Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the anime. I do own the plot and the Tide Whisperer. Enjoy! Review!
A/N: I would wait a while to draw out the suspense from the last chapter…but I'm not that mean. Read and find out.
Chapter Five – Foreign Emotion
Seto tried to stay calm for Mokuba's sake, but it was taking a huge amount of discipline not to panic. He could see at least three sharks circling them, like vultures over a carcass, and he didn't have a clue when they would decide to attack, but the suspense alone was getting the better of him. Mokuba was shivering in his arms, letting out mewling cries every time he saw the dorsal fins. Seto tried to sooth him, but realistically that was impossible.
He shouted for help, praying to every god he could think to pray to that they would get out of this alive. That somebody would hear him and…
And what? Jump into shark infested waters for you? That'd be insane!
He could always try, at least.
Nearby, something broke the water, and fire lit up on the surface. Up above, foreboding light appeared, signaling that there was fire on the deck as well.
Someone jumped over the edge, his body straightened into the perfect dive as he broke through the surface not far from Seto and Mokuba. He didn't resurface. One of the sharks bumped into Seto's ankle, more aggressively than before. It wouldn't be much longer before the Leandro brothers became shark bait.
Blood began to cloud the water. It started only in small trickles, creating shekel-sized pools. Those pools morphed into large masses of warmed blood that completely obscured what was underwater. Something had died down there, but Seto didn't know which; the fool who'd jumped or the sharks.
A head came up for air, but immediately dove back down.
More blood floated to the ocean surface, polluting the water further. Something bumped into Seto, but it didn't feel like a shark anymore.
Again, the man resurfaced, this time taking a bit longer to take in deep gulps of oxygen. He turned toward Seto and Mokuba and swam toward the brothers.
"Atemu?" Seto cried in surprise.
"Hold on." He replied, and drew up beside the brothers.
He put something in Seto's hands before he gently pried Mokuba away from Seto. "Climb up, Mokuba." Atemu said, and gave the younger boy a piece of rope. With trembling hands, Mokuba obeyed until he was back up on the deck.
"You're next, Captain." Atemu said in a no nonsense tone of voice.
Seto was about to tell Atemu where he could put that order when someone started calling for help nearby.
"Go, Seto!"
This time, Seto did as "suggested", he refused to acknowledge that he obeyed an order from a boy, and climbed hand-over-hand until he was back up on deck.
The fighting was over, but now the White Dragons were hurrying to put out the fire.
Atemu appeared soon after, and leaned against the raised wall to catch his breath. He untied the rope from around his waist and tossed the end aside.
"What happened to that other man?" Seto asked.
"He was an enemy, so I killed him." Atemu replied with an air of nonchalance. It was a bit unnerving to hear the boy say something like that easily.
"Are you and Mokuba all right?" He asked.
"I am…" Seto turned to find Mokuba assisting in trying to put out the fire, "And he should be, but I don't know how the situation affected him mentally. I guess we'll have to wait and see." Seto turned to Atemu, who pushed a lock of intertwining black, blond, and crimson hair out of his eyes.
Atemu looked physically and mentally drained. His now-crimson eyes seemed a bit dull, his usually spiked hair was now weighted down from getting wet, falling like a mop around his head and in his eyes. His olive skin had a grayish tint to it, and it was taking him a while to get back to his normal breathing pattern. Even so, he still looked delectable.
"Are you okay?" Seto asked.
"Mm-hmm." He breathed, swiping his hair out of his eyes again, and only then did Seto notice that his hand was trembling.
"Come with me." Seto ordered and started toward the living quarters.
He ordered Atemu to sit on the bed after the two entered the captain's cabin, the boy dropped into a chair instead. He told Atemu to let him see his hand, and Atemu raised his left hand to let Seto see it, but he wouldn't let him touch it. Seto tried to move the mass of Atemu's hair away from his face, and Atemu jerked his head away from the captain's touch.
Every single time Seto did something or told the boy to do anything, the boy did the exact opposite.
