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HOURS, MINUTES, SECONDS
OR
THE LEGENDARY TREASURE OF SADO ISLAND AND WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED TO THE GREAT HIMAGURISHI
OR
HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE KRAKEN
OR
NINETY DAY FINACEE: IMPERIAL JAPAN EDITION
Our Cast
The Crew
Pirate King Karma- Our protagonist and captain of The End, content with sailing away from his past into the riches he desires. Eager to prove himself. Seems fond of his sword.
Little Finger- The smallest and cutest pirate who ever lived. Became a pirate after he lost everything. Has the best handwriting out of everyone too. Writes and fights like a girl. Don’t let that fool you.
Seabreeze- A mystical Oceanborn seer from the Southern Isles. She who the current flows into. Dease set on looking for her sister who was taken years prior. Big fan of seashells.
Sicilio- A man who talks more than he ought to. Jack of all trades or so he likes to claim. Moonshiner. Became a pirate because he was bored. Womaniser of sirens and mortals alike. Half Italian, if that matters.
The Fox- First mate and navigator extraordinaire. The only rational mind in all of this. Cunning and careful. Should probably return home once in a while for his family’s sake.
Mad Eyes- A convicted criminal who turned to piracy before he was sentenced to die. Twice the size you’re imagining and maybe even bigger then. Can and will kill you. Not much of a conversation guy.
Sunspot- A runaway with a fondness for machines. Chart reader and star spotter. The only one who bothered learning any other language than the ones she already spoke. A somewhat begrudging homosexual.
The Rich
Gakuhou Asano- Newly elected Governor of Hokkaido’s Sapporo district. Legislation’s worst nightmare. Has enough wealth to buy Japan. He might try to. He might even succeed. Currently starving out the majority of Hokkaido.
Gakushuu Asano- A young man dragged into everything because of his father. A student at the University. Posh and sounds it. The best swordsman of his time. Begrudging homosexual.
The Others
Himagurishi- The legendary bandit pirate who took to the water after being cornered on Sado Island. Never been seen since. Probably maybe not real.
The Ninjas- Living shadows sworn to tracking down Himagurishi and his treasure. Silent and deadly. Obsessed with avenging their master.
The Guard- Japan’s security force, on both land and sea. Not keen on due process. Itching for a chance to prove their incompetence.
The University- Hokkaido’s state of the art learning institute. Home to Japan’s second largest library. Current students include Gakushuu Asano.
The Diet- The new democracy of the people. Centred in the capital. Idealistic but useless in the grand scheme of things.
Ryujin- Mystical sea dragon spirit. Patron saint of pirates. Said to have a miles long beard of silk that became seafoam.
The Dead
Ikeda- A young man. The ward of Gakuhou Asano. Apparently talked a lot about his old family.
Two Bit Tadaomi- The original captain of The End. Long dead. Buried without his sword or his coat.
Princess Tsuki- The only daughter of the Emperor. Known for her beauty and grace. Beloved by the people. Was kidnapped and presumably killed by pirates years prior. A symbol for anti-piracy across the country.
The Setting
The East Coast of Japan, 1800 something. Having some pirate troubles. Also, there’s kind of a famine going on.
One: The Plan
Across the open ocean, self-appointed Pirate King Karma adjusted his telescope. They were on track to approach land soon, the horizon now visible on the edge of the world. It was dark still; he would have to retire his room, where he could light a candle, to read over his plans, meticulously scrawled on spare parchment by Little Finger. He had a good memory so most of it was already memorised but still, some smaller details escaped him. He didn’t want to retire just yet, however, so he stayed out on the upper deck, going over what he could remember.
The plan was simple, almost too simple, but Karma liked it. It sounded good and it thrilled him a little. If this all worked out, he would be totally rich beyond his wildest dreams. He could sail east and never worry about anything ever again.
They were approaching Hokkaido, specifically the capital Sapporo on the east coast. It wasn’t a strong merchant city by any means, not usually a pirate’s ideal target, but the wealth disparity in the country had drawn numerous wealthy officials to reside by its coastline, especially in the north where the weather was more temperate, and the Westerners were scarce and scattered. One in particular- Mr Gakuhou Asano, a member of the House of Representatives, was the mark. He was from the South, from a wealthy jewel merchant family but had moved up north following his election to the Diet. He was known for his tariffs on the island, ramping up the import and export of goods from the mainland. Produce had mostly been affected, causing fresh vegetables and fruits to become scarce. It was starting to become a problem; children born with deficiencies because their mothers had none, dull skin, stringy hair, the gastric interruptions, and of course, the lethargy. Because of this, he had been dubbed ‘The Starver of Sapporo’.
Karma considered himself a rather neutral force. He lived his life, in accordance to how he believed it should be lived. He didn’t consider himself with the ideas of right and wrong- such concepts were best left to the university crowd, who pored themselves over textbooks written by Westerners who lived centuries prior. No. He wasn’t good and he wasn’t evil. He was just him, a mortal man, motivated by mortal means.
He was just karma.
And as it came to stand, The Starver of Sapporo, was full in other ways. His wealth, though no official reports stated the precise numbers, was aplenty. Luxurious townhouse in Sapporo centre, beach resorts on the coast and then of course, his parent’s estate which he inherited. He was a man of abundance in a time of want and ration. And while Karma truly couldn’t say he was doing this for the people, that was probably just a bonus, Karma really liked abundance.
The plan was so good. So simple and so good. Take a man’s wealth and you get what you can carry out of there, take a man’s life and he’ll give you anything not bolted to the floor. And the Starver of Sapporo was a mortal man too. Which means he had a weakness.
Karma smiled to himself. In the next twelve hours, his wallet would be destined for the wealth it desired.
The End, his loyal vessel, reached the shore right on time, with a dignified grace. Silicio and Seabreeze secured her to the pier, their deft hands making light work of the knots required.
Mad Eyes was the man for this job. He was as big as an ox and twice of its latent rage. He was named Mad Eyes for his two pinprick pupils, always tiny no matter how he was feeling, that drilled into anyone that dared look his way. He had been sentenced to death by the Guard for a crime he supposedly (Karma was still in two minds about his verdict, not that it mattered) did not commit but had ran away before his execution after snapping a Guard’s neck with his bare hands and been with Karma and his care ever since.
He scared Karma half to death sometimes, but it was better to have Mad Eyes as an ally than as an enemy. And right now, Mad Eyes was needed. He was the only one strong enough to restrain a person with nothing but their strength alone, even if he did look as conspicuous as a parade float.
But the cover of darkness would lend him well. The sun was still yet to rise but their target would be awake already, for it was time for the first classes of the day, so Mad Eyes was protected. He wore the veil of shadows well.
All Karma had to do was wait. It was not often he soiled his hands in such matters, which meant he was reduced to having to wait. Karma hated waiting. He paced around the ship, biting his fingernails and anxiously looking over the shore every so often, anticipation, dread and worry all fighting within his heart.
Mad Eyes returned a few minutes later than he was supposed to, his brow sweaty. He must’ve ran back, with the boy under his arms halfway across the town. Karma couldn’t believe it or himself. They were blasting away from shore now, away into the fog that had settled come nighttime. Soon, they would disappear into the darkness completely, becoming one with the open sea once more. And they had done it.
He got Sunspot to start the transmissions right away, her assigned task in all of this. She was the only one who knew how the radio worked and how to send Morse code via the transmitter. She had tried to teach Karma, but he was unable to properly time out the dots and dashes, resulting in a string of unintelligible noises. She flashed him a thumbs up and retired to the wheelhouse, where the ship’s only radio and telegraph sat, presumably to start her broadcast.
Karma watched as Sapporo got smaller and smaller and smiled. They had Gakushuu Asano, Governor Asano’s only child. They had done it. The plan had worked.
Two: The Prisoner
They had given him the cell below the food stock, near where they stored their rubbish. Where it smelled like animal waste. Karma had, admittedly, many moons ago, become accustomed to throw his rubbish overboard. But then Seabreeze had joined the crew, and she threatened to mutiny if he didn’t stop polluting the ocean. So he did and they started to compile their scraps for appropriate dumping on the land.
So, it was their holding cell. It had become a most useful thing for ransom cases such as this.
It was slightly smaller than Karma remembered. It had been a while since he had done this. Contrary to popular belief, or maybe just he was really bad at it but he also was Pirate King Karma, legend of the Shiny Silver Seafoam Whirls so it probably wasn’t a him thing, but kidnapping people and holding them for ransom was really tiresome. It was a long arduous process and often resulted in a net loss in terms of money vs time. It was kind of a pain, really. But this was different. This would be worth everything and more.
This was Gakushuu Asano. He was worth more than his weight in gold. He was worth more than gold.
The room was plain, similar to the quarters where the likes of Little Finger, Sicilio, The Fox and Mad Eyes bunked, save for the metal bar that had been attached at the back wall. In times not spent exploiting men for their riches, they kept the spare sails here, folded of course. Karma briefly wondered where they were now, imagining the likes of Sicilio or Seabreeze to have decided to store them in the spare bunk.
The room had been furnished. A thin sheet and pillow in the corner and two buckets and also randomly a scattering of straw on the floor? Definitely Seabreeze’s work, Karma deduced. He was slightly surprised she hadn’t hung a seashell trinket from the bar too.
Gakushuu Asano, with one hand chained to the bar and a little too tall to comfortably sit, looked annoyed to see him. He wasn’t really what Karma was expecting. Gakushuu Asano was the name of someone boring. And sure he looked boring in his shirt and tie and pressed trouser pants. But his appearance was anything but, with bright hair the colour of sweet ume from the southern mainland. It was almost a perfect match, the colour, a brighter orange than Silicio’s. His eyes, however, were steely purple. In the dim light of the room, with its little window, they looked almost black. They contained a quiet, violent fury, like how the storm clouds on the horizon brought trouble, but Karma wasn’t concerned. He wasn’t the one chained to the wall.
He looked nothing like what he expected. He looked… interesting. And Karma was now really craving ume.
He chose to sit for he was too tall to stand comfortably, bringing in a stool that was kept outside. It was only after he sat down did Gakushuu Asano started to speak.
“I don’t know who you are, or what you think you’re doing, or whatever slight you hold against my father but let me tell you now; whatever you think is going to happen, isn’t. You’re not getting any riches and you’re not getting any revenge. There’s nothing you will gain from this. My father isn’t going to concede to your demands, whatever they may be, and if you postpone this any further, the authorities will inventively capture you and this ship. You and your whole crew, especially that brute who accosted me, will yield to the full power of the law. So, here is what is going to happen. You’re going to chart a course for the next port and you will set sail immediately. You’re going to release me at the next available convenience, and you will be grateful if I decided to give a different report to the Guard of what has conspired here and I will never see you or this ship ever again and if you know what’s smart, you will leave and go somewhere far, far away.”
Karma blinked, mostly out of surprise. It might’ve been the longest he had ever heard anyone talk on this ship. Mad Eyes said he had come quietly which Karma had concluded to fear but Karma wasn’t sensing any here. Just the quiet fury.
“By Ryujin, you talk a lot.”
Gakushuu Asano frowned harder, if that was even possible.
“Well?”
“You talk a lot. You get paid per word spoken or something? Ryujin’s beard. You also talk like you’re the one in charge here.” Karma said pointedly.
He raised an eyebrow. “And you are…?”
“This is why people start with names in a conversation,” Karma scowled, angry at how he had let this guy derail him from how this conversation was supposed to go. “I am the legendary Pirate King Karma of the Shiny Silver Seafoam Whirls. You,” He pointed. “Are Gakushuu Asano, son of Gakuhou Asano, the Starver of Sapporo.”
“’The Shiny Silver Seafoam Whirls’?” Gakushuu Asano blanked him, ignoring his father’s nickname. “That sounds fake.”
“Well they’re not.”
Gakushuu Asano shrugged. “Sounds fake.”
“They’re not. They’re to the south.”
He shrugged again. “I’ve never heard of them or seen them on a map.”
“They’re not on any map. They’re of legend.” Karma answered faster than what he would’ve liked to.
“So, you’re the Pirate King of some made up whirlpools somewhere down south. Riiiiiiight and I’m the King of Britain.”
Gakushuu Asano snorted like a pig, a wicked little sound that reverberated around the room tauntingly. Karma scowled again, and then harder. speechless. Why did he feel the need to defend himself? A rich kid like Gakushuu Asano, who was born with a silver spoon up his ass, would have never known the sea, never known her treasures like he and his crew did. So why did he want to prove himself right? Karma felt angry at himself for letting himself get worked up over something so trivial.
“Whatever. You’ve had a sheltered existence, so I’m not surprised by your ignorance,” He hissed lowly, making carefully to keep his tone even. “Going back to what you were saying, about what’s going to happen here. That isn’t happening. Nice speech, though.”
“Whatever,” Gakushuu Asano snarled back. “So, what? You’re going to kill me? You’re going to make me walk the plank?” He asked in a mocking tone that further irritated Karma.
Who the fuck did this guy think he was?
“That wasn’t my plan originally, but it fucking might be now!” Karma got to his feet, suddenly shouting. “Listen here now! You are on my ship. You are my prisoner here. Prisoners are not informed of what the captain is planning. You will do as I say and if you do, I can assure you no real harm will come to you. If you do everything I say, everyone will walk out of this without a scratch on their head. So, you will listen. You will only get fed and watered in accordance to me. You are chained to the wall. Whatever you think is going to happen, isn’t.”
Snatching up the stool, he slammed open the door but not before taking both the buckets with him. He locked the door and set the stool down angrily outside, before going up to the deck. The Fox was there, waiting for him.
“Wow,” He said. “He’s nipping ya that bad?”
Karma took a deep breath, willing himself to still. He had a bad temper and while he liked the feel of adrenaline and the burning of his heart, he was wise enough to keep it under control. Not in the front of the crew, at least. His eyes fluttered shut briefly, focusing on what he could smell. He liked the fresh air best and truly honestly, found below deck to be suffocating in a way he could only equivalate to drowning.
“I’m fine.”
“Sure, cap. Say, how is he?” The Fox looked down at the buckets he still had in hand. “Oh, he must be a pest. Did he spit at you?”
“No spitters. He’s too rich to spit. That’s what commoners do,” Karma shook his head. “He riled me up all bad is all. Speaking to me as if he was in charge. Acting all high and mighty about geography.”
“Even when chained to the ship?”
“That’s what I said!” Karma exclaimed. “He’s a little shit. If he spits at one of yous, I’m not feeding him.”
The Fox, ever rational, gave him a look. “Gotta feed him a little, cap.”
“He’ll get nothing and like it,” Karma grumbled, even though he knew The Fox was right. “Check on him at dawn and report to me at daybreak. Shut down any shit he starts spewing because he won’t stop otherwise.”
The Fox looked puzzled, tilting his head. “Me?”
Karma sighed. “You’re the only one I trust not to blow up in front of him. He likes getting a reaction.”
The other laughed. “Whatever you say. And the buckets?”
Karma handed them to his first mate. “Sneak them back in at midnight. I don’t want our sails stinking of piss.”
The Fox came at daybreak as Karma knew he would.
“He was quiet with me,” The Fox was saying. “Looked jumpy though. And hungry. Like a housecat.”
Karma hummed to himself, still halfway asleep. He hated the early morning. He went to go check on Sunspot, who was currently bunking in the wheelhouse, napping upright in a chair.
“Anything?” He asked.
She shook her head sleepily. “No. No takers.”
“Are we too far out?” Karma suddenly wondered if they needed to go back closer to the shore for the broadcast to be accessible from the land.
But Sunspot assured him otherwise. “No. This message is readable all the way down in Okinawa. As long as you have the frequency, you can tune in and listen.”
“And nothing?”
She suppressed a yawn. “You want to swap like?”
“Enticing but no. I have to go check on Prince Charming.”
“Gay,” She taunted and Karma rolled his eyes, knowing what she really meant to say. “Is it time for breakfast yet?”
“Yeah. I think Little Finger managed to get his hands on something other than oats for once.” The meals on the ship were all prepared by Little Finger. While Mad Eyes had disembarked for his mission, Little Finger was out also, stealing food from the merchants just setting up their morning stalls. He cooked everything he stole. Some, like Seabreeze and The Fox would help him prepare it, like the cutting of meat which freaked Little Finger out, but the cooking was all done by him, down in the scullery below deck. He had offered to do so, citing a lack of talent for the art of cooking in Silicio, who had appointed himself head-chef on account of his heritage.
All of a sudden, Sunspot shook off her tiredness and got to her feet, her face as bright as her namesake. “Yippee! No more oats!” She sang as she skipped out the wheelhouse.
Ignoring his own grumbling stomach, he decided to go check on the prisoner, knowing he wouldn’t be able to eat otherwise.
He considered bringing a portion of whatever Little Finger had cooked for Gakushuu Asano but decided against it. A day of want would do the other well, he decided. He still hadn’t forgotten the other’s sarcastic and mocking tone when he was speaking to him and he was annoyed to say that Gakushuu Asano’s leering tone had followed him into his dreams last night.
Gakushuu Asano looked a lot less furious today, if not still annoyed. His eyes now carried the telltale markings that came with a bad night’s sleep, if the way he was stretching his neck was anything to go by. His hair was ruffled and sticking up uncouthly. But still, his eyes were narrowed and locked on Karma.
“What time is it?” Gakushuu Asano asked.
“Morning,” Karma both answered and greeted, looking up at the small window provided. It was hard to gauge the time with how little light he provided. His gaze then flickered to the buckets, that The Fox had returned to Gakushuu Asano. They were both empty. “How did you sleep?”
Gakushuu Asano scowled and that was enough of an answer and in a quiet enough voice, he asked, “What exactly are you going to do to me?”
Karma shrugged. He could’ve made the other sweat and really stress, by threatening to start hurting him. He could’ve got the pliers out for extra effect but didn’t. It was easier to tell the truth, and he wanted this easy as easy as it could be, as easy as it could be Gakushuu Asano. “Just looking after you for a few days until we can make an agreement with your father.”
Gakushuu Asano made a face and looked away, biting his lip. “You really are pirates then…” He said to himself more than anything.
A little amused, a smile found its way onto Karma’s face. “Hoping this was all just a bad dream?”
The look Gakushuu Asano gave Karma was murderous, like a gorgon trying to petrify their prey and Karma did briefly reconsider going and fetching the pliers from the scullery to scare the other man further. He was still considering the logistics of getting them when, suddenly, Gakushuu Asano lunged forwards, hand outreached for the sword on Karma’s belt. It was a valiant effort but with his other hand, still chained to the wall, rattling in futility, it was impossible for him to reach. Karma, on instinct, took a jump back, knocking against the room’s only door.
