What's this? An update after only three, four days? THAT'S RIGHT, FOLKS. And the next chapter's already half-written!
This is a short chapter but a necessary one. I think I've gotten quite good at touchy scenes... though I could still use some guidance. So if you want to help me improve...
Thank you to Vexenna, MangaLover2142 and Clogallie for following and/or putting this in your favorites. Also thank you to the following people for reviewing:
POKESPE-FAN: Aw, dude, you need to make an account, this site is awesome.
PikaMewGirl: by all means! *hands you a frosted butter cookie*
Kidd Icarus: That was actually my favorite line XD
Vexenna: you know, not a lot of people seem to like pirates and Pokemon. Then again, they are hard to write
jjmara: Really? Thank you! We shall see about the pairings.
blazelight790: That was one of my greatest accomplishments, realizing she was wild and yet not. And then I found the perfect way to describe it :D I was so happy. This is the chapter where things happen, too, so be prepared…
DotTheAmazing: He was hurting Dia's finger… I'll check to see if it's really that confusing, and in any case, I apologize :)
If I owned Pokemon, I would clearly state Ash's age. I would also change his appearance accordingly, throw him out, and get a new hero or heroine. Sorry if you like Ash, because I sure don't!
"Why is it that Ruby came onto here with barely more than the clothes on his back and a Mudkip, and now he's one of the most important crew members we have?"
Crystal leaned on the barrel in front of her and said in a teasing tone, "Is someone jealous?"
"Sh-shut up, Crys!" She laughed as Gold muttered, "It's just, he's only been here for two weeks, and it's already like we couldn't possibly have survived without him. And when he saved Sapphire during that raid… the Sinnoh trio keep telling me he broke the captain's elbow and then killed a man by pressing his thumb on his neck. How is that even possible?"
Crystal shrugged, but then she looked thoughtful. "But you should've seen him afterwards, Gold. He looked like he'd been to hell and back. I don't think he'd ever used his martial arts against an actual enemy before."
"But still… he's, like, perfect."
"I'm what?"
The pair whirled around, guilt written on their faces. Ruby was watching them with an amused expression, Zuzu sitting primly at his feet. "You heard that?" Gold asked, embarrassed.
"Every word," Ruby replied with an easy smile. "I'm glad I'm getting a reputation."
Crystal laughed and bopped the younger boy's shoulder lightly with her fist. "I'm glad you've gotten more comfortable here, to tell you the truth."
"Truly?" The expression on the boy's face was enough to prevent Gold from commenting on the word choice: one filled with hope and a little fear.
"Of course!" Crystal replied, startled. "We're family, aren't we?"
The boy smiled, really, actually smiled, one that lit up his ruby eyes and made him look so much younger and innocent. When he spoke, his voice contained just the tiniest tremor. "Thank you."
"Oh! Um… anytime," Crystal stammered, and she and Gold watched as Ruby trotted away, his Mudkip bounding around behind him.
"I guess he still has trouble facing what's happened to him, just like the rest of us," Gold said after a moment, watching his junior retreat.
Crystal rolled her eyes. "And it just occurred to you?"
"Where's Ruby?"
The Sinnoh trio looked up from their nightly game of chess to see their captain, hands on her hips. "I'm not sure, Captain Sapphire," Platina replied, waving a hand at the boys to continue their game. She elegantly got to her feet and brushed off her shirt with one, smooth motion. "Does he not have watch at the moment?"
"He's not in the sleeping quarters, if that's what you're wondering," White called from further away, relaxing in her hammock. Cheren was reading nearby in his and Black and Bianca were already fast asleep in theirs.
"And it's Emerald's watch right now," Blue added from the corner where she, Green, Red and Yellow were playing cards.
Sapphire sighed, dismissed Platina with a flap of her hand, and exited the place, frustrated. Recently she had noticed her new crew member had shadows under his eyes, and every time she had looked for him, he had never been below deck in his hammock. It was irritating as well as disturbing; what, exactly, was keeping Ruby up at night?
She opened the ship's door to the night air, searching the decks with eyes that knew every nook and cranny. Ruby was not in sight from here. She glanced up to the deck above the door, going ladder that led to the poop deck and scaling it with ease. As usual, Ruby was not here, either.
The only place she hadn't looked was at the tops, where Emerald liked to hang out. It wasn't uncommon to find him sleeping up there, and Sapphire wouldn't be surprised if the short blonde and her new crew member hung out up there. But for the moment, Emerald was at the bow, watching to make sure the ship didn't catch onto something underwater. She was fairly certain there were no reefs, but one could never be too certain.
Well. To the crow's nest it was, then. She swung herself onto the ratlines and proceeded to pull herself up, climbing gracefully and efficiently. And when she poked her head above it, there he was, his back to her.
It was slightly disturbing that she had not thought to look here earlier – it had already been two days since she noticed – but at least she had found him. Soundlessly, she leaned over and tapped the boy's shoulder.
Or tried to, anyway. Ruby had her hand in an iron grip and was gracefully twisting a finger back before she even knew what was happening. She made a mental note to never startle Ruby and said quietly, "It's just me."
