[FIC] NewS - Must be Magic
Title: Must be Magic (AKA Pi the Pirate)
Fandom: NewS
Pairing: Yamashita/Kato, hints of Tegoshi/Masuda, blink-and-you-miss-it Kato/Koyama
Rating: PG (Maybe language?)
Disclaimer: Not associated with Johnny's Entertainment. This is fiction; it never happened.
Summary: Yamapi is a pirate. But lately, boats aren’t enough for him anymore. He’s lonely and bored, and his pirating business is doing very poorly. Pi thinks that maybe some time on land will fix this.
A/N: AU, fluffy and, um... kind of pointless. I was going to wait until after remix to post it, but figured this was close enough. I'm very proud of this fic; it's probably one of my favorites. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did when writing it. (Partial dedication goes to sanjihan .)
1.
Yamapi is a pirate.
Or, well, he says he is, anyway. But he’s the honest sort, so he can admit that saying you’re something is not the same as being that something. And anyway, he’s very bad at being a pirate; he can’t even pillage right. He always feels so bad about it that he returns whatever loot and booty he manages to steal. (Plus a little extra, for the inconvenience of being… well, pillaged.)
But really, Pi isn’t all that interested in being a pirate. He went into it for the money (of which he’s seen little, because of his mentioned failure at pillaging) and the neat fashion (which isn’t so neat when you have to wear it everyday). Mostly, he just likes being on the sea.
He always had a thing for boats.
But lately, boats aren’t enough for him anymore. He’s lonely and bored, and his pirating business is doing very poorly. Pi thinks that maybe some time on land will fix this.
2.
Port Johnny, he thinks later, downing another mug of rum in an effort at curing his still-present boredom, was not the best of choices for this.
Nothing interesting ever happens at Port Johnny.
3.
The magic shop is a last ditch effort on his part. He passes it every day on his trips from the inn to the dock, and each time he stops in front, peers at it curiously for a moment, before going on his way, unable to pinpoint the reason why it had attracted his attention in the first place.
It’s not a very eye catching place, after all. The store front is bland and sensible, the sign faded and uninteresting. The windows are too dirty to see through.
But it intrigues Pi, who has never really seen any magic in his life, but has heard plenty of stories about sorcerers and mages and that one crazy sorceress who’s the bane of existence for bandits on the mainland. He knows that magic can do anything; there are limits to people, but not to the art itself. And that interests him.
4.
The inside is no more exciting than the out, and is certainly not the exotic place of wonder he’d been anticipating. The room is very large (maybe larger than it had been from the outside) and very open, with only a few shelves lining the walls. At the far end is a partitioned out section and a counter, behind which stands a very bored young man who has his nose firmly planted in a hardbound novel.
Pi approaches the counter, feeling an odd lack of trepidation. He thinks that magic should be the type of thing to instill a nervous sort of respect out of a person, but all he feels his is a curiosity for why the man behind the counter seems so very bored.
It must not be a very good book.
There’s suddenly a clamor from the corner, a bit of shuffling, and then the partition is pulled back, revealing an area not unlike the sort you see in seamstress’ workshops, with a box in the center of the floor in front of a large mirror and various fabrics scattered about. A young man comes storming out, looking rather upset.
“I’m not wearing them anymore!” He shouts angrily, red-faced and practically spewing steam out of his ears. Pi thinks he’s strangely attractive, even like this, with ethereal features and soft skin. “I keep ending up in love with people!”
And then he storms off, still scowling, which really only helps to make him look more adorable.
A few seconds later, another man comes out, with round features and a baby face. He looks a little bit panicked. Pi notes in interest that he has an odd procession of pins, needles, and fabric following him, dancing in thin air like puppets on strings. “Did you see where Tegoshi went?” He asks the one behind the counter, sounding mildly distressed.
The bored one nods in the right direction, adding, “You could just use one of the girls.”
The seamster - Pi assumes this is what he is, given the floating half-finished dress behind him - pulls a face. “They offered,” he says, sounding disappointed. “But none of them really have the hips for it. Thanks, Shige,”
And then he’s off, apparently to track down his angry model. Shige laughs, a deep, round sort of noise that’s oddly pleasing to the ear, and it’s only then that he notices Pi.
5.
“Enchanted skirts,” Shige explains a bit later, as he serves Pi tea that seemingly appeared from nowhere. “They’re very popular right now, and Massu’s specialty is magic garments.” Massu is the seamster, Pi assumes. “Tegoshi hates modeling, but the only girls we have working here are from Tokio, so they can’t do it.”
Ah. Pi has seen women from Tokio before. They aren’t unattractive by any means, but they’re odd creatures, with broad shoulders, flat chests, and little in terms of backside to note. Not very good for modeling skirts, enchanted or not.
“And what does Tegoshi do?” He asks curiously, sipping the tea. It’s really quite good, for coming out of thin air.
“Fortunes,” Shige says, sitting down in a chair that also seems to have not been there a moment earlier. “He’ll read your palm if you ask, but he’s much better with the cards.” Pi has never had his fortune read. He thinks it might be amusing to see. “But you’re not here for that, are you?”
Pi shakes his head mutely, even though honestly, he doesn’t really know.
Shige nods like this makes perfect sense. “Right.” He says, and Pi notes that in this light, his hair is a very pretty shade of brown. “So what are you looking for?”