Gakushuu Asano, frustrated, tried again, changing the angle of his body to see if he could reach. But it was impossible. And the rattling of the handcuffs only accented his failure further, sounding around the cabin.
Karma was just slightly amused. Just slightly. He hadn’t expected this and since it wasn’t spitting, he found it charming. Charming, that Gakushuu Asano thought that would work. Charming, that he waited until only the second day of his holding to try this. Charming, that Karma hadn’t expected him too. Charming, that he had some fight in him. It reminded him of himself, many many many moons ago. This reflection of himself both intrigued and discouraged him.
The Fox said Gakushuu Asano was like a kittycat but this man was more dog than anything, snarling and viscous and waiting. Because he himself was a dog, always on a leash and always, always, always looking for the first chance to bite the hand that feeds.
He gave Gakushuu Asano a sickly sweet smile, his empty stomach churning, and left, without saying another word.
A few days passed of normalcy. Sunspot sat in the wheelhouse beeping away, The Fox steered them from administerial district to administerial district, being careful to not keep them too long in one place. He eyed Karma over the edge of the maps but said nothing. Little Finger cooked, Seabreeze helped, Silicio meandered and Mad Eyes had taken to what he usually did when not required to kidnap or pummel someone; whitling away a block of wood. He said he was going to be an artist, but the results were not promising; only Seabreeze truly believed in him.
In a moment of annoyance, Karma had pawned off the duty of overlooking Gakushuu Asano to Sicilio. He didn’t want to have to speak to the other man, not liking the way he got under Karma’s skin and eyes and memory. How dare this man- this prisoner- unsettle him on his ship? It was madness.
So, he made it Silicio’s job. The man was handy and flexible and unassigned, so he was the most suitable. Karma gave him a brief overview: no weapons, food at the sun’s peak and no talking. Gakushuu Asano was not here to speak, he was here on hold until his father responded, which he still hadn’t, despite Sunspot’s work.
Silicio found him one day in his quarters, the sun near kissing its peak of the sky. It was almost feeding time for Gakushuu Asano. “Hey captain,” He greeted, hand raised. “We have a problem.”
Karma frowned. He didn’t like the sound of that. “What kind of problem?”
Gakushuu Asano wasn’t eating. He was flinging his rations into one of the buckets with the rest of his waste. An act of defiance. “I spoke to Little Finger already and he says we can’t afford to waste an extra portion of food each day on someone who won’t eat it. And Mad Eyes already eats enough for all of us.”
Karma rubbed his eyes. That was a problem and not just a problem, but a problem. Food and especially food that would keep and store well on a ship, was becoming more and more scarce. They looted what they could from unsuspecting port towns along the coast but they were stealing from hungry merchants who were selling their scraps. Further down south, there was supposedly more food. But it hadn’t reached the north and the effects were starting to show. Maybe not on the likes of Mad Eyes, who’s build lent him well in times of need but for the likes of Little Finger and Seabreeze, who were already thin as straw, they were getting faint and lethargic.
It had gotten so bad Seabreeze had taken to teaching The Fox how to fish, unable to do it herself. The results were meagre; the fish small and often diseased which meant a large part of the meat would have to be discarded completely.
So Gakushuu Asano not eating really was a problem. They couldn’t withdraw food all together and they couldn’t up his rations either. Karma sighed. He hoped that would be a strong enough threat to make the other concede. Here he was, making an effort to spin the game around when this shouldn’t have even happened in the first place. They take Gakushuu Asano, chain him to a wall, feed him once a day but he’s got all the control? He’s still in charge? Choosing not to eat, it was ridiculous. As ridiculous a thing a rich man born into a life of abundance could cook up in that cell.
He went down to the cell, unlocking the door gingerly. Gakushuu Asano had his back pressed up against the wall. Although he had been a totally normal weight before, the starvation was visible on his face, now gaunt and hollow and most of all, exhausted. His eyes were sinking into his skin, like two little orbs of lead. His hair was flat and dull, turning to the colour of rotten carrots.
The cell stank, not only of waste but stale food. Karma peered into one of the buckets and saw the proof for himself.
“You’re not eating.” Karma stated obviously, eyes still fixated on the wasted food. He had not considered that Gakushuu Asano wouldn’t eat and was unsure of how to turn the tables in his favour. He really didn’t want to have to force him to but right now, there didn’t seem much a choice.
Gakushuu Asano just shrugged.
“If you don’t eat, that’ll seriously mess things up here, you know.”
Again, just silence.
Karma sat down on the floor, cross legged. “In case you didn’t hear there’s a food shortage. Not only on this ship but in Japan. No thanks to your father, of course. So, we need to make sure nothing gets wasted. What you’re doing is unacceptable.”
Gakushuu Asano looked away, turning his head to gaze upon the wall.
Karma’s brow worked itself into a frown. “If you don’t eat, you will be made to. I can’t hand back a withered corpse at the end of this and I cannot waste anymore food on someone who isn’t eating. That big eye who took you needs to eat or he’ll get angry. And you don’t wanna see him angry.”
Gakushuu Asano scoffed. “This?”
“This whole ransom. Do you get taught that at the University? It’s where someone is held in leverage for money. It kinda only works if you can promise the safe return of the person you stole.”
“I know what ransom is.”
“Well, then you must know that you have to eat.”
“Humans can live a long time without eating.” Gakushuu Asano parroted.
“Not if you’ve never missed a meal in your life. I’m no physician but you’re on track for death.”
Gakushuu Asano huffed, apparently uncaring.
“Listen. This is just business, nothing personal. If it were personal, you likely would’ve been killed by now. It’s a dog-eat-dog world after all. Not my fault you happen to be his son. If you had a sister, I would’ve taken her instead. Girls always get more money.”
The other rolled his eyes. “Sorry to disappoint.”
“You need to eat.”
“You said that already.”
Karma raised an eyebrow. “It’s almost like I’m trying to drive a point home, no?”
For the first time since his imprisonment, Gakushuu Asano laughed genuinely. It was light and the sound made Karma’s heart warm, despite everything.
“The food is terrible.”
“You’ve never even tried it,” Karma motioned to the buckets. “And the man who cooked it is our finest chef.”
“Must be a pretty lousy pool to choose from. Do you only eat that gruel?”
“Sometimes we get fish or berries.”
“Fish, berries and rice,” Gakushuu Asano shook his head. “I imagine scurvy is rife.”
“We manage fine.”
Gakushuu Asano finally looked away from the wall. “You don’t look ill.”
“Yeah, because I eat when I’m told to.”
“Growing up, my father told me all pirates were diseased. And crass. And evil.”
It was a little funny so Karma laughed at what he said, despite himself. “I’m only one of those things.”
“And he said they steal children and women alike.”
Suddenly defensive, Karma frowned. “I’ve never stolen anyone ever and that’s on my life.”
Gakushuu Asano gave him an incredulous look.
“Stolen implies I’d never give you back. I’m simply… borrowing.”
“And if you decide to keep me forever?” There was a glint in Gakushuu Asano’s eyes, like a lamb for the slaughter or a lemming before the cliff’s edge.
Karma scoffed. “I’m sure we won’t reach that hypothetical.”
Gakushuu Asano blinked owlishly but at what, Karma didn’t know. He was quiet before speaking again. “If you say so.” But there was a vulnerability in his eyes and no bark in his words and the long, uninterrupted of a stomach growling that punctuated the conversation and Karma knew he had won.
He sighed and got to his feet and when he back came down with two portions of food in hand, Gakushuu Asano ate at last, not caring that the other portion was for Karma to eat with him.
Sunspot had no news on the thirteenth night of Gakushuu Asano’s imprisonment. “I’ve sent that message out every hour since we took him and nothing. It’s radio silence out there,” She shrugged. “My hands are starting to hurt. What do we do now?”
Karma hadn’t prepared for this. They had taken his son- his only child- did he not want him back?
An uncomfortable sensation from the past settled itself back into the present. Not for the first time, Karma regretted the plan. A part of him wished he could go back in time and not bother with him at all.
This was like pulling teeth.
Sunspot, The Fox and him convened in the wheelhouse, discussing their options. Sunspot was adamant to prolong the holding, despite her injury, while The Fox was far less keen on the matter, citing the food shortage. Both turned to Karma for his thoughts. He did consider both equally but his hungry stomach won him over. That and the other man unsettled him, truthfully. He wasn’t scared when he was supposed to be, he was snappy and confident and witty. He seemed equal parts curious and disgusted by pirate life-style and he seemed to have a real trigger finger too.
“He’ll have to go,” He admitted defeat. “If the shark’s not biting, we can’t fish. And we certainly can’t waste anymore food.”
“Go where?”
“Point me to our position on the map, roughly.” He asked The Fox, inquiring the map and already dreaming of the first chance to let Gakushuu Asano loose.
It was night before he saw Gakushuu Asano again. Karma came down, sat in the cell and sighed. The words were heavy in his throat; he considered how to say this without sounding defeatist. Gakushuu Asano said nothing. “The next port is Noshiro. We’ll be arriving tomorrow, and you’ll disembark there.”
Gakushuu Asano blinked once and then twice before sitting up as straight as a man chained to the wall could. “What?”
“I said,” Karma repeated, annoyed. “We’ll be going to Noshiro and-“
“Yes, yes, I know,” Gakushuu Asano, reinvigorated, snapped. “Are you… releasing me?” He asked amusedly.
Karma sighed again before eyeing Gakushuu Asano up. “Don’t take it personally. This just isn’t worth it anymore. It pains me to say this has been a bust. Of sorts. You were more hassle than you were worth. The food waste has been catastrophic, for one.”
Gakushuu Asano rolled his eyes. “I never asked to be kidnapped and fed. Sorry for my poor reception to your hosting.”
“Heavens forbid you’re kept safe from harm while me and your father smooth things over.”
“Yes, heavens forbid. So, Noshiro, then?”
“I believe that’s what I said, yes.”
“That’s the mainland.” Gakushuu Asano stated obviously.
“Yes.”
“How long have I been here?”
“Two weeks.”
“Two weeks?!” Gakushuu Asano’s eyes bulged out of his skull. “You’re letting me go after two weeks?”
“Are you complaining?”
Gakushuu Asano cackled. “Two weeks, well, that’s not even the length of the Moon’s cycle! What, my father shut you down? You don’t seem like the torturous type, I knew it, even despite this wretched bar and that slop you insisted on feeding me. So then, this is all done and you’re just dumping me at the next port? Like what I said would happen? Hahahahahaha!”
Karma scowled, wishing he could rid himself of Gakushuu Asano this very second. “I won’t miss your infectious personality. Or that howl you call a laugh.” He hissed.
Gakushuu Asano was still laughing, still howling. “And I won’t miss yours! Or your stupid coat that’s got trimming the same colour as your hair.”
Karma’s hands protectively went to his coat. He rather quite liked it, the way the red matched his hair perfectly. Sunspot said it was complimentary. And of course, it was a great honour to wear. “I was going to let you out on the deck before you depart but,” Karma looked over to the side. “I guess that won’t be happening.”
Suddenly, Gakushuu Asano got very quiet. His face fell flat. “…Really?”
Karma shrugged. “Yeah, few moments ago sure.”
Gakushuu Asano chewed on his bottom lip. And then, in a quiet gentle voice, he spoke. “Please.”
“Sorry, what was that? I can’t hear you.” He jeered.
“Please,” Gakushuu Asano near whispered again. He swallowed. “Please. Outside. Please.”
Karma half smiled. “Hmmmm, I don’t know.” He taunted, in a last ditch attempt to rile the other up, the way he had been annoyed two weeks ago. But then Gakushuu Asano’s face fell further, if that was even possible. His face set like a statue, eyes wide and for the first time since his imprisonment on The End, they were quiet and dare Karma say, maybe even sorrowful. It wasn’t the reaction he had wanted, the jumpy comeback he had expected. Instead, it just hurt him to look at, kinda like how he felt when Seabreeze’s pigeon died. He already knew this whole thing was, by a lot of standards, bad already but the look Gakushuu Asano gave him made him feel worse. He felt no bigger than a plankton, for having kidnapped a man and kept him locked up for a fortnight, only to take away what little luxuries he had left. He felt like, in layman’s terms, a dick.
Karma’s face untwisted itself and he settled. “Sure. I’ll let you up. If you promise not to jump overboard. And no funny business. I would remind you of our deal. Me no hurty, you no hurty.”
Gakushuu Asano nodded. “I promise.”
So, maybe against his better judgement but with little other choice, Karma let Gakushuu Asano up on the deck. Gakushuu Asano looked around the deck, still hunched over, before stretching. First, he bent down to touch his toes, and then he stretched both arms before finally, his back. He repeated the action twice and then again, this time with a small smile on his face. Karma pretended not to watch him.
Once all stretched out, Gakushuu Asano stood taller. He was tall and his posture perfect, but still shorter than him, which secretly thrilled Karma. He looked up at the black sky, confused.
“What time is it?” Gakushuu Asano asked, not looking at Karma.
“Near midnight.”
“No, like the time.”
“That is the time.”
Gakushuu Asano looked at him. “Like the numbers. What hour is it?”
Karma shrugged. He didn’t know of any numbers. “What the hell are on you on about? Time doesn’t have numbers. You gone crazy down there?”
Gakushuu Asano gave him a look of exasperation. “Like a clock?” He asked, as if Karma was supposed to know what that meant.
“Clock?” He parroted.
“You don’t know what a clock is?” Gakushuu Asano deadpanned.
“Evidently so.”
Gakushuu Asano snorted, mostly to himself. “What kind of pirate uses the word ‘evidently’ but doesn’t know what a clock is,” He rolled his eyes. “It’s a timekeeping device that translates the time into a readable number.”
“That sounds fake.”
“I can assure you it isn’t.”
“Sounds made up. Let me guess, there’s little people in this ‘clock’ that whisper the number to you.”
“Nothing like that. It’s ran by gears and two long bits called hands on a circle that has the numbers one to twelve on it. To get the correct time, you just have to set it to the clocktower in town and it’ll keep right on its own. It tracks seconds, minutes and hours but you have to count them separately.”
Karma gawked. “That’s the most made-up thing I’ve ever heard in my whole life.”
“They’re very much real. Noshiro will have clocks. You can see them there.”
“I’m sure they exist but how do you know the clocktower’s time is correct?”
Gakushuu Asano smiled smugly. “In the capital, they have special machines that can broadcast to other countries with other similar machines. Scientists in England have devised a numerical time system to run their trains on a more rigid schedule. So, we’ve just used their data and accounted for the difference.”
“The difference?”
“In Britain, say, when it’s nighttime, it’s still day here.”
Karma roared. “WHAAAAAAAAAAT?!”
Gakushuu Asano gave him a look. “Oh, don’t tell me that’s new information too.”
“WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?! That’s not on any maps!”
“Why would it be on any maps? Time is not a tangible thing.”
Karma frowned. This was confusing him. “Now, I know you’re lying. What did I say about no funny business? No messing with my head!”
What happened next happened faster than a lightning bolt strikes the earth. It was too fast for Karma to process. One moment, he was bickering with Gakushuu Asano about this so called ‘clock’ and whatever the word ‘tangible’ meant and the next, there was the familiar chill of steel at his neck and five tight fingers on his shoulder, digging in painfully. Gakushuu Asano’s eyes widened and whatever he was going to say next died in his throat.
Karma swallowed, his throat bulging against the blade. “To whom do I owe the pleasure?” He tried to joke.
The person with the knife at his throat kept their grip iron tight. Okay, not a talker. But if they wanted him dead, he would’ve been killed already. Which means there was something else they were after.
His eyes flickered to Gakushuu Asano.
The situation was precarious. Karma felt his hand move on its own, slowly down to his sword’s handle but the ninja’s hand found it first. They tutted, somewhat playfully, before unsheathing his sword, his sword, and throwing it at Gakushuu Asano’s feet. They seemed completely unbothered by the man’s presence. Of course, Karma had his back to his attacker, but he could tell they weren’t interested in saving the damsel.
Which kinda terrified Karma because if they didn’t want Gakushuu Asano, what were they here for? He feared for a second that they were here for Seabreeze.
“You,” The person started, voice quiet but even. “Have the maps of Higaruishi-san. Where are they?”
Oh. Ha ha. Right. Those. Was that want they wanted? Karma scoffed. They were too late. “About 25 nautical miles north. At the bottom of the ocean.”
The blade came even closer to his neck. It was getting hard to breath. “Liar!”
“You think I’m in any position to lie? They aren’t here. I committed them to memory.”
“Lies.” The voice seethed and their grasp on the knife tightened.
Karma wasn’t sure when this had happened, too busy with a dagger at his throat to have noticed, but Gakushuu Asano had picked up his sword, his sword, and held it firmly in his hand. An unwavering spirit but Karma could still see the fear in his eyes, the knocking of his knees as he stood. It wasn’t the sword, his bloody sword, that he was scared of.
He was scared of what he’d do with it.
And then, like a wave crashing up against the side of a rock, Gakushuu Asano lunged straight forward, like a hornet going in for the kill.
And for one brief moment Karma welcomed his death.
But no such death came. There was a wheeze and a gurgle, and the knife fell with a uncaring clatter and then, a body. The sword remained in Gakushuu Asano’s hand, tip dripping red. And Karma was left with amazement. Gakushuu Asano had thread the eye of the needle, had delivered the precise killing blow, through the gap of Karma’s arm. It was astonishing.
He had never seen anyone deliver a kill with the softness of a kiss before.
Before he could deal with the whole ‘Gakushuu Asano is now armed thing’, he rushed over to the side of the deck, to see where this assailant had appeared from and to see if there was more. He didn’t want to sound the alarm to awake the crew and have to explain to everyone why Gakushuu Asano was above deck. Sure enough, there was dingy, a tiny thing, that had been tied to the side of The End, near hidden in the night. But it bumped quietly against the boat, so Karma knew it was there regardless.
Coming to his senses, Karma quickly grabbed the ninja’s body, life force faint and slipping, and threw it overboard. It splashed into the ocean’s black unceremoniously. He reached for his sword to cut the tether but remembered.
He whipped around again. Gakushuu Asano was still armed. Gakushuu Asano still had his fucking sword in hand. It was pointed straight at him. He wasn’t shaking anymore.
Ryujin’s mercy.
“Uhhhhhhh,” Karma said, his hands slowly raising in surrender, hating himself for not dealing with Gakushuu Asano first. “No funny business?” He tried.
