The Swabbies
Chapter 3: Back at the Ranch (literally)
"It'd be a real pleasure to help you, lad, but I don't know what your friend looks like…." Kurama explained to the much exhausted blue-haired boy. His blue eyes told you that he was rather desperate and his clothes told you that he was from the dirt of the town.
"He's tall with flaming red hair and blue eyes. He has an Irish accent and the wind always fits his mood when he's around." The boy panted.
"Oh! That's the lad our Captain brought in last night! Your friend Jin is quiet special, our Captain chose him to be a part of the crew! It was rather convent that he got kicked out of his home…." Atticus babbled on pointlessly.
"Take me to him!!" The boy grew and became large and scary.
"Yessir!" The two disguised Pirates had fear driving their better judgment and they began to show the boy to their ship.
"Am I in trouble?" Jin asked, his ears dropped down as if it was the end of the world.
"No. And you can feel free to do it again, if you don't get caught!" Hiei piped cheerfully. "If you do get caught you get to be bossed around by the Slime." Genkai looked around at the cheerful little boat they had.
"You certainly look like merchants…." She remarked.
"We're merchants when we want to be and Pirates every other moment of the day." Hiei explained with a smile.
"Are you going off?" Jin asked.
"Naw, got done what I was trying to do early. I'm gonna look at the maps!" He promptly marched into Shiori's room.
BAM!!
"The drunken crazy woke up! You'd think after a blow like that he'd be taking the long nappy, but here he is up and at 'em again! Now he'll want to get to the rum. Then he'll want to do bad things. Then he'll be all confused and gullible. And off he'll be dancing like a chicken!" Jin said very quickly.
"Boy, did your parents ever teach you to talk at a reasonable pace?" Genkai wondered.
"Where's that buffon that kicked my head last night!?" Goki was sober. He came up and looked Jin in the eye. "You're dead!" He charged at Jin.
"Goki hands off the Swabbie!" Hiei appeared right in front of him, sending Goki sliding on his butt to stop in time. "I had ordered him to hit you out last night! Now sit down and shut-up!" Hiei glared at him. "This lady here is Genkai, you do not touch her!" Hiei disappeared and the slamming of the door was heard.
Hiei wasn't really interested in the maps after a few quick glances at them. Kurama had plotted the most efficient course this morning and Hiei didn't really need to review it. He sat back in his chair and removed his head band to reveal his blue Jagan Eye. Hiei shut his normal eyes as he went into trance, as he always did while looking over large distances. First he looked at Leem, the little town across the bay from Cathra. His eye tracked down the greatest spirit energies on the island[1]. There were three of impressive ability. Two were next to each other, so Hiei brought the world around them into focus.
/There was a large fenced field that held two horses and a cow. On the cow sat a orange-haired young man. He was tall and wore much abused working clothes. He was talking to another boy. That boy wore nice clothes, but they were covered in dirt and stained in various spots. Both boys were strong and fit.
"-and so the man said: 'I'm a drunken dew woman!' and he danced about with that pig leg as if he was getting married." The boy standing on the ground finished.
"Well isn't that the truth Yusuke? My lord! You have the world's weirdest job, kicking out those drunks and all…." The boy on the cow remarked. There was a small 'meow' from the ground below the cow. 'Yusuke' picked up the cat and handed it to the other boy.
"Your cat." Was all he said.
"Oh Eikichi!" The boy cried as he picked up the cat that had apparently been missing. The cow chose this moment to moo. "And you too Hanna!" He looked suddenly startled. "There's someone watching us…."
Hiei receded from that image and went to look at the third person.
/A woman in her late twenties with brown hair was changing out of her night robe and into her work clothes. She looked up and faced me.
"You pervert!!" She screamed.
Hiei was blasted backwards from her powerful Ki[2]. It sent him through the door that Shiori had left open to invite the boys in for lunch.
Ka-bam!! Hiei hit the deck, back first.
'That was one powerful bitch!' Was all that came to Hiei's mind.
"Captain?" Jin, Goki, and Shiori looked over him, concerned; though Goki was probably faking it.
"I was checking for potentials and stumbled across a sight men are never meant to see." Hiei gasped. He had the wind knocked out of him when he landed and now breathing had become a bit painful. He sat up, glaring.
"We're shoving off as soon as Kurama and Atticus return! Now get off your asses and start preparations!"
"Aye, aye Captain!" They all yelled. Shiori went down into the hold to assure they had enough food to get themselves to Cathra. Goki ran about the deck making sure that all the ropes were secure and in no need of replacement. Jin just stood there, a bit confused as to what he was supposed to do. Hiei bopped himself on the side of his head when he realized that Jin had absolutely no experience on ships, let alone manning them.
"Come here Jin!" Hiei ordered and Jin ran over. Hiei handed him a mop and a bucket full of some weird black liquid.
