Draco: What's up, Feebas! I'm actually writing and submitting a Black Rock Shooter fic, colour me surprised. (And before you get on my case about that star, I tried to write a Black Rock Shooter fic about a year ago and discovered FFN is a troublesome fricker about symbols like that.)
So, sea shanties have apparently been a big-ass thing since 2020. I didn't know about that, because I've been a fan of sea shanties since 2014. Some of my work has actually suffered from it. Anyways, a friend of mine introduced me to a group of blokes called the Longest Johns, and I immediately became a fan of their songs both classical and original.
And one of those original songs is "The Curse". I would strongly recommend that you immediately change tabs and listen to it right now before you read any further. The guys are on YouTube. They have a music video for the song and the pure audio from one of their albums. (And a chiptune remix, but I don't recommend that one mostly because you can't do vocals on a chiptune.) Whatever you prefer, go check it out now.
...For those of you not interested, too lazy, or suffering from a dreadful connection, the song is sung from the perspective of a sailor. Fortune throws this guy a bone every so often for the express purpose of knocking his teeth loose when it gets ripped out of his mouth. He meets people and seems to get opportunities, and then those people betray him and make him suffer, leading to the following chorus:
A curse upon you; sorrow, fall thick and fast
Your days have been numbered, each hour your last
May the land, sea, or sky turn to swallow you whole
And fore'er ne'er forget what you stole
And I found myself thinking "Well, wouldn't it be nice to actually see the land, sea, or sky swallow those traitors whole?" Being as I lack any visual art skills whatsoever, my next best option was to write a story about it. As previously mentioned, I have tried to write a BRS story before, and got nothing done, so I had a bit of unfired urge to express.
That didn't end up going anywhere before I got in a mood that I'm not going to describe here. But my entering that mood happily coincided with a friend's desire to write a BRS story, so I shot her the proposal to write on her own time. Yet, when my mood came down, I found I did still want to write it myself... but I couldn't properly construct how I wanted events to unfold. So, I asked that friend if she would be willing to cowrite it with me, giving me someone to bounce ideas off of.
To my pleasure, she accepted. Adaval?
Adaval: Ahoy there! As the boss man said, I felt like writing a BRS story, but wasn't sure how to begin, so how was I supposed to turn down an offer such as this?!
To be honest though, this isn't the first time handling text written by Draco, since I tried (and failed) to do a complete translation of one of his stories. Now though, I'm glad we were able to write this story together!
Just take it easy on me please, I'm more of a musician than I'll ever be a writer.
But even if I'm not that good at writing, nothing will stop the desire to write something for BRS that I've carried for years! I love this series like you couldn't imagine and I'll let it show! (If anyone wants to ramble with me about the nature of Mato and Yomi's relationship, I'm all ears!)
I don't believe there's anything else that needs to be said. Draco, right back at ya!
Draco: Adaval was responsible for figuring out the best candidates for each traitor, and honestly got two of these three chapters started where I would've been completely unable to. Us bouncing ideas off of each other made this story way better than it would've been otherwise, to say nothing of us being able to write the scenes we're comfortable with and pass on the scenes we're not. (I'm still SO SORRY about Chrysalia.)
And now that we've got it completed, I will happily present the finished product to you.
Black Rock Shooter and all related properties © huke. Plot concept © The Longest Johns.
A city right beside the ocean was a promising place for a port. The opportunity for all sorts of visitors - and all sorts of custom - was a wonderful opportunity for businesses, many of which were placed on the sea's side of the city. For the sailors, a place to drop anchor and rest for a while may be welcome, but a place to spend hard-earned coin on food, drink, and pleasurable company was moreso. And for some inhabitants, being able to meet sailor was an opportunity in and of itself.
Such was is that, as a massive ship sailed into that port, a young girl was running towards the docks in excitement.
To anyone who crossed her path, she paid no mind, even if they glanced at her worriedly. The exact direction she was headed for made several of those onlookers shake their heads in disapproval, maybe pity, before they went on with their day. Undeterred, the girl ran until she was at a reasonable distance to witness the ship in all its glory.
