And I'm back with the ninth chapter! A special thanks to Chimera-Dragon for your review and also for reassuring me about the similarities apparently not as existent as I was afraid they were.
Answer: No question, no answer, so there.
Enjoy!
"Eh? The ferry's not coming today?"
"Yeah, they're running the other day now. The next one leaves tomorrow"
"I thought they ran every day!"
"They don't have enough ships to keep that up" the man shook his head. "Several of them have sunk in the seas around here"
"Sunk?" I asked, surprised.
"Accidents?" asked Allen.
"The pirates did it!"
Allen, the man and I turned to the voice in one movement, only to see a bunch of kids. It was the one in the middle who had talked.
"The pirates are sinking the ships!" he repeated.
"Pirates?" I repeated, tilting my head in wonder.
"You again?! Those lies are going to earn you a beating, one day!" exclaimed the man.
"It's true! The pirates did this!" assured the kid.
"That bollocks again ?!"
The man grabbed his broom and started running after them, and they ran away.
He came back to us, apparently annoyed.
"Those damn brats are always spouting that tripe" he grunted.
"Then it was an accident?" asked Allen.
"Yeah. There's a reef out there, you see. Great hulking rocks stuck out of the sea, just waiting to punch a hole into something. They probably just drifted into it at night. There were no survivors, though. But kids these days, I swear" he huffed.
"Are there any other departing ships today?" asked Allen again.
"Sorry, tomorrow's morning is the first one" the man shook his head.
"Guess we'll have to wait to tomorrow, then" I remarked.
I took a silver coin in my pocket and tossed it at the man, who caught it with a surprised look.
"Thank you for the help, sir. Have a nice day" I nodded my head, before pulling the boy behind me.
"Why do you keep paying the people who helps us?" Allen asked as we walked away.
"Because honest help isn't enough appreciated" I simply shrugged. "Let's go find an inn to stay the night"
"I think I saw one while coming here"
"Then let's go, I'm starting to get hungry"
"Yeah, me too"
"Yeah, we've got a room open" nodded the man, preparing some meat. "Do you mind sharing? The others are kind of filthy…"
"We don't mind" I assured with a smile.
"Good. We're both a restaurant and a lodge, so I'll cut you two a deal on some grub"
"Thank you very much" Allen nodded.
"Second floor's the lodge. The room is the one in the back, with a blue door. You can't miss it" added the nice man.
The door suddenly creaked open, and I lifted an eyebrow when I saw the kids from sooner entering the place, sneaking towards the apple bowl on the counter. However, before the little leader could grab anything, he was hit behind the head by the stove of the innkeeper.
"Itai! That hurt, old man!" he yelled, turning to him.
"Don't lay a finger on my food!" retorted the man.
"We pirates plunder at our discretion!" replied the kid.
"Pirates? Stop spouting nonsense, you stupid brat" the eldest crossed his arms.
"I don't want to hear it from a lubberly sailor" scoffed the boy.
He then kicked him in the leg, before going to grab an apple, but was hit again by the stove. The bunch of kids then ran outside, and the innkeeper sighed.
"Those brats" he muttered.
"If you don't mind me asking… who are they?" asked Allen, curious.
"Well, the cheeky ringleader's my son" the man scratched the back of his head. "He's in that rebellious phase, wanting to be a pirate to spite his old man"
Allen sweatdropped at that, and I chuckled a little.
"We'll go check our room. Thank you again!" I called, going upstairs.
As we went to said room, I couldn't help but feel like we would see more of these kids sooner than we thought.
"300… 301… 302… 303…" recited Allen.
The boy was now doing his usual one-arm-push-up while I read a book I picked up on the room's shelves. From the corner of my eye, I kept watch on the kids from sooner, who were whispering among themselves rather suspiciously.
In the end, my curious nature getting the best of me, I sneaked up in a tree to listen to them.
"… we need new members. They can't be too young, because we'll end up looking after them" said the one with a fringe.
"And they can't be too old either, because they won't believe us" added the bigger one.
"They have to be strong too, or they won't be worth it" remarked the bespectacled one.
"And we pirates should all be guys too" affirmed the one with the weird hat.
I scowled a little childishly at that. Girls could so be pirates too!
"Is there anyone like that, though?" asked the leader.
"I'd say Allen there is a pretty good candidate but, then again, it's just me who's saying" I called up from my perch.
They jumped out of their skin when they looked up at me, making me laugh. I then jumped on the ground to face them.
"The hell do you want, hag?" sneered the leader.
"Just some fun" I shrugged, biting back the burning insult on my tongue. "I'm bored. Can I join you?"
"Nu-uh. You're a girl" Hat-Boy shook his head.
"No shit" I deadpanned. "But, as I said sooner, my friend there would be a good candidate if you really want a new member"
"Well, he isn't too young" remarked Fringe-boy.
"He isn't too old either" nodded Big-boy.
"He's fifteen" I informed casually.
"He seems strong too" said Glasses-Boy.
"That he is" I grinned a little.
"And he's a boy!" concluded Hat-Boy.
"Yes, he is too. But I'm still not cool with that one" I pointed out.
