natsuki blinked. Holy shit, Duran really could hunt fish? He was one of those falcons? But wait, he had killed that rabbit the other day too… Natsuki's brow furrowed. "You're a really well-rounded falcon, huh, Duran?" Natsuki said with a big smile as she whistled.
Duran instantly made his way back for Natsuki, his catch still alive in his talons. He dropped it onto the boat, besides Natsuki's feet as he flew by, and then circled around and landed upon her outstretched hand.
"Good boy, Duran!" Natsuki said excitedly, feeling like a young child who just discovered her dog could play fetch. She watched the fish squirm about on the planks below and considered throwing him back into the ocean. Instead, she noticed Duran's talons had sliced the fish open pretty good, and so she figured she could bring it down to Mai and see if anyone wanted fish for dinner.
"Okay I know you don't like going in the ship," Natsuki said as she carried the fish by the tail with one hand and Duran on the other. "So you can stay up here while I go give your gift to Mai, alright?"
Duran let out a happy-sounding falcon cry and flew high into the air just as Natsuki neared the hatch leading down into the hull. Natsuki watched him, smiled, and then made her way down into the ship, straight to the galley.
Mai looked up when Natsuki entered and waved her over.
Natsuki smiled and then looked around. This time the galley was nearly full, with pirates sitting all around the wooden tables and some sitting at the counter Mai worked behind. Shiho was running from table to table, handing out jugs that were overfilled with ale.
Natsuki recognized Shizuru sitting nearby, Tomoe sitting across from her and Nao sitting beside them. She rolled her eyes and ignored the feeling that Nao had betrayed her. What had she expected, really? Nao was the boatswain and might as well be third or fourth in command. Of course she wasn't going to give that all up to help Natsuki.
Tomoe was the only one that noticed Natsuki had entered, and, unlike what Natsuki thought she'd do (scowl and glare), she merely smiled, nodded, and then returned to whatever their discussion was.
Natsuki had paused upon receiving such a greeting from Tomoe… and then it hit her. Shizuru surely would have looked behind her if Tomoe had scowled or looked displeased at something, but since Tomoe just gave whoever entered a nod, Shizuru would just assume it was just another pirate and not bother turning around.
Not like Natsuki cared or anything…
She huffed and stalked over to Mai, who now looked confused.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Natsuki said with a shrug. She placed the fish Duran had just caught on the counter. "My bird, Duran, caught this and I was wondering if you wanted it."
Mai looked excited as she took the fish from Natsuki. Her eyes sparkled and Natsuki had never seen someone look so overjoyed at a smelly fish. "Oh!" she exclaimed, causing a few pirates to lift their heads and blink over at them. "I haven't cooked fish in a while! We never have any… since most of what I cook is from the livestock downstairs… or just overly spiced meat so that the pirates can't taste that it's spoiled." She sighed. "If I had fresh food every day I could make a feast a night!"
Natsuki smiled. "I know it's not much… but I could go see if Duran will get more if you want."
Mai shook her head. "No this is fine for now. Maybe in the future you can have your bird—Duran is it?" A nod. "And then you can get Duran to catch more fish and I can make it an option on the dinner menu." Not like there actually was a dinner menu. Pirates ate what the food stores had, spoiled or not. "I doubt your bird could catch enough fish for an entire pirate crew."
Natsuki chuckled and flicked her hair over her shoulder. "Yeah you're right. That's too bad. I suppose I could go fishing with him though… I'd just need a net of some type…"
Mai tilted her head to the side and asked, "Are you the new striker?"
"The new what?" Natsuki asked, straightening a bit at the question.
"You know… the ship's hunter? He or she does all the hunting when the ship is docked or they fish while the ship is on the move to get some extra, fresher food."
Natsuki hadn't known that was even a position on the ship. "Oh, no I didn't know that even existed."
"Well you seem to be fitting the position just fine," Mai said, looking Natsuki up and down. "Do you want to help me cook back here? I could really use a hand when Shiho is playing delivery-woman."
Natsuki's eyes widened and she took a step back, holding her hands up and waving them as if to ward off evil. "No no, I don't do well in kitchens. My mom tried to teach me once and I nearly burned our house down."
Mai looked crestfallen. "Ah, well that's too bad then Natsuki."
Her name was said during one of those awkward moments where everyone in the room just gets silent for no discernable reason. Natsuki quickly glanced behind her and saw that Shizuru was staring at her.
Natsuki swallowed and fidgeted a bit, willing her eyes to look away even though she knew she couldn't, not when Shizuru looked at her like that.
Goddamn Sirens!
To Natsuki's surprise, Shizuru simply looked her up and down with a condescending gaze before returning to the conversation at her table.
Natsuki felt anger flare in her chest again. How dare she? Just stare at Natsuki like she was no better than the scum beneath her boot and ignore her? Not even a nod? Or one of those sexy, slow smiles?
Not like I care, Natsuki mentally reminded herself as she turned back to Mai, who had an odd, knowing smile on her face.
Natsuki blinked. "What? What are you looking at?"
Mai shook her head, her short orange hair swooshing from side to side. "Nothing, nothing. I'm sorry but I have to get back to work, so I'll see you around… tonight?"
"Tonight?" Natsuki questioned, and then she remembered how the pirates planned on partying due to their successful raid on the Valentine, not like they didn't already party every night. Ship-life could get kind of boring, Natsuki realized. "Right… I guess so." She gave Mai a wave, turned, and left the galley without even glancing in Shizuru's direction.
Duran swooped onto her arm the second she surfaced from the hull. The sea air was so much clearer, less stuffy. It was wonderful. Now what do I do? She wondered as she peered lovingly at the bird on her arm. He clawed his way down to her wrist, and Natsuki winced a bit at the talons.
The sky was beginning to turn into a navy blue. The sun was disappearing behind the horizon. It was only a matter of time before the pirates whipped out their instruments and began dancing on the deck with not a care in the world, celebrating all the awful things they've done.
And Natsuki… Natsuki was no better than them now.