His red eyes – ones that entranced her, beautiful and mystical and, and deep, all at the same time – widened and he quickly released her hand and looked away, a flush visible in the moonlight. "S-sorry," he stammered, still not looking at her.
"Ruby." The response wasn't immediate, but something in her voice made him turn back and meet her eyes. She asked gently, "Is anything wrong?"
A quick smile accompanied with a shake of the head; classic signs of reassurance, and Sapphire resisted the urge to slap him. "I'm fine." Then he asked, a little too casually, "Shouldn't you be below deck with the rest of them?"
She frowned at him. "I could ask you the same thing." Seeing his mouth tighten into a thin line, she sighed and prodded his shoulder with one finger. "You'll feel better if you talk about it, you know."
He gazed at her, trapping her blue eyes with his red ones, letting the silence stretch into minutes. Finally he sighed and said ruefully, "I can't really hide anything from you, can I?" For once he sounded exactly like he was: a twelve year-old boy, uncertain and afraid for the times ahead.
She scoffed, swinging her legs over the thin wood to sit on it. Ruby eyed her positioning, dubious of its safety, before raising his eyes to meet hers. She leaned forward, resting her head on her hands. "What's the matter?"
Silence, filled only by the rushing wind. After a few more moments Ruby said quietly, facing away from her again, "It's still hard to believe my father abandoned me, you know?"
Sapphire didn't reply, hearing from his tone that there was more to say. She was rewarded for her patience when, a few seconds later, Ruby muttered, "I… never liked him, maybe, but he was family. And sometimes, you know, you don't like your family, but that doesn't mean you don't love them… Well, I mean, you love them, but you don't – I'm not explaining this very well, am I?"
"You're saying you love your father, but you don't always like him," Sapphire said promptly. Then she blinked; normally she was the slowest to get these things, how had she known what he was saying?
He gave a quick, hard nod, turning once more to look at her. "And to hear he refused… that's sort of like saying he never loved me. And he never liked me, that much I know." He let out a faint, shuddering breath. "Mother was the world to him, before she – died."
Curiosity got the better of her, and even though she knew she shouldn't ask, she did. "What happened?"
Ruby shook his head, and Sapphire didn't press. After a few more moments, wind blowing through their ears, Ruby spoke again. "My father said my eyes look just like hers. He didn't want anything to happen to me, he said, because I was all that was left of her. He only cared about her, and her memory. Do you know how frustrating it is, trying to impress your father and all he does is say 'Your talent came from your mother?' I hated it. I still hate it."
Sapphire didn't quite dare interrupt then, so she let him go on as he continued, "He taught me things, he taught Zuzu things, but he never thought I'd have to use them. He never wanted me out of the house in case something happened to me, either, because as I said, I'm 'all that's left'. He never let me out, not even out of my room, so I had to sneak to the kitchen to eat because he'd forget about me for a long time while he mourned Mother."
So his father did love him… in a sense. It was just more of a twisted kind of love.
"The worse part was that everyone thought I was living a perfect, comfortable life." He laughed hoarsely. "The kids my age would talk how I was a snob and never came out of the house because I didn't need friends. That I was a happy, stupid, fat Grumpig. They would yell at the front of the house, and even though my room is in the back, I could still hear them."
Sapphire blinked, feeling ashamed. She'd thought the same thing of Norman's so-called snobbish son and hadn't been shy on dishing out her opinion, either. Of course, when she'd first meant him, she'd been surprised about, frankly, his size, and also his mannerisms. But this did explain why he was on the slimmer side: Ruby had never gotten enough to eat back home.
"But – even so, I still thought he loved me," Ruby said quietly. Sapphire watched him intently. "Because he was trying to protect me, even though it wasn't the life I wanted – I really thought he loved me. At least, I did, until that – thing happened two weeks ago." He sighed and tilted his head back, looking briefly at the moon. "It's – weird, you know? To lose a parent, not because they're dead, but because they didn't love you."
What really got to her, though, was when he placed two fingers above his heart and murmured, in a soft, desolate, helpless voice, "It hurts."
She laid a hand on his shoulder, silencing him and bringing his attention to her. The raw emotions in his eyes, the sorrow, the pain, the fear – it made her wonder just how much was Ruby hiding from them. "I know what it's like to lose a parent," she said softly, so softly he had to lean in to hear. She sighed and took her hand away, using it to wring her fingers. "And I understand. Really, I do. I can prove it to you," she added upon seeing his doubting expression, "Because my father was killed by pirates when I was little."
Ruby blinked, staring at her. Her father was killed by pirates when she was little. But then he shook himself. There was no way she… she was taken by Giovanni, killed no doubt, so Sapphire couldn't possibly be the little girl from his memory. And it wasn't uncommon to be orphaned by pirates… was it?
"I was in the forest with my friend," she said, looking at the crescent moon in the sky. "I… remember he was playing with birds, but I was too scared to. My dad was nearby, and so were his parents, I think. All I remember was a face, one that scared me, and I screamed. Did you know I was really girly back then?" She chuckled, not looking to see his expression. "Anyway, I screamed, and then the pirates found us. I think there were five of them."
