Swashbuckle

—

Written by: Madeleine Mason

Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice.

—

– Chapter III –

Scheming

-

-

-

Glenrock Dock was silent and deserted.

The harbor, normally full of life and noise, was breathtakingly quiet; no more than a few lone fishermen who worked till afterhours in order to feed their families. The sky had turned a marvelous mix of orange and pink as the day lingered, a salty breeze of wind whipped people's faces comfortingly.

Natsume was content. The day's efforts had not been in vain. His instructor had taught him fairly well, which was an added bonus since he was in fact an assassin for the academy itself. He thought of this experience as an extensive training. Obviously competent in stealth and offensive tactics, though not exceptionally skillful in swordsmanship, he had trained the whole day, with relaxing breaks in between.

He overlooked the scenic view with a particularly satisfied feeling deep in his gut, all the while munching on a small loaf of bread smothered with butter. Finishing his evening snack, he wiped his hands on his dark trousers and jumped off the large boulder he had been perching on.

If he was even a little bit anxious about his new occupation tomorrow, there was no sign of it on his face. Natsume was just good like that—poker faces were his specialty. Hands in his pockets, he strolled casually along the seashore, pausing now and then for one thing or another. There was no other word to explain it—bored. Natsume Hyuuga was bored. There was training, he considered, but he didn't really feel like training right now. Going back to the inn wasn't a very good option either. It was a deserted place, practically empty other than the employees and the occasional visitor.

A glimmer in the sand caught his eye unsuspectingly and he squatted onto the sand to examine it. It was a rusty gold coin, half-buried in the sand that Natsume almost mistook it for a seashell. He dug in the sand and retrieved the coin, lifting it high in the air against the sunlight for a better look. It looked ancient, he noted, slightly impressed. The coin was cold and shining in the light, but it was of a currency he did not know of. Could it be pirate gold? he pondered curiously, and made a note to himself to look up on it later.

Natsume straightened up and began walking again, whilst making a show of throwing the coin into the air and catching it before it fell. And as he walked, he thought. He thought about his life, his friends, his missions. . .

Damn, he thought suddenly, missions! He had forgotten about them for the meantime, and now it just decidedly wants to pop up in his mind, reminding him that he had hell to pay when he got back. Natsume let out an angry chain of curses and kicked a pebble forcefully into the peaceful blue waters, causing a rippling effect on the surface. Persona would kill him. No, he corrected mentally, he would massacre him. How could he have been so stupid as to let himself play some retarded game and forget about his bloody missions?! Unhappily, he thought of the possibility of going back to the City Hall and getting out of the game, then immediately discarded it. He wasn't a coward. And after all, he had promised to personally take care of the little idiot himself, didn't he? Persona would have to wait until he won the bloody game and eliminated his opponents, especially one pig-tailed brunette.

With a knowing smirk, he flipped the coin into the air and watched as the sunlight bounced off the surface, reflecting the light into the clear blue waters of the sea.

--

Mikan breathed in deeply at the sight of the ship—her ship.

Koko, standing beside her, whooped in admiration. She couldn't help but silently agree with him.

"Marvelous," she whispered to herself breathlessly.

"Amazing," Koko chirped.

"Beautiful," she murmured faintly.

"Mind-blowing," said Koko.

"Oh God. . ." She felt she might just faint. Koko laughed appreciatingly and steadied her before she fell forward.

"Don't pass out now, Mikan," he said jokingly, "or your crew will label you as weak." This seemed to snap her out of her stupor.

"I'll make sure they won't," she growled fiercely, before playfully slapping him on the arm. He yelped and rubbed it jestingly.

"If this is the way you act with me, I'm terrified about what you'll do to your crew!" said Koko in horror, eyes widening. Mikan laughed.

"Oh, be scared. Be very scared."

The sun shone down rather harshly on their weather-beaten backs; Mikan fidgeted relentlessly and Koko bounced from one foot to the other. Glenrock Dock was bustling with life, contrary to its state in the late evenings. There wasn't enough space to breathe, let alone marvel at the ship that was the Liberator.