Soon after, a figure stepped down the gangplank, reaching the dock and glancing around. Probably her first time in this city, small enough to be called a town. The woman's black hair flew with the air, albeit stopped in part by the cap she wore. The girl smiled at the sight, before approaching the apparent captain with caution, the cap and outfit being a dead giveaway to her status.
"Excuse me!" the girl spoke, raising a hand in greeting.
The woman, the captain, glanced at her questioningly. She probably wondered what the girl was doing trying to talk to her.
"Um," she started again. "My name's Mato. I was wonderin' if you'd let me join your crew!"
The captain's eyes widened at her words. She hadn't even spoken and this girl - Mato apparently - was already saying something of such nature. After a moment, her lips curled into a smile. "Why, nice to meet you too," the captain chuckled in response.
Mato stiffened, before raising her hand in a rather awkward salute. At this, the captain outright laughed in amusement. Mato cringed internally at the sight, but remained in position.
Once the captain was done laughing, she retained a charming smile on her face. "My name's Saya, and I'm captain of the Falling Dawn. I believe you've kept up with us, from how excited you seem," she remarked, before taking her hat off and offering a small bow, then putting it back on.
Mato smiled, nodding. "That's right! I've heard about your adventures and how you're always finding treasure!" she stated before letting her hand rest. "I wanna join you in your travels!"
Saya stared at her in amusement for a second. "Are you sure, girl?" Saya asked with a hint of concern in her voice. "You want to trade a common life for one of robbery and violence?"
Mato slumped slightly in response, before straightening her back even more. (It was actually slightly bending backwards, much to the captain's humor.) "Yes! I want to travel freely, and help with whatever ya do!"
The smile never left Saya's face. "It's settled, then!" she cheered. "I was going to explore this little town for a moment, see what it had to offer. However…" she trailed off, now with a smirk adorning her features. "A new member in our family takes priority."
With that, Saya turned around and started back up the gangplank, expecting Mato to follow her. Without hesitation, Mato beamed in joy and walked right behind her new captain, happy and naive. She was a member of the Dawn crew! Honestly, it was easier than she thought! She couldn't believe her luck!
+x+x+x+
Would that she had tempered her excitement with caution.
Ten years in the crew of the Falling Dawn, and Mato had almost nothing to show for it. The rest of the crew pounded up and down between decks, manning the cannons and directing the sails. But Mato? Her dreams of adventure had yet to come to anything; Captain Saya had kept her doing menial tasks at every turn. Keeping an eye on the food stores to make sure no one was snacking extra, checking the rum barrels to make sure nothing was leaking or getting spoilt, or washing the cannons to make sure that firing residue didn't endanger the crew.
She barely even saw above deck unless they had made port; the most excitement she got was mixing a bit of rum and powder every few days, and setting it alight to make sure it hadn't been watered down. The closest she'd gotten to an "adventure" was Saya giving Mato her first taste of rum a year and a half sooner than she'd have gotten it on shore - and that had lost its novelty when she found out rum was the only drink that could safely be stored on a ship. At present, she was scrubbing the floors of the lower deck, making sure they weren't slick with anything that might cause a crewman to break their neck in a hurry.
If there was one good thing that had come about since she left home, it was that Mato's hearing had improved remarkably after ten years at sea. Captain and quartermaster both had strong voices with which to warn the crew to hold on to something before they collided with an enemy ship, breaching whale, or wave colliding with the broadside... yet with the roar of the sea and general business of a ship, some of the crew above deck were lucky to hear the warning in time to avoid getting knocked off their feet. Mato had been thrown against the walls or stairs more than once during her early days, but now her ears were sharp enough to make out Saya's "Brace for impact!" in time to rise to her feet and seize a support beam.
And pain ripped through her hand as she did.
She was able to ignore it just long enough to endure the collision - a wave crashed against the starboard bow, and the ship rocked such that gravity tried to pull her feet off the floor. As soon as the ship righted, however, Mato was forced to pull her hands off the beam, the pain still lingering but no longer quite so ferocious. She eyed her handhold for a moment, wondering if she'd managed to catch a particularly splintery surface - and she was concerned to find crimson where she had been holding on.
Terrified, Mato's gaze fell to her hands - and found a white protrusion sticking out of each of the red-stained fields that she realized were the skinless tips of her fingers. A shaky breath forced its way out of her lips, and she fell back against the support beam and slid to the floor, slowly curling her hand into a fist and finding a similar pain when her fingertips connected with her palm.
