I will be updating this week after all, due to the fact that next week, I will be unable to do so. Thank you to Galinia for your review, and I hope you enjoy the next chapter. I am please to say that after this chapter, things finally start to take off. And yes, I do realize I've been saying that for too long now, but nonetheless, the time is nigh! lol All right, enough with this mindless banter! Let us move forth! : D
Disclaimer: I do not own YYH, any of it's character, or the rights. I only own a few characters, the plot line, and a few other things.
-A few days later
"Good, good… You're a fast learner." Yura spoke gruffly, supervising as the princess reorganized the pots underneath the counters.
She had spent the last few days cleaning the entirety of the small area that was the kitchen, and had somehow managed to make it clean. Even the pots and pans that were there shined in the dim light beneath the deck. With a tired smile, the old woman placed a hand on the younger woman's head as she finished. Looking up at her curiously, she noticed the tired look and grew concerned.
"You should lie down… You don't look that well…"
Yura's tired smile grew slightly and she breathed a sigh of relief. "Could you help an old woman over to the bed? I'm afraid I'm not as young as I used to be…"
Nodding, Nozomi closed the cabinets and assisted the old woman over to a hammock hanging from the rafters nearby. With a heavy sigh, Yura got comfortable and folded her hands across her chest, her eyes closed. Nozomi stood there for a while, worried for the older woman. As she watched her current mentor, a sudden thought occurred to her.
Fortunately, she didn't need to say anything, for Yura had already thought of that. Opening her eyes slightly, she glanced at the young girl.
"Go up onto the deck, and see if you can help out… I no longer need your help until the time comes for the others to eat. You may go…"
Nozomi was immediately relieved, yet anguished about leaving her mentor. "But, what about you?"
With a soft chuckle, she whispered, "I just need some sleep… Let me rest… By the time you come back, I'll be back to normal."
With a nod, Nozomi assured her mentor that she understood and would do as she asked. But, she waited until the slow, deep breathing of her mentor announced that she had finally fallen asleep before she began to make her way up the stairs and towards the deck. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves before opening the door into the blinding sunlight.
-Above deck
The deck was drenched in pure sunlight, unprotected by clouds, since there were none in the sky. The crew bustled about, tugging on ropes, changing the position of the sails, and moving about barrels and such that got in each others ways. Youko stood at the helm, watching it all. His helmsman steered the ship expertly, keeping the sailing as smooth as possible. Even so, there was still a constant upward and downwards motion to the entire ship. Scanning about, he cast a quick glance at Hiei, who stood behind the two men, and merely nodded once. Looking back down at the deck, Youko's eyes widened slightly as he saw a brown head peek out of the door that lead to the gully. It glanced around a bit, then hesitated before stepping out and closing the door behind her.
The strong sea breeze blew at her skirt, but did not lift it, and that was good. However, she glanced about, wondering what to do. With a smirk, Youko gave a quick command to the helmsman, "Keep 'er steady.", before jumping over the railing and landing lightly right next to her, causing her to jump noticeably.
She looked up at him a bit ruefully, but said nothing yet. Youko, on the other hand, found this encounter highly amusing. Not only could he enjoy seeing her dressed as she was, but the fact that she was beautiful caused it to be all the more enjoyable. Feeling a bit flamboyant, he gave a mock bow and asked,
"How may I help you, my dear?"
She glared at him, not caring if others were watching. "You dragged me onto this ship and expect me to be happy about it?"
His smirk turned into a bit of a sneer. "I could always throw you overboard, if that is what you want."
A surge of fear ran through her. There was no doubt in her mind that he would do as he said, but it hurt her to think that her friend had disappeared. Instead, she remained silent, looking down at the damp deck. It surprised her that, although there was not a cloud in the sky and the sun was at full force, the deck was still slippery and damp. It was probably because of the sea spray.
Seeing her fall silent, he continued, seeing him win that battle. "So, why is it you have come up here?"
She glanced at him, then back at the door with concern, then sighed. "Yura wasn't feeling that well, so she's resting for a while. She told me to come up here and see if I can help out a bit…" She looked up at him, worry clear in her bright blue eyes. "So, I'm here in honor of her… Is there anything for me to do up here?"
Youko stared at her, his smirk had long gone. Since he had asked her what her purpose was, it had disappeared. But, once he heard that Yura was feeling ill, he grew concerned himself. He looked at the beautiful young woman before him, clearly worried about someone she had only known for a few days now, and was reminded of her great care and concern when they had first met, when he had washed up on the shore of the small beach.