Gakushuu Asano stood firm, still with his fucking sword in hand. He took one step forward. Karma took one back in retaliation. Then, Gakushuu Asano took another forward. Karma, another back.
He took enough step backs until he was up against the side banister of the ship. He couldn’t take anymore steps back but yet, Gakushuu Asano was coming forward, one meticulous step at a time. He really was a house cat, with his deliberate creeping on agile toes, Karma thought, even as his sword, his sword, came closer and closer. Eventually he came so close to Karma that his sword was near flushed again him, the bloody tip tickling the underside of his chin. Exhaling now meant death. His throat was dry but he could not swallow to relieve himself of the discomfort. He wondered sourly if he would die with a dry throat by his own sword.
What a lousy death for a pirate king.
Gakushuu Asano had already killed tonight. Would he make Karma his second?
Karma knew the answer to his own question as well as the back of his hand.
This was his karma.
“If you’re gonna kill me…” Karma kept his jaw tight, which made it hard to speak, but he spoke anyways. “Can you give the decency of looking at the ocean one last time?” He asked, hoping there was enough mercy in Gakushuu Asano’s heart to afford him such a luxury.
“I’m not going to kill you.” Said Gakushuu Asano. Yet, his sword still remained lethally positioned.
Karma blinked. “Uhhhh. It kinda seems that way.” Up this close, he could feel the ghost of Gakushuu Asano’s breath, see the fogging of the steel. He could smell the ninja’s blood, only mere centimetres away and still, the quiet snuffling and puffling of the dingy still tied to The End.
They stayed like that for what seemed like eons, with Karma having nothing to look at except the pools of amethyst that were burning bright under the moonlight. They looked less black now and more so indigo. His sword still at his neck. He still believed he was going to die.
He would never learn of Himagurishi’s treasure.
And then Gakushuu Asano took a step back, the sword, his sword, retreating and retracting, and Karma let out a breath and swallowed the lump in his throat. He watched the other swing the sword around with a level of grace and skill he had never seen before. Karma was amazed as Gakushuu Asano made the blade sing, the way it sliced through the air like a knife through warm butter. It looked impossibly light in his hands as it glided, the way Little Fingers rapier did, or the way Sunspot’s long blonde hair shone in the sun. And then, he handed it back to Karma, handle facing him.
“Nice sword,” He said simply, as if he had taken out a new wagon for a test run, weighing the handle. “A little heavy but it’s well made.”
Karma took the sword quickly, speechless, lest Gakushuu Asano changed his mind, and re-sheathed it, but not before cutting the ninja’s boat free. He wanted to ask if Gakushuu Asano was crazy.
“Are you crazy?!” Oops, did that come out on its own?
Gakushuu Asano blinked. “Excuse me?”
“Are you crazy? You one of them suicidal types?” Karma inquired, knowing there were people mad or sad enough to risk their own lives over nothing. “What was that!?” He demanded, trying very hard to keep his voice low.
“Appeared to be a ninja.” Gakushuu Asano said simply.
“Appeared to be-, yeah I know that!” Karma exclaimed. “I meant what did you just do?”
Gakushuu Asano tilted his head to the side. “Killed… him?”
“How do you know how do that!?”
The other shrugged. “Sword fighting is easy.”
“Not the sword thing,” Although Karma did want to ask him where he learnt to swing a sword like that because it was cool and he couldn’t do that and that made him envious because he was Pirate King Karma and he could do anything. “I meant the killing part. You just… killed someone!”
Gakushuu Asano’s face bunched up. “So?”
“So? So?” Was this a dream? Was this all fake? Karma pinched himself and was surprised to learn that this was indeed reality. He blinked, unbelieving this was really real. “You don’t… like, care?”
The first time he had killed was a few days before his seventh birthday and he was made to kill his opponent, a boy a few weeks past his seventh for a prize. Watching the life slip away from his life was the worst present Karma could’ve gotten. And the actual prize he won wasn’t much better. He hadn’t slept for weeks afterwards.
And Gakushuu Asano had just done it, after two weeks of captivity, with all the grace of an pelican fishing it’s prey, as if it was mundane a task as brushing your teeth. He had done it with an uncaringness reserved for pirate types, not rich kids.
Karma was in a state of disbelief.
Gakushuu Asano didn’t answer. Instead, he turned around and bent down. “You should probably take this too.” He said, handing Karma the dagger the ninja had dropped. It was a nice dagger, although a bit plain in appearance.
Stunned and amazed at Gakushuu Asano handing over another weapon, Karma took the dagger and tucked it into his waistband with a hastiness, not wanting a third blade at his throat before sunrise.
The two were quiet for a very long time. Karma wasn’t sure what he wanted to say to the other. The howl of the wind blew past them and Karma couldn’t stop thinking about his sword, his sword, in Gakushuu Asano’s hand and how it looked so natural there.
Gakushuu Asano seemed to be oblivious. “Can I go up there?” He pointed to the upper deck.
“Sure.” Karma agreed, head spinning, still reeling like the wheel if you spun it all the way in one direction.
The rest of the journey to Noshiro, Gakushuu Asano spent on the upper deck, watching the shore get closer and closer. Karma, unwilling to leave him unattended, perched on the other side of the upper deck, meticulously cleaning the blood of his sword, sneaking glances at the unaware other when he remembered what had happened.
They got to Noshiro just as the sun was kissing the horizon goodbye. It burned red over the water. The merchants weren’t even up to set up their stalls.
Normally, one of the others would help with securing the ship at ports but this was different. Karma wanted to do this himself so that the whole thing could be over. Last night had been… exhilarating in some manner but the facts remained the facts. Gakushuu Asano was nothing but a burden; he had to go.
He quickly secured the ship and beckoned Gakushuu Asano to the plank that would lead him to his freedom.
“Well, this is it. Goodbye, Gakushuu Asano. You were probably the most annoying person ever imprisoned on this ship. I won’t miss you.” A part of Karma thought he should maybe thank Gakushuu Asano for saving his life, for not killing him when he had ample chance and opportunity, but another part reasoned that was so un-pirate king like.
Gakushuu Asano didn’t speak for a long while, eyes burning with something Karma couldn’t pinpoint. When he spoke, his voice was low and distant. “Goodbye to you too. Thanks for the food and the buckets. I won’t miss you either.”
And with that, he gave Karma one more look before walking down the plank skittishly and safely reaching the port. One more look back around, at The End, at Karma, before purple turned into black into nothingness, as he slinked away fast, near running in his pace.
Karma sighed and raised the plank, counting his losses and saying goodbye to the riches he had mentally claimed as his own.
That was supposed to be the end of it. Really. And if Karma had washed his hands of everything and then, maybe it would’ve been the end of this all. But by Ryujin’s beard, nothing was ever that simple.
Three: The Recruit
They meandered at Noshiro and Karma had to explain to everyone that they had no choice but to abandon their plans of extorting Gakuhou Asano. The crew seemed disappointed, having taken such a blow. Everyone had pitched in which meant everyone had failed.
They stayed because they needed food. Usually, on food runs, Seabreeze and Little Finger were sent because they were fast with their hands and could pass as children if they dressed plainly and kept their eyes wide and bright, but on their fourth day still in Noshiro, Karma made Silicio and Sunspot go too. There was another ship in the port, one waving a European flag from it’s rear.
He near shooed Silicio off the boat. “Go strike a deal with them. Charm them. Impress them. If they came West, they must have food. New food. Good food,” He paused for a second. “And go see if you can find a ‘clock’.”
“A ‘clock’?”
Karma nodded. “Yes. I don’t know what size they are, but it tells the time. Apparently. I want one.”
“Sure,” Silicio agreed, looking at the boat with the flag and cursing. “That’s the Dutch flag, ya whallop!” He exclaimed. “I’m not Dutch!”
“Yeah, but it’s similar, right?”
“Not at all!”
Confused, Sunspot exasperated. “Why am I going? I don’t speak Dutch either.”
“You’re going to play the brilliant part of his hungry, pregnant wife.”
“WHAAAAAAT?! I’M NOT PREGNANT!” Sunspot refuted. “And certainly not with him!”
“Hey!” Silicio protested.
“No ifs or buts or almond nuts. We need food and the Westerners love their own and everyone loves to help a pregnant lady in need. Go and please don’t get in any trouble. We’re being discreet here.”
Though both Sunspot and Silicio were hesitant, they both complied and left the ship alongside Seabreeze and Little Finger.
He asked The Fox to study the map for their next move, with consideration to the map of Himagurishi they had taken which they still hadn’t solved. Mad Eyes took to carving in his bunk, enjoying the peace and quiet and Karma was willing to leave him alone. He was left alone on the deck, enjoying some of the sun despite his rumbling stomach. He was dreaming of what the others would come back with.
They didn’t bring anything from his dreams, not the full spreads of delicacies he was craving, but Little Finger and Seabreeze had managed a healthy lot of vegetables that looked fresh enough and Silicio and Sunspot had been more than fruitful in their endeavours. They came back with oranges, two whole geese, an assortment of tinned preserved fish, and six small pots of different dried herbs. Oh and a small, rectangular wooden box with a glass face that was supposedly a ‘clock’. Under the face was a circle with numbers around it and three hands of differing lengths. It ticked. Karma hated it.
The Fox smiled proper for the first time in days at the sight. Little Finger especially was ecstatic. “Goose!” He exclaimed, nearly in tears, as if greeting a long-lost friend.
Silicio sighed heavily, shaking off his fatigue. “Be grateful. It was super hard to convince those guys we were hungry Western lovebirds eating for three.”
The Fox laughed. “Not fit for the husband type?”
“Ew, no, I was fine. Sunspot makes a poor bride, however.”
Sunspot rolled her eyes. “You’re not much of a catch yourself, you know.”
“Uh, rude! Who did all the translation back there? Certainly not Miss Pregnant!”
“I’m not pregnant!”
“Not with that attitude…”
The rest took their bickering downstairs, everyone merry over the prospect of a proper meal tonight. Silicio even offered to butcher the meat for Little Finger and peel the vegetables, he was that excited.
Happy with their Noshiro haul, Karma got The Fox and Seabreeze to let the ship away. They would head out into the sea proper and plan their next move there. As they untied the ship, there was a roar to his left.
“KAAAAAAAAAARMAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
Karma’s head snapped round immediately, half-expecting some forgotten sea-bearing lad or lass to be standing there, faces red and eyes feral and wild, with itchy hands reaching for their sword. Or maybe even the Guard, attempting to arrest him. Or maybe, just maybe, Gakuhou Asano, out for revenge. But it was no one of the like.
It was Gakushuu Asano, with his hair smooth and shiny once more, a knapsack over his shoulder and his eyes wide and expansive. There was a sword on his belt. He was running along the length of the boat, along the length of the pier.
Karma watched with a mix of confusion and annoyance. The others looked up at the noise, saw who it was and frowned, first at each other and then at Karma. Gakushuu Asano was here? Still in Noshiro?
He was back?!
Karma made The Fox and Seabreeze continue working on setting the ship free. “Gakushuu Asano!” He called to the other, amused and confused. “Enjoying your freedom?”
“Karma!” Gakushuu Asano shouted again, eyes flickering from the length of the pier to the boat, to its rope falling from the side, and then to Karma himself. And then he said the most unpredictable, most unlikely thing he could’ve said in the whole wide world.
“Let me… Let me come with you!”
The Fox seemed to be at a loss. “Uhhhhhh…”
The four of them- Karma, The Fox, Seabreeze and Gakushuu Asano- stood at odds, all of them unsure of what to say or do next. The latter had, somewhat impossibly, leaped onto the ship despite its departure from the land. And now they were once again sailing away from the shore, once again with Gakushuu Asano on board.
Seabreeze looked excited, clapping her hands together. “So, we’re doing this for real? I can move the sails.” She offered.
“No,” Karma shut down fast. “This is… uhhhhhhhhh…” He shook his head “Sorry, what are you doing here?”
“I want to come with.” Gakushuu Asano said simply.
Snickering, thinking the other was joking or something, Karma smiled to himself. “Oh, I heard ya.”
Gakushuu Asano folded his arms. “So?”
Karma exasperated. “Wait. You’re serious?”
“Yes.”
“Er… We don’t take stowaways.”
“I’m not stowing away.”
“Kinda think you are,” Karma motioned around them. “Cos you’re not a pirate. And this is a ship, in case ya haven’t noticed. And you’re not our prisoner-“ Seabreeze let out a small ‘aww’ at this. “Which means you’re a stowaway.”
“I’m not a stowaway,” Gakushuu Asano refuted again. “I want to be… I want to join your crew. I want to be a pirate.”
Karma laughed, unable to help himself. “You? A pirate?”
Seabreeze hid her snicker behind her hand while The Fox looked at the others apprehensively, unable to believe what he had just heard. Gakushuu Asano just nodded.
Karma shook his head again. “Look. I’m sure you had a great time here and while the crew and I love repeat customers, this isn’t really how that works.”
“How not?”
“Well, for starters, you should be running back to Daddy dearest. We did kidnap you from your estate. He’s probably still looking for you and-“
“He’s not.” Gakushuu Asano shut down.
“Eh?”
Gakushuu Asano fished something out of his knapsack. It was the printed newspaper, crumpled and torn. He waved it in front of Karma like it was hot stuff. “He’s not. Look, read this.”
So, Karma did. He read quickly, flipping over the newspaper to the other side. The written print wasn’t something he came across often, but he could still read it. It said a new law had been passed in Hokkaido. A pirate repayment scheme.
“Any body or individual who can successfully prove their losses to piracy will be able to apply for a stipend from the Government to cover the expenses until the debt is settled.”
Karma looked up. Gakushuu Asano pointed at the paper. “Read it again. He declared me dead.”
Karma read over the paper again. Yup, it opened with that. The Starver of Sapporo said his son was dead, killed by pirates, before rushing the bill through the House. It was delivered so casually, so quickly, that Karma had missed it.
“My son is dead, due to piracy. And so, I ask the House to consider the following…”
A sickeningly familiar chill ran down Karma’s back. It was like looking into a mirror, reading those words and seeing the look in Gakushuu Asano’s face. The contents of his stomach threatened to make a reappearance. He wanted to go back in time to five minutes ago where he hadn’t read this, where Gakushuu Asano wasn’t on his boat.
This made no sense. Sunspot had been sending out the message every hour on the transponder. Every hour on the dot, timed by herself. In the note Mad Eyes had left, it had clearly stated that no harm would come to Gakushuu Asano provided his father tuned into the specific frequency listed and followed the instructions given there.
Had he not tuned in even once?
They hadn’t asked for that much, relatively compared to Gakuhou Asano’s wealth.
Gakuhou Asano, The Starver of Sapporo, didn’t care. Had thrown in the towel. His son meant that little to him? Karma felt a rage settle over him, because of Gakuhou Asano, because of Gakushuu Asano and mostly because of himself.
Not for the first time he wished he had never met Gakushuu Asano, let alone take him for a joyride of Japan’s Northeast coast.
Giving Gakushuu Asano a look over, he sighed, knowing what they would have to do with him.
Karma was giving instructions to The Fox, asking them to change course again and find the next immediate port to dump Gakushuu Asano off at again but then the aforementioned man blurted out, “I challenge you to a duel.”
Suddenly, everyone got very quiet and skittish.
Karma reeled, head suddenly ringing. “A duel?”
“Yes, a duel,” Gakushuu Asano motioned to the sword on his belt. “I have my own sword.”
“Yes, I can see that. Did the Pirate Store have a sale? Did you buy an eyepatch too?”
“Fuck you. I’ve challenged you to a duel. No pirate king worth his salt would deny the chance.”
The Fox and Seabreeze both made a face at the language used. It was filthy coming out of his mouth, rough around the edges and unsuited for a pretty young thing such as himself.
“A duel.” Karma repeated.
“Yes.”
“For what? I don’t duel for fun.”
“Nor I,” Gakushuu Asano unsheathed his blade. It was shiny new, real shinily new, like it was just forged. It was thinner and shorter than Karma’s own and fit real snuggly in the other’s hand. “I have a proposition.”
“How democratic. Come then. Spit it out.”
“If I win, I become part of your crew for as long as I see fit. If I lose, you can toss me overboard yourself.”
The Fox’s jaw dropped right there and then. Seabreeze ran as fast as she could down to the lower deck, presumably to get the others.
Karma, having officially accepted this whole thing was out of control now, raised an accusatory eyebrow. “You’ll willingly cede?”
Gakushuu Asano shrugged. “If I lose.”
“Rather confident for a man who’s never fought a pirate before. I accept your terms,” Karma agreed and unsheathed his own sword. “I hope you can swim, young man. We’re far from land now and the current gets stronger the further out we go.”
Seabreeze returned from below, everyone else in tow. Their expressions matched The Fox’s own, shocked and in disbelief. Even Mad Eyes was surprised.
“You’re rather confident for a man who’s never fought me before,” Gakushuu Asano refuted, leering. “Will your man here keep this a clean duel? I don’t want any below the belt business.” He motioned to The Fox.
The first mate of the ship nodded tentatively, backing away slowly and joining the rest of the crew, whispering furiously to the others about what was happening.
“No below the belt stuff, fine. Wouldn’t want to deprive you of your manhood, or what little of it you have left,” At this Gakushuu Asano rolled his eyes. “But how many pieces shall I slice you into? Four, six? Maybe twelve and I can feed the guys and send some home too?” Karma mocked.
“Oh please,” Gakushuu Asano tutted. “You’re not going to land a single blow on me.”
They stood at opposites, swords eager and waiting. Karma was on his tip-toes, rocking slightly. Gakushuu Asano had both feet planted firmly on the decking. “Is that a promise? Or a threat?” Karma asked, grinning.
A similar look worked its way onto Gakushuu Asano’s own. “Maybe it’s both.”
“Oh, enough foreplay!” Sunspot exclaimed from the back of the ship. “Duel already!”
And so, they did. Karma let the other strike first, wanting to see that lunge in action again. He kept light on his feet, shifting his weight from side to side, waiting for Gakushuu Asano to take his bait. He was eyeing him up something dreadful. A few nights of proper eating had revitalised Gakushuu Asano, no more wiry and bony and sullen. He looked healthy, zipping with energy, He took a while to do so but Gakushuu Asano did indeed move first, lunging and aiming for Karma’s left, his sword poised for action.
Karma dodged, spinning around on his feet gracefully and began the barrage he was about to lay upon this kid, unable to stop himself from smiling.
Coming onto his ship, demanding a duel, demanding to be part of the crew, all after being held for ransom not even a week ago! By Ryujin’s beard, where did this guy get off? Karma already knew he was somewhat insane but now he knew for certain that Gakushuu Asano had a death wish.
