Title: ARR! (#008)
Author: Blue and Red
Characters/Pairings: Tezuka/Fuji/Echizen, Tezuka/Atobe (as usual, only if you squint and tilt your head)
Word count: 1655
Summary: In which they come to Hyoutei and Davide maketh bad puns.
Author's notes: We're back! As a testimony to exam-induced stress and lack of time, this chapter is hereby declared full of crack and Tezuka/Fuji/Echizen triangle-y goodness! Yum.
The sun glinted off the emerald green sea and fluffy little white clouds scudded across the clear blue sky. It was a beautiful day for pirating and an even better day for not doing anything at all. Aoi cast a weathered eye on the crew of the Rokkaku making merry on the beach and turned back to the sea with a sigh. There were no beautiful ladies on the beach, only in smoky taverns and crowded bordellos. He had a dream, a dream that one day women would flock to the beach in appropriately skimpy clothing and play games which would involve lots of jumping up and down…
A coconut husk whacked his head. Aoi sighed again. He didn't need to look around for the culprit – who else could it be other than on of his crazy crew?
"Oi," he called out, "don't bully your captain." He might have been younger and smaller than the rest, but he had still obtained his position fair and square.
"Sorry, Senchou." A hand descended on his shorn head and patted it affectionately. "'Twas not on purpose."
"Ah… Don't worry about it, Saeki."
"You're worried about something." Little could escape Saeki's sharp eyes. "Is it about that thing Fuji mentioned to us?"
"About Atobe calling all ships to Hyoutei, yes. We should get going soon, but that would be robbing everyone of their vacation…"
Out of nowhere, a bottle of rum was shoved into his face. "Forget about it! Be a bum, have some rum!"
Kurobane twitched. "That was really, really lousy, Davide."
"Excuse me—"
"Stop!" Aoi took a generous swig from the bottle and began to sing – if you could call his off-key humming that. "Life as a pirate is carefree. It's all about wine, women and song. Let's forget all our troubles…"
"…did anyone put something in his drink?"
"Fear not, he is merely cheerful. A wine-y person our senchou is not."
There was a thud as Kurobane's foot connected with Davide's shin. Saeki watched the other pirate ply their captain with alcohol and turn once more to the sail on the horizon. Somewhere out there the other pirates would be racing for Atobe's summons. The Rokkaku would too of course… tomorrow. Today at least they would relax and drink rum.
"Aoi has rum in his tum!"
And suffer Davide's terrible puns.
"Land ahoy!"
Echizen stirred from his usual napping spot. There really wasn't much for him to do, since Tezuka ruled with an iron fist and everyone more or less did everything required of them. Even cleaning duties were distributed fairly. The cabin boy was able to spend the bulk of his days snoozing on the deck, but sometimes he would sneak off to the hold to practice his fighting skills. He hoped that their current quest, whatever it was, would allow him to put all those hours of practice to good use.
"Hey, Echizen! You're needed up on the sails!"
"Aye." His light build and nimble body were useful assets, especially when it came to things like rigging the sails.
Later, when there was a slight lull in activity, Echizen put some of the things he was wondering about to Seigaku's sailsmaster. "Kikumaru-senpai, where exactly are we headed?" From his vantage point, he could see a lone island in the distance. Although it appeared to be mostly covered by luxuriant vegetation, he could spot signs of civilization and there were many tell-tale specks of ships floating near it.
"That's the island of Hyoutei," said Kikumaru, normally cheery voice subdued. "Pirate King Atobe's domain."
"Pirate King?"
"Aye. It's not a widely publicized fact but we pirates do answer to a common overlord. His name is Atobe Keigo and he holds court on that island."
"Then why are we going there?"
"King Atobe's calling all pirate ships in. his messenger caught up with us while we were in Port Gray. I just hope it's not to announce he's upping his cut again."
"…so even pirates have to pay taxes."
"Eh?" Kikumaru gave a sheepish grin. I guess you could call it that…"
"Kikumaru-senpai… is this Atobe very strong?"
The already somber pirate's mood darkened even more.
"That guy's been rivals with Tezuka-senchou for as long as anyone can remember." Echizen felt a shiver run down his spine. Anyone who would declare themselves Tezuka's rival would have to be good. And if he was The King and Tezuka wasn't then maybe, just maybe, he was even better.
"Interesting… Kikumaru-senpai, do you still need me around here?"
"No, not really. But try to make yourself useful, okay? It's going to get busy soon."
Echizen's feet hit the deck with a soft thump as he jumped off the ratlines. Someone grabbed his shoulder and spun him around.