Pi frowns. “A map.” He hears himself say, and even though he doesn’t recall needing a new map, for some reason he suddenly feels like he needs one very badly. Which doesn’t make much sense, but really, it’s a magic shop, after all.
“Oh,” Shige says, and his face falls like he’s disappointed. “The cartographer is down the street.”
“No,” Pi says, because that’s not what he wants. “Not that kind of map.”
“Oh,” Shige says, and Pi is glad that he understands, because he himself doesn’t, really.
6.
“So what kind of map do you need?”
He doesn’t really know, but Pi doesn’t think he can say as much without appearing foolish. So he says instead, “What kind do you have?”
Shige immediately launches in to a list of all the kinds of maps they can make. It’s a very long list, featuring everything from one that can display every single cat of a specific species in the world to one that will show you all the women who meet a certain requirement. Many of them sound interesting, but Pi shakes his head at each, somehow knowing that none are why he’s here.
By the end of the list, Shige is frowning as well. “Well…” he says, sounding a little bit stumped. “…maybe something a little more general.”
7.
In the end, they settle on something simple. Or, well, Shige does. Pi still has no idea what he’s even doing here, so after a point he just nods at one of the options, even though it doesn’t really sound all that appealing, even though it really should.
“It’ll show you whatever it is that you want most at the time,” Shige explains, fidgeting as he gathers materials.
Pi nods like he understands, a little more interested in the way Shige’s hands move than the actual map itself. It doesn’t take long to draw it up, and Pi supposes he should be grateful for this, because he’s already spent several hours longer than he meant to here, but when Shige finishes and sets the parchment aside to dry, all he can really feel is a sense of disappointment that he no longer has an excuse to sit around and drink tea with the apprentice mage.
The map costs him twelve gold pieces, which is pricey, but Pi pays it anyway. The conversation alone is worth it.
8.
Pi sets sail again the next morning. It seems silly to stay any longer in a place that has nothing interesting about it, and the docking fees are burning a hole in his wallet rather fast.
The ocean is inviting and calm, with peaceful seas and good wind, but for some reason all this does is unsettle Pi further. Suddenly he feels like sea is too open, too big; like there’s too much space between him and the next town, the next person. It’s lonely, he realizes as he watches a flock of seagulls glide nearby.
Those thoughts are not ones he likes to entertain, so he pulls out the map Shige drew for him and decides to try his hand with it.
9.
A week later finds him drifting back into the dock of Port Johnny. He’s grumpy and frustrated and kind of confused, because he just spent the last week going in a perfect circle around the coastline of Arashi island when he knows he followed Shige’s map down to the last detail.
He wonders if something is wrong with the map. Or with him. He supposes both are equally likely.
10.
The magic shop is the same as when he left it. The only change is that the interior colors are different. Pi wonders if this is because of an aesthetic choice, or if someone didn’t just get bored with the old look.
Shige is still behind the counter, but today there’s no book to keep him busy. Tegoshi is sitting in the corner with Massu, and seems to be reading his tea leaves. From look on Massu’s face - tomato red right up to his ears - it’s probably something embarrassing, or maybe inappropriate.
Pi makes his way to the counter. Shige looks surprised to see him. “What are you doing here?” he blurts, and then colors when Pi raises an eyebrow at him. “I mean… I thought you left last week.”
“I did,” Pi says, nodding. Inwardly, he thinks Shige looks attractive in that shade of red. “The map.” He pulls it out, rolled up carefully and stuffed into his pocket.
“The map?”
“It led me back here.”
Shige takes it from him, unrolls it and looks it over. “That doesn’t make sense,” he says appraisingly, flicking a nail at one corner. Pi thinks he sees something glimmer against the paper’s edge.
Tegoshi peeks over his shoulder, making him jump, because neither of them heard him coming. After a moment, he laughs in a very condescending way. “Well Shige, of course it led him back here,” he says, and when Shige glares at him in a way that’s oddly questioning, he explains, “You never make a magic map for what a person wants. You make them for he needs.”
Shige turns a strange color, a cross between purple and red, rolls the paper up and spins on his heel, disappearing into the backroom without a word. Tegoshi laughs and offers Pi tea.
11.
“I didn’t realize there was a difference,” Pi says, sometime later, watching Massu put some finishing touches on a cloak that seems to blend in perfectly with its surroundings. “Between what you want and what you need.”
“Oh yes,” Tegoshi says, nodding his head sagely. He offers Pi a cup of tea for the third time in an hour, but is turned down politely. “A very big difference.”
“I didn’t realize,” Pi repeats simply, trying to figure out what color the cloak is in this light. It’s very difficult when it keeps changing shades like that. He wonders how Massu knows where the fabric is.
“In magic, it’s all about the phrasing. Or for Shige’s magic, anyway.” Tegoshi shrugs casually and drinks his own cup of tea in a way that’s oddly dainty. “When you write a spell or draw a map for something that you want, it’s all very limited. Even if you make it for the one thing you want more than anything in the world, it will only work for things you know you want.” He pauses, and then adds, “That’s probably why the map led you back here. You already know you want a magic map.”
“Oh,” Pi says, because it sounds very reasonable.
“Needing something is different.” Tegoshi continues. In the corner, Massu pulls away to better admire his work. “You don’t have to know about something to need it.”
