AN: I shall fulfill the promises I made at the end of the last chapter! Thanks to those who actually read this story! Beware! This one's looong.
The Swabbies
Chapter 2: Now the Old Hag Tags Along
"Whoo-wee! What a nice breeze! It's best the start the morning on the right foot with a nice breeze. It makes me want to zip around and sing, if ya know what I mean. Ah, it smells of the sea, not a bad smell, but not a good one-" Jin had broken off into a quickly spoken speech.
"Swabbie! It's too early for you to be babbling!" Atticus yelled at Jin. Atticus a waist-length braid of forest green hair. He wore a pair of tiny reading glasses, which Hiei said "cost a fortune, don't brake them or you're overboard!". He dressed in a blue tunic and red pants, both of which looked like rags that had been sown together. Atticus was older than everyone else on the ship (but with Hiei a demon, you could never be sure), which was obvious in his various wrinkles. He had a wiry, brown beard.
"Atticus, quit your yappin'! The lady's sleeping!" Hiei yelled down into the hold. Hiei was wearing a black Japanese kimono (there is a very specific type for males, Hiei is wearing one of those) with red dragons sown up the arms. He had changed his white forehead band to a red one, to match his dragons.
"Looks like the Captain's going out to the nice places today…." Atticus whispered.
"So all I have to do is follow his orders and I don't get thrown overboard, yay?" Jin was a little scared because Hiei took him as the type to actually follow through with his threats to the letter.
"Nah, he only says that if it's something you obviously shouldn't do. But, if he demotes you to Slime and says he'll throw you overboard, he means it." Atticus leaned closer to Jin's ear. "Ya see, Goki's only been a thorn in the side. He gets drunk, has nasty hangovers, and harasses anyone he feels like. He betrayed the Captain three times and doesn't always follow orders. The only reason why his head isn't clear off his body is because the Captain is short-handed." Atticus stood back up.
"I see, but if I get my skills up with the wind-working, then I could do the work of two men. I don't like working with men ya can't trust." Jin jerked his head in the still-unconscious Goki's direction.
"Take your offer up with him, you are a Pirate now and have right to the only vow Captain will swear under." Atticus picked up a few papers and climbed up the rope ladder to the deck. Jin jumped and grabbed onto the edge of the hole and pulled himself up. Hiei chuckled.
"Eager, aren't we?" Jin smiled at the Captain as the wind picked up. "Shiori is going to gave you a lesson in control." Hiei pointed at the part of the ship that would be considered the Captain's quarters. "She's sleeping right now, tell her that I would like her to give you a lesson in control, and be nice about it!" Hiei beckoned Jin to come closer. Jin approached his Captain and bent over so the Captain could whisper in his ear.
"I want you to keep Goki off of her. Kill him if you have to." Hiei took a step back and Jin stood up strait. "Now, I'll be gone under some time after sundown. You should go to bed when Kurama comes back. See ya tomorrow!" Hiei leaped off the boat and mended into the crowd of merchants. Jin took a moment to look at his clothes.
He had a pair of torn-up, stained trousers that should have been white, but didn't remotely resemble that. He wore half of a green shirt.
"At least it's been broken in…." Jin muttered.
"Put these on, I'll fix the stuff you have on right now." Jin jumped when he saw Shiori appear as if from nowhere with a blue shirt and green pants.
"Okay." Jin quickly changed and discovered that these clothes where a lot softer, and fit him better. He climbed up the later to see that Shiori had set up a little clothes shirt on the deck and a few people were browsing through her selection. Shiori was sitting down mending Jin's old clothes.
Shiori wore a blue kimono with little waves across the bottom. Jin approached her nervously, she didn't feel like she had any power, but the Captain had told him to go to her for instruction.
"Morning Shiori! Nice breeze today!" Jin began, pretending he had just woken up. Atticus stuck his head out of Shiori's room.
