Chapter 8: La Strike Island at last!
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed or the characters in this story, only the plot.
Hey everyone! Sorry for the long wait, I hope none of you lost interest! And also, forget the part about Kira's dad being the latest Captain and his mom being at Junius Seven because I've changed the story a little bit, you'll understand as you read this chapter! Well, enough jabberin' away, here's Chapter 8 of the pirate story!
"Blast it!" Rau Le Crueset cursed and stormed out of the small shop, the 2 men he took with him following. "How could we have missed them? Well, they couldn't be that far away, we'll catch up soon enough." He said to himself.
"What did he say, Captain?" Natarle Badgurle (sp?) asked as she came up to him. "They left two nights ago. No one knows where they were headed." He replied with a sour look. "I'll ask around." She said and winked.
He nodded and continued to frown as he scanned the horizon out at sea, just hoping to catch the Jolly Roger of the Freedom. He saw Natarle gather a few men and then march into town, and also knew that it would take some action for the right people to tell them where Kira and his crew sailed off to; if they even knew.
'They probably didn't even tell anyone where they were going. They knew we were after them, he's smart enough to know not to tell anyone in case we interrogate them, like we're doing now.' Hethought. He sighed and boarded his ship, the S.S Voltaire.
He went straight into his cabin and took out the documents that held the charges for Kira Yamato and his crew. For pure kicks and giggles he re-read it for the 10th time that day alone, just for review.
Kira Yamato, by reason of the Zaft Alliance, is charged with unlawful acts of piracy in the ORB, Earth Alliance, and Zaft territorial waters:
The pillaging and destruction of the city of December on May 11th(these dates are totally made up, as well as the crimes; humor me)
The sinking and pillaging of the S.S Duel as well as the capture of the First and Second Mates (Yes, that's where he got Yzak and Dearka) on May 30th
The theft of Zaft's artillery 1 Unit on Junius Seven on June 7th(Ha, ha, funny coincidence, huh?)
The theft of Zaft's Treasury base on Aprilius One on June 20th
The sinking of the S.S Blitz and the capture of yet another First Mate (Tada! It's Nicol!) on July 1st
The pillaging and destruction of the Earth Alliance city of Miami, FL (Holla!) on July 14th(That's my birthday!)
And the newly added charge of:
The attacking of the Zaft vessel the S.S Voltaire on July 25th
(I know these are the current dates before the Cosmic Era where Gundam Seed is actually based on, but technically this fic is based off the early 1600s or so)
Yes, even though Kira was the newly appointed Captain he's still managed to pile a list of charges against himself, fortunately Rau Le Crueset had no idea where he was going or how to get there.
"Land ho!" Shinn shouted excitedly, eyeglass raised and fixed on La Strike Island only a mile away. "YO HO HO AND A BOTTLE OF RUM!" came the response from the crew as other shouts and cheers of joy erupted from below.
They all gathered at the railings to see the island before them, wondering if Shinn was merely pulling their legs, as he's done before.
Dearka took a deep breath and let it out, "Ahhh! Smell that fresh air! The smell of women and treasure!" he said. "And rum, don't forget the rum!" Yzak said and they nodded. Lacus and Cagalli came over and looked out over the ocean to the land mass, Lacus looking amazed and excited to be somewhere new besides her home, and Cagalli dreading the place with gloom square in her amber eyes.
Kira came beside his sister and saw her look. "Don' worry, Cags, I'm sure it won't be so bad this time, besides, you're tough, we might have t' be 'ere fer a while, so you'd better make do." He teased and smiled cheerfully.
She sighed and laid her head on her arms that were hanging on the railing. Athrun came over to her and he and Kira shared a knowing look. "It's so beautiful." Lacus exclaimed, bringing them out of the dark.
"Yes 'tis, very beautiful." Kira replied. They watched as Mwu, Dearka, and Yzak began square-dancing on deck and laughing. Shinn was laughing at them from above, trying not to fall out of the small circle he was in, while Nicol and Athrun were chuckling to themselves. Rey looked on with emotionless eyes and a more emotionless face.
