Chapter 14: A note within a bottle

The final journal entry of...

It was a lovely afternoon, or at least it should have been. Yet for some reason, Alfred was finding it quite difficult to describe the day so far as 'lovely' when it really wasn't.

Francis's outburst had shocked everyone. In fact, Alfred constantly heard the curious mutterings as he walked from room to room along the hard wooden floors that covered the surface of the whole ship. Rumours were floating around and discussions of the event could be heard in hushed whispers amongst the crew- constantly reminding Alfred.

And Alfred wasn't even sure about how he felt about the whole thing. It was obvious that everyone else was either just plain shocked or even mortified by the idea of the two as a couple but if Alfred had to be honest: he wasn't quite sure how he felt.

Although when it came to other matters, how he felt was another story. True, he was unsure about Francis's confession, however he felt angry about the fact that he had been deprived of catch-up time with Arthur since the captain was now occupied with sorting out the situation privately in Francis's room.

Now Alfred was bored again, just as he had been when Arthur had gone. In fact it was like he was experiencing the exact same loneliness all over again- although this time he couldn't resort to rooting through Mattie's belongings as there was now a higher risk of being caught.

He sighed as he came to a stop alongside the wooden railing at the edge of the ship, then he turned and looked out to the vast sea.

"Stupid Francis." Alfred muttered quietly and angrily to himself. "Why'd he have to say somethin' like that now of all times? I wanted to hang out with Artie!"

His head dropped and he stared down at the energetic waves thrashing away at the base of the ship. How long could two people take to sort out some stupid confession anyway? The two had been in there for quite a while now. Seriously, how long were these things meant to take? Surely it was just go in, say stuff and then-

Hang on, what was Arthur going to say? After having this thought, Alfred's brain eventually started believing that there was a possibility Arthur liked him back.

Why did Alfred seem so angry about that? His instant reaction was something like: 'Well if he feels the same way then those two will be a couple. Then they'll be all soppy and lovey dovey like those stupid mushy couples... Plus they'll date and kiss and there'll be no-one left for me to talk to...

Suddenly Alfred's thoughts (similar to that of a young child since they didn't understand what was so great about love either) ceased all of a sudden as he noticed something floating around in the waves that he had been subconsciously staring at.

A glimmer, a twinkle, a sparkle of light reflecting from the object was all that was needed to attract Alfred's attention. Of course, occasional shimmering from the waves could be seen on board ship- yet there was something so different and captivating about this unknown object's shine- something different, something new...

Naturally, Alfred felt the sudden urge to investigate.

Captain Ludwig's ship

It would be a while before they made contact with Captain Kirkland and his experienced pirate crew so Kiku had been spending most of his free time preparing for the upcoming battle.

In fact, he was practically ready. Now he was on his way back to his room, perhaps to spend his free time occupied with things like drawing and quiet paper folding.

However, on his way back to the comfort of his quaint little room- something strange out at sea managed to catch his eye and cause him to stop in his tracks.

It was another small rowboat, similar to the one that Kiku had spotted Arthur, Yao and Francis escaping in. Kiku wasn't quite sure which direction it had come from, yet it seemed to be hurtling further away as fast as it could- obviously wanting to escape their ship.

Naturally, Kiku deemed it suspicious and so he began quickly running back in the direction he had just been walking from in order to alert the captain. However, it was a mere few seconds before he was interrupted by a voice that caused him to stop in his tracks.

"No need to panic. Those are our men y'know."

Kiku turned around to see an old man with a mop standing there, staring out at the mysterious little rowboat that Kiku had spotted.

"What do you mean?" Kiku asked, frowning in confusion.

"They're from our crew. Jus' escapin' like all the rest." He explained. "To tell the truth, I've been thinkin' about leavin' too."

"Leaving? Why?" Kiku questioned.

"Simple." He smirked knowingly. "No-one trusts the captain y'see. No-one wanted him as cap'n."

"Then why did they join the crew?" Kiku frowned.

"Cuz he weren't the cap'n to begin with." He sighed. "The ol' cap'n died in his sleep one night. But he weren't old an' he weren't sick. Rumour has it that Ludwig killed him- though no-one knows how."

"That's insane." Kiku stated simply. "Why would Captain Ludwig kill the captain?"

"Because the ol' cap'n was mean to Feliciano. Ludwig joined the crew along with them Vargas brothers. He trusted Feli the most an' he didn't like how the ol' cap'n treated 'im, so he killed him."

"Explain how."