With an inward groan, Natsuki headed towards a quiet area on the ship, which was usually the space in front of Shizuru's cabin. She let Duran go again and he flew high into the air, soaring and gliding. Natsuki again envied Duran and his freedom. He could easily fly off this ship if he wanted to. He could fly away and go home… wherever his home was anyways.
Natsuki was stuck. She let out a sigh and watched the sun disappear fully. She stood there for an hour, her mind drifting to different places. Her father, her mother, her town, the forest surrounding her town where she spent most of her time… Toru.
I miss you, Natsuki thought, trying to send her message to the clouds above. You'd have gotten off this ship. You'd have known the right thing to say all the time. You wouldn't have a problem getting Viola to let you go… you wouldn't even have been in this situation to begin with.
Natsuki suddenly wondered how Toru and Shizuru would get along. She had to laugh. Both were too dominant of women to get along very well. She could see Shizuru being her Captain Viola self and giving orders while Toru stood there, arms folded across her chest looking bored as she ignored the pirate queen. She would examine her nails and Shizuru would narrow her eyes at the silver-haired beauty.
Then again, it could go the other way too. Toru could easily be just as serious, and Shizuru could be just as playful… or bored. Natsuki knew very well that Shizuru was good at annoying people she deemed too serious. She could just see Toru, asking Shizuru about something on a map. Shizuru would make a suggestive comment. Toru would look incredibly nonchalant… and maybe make one back. Shizuru would blink, surprised someone had played her own game against her, and then she would answer the original question, but in a way that was so tantalizing Toru would be rendered speechless, not because Toru couldn't think of an even better seductive comment, but because she wouldn't be expecting someone else to have her exact sense of humor. The scenarios were endless. Of course, Natsuki was keeping herself out of this equation all-together… she feared what would happen if it were just herself, Toru, and Shizuru in a room alone.
Natsuki giggled a bit but her mirth soon died when she remembered Toru was… was gone. These scenarios would never play out, which was probably a good thing. Natsuki knew she had to stop pretending Toru was still alive, it was strange and probably unhealthy. I have to let you go, Natsuki thought, staring into the deep depths of the ocean, knowing Toru lay at the bottom somewhere.
Why did you do it, Toru? Why did you leave me by myself? What were you thinking?
Soon Natsuki heard cheers and shouts coming from the center of the ship, not too far off. Soon music was heard, and the quiet serenity of Natsuki's spot was broken, as were her thoughts.
She sighed and looked upwards. The first stars to appear shimmered brightly in the night sky, like jewels. Natsuki briefly closed her eyes, tuning out the wild music out and honing in on the waves of the now black ocean.
I killed a man today, Toru. What would you think of me? He was an uncle, a father… he was protecting his niece from a pirate and I murdered him without a second thought. What would you think of me now? Who I'm turning into?
"Are you not going to be enjoying the festivities then?" Shizuru asked calmly as she approached, stopping at Natsuki's side and leaning her elbow on the side of the ship. She titled her head to the side and offered Natsuki a small smile when the younger girl jumped a bit in surprise. "Sorry, was I interrupting something?"
"Yeah," Natsuki snapped, though she too turned to face the captain. She looked Shizuru up and down as discreetly as possible. The captain had changed.
She was now wearing a lavender top. It was, as usual, revealing except instead of focusing on showing off her cleavage only it was cropped to show off her toned midriff. Natsuki had seen it earlier that day and a few times before but she still felt an interesting heat deep within when her eyes roamed over again.
Shizuru was wearing several dangly necklaces, silver, gold, the one Reito had asked Natsuki to give her… she also was sporting an earring in each ear. They were dangly, with beautiful purple stones on the ends. Makeup. Shizuru was wearing makeup. Natsuki didn't think she needed it, but it looked nice. Her wine-red eyes appeared to be outlined with charcoal and her lips appeared painted. Shizuru's hair, usually long and flowing, was tied up behind her head with a ribbon, giving her a long pony-tail that ended just below her shoulder blades.
The rapier Shizuru had used earlier during their lesson was attached to the belt wrapped around her and she still had those knee-high black boots on. Natsuki felt suddenly inferior. She was wearing what she had been wearing all day. She knew not to voice this aloud, since Shizuru would surely offer to bathe her and Natsuki had had enough of that!
"Why are you staring at me?" Shizuru asked after a moment, drawing Natsuki's emeralds to her own eyes.
"I, uh, I wasn't…" Natsuki lied, feeling lame.
"You were," Shizuru said, lifting a sleek brow and trying to prevent her smile from showing on her lips. "Natsuki why were you staring at me?"
Natsuki swallowed hard and averted her gaze from Shizuru's. "Why are you messing with me?" She countered. "I wasn't staring."
Shizuru decided to drop it. She reached out and brushed some hair from Natsuki's face, causing the girl to tense and then shiver though she refused to meet Shizuru's eyes again.
"Did you keep yourself busy today?" Shizuru asked her, wanting to hear Natsuki's husky voice. She felt a longing for that kind of conversation they had had earlier, the ones where they playfully teased each other, asked each other questions.
Natsuki shrugged and peered across the dark ocean. "Yeah." She idly wondered where Duran had flown off too, but she had a feeling he had made himself quite comfortable up on the lookout far above everyone. "I hung out with Duran."
"Ah, yes. Mai prepared me fish tonight for dinner. She said you had caught it and complimented me on finding such a charming young striker for the ship. I hadn't even thought of you as a striker, but that really does seem like a possible position does it not?"
Natsuki glanced at Shizuru and smiled. "It doesn't sound like too hard of a job for me… but I'd need a net."
"I can provide you with a net," Shizuru offered. She then paused and added in a softer tone, "I can give you anything you want." Her eyes peered deeply into Natsuki's as she said this, and Natsuki tried desperately to look away before the pirate queen caught her in her trap.
Crap, Natsuki inwardly groaned when she couldn't move her eyes from Shizuru's. This woman was so annoyingly hypnotizing. Natsuki could feel her heart begin to pick up speed… from fear? She wasn't sure.
"Shizuru…" Natsuki said, leaning forward a bit but not by much. Shizuru stayed where she was, watching Natsuki with the kind of curiosity that made her look very feline, like a lioness that found the gazelle incredibly interesting, deliciously enticing.
