Chapter Eleven: Running Aground*
To say that dinner in the officer's mess was uncomfortable was an understatement. - the small cabin, which sat only about six people and not particularly comfortably, at that, now sat eight. Renji glowered at Ichigo, who sat slightly closer to Rukia than absolutely necessary as they ate. He had been in a foul mood since they had boarded the Vincent, which had not improved after Rukia had insisted that he act as Hisagi's subordinate during their stay.
After dinner, Ichigo, Rukia, Renji and Hisagi remained behind in the mess to discuss plans and review navigation charts of the islands around Guadeloupe - the suspected stronghold of Aizen's pirates.
"What do you hear of the Warrior?" Rukia asked, as Hisagi laid out the charts.
"Only that she's in custody in the harbor in Guadeloupe," Ichigo replied. Rukia raised an eyebrow. That the Warrior was in British custody, but being held in a French port was highly suspicious. "Quite a coincidence, don't you think?"
"Hardly," she said, with a scowl. "Ichimaru has a lot of nerve."
"He told Navy Command that he wants to safeguard the Warrior against being stolen back by pirates. Something about your men trying to escape custody and attempting to reclaim her," Ichigo said, with a laugh.
"What do you know of my men?" Rukia asked, scowling.
"They're being held at the Naval Station back in English Harbour, on Antigua," Ichigo answered. "It's not clear if they will be tried on the island, or returned to England for trial. For now, at least, they're safe." This news was a relief to Rukia, although knowing her crew was in British custody left her with renewed guilt at her failure to protect them.
"What about Aizen and the pirates?" Renji asked, his face betraying his own frustration at news of the Warrior's crew.
"The Sonata was supposedly sunk in this area," said Ichigo, pointing to a spot about five nautical miles off the coast of Îles des Saintes, a group of small islands off the southern shore of Basse-Terre, the larger of the two islands that made up Guadeloupe. "Only Terre-de-Haut Terre-de-Bas Islands are populated, but there are a number of smaller islands that the pirates may be using as a base."
"There have been rumors for years that the smaller des Saintes islands are haunted," Hisagi added, "so many of the locals avoid them. The few fishermen who have strayed into those waters tell of strange noises and odd lights - they weren't inclined to investigate."
"And what about the Navy? Haven't they sent ships in to investigate?" Rukia asked.
"Commodore Ichimaru's ship has been assigned to this area for some time now," Ichigo replied. "Of course, they have reported nothing unusual, save their story of pursuing the Sonata into these waters."
"Convenient, that the wreck of the Sonata was never found," Renji added.
"Des Saintes has been almost entirely under French control for the past ten years," Hisagi added. "Our relationship with the French in this area has been a rocky one since the Battle of the Saintes. It is possible the Aizen has struck some sort of arrangement with the local French government here."
"That would certainly explain how Ichimaru was able to fake the sinking of the Sonata," said Ichigo.
"So, Captain," said Rukia, with a grin, "what do you propose?"
"I can take the Vincent safely to Terre de Haute, on Guadeloupe, without raising too much suspicion." He pointed to the smaller of the two butterfly wing-shaped land masses that made up Guadeloupe. "I suggest we head for Îles des Saintes in a fishing boat and see if we can confirm that Aizen's hideout is on one of the smaller atolls."
"And what if we do find Aizen and his men? What then?" Renji asked, skeptically.
"We contact Captain-Commander Yamamoto," answered Rukia. Ichigo shifted uncomfortably in his seat at the prospect of facing down Yamamoto, especially given what he had recently learned about his own family ties to the man.
"Yamamoto is our best bet," Ichigo said, realizing the logic of Rukia's suggestion was sound.
"We'll sail for Point à Pitre in the morning," Ichigo continued. "Rukia and I will find a fishing vessel for the trip to Des Saintes…"
"I'm going with you," interrupted Renji.
"Renji, I…," began Rukia.
"Respectfully, Captain, I'm not needed here," Renji interrupted, for a second time. "I'd be far more helpful to you if I'm by your side."
Hisagi raised an eyebrow and shot Ichigo a look.
Rukia considered Renji for a moment and then turned back to Ichigo. "He's right, Kurosaki," she said. "I'd much rather have him by my side in a pinch than miles away on a Navy frigate, at anchor."
Ichigo eyed Renji with a deep scowl. "You can't let your feelings for her dictate your command decisions," he chastised himself, silently. "You'll get us all killed if you do."
