fic: PIRATES!! (happy birthday, Heli!)
Title: PIRATES!!
Author: prologuesized
Beta: pinkeuphoria1 (because she went through the trouble of pointing out my god-awful preposition fails and whatnots ♥ I'm really grateful for your effort, thank you so much, you deserve some credit here!)
Pairing: Akame, onesided!KusanoKame
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU, Humour, Romance
Disclaimer: Guess what! I still own nothing but the story! But that's what you expected, right?
Summary: On Kame's ship pirates are still what they used to be during the good old days. It's his ship after all, and he's more than ready to forcibly welcome a rude biter in his theatre sailing across the oceans.
Author Note: HAPPY BIRTHDAY circuside! See, I did have one surprise up my sleeve. AND I DIDN'T LIE ABOUT IT SO STFU, YOU NEVER ASKED, YOU ONLY ASKED WHAT I BOUGHT. So ♥ Have some pirate!Akame (because your birthday present was sooo pirate-themed, wasn't it?). Inspired by that one roleplay, but since it's a fic it's very different and stuff.
I tried to make it fun :( And it wasn't supposed to be this long but, oh well, what can I say... I know you won't be able to read this in ages (because of k_x stuff and everything) but... appreciate the gesture? :(
...I don't think I've ever featured T-TUN this much.
Wordcount: 9,200
PIRATES!!
First time they acknowledge each other they’re on the battlefield. Kame pushes a particularly cocky and aggressive pirate in jeans and a sweaty cardigan down to the ocean with a sarcastic “Oops, my bad,” and turns smugly around, barely managing to dive out of the way as the pocket knife alarmingly approaches his throat.
Kame kicks the man in his thigh with his vintage boot and makes him fall over in shock. He clicks his tongue and briefly knocks out another attacker before he pulls out his blade and swipes the man’s fringe off his face to see him better.
The man on the floor has a childish and furious look in his eyes. It’s rebellious and stubborn in an exhilarating way Kame likes seeing on the stage of his 24/7 theatrical lifestyle. He gets hit by an irresistible temptation to kidnap the man and store him in his little and lonely prison before Koki whispers hastily in his ear that the fight is actually starting to look pretty bad and Junno, their strategist, has voiced out his pressing suggestion to leave.
He joins his crew in an escape back to their own ship, leaving the brat behind with a distressed groan. They roar threateningly from their ship’s railing before their enemy starts firing at them with bullets. Kame kind of wants to load the cannons and give them a blast for being assholes that just refuse to get beaten down in a very pirate fight.
They raise their pink flag with a skull that has hearts for the eyes and sail away, using the wind to their advantage on their run.
It’s a very pirate-like thing to run and rethink strategy before striking again for revenge, and Kame has a very clear idea what he wants to be his grand prize when his crew humiliates Captain Yu’s crew.
He’s going to get that pretty boy on his own ship to spark up the theatrical brilliance of his passionate crew.
He sort of fancies them fearless and naïve, and he hasn’t had a proper bed-warmer in a while.
--
If Kame is proud of something, it’s his crew. He’s got all the personal pieces on his deck, each shining in their own brilliant pirate-like way. They work well together and all enjoy the little thrill in life, medieval fashion and lifestyle. Or maybe not that much. But anyway.
Ueda’s been brooding in his cabin since the fight, leaving its privacy only to join dinner. It’s a bit unusual coming from him, but Ueda gets his unsocial phases that pass eventually, so Kame isn’t all too worried about it. The man’s a real scare with sadistic tendencies and Kame has a feeling their opponents are probably more scared of him than the actual captain of the pirate ship. It might have something to do with the fact that in the past Ueda was the captain, but the more they evolved the lazier he got and finally couldn’t be bothered to be responsible enough to plan for the entire crew. To solve the problem he forfeited his position for Kame, believing in his natural talent.
“They’re pretty good,” Nakamaru notes as they sit on the deck. He’s got a laptop on his lap and the rest of the crew is putting up an act of fishing in order to look unsuspicious near to a city where Maru hacks the server to get internet access. “Yu’s crew’s bigger too. His only problem seems to be that his ship is full of idiots. It’s a bit like running a kindergarten.”
“Tell me about it,” Kame mumbles, thinking back to the handsome stranger who had almost gotten the best of him. It still stings his ego even though he had quite smoothly saved the situation. The man hadn’t even looked like anyone actually important. “So tell me, why didn’t we beat a bunch of rabid kids?”
Nakamaru’s good at finding information and investigating. He’s often the one who finds the sea routes of fascinating ships Kame likes to rob for their jewellery collections or gourmet food. Kame rests his head on Nakamaru’s padded shoulder and hums as he examines the articles on the screen.
“I don’t know. Because they’re kids?” Nakamaru suggests. “You do know that kids can kick you really hard… They’re enthusiastic.”
“My crew’s enthusiastic,” Kame objects but doesn’t get the chance to continue as a man interferes the conversation by joining them, a fishing rod on his hand.
“How’s it going, Captain K?” Kusano asks him in an almost flirtation way and squeezes to sit next to him. Kame feels a vein threatening to pop on his temple and inhales deeply, doing his best to control himself.
“Aren’t you supposed to be fishing?” he snaps finally, giving the man a meaningful glare. “Go and look innocent while the big boys plan. Shoo.”
“My arms are hurting and I just thought -”
“Whatever you thought, my answer is no,” Kame continues sweetly and pats him on his shoulder, regretting the one day he had given in to the non-stop flirting and dragged the man to his cabin for a heated session. Instead of solving the problem it had only worsened it, and that for god’s sake had been a couple of years back after too much rum consumed. “Get fishing. And you better catch some fish now, I feel like fish today. Oh, and tell Junno to come over.”
“Yes, Captain…” Kusano frowns and heads towards the others again. “JUNNO, CAPTAIN WANTS YOU!”
“You could’ve done that yourself,” Maru mutters to him squeamishly and Kame nods with his teeth exposed, feeling relieved that his number one harasser gets as far away from him as he can possibly get him.
“I should’ve just jerked off back then…”
They sigh deeply in agreement as Junno abandons his fishing rod on the middle of the deck before he bounces up the short stairs towards them with a toothy smile.
“Iriguchi deguchi Tag-”
“Don’t leave just yet,” Kame cuts his persistent joke no one really laughs at anymore and waves his hand. “Strategist. I want that ship beaten into a pulp. I’m not accepting this humiliation for my crew.”
“Ah, yes. I think I sort of miscalculated -”
“Let’s fix the problem then,” Kame scoffs and motions for the man to sit on the other side of their computer expert. Nakamaru’s been highly educated which is sometimes an advantage - he had actually come aboard in the form of a desperate kidnap and remained on the ship nagging about the needless danger they put everyone’s lives in. Taguchi had spared him an ear in one of the cells and realised that he was actually pretty helpful. It took him awhile to adjust to the lifestyle, but nowadays he holds his own custom-made knife in fights. Even if he mostly screams and runs around the deck more than aims it at anyone.
Kame’s actually sort of happy the man had chosen to stay. He forces some sense into their skulls when it’s necessary.
“What went wrong last time?” he questions the strategist sharply. Junno grimaces apologetically and tilts his head as he tries to find the words to explain their defeat.
“First of all, they have more crew members,” Junno tries to explain. “A lot more. Someone snuck past Tegoshi and Masuda and then they started to invade our ship so a lot of our crew had to hop back to defend what we already have. That broke the attack and… well.”
“So I have those two sissies to blame,” Kame sighs miserably. “You know how much I want that diamond skull collection they stole from the art delivery ship two years back. I love arts.”
“You love skulls,” Koki corrects him as he joins the conversation, wiping soap from his hands. Kame cocks a lazy eyebrow questioningly and the man motions towards the deck.
“The rookies started playing with the brushes so I put them back under control,” he informs. “Takaki and Yamada. I poured the bucket over them. Got my hands dirty.”
“Don’t bully the kids,” Kame sighs and starts rubbing his temples. “You’re supposed to keep watch, not play around with a couple of teenagers.”
“It’s not Tegoshi’s and Massu’s fault, though,” Koki notes. “Someone screwed up in weapon maintenance. Massu’s gun didn’t fire and their swords weren’t sharp,” he scoffs. “So you have pretty much everyone a suspect, you know how lazy the crew can get.”
“Damn it,” Kame mutters. “Well you make sure they do a better job this time! Anyone who slacks off can start doing strip tease shows for a week. For the entire crew. The one who screws up the worst will be the week’s whore.”
“Aye, Captain K,” Koki exclaims loudly. “Will I go and break the news to the trembling mass of loyal followers?”
“Aye,” Kame answers. “And get someone to fetch my stress ball, okay?”
Kame ignores the roar Koki gives to shake up everyone (it’s all for show’s sake and they all know that) and turns back to the remaining two crew members, licking his lips anxiously.
“Do you think we stand a chance?” he asks Junno. “Any modifications for the plan?”
“I’d say a few more trustworthy men on the home ship,” Junno suggests after a while of thought. “Ueda will lead the attack with you and give them a good scare. Koki and Maru can fetch your collection of… arts,” he coughs meaningfully.
“Can you track them down?” Kame checks with Maru and receives a nod as an answer as Maru’s fingers fly on the keyboard.
“I snuck in a tracker. There shouldn’t be a problem, the signal is pretty clear. The weather’s good too,” he nods at the screen. “Sun and some clouds, nothing major.”
“What if I want to snatch up one of them on this ship?” Kame asks and the men fall silent, eyeing each other concernedly. Kame purses his lips and glares at the two. “Are you questioning me?”
“No, Captain, most certainly not!” the answer rings in unison.
“You’re going to kidnap someone again?” a moody voice asks them and Kame jolts as he looks behind him, seeing Ueda leaning against the railing, wind blowing through his hair as he stares at the sea.
“I didn’t notice you,” he mumbles first before he gets himself together again. “He looks absolutely perfect for this crew. I’m doing him a favour.”
“I’ll help,” Ueda shrugs as he turns to face them. “I can cover you.”
“Thanks,” Kame smiles. “I knew you’d trust my judgement.”
They smirk at each other and Kame raises his pinky up. His friends follow his lead, feeling the cool wind in their hands.
It makes Kame feel incredibly alive in a way a 9 to 5 job never did on land.
“We’ll ace this,” he announces stubbornly. “And then we’ll be drinking rum every night for a week!”
“Aye!”
--
They strike at night. The crews clash together and everything is a hardly organized mess when they swing to the opponent’s ship with thick ropes. Kame feels his boots hitting the ground and lets go of his hat, certain it isn’t going to fly away in the wind anymore. He’s grown to like it perhaps a bit too much.
He pulls out his sword, roars and attacks the crew with his men. They knock them out, wound and kill some before they manage to back them to the front of the ship with the choice of attacking a ferocious crew of wannabe pirates or icy waves that will surely freeze them alive in a matter of minutes.
His crew ties up some people and cheers victoriously as Kame slits a small wound on Yu’s throat as a final warning, still aiming his gun at the captain’s head.
“We have a little robbing to do, so stay put, will you?” he tells the man sweetly and sees from the corner of his eye some fast-legged crew members running around the ship with all kinds of niceties from food and alcohol to PSP and Nintendo DS gadgets and jewellery.
Well. It’s not his fault that his crew does enjoy some normal entertainment too every now and then. Time tends to grow long when it’s spent mostly in the middle of an ocean. It’s quick to run out of things to do.
He throws the captain to his men and lets them tie him up after he’s swept a deck of playing cards from his pockets. They have pictures of naked women in them. It looks classy enough for him.
“Hey Kame, were you looking for this one?” Ueda asks him as he approaches him with a messy-looking man. Kame smiles at his familiarity and the furious spark in his eyes as he spits blood on the ground. He’s got a split lip, some minor cuts and a dark bruise quickly forming on the left side of his face.
Ueda’s kind of good with his right fist. If Kame trusts on anyone in his crew on bare handed combat, it’s Ueda. He has a few pressing memories himself to fuel the impression.
