Chapter Two: To Become a Pirate
Himeno
"Strip," Hayate commanded as he removed my blindfold and bindings. I stared at him, dumbfounded.
"You're not deaf, are you? I asked you to remove your clothes," he repeated. As he removed the gag from my mouth, my jaw dropped. He was asking me to undress? In front of the entire crew? Did these pirates have no sense of decency? Of course they didn't, I thought bitterly—especially after what they did to my first mate. The sight of my first mate, bullet through his head, eyes blank and lifeless filled my mind. I felt a burning rage at the thought of the captain of this ship—the white haired, demon-eyed monster.
I didn't have much time to ponder over my first mate's death, however. I was faced with a serious predicament at the moment. The first mate and quartermaster Hayate crossed his arms in irritation.
"When I give you an order, you follow it. Do you understand?" he asked in a flat voice. I could see hints of impatience tinting his jet blue eyes. I leveled my gaze right back at him. There was no way I was removing my clothing here—not with all these lustful, dirty eyes gazing at me.
"Privacy?" I demanded in a voice of authority. I half expected him to strike me for my impudence—he was the first mate of a ship led by that monster—but instead he nodded. I gazed at him in shock, and looked around to see the shocked eyes of the crew around me as well. Apparently his leniency with me was as unusual as I thought it was. Worse, I had no way of understanding what was going through his head. He seemed completely different from the rest of the bunch—but he was probably no better. He was a pirate, after all. Which I was soon to become, I realized, following him to a secluded cabin.
"This is my personal quarters. Now undress," he commanded, and folded his hands.
"I would appreciate if you'd leave the room," I replied. He frowned.
"I'm not risking any concealed weapons. If you don't strip in the next few seconds, I'll remove your clothing for you," he growled. Deciding that the former was the better option than the latter, I turned around and removed my shirt. I froze as I felt the first mate's hands on my shoulders. This was not happening. I spun around to free myself of his grip and watched his eyes widen in surprise.
After a moment of confusion, I realized that I was wearing nothing but the bandage that I used to bind my chest. Thanks to the attack I had received earlier, the bandage had torn, revealing one of my two unmistakable female appendages. I felt the blood rush to my face in embarrassment, and I quickly turned around, arms around my chest.
"Y-you're a woman?" Hayate finally said after a long silence. He sounded genuinely surprised—and embarrassed as well. I was surprised by his latter reaction. Didn't pirates normally revel in pleasures of the flesh?
"Yes," I snapped, "Now would you mind leaving the room to let me change?"
He didn't answer immediately, and I thought it was because he had left the room. But as I started to turn around, he spoke.
"Do you have any idea…" he began. I met his gaze, demanding with my expression that he leave. Something flashed across his face. As quickly as the emotion flashed across his features, it was gone.
He started walking towards the door, and I thought that he was finally giving me some privacy. Instead, he turned right when he reached the door, grabbing a set of clothes and throwing them in my direction.
"Wear these. Here are some bandages as well," he said, throwing a roll of bandages in my direction, "Make sure to clean the wound with the ointment on my desk. You are not to leave without my permission."
With that, he headed out the door. I could hear the door click. He had locked me in, as expected. I held the bandages in my hand, surprised at his actions. He had been unusually kind to me. I shook the thought out of my mind. I could not drop my guard here of all places.
I hissed as I felt the sting of the ointment on my skin. And without intending to, tears began to fall from my eyes. My first mate, my father's ship—I had lost too much. I wiped the tears away angrily. I would make sure these sacrifices would be worth it. Biting my lip, I wrapped fresh bandages around the wound and around my chest, careful to tie it tighter than usual. The captain and the first mate—and apparently the rest of the crew as well—had mistaken me for a boy. Which was just as well. I could avoid unwanted attention this way. I just had to figure out what to do about the first mate, now that he knew that I was female.
I changed into the new clothes, which seemed like they had belonged to the previous cabin boy. And waited. Thoughts of my family began to fill my mind as I waited in that room. My silly and carefree father, who had always been optimistic and smiling—never losing hope, even as my mother fell ill and passed away, even as my sister Mawata committed suicide—he continued on.
Swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat, I turned to examine the room. I needed to occupy my mind. It was a typical first mate's room, not as spacious as the captain's quarters, but roomy enough. The bareness of the room, as well as how clean it was surprised me. It was almost as if he spent little time inside of his own quarters. My eyes surveyed his desk. His logbook contained thorough notes on the weather, the crew, and the plunders of the past. The neat handwriting and writing style suggested an educated background. Probably some bastard son of a duke or something, I decided, flipping through the logbook.
I paused on an entry of the capture of a passenger ship on route to London. So they hadn't always plundered in the Caribbean. My eyes narrowing, I began to turn to the next page to read the detailed account of the capture when the door swung open. I returned the book hastily to the desk. Hayate walked in, eyes narrowing when he realized that I had peered through his stuff.
"Did anyone teach you about privacy?" he sneered. With sharp eyes—the eyes of a commander I now realized—he ordered me to follow him. Wordlessly, I followed him to back on deck. The crew had resumed their daily activities, maintenance, cleaning, bringing the loot aboard—what had been once mine—and paid no further attention to Hayate or me.