"I want you to wash every inch of this deck using this mop and the stuff in this bucket." Jin nodded and began to swab the deck. Hiei jumped down into the hold and checked to make sure the walls weren't going to leak on him. Goki went down into the hold to make sure everything down there was secured by a rope.
Goki attempted to move in on Shiori.
Clang!! Hiei had hit Goki on the head with a large pot. And Jin continued swabbing the deck as if this was normal.
"Hey Jin! Get down here!" Hiei bellowed. Jin set his mop down and jumped down into the hold. Hiei was putting a pan back up on the pan rack and Goki was on the floor with a large bump on the back of his head.
"Jin, I want you to swab that wall with the stuff you left on deck. After you're done with that I want you to finish swabbing the deck!" Hiei kicked Goki in the side. "Up with ya Slime! You've got other things to be doing!" Goki got up and grumbled as he walked about checking the how secure things were. Jin jumped up onto the deck.
"Touya?!" Jin was startled and just about fell back into the hold.
"Jin!" Touya cried as he ran over and gave his friend a hug.
"What in the seven rings of Hell is going on up there!?" Hiei bellowed. Kurama walked over to the hold and looked down at a very annoyed Captain.
"Jin's friend wanted to see him and we couldn't say no…." Kurama began. Hiei glared at him and leaped onto the deck. Touya let go of his friend.
"I can't believe it Jin! You're a real seaman now! I wish I was as lucky…." Touya looked over at the little man that was looking him up and down. He looked like he might be a demon but he didn't feel that way. He looked Touya in the eye.
"I wonder how I could have missed you…. What's your name?" Hiei asked Touya.
"I'm Touya." He bowed respectfully.
"What do you do for a living?" Hiei wondered.
"I-I steal…." He admitted. "I don't have any family so I lived with Jin and when I came back to the house I found that he had been kicked out…."
"I've got an offer for you but you've gotta earn the right for me to offer it." Hiei explained.
"What do you mean?"
"I want you to go down into the hold. There is a large thug down there. I want you to knock him out and bring his unconscious body up here." Hiei pointed to the hold.
"How do I know I'm knocking out the right guy?" Touya was a bit startled by this.
"He's the only male down there." Atticus explained. Touya walked down the ladder and saw Goki, who fit the thug description. He was spying on a woman who was busy checking things in various boxes. Touya walked over to the unsuspecting man and pinched the pressure point on his neck that knocked him out.
"Hello? Goki?" The lady turned around to see Touya. "Who are you?" She was a bit startled and scared.
"I'm earning the right to have a deal offered to me." He explained and carried Goki's body away. Hiei was pleased to see that he had used logic over brute force.
"Here's my offer: I train you, feed you, clothe you, and give you cover over your head; you follow every order I give you." Hiei offered him.
"What kind of orders?" Touya asked an Hiei smiled.
"I'm a Captain and this is my ship. The orders I'd give you would be related to that topic. Jin! I thought I had you swabbing that wall!" Hiei snapped when he saw Jin standing there doing nothing.
"Aye Captain!" He grabbed the bucket and mop and hopped down into the hold and got working.
"Kurama, Atticus! Make our guest comfortable!" He pointed at Genkai. The two boys ran over to her and began asking questions about here what she wanted for comfort. "Well?" Touya turned his attention to Hiei.
"I accept your offer!" It wouldn't be too hard. Touya was caught off-guard when Hiei presented him with the Pirates' vow.
"You accepted it now you have to swear under my vow." Touya reluctantly completed his half.
"What have I just done?" Touya asked rhetorically.
"You're a Pirate under Captain Jaganshi Hiei. Welcome aboard Swabbie Touya! Now there's another mop down there and I'm certain Jin could use another hand…."
"Aye, aye Captain!" Touya yelled and clambered down into the hold to help Jin.
"Hey Jin, is this safe?" Jin turned to his friend as they finished the wall.
"It is, he ain't a normal Captain! He goes about doing his best for his crew and fathering everyone. He makes a warm breeze, ya know. Good man, very good man!" Jin said quickly. He took a step back and looked at the wall. "I think we're done here. Up deck!" He leaped out the hope and onto the deck. Touya took his time and climbed onto the deck. The two returned to their work.
The door to Shiori's room was open. Hiei was sitting in front of the maps talking to Atticus and Kurama while eating his lunch. Genkai was up in the crow's nest looking out at the sea. Goki had been crudely tied to the mast. Shiori came up from the hold with a sad expression on her face.
"Hey! Don't be going around all droopy and long-faced! There's always a wee bit of sun in the sky! And if you're not there, there's always a breeze to take you on your way! Now give old Jin a smile and go along with your merry day!" Jin said this extremely quickly and so chipper that Shiori couldn't help but to laugh.
"You're right about that I suppose, but giving the Captain bad news is never easy…." Shiori began. Hiei leaned back in his chair and looked over at her.
"What bad news?" He had raised an eyebrow.
