Chapter 3
Kyo opened his eyes slowly, yawning and blinking. He cursed and took his glasses off of his face, sighing. He had fallen asleep while working, and that was never a good thing.
Satsuki had come back into his room after checking to see that everything was ok on the ship. He settled by Kyo, laying down next to him with a tired little sigh. "How did things go?"
Kyo sighed, trying to find a more comfortable position in the bed that didn't make his side throb so much. "It's coming together. After I finished copying both maps, I could turn them and found out that the map on Matsumoto's back is upside down." He carefully joined the map parts, pointing to the middle. "This part with islands was split in three. I believe is where we have to go. Before falling asleep, I was translating the few texts we had on the fragments Takumi had."
Satsuki nodded a bit and looked over the information gathered. He knew parts of this looked so familiar to him, he just couldn't remember why or where he had seen these things before. "What if it's another trap?"
Kyo stretched his legs and arms, moaning and giving up when the movement pulled on the stitches. "Then someone has a very dark sense of humor. These things were burned on people's backs! What are we looking for anyway?"
"I don't know..." Satsuki muttered, laying his head on Kyo's shoulder. "All I know was that it was something of great value and Takumi spent most of his life looking for it." He traced his fingers over Kyo's chest and gently rubbed the skin, the touch seeming natural between them.
"I'll resume my work later..." He looked to the sky through the little round window, deciding on not to comment on the touches. It feel nice, and he liked this Satsuki a lot better then the uncooperative, stubborn one.. "It's not morning yet. Which means that we can't have any breakfast..." He arranged all the papers in a pile and handed it to Satsuki, yawning. "Lock it somewhere, I think we should sleep until the sun comes out at least."
Satsuki nodded and took the papers to lock them in his desk. He then got comfortable taking off his boots and settling in to bed again next to Kyo, pulling the covers up securely around both of them. "Good work today, Kyo." He whispered with a little yawn of his own as he snuggled against the other's side, taking comfort in the security that he got from being close to Kyo.
"Thanks, you did good work too, luring that idiot out of the club." He yawned again, closing his eyes and relaxing his body against the warmth next to him.
Satsuki closed his eyes and let sleep take over as he laid there with Kyo, all of his worries floating away for now as he got some much needed rest.
Nao woke up the next day with the feeling that something was wrong. He turned on his back and yawned, looking at the other side of the bed, his slow, sleepy mind, trying to understand what was missing on the scene. "Saga..." He frowned, remembering the almost fight from the last night, the sadness in the man's voice when he left the room. With a sigh, the cook got ready for the day and walked into the corridor, knocking on Reita's door to warn him it was time to wake up. He walked to deck, looking for Saga, but he found nothing. The same happened in the cells, kitchen, storage and every place he could think of. Using his final resource, he knocked on Hakuei's door, deciding to ask Rose about it.
Rose groaned at the noise, turning on his side and burying his head under the pillow. He kicked Hakuei, trying to get him to aswer the door. "It's your room..."
Hakuei frowned, growling softly as he rolled out of bed to go answer his door. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes as he saw Nao there. "Breakfast already?"
Nao had the decency to look embarrassed for waking the first mate at a such early hour, but decided to just ask anyway. "I can't find Saga anywhere. He was supposed to help me today, so I thought I could ask Rose about him..."
The blonde lifted his head, using a hand to push some hair out of his face. "Last time I talked to him was yesterday..." He frowned, sitting up and reaching for a robe to cover himself.
"He's not in his room?" Hakuei asked, moving to get dressed for the day. This didn't sound good. He hoped none of the crew had decided to have some fun with Saga.
"No...hm...." Nao was afraid of telling them Reita took the room, somebody could find a way to blame the poor slave. "Maybe we should warn the captain..."
The first mate nodded, leaving the room to go talk to Satsuki about it. He reached Satsuki's door and knocked loudly, knowing that it sometimes took a lot to get him to wake up. Today was no exception.
Kyo woke up first, growling at the sound disturbing his sleep. He was still tired after the late night he had studying the maps. The cartographer used a hand on Satsuki's shoulder to shake him gently, the other holding the injured side that still throbbed painfully. "Captain, someone is at the door."
Satsuki nodded against Kyo's shoulder and stayed in his comfortable spot next to Kyo for a few more minutes before getting up to answer the door. "What?" Was the grumpy response from Satsuki, as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
"Saga, one of the ones we brought with us, has gone missing." Hakuei reported, watching as Satsuki sleepily moved around to get ready.
"Is that all?" Satsuki asked, looking to Hakuei in disbelief. "I told you I don't care who you brought, but I do not want them to cause any trouble. I'm not having any part in finding anyone."
Kyo let out a suffering sigh and sat up, reaching for his boots with some difficulty. He got up and stumbled to the door still shirtless, walking past Hakuei and groaning in discomfort. "I will help..."
Seeing Kyo get up, Satsuki followed him and slid his arm around the cartographer to support him. "You shouldn't move around like this." He warned, though his attention was brought to a red stain on the deck. Where did that come from?
