Pirates of the Arisu :: 12th Storm :: GHOST
Title: Pirates of the Arisu
Genre: Alternate Universe, BL&Yaoi, Action&Adventure, Comedy/Crack, Slight Drama&Angst
Pairings: ShouxHiroto, mentioned AoixKai, ChiyuxYuji, KanonxTakeru, implied SagaxNao, Torax??, 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 - 06 - 07 - 08 - 09 - 10 - 11
12th Storm :: GHOST
"Six years ago, I met Shou when I was finishing up a perfect map of Edo. Before that, I was a street rat. I had nothing else to do but making maps. I was paid for it, and I was able to live off of it. After a while, I decided that maybe--one day--I should explore the places that I map. After all, my late mother claimed that I would be destined to do something great--eventually, you know?
"Oh! That reminds me--she passed away when I was six from a rogue samurai. Then my father died when he was trying to get revenge, but...I'm not like him. I figured I should just do what Mother wanted to make her happy. So when Shou just put an offer out of the blue, I just had to accept right away!"
Nao groaned, rubbing his head. Why the hell was he reliving his memories? His eyes fluttered open before blinking twice. His jaw dropped open before he pushed it closed...and yet it fell again. The navigator immediately rubbed his eyes--nearly clawing themselves out in the process.
He really couldn't believe it.
The sound of enka filled the streets--along with some profound happiness that Nao could only imagine himself having back in the days--as people strolled, calmly, to and fro. Samurai cheered and laughed merrily (with no sign of a rogue anywhere) whilst drinking. Women chattered, gossiped, and bickered from dawn til dusk. All the meanwhile, children were scattered about. Nonetheless, colorful yutakas blinded the pink haired navigator, who still was in disbelief.
How was he in Edo? How was he in Japan? Nao was positive that he was about 2,000 kilometers away last time that he checked--on a nearly unknown island called Royale SuGizo, too. His brown orbs flickered over his surroundings once more before he found his feet leading him to a familiar fruit stand. The navigator picked up a random apple--ripe red in color.
Nao had to admit that he had a special talent for picking up delicious fruit. It was the reason why Hiroto and Saga took him out to nab some fruits--that, and because he had the ultimate knowledge on landscapes.
The pink haired pirate brought the fruit to his lips, his breath hitting its red skin, before freezing in place.
"Stop, Nao-san."
The navigator immediately paused for some strange reason. His brown orbs traveled to the right, the hand holding the red apple slowly lowering. His gaze met with another--another with a warm and gentle aura. His neatly styled light brown hair even had a feathery appearence to it--like an angel. However, he didn't look like Yusa. He didn't even come close to Yusa's description. Yusa was more energetic, and this person had a more calm and cool air.
Who was this person? Why does he know my name?
Bluntly put, Nao was curious.
He smiled, making Nao put back the apple, before commenting, "Don't give up on Shou-san."
Nao wasn't able to blurt out, "What's your name?!" because the stranger had faded away like a ghost. The pink haired pirate swallowed a gulp as he wandered endlessly around Edo--pondering on what he should do next.
[SAGA]
"I hated going to medical school. I hated my father. However, I knew I couldn't hate him. He never did any wrong. It wasn't fair though--how I was the one taking up space in a school, how I was the one who had the spot that someone else desired. All I wanted was to cook in every bit of the world, and find the ultimate chef heaven. I had to run away to get what I wanted and to give someone else a dream."
Saga didn't know how he was stuck in a lab coat, nor did he understand why he was the star of the experiment--performing everything accurately and precisely as possible. He didn't understand why his fellow "classmates" were expecting something from him. In the end, he had pounded his fist against the table, shaking everything and nearly knocking the lab equipment over. A young man nearby yelped--startled--before the teacher demanded something from him.
And yet he could not dash out of the room, for another man blocked his way--feathery light brown hair, bright brown orbs filled with warmth and kindness, but sickly pale skin.
"Please, continue to believe in Shou-san."
He backed away--out of the room--and Saga chased after him. Unfortunately, the brunet was nowhere in sight. The chef pursed his lips, confusion dragging him deeper and deeper until he would suffocate.
