"Land ho!"

At the cry from the crow's nest, half of the men and boys on the gundeck rushed to the portholes to look out. The other half didn't have room to get close, and they pushed at those lucky enough to get a look, trying to jostle their way through. Hinata, for once grateful to be small, slipped his way under jutting elbows and flailing arms until he was close enough to squeeze his way in next to a cannon and look out the opening.

There wasn't much to see from this angle, just the bright blue of the ocean and the light blue of the sky constantly shifting with the waves and the rocking of the ship. But there...through the haze of the sun and murkiness of the distance... Aye, it truly was! It was an island, nothing but a strip of green and brown between land and sea, but Hinata was sure, absolutely sure, that he caught a glimpse of the mighty fortress that dominated the isle.

Someone pulled on his shoulder, dragging him away, and Hinata let himself be moved. He slipped back through the press of sweating bodies and found Yamaguchi at the back of the group. Yamaguchi stood still, his hands clasped together, making no effort to get a look for himself. That was all right. Hinata would tell him everything.

"I saw it!" he cried, hopping up in the air with his arms stretched out, unable to contain his glee. "The Iron Island! I saw the fortress, I'm sure I did! The Wall! We're almost there!"

Yamaguchi nodded, his mouth set grim. He was too anxious about tonight to spare any energy to be happy about the end of their journey. Hinata couldn't blame him, but he wished he could convince Yamaguchi that he had nothing to worry about. That everything would be all right, that Tanaka-senpai had a plan and it was certain to succeed. Yamaguchi was going to win, Hinata was sure of it, but no matter how hard he tried, he hadn't been able to transfer his conviction to Yamaguchi.

"Oi! Back to stations!" the gun master cried, furious at the interruption, and the gunners and powder boys reluctantly moved away from the portholes, back to their cannons and their burdens. Hinata's feet felt light as he raced with his cartridge to the magazine, his heart beating fast. The usual drills hardly felt like work at all.

Ever since news had spread through the crew that the Swan was going to make landfall at the Iron Island, rumors had spun that there would be shore leave for crew in good standing with the captain. Of course no confirmation of this had come from on high, and the officers were close-lipped to a man whenever someone dared to ask about it. But that didn't stop the sailors from talking endlessly about what they would do as soon as they got off the ship. It had already been over two months since Yukigaoka, and everyone was restless to stretch their legs on a surface that did not rock with the motion of the sea.

Hinata didn't give one fig for the plans of most of the sailors. Taverns and brothels and other such places held no appeal for him. But the Iron Island had a market. A huge one. It was the last bastion of civilization in the Aritossa Archipelago, after all, and almost all trade ships that sailed the wider world stopped there on their trips beyond the Shifting Sea.

The moment Yamaguchi had told him about that grand bazaar, Hinata had dreamed of nothing but seeing it. Exotic spices and fruit, so fresh and sweet that they filled the air with their scent! Beautiful woven goods from the lands to the east! Shining clockwork wonders from the intricate craftsmen of the west! And entertainers of all kinds, wandering the market and performing for coins! To Hinata it sounded like the most wonderful and exciting festival in the great wide world, and he couldn't wait to see it.

"Do you think they'll give us pay for the shore leave?" he had asked Yamaguchi, thrusting his face so close that Yamaguchi winced and leaned back to escape the flying spittle. "I hope they do! Maybe I'll be able to buy a little toy for Nacchan and take it back to Yukigaoka someday. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"We don't even know that there will be a shore leave at all," Yamaguchi said.

"Of course there will! They wouldn't disappoint everyone after we've all longed for it so heartily and made so many plans and talked about it for so long!"

Yamaguchi huffed in disbelief, but couldn't restrain a smile at Hinata's enthusiasm. "Aye, mayhap you're right. Captain Ushijima couldn't be that cruel."

Hinata spread his arms, grinning so hard his cheeks hurt. "Of course not! Captain Ushijima is a good captain, even if he is as boring as a clod of dirt."