“Get him aboard,” he commands and the man stares at him with widened eyes, panic setting in. He struggles and screams but a few men step in to help Ueda with Kame’s new pet. Kame winks at Captain Yu.
“I hope you don’t mind,” he apologizes. “You could say I sort of set my eyes on him.”
When their ship The Queen starts heading towards safer areas, the crew celebrates with their new liquor collection on the deck, singing songs and playing drinking games.
Kame goes to sleep watching the diamond skull on his bedside drawer. His life is marvellous.
--
“Captain K, the captive bites,” Yamada complains to him the next day at breakfast, hand wrapped in bloodied bandage. “He’s an animal, you know that?”
Kame chuckles in amusement. He gets a mental image of the young man screaming at everyone who approaches the cells and spitting at them furiously like a venomous snake or maybe just a raving dog, feeling exposed and helpless.
“He’s got charm,” he answers to his apple and munches on it absently. “I like that.”
“But he bites,” Yamada tries again miserably. “And I’m the one who has to feed him.”
“Be glad you aren’t the one who’s going to prepare him for dinner tonight,” Kame chuckles with a wink. “Maybe you should go and warn Tegoshi and Massu that their limbs are at stake if they underestimate the situation again and don’t check their weapons before the task.”
He ruffles the youth’s hair playfully before he leaves. Koki crushes on the seat next to him, stuffing bread in his mouth without even bothering to spread butter on it.
“I went to check on your great idea just now,” he notes. “I can sort of see what you see in him.”
“Uh huh?” Kame answers with a bemused smile and licks the fruit juice from his lips. “So you see more than that he just bites?”
“He bites?” Koki asks him with his eyebrows raised. “I should’ve expected that.”
“I bet he has a filthy mouth,” Kame muses to himself, smile spreading as he thinks about it. “He’ll bellow obscenities at us even when we have a gun aimed at his head and once he adjusts he’ll be the crew’s puppy, but he’ll get in trouble for his big mouth all the time.”
“You’ve certainly thought about him a lot,” Koki laughs knowingly. Kame shrugs and tilts his head little.
It’s not his fault he’s always had an eye for his crew members. Most he’s convinced to join and hop aboard, but some have required a little bit of more pressing and convincing training. He has a feeling he just has to find the right buttons with his newest piece of collection before everything seems as perfect as it can get.
Yes, he’s thought about Akanishi a lot. He’s just known ever since he first set his eyes on him that he’s been a missing piece in the family, someone who does need them as much as they need him, even if they aren’t aware of it yet.
He just has eyes for things like this. It’s good to be sentimental.
--
Kame finds himself unable to hold onto his act of serenity on the deck and finally around lunchtime sneaks away from his crew to catch a glimpse of his little biting monster in the cells. He approaches the dark depths of the ship carefully and whistles a little, enjoying the mood.
“Akanishi?” he asks as he finally sees the man. He’s lying on his back, limbs sprawled in all directions as he angrily stares at the ceiling. No reaction. “You must remember me.”
He receives a murderous glare from his captive as he tries to feign uninterested. Kame feels his heart pounding happily as he kneels down on the other side of the bars. He smiles widely and the man rolls to sit up, small stubble starting to grow on his dirtied face.
Kame wonders if his crew has slacked off with their cleaning as well. He detects a few spider webs around that certainly shouldn’t have had the time to form. Damn it.
“Oh, I remember you,” the man spits at him with a dark smile. “Captain Lacy-pants.”
“There’s no lace in my pants,” Kame furrows his brow. “You do know the difference between a shirt and pants, right?”
“Fuck you,” Akanishi snaps and exposes his teeth dangerously. “Lacy anyway. Some fucked up crew you have, but that has to be because they have a fucked up leader. What the hell is wrong with this ship!?” he howls. Kame detects a hint of fear the man tries desperately to hide. “You look like a fucking circus on the loose!”
“We’re pirates,” Kame helps him. “Arr!”
“You’re freaks,” Akanishi tries to correct him. “Pirates aren’t like that anymore!”
“On this ship they are,” Kame informs him as he stands up proudly again. “This is my ship.”
“So you’re the biggest freak of them all?” Akanishi laughs hollowly, starting to look more and more frightened for his sanity with each passing second. “Great. Just great.”
“It is great,” Kame cuts his complaints short and purses his lips as he adjusts his hat. “You’ll learn that.”
“Fuck you,” Akanishi scoffs again and looks away. “Fuck you and your madhouse. Ship. Whatever.”
“See you at dinner,” Kame winks at him as he starts walking away happily. “Keep up the good spirit!”
“I SAID FUCK YOU!” Akanishi’s roar rings in his ears as he slips out of the cells and returns to his cabin, squealing on his bed.
Akanishi makes his blood run hot. He really likes that.
--
The screams start an hour before the grand celebration dinner. Nakamaru sits next to him and fidgets uneasily. Kame just keeps chuckling and sort of wishes he’d be there to see the show.
“Are you sure it’s such a great idea?”
“Nope,” Kame answers truthfully as he rocks. “I think it’s a bad idea.”
“If it’s a bad idea, why are you going along with it?” Maru tries to question him, starting to look more and more panicky, especially since Kame isn’t reacting with concern. “He’s really… hissy.”
“I like chaos on my ship,” Kame states happily as he looks up at the darkening sky. “It makes me feel like a pirate.”
“You are a pirate,” Nakamaru notes and plays with the wooden bracelets on his wrist. “You’re a great captain, Kame. Everyone trusts you, so… Why are you acting so recklessly?”
“Pirates are reckless,” Kame notes as he stands up, winking at his friend. “You think too much, Maru. But I guess it’s good to have one like that on board.”
“Thanks,” Maru grimaces at him tensely. “I don’t really know how to take that.”
“Take it well?” Kame suggests as he starts backing away. “Okay? You’re one of my favourites. You don’t need to be a jolly one, we get the fun from poking at you and you actually are useful.”
Maru waves at him as he grins and leaves the man chatting with Koki. He jogs down the chairs and passes some rookies grimly mopping the deck. He’s on his quest to check in with the kitchen about the evening’s meal before Kusano interrupts him by casually leaning on the wall, taking all the space on the narrow hallway.
Just his luck.
“Hi Kusano,” he chuckles awkwardly. “Everything good? Did you get a nice catch?”
“Everything’s great,” the man answers as he swiftly moves to let them walk side by side. Kame feels a bit fidgety as one shoulder scrapes the wooden walls and other presses against his harasser’s.
Even the captain’s status hadn’t saved him from that one. It probably didn’t help much that there were only men on his crew which meant that his members had to have… well… opened up a little for the chances of homosexuality. Women only exist on ports which they visit rarely. Of course there are the ones who just proudly deal with their things in the bathroom, but…
Well, the majority of the group had learned to be a bit more… flexible.
“I’ve been sort of longing for a better catch, though,” Kusano sighs exaggeratedly and Kame gulps, sensing the forthcoming danger. He’s used to it by now. Unfortunately. Not that Kusano isn’t good looking, but he just really can’t properly relax around him because of the constant flirting. He doesn’t fancy him that much.
“That’s a pity,” he grins at the man. “I was sort of busy…”
“What about being a little reckless and getting busier before the big party?” Kusano stops him with his suggestion and Kame coughs. Well, it’s not like he wouldn’t have seen it coming.
“Kusano, as brilliant as you are: no,” he answers. “I’m afraid not.”
“Ah, damn,” the man grimaces. “Better luck next time then?”
“Nope,” Kame waves as he hurries towards the kitchens. “See you at the party!”
“See you, Captain!”
He reminds himself to ensure that Kusano sure as hell isn’t getting a seat next to him for dinner. Just in case.
--
The party is wild. They didn’t exactly manage to get much rum on their robbery, but their liquor stores have definitely been filled with all sorts of… oddities. Ueda has preserved himself a bottle of red wine he keeps on his hand as he giggles and chatters with the rest of the crew. Koki is having a drinking game match with Maru with a couple of bottles filled with tequila. Maru seems to be losing and regretting.
Kame keeps the rum happily to himself as he snacks on the shrimps delivered for appetizers. He’s just gulping down more of his rum straight from the bottle as a bell chimes.
Everyone’s head snaps towards the door where Akanishi is standing, shaking in barely contained fury and carrying a large silver tray with roasted chicken.
Kame drools. But his drool sure as hell isn’t for the chicken.
He feels a bit sorry for the black eyes and bruises Tegoshi and Massu seem to have obtained from their afternoon pampering Kame by setting up his captive. Akanishi’s face looks soft and delicate now that it’s been shaved (safe for a few cuts make-up tries to hide) and his hair falls on his shoulders in proud corkscrew curls.
Kame had failed to see the point in dressing Akanishi as an actual pirate for the dinner since he wasn’t really one of them yet so he had slammed a frilly outfit of a rich medieval boy in his crew members’ hands. The deep blue looks good on Akanishi and Kame kind of digs the chequers as the man rudely stomps forward and slams the chicken on the table, motivated by Tegoshi’s gun pointing at his head.
They don’t seem to be hitting things off all too well. Then again, they probably haven’t shared one of the loveliest afternoons in their lives together, judging by the previous screaming and now evident battle wounds.
Kame licks his lips as he looks at Akanishi. He looks absolutely delicious as he waves his hand swiftly, motioning for his crew to dig in the chicken.
“So now I’m a part of your sick play?” Akanishi hisses at him venomously, voice trembling. “Your little pretty-boy slave?”
“Nah,” Kame smiles up at him charmingly and pats his nose. “Just keep the act up for tonight.”
Akanishi snaps, never mind the gun pointed at his head. He jumps like an animal and knocks Kame’s chair over, trying to strangle him on the floor. It doesn’t really take long for Kame’s crew to save him from the sudden act of impulsive violence, and when Kame gets back on his feet he’s unable to stop his laughter.
His new little crew member is a spicy addition of perfection to the family. Akanishi just needs a little training first, and no one enters the crew without a night of fun.
It’s a crew playing dress-up on a daily basis after all.
After Jin snaps a few more times breaking one bottle of wine, causing more bruises and almost setting up the table on fire, they let him stop serving. They finish their meal in a hurry and as the rookies clean up the table, Kame sits on it and claps his hands.
“You guys know what?!” he yells, getting excited cheers from his crew to fuel the madness. “You know what it’s time for?!”
Jin screams and struggles as Shige and Koki carry him on the table. The pirates surround the table like sharks in the sea and Kame watches the man struggle to come up with a plan as he claps his hands together.
“It’s time to have some fun with the pretty-boy!” he announces and earns whistles and more loud cheering. He knows it’s going to be chaos, but that’s maybe the best thing about it - he loves chaos.
So he takes his chair and enjoys the hilarity of his crew whistling at Jin. A few men get on the stage as well, approaching him slowly to scare him. Jin fails to notice the table ending and falls back to the hands of many men in for some fun and Kame laughs with tears in his eyes.
He trusts his crew. They do have their limits and he’s set them very straight about them - they always aim for minimal casualties and no one ever dares to force anyone into anything they don’t want to do. Of course it doesn’t apply on the first nights on the ship, but he knows no one will take the thing too far.
They’re just there to scare Akanishi a little. In a few years, they’ll still laugh at the memory and the hissy man will be yelling at them how it hasn’t been funny at all. He witnesses arguments like that every week.
Shige discovers a spot that makes Akanishi scream frantically like a little girl - his collarbones. Kame chuckles to himself and feels pleasant trembles and soft hotness starting to take over his body. …Maybe he’s been without for a bit too long. And even if he tries, he isn’t really able to deny the crush he’s had ridding him of rationality since the first time he had set eyes on the little punk.
Okay. Not so little. Jin is a big man, bigger than him. There’s just something about his aura that makes him sort of adorable in a youthful way.
He bites his lip and looks away for a while, gulping down more of his rum bottle. It’s not like he’d be able to do any moves on the man right now, not before he settles in. He can’t risk a crew member loathing him and if he doesn’t play his cards right, it’s going to be unavoidable.