And he was fine to be the one to deliver it.
Their swords clashed and grated against one another, making little clinks when they bashed against one another. Despite the difference in size, Gakushuu Asano was still able to wield his strongly against Karma’s own. His strength was palpable, given the way Karma had to ground himself completely to push back. It was the fairest fight Karma had had in a long time and it was exhilarating to have met his match. He liked things easy, sure, but he was an addict for a thrill.
He attempted to wave over the other, stopping their deadlock by fanning his sword up and down fast, making his strikes become unpredictable and wild. His sword, wobbling quickly in the wind, made a peculiar sound. And yet, even with Karma mindlessly aiming his hits, Gakushuu Asano blocked them all, his eyes locked onto not the blades but Karma’s own face.
He smirked and went to go say something snappy or sarcastic, maybe something cool even.
But he had miscalculated severely.
In his attempt to lure Gakushuu Asano over and strike him from up close, he had forgotten the other’s close-range skills entirely. And he had forgotten that they hadn’t technically ruled out hand to hand combat. Or rather, in this case, leg to leg combat.
A shockingly precise and speedy blow was delivered to his calf, with all the force of a cannonball. He grunted; his legs buckled instantaneously, unexpecting of such a viscous strike. He was on the ground before he knew it. And he felt the familiar tinge of metal against flesh and the huffing and puffing of Gakushuu Asano’s breath over his thrumming heart.
Purple bore into him, pinning him down even further. Karma was distantly aware that the crew was watching him, a sea of wide, disbelieving eyes. He had lost? To the man who not even a week ago was a prisoner?
The very tip of Gakushuu Asano’s brand-new sword under his chin. It tickled. Not for the first time that week, Karma felt his life land squarely in Gakushuu Asano’s hands.
“Seems pretty decisive to me,” Gakushuu Asano said. He wasn’t out of breath but yet, his breathing was heavy, panting under the sun’s heat. The look in his eyes was victorious. “Do you yield?”
Karma looked helplessly at The Fox. He shrugged.
“I yield. You win.”
Four: The Plan For Real This Time
Uncomfortably and unwillingly, Karma allowed Gakushuu Asano to stay aboard. He had won fair and square and worst, embarrassed him in front of his crew. He was, unfortunately, obliged to hold his word, on the count of his strong moral code.
The crew themselves seemed surprised themselves at the result, not only of the duel but Karma allowing Gakushuu Asano to come abord. To become one of them. Even though everyone had taken a different path to The End, Gakushuu Asano was the most different of them all. He was one of them, the very type of people they had all come to resent in one way or another. Silicio seemed most upset by the fact that the men would have to bunk with yet another.
“It already reeks in there! Someone keeps farting in the night.” He complained.
Little Finger, The Fox and Silicio all looked at Mad Eyes, who glanced away.
Karma rolled his eyes. “Tough luck. He’s bunking with you, whether you like it or not. One of yous show him around.” He ordered bluntly, brushing his trousers off and skulking off to his quarters to lick his wounds clean.
Sunspot came around supper time, entering without knocking which did annoy Karma when he was looking for an excuse to be pissed off, for it was ready. “Or do you want to be sad a little longer?” She questioned good humouredly.
Karma was currently hiding under his own covers, the sheets over his face. “I can’t believe I lost.” He lamented sorely.
She scoffed. “I can’t believe you agreed in the first place.”
“Well, I didn’t think he was going to win!”
“I don’t think anyone did. Silicio took bets and we all came out sore for it,” Sunspot paused in the doorway. “Not like you would’ve had much of a chance. That guy is… Something else.”
“Impressed?”
“A little, actually yeah,” She admitted. “At his boldness. At his skill. The Fox said he swore. I didn’t know he knew how to. And just where the hell did he learn to fight like that?” She asked no one in particular.
“I don’t know,” He sat up in bed. “And now we’re stuck with him. For good.”
“And on your word as well. Ryujin, help us all. Seabreeze will be seeing tidal waves by month’s end. Least he doesn’t eat much.” She joked.
“Ha ha,” Karma said dryly. “You’re our resident comedian as always.”
“Well, I do try. I want that on my gravestone. I tried,” She waved her hands in the air. “Come on. Let’s go eat a real dinner for once in our miserable lives.”
“You’re miserable?” He asked, dazed.
Sunspot laughed. “Only some days. Not tonight, though. Yourself?”
“Only some days. And especially tonight.”
She laughed again.
Dinner was as awkward as he expected. Some like Little Finger and Silicio tried to lighten the mood by gushing over the dinner, how delicious the fresh goose was but everyone was aware of the elephant on board, sneaking little glances when they could. Gakushuu Asano sat, with his head near in his portion of food, away to the side of everyone, eating in silence and solitude.
This suited Karma just fine; he didn’t want to think about the other, yet alone hear him speak. He was content with the somewhat tense silence, enjoying the taste of the orange sauce Little Finger had made to go along with the chunk of goose he cooked. It was sickly sweet but in a good way.
Near the end of their meal of goose, orange and silence, Mad Eyes turned round to look at the newcomer. “What made you want to become a pirate?”
Gakushuu Asano looked, bewildered that he was being spoken to. Karma was similarly bewildered; Mad Eyes didn’t like speaking.
“Uhhh…” Gakushuu Asano trailed off, eyes darting between everyone else’s. They were all staring at him now. “I didn’t know what else to do?” The way he said it made it sound like a question, rather than an answer.
“So, you thought you’d get a sword and be a pirate?”
Blushing a little, Gakushuu Asano hid his face. “Why not?”
Mad Eyes shrugged. “Just curious is all.” He said gruffly, before turning his attention back to his dinner.
Little Finger, who seemed the most unbothered at the extra mouth to feed proper this time, considered it his turn for a question, scrunching up his face in curiosity. “Where did you learn to swing a sword like that?”
“Hm?”
“The, uh, sword fighting? I’ve never seen Karma lose a duel before.”
Karma grumbled into his goose, something about Little Finger’s great gaping gob.
“I was just taught young.” He said simply, seemingly unwilling to expand further.
Little Finger, smart enough to know when a conversation was over, realised he wasn’t going to get anywhere else with Gakushuu Asano and sighed softly. “Must’ve been one hell of a teacher.”
Gakushuu Asano just snorted.
After their unusually hearty and filling dinner, everyone went to bed full and content for once. Karma, though full and sleepy himself after a long day of surprises, stayed up on the deck, wanting some cold air before he retired for the night.
Of course, his peace was shattered by the appearance of one Gakushuu Asano, the very last person he wanted to see. He cursed his fortune but reminded himself this was his ship and now, Gakushuu Asano was technically part of his crew. There was underlying sense of authority, stronger now than when the other had been imprisoned in the holding cell.
“Hey,” The other greeted quietly. He looked a little sheepish, like how he did that second day, eyes drooping and sad. It was weird to think that a week ago he had been a prisoner of the ship and now, he was a part of the crew. “I am… allowed to be up, right? There isn’t a curfew or anything?”
Karma laughed at the ridiculous query. “A curfew? Pirates with a bedtime? Seriously?”
Gakushuu Asano rolled his eyes. “Well, you don’t have to be a dick about it. I was just checking. Ur, Seabreeze gave me a very brief rundown of what I was supposed to do and not do.”
“Seabreeze showed you around?”
“Yes. Uh, that is her name right? The one with green hair? And the seashells?”
“Yup, that’s Seabreeze.” He confirmed, glad that someone capable had stepped up to the task. God forbid the duty had fell to Mad Eyes.
“Seabreeze.” Gakushuu Asano repeated.
Karma wasn’t really sure what the other was getting at. “That’s her name.”
Gakushuu Asano exhaled through his nose. “Uh huh… I’m sure there’s a Mr and Mrs Seabreeze out there wishing for the safe return of their daughter,” He jested. “…Why does everyone have such ridiculous nicknames?” He asked. “Do they… not have names? Like real ones?”
Another ridiculous question, Karma thought. “Names hold importance. They wield power in their own way. We’re pirates. You can’t just go about waving that sort of stuff like it’s for everyone. It’s a vulnerability for most,” And then, quieter. “Most of us came here to start again. So, we left our old names and selves behind. To start again.”
“People chose their names? Mad Eyes chose Mad Eyes?”
“Well, no. But look at him. That’s Mad Eyes. I can’t believe his mother named him anything different.”
Gakushuu Asano laughed quietly in agreement. “Okay. Sure. What about Silicio?”
“Are we really gonna do this one by one?”
Gakushuu Asano shrugged playfully. “I suppose. I’m not tired yet.”
“Despite your riveting day?” Karma asked dryly.
“I’ve had worse. So. Silicio.”
Karma sighed, feeling somewhat obliged and feeling somewhat like he wouldn’t get out of this anyhow. “He’s from Sicily. In Italy.”
“Really?” Gakushuu Asano looked surprised, eyebrows skyrocketing up to his hairline. “I speak some Italian.”
“You should tell him that. He’s been badgering Sunspot about learning some so he could have a conversation partner.”
“And that brings us onto, er, Sunspot.”
“Her hair is blonde but there’s a bit on the back of her hair that looks darker. Like a mole but on hair. A part of darker blonde. Like a sunspot.”
“You know what a sunspot is?”
Karma held up his hands. He did in deed not know what a sunspot was. “Hey, she chose it. She knows all about the stars and the Moon and the Sun. That’s how she described it to me.”
Gakushuu Asano thought on this for a moment. “Hm, fair enough. Little Finger.”
“That’s pretty self-explanatory. He’s small and useful and without him, I’d be fucked. Kinda like how you need your little finger to wield a sword proper.”
“The Fox. Or is it just Fox?”
“The Fox, usually. I’m sure you can come up with a cute nickname for everyone at a later date. The Fox’s from a shrine family. He said his temple had lots of kitsune statues so, he chose that.”
Gakushuu Asano gave him a look, as if he were saving the worst for last. “And Karma?”
Karma shrugged simply, desperate to come off as nonchalant as possible, despite the fact he really, really, really cared for Gakushuu Asano to be impressed. “Sounds cool.” He answered truthfully. It did sound cool.
“Do I have to choose a name, or will one be assigned to me?”
A pirate never asked so many questions in the history of the world, Karma thought. “Ryujin, all this assignment and order malarkey you keep spewin’. One thing on the seas is for sure- there is no certainty,” Karma shrugged again. “You probably should think about if there’s anything you want to be called, I guess. Mad Eyes had a few nicknames for you, and none were as pleasant as what you’d like them to be.”
“Like?”
“I was impartial to Little Shit but it’s too close to a Little Finger.”
Gakushuu Asano frowned, all serious now. “Please don’t call me Little Shit. I don’t like it.”
“Calm down, you’re not being called Little Shit. It was a joke. They have those where you’re from? Or just clocks?”
“Yes and no. And for your information, humour is subjective. Nothing is always funny.”
“’Subjective’?”
“Like, dependent.”
“Hmm, maybe you could be Thesaurus,“ Karma mused. “You love a definition, don’t you?”
“You’re in need of some kind of education, clearly. And how do you know what a thesaurus is but not what subjective means? Did you not get around to the letter S?”
“I have one, thank you very much. And no, not yet. I was saving S for when I become stupidly, stupendously and supremely wealthy.”
Gakushuu Asano laughed like how the first leaves of autumn grace the ground with their colour. “You’re stupendously and supremely stupid. A pirate with a thesaurus? Seriously?”
“What? I like to read,” It felt like an unfair accusation. Was a man not allowed to enjoy a little reading now and then? Were the Guard to be rang? And then quieter, because he was actually embarrassed by this, “But some words don’t make sense to me so I have to look them up to see what they mean.”
“And you use a thesaurus and not, perhaps, a dictionary?”
Karma sighed. He had never seen one before, but he knew what Gakushuu Asano was referencing. “A dictionary would be better,” He mumbled. “But I’ve only been able to get my hands on a thesaurus. Hey, maybe you could be Dictionary. Heavy on the dick, though.”
Gakushuu Asano laughed again and Karma hated that he was actually starting to like the sound of it. How it sounded out against the wind and how he only ever laughed like that with him, as if it were for his ears alone. Despite everything, his wicked loss and admission of defeat and the sting of embarrassment that still ached him deeply, he couldn’t help but take a slice of pride for himself, that he had unearthed a side of Gakushuu Asano that no one else had, that the other kept all his laughs just for him. It thrilled him privately which meant, of course, that in one way or another, he was totally, royally, screwed.
The next day, the whole crew including the newly added Gakushuu Asano convened in the wheelhouse before sundown. The early morning had been spent cleaning the ship, which they did every two weeks whether it was necessary or not. Because the ship was one of the crew too, arguably the most important member on board, everyone had a different role. This included young Gakushuu Asano, who seemed to have never cleaned before.
Karma considered giving him waste duty, in a truly cruel fashion but he had a horrible vision of Gakushuu Asano spilling the buckets on the stairs and the whole ship reeking of shit and piss for the foreseeable future and decided against it. Instead, he told Gakushuu Asano to collect everyone’s bedsheets and to wash them by hand, a task the other did without a word. He did the waste duty himself.
Mad Eyes and Sunspot took to cleaning the upper deck, Little Finger and The Fox to the lower, Silicio got barnacle duty and Seabreeze swept the inner quarters. She wasn’t a big ship but cleaning her still took all hands to complete and a clean ship was worth the hours spent labouring.
By evening, The End was looking well again, the wood smelling fresh and pleasant. Karma took pride in having a clean ship because hey, it was nice to take care of your things. Despite a long day cleaning, they still had plans. They were to discuss their next move, now that the Gakuhou Asano plot had been abandoned in its entirety.
So, they stood (and sat) in the wheelhouse, in varying states of exhaustion and heatstroke. Karma surveyed the room. Gakushuu Asano looked much more like a pirate today, after a hard day’s labour in the sun. There was a spotting of freckles on his nose and his cheeks held a warm pinkness and his sleeves had been bunched up, his lower forearm glistening with the remainder of the cleaning water.
Their next great idea was the very one that almost got Karma killed a few nights prior: the legendary treasure of the great bandit Himagurishi. Half myth, half man, all rich. They had encountered the map simply by coincidence a few weeks before enacting their ransom plot, from a small cove off the shore that was popular with merchants. The Night Market. They had attended to legally barter and trade what little silver and gold they had acquired (read: looted) but Little Finger was too graceful with his sleight of hand to not thrive in an environment like that, and they had made out far better off than when they had arrived.
With bated breath, Little Finger had unravelled the scroll he stole, which was never much not at the bottom of the ocean and instead had been secretly hidden under Little Finger’s pillow the whole time, the crew gathering round and biting their fingernails as they waited to see the last map of the great legendary Himagurishi…
Except it wasn’t a map in the sense there was a clearly marked destination. Karma truly had committed it to memory because there wasn’t much to remember. It was less of a map that could be followed easily and more of a puzzle. The map itself contained a picture of the whole of Japan, with all it’s island chains and the following words in the upper left corner, in beautiful blue ink penmanship:
My last stand
Taken on the Island of the Moon
Are where my riches rest
Where the sand runs golden
And the threads of time
work themselves bare
They had spread out their largest map, The Fox’s pride and joy, to survey where the Island of the Moon could be, scratching their heads. The little poem or whatever wasn’t helping much either.
“The island of the moon?” Silicio said aloud, puzzled. “There’s no such place,” He looked up at The Fox for confirmation. “Right?”
The Fox shook his head. He was the most knowledgeable on Japan’s geography. “Not on any map I’ve seen,” He looked to Gakushuu Asano, apparently interested in a second opinion. “Yourself? The University must’ve had a vast collection.”
“Uh, yes,” Gakushuu Asano answered, seemingly confused to have been asked a question or maybe at the fact everyone seemed to know he was a student of the University. Maybe it was both. “I mean, no. I’ve never heard of any island with that sort of name, nor have I ever seen such a place on a map. The only location that comes to mind is Tsukishima.”
Sunspot furrowed her brow, not looking up from the map. “But that’s not an island! That’s near the capital, in the bay, right?”
Gakushuu Asano nodded. “Yes. So, it seems unlikely to be that.”
“Maybe there’s a special island for moongazing?” Seabreeze supplied. “And maybe that’s what he meant?”
Sunspot, as the resident astronomer, considered this. “If there is, I don’t know it,” She turned to Gakushuu Asano also. “You know anything about moongazing?”
Gakushuu Asano winced. “Only a little.”
“Where would be an ideal location for someone to look at the Moon?”
“Impossible to say. I only know about moongazing via in relation to the Moon itself. Like it’s phases and such. I could only offer that someone would probably like somewhere dark and high up to look at it. Maybe somewhere with an observatory? But all the registered observatories are in major cities…” He trailed off.
The eight of them let out a collective ‘hm’, seemingly stuck. Karma kept studying the map, as if a random ‘Moon Island’ would be found tucked amongst all the others.
“Oh, maybe it really is the mainland!” Little Finger offered. “Because it kinda looks like a crescent moon, don’t you think? Maybe that’s the Island of the Moon Himagurishi meant?”
“It’s more… toenail shaped, don’t you think?” Mad Eyes suggested instead.
Silicio nodded in agreement. “It is rather toenail shaped.”
Sunspot gave the two a disgusted look. “That is a diabolical comparison. And rather unhelpful, given the fact the map said ‘Moon’ and not ‘filthy slice of pirate toenail’.”
“If it is the mainland, it’ll be impossible to find,” Karma sighed, running a hand through his hair. “The legend of Himagurishi says he took off west after stashing his riches somewhere. So, wherever this island is, it must be somewhere on the West Coast.”
“Unless, it’s on the East Coast and he fled into Honshu’s wilderness.” Sunspot mumbled unhelpfully.
The Fox blinked, looking up. “If it’s the East, we’ll need to change course immediately. Like, now immediately.” They were drifting south.
Silicio scoffed. “What and spend all of this year and next hunting down this island?” He was right. They had been in the East last year and it had taken many months to reach the Western waters they were now floating in.
“It would take an entire lifetime to search the entire Western coast alone, even given our current position,” The Fox pointed out. “Not to mention if we stopped at every small island along the way, the Guard would catch us eventually. Or the ninjas.”
Everyone mumbled amongst themselves at mention of the ninjas. Everyone had had a run in one way or another with the lot.
“I know,” Karma held his chin in his hands. “Which is why I’m hoping we can think of something else. It’s why I’m hoping it’s on the West Coast and not Honshu.”