"Alright lads, if ye want to make it to the island in one piece ye'd better get to movin'!" Kira ordered and they all scrambled to their jobs. Lacus chuckled quietly to herself at the Captain's words and the crew's reaction.
'It's cute how they act, it's almost hard to tell they're really bloodthirsty and dangerous pirates, oh my,' she thought to herself. Kira looked over to her and smiled sweetly, eyes half-closed. Cagalli saw this and smiled almost sadly, thinking that they would make a great couple.
Athrun saw the sad look on her face and slipped his arm around her waist, she whipped her head around to look at him and he smiled, so she smiled back and leaned against him.
They were going faster, towards the island, and their hopes were rising like the sea. Mwu could see it all now, the beer, the parties, the women, the treasure, he had it all planned in his head, oh the fun that he would have.
Dearka was thinking pretty much the same thing, including the part about dragging Yzak around with him, which Yzak wouldn't take too kindly. He didn't really like women, they were too high maintenance, and whiny, and whore-ish, and- "HEY!" Cagalli yells at me. "Oh, sorry, I was talking about some of the girls I know, eh heh, I get that way too!" I yell back and continue writing the fic.
Anyways! Shinn was thinking of how he might just stick by his Captain and Athrun so he didn't get in trouble, but he was 16, and 16 year olds wanted action, and adventure, so he'd probably end up going with Mwu, Dearka, and Yzak….oh well, being afraid of girls is for pansies anyway, right Shinn? "YEAH!" Shinn yells and comes down from the Crow's Nest.
Kira sees that he's in high spirits and looked at Athrun expectantly. "What?" Athrun asks. "You owe me ten pieces of gold." He told him. Athrun raised a brow and then saw Shinn talking with Mwu and Dearka while Yzak was trying to throw him overboard as usual.
He frowned and dug in his pocket for the gold. "Oh well, I was hopin' he wouldn't go off with 'em and end up gettin' drunk and laid and all that." He said and gave Kira the ten pieces of gold.
Cagalli raised a quizzical brow. "What was that all about?" she asked. "We made a bet." Kira told her in way of explanation. "Ok then." She said. Lacus's brow furrowed but she didn't comment on the "bet" and continued staring out into the sea.
It seemed like hours before they finally docked at Harpoon Harbor. There was already a crowd waiting for the infamous pirate ship, and when Kira strode off the deck in his pirate garb (clothes) there were shouts of triumph and cheer, clapping and whistling, and a lot of the men had smiles on their surly faces.
Some of them high-fived Kira and slapped him on the back, cheering and applauding him as he walked by. The women cooed and waved at him, smiling slyly and fluttering their eyelashes. Kira beamed in spite of himself with all the attention.
He couldn't believe how much people (well, pirates) seemed to adore him. He couldn't believe that his ship was one of the most famous in all the seas. He couldn't believe that all these people were gathered to celebrate his arrival onto their island when he only did a few things.
He was reminded, however, of whom they really adored, the last Captain of the Freedom-His mother. That's right; I said Kira Yamato's mother was the fiercest and most-feared (and loved) pirate in all the seas. She was a rebellious one she was, Caridad (1) Yamato, always against the Law, and proud of it too!
When she saw that her son was becoming a man and that she was getting old she decided to appoint him the position of Captain and take a small row-boat to La Strike Island where she planned to live happily.
However, it was on that fateful day, after she whispered her decision into her son's ear, that Captain Rau Le Crueset besieged the ship and led his men aboard to capture the pirates. Caridad fought bravely, as well as all the others, but sadly they all witnessed the fall of the greatest woman-pirate of all PirateDom-Rau slayed her with the edge of his blade at the tip of her neck, slicing her top to bottom.
As she fell on her knees before him she whispered one last thing, "My son shall avenge me, Kira Yamato, the new Captain of the Freedom!" and took her last shuddered breath. Kira caught his dying mother before she hit the deck as everyone stopped and stared in shock at the scene.