"...Down to the bone."
Tears started to flow down her cheeks, and she buried her face in her arms and let herself cry.
+x+x+x+
Most days it took Mato a few minutes to find the energy to get up, do work and even just... stand.
After the tiring routine settled and the years started to go by, Mato stopped trying to fix her appearance by morning, leaving her cabin with her hair styled messily. As she walked to the galley, she briefly stopped, glancing down. Her heart heavy with trepidation, she brought her hands up, knowing what she'd see.
She had literally worked her fingers down to the bone - with nothing to show for it. Mato knew the crew would make fun of her weak stomach, but she couldn't help how it churned at the sight. Hell, was she to blame for having a weak stomach when they were the ones killing for fun and leaving blood around, with her always chained to tasks within the cabins?
After a brief moment of reflection, she shook her head. Maybe she was chained to her tasks, but at least she wasn't like them. With a grunt - of disgust or anger, Mato wasn't sure - she trudged on towards the galley. The food stores on a ship were nothing to make assumptions about; as much as she hated being stuck below deck she had to make sure they had as much food as they thought they did, or else the captain would have to be informed. Meals would be made more sparing to compensate for the lack, or they might have to make port sooner than anticipated; worst-case scenario, some of the crew would have to go ashore and forage while others tried to fish for something edible.
She might just scream if it turned out someone had stolen food.
The sound of someone muttering to themselves caught Mato's attention. She paused right before entering the room, wary. Unconsciously, she hid her hands behind her back as she peeked in...
The voice turned out to be Yuu, first mate to the captain. They had been able to talk here and there, Yuu talking about the best parts of their travels while leaving the disgusting parts out, finding what would be called a friendship, except Mato wasn't ready to call it that. She cleared her throat, making Yuu turn around in slight surprise.
"Ah, it's you, Mato" she remarked with a grin. "Caught me off guard there! You here to check the food 'n stuff?"
Mato only nodded, not much of a conversation partner in this state.
Yuu raised eyebrow at her silence, staring at Mato for a moment, letting silence overtake the room. Mato stared back, before her expression leaned less into neutral and more into uncomfortable. She hadn't been good with people's staring even as a young girl.
"Is there something you wanted to ask me about?" Mato inquired.
"Not really," Yuu insisted. "But you seem off." She stepped towards Mato, who reflexively took a step back, her expression becoming more and more uncomfortable with every approach.
All of a sudden, Yuu leaned back, a frown on her face. "You wanna tell me what's up? Really Mato, you seem pretty down," she spoke with evident concern.
Mato shook her head, trying to smile to at least throw Yuu off her trail. She didn't notice how strained it seemed. "It's nothing. I'm alright."
Yuu didn't answer beyond a disbelieving hum. Once more, silence settled in, just as uncomfortable as the first instance.
"If nothing's wrong, whatcha got behind your back?"
Mato's eyes widened, her smile widening so artificially it would've been amusing in any other situation. To Mato, the dread had started feeling like a new skin. "I-I got nothing behind my back, ma'am. Dunno what you're talking about," she lied, trying her damn best to keep her features relaxed, to smile like she once could. It was a Herculean task at best.
Yuu let out a tsk and put her hands on her hips, clearly disbelieving. "Yeah, and we're all pure hearted heroes in this boat. Hands out. And drop the formal stuff, just call me Yuu. We've talked enough for you to quit that crap, for Pete's sake." Yuu retained her posture with confidence, while Mato stared for a moment in what the first mate could easily call fear.
Truly, silence had become a constant presence in the room, a third party accompanying the two crewmates, strong enough that'd you'd be able to hear a pin drop. Mato broke it with an audible gulp, sweat on her brow. The shame started creeping in faster than she could've expected. Slowly, she brought her hands forth, revealing the state her fingers were in. She was reminded of the pain, that dull yet nagging throbbing, by the sight that greeted both her and Yuu.
Yuu sucked a sharp breath in, too shocked to speak. Mato averted her gaze, too afraid to say anything else. The first mate hadn't expected her to show her this; Mato had spoken the truth, for her hands were barren.
Too barren.