“This may be a long shot but…” The Fox trailed off, an inquisitive look on his face.
“Yeah?”
“Back home,” He spoke softly. “My family’s shrine is known as the Shrine of the Rising Sun, because we’re so eastern we see the rising sun before anyone else. Conversely, I know of another shrine out west known as the Shrine of the Setting Moon, because they’re the last to see the moon set each night. I was just thinking… What if the moon isn’t a hint to the name of the location but of its geography?”
The Fox took a finger to the map and drew it out west, past the boundaries of the paper. Silicio followed his hand. “The island is West? Out West? Like out of Japan West?”
“Maybe,” The Fox shrugged. “But it would fit with the legend he took West. Would make sense as to why he’s never been seen since.”
“You think this Himagurishi went to Korea?” Gakushuu Asano asked.
“Maybe, maybe even further. Past China or so. He could’ve ended up on the Indian subcontinent, depending on where the island is.”
“He could be in Europe, even. Those Dutch men showed me the route they took round. It would take an age, but it’s possible.” Silicio hypothesised, nodding.
“Wherever he is, he’s gone,” Seabreeze interjected, like how a wave splits the shoreline. “The water told me.”
Everyone, including Gakushuu Asano, looked at her, eyes wide. Sunspot pried further, voice just above a whisper. “Did it tell you anything else?”
Seabreeze shook her head slowly, all the seashells jangling with a soft consideration. “No. I can try pray tonight but… it’s often foggiest in times of need. The water hates when I test my luck with it.”
“Try anyways.” Karma advised. He hated having to rely on Seabreeze’s visions alone for these sorts of things, but it was all they had. She was their long shots, she was the longest of shots but right now, they had little other choice. They had food again but now an extra mouth to feed and they were no richer than they were a month ago. The stagnation made Karma itchy, and not in the good way.
But speaking of longshots, Gakushuu Asano studied over the map of Japan again before looking up at Karma. “That last line… Don’t you think it’s a little strange?”
The rest of the crew looked puzzled, even more baffled than they were already. “It’s a riddle, it’s strange through and through.” Silicio groaned in annoyance.
“No, not like that. I mean,” Gakushuu Asano tilted his head. “The wording is off.”
“Off?” Sunspot suspected, raising an eyebrow. “How so?”
“’Where the threads of time work themselves bare’. I understand what he’s trying to say; a place where time stands still but ‘work themselves bare’… that’s not a typical description of time. Or a particularly sound sentence.”
Karma scoffed. “Is this about your clock thing again?”
“No. In the literary sense, no writer would use such language. It’s muddy and confusing,” Gakushuu Asano’s eyes fluttered shut. “It’s almost like it was deliberate. The choice of words. Not to confuse but maybe to precisely narrow down the location of this island. Work. Time doesn’t work, it flows. It flows.” He mumbled.
Mad Eyes gave Gakushuu Asano a dry look. “Is this going anywhere?”
“Maybe,” Gakushuu Asano had another look at the map, fingers dancing along the cartographical lines. “Uh, Little Finger. How do you write the character for work again?”
“Um,” Little Finger got a pen and paper and drew the character out neatly. Two horizontal lines, joined by another in the middle. He handed the paper to the other. “Like this, I think?”
“Hmm,” Gakushuu Asano held up the piece of paper to the map. “’Work themselves bare’. Say, doesn’t it look like this island?”
He pointed to the large island off the West Coast. It was labelled Sado Island, situated near the port of Niigata. It was one island but looked like two smaller ones joined together via a land bridge.
The Fox leaned over. “Well, now that you mention it. Angled, it does sort of look similar.” He conferred in agreement.
Sunspot took a look herself, a dubious look on her face. “It looks like an ‘s’ more than anything.”
Little Finger smiled. “S for Sado?”
Karma glanced over the comparison. He had to admit, it did look similar to the kanji. “It would fit with the riddle, I suppose. On the west coast, easy access to the western seas. Relation to the poem.” He hummed, thinking.
Even though it seemed to fit the description. It still didn’t feel very concrete. Karma wasn’t the biggest fan of risks, not when there was numerous miles of water to cover and food and fuel running low enough already. Time was of the essence; it would be disastrous for them to visit Sado Island only to come up empty handed. They would waste the entire summer and then some.
Karma, convinced that no more thinking could procure after a long day’s work, dismissed everyone for the day. Little Finger brought up the leftover pot of goose and told everyone to help themselves accordingly; he was off to bed.
Seabreeze took a portion for herself and retired to the girl’s bunk for the night, for that’s where her altar was. The rest of them ate together, in contemplative silence as each of them considered the poem left by Himagurishi. After the goose was finished, still delicious a day later, Silicio went downstairs and brought up a bottle of clear spirit that had finished distilling.
“Shouldn’t we keep that to trade?” Sunspot said. Most of Silicio’s work was left for trading. It was one of their only legitimate means of money, alongside Seabreeze’s crafts and religious idols.
Silicio popped the lid of the bottle and let her have a smell of the liquid. She did and then immediately jumped away, her face screwed up in disgust.
“Good Ryujin’s mercy! What the hell is that, paint stripper?!”
Silicio took a sniff for himself, his face screwing up but a lot less so compared to Sunspot. “Whatever it is, no one is gonna want it,” He produced cups for everyone. “Who knows? It might make us think better.”
The Fox rolled his eyes. “Spoken like a true moonshiner.” He complained tightly but still held out his cup for a drink. Silicio poured The Fox’s drink first and then his own before pouring anyone else’s.
Mad Eyes took one look at the bottle and got to his feet, citing a tiredness.
Karma saw this for what it was. “Not up for a drink and chat?” He jabbed lightly.
Mad Eyes just glared at him and skulked off below deck to sleep, grumbling about not wanting to drink with a bunch of idiots. Which left the five of them, the idiots, to split the drink with. Gakushuu Asano held his portion in his hand like it was going to blow up in his face.
“Uh,” He swirled it around in the cup. “What is it?”
Before Silicio could answer, Sunspot interjected. “Poison.”
He gave her a look before turning his attention to Silicio. “I meant what alcohol?”
Silicio gave him a watery look. “It’s… something? Not quite shochu. It’s like shochu but with cleaning spirit.”
Gakushuu Asano held the drink away from him as if it really were poison. “Cleaning spirit?”
The Fox, who had already drunk half his cup, stopped, eyes frantic. “He’s joking,” He looked to Silicio. “You are joking, right?”
“Yes. It’s not cleaning spirit.”
“It’s just smells like cleaning spirit.”
Silicio reached out for Sunspot’s cup. “Well, give it here if you’re not wanting it.”
Sunspot held her cup in the opposite direction. “Well, slow down now. When did I say I didn’t want it.”
Karma watched Silicio and Sunspot bicker with one another about how who wanted the drink more, sipping quietly at his own. It was strong, truly like cleaning spirit and some of the worst tasting alcohol Silicio had ever brewed, but the aftertaste was surprisingly sweet and it left a weird coating on his tongue that made him want to drink more.
Gakushuu Asano still hadn’t taken a sip. Karma leaned over to him.
“It’s not going to kill you, you know. He was just joking. You know, a joke?”
Gakushuu Asano scowled. “Yes, I believe we’ve had this conversation already,” He dismissed. “It’s just… I’ve never drank before.”
Silicio, whose ears were selective in hearing, snapped his attention to Gakushuu Asano. “You’ve never drank?” He asked incredulous.
Sunspot copied him. “You. Have never drank before…?”
Gakushuu Asano shrugged in response.
Silicio groaned, rubbing at his eyes. “Allllllll that money. Alllllllllllllllllll that money. And you’ve never drank.” He repeated again.
Gakushuu Asano’s answer remained the same.
The four of them then took turns introducing Gakushuu Asano to drinking games and rituals alike, sprinkling in helpful and useless bits of trivia and fact along the way until the sun dipped below the horizon and threw the world in darkness once more.
Sunspot retired first. “I should go check on Seabreeze.” She said, stumbling over her words and feet as she departed the men, not glancing over her shoulder as she left.
The Fox yawned sleepily; his eyes almost glued together. He got to his feet. “Sado Island, then?” He asked Karma.
Karma couldn’t answer that question, still stuck. Sado Island seemed to fit but yet, he wasn’t certain. “We’ll keep south for now,” He decided. “But if we don’t get anywhere else with the riddle, I fear we’re gonna have to try it.”
The Fox nodded and went to bed, dragging along an even sleepier Silicio. Which, again, left Karma alone with Gakushuu Asano. He didn’t mind as much now, however, with the alcohol thawing his heart. The wind was much stronger than last night, which Karma welcomed.
Drinking always made his face flush red hot, no matter the season or time of day. And it seemed to be even hotter tonight, giving the heat he felt as he pressed a hand to his cheek.
He thought briefly of Sado Island.
Gakushuu Asano seemed to be flushed too. The alcohol made his sun kissed face look pinker, even in the dark. It apparently had also emboldened him, for he no longer chewed over his words. He spoke like he was back in the holding cell, all confident.
“Why does Seabreeze wear her hair like that?” He asked. He was referring to the intricate braids of seaweed, hair and seashells that Seabreeze re-did as needed.
“It’s for her religion.”
Gakushuu Asano frowned. “What religion?”
“Oceanborn. Uh, well, that’s what she is. That might not be the name of the religion itself.”
“I’ve never heard of such a practice.” Gakushuu Asano murmured to himself, waiting for Karma to continue.
“It’s from the Southern Islands. It’s… uh… like focused on the water.”
“The water?”
“Like. Man, you should ask her. I only get it sort of. But basically, the gist is that everything alive contains a certain amount of water and if you’re trained, you can ‘listen’ to that water. Or feel it’s guiding current.” He parroted something he had heard her say once.
Gakushuu Asano raised an eyebrow. “She was being serious about the water ‘talking’?”
“Yes,” Karma nodded. “Very. Okay, okay. I give you this one piece of advice for clean living on this ship. Under no circumstances should you piss Seabreeze off. Especially not about her religion.”
Gakushuu Asano guffawed. “Really?”
Karma nodded again, deathly serious. “She could capsize this whole ship tomorrow if she felt like it.” He was slightly exaggerating but it seems to be lost on Gakushuu Asano.
Gakushuu Asano asked if Karma had any books, recalling the previous night’s mention of owning a thesaurus. It felt like he was asking a question he already knew the answer too. but Karma answered anyways. He had a modest collection, he told the other, nothing compared to the grandiosity of the Asano own private collection or anything like at the University. Gakushuu Asano said he didn’t care. He was asking to loan one.
“I should’ve brought one myself,” He admitted almost coyly. “But when I saw your ship, I just mindlessly ran to the port.”
Mindlessly. Karma snorted. “I’ll say. Why did you come aboard?”
Gakushuu Asano twirled a lock of hair mindlessly. “…I don’t have a real answer for you. Like I said, it was mindless. I’d never been to anywhere that wasn’t outside of Hokkaido so I was just wandering around Noshiro. I bought a sword. I was kind of reeling from the whole kidnapping thing, especially that ninja man, and then I read that Father declared me legally dead. That he didn’t even try. I didn’t really know what to do. And then,” He motioned around. “I saw this ship.”
Gakushuu Asano holding a bloody sword. Gakushuu Asano underweight and mopey in a cell. Gakushuu Asano holding a bloody sword to his neck. Gakushuu Asano scrubbing out sweat from bedlinen Gakushuu Asano holding a clean sword to his chin. Gakushuu Asano thinking about Himagurishi’s words. All these images flashed in Karma’s mind.
“And you thought, it’s time for my calling?” He asked, only half joking because the other was that good with a sword. And then, more seriously because Karma couldn’t help himself, “…What about your father?”
Gakushuu Asano chewed his lip. “I don’t know. I’ve never been away from him in my life and yet…” He gave a light shrug. “I don’t miss him. He doesn’t seem to miss me. I think I came aboard because everything has changed and nothing makes sense anymore. A month ago, I was studying for my exams and now, I’m on a pirate ship. I should miss it but I don’t. I should hate you but I don’t. I should want to see my father again but I don’t. I should hate bunking in a room with four others but I don’t. I should want my old life back but… I don’t.”
A silence followed. Karma took a sip of his drink, finishing the rest in his cup, not knowing what to say. Gakushuu Asano sighed.
“What books do you have?” He asked quietly, changing the subject.
Karma, now sleepy and weary, offered to show Gakushuu Asano his library. It was in his quarters but there was no way to bring out the books one by one so he offered to show the other to his room.
Drunkenly, he reaches and takes Gakushuu Asano’s hand in his and leads him to his room. Drunkenly, Gakushuu Asano goes along with him.
His collection is really modest, he tells the other outside the door. “Don’t get your hopes up.”
Gakushuu Asano whispers okay.
Karma unlocks the door, hands shaky. His room was messy, assorted sheets of writing parchment scattered around. Worst, his bed was unmade, and Karma suddenly wished he had bothered to make it. His books were in the corner so he pointed Gakushuu Asano over as he took off his jacket and laid it on his desk and apologised for the mess.
The other didn’t acknowledge the mess. Instead, he bent down to read the spines of the books, fingers ghosting along them. “Nice room.” He commented.
There wasn’t much to it but it was large and had a great deal of light thanks to the beautifully large windows at the back. “It’s a state but thanks.”
“I see you got a clock.” He noted, pointing to the clock on the desk.
Karma chuckled under his breath. “Oh yeah,” He held it in his hand. It was heavy and unfamiliar still. “This piece of sorcery. I’ve been trying to learn how to read it. The time now is… one thirteen forty-seven. Forty-eight. Forty-nine.” He counted the hand that ticked.
It was Gakushuu Asano’s turn to laugh. In the walls of Karma’s room, it sounded tender and warm. “You don’t have to count the seconds. Just the hours and minutes. And you usually frame the time with the hours and minutes so it’s not just numbers,” He paused. “So, it’s probably now fourteen minutes past one.” He motioned to the clock in Karma’s hands.
Karma checked the time. It was now indeed one fourteen.
“Seconds?” He asked.
Gakushuu Asano was nodding, pulling out a book from the shelf and reading the back. “Hours, minutes and seconds. The big slow hand counts hours, the slow long hand counts minutes and the seconds are counted by the small, ticking hand. Sixty seconds make up a minute, sixty minutes make up an hour.”
“And twenty-four hours make a day.” Karma finished.
Gakushuu Asano smiled. “Yes.”
Karma hummed. Like Sado Island, he wasn’t entirely convinced. “Hours, minutes and seconds.” He repeated to himself, setting the clock down.
Gakushuu Asano stood, holding the book in his hand. “Hours, minutes, seconds,” He confirmed gently. He was so close Karma could hear the other’s heartbeat. “Can I borrow this?”
“Sure.” Karma replied, still listening to the other’s heartbeat.
They stood like that, again too close for any proper personal space, in Karma’s quarters, only the book in Gakushuu Asano’s hand keeping their chests from touching. Gakushuu Asano’s heart was beating like crazy. The alcohol and the proximity and the damn thumping was cooking Karma’s face alive; he was surprised it hadn’t started to sizzle.
It suddenly got very hot, and the boat rocked shakily and Karma fought of a yawn and Gakushuu Asano quietly excused himself for bed, the book clenched tightly in his hand.
Over breakfast the next morning, a small serving of tinned fish and rice and leftover orange sauce with the scent of hungover-ness in the air, Seabreeze stood on her chair. Though she was the smallest of the whole bunch, she looked big up on her chair, the green of her hair complimenting the light blue of the morning sky. “I had a vision last night.”
Everyone stopped eating and looked to her. Karma encouraged her to continue.
“I was on an island. And I was up really high up on this mountain, right at the very top. I was so high up I saw the whole island. Thick with greenery and lined with beaches. I was so high up, I saw the Moon. She was close enough to kiss,” And then she got really quiet. “I can’t prove it but I know it was Sado.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. It was Sado. Like, I just woke up and the word ‘Sado’ was already in my mouth.”
Karma leaned forward in his seat. “You’re certain?”
Seabreeze clasped her hands together over her heart. “Yes.”
“Well. That’s good enough for me!” Karma leaped to his feet, suddenly giddy that he had an actual, working plan again instead of living in his own stagnation. “Fox! Set the quickest course to Sado Island! Those riches are ours!”
Five: The Sea, The Land and The People Too
They set course for Sado immediately. The Fox had seemingly asked Gakushuu Asano to help with the navigation. Karma was amazed that Gakushuu Asano studied seemingly everything at the University.
Karma thought of them together alone in his cabin and that book in the others hand and his head spins and he banishes the thought immediately.
They had a long journey ahead. It was nearly three weeks to Sado and that was their best-case scenario. And while the course was set for Sado, they were heading to the next major port, Akita, to stock up entirely. They needed parchment and linen and medicine and enough preserved food to feed a fleet.
And he was in charge of everything. Seabreeze’s vision was enough for him to know Himagurishi chose Sado Island as his last stand. He believed. This was real. This was it.
It was kind of how he felt before kidnapping Gakushuu Asano. And that scared him because look how that turned out.
Three weeks on the water with Gakushuu Asano nagging at his mind.
Ryujin have mercy.
At Akita, it was all hands-on deck. Or rather, all hands off deck. Only Mad Eyes was left to guard the ship, while the others alighted at dawn. Little Finger and Seabreeze were off for parchment and fabric, Sunspot, Gakushuu Asano and The Fox after food, medicine and soap, and Silicio off to the market to sell what alcohol stock they could.
He was off ship too but for a different reason. Dressed without his coat or sword or even his boots, he felt naked in plain, discrete clothing. He was a man of the sea now but he had been born on the land and he returned from time to time briefly to remind himself of the bigger picture. It felt necessary.
He would also return profitable, offering to buy the rice, but ultimately, he got off his ship because he needed to get away. He needed to be someone else for a bit.
He spent all day sitting in a grassy meadow on the hills overlooking the port. From his perch, he could spot the market, The End and occasionally, the multi-coloured dots of his crew that would weave and swerve through the veins of the city. He sat and closed his eyes and he thought of nothing in particular or so he told himself.
He took effort to note the stillness of everything. On the waters, there was always a rocking sensation, a slight reminder of the uncertainty of everything. But on land, there was no rocking. It was firm and steady. Secure.
Karma leaned back into the grass, the blades tickling his face. It was so still. So quiet.
Sometimes, not that he would admit it to anyone, not even Little Finger, but he did consider returning home. Not home home but Giving up his life of piracy. He could take a normal job and live a normal life. Stay in one place. Raise a family. Live as a normal civilian. He thought about this imaginary life of his in the dark of his room when sleepless nights haunted him but now, thinking about it in the warmth of the sun with the chatter of the port drifting through the air, it seemed realer. It seemed possible.
