As promised, here is the next installation of the story! My future updates won't be as quick as this one, but to make up for the two year break, I wanted to get this one to you as quickly as possible. Hope you enjoy it!
The storm was upon them with a speed and ferocity the sea-born sailor had never seen before. It wasn't the first storm Haru had ever sailed through, but it was certainly the worst; he could see that already. Darkness fell like a silent omen of their fate, and he was just barely able to make out the shapes of the pirates as they ran back and forth along the deck, all of them shrouded in the darkness. The only light available to them now was the occasional flash of lighting as it struck the sky, wind roaring and rain pelting the ship hard enough to leave lasting stings of pain on Haru's exposed skin. His soaked hair fell down into his face and he immediately grabbed the bandana around his neck and shoved it up to hold back his bangs.
"Furl th'sails, mateys! Let us not be drinkin' with Davy Jones t'night!" a voice shouted from somewhere near the teen, and he was only barely able to turn around before a large, muscular body ran full force into him and threw him off balance and onto the deck once again.
Cerulean eyes opened wide as he looked into the glinting turquoise eyes of the quartermaster, whose gaze flickered from genuine surprise to anger in a split second. One of his hands grabbed the front of Haru's now rain-soaked shirt and yanked him to his feet, the taller man's face just barely a few centimeters from his own as the man leaned down. Even with the rain falling down around them, the sailor could have sworn he could still smell the lingering stench of blood and death on the man.
"Yer one of us now, aren't ye?" Sousuke practically growled, as if in disapproval of what he just said. "Then make yerself useful!"
Haru didn't have time to respond before he was shoved away from the man, towards the nearest gunwall. The violent rocking of the ship was nearly enough to throw the young teen overboard, but he quickly found his sea legs and righted himself on the heaving deck. He watched the pirates as they pulled and yanked on the riggings in unison, making quick work of furling the sails. The threat of the wind catching the sails and potentially ripping them - or, worse, capsizing the ship - hastened the pirates' motions. Without needing to be asked a second time, Haru immediately latched on to one of the ropes and braced his feet against the gunwall as he proceeded to aid the pirates.
He could feel the rough rope digging into the palms of his hands, but he merely grit his teeth and ignored the pain. What kind of sailor would put his own comfort above the safety of their ship? Haru could feel himself moving on instinct.
The cries of the pirate crew rang up around him, but over the road of the wind, rain, and thunder, it was near impossible to hear what anyone was saying. Practically hanging onto his rope now, Haru secured his footing as best he could before he twisted his head around to look for someone, anyone, to help him. The weeks without proper nutrition had eaten away at his muscles, and he feared the rope slipping loose from his grasp.
Several figures stood out to him in the rain: Sousuke running back and forth, shouting orders to his crew; Seijuurou and Momo both assisting in furling the sails; and the captain at the helm, hands wrapped tight around the wheel as he did his best to sail the ship through the storm. The red of his coat and hat stood out against the dark background of the cloudy sky, like a demon risen from hell to guide them through the storm. Haru found himself dumbstruck at the sight, before a wail ripped through the air and caused him to turn his head.
"Man overboard!"
All Haru saw was a flash of silver hair before the surgeon, Ai, was thrown over the gunwall and into the raging sea below. Shipmates rushed to the aid of their fallen crewmate, but Sousuke quickly took charge of the situation before they could act.
"Nay! He be in Davy's grip now! Leave the poor soul!" his rough cry could be heard above the roar of the storm, freezing the pirates in their tracks. It didn't take long - too short of a time, really - before they heeded their quartermaster's orders and abandoned the impromptu rescue mission for the man that had fallen overboard. The roar of the sea, whose large waves pummelled the ship from side to side, was sure to quickly eat up the sailor before they even had a chance to save him.
Haru didn't know what came over him.
It was like he was moving on pure instinct, with no conscious thought, as he suddenly let go of the rope and lunged towards the side of the ship. He could hear pirates shouting around him, their cries growing frantic when they realized he was heading full force for the edge of the ship. He blocked out their cries as he leaped through the air, a foot planting upon the gunwall for a moment before he threw himself up and over the side of the ship, body curving in a beautiful arc as he sailed through the stormy air.
As soon as he hit the water, everything went cold, dark, and quiet.
