Chapter 5 Still on That Ship

The adolescent boy raced off to the captain's cabin, much to his elder brother's distraught attention.

"Yesah! Brother Yesah! Can I climb the rigging?" Muggy pounded on the captain's door

"You most certainly can!" came a cheery voice from within.

Outside, glaring, Put'oh finished, "…not!"

The captain opened the door to his compartment, ruffling Muggy's hair. Though he was nearly the same age as Put'oh, a crippling disease had struck him during puberty, and he was forever stunted in growth. Against the common belief, however, his sea green hair was not a byproduct of the disease. But people liked to tease him that it was the color that made him a captain of this large ship.

"Yesah Gruff," Put'oh began sternly. "You cannot simply put our brother—"

"Come on, Put'oh. Let the boy have some fun. He isn't going to just fall into the ocean; he's been climbing the rigging secretly forever now that he's quite experienced."

Face whitening, Put'oh whipped his worried face to his younger brother, but Muggy was already dashing away.

He turned just as quickly toward Yesah. "Yesah…this is all your fault for encouraging him."

"Ah, no, Put'oh. Our brother was this way from the start. And as many lessons as you bring him to, even though it is your twin teaching them, Muggy is not going to suddenly change to be responsible."

You'd think Muggy would begin to trust this twin, a genius. Then again, as twins, they were both geniuses. But, the youngest Gruff never took exception to that; it did not matter if the rules came from one who knew a great deal more; he would obey himself utterly.

"Well, you'd better believe that if he gets into trouble ever while doing something you did not hinder, I'll turn you over to my twin."

"Ah, no, I don't think it would work that way, Put'oh. I know how busy he is. He wouldn't bother teaching me a lesson. I still don't know how you managed to convince him to make room for Muggy…"

Put'oh did not grace him with a reply. He was sworn to secrecy, but he knew that his brother had a soft spot for the youngest Gruff. They all did, and it was becoming apparent that Muggy was a little spoiled.

The speck that had been in the looking-glass was slowly becoming larger. Though he had seen it long since, the knight Blaydelot was ignoring it as anticipation rose higher. Helmed again in preparation, he was staying silent. A real attack from pirates was coming. Captain Yesah always managed to attract their attention because of his rich connections. Some of the Gruffs had it well-off, and it was likely that some precious cargo going between organizations was onboard. Despite this, Yesah continued to sail freely. It was a rule: even if their morals were against yours, it was unfair to not give them a chance to get to where you were then. Or, rather, nothing was completely owned by anyone, so if there were a chance someone could steal it, you had to give them chance. It was as amusing as a game.

Gradually, one of the seamen caught sight of the approaching ship. He yelled, "Attack, ho! Ready the supplies!"

Of course, having just come up the stairs to the deck, Put'oh Gruff launched into a full-blown panic attack.

"Muggy!" he screamed. "Get over here now!"

Sir Blaydelot had his hand on his sword, and the others near him were just beginning to comprehend what was happening.

The short one began to frantically pull off his hat (finally letting the others see his hair) and begin to do strange, various things to it.

The Sir Prince Axel stared at him, still dripping from when he had fallen into the ocean and had needed to be hauled out.

"What are you doing?"

"This other self seems to come forth from me if I twirl this hat three times over my head, flip it upside down, push the top out the bottom, sniff the interior, put my hand inside, crumple it around my hand, turn it back right-side out, and drop a dandelion inside."

There was silence.

"How the heck did you ever figure that out?"

The young man was only continuing his antics at high speed.

"Another self? That is as unusual as an elf."

"Elves exist!" Tanner said, turning toward the troubadour. "I would think you of all people should realize that with all the ballads you supposedly sing!"

Earl de Vlin crossed his arms. "My intelligence is not at argument. It is whether this other self is truly present."

Having dug into his pockets in a mad search, the short young man dropped one crumpled and withered flower into the hold of the hat, and everyone watched closely.

Immediately, the young man grew ten feet and his hair vanished, leaving a completely bald scalp where there had been a jutting hairstyle previously that had somehow fit under the lampshade hat. It had not been the most attractive, but at least it had been hair. The sun reflected onto the sea and now the bald head was as sparkling as the water.

"I am Sama-san-dono!" the new being boomed.

The Sir Prince Axel gaped up at the figure. "Now I know why you were invited…"

The tall figure looked down at himself and sighed. "Kun will never learn."

"Who the heck is Kun?"

The giant placed the odd hat on his gleaming head. "You don't know? That's what he likes to be called. His real name is something else." Even from so far away, the others could see a vicious smirk on the being's face.

"Oh? What's his name?" Tanner called up.

The smirk widened. "Ooh, I can't wait to reveal the secret. No doubt he never wanted you to know. But now, it is too late. His name…" he paused for dramatic effect, then continued, "is Billy Bob."

Everyone agreed he would rather change his name than be called that.

Before any more questions could begin, the others were aware of people shouting at them. One crowd was of sailors, pointing to the listing side from the sudden weight. The other was Put'oh Gruff, his finger aimed directly at a tuft of black hair perched tightly to the rigging.

"Get him down!" he shouted to Sama-san-dono.

"You think I take orders from you?" the giant responded coolly. "If that was why Kun released me…" He looked around the place, a creepy grin coming over his mouth when he saw a ship bearing the white banner. "Ah, this is why I was let out."

"Who is that?" Captai Yesah asked as he came atop. "I never agreed to let a giant onboard!"

Sama-san-dono glared at him. "I'm not really a giant. I'm a djinni. It's not my fault the role of giant had no takers and I had to double for a giant stand-in. If Kun would just learn how to release me in djinni form, I wouldn't have this problem."

Now, don't worry if you feel confused. Everyone was confused. Well, I guess that shouldn't make you feel any better. The group was always confused…

But all will be revealed in due time.

Blaydelot was back to gazing at the looming pirate ship, brown eyes sparkling in excitement. He pulled back his loose strands of hair and replaced them within his binder, readying himself for a fray.

"Be what you are," Yesah was continuing, "but you have to move closer to the center of the ship or we're going to go in the complete wrong direction. Better yet, why don't you go walk onto that other ship and tip it over?"

Now, doing things that way wasn't strictly fair in the code of ethics (reminder: everything belongs to everyone and everyone deserves an equal chance to steal it), but Yesah could have cared less. After all, he had to get to a certain place before a certain time (his brother's) or his life would be forfeit—at least, he'd wish his life was forfeit. Do you blame him for changing the rules?

In fact, it was the thought of what was waiting ahead that made him finally looked around, see his youngest brother, and shout for him to come down. Even if they made it to the place on time, without Muggy, their lives would still be forfeit.

Sullenly, the boy obeyed this brother and dropped to the ground only to be enveloped by Put'oh Gruff in some semblance of a hug. "Don't you ever do anything so dangerous again!"

As a Squirmer, Muggy could have broken free, but he allowed himself to be squeezed for the moment in order to calm down his brother.

Then, promptly, he was grinning upward and still full of excitement. The kid was never tired.

"Hey, why don't you think of some smart way to defeat those pirates, Put'oh? That way, you can concentrate on something and stop being such a worrier. I'll stay right by your side if that'll make you happy."

It would only make him so happy…After all, there were still plenty of ways Muggy could be killed or kidnapped (yes, even despite the Squirming ability) or wounded or mind controlled or poisoned or…even if he were right next to him. But for the moment, I have decided to stop giving him ulcers, gray hairs, and a frantic heart rate, and he actually began to think of ways to be helpful to all of them.