Akanishi gets slammed on the table and Kame starts growing kind of queasy. He tries to tell himself it’s because of the crush and that he’s being a sissy about it.
“Why won’t you join the fun?” Kusano asks him as he pulls himself a chair next to Kame. Kame rolls his eyes and empties his rum bottle in one go.
“I’m the captain,” he answers and burps, covering his mouth with his hand. “I’ll pass. Someone needs to keep his head straight.”
“Or maybe,” Kusano tempts him, “you’re still thinking about -”
“An evening with you? Nope,” Kame rejects the man right away. “Kusano, I’m pretty drunk right now. I’m going to tell you to fuck off soon unless you talk to me normally, as nice as you are.”
“Last time we hit it off, you had drunk a little too,” Kusano tries to tempt him. “Maybe you just want me to get some more rum for you to get over the awkward part of giving in~?”
Kame opens his mouth for blunt refusal when Akanishi screams alarmingly, snapping him back to the moment. Damn it, Kusano had distracted him, maybe something had happened…
“YOU FUCKING RAPISTS, GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!” the man roars in desperation and struggles so that the table moves with a loud creak. Kame gets up and walks over to his crew, swatting them away from the newcomer.
“Hands off,” he snaps protectively, getting an immediate reaction from his obedient crew. “WHICH PART OF THE RULES DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND?! Go.”
“Captain -”
“I said GO,” he commands and points at the door. Akanishi hasn’t moved from behind his protection, probably acknowledging his own good. “Everyone. NOW.”
He turns back to Jin as his crew leaves and sighs as the man zips up his pants with a scarlet face, seemingly still furious but showing more of his helpless side. Kame opens his mouth for an apology but the man scoffs.
“You’re awful. All of you,” he mumbles, backing away from him quickly. “You’re just a bunch of sick fuckers!”
“I’m sorry,” Kame tries. “They don’t really do that. Really, they don’t, I have no idea what got into them now. Maybe it was just in the heat of the moment.”
“YOU FUCKING RAPISTS! ALL OF YOU!” Akanishi still screams and smashes the nearest bottle he can find to the ground, still backing away. “STAY AWAY FROM ME! I’M GOING TO PUNCH YOU, I SWEAR I’LL PUNCH YOUR TEETH IN AND BREAK YOUR NOSE!”
“I’m being honest,” Kame tries as he sits down. Approaching a scared animal is never a good idea. “I’ll punish them. That’s a promise. I don’t tolerate that kind of behaviour.”
“Don’t fool me!” Akanishi wails miserably from afar, rubbing his arms as he trembles. “You’ve just been h-humiliating me over and over again! W-why else would you kidnap me?” he laughs hollowly. “For sex and slavery, of course!”
“No,” Kame snorts. “You’re here to be a pirate on this ship.”
“I’M NOT A PIRATE!” Akanishi objects, shaking his head. “I’m a fucking entertainer! I sing and play the guitar! I’m fun to be around, I have a few stories up my sleeve! I’m not a fucking pirate,” he mumbles ashamedly. “Damn, just let me go.”
Kame blinks in confusion. But it had been a pirate ship.
“How can you be on a pirate ship and not be a pirate?” he asks in confusion. “Of course you’re a pirate.”
“I’m not some frilly-clothed sword-swinging fucker with an ego as large as… America!” Akanishi defends himself. “I’m just a man with a guitar. Except that thanks to you, my guitar’s gone,” he moans miserably. “Now I’m stuck. Can’t you just please let me go?”
Alright, that had been an unexpected turn. Kame thinks about it - he thinks about the fire in the man’s eyes, his swift attack with a pocketknife, cocky and reckless behaviour. He thinks about Junno’s lame jokes, Kusano’s constant flirting and rookies singing off-key more often than not and purses his lips.
“Do you want to be a pirate?” he asks Jin in all honesty, watching as confusion sets in on the young man’s face. Akanishi looks at him warily and gulps.
“I’m a frilly clown,” he snaps at him protectively. “I’m a fucking pretty-boy!”
“I asked you if you wanted to be a pirate,” Kame asks him again calmly. “I’m offering you a spot. On my ship,” he nods. “We’re a bit short on cabins but some people won’t mind sharing. Some people already share,” he shrugs.
“Why would you ask me?” Akanishi asks slowly, still unsure. Kame’s sure he’s debating with the idea of him pulling his leg. Well, it wouldn’t be impossible. He knows he wouldn’t ever trust a pirate. Except from his own crew when it came to important things.
“You’re a natural,” Kame answers bluntly. “But you have to be one hell of a singer too then, okay? I could use some other entertainment than what I have now. It gets tiring after a while.”
After a moment of silence, Akanishi mutters“…I can sing,” from under his breath hesitantly. Kame smiles and offers his pinky for the man.
“Interested?”
It takes Akanishi a while to approach. He warily entwines their fingers.
“If there's a catch, I'm rebelling.”
“You better not rebel on my ship, boy,” Kame smirks at him and ruffles his hair gently. “We’re pirates.”
And so Akanishi enters the crew.
--
Akanishi’s curls stay intact for days. He takes a liking to Nakamaru and it’s unusual to see the two separated. Kame has a feeling he’s sensed Nakamaru’s softer side and glued himself to the link that would definitely scream for help if anyone would approach him the wrong way again.
Then again, Jin refuses to be swept under the rug like some trembling and scared little girl. He bullies the ones he discovers to be more weak-minded than him and laughs meanly at the deck scrubbers who had previously tried to advance over him. He eats like a pig, more than Kame has the heart to say a pirate should consume due to budget reasons, and after some weeks in he seems to have friended the majority of the crew at least on some level.
“You’ve caught one hell of a social butterfly,” Ueda chats with him as he steers the large wooden wheel on a windy day. Kame nods and hums in agreement, looking down at the main deck where the man seems to be trying out Junno’s game consoles, glancing at him a bit disbelievingly and uneasily every now and then.
“I guess.”
“Have you talked with him?” the man presses as he sits on the ground lazily. Kame grimaces.
“Nah,” he shrugs. “I don’t think he really wants to talk to me yet so I won’t push him.”
“Since when haven’t you done that?” the man chuckles on his feet, mocking. “He’s been asking around about you.”
“Huh?” Kame asks Ueda out of curiosity. “What kind of things?”
“Are you interested?”
“I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t,” Kame grumbles dangerously. “This is a private conversation.”
“Fine with me,” Ueda yawns as he gets up on his feet and rubs his tired eyes. “He’s been mostly asking about what you’re like. Why you do this. You know, the usual. Everyone asks about that when they join the crew. You do look a bit like a whacko.”
“I’m not a nutcase,” Kame mumbles, feeling hurt. “I just appreciate a little melodrama and theatre. It makes me an expert.”
“That’s just another word for it, drama queen” Ueda breaks the truth to him. “We all know you have a few screws loose. Everyone here has.”
“But that’s it?” Kame tries to return to the previous subject. “Nothing else?”
“Save for the glances, nothing,” Ueda moans and lies back on the deck, arms folded under his head. “What else could he even ask about you without looking like a creeper? But he’s curious. You could try talking to him.”
Kame groans in unsure refusal. Ueda doesn’t really speak much more as he takes a nap. Ueda’s always been a bit weird.
Even though Kame tries to keep his eye out for the said glances, he doesn’t catch them. Not once during the day does he catch Jin’s bandana covered head looking up to maybe catch a look of him.
Ueda’s probably just trying to boost his crush to make him try even if there isn’t any evidence for returned feelings. It’s a bit too risky for him to just go for it.
--
“Where are the safety boats?” Akanishi asks him one day as he leans against the railing. Everyone else is dining and the boat remains still, anchored to the rocky bottom of the ocean. Kame turns around and shadows his eyes with his hand before Akanishi places a pair of sunglasses in his hands.
“Don’t be such a prude,” he mocks him, his own sunglasses reflecting Kame’s face like a mirror. “Sunglasses won’t kill. They’ll save your eyes.”
“…I guess so,” he finally agrees and slips them on, feeling a bit uneasy. “Thanks.”
“So, where are the safety boats?” Akanishi returns to his original question and scans the ship. “I can’t see them.”
“That’s because there are no safety boats?” Kame suggests the obvious answer. Akanishi stares at him in genuine confusion.
“You’re kidding, right?” he tries to crack a joke. “You’re just hiding them somewhere but not telling me. You don’t trust me.”
“We have a big crew, you know?” Kame notes Akanishi helpfully. “Having too little boats is just a hindrance. That’ll just spark up fight and fear. It’s unfair. We can’t afford enough so we’ve decided to go with none.”
“What, you have a budget or something?” Akanishi asks him disbelievingly. Kame laughs and opens his arms wide.
“Of course we have a budget! We’re pirates, what did you think?” he chuckles at the naïve man. “This theatre costs quite a lot!”
“…So… You can afford all these treasures and who-knows-what but… not safety boats?”
“Exactly,” Kame nods, feeling honestly humoured. “And if we’d lose our ship… where would he go?” he throws the question at Akanishi, brushing his hair behind his ear again. It keeps blowing on his face because of the howling wind. “We have a bounty on our necks, you know. There’s nothing else for us. If our ship sinks, we’ll proudly die as pirates. Together,” he presses. “That’s the kizuna of this crew.”
“It’s idiotic.”
“It’s loyal,” Kame corrects.
They stand there for a while together, listening to the faint sound of the rest of the crew fooling around inside. It’s a chillier day and the dark clouds are predicting a downpour so no one really wants to go outside before they really have to.
Kame keeps watch. He’s the captain after all.
“Why did you come to talk to me?” he asks the rookie, feeling a bit awkward and jumpy. Akanishi shrugs and scratches his neck, dwelling into the silence as well.
“You’re the captain,” Akanishi finally breaks the silence with a hesitant voice, “so you can just call me Jin.”
“Jin?” Kame asks the man curiously. “Why? I call a lot of crew members by their family names.”
“Just say Jin, okay?!” the rookie snaps at him, fidgeting around nervously. “I mean, if you don’t want to then you don’t have to. But. Some people call me Jin. So. You can too. It’s shorter too.”
“Well, if you want me to call you Jin, of course I’ll call you Jin,” Kame agrees. There’s no reason to pick up a fight about it after all, is there? Not to mention it does make him a bit squeamish and happy to be able to say the man’s given name aloud. “You can just say Kame.”
“Huh?” Jin asks in confusion. “Why?”
“I’m keeping the sunglasses,” Kame smirks at him. “Consider it a thank you and a privilege. I kind of like you.”
Jin nods enthusiastically and smiles stupidly. Then it becomes silent between them too.
The man doesn’t leave, though. Kame grows nervous as the minutes tick by. They stand side by side against the railing and try to keep their eyes on the waves and horizon, on the clouded sky and occasional sea birds. Jin chuckles at some fish he catches up every now and then, but when he points at them they’re often gone when Kame tries to see them.
He doesn’t know long they stay there. It could take half an hour before the rain finally starts hitting them and they rush inside, hoping to god a storm won’t hit them and force them back on the deck.
They starts talking more after that, and Kame feels more welcome to crawl on the deck to listen to Jin play Ueda’s guitar and sing to a group of happy listeners.
His voice sure is beautiful.
--
“Is your bunk warm, Captain K?” Kusano flirts at him in front of his cabin door one evening. Kame smirks back at him, arms folded. He’s feeling sort of cocky.
“It’s pretty warm, yeah,” he answers happily. “I have some heat to spare.”
“Do you?”
“My bed’s kind of hot,” Kame nods. “With my sheets all over me I’m pretty much covered. If you know what I mean.”
“How about some uncovering?” Kusano presses and Kame feels his back hitting his door. Alright, they’re getting kind of close. He holds back his laughter and puts his palm on Kusano’s chest.
“Kusano, you know I like you,” he informs him sweetly, fingers drumming the man’s chest playfully. “And you know how I don’t like you.”