He looked off into the city of Akita proper, wistfully.
It seemed possible.
He sat in the sun for some time thinking of the life he led, the life he used to live and the life he could live. Despite his daydreaming, he returned to the ship before sundown, carrying three bags of rice and a full bag of change.
He was the last to return to the ship. Little Finger scolded him for his slack but only in the way a good friend would. He seemed to know things about Karma before he knew them himself and he wondered now if Little Finger had sensed his turmoil.
His people had done well. Silicio had managed to pawn off all his stock, allowing for the money to buy a large selection of tinned pork and legumes and an array of fresh fish, including a local delicacy that was abundant in supply. Karma hoped he liked hata-hata. Fresh produce were scarce here too but Seabreeze and Little Finger had worked together to scale a fence to pick a prosperous pear tree so they carried their satchels of juicy pears on the back and hauled their linen sheets and parchment leaves back to The End. They had also managed to secure more iodine and herbal syrup and even something that Gakushuu Asano and Sunspot explained as morphine, a painkiller. And Karma’s own admittedly meagre haul was not shabby either for the rice grains were long and thick, a sign of a good harvest’s yield.
They sailed away from Akita with the smell of cooked hata-hata in the air and when Karma went to bed that night, he dreamt not of a house and job in Akita but of a man with hair the colour of the peaches.
The next few days were spent almost in a comfortable fashion. The awkwardness surrounding Gakushuu Asano’s addition to the crew seemed to have thawed in it’s entirety. Karma wasn’t sure if it was due to the other’s resourcefulness or skill or the fact that he was a curiosity to the others.
On days like these, where they had to sail around a cape, he spent bored and restless. There wasn’t much to do or see except wait around on the upper deck and wait for sail changes from The Fox.
On one of these days, wasting away on the upper deck in the sun’s heat, awaiting orders from The Fox that would never come for the wind was strong and consistent, he watched Gakushuu and Seabreeze talking. They were braiding twine, a common activity of Seabreeze’s. It was part of her religion, the intricate braids and woven sheets she made were a reminder of the universe’s own threads and interconnections. The girl’s room was full of her projects. She had even made something that resembled the shape of a blanket, though she was adamant that was not what it was.
She often braided alone in a knowing, concentrated silence, so Karma was surprised to see Gaksuhuu Asano not only in her company but braiding alongside her. He soon realised that Seabreeze was teaching him. Karma watched the look on Gakushuu Asano’s face as he was instructed on how to thread the fabric together and how his fingers danced as he did and how that look was the same when he took that ninja’s life and wondered, not for the first time, who the hell Gakushuu Asano was.
At dinner that night, Seabreeze was showing off her effigy braid that she was asking to help nail to the ship’s mast. He saw the braid, thought of Gakushuu Asano hands and ate his beans faster.
Gakushuu Asano started giving sword fighting lessons. Karma, on the principle that his pride was wounded enough having lost to the other, refused his coaching but was still curious enough to watch the training itself. He wanted to see that lunge in action.
Silicio’s bout was first. Obnoxiously and incorrectly, he claimed himself as the greatest swordsman of the lot and therefore, it was only right that he would get to spar with Gakushuu Asano first.
He did not win.
They went again and Silicio lost again. And then once more, to the same result. He shook his head.
“You really are good,” Silicio admitted bashfully. “Damn! How old are you?”
Gakushuu Asano told him his age and birthday. They were only a few weeks apart, which annoyed Silicio for he could not blame Gakushuu Asano’s age for his talent compared to the lack of his own. Karma thought privately that they was only a week between him and Gakushuu Asano and that secret, closeness delighted him and even more so the fact that he was the older one.
Gakushuu Asano instructed Silicio a little on the angle of which he was holding his sword and his posture. “You’re too rigid. You need to be light on your feet. You need to be able to move or strike in any direction.”
Seabreeze nodded solemnly. Silicio practiced a little.
They fought again and although Gakushuu Asano still won, it was a much fairer fight.
Sunspot, surprisingly, volunteered for a sparring next. She was not a great fighter, not with a sword. In the past, she had made a series of explosive contraptions that had come in handy many a time but a swordswoman she was not.
Still, though, she fought him.
She was much better than Silicio, who had been slow and firm in his stance. In comparison, Sunspot was speedy and hot-footed and because she was not a proper swordswoman, her strikes were feral which seemed to make it harder for Gakushuu Asano to block. Their fight lasted much longer but then Sunspot had spun around too many times and gotten dizzy and had fallen over herself and had had to yield to the other.
Karma wondered if Little Finger was going to fight him, sitting on the deck steps with his head in his hands. He was the best fighter on the ship by miles.
But Little Finger politely declined to fight. “I only fight when necessary.” He said, his eyes narrow despite his upbeat tone.
Silicio and Sunspot rolled their eyes; Seabreeze was rubbing off on Little Finger, it seemed. Gakushuu Asano, however, respected this decision with a seemingly newfound appreciation for the others. “Then you’re the best here, aren’t you?” He caught on fast, Karma noticed.
Little Finger laughed. “Not anymore.”
That night, Little Finger and Seabreeze cooked hata-hata with a sweet and sour pear sauce over rice. The fish was small but tasty. There was small flakes of orange peel on top, the ‘zest’ Gakushuu Asano told Karma and everytime he tasted orange, he thought of Gakushuu Asano’s training that day, his posture and his words and how he didn’t even know this man a month ago.
The night before the world broke under his feet, he got no sleep which was probably a sign of things to come. He tossed and turned in his sheets with a sweaty back and sore head
The day itself was inoffensive; The Fox informed him that they would passing the cape of Akita by night and then from, there, it was ideally smooth sailings.
“The sea ahead seems calm. And Sunspot’s already identified the constellations we’ll use to sail in Sado’s direction.” This pleased Karma, his mouth wet the idea of wealth and fortune.
It was after dinner when everything went to shit, when his world was rocked. Determined to cool off before bed, Karma went to the upper deck without his coat. In his undershirt, he would bound to feel cold soon. Gakushuu Asano was already there, in his spot, with the book Karma had leant him.
He was almost done with the book. Karma gaped. “How have you read that much?”
Gakushuu Asano shrugged. “I read before bed. It’s a good book.”
Karma looked again at which one the other had borrowed. He couldn’t remember what happened. “Yeah.”
The other told Karma he had helped Sunspot with the chart navigation. “Her charts are magnificent,” He complimented earnestly. “Really, very thorough. Where did you get them?”
“She brought those with her. Are they really that good? They just seem like maps to me.”
“No, they are. My father had similar in his collection. They must be the most expensive thing on this ship.”
Karma laughed, unable to help himself. “After yourself, you mean.”
Gakushuu Asano was silent. The joke didn’t land, the sting of abandonment still fresh and Karma felt like an idiot for it.
The other brooded, his eyes burning into Karma.
“You look like you want to say something.” Karma observed, blinking, suddenly aware of a uncertain, impending doom heading his way.
Gakushuu Asano looked down into his lap and closed his book. It took a long time for him to speak.
“…Who are you really?” Gakushuu Asano tilted his head, finally looking back up at the other. “I asked some of the others about the Shiny Silver Whirls you talk about but no one has heard of them. You claim to be a Pirate King but your boat and crew is small and ragtag and not one of them is viscous enough to be a pirate proper. The most viscous is an ocean priestess,” He joked dryly. “You don’t torture. You even gave me double rations one night. That’s not how a Pirate King acts.”
“It’s how I act.”
Gakushuu Asano rolled his eyes at the semantics. “Leading me back to my question; who are you?”
“You don’t know anything about me,” Karma breathed out, breath thick with anticipation. “I’m a new type of Pirate King.”
Gakushuu Asano tsked, like Karma had given him the wrong answer. “Maybe. I know you better than the rest of them, though.” He said with a silent determination, like he already knew it to be true.
Karma laughed, his voice higher than usual, annoyed at Gakushuu Asano’s arrogance. “Oh, yeah? How’s that?” He egged on, expecting a snarky remark over how he couldn’t read words of a certain length or how one of his boots was laced a different way to the other ‘cos he was bad at finer motor skills with his left hand.
Gakushuu Asano leaned forward and took a lock of Karma’s red hair in his hands, rubbing the strands of hair together. Under the moonlight, it lost its vibrancy and looked more like the colour of spilled blood, rather than the colour of tomatoes. “You’re from the Northern Territories, aren’t you? You only get this hair colour up there.” Gakushuu Asano said quietly.
Another question that Gakushuu Asano already knew the answer to.
Karma grumbled something under his breath and swatted away the other’s hand, his face setting sourly. Okay, big deal, so he had correctly guessed where Karma was from, big whoop. He cursed the freaking Northern Territories and their stupid native hair colour. Gakushuu Asano must’ve taken a hair colour class at the University too.
“Sure. I’m from up north. That doesn’t mean you know me.” Karma attempted to dismiss, not wanting to talk about this much more.
Gakushuu Asano was quiet, chewing the inside of his cheek. Karma hated when he was quiet because that usually meant he was scheming, thinking away in that brain of his which was by far the deadliest thing about him.
“What?” Karma pried, an icy chill rising in his chest, the idea of not knowing worse than the idea of.
“I want to say something but you won’t like it.”
Curiosity burned deep within him. It completely dwarfed his other emotions and his logical self, like a tidal wave fighting its way to his mouth. He thought of the others hands and him in the cell and him in his room with the book at his chest and the look in his eyes when he begged to be let out on the upper deck, only minutes before taking a life.
When he spoke, it didn’t even sound like his own voice. “Out with it then.”
Gakushuu Asano, to his credit, did not blurt it out immediately. He chewed his bottom lip, like he was still debating to say it, if he should. And then he wet his lips and sighed, flashing Karma a tentative look, as if to say you asked for this.
But then he did.
“You’re… an Akabane,” His eyes narrowed, almost as if he was unsure for once. “The hair. Your eyes. You’re an Akabane for certain… which means you must be Kichirou-kun.” He whispered.
And there it was. Out in the open.
The wind whistled by them. It suddenly felt freezing.
Karma had made a solemn vow to the only higher power he believed in to never hit a member of his crew. Though Mad Eyes had been on the receiving end of light jovial punches, he had never actually hurt his crew before. Not on purpose. He would never. He takes care of his own.
But this was an exception. And he wasn’t thinking straight. This is what he’ll tell himself later.
His hand flew out to Gakushuu Asano’s face immediately, striking uncomfortably and awkwardly against the other’s cheek. But Karma didn’t care. He would’ve thrown Gakushuu Asano overboard if his arms had the strength.
Though it wasn’t a particularly well placed or powerful blow, it was enough to catch Gakushuu Asano off guard, a nasty and viscous strike breaking the peaceful air. He stumbled backwards, holding his face and his eyes impossibly massive.
Even in the dark, Karma could see Gakushuu Asano’s watery eyes, his own reflection rippling in the sea of disbelief and betrayal and hurt.
He tried to speak but no words could form; his mind was blank.
But he didn’t even care, even despite the wicked pang in his heart. Gakushuu Asano had said it, had said the very worst possible thing he could’ve. And now it was out in the air and his heart was hammering away because it was true, he was an Akabane and even thinking that word, his mind repeating it in Gakushuu Asano’s voice, made Karma want to die a hundred, million deaths for a hundred, million hours, minutes and seconds.
He stormed off to his room, not bearing to look one more second at Gakushuu Asano or his face or his lips that had said that wretched word, locking his door with a jailor’s furiosity, and plummeted into bed headfirst and eyes bunched in hot sadness, not for the first time in his life wishing that he wouldn’t wake up him.
Six: The Past
His dreams were fruitless and empty and he was cold, so so cold, jolting awake in bed with his head and heart sore. It was near time to get up, considering how much sun was peeking through his window but he hid out in bed, heart beating too fast to do anything else. He didn’t even want to check the time on his clock, because it reminded him of last night.
Someone came and knocked about breakfast, but Karma said he wasn’t hungry. It was a different sort of truth. He didn’t want to eat because he wasn’t hungry, he didn’t want to eat because he knew Gakushuu Asano would be there too. And even if they said nothing, even if they pretended nothing had happened, that name still rolled around in Karma’s mind. It was still there, hanging around like a bad smell.
The person who knocked, Karma couldn’t hear their voice properly, tried again and again, Karma grumbled and told them to go away, to leave him.
If he had it his way, he’d gladly never see anyone else ever again. He would let the sea drag him away to wherever it saw fit. Is that why Himagurishi chose exile? He pondered in his misery and loathing. Did someone find out one of his big, bad, awful secrets, the kind people aren’t supposed to know about? The kind that make you want to die?
He wished, not for the first time, that he could ask Two Bit Tadaomi about this. But, of course, the other was gone.
Every time he tried to distract himself, he had the memory of last night’s conversation flash by. It kept repeating around the part where Gakushuu Asano said his name and then he really did start to feel nauseous, despite his chill.
It was pathetic, wasn’t it, he ranted to himself nastily. That a single name could disrupt him so, chaining him back from the very past he had been trying to forget all these years. His self-hatred soon turned towards Gakushuu Asano, for how could he remember such a name? A name that everyone else had forgotten, that whole of Japan had lost to time but of course, the one nerd he takes on is the only guy in the world who remembers who Kichirou Akabane is.
Was. Karma frowned to himself, autocorrecting his inner thoughts. Kichirou Akabane was dead.
He lay into till well past afternoon, not caring that his absence would cause the others to talk. Seabreeze came to find him first, after seemingly picking the door’s lock. Her beads and seashells jangling as she sat on the other side of the room. If he had had the energy or vitriol, he would’ve reprimanded her for breaking his lock but right now, he didn’t care. He didn’t care at all.
“You’re in a bad mood.” She stated evenly, as if she was delivering the weather forecast.
Karma grumbled in response, pulling the sheets up further.
“And Gakushuu Asano has a welt the size of a plum on his face.”
Karma grumbled again, turning away from her. “Don’t know anything about that.”
“Right. Okay. Sure. And the water’s been uneasy since the early morning,” Seabreeze sighed. “It’s not happy.” She said in a grave voice.
“I dunno what you want me to do about that.”
“I want you to listen to what I have to say.”
Karma fished out a hand from under his cocoon to motion to her to speak.
“Get over yourself.”
He sat up straight, abhorrent. “The water did not tell you that.”
She twirled a lock of hair, seashells jangling. “It advised me to say that.”
He pulled a face. “Advised?”
“Mhm. The nature of success is often cyclical. This current will flow back one day.” She said cryptically.
Karma had no idea what she was on about. “I have no idea what you’re on about.”
“You can’t self-combust after a swing and a miss.” She said dryly.
He blanked her, still unable to decode her message.
“You know,” She made a crude gesture with her hands, face red and eyes avoidant. “With Gakushuu Asano…?”
Suddenly, Karma’s own face became hot. “S-Seabreeze!” He stammered. “T-That’s, no…! It’s not like that!”
“It seems like that.”
“It’s not!”
Seabreeze wasn’t convinced. “Then what is it about?”
Karma got very quiet. Only Little Finger knew the truth about who he was and even that was in small pieces. His jaw set as he tried to find what to say.
Seabreeze had a knowing look on her face. “Ah… Your name then. The one you were born as. Akabane right?”
Astounded and horrified, Karma gaped at her.
She simply shrugged. “I see visions sometimes. If I go to bed thinking about someone, I’ll usually have a vision of theirs. Things I shouldn’t be able see.”
His mind on fire, Karma reeled. “I didn’t know this.”
She held a finger to her lips. “I don’t want to advertise that sort of stuff. Only Little Finger knows.”
Little Finger and his web of secrets. “You’ve had visions of mine?” He asked dumbfoundedly. “Me before…?”
“Yeah, a few. Not for a while, though.”
He near demanded she elaborated.
She thought on this. “A man with black hair teaching you how to polish a sword. A big house with flowing curtains. Dinner with your parents, you didn’t want to eat your peas.”
Even though he didn’t want to remember, he was taken back instantly to the moments she described. His mother airing out the house for the summer heat to flow through. A silent dinner where he choked down garden peas. Tadaomi teaching him the importance of looking after your belongings.
He gave Seabreeze a look between sadness and inexplicability. There were probably countless other things she had seen- his embarrassing or private moments that he thought were buried under the cognitive blanket. And she knew. She knew that he was really Akabane, that he wasn’t a real pirate and still just a kid playing pretend.
In an attempt to offset Karma’s broodiness, Seabreeze added on, “I’ve seen some of his too.”
“Who?”
“Gakushuu Asano.”
Karma’s face went from red to pink. “I don’t want to hear about it.” Because he could not spy on his crew and especially not Gakushuu Asano, who seemed to have everything figured out and who knew who Kichirou Akabane, who knew the answer to every question he asked. He didn’t want to hear about the other’s dreams, his memories, whatever they may be.
He hated him in a way that made his heart soar. Which probably meant he didn’t hate him which made Karma feel even worse.
Seabreeze, having said what she came to say, left, jingling with every step. “Talk to him,” She said before leaving, “That’s what the water really told me.”
Before dinner, he gathered the energy to leave his room and left to find Sunspot. She was in the girls room, which because of it’s two occupants, allowed the space for a work desk. She was hunched over at said desk, working by candlelight and her long blonde hair tied back into a braid. The shrine in the corner had incense lit. It smelt like the liquid Silicio sprayed on himself everyday.
He closed the door quietly behind him, noting with a curiosity that he hadn’t been to the girl’s bunk in a while. “Sunspot.” He said, lingering over her shoulder.
She didn’t look up from her work, sighing. “Oh Ryujin, here we go. That’s your question voice. I can’t explain a clock any better than before. You just have to trust me about the invisible waves.”
“No, it’s not about that. I just wanted to ask how… um…” He thought of how to word it. He had never said the word out loud before. “How you knew you were gay?”
Sunspot laughed. She wouldn’t stop laughing. “That?”
Karma nodded, hoping that this wouldn’t become a dream for Seabreeze to watch one night.
Sunspot sighed and when she asked if Karma was serious, which he was, she obliged. “It’s a rather boring story. There was a family that were close with mine. They had a daughter the same age as me so we became friends fast. She was as sweet as caramel and when she sang, all the birds would perch in the trees to listen,” There was a distant look in Sunspot’s eyes. “Her name was Yuki-chan and I loved her. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.” She said quietly, a soft smile on her lips.
“How did your family find out?”
Sunspot made a face, tight and painful. “…They caught us together in the cellar.”
