Disclaimer: For some weird reason, I'm currently obsessed with the word 'turtle'. Turtle! Tuuuurtle, tuuuuuuuuuurtle, tuuuuurtle!

Hina of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Tama

Chapter 7
The Curse and the New Crew

While plans were being made in Tortuga, plans on the Black Tama were about to be revealed. Moonlight overflowed the sky and air. In it, Naru, who was still in her nightgown, waited in a guestroom when she turned to the opening door. Entering were Drill Bit and Calvin, a rose red dress in Drill Bit's hands.

"You'll be dining with the captain tonight; and he requests you wear this," Drill Bit spoke.

"Well you can tell Captain Nomar that I am disinclined to acquiesce to his request."

At this both men had a smile that didn't seem too innocent. "He'd said you'd say that. He also says that if you refuse, then he'll have you dining with the crew. Naked."

Now, at this you can probably imagine what happens next. Here's the windup, the pitch… STRIKE THREE! THEY'RE OUT! Smiling at the success of her infamous Naru punch, she picked up the dress that was dropped on the floor before the boys went on their flight. Punch or no, she knows that the Captain will make good on his word.


She now sat at the table, silently cutting her leg of pig. Yes, pig. There, all across the table, there were foods and drink that slightly shifted with the rock of the boat. Nomar, who sat not too far from her at the end of the table, chuckled.

"Miss Urashima, you're among pirates. Manners don't exist here."

Naru shifted her eyes to Nomar's smiling face, seeing that he wasn't joking. And, seeing as how that she didn't eat at all so far today, she took the pig leg in her hand and tore in it like a lion eating his meal. Nomar's eyes shifted at bit at the sight of this to a veiled look of greed. She grabbed a bottle of wine as it slid across him as the boat swayed, then poured a healthy portion of it into a cup as it slid back. He then took the cup and offered it to her.

"Please, try the wine."

Naru took the cup and drunk deeply, Nomar's look not changing a bit. He picked up a chocolate truffle that he gathered for special occasions, and held it to her.

"And a truffle, one of those next."

Something then clicked in Naru's mind as she dropped the piece of bread she tore from. "It's poisoned!"

"Naw," Nomar sighed with a look of humor on his face. "There's no sense to kill you."

"Then release me, you have your medallion, I've no use here."

Nomar chuckled and reached into his shirt. He pulled out the medallion, dangling it in his fingers as the nearby pet turtle that sat on his perch paused his chewing of a grape. He spoke in a low tone.

"You don't know what this is, do you?"

"It's a pirate medallion."

"No. It's Aztec gold. One of 882 pieces delivered in a stone chest to the conquistador Cortez himself. It was blood money, paid to stop him from slaughtering their people. But he wasn't satisfied. He took all of it and still killed them. So the Gods placed a terrible curse on the chest to punish any for their greed. 'Whomsoever takes but one piece from the chest, shall be punished for all eternity.'"

"… I don't believe in ghost stories anymore Captain Nomar."

"Yes," Nomar then got up and started to walk around the room as he continued the story. "That's exactly what I thought when I first heard the tale. Buried on the island of the dead that cannot be found except by those who know where it is. We found it all right. Treasure was common like furniture in a room. And there, like a crown jewel, was the chest the gold inside. And we took it all! We spent them, thrown them away on food, drink, and pleasurable company."

Nomar now took and even deeper tone. "But the more we spent our claim, the faster we came to realize it. The drink wouldn't satisfy, the food turned to ash in our mouths, and even the most pleasurable of company couldn't wear our lust. We're cursed men, Miss Urashima. Compelled by greed we were. But now, consumed by it."

It was then that the turtle wailed like it saw the devil himself in front of him. Nomar then went to it and petted it, calming it down, and handed it the medallion in its teeth. The turtle then flew off through a dog door installed in the door. Naru however, had taken this time to hide a steak knife in her napkin on her lap. Nomar then continued his story.

"But there is one way to end our suffering. We must collect all the scattered 882 pieces and return them to the chest with the thief's blood on each piece. The blood to be repaid. For five years, we've been searching for the pieces, and always failing to find one certain piece that was sent off by one of our now dead crewmates. We thought we would never be freed. But now, thanks to you, we have the final piece."

Now, if Naru wasn't at least frightened, she certainly was now. "And the blood to be repaid?"

At this, he gave malicious grin. "That's why there's no sense to kill you. Yet."

And now, Naru was scared like heck. Nomar then held his palm out offering a certain something to her. "Truffle?"

Naru them smacked his hand away and held the knife in a threatening manner trying to get to the door. But no matter how she stepped, Nomar blocked her path. She then went and stabbed straight into his heart. She then stood back, her eyes wide and mouth open with fear. Nomar looked down to the knife, the handle sticking out of his chest. Not a drop of blood had shown. He pulled the knife out, pulling a gasp from Naru. There was the knife, the blade thickly caked with blood, and Nomar was standing as if nothing had happened.

"I'm curious. After killing me, what did you plan to do next?"

Naru was just still shocked and ran out the door. She then wished she didn't. She now looked at the bodies of the crew, but the were rotten skeleton forms, the clothes tattered and torn like the ship's sails, hair strands hung loose from their skulls, and the only flesh there was were their eyes. She turned again and screamed. Shrieking in her face was a similar skeleton turtle with the dangling medallion in it's flipper. She ran back to the room and was grabbed by Nomar who stayed out of the night and turned her to see the cursed crew.