"Yes?"
"You… you were going to kill me today?"
Shizuru's eyes widened at that and she straightened a bit. "What are you talking about?" I haven't tried to kill you for at least a day now, Shizuru thought.
Natsuki's bottom lip protruded just a bit. "You had Tomoe point a pistol at me today, remember?"
Shizuru thought back, her eyes lighting up with realization. She brought her gaze back down on Natsuki and uttered, "Silly girl…" Natsuki blinked and then quirked a brow. Shizuru smiled and said, "You truly thought I was going to let Tomoe shoot you?"
"I wouldn't put it past her to have a twitchy finger…" Natsuki grumbled.
Shizuru laughed and placed her hand on Natsuki's lower back, dangerously close to the girl's shapely ass, which was exactly the point. "I was merely using you as a fake-target because you were nearby. I would not have had her actually shoot you."
Natsuki let out a relieved sigh, since that had actually been bothering her all day. "It sort of seemed like you forgot about me," Natsuki said… before she instantly wished she hadn't just said her thought out loud. Her hands quickly covered her mouth and she stared at Shizuru with a terrified expression, hoping Shizuru had somehow not heard her.
Instead Shizuru's brow furrowed only slightly and she asked, "What do you mean?"
Natsuki shook her head and her hands dropped to her sides yet again. "Nothing, never mind, that's not what I meant."
Shizuru peered at Natsuki and though Natsuki searched for it, she couldn't find one drop of amusement. "I forgot about you…?" Shizuru repeated.
"I said never mind," Natsuki snapped, praying to God Shizuru would just drop the subject. Natsuki truly had no idea why she said that anyways. She didn't even know what that meant… though she figured it had to do with Shizuru looking like she was about to kill her upon finding Aoi.
Shizuru's hand wrapped around Natsuki's waist and pulled them close. Natsuki went rigid against Shizuru's side, clearly disgruntled. Shizuru ignored it and said, "Fine. I will stop asking if you tell me what happened earlier today, when you were giving me a lesson."
Natsuki felt a shiver go down her spine at that voice so close to her ear, that warm breath against her cold flesh. She was painfully aware of Shizuru's arm around her waist, her right side being pulled against Shizuru's left.
"You're not going to like it," Natsuki muttered, turning to meet Shizuru's gaze and wishing she hadn't. Shizuru's face was inches from hers, intense expression, smoldering eyes, full lips. Natsuki swallowed. What did I do to deserve this? She wondered. I hate this woman, she tried to remember, drawing on her memories of Shizuru being selfish, Shizuru killing in cold blood, Shizuru branding her and flinging her to the ground on more than one occasion. Shizuru… Shizuru doing very, very bad things to Natsuki's body, making Natsuki feel things she hadn't wanted to feel. Shizuru was bad.
It seemed to work, and Natsuki stiffened once more in Shizuru's hold, her eyes narrowing slightly though she made no movement to put some more space between their faces.
Shizuru's eyelids lowered halfway and one corner of her mouth tugged up in a smirk. "I am quite sure I can handle it."
Natsuki was quite sure too. She was quite sure Shizuru could handle anything. The fact that Natsuki wasn't at the bottom of the ocean yet was proof of that. "I… for a second I… you looked like my friend…"
Shizuru's eyebrows lifted. "Excuse me?"
Natsuki averted her gaze to the planks below them and muttered something. Shizuru couldn't quite hear her so she leaned closer, as if to say 'speak up, girl.'
"My… my friend… Toru," Natsuki flinched, expecting some kind of punishment from Shizuru, who, if Natsuki remembered correctly, just wanted Natsuki to forget her childhood friend altogether.
Shizuru's hold around Natsuki's waist tightened, whether on purpose or not, and Shizuru didn't say a thing. The silence dragged on and Natsuki hesitated before slowly lifting her head to peer at Shizuru.
Shizuru was staring straight at her, her nostrils flaring and her lips twitching just a bit at the corners. Natsuki swallowed. "I remind you of your dead friend Toru? The one whose name you moaned when I kissed you?"
Natsuki blinked and flushed bright red, though she prayed Shizuru couldn't see it in the dark. "Well I—you… um…" Natsuki fumbled for words to say but none came. Eventually she just hung her head in shame.
Shizuru suddenly wondered if that was the reason Natsuki was letting Shizuru hold her now, how she didn't put up much of a fight anymore when she touched her or when their faces were so close. The thought angered Shizuru. The only reason Natsuki had been acting a bit differently was because… I remind her of her dead friend. She sees her, not me.
Shizuru slowly uncurled her arm from around Natsuki's waist, though her hand paused just above the brand mark on Natsuki's lower back. A finger lightly touched it and then traced it slowly. Natsuki didn't cry out like she would have when the brand was still raw, but she winced a bit. Shizuru felt another flash of anger, disappointment, and she pressed her finger harder.
Natsuki cried out, though not as loudly as she would have a few days ago, and quickly tried to move away from Shizuru's grasp. She failed, however, because Shizuru quickly grabbed her by the collar and brought their faces close once more. Natsuki struggled, and wrapped her hands around the ones gripping her collar. "Stop it, Viola!" She growled, resisting the urge to kick Shizuru in the shins.
Shizuru's mind blanked and slowly reset itself. Viola. Why had Natsuki called her Viola again? Shizuru gently lowered her grip on Natsuki's collar, staring at Natsuki's indignant eyes and wondering why this girl was so different. Shizuru leaned forward, gently touching the tip of her nose to Natsuki's fine one. Natsuki stopped struggling and let out a shaky breath.
"I would like for you to just see me, Natsuki," Shizuru whispered, her heavily accented voice making Natsuki feel weak in the knees. Did her Cardair accent just get thicker?
Natsuki's eyes fluttered closed and she tried to picture just Shizuru. All she saw was Toru. It was Toru holding her by the collar, Toru's nose on hers, Toru breathing so close, so near.
Natsuki squeezed her eyes shut this time, and then she felt Shizuru's lips graze her cheek and make their way to her ear. The hand on her collar dropped, sliding down Natsuki's side and pulled her closer, wrapping around her body and tugging so that they were pressed together. Natsuki let out a small gasp at the feeling of Shizuru's teeth gently closing around the outer part of her ear.