"When are they gong to get here?" asked Mikan impatiently. Koko shrugged. Dawson had left to meet the crew at a nearby pub, and left Mikan and Koko to await their arrival. Hopefully the crew wouldn't be scared out of their wits when they met the old man, thought Mikan idly. In truth, even she had been slightly intimidated when she first when Richard Dawson, though she would never admit it.

Koko stared at the girl with worried eyes. He knew she had changed in this game, changed more than she would ever realize. And it was only the beginning. Would she still remain the innocent, carefree girl everyone knew and loved? He doubted it, but could only hope that the change would be for the better.

"Oi!" a familiar voice barked. Mikan sighed in relief.

"Finally," she muttered, as Dawson barged his way through the crowd, a small group of bewildered looking people behind him. Mikan studied them skeptically—they didn't look very, well, like what she had expected a pirate crew to look like. In fact, they looked more like a bunch of teenagers (which was what they—including Mikan and Koko—were) than a group of swashbuckling scallywags who frequently yelled "Walk the plank!", commonly known as pirates. Koko blinked in surprise, after a brief relapse of the wards disabling his alice, he read her thoughts numbly. And the result of this was: Mikan should stop watching Pirates of the Caribbean.

The group tagging along behind Dawson came to a stop in front of the two pirates—one pirate captain, the other part of the crew as well—and the large ship, marveling at it in wonder. There were eight of them—five boys and three girls. And some of them seemed very familiar indeed.

"Mikan! Koko!" exclaimed one of the boys excitedly. They turned to look at him in surprise. It was Yuu Tobita, the shy, glasses-wearing class president whom everyone liked to take advantage of. Mikan beamed.

"Yuu!" Mikan bounded forward and hugged him. "When did you get here?" Yuu blushed abashedly and fixed the glasses that hung awkwardly on the crook if his nose.

"Well, we—by we, I mean Tsubasa, Misaki, Kitsunume, Anna, Nonoko, and I—entered the Dream Capsule a few hours after you guys, when you didn't meet up with us for lunch. We asked around and a passerby told us he had seen you walk into the ride. So we followed," Yuu finished, shrugging. "I got sorted here a while ago, along with Nonoko and Shizune Yamanouchi, you know—that High School Division student who was part of the Hana Princess and served Hī-sama? Surprisingly, she joined the game, too."

Koko emitted a low whistle—Mikan elbowed him in the stomach; she had been getting rather irritated with him whistling all the time.

"Hm. . ." Mikan thoughtfully rubbed her chin, not that this helped in any way, but she just liked feeling smart. "That's interesting. This game is pretty popular, after all. It's the star attraction of the Alice Theme Park, isn't it? Makes sense that other people from the academy would join. I just don't understand how or why Yamanouchi would want to go to a theme park, of all places. I never thought she was the type. . ."

"Indeed, I am not." Shizune Yamanouchi popped up out of nowhere behind the brunette. Mikan, instead of shrieking in surprise, jumped lightly, startled. "I was assigned to watch over the development of the amusement park. The higher-ups told me to. How I ended up in this absurd game, however, I do not know."

"Hey Mikan!" Nonoko Ogasawara, appearing right beside the other girl, held her arms out for a well-deserved hug. Mikan succumbed and embraced her and they began sharing news. During this reunion, one of the crew members eyed them in disgust.

A boy with smooth white-blond hair that hung lazily over his forehead and pointed, aristocratic features grunted. "So? Where's the captain? I wanna get on the damn ship today, if that's all right with you." Mikan whipped her head towards him so fast, she nearly snapped a bone. Her eyes flashed. Koko sighed and looked at the offender with an expression that said 'now look what you've done'. The boy looked bewildered.

Mikan smiled at him slyly, "The captain, you ask? Well, you're looking at her." The boy's frightened expression immediately faded away, replaced by a sneer.

"You?" he said in disbelief, his lips curling into an unpleasant smile. "Hah, seriously, who's the captain?" Mikan's sly smile lapsed into a thin line, her brown eyes darkening considerably. The boy didn't look at all phased by this change in her expression.

"What is your name?" Mikan asked in a frightfully evil tone. Koko gulped—that was new. The boy raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"Xavier. Xavier Watson," he drawled smoothly. "I assume you aren't an extra as well, eh?" Mikan nodded curtly and held out her hand.