This should infuriate Seto, really it should, but for some reason it felt almost refreshing to have someone not fawn all over him like his crewmembers did, and it was invigorating to be constantly challenged for once in a very long time. Atemu was as stubborn as they come (A/N: Hi kettle, I'm pot. You're black.) and he fought Seto in every way, unless Captain Seto gave his cabin boy a job to do. In fact, anything that involved Atemu personally was a red-flag zone to the boy where Seto was concerned.
What is it with you, kid, that you shut out everyone that might get close to you? (A/N: Ah-hmm, pot.)
"Cabin boy, let me see. Your hand." Seto emphasized by holding out a hand expectantly.
Atemu actually growled at him, but he obeyed.
The salt water had really agitated the wound, tinged by a reddish=purple color. It wasn't infected, but it could if left alone.
Seto retrieved his own bag of medical supplies from his steamer trunk. He used a pair of tweezers to cut the horsehair, and then he proceeded to go through the same torturous procedure that Mokuba had done the night before.
"How are you holding up?" Seto asked, surprising them both by the sincerity of his concern.
"Fine."
"Are you, really?"
Atemu narrowed his eyes at Seto, "What business is it of yours, Captain?"
"You made it my business the second you jumped overboard to save Mokuba and me." Seto replied with a glare of his own.
"What if I told you I hadn't meant to do that?"
"I would call you a bald-faced liar." He shot back, "But hypothetically speaking, it wouldn't make much of a difference because you did. Even before that, you had warned me about the oncoming enemy. You stood by me and fought for me. That makes everything you are my business."
"Ah, so you're throwing the past in my face? How chivalrous of you."
"I'm a pirate, we're not meant for chivalry." Seto quipped.
"Touché." Atemu conceded, "But as an individual, I am entitled to my own privacy."
"What's there to be kept private if you're supposedly "fine"?"
"Merely for future reference, I assure you." Atemu stood, intending to leave.
"I didn't say you could leave." Seto goaded, "Sit."
"I'd rather stand, thank you."
"Suit yourself. Now, why don't you tell me how you're really feeling, Santiago?"
"I'm feeling exponentially irritated, and I'm envisioning a delightful image of me kicking your head in." Atemu replied coolly.
"Very original." Seto said drily.
"Oh, it's just my most recent imagery. I have had many more "original" sequences where I beat you senseless."
"Ah, is this mutiny I hear, cabin boy?"
"No, it's called temper." Atemu said.
Seto was jointly torn between laughing and wanting to throttle the impudent whelp. Then he took a good look at Atemu and felt extremely smug.
Atemu no longer looked pathetic, as he had a moment ago. Oh no, Atemu looked a lot like sin right now.
Here he stood, legs braced apart, arms crossed, his head held high, scarlet eyes steady as he met Seto glacial gaze. There was something there…something that clouded Atemu's eyes…excitement.
His hair was dry, but it stayed straight down around his shoulders. His jagged golden-blond bangs framed his face to perfection, accentuating the intensity of his expression, and he was still bare-chested. His skin had returned to its original luster, full lips parted as he breathed, his chest rising and falling, almost seductively, in succession.
Seto felt himself physically responding to the sight, and it didn't help that he remembered that they were alone in his cabin.
Without thought, Seto's lips crashed down on Atemu's.
The boy gasped at the action, and Seto pressed the advantage. He slid his tongue into Atemu's mouth, tasting the sweet ambrosia within.
Suddenly, Seto pulled back, his hand shooting up to cover his bottom lip as blood trickled down his jaw.
"Let's get one thing straight here, Captain." Atemu said heatedly, rubbing the back of his hand over his mouth, "You may be the captain of this ship, and you might have me as your cabin boy, but I'll be damned if you think that gives you any right to take whatever you damn well want from me. Don't let it happen again or you'll be missing both your tongue and a head short." His eyes darted meaningfully to Seto's groin, half-erect beneath the constricting leather of the captain's pants.
"I'll go get Mokuba to see to your wound, Captain." And Atemu left.
Seto was stunned. Had he been wrong?
No, he definitely sensed the boy's excitement…there was something there…along with that excitement…Seto couldn't put his finger on it.
Don't let it happen again or you'll be missing both your tongue and a head short.
Seto grinned mischievously, "Ah Santiago…you should know I love a good challenge."