It was the last time Kira Yamato ever cried in front of everyone, some say because of all the tears he cried that day he ran out of them, others say he became bitter, but the crew of the Freedom knew that he vowed revenge, just like his mother said, and that he would let nothing stand in his way-not even sorrow.
"Hey Cap'n! Where to?" Kira heard one of his men say from behind him. He looked back and saw Dearka with Yzak, Mwu, and Shinn caught up in the throngs of the crowd. He chuckled as Shinn blushed at all the women cooing over him and brushing against him.
He pointed to the local tavern Destiny's Treasure and they grinned and nodded. Destiny's Treasure was as infamous as the pirates themselves. It produced the best meals in the ocean and the best ale as well. The entertainment was to die for-literally sometimes, and they gave out gold regularly for different reasons at different times.
It was a pirate's dream tavern; women were the waitresses, their best friend was the cook, and the owners are the daughters of the Founder of La Strike Island: Lunamaria and Meyrin Hawke, two lovely ladies with the sweetest smiles and optimistic attitudes on the island! And they were both younger than 18.
As Kira headed toward the tavern some of the crowd dispersed, while others followed him. As he came closer he saw Luna and Meyrin themselves waiting for him at the door with smiles as wide as their faces.
"Welcome to La Strike Island, Captain." They said and curtsied. "Thank you, I'm glad we made it here ok." Kira replied with a smile. "So are we, we were hoping to meet you and your crew, please follow us." Luna said with a smile as she led the way into the tavern.
Dearka, Mwu, Yzak, Shinn, Nicol, Rey, Cagalli, Lacus, and Athrun also followed behind him into the tavern, finally getting through the crowd.
"We've reserved a special table for you all, and your stay on La Strike Island is on us, you won't be charged for anything at all!" Meyrin said and the boys were shocked. "You don't have to do that, really." Kira began. "Oh no, no, no, you won't pay for a thing, in honor of your mother's wishes." Luna told him and stopped in front of a large and thoroughly cleaned table that looked fit for a king.
The others sat down but Kira asked, "My mother's wishes?" and a sense of dread crept under his skin. Had she somehow known she couldn't win the fight with Rau? Did she know she would die soon?
"She sent a letter saying that she might not come back to la Strike Island, and that the new Captain should be welcomed warmly and open-heartedly; in fact, she already sent us some money to pay for your stay. She was a very wise woman and will be honored by a statue and new shop named after her, as well as a day to celebrate her time as a Pirate Captain and a festival in her honor." Meyrin replied as if she had rehearsed it just that morning.
Kira was shocked at this. All of this for his mother? He stood incredulous until Athrun pulled him down, and he wanted to say more than just "Thank you", but that's all that came out.
"What's wrong?" Athrun asked him. "It's just, I'm so glad that everyone seemed to love and care for my mother as I did, she's not only my hero, but everyone's it seems." He said, his amethyst eyes filled with emotion. Cagalli beamed proudly but didn't say anything, even though she looked as if she were about to burst with excitement.
Athrun smiled at him and patted him on the back as the others chatted excitedly to each other about what they planned to do since everything would be free. Except for Rey of course.
Soon Meyrin came out clad in waitress uniform and served them all a large glass of bubbling ale, the best in all the seas. Lacus looked worriedly at her drink and Meyrin brought her a glass of water as well and smiled at her, saying that it was really good and if she didn't drink too much she wouldn't get drunk.
Dearka, Mwu, and Yzak downed their drinks and slammed them on the table, letting out a breath of relief and also watching Shinn gulp his down. "Chug, chug, chug, chug!" they chanted as Shinn tried frantically to drink all of his ale.
Kira and Athrun laughed as his face went red and when he sat it down, he blinked a few times and looked more refreshed than ever. "Whoa! I want more! This stuff is great!" and swayed in his seat.
Then Meyrin and Luna, along with a few other waitresses, delivered their meals and retrieved their empty glasses to refill them. They were all talking and laughing as they did before, and a bunch of people went over to their table to say a few things to Kira and/or his crew.