“Kame…” the man whispers in his ear and Kame feels himself shivering. It’s not really his fault that he hasn’t gotten laid in over a month and the previous time hadn’t even been all that satisfying. Sometimes it was difficult to hook up even just for a night with the crew members. It was casual, but it could get awkward.
Kame feels his eyelids sliding shut as Kusano presses his hand on his shoulder gently, starting to massage. He could use a massage. Maybe he should go to Koki and ask for one. He doesn’t really trust Kusano with one. It’d turn into groping.
Just as he’s about to push the man away there’s a sudden collision that makes all of the participants loose balance and fall on the ground. Kame loses his sense of what’s going on before someone pulls him up again and he hears whispers along the corridor. People are poking their heads to see the ruckus going on in the corridor.
“He keeps saying no to you so just give up!” Jin snaps at Kusano, holding Kame protectively behind him. Kame raises his eyebrows. The hell. “You’ll just make him sad if he has to reject you over and over again!”
“Since when have you cared?” Kusano groans from the floor, sitting up and rubbing his head. “It’s not like this is anything new?”
“All the more reason for you to stop!” Jin snaps and takes a step forward before Kame grabs his arm firmly, yanking him back. He isn’t going to let the two of them fight. He isn’t really even sure what’s going on.
Ueda walks by him in the corridor and just glances at him with his told-you look. Kame stops to think.
God no. He lets go of Jin’s hand and grabs his head. Things just got complicated, didn’t they?
“It’s nothing special!” Kusano yells at Jin. “Everyone flits with others!”
“You drool like a dog and stalk him, you pervert!” Jin accuses the man and Kusano stands up furiously, drawing his fist back.
Kame never really expected the day to arrive, but he does feel a morbid temptation to congratulate himself for apparently unknowingly swooning two guys at once so bad they’re ready to get on combat mode with each other.
Alright. Stop to the madness.
“STOP. NOW,” he roars commandingly and Jin winces. Kusano drops his hand and merely glares at Jin murderously.
Kame sighs. Sometimes his crew is a little too much for him.
“Kusano, go,” he commands and pushes him gently. “You’re not getting to my cabin. Again. So there’s no point for you to be here.”
Kusano leaves, still looking back angrily at Jin. Kame hopes they won’t start actually having a war within the ship. He’s had a few bad cases of people fighting on board and it hasn’t exactly been pleasant for anyone.
“I just thought I’d help,” Jin mutters at him ashamedly, lips pursed. He’s gloomy as he avoids Kame’s gaze and looks at the wall insistently. Kame hears chuckles coming from the corridor. Well, it probably is a funny sight. It’s not often there are fights over someone on the ship.
It’s actually pretty embarrassing.
“I’m used to him, I don’t need help,” Kame informs with a nod. Jin fidgets and grimaces, rocking on his heels.
“He was feeling you up.”
“Trust me, I’m used to that.”
“But you don’t want him to and he was… touching you,” Jin tries to defend himself. “He was practically pressing you on that door and -”
“I know,” Kame nods. “And I was just about to push him away. Even if I hadn’t, it wouldn’t have been your problem,” Kame sighs. “I’m not sure if anyone’s told you, but on this ship we sort of -”
“I’ve heard,” Jin cuts him off before the embarrassing ending, cheeks already blaring. “I just thought I’d help. We’re… friends. So.”
“…So,” Kame nods awkwardly and crosses his arms. He feels everyone’s eyes on them and licks his lips nervously. It doesn’t exactly help that he likes Jin. Not at all.
It’s difficult to be a captain and like a crew member.
“I’m sorry,” Jin mumbles again and bows his head a little. “I… I probably shouldn’t have.”
“It’s fine,” Kame nods. “Thanks. Really. I appreciate it. It was a nice gesture.”
“Wow, I made this really awkward,” Jin gasps and straightens himself up, looking at the ceiling. “It’s so awkward I think I could sort of go.”
“Yeah. Sure,” Kame nods, completely supporting the idea. It really is too awkward and he has no idea what to say. “So. Bye.”
“See you,” Jin mumbles and waves stiffly before he starts quickly rushing down the corridor in the opposite direction as Kusano. Kame sighs, leaning against his wall. Koki passes Jin by on the corridor, glances at him briefly before giving Kame a thumbs-up and mouthing an “awesome”.
Ueda probably alarmed him about the on-going drama. The whole ship is sometimes just a mess of kids spreading rumours around and gossiping in their little groups.
He slips back in his room, locks his door and hopes to god things will go back to normal tomorrow.
--
Junno’s a good listener. Usually Kame finds himself talking to Maru because he’s kind and understanding, but this time he has Junno sitting on his bunk with a PSP in his hands. It makes him feel sort of better. That Junno listens but then again doesn’t and they don’t need to converse about things so much.
“I don’t know what to do,” he admits. “With Jin.”
“Why don’t you ask him what he wants to do?”
“Maybe he’s genuinely just a friend. Or maybe he wants to get in my pants,” Kame groans. “Or… get back at me? For forcing him into this. How could I know?”
“He seems like a nice guy,” Junno shrugs. “I don’t think he’s that type.”
Kame knows better than to trust Junno when it comes to opinions about people, though. He has a naïve side inside too, one that resurfaces at the worst possible timings.
“I’m not the only one who thinks that way,” Junno mumbles, tilting his gaming device in concentration. “Pretty much the whole crew talks about it.”
“Talks about what?” Kame asks in horror, even though he’s pretty sure he already knows the answer.
“You two and whatever’s between you,” the man answers honestly. “Damn. I died.”
“Since when has my love-life been a general topic in here?!”
“Well, it sort of started coming up some time after you had taken Akanishi aboard,” Junno shrugs as he keeps pushing the buttons. “Usually you approach new members more so there was something fishy. But Kusano and Akanishi fighting over you sort of… made the whole thing explode. Don’t worry, it’ll go over soon.”
“Damn it,” Kame curses. “He’s just a friend.”
“Weren’t you just debating about confessing to him?” Junno frowns, tilting his head. “That’s hardly just a friend, you know.”
“But technically he’s just a friend,” Kame mumbles. “Do you think I should?”
“I don’t know,” Junno shrugs. “You could. I think he’s nice.”
“…He’s nice,” Kame agrees hesitantly. “But maybe he’s just generally nice and not into me.”
“Could be. He’s been telling some stories about women on the ports. The crew loves them.”
“Damn it,” Kame curses again, crashing on his bed and taking his diamond skull on his hands, sighing deep as he examines it. “To tell him or not to tell him..?”
“That is the question,” Junno nods. “…I died again.”
Kame sighs and cuddles his treasure moodily.
--
“I’m brilliant,” Kame groans excitedly as he slips a huge golden ring with an emerald rock on his finger. He takes the cards in his hand and rearranges them in a pack. “Thank you~”
It’s a game night. The majority of the crew is gathered on the deck, playing different games with their treasures on line. Maru keeps acing hopeful people in chess and Koki gets caught from cheating, creating a ruckus. Different games go on everywhere and some are even playing ancient cardboard games.
They need to get their entertainment from somewhere and gambling rings pirate enough in Kame’s captain ears.
“Do you play poker?” Jin asks him and Kame gives him a wide smirk, showing his ringed hands.
“You bet,” he answers as the man sits down. “Come on, what do you want? You can choose.”
“A ring?” Jin wonders and examines his hands anxiously. “The one with the sku -”
“Not happening,” Kame declines, shaking his head. “Everything but that. I’m not giving it up. You could say it’s my lucky charm.”
“Fine,” the man scoffs and rolls his eyes. “The one with the red stone then.”
“Alright, Akanishi,” Kame clicks his tongue and pulls the ring off his finger, setting it aside as he starts dealing them cards. “What are you betting?”
“I don’t really have much to offer,” Jin shrugs, “but I just won this one,” he continues and removes a necklace with a figure of a naked woman from his neck. Kame chuckles as he examines it.
“Classy. Silver,” he approves. “Since you’re poor I can go for that.”
“Uh huh?” Jin smirks. “It doesn’t really matter because I’ll win this. Let’s play five hands?”
“I’m in,” Kame agrees.
When Jin slams his final hand on the table, he’s astonished, having won only one of the five rounds. Jin squeals in delight as he slips the ring in his finger and takes the necklace back.
“I told you!” he laughs. “You can’t beat me!”
“Fuck you,” Kame purses his lips and punches the man gently on his knee. “I liked that ring. I’m going to miss it.”
“Mm,” Jin nods and locks their eyes. Kame hears the ruckus from around them but has a hard time turning his gaze away. He sort of wants to go for it.
Jin goes for it first, though. He leans forward and catches Kame’s lips for a heart-warming kiss. Kame shivers and leans against him, hands slipping down his shoulders. Jin pushes his tongue hesitantly in and Kame moans silently, feeling a bit more heated than he should for a kiss.
He crawls on Jin’s lap and holds his face close gently. His hat gets knocked on the wooden floor in the heat of the moment and Jin whimpers gently, eyes sparkling hesitantly in the darkness. His hands slide down to hold Kame still and close from his hips.
Kame catches his lips for another kiss, feeling the tightness in his chest slowly easing. Someone tries to hawk behind them but others hiss and then there’s a lot of chuckling and whispering.
It pisses him off a little. It’s never been a big deal before.
Jin buries his face in Kame’s neck and Kame gives dark glares to everyone who threatens to watch them like some show. Koki gives him another over-exaggerated thumbs-up and Kusano watches them with his mouth hanging open. Kame soothes Jin’s back gently before he starts getting up, startling the man a little.
“Not here,” he mutters and slips his deck of cards back in his pocket. Jin stumbles on his feet nervously and fidgets before Kame starts dragging him inside, trusting his crew to take care of the boat while he’s gone.
“I really like you,” Jin tries to blabber, probably growing anxious about his purposes for dragging him towards his cabin. “Like, really. You know.”
“Good,” Kame groans as he pushes the man in and locks the door behind them. “That’s good. Now strip.”
“Now?” Jin’s face turns pink. “No talk?”
“You want to talk now?” Kame whines. “Can’t we talk later?”
“I just -”
“Jin, really?” Kame presses pleadingly as he kicks his boots off. “Right now?”
“…You’re right. Maybe not,” the man mumbles and starts stripping himself with shaking hands. “But later. You know. We’ll talk and -”
“After,” Kame presses and pushes Jin down on the mattress, crawling on top of him. “It’s been too long for me.”
Jin yelps as he attacks his neck showing him just how long it’s been.
--
“I’ve never felt more at place,” Jin whispers to him silently as they lie on the bed. Kame runs his fingers on Jin’s damp and hot neck, swiping the sweat off while waiting for his heartbeat to eventually slow down. “Not before this ship.”
“Mm,” Kame hums to let Jin know he’s listening. “It’s a good ship.”
“You saved me,” Jin mumbles, snuggling to his neck, hands pulling Kame’s naked body closer. “From that other ship. The world. …You really saved me,” he sighs. “I never fell in place anywhere.”
“You could say I have an eye for my crew,” Kame chuckles affectionately and kisses Jin’s forehead. “I know when I see one.”
Jin runs his palm down Kame’s side to his hip and thigh. He repeats the motion lazily for a few times before he tilts his head to grant Kame a kiss again, full on the lips with his own ones. Kame sort of likes it. Really likes it.
“It’s not only because of that, though,” Jin mumbles. “This, you know. I just like you. You’re interesting.”
“Mm.”
“You’re a pirate,” Jin smirks. “A true pirate.”
“I’m the captain,” Kame corrects. “Captain K.”
It’s sort of fun just giggling to each other’s shoulders when thinking about the absurdity of everything. Kame likes having a person like that around. One who’s still fresh enough to poke fun at his lifestyle.
“I could join this crew for eternity,” Jin chuckles and Kame entwines their pinkies, staring at him in the eyes happily.
“Welcome to the kizuna,” he whispers and seals the promise with the sweetest kiss he has to give.