Pi thinks the difference might be going over his head a bit, but he nods anyway, and then brightens a bit when Shige comes back out, holding a distinctly different piece of parchment and telling Pi that there will be no charge this time, because the last map had been a mistake.
12.
It’s another six months before Pi comes back to Port Johnny. He’d admittedly wanted to come sooner, but the last few months have been very busy with pillaging and ransoming and generally being merry, three very important things that every pirate should be able to do.
Pi still isn’t a very good pirate, but that doesn’t matter anymore, because his new crew is made up of some very questionable men who do a far better job at it. They’re all a very rambunctious sort, causing all kinds of trouble and spending three fourths of the day drunk out of their minds. (The other fourth is spent bemoaning the lack of wenches, but Pi can’t do much about that, so he just gives them more rum.)
But all in all, they’re a very good crew. Pi is almost 75% sure that he doesn’t have to worry about mutiny with them around, so long as he keeps the rum up, which is far better than most pirate captains.
Which is why Pi comes back to Port Johnny at all, even though Jin complains the instant they dock, Ueda hits him for it, and a large brawl breaks out thereafter.
He’d very much like to thank Shige, because without that map, he would never have found the island that Captain Tsubasa of the Black Tackey left them all on two months earlier. And he supposes he should be grateful that the map led him on a wild goose chase for one and two thirds of those months, because if it hadn’t, he probably wouldn’t have arrived at just the right moment, when they were all so hungry they’d started voting on who to eat first (Jin had been the popular vote, so Pi is especially glad for it, because otherwise he’d be without a first mate), and then they probably wouldn’t have been so willing to go along with him.
13.
Shige is not working at the counter when Pi comes in this time, and the pirate captain feels something akin to sadness about this. There’s a new man standing at the mage’s old spot, short and dark haired, and Tegoshi is there too, apparently showing him how to work something or other.
Pi isn’t really sure what to say, and no one seems to notice him. Except for Massu, who waves cheerfully, but is otherwise too busy munching on a pastry to pay him any notice.
“Oh,” Tegoshi says when he looks up and sees him. “Hello.” He smiles pleasantly, and the dark haired man beside him scowls, as though displeased that Tegoshi is paying him such attention. “Yamashita, wasn’t it?”
His memory is very good, Pi thinks, considering they’ve only met twice. He nods.
“How did the map work out?” Tegoshi inquires curiously, adding to his trainee, “Ryo-chan, don’t scowl at the customers. It’ll scare them off.”
“Very well,” Pi says, noting that Ryo doesn’t seem to be listening to Tegoshi. “I’m here for another.” As soon as it’s out, Pi wonders where it came from, because really, that isn’t why he’s here at all, and Ueda will yell at him for spending money that he doesn’t need to. But he can’t really take it back, so he just smiles like that was what he intended from the beginning.
Tegoshi eyes him curiously, and then nods after a moment, as though he suddenly finds the answer acceptable. “Well, Shige’s the only one who can do that. He’ll be back in a bit, if you want to wait.”
Pi nods and goes to sit. In the background, he hears Ryo mumble sourly, “I could do it.” And Tegoshi laughs and pat his shoulder.
“I know, Ryo-chan,” But the way he says it makes it sound like it doesn’t matter if Ryo could or not.
13.
Just as Tegoshi says, Shige comes back shortly after. Pi is very content to wait for him, sitting in a comfortable chair near a window that he can’t see out of, even after Ryo heads into the back room and Tegoshi and Massu leave through the front.
Pi is so wrapped up in his thoughts about how it really isn’t very smart to leave a pirate alone in a shop like this - even one as bad at pirating as he is - that he almost doesn’t notice the door opening and Shige stepping in, wrapped up in an overly large cloak (the non-color changing kind) with a bag slung over his shoulder.
“Hello,” he greets, like he’s not at all surprised to see Pi there. He pulls off his bag and drops it where he stands; Pi is only mildly startled by the fact that it floats away of its own accord. The cloak follows the same pattern. “Did the map work alright?”
Pi nods, because it did, but isn’t sure if he should go into anymore detail than that; while it’s true that he really did need a decently rotten pirate crew, he doesn’t know if Shige would approve of that, and for some reason that matters to him, whether or not Shige approves.
Shige makes a noise, like he expected as much. “Tegoshi says you’re here for another.”
Again, Pi nods, although he really doesn’t know why he nods, since he still doesn’t understand why he seems to think he needs another map when the second worked perfectly.
“Do you know what type you want?” Pi just smiles as him innocently, and Shige makes a noise that’s a cross between amusement and exasperation, apparently reading his mind. He looks like he wants to laugh. “You have to be the worst customer I’ve ever had,” he says, and then he does laugh, and Pi notes in delight that it’s not the same embarrassed, nervous sound that he heard every time before.
14.
They spend the next few hours talking, but only the last half hour of that is actually spent discussing Pi’s new purchase. The rest is personable, personal, and entirely un-business related, and Pi is surprised to find that he really doesn’t mind telling his life story if Shige is the one who’s asking.
He learns a lot about Shige in return, like the fact that he’s actually still an apprentice, still learning, or the fact that the only reason the shop is set up on Port Johnny is because neither Tegoshi nor Massu have official Guild permission to practice their crafts, the Port is just outside of said Guild’s jurisdiction, and Shige can’t really imagine working without those two by his side.
