Alright, another chapter! I'm sorry this took so long, I had used up all the internet and even though my Mom promised me unlimited for the summer, we still have limited. DX But hopefully soon. :P
IDEK - Basically just a filler chapter. Basil was asked by Maki why she has so much faith in Kaijinmaru, and so she told her (and the other girls) a story, using her life as the basis and mixing it with Snow White. Basil hadn't trusted people very much, but she met Kai-san and grew to understand people. When Killua attacked her she felt like that trust had been broken, but soon she learned what the moral at the end there stated. She started to trust people even though that trust might not be returned. That story was basically a recap and a realization. Hope that makes sense. :)
RaNDoem - Thank you! I made it up on the spot. :P But that 'shut up' was Maki. YUSH! I ship it too. :P
Amu Wants Noodles - Yes, I love metaphores too! I was thinking of so many when writing that story, can you guess them all? :P
strawberry-chan - 1) No, it doesn't. I made her world to be ours without HunterXHunter. For less complications. 2) Ah~ Thanks for telling me. I didn't see that part and the person I was getting the quotes they said from had that written. 3) Yes, someone else brought that up. However Basil and Baise will not meet. 4) Yes, someone else said that too. I'll fix it when I get the chance. :) 5) Someone already won the prize, and it wasn't something I mail. It was an over the internet prize, but if I told others what it was they might get jealous.
"Youth is the spirit of adventure and awakening. It is a time of physical emerging when the body attains the vigor and good health that may ignore the caution of temperance. Youth is a period of timelessness when the horizons of age seem too distant to be noticed." - Ezra Taft Benson
Re-cap:
"Kill the evil queen and take back the kingdom!"
"Then free the Hunter and marry him!" A small blush came to my face and I averted my eyes.
"No, no, she couldn't do either of those things."
"Well, then what does she do?" Maki asked me. I turned to her, lips turning into a curl.
"She soon came to understand how frail the human mind is, and understood why the queen was so afraid; she understood that killing someone wasn't always the best option, and that sometimes, even though there are people who misuse your trust, there are always people who won't, and it's worth that risk to trust someone even though they might not turn out to be as trustworthy as she thought.
"And even though her kingdom hated her for who she was, eventually they came to understand her and respect her, and Snow White lived happily in her castle."
"What happened to the Hunter?" The soft voiced blonde asked.
"He was set free," I replied. I looked up at the sky, thinking about Killua. "He was set free to wander the world."
And Snow White continued to have adventures, making many more friends along the way.
End Re-cap
"Ah, Basil!" I ran over to the ocean, arms spread wide as I ran towards the older man rowing towards me. The water splashed around my feet and soaked my pants as I attempted to run through the water. Kai-san hopped out of the row boat, getting his pants wet too as he made his way over to me. I lunged at him, burrying my face in his bundled clothing as I gave him a giant hug. Kai-san laughed as I squeezed him tight. "My, Basil, did you get taller?" I looked up at him with a frown.
"My, Kai-san, have you been binging?" My adoptive father let out a little laugh, winking an eye shut and putting his fingers an inch apart.
"Eh, only a little." I looked at him suspiciously as he just shook his head. "What? Can't a man drink every once in a while?"
"It's unhealthy to drink so much. Not to mention you've been smoking. I can smell it."
"Well I knew I couldn't get anything past you." He pat my head playfully. "Now let's go see these nice young girls on the shore why don't we?" I nodded as I trudged back through the water back on shore. Thankfully clothes here seemed to dry fast so I didn't have to wait long before I was dried.
"Kai-san, these are the girls. Girls, this is Kai-san."
"Thank you very much for saving us!" All the girls said together as they bowed their heads down. I stared at them with a surprised look while Kai-san just laughed heartily.
"You're welcome!" Kai-san said as his eyes travelled around, doing quick-minute calculations and checking for any threats. After what seemed to me like several minutes but was actually only a couple seconds the captain smiled. "Alright! Get into groups of eight, two heavier girls, three lighter girls, and then we'll get headed off! Basil!"
"Yes Sir!"
"Relax." I blinked at him, confusion spreading along my face until I realized that this entire time I had become so tense. My muscles relaxed and I took a deep breath. "Now, help the girls get into formation!"
"Yes Sir!" I replied with a smile as I hurried over, separating the girls into two groups of eight. I quickly turned to Kai. "Are you sure the boat won't be too heavy?" I asked. The captain looked at me with a look that almost said, 'do you really doubt me?' I smiled, shaking my head and looking down as the Captain smiled back, giving me a thumbs up.
"Alright, Basil, get the girls headed off to the ship. I've got a rat to fry." I nodded, getting one of the two groups into the water towards the boat. I watched as Kai-san walked over to the entrance into the tunnels, hands on hips as he pulled out a cigar and lit it. After a second, he headed down. I hustled the other girls into the boat, then pushed off and started to row towards the ship which had been docked far from the shore due to shallow waters. As the small row boat came to a slow stop against the side of the ship, I let the girls climb up.
"Hey!" I yelled as they started to run off. "Stay on the deck until I come back with the other girls! And don't mess with anything! We don't want the ship to fall apart!"
"I'll make sure they don't mess with anything too important." I looked over at Maki who was smiling.
"Thanks," I said with a nod.
"No problem." She hoisted herself up onto the boat, pausing for a second to look back down at me. "Hey, Basil?"
"Hm?"
"Thank you." I paused as I looked into her eyes, the same gaze I had when I first met my friends in them as she looked back at me with that sincere smile.