"Well..." The old pirate began, scratching the back of his head. "We examined the body an' in all honesty, there weren't nothin' there to say he was murdered." Kiku's expression darkened, making the old pirate continue a little quicker. "E-except for a weird lookin' pair o' fang marks in the neck o' the ol' cap'n. They didn' look like an animal's teeth, but then again they didn't look all that human either."

Kiku was baffled. What was this old man trying to suggest? It sounded ludicrous and far-fetched: there was no way that Ludwig was responsible for those fang marks, in fact, there was no way that anyone on board the ship could be responsible for fang marks. But... If no-one on the ship was responsible, then who or what was?

"I ain't quite sure how, but I know he did it." The elderly janitor continued. "That's why they're leavin'. I'd best get goin' soon, an' I advise you to do the-"

But before he could finish, he stopped with a sharp intake of breath. Kiku had suddenly drawn his katana on the poor old man and was holding it dangerously close to his throat.

"I think I know whose advice to follow and who's not to follow." Kiku explained, glaring darkly with a chunk of his hair hanging forward to cover his right eye- making him look intimidating. "You are a coward. A coward that is simply leaving the fight in the most crucial moments- that is the worst kind of coward. Where is your loyalty? Your honour? You may give in if you wish but I, Honda Kiku, will never surrender. I never have and I never will."

And after this small and threatening speech, Kiku withdrew his sharp blade and continued back to his room instead of rushing to tell Captain Ludwig. Kiku decided to just let the cowards go. That way there would be no weakness left in the final battle.

Yes, Kiku was strong, brave and loyal. He would never surrender for as long as he lived.

Back to Captain Kirkland's ship

"Okay so V-man, Aru- we clear on the plan?"

Yao sighed, but he nodded nonetheless. Ivan continued to smile exactly as he had done when listening to the explanation- giving no indication to whether he understood or not. Alfred could only hope that he had.

Just in case he hadn't, Yao took a deep calming breath and quickly re-capped for him.

"So, you want us to stand guard here while you jump into the water to get whatever is down there." Yao began, using small hand gestures to aid him in his explanation. "Then you want us to help you out of there once you're done. That it-aru?"

"Yup." Alfred grinned. "And if you help, I'll put in a good word for you two when I speak to the Captain."

"And you will call me Ivan and not V-man, da?" Ivan piped up.

"Sure, whatever floats your boat." Alfred smiled, shrugging his shoulders happily.

If it was possible, Ivan's jack-o-lantern smile would have grown wider. However, it wasn't possible and so he stayed the same. Alfred wasn't fazed by this though and clapped his hands once before beginning to bounce around a little on the spot excitedly.

"Alright! Aru, V-man- help me up!" He commanded.

Ivan's smile dropped.

"You said..." He began.

"Just a lil' fun!" Alfred beamed. "Plus you haven't filled your end of the bargain yet."

Ivan stood there- extremely annoyed and not smiling anymore. Small mutterings of the word 'kol' were repeated over and over as he stared at the annoying young pirate recruit. Yao was not annoyed though and so he helped Alfred up onto the side all by himself, disregarding the whispers of 'kol' much like how many others usually disregarded his occasional bursts of 'aru'.

Once he was up, Alfred placed his hands on his hips proudly and stared down at the ocean depths below. His smile began to fade slightly as he noticed the length from his position to the bottom: it was certainly not a short fall.

"Hmmm..." Alfred frowned, biting his lip. "Hey guys, d'you reckon I'll survive if I jump from he- AHHHHHHHH!"

The screaming was unexpected and so was Ivan poking Alfred in the sides- causing him to fall. Yao looked on with a worried crease in his brow and teeth gritted with anticipation. Without noticing, he had subconsciously grabbed on tight to the edges of the ship with fear of watching him splatter- although if he didn't want to see this he easily could have looked away.

Alfred hit the water with a splash and after a few moments of intense silence- Alfred's head popped up again, gasping for air and eyes wider than saucers in reaction to the unexpectedly cold water.

"I think that answers your question, da?" Ivan called, slightly smiling again with amusement.

Alfred glared up at the crafty Russian pirate- not approving of his actions. Ivan merely waved back as if there were nothing wrong. Since Alfred's threatening glare had no effect on him, he dived back down into the water again in search of the curious object that he had seen floating along in the sea.

Ivan straightened up from the hunched over position he was in as he stared down at the soaked young man. Satisfied, he rested his arms on the railing and looked straight ahead at the horizon.

