You guys make me so happy with your constructive reviews :')
DISCLAIMER: I still don't own Soul Eater. Arrrrrg.
The second the Shi no Fune was tied off securely, Tsubaki and Liz pulled Maka off. They sprinted down the pier and to a rickety shop right on the shore. Maka looked around frantically as they ran, taking in the scenery.
There was a ton of people- they filled the piers, the shore, and the town she could spot farther ahead. Most of them were very obviously pirates, dressed in old leather and rags with eye patches and even a few peg legs. They were all so fascinating to look at, it was hard to tear her eyes away to gaze at the actual town.
Tortuga had a lining of shops along the coast, up until the cobblestones that marked the entrance to the town. There, a bundle of tall wooden buildings with signs like "Olde Inn" and "Jerry's Pub" stood along the streets, which were bustling with even more towns folk. That was all Maka could see before Tsubaki and Liz had her in the store, which she found full of clothing.
It ranged from a few fancy corsets for women to cheap rags of shirts for peasants. Liz and Tsubaki hustled along the piles, careful not to draw attention to themselves. Then they shoved a pile into Maka's arms, each keeping some for themselves, and all three headed to the curtained changing area. Once alone, they felt it safe to talk as they changed.
Maka was slipping on a pair of loose pants when Liz suddenly piped up, "So Maka! What's going on with you and our captain?" An interesting introduction, indeed.
"Wha-!" Maka sputtered out, blushing crimson red. "Nothing! What do you mean, what's going on?"
"Ah, so the princess doesn't see it?" the tall blonde raised one eyebrow.
"See what!" asked Maka, still dumbfounded.
"Oh come on, don't you see the way he looks at you? All the attention he gives you? I never got personal sword fighting lessons when I got on the Shi no Fune." she giggled.
Maka thought suddenly back to her sword fighting lessons and the odd feeling in her chest when he stared at her. Did he actually have feelings for her? The thought brought up unfamiliar butterflies in her stomach and made her cheeks tinge even darker. Was this…how she was supposed to feel about a man? The ones that came to her castle rarely even peaked her interest. Something like love was completely out of Maka's grasp, or so she had thought.
Liz interrupted her reverie with, "Look! You're blushing! There's got to be something going on between you two; I'm never wrong about this stuff."
"I- I don't know." Maka answered honestly. "I find him really interesting, and I like spending time with him, but there's no way an incredible pirate like Soul would find me nearly as interesting."
"That is where you're wrong," Liz declared. "By the time we're back on the ocean, I will have made him realize his feelings for you. You can count on that."
Maka's heart raced. What if Liz screwed everything up? What if she just made things awkward? She turned, panicked, to Tsubaki. The brunette just shook her head with a small smile.
"Once Liz has made up her mind, you're done. All you can do now is hope she doesn't embarrass you."
"I would never!" Liz scoffed. But Maka wasn't so sure.
Suddenly, Tsubaki reached out to grab at Maka's naked chest. She was startled until Tsubaki grabbed hold of the golden medallion there. Maka had forgotten she was even wearing it. Tsubaki ran her thumb over the antique and asked, "What is this?"
"Oh, it's something I was given a long time ago by my mother's close friend. She told me to keep it safe, so I have. Though," she laughed, "I'd completely forgotten I was wearing it."
Tsubaki was still staring at the necklace when she replied, "Don't show anyone else this necklace, alright?"
Maka was startled. She had thought it was just a family heirloom. "Why?"
Tsubaki looked up into Maka's eyes, showing how serious she was.
"Just trust me. Please." Maka didn't know what to say. Did she somehow know about the necklace's origins? What made it so dangerous to flaunt in public? Liz laughed a bit unsteadily and agreed, "Yeah Maka, this place is crawling with thieves. It's not a good idea to show any of them your gold." Confused, Maka simply nodded and continued dressing.
The girls finished changing and stepped out to pay for their purchases. Maka bought three pairs of pants, all plain beige, along with three blouses, two long leather jackets, two vests-one black and one red, and one long-sleeved corset shirt for when Maka could dress as a girl again. She also got a dark brown hat to put her hair up in and a brown leather belt with a sheath for her new sword (Soul had given her his spare). Tsubaki had lent Maka the shillings to pay for it all, but Maka promised to pay it back as soon as she had any money- though, she wasn't quite sure how she'd get it.
Each girl had put on a boyish outfit and after putting their hair up in their hats, they were ready to visit Tortuga. Maka looked at her two new friends and couldn't help but grin; with such great company, a pirate-like appearance and new fighting skills, she felt invincible.
"We're to meander around town until we need to sleep, and then we're to head to the Olde Inn. The Captain has rooms for us there." Liz announced as they headed down the stone road. A few men had punched them on the shoulder and smiled golden-toothed grins as acknowledgement already; They were pulling off their boyish disguises.
"Hey Liz, where's your sister?" Maka wondered aloud. Liz chuckled.
"Patty is in one of the bars gambling. She has quite the reputation in this port. So much so, in fact, that her gender and age don't get her in any trouble."
"Wow. Can we go find her? I'd like to see this."
"Sure!" Liz chirped, and the three headed into Jerry's Pub.
They found Patty sitting at a table with four other men. They all had some dirty looking cards in hand, and Patty had that maniacal grin on her face, as always. Liz was telling the truth, too; Patty wore the same beat up fluffy blouse as always, her chin-length hair dangling free. She slapped her hand down and the other men groaned before pushing coins at the girl.