Glancing around, he looked up to see Yomi tying a rope into a loop on one of the masts. He was hanging upside down, held up by his legs hung over the wooden piece. Glancing back down at the girl, he suddenly grew curious as to what would happen. He watched as Yomi finished tying the rope into place, pulling it a few times to make sure it was taught. He was a very good crewman.
Taking a few steps forward, Youko waved an arm up, glaring up at his first mate. "Yomi! Come down!"
Without waiting another moment, Yomi did a sort of flip off of the wooden piece of the mast that formed a T up top and landed with a dull thud onto the deck on his feet. He jogged over, his eyes only on his captain.
"You called, captain?" He asked, a bit breathless. It was a hot day, and his shirt clung to his sweaty body, outlining his muscular features.
Nozomi could see how tan he truly was in the sunlight, however, she couldn't quite figure out how he still seemed to be so pale… Not compared to Youko, however, who was definitely the palest of them all, though still with a tan, compared to most others. It was a light one. She scanned his torso, seeing how his muscles moved under his tan skin. It caused her to blush and look away, as if ashamed of herself. It was then that Yomi noticed the princess, and attempted to hide his blush as he caught her eye before she looked quickly away.
Seeing the exchange, Youko kept it in mind, but ignored it for now. He could sense that Hiei had seen it all as well, though, as usual, remained silent about it. Continuing on with his business, he continued. "Yomi, I'm not sure if I've had the chance to introduce you to Princess Nozomi properly." He motioned towards her.
Still trying to catch his breath, though, as before, it was merely light, Yomi closed his eyes and made a semi-formal bow, with his right hand over his torso as he bowed to her, then stood up straight and looked back at his captain.
"We met last night." He said, a bit too quietly.
Nozomi continued from there. "Yes, he and three others protected me…"
Youko glanced at her, then back at Yomi, who said nothing. With a mental shrug, he got back on topic. "At any rate, I wanted to tell you that it's up to you to protect her while she's up here. She is to help around while Yura recovers."
"Yura's sick!?" Was his first reaction, looking both shocked and a bit devastated.
"She told me that she just needed her rest, and that she would be back to normal before I had to go back and help her make food…" Nozomi answered, looking up at him, though looking worried still.
Yomi nodded, but Youko continued. "As such, she will be working up here for a while."
Yomi stared at him, having caught his breath. "But, captain!" He exclaimed, temporarily forgetting his place. "She's a woman! She won't have the strength to lift what we have trouble lifting, or hoisting sail, or anything else for that matter!"
Youko glared at him. "Then don't make her do an obvious man's job. As I've said, you must look after her, protect her, and do your work at the same time. If you fail in any of these, you will be punished." After giving him a killer look, he turned a softer gaze on the princess.
"As for you, my dear, I trust that you are in safe hands. I shall leave you to your assignments, and I hope that you do not strain yourself." With a flash of his famous smirk, he jumped back onto the railing above him and hopped off behind, reclaiming his spot next to his helmsman.
Yomi groaned slightly, then turned to look at the princess coldly, feeling his irritation bubbling. She merely watched him, feeling helpless. He sighed irritably and crossed his arms tightly, glaring at her.
"Looks like I have no choice…" He paused, still glaring at her. She gave a meager shrug in response, which only seemed to irritate him even more. With a growl, he continued, "Well, what can you do?"
Once again, she shrugged. "Guess I'd have to pick something up in order to find out…" She murmured, her eyes focused on an interesting spot scratched into the smooth wood.
Eyes narrowing, he roughly grabbed her left upper arm and dragged her towards the bow of the ship, where a few barrels awaited. There was another man on his way there, but from a discreet sign from Yomi, he began to climb the nearest mast, soon disappearing within the folds of the sail. Upon reaching the barrels, he roughly thrust her towards them, causing her to stumbled and practically slam into the barrels. She gasped a bit at the pain and sudden movement, then turned a cold eye upon him, glaring coldly at him.
Without waiting for him to say anything, since she saw him draw breath, she moved between the barrels, lifting them slightly to see which ones were heavy, and which ones weren't. As she tested one, she seemed satisfied, and glared briefly at Yomi before rolling up her sleeves and picking up the barrel. She grunted slightly as she heaved it, but managed to get it up to her shoulder and turned, straight backed, to her stunned boss.
"Where should I put it?" She asked quietly, her eyes flashing dangerously, yet her complexion remained calm and gentle.
Blinking a few times, and becoming aware that others were watching them, he pointed towards the other end of the boat, near the area in which she had spoken with Youko and himself earlier. Giving a brief nod, she walked the distance and placed the heavy barrel down with a dull thud. Rotating her shoulder for a few seconds, she walked back over and picked up another barrel without any other instruction, which caused a few of the other crew members to watch amusedly as this young girl did a mans job.
