[HELLO! I have finally come back with an update! My apologies. School has started up again and while this isn't exactly a busy year for me, i have a lot more… adult-ish responsibilities to tend to (Like applying to colleges! Ah!) so I may not be able to update….. Very frequently? But that's sort of how it's always been haha.
Anyways, this chapter isn't as long as I usually make them, but that doesn't make it less important! I have actually finished planning out the ENTIRE fic and let me tell you all….. You're in for such a treat :-)
Please enjoy this update! I'm only posting it bc it's Ryou's BIRTHDAY and he would have wanted it.]
…
Ryou stared at the paper before him, frowning. Was there a connection between this map and Bakura's attire? The snake was everywhere on this ship. On the flag, on the swords, on Bakura's clothes…
What did it mean?
Ryou set the paper down as his mind then wandered to other things. Specifically what Bakura had told him. It sounded an awful lot like the first proposition that Ryou had agreed to. Was this one different? It sounded more secretive. A lot more intense, even. Come to think of it, Bakura himself was kind of intense. Even when he wasn't tending to his captain duties he always had some kind of agenda. Whenever Ryou spoke with him it was like Bakura had planned out the conversation, hoping to get something out of it. And maybe he did. Ryou realized then that he had explained pretty much his entire life to Bakura without so much as batting an eye. Not that he cared, but it was still surprising to think about spilling your life story to a stranger.
Ryou sighed deeply and shook his head. He would have to get used to Bakura's strange personality if he was going to be traveling with him on the long term. For now, though, Ryou would just have to try and make sense of the image on the map. As he examined the folds and patterns again, there was a knock on the door. By the time Ryou turned to see who it was, Bakura was standing right behind him.
"Well? Have you found anything yet?" He asked, peering over Ryou's shoulder to catch a peek at the map on the table.
"Actually, yeah." Ryou turned back in his chair and flipped the map over, showing Bakura the image of the snake on the back. "It's like the one on all of your stuff. Do you know what it means?"
Bakura was quiet for a moment. He slowly stepped around to Ryou's side and bent over to get a closer look. His lips curled upward into a grin, and finally he nodded his head. "Oh yes. I know what this means." Bakura grabbed the map and walked over to the cabinet he had taken the rum out of earlier. "It means that I'm right. And it means that you, my friend, are far more valuable than I previously thought."
Ryou wasn't so sure if that was a good thing, or a bad thing. He shifted in the chair, watching Bakura out of curiosity. "You knew that map was supposed to look like that?"
Bakura pulled out a wooden box and brought it over to his desk, setting it down in front of Ryou. The lid had a snake on it, too. It was hand carved, with intricate details. "Not necessarily," Bakura replied to Ryou's question then as he placed his hands on the lid of the box. Carefully, he lifted the lid and placed it off to the side. "But I had hoped that it would be exactly this."
Ryou watched Bakura's hands as he pulled out two other pieces of paper, sliding the two over to Ryou, and placing the third next to them. "They all make the symbol," Bakura explained. "But it's still a map. I just need you to solve it. Solve the second piece of the puzzle."
Ryou looked down at the papers before him, noting that indeed they all held the same image of the snake. He then flipped them over, having recalled that the lines on the one he had folded were random, and thought maybe it would connect with the others somehow. He looked at them, trying to make sense of all of the random folds and lines.
"I don't…" Ryou frowned, tilting his head from side to side as he tried to view them from different angles. He shook his head. "I can't make sense of it. It's just a bunch of random lines."
Bakura, impatient now, loudly pulled out his chair and took a seat, leaning forward on the desk with his hands folded. "Well, why don't you just try a little harder. I know there's something there, Ryou. You just have to find it." Bakura overannciated his words, and Ryou received the message it gave.
