Pirates of the Arisu :: 6th Storm :: Takeru's Gift
Title: Pirates of the Arisu
Genre: Alternate Universe, BL&Yaoi, Action&Adventure, Comedy/Crack, Slight Drama&Angst
Pairings: ShouxHiroto, mentioned AoixKai, ChiyuxYuji etc.
Summary: Kohara Kazumasa had a dream to sail the seas and explore every bit of land he could. He shared that dream with Ogata Hiroto and made a promise to come back for him. When he finally did, he decided that he can't possibly go back to Kohara Kazumasa and took on the name "Shou" -- the captain of a pirate crew -- with his own agenda.
Warnings: Sexy Shou in one hell of an eyepatch and mild language. XD
Prologue - 01 - 02 - 03 - 04 - 05
6th Storm :: Takeru's Gift
Immediately, I sprinted towards Hiroto, tackling the marine out of the way. Unfortunately, things didn't go as well as I hoped. Byou was able to stand on his two feet, blocking my attack. Hiroto's eyes widened before he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me away.
"Stop, Shou! That thing's on a completely different level in terms of physical strength!" he cried.
At that moment, I wrapped my own arms around the smaller, resting my head on top of his. Hiroto emitted a small, nearly inaudible gasp--his grasp loosening. Burying my face into his soft hair, I smiled. "Thank Poseidon, you're still alive," I murmured. "God, I missed you."
Byou didn't seem to like being ignored though, so he grabbed a towel and sulked into the building.
"Would you like to join us for lunch?" We all turned around to see a smiling Shinpei. "I think you'll like it. It looks very delicious."
That afternoon, I learned that Takeru was from a completely different world. Unlike my crewmates who shove meat down their throats like there was no tomorrow, Takeru ate moderately and elegantly. Well, except for Saga--since he is a cook, he can appreciate food and savor its taste. The blonde actually wanted to meet the man who cooked all of this and exchange a few words with him. Takeru could only grin in response and ask Masato to bring out "Chiyu and Yuji" to join us.
Two young men around our age walked into the dining hall. (Perhaps they weren't that young then since we, ourselves, were getting pretty old, too.) Both were rather sweaty (which, I assume, was from running from the kitchen to the dining room). Frowns were then sketched on Takeru's, Masato's, and Shinpei's faces.
"Don't tell me..." Masato began.
Yuji grinned sheepishly. "Hey, it's a feast! It'll usually take three hours for a group to finish our feast--HOLY SHIT, EVERYTHING'S CLEAN!"
It was true. Our Nao the Navigator was also diagnoised with gluttony, so it wasn't that big of a shock to us if the pink haired pirate finished off everything. Tora, Saga, and Hiroto instinctively pulled their plates closer to their build before finishing off their food--casting suspicious glances towards Nao.
While Saga and the cooks were engaged in a conversation about food-related topics, Takeru brought up another one. "You guys are pirates, right? Are you going to look for the treasure up in the jungle?" Takeru questioned.
My eyes narrowed. "How did you know?"
Takeru smiled softly. "I told you, I'm friends with a pirate myself. I don't know what happened to him because we lost contact, but he told me to be careful around the jungle. Because of him, I can identify pirates after a few minutes," he explained.
Clearing his throat softly, he continued with the original topic, "Anyways, that jungle is really dangerous. Rumored to be within them are treasure chests filled with riches beyond human imagination--in fact, the word about them had spread pretty far to the point where it became known as the Treasury. Unfortunately, anyone who goes in can't get out. The jungle itself is a maze--no, it's a labyrinth and it takes a person with skills and the devil's luck to get through. Actually, three days ago, there was a group that decided to take on that jungle, but nobody's seen them since. I advise against it--going into that jungle."
Hiroto spoke up right after the king finished his warning, "Don't worry! We're not going to die. Shou won't allow it!"
After his outburst, Takeru's eyes darkened. "Hiroto-chama, please don't die. You're the first friend I've made after so many years... I don't want you to disappear."
Hiroto grinned. "I won't die--like I said, Shou won't allow it," Hiroto reassured, "and, besides, I can't die either. After all, I have a goal I want to reach."