"Hinata-chan!" Yamaguchi leaned forward and clapped his over Hinata's mouth, his eyes wide with alarm. He looked around, his gaze jerking back and forth, but of course they were hidden in their nook, and the sounds of the wind and gulls and the creaking of the ship concealed their voices from the rest of the ship. Still, Yamaguchi pressed against Hinata's face hard enough to hurt and hissed in warning. "Don't speak that way about the captain!"

Hinata nodded, abashed, and Yamaguchi released him and sat back, his shoulders slumping.

"Anyway, the market..." Hinata started again, unable to be subdued for long.

Yamaguchi mouth twisted in a smile, and he shook his head and listened to Hinata chatter on.

The pleasure of anticipation made the day pass quickly for Hinata. They were still several days out from the Iron Island, but every chance to sneak on deck or look out the portholes showed it growing ever larger, ever nearer. Soon it would fill the view ahead from horizon to horizon. Soon they would arrive. Hinata's steps were light, and a song swelled in his heart and burst from his lips at random intervals, earning him a slap or two from the older sailors.

Yamaguchi, on the other hand, dragged himself through the day with increasing difficulty. It was impossible to miss the dread in his eyes, the sluggish way it dragged at his every movement. At this rate he was going to be far too exhausted by nightfall for any kind of exercise, let alone a real fight. Hinata did his best to bear him up with his own cheer, but Yamaguchi refused to be lightened.

Then, in a spare moment, Hinata spied Juan the Elder talking to Yamaguchi over in a quiet corner. The conversation began with Yamaguchi's shoulders hunched around his ears, his feet shuffling around on the deck, bashful and unsteady. But as Juan spoke, Yamaguchi's nervous movements slowly still, then stopped. Hinata did his best to creep closer so he could hear what was being said. It was working, whatever Juan the Elder was saying, and Hinata wanted to be able to use the same strategy in the future.

"...In any case, you can't possibly be worse off," Juan said, his strong, rough voice reaching Hinata's ears like a salty breeze. "Even if you fail, as you are so certain is to happen, you will have tried. No one can fault a man who gives his all, even he falls short of the goal. Do your best, come what may, and I at the least will cheer heartily for you. You have my word on that."

Yamaguchi nodded at this, hesitant but sincere. Juan the Elder glanced up and saw Hinata watching. He tipped him a wink, then slipped away, back to his duties.

Hinata slid up to Yamaguchi's side and leaned toward him, nudging him with an elbow. "D'you feel better now, Yamaguchi? Huh, do ya?"

Yamaguchi looked at him sideways, then glanced away again, a flush rising in his cheeks. After a moment, he nodded. "Juan the Elder is a wise man."

"Aye, and so is Tanaka-senpai. You're going to win tonight."

Yamaguchi sighed. "But even if I don't, at least I will have tried." That notion seemed to comfort him much more than all of Tanaka and Hinata's cheerful assertions of last night and today.

Hinata refused to consider the possibility that Yamaguchi would lose. He simply couldn't imagine it happening. But he nodded, even so, willing to go along with this idea for his friend's sake. "No one faults a loser in a fight, as long as he doesn't run away. You can show courage and honor even if you don't beat your opponent, and plenty will cheer and admire the brave one who takes a beating."

Yamaguchi's shoulders came down a little more. He blew out a long, slow breath. "Aye."

"But that's not going to happen," Hinata felt compelled to repeat again. "You're going to win. I know it."

Yamaguchi turned to face him and gave him a smile, small but genuine. "I know you believe that. Thank you, Hinata-chan. I will do my best. I will not run."

Hinata nodded complacently. No other possibility existed. "Of course not."

Yamaguchi lifted his head and looked out the nearest porthole. "Oi, is the island closer already?"

"It is!" Hinata shouted, and he ran over to get another glimpse. That ended the conversation.

Yamaguchi was off his feed at supper, eating only some rice and a few lumps of soggy meat. Tanaka and Hinata sat with him, chatting amiably about whatever came to mind. Tanaka was looking forward to shore leave on the Iron Island, as well, though he planned to visit taverns as well as the market.

"I was promised a drinking contest with Pascal, and I intend to win it!" he declared, pointing his chopsticks at another young sailor in the middle of the room. "We've been mates for years now and have still never managed to have a contest, though we intend to have one at every shore leave. Something always happens to throw us off, but not this time." Tanaka threw his head back in a roar of laughter. "Wahahaha! No, this time we will have it out for once and for all, you wait and see!"