She either ignored or didn't notice as realization dawned on Ruby's face. It was her. All this time he'd been wondering her name, wondering where she was, wondering if she was still alive – it was her.
"My – father, or maybe his father, I don't know, told us to run, but I was too scared to move. He – the boy, though, he wasn't, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of there, running through the woods."
Ruby slowly sank into a crouch, his fingers placed delicately on his temples. He felt so stupid – why hadn't he figured it out sooner, for Arceus's sake!
"I could hear someone, something behind us, and I think when the boy turned, the thing cut his face." Her fingers rose to her right eye, drifting right above the blue iris and tapping the exact spot where his scars were. Ruby shivered. "But we made it out all right. Until he turned to me. He told me – I remember exactly what he said and how he said it – "It's okay now." And then…"
Sapphire was the girl from his past. Sapphire was his friend from all those years ago.
Sapphire… she was the one he'd fallen in love with, ages and ages past. Ruby rubbed a knuckle against his forehead, feeling blood rush to his face. Arceus, he'd thought it was merely a childhood crush, but no, but no, that didn't seem to be the case as he focused on willing the blush away.
"And then… I'm so ashamed of this, but – when I saw his face, with the cut bleeding and everything, the blood dripping into his eyes, I – I screamed." She laughed quietly, tonelessly, and Ruby watched from beneath his lashes, scarlet eyes unreadable. "That was what gave us away… the pirate captain came and he captured me and made us watch them kill our – mine and the boy's, I mean – our parents, and then he left, thinking to use me as – as ransom, maybe, I don't know." Her voice rose a little bit. "I was the great Sapphire Birch, after all, daughter of the esteemed professor from Hoenn, obviously of worth to the community!"
"And then what?" Ruby's voice was deathly quiet, barely audible in the wind, but if Sapphire noticed, she didn't say.
"And then – I escaped," she replied, a small yet smug smile (rightly so, Ruby thought to himself) on her face. "The captain thought I'd be too scared to leave, so he didn't guard me when he and his crew slept. And I slipped away in the dead of night and ran back to town." She gave another short, toneless laugh. "To think I would stumble upon the bodies again. But the little boy's wasn't there, so I took heart in that and continued on."
She had found their parents' bodies… Ruby shuddered. He, for one, wasn't able to stomach blood; he used to faint at the sight of a paper cut until he realized he wouldn't be able to sew, for he would prick himself occasionally and it wouldn't do to faint in the middle of threading a needle.
"Ever since then, I've sworn to myself, and to the little boy's memory, that I would never let fear get in the way of what I wanted." Sapphire sighed, swinging her legs back and forth in the small space the crow's nest offered. Ruby was leaning back on the wood, staring at her, heart thudding in his chest so wildly he was sure she could hear it. "And look at me now – a pirate, just so I could find those damn people that took everything away from me."
She looked at Ruby expectantly and saw he looked faintly surprised. Then, when he realized she was looking, his face softened into a gentle expression. "Your story is familiar," he said, mostly to himself. "I would never have thought…"
"Yeah, me neither." Sapphire swung her legs over and grasped the ratlines, peeping her head over the crow's nest's walls. "You coming down?"
He looked like he wanted to say something, but after a few moments of inward debate he instead merely smiled and said with a nod, "Yes, I'm coming." Then, suddenly: "Race you!"
"What?" She then saw he was scrambling down to the decks. "No fair!" Sapphire complained, descending as quickly as she could. But he'd gotten a head start, and when she swung herself onto her ship's decks, he was waiting for her with a smirk on his face.
"I beat you," he said teasingly.
"Shut up." They walked to the door in a comfortable silence. As Ruby put his hand on the knob Sapphire said suddenly, "I never thanked you."
"For what?" She looked up and met his eyes, startled at the gentleness there. He had never looked at her in such a way before, and it sent a shiver down her spine. Not an entirely unwelcome one, but not one she enjoyed, either.
"For – saving me, when we raided – the other ship," she mumbled, fumbling for words. Her pride was suffering, but she had to do this. "Um… even though I never admitted it, I would have died if you – didn't step in."
Silence, in which their eyes did not leave each other's. Then he gave her a small smile, murmuring, "I'm just glad I made it in time."
She smiled back, a small and shaky one, one that took distinct effort to make. "I am, too." They stayed like that for a little bit, smiling at each other, before Ruby opened the door and gestured her in with a fake bow, his smile becoming mocking.
"After you."
She shook her head at him, grinning, but nevertheless she walked passed him and below deck. She could hear his footsteps behind her as she retreated to the sleeping quarters, and they quickly joined the rest of the crew in slumber.
I always try to write 4,000 words per chapter at least… and, as you can probably tell, this didn't exactly make the mark.
Review, please :) If there's pairings you'd like to see, or if you found something funny, or you just like this story, or I messed something up big-time, or you LIKE PIRATES, I'd love to hear from you!