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Riku's Report 4: Buccaneers

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Riku had never seen a real ship before.

He'd seen canoes; he'd owned one. He knew the sailboats that glided in the great bay before the reef, out of the way of the pounding waves, and he'd spent many a day upon one, often with a line cast deep into the water to lure the many fish that swam there. But the idea of a ship with three towering masts, an intricate web of ropes stretching from the crossbars to the masts, about the billowing sails, was far more than he had ever imagined. The proud curve of the prow as it made harbor rose far above the docks, and though Riku was tempted to stand beneath it and tilt his head up, he dispelled the urge. He was Maleficent's apprentice now, not some awe-struck boy.

"There she is," Hook announced with no small amount of pride, "the Jolly Roger. The finest man'o'war that ever sailed the seas."

"Eh," Riku shrugged, feigning indifference. "Guess it'll do."

The look on the captain's face was priceless.

Hook pushed past him, saying nothing more. As he followed, Riku allowed himself a smirk, shrugging his left shoulder to readjust the pack Maleficent had given him - rather, insisted that he take - for the voyage, and followed the captain up the ramp (only later did he learn it was called a 'gangplank') and onto the deck.

"Mr. Starkey, Mr. Smee, prepare to haul anchor. And for God's sake, secure that line!"

"Aye sir!"

The other, a bespectacled man, raised his hands to his mouth and shouted. "You heard the cap'n! Secure the lines! Man the capstan! Raise the Blue Peter!"

All this time, Riku stood there, unsure what to do and unwilling to admit it. He watched as the men unfurled the great sails, securing them, and still more took their places at the capstan. Yet one more man, dark locks of hair spilling about his handsome brown face, joined in, and lifted his voice in song:

"My name was William Kidd-"

The minute the one started in, the men took hold of the wooden bars and pushed, walking around it, and replied to the shantyman, "When I sailed, when I sailed,"

"My name was William Kidd,"

"-when I sailed."

"My name was William Kidd;

"God's laws I did forbid,

"And so wickedly I did-"

"When I sailed."

As the crew set about their various tasks, it struck Riku how much... energy they put into their tasks. Each act of manual toil was accompanied with a song to relieve the monotony, well-known anthems of the waves that all seemed to know.

"My parents taught me well, when I sailed, when I sailed, my parents taught me well, when I sailed - My parents taught me well, to shun the gates of hell, but against them I rebelled, when I sailed..."

Riku wandered the deck, avoiding looking lost by surveying the crew with a critical eye. The thought occurred to him that for such an 'infamous' group, as he had heard from Maleficent, they managed to fail to be actually intimidating. Still, their way of accompanying every task with a song tailored to the rhythm of whatever it was they were doing was rather intriguing, if completely foreign. Whether they were pushing or pulling, or loading, they were singing. At the moment, two songs were being performed - one for raising the sails and the other for winding a chain - an anchor? - about the mushroom-shaped mechanism.

One particular tune wound its way into Riku's head, and as he walked, his footsteps became a little more pronounced. How frightful, delightful, the singing of men - the ones who I've heard who would slay their own ken... and it's one to the ... great, they've got me doing it. He tossed hair from his eyes with a flippant jerk of his head, turning smartly on his heel to pace back the way he had come to follow Hook.

And it's one to the lackeys and one to the lost, but none to the lad that has been double-crossed, and ya-hey, me hearties, away with ye, bullies, and make for the bay by sundown...

As Maleficent's chosen apprentice, a natural amount of respect and a little fear was his due, and while Hook would normally 'set anchor' in the chest of any cur that dared enter uninvited into his cabin, some deep instinct caused him to merely give warning of next time's dire consequences. He gave the boy a dark look, releasing the map he had been inspecting and letting it snap back into a loosely rolled scroll. "You may be free to gallivant about willy-nilly as Maleficent's pet, but this is my ship, and we have rules. MY rules. If you want passage, I would enjoin you to follow them."

Riku folded his arms, leaning against the doorway. "Fair enough. But you can't hold me responsible for being where I'm not supposed to be if no one tells me it's off-limits. If you want me to play by your rules, then you tell me what they are first, and I'll think about it."