"C-captain..." Said the shaky voice of Hiroto, as the young cabin boy moved over to him. "There's something caught up in the sails." He said, sounding like he was going to be sick any second. Satsuki looked up to see a body twisted, hanging from the sails. It was missing it's head, so he couldn't tell who it was, but since one person had already been reported missing...
Kyo looked up too, groaning at the sight and holding his stomach. "Damn, I can't believe this..."
Rose walked up on the deck, noticing everyone looking up with a disgusted face. Without thinking, he did the same. The sight that assaulted his eyes was much worse then he ever thought and his first reaction was turn around and try to empty his stomach on the sea. "Oh my god... Saga, oh my god..."
Satsuki sighed and held Kyo closer, a horrible feeling growing inside him. This wasn't something he expected of his crew, but it had to have been someone on this ship. "Someone...take the body down and throw it into the sea." Satsuki commanded as calmly as possible. Hakuei stepped over to comfort Rose, seeing that he'd just lost a friend in such a gruesome way.
Rose hugged Hakuei close, sobbing on his shoulder and grabbing the fabric of his shirt between his fingers. "He-he never did an-anything bad t-to anyone here!" He cried harder when he heard some men trying to lower the dead body.
"Come on..." Hakuei said, pulling Rose with him back towards their room. He didn't want Rose to have to see any more.
Rose let Hakuei lead him to the bedroom, completely weak and in shock. Once inside, he walked to their bed, hugging a pillow close to his body and sobbing painfully. It was hard to believe that Saga was gone and even harder, if not impossible, to forgive whoever did a such heartless thing to a harmless man.
Hakuei moved to sit beside Rose, rubbing his back gently to try to give him some comfort. He knew it must’ve been tough to go through that the first night on the ship. No doubt it was affecting everyone.
Kyo shook his head, looking at Satsuki. "Something is very wrong here...We need to be alert and take care of the prisoners. That is if they're still alive." He motioned to the stairs leading down and started walking slowly to them.
"You should rest." Satsuki said again, sighing to himself. "I can check on them, ok?"
Kyo smiled to him, leaning on the wall beside the stairs. "It's okay, I can't rest now, knowing that we have a traitor between us. You go down there to look and I will wait for you here." He pointed to the dark cells, smirking. "I will scream if something happens, ok?"
Satsuki nodded and moved downstairs to check on the prisoners. They were both fine and still breathing, relieving one little problem. He made a mental note to have Reita stay down here to watch them, keeping guard. He trusted the slave enough to do so.
Nao walked out of his room, where he had been washing his face and arranging his bed and he heard loud sobs coming from Hakuei's room. Biting his lip, he peeked inside the barely open door, seeing the desperate blonde. Something ached in his chest and he just knew something was really wrong... Saga was not missing for being mad at him. "I-is it Saga?"
Hakuei nodded and gently ran his fingers through Rose's hair as he glanced at Nao. "Saga's dead..." He said softly. "You might want to stay clear of the upper deck for a while."
Nao looked down, whispering to Hakuei while focusing on controlling his shaking body. "Who did it?"
"We don't know yet." Hakuei answered, feeling sorry for Nao as well. It seemed that the cook had grown to like Saga. He was sure if Nao did find out who had killed him, they would find poison in their food.
Nao nodded and walked back to his room, throwing himself on the bed. He sighed and looked at the ceiling for a few minutes before the first tear ran down his face. It was quickly followed by a sob and soon Nao was crying like he hadn't in many years.
Satsuki returned to the top of the stairs where Kyo was and put his arm around him once again. "They're fine, Kyo. I'm going to have Reita look over them. Do you feel up to doing any work on the maps today?"
"Yeah. I need to take a certain image out of my head." He walked back to the room, sitting on the bed with a huff. "Damn, how can it be hurting more today then it was yesterday?" He poked his side carefully, hissing at the pain. "Can you get me a shirt please? I'm a little cold..." He shivered, frowning at the beads of sweat he could now see sliding down his chest. He didn't feel so good.
Satsuki nodded and got a shirt for Kyo, carefully sliding it on him and forcing him to lie back on the bed. He then took the blanket and bundled Kyo up in it. "I don't think you should work, Kyo. You don't look so good..." He commented, worrying already.
"I'm fine, it's just a mild headache, it will go away..." His words contradicted his actions, since he snuggled on the comforting warm of the blanket with a sigh.
Satsuki smiled at Kyo's actions and he stayed by the other's side for a moment before he decided that he had to get back to work. "I'll come check on you later, but you must get some sleep before I allow you to work."
Kyo groaned, finally trying to sit up. "I'm fine... Let me see those maps..."
"No, they're locked in my desk." Satsuki replied, frowning. "Perhaps I should get you a doctor." He added as he pushed Kyo back down. He pinned Kyo to the bed carefully and felt his forehead for signs of a fever.