He also learns about Shige’s old teacher, Koyama, who Shige talks about in a soft, fond sort of voice that makes Pi’s chest tighten in something akin to jealousy. He changes the subject after that.
15.
“I think,” Shige says, after another hour has passed and they haven’t made any progress at all, “that you should maybe talk to Tegoshi.”
“I’ve always wanted to get my fortune told,” Pi says automatically.
16.
Tegoshi seems excited to be able to read his cards, even though it’s getting very late into the evening and Massu is half-asleep and leaning heavily on his shoulder. “You have a very interesting aura,” he explains as he shuffles the cards and holds them out for Pi to cut. They aren’t tarot cards, which surprises the pirate; just regular ones, like the sort you use for card games.
Tegoshi lays them down across the table in an intricate pattern, hands moving in a way that’s self-assured, confident, while Massu yawns and nudges at his neck sleepily.
Then he starts flipping them over, saying things that Pi supposes are supposed to explain how it works, but he’s a little too distracted by the fact that Shige has wandered into the back room to really pay any attention to it.
“Oh,” Tegoshi says as he flips over the last card, and Pi draws his eyes back to him. “I see.”
Pi wonders what, exactly, it is that he sees, but before he can ask, Tegoshi is scribbling something down on a scrap of parchment, folding it up, and handing it to Pi, saying, “Give this to Shige. It should help.”
Pi is very tempted to peek, but something holds him back. He’s not really sure what, but in the end, he decides he’ll just have to trust Tegoshi’s judgment.
The fortune teller probably knows what he wants better than he does, at this point.
17.
Shige goes red as he reads the note, looking oddly embarrassed. “This…” he says, sounding a little bothered, “…is a little bit above my level.”
Pi is disappointed, wonders if Shige is going to turn him away, apologize for not being able to fill it, or maybe some combination of the two. But Shige continues scrutinizing the note, looking thoughtful, until his eyes finally snap back to Pi and he offers a small smile.
“It’ll take a few days,” he says reassuringly, and Pi feels dutifully reassured.
18.
It does take a few days, mostly because Shige has to send the order out to Koyama to have it done ‘properly’.
“I’d probably just mess it up if I tried,” he says, self-depreciating, and then glaring when Ryo agrees with him. When Pi shakes his head and insists that he’s certain Shige would have done a fine job, the mage gets a strange look on his face that’s hard to decipher, and then turns away with a blush.
19.
Pi ends up setting sail as soon as he receives his order, not because he’s in a particular hurry or really wants to, but because his men are starting to get antsy about being docked for so long and are generally being very irritable, and he’s worried that if he doesn’t get them back at sea they might take apart the entire island when he’s not looking.
They get even worse when the ship ends up right back in the dock two weeks later. Pi is a bit worried that their likelihood to not commit mutiny may have just gone down to 50%, but it’s not really something he can help.
20.
Shige looks honestly surprised to see him again when he comes in, and Pi wonders if he really expected that Pi would never come back. And, well, okay, Port Johnny isn’t exactly the most exciting place in the world. But Pi thinks he’d still have found a reason.
“I…” Shige says, and then stops. Pi smiles, because it’s cute. “…I thought… you left.”
They’ve had this conversation before, Pi thinks, holding out the rolled up map wordlessly. Shige takes it with a raised eyebrow, unrolling it, taking in the sight of the X that’s supposed to represent the destination, hovering right over their location. Shige looks flabbergasted.
“I don’t…” The mage shakes his head. “This doesn’t make sense, it should have-”
“What did Tegoshi tell you?” Pi interrupts, and Shige looks at him in confusion for a moment before blushing bright red. “What did you make the map for?”
Shige looks away, scratches the line of his jaw awkwardly. He looks a little bit like he doesn’t know if he should say it or not, but Pi is relentless, refusing to look away or let it go. After a moment, he sighs, says quietly, “…whatever would make you happiest.”
Ah. Well, that explains it, then.
Shige shakes his head. “I’m sorry,” he says, sounding sad, disappointed in himself, and Pi thinks he really doesn’t have anything to be sorry for. “I don’t know what’s wrong. Koyama’s a master; it should have worked.”
“I think,” Pi says, reaching out to pull Shige close, like it’s the most natural thing in the world, “that it worked just fine.”
Epilogue.
“I hate you,” Shige declares a week later, clinging miserably to the deck rail and looking very green around the gills. Pi makes a sympathetic noise and pets his hair comfortingly, trying hard not to snicker in amusement, because really, Shige’s lack of any proverbial sea legs isn’t really a fair thing to laugh about, even if it is quite funny.
“You’ll get the hang of it soon,” He promises instead, and Shige just groans. In the background, someone - sounding suspiciously like Koki - shrieks at Tegoshi to get out of the damn crow’s nest before you fall and break your neck!
It’s hard to hear that over the clamor coming from Ryo and Jin, though, who are bickering good-naturedly (or at least Pi assumes it’s in good nature) below deck over dinner while Massu unhelpfully sneaks samples from the pot when they aren’t looking. At the mention of food, Shige moans and presses his face into the pirate captain’s neck, and Pi coos at him but smiles anyway.