"Morning Jin! Want some grub?" Jin was all too happy at the prospect of breakfast. He hadn't eaten anything at all yesterday. Jin pranced over. Inside there was two beds, a table covered with maps, charts, and various other papers. There was another table with some bread and fruit on it.
"Eat your fruit first, we can't afford scurvy on this ship!" Atticus pointed at the fruit basket, which contained more different kinds of fruit that Jin had ever known.
"Which one is good?" Jin's ears had pointed because he got to chose what he ate, and for the first time in his life he got to pick something that he might actually enjoy.
"They all are, the Captain only buys the most nutritious stuff, and thank the lord he buys it fresh! The better it is for you, the better it tastes. That's what he says, and he's damn right abut it too!" Atticus explained. Jin made his own life easier and picked the fruit on the top of the pile and enjoyed every moment it was in his mouth.
"I was always told that being a Pirate was bad, you never got any good food, your superiors treated you like trash, and if you were lucky you had a bit off booty to send in town." Jin remarked as he began on another fruit.
"Our Captain is special. He was trained to treat his crew like a navy Captain does. It makes for a tighter ship, and a generally healthier condition of the crew. We're all brothers out at sea and Captain will only have the best of the best for us. That's why Shiori's out there selling clothes; we got to have money at pay for it all and we don't have a good enough boat to be doing raids." Atticus explained. Jin began to eat a piece of bread.
"Why was Kurama dressed all nice? Hell, why does the Captain dress all nice?" Jin asked Atticus.
"We're merchants today, we have to look the part. That's why Shiori had you change clothes, you look a your average sea man, rather than the slime of the town. When our Captain wants to be a Pirate, he'll be a Pirate and he'll drag everyone else down with him." Atticus chuckled. Jin began to wonder what he had got himself into.
"I've seen your little ship, laddie, where are you taking it, hmm?" The large, smelly thug asked Hiei.
"I'm taking it to Cathra[1]." Hiei said simply.
"You out of your mind!?" A random merchant croaked.
"No, I've taken it to Cathra many times before. Now, I'm here to post my ship's destination so for those who would want to catch a boat to Cathra. Oh, please add that my ship is small and first come first serve." Hiei walked out of the docking management office. Though no-one every needed a boat to the destinations Hiei had in mind, he was always hopeful for a little extra income.
Hiei ducked into a quiet alley and changed into the black on black outfit he had on last night, shoving kimono into a sack he had brought with him.
'Time to find some information….' He headed into a the tavern that he had said to contact him at. He smiled, the place was upscale but there was a back half that was not. Hiei went up to the bar keep.
"If anyone comes in here lookin' for the merchant 'Akira Samiso' have me informed immediately. I'll be in the back." Hiei walked into the back part of the bar. There were three different fights, plenty of sleazy women, a handful of hideous bar wenches, and two men selling cocaine. Your average dirt-of-the-town bar.
Hiei took a seat at the counter, he elbowed the man next to him (who was very drunk).
"'Ave ya 'eard? There's a man lookin' for a beautiful maiden! What a lucky wench she must be! They call 'er," Hiei slowed his speech and spoke clearly, "Yukina. 'Ave ye 'eard anything?" Hiei asked the drunk.
"Yukina…." The man hiccupped. "Aye…. They say the Geshi got 'er."
"Where be the Geshi?" Hiei asked the man.
"Over the Large Waves, where only the Dragon knows wheres to go." He hiccupped.
BANG!! The drunk fell over dead; he'd been shoot. Hiei wasted no time in hopping behind the counter and ducking low.
'Dead men tell no tales. And alcohol loosens the tongue along with money and the right leverage.' Hiei thought to himself. He pulled up the sleeve of his arm, to expose a bandage. He set his hand on it. 'Back home, eh? Well it's time the Dragon spread it's and took to the air. But first the Dragon needs a crew and a ship.'
