"Captain!"
The waves rocked the ship as Kadota rushed across the deck, his feet threatening to slip upon the deep mahogany floorboards. He waved towards the figure atop the stairs, holding onto the ships controls and playing with them as that of an adventurous child in his imaginary ocean.
"PREPARE THE CANNONS!"
The crew rushed to their positions, a great thundering erupting upon the deck as cannons were pulled forth and prepared for the fight to come.
"CAPTAIN!" Kadota looked out at the violent but empty sea and shook his head, "THERE'S NOTHING TO-"
PPFTICH!
Sound was pierced from its ocean waves and crewmen working as the whip went down upon the man's back. The man fell on the stairs, grasping them to keep from tumbling down what stairs he had climbed. His eyes flickered back to the blond holding the instigator to his pain.
"The captain said to prepare the cannons." The first mate stared at him, stoically holding his weapon in open show that he was willing to strike again. "Prepare the cannons."
Kadota flickered his gaze up to the captain only to feel his blood drain from his face. A pair of bespectacled eyes looked down at him from the captain's left side. The figure whispered into Izaya's ear before the captain turned, "Masaomi!"
"Aye, sir?"
"Inform your lover on high to keep lookout for land and prepare for some violence."
"AYE!"
The captain looked out at the crew and smiled darkly, "Die and I kill you all, understood?"
The crew shivered at the undertones, nodding and shouting their allegiance to the man.
Kadota remained in place, not saying a word as he watched the man follow the insane driven doctor from the deck. He felt a hand on his back before he turned to see Kida standing before him, apologetic.
"If Captain is enlisting the aid of the former first mate, we're all headed for hell. Do as your told, Kadota. If you try something like talking to the captain offhand like that again, I might have to kill you."
"He's our cap-"
"Don't speak until your spoken to, that's the rule for speaking to the captain."
"That's irrational!"
"That's the way of the world."
"No it-"
Kida covered his mouth and glared, "you joined this crew, therefore this ship is your world and this captain is your god. If you can't understand that, prepare for death for it will come on swift wings for you."
"It's ludicrous!"
"You're worried about Shizuo."
"Yeah," Kadota looked back towards the helm of the ship. "He hasn't come up for a couple days."
"Forget about him."
"I can't jus-"
"You can and you will…" The first mate shook. "Dwell on anyone of value and you will lose them, you will grow bitter, and you will die. Shizuo wouldn't want you to kill yourself over him."
"He's…"
Kida looked at him seriously, "If you don't see them, you don't think about them. Focus on what's necessary."
Kadota shook his head, "you make it sound so easy."
"I speak from experience," Kida turned, heading towards the slacking crew, "follow the laws of our world or die into nothingness." He raised a hand towards the men, "PROTECT THE SHIP! KILL THE INFIDELS!"
The crew shouted back, "FOR THE CAPTAIN! KILL THE REBELS!"
"PREPARE FOR WAR! PROTECT OUR CAPTAIN!"
"KILL THE SCUM! TAKE THEIR WEALTH!"
Kadota looked a final time towards where Izaya and Shinra had disappeared to, briefly thinking about his friend before he turned and sprinted to fade into the crewmen running.
Masaomi yelled for several minutes, stirring up the men before his feet aided him up to the crow's nest. As soon as his hair peeked over the side, arms reached for him, pulling him up the rest of the way.
"Masaomi…"
"How are you feeling?"
The boy shook his head, "weak. The crazed man took a lot of blood."
"I brought you some food-"
"Kida! You can be killed for-"
"I don't care," Kida glared towards the ground, "That ass can't just take your blood for some quick violent lay of his."
"Don't speak like that," Mikado ate the apple from Kida's pack and shut his eyes at the taste. "The captain is our leader."
"You could be just as good a leader."
Mikado smiled, "as could you, but we can't fight the captain for his position. It's just a tough first week for him having another who looks like his former-"
"I don't care. He can't drain the grew for the guy."
"Do your work and focus on leading the crew. Everyone knows how well you do being first mate. If the captain goes too far insane, they will stand by your side and help fuel a mutiny."
Kida grinned, "I know. Then I can have you out of his small space for more than a few hours in my chambers."
The boy's face burned in embarrassment, "Shut up!"
"Shhh, can't have the crew thinking we're talking about anything bad."
"Get back to work," Mikado sighed, leaning back and looking a bit ragged.
"Alright, just remember…"
"Yes, the captain has only a limited time left before the crew turns against him."
Masaomi nodded, heading down to the deck quickly enough. His thoughts raced as he touched ground and pulled another member of the crew aside.
The man growled, "what?"
"Tonight we commit the deed, make sure everyone's ready."
Quickly covering his shock, the man nodded, running to the next few members of the crew and telling them the news. Masaomi looked towards Kadota's working figure and felt a bad feeling wash over him.
If they failed…
The captain would ensure that hell came upon them all.
~.~
A/N: Info-san has been busy. I'm grateful for the emails and reviews. I needed the boost.