The ocean doesn’t feel all that lonely anymore. Pi supposes it must be magic.
Fandom: NewS
Pairing: Yamashita/Kato, hints of Tegoshi/Masuda, blink-and-you-miss-it Kato/Koyama
Rating: PG (Maybe language?)
Disclaimer: Not associated with Johnny's Entertainment. This is fiction; it never happened.
Summary: Yamapi is a pirate. But lately, boats aren’t enough for him anymore. He’s lonely and bored, and his pirating business is doing very poorly. Pi thinks that maybe some time on land will fix this.
A/N: AU, fluffy and, um... kind of pointless. I was going to wait until after remix to post it, but figured this was close enough. I'm very proud of this fic; it's probably one of my favorites. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did when writing it. (Partial dedication goes to sanjihan .)
1.
Yamapi is a pirate.
Or, well, he says he is, anyway. But he’s the honest sort, so he can admit that saying you’re something is not the same as being that something. And anyway, he’s very bad at being a pirate; he can’t even pillage right. He always feels so bad about it that he returns whatever loot and booty he manages to steal. (Plus a little extra, for the inconvenience of being… well, pillaged.)
But really, Pi isn’t all that interested in being a pirate. He went into it for the money (of which he’s seen little, because of his mentioned failure at pillaging) and the neat fashion (which isn’t so neat when you have to wear it everyday). Mostly, he just likes being on the sea.
He always had a thing for boats.
But lately, boats aren’t enough for him anymore. He’s lonely and bored, and his pirating business is doing very poorly. Pi thinks that maybe some time on land will fix this.
2.
Port Johnny, he thinks later, downing another mug of rum in an effort at curing his still-present boredom, was not the best of choices for this.
Nothing interesting ever happens at Port Johnny.
3.
The magic shop is a last ditch effort on his part. He passes it every day on his trips from the inn to the dock, and each time he stops in front, peers at it curiously for a moment, before going on his way, unable to pinpoint the reason why it had attracted his attention in the first place.
It’s not a very eye catching place, after all. The store front is bland and sensible, the sign faded and uninteresting. The windows are too dirty to see through.
But it intrigues Pi, who has never really seen any magic in his life, but has heard plenty of stories about sorcerers and mages and that one crazy sorceress who’s the bane of existence for bandits on the mainland. He knows that magic can do anything; there are limits to people, but not to the art itself. And that interests him.
4.
The inside is no more exciting than the out, and is certainly not the exotic place of wonder he’d been anticipating. The room is very large (maybe larger than it had been from the outside) and very open, with only a few shelves lining the walls. At the far end is a partitioned out section and a counter, behind which stands a very bored young man who has his nose firmly planted in a hardbound novel.
Pi approaches the counter, feeling an odd lack of trepidation. He thinks that magic should be the type of thing to instill a nervous sort of respect out of a person, but all he feels his is a curiosity for why the man behind the counter seems so very bored.
It must not be a very good book.
There’s suddenly a clamor from the corner, a bit of shuffling, and then the partition is pulled back, revealing an area not unlike the sort you see in seamstress’ workshops, with a box in the center of the floor in front of a large mirror and various fabrics scattered about. A young man comes storming out, looking rather upset.
“I’m not wearing them anymore!” He shouts angrily, red-faced and practically spewing steam out of his ears. Pi thinks he’s strangely attractive, even like this, with ethereal features and soft skin. “I keep ending up in love with people!”
And then he storms off, still scowling, which really only helps to make him look more adorable.
A few seconds later, another man comes out, with round features and a baby face. He looks a little bit panicked. Pi notes in interest that he has an odd procession of pins, needles, and fabric following him, dancing in thin air like puppets on strings. “Did you see where Tegoshi went?” He asks the one behind the counter, sounding mildly distressed.
The bored one nods in the right direction, adding, “You could just use one of the girls.”
The seamster - Pi assumes this is what he is, given the floating half-finished dress behind him - pulls a face. “They offered,” he says, sounding disappointed. “But none of them really have the hips for it. Thanks, Shige,”
And then he’s off, apparently to track down his angry model. Shige laughs, a deep, round sort of noise that’s oddly pleasing to the ear, and it’s only then that he notices Pi.
5.
“Enchanted skirts,” Shige explains a bit later, as he serves Pi tea that seemingly appeared from nowhere. “They’re very popular right now, and Massu’s specialty is magic garments.” Massu is the seamster, Pi assumes. “Tegoshi hates modeling, but the only girls we have working here are from Tokio, so they can’t do it.”
Ah. Pi has seen women from Tokio before. They aren’t unattractive by any means, but they’re odd creatures, with broad shoulders, flat chests, and little in terms of backside to note. Not very good for modeling skirts, enchanted or not.
“And what does Tegoshi do?” He asks curiously, sipping the tea. It’s really quite good, for coming out of thin air.
“Fortunes,” Shige says, sitting down in a chair that also seems to have not been there a moment earlier. “He’ll read your palm if you ask, but he’s much better with the cards.” Pi has never had his fortune read. He thinks it might be amusing to see. “But you’re not here for that, are you?”
Pi shakes his head mutely, even though honestly, he doesn’t really know.
Shige nods like this makes perfect sense. “Right.” He says, and Pi notes that in this light, his hair is a very pretty shade of brown. “So what are you looking for?”