"How're we gonna get him to join, though?" the boys ignored me.
"Hostages" I proposed, looking at the sky when a bird flew by.
What I'd give to fly a little too! We hadn't fight in a while, and I kind of missed the rush of adrenaline procured by Angel.
There was a moment of silence, and I looked at the boys again, who were now watching me with surprise looks.
"Hostages? What do you mean, lady?"
Internally dancing in victory at the upgrade of my name (hag to lady, what an honor), I sat crossed-leg on the ground before grinning at them.
"I ain't a lady, boys. You can call me Ary. And when I talk about hostages, I'm saying that you get the little golden ball flying next to him and use it to force him to join. Easy-peasy, really"
"Why'd you help anyway?" frowned Glasses-Boy.
"I told you, I want to have some fun" I shrugged. "His name is Allen, by the way"
They concerted for a moment.
"I guess we can try it" finally conceded the little Leader. "But…"
Suddenly, something wrapped around me, pinning my arms along my torso. I blinked at the cord now trapping me, then looked back at the boys.
"You're an hostage too now!"
"… okay, sure. But grab Timcanpy too, just to be sure"
They seem to struggle to accept the fact that I just accepted to become an hostage, before the leader shook his head and sent Fringe-Boy get Timcanpy.
Allen, to occupied by his push-ups, didn't noticed before it was too late. The boy came back to us with the Golem, and I snickered a little when the white haired teen got up, confused.
"Tim?" he called. "Ary?"
"Over here!" called the little Leader.
He then showed a tied up Timcanpy, and I tried to wave despite being tied up too.
"Eh? What are you up too?" asked Allen.
"Archie the Whirlpool!" presented suddenly little Leader.
"Bob the Hurricane!" pursued Fringe-Boy.
"Cheetah the Stomach!" continued Big-Boy.
"Dan the calculator!" added Glasses-Boy.
"And Eagle-eyes Eric!" concluded proudly Hat-Boy.
"Together, we're the Abochidae Pirate Corps!" the yelled in unison.
I snorted at the ridiculous name, but said nothing, and Allen sweatdrop heavily at that.
"The lady here says your name is Allen, right?" asked little Leader, or rather Archie.
"Err, yes, but…"
"Rejoice, Allen, for you have been given the opportunity to take our entry exam!"
Allen blinked, lost.
"Entry exam?" he repeated.
"If you complete the tests that we are about to administer, you'll be allowed to join our group!" pursued Archie, unfazed.
"Err… I'm sorry, but I'm awfully busy right now so I'm afraid I'll have to decline…"
"If you want to have this little guy and the lady back, you're gonna have to take the tests!" retorted Archie.
"That's… awfully clever…" cringed Allen.
"It was her idea" Bob pointed to me.
"Ary!" whined my friend.
"Hey, don't blame me. I'm a hostage" I shrugged, smirking a little.
He sighed and shook his head.
"Again, I'm sorry…"
He suddenly disappeared from sight.
"Eh? He vanished!"
And he reappeared behind us.
"But I don't have the patience for your little games right now. Can I have Timcanpy back now, please?"
"Hey, Kiddo, what about me?" I wailed as the boys jumped in fright.
"You got yourself in, you get yourself out" he deadpanned.
"How cruel" I let myself fall on the ground, falsely dying.
Archie paled, then Bob started running, and the little Leader threw Timcanpy at him.
"Got him!" yelled Fringe-Boy.
He accelerated the pace.
"I'm Bob the Hurricane! If you think you can catch up to me, you're dead wrong!"
"Will you give him back?" asked Allen, easily keeping up and scaring the poor kid.
"Gah! Cheetah, pass!"
Big-Boy caught it, and smirked as Allen ran to him.
"They call me Cheetah the Stomach! If you want the little guy back, you'll have to beat me in a eating contest!"
"Oi, what am I, a next-door neighbor?" I drawled.
Ignoring me, Allen sighed heavily before sitting at the table. As the kid ate as fast as he could, my teammate was already done with his plate.
"Can you give him back now?" Allen smiled at him.
"N-no way! Dan!"
Once again, as Allen ran to Glasses-Boy, I shook my head.
"He doesn't even realize he's passing your tests" I remarked to Archie.
"He won't be able to beat Dan anyway, he's…"
"WHAT? ALREADY?"
We turned back our attention to "The Calculator" and saw him throw Timcanpy to Eric.
"If you can beat me in a staring contest, I'll give it up" announced Hat-Boy.
"Okay"
Barely a second later, Eric busted out laughing and threw Timcanpy back to Archie.
Allen blinked as Archie pulled me up (more like he pulled on the cord and I got up).
"Follow us!"
We were now on the deck, facing Allen once again.
"You've done well to pass all of our tests" announced Archie.
"I had no intention to do so, though…"
"Moron" I snickered.
"But if you can't beat me, Archie the Whirlpool, you'll never be allowed into our group" pursued little Leader. "The first one to that rock and back wins"
The kid quickly pulled off some of his clothes and boots, before attaching Timcanpy to his belt.