"No problem," I replied as I sat back down and got back to rowing to pick up the other girls. As I left I couldn't help but feel how sincere that 'thank you' was. My heart sunk as I thought of my friends. I never did say a sincere thank you to them; for helping me, being with me, guiding me through this world and being with me every step of the way... My grip tightened on the oars and I pattled faster. I had made up my mind. The next time I saw them I'd tell them thank you. A sincere thank you.
"So, we have everyone here, right?" I looked around the ship, then turned to Kai-san.
"Yup," I replied. I turned to the edge of the deck, leaning over the railing to look down at Kakien who was gagged and tied up in ropes, laying on a small boat which was tied to the ship. "Don't you think that's a little cruel?" I asked the captain without averting my gaze from the beat up and frizzed up Kakien. I felt Kai-san lean on the railing next to me.
"Nah," he replied simply. After a second he moved away from the side. "Alright girls! Since my daughter Basil had called on such short notice I had to leave my crew back on land! I'm going to have to teach you all a little something about ships!" After he paused, he turned to me. "Basil!"
"Yes Sir!"
"Show them how to set the sails and tie the ropes!"
"Yes Sir!" I hurried down to the deck, gathering the girls around as I gave them orders to pull the sails down. Many had to hold onto each the ropes since they weren't as strong as a normal crew member, trying to pull the sails down in order for the wind to catch them. "If you think pulling them down is hard, it's even harder to put them up!"
"Why do we have to pull them down and put them up? Why not leave them?" One of the little girls asked.
"The sails let the boat move. If you don't want it to move you have to put the sails up," I replied simply. "And when you want it to move you need to put them down. Maki! Get a group of stronger girls and follow me! Everyone else keep pulling and following the captain's orders!"
"Yes Ma'am!" The girls yelled out. I giggled slightly at their response, shaking my head as Maki and four other girls headed over to me.
"Alright, come on, we need to turn this wheel." The girls nodded as they took the knobs jutting out from the large wooden block and pushed with all their strength, starting to wrap a large rope around it. I took one of the knobs as well, but it wasn't going too fast till I started using Nen, then it started to smooth out, though I was doing the majority of the work. I stopped pushing it, stopping it in place. I turned back to see Kai-san was talking with some of the girls, who were nodding and heading down to do more work. "Anchor's been secured!" I yelled at him. He grinned as he tunred to me.
"Alright! Ready to set sail!" I nodded as I hurried up through the doors and to the wheel, setting all the switches and knobs before the boat started its motor and we started off, dragging the tied up Kakien after us on his small boat. I turned as I heard Kai-san walk in, giant, pleased grin on his face.
"Your friends are a big help," he said, however the smile quickly fell. "I hope we don't hit a storm, or it'll be nasty." I nodded at his remark. "Cross your fingers for smooth sailing."
"Yup. Are you taking the wheel? Honestly, I don't know where we're headed."
"Yeah, I got it. Thanks." The captain took the wheel. "Go on up and talk to your friends, I'm sure they'll need some guidance from someone like you about what they should do once we get to shore. I was talking to one of the girls and she actually grew up in that horrid place." Kai-san was glenching his jaw, hands tight around the wheel in shaking fists. I averted my eyes in nervousness, biting the side of my mouth. "Hm? What's wrong?" I shook my head as I looked back up at Kai-san who was now looking at me.
"I don't think I'm best suited to teach them, Kai-san," I replied. He looked at me funny. "I'm not even from here... I don't know the first think about-"
"About what?" He interrupted as he asked me with a snort, lighting another cigar and placing it in his mouth, turning away from me. "Suddenly coming from a place where they were secluded, imprisoned, enslaved? Then becoming free and living suddenly in a world they are unfamiiar with? I don't think it's only me, but that sounds a lot like you."
"But it's different." I paused. Kai-san let me speak. "I came from another world," I continued. "I had you, you taught me to fight and taught me Nen. I had the Hunter Exams, and there I met my friends. Most of them are way too young to take the Hunter Exams, and we can't expect to teach them to fight. They diserve to make their own choices, not to be forced into a position they might regret later."
"So you regret learning Nen? Taking the Hunter Exams?" Kai-san said after a second, not even looking at me. I sucked my breath in, looking to the ground and twirling my Hunter License in my hand in my pocket.
"No," I replied after a bit. "I just feel like I had no choice. It was the path I was meant to take. However I do not want to force the others into making the same choices when they're fully free and can choose something else, something where they don't have to fight for the rest of their life."
"And you would try and stop them if they tried to go down the same path as you?" Again, I paused.
"No," I said once again. I looked up at the man and smiled. "I- if they choose that than at least it's their choice, not something someone is forcing them to do. That in itself is an accomplishment I feel everyone has their own right to make." Only a second passed, but the captain's frown turned into a smile. He pulled the cigar out of his mouth and glanced at me out of the corner of his eye.
"Well then, git." I slightly giggled at that, scoffing as I turned away, hands on hips while I shook my head and walked out of the room to find where the girls were. "You'll do fine."
I closed the door behind me, heading up to the deck.
Well, school has finished! SENIOR NOW! XD Welp, I hope you liked this chapter. I'm sorry, I would have uploaded it sooner, but you know... I used 500% of our internet so we had absolutely 0% internet time for the rest of the month... ^^; But now I'm back! Well, at least for a bit... Once I either get more internet or school starts I can get back on track.