A Different Kind of Treasure (Epilogue)
A/N: Jan~ Just in time I think for me to continue my once a day streak I'm having :3 I'm in a very grateful mood today for whoever out there nominated two of my fics for the arashi fanfic awards, much love goes out to you all for your support *hugs* ♥♥♥
Band: Arashi
Rating: G (for now :3)
Synopsis: For a competition on saigo_no_lady Junba fic with prompt - 'a super exciting pirate/etc. AU where they fall in love and there are battles and they are both very dashing and maybe the rest of Arashi shows up'
Epilogue: What to do when the chase is over
“Jun~!”
Jun turned at a familiar voice, having been chatting to Ohno about their next voyage which was to be the Storm Bringer’s maiden journey. Not that they’d got much planning done, Ohno too busy staring dreamily at his ship, finally able to take the title of captain seriously. They had laughed when a row boat that didn’t quite fit with the others was brought on deck but now Nino and Sho had moved off to lock the tavern up and they were stuck waiting and trying to fill the time with pointless preparations. He smiled as Aiba ran towards them, still feeling his heart swell every time the guy smiled at him like he was the most important thing in the world, though he’d never admit that to anyone.
“How’s everything going?” Aiba clung around Jun’s waist, staring expectantly at Ohno as he slipped back out of his daze.
“Hmm? I think we’re getting there. Just waiting on Sho and Nino now.”
Aiba nodded, still smiling brightly as he looked around. The sense of trust that they had wanted aboard the ship was getting there, it helped that the five of them were completely loyal to each other in that respect. But with a mixture of Sho and Nino’s knowledge of people from the tavern and sometimes Jun’s knowledge from spending time with some on board other vessels they had found a ragtag group of people to man their first voyage with them. He was a little bit worried about it but Ohno had assured him that the five of them together were more than able to take on an adversary with the amount of training they’d done.
“Oi, are you guys just going to stand around or are we actually departing soon?”
A bratty voice made Aiba turn, spinning Jun around with him with a muffled curse. “We were waiting on you two! What took you so long?”
“Having fun in the tavern while it was locked up, I bet.” Jun mumbled, loud enough for the words to carry over to the blushing pair as they walked over.
“That’s quite enough.” Sho dug an arm into Nino’s stomach before he retaliated. “I’m the one that gets more embarrassed after all and I’d rather not be punished for that silver tongue of yours.” He stood up straight looking past the grinning pair to Ohno. “Shall we go on deck or do we have something to do first?”
“No we should get on board; I have an announcement to make anyway.” Ohno hummed, walking forward without a backwards glance knowing his friends would follow curiously. He watched as the last bits of preparation were done, the majority of the crew waiting for him on the main deck to announce their departure. He stood up by the helm, running his hand over the wood of the wheel as he waited for the others to catch up with him. He glanced up once, shocked when they were waiting on the main deck with the others, his nervousness growing slightly at them treating him like their captain which he found he didn’t like that much. He glanced at Nino knowing he was the boldest of the group and most likely to take his hint to come join him up there but instead he got a smirk that told him to get on with whatever he was going to do. He sighed and took a deep breath before starting. “I know usually a captain is chosen by election so I wanted to make sure before we departed that you all accepted my decisions.”
“Oi, oi, don’t bottle out on us now.”
Ohno beamed at the joking nature, glad Jun was bold enough to step out and say something at least. “I wanted to make a few more announcements about the other positions I would like to give out.” The crew didn’t seem to take his words warily so he continued. “Firstly, our navigator.” He held his hand out in Sho’s direction gesturing him to come forward and up to the helm. “Sho’s guided me through more than a few rough seas and I hope that he will take up the challenge of plotting the safest route for us on our coming journey.” He smiled when Sho nodded happily at him before turning to Nino and making the rest of the crew laugh. “Though I think he’ll need his partner to scale the crow’s nest for him and scout ahead for us, don’t you?”
“Yeah, well, he definitely wouldn’t be able to do that himself with his head for heights.” Nino smirked, climbing up the stairs slowly. “But if that’s my only job I won’t be pleased.”