"Here she is!" Liz said. They headed over to the table as Patty glanced up at them.
"Hey bro!" She giggled up at Liz. How she maintained that childish attitude while beating grown men at poker, Maka couldn't understand.
They joined Patty and the others at the table and Maka grunted in the manliest voice she could muster, "I want in." Patty looked mildly surprised, but handed Maka some cards with a smile. "Oh, wait," she realized, "You don't have anything to bet with! Here, you can have some of mine. I'll get them back soon enough, anyways."
"We'll see." Maka smirked. She had played some poker with her servants back at home, and was pretty lucky when it came to the game.
After a few hands, Patty admitted, "Maka, you're pretty good at this!" Maka and Patty had about the same amount of money, and the men had significantly less each. They opted to quit playing, but the two girls weren't through yet. Liz and Tsubaki had long left the bar, so Patty and Maka stood up and asked for more challengers. In a few hours, they had racked up a load of money as well as some drinks. Patty was, much to her dismay, not nearly old enough to drink, and Maka didn't want to look un-manly, so she had to chug all the rum that came their way. By early evening, she was thoroughly drunk, and having trouble reading the cards, so she packed all her earnings into her pockets with a giggle and headed out to the street.
She nearly bumped into a tall dark figure. Looking up, she started to apologize when she realized who it was. "Kid! What're you doinnn here!" Kid noticed her stumbling and steadied her. "Woah there. I'm just wandering around. I was taking care of some business before but now I'd like to go to my favorite place. Care to accompany me?" Kid was the most elegant pirate ever, Maka decided. He is soooo cool. "Sure!" She agreed instantly and they made their way to a large lit up building with loud music coming from inside.
"It's a bar," Kid explained. "But they always have live music and everyone dances. It's incredible!"
"Woohoooo, dancing!" Maka shouted. They ran inside and Maka laughed in delight.
There were couples doing some kind of fast-paced square dance on the huge floor cleared in the middle of the room. Along the sides lined a bunch of wooden tables, all filled with clapping spectators. On the left wall was a bar, and in the back was the stage, where a band played. There was a banjo player, fiddle player, two singers and a man banging on a crate to keep the beat. Everyone in the place looked like they were having so much fun.
Maka grabbed Kid and ran to the middle of the floor, promptly joining in on the dancing. As they danced, random drinks were passed around, of which Maka took swigs and passed on. Even Kid got drunk as the evening progressed.
"OOF!" Next thing Maka knew, she had fallen on top of Kid near the side of the floor. Her necklace came popping out of her blouse, hanging right over Kid's face. He grabbed it without warning and studied it.
"Where didju getthis?" He slurred. Maka dimly thought to Tsubaki's warning earlier that night.
"Uhhhhh, I'mnot supposda tell!" She got off him and he slowly stumbled up as well, keeping his blood-shot eyes on hers.
"That'sthe treasure cap'n's been lookin' for" he told Maka.
"Whaaa?" she asked, dim alarm bells going off in her head.
"He's beena lookin' for that map fer a longgg time. 'Ts why he pickedya up in the first place, 'n had you steal yer daddy's stuff."
"What!" she said again, this time in clearer shock.
"'Ts true. 'N yer our sacrifice! Cap'n's gonna be so happy when he knows!"
Her necklace was a map? She was a "sacrifice"? In her drunken state, it was all too much for Maka to bear. She ran out of the back of the large bar, leaving Kid behind to call after her.
She tripped over an uneven stone and fell flat on her face. She just lay there for a minute, hardly noticing the dull throbbing on her cheek where she was probably bleeding.
"Maka?" A concerned yet bemused voice in the darkness asked. It was soft and deep, like chocolate, she thought.
"Yeh?" she mumbled into the ground.
"Oh, you're alive." A hand reached down and grabbed her, turning her over. She sat up, suddenly staring into the eyes of a one Soul Eater.
"Soul!" she exclaimed. She momentarily forgot the reason she was here and latched on to his neck, pulling him closer to her.
"Hooo, you are drunk as a skunk, love," Soul commented. He pulled her up so that she was standing, but she almost fell over right away. He laughed and opted to scoop her up into his arms. "No more falling, Maka. You're hurt already." He touched her cheek as he spoke and Maka felt a dull burning.
"Where we goin'?" she asked happily as Soul dragged her down the stone path. He responded, "We are going to the inn. You're going to feel like hell in about four hours and I want you in a bed when you do."
"Mkay," she sighed and nuzzled his shoulder. He smelled like the sea, along with leather and cologne. A perfect combination, by her standards.
They got to the inn but Maka was half-asleep so she hardly noticed. She felt the warm presence of Soul leave as she was placed in a bed, and shortly thereafter she tumbled into the blackness of sleep.
Hehehehe, drunk Maka is drunk. You might say this is horrendously OOC, but I beg to differ. Maka is one stubborn chicka, and she needed to look like a pirate dude! So, tis what she did. Mostly though, I love picturing her drunk so writing that was super fun for me. In the next chapter, we'll get to see her horrible hangover! Woohoooo!
I cannot say enough how much I love my reviewers. Like, Poisoned Scarlet, you're one of my favorite authors on this site and you reviewed my story :') Crazy stuff.
I have some of the next chapter typed up already, and I'll put it up tomorrow if ya scalleywags want! :3
And Thank you, yes, YOU, for reading.