Karma knew the rest; a rich runaway with a collection of maps and junk on her back, stowing away on the first ship she saw. Intolerance had driven Sunspot to The End. Not tragedy or fate but just because she liked girls instead of boys. Karma would never say this to her, especially because she worked the radio and read the star charts for The Fox and was the only one who spoke English and Korean fluently, but she was a lousy pirate. Completely useless in a fight. If she hadn’t been born a lesbian, she never would’ve been a pirate.
And yet, a pirate she was.
“And you’ve just always known?”
“Yeah, sure. I just never cared about the boys my parents tried to set me up with but with Yuki-chan it felt right,” She motioned to Karma’s chest. “You’re all flat and boxy. Men are all built like washboards to me.”
“Mad Eyes? Little Finger?”
“Large washboard. Tiny washboard,” She said simply, eyeing Karma up. “…What’s this about really? You hate talking about the past.”
“I don’t.” He denied defensively.
“You do. It’s like taking water from a stone. You clam up like a barnacle.”
Karma didn’t have anything to say to that so he sat down.
Sunspot eyed him from across the room. She set down the metal she was tinkering with. “This is about Gakushuu, isn’t it?”
He gave her a wild look, as if she had grown an extra head.
“Oh please. You’re not very subtle. You hide away all day today and Gakushuu’s saying he walked into a doorframe, yeah right, and now you come here to talk about emotions. Sooooo subtle. Few months ago, you’re this total rock when it comes to feelings and looooove-“
“I am not in love with Gakushuu Asano.” He refuted, quietly in case anyone was listening in.
“Ha! I know this one. Yeah, cap, sure. And that’s why you’re asking me about being gay. It’s your ship so you get the last word. You’re totally not in love with the rich kid. But I’ve been noticing things.”
Her words sounded like Seabreeze’s earlier and he pondered if he had made the wrong choice by confiding in Sunspot like this. Girls talked more than Silicio could dream of. “Like what?”
“You get this stupid look, when you’re talking to him or about him. All sappy and floppy, like a wet dog aching to dry off. At first, when you talked about him, I thought you were just trying to keep an eye on him but now I know it’s because you love him. Don’t deny it. It’s true. You always talk alone in private, yes, I know about that too. Silicio saw you two once. And then you’re pestering me about clocks and homosexuality and hey man, I know I’m just me but that’s pretty obvious. You’re in love with him.”
Karma sighed, rubbing at his face. “…Is it that obvious?”
“You asked me how I knew I was a lesbian. Truth is, I don’t have to know. I just feel it. It’s just a part of me. When you know, you know. You know?”
Karma didn’t know.
She gave him a sympathetic look. “Hey, it gets easier. You’re just in the bad part now. Get Seabreeze’s advice, she helped me get over myself. Or, if you want a male perspective, ask The Fox. He’s been pining over Silicio ever since last winter. For whatever reason.”
Karma snapped his head up to look at Sunspot. “Really?“
“You’re really bad at this, huh? The Fox is about as lovesick as you,” She shook her head. “In his case, Silicio is just ignorant.”
“I just… Can pirates love?”
Sunspot thought about this, tapping her chin. “Well sure. But are you a pirate or a human first?”
Karma didn’t have an answer to that.
He went to go see Little Finger in the scullery as the other was cooking dinner. Little Finger’s words was what he needed right now. Pirate or human? Why, he was both, right? He was born human buy he had been undeniably raised a pirate.
“I think I might be in love with Gakushuu Asano.” He announced, shutting the door behind him.
“Thanks for telling me? And good to see you up,” He noted, not looking up from whatever he was preparing. “How did your fight go with Gakushuu?”
Karma scoffed. “We didn’t fight.”
Little Finger shrugged. “That’s what Seabreeze told me.”
Karma scowled, wondering just how much Little Finger knew about everything, if Seabreeze sang all her secrets to him before the sun rose each day.
“No. Like. I need advice.”
“So… you came to me? About Gakushuu Asano?”
It seemed a little silly out loud. “I’ve known you longer than anyone else. What do you think?”
Little Finger stopped stirring the pot. “Permission to speak freely, captain?”
“Like you need permission. Please, speak.”
“Well, first, duh. Everyone knows you love him. I figured that’s why you let him come aboard. Silicio told me he saw you holding hands going to your quarters a few days later so that was that really. You haven’t been exactly, uh, subtle.”
Karma’s face flushed as red as his hair. “That wasn’t like that! It was just- we were drunk and he wanted to see my books. Nothing else, okay?!” A ghost of a memory, their hands interlocked and the fuzz of Gakushuu Asano’s breath tickling the back of his neck, wafts by. “Who else has Silicio told?”
“Well, it’s a small ship. And four- ah five- of us share a room so that’s how I found out. And I told Seabreeze, who probably told Sunspot so…. Uh… everyone,” Little Finger didn’t seem concerned. Karma recoiled at the image of Silicio, propped up on his elbows in his bunk, adamantly insisting that Karma had just taken Gakushuu Asano back to his room. “Second, not that it matters to me but I think you’ve made a totally lousy choice. He’s an asshole. And too smart for his own good.”
“Yeah, I know.” Karma agreed dejectedly.
“And he’s the best swordfighter I’ve ever seen.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Which probably means you really are in love with him. You love things you shouldn’t. Everyone knew Seabreeze’s pigeon was dying, even her, but I still remember how you cried when it passed. And that fortune teller woman who I told you was only after your money.”
“Well, we did kiss!”
“Yeah, and while you were kissing, she robbed you blind!”
“I don’t think Gakushuu Asano is going to steal anything from me.”
“Just your heart.” Little Finger teased and Karma groaned.
“I’m doomed.”
Little Finger laughed. “Not really. You suit each other.”
They really did. Their fight, the one where Gakushuu wagered admission to the ship, was exhilarating and fun. Gakushuu Asano twirling a strand of his hair or holding a sword’s edge to his neck. That was his love language, wasn’t it?
The warmth in his stomach corroded fast.
“He asked me about Kichirou.”
Little Finger blinked, looking up from the pot. “He asked?”
“More, uh, he knew. He knows.”
Little Finger set down his spoon and placed his hands on his hips, in disbelief. “How? You told him?”
Karma shook his head fervently. “No. No. He just… knew. My hair colour or the accent, maybe. But he knew I was Kichirou Akabane.”
“So, that’s why you hit him.”
He couldn’t lie to Little Finger. “Well… yes. I didn’t mean to though…” Karma said in a small voice.
“It makes sense. I just… how does he know that name?”
Karma shrugged. “We didn’t speak after that. So I don’t know.”
Little Finger hummed. “Well, that’s to be expected. I did wonder where this was all coming from but now it makes sense. You’re hurt. You’re hurt because the man that you have to grapple to accept you love already knows everything about you. All your secrets. All the parts you don’t like. And that’s scary because you feel like the only way to control the bad parts of you is to hold them close and lock them away. But then, they’re out and you have to face them. You have to acknowledge them, without being able to control the narrative. And you feel like as if there’s a risk in that.”
“You sound like you’re speaking from experience,” Karma mused softly. “Let me guess; Seabreeze had a dream about you liking her before you even realised it yourself?”
Little Finger looked away shyly, his cheeks rosy. “My point stands…”
Karma thought about the other’s words and got to his feet. “I’m going to ask Seabreeze for one of her concoctions. One that makes you forget.” Because Gakushuu Asano was one part of this mess and Kichirou Akabane was another and he could deal with only one beast at a time.
“If forgetting’s what you’re after, you’re better asking Silicio for whatever he’s been brewing. But is that what you want? To forget?”
Karma shrugged noncommittally.
“If you shut off your heart, you’ll start to lose yourself. I know you know that better than anyone. You’re a good pirate because you let yourself feel things. You’re the biggest softie on this boat, even if you think otherwise. Don’t stop now just because this scares you. What if Sunspot said to you she was interested in you because liking girls was too much hassle?”
“I’d tell her to stop lying.” Karma scoffed.
“Well, there you go. Stop lying. Embrace what you feel for once. Let the water wash over you and feel the relief it brings.”
“You sound like Seabreeze. Just how much time do you spend with her?” He asked lightly.
Little Finger shrugged, not rising to Karma’s bait. “It’s because she’s right. I’m right. Besides, it could be much worse.”
“How so?”
Little Finger smiled. “You could be in love with Mad Eyes. Now come on, dinner’s ready.”
When Karma reappeared for dinner that night, the rest of the crew (bar their inquisitive glances and raised eyebrows and knowing looks- damn Silicio that bastard!) said nothing. Gakushuu Asano, even with that redding welt on his cheek, kept his mouth shut, except for eating small bites of his food.
And after dinner was over, everyone seemed to dissipate entirely. The Fox, Seabreeze and Little Finger all ran downstairs with the dishes, claiming there was an overload of plates to clean, Sunspot and Silicio retired for the night and Mad Eyes gave both Karma and Gakushuu Asano a pointed look as if to say, fix this, before skulking away.
And then, it was just the two of them.
Karma spared a look over at Gakushuu Asano. He looked like he did back in the cell; cornered and trepidatious, like he was on thin ice that was under around his weight.
Gakushuu Asano got to his feet and Karma knew he had to speak now, lest the tide of change retreated forever.
“I’m sorry.”
Gakushuu Asano froze where he stood, his cheek turned away from Karma.
“I’m sorry for hitting you. I… shouldn’t of.”
It was a lame apology but nothing else seemed right because the real thing he wanted to ask was biting it’s way to Karma’s mouth.
“How do you know that name?”
Gakushuu Asano, still standing, flexed his hands out against the leg of his trousers. “…My father took in a ward when I was little. Ikeda. He was from the Northern Territories.”
The name was familiar, not in the warm welcoming way but the freezing shock way, like plunging headfirst into the ocean itself. “We… had a ward named Ikeda.”
Yes, definitely an Ikeda. The orphaned son of one of his father’s friends. A quiet mousy boy with faded brown hair and big curious eyes. He was blurry in Karma’s mind but yes, that was right, they did have a ward named Ikeda. That dinner, where he ate garden peas with reluctance and dread, was a dinner for four, wasn’t it?
Gakushuu made a motion with his hand, looking away. “I… Yeah. He talked about you.”
So that’s how.
Karma moped. Bad luck, his karma, had followed him, stalking him silently from his adolescence into adulthood but still, it had caught him. Like a great white baring its teeth, he accepted his fate. There was no way to undo what had been done.
“...How did he end up in your care?” Karma asked. He had been taken at, what, near age eight? His parents, though not disgustingly wealthy as Gakuhou Asano’s lot, still had enough money and resources to feed an extra mouth. Especially, since his parents didn’t pay the ransom. They would’ve had the money to look after him. They were fond of him, right?
Karma bitterly thought that's what he thought of his parents about him too. And look how that turned out.
“I don’t know. Father never said. He came to live with us when I was eleven.”
Karma remembered there was only a few days between the two and shuddered. It had only been two years before Ikeda had gotten the boot.
“I see,” Karma said awkwardly. Ikeda. That’s how Kichirou Akabane had preserved. Through one boy’s word of mouth. He wondered who else Ikeda had encountered to tell the tale of a boy with red hair who disappeared one day. “How is he?”
Gakushuu Asano sighed. “He died of an illness for which there is no cure a few years ago. Father blamed me, saying I had cursed him. When I saw that he passed that bill, declaring I was dead, I didn’t feel angry or upset. I just felt like… if Ikeda had been taken, things would be different.”
So Ikeda was dead. Passed from household to household entombed in tragedy until his own end. What a lousy life. It was about the lousiest life he had ever heard of. For the first time in near ages, Karma felt guilty that he hadn’t spared Ikeda a thought until then. And felt angry for the truth in the other's words. His parents might've paid Ikeda's ransom too. “You look alright for a dead guy, you know.”
Gakushuu Asano gave him a look. “I always knew my father didn’t care about me. It just hurt to see the proof,” He rubbed at his sore cheek. “You’ve got a pretty lousy backhand, by the way.”
Karma mumbled something about how he hadn’t meant to hit the other. “And that’s why you came screaming, demanding to come with.”
“I’m pretty sure I asked, not demanded. And you agreed to the rules of our duel.”
“Hey, that reminds me," A spark went off in Karma's mind. "Where did you learn to wield a sword like that?”
“I’ve had fencing lessons since I was walking.”
“Eh?”
“It’s French. It’s a sport where you attack your opponent with a rapier, like the kind Little Finger has but thinner.”
Of course the Westerners had commercialised sword fighting. “His sword is already too small.”
“Well, you’re not aiming to kill when fencing. It’s a sport, after all.”
“Sounds stupid.”
Gakushuu Asano laughed an empty laugh. “It is stupid.”
“You said my sword was heavy, but it looks light in your hands.”
“Heavier than what I’m used to. My sword is similar to what I’ve become accustomed to. But a sword is just a weapon and weapons can be controlled through manipulation. Here.” He motioned for Karma’s sword.
“Look,” He said, spinning the sword around in the air. “You have to treat it as an extension of yourself. The sword is just metal. Your mind is the real weapon.”
Karma watched the other demonstrate his moves.
“Who’s is it?” Gakushuu Asano inquired, handing back the sword.
“Mine.”
“Sure but any sword maker worth a penny wouldn’t have made this for you. You’re not tall enough.”
“But I am tall.” He was the tallest on the ship bar Mad Eyes. It didn’t feel like a ripe comparison given the pool but still, it counted.
“Right but the proportions are off. Which means this wasn’t made for you. But it was made for someone. Someone taller with a bigger reach.”
Karma rolled his eyes. “How do you know?”
“I’ve dabbled in forgery. I wasn’t very good at it but the numbers behind it make sense.”
Of course, perfect Gakushuu Asano had studied forgery before. And probably boat making and goat herding and cobbling too. “It belonged to the captain before me.” He grumbled.
“He was tall?”
“Like a tree. Built like one too.”
Gakushuu Asano tilted his head to the side “So, the coat is his too?”
Karma scoffed in disbelief. “And how did you figure that out?” He asked, expecting an eye-opening account into Gakushuu Asano’s tea reading seminar last year.
“The tag says Tadaomi.”
“WHAAAAAAAAAT?!” Karma exclaimed, throwing his jacket off and checking for himself. Sure enough, in black stitching, was Tadaomi’s name. He looked up at Gakushuu Asano. “How do you know that?” He asked, scared that Seabreeze had told Gakushuu Asano one of his dreams.
“It doesn’t fit you right. The art of shaping clothes to a body is called tailoring. I’ve done some of that too and for coats like your own, you need to tailor it so it hangs correctly and so that the sleeves are the right length. And you have to bunch your sleeves up. So I knew it wasn’t yours. When you let me look at your books, you placed it on the desk and I just so happened to see the tag. Naturally, I assumed you stole it from whoever Tadaomi was… Did you?”
Tailoring. By Ryujin’s moustache. What hasn’t this man done? And how hadn’t he noticed the tag? He had never checked? No, he probably had, but with his eyes averted as to not to check. The corner of your eye, the very last place you want to look, he hid it there.
The coat really was too big for him.
“No. He gave it to me.” He said quietly and surely.
“And the sword?”
Karma closed his eyes. “He gave that to me too.”
Gakushuu Asano laughed gently. “I’ve never heard of a generous pirate.”
“They only get generous on their death bed.”
“Oh,” Gakushuu Asano’s face fell. “Sorry. Were you close?”
“He saved me. I owed him my life. He could’ve sailed to the other side of the world and I would’ve followed. And now he’s dead.”
“I see. How did he die?”
Karma looked away. His became quiet and sullen. “I killed him. He asked me to and I did it because I owed him everything. And then as he bled out, he gave me his sword, his jacket and his boat. I took everything he had on him and his life too.”
Gakushuu Asano gawked. “He asked you to kill him?”
And that was the truth wasn’t it? Tadaomi, watery and thin and coughing up whatever blood he had left, had begged Karma for mercy, for an end that wouldn’t hurt as much as the pain he was in. And Karma did it, ignoring the pain in his own heart or the tears in his eyes.
“He had that disease you mentioned, the one that has no cure,” Ikeda’s disease. “He was bleeding from every hole that wasn’t his ears.” And then his mind unhelpfully added the image of Ikeda dying the very same way.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t. He lived and died honourably.” Karma sniffed. He wasn’t crying, it was just cold out.
“Tadaomi… Was he the one that… took you?”
Karma blinked, first confused. But then remembered that Gakushuu Asano had deduced that he was once Kichirou Akabane and sighed. The spectre of the past loomed over him once more.
Kichirou Akabane, who had been stolen by pirates from his house nearly fifteen years prior. Kichirou Akabane who had been declared dead. Kichirou Akabane whose parents never looked for him.
It was a sick joke, that Gakushuu Asano was all these things too. But he didn’t care, well, not as much as Karma cared. Maybe because Gakushuu Asano had a chance at life before all this. Tailoring, map reading, astronomy, fencing, clock-class. He knew so much so young and by young, Karma reminded himself that there was only seven days between them. It was about as clear a playing field you could get.
And sure, okay, he hadn’t done bad for himself. Considering everything, he turned out alright. He had a boat and his crew and his life. They made best they did with food and they were family, right? He didn’t have anyone else he could call that.
He remembered the sensation of being grabbed by a man much larger than himself, his world going dark, being shoved into a dark room for what felt like months on end before finally, with nothing else said or done, the sensation of being lifted and thrown away, discarded like trash. All without a word. “No. The men who took me threw me overboard after my parents declared me… dead.”
He would’ve died hungry; they never fed him.
Gakushuu Asano paused, sat back down and gave Karma a knowing look. “…I see. Can you, uh, swim?”
“I learned as an adult. But when I was younger, no.”
“Then… how did you survive?”
“I treaded water for hours upon hours. I knew if I stopped, I would sink and drown,” Fighting at the water, near thrashing, trying anything he could possibly do to stay alive. “Right before I passed out from exhaustion, The End sailed on by and Tadaomi brought me on board,” Karma laughed despite himself. “I was asleep for four days. He said he thought I was dead for sure.”
“So he rescued you?”
“Yes. I’m only alive today because of him.”
“He must’ve taught you well.”
“He did,” Karma said looking down at his hands. “Look. I am really sorry about-“
Gakushuu Asano held up his hand. “It’s fine. It didn’t hurt.”
“It looks sore.”
“Well, I’ve had worse. And I figured it’s what I get,” He smiled somewhat sadly, another truth he already believed in. “I knew you wouldn’t react well.”
“It’s just…” He chewed on his words. He had reacted pretty badly. “No one else knows that name. I haven’t heard it in years. I didn’t expect you to just… say it.”