He watched as the captain's remaining hand clenched into a fist, and inwardly grinned as Hook conceded as graciously as he could. Calling for Smee, he instructed the bos'un to get Riku 'stowed away' properly, and then added to Riku, "And once you're established, I expect to see you with the crew."

He didn't wait to see his orders carried out, or for the too-cheerful 'Ay, ay, sir' that accompanied. Instead, with a flourish of his velvet cloak, he spun about and slammed the door after him.

The bespectacled pirate turned his attention to Riku with an almost apologetic look. "Oh, do forgive the cap'n... some things there is no reasoning with him on. Well, this way, then."

- - - - - -

Riku's impression of the man did not improve with time. Smee was dim-witted, forgiving, and all in all far too nice. He even paused to warn Riku: 'Watch your step, there's a nasty step there that always catches people off-guard.'

From the minor snatches of the crew he had gleaned from Maleficent, pirates were a vicious band of cutthroat, heartless ne'er-do-wells known for extreme brutality. The jovial devil-may-care attitude and habits of apologizing to each other they presented him clashed greatly with this, and as he opened the bag Maleficent gave him, he smiled.

Looks like he had some reading to do.

Riku shuffled through the bag, noting the few changes of clothing with a wry roll of his eyes - she had not given him a slight wardrobe as much as duplicate what he already was wearing - and then picked up an orange ball, staring at it.

"Oranges...?"

They were. Four books, one on frigates, one on piracy, one on maritime history and custom, and the last a novel called Moby Dick, were laid atop three changes of clothing. The rest of the large pack was filled with oranges.

Riku had not seen an orange since he had left the island, but the sheer number of the round fruits caused him to blink in confusion.

"Oranges. That daft old bat gave me oranges. ...yeah, I don't get it."

He stashed the pack in a corner of the small room, which was mostly filled with a detachable hammock, and a small table and a solitary chair, and left. Smee was waiting for him.

"Was everythin' to yer likin?"

"I've had worse," Riku shrugged, and started back up. Part of him desperately wanted to retreat and start reading, but pitching in a bit first wouldn't kill him... he just hoped he wouldn't make it glaringly obvious he had no clue what he was doing.

- - - - - -

Riku wasn't sure what surprised him more - the fact that he joined in the songs (oftentimes, the refrains were so easy to remember that by the second or third voice he knew enough), or the fact that he enjoyed them. It seemed to take forever to actually set off: once the task had been completed, he allowed himself a satisfied grin.

"Alright lads, three degrees west by south! Clew up the royals and topsails; it'll not be by a fair wind that we sail!" Hook's orders were repeated by Smee, in case his bellow wasn't heard the first time 'round, and the crew set to work.

The ship glided easily out into the great sparkling bay, and Riku paused, noting the strange gleam in Hook's eye.

The wind blew around from the north, a great gust that filled the sails till the masts creaked in vague protest. Suddenly the direction of the wind changed to down and up... and the ship lifted out of the sea, into the spreading darkness that awaited it.

The sights and scents of the sea vanished, replaced by a dark mustiness, a feel of ancient territory. Riku suppressed a slight shiver as it swirled about his feet, filled with a vague whisper he could almost understand.

- - - - -

Once again, Riku was in a situation where he could not tell day and night apart. Captain James Hook had an odd phobia of clocks, so not a timepiece was found aboard the vessel. The lack of much to do, coupled with the fear that surrounded an already superstitious, and rather cowardly, group of men, did not do much for the collective mood.

That evening, or what they figured was evening, as Riku joined the crew in the mess deck for dinner, things began to fall apart.

"Look here who fin'lly decided ta show. So where are we headed to?" one, a bald man rippling with muscle asked.

Riku narrowed his eyes, and sat down.

"I asked you a question, boy."

"...Leave me alone."

"Didja hear that, bullies? The witch's errand boy wants to be left alone!"

The man's derision was not met with the raucous laughter he expected. Instead, to a man, the entire assembly watched Riku.

Seamen are a superstitious lot, and news like Maleficent spreads quickly, the inventive imaginations of those relating stories of her cruelty adding detail after gruesome detail, until even the bravest of hearts quivered. They knew better than to mess with a practitioner of dark arts, be it witchcraft, shadowcraft, or plain magic of any form.