What she didn't expect was to have Yuu grab her by the arm quickly, pulling her away and out of the gulley. Mato was startled by Yuu's movements, stuttering a small, "W-what?"
Yuu growled low, before sighing as they walked. "I'm takin' ya to my cabin, Mato. Gotta bandage you up."
+x+x+x+
Captain Saya's coat waved in the air, the wind ruffling her short hair lightly. She sighed as she stood on the flying bridge, the chill of the night trying and failing to make her shiver. Her gaze was stuck to the sky and its lights as she searched for the stars that would lead them to their next bounty, if the information they forced out of a rivalling crew from the Minstrels O' Love was to be believed. Now, if that was Orion's Belt...
A sudden yell calling for her presence caught her attention, diverting her eyes from the firmament to the deck. "Captain! One o' the chicks keeps screwin' her work up!"
Her face showed the littlest of interests, but she supposed she would have to see this situation firsthand before she tried to pass judgement; she was the captain after all, and if any mess occurred she'd have to make sure it didn't happen again. With that train of thought, she quickly descended down the ladder and onto the deck. The crewman simply muttered, "This way, ma'am," before taking off. Saya followed him with sure steps. Maybe their new member was throwing a tantrum?
Except it wasn't the new member, for they had been assigned to cleaning the cannons exclusively. She was instead led to where they kept their rum barrels, and instead of finding a green unit who she'd try to sell pretty words to and it'd work, Saya was instead led to Mato, that girl that had been ever so eager to join them.
She was on the floor, crosslegged and panting, clutching her hands; covered in bandages, they bled at the tip of her fingers, with Mato grunting every few seconds. It was safe to assume all the ruckus was due to the pain she felt.
Saya's expression soured as the crewman spoke once more. "Mato's been all weird like this. Dunno what's wrong with 'er, but it's happenin' too often. Tell 'er off, cap'n," the man complained in a gruff voice. Saya paid him no mind, kneeling beside Mato. The latter let out a guttural growl; a warning to Saya. She hummed as her answer.
"Take off those bandages," she commanded. Mato's eyes were as wide as plates at the order, pulling her hands away and hiding them behind her back. "I said, take them off," Saya insisted, a warning tone coating her voice and setting alarms off in Mato's head.
The crewman sighed and left to tend to his own tasks, leaving the captain and the lackey alone. With the greatest amount of hesitance Saya had ever seen, Mato wordlessly put her hands out again, then proceeded to take her bandages off as slowly as possible. Saya's mind wandered as she did, noting a barrel of rum that had tipped over, albeit none of the contents had been spilled, thankfully. She then focused on Mato's bleeding fingers, assuming they were the cause for the barrel's fall.
Why, this was inconvenient.
Out of the corner of her eye, Saya was able to make a silhouette behind the doorframe. For a brief second, she thought it was the crewman still lingering and prepared herself to ask why he was still prowling around. However, she quickly realized it was her first mate, Yuu. She decided to simply let her linger in peace.
Finally, Mato was done with removing the godforsaken bandages, revealing the blood and bone they hid. Saya stared at them without showing any emotion, before disgust slowly yet surely settled in. Nothing but raw disgust. Mato stayed silent as well, her face showing a mixture of pure rage and intense shame, seemingly at the verge of tears.
Sighing, Saya stood up. Mato looked up, startled, before hiding her hands out of habit. "Get someone to patch that up again. Be more careful with those hands of yours." With that, she walked out of the cabin; her heels were able to hide the sound of Mato growling at her in rage and impotence.
Yuu, who tried her best to walk beside Saya at the same pace, looked livid at the scene. "What was that, Saya?! C'mon, cut Mato some slack!" she scolded in a harsh whisper. Saya paid her no mind, choosing to keep walking towards where Yuu knew was her private cabin. "Hey, answer me!"
Saya once more ignored her, choosing to focus on something else for the moment. "We're not too far from Nueva Noche, so we still have a chance to go there before continuing our route." She paused, staying still for a moment and causing Yuu to stop just as suddenly and stare at her in shock. "Tell the crew to redirect there for... restocking."