"Shi-Shizuru…!"
Natsuki could feel those lips mold into a smile.
"Yes, that is I." Shizuru kissed the spot between Natsuki's eye and her ear, her lips lingering on the soft skin, setting Natsuki's body on fire.
Natsuki felt like crumbling in that hold. Shizuru was working her goddamned Siren magic again, and Natsuki wished she had some kind of immunity to it. "Shizuru…" she moaned instead, shocking even herself with how sultry her voice sounded. She quickly shut her vocal cords off.
Shizuru froze upon hearing her name said like that. That's exactly how she wanted to hear it. Kannin na, Toru, but I seem to have stolen your place on Natsuki's lips. At least for tonight, which was good enough for now.
Shizuru gently moved her lips across Natsuki's skin down to the younger girl's lips. She didn't kiss her there, just hovered, letting her lips occasionally brush against Natsuki's quivering ones.
Natsuki had enough of herself left to, eventually, move her head to the side, avoiding Shizuru's lips. "Don't…" she whispered, her eyes squeezed shut.
Shizuru wondered if Natsuki would drop to the floor if she let her go. She leaned back a bit, giving Natsuki some space, though she still had her arms around the smaller body. "Natsuki, you look tired."
Natsuki let out a groan and slowly brought her head back to face Shizuru's though she was sure to hold her head as far back as possible. She peered at Shizuru with the kind of look that said, 'I give up, you're too much for me Shizuru.'
Those lips formed a wicked smile. "When will you just accept that you are mine?" Shizuru asked quite seriously, as if she was really expecting an answer.
Natsuki let out another groan. "I am not yours," she finally grumbled, avoiding those ruby reds, knowing she couldn't handle being caught in the Siren's spell yet again. "L-Let go of me…"
Shizuru raised a sleek brow. "Are you sure you can stand?"
"Of course I can stand!" Natsuki snapped, and so Shizuru let Natsuki go. Natsuki felt the strength come back to her body and she straightened, giving Shizuru a glare. "Stop doing that."
"Doing what?"
"Your Siren mojo!"
Shizuru giggled into her hand, watching Natsuki through infuriating amusement. "Ara… Siren mojo?" She giggled again at Natsuki's pouty expression. She came down from her mirth and cleared her throat, all business again. "Will you accompany me to the party?" She asked, holding out her hand for Natsuki's.
Natsuki frowned and looked at it. "I don't really think I'm good at pirate parties."
"Nonsense," Shizuru said, moving forward and stealing Natsuki's hand from the girl's side. "If you don't enjoy yourself, you do not have to stay," Shizuru promised, her eyes sparkling in the darkness of the night.
Natsuki found herself stepping forward. "Fine."
"Excellent."
Natsuki didn't see a difference in this party from all the other ones. There were the pirates, all dancing with each other. Mai had her violin out or whatever it was again. A few other pirates had instruments. Flutes, a trumpet of some kind, a primitive looking drum, and hell, there was even a mini harp, though no one was playing it.
Shizuru had ditched Natsuki the second they arrived at the 'party.' She had made a straight line for Tomoe, who she took in her arms, spun around, and began dancing with. Natsuki leaned against the wall of a cabin, her arms folded under her chest and her ankles crossed below her.
"Well ahoy there, Kuga," Nao said as she approached. She was holding a jug of ale in her hand, the contents sloshing about as she came to a stop just beside the younger girl. "What's up?" Nao asked, following Natsuki's steady gaze to where Shizuru and Tomoe were slow-dancing.
Natsuki snapped her gaze to Nao and shrugged. "Not much. I'm just here because Viola made me."
The redhead quirked a brow. "She's Viola again, huh?" Nao snickered at Natsuki's nonchalant shrug. "So what would you be doing if you weren't here?" Nao asked as she mimicked Natsuki's position against the cabin.
Natsuki shrugged. She knew she had to slip away at some point and place a lantern on the back of the boat for Reito. The idiot never gave her a specific time did she? He could've been more specific… then again, Natsuki was sure if he himself weren't standing on the bow of his ship looking for the light in the dark, he had someone doing it for him.
Doing it during the party should be easy. She'd just wait for everyone to get drunk as usual. No one would even know she was gone and they were partying very near the front of the boat, not the back where Natsuki had to be.
"I guess I'd be trying to figure out where I'd be sleeping tonight," Natsuki answered. "I can't sleep in the brig with… with Aoi because… I wouldn't be able to handle that." The guilt caused Natsuki's stomach to twist and turn, her heart to sink. "I am sure as hell not sleeping in Viola's room…" she glanced over to see Shizuru and Tomoe, their lips brushing against each others. Natsuki scowled. "Plus I bet Tomoe will be in there tonight anyways."
"Well if Shizuru decides to bed the new prisoner tonight, then the brig is all yours," she said, trying to be cheery and look on the bright side for once but soon realizing these words made Natsuki's frown deepen.
"Is she always like this?" Natsuki wondered, turning away when Tomoe lifted to kiss Shizuru deeply. She stared at Nao with the intensity of someone trying very hard not to look at something else.
Nao blinked but then asked, "Shizuru? What do you mean?"
Natsuki waved her hands in the air, "You know, bedding her, bedding that chick, bedding this one, that one, making out with Tomoe, trying to get Aoi into her bed…"
Nao shrugged and flickered her gaze over to Shizuru and Tomoe, her mouth forming an 'O' in realization. When she returned her gaze to Natsuki's she was sporting a wolfish grin. "Yup," she said simply. "She was even like this when we were children." She paused then said, "Well, she flirted a hell of a lot but she never really did anything with anyone, not until Anh…" Nao paused, her expression darkening. She looked away. "Never mind."
"Who is Anh? What'd she do to Shizuru?"
Nao shot Natsuki a glare. "I said never mind." She paused and then quickly added, "And don't you dare ask Shizuru about it."
Natsuki lifted her hands up in the air defensively. "Okay, okay. Geez."