Pi frowns. “A map.” He hears himself say, and even though he doesn’t recall needing a new map, for some reason he suddenly feels like he needs one very badly. Which doesn’t make much sense, but really, it’s a magic shop, after all.
“Oh,” Shige says, and his face falls like he’s disappointed. “The cartographer is down the street.”
“No,” Pi says, because that’s not what he wants. “Not that kind of map.”
“Oh,” Shige says, and Pi is glad that he understands, because he himself doesn’t, really.
6.
“So what kind of map do you need?”
He doesn’t really know, but Pi doesn’t think he can say as much without appearing foolish. So he says instead, “What kind do you have?”
Shige immediately launches in to a list of all the kinds of maps they can make. It’s a very long list, featuring everything from one that can display every single cat of a specific species in the world to one that will show you all the women who meet a certain requirement. Many of them sound interesting, but Pi shakes his head at each, somehow knowing that none are why he’s here.
By the end of the list, Shige is frowning as well. “Well…” he says, sounding a little bit stumped. “…maybe something a little more general.”
7.
In the end, they settle on something simple. Or, well, Shige does. Pi still has no idea what he’s even doing here, so after a point he just nods at one of the options, even though it doesn’t really sound all that appealing, even though it really should.
“It’ll show you whatever it is that you want most at the time,” Shige explains, fidgeting as he gathers materials.
Pi nods like he understands, a little more interested in the way Shige’s hands move than the actual map itself. It doesn’t take long to draw it up, and Pi supposes he should be grateful for this, because he’s already spent several hours longer than he meant to here, but when Shige finishes and sets the parchment aside to dry, all he can really feel is a sense of disappointment that he no longer has an excuse to sit around and drink tea with the apprentice mage.
The map costs him twelve gold pieces, which is pricey, but Pi pays it anyway. The conversation alone is worth it.
8.
Pi sets sail again the next morning. It seems silly to stay any longer in a place that has nothing interesting about it, and the docking fees are burning a hole in his wallet rather fast.
The ocean is inviting and calm, with peaceful seas and good wind, but for some reason all this does is unsettle Pi further. Suddenly he feels like sea is too open, too big; like there’s too much space between him and the next town, the next person. It’s lonely, he realizes as he watches a flock of seagulls glide nearby.
Those thoughts are not ones he likes to entertain, so he pulls out the map Shige drew for him and decides to try his hand with it.
9.
A week later finds him drifting back into the dock of Port Johnny. He’s grumpy and frustrated and kind of confused, because he just spent the last week going in a perfect circle around the coastline of Arashi island when he knows he followed Shige’s map down to the last detail.
He wonders if something is wrong with the map. Or with him. He supposes both are equally likely.
10.
The magic shop is the same as when he left it. The only change is that the interior colors are different. Pi wonders if this is because of an aesthetic choice, or if someone didn’t just get bored with the old look.
Shige is still behind the counter, but today there’s no book to keep him busy. Tegoshi is sitting in the corner with Massu, and seems to be reading his tea leaves. From look on Massu’s face - tomato red right up to his ears - it’s probably something embarrassing, or maybe inappropriate.
Pi makes his way to the counter. Shige looks surprised to see him. “What are you doing here?” he blurts, and then colors when Pi raises an eyebrow at him. “I mean… I thought you left last week.”
“I did,” Pi says, nodding. Inwardly, he thinks Shige looks attractive in that shade of red. “The map.” He pulls it out, rolled up carefully and stuffed into his pocket.
“The map?”
“It led me back here.”
Shige takes it from him, unrolls it and looks it over. “That doesn’t make sense,” he says appraisingly, flicking a nail at one corner. Pi thinks he sees something glimmer against the paper’s edge.
Tegoshi peeks over his shoulder, making him jump, because neither of them heard him coming. After a moment, he laughs in a very condescending way. “Well Shige, of course it led him back here,” he says, and when Shige glares at him in a way that’s oddly questioning, he explains, “You never make a magic map for what a person wants. You make them for he needs.”
Shige turns a strange color, a cross between purple and red, rolls the paper up and spins on his heel, disappearing into the backroom without a word. Tegoshi laughs and offers Pi tea.
11.
“I didn’t realize there was a difference,” Pi says, sometime later, watching Massu put some finishing touches on a cloak that seems to blend in perfectly with its surroundings. “Between what you want and what you need.”
“Oh yes,” Tegoshi says, nodding his head sagely. He offers Pi a cup of tea for the third time in an hour, but is turned down politely. “A very big difference.”
“I didn’t realize,” Pi repeats simply, trying to figure out what color the cloak is in this light. It’s very difficult when it keeps changing shades like that. He wonders how Massu knows where the fabric is.
“In magic, it’s all about the phrasing. Or for Shige’s magic, anyway.” Tegoshi shrugs casually and drinks his own cup of tea in a way that’s oddly dainty. “When you write a spell or draw a map for something that you want, it’s all very limited. Even if you make it for the one thing you want more than anything in the world, it will only work for things you know you want.” He pauses, and then adds, “That’s probably why the map led you back here. You already know you want a magic map.”
“Oh,” Pi says, because it sounds very reasonable.
“Needing something is different.” Tegoshi continues. In the corner, Massu pulls away to better admire his work. “You don’t have to know about something to need it.”