Without anything else to add, Saya left, making Yuu sputtering behind her. "Hey, hold on! We're not short on food or anythin'!" Yuu argued to Saya's retreating back, seeing she wouldn't be stopping any time soon. With a frustrated grunt, she took off in the opposite direction. She just hoped that cranky grandma wouldn't be pulling any stunts.
+x+x+x+
Upon their third night at Nueva Noche, Mato was able to catch some moonlight for the first time since she had joined this stupid pack of thieves, fourteen-odd years ago. She knew that, if the crewmen assigned to guard duty spotted her, sneaking out wouldn't end up well but gods damn it all, she missed basking on starlight. She missed their glow as well as the moon's. For the first time in a while, she felt calm. Content. Ready to tackle any that thought, she decided to sneak back into her cabin, feeling just a tad hopeful for the coming day.
So cue her surprise at being pulled from her bed the next morning.
She was awake yet sleeping, unable to recognize who exactly was carrying her, simply feeling familiarity in their silhouettes. When she found enough energy, she started screaming in protest, fighting against her captors with as much strength she could muster. It was only once they reached the deck and were covered in sunlight that she realized who these men were.
Her crewmates, Tenma and Karl.
Even more confused, she tried kicking them. "Let go, ya brutes!" she insisted, not feeling deterred when they didn't even flinch at her strikes. "Where are ya takin' me?! Quit the horse crap, Saya's gonna have ya for this!"
Karl lowered his head in shame while Tenma snorted at her words. "Whatcha talkin' about? These were cappie's orders," he taunted. Mato, upon hearing what he said, let out a confused groan... before it was replaced by a maddening roar. The men let her go, throwing her onto the deck. She screamed again, this time in pain, after falling onto her hands. Had she been able to go and lunge after them, she would've, but it was then that Mato noticed she had been dropped right in front of Saya.
She hadn't realized when, exactly, she had turned animalistic enough to always growl in response to a threat, but such observations would have to wait. All she knew was that she was in front of a threat.
Saya raised an eyebrow at her, before frowning in what anyone could call concern, except for Mato. She didn't trust any emotion Saya showed, not after being brought here with smiles and flowery words. "Well, good to see you too, Mato," Saya mused. "Is everything alright?"
Mato stopped herself from both slamming the deck's wood and lunging at Saya. "The hell it's not! Why did ya have these two drag me here?!" she demanded, now standing up. She could hear the crew members in the background whispering amongst themselves, about how foolish she was to face Saya like this. She tuned them out as best as she could.
Saya's mouth curled into a smile at her inquiry. The same smile Mato remembered from years ago.
The same smile she gave that young, naive girl.
"Why, we're dropping you off here, of course."
Mato let out a strangled gasp and stared at Saya in silence. The crew kept whispering, gossiping and judging, but all that did was give Mato a headache.
"You..." she started, far less confident than before. "You can't do this, Saya! Please, I have no clue where this place even is!" Her voice broke near the end, tears starting to bloom in her eyes; Saya simply stared with that same smile. "Please! I'll do my best to not screw up again! Just give me a chance, Saya-!"
She was cut off by one sharp slap across the face, the sound seeming to echo around them all. The smile never left Saya's face.
"That's captain to you. Kick her off, boys."
Mato was too stunned to speak, let alone protest as the crewmen took her by the arms once more and dragged her away. The plank had already been drawn in, so instead they threw her off the ship's sides. Mato's world seemed to slow down in its entirety as she fell, reaching out in a vain attempt at clinging to the ship. Even if she was miserable, this was the only life she knew...!
All she saw before she fell was Saya's damnable smile. Upon reaching the port's floor, the impact had her skidding and almost fall right off, leaving her entire left side scratched by the wood. She could even feel a particularly painful splinter lodged almost entirely into her left cheek. Thankfully it hadn't pierced into her mouth, instead choosing to stay at home in her face. She screamed at the feeling of everything crashing down onto her, before standing up with nothing but rage powering her. "Sayaaa!" she let out in the strongest voice she had ever let out, making any of her earlier roars seem like a kitten's purr in comparison.
"You promised me adventure!"
The crew took the ship's anchors back in.
"You promised me treasure!"
The ship started to float away, uninterested in her words.
"You're the one who hurt me like this!"
The crew returned to their tasks, trying to ignore her yelling.
"YOU RUINED MY LIFE!"