“It isn’t but I’ll tell you later.” Ohno smiled at him as he approached. His eyes flicked between the pair and his other two friends, a feeling of pride in his chest as he surveyed them. He’d given them their jobs based on observations of their characters and he’d found that watching them fight was a good way to find it. He’d watched Sho and Nino fight on many occasions and had come to appreciate Sho’s concern for Nino’s well-being even if he wasn’t as useful in the fight itself. But he was a good guide, navigating a course for Nino around a fight well from the side lines and for all his inexperience with a sword he was good with his fists and as Ohno had found out once to his disadvantage when deciding to attack him in a sparring match instead of Nino if you put him in a situation with a sword he could at least incapacitate an opponent with the amount of force he put behind a swing so Nino could come help him if he needed it. Their only set back was their inability to understand that it wasn’t only fighting together that they were good at but that hadn’t taken long to get past once the other two had gotten together and continued their teasing. His eyes shifted to Jun and Aiba as his thoughts did, their bemused expressions telling him that he really should get on with it.
“How much are you going to space out?”
Ohno chuckled. “Alright, alright. I’ve also decided to take on a Quartermaster.” His eyes locked with Jun’s, grinning at his surprise. He’d taken well to Jun once they’d gotten back to port all those months ago, a small feeling of respect for him when he asked to see his fighting style and he didn’t even try and complain about his injuries before getting himself ready. He’d been happy though when Sho had stepped in to try and stop them, already acting motherly but instead of heeding him he’d said that Aiba could join in the fight at any point if Jun didn’t mind. Though Jun had looked confused he was hoping to see how the pair of them faired as partners, Aiba’s eyes dawning to this fact so he didn’t argue. The fight started and Ohno found that he’d found yet another different character in his new found crew member. Jun wasn’t reckless like Aiba or Nino but he wasn’t as cautious as Sho was when it came to fighting. Instead he held back slightly, gauging Ohno’s next more, calculating and calm as he parried and blocked Ohno’s attacks and also tried to land a few himself. Unfortunately his cautious nature meant that Ohno could keep pushing him back until he was backed into a corner, at which point Aiba rushed in, catching him almost off guard with his frenzied attacks; Aiba didn’t have much perfected skill in sword fighting but he had stamina and energy that had Ohno retreating instead of pushing forwards. That was until Jun was able to sneak up behind him and stop him in his tracks. Ohno had laughed at the pair of them as Aiba hugged Jun because they’d won even with Jun scolding him for his uncontrolled charge attack and wincing slightly at the tight hug. He’d known then that he’d made the right choice in helping Aiba and he knew he’d made the right choice now. “Come on up, Jun.”
“Me?” Jun almost squeaked as Aiba pushed him forwards towards the stairs, a bright grin on his face. Jun couldn’t understand why Ohno had given him this role, it showed so much trust in him and he couldn’t understand why he would do that to someone who until they’d met had been robbing all the pirate ships he’d been on board.
“Yes, you.” Ohno laughed at his disbelief, turning to Aiba. “You too, Aiba, I’ll need someone to keep him in check, won’t I?” He smiled as Aiba almost skipped up the steps still pushing Jun along.
“But surely- it’s a job you’d give to Sho not me.” Jun looked around hoping for some support, still puzzled but Sho shrugged at him and smiled as if he agreed with Ohno’s choice.
“Well Sho has some of the needed qualities but not all of them.” Ohno nodded to himself as he went. “You see I think you and Sho are quite similar, you have a habit of wanting to look after people that much is obvious. But Sho’s more like a guiding hand.” He grinned as Nino coughed ‘Mother’. “Yes, exactly, but if I make a bad choice Sho will only try and guide me subtly into the right path and that’s not what is needed from a quartermaster. In that role, I need someone who’s not at all scared to tell me that I’m wrong and to always put the crews interested above whatever job it is we’re doing.” He gave Jun an appraising look. “We need someone who can punish, not just scold. And I think you know right from wrong judging from your punishment of other ships, though I’d rather you didn’t steal from me if I make a mistake.” He smiled to show he was joking before turning back to the crew. “These two are going to make sure this all goes smoothly so listen to them.”
“And what about us?”
Ohno turned back to Nino and Aiba as the crew got to work. “Isn’t that obvious?”