Riku also noted that the lot of them often reacted more like children than adults.

"You think you're too good for us, is that it? You think that just cause you're the pet of a witch, you can go run crying into her cloak if something goes awry, and all will magically be better-"

Riku's fist shot out, and the man was knocked clear across the room. His head hit the wall, and he fell limply to the floor.

Riku glared about him, then turned on his heel and stalked out, leaving his bowl untouched.

From that day forward, Riku made it a point to eat either before or after the others, and often opted to take watch, relieving whoever was out at the time. Oftentimes, his only dining companion was the ship's cook, Mister Japes.

"Ye seem quieter than usu'l, lad. What be on yer mind?"

Riku lifted his spoon, blowing on the thin broth to cool it before sipping it. He'd learned what hard tack was a while back, and why it was generally a good idea to soften it in something before trying to eat it. As Japeson had put it, 'Break yer teeth off, that will. Keeps forever, though.'

Japes was currently relaxing, sitting opposite Riku with a bowl of his own. Riku picked at a piece of meat in the watery soup, sampling it judiciously before grunting in satisfaction. He hadn't ever tasted anything like it - couldn't quite place what it could be.

"Nothing. This is good."

Though the cook didn't look convinced, he didn't press. "Glad ye like it. Thar be plenty more whar tha' came from."

"What is it?" Riku asked conversationally, letting another spoonful cool a minute before lifting it to his mouth.

The cook grinned. "Miller, finest bred."

Riku considered this, mentally running over his recent studies, then shook his head. "Sorry."

"Yer pro'lly better off not knowin'," Japes laughed, then laughed again seeing Riku's sudden wariness. "Ye took to sea like ye knew it all yer life, but ye don't know hard tack from horse tack. Yer a strange boy, Riku-me-lad."

"I get that a lot," Riku shrugged. "I grew up on an island. That's all." He continued eating.

Japes took a swig from his tankard. "Ay, that'd do it. So how came ye to take up with the Dark Witch? Yer not like her, mark me."

Riku suddenly grew silent, and Japes laughed. "Oi, no need to get defensive. I was only curious. Not often we see someone who thinks he knows what he wants anymore, and not often ye talk about yerself."

"...Thinks he knows?"

The man shrugged amicably. "But it's none o' my business."

An uncomfortable silence fell.

"Something's been bothering me lately," Riku started again, suddenly. "I've been doing a bit of reading, lately -"

"Good pastime, that-"

"-and it occurred to me just why I don't like this place. It's not true to itself. These are pirates, right? Then why don't they act a bit more... ruthless? We passed a ship not too long ago, and all they did was yell and threaten. It almost feels... like they're children, playing at being pirates."

Japes sat up, looked about him, then leaned forward. "Ay, ay. That they are - yeh've struck the heart o' the matter."

"What do you mean...?"

For a while Japes was silent, then he looked up, beyond Riku, into the fog of his memory.

"Hook was one of the most fearsome capt'ns that ever set sail. His name was legend. Mothers used it to threaten their children inta behavin' ...But Hook, mind ye, was not a bad man. He was a fine gen'leman, catch him in the right mood.

"Hook knew no fear. He threw away his morality, or tried ta - all yer guess and mine if it worked. He got his name when he took over this vessel, see - he found out tha' his dad was sellin' slaves, and that didn't sit too right with the dear capt'n. He took a carving hook, cut open the captain, and took the ship for his own."

Riku listened as Japes continued, telling him of exploits and famous captures. He frowned a bit, trying to hold the picture of the outwardly heartless, inwardly melancholy man, the lover of music and poetry, and the destroyer of fleets, up to the cowardly codfish he had come to know and inwardly sneer at.

"But then he came across a map, and it tore him up inside, until he knew he had to reach it... the fountain of youth, as it were."

"The fountain of youth?"

"Ay, ay."

"What happened?"

"He found it, that's what happened. O'er one hundred year since we set sail, off questing for it. And he bloody found it. Only... it was an island, rather. Not jus' a spring, or a pool, but a whole cursed island.