"Take a good look Miss Urashima. The moonlight shows us for what we really are. As you can see, we are no longer alive so we cannot die, but neither are we dead."

He then turned her to him and they slowly stepped closer to the moonlight. And now he had a look of anger on his face. "For too long I've been starved to death, and haven't died. For too long have I thirst, unable to be quenched." Now his look became one of sadness and desperation as he recalled the past. "I feel nothing. Not the wind on my face, the spray of the sea," he then reached his hand out towards Naru and she gasped as it turned skeleton-like in the moonlight, "the warmth of any flesh."

Now he stepped fully into the moonlight becoming a full skeletal figure. "You best be starting to believe in ghost stories Miss Urashima. You're in one."


It is now morning on one of the many docks of Tortuga. We now stand before a lengthy line of ragabout sailors.

"Feast your eyes captain!" Kitsune said with pride. "All of them faithful hands before the mast, each one worth his salt," I then turned my gaze onto a guy who suspiciously looked like Mini-me from Austin Powers, "and crazy to boot."

"This, is your able-bodied crew?" Keitaro asked with disbelief. We then stood before a certain pirate with a turtle on her shoulder. Yes, it was Mutsumi with Tama-chan.

"You sailor!" I shouted addressing her.

"Mutsumi." Kitsune informed.

"Ms. Mutsumi! Are you willing to follow all of my commands despite any doubt, fear, or any other force before any challenge and even death itself?" I asked in one breath. She didn't answer. She just turned her head to the turtle.

"Mutsumi! Answer woman!"

Kitsune spoke again. "She's a mute sir, poor girl got her tongue cut out." Mutsumi then opened her mouth displaying the absence of tongue. I chewed my tongue behind a disgusted face in gratitude of my luck. "But she trained the turtle to talk for her. Nobody figured out how."

I turned about to leave, then I turned back. "Mutsumi's turtle."

"Tama-chan, sir."

"Tama-chan. Same question."

"Myuh! Wind to your sails!"

O.O

"Most of us fear that that means yes."

"Of course it does! Happy?" I asked of Keitaro.

"Well you've proven they're mad."

"And what's the benefit for us?" a new female voice shouted.

We turned towards the direction and walk to the person. There at the end of the line was someone with their head down and a hat covering their hair and hiding their face. I flipped the hat off of her head and out poured long black hair.

"Motoko Ayoma!"

SMACK!

"I suppose you didn't deserve that either?" Keitaro asked.

"No, that one I deserved."

"You stole my boat!" Motoko shouted.

"Actually I-"

SMACK!

"Borrowed! Borrowed, without permission. But with every intention of bringing it back!"

"But you didn't!"

"…You'll get another one!"

She quickly raised her finger as I covered my face in fear of being slapped again.

"I will."

"You'll get another one;" Keitaro assured.

"Another one!" I said joyously agreeing with him.

"A better one!"

"A better one!"

"That one." Keitaro spoke while pointing.

"What one?"

He pointed again. Now, all eyes landed on the Interceptor.

"THAT ONE?"

All eyes came back to me as Keitaro smirked in triumph. I frowned knowing Motoko won't take no for an answer now.

"Aye!" I spoke with effort happiness. "That one. What say ye?"

"Aye!" all sailors shouted. Tama-chan just crowed "Myuh! Anchors away!" Kitsune then came up to me.

"Wait, captain, was that the infamous mercenary Motoko Ayoma?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact it was Kitsune. Problem?"

"Problem? Of course! It's bad luck to bring any kind of mercenary on any ship!"

I turned my eyes to the sky, already knowing what was to come. "Believe you me Kitsune. It'd be far worse luck not to." I left for the ship behind the sailors, grabbing a toothpick from a pocket and placing it in my mouth. Keitaro and Kitsune however were trying to see what I saw. All they saw was one small cloud far on the opposite direction of where we were to go. The calm before the storm one might say.


Only a couple hours later we were barely moving the ship as we went against a storm in full bloom and more water came every moment than a water park. Keitaro and Su barely grasping the ropes to keep the sail steady, the mini man dangled on a rope beside them. I was at the steering wheel with my compass in hand as I saw it pointing in a different direction from where we were. I sharply spun the wheel putting it on the right course. After being swept away by a wave, Keitaro and Su scrambled back to the ropes.

"How are we supposed to find an island that can't be found with a compass that doesn't point north?" Keitaro shouted above the wind to Su whom was beside him.

"Yeah! The compass doesn't point north. But we're not trying to find north now are we?"

I spun the wheel once more as Kitsune barely made it to me.

"We should drop canvas sir!"

"She can hold a bit longer!"

"What's in your head that's put you in such a good mood?"

I smirked. "We're catching up."


Naru looked out the ship window, now at a calm grasp of what was going on. She looked at the entryway of a cave where much pain and suffering began. The door opened behind her to reveal Calvin, Drill Bit, Hot Shot and Geo.

"Time to go girl."

On the deck, they tied her hands together. Nomar then clasped the medallion around her neck.

They traveled by boat as they entered the cave, with Nomar stand and the head of the first boat George Washington style. The ceremony begun.

Date of Update: 10/02/2006