Makoto was the first on his feet when Rin was shoved unceremoniously into the dank, poorly-constructed hut that apparently would now double as a holding cell. Fine. Rin had seen the inside of more than one prison in his time, and this was nicer than most.
"Captain." Makoto smiled warmly, apparently unconcerned with their circumstances; Rin wished he could say the same for the other two.
On the far side of the hut, Nagisa paced in a tight circle, fingers twitching frenziedly. "They took my pistols. Those sons of bitches took my pistols."
Rin tried to think back to the last time he had seen Nagisa without the matched weapons at his hips- nothing came to mind. They were as much a part of him as his own hands and never more than a few inches from his fingers. It clearly didn't feel any more natural to him than it did to Rin.
Nitori didn't resist the hands that guided him into the room with far more gentleness than had been afforded any of the others that came before. Likely their captors had seen the same fearful posture and youthful face that had so misled Rin when he had first laid eyes on him. Nitori hardly looked any more than a boy, but to be a surgeon of sufficient rank that he had merited his own cell even in disgrace meant that he had no small amount of experience to draw from.
Standing there with his back pressed to the wall and his eyes grown impossibly wide, he didn't look half so threatening as his comrades. His lips moved soundlessly in what might have been prayers or curses, and his slender fingers continued to pluck at the seam of his trousers, doubtless seeking the comforting weight of a scalpel.
Having assured himself that Nitori wasn't about to attempt anything foolish that might bring the guards in to disrupt the gathering, Rin turned to more pressing concerns.
"How long've you been here?"
"Half an hour, give or take ten minutes." Makoto glanced sharply to his companion, "Nagisa, shut up and quit pacing or I will break your legs." All spoken with a level voice, no trace of malice.
It was a wonder Makoto hadn't made a bid for the ship himself after they had first seized it; his temper had ever been more predictable than Rin's own. Of course, when his inhuman control broke, he was prone to truly spectacular displays of fury; one such magnificent outburst had cost him a commission in the imperial navy. Rin counted their loss to be his gain; Makoto was unquestionably his most loyal companion, and a gifted tactician to boot. Rin hoped one day Nitori might begin to show similar skills, having been late of imperial service himself.
Nagisa rounded the hut once more, drawing a dangerously mild look from the first mate, but feigning unconcern. He stopped a few short feet from Nitori to take him in with a contemptuous glance: "Did they cut out the church-mouse's tongue already?"
"This is not the time for petty squabbling." Rin snarled, careful to keep his voice low lest curious ears were listening in. "Nitori, get over here."
Nitori blinked rapidly, hesitated on the threshold for the barest second before he crossed the small space on clumsy legs. "I have a scalpel." He offered, gesturing to the small pocket he'd kept so carefully concealed. How the hell had he managed to slip that one by all of them when they had left the ship? How many more of his clothes had such clever little sheathes tucked into them?
Nagisa was eyeing the surgeon with a new respect, there was a gleam in his eye that suggested he might well be reassessing the doctor. All to the better, the sooner Nagisa stopped hissing at Nitori like an offended cat, the sooner Rin could stop fretting whenever he had to leave the young men alone together.
"Wonderful. We have one weapon between us at least. I suppose we should be thankful they didn't bind us."
Nitori began to thumb the clasp at his wrist, fidgeting guiltily. Dammit. Another one? How many sharps did the doctor have stashed about his person? Hopefully enough to arm all of them; the matter of whether a ships' surgeon should be armed at all could be addressed as soon as they had the deck of said ship beneath their feet.
"Odds are four to untold dozens; I don't think they saw a need for greater precautions." Makoto smiled easily, his chuckle seemed entirely unaffected. What the hell, maybe Nagisa and he were the only ones with any idea of how much trouble they were in- Nitori and Makoto both seemed reasonably comfortable with the situation.
"I don't think they will be leaving us alone for long. They've seen our ship-"
"It's a little big." Nagisa murmured, good humor returning as quickly as it had left him.
Makoto cuffed him gently, "Listen to your captain."
"Aye, sir."
"No use pretending we're anything other than exactly what they're thinking. We'll say if we don't report in other patrols will come looking. They let us go, we come back and burn this place to the ground. Might as well make off with some of the shinies while we're at it."
"Simplistic." Nitori murmured, hardly loud enough to be heard over Rin's forced chuckle. 'We can't be certain of how many we'll be up against. You're assuming they would be terrified to challenge us, but they have the advantage of knowing this island while we've only just arrived."
"I think that's the most words you've ever strung together in my presence."
Nitori wilted, drawing his shoulders in on himself even as his fingers began to play with the loose threads again. Just when he had finally grown a backbone. "Stop picking at your damn seam and give Makoto the knife-"
"I should keep the knife." There was an edge of steel beneath the soft words that Rin didn't care to test now. Maybe not ever.
"Fine. You keep the knife and hack us out of here if it gets ugly. Guess you're better with the little blades anyway. Any other thoughts you want to share?"
"We're out of time. They're coming."
"Wh-" Speak of the devil. The dark-haired woman swept into the room, taking in their suspiciously guileless faces with a knowing gaze.