It was like a completely different world from the one that raged above the surface. Almost peaceful and serene, tainted only by the lack of light. Haru blinked open his eyes, stinging from the cold sea water, his body practically screaming in pleasure at the feeling of water wrapping around him, like liquid silk. It felt like home. But the sailor had no time to indulge himself with the chance of being able to be submerged in water once again. He had dove overboard for a reason, and he knew every second that slipped by was that much more distance being put between them and the sailing ship.
Kicking his feet - thankful he didn't wear enough that it weighed him down - Haru emerged from the water with a gasp. Immediately he was disoriented as the waves threw him around, eyes blinking against the rain and the lightning that lit up the sky. A particular wave suddenly scooped him up and, mercilessly, tossed him against the side of the Samezuka. Haru let out a gasp as the wind was knocked from his body, limbs momentarily flailing against the hard wood before he sank back beneath the ocean waves.
He could taste salt on his tongue as he failed to close his mouth in time, a gush of seawater entering his mouth. A ringing could be heard in his ears from the collision long after he got his bearings back. Kicking his way back to the surface, Haru was above the water this time only long enough to get a deep breath of air and cough the water out of his lungs before he was back below again. Blue eyes scouted the darkness as best they could, looking for Ai.
Panic began to take root inside of him when he couldn't spot the silver-haired surgeon, no matter how many directions he twisted and turned in. Had he really sank that fast beneath the ocean? Eventually Haru was forced to return to the surface again to take another gulp of air, this time pausing long enough to try and catch sight of the ship. Fear chilled his spine when he saw just how far the ship had already been taken away from them in its current course. Even if he did manage to find Ai, would they still simply meet their fate of drowning? But, no, he couldn't allow himself to think that way. First thing was first: find Ai.
Drawing in a deep breath, Haru ducked back into the water again, once again turning around in a circle before swimming even further into the depths. Seconds ticked by, his heartbeat pounding in his ears, and once more he felt the thrill of fear that threatened him to once again be unsuccessful in locating Ai.
Until, finally - there!
A small patch of silver, barely visible in the dark of the water. Haru's muscles screamed as he kicked and pushed himself through the water, a hand reaching out when close enough to snag the back of Ai's shirt. Pulling the young man closer to him, Haru wrapped his arm beneath the surgeon's arms before he swam up towards the raging storm, pulling both of them with him. His lungs screamed as he began to run out of air, his progress slowed by the dead weight in his arms. But still, he refused to let go of Ai.
Water began to slip into his lungs as he sputtered, instinctively gasping for air, only to find none. Certain he had just led both of them to their deaths, a few more kicks was all it took before both their heads broke the surface. Haru immediately inhaled as much air as he could, and felt extremely relieved when he heard Ai sputtering and coughing out the water he had inhaled. Unfortunately, staying above the waves was even harder when one of his hands was currently occupied with holding on to the other man, and a particularly large wave swept over them and dunked them below the surface again.
His hand slipped and he felt the dead weight of the nearly-unconscious man slip from his grasp. Haru panicked as he reached down and pulled Ai towards him again, securing an even tighter grip so it wouldn't happen again. Splashing back to the surface, the sailor choked in as much air as possible before he quickly scanned the horizon, wholly expecting to no longer be able to see the Samezuka in their vicinity.
Which was why he was so surprised to nearly get run over by the massive ship, with how close it suddenly sailed beside them.
The ship was headed in the opposite direction as before, which meant they had turned around through the storm to head back to their fallen comrades. The teen didn't have time to think about it as his eyes instead scanned the side of the ship, looking for something to grab hold of. Further ahead, he saw a rope ladder being lowered along the side of the ship, a small crowd of pirates atop the deck watching them as they sailed closer.
He knew he only had one chance, so he waited until the ladder was close enough before he reached out with his free hand. For the briefest of seconds, he was certain he had missed his target, before fingers suddenly wrapped around the ladder. He almost cried out with relief, but the hardest part had yet to come; weak and waterlogged as he was, he found himself unable to actually be able to pull himself up the ladder. Instead, he merely curled Ai even closer to his body as he hung, limp, tossed around by the surrounding waves.
The ladder shook and swung as pirates began to descend, one after another, to create a chain that eventually was used to haul both Haru and Ai back up to the deck of the ship.
Practically thrown back aboard, Haru coughed water out of his lungs as he landed with a thud on the hard wood. Fear suddenly flashed through him as the current situation reminded him of how he had first arrived aboard the ship: dragged up to the top and tossed like a won prize on the floor. He began to struggle as his mind threatened to pull him back into his memories, but almost instantly, it was shattered. This was not the same.