"We don't have enough food for all the mouths on this ship…." Shiori walked over and fixed herself a portion of lunch.
"I was expecting that. You and the Swabbies can go into town and stock up on what we need." Hiei explained.
"But I was looking at the funds! We don't have enough money!" Shiori cried.
"Did you count the money Genkai gave us for her passage? It's in the chest." He jerked his thumb at one of the beds. Shiori walked over and pulled a small chest out from beneath the bed. She opened it and examined its contents.
"Well, we certainly have enough now!" She shut the chest with a firm snap. Jin and Touya finished the deck. They walked in. Hiei hit himself in the side of the head.
"I should have let you two eat first!" He dashed over and fixed them their servings of lunch. He set them down at the table for them. He looked like he felt bad.
"Lunch!?" Both the boys were wide-eyed.
"We never get lunch!" Touya explained.
"Well you do here! Now eat!" The Swabbies needed no further prompting, they sat down and began to eat.
"I'm a bit sorry to delay your trip to town…." Hiei was a bit embarrassed.
"It's okay! Looking at those two, I'd say they never ate! It's great watching them have their fill for once." She smiled. Kurama smiled.
"Yeah, brothers at sea…." He muttered pointlessly.
"What about my lunch!?" Genkai bellowed down from the crow's nest. Hiei severed her a portion and ran over and gave it to her.
"No need to apologize, I was offered some before, but I wasn't hungry then. You do get a few points in my book for taking care of your passengers." She smiled at him.
"Alright then! If you're gonna be eating late, then I expect you can serve yourself when you get hungry! I'm not running up here every time you want food!" He glared at her. She laughed.
"I was waiting for that! Alright, I'll make sure to do that. I just wanted to see your reaction."
"Well you certainly are senile!" He laughed and hopped down. Jin and Touya had finished their food and Shiori had already loaded them with empty bags.
"Let's go!" The three walked away. Hiei went back into Shiori's cabin.
"I want to talk to you privately." He informed his mates and they all entered his cabin through the discreet door. Inside there was a single bed and a dresser that held all the many costumes that the Captain owned along with his various changes of all-purpose clothes. There was also a table with a bag of gold stuck onto it with a knife and a few chairs for it. The most interesting thing in the entire room was the painting of a blue-haired girl with the same red eyes as Hiei. She was pale and had one of the most charming smiles on her face.
"This is about the Dawn[3], isn't it?" Kurama guessed.
"Yes. What did you find out?" Hiei sat on the bed.
"It's perfect." Atticus didn't need to go into detail of the Captain's idea of a perfect ship, that was clear enough in their minds.
"Where is it?"
"It's docked, but no-one would tell us where." Kurama explained.
"They'll know in Cathra." Hiei remarked.
"They'll always know in Cathra." Kurama smiled. "Have you hade a look at potentials?"
"Yeah, stumbled across a lady in mid-change and she sent me, 'for one wee flight' as Jin would probably say." Hiei had even half-heartedly imitated the Irish accent Jin had. "The other two looked promising, thought they all where in Leem…."
"Why don't you look back on them?" Atticus suggested.
"Why not?" Hiei laid down on the bed and went into trance. He found 'Yusuke' immediately and looked down on him.
/'Yusuke' was standing guard by the door of nice-looking tavern. There were a few drunks here and there, which he kept a careful eye on. There was a little lady manning the bar. She had great magic potential in her, but it would require a bit of training before that would come out. Every now and then she and 'Yusuke' would meet in a lovers' gaze and then turn back to their respective tasks.
Hiei sensed out the other two. They were at home.
/The orange-haired man sat there with his cat on his lap in a rocking chair by the fire. The older lady was sitting in another rocking chair with a pipe in her mouth, peacefully puffing away at it.
"Well you seemed to have found your cat…." She was trying to make conversation.
"Yeah…. Hey sis; someone was watching me and Yusuke today…." I was a bit panicked and hoped they wouldn't sense me a second time.
"There was a long-distance piping tom in my room earlier…. And he's back!!" She bellowed. Her brother smiled at her as he threw her a Spiritual line and together they punched me away.
Hiei flew a few feet into the air and landed on the bed, gasping.
"I am not going to look in on those two again!" He was wide-eyed with shock.
Later that evening….
"We're back!" Jin yelled as he came onto the ship burdened with full bags.
"Good, put those away and we can set sail." Hiei ordered. And his Swabbies complied.
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[1]- Cathra is on the tip of a crescent-shaped island. Leem is on the other tip. Both cities are far enough away that they are oblivious to one another.
[2]- Ki is Spirit Energy.
[3]- The prize ship of the Navy. Also the most feared by Pirates. Known for speed and attack power.
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AN: Hiei and Yukina know that they are siblings. There, now that will make my life easier! Also, even if you've written a review for this story, just write one that says you read the chapter and want me to continue if nothing else. If you don't I fell like I'm writing to myself, which I'm hopefully not. Thanks! R&R!!