Nao gave a curt nod, though her mood was drastically soured and she turned to watch Shizuru twirl Tomoe again. "Anyways," she grumbled, "It's common knowledge on board the ship. If Shizuru sleeps with you, don't expect anything else. She frequently takes pirates into her room for a night, and then treats them no differently the next morning, as if nothing had happened between them." The vixen shrugged. "No one complains, no one really minds, no one gets jealous. Well, Tomoe does, but that's because she's Shizuru's oh-so-special snowflake.
She sleeps with all her prisoners at some point, before discarding them… unless they become a part of her crew, like Tomoe did. She has lately been quite taken with younger girls, like yourself."
"I'm not that young," Natsuki countered. And I won't be sleeping with Shizuru. And what does Nao mean by 'discarding?' As in, dropped off at a port or killed…? Natsuki found she wouldn't be surprised either way.
"True. Shizuru is 24 though, that's still older than you by seven years. Before you she had been stealing girls that were at least 20 years young." Nao then glanced towards the other side of the ship, as if she could see all the way to the brig. "And then there's that new prisoner, Aoi Something. She looks even younger than you do." Nao chuckled. "Not like it's a big deal, since you were going to be married to that Takeda guy, and he looked like he was 30-something."
Natsuki looked away. "Thirty-two," she mumbled.
Nao shrugged. "Some grand ol' times we live in, huh?"
"Mm-hm."
An hour later and everyone appeared to be somewhat tipsy, or at least buzzed. Chie and Midori were the only ones that weren't, which was surprising considering they seemed to be huge drinkers during the working hours of the day. Chie was looking melancholy, staring off the side of the boat with her chin resting on her fists. Midori was playing an instrument that resembled a flute but was much too big. Natsuki idly wondered who was making sure the boat stayed on track.
Nao had since left to go sleep with some random pirate chick, and Natsuki could make out Mai playing her violin still, chuckling when Midori yelled something over their fun sea shanty.
Shizuru had since stopped dancing with Tomoe, but they were standing nearby each other. Occasionally crimson would meet with startled green and Natsuki would see a wry smile on the captain's lips. Natsuki would huff and glower while Shizuru would beckon her with her eyes to come join the fun. Natsuki would stay where she was, grounded with her refusal. Shizuru would eventually just settle for staring at Natsuki from afar, before some pirate would pull her attention away from Natsuki and the girl felt like she could allow herself to breathe again.
It was annoying that the Siren could use her powers from halfway across the main deck.
Natsuki wondered, in the deep part of her mind, how long she'd keep blaming Shizuru's Siren mojo for their moments, for her pulse quickening, for their eyes locking, for her stomach to fill with a bittersweet feeling.
I have to get out of here, now is the perfect moment, Natsuki thought. However, the tune of the music drastically changed just as she was about to push off from the wall, and she paused, turning back to stare at what was going on.
The pirates all stopped dancing. The musicians were all playing a slow tune. The beat was thudding like a heartbeat, the rhythm was in the way they plucked their strings, blew air, banged the drum. Soon everyone was swaying, laughing, whispering, pointing.
Pointing at Shizuru.
Shizuru smiled at them all, stepped near the musicians, and began swaying side-to-side, her hips moving in ways that made Natsuki, and probably everyone else on board, feel heat in interesting places.
The Siren brought her hands up, slowly moving them through the air, like she was drawing symbols with them into the night. Her eyes closed, she tilted her head up, her hands reached for the sky before she brought them down again, forming swirls and then more interesting designs in the air. She reminded Natsuki of some type of tribal dance, some type of ritual to some type of god or goddess. It was like Shizuru was offering herself up to the sky, begging something to take her as a sacrifice.
Natsuki stared, captivated by the sight. It didn't help any that Shizuru's midriff was exposed. Her toned abdominals looked even better when she twisted and turned her body, twirling and moving from side-to-side. And the way she moved her hips, the way she moved her feet, like she was dancing on air! Natsuki felt like she was watching something forbidden, something not to be seen by mortal eyes yet there she was, there everyone was.
Sacrifice her.
Natsuki hesitated, her heart beating fast in her chest. She then quickly turned, and slinked off down the side of the boat, leaving the rest of the pirates to be entranced by their glorious queen.
Natsuki climbed atop the poop deck and looked around. No one in sight. She had a lantern in her hand, taken off one of the cabin walls. It had been serving as a light for the pirates to see where they were going since it had gotten dark out, but now Natsuki had left them to fend for themselves, she needed the lantern more than they did anyways.
She placed the lantern on the back of the deck, right on the railing. She overlooked the back of the ship and just saw darkness. Dark ocean, dark sky, dark horizon. She couldn't make out a ship and knew she wouldn't be able to even if she had Midori's spyglass.
She sighed and leaned over it, folding her arms under her chin and resting her head. Lazily, she enjoyed the blackness. She didn't allow herself to feel guilty over the Reito thing. After all, she was already feeling guilty for the Aoi's uncle thing. There was nothing she could do to justify her actions, no stupid little excuse her mind could come up with that would be even the least bit convincing. Shizuru's words hadn't helped much either. In fact they had probably only made Natsuki feel worse.
What was so great about a bloodthirsty pirate telling you you did a good thing by killing a man?
Was Shizuru's life even worth it? Natsuki sighed. She should've just let the man kill her. Then she herself wouldn't have to do it eventually.
Natsuki frowned. She still wasn't sure what to do about that. A part of her considered telling Shizuru about Reito, but she feared for her own life if she did that though Shizuru told her constantly she never planned on killing her. Time and time again hadn't Shizuru acted like she wanted to, like she was willing?
I can't be sure of anything. I have to just sit still and wait.
"What are you doing up here?" Shizuru asked as she finished climbing up onto the poop deck. Natsuki jumped in surprise and stared, eyes wide as saucers, at the pirate queen.
Shizuru's gaze flickered to the lantern and stared.
Natsuki was sure she was going to die.
Shizuru then turned to Natsuki and said, "You do not need a lantern. The stars and moon are light enough, yes?"
Natsuki felt a few hundred pounds of weight lift off her chest and she exhaled slowly before saying, "I guess."