"Oh, I'm not. I'm Mikan Sakura, by the way," she said, a smirk formed on her lips as Xavier took her hand albeit reluctantly and shook it before he hastily let go. Mikan did not let him. "Mikan Sakura, your new captain." And she twisted his arm so roughly, he cried out in pain before forcefully shoving her away. Mikan stepped aside but nevertheless let him go. Xavier stared at her with vengeful grey eyes, like the sky during a thunderstorm. Mikan smirked at him coldly before looking at the rest of the crew, who were standing shock-still.

"Well?" she prompted, "Aren't you going to get on the ship already? I don't exactly have all day." They scrambled onto the ship before sending her fearful glances. Mikan sighed. She'd have to train them, starting from square one. It was sort of hard for her to believe she had been just like them once. Koko thought the same way, but differently. Mikan used to be like them, he thought morosely, the good old times. Dawson looked pleased.

"Well," he said, trying to lighten the mood. "They sure got a pair o' legs on 'em, eh?"

Mikan smacked her hand against her forehead. This would be a very long voyage.

"These are the masts," explained Mikan to the crew, while Koko stood apart from them, munching on a dry piece of cracker. She pointed up to tall posts sticking up from the ship. "They hold the yards, gaffs, sails, shrouds, and ropes. There are different types of sails, the topsails—" she pointed to a square-shaped sail highest on the ship—"the mainsails," large rectangular sails below the topsails—"and the jib sails," triangular sails at the front of the ship.

She climbed up one of the shrouds, a web like rope assembly climbed by sailors to reach the tops of sails, and waved them over to the crow's nest, a small structure in the upper part of the mainmast, which, she told them, was used as a lookout point. She climbed down the shrouds and told them about the yards, gaffs, and the bowsprit, which were poles that held up the topsails, the mainsails, and the bottom of the jibs, respectively. The Captain's Cabin was an aft compartment beneath the quarterdeck where the ship was steered. The hull was the basic body or frame of the ship, while the rudder was a wooden device at the rear that helped steer the boat. The Forecastle was the cabin in the bow of the ship where, they were told, their living quarters would be.

Their heads swimming with the new information they had just received, some of the crew separated to explore the beautiful ship, while others retreated to their cabins, hoping to get some rest till supper later that day. Mikan climbed onto the crow's nest, beaming at the salty sea and the wind caressing her face. Her sharp brown eyes searched her surroundings carefully, before pulling open her map and her handbook. She scanned the map, figured out her exact location, and decided to check for updates in her handbook.

What she saw in it clearly surprised her, and not in a good way at all:

The Devil's Hangman

A name that sends shivers down the spine of nobles and peasants alike, this pirate ship captained by debonair and demonic Natsume Hyuuga is one of the most feared in all the seven seas. Having already raided a noble ship under the order of King Ruka Nogi, Hyuuga and his crew are labeled Public Enemy Number 1, all information and sightings of The Devil's Hangman are rewarded with the warranty of a thousand (1,000) pieces of Aries. The ship was rumored to be seen in the sea of Galleon, near Rundoon island, which is known for its impressive weaponry.

Mikan swallowed thickly. They had raided and captured a noble ship already? That was quick. She had only been at sea for a week at the most, and so quickly he had invaded a ship! She irritably tucked a flyaway wisp of brown hair that had somehow escaped from the bunch of her unruly hair she had tied into a ponytail. According to the map, she was quite close to Rundoon island, having intended on stopping there as well to load up on weaponry. Now that the sighting of The Devil's Hangman near there was known to her, the possibility of coming and going unscathed would be unlikely. And it was far too late to turn around and change course.

She climbed down the crow's nest and approached the crew's quarters, where she found all of them in one of the rooms, chatting and laughing over their supper. In general, she figured she liked her crew, with the exception of one. Two of them were her friends, while one was her. . .er. . .accomplice. She surveyed the crew, laughing and eating, and smiled to herself. This was the way it should be. Their crew consisted of Nonoko, Yuu, Koko, Shizune Yamanouchi, Xavier Watson (she wasn't very happy with this one though), a pair of identical twins named Lucas and Jamie who loved a good prank, a russet-haired boy that went by the name Aiden, and a girl with black hair named Isla.