He lciked his lips and looked back down at the papers before him. Ryou flipped them over and studied the images of the snakes again. At first glance they all looked the same, but, upon his further inspection, he found that there was a difference in the eyes. One snake had both eyes visible, the other had one eye visible, and the third didn't seem to have eyes. It was a small detail, but Ryou was sure it would lead him somewhere. Perhaps they were meant to go in a certain order. How hard could it be if there were only three images? Three images meant 10 possible combinations, if Ryou's math was correct. So finding the right one shouldn't take too long.
Ryou felt Bakura's eyes on him as he started to rearrange the snakes, starting with the orders he would have thought they would be in according to their eye design. He moved the snakes, then flipped the papers over to see if the lines made any sense. It didn't work the first two times, and Ryou could tell Bakura was getting irritated. He had to understand, though, that this wasn't as easy as Ryou would have thought it would be. Tension and anger radiated off of Bakura, but Ryou remained focused on what he was doing. He didn't want to make the mistake of looking Bakura in the eye.
The next try, he arranged the snakes with the one with no eyes at the beginning, the snake with one eye in the middle, and the snake with both eyes at the end. As he flipped them over, it seemed he had done something right. Just as he flipped the last one over, Bakura's hand slammed down on the table, causing Ryou to jump in his seat.
"That's it!" He shouted, and Ryou frowned. "This is it! It's the map!"
"Really?" Ryou tilted his head to the side. "I don't see it."
Bakura quickly got out of his chair and went over to Ryou, yanking him up and pulling him to the other side.
Ryou saw it right away.
He was speechless, honestly. It was hard to believe that any other possible order didn't make any sense except this one, and even upside down it looked like gibberish. Now, though, it was clearly a map. The folds made sense, the lines made sense, and there were even little words on what looked to be landforms.
"So… You know what this means?" Ryou asked. He had no idea where any of these places were.
Bakura put his arm around Ryou's shoulders, pulling him uncomfortably close. "Oh, Ryou. I know exactly what all of this means." He chuckled, and Ryou could feel Bakura's body shake as he did. "It means you're staying with me. It means you've led us closer to ultimate power. It means... " Bakura shuddered in excitement, practically moaning his next sentence. "I've won."
The door to the captain's cabin burst open, and out came Bakura, his arm still firmly draped over Ryou's shoulders in a possesive way.
"Gentlemen!" Bakura shouted, gaining the attention of his crew immediately. "I have some outstanding news!" He dragged Ryou out to the center of the ship, then placed his hands on both of Ryou's shoulders, almost planting him in place.
"Our new member has proven himself worthy of joining our crew! I just witnessed the works of a true genius." Bakura smirked. "All of you, would you please welcome Ryou to our ship!"
Ryou wasn't exactly comfortable with the eyes of the entire ship staring at him, and he felt his stomach knot as Bakura made the announcement. He was honestly afraid it was code for 'we don't need him anymore so let's kill him', but, luckily, Ryou's intuition seemed to be wrong.
Immediately after Bakura gave the order, the entire crew just… cheered. Ryou looked at some of the faces around himself and found that some of them genuinely looked excited. He'd never seen any kind of pirate look excited, except for maybe Mariku's creepy grins and twitches, and Bakura's scary laughter and uncomfortably close physical contact.
The crew, the entire ship, clapped for him.
For Ryou.
Ryou had done a good thing, and he was getting praised for it.
Ryou didn't know when he started to smile, but he did. When the cheers and applause calmed, Bakura gave Ryou's shoulders a squeeze.
"Now, we will be having a special dinner in Ryou's honour. Why, you ask? Well, because Ryou has discovered the map to victory! A map that will guide us to a place holding something even greater than that fabled fountain of youth." Bakura pretended to clear his throat. "I will provide more detail come dinnertime. For now, we set sail North!"
The entire crew immediately got back to work, and Ryou wondered how long it took to discipline them to do that.
"Ryou," Bakura said, "Rest easy. You'll learn more later."
And that was exactly what Ryou did. He found that he was quite tired, and had ended up napping. When he awoke, he wasn't so comfortable with that fact. Ryou felt as though he needed to be on guard at all times while on Bakura's ship, and waking up from a nap made him nervous. Perhaps it was because his first awakening here wasn't exactly a peaceful one.