Shizuru silently watched Natsuki with guarded eyes. Natsuki swallowed.
"You never answered my question," Shizuru said, gliding forward. "What are you doing up here?" She stopped beside Natsuki, looking out across the ocean.
Natsuki's heart felt like it was going to explode any second. What if Shizuru saw something?
"You first," Natsuki countered, also turning to look out across the sea to show she had no problem with Shizuru looking as well.
Shizuru raised a brow and gave Natsuki a sidelong glance. "I came up here to be the Siren. The party was dying down."
Oh right, this was where Shizuru sang at night… at least on some nights.
"Oh…" Natsuki wondered if she should take the lantern down and leave. Then again, where would she go? And how could she be sure if Reito's ship saw the light or not? Would she just have to hope they did?
Pirates really don't think out their plans much, do they?
Shizuru had a feeling something was up with Natsuki, though she didn't know what. She turned and leaned backwards onto the railing. She looked sideways at Natsuki and asked, "Is something wrong?"
"Besides the usual? Nope."
Shizuru gave her a smile that looked downright malicious and so Natsuki swallowed and looked away.
The silence that fell upon them then was comfortable, surprisingly enough. Shizuru didn't really have anything to say and neither did Natsuki. After a few moments of bliss, Shizuru grabbed Natsuki's lantern, lifted it, blew the flame out, and placed it back.
Natsuki glanced at her as she did this. "What'd you do that for?"
"Your eyes should get used to the dark… it will make the stars more beautiful, and what better thing to look at when you are in the middle of the ocean?"
"Hm. Maybe the ocean," Natsuki said.
"Mm?"
"Well you said 'what better thing to look at when you're in the middle of the ocean' meaning you thought the stars were the best. I think the ocean is the best."
"Do you not get sick of seeing the ocean?" Shizuru asked, tilting her head slightly to the side.
Natsuki shook her head and stared across the dark waves, loving how the moons rays reflected upon it. "I love the ocean…the sea." Natsuki let out an exhausted sigh. Shizuru reminded Natsuki of the sea. Dark, deep, there are so many unknown things about it. You sort of just want to dive right in and find out all of its secrets but at the same time, you're terrified of getting too deep, too lost, forgetting that you have to return to the surface for air. No one wants to be lost in the ocean. No one wants to drown in this beautiful wonder of the world, but Natsuki wished she understood it. The sea could never pick a personality. Sometimes it was serene, sometimes it was rough, sometimes it was beautiful and sometimes it was the damned scariest thing Natsuki had ever seen in her life. No, she couldn't see how anyone could get sick of the sea.
Shizuru hesitated before reaching forward for Natsuki's arm. She paused and let her arm fall to her side. Instead she lowered herself to the deck and got comfortable on the planks below. She lay down, completely horizontal, with her arms folded under her head and her eyes trained on the sky above. "I prefer the sky," she said.
Natsuki blinked at Shizuru. It seemed so… unlike the captain to just drop everything and lie on the planks below. Natsuki then remembered she had done that earlier this morning, when Yukino had been giving her a massage or… whatever that had been.
The girl hesitated… before slowly sinking down to the planks below and lying beside Shizuru, her back to the planks and her eyes searching the stars above. "Yeah," she agreed quietly. "I guess the sky's not so bad either."
A small smile appeared on Shizuru's lips and she snuck a peek at Natsuki. The girl was entranced, her bright green moving from side-to-side as she tried to take in as much of the night sky as she could.
"You remind me a bit of the sky," Shizuru said after a moment.
Natsuki blinked and glanced at her. "What?"
The captain shrugged and her eyes found a very particular star, a red one just below the moon. She always wondered why it was a different color than the others, and she always wondered why no one ever mentioned it. Maybe they just didn't see it. She had once tried to mention it to her mother, and then once to Nao. They had looked at her like she was crazy. What red star next to the moon?
"The sky is so out of reach," Shizuru explained, her eyelids lowering slightly as a wave of exhaustion hit her. "Sometimes it's completely open, vulnerable… other times it's obscured… by clouds, thunderstorms. And the sky is beautiful." Shizuru turned her head to gaze at Natsuki as she said, "Would the sea you love so much truly be as beautiful as it is without the sky, the sky from where it gets its color?"
Natsuki thought about it. She thought an ocean that wasn't blue would be odd. In fact the color was one of her favorite things about the sea. "I guess you have a point."
Shizuru nodded, returning her gaze to the sky. "And there are so many things we do not understand about the sky… what is up there? Only the birds know."
Natsuki hummed in response. She then realized she was lying on the poop deck with the pirate queen lying next to her. What the hell had happened to her life?
"I'm sorry for interrupting your uh, singing time or whatever you were planning on doing," Natsuki said after a moment. She hadn't noticed Shizuru had closed her eyes, and so felt bad when the pirate queen opened them to glance at her.
"You were not interrupting anything. You were here first, were you not?"
True, Natsuki thought.
Shizuru began humming, and Natsuki focused on staying awake this time, remembering how the humming had put her to sleep the night before. Shizuru suddenly stopped, and turned to face Natsuki. She huffed, glancing at Shizuru, who was once again looking upwards, her eyelids lowered halfway. "Shizuru?"
The crimson-eyed woman turned and offered Natsuki a warm smile. "Yes, my captive?"
Natsuki blinked. This again…? Natsuki disagreed with the 'captive' part, but she decided not to voice her opinion since Shizuru seemed to be in a non-deadly mood tonight and she didn't want to trigger something. "Have you ever, um, loved someone?" She had no idea what triggered the question and regretted asking once it had left her lips. Besides, she already knew the answer. Shizuru Viola couldn't love, she had no heart.
Shizuru's eyes widened just a bit at that question but her features soon relaxed, giving her the usual calm appearance. She thought about it for a while then said, "I am not sure."
Natsuki frowned. "You're not sure?" So that's a no.
"That is what I said."
"So who are you not sure about?" Natsuki questioned, wanting to know if Shizuru has ever loved anyone but Shizuru. "Is it Tomoe?"