Rukia was right, of course - Renji was a strong fighter and intensely loyal - his strengths would serve them well. Still, he felt a strong sensation in his gut that was strangely like jealousy. "Fine," he said, begrudgingly. "But if he steps out of line..."
"He is my first officer, Kurosaki," Rukia said, her eyes fixed on his with determination. "I alone am responsible for his actions."
An hour later, after they had reviewed the charts and discussed their plans until there was no more to discuss, Rukia stood up and, yawning, excused herself for the evening. The three men stood up and left the mess hall.
"Hisagi," said Ichigo, to his first officer, "set a course for Guadeloupe. Tell the men that we have received information that a pirate ship has been seen in the waters nearby, and to be ready to engage them."
"Aye, sir. And what if the ship we have to engage is one of our own, sir?" Hisagi asked, his voice low.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Ichigo replied, somberly. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that." Hisagi spun on his heel and headed above decks, leaving Ichigo and Renji alone in the hallway.
"Abarai," said Ichigo, his face unreadable. "Is there something you have to say?"
"Yes," replied Renji.
"Then by all means, please…"
"I'm watching you, Kurosaki," Renji said, interrupting Ichigo and eyeing him with disdain.
"I have nothing to hide," said Ichigo. "Or at least, nothing that you don't already know."
"I don't trust you," Renji responded, coolly.
"Fair enough," Ichigo replied. "That's certainly understandable, given…"
"If you hurt her," Renji said, now inches away from Ichigo's face, "I swear I will kill you."
"I have no intention of hurting her, Abarai," Ichigo said, pointedly. "In fact, I have every intention of personally ensuring her safety."
"You know damn well that's not what I'm talking about," Renji hissed, grabbing Ichigo by his collar. Ichigo's face darkened with anger, and he grabbed Renji's wrist and wrenched it away from his neck.
"Your concern would be far better placed somewhere else," growled Ichigo, with barely-disguised anger. "She is hardly a child, nor are we." Ichigo turned and quickly walked back towards the cabin he shared with Hisagi, shoving his now-clenched fists into his pockets.
Ichigo watched Renji walk away and stalked up the stairs to the decks. It wouldn't do to strangle the man now, not when the lives of the Warrior's crew depended on his cooperation. He drew in a deep breath of ocean air and joined Hisagi in the cockpit.
"Sir," said Hisagi, handing Ichigo the wheel. "It's my shift."
"Not any more," Ichigo said, with a grin. "Captain's prerogative. Why don't you get some sleep - I'll take the night shift. I could use the fresh air."
"Permission to speak, ah, as your friend, sir?" said Hisagi, with a mischievous grin.
"Of course…although, I wonder if I'll regret it," replied Ichigo, raising an eyebrow.
"Probably," replied Hisagi.
"Go ahead - speak your peace, sailor," Ichigo said, laughing to himself.
"Why not just go to the Captain-Commander with your suspicions? Why try to infiltrate Aizen's hideout? If what you've said is true, that he's really your great-uncle…," Hisagi trailed off.
"It would take weeks to get a communiqué to London, Shuuhei," answered Ichigo. "By then, Ichimaru might hang those men."
Hisagi studied Ichigo's face and shook his head in disbelief.
"What?" Ichigo laughed. "I know that look - you think I'm making a mistake, don't you?"
"I think you're allowing your, ah, emotional involvement with the girl to…"
"She's not a girl, she's a woman," interrupted Ichigo, irritated.
"I rest my case, Captain," Hisagi said, grinning triumphantly. Ichigo glared at him. "Look, all I'm asking you to do is to consider whether you're following the most prudent course of action."
"I knew I'd regret letting you speak freely," said Ichigo, shaking his head.
"Do you trust me, Ichigo?" Hisagi asked, all pretense now gone.
"Of course," Ichigo replied, taken aback. "I'd trust you with my life."
"Then let me help you…sir," he said. "Don't tie my hands by ordering me to keep the Vincent in port while you're off chasing pirates. Let me do my job."
Two hours later on the deck, Ichigo was still scratching his head over the conversation with Hisagi. In the end, he had agreed to give Hisagi complete control over the Vincent while he, Renji and Rukia searched for Aizen. Not that he had any misgivings over such broad orders to command the ship - Hisagi was certainly more than up to the task. It just seemed a strange request.