Kyo growled when he was pushed back on the bed, sighing soon after. "No doctors, I'm fine. It's just a headache... Damn, close the window, it's cold here." The cartographer finally accepted his fate and relaxed against the bed. "Okay, I will rest for a few hours if that makes you happy."
Hearing Kyo give in, Satsuki smiled and kissed Kyo's cheek. "Yes, it will make me happy."
Kyo just closed his eyes and smirked. "Stop kissing me." Really, it was just for habit, he actually liked the little kisses and touches. It was a lot better then fighting with Satsuki all the time.
"If you keep saying that, I might want to do it more." Satsuki warned, though he stopped for now and rolled off the bed. "Do you need me to bring either of our little map pieces up later?"
"Probably not. Maybe you should take them for a walk today, make them clean the blood... Poor Reita is still waiting for a 'thank you', you know? At least spare him from that disgusting job." He sighed and snuggled deeper on the sheets, even if he could feel a thin layer of sweat covering his skin.
Satsuki nodded, agreeing with that idea. He left a moment later to let Kyo get his rest while he went to find Reita. He decided that maybe it would be best to take one prisoner out at a time and let them both work on cleaning the mess on the deck.
Reita was running in and out the kitchen, trying to please everyone at the table that were yelling at him for not being fast enough. They asked where Nao was, why there wasn't any breakfast ready and ordered difficult stuff to make, making the blonde almost cry out in frustration. He was already sniffing because of a harsh slap to the face when he noticed Satsuki on the deck.
Satsuki moved over to Reita and took the food from him to start handing it out to people, wordlessly helping the slave even though it was not his job. He could tell how much this was stressing the poor guy out.
The crew grew quiet when they noticed the captain, the impossible requests stopping immediately. This made their job much easier and soon everyone had something to eat. Reita walked to the Satsuki with his head lowered, really ashamed of himself. "I'm sorry, please... It's a lot of job without Nao here to help. I'll start on the blood stain now."
"No, I decided to give you another job." Satsuki said, putting a hand on Reita's back and pushing him towards the lower deck where Toshiya and Ruki were held captive. "I want you to do a little babysitting, if you don't mind."
"O-okay." He sat on a little bench near the cells, leaning his back against the humid wall.
Satsuki moved over to the cells, where Toshiya and Ruki were looking bored out of their minds. Good, Satsuki could give them work. "Hara." Satsuki spoke to get the taller one's attention. "You're coming with me. Matsumoto, you get to stay with Reita for a while."
Toshiya barely lifted his head to look at him, not moving a inch from his place beside Ruki.
Satsuki motioned for Toshiya to come over and Ruki looked over at Reita, recognizing him as the one who tried to seduce him. "I can't believe this. A slave fooled me." Ruki muttered under his breath.
Toshiya laid down on the ground, looking at Satsuki with mocking eyes. He wasn't about to be the good little prisoner who did everything out of fear.
Reita blushed, hanging his head low, trying to make his bangs cover his face. "I'm sorry..." He whispered, hoping that the captain didn't yell at him for it.
Satsuki sighed and moved over to Toshiya, pulling on his arm. Deciding that he was too heavy, he straddled his waist and sang into his ear another song, this one quite heavily seductive. It was meant to make Toshiya follow him around like a puppy.
Ruki watched the captain interact with Toshiya with mild amusement. He then looked to Reita again. "Do I get molested too?" He asked hopefully.
Toshiya was quickly enchanted, lying prone under the pirate and looking at him with passionate eyes.
Reita blushed even more, looking away from the scene. "The captain has very interesting ways of making people do what he wants. Defy him if you want, maybe you will get the same treatment."
Satsuki sat back, looking satisfied as he climbed off Toshiya. "Come." He said, motioning for Toshiya to follow him.
Ruki smirked slightly. "But I think it's clear I like you more."
Toshiya eagerly got up and followed Satsuki out of the cell, making Reita wonder, one more time, how the fuck the captain did it. The blonde sighed, walking to the hay he usually sleep in and laying down. "I deceived you, how can you like me?"
Smirking, Satsuki handed the mop to Toshiya when they got to the upper deck and he pulled the other closer for a moment. "I'll reward you if you clean the deck like a good boy."
Toshiya got on his hands and knees on the blood, scrubbing the wood with all his might. Something on his mind was telling him this wasn't right, but he couldn't care less at the moment.
Satsuki sat back and watched, amused by his easy victory. At least his powers were good for something. He'd never seen someone working so eagerly.
"You're shy and different." Ruki said with a little shrug. "I find it appealing."
Reita groaned, lifting his head to look at Ruki. "Yeah, I'm also dirty enough to deceive and lock a person up for a meal and a good night's sleep on a bed." The slave almost wished the other stopped trying, he didn't feel like it.
"Like I'm a little saint? I can't blame you for wanting to be comfortable if this is what you are used to." Ruki motioned to their surroundings, scrunching up his nose. "It smells dreadful."