Hiei jumped up and flipped over the counter. Bullets whizzed by him, as he gracefully landed and shoot right out the door into the nicer part. The bullets stopped at the threshold of the door. The owner had put up a barrier to ensure that the problems of the scum bar did not get into his nice bar.
The bar keep was having a conversation with an elderly women. During this he looked over to where Hiei was standing and pointed, saying something. The women nodded and approached him.
"So this is Akira Samiso…. I was expecting you to have your head a bit higher off the ground, but the fact that it isn't makes you a bit easier to talk to." The woman wore a white shirt and pants with a red over-robe. "You're dressed like the scum in the bar you just escaped from…." She remarked.
"Why did you search me out? Normally I'm the one finding people." He joked her.
"I want passage to Cathra." She was stern and blunt. Hiei narrowed his eyes.
"Let's make this deal on my ship, that is if you really want to make a deal with me." Hiei used an ominous tone that separated the boys from the men.
"I want to make a deal with you." She stood steadfast, her look unwavering.
"Good." He smirked. "Let's go."
"Well you could have told me earlier!" Shiori remarked when Jin had finally gotten around to talking about his orders to her.
CRASH!! THUMP!!
"Storming tornados! What was that!?" Jin yelled in surprise.
"…Goki…." Shiori answered in a small voice. Atticus had left after Jin had finished his breakfast, Kurama had been gone since before the sun was up, and Hiei had left before Jin had even had breakfast. Now that Shiori had closed up shop for the morning she cloud spare a moment to help Jin.
"Where's the rum!?" The ogre bellowed.
BAM!! THUMP!! BANG!!
"Has that drunken dope got a gun!?" Jin squealed. He could deal with drunks, but not with angry ogre demons who are half-drunk.
"…Yes…." Shiori whispered. She looked at Jin frightened.
"Now don't you go about worrying and cowering! The Captain left me here to take care of you and that I will. It's not like I can't use my powers, I just need to practice my control a wee bit more in his opinion, ya know how that is right? If that ogre becomes a problem, I'll take care of it. Trust me okay?" Jin said quickly.
Shiori shook her head. Jin had very little training if any, that's what the word 'lesson' implied. Goki exploded out of the hold.
"WOMAN!!" Goki didn't even see Jin standing in between the two of them.
"Back off you over-grown bastard! She is not for you to touch!" Jin yelled and the wind began to pick up. Goki stumbled forward. He stopped when he saw Jin. "I thought the Captain told you to leave her alone!" Jin screamed.
"What's it?" Goki drooled. And Jin was ether about to send him flying with his wind.
Goki propped his arms up and started dancing. Jin's wind vanished as everyone grew a sweat drop.
"I'm not sure if it's because he's drunk or if it's the bang to the head I gave him last night, but he seems to have lost his marbles! I think they're still at the bar!" Jin whispered, quickly, to Shiori, who just chuckled.
"No, they're in his liver, not his head." She corrected.
Goki tripped, fell over, and lost conscious. Jin blinked. "Wonder why you need a body guard then, if this is all that happens…."
"No, Hiei's had to beet him up a few good times; we're just lucky today, that's all. Now don't we have a lesson?" She smiled at Jin.
"Oh, right then. Let's see how fast the wind will blow!"
"Well, Atticus, that was another dead lead…." Kurama had been trying to track down a particular naval ship that the Captain had set his eye on. Kurama did have to gave Hiei credit for judging the inside of a ships hull by looking at the outside. Hiei had known about 69% of the inside, Kurama had looked up the other 31% and discovered that the other parts were more than what they had hoped for.
In short the ship was perfect.
Now Kurama had the tedious task of tracking it down. He and Atticus had asked so many people, as model ship builders, where is was so they could have a good look at it. They didn't know where it was harbored, but they did know that it was harbored.
Thankfully they where headed to Cathra. People there knew where that ship would be, to avoid it. Kurama turned to Atticus.