"I can't believe you're making me do this…" muttered Allen to me as he pulled off his boots too.
"Hey, can't hurt to have a little fun, can it?" I lifted an eyebrow, amused at all the antics.
"I'll get you back for this" he promised darkly.
"I'm sure you will, but for now, seeing you compete with kids is worth it" I grinned.
"Start!" suddenly yelled Archie.
He jumped in the water, and Allen sighed once again.
"I played along this far…" he grunted, before jumping too.
Instantly, the kids started cheering their Leader as my friend easily caught up to him. Then, my smile slipped and I frowned when Archie suddenly stopped swimming.
"Something's wrong with Archie" I warned the others, getting up.
"Uh?"
Looking closer, I realized he must had a cramp and, a moment later, he sunk.
"ALLEN!" I yelled as loud as I could. "GET THE KID ASAP!"
Realizing what was happening, he didn't loose a second and plunged after the boy. After a few seconds of worry, they swung back up and Allen brought him back to the deck. Easily getting out of my bindings, I helped him get the kid back up.
"Archie!" cried his friends.
"I'm- I'm fine" he assured, looking somewhat down.
Allen and I exchanged a glance at his expression.
"I never thought Archie the Whirlpool would loose!" suddenly said Eric behind me.
"Yeah" the others nodded.
"Oh, no! Archie drowned on purpose!" instantly refuted Allen.
We all turned to look at him, and I couldn't help but smile as he explained everything that "really" happened. Trust him to save the day in more way than one, I suppose.
The kids cheered up at his explication when Archie went along with it, and I stretched a little, glad everything was okay again. The little Leader then gave back Timcanpy.
"You pass, and we accept your application" he announced proudly.
"Uh?"
"Hurray! A new member!"
"No, no, I didn't-"
"Now for the welcoming party!" exclaimed Bob.
"Yeah!"
As they cheered once again, Archie whispered something to Allen, who just seemed so jaded by everything I couldn't help but laugh at his expression. Suddenly, they seem to remember that I was there too.
"Oh, you can have the lady back too" blinked Archie.
"Right, err… thank you? Ary, you coming?"
"No" I crossed my arms. "I want to stay with them. They're more fun and they won't abandon me to pirates like someone else"
"Ary, stop acting like a child, you're supposed to be older than me!" he whined.
"I am" I nodded proudly. "Doesn't mean I can't act like a kid when I want too"
"She's older?" asked Dan, apparently surprised. "But you're taller!"
"TAKE THAT BACK!"
An hour later, we were eating with Archie and his dad. I ate with a big smile. It was good, really good, and the innkeeper was really nice.
"So, what do you think? Good, isn't it?" he asked with a smile.
"It's delicious!" I beamed at him.
"Delicious my ass" scoffed Archie. "He makes a bunch of stuff, but it all sucks!"
"What was that?"
"You're a sailor! You should just sail, damn it!" exclaimed the boy, getting up.
The man hit the table and got up up.
"Don't like it, don't eat it!"
"Then I'm done!"
And with that, he walked away. I looked down, somewhat shocked by the tense situation between father and son.
"He seems to like you two" said the innkeeper while sitting down. "Sorry if he bothers you"
"N-no, don't worry about it…" assured Allen.
"I suppose he inherited my boorishness, at least, dragging you in his stupid pirate game" he sighed. "If only his mother were alive, he'd be able to live a more normal life"
"You were a sailor then, Jed-san?" asked my friend.
The innkeeper brightened at that.
"Yeah! I went all around the world stalking my prey! It was wonderful, putting my life on the line for the next big catch…"
"If you don't mind me asking, why did you quit?" I asked.
"It was just time to move on, I guess" he looked down. "I thought that a new career might be nice…"
His gaze wandered on a frame not far from us, and my eyes softened at the picture inside as the real reason behind why he quit became obvious.
What a father wouldn't do for his family, eh?
When night finally came, I sneaked out with Allen. Sooner that day, the boys had told Allen to meet up with them outside. Of course, I fought for my way in too.
"And what about me?" I asked, earning their attention. "Can I come too?"
The kids concerted each other.
"She's a girl" Cheetah pointed out.
"Thank you, captain obvious" I drawled.
"She did help us enrolled our new member, though" replied Dan.
"She doesn't have to join us. She could just be like, a guest of honor?" proposed Bob.
"We do owe her one" remarked Eric.
"I guess that could work" finally nodded Archie.
They turned back to me as one, looking ceremoniously serious.
"As of today, you are the guest of honor of the Abochidae Pirate Corps!" announced pompously the little Leader.
"Hey, Allen, you hear that? I' a guest of honor!" I beamed at him.
He simply rolled his eyes, apparently unsure either to be annoyed and amused at my antics.
Once outside, we quickly found Archie.
"You're late!" exclaimed the little Leader.
I simply smiled at him while Allen scratched the back of his head.
Aryane acts a little childish, but it's in her nature. Seeing as they don't have opportunities to act their age often, she take it on herself to create them for herself and her friends so that they can have a little more normal lives.
Question: Mind if I ask what you think or Ary again? I seriously need an outside point of view.
Love and reviews!