It grew very loud in the tavern and the waitresses were definitely put to work, some rolled up their sleeves and pulled up their hair, as well as shortening their skirts and putting on some fans to cool them off.
The food was delicious, heavenly almost! Lacus smiled and caught Kira's eye several times, both of them blushing and smiling at each other. Lacus was glad that she and Cagalli snuck on board the Freedom, despite the trouble they were in. She was glad that she was able to meet these people and see the world as she always dreamed.
And she was definitely glad that she met Kira Yamato, not because he was a famous pirate captain, but because he was a kind boy with a big heart and beautiful eyes. He was everything she could have wanted and more, no man back at ORB could compare, she felt whole and peaceful when she was around him, and she couldn't help but keep a smile on her face.
Cagalli was getting involved with the drinking games the boys were playing, and messing with Athrun every chance she got, whether it was tussling his navy-blue hair, poking him in the ribs, tapping him on the shoulder, nudging his leg, or tickling his legs underneath the table.
She continued to giggle and gulp down her drinks as Athrun glared playfully at her and tickled her back. Nicol was sipping at his drink, watching the merriment. His eyes wandered around the tavern, over the many faces, until they rested on a mousy-brown-haired girl with hazel eyes.
She was serving a table of men some drinks, although it didn't look like they needed any more. She looked like she needed a break, and Nicol was tempted to give her one.
"Who ye staring at, lad?" Dearka asked, looking all around. "Over there, she seems like she needs a break." Nicol replied and pointed to the girl. "Oi, she does, and she looks mighty fine as well, do ye want me to bring her over lad?" Dearka asked and grinned suggestively.
Nicol blushed and quickly shook his head. "I'm sure she's busy." and nibbled at his food.
Rey was watching Shinn carefully, being his best friend. He secretly liked Shinn more than he let on, his handsome face, blood red eyes, raven-black hair, and rebellious nature tugged at his heart (yes he has one, I know, unbelievable…just kidding I love you Rey!).
But what he didn't like was Shinn's impulsive and irrational behavior, he was furious as I said about the whole whore-thing back at ORB, at the fact that they would defile his deadly beauty and also at the fact that he would let himself be defiled, if only at first.
He had wanted to confront Shinn about this, but it would look too suspicious, and Shinn seemed to try to forget that event as much as possible. But that still didn't stop Rey from admiring him from afar, and wondering what might happen if Shinn really kept to his promise and swore off women.
'Would he accept my feelings for him? Or would he reject me? He does seem quite cozy with Kira though, so why not me as well? Maybe…' Rey thought absently as he stared at Shinn longingly.
"Yo, earth to Rey!" Yzak said, snapping his pale fingers in front of the even paler boy's face. "What?" Rey growled, disturbed from watching his beloved. The said boy was looking over, an amused smile on his face, although his eyes looked glazed with drunkenness.
"Are you going to drink your beer?" Yzak asked, pointing to the ale in front of Rey that was quickly dissolving in the glass and wetting the wooden table. "Oh, yes." Rey said and quickly snatched is drink and gulped it down.
Yzak scowled and then noticed who the center of Rey's attention was. "Hey Shinn, lemme ask ye somethin'." He asked. "What?" Shinn asked, turning to look at him and glancing at Rey who was eyeing him over the rim of his glass.
"Since you swore off women, will ye be doin' men instead?" Yzak asked boldly, a smirk quickly residing on his face. Shinn spit out his drink and started coughing as Rey half-stared, half-glared at Yzak for the comment, although he did turn a curious eye on Shinn as the whole table grew quiet for his answer.
Shinn recovered from his shock and glanced from Kira to Athrun to Rey to Yzak. "N-no, of course not!" he replied almost hesitantly (uh oh). "Oh really?" Yzak asked with a sultry look on his face. "Of course not! Shinn's not a queer!" Cagalli shouted, enraged and slightly drunk.