Pascal heard the laughter and looked over, giving Tanaka a sarcastic salute and a wide grin. Tanaka thumbed his nose at him and looked back at his kouhai. "See? Your senpai knows what he's about."

Hinata nodded. "Aye, it's true. And you know what you're about in the fight between Yamaguchi and Billy Hanson, too, don't you?" He glanced at Yamaguchi, willing him to listen.

Tanaka looked between them, his smile turning less boisterous, but no less confident. "True it is," he declared with the same tone as when he proclaimed his intention to win against Pascal. He nudged Yamaguchi's shoulder with a gentle fist. "Your senpai has a plan. Now, I can't promise Billy Hanson will fall for it, for he's a snake and scoundrel, and no mistake. You can never be too sure what course snakes and scoundrels will choose. But I think I have a good chance of succeeding. I just need to provoke him in the right way, and the test between ya will be one I am sure and certain that you'll be able to win."

Yamaguchi considered this, then nodded. He ate another piece of meat.

"But no matter what," Tanaka said, bending low to speak only to them. "This will be the end of it, Yama-chan. I swear it."

Yamaguchi looked at him, his eyes hooded.

Tanaka nodded sharply. "If Billy Hanson doesn't leave ya alone after this, I'll break his leg."

Hinata nearly choked in shock. "Senpai…!"

Tanaka held up a hand to quiet him. "I'll make it look like an accident, and no one will know it was me. It itches at my soul to be so underhanded, but for your sake, I will not risk being caught and punished. But Billy will know, and he'll never trouble ya again."

Yamaguchi stared at the deck. Every bit of tension seemed to run out of his body at once, and Hinata understood what Tanaka had done. Even if Yamaguchi "failed," it wouldn't really be a failure. Juan the Elder had started the process of convincing Yamaguchi of this, and Tanaka had finished it.

And now that Yamaguchi was relaxed and at ease, he was that much more certain to win. Hinata was sure of it.

Yamaguchi managed to finish most of his food. Then they went up on deck to wait.

The crowd was the biggest it had ever been. Rumors had spread through the ship that two of the powder boys were going to have it out in a fist fight, and almost no one could resist such a sight. Hinata was almost sure, this time, that he spotted Captain Ushijima watching on the quarterdeck, a small shadow beside him that might have been the mysterious navigator. Hinata didn't have much attention to spare for such trivial matters, though. He was too busy doing his best to support his friend.

Yamaguchi stood still on the deck, his eyes closed and his head bowed, his hands curled into fists at his sides. Tanaka stood next to him, one hand firm on his shoulder. Hinata circled around, excitedly urging the crowd to keep back. It reminded him of the occasional boxing match back in Yukigaoka, two shirtless men in a roped off square beating the hell out of each other with their bare knuckles, sweat and blood and spit flying in all directions, until one or other gave way or was knocked unconscious. Hinata was determined to be the best ringman he could be, even though he was positive that the fight would be short and quickly decided.

Billy Hanson took his time arriving. Maybe he wanted to draw it out as long he could—the expression on his face made it clear how much he relished the attention from the gathered sailors. Some were cheering. Some clapped him on the back and offered words of advice or encouragement. All were intensely interested. For a powder boy on a navy ship, the lowest of the low, it was a heady moment.

Billy marched up to where Yamaguchi stood and halted a few paces away, his face set in determination. He raised his fists, his eyes glinting in the fading sunlight, and sneered to Tanaka's face. "I'm ready to fight. Let's get this over with."

Yamaguchi opened his eyes and looked him. His face was blank. Now that the moment had come, all fear was banished. Tanaka patted his shoulder and stepped away, standing between him and Billy Hanson.

Tanaka folded his arms over his chest, looking down at Billy Hanson from his lofty height, half a head taller. "You're ready to fight, aye. You're the kind who's always spoiling for a fight. But are you ready to show your mettle? Are you ready to prove yourself a man?"

Billy's forehead wrinkled. "Didn't I just say I was? I don't understand what you mean."