Author: prologuesized
Beta: pinkeuphoria1 (because she went through the trouble of pointing out my god-awful preposition fails and whatnots ♥ I'm really grateful for your effort, thank you so much, you deserve some credit here!)
Pairing: Akame, onesided!KusanoKame
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU, Humour, Romance
Disclaimer: Guess what! I still own nothing but the story! But that's what you expected, right?
Summary: On Kame's ship pirates are still what they used to be during the good old days. It's his ship after all, and he's more than ready to forcibly welcome a rude biter in his theatre sailing across the oceans.
Author Note: HAPPY BIRTHDAY circuside! See, I did have one surprise up my sleeve. AND I DIDN'T LIE ABOUT IT SO STFU, YOU NEVER ASKED, YOU ONLY ASKED WHAT I BOUGHT. So ♥ Have some pirate!Akame (because your birthday present was sooo pirate-themed, wasn't it?). Inspired by that one roleplay, but since it's a fic it's very different and stuff.
I tried to make it fun :( And it wasn't supposed to be this long but, oh well, what can I say... I know you won't be able to read this in ages (because of k_x stuff and everything) but... appreciate the gesture? :(
...I don't think I've ever featured T-TUN this much.
Wordcount: 9,200
PIRATES!!
First time they acknowledge each other they’re on the battlefield. Kame pushes a particularly cocky and aggressive pirate in jeans and a sweaty cardigan down to the ocean with a sarcastic “Oops, my bad,” and turns smugly around, barely managing to dive out of the way as the pocket knife alarmingly approaches his throat.
Kame kicks the man in his thigh with his vintage boot and makes him fall over in shock. He clicks his tongue and briefly knocks out another attacker before he pulls out his blade and swipes the man’s fringe off his face to see him better.
The man on the floor has a childish and furious look in his eyes. It’s rebellious and stubborn in an exhilarating way Kame likes seeing on the stage of his 24/7 theatrical lifestyle. He gets hit by an irresistible temptation to kidnap the man and store him in his little and lonely prison before Koki whispers hastily in his ear that the fight is actually starting to look pretty bad and Junno, their strategist, has voiced out his pressing suggestion to leave.
He joins his crew in an escape back to their own ship, leaving the brat behind with a distressed groan. They roar threateningly from their ship’s railing before their enemy starts firing at them with bullets. Kame kind of wants to load the cannons and give them a blast for being assholes that just refuse to get beaten down in a very pirate fight.
They raise their pink flag with a skull that has hearts for the eyes and sail away, using the wind to their advantage on their run.
It’s a very pirate-like thing to run and rethink strategy before striking again for revenge, and Kame has a very clear idea what he wants to be his grand prize when his crew humiliates Captain Yu’s crew.
He’s going to get that pretty boy on his own ship to spark up the theatrical brilliance of his passionate crew.
He sort of fancies them fearless and naïve, and he hasn’t had a proper bed-warmer in a while.
--
If Kame is proud of something, it’s his crew. He’s got all the personal pieces on his deck, each shining in their own brilliant pirate-like way. They work well together and all enjoy the little thrill in life, medieval fashion and lifestyle. Or maybe not that much. But anyway.
Ueda’s been brooding in his cabin since the fight, leaving its privacy only to join dinner. It’s a bit unusual coming from him, but Ueda gets his unsocial phases that pass eventually, so Kame isn’t all too worried about it. The man’s a real scare with sadistic tendencies and Kame has a feeling their opponents are probably more scared of him than the actual captain of the pirate ship. It might have something to do with the fact that in the past Ueda was the captain, but the more they evolved the lazier he got and finally couldn’t be bothered to be responsible enough to plan for the entire crew. To solve the problem he forfeited his position for Kame, believing in his natural talent.
“They’re pretty good,” Nakamaru notes as they sit on the deck. He’s got a laptop on his lap and the rest of the crew is putting up an act of fishing in order to look unsuspicious near to a city where Maru hacks the server to get internet access. “Yu’s crew’s bigger too. His only problem seems to be that his ship is full of idiots. It’s a bit like running a kindergarten.”
“Tell me about it,” Kame mumbles, thinking back to the handsome stranger who had almost gotten the best of him. It still stings his ego even though he had quite smoothly saved the situation. The man hadn’t even looked like anyone actually important. “So tell me, why didn’t we beat a bunch of rabid kids?”
Nakamaru’s good at finding information and investigating. He’s often the one who finds the sea routes of fascinating ships Kame likes to rob for their jewellery collections or gourmet food. Kame rests his head on Nakamaru’s padded shoulder and hums as he examines the articles on the screen.
“I don’t know. Because they’re kids?” Nakamaru suggests. “You do know that kids can kick you really hard… They’re enthusiastic.”
“My crew’s enthusiastic,” Kame objects but doesn’t get the chance to continue as a man interferes the conversation by joining them, a fishing rod on his hand.
“How’s it going, Captain K?” Kusano asks him in an almost flirtation way and squeezes to sit next to him. Kame feels a vein threatening to pop on his temple and inhales deeply, doing his best to control himself.
“Aren’t you supposed to be fishing?” he snaps finally, giving the man a meaningful glare. “Go and look innocent while the big boys plan. Shoo.”
“My arms are hurting and I just thought -”
“Whatever you thought, my answer is no,” Kame continues sweetly and pats him on his shoulder, regretting the one day he had given in to the non-stop flirting and dragged the man to his cabin for a heated session. Instead of solving the problem it had only worsened it, and that for god’s sake had been a couple of years back after too much rum consumed. “Get fishing. And you better catch some fish now, I feel like fish today. Oh, and tell Junno to come over.”
“Yes, Captain…” Kusano frowns and heads towards the others again. “JUNNO, CAPTAIN WANTS YOU!”
“You could’ve done that yourself,” Maru mutters to him squeamishly and Kame nods with his teeth exposed, feeling relieved that his number one harasser gets as far away from him as he can possibly get him.
“I should’ve just jerked off back then…”
They sigh deeply in agreement as Junno abandons his fishing rod on the middle of the deck before he bounces up the short stairs towards them with a toothy smile.
“Iriguchi deguchi Tag-”
“Don’t leave just yet,” Kame cuts his persistent joke no one really laughs at anymore and waves his hand. “Strategist. I want that ship beaten into a pulp. I’m not accepting this humiliation for my crew.”
“Ah, yes. I think I sort of miscalculated -”
“Let’s fix the problem then,” Kame scoffs and motions for the man to sit on the other side of their computer expert. Nakamaru’s been highly educated which is sometimes an advantage - he had actually come aboard in the form of a desperate kidnap and remained on the ship nagging about the needless danger they put everyone’s lives in. Taguchi had spared him an ear in one of the cells and realised that he was actually pretty helpful. It took him awhile to adjust to the lifestyle, but nowadays he holds his own custom-made knife in fights. Even if he mostly screams and runs around the deck more than aims it at anyone.
Kame’s actually sort of happy the man had chosen to stay. He forces some sense into their skulls when it’s necessary.
“What went wrong last time?” he questions the strategist sharply. Junno grimaces apologetically and tilts his head as he tries to find the words to explain their defeat.
“First of all, they have more crew members,” Junno tries to explain. “A lot more. Someone snuck past Tegoshi and Masuda and then they started to invade our ship so a lot of our crew had to hop back to defend what we already have. That broke the attack and… well.”
“So I have those two sissies to blame,” Kame sighs miserably. “You know how much I want that diamond skull collection they stole from the art delivery ship two years back. I love arts.”
“You love skulls,” Koki corrects him as he joins the conversation, wiping soap from his hands. Kame cocks a lazy eyebrow questioningly and the man motions towards the deck.
“The rookies started playing with the brushes so I put them back under control,” he informs. “Takaki and Yamada. I poured the bucket over them. Got my hands dirty.”
“Don’t bully the kids,” Kame sighs and starts rubbing his temples. “You’re supposed to keep watch, not play around with a couple of teenagers.”
“It’s not Tegoshi’s and Massu’s fault, though,” Koki notes. “Someone screwed up in weapon maintenance. Massu’s gun didn’t fire and their swords weren’t sharp,” he scoffs. “So you have pretty much everyone a suspect, you know how lazy the crew can get.”
“Damn it,” Kame mutters. “Well you make sure they do a better job this time! Anyone who slacks off can start doing strip tease shows for a week. For the entire crew. The one who screws up the worst will be the week’s whore.”
“Aye, Captain K,” Koki exclaims loudly. “Will I go and break the news to the trembling mass of loyal followers?”
“Aye,” Kame answers. “And get someone to fetch my stress ball, okay?”
Kame ignores the roar Koki gives to shake up everyone (it’s all for show’s sake and they all know that) and turns back to the remaining two crew members, licking his lips anxiously.
“Do you think we stand a chance?” he asks Junno. “Any modifications for the plan?”
“I’d say a few more trustworthy men on the home ship,” Junno suggests after a while of thought. “Ueda will lead the attack with you and give them a good scare. Koki and Maru can fetch your collection of… arts,” he coughs meaningfully.
“Can you track them down?” Kame checks with Maru and receives a nod as an answer as Maru’s fingers fly on the keyboard.
“I snuck in a tracker. There shouldn’t be a problem, the signal is pretty clear. The weather’s good too,” he nods at the screen. “Sun and some clouds, nothing major.”
“What if I want to snatch up one of them on this ship?” Kame asks and the men fall silent, eyeing each other concernedly. Kame purses his lips and glares at the two. “Are you questioning me?”
“No, Captain, most certainly not!” the answer rings in unison.
“You’re going to kidnap someone again?” a moody voice asks them and Kame jolts as he looks behind him, seeing Ueda leaning against the railing, wind blowing through his hair as he stares at the sea.
“I didn’t notice you,” he mumbles first before he gets himself together again. “He looks absolutely perfect for this crew. I’m doing him a favour.”
“I’ll help,” Ueda shrugs as he turns to face them. “I can cover you.”
“Thanks,” Kame smiles. “I knew you’d trust my judgement.”
They smirk at each other and Kame raises his pinky up. His friends follow his lead, feeling the cool wind in their hands.
It makes Kame feel incredibly alive in a way a 9 to 5 job never did on land.
“We’ll ace this,” he announces stubbornly. “And then we’ll be drinking rum every night for a week!”
“Aye!”
--
They strike at night. The crews clash together and everything is a hardly organized mess when they swing to the opponent’s ship with thick ropes. Kame feels his boots hitting the ground and lets go of his hat, certain it isn’t going to fly away in the wind anymore. He’s grown to like it perhaps a bit too much.
He pulls out his sword, roars and attacks the crew with his men. They knock them out, wound and kill some before they manage to back them to the front of the ship with the choice of attacking a ferocious crew of wannabe pirates or icy waves that will surely freeze them alive in a matter of minutes.
His crew ties up some people and cheers victoriously as Kame slits a small wound on Yu’s throat as a final warning, still aiming his gun at the captain’s head.
“We have a little robbing to do, so stay put, will you?” he tells the man sweetly and sees from the corner of his eye some fast-legged crew members running around the ship with all kinds of niceties from food and alcohol to PSP and Nintendo DS gadgets and jewellery.
Well. It’s not his fault that his crew does enjoy some normal entertainment too every now and then. Time tends to grow long when it’s spent mostly in the middle of an ocean. It’s quick to run out of things to do.
He throws the captain to his men and lets them tie him up after he’s swept a deck of playing cards from his pockets. They have pictures of naked women in them. It looks classy enough for him.
“Hey Kame, were you looking for this one?” Ueda asks him as he approaches him with a messy-looking man. Kame smiles at his familiarity and the furious spark in his eyes as he spits blood on the ground. He’s got a split lip, some minor cuts and a dark bruise quickly forming on the left side of his face.
Ueda’s kind of good with his right fist. If Kame trusts on anyone in his crew on bare handed combat, it’s Ueda. He has a few pressing memories himself to fuel the impression.