“I had to confirm it.”
“How long have you suspected?”
“The truth?”
Karma nodded.
“Since you came down that first day to lecture me about those Shiny Seafoam Whirls. It was partly because of your hair colour and the fact you looked so young. And then I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”
“Young,” Karma repeated, mind blank. “I’m not young. I’m older than you.”
Gakushuu Asano laughed. “That I doubt.”
Karma explained to the other that were only a few days between them and the other laughed, like he already knew and he apologised once more for saying that name and Karma apologised once more for striking him and the two shook hands and retired for the night.
When sleep reached Karma, he was partly relieved that he had smoothed over one issue, while still running from another. The waters that Kichirou Akabane fought against faded but when he looked into the puddle of his consciousness, he saw only Gakushuu Asano’s face.
But the thought would have to wait.
Because they were soon approaching.
Seven: The Island
Sunspot woke everyone up before sunrise, with glee and excitement in her voice. “The island!” She exclaimed around the lower decks. “It’s Sado! Look, look!”
Everyone went up to the upper decks in amazement, still dressed haphazardly in a mix of their sleeping clothes and regular clothes. The Fox took his map out to the deck to confirm it himself. Looking up and back at the map, his jaw was slack. “It can’t be! There’s still a week left for the course!”
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. How, it had only been a few days over a week since they decided to set sail from Akita. Could they really be here already? There was no other island it could be though.
Had they really arrived here so timely? In all his years of seafaring, Karma had never seen such a thing before.
Seabreeze nodded slowly, her gaze fixated on the appearing island. “No… That’s Sado, alright,” The Fox looked at her, waiting for her to continue. “The sea. That’s how we got here. We listened and she answered.” She said knowingly, peering at Karma briefly.
Silicio, unaware to the nature of her words, whistled. “We should listen to her more often!”
Seabreeze attempted to explain that she had been trying to do that since her stowage on the ship. Meanwhile, Karma and The Fox got straight to work, guiding The End along Sado’s shimmery coast.
Once they were docked appropriately, there was an issue of who was to look after the ship. She couldn’t be left alone, no way, even if the only civilisation on the island was further south than when they were. It was important to have someone look after it.
Mad Eyes was an obvious choice, the usual guarder of the ship, which was a role he accepted almost gladly. But one alone to defend The End didn’t feel right. He was trepidatious still. In the end, it was agreed upon that Seabreeze and Little Finger would go too. Seabreeze, for a scout and Little Finger, for his fighting prowess and brains.
The two seemed fine to stay behind, mostly because it meant they got to stay with the other. Seabreeze clasped Karma’s hand in her own before they left. “That dream. The mountain. She’s there.” She said.
“She?”
Seabreeze looked uneasy and uncertain. It didn’t suit her. “I… don’t know. It’s just a feeling I have. Whatever is there, it’s a she.”
Karma let her words repeat in his mind as they lowered the gangplank and disembarked, the five of them, stomach’s hungry for a taste of something more than whatever Little Finger had cooked for breakfast that morning.
Sado was thick and heavy with foliage. Silicio ended up leading the pack, for his sword was thicker and wider than the others, allowing for the most effective hacking and slashing of the covering branches.
The Fox was still astounded they had reached Sado so fast. “I really cannot believe it,” He said to himself, stepping over a log. “It’s a blessing.”
“A blessing?” Sunspot spoke. “Maybe more like a miracle. The constellations were fine last night,” She looked behind her to Gakushuu Asano. “Did you get a look at them?” She looked up to Karma behind him. “Did you?”
The Fox and Silicio looked round too. Karma’s face reddened at the planned evacuation of everyone after dinner last night and how everyone already knew that Karma had taken Gakushuu Asano to his room that one night. He wondered just how hot a topic it was between them all.
Gakushuu Asano shook his head. “I wasn’t looking.”
“I wasn’t looking either.” Karma mumbled.
Sunspot smiled widely, the corners of her eyes bunching up and laughed. “I thought as much! You know, after this whole thing is over, I want the truth.”
Gakushuu Asano jolted slightly. “The truth?”
“Yeahhhh, the truth. You know the one I mean.” She said, wiggling her eyebrows.
Silicio looked excited, a similar grin on his face. “Oh, me too! Me, me, I want to know what happened!”
Karma snapped. “Watch your head!”
Silicio’s head hit off a branch. “Oof!” He seized his head in his hands, face wincing. “Ahhh, that hurt.” He lamented.
The Fox snatched Silicio’s sword out of his hands. “You idiot. I’ll lead.” And he did start to, but not before giving Karma a sly look of his own, as if to say, I want to know too. And Karma didn’t know how to tell them that the truth they were after held no merit, for there was nothing romantic between him and Gakushuu Asano because there was no way in Ryujin’s kingdom that he liked Karma.
The thought, the truth, soured his mood. He was glad he was at the back so no one was able to see the look on his face, his pursed lips and downtrodden eyes.
They spent nearly two hours fighting away at the greenery that covered the island. It was thick and heavy with overgrowth and biting flies, with no sign of human activity. They were well and truly alone.
Finally, after another shift change of The Fox to Sunspot after he grew tired, they came to an opening.
“Holy mother of Ryujin!” Sunspot exclaimed, craning her head up and shielding her eyes with her hands. The others looked up too. They were at the base of a mountain, or maybe some sort of hill. Whatever it was, Karma was sure Gakushuu Asano would know it’s exact specification, it was tall and large. Like a pimple on Sado’s surface, it spread into the forest that surrounded it.
Karma was amazed. They hadn’t seen it from the boat.
Completely hidden.
Was this the ‘she’ Seabreeze meant?
It was The Fox’s idea to scale it. He said it would provide the best viewpoint for everything. “This way, we can see the whole island,” He exclaimed, as they climbed up. “Just because we got here, doesn’t mean we know where Himagurishi hid his treasure.”
Silicio groaned, throwing his head back. “What if it’s on the other side of the island?!” He exclaimed.
Sunspot tickled the back of Silicio’s knee, causing him to buckle unceremoniously and slide down the side a little. “We have a ship, genius.”
“Oh, yeah.”
The hike upwards took not nearly as long as the journey through the forest but it felt twice as arduous. With the sun now out and hot, they melted under its gaze. And only Sunspot and Gakushuu Asano had thought to bring water so there was scarce relief from the heat.
At the top, Silicio collapsed from exhaustion, his shirt tied around his head in an attempt to cool off. “So… damn… hot…” He panted.
Gakushuu Asano sat down next to him, panting but only just, and spoke in a language that Karma presumed to be Italian, giving Silicio’s reaction.
The Fox took a gulp of water and gazed around the top. “This is beautiful,” He breathed out. “It’s just like back home. High up, amongst the trees,” He turned to look at Karma. “Here. Listen,” He closed his eyes, letting his face be hit with a gentle gust. “She’s telling us something.”
Sunspot wasn’t convinced. “Seabreeze is one thing but not you too. I thought your shrine was for the Fox God, not the Wind God.”
The Fox shook his head calmly. “No, not the Wind God. It’s Mother Nature. Can’t you hear her?”
Everyone was silent, in an attempt to listen to what Mother Nature was saying. Karma tried closing his eyes too. If it worked for Seabreeze and The Fox, surely he could listen in too to these intrinsic cosmic messages.
And there, on top of the mountain’s peak, Sunspot, as her namesake, spotted something under her feet. A little patch of rock that lead down the mountainside into a cavern, worn lightly with footsteps.
“Ah!” She exclaimed. It led down proper into a cave and Karma might’ve been hearing things but he was sure he could distinguish the familiar crackling of a flame down under the ground.
They had found it.
Himagurishi at last.
Eight: The Treasure
They descended with a certain trepidation. Karma offered to go first, with Sunspot, Gakushuu Asano, Silicio and The Fox in tow. The further down they went, the surer this is where they were supposed to be. He thought of Seabreeze’s dream, and the inscription on the map and the slight tingle he felt when Gakushuu Asano’s arm brushed against his.
He tasted the air. He might not have been able to listen to the wind or hear the water’s thoughts but he could taste success three hundred miles away.
They were close.
Eventually, it got so dark, they needed a flame to see ahead. But Himagurishi had been smart and resourceful and had left unlit staffs, bound with fabric, in a corner. Silicio dumped his flask on the fabric and set it alight with his lighter.
“Voila!” He cheered, as if this was the first time he had ever seen fire. “We have light!”
They shared the flame between another staff so that they had even more visibility. The candlelight made the passage down considerably scarier. The dark amplified the scuttling and wetness of any cave system and Karma’s fears were only contained by his overwhelming excitement.
His excitement reached when they reached a set of wooden double doors. There was a bar holding it shut. It took four of them to lift the beam off, with Sunspot holding their two lit torches as the men heaved, with a considerable amount of effort.
But then, the doors creaked open and their flamelight trickled in.
Karma had been expecting a treasure room. A room made of solid gold, from the walls to the ceiling, with coins and chalices and crowns and sceptres. He imagined jewels the size of fruit and necklaces the size of chandeliers.
He got no such riches. Not as much as he had been expecting.
The room was small, even for underground. It was damp and wet and had a weird smell. There was not much in the room either, save for one chest bound with a padlock and a marble altar near the back. A long, table or bench sort of thing sat at the back.
The others dispersed into the room to investigate, not saying a thing. The disappointment was palpable; even Gakushuu Asano looked miffed at this so-called hidden treasure.
The Fox was the one to break the silence. “Look here,” He motioned to the others to huddle around a plaque of sorts. It had a rough etching of a kraken in the corner. Karma’s breath hitched a little; Himagurishi’s mark. “Read this.”
Karma did as instructed. The inscription read as follows:
If you are here, congratulations
For solving my riddle and knowing my heart
I came here myself not out of desire or will
Nor greed or hunger
But of desperation
To let my wife sleep where none would disturb
If you have made it here I ask
To take what you can carry
All my gold and treasures
But to leave the greatest untouched
For even in death, she is mine
And I hers
Even when the Moon sets the Sun sings for her return
And I await hers in a place where we can be together
Free of the chains that tie and bind us so
I await her in the place we promised to meet
The place we made ours
Karma read it again in disbelief, looking around the room. “Wife?” Himagurishi married? “Is this…?”
“A tomb?” The Fox finished.
Gakushuu Asano went over to the long, marble back of the room, suddenly determined. Something large and table like stood in the middle. “Uhh,” He said out loud, looking back towards the others. “This is the Imperial Seal.”
“The Imperial Seal?” The others came over to look for themselves. By the large oblong furniture was a large stone, chiselled with a crude yet legible impression of the Imperial Seal of Japan. The royal family’s special crest. There was no doubt about it.
Gakushuu Asano rested a gentle hand on the lid, ghosting along its length. “That makes this a coffin,” He whispered. “If this a tomb, this is a coffin.”
Sunspot traced the seal with her fingertip. “But… that would make this…”
There was only one royal known to have died recently.
“Princess Tsuki?” Silicio finished.
Karma went back and read the inscription again. Wife. Moon. A place we promised to meet. “It… can’t be…”
His eyes widened. The Princess, the Emperor’s daughter who had been kidnapped years ago, before he was ever a twinkle in his mother’s eye. She was had said to be whisked away by pirates and killed at night, so that her spirit floated up to live on the moon’s crescent evermore.
Whatever is there, it’s a she.
His jaw hung open, rereading the inscription for a third time.
“The map said the island of the Moon,” Gakushuu Asano thought aloud. “That wasn’t in reference to its geography or shape or name. It was in reference to who was buried here,” He looked around at the others. “Tsuki means moon!”
They gazed around in wonder and awe. Karma’s looked back to Princess Tsuki’s marble coffin. There was a dried flower laying by it and his heart began to hurt. He knew not of their love but it was undeniable- Princess Tsuki and the Great Himagurishi had loved each other. Though they could never be together, not really, and no matter what circumstances led to their meeting or fate, she had died.
He had entombed her here, safe in the cradle of Honshu, away from prying eyes from the Guard and others alike. He had hidden her, buried his wealth and name, and disappeared like fog, never to be seen again.
Seabreeze said she was certain Himagurishi wasn’t here anymore. Karma was beginning to think she meant she knew he was dead.
I await her in the place we promised to meet. The place we made ours.
Karma’s eyes began to sting. More lives ruined because of who people loved. Little Finger was right; he really was the biggest softie on the ship.
The Fox busted open the padlock to the chest with the butt of his sword. It clattered to the ground with a satisfying click, almost happy that its purpose had, at last, been fulfilled. “Here, look.” He held up a number of jewels and coins in his hand, letting them fall back into the chest with an affluent thud.
The riches. All of them bar the greatest, bar Himagurishi’s beloved.
Silicio looked over his shoulder, as did Karma. Though not the great riches he had been expecting but still a considerable amount. It was probably the most wealth he had ever seen in his life.
Silicio bent down to rummage through the gold himself. “Woahhh. So that’s it, huh? Himagurishi’s riches, all in one box.”
“Not quite,” Gakushuu Asano said quietly, glancing at the coffin with a softness Karma had only ever seen the other reserve for him and him alone. “Two. Two boxes.”
Nine: The End
After careful inspection and after finding no more riches, the five of them decided that this was all Himagurishi had left. All his treasure. Now knowing what truly lay hidden on Sado Island, Karma felt like they had still made out with a pretty good deal.
They were the sole seekers of the treasure, the only to have succeeded. And not only that, they became the sole recipients of the answer to Japan’s greatest question; what happened to Princess Tsuki. Though there was not much to do with such information, it gave them all a power. In some cases, they were the most knowledgeable in the whole of Japan.
Most importantly, Himagurishi was real. It was undeniable now. Karma felt sixteen feet tall at the knowledge.
Silicio and Sunspot lugged the chest back, while Gakushuu Asano traced their way back. Every time the chest jingled in prosperity, Karma could only think of the eternally sleeping woman and her marble tomb and how Himagurishi must’ve loved her so to entrust her with such a lot.
Mad Eyes, Little Finger and Seabreeze listened with apt curiosity at what had happened, all three of them with tears pricking at the corners of their eyes. Seabreeze seemed to be the most affected. “It was her who spoke to me. Princess Tsuki. At first, I thought it was my sister,” She shook her head solemnly. “But no. It was her. Leading us to her.”
The Fox looked wistfully back towards the island. “The wind, too. She guided us here. Under the moonlight, she brought us here. Princess...” He trailed off.
“Why us?” Silicio asked aloud, tanning brown now after his sun exposure. “I mean, like, why not us? But also, why us? Why now?”
Karma had no answer that wasn’t Gakushuu Asano.
Since it was a special occasion, Silicio opened a bottle of port he had been saving. Everyone emptied their water cups to allow for a slither of the drink each, savouring each taste. It was a rare delicacy, the dark sweetness of the wine, and it tasted even better off their high. Little Finger cooked fish that he had caught with Seabreeze’s help and cooked with The Fox. Fish, beans and something green that Little Finger said was broccoli. It was about the most luxurious thing ever cooked on The End. Sunspot tuned the radio set and played soft music quietly. Mad Eyes made conversation, even laughing at times. Gakushuu Asano sang along to one of the songs that played on the radio and everyone danced as he did.
Though they hadn’t encountered the gold he was after, Karma still felt rich. Himagurishi’s trust and his secret- his one true love and the effort he had undertaken to protect that love- made him the richest man in the history of Japan. And even with his portion of fish, beans and broccoli smaller after being split eight ways, he still felt full.
“What happens now?” Gakushuu Asano asked. Everyone else had retired to the girl’s bunk for a quieter, more subdued celebration with a special appearance from one of Sunspot’s machines she called a ‘guitar’ that only The Fox seemed to be able to play.
“Hmm?” Karma asked, not looking away from Sado Island’s disappearing image.
“Like,” Gakushuu leaned over the banister with Karma. “What happens now? Another map? Another treasure?”
Karma laughed. So, he had been serious about being a pirate. This had been an adventurous two months for the other.
“You’re a free man. We all are- uh, I guess Seabreeze and Sunspot are free women but the point stands. We’re pirates. You’re a pirate,” For emphasis, he knocked his shoulder against the other’s, a secret private intimacy. “You do what you want.”
Gakushuu Asano looked away, resting his head in his hands. “What I want…?”
Karma nodded, ready to parrot Seabreeze’s evergreen advice. “Life is too short to spend asking round for what to do n-“
Karma was cut off by Gakushuu Asano kissing him. There was a smile on his face as he did so. Karma might’ve been mistaken but he could’ve sworn that there were cheers from down below when their lips met.
When they pulled away, the other was laughing. “I wanted to kiss you before you dropped me off at Noshiro, when I had your sword at your throat.”
Karma nearly jumped out his skin. “YOU DID?” He exclaimed because that night was already crazy, the whole thing was crazy, but he had not forgotten the other’s kill that night, or their long staring contest with Two Bit Tadaomi’s sword at his throat. But now, knowing that Gakushuu Asano had wanted to kiss him then, when he was still technically his prisoner, it confirmed a suspicion of his; Gakushuu Asano was insane.
And he loved him.
Gakushuu Asano nodded. “But I got too nervous.”
“Wha… Why?”
“Adrenaline, mostly. And I think you’re handsome. And so persistent. When you came to tell me to eat more, ah, I was screwed then. I really do like you. Even if you don’t know what tangible means.”
“Explain it to me once more.” Karma said, leaning forward.
“Okay.” Gakushuu Asano said before kissing him again.
FIN
RESULTS FOR SILICIO’S BETTING POOL*:
‘WILL WE ACTUALLY GET RICH THIS TIME’ (Y/N)
+5 silver for Sunspot, The Fox, Mad Eyes (N)
-5 silver for Little Finger (Y)
‘ARE KARMA AND GAKUSHUU A THING’ (Y/N)
+0 silver for Sunspot, The Fox, Mad Eyes, Little Finger (Y)
[everyone voted yes so no money could be allocated]
‘ARE CLOCKS FAKE’ (Y/N)
Gakushuu Asano, The Fox, Sunspot (N)
Silicio, Mad Eyes, Little Finger, Karma (Y)
[in contention]
*(Seabreeze is not allowed to bet** on the basis that she is psychic)
**(She made Little Finger bet on her behalf)
WANTED
DEAD OR ALIVE
BY ORDER OF PRIME MINISTER ASANO
PIRATE KING KARMA AND THE CREW OF THE END
LAST SEEN LAUGHING AS THEY SAILED WEST FROM SADO ISLAND. EXTREME CAUTION TO BE TAKEN.
BOUNTY: TWENTY-FIVE MILLION YEN