"Hey Cap'n!" shouted the twins from across the room. She flashed a smile at them and went to sit beside Koko, her co-captain. He grinned at her through a mouthful of fish and chips and shot her a thumbs up.

"Howsh it goin' cap'wn?" he said, smiling lopsidedly. She rolled her eyes.

"Not so great, in fact," Mikan said, grimacing. Koko quirked a concerned eyebrow.

"Wash—" He gulped down his food and chugged down a bit of water—"what's wrong?"

"Hyuuga, that's what's wrong." Mikan glared at the piece of chicken on her plate and stabbed at it with her fork, pretending that it was Natsume's face. "I mean, we were good and all. Not exactly friends, but not mortal enemies either. Now, though, I think there would be nothing better then to see his head on a silver platter." Mikan stabbed the chicken again—a piece of it smothered with sauce accidentally hit Koko square on the nose. "Sorry," she said apologetically as Koko wiped it off and threw her a glare.

"What's up with you and Natsume anyway? I knew he wasn't the kindest to you—hell, he isn't kind to anyone—but I always figured you didn't hate him this much."

Mikan shrugged halfheartedly. It was true, she and Natsume hadn't gotten off on the right foot, but people always suspected that their quarrelling was all because of unresolved sexual tension—which was not true AT ALL—and would make up sooner or later. But their rivalry had run far more deeper than that. Ever since they had met, she hated him with a vengeance. He seemed to go out of his way to infuriate her, and it was mutual for her as well. All that crap about 'accepting his rude persona for what he was' was a lie. She truly and sincerely despised Natsume Hyuuga. There had always been bad blood between them, in truth she hated him because, well, because.

"I hate him, he hates me. That's all there is to it," she said finally. "Nothing more and nothing less."

A small voice in the back of her head whispered to her, "But isn't there a thin line between hate and love?" Later on, Mikan would regret ever ignoring this little voice.

Koko nodded and turned back to his food, belching out loudly as the twins snickered. Koko abruptly stuffed more of his meal into his mouth and chewed (it didn't look like chewing much to Mikan—more like swallowing). He wiped his mouth on his dirty sleeve and raised an inquiring eyebrow. "What's the problem, exactly?" After this questions, he promptly ate a bit of his fish and chips.

"Well," said Mikan grudgingly. "He's already raided a noble ship. And he's near our vicinity. We were supposed to get weapons from Rundoon, right? He's already been there, done that. He's still around this area and the possibility of him attacking us in high." Mikan played with her food unhappily while Koko choked on his fish and chips.

"Y-you're kidding me?!" he said disbelievingly. Mikan patted him on the back morosely.

"Sorry, bud. I had a hard time believing it, too." Her face creased into a frown. "We can't change course; it's too late. We'll have to train harder and hope for the best."

"Dear Lord," murmured Koko to himself faintly. "Let us all survive the wrath of Natsume Hyuuga. Amen."

Mikan had a particularly good feeling about today. Never mind that the sky was a dark grey and many of her crew mates warned her of an upcoming storm; that Aiden had drunk too much at dinner last night and was stumbling around the ship like a madman (she'd sort him out later); or that she had a feeling the twins were up to something devious. She just knew today was going to be her lucky day. Trust your female intuition, she told herself. And she did.

"I swear, it's going to be a big one tonight!" Koko complained, looking out at the sea through his spyglass from the crow's nest. Mikan stared up at him irritably and shouted back.

"It'll clear up sooner or later, you just wait and see!" They did wait, but the cloudy dark sky did not clear up. In fact, it had started to rain; large, fat droplets pouring down on them hard. They hit her like fast bullets, drenching her clothes. Her boots felt wet and squished—it squeaked annoyingly when she walked across the wooden deck.

Mikan swore and pulled a rubber band from her pocket, tying up her loose, scraggly brown hair into a bun at the back of her head. She tightened the ropes and checked the sails. How could her female intuition have failed her so? She swore once more and tied a rope to one of the posts with a firm knot. Her hands were red and blistered from tying the stiff, rough ropes and climbing the masts to fix the sails.