Saga ran out of the building--as he had the day when he left his father--and found himself in Edo.
No wonder everything had seemed so familiar.
[TORA]
"Long story short: I fell in love with a girl. We were together for a while. I promised her I'd protect her, but then I failed to...and she was killed in the middle of chaos. Thus, I swore to become the world's strongest man to prevent something like that from happening again. Regrettably, when my little brother was ganged up by some older, tougher boys, I wasn't there to save him. One day, they brought weapons that they snuck out of someone's dojo, and...my brother was also gone."
Tora narrowed his eyes at the brunet in front of him. Though he seemed harmless, Tora really couldn't underestimate him. Last time he checked, he was in a labyrinth. The next second, he was pretty sure that this was Edo. It could have been all of his doing, or it might not have been. Either way, he was the only suspect for stepping in front of the tiger--Yusa nearly completely disappeared from his train of thoughts.
"Who are you?" Tora questioned--finding his voice surprisingly malicious. The stranger merely smiled, dismissing Tora's vulgar tone, and introduced himself as Jui, a ghost. Now, Tora wasn't one for superstitions and paranormal activities, etc. etc. But, as he continued his journey with Shou and the others, it definitely wasn't impossible. After their venture at that mermaid island place, Hiroto had rambled about a beautiful mermaid dying in front of his eyes. Hiroto wasn't a liar, so he saw something weird. (An actual mermaid? Most likely.) "And...why the bloody hell am I in Japan again?"
"You're not--physically, that is," Jui answered, "Yusa actually pulled each and every one of you into an illusion--except for Shou-san. Tora-san, you're the only one with the mindset that can dispel this illusion--other than Shou-san, whose demon abilities naturally allow him to dispel illusions.
"But, right now, Nao-san and Saga-san are wandering, searching for me. You have to meet up with them first. I guided them to this spot. Hiroto-san should be fine because Shou-san will definitely save him. I can't really do much for you other than try to reunite you guys and channel your thoughts together. Tora-san, be the first to wake up from this illusion, please. Afterwards, I'll guide you through the maze."
Tora's eyes failed to widen as he observed Jui's form fade away. With a sigh, he ran his fingers through his hair before looking around.
"And how the hell am I going to dispel this illusion?" Tora grunted before finding two figures approaching him from opposite sides. The tiger palmed his forehead. "Great, now everything really does depend on me." The pink haired pirate was the first to reach him, Saga arriving shortly after.
"Tora, do you know what's going on here?" Saga questioned. "I'm pretty sure we were in the maze--"
"We still are," Tora answered immediately--wanting to get everything done and over with. "It's just that we're stuck in an illusion. I'm not really sure how we get out. Or how we fight that...thing." A large shadow fell over them, and a giant scorpion wiped out the whole city--trampling over everything in its path. Nao whistled in admiration.
"Have I ever told you guys how much I love exploring with you?" Nao chirped as he wielded his two katanas.
"Countless times," Saga answered with a smirk, "but that might just be me. After we get done with this island, I'm definitely expecting to hear more." The chef reached out for his guns, filling them up with its delicious ammo. Tora rolled his eyes before taking off first--charging towards the mutated creature and landing heavy punches all over its shell. His dark eyes widened, as its tail launched forward. Just in time, he managed to jump back--landing between Nao and Saga.
The master of the ship finally began to warm up to his job and gave out orders in place of Shou, "Nao, take care of the tail. Saga, cover me."
"Aye, sir!" the two chorused before following Tora's lead.
[SHOU]
With cautious glaces cast around my surroundings, I began to roam this new room. The walls of the labyrinth transformed from pure gold to shimmering crystals with the iridescent colors of the rumored "Le Grand Bleu"--a legendary sea that only the pirates among pirates could sail. A curious hand traveled towards the walls, fingers lightly brushing against the soothing surface--waves of tranquility suddenly rolling over each other within me.
Immediately, I retracted my hand--the serene and calming waters disappearing the moment I lost contact with the crystals. Another cautious glance was thrown about the room before my feet led me away from the current corridor to yet another wing to the right. The echoes of my footsteps vibrated off of the surfaces around me--I figured that my ears would be useless here after a while of wandering.