Shizuru thought about it. She was actually thinking of Anh. She had loved Anh… but didn't Natsuki mean in love with? She laughed a noble woman's laugh at the Tomoe bit. "I love Tomoe dearly," Shizuru explained. "But I am not in love with her. I do not believe I ever was."
Natsuki nodded slowly. "So then why do you always… sleep with her? Or anyone that you don't love?"
"Sex is fun," Shizuru replied without missing a beat. Her face was completely serious, dead honest. Shizuru's eyes twinkled with amusement when Natsuki's cheeks tinted pink. "Why?" Shizuru asked. "Were you in love with your Toru?"
Natsuki averted her gaze to the planks below. She nodded once. "I was."
Shizuru nodded, though she felt a familiar rage within her chest at this dead girl. "I do not fall in love," Shizuru said after a moment of careful articulation in her head. "I do not know if it is even possible for me… but I had never felt truly in love with anyone before. Even when I was younger… when all the girls around me were having crushes on several other boys and girls at once… I loved no one." Shizuru offered Natsuki a smile, to show she did not mind her circumstances. "On the plus side, no one has ever truly been in love with me either, so I am missing out on nothing."
Natsuki looked surprised at that. "No one? Surely someone on this ship must be in love with you," she argued. Shizuru was the most gorgeous being Natsuki had ever seen, and she hated to admit that, but it was true. Someone was bound to love her. Any of the pirates she had slept with, any of the prisoners she had taken… Tomoe certainly was in love with her. She voiced that last part out loud. "Tomoe seems absolutely taken with you."
Shizuru let out a humorless laugh. "Tomoe loves me not," Shizuru said, her lovely voice sounding intimidating for some reason. "Tomoe loves who she wants me to be."
Natsuki uttered, "Oh." They laid there in silence for a few moments. Natsuki couldn't believe how much she had spoken to the captain that day. Who was Captain Viola? Because she certainly was not the person Natsuki felt like she had been getting to know today.
Getting to know Shizuru was bad. Getting to know the enemy was bad.
She's bad, she's bad, she's bad, Natsuki chanted in her head, but the more Shizuru watched her with those surprisingly soft eyes, Natsuki's internal mantra slowly died out. She realized, with a sigh, that she was no smarter than those idiot men on the ships that saw Shizuru, wondered for a flicker of a second if she was the Siren, and then stupidly decided to take their chances because she was beautiful.
Surely. Surely nothing that beautiful could be bad. Then again, all roses have thorns, don't they?
"Aren't you tired?" Natsuki asked. "You've been up longer than I have."
Shizuru yawned into her hand and then rolled her shoulders back. "I suppose you are right. I am quite exhausted, and I hardly took part in any of the pillaging."
"Uh… can you, I don't know, show me where I'm sleeping?"
"Of course."
"That's not your bed."
Shizuru gently grabbed Natsuki's hand and she led her off the poop deck. "Of course," she said again.
Natsuki grumbled. "Of course?" Shizuru nodded. Natsuki groaned. "Of course."
They were standing in front of Shizuru's cabin door. Shizuru offered Irina a small smile and then opened the door for Natsuki, gesturing for her to enter first. Natsuki stood steadfast, her arms crossed across her chest and her gaze indignant. Shizuru lifted a brow and mouthed, "Please?"
Natsuki shook her head. "No way."
"I did not touch you last night."
"I don't know that!"
Shizuru's eyes narrowed. She very nearly snapped a death threat but restrained. "If you will not sleep in the only true bed on this ship, then where will you sleep, Natsuki?"
The captive's hands lowered and her eyes widened as her resolve weakened. "Well I… I can sleep outside." Under those stars you like so much.
Shizuru shrugged. "Very well," she said. She turned to Irina. "Make sure Miss Kuga has whatever she needs, understood?"
Irina nodded. "Your wish is my command, Captain Viola!" she said in a cheery voice. Natsuki rolled her eyes but had to admit, she hadn't expected Shizuru to give up so easily.
Shizuru, without another glance at Natsuki, disappeared behind the door of her cabin. Natsuki glared at it for a second, annoyed that Shizuru had, once again, turned into that cold evil thing of a woman. Natsuki scowled.
Irina glanced at Natsuki, a question in her eyes. Natsuki shook her head, saying she didn't need anything, and grumbled as she walked directly across from Shizuru's door and to the side of the boat. She let out a disgruntled sigh and then sat down upon the planks, folding her legs under her and then resting the back of her head against the wooden sides of the ship. She closed her eyes and let the lull of the ocean put her to sleep.
A few minutes later and Shizuru stepped out of her cabin. She looked around, until her eyes honed in on the girl huddled up in a ball at the end of the deck. She blinked, having expected Natsuki to be pacing back and forth, considering swallowing her pride and knocking on Shizuru's door.
Instead Shizuru had seen that Natsuki truly did fall asleep outside. Was the girl mad? Surely some pirates did occasionally sleep outside, especially when it got cramped and stuffy down in the hull with the rest of the crew, but Shizuru hadn't expected Natsuki to actually do it. Then again, maybe a part of her had.
"What a stubborn girl," Shizuru exclaimed with some surprise, her hands on her hips as she peered across the darkness to the slumped figure fast asleep.
Irina chuckled. "She hasn't moved for the last 10 minutes, Captain."
Shizuru offered Irina a broad smile. "She's quite a treat, isn't she, Miss Woods?"
The guard nodded enthusiastically. "She kept nodding off, falling forward and awakening at the last minute to catch herself. She finally found a comfortable position."
Shizuru hummed. "Stubborn," she repeated under her breath. She hesitated before stalking over to the sleeping beauty. Natsuki was curled into herself, lying on her side with her back against the side of the boat. Shizuru wasted no time in scooping Natsuki into her arms, lifting, and carrying the girl bridal-style towards her room.
Irina chuckled, amazed that the Kuga girl was such a heavy sleeper she didn't wake up.
Shizuru bid Irina goodnight and entered her cabin.
Irina whistled. "Lucky prisoner."
Shizuru gently placed Natsuki on her bed. She decided not to change her into more comfortable clothes since she knew Natsuki would think that meant she did something else. Instead she removed the unnecessary accessories with careful hands, not wanting Natsuki to wake up. She helped the girl under the covers and watched her peaceful face.