Pi thinks the difference might be going over his head a bit, but he nods anyway, and then brightens a bit when Shige comes back out, holding a distinctly different piece of parchment and telling Pi that there will be no charge this time, because the last map had been a mistake.
12.
It’s another six months before Pi comes back to Port Johnny. He’d admittedly wanted to come sooner, but the last few months have been very busy with pillaging and ransoming and generally being merry, three very important things that every pirate should be able to do.
Pi still isn’t a very good pirate, but that doesn’t matter anymore, because his new crew is made up of some very questionable men who do a far better job at it. They’re all a very rambunctious sort, causing all kinds of trouble and spending three fourths of the day drunk out of their minds. (The other fourth is spent bemoaning the lack of wenches, but Pi can’t do much about that, so he just gives them more rum.)
But all in all, they’re a very good crew. Pi is almost 75% sure that he doesn’t have to worry about mutiny with them around, so long as he keeps the rum up, which is far better than most pirate captains.
Which is why Pi comes back to Port Johnny at all, even though Jin complains the instant they dock, Ueda hits him for it, and a large brawl breaks out thereafter.
He’d very much like to thank Shige, because without that map, he would never have found the island that Captain Tsubasa of the Black Tackey left them all on two months earlier. And he supposes he should be grateful that the map led him on a wild goose chase for one and two thirds of those months, because if it hadn’t, he probably wouldn’t have arrived at just the right moment, when they were all so hungry they’d started voting on who to eat first (Jin had been the popular vote, so Pi is especially glad for it, because otherwise he’d be without a first mate), and then they probably wouldn’t have been so willing to go along with him.
13.
Shige is not working at the counter when Pi comes in this time, and the pirate captain feels something akin to sadness about this. There’s a new man standing at the mage’s old spot, short and dark haired, and Tegoshi is there too, apparently showing him how to work something or other.
Pi isn’t really sure what to say, and no one seems to notice him. Except for Massu, who waves cheerfully, but is otherwise too busy munching on a pastry to pay him any notice.
“Oh,” Tegoshi says when he looks up and sees him. “Hello.” He smiles pleasantly, and the dark haired man beside him scowls, as though displeased that Tegoshi is paying him such attention. “Yamashita, wasn’t it?”
His memory is very good, Pi thinks, considering they’ve only met twice. He nods.
“How did the map work out?” Tegoshi inquires curiously, adding to his trainee, “Ryo-chan, don’t scowl at the customers. It’ll scare them off.”
“Very well,” Pi says, noting that Ryo doesn’t seem to be listening to Tegoshi. “I’m here for another.” As soon as it’s out, Pi wonders where it came from, because really, that isn’t why he’s here at all, and Ueda will yell at him for spending money that he doesn’t need to. But he can’t really take it back, so he just smiles like that was what he intended from the beginning.
Tegoshi eyes him curiously, and then nods after a moment, as though he suddenly finds the answer acceptable. “Well, Shige’s the only one who can do that. He’ll be back in a bit, if you want to wait.”
Pi nods and goes to sit. In the background, he hears Ryo mumble sourly, “I could do it.” And Tegoshi laughs and pat his shoulder.
“I know, Ryo-chan,” But the way he says it makes it sound like it doesn’t matter if Ryo could or not.
13.
Just as Tegoshi says, Shige comes back shortly after. Pi is very content to wait for him, sitting in a comfortable chair near a window that he can’t see out of, even after Ryo heads into the back room and Tegoshi and Massu leave through the front.
Pi is so wrapped up in his thoughts about how it really isn’t very smart to leave a pirate alone in a shop like this - even one as bad at pirating as he is - that he almost doesn’t notice the door opening and Shige stepping in, wrapped up in an overly large cloak (the non-color changing kind) with a bag slung over his shoulder.
“Hello,” he greets, like he’s not at all surprised to see Pi there. He pulls off his bag and drops it where he stands; Pi is only mildly startled by the fact that it floats away of its own accord. The cloak follows the same pattern. “Did the map work alright?”
Pi nods, because it did, but isn’t sure if he should go into anymore detail than that; while it’s true that he really did need a decently rotten pirate crew, he doesn’t know if Shige would approve of that, and for some reason that matters to him, whether or not Shige approves.
Shige makes a noise, like he expected as much. “Tegoshi says you’re here for another.”
Again, Pi nods, although he really doesn’t know why he nods, since he still doesn’t understand why he seems to think he needs another map when the second worked perfectly.
“Do you know what type you want?” Pi just smiles as him innocently, and Shige makes a noise that’s a cross between amusement and exasperation, apparently reading his mind. He looks like he wants to laugh. “You have to be the worst customer I’ve ever had,” he says, and then he does laugh, and Pi notes in delight that it’s not the same embarrassed, nervous sound that he heard every time before.
14.
They spend the next few hours talking, but only the last half hour of that is actually spent discussing Pi’s new purchase. The rest is personable, personal, and entirely un-business related, and Pi is surprised to find that he really doesn’t mind telling his life story if Shige is the one who’s asking.
He learns a lot about Shige in return, like the fact that he’s actually still an apprentice, still learning, or the fact that the only reason the shop is set up on Port Johnny is because neither Tegoshi nor Massu have official Guild permission to practice their crafts, the Port is just outside of said Guild’s jurisdiction, and Shige can’t really imagine working without those two by his side.