"Uh huh, sure, maybe he isn't." Yzak said and shrugged casually, although slipping a grin Shinn's way. The boy's face was beginning to match his eyes at the insinuation. "Yzak, what's this really about? Do you secretly want to get with me then?" Shinn retorted and the table cast surprised glances at each other as Dearka and Mwu smiled widely and quickly looked to Yzak for his response. The silver-haired youth began to look steamed and yelled, "Of course not! But I think I know someone who does!" and glanced at Rey who glared at him.
Shinn decided to ignore that last comment and again respond, "Then why are you never hitting on women like your friends here do?" with a defiant glare. "Maybe because I'm not that fond of women! But that doesn't mean I like men!" Yzak replied; face heating up as well as Shinn's.
"Well same for me!" Shinn declared and looked stubbornly at him. Kira and Athrun merely watched as Kira felt a headache threaten to overtake him. 'Not again! Can't Yzak ever rest from picking on him?' he thought.
"I'm just saying that since you swore off women, so how would you get your satisfaction?" Yzak asked and looked expectant. "How do you get your satisfaction?" Shinn asked after a pause.
"NONE OF YE BUSINESS!" Yzak roared and stood up. "Alright, sit down." Athrun commanded as Kira rubbed his temples. "No! Not until the truth comes out! I've been noticin' some things, Shinn, and I believe you have more admirers than you think!" Yzak said quieter this time but still loudly.
Some of the waitresses glanced worriedly over at their table, and Luna was on the verge of coming over there.
"What do ya mean? You?" Shinn asked half-sarcastically. "No, him!" Yzak sneered and pointed to Rey. "And maybe there's something going on between you and the Captain, no offense, Kira, but you two seem pretty close." He continued.
Kira's jaw dropped and his eyes flew wide. He blinked once as Rey's face went red and Shinn looked utterly bewildered. Athrun looked surprised and quickly stammered, "Well, me and Kira are buddies too but we're not gay! I have Cagalli!" trying to save his friend.
"Yes, and you really shouldn't talk about ye Captain that way, Yzak." Cagalli said coldly, getting right mad at him. "Y-yeah, there's nothing going on between me and C-captain K-Kira, ok?" Shinn stuttered. "But what about Rey?" Yzak asked, not quitting until he let it all out.
Shinn looked at Rey who stared back at him quietly. He looked at Yzak and shook his head "no" and stared down at his glass of beer, the table growing quiet as the raucous laughter of men and women continued to fill the room.
"Yzak, I suggest you sit down and be quiet." Kira suddenly spoke up in an unnaturally calm and cold voice. Yzak immediately sat down and drank the rest of his beer, acting as if nothing just happened.
Shinn looked uncomfortable and finally got up and left the tavern. Kira gave him a warning look as he passed by, as if to say, "You'd better stay here or else." But Shinn gave him a pleading look and Kira reluctantly nodded and the boy left. Rey glanced around and quickly got up to follow him.
Luna took this as her cue to come to the table. "Um, is everything ok?" she asked, although they didn't know if she was talking about the food or the argument. "Yes, the food is great, thanks; they get into fights all the time, its ok." Kira told her and smiled.
She smiled back and said "Ok." and then gathered some of the plates. The mousy-brown-haired girl came over and started taking up the rest of the plates, and when she bent to pick up Nicol's their eyes met and they smiled at each other.
Dearka nudged him and wiggled his eyebrows after she left, and they turned to watch her disappear to the back room. Nicol blushed and ducked his head while Dearka whispered something to Mwu who grinned and looked at Nicol as well.
Outside with Shinn
He walked briskly down the road to nowhere in particular. There was a raging storm inside of him.
How come all of this had to happen after he joined the Freedom? First Kira's mother dies, then Rau continues to stalk the pirates across the seas, he ends up being humiliated and shamed when trying to become a man like the others teased about, and now this…what was Yzak's problem with him anyway? Or did he just have a problem with everyone besides Dearka?