My footsteps halted although the light pattering continued on for a few moments as I merely gawked at the sight in front of me. Any thoughts, fears, lies, and such I had in my mind dropped as I took off sprinting towards the four in front of me. For a moment, I stumbled and nearly failed to regain balance.
The distance between us seemed to get longer, but somehow I managed to reach Tora. My fists began to thrash wildly on the aqua green glass--pounding over and over again until I could get his eyes to open.
"Tora! Tora! What happened, Tora?!" I screamed over and over again until I had no energy left to even tap lightly on the window of glass separating us. Dragging my feet to the next man, I knocked on the glass--knowing that Saga hated to be disturbed when he was resting.
"Hey, Saga, wake up."
Saga failed to respond...to me...his captain. Even Nao failed to react, and Hiroto as well. I leaned my forehead against Hiroto's (although glass kept us apart) and attempted to swallow a sob--failing miserably on my part as a wail escaped my throat.
A cold hand was placed on my shoulder, and a chill traveled down my spine--allowing a shiver to slip through.
"Do you remember me?"
Fuck, how couldn't I?
[HIROTO]
"Actually, I was just a sneaky son who needed an adventure every now and then. There's nothing much to say. My mom ran a dango shop and I helped. That's pretty much it..."
The gunman slid through the corridors of the golden labyrinth without an idea of where he was going. As he opened a large, bulky door set in front of him, another scenery greeted him with open arms. Hiroto couldn't help but step through and embrace Edo once again. He found himself dressed in a light blue yutaka as little kids scurried about around him.
He was oblivious to a smile creeping onto his lips despite the fact that his head was spinning. The young pirate was also unaware of the soft sound of music that was luring him somewhere. His feet began to walk forward and around corners--stuck in a trance--before finding himself in front of a small shop. He slid open the doors, inviting himself in, before sliding it back shut.
His doe eyes scanned the area, a room with thick paper doors and walls that were painted vermillion. Lanterns occupied the corners, accompanied by various bamboo plants. There were no windows, nothing to let light and eyes peek through--as if the owner was hiding a secret.
Another young man sat in the center of the room, surrounded by incense and candles--you could hardly tell it was day in this room--and was currently plucking the strings of a koto, an instrument that Hiroto hadn't seen in a while. The young man himself was a rare type seen in this world--with a face so beautiful that it made you melt.
"How may I help you, Hiroto-sama?"
That caused Hiroto to blush. His voice was divine. He knew of only one voice that was so godly and suave--that voice belonging to no other than his lover--and...he also realized that the beautiful young man was exposing his milky white thighs.
Don't tell me that I walked into that kind of shop... Hiroto cursed himself.
"Hiroto-sama?" the stranger repeated.
And that made Hiroto realize that this person whom he had never met before knew his name. He stared blankly at the brown haired stranger, who started to stand up and swagger towards the pirate. Hiroto made no effort to back away or make some sort of getaway. Instead, he stood his ground and watched as the stranger stood directly in front of him--grasping his shoulders tightly.
"If I may, Hiroto-sama, am I allowed to ask of you one thing--just a single question?" the stranger questioned. The gunman only nodded silently before noticing the slight panic in the stranger's brown eyes. This observation merely added to the apprehension bubbling in the pit of his stomach. Something about this encounter had made him jumpy and anxious. It was rather suspicious--and certainly not coincidental. "Why did you become Kohara-kun's lover? He is a demon, is he not? Do you not fear--?"
"What is there to fear?" Hiroto immediately retorted. "Before he was a demon, he was and still is Kohara Kazumasa--even if he takes on the name Shou. I shall always stand by his side because he was the boy who had captured my heart. Who are you?"
The stranger smiled. "I am Satsuki, the god of the universe," he said before producing a pendant out of midair and wrapping Hiroto's fingers around it--placing it into the gunman's palms. Satsuki's smile grew warmer with each word that left his lips afterwards, "Perhaps I need not to destroy him. Perhaps you can save him. Hiroto-sama, I ask of you to please, please save Kohara-kun. The goddess Nemesis confessed that your lover is bound by a contract sealed with the flames of Hades, but I can break it--only if you can save his heart and soul though."
--Next Chapter!!-->