"Well, everything we'll need is back at home! It's been so long…." Kurama remembered his lady, it had been a few good years since he last saw her.
"Aye, it has. Cathra, of all the foulest places on this world, is the one place that has everything we need." Kurama nodded at his shipmate. The main reason why they were headed there is because of the type of people around there made good Pirates.
"Good sirs! Have you seen my friend Jin?" cried a panicked male voice from behind.
Jin had discovered that control was just a matter of metal discipline. Shiori had certainly worked him hard, because when she left to make lunch he collapsed. One of his first tests of control was to use wind to fly the unconscious Goki about, then himself, and then both himself and Goki. He had eventually put Goki down in the hold.
Now Jin was smiling with the see breeze gently blowing through his hair. He lay on the deck with his face in sun and his eyes shut.
"Jin, you're only begging for a sunburn doing that." Hiei remarked as and the old woman walked by Jin's sprawled out body. Jin jumped up with a start.
"Captain! I thought you weren't going to be back before dark!" Jin was suppressed and stunned. That's when he saw the old lady. "Who's she?"
"She's here to strike a deal with me." Hiei said simply. "Where's everyone else?"
"Goki did a wee flop on the deck and he's taking another nappy, Captain. Atticus left this morning at long after you did, 'said he had some errands to run. Shiori did her share of morning selling and she's cooking lunch now. I did everything you asked, Captain." Jin summarized quickly.
"Wee flop? Lookin' for my stash was he now? Aye, I'll get him for that later. How'd the sailing lesson go?" Hiei gave him a look that said 'play along'.
"Very well! I bet I can take this ship out of the dock with a blindfold and one of my arms chopped off! It was great fun watching our little napping laddie side around, ya know. Had to put him in the hold so he would still have a head to bump." Jin explained, hoping Hiei would pick out what he needed from that. Hiei gave a satisfied nod. He turned to the woman.
"I'm sorry about that, have to keep up with my crew. This way." Hiei lead her through a door that Jin hadn't noticed was there before. Jin crept up to the door and put his ear to the door, to ease drop.
"Are you sure you want to make a deal with me?" Hiei double checked.
"Yes." She said.
"You want passage to Cathra. What are you giving me for the trouble?"
"This." There was a few clanging noises and sliding sounds as the woman set a pouch full of coins on the table.
"Ah…." There was a pause then the sound of the coins being stacked. "Let's see, 501 gold pieces…." Jin was startled when Hiei said this. He hadn't heard too many stacking noises, it sounded as if he had made only two piles.
"Yeah, you're the only ride over, take as much as you want." The woman told him. There was the sound of the sliding of the piles into the bag.
"Here's my offer, you defend yourself if we get into a fight and you get to keep this half of the money. If you need rescuing or protection, I keep this half of the money. It will stay untouched in this bag until the trip is over." There was the sound of the bag being tied. Then someone unsheathed a knife.
"Set it down, I don't want it moving." The old woman ordered. The bag was set on the table and the knife was stabbing into wood.
"You're a very interesting woman, Genkai." Hiei observed. "We have a deal don't we?" There was a pause, the Captain was probably doing his half of the vow.
"I've been told that making a deal with a Pirate was suicide…." She remarked.
"But you just did. And besides, I did ask you to reconsider. You're lucky I'm the type of man that actually means what he promises. Welcome aboard Genkai!"
"That Jin fellow's been listening in on us…." Genkai pointed out.
"Let him, he'll be needing the practice."
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[1] Cathra is one of the largest black market ports in the world. It is known for producing the finest Pirates and is one of the 'home towns' to many Pirate ships.
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AN: Mwhahahaha! Like the sound of Cathra? Well, I just made it up and you may feel free to use it as long as you don't claim it was your idea. You've got the questions, and I've got the answers. So I'll strike you a deal. Here's my offer: you read and review, I'll post the next chapter. licks thumb, rubs it across the side of my nose and holds it out