He frowned and continued walking. Maybe it was better if he just quit, "abandoned ship" as you will, and just stayed here. But then what would happen? What would he do? He could probably work in one of the shops or taverns, but how exciting is that? Of course it's a pirate island, but every time Kira or another bunch of pirates came to the island he'd yearn for the adventure he left behind.
And of course with all the former pirate's stories he'd kick himself for giving up. But he couldn't see what good it would do if he stayed with Kira, yeah he was a good friend and a great captain, but Shinn just didn't want anymore trouble.
He sighed and looked up at the sky, stopping by a small shop. The cool sea-breeze whipped his midnight hair around his face, the salty smell begging him to return to the ocean.
"Shinn." He heard someone say behind him. He recognized the voice of Rey, and turned slightly to see him looking almost apologetic. "What?" Shinn asked dully, returning his gaze to the sparkling ocean.
"Look, I don't really know what happened back there with Yzak, but…well…he's kinda right. I've liked ye for some time now. At first I thought it was just because we were alike in some ways, and that you didn't make fun of me or think me a freak. I know this is bad timing, but it just had to come out." Rey said, surprising even himself with his words.
Shinn turned his red eyes on him. "It's ok, mate." was all he said after a pause. Rey shifted his feet, wondering what to do next as Shinn sat down and leaned against the wooden walls of the building behind him.
He closed his eyes and pulled his knees up to his chest, wanting to be alone but not wanting Rey to leave in case something happened, which would be his misfortune.
Rey finally sighed and sat next to Shinn. They were silent for a while, and Shinn contemplated a few things.
'What if I really am queer? No, it can't be, I'm not like that, one bad experience with a few whores can't possible make someone like me gay! But then what's this feeling I have every time I see Kira? And why do I have the sudden urge to lean my head against Rey? Maybe I'm just…lonely…' he thought sadly and opened his eyes slowly.
He had a sorrowful look in his eyes, Rey noticed, and looked smaller than usual, more vulnerable. Rey had the urge to reach out to him and comfort him, but he knew that Shinn wouldn't want it. He opened his mouth to say something, but couldn't find the words.
'I don't know what t' say, what can I say? He's been through too much, this lad, and things are only getting worse for him. He needs a break, hopefully he'll get one on this island, these pirates won't do anything to him, I hope, this island seems nice, only retired or broken pirates lived here, besides the shopkeepers and other refugees.
'I know, maybe he should talk with the girls, Lunamaria and Meyrin, they seem quite nice, maybe they can lift his spirits. I'll talk with Kira, maybe he can give Shinn some words of wisdom, he's been through a lot too, seeing his mum die right in front of his eyes, seeing his friend get hurt like that, yes, that's what I'll do, but first I have to get Shinn back…' Rey thought and actually smiled. (I know he's being OOC but oh well)
"Shinn, we should get back to the tavern, Kira will be worried," Rey said. Shinn nodded absently but didn't move, seeming to be caught up in his own thoughts. Rey stood up and waited, but the young boy still made no move.
"Shinn." He said to get his attention. The said boy slowly looked up at him with a questioning look. "Come on." Rey replied and motioned with his hand. Shinn slowly got up and stretched, then nodded with a small smile and waked with Rey back to the tavern, keeping his head down.
"Are you ok?" Rey asked suddenly and winced at the dumb question. Shinn smiled amusedly. "I'm fine, Rey." He replied and glanced up at him.
'He really has the most beautiful smile I've ever seen,' Rey thought and smiled back as they continued on their way, the sun shining over them high in the cloudlessly blue sky.
-Author's Note: YAYA! Now that's a really long chappy! Do you like? I know some of you were wondering if I was ever going to update this story, and I'm sorry for taking so long!! I just had major writer's block and was trying to work on my other stories as well, please review and tell me what you think, Shinn has a really pretty smile, I love it, hehehe. Oh, and one more thing, is Caridad the name of Kira's mother? Like, the Yamato one? I'm not so sure, and everyone else uses that name so I'm guessing it's right, eh heh. Peace out!-