My, I am so glad Natsuki is such a deep sleeper, she mentally sent her thanks up to the Heavens and then blew out her candle, placing the holder on her end table. She then got under the covers and, careful not to touch Natsuki, turned onto her side. She was facing Natsuki, her eyes roaming over the girls face much like she had done last night. She resisted the urge to reach out and touch her, to make sure she was real.
Instead Shizuru turned her back on Natsuki, thinking this was the best way to resist temptation.
Shizuru thought of the day's events. She thought of Anh, of her parents, of the things she remembered. The way her mother smelled, the way her father would place her in his lap and declare, "You will make a fine queen one day!" She remembered the way Nao would sneak into her room and tell her she was a pansy for not wanting to sneak out and play in the early hours of the morning. Shizuru could remember riding her pure white stallion all across her palace's courtyards. When she was older, she remembered her other friends, the ones that Nao said were stuck-up and lame. Shizuru had quite agreed, and would put on a cloak, ditch her royal guards, and sneak into the town's seediest areas with Nao at her side, playing card games and gambling with large men in smoky inns.
She thought of how she had killed that young boy, how she had slit his throat at Anh's command. She thought of how Anh had stolen her, all of her. She remembered how her insides turned toxic, how she began to enjoy people crying out in pain, in fear. She couldn't believe that. She couldn't believe she had gone from finding blushes adorable to considering the owners of said blushes as future bedmates. She remembered finding blood repulsive, now it was staining her skin, her lips, and her hands. There were rumors that she even drank it for breakfast.
To Shizuru's pure terror, a hot tear rolled down her cheek. Then another, then another, and then even more. She realized she was forming a small puddle, making her pillow wet and uncomfortable. She couldn't remember the last time she had actually cried, had allowed herself to cry. She felt so alive then, so human, so… so much like her old self.
I must stop, Shizuru thought, thinking that her quiet sobs might wake Natsuki up. That would be the worst. Natsuki seeing her like that! Surely she'd never take her seriously after that! Shizuru tried to stifle them.
Soon Shizuru felt arms encircle her waist, just like they had the night before. She knew Natsuki apparently just did this in her sleep. Regardless, it still calmed Shizuru down and the tears stopped flowing so freely, though a part of her wished they wouldn't stop… it was as close as she could get to not being what she was. Monsters could not cry, after all.
Shizuru smiled as she fell further into sleep. She found it absolutely lovely that her day was ending in the same way it had begun, in the arms of another.
Natsuki, who had only pretended to be asleep to gain entry to Shizuru's bed without outright asking for it, stayed silent as she listened for Shizuru's sobs. She had no idea what had possessed her to comfort the pirate queen, but her arms had moved of their own accord and they had, apparently, seemed to work. Shizuru seemed to be calming down now. In fact, Natsuki was sure the woman had fallen to sleep wrapped in her arms. Natsuki lay there, frozen and unmoving. She was oddly comfortable, however, for holding a killer so close. Maybe it is because they had so much in common these days.
I am just doing this to stop her from crying, Natsuki justified as she drifted to sleep. I hate seeing people cry and she'd keep me up with her sniffling. I don't even like her! She inwardly frowned and then wondered with some concern, what is she crying about? She has everything she wants.
Natsuki soon drifted off to sleep as well, her mind swimming with a strange dream. Captain Viola was a princess living in a palace, getting ready to go somewhere. Natsuki realized it must be a masquerade when 'princess' Shizuru placed a mask over her face and turned around, asking Natsuki what she thought. Natsuki frowned, strode forward, and said, "I don't like this one," and tried to take it off… except she realized, with some terror, that the mask had stuck to Shizuru's face. The woman began crying, begging Natsuki to help her, to help her take it off.
"I can't help you!" Natsuki finally shouted, "You put it on, you take it off!" What was it with princesses and always needing to be saved?
Natsuki woke up with a jolt. She blinked and then tried to slow down her beating heart. That had been one crazy dream. She figured it had to do with the fact that she had heard the woman lying next to her cry just before falling asleep and that must've been what triggered it. She soon realized her arms were still wrapped around Shizuru's waist, and to distract herself from this fact she thought back on her dream.
Shizuru as a princess?
She giggled.
Only a dream could be that ridiculous.
You can close your eyes to the things you do not want to see, but you cannot close your heart to the things you do not want to feel.
To be continued…
Once again, much love to you guys for sticking with Siren for an entire year (and welcome new readers, if there are any.) It's good to know people love a mean Shizuru as much as I do.
Thanks to my beta, Andrea. She's wunderbar! That means wonderful in German. I think. Okay I actually have no idea if that's true or not.
The mini poem in the beginning of this chapter… no idea where I got it from. Probably some website.
Thanks to the new fan art that's been done for SoS! It can be found in my profile and here!
This first drawing was done by Shindu-Sindorei: www. imghost. in /images /wgo6d9c6vwjuh4xbvbm. jpg
The second is the original drawing by Kiri but it has been colored by KaraWasHere (who also has a great Mai HiMe abridged series on youtube, so you should go check that out!)
http:/ nuthinnice872. deviantart. com/#/d2urczq
Remove the spaces and viola! (Get it? Viola? I'm hilarious, right?)
Chapter Song: Sky and the Sea by I Hate This Place
If I were the ocean
Would you be the sky?
We could reflect each other's colors
With never a doubt
And I'd be as deep
As you are high
Clinging to every last word
That falls from your clouds
They call me Atlantic
Because I'm dark and I'm blue
The currents of cold introspection pull
Dive too far you may drown
But call from above
Your warmth brings me to you
And we dance as we rise droplets slow crystallized
Tumble heavy back down
And there you go, Sunset Gathering gold in the dusk
So precious on the foamy troughs and crests
That keep us apart
But somewhere far from here
Our horizons still clutch
You close to me, you're the sky and I'm the sea
I'm calling you now
Clinging to every last word
That falls from your clouds
Questions comments or concerns? Leave me a review or shoot me a PM!
Hope you guys have been enjoying the summer!
-ShayP