"I suppose you've all had a chance to talk?" Not one of the crew spoke, but she nodded as though she had read their thoughts. "Good. Come with me."
Nitori fell into step behind her without a murmur of protest, not even glancing to his captain for confirmation. Rin didn't think to protest; seeing as he was the one with the weapons, it was probably best he remain closest to the threat.
He half-wished they could have made some daring escape, just to thumb their noses at their captors. It was humiliating, being disarmed by a woman who hadn't even had the decency to pretend it was difficult, being held for any length of time in some worm-eaten hut he could probably have knocked over with a thoughtless sneeze, and now being forced to follow the woman- Amakata- wherever she chose to lead them on this merry chase.
Between the four of them there was no question they could have taken the two scrawny guards at the door, but how many more would they have had to face to make their escape? Better to cooperate, gather whatever information they could before deciding on a course of action. That didn't make it any easier to swallow his pride and keep walking as they stepped out into the open.
Either the locals would decide to be rid of them immediately, in which case they would just have to trust Nitori knew what he was doing… or they would release their captives so they could return to the relative safety of the ship to make any decisions regarding what action should be taken.
The Samenoe still required several crucial repairs; it would be a few days before they could safely leave shallow water- plenty of time to decide whether it was worth it to attempt plundering the island's inhabitants. It would all depend on their numbers and defensive position. Having seen their preparation for the latter, Rin could see it would be no mean feat to take them by surprise, but if the reward were great enough, he was certain to find a way.
Nagisa tugged at his arm insistently, "Rin, that bastard has my pistols-"
"Not now, Nagisa." One, two, three… maybe a score all told? Hard to tell with so many scattered about their chores, darting in and out of small shelters as they ran about their business. A small group had gathered before one of the larger structures, whispering among themselves, shifting nervously. One particularly brave child laid down the basket he was carrying to gawk openly at their disgrace from as far a distance as he could manage.
Rin snarled, showing enough teeth that it sent the brat scrambling for his basket again. Makoto tsked disapprovingly, ignoring Nagisa's hooted laugh; Nitori didn't so much as twitch.
Makoto leaned forward, "Do you see that? They're all-"
"Haruka! You want 'em, I got 'em."
From the corner of his eye, Rin caught a flash of movement and turned quickly, eager to see exactly whom he would be up against.
He was tall, slender without being soft, and too pale by half for this sunny clime. That wasn't what had caught Rin's eye though; he'd seen his fair share of beauties- men and women of every background, and after taking care to sample everything offered willingly to him, Rin had begun to think the sight did not exist that could steal his breath.
Except that he didn't realize he'd stopped breathing until Makoto hummed softly; the same pleased sound he made whenever his eye fell on any object he coveted.
Rin could relate. There was a grace to the youth's movements that was almost inhuman, a preternaturally calm mask on his face that Rin was willing to wager hid turbulent depths treacherous as any current. As he drew nearer still, Rin's gaze caught and held on his blue eyes, a shiver of awareness racing through him.
No. This man couldn't be human, but that shouldn't be his concern at the moment. Freedom, crew, ship, repairs- in that precise order, no allowances made for this unexpected turn of events. He couldn't even bring himself to arrange his features into a falsely charming smile designed to put his prey at ease.
It would be no use anyway, Rin had the sense this man would see through him. When he didn't speak, Makoto stepped forward instead, grinning openly. "Captain, this is Nanase Haruka, you may remember him as the one responsible for apprehending us?" Rin pointedly ignored the undertone of exasperation, almost visibly shaking himself out of his reverie.
"Matsuoka Rin, captain of the ship you are endangering by holding us here, Haruka. This is our ship's surgeon, Aiichiro Nitori; you met the others when you unjustly detained them I'm sure? What was the cause for that again?"
He could hear Makoto's stifled sigh behind him; well too bad, if Mako had wanted diplomacy he should have tried talking this out himself rather than involving anyone else. Rin's idea of diplomacy more closely resembled that of Nagisa; superior firepower, and lots of it. A matter of taste, really; to his mind, diplomacy was an extension to warfare, not an end in and of itself.
Mako could feel free to debate that with him as soon as they had returned to the comfort of his well-appointed cabin rather than this forsaken island.
Haruka raised an elegant brow, eyes wandering in every direction before they settled on Rin once more. "In what way is your ship in any danger? You're in the shallows and the tide can't dash it against non-existent shoals. Unless you're referring to some other form of danger? A scout ship maybe? One designed for culling pirate vessels? That would be a concern."
Despite the scorn dripping from every word, his face betrayed none of his thoughts; it was infuriating for man that knew his every emotion showed plainly on his own face. Rin knew well he had no gift for subterfuge, and for this smug bastard to smirk knowingly at him while he laid waste to any argument Rin was prepared to make- it was enough to make even the coldest blood boil.
"Fuck you," Nagisa chirped brightly; coming from his lips, it sounded more like a benediction; likely he was too fixated on acquiring his weapons once more to pay any mind to the proceedings.
"Very eloquently expressed." Makoto murmured under his breath, slanting a murderous glare at their impetuous mate.
"All right, fine. There's every possibility we're privateers-"
"Pirates." Haruka corrected, storm clouds gathering on his brow.