At that, my heart sunk. I didn't really know why I suddenly felt depressed; in a way, I was an outcast that very moment. It was like, while I was gone, Hiroto and Takeru had formed some kind of special friendship. Perhaps that was it--Hiroto had made a new friend. Tora and the others didn't seem to mind; in fact, they seemed rather happy that Hiroto was able to make friends with Takeru. Honestly, I couldn't say that I wanted to break the two apart, but I wasn't too thrilled with their closeness after a single night.
A single night...
What could they possibly do within a night?
My peaceful mind was suddenly overpowered by panic. Surely, Hiroto couldn't have done anything...inappropriate. No, Hiroto didn't do anything. Takeru... I couldn't say much about. I don't know him very well. The king seemed like a nice guy, yet I can't help but feel...jealous of the attention and warmth that he recieved from Hiroto.
Then there was another thing bothering my mind.
Hiroto's goal.
After six years, you'd think the little one would give up, but he's still thinking of Kazumasa-kun. Me from the past. Sometimes, I wondered if he liked Kazumasa-kun more than he liked me. Even though he practically confessed to me at the cave, he still didn't say any of those three phrases I wanted to hear--not even anything close to them. "I love you," "I need you," or "I want you." It made me ponder if Kazumasa-kun (me, basically) was holding him back from saying those words.
"So what are your goals for this island?" Shinpei questioned.
Immediately, my crewmen chorused, "The Treasury!" while Nao sheepishly added, "And maybe even Arisu-san."
Masato gawked. "Arisu-san?! As in that amazing ship? Arisu?! That's impossible! Even though I've heard of the myths that claim for it to be hibernating within a cove on this very island, it's impossible for a wrecked ship to come here!" Masato exclaimed while he flailed his arms in exaggeration.
There was a momentary lapse of silence before Tora spoke up monotonously, "Is that all you have to say about that matter?" With a sigh, the tiger put down his fork. A smug grin slipped onto my lips. At times like this, the tiger can sound very heroic--despite being a criminal. Sometimes, after his speech, instead of a crook, he gets referred to as a "valiant warrior of the blue." Tora leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table before lacing his fingers and resting his chin on them.
"Listen, myth or not, we're going to get something from this adventure. We're not taking a leisure journey. Every single one of us has an individual goal that we have to achieve, and we can definitely get closer to it. The more we venture, we can get lost or we can find another stepping stone. Even if we get stranded in the labyrinth, we'll find a way to survive and escape. Even if there's no Arisu, we'll find another ship that's to our liking. We're not just lowly criminals who will grab treasures and riches. We're humans searching for and protecting our treasure--our prized possession that we must never let go of. We're not going to give up here."
Saga, Nao, and Hiroto began to applaud for the master of the ship. Takeru and Shinpei shared a smile before clapping along with the pirates. Masato palmed his forehead.
"You pirates sure are stubborn. Frankly, I've never seen pirates such as yourselves. Most of them were just too greedy," Masato responded with a light smile. "You guys might be the second ones with hearts of gold."
Takeru nudged his royal advisor. "Do you know what that means, Masato? We should give them a present!" Takeru chirped. I raised my eyebrow and silently questioned his words. Present? Of course, nobody asked him anything because he was sure to explain later, and, if he didn't, then it had nothing to do with us.
Masato nodded. "Right after we're finished here, then we'll leave right away," he stated.
"But we're already done," Nao piped up. "Can we go see whatever it may be?"
The royal advisor deadpanned before nodding his head and leading the way. As we continued down corridors, turned around corners, and climbed up stairs, Hiroto was prodding Takeru about the present. Takeru delightfully answered him vaguely with Shousuke in his arms. The little bear cub seemed to be comfortable where he was. If only I could hold the little squirrel like that. There's no doubt that he would be thrashing about if I tried.
We stopped in front of a large pair of double doors--gold in color (and probably material). While my crew awed at the sight, Masato pushed open the door, allowing Takeru to enter first with all of us following him in--one by one. The room was, in fact, a library. We found ourselves surrounded by shelves of books and even more books. There were several spots with round tables and seats for one to sit down and enjoy a book (or something among those lines), but there was also a desk to the far left corner of the room--in front of a large glass window (that was actually the entire wall).