"The animals are just there, can you hear them?" He pointed to his right, where some empty cages for chickens were stacked up. "You get used to it after a few days..." He got up, going to sit on the bench again, feeling restless. The body found on the ship earlier did nothing to put him at ease.
"This is so dull. Seriously, can't I go anywhere?" Ruki asked, looking at Reita pleadingly. "It's the least you could do after kidnaping me."
Reita frowned at him, shaking his head. "No. You're a prisoner, you're important and there is this psycho running loose on the ship. Absolutely not. I have to make sure you stay alive, not take you on a tour."
Ruki was silent for a moment before he sat up more. "Then can you come in here? I won't hurt you, it's just lonely."
Reita grabbed his bench and sat really close to the bars, though he selected a brick from a pile first. "I'm not getting in. You can see me pretty well, it can't be that lonely... So, how did you get that thing on your back?" He tried to change subject, not sure he would be able to decline the next time Ruki asked for something.
Ruki moved closer to where Reita was, rubbing the light indents on his back. "I don't remember. I've had them since I was a kid I guess. No one wanted to talk about it."
"And you never asked? I know I would if I had a map on my back..." He dropped the brick near his foot, sighing when he heard the captain yelling upstairs. "You stabbed a guy, remember that? Please, do whatever the captain asks you, he already does not like you because of that incident. The guy you stabbed was our cartographer."
Ruki lifted an eyebrow. "Maybe I should've been happy about getting captured." Ruki said sarcastically.
Reita frowned, hissing between his teeth. "Don't be stupid, I know you did that in self defense. But our captain is not the more logical of beings, and he had grown pretty attached to Kyo for some reason. He doesn't like you at all, it's not a neutral feeling like with Toshiya. You should be careful."
Ruki nodded and stared at the ground for a moment. "Do you hate me too?"
Reita giggled, rolling his eyes. "Don't be silly, I have no foul feelings towards you. But you should really hate me. If it wasn't for me, you would be on your comfortable bed right now, not at a smelly cell."
"You could make it up to me." Ruki said in a suggestive tone, patting the floor next to him.
Ruki laughed, shaking his head at the stubborn blonde. "I'm not getting in. Stop asking." But he dared to stretch a arm between the bars, carefully patting the short blonde's head. "You're really a heartbreaker, huh? Even when sitting on the floor on the middle of the sea."
Ruki caught Reita's hand, kissing the back of it lightly. "I can't break it if you don't let me have it." He said, lacing his fingers with the slave's.
Reita gave him a sad smile, looking at their joined hands with a thoughtful look. "I'm already broken..." He sighed, resting his forehead against the bars and closing his eyes.
That comment made Ruki become more serious as he crawled to the bars, rubbing Reita's hand gently in his own. "Hey...But broken things can be fixed, can't they?"
Reita smiled to him, though anguish could be clearly seen in his eyes. "I don't know. I've never been good fixing things...Are you?"
"I guess. I never liked it when my toys broke." Ruki said, smiling a little bit.
Reita smiled to him, squeezing the hand between his own. "Really a heartbreaker..."
Ruki blew Reita a kiss and tugged lightly on his hand. "Please? Just to snuggle and keep me warm?" Ruki tried his convincing once more. Reita would have to cave in eventually.
Reita smirked to him and reached for his blanket, handing it to Ruki. "I don't think so..."
Ruki pouted as best he could, but took the blanket anyway. "Oh come on, like anyone else gives you as much attention as I do around here."
Reita smirked, playing with the ends of his own hair. "Nobody does. And I kinda like it, so I will keep my word and not get in. If what you're saying is true, you will not give up that easily."
"Definitely not." Ruki agreed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Though I can't see why you like it. Aren't you lonely?"
Reita giggled, throwing a little stone he found on the ground at Ruki. "I like your attention, silly. Makes me feel a little more important, it's nice."
"Then get in here." Ruki insisted again. He seriously wouldn't give up. "So I can give you more attention..."
"All this insistence is making me doubt your intentions." Reita arched an eyebrow, walking to the door of the cell and just leaning there. "Try harder."
"What do you think my intentions are?" Questioned Ruki, curious to hear it from Reita.
Reita smiled at him, this time playing with the lock of the cell, clearly being more convinced at every passing second. "I don't know... Why don't you tell me?" He whispered, happy to be flirting with someone after all this time.
So Reita wanted to play this game with him, huh? Ruki could do that. "Honestly, perhaps I wish to be near you because you resist my advances so much. I am used to always getting what I want." He started, completely telling the truth. "And you were horrible at acting and I had a feeling it was a trap...but I still went with you."
"Well, that proves I can be horrible at acting, but that my seduction skills aren't that rusty. And now the spolied child will have to work for what he wants." He turned around and sat back on his bench, thinking this all was a lot of fun.
"Not necessarily your seduction skills." Ruki muttered, shaking his head. "I think the thing that got me was how shy and innocent you were. You're the opposite of all that I've went after before."
Reita smiled and dropped his head, a little embarrassed. He was finally out of words.