I was surprised at the efficiency and orderliness of the ship. It was almost as if I had stepped onto a navel ship rather than a pirate ship. Perhaps fear of the demon captain had whipped the crew into shape. The ship itself was kept in good order. The rigging was taut against the mast, the sails fully unfurled to catch the wind. I was standing near the mizzenmast. The ship was a beauty, for sure. As a daughter of a merchant, I had come to love the sea and ships. For a Brigantine, she was on the smaller side—probably adjusted to be optimal for both speed and power—but she was still large enough to hold a crew of at least a hundred men.
"The Pretear," Hayate said gruffly. I snorted. Trust a group of lusting pirates to name their ship such a delicate, feminine name.
"Your duties include the following: cleaning the deck, assisting the boatswain with inspection of the deck and inventory, assisting the carpenter with any and all repairs, and assisting the master gunner with maintenance of the weaponry. In addition, you will assist the cook in preparing daily meals. You are not to deal with the rigging or sails, nor navigation or steering. Do I make myself clear?" he explained.
I nodded. Basically my position would be the lowest possible, at the beck and call of those superior to me. I was grateful that I had grown up around ships. There would be little new technical skills I would need to learn, which would give me ample opportunity to learn about the workings of the Pretear and its crew.
Hayate walked me over to a man who was well dressed in a golden-tinged suit. His collared, button down shirt appeared to be made of silk and was partially covered by a yellow embroidered vest, which was covered by a solid yellow colored topcoat. His breeches were sleek and yellow-hued as well, ending in knee-high boots of light brown. He turned to face us, his golden eyes surveying me coldly. Only his long, curly golden hair suggested any trace of femininity to his features.
"Another mouth to feed, I presume?" he said calmly, jotting down notes with a feathered quill. Hayate gave him a curt nod, suggesting that this man's rank was below Hayate's own.
"This is Kei, the second mate and master. In Captain Sasame and my absence, his word is law," Hayate explained. I nodded, watching Kei with the same caution he observed me.
"As the cabin boy, your share will be ½ of any prize. The rules aboard this ship are as follows: lights out at eight pm, no gambling or dice, desertion or shirking of duty is forbidden, any quarrel with another crew member can only be decided by sword or pistol on shore only, and with the exception of the wish of the captain, no women are allowed aboard for any circumstance. Failure to comply with these rules will result in immediate execution—or if the captain so desires—by marooning or imprisonment. Is this clear?" Kei explained, reading off his notebook.
I nodded, fear flooding my system. I understood the look Hayate had given me earlier when he discovered that I was a woman. If my true gender were revealed aboard this ship—I would most likely be facing an untimely death. I suddenly felt Hayate's power over me. His knowledge of my gender gave him the power to choose if I lived or died. I felt his hand on my shoulder and flinched. If Kei noticed my reaction, he said nothing and nodded to Hayate.
Next, he took me below deck. I squinted in the dark, my pulse racing. I was truly at the mercy of the cold quartermaster's will. Why was he keeping me alive, anyway?
"Quit standing around, tulip head," Hayate muttered. I snapped out of my thoughts.
"What did you just call me?" I demanded, my fear temporarily forgotten.
"Your head looks like a tulip, so I called you a tulip head," he said calmly. I placed a hand on my head.
"My head does not look like a tulip!" I retorted, crossing my hands. He turned to stare at me in a way that chilled me. I followed him silently, reminding myself to hold my tongue.
We entered a room full of weapons—swords, cutlasses, pistols, rifles and so on—and gunpowder. In the center of the room sat a man with flaming red and brown hair, sharpening a sword's blade.
"This is Go, master gunner and weaponsmaster. You will assist him in maintenance of the weapons, inventory of the weaponry and shuttling gunpowder from here to the main deck during times of battle," Hayate explained. Go looked up from sharpening his sword and glared at Hayate with pure hatred. When he noticed me, however, his gaze softened.
"New cabin boy?" he asked me. I nodded. He smiled at me in a way that made me want to cry. His smile was kind and gentle, reaching out to me as if we were comrades. Reluctantly, I found myself smiling in return. Pirate or not, he seemed different—he lacked the coldness and ruthlessness I had felt from the captain, Kei and even Hayate. I felt Hayate watching me carefully, and let my smile subside.
"I leave him in your care," Hayate said, turning on his heel. I breathed a sigh of relief as I watching him go, and sank to the ground.
"Here," Go said, handing me a handkerchief. I took it gratefully, not realizing that I had been crying.
"You must be from that ship they just captured. It's not easy losing everything—I should know, I'm a captive here, just like you," Go said, continuing to sharpen the sword. I looked up in surprise.
"You're a captive?" I asked.
"Yep. Hate everyone of these bastards, but well, I guess I'm too much of a coward to go up against that captain," he mused.
I nodded. I could definitely understand that. Though whenever I thought about the captain—I felt more anger than fear.
"Here," he said, tossing the sword he had been sharpened to me, "I've been hearing that you're abysmal with a sword. You may only be a cabin boy, but it won't do you any good not to know how to use a sword. I'll teach ya, whenever I get a chance," Go said.
I gripped the sword tightly, grateful for his kindness. I would learn how to use a sword—and use the same sword to pierce the captain's heart. I would become a pirate—the one thing I despised more than anything else—in order to destroy the one who had killed my first mate. In order to kill Sasame.