"Something wrong?" He asked, not even needing to turn in order to know that Yao was troubled.

"It's nothing." Yao muttered.

"You forgot to say 'aru'." Ivan smiled.

"...Aru..." Yao sighed.

"Now I am sure that there is something wrong. So explain."

Ivan looked at Yao and Yao looked back at Ivan. The creepy grin was back again- yet Yao didn't feel as scared as he had been on previous occasions. This time he took a deep breath and disregarding Ivan's abnormal smile, he proceeded to explain what was bothering him.

"Well you see..." Yao began. "Every now and then, I get these weird voices. Sometimes they are ones I have never heard before and sometimes they are voices I know. I hear these voices in my head sometimes but it hasn't happened for a while-aru."

Ivan didn't dare to interrupt. He took this all in without the creepy smile (for once) and he simply listened.

"But when we rescued Francis from Ludwig..." Yao muttered. "I saw a drawing of Kiku's and... I heard the voices again-aru. This time it was Captain Ludwig, Kiku, some voices I didn't know and..."

Yao's voiced trailed off as his back hunched over even more and he stared down to the spot where Alfred had fell- seeing the man popping up every now and then gasping for air.

"...And?" Ivan repeated Yao's words after a few moments of silence.

"...I heard Hero..." Yao whispered.

Ivan kept quiet as he processed all of this information. Yao bit his lip as he waited through the silence. Ivan probably thought that he was crazy. So Yao simply remained silent- waiting for the moment when Ivan would mutter the words 'you're crazy' and storm off to leave him in peace.

But that moment never came. Instead, Ivan said something completely different.

"You know, I understand your problems." Ivan mumbled. "Sometimes you hear voices that give you a vision of the future- right?"

Yao nodded, straightening up and staring in shock- his eyes urging Ivan to continue.

"You know sometimes..." Ivan began, sounding distant with a faraway gaze in his eyes as he stared up to the sky. "I get these dreams. They always take place aboard a ship- but not this one and not Captain Ludwig's either. The ship is always the same: one that I've never seen before and looks very... Futuristic..."

Yao was interested now. The look in Ivan's eyes is what captured and kept his attention. He looked so focused and passionate- yet at the same time he stared with a glazed look that made Yao feel as if he was in another world.

"The people I see aboard that ship change constantly." Ivan went on. "But somehow, before I had even met them, I had a dream the night before the war between the two captains began- one about Captain Arthur and Hero. The Captain wasn't wearing his usual clothing and neither was Hero but it was definitely them. Even though Captain Arthur lacked that usual confidence and dominant nature that he has- it was definitely him."

Yao was amazed. All this time he had been worried about his strange problem when there had been someone else in the world in a similar situation. He and Ivan were crewmates, yet he had never known...

"Does this make you feel better?" Ivan asked, turning back to Yao and tilting his head.

"Much better-aru." Yao nodded with a slight smile.

"Good." Ivan added, smiling back but only slightly. The grin was not up to its full level of creepiness yet, but Yao didn't mind this side of Ivan either.

Underwater

It felt like a whole other world in the marine depths. Once Alfred had gotten used to the chilly waters it didn't seem so bad. It actually felt rather calming in the ocean. Now that he had passed the initial shock it felt almost soothing to be floating in the dark briny deep.

But Alfred was not there to relax: he was there to find the object that had compelled him into the water- the mysterious item that had attracted his attention and lured him in.

And after a few moments, he saw what he believed to be the object. A clear small bottle containing a single rolled up note inside. Alfred swam around this object a few times, observing it closely and never letting his gaze stray away from it. True, he should have just picked it up and swam back up to the ship, but he wanted to carefully study it first to see if it really was worth bringing back.

But then Alfred saw something. It was the first thing that caught his eye about the letter. There at the top written in spiky joined up handwriting were the words:

"The final journal entry of Captain Arthur Kirkland"

And if that wasn't enough to attract and entice him into taking the letter back, Alfred spotted another name in the midst of the untidy scrawls. To his surprise, he saw the name that fully convinced him to bring back this note in a bottle up to the surface.

"Alfred F. Jones"

Cliffhanger? I suppose it is rather intriguing. I hope that this isn't too bad of an ending to the chapter. Trust me, there's worse cliffhangers coming up. Today's chapter was possibly the last calm, happy and possibly boring one: it all kicks off starting next chapter- but that doesn't necessarily mean that the final fight will start next time.

Stay subscribed for my second favourite scene in this whole story- read in next time to see what happens!

Sayounara minna-san!

~Neko