Ruki stayed silent after that, figuring he had said enough. He would let Reita think it over before he tried to get Reita to come over again.
In Satsuki's room, Kyo turned on the bed with an uncomfortable groan, his whole body wet with sweat. His shivering form was pale and his skin was hot. Damn, he really wasn't feeling so good.
Satsuki decided it was safe to check on Kyo, since Toshiya was so wrapped up in cleaning the deck. He peaked into the room, his eyes widening when he saw the state that Kyo was in. "Kyo, you need a doctor." He stated firmly.
Kyo opened an eye, smirking to Satsuki. "I look bad, don't I?" He moaned when a shiver ran through him, curling into a ball under the covers. "I'm inclined to agree with you. But we can't stop at a city, it will put the plan in danger."
"I know where to go." Satsuki said, moving to tell the crew about the change in plans. He would make sure Kyo was ok. He needed him, and not just for the maps.
Kyo pat the other side of the bed, inviting Satsuki, and settled for trying to sleep a few hours until they reached the city. He would suffer and think less like that... In the depths of his mind, he was afraid for his life, knowing that a infection could be nasty when not taken care of.
Satsuki moved over beside Kyo, cuddling him against his side and hoping that he would be ok. He didn't want to lose Kyo to a stupid infection.
Rose was laying down on the bed, watching the sun outside by the little window, not having anymore tears to cry right now. He noticed the movement upstairs and looked at Hakuei, caressing his face. "We're changing course... Where are we going? I want to buy Saga some flowers..."
"I don't know." Replied Hakuei as he leaned down to kiss Rose. "We'll definitely get him some flowers wherever we go."
Rose nodded, snuggling close to Hakuei and closing his eyes, feeling emotionally tired.
"I'm going to check where we're heading." Hakuei whispered to Rose, kissing him once more before heading out to see what was going on. He wondered if they had made any progress with the map.
Rose jumped out of the bed, grabbing Hakuei's hand. "NO! I-I mean, I'm going with you..." He dropped his head in shame, but walked closer to his lover anyway. "I don't want to stay alone... I'm sorry being such a trouble."
"It's ok." Hakuei assured Rose, holding him close to his side. "I don't really want to leave you alone anyway. I'm worried about the killer coming after you."
Rose sniffed and squeezed Hakuei's hand, pulling him in the direction of the upper-deck.
Once they were on the deck, Hakuei approached the captain's room to see what Satsuki had planned. He stopped though when he saw Satsuki and Kyo curled up together. He could tell Kyo was unwell.
Rose hissed at the sight of Kyo, squirming to not move into action without the permission of Satsuki. He bit his lip and looked at Hakuei, squeezing his hand."I can help..." He whispered. "He's in pain and has a high fever, I can make him feel better until we reach a proper doctor..."
Hakuei nodded and nudged Rose closer. "Then go take care of him if you know what you're doing. Satsuki won't object to a helping hand."
Rose approached the bed carefully, leaning down to touch Kyo's forehead with both eyes focused on Satsuki face, afraid of his reaction. "Captain... We need to change the sheets and his clothes... He will be more comfortable and then we will be able to control his temperature."
Satsuki looked at Rose suspiciously for a moment before he nodded and went to get some extra clothes and sheets. He brought them over to the bed so he and Rose could work on changing them out.
Rose worked quickly and grabbed the water basin laying on a table, using his handkerchief to wipe some of the sweat from the cartographer's body and refresh the feverish skin with water. After the sheets where changed with some difficulty, he decided to change the bandages, biting his lip in sympathy at the swollen and red cut. With the new clothes on, he handed the basin and cloth to Satsuki. "Keep the cloth cool by wetting it on the water, then rest it for a few minutes on his forehead." He got up and walked to Hakuei, a pleased smile set on his face for his work so far. "Please, show me to the kitchen, I need some things..."
Satsuki nodded and stayed by Kyo's side, keeping him cool. Hakuei took Rose's hand and led him to the kitchen in no time, wanting to all he could to help out as well.
Rose opened the cabinets and drawers, taking a while to find the fruits in storage. He quickly went to work, boiling some water and making some kind of orange tea. "A infusion of orange will lower the fever... come on, let's go back."
They went back to the captain's cabin to deliver the tea to Kyo to help lower the fever while Satsuki sat worrying by his side.
Rose handed the tea to Satsuki, smiling a little. "Make him drink this when it cools down... This is all I can do, sorry."
"Thanks." Satsuki said softly, blowing on the tea and making Kyo sit up a little bit to be able to drink it.
Kyo coughed a little, but drank all the infusion, making a face at it. "No sugar...?"
Rose giggled, leaning against Hakuei's side. "No sugar. It's medicine, not tea."
Satsuki smiled a bit and held Kyo's hand again once Kyo was done with the tea. "You'll get as much sugar as you want later once your infection is dealt with."
Rose smirked and tugged on Hakuei's hand, motioning for the door. "We're leaving, I hope you get better soon, Kyo."