Except I was eager to join you, her mind retorted.
And all the while, Yuu could do nothing but watch in horror at Saya's, her friend's, actions.
+x+x+x+
"Everyone with steel, get ready to board on her next pass!"
Saya had let her guard down when they'd found their prize in Orion's Belt. The Minstrels were a fleet of pirates seeking a common goal; she'd been foolish not to expect another ship lying in wait. This one was much quicker than the Dawn; they'd be more than capable of outgunning her if they could just line up a halfway decent shot, but the gunners weren't sharp enough for that, to say nothing of the fact that she kept passing so close the cannons were in danger of being ripped out of the gunports.
The Falling Dawn could sail with less than half the crew that was on board - which meant Saya could devote half the crew to a boarding party. As the enemy ship came up beside them again, Yuu was at the head of the charge leaping aboard; her feet left the middle of the Dawn's deck as soon as the prow passed the cabins, and she hit the deck of the enemy ship and slammed one of her brass knuckles to the wood. The rest of the boarding party leapt aboard per her timing; Saya was as near to the prow as she could muster, and as her underlings started to clash with the enemy crew, she seized the rigging to swing towards the deck herself.
She barely landed on the railing - and something slammed into her leg. She could feel the bone crack under the blow; her footing slipped, and she was almost over the side before she managed to seize the railing. She raised her gaze, expecting to see the enemy captain standing there - only to be terrified when she realized it was one of her crew standing there.
It was Yuu - and the first mate had a fury in her eyes that had never been seen before.
Saya didn't even get the chance to demand answers; Yuu brought her fist back and slammed her brass knuckles across Saya's face, breaking her jaw and causing her grip to falter. She fell down the side of the enemy ship, bashing against one cannon on her way down; her entire body was in pain as she hit the water, and she desperately tried to right herself and swim to the surface.
Then she saw the hull of the Dawn coming towards her.
The battle was over quickly - but not quietly. The enemy might have been outnumbered, but they were able to claim a few members of the Dawn's crew. The members that survived were tied down, and Yuu's crewmates quickly climbed the sails to furl them and bring the ship to a stop; once the anchor had been dropped, the Falling Dawn came alongside, and Yuu directed some to head below deck in the hopes that they would get a prize out of this battle.
"Where's the captain?" Tenma asked.
"...Looks like they knocked her overboard," Yuu insisted.
There was a long moment of silence among the crew still above deck; then Karl seized the tricorne that had been knocked off the fallen enemy captain, brushing it off. "I guess that means you're in command now, first mate," he observed.
Yuu accepted the tricorne, setting it over her head; the others were coming out of the hold, and at the sight of Yuu, there was a long moment of quiet before someone asked; "Orders, captain?"
"Holy hell, that's a bounty," Yuu observed on seeing what they'd brought up. "Between this and what we got yesterday, I say we've earned ourselves a celebration on shore. Our last stop was all supplies."
"If that's how you choose to remember it," Tenma muttered.
+x+x+x+
Fifteen years had passed.
Fifteen years since she left home aboard the Falling Dawn. Fifteen years that had transformed Mato from a joyful young girl, barely out of her home, into a wounded animal that wanted to strike out at whatever she could find. Fourteen suffering under Saya's command, clinging to the promise of gold and adventure... and then a year to recover from that hell, and forge a new life in a town she'd never seen before. She'd managed to find a job at a tavern in Nueva Noche - a simple job delivering food and drink from the kitchen or counter to the tables that called for them.
No unsteady deck rocking beneath her feet, no unexpected impacts she had to ready for with a moment's warning, no scrubbing the floors by hand to worsen the condition of her slowly-recovering fingers. The sharp ears she had acquired let her hear requests for a server from across a busy tavern, and habit of checking the food stores made sure the kitchens knew when something was low before it was out. She knew this was an improvement, that she was being treated with respect and dignity, receiving the wage she was promised and allowed to rest if she needed it.
But some small part of her wanted to go to sea once more - the remnant of the joyful Mato who had followed the exploits of the Falling Dawn, asked to be part of that life of adventure, and hadn't gotten it.