"I tells the capt'n it would be a bad idea to set foot thar, that it was some magic that would keep the body from agin' and it was unnat'ral, but he figgered that the best prize of all was to trawl the waters for eternity. Better fer Hook that he had less ambition, better fer all of us. He went ashore, with the crew. I stayed behind.

"They came back tellin' tales of a gang of kids, and Indians, and mermaids. The place had some hold on 'em. No matter what, they kept goin' ashore, and slowly I noticed changes. Nothin' phys'cal, mind ye... but nothin' comes without a price.

"It was called the fountain of youth. Not the fountain of life, but the fountain of youth. The island, accordin' ta the Lost Boys, was called Neverland. And it didn't occur to me until it was too late why.

"All of these men here are no longer men, lad; they're boys. Sometimes I wonder whether I'm runnin' a galley or a nursery, the way they act. But they still know the lore, and they still man the ship as before... they just have no more bravery. They're not the men that kill ye as soon as tell ye hullo, but men that will jeer and threaten and wait for sommun else ta start act'l violence. Scare 'em and they shrink back like minnows.

"Hook's hand was cut off by the leader, a lanky lad by the name of Peter Pan, and Peter threw it to a crocodile, who's followed the captain ever since. That crocodile also swallowed a clock, see, so it ticks, and that's how we know it's near. Hook's afraid of it, but unlike the Hook I knew who would have mounted a hunt, he hid and stayed away.

"All Hook cares abou' now is killin' that Peter Pan, but he's not bin able ta. If that's not proof that he's changed, I've no inklin' what is. In fact-"

"Man overboard!"

"All hands on deck!"

Riku's head shot up, and Japes nodded. "Best ye get goin'. Bit o' commotion out there... wonder what?"

- - - -

Riku raced up the ladder and onto the deck just as Cecco, a handsome Irish devil of a deckhand, was pulled up, holding a limp figure over his shoulder. Even as he ran forward, Riku knew without a doubt who she was.

"Kairi!"

Cecco laid her down on the deck, and the others backed up as Riku shot forward and knelt at her side. "Kairi? Kairi!"

She gave no reply, even when Riku picked her up.

"Where was she?"

"Floating in the nothing," Cecco replied. "There were Shadows about her, but they left as we came."

"Kairi... what happened to you?" Riku gently held her, desperately trying as to look like he knew what to do, that he didn't suddenly feel very, very lost...

"Clear the way," he ordered suddenly, rising to his feet, the girl in his arms. "Cecco, get some water. Mister Smee, we have new coordinates." He paused, then growled inwardly when no one moved. "Well? Get moving, you slugs! Ninety degrees starboard, mind the halyards!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Riku saw Hook's growl as his men leapt to follow Riku's orders.

Riku made his way back belowdecks, making a point to glare anyone who dared to question him into meek submission. If they were going to act like sheep, they would be treated as such, and Riku was in no mood to be challenged. He kept his prideful stance all the way to the empty cabin next to his, where he laid her gently on the cot and slumped down wearily against the door.

Now what?

She had no heartbeat...

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Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Marluxia would not have a flowermobile.

I swear, in Chain of Memories, that's what it was. It took for-bloody-ever to defeat, too. No, no, Marluxia was simple to beat, with a set pattern... but god did he not want to die.

To summarize why this chapter took so long, I got a new job that starts at seven AM and I also went to A-kon.

It was there I realized, that it really hit home, that Riku officially has managed to slip into my bishie list. I realized this when I squealed and demanded a Riku pin, seeing one for sale. I also insisted upon an Axel button, two L buttons (big surprise there...) a Sepphie pin, a kodama pin... (I came away with about forty buttons, a Dominic Deegan scarf, an expensive tail on a sharp discount (35- 5) and an "Ansem" t-shirt, complete with darkside in the background. I can't believe it; Kingdom Hearts somehow switched from 'meh' to 'yay'. And Axel, Riku and Demyx rock. Yum, bishies.

Xemnas is a bishie, too, as is Saïx, but... eh. I'm sticking with those three from KH. And besides, I got to feed Axel, Sephiroth and Seshoumaru goldfish at con. I actually managed to lure over Sepphie, much to my inner satisfaction and the consternation of everyone else in that circle calling 'him' over.

Con is good.

Buttons are, too.

Got it memorized?