"Because I don't think the captain will be able to focus until you are healed." Hakuei commented as he left the cabin with Rose.
Kyo blushed a little bit, blaming it all on the fever. "You don't have to stay here all the time with me, you know? I'm not dying any time soon, I promise."
This didn't ease Satsuki's worries any. He nuzzled Kyo's hand, shaking his head. "No, I want to be here. If I'm not...I can't protect you. I've already lost someone important to me."
Kyo bit his lip at the clear mention of Takumi, his flushed skin heating up a more. Satsuki had quickly grown attached to him after Kyo challenged him two days ago. It was nice, but a bit scary, since the cartographer didn't know what to do with all that affection, just knowing he wasn't about to let go of it. "Thank you..."
Satsuki dropped Kyo's hand suddenly, remembering that he had left Toshiya alone cleaning the deck. He didn't know how long his song's influence would last. "I...will be right back though." He said, a bit embarrassed at having forgotten.
Toshiya was a easy pray for any siren as he was still scrubbing the deck with the same enthusiasm from before, having finished on the blood stain and now cleaning the rest of the deck.
"Get up." Satsuki said, poking Toshiya's side with his foot. "You're done here. Come with me." He said, walking back to his cabin. If Toshiya was still under his control, he'd be no problem to take care of around Kyo.
Toshiya followed him, sitting in the corner near the door when they walked into the room, like any good puppy would do.
Satsuki sat back down beside Kyo, smiling in satisfaction. That was better. They would reach the island in no time and hopefully be able to rest on land for a night or two.
The island that they stopped at was small and uncharted, inhabited by a few of the natives that never minded a visit from the pirates since the pirates always brought gifts for them. And of course, there was a doctor living there who used things from all over the world in her healings. She was strange, but effective. So a few of the crew members carried Kyo into the little hut that acted as a hospital and Satsuki stuck to the cartographer’s side like glue, watching over every procedure. He had since locked Toshiya back up on the ship and set Reita and Hiroto there to guard them, allowing them both to sleep in whatever rooms they wanted as long as the prisoners stayed alive.
Kyo was asleep when the woman finished the procedures, having calmed down with the infusions and herbs.
The doctor looked at Satsuki and smiled in that weird way of one who knows everything, leaning down to caress the pale face of the captain. "He will be okay, child... Take care of this one, you will not regret it."
Satsuki smiled to the woman and thanked her for helping them out once again. He left Kyo there for now, deciding to go outside and see how the rest of the crew was dealing with all the chaos of that day. He did feel some sympathy for those paying their respects to Saga's memory. Though he still had a strange feeling about that murder.
Nao had finally left his room, walking out of the ship with the others and crouching on the beach, near the water. He threw some stones in the sea, watching with tears in his eyes while Rose walked into the water until the it reached his waist and offered flowers to the dark waters, hands together in prayer. The cook sniffed, turning around and deciding to pick some flowers and share his pain too.
Rose smiled to Nao when the cook walked to stand beside him, waiting for him to offer the flowers before resume his praying, two voices now asking for a calm passing for Saga's soul. They stood there for almost an hour before having to back out a little bit when the water level started to raise, hissing at the pain on their cold legs. They stubbornly decided to stay there just a little more and finish their prayers though, not yet ready to let go. Rose turned away just a little bit, looking for Hakuei in the sand, a little afraid now that the sun was setting and the sky was darker. Most of the crew had disappeared, either inside the ship or the jungle.
Hakuei had fallen asleep in the sand, curled up and holding a bottle of rum as if it were a teddy bear. No one else seemed to be around. Except for a light splashing of foot steps near them.
Rose finished his prayers and looked around, thinking he had heard some walking close. With a unsettling feeling in his belly, he poked Nao and both walked out of the water, going to sit beside Hakuei's sleeping form. The blonde squeezed the water out of his pants and long robes, soon deciding it was better for them to get out of there. "Wake up, my love. Let's find some shelter."
Hakuei moaned softly as he sat up and dusted the sand off himself. He looked out towards the water and pointed to a familiar form. "Ok, either I'm seeing things or someone is out there." He said, frowning to himself.
Nao looked down at his very wet self and sighed, jogging to the person walking in the water. "I'll get him." It was probably some stupid guy from their crew, already drunk at the beginning of the evening. As he got close though, the features got more and more familiar, and he couldn't believe his eyes. "Oh my god...Saga!"
Saga turned to Nao and ran the rest of the way to him, hugging the little cook. "I'm so happy to see you, Nao! But you must be quiet. They don't know that I escaped." He whispered his words to him, not wanting to be heard.
Nao sobbed, hugging Saga closer to him. "I-I thought you were dead! Damn! How...Who..." He gave up, crying hard and squeezing the body between his arms, never wanting to let go.
Rose stepped forward, squinting his eyes to see better. When Nao embraced the man, he just knew. With a painful sob, he ran on the sand, stumbling when a sudden weakness got a hold of him. He ignored it, running the rest of the way and grabbing Saga, falling on his knees beside him. "Oh my god, thank you... Oh my god..."