Ryou rubbed his eyes and looked over at Bakura's desk. The map still lay there, and Ryou almost felt as though none of this was real. Did he really make that 'discovery'? Did the entire ship really cheer for him?
The thought made him smile again. Yes. They had. And Ryou had solved an important puzzle.
He jumped, though, when there was a knock on the door. Again, Ryou reminded himself to stop relaxing like that.
Bakura opened the door, and he greeted the other with a grin. Ryou really wished he hadn't. It wasn't a good look for Bakura's dirty, scarred face. "You're awake! Come now, you've got a dinner to attend, eh?"
Yes! Ryou had forgotten about that! He stood from the bed, nearly losing his balance as Bakura grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him out. As much as Ryou wanted to protest and insist he walk on his own, he didn't. He still didn't exactly trust Bakura, and he wouldn't want to accidentally anger what little temper he seemed to have.
"Are you excited?" Bakura asked.
"Ah.. Yeah. I am, I think. I've never had a dinner in my honour before."
"Excellent. I'm sure you won't be disappointed."
As they approached the dining hall, Ryou already heard the sound of laughter and shouting, and for some reason he became nervous. His experience with dining halls and crew members wasn't very positive. Bakura seemed to pick up on Ryou's tension, and eased his hold on Ryou's arm.
"Don't be alarmed." This was all Bakura said before he opened up the door and shoved Ryou in front.
Ryou definitely felt his heart stop in that moment, for all of the voices stopped and all eyes were on him once again. It was silent for a few seconds, but suddenly Ryou's ears were filled with shouts and cheers, just as they were earlier. His startled expression slowly transformed into an embarrassed smile.
Bakura came up from behind him and guided Ryou to his seat. He was at the front of the table, right next to Bakura's seat.
Bakura sat Ryou down, and by then the cheering had quieted down. Ryou looked over the table, his eyes widening at the plentiful portions and plates full of food. Well, he thought, this was much better than the soup on Mariku's ship.
Ryou's attention was pulled from the food to the space next to him as Bakura clinked his fork against his cup. The hall was silent again, and everyone was focused on Bakura. The captain.
"Men, we've come a long way. Years we have searched that shit island for the final piece of the map, and now we've got it. We've nearly completed the entire puzzle, and all thanks to one man." Bakura gestured over to Ryou. "Even though he was a pain in the ass to get, we've got him. The genius of the ship. The only one that can lead us to Anguis de Aeterna Vita. Sister to the Fountain of Youth. The reason for all of our traveling, scheming, and waiting. And now, my faithful crew, we are closer than we've ever been to finding her." Bakura raised his cup, and the crew did the same. Ryou followed suit as well. "To Ryou. For allowing us this opportunity so soon."
Ryou blinked, having not expected to be toasted to, and he felt himself grow warm when the men around him shouted 'to Ryou!' in unison. He watched as they all, even Bakura, took a sip of their drinks. He looked down at his cup, noticing that it was rum, and smiled to himself. He confidently gulped down a large amount and managed not to choke this time. His eyes squeezed shut as he felt the heat travel down his throat and spread throughout his body. When he opened them, the crew had started eating, and Bakura was looking at him from his now seated position.
"I knew you had potential," He said, looking down at his food then. "Eat now. You may have solved a few puzzles, but you're going to have to do more than that to be successful. You're in for an early morning."
Ryou nodded in response. He wasn't sure what he was going to be doing so early, but he did know that he was hungry, and was no stranger to the food laid out before him. He thought about Bakura's little speech as he filled his mouth with potatoes.
Anguis de Aeterna Vita
It didn't hit Ryou until after dinner. He had gone back to the captain's cabin and lay on the cot Bakura let him sleep on. He was just about to fall asleep, but his eyes snapped open.
Anguis de Aeterna Vita
Snake of Eternal Life
…
[Please review! :) ]