“Get him aboard,” he commands and the man stares at him with widened eyes, panic setting in. He struggles and screams but a few men step in to help Ueda with Kame’s new pet. Kame winks at Captain Yu.
“I hope you don’t mind,” he apologizes. “You could say I sort of set my eyes on him.”
When their ship The Queen starts heading towards safer areas, the crew celebrates with their new liquor collection on the deck, singing songs and playing drinking games.
Kame goes to sleep watching the diamond skull on his bedside drawer. His life is marvellous.
--
“Captain K, the captive bites,” Yamada complains to him the next day at breakfast, hand wrapped in bloodied bandage. “He’s an animal, you know that?”
Kame chuckles in amusement. He gets a mental image of the young man screaming at everyone who approaches the cells and spitting at them furiously like a venomous snake or maybe just a raving dog, feeling exposed and helpless.
“He’s got charm,” he answers to his apple and munches on it absently. “I like that.”
“But he bites,” Yamada tries again miserably. “And I’m the one who has to feed him.”
“Be glad you aren’t the one who’s going to prepare him for dinner tonight,” Kame chuckles with a wink. “Maybe you should go and warn Tegoshi and Massu that their limbs are at stake if they underestimate the situation again and don’t check their weapons before the task.”
He ruffles the youth’s hair playfully before he leaves. Koki crushes on the seat next to him, stuffing bread in his mouth without even bothering to spread butter on it.
“I went to check on your great idea just now,” he notes. “I can sort of see what you see in him.”
“Uh huh?” Kame answers with a bemused smile and licks the fruit juice from his lips. “So you see more than that he just bites?”
“He bites?” Koki asks him with his eyebrows raised. “I should’ve expected that.”
“I bet he has a filthy mouth,” Kame muses to himself, smile spreading as he thinks about it. “He’ll bellow obscenities at us even when we have a gun aimed at his head and once he adjusts he’ll be the crew’s puppy, but he’ll get in trouble for his big mouth all the time.”
“You’ve certainly thought about him a lot,” Koki laughs knowingly. Kame shrugs and tilts his head little.
It’s not his fault he’s always had an eye for his crew members. Most he’s convinced to join and hop aboard, but some have required a little bit of more pressing and convincing training. He has a feeling he just has to find the right buttons with his newest piece of collection before everything seems as perfect as it can get.
Yes, he’s thought about Akanishi a lot. He’s just known ever since he first set his eyes on him that he’s been a missing piece in the family, someone who does need them as much as they need him, even if they aren’t aware of it yet.
He just has eyes for things like this. It’s good to be sentimental.
--
Kame finds himself unable to hold onto his act of serenity on the deck and finally around lunchtime sneaks away from his crew to catch a glimpse of his little biting monster in the cells. He approaches the dark depths of the ship carefully and whistles a little, enjoying the mood.
“Akanishi?” he asks as he finally sees the man. He’s lying on his back, limbs sprawled in all directions as he angrily stares at the ceiling. No reaction. “You must remember me.”
He receives a murderous glare from his captive as he tries to feign uninterested. Kame feels his heart pounding happily as he kneels down on the other side of the bars. He smiles widely and the man rolls to sit up, small stubble starting to grow on his dirtied face.
Kame wonders if his crew has slacked off with their cleaning as well. He detects a few spider webs around that certainly shouldn’t have had the time to form. Damn it.
“Oh, I remember you,” the man spits at him with a dark smile. “Captain Lacy-pants.”
“There’s no lace in my pants,” Kame furrows his brow. “You do know the difference between a shirt and pants, right?”
“Fuck you,” Akanishi snaps and exposes his teeth dangerously. “Lacy anyway. Some fucked up crew you have, but that has to be because they have a fucked up leader. What the hell is wrong with this ship!?” he howls. Kame detects a hint of fear the man tries desperately to hide. “You look like a fucking circus on the loose!”
“We’re pirates,” Kame helps him. “Arr!”
“You’re freaks,” Akanishi tries to correct him. “Pirates aren’t like that anymore!”
“On this ship they are,” Kame informs him as he stands up proudly again. “This is my ship.”
“So you’re the biggest freak of them all?” Akanishi laughs hollowly, starting to look more and more frightened for his sanity with each passing second. “Great. Just great.”
“It is great,” Kame cuts his complaints short and purses his lips as he adjusts his hat. “You’ll learn that.”
“Fuck you,” Akanishi scoffs again and looks away. “Fuck you and your madhouse. Ship. Whatever.”
“See you at dinner,” Kame winks at him as he starts walking away happily. “Keep up the good spirit!”
“I SAID FUCK YOU!” Akanishi’s roar rings in his ears as he slips out of the cells and returns to his cabin, squealing on his bed.
Akanishi makes his blood run hot. He really likes that.
--
The screams start an hour before the grand celebration dinner. Nakamaru sits next to him and fidgets uneasily. Kame just keeps chuckling and sort of wishes he’d be there to see the show.
“Are you sure it’s such a great idea?”
“Nope,” Kame answers truthfully as he rocks. “I think it’s a bad idea.”
“If it’s a bad idea, why are you going along with it?” Maru tries to question him, starting to look more and more panicky, especially since Kame isn’t reacting with concern. “He’s really… hissy.”
“I like chaos on my ship,” Kame states happily as he looks up at the darkening sky. “It makes me feel like a pirate.”
“You are a pirate,” Nakamaru notes and plays with the wooden bracelets on his wrist. “You’re a great captain, Kame. Everyone trusts you, so… Why are you acting so recklessly?”
“Pirates are reckless,” Kame notes as he stands up, winking at his friend. “You think too much, Maru. But I guess it’s good to have one like that on board.”
“Thanks,” Maru grimaces at him tensely. “I don’t really know how to take that.”
“Take it well?” Kame suggests as he starts backing away. “Okay? You’re one of my favourites. You don’t need to be a jolly one, we get the fun from poking at you and you actually are useful.”
Maru waves at him as he grins and leaves the man chatting with Koki. He jogs down the chairs and passes some rookies grimly mopping the deck. He’s on his quest to check in with the kitchen about the evening’s meal before Kusano interrupts him by casually leaning on the wall, taking all the space on the narrow hallway.
Just his luck.
“Hi Kusano,” he chuckles awkwardly. “Everything good? Did you get a nice catch?”
“Everything’s great,” the man answers as he swiftly moves to let them walk side by side. Kame feels a bit fidgety as one shoulder scrapes the wooden walls and other presses against his harasser’s.
Even the captain’s status hadn’t saved him from that one. It probably didn’t help much that there were only men on his crew which meant that his members had to have… well… opened up a little for the chances of homosexuality. Women only exist on ports which they visit rarely. Of course there are the ones who just proudly deal with their things in the bathroom, but…
Well, the majority of the group had learned to be a bit more… flexible.
“I’ve been sort of longing for a better catch, though,” Kusano sighs exaggeratedly and Kame gulps, sensing the forthcoming danger. He’s used to it by now. Unfortunately. Not that Kusano isn’t good looking, but he just really can’t properly relax around him because of the constant flirting. He doesn’t fancy him that much.
“That’s a pity,” he grins at the man. “I was sort of busy…”
“What about being a little reckless and getting busier before the big party?” Kusano stops him with his suggestion and Kame coughs. Well, it’s not like he wouldn’t have seen it coming.
“Kusano, as brilliant as you are: no,” he answers. “I’m afraid not.”
“Ah, damn,” the man grimaces. “Better luck next time then?”
“Nope,” Kame waves as he hurries towards the kitchens. “See you at the party!”
“See you, Captain!”
He reminds himself to ensure that Kusano sure as hell isn’t getting a seat next to him for dinner. Just in case.
--
The party is wild. They didn’t exactly manage to get much rum on their robbery, but their liquor stores have definitely been filled with all sorts of… oddities. Ueda has preserved himself a bottle of red wine he keeps on his hand as he giggles and chatters with the rest of the crew. Koki is having a drinking game match with Maru with a couple of bottles filled with tequila. Maru seems to be losing and regretting.
Kame keeps the rum happily to himself as he snacks on the shrimps delivered for appetizers. He’s just gulping down more of his rum straight from the bottle as a bell chimes.
Everyone’s head snaps towards the door where Akanishi is standing, shaking in barely contained fury and carrying a large silver tray with roasted chicken.
Kame drools. But his drool sure as hell isn’t for the chicken.
He feels a bit sorry for the black eyes and bruises Tegoshi and Massu seem to have obtained from their afternoon pampering Kame by setting up his captive. Akanishi’s face looks soft and delicate now that it’s been shaved (safe for a few cuts make-up tries to hide) and his hair falls on his shoulders in proud corkscrew curls.
Kame had failed to see the point in dressing Akanishi as an actual pirate for the dinner since he wasn’t really one of them yet so he had slammed a frilly outfit of a rich medieval boy in his crew members’ hands. The deep blue looks good on Akanishi and Kame kind of digs the chequers as the man rudely stomps forward and slams the chicken on the table, motivated by Tegoshi’s gun pointing at his head.
They don’t seem to be hitting things off all too well. Then again, they probably haven’t shared one of the loveliest afternoons in their lives together, judging by the previous screaming and now evident battle wounds.
Kame licks his lips as he looks at Akanishi. He looks absolutely delicious as he waves his hand swiftly, motioning for his crew to dig in the chicken.
“So now I’m a part of your sick play?” Akanishi hisses at him venomously, voice trembling. “Your little pretty-boy slave?”
“Nah,” Kame smiles up at him charmingly and pats his nose. “Just keep the act up for tonight.”
Akanishi snaps, never mind the gun pointed at his head. He jumps like an animal and knocks Kame’s chair over, trying to strangle him on the floor. It doesn’t really take long for Kame’s crew to save him from the sudden act of impulsive violence, and when Kame gets back on his feet he’s unable to stop his laughter.
His new little crew member is a spicy addition of perfection to the family. Akanishi just needs a little training first, and no one enters the crew without a night of fun.
It’s a crew playing dress-up on a daily basis after all.
After Jin snaps a few more times breaking one bottle of wine, causing more bruises and almost setting up the table on fire, they let him stop serving. They finish their meal in a hurry and as the rookies clean up the table, Kame sits on it and claps his hands.
“You guys know what?!” he yells, getting excited cheers from his crew to fuel the madness. “You know what it’s time for?!”
Jin screams and struggles as Shige and Koki carry him on the table. The pirates surround the table like sharks in the sea and Kame watches the man struggle to come up with a plan as he claps his hands together.
“It’s time to have some fun with the pretty-boy!” he announces and earns whistles and more loud cheering. He knows it’s going to be chaos, but that’s maybe the best thing about it - he loves chaos.
So he takes his chair and enjoys the hilarity of his crew whistling at Jin. A few men get on the stage as well, approaching him slowly to scare him. Jin fails to notice the table ending and falls back to the hands of many men in for some fun and Kame laughs with tears in his eyes.
He trusts his crew. They do have their limits and he’s set them very straight about them - they always aim for minimal casualties and no one ever dares to force anyone into anything they don’t want to do. Of course it doesn’t apply on the first nights on the ship, but he knows no one will take the thing too far.
They’re just there to scare Akanishi a little. In a few years, they’ll still laugh at the memory and the hissy man will be yelling at them how it hasn’t been funny at all. He witnesses arguments like that every week.
Shige discovers a spot that makes Akanishi scream frantically like a little girl - his collarbones. Kame chuckles to himself and feels pleasant trembles and soft hotness starting to take over his body. …Maybe he’s been without for a bit too long. And even if he tries, he isn’t really able to deny the crush he’s had ridding him of rationality since the first time he had set eyes on the little punk.
Okay. Not so little. Jin is a big man, bigger than him. There’s just something about his aura that makes him sort of adorable in a youthful way.
He bites his lip and looks away for a while, gulping down more of his rum bottle. It’s not like he’d be able to do any moves on the man right now, not before he settles in. He can’t risk a crew member loathing him and if he doesn’t play his cards right, it’s going to be unavoidable.