Saga smiled and hugged both of them, happy to be ok as well. He had been so sure he was going to die for a while, though somehow he hadn't. He had woken up somewhere dark and then he was knocked out again to wake up on this island.
Rose couldn't stop his sobbing, but Nao had a little more control over himself and could ask what both of them wanted to know. "What happened? I was so worried when you didn't come back after your walk. There was a headless body on the ship today, we thought it was you!"
Saga helped Rose up so they could walk onto the sandy beach before he explained completely. "When I went on the walk last night, somebody attacked me and I lost consciousness. Then, I woke up...I think somewhere on the ship. I could hear things, but it was really dark. Then someone grabbed me about an hour later and I was out again. The next thing I knew, I woke up behind a bunch of trees here on this island."
Rose walked hand in hand with Saga. He was a mess, wet all over and with sand even on his hair. Tears of relief run down his face and he couldn't find the strength to care about being this ugly right in front of Hakuei. He actually couldn’t find the strength to anything, feeling numb, as if in shock.
Nao sniffed, grabbing Saga's face and kissing his lips chastely. He hugged the other once more and caressed his face. "We should hide you..."
Saga nodded and glanced towards the huts, where everyone was sleeping. "I guess we should clean up and get some sleep. Though I'm really hungry." He smiled at Nao, nudging him. "Maybe you could make something up for me."
Nao smiled and nodded, cleaning some of the sand off Saga's face with his sleeve. "I'll fix something to eat and then prepare a bath for you."
Rose kissed Saga's cheek one last time and let go of his hand, smiling weakly. He walked to Hakuei and rested his forehead on the pirate's chest, getting wet sand all over his clothes. "Why are you just standing there?"
Saga hugged Nao once more, kissing him gently on the lips. "I could've avoided this all if I wasn't so sensitive."
"I didn't want to interrupt the happy moment." Hakuei answered, smiling at Rose. "That and I'm tired. I can't wait to get to bed."
Nao blushed a little and smiled at him, pulling him by the hand into the kitchen. "No... I'm sorry about what I said yesterday. When I thought about it, it sounded a little... bad. I just said that because I don't see why anyone would like me that way..." He cleaned his hands and arms the best he could, reaching for some bread and fruits and laying it on the table. He then turned to make some tea. "Cherry or apple?"
"Nao..." Saga said softly, moving behind him and kissing his neck. "I missed you." He added with a little smile. He had been touched by the prayers that both Nao and Rose had said in his honor. He had seen a bit of that.
Nao shivered, looking back to smile at him. "I missed you too. When I thought that you were gone, I spent all day in my room... It was not easy, I'm glad you're here."
Saga held Nao a little tighter, pressing his face into the other's shoulder. "I like you, Nao. Just as you are."
Nao giggled, reaching behind him to poke Saga's side. "Eat. We can talk later when you're hidden... In my room of course."
Saga nodded and decided to nibble on Nao's ear instead, smirking a bit. He couldn't help but shower the cook with his affections.
Nao yelped and giggled like a schoolgirl, doing his best to run away from Saga. The cook was beet red when he reached for a bag, quickly throwing some fruits inside. He grabbed the jar of tea and motioned for the door, smiling. "Come on, I don't want anyone to see you."
Saga followed along silently, aware that they still had to be careful. No one should know that he found his way back to the boat and wasn't dead.
Nao locked the door behind him, resting the bag and jar on his table and going to the window to lock it too. He walked to the bathroom and filled two huge pots with the water he had inside some barrels, laying it on top of stove to heat. When the fire was burning, he returned to the room. "It will take some minutes, maybe you should eat something."
Saga moved to sit, taking out the food and beginning to eat and drink the tea. "So you said you found a body?"
Nao nodded, sitting in front of him and reaching for a orange. "I didn't see it, but I heard it was twisted in the sails and headless. Everyone though immediately that it was you..."
"And no one else went missing?" Saga asked, puzzled. This murderer worked in weird ways.
"I tried counting a few times, but the guys just couldn't be still, just like a bunch of kids. Anyway, I asked and nobody is missing anyone...so, that's really weird." He took a bit of his orange, moaning at the sweetness.
Saga became distracted as he watched Nao eat the orange, smiling to himself. He moved from his chair to sit on Nao's lap, licking away a little bit of juice the dripped from the orange.
"Oh..." Nao blushed, offering the fruit to Saga so he could watch him and hopefully lick the juice from his neck. "You have something for my fruits. You're always stealing them." He smiled, holding the other man close by the waist.
Saga bit the fruit and kissed Nao, sharing the taste between them. "It's not the fruit I like." He commented with a small grin.
Nao licked his lips and munched on the rest of the orange, happily kissing Saga after he swallowed. It was nothing very deep or passionate, just a touch of lips and shy tongues, casual kisses exchanged without words. After they parted, Nao slapped the blonde's back gently with his clean hand. "Up. I need to check on the water."