"Echizen, do you have a moment?"
"Fuji-san…" Echizen swallowed down the rebellious stirring of nervousness the tensai always inspired in his guy when he had that expression. "Sure." The words were no sooner out of his mouth than Fuji hauled him away from the nice, bright, populated deck to the dark, not so nice, not populated hold.
"What's going—" the words died in Echizen's throat as Fuji leaned in close, so close that he could feel the other's breath on his face. Echizen felt… Well, he wasn't sure what he was anticipating, but it certainly wasn't a hissed warning.
"Echizen. When we land on Hyoutei, don't try to be a hero."
Futilely, he struggled against Fuji's vice-like grip. "Fuji-san, let go. I can take care of myself."
Blue eyes flashed. "You don't know Atobe."
"That's because I hadn't heard of him until today!"
Fuji's hold on him slackened. "Hm. But you did ask Eiji about him, didn't you?"
"Kikumaru-senpai said that he's strong."
"Too strong for you as of this moment. Promise me that you won't do anything foolish. For everyone's sake. Tezuka's, especially."
"Senchou?"
"Ah, I've said a little too much." Fuji smiled, looking more like his usual self. "Why don't you go pay him a visit? I think he might need some assistance in preparing to go on land."
"Uh, okay." Echizen turned to go, feeling decidedly uneasy… when a hand gave him a brief pat on the behind. Scandalized, he whipped around to glare.
"Get along, Echizen." Fuji was grinning his Cheshire Cat grin and he looked decidedly hungry. Echizen got along, fast.
Tezuka was poring over the ship's log when someone knocked. He called for them to enter without looking up, expecting Oishi or maybe Fuji. Hark, even Inui would have been less unexpected than the slender and petite figure that strolled in.
"Echizen. What do you want?"
"Fuji-san said you needed help with something, Senchou."
Tezuka considered; he didn't strictly require assistance but since the cabin boy was here…
"Check these figures for me. Make sure they all add up. You can read, I presume?" He received a withering look in reply and Echizen settled in a large chair with the ship's accounts book. For a time nothing was heard in the cabin save the gentle rustle of paper turning and the occasional scratch of a quill as amendments were made.
"Senchou?" Tezuka looked up; Echizen had moved, silently as always, and was standing by his elbow, accounts book held to his chest. "I'm done checking. It's all correct."
"Very well. Thank you, Echizen. You may go." He saw the boy hesitate; Echizen was easy to read when he wasn't oozing arrogance and superiority. "Is there something you want to ask?"
"I was just wondering… How long have you known Fuji-san?"
"Fuji?" Tezuka pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "About… seven years, I think. Has something happened between the two of you?"
"Not really… It's just that he seems to know you very well."
"Fuji has his way of integrating himself into people's lives," Tezuka said, voice almost affectionate. Sometimes, Echizen had to wonder about Fuji and Tezuka's relationship… He noticed that Fuji got away with a lot more things as compared to the rest of the crew. The captain actually seemed more worried for Fuji rather than his victims when the tensai went overboard… Except maybe when it came to Echizen.
The last thought disoriented Echizen. He quickly turned his mind to upcoming events, namely, Hyoutei and Atobe. "Senchou… What will we be doing on Hyoutei?"
Tezuka considered for a moment. "Judging from the nature of Atobe's summons, I believe that he will be making some sort of announcement. It is doubtful that there will be any action – the pace of life on Hyoutei is fairly relaxed. You could say that the island serves mainly to flaunt Atobe's wealth."
"Then why does everyone seem so tense?"
Tezuka was impressed that Echizen had managed to pick up on the general mood in such a short span of time; indeed, the boy was settling in well. However, he doubted that Echizen was ready to face the pirates of Hyoutei…
"You'll see. It's almost time now – get ready."
Little could have prepared Echizen for the sheer opulence of Hyoutei. He figured that a pirate king would be rich, but no this rich. It wasn't as though the roads were paved with gold – Atobe would never stoop to anything quite so ostentatious and tacky. Even so, the delicate interplay of marble and water in the form of fountains and expensive plants simply screamed of wealth and power. The whole crew seemed rather subdued as they made their way through the garden the road from the port led to. Not a single pirate of Tezuka's hand-picked group stepped of the gravel path onto the perfectly manicured grass. Echizen, with a surprising lack of contrariness, supposed it was because the garden was so pristine, sullying it seemed criminal.
"Everyone, be on your guard."
At the back of the procession and blocked by Momoshiro's back, Echizen wondered what up ahead could have sparked the warning.
"Welcome, welcome!"