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They arrived in the port harbor of Guadeloupe to a glorious sunrise - the reason Ichigo had taken the night watch. With all the paperwork and distractions of commanding his own ship, he missed the simple pleasure of sailing more than anything. Hisagi understood this better than anyone else, and it was part of the reason he had never pushed for a command of his own.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" came a voice from behind him.
"Incredible," he said, with a smile, glancing at Rukia knowingly. It was clear she felt exactly the same way he did.
The crew scurried about them, dropping anchor and preparing the small launches to go ashore. Ichigo had given some of his men shore leave in an effort to keep Ichimaru's suspicions at bay – the Vincent had often visited this port in the past for just such a reason. Still, Hisagi had insisted that there be a viable skeleton crew at all times, in case of an emergency, however and, true to his word, Ichigo had not interfered in his first officer's plans.
"You know this isn't exactly the safest way of tracking down the pirates," she said, after a moment.
Yes," he replied, "but I refuse to put my crew at risk of disciplinary action because I suspect that Ichimaru is a traitor." It was only partially the truth, he knew.
"I appreciate what you're doing for me," she said, and he looked at her with some surprise. Was he that transparent?
He said nothing, but handed off the wheel to a subordinate and motioned for her to join him aft. Renji was waiting for them, back in his civilian clothes, by the launches. Ichigo threw his jacket and hat to one of the crewmembers, and they climbed into a small launch, each carrying a small duffle with some food and supplies. Once in port, they found a willing fisherman to take them to Des Saintes.
It was nearly lunchtime when they arrived on the smaller island. As expected, they could convince none of the fishermen in the small port town to take them out to the 'haunted waters' surrounding the uninhabited islands. Fortunately, Renji was able to haggle with one of the locals to procure them a small rowboat while Ichigo and Rukia spoke to some of the fishermen about the best route to take to the islands. They were all tired and hungry by the time they met back at the docks several hours later.
"Meh. You call this a boat?" Ichigo said to the waiting Renji who sat, by himself, in a small, very battered skiff with ancient wooden oars. The color in Renji's face rose, and he glared at Ichigo in anger.
"I'd like to see you do any better," growled Renji, looking at Rukia, who gave him only a 'down boy' look and shake of her head. "It's not as if the people around here are willing to part with their best boats for what we have to pay."
"I'm sure this will be fine," said Rukia, her tone conciliatory. She tossed her bag into the boat and a small bit of the wooden seat inside chipped off as the bag landed.
"It's plenty seaworthy," said Renji, apologetically, "despite its age." Ichigo mumbled something unintelligible, and stepped inside the boat, extending his hand to Rukia. Renji watched with a look of unbridled disgust as Rukia took Ichigo's hand and climbed aboard.
"They're going to kill each other," Rukia thought, as she positioned herself between the two men for safety.
Fortunately for Rukia, Renji took the oars of the small boat and Ichigo did not object, instead pouring over some of the charts with notations from the locals scribbled about. Once occupied with other tasks, Renji and Ichigo got to work and, at least temporarily, ceased hostilities.
They found their way to the nearest uninhabited island, between coral reefs that scraped the underbelly of the small boat from time to time. The sun was beginning to set, and they pulled the boat ashore and hid it behind some palm fronds on the beach. It became pretty quickly clear, however, that the island was completely deserted.
"Looks like we'll need to camp here for the night," Ichigo said, as they walked towards the interior of the small island. The temperature had begun to drop. Storm clouds hovered on the horizon, silhouetted by the orange sky.
They made camp near a small stream in the center of the island, and Ichigo set about gathering palm fronds for a small shelter. The end result was a practical, but hardly attractive lean-to, with sloping sides that were unmistakably asymmetrical – so much so that only Rukia was small enough to sit comfortably on one side. As expected, Renji had plenty to say about Ichigo's efforts and Rukia found herself intervening again to keep the men from strangling each other.
"I'm going to wash off," she said, finally, disgusted with the both of them, heading back towards a small waterfall and pool they had passed further upstream.
"I'm going to see if I can find us something better to eat," said Renji, after she had left, and after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence.
Ichigo stifled the urge to tell Renji that if he didn't like the food they had brought with them from the Vincent, he could just starve. Instead, he pulled out the maps of the islands and pretended to pour over them, eager to see the other man leave. Renji stood up and walked away in the direction Rukia had gone.
There was little on the island save some scrub brush and a few palm trees. At best, Renji thought, he might find some small animal they could cook over a fire – even lizard would be better than the hard tack in their packs. He was quite a resourceful hunter, thanks in large part to the years he had spent as a crewman on Druid ships. There had been many times when the only meal he had eaten had been one he had caught with his own hands.