With a little pout, Saga slid off Nao's lap and let Nao check on the water. While he did that, Saga took off the dirty nightgown that he had been wearing.
Nao filled the wooden tub with hot water, completing it with a little bit of cool water too. He grabbed the soap and a cloth, walking back into the room. "The bath is ready--oh!" The cook turned around, closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths. "Okay..." He turned to Saga with a blush on his face, but didn't look away. "Come on."
Saga smiled and moved past Nao to get into the tub to wash off. He was glad that Nao was coping a little better with his nakedness today. "Will you be joining me?" Saga asked, as he slipped into it.
Nao laughed, grabbing a bucket full of warm water and turning it down on Saga, without any warning. "No way we both could fit in there anyway. Now wash off, I'll rinse when you're ready."
Saga coughed and glared at Nao as he was suddenly drowned with the water. "You better get in here you brat." He said, grabbing Nao around the waist. "You'd fit right in my lap."
Nao smirked and took a hold of the edge of the tub, trying to keep himself out of the water. "Nooo, who would rinse us when we're ready?"
Saga grinned devilishly at that. "I'll lick you clean." He said, tugging Nao down a little bit for another kiss.
Nao moaned into the kiss, letting Saga take control. He still had a firm grip on the tub though, not about to get in the water with a naked Saga. He felt the ground with his foot until he kicked a bucket. Stretching on of his hands, he grabbed it and spilled the cool water all over Saga's head again. The cook smirked and got up, walking to the pot with hot water. "Wash off Saga, I'm not about to rush anything."
Saga frowned at Nao, but didn’t argue about it. Instead, he focused on washing off and getting all the sand out of his hair. He couldn’t properly attract Nao if he didn’t look his best anyway.
Nao grabbed another cloth and crouched behind Saga, quietly scrubbing his back and massaging his shoulders at the same time. "Don't be mad at me... I just like taking important things, like this, slow."
At the relaxing touch, Saga sighed and closed his eyes in bliss. It was nice to have someone take care of him. "I'm glad I'm important to you, Nao..."
Nao just smiled to himself, finishing his ministrations in silence. When he had scrubbed Saga's back and chest, he leaned forward and kissed his cheek, nuzzling his ear soon after. "Ready?"
Saga nodded and stood up in the tub, shaking off like a dog and making sure to get Nao wet from it.
Nao giggled and threw a towel at his face. "Okay, out. I need to take some of this sand off me too." He wrapped the towel around Saga and urged him out of the tub and the bathroom. "There are gowns in my wardrobe, feel free to choose one."
"Oh, I don't get to watch you wash?" Saga asked, disappointed by that. He dried off and went to get a gown to dress in while Nao washed off anyway. Maybe he could sneak a peek.
Nao laughed out aloud again, sighing when he relaxed inside the hot water. "There's nothing to see here!"
Saga poked his head into the bathroom after a moment though, too tempted to resist. And Nao was cute when he was embarrassed.
Nao looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a smirk, taking a leg out of the water and letting it dangle casually. He reached for the soap and started to wash his hair. "What you're doing?"
"Nao watching." Replied Saga, stepping into the bathroom and moving over to slide his arms around Nao from behind. "I thought you might need help."
Nao blushed a little bit, but smiled at him. "I'm fine... Be careful to not get wet." With that said, he slid down the tub, diving inside for a few seconds to rinse his hair, before coming back up.
Saga didn't mind getting wet though, especially if it was because of Nao. "Are you all done?" He asked, picking up the towel for him.
Nao nodded, reaching for the towel and wrapping it around himself in a quick movement. "Thanks. Come on, let's move to the room." He closed the bathroom door behind them, walking to the dresser to select a pair of pajamas, everything while drying himself.
While Nao decided on what to wear to bed, Saga settled down on Nao's bed, snuggling in the blanket and not watching Nao too much. He knew Nao was still very shy about showing anything to him.
Nao decided on blue pajamas, quickly putting them on with his back turned to Saga. After he was done, he sat on the bed and used the towel to dry his hair the best he could.
Saga pulled Nao down on the bed, holding him close as he released a sigh of contentment.
Nao laughed, sitting up once again and throwing the towel on a chair. "Okay, okay, I'm done."
"Naaaoo..." Saga whined softly, pulling Nao down again and kissing his nose. "Stay like this."
Nao did as he was told, just enjoying the moment. After about five minutes of cuddling though, he was feeling his limbs grow cold. "It's getting cold... Get under the covers, I'll blow out the lanterns."
Saga pulled the covers over them and rubbed Nao's back to warm him up a little bit. He then rested his head on the pillow, ready to fall asleep.
Nao did a quick work of the lanterns around the room, rushing back to the warmth of the covers and Saga's body. He ran his hands through the other man's hair, humming to himself. But he didn't sleep, eyes and ears carefully looking for anything out of ordinary, anything that could take Saga away from him again.