He also learns about Shige’s old teacher, Koyama, who Shige talks about in a soft, fond sort of voice that makes Pi’s chest tighten in something akin to jealousy. He changes the subject after that.
15.
“I think,” Shige says, after another hour has passed and they haven’t made any progress at all, “that you should maybe talk to Tegoshi.”
“I’ve always wanted to get my fortune told,” Pi says automatically.
16.
Tegoshi seems excited to be able to read his cards, even though it’s getting very late into the evening and Massu is half-asleep and leaning heavily on his shoulder. “You have a very interesting aura,” he explains as he shuffles the cards and holds them out for Pi to cut. They aren’t tarot cards, which surprises the pirate; just regular ones, like the sort you use for card games.
Tegoshi lays them down across the table in an intricate pattern, hands moving in a way that’s self-assured, confident, while Massu yawns and nudges at his neck sleepily.
Then he starts flipping them over, saying things that Pi supposes are supposed to explain how it works, but he’s a little too distracted by the fact that Shige has wandered into the back room to really pay any attention to it.
“Oh,” Tegoshi says as he flips over the last card, and Pi draws his eyes back to him. “I see.”
Pi wonders what, exactly, it is that he sees, but before he can ask, Tegoshi is scribbling something down on a scrap of parchment, folding it up, and handing it to Pi, saying, “Give this to Shige. It should help.”
Pi is very tempted to peek, but something holds him back. He’s not really sure what, but in the end, he decides he’ll just have to trust Tegoshi’s judgment.
The fortune teller probably knows what he wants better than he does, at this point.
17.
Shige goes red as he reads the note, looking oddly embarrassed. “This…” he says, sounding a little bothered, “…is a little bit above my level.”
Pi is disappointed, wonders if Shige is going to turn him away, apologize for not being able to fill it, or maybe some combination of the two. But Shige continues scrutinizing the note, looking thoughtful, until his eyes finally snap back to Pi and he offers a small smile.
“It’ll take a few days,” he says reassuringly, and Pi feels dutifully reassured.
18.
It does take a few days, mostly because Shige has to send the order out to Koyama to have it done ‘properly’.
“I’d probably just mess it up if I tried,” he says, self-depreciating, and then glaring when Ryo agrees with him. When Pi shakes his head and insists that he’s certain Shige would have done a fine job, the mage gets a strange look on his face that’s hard to decipher, and then turns away with a blush.
19.
Pi ends up setting sail as soon as he receives his order, not because he’s in a particular hurry or really wants to, but because his men are starting to get antsy about being docked for so long and are generally being very irritable, and he’s worried that if he doesn’t get them back at sea they might take apart the entire island when he’s not looking.
They get even worse when the ship ends up right back in the dock two weeks later. Pi is a bit worried that their likelihood to not commit mutiny may have just gone down to 50%, but it’s not really something he can help.
20.
Shige looks honestly surprised to see him again when he comes in, and Pi wonders if he really expected that Pi would never come back. And, well, okay, Port Johnny isn’t exactly the most exciting place in the world. But Pi thinks he’d still have found a reason.
“I…” Shige says, and then stops. Pi smiles, because it’s cute. “…I thought… you left.”
They’ve had this conversation before, Pi thinks, holding out the rolled up map wordlessly. Shige takes it with a raised eyebrow, unrolling it, taking in the sight of the X that’s supposed to represent the destination, hovering right over their location. Shige looks flabbergasted.
“I don’t…” The mage shakes his head. “This doesn’t make sense, it should have-”
“What did Tegoshi tell you?” Pi interrupts, and Shige looks at him in confusion for a moment before blushing bright red. “What did you make the map for?”
Shige looks away, scratches the line of his jaw awkwardly. He looks a little bit like he doesn’t know if he should say it or not, but Pi is relentless, refusing to look away or let it go. After a moment, he sighs, says quietly, “…whatever would make you happiest.”
Ah. Well, that explains it, then.
Shige shakes his head. “I’m sorry,” he says, sounding sad, disappointed in himself, and Pi thinks he really doesn’t have anything to be sorry for. “I don’t know what’s wrong. Koyama’s a master; it should have worked.”
“I think,” Pi says, reaching out to pull Shige close, like it’s the most natural thing in the world, “that it worked just fine.”
Epilogue.
“I hate you,” Shige declares a week later, clinging miserably to the deck rail and looking very green around the gills. Pi makes a sympathetic noise and pets his hair comfortingly, trying hard not to snicker in amusement, because really, Shige’s lack of any proverbial sea legs isn’t really a fair thing to laugh about, even if it is quite funny.
“You’ll get the hang of it soon,” He promises instead, and Shige just groans. In the background, someone - sounding suspiciously like Koki - shrieks at Tegoshi to get out of the damn crow’s nest before you fall and break your neck!
It’s hard to hear that over the clamor coming from Ryo and Jin, though, who are bickering good-naturedly (or at least Pi assumes it’s in good nature) below deck over dinner while Massu unhelpfully sneaks samples from the pot when they aren’t looking. At the mention of food, Shige moans and presses his face into the pirate captain’s neck, and Pi coos at him but smiles anyway.
The ocean doesn’t feel all that lonely anymore. Pi supposes it must be magic.