Tanaka bounced on his toes and turned sideways to sweep his hands outward, encompassing both Billy and Yamaguchi. "I mean that there's more to proving yourself then simply scrapping together like schoolyard children. You say you're ready to fight, aye, but that's not what I invited ya here to do. I said we'd have a test. I never said it would be a boxing match."

Billy took half a step back in confusion, and there was a general mutter of disgruntlement in the crowd. "Oi, what's this, then!" "I thought there was going to be a real fight to watch—what's this codswallop you're talking, Tanaka Ryuu?" "Give us the show you promised, younguns!"

Billy glanced around, taking the crowd's unhappiness as a sign of support, and straightened his shoulders as he faced Tanaka head on. "What did you mean when you said we'd have a test, then?"

Tanaka's attention never wavered from Billy. The murmurs of the crowd meant nothing to him. He maintained his sharp-toothed smile, the bright gleam in his eye. And his voice rang out like cannon fire. "Anyone can bully someone smaller and younger than themselves. That's no mark of manhood. You wish to prove your mettle, don't ya? You wish to show yourself stronger and tougher and better to suited to life asea than Yamaguchi Tadashi? That's why ya challenged him yesterday, and that's why ya came tonight. Is it not so?"

Billy Hanson hesitated. He glanced around again, but this time the crowd was still, waiting to see how this play out. After a moment, he nodded, and he firmed his stance on deck. "Aye. It's so. I came to prove my mettle, and to prove that Pimple-Face Tadashi is nothing but a cowardly little worm who should be sent home to cry in his mother's apron."

Tanaka laughed, hard and loud. A ringing note of triumph brightened the sound, sharp and unexpected. He moved behind Yamaguchi and placed his hands firm on his shoulders, still facing Billy Hanson and smiling boldly. "Then prove yourself a man. Take a punch from my kouhai. Just one punch, that's all. With your hands at your sides, doing nothing to stop it. That is the test I've set for you. Will you take it?"

"Eh? Oi, now, that's not what..." Billy faltered, his voice stuttering, his fists falling to his sides. The watchers had begun to laugh and jostle each other, in high spirits once again. The entertainment was not quite what they had expected, but it would do. Billy looked around, but found no support this time.

"That's it, powder monkey! Take a punch! Prove yourself a man!"

"Aye, you think yourself a brave sailor, doncha? Show you've got sand!"

"One punch, that'll do for ya! One punch from a boy two years younger! Let's see it!"

Billy couldn't back down in the face of this. A few panted breaths, a shivering of the shoulders, and he faced Tanaka and Yamaguchi again. He grit his teeth, snarling, and the light in his eyes was both hard and desperate. "I can take a punch from Yamaguchi Tadashi! Do your worst, Pimple-Face. It'll be nothing at all!"

Tanaka leaned down, murmuring in Yamaguchi's ear. Yamaguchi nodded, once. His mouth was set and his eyes were cold. Hinata stepped back, watching in awe. Tanaka patted his shoulders with both hands, then stepped back. He nudged Yamaguchi forward as he moved, as if sending him off.

Yamaguchi was moving before Tanaka's hands fell away. He stalked toward Billy Hanson, leaning forward, his steps loud on the deck. His fists were up and ready, hard as rocks though the knuckles were white.

Billy watched him come, pale as seafoam. Sweat ran down his cheek, and his expression was tight. He was already regretting his decision just from watching Yamaguchi move toward him. But he kept the bargain. His fists remained at his sides, trembling, the tendons in his forearms standing out.

The crowd hooted and yelled. Yamaguchi reached Billy Hanson. And he punched him in the stomach.

In that one punch was every drop of sweat he had shed in their nightly lessons, every pant of exhausted breath, every groan of pain and dread. Every second he had spent recovering from too much training with his head spinning and his stomach heaving, every moment he had wasted worrying about this confrontation, every hour he had believed himself weak and unworthy because of the way he had been treated by this petty monster when he was a child. Every last bit of his protectiveness for Hinata, his admiration for Tanaka, his pride in himself. All went into that punch. It was a mighty blow indeed.

Billy Hanson fell as if he had been shattered.