There was a flutter of movement in one of the bushes ahead of him, and he saw the tail of a particularly large Iguana disappear under the branches. He followed silently behind, holding his sword like a javelin, ready to send it flying towards his prey. He reached the bushes, and aimed for the spot where he believed the lizard to be. He heard movement several feet away, and realized that he had totally missed the mark.
"Damn," he cursed, silently, angry with only himself for being so distracted.
He followed the lizard's tracks through the sand and along the stream, stopping from time to time to listen for movement. Quietly, he stalked the lizard for nearly a hundred yards this way, focused only on the ground in front of him, his sword in his hand. He saw the lizard scamper towards a large, rocky outcropping covered in trailing plants and roots. He climbed up the rocks at its base, his mouth set in a tight frown and his forehead creased.
"Gotcha," he said, as he launched his sword at the lizard, who peered out at him from between several rocks. The sword hit the rocks with a soft clatter; he had missed again. He pushed an errant strand of long, red hair out of his face and sighed. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement about fifteen feet below him.
Rukia. She was standing, naked, under the waterfall, rinsing off in the water, oblivious to the fact that she was no longer alone. Renji immediately turned away, mentally slapping himself on the wrist for even the tiny glimpse he had seen of her.
"Time to go back to camp," he thought, and he stepped onto the rock below - and stopped dead in his tracks. He turned around and crouched down on the rocks, looking down at the pool and at her. "Don't even go there, Abarai. She's not interested. You know that." But still he could not take his eyes off of her, taking in the way the setting sun reflected the water off her skin, the way she smiled as the water ran down her…
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" boomed Ichigo's voice, from behind him.
"Shit," thought Renji, his initial embarrassment giving way to righteous indignation, cut short by Ichigo's hard fist hitting his chin.
"And what the hell are you doing here, Captain?" Renji snarled, jumping down off the rocks and rubbing his chin. The color in Ichigo's cheeks rose, but the scowl on his face did not fade.
"I was just checking on her," Ichigo lied easily. "It's been nearly an hour since she…" Renji punched Ichigo in the nose.
"Bullshit," Renji laughed, watching with satisfaction as blood began to trickle from Ichigo's nose onto his upper lip. "You came here because you wanted to see a little more of her, didn't you?"
"It's not as though it's something I haven't seen before," growled Ichigo, wiping the ever-increasing blood from his nose onto his shirtsleeve.
This was too much for Renji, who charged at Ichigo and yelled at the top of his lungs. The errant lizard, who had been hiding underneath several large rocks nearby, skittered out and off into the brush.
Renji grabbed Ichigo by the collar and shook him, his face nearly as red as his hair. Ichigo twisted out from Renji's grasp and kicked him hard in the shin. Renji fell to the ground, but just as quickly was back on his feet, swinging about in the air and landing a kick in Ichigo's side. The two men grabbed each other and rolled around in the sand, alternately dodging the other's fists.
"What do you think you are doing?"
Renji and Ichigo looked up. Rukia stood, now fully dressed, hands on her hips. She was livid.
"We…ah…," stuttered Renji, getting up from the sand and dusting himself off. "I mean, Captain, we…"
Rukia raised an eyebrow and turned to Ichigo. "Protecting my honor, are we, Captain Kurosaki?" Ichigo was already on his feet. His face was red – something which had nothing to do with the blood on his face.
"I won't have him gawking at you like that," Ichigo said, defensively, sounding far more like a schoolboy caught playing a prank than navy captain.
"You won't have…," Rukia stopped, shaking her head and taking a deep breath to keep herself from shouting. "What gives you the right to treat me as though I'm a piece of property you own? You have no claim whatsoever over me."
Renji snorted his approval, but Rukia turned and glared at him.
"And you, Abarai," she fumed. "Since when do you take advantage of a defenseless woman? To think that you'd be spying on me, when you know damn well that…" Her voice trailed off suddenly, and the look of fury on her face was replaced by another look – one of alarm.
"What's wrong?" said Ichigo, sniffling slightly.
"We're not alone," she said, drawing her sword. In an instant, a full dozen men stood around them, swords pointed at their hearts.
"An astute observation, it would seem," Ichimaru Gin drawled, his grin nearly as wide as his face.
**Running aground: When a ship gets stuck on the ground or bottom.