-Nightfall
Nozomi had returned to the galley below the deck around sunset after a long days work in the sun. She had done the job of making dinner for the crew, and making sure that Yura was at least resting, which she was. Apparently, she was weaker than she had thought, and needed more time to rest. Though she was conscious and still gave orders, she remained lying down and resting.
As the crew mates exited the galley, with few parting words, Nozomi waited a few moments, finishing drying a pan, and then collapsed onto a small crate, panting slightly. She placed the pan on the counter where it was supposed to go with trembling hands, allowing her arms to go limp by her sides. Yura watched silently, seeing the young girl completely exhausted. She couldn't help but smile weakly.
"It's not easy is it?" She asked softly, causing the young girl to give her a questioning glance. "The life of a pirate, I mean."
In response, Nozomi shook her head. "No…it's not…" She heaved a big sigh, feeling just how weary she truly was after spending all day in the sun. Her arms felt burnt, and her face slightly feverish. She was used to a cool interior and having everything done for her, not having to do things herself. And even when she did, it wasn't to such an extent. "But, I always knew it was hard work… I mean… When one thinks of pirates, one thinks of strong men with rippling muscles, their skin tanned after years under the hot sun, brandishing swords and guns…." She fell silent, heaving another sigh. "Why am I here among this mess?" She ended in a whisper, hanging her head and covering her face with her still trembling hands.
Nodding, the old woman knowing what her younger companion was feeling, merely smiled. "It's true. A young woman who has never been at sea before has no real chance of surviving very long on here." She paused, seeing the young woman's shoulders slump a bit in defeat at her words. She continued. "That is why it is your job to prove them wrong in whatever way you can."
Nozomi's head lifted at her words, seeing the old fragile woman whom she had met only a few days ago. She had wisdom wedged deep within her wrinkles, and it sparkled in her eyes. But, apart from that, she had a rugged gentleness about her; one that every woman probably had, hidden somewhere deep within.
Seeing her young companion wavering, she continued. "I've seen the way he looks at you. He hasn't looked at any woman that way before. There's something special about you." Nozomi blinked, confused. Seeing her confusion, she elaborated. "The Captain."
Understanding, then even more confusion dawned on her eyes. "Oh, you mean Youko?" She shook her head. "No… He's just a friend, that's all… I saved him at a beach…and we became friends…" She fell silent, suddenly missing her old friends.
Yura, watching knowingly, smiled even more. "Yes, I do mean little Youko. You do have a gift, dear; one of hidden courage, and intelligence. He doesn't go after just anyone, you know. He goes after those with beauty and intelligence, and you've definitely qualified for both."
Nozomi blinked. 'Little? Little Youko…? Just how old IS Yura…?' "Beautiful…?" She managed to whisper, a little surprised.
"Why yes. Of course. After all, you are a princess, aren't you?"
Nozomi hung her head. "Yes…but I… I've never really thought of myself as beautiful…because I…"
"It's ok. Just… Be strong. Be smart. And be resilient. Now that I'm weaker, I can't be looking after you. I can't protect you from them. They're going to try and break your spirit. Don't let them." She warned, her eyes flashing. "Don't let any of them see your weakness. However, be smart at the same time. If something is too heavy, or impossible for you to do, don't try and do it, all right? We wouldn't want our dear captain to become heart broken."
Growing confused as to how she worded that, Nozomi crawled over to her cot and collapsed, falling almost immediately into a deep and dreamless sleep.
-That is the end of this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it, and are eager for the next. That eagerness will probably get you through until the next time I update. There will be no update next week, due to the fact that I will be unavailable. I look forward to your reviews, and can't wait to update myself!
As a bit of an afterthought, I wished to inform everyone that, as of April 16, 2013, ABATS officially made it to 100 pages. Now, if you recall a while back, I did say when it 'officially' became longer than ARAAR, so I hope this is just a bit more proof on how I am not giving up hope on this story. Where I am currently at, I am just about to reach the middle, so to speak. I am currently at page 118, and am in dire need of editing the last scene, so, who knows? By the time I've finished that, I'll have more than 120 pages, and then I may continue~
Another thing of importance. Guys. I need your opinion. Due to the speed I am writing these chapters, I am about to come up to a snag. A very BIG snag. Now here is my question for you; do you want me to post a "lemon" chapter, or not? I can easily write it, but not post it, allowing everyone to assume what happened. OR, I could actually post it on here, causing the rating to change whenever the time arrises to where I actually need to change the rating. So, what do you think? If you want a good chapter, let me know asap, because if not, then it will be solely on myself, and I will see what I have to do. Have a nice day~