Although her hair was tied back, a few loose strands fell into her face. She brushed them away impatiently and shouted commands to her crew. The entire crew was scrambling around the ship, hoping that the storm would pass soon. It did—but not soon at all. It took a good many hours till it died down. Mikan went to bed at around three in the morning.

She did not see the mysterious shadow at the distance, approaching them ever so stealthily.

--

Natsume stared at the ship a ways away through his brass spyglass and smirked. Spot on. He tucked his handy spyglass in his utility belt, satisfied, and strolled along the deck of his ship. He barked out orders to his obedient crew and folded his arms, surveying the scene. All in all, everything was in order. Last night's storm had been a nightmare, literally. He scowled at the damages the calamity had caused and how much it had cost to repair them. Five of their precious barrels of fresh water had capsized their boat unknowingly the night before and he had reprimanded Jordan, who was supposed to be keeping an eye on their stock of food and water, till the early morning.

Life was good (disregarding that little mix up with the barrels—damn that Jordan!). He had recently raided a noble ship, which boosted his reputation tremendously. And it wasn't that hard to take over, as a matter of fact. Luckily for him, his crew was a strong one and it didn't take him very long to overtake the ship. They had taken the ship's raids and only took a few prisoners, leaving the rest chained to the ship to sail back to dear King Ruka—a little warning of what they were capable of.

A devious smile (more like sneer) made its way onto his face, his dark crimson eyes glinting something dangerous as he gazed back at the small speck hovering on the water like a tiny dot at sea. Target locked on. Time for the killing.

"Raise the sails!" he commanded a couple of his crew, who obeyed him instantly. The Devil's Hangman began gathering speed, the aquamarine waves churning foam from the sides. Natsume breathed in the cool sea air peacefully; he never felt so at home than here out at sea.

He put his eye to the spyglass once more and stared at the ship at the distance, a smirk curling on his lips. This would be easy, he thought to himself. After all, it was captained by that wanker Mikan Sakura, wasn't it? He didn't know what that compass was thinking, putting her in the position of pirate captain. Natsume let out a snort. They'd probably be dead within a week. It would be a privilege for him to raid her ship first, of course. He surveyed the mass of the Liberator and checked which direction the wind was blowing. Luck was on his side that day and he found that the wind's direction was to his fortune. Smirking, his hand lingered on the handle of the sword at his side, the pistol on his other. He doubted Mikan Sakura would be skilled in the art of swordsmanship; and, good Lord, there was no way she knew how to shoot an unmoving object at close distance. She was that bad, obviously, because she was a girl. Natsume wasn't a sexist (he knew Imai could kill him without a second thought) but she was just—Mikan Sakura. There was no way she could beat him. No way. It was impossible.

Natsume nodded to himself and called the entire crew to come up on the deck. They came up immediately and waited for his orders. He watched them with an amused look on his face. Strutting in front of the straight line like a military general, he said abruptly, "Cutlasses?"

The line took out their swords as one, in a synchronized motion. Natsume's stoic face did not show how pleased he was, but he was nevertheless.

"Pistols?" The men (unsurprisingly, there were no women in his crew) drew out their pistols and cocked it, like with the swords, in perfect harmonization.

"Daggers?" They took out their dirks, which were hidden under their clothes secretively, used as a last means of self-defense in case their cutlasses and pistols were lost to them.

Natsume nodded, satisfied. "Set the cannons; prepare the crossbows." The crew hustled to complete the tasks set to them, gathering the standard round shot cannonballs together and stringing the crossbows.

Natsume took one last look at the tiny black dot at the distance which was slowly getting more distinguished by the second. At last, it was close enough to be seen clearly, yet they were not too close as to be spotted.

Natsume turned to face his crew, a smirk on his face. "It's show time."

Hello.

Sorry this chapter's so short. I was really lazy this time. I thought, 'hey! At least they've got something to read!'. So. . . yeah. This is it. Chapter three. Chapter four's coming along. . . sometime or another. Just be patient and wait.

—Maddie