This time, pirates gathered around him with worried and amazed expressions on their face as he continued to cough up water. Several others also gathered around Ai, worried as he lay still on the deck, his porcelain skin making him look dead.
"Ai!" A sudden cry cut through the crowd of pirates as an orange-haired man pushed his way to Ai's side. Momo fell onto his knees by the surgeon as he dipped his head down to listen to Ai's heart. Immediately he began to pump up and down on the man's chest, with such fluidity it was hard to believe he wasn't a doctor himself - he must have learned it from Ai, Haru realized with a start. Thankfully after only a few pumps, Ai was suddenly throwing up water, rolling onto his side and heaving as he sucked air into his abused lungs. Momo let out a cry of relief as he threw his arms around Ai, before being plucked off the near-drowned man by his older brother, who grumbled something about giving him space.
Haru coughed again, spitting up water from his lungs, as he weakly lay on the deck. Blurry eyes glanced upwards, past the many faces of the pirates that gathered around them, and made eye contact with the crimson eyes of the captain.
They- He had come back for them.
Most buccaneers that fell overboard, especially during such a storm, were simply left for dead. It would have been easy enough to keep going, rather than trying to maneuver back through a storm and risk the rest of the crew's life in the process. The fact that the captain had actually gambled that for them - for him - made an uncomfortable feeling gnaw at the sailor's chest. He felt himself unable to look away from the captain's powerful gaze, even though the man was unable to take himself away from the helm. His gaze broke only when the crowd of pirates began to haul him into a sitting position, righting him so that he had an easier time to get his breath back now that he was back on solid ground.
"Did ye see that!? 'E was like a fish!"
"Blimey! I ain't never seen something like that afore!"
"And the Quartermaster woulda left 'im for Davy Jones!"
All around him, Haru could hear the pirates talking excitedly to one another. Their voices began to raise in pitch as their amazement of what had just happened set in, now that they knew Haru and Ai were both safe. There was no threat towards Haru, only wonderment. But it didn't last long, when Sousuke suddenly approached the crowd of buccaneers. A flash of some dark emotion lingered in his turquoise eyes as he glared down at Haru for a moment, his attention quickly diverted again by the pirates that still crowded around the two men.
"Enough! Back to work, ye scurvy dogs, before I hang the lot of ye from the yardarm!" the quartermaster growled, immediately sending the pirates back to their posts. He watched them go, sending one last glare in Haru's direction before he turned and headed back to the helm, to join his captain at the wheel.
The raven-haired sailor didn't have time to dwell on it before Seijuurou appeared in his vision, scooping Ai up in his arms. The surgeon still looked pitifully dead, although his lips moving numbly gave away the fact he was still alive. The red-haired pirate immediately headed towards the stairs that would take him into the belly of the ship, clearly intent to get Ai out of the storm as quickly as possible. Scrambling to his feet, Haru took off after the pirate; a small part of him needed to make sure that Ai would survive the night. Perhaps he was simply being sentimental, as Ai had been the first pirate to show any sort of sympathy and kindness towards him. Whatever the reason, Haru felt the need to ensure he would survive.
Seijuurou brought Ai into the sleeping quarters and placed him on one of the bottom bunks, a sorry-excuse for a blanket drawn up around the shivering man before the pirate began to strip Ai of his wet clothes. The wet material fell with a whump! onto the ground, and though that left the surgeon without any clothes, at least he was now wrapped up in warm and dry bedding. Surprise flashed in the boatswain's eyes when he noticed Haru hovering nearby, but it immediately turning into something else - something close to gratitude.
"Ye did good today," Seijuurou murmured approvingly as he patted Haru on the shoulder, "as if ye really were one of us." He grabbed the wet clothes and left the room, no doubt to head back to the top deck and help the rest of his crew get through the rest of the storm.
'One of you,' Haru thought as he sat himself down next to Ai, blue eyes set on the surgeon's pale face, 'until I find out why I was kept alive - and escape before it's too late.'
Just a quick sidenote: during the age of piracy, it wasn't very common for sailors or pirates to know how to swim, for various reasons. It's because of that, that the pirates are all impressed by Haru's swimming skills, as he not only can swim, but he is also able to swim like a pro. Once again, Haru is impressing everyone with his swimming abilities, haha.