The tavern was starting to close; the kitchens had been shut down, and the bartender was calling for last drinks. Mato and her coworkers had each made themselves a meal out of the leftovers (benefits of working at a place to get a meal), and were gathered around a table to dine. Mato had taken to wearing a pair of black gloves nearly 24/7 since coming to shore - something to shield her wounded fingers as they tried to heal from the abuse she'd suffered - though it had originally earned her a bit of derision from her coworkers, they'd each come to learn her reasons and no longer gave her trouble for it.
The door to the tavern opened, and the barman leaned in. "Hey, uh, Mato?"
Mato raised her head with a mouth full of meat. "Yhhf?"
The barman pointed back out the door. "There's someone out here asking for you. You wanna let me know if it's a friend or someone to kick out?"
An "Mmm-hmm" emerged as she tried to swallow; Mato wiped her face with a napkin as she got to her feet and made her way out to the bar. There were only a few folks there, gathered at a quiet table in the corner - and at the counter was someone she had never expected to see again.
"Yuu..."
The first mate of the Falling Dawn raised her gaze, offering a sad smile. "Hey, Mato."
Mato was terrified, frozen in fear. "Wh-What are you doing here?" she asked. "Where's Saya-?"
"Saya is dead." Yuu's quiet interruption caught Mato off-guard. "Fell overboard during a boarding party, a few days after we left you here. As first mate, I became captain in her stead." Her gaze fell. "I tried to do what she didn't. Care for the crew, treat them fairly, make sure their suffering didn't continue for too long..." She shook her head. "And would you believe it, they took exception to that. Accused me of coddling the newer members."
She turned her attention back to Mato. "So when we made port in Nueva Noche again, and they asked me what all needed doing... I threw my hat at them and told them to figure it out."
Mato was baffled. "You...?"
"I'm tired of that life," Yuu insisted. "Treating your fellow man like garbage, acting like it's a bad thing to be concerned for someone else's well-being... I'm sick of it. The pirate's life isn't for me."
She turned to the barman. "You wouldn't be hiring, would you?"
The barman shook his head. "I'm afraid not," he admitted. "That being said..." He turned to Mato. "If you want the day off tomorrow to help her go job-hunting, you're welcome to it."
"Are you sure?" Mato asked. "I mean-"
"Don't worry about it," the barman assured her. "Something tells me you need this." Yuu nodded at him thankfully, and with that, he left them to their own devices, knowing there were words that needed to be said. Mato stared at the door the barman left through, then turned to stare at Yuu instead.
"Well," Mato started, unsure of how to proceed. Yuu waited for her to find the words, leaving silence to join them like a trusty partner, less tense that it had once been. Even then, it didn't last as long, for a wary little smile rose on Mato's lips. "I think we can find something tomorrow if we look well enough," she assured, extending a hand out towards Yuu.
Yuu let a grin of her own match Mato's smile, and carefully grasped Mato's hand with her own to shake it. Only once she'd made contact did she remember the state Mato's hand had been in; "Ah, sorry if I hurt you," she pleaded quickly.
"Don't worry, they don't hurt nearly as much," Mato assured, and her smile widened unconsciously.
+x+x+x+
"Mato..." She hummed absentmindedly in response.
"Mato?" She was able to hear a distant snapping, but she couldn't place the origin of the sound quite yet.
"MATO!"
Mato's eyes snapped wide open at her name, her vision finally focusing back into present time, feeling the wind ruffle her cheap attempt at a coat. She chuckled in amusement at herself; who could've thought you could get that lost in your own thoughts?
Yuu grinned at her, a teasing tone coating her voice. "Penny for your thoughts?"
Mato smiled, adjusting the cap they'd found for her as she approached Yuu. "Sorry, just lost in memory lane."
"Well, come on," Yuu insisted. "The crew says everything's in order. Can't cast off without the captain, can we?"
"I guess not," Mato admitted.
No, the pirate's life wasn't for them, she observed, following Yuu down the docks towards the ship - the Blacksteel, as was proclaimed on the stern. But privateering was a business far better suited to kind souls, willing to take care of their fellow man. And Yuu had made sure there was someone in place to avoid the kind of abuse that Mato had suffered on the Falling Dawn - by naming Mato captain, when they had applied for a letter of marque.
She'd been promised gold and adventure when she left home - and at long last, she would be able to get it.