"This is the secret library that only the king and his royal advisor has access to," Takeru stated, "but I've decided to put that behind and invite you all in. There's something in here that I want to give you--something that will be of great importance if you wish to continue your journey and survive the Treasury." The young king continued down the aisles before stopping. After carefully setting Shousuke on the floor, he pulled out book after book--piling them in Masato's arms.
That was when I saw that there was a rectangular hole in the shelf, leading to the a smaller door in the wall with a combination. Takeru flicked the numbers back and forth, cracking open the lock, before opening the door and pulling out five scrolls. He handed them to Hiroto, warning the little one to be careful, before closing the tiny door and shelving the books in Masato's arms. The young king motioned for us to follow him as he grabbed the scrolls from Hiroto. We settled around a round table as he rolled the scrolls from one end to the other--revealings maps to an unknown area. What had caught my attention was that they were the same map with only a few variations.
"This is my present to you all. I place my trust in you to give you the maps of the Treasury. Only a couple of people have ever been in and come out with some results. They must have been strong, but they probably chickened out when it came to the big boss in the jungles. I'm not too keen on that story; there's a legend about some giant ogre, demon thing in there," Takeru mused before shaking his head--clearing it of any distractions. He cleared his throat and continued speaking with a sheepish smile, "Anyways, I'm going to give you their maps. It may not be too accurate. Still, I hope they will be of use to you. You can stay here for the night and rest up. Masato will show you to your rooms in a few minutes. Right, Masato?"
I think Masato doesn't really have a say in this. Takeru really has this whole "I'm the king. I'll be nice, yet I'm giving you some orders that you have to follow--or else I'll throw a fit" thing down.
[Later that Night]
"Is Nao-san still holing himself up in the library?" Hiroto questioned as he strolled along the shore with the curly haired blonde. The thief's eyes darkened as he kneeled down--picking up the wooden pieces. He sighed.
While Nao was busy throwing another all-nighter with royal coffee, Saga and Hiroto decided to roam the shore to see what was left of their ship. Apparently, there wasn't much--only bits of wooden pieces. Shou would be disappointed. Hiroto ran a hand through his bleached locks, dropping the piece of wood. How would they get off this island? Their trump card--that they didn't even have yet--was Arisu. Takeru was also an option. Since this island has an army/navy and all, there was no doubt that they have ships. Hiroto hoped that the king wouldn't be stingy about it if they asked for a ship.
"It seems that Nao-san's really obsessed with combining the maps into one," Saga replied nonchalantly as he picked up another piece that washed onto the shore. He chuckled. "S.S. Hofu, huh?" He flipped the board over so that Hiroto could see. It was longer than any other fragment, and it was probably luck that the name wasn't shattered.
"What's taking Shou and Tora-chan so long?" Hiroto inquired.
Saga shrugged.
Meanwhile, Shou and Tora were in the marketplace, scouting the area--although they probably didn't need to. The captain stuffed his hands into his pockets, shivering from the night breeze. If only he had a warm little squirrel to cradle.
Tora rolled his eyes. Shou was probably having perverted thoughts about Pon again, he commented dryly to himself. Well, at least his captain was happy. If Hiroto truly went missing, Shou would probably commit suicide to reunite with Hiroto in the afterlife or a new life or whatever. Tora's steps slowed down right as his captain stopped walking. He stared straight ahead before asking Tora something he didn't know the answer to.
"Tora, that ship right there... Doesn't it look suspicious?"
The tiger sent his captain a questioning look before glancing at the object of Shou's attention. That ship appeared to be a regular ship, from Tora's view, with its hull painted white and its railing painted a red/pink type of color. The wood of its cabins was carved to appear as stone tiles, also painted red/pink. To the front, at the bow, were the words "Red Antique" painted in a navy blue.
Red Antique? Tora questioned himself. He had heard the name somewhere before, and, turning to face Shou, he knew that the captain was aware of the--strangely--familiar name as well. Tora lifted his head up, towards the main cast.
One of the sails was painted with an image of a cat and, scribbled under the picture, was a single word that was nearly impossible to read. However, with Tora's sharp eyes, he managed to make out the word as "Nyappy!"
Shou shrugged. "Well, nothing rings a bell. We should be alert and all, but let's go back for now." Tora nodded in agreement although his sight lingered on the mysterious ship for a moment longer.
A/N: I haven't updated in forever~~ Share your thoughts? :3
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