Akanishi gets slammed on the table and Kame starts growing kind of queasy. He tries to tell himself it’s because of the crush and that he’s being a sissy about it.
“Why won’t you join the fun?” Kusano asks him as he pulls himself a chair next to Kame. Kame rolls his eyes and empties his rum bottle in one go.
“I’m the captain,” he answers and burps, covering his mouth with his hand. “I’ll pass. Someone needs to keep his head straight.”
“Or maybe,” Kusano tempts him, “you’re still thinking about -”
“An evening with you? Nope,” Kame rejects the man right away. “Kusano, I’m pretty drunk right now. I’m going to tell you to fuck off soon unless you talk to me normally, as nice as you are.”
“Last time we hit it off, you had drunk a little too,” Kusano tries to tempt him. “Maybe you just want me to get some more rum for you to get over the awkward part of giving in~?”
Kame opens his mouth for blunt refusal when Akanishi screams alarmingly, snapping him back to the moment. Damn it, Kusano had distracted him, maybe something had happened…
“YOU FUCKING RAPISTS, GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!” the man roars in desperation and struggles so that the table moves with a loud creak. Kame gets up and walks over to his crew, swatting them away from the newcomer.
“Hands off,” he snaps protectively, getting an immediate reaction from his obedient crew. “WHICH PART OF THE RULES DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND?! Go.”
“Captain -”
“I said GO,” he commands and points at the door. Akanishi hasn’t moved from behind his protection, probably acknowledging his own good. “Everyone. NOW.”
He turns back to Jin as his crew leaves and sighs as the man zips up his pants with a scarlet face, seemingly still furious but showing more of his helpless side. Kame opens his mouth for an apology but the man scoffs.
“You’re awful. All of you,” he mumbles, backing away from him quickly. “You’re just a bunch of sick fuckers!”
“I’m sorry,” Kame tries. “They don’t really do that. Really, they don’t, I have no idea what got into them now. Maybe it was just in the heat of the moment.”
“YOU FUCKING RAPISTS! ALL OF YOU!” Akanishi still screams and smashes the nearest bottle he can find to the ground, still backing away. “STAY AWAY FROM ME! I’M GOING TO PUNCH YOU, I SWEAR I’LL PUNCH YOUR TEETH IN AND BREAK YOUR NOSE!”
“I’m being honest,” Kame tries as he sits down. Approaching a scared animal is never a good idea. “I’ll punish them. That’s a promise. I don’t tolerate that kind of behaviour.”
“Don’t fool me!” Akanishi wails miserably from afar, rubbing his arms as he trembles. “You’ve just been h-humiliating me over and over again! W-why else would you kidnap me?” he laughs hollowly. “For sex and slavery, of course!”
“No,” Kame snorts. “You’re here to be a pirate on this ship.”
“I’M NOT A PIRATE!” Akanishi objects, shaking his head. “I’m a fucking entertainer! I sing and play the guitar! I’m fun to be around, I have a few stories up my sleeve! I’m not a fucking pirate,” he mumbles ashamedly. “Damn, just let me go.”
Kame blinks in confusion. But it had been a pirate ship.
“How can you be on a pirate ship and not be a pirate?” he asks in confusion. “Of course you’re a pirate.”
“I’m not some frilly-clothed sword-swinging fucker with an ego as large as… America!” Akanishi defends himself. “I’m just a man with a guitar. Except that thanks to you, my guitar’s gone,” he moans miserably. “Now I’m stuck. Can’t you just please let me go?”
Alright, that had been an unexpected turn. Kame thinks about it - he thinks about the fire in the man’s eyes, his swift attack with a pocketknife, cocky and reckless behaviour. He thinks about Junno’s lame jokes, Kusano’s constant flirting and rookies singing off-key more often than not and purses his lips.
“Do you want to be a pirate?” he asks Jin in all honesty, watching as confusion sets in on the young man’s face. Akanishi looks at him warily and gulps.
“I’m a frilly clown,” he snaps at him protectively. “I’m a fucking pretty-boy!”
“I asked you if you wanted to be a pirate,” Kame asks him again calmly. “I’m offering you a spot. On my ship,” he nods. “We’re a bit short on cabins but some people won’t mind sharing. Some people already share,” he shrugs.
“Why would you ask me?” Akanishi asks slowly, still unsure. Kame’s sure he’s debating with the idea of him pulling his leg. Well, it wouldn’t be impossible. He knows he wouldn’t ever trust a pirate. Except from his own crew when it came to important things.
“You’re a natural,” Kame answers bluntly. “But you have to be one hell of a singer too then, okay? I could use some other entertainment than what I have now. It gets tiring after a while.”
After a moment of silence, Akanishi mutters“…I can sing,” from under his breath hesitantly. Kame smiles and offers his pinky for the man.
“Interested?”
It takes Akanishi a while to approach. He warily entwines their fingers.
“If there's a catch, I'm rebelling.”
“You better not rebel on my ship, boy,” Kame smirks at him and ruffles his hair gently. “We’re pirates.”
And so Akanishi enters the crew.
--
Akanishi’s curls stay intact for days. He takes a liking to Nakamaru and it’s unusual to see the two separated. Kame has a feeling he’s sensed Nakamaru’s softer side and glued himself to the link that would definitely scream for help if anyone would approach him the wrong way again.
Then again, Jin refuses to be swept under the rug like some trembling and scared little girl. He bullies the ones he discovers to be more weak-minded than him and laughs meanly at the deck scrubbers who had previously tried to advance over him. He eats like a pig, more than Kame has the heart to say a pirate should consume due to budget reasons, and after some weeks in he seems to have friended the majority of the crew at least on some level.
“You’ve caught one hell of a social butterfly,” Ueda chats with him as he steers the large wooden wheel on a windy day. Kame nods and hums in agreement, looking down at the main deck where the man seems to be trying out Junno’s game consoles, glancing at him a bit disbelievingly and uneasily every now and then.
“I guess.”
“Have you talked with him?” the man presses as he sits on the ground lazily. Kame grimaces.
“Nah,” he shrugs. “I don’t think he really wants to talk to me yet so I won’t push him.”
“Since when haven’t you done that?” the man chuckles on his feet, mocking. “He’s been asking around about you.”
“Huh?” Kame asks Ueda out of curiosity. “What kind of things?”
“Are you interested?”
“I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t,” Kame grumbles dangerously. “This is a private conversation.”
“Fine with me,” Ueda yawns as he gets up on his feet and rubs his tired eyes. “He’s been mostly asking about what you’re like. Why you do this. You know, the usual. Everyone asks about that when they join the crew. You do look a bit like a whacko.”
“I’m not a nutcase,” Kame mumbles, feeling hurt. “I just appreciate a little melodrama and theatre. It makes me an expert.”
“That’s just another word for it, drama queen” Ueda breaks the truth to him. “We all know you have a few screws loose. Everyone here has.”
“But that’s it?” Kame tries to return to the previous subject. “Nothing else?”
“Save for the glances, nothing,” Ueda moans and lies back on the deck, arms folded under his head. “What else could he even ask about you without looking like a creeper? But he’s curious. You could try talking to him.”
Kame groans in unsure refusal. Ueda doesn’t really speak much more as he takes a nap. Ueda’s always been a bit weird.
Even though Kame tries to keep his eye out for the said glances, he doesn’t catch them. Not once during the day does he catch Jin’s bandana covered head looking up to maybe catch a look of him.
Ueda’s probably just trying to boost his crush to make him try even if there isn’t any evidence for returned feelings. It’s a bit too risky for him to just go for it.
--
“Where are the safety boats?” Akanishi asks him one day as he leans against the railing. Everyone else is dining and the boat remains still, anchored to the rocky bottom of the ocean. Kame turns around and shadows his eyes with his hand before Akanishi places a pair of sunglasses in his hands.
“Don’t be such a prude,” he mocks him, his own sunglasses reflecting Kame’s face like a mirror. “Sunglasses won’t kill. They’ll save your eyes.”
“…I guess so,” he finally agrees and slips them on, feeling a bit uneasy. “Thanks.”
“So, where are the safety boats?” Akanishi returns to his original question and scans the ship. “I can’t see them.”
“That’s because there are no safety boats?” Kame suggests the obvious answer. Akanishi stares at him in genuine confusion.
“You’re kidding, right?” he tries to crack a joke. “You’re just hiding them somewhere but not telling me. You don’t trust me.”
“We have a big crew, you know?” Kame notes Akanishi helpfully. “Having too little boats is just a hindrance. That’ll just spark up fight and fear. It’s unfair. We can’t afford enough so we’ve decided to go with none.”
“What, you have a budget or something?” Akanishi asks him disbelievingly. Kame laughs and opens his arms wide.
“Of course we have a budget! We’re pirates, what did you think?” he chuckles at the naïve man. “This theatre costs quite a lot!”
“…So… You can afford all these treasures and who-knows-what but… not safety boats?”
“Exactly,” Kame nods, feeling honestly humoured. “And if we’d lose our ship… where would he go?” he throws the question at Akanishi, brushing his hair behind his ear again. It keeps blowing on his face because of the howling wind. “We have a bounty on our necks, you know. There’s nothing else for us. If our ship sinks, we’ll proudly die as pirates. Together,” he presses. “That’s the kizuna of this crew.”
“It’s idiotic.”
“It’s loyal,” Kame corrects.
They stand there for a while together, listening to the faint sound of the rest of the crew fooling around inside. It’s a chillier day and the dark clouds are predicting a downpour so no one really wants to go outside before they really have to.
Kame keeps watch. He’s the captain after all.
“Why did you come to talk to me?” he asks the rookie, feeling a bit awkward and jumpy. Akanishi shrugs and scratches his neck, dwelling into the silence as well.
“You’re the captain,” Akanishi finally breaks the silence with a hesitant voice, “so you can just call me Jin.”
“Jin?” Kame asks the man curiously. “Why? I call a lot of crew members by their family names.”
“Just say Jin, okay?!” the rookie snaps at him, fidgeting around nervously. “I mean, if you don’t want to then you don’t have to. But. Some people call me Jin. So. You can too. It’s shorter too.”
“Well, if you want me to call you Jin, of course I’ll call you Jin,” Kame agrees. There’s no reason to pick up a fight about it after all, is there? Not to mention it does make him a bit squeamish and happy to be able to say the man’s given name aloud. “You can just say Kame.”
“Huh?” Jin asks in confusion. “Why?”
“I’m keeping the sunglasses,” Kame smirks at him. “Consider it a thank you and a privilege. I kind of like you.”
Jin nods enthusiastically and smiles stupidly. Then it becomes silent between them too.
The man doesn’t leave, though. Kame grows nervous as the minutes tick by. They stand side by side against the railing and try to keep their eyes on the waves and horizon, on the clouded sky and occasional sea birds. Jin chuckles at some fish he catches up every now and then, but when he points at them they’re often gone when Kame tries to see them.
He doesn’t know long they stay there. It could take half an hour before the rain finally starts hitting them and they rush inside, hoping to god a storm won’t hit them and force them back on the deck.
They starts talking more after that, and Kame feels more welcome to crawl on the deck to listen to Jin play Ueda’s guitar and sing to a group of happy listeners.
His voice sure is beautiful.
--
“Is your bunk warm, Captain K?” Kusano flirts at him in front of his cabin door one evening. Kame smirks back at him, arms folded. He’s feeling sort of cocky.
“It’s pretty warm, yeah,” he answers happily. “I have some heat to spare.”
“Do you?”
“My bed’s kind of hot,” Kame nods. “With my sheets all over me I’m pretty much covered. If you know what I mean.”
“How about some uncovering?” Kusano presses and Kame feels his back hitting his door. Alright, they’re getting kind of close. He holds back his laughter and puts his palm on Kusano’s chest.
“Kusano, you know I like you,” he informs him sweetly, fingers drumming the man’s chest playfully. “And you know how I don’t like you.”
