Ah, chakitattyla2h8, my Spanish-speaking reviewer (yes, yes, I snuck a peek at your profile), you make me feel so loved!
Thanks a bunch for the lurvly review, and thanks to the rest of you as well.
Disclaimer: I don't own RK.
Chapter Six
Mr. Aoshi was troubled.
Understandably, of course. You would be too if your ship was randomly attacked by a larger force.
Misao was a fair pilot, he reasoned. And there wasn't any need to worry about safety just yet, but that was no reason not to be concerned. Nearly five hours into the flight and they were already being shot at by complete strangers.
And then there were the pirates.
Nasty people, but not overly aggressive. As soon as they saw that there was nothing to steal, they'd most likely be on their way.
"Mr. Aoshi?" Misao's voice sounded slightly panicked over the speakers. "We haven't taken on much damage, but I don't think our fuel will hold up much longer."
"Don't we have more in storage?"
"Left it at home, remember? To save time and not weigh down the ship?"
"Any suggestions?"
"Yes, but you're not going to like any of them." Misao took a deep breath, causing a series of sharp crackles over the speakers. "We could surrender, but it'd be like walking blindly in the dark. We don't know who these guys are, or what they want."
"…Go on."
"Or we could appeal to the pirates. They might lend us some fuel, in exchange for a weapon or two."
Mr. Aoshi decided to brood for a while. He was very good at this.
"Send word to the pirates. They may not be entirely trustworthy, but at least we can better understand their actions."
"I'll be right on it, Mr. Aoshi!" Misao's perky voice disappeared as the speakers were clicked off.
Carefully gathering any possible trading materials, Mr. Aoshi noticed the larger ships pulling up slowly next to theirs. He cringed at the sound of grinding metal, and then glared at the following silence.
What are they trying—this thought was abruptly cut off by the strained sounds of doors being forced open.
The strangers were boarding the ship.
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Kaoru and Yahiko were confused.
However, unlike Mr. Aoshi, they were not troubled in the least. True, there was a fight of some kind going on, and true, they might die, and there was always the possibility of capture and torture.
…
But what it not all so terribly exciting?
"The cookies are done!"
Oh yes! And Yahiko had made chocolate chip cookies. There is no way in the universe that you could possibly be troubled when in the presence of chocolate chip cookies.
"Pirates!" Kaoru said admiringly, taking a bite out of a particularly large cookie. "This is the best trip ever."
"It is," Yahiko sighed in agreement, untying the stained apron he'd borrowed from Misao. Then he sat up a bit straighter. "But shouldn't we be doing something more useful than eating?"
"We are storing up energy," Kaoru said through a messy mouthful. "We aren't expected to do any more than that."
"So…there's nothing for us to do?"
Kaoru swallowed, and sighed.
"I suppose we could turn on the security system."
Turning on the security system is, obviously, a fancy phrase for locking and bolting all the doors. Which is exactly what Kaoru and Yahiko proceeded to do.
After finishing off every last cookie, and washing the whole load down with two glasses of icy milk.
For all that good cookie energy.
Yeah, that's it. The energy.
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"Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap…" Sano darted from window to window, worriedly watching the ongoing destruction outside.
"Stop that," Kenshin calmly commanded from his position on his bed. "We're traveling with criminals, with the possible exception of Saito. Did you honestly expect anything else?"
"But—but that ship—it's got a government license. Those people are probably doctors or scientists or politicians (in which case their deaths might not mean all that much), and we can't just openly fire on 'em. They're defenseless."
"They don't seem to be all that helpless to me."
It was true enough; the small ship had caused extensive damage. Nothing mortal, but damage nonetheless.
"Which," Kenshin said slowly, "makes me wonder how they got their license in the first place."
"Think we should check it out?"
The two men stopped momentarily to listen to the firing.
"I don't plan on following orders while I am aboard this ship," Kenshin said.
"What about what happened with Saito?"
"…Those weren't orders," Kenshin snapped huffily. "Merely suggestions. Let's go."
To their surprise, nobody was around. No guards, no soldiers, no sentries—
"No Saito!"
It could not be said that Sano was disappointed about the current state of things.
"They can't all be piloting the ship," Kenshin said suspiciously. "And they can't all be manning the weapons…weren't there only four lasers?" He remembered the phone that Saito had given him. Should he give the man a call? The man was with the police. Or should he just go check things out on his own?
His question was answered with the loud screech of metal on metal.
"So…we're stopping the ship to have a friendly cup of tea with our new best friends?" Sano guessed. The firing grew louder, and the pirates grew closer. "I thought not."
"I am going over," Kenshin announced.
"Um, why?" Sano demanded. "We're perfectly safe over here. Let's just go back to our cabins, lay down, mebbe have a cup of coffee, and just think about all of this." He looked around. "Kenshin? Kenshin! Wait for me, dammit!"
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Yahiko grunted and gave the lock one last twist.
There. That should be able to keep any potential bad guys out.
Suddenly the edges of the door started glowing a faint blue color. Curious, Yahiko leaned down to get a better look. Hesitantly, he stuck one finger out, and poked it.
"Ouch!"
It was hot. Why was it hot?
"Yahiko?" Kaoru paused behind him. "What's wrong?"
The small boy was interrupted by a quick flash of light, and their door's untimely removal. Yahiko was just only barely saved from a very squishy death by a swift kick from Kaoru. Yes, this left him grumpy and bruised and disgruntled, but at least he was not smooshed by the big metal door, which would have been a fairly messy death.
Stepping onto the ship, Kenshin quickly looked around, and noted the lack of immediate danger.
No pirates…yet.
Not even any of Saito's men.
Just a boy, and a—
"What? Ouch! Hey—"
"GET OFF THIS SHIP!"
—a girl with a pretty good punch.
And really pretty eyes.
So in this chapter Kenshin and Kaoru finally met. Yes, I took my time, but since my chapters usually are kinda on the short side, it hasn't been that bad a wait, eh?