Was it an illusion born of unease or had everyone within earshot sidled a little closer? A score and two, estimating conservatively, to four with one weapon between them while the hulking gentleman with the scarred chest across the path held Nagisa's guns… Nitori had better be gifted with that scalpel or they were all dead.
Rin cast an assessing eye back at him, saw a glint of metal in Nitori's sleeve as he shifted just so… ah, making a play for Amakata. Clever. A hostage was about the only way to salvage this bloody affair if these people hated pirates as much as it seemed.
"There's every possibility we're privateers, but we had no quarrel with you. Why go to the trouble of bringing us all the way here and pissing me the hell off?"
No reaction. Rin would have given the sum total of all his possessions to see even so much as a smirk on that smooth face, but no such luck.
"You were trespassing-"
"We were foraging!"
"For your next bounty?"
"Have you seen the condition of my ship? We put in for supplies, and would have left just as quickly as we arrived if you hadn't delayed us."
Nitori tipped him a subtle nod, fingertips dancing again with an eagerness that was far from reassuring. Rin hoped he knew better than to kill the woman; that would prove the final straw in this already hostile talk.
"By all means, return to your ship; we will not hold you." Relief, written plain as day across Haruka's face for a split second; what did he have to fear?
Enough. This was yet another item to add to a steadily growing list of topics they would have to discuss once they were safely aboard ship.
"But your weapons will remain here." That was it. The cue for all hell to break loose.
Unusually subdued until that moment, Nagisa came to life, breezing past Rin before he could do more than shout an unheeded warning. Makoto dragged him back simultaneously, planting himself between Rin and any potential threats. The woman shrieked into his ear as Nitori gracefully slid behind her, kicking out her knee even as his scalpel pressed ever so delicately into her pale skin.
Makoto cried out in surprise when Haruka feigned a blow toward his face only to duck low and go for his solar plexus at the last minute. Nagisa was too busy shrieking war-cries to hear Mako's call for aid, but damned if the rest of the people in the square were as inattentive.
All in a matter of moments, the groups had neatly exchanged hostages, and not a man was present that wasn't bruised or cut in some way. Save for Nitori, still calmly menacing with that wickedly sharp blade he had pressed in just hard enough to leave a thin, red welt.
"Stop." He bit out, and after glancing in his direction, Haruka immediately fell back, raising a hand in a gesture meant to hold back the people Rin was certain would gladly rend he and his crew limb from limb if they dropped their guard for even a moment.
Nagisa struggled in the grip of the hulking brute that had held his pistols, legs flying and teeth gnashing like some sort of wild creature. Normally such a display guaranteed no one would lay a hand on him. His current captor was entirely unimpressed with the charade.
Makoto stepped back, eyes locked on Nagisa's struggling form even as his hand curled in the fabric of Rin's coat. "Exchange?" He whispered.
"My thoughts exactly."
Nitori yelped as Amakata's heel dug into his foot, pressing as hard as her weight would permit. "Let me go and I'll make it stop."
Holy hell, Rin hadn't thought humans were capable of mimicking a predator's threatening growl quite so well as that. He certainly hadn't expected to hear it from the throat of a woman that had been all smiles and laughter not twenty minutes past.
Of course, most crewmen looked at Nagisa and saw a golden angel until the first time he lost his temper in their presence. Rin would be the first to admit appearances could be deceiving.
Haruka shifted closer, ignoring Makoto's warning glare, circling around them as though considering the best angle to press his attack. Rin pinned his shoulders back and grinned triumphantly.
"Look at that, now I have something of yours. Let's trade. Give me my crewman-with all his attendant parts, the weapons included, and I'll give you… Amakata, wasn't it?"
Judging from the severity of the dark youth's reaction, they had to be lovers. That once-calm face twisted in a brief snarl, just enough to show Rin that his initial guess had been correct- there was far more beneath the surface than that false serenity he wore so well.
"Done. Provided your surgeon is the first to release his charge."
Hardly even a token attempt at negotiation, how disappointing; Rin had been hoping for a few spirited rounds, a chance to see what other expressions he could provoke from his stoic, soon-to-be ex-captor.
"How do I know you'll let us all go in one piece? No. Your woman-"
"Who has a name," she hissed, shifting in Nitori's grip, stifling a wince when the blade dug in a little farther. He needed to hurry, Nitori's face was a study in shades of guilt and shame, a minute longer and he would probably release the hostage himself.
"Your woman accompanies us to shore. We make the exchange there, no foul play or double dealing."
Ha. Rin had every intention of seeing to it these bastards paid for the indignities heaped upon his crew. Nothing here looked worth wrecking, but clearly the villagers were protective of something else why go to all the trouble of building a defensive perimeter?
When he found what they held so dearly, he would take it. Then, and only then, would he count himself avenged.
Haruka stopped his circling, dipping his head in assent. Rin didn't like the quirk of his lips when he spoke, "Done."
Really, that word could have so many meanings, and that tone said he would care for precisely none of them.
Never had he been more relieved at the thought of seeing his beloved ship, and even his near-mutinous crew of misfits than he was right now.