“Kame…” the man whispers in his ear and Kame feels himself shivering. It’s not really his fault that he hasn’t gotten laid in over a month and the previous time hadn’t even been all that satisfying. Sometimes it was difficult to hook up even just for a night with the crew members. It was casual, but it could get awkward.
Kame feels his eyelids sliding shut as Kusano presses his hand on his shoulder gently, starting to massage. He could use a massage. Maybe he should go to Koki and ask for one. He doesn’t really trust Kusano with one. It’d turn into groping.
Just as he’s about to push the man away there’s a sudden collision that makes all of the participants loose balance and fall on the ground. Kame loses his sense of what’s going on before someone pulls him up again and he hears whispers along the corridor. People are poking their heads to see the ruckus going on in the corridor.
“He keeps saying no to you so just give up!” Jin snaps at Kusano, holding Kame protectively behind him. Kame raises his eyebrows. The hell. “You’ll just make him sad if he has to reject you over and over again!”
“Since when have you cared?” Kusano groans from the floor, sitting up and rubbing his head. “It’s not like this is anything new?”
“All the more reason for you to stop!” Jin snaps and takes a step forward before Kame grabs his arm firmly, yanking him back. He isn’t going to let the two of them fight. He isn’t really even sure what’s going on.
Ueda walks by him in the corridor and just glances at him with his told-you look. Kame stops to think.
God no. He lets go of Jin’s hand and grabs his head. Things just got complicated, didn’t they?
“It’s nothing special!” Kusano yells at Jin. “Everyone flits with others!”
“You drool like a dog and stalk him, you pervert!” Jin accuses the man and Kusano stands up furiously, drawing his fist back.
Kame never really expected the day to arrive, but he does feel a morbid temptation to congratulate himself for apparently unknowingly swooning two guys at once so bad they’re ready to get on combat mode with each other.
Alright. Stop to the madness.
“STOP. NOW,” he roars commandingly and Jin winces. Kusano drops his hand and merely glares at Jin murderously.
Kame sighs. Sometimes his crew is a little too much for him.
“Kusano, go,” he commands and pushes him gently. “You’re not getting to my cabin. Again. So there’s no point for you to be here.”
Kusano leaves, still looking back angrily at Jin. Kame hopes they won’t start actually having a war within the ship. He’s had a few bad cases of people fighting on board and it hasn’t exactly been pleasant for anyone.
“I just thought I’d help,” Jin mutters at him ashamedly, lips pursed. He’s gloomy as he avoids Kame’s gaze and looks at the wall insistently. Kame hears chuckles coming from the corridor. Well, it probably is a funny sight. It’s not often there are fights over someone on the ship.
It’s actually pretty embarrassing.
“I’m used to him, I don’t need help,” Kame informs with a nod. Jin fidgets and grimaces, rocking on his heels.
“He was feeling you up.”
“Trust me, I’m used to that.”
“But you don’t want him to and he was… touching you,” Jin tries to defend himself. “He was practically pressing you on that door and -”
“I know,” Kame nods. “And I was just about to push him away. Even if I hadn’t, it wouldn’t have been your problem,” Kame sighs. “I’m not sure if anyone’s told you, but on this ship we sort of -”
“I’ve heard,” Jin cuts him off before the embarrassing ending, cheeks already blaring. “I just thought I’d help. We’re… friends. So.”
“…So,” Kame nods awkwardly and crosses his arms. He feels everyone’s eyes on them and licks his lips nervously. It doesn’t exactly help that he likes Jin. Not at all.
It’s difficult to be a captain and like a crew member.
“I’m sorry,” Jin mumbles again and bows his head a little. “I… I probably shouldn’t have.”
“It’s fine,” Kame nods. “Thanks. Really. I appreciate it. It was a nice gesture.”
“Wow, I made this really awkward,” Jin gasps and straightens himself up, looking at the ceiling. “It’s so awkward I think I could sort of go.”
“Yeah. Sure,” Kame nods, completely supporting the idea. It really is too awkward and he has no idea what to say. “So. Bye.”
“See you,” Jin mumbles and waves stiffly before he starts quickly rushing down the corridor in the opposite direction as Kusano. Kame sighs, leaning against his wall. Koki passes Jin by on the corridor, glances at him briefly before giving Kame a thumbs-up and mouthing an “awesome”.
Ueda probably alarmed him about the on-going drama. The whole ship is sometimes just a mess of kids spreading rumours around and gossiping in their little groups.
He slips back in his room, locks his door and hopes to god things will go back to normal tomorrow.
--
Junno’s a good listener. Usually Kame finds himself talking to Maru because he’s kind and understanding, but this time he has Junno sitting on his bunk with a PSP in his hands. It makes him feel sort of better. That Junno listens but then again doesn’t and they don’t need to converse about things so much.
“I don’t know what to do,” he admits. “With Jin.”
“Why don’t you ask him what he wants to do?”
“Maybe he’s genuinely just a friend. Or maybe he wants to get in my pants,” Kame groans. “Or… get back at me? For forcing him into this. How could I know?”
“He seems like a nice guy,” Junno shrugs. “I don’t think he’s that type.”
Kame knows better than to trust Junno when it comes to opinions about people, though. He has a naïve side inside too, one that resurfaces at the worst possible timings.
“I’m not the only one who thinks that way,” Junno mumbles, tilting his gaming device in concentration. “Pretty much the whole crew talks about it.”
“Talks about what?” Kame asks in horror, even though he’s pretty sure he already knows the answer.
“You two and whatever’s between you,” the man answers honestly. “Damn. I died.”
“Since when has my love-life been a general topic in here?!”
“Well, it sort of started coming up some time after you had taken Akanishi aboard,” Junno shrugs as he keeps pushing the buttons. “Usually you approach new members more so there was something fishy. But Kusano and Akanishi fighting over you sort of… made the whole thing explode. Don’t worry, it’ll go over soon.”
“Damn it,” Kame curses. “He’s just a friend.”
“Weren’t you just debating about confessing to him?” Junno frowns, tilting his head. “That’s hardly just a friend, you know.”
“But technically he’s just a friend,” Kame mumbles. “Do you think I should?”
“I don’t know,” Junno shrugs. “You could. I think he’s nice.”
“…He’s nice,” Kame agrees hesitantly. “But maybe he’s just generally nice and not into me.”
“Could be. He’s been telling some stories about women on the ports. The crew loves them.”
“Damn it,” Kame curses again, crashing on his bed and taking his diamond skull on his hands, sighing deep as he examines it. “To tell him or not to tell him..?”
“That is the question,” Junno nods. “…I died again.”
Kame sighs and cuddles his treasure moodily.
--
“I’m brilliant,” Kame groans excitedly as he slips a huge golden ring with an emerald rock on his finger. He takes the cards in his hand and rearranges them in a pack. “Thank you~”
It’s a game night. The majority of the crew is gathered on the deck, playing different games with their treasures on line. Maru keeps acing hopeful people in chess and Koki gets caught from cheating, creating a ruckus. Different games go on everywhere and some are even playing ancient cardboard games.
They need to get their entertainment from somewhere and gambling rings pirate enough in Kame’s captain ears.
“Do you play poker?” Jin asks him and Kame gives him a wide smirk, showing his ringed hands.
“You bet,” he answers as the man sits down. “Come on, what do you want? You can choose.”
“A ring?” Jin wonders and examines his hands anxiously. “The one with the sku -”
“Not happening,” Kame declines, shaking his head. “Everything but that. I’m not giving it up. You could say it’s my lucky charm.”
“Fine,” the man scoffs and rolls his eyes. “The one with the red stone then.”
“Alright, Akanishi,” Kame clicks his tongue and pulls the ring off his finger, setting it aside as he starts dealing them cards. “What are you betting?”
“I don’t really have much to offer,” Jin shrugs, “but I just won this one,” he continues and removes a necklace with a figure of a naked woman from his neck. Kame chuckles as he examines it.
“Classy. Silver,” he approves. “Since you’re poor I can go for that.”
“Uh huh?” Jin smirks. “It doesn’t really matter because I’ll win this. Let’s play five hands?”
“I’m in,” Kame agrees.
When Jin slams his final hand on the table, he’s astonished, having won only one of the five rounds. Jin squeals in delight as he slips the ring in his finger and takes the necklace back.
“I told you!” he laughs. “You can’t beat me!”
“Fuck you,” Kame purses his lips and punches the man gently on his knee. “I liked that ring. I’m going to miss it.”
“Mm,” Jin nods and locks their eyes. Kame hears the ruckus from around them but has a hard time turning his gaze away. He sort of wants to go for it.
Jin goes for it first, though. He leans forward and catches Kame’s lips for a heart-warming kiss. Kame shivers and leans against him, hands slipping down his shoulders. Jin pushes his tongue hesitantly in and Kame moans silently, feeling a bit more heated than he should for a kiss.
He crawls on Jin’s lap and holds his face close gently. His hat gets knocked on the wooden floor in the heat of the moment and Jin whimpers gently, eyes sparkling hesitantly in the darkness. His hands slide down to hold Kame still and close from his hips.
Kame catches his lips for another kiss, feeling the tightness in his chest slowly easing. Someone tries to hawk behind them but others hiss and then there’s a lot of chuckling and whispering.
It pisses him off a little. It’s never been a big deal before.
Jin buries his face in Kame’s neck and Kame gives dark glares to everyone who threatens to watch them like some show. Koki gives him another over-exaggerated thumbs-up and Kusano watches them with his mouth hanging open. Kame soothes Jin’s back gently before he starts getting up, startling the man a little.
“Not here,” he mutters and slips his deck of cards back in his pocket. Jin stumbles on his feet nervously and fidgets before Kame starts dragging him inside, trusting his crew to take care of the boat while he’s gone.
“I really like you,” Jin tries to blabber, probably growing anxious about his purposes for dragging him towards his cabin. “Like, really. You know.”
“Good,” Kame groans as he pushes the man in and locks the door behind them. “That’s good. Now strip.”
“Now?” Jin’s face turns pink. “No talk?”
“You want to talk now?” Kame whines. “Can’t we talk later?”
“I just -”
“Jin, really?” Kame presses pleadingly as he kicks his boots off. “Right now?”
“…You’re right. Maybe not,” the man mumbles and starts stripping himself with shaking hands. “But later. You know. We’ll talk and -”
“After,” Kame presses and pushes Jin down on the mattress, crawling on top of him. “It’s been too long for me.”
Jin yelps as he attacks his neck showing him just how long it’s been.
--
“I’ve never felt more at place,” Jin whispers to him silently as they lie on the bed. Kame runs his fingers on Jin’s damp and hot neck, swiping the sweat off while waiting for his heartbeat to eventually slow down. “Not before this ship.”
“Mm,” Kame hums to let Jin know he’s listening. “It’s a good ship.”
“You saved me,” Jin mumbles, snuggling to his neck, hands pulling Kame’s naked body closer. “From that other ship. The world. …You really saved me,” he sighs. “I never fell in place anywhere.”
“You could say I have an eye for my crew,” Kame chuckles affectionately and kisses Jin’s forehead. “I know when I see one.”
Jin runs his palm down Kame’s side to his hip and thigh. He repeats the motion lazily for a few times before he tilts his head to grant Kame a kiss again, full on the lips with his own ones. Kame sort of likes it. Really likes it.
“It’s not only because of that, though,” Jin mumbles. “This, you know. I just like you. You’re interesting.”
“Mm.”
“You’re a pirate,” Jin smirks. “A true pirate.”
“I’m the captain,” Kame corrects. “Captain K.”
It’s sort of fun just giggling to each other’s shoulders when thinking about the absurdity of everything. Kame likes having a person like that around. One who’s still fresh enough to poke fun at his lifestyle.
“I could join this crew for eternity,” Jin chuckles and Kame entwines their pinkies, staring at him in the eyes happily.
“Welcome to the kizuna,” he whispers and seals the promise with the sweetest kiss he has to give.