“Not really.” Aiba pouted, not impressed that he hadn’t been given a proper job.
“But your jobs are important.” Ohno huffed, crossing his arms. “You’re my morale boosters. Without you two there’s no way we’ll have a safe and easy journey. You two keep the peace on board by keeping morale high and you don’t really need to do that much to achieve that. The right amount of teasing and happy-go-lucky nature should do the trick.”
“Yep, that’s perfect for you two.” Jun ruffled Aiba’s hair, unable to resist with the pouty look still on his face.
“But it’s not really a job or that important.”
“What are you talking about?” Jun turned him round, giving him a serious look. “People make more bad decisions when morale is low than when it’s high, so if you keep the morale up we’re more likely to keep everyone on our side, you see?”
“I guess…” Aiba nodded, kind of getting used to the idea though he could see Nino was still not that impressed.
“How is that important? What do we actually achieve?” Nino raised an eyebrow, fixing Ohno with an annoyed look.
“Hmm? Well Sho keeps protects us from the elements, Jun will protect the crew from each other and you and Aiba will make sure the crew actually want to do as they’re told. Otherwise they may rise against my decisions and cause a mutiny.” Ohno scratched his chin. “So you’re protecting us from a mutiny?” Ohno shrugged as if it didn’t matter. “I’m only doing this to give you jobs that suit your personality. In truth I think of you all as equals, you know that and I’ll be listening for any advice you have to give me.”
It took a bit more persuading for Nino to cave and accept his decision but once he did they all set about helping with leaving port, sailing away from their home on to their first adventure.
Once they were out in open sea the jobs calmed down a bit and Aiba took the moment to find Jun and pull him over to a secluded edge of the ship. He waited for a while, wondering how to word his question but Jun didn’t push him to talk so he went at his own pace. “You never did tell me, why did you disappear when we were children?”
Jun looked down at him, his eyes showing a mixture of emotions. “Because…” He took a deep breath, looking out to sea as he continued. “I didn’t know what to think. At first I was suspicious of you because you were a passenger and I was a stowaway but I soon realised you were being truthful.” He felt his arm get squeezed and smiled before he grew thoughtful again. “I guess when I found out that you weren’t just a passenger but one with a lot of money I felt kind of…” He looked at the wood, making sure not to meet Aiba’s eye at all. “Unworthy of your friendship?” He laughed ironically, ignoring Aiba’s small protests. “Even now I sometimes feel the same. I became a pirate, I realised my dreams of finding trustworthy pirates wasn’t going to happen so I became worse than them, stealing from other pirates and yet there you were, still coming to rescue me from the situation I’d gotten into.” He finally looked at Aiba as if he was dreaming, a sappy look he wouldn’t show anyone else. “You let me and got your friends to accept me but-”
Aiba stopped him with a kiss, pulling away once he’d gotten his full attention. He glared at Jun afterwards, making sure he didn’t look away with his hands. “Don’t ever say you’re not worth it. You found trustworthy people in the end, you just needed a push…Or I guess you needed someone to keep hold of you unlike the first time when you slipped away.”
Jun blinked before smiling brightly and pressing their foreheads together. “What would I do without you, hey?” He gave a happy sigh, pulling back a bit. “How did you get into all this anyway? You’re dream wasn’t to be a pirate.”
“Hmm~” Aiba hummed thoughtfully, leaning against Jun as he did so, a playful smile on his face. “I guess I was chasing a mermaid.”
“Oh?” Jun smiled endearingly down at him as he hummed the tune to an old sea shanty. “Well, did you catch one?”
“Well I swam up to one but I think I tamed it more than caught it.”
A/N: The end of 'A different kind of treasure', thanks for reading~ I may have to add a sequel to this XD so much more can be done with arashi pirates~ I wish I could draw well ;.; the image of chibi pirate junba in my head is adorable~
Oh and I was going to go with StormChaser for the ship but then I realised I liked the name because it was from a book I'd read ^^; and I was reading up the roles aboard ship and found some interesting facts along the way, I hope I explained them properly but feel free to ask ♥
Again~ Thank you thank you thank you for the nomination =^.^= my day was made today when I saw that ♥
Anyway I'll scurry off now and post to comms at some point, ja~